Archive for September, 2007

Effective Selling

Posted by Elgin Carelock on September 12th, 2007

When I am asked how to improve a company’s sales, I ask to speak to one of the company’s top sales people. During my conversation with the salesperson, I listen to how he/she represents themselves, respond to what I am asking and adjusts to tough questions. The object of this examination is to ascertain if the salesperson understands the finer points of sales and is applying best practices in closing.Next I ask to speak to a salesperson who is struggling to make goal and repeat the same process.

Finally, I ask to assemble the entire sales team and role play scenarios, have the group examine practices, and discuss the art of effective selling. Effective selling occurs when you give the customer enough information to arrive at a logical decision to purchase your product. This process includes identifying need, providing solutions for those needs and asking for the sale.

Identifying Need

Whether the customer came to you or you to them, once you are in their presence you must understand what their motivations are. This is achieved by asking questions related to the product; how it is to be used, what they are using now, and why they are replacing their current product? The most important thing to do during this portion of the sale is listen! This is a great opportunity to gather information that will aid you in closing the sale, such as urgency, budget, and comparable interests.

Providing Solutions

Once you have determined what the customer’s motivations are, you should begin providing solutions by restating the reasons for their potential purchase and how your product will provide the solution. If you have multiple products, start with the top and let the customer buy which best suits their needs. It is important that you do not try to prejudge what the customer will spend even though they gave you a budget they were trying to stay within.

Ask for the Sale

This is undoubtedly the single greatest stumbling block for salespeople. Many take the time and listen to the customer’s need, they present a fantastic solution and then wait for the customer to say they will buy the product. There are two methods of closing a sale; trial close and a summation approach.

Trial closing involves the salesperson asking the customer agreement question during the presentation. The idea is to have the customer answering "yes" during, so they will say "yes" at the end. Questions such as, "can you see how that will help", not only give you the positive response, but will reveal any objections (overcoming objections is another post), and set the stage for the close.

The summation approach is when you list the solutions and restate what the customer said their needs were. A good example would be: "Let’s see, you said you wanted to move from queen size to king size, we did that, you wanted a pillowtop mattress that was soft on top and firm underneath, we got that and you need it by Friday. Sounds like we are all ready, will that be check or credit card?" Any answer other than how they are going to pay let’s you know they need more information or you have not offered a solution they value.

I know this is only an appetizer and there are many more nuances to the anatomy of a sale, but these foundational steps will increase your effectiveness by 20% if implemented.

Management | No Comments »

Experience or Education: Who Makes the Better Employee?

Posted by Elgin Carelock on September 6th, 2007

As an employer and  hiring manager, I have interviewed and hired many people over the past twenty years.  I have had the pleasure of meeting a well rounded group of individuals that represented the full gamut of prospective employees, from Princeton students to former drug dealers. While my past hiring endeavors have been met with great success, my last foray into the hiring pit made me consider what were the common traits of the teams of people I have hired in the past.

In one season of The Apprentice, Donald Trump decided to pit the Well Educated Earners (WEE) against the Street Smart Hustlers (SSH). The WEE team had graduates from schools such as Harvard, Wharton, and Princeton, while the SSH were entreprenuers that ranged from shoe shining to marketing firms. Before you begin to draw conclusions, let me tell you the same thing Trump told the WEE, the SSH earned three times as much per year than any of the WEE. How is that possible? Can someone really gain knowledge through experience above that which is taught in the hallowed halls of higher academia?
 
First, lets state the obvious, there are professions of which this question does not apply, i.e. doctors, nurses, pilots, dentists, teachers, medical examiners and so on. For the purpose of this discussion, I am referring to professions such as sales, marketing, advertising and general business builders.
 
During the season of The Apprentice I mentioned in the previous paragraph, my most interesting observation was the approach to problem solving between the two groups. Oddly enoughly it mimiced what I have found to be true over the years. The WEE tend to examine the situation and ponder the nature of the problem, the circumstances that caused the problem and which theory would best solve the problem. Next came the debate over who had the proper theory and why and who would be in charge of the implementation of the solution. Many times this process led to analysis paralysis; the team was so intent on studying the problem, nothing was being done to fix it.
 
On the other hand, the SSH, who did not have the book theories to ponder, relied on efficacy and efficiency to solve their problems. Yes they were arguments over solutions, but they occured as the problem was being fixed. What entrepreneurship teaches you is how to get it done in the shortest amount of time and for the least money. Can this method lead to short cutting and slopiness? Absolutley! However, the time spent is nearly half of that used by the WEE.
 

In all fairness, I have to admit the WEE in my experience have always had better long-term plans for success. They use the knowledge gained to carefully craft their game plan and then work diligently on the stakeholders and employees that will make it all come true. This isn’t a concept that is foreign to the SSH, but they have a much larger learning curve.

If I had to chose based on previous experience, I would have to say…it depends on what you need. Take each interviewee at face value, throw away resumes, letters of recommendations and referrals and have a conversation with the person. Have a prepared list of expectations and challenges and ask each applicant how they would address the problem. The person who handles the situation the way you prefer is the right person no matter what their education or experience background says.

FYI: A member of the SSH won the competition.

Business Development | No Comments »