Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

All meaningful actions are performed for some reason or purpose. This is commonly called “motivation”. Success in selling requires understanding these basics of motivation:

• Your motivation both as a person and as a salesperson

• The other person’s motivation both as a person and as a buyer

The most important fact to remember in influencing the behaviour and decisions of others is that – people do things for their reasons, not ours.

Every successful sale, then, is made not so much because of the excellence of your product or of your sales pitch, but because, consciously or unconsciously, you have found the human reason why your prospect should buy. You have found the door to their motivation and have opened it. The more you understand the function of human motivation, the more successfully you will sell.

In its simplest form, motivation emerges as a cycle. It starts with a want or need, expressed or hidden. Inherent in this is a problem, a problem that must be overcome in order to satisfy the want that must be solved. Once solved, the want can be satisfied and the cycle is completed.

In terms of personal development there are several levels of needs. You will no doubt  be familiar with Maslow’s pyramid of need:

These needs are basic to everyone you sell to, live with, or encounter.

At the bottom of the pyramid are The Physiological Needs.  These include food, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. They are instinctive needs common to all living creatures. Until these needs are satisfied, the higher needs are purely academic.

Then comes Safety which is almost as basic. Security is another word for this need: security in one’s job, in one’s place in society…safety from unknown dangers…freedom from pain.

Love is a more sophisticated but no less essential need. Every human being wants others to care about them, to receive affection. They want to have the approval of others…to be understood…accepted…respected…to belong. And equally important, they have a need to be involved…to care about and give affection to others. The two are inseparable.

Self-esteem is equally essential. Every human being needs to feel that they are important in some sphere of life…that their presence on earth has meaning and significance. The mature person knows that this begins with self-respect. This need provides a tremendous motivational force.

Self-actualization is the highest need: for personal growth and achievement, for self-fulfilment, the best use of one’s capabilities, the fullest possible realisation of potential, within an honest understanding both of the limitations and scope of that potential.

People of course, are different. Their needs will vary in degree, in shape, and in the nature of their answers. But they are common to all. As you are alert to them, as you understand them, so will your success with others be measured.

How do people seek to satisfy their needs? Thorndike’s Law of Effect supplies the answer:

“People tend to behave in a way to gain rewards and avoid punishment”

Again, this varies with different people. Generally, people can be classified into three dominant types:

• The Achiever

• The Seeker of Social Recognition

• The Security-Minded

(But no one is likely to be a “pure” type)

The Achiever is most likely to be oriented toward gaining rewards.

The Security-Minded is likely to be dominated by the desire to avoid punishment.

The Social Type stands somewhere between the two.

These are the dominating factors. But in varying degrees, each has a little of the other two in them.

In terms of selling, whatever the dominant drive of your prospect, they are above all, buying benefits. Benefits are best defined, in this context, as the results of the product, which enable them to gain rewards and/or avoid punishment.

In making their decision, the buyer uses the “Minimax” principle: To minimise their losses; to maximise their gains. This is true whatever the personality orientation. The emphasis depends again on their individual motivational drive.

The Law of Effect then – depending on specific motivation – relates directly to the Pyramid of Human Needs, and expands in this manner:

The benefits you have to offer are both negative and positive. The right emphasis, directed in the right way, offering both to determine preference is your shortest way to your objective.

In summary, according to Russell: “The essence of motivation is finding meaning in what we are doing. Motivation is an inner control of the individual” Only you can motivate yourself.

All these concepts apply to you in all phases of your life, and your work, as well as they apply to others. Finding the right meaning in what you do will be the great motivator for a more effective you.

Understanding the nature of what motivates each person you deal with will enable you to help them make a decision favourable to both of you.

Today’s News:  I received a very excited e-mail from my good buddy, Jeb Blount of Sales Gravy on Saturday morning announcing a new sales articles section - you can check it out here Bound to be a great success, everything he launches usually is.

Last week, I stayed a few days at one of my favourite UK hotels, nestling in the Derby Dales and as ever, received superb service from Pat Mellor and her team: One amusing incident - I lost my WIFI connection and the box was located outside my room, so whilst Sarah Callaghan stood on a chair playing with the switches, Carrie Gordon held my door open, at the same time receiving instructions from Pat via a mobile and I tried and re-tried to connect - which I did eventually. Way to go girls, excellent stuff. The name of the hotel? Horsley Lodge - if you are ever in the UK, do check them out, you will not be disappointed, particularly if you enjoy a round of golf.

Tomorrow:On the JF Guest Author Spot a return for fellow Top Sales Expert, good friend and one of the leading sales trainers in the world, Colleen Francis.

