Most companies pay lip service to "consultative" selling. I can't tell you how many times I've heard managers tell me they want their salespeople to be this way - but are unwilling to do what it takes to get there.
One manager told me he wanted his salespeople to become business advisors to his clients. When asked, "Are they qualified to do that," he though for a moment and replied, "Not really." Huh?
Order taking, product peddling salespeople have jaded buyers into treating all salespeople as vendors and beating them up on price and specifications.
That said, what a pleasure it is meeting with prospects who actually know how to buy and want a consultative approach. It amazes me to hear salespeople and their managers claim they sell "solutions" but obviously do not. They pitch a generic "solution" and get upset when the prospect is unwilling to pay for their "value-added" (translate: "expensive") services.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck - it might be a salesperson masquerading as a consultative seller.
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A common habit in our business culture is the habit of what I call, universal speaking. This is the bad habit of including everyone in our conversations as if they are the same as us.
For example, "When you get up in the morning you need that first coffee...
When you meet a new client, you have to establish rapport ...
When you hear more than seven no's, you get discouraged..."
Harmless? I think not.
This habit actually serves to distances ourselves from our commitments and others. By including everyone in the universal "you," we imply that everyone has the same experience as we do. We also cut ourselves off from others by closing the door to the possibility that other's do not have our experience with life or shares our values and viewpoints.
You don't speak for me and I don't speak for you. Speak for yourself and invite others to do so. This is particularly important in a sales encounter where we are attempting to connect with prospective clients and do business with them.
If your doubt this contention, go to a movie and listen for reactions to it. Different people experience the movie differently. Yet they sat in the same theatre watching the same movie.
Ask yourself, "What's it like to be the other person? What do things look like from their viewpoint?
For further insights and instructive videos take a test-drive of the Dale Carnegie Secrets off Success app for itunes Click Here
I appreciate the visits from England, Africa, Australia, Egypt and the Middle East to this blog as well as our participants from Ontario and colleagues from the United States.. Please join us as a follower and post your feedback. It will be read.
Products and services that generate or save real dollars.
High value contact time with salespeople who create genuine value before signing agreements.
Accurate, unbiased and plausible business cases for their purchase decisions.
What buyers typically get from most salespeople:
Salespeople selling the wrong products and services for the wrong reasons on price alone.
Salespeople asking irrelevant questions followed by an obvious generic sales pitch.
Little, if any, connection to the buyer’s specific needs or wants.
Generic, boiler-plate proposals or spec sheets.
80% of most organization’s sales are still booked by the less the than 20% of salespeople who do not fit the above sales model costing both the seller and the buyer millions.
Quick-fix, technique based seminars or complex strategic approaches miss the target. Some organizations have long ago given up in frustration trying to elevate their salespeople’s competency. Others know what they are doing misses the target, but what choice do they have? Plenty, and here are a few suggestions.
Study the buyer, not the product.
Know the application of products and services, rather than specs alone.
Listen from the buyer's perspective.
Listen for aspirations and values as well as product needs.
Give no prescription without diagnosis.
Take a test-drive of the Dale Carnegie Secrets off Success app for itunes Click Here
Years ago, an experienced sales manager told me, "Dave, remember SANDI - Salespeople Always Need Daily Inspiration." This reprint from Dale Carnegie's book is a terrific affirmation for salespeople as they end their week.
Just For Today From Dale Carnegie's How To Stop Worrying and Start Living
1. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.
2. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
3. Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.
4. Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. 5. Just for today I will exercise my soul : I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. 6. Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticise not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone. 7. Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime. 8. Just for today I will have a program. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests, hurry and indecision. 9. Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life. 10. Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.
I watched this year's Olympic Games more than any other year. I watched Canada snag gold in events I've never watched before and loved it.
I saw Canadians win and lose. I watched a bobsled crash before my eyes, and two women pop up okay. (If you consider having painful friction burns as being okay.) I watched the United States hockey team win a silver medal - or did they lose the gold to Canada? I'll let you decide.
I watched hockey teams shake each other's hand after a hard-fought game, a tradition I've loved to watch for years. I watched athletes wave to the crowd after hard falls and crashes.
One of my early sales mentors warned me about my mindset towards winning and losing. He said, "Anyone can be enthusiastic when they win. The true sign of character is how you act when you lose."
He also told me he was a successful failure; his closing rate was 1 out of five presentations. "Dave," he said, "I see five people a day while many others see 5 people a week or less. I hear four "no's" a day. They hear four "no's" a week. That's one of the secrets to success. How many "no's" can you handle?” Tolerance for hearing "no", or handling the disappointment of losing, is a little-recognized secret to success.
Would you hire a silver or bronze medalist? I would - in a heartbeat. The Olympics are over in a flash, but the character, dedication, and commitment it takes to get there lasts a life-time.
Don't misunderstand, I love to win and hate to lose. But I also know that every hockey player on the losing team has been on a winning team and vice-versa.
Yes, you win some and you lose some. But losing is part of winning.
The Aberdeen report* goes on to say that the bottom 30% of aggregate performance scorers have 74% of their salesforce falling short of annual quotas! Whew! In contrast, the top 20% of performing companies have 48% hitting quota.
This is a horrible track record, even for the best organizations.
I wonder if sales organizations will ever wake up to the sales their people leave on the table? Every time we work with salespeople on their performance, they increase sales from 12 - 80% or more. This indicates that sales left on the table is still an issue ignorded by most managers.
Here's a tip: If salespeople say "these leads are no good" re-visit their competency in converting leads to sales. It's also a good idea to re-visit your customer profile and determine how to get connected to the high-value prospects in your market.
If your organization requires salespeople to find new business, then you need people who love to uncover opportunities and are not afraid of making "cold-calls." New business development calls should be called "gold" calls, not "cold" calls!
