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Summary: If you’ve been in sales for more than a few months you have been bombarded with all kinds of cold calling “tricks” that can be low-rent and make you feel uncomfortable. There is a technique that is adopted from personal relationships that works incredibly well when cold calling.

When I met my new dentist for the first time recently I was pleasantly surprised. I was surprised because he had taken the time to read through my dental records. He had also read the notes in my file that his office staff had written. During our first few minutes he made sure to let me know that he was well-read on Scott R. Sheaffer.

It was music to my ears. I was impressed.

This same technique can open doors for you when cold calling. Knowing something about your prospect before you make your first contact can really amp-up your cold calling effectiveness. The larger the opportunity, the more important this is. This practice of researching prospects before contacting them seems to be forgotten by many sales representatives…and it’s costing them money.

Sales representative to prospect: “Hi, Karen. This is Paula and I’m your account manager with the XYZ Security Services Company. I’m calling you because I’m researching businesses that are a good match with our services. The two new facilities you are building in Denver are going to need security services and one of our largest offices is located there. We are incorporated in the US; I know your company prefers to use US companies. Can you take a second to…”

Prospect to sales representative: [Doesn't know what to say because she is so dumbfounded and impressed that someone cold called her and knew something about her business needs. While Karen temporarily isn't able to say anything, Paula has definitely gotten her attention.]

Here’s what’s crazy; finding background information about prospects is ridiculously easy with the Internet. It takes about 60 seconds to get all kinds of information.

“But Scott, this will take me so much longer and I won’t be able to make my required number of calls.”

Remember, your goal is not to make calls; your goal is to make sales. While the number of contacts you make may diminish, the increase in effectiveness will skyrocket and more than compensate for lost time. If your sales manager is fixated on the number of calls you’re making and not the quality of those calls, please tell him or her to join the 21st century. The sales game has gotten a lot more sophisticated since 1950.

Do you prepare for cold calling? How do you prepare for cold calling?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: As sales professionals we self-assess the effectiveness of the sales techniques we employ. However, relying solely on self observation may be damaging your sales efforts and you don’t even know it.

A man is fishing alone in the middle of the ocean and his boat starts to leak. His boat quickly sinks and he is forced to tread water. Unfortunately he has no life preserver or lifeboat. He can’t see land so he doesn’t even know which way to swim. He is really in trouble.

Suddenly a dolphin appears and starts pushing him rapidly through the water. After pushing the fisherman through the water for almost two hours a shoreline appears. The next thing the man knows he’s standing on the beach…alive. “The benevolent dolphin saved me!” he exclaims. “He pushed me to the safety of the shore!” The dolphin did save the man, but was the dolphin really doing it because he is a friend of all mankind? Read on.

What about other helpless fishermen this same dolphin may have pushed further out to sea? We can’t know if the dolphin was benevolent or not because those other fishermen, who weren’t so lucky, were never heard from again. The rescued fisherman in this story has no further data about the dolphin and its intentions other than what he has just observed.

Sometimes we do the same thing in sales. We try a new sales technique that gets good results and we believe we have just found a great new sales tool for our arsenal. We think, “Wow, I’m going to use that technique on all of my customers.” If we believe a sales technique is effective - even though it may not be - we will usually continue to use it. We are unable to see that our faith may be misplaced.

I worked with a salesperson who would always take exactly 24 donuts on the first call to a prospect. He told me that it helped him close a big deal once. From my observations I think this practice actually offended most of his prospects because it came across as childishly manipulative. His benevolent dolphin was in fact pushing him into deeper water and he didn’t know it.

Can we make an objective decision about the efficacy of our sales techniques from one or two self observations? Can we know that it was our sales skills that landed us that big order? Or was it because the prospect was completely out of our product and their assembly line was about to shut down? Even if your sales levels are good, could they be even better if you stripped out unproductive sales tactics that you erroneously believe are working to your benefit?

