Quote of the Week

"The first rule of holes is that when you're in one, stop digging." -- Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times columnist

Why is it that whenever we find ourselves in trouble of our own making, we think continuing to talk will somehow make it all better? If you've ever said something you shouldn't have to a client, you know the feeling of wanting to instantly rewind and start over. You can't do that (unfortunately!) and continuing to talk is a bad idea.

What should you do? Take a deep breath, calm your nerves, and apologize for your mistake. Then stop talking! Let your client guide the next part of the conversation - he will make it clear if it's ok to move on, or if you need to do more damage control.

Education Based Marketing

"If you become known for what you know instead of what you sell, buyers will come to you for help and advice instead of your lowest price," says sales trainer Chris Lytle. So how do you do that? Read on for Lytle's advice.

"To become known for what you know, you have to market your knowledge instead of your product," says Lytle. "This is why white papers and webinars are key lead generation tools for businesses today. As a salesperson, you can put together your own "knowledge products." There is a successful salesperson for Paychex who puts out a monthly newsletter of short articles for small businesses. A radio ad rep in Charlottesville, VA does the same thing."

"No time to write a newsletter? Put together a checklist detailing, "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a _____." (Put your product or service in the blank). Or write a one page "case study" of a business problem you solved for a customer. Document the return on investment and quote your happy customer."

"Or simply share a key idea from a book you've just read and turn it into a tip. See example below."

"You will attract more buyers if you are offering to teach them something of value to them than you will ever attract by simply trying to sell them your product or service," writes Chet Holmes in The Ultimate Sales Machine.

What do you know that your prospects and customers don't know? How can you teach them something of value?

Chris Lytle is a sales trainer, speaker, and creator of "Max," a web-based, interactive training platform for salespeople at any stage in their careers. This revolutionary creation is a unique combination of tools and real-world behaviors that align with the way customers say they want to be approached and sold to. Learn more at www.max-atm.com

Conserve Energy...Stop Complaining!

Mark Hunter has a great post on his blog. I know it's a reminder I should keep in mind!

From Mark's blog:

Regardless of how energetic you are, energy spent on complaining about something or somebody you don't have any control over is always wasted. The greatest assets any salesperson has are their time and intelligence. How you choose to spend the time you have each day is the easiest asset to control. There is a direct relationship between your energy level and the amount of time you have in your day. When we spend it complaining about something, we wind up placing our energy into an activity that has virtually zero return. Our complaining takes away our valuable energy and, as a result, our most prized resource: time.

Over the years, I've found that there is very little room for complaining among top performing salespeople. They would rather spend their energy and time developing customers and closing sales. Next time you're about ready to start complaining about something, take a deep breath, step back and ask yourself if it is really going to be constructive.

Read The Sales Hunter's latest thoughts and comments about consultative selling, sales development, and sales motivation techniques at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog

Reflecting On Your Sales

Is your current clientele holding on tight to their purse strings? If you answered yes to that question, then sales trainer Elinor Stutz suggests you take time for reflection. First, Stutz suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this still the right target audience?
2. Which other demographic(s) should I consider?
3. Will new strategies bring in better results?

"Read marketing materials, speak with your network to find what they are doing, and keep your eyes and ears open for repetitive suggestions," says Stutz. "You just might catch the early wave for the next new idea."

"Be open to trying a new idea to determine if it is right for you providing it is affordable and has a high likelihood of bringing in your desired results," continues Stutz. "Take the calculated risks."

"Try, Test and Make a Decision about continuing on this new path. By trying new avenues you will attract a wider audience. At the very least you will maintain the same level of business and when the economy turns for the better, you will be in a great position for bringing in a much larger income."

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale and author of "Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results", has transformed her highly successful sales career into a sales training company. Her clientele is comprised of Entrepreneurs, Network Marketers and beginning salespeople with 0-5 years experience. Learn more at www.SmoothSale.net

Recognizing "Problem Trigger Words"

When someone contacts you after visiting your website they will often say, "Our issue is that we need to..." If this issue is something you can help solve, most people will jump in with, "let me tell you how we can fix that."

