NZSALES DECEMBER | ISSUE 101
The Scary Sixth Sense of Selling Page 8
How to Ensure Your Questions Get You Answers That Matter Page 12
NZ’S E-MAG FOR SALES LEADERS | WWW.NZSALESMANAGER.CO.NZ
From the Editor A
s we close out the year, I hope you take time to refresh and recharge, reflect on 2015 and plan for 2016. The economic outlook for next year is not too shabby, particularly for the latter part of the year.
the year. Please continue to let us know what you want to see in the magazine. We’ll be back in January, so from us all at NZSM, we wish you a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We have an excellent selection of articles in this issue to help you prepare and take the opportunities this will present.
PN
Thanks for all your comments, encouragement and feedback during
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contents
DECEMBER PASSIONATE ABOUT SALES CRAIG DIXON FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GOLF...............................................................................6
THIS MONTH'S MUST READ...............................................................................................................8 THE SCARY SIXTH SENSE OF SELLING
HOW TO ENSURE YOUR QUESTIONS GET YOU ANSWERS THAT MATTER............................12 HOW TO CREATE AND CRAFT A COLD CALL INTRODUCTION.........................................16
QUICK FIX..........................................................................................................................................19 It’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell
TWO MINUTE TOP-UP.......................................................................................................................20 5 YEAR-END SALES LEADERSHIP TIPS
BOOK REVIEW...................................................................................................................................22 Sell Local Think Global by Carmine Gallo
THE CLOSE........................................................................................................................................23
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PASSIONATEABOUTSALES
Craig Dixon
of The Institute of Golf
C
raig Dixon is the Cofounder and CEO of The Institute of Golf. Since the age of 12, he always wanted to be a golf coach. He joined the NZPGA at the age of 18 and has been coaching since then. Together with a team of nine, they are also are a very effective sales organisation, totally focussed on helping their clients succeed.
What do you love most about your work? Golf for many people is a hobby and activity that enables them to get away from the stresses of work and provides them with time to spend on themselves. At the Institute of Golf we are lucky to work with players of all ages, levels and ability and we enable them to improve their game and enjoy their chosen sport/hobby at a higher level. 06 |
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Where did you learn to sell? When we created the Institute of Golf it was never about selling. We are about solving peoples problems and providing them with a pathway of improvement. Our company embodies this ethos and this enables us to grow and expand whilst ensuring we keep our clients goals as our highest priority.
Tell us about the time you learned that helping your clients to succeed was the right sales approach for the business? Continual development/learning is something that as a team we strive to do. 10 years ago I attended an NLP course to become certified as a practitioner. Upon completion of this course I had a sickening feeling in my stomach‌ I really had not listened to my clients. I had a preconceived idea of what I thought they needed to do. I do not think I helped these players to the best of my ability. From that moment on I decided that we would be focused around the client and what they wanted. This has become an instrumental factor in the success of the Institute of Golf.
Who is responsible for sales at the Institute of Golf?
What’s your best tip to get new clients?
Every team member at the Institute of Golf is responsible and plays a part in our ability to solve our client’s problems. Each team member is empowered and responsible to help our clients. When this is done players improve and client numbers grow. The increase in profitability of the company is a byproduct of this philosophy.
It’s about the client, not you. By helping them and enabling them to achieve their desired outcomes it will directly benefit you.
You are selling a service by helping people to improve their game. How do you sell your service?
How do you motivate the team to sell?
Our team is driven from helping our clients. We are lucky to also Although we are a service based company we improve people’s games by achieving results. The improvements experienced are by- be in a profession that is also products of our revolutionary processes and systems that have been our passion. Although our team built around fast and long lasting game improvement. These results is financially rewarded for doing can be seen in players such as Lydia Ko (world female #1) and New a good job it is the ambition of seeing our clients improve that Zealand touring professional Michael Hendry to name a few who keeps us motivated. have come through our programmes.
