When It Falls Apart...

How did the deal fall apart? 

Why did the customer not buy? 

What did I do wrong? 

Where can I get ice cream close by to stress eat?

These are some of the questions that I have had when I did not make a sale.  When I first started out in sales, I did not make a large equipment sale for about 12 months.  That is right I could not make a sale to save my life.  I answered the customer’s questions, helped them get to where they told me they wanted to go, but when it came time to sign on the dotted line, they pumped the brakes. 

I had that happen to me more than once in my first couple of years in sales.  I was really rethinking the decision to take on sales from a secure electrical engineering career.  Now I look back at it as getting my reps in.  Just like a pro golfer hits 5000 golf balls every day to practice, I needed reps in sales to develop my skill.  I needed to hear “NO” so many times so I would be immune to it in the future and find my way through the sales process.

Even this past week I was helping someone sell a boat to another individual and forgot that this type of buyer was just looking for something that they could use as a rental and did not care about things that an owner operator type buyer would value.  Listening to some of the objections did not click until I sat back and understand the needs from this type of buyer.  It was not the right boat for this individual, but an owner operator will love the boat with all of the extras when it is sold in the spring.  Being in the Midwest boats typically do not sell for as much money at the end of summer as they do in the spring season.

Had I really stepped back and understood the customer’s needs better before offering up the suggestion of buying the boat, I would have identified that this was not going to work.  As a seasoned sales professional I still don’t hit the mark 100% of the time.  No one can in reality. Anyone that says they can sell to anyone anytime is lying to you and themselves. There is something that we all miss from time to time.  We all have off days.  We all make a presentation and mess it up.  We all make mistakes and that is okay, but we need to learn from them.

It’s called failing forward fast.  That is the term that Navy Seals embrace.  It’s okay to have a setback as long as they learn from it and keep moving forward.  It is not okay to just sit and mope about the setback.  Keep moving forward and keep learning, refining the approach, and getting better.  That is what we need to keep doing. 

Don’t give up when you have a setback trying to sell whether it is a product / service, idea, business proposal, etc.  Learn, refine, and move forward.  The next big deal is just around the corner and when you learn from one setback you are equipped to do better on the next time. 

Now this was an example for sales, but this can also be easily applied to other areas of our lives. Whether it be leading a team, coaching kids soccer, or with learning a new exercise routine. Don’t give up, learn from the set back and move forward faster, stronger, and equipped. You’ve got this!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Are You Using A Wealthy Mindset?

When do I hire something out rather than doing it myself? 

Why would I pay someone else to do the work that I know I can do?

Have you ever asked these questions when you had a project that you needed to tackle?

Now that I am hedging closer to that 40 years old mark and I am really having to weigh out how much work I should be doing and how much I should be hiring out.  My father taught me quite a bit to be handy around the house.  I can change out electrical outlets, switches, lights, ceiling fans, tiling, roofs, plumbing, do spreadsheets, sell, etc. 

I can do even more now with all the experiences I have had with homes including flipping one while I did all of the work.  Most of the time I would have extra experience as I would have to do it twice do to trying to short cut something.  A good rule of thumb in my experience is that a well performed project should not reveal extra screws, bolts, or other retention components when are you finished. 

What I have sometimes wondered is if I am at a deficit because I am capable of using my own hands and time to do quite a bit.  I struggle with that I can do the project, but is it the most beneficial use of my time.  I want to do it to show myself that I can, but is this approach worth it?  This has been hard because small projects are very therapeutic for me.  I can work on something that is completed in a small amount of time compared to most of my projects that take months upon months to work on.  It’s nice to be able to step back and look at something that I have created with my own hands.  The issue is that I am doing this at a cost that I have never previously rationalized.

My mentor when I first got into sales taught me that wealthy people put a value on TIME.  When working on projects, thinking about investments, they calculate the cost of their time that will be invested in the project.  Time is something that we have a limited supply of.  When we are born time seems to be ticking away until we finally expire.  We can not add hours in the day, multiply our time, we can only invest our time into those areas that we feel most important.

Lately I have had to start hiring out the work on my house so I can keep moving my business and projects forward.  I have had to put a value per hour that I would have to pay myself to perform the task.  If the quotes from contractors come in lower, or even close to my cost, I typically hire them to perform the work even if I am capable of doing it.   Most of the time they can actually do the work faster as well. 

I recently had to have two foundation walls on my house dug up, pushed back straight, reinforced, sealed, and then back filled.  Now I am fully capable in doing this work, but it would have taken me months to complete.  I did not have the time to do this on top of everything I am working on.  It took the contractor three weeks to complete and I was able to work on other projects.  The cost for them to do all this work and in the time they did it was less than it would have taken me.  Sure, I would have been able to use digging equipment which would have been fun, but they did it for cheaper than I could with all of the time that would have been involved from me to do the project.

When preparing for that next project, career change, purchase of a home, or moving dirt think about the cost of your time as a function of the investment.   Think about the amount of work and hours that you will need to complete.  Then think about how much it would cost for you to do the work compared to hiring it out so you can be freed up to do other things that are more important. 

For those of you looking for a new job, this should definitely be part of your decision if you are going to change companies.  If the new company that you are interviewing is for instance 15 minutes each way longer of a drive, you need to calculate that into your salary expectations?  See 15 minutes each way is 30 minutes a day.  Multiplied by five working days a week is 2 ½ hours a week more driving when you could be doing something else.  Now assuming you have to only work 48 weeks a year that is 120 hours a hear you will be in the car more than in your current position.  Say you make $25/ hour, that is $3000 a year that you are losing to driving.  That is also not calculating the operating costs of your vehicle or fuel.

Next time you are figuring out a budget for a project you are about to take part in make sure you are also figuring in how much your time is worth.  It may reveal that training someone else may be able to do the smaller items so that you can focus on the higher value items.  If you are looking for a new career figure out the time investment and keep the focus on if it will get you closer to where you want to be in the time frame you are working with. 

Time is a precious commodity and we need to protect it’s value! 

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The “M” Word…

I don’t have time…  I can’t just sit still for that long…  How do I do this and not get interrupted?

These are some of the excuses that I have used, and chances are you may have used when it comes to the topic of meditation.  Meditation is the act of pivoting away from distracting thoughts and focusing present goals you want to focus on.  At this point you are probably rolling your eyes at your screen thinking great, another boring topic, but I think there is value in this in order to make you more efficient.

Meditation has only been apart of my life for the past few months.  It was something that I did not want to partake in because I was very busy and did not think I had time for it.  I could not focus my mind on one thing.  I kept thinking about all of the things that I needed to get done for the day so I would hear the voice in my head rattling off the laundry list of items that I needed to push through today.

I recently spent 13 weeks in a sales training class growing my knowledge on sales performance  further.  That’s right I am continually learning so that I can be better and bring better content to those of you that I reach with my blogs, speaking programs, or trainings.  During this class it was pounded into our heads these three things:

1.      When the mind is focused on a task the body will work until that task is completed.

2.      When a subconscious thought and a conscious thought are in competition the subconscious thought will dominate.

3.      A stronger emotion will subdue a weaker emotion.

The basis for this training was to help sales professionals increase their level of self-esteem and sell better.  One way that this was done was through meditation.  Meditation is done to focus the mind so that the professional can focus on the things that really matter instead of all of the noise.  The things that will bring the most impact for your success.  Brendon Burchard has a program as well that is similar to making people more efficient.  It’s pretty good and either way you will end up focusing on where you want to go more than just treading water.

The instructor’s day from this course looks like this.  Morning, wake up clear mind for 15 minutes, read self-proclaiming scrolls for 15 minutes, review goals for 15 minutes, and then write out action statements for 15 minutes.  That is right one hour in the morning.  Then at night the same routine.  He stated by doing this, it increased productivity as well as esteem allowing the sales person to be more efficient and successful.  Two hours a day are spend in focusing in on self to become better. 

