Selling Tips: Don't bring a gun to pick cabbage

If you're in sales, you must think like a hunter.

Why?

Because hunters go get deals and close them. They're not afraid to pick up a phone. They're not scared to make a presentation. And they sure the heck aren't afraid of asking a closing question. It's like the movie Glen Gary Glen Ross, "Always Be Closing." There's some validity to that.

Now, if you want to build relationships and HOPE someone might buy from you SOME DAY (and can afford that amount of time to WAIT) then you're a FARMER. That's what farmers do: they plant vegetables. They seed them. They fertilize them. They watch out for floods, heat waves, and pests. Then they harvest their crop. They then go to market and get the price the market will bear in price for their crop.

Obviously, farming is a system, too, but it is different than strapping on a gun, wearing camouflage, blowing a whistle, raising a gun, and shooting your game, right?

My approach is to always start with each prospect in HUNTER mode. Why? Because it keeps me sharp and aggressive. Otherwise, I can turn weak and don't get my sales objectives as much as I want. But, when I stay in hunter mode, I kick ass. Can you relate?

There is a time to switch to FARMER mode; however. When someone says "Yes, I'm interested, but this isn't a good time," you can't keep pushing. Instead, offer them an opportunity to learn now by sending them something they can passively review and get back to you, and put a note in your software or day timer to follow up on the appropriate date they suggest. That's more of a FARMER mode than HUNTER mode. Now, if they call me back, I can go back into HUNT mode. Or, when I get back with them, I can regain my HUNTER form. But for that moment, you back off and be their friend. It's a form of permission marketing. You only want to be marketing/hunting when they're interested (or in season). It's the best way to grow your pipeline.

You don't bring a gun to pick cabbage because when you're selling you are hunting. Make sure you bring the right MENTALITY and you'll grow your selling success.
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Rabbits, Deer, and Elephants: Make Selling More Fun

I'm an elephant hunter.

Have you ever heard a manager describe a salesperson as an "elephant hunter?" I have. In fact, I've been called that before. I've also been called a "peak-and-valleys" salesperson (not true). But when you sell to elephants (large prospects) you will have deals less often and when you do they will be huge. Metaphorically speaking, hunting elephants is great because elephants provide a lot more food than smaller game. I've had two elephant-sized customers feed me my entire quota for the year for three years in a row!

Being an elephant hunter can be dangerous for salespeople.

But, be careful - when you hunt elephants, you might starve in between kills. Companies love, love, love you one day then a few months later they might be on the edge of firing you before your next big win. That's the life of an elephant hunter. So, to remind myself that I must always keep the pipe full of a variety of prospects, I created a system I call "rabbits, deer, and elephants" to target prospects.

My solution: the Rabbits, Deer, and Elephants system.

For example, at a current opportunity, I call a prospect with 10 - 50 locations a "rabbit", one with 51 - 200 a "deer" and "201 - 2000+" an elephant. Someone recently suggested adding a category "bear" in the 200 - 500 category, but I think they forgot WE'RE THE BEAR! Ha ha! Or at least, the lion. Anyway, I feel rabbits, deer, and elephants works quite well.

I added "rabbit" and "deer" to elephants to remind me that you need to sell small deals and middle-sized deals in order to eat (i.e. not get fired) between the big deals. Yes, your company will love you and send you to "club" when you bring in elephants, but the rabbits and deer will feed you in between those big deals and make sure you hit quota. Don't overlook rabbits and deer - all prospects are critical to your success. The customer reference you use from the rabbits will help close the deer, and the references from deer help close elephants. In other words, experience matters. Elephants, as we know, help close everything! But, it is good to know we can address each prospect's needs on their level.



I remember in the movie SWINGERS when Vince Vaughn describes hitting on a girl much like being a bear with claws and fangs, and the girl is like a little rabbit, all soft and cuddly. I had so much fun thinking of rabbits that it made selling to rabbits more fun for me, rather than thinking "this prospect is too small and a waste of my time," I now think "This prospect is important to close on quickly" because that is how a lion or a bear would approach a rabbit - as a small meal. But a meal is a meal, right? You don't always see bears eating deer. Sometimes they eat rabbits, or other small animals, to stay alive.

"That's a nice DEER."

