It’s important to understand why your customers are asking for references.  Simply providing references may or may not address the issue.  Additionally, if receiving this request is out of the norm for you, you may want to examine any changes you have made to your sales interactions.  In other words, are you doing something to cause concern or prompt the request?

Generally, when a customer asks for references, there is uncertainty or doubt about what you or your company can do for them.  Do they doubt that you can do what you say?  Or do they want reassurance that you will service what you are providing?  Anytime you experience doubt in a sales situation, you need to prove that there is no reason to be concerned.  Before you do, make sure that you understand what the true concern is. You may simply ask your potential client, “What do you expect to learn from the references that I provide?”  How they answer may reveal a concern that you can answer on the spot, and may give you an opportunity to resell your product.

 Your proof sources should be someone other than yourself.  Think through all of the possible situations where you may experience doubt on sales calls, and collect proof sources to handle these.  Make sure you carry your proof sources with you on all of your calls so you can eliminate concern as they occur.

 Here are some examples:

No matter how prepared you are for the skepticism and doubt that you will encounter,  some customers will still need references.  Here are guidelines for utilizing them:

Be Respectful of Your Reference Sources -  It’s perfectly acceptable to share an established reference list with serious potential customers.  However, be careful not exhaust your current references by responding to every request with a complete list of phone numbers and contact names.  Give potential customers a list of current successes and a list of client companies.  Explain that once you get closer to an agreement, you will supply phone numbers and contact names.  Don’t be afraid to tell them that you respect your references and don’t want to overwhelm them.

 Call Your References – If you are placing names on a reference list, make sure you call each and ask their permission to do so.  When a potential customer asks for references, determine who would be the best resource for the concern that the customer has.  Try to give no more than two or three names and phone numbers at a time.  Then, make contact with the reference to let them know that they will be called.  Briefly review the purpose of the call and what you would like them to stress.  And, be sure to thank your references!  A handwritten thank you note is a nice touch.

 Ask for Written Testimonials – It will be important for some potential customers to make direct contact with your reference sources.  However, most will be satisfied with written testimonial letters.  There are several advantages.  First, written testimonials eliminate the amount of calls that your references are exposed to.  Secondly, using written testimonials will enable you to control the quality and content.  Collect written testimonials whenever a customer raves about you!  You may simply say something like, “Thank you so much.  Would you mind if I shared your experience with our company with others whom are considering using our services?”  Then, offer to draft a letter recapping what the customer stated and send it to them for approval.

Many recent LinkedIn discussions have focused on the word “sales”.  “Does the word “sales” have negative connotations?” “Should you call yourself something other than “sales”? “What is the difference between “sales” and “business development?”

While working with a client to define sales and service outcomes, one of the project team members said, “This is exactly what we need.  One thing though, let’s not call this sales.  Let’s think of a different title, one that is not so intimidating.”   We had agreed to the expected outcomes of the program,  which was for representatives to recognize customer needs and position solutions to help them reach their personal and business financial goals.  Sounds like sales to me!

Titles are not that significant.  What really matters is that you define what “sales” means to your organization and to your customers.  My advice to the client was simple – “Call it what it is.  Don’t deny it – define it!”

As the sales profession has evolved, so have the methods, beliefs and descriptions thereof.  We define the primary approaches to sales and service as transactional, emotional and consultative.  Most sales-oriented companies have embraced some form of consultative selling.  With that said – that does not guarantee that everyone in the organization understands what that means to the company or what it means to customers, or that they are skilled in related competencies.  Communicating your company beliefs and expectations regarding sales and customer service is critical.  If your people are uneasy about the word “sales”,  consider clarification such as:

• You are not going to “convince” anyone to buy anything if they do not have a need or want, realized or not.
• Great service is foundational to customer relationships and is foundational to the sales process, but it is not selling.  Just providing good service will not gain you more sales.
• Selling is a two way street – the solutions should be good for you and for your customer.
• Consultative selling is a matter of understanding the customer’s core business, their goals and needs and positioning solutions that are valued for each individual stakeholder.
• You should feel good about what you recommend to customers, that taking your recommendation is positive for them.

