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What are you thinking? Here are a few of my thoughts!

The minute I get a thought, I capture it. For the past year or so, I’ve been texting myself through voice dictation. It works. It’s the same way I am writing this column. Voice to text. It works.

I’m about to show you, and share with you, some of those random thoughts. They are in no particular order, and as I paste them into this word document I’m reading them aloud and altering them. (That’s how I edit.) I’m reading them and expanding them on the spot so they become even more valuable and applicable to a salesperson. You.

ON QUESTIONS
When someone asks you a question, ask yourself, “Why are they asking this, and what does this mean in terms of this person moving toward a purchase?”

There’s a motive behind every question a prospect asks. And that motive is the sales driver. In reality they’re thinking to themselves, if this function works, I can increase my sales. That’s the motive, not the function.

For example, they may ask you, “Can this function take place?” If you answer, “Yes,” then you’ve gone right past sale. If you answer yes and then ask, “What will this function lead to?” or “What makes this function important to you?” you will then uncover the real buying motive. In sales this is known as the hot button. The reality is, it’s your money.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

  • In sales, the largest chasm is the difference between knowing and doing. You already know everything; the problem is you’re not doing it.
  • How many of you cannot afford to buy what it is you are selling? And how does that affect your belief system? And how does thataffect your passion to close the sale?
  • Whoever said, “Thoughts are things,” only had it partially correct. The better statement is, “Thoughts become things when plans are made, belief is strong, and action is taken.”
  • In a game of ‘sales chess’ you have to be thinking at least two moves ahead or you’ll likely lose your queen.

WHAT DO THEY REALLY WANT?
Your customer doesn’t want to buy a ball bearing. They want to keep their plant producing. Customers want outcome, not product. Your customer does not want a can of paint, brushes, and rollers. Your customer wants a beautiful room or a updated look to the exterior of their home. Sell OUTCOME, not product.

BE SPECIFIC.
Is your presentation full of generalizations or customization? If you only generalize for the enterprise and generalize about the business, you will lose. But if you customize for your customer, or their customer, they can visualize what’s in it for THEM, and they will buy.

SHOW ME THE MONEY, NOT THE PERCENTAGE
Don’t give me a percentage. Give me a dollar amount. EXAMPLE: You say, “We lost 7% of our customers this year.” Really? HOW MUCH IS THAT IN DOLLARS? That will make you mad. Large companies refer to this as “churn.” I define churn as management’s inability to keep customers loyal. And these same companies who call it churn only present it as a percentage. Our churn rate is 3.2%. Why doesn’t management have the intestinal fortitude to present that as a dollar amount? Answer: They don’t want anyone to know, and it places the burden on salespeople to replace the 3.2% in order to get to last year’s numbers. Not good.

WHAT’S THE REAL CHALLENGE WITH CRM?
Customer relationship management is the most purchased, least-used, and least-adopted software in the history of computers. Why? The salesperson looks at it as management’s tool for accountability. CRM adoption rates would triple if salespeople viewed it as something that could help them make a sale.

If you have CRM software for your sales and service people, and you have a 72% adoption rate, that means 28% of your sales team, and/or your service team, did NOT adopt it, and most likely hate it. I feel reasonably certain that of the 72% that did adopt it, a high percentage of them look at it as something they ‘had to do’ rather than something that would help them.

ON IMAGINATION AND WOW!
Salespeople are missing huge opportunities for engagement and opportunities to gain response from customers by not being imaginative or creative in their communications.

  • Show me a sales script, and I’ll show you a boring message.
  • Show me a slide deck prepared by marketing, and I’ll show you a boring message.
  • Show me an email prepared by a salesperson, and I’ll show you a boring message.

Where’s the value? Show me the value. Where’s the WOW? Show me the WOW! If you show me WOW and value, I will respond, I will engage, I will connect, and I will buy.

Those are my thoughts and ideas of the moment. All captured the second they occurred to me. Hope they get you thinking, taking action, and capturing yours.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.


About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

To bid or not to bid? That is the question.

“They get bids for everything and always take the lowest bid.”
“They send out an RFP and I can never speak to the decision maker.”
“We’re becoming a commodity. All they do is take the lowest bid.”
“It’s the government. They have to take the lowest bid.”

Many companies have become smart buyers, but many have become too smart. They’ve refined the buying process so far that they have precluded the words ‘quality’ and ‘value’ from the buying process AND they have taken the words productivity, ease of use, and morale out of the delivery process.

The typical request for proposal (RFP) has a bunch of standards about what has to be offered by the vendor, but far too little (or nothing) about what happens after the company takes ownership. They have the ‘specs’ in the RFP, but not the details of use, value, productivity, or morale.

The major flaw with the RFP process is that the people conducting the bidding are not the people who use the product or service once the bidding is complete. Nor, for the most part, do they care.

The main goal of bidding is NOT get the best product. The main goal of bidding is get the cheapest price. And oftentimes that precludes the best product. It also lowers the profit of the company doing the bidding. Long-term, this is not good for the survival of a company.