If you were to respond that way, "that would be pitching, in a non-sports sense, as opposed to finding out exactly why she said what she did," says telesales expert Art Sobczak. "And that will give you the reasons why they will buy from you. Plus, then they are selling themselves, which is much better than you trying to sell them."

"Too often sales reps hear what I call "problem trigger words" and then begin puking out a presentation," continues Sobczak. "These words are signs that your prospect/customer has, or perceives, a problem. They might not explain it fully without your prompting."

Listen for:
"We need to ..."
"We're thinking about..."
"We're considering..."
"We're noticing..."
"The challenge is..."
"We're planning on..."
"The problem is..."

"These are all invitations for you to zero in on these areas to root out the specific reasons they will buy from you," says Sobczak.

Follow up with phrases like:
"Tell me more about that..."
"Let's discuss that a little more..."
"What do you think is causing that?"
"What other effects is that having?"

And quantify their pain or problem whenever you can, by asking questions like:
"How long has that been going on?"
"How often does that happen?"
"What is that costing you?"

The keys to success here?

1. Listen as if your livelihood depended on grasping every word that comes from your prospect/customer.

2. Take notes and write down the SPECIFIC terminology they use, so you can repeat it back to them in your questioning, and eventual recommendation.

3. Do NOT jump in with your recommendation until you have fully developed an understanding of their issue. This also carries the benefit of them thinking more about the problem, therefore making them more receptive to your suggestion.

Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople--both inside and outside--designing and delivering content-rich programs that participants begin showing results from the very next time they get on the phone. www.BusinessByPhone.com

Quote of the Week

"The ability to communicate with everybody, regardless of who are you are, is a great thing." -- Bobby Bonilla, Baseball Player

Being able to talk to people is one of the most important things you can learn as a salesperson. After all, if you can ease into a conversation, people will feel comfortable with you - and if they're comfortable they're more likely to buy.

How do you get better at any skill? Practice. The next time you're out running errands, try to connect with the people you meet. Ask them a question or comment on what they're looking at. I've found that if you can talk to a complete stranger at the grocery store, then you can definitely talk to a prospect about something you're passionate about - your product!

Practice Makes Perfect

The best sports legends have always been those that took their talent and developed it, day in and day out. Practice is what made them successful, and it's the same for top sales professionals. This story from sales trainer Dave Kahle is a perfect example.

"Having spent most of my adult life in Michigan, I have naturally grown to be a fan of the Detroit professional sports teams," says Kahle. "Basketball is my favorite, and I've been a Pistons fan since before the Bad Boys. As you may know, the Bad Boys were world champions for a couple of years in the 80's. Isaiah Thomas was the leader of the team. He was at the top of his game - most valuable player on the world championship team."

"During that time, he built a house in Detroit, and added an indoor basketball court. When asked about it by a local newspaper reporter, he replied that he often woke up in the middle of the night and used the basketball court to practice his free throws."

"Imagine that. The most valuable player of the world championship team practicing the most basic shot in the game in the middle of the night. Why would he do that? Probably because he was not a 100 percent free throw shooter. No matter how good he was, he knew there was room for improvement, and that he could become better yet."

"That belief, that you are not as good as you could be, that there is always room for improvement, is one of the marks of the best salespeople," says Kahle.

"The world is full of mediocre salespeople who don't care enough about their own performance to spend any time or money improving themselves. My own experience is that only one out of twenty salespeople has spent $25 of their own money on their own improvement in the last 12 months."

"While that certainly is an indictment of their lack of professionalism, it also represents an incredible opportunity for those who want to excel. Image how competent you could become, relative to your competitors, if you regularly spent time, money and effort improving your sales skills! What an opportunity!"

Vince Lombardi once said, "We will pursue perfection, knowing that we will never attain it. But in the striving for perfection, we will catch excellence." "The best salespeople continually pursue perfection, knowing that in the striving for it, they will catch excellence," says Kahle. "And excellence is rewarded by greater competence, greater confidence, and a more robust standard of living."

Dave Kahle is the President of the DaCo Corporation, specializing in helping business-to-business companies increase sales and develop their people. Learn more at www.davekahle.com