Use The Three F’s To Achieve Our Goals
When thinking about 2020 on how it crushed many goals that we had, remember that making small adjustments and moving forward is what we truly need.
Growing up in my blue-collar family it was always pressed to do my best and do it perfectly. I am also a “one” on the Enneagram so I naturally trying to make things better and as close to perfect as possible. I was devastated when I got into college and my best would however only generate B’s and C’s. Highschool was easy to obtain A’s, but college was a whole different ball game.
I was failing to get A’s and I was pissed off and angry throughout college. I graduated with an electrical engineering degree and had a great job right out of college, but I always looked back that I was not perfect in college. It left a feeling that I was not good enough back then. When I jumped into a career of sales the same thing happened. I kept getting knocked down and was not perfect at it right out of the gate.
In reality no one is totally perfect. We all have flaws. No one can do everything perfect the first time either. What we do is Fail Forward Fast. Fail Forward Fast is a phrase that navy seal operators use quite often in training.
Navy seals as I was taught by my mentor are okay with set-backs. Fail Forward Fast works like this. Apply action -> review -> apply action for a constant loop for improvement of whatever the situation is. Failure is not about having set-backs, failure is totally giving up.
It’s okay to have a set back and learn from it so that when you are attacking the same activity the next time you move through it more efficiently. The cool part is that the action does not have to be a massive game changer. It is small incremental adjustments as you go through the loop.
Another benefit from this small action is that doubt is eliminated through action. Figuring out the next small step will keep doubt from tackling us from behind and stopping us from moving forward in our process. How awesome is that! A small step of action puts doubt on its butt and allows us to move forward.
Do you remember riding a bike without training wheels for the first time? Most of us as children would fall, get back on the bike and moved a little farther, fall again, get back on the bike and moved farther and farther each time until we were riding the bike without assistance from anyone. It took a progression and learning how to balance while pedaling and occasionally stopping before running into something. It is rare for someone to just jump on a bike for the first time and get it perfect.
I love the Fail Forward Fast because when I am working on a project and the “Have to be perfect” phase pops in my head, and I am able to remind myself that it is okay not to be perfect. Sometimes I also find out that the desired outcome that I had was not the one I needed to be shooting for. I am able to pivot towards the better desired outcome instead of coming to the end of the experience and learning that I am nowhere near where I truly need to be.
Fail Forward Fast is essential in all growth and I have applied it to my life so that I can keep going when tough times happen. Sometimes we just need to focus on one small step at a time to keep moving forward instead of looking at the long path that is ahead of us.
When thinking about 2020 on how it crushed many goals that we had, remember that making small adjustments and moving forward is what we truly need. 2021 has no guarantees that we will be successful, but if we keep moving forward with those small steps we will grow and hit our goals that we actually need, and possibly the goals that we didn’t know we actually should have been shooting for in the first place.
Have a great 2021 everyone!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
How Do We Succeed In 2021?
Before you get all bitter and throw whatever you are using to read this post out the window please take a breath. Yes, 2020 and a pandemic were a lot to handle and most of our goals and aspirations for 2020 went out the window.
We are in the final stretch of 2020, so where do we go from here?
It’s time to sit down in some of our quiet time to think about 2021. Before you get all bitter and throw whatever you are using to read this post out the window please take a breath. Yes, 2020 and a pandemic were a lot to handle and most of our goals and aspirations for 2020 went out the window.
This does not mean that we give up on our futures. There are some areas that we can all grow in that are not deterred by a pandemic. Maybe it’s learning a new skill like woodworking, cooking, or origami with all of the excess toilet paper we decided to hoard. Well maybe not that last one. We never know if that will be the currency of the future if further lock downs are actioned.
Okay enough joking aside. There are areas we can grow and should be focused on that for 2021. I will be taking the next two weeks to plan out 2021 to make it a better than this year. The reason why, is if we are not growing, we are dying. That is right we need to constantly be growing. I choose growth and for that I need a plan for whatever I am shooting for. Even if I do not hit the bullseye ever time.
I will be sitting down to make a plan for 2021 by looking at where I want to be. It’s like shooting a long-range shot, we need to plan before we pull the trigger to hit the target accurately. To do this I start with the end in mind. When I was a child, I used to do mazes all the time. I loved them. I learned early on that to find the path through the maze, it was easier actually start at the finish and work my way back to the start. Try it if you don’t believe me.
With goal setting I am going to plan my year with the end in mind and then back my way up to the start to figure out how I will get there.
Example: I want to have more family time with the kids without electronics.
That will look like playing board games with my family once a week in the winter months.
Go for bike rides once a week during the warmer months.
I will put my target out there and then back my way into it to figure out what I need to do to accomplish that goal. Maybe it’s something else like making forts in the living room with the kids, or taking the kids in the summer out on a boat to teach them to water ski.
The key is to think about your values, then figure out goals to achieve those values, followed by actionable goals each quarter or month to achieve our values. The great part is that they don’t have to be dependent on stuff being open or not.
I will have quite a few stretch goals for myself and my business to grow in 2021 as well. I have decided that I will be bringing more videos to you in 2021 that will help you as it relates to sales, building trust, and leadership. I am actively working on that plan now, but will solidify that during the next few weeks.
I will also use the EOS system for planning goals. This is a fantastic system that anyone can use for work, or personal goals. I have adapted it to work for me in both areas of my life. We even did one for 2020 for our family. Now we will need to adjust it as the first year did not go as we had planned.
The key is to still plan because if we don’t aim at anything, we’ll hit it every time.
We need to make plans even if we do not hit them all. It’s okay not to hit all of our goals, but we need to try.
Check out the link to see my last video of 2020, enjoy!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
What Percentage Is A Good Profit Margin?
The first thing that I ask them is what is the market bearing for a sales price for what they offer. Often, I am left with a blank stare saying our price.
Welcome back
I teach sales teams how to sell their products and services effectively and with a common language, but I am often asked what percentage is a good profit margin to make for my product / service. More importantly they want to know how much they should make with their product and service. Some even believe that their product / service is earth shattering brand new, and nothing like it anywhere on this planet so there is nothing to compare it against.
The first thing that I ask them is what is the market bearing for a sales price for what they offer. Often, I am left with a blank stare saying our price. This is because they really have not studied the market to understand. When we do some investigating, we find out that a market study to see what the competition is offering their eyes open. Old pricing strategies was to add profit to our costs. They called it cost plus for markup.
Different markets bear different profit margins so investigation is necessary. Grocery stores operate at much lower profit margins than say Apple selling an iphone. They have more turns of products such as chips, fruit, milk, etc that they do not need to charge $20 per banana. They also understand their costs well.
By understanding the market, we can now understand this data point. The real estate industry has done a great job understanding this topic and we can learn from them in other markets. They literally show comparable sales in the area “Comps.” It’s a really good gauge at where the market is for a product / service.
Unfortunately, some market pricing is established in markets by trying to simply add profit to costs. This is called a cost plus pricing model and is unfortunately not viable in most markets. We really need to know what our costs, but can not just simply say we deserve x profit.
Now we need to really understand our costs. There are many costs like material, labor costs, but fixed costs like the rent of our buildings, loan payments (if you don’t follow Dave Ramsey’s rules), etc. are also needed to be figured in. Once we understand our true costs, we need to know how much we need to make before we can brake even, and then how we can survive and have a decent living. That’s right we need to understand where we can be so that we can still eat and sleep in doors with possibly a vacation…I mean retreat for future planning ;)
Now here is a warning especially if we are launching a new product / service, or are new to any market. Trying to come in and be the cheapest price is not the answer to have instant success. Most will try to do this and believe that they will be able to increase price over time whether it is scope creek to add profit, or simply raising price over time. What organizations have found is that when they try to raise price for future business, it tends not to work because they have set a precedence with the customer. Focus on starting off right and not being the cheapest price.
Be the best value. This is where there is so much value that the customer has no reason not to do business with us and pay the investment to work with us. That is where top organizations that have high profits, large cash reserves, and can weather any storm are. They are financially set for success and their customers are happy to pay the investment to do business with them.
Use the sales process to understand what value you bring to the customer and you’ll be able to maintain good profits.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
What To Expect From A Sales Manager
They may challenge our assumptions, but to help us make sure we effectively thinking through the process.
Welcome back,
Today we are going to look at what we should expect from a sales manager. I’m sure anyone in sales has horror stories of bad sales managers. It’s okay if you are currently working for one, you don’t have to raise your hand if they are near J
I am asked what makes a good sales manager, and what should I expect from a sales manager. This blog is not going to say what a typical sales manager is, it is going to discuss what we should be expecting out of sales managers. That’s right when we interview with sales managers, we should be looking for a few things. These will be indicators about what we are about to get ourselves into in hopes of avoiding a bad situation.
I have had a couple Rockstar sales managers, a couple really bad sales managers, but mostly just okay sales managers. I know what to look for in a sales manager that I figured I should share with you so you can avoid some difficult relationships in the future.
I have had two really bad sales managers in the past. The first one should have been fired based off how sexist, manipulative, and degrading he was about others. He took his title to his head. The other was kind, but did not know how anything worked at the company even though he had been there for twenty plus years, and he could not offer help when asked. He was like a cockroach. He knew how to survive in the corporate world, but just didn’t add much value. It was unfortunate that this happens, but I’m sure this manager was not the only one.
With the bad out of the way let’s start with what we should be looking for in great sales managers. When we think of a sales manager, we should be thinking about someone who will invest in us and grow us. We need someone that will be a coach. Not like a coach on a football field that yells in plays and tells us to execute what they say, but someone that will ask us questions to pull out our own unique solutions to the problems at hand.
When I went to get certified by John Maxwell, my eyes were open to this new type of coach. A coach that has passion to grow those under them and help those they manage find their own true answers. Most managers want to manage people and processes to keep things moving smoothly, but a coach will encourage us to try for more than we think possible and to find the best answer within us. They want to invest in us as well.
These types of managers are also very transparent and knowledgeable about the products and processes of the organization. They know how to guide us around the pitfalls and educate us why we don’t want to go down a certain path, but still give us the option to choose our paths. They will ask us questions to make us think about why we are doing something and then ask us to provide why we believe this is the best path to take. They may challenge our assumptions, but to help us make sure we effectively thinking through the process. Not allowing us to just wing it.
Sales managers should also be looking for their replacement. Maybe the sales manager will be promoted someday, change corporations, or maybe they will expire. The sales manager should be functioning just like a leader that is looking to grow others around them so when the sales manager is gone, the organization will still thrive and move forward. They should be focused on leaving the organization better than they found it. Not because they want all of the applause, but because they value other individuals highly.
We need to stop looking at sales managers as people that just merely manage people and processes to keep things moving along, we need to expect more out of them to be coaches and leaders that want to grow people around them. They foster a culture of possibilities and adventure to personal and professional growth for their employees. Isn’t that someone you’d like to work for?
If you have a great manager that you’d like to mention in the comments below, please do so. I am always looking for people to interview and find out what makes them great and what values they focus on. It will also help all of you get better understanding as well.
Have a great week and I will see you next time!
Link to this week’s Youtube video
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
How To Create A Sales And Marketing Strategy
If a slogan will not cure all of our needs for marketing and sales, then what do we do?
Welcome back!
Today, I’d like to talk about how to create a sales and marketing strategy that will grow your customer base with a solid foundation. That’s right just like building a house, we need to have a solid foundation before we can build the rest of our strategy.
Most people think that its about a catchy slogan that is memorable and exciting. That is what will draw the customers in. The problem with this is that it takes time, a great deal of time to generate traction. Look at a few slogans that are known now, but when they were created.
Just Do It – Nike 1988,
America Runs On Dunkin – Dunkin Donuts 2006,
Breakfast of Champions – Wheaties 1973.
If we want to wait for our slogans to take off, we may be waiting for a while before they catch on. It’s not a bad idea to have one, but we need to focus on a foundation to build on. And yes, it all takes time. There is no instant success. All that believe in overnight success, should look at the data.
If a slogan will not cure all of our needs for marketing and sales, then what do we do?
We need to build on that foundation and the first thing we need to do is answer the three questions our customers are asking:
Do I like you?
Do I trust you?
How can you help me?
If we are not focusing on answering these three questions right away with our sales and marketing strategy, then we are going to fall into the commodity category. If that happens the only differentiating factor is price. No one wins in this category, especially the customer. Lower cost means less quality in 99% of cases.
We also have to understand that customers do not instantly like us. If we want to really have a mental picture to wrap our heads around, we should think of them like cats. Cats don’t just instantly love us. They are independent and take time to warm up to us. Once they have warmed up to us, they will finally allow us to pet them. That in itself does not mean they love us yet either. We need to cultivate the relationship.
To cultivate that relationship, we need to give things away. It is hard to receive anything with a closed fist. The only way to receive is with an open hand. We need to give things away for free. The easiest way to do that is by giving information. No, I am not saying giving away your secret sauce in totality, but I am saying you need to give pieces of the solution away. That is what I consistently do for all of you. I give you weekly blog posts, videos, etc to help you in your strategy creation.
This also take a while to generate, but if you do it in the correct order, you too can generate a great deal of interest in just a matter of months instead of years. Would you like to have customers coming to you in decades with a slogan, or in months with giving away content? How long do you have to wait?
The focus will need to be giving away as much as we can. Create content that will add value to the customers and they will appreciate us and look to us in the future for help. Heck they may even turn into sales people for us that we don’t even need to pay. Wouldn’t that be nice!?!
Focus on adding value every single day that we show up and how we can answer the three questions above. Make that the core to all of our sales and marketing strategies and we will gain traction.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Trust Building Skills To Practice
Trust is a commodity these days that is in high demand. People need to trust others that they are working on tasks that will help the organization move forward.
Welcome back to this week’s blog post on trust building skills to practice. Most people overlook the aspect of building trust with others. Here’s the deal with that thought process…no one goes far without others being along side of them. That’s right we need people and if they don’t trust us, those people will not walk with us on the journey.
Trust is a commodity these days that is in high demand. People need to trust others that they are working on tasks that will help the organization move forward. With a great deal of people working remote during the pandemic it is difficult to connect with people and follow up with them without another dreadful online meeting. I think everyone has meeting fatigue at this point.
Trust is needed and what I have found is that using the sales process is a great way to build trust. Sales people are trained to gain trust and grow influence with customers quickly. This is a must if we want sales to grow. No, being a sales person is not just about making a sale. It’s about growing relationships with customers. Really good sales people are actually honest and well-liked individuals. Sales people for the most part are not sleezy, just hunting to make a sale, and they are not people that will sell their family members in order to grow profits.
I created my book and my training called “The Sales Process Uncovered,” to show people how we all need sales and how sales is actually supposed to function with growing relationships and influence. That’s right learning sales is not a bad thing. CEO’s need to know sales, people dating are actually selling themselves as the best solution to each other, pastors need to sell themselves as a shepard helping others learn more about God, etc.
Bottom line is that if we want to build trust, the sales process is actually a great roadmap.
Here are three areas in the sales process that will help you gain trust.
Build Rapport with people. Rapport is a fancy word for being likeable. That’s right, no one really wants to hang out with Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. People want to hang out with happy and likeable friends. Being likeable is crucial in building trust because it engages people to learn more about us. Now there are tons of aspects that affect likeability from the environment we are in, to the colors we wear, the scents, etc. If we are violating any of these aspects it will be very hard for us to be considered likeable.
Credibility is another area that builds trust. People are actually looking to interact with others in order to get to a better place. They seek out credible people to walk with. Being credible is mainly known as being educated in a certain subject, but there are other ways to build credibility. We can gain credibility by linking other people together. That’s right when we help people get to where they want to go, by introducing people to each other that builds credibility for us. I call this phenomenon being the bridge. We are bridging people together and in return we become a credible source for others.
Now the third area in building trust is one that I often fall short on. It is Empathy I grew up in a strict environment with only one parent that was focused on driving through to finish the task no matter how it gets done. Just keep moving don’t show emotion, rub some dirt on a broken ankle, and hobble along. Just figure out how to finish the task no matter how people feel. What I have learned is that people really want to feel known and empathy is the key to getting into people’s heart. People may not remember what we did for them, but they will always remember how we made them feel. People’s feelings will mark out the direction in which they engage with us.
I encourage you to pick up a sales book whether it is mine, or someone else’s to learn how to gain rapport with others. It will greatly impact the way you gain trust. No, you don’t need to go into sales if you don’t want to, but learning the sales process will allow you to learn how to gain trust and influence at a great level.
If you want to get something done quick, you may be able to do it, but if you want to go far, you need others with you to help you on the journey.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
What is a Marketing Strategy To Increase Sales?
Since the creation of mail advertising, tv, and the internet there has been a great focus on marketing. Now that we as a society have evolved and become smarter, the old way of marketing features and benefits has had to evolve. Just buying the biggest ad in the yellow pages will not work these days.
Welcome back. Today I’d like to talk about what a good marketing strategy is in order to increase sales. I will also write about what doesn’t work and why so that you can figure out how you want to move forward with your strategy.
Since the creation of mail advertising, tv, and the internet there has been a great focus on marketing. Now that we as a society have evolved and become smarter, the old way of marketing features and benefits has had to evolve. Just buying the biggest ad in the yellow pages will not work these days.
When people meet us as sales professionals, organizations, institutions they are asking three questions. Today let’s focus on the third question with the assumption that we have answered the first two correctly. This third question is “How Can You Help Me?” If we are going to market to people about us being the best option, we better be focused on answering that question correctly.
If we don’t answer that question, well they will move on down the road to the next person in line. They will also start thinking about what we offer as a commodity if we are not answering that question. If we become a commodity then the only differentiating factor is price. There is no winning strategy for commodities. We need to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
People do not buy features and benefits as the answer to the question above. We must focus on answering the needs of the customer. That is right customers want a solution to their needs. To figure out what needs our offering answers, then we need to ask questions, but to who?
The answer to that questions is ask our current customers why they buy from us. What is it that made them desire our offering? Why do they stick with us when there are other offerings out there? Why do people still flock to Apple for their products when there are other products out there that compete on the same performance as Apple? We need to understand why our customers love our offerings.
To do that there are tons of tools out there, but I recommend two. Surveys and testimonials are what I recommend. Surveys upon purchase helps in the later steps of the sales process as I teach, but also help get fresh feedback at the time of purchase as to why the customer decided to do business with us. This is fresh insight without outside influence and time that will allow our customers to forget. The other is testimonials. These testimonials work so great because of the law of “Social Proof” that others will follow because of that influence.
That is right, we need to be asking our current customers why they are doing business with us because this is the key to understand how and what we should be marketing. We will see a trend as well with all of the surveys and testimonials that will show us the path to our marketing strategy.
I know this seems backwards in the process, but our customers are the ones that can tell us the why so that we can structure out strategy. Many organizations fail to understand why the customers do business with them and march in a totally different direction leading to mediocre results. We need to understand so we can chart out course correctly to attract more of our tribe.
Answer that third question by asking questions to current customers will allow us to win at this marketing game. Especially when there is so much noise out there to confuse and turn off customers.
Start today to understand your customers and then you will overcome the competition and stay out of the commodity arena!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Why Building Customer Trust Is Important
Trust is a highly important question that has to be answered by us for the customer. If we don’t answer that question with our actions and words lining up, then the customer will move on down the road to our competitors that offer similar products / services.
Today we are talking about why building trust with the customer is important.
There are three questions that everyone asks about us when they meet with us. Every time! These questions are:
Do I like you?
Do I trust you?
How can you help me?
See that second question? Trust is a highly important question that has to be answered by us for the customer. If we don’t answer that question with our actions and words lining up, then the customer will move on down the road to our competitors that offer similar products / services.
Trust is extremely important with most of our major decisions. I define major decisions as decisions that cost over $500, or life changing decisions. Some use gut feelings, some use research, and some use advisors. The fact remains that trust is a part of every major decision. If we do not have trust, we do not act.
Today it is so easy to find options for a product / service that we need. Just hop online and do a quick search. When the customer is coming in to talk to us, they are trusting that we will help them. We need to make sure that we have that in mind when we serve the customer. We as sales professionals need to be showing up to serve the customer and being open and honest of where we can and can not help them. Focusing on how we can better grow the relationship and trust with that individual / organization.
Customers are not just looking for a transactional experience. They want to be known and heard. They want people that will advocate for them to find solutions that will benefit them the best. Customers want a relationship. We as humans are born to crave a sense of community and value. Customers want that as well. Why do you think there are so many Facebook groups out there today? People want community.
When people trust us, they share more information with us. Not their deepest darkest secrets, but they will share more and more as trust is built. I have had customers tell me about future RFQ’s that I could look forward to and worked with my teams to be more prepared so I was able to achieve success. That would not have happened had I not built trust with the customers.
To build trust I use a simple equation that I call the “Trust Equation”. It uses variable such as credibility, reliability, vulnerability, and selfishness and puts them into a simple equation to help us build trust effectively and quickly with customers. This equation also focuses on a long-term approach to building a great amount of influence with the customers.
Now, there is a great deal to discuss on trust such as how to build it, the different levels of trust needed depending on proximity to others, and how to keep growing trust. That is why I created the “Trustworthy” training to help people like yourself understand and build trust quickly.
If you’d like to check out it click here to be taken to the training. It’s worth the investment.
Today, lets make sure we are focused on building trust with our customers. John Maxwell says, “If you want to go fast, go by yourself, but if you want to go far, go together.”
Walk with your customer and you will reap greater rewards!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
What Is A Good Sales Strategy?
Most of the time the sales person is thinking on the fly and often falters when pressed for more details.
Welcome back,
Today we are going to go through what a good sales strategy is because this comes up quite often with sales teams. What is your strategy to win the sale? Most of the time the sales person is thinking on the fly and often falters when pressed for more details. This is also when the sales person is confronted that thinking on the fly is not going to work long term.
With the sales landscape ever evolving, sales people need to have a good sales strategy.
Here is what I have use as my sales strategy:
Have a plan to serve the customer with a process that walks with them through their five buying decisions
That’s my sales strategy. I want to serve the customer and walk with them through their five buying decisions in a way that allows them to buy the best product that meets their needs. In order to do this. I must do a few things.
I must build rapport and trust with the customer. If I know who I am meeting with, I can do research on them to learn about them and their families. If I don’t have that option, or want to learn more, I can ask questions. A great deal of questions to understand them and their needs.
The easiest way to build trust and rapport is to learn about customers. We need to make sure we are learning about the customer because if we are not doing so, the three major questions that the customer has will go unanswered. Do I like you? Do I trust you? How can you help me? These three questions if unanswered spell defeat for a sales person because the first buying decision for a customer is in fact the sales person. If we do not know, like, and trust the sales person, we are not going to buy from them. Especially when there are so many options out in the marketplace.
The sales person is essential in growing the product line. People buy from people.
To help sales people I have created “The Sales Process Uncovered,” to help the sales person use the roadmap on how to sell effectively to customers. It starts by asking a great deal of questions and the different types of questions needed to uncover the customer’s needs. This process has worked in different industries, in different markets, and B2B as well as B2C sales.
That is right I use a process to solidify my strategy. All the successful people use a process whether it for championships, expeditions to uncharted territories, or business. Even those amazing Navy Seals that are the elite of the elite use a process for preparing for a mission. Those individuals use a process to plan, action, review, and do it over again.
If you want to have a great sales strategy, you need to implement a sales processes that will help you walk with your customer. By doing so influence actually increases with the customer and if we do a great job selling, the customer will start telling others why they need to do business with us.
Who wouldn’t want that?
If we want to gain sales success, and achieve great goals, we need to have a plan and the easiest way to do that is have a process in place that is simple and repeatable for success.
If you want to gain some more insight about the sales process uncovered and how it can help you, check out the links below as well as the link to my video that talks about this subject as well.
The Sales Process Uncovered Online Training
The Sales Process Uncovered Live Training
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Why You Need Trust In The Workplace
We need to make sure we are forming a trusting environment because speed and cost are the two variables in business that are affected by trust.
Good morning everyone,
As we enter into fall and are looking at how many work days there are left before the end of the year, I decided to write on this topic so teams can focus on a building better team environment to end the year off right. That’s right we need to have trust in the workplace if we are going to do well.
If we are a manager that does not have trust for our employees then we are going to micro manage them. If we do not trust the employees, we spend much of our time checking and rechecking their work. If we do that, how can we continue to grow ourselves, and still move the group farther? It’s like rowing a boat with our hands instead of an oar.
If we do not trust our colleges enough then we are doing extra work as well to make sure we hit the outcome we desire. That means more stress, longer hours, less efficiency, and drain on our attitudes. Then comes the mixed emotions of stress and disengagement with work and family. When teams are not in a high trust environment, they are not working efficiently. People are not communicating well and issues are sometimes hidden. The only time management sees an issue is when a major event occurs.
If we are in a large organization and the engineering team is not trusted by other teams, then the design will be delayed to launch. If this is a publicly traded entity and launches are delayed guess what happens to the stock price valuation…
We need to make sure we are forming a trusting environment because speed and cost are the two variables in business that are affected by trust. When we are in a high trust environment speed goes up and cost goes down. When that happens, guess what happens to profits…they go UP!
When we are in a high trust environment people will be allowed to move quicker without having to get tons of approvals and tons of double checking. Everything flows faster and work is completed with less bureaucracy. It’s like a river that is allowed to flow, it is clean, but when it is blocked up, everything becomes stagnant and scummy.
We need to make sure that we are working on ways to build trust throughout our organization so that we can work more efficiently. If trust happens and grows, the outcome will be increased profits.
If you’d like to know ways to improve trust check out the link below that will take you to my video that discusses this topic more as well as a few tools that I have created to help build long lasting trust.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Why You need To Get Buying Decision 2
Organizations should use the same process they use to sell their products and services correctly.
Have you been disturbed with the lack of customer service from an organization that you’ve told yourself that you will never buy anything from them ever again?
Have you ever decided not to buy a product or service because of the reputation of the organization?
If an organization builds a reputation of poor customer service, unethical practices, bad quality, etc. they are not going to be the organization with the largest value to customers. Chances are they may not make it in business for a long time. They have a business plan to be low value and low cost. What I have found that cheapest price is not necessarily the best value. Organizations that cut corners to save a few dollars end up sacrificing millions in the long run. Truth be told that if organizations are not providing exceptional value, they become a commodity.
With the onset of Millennials in the workforce we are seeing a trend of them working for organizations that align with their values more so than just a paycheck. This same demographic is also the largest demographic of individuals in US history. This demographic of individuals stive to work for organizations that align with their personal mission statements. Millennials want to make sure they are going to help society by working with and for these organizations. It is imperative that organizations recognize this and make sure they are selling themselves as well as their products.
So how do organizations do this? How do organizations make sure they are selling what makes them unique to the customers? Organizations should use the same process they use to sell their products and services correctly. They answer the needs of the customer. What does the organization offer that will help the customer “WIN?” What is the organization’s ‘Why” that will help the customer “Win?”
When we look at our organizations whether they are for profit or non-profit, we need to see what we do well. Do we offer online SEO plans to help customers get quicker growth on the internet marketplace? Do we have solutions to handling ecommerce for the customer’s? What do our organizations do to enable growth of our customers? Do our organizations donate a large part of our profits to help society? Each of our organizations offer solutions that are vital, but it is up to us to define those game changing answers for the customer’s needs.
What does your organization do well to help your customers and society? Put your answer in the comments below in this blog.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
How Selfishness Affects Trust
The key is to really take an inventory of our relationships and see if there are any areas where we are being a little selfish.
Good morning,
We have come to the most important variable when discussing trust. It’s in the denominator of the equation as well. This means that the larger this value the more it pulls down the other variables in the numerator.
We can be very creditable, reliable, and vulnerable, but if we are only doing this to help ourselves “WIN” we will actually “LOSE”. We will not be able to gain trust and sustain it if we are only out for our own gain. True we may be able to fake our selfishness for a little while to obtain short term gains, but trust is a long-term play. People will figure it out fast enough as selfishness is like a spotlight shining bright into the night sky. There is no way to truly cover it.
Selfishness tells people that we do not value them and do not care about them. Have you ever been around someone that you tried to give more and more trust and it just seemed to blow up in your face each and every time? It is really hard to keep wanting to extend them the benefit of doubt. After a while trust is just not an option anymore.
I had to come to this realization with someone that I have bent over backwards to help on quite a few occasions. Each time resulted in being taken advantage of due to their selfishness. I am very helpful by nature and want to help people from hitting some of the pitfalls that I have had to endure. This person was only focused on their wants without a care for anyone else.
Without getting into much detail about the situation, I was protecting something of value that would have gotten damaged to the point of costing thousands of dollars to repair as well as fixing some other components on that piece of equipment that were already broken. The person was supposed to assist as well and instead of helping, they showed up after everything was done and sailed off without a thank you. I have since had to make the decision to not help this person in the future. It is not something that I am happy about, but I have had to make that decision.
By being selfish we can quickly turn relationships sour. In sales or leadership if this happens, we really start losing influence. In sales and Leadership influence is the key ingredient to success. Without trust there is no influence. Leverage is a term of is a term often people use as an influencing tool of holding something over someone so that they will do what we want, but once leverage is gone these people will revolt! Ever here about Julius Cesar? His good friend stabbed him in the back. Now typically an actual stabbing does not happen in business, but there have been stories in business where boards have thrown the CEO out of the organization overnight. When we do not have trust, people will be less willing to give us the benefit of the doubt and promote us to customer. Even Steve Jobs was asked to step down at one point at Apple.
I am constantly taking inventory in my life to gauge how selfish I am being. I’m sure I fail to live up to my standard, but my focus is on not being selfish. Instead my focus is on trying to help everyone that I can. I put my expertise out there to help others gain knowledge. I do not do it so I can say that I have done it, but to share so that people can avoid mistakes that I have run into in the past. My goal is to help you become more efficient and successful especially with areas of sales and influence.
The key is to really take an inventory of our relationships and see if there are any areas where we are being a little selfish. Are there some relationships that we need to apologize for selfishness? Have we made any recent mistakes that an apology will help start the road back to building trust? Selfishness can be fixed when we take an honest look at how we have behaving with others.
So here it is the full Trust Equation.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
You've Got The Purchase Order...Please Keep Going In The Sales Process!
Far too many sales people take the signed order and ride off into the sunset never to be heard from again. It’s a huge opportunity that unfortunately most sales people miss out on!
We’ve done it!
We have made it to the fifth and final buying decision for the customer which is “Buy”
The customer has now purchased our product / service and we celebrate! Unfortunately, this is where 99% of sales people stop the sales process. It’s okay to celebrate the win and I encourage the celebration, but when the sales person stops the sales process after receiving the order, the customer is left to fend for themselves. The customer soon will develop buyer’s remorse, not hitting the desired outcome from the purchase, and possibly thinking they were just sold something instead of purchasing a solution. The customer then associates sales people with that of someone that does not care about them.
Far too many sales people take the signed order and ride off into the sunset never to be heard from again. It’s a huge opportunity that unfortunately most sales people miss out on!
That’s right, when the customer agrees to buy, this is the time that sales professionals need to roll up their sleeves and move forward with the customer. The more this is done, the more the customer will brag to their friends, family members, social media, etc. about how awesome we served them and that everyone they know needs speak with us. Who wouldn’t want a salesforce of individuals selling of us without having to pay them?
I love having people that have taken my trainings tell others that they need to work with me because I know that what I am doing is helping!
First and foremost, when the customer agrees to purchase, they will second guess themselves (buyer’s remorse) about the purchase. That’s right, they are not sure what they did was the right decision. This typically happens for purchases over $50. We are not talking about a pack of gum here. The real-estate market has done a fantastic job overcoming this issue of “buyer’s remorse.” As soon as the customer agrees to purchase a property, they immediately begin moving the customer into the next steps.
When you confirm that the customer has made the right decision, they feel justified and will be set at ease. Getting the customer moving forward after this decision to buy and onto the next steps such as delivery date, onsite training, etc., the customer is reaffirmed and feels like they have made the best decision possible. They have a game plan for the next steps. The customer will feel relieved and begin moving forward with our help! They appreciate this, because most sales people do not do this! This simple step! Now we have a few other things we need to do as well.
The next thing we as professionals need to do is review how we did in the sales process. We do this to get better at selling our product / service. The better we do this the better we will get at the next sale and become more efficient. It’s like anything else we do. After every mission the best military operators will have a debrief meeting to discuss what went well and what could be done better the next time. The more we practice and review the more efficient we get. Take time to review spots that slowed us down and then fix those areas so that way we can move forward faster next time.
The last step in the sales process is crucial. Again 99% of sales professionals do not do this. This is the most crucial step in gaining influence with customers. It’s the next 90 days after the sale that really makes the customer’s purchase a success, or a failure. That’s right, after the installation and quick run through, the customer is going to have issues. The faster we communicate how to resolve those issues the better the customer will feel. That is why organizations have had support lines waiting for customer to call, but the sales professional has an opportunity to take this one step further.
This is the sales process step in trainings that most organizations ask a great deal of questions on how they can get better. It’s actually simple and to do once the content is created. That’s right, what content do you have available for the customer once they have purchased your product / service? Do you have a 10-steps to self-diagnose an issue? 15 best quick recipes for that blender? Youtube videos walking the customers through a new way to use the product / service? How about a Facebook group for other customers to share success stories and resolve issues together?
What do you have ready for your customers so that they can consistently win with your product / service? That is the question that we need to answer and if we do this well, we will be rewarded with greater levels of influence. With more influence comes greater growth in sales and increased revenue. At a certain point you become such an influencer that people stop focusing on price. Wouldn’t that be amazing to take the pricing discussion off the table?
We are in the service business no matter what we sell. Serve the customer well and reap the rewards. Underserve, and stay a commodity in the customer’s eyes.
It’s okay to have a little celebration, but then get to work rolling up your sleeves and help serve the customer!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
How Do you Get Past Buying Decision 1?
If we jump straight into selling mode after we get the customer’s name, we are failing the customer. Ever wonder why when asked what brings you in to this store today the customer says something like this, “Just looking…”
The first buying decision is the longest and hardest to complete for the customer. Mainly because there is so much decision making that has to happen in this buying decision before they can move forward. The customer has to know, like, and trust the sales person before the customer will ever buy from anyone selling a product / service.
We as sales professionals need to make sure we are answering these three questions for the customer in the first 60 seconds of meeting them:
Do I like you?
Do I trust you?
How can you help me?
If the salesperson gets your name and starts selling you something that they have, do you think they really care about your needs?
If we jump straight into selling mode after we get the customer’s name, we are failing the customer. Ever wonder why when asked what brings you in to this store today the customer says something like this, “Just looking…” It’s because the customer has been trained to think that sales people are all the same and all the sales person cares about is selling their product or service.
Let’s change that perception.
Let’s start by using a plan on how we will approach the customer in a way that builds likeability and trust. Let’s start with making sure when we approach the customer we are not circling like hungry vultures. Let’s let the customer come into our facilities and let them get comfortable by smiling and saying “Hi, welcome. We are here to help you when you are ready.” Smiling, wearing the right colors that psychologically reflect trust, honesty and lower anxiety. Not dark colored suits with power ties.
The environment we are in can affects our engagement levels. Things such as noise levels, smells, colors, lighting, etc. affect humans and can actually trigger anxiety. Do you think an anxious customer will be able to have a conversation and convey their needs? Have you ever noticed that department stores have different lighting, colors, music playing, and scents pumped into each area? That’s right they have studied customers to understand how to relax customers and to get them to stay in those areas longer. The longer someone is in the area the more likely they will buy a product / service. Remember that next time you get a free sample of food at Costco.
Now we can like someone, but still not buy from them.
There are two other questions that need to be answered as well. Do I trust you? and How can you help me? These two questions are very important with sales of $50 or more. People need to know like and trust us before they will do business with us.
If we can’t show the customer that they can trust us and that we are here to help them, the customer will simply go to another source and buy. It does not matter if we have the best product on the face of the earth. They need to trust us and know that we can help them.
So how do we do that?
By asking great questions. Asking questions is the way to get to know if what we have to sell will actually help the customer. Not just simple questions like, would the customer like a certain color of the product, but why are they looking to achieve with this purchase. What did they like about the last product they used, what do they wish they had on the previous product that they are replacing today? What does a win look like for the customer with this purchase?
Ask deeper questions to understand the why behind the customer’s decision
People crave to be understood and know that we are with them to help guide them on finding a solution. That is why customers talk to sales professionals. They are looking for guidance to find a solution to their needs.
Think back to the last time you had an amazing buying experience. What were some of the key elements of that sale that you had to tell your friends about because it just made you feel like you were set up for success with that purchase? How did the sales person make you feel? What did that salesperson do that stood out to you? What extra step did they do that no one else has ever done when you were making a purchase?
Now think of a bad buying experience? What were some of the reasons why the sales person lost the sale? What could they have done better? What made you run away as fast as you could to get away from that sales person?
If we do not get the first buying decision down correctly and constantly improve, then we will be mediocre in sales. No one really wants to be mediocre. If we want to be high achievers then we need to be constantly improving ourselves. We need to be focused on answering the three questions:
Do I like you?
Do I trust you?
How can you help me?
If you or your team need help reach out to me I am here to help!
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Vulnerability is Crucial For Trust
I have worked with ex-navy seals, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, contractors, etc. The most successful people are vulnerable to those they need high levels of trust with.
Have you ever been told you are too vulnerable? My guess is that if you a man in your 40’s and older, that has not been something you have ever heard. It just was not modeled for the most part by our fathers. We were taught how to change the car oil, get a job, and fix things. Vulnerability was not something that most of us were taught.
I was raised in a single parent family for most of my younger years and being vulnerable was not a skill I was taught. I was taught to “man up”, “suck it up”, etc. We didn’t show emotion. Well we did show anger and sarcasm. That was about it. Vulnerability was something I work on daily. This was one of the hardest skills for me as a man, but one of the most beneficial assets as a person of influence.
You may be thinking, I don’t have time to be vulnerable. I just need to push through with my team or my customers and get the job done to move on to the next task. I understand business and getting work done. What I am talking about is building a trust with our teams or customers gives us the benefit of the doubt in bad situations. This kind of trust is more than the superficial arm-length kind of relationship. It brings people in to get to know us on a deeper level. A level that when the chips are down, they will step in to help without question.
Now let’s talk about what vulnerability is. Vulnerability is opening ourselves to be potentially judged, let down, hurt emotionally, and disappointed. Vulnerability is sharing details and emotions to show the real us. It is also an uneasy feeling when we disclose something about ourselves to someone in an effort to build deeper trust levels.
Vulnerability is deeper than honesty. When being honest, we can speak the truth, but still not build trust (just ask my wife). People can be rubbed the wrong way with honesty. We can not gain the connection with others when we are just honest. We need to develop our level of vulnerability with other individuals to gain deeper relationships. Vulnerability is a scary place for most people because there is that risk of being hurt, but the payoff is definitely greater.
I have worked with ex-navy seals, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, contractors, etc. The most successful people are vulnerable to those they need high levels of trust with. Leaders have to be vulnerable with those they lead. Leaders strive to grow the relationship with those around them so that when the time comes to dig deep, the leaders will have the buy in from those around them, and accomplish great things.
Take a look at the picture for this blog post. Those jets are flying a high rates of speed and crossing each other’s paths. Think they have high levels of trust to perform these stunts? The answer is yes. They also have to be in sink because one small mistake could end their lives. They need this deep level of trust in order to do this. They also have to be vulnerable enough when practicing to let others know their comfort levels.
The reason why I have had such great success in sales is because I am vulnerable with my customers and team members. I trust them and pushed through my comfort zone to allow others in to see who I am. By doing so I have gained great relationships and trust with those around me. Together we have accomplished great things like a men’s ministry, winning multi-million multi-year contracts, and solid relationships that have stood the test of time.
This week I want to challenge us to open up instead of trying to conceal things. It’s okay to show the real us to others. We can share some of the things we struggle with and ask for help. Being vulnerable with where we are at will allow us to grow stronger and have others come along side of us to accomplish much more. My commitment this week is to listen and be more vulnerable to those around me and not jump in to fix it and move on. What is the next step you can do today to be more vulnerable with those around you?
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
How to Not Mess Up Buying Decision 3
What the customer does care about is how this product / service will meet “their needs”. That’s right! How does what we offer help the customer?
Buying Decision 3 is the part in my live and online trainings where the sales professionals believe they need zero help. It’s at this time that I have to ask for examples of participants to show me how they work on this buying decision.
Most attendees start with firing features and benefits in rapid fire, their elevator pitch, or how their product is so revolutionary like they are in one of those late-night infomercials. Unfortunately, this is an incorrect process in selling your product / service. The reason I know this is because I started out selling my products this way which drove my lack of sales. The customer does not care about how many features and benefits we have.
What the customer does care about is how this product / service will meet “their needs”. That’s right! How does what we offer help the customer? Each customer is different and has different needs which means we need to be smart about how we approach them. We can not simply rain features and benefits all over them hoping something sticks. We need to sell by answering their needs.
To effectively answer the customer’s needs, the salesperson needs to do the work in the first buying decision by asking great questions to uncover the customer’s needs. By asking questions we are finally able to understand the customer, what they are looking to achieve, and why they are looking to achieve it with this purchase. If we assume that we know exactly what the customer needs we typically miss the mark in sales.
You’re probably asking yourself how do I avoid this mistake? The answer is simple. By making sure that the question I am asking aligns with the needs answered by my features and benefits. That’s right I use the features and benefits of my product / service to roadmap questions for the customer. If the customer is saying yes to those questions, then we know that we are on the right track to help the customer. Simple right!
Below is a simple process I use to create the questions:
This is the process for creating the needs questions that align with your features and benefits.
One last point here and this is a big point!
If the answer is no to most of my questions about my product / service. I quickly understand that what the customer is looking for is not what I offer and I point them in the right direction to meet their needs. That is right, if my product / service will not help the customer I am going to do everything in my power to help them find what they need. Most sales people are shaking their heads in disbelief and they are wrong. See I am playing the long game with selling that builds influence.
If my current product / service does not help the customer and I help them find something that does, I have just solidified my value and gained tremendous influence with the customer. Even if they do not buy this product / service today, they will tell their friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. about the service that I have provided and how I helped them. They will tell those people that they need to come talk to me. It has helped me time and time again with references and grow my sales in the long run.
Yes, this is an internal decision to focus on helping more than just selling our products / service. I chose this early in my career which helped me gain more sales than I could have ever thought possible. Customers have come to me years later telling me that someone referred them to me because I was the best and helped in such a way that they needed to see me first.
Isn’t that where we want to be? To be the person everyone wants to come to for a solution to meet their needs?
To find out how to apply the total Sales Process Uncovered training with your team, follow the this link and get moving forward to reaching your sales goals!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Communicate Effectively or Risk Trust!
When I have failed to communicate expectations, or parameters to those I am about to have an experience with, things ultimately go off the rails. Someone gets upset, someone ends up sleeping on the couch, or worse someone could start building a wall between the other person that is hard to take back down.
How many times have you had someone respond negatively to something that you have said and you still are not sure why? Have you ever wanted to buy something, but when signing on the dotted line, there was a change? How about a significant other irritated from something you have said that was taken in a totally different context?
The reason is because most of us get this concept of communication wrong when we speak. Every relationship needs clear and effective communication. Dale Carnegie wrote about this topic extensively and even created a training based on it taught at large corporations to aid in effective communication.
When I have failed to communicate expectations, or parameters to those I am about to have an experience with, things ultimately go off the rails. Someone gets upset, someone ends up sleeping on the couch, or worse someone could start building a wall between the other person that is hard to take back down.
I have many stories about poor communication, but the one I want to share today is recent.
I have wanted a ski boat since I could drive a car. I have been searching all this year for a ski boat and this a couple weekends ago we test drove and put in an offer on a used ski boat. My wife even felt good about purchasing it. When the wife who could really care less about a ski boat is on board, it’s time to buy!
The person selling the ski boat was absolutely horrible in communicating unfortunately. I called him back after my wife and I talked and offered our price. It was a fair price and he said he had to talk to his brother who was part owner of the ski boat (new revelation red flag number 1) to discuss and that he would call me back quickly. Five hours later I got a text asking me if I could go up by $250. I immediately asked if I could talk to him on the phone to understand why they were asking for this extra $250.
When I finally got the seller on the phone, he stated they wanted to get $250 more and that was it. I stated there were some updates that I would have to do and thought our price was fair. He stated that he would call me right back. The next morning, I had an errand to run and reached out as the seller never responded (red flag number two). An hour went buy and then he texted that he was going to have someone else look at the boat that offered sight unseen $250 more.
I stated that I would raise the price if that was the case and that I would first need to see the trailer as he never allowed me to see it prior. The response was, “well I am out for a jog and I’ll call you later.” I tried calling and was sitting in the parking lot of the bank ready to get a cashier’s check for the ski boat. No response (red flag number 3). I waited about thirty minutes, and then started driving back to my in-laws house. An hour later I received a text that the other person was on their way to look at the ski boat. Frustrated, I told the seller that I hoped he sold the boat, but was no longer interested.
Had the individual utilized effective communication and informed me why the night before the reason why the $250 was requested, I may have been willing to raise the price then and maybe seal the deal. All I can assume now is that the seller was trying to play people against each other to inflate the price which is okay, but not how I do business. See the lack of trust there? I am able to see the red flags that should have keyed me into how this person functioned with communication and selling.
If you were in my position, how would you react?
Now think about that if you are in sales, or some kind of leadership position. If communication breaks down, people get frustrated, and it is extremely difficult to regain a relationship in this fast paced environment. There are other options out there for people to purchase, or organizations to work for. Even as the economy had dipped, it is recovering almost as fast. Organizations are back hiring more employees again.
If we want to grow our relationships, we need to focus on effective communication.
More on how to communicate effectively in the future, but for now I recommend Dale Carnegie’s book “How to win friends and influence people.” It’s a great resource for learning how to communicate effectively especially when are forced to be remote in our working conditions.
It will help greatly with all your relationships.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Building Trust With The "R" Word
Today, let’s talk about the second variable in building trust. It’s Reliability. How reliable are you? When you say you’ll do something will you do it? Will you do it to the best of your ability? Do you forget to do it? Will you do the right thing when no one is looking? Do you think it is that big of a deal to be reliable?
It's a BIG DEAL!!! Trust is won or lost by your actions, not just your words.
I remember when I was younger, my father telling me to always do what you say you are going to do. Do not waiver. He also stated to do the right thing if everyone is watching and when no one is watching. Don’t tell me, show me is the slogan I have heard all my life from my father.
I remember when I first met my wife’s parents. We were up at their cottage grilling steaks and I was assisting my future father-in-law. I told him that I usually every spring season the grill grates after the first steaks have been cooked by applying foil to the top of the grates and turning the heat up high while I ate and then it would bake in all the flavor.
What I didn’t know is that his grill grates on his expensive grill were actually anodized aluminum and not steel…
Did you know when you crank up the heat and use foil that reflects the heat back into the grates that are anodized aluminum, they actually can’t take that much heat and melt and then break in half? Yep, it was an awesome first experience…
I told him that I would replace them even though my future father-in-law said don’t worry about it. The next day I was on the phone with the grill manufacturer ordering the new grates. I was originally going to order just two, but they informed me that they had two different sizes in that grill…. so, I ordered a complete set. Did you know that anodized aluminum grates cost more than any grill I have ever bought? Yep that’s right almost $300 for grates.
That weekend was the most expensive steak dinner I have ever had, but by doing the right thing and doing what I said I was going to do our relationship has grown and he has put a great deal of trust in me. He knows that if I say I will do something that I will get it done.
When we interact with our teams, customers, family, or friends we need to make it a constant effort to be reliable. Without being reliable it is almost impossible to have a trusting relationship. Especially when we are first getting to know others.
Here are a few things I do to make sure I follow through:
List it and do it – As you can see from the picture of this blog, I love to utilize post-it notes for my action items. I will literally list out something I need to do and stick it to my wallet when I leave so I do not forget what I set out to do. Some people use an app, but I am low tech. A side note is that when people cross things off list they feel good and empowered. If you are someone that keeps forgetting to do things, then maybe making a list and keeping it with you as a reminder might be a good tool.
Action It – I am bombarded with requests regularly and if I set something to the side I tend to forget about it, so I make sure I do it right away if I can. CEO’s have utilized this method of acting right away of forgetting it. Emails are a way they sort through action items to either take action right away, or throw it in the recycle bin.
Delegate it – If you are unable to do something and someone else is better equipped to handle the item then delegate it. John Maxwell has endorsed this idea of delegate to elevate. My wife and I set up weekly meetings to look at things that need to be done and delegate things that each other can do. It allows us to work more efficiently, communicate effectively, and flow in our strengths.
L.A.D. are three helpful options that I we can all utilize to make sure we are reliable.
Is there a time that pops in the back of your mind where someone else has fallen short being reliable? How did it make you feel? Did you lose a little trust in that person?
I know I will fall short sometimes, but I make it my best effort to do what I say I am going to do and if I am going to come in short I communicate the situation and try to better the situation to the best of my ability. We need trust in order to keep moving forward with others. We need to focus on how we can make sure we are doing what we say we will do and apologize to anyone that we may have fallen short with.
Being reliable is essential in building trust.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
Why Customer Service Hates Sales People
Have you ever had customers call you complaining that they are not being taken care of properly? Ever had them say this is not what they agreed to? How about this statement, “I think you need to come pick up your stuff as I no longer wish to do business with you?”
Have you ever had customers call you complaining that they are not being taken care of properly? Ever had them say this is not what they agreed to? How about this statement, “I think you need to come pick up your stuff as I no longer wish to do business with you?”
These are never fun conversations and most can be alleviated quickly and easily if we do this one thing. Before I tell you what this one thing is, let me give you a context of the issue in depth before providing the solution.
Large organizations today have multiple people that interact with the customer. We all know the sales person that is tasked to grow revenue and win new projects / programs. There are also others that are handling the customer on a day to day basis while the sales person is off selling other new prospects. These individuals are the customer service representatives also known as account managers. They are the crucial in growing the relationship with the customer.
Customer’s rely on constant communication about shipments, payments, bills, etc. The customer needs to know what is going on so they can build their product / service, utilize the investment they have made, and grow their portfolio. They need us to grow their business.
The key issue that I have seen multiple times in business is this. The sales person goes out and wins a sale, get the high five, and then is off trying to make the next kill (more on “kills” in future blog posts). The sales person likely has forgotten to communicate the rules of engagement with the customer effectively to those that handle the accounts on a day to day basis. This means that any negotiations or agreements made outside of the standard programs have been missed and the day to day individuals do not have this knowledge.
This would upset me if I agreed to doing business a certain way and the organization decided that it was outside of the parameters and rejects what I agreed to. I would be infuriated, wouldn’t you? Most likely resulting me calling the sales person to pick up their products and services.
This was the issue with one organization I worked for when I started out my sales career and there were some very unhappy customers. So much so that the owner of the organization was receiving calls on his cell phone which resulted in not so pleasant conversations with the entire sales team. When I say unpleasant, I mean usage of a great deal of the urban and regular dictionary adjectives.
What derived out of this and what can be applied to any organization dealing with customers, is a review of the terms of the agreement and a kick off meeting prior to the first shipment of goods / services. This allows everyone to get in alignment so that rules of engagement with the customer is well understood. Today with the sharepoint drives and team sites, it is even easier to load the terms of the agreement so that anyone can quickly review them. This also helps in case a customer tries to exaggerate the terms of the agreement to receive a little extra benefit.
In implementing a good standard of communication of new contracts with the teams, the customer relationship will function smoothly and growth can happen faster. Making sure the customer is taken care of is the top priority!
Remember the old saying, “the customer is always right!” Sometimes we just need to have all of the facts about the relationship.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”
The 4th buying decision… the one most sales people fear!
Good morning everyone!
How many times have you been nervous to hear a result? Whether it was a test result from your doctor, that first time you asked a girl out in school, or how about when you sent the price over to a prospective customer and were in the silence which seemed like forever?
Most sales people have gone through this period at least in the beginning of their careers when they get to the fourth buying decision for the customer. It’s when the customer will inform the sales person if the work put in and the price align, or if they are not sold yet. During this buying decision far too many sales people will start spouting off more benefits and features, price dropping, etc. before the customer ever provides feedback.
When we start justifying our price as soon as we send it, we immediately devalue our proposal psychologically. Now the customer has no other course, but to challenge the price. The old saying less is more applies here. When the sales person send over the price, they need to stop speaking. Just like in a negotiation, the first person that speaks loses.
Now I temper that with a statement that submitting pricing is not an us vs. them situation, because we have done all of the steps in the sales process and are trying to serve the customer. What I am saying is that when we submit the pricing, we need to not devalue our proposition to the customer. Now the discussion should be on the customer to decide how to proceed.
Maybe the customer needs a little more information because we did not answer one of their needs that is high value. That’s okay because we can address that need quickly to help them make sure this is the best product / service they are about to purchase. Maybe the customer is in the research phase of decision making. This should have been discovered early on in the first buying decision, but maybe they are trying to budget. Then it is up to us to make sure we identify the next step for them to take and how we can help the customer.
There is nothing wrong with hearing a no right after we have provided the price. This is how we adjust and understand what may be limiting the customer from making the purchase. Just like shooting a rifle from 1000 yards away from a target. Sometimes a small adjustment needs to be made to hit the target in the center. This is our opportunity to correct and address the customer’s needs and help them.
If we don’t sell the product / service right after the first time we submit a price, that is okay. Sometimes there is a better option for the customer, but if we have done a great job, the customer will tell us why we may have lost this sale, but they will tell others how we helped them if we walk with them through the five buying decisions correctly.
As a side note most sales people never go back and find out why they lost a sale. This is valuable information if that happens to adjust the sales approach going forward!
We just need to make sure we do no devalue ourselves, or our offerings while working through the sales process with them.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”