As some of you may know, I used to race stock cars.\u00a0\u00a0 Racing stock cars is a pretty intense activity \u2013 you\u2019re on a track that is somewhere between \u00bc and \u00bd mile in length, you\u2019re trying to control hundreds of horsepower, and you\u2019re among 20 of your best friends (or not).\u00a0 It\u2019s competitive and it\u2019s mentally absorbing, which I always liked.\u00a0 In those characteristics, it reminded me of sales.<\/p>\n
It reminds me of sales in another way, too.\u00a0 In both activities, you can have the best-laid game plan in the world \u2013 and nearly as soon as you start, your plan can be blown out of the water.\u00a0 When I started, I\u2019d plan out my entire strategy, even for a short 20-lap race.\u00a0 The problem was that there were 20 other guys wanting to do the same thing I did, and they weren\u2019t exactly respectful of my strategy.\u00a0 So, I learned to plan two things:\u00a0 The start of the race, and my overall objective.\u00a0 Again, selling works the same way.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how.<\/p>\n
In racing, the course of the race isn\u2019t under your total control.\u00a0 It\u2019s heavily influenced by the other drivers on the track.\u00a0 In selling, the course of the sales call isn\u2019t under your total control, despite what sales trainers have been trying to tell salespeople for decades<\/strong>.\u00a0 The call is heavily influenced (in reality, it\u2019s controlled) by the customer.<\/p>\n In racing, I could have the greatest plan in the world \u2013 what path I\u2019d take into the first turn, who I would follow to the front, and when I\u2019d make my move on that driver.\u00a0 If the driver made a mistake, suffered mechanical failure, or had another issue early, my entire plan was shot.\u00a0 In selling, I might have a terrific plan and presentation laid out, but if the customer is interested in something else, my plan is shot.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to have an idea, and plan for as many eventualities as we can.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t take away the need for a call plan; it does, however, greatly impact what aspects of the call we can plan.\u00a0 You should have these things in mind before each call:<\/p>\n The opening<\/strong>:\u00a0 I know, I know, it goes without saying \u2013 except it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 I still do ride-alongs with client salespeople, and there are a lot of salespeople out there who don\u2019t know how to open a call.\u00a0 Essentially, the opening (which should take no more than two minutes at most) should recap how we got here and set the stage for the meeting.\u00a0 If it\u2019s a new prospect or contact, you obviously should introduce yourself.\u00a0 You should also recap what element of the phone conversation got you in front of the contact (i.e. what was their interest?).\u00a0 If it\u2019s an ongoing relationship, it\u2019s always good to recap the most recent developments.\u00a0 Customers forget.\u00a0 I know, I know, you\u2019re the most memorable person in the world \u2013 except that you\u2019re not.\u00a0 None of us are.<\/p>\n The information<\/strong> you want to get<\/strong>:\u00a0 Every sales call, even those in an ongoing relationship, should include a discovery portion.\u00a0 It\u2019s through good questioning that we build and deepen relationships.\u00a0 Have a basic game plan for questioning \u2013 and then be prepared to abandon that plan if the customer wants to go in a different and potentially more productive direction.<\/p>\n The information you want to give:\u00a0<\/strong> Sometimes, you\u2019ll have information that must be conveyed regardless of the direction of the rest of the call (for instance, a price increase or a change in shipping policy).\u00a0 Other times, the information you give will be dictated by the information that you get (i.e. you discover a need that leads you to a solution).\u00a0 Again, \u201cbe prepared\u201d is the motto here.\u00a0 As you are questioning, you should be listening, discovering needs, and flipping through your mental file box of information that needs to be conveyed to make the sale and help the customer achieve his\/her result.<\/p>\n The next step:<\/strong>\u00a0 Setting a good next step is neglected in three out of four sales calls.\u00a0 The salesperson is fat, dumb, and happy from what he\/she has \u2018achieved,\u2019 and settles for \u201cOkay, I\u2019ll call you in a few weeks.\u201d\u00a0 Then the salesperson calls, and calls, and calls, and calls, with no response.\u00a0 Instead, set a definite follow up schedule.\u00a0 There\u2019s no better time to set the next appointment than when you\u2019re on the current appointment.\u00a0 I always like to plan three levels \u2013 the dream call, the realistic call, and the bare minimum action that the customer will take to continue being a viable customer or prospect.\u00a0 Preplanning these levels will help keep you from chasing inappropriate business.<\/p>\n As they say, \u201cThe best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.\u201d My favorite race win happened when one of my plans completely went away.\u00a0 I\u2019d successfully moved from the back of the pack to be running fifth midway through the race, and I was getting ready to start passing the top four cars one by one (or try to).\u00a0 Suddenly, the top four cars made contact with each other.\u00a0 Two spun to the inside, and two to the outside, and to me it looked like the Red Sea parting as I drove between them.\u00a0 I held the lead for the rest of the race.<\/p>\n Likewise, your most enjoyable sales calls may come when your plan is blown up very quickly and you have to think on your feet and make the right things happen off the top of your head.\u00a0 The moral of the story is this:\u00a0 Plan ahead, but not too much.\u00a0 Remembering the four elements above will keep you on track, and the customer will help you fill in the rest of the blanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As some of you may know, I used to race stock cars.