What is Your Why For Your Marketing Strategy?

Welcome back.  Today I’d like to talk about what a good marketing strategy is in order to increase sales.  I will also write about what doesn’t work and why so that you can figure out how you want to move forward with your strategy.

Since the creation of mail advertising, tv, and the internet there has been a great focus on marketing.  Now that we as a society have evolved and become smarter, the old way of marketing features and benefits has had to evolve. Just buying the biggest ad in the yellow pages will not work these days.

When people meet us as sales professionals, organizations, institutions they are asking three questions.  Today let’s focus on the third question with the assumption that we have answered the first two correctly.  This third question is “How Can You Help Me?”  If we are going to market to people about us being the best option, we better be focused on answering that question correctly.

If we don’t answer that question, well they will move on down the road to the next person in line.  They will also start thinking about what we offer as a commodity if we are not answering that question.  If we become a commodity then the only differentiating factor is price.  There is no winning strategy for commodities.  We need to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

People do not buy features and benefits as the answer to the question above.  We must focus on answering the needs of the customer.  That is right customers want a solution to their needs.  To figure out what needs our offering answers, then we need to ask questions, but to who? 

The answer to that question is ask our current customers why they buy from us.  What is it that made them desire our offering?  Why do they stick with us when there are other offerings out there?  Why do people still flock to Apple for their products when there are other products out there that compete on the same performance as Apple?  We need to understand why our customers love our offerings and stick with us as repeat customers.

To do that there are tons of tools out there, but I recommend two.  Surveys and testimonials are what I recommend.  Surveys upon purchase helps in the later steps of the sales process as I teach, but also help get fresh feedback at the time of purchase as to why the customer decided to do business with us.  This is fresh insight without outside influence and time that will allow our customers to forget.  The other is testimonials.  These testimonials work so great because of the law of “Social Proof” that others will follow because of that influence. 

That is right, we need to be asking our current customers why they are doing business with us because this is the key to understand how and what we should be marketing.  We will see a trend as well with all of the surveys and testimonials that will show us the path to our marketing strategy. 

I know this seems backwards in the process, but our customers are the ones that can tell us the why so that we can structure out strategy.  Many organizations fail to understand why the customers do business with them and march in a totally different direction leading to mediocre results.  We need to understand so we can chart out course correctly to attract more of our tribe.

Answer that third question by asking questions to current customers will allow us to win at this marketing game.  Especially when there is so much noise out there to confuse and turn off customers. 

Start today to understand your  current customers and then you will overcome the competition and stay out of the commodity arena!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why You Need Customer Trust

Have you ever bought something from a salesperson you just didn’t like or trust?  If you did, how did it make you feel afterwards?  When is the last time you made a large purchase from someone you didn’t trust?  Likely never.

Today we are talking about why building trust with the customer is important.

There are three questions that everyone asks themselves about us when they meet with us.  Every time!  These questions are:

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How can you help me?

See that second question?  Trust is a highly important question that has to be answered by us for the customer.  If we don’t answer that question with our actions and words lining up, then the customer will move on down the road to our competitors that offer similar products / services. 

Trust is extremely important with most of our major decisions.  I define major decisions as decisions that cost over $500, or life changing decisions.  Some use gut feelings, some use research, and some use advisors.  The fact remains that trust is a part of every major decision.  If we do not have trust, we do not act.  This is why most consumers ask friends and family who they should talk to about a product / service.  They are searching for a trusted advisor.

Today it is so easy to find options for a product / service that we need.  Just hop online and do a quick search.  When the customer is coming in to talk to us, they are trusting that we will help them.  We need to make sure that we have that in mind when we serve the customer.  We as sales professionals need to be showing up to serve the customer and being open and honest of where we can and can not help them.  Focusing on how we can better grow the relationship and trust with that individual / organization. 

Customers are not just looking for a transactional experience.  They want to be known and heard.  They want people that will advocate for them to find solutions that will benefit them the best.  Customers want a relationship.  We as humans are born to crave a sense of community and value.  Customers want that as well.  Why do you think there are so many Facebook groups out there today?  People want community.

When people trust us, they share more information with us.  Not their deepest darkest secrets, but they will share more and more as trust is built.  I have had customers tell me about future RFQ’s that I could look forward to and worked with my teams to be more prepared so I was able to achieve success.  That would not have happened had I not built great levels of trust with these customers. 

To build trust I use a simple equation that I call the Trust Equation.  It uses variable such as credibility, reliability, vulnerability, and selfishness and puts them into a simple equation to help us build trust effectively and quickly with customers.  This equation also focuses on a long-term approach to building a great amount of influence with the customers. 

Now, there is a great deal to discuss on trust such as how to build it, the different levels of trust needed depending on proximity to others, and how to keep growing trust.  That is why I created the “Trustworthy” training to help people like yourself understand and build trust quickly. 

If you’d like to check out it click here to be taken to the training.  It’s worth the investment. 

Today, lets make sure we are focused on building trust with our customers. 

Build trust with your customer and you will reap greater rewards! 

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

What is the Best Sales Strategy

Welcome back,

Today we are going to go through what a good sales strategy is because this comes up quite often with sales teams.  What is your strategy to win the sale?  Most of the time the sales person is thinking on the fly and often falters when pressed for details.  This is also when the sales person is confronted that thinking on the fly is not going to work.

With the sales landscape ever evolving, sales people need to have a good sales strategy. 

Here is what I have use as my sales strategy: 

Have a plan to serve the customer with a process that walks with them through their five buying decisions

That’s my sales strategy.  I want to serve the customer and walk with them through their five buying decisions in a way that allows them to buy the best product that meets their needs.  In order to do this. I must do a few things.

I must build rapport and trust with the customer.  If I know who I am meeting with, I can do research on them to learn about them and their families.  If I don’t have that option, or want to learn more, I can ask questions.   A great deal of questions to understand them and their needs.

The easiest way to build trust and rapport is to learn about customers.  We need to make sure we are learning about the customer because if we are not doing so, the three major questions that the customer has will go unanswered.  Do I like you? Do I trust you? How can you help me?  These three questions if unanswered spell defeat for a sales person because the first buying decision for a customer is in fact the sales person.  If we do not know, like, and trust the sales person, we are not going to buy from them.  Especially when there are so many options out in the marketplace.

