Call Reluctance 4

Tom is growing and his image of himself as a salesman (problem solver) has greatly improved in a positive way.  One of the keys to Tom’s transition is realizing that only four things transpire in the sales scenario, and they are all good.   They consist of the following: a yes, a no, a crystal clear future, or a lesson.

·         A Yes:

o   This is what every salesperson looks for in a sales scenario.  When price and value transcend one another is when a yes can occur.  This means that the customer sees a greater perceived value than what the product or service will cost.  When the customer comes to this realization this is when buy-in occurs.  A win-win situation is established and a problem is solved.

·         A No:

o   Always remember that people do not want to be sold, they want to buy for their own reasons. Both parties understand and come to the conclusion that the product or services are not a good match.  A good ‘no’ is one that occurs when due diligence takes place between two parties and both come to the conclusion that moving forward doesn’t make sense.  When speaking of due diligence, this means that a salesperson has clearly researched the potential client’s needs or wants and realizes whether or not their product or service is a good fit for that individual or company.  A good salesperson will understand what has happened and be okay with the no.  When faced with a “no”, a truly seasoned sales professional will many times make a recommendation to a potential client of another way in which they can go about solving their particular problem.  This creates trust and rapport even if the sale does not commence with your own product or service.  You are now becoming a trusted advisor in the prospect’s eyes and thus leave the door open for future business.

·         A Crystal Clear Future:

o   A clear understanding of what is going to take place next.  Knowing when you will be reconnecting and why.  Many prospects do not want to tell you no and will get you caught up in what I like to refer to as “the chase.”  If you are going to meet with a prospective client in the future it is imperative that you have a reasonably clear understanding of what is going to change.  What changes are going to take place between now and the future that will enable my product or service to become a better fit?  It’s okay to ask the prospective client these questions.  Many salespeople have difficulty asking such tough questions, but it is better to have a clear understanding between you and your prospective client rather than postponing and possibly wasting both parties’ time.

·         A Lesson:

o   When you debrief a sales call you are able to understand what you’ve done right or wrong.  When expanding on what you’ve done right you will want to pinpoint certain aspects so that these actions and communications can be repeated when called for.  A good salesperson will also dissect what they have done wrong and realize what they should have done differently.  This is crucial because behaviors and communication strategies that do not facilitate desirable outcomes should not be repeated and ingrained as acceptable.  There is a lesson in each and every sales scenario and by taking the time and effort to find out what can be tweaked for the next situation one can have much more success in the sales profession overall.  

The whole process of sales is to get to the truth and determine if what you’re selling is a good fit and creates a win-win for all involved.  By utilizing the four aspects discussed here, and through an understanding of these concepts, a salesperson can really break down the entire sales process and see what needs to be changed or edited.  Really understanding a yes, a no, a crystal clear future, or a lesson is the key to truly battle one’s fears regarding call reluctance. 

Dealing with Call Reluctance Part 3 – “No’s” They aren’t always a bad thing

In reviewing our case study of Tom, he is outgoing with an engaging personality, relates well to people, and presents the persona of what a salesperson should be in the eyes of many.  What we found most interesting is that many times Tom would go through an attitudinal change when he was in a selling scenario, primarily in the prospecting phase.  We discovered that Tom had a negative view of salespeople, even though he was in the profession.  This view affected his ability to communicate when he donned his “sales hat.” He did not realize that his negative attitude was having an effect on his ability to create lead generation by his reluctance to use the phone or to interface with a potential prospect.  Simply said, he couldn’t handle the rejection that stems from the “no” that is so very much a part of the selling arena.

