F.E.A.R. as defined by many personal development gurus (the revered and even the self-proclaimed) is defined as False Evidence Appearing Real. To close big deals, and large clients, especially in turbulent or uncertain times is all about taking the F.E.A.R out of saying yes.
Often the prospect has a dozen good reasons why they should do business with you, they even admit it, but still no deal. There’s a hesitance, a pause, then more questions, a couple stalls and more meetings hesitations and stalls. What are they afraid of? Often it’s an undefined sense of uncertainty. It’s emotional intuitive issue, they don’t trust us, or they don’t trust a number of factors that influence their business that are related to the transaction.
“Sales is about creating an environment where an act of faith can take place.”
This act of faith us based upon trust and credibility. Trust is in my opinion the number one sales currency. Too many people think it’s a product, a pitch, a better deal, or a nice suit. These things are important, but all will fall short without trust.
Recently I surveyed a number of senior investment advisors with one of Canada’s largest brokerage firms and asked them a very straightforward and open-ended question; “What does is take to move a big client (along with their with money) from a competitor to your firm?”
Every single one of them, without exception, said “the relationship.” This relationship was built upon a series of trust building interactions, very few of which were related directly to immediate gains in stock picks or better brochures than the competitors. They described knowing the client personally through lunches, dinners, inviting them the VIP events and being very accessible and transparent in their dealings with them.
I asked “what about your great research, your name in the press, the brand, and of course your track record?” The response: “That will get them to open their account with you and allow you to send them the odd e-mail or prospectus.” To move a large lump sum of money for you to manage they told me “you need trust, a real relationship based upon it.”
I recently landed a fortune 50 client. I knew I was up against bigger competitors. After the RFP and final presentation was done I got the news. The deal was mine. When I asked the Senior VP of Sales for this company why I got the deal his answer was little surprising. He said “I don’t know, the other guys are well branded, they said the right things, but you just made us feel comfortable, you were open with us, I felt that our team would relate well to you.” Relate well? I thought. What about the results I’ve landed for other clients? Our great training modules? Our experience in their sector? Comfortable? They bought comfortable!? What kind if competitive advantage is that?!
What my broker clients and I experienced is the same thing.
Our value proposition, our branding, our stats and track record opened the door for us. To close the deal, and grow the client it was our ability to establish trust that was the deciding factor.
What is trust? Trust from a prospects perspective, is a sense of comfort, a belief that we’ll do what we say we’ll do regardless of a contract or what we’re obligated to do. Seems simple, but so many people today feign concern but don’t deliver. The truly empathetic sales person that is grounded and transparent has a huge advantage in the marketplace. Trustworthiness is a rare commodity, if we focus delivering it as out core value proposition we can lock clients in for a lifetime.
So how do we establish it? Here’s some quick concluding thoughts on the topic:
#1) Know your product and service capabilities, all of it’s applications and all of it’s limitations. Close deals that fit and be willing to walk away or refer them to someone else. Basically take on clients you know you can hit a home run with.
#2) Keep even the smallest commitment always, Even things like being on time are unspoken and implied commitments. If we can’t be trusted with minor details how can we be trusted with business critical issues?
#3) Never talk about other clients to prospects, unless you let them know that you have pre-approval. They’ll enjoy the story but then later wonder what you’ll say about them.
#5) Manage their expectations up front. Let them know what to expect, even in regards to product and service limitations. Our clients are grown-ups, they know there’s no perfect product or service and they’ll appreciate our candor.
#6) Have conversations that are broader and deeper than our competitors are capable of having. Do this by educating ourselves more, researching more, assuming nothing, and customizing every interaction with the client.
#7) This final point is by far the most critical. Be good at establishing genuine rapport. This happens by being totally aware, present and functional and having a highly developed capacity for listening and asking great questions. People will sense our level of empathy and sincerity more from the questions we ask then the stories that we tell.
About the Author:
Shane Gibson is President of Knowledge Brokers International and author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals. With 14 years as a professional speaker Shane is in high demand as a conference speaker and a sales training and sales performance specialist. KBI’s clients include organizations such as BMW, Siemens, Ford, Vodacom, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of professional associations and corporations in Canada, USA, South Africa, South America and the Middle East.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
3 Top Tips For Creating A Memorable Unique Selling Proposition - By Barbara K. Giamanco **
You've been there. At a networking function someone asks you what your company does, and you freeze like a deer in the headlights. You haven't thought it through so what might roll off your tongue is a lengthy speech that says absolutely nothing. Worse yet, you might default to spitting out a feature/benefit dump that also does nothing, except perhaps turn off your potential client! Later, you cringe at the memory and beat yourself up for not doing better.
Learn to tell your story.
The art of great storytelling has existed for thousands of years and recently it's been gaining in popularity in the business world. In "Made to Stick" , authors Chip and Dan Heath talk about creating stories and messages that are "sticky". There is a lot of competition for the average person's attention these days, so what you do must stand out.
Mike Wittenstein of "Storyminers" takes the concept of a unique selling proposition and recommends presenting what you offer as a story. The best experiences we have are when we are hooked by the story, he says. It's that way for your customers and prospects also.
It starts with understanding your uniqueness, the value of what YOU offer to others. Here are 3 tips for building a strong unique selling proposition:
Know why people buy the type of product or service you offer.
Surprisingly a lot of people just don't think this through. You may be one of them. Remember, a great USP showcases your uniqueness and tells people what's in it for them if they buy from you. It focuses on results, not on product features or business processes.
You've got to do your homework! Do some digging to really uncover what's different about you and what you have to offer. Do you know how people describe you to others? What do you want to be known for? What do your current clients like about working with you? Why do people buy what you have to offer? Why will they choose you over some other company? Dig for the answers and you might be surprised by what you discover!
Mine the gaps between your business and your competition.
Unless you make a widget that no one else makes, you HAVE competition. To know your competition, you've got to study them. Check out their website. Study their ads. Find out how they promote themselves. Look for things you offer that they do not. Find out why people buy from them. Ask a prospect who may be using a service similar to what you offer, what they wish their current provider would offer. Use every opportunity to gather information by asking questions. When you understand the gap, creating your USP becomes much easier.
Fill the void.
In every industry there is a business need going unresolved. You have to discover what that is and meet the need or "fix the pain", as professional coaches and trainers say. The void for your prospects may be caused by lack of time, competing priorities, lack of balance in their lives or a myriad of other issues. Whatever it is, find that void and then talk about how your product or service fills the gap. Read blogs, ask your clients what challenges they face or what they believe are the obstacles down the road, watch for trends in business publications, look at what isn't being offered, but whatever you do, be sure to conduct thoroughresearch before assuming that what you plan to offer is something people want.
Regardless of who you are - CEO, Coach, Consultant, Sales Professional - you have products and services that you need to tell people about in ways that engage them and entice them to buy from you. Remember that being able to tell your story -- to articulate your unique sales proposition quickly, effortlessly and with conviction will help you sell more, more often!
About the Author:
Talent Builders CEO Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached sales executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. She has more than 25 years of experience in selling to enterprise, mid-market and retail accounts and knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of the sales person. During her career, her accounts have included American Express Worldwide, Motorola, Best Buy, Circuit City, Anheuser-Busch, Target, and Honeywell. Visit us on the web at www.talentbuildersinc.com
Learn to tell your story.
The art of great storytelling has existed for thousands of years and recently it's been gaining in popularity in the business world. In "Made to Stick" , authors Chip and Dan Heath talk about creating stories and messages that are "sticky". There is a lot of competition for the average person's attention these days, so what you do must stand out.
Mike Wittenstein of "Storyminers" takes the concept of a unique selling proposition and recommends presenting what you offer as a story. The best experiences we have are when we are hooked by the story, he says. It's that way for your customers and prospects also.
It starts with understanding your uniqueness, the value of what YOU offer to others. Here are 3 tips for building a strong unique selling proposition:
Know why people buy the type of product or service you offer.
Surprisingly a lot of people just don't think this through. You may be one of them. Remember, a great USP showcases your uniqueness and tells people what's in it for them if they buy from you. It focuses on results, not on product features or business processes.
You've got to do your homework! Do some digging to really uncover what's different about you and what you have to offer. Do you know how people describe you to others? What do you want to be known for? What do your current clients like about working with you? Why do people buy what you have to offer? Why will they choose you over some other company? Dig for the answers and you might be surprised by what you discover!
Mine the gaps between your business and your competition.
Unless you make a widget that no one else makes, you HAVE competition. To know your competition, you've got to study them. Check out their website. Study their ads. Find out how they promote themselves. Look for things you offer that they do not. Find out why people buy from them. Ask a prospect who may be using a service similar to what you offer, what they wish their current provider would offer. Use every opportunity to gather information by asking questions. When you understand the gap, creating your USP becomes much easier.
Fill the void.
In every industry there is a business need going unresolved. You have to discover what that is and meet the need or "fix the pain", as professional coaches and trainers say. The void for your prospects may be caused by lack of time, competing priorities, lack of balance in their lives or a myriad of other issues. Whatever it is, find that void and then talk about how your product or service fills the gap. Read blogs, ask your clients what challenges they face or what they believe are the obstacles down the road, watch for trends in business publications, look at what isn't being offered, but whatever you do, be sure to conduct thoroughresearch before assuming that what you plan to offer is something people want.
Regardless of who you are - CEO, Coach, Consultant, Sales Professional - you have products and services that you need to tell people about in ways that engage them and entice them to buy from you. Remember that being able to tell your story -- to articulate your unique sales proposition quickly, effortlessly and with conviction will help you sell more, more often!
About the Author:
Talent Builders CEO Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached sales executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. She has more than 25 years of experience in selling to enterprise, mid-market and retail accounts and knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of the sales person. During her career, her accounts have included American Express Worldwide, Motorola, Best Buy, Circuit City, Anheuser-Busch, Target, and Honeywell. Visit us on the web at www.talentbuildersinc.com
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