To: All Salespersons
Re: Differentiating Yourself
In today’s competitive sales market we must find new and interesting ways to set ourselves apart from our competition. When price and service are not your allies, you must find new and inventive ways to differentiate yourself and add value to your prospective customers. Here are a few tips, or Salegestions!®, to help you along the way:
Greeting
It is true what they say: “Unless you are really pretty, or have tons of power and influence, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” With that in mind, let’s examine how we make initial contact with our customers.
Telephone
Typical Greeting:
“Hello, my name is [your name here] from [name of your company here]. The reason for my call was to see if I could speak to someone regarding your [sales specific need]. Could you connect me with the person who makes those type of purchasing decisions for your company?
Boooooorrriiinng. That is how a loser speaks to someone on the phone. Now, let’s see how a creative salesperson approaches this task.
Differentiated Greeting:
“Hello, my name is [your name here] and I am in possession of a large cash prize for the person at your company who handles [products you are trying to sell]. Could you please patch me through immediately to [him or her], as I am tempted to spend this money on an Italian Villa and several priceless antique bicycles (the kind with the big wheel in front) for my pet kangaroo’s 23rd birthday.”
Now, which one would you pay more attention to? Obviously, our job is to get the attention of the customer and produce results. If you were a receptionist, wouldn’t you rather interrupt the shareholder's meeting with the promise of a financial windfall (and a tale about a supposed marsupial)? I thought so.
Sometimes getting someone’s attention with a positive statement like this can be difficult. Either they do not believe you to be in possession of said prizes, or they start asking too many questions. In this instance, you can immediately deflect their arguments by shifting into negative reward mode.
Negative Attention Getter:
“Your [Family/loved ones] have been kidnapped and are currently being fed a steady diet of grub worms and corn tortillas with nothing but flat Diet Slice® to wash them down. They are being held in an undisclosed location and will be set free as soon as I am able to speak with [contact name]. If you deny me this opportunity, they will be made to participate in focus groups assigned with the task of determining the residual chemical effects of household pesticides. Please patch me through to [decision maker] immediately! Obviously, by asking too many questions, you have also forfeited the aforementioned cash prize. Providing that you transfer my call immediately, I will have the decency not to mention what a disgrace you are to your company. Thank you.”
Wow! Now that should get their attention! Congratulations, you are well on your way to making a sale!
Notice, how a slight shift in the way you approach telephone sales calls can make a big difference? Now that we have mastered the phones, let’s look at the ways we can bring some individuality to in-person calls.
In-person Sales Calls
In-person calls come with their own special brand of obstacles and can at times seem as though we are walking through a minefield (minus those pesky explosions). For instance, you may not be very physically attractive. Unfortunately, this will almost certainly ensure that no one will want to give you their precious time. But with my proven attention-getting techniques, even a homely person can get through to the decision maker.
The first step to a successful in-person sales call is to get past the “gatekeeper”. This is a simple process and one that quite frankly, too many salespersons use as an excuse for a lack of creative thinking. In order to get past the “gatekeeper,” you must first identify him/her. Easy, it’s the first person that talks to you!
In order to get past the “gatekeeper”, casually mention that as you were coming into the office you noticed that their car was on fire. If they say that they don’t drive a car, then simply respond, “Car? Did I say your car was on fire? I meant to say your personal home is on fire.” That should distract them. And just like that, you are into the office.
At this point, using what you have compiled through extensive online research, track down the decision maker’s office. He/She will more than likely be extremely surprised to see you. Don’t get panicked. Before they get a chance to speak, always say this, “You haven’t aged a day.” Decision makers tend to love flattery. The fact that you have never seen them before in your life will not matter, trust me. Next, calmly walk over to them with a big grin, and grasping both of their hands, look them dead in the eye and proceed to give them a kiss on either cheek like a person of European descent. Now the sales call can begin!
Would your competitor ever even think of behaving in such a manner? They most certainly would not. And that my friends, is the definition of differentiation.
Salegestions!® are a registered trademark of Beau M. Adams and Kickball Enterprises, LLC. They are a creative if somewhat misleading way to make it through the work week without losing your mind. Also, if they are printed out and folded correctly, they make spectacular paper airplanes.*
*Beau M. Adams and Kickball Enterprises, LLC not responsible for eye, arm, or any other physical or emotional injury connected to the fashioning of Salesgestions!® into paper airplanes.
No comments:
Post a Comment