The Salesby5 Blog

Last year, most businesses experienced people not making decisions. Two of the reasons they did not make decisions:

1. Buyers did not have to buy and they could prolong the decision to not spend money
2. Buyers did not have clarity from the seller on what benefit they might get. In fact, most indecision is caused by having only 24% of the knowledge and information needed.

Good news:

2010 can be better or even great, but your messages will need to reflect absolute clarity. You have 10 seconds to pitch. The sooner you have me selling ME on buying your product or service and you stop talking, you win.

Consider these tips to help you win:

Turn your features into benefits
The benefits are why I should care
The reason to believe you are able to deliver that benefit closes the sale
If you are not unique, you’d better be cheap. If you are unique you better be able to tell me how and why in 10 seconds.

Ready, Set, GO!

Photo by San Antonio Photography

It’s funny how frequently we forget to apply the basics in our lives. We’re then reminded, smack our foreheads and think “DUH!” That’s probably why we were fascinated by “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and why The Golden Rule never goes out of style. Simple things brought back to our attention create new found fascination. Well, here’s one for you. Are you interested in going far in life, getting things that you want more easily than others and having people say “yes” more frequently than they say “no”? Try this: be likable. Be likable like a happy dog that greets you with a wagging tale.

Likability can be extremely persuasive when you’re trying to accomplish your goals. Are there people that can do with out it? Absolutely! It oftentimes requires greater positional authority, though. So, for example, if you’re trying to convince someone to donate to your cause, hire you for a job, return an item after the warranty period, you need to realize that you’re selling. Former Publicis CEO, Bob Bloom writes in his upcoming book “We seldom buy from someone we do not like.” So how well are you doing selling your services, ideas and requests?

There you have it, go be likable. Are you unsure if you’re doing a good job at being likable? Smile at people all week, see what kinds of responses you get. Are you interested in really becoming likable day in and day out? Go pick up a copy of the classic “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Once you get it, keep it forever and read it over and over again throughout the course of your life. If you’d like it as a PDF so you can print it or read it on your Kindle, you can pick up a copy gratis (PDF Link).

Photo by San Antonio Photography

Ed Wallace, a “recovering CPA,” was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule speaking and consulting to talk about his new book – Business Relationships That Last. Some of us instinctively know how to manage business relationships, but most of us need a system. As W. Edwards Deming said, 94% of failures are due to poor systems, only 6% are human error. It’s worth noting that just because you have a system for managing relationships, it doesn’t mean that it’s mechanical and rigid.

Why did you write this book? (Ed answered this question in two parts – personal and professional)

“The personal reason I wrote this book is that I was a senior VP for a software company and one afternoon I was at my
desk when I was supposed to be out of town. My wife called and said our 8
year old son Grant fell and to meet her to see Grant. As I was leaving the office, my wife called back and she said we have to meet
at the helipad. Let me tell you, Nan, nothing can prepare you for a MASH scene where you see
your son laying on a gurney. It’s petrifying. You don’t know what’s
happening. It looked like he had a severe concussion and he’s
semiconscious. This was the cathartic moment that showed me how fast
things can change. I realized that I had the whole dream, but I notice
I wasn’t leaving anything behind. I had always wanted to write about
relational platforms. This was the moment when I needed to do this.
Within 6 months, my boss bought me out of my contract and gave me 6
months severance. During these same 6 months we had to take Grant for MRIs
because he had a spot on his brain, but don’t worry, he’s good to go now.”

“Professionally speaking, it’s a big message and it’s perfect for the times. This is a process to build business relationships using 5 steps to turn an acquaintance into a high performing contact. A research firm asked senior VPs the secret to their success. 88% of them said relationships. They followed up asking them what they did with that information. 24% track relationships in their CRM systems. Great, now what did they intentionally do about them? Less than 5% said they have strategies to manage the relationships. Shouldn’t you have processes for your relationships when 88% of Senior VPs say that’s the key to their success?”

What are the essential qualities of a solid business relationship?

“Credibility, Integrity and Authenticity build solid business relationships. Credibility is the power to elicit belief. So once you’re credible, people begin to share their Relational GPS – Goals, Passions and Struggles. This lets you make commitments, that when deliver on them, gets you integrity. During the process, you have authenticity. This convergence builds relational capital, the distinctive value created by people in a business relationship.

