Selling to Consumers | Sales Training Blog by Skip Anderson

An Open Letter From A Customer: Dear Sales Dude

Dear Sales Dude:

I just wanted to get back to you about that proposal you gave me. I just have two teeny things to discuss with you:

1. Please get the s*** out of your mouth.

Haven't you noticed your prospects keep saying "What?" or "Say that again?" When I was in your store I heard four or five people say "Huh?" to you.

The chances of you only have prospects or customers that are hearing impaired is fairly slim, unless you sell hearing aids, which you don't. So the problem must be with you.

Speak clearly. Enunciate one or maybe even two degrees more than you think you need to. Obviously, what you're doing now isn't working so you need to ramp up the clarity of your speech.

And slow down your speaking while you're at it. So you've given the little speech about the benefit of your widget a thousand times, I know, that's great. But I've never heard it before. And if you're words are meant to have meaning, speak them as if you want them to be understood, not as if you want to finish saying them so you can go have lunch.

2. Please get the s*** out of your ears.

You didn't catch my name when I told you? Really? You missed it when I told you I needed a large one? Or that I wanted it to be red but not bright red? Funny, you don't seem to have trouble catching it when I say "I'll take it!" or when you ask for my address or phone number.

Listen to what I have to say. Start with the words. Listen to them. Then listen for the meaning. Like most humans, I communicate not just to hear myself speak, but to ensure that you understand something about me. But you can't do that with s*** in your ears. What's it doing in there, anyway?

I have all kinds of little and big things to say when we're together, so will you please pay attention and listen to them? I'm not just saying things because it's fun to say them. I'm saying things so you can understand me. Get it?

Many thanks. Have a lovely afternoon.

Sincerely,

Your Customer

If you like this post (or don't) please click on "comments" below and share your comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, in the financial, real estate, and insurance markets, and other consumer-selling industries.

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10 Reasons In-Home Sales Calls Don't Succeed

For those who sell in consumers' homes, the in-home sales consultation is the catalyst to either sales greatness or failure. If you master the dynamics of selling in the home, you master your sales career!

Here are 10 reasons why in-the-home sales consultations might not be successful:

1. Not on time.

People are busy, and while prospects will likely cut a sales rep some slack if he's late (it's always best to call the prospect as soon as you know you're going to be late), outright disrespect for a prospect's time doesn't help grow sales.

2. Focus on the product instead of the prospect.

Of course salespeople need to present their product's features and benefits in a positive and interesting way, but that shouldn't be the centerpiece of the sales appointment. Although product and technical expertise is important in all kinds of selling, it's more important to have people expertise. The way to sell successfully is to focus on the prospect and her needs, not just the product that's being sold.

3. Do stupid things.

The salesperson parks in the driveway (a no-no in the eyes of some prospects), or plods across the lawn, he tells the prospect he doesn't like cats, he sets a tape measure on a nice cherry dining table and scratches it, he doesn't take off his shoes and tracks muck into the home, etc. Stupid.

4. Wrong pace.

Some prospects are naturally fast-paced, while others are s-l-o-w. Since people like to be around people who are like themselves, salespeople need to adjust their pace of speaking and the pace of their movement to the natural preferences of their prospects.

5. Not leveraging the location.

The prospect collects Italian pitchers. They're all over the kitchen, dining room, entry, and family room. But the salesperson is too busy playing with his order form, brochures, and PowerPoint presentation to notice, much less say anything about it to the prospect. Really? Yet this bozo told his sales manager during his job interview that he's a "people person." Yes, really.

6. No sit-down chit-chat.

The sales rep is in the home to do business. A great place, probably the best place, to do business is at a table, like a kitchen table or dining table. Yet, thousands of salespeople try to do business while hovering around the broken furnace, or in the unfinished basement, or in the upstairs bathroom, or in the entryway of the home where the security system control pad would go. Why? Because that's where the products they're selling are going to be installed if the prospect buys. Almost all in-home sales interactions can benefit from sitting down together first.

7. Missed opportunities for connection to prospects.

The rep knows some of her prospects own dogs, yet she doesn't t keep a small package of dog treats her our bag to offer one to the furry friends. She knows kids can be a distraction when trying to talk business, yet she doesn't t carry a couple coloring books and crayons in her supplies to keep the lovable kiddos busy while she has a serious talk with the Mom about her needs. She assumes everyone remembers her name, so she doesn't give a business card to the prospect at the beginning of the call. Missed opportunities. 

8. Not spending enough effort on discovering or understanding needs.

The prospect doesn't buy a sunroom to have a sunroom. She buys a sunroom to sit in it on a beautiful morning while enjoying her morning coffee while looking out at their apple trees and chatting to her college-aged son on the phone. If we only spend time telling prospects how great our product is, we miss the opportunity to relate the sunroom to the needs and desires and lifestyle of the prospects, and the things that are truly important in the customer's life.