Three Ways to Define Sales

Traditional/Transactional Selling – Those who subscribe to traditional selling tend to take a product-oriented approach to sales.  They respond to customer inquiries with little regard or understanding of the customer’s situation or latent needs.  They may seek to understand customer needs, but with the focus on making a sale.  Traditional salespeople tend to stress features and benefits over value for the customer.  Presentations tend to be more of a monologue.

Emotional Selling - This is very seller-centric.  Those who subscribe to emotional selling take the stance that if the customer likes them and they provide good service, that is most important and they will get whatever opportunities are available.   This is a very non-assertive approach to selling, one which is not a good use of time for the customer or the salesperson.

Consultative Selling – Salespeople who use a consultative approach are collaborative and agile, adjusting to the needs of the customer and their specific circumstances.  They are advisors, seeking to understand their customer’s core business, their goals and vision and the motivation for each influencer.  They position solutions according to the impact on the business and address value for each influencer.

If you embrace consultative selling, or a similar approach, then defining what that means should encourage your people to embrace the word “sales” as well.  Make sure that you are specific.  Enlist your employees to help set the corresponding expectations and standards in order to promote ownership.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have enough new business development in my current customer base.  However, I am to the point that I have reached my potential within that base and need to develop brand new business relationships.  I feel like I’m starting over. Quite frankly, I don’t know where to begin.  Any suggestions?

Answer:

If you’re like most salespeople, you find yourself busy nurturing your current customer base with little time for new relationships.  There are two issues.   First, how do you maintain and maximize current relationships while developing new business?  Second, how do you specifically go about generating new business?

The answer to the first part of the equation is to evaluate and prioritize potential new business as you do your current customers.  For instance, if you call “A” type customers every week, you should also call “A” type potential customers with the same frequency.  If you call “B” type customers once a quarter and send written communication monthly, you should do the same with “B” potential customers.  This method draws no distinction between current customers and potential new customers.

Am I suggesting that you place some potential customers ahead of current customers?  Yes!  Rest assured, all customers are valuable.  However, all customers don’t warrant the same amount of time.  You have to look at this in terms of prioritizing sales activity rather than whether or not someone has purchased from you yet.

The second part of your sales development issue is a little more complex, only because there are so many different ways to attract new business, depending on your industry and market.  The first thing you should do is identify new potential business.  Qualify and prioritize them based on how they fit your current customer profile.  If they look like a current “A” customer, they probably are a potential “A” customer.  Then, you need to make contact.

Here Are Some Prospecting Tips and Truisms:

• You can close a referred lead in half the time that it takes to close a non-referred lead.  You need to develop referrals, they don’t just happen!
• Persistence pays.  Even though national averages say that it takes more than five calls on a potential customer to close a sale, more than 50% of salespeople only make one call and then give up if they hear “no”.
• Being a salesperson can be discouraging at times, especially if you have put significant time into preparing a proposal or bid and then lost the sale.  It’s easy to start thinking of what you could have been doing with the time that you just “wasted” working on a sale that you didn’t get, like fishing or golfing.  But just as with fishing, you need to throw the line in before you can catch fish.  If you wait to throw the line in only when you think there will be a big catch, it will never happen.  Top sales people realize this and often “pay themselves” for each sales call, knowing that they need to have sales activity in order to get sales at all.
• When prospecting over the telephone, you have 30 seconds to answer three questions that the potential customer is thinking, “Who’s calling?”  “What do they want?” and “Why should I listen?”
• Schedule time everyday for prospecting, or it won’t happen!  Learn the best times based on when you have been most successful.
• Analyze your activities.  Are they really all urgent?  Should some be transferred to another area?  Can you get another person involved?
• Focus on your overall sales objectives and then break them into small consumable chunks.

Here Are Some of the Most Common Sources for Developing New Business:

Cold Calls

• These are just what they say, potential opportunities that are cold, or ones that you make direct contact with, without a direct connection.
• Even though cold calling generally produces fewer results than referred leads, you can increase your results by prospecting intelligently.  Tap into online sources like LinkedIn to see who you know that can provide information about companies that you are interested in.  Research companies and join groups that your potential customers join.
• Look for creative ways to find new leads.  For instance, because we offer instructional design services, we contact companies that have want ads for instructional designers.
• Read the local papers, blogs, etc. with a keen eye. Are there companies that are introducing processes, which would require your products/services?

