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The Seven Sins that Kill the Sale by: Thomas W. McKee
There really are seven deadly sins that keep most sales people from success. Every successful salesperson finds a way to avoid the following seven habits:
This habit is an easy one for salespeople to fall into because talking is their business. But talking on and on and on can ruin a good sale. Salespeople who practice the 80/20 rule - listen 80% and talk 20% are more successful.
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If the salesperson is only going to spend 20% of the time presenting, the presentation had better be focused and to the point. Learning how to sound-bite the sales presentation is a powerful tool in focusing your point. When I was selling AT&T long-distance services, I found out that I was going to lose one of my largest accounts to another provider. The other provider had promised a significant savings to their monthly long-distance bill if they would switch. I was in a bind. If I matched their offer, which I really couldn't do anyway, they would wonder why I hadn't done so sooner. If I did not, I would lose the sale. I used the sound-bite to make my point and keep the sale.
I set up a meeting with the decision makers based on the fact that I had serviced the account and wanted the chance to make a 15-minute presentation on what I could do for them if they did not switch. After conducting the necessary research, I discovered that my competition had a fantastic intra-state long-distance rate, several pennies a minute less than ours, but only 20% of my client's long-distance calls were intra-state. Most of their calls were inter-state and international. So my presentation was focused with the following sound bite:
"If you switch, it will cost you far more than the few pennies you will save on California calls."
That statement, not only drove home my point, but it kept me on focus. I repeated it at the beginning of my presentation, before and after each of my three examples, and at the conclusion. Not only did they remember the point, but I kept the contract.
Failure to use words to create visual pictures in the mind can kill a sales presentation. The salesperson's job is to show clients their need and help them see that the sales person has the solution. One of the most powerful ways to create a word picture is the story. The story creates the experience for the listener. The story creates the picture for the listener. The story creates the "I remember when . . ." for the listener. Most people will forget the point, but remember the story.
However, if you combine the sound bite and the story in your presentation you have a winner. I love to tell the story of the dentist next year after our communication training for her staff, her production jumped $100,000 in twelve months. That story combined with the following sound bite is a winner and often brings me business: "The dental staff that can clearly communicate a technical treatment plan to a the patient, will contribute dramatically to a growing and profitable practice."
"Closure avoidance" is a disease that is driven by fear of rejection. Many a healthy sales is left to die on the operating table because the salesperson has caught this sales killer. Without asking the closing question, the salesperson has just had a nice conversation with no result. A closure technique I often use is the questions "If we can work out the______________ (whatever their objection was - financing, time schedule, delivery, etc.), would you move ahead with this training program? I want to hear what they are thinking. Objections don't bother me because when we don't get any objections we know they are just shopping and not really interested. But when I hear an objection such as, "Well, Tom, I have some other concerns . . . ", I know what they are thinking and I am in a position to negotiate a deal. A "yes," however, tells me that I have only one area to negotiate.
A sales presentation should be carefully prepared and practiced. Uncertainty, confusion and a lack of confidence in the product come from lack of adequate preparation. The Jerry Rice's and Michael Jordan's never just wing it when they play ball. They are focused and are known for their game preparation. The best preparation is not just about our product; but it includes the customer. The more we can find out about their success, problems, and concerns, the more we can put ourselves in a position to meet their needs with our services and products.
The mistake here is aiming at getting immediate one-time customers over gaining long-term clients. The salesperson goes for the behavior--get the sale, rather than developing clients who are committed to the value of the product or service. When customers become believers, they are less likely to switch. The salesperson who learns this technique of turning customers into believers is sitting on a gold mine.
The time for a salesperson to sell is not when they are ready to sell, but knowing when the buyer is ready to buy. The focus of this sales technique is "nurture marketing". It is a change of focus from product driven sales to customer-driven sales. When I am selling my training and development services, I discover that most prospects do not feel the need when I feel the need. I am working on a monthly goal. My prospect is not. Therefore, much of my marketing is the continual "relationship" building with clients and potential customers. My goal is to get the customer to call me when they feel their need and my name is the first they think of.
The mistake is in assuming that a person's listening is the same as their active interest. Turning attention to interest is a key to the sales presentation. But in order to make that switch in the prospects listening frame, the salesperson must know how to answer the listener's question, "What's in it for me?" That is a very different question than the attention question, "Why should I listen to you?" Effective sales presentations follow the five questions of the motivated sequence.
Attention question: Why should I listen to you?
Answer these questions correctly, and the salesperson will have the listener's attention and interest--and most likely the sale.
Each spring my wife plants her vegetable garden. What I have discovered as I've watched her work her garden, is that she cannot leave it alone. Each spring, she has to pull the rocks out that for some reason have grown in the raised beds during the winter. I don't know how or why those rocks grow in an empty garden, but they do. Then throughout the summer she has to keep weeding. The natural bent of the garden is to the wild.
Just as the natural bent of the garden, so the natural tendency of the sales person is to the wild. I discover that in the course of the month, I can become tempted to fall into any of the seven traps. I can lose very significant sales because I am not working on my sales skills. Instead I . . .
To avoid these temptations, we have to be
disciplined and practice self control, just like
in life. My minister tells me that I need to be in
church each week because in my busy life I
can forget the motivational principles I need to
live a disciplined life. And I have discovered
that he is right. The same is true in my sales
profession. I need to be reminded of these
principles or I can get sucked into the
temptations that kill my sales career.
Let us help you train your sales teams to be
self-disciplined, well coached teams that are
highly productive. We can meet regularly with
your teams for monthly motivational, practical
sessions. On many of the topics listed on the
next few pages. We are used regularly for
special meetings such as "thanks for the great
job," or "let's get a jump start on the quarter."
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Seminars are great – it's our business; however, private coaching is the most cost effective and productive way to learn and practice correctly what you learn. We will work with you to observe, teach and coach your staff to be leaders who can manage change because of strong leadership skills.
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Get everybody together for an hour that will remind them to believe in themselves. It's a great reward for a job well done (and a powerful motivator for a job about to be done). The following are successful motivational sessions:
The Firehouse Syndrome: Effective vs. Efficient Management
Just When I Learned to Speak, Everyone Stopped Listening! -- Speaking to the "Sound Bite" Generation
How to Make the Team Work: The Power of Synergy
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