The Selling Sherpa

THIS ONE’S FOR YOU

There’s an interesting little eatery near our home serving up Australian imports, meat pies, and specialty desserts.

Having only been in twice before, we still see different people working with each visit, and we met the owner yesterday. He was very cordial and encouraged us to add desserts to our purchase. We thanked him but declined the up-sell.

As we completed our transaction and turned to leave, he asked my wife if she would like a complimentary passion-fruit scone.

Not a bad move. Knowing that sampling sells, he understands that the cost of a free scone will be far outweighed by future sales if the customer likes it and converts into a repeat purchaser.

I’d also recommend going one step further. Instead of asking if the customer would like something free (which allows the possibility of a ‘no’ answer), simply hand a sample to the customer and say, “this one’s for you.” Rarely will a customer turn down a gift and, once it is in their hands, it is almost certain they will taste it, use it, or keep it.

If they like it, they’ll buy more...and tell their friends about it, too!

YOU CAN CALL ME AL

Yesterday, a colleague asked if I preferred to be called Patrick or Pat.

I told him that when I am calling on people who don’t know me, or taking a call from someone I don’t know, I use Patrick. When I used Pat previously, some callers thought I said Matt and it created some confusion. Patrick solves that problem.

But I also told him that my family and friends call me Pat and I hoped he would too.

He also noted (correctly) that permitting the use of the simple version instead of the formal one probably speeds up the relationship-building process. And isn’t that what selling is all about?

Your name may not lend itself to this situation. But if it does, I encourage you to encourage others to call you by your familiar name as soon as you feel comfortable about it....which should be about the time you hand them your business card.

If I was named Alfred or Albert, I’d certainly print that on my card. But every time I met someone new, I’d hand them my card, introduce myself and let them know, “you can call me Al.”

EVERYBODY’S TALKING

Everybody’s talking about the Iron Chef/McDonald’s subliminal ad situation. Have you heard about it?

During a recent episode of the popular Food Network program, an image of the golden arches logo on a red background with the current tagline appeared for 1/30th of a second in the middle of the segment. A viewer posted the clip on YouTube, then the story was picked up by a local Chicago news show, and is now being discussed on television and blogs worldwide.

Although they are a sponsor, McDonald’s denies using subliminal advertising techniques, and Food Network claims it was merely a technical glitch.

Personally, I think it was a brilliant marketing move. The media coverage of the story has given McDonald’s, Food Network, and Iron Chef millions of dollars worth of free advertising.

When it is done right, a little controversy can turn into a major publicity stunt. As long as you don’t break the law or cross moral boundaries, you are only limited by your imagination. The more outrageous the stunt, the more attention you are likely to get.

What can you do to make sure everybody’s talking about you?

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO

You get invitations to meetings, lead groups, workshops or seminar. This could be good networking opportunities, but you also don’t want to spend too much time away from selling activities.

So, how do you decide which to attend and which to pass on? How do you answer the question, “should I stay or should I go?”

I will typically consider three things:

Does the subject of the event address a problem my customers are facing?
Does the subject of the event address an idea I want to pursue but have not had time to research?
Is the speaker or featured presenter someone I want to make a connection with?

If the answer to any of these is yes, I’ll go. But if I can’t honestly answer yes to any of them, I’ll pass.

In this way, I prevent the loss of valuable selling time by avoiding those events that have no direct bearing on my business.

You may want to try using my criteria the next time you find yourself wondering, “should I stay or should I go?”

PROMISES, PROMISES

You’ve wowed your customer time and time again. They're not just satisfied...they are fanatical! And, they’ve given you the name and number of a friend as a referral.

So, how do you handle the call?

Most salespeople might call with something like, “Mr. Prospect, this is Mark Jones with Rock Solid Investments. Bill Smith said I should call you.”

While that opening is very factual, it doesn’t say much about you.

A better idea is to begin the conversation with, “Mr. Prospect, this is Mark Jones with Rock Solid Investments. Bill Smith asked me to call you and I promised him that I would.”

With one statement, you’ve already established that you are the kind of person who keeps promises to your customers, and that makes the idea of doing business with you very promising indeed!

