Sales and Sales Management Blog

February 6, 2012

Guest Article: Smartening up your message as part of your sales strategy for success, by Colleen Francis

Filed under: Presentation Skills — Paul McCord @ 11:15 am
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How do I help my sales team sell more and be more successful? It’s a question that’s never far from the thoughts of many managers and executives these days.

Yes, there are a host of proven lead generation, prospecting and follow-up techniques that can make a real difference in your organization—and I talk about these often in my sales training sessions and webinars.

That’s only part of your solution though. In fact, that’s the second part. The first part of the equation involves personalizing your message, thinking smart and going beyond trust—creating winning conditions that you can later capitalize on.

Thinking personal.
You can’t sell very well to people who either don’t remember you, or can’t remember why they bought from you. Today, all selling is personal. Even in enterprise situations.

To be effective at being personal, however, you have to have to be ready to scale some walls. It’s a busy, noisy world out there, and odds are good that your customers filter out as much of it as they can. Who can blame them, given all the impersonal messages and wooden pitches that inundate inboxes everywhere?

Being personal sells because it transcends the act of selling. It requires a regular, thoughtful investment of your time to do this properly. It also happens to be what will set you and your team apart from those who still treat selling purely in transactional terms.

Thinking smart.
To be effective at being personal, think smart. You have to provide something that people want and can find useful in their own work. It can be a highlighted extract from a brand-new report, new research on market behavior, fresh data on a subject that matters to your audience. It can be a link posted on Google+ to a brand-new blog post, or a tweet. Or it can be a free webinar or podcast on a subject that provides a solution to a problem they are struggling with.

Just make sure that there’s substance to it. You are the subject authority.

No audience has to look hard to find run-of-the-mill tips or fact-free opinions. What they value is unique insight, validated by other subject matter authorities. Andrew Rashbass, Chief Executive of The Economist magazine (which has nearly doubled its profits since 2007) recently observed a growing phenomenon in the marketplace, which he calls “the mega-trend of mass intelligence.” People, he says, are “smarting up” rather than “dumbing down.”

That trend should be on your mind and that of every member of your sales team as you brainstorm for ways that you can provide better, more personalized value to your customers and prospects. Companies want to do business with thought leaders and industry experts—not sales people. Now is the time to start creating high-value content that sets you apart from all the other vendors.

Marketing consultant Simon Sinek argues in his book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” When[A1]  you take the time to be an authority on something and share it with others, you’re making a powerful statement about why you are in business. Work hard to show that what matters to you is also what matters to your audience.

Beyond trust.
For the last several years, there has been much talk about the need to forge trust with your customers as part of winning more sales.

Trust isn’t enough.

In fact, trust is an outcome. You can’t buy it. You can’t demand it. You only can earn it. Therefore, look carefully at the ways in which you go about earning that trust. That’s where people are paying attention and forming opinions.

What I see in the marketplace today—backed by the winning habits of the top salespeople across the full range of industries—is that people have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. They are looking to work with those who are experts in their subject area and who are prepared to share what they know. What you have to sell to them—while important—is secondary.

An opportunity of a lifetime.
Being in sales today is an opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise with their gloomy forecasts on what they call a bad economy, which is just a form of shorthand for making excuses for failure. There is a $61 trillion dollar global economy out there, populated with more people than ever who are in a position to buy your products, services and ideas.

Many old barriers to entering the marketplace don’t matter anymore (e.g., distance to market). New barriers, such as attracting and sustaining your audience’s attention, are entirely solveable.

The question you and your sales team need to ask yourself is why are you in business? Where does your passion live? How can you showcase that passion and the knowledge that comes with it and share it with your audience? Answer these questions, coupled with the time-honored, field-tested methods that we talk about so often at Engage to immediately improve your sales results, and your team will be hitting and surpassing sales targets like never before.

Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.  Start improving your results today with Engage’s online Newsletter Sales Flash and a FREE 7 day intensive sales eCourse: www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com 

 

February 12, 2010

Guest Article: “Whether You Present First or Last, Have a Plan,” by Dave Stein

Filed under: Presentation Skills — Paul McCord @ 9:49 am
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Whether You Present First or Last, Have a Plan
By Dave Stein

Here is a question I get asked often by my audiences and readers:

“Is it better to present first or last during an evaluation?”

Over the years, I’ve gone first, I’ve gone last and have been in the middle. (I just won an engagement presenting fifth out of six contenders.) When you present is certainly a factor, but most important is how you position yourself from the buyers’ point of view.

Sales professionals who consistently win big deals know that their approach when presenting first must be different from when they go last. Contrary to what many believe, going first can provide you with a competitive advantage. It’s a calculated risk, but if you have accurately assessed the opportunity, when you should go will be apparent.

Ideally you want to present when your solution will be perceived as

1. the most unique

2. having the highest business value, and

3. meeting more of the prospect’s requirements than your competitors.

Of course negotiating the order of vendor presentations with your prospect is a whole other story. You can read about how to do that in Chapter 9 of How Winners Sell.

Are you presenting first?

You’ll want to go first when you know that there are gaps between your competitor’s true capabilities and what they will say and do in their presentation. You’ll use those gaps in your planning to professionally set them up for failure by:

* Being highly credible by completely understanding your prospect, their issues and requirements and your capabilities;

* Setting the bar too high for your competitor to reach, forcing them to misrepresent their capabilities;

* Immunizing the prospect against what you know the competition will say about you (without being defensive);

* Having a strong ally in the account who will work on your behalf to ask probing questions during your competitor’s presentation, which will expose those gaps.

There are risks in going first, even if you are able to differentiate yourself and build credibility, but a preemptive strike can put you ahead, permanently.

Are you presenting last?

You’ll want to go last when:

* Being highly credible by completely understanding your prospect, their issues and requirements and your capabilities;

* You are certain that your competition has an ally who will report to them exactly what you did and said, with enough time for that competitor to devise a strong counter to your value proposition;

* You don’t fully understand the opportunity, whether it be the prospect’s requirements, their buying criteria or who your competition is;

* When you don’t know a lot about your competitor.

You’ll need them to “show their hand” first and get information about what they said and did from your coach within the account. With that information you can effectively plan your presentation to highlight your unique value.

Dave Stein is President of ES Research Group, the only independent source of intelligence and advice on sales effectiveness, sales productivity, offering technologies and tools, as well as comprehensive information on different sales training companies.  After an early career as a professional trumpeter, Dave held many diversified technical, sales and executive positions: programmer, systems engineer, sales representative, sales manager, director of worldwide sales development, VP of sales, VP of international operations, VP of client services and VP of strategic alliances.  Dave is quoted and recognized in leading business magazines and websites, including Fast Company, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Inc., Fortune, and Forbes. He writes the featured monthly column for Sales & Marketing Management magazine.  Visit his website

December 8, 2009

It’s Time to Leave Orwellian Selling Behind

Filed under: business,Communication,Persuasion,Presentation Skills,sales,selling,small business — Paul McCord @ 5:24 pm
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What words do you use to describe yourself and your products and services?  Are there words you intentionally try to keep out the mind of your prospects or clients?  Do you use euphemisms instead of plain English when making a presentation in order to try to elicit a particular feeling or response from your prospect?

As salespeople, we’ve been taught to frame our conversations and presentations in ways that lead our prospects and clients to the conclusions and decisions we wish them to arrive at.  In order to do this, we are advised by some to refrain from using certain words that may evoke a negative reaction—or to use words that will evoke a negative reaction, depending on what we want our prospect to think or feel.

Much of this advice is based on the idea that if we control the conversation we control the prospect’s attitude, thinking, and ultimately, their decision making process.  In other words, by carefully controlling the words used in the conversation, we can control the prospect’s thought process. 

Some sales trainers even go so far as to recommend we not bring up potential negatives—don’t address a non-existent objection so as not to plant a potential objection in the prospect’s mind.  Or if an objection is raised, deflect it and return to the presentation or closing the sale.  Gloss over the objection and it will go away.    