In one of my companies, we will even talk about a prospect and say "Yeah, that's a nice deer." By categorizing prospects in such a way it does several things:

1. You think like a hunter, not like a farmer. Ever notice the salesperson who builds relationships with everyone but hardly ever closes anything? I'd call that salesperson a "farmer" more than a "hunter" salesperson, wouldn't you?

The smart manager pairs that farmer with a hunter to make both more productive. I like using rabbits, deer, and elephants as a reminder that I'm hunting, not farming. Otherwise, I'd have used strawberries, cabbage, and watermelons or something.

2. It helps keep track of the size of deal. For some reason, managers like to quantify deals in their reports. When you have them on your page with "two deers" they have fun adding up the money to know how much you're bringing in for the month. They'll also leave you alone when you throw the meat in their cage every so often as that's what feeds THEM, too.

3. It keeps selling fun. Let's face it, making sales calls is a bit of a grind. Not only that, but we face plenty of rejection in selling. We might bat 2 for 20 at some efforts (a 10% success ratio) and that means hearing the word "no" or the words "yes, but not now" far more often than we'd like. Yes, we'd love to hear "yes" all the time. But by keeping sales fun, we make selling a bit more of a game, and that keeps it exciting. Oddly, it also increases the likelihood of a "yes" because people like to buy from people who are enjoying their job and having fun. Don't you?

4. Using rabbits, deer, and elephants also helps categorize sales prospects so that you can vary your pitch. For example, at my current company, an elephant will buy for different reasons for a rabbit. So, use the animals to help determine marketing strategies, too.

Now, back to elephants. If you're going to hunt elephants, you'd better bring a big gun. Or a bunch of people. That's my approach to hunting elephants - gang-hunting! In the corporate world, they like to call that "team-selling" but whatever. When I hunt, I hunt with one or two other sleek, well-ripped lions who know how to get the kill, just like me. So, enlist key people in your company to help you sell the elephant and bring it in. Both deer and elephants may require a team effort (sometimes, even rabbits need to be "herded" towards the trap) so make sure you use your pride (team) to help you sell!

By the way, make sure the other people you hunt with also know how to hunt, or you might look silly when the elephant gets away. After all, you never see two or three lions hunting an elephant with the help of a gazelle, right? Life isn't exactly like the movie, Lion King, after all.

Try using a technique like "rabbits, deer, and elephants" in your own selling to help you sell more of your products and services. You'll have more fun selling, and find yourself thinking about prospects like a hunter, not a farmer. The way I see it: if you're going to hunt you might as well have fun doing it.
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Copyright © 1999-2009 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE. Images from Wikipedia. Swingers video from YouTube is most likely copyright Miramax and not used with intention to violate that copyright, just to make a point here.

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Is Sales Getting Harder?

I just got off the phone with a former sales associate. He made a statement that, at first, I took at face value. However, this comment is eating at me: "Sales is getting harder all the time."

Is selling getting harder, truly?

Do you agree? Or do you disagree?

After pondering the idea, I've decided that selling is NOT getting harder. Selling in the new millennium is just different. For example, fifty years ago, people used the typewriter to write a sales letter. If they wanted to contact a prospect, they basically used one of several methods: in-person, over the phone, writing a letter, sending a wire, playing golf together, conventions, or over a meal.

Today, we have more tools: online social networks (LinkedIn, ecademy, Plaxo, Facebook, etc.), email, the telephone, voicemail, in-person, writing a letter, sending a FedEx, conventions, golf, or over a meal.

Our tools to contact and track prospects may have improved, but there are more people selling to our prospects every day. So, in my mind, the tools equalize with the quantity of people selling to the prospect: zero-sum-gain there.

In order to sell, we've always had to be intelligent. We've always had to listen to the prospect, ask smart questions about their business, do our homework and research on the prospect's company, and provide solid solutions. Price is always a variable issue that is relative, as well.

So, considering all things, I don't think selling is harder than ever before. It isn't easier, either (exception: people who can automate their entire sales process when they are selling an online product).

The selling profession is still challenging and a dynamic way to earn a living. I believe the opportunity always exists for the salesperson who is innovative, works hard enough, and targets prospects that maximize their time. I've always been great at following-up, and I'm tenacious. But when I add innovative techniques, and when I target prospects that produce big wins, I always win big. Can you relate?

