Sales Training is Like Viagra?

I once observed a panel of sales executives who answered the question, “What are the characteristics of a good sales training program.” As the discussion warmed up, one of the panelists, a Senior Vice President for a large financial service company, said, “Sales training is like Viagra – it is over-prescribed and only lasts about two hours!”

He got a good laugh because there is a lot of truth to his statement. We could call this the “Viagra training syndrome.” Later in the discussion he made the point that there are external factors like competition, product design, and market place changes that should influence training for sales people. Then he made a point that is often overlooked: there are internal factors which include individual morale and skill. He concluded that point by saying, “Remember that everybody doesn’t make the cut.” My interpretation of that is that there are some things that training cannot cure.

That brings me to the question, “How do we avoid the Viagra training syndrome?” Here is what I think.
1. As our panelist pointed out, you can only know if training is successful if you define what success is before you start. For example:
a. Increased sales are not necessarily such a measure. I have a client whose manufacturing plant is maxed out. He wants better customers, who want value and with whom they can align as partners, not just people looking for the lowest price. That may mean smaller gross sales, but greater margins and happier customers.
b. More repeat business could be such a measure. It is significantly easier and more profitable to sell to a satisfied customer than to find a new customer.

2. Much of what is labeled as “sales training” is a one to three day motivational speech. Everybody has a good time, but 30 days later nothing in their behavior changes.

3. Sales training should not be just an event. It is a process that includes:
a. Values-based content that seeks to uncover customer needs, not manipulate people into buying.
b. A cordial learning environment that builds trust as people learn from each other as well as from the content of the program.
c. A sales system, so sales people understand where they are in the selling process. This helps them know whether they have a genuine prospect.
d. Accountability over a period of time such as six to eight weeks for application of the principles taught. This avoids the “two hour” part of the syndrome, and leads to lasting behavior change.

If you want sales training to result in long term sales person behavior change, and achieve specific business goals, consider these ideas to avoid the “Viagra training syndrome.”

Leading and Coaching a Selling Team

Recently I met with a young sales executive for the first time. He inherited a sales organization of about 15 people in a technical industry. They are in a rebuilding mode with new corporate initiatives. As we shared breakfast and talked, I asked him about his management style. He made several excellent points:

He recognizes that everyone is not a super star, but that each one has value.

• Regardless of his opinion of the person, he gives them all the same opportunity to succeed by providing the training and the infrastructure.
• He does not micro-manage. This attracts potential super stars.
• He looks at results and the activities that he knows will lead to those results to determine how a person is progressing.
• He teaches that their first job is to find out what the prospective customer needs, and then get their products specified, if possible.

I predict that this young man will soon lead a much larger organization, making more money and enjoying higher levels of personal gratification. Here is why:

• He is a “people builder.” Rather than “beating them up,” he encourages them.
• He is customer needs focused in his philosophy, his training, and his work in the field.
• He focuses on results first, not just activity. He knows that any sales person can look busy – can learn to “play the activity game.”
• He trusts people to go out and do their jobs. If they prove untrustworthy, he can decide whether training them can solve the problem, or whether they need to be doing something else.

After more than 40 years in sales, I have concluded that the most successful sales managers don’t just “manage.” They lead and coach! Think about a person in your past who was influential in your personal and professional growth. While the personalities will almost always be different, if we could all meet and compare notes we would see some common characteristics, such as:

• He saw more in me than I saw in myself.
• She helped me understand that I was growing to become the person I want to be.
• He would not let me goof off, but forced me to think through the situation and confront the client tactfully with the truth.
• He helped me understand how to set and achieve both personal and business goals.
• She patted me on the back when I did something right.
• He traveled with me and coached me after every call. I learned what to do right by doing it right.
  

“Leading” a sales team is more like coaching little league than it is like “managing” a department. Top sales people crave “coaching!” They resist “management!”

How Not to Conduct a Sales Meeting

Many years ago I worked for a small manufacturing company. As one of four regional managers, I was invited to the home office the first week of the second month of each quarter, to meet with our Vice President of Sales for a five-day “Sales Meeting.” We really had a good time eating at our favorite restaurants in the area, but we all HATED those meetings!

We were never sure just why we were called in for a full week, four times a year. These meetings consisted of hours of random discussions without meaningful decisions, bull sessions about sports teams or favorite cars and where we would have lunch. These hours were punctuated by moments of interesting discussions with engineering, marketing and manufacturing, which helped us feel a part of something larger than ourselves. Here is what I observed about how not to conduct a sales meeting:

No advanced agenda. We were often unable to contribute effectively to a particular discussion because we did not know the subjects in advance. Lack of preparation resulted in frustration and poor decision-making.
Failure to adhere to the established agenda. The first morning of each event we were presented with the week’s agenda. We rarely stuck to those topics, and often got behind. We all felt like two of the five days were wasted.
Avoiding the “elephant in the room.” Sales were flat for four of the five years I was part of this group. While we discussed ways to increase sales (of course!), the “elephant” of our antiquated technology and poor market positioning was ignored.
Lack of a marketing and sales plan. I do not remember any cohesive marketing programs or plans of action which would increase our market share or customer awareness. It was difficult to generate excitement in the field.
No business fun. We had four talented, capable managers, who wanted to succeed and make money. There was no “motivational speaker” or trainer or consultant brought in to help us grow personally, to get outside our habits and look for innovative ways to grow our business.
No follow up from the top. The CEO and the VP of Sales were great people. We became friends. But they had no action plans to work with us in the field to identify markets, build distribution or increase OEM sales. We may or may not see them in the field between quarterly meetings.

From these experiences I have three recommendations for effective sales meetings:
1. Identify and promote a specific and definite objective for each meeting.
2. Keep it short and stick to business. Generate excitement to make the meeting personally rewarding and business profitable.
3. Follow up with executive presence in the field to reinforce the initiatives or the plans decided in the meetings. Field managers need to be accountable and feel supported.

If you want to have fun, build the business meeting around a fun location, but make sure that the business is the focus of the meetings part.

Going to see the Wizard!

Even if you are not a big Wizard of Oz fan, you have to hand it to Dorothy. She had a clear goal: “We’re going to see the Wizard…” Her goal was so powerful, that she was able to effectively share it with three unlikely characters, and take them to greater heights with her. And they worked together to overcome a host of obstacles.

The Problem: One of the most common “areas for growth” identified by sales people before they experience our Integrity Selling® course is Goal Clarity. We define Goal Clarity as “having clear, specific, written goals of things or events you want to happen in your future.” Sometimes the goals are personal like Dorthy’s, which is just fine. Often they are business or sales goals, which are dear to a manager’s heart.

Helping Sales People Gain Goal Clarity: There are two major things that a sales executive can do to help people gain Goal Clarity; coach them and train them.

Coaching: Schedule regular coaching times with you and each sales person.
1. Ask them, “What specific goal(s) are you working on? How are you progressing on (it) them?”
2. Ask, “What is keeping you, if anything, from reaching these goals?”
3. Ask, “What actions, behaviors or skills will help you remove those constraints?”

Based on what the sales person says, suggest one action that will help them remove a constraint and make a note for future reference in your next coaching session. People can see themselves working on one step toward a goal. Ask for their commitment.

Praise specific strengths, behaviors, skills, attitudes or abilities the person has that you believe will help him/her reach the goals discussed. (Important: Do not critique or criticize the person during this conversation. Bite your tongue!) Every time you observe the person doing something you know is helping them reach their goal, or you see them doing what you have recommended as the action item, praise them. Be specific and timely. Example: “Jane, I noticed in our meeting with the people at Biffel Corporation this morning, you really did a great job with your new objective of maintaining eye contact. Did you notice how much more engaged they were?”

Training: Budget for training. Be willing to invest in specific training that a person needs, and be sure to ask about the learning that resulted. Any training provided should be specific to individual goals a person has set, or skills needed to achieve a goal. If you elect to conduct a course for your entire sales organization, be sure you participate with them. Lead your people through the training, don’t just “send” them to the course.

With effective coaching and quality training, you and your sales team can overcome obstacles and achieve your goals, too.

Customer Service: Making Money by Giving Stuff Away

I had an interesting experience with an automobile repair facility. My car would soon need new tires, so I stopped into a place I had never been before because I was driving by late in the day. I talked to Bobby. I said, “I’m going to soon need new tires, and I need some advice on whether I should replace the shocks, too. The car has 55,000 miles on it.”

