Yep, it is true. I am a living example.  If someone gives me a great sales pitch, it is nearly impossible for me to say no.   My wife won’t let me answer the doorbell because I buy all the girl scout cookies possible, vacuum cleaners, waterless cookware, and even encyclopedias.  Most Americans like to say YES.  In other parts of the world, they like to say NO first.  So many of us Americans already have a bias towards yes, so good sales calls are irresistible to us. 

There are exceptions to this rule.  Most corporate VPs of Sales are skeptical tough customers.  So, you don’t always get to leverage this rule with them.  But, keep in mind that sales people are often a good sales target for you.

For most sales people, learning to sell means first learning the steps, the techniques, and methods.  With years of practice and influence from mentors, each sales person develops their somewhat unique individual style of selling.  That style may be a mosaic or amalgamation of techniques and methods from different sources that has proven successful for them.  It is not a science, unlike mathematics where following a formula always produces the correct answer, selling success can be achieved in many different ways. 

However, regardless of the method, style or technique, closing is most often achieved through the accumulation of  incremental decisions made at each sales step.  For example, an early sales step agreement on quantification of the problem is critical to final justification.  Fail to get that agreement, and closing the deal may not be possible.   For another example, failing to get agreement on the evaluation criteria of a mid sales cycle pilot or test effort may mean you are unable to to ”prove” your solution and can’t close the deal. 

We always coach sales managers when concerned about a sales reps closing record, to examine early sales cycle decisions.  Most of the time, closing issues are caused by missed steps or unsecured decisions earlier in the sales effort. 

In the movie “Hunt for Red October”, US naval forces, looking for the Russian submarine Red October, become perplexed that Russian surface ships and submarines, actively pinging on their sonar,were moving so quickly through the water that they could run up on the Red October and not hear it.   The US Commander’s explanation was simple, they were not conducting a search, rather they were attempting to drive the Red October into a trap. 

Many sales people do the same thing.  They are so excited to trap the prospect into a commitment and close the sale, they drive too fast to hear anything.  Mighty Joe, the best sales person in the office, makes an incredibly powerful point to the prospect, then without a breath starts into the next point.    The prospect doesn’t even hear the point, certainly doesn’t have any time to feel its impact, and couldn’t even wedge in a question.   Joe has given this speech so many times, he can do it blindfolded and asleep.   However, at the end of the meeting, the prospect is out of breath and can’t remember much of what was said.

Joe, should spend more time on his speech, but not practicing his words, instead practcing his silence.  After making a powerful point, stop and pause.  Let it sink in.  Let the customer show a reaction.  Who knows, that one point may be enough to sell the prospect.  Worst case the prospect will actually remember the point.  Best case, their reaction will give you one giant clue about what to do next.

Don’t believe me or are wondering how it might work.  Do this – listen to a credible TV evangelist, not the ones who scream and dance around.  Listen to the best ones.  Pay attention to their pace of delivery, when they pause, how they control the tone and tempo, etc.  Adopt some of the things you see, and your speech, presentation, demonstration and sales call with go much better.   Guaranteed.

Tempted to play 18 holes in the winter?  Of course you are, but you are often frustrated by your score.  The colder it is the shorter your drives are.   That was then.  Today, you have ColdFusion Golf, a company in Cary NC that manufactures a golf ball designed for great performance in cold weather.  Two golf enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, frustrated by the play of traditionally designed balls, decided to do something about it.  Curtis Colvin and John Dubois looked around for a solution and found none so they applied some science and creativity to produce a ball that functions well in temperatures below 60 degrees. 

In September 2010, ColdFusion Golf announced the launch of the new cold weather ball.  “It is amazing to see the faces of golfers after hitting the ball just out of the freezer”, says John Dubois.  Wow, now I can play in the winter and still have an impressive game.  My spin and distance still work well.

If you love the game and want to play year round, this is a good solution for you.   Check them out at www.coldfusiongolf.com

First, what is it?  It is a virtual bulletion board or pinboard, perhaps similar to the one you have in your office, but on a WWW scale.  People can “pin” images they enjoy on the site, gather interested others, group like things together, and have some fun.  The best way to learn is to visit the site - http://pinterest.com/ . 

From their site, here is what they say, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.  Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.”

We suspect the Pinterest people learned from the Facebook experience and others too.  Right out of the box it has both personal and business appeal.  Let’s say you make a nifty new bridal bouquet made of buttons.  Creating new buzz for your product in important, especially because it is something unusually new.  You have your web site, Facebook page, and Twitter ID and are pushing your button bouguet images as aggressively as you can but could do more.  So, along comes Pinterest and one of your early customers “pins” pictures from her beautiful wedding.  Shazam,featured prominently in some of those images is  your best button bouquet.  With hundreds of million visitors, could you potentially generate a few more sales leads and maybe get your product buzz revved up a bit?  

Traditional marketing experts will take one of two positions, either getting goose bumps about Pinterest, or expressing ROI skepticism about it.  Yes, Pinterest is still a bit new, but can or should you ignore the millions of eyeballs currently browsing Pinterest?   It may not be obvious that your product is suitable for Pinterest or that your potential new customers are there.  But we are optimistic that the Pinterest excitement will continue to grow and marketeers with imagination will find a way to capitalize on it.   Perhaps you should start thinking about it.

When you hear a sales person say, “I hope that deal closes before month end”, just smile and run away.  Their deal is about to explode.

