salespodder: sales blog with musings and tips from inside sales

I was on the phone talking with one of my customers about how his sales of a newly launched product were going.  This happens to be a particular area of personal expertise for me that I’m humbled salesteams pay decent money to tap into.

The conversation revealed a delicious successful take on the “pre-launch” sales approach.  He wasn’t so sure anymore about the latest product.  This is far from unusual, in fact, I find it fairly commonplace.  In this instance, initial enthusiasm had waned when no-one had materialised to bite his arm off, as the internal marketing fanfare had suggested they would, to buy the new sparkly jewel.

So, he asked a question during a phone call making sure a recent customer (on other products) was happy with everything.  The response was so warm, that he explained about his a new product, and asked that as it was intended for people just like the customer, he’d really like his opinion on how suited it was in reality.  Ask and ye shall receive.  A coffee slot was agreed for a non-sales, no-pressure demo.

As the half-hour drew to a close, the client was animatedly confirming how suitable it indeed was and that he very much wanted to buy it himself.  Done deal, it was a refreshing shot in the arm for the previously down-in-the-mouth rep.

This Monday lunchtime I’m finding customers elusive. It seems that most reps on the road are “working from home” at the moment. I’m sure the ‘home’ part is probably true, as for the ‘working’ bit, well…! Still, if most buyers and sellers alike are making the most of a fortnight off until Jan the fifth, then it gives those of us still shackled to keyboard and phones the chance to prepare for the year ahead.

I myself am getting together some collateral that’ll support one of my endeavours. Yet I’ve fretted of late over the requisite calibre of this work. I’ve set myself high expectations and so have been eager to reach that high bar. This has resulted in me not having it done as rapidly as I’m capable of. I mentioned this to a pal of mine over the weekend who suggested that being a perfectionist was ultimately constraining. He suggested I “get it out there” then adapt and evolve it later if necessary.

Wise words, and ones that reminded me of interview tips dished out an Uni. When thrown the googly of “what are your weak points?”, rather than glibly respond that none exist, your best bet is apparently to state that you are a perfectionist.

The facts are that it’s almost impossible to ever have 100% of everything you want in place, and at some point, you’ve just got to commit to something. If you are a perfectionist, then it’s an idea to learn when to crack on with what you perceive as the final piece of the puzzle still missing. In my current case, I can always add in new sections and take a scalpel to others once my doc’s live in the New Year.

I’ve read the reporting by the BBC on ten UK small businesses and their travails in the current credit crunch conditions.  The problem with the Beeb on matters like this, is that they’re pitifully poor when it comes to high quality analysis as they are as an organisation culturally straight-jacketed to never proffer an opinion.  Whilst laudable in terms of political unbias, it suffocates any meaningful portrayal of things such as this.  Still, reading over the gloss they’ve produced this installment, a few similar points grabbed me.

• Purchase decision-making is getting delayed
• Clients are putting back existing delivery schedules
• Forward orders are being reduced in size

These all form part of the same theme.  What can you do to encourage commitments to be made earlier?

There’s a tightrope to travel here.  Whatever you decide must avoid taking from margin elsewhere across your portfolio.

• Can you create smaller packages that keep a client’s spend continuing, so that you maximise ‘run-rate’ business whilst still leaving the door open for more ‘long-term’ investments?
• Can what you provide be ’spread’ out over time?
• Is it possible to offer a level below the proposed wares which are being stalled, to easier enable take-up with a built in upgrade path should conditions improve?

Watching the live stand-up show of Frankie Boyle in London the other night was therapeutic in the sense that you allowed yourself to laugh at things that ordinarily society would not permit you to.  One (perhaps the only) clean story he told related to cultural differences in reactions to change and being taught.  I realised it neatly shed light on issues I’ve seen many a time in sales teams when attempts are made to spread best-practice. The wisdom follows thus:

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.  Give him a fishing rod and he’ll break it up for firewood.  Or swap it for a fish.”

It struck me immediately how beautiful a riposte this is for anyone that questions the amount of post-sale services you ask for.  Whichever sort of hand-holding you recommend (training, implementation, maintenance) the error in thinking a customer exhibits is that they’ll be able to be shown just the once, and all will be fine.  Teach them how to use their rod, and they’ll happily feed themselves each day.

