Jeff Garrison

Talk to 10 People a Day

One of my early mentors was my father, Ed Garrison.  He has been successfully selling for nearly 50 years. One thing he has repeated to me and two of my brothers (all of us have been in sales nearly our entire adult lives) is that ...

If you will make sure to tell ten people a day about your business, you will always be successful.

Of course, this "formula" was pre-voicemail and pre-internet, thus actually speaking with ten people a day is perhaps unrealistic.  nonetheless, the philosophy is still sound and even profound.

Let's break it down.  When dad said "tell" people about your business, he meant to actually have a conversation.  What he didn't mean was to send letters.  Today he would say that most e-mails don't count.  Leaving a voicemail message does not count.  Twitter does not count.  Facebook does not count.  Connecting on Linked In does not count.  Even this blog post does not count.  

Here's the point.  All of these things are important "marketing" tools and they are great for becoming known, creating familiarity, and even building a trusted brand.  However, in B2B sales, most of this good activity will not convert into paid business until you talk to people in real life.  Don't get bogged down, distracted, and fooled by all it all.

As Einstein put it, “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”

Finally, if you were to only track one sales metric.  Only one number that would be a leading indicator of future sales.  It would be ...

How many people did I TELL about my business today?

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Popcorn Prospeting

Image via Wikipedia

Imagine watching someone making popcorn on the stove.  They put oil in a skillet and put it on the hot stove.  Once it gets hot, they throw into the skillet a single kernel of popcorn.  When it pops, they gently pick it up, dip it in melted butter, sprinkle a pinch of salt on it, and finally they eat is slowly.  When they are done, they throw another kernel of popcorn into the skillet and wait for it to pop.

As you continue to watch, you notice that some of the kernels don't pop.  After watching and waiting (and occasionally shaking the skillet) this person gives up on the kernel and throws another one in.

How long will it take for this person to get full?  Forever?

This is the way many business owners and sales people try to develop business.  They find a few prospects that appear promising and they completely focus on them waiting for them to pop.  As a few of them pop, they are well cared for by the business owner and sales professional.  Once the deal is done, they look to throw in another prospect into the skillet to see what happens.

Obviously, the lesson here is to throw in a lot more kernels.  How much?  Well, how big is your skillet?  Throw in as many as you can manage without having "popped" kernels spill out of the skillet onto the floor.

How do you know if you are one trying to develop business just "a few kernels at a time?" 

Use a sheet of paper, a spreadsheet, or some sales/CRM software to track what you are doing.  The low tech version is to list all of your prospects on a piece of paper and record the date they became a prospect. 

Wait one week and review the list.  Did you add a prospect?  Wait another week.  Did you add a prospect?  If your list tends to stay the same, then you are waiting for just a few kernels to pop.

This week, set a realistic goal to add some new kernels.  Over time, test the capacity of your skillet and you will find yourself getting closer to "full."

Of course, there is a whole lot more that one can track to help them manage their pipeline.  What advice to you have?  What has worked for you in the past?

 

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A Few Good Expenses

Permission to Say No

Picture yourself in a meeting with a prospect.  Perhaps it was someone you invited to meet you for coffee or maybe you are visiting them at their office.  As you describe your company, products, services, benefits, etc., you notice that they don't seem to completely engaged.

In fact, your prospect is leaning back in their chair away from you.  They are nodding as you talk, but otherwise they are generally expressionless.  They haven't been asking any questions or making any comments.  In fact, they have their hands on the table crossed at the wrists.

You realize, they are just waiting for me to finish so that they can directly or indirectly tell you they are not interested. 

As you read this, are you getting a familiar feeling? 

The fact is nobody likes to be sold.  However, we like to buy.  So how do you change the emotional state of the buyer from a defensive "I don't want to be sold" state to an open "I will evaluate this buying opportunity" state?  The fix to this problem is easy. 

Give your prospects permission to say "no."

Here is how.  Sincerely say something like this to your prospect.

"I am going to share some information about my business (company, products, services, etc.).  At some point I am going to ask you for your thoughts.  At least three answers are good. 

1. You are interested and want to move forward.
2. You may be interested, but need more information.
3. This does not appear to be a fit."

Just by giving someone permission to say no will cause them to stop thinking about how to say no and allow them to focus on what you are saying.  If they believe you, they will get engaged in the conversation.

Have you used other ways to open conversations up?  Have they changed your sales results?

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Why Should I Do Business With You?

Why should I do business with you rather than one of your competitors?

