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Runaway
Sales Calls
Don't
let customers take control of your meetings
Have
you ever been on a sales call where the client was
in total control? Of course you were. We all were.
And it's a real bear trying to change things when
it happens. At some point, it becomes a runaway
sales call and the client has manipulated and
controlled everything. When this occurs, you lose
all negotiating power, your ability to identify
their problems, the chance to close, and anything
else that will help you win their business.
A
while ago I attended one of those memorable events along
with one of my resellers. Since we only sold
through the dealer channel (i.e., value-added
resellers), I was there representing the software
vendor I worked for and was basically just supporting our reseller.
So I let the reseller run the meeting. Sounds
innocent enough. Yea, Right! The client had about
four or five people in the room and were very
polite and cordial. That is until they brought in Hans,
their "technical guru". That's when
things changed for the worse....Read
More
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Penetrating
Other Departments
How
to sell deeper into your existing client's
business
I
received a call from a sales executive (let's call
him Carl) recently about a dilemma he was having.
He said, "Russ, I have a great suite of
products and services that can address the needs
of various departments and functions within a
company. But once I get the first sale in one
department, I just can't seem to penetrate other
departments at this same account. I just seem to
hit a brick wall. I looked at most of my accounts
and I noticed that I only sold one product or
service to each one. I rarely sell multiple
products to multiple departments within the same
company. What am I doing wrong?"
So
I said, "Well Carl, how have your meetings
been going with the managers in the other
departments?" I knew I was setting him up
with this question, but I wanted him to realize it
himself. His response was, "Other managers? I
haven't met the other managers. In fact, that's
part of my problem." Bingo! That WAS his
problem. What Carl was doing, it turned out, was
asking his client, the manager in the department
who purchased his product, to speak with his
counterparts in the other departments about how
great his product was doing. You see, Carl told me
that once he gets into a company with his product
or service, they love it. So he thought that the
manager could help him by "spreading the
word" throughout his company. He was
expecting his client to actually spend his
valuable time "selling" Carl's product
to his peers. That is if he even remembered to do
so, since I'm sure he is busy like the rest of us
and probably barely had time to even say hello to
his peers.
The
process of selling deeper into an existing client
account is very similar to networking. When you
meet someone at a party, business event, mixer, or
whatever, and you are trying to make more business
connections by networking, you don't just give
them your card and say, "Hey, if you know of
anyone who needs help with their financial
planning, tell them about me. Will ya?" If
you think they will hold onto your card, remember
you when they are meeting with their clients,
colleagues, or friends, and actually go the extra
effort to talk about you, then you're misinformed.
The truth is, you're the last thing on their mind
when they are talking to their clients about their
own product. So, unless an opportunity falls in
their lap that could involve you ("Hey Fred!
You wouldn't happen to know of a good financial
planner, would you?") then you need to take a
different approach.
But
wait! There's even a bigger reason why you
shouldn't expect someone to do your selling for
you. Let's say I meet a financial planner at a
networking event (Oh wait! I have. About a million
times already!) and he gives me his card so I can
refer him to my clients. Now, assuming he already
has a great reputation which was validated by
being a member of this networking group to begin
with, then exactly how am I supposed to
"sell" him to my contacts? I know
virtually nothing about financial planning, except
what my planner has told me about my finances and
situation. So what am I supposed to say about this
guy to my clients? I can't give good examples
because I don't understand what he does. Or, I can
use anecdotal stories about how he got one of his
clients a 16% return on their 401K. But how good a
job can I really do for him? In fact, I will
potentially do more harm than good by setting
wrong expectations or inadvertently giving out
wrong information.
The
best way that networking works is to swap cards
with someone, then contact them a day or so later
and have a longer discussion about what you do and
the kind of clients you are looking for. Then ask
your new-found friend if they could introduce you
to some of his clients. You don't ask if they know
of anyone who could use their services. Why not?
Because you shouldn't expect them to know enough
about your services to know who can use them.
That's your job. You just want to get him to
introduce you to his contacts, who might have
similar interests, so you can do the
selling.
What
does this have to do with Carl? It's the same
thing. First, Carl can't expect his client to do
his selling for him. Second, and most important,
he shouldn't WANT his client do his selling for
him. His client is not trained in how to sell
Carl's products and services. So what will his
client say besides, "He did good by
me!"
What
I told Carl to do is to get his client to
introduce him to the other managers. Coach him as
to exactly what departments he wants to meet and
then have Carl's client make a phone call or write a letter
of introduction (he can even write the letter for
his client). Include in the call or letter
information about how pleased he is with Carl's
product, but don't elaborate on what it could do
for them (He doesn't really know!). Then the
letter can say, "I recommended to Carl that
he contact you directly to set up a meeting since
I believe you might benefit from what he has to
say." Ideally, a better
scenario is to set up a lunch meeting with Carl
and another department head for the next time Carl
visits the account. This way the meeting is more
informal, the new department manager gets a free
lunch, and Carl's client is there to make the
introductions and help transition Carl to the
other department head, along with all his
compliments and accolades about Carl and his
products. This way, Carl will do the selling, not
his client. His client's role is different, yet
vital.
You
might recognize this as the "referral",
which is what it is, plain and simple.
Unfortunately, a lot of sales people either don't
ask for referrals or don't know how to ask for
them. Carl hit on both counts. He has since tried
this new approach and is finding it lots easier to
penetrate his accounts. In fact, it is easier and
less costly to sell into his existing account than
to find and sell to a new one. In fact, statistics
show that it costs seven to 10 times more to find
and sell to a new customer than to sell to an
existing one. You just have to know how to do it.
And using your existing client to introduce you to
his counterparts is a great shoe-in for you to do
your job of selling.
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