What are we projecting?

By James Olsen

T WORK with salespeople every day who are letting their lpersonal feelings get in the way of selling.

What do I mean? Are there times when we have a bad day? Fight with our spouses? Have a death in the family? Aren't selling enough? Yes. Should we share these feelings and negative experiences with our customers? Absolutely not!

We may have that one "customer for life" who has turned into a friend and confidante with whom we may share some of our interior battles, but in most cases, sharing our problems (personal or business) with customers does not lead to more business.

Our customers are not our personal cry-towel and they don't want to be. If anyone is going to be crying on anyone's shoulder, our customers should be crying on ours.

Not bringing up our problems is just the first step. Just because we don't talk about our problems doesn't mean we aren't projecting negativity into our sales calls. Sulking, pouting, being "down in the dumps," sales calls without energy and-heaven forbid!-some pizzazz are just as bad as bringing up our personal problems.

Part of our jobs as salespeople is acting. Our customers do not (and will not) want to jump off a bridge with us. They want to buy from someone who is up, confident and has some energy. Our customers have problems of their own and in many cases are looking for inspiration to make it through their day.

Did Your Kid Score a Goal this Weekend?

Almost more irritating than the salesperson who wants to talk about how tough they have it is the salesperson who wants to brag about their personal, company or family victories. Talking non-stop about our kid's goal this weekend can leave our customers cold. If our customer doesn't have kids, they aren't going to want to spend much time talking about kids. Ifour customers do have kids, they are going to want to talk about theirkids, not ours.

Am I saying we can't talk about ourselves? No. I am saying that many of us are overdoing it. A good rule when talking with customers is 70/30. Our customers should be talking 7O7o of the time we interact with them. If we hear ourselves talking too much, a little alarm should go off in our heads that says, "Ask a questionl"

Use the Tlrrn-Around

When a customer asks us about our weekend, business or family, let's use the "Turn-Around" to get our customers talking about themselves, their business, or their family.

Customer: "How was your weekend, John?"

Self-indulgent Salesperson: "Blah, Blah, Blah," with too much detail and for too long.

Pro Salesperson: "We had a great time. Went to a couple soccer games with my kids, played a little golf, how about you?"

Our customer will then tell us about their weekend, their family, and their business. While they are talking about their life, we listen for the opportunity to ask a follow-up question, which will lead us deeper into their psyche, life and business. These kinds of conversations lead to deeper relationships with customers.

Stay Positive and Ask about the Customer

If we want to sell more, we need to project a positive attitude and ask our customers about themselves. If we are not selling as much as we want, we can always answer the question, "How's it going?" with "Busy! Working hard!" This answer will put us in the top 2OVo of sellers. Many salespeople commiserate with their customers, but not the salespeople that are selling!

Our customers are looking for positive, upbeat salespeople that will listen to their problems and come up with solutions for them, not the other way around.

Self Thlk - A Key to Projecting a Positive Attitude

Convincing ourselves to be positive is step number one. We will not convince anyone else if we cannot first convince ourselves. I have worked with many successful salespeople who use self-talk.

Try this: The next time you are going into a tough call, whether it be on the phone or in person, tell yourself how well the call is going to go. Tell yourself you are going to get the order. Really convince yourself. If you can really convince yourself, your sales calls will go better. This may seem a simple solution to a big problem, but simple solutions are usually the best. If you want to project a better image, convince yourself first!

Arch Acquires Chemonite

J.H. Baxter & Co., San Mateo, Ca., has sold its Chemonite preservative business to Arch Wood Protection Inc., Smyrna, Ga.

Chemonite is a registered trademark for ammoniacal coPPer zinc arsenate IACZA). a preservative used to protect poles, piling, and timbers against wood destroying organisms. An especially effective treatment for Douglas fir, it is used mainly for wood in industrial, highwaY, utilitY, and marine applications in western states' Arch acquired EPA registrations, trademarks. licensee agreements. and supply contracts for the Chemonite brand.

"This adds another preservative to our family of wood treatments," said Grady Brafford, Arch's senior business manager for industrial chemicals, "which includes CCA, Wolman E' Dricon fire retardant, and AntiBlu sapstain control products. The Chemonite program extends our position in the West by opening opportunities with Douglas fir in industrial markets."

Georgia Baxter, president and c.e.o. of Baxter, noted, "as licensor, Baxter has held the product stewardship position for over 70 years. With this sale,

Chemonite has been Placed in the hands of a global chemical company with substantial resources and the ability to provide world-class marketing and sales support to the marketplace."

Baxter continues managing timberlands and manufacturing treated wood products, including piling, crossties' and glue-laminated timbers Preservered with pentachlorophenol, creosote, and Chemonite ACZA, at Plants in Eugene, Or., and Weed, Ca.

Oregon Independent Opens

Kuiper Lumber SuPPIY officiallY opened in Scappoose, Or., last month, after a soft opening three months ago'

The new yard will cater to contractors by offering yard pickup as well as local delivery. Owner Jeff KuiPer plans to expand the yard in eight to 10 months after an adjacent company relocates.

Kuiper previouslY worked in his father's yard, KuiPer Lumber Co. in Scappoose, which closed in 1979 after 28 years. He then spent I 2 Years at Parr Lumber. Hillsboro, Or.

84 Moves Into Redmond

84 Lumber hopes to oPen in earlY October at a l0-acre facility in Red- mond, Or., that was vacated bY Ponderosa Mouldings in 2003.

"When we take a look at markets we're going into, we look for significant growth in the housing industry," said spokesperson Robyn Hall. "The company felt that Central Oregon was an area that in the next several years would be develoPing."

Others are not so sure. "If I were 84 Lumber, I would delaY mY entrY into the market," said Nate Bond, director of sales for Parr Lumber, Hillsboro' Or. "The market had been very strong' but permits are way down and I'm not sure how long it's going to last."

Hall said that 84 Lumber based its opening on long-term growth projections, not the current housing market. "Even though certain areas of the country are in a downturn, others continue to plug along. That's where we open new locations," she said. The company typically selects a location that has 3,000 new housing starts within a 25-mile radius in the course of a year.

The site was chosen two Years ago because the 95,000-sq. ft. main building is near a rail spur. Tom Gilbert' manager of the new facility, said that renovations will cost up to $3 million.