What sets the top sales people apart from the rest? Best sales training you have ever done, and why? Results with our clients sets our top team members apart. We source our Instructors from all over the world and we are lucky to have the most highly skilled, training and dedicated Instructors implementing our programmes.
www.instituteofgolf.co.nz
The NLP practitioners course is right up there. I would recommend this to anyone. • Brought to you by 2degrees www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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MUSTREAD
The Scary Sixth Sense of Selling Words by Elliot Epstein
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I
t’s been over 15 years since Bruce Willis walked around in The Sixth Sense not realising he was already dead. (Apologies to anyone under 25 who may not have seen one of the most famous twists in movie history). In that time, an eerie sixth sense has developed. ‘I see dead deals…’ Deals that have all the persuasion of a local government councillor discussing bin night, deals that involve an audience as big as Carols by Candlelight but not the real decision maker and deals that are exciting for the seller but are on par with cleaning the oven for the client. But, one of the key reasons for new business dropping off like the Dollar is related to another sense. It’s not taste, sight, hearing, smell or touch. It’s the sense of entitlement. Despite 400 Petabytes of data being written about how the client should be the centre of the call, there are still a lot of people who feel entitled to drive, pitch and talk a lot in client meetings. It’s not about you. Get over it. Sell your ego on eBay while it’s still got currency.
Here’s a true story that crossed my desk (everyone says that – nothing actually crosses my desk except coffee stains). It happened a few weeks ago on Remembrance Day – November 11. A client in the middle of a 10.30am meeting with a potential supplier mentioned that he had family ties back to World War One and would like to observe a minute’s silence at 11am to remember the fallen who had fought for our country. At precisely 11am they stopped talking, bowed their heads slightly and remained silent. As the client’s head came up a minute later, our intrepid sales guy said, "So, given you’ve had time to reflect for a bit just now, did you think about the proposal we were discussing?" I believe that guy is now working for NASA circumnavigating Pluto without a space suit…or shuttle. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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The initial reaction to such insensitive crappery is to laugh it off with incredulity and a side order of ‘what a moron’.
We are not entitled to NOT listen. Deeply, conversationally, with empathy, with pauses, with care and without an agenda. I see people on 240% of budget because they genuinely listen to everything the client says, every single time. I see dead deals because the client doesn't feel heard.
But hang on a second; how did it even occur to him that his proposal was the central theme of the meeting? Perhaps, because he felt he was entitled. After all the client agreed to meet him. Granted, this idiot is off the scale but how many of us are keen to steer the conversation back to our company, our proposal, our story, regardless of what the client says. We are all taught and told to listen to the point where the word itself sounds trite, and there are eye-rolling sighs of, ‘Yeah, yeah, listen to the client’s needs and then find something of value back. Wow, you’re a guru, Elliot, what an original concept.' But time after time we don’t, because: • We’re keen to get our three messages across • We think we’ve only got one meeting to tell them everything • We don’t like what the client is saying • We were taught to look for buying signals and jump in at the first opportunity to present our ideas • We want to qualify them and ask them our prescriptive questions. • We’ve got budget to get, and I need to talk to tell the client what I want him/her to buy We are not entitled to NOT listen. Deeply, conversationally, with empathy, with pauses, with care and without an agenda. I see people on 240% of budget because they genuinely listen to everything the client says, every single time. I see dead deals because the client doesn't feel heard. •
www.salientcommunication.com.au
Elliot Epstein is a leading Pitch Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Sales Expert and Corporate Trainer who gets sales results rapidly. 010 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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How to Ensure Your Questions Get You Answers That Matter
Words by Jermaine Edwards
012 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
A
s simple as that phrase is, it has changed my whole perspective on the value and benefit of great questions in sales. As a key account manager, and one who coaches sales professionals, asking questions is a critical skill. It helps clients discover new solutions and challenges sales professionals to change those behaviours that aren’t effective. One of the practices I want to challenge are the questions we ask in sales. The archetypal questions of who, where, what, how or closed and open are peppered throughout our trainings and education. These trainings are great for telling you what types of questions you could ask. However, they give no guidance in knowing how you develop questions that get you answers that matter. As sales professionals, we can be so caught up in asking questions that we never ask ourselves, “Do we know the reason? What’s the purpose?” It’s this answer that should shape the direction of our questions.