Yet this runs contrary to practically every ’system’ I’ve ever seen delivered.  Why is it that so often resentment builds over the issue of “days” required to make the project happen?  I have a hunch that, without resorting to the riotous delivery of a professional comedian, you can nudge the requisite extra day or two onto the contract by recounting the aforementioned wisdom.  And you’ll be thanked for it later.

These thoughts begin with a friend-of-a-friend tale.  I was pondering how to add choice to my offerings in these credit crunch, now recessionary times.  Although potentially going against the grain (the one that suggests more choice leads to customer confusion and so lesser, not more sales) in my line I’ve concluded the more the merrier.

When discussing this in the juicer the other day with a pal, he recounted the experience of a school friend of his who during his career already scaled the lofty heights of top Marketing man for a much-loved British brand.  Walkers Crisps have long achieved top three status in brand recognition polls throughout the UK.  This fella went for a fairly senior marketing position there.  During the interview he reckoned the critical question posed was “what’s missing from our product range?”.  He answered straight away with “a premium brand”.  The resultant examination he believed set him apart.  Once installed, their Sensations high-end offering came into being, with much success.

Inspired by this, I thought what a masterstroke this had been.  Whatever the ’spread’ of your wares, there’s likely to be a gap somehwere.  Ideally, you’d like that gap to be at the premium end, so as to avoid cannabilisation of margin.

The other bonus of a new premium good, is that when faced with more choice, (although a generalisation) people often rank three alternatives, plumping for the middle priced one.  So in one sense, the presence of a premium brand can increase sales of a product positioned ‘below’ it.

And I thought whatever you sell, you could “invent” packages to add a premium option.  If you sell a product with associated services, what about putting a pre-packed number of service options together?  You’d be surprised how many people took more ‘days’ as a result.  Maybe you’re a wholesale-distributor, putting together a kind of PLOF for a platinum selection could generate extra margin in these tricky times.

For me, I’m in the process of ‘packaging’ up various elements of my service to take advantage of this very idea.

I caught a business reality show on telly which had recently inspired me to blog on an earlier episode.  I was struck by the difference between this installment and the previous one.  To encourage soaring sales, each of the three independent retail outlets were in effect given just a pair of instructions:

• a more definitive window display and multi-product bundles were key to a children’s bookshop
• an alternative therapy shop needed to lessen the emphasis on crystals and broaden their overall appeal
• de-cluttering the store and asking sales questions would help a bike shop’s sales climb

What interested me about these was not so much the content, but their context.

I once sat through interminably treacled hours of a client’s annual sales conference where one speaker was a fairly high-level ranking (although not the highest) Techie.  It just so happened that the big boss (joint founder and leader of the then 499-employee enterprise) was sitting stage left.  The presentation was roughly a twenty-minute insight into what was gong on in his world.  It revolved around five current initiatives.  There could have been several more, and for a firm positioning itself at the vanguard of their then emerging and world-leading technology, it was almost a crime to only have five projects on the go.  But, with re-assurance from the chief, it turned out that they had between them once put more items on this to-do list.  They’d discovered that they only ever seemed to be able to effectively manage a rolling five.

Whenever I sit down with a new client, you can touch the excitement.  They know where they want to go, and realise I can help them finally start the journey there properly.  Yet the temptation nearly always surfaces to jot down as many action points as possible.  I regularly have to rein in such expectations without diminishing enthusiasm.  And it can be hard.

The reality is that when you’re seeking to get something new done, or change a path, there is a limit to how many plates anyone can spin at any given time.

So, regardless of whether it was a by-product of necessary editing, I like the focus on only the essential that the tv show offered.

When you’re looking to do something new, it can be the best way forward to pinpoint the one single thing you absolutely must focus on.  You can have a second or third point too if you want, but they must all be measurable by asking a simple question a week later.

Any lover of the kind of entertainment provided by the peerless Paxo, will have an interest in what media trainers get paid for. 

Many years ago I worked for a body that sent a few of my colleagues off for a day’s training given as extra-curricular cash grabs by BBC newsreaders.  It seemed the main thing their day composed of was getting used to cameras and microphones. 

I then dated a telly weathergirl for a while, who afterwards appeared on tv herself in a corporate PR capacity.  Her message was that you should stay focused on what you need to get across, and not be distracted by the interviewer.

