Sales Laundry

Posts Tagged ‘asking better questions’

How many hours each year do we keep new sales representatives cooped up in a room somewhere loading their minds with product information?

 Probably too many.

 The better question is how much time is spent teaching new sales representatives how to use that product knowledge?

 Would you like to field “smarter” sales representatives and help the middle 60% of your sales force close more opportunities?

 Then we need to look at how we build actionable product knowledge into our sales representatives in our efforts to get them ready for the field.

 Having sales minds loaded with product knowledge, in and of itself benefits no one, not even the “loaded” sales representatives.  It is in fact, a cost.  It is in the application of product knowledge to customer problems that value is realized for the owner, sales manager, sales representative and customer alike.

 In practical application, we have to load sales minds with product information, but we should spend at least an equal amount of time, if not twice that, training them how to wield the new weapon they have been given.

Moving From Product Knowledge to Actionable Product Knowledge

 Put your new sales representatives and the “middle 60%” of your existing sales representatives in role playing situations that force them to ask questions, a lot of questions, to uncover what issues a client might be facing.  Help them shape their questions and truly understand both the answers and the ramifications of those answers they get back.  Teach them questions that have answers tied to your products features.  Educate them with questions that will uncover problems the majority of your prospects have in common.  Teach them the questions that will help them locate problems your product solves that your competitor’s cannot.  Teach them the questions to ask when you are at a competitive disadvantage.

 Begin by teaching them a product feature, then teach the problems solved by that feature, and finally teach them the questions to ask to uncover those problems, if they exist, in your prospect’s business.

 Once the questions have been asked an equally important step is what to do with the valuable answers provided.  Show the sales representatives how to turn those answers and the problems those answers uncovered, into creative solutions built with your products and services with role play.  In the advanced form of this training, add time, budget, and political constraints they have to work around.

 Write case studies on your past performance, good and bad if you can stomach it, to help your sales representatives see real problems your company has identified and real solutions you have developed in the past.

 To keep your training relevant, have your new sales people travel with your Top 20% on new sales calls with the express objective of writing down questions they hear and the answers provided.  Review the trainee’s notes with the sales veteran’s perspective to make sure the new sales rep understood the conversation and was able to accurately translate what he heard.  Incorporate anything new and fresh into the ongoing training program.

 There is no value in being a talking brochure.  That ship has sailed.  No one cares what your product can do; they only care what your product can do for them.  Talking about features and benefits with a prospect just comes across as noise if the features/benefits are not relevant to his situation.  Smart questions bring clarity.  Clarity allows for accurate custom tailored solutions designed to solve specific client problems and answer the biggest unspoken question your buyer has, “What’s in it for me?”

Image courtesy of http://www.craigharper.com.au

As a sales person you need to read “What does better mean?” It is a very short article by Seth Godin that will take you one minute at the most to learn a lesson it took me a long time to figure out.

 His message is aimed at marketing types, but the message hit me right between the eyes in its simplicity.

 Which is better Microsoft Office or Open Office?  Google or Live?  Firefox or Chrome?  Coke or Pepsi?  McDonalds or Burger King?  Best Buy or Circuit City?  Ok, winner declared on that last one.

 While you may be selling version 2.0 or version 10, just because Marketing, the CEO, you, your Sales Manager, your mother and the mailman all say it is better absolutely does not mean that it actually IS better to the one person that matters.  That would be the one making the purchase.

 So the next time you find yourself thinking  “How could they not see that our solution was OBVIOUSLY better?” you should have a better answer as to what went wrong than the one you have today.

 You thought you were selling something that was obviously better, you just did not make sure it was obviously better to the buyer.

In the battle of which is better, the buyers “better” always wins.

Hyundai has a problem shared by every car manufacturer; we are not buying new cars. 

 Sales are down 30%+ across the industry and GM, once the pride of American manufacturing is on the verge of being delisted from the stock exchange as shares trade under $1.00.

 The difference is Hyundai gets it.  Instead of gutting their value and defensively dropping their shorts on price, rebates and financing, they are on the offensive, effectively saying “Mr. customer, I dare you to lose your job.”

 they are on the offensive, effectively saying 

“Mr. customer, I dare you to lose your job.”

Hyundai already has a sales strategy and marketing message that I would think would play well in this economic environment.

 That message being “We build stylish high quality, inexpensive cars, and we back it up with a strong warranty” which was designed to solve the problem of “I don’t have a lot of money, but I need a car that is better than what I am driving now.”

 That message has a lot of appeal, but apparently not enough to keep sales from falling off of a cliff. 

 Hyundai took a deeper look at why business was slumping and thought way outside of the box for ways to solve a problem weighing much heavier on the minds of their prospect than the problem their current value statement was solving.

 That deeper problem being “What happens if I lose my job and cannot pay my bills?”

 The answer until now has been “The car gets repossessed.  I lose my transportation.  It would be harder to find a new job.  My credit gets ruined, and I won’t be in a position to buy a car on credit when I do get back on my feet.”

 Final decision:  “A new car would be nice, but there is just too much downside right now to justify it.  I will keep my old car; at least it is paid for.”

 So what did Hyundai do?

 Hyundai Assurance Plus:  If you lose your income, we will make your payments for 3 months.  If that is not enough time to work things out, you can still bring the car back within a year.  By the way, you still get the 10yr warranty.

 I have no idea how this strategy is going to play out for them, though I assume it will be fantastic as long as legal did not pack the contract with too many outs.  I can, however, tell you how it makes me feel as a consumer.

 I feel like Hyundai is a company that gets it.  That they understand and they are offering up a legitimate “bail out” for the little guy if it becomes necessary.  More importantly, I feel like Hyundai cares.  Hyundai is willing to step in and help out if life’s challenges get a little too big for a while.

 Hyundai is going to earn some respect and get a look by a segment of the market that would not have looked at a Hyundai before and Hyundai is going to win a deep loyalty from the customers they end up helping out.

 More sales today, more happy customers and more market share tomorrow.

It is an aggressive move in a market that finds most of their competitors retreating to a defensive position of low price.

 Ask yourself, does your present value statement carry the same weight it once did?  Is there a bigger problem in your customers mind than the one you are presently solving?

Identify that problem, find the solution, and then figure out how your company can help deliver that solution alone or with strategic partnerships.

 If I were an independent car dealer right now I would be calling my financial partners to see if we could put a “Hyundai Solution” in place for my dealerships.

 What is the creative solution for your industry?  Get it right and you will be the one rewarded with customer loyalty and market share. 

I am looking forward to reading your thoughts.