It seems George Orwell has become the director of sales training.  Orwell’s Newspeak is now the new “sales speak.”  No longer is communicating with a prospect as a rational human sufficient; now we are exhorted to in essence treat them as nothing more than a computer, inputting only the data we want them to compute–as though if we don’t give them the words, they won’t be able to think the thoughts we don’t want them to think.

Orwell believed that words are the keys to thought.  If the words don’t exist to communicate a particular thought or concept, it isn’t possible to think the thought or concept.  Consequently, if you can control the words someone has available to them, you can control not only what they think, but eventually how they act.  Orwell later repudiated the concept.  Unfortunately, a version of this concept has become quite popular in some areas of sales training.

Like Orwell’s world of 1984, some view the world of sales as an arena where words are not simply powerful in influencing thought and behavior; they are the creators of thought and behavior.  If we don’t say it, the prospect will never think it.  If we can frame it using the words we want, the prospect will never think of their own words to describe it or question it.

Rather than trying to communicate, we are told by some that if we create the conversation we wish to have with the prospect, the prospect will unknowingly go along with us.  If only we learn the right words and phrases to use—and the words and phrases to avoid, we can direct the prospect to the ”proper” decision.  Selling in this view is simply an exercise in rhetoric.

So, we learn the right words and the right phrases; we engage the prospect by making sure we eliminate any words that might evoke thoughts, feeling, or concepts we don’t want them to have; and we ask for the order.  Instead of the automatic ‘yes’ we expected, we hear a resounding ‘no.’

What could possibly have gone wrong?  We did everything right.  We used the right words; we avoided the wrong ones.  We were careful to implant the ideas, concepts, and emotions we wanted the prospect to have.  We executed perfectly.  And they said no.  How could this possibly have happened?

Could it be that they did the unthinkable–they actually thought words and concepts that we worked diligently to keep out of their head?  Despite our best efforts to implant the right “data,”  when we pushed the “enter” button they exercised independent thought and rejected our attempt to manipulate their decision making process?

Is it possible the words we use aren’t as important as the communication and connection we make with the prospect?  Is it possible that our attempt to finesse the prospect by trying to direct their thinking through the careful manipulation of language isn’t as effective as we have been lead to believe?  Is it possible that less rhetoric and more communication would serve us better?  Could it be that more listening, more understanding, and more straight answers to prospect questions could prompt more trust in the prospect?

Maybe it is time to rethink the Newspeak of selling and learn instead to listen, to answer honestly and forthrightly, to drop the euphemisms and begin once again communicating with prospects and clients using plain English.  Maybe rather than the belief that the words we use will create the reality we want in the prospect, we should seek try to understand the prospect’s needs, wants, and issues and try to present our best solutions to those needs and wants as honestly and forthrightly as possible. 

The Orwellian experiment has been tried—and failed.  Orwell recognized the failure of the concept before he died.  Certainly, many trainers in the areas of communication and persuasion recognize the legitimate uses of rhetoric in the sales process.  Yet, there are still large numbers of trainers selling the Orwellian concept of easy sales through language manipulation and its false promise of controlling prospect thought and behavior.  There is a difference between the legitimate use of persuasive influence and the intent to deviously manipulation. 

We are selling to independent beings who exercise their capacity to think autonomously of our attempts to stage-manage their actions and decisions.  The sooner we recognize their independence, the sooner we can get back to creating relationships built on trust, not on linguistic manipulation.

November 25, 2009

Book Review: Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, & Get Results

Filed under: Book Recommendations,Book Reviews,business,Communication,Persuasion,Presentation Skills,sales,Sales Resources,selling,small business — Paul McCord @ 11:15 am
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Put a classically trained actor, an award winning director, and a clinical psychologist together and what do you get?  Why a book that should be on every seller’s bookshelf, of course.

David Booth, Deborah Shames, and Peter Desberg, the authors of Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, & Get Results (McGraw Hill: 2010), are not the typical authors you’ll run across when looking for a book that can help you increase your sales and income.  I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that none of the authors can define the Puppy Dog Close, write a top notch cold calling script, or coach you through the negotiation process with a tough customer. 