The one term that sets top performers apart is customer focus and truly outstanding sales results depend on:

- The ability to think from the customer’s point of view

- Understanding the customer’s agenda, buying cycle and best interests

Beyond a superficial reading of immediate customer needs, salespeople must gain a deeper understanding of both the buyer’s long-term goals and the overall business climate because at the heart of customer focus is the art of listening constructively - the best salespeople are masters at capturing information

Customer focus means taking the customer seriously - to-day the salesperson who clings to the product orientation of a decade ago is losing ground. As client companies branch into new markets and unfamiliar territories, they are demanding unique, flexible solutions from their vendors - customised to support specific goals

Another myth which can be exploded is that whilst customers value flexibility, being too flexible can undermine the sales relationship. On the whole salespeople imagine that customers value a vendor’s responsiveness above all. However recent research shows that their primary concern is reliability.
 
In order to maintain customer focus the best salespeople become facilitators, creating a partnership that extends the selling relationship within the customer’s company. The motivation to achieve this should be strong - it costs five times as much to attract and sell to a new customer as it does to an existing one! 
 
The right to do business has to be earned and never assumed:

Rather than doggedly asking for the business, the very best sales people work to keep the relationship moving towards a sale. They realise the need to identify how to turn their company’s products into real solutions, which must meet specific needs.
Unfortunately, our surveys confirm that the average salesperson drags the customer over old ground as much as 52% of the time - they are unable to provide continuous stimulation and never know when to treat an existing customer like a new one.

Conversely, exceptional salespeople only make such ‘return’ calls for 10% of the time. Above all, earning the right to proceed requires gaining the customer’s trust and top salespeople work diligently to establish a climate in which the customer is willing to share information and feels comfortable doing so. The key here is integrity. 

Today’s News: Last week’s winner over at Top 10 Sales Articles was an excellent piece by Paul Cherry and published on the Sideroad - if you haven’t visited their site, I urge you to do so without further delay, it is one of my favourites, which is why it recieved a nomination in The JF Article Community Awards recently. You can read Paul’s article, “Sales Techniques For The New Year: Asking Your Customers Tough Questions” here 

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot - Tamster, aka Tammy Stanley, good friend and original author, so expect something zany but wholly relevant.

Sales success to-day demands a radical shift from the ‘peddler’ mentality of merely demonstrating products and expanding on their features. It requires treating the customer as a participant. More often than not, a ‘flashy’ sales presentation alone alienates rather than persuades.

The best salespeople regard the sales call as a two-way conversation - not a one sided pitch. They have developed active listening skills and although average salespeople score fairly well in their ability to provide customers with facts and figures, top performers dramatically outscore the rest when it comes to gathering information. In addition, how a salesperson collects information still distinguishes exceptional achievers from the rest of the pack. Top performers ask better questions and as a result gain much better information. Essentially, they aim to engage customers in the buying process with questions that require thoughtful answers, that stimulate curiosity and that reveal the customers underlying needs.

Businesses need to re-define selling and what constitutes basic selling skills:

In to-day’s world of selling, there is less and less room for apprenticeship. Selling has become an exclusive club of highly skilled professionals where product knowledge and time management skills, for instance, are the cost of membership not leadership.
Ongoing research demonstrates that to-day’s ‘average’ salesperson is just as effective as the high performer in explaining features and benefits effectively, relating a service or product to customer needs and closing a sale. But, above this Level 1 plateau of competence, the exceptional salesperson is busy defining the “basic skills of tomorrow”

Building an up-to-date foundation in sales competence does mean sacrificing some old notions of what it takes to succeed in a competitive marketplace. For example, a salesperson can no longer just “win by knowing”. Every company needs to test their assumptions about what skills really contribute to sales success. Too often operating on old sales theories means training and rewarding people to do the wrong things.

When The Buyer And Seller Act As Partners, They Are Building A Bridge To Profitability:

Successful selling is definitely not about the “hit and run” sale. Sales achievers regard their relationships with key customers as a partnership and cultivate it as such. When customers face tough business challenges and complex technological choice, they rely on sales people who can assist them in making the right decisions.

The primary objective of a sales partnership has to be, to create and sustain a mutually productive relationship, which serves the needs of both parties, now and in the future. The key word here is symbiotic. Partnership does not mean eliminating the tension between buyer and seller; it means that top-performing salespeople know how to strike a balance between achieving immediate results and developing the relationship fully.

In Summary: Why Do We Need A Fresh Approach To Selling?

Many organisations have developed without objective analysis of their purpose and structure. The buying power in many industries is no longer evenly distributed - in a large number of markets a few big firms control the majority of purchases.

The development of new marketing techniques has meant that some tasks traditionally performed by the sales team can be more effectively handled by other methods. The prime objective of all sales staff is to gain business. From an organisational point of view, however, how they all achieve their goals must be defined in order to identify what kind and the quality of skills that are required.