Your client’s Goals Passions and Struggles matter. When you understand their goals, you can help them. A GPS in the traditional sense gives you directions from satellites that have converged. They tell you where you need to go. If you’re trying to build a relationship, you really need to learn about all the aspects of your prospect’s/client’s GPS as well. Passions are things that people care deeply about. The way you hold a conversation or provide a referral builds credibility, which opens the door for people to share their passions. As they share their passions, they realize they can share some of their struggles. When people reveal their goals, passions and struggles, they’re laying out their road map. It’s important to note that this is not linear, but once you’re credible, people will typically share their goals first, then struggles and finally, passions.”

Tell me two things I can start doing immediately to develop better business relationships?

“First, every meeting you have is a perpetual audition, even in a good relationship, so don’t take a relationship for granted. Second, be prepared to ask good questions. Questions lead to credibility which launch the relationship. Have worthy intentions about the relationships, where their needs come first. Don’t take any of the meetings for granted. You can always advanced the relationship a little further. Do you want to get really good at asking questions? Sit down and interview a young kid for 5 minutes while they’re doing
something, like playing with Legos. Go ahead, ask follow up questions with a 5 year old. This helps you
get good at asking adults questions. It’s the 2nd, 3rd, 4th questions
that get you in.”

Ed, you write about the concept of “common ground” in the book, what does that mean?

“Common ground is the first rung on the Relational Ladder. What we suggest is to not guess whether the person we’re speaking with wants to build rapport or talk about business. Let them lead you down the path about what they want to talk about. It’s their meeting to decide whether they want to talk about business or personal.

Let me share a story. We had a meeting with the VP of Talent of a company. She had a week old vase of two dozen roses on her desk and had to move them to see us. We didn’t bring up the roses. We go through our meeting and at the end, she wants to hire us. As we’re preparing to leave, she asks, “why didn’t you ask about the roses?” We told her that we like to model for our clients what we talk about. She still hasn’t told us what the roses were for! It’s crucial to let the client steer you. This means we start by telling her “we’re glad to meet with you today” and then wait to see how the meeting should go. Did they start talking about rapport, asking questions about your trip and whether you found the location easily or does the person get right down to business? Pay attention and follow their lead.”

Can you tell me what the five rungs are on the Relational Ladder?

1. Establishing Common Ground: launch the relationship
2. Displaying Integrity and Trust: secure the relationship
3. Using Time Purposefully: invest in the relationship
4 Offering Help: share relational equity
5. Asking for Help: realize returns on your investment

Can you share some examples of how your clients have implemented what you teach and what the impact has been on their business?

“Some clients have built the Relational Ladder into their CRM systems and made the terminology of the ladder into their system. The conversation goes around the relationship first, not about where are they in their pipeline. Sales cycles have been reduced significantly. One internal team implemented this and had a customer satisfaction increased by 55% after the account manager and the CSRs implemented the system. Another high tech sales firm reduced their sales cycle 22% in 6 months.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Ed or Business Relationships That Last, check out his website or drop him a line.

What do you get when you mix a Huffington Post writer with a psychiatrist, FBI hostage negotiator trainer and an executive coach? Mark Goulston, MD. Mark has made a 30 year career out of dealing with people, ranging from scared children to people in crisis. Fortunately, Mark made time for a call with me to discuss some tips from his new book, Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone.

In all your years of listening to people, what are the top three tips to being a better listener?

“First, realize nobody listens with an open mind, including you. You think you are being open minded, but you’re not. One of my favorite quotes is from Wilfred Bion, who says to listen with an open mind requires that we “listen without memory or desire.” When you listen with memory, you have an old agenda you are trying to plug someone into; when you listen with desire, you have a new agenda that you are trying to plug them into, but in neither case is it their agenda. Second, if you listen with an open mind and drill down deeper, people will open their minds, hearts and wallets, because no one feels listened to. Third, the best way to listen with an open mind is to focus on what’s really important and urgent to the other person, then use all your resources to help them achieve that, even if it it requires The Miracle on 34th Street pitch. It’s important to know that this may or may not get you hired, it may allow you to refer someone else to the person to whom you’re speaking. It causes 3 amazing benefits. 1. You can relax on having to sell people, because there’s no anxiety to maneuver someone 2. It deepens the trust with the person you’re speaking to. I did this once when I drove an hour to see a person. After listening to him, I told him he could hire me but I suggested he hire another person first to take care of a more pressing need. It built massive trust. 3. When you make a referral to good people, say another service professional, you’ll realize that referrals are the coin of the realm in the networking world. When you make a referral, they’ll likely refer back to you.”

