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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?”

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 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?

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Summary: Selling name brands for big corporations might look easy on the surface; it’s not.

It was my first day of my new job. I had worked for years for small companies and was incredibly excited to finally be selling for a really-big-company. This was a Fortune 10 company that everyone knew; I could finally let the products and services sell themselves and relax a little. I had paid my dues and I was now on selling-easy-street. I could not have been more wrong. Before you answer the siren song of a really-big-company sales position please consider the following.

Quota/Budget. Those really-big-company executives may have gotten their executive position for all the wrong reasons but they definitely are smart enough to know that brand name recognition normally translates into an easier sale for you. They compensate for that fact by giving you a large sales budget like you’ve never seen before.

Competition. As Reggie Jackson used to say, “Fans don’t boo nobodies.” The more visible your company is, the more likely your prospects and customers are going to be a target of fierce competitive activity.

Bureaucracy. You only thought you had to do a lot of paperwork when you worked at those smaller companies. Really-big-companies will bury you in meaningless and redundant paperwork, CRM systems, ERP systems, SFA systems, expense voucher systems, ad infinitum systems.

Account Base/Territory. You can’t believe how much really-big-companies segment sales territories. Since market share is high, they figure that you don’t need very much geography or accounts/prospects to meet your quota. The fewer companies you have to contact the more important it is that you don’t damage any sales opportunities, especially considering the big sales budget that is assigned to you. Every sales presentation can become a do-or-die effort.

No doubt there are some advantages in selling for a really-big-company. But don’t take a sales job for one of these companies thinking that it is going to be easy. Life and work have a way of always balancing advantages and disadvantages. Nothing that pays you a significant income is going to be easy.

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

The sociological definition of a dysfunctional work environment would broadly state that as a consequence of a social practice or behavior pattern the stability of the group is undermined. It’s disturbing to me that the subject of dysfunctional work environments is one of the most popular business topics today. Most workplace psychologists agree that every company has some kind of dysfunction. There is no perfect workplace. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise to us since nothing is perfect in this world. Families, churches, schools, etc., none of them are perfect. People are messy.

While virtually every workplace has some level of dysfunction, there are levels and types of dysfunction that are tolerable and those that are not. There are books written about this and I have personally worked in sales environments where there were some really nasty things going on. The dysfunctional behavior I want to touch on in this post is that of management by intimidation. This one is particularly prevalent in sales management. The sales manager thinks, “If I put pressure on those lazy stupid sales people and show them who’s boss, I’ll increase their productivity.” The worst part about this “strategy” is that it works, but only in the short term. People will in fact work harder for a boss that is screaming at them, but only long enough to pacify him or her. While the sales manager is throwing his or her daily/weekly fits at selected individuals, these same individuals are planning their exit. The ignorant sales manager is also most likely naive about the outgoing salesperson’s plans to take their customers with them. One important note here. It has been my observation that management by intimidation is not gender biased. While I have certainly observed unbalanced individuals that were men, I’ve seen women that were equally as bad.

How can you tell if you are working for a sales manager that rules by intimidation? Here’s a quick checklist with some common symptoms:

Always fault finding
Various threats, most are veiled
Reckless and irresponsible behavior
Belligerence toward customers
Substance abuse
Temper tantrums
Needs subordinates to be completely submissive
People frequently comment about his/her irrational behavior
His or her boss also rules by intimidation (or a corporate environment of intimidation)

If you find yourself in one of these environments see if you can get moved to a different boss. This is a primary strategy although I have to caution you that if a company tolerates this kind of behavior from one manager, they’ll probably tolerate it from others. Your next strategy is to find a new company to work for. Please do not wait for the individual to see the errors of his or her ways and get better. That won’t happen. While everyone can have a bad day and say something that may hurt someone else’s feelings, a sales manager that continually rules by intimidation is someone you need to get away from before you internalize their toxic message.

The stereotypical salesperson is portrayed as shallow, money hungry and untruthful. Most non-salespeople might be surprised to learn that those are unfair characterizations, especially the last one. Let me give you an example.

Customer: “Debbie, I need these parts and would love to buy them from you, but Bill at XYZ, Inc. down the street has them for, oh, um, let me see, 25% less than you do.”

Salesperson: “I’ll talk with my manager and see if I can meet that price.”

What is going on here? Well, that’s the issue. We don’t know for sure what is going on. Is the customer telling Debbie the truth about XYZ, Inc. or is he manipulating the facts to his advantage (i.e., lying)? After making literally thousands of sales calls, it is my anecdotal observation that some customers modify the facts more frequently than salespeople do.

There are a number of ways that customers like this stretch the truth a bit sometimes. Here’s a short list (all of which I’ve observed on more than one occasion): a fabrication about why your invoice is not paid; a story about how they didn’t receive those items you shipped - although they really did receive them; creativity applied to “needed by” date on a shipment to provide some padding for them - but killed you to make it happen; how they absolutely did tell you about a certain specification that you must not have written down, etc.

Do all customers get reckless with the truth sometimes in order to get themselves out of a pinch? Thankfully, most don’t. Unfortunately this type of customer behavior happens more than we probably are willing to accept or may be aware of. So what’s the lesson to be learned? Know that a knee jerk reaction is not always required when a customer throws up an objection or problem. Analyze the situation and the customer. Ask yourself if you think they are representing things accurately before you decide on your course of action.

The relationship you have with your customers needs to be a partnership, and partnerships can’t and won’t last without honesty from both sides. Invest your time with customers that trust you, and that you can trust.

Sales funnels (or pipelines) are a list of prospects you are currently working on and hope to close. These funnels may include the names of decision makers, the proposed products and services, the anticipated close date, the percentage chance that the sale will actually close, expected revenue, etc.

With the onslaught of software to help with funnel management (i.e., Sales Force Automation, Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Resource Planning) the amount of data that is being collected from salespeople is getting out of hand in some cases. Salespeople are being asked to input huge amounts of information to these systems that are basically sales funnels on steroids. I should know; I’ve lived with several of these systems and have mixed feelings about them. Salespeople, I have felt your pain.

The first big ugly secret about these systems is that only a limited amount of this sales funnel information is ever used. The reason for this is because of the second big ugly secret; salespeople can’t see the ROI for the time it takes to input the plethora of data. As a result they make up entries to satisfy the system and save time; thus the data can be unreliable and meaningless. And now for the third big ugly secret. Depending on the size, features and options, companies can invest millions of dollars on these systems; so they find themselves in the we-have-too-much-invested-in-this-to-abandon-it mode.

The fourth and biggest ugly secret is that many implementations are not successful. The guesstimates on the amount of unsuccessful implementations go as high as 90%. The amount of cognitive dissonance for companies that install these things and aren’t pleased with the results must be unreal. “We have invested tons of money and time on this and we know it works so we expect our sales professionals to use it. They should be thanking us for this great sales tool! It will revolutionize how we go to market!” Right.

I’m a big believer in automating everything possible and removing selling obstacles from salespeople. Sales force automation tools and their related products can and do benefit sales organizations around the globe. However, and this is a big “however,” before jumping in it is critical that your company determine exactly what funnel information needs to be gathered and will actually be used. Next, an ROI analysis needs to be performed that will measure the benefits against the opportunity costs for the sales force and your organization as a whole. Here’s an idea for management that virtually none do when implementing sales force automation; talk to your salespeople before buying anything. You don’t always have to buy the Boeing 747 model of the software. Sometimes less is actually more.

To be sure, there are successful implementations of this kind of software. They are ones that are well thought out in relation to ROI, where the amount of information being gathered from salespeople is realistic and there is a real need for the information.

Sales managers should occasionally review the salespeople that work for them and see where each fits in the following four categories. If you are a salesperson you might want to take a look at these categories and see which one applies to you. This can be a real eye opener for both salespeople and sales managers.

The Angel. The low maintenance high producing salesperson is one that brings home the bacon and doesn’t need a lot of his or her manager’s time to do so. This is where you want to be if you’re a salesperson and where you want all of your salespeople to be if you are a sales manager. The only cautionary note I have is that sales management tends to forget these people sometimes and not give them enough positive feedback and attention. This can be a big mistake. Other companies want to hire these people.

The Handful. The high maintenance high producing salesperson is the individual who can generate the revenue numbers but who needs a lot of attention from sales management. While their sales numbers are good, they might need someone to frequently hold their hand through troubled customer waters and provide them a lot of positive feedback. These salespeople may require more management time, but sales managers shouldn’t complain. They’re worth the time.

The Under the Radar. The low maintenance low producer is the salesperson that requires little to no management time, but isn’t exactly setting the world on fire with their sales numbers. In fact they rarely hit their numbers. These people can become invisible on occasion because they aren’t getting anyone’s attention with their results and they don’t demand a lot of management time. Sales managers can’t ignore this group (as is frequently the case) or just write them off; they need to make the decision to either attempt to get them producing or replace them.

The Devil. The high maintenance low producer is the salesperson that is the worst of both worlds. They take more than their fair share of sales management time, especially considering their results. They also rarely, if ever, even get close to their sales budget. These are sales management’s best choice to replace, and quickly. If there isn’t an unbelievably compelling story regarding how they can be rehabilitated you’ll be further ahead by not having them on your team, even if you don’t replace them.

So there you have it. Just about every salesperson (and sales manger too for that matter; just ask VP’s of sales) fits neatly into one of these categories. The new year will soon be here, time to review where you or your sales force fits.

I’m going to shake some people’s foundational beliefs when I say this; printed sales collateral in business is a waste of your time and money. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you actually read printed sales collateral from a company you were contemplating doing business with? When was the last time you actually read printed sales collateral given to you by a salesperson you were trying to dismiss by asking them if they had any sales material they could leave behind. When you mail or leave collateral material you instinctively know that the recipient isn’t going to read it. When you were new to sales you used to end every unsuccessful cold call with, “I’ll mail you some information.” Mailing the prospect some information somewhat made you feel like you were moving the sale along, but in your heart of hearts you knew you weren’t.

So why do so many companies continue to print sales and marketing brochures? For two primary reasons. One, it’s a leftover from pre-Internet days. Two, the act of mailing something to a prospect or having a “leave behind” piece makes us feel like we’re accomplishing something. Old fashioned marketing managers will claim that you must have printed sales brochures. Twenty-first century marketing managers will tell you that your “sales brochure” is found on the Internet. Studies have shown that about 70% of business buyers go to the Internet for information before they place an order. They aren’t looking for an outdated sales brochure for this information.

Every sales organization that has been around for 20 or more years has a room or closet where they keep all their collateral material. This material is normally dusty, grossly outdated and disorganized. The second a brochure is printed it’s out of date. There’s a better answer, the Internet. Websites, blogs, email, wikis, etc. provide information to the prospect or customer that is current and can be done inexpensively and quickly. And, the prospect or customer finds it a better and more reliable information source on your products and services as well.

Cisco Systems out of San Jose, California with $30b in annual revenue is a great example of a company that has this concept down pat. Try to find a Cisco sales brochure. You can’t. Over the last 23 years they have educated their customer base to go to http://www.cisco.com/ to find information about Cisco. They work in an industry where things change in a heartbeat and there is a lot of information. A bunch of dated product literature lying around just wouldn’t work for them. And whether you know it or not, it won’t work for you either.

It’s the 21’st century. It’s time to realize that if customers truly want information about your company, they’re going to the Internet to find it.

The words that you use with customers and prospects are your strongest and most important tool despite what some “experts” say.

Albert Mehrabrian of UCLA wrote a couple of books in the early 1970’s that addressed the issue of body language in communication. The idea that 7% of interpersonal communication is verbal and the other 93% is nonverbal is said to come from the research he did and published in these books. The reality is that people have radically misinterpreted his research and have erroneously applied it. Despite his efforts to correct the misinterpretations there are still many “professional” speakers, consultants and trainers who cite his research to point out that our words only account for 7% of our interpersonal communication. What a bunch of nonsense.

Here’s the common sense test:

1. If words were only 7% of communication then we really would never have to learn a foreign language; we could just watch someone’s body language and understand 93% of what they were saying.
2. If words were only 7% of communication then we would only understand 7% of the content from radio, books, magazines, websites and newspapers.
3. Telephones would only be 7% effective if we couldn’t see the other party’s body language.
4. Airline pilots, taxi drivers, police and fire departments would only be able to understand 7% of the instructions given to them over their mobile radios.

You get the idea. To think that we get only 7% of understanding from the actual words we use is totally ridiculous as is shown above. Do yourself a favor and pay attention to all the words that you use when selling. Your words do in fact communicate the vast majority of your message and your body language only modifies that message.

Sales aptitude tests do not work when it comes to hiring sales people. Period. When my daughter was young and would bring me some wild eyed story I would sit down with her and ask her to give it the “common sense test.” The “common sense test” was to take what she already knew to be true and see if the claims even remotely matched up to that prior knowledge.

So let’s do that for sales aptitude tests.

1. Considering the cost of turnover in a sales department and the importance of sales in an organization, don’t you think that if there were a sales aptitude test that even remotely worked that everyone would be using it and the inventor would be seen as a sales god?
2. There are a million different sales aptitude tests out there, maybe more. One of them must work really well (and we just haven’t heard about it) or none of them are very effective. The fact that there are so many should be enough to scare you off.
3. Do any of them give any ironclad guarantee as to their effectiveness? Will they reimburse the new hire’s salary if their test gives you a thumbs up but their performance is a thumbs down?
4. Virtually all of these sales aptitude tests will tell you that the test results should only be considered a variable in the hiring decision. They will tell you to use the test results as only 10 – 50% of the decision making process.

Hiring sales professionals is too difficult and has too many variables to rely on just a written test. Save your money and use your time and resources in some other hiring areas that I will cover in future posts.