Riding the Shark: Vanquishing Fear in Selling, Part 3 of 4

by Charles H. Green on Monday, September 30, 2013

This is the third article in a four-part series on Fear in Selling.  In the first part, I talked about the importance of dealing with fear in sales. In the second part, I wrote  about the four types of fear.  In this part I’ll talk about solutions, and in Part 4 I’ll talk about Shark-proofing your market – how to replace fear permanently. 

Four-Step Shark Repellent

I’ve suggested there are Four Sharks of Fear:

1. Execution Fear. “I might mess up in doing this sale; I might not do it right.”
2. Competence Fear. “I might not know how to do this sale right; I may not even know I don’t know.”
3. Outcome Fear. “I might not get the deal at all – everything I wanted to happen won’t happen.”
4. Shame-based Fear. “They’re not going to like me or respect me anymore; and they’re probably right.”

Conveniently there are four forms of “shark repellent,” i.e. tools to vanquish those fears, at least for the time being.  Inconveniently, they don’t coincide one for one with the Four Sharks.  Conveniently, they generally come in a sequence: all you have to do is follow the four-step sequence.

Of course, all these steps depend on your recognizing your state of fear in the first place. If you can’t get outside of your fears long enough to notice that you’re afraid, then you need to start elsewhere. But assuming you can identify your fears, follow these steps.

Step 1. Write It, Read It, Talk It. Write down your fears in plain, simple language. With a pencil (not a keyboard). On paper (you remember paper, right?). Then read it out loud.  Sure, go ahead and close the door first.  Now the hard part: read it aloud to someone else. A friend, a co-worker, a relative.

Don’t kid yourself that reading that paragraph and “understanding” it does anything for you. It doesn’t. If we could “understand” our way out of fears, shrinks would be out of business. You actually need to dothose steps. Write it down. Say it out loud. Say it to another person.

The reason is simple. Many fears dissolve in the light of day. And even if they don’t, it’s important to be able to state them clearly.

Again – don’t skip this step or think it’s enough to “understand” it.

Step 2. State the 95% Worse Case Scenario. Identify the worst thing that realistically could happen.  (Leave out the 5% doomsday scenarios). Write it down; write down the downside of that bad thing happening; and write down the probability of it happening.

For example: “I don’t know enough about this industry, and that might come out in the sales call, and then the client will see through me, I’ll be embarrassed and I won’t get the sale.”

What’s the 95% worst case? Probably losing the sale and being embarrassed. Now – seriously – how bad is that? How bad is it that you’re embarrassed and lose a sale? You can get over embarrassment easily enough, it doesn’t have to scar you. And sure you’d like the sale, but is your job at stake? Your house? Your mortgage?

It’s a good idea to write this down too. Our fears are almost always exaggerated versions of what is likely to happen. I’m not suggesting you ignore your fears – but you must right-size them. Get real. Your fears will most likely subside.

Step 3. Identify the Customer’s Fears.  Put aside your fears for a minute, and ask yourself – what is my customer afraid of? Being fooled? Being made a fool of? Making a bad decision? Appearing indecisive? Giving away competitive information?  Forgetting to ask critical questions? Wasting 20 minutes of their life on an unproductive sales call?

List your guess of the top three fears your customer has. Think about how these fears might show up in your customer? What words or questions or mannerisms might suggest those fears?

The purpose of this exercise is partly to get yourself out of your own skull, where all the fear-talk is happening. But it’s also substantive. If you can surmise what fears your customer has, you can then come up with ideas and solutions and perspectives to help your customer address those fears. And that would be excellent selling, by anyone’s book.

Step 4. Define Your Limits of Control
If your fears have made it through steps 1 through 3 and are still not vanquished, you’re ready for Step 4: get clear about what you can and cannot do in the situation, do what you can, and let the rest go.

For example: You may fear losing the sale to a competitor with a degree in chemical engineering (and you’re a philosophy major). There are some things you can do between now and the sales call, but getting a graduate degree in chemical engineering is probably not one of them. So let it go.

Instead, do what you have some control over. Identify the business dynamics, the value proposition, and possible sources of chemical expertise outside yourself should you need it for the job. (And don’t even think about leading the customer on to think that maybe you have a Chem degree when you don’t).

The hard part for most people is “letting the rest go.” But think about it. If you’re 46 years old and 5’9″, odds are good that you’ll go your grave without ever having played in the NBA. Get over it.

It’s easy when it comes to playing in the NBA – but it’s no different. If the job really does require someone with a degree in chemical engineering, then you deserve to lose the deal to someone who does. You only deserve to get what is within your power to deliver on. Save your emotional energy for the next customer, and leave a good impression with this one.