Bobby and one of his associates said, “We’d love to sell you new shocks, but, unless you have a specific problem, you really don’t need to replace them till 100,000 miles. The quality of shock absorbers has improved so much, that they last longer now than they did ten years ago.” Well, that was an unexpected surprise, and good news.

Then we talked about tires and Bobby said, “Let me take a look at them.” We walked out to my car and he bent down, looking at each tire and feeling the tread depth. He said, “You don’t need tires yet, but you are close. This is as front wheel drive car, so you should have your best tires on the front. While you are here, why don’t you let me do a free tire rotation for you?” Another pleasant surprise!

It was the end of the day, so I could take 15 minutes for a free tire rotation. While sitting in the lobby, I thought, “While the car is on the lift, I wonder if he’d change the oil. It’s due now.” So Bobby’s technician changed the oil. The free tire rotation generated a little $24.00 sale, paying for itself. While I waited, Bobby printed out a quote for new tires based on the kind of driving that I do.

What’s the lesson?
1. Bobby established trust with me immediately by telling me the truth: I did not have to buy new shocks.
2. He made a goodwill gesture, almost like saying, “Thanks for stopping to get a quote for new tires,” rotating my tires for free.
3. I was going to get the oil changed anyway, so he took care of that with very little extra time consumed for me.
4. It was the end of both our days, so he spent a few minutes chatting with me, and further developing a friendly, trust relationship, something hard to find in the auto repair world.

Bobby would probably not have volunteered the free service if it had been the middle of the day, and his waiting area was full of people getting their cars serviced or repaired. But he had an idle technician, who was getting paid anyway. He had a genuine prospect for tires, and he wanted me to come back in a few weeks. So he did a smart thing: he showed that he valued my potential business, and he treated me with courtesy and friendliness.

Guess where I bought a new set of tires about six weeks later? From Bobby.

"Out-Behaving" the Competition

In his 2007 book, How; Why How We Do Anything Matters in Everything in Business and in Life author Dov Seidman makes the points that:
· We live in a commoditized world and our business will suffer,
· Unless we capitalize on the fact that human behavior cannot be commoditized, and
· We teach our people to “out behave” the competition.

How can you get employees to “out behave” the competition?

The work culture must:
· Be based on a clearly defined and constantly communicated set of values and mission.
· Place high value on the employees and the skills and abilities they bring to the job and the organization mission.
· Include a service mindset that enables and encourages a values-based approach to helping external and internal customers, and solving problems.
· Take advantage of the fact the people are created with a desire to help others.
· Encourage truly “engaged” employees who are friendly with coworkers and have “best friends” at work.
· Understand that people tend to thrive and produce profit-building results in trusting work environments.

Well, how do these culture attributes happen, especially if you did not start out with that environment in the first place?

At the risk of oversimplifying, there are four major ideas my research and experience show are necessary:
1. Identifying the ethics-based values on which the company or enterprise is based.
2. Having the right people on your team, doing the jobs that match their gifts and talents, so they help identify the direction of the enterprise – the business you are in.
3. Training that places high emphasis on “catching people doing something right,” builds on individual employee strengths, and is based on integrity and corporate values.
4. Leadership committed to “walking the talk,” and building up a values-based culture, not a rules-based culture.

Recommended reading:
How; Why How We Do Anything Matters in Everything in Business and in Life by Dov Seidman, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Good to Great by Jim Collins, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York
The Greatest Management Principle in the World by Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D., G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York. (Out of print)
First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, New York
Vital Friends by Tom Rath, Gallup Press, New York
The One Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson, Berkeley Books, New York
The People Principle, by Ron Willingham, St. Martin’s Press, New York

Who else???

Several years ago I was the regional sales manager for a small manufacturing company that was owned by a German company. One product line we sold was made by this German parent, and was often used in OEM applications.

We had a prospect in my Region who bought $500,000 per year worth of a product like one of ours, and we wanted their business. I worked through their Purchasing Department and Engineering Group to insure that we met or exceeded all their design specifications, and that our price was right. After more than a year, we still did not have the order.

I called the Purchasing Agent and asked, “We have the best product at the best price. Why don’t we have the order?” His answer floored me. “Our Vice President of Sales and Marketing does not want to change suppliers?” I asked, “That seems a little out of the ordinary. Why is that?” He responded with a story about a big problem with their present supplier which caused a major public relations disaster in one of their markets. They eventually got the problem resolved, but the VP of Sales and Marketing did not want to risk going through that kind of issue with a new supplier.