REALITY: “The customer took the lowest bid” is as bogus as “the dog ate my homework.” The fact is you let the customer control the selling/buying process. Not good.
REALITY: If you follow the customer’s RFP requirements you will lose even if you win. If you win, it’s likely you did at a severe reduction of price and loss of profit. Not good.

That’s the bad news. Let me give you the good news, and the sales news…

There are several strategies you can employ to get around the bidding process, or legally and ethically change the bidding process. Here are some ideas you can begin to use immediately:

1. Ask for a clause to be put into the RFP that states all claims must be backed up with customer testimonial videos as proof. Any procurement department should be happy to add this clause into their bidding process. It will assure them that everything being claimed will come to pass. This will also help in establishing the reality of installation, ease-of-use, and long-term serviceability. PROVE IT TO WIN IT.
2. Request that the people who actually use the product or service you’re selling be more involved in the selection process. Especially as it relates to their actual experience and their projected needs. This is not as difficult as it sounds, especially if you can apply internal pressure to senior management where your product will be used. Keep in mind that procurement and purchasing don’t actually use what they purchase. They just buy. They’re relying on the person or people who made the INTERNAL request, and will often get their input before making a final decision.
3. Make an appointment with the CFO. He or she is most interested in making a profit, not just saving a dollar. Make your case against taking the lowest price and in favor of making a profit. RULE OF SALE: The higher you go to make your presentation, the easier the sale becomes.
4. Have an active social media presence that is easily findable, so your reputation is both visible and impressive. The customer will check you out BEFORE you get there, and may use it as part of the decision-making process.
4.5 GAIN BETTER INSIGHT TO THE PURCHASE OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. Talk to the person who MAKES the budget, not the person who spends it. Make service response time a mandatory part of the bid. Talk to those responsible for what happens AFTER purchase, not the people buying it. Make certain that third-party proof, in video, is a major part of your proposal.

CAUTION: The bidding process is often tightly controlled by those who execute it. The only people likely to influence change of modification are C-level executives. Get with them as part of your normal selling process.

NOTE WELL: Every company, even the government, has ‘preferred vendors.’ People who have achieved a ‘higher than equal’ status. Become one of them.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.


About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

The Continuum and the Marketplace

In consumer business strategy – from branding to product development – addressing the emotional human needs continuum is crucial to success. Businesses that seek to create superior product/service experiences need to learn how to empathize with consumers’ needs.

Years ago, our firm conducted research at Universal Studios Florida and Walt Disney World, Orlando. At the time, Universal was searching for ways to distinguish itself from its giant competitor. Consumer deep-dive research with 14 families provided a participant mix representing the park visitor population. We followed these families observing their moods and behaviors, and discussed their impressions as they experienced the parks to determine what was really at play during a family vacation.

We take vacations to escape daily life and to provide children new experiences. Vacations satisfy our need for pleasure in an ever accelerating culture. So what happens when we escape and the work piles in our inbox? In the context of emotional needs, a theme park can mean more to its patrons than they can articulate. It’s not simply about the fun, but rather the function of the fun for the family’s growth.

One might think that the two parks are locked in a win-lose competition for Sunshine State vacationers, but that’s not necessarily true. Many families visit both parks. At one time the parks offered discernibly different atmospheres. One interview subject put it: “Disney is like sitting by a stream. Universal is like going rock climbing. Both are enjoyable, both are nature, but with one you’ve got more of that nervous adrenaline rush.”

Our researchers spent days observing how this participant’s analogy was on the money. The polarity of experiences is perhaps why some vacationers visit both parks. At the time, Universal and Disney mirrored the needs continuum. However, this has changed. They aren’t merely high-end amusement resorts that offer different thrills for families. They help families satisfy psychological needs for their children.


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About the Author

Mark Ingwer is a business psychologist and the founding partner of Insight Consulting Group, a global marketing and strategy consultancy specializing in consumer and business insights. He has over 25 years experience applying his unique blend of psychology, marketing, and business acumen to helping companies optimize their brand and marketing strategy based on an in-depth understanding of their customers. He has worked with a diverse range of companies across numerous industries, with a special focus on consumer packaged goods, healthcare, and advertising. Mark is a frequent speaker and media source, and has been featured in publications such as Business Week, New York Times, Crain’s New York, Brandweek, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Admap, Bloomberg Markets, Marketing News, and Advertising Age.

Why did you lose the sale? Really?

74% of salespeople complain about losing a sale because their price was too high. And 74% of them are wrong.

How did you lose the sale?
Why did you lose the sale?
Was it really price? Or was it you?

Losing the sale manifests itself in ‘blaming complaints’ about: price, unreturned phone calls, bidding, loyalty to others, and other blame-based excuses about why a sale does not take place, and the relationship isn’t being built. Ouch.