By welcoming and soliciting input from your sales manager and peers you can be more confident about your sales techniques. In addition to getting feedback from other sales professionals you can take advantage of the vast amounts of sales training and materials that are available to you from inside and outside your company. We need to look outside of ourselves to objectively hone our sales skills.

Have you made friends with a benevolent dolphin that may be pushing you out to sea?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: First impressions are exceedingly important in sales. You can learn to better manage these initial interactions.

I wish I had a nickel for every time my mother made me comb my hair or put on a nicer shirt when I was a kid. She did that because she wanted me to make “a good first impression.” As it turns out she was right. First impressions are extremely important because they set the stage for the duration of the relationship.

Sales professionals know the importance of first impressions. Because of this we tend to be a little self conscious and nervous sometimes when it comes to meeting important decision makers for the first time. Anxiety like this can make it harder to express our real personalities, which can ironically hinder our capability to make the kind of first impression we’d like to make. Sound familiar?

Lucinda Bassett of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety has the following rule when meeting people. Twenty percent of the people you meet are going to immediately like you and always will, twenty percent aren’t going to like you and never will, and sixty percent are up for grabs. What is the sales application here? You aren’t going to click with all prospects and customers. Don’t take it personally and move on to the next opportunity. Give yourself permission not to be loved by everyone; it’s unrealistic.

Depending on whose research you look at, it takes about 5-20 seconds for someone to form an initial impression about you. Most people trust their first impressions so they almost always believe they have accurately assessed you. As a result, people are resistant to letting go of their first opinion of you - even if it later proves to be inaccurate. This is great if you make a good first impression, but not so good if you make a bad one.

First impressions are an art and a science. Here are some thoughts on how to manage them:

1. Relax and be yourself. Nothing is less endearing than someone who is not being themselves. Remember that the person you are meeting wants to meet you and is probably a little anxious about how they appear to you.
2. Ask open ended questions about the person you’re meeting and then listen to their answers.
3. Be in the moment. Don’t be thinking about what you’re going to have for lunch; be thinking about them.
4. Make eye contact. When first meeting someone it is appropriate to make eye contact. It communicates that you are open, interested in them, and forthright.
5. Capture, remember and use a person’s name during your initial conversation. Dale Carnegie taught that “a man’s name is music to his ears.” Nothing could be truer.

Do you feel like you’re good at first impressions? Is this an area you could improve upon?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available.  © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: We have to bring value to our customers or we simply become order takers. Order takers are easily replaced.

There are two basic types of value that you bring to your customers.

The company you work for has capabilities and strengths beyond just the products or services sold. The customer recognizes these as added value. The verbal or written expression of these values is called a value proposition. Hopefully your employer has taken the time to provide you with some carefully researched value propositions (which are basically just feature-benefit statements) that you can use with your customers and prospects.

You don’t want to use value propositions verbatim; you only need to have the basic concepts in your arsenal to use when appropriate. The best time to use them is when you are providing information to the customer or prospect in response to their expressed needs. Value propositions are for responding to the customer; they aren’t intended to be verbal sales brochures that you throw around.

The other type of value that you bring to your customers is what I call your personal value. This type of value is more important than the value your company adds. Your customers recognize the value that you, their sales representative, bring to the table because you know the following things about them: who/when/how to contact decision makers, their buying cycles, how they want things packaged and shipped - and where, how their purchase order process works, how they like to be invoiced, their policy on product/service substitutions, special packing requirements, budget limitations, etc.

Your ability to help them in these areas makes you a valued partner with your customers. These are things that allow you to charge a higher price than your competitors because you’re doing more than dumping products and services on their doorstep.

Without establishing your company’s value to the customer, and more importantly your personal value, you are really nothing more than an order processor who has to sell on price and availability. That can be limiting.

The best time to demonstrate value is during the prospecting stage of your sales cycle. This goes a long way in preventing many objections and helps you justify your pricing before it becomes an issue.