Referrals

• Referrals are simply a recommendation from a source.
• Most salespeople think that referrals just happen if you do a good job. This is not true.
• You need to nurture referral sources.
• Referrals may come from inside the companies that you serve and may be opportunities to serve other departments as well as other companies.
• You should actively pursue referrals.
• A significant opportunity to develop referral sources is simply to network with other salespeople who serve the same types of accounts that you do but are not competitors.

Internal Referrals/Cross Selling

• How much do you communicate with other sales reps within your company?
• Are there opportunities to cross-reference accounts?
• Consider starting a wiki or LinkedIn private group to share best practices and internal leads.

Associations/Networking

• Find out what associations your key contacts belong to.
• There is an association of association executives for every state.
• Get their directory and attend meetings of the ones that have members served by the companies that you represent.
• Attending meetings can be a big waste of time, or very productive. If you attend these meetings, know why you are attending.
• Prepare a thirty-second commercial about who you are and what you do for your customers.  For instance don’t say, “Hi, I’m Nancy from Nancy’s Designs.” Instead, “Hi, I’m Nancy from Nancy’s designs. We help companies make more money by increasing the effectiveness of their marketing pieces.”

I finished presenting a proposal & pricing for a fairly large project that I am about to undertake.  I have a verbal commitment from my customer, now what should I do in terms of the next step?  Should I put together another proposal outlining the specific pricing that we looked at?

Answer:

Assume the sale!  You said you have a commitment from your customer, so proceed as if you do.  If you put together another proposal, you may give your customer reason to second-guess the decision.  The bottom line is, make it easy for your customer to move forward.  For instance, if after reviewing your proposal the customer and you agree on certain aspects but not others, you may simply put together a letter of confirmation stating the work to be accomplished and a timeline.  You may even say something like, “I’ll get started on the first phase of the project and in the meantime I’ll put together an outline of our agreement for our records.”  Don’t say, “Now that we’ve had a chance to meet, let me revise the proposal and get it back to you for your approval.”

Salespeople have to be very careful not to become their own obstacles to gaining commitments.   Even though I don’t like losing control of my billing, I appreciate that my satellite radio service automatically bills my credit card at time of renewal.  They assume that you want to renew and I don’t think twice.  Can you imagine how many sales they would lose if they asked for the commitment again at renewal time?   On the other hand, every time I receive a renewal notice for products and services, I re-sell myself on whether or not I actually want or need the service.  In some cases, I could be swayed either way.  The same is true with your customers.

I recently received a call from a company selling network solutions.  It just so happens that I am in the market for those services so I scheduled an appointment for a technician to diagnose my problem.  However, instead of sending a technician, they sent a salesperson to tell me about their company and “gain a commitment before work would start.”   They added an unnecessary step to the process causing me to question them.  If they had sent a technician to take care of my immediate issue, they could have clarified bill rate and possibly secured a long-term customer.  Instead of engaging me as a customer, it was just another sales call.

If you are nervous about starting work on a project, ask yourself if you really have a commitment?  If you are unsure, review your letter of agreement with the customer and check the pulse by asking, “Does this meet your expectations?”

Convenience is often a major factor in gaining commitments in business.  Our partner company, Synergyworks, recently asked a group of salespeople to share examples of how they “pull out the stops” by making it easy for the customer to do business.  Here’s some of them:

After having difficulty getting customers to come in for spring service, a lawn & garden equipment dealership decided to set a schedule each spring where they pick up customers’ lawnmowers for service.  They bring the mower back to the dealership, conduct the required maintenance and deliver the lawnmower to the customer in ship shape and ready to go.  The feedback they receive has been so positive that most customers don’t think twice about buying a second piece of equipment from the dealership.

An online clothing retailer offers real time on-line customer service help with a guarantee that if they don’t like the product when they receive it, they can return it with the pre-paid return label.  It’s absolutely no risk.  Because of the immediate personalized service, the company has very few returns.

 A local farmer of organic produce, meats and eggs was experiencing less customer traffic.  While customer feedback was always good, he was at the mercy of whatever foot traffic happened to stop by or read his road sign.   He decided to offer online pre-orders.  Now, customers can go online and order what they need for the upcoming week with the option of home delivery or pick up at the farmer’s market.   The program has been so successful that the farm has nearly doubled its sales volume.

 Realizing the mayhem that back to school shopping can cause for parents and the need to capture market share, a savvy retailer created pre-packaged school supply kits hand packed according to individual teacher specifications and delivered to children on the first day of school.

What can you do to “pull out the stops” in your business?  A little brainstorming may make a huge difference in customer commitment.

I hear talk about stressing value to differentiate products and services, but how does that apply to commodities? From the customer’s perspective, the products we sell are absolutely no different than anyone else who distributes this product.  All we have to compete on is price. 

Answer:

Don’t get hung up on the product itself.  You need to think about what you do for the customer.  For instance, when we purchased a new copy machine for the office, we could have purchased the exact same brand and model for less than what we paid from a number of distribution sources.  However, the company that we chose added value by offering advice that we needed regarding networking the machine to our computers and other online materail distribution issues that we were facing.  Even though we paid thousands of dollars for the machine, the company we employed is in the business of selling service, not machines.

Make a list of everything you do that adds value for your customers  – This is the first step in differentiating yourself.  If you can’t list anything, you might want to consider another line of work!  Consider the value that you bring to your accounts from a customer’s perspective.  For instance:

• Do you offer better delivery schedules than the competition?
• Can you reduce the amount of product waste the customer is experiencing by offering suggestions on usage?
• Do you offer training that would increase plant safety as it relates to your product or service?
• Can you offer special packaging that would reduce handling of the product?
• By utilizing a method that you suggest, will the customer increase production or some other quantifiable benefit?
•  Can you eliminate their need for other suppliers by serving more of the customer’s needs?

Sell the product of your product –  For instance, if you were seeking the assistance of a lawyer to compose a will and trust for you, you would be buying the product of a product.  A will is a fairly standard document –  a commodity.  However, you are not buying the product itself, or you would do it yourself on the Internet.  You are buying the service and advice that you receive from an expert.  Stress what the product does for the customer, not what the product is.  The better advice you give, the more value you will add in the customer’s eyes.

Next, quantify the value for your customer –   For example, if you can indeed show better response times than the customer is accustomed to, quantify what this means to the customer.  Use the customer’s figures.  If you are able to provide just in time delivery, how much does that mean for that particular customer in terms of saved inventory costs?

Define value for each individual customer –   The problem with the word “value” is that it means different things to each customer.  Stressing what you think may be important to one may not be to another.  Some customers are strictly price shoppers and won’t give you the time of day.  Others value expertise and welcome your advice.  Somewhere between these two groups are customers that don’t know what else to ask about except price.  And, given the opportunity, will share their aches and pains.  Find out what’s important to each and stress value accordingly.  For instance, the last time we bought computers for the office, one of my business partners tried to convince me to invest in the largest monitors available.  While this particular feature just seemed like added cost to me,  it was a significant value for my partner who was having trouble seeing the screen.  Value is almost always measured in terms of increased time, decreased time, increased profits or some other personal pain or goal.

Don’t dwell on the competition –  It is valuable to know how the customer feels about the competition. But, your focus should be on what you can do for the customer, not how you can outdo the competition. 

Reduced price is not value – Anyone can cut his or her price.  If you are relying on price cuts to gain business, be prepared for high turnover in your accounts.  A request for quote is the customer’s way of saying, “I see no difference in what you offer from anyone else”.  This is the starting point for you to discover opportunities to help the customer and provide value.  You may simply say,  “I would be delighted to provide a quote.  Let’s get together so I can provide an accurate quote by better understanding your needs.”

I’m doing some spring cleaning and realize that I have accumulated quite a bit of paper in my customer files.  We are in the process of implementing a contact management system.   Regarding customer files and records, what’s important to keep and what should I include in the new electronic files?

Answer:                      

Spring cleaning is important.  If you haven’t cleansed your files in awhile, I think you’ll find it refreshing.  You mentioned that you have accumulated quite a bit of paper, which leads me to believe that you have exclusively organized customer information in a paper-based format.  The short answer is,  keep only what you don’t have in an electronic format like customer brochures or handwritten notes.  Most importantly, ask yourself how you will use the information in the future.  If you don’t have an answer to that question, pitch it.   If you haven’t worked with a particular account in more than two years, you may consider tossing the entire folder.