After verifying that he wanted to order our product, I asked the purchasing agent to set up a meeting. My Vice President of Sales, Director of Engineering, and Product Manager met me at their plant and we sat at the table with their Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Director of Engineering, Quality Control Manager, and Purchasing Agent. We got all the concerns out on the table and demonstrated how the problem they experienced in the past could not occur with our product. We then agreed upon a plan for a site visit to our facility by their people to verify that we could serve them.

From then on it was just a matter of working the plan, and we got the order.

What was the question that I had failed to ask one year earlier? After we became an approved vendor, I should have asked the Purchasing Agent something like this: “Who else needs to agree to this before you can place the order with us?” I could have saved a year of time and earned an extra $500,000 in revenue had I uncovered the issue with “changing suppliers.” Often there are factors in a purchase decision which don’t make sense to us, but which relate to a cultural issue or a historical problem like my customer had. You will only learn this when you ask questions to pull out the information.

Getting Agreement on the Value of Your Solution

I called on the Vice President of Sales for a company which sells highly specialized equipment and services into the law enforcement and military markets. I prepared carefully, researching his company and coming up with interview questions to ask to learn about his needs. He gave me 30 minutes. That is not long enough in my business to learn all I need to know. It is enough time, however, to establish rapport and to determine if he is a prospect. I am embarassed to admit that I allowed myself to get pulled into this retired military officer’s “no nonsense” quick decision style, and gave him a quote for a sales meeting coming up in six weeks.

As I thought about it later, I realized that I did not know enough about him and his company to make an effective proposal. We had identified a need, and he was favorable to the distinctiveness of my training methodology. But I failed to clearly get agreement on the cost to his company of the problem we identified. I also failed to learn the size of his budget for this meeting. Was he looking for a $2,000 speaker, or did he want the $20,000 culture change program I was thinking about? I made a great “customer focused” start, and at the first agreement of need, slipped into a product focus. Even an “old salt” will sometimes let an old habit surface and take charge. I estimate that happens to 85% of sales people every day.

What should I have done? If I could do this call again, I would say at the end, “Tom, my time is up, but I need to ask you one quick question: what kind of budget have you set up for this meeting? We have only a few short weeks, and I want to be sure I am working within your parameters.” Whatever his response at that point, my next step should have been to set up another meeting with him, perhaps over breakfast or lunch, to complete my interview. “Based on that, I can see that I need more information. Can we have breakfast or lunch one day later this week so I can get the additional information I need to help you?” And everything I would be saying is true. I did not do him a favor by quoting a price on something he did not agree that he needed.

I did not get the business because I did not deserve it. I am confident that he needed what I have, but I’m also confident that he was unconvinced of his need. I went for the “close,” rather than clarifying the needs and getting his agreement on the VALUE of the solution. This failure to focus on my prospect’s need and instead talk about my product features was an expensive lesson. I’m still learning and growing. I hope you are too.

In a Sales Interview: Why You Should be Careful Asking, “Why?”

When my oldest son was a teenager, he had a hard time meeting his Saturday night curfew time. Whenever I asked, “Why can’t you get home on time?” he was put on the defensive. An argument usually resulted. Fortunately he turned out great anyway!

When interviewing a customer or a prospect to find out what they want or need, a “why” question is used to get more information—to delve more deeply so you can learn all you can. But in a similar way to my teenager, it can also put another person unnecessarily on the defensive. This is especially true if the question is perceived as manipulative by the other person. “Why are you buying from them?” or “Why do you set the spec up this way?” or “Why didn’t you call me for a quote?” are questions that might be perceived as trying to get the other person to “admit to something.”

Why questions are better for getting opinions or information about a third party or a situation. “Why do you think that is seen as a problem?” asked after your prospect has told you about a problem, can help you get information about the root cause. “Why is xyz material specified rather than the more common abc material?” is asking for clarification. “Why do you think that happens?” is asking for an opinion.

When “peeling back the onion” with a prospect try substituting one of these phrases, “Tell me…” or "Help me understand..." for the word, “why.” If the prospect says, “The engineering department thinks that material will be a problem,” you can say, “Tell me more about that,” instead of “Why do they think that?” Rather than asking, “Why didn’t you call me for a quote?” you could say, “Please help me understand how to insure that my company is always asked to submit a bid when you make a purchase.”