Mark, that’s excellent advice. So we should listen with an open mind and really listen to the needs of people and make referrals when they’re appropriate. What’s the impact of not listening well to a client or a colleague or a boss?

“All you have to do is ask yourself, “What’s the impact on me?,” especially if you have something important to communicate. When you get blown off or they interrupt you or they bring it back to what they need, it frustrates you. If you’re frustrated or worse, what does it do to your motivation to cooperate?”

Keeping the level of frustration down is certainly important when you’re trying to get things done. How does being a great listener strengthen your ability to lead, manage or sell?

“The first step to being a great listener is to use the “I” word, important. The first thing to say to someone is “What you’re saying to me is too important for me to misunderstand. I’d like to repeat back what you said to me, would that be alright?” After you say that, wait for them to say “yes.” That begins the “cascading yes.” When people do the “cascading yes” and you become clearer with their thinking, their gratitude increases toward you. If you come from a place of integrity, a true desire to help the other person, as opposed to maneuvering them, this will cause people to beat a path to your door and have them tell other people to do the same. If you disagree with something, it’s best to say “tell me how you came to that?” Before you come to a conclusion about the other person, get evidence by asking more about what they’re saying. Use conversation deepeners such as “tell me more” or “hmmm.” Use the right tone for “hmmm” like you’re saying “yum yum, what you’re saying is so good I can’t wait to hear more.”

Mark, how can becoming a better listener be a competitive advantage in general?

“If you are in the position of not being listened to and it makes you angry, when someone really listens to you and helps you become clearer in your thinking, you’ll standout in their mind.”

Mark, can you give me an example of how being a better listener can benefit someone’s personal life?

“One of the key motivators for me to write this book and realize how important listening is, occurred when my now 27 year old daughter was 8 years old. She now had to share mommy with our third child. She was having trouble doing that and was throwing tantrums and requiring timeouts. I came home one day when I had to “handle” my daughter. She was having a primal deprivation. She wanted mommy and “hated” her life. Instead of sending her to her room for a time out, I asked “What is it Lauren?” in an inviting but firm way. When it was clear that I wasn’t going to punish her or go away, she responded “I was the first to be born, I will be the first to die.” My oldest daughter is the only first born in the house. We had been punishing her for being terrified. At that point, she ran and jump into my arms and said “daddy, keep talking.” At that point, we both cried. I could feel that helping her to not feel alone and not be punished could have prevented a disaster later. You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to be a good listener. If you believe that most people are decent people and when they act up, it may be something is going on inside, not that they’re bad people. Persevere with them when asking questions, “That’s not it. What’s really going on?” They’ll finally crack and say something like “I’m scared because we don’t communicate and I don’t want a divorce.” This enables people to exhale. Venting is where the other person is running you over and it feels exhausting. You feel like getting defensive and neither of you are calm, you’re both exhausted. If you don’t take the venting personally, when people go from venting to exhaling, they go from showing their teeth to showing their neck. In trusting you with your bared neck, you will typically do the same and bare your neck, too.”

Can you tell me the one thing that I should start doing today to become a better listener?

“Think of everyone that you’re trying to get through to today, personally and professionally. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, as them, how well they feel listened to and cared about by you? Be honest with yourself. If, when you do this, your answer is that they don’t [feel listened to], then ask yourself how motivated you would be to want to extend the conversation. The likelihood is, not very motivated. Now that you know this, you can say to these people “I’ve been thinking about our relationship or business together and I realize that there’s a good chance that I don’t really get where you’re coming from. I’d really like to know that. If you’re willing, please tell me what’s important to you and what you accomplish from our dealings with each other.”

As I wrapped up my call with Mark, he provided me one more piece of information that can earn you more money, become better respected and develop peace in your life and the lives of those with whom you come into contact. You’ll have to come back soon to find out that secret.

Follow Mark on twitter at @markgoulston

By Verne Harnish “Growth Guy” and Erik Darmstetter “Idea Guy”

Every year, since it launched in 1984, pundits have been predicting the demise of RIM, the famous makers of the Blackberry – most recently given the success of the iPhone.

Yet for all the attention Apple and the iPhone receive, the Blackberry Curve is the best selling smart phone in the U.S. in 2009 – and RIM, the famous maker of the Blackberry line of mobile devices, has 56% market share, up 15% over last year while Apple has lost 10%. This Canadian firm is also the fastest growing public company in the U.S. according to Fortune Magazine’s recent list, with Apple a distant #39.