If certain prospects aren't buying, switch to prospects who CAN buy right now. It's like moving your boat when fishing to find a better hole to fish in. Right?

My advice is to avoid the naysayers who say "we can't sell in this economy" and instead put your ears back and go do what you've always done best, only better. The odds are you'll have a banner year.
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10 Habits of Top Sales Performers

If you're seeking to become a top "sales" performer, either for your own company or selling for someone else's company, you might review the following habit guidelines:

10 Habits of Top Sales Performers

1. Top sales performers set specific and measurable goals.

If you set a goal of 200% quota, you tend to over-achieve every year, year in and year out.

2. Top sales performers embody the lifestyle that they are selling.

For example, when I sold vacations, I took vacations, so that I could show pictures that related to what I talked about with the people touring with me. It made my presentations more "real" and gave credibility to my sales pitch.

3. Top sales performers are more concerned about how to make others feel good about themselves than what other people think of them.

If you're focused on your client, you aren't worried about bragging or showing off. You're focused on the client's needs and ways to relate your solution to those needs.

4. Top sales performers strive for balance in all areas of their lives.

I've met people who sold a lot and could be described as work-a-holics and those who worked six hour days but sold double the work-a-holic. How did they do it? By working smarter and leveraging company and personal resources (such as their boat, game tickets, golf, and so forth). Their personal life blended with work so that it didn't feel like they were working all the time.

5. Top sales performers give credit to others.

You'll notice how superstar ball players, when asked how they made their difficult shot or play, will often deflect to the team "well, it was a team effort, I put it up and it went good" would be typical.

6. Top sales performers live in a state of gratitude.

Being grateful for abundance is an attitude that begets more abundance.

7. Top sales performers believe in treating others with integrity and respect.

Have you ever seen a salesperson outright lying to a prospect? I've seen it and it makes me sick. I find that the very best salespeople don't need to lie. They are so good at bonding with their client that they simply relate and close more easily.

8. Top sales performers listen twice as much as they speak. Another way to put this is top sales performers listen first and try to sell or solve problems second.

Most salespeople ought to put this one at #1 on their list and just focus on this trait. Simply by listening twice as much you can double your sales results. There's an expression I recall "keep it in the bag" meaning that you leave your "bag of tricks" and just listen. Then, after you fully confirm what the prospect needs, you offer your solution in a timely manner.

9. Top sales performers help others freely.

I recall when a manager asked me to be a "mentor" to new salespeople. I agreed. I remember how both salespeople I mentored later went on to become top salespeople in the company. My help put them on the path quicker so they could succeed faster than others. I gave them the inside track to what worked at the company and what didn't. If you're new at a company, seek out the top performer and ask them what worked for them. The best of the best will always help you out.

10. Top sales performers look for reasons people need their solution and why they might buy. They have a positive attitude.

I recall some deals I think I made in my past simply by driving by the prospects building, and THINKING I could close business there, some day. Then, throughout my week, I'd put out some effort towards each of those accounts I'd driven by. It is amazing how many of those I closed in my career! I called it "drive-by" selling as a joke, but the reality was I used the power of BELIEVING I CAN to succeed.

Use "I CAN" and "I WILL" in your statements about prospects, and you'll sell more.

Note: I offer sales training courses for managers and individual sales teams. If you're interested to learn more, click here to learn about our sales training programs or email me directly.
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The Bottom Line For Entrepreneurs

If you're an entrepreneur you face some uncertainty from time to time. What is the biggest risk you run into as an entrepreneur?

Is it losing face, losing people, or losing money?

"Cash is King" is a Cliche that holds true.

Usually, the problem most entrepreneurs face is losing money. Your cash flow is the key to your business booming, and also the lifeblood BOTTOM LINE for the life of your company.

Q: How can you make sure you never run the risk of losing your business?

A: Always make sure the money coming in is higher than the money going out.

In a recession, many companies close offices that weren't profitable or achieving as high of profit margins as others. The question I would pose to those companies is "Why did you allow those offices to be open when it wasn't a recession?" Seriously, if it makes sense to close the office during a down economy, it probably makes sense to close it during an up economy, too.