This is one of my favorite questions to ask when I first meet a business owner or sales professional.  It is no longer surprising that most will tell me it is their customer service that makes them different.  However, nearly all businesses strive to provide customer service and all customers expect it from everyone with whom they choose to do business. 

Thus, even though customer service is an important part of any retention strategy, it is not much of a business development strategy for most businesses.

In the b2b world, the reason people do business with you is that you are UNIQUELY able to help them directly or indirectly make money, save money, or mitigate risk.

 
More specifically, you must demonstrate to prospects that you have ...

• Unique products or services
• Uniquely creative ideas
• Unique and relevant experience
• or Useful connections

that will help them to make money, save money, or mitigate risk.

Determining why anyone should do business with you as opposed to your competitors is easy for some and extremely frustrating for others.  If you do not have anything Unique to demonstrate to your prospects, then put your entrepreneurial mind to the task of coming up with something.

For a good example read Speaking of Elevator Speaches.

How do you answer the question, "Why should I do business with you?"

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Sales Activity, Focus, and Good to Great

Sales activity leads to sales. More sales activity is likely to lead to more sales.  After all, sales is merely a numbers game.  Right?

Many "good" business owners, sales professionals, and sales managers believe that to be the case and they are completely wrong.  However ...

in sales (and in life), "good" activity is often the enemy of "great" activity.

The key is to LASER FOCUS.  Here are some steps to take.

1. Focus on a smaller target market.  Some examples include picking a few vertical markets, narrowing your geographic scope, or narrowing the size of company you target.
2. Refine your brand or value proposition to be specifically relevant to this narrowly defined market.  The process of becoming "relevant" will help you to brand yourself as an expert and a trusted adviser.
3. As you grow your expertise in specific target markets, focus how you and where you do your sales activity.  In other words, get your refined "relevant" brand in front of the right people.  At the same time, stop doing "good" sales activity that does not target this narrower focus.

You regular "good" sales activity will become "great" just from narrowing your focus.  You will get better referrals.  You will waste less time seeing "unqualified" prospects.  Your pipeline ratios will improve.

Going from Good to Great is easier said than done, but worth the effort!

How has getting Laser Focused changed your business? 

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In This Economy, I Just Can't Sell ...

Recently I participated in a conversation with a few sales people during which one was asking the other, "How do you sell a product that is twice the cost of mine?  I can't get anyone to buy in this economy."

In "this kind of economy," the danger for business owners and sales professionals is that they start to buy into statements like "nobody is buying" or "nobody can afford our products or services."  The truth is that tragically, many businesses have been devastated by this economy.  But thankfully, most businesses are surviving and some are thriving.

What is certainly true across the board is that b2b buyers are seeking more value for their dollar.

So, that begs the question, why have some sales professionals experienced a much steeper drop in sales than some of their peers and competitors?  Here are four possible reasons. 

Paradigm

Some business owners and sales professionals have an abundance paradigm.  They believe that there is enough business to go around for those who are good at what they do.  Thus, they have maintained or perhaps even increased their sales activity.  They are the sames sales professionals who still make phone calls even though "nobody ever answers their phone anymore" and they are the same people who get out and network even though "networking doesn't generate business anymore."

On the flip side, those with a scarcity paradigm, deep down, don't believe that they can sell in this economy.  They prefer to just go through the motions every day until things get better.

Disciplined Focus on Margin

Some business owners and sales professionals focus on margin per sale.  They expend most of their energy on clients and prospects to whom they can provide the most value.  For many reasons such as internal efficiency and client appreciation, this work is the most profitable.

Business owners and sales professionals that focus on gross sales are apt to chase opportunities that are not as closely aligned with their competencies, thus they expend disproportionate amounts of energy on marginally profitable clients.

Branding

Business owners and sales professionals with a strong personal business brand (one that has F.O.R.M.) tend to get more and higher quality referrals and they are able to build trust and credibility faster.  This results in a faster sales cycle and higher margin.

Those business owners that focus on pure "sales activity" and ignore or put little effort into their own brand tend to get fewer referrals.  Those referrals that they do get tend to be more price sensitive rather than focused on ultimate value.  Furthermore, because their own brand is not distinct, they are poorly positioned to command "full price" in a weak economy.

Sales Process

Finally, business owners and sales professionals with a solid sales process are able to demonstrate a greater understanding of the impact they have on their client businesses.  They design better solutions for their clients thus they can close more deals at higher margins.

Those business owners and sales professionals with a poor sales process struggle to understand and demonstrate the full impact that they can have on client businesses.  They tend to provide undifferentiated solutions, thus they must compete upon price rather than value.

What other thoughts do you have as to why some business owners and sales professionals find it harder to compete in a weaker economy?

Photo on flickr by annie9641

Keeping the Pipeline Full--A Sales Habitudes Overview

For a limited time, this Sales Habitudes Overview video will be available on this blog.  Hopefully it will provoke some deep thinking about your business development and sales practices.

Your feedback regarding the content and presentation would be greatly appreciated.

(Note that it may take a few seconds for the movie to start.)

B2B Sales: Why Didn't The Prospect Buy?

Ask small business owners and sales professional why a prospect didn't buy.  The answer most often given is "the price was too high."  If it was not the price, it was the timing.

Of course, this is how you would expect the sales person to answer the question because this probably is what their prospect told them.  Maybe it is true. 

However, the most likely reason the prospect said it was price or timing was that it is much easier than discussing that you have failed to understand and meet their needs.

Ironically, ask small business owners and sales professionals why the prospect did buy, and they will often say it was price, timing, or the relationship.  In other words, even when succeeding, we may not always know why.

The problem is that there is not enough understanding regarding prospects.  Once given the opportunity, the sales person goes right to selling features and benefits. The sales person does not have a process for gaining a deeper understanding as it regards the business outcome the prospect wants to achieve.

Here are four keys to understanding why prospects buy.

Know the business objectives of your prospect.  In other words, what is the context for your potential solution?  Is it to improve customer service, increase sales, improve operational efficiency, improve communications, improve safety, etc.?

Know the "issues" with which your prospect is dealing.  Specifically, what are the things that prevent them from improving customer service, increasing sales, improving operational efficiency, improving communications, improving safety, etc.?

Know what has held them back in the past.  You will find that most b2b prospects have been aware of their issues for some time.  Understanding why they have done nothing before, or what they have tried unsuccessfully, will significantly improve your ability to create, share, and implement a solid solution.

Make "no" acceptable.  Before prospects will be completely forthcoming, you must communicate that your intent is to help them find the best solution.  They must understand that you have the integrity to walk away from an opportunity if you know that your solution won't meet their needs.

Implementing these four ideas into your sales process will have two positive effects.  First, you will understand how to meet the needs of more prospects resulting in more sales (not to mention a shorter sales cycle).  Second, you will understand much earlier in the sales process when you can't meet a prospects needs or if they are just "kicking tires" allowing you to not waste precious time.

Do you have some great examples as to how a deep understanding of your prospect's issues led to a sale?  I would love for you to share them.

Photo on dreamstime by Christopher Howeth

Narrow Your Focus to Increaase Sales

One of my client's was recently told by someone in his network that he might be focusing his brand too narrowly.  The argument was that he is going to miss opportunities if he does not let prospects know about the full breadth of his expertise.   Naturally, we got into a discussion focused on this question:

"Can your brand be too narrowly focused?"

First answer this question.  Is your long term branding OBJECTIVE to increase profits year over year, or is it just to let everyone know what your company does?  Of course the objective is to increase profits!  Letting everyone know what your company does is a means to that end.

To achieve the increased profits objective, you may pursue one or more of the following STRATEGIES.  Lower your expenses.  Increase prices.  Increase sales to existing customers.  Increase sales to new customers.  Focus on retention.  And so on ...

Assuming that increasing sales to new customers is a STRATEGY that you intend to pursue, the next question becomes, TACTICALLY, how do you get your foot in the door?  (Of course, there are several questions to ask yourself about which doors and how many that we can't address in one post.)

The answer might be to identify one or a few "hot button" issues that your target market deals with and brand your company as the "go to" company regarding those issues. 

Once your foot is in the door, you will have the opportunity to discuss the breadth of your expertise and your full line of products and services.

If you are concerned about missing opportunities by being too narrowly focused with your branding efforts, ask yourself this question. 

As a small b2b business describing yourself with statements like, "We can handle all of your __________ needs," how will you compete against other businesses that are pursuing a "foot in the door strategy?"

Price?  Service?  Bigger advertising budget?  Better customer incentives?  Focus on retention? 

The takeaway here is that a narrowly focused sales strategy and branding tactics designed to support the sales strategy will  increase sales more effectively than a broad focus or no focus.

What are your thoughts?  Does this apply to your industry?  Does your experience support or debunk this idea of narrow focus?

Photo on dreamstime by Piotr Bieniecki