            He really liked the service he represented and believed that it could solve other people’s problems but his own negative connotation of salespeople made it difficult for him to reach out in the prospecting phase and create new opportunities.  He was, in essence, afraid of the rejection even though he knew what he was selling had all the componets of a problem solving service.  To help him overcome this fear we had to introduce and teach Tom the concept of a “good no.”  Once we got him to understand and realize that not every "no" is necessarily bad, and should be viewed as a learning experience, we were able to change the view in which he saw the sales arena.  He had begun the transition from salesperson to problem solver. When he took off the “sales hat” and began the process of seeking out situations in which he could affect potential clients in a positive way he was then able to make some dramatic changes.  The phone became his friend, and afforded him the opportunity to get in front of those that were struggling with issues that he knew he could solve. More importantly, he became a different person in the selling scenario by conducting interviews that helped him to discover if he could be of help.

He was no longer plagued by a situation in which he was affected by call reluctance because now he could see and understand that his service may not be a great fit for every person but instead could build from these “good no’s” and have more confidence in generating new opportunities. This change did not and will not occur overnight.  Through continued positive reinforcement these changes were able to sink in and helped Tom to view sales through a new lens and have much greater success than he had previously experienced.

           

Next week we will wrap up the story of Tom and call reluctance, by further discussing “good no’s” and the four situations that occur at the end of any selling situation. 

What's New at Levi, Inc!

First off I'd like to thank you all for your continued support and we’ll be adding some fresh, new Sales Tips, adding new articles and events on our Facebook page, and will be posting insightful business tips on our Twitter page. 

If you haven’t noticed we’ve recently been making some changes here at Levi, Inc regarding our stance on social media.  We have started our own High-Performance sales Facebook page, become a presence on LinkedIn, started our new Twitter page (@MLevi_Inc), and have completely revamped our Sales Tip of The Week Newsletter to bring an entirely new template and look to our e-mails.

Please check out and ‘Like’ our Facebook page HERE, and be sure to check it out often as we’ll be posting relevant news articles as well as sales tips and general business strategy information!

Feel free to connect with us on LinkedIn HERE, we can be found under Mike Levi, Business Advisor at Levi, Inc.

Follow us on Twitter @MLevi_Inc to get the latest and greatest sales tips delivered directly to your feed!

Lastly, I would like you all to make sure to check out our new Sales Tip of The Week format. (You can sign up HERE) We’ve put a lot of time and effort into making our newsletter aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.  And as always, our sales tips contain extremely valuable information that can be used in enhancing your business. 

We’ve really been doing some great work these days and would love if you took a few minutes to check out all of the new, exciting news coming out of Levi, Inc.  Remember, we’re in the business of building and implementing sales and growth strategies and we are here to help YOU succeed. 

We’d really like your feedback as to what topics you’d like us to write about here on our sales blog. Please comment below and let us hear your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Mike  

Dealing With Call Reluctance- Part 2

In last week’s blog we discussed the fact that call reluctance is an issue that sales people will, in most cases, have to deal with at some point in their career.  This reluctance surfaces when a person:

·         changes companies or careers

·         represents a different or new product or service that they may or may not be familiar with

·         has a series of less than successful prospecting interviews

·         realizes that the potential client you are calling on may have more product knowledge than yourself

·         has less than a positive attitude about the company they represent

·         does not fully embrace the product or service that they are selling

·         experiences a fluctuating self-image or wavering self-confidence

·         lacks confidence in certain environmental situations

·         has inadequate sales development to be competitive in the sales scenario

·         simply cannot handle the “no”

The bottom line is that the problems we experience are self- inflicted. 

For 12 years I taught the Dale Carnegie courses in effective speaking and human relations.  Over a period of 14 weeks I was able to witness the transformation of people with a fear of public speaking emerge into a more confident communicator.  For people to be successful they must have a positive experience that allows them to get out on the edge of their comfort zone to obtain a higher self-confidence.  Once this confidence is reached however, there’s still a need for continued positive reinforcement so they can persist in their personal growth.    

Last week we discussed a case study about a man who finally admitted his call reluctance was seeded in a deep rooted lack of confidence.  For simplicity’s sake of our allegory we will refer to this man as Tom.  To help Tom, we had to reinforce his self-confidence; this was a not a single positive reinforcement, but a series of multiple positive experiences. 

The saga of Tom’s transformation will continue in next week’s blog.