Know Your Product

My inspiration for this week’s blog comes from a trip to a plant nursery. Last week during a driving rain storm, I decided I needed to drive an hour each way to go to my favorite nursery to buy some fruit trees. I could have purchased these at a number of local places or I could have purchased them over the web. So why did I drive 2 hours to buy these trees? Well it was because I needed to find someone who could help me make the right decisions as to what type and variety of trees would work best for where I am going to plant them. So I went to this nursery and received a lot of consulting around what I should purchase and how I should plant them, fertilize, and trim them. While the sales person was ok at doing the selling, he was excellent at the consulting. This trip reminded me as to how important it is for a sales person to know their products and services, and to act as a consultant for the customer. It is not enough to just be friendly and ask all the right questions. The customer should look to you the sales person as the expert.

Even though most of the sales training I have delivered over the last 20+ years has been about strategy, politics, pain, value, and so on; product knowledge is also a must to excel in sales. I have always had a strong technical background and a very good knowledge of any product that I have sold. I have always used this as one of my competitive advantages along with the more strategic items like strategy and value propositions. It is true that in many cases the sales person’s product knowledge is not a must but, it sure is an advantage. If you are truly going to be a consultative sales person you have to know everything there is to know about your product. Of course you also have to know about the customers business, industry, and competition. Tactical sales skills are also important but to really be outstanding in sales you have to have three things (Business Knowledge, Sales Knowledge, and Product Knowledge). It really is like a three legged stool. You can sit on the stool if it only has two legs but you have to be extra careful and someone can easily knock you off. Make sure you have all three legs for your selling. Good Selling

Mobile CRM from a Sales Point of View:

Mobile CRM, would it help me and my team sale? As I think about how valuable my CRM product running on my cell phone would be, the first things that come to mind are the barriers. Will I be able to see and manage the massive amounts of data in my CRM on a cell phone screen? Will the data be secure? Will it be fast enough to be useful especially outside of my 3G area? Will I have to sync the data and if so, how long will it take? Will it work when I change phones? What amount of IT support will be needed to support my mobile CRM?

Then I think about all the value that it could bring. Since I started selling over 25 years ago I have never really taken a vacation that I didn’t do some work and where I wasn’t reachable. In fact almost all my vacations were somehow connected to work. My wife has a picture of us and the kids at the Atlanta Olympics and sure enough I have a cell phone in my ear. She has pictures like this from all over the world. So, how would the value of Mobile CRM be better than just having the cell phone? Well if I had access via the phone to my CRM, I could check and update the forecast, check on how opportunities are proceeding before I call the sales person to discuss it, look up customers and review the history of an opportunity before I call the customer, and so on and so on. I could do all of this without having to get out my laptop and trying to find a place to connect. I could do it from the car, the restaurant, the hotel room, and yes even from the Olympics. There is no question that having mobile CRM would be very valuable to sales teams.

So let’s talk about the issues. Small Screen / Massive Amounts of Data: I am in my mid 50’s so seeing a little screen is a challenge but with the help of reading glasses it is manageable. Also the screen technology for mobile devices keeps improving and in most cases they are also getting larger. I currently use an iPhone but most of the people in our office use Blackberries. With the new iPad, I guess you could solve the size issue but it doesn’t have the phone capability and it is a little big to put in your pocket. The real issue is the design of the interface with the data. CRM products have massive amounts of data. One way to help solve this issue is to limit the amount of data on the phone but as soon as you do this you limit the value that it provides. Another way is to have good search capabilities and well designed screen functions.

I have recently been playing with the beta of the Salesnet Mobile CRM product and am very impressed at how easy it was to use and how the data is arranged to make it very effective. I can’t wait until this product is released. I have also looked at several Mobile CRM products that just have way too much data on the screen and have limited search ability which makes it hard to use these products.

The security of the data will always be an issue. What if the phone is lost, will the data be assessable by whoever finds it? Many CRM products contain very sensitive data not only about forecast and strategy but about the customer. If you are working in the health care industry you have to worry about HIPPA regulations. If you have data such as social security numbers or other personal data you have a responsibility to your customers to protect that data. I’m a fan of not having the data reside on the phone. The use of browser based mobile CRM is a reality today with the coverage and speeds of mobile networks. This is not the perfect answer because there are places where you can’t get a good connection with your phone but, it not only solves the security issue but it also solves the dreaded syncing issues.

The browser based mobile CRM also solves the multiple phone support and the need for IT support. The bottom line is I’m all for mobile CRM and am looking forward to where it goes in the future. I believe that it is now feasible to have a standalone mobile CRM package that is only accessed by mobile devices. Until next time good selling.

The P’s Of Selling

Since P words tend to be positive, many people have used P words in training material with great success. At the risk of repeating some of what many of you may have already heard, I thought I would do a little blog about my P’s for Selling.
Perspiration – I have never seen a successful salesperson who didn’t work hard. You may not have the best product, or be smarter than your competition, or be better looking, or even have the best personality but you can work harder than your competition. Hard work doesn’t insure success but it can make up for many of your companies or your products short comings.
Persistence – I wouldn’t say you should never give up on a sale. Sometime you are better off to stop chasing business you can’t win and focus on the business you can win. Too many times to count, after months of calling a customer and leaving messages without a response, the customer has called me back and thanked me for my persistence. Being persistent also means being persistent with your efforts and your message. Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it. Your message should also be persistent. Know who you are and what the value you bring to the customer is and stick to your message. You can adjust your message based on feedback from the customer but if your message keeps changing then your customer will be confused and a confused customer most likely won’t buy from you.
Positive – As a sales manager, I have been on sales calls where the sales person is so beaten down by internal issues inside the company that they come off as negative or not believable. If you don’t believe in your product or company then you are working for the wrong company. Believe me, a sharp client can see the look in your eyes if you lose faith in your company or in your product and if you have lost faith they aren’t going to buy from you. With that in mind, I do believe there is a time to do what I call “going negative” but that is a subject for another day.
Pain – Much is made about finding out about what the customer’s pains are. I am a true believer in uncovering the pain and mapping that to your solution. Keep in mind that there are three types of pain: Latent Pain, Pain Felt, and Pain Solution Vision. Each type of pain has its advantages and disadvantages. This would also be a good subject for another blog.
Punctuality – My wife and children say that I am a fanatic about being on time. This is true in every part of my life. I’m not only almost always on time; I’m almost always way early. I think this is one of the keys to my success in sales. If I have a meeting at a customer site, I try to arrive at least 15 to 30 minutes early. That way if I get lost or if there is bad traffic, I still arrive on time. If I get to the site early, I can spend the extra time going over my plan for the meeting and making sure I’m calmed down from my trip. If I’m flying in for a meeting the night before, I will always take a drive to the customer site the night before to make sure I know where it is and about how long it will take to get there. These days most of my meetings are via webinars. As you may have guessed, I always show up at least 5 minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start. This obsession with being early also relates to items I’m to deliver to the customer. If I say I’m going to deliver a proposal on Friday, I do everything I can to deliver it on Thursday. Always, “Under Promise and Over Deliver”. The negative part of this obsession is that I tend to drive people crazy with this desire to be early for everything. I would like to say that as I have gotten older that I have mellowed in this area but that would be a lie. Just ask my kids.
Personality – If you don’t have a good personality you probably aren’t in sales or you won’t be for long. With that said, you don’t have to have a great personality to be successful in sales. You can overcome your short comings in this area by making sure you focus on the customer. Ask questions, listen, and add value to the conversation. Keep in mind that most people like to talk about their stuff not your stuff. Get interested in their business and in them, and you will have no problems getting along with your customers. While relationship selling isn’t as important as it use to be, it is still very important. It is also much harder to develop a relationship if you do all your selling over the phone but building the relationship is still a must, it is just harder to accomplish.
Value Proposition – I know this is cheating a little bit on the P theme but, I think that understanding your value proposition and how it relates to the customer is the most important part of sales. Our value proposition at Salesnet is: “Based on the extensive knowledge of sales process and CRM technology. Salesnet has the ability to improve your company’s sales effectiveness with our patented sales process work flow engine. At Salesnet we will help you develop and drive your best practices and improve your ability to forecast accurately. ” Your value proposition can be different for different industries and can be refined as you work with a customer to become a much more detailed value proposition of the value you will bring to that particular customer.
Until next time, Remember “Success is 99% you and 1% the rest of the world.” Scott Farmer

Phone Calls: The Little Stuff Matters

Having been in sales, sales training, and sales management for more than 25 years, I have seen many sales people who were successful and many who were not. While there are many reasons for both, I would like to focus this blog on one of the things that all salespeople have to do and what can make or break a sale: Phone Calls. One of the issues with successful sales people is that they can tend to get lazy in their techniques. This blog will address just one of the basic techniques that they need to keep sharp. Even professional baseball players go to spring practice every year and they practice throwing, catching, and batting before each game. Salespeople need to practice the basics of their profession to stay at the top of their game.
Phone Calls: More than 75% of the time when you call someone you will get there voice mail. The question is how to make your message valuable and effective, and yet short. If you are calling an existing client you may think that you should just say “hi Sue, sorry I missed you, please give me a call back”. While this may be OK, wouldn’t it be better to say “hi Sue, this is John Smith from XYZ Company, I’m sorry I missed you, I am calling to talk to you about ABC…., please give me a call, my number is ##. Again this is John Smith with XYZ Company and my number is ##.” The important parts of this are: You said your name twice, you stated what you wanted to talk about, and you gave her your phone number twice. It is also important to say the phone number slowly especially the second time. This gives them time to get a pen and paper so they can write it down. Some people would say that the person I’m calling already has my number so I don’t need to repeat it or even give it. Wrong, what if they are away from their desk or their cell phone is dead. Our job as salespeople is to make it easy for the client, giving your number to them every time you leave a message makes it easy for them.
Cold Calls: Everyone hates cold calling and everyone hates receiving cold calls. In a perfect world there would be no cold calling but, we don’t live in a perfect word. When cold calling it is of great importance to get the attention of the prospect, get their interest, and to get them to call you back or at least take your next call. Let’s talk about getting their attention. Be creative and change things up. One thing you could do is to say what company you are with before you say your name. This is a simple technique that works well for getting the prospect to remember your name and sounds a little different from all the other messages they have to go through. By your starting out different than everyone else, they tend to listen. Asking them a question can also help get their attention. Using a very short value proposition can also help, if your value matches their need. Saying you are going to call them back again on a certain day or better yet at a certain time is a very good technique but, you had better call them back when you said you were going to call them. A good CRM tool will go a long way toward helping you manage these call backs. Salesnet is really good at helping you manage this with its color coded activity approach. It is OK to call the prospect more than once a day but only leave one message per day. Call at different times each day. Try calling before and after business hours.
Having several scripted calls and emails to reinforce the calls, works very well for cold calling. You don’t want the calls to sound scripted but they should be scripted. The emails should be short and to the point. Using a customer testimonial in the email is great but if it is more than a couple of sentences long, you should use a link to the testimonial. I like to mention the customer testimonial in the body of the email with a link and put the short version of the testimonial below my signature. You can also put it at the top of the email as a headliner. Change it up and see what works best. Until next time remember “Success is 99% you and 1% the rest of the world”. Scott Farmer

Lead Generation Techniques that Work in any Economy

This month, the Salesnet CRM blog features a guest post by Lisa Glinche of pto software provider Organization in a Box.

One thing that we hear often from our customers is that they need more sales leads. Many of them have tried different lead techniques but still fall short of their goals in terms of inquiries and new business.
In response to this need, we often recommend the techniques listed below. They can be used in any economy and almost any lead generation promotion to increase sales activity.

• Retain and grow relationships with existing clients – Typically up to 70% of next year’s revenue will come from the base of existing clients and contacts. Don’t overlook them!

• Optimize your website – Improve the volume and quality of traffic to your web site from organic search results. Many consumers use the Internet to create short lists.

• Find The Right Target - A critical part of your marketing plan is targeting the right customer. For a low-budget high-impact lead generation plan to work, forget the mass market and go for small niche markets where you have had the most success in solving business problems. Remember your targeted list is your most important asset.

• Optimize Messaging – Now is not the time to be everything to everybody. Concentrate your efforts in specific areas where you have had the most success in solving business problems and where you can most easily demonstrate your value. Being able to quickly and concisely demonstrate your value proposition is particularly important as companies look harder for value and their return on their investment.

• Demonstrate Value – Companies don’t stop purchasing products/services when in a downturn economy. Instead they go a little slower, are a little more cautious and most importantly look harder for value. Back up your value proposition claims with collateral material. Use testimonials, case studies or educational white papers to illustrate the value you have provided for customers just like them.

• Leverage Multiple Channels - Marketing impact can be greatly improved by using multiple marketing channels. The further you can "stretch your marketing dollars" to reach your target market in multiple channels, the higher the impact of your marketing message. For example, hitch a ride on the marketing of another company or competitor, make your company news worthy, and swap referrals with sales reps from companies who call on the same businesses as you do.

• Nurture Leads – Once you have leads, do not abandon them, nurture them. Maintain a relevant and consistent dialog with viable future customers - regardless of their timing to buy. Remember lead nurturing is a conversation, not a series of disjointed campaigns. A multi-tactic and multi-touch plan will always outperform marketing tactics that stand alone.

Last but not least, lead generation becomes easier if you follow a process and have a closed-looped system in place to track your lead generations efforts and results through the sell cycle.