I have been using meditation to clear my mind since taking this training and have been more focused on tasks that lead me to the goals I set forth this year.  I am able to sit and clear my mind of the noise, social media, and emails.  My routine takes around 15 minutes of slow breathing and clearing all the garbage out of my brain and then reviewing a sheet from the book “fear is my homeboy” where I then review three action items that I need to do and then write I am statements.  Then I write out a stretch goal for myself for the day.  Whether it is making 30 calls to prospects, or talking to someone I have never met to just learn about them.  Something that will stretch me a little more each day making my comfort zone bubble bigger and bigger.   This helps me focus on my day and has allowed me to do more with less and I have had extra time to do other things that I would normally not have time for.   

The more I have studied successful entrepreneurs I see that they take time to meditate and focus on what will drive their goals to completion.  Some call it meditation, some call it white space, some call it quiet time.  It’s all the same thing.  It is clearing out everything and quietly relaxing the body to prepare you for your focusing on your goals. 

I am usually laying on my couch when I do my meditation and not sitting cross legged.  The main reason being that I am not sure I would be able to get back up with my legs crossed over one another.  I may need to do more stretching if I want to sit in a specific pose.  For now, laying on the couch in quite at 5:00 a.m., or in the office chair works for me.  The byproduct has been lower stress levels and increased performance on growing my business as well as myself.  Think of it as stretching before you run a race so your muscles are warmed up before they have to perform.

Take time to put into practice of closing your eyes, drowning out the noise, focus your mind, and plan your day before heading out.  This will allow you to be more focused on your most important task instead of being knocked around by the day.  Try just five minutes each morning and increase as you see fit.  Best to try it on a Saturday when you have time to relax as well.  Either way, do yourself a favor and focus on you, before the world tries to toss you around like a wave in the wind.

I hope this helps you become more efficient and knock out your goals!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why Customer Service, is that Important!

Won’t the customer just buy my great product anyways?  Is Customer service really that important? 

These are a couple of the many questions I heard about customer service from business owners and entrepreneurs.  Many believe in the phrase form the movie “Field of Dreams”  that is whispered into the lead character’s ear while deciding if he will build a baseball field in his backyard next to a corn field… “if you build it, they will come.” In reality this does not happen.  It takes hustle and making sure your customers have exceptional experiences. 

Just because you have the best product on the market does not mean that you will get sales.  Customer super service is required.  That means making sure the customer is completely happy with their experience and that they are satisfied with their purchase.  This means that the customer needs are met and that they are treated like they matter every time with enthusiasm and manners.

Let’s look at a case study with a fast food chain known as Chick-fil-A.  Chick -fil-A is a chain that started in the south and is making the rounds across the country (yes Michigan they are starting to come your way).  Chick-fil-A makes more per restaurant than McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway COMBINED.  That’s right they are extremely profitable and are only opened six days a week.  I have waited in many long lines for this fast food quite a few times.  Thank God they have an app now to help you jump the line. 

They do nothing revolutionary with the food differently than the competition except dipping the chicken in pickle juice (shhh secret).  There is no huge differentiator in their menu as far as fast food goes.  Although the handspun shakes are amazing!  Mix the shake with a chicken biscuit that has honey on it, and you have a great start to your day. 

What Chick-fil-A does different is that they have trained their staff to use “please,” “thank you,” “it was my pleasure,” etc. The restaurant staff makes sure the customer has a great experience every time.  They slide an extra couple of sauces over as to say I’ve got your back when you ask for extras and not rolling their eyes.  Ever felt like the person behind the counter thought of you as a nuisance instead of revenue that paid their check?  Each Chick-fil-A location has the same experience with a warm smile and an extremely helpful staff.  This same staff will walk around and pick up your trays if they have extra time during their busy day.  They are fantastic when it comes to customer service.  They are taking over the fast food industry and are moving up the charts to soon become number 1.  Watch out golden arches…

Okay enough about food (one of my love languages).  How about Apple, Disney, and Amazon.  These organizations have focused on the customer experience so much that people do not hesitate to drop large sums of money doing business with them.  People literally line up for hours when a new product drops at Apple.  Customers like feeling important and that they do matter when making a purchase.   

Below are the stats by generation based on their brand loyalty.  As you can see as the generations get younger more brand loyalty is growing.  Just for reference Gen Y (Millennials) have more population than the great Baby Boomer generation.  Brand loyalty matters and so does customer service. 

Baby Boomers – 62%

Gen X – 68%

Gen Y (Millennials)– 78%

(Brand Loyalty stats from Brian Buffini podcast: (that’s right I listen to other sales trainers to make sure what I train is constant and true with them.)

Have you ever had poor customer service and decided not to purchase from the establishment ever again?  It did not feel great did it?  Do you know anyone that you work with that should not interface with the customer because of their attitude? 

How are your customer service representatives doing with your customers?  Are they reviewing orders and finding opportunities to upsell the customer more product, help them get free shipping, etc?

If you’re unsure about your customer service team, I am glad to help you.   All business benefits by making sure that customer service is generating increased customer service.  If not, your business will lose a great deal of opportunities fast!  The world has become smaller with the internet and the competition is fierce.  I have worked for organizations in the past that did not focus on customer service and soon had to downsize, restructure, or even close without knowing why.  It all boils down to customer service.  I have won more business because of the customer support I offer each time I interact with the customer. 

If you have customer service representatives or sales professionals that are not performing as top performers pick up a copy of my book “The Sales Process Uncovered” and do a book study with them.  Better yet, I will come in and train them to overachieve for their customers and enable them to be top performers for you, so you don’t miss any more opportunities.

For a listing of trainings please follow the link:  https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/sales-training

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Staying Fit While Traveling

Why is it so hard to stay fit while traveling for work?

Do you run, do cardio?  Only stay at locations that have full gyms?  Find places near gyms?  Do you plan your meals?  Do you just give up and hope for the best?

These are questions that I have heard in the past and have run through my head when I started traveling on the road for work.

I have spent a great deal of time on the road in my career and I can say that it is extremely hard to stay fit when traveling.  As I get older it is even harder to keep the weight off while traveling.  The need to focus on my diet and workouts has been a huge focus for me.   

I have tried all different options when it comes to staying fit in my time on the road.  I have tried doing cardio while traveling and doing weight training when I would get home from my trips. I have tried to map out hotels that were near gyms as well.  I would also try to stay near restaurants that I knew had healthier options.  What I can tell you is that it takes work.  You have to be committed to staying in shape if you travel, unless you like clothes shopping.  I hate going out to find new pants and dress shirts personally.  One of my motivations to work out.

I have carried dumbells, workout dvd’s, resistant bands, etc.  I also would travel to hotels with a small gyms.  I have also rearranged the furniture in my hotel rooms so that I had room for working which I will apologize to anyone that works at a hotel that I have stayed.  I would prep workouts and plan meals on my stops between customer meetings.  It was exhausting. 

What I have found are a few options to help you stay healthier while traveling and keep it easier.

Option 1

Beach Body on demand.

Beach body has produced great workout programs such as P90X, Insanity, 21 Day Fix, etc.  Most started on dvd’s which I would buy and carry with me.  Now they have online access for $110/year.  They have coaches that you can go through to get your subscription.  I am not one.  I don’t have time to sell that too.  You have access to a library of workouts, yoga, cardio, kickboxing, pilates, weight training, body weight exercises, etc.  There is just a wealth of programs that you can do from 25 minutes to 60 minutes in length.  No gym required membership required.

Option 2

Airport gyms / yoga studios

Airports and hotels located on airports have been advertising lately access to gyms and yoga studios during layovers.  If you have a long layover this is an option to get your workout in where you would normally be sitting in a chair waiting and waiting and waiting for the next flight delay.  Get your workout on during the layover.  DTW has a hotel in the Delta terminal that allows travelers to use during layovers.

Option 3

Bring your running shoes

Take a run or walk around the city that you are in to explore.  Too often we are focused on work, work, work and never get to enjoy exploring the location you are in.  Each location has tons to offer.   I used to run beaches when I was in the gulf coast of Florida.  I was able to get cardio in while seeing all the amazing beach houses.  I would walk around the downtowns and see where the restaurants were that I needed to visit.  I would also ask people for things to do and they were very helpful to find things that most tourists would miss.  Asking questions have always helped me find places that trip advisor never shows.

Option 4

Food

There has been an explosion of healthier restaurants as well as regular places showing you the calories on the food.  Salads are not always the healthiest option either.  Yeah, I said it!  Check out some of the restaurants near your hotel prior to your visit if they are not ones you are familiar with.  Uber eats is an options if a healthier location is farther than you want to travel.  Just use the app.  This one is very important!  Pack some healthy snacks in your carry on.  TSA will even allow food to come through in your carry on.  Just not liquids.  Swing by the grocery store and pack some healthy snacks in case you are stuck somewhere and can’t get food for hours.  This will give you healthier options and not cost you a mortgage payment at the airports.

The last point is to always drink water to stay hydrated while traveling.  The more water you drink the better you will feel and it helps you not get as hungry when your stomach is full of water.    

I hope that helps any of you that travel a lot for work to stay fit and maybe some ideas on how to make the hotel staff smile when they clean your room from your furniture art.

 Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Trust, is it that important?

Good morning everyone,

We have finished up the trust equation so you now have an idea of each variable and how they all work together.  Today I’d like to talk about why we need trust.

In every interaction that we have with others there is a level of trust associated with it.  We trust medical professionals to prescribe the correct medication or surgery, the financial advisor to set up our retirement for success, our coworkers to help complete the job that we have.  We trust our loved ones will be there for us to help us when we need them.  We trust that our electronics will work when we need them to.  Trust is all around us.

In sales rapport is built on trust.  If the sales professional has no trust with the customer, then the sales professional will not be selling much of anything.  Here is the funny thing…everyone is selling something so trust is needed for everyone. Whether you are selling a product or service, trying to get your team motivated, trying to convince others to go to that restaurant that you love, or convincing your spouse to clean the basement.  You are selling an idea, position, preference, etc.  In order to do that you need rapport and trust in order to influence others.

I remember when I was in training to be a volunteer fire fighter while living in Florida.  While in a training the training Lieutenant shared a story about when he and a new probie (new recruit) were moving inside of a structure fire with the hose line.  They were moving into position when the floor gave when under the Lieutenant’s weight (think linebacker in professional football) and he was trapped from the waist down in the floor.  The fire flashed over causing a big flame and the probie jumped out the window.  Literally trust went out the window…  The lieutenant was able to eventually break free and made it out safely following the hose line.  They unfortunately had to watch the residence burn completely to the ground. 

In fire situations they require two people to navigate together so if one gets injured the other will be there to rescue.  What would you feel if you were that Lieutenant and your teammate jumped out the window?  Do you think you would trust them as much in the future to stick by your side? 

Chances are that majority of your relationships do not require the amount of trust like that of the situation above, but you still have situations that you may have affected someone else.  How do you think that customer, patient, or family member feels?  I know I have spent a great deal of time over the past year realizing where I fall short on trust and relationships.  I have been working to build up and make better on those relationships.  I make more phone calls to catch up, I send notes of appreciation, I make time to visit more often.  I also review the trust equation to gauge how I am doing with my variables.

The question is what are you going to do about improving trust?  Is there someone that we have let down that we need to rebuild trust with?  Did we not give our best effort for a project that effected the organization in a negative way?  How about did we let down a family member on a commitment that we said we would follow through on? Take time to review any areas you may need to work on trust and apply the equation to improve the outcome.

We all need trust and we all need relationships to survive. Let’s make it a point to grow both and leave things better than we have them.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The Most Important Variable In Trust

Good morning,

We have come to the most important variable when discussing trust.  It’s in the denominator of the equation as well.  This means that the larger this value the more it pulls down the other variables in the numerator. 

To reflect we have the addition of credibility, reliability, and vulnerability as variables to building trust.  Below them in the denominator is Selfishness.  You can be very creditable, reliable, and vulnerable, but if you are only doing this to help yourself “WIN” you will actually “LOSE”.  We will not be able to gain trust and sustain it if we are only out for our own gain.  True we may be able to fake our selfishness for a little while to obtain short term gains, but trust is a long-term play.  People will figure it out fast enough as selfishness is like a spotlight shining bright into the night sky.  There is no way to truly cover it.

Selfishness tells people that we do not value them and do not care about them.  Who wants to trust someone like that?  Have you ever been around someone that you tried to give more and more trust and it just seemed to blow up in your face each and every time?  It is really hard to keep wanting to extend them the benefit of doubt.  After a while trust is just not an option anymore.

I recently came to this realization with someone that I have bent over backwards to help on quite a few occasions.  Each time has resulted in being walked over and taken advantage of.  I am very helpful by nature and want to help people from hitting some of the pitfalls that I have had to endure.  This person was only focused on the person wanted without a care for doing the right thing for everyone. 

Without getting into much detail about the situation, I was protecting something of value that would have gotten damaged to the point of costing thousands of dollars to repair as well as fixing some other components on that piece of equipment that were already broken.   The person was supposed to assist as well as bring some items to me (#reliability) and did not bother to follow through.  It was the last straw for me wanting to help this individual anymore and it’s unfortunate because this person wanted to be selfish and unreliable.  I have since had to make the decision to not help this person in the future.  It is not something that I am happy about, but I have had to make that decision.

By being selfish we can quickly turn relationships sour.  In sales or leadership if this happens, we really start losing our influence and in sales and Leadership influence is the key ingredient to success.  Without trust there is no influence.  You may think that if you have leverage over someone you can have influence them, but I challenge that thought because once that leverage is gone there is no more influence.  Ever here about Julius Cesar?  His good friend stabbed him in the back.  Now typically an actual stabbing does not happen in business, but there have been stories in business where boards have thrown the CEO out of the organization overnight.  When you do not have trust people will be less willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and promote you to customer.   Even Steve Jobs was asked to step down at one point at Apple.

I am constantly taking inventory in my life to gauge how selfish I am being.  I’m sure I fail to live up to my standard, but my focus is on not being selfish and trying to help everyone that I can.  I put my expertise out there to help others gain knowledge.  I do not do it so I can say that I have done it, but to share so that people can avoid mistakes that I have run into in the past.  My goal is to help you become more efficient and successful especially with areas of sales and influence. 

The key is to really take an inventory of our relationships and see if there are any areas where we are being a little selfish.  Are there some relationships that you have been one sided on?  Have you made any recent mistakes that an apology will help start the road back to building trust?  Selfishness can be fixed when we take an honest look at how we have behaving with others. 

So here it is the full Trust Equation. 

Next week we will tie all of this back up to create a great level of trust with everyone we come in contact with. 

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How is your numerator?

Good morning everyone,

I hope you all had a great week this past week and enjoyed some sunshine with friends and family.

Today we are finishing up the numerator of the trust equation.  For those that don’t remember, the numerator is all of the variables above the dividing line in a fraction.  So far, we have talked about credibility and reliability in building trust.  The third and most important numerator variable is vulnerability. 

I was raised in a single parent family for most of my younger years and being vulnerable was not a soft skill I was taught.  I was taught to “man up”, “suck it up”, etc.  We didn’t show emotion at all.  Well we did show anger and sarcasm.  That was about it.  Vulnerability was something I have and am working on to this day.  This was one of the hardest skills for me as a man, but one of the most beneficial skills as a person of influence.  If you can be vulnerable and go deeper with people you will gain more trust and influence with them over time. 

I know what you may be thinking at this moment.  I don’t have time to be vulnerable.  I just need to push through with my team or my customers and get the job done to move on to the next task.  I understand business and getting work done.  What I am talking about is building a trust with your team or customers that gives you the benefit of the doubt in a bad situation.  The kind of trust that will provide you help when fighting against the competition.  This kind of trust is more than the superficial arm-length kind of relationship.  It brings people in to get to know you on a deeper level.  A level that when the chips are down, they will step in to help without question.

Now let’s talk about what vulnerability is.  Vulnerability is a soft skill that is not typically taught.  Vulnerability is about going deep and opening up ourselves to be potentially judged, let down, hurt emotionally, and disappointed.  It is that uneasy feeling when we are about to disclose something about ourselves to someone because we are risking our comfort level.  Vulnerability is deeper than honesty.  When being honest, we can speak the truth, but still not show our true self.  People can be rubbed the wrong way with honesty and not trust us.  We can not gain the connection with others when we are just being honest.  We need to develop our level of vulnerability with those individuals to gain the next level of relationships.  Vulnerability is a scary place for most people because there is that risk of being hurt, but the payoff is definitely greater than the risk.

I have worked with ex-navy seals, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, contractors, etc. and those that are most successful are vulnerable to those they need high levels of trust with.  Leaders learn how to be vulnerable.  Leaders strive to grow the relationship with those around them so that when the time comes to dig down the leaders will have the buy in from those around them to work together and accomplish great things.

The reason why I have had such great success in sales is because I am vulnerable with my customers and team members.  I trust them and pushed through my comfort zone to allow others in to see who I am.  By doing so I have gained great relationships and trust with those around me and built strong bonds that helped me when working on new business, growing a men’s ministry, my marriage, and some close friends that would drop everything and run to help if I truly needed it. 

This week I want to challenge us to open up when we are trying to bottle up things that we don’t want to let others know about.  Let others open up to us while we use active listening and not just give solutions.  I should also say that “suck it up buttercup” would not be the best phrase when someone opens up to us and is vulnerable.  That might get you quickly thrown out of their circle of trust.  I have to used this quite often as it is a reflex for me with my wife.  My commitment this week is to listen and be more vulnerable to those around me and not jump in to fix it and move on.  What is your next step  you can do today to be more vulnerable with those around you?    

Next week we will talk about the last part of the trust equation that is the most important variable.  For now here is where we are so far for the equation.

Have a great week everyone and a save Holiday weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Are you reliable?

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are all experiencing the warm weather finally!  It has been a cool start to summer here in the mid-west, but has really cranked up the heat in the past week.

Last week we started unpacking how to build trust and we focused on building credibility.  You can get credibility from education, life experience, and from pointing people in the right direction to help them.

Today, lets talk about the second variable in building trust.  It’s Reliability.  How reliable are you?  When you say you’ll do something will you do it?  Will you do it to the best of your ability?  Do you forget to do it?  Will you do the right thing when no one is looking?   Do you think it is not that big of a deal?

It's a BIG DEAL!!! here on earth if you are being reliable or not.  Trust is won or lost on your actions. 

I remember when I was younger, my father telling me to always do what you say you are going to do.  Do not waiver.  He also stated to do the right thing if everyone is watching and when no one is watching.  Don’t tell me, show me is the slogan I heard all my life.

That has always stuck with me. 

I remember when I first met my wife’s parents.  We were up at their cottage grilling steaks and I was assisting my future father-in-law.  I told him that I usually every spring season the grill grates after the first steaks have been cooked by applying foil to the top of the grates and turning the heat up high while I ate and then it would bake all the flavor.

What I didn’t know is that his grill grates on his expensive grill were actually anodized aluminum and not steel… 

Did you know when you crank the heat and use foil that reflects the heat back into the grates when they are aluminum that they actually make the grates melt and break in half?  Yep, it was an awesome experience for me to figure that out.  I told him that I would replace them even though he said don’t worry about it.  The next day I was on the phone with the grill manufacturer ordering the new grates.  I was originaly going to order just two, but they informed me that they had two different sizes in that grill…. so, I ordered a complete set.  Did you know that anodized aluminum grates cost more than any grill I have ever bought?  Next day air shipping was also an extra cost.

That weekend was the most expensive steak dinner I have ever bought, but by doing the right thing and doing what I said I was going to do our relationship has grown and he has put a great deal of trust in me.  He knows that if I say I will do something that I will get it done.  He still likes to bring it up every once in a while just like any father-in-law would to his son-in-law, but I know he is bringing it up because I stood firm to my word.

When we interact with our teams, customers, family, or friends we need to make it a constant effort to be reliable.  Without being reliable it is almost impossible to have any kind of trust. 

Is there a time that pops in the back of your mind where someone else has fallen short being reliable?  How did it make you feel?  Did you lose a little trust in that person? 

I know I will fall short sometimes, but I make it my best effort to do what I say I am going to do and if I am going to come in short I communicate the situation and try to better the situation to the best of my ability.  If you do not commit to being reliable the amount of favor is limited by those you come in contact with.  We need trust in order to keep moving forward with others.  Focus on how you can make sure you are doing what you say you will do and apologize to anyone that you may have fallen short with. 

Next week we will at the final variable to the trust equation numerator and it is a huge variable.  I look forward to sharing with you next week! 

Below is where we are in the trust equation:

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Trust Equals… ?

Good morning everyone,

Following up from last week’s blog post on trust I am looking forward to unpacking one of the characteristics of trust.  Over the next few weeks I will show you how to build trust in a simple equation that you’ll be able to understand quickly and then focus on building great trust with those you come in contact with.

This week we are going to talk about one of the ingredients of trust and that is credibility.  Credibility is important to people because they want to get information to answer their questions on their particular subject.  You and I want to gather information that is correct if we are going to succeed.  Gaining incorrect information will only set us back in our quest to move forward.  Whether it is a software package, power tool, insurance, or any other product or service that will help us.  We do not want to pick the wrong one so we research on the internet, watch videos, ask those around us as social beings.

We have to put trust in those that provide the information so that we can make the best decision.  Depending on the high cost of the decision we are making we may want a very highly qualified individual to help us gather information, or someone that will be able to point us in the right direction.

How do we find these individuals? 

Most people think that they have to be an expert to be credible, but that is just not true.  Being a person that will help the person find the answer will also make you credible.  That’s right I work hard to help people every day find answers to solve their problems.  I am not an expert in everything.  I do have a degree in electrical engineering, but that degree will not help me when picking a paint color especially since I am slightly color blind.  

Someone that will offer up suggestions based off experience is just as important as an encyclopedia in my opinion.  I have seen old mechanics walk up to a vehicle and diagnose the electrical issue in minutes while engineers had spent hours trying to figure it out.  The mechanic experienced the issue prior and was able to help.  He did sit back and smile a bit while the engineers suffered through.

Don’t think about having to have a degree to just be credible and to build trust.  Use your experiences to help offer help as well.  Life has taught me many lessons that have helped me point others in a direction to avoid making the same mistake. 

I had a discussion with a millennial the other day that was worried about building credibility which is different discussion with baby boomers who seem to have all of the answers.  I informed the millennial that building credibility is more of a heart thing than being a book thing.  Being willing to research a bit and use your experience will help you gain credibility with others just as much as any degree in most cases.  I mean as long as you are not trying to launch a rocket into space with precious cargo.  Then I would say a degreed individual might trump that.  Just as long as they do their calculations correctly.  Remember the mars rover that crashed into the surface because they didn’t convert from metric to English?  Even rocket scientists get things wrong on their specialized topics.

Focus on being a credible person by helping people find their answers, or connecting them to people that can help them.  Doing this will be the way to build credibility with those you are helping.

For today I’ll give you the first part of the equation.

 Next week we will talk about the next part of building trust.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Do You Trust Me…?