9. Odors. Bad ones.

Cigarette smoke odor on our clothing, parmesan-chicken-with-garlic-mayo-on-ciabatta odor on our breath, body odor on our bodies, or overly aggressive perfume or cologne on our selves can make a sales interaction go south in a big hurry. These are offensive at any time, but these types of odors are even more troubling when they occur on the prospect's [literal] home turf.

10. No sale.

For many products and services sold in the home, our chances of buttoning up the sale AFTER we leave the home is slim. To maximize the sale, we have to know how to complete the sale while in the home. It's truly a skill, and one that every sales professional who sells in customers' homes must learn.

If you like this post (or don't) please click on "comments" below and share your comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, in the financial, real estate, and insurance markets, and other consumer-selling industries.

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Assumptive Language Helps the Sale Move Forward

 
The real estate agent, after a long discussion of our needs and wants, begins to show us property. My wife and I are getting a tour of a cabin in beautiful northern Minnesota. It's on a smallish lake, with loons and birch trees and some hills, with vintage, quaint cabins from the 1940's.

Sure, the property is fun to see. But what strikes me is the non-assumptive language of the salesperson.

Non-assumptive language might not be appropriate early in a sales conversation, and in certain sales conversations that are more exploratory in nature. But, especially after a salesperson has done a good job of investigating needs and desires, a presentation of a product or service begs for assumptive language.

Assumptive language:

1. Tells your prospect you believe in your product;

2. Tells your prospect you believe in your product for your prospect;

3. Tells your prospect it's okay to take ownership of the product, at least during the sales conversation;

4. Helps move the sales conversation to closure, especially if the prospect is on the fence.

Here are some excerpts from the mouth of the real estate agent, along with my suggestions for assumptive language:

AGENT: "And here is the boat house, where you could have guests stay, at least in the summer."

BETTER: "And here is your boat house, where your nieces and nephew will sleep when they visit during the temperate months in the late spring, summer, and early fall." [The agent found out that one of the main visitors to the cabin will be our nieces and nephew).

- - - - -

AGENT: "The size of the lot would give you plenty of room to add a second garage in the future to store your toys."

BETTER: "The size of the lot will give you plenty of room..."

- - - - -

AGENT: "The property owner's association would be one of the best in the area."

BETTER: "The property owner's association is one of the best in the area."

- - - - -

AGENT: "If you spend much time in the winter..."

BETTER: "When you spend time here in the winter..."

- - - - -

AGENT: "If the dock is too short, you can make it longer."

BETTER: "If your dock is too short, you simply make it longer."

- - - - -

AGENT: "The cabin's fourth bedroom is upstairs..."

BETTER: "Your fourth bedroom is upstairs..."

- - - - -

AGENT: "The current owners could close before Memorial Day so you could take ownership by the summer."

BETTER: "The current owners will close before Memorial Day so you will have the entire summer to enjoy your new lake."

- - - - -

Assumptive language isn't going to make an uninterested party buy something they don't want to buy. But it will give permission to your prospect to mentally take ownership of the product during your sales conversation. And sometimes, that can supply just the tiny bit of buying inertia that can make a sale happen.

* * * * * * * * * *

The nice folks over at Your Business Channel put together a brief video with quotes pulled from some of my writing. See the video at beat the recession.

If you like this post (or don't) please click on "comments" below and share your comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, in the financial, real estate, and insurance markets, and other consumer-selling industries.

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Home Improvement Sales Training: Sales Professional or Pitchman?

Much of conventional wisdom in home improvement sales training centers around "The Demo." This is particularly true when selling windows, doors, sunrooms and the like.

The concept is that you wow your prospect with the quality of your product and walk out the door with a sale. But if this works so well, why does the average salesperson have to discount his price ("drop" in home improvement lingo) one or more times to get the order?

Look, we've got it all wrong. If we spend five minutes getting to know our prospect and twenty minutes performing our demonstration, where is our focus? What's more important here, our window, or our prospect?

I say our prospect is far more important. If we're going to spend twenty minutes doing our demo, then we'd better spend at least twenty minutes getting to know our prospect. It a decision that will determine if you are a sales professional or a pitchman.

- What micro and macro needs does our prospect have?

- Who is the dominant participant, in the case of a couple? Why?

- What prior experiences of the prospect will influence their decision about the purchase of our product?

- What's on the prospect's mind?

- What fears do that have regarding our product or our company or the buying process?

- How will the prospect make a buying decision?

- Why did they call us to their home today and not a year ago? Or a year from now?

- And so on.

But when a sales representative's focus is on the demo, he is:

- Assuming his product meets the needs of his prospect

- Putting his prospect in a role of secondary importance

- Putting the cart before the horse

- Hoping the prospect is interested enough to sign on, rather than finding out up front

Here's my suggestion:

If you sell windows, doors, cabinetry, custom closets, sunrooms, patio rooms, flooring, knives, vacuums, security systems, or anything else in the home, work to engage your prospect in the buying process by focusing on your prospect. Everything else will fall into place more easily if that is your starting point. Otherwise, you could just as well be an infomercial pitchman doing all the talking and none of the listening.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, and the financial, real estate, and insurance markets.