It is important to find out why, and to keep asking “why-type” questions until you are satisfied that the real answer is on the table. Before you conclude your interview, try this: "In addition to that, what else...?" Remember, you can get the same results or better without using the word “why” to draw out that information.

Selling Technical Products to non-Technical Customers

You may have heard the joke about the conscientious father whose six year-old son abruptly asked one day, “Dad, where did I come from?” Taken aback, Dad spent about 10 minutes giving his best six year old version of the “birds and the bees.” His little boy replied, “Thanks, Dad. Justin said he came from Charlotte, and I just wanted to know where I came from.”

Sometimes technical sales people are in a position like our hapless dad in this story. They often have to present their sophisticated products to customers or prospects who do not really understand the technical significance of the product features. So the sales person rattles off the “gee whiz” virtues of the product, assuming that the prospect understands the information and how to relate it to their application. Unfortunately, unless a clear need for the product has been established, little or no value is associated with these great features. This can lead to a lack of appreciation for the product and questions about price that are premature.

Recently I went into a computer store to look at notebook computers. (Compared to some of your products, this is “low tech.”) I started the conversation with, “I want a notebook computer that weighs four pounds or less and has the Windows XP operating system.” The sales person began showing me computers. He never asked how I planned to use the computer, how much I would use it at my desk versus on the road, how I would use a touch screen, what I liked about my present notebook and what I wish it would do better. He focused on two computers in stock, based on my two criteria. One was a display model. As he explained the features of each, I got bogged down in technical details, which I didn’t fully understand. So I started focusing on the price. I thought the discount should have been higher, so I postponed the decision.

You are probably thinking, “Why didn’t you know more about what you wanted?” Simple: I don’t know enough to ask the right questions. I need help. So do some technology customers.

What if the conversation had gone something like this?
Me: “I want a notebook computer that weighs no more than four pounds and uses Windows XP.”
Him: “Okay, let’s see if I can help you find what you want. Please tell me how you are going to use this computer. How much are you on the road?”
Me: “Not a lot, but when I am, I frequently don’t take my computer. It’s too heavy, and very inconvenient to take through airport security. I am out of my office a lot locally, and would like to use my computer more around the metro area. I do a lot of PowerPoint and video presentation on my computer.”
Him: “So a lighter computer would help you both when you travel and locally when you’re out of the office?”Me: “Yes. Plus I need more RAM. My present notebook gets bogged down too often.
Him: “Probably from the video in your presentations. How much RAM?”
Me: “At least a gig.” (My son told me this. I don’t know what a gig is.)
Him: “Okay. What makes you want XP instead of the new Vista?”

See how this is going? This imaginary sales person is asking me open-ended questions: “How are you going to use…, How much RAM…, What makes you want XP…?” He paraphrases back to me what he heard to show he is getting it. My answers also tell him that I’m not a techie, in spite of throwing in that I need “a gig of RAM.” As he collects information about what I need and want, he can be mentally matching it up to the notebook computers in his inventory. After collecting the information he needs, he might have two options:
a. I am a prospect: “I have two computers which meet your needs.” Then he could explain the features in terms of what I need, not because they are wonderful and he likes them. He’s giving me the choice of two “yes” options, and he can even make a recommendation.
b. I’m not a prospect: “I don’t have anything that does what you want with the XP operating system. How would you feel about considering Vista?” If “not willing,” then he has no prospect.

But if he has done a good job of showing interest in what I want, and that he understands my needs, I just might be open to Windows Vista because I am beginning to trust him.

All of his conversation is about what I want and need and the features of the new computer are explained in terms of how they benefit me, meeting the needs I outlined for him. In the end if I feel I am going to get my ideal computer, which will do just what I want, price is no longer the issue.

Here are some clues you are spending too much time on features and not enough time explaining how the benefits of the product features meet the prospect or customer’s needs:
1. Silence after you explain some technical issue.
2. Looking at the clock, or around the room, or at something on the desk.
3. Questions like, “What does that mean?”
4. Asking “How much” before agreement has been reached that this is what s/he needs.
5. Statements like, “I need to talk this over with (fill in the blank).” Or “I think I need to do a little more research on this before making a decision.”