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever had to work with someone you just didn’t trust?

Would you hop into a car with a 12 year-old behind the wheel that says don’t worry, “I am great on video games?” 

Would you do a back flip off of a cliff not knowing how deep the water was if a friend asked you to?

How about having fights with your significant other about small things only to reveal a lack of trust being the root of the conflict? 

I have studied the art of building rapport with people for over a decade and trying to understand how to build deep relationships with customers.  One of the key ingredients to building rapport with people is TRUST.  If we don’t have trust, we will not have much of a relationship.  Customers most likely will not give you information which will hinder the selling process and growth.  Trust is crucial!

We have to have trust in relationships, the products we use in our daily lives, our organizations we work for, basically we have to put some trust in everything we come in contact with.  We trust that the vehicle we drive will not just explode when we turn the key or push the start button.  We trust that the engineers and the manufacturing individuals have assembled the vehicle so that it will function properly.  People we don’t know and may never meet that assemble a mass of steel barreling down the road have our trust.

Trust is a huge factor in organizational success, teams, and relationships.  Without trust we won’t get very far in life.  We must focus on building trust with those we come in contact each and every day.  I do this when I get up and write my blogs to help each and every one of you get some insight in hopes that you have a better life.  I constantly build trust with people I work with, friends, and family each day.  Trust is a huge moral obligation to me. 

I have had to work at being trustworthy and to show my trustworthiness to those I have come in contact with in all situations.  When my previous employer took over sales territory in Florida which it had never had distribution in, we had to work extremely hard to build trust with the new customer base.  I took a Dale Carnegie course on effective communication and human relations, learned all I could about the new products as well as the competitive landscape, and did a great deal of leg work to build the trust that we were going to do what we said we were going to do for our new customers.  This meant a great deal of studying the competitive landscape while on the road (some years 110 nights a year), going out to sell products for my customers to their customers, train my customer’s sales force, help them with marketing, etc.

There was a great deal of effort on my part to build trust.  Some of the things that happened as a result of this hard work were some of my customers asking my opinion on other aspects of their business, products they were looking to purchase, inviting me on fishing / hunting trips to their properties, and phone calls to catch up even though I have not called on them in over eight years.  Last week on customer called me to catch up and see what was going on in my life.  It was great to hear from him and can you guess what I will be doing the next time I am in the area?  You’re right, I will be stopping in to see all the changes they have made since my last time in their location.  I am excited when I see my customers winning!  It is FUN for me to build trust and relationships with people I come in contact with!  You never know what will develop out of those relationships.

This past week I had the opportunity to speak on trust to a great organization that builds axles, drive shafts, gaskets, etc for the automotive industry.  Most of the employees are engineers which takes me back to my roots as I started out an engineer myself.  See engineers focus on a series of processes and equations to develop great products.  We put our trust as consumers that they have done their diligence when we head down the road in a vehicle with their products inside. 

In speaking with these individuals, I needed to make it a goal to speak their love language.  I broke trust down into an equation.  It was better than a bunch of bullet points.  These individuals received a great deal of value out of the training and the discussion after was fantastic.  My hope is that this equation might help you with being intentional in the future to build trust with those that you surround yourself with and come in contact on a regular basis.

Over the next few weeks I’ll break down the equation and share with you each component of the equation for you to fully understand as we step through.

Have a great weekend and I look forward to helping you build unmatched trust in the weeks to come. 

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

I'll just send a quick email...

How many times have you said, “I’ll just send a quick email” and it took twenty back and forth emails to where you finally picked up the phone to clear something up?

Have you ever gotten really upset with someone over email only to find out that they did not mean any harm when they sent it?

How about this one?  Have you ever been overwhelmed because you had so many emails to respond to?

I have experienced all three of these questions more time than I care to admit.  Over 124 billion emails are sent each day all over the world in hopes of resolving questions fast.  Email was created to make communication easier and efficient.  The issue is most people think that email is the save all be all when it comes to communicating to others.  They hide behind computer screens sending off their requests and responses in hopes that the issue will go away quickly, only to have the email come boomeranging back with more questions or requests for information.  Then we send responses and more questions of our own to the other person to which they respond, and the conversation keeps going on and on very slowly.

A few things to remember on emails are that in great communication the majority of communication is non-verbal (or written word), people tend to take written word in a negative point of view, and the person reading the words does not always know the context.  This makes it ever harder for you to communicate effectively through email.  Text messaging is also one of these messaging avenues that gets people into trouble.  People tend to use it also as a means to cover their butts in case something bad happens. 

Emails can be used also in harassment cases.  I have seen people twist words from emails into the ability to sue an organization for harassment.  Keep that in mind when you are upset and wanting to respond to someone to make yourself feel better.  The same can be said for text messages.  For more information on harassment check out Pam Pippin’s podcast episode titled “Well that was Awkward.”  Pam gives great insight on harassment.

Back to the main topic with emails…  Most questions are easily answered, but I bet the number of emails would greatly decrease if people used the old technology called a phone.  I have found that reaching out to others via conference calls, quick phone calls, or video meetings obtain faster results in less time than the flurry of emails that depending on workloads take days or weeks to have the responses come back to close the discussion.

New software such as Loom are being presented into the marketplace for people to record video messages in hopes to speed communication up greatly.  Most smart phones have the ability to video call now as well.  Let’s also not forget about walking up to the people we need to communicate in person if we are in the same office.   

People crave community and relationships so being present is a best way to communicate in my opinion.  The problem is that we as a society have focused so much on becoming efficient in communication that we tend to miss the mark when trying to communicate.  Communicating with others is vital to get our goals accomplished.  It is very rare for someone to complete a great task all on their own.  They need others to help them move forward. 

I have taken great pride in increasing my communication by helping others understand clearly what I am trying to accomplish.  Most of the time I try to do that with conversation rather than email.  Please be intentional when working through emails to be as clear as possible in communicating if you chose not to talk to the person and help them understand the complete setting.  

If you must write an email below is a process I work through when sending out emails:

1.      Write the email as though the person receiving the email has no idea what you are talking about and the scope of the situation.

2.      Focus on your audience and especially if they are in another country to not write your email in your slang as they may not understand it.

3.      Read the email through prior to sending to make sure the topics are clear and concise.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How do you know you hit the mark?

Good morning everyone,

I hope my blogs I have been posting are helping you gain more sales success, staying financially secure, and gaining influence with those around you.

Today’s topic is about knowing if you hit the mark.  You have learned to ask great questions to pull out the customer’s needs.  You have used the needs bullseye and the question creation process to create these great questions.  The question today though is how do you know if those questions pulled out the largest needs of your customer?  How do you know you are on the right track with you customer?

Why not ask them?  Ask them if you fully understand their needs?  It’s okay to ask and double check.  Don’t you want someone to know all of your needs when you are buying something? Don’t you want them to help you answer those needs?  So does your customer.

Most people are too afraid to show vulnerability because they feel like they should know everything about their customer and they don’t want to seem like they do not have all of the answers.  Unfortunately, some sales people believe that no matter what the person needs, their product answers it.  I have not seen anything to date that meets all of my needs from a product or service standpoint.  Most people believe that everyone should like things they like, and understand fully what I understand.  Unfortunately, that is not how the world operates.  My wife rarely understands things the way I understand them.  I am also learning that I cannot assume that I understand what she is thinking.  When I do this, I end up making a fool of myself.  It takes constant questioning and verifying that we are in alignment.

It’s also okay to be vulnerable with the customer by asking if you are understanding them completely.  Vulnerability is a key component to building trust with people so verify that you understand the customer’s needs will go a long way with the customer.  Once the customer knows that you are really making an effort to understand them, the customer will share more details with you.  When I started in sales the language used was peeling the onion.  I’m not sure if you have ever peeled an onion, but there are many layers to an onion.  The more flavorful part of the onion is on the inner most layers.  Just like fruit that has a skin to it.  You must break through the skin to get to the juicy parts.  So must you get to the juicy needs of your customer.   They will have greater impact if your product or service can answer them.