“Questions are the answer” - Allan Pease What is that one thing that you want to know? Why? And does it help you and the other person achieve a goal? Of course, there are a whole host of reasons you might need to ask questions to your clients and colleagues. • To understand what specific pressures your colleagues or contacts are under in a new role • To understand the impact changes in your clients industry might have on their business • To understand the effects of a key person leaving the business • To understand the shift in priority of their business All of these are helpful reasons to ask questions I’d like to propose that the number one reason for questions is to CLARIFY. I’ve become fascinated with questions. Indulge me for a moment. Questions are like a bridge that connects knowns and unknowns, decisions and non-decisions and actions and non-actions. The questions we ask are our opportunity to ensure we’re moving in the right direction with our client. It leads us to answers that help us know if we need to act now, pivot, get rid of something, solve something. You get the picture. Once you understand the purpose of your questions, you can then be more intentional with what you ask. You can walk away from the conversation with every piece of information needed, knowing what to do and what not to do. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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As simple as these questions are, when you apply this framework of thinking to the planned conversations you have, you will become a master at asking questions. And you will be known as an insight bringer and a person of value in your client’s world. Here is the one question you All of these questions are fine in their own right. But they should need to consider before asking always be asked with the intent to deliver value and benefit to your next questions to clients the client. or colleagues. Some examples: • Does this question help me • Solve – What were your thoughts on the development needs that solve, support, shape or sell came out of the last training session? something to my client? • Support – How best can I support you in the change your • Solve a client’s department is facing? recognised need? • Shape – How would you see us using our expertise to help you • Support a particular achieve that important goal for 2016? initiative already ongoing • Sell – Had you considered what you’d do to ensure your data with your client? was sufficiently secure? • Shape or clarify a new project, offer additional insight or challenge? • Sell position other services that may benefit my client that they haven’t already purchased?
As simple as these questions are, when you apply this framework of thinking to the planned conversations you have, you will become a master at asking questions. And you will be known as an insight bringer and a person of value in your client’s world. Let me know how you get on.•
www.linkedin.com/jermaineedwards
Jermaine Edwards is a learning and behavioral change enthusiast, sales and customer nurture explorer and all round inquisitive guy. You can contact him on Twitter @jsaedwards 014 |
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How to Create and Craft a Cold Call Introduction Words by Matthew Mewse
016 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
I
f you were to line up the ten most successful cold calling salespeople in the world and ask them one simple question: “What’s the secret to your selling success?” After a lot of persuasion, several coffees (and maybe just a little torture!), they’d probably tell you they have developed a formula. Most will have arrived at this formula over many years of testing and refining and getting the presentation just right out in the sales field or when they’re working on the phone. They now know what works most of the time and, the better their odds, the more times they’ll be successful. You can’t rig the odds.What you’re looking to do, is create and craft an opening statement that gets the attention of all the GOOD prospects in our long list of cold leads. The first thing to consider is that nothing, no technique, no formula, works on every prospect, every time you pick up the phone. Remember that not every prospect you call is a good one.
Also, not every prospect deserves your time and energy. You’re only looking for the right kind of candidate when cold calling. These are the prospects that show interest early on in the call and when you find those, well, then they deserve your time and all the skills it takes to deliver the rest of your presentation. What I’d like to share with you is a formula that works well for opening a cold call. You can use this as an introduction on so many different types of calls – appointment setting, on-call sales, products or services. This winning cold call formula works for most industries. I’ve developed this particular introduction by learning from such masters as Allan Pease and building on my experience as a successful cold caller. I pass this formula on to many other callers and teams I work with today.These callers are blitzing previous cold call targets and still surprise themselves how much new business is waiting for them out there. They just had to pick up the phone! It takes a little practice to get the flow right and the timing working but remember to keep to the formula. The whole idea of this call is to find the real prospect quickly, right? And here it is: 1. Who you are 2. Where you’re from 3. The reason for the call 4. Then, hit a 'HOT BUTTON' question Let’s deal with item one. On a cold B2B, call don’t ask people how they are or have they got a few minutes. They’ve heard it all before, just get to the point! Number two, let’s tell them the name of our company. Number three, well, the reason for the call can be varied, there are loads of reasons to call but in the example below I’ve just said we know they, as a customer, have a service option from our competitors. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz |
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Number four is critical. Allan Pease once described a 'HOT BUTTON' as something that when pushed should warm your prospect’s interest. It should get their attention and create a positive or at the very least a neutral response from the better cold prospects in our list. Some of the callers using the By the way, research shows that you have 15 to 30 seconds to create above opening statement even either interest or disinterest on a cold call presentation. No grey areas here! get the best response of all. The 'HOT BUTTON' question can also act as a sieve. It can help you 'weed-out' indifferent prospects from the good ones early in the call and save you hours of time presenting to the wrong kind of prospect. Save energy, I say, save energy for the right prospects. Here’s an example of an opening statement for a cold calling team that I created for a large Telco campaigning to increase market share in mobile phones. Caller: Hello John, it’s Matthew calling…and I’m part of the customer care team at Phones-R-Us. The reason I rang you today John is, we appreciate you have a choice with mobile phone services but…we wondered…when you open your mobile phone account every month…do you ever feel like you’re paying too much? Do you ever feel that way, John? Many, many cold call prospects respond with: • What can you do for me then? • Yes…way too much! • Ummm…what do you mean? • I suppose you can do better, can you? And many more variations on the above. The point is these types of responses allow the caller to 'get in the door'. The prospect has shown a level of interest, and you now have a chance to present.