Of the two types of value that you bring to your customers, please know that your personal value is the most important. I am surprised at how many salespeople don’t realize how important this is to their selling success. Make sure you leverage personal value with your customers. At the end of the day it’s why your customers buy from you.

Are you aware of the value you bring to your customers? Have you stopped to think of all the things you personally do to partner with them?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: We need to use the correct terminology when we are talking to sales management about companies in our sales funnel.

Hardly a day goes by without my overhearing someone use the wrong terminology regarding the status of a company in their sales funnel. It really does drive me crazy. Why? It makes them look unprofessional and makes it difficult for everyone to have a clear picture of their funnel activity, including their sales manager.

There are really only five categories of companies (not “customers”) that you deal with on a daily basis.

Name. This is simply, and literally, the name of a company that you need to look into in order to determine if they should move to the next level. If they don’t meet the basic definition of your company’s business target, then throw them out and move on. An example would be any of the names on a list of leads.

Suspect. This is a company that you have most likely not contacted, but have determined that they meet the basic guidelines of your company’s target market. They are worthy of more research. A customer referral could be an example here.

Prospect. A prospect is a company that you have personally contacted and have verified the information you have about them. They definitely fit in your company’s sweet-spot for business development.

Qualified Prospect. This is a prospect that you have communicated with directly and on more than one occasion. The information you gleaned answered all of the following questions in a way that tells you that there is a high probability of converting them into a customer: Do you have access to the decision maker(s)? Is there a good fit for your products/services? Do they have the budget? Are you coming in at the right time in their buying process? Does competitor presence verify the quality of this prospect, yet not preclude further inroads?

Customer. If they have bought goods or services from you in the not too distant past and paid for them, they are a customer, then and only then.

Are you using the right terminology in your office and with your sales manager? By doing so you can improve the accuracy of information you are sharing, as well as looking like the true sales professional you are.

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Some of the most effective sales techniques we can use are completely counter-intuitive; they work in a way that is completely the opposite of what we are expecting.

I love watching the old Star Trek episodes. The episodes that involved battles between the Starship Enterprise and the Klingon starships were especially great. Phasers, photon torpedoes, I enjoyed it all.

In one episode the Starship Enterprise was completed outgunned by multiple Klingon starships. There was no way that Scotty was going to be able to work his engineering magic in time to pull them out of this one. At just the moment that most captains would have made a desperate and feeble attempt to fire on the Klingon starships, Captain Kirk told Sulu to “lower the shields.” That’s right. He instructed his helm officer to turn off all of their remaining defenses and become completely vulnerable.

What happened next? The Klingons were so surprised by this “laying down of arms” that they followed suit. They stopped attacking and opened up communication with the Enterprise. They started talking and a compromise was reached. Captain Kirk’s insight saved the day (and consequently allowed them to make many more episodes and movies for me to enjoy).

While this is science fiction, the principle is not. If you want to open up the lines of communication with your customer, especially if there is conflict, then “lay down your arms.” Defensiveness and aggressive behavior toward an unhappy customer only serve to make the situation worse by making them increasingly defensive and aggressive. Consider the following:

Customer: You guys completely messed up our last order and caused our production line to be down for 48 hours, costing us $450,000.

Salesperson #1 response: That may be, but I can prove you ordered the wrong parts. I’m not taking responsibility for this one.

Salesperson #2 response: I know that having your production line down for that long is completely unacceptable to your company. I want to do a post-mortem with you on this order and let’s see what we can do to ensure that this never happens again.

The first salesperson only caused the customer to get more upset and defensive. This salesperson was ultimately going to lose the battle. By “lowering the shields” Salesperson #2 started to immediately diffuse the customer’s anger and laid out a blueprint for future business.

We’re all human. Our natural tendency is to respond to a customer’s anger with defensiveness. But it doesn’t work very well. “Lowering your shields” provides a pathway for communication and inspires your customer to turn off their phasers. Captain Kirk knew best.