Whether in electronic or paper-based format, collecting customer information can be extremely useful if the information is purposeful.   One salesperson recently shared her frustration of transferring to a territory where the previous salesperson had not kept customer records.  She spent the first three months interviewing customers to determine what had taken place to date, which was embarrassing and costly.  Storing files electronically has its advantages, mainly in terms of sorting and sharing. Most electronic files are easily merged with handheld devices, like smart phones, making customer information easily accessible.  Beyond the obvious information –  address, phone, etc., here are some categories that you may consider collecting:

History

Think of your customer records much like doctors’ records.  After a brief glance, your doctor has a snapshot of what has taken place to date and what kind of condition you’re in.  Individual customer interactions may seem insignificant.  Yet, married with other interactions they reveal a total picture of your account’s personality.  Jot a quick note immediately after each customer meeting including your objective and subsequent outcomes.   You may think you’ll remember the details without writing them down, but you’ll be surprised how much is forgotten within the first twenty-four hours after a meeting.

Contacts and Influencers

It’s important to record information about your key contact.  It is also important to keep information about influencers who may affect your sales outcomes.  When considering influencers, think of those who can release funds (usually referred to as economic influencers), those who use or supervise the use of your product or services (usually referred to as user buying influencers), those who make recommendations and judgments (like gatekeepers) and coaches who can best guide you in the sale.

Behavioral Style

Behavioral style refers to the logic that buyers use in making decisions.  We typically refer to four main categories of behavior including; direct, outgoing, steady or easy-going and analytical.  Tracking information about customer behavioral styles can shed light on how to prepare for future meetings.  Is the customer blunt and to the point, or analytical and detail-oriented?

Communication Style

Communication style refers to the vehicle that customers prefer when sending and receiving information.  Like behavioral styles, tracking this information will help you prepare for meetings and can even help you prioritize your sales calls.  Visual people need to see you more often than auditory or kinesthetic customers do.  If you aren’t sure of your customer’s communication style, simply ask, “How do you prefer that I communicate the information to you?  Would you prefer written communication, a phone call, or do you want me to stop by and walk you through it?”

Common Objections

The old saying, “hindsight is twenty-twenty”  applies to customer likes and dislikes in particular.  If history repeats itself, tracking this information can help salespeople avoid past mistakes.

Personal and Business Interests

Understanding each of your customers personally will increase your ability to build rapport and relationships.  Track information that customers reveal regarding hobbies, interests, family and anything else that they want you to know.  Use this information to sincerely take interest in your customers.  Let customers know you think of them other than for the sale by inquiring about personal interests or jotting a note periodically.

Proposals and Quotations 

It’s important to keep accurate records or what was promised and what was acted upon.  This is especially true in businesses where pricing is flexible and proposals are custom-designed.

The bottom line about customer information is that it’s only valuable to keep if you will use it in the future to either build sales or relationships.   If you decide that information is worthwhile keeping,  the next question to ask yourself is, “where will I look for the information when I need it?”  If you can answer that question, you’re in good shape!

Over the years, I have adopted what I consider to be a consultative approach to selling.  Lately, I’ve left  meetings feeling a little “unfinished”.  I spend so much time asking questions that I feel there is inadequate time for presenting solutions.  Is it time to adopt a new model of selling?

Answer:

If you’re asking if consultative selling is obsolete, the answer is no.  Some experts feel that transactional selling has prevailed over the last couple of years, however all agree that consultative selling is more important now than ever.  We agree.   Perhaps the definition of consultative selling needs to be visited.  Some salespeople define consultative selling by what it’s not; not using a standard approach, not overdoing features and benefits, not talking too much, etc.  While these are all probable pieces of a consultative sales model, they are not the complete picture.   It sounds like you have fallen into a trap that many salespeople have.  Over the years, consultative selling has been promoted as the way to sell, and I agree.  However, the key word is sell.  There are those that believe that consultative selling means that you only ask questions and solutions will develop on their own.  While asking questions is a key to uncovering needs, if that’s all you do on your sales calls you will disappoint yourself and your customer.

If a customer takes time out of their presumably busy schedule to meet with you, they must be interested in what you can offer them.  They just don’t want to know everything about what you offer!  Asking questions alone without making recommendations causes the customer to feel empty, like they wasted their time.