\u00a0\u00a0 Racing stock cars is a pretty intense activity \u2013 you\u2019re on a track that is somewhere between \u00bc and \u00bd mile in length, you\u2019re trying to control hundreds of horsepower, and you\u2019re among 20 of your best friends (or not).\u00a0 It\u2019s competitive and it\u2019s mentally absorbing, which I always liked.\u00a0 In those characteristics, it reminded me of sales. It reminds me of sales in another way, too.\u00a0 In both activities, you can have the best-laid game plan in the world \u2013 and nearly as soon as you start, your plan can be blown out of the water.\u00a0 When I started, I\u2019d plan out my entire strategy, even for a short 20-lap race.\u00a0 The problem was that there were 20 other guys wanting to do the same thing I did, and they weren\u2019t exactly respectful of my strategy.\u00a0 So, I learned to plan two things:\u00a0 The start of the race, and my overall objective.\u00a0 Again, selling works the same way.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how. In racing, the course of the race isn\u2019t under your total control.\u00a0 It\u2019s heavily influenced by the other drivers on the track.\u00a0 In selling, the course of the sales call isn\u2019t under your total control, despite what sales trainers have been trying to tell salespeople for decades.\u00a0 The call is heavily influenced (in reality, it\u2019s controlled) by the customer. In racing, I could have the greatest plan in the world \u2013 what path I\u2019d take into the first turn, who I would follow to the front, and when I\u2019d make my move on that driver.\u00a0 If the driver made a mistake, suffered mechanical failure, or had another issue early, my entire plan was shot.\u00a0 In selling, I might have a terrific plan and presentation laid out, but if the customer is interested in something else, my plan is shot. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to have an idea, and plan for as many eventualities as we can.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t take away the need for a call plan; it does, however, greatly impact what aspects of the call we can plan.\u00a0 You should have these things in mind before each call: The opening:\u00a0 I know, I know, it goes without saying \u2013 except it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 I still do ride-alongs with client salespeople, and there are a lot of salespeople out there who don\u2019t know how to open a call.\u00a0 Essentially, the opening (which should take no more than two minutes at most) should recap how we got here and set the stage for the meeting.\u00a0 If it\u2019s a new prospect or contact, you obviously should introduce yourself.\u00a0 You should also recap what element of the phone conversation got you in front of the contact (i.e. what was their interest?).\u00a0 If it\u2019s an ongoing relationship, it\u2019s always good to recap the most recent developments.\u00a0 Customers forget.\u00a0 I know, I know, you\u2019re the most memorable person in the world \u2013 except that you\u2019re not.\u00a0 None of us are. The information you want to get:\u00a0 Every sales call, even those in an ongoing relationship, should include a discovery portion.\u00a0 It\u2019s through good questioning that we build and deepen relationships.\u00a0 Have a basic game plan for questioning \u2013 and then be prepared to abandon that plan if the customer wants to go in a different and potentially more productive direction. The information you want to give:\u00a0 Sometimes, you\u2019ll have information that must be conveyed regardless of the direction of the rest of the call (for instance, a price increase or a change in shipping policy).\u00a0 Other times, the information you give will be dictated by the information that you get (i.e. you discover a need that leads you to a solution).\u00a0 Again, \u201cbe prepared\u201d is the motto here.\u00a0 As you are questioning, you should be listening, discovering needs, and flipping through your mental file box of information that needs to be conveyed to make the sale and help the customer achieve his\/her result. The next step:\u00a0 Setting a good next step is neglected in three out of four sales calls.\u00a0 The salesperson is fat, dumb, and happy from what he\/she has \u2018achieved,\u2019 and settles for \u201cOkay, I\u2019ll call you in a few weeks.\u201d\u00a0 Then the salesperson calls, and calls, and calls, and calls, with no response.\u00a0 Instead, set a definite follow up schedule.\u00a0 There\u2019s no better time to set the next appointment than when you\u2019re on the current appointment.\u00a0 I always like to plan three levels \u2013 the dream call, the realistic call, and the bare minimum action that the customer will take to continue being a viable customer or prospect.\u00a0 Preplanning these levels will help keep you from chasing inappropriate business. As they say, \u201cThe best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.\u201d My favorite race win happened when one of my plans completely went away.\u00a0 I\u2019d successfully moved from the back of the pack to be running fifth midway through the race, and I was getting ready to start passing the top four cars one by one (or try to).\u00a0 Suddenly, the top four cars made contact with each other.\u00a0 Two spun to the inside, and two to the outside, and to me it looked like the Red Sea parting as I drove between them.\u00a0 I held the lead for the rest of the race. Likewise, your most enjoyable sales calls may come when your plan is blown up very quickly and you have to think on your feet and make the right things happen off the top of your head.\u00a0 The moral of the story is this:\u00a0 Plan ahead, but not too much.\u00a0 Remembering the four elements above will keep you on track, and the customer will help you fill in the rest of the blanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1649,1814,1866],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8992"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8992"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8994,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8992\/revisions\/8994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}