They don’t know sales; they know people, they know presentation, they know how to connect with others.  They know how to use words, body language, voice, props, and silence—all the things that we sellers use every day, usually with little grace and less control—to gain and keep someone’s attention.  More importantly, they know how to turn attention into genuine interest. 

Own the Room isn’t going to close deals for you, but it is going to give you the opportunity to close deals by showing you how to really engage your prospects and make presentations that will bring the prospect along with you; and frankly, you can’t sell if your prospect has turned you off and is daydreaming about what they’re going to have for lunch—or the relief they’d feel if they could throw you and your damned PowerPoint presentation out the window.

From your opening sentence—you’ve got 30 to 60 seconds to grab (or lose) your audience’s attention—to your closing remarks, Own the Room gives solid, tested and proven guidance.  Guidance is what you  get in Own the Room, not just tips and tricks, and because the authors are giving guidance and I’m dense, I sometimes wished they’d been more concrete and said “Thou shalt do this in exactly this way” instead of giving an example of the concept and leaving the rest up to me.   

Booth, Shames, and Desberg take on all aspects of the presentation from preparation to dealing with stage fright to using PowerPoint to using physical movement to make your point to how to make effective team presentations.  The book seeks to be comprehensive in scope without smothering you with needless detail.

Whether your make presentations to a single potential buyer or to a room of thousands at a formal dinner, you’ll walk away from Own the Room with some very practical guidance that will make your presentations more effective—or very likely, transform them altogether.  Either way, you’ll sell more of whatever you’re selling.

July 15, 2009

Boost Your Sales: “Sales Presentations: Those Butterflies Can Fly In Formation,” by Jonathan Farrington

Filed under: Communication,marketing,Presentation Skills,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 7:02 am
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Sales Presentations: Those Butterflies Can Fly In Formation
by Jonathan Farrington

All professional salespeople have to be involved in a presentation at some time in their sales career, but when it comes to the enthusiasm that sales professionals have for making a presentation, they broadly fall into four categories:

The Avoider: An Avoider does everything possible to escape from having to stand in front of an audience.

The Register: A Register is also extremely hesitant of speaking in public. They may not be able to avoid speaking as part of their job, but they never encourage it.

The Acceptor: The Acceptor will give presentations as part of the job, but does not seek opportunities to do so.

The Seeker: A Seeker actively looks for opportunities to speak. They understand that anxiety can be a stimulant that fuels enthusiasm during a presentation.

Becoming a Seeker is a prerequisite for sales success! So, how do we get those butterflies flying in formation?

The first thing to remember is that anxiety and nerves mean you are alive — and without them, your resulting presentation would be like you: dead!

What you need to do is learn to control your anxiety and use it to fuel your enthusiasm.

Identifying Fears

To control your anxiety, you must identify what it is that you are afraid of. Is it forgetting your lines? Is it the audience size? Once you have established what exactly you are afraid of, and then establish whether or not you can control it.

Imagine you are the captain of an airliner. Do you fear flying? Of course not (although you may fear crashing), because you are in complete control of not only the aircraft, but also the crew and the passengers.

You have a flight plan, and before you take off, you know the payload, weather conditions for the flight, arrival time, departure time, etc. However, what is most significant is that you are familiar with flying, and you are comfortable with all of that responsibility, because you have flown so many times before and you know virtually everything there is to know about that aircraft.

Therein lies the secret: The more presentations we deliver, the more accomplished we become. However, we must know what we are talking about — we must know our subject matter inside out. Otherwise our audience will find us out.

Let’s consider the areas that you can control:

Your audience: After all, you invited them.

Your material: You designed it.

Your resources: You chose to utilize them.

Yourself: You’re no puppet.

If there are any areas you’ve identified that you can’t control, forget them — it’ll probably never happen.

Controlling Nerves and Reducing Anxiety

Organize: Give yourself plenty of time to prepare; know what is going to happen and when. Take the time to rehearse your presentation, preferably with someone you know well. Get them to offer you objective and constructive criticism.