Today’s News:  Free Online Sales Webinar!
Mark your calendars to join Razi Imam, CEO, Landslide Technologies Inc. and his guest Paul McCord of McCord and Associates at 1PM EST on January 16, 2008, as they discuss why mega-sales producers don’t spend a fortune on direct mail or advertising and countless hours cold calling or networking at the Chamber of Commerce. View the Full Webinar Description and Register Now!

I am often complimented on the quality of graphics on our sites, which is all down to the pure artistic genius of Bill Jeckells who has just launched his new website - now you can share our genius here www.topgraphicsguy.com

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot - a welcome return for my good buddy, best-selling author and leadership guru, Kevin Eikenberry.

Around this time last year, I received an e-mail from an ex-client asking if I had to suggest just twelve essential principles to someone embarking on a sales career, what would I come up with.

I kicked some ideas around for a couple of days and then reproduced my response here, but that was so long ago that I decided it would be worth another airing.

Obviously all of this should be a matter of fact to a “seasoned” sales professional, however, it does no harm whatsoever to go back to basics once in a while. Here is what I came up with for my “Twelve Golden Principles Of Selling”

Principle 1: – Always Sell To People

• People are different

• No two sales are the same

• Aim at becoming a people expert

• Professional sales people actually like people

People buy from people - they always will – despite what the exponents of Sales 2.0 will try to tell you.

Principle 2: – You Have To Sell Yourself

• Be interesting

• Develop ‘intellect’

• Never be arrogant - never talk ‘up’ or ‘down’

• Respect the buyer and they will respect you

• Develop your empathy levels

• Learn to develop rapport

• Control your ego levels

Principle 3: – You Must Ask Questions

• Develop your questioning techniques to uncover needs painlessly

• Remember What? Where? When? Which? Why? Who? And How?

• Continually ‘test your understanding’

Principle 4: – Listen To Understand

• God has given us two ears and one mouth, we should use them in that order

• Successful sales professionals talk for 20% of the time and listen for 80% of the time

• Develop your active listening skills

Principle 5: – Features Must Be Linked To Benefits To Pass The “So What?” Test

Remember:

• Features are common - benefits are personal and specific

• Use the ‘link phrases’ - ‘which means that……’

• Be specific

Principle 6: – Sell The Results – ‘Paint A Picture’

• Discover ‘prime desires’

• Personalise benefits

• Describe end results

Principle 7: – You Cannot Rely On Logic

• 84% of all buying decisions are based upon emotion - not logic

• What are the chief buying emotions? - Ego - Security - Pride of ownership - Greed - Health - Prestige – Status - Ambition - Fear of loss

Principle 8: –Selective Product Knowledge Is The Key

• Buyers buy solutions and results they do not buy products or services

Principle 9: – Aim To Be Unique – ‘Me First’ Rather Than ‘Me Too’

• Every business, every company, every product has something that is unique

• Look outside the square

• Identify the uniqueness of: - your product - your service - your company - yourself

Principle 10: – Don’t Sell On Price

• It is a ‘cop out’

• Value your expertise - your products - your service and price accordingly

• Always keep the ‘bottom line’ firmly in your mind

• Anyone can give business away - selling on price means we do not need salespeople

Principle 11: – Present Your Solutions – Don’t Tell

• When we present our proposals rather than post/fax/e-mail them we increase the likelihood of a sale by…..a factor of ten

Principle 12: – And Finally: Be Professional At all Times

• The greatest compliment a customer can pay you is to describe you as “professional”

• Don’t worry about being liked –be respected.

• Being professional is not one thing it is three: It is what you do, what you say and how you present yourself,

“When I see a bird that swims like a duck, sounds like a duck and looks like a duck; then I call that bird, a duck” Rudyard Kipling

Today’s News: Over on Top 10 Sales Articles the votes are coming in and as I write Diane Helbig has a commanding lead but Keith Rosen is beginning to flex his muscles and Mr Remarkable, Kevin Eikenberry, is sure to be amongst the front runners very shortly If you haven’t voted yet, please consider doing so.

If you were here yesterday and enjoyed some of the Article Community CEOs making an exhibition of themselves, you will also be amused at this, from four of the “girls” on the Top Sales Experts team - who said they can’t boogie? You will instantly recognise: Jill Konrath, Wendy Weiss, Leslie Buterin and of course the little diva herself, Kim Duke here but be patient, as it sometimes takes a while to load.

Tomorrow:With 2008 fast approaching, are you ready for a fresh set of challenges - I share some tips.

The ability to build rapport with customers and prospects is vitally important. Why? Because, if you have rapport with your customers, they are more likely to trust you, listen to you and communicate openly with you. This in turn enables you to interact more comfortably and work more effectively together. Rapport dramatically increases your chances of winning a sale. Having rapport means that when there are tough issues to discuss, for example price increases, you can more easily find agreement and solutions, and move on.

