Apr 21, 2021 | Management, Sales
The best word in sales is ‘Free’, it will close more often than any other, by a long stretch. However, being free also implies there is no value to the ‘buyer’ and in any event, it is not really a sale. Only when there is an exchange of some sort can it be termed a ‘sale’
At best a ‘freebie’ is a ‘bait’ of some sort that may lead to a sale.
As a freelancer, I am tempted often to give away a lot of time and advice for free, partly to demonstrate expertise, which may lead to a sale, and partly because I am asked, and am able to do so to help. It is also partly because I find it difficult to just say a flat ‘No’
Recently I had some assistance from a professional to address a problem. It was someone I knew quite well, and have helped a bit in the past, pro bono. As I turned up for the appointment, I was asked if I had some time afterwards so the professional could, as it was stated, ‘pick your brain‘ in a specific area where I have deep expertise. As it happened, I did have the time, so said it was OK.
The upshot is that I gave away an hour delivering expert advice, while paying full tote odds for the appointment and professional advice I had gone there to obtain.
Stupid me.
I should have used the second most powerful word in Sales.
‘No’
It is hard for us to say ‘No’.
We all like to be liked, we like to be asked, and to be seen as an expert, and we do not like to be seen as ungenerous, or even a jerk.
However, is my time and expertise of any less value than the professional I was talking to?
As humans, we also want what we cannot have. Wanting something just out of reach is a driver of behaviour. Saying ‘No’ moves the opportunity to learn something or get something that is just out of reach further away, making it more attractive, and adding to the perceived value of that something.
Watch what happens at contested auctions, as the price goes up, those remaining in the bidding become more desperate to win.
There are many ways to say ‘No’, but the essential element is that it must be clear.
If you apologise, say ‘Sorry’, the door remains open, and you feel a little guilty, when there is no need for you to apologise.
If you say ‘I can’t’, does that mean you cannot now, but might at another time?
If you offer a range of excuses, the ‘No’ remains ambiguous, and everyone is confused.
Remembering that ‘No’ makes you more attractive, you do have options.
- Just be firm and say, ‘No’ I do not do that.
- ‘No’ I do not do that, but here is someone you could ask.
- Redirect back to you. Again, several sub options:
- ‘No. However, email me a few simple questions, and I will try to answer them quickly’
- ‘No, but I do offer calls up to 60 minutes for $XXXX fee.
- ‘That is a complex question, usually only answerable after a detailed examination, for which my project fee is $XXXX.
Use one of these, and the chances of some sort of conversion are real.
Unfortunately, in this case I did not follow my own advice, and so know that the hour I spent outlining the solution to the problem will not be valued and implemented, so we will have both wasted our time.
At least, I got a blog post out of it, so maybe there was some value after all?
Nov 30, 2020 | Customers, Sales
We all use mental models, it is how we get through life without overloading our cognitive capacity all the time. Mental models are evolutions way of enabling us to respond automatically, without a lot of thought, over, and over again, as we come up against similar situations.
They are a bit like driving to a destination. The first time, you need a map, but as you do it a few times, the route becomes automatic, you are responding rather than thinking.
How good would it to be to be able to build a mental model of your customers minds as it relates to the product or service you provide, to enable them to just go there almost automatically?
First step. Distil down how they see your offering to its essential core. To do this you need to understand the how, what, where, when, and why of your ideal customers potential use of your product.
How it is used, what they do with it, where or what context it is used in, when it is used, and why they should source it from you.
With work, you can arrive at a sentence, sometimes two, that describes in a customers words these elements that add up to create the value they derive from your product.
Second step. Recognise this is an iterative process, one that can take some time, and benefits hugely from talking with customers. Therefore, once you have what you think are the distilled words, test them, understand the reasons you get the responses you got, and adjust your proposition if necessary. Use a process to enhance and eliminate items from the list with customers. For example:
IF .. Summary description that captures the mental model you are creating
BY… Removing, adding, changing, tests the variables that influence behaviour
WILL.. Improve performance. Summarises the expected impact
BECAUSE…. Understanding the reason this resonates more than others in your customers mind.
This is a simple process that uses the pretty standard continuous improvement cycle, Plan, Do, Check, Act, in a slightly different context.
The other thing to remember is that copy sells, you need clarity in your copy.
Third step. Live test with customers, this is in effect a minimum viable product of your value proposition.