Consultative selling is somewhat of a well-timed dance.   Dancers that are in-tune to each other seem glide, anticipating every turn and movement.  Ideally, customer interactions should feel the same way.  In a recent class on consultative selling, I asked the group to define what consultative selling was.  I like the definition they came up with, “Consultative selling is to identify needs and suggest solutions that help a customer solve problems or more adequately reach their goals.”   This is more of a collaboration between salesperson and customer rather than the more self-servicing sales models.

If you’re feeling “unfinished”, it may be that you are spending too much time asking empty questions.  You should never feel like you are firing off questions.  The questions you ask should be the result of pre-call analysis that reveals what you know and what you need to find out.  Questions should be strategically woven into the conversation to produce the desired result.   The most fulfilling consultative sales situation is when you help the customer uncover a better means of accomplishing their goals.  Asking the right questions is key to getting to that point.  However, questions are like the tools of a mechanic.  You don’t pull out a wrench when you need a hammer.  Each question you ask should be purposeful.  For instance:

Help customers reveal needs by asking questions about their goals – These should not be general questions, but questions that relate to how you might help them.  For instance, if you were selling office machinery, you might ask them how productive their office staff is.  Listen for gaps that you can fill.  Ask open-ended questions to provoke thought and uncover needs.  You should think these through in advance of your sales calls.  Start by asking what you know about the customer and what you need to know.

Ask questions that reveal value for the customer – “What would a 10% increase in productivity mean to your bottom line?”

Check the pulse of the customer by asking involvement questions – These tell you how close a customer is to a commitment.  As customers reach a decision, they begin to think about how your suggestion will fit into their situation.  So, you ask specific questions about how they will use your product of service in advance of the sale.  How they answer tells you where they are mentally.  For example, “If you decide to go ahead with this, what plant will you want to have trained first?”  If the customer’s response, “I haven’t thought about it.”, you have a bit more selling to do.  If the customer’s response is, “I was hoping to start with the Waukesha plant,” close the sale!

Ask questions to position a solution – “Keeping up with technology is difficult these days, isn’t it?”  If the customer agrees that this is a challenge for them, you would present the applicable solution to solve their issue.

Here are some additional tips to ensure that you have adequate time to position solutions during your sales calls:

Position a single solution after each discovery instead of waiting until the  end – Doing so will enable you to keep the customer involved in the conversation   and build interest throughout the sales call.  The customer will see the “What’s In It For Me?”  throughout your interaction.

Set expectations up front – Position why you are there and what you expect to  accomplish.  This will ensure that you and the customer are on the same page right from the start.  You could simply state something like, “Here’s what I’d like to do today.  I’d like to review your need for just in time inventory and your current  practices to see if we can help you meet your requirements.  Is that what you expect?”

Schedule a follow-up meeting to present solutions – Don’t assume that you have   to accomplish the entire sales process in one meeting.

Only provide solutions that are of value to that specific customer – You may  indeed offer many valuable features and benefits.  The only ones that matter are  those that apply specifically to that customer’s concerns.

Don’t think of consultative selling as a single event – Take regular tours of your customer’s production areas to help you understand their challenges.

Question:  I am running out of ideas for sales meetings.  Do you have any tips for developing skills?

Conducting concise skill-building activities at sales meetings (Whether online or face to face) is a terrific way to enhance abilities and share best practices.  Consider assigning responsibility to a different salesperson for each meeting.   Concentrated segments are key!  Focusing on one skill set at a time gives salespeople the opportunity to reflect on and integrate skills into the upcoming week.   Then, make sure that you review and coach their experiences at the next meeting.

Here are some ideas for quick and concentrated activities:

Objections Drills – Distribute two index cards to each sales person.  Ask them to write a recent objection on the card.  Collect the cards and redistribute them.  Now, ask the salespersons to write responses to the objections on the back of the cards that they received.  Collect the cards again and redistribute.  The drill begins with a salesperson stating the objection on one of their cards and calling on a person to answer. 

To conduct this in an online meeting, ask each salesperson to submit an objection and potential answer.  Post the objections one at a time and ask for responses or call on individuals.  Online formats are terrific for playing games.  Put the objections that salespeople submit in a jeopardy or other familiar online game format.