There’s no shame in losing a deal for which you were unqualified, or for which you couldn’t possibly get qualified in time.  In fact, in those rare cases where you do succeed in selling a deal without being qualified, you’ll cause yourself far more fears when you actually have to deliver on your false promise. Fix what you can, and let go the rest.

This four-step process should help in dealing with any particular fear that arises.  But how do you deal with fear itself? Can you reduce the incidence of fear itself?

Yes you can, and that’ll be the subject of the next and last blogpost.

(from: http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/riding-the-shark-vanquishing-fear-in-selling-part-3-of-4)

Riding the Shark: Vanquishing Fear in Selling, part 2 of 4

by Charles H. Green on Thursday, September 26, 2013

There are many ways to think about sales and selling. You can focus on value propositions, sales processes, sales management, motivation, techniques, and models. In this blogpost series,  I focus on something else that’s common in sales – fear.

In Part 1 I talked about the importance of dealing with fear in sales. Here I’d like to talk about how to recognize and categorize fear. In Part 3 I’ll talk about solutions, and in Part 4 I’ll talk about Shark-proofing your market – how to replace fear permanently.

The Four Sharks of Fear

There are many ways to categorize fears, just as there are ways to categorize sharks. I like to lump them in progressively more fearful categories, from relatively tame to terrifyingly fearful.

1. Execution Fear. “I might mess up in doing this sale; I might not do it right.”
2. Competence Fear. “I might not know how to do this sale right; I may not even know what I don’t know.”
3. Outcome Fear. “I might not get the deal at all – everything I wanted to happen won’t happen.”
4. Shame-based Fear. “They’re not going to like me or respect me anymore; and they’re probably right.”

The first thing you’ll notice about that list is that it gets “worse” as you go down the list – it starts off with incomplete education and ends up with self-loathing. All of us find it a lot easier to deal with the former than the latter.

But they all can drive equally negative impact on sales.

How Fear Affects Selling

Whether your fear is tactical, existential, or in between, it will keep you from doing something right.

1. If you have execution fear, you are likely to not make the call, schedule the appointment, or send the email. You will be physically not present. You will miss opportunities and appear undependable.
2. If you have competence fear, you are likely to appear ragged, unconfident, changeable and second-guessing.
3. If you have outcome fear, you are likely to annoy everyone around you, because you try to over-control, micro-manage, obsess, and frequently blame others; you are in a bad mood because the world doesn’t obey your commands.
4. If you have shame-based fear, you are mentally not present; you are probably chronically sick, or often busy elsewhere; you are probably inconsistent, moody, and often a poor listener. And in sales, the inability to listen is a major handicap.

Have you been mentally jotting notes?  Write them down. Which type of fears do you seem particularly prone to?

Negative Feedback Loops

One of the most pernicious aspects of fear is its self-fulfilling nature. If you don’t make the appointment for fear of making an error, you have made an error. If you’re afraid of appearing competent, almost anyone will perceive that fear and interpret it as – incompetence.

If you’re afraid of a bad outcome, some kind of karmic rule of life intervenes – you nurture what you fear. And if you are ashamed of yourself, nobody will be comfortable  being around you; which of course is more fish-food for the shark of shame.

This feeds-on-itself aspect of fear is powerful – picture a feeding frenzy when sharks congregate around some little piece of distress, compounding the terror.

The Wrong Shark Repellent 

Unfortunately, people are almost hard-wired to respond badly to the Sharks of Sales. In the real world, if we see a shark in the water – we run.  Good call; avoiding the shark is the right thing to do.

But with Sales Sharks, that’s exactly wrong. In almost all cases, fear ofdoing something wrong drives us to not do something that is right. Think sins of commission and sins of omission.

We are so afraid of saying the wrong thing that we say nothing. We may not lose what we have (dignity), but we create a much bigger failure to get something we wanted (the sale).

Imagine a lifeguard who sees someone drowning. If the guard dives in to save the person, and it turns out the person was just playing, the lifeguard may be slightly embarrassed, and feel put out.

But what if the person really was drowning and the lifeguard thought, “Well, I’d look stupid if I dove in after them and it was a false alarm, let me wait a bit longer and see.” Wrong answer!  Yet that is the mistake that fear drives us to make in sales.

The pattern is clear: fear drives us to avoidance, which ensures failure. You can probably envision some of the solutions to fear in sales, but in any case, that’s the next post. Stay tuned.

(from: http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/riding-the-shark-vanquishing-fear-in-selling-part-2-of-4)

Riding the Shark: Vanquishing Fear in Selling. Part 1 of 4

by Charles H. Green on Monday, September 23, 2013

This is the first of a four-part blogpost series.