Do you have a customer service issue that could be addressed by “lowering your shields?”

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Being assertive with customers and your employer is a key to sales success. Be careful how often you use that assertiveness.

As a sales professional you primarily deal with two groups of people on a daily basis, your customers and your employer. At the beginning of the relationship with both of these entities you were handed a six-gun. A six-gun is a revolver that has six bullets in it. You get six shots and then you’re empty.

The six-gun that a customer provides you allows you to both assert yourself with them six times (and no more) while also getting their full attention each time. Once you use these six shots they’ll stop being so receptive to what you have to say. In other words, your customers will listen to your serious issues and problems a limited number of times. If you have serious issues and problems too often they’ll stop giving you an audience and you’ll lose credibility. Don’t bring every little problem you encounter to the attention of your customer; handle almost all of them yourself.

You also have a six-gun with your employer. We know as sales professionals that we must assert ourselves with headquarters or we frequently won’t get the support that we and our customers need. Just as with customers, we must also limit how often we bring problems to our employer. Handle all the everyday problems and issues yourself; only seek help from your employer for the big and important issues you encounter. Don’t go to your sales manager when you find that you’ve lost a small account; just replace them with a bigger one and be done with it. Do go to your sales manager when you need additional resources brought in to help you close a very large deal.

Remember that “assertive” means self-assured and positive. Assertiveness is a necessary trait for sales professionals to use both with their customers and their employer. However, don’t overuse the assertiveness six-gun or those you need the most (customers and employer) will stop listening to you.

Have you taken inventory lately of where you stand with your customers and your employer? Do you still have some bullets left?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Most of us know the Golden Rule, but have you ever heard of the Platinum Rule? You may not find it in your place of worship, but it will come in handy with customers and prospects.

We all know the Golden Rule which says to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In other words, treat others like you’d like to be treated. There is no doubt that this is a great rule when applied correctly; it certainly applies to the moral areas of our lives.

However, there is another rule that is a relative of the Golden Rule that we need to use in sales, especially with our customers and prospects. That rule is called the Platinum Rule. The Platinum Rule says to “Do unto others as they would like done unto them.” In short, treat people like they would like to be treated, not how you would like to be treated. People are different. Not everyone shares our likes and dislikes.

Example 1: John says to his customer, “Bill, are you open tomorrow for lunch? I’m dying for some Chinese food.”

Debbie, using the Platinum Rule, says to her customer, “Mark, are you open tomorrow for lunch? I found a great new Greek place and I know that is one of your favorite foods. Does that sound good to you?”

See the difference? It’s actually quite profound. Mark feels his wants are important to Debbie…not so much the case with Bill and John.

Example 2: John says to his customer, “Bill, I just sent you the contract by email. I normally just email contracts to my new customers. I hope that is okay.”

Debbie, again using the Platinum Rule, says to her customer, “Mark, how would you like to receive your contract? I can fax, email or overnight it to you. Please let me know what is best for you and I’ll get it sent.”

Again, a significant difference, and Debbie’s words signal that she is tuning in to her customer’s wants. Debbie’s customer is much more likely to view her as a sales professional that listens, is more concerned about her customers than herself and provides a high level of customer service. Customers love - and respond to - all of those qualities.

The Platinum Rule does not require that you change your personality or that you act insincerely with your customers and prospects. It simply helps us focus on what our individual customers want versus trying to make the world fit our wants.

Can you put this into practice today with your prospects and customers?

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Let’s get real; salespeople really don’t like making customer calls with their sales manager. It doesn’t really have to be that way if both parties follow some guidelines.

Do you hate making customer calls with your sales manager? If you’re a sales manager, do you dread making account calls with your sales team members?

When I was selling I did what most other salespeople do when their sales manager works with them. I would set up my day so that I only called on my best customers and those prospects that were on the precipice of closing. I always had high volume sales days when I worked with my sales manager as a result.