The sales person is essential in growing the product line.  People buy from people. 

To help sales people I have created “The Sales Process Uncovered,” to help the sales person use the roadmap on how to sell effectively to customers.  It starts by asking a great deal of questions and the different types of questions needed to uncover the customer’s needs.  This process has worked in different industries, in different markets, and B2B as well as B2C sales.

That is right I use a process to solidify my strategy.  All the successful people use a process whether it for championships, expeditions to uncharted territories, or business.  Even those amazing Navy Seals that are the elite of the elite use a process for preparing for a mission.  Those individuals use a process to plan, action, review, and do it over again. 

If you want to have a great sales strategy, you need to implement a sales processes that will help us walk with our customer.  By doing so influence actually increases with the customer and if we do a great job selling, the customer will start telling others why they need to do business with us.

Who wouldn’t want that? 

If we want to gain sales success, and achieve great goals, we need to have a plan and the easiest way to do that is have a process in place that is simple and repeatable for success. 

If you want to gain some more insight about the sales process uncovered and how it can help you, click here.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why Trust In The Workplace Is Essential

Ever have a team that did not have trust?  Ever work with others that would step on you just so they could shine brighter and show off their awesomeness?  Ever been sabotaged by another team member to make you look bad?

Unfortunately, sometimes have these situations which makes us question if we in fact actually on a team? 

There are many factors that go into trust in a team.  We have to trust that team members will be able to do their job well, we have to trust they will not sabotage us, we have to trust things will be communicated effectively. 

If we are a manager that does not have trust for our employees then we are going to micro manage them.  If we do not trust the employees, we spend much of our time checking and rechecking their work.  If we do that, how can we continue to grow ourselves, and still move the group forward?  It’s like rowing a boat with our hands instead of an oar.

If we do not trust our colleges enough then we are doing extra work as well to make sure we hit the outcome we desire.  That means more stress, longer hours, less efficiency, and drain on our attitudes.  Then comes the mixed emotions of stress and disengagement with work and family.  When teams are not in a high trust environment, they are not working efficiently.  People are not communicating well and issues are sometimes hidden.  The only time management sees an issue is when a major event occurs.

If we are in a large organization and the engineering team is not trusted by other teams, then the design will be delayed to launch.  If this is a publicly traded entity and launches are delayed guess what happens to the stock price valuation… 

We need to make sure we are forming a trusting environment because speed and cost are the two variables in business that are affected by trust.  When we are in a high trust environment speed goes up and cost goes down.  When that happens, guess what happens to profits…they go UP!

When we are in a high trust environment people will be allowed to move quicker without having to get tons of approvals and tons of double checking.  Everything flows faster and work is completed with less bureaucracy.  It’s like a river that is allowed to flow, it is clean, but when it is blocked up, everything becomes stagnant and scummy.

We need to make sure that we are working on ways to build trust throughout our organization so that we can work more efficiently.  If trust grows, the outcome will be increased profits. 

If you’d like to know ways to improve trust, check out this link that will take you to my training on building trust that will allow you to build trust around you and form great levels of trust with your teams.

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Avoid This if You Want Trust

Ever been told you are being selfish?  Ever tried to take a toy away from one child to give it to another?  The response is most likely “It’s Mine…”  We are born selfish which is why sometimes it is hard to build trust with others.

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

We can be very creditable, reliable, and vulnerable, but if we are only doing this to help ourselves “WIN” we 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 actually more like a marathon.  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 selfishness.

Selfishness tells people that we do not value them and do not care about them.  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 had to come to this realization with someone that I have bent over backwards to help on quite a few occasions.  Each time resulted in being taken advantage of due to their selfishness.  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 their wants without a care for anyone else. 

By being selfish we can quickly turn relationships sour.  In sales or leadership if this happens, we really start losing influence.  Influence is the key ingredient to success in sales and leadership.  Without trust there is no influence.  Leverage is a term of is a term often people use as an influencing tool of holding something over someone so that they will do what we want, but once leverage is gone these people will revolt!  When we do not have trust, people will be less willing to give us the benefit of the doubt and promote us 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.  Instead, my focus is on 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 leadership. 

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 we need to apologize for selfishness?  Have we 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. 

When we lower selfishness relationships and influence seem to increase at a rapid pace.  We need to place value on others and not do anything to just advance ourselves, but humbly help others get to where they need to go.  “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

So here it is the full Trust Equation.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Don’t Fear The V

How hard is it for you to share your true feelings of fear?  Ever informed someone that you were uncomfortable?  Have you ever been told you are too vulnerable? 

My guess is that if you a man in your 40’s and older, that has not been something you have ever heard.  It just was not modeled for the most part by our fathers.  We were taught how to change the car oil, get a job, and fix things.  Vulnerability was not something that most of us were taught.

I was raised in a single parent family for most of my younger years and being vulnerable was not a skill I was taught.  I was taught to “man up”, “suck it up”, etc.  We didn’t show emotion.  Well we did show anger and sarcasm.  That was about it.  Vulnerability was something I work on daily as I enter my fourth decade of life.  This was one of the hardest skills for me as a man, but one of the most beneficial assets as a person of influence. 

You may be thinking, 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 our teams or customers gives us the benefit of the doubt in bad situations.  This kind of trust is more than the superficial arm-length kind of relationship.  It brings people in to get to know us 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 opening ourselves to be potentially judged, let down, hurt emotionally, and disappointed.  Vulnerability is sharing details and emotions to show the real us.  It is also an uneasy feeling when we disclose something about ourselves to someone in an effort to build deeper trust levels. 

Vulnerability is deeper than honesty.  When being honest, we can speak the truth, but still not build trust (just ask my wife).  People can be rubbed the wrong way with honesty.  We can not gain the connection with others when we are just honest.  We need to develop our level of vulnerability with other individuals to gain deeper relationships.  Vulnerability is a scary place for most people because there is that risk of being hurt, but the payoff is definitely greater.

