Dear Colleen, I am quoting a $12 million/yr order tomorrow. Any words of wisdom or a point in the right direction? This would be huge for our company. Thanks, Dale.
Dear Dale,
That’s a nice size deal and I certainly hope you have been working on this for some time. $12 million dollar orders don’t usually land on your lap out of the blue. Generally they take time to nurture and guide towards a partnership. That being said… there are exceptions to every rule. Most certainly your success will depend on everything you have done previous to submitting the quote. I would make sure you truly understand:
Each decision maker, their buying criteria and the priority of that criteria
How the decision process will work and how they will be evaluating your bid
When they will be reviewing your bid and the decision criteria
Who else is bidding and if there is an incumbent
You should ask for:
A chance to walk the decision maker through draft form of the quote before it’s submitted so you can answer questions and gage their reaction to your price. If you have a virtual meeting space such as Microsoft Live Meeting, WebEx or Adobe Connect use it to connect via video to walk through the proposal
A chance to present your quote in person to the whole decision making team. If they grant this to you make sure you are the last company to present
An opportunity for the prospect to chat with at least 3 of your best customers as references
Lastly - fill the proposal up with testimonials and reference letters. Make sure the letters are stacked on top of the proposal so the first thing the client sees when they open your package is testimonial letters.
Good luck - I am sure it will work out to your favour!
I’m very excited to announce this year’s Sales Mastery Workshop. If you’re not familiar with this event, a limited number of the Engage community and I meet for three intensive days to run through my complete Sales Mastery System and create individual, personalized plans for sales success.
Taking place in Chicago, 19-21 November, it’s a roll-up-your-sleeves workshop that will provide you my latest strategies to selling more than ever before. You can read about the event at www.engageselling.com/mastery.
Because I know know you don’t want to wait till November to discover these strategies for selling more now. That’s why I’m offering you a very special opportunity to access many of the sales strategies that I’ll be revealing at the workshop now with a special no-cost preview!
In this three-part no-cost web class series, you will discover why now is precisely the time when you MUST focus on building your sales - not retreating!
This week I started running again after 3 weeks off. I injured my back in early May, and took 3 weeks off. When I felt better I hit the open road, ran 5 times in 7 days and hit the gym full steam ahead. With 5 minutes to go in the first workout (and after 80 lunges) my back completely seized. I heard a noise that sounded like “Shrek” spoken out of the side of one’s mouth and collapsed mid squat. Bravely stating, “I don’t think I can do another”.
Turns out I had done too much too soon. Up until June 7th, I have operated on two switches. On and off. There had been no easing back into anything. It was always full steam ahead. I now know that not easing back can be disastrous. So, against my competitive spirit, and Type A personality this week, I started slow. A 16 minute run. Just enough to get back in shape without demoralizing.
I know that many of you are demoralized. Sales markets are tough. I spoke to a gold member yesterday who admitted that after years of president’s club earnings last year he did 40% of quota. I have been reviewing corporate results that are far below expectations, and I know that many clients are behind. The good news is this. You can dig yourself out of the hole by taking responsibility first and taking action next. Start small. Start now. Make 2 calls, or maybe 3. I know the task seems overwhelming. To me, running 5km right now seems overwhelming too. I know that if I do 2km this week I can do 3 the following and 4 the next. Eventually hitting 5km again.
You know that if you make 5 calls this week, you can make 10 the week after and 30 after that. Doing so will ensure you hit target this year. Whether you are $1 million behind or $1 thousand behind the first step is the same. Pick up the phone and call someone.
P.S. Hat’s off to Sean who implemented 1 small suggestion I made in training this week: “Call senior executives after 5:30″. Sean deliberately waited till 6 PM in his territory to place a call to a CFO which he’s been trying to contact for years…without success. Guess what happened? The customer picked up! He found a $2.8 million project to work on and now has access to this CFO to follow up with for the proposal and presentation. Imagine that…..I often get accused of delivering basic information. If you ask me, any idea, basic or not, that can help uncover a $2.8 million dollar opportunity is worth implementing.
Recently I have been receiving many questions about appropriate non verbal communication in sales. Here are 4 simple ways to improve your sales etiquette, and build trust - leading to more sales - every time you meet a prospect or client face to face.
Dress appropriately. Always dress at least 1 notch above where your client will be dressed. If you are unsure about their corporate culture for attire, it’s never a bad thing to wear a suit. If you find out during your first meeting, that a suit is frowned on, or unnecessary, you can dress differently for the next meeting. None the less, wearing a suit does show that you respect the prospect enough to get dressed up for them. If you are making a formal sales presentation to a group of decision makers, a suit is a must.