'No, I’m not happy about my mobile charges, and I was thinking of changing before you rang!' BOOM! Got that one! When you ask the “Hot button” question you also weed out the time wasters and the not interested. They respond with: 'Yes, I’m happy with what I’m paying.' It’s hard work to turn this type around on a cold call. Move on to the next. 'I’m not interested.' Fine, found out early, moving on. So, what are your and your company’s 'Hot Buttons'? We all have them. We just have to find them and incorporate them into our formula and practise, practise, practise. •
www.supersizeyoursales.com
Matthew Mewse is an international expert in business by phone and is right here in New Zealand. For more telephone sales help, visit www.supersizeyoursales.com 018 |
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QUICKFIX
Closing Year End Deals
Y
ou might be feeling generous at Christmas, but you don’t want to be giving business away. Closing business may need you to be flexible and to offer the client alternatives that will make it easier for them to manage the calendar year end chaos.
For example, it might be attractive to spilt an order in two, so that the client pays for the equipment and delivery in December, and the installation and training in January. Get creative, and find ways to get client commitment before year end.•
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TWOMINUTETOPUP
5 Year-end Sales Leadership Tips
Words by Mark Hunter
There are only a couple of days left in the year so this means everyone is spending at least a few minutes reflecting back on the year and, at the same time, looking forward. 020 |
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O
nly a couple of days left in the year, this means everyone is spending at least a few minutes reflecting back on the year and, at the same time, looking forward. Here is my list of five
quick sales leadership tips that make a difference:
First, personally thank each person you lead for their contributions. It’s easy to thank those who have done an excellent job, but that’s not enough. Thank everyone. You want everyone coming out of the year feeling good and looking forward to an even better upcoming year.
Take the time to reflect back on your accomplishments and use them as a guide to helping you to set your leadership goals for next year. Second, take the time to acknowledge not only those you lead but also their families and closest loved ones. Am I asking you to get personal? Yes and no. What I’m saying is take the time to realise the performance of any person you lead is impacted by the support they receive from their family and social circle.
Fifth, take the time
Third, call out and recognise those who did an outstanding job.
to reflect back on your accomplishments and use them as a guide to helping you to set your leadership goals for next year.
Don’t forget to recognise those who may have had some incredible success in the 1st quarter of the year. Too many times, year-end recognition winds up going to those who achieved success the last couple of months.
When I say 'leadership goals', I’m referring to how you see yourself communicating and dealing with those you lead.
Fourth, communicate to everyone how much you’re looking
There you have it: five leadership tips every leader should do right now at the end of the year.
It doesn’t take much to acknowledge this. It can be as simple as stating to an employee how you hope they can spend some quality time with their family, etc.
forward to next year. Do this one-on-one to allow you to personally share how much you see them as being a key part of the upcoming year. People will always do far more when they feel a personal connection to what their leader is expecting of them.
The really question is: 'Will you use these tips?'•
www.thesaleshunter.com
Mark Hunter is a keynote speaker and sales trainer. There is nothing he like’s better than helping companies and salespeople succeed. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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RESOURCECORNER
Sell Local Think Global
50 innovative ways to make a chunk of change and grow your business
A
fter years of sharing her small-business tips and marketing tricks with readers of her popular blog, ChunkOfChange.com, and column in the Long Beach Post, Olga Mizrahi has taken her message to the streets, urging business owners to focus in while reaching out. You'll be excited and motivated to clearly state your difference to the world and your neighbourhood - while confidently selling yourself and your business. Through 50 low-cost, do-ityourself tips, Sell local, think global will help you: • Work out what makes you and your business truly different. • Discover the secrets of 'SoLoMo' marketing, both online and off. • Spruce up your Web and mobile presence by learning to love analytics. • Walk boldly into the future by embracing social media and customer reviews. •
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By Olga Mizrahi
THECLOSE
“Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.” - Oren Arnold
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