I am in the midst of starting a new sales job, and as I am setting my goals and getting myself motivated for success, I have sat down to come up with numbers and goals. To plan for my numbers I decided to work backwards to come up with my daily objective.
I am a money motivated person, so I came up with what I wanted to earn at the end of my first year, once I had that number, I made the calculation that at a 10% rate of commission, I'd need to come up with X number of dollars in sales. I then contacted successful sales people in the organization and asked them what the average sales amount was for them in the last year. I also asked what they were finding as a closing ratio. Once I had those numbers, I sat down and did the math, how many contacts did I need to make a day to get the number of opportunities to present that I needed, and then close the sales to realize my numbers. Of course, as I go through the year, I'll need to keep track of my numbers to see if I need to make midcourse corrections to reach my goals.
The next step was to sit down with my Sales/Operations Manager to integrate his objectives in to my game plan. We are selling a service, pest control, so I needed to sit down and get his input on what segments of the market he wanted us to market. I have found that in selling services it's important to get buy in from the Operations people, if they don't like the business you sell, they can sabotage your sale. Find the sweet spot and you'll be more successful than just selling in the blind.
Now that I've put together all of these factors I'm able to get up each morning and have a game plan in place as to where I'm going and what I'm going to do to get to my goals. Let's hope it all works out.
I was reading a book on Cold Calling, the nemesis of all salesmen. I've come to believe that we salespeople have made cold calling in to a boogie man that we always see as the ultimate challenge. The person that wrote this book gave a very basic premise, the premise being that no matter what, you'll sell a third of the people that you contact, no matter what you do, another third won't buy from you, no matter what you do, and the middle third can be manipulated by your salesmanship and abilities. While some days, those numbers seem very far-fetched, I'm willing to accept them as being very close to correct in a macro sense. So what that means to me is that I've got to get out there and pound the street and make the contacts. I'm working in a Branch Office that hasn't had a successful salesperson in quite some time, so I don't have a pipeline in place. In this type of situation it's critical that I build that base as soon as possible, so wish me luck.
Let's assume the following about the small business market:
1. Owner managers have no time for anything much less another sales pitch; 2. Owner managers seek value. If you, or what you sell, cannot provide value, it is seen as just another commodity; and 3. Owner managers are very lonely. Leadership is, by and large, a lonely endeavor.
How do you reach out to a target market with no time, seeks value and doesn't need yet another mouth to feed?
1. Provide information, not a sales pitch. Look at your sales literature and your pitch. Are you actually providing information beyond your good or service? Have you informed the owner-manager about their industry, some specialized knowledge they might not know (for example, here's a tax deduction all your competitors miss) or what problem you are actually here to solve? If you provide information, it is less likely they will see you as just another sales pitch. Try group seminars rather than one on one pitch and, more importantly, ask them to bring their gate keepers too.
2. Find ways to increase their sales. As opposed to inviting them to a round of golf (which, in the eyes of many owner-managers, is a waste of a day), find out who their sales targets are and invite the owner manager to lunch with these targets. If it results in a sale for the owner-manager, they will see you as a value added and not a cost centre. Plus, they can't exactly buy what you are selling without increased revenue right?
3. Be the bartender. The most over-looked pain of an owner-manager is loneliness. Other than their immediate family, they sit at the top and have few people to vent or complain to. Be the bartender and listen to their woes and actually try to help them. If you don't know how, introduce them to a follow owner-manager who may (entrepreneurs love to exchange ideas).
The key to all of the above strategies and tactics requires a true understanding of an owner manager's life. If you are just entering the market and do not know this well, sit down with your prospect and find out before you actually sell. It will make you a better small business sales and marketer over the long run. Good luck.
"When you hear no, then simply take another approach," said Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com. I had the pleasure of hearing Bob Speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference in D.C. this month. He was an inspiring speaker and had to overcome a lot of odds before he created an amazingly successful company. He attributes the success of his company to luck and perspective. He said he always had a good perspective. When he spent a tour of duty in Vietnam he simply took it one day at a time. He emerged from the war with some wounds. And even was honored with medals for his time in the marine core.
He really hit home how important it is for an entrepreneur and a business owner to get their head in the right place in order to be successful. He lives by and always follows his 16 rules that helped him create the success he has today. Here are a few of them:
- Get and Stay out of your comfort zone - "security is for cadavers" - Never give up - When you're ready to quit, you are closer to success than you think - Whatever worries you, always accept what's the worse thing that can happen to you - Always Focus on what you want to have happen - "as you think, so shall you be."