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The Law of Distraction

The so called "Law of Attraction" has been much talked about in the last few years. But my sense is that it's becoming less trendy to talk about lately. Perhaps it's becoming a bit passe (he says, not intending to offend the Law of Attraction fans out there).

If I'm right, then I'd like to propose a new law that we should embrace: The Law of Distraction.

Prospects are distracted. Especially the consumer shoppers that are the focus of my client companies. The default state of most consumer prospects is that of distraction: They're always in a hurry to get somewhere; They have conflicting requests for their time and energy and attention; They have too much to do in too little time; They're concerned about finances and the economy. They can't focus. They are challenged by making decisions and giving sufficient mental energy to those decisions.

How can a B2C salesperson use the Law of Distraction to his advantage?

1. Accept it.

Assume you will have less time with your prospects now than you did a few years ago. Assume they'll be frazzled. Assume they'll be conflicted. Engineer a sales strategy that accepts these realities but yet allows you to deal with them successfully.

2. Engage your prospect.

The enemy of distraction is customer engagement. Create new ways to engage your customers. Use surveys, polls, videos, displays (retail), and most of all, improved questioning skills. Get them involved in the buying process more effectively than ever before.

3. Buy time.

If you sell in a retail venue, find ways to keep your prospects in the stores. Promotions, kids play areas, novelties, entertainment, refreshments, and anything that will keep distracted prospects in your store longer might be a plus. If you sell on the phone, offer an incentive for talking with you. If you sell in customers' homes, create an incentive for listening to your entire presentation.

4. Simplify the buying process.

Get out your paring knife and see what can be discarded that's currently a part of your selling process. Keep only the elements that help you sell. Say 20% fewer words (contrary to what some believe, fewer words are often more engaging than more words). Skip the hollow verbiage, the wasted words, the trite salesisms.

5. Get back to sales basics.

There are no magic wands in selling, but there are magical sales skills that work time and time again. Brush up on all the elements of selling because great sales skills work even for distracted customers.

6. Be less distracted.

The more distracted your prospects, the less distracted you must be if you want to overcome the law of distraction.

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, and the financial, real estate, and insurance markets.

What Selling Is About: A Review of an Actual Sales Call

Someone (I'll call him Steve) stopped by yesterday to try to sell me some knives. I let him give me his presentation at the kitchen table. He was energetic, positive in his demeanor, and he asked for the order. Those are all very good things.

But Steve could have improved his salesmanship in a number of ways. The biggest was this:

Steve came in and got out his knives and his 3-ring binder and started telling me about the manufacturer of his knives. It wasn't offensive. It wasn't overbearing. It was mildly informative. But it didn't influence me, the prospect, to nearly the level it could have. What was missing? 

ENGAGEMENT!

Here are my suggestions for how Steve could make his sales meetings even more effective when selling in his customers' homes: 

1. While Steve was getting his knives, note pad, order form and pens ready, he could talk to me as a fellow human being. A little chit-chat, some friendly banter, goes a long way to put a prospect at ease. Steve could have asked about the dog, or the pile of rocks in our back yard.   

2. After Steve had everything ready, he should have engaged me in conversation and not been so quick to tell me about his company and his knives. Here is the type of conversation that I think it's important for in-home salespeople to have with their prospects so their sales appointments don't end up being infomercials:  

Salesperson: So who does the cooking in your house?

Prospect: My wife does.

Salesperson: What's your wife's name?"

Prospect: Leona

Salesperson: What are some of the dishes Leona prepares that are your favorites?

Customer: Italian Beef Roast, Stuffed Peppers, Chicken and Dumplings, and Marinated Pork Chops with Wine Sauce.

Salesperson: Wow! I'm impressed! She sounds like quite the cook. And how about you? Do you do any of the cooking? 

Customer: Yeah, once or twice a week, but I cook the more simple things like burgers or pasta. One thing I make, though, is the best cheesecake in Oklahoma! 

Salesperson: I love cheesecake! What's your secret to making it "the best?"

Customer: I put a little lemon peel in it, but there's also a little bit of lemon liquor in it too. Not so much that you can really taste it, but just a little bit so it enhances the flavor. It's like a secret ingredient because nobody can really tell it's there, but everybody compliments me on it. People really love it! 

Salesperson: Well good for you! That sounds delicious! What I have to show you today will change your experience cooking, and I know it will make life so much more simple for Leona. [presentation continues].

Later, when Steve is presenting his knives, he can refer back to the Italian beef roast, the cheesecake, and the other dishes. He can call the prospect's wife by name. He can customize the sales presentation to the particulars of the prospect, rather than merely reciting a memorized script about each knife.

Steve can now use tie-downs during his presentation. Let's say Steve is presenting a slicing knife. Steve can present the features and benefits, but then can ask, "Do you think you and Leona would find this knife with it's chroma-cut edge useful when serving her famous Italian beef roast?" 

Steve did a good job during his sales interaction with me. But he could have done a great job. 

Selling is not so much about you, your product, or your company. It's more about your prospect. We can't make it about our prospect unless we strive to understand him, his needs, and the particulars of his situation. If you want to sell more, engage your prospects more.  

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Skip Anderson is the Founder of Selling to Consumers Sales Training, a B2C and retail sales training and management consulting company. Skip is mad about helping companies and individuals sell more. 

What Your Customers Want To Buy

Overheard statement from customer to salesperson:

"I don't want to buy something that you think is worth it,
I want to buy something I think is worth it."

This statement was made by a prospective customer of one of my client companies to a salesperson for that company. It was during a home improvement sales call in the customer's home, but this statement applies to sales of all kinds of products and services and customers in all industries.

How brilliant it was that this customer summarized so well one of the tenets of selling.

Customers don't care what we think unless it's congruent with what they think. Our words lose their value if we try to sell something to the customer that he doesn't want. If we want prospects to value our words, we have to work tirelessly to make sure all our words have value. Please: no more wasted words.

Yet I see this frequently: salespeople pushing a particular product or model or option because they want to sell it. Maybe it's because they like the product; or they get a spiff from the manufacturer for selling it; or their manager told them to push the item this week.

Pushing (aggressiveness) shouldn't have a place in selling. Customers resist pushing salespeople today more than ever.

But I'm a big proponent of assertive selling.  Go ahead and present your premium option to your client, but if they aren't interested, let it go. Go ahead and show your customer the product you think is best for them, but if they aren't buying it, figure out what you're missing, regroup, and have another go at it with the right product this time. So you get a spiff for selling the maintenance plan? Great! Present it convincingly and ask for the order, but that's different than pushing it.

You'll have a much more successful sales career if you sell your customers what it is they want to buy. Find out what that is and then give it to them.

Your customers want to buy what they want to buy. They don't want to buy what you're selling, unless what you're selling happens to match what they want to buy. Sell accordingly.

If you like this post (or don't!), please consider leaving a comment, or subscribe to our free sales tips newsletter.

Skip Anderson is the Founder of Selling to Consumers Sales Training, a B2C and retail sales training and management consulting company. Skip is nuts about helping companies and individuals sell more. 

Connect The Dots for Your Customers

"Connecting the dots" for your prospects helps them to move comfortably through the sales process. When you connect the dots, you show the relationship between various bits of information that collectively play a role in the prospect's buying decision process.

Selling is all about creating sales momentum, which is building inertia throughout the selling process that provides the motivation to keep moving forward to a closed transaction. But sales momentum is difficult to develop when the dots aren't connected.

But there's another benefit to connecting the dots for your customers. Connecting the dots prevents vital bits of information from being ignored or covered up by bigger bits. When dots are connected, everything falls into place. No dots are bypassed, and everything is kept in proper perspective.

For example, if you're selling a riding lawnmower,and you end up talking about one feature of the machine at length, that one feature can overpower your presentation and prevent you from talking about other "dots" that are important to your prospect.

When you connect the dots for your customer, you're providing a great service. You're not only presenting valuable information, you're taking the prospect's hand and leading them on a path of discovering how your product or service will meet the specific needs of your prospect. When random bits of information are presented (rather than connected bits of information), you run the risk of losing your prospect or leaving gaps that can kill your sales opportunity.

Connect the dots for your prospects and sell more.

If you like this post (or don't!), please consider leaving a comment, or subscribe to our free sales tips newsletter.

Skip Anderson is the Founder of Selling to Consumers Sales Training, a B2C and retail sales training and management consulting company. Skip is nuts about helping companies and individuals sell more. 

For Best Results, Wash Inside Out

I recently bought a nice Woolrich flannel shirt. It's a wonderful shirt. I  like it a lot.

The care label in the shirt says:

"...For best results wash inside out."

It's hard for me to understand what difference washing a shirt inside-out or outside-in would make. I'm picturing a XXL flannel shirt whomping around in our clothes washer. Whether it's inside-out or outside-in, water and laundry soap are still touching the fabric, right? About the same amount of water is touching the fabric in either case, right? (The exception might be the arms of the shirt which, if inside out, would have less laundry water touching the exterior of the shirt which are now inside). And both the inside and outside of the shirt would touch other clothes regardless if the shirt is inside-out or outside-in, right?

So I, as the consumer, am left with this question lingering in my mind:

"Why?"

This reminds me of the importance of anticipating questions when selling. Whenever your customer has a lingering question of "why," you must answer it quickly. This is especially important when the customer is still a prospect. Anticipate your prospects' "why questions" and answer them before they have to ask them. "Why questions" can kill sales momentum, and forcing a client to verbalize these questions is somewhat risky since some prospects will choose not to verbalize them.

