Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies

Politics & Sales: Selling Sarah Palin

McCain's surprising announcement of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday effectively diverted the media from continued discussion of Obama's acceptance speech in a Denver stadium filled with cheering Americans. Certainly that was a real coup.

However, as a political independent, it's been fascinating for me to watch the Republican pundits sell me on this woman who could be a heartbeat away from the presidency. All weekend long, I've been hearing about:

• Her extensive executive experience.
  
• Her knowledge of foreign affairs.
• The fact that she governs the largest state in the nation.

I honestly can't believe the Republican pundits think I'm dumb enough to believe Palin is qualified when the truth is:

• She's been governor for 1.5 years, was a housewife from 2004-2006, chaired the Alaska Oil & Gas Commission from 2003-2004, and served as a part-time mayor & city council member of a very small town.
• Her foreign affairs expertise is supposedly because her state is right next to Russia.
• Alaska has only 683,000 residents - which makes it about the same size as Fort Worth, Texas.

Yet over and over, they repeat these "talking points." Politicians say it. Pastors say it. Strategists say it. 

But they're stretching the truth so badly that it really makes me mad!  Yet they're hoping that through repetition, we'll eventually come believe it to be true.

I'm all for female candidates. I think it's long overdue. Plus I've been impressed with Palin since I first learned about her a couple years ago. She's bright, talented, charismatic & fights corruption. That's all great - and true.   

But there is no way Palin is ready to be president should something happen to McCain - and at his age, it's a real possibility.

Quite frankly, I've had enough of this "sales job."  To the Republican pundits I say, "Quit selling me the importance of 'executive experience.'" It's never been essential before. McCain doesn't have any either. The truth is, Palin isn't ready for prime time.

Language Matters - And don't forget it!

I was talking to the VP of Sales for a Fortune 100 company - who just happens to be a long time friend of mine. Our conversation was focused on the best way to get funding for future Sales SheBangs. My questions:

• Which is better: sponsorships or corporate memberships?
• Who are the decision makers? What's important to them?
• What's the best positioning for me to go in with?
  

As you can see, I need to do my homework too. I've never put on events like this before, so I'm a rookie. So here's what I learned:

• Focus on "professional development opportunities." It's important to a company that is intent on hiring & retaining top talent.
• Omit the word "conference" from my vocabulary. The corporate market looks down on these events. I'm not exactly sure why they feel that way. It doesn't even matter.

You won't hear me talk about the Sales SheBang conference anymore. Yesterday we scrubbed the website, eliminating that offensive word every place we could. Because language matters, it's now officially ...

Sales SheBang 2008, a professional development
          opportunity for savvy saleswomen.

Check it out now!

Email is the New Phone

Today's post is by Sales SheBang speaker Kendra Lee who is presenting a breakout session on "The Art of the Consultative Conversation."

There’s no question that email is an important communication tool in the business world. During the past few years, it has become apparent that email has evolved to a primary customer interaction tool, rather than the supplement it once was to phone and face-to-face meetings. 

While email can never replace verbal communication, it has evolved to the point that more people are using it as a key communication tool.  As a sales rep, it’s important to be aware of this trend, and understand some of the dilemmas you might face.

If you're like I was, you believe email should be answered after hours when you are not on the phone or in customer meetings. This is how I handle proposals. They can’t be written during valuable customer “face” time, but should be saved for that time of day when customers are not available.

But, expectations and how email is used have changed. Many customers now expect you to hold whole conversations via email, sometimes with emails flying within minutes of each other, just as if they were instant messages or a phone call. With these changes email is now as important as face-to-face meetings and phone calls.

Here are some tips to consider when making email a primary customer interaction tool:

• View email as the new prospecting tool. After you leave a voicemail, follow-up with an email, giving prospects two easy ways to respond. Remember, your goal is to connect with the person. Even if they respond “no”, you have connected and can respond.

• Keep the sales process moving forward using email to ask requirements gathering questions, get referrals, make recommendations, and provide updates.

• Respond to all emails with action items promptly. You return phone calls within 1-24 hours. The expectation now is that you’ll return emails within 30 minutes – 12 hours. If you can’t respond completely, send an email setting expectations about when you will send a full response.

• Think – and proof – before you send. Sometimes it’s best to draft a response, then wait 30 minutes before sending. You may choose to soften, shorten, or otherwise change your response.

• You may need a hand-held device such as a Blackberry to keep up. Consider what tools you need to add this new customer interaction approach and make the investment.

• Schedule daily time on your calendar to respond to emails. Consider this equal to customer meeting time. If you are holding complete customer conversations via email, you really are holding a meeting. Give it equal time for a well thought out response with a request for next steps.

There are many benefits that can be realized by using email. This includes ease of connection and a better way to communicate in certain circumstances. For example, I recently had a prospect that was interested in having us do some training development work for her firm. She emailed me and explained exactly what she needed and requested a quote.

When I requested a phone meeting to learn more, she declined. Because she was the decision maker, I asked her all my questions via email and prepared a proposal based on her answers.  With my proposal in hand, and without a single verbal conversation, she not only accepted it, but increased it by 20% to cover any changes in scope.

While this situation is unusual, it is becoming more and more common for customers and prospects to prefer to answer questions and move opportunities forward via email communications, limiting meeting time. Be prepared and you’ll soon find yourself reducing your sell cycle and closing opportunities via email!

Kendra Lee is president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products.  For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or [email protected] or visit www.klagroup.com.

Cold Calling Bloopers: How a Quick-Witted Seller Saved the Day

Cold calling is tough. We all struggle with it. That's why I laughed today when I talked with Sara, who works for a New York-based PR firm. She'd just seen my new video clips where I'm speaking about the challenges of connecting with corporate decision makers.

Sara understood exactly what I was talking about! That's when she told me her story:

I was calling a major media outlet to "pitch" one of our clients. Of course, I got voice mail. About half way through my message, my mind went totally blank. So I hung up.

As soon as my memory returned, I recalled the client and picked up exactly where I left off ...

"Hi. This is Sara calling again. We must have gotten disconnected. As I was saying..."

Now that's quick thinking. I wish I'd thought of it!

Politics & Sales: Piquing Curiosity

"Pssst.  Did you hear about ...?" As human beings, we're instinctively curious - especially when we know there's a big announcement coming soon.

That's why I immediately signed up for Obama's "Be the First to Know" campaign - even though I'm not particularly interested in who he selects as his vice presidential running mate.

Yet I couldn't resist being notified of his decision immediately via email or text message. Go figure!

How can you pique your prospect's curiosity?  What can you do to increase anticipation?  Think about it. You might discover some engaging strategies that make all the difference in the world.

Are You Shooting Yourself in the Mouth?

Today's post is by Sales SheBang speaker Anne Miller, author of Metaphorically Selling. She's presenting a breakout session on "What to Say When They Just Don't Get it."
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In "My Fair Lady," Professor Henry Higgins transforms the poor street seller, Eliza Doolittle into a well-bred young lady primarily by changing her speech and, secondarily, her manners. The professor's work is so successful that at her debut at the races, Eliza has everyone in high society believing she is one of them.

How about you? We assume the possession of good manners, but is your speech unwittingly projecting an image that is undermining your own credibility and authority with your "high society," your clients?

Obviously, you aren't a poor street seller, but you may be bankrupting your credibility with these three errors.

CREDIBILITY KILLER #1: UPTALKING??
This is when your statements come across as questions. For example, "This is a very sound program? It will increase sales and improve client relationships?"  Or, "Our recommendation is a diversified portfolio? Because it spreads the risk?"

No doubt you do this as a way of confirming that what you are saying is being understood, or you are just a victim of the valleyspeak virus that seems to have infected a large part of the population. However, this uptalking makes you sound uncertain.  When you sound uncertain, why should you be surprised if the client doesn't exactly feel confident about what you saying!

How would you feel if, on your next flight, your airplane pilot said, "Good morning, folks. We're on our way to San Francisco? We expect to arrive at 11:45 AM? We expect a smooth trip? You can expect your luggage on carousel C?

Change this sales-robbing speech tic into a positive MoneyPower sounding strength by ending your sentences definitively.

CREDIBILITY KILLER #2: SINGINGGGGG
This is Uptalking's close cousin in crimes against credibility.  Instead of emphatically ending your sentences, you extend the last sound of the word into the next thought. "We're very happy to be heeere. When we spoke laaast, you said that you were experiencing increasing overseas comptetitionnnnn. And we're confident that we can heeelp youuu. And it will only cost one hundred thousand dollllars." You wind up link-singinggg onethouououghtintoanoootherrr.

In this case, it isn't uncertainty that you are communicating. It is lack of authority. At the very worst, it is easily seen as immaturity.

Listen to your favorite newscasters, male or female. They do not say, "There was a black-ouout across eight states last niiight. It was the worst power faiaiailure in American historyyyy. The cause remains unknooownnnn." They end their sentences at the period. You should, too. Period.

CREDIBILITY KILLERS #3: MINIMIZERS & QUALIFIERS
Words like "think," "just," "kind of," "sort of," "hopefully," and "perhaps," which often spring from a sense of not wanting to be pushy can have a devastating effect on your buyer's confidence in what you are saying.

Who feels comfortable buying a recommendation that "kind of, sort of, hopefully, might" solve their problem, or one that you, the salesperson only "thinks" will help them? Will they take seriously the graph or chart that you "just" put together.

The occasional qualifier is inevitable and relatively benign, but a constant stream of them in your conversation turns into a flood of second thoughts in your client's mind. Again, would you want your pilot to announce, "Good morning, folks. I just want to tell you about our flight. I think we are kind of going to San Francisco today and hopefully we'll arrive at 11:45AM and maybe you'll sort of get your luggage on carousel C.  I hope."

Qualifiers are mush words. Replace them with MoneyWords. “This chart shows.. vs. “What this chart is trying to show…”  “As a result, this will help you grow your sales” vs. “Hopefully, this will help you grow your sales.”  “I wanted to see you about..” vs. “I just wanted to see you about…”

BECOME YOUR OWN PROFESSOR HIGGINS
Record or tape yourself giving your presentation. LISTEN to yourself. If you catch yourself uptalking, singing, or using minimizers or qualifiers, work on eliminating them.  Share your problem with someone you work or live with.  Tell them to quietly say your name, every time they hear you fall into one of these traps. 

As you become increasingly aware of these credibility killers you will be able to eliminate them and replace them with MoneyWords, positive, authoritative language -- making it much easier for your client to say, "Yes" with complete confidence in you, your products or services, and your ideas.

Speaker, seminar leader, author, and coach, Anne Miller helps people in high stakes situations with the “MoneyWords” they need to close a deal, nail a presentation, or wow a crowd.  The Blackstone Group, Time, Inc., and Yahoo!, represent the leading firms who have experienced her original and practical programs. Featured frequently in print and online, Anne is the author of three books and her popular free “Metaphor Minute” Newsletter. To subscribe, visit www.annemiller.com

 

Politics & Sales: Pre-Defining Your Competitor's Motives

Politics is sales - and not always at its finest. However, there are many lessons to be learned from what's going on. Rather than avoiding politics entirely - which is probably smarter - I've decided to share the sales strategies I see being used by the candidates and their surrogates.

As an independent, I laughed today when I read Karl Rove's comments on Obama's possible VP pick: "I think he's going to make an intensely political choice, not a governing choice."

Well, duh! That's what politicians have always done. Then Rove singles out Virginia governor Tim Kaine, as "able but undistinguished" and continues:

"So if he [Obama] were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, `You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States? What I'm concerned about is, can he bring me the electoral votes of the state of Virginia..."

So what's going on here? What's Rove trying to do?

His whole goal is to imply that McCain's competitor is a self-serving politician who is only concerned with winning, not with finding a good leader for our country.

Please note: He's doing it BEFORE Obama makes the announcement, placing him in a one-down position regardless of whom he selects. Whatever his decision, the new VP will have been chosen for selfish reasons.

Okay, and here's the FINAL reason I laughed. I'm from the great state of Minnesota. Our governor, Tim Pawlenty, is being seriously considered as McCain's vice presidential choice.

His career has also been "able, but undistinguished." Is he capable of being the president? About as capable as any governor. McCain likes his youthful looks and commitment to the party. Plus, there's a chance he could bring in the electoral votes from the swing state of Minnesota.

That's enough. I'm repeating myself.

Dealing with Reverse Auctions

If you've never heard of reverse auctions, you're lucky. When I first learned about them, I shuddered. Essentially, the buyer commoditizes a product or service, then lets vendors bid online for their business.

The whole goal is to drive down price. Quality, value, service - irrelevant!

Imagine this scenario:

"Vendor B has just bid $50,000 for this project. Does anyone want to go lower? Aah, yes. Vendor J is willing to cut its price down to $48,500.  Here we have it $48,500, going once. Going twice.

We have another bid. Vendor B clearly doesn't want to lose this opportunity. They're willing to do the work for only $47,000.  And now we have another bid.

"Vendor C is still in the game. They're offering $42,500. They must really want to get their foot in the door of our company because we know there's no profit in that ridiculously low amount."

That's how it goes. It's all online and it's down, down, down. I've seen it used for consulting contracts, software, hard goods and more.

One of my friends, who'd been working as a consultant to an account for over ten years, lost her contract to someone who was willing to work for 1/3 less. Of course, the winner was less skilled and the company needed to spend countless hours to get this person up to speed, but procurement didn't care.

You know what my mother would say about that? She'd call the reverse auctioneer "penny wise & pound foolish." She's right.

Another person I know lost several big contracts at a major retailer because his pricing wasn't the cheapest. Never mind that the additional strategic value he brought to the relationship had contributed significantly to the department's growth in the previous few years.

You can see how much I love these reverse auctions. They totally diminish the value you bring to the organization. They make you feel like a worthless piece of you know what who is lucky to be doing business with the big company.

What drives me craziest is that the Hero gets promoted for saving the company so much money today. But this person never has to deal with the multitude of negative consequences and higher costs resulting from this short-sighted decision.

Dave Stein, author of How Winners Sell, has an excellent post on his blog on what GE's Chief Information Officer says about reverse auctions. Plus, he offers some  links that you'll find helpful.

Also,  if you've been involved with these reverse auctions, please share the strategies you've used to combat this madness.

In Sales, Words Really Matter

PIcky, picky, picky.  I've been accused about being a bit obsessive about what sellers say. But from my perspective, it makes all the difference in the world.

Sellers get deleted everyday when the leave messages that include phrases such as: "We offer a full range of services" or "Our company specializes in..." 

And the worst thing is, they don't even know it. They just blindly keep calling and calling, leaving the same sales-derailing words that literally keep them from attaining "knock your socks off" success.

If you'd like to see how changing just a few words can radically impact results, check out Historia de un Letrero (The Story of the Sign).

This exceptional 4-minute film by Alonso Alvarez Bareda is the winner of the Cannes 2008 - Short Film Online Competition. With the stroke of a pen, a stranger transforms the afternoon for another man.

Make sure you watch it till the end to discover just how much words matter!
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Many thanks to Matt Donnelly of the Business Appraisal Institute for sharing this film with me.

Fighting the Urge to Do Useless Tasks

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am a total wastrel when it comes to using my time wisely. There are days when I've been in my office all day - without a break - and it seems I've accomplished nothing.

I'm even appalled at my own lack of discipline. But some tasks are distasteful; others are overwhelming. It's hard to get started. So I check my email again only to discover 19 new messages demanding my immediate attention.

But before I know it the day is gone forever, filled with the successful completion of useless tasks that I feel compelled to do - and not one step close to getting the main things done.

That's why I fell in love with Leo Babauta's article on ZenHabits today called "20 Strategies to Defeat the Urge to Do Useless Tasks."

I think he wrote it just for me - but you can have a peek.

Check out his multi-pronged strategies to beat the urge to do the useless - and get on to the more important things - like LIFE!

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