The rest of Bob's rules can be found at bobparsons.me - "Bob's 16 Rules." Listening to him speak was inspiring to me in particular, because I have a tendency to stay in my comfort zone. When I do that, I don't grow as fast and don't take enough risks. Being able to take risks and do things differently is a huge key to success and something I'm working on for myself. The other thing that struck me, was to always ask the question- "What's the worst possible thing that could happen?" Once you answer that, whatever you're going through really doesn't seem that bad at all. His best story though, was how he almost closed GoDaddy. The company was simply losing money. Yet, when he decided he was going to stick to his guns until "the ship" went down, that's when the company turned the corner and now they're a huge contender online today. They register a new URL every second and have registered over 3.5 million.
So, get your head in the game of your business - focus on what you want, not on all the problems. Do something to change your perspective and it will change your business. Do one thing today to get out of your comfort zone and I will too. Let me know what you did and how I can support you!
One of the running themes of my posts is that achieving true success selling to small businesses involves not merely being a sales person but being an advisor. Entrepreneurs are like Swiss Army Knives- they have to do a lot of different things using the same platform. But with so much going on, not every tool that they have is going to be as sharp as the last one they used.
Thus, they have to rely upon advisors for help. A short-sighted sales representative may think that they do not have time to sell and advise an account. Better to take the money and run right?
Consider this statistic which adds some concreteness to the saying "what goes around, comes around": entrepreneurs who regularly seek professional advice experience 76% higher revenue growth than a counterpart that does not seek professional advice.
To state the obvious, rapidly growing clients are what every account manager dreams of. However, what the study implies is that rapidly growing accounts are not found but, instead, cultivated through active participation in small businesses ready and willing to seek out advisors. The pay-off for all parties appears to be well worth it.
From my own personal experience, I often pursued clients that most other lawyers would not. They were considered too small, in non-traditional growth industries, lacked adequate capitalization etc. etc. However, as a broad generalization, smaller clients with shrewd, albeit broke, management, a willingness to learn and, most of all, a real passion for their business tend to grow exponentially based on a wide range of professional advice (despite its structural issues at start-up).
It is those same clients who I grew with that are also the most loyal and greatest word of mouth referrals. If you are hitting the sales trail and finding no success perhaps it is time to think as an advisor as well as a sales rep. Good luck.
"Everything is about the customer experience," exclaimed Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos. I had the ultimate pleasure of hearing him speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference, as well as talk to him after his presentation. He's a very inspiring, pragmatic and funny speaker. He had so many gems of wisdom that I almost ran out of room to write them all down. A lot of what he said really hit home for me, especially now with what's happening with businesses and the economy. I believe the philosophy he shared and the philosophy I keep reading about in Dan Kennedy's monthly newsletter will be the keys to companies staying in business. What's that philosophy?
Well it's about the customer and as Tony Hsieh said, "Zappos is about delivering happiness to their door." In his case it's delivering merchandise like shoes and clothing, while building long lasting relationships with their customers and having THE best customer service ever. Their main brand IS customer service. They go above and beyond for their customers. He gave us many awe inspiring stories and some funny ones too. I decided to try out their customer service and they were wonderful. Unfortunately my rescue dog Lily got a hold of my Keens and chewed the closure loop. I called Zappos to see if I could get it fixed or what to do since I purchased the shoes from them. They checked out Keens site and gave me all the info to get them fixed - wow, that was cool.
Here's what I'd recommend for you - ramp up your customer service by doing something special for your customers. Also, stay in their mind by constantly keeping in touch via direct mail, email or the phone. During these times don't be strangers with your customers. Also don't overtly "sell" them either. Ask them in depth questions to try to help them. Find out what they need or what their biggest challenge is right now or what they need help with. Go above and beyond for your customers so they will always remember you. Really show you care and mean it. Send them a gift once a year, food always works (I love Cheryl's cookies!), or send them a gift card or something they would appreciate. During these stress-filled economic times, those that will rise to the top think differently, take risks don't do what everyone else is doing and take good care of your customers.
Another idea is - give them a quick survey, check in on how they're doing and what they need now during this time. I've done several of these for clients and we've received some gems of info that are helping us create new products, and meeting client's needs because we know what those needs are!