Here are the major reasons why salespeople lose sales:

1. The customer was loyal to someone else. Your first job is to uncover what makes the customer loyal. What’s the real reason they continue to do business with someone else? Ask yourself if you and your company possess the same qualities.
2. Lack of real connection to or with the buyer. The prospective customer is looking for comfort, peace of mind, and assurance
3. Lack of engagement. You weren’t able to create real interactive dialog.
4. Lack of perceived value. If the customer does not perceive genuine, definable value in your offer, then there is none.
5. Lack of perceived difference. If the customer does not perceive genuine, definable difference between you and your competition, then there is none.
6. Lack of relationship. When long-term relationship is present, truth, trust, and value are the basis of purchase.
7. Lack of hustle. Response time to a customer’s need for service and/or information are critical factors in purchase.
8. Poor salesmanship. This has fundamental flaws of preparedness and presentation skills. There’s an obvious lack of questioning skills or sales strategies that create a buying atmosphere.
9. Poor attitude. The way you present yourself and your word choice combined with your tone and demeanor leave a HUGE impression on the customer. And that impression is either positive, neutral, or negative – and YOU CHOOSE how you made them feel.
10 Lack of ability to reduce or eliminate risk. This may be the prime factor in losing sales. And the least talked about. The simple answer is: PROOF. Can you substantiate your claims?
10.5 Failing to do your BEST. Without a doubt, this is the BIGGEST flaw in salespeople. Whether it’s attitude, belief, self-confidence, preparation, or follow up, your execution at a level less than BEST leaves a huge opening for your competition to win.

REALITY: None of these reasons are ever stated by salespeople. Instead, they (you) blame the loss of a sale on price.

“They took the lowest price,” is the most often stated ‘reason’ for the loss of a sale. And it is totally bogus. It’s easy to blame ‘price’ for the loss. It’s harder to face and discover the real ‘why.’

The reality (and life-long value) of why you lost a sale is forever silenced when you blame the loss on price, and move on to the next sale.

REALITY: “The customer took the lowest price,” is as bogus as “My dog ate my homework.” The fact is you let the customer control the selling/buying process. Not good.
STRATEGY: Get the customer to change the criteria of proposal submission in a way that is both in favor of the customer and you.
GIVE THEM IDEAS TO GET THE ORDER: Make the customer aware of the cost of buying inferior products as it relates to work stoppage and lack of productivity. Make them aware of the value of their image and reputation.
PROVE IT TO WIN IT: Make everyone competing provide a VIDEO testimonial for each item they’re selling and every claim they make about it. Document and prove elements like service response time, how friendly you and your team are, and how easy you are to do business with.

THE REALITY OF BLAME: The opposite of blame is responsibility. In sales responsibility is taken, not given. Be responsible TO yourself and FOR yourself. Don’t blame the customer, HELP the customer. Do not let the REAL reasons you lost the sale get tangled up in blame.

ASK YOURSELF: Why did you really lose that sale? What could you have done to make it?

PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE: Lowest price is the EASIEST excuse for a salesperson to make. Customers take lowest price because they perceive your product or service is the SAME as your competition. Not good.

If you are sick of losing sales like that, then you better discover WHY they took the lowest price, and create greater value differentiation. And while this is easier said than done, it is BY FAR, the biggest sales and profit opportunity you possess.

“Jeffrey,” you whine, “But what about bidding?” You know the people that take three bids then choose the lowest price? I’ve got some surprise answers about bidders next week!

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.


About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Social Engagement for the Small Business

When you combine artwork created by children with an organic bakery, you get an innovative campaign that generates 30,000 new Facebook likes and a handful of honorable awards. This original idea created for Rudi’s Organic + Gluten-Free Bakery by Vermilion Design + Interactive anticipated far less participation than it received with 18,000 submissions for the “Let’s Doodle Lunch,” where young artists would receive a free customized sandwich box with their design on the lid. A more humorous concurrently running campaign, the Toast-a-Gram promotion allows fans to create their own toasted masterpiece – usually their own photo uploaded to a custom Facebook app that makes it look like it’s been miraculously ‘burned’ onto a piece of toast. The resulting image can be posted, shared and emailed to friends, and has generated more than 20,000 likes and almost 6,000 coupon downloads to boast product trial.

Since that campaign, the quarterly social media efforts for both the organic products and especially the newly introduced gluten-free products have grown the size of the Rudi’s online community more than tenfold. And while it’s hard to tie revenues to specific Facebook campaigns, sales are expanding at a 20% annual clip, and Rudi’s continues to grow their Facebook and digital marketing efforts. Building, supporting and engaging a growing fan base through social media is working for this innovative bakery.

In order to achieve these strategies, marketers need to have a perspective on the potential strength of each idea, to evaluate its connection with consumers and to align its outcomes with business goals. By taking data-driven research, insights, and creativity, they can achieve their goals and get results. Some approaches to achieve these results include:


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About the Author

Bob Morehouse founded Vermilion in Boulder, Colorado in 1980. The Yale University graduate chose Boulder because of its outdoor lifestyle and the eclectic creative community that inhabited it. Morehouse has been very active in Boulder’s nonprofit community, serving on a number of boards and providing probono services to nonprofit organizations. In 2009, he was awarded Business Person of the Year by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.