Fourth step. Roll out the final proposition. Adjust as necessary based on feedback and factors in the market that influence behaviour over time
This is a challenging process, way too easy to take a short cut which will erode the impact of the end result. It is a process that evolves over time, so you need to be constantly looking critically at your offering through your customers eyes to understand the manner in which you can add value to their lives, in return for their money, and referrals.
Nov 9, 2020 | Analytics, Sales
Getting people to change their minds is tough.
Just look at the divisions in the US over the last months in the lead up to the presidential (have you ever seen anything less presidential?) election.
Most set out to change somebody’s mind by telling them they are wrong, here is the right answer.
This rarely works well, as the natural reaction is pushback as people defend their existing position.
Instead, you have to find the things that they want that are consistent with the position you hold, and deliver those to them.
A former client had been successful for a long time selling the manufacture of large capital items to its natural Australian customer base. Over time, their market share had diminished as lower priced overseas competitors ate away at their base. Their focus was on price, and they cut corners in all sorts of little ways in an attempt to remain competitive, and the erosion continued. The turnaround came when they moved their focus from the procurement functions to engineering, giving the engineering staff of their customers the ammunition to argue the case that in fact, the more expensive invoice cost of their gear was better value than the ‘cheaper’ items sourced offshore. They created what they called ‘the TLC index’: Total Lifetime Cost. This was a calculation based on data and case studies over a considerable period that included scheduled maintenance and replacement parts, reliability data, the costs of downtime caused by offshore supply chain delays, ease of access to those who did the design and fabrication of the component parts, and several other items.
The invoice price on the purchase order was then shown in an entirely different light.
They did not tell their customers that the cheaper offshore item was an inferior product, they focussed on the things the engineering staff were concerned about, and gave them the ammunition to carry the argument based on the value of efficiency and reliability over the life of the items, rather than just focussing on the invoice price of the initial procurement.
It is easier in most cases to focus on price. However, demonstrating that price is only one part of the value equation delivers better results over time.
Dilbert again demonstrates insight: thanks to Scott Adams.
Jul 27, 2020 | Customers, Sales
Every business needs a flow of leads that can be turned into a transaction, and better still, a relationship that includes numerous transactions.
You have current customers, who are, hopefully, very happy with your service and products. What better source of more business could you ask for?
In his seminal book ‘Influence’ published 30 years ago, and updated several times since, Dr. Robert Cialdini noted one of the 6 principals of persuasion is ‘Reciprocity’. The sense of obligation created when you do something, even a really small thing, for someone else out of pure generosity.
You do something generous for them, and they will feel obligated to, at some time, do something in return.
When that something happens to be a referral to someone they know, who could use your services, and with whom they have a relationship with mutual trust as a foundation, and they refer you to them, it is like money in the bank.
I have a client who has made successful referrals a central KPI of his workforce. His service requires that his employees are in peoples homes, and so trust is a fundamental part of a successful project completion. When those happy customers refer him to someone else, the conversion rate dwarfs anything coming from other sources. It is not always immediate, people are not always ready to buy when you are ready to sell, but when that time comes around, he is always at the front of the line.
Ask yourself a very simple question, and implement the answer to double your sales at very low cost.
‘How can I engage a customer in a way that they offer to refer me to their networks’?
You will probably find there are some simple answers to the question, including doing a great job for your current clients. However, the most effective way is to do something nice for them, with no (obvious) agenda.
My client has a modest bunch of flowers delivered to the lady of the house with a personalised thank you note attached. The note includes the suggestion that they might know somebody who would benefit from his services, and he would appreciate a referral.
A simple gesture, with a profound impact.
Leads are great, genuine referrals emerging from trusting relationships are money.
Mar 9, 2020 | Customers, Sales
Selling B2B is a complex activity. Success takes time, effort, and persistence.
Therefore, to be truly productive, it requires the discipline of a repeatable process that is also measurable and scalable.
In order to achieve this outcome, there are 5 factors you should be building into your planning cycles.
Have a very clear view of your target customer profiles.
You cannot be all things to all people, you have to tailor the value proposition you communicate to the problems and aspirations of the target you are approaching. Many businesses have a number of key targets, keeping them clearly separate, with separate value propositions is essential.
For example, one of my clients is a printer, not a large business, but one that has a very wide range of services available internally, from original artwork, to various forms of printing, die cutting, assembly and decoration. They have two primary verticals they target .
- The first is businesses involved in trade shows. Typically, those businesses leave their printing and stand design needs to the last, and that can cost a lot of money, leads to conflict and suboptimal outcomes. Given they have everything required under the one roof, the time from briefing to delivery is way shorter and usually cheaper than the business managing the various facets themselves.
