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It’s About Them, Not Us

IDC recently surveyed some 300 buyers.   Question: Which of the following is the #1 thing sales reps can do to improve the value of the relationship between the buyer and the vendor they represent?

• Put aside the generic pitch – 42%
• Know my stuff better – 16%
• Bring the right people to the table – 13%
• Know their stuff better – 11%
• Give me a better deal – 10%
• Show more respect for time – 5%
• Other – 3%

It still amazes me that after zillions of dollars of investment in sales training, we still do not get it.   The selling profession should be about “Them,” not “Us.”

Who is to blame?  Sales management.  They are clearly focused on their numbers.   And they prod and poke  their salespeople about their numbers. Results are that their salespeople act out the prodding in front of the customer.

Which Buyer Are You Selling To?

I found an excerpt from Sales Board chairman and founder Duane Sparks in which he says that we typically run into three types of buyers.

First is the Specialist. This person’s role is to screen options and their job is to make recommendations. They focus on specifications. They are usually in a staff position. Their power is knowledge. They want to advance their career and enjoy their job.

Next is the User of the product or service.  They are interested in the performance aspects of the offering re speed, accuracy, and the like. They also frequently are recommending to the Ultimate Decision Maker what their preference would be. They will get input from the Specialist as well.

The Ultimate Decision Maker is the third type of buyer.  These folks have bottom-line responsibility and are focused on the financial outcome of the buying decision in the context of ROI and efficiency.

The first two buyers are critical to the sales team as they typically recommend based on alternatives and options. The third buyer makes decisions based on the level of confidence he has in these recommenders and grants final approval.

Sparks reminds us that the days of closing business with only one buyer’s involvement are over. Sorry.  And to complicate it further each buyer has a different perspective and personal goal.

A Different Kind of Focus

Why should every company, business unit, marketing unit, and professional salesperson have a sharper focus on major accounts?

• The size of revenue and profit opportunity is much larger and extends over a longer term when the team links to the business strategy of the customer. You may discover the “80/20 Rule” here.
• An effective strategy and plan often reveal many other opportunities, both large and small, that might otherwise go unnoticed.
• Most successful new product and services innovations are created, developed, and fine-tuned when a seller is actively building a partnership with the customer. Most of these are not off-the-shelf point solutions.
• Major accounts typically have the toughest competition. You can learn many valuable ideas from competitors’ strategies that can be applied in all of your accounts.
• Your company’s senior executives are often directly involved in your firm’s major accounts. That involvement gives those executives a more realistic feel for the market, keeping them abreast of customer needs and competitive threats.

Visualizing a Major Sales Success

Football quarterbacks visualize the perfect throw (with apologies to Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre in the NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints). Golfers visualize the perfect stroke and the ball’s trajectory prior to their swing.  Marathon runners visualize the perfect race.

The number one characteristic that differentiates the top 1% of major account salespeople from others is their ability to visualize future success for their key clients and themselves, including the major milestones to accomplish it.  They are also aware that they may have to change course based upon what happens during the sales journey.  They are constantly focused on actions that help get them not just to the next milestone, but also to each of the subsequent milestones.   Each milestone is made up of several major actions–actions that if accomplished would significantly increase the odds of success and, conversely, if not accomplished would significantly lower the odds.

The top One Percenters engage in the following visualization process:

• Create a vision of the desired accomplishment
• Develop objectives and identify potential major nightmares
• Develop milestones toward the desired accomplishment
• Identify near-term actions that will help achieve each significant milestone
• Refine activities, milestones, objectives, and the vision itself as the sale progresses
• Transfer vision to support team prior to and during the sales process
• Remain open to the possibility of reaching some objectives early and expanding their view of the opportunity
• Successfully document the experience and ensures that supporters get what they need from the accomplishment

Most salespeople tend to focus on the next one to three steps that will get them closer to their goals.  Most of their activities are primarily reacting to recent events.  But the top performers have a long-term focus, are proactive and milestone-oriented.  Involved and emotional, they are constantly thinking about and acting on near-term actions that will accomplish the milestones leading to the objectives that, in turn, will help them realize their final vision.

How to Influence Your Customers’ Decisions

An interview with Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, appears in the most recent issue of Marketing Sherpa. The author of Influence: Science and Practice, Cialdini has spent 30 years studying the ways people are influenced.  He has reduced them down to six key principles.  While the article (written for marketers) is entitled “Six Scientifically Proven Ways to Succeed in Office Politics,” it could have as easily been called “Six Scientifically Proven Ways to Succeed in Sales.”  The principles follow with our sales-related application.

1. Reciprocation.  People feel indebted to those who do something for them or give them a gift.  That’s why it’s important you give a high-value gift for each request you make of your customers…every time you call.   This way, when you call for an appointment, they will be interested to know what you are bringing.  This keeps their interest in your call high.  What’s a high-value gift?  Things like information, ideas, introductions, problem-solving, mentoring, and recommendations.

2.  Social proof.  When people are uncertain about a course of action, they tend to look to those around them to guide their decisions and actions. They especially want to know what everyone else is doing–especially their peers.  This is why your customer success stories are important–they show your customers and prospects that people just like them have had success with your product or service. They’ll be more likely to become customers themselves.

3.  Commitment and consistency.  People do not like to back out of deals. They’re more likely to do something after they’ve agreed to it verbally or in writing.  Getting your customers to publicly commit to something makes them more likely to follow through with an action or a purchase.  Getting them to ‘yes’ makes them more powerfully committed to an action.

4.  Liking.  In general, most people like a background of relatedness for their business activities.  They buy from people they know and trust.  If trust is there, your customers will create a rationale for doing business.

5.  Authority.  People respect authority. They want to follow the lead of real experts.  When people are uncertain, they look outside themselves for information to guide their decisions. This is why your customer references and testimonials from legitimate, recognized authorities are so important to help persuade your prospects and other customers to respond or buy.

6. Scarcity. The less there is of something, the more valuable it is. The more rare and uncommon a thing, the more people want it.  According to Professor Cialdini, “The tendency to be more sensitive to possible losses than to possible gains is one of the best-supported findings in social science.”  If your product or service is genuinely unique, be sure to emphasize its unique qualities to increase the perception of its scarcity.

These six principles influence your customers’ decisions–whether they know it or not.  Use them as a guide to best communicate and interact with your customers to get the results you want.