One more thought: pretend the person you are talking with has hired you to be their technology consultant in your area of specialization. Your job is to identify exactly what s/he needs by asking appropriate questions, and then tell briefly how the product will do what s/he wants. In summary the old adage still prevails: “Features tell; benefits sell.”

The Myth of “Multi Tasking”

When you are giving a presentation to your team, or to a client, how do you feel when you notice one or more participants looking down at an I-Phone or Blackberry device? How valued do you feel when you are speaking with someone on the phone, and you hear them talking “off line” to someone else? Or you hear the clickety clack of their computer keyboard in the background, when you know they have no reason to be typing related to your conversation? What goes through your mind when you are having a face to face conversation with a friend and he reaches to his belt and pulls up his cell phone to check the source of the call causing the phone to vibrate? (or ring?)

In each of these cases the other person may be thinking she/he is multi tasking. In reality they are focusing their attention on something besides you and your needs or your information.

The proliferation of cell phones with e-mail, and video has led to the idea that people can do two or more things simultaneously. I think this is a myth!

To illustrate: close your eyes (after you read this) and imagine a big, gray elephant, then open your eyes. Now close your eyes and imagine a fuzzy little brown lion cub. What happened to the elephant? It disappeared while you were thinking of the cute little lion cub. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time. So when you think you are “multi tasking,” you are just shifting your attention from one task or issue to another, then back, which is not only inefficient – it is unproductive.

There is something I call “multi processing.” That is, you can have many projects and tasks in stages of progress at one time. To be effective at multi processing, you need to do a little planning, and you need to have a system for projects or tasks in progress, so you can trust that the next step will come up for your attention at the right time. Using such a “system,” that your mind trusts, will enable you to temporarily forget the details, with confidence that they will come back for your attention at the appropriate time.

We call this process, “Time Activate.” Whether your system uses Outlook, ACT!, GoalMind, a Google or Yahoo calendar, CalendarStar®, or a paper planner, the principles are the same. When something needs your attention in the future, Time Activate it. Use your system to tell you three “W’s” or three pieces of information:
* What to do
* When to do it
* Where the information is to get it done.

The last “W” enables you to take the paper off your desk and put it away, or the e-mail from your inbox and put it in a specific e-mail folder. Time Activating makes you an effective “Multi-Processor.” Now you can focus on the people or tasks at hand with confidence that other issues will come back to you in your system at the right time.

"Listening" with your Body Language

In an earlier blog post we talked about active listening techniques, one of which was “conversational listening.” Using body language is a form of conversational listening. Some of the ways to use your body language to encourage people to talk are:

Look them in the eye. Literally in one eye, because you cannot looking into both of their eyes at the same time. Caution: Some cultures view such directness as an insult, so this is usually reserved for Western cultures.

Avoid looking around as they talk. Keep focused on them when you talk.

Sit up straight. (Do not slouch)

Take notes, when appropriate. (Remember, you are not taking dictation, so every word is not important.)

Lean forward slightly, indicating interest.

Cock your head slightly as they talk.

Smile, when and if appropriate.

Nod your head, without speaking, as a way of saying, “I understand, please continue.”

One of my first sales managers, Russ, told me a way he used to draw more information out of a prospect without saying a word. When the prospect would tell him something and he wanted a further explanation, Russ would look directly at the person with an expectant look on his face and think to himself, “Go on…” When he did that, his head moved in an almost imperceptible, positive nod, and the prospect would invariably continue talking, helping to clarify the situation.

Keep in mind that you are using body language all the time, whether you think about it or not. Develop the habit of using it to the benefit of your client, and therefore to your own benefit, by drawing out the wants and needs you can meet.

How to Save Money on a New Car (Or Listening Your Way into the Sale)

This is really not about cars. It is about listening. Let me tell you about the time my friend, Dave, saved almost 30% on a new car. This happened in the early 1970’s, when you could buy a new full sized car for about $5,000. Dave was the kind of guy who bought a new car and drove it until it died 10 or 15 years later. His wife needed a big, safe car to haul around their two small sons, so at the end of the model year, Dave made the rounds of the dealers to find a “deal” on last year’s model.

He was disappointed at the small discounts. The best deal he could find was about $4,300 dollars. Finally he stopped at a dealer whose salesperson said, “You're in luck. There was a new full-sized sedan on the truck that came in today, and it is last year’s model. We don’t know how it got there. The price is $3,500.”