Top salespeople answer questions before they are even formed in the mind of the prospects. Anticipate the whys of your product, your company, and your order fulfillment procedures, and communicate them clearly to your prospect during your presentation. Take the lead in paving the path of understanding for your prospect.

I appreciate your comments. Just click "comments" below and share your thoughts with me and this blog community.

Skip Anderson is a professional speaker, sales coach, and the Founder of Selling to Consumers Sales Training, a B2C and retail sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to our free sales tips newsletter.

An Irritating Salesperson

In successful selling, we use our voices, our facial expressions, and our body language to help achieve our goals of customer engagement and a closed sales transaction.

The human voice is a beautiful thing...sometimes. A pleasing, impactful, effective voice can be a big asset in selling. Pitch, speed, volume, enunciation, and inflection all play a role in determining the quality and effectiveness of a speaking voice. If you don't know how you sound during a sales call, record it, and you may find your voice needs some work.

One thing I can't stand, though, is a shouting, irritating sales person:

That's Billy Mays, of course, apparently a very successful TV pitchman (in spite of his constant shouting). For some reason, this voice apparently makes customers open their wallets immediately. I don't understand this, though. His voice drives me crazy.

My advice: steer clear of constant shouting whether you're selling on TV, on the phone, or face-to-face.

[Thanks to Patrick Byers for calling attention to this New York Times article about Billy Mays.]

 

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Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company specializing in sales training in retail, in-home selling, and services. Subscribe to the free Sales Tips newsletter.

Eye Contact in Selling

I've been studying the role of eye contact in human interaction, and in particular, in selling. When communicating with another human being, eye contact can help shape and define the perceptions of the participants, and help determine the outcome of the interaction.

When another individual is communicating with us, but he won't look at us directly in our eyes, we sense that the speaker is distancing himself from what he is saying. Therefore, it's important for salespeople to use eye contact to help establish rapport with customers and also further the sales process. Direct eye contact can also be a sign of aggressiveness, so when to use and when not to use direct eye contact is an important consideration in selling.

I think direct eye contact is beneficial during the following:

1. When establishing rapport. Direct eye contact, along with proper facial expression, can help establish trust and comfort early in an interaction.

2. When doing a presentation. When you're presenting your product or service, direct eye contact is important not only to help your ideas transfer to the prospect's thinking, but also so you can judge the prospect's reaction to what you're saying.

3. When closing. You've got to believe your product or service is appropriate for the customer, your eyes are the window to your soul! This is not the time for eye-shyness!

One last thought: I bought a new laptop a couple weeks ago. The salesperson did a good job with me, but when he got to presenting his maintenance plan, his eyes focused nervously on the brochure, not on me. My recommendation? Forget about the brochure, look the prospect directly in the eye, and explain the benefit of the program, then ask for the sale.

Here's an interesting post on eye contact.

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Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company specializing in sales training in retail, in-home selling, and services. Subscribe to the free Sales Tips newsletter.

Anticipating Objections: A Good Strategy for Presidential Candidates and a Good Strategy for Salespeople

I watched Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last night, being a bit of a politics junkie. Whether you admire or despise Obama, I think you'd have to agree that he skilfully utilized a concept of effective sales presentations: anticipate objections and address them directly during your presentation.

The "presentation" phase of the selling process is the time for the salesperson to "be on stage" and to be the center of attention, unlike the "Warm up" and the "Needs and Desires Investigation." The presentation is when the salesperson has the opportunity draw a direct connection between his product's benefits and the specific needs and desires of the prospect.

If you can anticipate your prospect's objections, it's an excellent sales strategy to preemptively address them during the presentation rather than wait until you hear the objection from the prospect's mouth after you've asked the prospect to buy. The advantage of being proactive is that some of the energy of the objection is decreased simply by being the one to address it first. In our sales training, we teach strategies for proactive handling of objections.

Senator Obama utilized this technique in his speech last night (transcript here). He attempted to address the following "objections" in his speech in an effort to disarm his critics:

- Potential Objection... "Obama is merely a celebrity rock star, not a viable presidential candidate":

"Now, I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped my life. And it is on behalf of them that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States."

- Potential Objection... "Obama's pro-choice stance scares me":

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country."

- Potential Objection... "Obama is against gun rights and he might take away my guns":

"The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals."

We don't know if Obama succeeded in silencing any of the objections that segments of the electorate may be having about his candidacy; but it's clear that he handled potential arguments against his candidacy in a direct and compelling manner, which is exactly how sales professionals should handle their prospects' objections. I predict that some of the negative energy that has surrounded Senator Obama's stance on gun rights, abortion rights, and being "merely a celebrity" (a la Britney Spears) will have been silenced somewhat because of how he addressed these issues.