Visualize: Get into the habit of visualizing how the presentation will go; that way, the environment will feel familiar even if it’s your first time. Imagine the end of your presentation and your audience smiling with appreciation.

Make notes: Make bullet-point notes on individual postcards to prompt you (not lengthy scripts). You may not need them, but they will give you that “comfort zone.” Do remember to number them, though, just in case you accidentally shuffle them.

Relaxation: Before your presentation, take some time for yourself to relax, breathe deeply, go out into the fresh air, and clear your head. Do not allow your mind to mentally rehearse the entire presentation, because you need simply to concentrate on your opening lines. Once you have successfully navigated your way through the first couple of minutes, you will begin to relax. A strong opening is crucial.

Warming up: Clear your throat, practice your smile and drink some water to ensure you are hydrated, etc.

Dress appropriately and check your posture: If you look the part, everyone will assume you know what you are talking about anyway!

Become mobile: It will keep your audience awake.

Use eye contact and smile: They can’t fail to pay attention.

And finally — practice, practice, practice! With time and experience, even the most timid presentation-avoider can become an avid seeker.

Jonathan Farrington is a globally recognised business coach, mentor, author and consultant. He is the CEO of Top Sales Associates, Chairman of The Sales Corporation and Managing Partner of The JF Consultancy, all based in London & Paris. You can read his hugely popular daily blog here

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Jonathan has very graciously offered his Professional Presentations e-book as a gift to the Boost Your Sales readers.  Click on the link, download the ebook, learn, and start giving great presentations.

July 14, 2009

Boost Your Sales: “Sales Presentations–Nine Ways to Jazz Them Up,” by Jim Meisenheimer

Filed under: Client Relationships,Presentation Skills,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 10:17 am
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Sales Presentations—Nine Ways to Jazz Them Up
by Jim Meisenheimer

Most salespeople are strong conversationalists when sitting down and talking with customers. When asked to deliver a presentation standing up, the dynamics can change dramatically for you if you’re not prepared. You can easily make every stand-up presentation a conversation with your audience, regardless of size. Here’s how.

The two most memorable parts of a stand-up presentation are the beginning and the end. The four easiest and most powerful ways to begin and end your presentations include:

1. Start with an exciting quotation that you can link to your presentation.

2. Begin your presentation with a compelling statement. Seven years ago, I gave a sales presentation titled, The 12 Best Ways To Increase Sales, Earn More Money, And Have More Fun. I began my presentation with, “There’s not a single thing I can do for you today, to show you how to increase sales, earn more money, and have more fun. Not one thing ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to share 12 creative ideas with you today.”

3. Start your sales presentation with a rhetorical question that creates a transition into your presentation.

4. One of the best audience grabbers is to start your sales presentation with a short story. Beginning your presentation with a success story that involves someone in your audience is even more powerful.

The next time you’re preparing how to begin and how to end one of your sales presentations consider one of these proven approaches.

Now, here are nine ways to jazz up your stand-up presentation skills. These nine tips will take your public speaking skills to a new level. Here they are:

1. Always prepare and rehearse the first 25 words and the last 25 words of every presentation. Practice your spontaneity until it sounds spontaneous.

2. Start with your expectations. Tell them specifically what the take-aways will be early in your presentation.

3. Never read your presentation. Never. No exceptions. It’s the quickest way put your audience to sleep.

4. Show that you’re alive by being animated. Remember it’s easier to be yourself than trying to impersonate someone else.

5. Pay attention to your hands. Nothing will make you look more awkward than unnatural hand movements.

6. Keep slides to a minimum. They should emphasize and reinforce your key points – not tell your entire story.

7. Use large type, so everyone in the room can clearly see what’s on the screen. Darken the screen as often as you can. You want the audience looking at you – not at the screen.

To darken the screen hit the letter “B” on the keyboard. Hit the letter “B” again to turn the screen on.

8. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Actually, mistakes make you human. Have fun, sharpen your sense of humor, and be sure to tell stories. Your stories are the quickest way for your audience to connect with you.

9. After every presentation ask yourself, “How can I do it better next time?” Then next time, be sure you do it better.

Take it from someone who gives a lot of sales presentations, and had to overcome a fear of public speaking, these nine suggestions really work.

Adopt these as your own and I’ll bet your next stand-up presentation will stand-out!

Jim Meisenheimer publishes The No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter, a fresh and high content newsletter dedicated to helping you grow your business and multiply your income. Use this link to sign-up for Jim’s F-R-E-E The Start Selling More Newsletter and to get your copy of his Special Report titled, “The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do.” http://www.startsellingmore.com

July 13, 2009

Boost Your Sales: “Titles That Tease,” by Anne Miller

Filed under: Communication,marketing,Presentation Skills,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 7:24 am
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Welcome to a new week of great advice and new strategies to help you sell more.  This we we tackle the difficult subject of delivering effective sales presentations.  Getting and maintaining your prospect’s attention—and moving them toward making the buying decision is difficult.  It takes skill.  Our guest experts this week will give you great strategies to help you make your presentations hit the mark.

If you like what you see here at the Sales and Sales Management Blog, why not save it to your RSS reader? 

Or, if you prefer, subscribe to my twice monthly POWER SELLING newsletter.  On the 1st and 15th of each month you’ll get a full length article that focuses on actions you can take to increase your or your sales team’s production.  Just shoot me an email at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line with your name and email address and I’ll get you on the list.

And by the way, we never sell, rent, give, or lease your information to anyone—EVER.  We hate SPAM also.

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TITLES THAT TEASE
By Anne Miller

Imagine you are the buyer at Lexus. You see sales presentations every day—every business out there wants to nail a contract with a firm as esteemed as Lexus. As you settle into your seat for yet another Powerpoint slideshow by another hopeful vendor, a title flashes on the conference room screen that actually makes you eager to see what follows. Is it:

  • “Proposal for Lexus by Innovative Plastics”

         “Increasing Lexus’s Market Share”                 

  • “Revving Up Sales at Lexus

“Proposal for Lexus” is of course accurate, but it doesn’t engage.  Its promise to the listener is, this is going to be a by-the-book presentation (i.e., terminally boring).  “Increasing Sales for Lexus” is stronger. It promises a bottom-line benefit, and that’s something to perk up the ears of any manager. The third title, however, adds visual, emotional energy–simply by using a verb that speaks to us metaphorically. “Revving” sparks a chain reaction of associations: We see a souped-up car, we hear the throaty roar of its powerful engine, we perhaps experience a surge of adrenalin. Suddenly sales figures take on a sound, an energy, an excitement. We can feel and hear them revving up. Buckle up, listeners! says this title. You’re in for an exciting ride!

Tap Industry Associations

 I see so many presentations that begin with ho-hum dull titles.  They put the presenter behind the eight ball from the start.  “Today a new name has to work overtime to slice through the clutter,” observes Steve Rifkin, the naming expert. “A new name has to hit the trifecta–it has to be distinct, memorable and meaningful.  A lazy name is the kiss of death for a marketer.” That sentiment applies equally to your presentation titles.

For instance, say you’re presenting to the marketing executives at Marriott Hotels. You want to sell them on the benefits of a database marketing service. There’s not a lot of imagery in those words—database sounds duller than binary code, and marketing is what everybody is selling. However, you know your audience’s industry:  Marriott is in the hospitality business. What can you do with that? Think about their industry jargon.  Think about what the business is about: home away from home, a cozy bed for the night. Think of your own hotel experiences. What do you picture? A kingsize bed? Fluffy pillows? Crisp sheets? Getting a good night’s rest?  Now think about what you’re trying to sell to this group of executives. You have a way to boost their occupancy rates. It’s a database you’re selling, but it translates into…more heads in their beds. Right! So instead of your first slide saying, “Sales Proposal for Marriott,” or even “Increasing Sales for Marriott,” go with your image:

More Heads in Beds: Plumping Up Sales at Marriott Hotels.

