Inspire Sales

I am in the process of launching my new company "Inspire Sales" and have created a new blog under that name.  If you are enjoying my blog and would like to continue following me, please visit and follow me at www.inspiresales.blogspot.com

Thank you!

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Some companies are sales driven, others service driven with a side of sales.  Some companies live eat and breathe their sales pipeline and the pressure for sales managers and reps to perform is insurmountable.  The companies that drive hard on sales are often companies that are publicly traded or companies who have taken investment funds from private equity companies… or quite possibly convinced Kevin O’Leary to invest after a stand off on the Dragon’s Den.

When a company owner makes the decision to go public and/or take investment dollars, there is the risk of some soul selling.  Don’t get me wrong, there are significant financial benefits to going public or taking in investment dollars…. IF you have a solid proven growth strategy and are willing to forget about the warm and fuzzy customer service and focus on the margins.  IF you are absolutely sure that with the injection of cash you WILL be able to increase profits and revenues 100 fold.  If you can, then there is a good chance your public company will be lucky and not become soulless…

However IF you don’t manage that money properly and IF you do not make your forecasts and IF your stock prices fall…. Well you might find yourself more concerned with making your quarter than doing what’s right for your customer.  You might find yourself mimicking instant gratification sales guy….

When a company is accountable to investors it HAS to perform.  It can’t make excuses like “the cat died so I couldn’t make sales calls”.  The NASDAQ does not give a crap about anything but the price of your stock so when that quarter is coming to an end you had better made your forecasts or corporate heads will roll... 

If you have your own business that you would like to grow minus the capital from Kevin O’Leary or the market you absolutely still need to be sales driven.  It is the only way to grow.  If you are doing sales off the side of you desk then you may likely have a decent stream of revenue coming in, but it’s unlikely you are creating any capital for your business to invest in growth.

I’ve heard a lot of small business owners talk about the chicken and the egg thing when considering a growth strategy… the strategy is usually this:

First I’ll find the business and see where I’m at then I will consider hiring the people or putting the processes in place.

That may sound like a good plan, however it’s not a plan.  It likely means your company will not grow or if it does by accident you’ll have a lot of back peddling to do and things will on a varying scale start to fall apart a little.  Most companies refer to this as ‘growing pains’.

My suggestion to business owners who want to grow is to put a plan in place that would impress the likes of Kevin O’Leary.  Think about your growth.  Set goals.  Plan HOW you intend to achieve the goals.  Put sales targets in place and be accountable to them.  If you aren’t comfortable selling – keep reading my blog I’ll give you advice here and there, or use someone like me to help you get sales processes in place.  Ask yourself a few questions:

What and who is your market?

How do you reach your market?
Who is your competition?
What makes you different from your competition?
Why do people want to deal with YOU?

 When you know who your market is and how to reach them (and don’t say everyone because it’s not), think about it in realistic terms.  Think about how many businesses and people could use your products and/or services.  Think about the value of sales to each of these people.  Think about how many people or businesses you could service at the size you are now.  Think about a realistic growth plan over a period of time (like 3 years).  Think about how much money you want to make and how many sales you need to make to make that money. 

Think about what people and processes you would need to put in place, not if, but when you reach your goals. Write it down and hold yourself accountable to it.  Be realistic in the revenue numbers and likelihood that business will close and make a realistic conservative plan along with a more speculative plan just in case you hit the mother load.  

If you don’t want to risk payroll investments, consider Elance or posting contract positions.   More and more people are opting for contract work versus traditional employment and more and more companies are enjoying the benefits of having contractors do work for them.  Leverage this and these people  Think about what your contracts look like, what kind of work these people could do for you.  Have the processes in place for WHEN you need them, don’t assume you’ll figure it out if and when the time comes.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Companies often suffer when they grow because there generally isn’t a plan in place to accommodate the growth and they opt to react rather than pro-act.  This often leads to disorganization and poor thought out solutions… Bad decisions and disorganization generally leads to ultimately unhappy clients AND staff… this then results in loss of business and employee turnover – both extremely costly.

Starting a business begins with a great idea.  Growing a business means either letting someone else run with your idea while you take care of business OR letting someone else run your business while you foster your idea.  Either way it’s important to think about your company’s strategy and the best way to execute it.

Running and growing your own business is not for the faint of heart.  It means risk.  It means relying on other people and letting them help you.  It takes a crazy kind of vulnerability to grow your business but if the idea is sound and you have an actionable plan in place you can grow it and feel confident the dollars WILL come in to support the plan AND growth!

Organization, follow up and follow through

On my last post I talked about one of the greatest tools for consistent revenue is having a client or customer’s best interest at heart.  Not feigning interest with the goal of closing a sale, but with the intention of building a relationship that could be mutually beneficial

The rest is organization, follow up and follow through.

Last spring my husband and I decided that we would get a jump start on searching out options for air conditioning in our home.  Our furnace is on its last legs and our place gets mighty hot during the summer.  Because we both work remotely from home, the argument in favour of the investment was pretty strong.  We haphazardly called a couple of places and got a couple of quotes that were pretty steep.  I wanted to support a small local guy so I found a small company with a good website and emailed him to let him know what we were looking for.  The next day Bob called me and we arranged a time for him to look at our current solution and provide a quote.

Bob was very nice, he presented very well and it was clear he knew a lot about ducting, air and furnaces.  He sat at my kitchen table and told me honestly, in his opinion that we didn’t have the ducting to support a successful installation of A/C.  He told me that though it would cool our place down it wouldn’t make it ‘cold’ on the hottest day of the year – which in his opinion, is what should happen if you have proper A/C.  He also advised me that if he did install it, chances are we would have regular malfunctions and issues with the unit for the same reasons.  He suggested we buy a couple of portable units to get us through those few heat waves and save ourselves about $5000. 
 
I told Bob, that I appreciated his honesty and that I would like a quote for a new furnace minus the AC.  Within 48 hours Bob turned around a reasonable quote for the purchase and installation of a new furnace. 

My husband and I really liked Bob and were impressed that he was smart enough to know that he could have turned over a fast buck and installed the AC.  That he knew that over time he would likely lose time, money and credibility if we were calling him on a regular basis to service a unit that wasn’t working because it shouldn’t have been installed in the first place. 

Longevity over instant gratification - good job Bob!

Given that we were now into spring, I thanked Bob for the quote and advised him that we would defer our new furnace purchase until late summer/early fall.

I never heard from Bob again.

I didn’t say no.  I said, not right now.  It’s December and I still haven’t received a reply to the email I sent Bob to say that we were going to wait.  My furnace is still a piece of crap but we’re hoping it can get us through another winter so we can defer the costs for a little while longer since blogging and writing a book don’t actually bring in money.
 
I don’t know a lot about Bob’s business or his strategy or plans for growth.  Maybe he has enough business that he doesn’t need to pursue it.  Maybe he doesn’t want the headache of employees and dispatching…. Who knows.  This isn’t uncommon.  Many people are ‘busy enough’ so they don’t need to follow up, because their phones are always ringing.  Lucky bastards.

I hope that was the case for Bob because it’s very likely that had he called me in September and gave me 2 or 3 good reasons to do it now, I’d have a nice quiet energy efficient new furnace. 

If you have a small business with no active sales people, here are a few tips on how to turn leads/quotes into revenue
 
Organization, follow up and follow through.

-          Keep a database of all past and potential customers and attach any quotes or communications.

-          If you have a computer you can do this in outlook.  If you don’t then get a date book and an address book.

-          Block off a chunk of time every week or month for email or phone follow up – OR hire someone to do this a for you.

-          If you are uncomfortable doing this, email me, it’s what I do.  I’d be happy to help and my rates are reasonable.

-          Always address receipt of a response to a quote whether they say yes or no. 

-          If they defer you, politely ask when a good time would be for follow up.

-          If they’ve chosen to use a different vendor ask them why – there’s a chance if you know the reason you could still win the business.

-          Follow through…. Do what you said you would do and once it’s done always always always check back with the client one or more times over a period of time to make sure they are happy with the product and/or service.

-          Ask for referrals.  If they do refer you, be sure to send them a thank you of sorts.  Wine or chocolate works well for me.

What if you are busy enough?  What if you have so much work coming in that you don’t really need to follow up on stale quotes?  What if you are one of the lucky ones who is making the money they want to make with a consistent steady stream?  If so I’m not sure why you’re reading this, however if you are, this is what I suggest you do:
 
Find a competitor you respect, who is looking to grow their business and work out a referral deal. 

As an example you could have them follow up on your quotes and if they win the business they pay you a commission. This shows you care about your customers and/or the people who may have referred the business to you and also could provide you with an additional revenue stream that doesn’t cost you anything. 

If you have a solid product/solution/service; if your prices accurately reflect the value of your solution; if you are organized, follow up and follow through and if you genuinely care about the satisfaction of your customers you have a good chance for great success.

Instant Gratification or Longevity?

Yesterday I posed the question of whether you want to make a fast buck or make money for a long time. 

Instant gratification, versus longevity?

Do you want one night stands or a relationship?

If you are a sales rep who enjoys the thrill of the chase and changes jobs every 12-18 months chances are you fit into the instant gratification category.  You want to make a lot of money and you want to do it quickly.  You’ll possibly say or do just about anything to win the sale.  People are often taken with you right away and more often than not mistake your interest in them for sincerity.  People buy from you because you say all the right things at the right time.  You often meet or exceed your quotas the first year and your bosses think you’re a superstar.  You generally exit when the going is still good and chances are, for months after your departure, people are cleaning up your messes and resetting customer expectations because you over promised and now your poor ex colleagues are, from the client’s perspective, under-delivering.

If you are a business owner who takes pride in your customers and fully understands that they are the ones who are keeping you in business, do yourself a world of good and stay away from instant gratification sales reps who ‘sweep you off your feet’.  Like mom always said, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”.

Instant-gratification sales rep is quite possibly the greatest contributor to the perception many people have of sales people.  Instant gratification sales rep likely worked as a used car salesman once upon a time, forever stereotyping any sales person brave enough to sell cars.

What’s possibly even scarier than instant gratification sales guy is instant gratification SALES MANAGER.  That guy got promoted!  Unfortunately many sales reps with good fast sales results get promoted to manager.  I’m sorry but exceeding your quota is not a qualification for managing people - but that is a topic for another day.  I would rather get to the benefits of longevity.

If you want longevity you need three things:  (that I promise I will elaborate on in future posts)

People working for you who care.  Not just for the customers, but for their managers and the company.  (Yes this is possible.  If you don’t believe me, I’d be happy to come and speak at your next staff meeting)

Clear information/marketing about your company’s products, services and direction.

Organized, client contact database.

Building a stable company with long term customers is critical to just about any business - from a corner store to a car dealer and from a plumber to a software developer.  People who enjoy buying from you and who are more than satisfied WILL come back again and WILL refer you.  To build this type of clientele might mean giving a little… it might mean dragging out the sales process for a while.  It more than likely will mean you’ll miss your quarter, however it definitely will mean more revenue in the future.

Once upon a time I checked coats and collected cover charge at a night club and my manager made a comment about how low our numbers were on the cover-charges (because I let in a lot of people for free on this particular night). To that I replied “If they don’t spend the $5 at the door, they’ll spend it in the club and they’ll be a lot happier about spending it”.  The people who knew they could get in the club for free came back again and again and always spent well over $5 in the bar AND tipped better because they didn’t feel ‘ripped off’ the moment they walked in the door.  

You can’t just look at ONE number you have to look at the overall numbers over a period of time.

When I first started in account management it was a rough go.  My manager had a very different approach than me and more often than not told me I was not fit to do what I was doing.  He had very little faith in me, however thankfully I had faith in me.  I stopped listening to his advice and did what I thought was the right thing to do.  Making my quota was a slow go but after I had built the relationships, earned the trust and followed through with the things I said I would do, clients started buying from me.  I didn’t do anything for my clients with the intention of it resulting in a sale (other than the standard sales presentations and sales calls that I was clear about).  I treated my clients like I did my friends.  I told them about products and services I believed would help them.  I also advised them against some products and services that I didn’t think would benefit them.  When they asked me a question I answered it.  If the answer was no, it was no.  If the answer was I don’t know , then that was the answer I gave them.   If I took them out it was to genuinely thank them for their support, and more often than not to hang out with them because I liked them.  The SIDE EFFECT was that they bought from me. 

As a business owner or aspiring sales person/customer service person if you care about your customers and are genuinely interested in them then you are 50% closer to successful selling than you may have thought!

My question of the day is: 

Are you 50% there yet?

 

Why the "Over Pitch" reminds me of a pick up artist.

Yesterday I talked about the over pitch and how over pitched I feel.  I also suggested to stop pitching... however I also admitted to being sucked in by a pitch.  So if I got sucked into a pitch (and I'm supposed to be this savvy business woman) then it must mean that pitches work right?

Direct response marketers spend a lot of time perfecting these pitches.  They know how to tell you what you need, and how to create a void in your life that can be filled only with 4 easy payments of 22.50.  This is, for lack of a better word, called 'techniquing'.  Just like Ricko Guido at the bar uses fool proof pick up lines to get dates, Direct Response marketers use fool proof language to hook us.

I admit to spending my money on semi-useful items that I likely would not have purchased had I not seen the infomercial.  So one can say that yes this supercharged style of pitching brings in sales - LOTS OF THEM.  However what these pitches don't do is bring in CUSTOMERS.

So ask yourself these questions:

Do you want to make a fast buck?
Or
Do you want to make money for a long time?

and remember.... You might have taken a date with Ricko Guido but it's unlikely you married him.

Over-Pitched?

The goal of my blog and my business is to help people sell better. Whether you are an entrepreneur starting your own business or a manager trying to get more out of your people, you need to know how to sell NOT how to pitch.

I don’t know about you, but I have been OVER PITCHED.

I've purchased books and products that promise to quickly and miraculously solve my problems. I once spent almost 30 minutes reading a freaking sales pitch on how I too, could potty train my toddler in 3 days before I had to buy the book that actually did not give me any information I did not already have - in fact after spending 18.95 for this multi paged instruction manual, the actual advice amounted to about four paragraphs.  Four paragraphs that were almost word for word what my mother did to get us out of diapers.   Should have trusted her advice and gone out for a nice lunch.

What is my take away from this? Sales pitches are an empty fruitless time suck that work and work to build me up and make me believe the answer to my problems plus dessert is behind curtain number 1 and costs ONLY 10.95 plus shipping. I then spend my 10.95 to realize I've been duped again. I sell for a living and damn it I got sucked into spending my money on something I realized that though could be useful to me was not in fact necessary and nor did it solve any problem for me. In fact it created a problem because somehow my credit card is being charged some strange subscription fee to a company I’ve not heard of and the only way to stop the charge is to cancel the card and get a new one.

Ironically I do love to be sold to properly.  I love it when I spend my money on something I like from someone I like.  I love walking out of a store with a smile on my face or receiving a package in the mail that meets or exceeds my expectation.  Because I sell for a living I love giving the sale to a sales rep who deserves it.  I respect a good sales person and more often than not would love to coach some people who try to sell to me and do not succeed.  Believe it or not I find myself often in situations where I actually have time to hear more, I’m in an open minded frame so when someone calls or a clerk asks if I know about an offer, I don’t close the door, I leave it open a crack and see what they do.  More often than not they shut the door not realizing they could have closed a sale.  There are times I want to say to the person – “did you know had you pressed me a little more I would have listened?”.  That’s not saying I would have bought, but I may have listened and if I had related to what I’d heard I may have bought…. OR had I liked what I’d heard and found the offer or product interesting but not for me I may have REFERRED this person to a friend or colleague… or boasted about them on my facebook page…. Or just kept them in mind for a time when I might be interested.  A not now is not a no.

Because of these personal experiences I am pretty confident that most businesses and business owners are leaving money on the table simply because they can’t tell for sure if the door is open or closed and try to kick it open when it’s shut or shut it when it’s open so I want to help you gently nudge it open and grow your business.

Today's take-away is this:  Stop pitching and start listening. 

My question of the day is:  Did the door actually close or do you just think it did?