Part of the problem with entrepreneurs is they rely heavily on the availability to cash lines. If the average length of time for you to close a sale extends two months to five months, and you only have three months cash in the back, you've got a problem.

So manage your business in such a way that your expenses do not outweigh your cash flow and your availability to money. If you're currently running at a negative, with no projection for positive cash flow, I'd have to say I hope you have enough money in the bank to justify such a cocky behavior. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, pulled it off. However, he also had a mountain of money. Most entrepreneurs won't be able to last beyond the money. So, why push your luck?

Instead of buying new computers, hold off and let new sales pay for the new equipment. I've taken that approach with my company. Every time I succeed with a new sale, I buy something on my list or add a new software tool to make me more effective. But I don't buy the product or software until I've proven I can support the revenue stream with a new client.

Try supporting your cash position with the philosophy that sales drives the business and you'll see your focus improve, too.

Protect your cash flow and you protect your bottom line.

What do you think? How have you implemented solutions in your company to improve cash flow?
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From Naysayer To Optimist In Two Words

"This won't work."

Have you ever found yourself uttering those words?

Is this comment a form of negativity? Being real? Truthful? Or is this a form of pessimism? Perhaps saying "this won't work" is all of the above? Do you think it EMPOWERS the audience or TEARS THEM DOWN?

There are times when we're trying to do something difficult and someone utters "this won't work."

I'd say you're tearing down ideas, rather than building them up. In other words, you're a naysayer! Nobody digs a negative whiner. If you catch yourself doing this, let me assure you it is time to revise your language (and attitude)!

A revised approach:

The next time you find yourself saying these words, or anything like them, try ADDING TWO SIMPLE WORDS into the sentence:

"UNLESS WE"

So, instead of saying "I can't write this article" say "I can't write this article UNLESS WE..."

What's the point of using "UNLESS WE" to shift from naysayer to optimist?

Because by adding "UNLESS WE" into the sentence, you force yourself to think of a SOLUTION to the challenge. Now, you are no longer part of the problem, but by answering UNLESS WE you become part of the SOLUTION everyone desires to achieve.

Be an optimist. Believe and hope in your projects. Create success with the words you use!

Bonus Hard Things First Update: Do the important, hard things first. Do you remember me writing about this? If you've gotten bogged down in any goals for the New Year, a quarter, a month, or a week, the odds are you failed to do the hardest things first. Get back on track! Put off the things you don't need to do. Put off all time-wasters. Avoid partying or doing any extra-curricular activities until you get the hard, important things DONE. Once you get them done, the month and quarter will open up to many more possibilities. (I'm doing this myself, right now).
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Increase Your Sales with Take Away Selling

How to Increase Your Sales with Takeaways

If you're like me, you're always seeking ways to boost sales success. Whether in an established business or a start-up company, it is imperative to discover ways to take our numbers from 80% to 250% sales success.

On of the techniques I've come to utilize is the powerful sales technique called a TAKEAWAY.

What is a takeaway?

A takeaway is a psychological trigger that lets the prospect know that they CAN'T HAVE what you used to offer at this time. The takeaway is literally telling them "Well, if you'd responded to the letter we sent you six months ago, you could have received the $3,000 discount we were offering for all customers who converted. Because you waited, you now have to pay the conversion fee of $3,000."

That's a take away! Now a take away (or takeaway) is truly only a take away IF you GIVE BACK the original offer to the buyer. In the above example, you could have the prospect write a letter that they never saw the original offer, and if they had, they would have acted. You could explain that "Senior management is approving this discount for this one time, but if they refuse the offer now their name will go in a file to indicate they saw the offer, understood the terms, and refused to accept it. In the future, they will pay the higher price."

Of course, only use this if it is TRUE. Otherwise, you're employing deceptive selling tactics, which I do not advocate. If you can't sell it truthfully, you've got a crappy product. And, why would you sell a crappy product? So, be honest, you'll sell as much or more than the hucksters who make stuff up to sell their wares.

Don't Use a Takeaway As A Low-brow Selling Technique

I've seen a take away selling or closing described as someone who says:

“It makes no difference to me whether you buy this X or not. You have until tomorrow to make a decision and reserve your X or not. If I don’t hear from you by noon, I’ll know you did not want it. No pressure. Bye.”