Unfortunately, most people try so hard not to be vulnerable with those around them.  It is okay to not have all the answers and show that you are human and real with the customer.  I am not saying that you need to give them all of the things that keep you up at night verbally vomiting all over them your anxieties.  Save that for your therapy sessions.  What I am saying is that as long as you are open to the customer about being an advocate the customer will gain trust with you.  Trust is a huge component in influence and by gaining that trust by being vulnerable, the customer will also be more willing to share extra needs they have that they feel important if they believe you are truly there to help them. 

Take notes and ask for verification that you understand the customer completely.  Allow them to speak and correct any needs you might have recorded incorrectly.  Allow the customer to correct you and help you get to the more flavorful needs.  This will help you win the sale and gain your influence with the customer later in the sales process.

I am looking forward to hearing from you how this blog has helped you gain more sales.  Feel free to drop me a note on how you are doing with the sales process.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The B-word... Yep I am going there!

Good morning everyone,

Today is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  Today we talk about the B-word.  That’s right…Budgets.

Corporations use budgets to make sure they do not run out of money.  This is how they are able to invest and grow, well unless their name is Enron… Using budgets corporations are able to apply income to certain business units in order to fund develop products, marketing, employee growth, legal services, etc.  The reason is that corporations can not just fly by the seat of their pants and hope for the best.  They need to show profits for investors, pay their employees, and out maneuver the competition.  The point here is that they are very intentional to make sure they are on budget to make money work for them.  I should also point out that they are pretty good at budgeting which is why their buildings are a great deal larger than our houses…

Dave Ramsey offers an amazing course called Financial Peace University that I took over a decade ago.  I have applied his principals ever since taking that class.  The main principal is the Budget!  The budget is the foundational part about becoming a millionaire.  Of all the people doing their debt free screams and the millionaire half hours 99% run off of a budget.  These people are truly winning with money.

The majority of people however have a belief that budgeting as the equivalent of torture device that they don’t have time to mess with.  People believe the B-word as a taboo discussion topic when it comes to family resources.  I get it.  I fought against using budgets until I took the class.  When I learned how freeing budgets can be I was pissed at myself that I didn’t do this when I graduated college.  I would have had so much more money at the end of the pay period and would have a great deal more in my retirement account.  Had I started earlier on investing into retirement I would have a millions more when I retired.  More on how time and compound interest works in the future.  I have now been budgeting for over a decade for personal and business.

My wife and I started out our marriage with the monthly budget meeting and it has helped our communication greatly as a by-product.    Communication is huge in relationships.  We go through all of the line items including clothing budgets.  What has been nice is that my wife gets a set amount of money that she can use to buy whatever clothes (shoes) she wants whenever she wants.  It is freeing.  She can use her money to buy whatever she wants with it.  If she decides to buy a whole bunch of coffee, she is free to do so without me condemning her because it is her money to budget for whatever she wants!  Have you ever had a fight over your significant other buying something that you haven’t agreed on?  It sucks having those fights and ending up on the couch for the night, or worse the cold shoulder!

Budgeting has been one of the single most effective ways for my wife and I to prepare for emergencies, taking vacations, and date nights.  Recently we had to pay for the foundation our our house to be fixed which cost thousands of dollars which we were able to pay cash for because we budgeted for.  It has brought us closer as we talk about our future dreams and actually budget to make it a reality.  That is right budgeting gives you HOPE for a better future. 

We give the kids a budget for clothing and after school activities that they can manage how they choose.  They just need make sure they can afford it.  If they don’t have enough money, then they can’t do the activity.  Now the emotion is taken out of the discussion and the focus is on saving up so they can do that activity in the future.  My hope is that they will keep budgeting for the rest of their life so they can retire with even more money that my wife and me.

What is keeping you from sitting down and doing a budget? 

Do you not have the time? 

Does it seem like you don’t know where to start? 

What if I told you that if you emailed me, I would send you a FREE excel file that you could budget. 

Would that be helpful for you? 

Email me at info@kevinsidebottom.com and put “Free Budget Worksheet” in the subject line. Don’t worry i will not add you to a mailing list for doing this. I am here to help you get to a better place in your journey.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why focus on Needs When Selling?

Good morning everyone,

I hope last week’s blog helped you to start deriving great questions.  Today’s let’s talk about the philosophy of why creating questions that answer needs is so important for you and your customer.

Customers do not make changes in the supply base unless their needs are not being met.  Needs are the “WHY” customers make the change.  The benefits are the “HOW” features of your product affect the customer.  The features are the “WHAT” things that help the customer.  Unless needs change, suppliers fall short on agreements, or the customer is introduced to a new product or service that is full of mind-blowing awesomeness, the customer is more than likely happy where they.  The customer will need a great deal of momentum to make a change unless any of those three items are happening.  That is our job to influence the customer or potential customer to make a change. Knowing the “why” the customer needs to change is huge.  Features and benefits are nice, but they do not make change.  Only helping answer the “Why” for the customer will net you business.

To further understand the focus of questions during the sales process, let’s look at how your questions might mirror what Simon Sinek refers to as the “Golden Circle.” Simon is widely known for his TED Talk on the “Golden Circle.” He focuses in on how ultra-successful organizations don’t focus on what they sell. They go past the “how” and straight to “why” they are in business. He uses Apple as one of his examples of an ultra-successful company that focuses on why they exist.  I use this example because these corporations are selling to people products and services where people are lining up for hours to get the latest product or service.  Would'n’t you like to have that kind of influence with your customers? 

Take a few minutes and watch his talk if you have not seen it yet.  This will give you context to the mindset.  Link -> https://youtu.be/l5Tw0PGcyN0

I have included the “Needs Bullseye” in the graphic below to help you visualize.

Simon’s Golden Circle                                                         Needs Bullseye

The “Needs Bullseye” makes it easier to visualize how you will hit the target in the bullseye.  Just like on the archery range where you are trying to send an arrow from a distance away at the target, you should be focusing your questions to hit the heart of the customer.  If you are asking questions for features and benefits instead of “NEEDS” you are not going to make as big of an impact when you present your solution later in the sales process.  If you hit the bullseye with your customer, then you will likely make a connection with their emotion.  Emotion is a huge driver in decisions to purchase solutions.

The customer has needs that need to be met in order for them to make the purchase.  The larger the purchase the greater the need is going to be.   The customer will really need to have a great sense of security and trust with the salesperson and that is done by meeting the needs of the customer.  I will also state that meeting the needs is not completed by talk either.  That is how the sales profession has gotten a bad wrap saying whatever is needed to get the customer to sign a purchase order.  Do the work and prove yourself to the customer.  Let’s change the persona of the sales profession! 

Focus on the needs that you will answer with your benefits and features.  What needs the customer has and how it will allow them to do whatever they want better.  If you use a life insurance example.  The need is security in the event something happens your husband or wife.  If you passed away tomorrow how will they be able to pay the bills, pay for your funeral, taking care of the children, and be able to live under a roof going forward on one income.  You want to take care of your family if something happens to you.  Security is a huge need in this situation.  Position your questions to ask the customer how your benefits of your policies offered will address that great need for security. 

Keep in mind that you most likely are not in a blue ocean environment and your competition is also working to win over your customers with similar products.  Think of questions that will differentiate you from your competition.  You should be studying the competition and what they offer so that you can know their features, benefits, and needs answered in order to steer the customer to your product if it is truly a better fit for the customer.   Please do this ethically and help the customer so there are no ramifications later.  Even if you believe your product to be better, make sure the customer believes it as well.  Otherwise you are a commodity and the only difference in commodities is price.  No one wants to be the first in the race to lose margin.

