Sales Blog with Sales Tips

I have to admit that I’m a skeptic. I don’t give much weight to palm readers and crystal ball types.

Sales is no different for me. There really is no “magic” when it comes to sales superstars. There is always a formula for their success. Always.

I’m going to share a piece of their “abracadabra” below.

But First…
Before I write any further, I’d like to bring your attention to a new addition to my sales tips blog, Scott’s Inbox. It provides a video venue for me to answer readers’ questions. You may have noticed that I started including these a few weeks ago.  Just click on my photo to start today’s 1 minute video.

Today’s Scott’s Inbox is a little different because I’ll be introducing you to my best friend and sales tips consultant. You may be a bit surprised who it is. I’ve mentioned him a few times before in this sales blog.

Back To The Abracadabra Thing
Why is it that rainmakers (i.e. sales superstars) have such high close rates and always seem to be in the right place at the right time? Is it magic? Hardly.

Rainmakers know when they call on a prospect company that the decision maker will be in one of four situations:

1. The decision maker has just had a new hand dealt to him or her that is disruptive. It could be a budget change, need for a new product or service, time frame change, etc.

2. The decision maker is unhappy with the performance of his or her current supplier(s). We all know there are a million reasons this can happen.

3. The decision maker has recently changed. When this happens, we know this is a golden window of opportunity.

4. The decision maker is happy with the status quo.

How To Make It Work For You
To ascertain which of the above four states the decision maker is currently in is the challenge. You have to find out where he or she is coming from within the first 30 seconds of your call. If you can place them in category 1, 2 or 3, the decision maker will have a reason to give you more time. You’ll also accurately know where to direct the conversation.

Every industry will have different questions that can be asked to identify which category fits the decision maker you’re talking to. These are normally closed-ended types of questions. You already have this list, right?

I constantly preach about researching prospects before contacting them the first time. One of the best tools for this is Google Alerts (see Further sales tips reading below). It’s a perfect tool because it alerts you to new information about a company just as it is happening.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
However, nothing is free. For this to help you reach rainmaker status, you’ll have to spend time developing your cold calling skills. You’ll need a razor sharp set of qualifying questions that are tailored to the prospect. You’ll have to research your prospects before calling.

However, the payoff will be huge. Some studies suggest a 5X improvement in closing rates. Abracadabra.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

By using relevant stories that anchor the point you’re trying to make when selling, you are using the most ancient, timeless and effective way of transmitting information.

Storytelling is having a major revival in sales. Why? It works. I feel somewhat foolish writing about sales tips that are 20,000 years old. The first cave dweller who tried to barter a fur probably told a story of how warm it kept him or her at night.

But Telling Stories Isn’t Professional
Really? Ever heard of Zig Ziglar or Tony Robbins? They litter their presentations with one story after another. They interweave their stories so seamlessly that we aren’t even aware they’re using them.

Go back 2,000 years. We can find a multitude of stories in the Bible that Jesus used to help his audiences understand his teachings. These ancient stories are still being used in 2009 to teach basic sales principles and sales skills.

Guidelines For Using Stories In Sales
Before I give you a real-world example of using storytelling in sales, let me provide a few key points on how to do it.

• Make them personal. Don’t tell someone else’s story; use something that happened to you. This is very critical.

• Make them relevant. We all like a good story, but ensure that you use one to reinforce your selling goal.

• Make them short. Ever heard a joke that was too long for the punch line? If we’re not careful, we can do the same when using stories in sales.

• Dive in. Never start out by saying, “Let me tell you a story.” Just jump into the story.

Our DNA is hard wired to hear and understand a story. That’s why this works so well. The customer will instinctively understand and be interested in your story.

Real-World Example – A Sales Professional Makes A Sale To Dr. Defpotec By Telling A Story
Zack (not his real name) was an experienced sales professional who knew the power of a story. He sold ophthalmic (eye stuff) instruments to ophthalmologists (eye doctors). One of his big sellers was an electronic eye test chart that is used to check a patient’s vision (e.g. 20/20, 20/30, etc.).

Zack’s eye test instrument would change the letters for each test which dramatically improved the validity and accuracy of the testing (i.e. no one could cheat). Zack had been calling on Dr. Patterson (not his real name) who insisted on continuing to use his old cardboard eye chart. One that never changed. He wasn’t interested in Zack’s instrument.