And from listening to Radio 4’s Media Show via iplayer the other night, it seems her advice remains true to this day.

A media trainer himself was chatting about how you “can’t make black, white - you mustn’t lie” and that such training was “not about not answering the question”.  Then he made a comment that struck me as being incredibly relevant to buyer-seller discussions.  His thesis was that there must be a balance between what the interviewer wants to say and what you want to get across.

The key to help with this, is to know what to expect.  If you’ve no sense of what the content is about or why the meeting is happening, then you’re doomed.  Once you’re aware of this, then you must work out how to be clear about what you say.

I remember shuddering at all the hours of car journeys I’d suffer en route to meetings with my bosses way back in the day, where they’d be happy prattling on about all sorts of rubbish, when all I wanted to do was get straight what we we’re going to do in the meeting upon arrival.  There’s nothing more frustrating to a rep than rolling into a carpark with your boss, and they finally pause for breath and mutter, “what’s this all about then?”

I came across this thought-provoking concept half-reading an article in a coffee shop provided newspaper.  The Economist weekly mag is, apparently just such a “trophy product”.  Half of its sales go unread.  Instead, they’re left in swanky reception areas and on meticulously planned yet strangely shambolic coffee tables.  Their purpose is not to be read.  Rather, they’re meant to portray a personality.  A particular type, one that is intelligent, inquisitive and commerically or politically savvy.  I wouldn’t mind betting that the FT falls into the same camp.

Oh the shock of it all.  People actually buy products for no other reason than to cultivate a certain image?

But hang on a minute, isn’t this brilliant news?  If people buy specific items just to impress, then what if there is an equivalent Trophy Product each of us offer that every single client should be buying, if for no other reason, to give an impression of worthiness to their clients/staff/suppliers?

And the joy of it is, it needn’t be especially pricey.  I wonder how many firms, in these credit crunch afflicted times, are busy cancelling their monthly reception-table FT subs?  I bet you won’t see the FT jettisoned in favour of a rag-eared London freesheet anywhere.

It introduces the possibility of a touch of neat salami selling too.  Whatever that product is, every client should have it.

This concept could be merged with the thinking retail window-dressers exhibit.  Many like to have a spot in their displays, no matter how small, where their most outrageous (which usually translates as expensive) offering goes on show.  It may only get bought the once, but brings the punters in.  I can think of several sectors where I’ve helped businesses over the years that hold similar opportunities for the creative rep.

I found my head nodding along with the sentiments of a recent LA Times article documenting the backlash against email.  Here’s three (of several eligible) quotes to give you a flavour:

• email … stimulates forward motion but doesn’t necessarily mean action
• email is used as a self-validation tool by people to recreate activity as opposed to productivity
• e-mail shall henceforth be known as e-fail

I can hear in my mind thousands of sales managers ranting about these kinds of things when salesreps mistake discussion for progression.

The message is clear.  Does sending an email actually get you anywhere?  Where’s the explicit prospect commitment in them just receiving an email?  Or even in sending one back?  How often do you send a lovingly crafted, comprehensive email, yet never knowingly nail whether it was either read or had the desired impact?

There’s always been a movement that email should only be used in selling for two of its early intended uses.  Namely passing drafts of work around and for confirming recent/upcoming events.  I edge towards this thinking.  All too often email is deployed as the mechanism to make things happen.  When this occurs, I think the goal is doomed.

I spoke to a client of mine as he was working from home, desperately trying to attend to a fixer from the water board to repair his meter.  He was explaining how like any such business, their ERP-add-on reporting software user-base experienced an element of attrition each year.  Yet for 2009, he feared that this rate of lost customers was set to worsen.

Interestingly, he didn’t jump on the bandwagon that is blaming the credit crunch preceded recession.  Although he did acknowledge that this contraction was partly responsible, he instead talked about losing customers where what they provided was “not central to what they do”.

He elaborated to say that where clients used his kit as part of their everyday routines, as well as base strategic decisions on it, they would remain in place.  Where this ethos had faded, they were more likely to face anywhere from a reduction to a cancellation in charges.

So the moral is clear.  In present times where cutting is easier to contemplate than spending, if you can focus on making what you provide a central pillar of how your clients do business, then you’re more likely to stay ahead of the game.