I have worked with ex-navy seals, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, contractors, etc. The most successful people are vulnerable to those they need high levels of trust with.  Leaders have to be vulnerable with those they lead.  Leaders strive to grow the relationship with those around them so that when the time comes to dig deep, the leaders will have the buy in from those around them, 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.  Together we have accomplished great things like a men’s ministry, winning multi-million multi-year contracts, and solid relationships that have stood the test of time.

This week I want to challenge us to open up instead of trying to conceal things.  It’s okay to show the real us to others.  We can share some of the things we struggle with and ask for help.  Being vulnerable with where we are at will allow us to grow stronger and have others come along side of us to accomplish much more.  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 the next step you can do today to be more vulnerable with those around you? 

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

You Need The R in Trust

Ever have someone tell you they will do something for you and they don’t follow through?  Ever been that person that says they will be somewhere at a certain time and you forget?  These types of situations actually affect trust.  It’s when we don’t do what we say we are going to do that trust actually decreases.

Today, let’s talk about the second variable in the trust equation, 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 that big of a deal to be reliable?

It's a BIG DEAL!!!  Trust is won or lost by our actions, not just our words. 

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 have heard all my life from my father.

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 in 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 up the heat and use foil that reflects the heat back into the grates that are anodized aluminum, they actually can’t take that much heat and melt and then break in half?  Yep, it was an awesome first time meeting them let me tell you… 

I told him that I would replace them even though my future father-in-law said don’t worry about it.  The next day I was on the phone with the grill manufacturer ordering the new grates.  I was originally 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?  Yep that’s right almost $300 for grates.

That weekend was the most expensive steak dinner I have ever had, 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. 

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 a trusting relationship.  Especially when we are first getting to know others.

Here are a few things I do to make sure I follow through:

List it and do it – As you can see from the picture of this blog, I love to utilize post-it notes for my action items.  I will literally list out something I need to do and stick it to my wallet when I leave so I do not forget what I set out to do.  Some people use an app, but I am low tech.  A side note is that when people cross things off list they feel good and empowered.  If you are someone that keeps forgetting to do things, then maybe making a list and keeping it with you as a reminder might be a good tool.

Action It – I am bombarded with requests regularly and if I set something to the side I tend to forget about it, so I make sure I do it right away if I can.  CEO’s have utilized this method of acting right away of forgetting it.  Emails are a way they sort through action items to either take action right away, or throw it in the recycle bin.

Delegate it – If you are unable to do something and someone else is better equipped to handle the item then delegate it.  John Maxwell has endorsed this idea of delegate to elevate.  My wife and I set up weekly meetings to look at things that need to be done and delegate things that each other can do.  It allows us to work more efficiently, communicate effectively, and flow in our strengths.

L.A.D. are three helpful options that I we can all utilize to make sure we are reliable.

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.  We need trust in order to keep moving forward with others.  We need to focus on how we can make sure we are doing what we say we will do and apologize to anyone that we may have fallen short with. 

Being reliable is essential in building trust.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Sales People..., don’t fear it, embrace it

How many of you like to hear the word no?  No is not typically something people want to hear when they are trying to sell a product or service.  While working through the sales process with the customer we are envisioning the finish line, checkered flags waiving, confetti, and then we hear…”No”

Most sales people have had the experience early on in their careers to keep sitting in the selling phase of the sales process and not asking for the order.  They do not want to hear the word “no” from the customer.  During this buying decision far too many sales people will start spouting off more benefits and features, price dropping, etc. before the customer even provides feedback.

When we start justifying our price as soon as we send it, we immediately devalue our proposal.  Now the customer has no other course, but to challenge the price.  The old saying less is more applies here.  When the sales person sends over the price, they need to stop speaking.  Just like in a negotiation, the first person that speaks loses. 

Now I temper that with a statement that submitting pricing is not an us vs. them situation.  We are trying to help the customer here, but we need to also be paid for our services.  What I am saying is that when we submit the pricing, we need to not devalue our proposition to the customer.  Now the discussion should be on the customer to decide if they see the value of the investment, or if they have more questions.

Maybe the customer needs a little more information because we did not answer one of their needs that is high value.  That’s okay because we can address that need quickly to help them make sure this is the best product / service they are about to purchase.  Maybe the customer is in the research phase of decision making.  This should have been discovered early on in the first buying decision, but maybe they are trying to budget.  Then it is up to us to make sure we identify the next step for them to take and how we can help the customer.

There is nothing wrong with hearing a no right after we have provided the price.  This is how we adjust and understand what may be limiting the customer from making the purchase.  Just like shooting a rifle from 1000 yards away from a target.  Sometimes a small adjustment needs to be made to hit the target in the center.  This is our opportunity to correct and address the customer’s needs and help them see the value.

It is our job as sales professionals to help the customer’s needs get answered and help them win in this investment.  If we simply walk away when we hear “no,” we are missing a large opportunity to correct and help the customer.  Maybe a large need changed due to the organization’s direction.  Maybe the purchasing team has been reshuffled and there is a new buyer.  That happens quite often doesn’t it.   

If we don’t sell the product / service right after the first time we submit a price, that is okay.  Sometimes there is a better option for the customer, but if we have done a great job, the customer will tell us why we may have lost this sale, but they will tell others how we helped them if we walk with them through the five buying decisions correctly. 

As a side note most sales people never go back and find out why they lost a sale.  This is valuable information if that happens to adjust the sales approach going forward!

We just need to make sure we do no devalue ourselves, or our offerings while working through the sales process with them.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why Trust starts with the letter C

Trust is in high demand today. 

Some would say that it is harder than ever to build trust with others.  Far too often people let us down and keep moving on as if they don’t even care.  It’s not true, but that is what our feelings tell us.  Trust is a very expensive commodity.  Businesses can lose large accounts because of trust.  CEO’s are let go for violating trust.   

Employees and management need to establish trust more than ever especially with the working remote situations.  In uncertain times, it is trust that is the key ingredient in moving forward and achieving desired goals.

There are many aspects to trust and how to build high levels of trust.  Different environments also require different levels of trust.  I have been asked many times for a simple roadmap in building trust.  Something simple for people to remember and be able to apply.  I have also spoken to Multi-Billion dollar organizations to help teams build trust by using this equation.  That is why I have created the Trust equation. 