To be honest, Dr. Patterson wasn’t particularly concerned about the precision of his patients’ eye tests either. However, Zack was about to open Dr. Patterson’s eyes. He was going to do so by simply telling him the following short story about another ophthalmologist in town.

“Dr. Zine (not his real name) primarily performs flight physicals for airline pilots. Airline pilots must have 20/20 vision (corrected) in order to keep their jobs. Clearly, it is in their best interest to pass the eye test.

“Since Dr. Zine never changed his eye chart, it didn’t take long for his pilot patients to figure out that the 20/20 line was always the letters D E F P O T E C. By memorizing the word ‘defpotec,’ they had a guarantee of forever testing positive for 20/20 vision. Over time, Dr. Zine became known in the pilot community as simply ‘Dr. Defpotec.’

“‘Sorry, can’t have lunch with you today Ted, got my semi-annual flight physical with Doc Defpotec at noon.’”

Zack Connects The Dots
Zack then proceeded to challenge Dr. Patterson, “If Dr. Zine has patients doing this to him, you can be assured it’s happening to you. In Dr. Zine’s case, he is potentially allowing airline pilots to fly who don’t meet the vision requirements as set forth by the FAA.

“Who can know all the consequences and liabilities when people are able to cheat on an eye test? My product can keep that from happening in your practice.”

Not only did Zack’s story demonstrate why Dr. Patterson should buy his product from the perspective of validity and accuracy of testing (i.e. need), but it also provided an opportunity for Dr. Patterson to avoid any questions about his professional credibility (i.e. pain avoidance). This is a powerful story. This is a compelling technique.

Zack sold his type of eye testing equipment to Dr. Patterson that day.

Sales Blog Epilogue
The next time you see an airline pilot squinting in the cockpit, blame “Dr. Defpotec.”

©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer

A Sales Tips Blog subscriber recently wrote to me:

“…As a new sales rep, I used to dread role-plays. Those were typically done with a manager, and that pressure was far greater for me than meeting with a CEO. Perhaps you can give some ideas for both Sales Managers and less experienced Sales Professionals on how to improve those teaching/learning opportunities…

“Thanks again for all the great sales blog thoughts! Trevor A.”

Why Most Sales Role-Playing Exercises Are Junk
1. Sales managers normally handle role-plays, as Trevor notes. This adds a level of anxiety that isn’t present in real selling environments. We tend to perform for the sales manager instead of exercising our real world selling skills.

2. Customers and sales professionals are usually sitting face-to-face during telephone role-plays. How many customers have picture phones which provide body language cues?

3. For role-plays to be a true learning experience, most sales managers think they need an audience. They want the whole group to learn something. How often do we make sales calls with 20 people observing? The worst examples of this are role-plays done with the participants using microphones in front of an audience of hundreds. Get real.

4. Every call we make is not a first call, yet almost all role-plays are first calls. Great, the sales professional can repeatedly demonstrate the ability to introduce himself or herself; now what?

5. In virtually every role-play I’ve observed (too many), the person who is acting as the customer plays it either as a pushover or an extremely difficult person. In the real world of sales, we operate 98% of the time in-between those extremes.

Sales Tips For Role-Plays That Actually Teach Something

• Bring in a real customer. It doesn’t get any more authentic. Every selling organization has customers that would be more than willing to help in this area. I’ve done it myself with great success. Most sales managers don’t do this because it takes planning and they’re afraid of what they might hear as feedback from the customer.

• Use real customer scenarios when staging a role-play. Instead of creating a make-believe customer on the fly, gather information from a real customer and use them for the role-play. This makes things more believable.

• The sales manager needs to play the role of the sales professional sometimes (I love seeing sales managers sweat when the tables are turned). Salesperson to salesperson role-plays work well too. Sales managers need to avoid playing the role of the customer.

• Participants need to sit back to back when conducting telephone role-plays. This precludes any body-language input.

• Lose the audience and conduct role-plays with just the customer, salesperson and possibly one other person. Don’t always conduct them in a conference room either. Use a real office and have the customer sit behind the desk.

• Practice 2nd, 3rd and 4th calls to customers. A contract signing role-play is critical, yet almost never done.

• When playing a customer, pick the middle of the road on the nice-guy vs. bad-guy continuum. This is the temperament level we normally encounter with customers.

Sales Blog Wrap Up
Hope this helps, Trevor, and thanks for your question.

©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer