I have been asked to touch on a specific subject by some of my readers and although I usually don’t do that, this subject seems to be timely.

The only thing that will hurt your sales efforts more than the “hard” close is the “no” close. Too often, reps assume that a prospect is not ready to buy and the tiny window of opportunity closes shut; sometimes forever. It’s understandable that reps are hesitant because of the economy. Nobody wants to look over eager to close but by the same token, today’s economy does not lend itself to very many lay down sales either.  What’s a rep to do? It’s like trying to heat water to an exact temperature. By the time the thermometer shows the right temp, it’s too late. You slide right past it. Turn the heat down and again, you slide right past it going the other way. There is no doubt that selling in today’s economy can be tough but… If it were easy, everybody would do it! If it were easy, there wouldn’t be thousands of postings for sales people all over the job boards in a tough job market. We didn’t get into this profession to take it easy or to “coast”!  So let’s regroup.  Here are some important things to consider while approaching your market.

1.    No whining- It’s contagious. Your bad day or bad meeting does not need to turn into a negative office attitude! Conversely, if somebody else is whining, get away from them ASAP!

2.    Trust your instincts- That is, if your instincts are normally good. Veering off of your normal sales rhythm is dangerous. Not only can it blow your sale but it can also shake your confidence and ruin your career. It is very difficult to get your “sales mojo” back once you have lost it. SO DON”T. I tell my reps every day to lose the sale because of closing too hard before losing it because you bored the client to death! I cannot emphasize this point enough. Whether you know it or not, selling is a very rhythmic process that coordinates a lot of moving parts. If one aspect is off… well, you know.

3.    Fundamentals- I know it sounds contrite but when things get tough, always go back to the fundamentals. Things like trial closes, qualifying questions, needs based selling, etc… These things served us well in our early days; they will serve you well again. Refreshing ourselves with these simple, yet very poignant tactics can often times improve your overall approach.

4.    Technology- Use it, own it, know it, and demand to have it at your disposal. Here is a quick list of tools that you should be using if you aren’t already: Hoovers, Jigsaw, Netprospex, Gist, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc… I’m sure you are using at least some of these, but are you using them to gain expertise with your prospects? My reps know A LOT about everyone involved in a decision before the first meeting. Want to separate yourself? It doesn’t take much. Starting a presentation off with, “I’ll talk slow since we have a Cornell grad in the room” will get a laugh and can be the difference. Just a small example…

5.    The Close- Sometimes a tough market can rattle your confidence just enough to be visible to your prospects. Closing strong is the only way to close. I don’t care what industry you are in or what the economic conditions are like! Make them say no; don’t hope they say yes! My diving coach used to say,” If you took the time to get out of bed and put your shoes on, you may as well be perfect!” How true that is, coach! Nobody is kind of pregnant! Similarly, nobody is kind of closed! They are in or they are out and it is your job to put them in one of those two clubs. Either one is ok, just as long as you know!

The bottom line is that as sales and marketing people, it is on our backs to keep the companies we work for in business. Ever see an operational person generate revenue? Ever see the CFO add anything that wasn’t created by the sales team? You never will. The economy is bad… I get it. Don’t let it ruin your career and don’t let it ruin your disposition! Forge ahead and do what you do best. Selling smart will always pay off in the long run and without a doubt, things will get better!

        

Truer words were never spoken! Through the entire sales process, you will never sit in front of a stock symbol or a tax ID. It is always the people that represent a company that drive and make decisions based on a myriad of factors. Sometimes it is all based on ROI and sometimes it is based on specific functionality. More often than not, buying decisions are based on the rep they are dealing with and the feeling of confidence that a rep can convey. The myriad of factors that drive these buying decisions are what we should focus on if the goal is to maximize closing percentages. While smart sales tactics can get you in the door, “tactics” will not get the sale closed. Relationships, similarly, are not enough for a decision maker to move forward with a large purchase. Remember that when representatives on any level decide to spend or recommend the spending of money, they put their name and reputation on the line.  Their best friend could not convince them to buy something that will not be of benefit to their organization. The facts are simple; relationships get you in the door, using smart sales tactics will get you to the right person, and intelligent selling will close the deal.