For today let’s focus in on “Credibility.”  Yes we need credibility to be able to build trust.  Ever read an article that states I had a credible source?   Credibility actually has a few components to it and some that most people don’t think about.

Credibility is typically linked to knowledge.  A person goes to school, gets a degree and then they are finally credible on a subject.  While that is very true, there are other aspects to Credibility that many do not think about.  One is effective communication and the other is what I call call “being the bridge.”

I have seen very intelligent individuals lose credibility because they could not effectively communicate with others.  That’s right, just because they have a great deal of knowledge, does not automatically grant them credibility.  Everyone needs to be able to communicate effectively!  There are many courses that help on effective communication topics, but the biggest effect on communication is the ability to break complex topics into easy to understand language.  That means not using really big dictionary words when a simple word can be used.  If we can communicate effectively then we can build trust and generate credibility. 

Now the other component I mentioned earlier is what I call “being the bridge.”  This is something that I learned when I first got into sales.  If I was able to connect people needing help in a certain area with those that had the knowledge, I actually built credibility.  That’s right because I was bridging the gap for them, then I am deemed a credible source as well.  When we bridge others together, we are associated with one that adds value.  Adding value is key in trust building and being a bridge will help us gain influence.  This is one of the main ways I have been so successful throughout my career.  I have built a great deal of credibility by bridging others together.

Knowledge, communicating effectively, and being the bridge will allow us to become more credible and help others trust us more.

If you’d like to learn more about trust and the trust equation I have a click here for my online training.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How Good Is Your Why When Goal Planning?

Ever wonder why 80% of new years resolutions fail?  Ever wonder why your team just doesn’t seem to hit goals?  Why do most people not even set goals?

The main reason is that growth whether it be personal, professional, or physical is painful.  Growth is not easily achieved which is why there are so few people achieving the next level results. 

I recently took my son to the orthodontist to start his journey for a better smile while getting braces installed on his teeth.  He asked me what it was like since I had them twice.  Yes, it typically takes me double to achieve results than most people 😊  I told him that the initial process is not very hard as they apply the torture devices to your teeth, but that he should expect to have a 6 out of 10 on the pain scale for his teeth for the following few days.

His response was that he was okay just not getting braces.  He didn’t care that it would improve his smile, or fix some issues in his mouth that would help him.  He just wanted to avoid pain and discomfort.  It dawned on me in that moment that I am not alone.  I don’t always want to do the hard things because it will cause me discomfort. 

Most individuals will avoid pain at all costs to live an comfortable lifestyle.  What I’ve learned is that nothing worthy is every easy.  There is some level of pain and risk associated with any worthy venture. 

If we want to grow financially for most cases, we need to gain education, work hard, and budget.  None of this seems fun or comfortable either.  My mother always said, “ nothing ventured, nothing gained.”  I added to that that no pain, no gain.  Okay I may have borrowed that from some weight lifter somewhere. 

If we want to grow, we need to put in effort and accept levels of discomfort / pain.  When we want to gain muscle, we are actually ripping apart muscle strands during weight lifting exercises that repair themselves when we are sleeping that increases their size.  The same is true with anything we want to grow in.

We must accept that we will have some levels of pain to grow ourselves in whatever venture we take on.  We need to review our why and figure out the cost of achieving that why.  If the why is not greater than the costs, then we will have no chance at success. 

We should be adding to the process of goal setting what our why is next to each of our goals to decide if this is a good goal or not.  Otherwise, we are just hoping that we will make it and likely will fail to hit that goal. 

Over the pandemic I had to review quite a few things I wanted to do with my business and had to go through quite a few pain points when I created all my videos, online trainings, marketing ideas, and personal decisions like losing weight.

Each and every one of these things required me to sit down and figure out my why.  If I had a great why I have achieved my goal, but if my why was small or something superficial, I did not achieve that goal.

If you have a goal for yourself, it is a great step to review your why before setting out the goal.  Yes, we need to make goals that are easy to understand and measurable, but we also need to make sure we factor in the pain level we will have to endure to make these goals possible before we set out.  We risk a higher levels failure when things get tough if we have not done this planning.

As we are heading into the fourth quarter of 2021 lets start reviewing our goals that we created for the year and understand why we failed at some and why we succeeded at others.  The why will be a great area of focus. 

If you’re curious I did lose quite a bit of weight during 2021 by dieting which was very painful, but worth it!

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this topic more, feel free to reach out, I’d be glad to have that conversation.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Making Great First Impressions

Hello Everyone!

Ever wonder why some people just seem to be able to make great impressions on others while others don’t?  Ever struggle to make a great first impression yourself?

I have been thinking about this topic for a while now and decided that it was time to step up on my soap box.  I firmly believe that we all need to know how to sell in order to make great first impressions.  Whether we are going for a job interview (selling ourselves), out on a date (selling ourselves), leading an organization (selling vision and ourselves), or selling a product or service which means we need to know how to sell (ourselves), etc. 

No matter what we are doing, we are selling ourselves as the best option for those around us.  We share stories, build friendships, engage with coworkers etc. all of the time.  Some people do this really well and some unfortunately do not.  This is not simply determined if you are an introvert, or an extrovert to determine if you will do this well.  What I am saying is that some just don’t sell themselves well enough.

There are three questions everyone asks at every interaction and they are as follows:

Do I like you? 

Do I trust you? 

How can you help me?

In seven seconds, a perception is formed about the other person based off these three questions.  Now there are so many aspects to how one can affect those three questions, that it is key that we know how to sell and why these three questions are affected.  Learning the sales process if even just for only buying decision 1, we are definitely on solid footing to move forward with other people.

How we are dressed, what environment we are in, our posture, our speech patterns, and many more aspects affect how people form their decisions about us.  Have you ever heard the phrase. “we only get one chance to make a first impression?”   This is because once someone makes that impression about us, it is extremely hard to change.    

The sales process is the key to mastering the art of first impressions, building rapport, and likeability.  Once we master the first buying decision of the sales process, we can build rapport with those around us faster!  This will enable us to make great first impressions, obtain engagement from those around us, and create stronger relationships.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to sell and build relationships to make our lives better?

