Category Archives: Principle 1.5 Technique

Jan 13 0 comments
Principle -1 Planning, Principle 0 Mindset, Principle 1.5 Technique, Principle ~ Trust

The 10 Layers to Effective Sales Team Building

Your Alliance Team should participate in regular conversations to build a working relationship built upon  10 layers of awareness:

  1. Trust
  2. Character
  3. Self-discipline
  4. Commitment
  5. Affirming Attitude
  6. Vision
  7. Values
  8. Willingness to change Behaviors
  9. Motivation
  10. Tenacity

The 10 CommandmentsRecognize the opposing forces which may show up in your Advisor Alliance Team as various symptoms:

  1. Mistrust
  2. Lack of character
  3. Inertia
  4. Lack of Commitment
  5. Cynicism
  6. Lack of focus
  7. Egocentricity
  8. Resistance to change
  9. Impatience
  10. Aversion to conflict

We will discuss each of these foundations and their oppositions how they are expressed, taught and practiced and how to recognize when there is a breakdown.  Stay tuned.
May 21 2 comments
Principle 1.5 Technique

What do you Mean, You’re NOT Going to Tell me What you Do, First?

This week I struggled at Wimp Junction

WimpJunction
You know, the place where you're asked to tell the prospect what you do
or how you can help them before you know what they need and, most
importantly, helped them discover what they want. 

Frankly, I was dealing with prospects who were not qualified for other reasons than not having enough motivating trouble.  In
one instance, the prospect wasn't going to spend money he didn't have and in the instance I was dealing with someone who wasn't the decision maker she pretended to be.  Their demands that they must first understand what I do before I understand what they do and do not do were stifling,
smothering smokescreens. 

In the first case, the prospect was
justifying that his current plan of struggle and hard work was the
right one and that there was "no magic bullet" that could dramatically
improve his business.  He'd been "burned before" as he had paid a large
amount of money for sales training that he then decided he wasn't going
to learn after a month or so of a 3-month program.  In the second case,
the prospect was quickly trying to figure out how to "sell" me to the
real decision-makers as it made little personal impact on her income
and only risked her credibility, even though she was "going to make the
decision."

What I struggled with was a polite and nurturing
way to communicate to increasingly frustrated prospects that they were
wasting my time and theirs. 

So what I did was to give them a little of what they wanted. 

And that's where I wimped out.  I presented before they were qualified. 

Until the prospect is clear on what he wants and why he wants it and is committed to changing his current situation and has agreed on trading the necessary money, time and resources to making the change, you don't know if he's ready to buy.

So, what's the matter with telling your prospect what you can do for them, first?

How can you accurately solve your prospect's problems if he hasn't clearly agreed on what they are and sold you on his commitment to change them.  Why present a solution until you have a clear agreement on his decision making process?  Who else will need to agree and what are their motivations and how will change affect or not effect them? 

You've
got one shot to keep their attention at every moment.  Most people
don't know what they need and why they want it.  They're conditioned by not-so-great salespeople to listen to features and
benefits and secretly and singly decide if it's a match to what they think they want.  This often results in a lot of WASTED time and resources spent by the salesperson.

Other than keeping you busy, what's your cost of spending time with an unqualified prospect?

How do you work with only qualified prospects and, when you do, what's your success rate with the fewer prospects to whom you do show your goodies?

Apr 14 0 comments
Principle 1.5 Technique

Close First and Ask Second

Get your prospect to agree upfront to NOT have to think about it, consider it or get back to you.

LemmethinkaboutitThe Selling Sherpa, Patrick Williams, suggests that when you get the fluff-off, you need to make sure you know why.  That’s not his point, but that’s what happens if you set yourself up for the possibility of "maybe" as an outcome to a sales call.  The Selling Sherpa makes an excellent point of avoiding mutual mystification during any communication with anyone.  It’s your duty as an effective communicator to shine a bright light on any vagary so as to make sure it’s seen in stark relief.  Summary and clarification during every step of a conversation is vital.  In most cases, it’s best to act like Lieutenant Columbo to diffuse any possible defensiveness when you clarify any comment that is unclear or allows your prospect to proceed uncertainly.

 

Close for the accepted outcomes, first.

Begin your conversation with an agreement upfront on how long the conversation will take, an agenda, and the expected outcome for the next step.  For instance, "Joe, as we agreed when we set the appointment for this meeting, we’ll spend the next half hour helping me understand where you are, where you want to be, your current options to fix your problem and if and how you want me to help. Is there anything else you want to accomplish?  Joe, to save you and me from any misunderstanding or wasted time, let’s make sure that at the end of this meeting, we’ll either agree on either how to move forward on fixing your problem or make this our last conversation about your present issue.  In other words, ‘maybe’ or ‘I’ll think about it’ really means, ‘no’.  I’m OK if you don’t think I can help you.  You won’t hurt my feelings.  Let’s just make sure we’re clear on why not, if that’s the case.  I’ll accept whichever decision you make, just not ‘I’ll get back to you.’  Fair enough?"

This way, you have permission to directly eschew your prospect’s timid politeness or indecisiveness.  Yes or No?   

Photo credit:  Nancy Chow