There are many ways to think about sales and selling. You can focus on value propositions, sales processes, sales management, motivation, techniques, and models. I’d like to focus on something else that’s common in sales – fear.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Market 

Remember the first time you saw the movie Jaws? The tale of a giant shark tapped into a primal human fear. The follow-on, Jaws 2, raised the ante with one of the most famous taglines in movie history – “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.”

Who could look at the beach again without some kind of shiver? Selling has some of that same flavor. We’ve all had some negative experience in selling – and like Jaws, it keeps some sort of control over us ever after. “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the market…” is all too real.

All kinds of selling involve some fear. Some forms of selling involve more fear than others.  Fear comes in many flavors; the form it takes varies by industry, by products being sold, and of course by the individual salesperson. There are multiple ways to deal with fears. None is always better than the others; and often more than one approach is necessary to overcome fear.

Fear is the Enemy

But with all this diversity around fear, one thing is unambiguously clear: fear is the enemy. Fear destroys sales. It separates you from your customers, makes you behave in narrow ways, lowers the value you can add, and in a thousand ways cuts your sales effectiveness.

Some may disagree.

• Some say, “Fear helps keep me on edge, sharp, focused.” But if you require fear to keep you sharp and focused, then you lack any positive customer-based motivation. That means you’re sub optimizing – for your customers, and for yourself.
• Some say, “Fear keeps me on my toes, always looking around for new trends and issues.” But if you seek new trends and issues only to assuage your own fears, then simply feeling comfortable will make you oblivious to trends and issues.
• Some say, “Fear gives me adrenaline, energy, passion, things that my customers pick up on and love.” Note that drug addicts and alcoholics also believe that they are flat, boring and uninteresting unless hopped up. Are you different?

No. Fear, in all cases, is the enemy. If you’re fearful, you’re not selling as well as you can. And if you’re not selling as well as you can, someone else will. And you should be afraid of that. (And if you are, you increase the odds of precisely the thing you fear, because fear of fear is just as destructive as any other kind).

Unless you can ride the shark – vanquish your fears – you will always be sub-optimal and at risk – always afraid to go back in the water. It’s a lousy way to live.

It also doesn’t have to be that way. That’s what this four-blogpost series is about.

In the second post, The Four Sharks, I’ll tell you where to look for fear in sales. The first rule in shark-fighting (unlike Fight Club) is – we talk about Sharks. I’ll go through the Four Fears – the Big Sharks that account for about 95% of our fears. That should give you an acute sense of pain for just “where it hurts most” in terms of your fears, and help you zero in the issues unique to you, in your business, in your industry.

In the third post, Riding the Shark, I’ll go through solutions.  There are four of them, but they don’t match up one-on-one with the Four Sharks. Instead, they are comprehensive, and offer differing ways to fend off “shark attacks,” making you less vulnerable and more able to sell correctly.

In the last post, Shark-Proofing Your Market, I’ll write about what you need to replace fear – to stop being vulnerable to shark attacks altogether. Because you can’t just fight defensive battles all your career – you need to come from a place of security and confidence.

Stay tuned for the next three parts: and I welcome your comments about the subject in the meantime.

(from: http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/riding-the-shark-vanquishing-fear-in-selling-part-1-of-4)

Lead Generation: The Differences Between Online and Offline Leads [INFOGRAPHIC]

Sep 24 2013 By Stuart Leung 

Just because you have a prospect's contact information doesn't mean they're ready to hand over their credit card, or want to talk to you on the phone.

As difficult as obtaining a sales lead can be, it's just one step in the larger sales process.

Converting that lead into an actual sale is no easy feat and not all leads are created equal. 

So, how can you improve your chance of converting a sales lead?  This may sound basic, but identifying the who, what, where, why, and how the lead came to be is crucial in understanding the prospect's mindset, where they are in the sales funnel, and ultimately determine whether/how to engage the prospect. 

One key characteristic of a lead is whether it was generated online or offline. Needless to say, sales leads that are obtained in person versus those propagated online are different creatures, and should be treated as such.  

"Offline" and "online" are just two of the many lead attributes to consider. Take a look at our Online vs. Offline Leads infographic below (click on it for a larger version) to see the differences between online and offline leads.

 

Learn more about online and offline leads, lead conversion, how critical response time is, how inbound vs. outbound marketing impacts leads, and the avergae cost of a contact - view a larger version of the above infographic.

(from: http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/09/lead-generation-online-offline-leads.html?d=70130000000tP4G&app_data=%7B%22pi%22%3A%2244245_1380053287_1025005819%22%2C%22pt%22%3A%22twitter%22%7D)

Sales Secret: 'Why' Is More Important Than 'What'

BY GEOFFREY JAMES

Rather than "tell what" you're selling, "show why" they're buying.