I’ll Add to That! – This exercise encourages salespeople to share knowledge and best practices while helping develop sales and account strategy.  Ask each person to prepare an account analysis or customer profile.  If you use a CRM, perhaps you have this information stored.  Ask each person to outline a current sales objective, the key players, history and any other pertinent information about the current status of the account.  Then, pass the account around the room by asking each salesperson for one idea, suggestion or question to add value for the customer and move the sale forward.   Keep going until all ideas are exhausted. 

To conduct this in an online meeting, display the profile forms so all can see and use the same process.  Tip – Make sure that you truncate the form so it is visible to all or send the completed forms to participants in advance to study and make recommendations.

Technology or Competition Study – Assign a competitor to each salesperson.  Ask each to research the competition and prepare a comparison of your advantages and disadvantages to the group.   Be sure to provide specific guidelines about what they should report.  Ask the group to draw conclusions about how they measure up.  The same exercise can be used for technology education.  Ask each salesperson to research a new technology and report or demonstrate how they have used the technology to advance sales objectives.   You could focus on a specific technology such as LinkedIn, or even cell phones.  Or, assign a specific technology to each person.   

To conduct this in an online meeting - Pass controls to each person and ask them to demonstrate what they have learned.

 Market Penetration – Ask each salesperson anonymously submit what they would do to increase sales and market penetration if they were given unlimited resources.  Compile the master list, distribute and discuss.  Prioritize and vote on recommendations as a group.  Then, act on the recommendations! 

To conduct this in an online meeting – Consider using polling features to vote on responses.

 Invite an Expert – This could be someone from another department, or someone from outside of your company.  It is highly motivating for salespeople to hear what others are doing to be successful.  Be certain that you give clear guidelines to your guest.  Consider inviting a top performing salesperson from a sister company or unrelated industry to share successes.

To conduct this in an online meeting – Invite a guest to be present via video conferencing.  Or, find one of your favorite experts on YouTube and play an excerpt. 

 Invite a Customer - Make sure you give the customer a clear understanding of why they have been selected to attend.  Ask the customer to explain their business needs, what they like about your services and what they like about the competitive solutions they may opt for.   Allow the salespeople to interact and ask questions much as if they were on a sales call.  They will learn from the customer and from observing each other.  

To conduct this in an online meeting – This is best conducted face to face.  To conduct this in a live meeting, video conferencing is best.

For more suggestions or for specific sales meeting agendas, contact us!  DVR Learning, LLC includes complimentary sales meeting agendas and coaching guides with each online learning program.

• Recommendations to Others – Considering what your customer admires about other people will tell you volumes about what is important to them.  Use this information to plan what you will prepare and emphasize on your sales calls.  For instance, if the customer uses words such as “reliable” and “dependable” when recommending another person, then make sure you stress your reliability and dependability.  This will also tell you the types of information that the customer values.  If they tend to mainly recommend those who are technically proficient, then you may even consider team selling with your technical staff if that is not your strong suit.
• Recommendations from Others – Read between the lines of the recommendations to discern the behavioral preferences of the customer.  For instance, if his recommendations state that he is “meticulous, pays close attention to detail and follows through on commitments”, chances are he has analytical behavioral tendencies.   You will need to use a systematic approach and be ready to prove your points.   If, on the other hand, a recommendation would read more like, “Mary is a natural leader who always takes charge and gets results”,  it is likely that Mary is strong in  D (director) behavioral traits.
• Photo – I wish everyone posted a photo!  They speak volumes!  If you are a keen reader of people, you can recognize behavioral tendencies from dress, background of the photo, facial expression, and even if they have no photo posted at all!   The obviously silly photos with dramatic smiles are easy.  Be prepared and flexible in your interaction with these Expressive types.  They think multi-laterally, so you’ll need to do a good job of guiding the conversation.  If they are the buttoned-down business type, you will first need to determine if you are working with a Director or an Analytical, as they tend to look similar in dress.  These are the most different in terms of approach and how they are influenced.  Stress results and innovation with a Director.  With Analyticals, stress quality and the process you will use to acheive results.  Both Expressive and Steady (Amiable) types tend to post more personal information and tend to let you know about trips they have been on than the other two styles.
• Look at the “How You’re Connected” area of the profile.  This will show you your second and third level contacts that may know something about your new customer.  Or, look at the company profile to see you have any second or third level contacts to tap into for sales intelligence.
• Groups – Scan the groups that the contact belongs to.  Do you belong to similar groups?  It may be worth joining certain groups if you find that a population of your desired contacts are members.  Pay attention to the discussions.
• Specialties – Look at the specialties that the contact lists about himself.  How can you support his expertise?  What gaps may this customer reveal that you can supply?  What common interests do you share?  Also, be congizant of discussions to avoid!
• Discussions – What discussions has this person posted or responded to?  This may provide obvious or subtle clues about his needs.  If the discussions are regarding something outside of your area of expertise, but you know of a resource that you can share to help this contact, you have just added value that could differentiate you from others. 
• Books – The types of books that the customer reads provides insights about their interests and current mindshare.  Read a excerpt.  If it is a business oriented book, is there something specific that the contact is looking for?  You can also glean information about behavioral style by paying attention to the types of books a person reads. 