If you’d like to learn the sales process and how to gain influence, I have launched my online courses.  It will enable you to master sales, implement the simple to use process, and become a top performer as well as how to build great levels of trust quickly.

Below are the two links to my online trainings to help you build rapport and influence with others. Both can be completed at your own pace and in the comfort of wherever you have a an internet connection.

The Sales Process Uncovered

Trustworthy

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How to build trust with employees continued. ..

Last week we talked about why leaders need to focus on building trust with their employees if they want to move forward, have engagement, and a good culture. 

If you did not have a chance, go back and read last week’s blog on why we as leaders need to make sure we build relationships with our employees if we want to move forward faster with them. 

On to why we need to think like sales professionals if we want to gain influence with our employees. Sales professionals are trained to gain influence and how to build relational collateral with people.  I like to think of influence and relational collateral as a bank account.  Consistent deposits over time gains great levels of influence.  Constant withdrawls without deposits results in a bad relationship.

People will not buy from people they do not know, like, and trust.  If we want employees to buy in to what we are wanting to do, then we need to make sure we are focused on them.

You may be wondering how we focus in correctly.  It’s actually pretty simple and starts with three questions that the employee is asking about their leaders.

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How can you help me?

These three questions seem very selfish right?  We all go into this thought process every time we meet another individual.  It is hardwired into our brains for survival.  When mankind was hunting and farming with their community they needed to know if they could also trust those around them.  No one really wanted to get eaten by a saber toothed tiger right? 

As a leader we need to be outward focused so we need to narrow in on these three questions and how we can answer them well for each and every employee that reports to us.  If we can’t answer any of these questions, then we will not gain influence and engagement from our employees. 

The next question you are probably are asking as you read this is how do we answer these three questions?  We need to sit down and ask questions of the employees.  That’s right, we need to be asking questions to understand our employees.  People want to be understood and known.  How do leaders do that?  They ask questions. 

Three main types of questions:  Situational, Issues, and Ramifications kind of questions.

We need to understand where our employees are at, what issues they are facing, and what are the ramifications if those issues are not resolved.  That is why when meeting with employees we should be using the same CRM that we use for our customers.  We should be constantly learning about our employees.  Not to leverage them, but to know them and their situation.  By knowing where they are and what they are struggling with we will be able to help with solutions.  By doing this we build influence and engagement as a biproduct. 

If we do not and simply focus on getting a job done, we will see turn over, lack of engagement, and slow downs in work which end up driving higher costs eroding our profits.  It is to our benefit if we take time to understand our employees and learn about them to help them.  If we do so, we will be rewarded with what Dave Ramsey says, “They will charge the pits of hell with a water pistol for us,” if we show employees we care about them.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How To Build Trust With Your Employees

Are you new to an organization and need to get your team to follow you?  Have you recently been promoted and your current reports were recently your peers?  Do you have friends that now report to you?

When we take over a new role and have people reporting to us, we can’t simply believe they should follow us because of our position.  Far too often people in positions fall back on this stance, I’m in the leadership position so everyone on the team must respect and follow my lead.  Expecting people to follow us because of a title is not true leadership.  If we want people to follow us we need to reframe our minds to be one of a servant leader.

That sounds very contradictory doesn’t it.  A leader that serves.  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Our culture would want us to think that way, but the best way to lead is to focus on others.  We need to serve them well as their leader. 

To serve the team we first need to make sure that we are building trust with the team.  In order to move forward with others then they first have to know, like, and trust us.  If they don’t like and trust us, then we will have a slow lonely walk.  In business today it is fast paced that if we do not have trust then we are going to be passed by the competition.

How do we build trust fast is what I am often asked when talking to leadership teams.  We need to first put value on each person.  Not for them as employees, but as individuals.  Each person is unique and has unique gifts to help the team.  We need to understand this and learn about our team members, not just to leverage their gifts, but to make them are known and valued. Just think of a team in surgery, each of them has specific gifts that will help them save a life. We need to focus on finding out each individuals gifts and show them they are valued.

By focusing on individuals, we start to learn about them just like a sales person should be learning about the customer.  If we treat each individual as a customer, we start reframing our minds to thinking about how we can serve them well.  We immediately kick into building rapport and trust.  That’s what good sales professionals do best.  They build relationships.  At the core of any relationship is trust. 

You may be asking yourself, what if I’m not a sales person.  How do I do this?  Spoiler alert, we are all sales people.  Whether we have been on an interview, first date (interview), volunteering, parent, etc we are selling ourselves to others as a great option.  We are all selling something whether it is ourselves, or ideas, or our passion to help people be their best selves. 

Sales really is not that hard.  I was an introverted engineer when I started in sales.  It does not get much more difficult than that.  I like my alone time and I am a 1’s and 0’s black and white kind of person.  I still have thrived in sales because I focus on helping people get to a better place.  If we are in a leadership position, we can thrive as by putting on our sales hat and building trust with those that report to us.   Next week I’ll walk through the first buying decision in sales and how leaders can adapt that to building trust and relationships with those that report to them.

For now, sit back and think of a few relationships that could be improved by thinking like a sales person.  Not to sell them something, but how you can serve them and help them get to a better place.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why Some Leaders Are able to Gain Influence and Trust, While Others Don’t

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are doing well and have been learning through my blogs and youtube videos to gain influence with your team members and customers.  Today I’d like to talk about why some leaders are great at building trust and influence with people while others just don’t.

Ever have a manager that made you feel like you could do anything and you would fight for them to your last breath?  Chances are that you would not go that extreme, but you stayed at your current job because they were a great leader.

The majority of managers are focused on keeping people and process moving steady and having the least amount of push back for the organization.  They want to stick around for a pay raise, or a position raise inside the organization.  These same managers push for their team members to keep moving along and getting their jobs done while hoping to not have to keep replacing people which slows everything down.

Very few leaders take it upon themselves to truly work on building influence with their team members and focus on helping their team members be successful.  When we as leaders turn the focus off ourselves and what we need to how we can help our team succeed, that is when amazing things start to happen.  Buy in goes up, people stay around longer, they even work harder, engagement increases, etc.

Culture, engagement, influence, and a whole bunch of high energy words are thrown around as focus points, but here is the simple thing that leaders need to do to achieve great results with their teams.  Leaders need to answer three questions on a daily basis to their teams.