Dave exclaimed incredulously, “$3,500?” He was surprised that the price was so much lower than other quotes he’d received. The sales person, however, took his exclamation as a sign of displeasure with a price that was too high. So the sales person said, “Okay, okay. I’ll throw in the undercoating for free.” That was worth another $350! So good ole’ Dave got a great deal on a brand new car.

Instead of commenting on what the sales person said, he simply repeated part of the price quote as a question. In Dave’s case this was an involuntary exclamation of surprise, but it was interpreted as an objection, or at least a request for clarification. Unconsciously, Dave used a form of “active listening” called “content.” We explain more about this on our blog posting “Selling & Serving by Listening.”

When you use active listening in your selling interviews, you give customers a chance to further explain what they mean, reveal additional information, and help you understand whether you have a solution for them.

Selling and Serving by Listening

We teach four basic active listening skills in our programs. Here’s a quick summary:

Conversational. You probably do this all the time. Use a word or gesture that indicates that you are listening. Phrases like, “I see,” “My goodness,” “Wow,” “Uh huh,” and “Really?” are conversational. Example: “Then, he got up and left the room!” Conversation response: “Oh, no!” Nodding your head as the speaker talks is also a form of conversational listening.
Content. Choose a word or phrase from what the speaker said and repeat it in the form of a question, which encourages the speaker to continue. Example: “Then, he got up and left the room!” Content response: “He left?” or “He left the room?” (In another blog I tell about how my friend, Dave, inadvertently used the “content response” to save money on a new car.)
Feeling. Tell the person what you think they are feeling based on the emotion you hear in their voice. Example: “Then, he got up and left the room!” Feeling response: “You must have really been frustrated!”
Mirror. Just repeat exactly what the speaker said, word for word, as a question.
Example: “Then, he got up and left the room!” Mirror response: “He got up and left the room?” Of course, use this response infrequently and with care, or the speaker will get the feeling you’re mocking him or her.

Having an effective conversation is often about listening, not offering advice. In selling this means we can do a better job by using active listening to help people clarify their thinking. Then we will know if we have a solution that will meet their need, and customers will often sell themselves as they "think out loud" with you.

One important point: These techniques must be used sincerely, with a genuine interest in helping people clarify their thinking, or give you needed information. If any of them are used in an attempt to manipulate people, they will see through you, and you will lose credibility.

Building Relationships as You Are Selling

I have a favorite question that I build into most of my initial sakes interviews with prospective clients. “What do your best people do that you wish everyone would do?” In one two week period, two sales executives answered, “Build relationships.”

What are some of the ways that I and others use to build relationships?

§ Develop trust with people by showing genuine interest in them.
§ Responding to prospect or customer requests promptly is a relationship builder.
§ Look for ways to let customers know you are thinking about the needs they revealed to you.
§ Follow up promptly with commitments you have made or problems a customer has told you about.
§ Avoid obviously self-serving contacts. Make contacts about them and their business.
§ Be interested in their needs. Ask lots of “how, who, what, when and where” questions that can’t be answered with a word, but with information.
§ Talk about your products or services only as solutions to needs they have agreed they are looking to resolve.

Effective use of communication tools. A colleague in Nashville, TN, Harriet Butler, is a master at relationship building. She is uses voice mail after hours to leave short messages letting a client know she is working on something for them. These little messages often take less than a minute, and they help build trust because she is thinking about them and their business needs.

Look for ways that you can save clients money when they make commitments to you. I sell sales and customer service training programs. A few years ago I saved client thousands of dollars over a three year period by asking, “How many people do you think will be going through this program in the next 12 months?” When they told me, the number was significantly more than needed to get them into our highest discount bracket. I simply asked for a letter of commitment stating their expectations, and my boss extended the highest discount immediately to this valued client.

You can also offer to do “leg work” for a client. I used my schedule flexibility when working with a large client to travel all around the state giving executive and supervisory overviews. These helped the client achieve their training goals at virtually no additional cost to them, and I got to know their people all over the state.

Perhaps the best question you can ask yourself to develop trust relationships is, “What would I want me to do if I was this customer?” Then figure out a way to do it. Whether you are selling, or serving after the sale, these ideas can be relationship builders for you!