Classic research by Robert Birdwhistle looked at how face-to-face communication was received and responded to. His figures suggest that your impact depends on three factors - how you look, how you sound, and what you say. His research broke it down: 55% body language, 38% quality of the voice and 7% actual words spoken. Rapport involves being able to see eye-to-eye with other people, connecting on their wavelength. So much (93%) of the perception of your sincerity comes not from what you say but how you say it, and how you show an appreciation for the other person’s thoughts and feelings.

When you are in rapport with someone you can disagree with what they say and still relate respectfully with him or her.

The important point to remember is to acknowledge other people for the unique individuals that they are. Rapport can be described as ‘when two people are like each other, they like each other!’ Rapport builds trust and without basic trust communication can become stilted.

When communication between two or more individuals reaches its optimum it’s said that a perfect rapport has been established. On the other hand, when communicating with a customer or prospect is hard the situation becomes rapport-less. Some people we meet may inspire an instant connection and immediate trust, while another person can be very polite and charming, yet we don’t feel any connection with them and our communication feels unnatural.

When two or more people meet they immediately start an automatic process of comparison with the other. If the outcome of this process is judged that the other person is similar in some way then rapport is established. When people are in a state of rapport they tend to respond easier to our instructions, suggestions and influence. Rapport is often seen as the foundation of all good communication.

We have an inbuilt tendency to conform to the other person’s behaviours and if we instinctively feel that conforming is possible, then we will start the process of building rapport. As people, this process happens instinctively and can be evidenced by sharing the same mannerisms, voice qualities and gestures. This means that when two people are in rapport they show a tendency towards a behavioral compromise.

It’s easy to spot two close friends who share similar gestures, facial expressions, verbal expressions and postures, to such a degree that they could be mistaken as being closely related. This is due to the fact that the long-term mutual rapport creates a strong behavioral bond. Even when these two friends disagree on something, they manage to keep rapport alive.

The process we use unconsciously to build rapport can be replicated with conscious awareness, a useful skill for a Sales person to learn. This process can be likened to matching and mirroring a person’s behavior to create a perceived likeness. When we match a person’s mood, their gestures, facial expressions, we are better equipped to start experiencing how they feel at any given moment. Doing so, we obtain that the person observing us will find mirrored in us their emotional state, their way of living at that moment, and all this will increase the chances that they will see in us someone that they can trust.

If we have built sufficient rapport it then becomes possible to lead a person towards where we would like them to go, or what we would like them to do. At an unconscious level they will know that by refusing it (shown by not matching or mirroring you) they will be refusing to build rapport with themselves. Through unconscious identification they are already convinced that you are experiencing what they are experiencing, therefore anything you will manage to do they will feel that it’s something they can do as well.

There are a number of suggestions that can help your rapport-building skills:

- The quickest way to build rapport is to match the other person’s rate of breathing
- By matching a person’s breathing, you’ll find it easier to match their voice qualities
- If you use peripheral vision (expanded awareness, similar to the one used when driving a car) you become more sensory aware of the smallest details about the other person
- You don’t necessarily need to match each gesture exactly, you can match a pen tapping movement with a foot tapping movement at the same pace
- Never match regional accents and if you are female, some male postures may not look appropriate to match
- Paying attention to the other person really helps build rapport because the more you notice, the more you can match
- Take a genuine interest in getting to know what’s important to the other person. Start to understand them rather than expecting them to understand you first
- Pick up on their key words, favourite phrases and way of speaking and build these subtly into your own conversation
- Finally, notice how someone likes to handle information. Do they like lots of detail or just the big picture? As you speak, feed back information in this same portion size.

Today’s News: Nominees for the JF 2008 Article Community Awards, will be announced here on Monday and the winners posted on Christmas Eve. In addition, over at Top 10 Sales Articles we will be launching a poll for the Top Sales Article Of The Year on Sunday.

Finally, the Top Sales Experts Christmas e-book will be available from Monday, packed with original work from the world’s leading sales gurus.

Tomorrow:I have an extremely busy run up to Christmas - nothing changes! But I will be back here for you next week, so have a great w/e - JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

9 Ways To Authentically Sell by Rochelle Togo-Figa

When we think about what we know about selling from the past, for some of us the image of the stereotype pushy salesperson comes to mind. The first thought many of us have is someone is trying to get me to buy something.

None of us likes the experience of “being sold.” We become distrustful and will quickly say, “I’m not interested.” Do you have to be like all those images we have of pushy salespeople? No. We all have different selling styles.

Have you ever watched individuals speak and you found yourself listening to every word they said? You didn’t know the individuals, but there was something about them that drew you to them. It happened because they were being genuine and real. They were being themselves.