Keep your car clean… yes, its part of your non verbal communication and prospect’s notice this. One Engage client - who asked to remain anonymous - has someone from their office go out a visual inspect the car driven in by the sales reps visiting is office His thought is, “if my rep can’t keep his car clean, how can he keep our files in order?” A fair comparison….maybe, maybe not. It’s not for you to decide. It’s the client’s decision to make.
Start and finish the meeting on time. Best yet, be 5 minutes early (both to start and end). Being late will cost you business as it is a LOUD sign of disrespect for other people.
Turn off your cell phone and blackberry. Even better, leave them in your car. You would think this would be an obvious one yet every week I witness first hand a sales rep whose cell phone goes off during a sales call. Worse yet…some of them answer those calls! The only excuse I allow you to make is if your spouse is in or close to being in labour! If that’s the case be up front with your client or prospect. Tell them flat out “normally I would leave my cell phone off and I hope that you don’t mind if I just put in on vibrate for today’s call. My spouse is due with our first child today….” Being honest and upfront with your client in this situation is fine. You will earn respect for being human. In all other situations….cell phones need to be left in the car
Take notes. Not only is taking notes a best practice for listening, it also shows the client that what they are saying is so important to you, it’s worth writing it down. Clients are impressed with sales people who take notes and generally feel like you care more about their needs than sales people who don’t. In short, note taking builds trust. Trust leads to sales.
Yes these are simple ideas. So are “keep your eyes on the ball” when trying to hit a fast pitch and and “don’t forget to breath” when swimming a freestyle race. Its often the small simple things that win or cost you a sale, and a relationship.
Participate in the poll and see what other sales professionals are saying. Last newsletter we asked: Have you ever been less than honest with a customer? Here are the results:
Yes - I’ve bent the truth to try to land the deal: 7%
Nope - I’ve always been completely forthright, even if it costs me a sale: 50%
Sort of - I’ve held back or “spun” information that otherwise could jeopordize the sale: 43%
This week, your question is about blogging: Do you or your company have a blog? Vote and see how you compare to the rest of the Engage community…
I am sensitive to the rigorous schedule all sales people keep when travelling. While I know you must maximize every opportunity on your business trips, I also know that sleep and rest is a key factor of success.
You need to be well rested to be your best and most creative in front of clients and prospects. If you are not sleeping well, you can’t be well rested. Good sleep hygiene will not only make you a more successful sales person, it will make you healthier too! Sleep fights of depression and helps the body to heal when it’s sick. I know it can be hard to sleep consistently well when you are traveling. Strange hotel rooms, uncomfortable beds, airplane naps, late night dinners and entertaining with restaurant rich food and wine, all discourage sleep. Here are some tips for setting up a healthy - and profitable - sleep schedule.
1) Set up a solid routine. Organize your schedule as best you can so that you can go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday. This might be hard when traveling. If so at least be regimented at home. Such scheduling will train your body to sleep when you need to and wake up feeling rested.
2) No Naps! This is a hard one for many - especially our newest employee (and my husband Chris!). Even if you have had a lousy night’s sleep don’t take a nap during the day. Daytime napping makes it harder for you to fall asleep at night. If you must nap, push back your bed time by the equivalent time of your nap.
3) Dump Distractions: The bedroom should be a place for sleep ( and romance!) only. Put the TV, computer, and radio in the living room because they act as a brain stimulant, not depressant and will keep you awake for hours.
4) Get out of bed. If you can’t sleep don’t stay in bed and stare at the clock. Instead, move to another room, read a book and go back to bed when you feel sleepy
5) Travel with ear plugs. If you are in a noisy hotel, blocking out nose with ear plugs will help you sleep. Don’t worry. You can still hear the wake up call!
6) Make 2 lists. Keep a journal beside your bed and before you sleep. In the first record all your success from the day. Everything you accomplished that you were happy about, no matter how small. If you exercised, that can be a success, if you ate healthy that could be a success. As could a great sale, a recovered customer, hitting your targets. Anything that makes you feels good and proud. The second list is a place for you to write down everything that has to be done the next day. Empty your brain of it’s to do list and get it on paper. Every email that has to be sent, clients you need to call, proposals to write errands to run, family members to call. Everything you can think of. Putting your to do’s on paper will help you to relax and fall asleep. With your brain thinking about all the success you had today, and the thought that everything you need to do is safely on a piece of paper, your peace of mind will allow you to fall asleep quickly, and stay asleep all night.