This kind of not-so-productive strategy goes on everyday around the globe with salespeople and their managers. But it makes no sense. I’m going to suggest the following guidelines to sales managers and salespeople when working together:

Sales Managers

1. Focus on one or two things when working with a salesperson. You can’t effectively help them with 18 things at once.

2. Put your money where your mouth is. Actually demonstrate to the salesperson how to prospect, how to demonstrate products and how to handle customer service problems by taking the lead on those types of calls.

3. Tell the salesperson you’re working with that you specifically do not want to go to their best accounts. Let the salesperson know that you want to help them with their problem customers.

4. Let the salesperson know that you want them to be themselves, use their own personality and not try to mirror you.

5. Be open to learning some new things from the salesperson.

Salespeople

1. When you work with your sales manager be sure to be on time and be prepared. Don’t get in the car with your sales manager and say, “So, what do you want to do today?”

2. Don’t take your sales manager to your best customers. Take him or her to your problem customers. When they were a salesperson they had plenty of problem customers too and they understand.

3. When your sales manager makes a suggestion to you, be sure to immediately implement their idea. This shows the sales manager that you are listening and it also gives them a chance to provide you with feedback.

4. Be yourself. You will not do well if you are trying to be a clone of your sales manager. Your sales manager has his or her style and you have yours. Listen to and incorporate what they are teaching you, but do it with your own personality.

Both sales manager and salesperson can benefit by calling on customers together. If you are a salesperson, quit trying to set up the perfect day; let your sales manager help you with your problem customers. If you are a sales manager, see your role as a doctor. As a sales manager you are not there to observe healthy customers; you are there to help the salesperson with their sick ones.

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Customer referrals and reference customers are some of your best selling tools, but be careful how you use them.

Do you use customer referrals and reference customers to help your sales? How often?

When one of your existing customers provides you with a company name and contact as a potential customer it is known as a customer referral. A customer referral is one of the least used, yet best, prospecting tools in your selling arsenal. For some reason many salespeople ignore getting referrals or have poor follow-up when they get one. Here are some things to keep in mind when soliciting and using referrals:

1. Ask your best customers for a fixed number of referrals and provide them with specifics. “Mr. Customer, as you know, I am always working on building my business with good quality accounts like yours. I’m looking for new companies that manufacture hydraulic products with sales over $300M. Do you think you could provide me with three names?” People respond to specific requests better than vagaries.

2. Ask permission to use the referring customer’s name and see if they will contact the referral before you contact them.

3. Always follow-up with your referring customers to thank them and let them know what happened.

Reference customers are selected current customers that prospective customers can contact in order to check you out before doing business with you. Reference customers can also be name-dropped. “Mr. Prospect, as I get more familiar with your business I see that your needs are similar to the Mega Giant Company that is a customer of mine here in Kansas.” Here are some things to remember when using reference customers:

1. Never ever put a prospect in touch with a reference customer unless you are very sure that the reference customer is currently happy with you. Too often sales organizations don’t take the temperature of their reference customers before sending prospects their way - with disastrous results.

2. Don’t overuse your reference customers and burn them out.

3. If you are going to name-drop a reference customer in order to gain credibility with a prospect, be sure that the reference customer doesn’t consider their vendor sources confidential.

4. Don’t use a reference customer that is a direct competitor of a prospect for obvious reasons.

Customer referrals typically produce prospects that have fewer objections and have a shorter sales cycle. They are absolutely one of the quickest ways to build your business. If you follow-up properly with referring customers you’ll find that over time they’ll provide you a steady stream of referrals, without even asking. Reference customers can be a great tool to lessen the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) of potential customers that might do business with you someday.

If you’re not already a subscriber, click here (salesvitamins.com) to subscribe and automatically receive Sales Vitamins™ as new posts become available. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer