What does it take to be successful in sales?

Some say the most important thing is Enthusiasm.

en·thu·si·asm n.

1. Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause.
2. A source or cause of great excitement or interest.
3. Archaic

• Ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god.
• Religious fanaticism.

While you need to have a passion for what you do and what you sell, it takes more than enthusiasm to be successful.

Selling is not just “telling.” Successful selling takes more than just spewing facts about products and services. It is relationship development, prospecting, making the approach, interviewing, presenting, answering objections, asking for the order, and keeping promises. Selling requires enthusiasm, product knowledge (yours and your competitors), and confidence.

con·fi·dence n.

1. Trust or faith in a person or thing.
2. A feeling of assurance, especially of self-assurance.
3. A trusting relationship: I took them into my confidence.
4. The state or quality of being certain: I have every confidence in your ability to succeed.

Expertise breeds confidence. Confidence results from knowing you are prepared, and that you can deliver and keep promises. Confidence forms the basis for enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is a choice. But still you don’t want to run around screaming about your product. Unbridled enthusiasm results in a lack of focus. It takes more to truly succeed in sales.

pro·fes·sion·al·ism n.

1. Professional status, methods, character, or standards.
2. The use of professional performers, as in athletics or in the arts.

Professionalism takes all of the factors listed above to a higher level. It helps you form a cogent story, run your business like a business, build and work a plan in an organized, focused manner.

So what is the most important factor?

There is no one most important key to success in sales; they are all important! Your success is a product of how well you execute on the activities and behaviors listed above, and the attitude that you bring to these tasks.  Successful salespeople are confident in their abilities, enthusiastic about their solutions, and professional in their execution.

Good selling!

Many firms have a “packaged” proposal system. While proposals are all over the map in terms of structure, most contain huge amounts of information, with numerous charts and graphs, volumes of copy, and endless disclosures. Whether you present financial plans or individual product presentations, proposals generally contain enough information for a doctoral dissertation. It’s all about disclosure and dictated by the compliance department.

Some clients want the bottom line. Other clients look for detail. And after all, isn’t the presentation about the client? How do you build a presentation and presentation strategy that always provides you with the tools you need to deliver whatever information your client needs to make an intelligent buying decision?

Consider making a summary of recommendations for your presentations. Take the detailed analysis and spreadsheets, and put them in an appendix.

If your client channels Jack Webb and wants the facts – just the facts, or if the client is an actuary with graduate degrees in statistical analysis and engineering, you will be prepared to provide the information needed to fulfill your obligations to communicate in a manner best suited to your client and provide appropriate and complete information. Provide the summary, and give the clients as much detail as they need. Your closing ratio will go up because you are adapting your communication techniques to your clients needs.

Good selling!

As a professional speaker, marketing consultant, business coach, and high level-sales trainer, I meet with a wide variety of salespeople and consultative advisors. This week one of my engagements was to the mutual clients of a retirement plan distributor and a third-party retirement plan administrator, or TPA. One of the points that was discussed of the flaw of SBS© or “Selling By Spreadsheet©.

Too many so-called advisors feel they are providing value by selling cheapest as best.  Advising is really telling a client what is the best solution to their problem. Sometimes price comes into play, but if you are selling a service, usually the main selling point is the quality of service, not price. When you sell price your biggest risk is someone else can do it even cheaper, and if you look hard you can always find it cheaper!

A recent commercial by Office Depot says it well. The commercial depicts a barber shop best by a cheaper competitor, and how they address the challenge. When faced with a shop across the street offering $6 haircuts, they counter with a sign that says, “We Fix $6 Haircuts.”

So what’s your story? Build a defining statement that truly demonstrates your value as an advisor, and quit positioning yourself as the cheapest alternative. Position yourself as the best alternative.

Good selling!

To see the Office Depot Commercial, click HERE.

On I-94 near Jackson, Michigan, there stands a massive yellow billboard with the following line in huge black letters:

“Free Land for Industrial Development”

This definitely attracted my attention, but my first thought was that these people are desperate. After all, the September 2009 unemployment rate in the state is 15.3%. Michigan continues to hemorrhage jobs. You continually hear people lament about how bad the economy is statewide. However, while a large workforce is available, a question prospective businesses might ask is, “What’s the catch?”

Several years ago I was doing some work for Commercial Federal Bank in Omaha, Nebraska, which was acquired by Bank of the West in 2005. They displayed large promotional posters offering “FREE Financial Planning.” In a meeting with a (very young) marketing officer, I asked a fill-in-the-blank question.

“You get what you…”

She almost shouted the answer.

“Deserve!”

Oh well; she just didn’t get it.

Everything has a price. Consumers want and expect value for their hard-earned dollars, but when you position your services as free, you immediately place cost as the primary determining reason to buy, in addition to making the client suspicious. People understand the concept of ,“No such thing as a free lunch.” Certainly you want to justify the cost of doing business, but do so with statements of value, as opposed to being cheap. Tell clients how they benefit from your services, and how you can help them reach their goals. Paint a vivid picture of how clients achieve their financial objectives, and you will attract more clients.

You are too good to be free!

Good selling!

This week a financial advisor called me for presentation coaching. When she shared her approach, she led off with, “I need to talk to you about…” I stopped her immediately. You see, your clients focus on what THEY need, not what you need. Too often advisors’ conversations revolve around “I”. Crafting sales conversations for maximum effectiveness requires some work on your part. Examine everything you say in order to improve closing ratios and better serve your clients.

How can you modify your communication to improve sales success? Take a look at the following examples of sales-speak I have heard recently, with some suggested changes in phraseology:

“I need to show you this investment/insurance/planning idea.”
BETTER: You would benefit from considering this investment/insurance/planning idea.”

“Consolidating these accounts helps me do a better job of tracking your portfolio.”
BETTER: Consolidating these accounts makes it easier for you to track your portfolio.”

“I want you to look at this.”
BETTER: “You will really want to see this.”

Focus on making your presentations client-focused. Phrase your selling statements using “you” more frequently than the word “I.” Doing this helps you present benefits of recommendations instead of features. Your clients will take action when they know the benefits they will receive as a result of taking action on your recommendations.

Good selling!

This business growth idea solves a problem for financial advisors and financial wholesalers; what is the best use of your time as you mutually decide if you are going to develop a long-term advisor/product partner relationship.  Consider the following.

For the advisor:

After meeting with or hearing a wholesaler, ask yourself this question: “Is this a company, a person, and a product that may provide benefit to my clients and help me grow my business?”  If the answer is yes, for the next wholesaler appointment schedule two or three joint calls with prospects who fit an ideal prospective client profile.  The wholesaler will show you how to sell the product and you get to be a buyer’s advocate for your clients.

For the wholesaler:

After an initial call, or with advisors you have seen on several occasions without sales success, help the advisor decide if you are a fit for his/her business.  If so, do not make additional calls without joint sales calls on the advisor’s clients and prospects.  Schedule these appointments for thirty to forty minutes. Remember, telling isn’t selling. Show your advisors how to properly position your product.

Good selling!

In the course of serving their prospects and clients, financial advisors recommend many products and services.  You might consider several different solutions for a particular need.  Too many advisors offer a client several options in the name of helping them make an informed decision.  At times these advisors provide a spreadsheet of products along with the accompanying product details and minutia.  The advisor wants to “educate” the prospect.  In most cases these product and service comparisons result from the fact that the advisor poorly profiled the prospect.  If you ask enough questions and work hard to build trust, you will know what the prospect needs, and prospects sense conviction. The prospect doesn’t want education – they want solutions.

Of course there are times when you need to compare and contrast different solutions to help the prospect make a decision.   It makes sense to have a secondary recommendation in the bag, but don’t lays multiple options out in front of the prospect.  This practice confuses people and confused minds never say yes.  Do your job. Be strong in your opinions.  Know what the prospect needs, and sell it with conviction.

Good selling!

One week into the new year how are you doing with those resolutions?  In case you want to grow your business this year I suggest you resolve to call your best clients, and say something like this:

“A big part of my responsibility to my clients is to keep them on tract with their financial objectives.  However, people change and their goals change.  In order for me to do my best work for you you need to tell me when things change.  May I ask you three brief  questions?”

• “Tell me your three most important financial goals?”
• “What has changed in your life in the last twelve months?”
• “What can I do to serve you better?”

The questions may be brief, but the answers may make for a long conversation.  Take the opportunity to meet face to face to discuss these questions in depth.  You will be amazed at the results.

Good selling!

As a professional speaker I travel frequently. Recently I stopped on an interstate to get a cup of coffee.  Check out this sign at a motel in central Illinois.  Obviously the sign intends to say that the cost for lodging is $37.99 per person, but when you separate the digital media from the rest of the sign it appears to say the following:

One Person
Outdoor Pool

What’s a “One Person Outdoor Pool?”  Sounds like a fifty-five gallon drum or a feed tank to me!  For some reason this struck me as funny, but how often do we take a simple concept and confuse our clients and prospects with poor communication.  A confused mind seldom buys.  When selling make certain that you communicate in such a way that it is easy for your client to understand and make a solid buying decision.

• Don’t use industry jargon. Remember, you are not training – you are selling.
• Don’t use acronyms. For that matter, tell your clients how they benefit from your recommendation.  They could care less what it is called.
• Present professionally. Use a planned presentation, and all the tools you need to do your job. Sell sequentially, and use approved sales materials to reinforce key points.
• Be positive when you discuss fees.  Most products and service never discuss internal fees and charges.  Use fees to your advantage.  Start by saying “Most businesses never discuss their internal costs.  We do…”  Remember the markup on financial products is small compared to most products and services.
• Always ask for the order.  Let the prospect know you want their business.

As an old friend told me some time ago, “Selling is not telling.”  Don’t just tell your story. Use it as part of your unique selling process.  Communicate clearly and effectively.  Utilize all the sales tools at your disposal to communicate effectively with your prospects and give them the best possible opportunity to say “YES!”

Good selling!

Picture the following facts about a deadly chemical as the basis for a story on the evening news:

• When in its gaseous or liquid state, concentrated amounts will cause death if inhaled.
• The gaseous state can also produce severe tissue damage and death when applied to the skin.
• As a solid, not only can it cause severe tissue damage to the skin, but it can also lead to gangrene, amputation, or even death.
• As a liquid, this compound is extremely corrosive, with the ability to damage steel and dissolve the hardest minerals.
• It changes its state within a narrow temperature band, making it one of the most volatile chemical compounds.
• It is present in all malignant tumors.
• If combined with chlorine or sulfur it becomes a deadly acid.
• It is the major component of acid rain.

In spite of all of the above FACTS, hundreds of American companies package and distribute this chemical as an ingredient in food products. Furthermore, it can be purchase in its pure form. Even children can acquire this compound, without checking their ID. The name of this compound is Di-Hydrogen Monoxide, and its common name is:

Water

When the media (or anyone) presents facts out of context, one can gain a mistaken view of reality. Unfortunately, the financial press often takes facts out of context. Bad news sells. ANY financial fact, condition, or statistic can be a cause of concern for the average investor when viewed out of context. You must show your clients “The Big Picture.”

What does the big picture look like in reality?

• Billions of people throughout the world continue to demand shelter, food, transportation, and clothing.Companies meet these needs.
• People desire a better life for themselves and their families. They still want to retire, educate their children and grandchildren, and leave their estates to their family – not the government.
• Clients want advisors who reduce the risks associated with investing.
• Over the long haul, ownership of companies gives an investor the best opportunity to beat the cost of living.
• Strategies to reduce risk are always attractive.

Let there be no doubt – we live in perilous financial times. That is EXACTLY why your clients need you. You provide them with perspective, risk reduction strategies, and the perspective needed to maintain a long-term focus. Tell your clients that when they want to know what is happening, they should turn off the news and call YOU. You can help them make sense of the world we live in. You can help them make it to their financial goals.
Good selling!

Technorati Tags: Bad news sells