Had an interesting conversation with two principals of an accounting firm this morning, about embedding a business development (i.e., sales) mindset with those who never wanted to sell. Not easy to do - unless you change the frame.
There are many ways to think about selling, and some are much more productive and congruent with a professional self-image than others.
If the frame in which you think about selling is to focus on the numbers you need to post, it creates desperation and leads to behaviors that won't work and don't fit.
If your frame is that you have to hunt prospects, pitch them, overcome their objections and close them to win the deal, it requires an aggressiveness that doesn't come naturally or comfortably to professionals who didn't plan to be salespeople.
But if the frame is professional sales - that you provide a useful expert service that really helps current clients, and as you meet people you want to discover whether they may have a need for this useful service - it's a better fit. Your conversations are about discovery, not manipulation; you're not trying to convince anyone, but just understand whether there may be a need.
Because you're not "selling" anything, unless you make a connection and discover a need. At each step of the sales process, you only need to get permission to move along to the next step. And if a relationship happens and a need becomes apparent, you're only inviting the prospective client to act in their own best interest by getting your services.
This approach feels very different for professionals who become responsible for business development.
Why? Because it's honest. There's no manipulation, no "games," no deception. Metaphors of war and win/lose just don't fit, and are not necessary.
It's a professional approach to sales, with the highest integrity.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Making (fewer) Bad Decisions
Today I'm on the Peter McClellan Radio show (AM1570) at 4 PM, talking about "Making Bad Decisions" - and of course, the subtext is "how can we make better decisions" and "how can we avoid the bad ones"
I based my comments on a couple of books I re-read for this, Robert Cialdini's "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" and Dan Ariely's "Predictably Irrational." I've included my mind-map notes on both books on my website, events page.
The one thing I really wanted to say that we didn't cover was about the critical importance of "reflection in action" in improving decisions. That's deliberately revisiting how you reached the decision, honestly searching for what part was logic, what was "gut" or instinct, what information you had and what you lacked, what signals of external influence were present, and so on.
Many people think we make most of our decisions rationally. Not so much. There's a rational component, and some decisions are best made mostly rationally. But we have a lot more brains than logic, and the unconscious, intuitive "hunches" and emotions are often bringing us important information that we haven't worked up to conscious awareness.
When we revisit our decisions to analyze them, we can better understand how we really made them.
Most people think of analyzing their failures, and of course we should.
But most don't think to analyze their successes. And which do you want more of?
I based my comments on a couple of books I re-read for this, Robert Cialdini's "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" and Dan Ariely's "Predictably Irrational." I've included my mind-map notes on both books on my website, events page.
The one thing I really wanted to say that we didn't cover was about the critical importance of "reflection in action" in improving decisions. That's deliberately revisiting how you reached the decision, honestly searching for what part was logic, what was "gut" or instinct, what information you had and what you lacked, what signals of external influence were present, and so on.
Many people think we make most of our decisions rationally. Not so much. There's a rational component, and some decisions are best made mostly rationally. But we have a lot more brains than logic, and the unconscious, intuitive "hunches" and emotions are often bringing us important information that we haven't worked up to conscious awareness.
When we revisit our decisions to analyze them, we can better understand how we really made them.
Most people think of analyzing their failures, and of course we should.
But most don't think to analyze their successes. And which do you want more of?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Extraordinary Resource on Strategy
One online subscription just yielded an extraordinary free resource that anyone even a little interested in strategy should download now, while it's free.
Strategy + Business (http://www.strategy-business.com) is an e-zine put out by Booz & Company. I've been reading it for years, and find it's usually very insightful.
But today's issue offers a free download of the latest book by Harvard Business Review. It's a series of articles (with "quick-read" summaries for those of us with tiny attention spans) that define some foundational ideas on strategy. They call it their "Must-Read" list, and I agree!
The articles in this 143-page compendium include Porter's "What is Strategy" and "Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy," Collins & Porras' "Building Your Company's Vision," Kim & Malborgne's "Blue Ocean Strategy," Mankins & Steele's "Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance," and several more.
Thanks to Booz & Company for subsidizing the free download of the whole book - well worth downloading before the offer expires June 15, when Harvard Business School will likely start to sell it.
Strategy + Business (http://www.strategy-business.com) is an e-zine put out by Booz & Company. I've been reading it for years, and find it's usually very insightful.
But today's issue offers a free download of the latest book by Harvard Business Review. It's a series of articles (with "quick-read" summaries for those of us with tiny attention spans) that define some foundational ideas on strategy. They call it their "Must-Read" list, and I agree!
The articles in this 143-page compendium include Porter's "What is Strategy" and "Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy," Collins & Porras' "Building Your Company's Vision," Kim & Malborgne's "Blue Ocean Strategy," Mankins & Steele's "Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance," and several more.
Thanks to Booz & Company for subsidizing the free download of the whole book - well worth downloading before the offer expires June 15, when Harvard Business School will likely start to sell it.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Networking as Marketing Strategy - It's All Attitude
This morning's micro-seminar "Networking for Increased Sales" reinforced some key points about the "why" and "how" of networking, and how the fundamental attitude drives everything else.
The why? Honestly, often to avoid cold-calling. Starting relationships at networking events is a lot more comfortable, and effective (when done well). One source has 60% of new business contacts come through networking, and referrals from networking are 80% more effective than cold calls. Choosing between attending 3 networking events to get 6 quality referrals and calling 600 strangers? Not a hard choice!
The how? Remember your purpose in networking is not to close deals, nor give out business cards, nor "pitch" to anyone who'll listen. Your purpose is to meet new people, learn who they are, and (when appropriate) start enough of a relationship to earn a follow-up meeting.
The attitude that's important in networking is to be real. Be curious, be genuinely interested in what the people you meet say and do, to learn all you can about them. Listening skills are much more important than presentation skills! A willingness to share your network, to give what you can without tallying the score, to make introductions even at the event - these eventually start to build relationships that matter.
The why? Honestly, often to avoid cold-calling. Starting relationships at networking events is a lot more comfortable, and effective (when done well). One source has 60% of new business contacts come through networking, and referrals from networking are 80% more effective than cold calls. Choosing between attending 3 networking events to get 6 quality referrals and calling 600 strangers? Not a hard choice!
The how? Remember your purpose in networking is not to close deals, nor give out business cards, nor "pitch" to anyone who'll listen. Your purpose is to meet new people, learn who they are, and (when appropriate) start enough of a relationship to earn a follow-up meeting.
The attitude that's important in networking is to be real. Be curious, be genuinely interested in what the people you meet say and do, to learn all you can about them. Listening skills are much more important than presentation skills! A willingness to share your network, to give what you can without tallying the score, to make introductions even at the event - these eventually start to build relationships that matter.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Networking as Marketing Strategy - Efficient?
Doing a micro-seminar this Thursday on "Networking for Increased Sales" spurs reflection on Return On Effort (ROE) for the many events I've attended, and where there are familiar faces and oh-so-familiar situations.
A colleague in the RAC network in PA told me that she now gets so many invitations to events (Business Networks Internationa; (BNI), Chambers of Commerce, BNI-emulators, Firestorm groups, Meet-Up groups, etc.) that if she could accept them all, it would be a 60-hour per week job. She finds that job doesn't pay well... Unless she improves the odds of success.
Can going to networking events be part of an effective, efficient marketing strategy?
Well, it depends.
If you go to everything you're invited to, it can be a "black hole" of time and resources. ROE for "shotgun" approach? Very low.
If you know who's in your target market, and know where they gather, and get invited? Better ROE.
If you know who you're looking to meet as a prospective client or a referral source, and find events where several people like that are present? Positive ROE.
And when you get to the event, and that moment of truth happens, when you get that one chance to make a first impression, some people launch their sales pitch. ROE for pitching? Very, very low. Can even do harm.
If you press to qualify, trying to smoke out if they're a decision-maker, have a need, and have money? Very low ROE - can do reputation harm and make people avoid you. Who wants their arm twisted by someone they just met?
If you are genuinely interested in the people you meet, curious about how their world works and where they find joy in it? Positive ROE.
Networking, randomly? Low ROE.
Networking, purposefully, with the right goals and attitudes? Better ROE.
More in the coming days.
A colleague in the RAC network in PA told me that she now gets so many invitations to events (Business Networks Internationa; (BNI), Chambers of Commerce, BNI-emulators, Firestorm groups, Meet-Up groups, etc.) that if she could accept them all, it would be a 60-hour per week job. She finds that job doesn't pay well... Unless she improves the odds of success.
Can going to networking events be part of an effective, efficient marketing strategy?
Well, it depends.
If you go to everything you're invited to, it can be a "black hole" of time and resources. ROE for "shotgun" approach? Very low.
If you know who's in your target market, and know where they gather, and get invited? Better ROE.
If you know who you're looking to meet as a prospective client or a referral source, and find events where several people like that are present? Positive ROE.
And when you get to the event, and that moment of truth happens, when you get that one chance to make a first impression, some people launch their sales pitch. ROE for pitching? Very, very low. Can even do harm.
If you press to qualify, trying to smoke out if they're a decision-maker, have a need, and have money? Very low ROE - can do reputation harm and make people avoid you. Who wants their arm twisted by someone they just met?
If you are genuinely interested in the people you meet, curious about how their world works and where they find joy in it? Positive ROE.
Networking, randomly? Low ROE.
Networking, purposefully, with the right goals and attitudes? Better ROE.
More in the coming days.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Selling Strategy
Last post mentioned that if sales isn't working, the rest of strategy doesn't matter. Since writing that, in conversations with dozens of entrepreneurs and small businesses, I'm hearing universal agreement - and concern.
A refinancer said whatever deal she puts together today might not be possible in a month. A mortgage broker said he expects his business to shift dramatically this year when interest rates start to rise. A fellow consultant said most are stuck in a "wait and see" mode, unwilling to commit. A banker said conditions for making loans are tighter than ever before, and he has to tell his prospects "No" most of the time.
Of course it's all true, and it misses an important point: No matter what happens with interest rates, with taxes, with credit, with unemployment, with rapidly changing rules and conditions, with the random fluctuations of Wall Street, an effective sales strategy has to do just three things:
When a business offers a good solution to a priority problem, or the means to sieze a perceived opportunity, the sales strategy becomes getting it "out there" in front of those with that problem/opportunity and make buying a reasonable and easy choice.
How? Depends on the customer, and how they want to buy. The customer is in control; all a business can do is facilitate their awareness, confirm their wants & needs, anticipate and answer their questions, inform them of their choices in ways that help them decide -- however they decide.
And once a willing customer decides to buy, the rest of the strategy becomes important.
More on that next time.
A refinancer said whatever deal she puts together today might not be possible in a month. A mortgage broker said he expects his business to shift dramatically this year when interest rates start to rise. A fellow consultant said most are stuck in a "wait and see" mode, unwilling to commit. A banker said conditions for making loans are tighter than ever before, and he has to tell his prospects "No" most of the time.
Of course it's all true, and it misses an important point: No matter what happens with interest rates, with taxes, with credit, with unemployment, with rapidly changing rules and conditions, with the random fluctuations of Wall Street, an effective sales strategy has to do just three things:
- Find willing & able customers
- Offer help with what they experience as a problem/opportunity
- Make buying easy and satisfying.
When a business offers a good solution to a priority problem, or the means to sieze a perceived opportunity, the sales strategy becomes getting it "out there" in front of those with that problem/opportunity and make buying a reasonable and easy choice.
How? Depends on the customer, and how they want to buy. The customer is in control; all a business can do is facilitate their awareness, confirm their wants & needs, anticipate and answer their questions, inform them of their choices in ways that help them decide -- however they decide.
And once a willing customer decides to buy, the rest of the strategy becomes important.
More on that next time.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Strategy - Learning As You Go
The "Learning School" holds that organizational learning is how to keep strategy flexible and adaptive to rapidly changing environments.
"Walking the talk," I'm applying some practices of organizational learning to the sales microseminar series strarting on 3/11 (see www.effectivelearningforgrowth.com for details). Reflecting on what's been done before, challenging my assumptions about why and how, deliberately doing some things differently and watching for effect, cycling back through the reflective process.
(I'm noticing that organizational learning in an organization of one is, well, different, yet the same because it's quite practical. At least, the discussions are shorter.)
Microseminars are one component of my marketing strategy, which is in turn one component of my own overall business strategy for Effective Learning for Growth.
The marketing strategy - how one attracts clients - may be the most essential part of any overall strategy, since no clients means no business. Even if every other part of the whole strategy works beautifully, if this part doesn't, it's "game over."
Challenging the why - these are primarily to help other entrepreneurs, who often struggle from not knowing how to sell. But they're also to showcase the content of sales training for potential corporate clients and individual coaching clients. The why stands, but changes the how because the intended results from last year's sessions were less than anticipated.
Changing the how - Have marketed these through social media, primarily using Linked-In Chamber of Commerce and other groups. This time, continuing what worked, but adding two elements: cold-calling businesses in Chambers, and (thanks to a great idea from Tom Majewsky) started a Meet-Up group, as well. Also adding in social media more actively.
Real-time strategy adjustment through reflection-in-action - how might it translate for larger organizations?
"Walking the talk," I'm applying some practices of organizational learning to the sales microseminar series strarting on 3/11 (see www.effectivelearningforgrowth.com for details). Reflecting on what's been done before, challenging my assumptions about why and how, deliberately doing some things differently and watching for effect, cycling back through the reflective process.
(I'm noticing that organizational learning in an organization of one is, well, different, yet the same because it's quite practical. At least, the discussions are shorter.)
Microseminars are one component of my marketing strategy, which is in turn one component of my own overall business strategy for Effective Learning for Growth.
The marketing strategy - how one attracts clients - may be the most essential part of any overall strategy, since no clients means no business. Even if every other part of the whole strategy works beautifully, if this part doesn't, it's "game over."
Challenging the why - these are primarily to help other entrepreneurs, who often struggle from not knowing how to sell. But they're also to showcase the content of sales training for potential corporate clients and individual coaching clients. The why stands, but changes the how because the intended results from last year's sessions were less than anticipated.
Changing the how - Have marketed these through social media, primarily using Linked-In Chamber of Commerce and other groups. This time, continuing what worked, but adding two elements: cold-calling businesses in Chambers, and (thanks to a great idea from Tom Majewsky) started a Meet-Up group, as well. Also adding in social media more actively.
Real-time strategy adjustment through reflection-in-action - how might it translate for larger organizations?
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