Today’s guest in this edition of How to Succeed in Sales is Dan Henderson, Regional Sales Manager for Schneider National Carriers. The transportation and trucking business is a highly competitive industry with dozens of shipping options available to businesses. In this interview Dan explains how he manages to stay ahead of the competition, achieve his sales goals and expand his business WITHOUT resorting to heavy discounting.
I trust you will find this interview as enjoyable and insightful as I did.
BTW: If you would like to share your sales success secrets and be interviewed for this series, drop me line and tell me why you would be a great guest for the series.
Today’s post is the second in my series of interviews with real, front-line sales people.
During this podcast I talk to David Hannah who works at Myers Hyundai in Ottawa, ON. I have known David for about 10 years; in fact he was one of the first people to buy my book Stop, Ask & Listen. David was actually the inspiration for this podcast series after I read an email he sent me last December. When he outlined the success he had achieved in a particularly difficult industry I thought people could benefit from hearing sales success secrets and strategies directly from sales people who work the front lines every day.
I hope you enjoy it.
BTW: If you’re a sales professional who has acheived better-than-average success in your career and would like to be considered for a future podcast, drop me a line.
Ever get one of those ah-ha moments when you’re selling?
My first ah-ha moment was more than 15 years ago.
I was in-between careers at the time and had developed a sales training program for the hospitality industry called, How to Make Incredible Tips (my first career was in the restaurant business). I just presented the program to the General Manager of a restaurant and even though I made almost every selling mistake possible, she expressed strong interest in the program. I didn’t know what to do next so I asked, “Should we schedule a day for this?” We set a day and I floated out the store. The ah-ha moment was recognizing buying signals and summoning up the courage to ask for the business.
Since that time, I have had many other ah-ha moments in sales. In no particular order, here are a few (okay, maybe more than a few!) that immediately come to mind:
1. You don’t have to talk as much as you think.
2. It’s okay to pause before you respond to a question or request.
3. Silence is a powerful sales weapon when used at the appropriate time.
4. The person asking the questions controls the sales conversation.
5. The sooner price is discussed the more of a focal point it will become.
6. If you keep your pipeline full at all times you will seldom have to worry about reaching your targets and quotas.
7. Selling is not telling. The title of one of the first sales books I read and a concept that is still relevant.
8. It’s NEVER about you. This applies to your sales calls, meetings, and presentations.
9. Questions make the difference but it can be challenging to ask tough penetrating questions.
10. A slump is only temporary if you are willing to take action to break out of it.
11. Most people will not react as negatively as you think they will.
12. You have to believe in the product/service that you sell if you want to achieve long-term success.
13. Scripts work providing you personalize and deliver them properly. You also need to be flexible.
14. Relationships are still one of the most effective ways to build business and generate new sales.
15. It’s okay to screw up a cold call and call that prospect back in a week because it’s doubtful he will remember you.
16. People will tell you anything you want (and need) to know if you have the courage to ask.
17. It’s okay to walk away from a deal if it doesn’t make good business sense.
18. Little things such as consistency make a difference.
19. Following up when you say you will follow-up seldom goes unnoticed especially by new prospects.
20. You MUST constantly evolve and improve your skills; it is no longer an option.
21. To make networking pay off you need to attend the events that your key prospects attend.
I could probably add another dozen ah-ha moments but I’d like to hear from you. What ah-ha moments have YOU had in your sales career?
I recently watched a construction crew prepare to pour curbs in front of my house and along the rest of the street. The footings were already in place so I assumed that a cement mixer would pull up, dump concrete into a form, and move on.
Boy, was I mistaken!
What surprised me was the amount of preparation that was done before any concrete was actually poured. In addition to ensuring that the footings were clean by spraying them with pressurized air, they set horizontal guide lines and checked the height of that line numerous times. I watched one worker kneel on the ground and take a sight line along the cord and instruct a coworker to adjust the height by a centimeter or two. They continued this exercise along the entire street. Next, someone came by with a huge level and double-checked the lines to make sure they were completely even.
All this for curbs! Who woulda thought?
But as I thought about it, it struck me that these guys are pouring concrete and they really can’t afford to make mistakes. Measure twice and pour once.
Measure twice and cut once is a well-known expression and here is how it applies to sales.
It is not uncommon to find sales people who measure once and miss the cut because they didn’t think about potential problems or outcomes. They lose the sale because they didn’t do any research on their prospect before calling them. They didn’t think about the questions they would ask once they were face-to-face with a decision-maker. They didn’t think how they would position or present their product, service or offering. They didn’t anticipate potential objections. And they didn’t plan their follow-up strategy.
In today’s business world you seldom get a second chance which means your first meeting, presentation, and solution had better be on the money. Sales people don’t get the second chances like they used to; decision makers are far too busy. That why you need to get it right the first time. No if’s, but’s, and’s or maybe’s. That means it is essential to plan your strategy and approach.
Here are a few differences between measuring once versus twice.
Measuring once means mentally reviewing the key questions you need to ask your prospect just before you head out the door to your appointment. Measuring twice means writing those questions on paper so you don’t forget them AND verbally reviewing them immediately before your sales call.
Measuring once means reviewing the key points of your sales presentation. Measuring twice means rehearsing your presentation AND video-taping or recording it so you can actually see and hear your approach.
Measuring once means anticipating potential objections. Measuring twice means determining what evidence you will provide when you respond to those objections. Better yet, it means pre-empting the objections BEFORE they are even expressed.
Measuring once means making a mental note to send a prospect a thank-you card or note after the meeting. Measuring twice means using a CRM system so you can stay in touch with high-value prospects in a variety of ways.
Before you dash off to your next sales call or appointment, slow down and determine what you can do to improve your odds of success.
Several years ago I approached a PR firm about enlisting their services to promote my second book but after an initial conversation with the owner I declined to use their services. However, every six or seven months, I receive an email that states:
“I just wanted to touch base with you to see if you’re still interested in getting more publicity. If so, please give me a call so we can set up a time to chat. I’d love to speak with you about how our company can assist you get the results you want faster and easier. You can send me some of your available dates and times in the next couple of weeks and my assistant will get back to you to confirm a date.”
While it is critical to keep your name in your prospect’s mind this email missed the mark because it does not give a compelling reason why I should respond and it is obvious that it was part of a generic email campaign.
A more effective approach is to send your prospects information that will help them solve their business challenges. Provide insights to help them improve their results. Personalize everything to their specific situation. Give them a compelling reason to call you back or do business with you.