One-Phrase Strategy

What is behind this crushing success? A profoundly simple strategy.

I still remember Jim Balsillie, co-founder of RIM, sharing with a group of us that “if you can’t state your strategy in a sentence, you don’t have one!!” And RIM’s? In essence, “Easy in, impossible out” i.e. RIM makes it very easy for corporations to install their email system, but because the way the proprietary RIM software and servers work, it’s almost impossible to extract – or at least a huge hassle. So even though a whole host of executives may love to get iPhones, there’s too much inertia to overcome for enterprises to switch, a market in which RIM commands a whopping 74% market share.

And the software and server side of the business commands 90% plus gross margins given the fees carriers pay RIM per customer for the ability to collect, in turn, data transmission fees. It’s these huge margins that dwarf the margins pure handset manufacturers earn fueling RIM’s continued market domination.

Though I’ve preached for years the importance of a one-page strategic plan, let me suggest that a precise “one-PHRASE strategic plan” must be the starting point.

“Wheels Up”

Also defying gravity has been Southwest Airlines thirty-eight year run. Identified as the best performing stock the first thirty years of its existence, today Southwest is the largest airline in the world in terms of number of passengers.

For Southwest, their one-phrase strategic focus is also an internal tagline – “Wheels Up.” If that expensive hunk of metal is in the air more than the competition, then they are going to make more money.

Though different than their more well known “low fare” Brand Promise, this one-phrase strategy underpins Southwest’s unique ability to keep their promise vs. the rest of their low-priced competitors. And this is why the one-phrase strategy is such a critical competitive decision.

Think of the one-phrase strategic statement as the focus for the underlying activities that differentiate your company from your competition. The key word is activities. As Michael Porter, Harvard’s famous strategy guru, emphasizes in his classic 1996 Harvard Business Review article appropriately entitled “What is Strategy”, it’s going about the business in a different way than your competitors that defines your strategy.

In Southwest’s case, no advanced reservation seating and using the same aircraft type for all routes are two key differentiating activities. In turn, these activities are crucial to getting the Wheels Up on their aircraft faster than the competition, allowing them to provide lower fares and more flights. And by choosing activities that are impossible or difficult for others to adopt, you maintain your competitive advantage, as Southwest has for almost forty years.

Additional Examples

One of the few successful IPOs this decade, Rackspace (I do own some stock) has built its business on a simple one-phrase strategy “it’s not about the servers, it’s about the support.” In their case, this one-phrase strategy is also their brand promise, though branded as Fanatical Support.

Supporting this strategy is a set of underlying activities that includes a live person answering the phone within three rings if there’s a problem with the service. I remember Graham Weston and his team making the tough decision to rip out the automated attendant systems and gearing up 24/7 to provide live support, at a time when it wasn’t easy for them to afford.

For SalesBy5, the phrase is “increasing sales no matter what it takes.”  That allows everyone to realize that everything matters from the clients dress, speed of returned e-mails and their tone to, of course, their marketing messages and materials. This comprehensive strategy is not for the faint of heart or the client used to giving orders. We do not take orders but instead self direct to increase sales. The outcome for the clients that listen is 300% to 550% growth which can be chaotic but also controlled and profitable chaos.

In all four cases, the companies have relentlessly focused on their one-phrase strategy – channeling all their innovations and energies on continuing to perfect its realization. And in the process have driven significant growth and dominated their industries.

Are you placing your least experienced employee in charge of your social media; the face of your company to millions? Too many companies are hiring inexperienced firms or college students to build and execute a social media strategy for their company.  Most of the students have either not been on Twitter, dislike it, or have little experience beyond Facebook and tagging drunken pictures of friends from the party last weekend.  Many of the companies in charge of Twitter strategies have less than 40 followers, just got a Facebook account up, or have no strategy/execution plan. Social media effectiveness is directly proportional to reach and making sure the person on the other end is listening and cares about your offering. Youth trumps age in athletics, but not with business strategy and marketing execution; that’s where experience trumps ignorance!

I challenge you to check the Twitter Grade of your social media expert.  This isn’t the final word on Twitter expertise, but it can help you in making a decision.  Take a look at our CIO, Nan Palmero’s Twitter Grader score.  You’ll usually find his score around 99.9x (it fluctuates a bit), and typically between #1 and #10 ranked person on Twitter in San Antonio.  Now, go back to http://twitter.grader.com and fill in the twitter handle of your company or the company or person you are considering hiring.  Is it below Nan’s dog, @clunkerspalmero? His dog just joined Twitter and has a rating of 94 out of 100. The difference between my present rank, (@erikdarm) at 98.4 and Nan’s at 99.95 is 43,377 people out of about 2,841,887!