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How Can you help me?

These three questions are what the team members are asking each and every time they interact with each other.  If trust is low, and the members believe they are just a number instead of a team member that is when people start lacking energy at work and looking for other avenues of employment.  Leaders need to really understand this.  If they want to retain employees, and have a culture of growth, the focus needs to be how leaders can help the team grow.

For those that say, what if I invest time, energy, and money which results in the future, the employee leaving…What if we don’t and they stay with lack luster effort?   

When trust is high speed goes up and costs go down.  That means that profits go up.

If Leaders are focusing on answer the three questions every time they show up with their team members, they will gain influence, gain engagement, and create a great culture.  In this great environment people will know that they are valued and will go the extra mile day in and day out to make sure the mission is a success. 

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

Why Customer Service Reps Dislike Their Sales Reps…

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever experienced tension between customer service and the sales team?  Has there been passive aggressive exchanges between the two groups in your organization?

Ever have a customer service representative blindsided by a customer agreement?

Today I want to dive into an area of opportunity to help serve your customer as well as your organization.  In many organizations there are sales people and then there are account managers/ customer service representatives. 

Two separate people supporting groups for the customer and if communication is not great, two separate messages being communicated to the customer.  This drives customer satisfaction down as well as cross functional teams to argue and point fingers when issues arise.  Anyone that has been in sales for a while will be able to relate to this tension.

After a sale the sales person rides off into the sunset never to be heard from again which I have preached about in the past as being the ultimate sin in sales!  That’s right about 99% of sales professionals fall into this trap.  This hurts the relationship with the customer, effects return customers, and puts the customer service representative in a bad position when the customer asks for their deal that the sales professional made with them.

 Ever have this situation happen to your customer service team?  The sales person negotiates something different from the standard terms and conditions leaving the customer and customer service representative in a sparing contest to see who will give in.  The customer continues to get irritated stating, “ This is not what I agreed to!”  I’m sure some other adjectives are also used.  The customer service representative is also irritated and the customer experience has just blown up.  It does not even matter if the sales person resolves this issue, the customer already has an opinion of how this organization will support them in the future. 

Remember the organization is the second buying decision, even before the product is sold so we need to make sure we are all working together to make the customer experience exceptional. 

I worked for an organization where the sales people were all over the place with making side deals outside of the normal parameters.  The customer service representatives were processing orders without this knowledge and issues started popping up.  Customer relationships were paying the penalty.  Business was starting to erode and the owner of the organization was getting calls from large customers venting their frustration.  This was a bad situation.

To remedy this, the sales people were brought in for a sit down to understand how to get sales done following the standard program.  There needed to be conformity because there is something else that happens because our customers talk.  They will brag about the deal they received only to make the other customers resent the sales person for not giving them the same deal.  Profits were eroding and things were just not flowing in the organization.

When selling a product / service the customer service teams as well as sales teams need to have an understanding of the program and where there are opportunities to make small changes if needed.  Sales people and customer service representatives need to be on the same page so there is one message communicated to the customers at all times.  This helps when some of those slick customers try to get “a better deal.” 

Communication is key!  If sales professionals are not communicating terms of the deals and with the customer service representatives then there will be opportunities for misses with the customer.  The sales professionals also need to address as much of the terms of the agreement in writing so there are no issues for others to action against.  It is up to sales professionals to support their teams and not just hoping others will just figure it out. 

Both teams are extremely busy!  One idea that I have shared is to use a sharepoint directory so that our customer service and sales teams can reference the signed agreements so that way they can check what was agreed to.  Having this one location is crucial to the success of the organization!  This way we can serve the customer effectively, maintain relationships, and keep profits up!  Everyone needs to be on the same page when communicating with the customer.  Otherwise, the customer experience and profits suffer.

Have a great day everyone and happy selling!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

How Entrepreneurs Can Find Opportunity During the Pandemic Recovery

I am grateful for Curtis Fisher and his support of young entrepreneurs. This week’s blog post has been written by Curtis and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Small business owners everywhere have dealt with the economic impact of the pandemic. If your small business was considered “non-essential,” you may have had to close your doors for a period of months, only to return to limited operations afterwards.

Now, as the world begins to open up again and restrictions are gradually rolled back, you can slowly prepare for a return to normal. Maybe you need to revise your budget, get in touch with business and leadership consultant Kevin Sidebottom, or change your approach to marketing. No matter what you plan to do next, these tips will help you navigate this period of the pandemic.

Administrative Items

Business might not be back in full swing yet, but you can take advantage of this lull by working on administrative tasks instead. For instance, this might be a good time to go over your business plan and determine how you can tweak it for the upcoming year. You could also spend some time getting your digital files and paper documents organized.

In addition, now’s the time to register your business with the state in which you operate. Choosing to structure as a limited liability company (LLC) is optimal for many small businesses, primarily due to benefits like reduced risk to personal assets, less paperwork and greater tax advantages. You can use an affordable online formation service to get this done quickly and easily. Zenbusiness not only walks you through this process and helps you file, the site provides information on items like getting a statutory or registered agent.

Budgeting and Finances

The past year may have been rather lean for your business. Some sectors have benefitted from the pandemic while others have struggled. And if your business was categorized as non-essential, there’s a good chance that you’re wondering how to make up for lost profits.

First, it’s a good idea to create new financial projections for the coming year to see what you can expect in terms of your finances. Next, you’ll need to update your business budget by cutting expenses. What can you reasonably cut? Clean Tech Loops recommends nixing any software programs that you do not use regularly, switching to paperless files whenever possible, and considering a long-term remote work plan or renting an office space in a cheaper location.

Develop a Safety Plan

Depending on COVID case counts in your area, it might be time to bring your employees back to work in-person. It’s a good idea to consult with your employees before you make this decision. If everyone is on board to come back, Work Design recommends spacing out workstations with six feet in between them, stocking up on hand sanitizer, and having the office cleaned regularly. And if you have a retail space or waiting room where you’ll be allowing customers, make sure to put signs indicating that they are required to wear masks.

You may find that some workers aren’t ready to ditch telecommuting, especially those who live with people who are particularly vulnerable to the virus or those who simply feel much more productive while working from home. If this is the case, you’ll need to develop a plan for permanent remote work. Virtual Vocations recommends working with your employees to establish codes of conduct and decide which communication tools should become standard.

Delivery and Pickup Systems

Even though restrictions on businesses are slowly coming to an end, some of your customers or clients still might not be able to conduct transactions in person yet. Some people may still want to take care of business online or purchase items through a delivery or curbside pickup system. Make sure that you continue making efforts to accommodate this for the foreseeable future so as not to lose any customers.

New Offerings

The world is turning over a new leaf, and this could be the perfect time to introduce new offerings from your business. For instance, you could invite your customers or clients to a series of workshops that are held virtually for the time being and will shift to in-person gatherings as soon as it is safe. If you run a retail business, you could launch products that customers can easily enjoy outdoors this summer, since people will be looking forward to getting back outside.

Sales consultant and speaker Kevin Sidebottom blogs about the importance of knowing what customers crave. “What is the customer really asking us each time they interact with us whether [it’s] face to face meetings, calling customer service, on social media, etc. What is it that the customer is trying to communicate to us? We need to be intentional to reach out to them to figure out what they need. It’s that simple.”

Marketing Strategy

As people continue shopping online while others venture out, you’ll need to focus on combining both digital and offline advertising in your marketing strategy. You can rely on social media marketing, email campaigns, and search engine optimization to bring in new customers through the internet. In addition, set up fun window displays to attract more foot traffic to your store!

As restrictions are rolled back during the recovery phase of the pandemic, small business owners will have some breathing room to expand. You may want to use this time for administrative tasks, reworking your budget, or finetuning your marketing strategy so that you can speak to what your customers need right now. By looking forward with an optimistic attitude, you can prepare for profitable months ahead!

10 Resources for Top-Notch Home Office Design

Today we welcome guest writer Alice Roberts as she helps you with your organization and strategy to help you get your home office up to top working order.

If you’ve recently started working from home, you might be having trouble staying focused without a dedicated workspace. And if you’re hoping to grow your business by boosting your sales strategy with Kevin Sidebottom, creating a home office where you can concentrate is the first step! These resources will show you how to shop for office furniture, keep your desk tidy and organized, and ensure that your Internet connection is fast enough for your work.

Basic Necessities

To design your home office, you’ll first need to make necessary repairs to the space and choose comfortable furniture.

●      From selecting a desk to an ergonomic chair, these guidelines can help you purchase furniture that will last for years.

●      You don’t want a drafty home office, and a window repair may be in order. Find a local contractor with top ratings to ensure a quality job. Be sure to also put up sheers or shades to avoid glare from the sun.

●      Consider finding space for a bookshelf if you want to keep business development books in your office.

Invest in Tech

In order to stay on task, you’ll want to outfit your office with the right tech.

●      Make sure that your home WiFi network can handle your workload.

●      You might want to consider using dual monitors to tackle your to-do list more efficiently.

●      Purchase a high-quality printer for times when you need paper documents.

Get Organized for Productivity

Maintaining an organized home office is the key to staying productive and increasing your sales when you’re working remotely.

●      Develop a system for avoiding clutter on your desk so messes don’t disrupt your attention during the day.

●      Keep storage in mind as you move forward with your design - bins, filing cabinets, and even a desk hutch are all great options.

●      Take steps to soundproof your office so that you can avoid being interrupted during sales meetings and calls. You can also invest in a pair of quality headphones to drown out any noise.

●      You can even get creative and choose decor that will inspire you to stay productive! Consider artwork, plants, lighting, or whatever fits your design aesthetic.

When you work from home, it’s all too easy to get distracted. Designing a home office can help to eliminate this issue. By referencing these tips, you’ll be able to transform a spare room into an office where you can maximize your productivity and drive new sales!

Ready to optimize your business processes to boost sales? Kevin Sidebottom can revolutionize your sales strategy. Book Kevin today through the contact form on our website.

Photo via Pexels

The Customer Bought, Now What Do We Do?”

We’ve done it! 

We have made it to the fifth and final buying decision for the customer which is “Buy”

The customer has now purchased our product / service and we celebrate! Unfortunately, this is where 99% of sales people fail in the sales process. 

That’s right, they fail!  I am not saying that it is not okay to celebrate the win and I encourage the celebration, but when the sales person stops the sales process after receiving the order, the customer is left to fend for themselves.  This is wrong and we have not served the customer if we do this!  If we leave the customer and don’t make them successful with their purchase then the customer soon will develop buyer’s remorse, not hitting the desired outcome from the purchase, and possibly thinking they were just sold something instead of purchasing a solution.  The customer then associates us with the slimy salesperson that does not care about them.

Far too many sales people take the signed order and ride off into the sunset never to be heard from again.  It’s a huge opportunity that unfortunately most sales people miss out on!

That’s right, when the customer agrees to buy, this is the time that sales professionals need to roll up their sleeves and move forward with the customer.  The more this is done, the more the customer will brag to their friends, family members, social media, etc. about how awesome we served them and that everyone they know needs speak with us.  Who wouldn’t want a salesforce of individuals selling of us without having to pay them?  

I love having people that have taken my trainings tell others that they need to work with me because I know that what I am doing is working!

First and foremost, when the customer agrees to purchase, they will second guess themselves (buyer’s remorse) about the purchase.  That’s right, they are not sure what they did was the right decision.  This typically happens for purchases over $50.  No, we are not talking about a pack of gum.  The real-estate market has done a fantastic job overcoming this issue of “buyer’s remorse.”  As soon as the customer agrees to purchase a property, they immediately begin moving the customer into the next steps. 

When we confirm that the customer has made the right decision, they feel justified and will be set at ease.  Getting the customer moving forward after this decision to buy and onto the next steps such as delivery date, onsite training, etc., the customer is reaffirmed and feels like they have made the best decision possible.  They have a game plan for the next steps.  The customer will be fired up and ready to begin moving forward with our help!  They appreciate this, because most sales people do not do this!  This simple step!  Now we have a few other things we need to do as well.

