Sales Blog with Sales Tips

As sales professionals we constantly put a positive spin on our company and its products and services. We can’t help ourselves; it’s how we’re wired. We’ve been trained to do this since our first days as sales pups.

While this habit is admirable and ingrained in our psyche, there are times when we need to set it aside.

The power of positive speaking won’t always give us the results we’re looking for.

Here’s How I Got In Trouble
I’ll never forget a sales presentation I made to a group of telecom engineers. I was new to sales and felt like I was at the top of my game. I was prepared, presented well and hit all the points I wanted to cover. That PowerPoint was the culmination of all the best sales tips I had ever heard.

But I made a major mistake.

I failed to tailor my presentation to the audience and covered only the points I wanted to cover.

Sales Tips 101: Not All Audiences Are Created Equal
Whenever we go into the “salesy” mode with engineers and their ilk, they immediately hit their cerebral off-switches. Why? They have little need to feel good about a purchase. They want to objectively weigh the positives and negatives before buying.

They want facts.

There’s A Place For Negatives
People who primarily operate in the world of hard data want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. They won’t make a decision if they hear only one side of the equation.

Wouldn’t we prefer that our customers and potential customers hear the bad and the ugly from us rather than our competitors anyway?

When I was speaking to those telecom engineers I needed to give them both sides of the t-chart. They would have at least listened to a balanced and accurate assessment of my product’s strengths and weaknesses.

Instead, they didn’t process a word I said.

The Paradox
Ironically, when we reveal a product or service weakness it gives us more credibility. This is especially true for technical audiences.

They assume if we’re willing to divulge a weakness, we might be worthy of their trust.

They might really listen to what we have to say as a result. Now, we’re talking their language.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Find a New Sales Job

There are two highly overrated myths about sales. Unfortunately, most sales professionals operate as if they are both true.

Myth #1, First Impressions Will Make Or Break A Prospect
Recent research is showing that first impressions in sales are not nearly as sacred as we once thought. We can screw up that first 30 seconds a little and live to see another day with the prospect.

The reason for this is easily understood as we explore Myth #2 below.

Myth #2, Without Extraordinary Verbal Skills, A Salesperson Will Never Make It
The 1990’s model of selling required all of us to be “silver tongued devils.” We all know the type, “Mark could sell someone his own underwear; he is such a smooth talker!”

Prospects hate this kind of salesperson.

Why We Can Discard Myth #1 And Myth #2

• It’s 2010. Buyers realize they don’t need you to have Ryan Seacrest’s gift of gab; they need a sales professional who is knowledgeable and can actually help them with their points of pain.
• During a recession it’s what we know, not what we show, that matters to decision makers who are trying to rebuild their businesses.
• Most companies are aggressively reducing the number of suppliers they rely on and the size of their purchasing departments. Robin Williams is great to watch on late night TV, but if all we have to offer our prospects is a well-crafted monologue, we’ll find ourselves out on the street.
• While relationships are critical, buyers are aware that our ability to help them is more important than our ability to speak like Zig Ziglar and wear a suit.

It’s Global
Our prospects focus on our “go power,” not our “show power.” They’re doing this because they are operating in a more challenging global market than ten years ago. Our ability to perform a stellar introduction or speak like Barack Obama is slipping on our prospects’ scale of what’s important.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
Sure, our first impression is important. But it’s not everything. We can recover from a bungled one. Prospects are looking for value.

Sales Tips Post Script
There is an additional benefit when we are more realistic about the significance of first impressions. It gives us the freedom to relax a little when approaching a prospect for the first time. In the process, we ironically become more effective at first impressions.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

The following is a bad habit I’ve observed in hundreds of sales professionals. They get tired of hearing themselves “sell” and think their prospects feel the same way.

All of us bring a unique chemistry to each individual prospect we speak with. Everything about us is new to them. They’ve never heard our message or experienced us before. We’ve never experienced them either.

An Analogy
Remember the schoolteachers who made you feel like you were the only person in the world? Even though they might have taught 10,000 students in their careers, they knew their relationship with you was unlike any other, and treated it as such.

I don’t care if you’re 20 or 100 years old; you still remember the magical quality of those teachers. Sales professionals who master this same ability will create customers who see them as standouts from the hoard of  salespeople they see every day.

Why Tired Sales Professionals Do Poorly
When we approach a sales opportunity feeling as if we’re tired of hearing ourselves talk, we create circular reinforcement.

1) The more downtrodden we become with our own message, the less receptive a prospect will be. 2) When we observe the resultant fatigued look on the prospect’s face, we conclude our sales approach must be unappealing. 3) Our motivation is lessened. 4) Go back to step 1 and repeat. This process creates a death spiral of enthusiasm for both the salesperson and the prospect.

Snap Out Of It!
I’m no physics expert (just ask Mrs. Crook, my high school physics teacher, who never liked me). However, I do know that once something is set in motion – e.g. a bored and self-defeating sales attitude – the only way to change its direction is to apply another force.

Shrinks call this an intervention. But you don’t need to go to a shrink to help yourself. Read on for some sales tips that will do the trick.

Sales Tips Rx
Consciously practicing the following habits over an extended period (e.g. 3 months) will freshen how you feel about yourself and how your prospects see you. Most importantly, you’ll sell more too.

1. Slow down. I know you’ve heard your own sales presentation a million times, but the prospects haven’t. Give them the opportunity to absorb and process the valuable information you are sharing.

2. There is no such thing as a generic prospect. After you’ve called on a few hundred prospects they can all look the same. When you see them in this light, they can tell. Just remember how important your favorite teachers made you feel when they treated you as an individual. People you make feel important frequently do one thing – buy from you.

3. It’s in the eyes. If you’re in front of a prospect, you must make constant eye contact. It will greatly enhance communication quality and will let you know what he or she is thinking. Let his or her eyes guide your presentation.

4. Listen. The questions prospects ask are everything. These questions will tell us everything we need to know in order to sell them. Giving prospects all the room they need to speak will move mountains when it comes to revitalizing how your prospects and you perceive your presentation.

Internalizing these habits will energize you and your prospects. Most importantly, you’ll re-learn how important it is to connect with people in the selling process.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer