Sales Lessons Learned At The Dinner Table
Sales Lessons Learned At The Dinner Table
Case in point- dinner last night with friends I've known for years. Among the assembled cast was an accountant, a doctor, a risk management analyst, a marketing manager for a bank and a realtor. We're the kind of friends who talk about everything, including work occasionally. Last night the topic of conversation wandered away from dating stories and tales of our recent vacations to marketing and sales and why people buy stuff (something near and dear to my heart).
Now, two of the folks at dinner are in marketing full-time so you might expect some good things to come out of the discussion. One of them was Holly Buchanan, a copywriter for Future Now Inc in Brooklyn. Holly's new blog is about marketing to women online. Now, I've always known Holly is a great writer and a fine thinker but because we're friends I never noticed she is BRILLIANT. She has a way of getting to the heart of the matter, the essence of things, and that is a rare quality. If you get a chance and are interested at all in understanding how women use the web to buy, check out her blog at http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/. You’ll learn a lot about consumer behavior and why people buy the things they do.
What was incredible, though, in addition to Holly's giant ideas, was the amount of insight and wisdom on the topic of marketing that came from each of my other friends. I mean these women have nothing whatsoever to do with marketing in their work lives. But they are consumers. They understand marketing from the receiving end and what a difference a little perspective makes! They talked about how they like to buy, what catches their eye, and what makes them run screaming from the room (hint: it's pushy salespeople). I learned as much from them as I did from the two who do marketing for a living.
The point of this little story is that everyone you meet has some value to add to your life and the work you do. If you are trying to sell something to someone, the best thing you can do to help yourself is ask them how they want to buy. The view from the other side of the table is always different than yours and always beneficial. Remember one of our basic tenets: People always buy what they want to buy. Your job is to figure out what they want and find a way to give it to them.
Here’s a little exercise to get you started on the path to figuring out what people want to buy. Get a pencil and some paper and make a list of your 25 best clients. “Best” means they buy from you repeatedly, they are profitable for you and they refer you business. If you don’t have 25 of them, you really need to do this exercise!
Next invite each one out to lunch individually (yes, you’re buying) and, after the usual catching up and reconnecting (somewhere about halfway through the main course) ask them the following questions:
• Before you ever bought our product, why did you agree to see me for our first appointment? What did I say or do that caught your attention?
• What is it about us that makes us easy to refer? Is there anything that makes it difficult?
• What causes you to refer business to us? Is it particular situations or something about us and our product?
• What is one thing you’d suggest we do better in our business to make it easier to work with us?
You’ll now know how to become more magnetic and attract more sales than ever. Who better to learn from than people who already love you?
Do the same thing with several of your friends and family and ask them about products they buy repeatedly and refer to others. Find out what it is that makes them come back for more and send new customers to the product. Then apply what you have learned to your own way of doing business.
The lesson here is that they are brilliant people everywhere if you keep your eyes open and look for them. Don’t be afraid to ask them to share their insights. They’ll thank you for the attention and recognition of their intelligence and you’ll make some money in the process. Now, that’s working smarter!
Sales Lessons Learned At The Dinner Table - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Sometimes the most incredible things in life are right under your nose and you don't even see them.
Case in point- dinner last night with friends I've known for years. Among the assembled cast was an accountant, a doctor, a risk management analyst, a marketing manager for a bank and a realtor. We're the kind of friends who talk about everything, including work occasionally. Last night the topic of conversation wandered away from dating stories and tales of our recent vacations to marketing and sales and why people buy stuff (something near and dear to my heart).
Now, two of the folks at dinner are in marketing full-time so you might expect some good things to come out of the discussion. One of them was Holly Buchanan, a copywriter for Future Now Inc in Brooklyn. Holly's new blog is about marketing to women online. Now, I've always known Holly is a great writer and a fine thinker but because we're friends I never noticed she is BRILLIANT. She has a way of getting to the heart of the matter, the essence of things, and that is a rare quality. If you get a chance and are interested at all in understanding how women use the web to buy, check out her blog at http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/. You’ll learn a lot about consumer behavior and why people buy the things they do.
What was incredible, though, in addition to Holly's giant ideas, was the amount of insight and wisdom on the topic of marketing that came from each of my other friends. I mean these women have nothing whatsoever to do with marketing in their work lives. But they are consumers. They understand marketing from the receiving end and what a difference a little perspective makes! They talked about how they like to buy, what catches their eye, and what makes them run screaming from the room (hint: it's pushy salespeople). I learned as much from them as I did from the two who do marketing for a living.
The point of this little story is that everyone you meet has some value to add to your life and the work you do. If you are trying to sell something to someone, the best thing you can do to help yourself is ask them how they want to buy. The view from the other side of the table is always different than yours and always beneficial. Remember one of our basic tenets: People always buy what they want to buy. Your job is to figure out what they want and find a way to give it to them.
Here’s a little exercise to get you started on the path to figuring out what people want to buy. Get a pencil and some paper and make a list of your 25 best clients. “Best” means they buy from you repeatedly, they are profitable for you and they refer you business. If you don’t have 25 of them, you really need to do this exercise!
Next invite each one out to lunch individually (yes, you’re buying) and, after the usual catching up and reconnecting (somewhere about halfway through the main course) ask them the following questions:
• Before you ever bought our product, why did you agree to see me for our first appointment? What did I say or do that caught your attention?
• What is it about us that makes us easy to refer? Is there anything that makes it difficult?
• What causes you to refer business to us? Is it particular situations or something about us and our product?
• What is one thing you’d suggest we do better in our business to make it easier to work with us?
You’ll now know how to become more magnetic and attract more sales than ever. Who better to learn from than people who already love you?
Do the same thing with several of your friends and family and ask them about products they buy repeatedly and refer to others. Find out what it is that makes them come back for more and send new customers to the product. Then apply what you have learned to your own way of doing business.
The lesson here is that they are brilliant people everywhere if you keep your eyes open and look for them. Don’t be afraid to ask them to share their insights. They’ll thank you for the attention and recognition of their intelligence and you’ll make some money in the process. Now, that’s working smarter!
Sales Lessons Learned At The Dinner Table - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson'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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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig'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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