Since sales is probably the one business function that most of us would prefer to steer around, or completely ignore, I thought it might be good to visit. So, put on your favorite pair of checker slacks and that stunning plaid jacket - we're goin' sellin.'
Selling services are different that selling a tangible product. With product sales, the prospect looks it over, compares features and benefits, compares competitive prices, etc. In days gone by, people would visit several stores before making their buying decision. Now days, they compare products and prices on the Net, often long before they ever step into a store or showroom. With service sales, the "product" is intangible during the sales cycle. That's one reason why the sales cycle (going from first contact to signing on the dotted line) can be 6 - 8 months or, often, longer. To keep yourself afloat, you'll need to have several irons in the fire at various points in the cycle. Some will close sooner, some later and some not at all.
Typically, there are three phases of the cycle: making contact; building the relationship and, finally, closing the sale. Let's take a look at each.
Making ContactThere's several articles across the Web (and on this blog) that talk about self-promotion and marketing tactics and techniques - all the fun ways to get the word out. None the less, it's always good to have a reminder. Here are some of the typical methods:
- Networking events such as ad clubs, chambers of commerce, trade shows, clubs & organizations.
- Direct Mail such as postcards, sales letters, printed samples, brochures, 3-dimensional pieces
- Cold/warm phone calls
- Speaking engagements such as seminars, lectures or talks and workshops to a targeted audience
- Press releases
- Writing articles
- Online prospecting
- Working on charitable events and programs
- Award competitions
- Skywriting above your prospect's place of business (Okay ... that's a wee bit extreme).
- Asking for referrals from business contacts, friends and family
- And of course, your Website, blog and social media of choice such as LinkedIn, Biznik, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
The idea during this phase is to actively be working several methods to get your name around, known and remembered. You want to meet people. But, not just anybody. Ideally, you want to meet and qualify folks who need what you provide and have the dough to pay for it. Plus, it's a good idea if they also offer the potential for repeat business.
Find those techniques that fit your style and personality. Shoot for at least three to five activities each day. If you plan well it won't take too much time. Maybe you make a few phone calls, attend a chamber breakfast, shoot off an intro letter with a few printed samples one day. Then, on the next, you give a talk at the local
Rotary Club, attend a Board meeting at a nonprofit and crank out some emails to current clients and friends reminding them that you're always on the lookout for referrals.
If you're diligent, you'll meet several new people who just might become clients. But, to do that, you'll need to build a relationship with them.
Building the RelationshipBuilding a business relationship is like building a personal one, so don't sweat it. Unless you're a total hermit, you've already got the experience you need. Just like with a significant other, you need to show up. What I mean is to be available. Listen. Learn and remember what's important to them and help out where you can. Timing is the trick. You don't want to come off like a stalker or pain in the hind quarter.
Here are some methods
- Take notes during your conversations.
- Find out their spouse's and kids' names. Who's their boss? What are the challenges they face in their job and industry? Who are their key competitors? What kind of hobbies do the enjoy? Look around their office if you've gotten that far. What's on the walls? Any nick nacks and perhaps a paddy whack or two?
- Pop all this info into your handy contact manager (you've have one, right?) and set it up to alert you on important days.
- Be sure to ask how their family members are doing.
- Send out cards for birthdays, special achievements, etc.
- Send a handwritten thank-you note when appropriate
- Take them to lunch, dinner or a special event
- Forward articles of interest, special deals you may hear about, special events (Like that club meeting where you'll be speaking. What a coincidence!)
- If they've mentioned a problem or challenge they're having, and you know the answer, for goodness sake, tell them. Don't go too far with this, though. You can easily cut into your billable potential if your answers to their woes are the services you sell. Think of it as sampling and whetting their appetite for more.
The point is to become a resource and someone who is looking out for them. It's very important that this be true and authentic. People can usually spot a thrower of baloney. Have some integrity. Integrity, by the way, is rooted in the word, "integrate." That means what you believe on the inside is what you do on the outside. That's one reason why it's good to find prospects you like as people. Hopefully, you'll be spending a lot of time with them working on that big project. But first, you've got to close the sale.
Closing the SaleThe day finally comes. Mr. Marketing Manager gives you a call and asks you to submit a proposal for Da Big Project. You set up a meeting to go over the specs, at which time Mr. Manager clues you in that you'll be competing against three other groups. You're still not as "in like Flint" as you may have thought. You've still got one big hurdle to jump. You also learn you'll be presenting to a couple of VPs and the CEO, along with your buddy, Mr. Manager.
After the meeting, you get to work and begin to
craft your perfect proposal and plan your presentation. You review the company again, its products, its competitor and audience. You go through the project goals and draft some delicious prose showing how you're going to meet them with your brilliant work.
Judgment Day comes and you make your pitch, showing what needs to be done and why your the right solution for the project. You ask for the sale. You're in good shape from all you learned during the relationship building process. You have an edge over the other groups who were called in cold. Your presentation is dead on-target. They give you a standing ovation, sign on the dotted line and write you a deposit check on the spot. The planets align and rainbows appear in the sky. You've closed the deal - all because you're the one who took the time to make the best use of the sales cycle.
Labels: marketing, neil tortorella, promotion, sales, sales process
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