The last step in the sales process is crucial.  Again 99% of sales professionals do not do this.  This is the most crucial step in gaining influence with customers.  It’s the next 90 days after the sale that really makes the customer’s purchase a success, or a failure.  That’s right, after the installation and quick run through, the customer is going to have issues.  The faster we communicate how to resolve those issues the better the customer will feel.  That is why organizations have had support lines waiting for customer to call, but the sales professional has an opportunity to take this one step further.

This is the sales process step in trainings that most organizations ask a great deal of questions on how they can get better.  This is where I gain my consulting business and coaching for.  Helping them gain the tools so they can make the customer successful 90 days after the sale.  We figure out how to make the customer successful and the organizations see higher levels of business gains.

What do we have ready for your customers so that they can consistently win with our product / service?  That is the question that we need to answer and if we do this well, we will be rewarded with greater levels of influence.  With more influence comes greater growth in sales and increased revenue.  At a certain point we become such an influencer that people stop focusing on price.  Wouldn’t that be amazing to take the pricing discussion off the table?

We are in the service business no matter what we sell.  Serve the customer well and reap the rewards.  Underserve, and stay a commodity in the customer’s eyes.

It’s okay to have a little celebration, but then get to work rolling up your sleeves and help serve the customer!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The Scariest Part Of The Sales Process

Welcome back everyone,

We have been walking through the buying decisions that customers must make before they will buy a product / service from us sales professionals.  If you haven’t read the past few blog posts, I encourage you to go back and read them as they will help you understand how we got here.  For today, let’s jump into this fun topic! 

When I first got into sales, I actually hated this buying decision.  I was so nervous that I kept selling the product as long as I could and would talk myself out of a sale in most cases.  The reason was that I feared rejection.  Just like asking that girl out in high school, I was nervous to ask for the order from the customer. 

Back in high school I was literally under five-foot-tall, weight around 100 pounds and let’s be honest the wind may have been able to knock me down if it blew over 10 mph.  Asking for a date seemed like a monumental task when I had to look up to just about everyone.  Luckily, I grew taller and so did my confidence.

No one really enjoys rejection and I was no different when it came to sales.  I did not want to find out if I had not done a good job at understanding the customer’s needs and addressing those needs.  I did not want to hear “NO” just like a child hates the word no.  I did not want the customer rejecting my request to move forward with the purchase.

Here is what I have learned through many years of selling.  We as professional sales people need to hear the word no.  That’s right, if we have not answered the customer’s needs, we should hear “NO”.  We do not need the customer buying the product only to hate the purchase and then remember us as the ones that sold them that product / service.  We need them to be glad they purchased the product / service and that it helped them.  Otherwise, we are just another sales person that made a quick buck that did not help the customer.  Serving the customer well leads to much more sales success in the long run.

Now, why is it okay to hear the word no?  Once we hear the word no, we can go back to the uncovering needs and verification of needs steps to make sure we completely understand the customer.  Which is what the customer truly wants.  The customer wants to be known and understood.  They want to know that this solution in front of them will actually help them move forward. 

As professional salespeople, we need to make sure we have courage to ask for the order.  We need to find out if we are on the right track or if we missed something.  This is our opportunity to come back and help the customer better if we missed something.  It’s our sign to make sure we are moving in the right direction.

You never know, the customer may actually say “Yes” and award us the business if we have followed the process correctly.  That is when the real work starts! 

Have the courage to ask for the order and wait for the reply from the customer.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

The One Decision Sales People Get Wrong

Ever have a customer answer your sales proposal with the following statement, “ That is great, but how does that help me?”  I have had this experience and had to use those same words with some sale people when they tried to sell me something.

This part of the sales process is where most sales professionals believe they need zero help.  Unfortunately, most sales professionals need a great deal of help with this part of the sales process.  To show this I ask people to sell me their product / service.  This is where the attendees have a reflection moment.

Most attendees start with firing features and benefits in rapid fire, their elevator pitch, or how their product is so revolutionary like they are in one of those late-night infomercials.  Unfortunately, this is an incorrect process in selling your product / service.  The reason I know this is because I started out selling my products this way which drove my lack of sales.  The customer does not care about how many features and benefits we have to offer.

What the customer does care about is how this product / service will meet “their needs”.  That’s right! How does what we offer help them?  That is the question our customers are asking.  Each customer is different and has different needs which means we need to be smart about how we approach this part of the sales process.  We can not simply rain features and benefits all over them.  We need to answer their needs.

To effectively answer the customer’s needs, the salesperson needs to do the work in the first buying decision by asking great questions to uncover the customer’s needs.  By asking questions we are able to actually understand the customer, what they are looking to achieve, and why they are looking to achieve it with this purchase.  If we assume that we know exactly what the customer needs we typically miss the mark in sales.  

You’re probably asking yourself how do I avoid this mistake?  The answer is simple.  By making sure that the question I am asking aligns with my features and benefits.  That’s right I use the features and benefits of my product / service to roadmap questions for the customer.  If the customer is saying yes to those questions, then we know that we are on the right track to help the customer.  Simple right!

One more point here and this is a big point!

If the answer is no to most of my questions about my product / service.  I quickly understand that what the customer is looking for is not what I offer and I point them in the right direction to meet their needs.  That is right, if my product / service will not help the customer I am going to do everything in my power to help them find what they need.  Most sales people are shaking their heads in disbelief, but they are wrong.  See I am playing the long game with selling that builds influence.  Influence that will come back to me ten fold later on.

If my current product / service does not help the customer and I help them find something that does, I have just solidified my value and gained tremendous influence with the customer. Even if they do not buy this product / service today, they will tell their friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. about the service that I have provided and how I helped them.  They will tell those people that they need to come talk to me.  It has helped me time and time again with references and grow my sales in the long run.

Yes, this is an internal decision to focus on helping more than just selling our products / service.  I chose this early in my career which helped me gain more sales than I could have ever thought possible.  Customers have come to me years later telling me that someone referred them to me because I was the best and helped in such a way that they needed to see me first.

Isn’t that where we want to be?  To be the person everyone wants to come to for a solution to meet their needs?

If you need support on making sure you are hitting the mark on this part of the sales process, or any others feel free to click here to see my online membership that gives you lifetime access.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business.  I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com