That is NOT take away selling! That is a dishonest arm-bending process I DON'T recommend using. You'll turn your prospect off and NEVER get a chance to sell to them again. Using this technique is like admitting you suck at selling (they weren't sold) so instead you'll go low-brow to get the close. Don't use this technique - this is what gives salespeople a bad reputation!

What a take away is not:

I've seen another article on the web from a domain hawk seller who claims that a takeaway is something that creates scarcity, or an offer that makes someone feel as if they will only have access to something for a limited time. So, that would include limited release e-books, sale items, buying 3 for 1, and that kind of thing. While those are good tools and they do create scarcity, those are two DIFFERENT sales techniques. One, the LIMITED OFFER, or LIMITED AVAILABILITY, is not the same as a take away. The other, the PACKAGED DISCOUNT, is another tool related, but not the same as a take away.

The LIMITED OFFER/LIMITED AVAILABILITY is highly effective, and I'll describe that in a different post. Is the limited offer a take away? Kind of, but it is a precise selling tool that requires definition on its own.

The Take Away Sales Method Is Not Math

Another salesperson describes a take away as: "A take away is where the prospect is offered a product with A, B, and C options for X price. When the prospect cannot pay X, but only offers Y, you must remove something to achieve the lower price. The answer is to remove B and C or take C off the table. That is a form of a take away selling process." I agree that this process is a good form of negotiation. I don't call this a take away, though. This is the GIVE SOME TO GET SOME negotiation technique. It could also be 6 minus 2 = 4. There's a difference between this and take away selling.

The Take Away Hints At Something They COULD Have Had, But Can't

The real intent of the "take away" in selling is to imply that something was MORE valuable BEFORE, but NOW it is worth LESS. This would seemingly make the prospect feel like you just gave them a negative, which is true, in a way, but once you GIVE BACK the take away, you've now empowered the prospect to do something NOW rather than wait.

The Take Away Is EMPOWERED When You Give It Back!

I describe a take away as saying "We used to offer rooms with a view. The only ones left are those that face the mountain." Then, when closing, if I discover that the ocean view room came back into inventory, I can sell that room and the prospect is more pleased. That's an example of a take away and give back that can be successfully used to close a prospect. You cannot offer this if it is not true, so make sure you're using it when it is appropriate and not just as a manipulation.

Find something with your product that you're no longer including or offering. Then make a deal with management that if you can get the prospect to agree now to include it, for the next quarter only, at the old price, then offer the deal to your prospects. That's using the take away (and give back) to increase your sales.

Let me know how the take away works for you to increase your sales success.
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Hope For Gain: The Savvy Entrepreneur Series

If you're seeking to improve success with any sales endeavor, you need to embrace the two biggest motivators: FEAR of LOSS and HOPE for GAIN.

I've already explored FEAR of LOSS earlier (click here to read).

In this article, I'll discuss HOPE for GAIN.

Think about the last thing you bought to improve your life or business. Was there not some aspect of why you bought that item related to increasing your ability to do something, enjoy life more, or experience something new?

If we buy a new car, we almost always seek more air bags, cup holders, gadgets (like my sunroof in my Tundra), sliding windows, more horsepower, better gas mileage, more storage space, SOMETHING MORE. These are all examples of HOPE FOR GAIN.

When I sell my service to companies helping them gain organic search position with their websites, yes, I do use FEAR of LOSS (by asking "How do you feel seeing your competitors with these phrases and you're not there?") but moreover I use HOPE for GAIN by promising to put their landing page in Google's Top 10 results for the phrase they seek. It's a challenge no single company has mastered, but I can realistically say that I'll capture Top 10 over 50% of the time with my methods. And, that leads to more traffic. More traffic leads to more people who click "BUY NOW" on the web page, right? Beyond that, converting more of those leads is also a HOPE for GAIN, too.

When I sold computer service and support, I would use HOPE for GAIN by promising their computers would stay up longer, that we'd respond faster, and that it would cost less money. Those are all examples of hope for gain. I would suggest that by using my competitor, they would increase exposure to slow response time, which is using FEAR of LOSS. See how those two motivators, when used together, become highly powerful?