7) Exercise: A good work out will help you sleep through the night and feel rested the next day
As Steven and I get ready to launch Honesty Sells today at 2pm I wanted to give you a head’s up about a promo we are doing. If you buy the book today from your favorite book store - you can go to www.honestysells.com for list of available sites, we will provide you for free a copy of our popular Prospecting for Profit ebook. All you have to do is email your book receipt to our office at ColleenFrancis@engageselling.com or fax it to 613-730-5971 and we will email you the ebook right away. If you fax it to us please make sure to include your email address on the Fax.
Seeing we are getting close to the end of another calendar quarter, I suspect many of you may be feeling what I like to call the “end-of-quarter blues.” It’s a positive time to be a consumer, especially if you are planning to buy a car, as you can often use this end of quarter or end of year blues to secure larger than normal discount from desperate and starving sales reps. On the one side, you’ve got pressure from your manager to close deals NOW! On the other, you’re getting the brush off from clients who want to call you back next month or next quarter instead. Stuck right in the middle? Yup, you guessed it - it’s lucky old you! The end of a period is a time when your prospects have other fires burning bright. Often, they use those other priorities as an excuse to put buying decisions on hold - especially if you’re selling to publicly traded companies. “I need some more time,” “let me think about it” and “call me back next (month, quarter or year)” are three of the most frustrating phrases you’ll ever hear in sales. The worst part is, these aren’t even valid objections you can deal with. They’re stalls. And stalling is twice as frustrating because it almost always masks a real objection. When you get a stall, you have to figure out how to dance around it, find the real objection, handle it - and then get the deal back on track. So what can you do to stop your prospects from stalling - and put an end to the end-of-quarter blues?
The best solution if you suspect a stall may be coming is to do something about it BEFORE it happens. Preventing stalls and objections is the single most powerful - and least used - sales technique I know. If you have a client who regularly seems to get cold feet around this time every three months, try some of the following patented stall prevention cures: Bring up the stall first and have an answer ready. Say: “Mr. Customer, you may be thinking that it’s best to wait until after the year-end to buy. I’m concerned that if you do that, we won’t be able to guarantee you these prices.
Other ideas from Engage clients include:
Keep your pipeline full. If you have a pipeline with at least 4 times as many prospects as you need in order to meet your goals, you (and your manager!) will feel far less pressure. When you feel less pressure, you’ll close more deals. Ironic? Yes. True? You bet. Start calling customers early on in the period to create a greater sense of urgency.
Set price increases in now to take effect January 1st. This six-month window of opportunity will encourage your customers to buy now.
Create a unique holiday special. Check out Chases Calendar of events for ideas
Hold a sale at the beginning of July 1st for Canada Day or Independence Day to boost sales in Q3.
Have a “closing blitz day” at the office or, better yet, arrange a longer contest to see who can close the most deals.
Hold a series of seminars on issues that are important to your prospects and customers. Start it first thing in the morning at a desirable location, schedule the best session just before the end of the period - and make sure to serve great food!
Build relationships all year long by staying in touch with your customers on at least a monthly basis.
Send them a “thank you” or “thinking of you” card, take them out for coffee, or just give them a call. Try to stay away from email, as it’s not the most effective relationship-building tool.
If you’ve done everything you can think of to be proactive and are still getting stalled, try these 7 great ideas to help overcome any unwarranted delays:
1. Make the customer be specific. “Thanks for letting me know that next month is better for you. What date would you want to place the order?” Or: “I would be happy to call you back next month. Would Tuesday, July 11th at 10:00 a.m. work for you?”
2. Control the call back. Don’t take “don’t worry - I’ll call you!” as an answer. You need to stay in control of the follow-up. I suggest you say: “Thanks for wanting to stay on top of this, Bob. How about, if I don’t hear from you by the 15th, I’ll call you on the 16th at 10:00 a.m.?”
3. Offer alternatives. Once when I was selling software, we offered to split an invoice in two, charging the customer for the software in March and the maintenance in April. Because the payments were split, the order fit better into her quarterly budgets and the customer as able to make the deal right away. Can you think of a creative way to help your customers say yes right now?