- The second is small and medium sized clubs, those with limited internal marketing and design resources, but a need for a lot of work done to a consistent theme. Again, keeping the work in house ensures a quality outcome at a competitive price.
Demonstrate your expertise.
There are as many ways to do this as there are stars in the sky, pick a few that are particularly relevant to your customers, and focus on them. Almost inevitably the best way is to give away information, in such a way that the receiver recognises that the information you have given is valuable, and if it is for free, how much more is there to be gained by working with you?. This might be in the form of blog posts, webinars, conference presentations, and many others, The best however, is having your current customers refer business to you, either directly, or via testimonials in one form or another. People trust other people, they will discount your own claims, simply because they recognise the self-interest.
Observe the 3 second rule.
Every sales call, conversation, post on your website, whatever the material, the most important part of it is the headline. If you cannot grab the attention of the audience with your headline, draw them into the body of the material so they can become more engaged in some way, they will be gone. You have 3 seconds of their attention, after which you have to earn every further second. This is particularly true in a sales phone call, that most dreaded of mediums. Be direct, and specific. ‘Hi, this is (your name) from (company name) we are expert at helping companies like yours with (target pain point) by (specific promise), and would like to take no more than 10 minutes to see how we might be able to assist you’. There are many variations to this, but simple, to the point, and outcome specific works, while making it as hard as possible to say ‘no’ to the next step in the process, which is often a meeting.
Remove the risk.
For a potential customer, doing business with you the first time has some risk. Irrespective of your pitch, the social proof you may have, and the relationship you might have built during the sales process, the decision to go with you rather than the alternative will be seen as having some element of risk. When you remove the risk, put them in a place where they have nothing to lose, why would they not go with you? Most businesses have some sort of after sales service, replacement, or quality guarantee in place. When a customer is dissatisfied, there is some mechanism to address the problem, so why not make it explicit, a part of your offer, remove the risk. The potential cost is already factored into your price, it is just that you hope nobody uses it because you always have satisfied customers. Remove the risk from making the choice to go with you, and your sales will zoom!
It is easier to get more from a current customer than it is to find a new one.
How often we forget this, and devote resources too hunting out new customers, when there is potentially more business for you in the current client roster, their associated companies, and perhaps those to whom your current clients are happy to offer referrals. This requires that you build relationships over time, and those relationships are based on trust, mutual benefit, and importantly, your performance over time. My favourite measure of sales effectiveness is ‘share of wallet‘. It is a demanding measure, it forces you to develop intimacy with your customers business, as well as understanding your own capabilities very well, so you can determine what is inside the wallet, and what is outside, and therefore not productive to chase.
Call me when the experience I have can help address these challenges.
Jan 16, 2020 | Sales
Word of mouth, the endorsement of a happy customer, is the best marketing you can have. We all know that, ‘
Word of mouth‘ is the gold standard, the original social media.
Why then do we spend so much time and energy focussed on the next customer?
Finding, engaging and converting a new customer is way more expensive than working with an existing customer, one who has already experienced what you have to offer, and unless you screwed up, is usually more willing to talk to you than they are to someone with whom they have no relationship at all.
My preferred sales metric is share of wallet. How much of a customers business that you could supply, do you supply? The challenge in this metric is the definition of the wallet.
My second favourite metric is the likelihood that an existing customer will refer you to those in their networks that you may be able to assist. Sometimes this is expressed as a Net Promoter Score.
A ‘warm’ lead in the parlance, is a nascent relationship to be nurtured until such time as there is a need. It will not always lead to a sale, but it does get your foot in the door with the opportunity to be on the list when and if the products you have may be useful.
Making your current customers successful is the best marketing you can have, as they will talk about your contribution.
How much of your investment in revenue generation is aimed at leveraging the success of your current and past customers, Vs finding new ones?
Many businesses rely on what I call ‘reactive marketing’.
They respond to the phone call, enquiry from their websites, generic email blasts, even cold calling. When you calculate the conversion rates for these sorts of leads, they are not great, but always chew up considerable resources. Moving to a pro-active, customer centric strategy in almost all cases increases revenues while reducing costs.
Three simple questions.
- What more can I do to assist my current customers?
- Who do they know that you might be able to assist?
- How much of my revenue generation investment is aimed at customer retention?
Need help thinking your way through this maze, let me assist.
Header photo courtesy Lars Menken via Flikr