Take a Lesson from Book Publishers

Effective presentation titles are like bestselling book titles: They both grab and inform your audience at a glance. How? By using metaphor as a kind of shorthand. Metaphoric language packs a lot of punch. Every image-laden word or energetic verb or colorful phrase unleashes a torrent of associations in the mind of your audience. The more impatient your audience—the buyer at Lexus, for instance, who hears a dozen pitches a week, or the executive scanning the shelves at Barnes & Noble before dashing off to a train—the more imperative it is to use metaphoric language. You may have only three or four words to hook him before he tunes you out or moves on.

Publishers of business books certainly grasp the importance of metaphor when it comes to titling some treatise on management practices. As The New York Times  pointed out in “Recipe for a Best Seller: Analogies about Cheese or Anthills or Parenting,”  the most successful book titles rely on very un-businesslike comparisons—to sports, war, Shakespeare, Antarctic exploration, even peanut butter and jelly. To name but a few:

-Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?  Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround.  Louis V Gerstner, Jr.

-Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. Spencer Johnson.

 -Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America. Arianna Huffington.

In each instance what empowers the title is an image, one freighted with appropriate connotations. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the image of an elephant twirling on its toe says it all about IBM’s turnaround. The image of pig instantly communicates greed and dirt. With images this strong, the subtitle doesn’t have to explain very much.

 “Future Trends” could be a good book, but “Future Shock” will get buyer’s attention every time.

Summary

The opportunity to engage your audience begins with your title. It’s your promise of what is to come. Metaphoric titles are the most effective at both engaging and informing your audience because metaphoric language is packed with associations—whole images and experiences your audience can draw on in an instant.

c. 2009 Anne Miller. Permission to reprint granted with attribution to Anne Miller, sales and presentation strategist www.annemiller.com

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To get more tips like these from Anne Miller, sales and presentations strategist and author of “Metaphorically Selling,” sign up for her free newsletters at www.annemiller.com amiller@annemiller.com

February 10, 2009

Run Don’t Walk

Filed under: attitude,business,career development,Client Relationships,Closing Sales,cold calling,Communication,goals,Handling Prospect,Handling questions,lead generation,Leadership,management,management training,motivation,Negotiation,Networking,Niche Marketing,Personal Marketing,Presentation Skills,Problem Solving,prospecting,recruiting/hiring,Referral Selling,sales,Sales Management,Sales Process,sales psychology,Sales Resources,sales training,selling,small business,success,time management,top sales experts,trust,Word of Mouth Marketing — Paul McCord @ 8:28 am
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Today’s the day!  Can’t say much till Noon Pacific Standard Time–but it is worth the wait.

Noon today PST, the doors open – on an offer that has the potential to save you thousands of dollars, increase your sales exponentially, and perhaps best of all give you peace of mind in the midst of a downward spiraling economy, massive budget cuts and increased sales quotas!

Watch the countdown to noon here.

Best,

Paul McCord


At noon PST run, don’t walk to here

November 18, 2008

Avoiding the Price Question Early in the Sale

Filed under: Handling questions,Presentation Skills,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 10:06 am
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The price of your goods and services is always a primary concern to your prospects. Whether you like it or not, price is top of mind with the majority, if not all, of your prospects; and you probably find the question of price comes up in your conversations with prospects long before you have had the opportunity to build value in your product and service.

The price question presents you with a serious dilemma-how do you honestly answer the question of price, yet at the same time save a detailed conversation about price until you have had the opportunity to build the value in your product and service that justifies its price?

The early introduction of the price question seems to put you in a position of having to choose between two rules of selling that appear to be antithetical to one another at this point-always answer your prospect’s questions honestly and directly, and never discuss price until you’ve built value in your product or service.

Fortunately, you can honor both rules.

The key to addressing the price question is understanding why the question is asked in the first place.  Many salespeople see the price question as an objection-it isn’t.  It’s an honest question by the prospect who is trying to determine their interest level in your product or service.  Just as you are trying to qualify your prospect, they’re trying to qualify your product or service, as well as qualifying you, and one of the major qualification questions they have is price.  They’re simply asking the question too early, before they have sufficient information to determine whether your product or service justifies the investment.