Lately, I've been reviewing dozens of sales messages and have discovered a common theme.  Most sales messages, whether in emails, presentation or websites, are ineffective because they "tell what" rather than "show why." Let me explain.

Average sales messages tell what the seller would like the customer to believe.  The problem with such messages is that the customer has no idea whether these statements are true.

Wrong:

• "We are reliable and trustworthy."
• "Our product saves you money."
• "We have the best customer service."

Right:

• "Our customer base includes IBM and Coke."
• "Independent studies show our customers save 20 percent."
• "Our service team has won two industry awards."

The same is true when describing products. Average sales messages tell what the product does or is.  Such messages force the customer to figure out how the factoid in the message applies to the customer's own concerns and own situation.

By contrast, great sales messages show why the product is (or should be) important to the customer.

Wrong:

• "Our software automates supply chains."
• "Our marketing experts help build brand awareness."
• "Our gadgets have dual framistats."

Right:

• "Our software makes your products available for sale 10% faster."
• "Our experts can help you double sales by building brand awareness."
• "Dual framistats mean your gadget will work even when dropped."

If you want to increase sales by having a great sales message, go through all your marketing and sales materials and convert your tell what messages to show why messages.

Yes, it IS that simple.

(from: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/sales-secret-show-why-customers-buy.html)

5 Things To Remember About Gatekeepers

By Janey Stephenson

You can have fool-proof sales skills up your sleeve, but if you can’t gain access to decision makers (DMs), it will all be over before it’s even begun.

Gatekeepers are in charge of managing the DM’s time; part of this role involves preventing people gaining access to them. They may be a personal assistant, a secretary or a switchboard operator. Either way, the first thing to remember is that they are not the enemy. Actually, they are a powerful ally that can give you information about a business and any DMs you want to get in touch with. The goal is to bypass them, the key is to get them on your side.

1. The gatekeeper is not your enemy

When gatekeepers are difficult about granting you access to the DM, they’re just doing their job. It’s nothing personal, and getting on the wrong side of them is one of the worst things you could do. They are people you want to have a good relationship with, not have a barrier between. If you’re hostile with them, they can be hostile with you, and initiating such a negative relationship will not get you anywhere.

2. The gatekeeper is not the DM

The gatekeeper holds no decision-making powers, but may think they do: don’t waste your time selling to them because it may backfire on you. This is an easy trap to fall into; some people think that if they can persuade the Gatekeeper that the product or service they’re offering is good, then the Gatekeeper will view you as a useful person to talk to. This is untrue. It’s a waste of your time and theirs, and is more likely to give them a justified opportunity to say no. Instead, stay confident, speak with authority and try to give the impression that you’re familiar with the decision-maker.

A shortcut may be to call first or last thing in the day; gatekeepers usually work 9-5 or similar hours, DMs tend to be in earlier and go home later. Calling at a time where the gatekeeper is not there may provide direct access to the DM.

3. The gatekeeper can hear a script

When you spend a lot of the day answering phone calls from strangers, you get used to people’s tone of voice. Gatekeepers can immediately hear a script, and will grow tired of you very quickly. Speak to them personally, and don’t be afraid: that’s another thing they can sense in your voice. Plan out any potential responses to objections, and speak to them like a human being. If you smile on the phone, it makes your voice warmer. However, don’t be nice to the point of smarmy, they’ll see through that too.

4. The gatekeeper is a busy person, just like you

Everyone’s busy and nobody likes to waste time or have their time wasted by others. If you call and the DM is unavailable, in a meeting, out to lunch or away from the office, make it clear that it’s of mutual benefit for you to schedule in a specific time to call back. “Call again later this week” is alright once, but if you feel yourself being strung along, gently suggesting that this whole thing could be a lot easier if they can pencil you in, or point you towards someone else of relevant that you could speak to, will go a long way.

5. The golden rule

If you treat gatekeepers with respect, they’ll respect you in return. Take down their name, be polite and most importantly: be honest. Getting angry or trying to force your way past them will never work; they’re used to people doing this a number of times in a day, and will quickly see what you’re trying to do. Treating them like a human and with respect could lead to a successful business relationship. However, this is not to say don’t be firm and assertive. It’s your job to gain access to the DM, and it’s their job to stop you. Treating them with disrespect, dishonesty and rudeness will lead you straight to the dial tone.  

