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STOP SELLING E-ZINE - ISSUE NO.57/ DECEMBER 2009

Dear Reader,

Last week I was 'blessed' with yet a new dimension of cold calling. I've had my fair share of unpleasant cold calls but what I experienced last week was quite unique. It went like this (in brackets my comments):

"Is this Charlie Lang?"

"Yes, it is, who is speaking?"

"Good morning, Charlie (note that he doesn't even consider asking if it's a good time for me now). I'm Steve calling from xyz (don't want to humiliate the actual company, hence not the real name) in Dubai and your name was recommended to me by several HR Directors of Multinational Companies. They will be attending the abc event in Dubai in February 2010 and want to meet you there. .... (followed by a description of the event and all sorts of benefits and guarantees to meet relevant people, etc.) .... You can have all that through a minimal sponsorship of only 15,000 USD (yeah right, only, it's nothing basically for the great benefits that he offers). How does that sound to you?"

"Well, to be honest, it's totally irrelevant to me because we don't do business in the Middle East, so participating in this kind of event makes absolutely no sense to us." (which was a true answer - I thought no point arguing about the steep price tag as I'm not interested at all).

"What do you mean? Not relevant? These HR Directors we selected have all at least half a million USD training and coaching budget which they want to spend next year. You don't want to have that money?"

(I had to contain myself from laughing.) "Well, even if we wanted to, we don't have the people or infrastructure in that region to offer our services, so it's out of the question that we'll participate." (By now I was willing to hang up but somehow I hesitated, perhaps because I'm too polite - or maybe, because the best was yet to come...)

"In this case I will tell these HR Directors that you, Progress-U, don't want to see them and I'm certain they won't be happy to hear that." (he said that in a clearly threatening tone)

Now it was really time for me to hang up. Being threatened for not considering buying, that was really new to me.

Luckily, it doesn't have to be this way. We know that truly trusted relationships between buyers and sellers are possible and that they can be even formed over the phone, perhaps starting with a cold call. To learn more about how to make cold calls with integrity and very high conversion rates, contact william.ho@progressu.com . He'll be happy to discuss how telesales can be done in a very successful, pleasant (for both parties) and classy way.

Let's keep progressing!

Charlie Lang
Executive Coach and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of The Groupness Factor

'Tis the Season to ... Become a Retailer's Nightmare?
By William Ho

Download this article

By the way, if you are not in retail, still consider reading this article, there might be some good lessons to learn for your business, too.

Ah yes! We are still in the recession, and customers are still watching more carefully than usual how they spend their money. And no doubt, even if we were in the best of time, or the worst of time, retailers of all shapes and sizes, are always facing the challenge of not becoming just a me-too corner store, chain store, mega store, or any store. Most try to build their businesses around quality, service, solution, and fashion, rather than price only. The battleground apparently has shifted, as most of the retailers have felt extraordinary pressure on both price points and margin. Customers have not stopped spending, even in the worst of time, but they have certainly become more discriminating about how they spend their money.  

The school of thought for the very best specialty retailing has always been developed around the specific customer’s lifestyle, aspiration and passions. Retailers have started with products and catalogs, and then build a customer base for their merchandise. Especially for those mega chain stores, they have built up what we call a CRM – Customer Relation Management, where they become focused not on themselves; their products, their merchandise, but on their relationship with their customers. The success equation must begin with the centerpiece, a.k.a. their customers, and only then can they seek to build compelling and attractive assortments, service, solutions or fashion, that at the end appeal to their customers - those who eventually pay.

Small retailers, grandma stores, the corner stores, the town-centre types of stores knew about this a long time ago. These retailers basically knew every customer by his or her first name, and even his or her pets’ names.  These retailers knew where their customers’ kids went to school, what they liked, their habits, their tastes, their favorite TV programs, and so on. These retailers knew what they have bought, when they bought, why they bought, how they bought, and so on. These retailers also knew why they were not buying from them, and what they were getting from their competitors.

And they chatted with their customers at all times, with sincerity and care - just like chatting with old friends - even if they were NOT buying anything from them.

And yes, that was how they built up the relationship; their trust.

In the old days, they did not have sophisticated I.T. systems to help them to remember things; they remembered with their hearts, because they cared about everyone. 

These retailers had the passion to keep doing this consistently, because they knew that’s how you won business. You won the business because you earned the trust; you earned the right to fulfill their need; you earned the right to keep doing this; without actually selling.

Stop Selling!

Today, your passion must become the life-force of your business. From this starting point, you will need to rethink your relationships with your customers, the roles and skill-sets of your employees, your concept of what makes your retail store compelling, your merchandising strategy, even your mission statement. It requires an intensity of focus that will define as well as differentiate you from the rest – those that might be much bigger than you.

Today, these trusted relationships will drive your growth organically. Your best customers will lead you to your next customers. Your most productive marketing initiatives will energize your best customers to bring their network of friends into the fold, through referral programs, trunk shows and invitation-only special events, for instance. The intent is not on building a broad customers base, it’s on nurturing a passionate customer base.

And yes, this Holiday Season is likely to be a nightmare for some retailers – those that are still trying to find those customers without a solid idea of who and where they are, how they behave and why they behave that way, and what their buying motives are. 

And yes, this Holiday Season might turn out to be the happiest moment for some retailers – if they have done their homework.

Closing the deal actually starts long before the selling even begins, and the Holiday Season starts every day.

Enjoy the moment!

For more information related to Progress-U's Stop Selling! programs including our negotiation program, please click here.

The Author: Mr. William Ho, Executive Coach & Trainer For more information about the author of this article, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want Content for Your Web Site or E-Zine? You may copy any of the articles written by Sebastien Henry to your web site, or distribute them in your e-zine or magazine, provided that you include the following attribution (including a link to http://www.progressu.com): With permission of William Ho, Executive Coach & Trainer of Progress-U Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

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