Effective Selling

(Continued from previous page) whom to talk to when the new piece of equipment from ABC manufacturer is finally introduced. And, you'll know who is ripe for a new cost-saving product that's coming, or the new program your company is putting together.

Step Three. Develop a system and some tools. The single most effective tool is an account profile form. It is a form full of questions or. more precisely, spaces for the answers to questions. The questions are all about each of your accounts. It's the document on which you store that useful information. It can be paper or electronic. If you're using contact-management software, then the account profile form can be several screens for each account. If you're not computerized, create it on paper. Regardless of the media, the principles and processes are the same.

A well-designed, systematically executed account profile form provides you a way to collect quantitative information to know your customers more thoroughly than your competition. All those pieces of information that you said were potentially important to you can be collected and stored in the blanks on the account profile form. Create a one-page form with blanks in it for each of the quantitative pieces of information you want.

You need another version of the form for each key individual within those accounts. That's called a personal profile, and it is your mechanism to collect personal information about the key decision-makers. You may end up with one document for the company and 10 to 15 personal profiles for key people at that account.

Now, imagine getting ready for the next sales call on that customer and reviewing the things that he likes to talk about, refreshing your memory on the name of his spouse, and the names and schools of each of the kids. As you plan your presentation, review the primary buying motivation for each of those key people. Do you think you'll be better prepared to have an enjoyable, relationship-building conversation with that customer than your competitor will? Of course you will. Do you think you'll increase your likelihood of delivering a powerful, persuasive presentation? Of course.

Step Four. Store it efficiently. You may have done a great job of collecting info, but if you've stored it on old matchbook covers. coffee-stained Post-Its, and the backs of old business cards on the backseat of your car, it's not going to do you much good.

If you're computerized, your computer can be the super tool that allows you to efficiently store the data. If not, create a set of files (yes, manila folders!) in which to store your info.

Step Five. Use it regularly. Before every sales call, review the information you have stored. That review will help you make good decisions about each aspect of the sales call. Likewise, review the information as you create your annual goals, sales plans, and account strategies, and when you organtze and plan your territories.

Now that you have a system in place to provide good information about your prospects and customers, you need to turn your focus to another area of your business-your competitors. As things change at an increasing rate, you must be aware of what your competitors are doing so that you don't get seriously outmaneuvered.

That happened to me. To this day, I still get a sick feeling in my stomach as I remember the day when I lost my largest account to my arch competitor.

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It was ap account that made tp 20Vo of my total volume. In my blissful ignorance, I was content to grow mY business by calling on the end-users and purchasing department, while my competition was successfully building a relationship with the administration. The result? My best account signed a prime vendor, sole-source agreement with my competitor. Within 60 days,I was almost totally out of that account.

To become good at knowing what your competition is up to, begin bY thinking of yourself a little differently. Here's a similar, three-step process for mastering this competency.

Step A. Begin by consciously collecting little bits and pieces of information at every opportunity. Rather than moping about losing a bid, use it as a learning opportunity. Find out from your customer why they awarded the business the way they did. If it was price alone, try to find out how much lower their price was. If it's something else, find out what. That information may give you an insight into the pricing policies of your competition. Write the information down or put it in your PDA.

Take your good customers to lunch and casually see if you can steer the conversation in such a way as to learn something about your competition. Keep your eyes open to the coming and going of competitive salesmen. Note when you see them, and in what account. Be sensitive and aware of competitive literature, business cards, and price quotes lying around. And don't forget to talk with the other salespeople who work for your company to get their insights.

By combining these bits and pieces, you may very well see trends, uncover strategies, and discover tactics your competition is using.

Step B. Store the information, whether filed in a manila folder marked "Competition" or entered into a computer database.

Step C. Use the information.

In the Information Age, much of your ability to make good decisions depends on your being able to collect good information. If you are going to take your performance up a notch, you must see yourself as a dealer in information as well as a seller of stuff.

- Dave Kahle, "The Growth Coach," is a sales consultant, trainer and author of six books and a free monthly "Thinking About Sales" ezine.This article is excerpted from his book Take Your Sales Performance Up-a-Notch. Reach him at ( 800) 3

-

287 ; www.davekahle.com.

Northwest Softwood Exports Rise

Exports of softwood lumber from Oregon and Washington were up 26.67o last year, according to a new study from the USDA's Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Softwood exports totaled 293 million bd. ft., up from 231.4 million bd. ft. in 2007. "During this same time period, Oregon and Washington imported 1.7 billion bd. ft. of softwood lumber, mostly from Canada," said USDA economist Debra Warren, who authored the report.

The new publication also includes current information from the U.S. International Trade Commission on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood, and volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies.

Japan (33.3Vo) and Canada (35.8Vo) each received about a third of the exported softwood lumber. Another 7 .3Vo went to the Philippines,5.9Vo to South Korea, 3.7Vo to China, and l.8Vo to Taiwan.

Douglas fir accounted for 57 .57o of the 2008 softwood lumber exports and averaged $525.14 per thousand bd. ft. Western hemlock accounted for 10.3Vo and averaged $434.52 per thousand bd. ft., while other softwoods made up the remaining32.2Vo and averaged $782.91.

In contrast, the average value of softwood lumber imported during 2008 was $466.91 per thousand bd. ft.

Depot Back To Promoting Bargains

Home Depot has launched a new advertising campaign, with the can-do slogan of "More Saving. More Doing," targeted to bargain-seeking shoppers.

SIMMEN LUMBER, Sacramento, Ca., held a giant yard sale March 21 that raised $2,400 for employee Jesus Mejia'i foui-year-old daughter (second lroq left, above, with rest of the fAmily), wfio has been diagnosed with leukemia. A donation account set up at the Bank of Sacramento now totals $5,000. Anyone who wishes to contribute should contacl Simmen at (800)916-8072.

"We knew the consumer was hunkering down and making fewer trips to stores, and only going where the dollar went the furthest," said chief marketing officer Frank Bifulco.

"We were the original home improvement warehouse, so we're comfortable in our own skin," he said. "If a paint associate has a little bit of paint on his apron, it's because