The majority of Americans vacation, on average, 12 days a year. Yep, that's right, less than 3% of the majority of American lives are spent on vacation. Sad, isn't it? (Notice the use of LOSS there)... well, I'd use that statistic as a motivator when I sold vacations, and indicated that by COMMITTING to a PLAN there was implicit HOPE FOR GAIN of more dreams, going more places, spending time with those they love most, exploring the world, and seeing nice places by buying a vacation program. Those benefits all indicated HOPE FOR GAIN. The benefits extended to other aspects of living: people who vacation more are more productive at work (GAIN), more healthy (GAIN), and live longer (GAIN). See how it works?

How to use HOPE FOR GAIN:

First, make a list describing what are you selling. How do people benefit from buying what you sell?

Next, make a second list extending how they benefit even in other related areas by benefiting from what you sell them. This is the extended list.

Last, put these together in an order of priority that addresses your prospects biggest need first, second biggest need second, and third biggest need third. Keep in mind that smaller prospects have different needs than larger organizations. Selling a company a fleet of cars is definitely a different GAIN pitch than selling a single car to a young woman still in college. And, selling that single woman in college a car will use a different "GAIN" pitch than selling a luxury automobile to a wealthy entrepreneur.

Clearly, a person will buy a Toyota Corolla for different reasons than they will buy the Tesla Roadster. One is economical and simply wheels to get you there while the other is about speed, prestige, and flash. Both people GAIN. They just gain in different ways. So, make sure you utilize the differences in gain to your advantage and then target those benefits to the buyer most likely to buy for those reasons.

Best of success to you in improving your sales using HOPE for GAIN.

Read FEAR of LOSS here.

How have you used FEAR of LOSS and HOPE for GAIN to improve your selling? Weigh in below.
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Twine for Starting A Company

I just started a new "twine" for starting a company.

If you're starting a company and/or interested in advice and connections for information on the following subjects, you're encouraged to join, follow, contribute, and share with friends. Here's the link:

http://www.twine.com/twine/11rr86z2y-lq/starting-a-company

Subjects this twine will cover:
Business plan, strategy, funding, connecting with investors, sales plan, marketing collateral, logo design, website design, list building, business cards, and more!

ARRiiVE Business Solutions is a firm specializing in product launch and creating new company growth and also hosts a radio show called Innovations In Business.

Tags

Start A Company, Product Launch, Launch a Product, Starting A Company, Funding a Company, Find Investment Capital, Sales Plan, Business Plan For New Company

Cheers!
Scott
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How To Build Success In A New Year From Day 1

Want to get your New Year off to a good start?

I'll give you a simple way to build success in a New Year from Day 1:

Take the one project you feel is MOST IMPORTANT to your personal or company success and do it right now. If at all possible try to finish the project in one day.

If the project is too big to complete in one day, complete it in as short of time possible:

two days
one week
two weeks
one month
one quarter

But get it DONE. If it is the project most important to your success, you ought to do it first.

After you've completed it, write me back and let me know how completing that project impacted your year, okay?

BONUS: If you were holding a party for 100 CEO's in a major city (SF, NY, etc.) and had a budget of $1,000 or less, what would you do to make the event memorable?

Idea 1: Have everyone dress up in funny colors or polka dots. People remember events where they dress unusual.

Idea 2: Hire a cartoonist to write cartoons depicting conversations and random happenings at the event. Later, post the cartoons into a slide show so they can laugh at what happened, or get inspired by the ideas shared.

Idea 3: Hold the event somewhere unusual: a beach, a park, a theater.

Idea 4: Expand upon idea 2 - have someone video the event. Have another artist paint what happens. Raffle off the painting to go to the cause you select, but video the painting, video the cartooning, and video any other music (bands might play free if you held a contest first giving them desirable publicity).

Idea 5: Have someone dress up as the ego, another as the super-ego, and another as the ID. Each has to play their part when they converse.

Idea 6: Perform a skit: the CEO has to be janitor. The HR person the employee who is under performing, the sales superstar is HR, the customer service agent is the salesperson, the administrator the CEO, the janitor the graphic designer, and so on. Have them take on their roles with a Mad Lib about a company and act or play it out.

Idea 7: Suggest a potluck with a dish they've never cooked before, from a country they are not from. Then everyone will experience how hard it is to cross cultural lines but make a sincere effort to partake as they eat their food.

These are just a few ideas... what ideas do you have to contribute?
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