Silencing an objection during a sales call is a good thing, too.

Flickr photo by shirishbendre.

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Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Speech in Selling...How's Yours?

Via Jill Konrath comes Anne Miller to my attention, a speaker for the 2009 Sales Shebang (Jill's sales conference for women). Anne is the author of Metaphorically Selling.  She's got some great thoughts on how our speech can project a professional image.

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Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Dome Man?

On most days, I have my assistant read my blog posts before I post them, to make sure there aren't any typos or incorrect spellings. But I still post errors in my blog. A friend found three of them last week and kindly let me know. That's not good, and I need to do better.

Recently, a salesperson pitched his product to me. It included printed material that had tons of spelling errors. Nobody should ever do that.

Karl Goldfield wrote a post about a similar topic yesterday over at sales training.

Having a second pair of eyes (or third or fourth) is valuable before something goes public.

A friend of mine has a cabin in northern Minnesota. It's a dome home. So, he thought it would be clever to have this email address: DomeMan@[whatever].com. But when he started using it, the uppercase letters weren't there, so it looked like this: domeman. And what some people saw was actually: 

DoMeMan.

When applying for a job, the email address on your resume should not be: DoMeMan@[whatever].com. It also should not be PartyGirlTampa or BigStud4u or LickaLuva.

My friend could have used that second pair of eyes.

And be careful what you put on MySpace and Facebook and YouTube and every other site on the internet. What seemed cool when you were 20 won't seem quite so cool when you're 30 and trying to get a promotion to Regional Manager. And what will you say to your kids fifteen years from now when they find that photo of you on the internet half naked on spring break with seven people you don't know licking your thighs?

I've made more than my fair share of errors in judgment.

Sales is a very public profession. Be careful about what you hold out to the rest of the world about who you are, and make sure it is congruous with your brand, your image, and your business goals.

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

A Sales Script Gone Bad

I'm a big believer in using sales scripts. I recently interviewed both Tom Hopkins and Jerry Bresser (two sales trainers who believe in the power of the use of correct sales language), for the SalesPractice podcast. Both talked about the importance of selecting the right words to get the sales results you want. A script is a great way to do that.

B2B sales expert Jill Konrath believes in using the right words, too...even thought they got the best of her this one time. You've got to read (and listen to) her sales faux pax. Talk about intensity! Thanks for the story, Jill.

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Don't Ask Them...Show Them!

The waitress asked, "Do you want to see the dessert tray?"

My wife and I looked at each other, then made some facial expressions to each other, and then turned to the waitress and said "no." No dessert for the Andersons tonight. And no dessert revenue (at least from the Andersons) for the restaurant (or dessert commission for the waitress) tonight either.

But the Anderson's probably would have purchased at least one dessert last night had the waitress brought the dessert tray to us and presented it to us. We're both dessert people, and it's not unusual that our desire to eat healthy and lose pounds is overruled by the enticing look and the inviting scent of a well-conceived dessert tray.

Regardless of what you sell, what plays the role of the "dessert tray" in your business? What revenue are you missing out on because you're not showing the tray to your customers?

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Same Product - Different Needs

I was the Director for an art gallery a long time ago. Among other things, the gallery sold art pieces that held candles.

To our Jewish customers, these products were menorahs. To our non-Jewish customers, these products were candlestick holders. These were the same physical products, but they met multiple needs for different customers (just about all products have the capacity to do this).

Customers always buy to satisfy their needs. And the same product/service can meet multiple needs for multiple clients.

Understanding customers' specific and unique needs is a key skill of successful salespeople. If you don't understand specific and unique needs, how will you know how to present your product to different prospects so each will comprehend that your product meets their needs?

How do your products and services satisfy different needs of your different customers?

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

To Be Perfectly . . . . . STUPID!

So I'm chatting with a salesperson for twenty-two minutes. I'm the customer. He's the salesperson.

Then, he says this:

"To be perfectly honest with you, I think you should [insert salesperson's nine-word recommendation here]."

The two of us talked for 22 minutes, yet he was being perfectly honest for only 9 words? The other 2000 words (or so) that he spoke to me were not "perfectly honest?"

What a silly thing to say to a customer! He could have just as well preceded all his other words with, "To be perfectly DISHONEST with you..."

Sometimes stupid phrases seep into our personal language, and "to be perfectly honest with you" is one of those. Banish it from your verbal quiver! It's use simply calls into question the honesty of everything else you've muttered to your customer.

Honestly!

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Positive Energy

Positive energy is vital when selling to consumers. There are two ways positive energy can effect your customer interactions:

1. The positive energy you bring to the table.

This is the energy that engages your prospects, keeps the selling process moving forward, and helps to entertain or inform your prospect. Your attitude, facial expressions, tone of voice, and mannerisms all reflect the level of positive energy of your presentation.

2. The positive energy of your prospect.

Part of your job as a salesperson is to generate positive energy within your prospect. If your prospect seems drab, dull, and disinterested, you'd better step in to generate some positive energy within your prospect or your interaction is probably going nowhere.

How does positive energy effect your customer interactions? What challenges do you have with the creation of positive energy?

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Selling Upholstered Furniture: 5 Tips for Successful Presentations

Your prospect has identified, with or without your help, a sofa (or chair) on your showroom floor that she likes. When it's time to give your presentation, consider implementing these strategies:

1. You should have already determined if your prospect is more interested in (a) comfort, or (b) visual appeal. If she's more interested in comfort, give your presentation of the sofa with the prospect(s) seated in the sofa. If she's more interested in visual appeal, seat them across from the sofa (so they're facing the sofa) for your presentation so the prospect can look at it during your presentation.

2. The frame of the sofa is hidden from view, but the quality of the sofa is largely determined by the quality of the frame. Assuming the piece you're showing has a high quality frame, show it by (a) pounding your fist against the arm of the sofa (invite the prospect to do it, too), and (b) lift up the sofa from the bottom of the frame by one of the front legs. If the frame is of high quality, when you lift the left leg up a few inches, the right leg will lift off the floor by the same number of inches (if the other end sags below the end you're lifting, the frame isn't of very high quality, and you best focus on other features of the product).
3. Cushions (seat and back) are also hidden from view of your prospect, so unzip them and show them to your prospect. Remember, features are just facts about your product, but benefits are why the prospect should care. Never present a feature without one or more related benefits!

4. If your prospect is visually-oriented, walk them to the side of the sofa and ask them to look at the lines of the sofa from this perspective. Also walk them to the back of the sofa and ask them to look at the sofa from this angle. Visual people love to be visually titillated. How many furniture salespeople do you know that will ask the prospect look at a sofa from the back or the side? Differentiate yourself! Titillate your prospects!

5. If your prospect is comfort-oriented, ask them to sit on (and lie on) the sofa in whatever positions they're likely to use at home. Get them to lie on their stomach, or their side, or prop their feet up on the cocktail table, or tuck their legs underneath their buttocks, or however they sit/lie at home. Prospects tend to be polite and prim and proper in the showroom, but they don't use their sofa at home in such a prim and proper way. It's up to you to get them to loosen up (you should start the festivities by sprawling out on the sofa yourself to show your prospect what you want them to do). Get the prospect comfortable!

What sales tips do you have for selling upholstered furniture?

Please share your comments by clicking on "comments" below.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

A Just Disease

There's a disease out there among our salespeople. It's "just" disease.

When presenting a product or service, many salespeople use the word "just" as a qualifier. Here are examples of what I mean:

▪ The carpet salesperson says "So you're going to do just the berber in the family room, correct?"

▪ The closet salesperson says, "Here's a double hanging section, and next to it is a section of just shelves..."

▪ The car salesperson says "this particular car has just the fabric upholstery."

"Just" is a terrible sales word. Not only does it not have any sales power, it has negative sales power. Do customers really want to spend their hard-earned money on "just" berber, or "just" shelves, or "just" fabric upholstery? No!

This language is demeaning to the customer, and its use sheds a negative light on the product you're trying to sell. Just because the customer isn't buying top-of-the-line wool carpet, or a closet shelf stack with drawers, or leather upholstery, doesn't mean that we should somehow classify berber or shelves or fabric upholstery as product of less desirability. But the use of the word "just" does just that.

I'd much rather hear these statements:

▪ "So you're going to do the durable berber in the family room, correct? That's a wise choice. Down the road, you're going to be glad you made that decision." [See how this validates and customer's choice?]

▪ "Here's a double hanging section. And next to it is a section of shelves that are exactly the proper size to hold your stacks of folded clothes. I measured your stacks, and they're about 14 inches wide, so with this 28 inch shelf unit, you'll be able to comfortably fit two stacks of folded clothes side by side. It will be perfect!" [See how this approach explains the benefit of the shelves?]

▪ "This particular car has a new fabric which has the durability of vinyl, but it has the feel of cloth. Just feel it, and you'll see how soft and comfortable it is. Because it wears like vinyl, you can use it worry-free for years and years. You'll love it!" [See how this celebrates the product?]

My advice: Stop using the word JUST as a qualifier when talking about your product or service.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Smiles Don't Just Belong On Your Face

I listened to a speech this weekend. The speaker had a smile in his voice. A smiling voice exudes optimism, acceptance, willingness, eagerness, happiness, confidence, and contentment.

This is a great trait for salespeople to have. Having a voice that sounds like it's smiling has an terrifically positive effect on the audience, whether the audience is thousands of people or one person.

Don't just have a smile on your face; have one in your voice, too.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Improving Your Presentations: Do You Know Where to Start?

If we were to focus just on your presentation skills for a moment, and I asked you what you need to improve, would you know what to tell me?