4. Question them into a corner - and close them when they get there. Tell your clients: “I would be happy to call you back next month. Do you mind if I ask, what will have to be different in May to make you want to buy from me then?” Or take the opposite approach, and ask: “Will anything change over the next few weeks that will cause you not to buy?” Once the prospect assures you that they do want to do business with you, you can respond with: “Great! Let’s get your order into production now so your project won’t be delayed, and we’ll deliver it after July 1st.” One Engage client offers to ship his product in advance and the invoice later, so that his customers can benefit from having the product on site while paying for it later. Of course, he only does this with clients who have excellent credit. But it works great - and he never has to discount his prices!
5. “Use the “F” word. Agree with your clients, and then disagree, by offering an alternative: “I know how you feel. Other clients of mine have told me that they felt the same way. What they have found is that they can save up to 20% if they buy now. For example…..
6. Get a testimonial letter. Testimonials are the most powerful tool in your arsenal. They’re also a sales person’s best friend (next to my dog Conrad, of course!). Ask someone who bought before the quarter end, or any client who accelerated their purchase and was glad they did so, to write you a two-paragraph letter. The first paragraph should state how they originally wanted to wait, and the value they received by not putting it off - for example, did they save money? Time? The second paragraph should detail how happy they are with your after-sales service.
7. Get scarce! Remind your customers (if it’s true!) that the price will be going up after a specified date or that there might be a product or delivery back-up after the 1st of the month, and advise them to schedule delivery now. If your business tends to be seasonal, encourage clients to buy during off-peak periods in order to get priority shipping and production.
The success with which you handle stalls is directly related to the quality of the relationship you’ve built with your prospect or customer. A good relationship gives you more freedom to press for immediate action. A weak relationship may mean you end up having to wait until the next quarter to make the sale - or longer. One last thing - under the considerable pressure the end of a quarter can bring, many sales people give in to the temptation to hold a “slash and burn” sale to get their prospects to buy. I urge you to avoid this at all costs. In the long term, slash and burn sales are rarely effective, because all they do is set a precedent that your prices will drop whenever you’re desperate. Once word gets around, who will ever buy from you at full price again?
I frequently coach sales reps who know exactly what to say, when to say it, and have terrific, well-priced products. But they still can’t sell. Why? Because they have no prospects waiting in their sales funnel to qualify and close. And if you don’t have any prospects, you can’t make any sales. Period. To ensure you have a steady stream of new business opportunities, the following is a quick two-step process that I use in many of my coaching sessions, which can help you be more proactive with your prospecting each and every week:
Step 1: Evaluate - First, how many prospects do you really need? In most industries, you can use the average metric of about 25 “suspects” - or 3 qualified prospects - for every sale. A suspect is a cold prospect. You have an inkling that they should be interested in your product, but you haven’t talked to them yet, and they haven’t contacted or been referred to you. A qualified prospect is someone who you know has a need for your product, and a desire to buy it from someone. They also have the money to spend, and the power to make the transaction happen. To find out how many prospects you should have in your sales funnel, just multiply the number of new customers you need each year, by the number of suspects or qualified prospects it will probably take to get them.
Step 2: Execute - Once your target is set, you can start to work towards achieving it through the following four key prospecting techniques:
1) Get referrals. See page 1 of this letter.
2) Network.In any career, success or failure is a direct result of our networks, and the people we know. As the old saying goes, “take care of your people (or, in this case, your network), and your business will take care of itself.” For all their differences in approach, style and technique, the top 10% of sales people all have one thing in common: they are all more likely to employ a broad network of friends, family, acquaintances and connections to help them seize opportunities, and respond to challenges. To learn how to develop your network, take a look at our article “Getting By With a Little Help From Your Friends: 4 Fail-Safe Tips for Perfecting Your Networking Technique,” available at http://www.engageselling.com/articles/050822article_networking.shtml
3) Be a Life Giver. Life Givers know that what goes around comes around. They understand the power of reciprocity, and use it to their advantage. So don’t hoard your contacts or your value. Open your proverbial Rolodex, start making introductions and delivery value. Be the first at an event or party to provide a contact to someone you’ve just met, rather than waiting for them to give you something first. Offer articles, white papers or presentations focused on your expertise for free. Once you start sharing your contacts, information and making connections with and for others, it won’t be long before your clients and contacts start returning the favor in spades.
4) Make the calls. Last but not least, those sales reps who are at the top of theirprofession almost always have a short, precise “To Do” list, which relates directly to achieving their goals for the year. Right at the top of your list should be the number of prospecting calls you’re going to make every day. And to make sure it gets done, keep your list short - probably no more than 4 to 5 items a day - and make sure it gets done first thing in the morning, before all those other inevitable little “fires” can create excuses for getting to work. By carrying out your To Do list each day without fail, you’ll find your number of prospects will grow - and your business soar - faster than you ever thought possible.