Being successful in sales doesn’t come from being slick or pushy, or copying someone else’s selling style. That never works because people can sense you’re not yourself. The key is to understand who you are and be yourself.

Sales success begins with being who you are. It’s really is as simple as that. The prospect will come to you because they’re attracted to your authenticity. When you’re being real, your honesty and trust shines through, and people are drawn to you.

Let’s start to define what selling really is. Once you begin to uncover your own authentic selling style, you’ll start closing more business faster and with ease. Here are 9 ways to get you started:

• Selling is no longer being the slick, aggressive, and pushy salesperson.
• Selling is being more interested in the prospect than in what you have to say.
• Selling is creating a trusting and honest relationship with the prospect.
• Selling is being a keen listener and listening for what’s most important to the prospect.
• Selling is thinking of ways of helping the prospect.
• Selling is going the extra mile and doing the unexpected for the prospect.
• Selling is showing you genuinely want to help them get to where they want to go.
• Selling is making yourself easily accessible to your clients either by phone or email.
• Selling is being yourself. Remember, you are unique and special so let that shine through!

ASSIGNMENT:

On a piece of paper, continue to add to the list and write other ways to show your authentic selling style. Let your thoughts run free. Remember the key to successful selling is being yourself.

Each week take on (1) new way of authentically selling and begin practicing it with a client or prospect.

Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System(TM), a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit www.SalesBreakthroughs.com .

Today’s News: Rochelle is also a very recent addition to the Top Sales Experts team and you can read more about her here

Tomorrow: Some hard-hitting thoughts about sales training.

I want to kick-off the week by looking at buyer motivation because all meaningful actions are performed for some reason or purpose. This is commonly called “motivation”. Success in selling requires an understanding of these basics of motivation:

• Your motivation both as a person and as a salesperson

• The other person’s motivation both as a person and as a buyer

The most important fact to remember in influencing the behaviour and decisions of others is that – “People do things for their reasons, not ours.”

Every successful sale then is made not so much because of the excellence of your product or of your sales pitch, but because consciously or unconsciously, you have found the human reason why your prospect should buy. You have found the door to their motivation and have opened it. The more you understand the function of human motivation, the more successfully you will sell.

In its simplest form, motivation emerges as a cycle. It starts with a want or need, expressed or hidden. Inherent in this is a problem, a problem that must be overcome in order to satisfy the want, that must be solved. Once solved, the want can be satisfied and the cycle is completed.

In terms of personal development there are several levels of needs. You will no doubt be familiar with Maslow’s pyramid of need:

These needs are basic to everyone you sell to, live with, or encounter.

At the bottom of the pyramid are The Physiological Needs. These include food, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. They are instinctive needs common to all living creatures. Until these needs are satisfied, the higher needs are purely academic.

Then comes Safety which is almost as basic. Security is another word for this need; security in one’s job, in one’s place in society…safety from unknown dangers…freedom from pain.

Love is a more sophisticated but no less essential need. Every human being wants others to care about them, to receive affection. They want to have the approval of others…to be understood…accepted…respected…to belong. And equally important, they have a need to be involved…to care about and give affection to others. The two are inseparable.

Self-esteem is equally essential. Every human being needs to feel that they are important in some sphere of life…that their presence on earth has meaning and significance. The mature person knows that this begins with self-respect. This need provides a tremendous motivational force.

Self-actualization is the highest need; for personal growth and achievement, for self-fulfilment, the best use of one’s capabilities, the fullest possible realisation of potential, within an honest understanding both of the limitations and scope of that potential.

People of course, are different. Their needs will vary in degree, in shape and in the nature of their answers. But they are common to all. As you are alert to them, as you understand them, so will your success with others be measured.

How do people seek to satisfy their needs? Thorndike’s Law Of Effect supplies the answer:

“People tend to behave in a way to gain rewards and avoid punishment.”

Again, this varies with different people. Generally, people can be classified into three dominant types:

• The Achiever

• The Seeker of Social Recognition

• The Security-Minded

(But no one is likely to be a “pure” type)

The Achiever is most likely to be oriented toward gaining rewards.

The Security-Minded is likely to be dominated by the desire to avoid punishment.

The Social Type stands somewhere between the two.

These are the dominating factors. But in varying degrees, each has a little of the other two in them.

In terms of selling, whatever the dominant drive of your prospect, they are above all, buying benefits. Benefits are best defined in this context as the results of the product, which enable them to gain rewards and/or avoid punishment.

In making their decision, the buyer uses the “Minimax” principle: To minimise their losses; to maximise their gains. This is true whatever the personality orientation. The emphasis depends again on their individual motivational drive.

The Law of Effect then – depending on specific motivation – relates directly to the Pyramid of Human Needs, and expands in this manner:

The benefits you have to offer are both negative and positive. The right emphasis, directed in the right way, offering both to determine preference is your shortest way to your objective.

In summary, according to Russell: “The essence of motivation is finding meaning in what we are doing. Motivation is an inner control of the individual.” Only you can motivate yourself.

All these concepts apply to you in all phases of your life and your work, as well as they apply to others. Finding the right meaning in what you do will be the great motivator for a more effective you.

Understanding the nature of what motivates each person you deal with will enable you to help them make a decision favourable to both of you.

Today’s News: As you know, I am always keen to promote Top 10 Sales Articles and with just five more weeks before we close the doors and prepare for the Top Sales Article Of 2007, the quality just gets better and better - do check out this week’s nominations for yourself.

I am continuing to introduce you to The Top Sales Experts and today it is the turn of Joanne Black. Joanne has been described as America’s leading authority on referral selling and she is the author of the best selling “No More Cold Calling” You can read more about Joanne here

Tomorrow: Appropriately, my guest tomorrow on The JF Guest Author Spot is none other than Joanne Black.

On Wednesday, I promised to share with you some of the advanced questioning techniques I personally use - here we are:

Probably the single most important skill that a salesperson can possess is good questioning techniques and it is certainly one of the most under estimated and under used selling skills. Several other sales techniques also rely heavily on your ability to ask questions effectively.

Types Of Questions:

There are basically two types of questions, open and closed (sometimes called indirect and direct). Open questions are used to get people to open up and provide information whilst closed questions are used to solicit commitment and will prompt a yes or no answer.

Once again our 80/20 rule comes into play. You should analyse your questioning so as to make sure that you ask 80% open and 20% closed questions.

Unfortunately closed questions are easier to ask and if we have a compliant client, we lapse into the bad habit of reversing the 80/20 rule and asking mainly closed questions. When you ask closed questions, even with the compliant client, you are doing yourself a great disservice. It will be as much by luck as by judgement that you are getting any information at all and what you do find out will be limited.

Once the art of asking open questions is mastered, we take the types of questions and expand and define them a little further, so that we can uncover and then develop needs:-

Open Neutral Questions - These get uninfluenced and non specific answers

Open Leading Questions - For long, influenced, specific answers

Closed Questions - To solicit a short, influenced answer, usually just yes or no

The Funnel Technique:

This is a questioning technique, or rather a structure, to use the technique within, that keeps you on track as you guide your prospect towards your service or product offering once you have uncovered the needs.

The technique relies on you using the prospects own words back to them and you must take notes. You will need to remember what the prospect says both now and possibly well into the future so do not rely on your memory

Steps Of The Funnel Technique:

There are four steps to the technique but that does not necessarily mean that it will always be only four questions:

1. Motivate, why you are asking the questions
2. Open neutral questions, to get non-specific, un-biased information
3. Open leading questions, to get specific, biased information
4. Summary and gain commitment with closed questions

Step One:

The first step is to motivate the prospect. You are going to hit the prospect with a barrage of questions so you want to prepare them for it. The best way to do this is with motivation not justification. You might consider using something they said to provide some positive stroking. For example you might make reference to the size of their company or department. They will be on the edge of their chair waiting to tell you about it in more depth! Be careful not to sound too patronising but top salespeople are genuinely interested to learn as much as they can about their client or prospects business and are very good at creating rapport.

Step Two:

Now you have them relaxed, you can begin to probe for information, pegs to hang the sale on and hot buttons. You want to find out as much as possible with.out leading or influencing the prospect. You want to encourage them to talk. You could ask them for instance, how their your company structured or what the partnership does Never use closed questions or be too specific at this stage.

At the second stage you will more likely than not get several pieces of valuable information. You must take notes because you may want to go through the funnel with each piece and maybe several times.

Step Three:

Once you have started to gather information and uncovered the hot buttons you, use open leading questions to pin point specific areas that you want to explore, exploit or lead the prospect into. Again, during Step 3, do not use closed questions.

Step Four:

Now you summarise using their words and information, so as to get their commitment of your understanding of the situation or their needs. You then wait for the commitment and go back to Step One.

Summary:

Questioning using the funnel technique is one of the most powerful selling tools available to you. The key to its success is to practice using it. First of all work on your open questions and then start to consciously differentiate between open neutral and open leading.

When you become skilful with this technique, selling becomes a lot easier, making small orders large orders is easier too! You can make the prospect ask for the products or services you have to offer!

Just remember to ask… How, What, Why, Where, When, Who, Which!

Today’s News:

    Diane Helbig is today’s Top Sales Expert in the spotlight. Diane is one of the most generous and gracious people I know: She gives her help and guidance freely to her friends and is always looking outside the box and challenging paradigms - and she has been in business from a very early age:

“As a child, I didn’t just have a lemonade stand – I had a candy and beverage business. From there I graduated to running a babysitting/summer day camp when I was 14 years old. From setting up the structure to recruiting customers to the daily operations, it was business at its best.”

