THE TOO SALESY PARADOX WHY PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS CANT SELL AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
THE TOO SALESY PARADOX WHY PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS CANT SELL AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
The distress is obvious. The complaints are frequent. The clear disdain for the activity is surprisingly unfiltered. What are we talking about? Selling, or more specifically, selling professional services.
In conversation after conversation as I work with clients, conduct seminars, or network with my professional colleagues, I hear the same comments:
Selling conflicts with my values as a professional.
Selling gets in the way of building strong relationships.
You have to have it in your genes - like a used car salesman.
I don't sell professional services - I work with my clients to create the best solutions.
People won't respect me as a professional if I am selling to them.
I can't sell to them. What will they think of me?
It (selling) is not what we do around here.
So what happens the moment these same professional service providers (be they lawyers, accountants, or consultants of every ilk) start to do any business development? They become their worse nightmare - the overly aggressive, too “salesy" used car sales person.
They try so hard not to sell or to have any appearance that they are selling, the effect is quite the opposite of what they intended. As Queen Gertrude said to Prince Hamlet, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
On Being Too “Salesy"
First of all, there is nothing wrong with selling. Quite the contrary, the act of selling itself, when done well, adds a significant amount of value. A well planned sales conversation can help even sophisticated buyers make smarter decisions.
However, having learned that questions are the key to having good sales conversations, professionals sometimes ask the questions such that you can almost hear the seller thinking:
First, I'm going to ask a few questions about the person's family...I'll make small talk about fishing and his kids. OK, that was a good warm up...now I'll say ‘let's get down to financial business,' so I can be viewed as a focused financial advisor.
Now is the time I ask questions about his situation and goals...While I'm doing this, I need to seem very professional and financial so I'll put my glasses on and take out my calculator...question six: retirement cash flow...question seven: tax planning...question eight: estate planning...
OK, now that the questions are done, I'm going to get him to explicitly state the value of the solution I propose, close the deal, get the order, and thank him for his ‘valuable time today.'
I do not have an exact definition for too “salesy," but I do know when I am on the receiving end of the hard sell. So do most buyers. And when they do see it, their reactions are consistent:
Buyers' defenses go up. First impressions are important. If the buyers' first impression is, “He's a sales guy," it is tough to shake it.
Trust is difficult to establish. Being too “salesy" makes buyers question the seller's motives, making trust difficult to establish.
Buyers feel patronized. Sellers may be trying to be deferential by saying transparent things like, “thank you for your valuable time." Most times buyers feel the seller is contrived.
While being too “salesy" is ill-advised for almost any sales rep, it is particularly bad for sellers of consulting, professional, financial, and technology services. Buyers of products can often say, “I don't like the sales rep, but I can tune her out for the next few minutes and simply evaluate her product against the competition."
Buyers of services are evaluating the sellers themselves. Why? The seller is very often the service provider. The relationship does not end when the sale itself is completed - it is just beginning. Thus, the foundation of trust set up between the buyer and seller in the sales process is of paramount importance.
Non-“salesy" selling
How do you avoid the trap of the too “salesy" paradox and discover client goals and offer the right solutions without sounding contrived?
Take pride in selling. Sometimes salespeople say too quickly, “Now I don't want this in any way to be viewed as a sales discussion...I'm here to help you." This sounds like a contrived speech and very close to “I am from the government...and here to help you." There is nothing wrong with selling. Avoid being a sales apologizer.
Choose not to be contrived. While it may seem simplistic, one of the most important ways to avoid sounding contrived is to choose to avoid it. By saying to yourself before a sales conversation, “I'm not going to deliver phrases like ‘thank you for your valuable time' and ‘what keeps you up at night'," you will erase a certain amount of contrived language from your speech patterns.
Relax. Sellers that seem rushed create buyers that feel rushed. Rushed buyers feel pressured. This fosters distrust. If a seller seems too eager, the buyer thinks “Why does he seem to want/need this sale so badly...what's wrong with this picture?"
Be a person, not a robot. The underlying strength of most sales methodologies is their focus on helping you to understand buyer needs. This is good. However, engaging these sales methodologies like they are a script creates a robotic, stilted sales discussion. The more your sales discussions resemble normal conversations, the more real rapport you will be able to build.
Meet your commitments. As you improve at conducting sales conversations that flow like conversations, you will generate an increasing level of trust. Be worthy of that trust; keep promises and deliver on what you say you will.
Get feedback. Almost every seller can improve their sales conversations. The most consistent and fastest way of developing your skills is to have someone whose opinions you respect observe you in action. It is worth the time and resources to get good feedback. Actively seek it out.
Sincere selling is valuable and rewarding; “salesy" selling is contrived and ineffective. As you are selling, tune into how “salesy" you sound. You may find that a few stylistic changes can dramatically change your sales success rate and keep you from becoming another victim of the “salesy" paradox.
THE TOO SALESY PARADOX WHY PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS CANT SELL AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT - To learn more about this author, visit Laurie Stafinski's Website.
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By John Doerr
The distress is obvious. The complaints are frequent. The clear disdain for the activity is surprisingly unfiltered. What are we talking about? Selling, or more specifically, selling professional services.
In conversation after conversation as I work with clients, conduct seminars, or network with my professional colleagues, I hear the same comments:
Selling conflicts with my values as a professional.
Selling gets in the way of building strong relationships.
You have to have it in your genes - like a used car salesman.
I don't sell professional services - I work with my clients to create the best solutions.
People won't respect me as a professional if I am selling to them.
I can't sell to them. What will they think of me?
It (selling) is not what we do around here.
So what happens the moment these same professional service providers (be they lawyers, accountants, or consultants of every ilk) start to do any business development? They become their worse nightmare - the overly aggressive, too “salesy" used car sales person.
They try so hard not to sell or to have any appearance that they are selling, the effect is quite the opposite of what they intended. As Queen Gertrude said to Prince Hamlet, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
On Being Too “Salesy"
First of all, there is nothing wrong with selling. Quite the contrary, the act of selling itself, when done well, adds a significant amount of value. A well planned sales conversation can help even sophisticated buyers make smarter decisions.
However, having learned that questions are the key to having good sales conversations, professionals sometimes ask the questions such that you can almost hear the seller thinking:
First, I'm going to ask a few questions about the person's family...I'll make small talk about fishing and his kids. OK, that was a good warm up...now I'll say ‘let's get down to financial business,' so I can be viewed as a focused financial advisor.
Now is the time I ask questions about his situation and goals...While I'm doing this, I need to seem very professional and financial so I'll put my glasses on and take out my calculator...question six: retirement cash flow...question seven: tax planning...question eight: estate planning...
OK, now that the questions are done, I'm going to get him to explicitly state the value of the solution I propose, close the deal, get the order, and thank him for his ‘valuable time today.'
I do not have an exact definition for too “salesy," but I do know when I am on the receiving end of the hard sell. So do most buyers. And when they do see it, their reactions are consistent:
Buyers' defenses go up. First impressions are important. If the buyers' first impression is, “He's a sales guy," it is tough to shake it.
Trust is difficult to establish. Being too “salesy" makes buyers question the seller's motives, making trust difficult to establish.
Buyers feel patronized. Sellers may be trying to be deferential by saying transparent things like, “thank you for your valuable time." Most times buyers feel the seller is contrived.
While being too “salesy" is ill-advised for almost any sales rep, it is particularly bad for sellers of consulting, professional, financial, and technology services. Buyers of products can often say, “I don't like the sales rep, but I can tune her out for the next few minutes and simply evaluate her product against the competition."
Buyers of services are evaluating the sellers themselves. Why? The seller is very often the service provider. The relationship does not end when the sale itself is completed - it is just beginning. Thus, the foundation of trust set up between the buyer and seller in the sales process is of paramount importance.
Non-“salesy" selling
How do you avoid the trap of the too “salesy" paradox and discover client goals and offer the right solutions without sounding contrived?
Take pride in selling. Sometimes salespeople say too quickly, “Now I don't want this in any way to be viewed as a sales discussion...I'm here to help you." This sounds like a contrived speech and very close to “I am from the government...and here to help you." There is nothing wrong with selling. Avoid being a sales apologizer.
Choose not to be contrived. While it may seem simplistic, one of the most important ways to avoid sounding contrived is to choose to avoid it. By saying to yourself before a sales conversation, “I'm not going to deliver phrases like ‘thank you for your valuable time' and ‘what keeps you up at night'," you will erase a certain amount of contrived language from your speech patterns.
Relax. Sellers that seem rushed create buyers that feel rushed. Rushed buyers feel pressured. This fosters distrust. If a seller seems too eager, the buyer thinks “Why does he seem to want/need this sale so badly...what's wrong with this picture?"
Be a person, not a robot. The underlying strength of most sales methodologies is their focus on helping you to understand buyer needs. This is good. However, engaging these sales methodologies like they are a script creates a robotic, stilted sales discussion. The more your sales discussions resemble normal conversations, the more real rapport you will be able to build.
Meet your commitments. As you improve at conducting sales conversations that flow like conversations, you will generate an increasing level of trust. Be worthy of that trust; keep promises and deliver on what you say you will.
Get feedback. Almost every seller can improve their sales conversations. The most consistent and fastest way of developing your skills is to have someone whose opinions you respect observe you in action. It is worth the time and resources to get good feedback. Actively seek it out.
Sincere selling is valuable and rewarding; “salesy" selling is contrived and ineffective. As you are selling, tune into how “salesy" you sound. You may find that a few stylistic changes can dramatically change your sales success rate and keep you from becoming another victim of the “salesy" paradox.
THE TOO SALESY PARADOX WHY PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS CANT SELL AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT - To learn more about this author, visit Laurie Stafinski's Website.
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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