Step Up Results

How simple (or complicated) is the process of becoming a customer? 

Too often we make if difficult for people to do business with us. We get people to “Yes” then lose them in the “next steps.”  

Several years ago we worked with a client who was good at getting people to say Yes, but lousy at keeping them after that.  His firm had a 24-step “becoming a client” process.  That’s right 24 steps!  In order to become a client, you had to go here, do this, then this, fill out this form, send it here, bring in this information, talk to this person, and so on through 24 steps.  Is it any wonder that half of his potential clients gave up before reaching the end?  I know I’d be thinking, “if it’s this bad before I become a client, what’s it going to be like once I’m in and need service?  What hoops will I need to jump through to get help?” 

Making it easy to do business with you is a key element of results excellence and one that is far too often overlooked.  Take a lesson from Internet retailers.  Think about the ones who make it easy and pleasurable to buy from them. They take great pains to minimize the number of steps and clicks.  They provide just the right amount of information and guidance to make the experience rewarding.  Not only do these retailers get the initial sale, but their customers are far more likely to return and buy something else.  

Decide what you can do to make it easier for customers to do business with you.  Even if you can’t do much to change the process, you can at least communicate the specific next steps clearly and be there to guide them along the way. 

The challenge is, it’s all too easy if you’re in sales to think of this part of the process as not your job.  The truth is, it is your job.  The goal is results, and without adhering to this piece of the process, you put those results at risk.  The solution – step up and take charge of making it easy for your future customers to buy from you. 

What can you do to make it easier for customers to do business with you?

Do you help your clients self-discover your value?

 There’s an old axiom that is especially relevant here – “When you say it, they doubt it, but when they say it, they believe it.”  There are all sorts of reasons why a customer might question what you say, not the least of which is that you stand to gain.  If you can get your customers to come to the same conclusion, and actually say the same thing on their own, it carries twice as much convincing power. 

 Helping clients self-discover your value is an especially valuable tool and produces good results for both parties.  So, why is it so difficult?  Simple.  Most people in sales like to talk.  They are passionate about their product or services and are eager to talk about them.

 We forget that selling is much easier when you let the customer come to their own conclusions, in their own way, and on their own schedule.  No one likes to be sold, but everyone likes to buy. 

 Becoming a guide for self-discovery is probably a different approach from what you’ve been taught to do (or are accustomed to doing), but like many of the tips in this guide, it gives you a powerful way to turbo charge results.

What can you do to help your client’s self-discover your value?

Do you really listen or are you concentrating on what you’re going to say next?

To really listen means you’re don’t focus on what you’re going to say next.  Rather, you focus on the customer and what he is saying.

This is valuable to the customer because it shows you are concerned about his well-being.  It’s also a vital part of building rapport and trust.

Listening is difficult for many of us because we are often so eager to tell the customer all about our wonderful product or service.  We want so much to make sure we say the right thing at the right time that we can’t help but work on our spiel in our heads while the other person is talking.  Often, it’s too late before we realize that we don’t have a clue what the other person just said.  He handed us the keys to the kingdom and we didn’t realize it.

Here are some guidelines for effective listening:

1. Quiet inner chatter.
2. Focus on the other person (focus outward on them rather than inward on you).
3. Let the other person talk without interrupting him.
4. Leave “space” in your conversation.  When the person comes to the end of a statement, pause for a few seconds before responding.
5. Listen for the story.
6. Probe for clarification.
7. Reflect.
8. Summarize.
9. Validate or reflect back their feelings and statements.
10. Refrain from giving advice or opinion or trying to solve the problem.

Identify 2 areas of focus for improving your listening skills.  How will you practice these new skills?

Do you give a true and objective accounting or are you focused only on you / your product or service?

Objectivity demonstrates character and credibility.  That’s because it is so easy to “spin” your conversation to sell, rather than help.

There is a Geico Insurance TV commercial that shows a conversation between a customer and an agent.  The agent actually recommends the competition.  Not only is it memorable, but it bolstered Geico’s credibility.  Why?  Because it leveraged the psychological power of both objectively and the unexpected.

We expect salespeople to recommend their products or services as the obvious and best choice.  So, we are caught off-guard when they recommend the competition, or anything other than their own product or service.  It causes our trust level to immediately spike.  It is how some sales people sacrifice a single sale to build credibility and generate referrals.

How can you demonstrate objectivity?

Do you think and communicate in terms of problems that you solve for your customers?

No matter what you’re selling, your customers are most likely buying solutions to their problems. When you learn to think in terms of problem solving and speak the language of solutions (rather than features, bells and whistles) you will find your conversations become more relevant, and that means more engaging.

The benefit here is that your customers will begin to view you as a resource or partner, rather than simply a salesperson.

Use this simple exercise to organize your thoughts. Draw a line vertically down a page. In the left hand column, list every customer problem you can think of. In addition to problems, include customer opportunities (an opportunity is simply a problem turned inside out). To the right of each one note how your product or services solves the problem or enables the customer to capitalize on the opportunity.

When you complete this exercise, think about how you can weave this information into your next sales discussion. Consistently demonstrating how you or your product or service solves the customer’s problems will put you on the road to results excellence.

Have you identified the problems you solve for your customers? How will you use this information to be more effective?

How much do you really know about your customer’s business?

I am amazed at how many people set out to sell to customers they know very little about. It is easy to assume that all customers are the same, that everyone in a particular industry is the same and has the same challenges, opportunities and risks. You do yourself and the customer a disservice by assuming such.

The bottom line is this: If you don’t clearly understand your customers’ business, and in particular the specific challenges, risks and opportunities they face, you will not be able to position yourself as the solution or response to these challenges. It’s all relative, and by that I mean, your solution(s) must be directly related and relevant to each of your customers.

A second reason for learning about the customer’s business is this: It increases your credibility and builds trust. Customers want to know you’ve done your homework, that you’ve taken the time to learn about their industry and their particular business challenges. This knowledge is key to your ability to “connect” with the customer, ask important questions, build trust and craft winning solutions.

What steps will you take to learn more about your customer’s business?

Do you understand your value from your customer’s perspective?

You can’t sell what you don’t understand. That means the first step in selling to or influencing anyone is to clearly understand in your own mind the value of what you’re selling. The second step is to be able to articulate that value proposition in a clear and intriguing way.

Value is always defined by the customer. Your value is how you and your product or service provide relevant solutions to the customer. In other words – how you and your product represent value to the customer. It’s not just what you or your company or your marketing materials state as valuable. Rather, it’s what your customer perceives as valuable. This requires that you understand your customer both inside and out.

This may seem obvious, but sadly it isn’t. The reality is, many people go out to sell or influence every day without a clear picture of their value proposition, or the ability to communicate it. It is easier to deliver a scripted spiel of features and benefits. It is easier to assume or expect customers to perceive your value simply because you do. It takes effort to understand the customer’s business and connect what you sell to his needs and wants. But when you do it, the payoff in results is substantial.

What will you do to better understand what your customer values?

Hey, I get it.  It’s tough out there!  Demands are increasing, opportunities are decreasing.

So how can YOU achieve superior results in your business?  The answer is simple, but it’s not easy.  You’ve got to Step Up!

Step Up is the acronym for excellence.  It’s about being at your best when it matters the most.  But your results, in business and in life can only grow to the extent that you do.  In order to win more business, you have to deliver more value.  And since the client buys YOU, the value you create starts with the value YOU can deliver.

These 6 Steps make 80% of the difference in business:

S – Raise Your STANDARDS.

T – Align Your TALENTS.

E – Conduct Superior EVALUATIONS.

P – PREPARE Properly.

U – UNLEASH Your

P – POTENTIAL

I invite YOU to stand up, Step Up and Invest in YOU!  Committ yourself to the principle that perfection is the goal, but excellence will be tolerated.