Question: Are you losing too many sales to the competition or narrowly coming in second place? How to narrow that gap.

There are many potential reasons why you may be coming in second place. The first step to overcoming your predicament is to understand why. Ask the customer specific questions before the sale is finalized to uncover what they will base their decision on and what they like best about the competition. Then, make corrections. If you have already lost the sale, go back to the customer and ask what they liked about the competition and what their final decision was based on. Check your attitude before you do this. Make sure you are willing to listen and make corrections based on the customer’s recommendation. Don’t get defensive or try to prove your point. It’s simply a learning experience at this point.

Here are some other considerations:

• Make sure you understand the implied and unspoken needs of the customer group. Sales are often lost because there are gaps between what the customer expects and what the salesperson thinks they want.  You may be losing sales simply because the competition more closely understands the customer’s needs.  Ask good open-ended questions that help the customer predict the future.  For instance, you may ask something like, “If you decide to go ahead with our recommendation, how will you evaluate the success of the program?”  Then, frame your recommendations based on the responses you receive.

• Sell to all of the influencers.  An influencer is anyone who can affect whether or not you get the sale.  They may be obvious or they may not.  Think in terms of whom will be affected by the decision to buy your product or service.  Who will release funds for the sale and who will make judgements or recommendations.  Then make sure you sell each the value that is important to them.  Don’t assume that because your relationship is good with one buyer that it’s good with all.

• Assess your competition.  Don’t be afraid to ask the customer whom they are considering besides yourself.  Once you know who your competition is, evaluate how you have stacked up to them in the past.  Ask yourself some hard questions like, “What are my strengths/weaknesses compared to the competition?”  “What does the customer like about the competition?”  Use the information you gain to emphasize your strengths when you deliver your proposal and make your specific recommendations.  Don’t guess at this information.  If you don’t know, ask!

• Stress value, not features and benefits. When it comes time to make your final recommendation, make sure you stress the value that the customer will receive, not the benefits and features that you provide.  Adjust your value statements to each individual buyer.  For instance, if you are working with a safety manager you may say, “You can expect a reduction in OSHA fines by as much as 10% by using our product.”  Value is almost always translated in terms of saving time or money.  Then you can use your benefits and features to explain how you accomplish that particular value.

• Be persistent but not pushy.  Make sure you stay in front of the customer.  This doesn’t always mean face to face.  Research issues affecting the customer and send them a copy.  National averages show that it takes at least five contacts to make a sale.  Only ten percent of all salespeople make more than five calls and sixty percent make only one call to the same account.  So, just by being more active in the account, you will gain business over your competition.

• Recognize buying signs.  Do you know what they are?  If a customer leans forward, it’s a buying sign and an opportunity to close.  If they ask specific questions this is an opportunity to close such as, “How soon could we take delivery if we decide to go ahead?”

• Clarify stalls – Stalls are dangerous because they tend to look like the truth even though they usually aren’t.  Typical stalls include; “We’ll look over your proposal and get back to you.”  Or “Give us a call back in a month.”  Clarify stalls by asking open-ended questions.  It could make the difference between gaining or losing a sale.

• Use closing techniques to check the pulse of the buyer.  Closing techniques are very personal.  You need to feel comfortable with the ones that you use.  Practice several until you find a couple that work for you.  An example of a closing question that works well for many is, “Is there any reason why you would not go ahead with this?”