You can learn more about Diane here

Tomorrow: Here in Paris, the temperatures have plummeted and everyone is talking about a very cold winter - maybe I will begin my Christmas shopping early

Wherever you are, have a great w/e and I will be back with you on Monday - JF

Uncovering prospect’s needs can be a painful experience, but it doesn’t have to be, here are some thoughts that will help you turn fact finding into a more pleasurable experience.

Working on the basis that you are dealing with the MAN (the person with the Money, the Authority and the Need) you must very quickly assess if you have a potential prospect or not. In other words can their needs be met by the products and services you have to offer. It may not always be obvious to the prospect that they can use your products but your industry experience tells you that they can. In this instance we are looking for an opportunity to uncover some needs. You cannot create needs - but you can uncover them.

The key to uncovering needs lies in good questioning techniques. Questioning is a skill that requires much practice and concentration but once mastered serves you well because it allows you to:

Sell Not Tell

Most emerging salespeople talk too much. They’re good talkers, they must be salespeople or all you need to be a salesperson is the gift of the gab, are often heard misnomers. Most prospects, at the sales stage, come to expect that a salesperson will probably talk at them, for too long and about very little, especially their needs. You want to do the unexpected with your prospects and sell not tell. Do remember that customers and prospects are most comfortable when they are part of the process and not part of the audience.

Listen

If you are talking you are not listening! If you do not listen you will never find out enough information about the prospect or their needs. Apply the 80/20 rule, you should use questioning techniques so that the prospect is doing 80% of the talking and you are only doing 20%.God provided us with two ears and only one mouth and we should use them in that order.

Uncover Needs, Painlessly

Rarely do you receive information unless you ask for it. You need information to sell your services or products and look for future sales possibilities. Skilful questioning means that you do not seem to be imposing on the prospect by asking too many questions.

Maintain Control

Using questioning techniques you can control the prospect in almost any given situation. You can guide the prospect towards acceptance of your solution. Should you need to, you can use questioning techniques to regain control and on Friday, I will share with you the funnel technique I use.

Today’s News:

  It gives me the greatest pleasure to introduce the next member of the Top Sales Experts team, Anne Miller. She is another member of Jill Konrath’s Sales Shebang superb keynote speakers and a top selling author of a number of highly successful books.The latest, is the excellent “Metaphorically Selling“ Read more about Anne here  

Tomorrow: “Mr Remarkable” himself, Kevin Eikenberry, makes a very welcome return on the JF Guest Author Spot.

The JF Guest Author Spot

“Stop Sounding Like a Self-Serving Salesperson” by Jill Konrath

After several months of leaving a series of voicemail messages for a prospective customer, she finally picks up the phone. “Marie Trent speaking,” she says in a flat tone.

Startled by the human voice on the other end of the phone, the message you spent hours crafting disappears instantaneously from your memory bank. Instead, you blurt out:

“Hi. My name is __ and I’m the sales rep for Generic Industries. You’ve probably heard of us. We’re the fastest-growing firm in the market right now and we have locations in 13 different cities. The reason I’m calling today is I’d like to get together with you to explore your needs and show you …”

“Excuse me,” she interrupts. “We’re already working with another company.”

“Which one?” you ask, fingers crossed.

“Newco. And we’re quite happy with them.”

“What do you like about them?”

“They take good care of us, they know our firm and their pricing is great.”

“Would you be open to considering other options? I’d be glad to show you what we could do for your company.”

“Not at this time,” she answers curtly.

“When should I call you back then,” you ask politely.

“Why don’t you try calling in six months.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate the time you took with me today. I’ll get back to you then,” you say, smiling inside because you “KNOW” it’s only a matter of time before get lots of business from this firm.

What’s wrong with scenario? Actually, just about everything. If you were the seller, I’d tell you that:

• You suffer from a bad case of delusional thinking. The buyer brushed you off, plain and simple.

• You interrupted someone’s business day with no thought as to what they were doing when they picked up the phone.

• You lacked a peer-to-peer approach. Intelligent buyers immediately sense you’re a lightweight when you’re so eager to settle for a ‘fictional” appointment six months from now.

• You solidified your prospect’s positive feelings about the competition by the questions you asked.

• You were entirely focused on “what’s in it for you” - not the value your prospect gets from your using your product or service.

Certainly that wasn’t your intention. You were trying to be nice, conversational and perhaps even avoid sounding like a typical salesperson. Unfortunately, that’s not how you came across. You sounded pretty self-serving.

Tips For Getting High Quality Appointments

1. If you’re sick and tired of getting yourself caught in situations like this, use these tips to help you change the game.

• Plan out multiple contacts before you even pick up the phone.