Would it be the speed of your speech delivery? Or the volume? Do you have any funny quirks in your speech? (One of mine is that I say "great" all the time). How about funny quirks in your body when you present your product or service? Do you umm and ahh? Is your speech clear and understandable? How is your eye contact when you're talking to a prospect? Do you ever finish your prospects' sentences for them? Do you respond appropriately to prospect's questions and objections? What does your body language say about you?

If you're like a lot of salespeople, you don't have a clue. The reason is that you're focused on your prospect when you're in the midst of a presentation, not on your presentation.

That's normal, but it's also not a very good prescription for improving your presentation skills. You probably need to do something that will help you focus on your presentation so you can accurately identify your presentation strengths and weaknesses.

I suggest audio recording, or better yet video recording, several of your presentations (in front of real prospects, if possible). If you've never done this, you may be surprised about what you hear and see. An individual has to be looking for areas for self-improvement to see opportunities for self-improvement.

This video might illustrate the importance of actively looking for something.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips Newsletter.

Wasted Words

Trite sayings during a sales interaction are boring and ineffective. Statements like, "our company is very service-oriented" or "we'll take good care of you," or "this is one of our best sellers" are all wasted words. Prospects tune out wasted words, and they have no positive impact on the sales interaction whatsoever.

Consumers hear trite phrases all the time, and they've learned to mistrust wasted words when they hear them. Although a salesperson using trite language is attempting to establish trust or rapport with his prospect by using them, they end up having the opposite effect. They either don't register in the prospect's realm of thought, or they register negatively.

Wasted words should be replaced with interesting and meaningful words and phrases that help develop rich dialogue with the prospect or have a positive impact on them. Great salespeople are good at cutting through the clutter in the prospect's environment: messages from other salespeople, advertising, and the hurried pace of contemporary life. One way they accomplish this is with effective choice of verbiage.

I suggest audio taping your next three sales interactions. When you're done listening to them, make a list of all the wasted words or phrases you used. Phrases such as "to be honest with you" or "if you have any questions just give me a call" count as wasted words.

Words matter. Words mean things. Choose your words wisely.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com

 

Feel the Softness

I made a quick stop yesterday at a retail store to do some quick clothes shopping. I walked by a wall display of casual shirts (the front of the shirts were facing so shoppers like me could see the fronts of the shirts). The shirts looked uninteresting and boring and was just about to walk by them.

But then, I noticed an oval sticker on the front of most of the shirts. The sticker had these words: "Feel the Softness"

So I walked up to one of the shirts and twisted the fabric between my fingers.

It was soft! It was really soft. I'd even say it was...well...super-soft. The color and design of the shirt were nondescript, but the softness of this shirt was definitely super-soft.

I picked one of these super-soft shirts out and added it to my stack of clothes to purchase. It's now hanging in my closet with my all my other soft and non-soft shirts.

Why did I decide to purchase this shirt? Because I felt it with my hand and found it to be pleasantly soft - so much so, in fact, that I could imagine that such a super-soft shirt would feel very pleasant when actually worn on my body.

Whether you sell your products in a retail setting or not, your prospects want to use their sense of touch when they shop. If you can find a way to ignite your prospect's interest in your product (not just shirts, but also lawn mowers, kitchen cabinets, SUVs, fragrances and a bevy of other products) by activating their sense of touch, they'll be more likely to purchase your product.

I can't wait to get home and slip on my new super-soft shirt so I can feel the softness again!

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com

 

 

Start Naming Names

Fashion designer Pierre Cardin once said, "My name is more important than myself."

Calling an individual by name can have an almost magical effect on that person. Back in fourth grade, I noticed my teacher used a discipline technique that seemed to recognize this fact.

There were a number of challenging students in my fourth grade class. I noticed that when a student wasn't following her directions, she would repeat the directions, but this time would start the directions by saying the student's first name. For example, she would say, "Randy, please sit down in your chair and open up your math book" if Randy hadn't followed the teacher's instructions the first time and was instead poking the cute girl who sat in the back of the room with a paintbrush.

As a parent, I have relied upon this technique.

Hyatt Hotels found that their customers are 87% more likely to rate their stay as having been "excellent" if the front desk clerk had called the customer by name three times before the customer was given his room key.

People love to hear others say their name. Using your prospect's name several times during a sales interaction can help increase the prospect's engagement with you.

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com

 

 

Listen and Learn

When you're face to face with a client, how do you sound? Do you say the right things or the wrong things? How do you come across?

You may have an idea of how you sound, but I'll bet that it's not very accurate. The only way to have an accurate idea of how you really sound during a real, live sales interaction is to record yourself and listen to it. I can promise you that you'll learn more than you ever imagined. A small digital recorder works splendidly for this purpose. 

Legalities about recording live conversations varies depending upon the state in which you live, so if you have any doubts, check into it before you do it. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has a handy website that might shed some light on this issue. Their website is www.rcfp.org/taping.

Listen and Learn!

Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com