The next, not so secret way is to up-sell and cross-sell to your existing customers.  Sounds simple doesn’t it, then why do most business people suck at it?  The US Post Office may do this one thing right.  Go to the Post Office to buy a book of stamps.  You can be assured the Postal Sales Person will ask you if you want to buy any other supplies, rental boxes, or services.  Now it is such a habit it sometimes doesn’t even get a response from the customer, but it is a good simple example of trying to up-sell and cross-sell.  In a retail setting it may be just that simple to add a few more transactions per day. 

On your next trip through the McDonald’s drive up to get your morning java, try to get away without the McDonald’s person asking if you want a hot apple pie for 50 cents or a hash brown for a dollar.  Do you think it works?   Of course it does, that is why they do it.  They can tell you precisely how many more apple pies and hash browns a store sells when they behave this way.  If the evidence is there, why aren’t your asking your clients if they have a need or want your other products.  Are you even sure they know you have other products?

Studies and history show us the easiest sale is to an existing customer. It makes perfect sense.   They know you, are happy with the current product they buy, and they are accustomed to doing business with you.   In a  Business to Business (B to B) setting, similar results can be achieved. 

I have a friend who owns a package shipping store, with mail box rentals, fax services, greeting cards, and more.  Customers like its convenience.  The vast majority of the business is package shipping.   My friend asks one day, how he can achieve his growth goal of adding 15% more transactions per day.  While discussing the business, several customers come and go.  They are efficiently served and leave happy.  The proprietor doesn’t ask them if they want a postal box, a greeting card or other services?  Those customers leave the store, most likely unaware of the other products and services available to them.  As I coach him to ask, he practices on the next few customers.  He feels awkward at first, then quickly gets the hang of it, especially when one shows interest in a postal box. 

Let’s look at the math.  If the store sees 100 package customers per day, and 15 of them choose to purchase other products or services, he has met his goal.  This approach cost him incrementally nothing – no marketing, no advertising, no cold calling.  He is now a believer.

If you are not sure about how you can grow through up selling and cross selling, contact us for help.  There are many nifty methods and techniques that make these efforts very productive.

The Internet and the incalculable growth in mobile devices is creating new opportunities for rapid spontaneous product promotion.     Today, with tablet like devices in the store showing your products,  it is possible to capture actual customer input, reaction, etc., all real time.  Retail stores, manufacturers, and many others can dramatically benefit from tablet enabled customer connections.

Helping you make that connection to your end customers is a new company – Fiverun.   They provide a tablet engagement platform to display products with real time analytics and socialization ability. So now, not only can a product be emailed and shared directly from a retail location, it can also be facebook “liked” and tweeted about.  So, a 17 year old fashion queen, can quickly and easily tell her friends about your new accessory and encourage them to shop, right from your device in your store.  If that wasn’t enough, you the manufacturer or retailer can get real time location aware visibility and data at your fingertips.  You now have a connection directly to customers and know what they are thinking every minute of the day.  Imagine what you can do with this information and what it can do to increase revenue.

Co-Founder and CEO, Fabian Oliva says, “A tablet is not a replacement for a PC, its how a PC should always have been. The business benefits of mobility and usability can drastically be improved, but only with software that can power the tablet. Fiverun is developing the application glue that will enable that usage.”

Check them out at http://www.fiverun.com/

But, there is a growing population (albeit still small) suggesting more than the dress code has evolved.  Some now believe the relaxed dress code has produced a relaxed attitude where business formalities and traditional practices are abandoned, where well written and bound sales proposals have been replaced by hastily constructed email, where eloquent face to face presentations have been replaced by impersonal webinars, where nice respectable thank you dinners have been replaced by machine printed thank you cards, etc.  Nostalgic, well maybe, but many clients, especially those in the executive suites, still appreciate a formal traditional approach.  Some see the lowering of the dress code as a statement about their eroding importance to sales people and that sales people aren’t taking their profession as seriously as they should. 

Bottom line, never dress or have an attitude less formal than your clients.  Actually you should consider always being one notch higher on the scale.  If they were sport coats, you should wear a suit.  If they wear khaki’s and polo shirts, you should wear a sport coat.  OK, you get the idea.   Always guard against fostering an informal attitude.   

Progressive plans to hire 1,100 new sales, service and claims people;  185 in Austin, 65 in Phoenix, 129 in Colorado Springs, 390 in Tampa and 337 in Cleveland.  “We’re constantly looking for ways to make it even easier for employees to grow and succeed,” said Katie Koch, recruiting director at Progressive. “At Progressive, employees enjoy the flexibility to balance the demands of home and work. By putting our people first, we attract the best and brightest people around.”

Siemens announced that the company will increase its pledge to the Joining Forces initiative by committing to hiring another 300 veterans in 2012.  “Siemens is in the enviable position of being at the forefront of job growth in this country and we have our choice of the best talent out there,” said Mike Panigel, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Siemens Corporation. “We are extremely proud of our work with Joining Forces and this additional commitment reflects the fact that the technical training and advanced skills sets that veterans bring to the workforce are a perfect match for Siemens. Having these brave and talented men and women join our team will make our company stronger for years to come.”

Tibco Software announced plans to hire 500 people in the U.S. this year as the economy improves and Europe works out its debt crisis, Chief Executive Officer Vivek Ranadive said in an interview. “We are hiring quite rapidly now, all in sales and service,” Ranadive said at the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. “It’s a good time to hire.” Some big banks aren’t hiring, so there isn’t as much competition for workers from Wall Street, he said.