    • Develop multiple scripts highlighting various aspects of your value proposition.

    • Then, write out various emails you can depending on your prospect’s business situation.

    • Finally, develop a campaign you can roll out over time.

2. Make sure your message focuses on your value proposition. Ensure each contact states the clear business value that clients receive from working with your firm.

• “We work with clients to significantly reduce time-to-market on new product introductions.”

• “One of our customers saved over $1/3 million in just the past year by eliminating the redundancies in their system.”

3. Treat the person you contact like a human being, not a prospect. In calling a friend, you’d:

• Automatically ask if you were interrupting: “Is it a bad time?”

• Notice if they sounded distracted and address it head on: “Hey, if you’re swamped right now, I don’t want to interrupt. I’d rather catch you when you have a few minutes to talk.”

• Immediately suggest a future contact, initiated by you: “When is a good time to call you back?”

4. Prepare for the common obstacles prior to the call - and eliminate them if at all possible.

• “We already use ___.” You respond: “Well I assume a company of your size would be working with another firm. (pause) AND that’s why we need to meet … “

• “We’re really busy right now. We couldn’t possibly take time to look at options.” You respond: “You and I know that six months from now your workload isn’t going to be any lighter. AND that’s exactly why we need to get together …

• “Your prices are too high.” You respond: “Yes our prices are higher than others on the market. AND that’s exactly why we need to meet …”

Please note that the second sentence starts with AND, not BUT! Because ‘and‘ doesn’t negate your prospect’s perspective, they’re interested in learning more.

Then, reel off 2-3 valid business reasons that this prospect should get together with you. They need to flow out of your mouth without hesitation, so prepare them ahead of time. These are true statements, not slippery manipulations, so make sure you state them with quiet confidence.

If you (or others in your company) can’t come up with any reasons, then you’d better take a serious look at the sustainability of your business model. Just because “you want their money” is just not a good enough reason for them to meet with you!

Recently I interviewed Amy, the “Vice President of First Impressions” for a small technology firm. Using the phone and email, she arranges meetings between her company’s sales reps and Chief Technology Officers from Fortune 1000 firms.

In less than 8 months, she’s set up appointments with over 50 of these big companies. She’s a real telesales professional. If you heard her conversations with prospects, you’d think they were her long-time friends.

Amy focuses on business, treats these C-level executives as equals and enjoys her conversations with them. But, she also has at least 4 voicemail messages and 3 emails at her fingertips, ready to use as needed.

In addition to the above strategies, Amy recommends that you:

5. Piggyback off competitors, if at all possible. When you’re trying to get into an account, don’t immediately try to displace long-standing incumbents. Instead, position your offering as one the co-exists alongside their current supplier or even enhances it.

6. Keep “tweaking” your “message” till you get it right. In her first three months on the job, Amy didn’t set up one single appointment. Yes, she was extremely discouraged. AND, she kept trying new approaches till she found ways that worked.

7. Be yourself! Laugh with your prospects, enjoy them - and let them know you’ll be coming back.

SUMMARY

Sounding like a sleazy, well-oiled seller will not get you an appointment in today’s market. Think of your phone calls as business-to-business conversations with peers. That may be a hard mind shift to make, but it’s where you need to be. If your business acumen is lacking, start reading up on the subject so you can become conversant.

And, most importantly keep working at it! Try focusing on different aspects of your value proposition. Try reframing what you say. Change a word or two, if need be. But don’t keep doing the same thing, again and again. That’s insanity.

 Jill Konrath is a leading-edge sales strategist and business advisor who helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten time to revenue on product launches, speed up their sales cycle and achieve their revenue growth goals.

As a thought-leader in the selling and marketing arena, Jill speaks frequently to corporate sales forces and industry associations. She’s often featured in top business magazines including The New York Times, Business Journal, Entrepreneur, Sales & Marketing Management, and Selling Power as well as countless online publications. She’s been a guest of Entrepreneur Radio, Sales Rep Radio, Small Business Trends and more.

Several years ago, Jill started SellingtoBigCompanies.com to make her knowledge and expertise available to entrepreneurs, services providers and independent professionals. By creating this invaluable web portal, she became a highly sought after advisor to this growing market segment.

Her own client roster includes such well-known corporate giants as Hilton, 3M, Bombardier, UnitedHealthcare, Medtronic, RSM McGladreyand numerous technology/business services firms.

She is the mastermind behind Sales Shebang, a one and a half day sales conference for women who sell and if you haven’t booked your place yet, you can do so by clicking on the banner in the left hand column.

Today’s News: I have mentioned Sales Gravy before, but it is only recently that I have had the time to explore all the features - it really is a fantastic site full of free sales resources - you can check it out here

Tomorrow: It’s my turn again and I am going to discuss the most powerful form of selling……………..