The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Quote for the Month
“No one sells a product. Everyone sells a service.”
Barney Adams, founder of Adams Golf, Inc. and inventor of the Adams Tight Lies Fairway wood
Do you think you sell a product? I hope not. Adams is right. You don’t—even if you are selling golf clubs, package delivery, power tools or a host of other tangible products. He’s right because customers don’t buy products. They buy what the products can do for them. This is what happened to Adams. He used to hold retail seminars where he’d ask how many in the room sold golf clubs. He would see a wall of raised hands. He responded, ” If you’re here to sell golf clubs, who the hell needs you? People can go to Costco, the Internet or eBay if all they want is clubs. Your job is to make people want to come back to the store. If you can accomplish that, you’re not going to have much competition.” Figuring out your service, takes some thought. Adams realized he didn’t sell specially designed golf clubs, but he was selling better ball flight and ultimately a better score in golf. So what do you sell? Figure out what your products and services do for customers. That’s the service you sell. After all, that’s what they’re buying. What golfer doesn’t want to buy a set of clubs that will get him a better score?
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THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com
Chief Emotional Officer: A New Role for Women In Business
The next time you’re in a state of disbelief—or shock—over the business crises that are quickly erupting around you, ask yourself what your mother would do. Apparently, women have a unique skill in business according to one business expert. As a biased professional, I also agree.
I’m also writing a sales blog for Salesmecca.com
Here’s a recent post:
Don’t Be Fooled
I was in a meeting recently where a hiring decision was going to be made. There were a pool of candidates and the hiring group had to decide which candidates were going to get a face-to-face interview. One of the job candidates was someone who was laid off a job with a six figure salary. That person had a broad range of experience and skills that were very desirable for the new position. There was just one problem. The job that was going to be offered was well below six figures. One of the hiring committee members said, “Well, I guess we can’t proceed with this candidate. The salary he had was too high. What we can offer is too low.”
Leave your comments and I would love to respond to you.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas Business Journal. 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
What’s sales tip has helped you be even more successful in sales?
Send your helpful tip to tip@bestatselling.com
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The Selling Ideas for this Month
Don’t Catch This!
Experienced sales professionals can find themselves facing this. It’s common in new salespeople, too. If you don’t know about it, you can get it. What is it? Sales call reluctance. What you don’t know about it can hurt your sales.
What is it? Trelitha Bryant is Senior Vice President; Field Testing & Research with Behavioral Sciences Research Press, Inc. (www.bsrpinc.com) Its staff has been studying call reluctance for over 30 years. Call reluctance is all the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that interfere with the ability of salespeople to initiate contact with prospective clients and customers on a consistent basis. It’s a serious problem that’s often overlooked. Why? The problem dissipates once contact is made so it’s not always noticed. Management assumes that with the right mix of products, marketing materials and sales training that salespeople will be able to initiate contact. Bryant says that even experienced salespeople can have call reluctance and walk away from lucrative sales careers. They’re the ones who “quit while succeeding” because the financial rewards no longer justify their emotional investment.
Spot it. There are 12 different kinds of sales call reluctance with most individuals experiencing two to three types of it. The most common types are Yielder call reluctance and Role Rejection call reluctance. The former is when salespeople fear being perceived as being too pushy or intrusive when promoting their products and services. A symptom is saying to oneself that “It’s not the right time to make the call.” The problem is that it’s never the “right” time. Role rejection call reluctance is present in salespeople who are uncomfortable identifying with their sales career. They believe that selling carries a negative stereotype; it’s not a real career, or selling is unprofessional.Have you noticed how some companies give employees with sales responsibilities titles like “Area Representative” or “Relationship Manager?” That’s an attempt to address role rejection. It doesn’t work. Instead, management sends the message that you can develop trust and a business relationship without selling. Management is signaling that there’s something inherently wrong with sales. The reality is that those jobs require selling. Bryant says it’s important for salespeople to accept their role as they work with customers. She says, “Salespeople are not impartial advisors. They do have a commercial interest, which if done ethically and professionally, they do not have to disguise or apologize for.”
How to get past call reluctance? While you don’t cure some types of call reluctance, you can minimize it enough so you can prospect and meet your sales goals. First become aware of it, how it works and that it could be a problem for you. Next complete a diagnostic assessment to determine if and which type of call reluctance you have. Then you can apply the appropriate countermeasure for call reluctance.One countermeasure is word based which is helpful for people listening to their negative self talk. One technique (Thought Realignment) involves three “clearing questions” designed to challenge prospecting-limiting thoughts. Begin with “Is there proof that this prospecting situation needs to be frightening?”If the answer is “yes,” follow with “Do I need to feel fear right now?” If the answer is still “yes,” then follow with, “Okay, then do I need to feel this much fear right now?” The point is to repeat the challenge until you get to where you understand and can say, “No, I don’t” and allow yourself to move forward. Mechanical countermeasures exist for people who acknowledge their call reluctance, but don’t respond to word based approaches. One mechanical countermeasure is a snap of a rubber band on one’s wrist. The snap is not punishment, but a distraction from the negative behavior.
If you’re not making enough prospecting calls you won’t establish enough appointments. If you don’t have enough appointments, then you won’t have enough sales. You have to initiate contact to get the meetings to sell products and services. The next time your palms sweat and your pulse races when you want to make a prospecting call, it just might be call reluctance. Noticing the butterflies in your stomach is the first step to controlling call reluctance. The next step is to get them to fly in formation. Now you can.
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Action Items
1. This week, pay attention to the number of prospecting calls you make. Are you experiencing any reluctance?
2. If you are experiencing call reluctance, practice clearing questions.
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Programs
When: July 26
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Power Persuasion: Unleash Your Hidden Influence Skills
For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Sales Quotes: A book that has quick ideas for you to be more successful in sales.
Real-World Selling: A book with selling skills and strategies that work in the real world of sales.
Secrets of Persuasion: Audio CD for the clues to use to speed-read people and close more business.
Need an Article for Your Newsletter?
Articles from this newsletter may be used in your free publications or posted on your web when given the following credit:
Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, Best@Selling (https://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.commore »
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 clients include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP.
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. Her column Customer Connections appears in the Dallas, Houston and Austin Business Journals. Maura has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S.
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
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711-183
Dallas, TX 75248
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(c) Copyright 2008 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved
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