Smart reps understand that selling is a very situational dynamic. The closing techniques that worked last year will probably not work this year. The only closing technique that works all of the time is often overlooked; knowing what matters to the target. If you are selling security software and get a meeting with the CEO, you must know why they think they need security software. Technical jargon will not get the deal done!!! It is imperative that you understand what they think matters. Having a better mouse trap is useless if you don’t know that they have a problem with mice. A perfect example is the evolution of technology. While a software rep may know that the current software being used is vulnerable to hacks, the prospect may not care or agree. Therefore, in order to sell them, you must understand why they were willing to sit down with you in the first place! I am not talking about “needs based selling” or any other walking cliché! Needs based selling identifies a need and attempts to use it to drive a sale. What if the prospect is unaware of the need you identify? What if the need you identify is based on a technical need that your prospect does not understand? What if your prospect is aware of the need, understands the need, but does not care about that particular need? What if your prospect took a meeting with you simply because they are ticked off at their current rep? Have you ever walked out of a meeting wondering why your prospect could not understand their need for your service or product? If it happens a lot, you need to find a new profession. You can’t blame the economy and the unwillingness to “spend the money” forever! Smart selling is not something that can be taught. It requires an understanding of situational dynamics and the natural ability to drive a conversation towards revealing a specific buying trigger.

At the end of the day, selling is a process more than a set of tactics. The natural inclination of most sales management teams is to drive the “latest” popular tactics and teachings that come from the terminally unskilled. It is always the terminally unskilled that create these clichéd tactics and try to brand them and market them. There is no specific tactic that works across the board. It does not exist! The sales dynamic is driven by those people that posses a natural business acumen and interpersonal savvy.  While there are cases of people that posses this “raw talent” that need formal training as it relates to specific sales dynamics, there is no such thing as the ability to take people that lack these skills and “train” them to success. It is not only a waste of time; it is also detrimental to both the personal goals of the rep and the sales goals of the company attempting this training. The harsh reality is that it is better for everyone involved to dismiss those without talent and continue to recruit those that posses a very specific skill set.

This is the reason that we talk a great deal about education VS talent. An age old corporate tradition is to put an academic in charge of building a sales staff. Then allow them to hire candidates that mirror his/her background. Most of these people could not spot a hunter if we were wearing camouflage, a bright orange vest, and had a rifle in our hands. The cycle continues to play itself out. Numbers go up and then come back down. Competitors grow at an 11% clip while you grow at a 4% rate. Growth relies heavily on the revenue production side of a business and it makes sense that companies hire reps that are wired to generate revenue.

        

Too often, sales people sell based on raw advantages of their product or service without qualifying the reason for their presentation. A detailed explanation may be accurate and may have merit but what this kind of selling lacks is a point. The first few moments of a pitch should directly address the reason for consideration and should be used to apply your product or service to the clients business. In other words, it should be about your client and not your company. You must face facts and realize that nobody cares about your business nearly as much as they do their own. Understanding this very simple premise is paramount to your success. If a client sees your company in the context of your market, you have lost them. Helping them see your company in the context of their market not only keeps them interested but also puts the entire pitch in a context that they can understand.  Start with the premise that you are there to make them more successful or that you are there to make their jobs easier. Whatever the case may be, you must position things in terms that they are familiar with; their terms. Let me fill you in on a little secret; nobody cares how great you are or how successful you have been in the past. If you don’t directly address the challenges facing your client they will show you the door and wonder what the hell you were talking about. Let me illustrate this using Defiant’s own sales process.

When our reps meet with clients, their first job is to gain an understanding of the market they are selling to. In other words, my reps do their homework. Walking in with a handful of testimonials and pictures of past projects only serves to prove that we are a company. That’s it! What every CEO understands is that past performance does not guarantee future results!!! Also, just about every executive thinks that their industry is unique and requires “special” consideration. Explaining how great you were last month means far less than a detailed account of how you fit into their picture right now. Once our reps have done industry based analytics, we begin to form a picture of the trends and dynamics that directly impact our client. Knowing what they face allows us to understand what they need to do in order to meet these specific challenges. That combined with getting their perspective makes for a powerful tool.  We spend the majority of our time with prospective clients in a conversational format. Engaging them shows that we are interested in meeting their challenges and not in applying past sales models we have used. We do this even when we know what they need to do and even when the solution that will work for them is obvious to us. This level of engagement helps to ease the tensions for our clients and also allows us to ensure that our analysis is correct. Putting together a “canned” pitch in a power point format for example, only serves to lecture clients. Again, nobody cares how great you think you are or successful you have been in the past!

No matter what kind of product or service you sell, it must make sense to the buyer if you are going to be successful. Learn how your product affects your target whether you are selling to a business or a consumer. Once you understand what matters to them you must mirror those concerns and address them in the context of their dynamic. Phrasing the same statements in the context that is relevant to the buyer will have a substantial impact. After all, how do you make buying decisions?