- See more at: http://www.tlsasalestraining.com/content/5-things-remember-about-gatekeepers#sthash.0pgyKovC.dpuf

7 Steps to Getting More Sales in Less Time

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 BY COLLEEN FRANCIS

There’s no denying that sales have changed over the past decade. In today’s fast-paced, socially connected world, it’s harder than ever to attract and sustain somebody’s attention for a long period of time. Selling is also far more relationship based than it used to be. Today, if you haven’t taken an effort to get to know your client, and given them the opportunity to get to know you, the entire authenticity of the sale can become compromised…and that’s never fun!

However, what may be more interesting than what has changed, is what hasn’t. Have you ever wondered why some people can’t manage to close a single sale, yet other people have based their entire (successful!) careers on their ability to sell? Some may call it luck or coincidence, others may think it takes a certain personality to close sales.

The truth is, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed in sales, and that is the well-defined business habits that top sales performers have adopted, implemented and mastered to close their sales. The end goal is always more sales, in less time…now doesn’t that sound like music to your ears?!

Among those habits is the mastery of closing your sale every time!

While this mastery takes time, work and effort, ask yourself; are chart-topping sales important to you and your organization? If the answer is yes (which I bet it is!) then mastering this area, which have timeless, important and field-tested insights, will be well worth the time and energy and will serve to drastically improve your organizations sales.

Here are seven closing practices, designed to sell more in less time which you can implement immediately with your sales organization…I promise they’re really easy once you get the hang of it!

1) Know your maximum and minimum and move forward.

You need to know in advance of the sales call the maximum you expect out of the call versus the minimum level of commitment you need to obtain from the client or prospective client to close the sale. If you aren’t able to close the sale on the spot know how you’ll move the sale forward and document those next steps with dates and times. Mark these on your calendar.

2) Always start with a draft approach.

Never let the final proposal be the first proposal that your clients see. Prepare a draft approach and walk your client through it, point by point. Handle any objections here, don’t wait until later.

3) Know how decisions get made.

Who decides what? How many steps are there before a final decision is made? These are crucial questions, that if answered, can get you talking to the right people, at the right time.

4) Step Back.

Step back and look objectively at every qualified lead. You need to make sure you asking the right qualification questions. You need to ensure that you are operating on facts, not feelings on what you believe to be true about the client and their needs.

5) Make persistence your eternal flame.

Many people get discouraged when they think the sale is lost. Sales that seem completely hopeless can be easily salvaged at any point. Very rarely will you lose a sale forever, being persistent is key to closing a sale. Sometimes persistence can be tiring, but I assure you, it’s worth it!

6) Understand the why of no.

If you get a “no,” understand the meaning behind it. Ask probing questions to try and comprehend why there is resistance from your client.

7) Follow up rigorously.

Don’t just follow up when it feels right. Have a set schedule on when to follow up. Make it a schedule not a task or a chore and if you stick to it like clock-work, you will see the benefits of it in your sales!

Always remember that closing begins at the beginning of the sales conversation, not at the end, by then it’s often too late! If you build trust early on and follow the proven steps for sales success you’ll never have to resort to the tactics which often repel clients from doing business with you.

 

(from: http://topsalesworld.com/blog/resources/7-steps-to-getting-more-sales-in-less-time/)

FREE EBOOK to Improve Your Outbound Sales Performance

"57% of a typical purchase decision is made before a customer contacts the supplier." (CEB,2012) [Tweet this stat]

Our new 5 Ways To Improve Outbound Sales Performance ebook introduces you to a new approach for generating pipeline.  In the never ending struggle for higher quality sales leads, developing close relationships with prospects and customers can yield better results.  With a quality-based approach, you'll be able to focus on assessing the right prospects, letting you get to know your leads during the sales cycle, becoming a trusted advisor -- making your sales funnel as efficient as possible.  

This ebook brings you five ways to improve your outbound sales:

1. Find the decision makers--all of them

Getting to know multiple people in an account will help you understand their pains, issues, and objectives.

2. Get ahead of the curve 

Prospects are empowered by the web and social channels, but so are your reps. Counter this loss of control of the sales cycle.

3. Leverage your relationships

Referrals dramatically increase the chances of someone responding to your call or email. The stronger that name, the better the chance of a closed deal. 

4. Establish credibility

Tactfully using social data can give you an in, especially when it's relevant to their business. Because in today’s socially-connected business world, leveraging online channels can be the critical link for starting the process of connecting with and engaging prospective customers. 

5. Keep the relationship going

Your customer contacts are going to move around. Stay on top of those moves so you don't lose touch. 

Stop spending your time finding someone willing to listen to you. Instead, find someone who wants to collaborate. Develop relationships that will yield ongoing results.   

 

Time to improve your outbound sales performance. Download our free ebook below.