LET ME BE THERE

Whenever I encounter the “we’ll have a meeting next week with the board and let you know” stall from a prospect, I always ask them to let me be there.

I pledge not to make a sales presentation (unless they want one), but I will answer questions that might come up.

Think about it: your prospect probably doesn’t know your product or service as well as you do, so why let them attempt to make the sale on your behalf?

Not every prospect will accept the offer. But, at least I asked them to let me be there, which is something most salespeople wont do. And that’s memorable, too!

PUT IT THERE

Research has proven time and again that, when it comes to negotiating, the person who is first to offer a handshake will generally have a slight advantage, psychologically speaking, in the conversation.

So, use your left hand for paperwork, files, or whatever, and keep your right hand ready so you can be the first to shake hands.

Get in the habit of being the person who says “put it there” before anyone else does and the advantage will be yours.

ONE CUP OF COFFEE

I stopped at one of those drive-thru coffee shops the other day. This one was very near the main road, featured a service window on either side of the building, and was staffed by a pleasant-enough young woman in a summer dress.

She was in conversation with the customer on the other side (obviously a regular) but broke away briefly and asked for my order. I requested a non-fat, no-whip mocha, she turned and went back to the coffee-maker and her conversation.

I overheard her telling the female customer that she was wearing the dress today so she could get bigger tips. She said it usually worked well, but today it hadn’t. Although she had managed to get a lot of extra attention from a guy she described as “creepy”.

She then turned my way and asked me to repeat the order because she had forgotten it. I repeated the order and she started making it.

Her conversation continued about other “strategies” for getting more money in the tip jar. As she was finishing my drink, she turned my way and asked, “did you want whip cream on that?” I had already told her “no whip” twice, but I replied once more that I did not want it.

It is humorous (and a little sad) to me that she clearly spends energy on manipulative acts in an effort to increase her personal income, when she would probably receive more tips simply by doing the best job possible...one cup of coffee at a time.

Don’t fall into using manipulation tactics to sell.

Just take care of each and every customer to the best of your ability, and your sales (and tips, if tipping occurs where you work) will be just fine.

IRON MAN

I’ll admit it. I was kinda into comics when I was a little younger. Okay...when I was a LOT younger!

The pride of my collection was issue #39 of “Tales of Suspense”, which features the very first appearance of Iron Man.

I’ve known that an Iron Man film was in the works since becoming a Marvel stockholder about 5 years ago and I have been anxious to see the result. I’ve purposely avoided seeking out details about the film story, eschewed online trailers, and isolated myself from spoilers.

Last night, I was invited to a special advance screening of the film and IT ROCKS! I had built up a tremendous amount of anticipation for the film and, happily, it did not disappoint.

But I’ve been disappointed before. The Hulk. Elektra. Jersey Girl. (Sorry Kevin!)

Have you ever been disappointed? Isn’t it terrible when you are let down by something you thought would be great? Remember how you felt?

That little twinge you may have just experienced is what your customer feels if you ever let them down. Falling short with a customer, even by a slight margin, can cause them to focus only on their disappointment, even though your solution delivered 99% of the promised result.

Strive to never disappoint a customer. Be an Iron Man (or woman) yourself and follow through on a sale to the complete satisfaction of your buyer.

Do that, and you will always have great buzz, quality referrals, and lots of true fans!

ICE CREAM MAN

This has been a great week for ice cream!

Last night was 31-cent cone night at Baskin-Robbins (with a promotional tie-in to America’s firefighters), and Wednesday was the annual Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops. And, even thought the new scoop shop near my home wont open for months, the Ben & Jerry’s folks parked a portable shop (like the kind used at fairs and festivals) in front of the as-yet empty storefront where they will be and they were handing out free cones all day long.

Both locations were packed during the events, proving that a good promotion can still line up a crowd. All it takes is a willingness to hand out free samples (always the best way to get folks to try something new) or sell at a significant discount from regular retails (which I bet still covers the cost).

Want a double-scoop of new business?

Take a tip from the ice cream man and create something like Free Cone Day or 31-Cent Cone Night for your business.

If you do it right, you can also end up with all kinds of media coverage (AKA free advertising)!