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STOP SELLING E-ZINE - ISSUE NO.65/ AUGUST 2010

Dear Reader,

Have you attended any sales training recently? Or perhaps organized one for your sales team?

One point that keeps troubling me when it comes to sales training (or any soft skills training for that matter) is that I can’t help getting the impression that it’s a waste of time and money for the participants and the organization funding it.

The sales management (often including HR or L&D) spends significant efforts in selecting a vendor, designing with them a program, arranging for venue & catering and not to forget the fees for the vendor.

What is the outcome? Hard to tell. Are the participants happy with the program? Often yes. How much did the participants really apply? In my experience much less than expected. Was it ultimately a good Return on Investment (ROI)? Who knows...

What is missing?

I have attended a number of sales and leadership trainings myself and while I enjoyed most of these trainings, I’d say they were not worth the time and money invested if I look at my actual behavioral change resulting from these trainings. Analyzing why the change didn’t happen, I can see three reasons:

• No clear commitment to any specific (!) changes at the end of the seminar
• No support during the implementation of any changes – when something doesn’t work immediately, one easily gives up and returns to previous behavior
• No framework that reminds me of keep trying new behaviors that lead ultimately to more success

To achieve significant behavioral change that leads to better results, we came up with a number of cost-effective strategies how to overcome these short comings. Contact us to find out how. Let’s keep progressing!

Charlie Lang
Executive Progress Expert and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of the E-Book Stop Selling! Accelerate Your Business in Asia
Author of The Groupness Factor and the upcoming "A New Map for a New Age"

Hate to do this … but do you mind … giving referrals?
By William Ho

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Just about every training course or sales book that talk about the importance of getting referrals, would teach you that the single most effective way to get referrals is to, well, ASK for them.

That’s right, ASK for them.

As a salesperson, you know that you need to build trust with your customers; you know that you need to provide solutions that match your customer’s buying criteria; you know that you need to deliver what you have promised and committed to your customer; and you know that you need to close the deal when the customer is ready to purchase.

But what should happen after the deal is done? What should happen after the customer is satisfied with you and your service? What should happen before you leave your customer’s room - until next time?

You should ASK for referrals.

Yet there is always that huge problem. You hate to ask for referrals. This may be because you are embarrassed or shy to ask, or you are afraid that your customer might dislike your request, resulting in a decrease in the rapport and trust you have built so diligently.

To think that you were so confident and so poised to make that hundred million dollar deal with this same tough customer! But now you hesitate to ask that most important question: a question perhaps more important than the deal you just made.

But really, referrals would help your sales results a lot.

You see, making cold calls is really one of the toughest things in the world and even the seasoned ‘fisherman’ would not really enjoy doing this every day [check out our related article on fishermen]. So, if you hate cold calling too, maybe asking for referrals is actually a better way to go. Get your customers to become your ally and direct you to those who might also need your excellent services or products.

The satisfied customers of yours do like what you have done, and it would be really nice if you could reach out to their referrals and let them have the same wonderful experience. You might be thinking that you don’t need to ASK for referrals. You might be thinking that these satisfied customers will just automatically give you referrals anyway if you have nurtured the relationship nicely.

Just ask yourself: when was the last time you got referrals WITHOUT asking?

Or you can just ask yourself: when was the last time that you have given your friends’ names to the last insurance agent; your last realty agent; or your last automobile salesman – proactively?

You know what? As customers, we won’t even think about giving referrals – unless our agent or salesman asks.

One of the reasons is that a buying/selling relationship is usually a one-to-one relationship, i.e. between two parties. There is no need to involve a third party. Secondly, customers are not naturally inclined to do more than what they have to do. And they do not have any need to provide you with referrals, do they?

As a salesperson, you need to remind your customers that there might be people out there who would enjoy an excellent service similar to what you have just provided. It is never the customers’ responsibility to recommend you to others proactively. Most of the time people don’t even know or recall right away who else would have that buying need. We - business and salespeople – are the ones who can help them to get their memory bank flowing.

Sure, some of us fear that our customer might refuse to give you any referrals even if you dare to ASK. Then ask yourself: how would you know if you never ask? If you have done your selling/buying process well, and your customers are satisfied with your service and perceive you as credible, customers will rarely reject your request. If they have just purchased from you, then they should have positive feelings and might just be willing to have their friends experience the same great service from you.

People object only when the salesperson is rude, or offensive, and has a bad attitude. To have made the sale in the first place, you most probably have already built a relationship upon a foundation of trust and mutual benefit. If you have done a good job for your customer, then most probably they should have no problem with helping you get more sales by giving you referrals.

And even if the worst case happens that they don’t want to give you any? So what? You didn’t lose anything. Just respect that and move on.

And ask yourself, would you be willing to give referrals to your agents or salespeople if they ASK you after they have done a good job for you?

We understand this. We know how valuable referrals are. Actually, if you say so openly - if you just come right out and say that referrals and introductions are how you grow your business, the happy customers know exactly what you are talking about. So, really, don't be shy and embarrassed about asking for referrals. Just tell them you're going to ask, and then simply ASK.

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 & Sales 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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