Here is a quick understanding of Twitter Grader.  Twitter Grader measures the power, reach and authority of a Twitter account.  In other words, when you tweet, what kind of an impact does it have?  It is based upon the following criteria, although not all are equally weighted:

1. Number of Followers

2. Power of Followers

3. Updates

4. Update Recency

5. Follower/Following Ratio

6. Engagement

Here is my last thought. It’s time for me to visit my Dentist, Dr. Jay Roach.  Lately, though, the guy that cuts my lawn also seems to have experience in brushing and flossing and wants to handle my family’s dental care. I think I’ll let him take over our dental and orthodontic needs. After all, he has done a good job on our lawn.  Your thoughts?

photo by R4vi

The result of overpromising a product or service and under delivering in regards to business, is a disappointment. Deliver more than what is promised by exceeding the expectations. Sounds simple right? One of our core values here at Salesby5 is exactly that, “Deliver more that what is promised.”

Let’s apply this to dating. Men, it’s okay if you are not perfect; nobody is perfect. So when you talk yourself up to a women with hopes of winning a date, you have a greater chance of un-selling yourself. When one accomplishes great things in life, like having a successful job that they love, the car or house of their dreams, or simply having been blessed with a remarkable physique, it is something to be very proud of.  However, the time will come when that topic of conversation will come up, so please don’t show up and throw up all over us ladies when you first meet us. You are setting yourself up for disappointment. If this is a natural tendency of yours, focus extra hard on what she is saying, ask her questions, and listen carefully. This will help distract you from wanting to talk all about yourself.

Follow Kya on Twitter

I am driving down 1604 and see this billboard.  This one amazed me in the most unique way. They gave 5 days out of 365 to appreciate customers? What happens the rest of the days? How do they track the billboard versus word of mouth versus any other advertising? There’s no way to know if Chik-Fil-A should do this every year for 5 days or attempt another strategy. So, how did it work?

This next billboard had a benefit attached of possible employment as well as a way to interact and they know if it worked. Now, if I worked for Walgreens (I’m very willing to help their marketing department make their signs smarter and more effective), I would add the following to the web address: http://www.walgreens.com/careers1604. Then, we know just about how many people took action due to this specific sign and if it worked in getting applications via the website. In June 2008 I wrote about “your website can be your best sales person” and part 2 was earlier this year. Part 3 is coming up with the best tips for Chik-Fil-A, Walgreens and you.

You’re responsible for your own happiness or yes, ORGASM!

People motivate or de-motivate other people. You choose which role you’re going to play.

The top ways to de-motivate others in the work place, at home or in public are:

· Assuming! My motto, courtesy of Doug Hall, In God we trust, all others bring data! Never assume and always deal with facts.

· Judging others. Unless you’re a judge in a court room.

· Whispering about people

· Creating and/or perpetuating rumors. This is disruptive and un-sells others. Dave Ramsey is known for firing members of his staff that are involved in spreading rumors or gossip.

· Not acknowledging another person’s presence. Co-workers who do not say good morning . You’re a human, act like it.

· Not using the words “PLEASE” and “THANK YOU” It is amazing how forgotten these are!

Whether you work, go to school or you’re a stay at home parent, you’re either selling or un-selling. No matter the time of day, you are responsible for your own happiness!

photo by airnos

The number one question I get all the time regarding the ”Your Wife is Hot” billboard article, is “did someone from Jon Wayne company ever call you?”  The answer is still no.  I have called them back and attempted to ask the owners about the billboard, leaving a total of four new messages in the last two weeks. So far, I have seen about three places in San Antonio where these billboards reside and can’t understand why my calls were never returned. Jon Wayne Air Conditioning, are you worried about something?

My plan was to write about a billboard that finally caught my attention. After building and owning a top design firm turned ad agency and working in branding for about 24 years, I am always amazed by the story behind what you see. We use Beyer Boys for my house.  They do not have any funny or cool billboards but they do return your call, even if you want to talk to the owners. Great marketing is just hype if you don’t have the execution to follow-through!

Remember, the data shows that there are so few people that followup and are lacking in execution that you can win if you just stick with it.