A recent poll of Engage customers revealed a shocking habit. When asked, “How much time per day do you spend prospecting”29% responded less than 1 hour a month prospecting for new business, 44% less than half a day, and only 17% at least one full day per month. Pathetic!! Considering that smart prospecting is the number one secret to sales success there must be a number of struggling sales professional out there. To be fair, we know there is. studies routinely show that only between 58%-62% of sales people routinely hit their targets each year. And considerably less than that exceed.
I can’t say this often or emphatically enough, “There is no sales problem that good prospecting skills can’t solve.” (Short of you being a real jerk of course…and in that case I would advise just to get out of sales all together!)
I know that you are getting tired of me spouting off about this, it’s just that 80% of members still don’t get it. Now, you being in our most elite coaching programs probably do. I am sure that I am preaching to the choir with this so keep up the great work and use the following ideas to motivate the 80% of your staff that is not prospecting enough! I frequently coach sales reps who know exactly what to say, when to say it, and have terrific, well-priced products. But they still can’t sell. Why? Because they have no prospects waiting in their sales funnel to qualify and close. And if you don’t have any prospects, you can’t make any sales. Period. To ensure you have a steady stream of new business opportunities, the following is a quick two-step process that I use in many of my coaching sessions, which can help you be more proactive with your prospecting each and every week:
Step 1: Evaluate. First, how many prospects do you really need? In most industries, you can use the average metric of about 25 “suspects” - or 3 qualified prospects - for every sale. A suspect is a cold prospect. You have an inkling that they should be interested in your product, but you haven’t talked to them yet, and they haven’t contacted or been referred to you. A qualified prospect is someone who you know has a need for your product, and a desire to buy it from someone. They also have the money to spend, and the power to make the transaction happen. To find out how many prospects you should have in your sales funnel, just multiply the number of new customers you need each year, by the number of suspects or qualified prospects it will probably take to get them.
Step 2: Execute. Once your target is set, you can start to work towards achieving it through the following four key prospecting techniques:
1) Get referrals. Referred leads are a profitable way to grow your business, as well as a good benchmark for how well you’re building your business relationships. The “holy grail” in lead generation is to receive leads from your customers without asking for them. These unsolicited referrals are proof that you’ve earned so much trust and loyalty that your existing customers have become your sales reps! The more leads you get, the more satisfied your existing customers likely are, and the better the job you’re doing.
2) Network.In any career, success or failure is a direct result of our networks, and the people we know. As the old saying goes, “take care of your people (or, in this case, your network), and your business will take care of itself.” For all their differences in approach, style and technique, the top 10% of sales people all have one thing in common: they are all more likely to employ a broad network of friends, family, acquaintances and connections to help them seize opportunities, and respond to challenges. To learn how to develop your network, take a look at our article “Getting By With a Little Help From Your Friends: 4 Fail-Safe Tips for Perfecting Your Networking Technique,” available at www.engageselling.com
3) Be a Life Giver. Life Givers know that what goes around, comes around. They understand the power of reciprocity, and use it to their advantage. So don’t hoard your contacts. Open your proverbial Rolodex, and start making introductions. Be the first at an event or party to provide a contact to someone you’ve just met, rather than waiting for them to give you something first. Once you start sharing your contacts and making connections with and for others, it won’t be long before your clients and contacts start returning the favor in spades.
4) Make the calls. Last but not least, those sales reps who are at the top of theirprofession almost always have a short, precise “To Do” list, which relates directly to achieving their goals for the year. Right at the top of your list should be the number of prospecting calls you’re going to make every day. And to make sure it gets done, keep your list short - probably no more than 4 to 5 items a day - and make sure it gets done first thing in the morning, before all those other inevitable little “fires” can create excuses for getting to work. By carrying out your To Do list each day without fail, you’ll find your number of prospects will grow - and your business soar - faster than you ever thought possible.
lways dress at least 1 notch above where your client will be dressed. If you are unsure about their corporate culture for attire, it’s never a bad thing to wear a suit. If you find out during your first meeting, that a suit is frowned on, or unnecessary, you can dress differently for the next meeting. None the less, wearing a suit does show that you respect the prospect enough to get dressed up for them. If you are making a formal sales presentation to a group of decision makers, a suit is a must.
prospecting each and every week:
