The #1 Meeting Mistake

I recently ran across a great discussion on LinkedIn that started with the question, “What's the # 1 Meeting Mistake Average Sales People Make? “ I chimed in about the need to prepare well, and of course referenced the chapter in my book that specifically addresses the topic. But there was another response that was so spot-on and so compelling that I asked the author if I could include it in my blog. She was happy to oblige. Here is Eileen Kent’s take on the #1 meeting mistake that average sales people make.

“Opening up a .ppt presentation at a first meeting. Can you imagine walking into your doctor's office with a little issue and the doctor sits down and shows you every procedure performed over the past week? It would be a nightmare, wouldn't it? ....And it is a nightmare when a new customer sees you open up your computer the minute you walk into their office. I dare you to walk into your next meeting with nothing in your hand but a business card. It will force you to get to know the person - as a person - rather than another "kill." I realize this is a numbers game and time is money, but one person who may not even buy from you may be the best referral you ever had, and every lead they bring you they've already pre-qualified.

Blog continued below...

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (this email typically gets a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

This story is based on an experience I had as a customer. I was a bride seeking a DJ and because the music was probably the most important part (outside of the vows) to my husband and me, we wanted to interview multiple DJs until we found a fit. We knew exactly what we wanted, and it was very easy to "weed out the weak" in a matter of minutes.

The first guy started walking through his canned presentation the minute we walked in and when we got to the Daddy Daughter Dance, he slowed the presentation down and discussed the details of how he makes this special. I told him there would be no daddy daughter dance. He started to argue saying this is a tradition and that every bride dances with her daddy and that daddies dream of this big day...now why would I rob my daddy of this moment......I was trying my best to be discreet about the issue...but my husband finally interrupted and said, "I'm sorry, but as much as we'd love to have this daddy daughter dance, he's not here to dance....do you understand now?" Strike One.

DJ #2 took us in to a video room and tried to sell us his video services. We were specifically looking for a DJ. I told him to please "skip this part of the presentation" and he said, "I CAN'T - I ALWAYS include the video portion. I can't continue unless I show this to you first." Two hours later (well it felt like two hours) we finally got to the DJ presentation. Strike Two.

The third guy invited us to his home and said, "Hey, let's not talk about DJ stuff yet, let's talk about you two.... How did you meet? When did he ask you? How many people do you expect? What are your tastes in music? How important is music to your wedding? What is your budget? What kind of sound quality do you expect? What kind of dinner/music would you like? What is the mood of the wedding-party, romantic, casual, formal, a dance?" Needless to say, this was our guy, at double the price....and it was worth every penny. Home Run!

See the difference? Sit down and get to know your client. Stop presenting and start getting in touch with your client. Take note of salespeople who sell to you and learn from them.

A lot of people say that they won't walk into an appointment without doing their "homework." Okay, review their website, their news articles and their LinkedIn website, but you don't know the Person or their Story behind the business/decision. Don't assume you already know someone when you walk in. If you can't "wing it" a little, then you can't survive in this business anymore. We need to have a back pocket full of open ended questions. If we can't solve their issue, then let's get someone in there who can. The customer will never forget you for that.

In your next "cold" appointment (maybe someone you're willing to make a mistake with), do whatever background that you can online and talking to people and such, but then walk in with no brochures, no capabilities statement and no PowerPoint. Walk in with just your business card and see what happens. I bet with a list of simple open-ended questions, you'll get to the bottom of the client's needs and you'll be able to pinpoint an exact solution.....and you may make a new friend. Now, pull out your sales material and highlight only the items of interest today.” (Copyright Eileen Kent.)

Well said Eileen. Thanks so much for allowing me to share your thoughts on my blog!

Eileen’s credentials:
Eileen Kent
Fedmarket.com
National Seminar Leader/Keynote
Author of "On the Sales Firing Line"

NOTES

I have a new Facebook fan page for my book, Click ‘Send’ and Sell. You can find it by clicking HERE. Be sure to visit and when you're there, click "Like" to immediately receive a coupon lowering the price of my book to only $2.99!

There were broken links for my Twitter account on my website and email signatures. It has since been fixed. You can follow me on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Last week I posted a poll that asked: “The US, Canada and UK have the highest blog readership. The fourth largest country by readership is:” Thanks for taking the time to vote. Most of you, 71%, guessed India. The country with the 4th highest readership is Russia! And it is very close behind the UK!

Selling Around/Over Your Contact

You have established a great relationship with your customer and have been calling on the same person for a long time. They have been a good and loyal customer. You know that there is more that you can do for them, but your main contact has always stonewalled your requests for meeting with his boss. Now you find out that there may be legitimate threats to the business from a feared competitor. You’ve grown comfortable in your relationship and now find you have zero leverage (or so it seems) to go above him. The boss is pressuring you to “sell higher” in the organization. How do you make that happen? How do you “go around” your contact and get the meeting?

As long as selling has been a profession this challenge has existed. Before asking for a meeting with a higher level executive, you should first ask yourself a few questions:

1. What is the goal for calling higher-up?

Without a clear goal, you stand the chance of blowing the opportunity should you be granted a meeting at that next level. There is no place for “winging it” at the higher levels.

2. Do you have a message that the next level would be interested in hearing?

This ties in very closely with question number one. There have been many instances when reps have secured meetings higher-up, only to have them fall flat because there was no real value for either organization. Other than bosses getting to know each other, there should be something that your customer can gain from the meeting or you may be better of not having one.

3. Is meeting at the next level completely self-serving or can you bring something of value?

The customer exec wants to hear and see information that can help them. Do you have information that can benefit them? Maybe your company has developed industry benchmark data that can be shared. Maybe you have some best-practices based on what your other customers are doing. Or, maybe you have a strategic product or service that could propel them past their competition. If you are going to pitch a product or service, be sure that it is strategic enough in nature to be seen and heard by the boss. Otherwise you’ve blown a great opportunity. You may get the first meeting but you probably won’t get the next one.

For top reps, it’s usually not much of a problem to sell higher in the organization. Often times they’ll hear something like, “That new solution of yours is really compelling. That is definitely something Susan would be interested in seeing. I’ll see about setting up some time for us to get together to discuss it.”

Blog continued below

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically get a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

But what happens when you share a very compelling solution with your contact and he says, “That looks really good and Susan would be the one to see something like that. But I can assure you that she does not have time right now given our current priorities.” Here are some possible responses that could move the ball forward:

“I understand completely. This solution is fairly complex and strategic, so we typically bring in product specialists along with my boss to make these kinds of presentations. They are extremely busy too. When I get back to the office, let’s compare calendars and try to get something scheduled in the next four to six weeks.”

“That’s understandable. Doesn’t Susan typically attend the Industry Conference in May? My boss will be there again this year. Maybe we could schedule 30-minutes for us to get together at the conference.”

“These are indeed busy times. I wonder if it might make sense to meet sooner than later. We have some new industry benchmarking data that provides compelling information that sheds new light on consumer behavior, pricing, and promotion. Provided that Susan is interested in this information, maybe we could set something up in the next few weeks.”

“Since, as you say ‘this looks really good’, how does this dovetail with her current priorities? Is it something that could benefit her this year? If so, I want to be sure that we get in front of her before this year’s budget gets spent. Or if it’s not, we need to get ahead of next year’s budget planning cycle. Either way, let’s let her decide if it’s something that she wants to budget money for and when. How does that sound?”

Back to the competitive situation mentioned in the first paragraph, I would suggest something like this,

“Jim, you and I have been working together for a while now. It’s been a great relationship for both companies. I’m hearing that our competitor is making noises at a senior level. It’s time that our execs get to know each other and begin to develop relationships. I need your help. Let’s craft a plan to begin building some senior relationships between our organizations.”

If your champion is indeed a champion, he should be willing to grant you a meeting with Susan. Otherwise he’s a coach. If that’s the case, then you need to start building relationships elsewhere in the organization or have your boss call Susan directly while you plead ignorance.

Top reps are often able to develop relationships at the highest organizational levels. That’s because they understand their customer, the industry, and how their products and services can add value throughout the organization. Average reps are content selling at lower levels, solving no real problems. “What do I have to say that could possibly be interesting to a C-level executive? I’m just a sales rep!” That may be a very true statement. If it is – fix it! Become an expert in your industry and your customers’ business. Then you’ll have something to say that is of real value. Otherwise, that kind of self-deprecation and short-sightedness will keep average performing reps from reaching real success while their counterparts are in the C-suite selling away.

Your boss’ pleas for selling high are not without good cause. However, use good sense when selling above your contact; there is no point in needlessly stepping on toes. You may be getting outsold at the top and that’s no place to be. Work your contact strategically and carefully and you should receive warm introductions at the top. That’s ultimately where you and your company need to be.

NOTE: Be sure to participate in the poll at the top of the right hand column of the page regarding viewership by country. I'll reveal the results and the correct answer next week.

Increasing Your Organizational Influence

There have been many situations throughout my career when decisions get made without the benefit of getting input from everyone affected. Inevitably, after making a policy decision, I would hear things like, “How did that decision get made? Why didn’t anybody ask me? I have some input that would have been valuable.” As leaders, we do our best to communicate as frequently as possible to keep surprises to a minimum. But, there are those instances when we leave employees out of the loop and make decisions without them. In those instances, employees can feel less valued and somewhat helpless. But there are those select employees who are frequently relied upon to validate strategy and influence decisions. If you want to know how to increase your organizational influence, read on.

In a previous post, “How and Where to Focus Your Energy”, I wrote about the importance of committing fully to situations that you can control (sales activities, quality of your work, hours worked, industry knowledge, etc) and avoiding committing to situations where you have no control (the weather, traffic, Libya, etc). By committing, I don’t mean that you do what’s expected of you; I mean that you go above and beyond. If you are expected to make 50 calls per day, you make 60. If you are accountable for seeing three customers a day, you see five. You spend your downtime reading every industry journal you can get your hands on. You become an expert in your business and in your customers’ business. (See “Lessons from a Top Rep”.)

Blog continued below . . .

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically get a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

So what happens when you have fully committed to the things that you can control? Success – maybe even great success. You may blow-out quota and earn more than you ever have. You may make President’s Club, Circle of Excellence, or whatever they call it at your company. You may become the top rep and get a promotion. Whatever the outcome, when you fully commit to the things you can control, success will follow.

But that’s not the only upside. It is possible, and even likely, that as your success grows your influence will increase as well. Success will put you in a position to influence things over which you previously had no control. Why? Because you have now become very valuable to the organization.

My career has not only included positions in sales leadership, but also general management. I mention that because I can vouch for the influence that top reps can have on key decisions. As decisions are made that impact aspects of sales like territories, compensation, administrative workload, leads, etc., it is typical that top reps are consulted before the decision is made and/or implemented. Top reps may even be consulted for very strategic decisions. Just today at an industry conference the CEO of a large insurance company was discussing a major shift in company strategy. One of the things he mentioned was validating this shift with – you guessed it – his top producer. The very last thing any organization wants to do is implement a strategy that could derail the efforts of the sales organization. Who better to consult with than the top producer? It’s similar to a football coach checking with the franchise quarterback before changing an offensive scheme. You keep your top producers happy and producing!

In 1989 I joined a very small Austin, TX based company focused on providing component-level computer repair services. We were also a distributor for a few tier-two printer manufacturers. Working from my home, I started selling our services to large companies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It was a tough way to learn sales, but we quickly grew to a point that required us to open a local repair facility to better service our customers. We landed significant business from some notable companies like Rockwell International, Northern Telecom, JC Penney, and several major banks. As the office grew, I added sales and service staff and we became a very profitable organization. I had the ear of the president of the company, and as the office continued to have success, my influence grew. Over time I moved to the company headquarters and became its general manager. Because I had fully committed to building a profitable office, my influence grew to the point where the company president handed me the reins and I was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the entire organization.

Another relevant, though extreme example is Oprah. She was so successful with her show that she began to influence entire markets. Her book recommendations immediately propelled titles to the NY Times Best Seller list. Gadgets that she featured on her “Favorite Things” episodes immediately sold out everywhere. Her influence even grew to a point that she was able to impact the latest presidential election with her endorsement of Obama.

As a seller your goal should be to make quota and become the number one rep. But maybe you want more – to get promoted or move in to a sales leadership role. The path to getting there starts with increasing your value to the organization through success and getting noticed. Focus on what you can control and over time you’ll find that your organizational influence will increase. Your boss may be calling you for input on decisions. You’ll be asked to chime in at meetings to let the group know what you think about important issues. And when you do chime in, you will be listened to.

Contrast that with the always vocal yet chronically underperforming rep that seems to chime in all the time, asking the questions that are crafted to help them justify their non-performance.

What rep would you rather be?

Note: The right hand part of the page has information about my book, Click Send and Sell. Below that are the most popular posts from the last 30 days. But no post has seen more traffic, comments and emails than the January post, "On Being Authentic".

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