I love reading sales blogs on the Internet; you learn a lot about what your competition out there are thinking. I learn things that help me every day in my work, and they also make me think.
One of the discussions that seem to be the most active out there is the discussion of the best way to develop a pipeline of clients, does the salesperson use cold calling, referrals, or networking to get their leads? Everyone seems to believe there is one answer that will work for them every time. I just don't understand or believe that there can be one way that will work for every situation.
I think that as a hunter looking for new clients, I have to have a toolbox of different weapons that will capture different clients. When I sold uniform services, the primary tool and the most successful seemed to be cold calling, you go out with a list of potential businesses that you found on the Internet, and you go door to door, meeting and presenting. The majority of these clients are small business owners, they don't have the time or the inclination to talk with their competition, nor do they go to Chamber mixers or other networking opportunities. The successful salesperson needs to hunt them down to their lair and meet them face to face.
When I sold Commercial Pest Control I was successful in using all three approaches. Apartment complex management could be found in network opportunities such as Management Associations and Chambers, because they used these organizations to market their businesses and to collect information to help them manage their complex. The ancillary benefit to attending these meetings was that you could also get face to face referrals from a happy manager to other managers. Other segments of the market, restaurants and small businesses again need to be cold called, they don't have time to go out in social situations, and they're minding the store, full time.
These examples show that you can't be the person that chooses what will be the successful approach, you need to find out what approach is going to be the one that gets you in front of a qualified lead. Your clients are the ones that will show you how to get their attention. Those salespeople that think that they can become adept at one approach and that this approach will always work for them are fooling themselves. Sometimes I think that salespeople try to simplify things, we always want to have a roadmap that leads to success, and we always want to use this same map, no matter where we're going. Keep it simple seems to be the mantra of sales, and there is certainly a place for that during your presentation, and in your dealing with management, but in finding clients we need to spend the time and effort to think through and find the way to do this.
"Everything is about the customer experience," exclaimed Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos. I had the ultimate pleasure of hearing him speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference, as well as talk to him after his presentation. He's a very inspiring, pragmatic and funny speaker. He had so many gems of wisdom that I almost ran out of room to write them all down. A lot of what he said really hit home for me, especially now with what's happening with businesses and the economy. Hence, I thought it would make a perfect post for this blog. I believe the philosophy Tony shared and the philosophy I keep reading about in Dan Kennedy's (If you don't know Dan you can go to his website http://www.dankennedy.com ) monthly newsletter will be the keys to companies staying in business.
What's that philosophy? Well it's all about the customer and as Tony Hsieh said, "Zappos is about delivering happiness to our customer's door." In his case it's delivering merchandise like shoes and clothing, while building long lasting relationships with their customers and having THE best customer service ever. Their main brand IS customer service. They go above and beyond for their customers. He gave us many awe inspiring stories and some funny ones too. I decided to try out their customer service and they were wonderful. Unfortunately my rescue dog Lily got a hold of my Keens and chewed the closure loop off. I called Zappos to see if I could get it fixed or what to do since I purchased the shoes from them. They checked out Keens site and gave me all the info to get them fixed - wow, that was cool.
Here's what I'd recommend for you in your business - ramp up your customer service by doing something for them. Stay in their forefront of their minds by constantly keeping in touch via direct mail, email, phone, or social media (like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.). During these challenging economic times don't be strangers with your customers. Also don't overtly "sell" them either. Ask them in depth questions to try to help them. Find out what they need or what their biggest challenge is right now or what they need help with. Go above and beyond for your customers so they will always remember you. Really show you care and mean it. Send them a gift once a year, food always works (I love Cheryl's cookies!), or send them a gift card or something they would appreciate. During these stress-filled economic times, those companies and entrepreneurs that will rise to the top think differently. Don't be afraid to take risks and above all else don't do what everyone else is doing! Your goal is really that simple - take good care of your customers.
Another idea is - give them a quick survey, check in on how they're doing and what they need now during this time. I've done several of these for clients and we've received some gems of info that are helping us create new products, and meeting client's needs because we know what those needs are!
Now is not a time to give up and tighten your belts when it comes to your customers. Go above and beyond, the name of the game is to keep your customers happy so they want to be your customer for a LONG time, maybe even for life.
EvanCarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies. Evan also runs a series of successful Mastermind Groups in Toronto for entrepreneurs.
Guest Contributor: David Colomb
