The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Quote for the Month
“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.”
Groucho Marx
That funnyman Groucho always had a way of making such insightful observations and saying them in such a comedic way. In selling, I'm sure you've had many successful sales calls. You've known which "perfectly wonderful" sales calls you've had. How about the ones that weren't? Were you aware of why they were not perfectly wonderful? Perhaps you were calling on the wrong type of customer. Maybe it was the preparation or the questions you asked. Less successful sales calls happen to everyone. It's making sure that the reasons they are less successful happen only once. It's ok to make mistakes. Just make sure you're making different ones so that you do make more successful calls rather than the less successful ones.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas, Austin and Houston Business Journals. My column is called “Customer Connections.” I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com
The Selling
Ideas for this Month
Mucho Gusto en Conocerte!
If you
speak English when you sell, this title may be difficult to understand. You may also find it difficult to sell to the Hispanic market. The
Hispanic market is the largest of the minority groups in America and is
also the fastest growing. Here's what you need to know so you can be
more successful selling to this lucrative market.
What about
time? Carlos Sanchez is the president of the Cross-Cultural Institute
(www.cc-institute.com). His company works with organizations that want to
capitalize on the trillion dollar opportunity offered by minority
customers. He finds that there are many behaviors common to first and
second generation Spanish speakers that confound non-Hispanic sellers. Sanchez says, "Many recent immigrants maintain their traditions and
thinking in the US and that makes them different. Even those who are here
longer can demonstrate traditional behaviors." He advises salespeople
to gauge their customer's language skills. They will be more like
Anglos when they have better language skills. He says that many Hispanics
view time differently than non-Hispanics do and their view is based on how
they feel. A salesperson could have an appointment for 10AM and when the
salesperson arrives he is kept waiting. Why? Because they may not feel like
meeting with you just yet. "It's not being rude," says
Sanchez, "It's just a cultural thing." Just don't think
of showing up late. Sanchez adds, "It's a sign of respect to show
up on time and wait."
Get to know me. Sanchez
says that Anglos are time focused and want to get down to the business of
features and benefits in order to allow customers to decide. Hispanics
decide whether to do business with you differently. What differentiates
the salesperson in their mind is how they feel about you. The Hispanic
decision maker needs to create a relationship with you. Salespeople need
to make time for this. If Hispanics ask about you and your family, share
this information with them. Sanchez says, "Some salespeople think
they're wasting time doing this. Then they don't get the business
because they didn't spend the time to establish trust and
rapport." Once you get in to see the Hispanic decision maker,
don't be surprised if there are other people in the room who are not
involved in the decision making process. The decision maker may just be
comfortable with having others around. Sanchez once had to make a sales
call while another salesman remained in the office. Don't focus on
just cost savings as you sell. Hispanics' buying decisions may be more
focused on protecting the family or a group.
As they get to
know you be respectful of their less direct communication style. Anglos
are frank and forward. Hispanics are less direct. When conducting a needs
analysis, ask, "Is it OK if I ask you a couple of questions?" If
you identify a problem, you can't say "This is your problem."
That might be insulting to a Hispanic. Asking questions about the problem
would be less direct and more appropriate. Sanchez says a great way to get
to know Hispanics is with food. He says, "If you're selling you
should enter through the stomach, the heart and then the mind." You
could take a group to lunch. Hispanics find it comfortable to be with
groups of people.
Keep it formal. The Hispanic culture
is a formal one. This includes formality in etiquette and dress. Sanchez
advises never to address Hispanic customers by their first name unless they
ask you to. Casual dress is also inappropriate. Sanchez advises
salespeople to be perceived as an authority. Hispanics make that
determination visually based on what you wear. He says, "Dress like
the people they look to for advice." Sanchez wears a suit even at
companies with casual dress. He pays special attention to rules of
etiquette. When the executive enters, he stands up. He shakes hands with
the eldest person first. Gender issues also arise. He is less likely to
shake a Hispanic woman's hand unless she offers it first, but will
acknowledge her presence with a nod.
Sanchez says that
minorities are very aware of their ethnicity and culture. Your behavior
towards them is probably magnified from their perspective. So when you
sell to Hispanics slow it down, be more formal and dine with them. Then
your selling will have a better chance of success. Buena suerte!
Action Items
1. Are you allowing more time in your sales calls so that you can get to know your Hispanic prospects and they can get to know you?
2. Are you adapting your questioning strategy to be less direct for your Hispanic prospects? (Simply asking more questions is an indirect strategy.)
Selling Tips
Get more selling tips from Maura’s ebook: 97 Ways to Sell More Now E-Book
https://www.bestatselling.com/e-books.html
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Looking for new strategies to improve your persuasion skills? This easy to apply Audio CD will give you many new ideas to easily improve your persuasion skills so you can sell more and close business faster.
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I'm always looking for success stories and other tips from sales professionals. Please feel free to email me at info@bestatselling.com with ideas that have worked for you.
If you want to build customer relationships for long-term business, you can easily do it using Exacttarget (www.exacttarget.com) and their CANSPAM compliant broadcast services.
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Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, Best@Selling (www.BestatSelling.com). Maura works with business and sales professionals who want to sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters
visit https://www.BestatSelling.com
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About Maura Schreier-Fleming
Invite Maura to speak at your next conference or sales meeting! Contact: info@bestatselling.com
Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her Best@Selling clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP. She has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil's first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. With over 20 years of sales experience, she teaches the art and science of selling with a unique hands-on perspective and a great deal of real-life insight. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive. Her business column 'Selling Strategies' appears in the Insurance Record magazine and her column 'Street Talk' appears in Jobbers World. You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com
Privacy: At Best@Selling we take privacy issues very seriously. Your information remains with us and will never be sold, shared, or distributed in any manner, for any reason.
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Contact Information
1. Our Web site: www.BestatSelling.com
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