Don’t get down on yourself if you don’t hit it out of the park right away with all of your questions.  No one gets it perfect right away.  It takes practice, a lot of practice.  I recommend working with your teammates to derive questions.  When two or more people come together for the same purpose great things happen!  Trial and error will also help you refine your questions.  As you get better you will be able to impact greater with your customers. You can do it! You have all the answers, now you just need to learn the right questions to answer the “WHY”.

If you have questions with this concept feel free to reach out.  My mission is to help you sales professionals get better at selling so you become the most desired sales professionals in your industry. 

If you have more questions about the entire sales process, pick up my book “The Sales Process Uncovered” price just reduced today for a limited time on Amazon.

Have a great weekend and I will see you next week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How Do I Create Best Questions To Ask Customers?

What questions help me position my product or service better than the competition? 

What is the best question to ask my customers to help them? 

Above are a couple questions I have been asked in the past about asking the right questions.  The truth is that the is no one or two questions that will be able to be used in every industry. The questions will change a bit for each industry and situation. It is up to you to figure out which ones will work for you best. So let’s get to work on helping you!

Last week we talked about S.I.R. types of questions and what each one of these were.  I reviewed what each of the these types of questions addresses.  Today we focus on helping you derive your own questions to ask.

You are very familiar with your product or service and most likely know where they shine and where they do not.  You want the customer to be focused on the why they need your product.  Today we derive those questions with the simple road map. This process involves tying back benefits to form questions. The stronger the question, the better the benefit is highlighted when it is uncovered with the customer later in the sales process.

I’ll use a graphic to illustrate this process of creating questions to pull out benefits from your product or service’s features:

Take out a sheet of paper and a pen and start listing features of your product. List the features across the top of the sheet of paper from left to right, making each feature into a column. Below each feature, list a benefit that each feature creates. For example, when doing trainings with slides, I use my clicker that has a little button that makes the slide I am on turn completely blank. The feature is the button that I can push to make the slide go blank. The benefit is that I can then draw attention back to me and keep people from trying to read ahead on the slide. Feature = button, benefit = gaining attention.

Below the benefit, write down the needs that the benefit answers. The graphic is extended into the next step of the question creating process.

Using the same example, the magical button that makes the screen go blank and offers me the benefit of gaining attention, ask: what need is answered by the benefit? For me, I use the fact that I need to draw back the attention of the audience to expand on a point I am trying to make. I may also want to share a personal story of how I screwed up something in the past, so they don’t do the same thing in the future. The need that is being answered is how do I refocus the attendees’ attention back to me.

Now we have to figure out the question that we can ask that both answers the need and highlights the benefit that the feature addresses. List below the needs answered, in the same column, a few questions that you could ask. Here are a couple I would use: Would it be beneficial if you had a way during your presentation to refocus the group back to you so that you could enhance the point you want to get across? How much greater influence do you think you would have when training people if you could pause the presentation to highlight a point that needs to be addressed in more detail?

Below is the complete process of creating the questions that tie back your features and benefits:

When I used to sell stand-on riding lawnmowers that held inclines and fit in tighter areas than traditional lawnmowers, I would ask questions about whether the customer had ever had any employees trapped upside down when a mower flipped over, had read about some of these incidents in Florida around retention ponds (most resulting in death), or about the areas they had to maneuver around. I would follow up with questions about how they currently handle those areas, and so on and so forth. I was aligning them with the fact that my product could move around, and if the operator got into a bad spot, they could simply step off the back and be safe.

When asking the questions that tie back to your features and benefits you are able to ask questions and find out if your product is truly going to help the customer.  If they are saying yes to what you are asking you know you are on the right track to finding points to make when you present your solution to the customer later in the sales process.  Asking the right questions that pull out huge needs for the customers is the way to start getting them to draw in to you and confide in you more as well.  They will start sharing more and more to help you hopefully answer the question they started asking when you first approached.  How can this person help me?

It’s that easy to derive questions to ask that pull out the needs the customer would have that your product or service can answer.  Remember to create your S.I.R. questions using this process so that you are pulling together all the different types of questions to ask your customers.  Practice this week and then next week, I will show you why needs are so important to answer.  This will help you increase your influence with customers.  Start working on your questions and I’ll see you next week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

What Do I Ask My Customer?

Good morning everyone,

I hope you have had a great week and increasing your sales with your customers.  If not, reach out and I will be glad to help you.  I do not charge on the first call and am here for you!  That is why I do these blogs.  To help you win!

Last week we talked about what is going through the customer’s head when they are meeting with you and the three main questions they are asking:

1.       Do I like you? 

2.       Do I trust you?   

3.       How can you help me?

Today we are going to answer how you the professional sales person will answer these questions.  You do this by uncovering needs.  Yep, you are going to ask them questions.  There has been a great deal of study on what questions to ask and old sales techniques always told you to ask open ended questions that are not answered with simple answers like “yes”, or “no”.  What I have found is that there is no correlation to success with asking all open-ended questions as opposed to closed ended questions.  Obviously if you ask all closed ended questions you will lose interest from the customer and they will move along. 

I chose to use a mixture of open-ended questions and close ended questions.  I let the conversation flow well and make the customer feel relaxed.  Keep in mind when you are asking questions, the customer is likely to have their guard up.  Making the customer feel more relaxed is key at the beginning.  Pay attention to the colors you wear when meeting with a customer.  Wearing a presidential power suit will likely turn them off.  Choose relaxing colors.  I tend to wear white and light blue tones when meeting with the customer the first few times.  These are colors that people relate to with honesty.  There is a great deal of study on this and one great resource is a book called “Influence,” but I warn it is a very dry book to work through so have something to keep your energy levels up if you read it.

In the Uncover Needs of the sales process you are looking to draw out information from the customer so that you can sell them the best solution.  You need to find out their needs.  Needs are grouped into three areas and I use the acronym SIR:

1.      Situational

2.      Issues

3.      Ramifications

Next week I will show you how to create questions to ask that align with your features and benefits to make you more successful, but for today we need to focus on the types of needs that you need to be focused on.  Today we will focus on the three main types of questions.

Situational needs are questions you use to draw out where the customer is.  This is where they are at in the buying process, where they want to get to in the future, who is the decision maker, what is their process for making a decision, what is driving their need for looking at options, etc.  These are very probing questions and customers are usually not wanting to discuss for hours on end.  The more questions you ask that are situational the more risk you have of the customer losing interest. You will want to limit the amount of situational questions that you ask so make sure you are asking the best ones. 

The larger the transaction there are likely more than one decision maker.  I have had to address large teams of decision makers for deals in the multi-million range.  When I was selling outdoor power equipment to landscapers it was usually one or two people.  Keep that in perspective when you are in the situational questions to understand if you are speaking to the correct decision makers.

Issues are the needs you really need to focus on.  They are the limiting factors for organizations that want to move forward, or the reasons why organizations may fail.  These are highly motivating needs that you need to address with your product or service.  Pain is a large driver in making changes so find out what pain they are experiencing and why.  You also need to understand why these issues are causing them limits or pain.  Asking what success would look like to the customer here would help them think in depth and confide in you a little more.  They may also bring in the people that are actually experiencing the pain to help describe to you the issue not just the symptom of the issue. The key is to find the issues that you can resolve with your product or service. 

Ramifications are also highly motivating needs that you will want to know.  If the customer is unsuccessful in finding an option to mitigate the issue they have, what does that look like?  Does the organization have to close its doors, does it lose a large contract, or is it smaller to where the customer can not find a special gift for someone special?  When the stakes are high people are very motivated to find a solution and are more open to options.  Make sure when asking ramification questions that you are building up the problem in the customer’s mind to drive a sense of urgency so they open up, bring in others that can help provide information, and help you find more information to drive the best solution.  The more you elevate the issue the better influence you can have on helping your customer.  Understanding the ramifications well will strengthen your sales presentation later and can move the customer to action. 

Be careful not to jump into your presentation just yet.  If you do not uncover all of the needs prior to presenting they you will miss the target and then you risk devaluing your solution.  When I do half and full day training on the sales process I walk teams through the entire process including developing the questions that will derive larger impact with their customers.  We really take time to develop great questions for the sales teams to make greater impact which results in better profits.

That is all for this week just remember to use SIR when remembering the types of questions to ask customers.  Next week I will show you the road map for pulling out great questions that will make you successful for asking questions to pull out these needs. 

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

What Does Your Customer Need From You?

When you are building rapport with your customers how are you answering these questions the customer has for you? 

Do I like you? 

Do I trust you?   

How can you help me?

Lately I have been going deeper and understanding the psychology of people and understanding habits and motivational filters people have.  This will be something I will share in the future.  For Today I want to focus on developing questions as well as focus for you to use when engaging your customers.

The customer is asking themselves the questions above from the moment they meet you until you leave. By the time you leave they have forgotten much of what you have talked about.  Want to make a larger impact with them?

Pull out a sheet of paper and take notes.  I know it sounds simple, but people really feel like you are there for them when you are taking notes.  You are showing interest in them.  Ask them if they are okay with you taking notes for review.  They are likely to say yes because you are focusing on them and paying attention, not just selling a product that might not fit their needs.  I have an example of an Account Profile sheet in my book “The Sales Process Uncovered”, but will send you a copy if you email me at info@kevinsidebottom.com if you would like a free copy.  Put in the subject “Account Profile Sheet” and I’ll send it out to you.

I have used an account profile sheet since I have started in sales to make sure I truly understand my customer.  I want them to feel that I am their advocate and that I truly am there to help them.  I also can not remember all the topics that came up in conversation and retain it mentally.  Let’s face it I am getting older.  Writing something down will imprint on your brain and stick with you longer.  You will also be able to review all of your notes outside of the meeting to derive the best solution for your follow up meeting. 

Now you are answering the first two questions Do I like you? and Do I trust you?  Now let’s focus on How can you help me?

Let’s pull out some of the better questions to ask someone that will provoke them to be thoughtful past the cost impact and features.  For this we want to ask very open questions that make the person think deep.

What would success look like for you in this decision? 

Whether you are selling insurance, lawnmowers, cars, bathroom remodels, the customer has a vision of what they believe success looks like.  Helping them articulate this into a mental picture is giving you the ability to understand the customer.  You can follow up with specific questions about what they reply with such as why is this perfect for you? when would you want this to happen? What is your budget for this? (most of the time the budget does not align with the perfect picture, so don’t be shocked)

What does the perfect solution for you look like and what does this solution do for you?

By asking this question the person if focusing on the positive future for them and is going to tell you what they believe will help them.  Try not to cut them off with better solutions.  This is the phase where you are learning about them.  If they are having trouble coming up with solutions you can use the “needs answered” questions road map in “The Sales Process Uncovered” to help you with deriving some questions.

Keep affirming them that what they give you is good and ask them if there are any more thoughts of how the solution works best for them.  We’ll get into the delivery of how your product meets their needs, but for now keep asking them these and more questions to pull out all of their needs. 

Using life insurance as an example you might ask the following questions as follow up questions:

1.       How much insurance do you believe will cover the loss of your loved one for you and your family to survive without the extra income?

2.       What do you want your future to look like?

3.       Would you be able to survive today if your spouse passed away unexpectantly?

4.       Do you have your budget filled out and know all of your expenses?  (have an easy budget file for them to use if they do not have one)

Always be willing to help and educate people.  Don’t talk down to them, instead focus on helping them.  Be the customer’s advocate and help them for a better future.  If you do this then you will answer the questions below.  Do this and you will greatly up your chances for obtaining the sale. 

Do I like you? 

Do I trust you?   

How can you help me?

Thoughts for yourself this week.

Think about how you are also enabling yourself to get better. 

Whether it be managing finances, reading some new books on a particular topic that is relevant to you, or training to invest in your growth.

Next week we will keep the momentum going to develop more questions that will draw out your product benefits to meet their needs.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The Best Way To Lead

Good morning everyone,

I was going to post on customer’s needs, but thought that this weekend would be better suited if we talked about Leadership.  More importantly, the type of leadership that will be lasting.

When most people think about leadership, they think about being at the top of the organization running things and commanding the employees to do what needs to be done.  Leadership is more about how you can serve your organization and not about how the organization can serve you.  It seems weird to think about that, but it is true.  Great leaders serve their organization.  They serve by the stand point of helping others get to a point where they can truly succeed. 

Dave Ramsey’s Entreleadership summit and podcast has a great following and one that I participate in.  John Maxwell also is a large proponent on leaders serving their organization.  There are other servant leadership proponents as well, but I want to talk about one individual that truly was the example of leadership.

Today I want to focus on Jesus Christ’s leadership.  I am not going to get into a faith discussion today.  I am not here to push my faith on you’re the reader, but I do want to focus on what Jesus did as a leader.  I want to show you what his leadership was about and what happened as a result.  

Jesus Christ was known as a leader of the Christian church movement.  Jesus Christ has been written about for over 2000 years and was a servant leader.  His ministry lasted only a few years, but had great impact especially after his death on the cross.  He inspired a great deal of people to change their ways of thinking, not to mention the many miracles he performed.  Jesus poured into his disciples and those that he lead.  He used stories to communicate his message and asked a great deal of questions to provoke thought in those that heard him. 

He also did something most leaders wouldn’t do.  He humbled himself as a leader to serve those that followed him.  The story that I want to zero in on is the story of the last supper.  This was the last meal that Jesus would have with his disciples in preparation for what was going to happen in the next few days.

Jesus and his disciples gathered in an upstairs room to have a meal together.  They had traveled many miles in the hot desert preaching to all those that came out to see and hear them.  Jesus’s disciples I am sure were worn out from traveling and preaching so I’m sure they were looking forward to a great meal and time together after their journey.  This is when Jesus took leadership to a whole different level in my opinion.  During the last supper with his disciples instead of sitting at the head of the table and being waited on, he tied a towel around his waist and grabbed a bowl with water and began washing his disciple’s feet. 

Those that were following Jesus were getting their feet washed by their leader.  This was not something that happened by leaders back then and I’m sure it does not happen today that much either.  I can’t imagine what those feet must have looked or smelled like.  They walked around on dirt all day traveling in the hot sun.  They had to smell and be layered with sweat and dirt.  I am not sure I could have done this.  I mean I may have gotten a bowl of water, soap, and a towel for people to wash their feet, but I am so OCD about my hands, I am not sure how long it would take for me to wash my hands after washing other’s feet.  I would probably have had to put on rubber gloves to do this.   He used his bare hands to wash their feet.

Jesus humbled himself to serve his followers and inspire them with a message about what leadership looks like.  It looks like doing acts of service and making decisions each day that will benefit those that follow leaders.  He knelt down and served his disciples in preparation for a meal they would be enjoying.  He did not have to do this.  He could have ordered one of the disciples to do this, but he decided to serve them.  After the meal Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life being beaten and hung on a cross for his mission.  He was all in and was willing to do what he believed was necessary to help the people that believed in the mission. 

By doing these things and serving those that followed him, Jesus showed what leadership looks like.  After his day on the cross his disciples were so bought into the mission that the Christian church grew at an unmatched pace.  Some of his followers were put to death for the cause as they were so bought in to.  He is now known as a symbol of hope of what is to come and the best example of leadership that I can think of. 

Take time to read about what Jesus was willing to do especially during the Easter timeframe.  Read about how he served all those that followed him.  Remember what Jesus went through for his followers during his time of sacrifice.  See how Jesus humbly served his followers to be the example of leadership. 

The question I have for you is, how far are you willing to go for those that you lead, or will lead in the future?   

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

www.kevinsidebottom.com