The easiest way to handle the question is to give the prospect a direct answer and then bridge back to your investigation of their wants and needs to build value.  Depending upon the product or service you’re selling, your answer to price may be specific-”This truck is twenty five six fifty four”-or general-”depending upon your specific needs we find when we do the needs analysis, the complete instillation of the software and training can range from a few thousand dollars on up.”

Your statement then needs to be immediately followed up with a question to bridge back to investigating their needs to help you build value.

In the truck example above you might then ask, “Will you be pulling a trailer often, or just on occasion?”  In this example your full statement would be, “This truck is twenty five six fifty four.  By the way, will you be pulling a trailer often or just on occasion?”  You’ve answered your prospect’s question, but you then lead them back into a discussion of their needs, which will help you determine what vehicle will best meet their needs, give you information to highlight the features of the truck that will meet those needs, and the benefits of those features that will give value to the price of the truck.

In the software example, the full statement might be something like:  “Well, Nancy, depending upon your specific needs we find when we do the needs analysis, the complete instillation and training of the software can be anywhere from a few thousand dollars on up; by the way, what other applications do you run that our software will have to be integrated with?”  Again, you’ve given an honest answer to the price question since at this point you don’t know what the package will cost.  Instead of trying to answer an impossible question, you’ve given the typical cost range and then followed with a question that will put the conversation back on track of investigating your prospect’s needs, allowing you to gather the information you need to build value in your product before you get into a serious price discussion.

Price questions need not create problems for you or for your prospect.  Price is a natural concern for the prospect, but knowing a price without understanding the real value of the product or service is meaningless.  Your job is to answer your prospect’s question and return the conversation to a point where you can build value for your prospect, so they can appreciate the price in context of value.

If you refuse to answer the price question you run the risk of insulting or angering your prospect-not to mention the damage you do to your credibility and trustworthiness.  But if you begin a serious discussion of price before you’ve had the opportunity to build value, you ask your prospect to make an investment without having a basis to determine whether the investment is justified.

By addressing your prospect’s question briefly but honestly, and then moving the conversation back to investigating your client’s needs and wants, you can successfully delay a detailed conversation about price until you’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate why your product or service justifies its price.

August 20, 2008

Did Yesterday’s Post Go Far Enough?

Filed under: Communication,marketing,Presentation Skills,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 8:30 am
Tags: , , , ,

I received an interesting email last evening from a reader of yesterday’s blog post wondering if the impressions people have of who they would purchase from would change if they took into consideration the candidate’s communications over an extended period of time.

Here’s the email:

Paul,

First, let me say I enjoyed today’s post about Obama’s and McCain’s speaking styles during Saturday’s televised event. I do understand you chose that event specifically because the was easy to compare and contrast the two candidates since they were in identical situations.

But most salespeople aren’t in a one-time close situation (which is what I’d compare that event to). How would the people you surveyed respond if the question had been who would they buy from IF they were judging the two candidates over a long series of presentations/interactions? Would there conclusions be different if they were to consider say the last six months speeches, presentations, and interviews as an extended sales relationship? It would be interesting to find out who at this point they’d buy from since during that time each has had situations where they came off strong and in control and where they haven’t.

I know this is asking you to have your staff invest a couple more days surveying the original list and that might not be something you want to have them invest their time doing, but I’d be very interested to see if their impressions changed.

Mike Collins

Mike’s right, I really don’t want to go through the survey process again. I also think it would be even more difficult to separate out the political views of the survey respondents if asked to judge the ‘sales’ performance of the two men over an extended period of time. Saddleback lent itself to this question because it was a more controlled event than any other event they have or will appear in. Even though I’m concerned the emphasis will go from specific communication style to simply which candidate you like, I would be interested in hearing your opinion.

Based on what you have seen of the two candidates and as much as possible only on their presentation/communication style, who would you buy from-and why?

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