Sales Laundry

Posts Tagged ‘Sales Tools’

Today something remarkable happened, I got a piece of junk mail that I actually felt compelled to open, and once I read the contents I was even more compelled to give them a call.

This impressed me because 99.99% of the junk mail I get does not make it past my office door where the shredder sits consuming the daily unwanted unopened contents of my mailbox.

I have read that the average American adult receives 40+ pounds of junk mail every year, so what did this company do that was so remarkable to get their one ounce sales message past my shredder?

The small envelope was hand addressed to me with a first class stamp.  Inside was a single page handwritten note off of a mini legal pad with a name, pitch and a phone number.

They made it personal, made me curious, communicated their message quickly, and they got me.

In this world of demographic driven marketing-to-the-masses, could simply sending personal messages to targeted groups of individuals be a successful strategy to improve lead quality/quantity and help your company stand out?

I don’t know, but at 75 cents a lead, I can afford to find out.

How personal is your company’s message?

A good first step is to read your own marketing materials.  Does the text talk about you and how great your company is or does it talk about how your product benefits the person buying it?

It’s easy to write on our websites and press releases that we are “industry leaders,” or talk about our own accomplishments and how many years of combined experience we have, but that is not a very compelling read to a potential buyer trying to answer the age old question “What is this product/service going to do for me?”

No matter the method, make your message personal and a little bit different to get your prospective buyers attention.  Then make the most of that precious attention by delivering a message that does more for the person experiencing it than the marketing department that wrote it.

Image courtesy of zcache.com

For the last few months I have been working via mobile office so I thought I would take the time to tell you about the tools I am using and give you field sales types a real life review of the stuff I am using and hopefully get a great idea or two from you.

My mobile office consists of:

• Blackberry Curve
• Toshiba Satellite L300 series laptop
• AT&T USBConnect Mercury Aircard
• Skype
• NeatReceipts software/scanner
• HP H470 mobile printer
• 300W power inverter
• USB drive
• Sales binder
• Rolling bag
• Filebox
• 3 Drawer box containing:
  • Printer paper
  • General office supplies
  • Aspirin and other basics
  • Button repair kit and other things it seems silly to mention but glad that I have when I need them.
• Honda Accord

With this setup I am completely autonomous with ready access to anything I need, wherever I am.

My tether back to the office and society at large consists of my Blackberry and my AT&T Aircard. In those rare instances where I am out of range, I can go all analog but I have not faced that issue yet.

There are a few enhancements and equipment changes I would make now that I have practical experience which I will share as I go.

Toshiba Satellite L300 series laptop.

PROS: Good looking laptop, 15.4” screen is easy to work with on the road, built in camera works well for field Skype video calls with the AT&T Aircard.  Microsoft Vista is well behaved for me, the wireless connectivity is simple and less cranky than what I am used to.

Was able to record a video (Sony Handycam), download it, edit it, add sound from iTunes and burn it to DVD for a last minute project. It was not Hollywood quality, but the end result was far easier and more professional than I expected being in the middle of nowhere with only the raw footage and the built in tools the laptop came with.

CONS: The battery life is  not so good. If it was not for my power inverter and being able to recharge on the fly, many times I would have been dead in the water.

Packed in my bag, the laptop screen keeps getting squeezed to the point the keys were leaving light marks on the screen.  The solution is to either not pack the bag so full or buy a piece of felt and cut it to the dimensions of the laptop and place the felt between the keyboard and screen for an added level of protection.

The plastic case is so shiny that everytime you touch the thing it leaves fingerprints. Not a big deal rolling around a territory, but it has to be cleaned up before customer presentations. I eventually just started packing electronics cleaning wipes in the bag to keep the thing clean which is not something I have had to do or would have even thought about in the past.

The touchpad is touchy.  At one point the pointer was moving around following my finger as my finger hovered ABOVE the touchpad. I was not even touching the thing! After a few adjustments I got it under control. Everyone else I know just breaks out the wireless/portable mouse and avoids the whole touchpad issue.

AS A SALES TOOL: I would really look for a laptop with a longer battery life or work out how you are going to address the need for power in the field.

The sales process for what I am doing at present requires that three or more documents get filled out and signed, typically at our first meeting for our process to begin and docs to be signed at completion.

Buy an extra power adaptor so you are not perpetually spending the first and last ten minutes anywhere finding cords, wrapping and unwrapping them and trying to keep them all sorted out.

In retrospect I would get a touch screen model and fill out the documents electronically and submit them via Aircard back to the office.

AT&T USBConnect Mercury Aircard

In my end of the world the AT&T Aircard has great coverage and gets the job done. Easy to install in 10 minutes or so. Good download speeds. It has a built in Micro SD slot that I never have used.

Skype

With the built in webcam I found I use Skype more than I have in the past. It comes in very handy for communications back to the office but I get the most enjoyment out of doing Skype video calls with my family when I am on the road and connected to the hotel wireless LAN.

Neat Receipts Software/Scanner

This, surprising to me, is one of my favorite tools in my bag. Sometimes my Toshiba laptop does not recognize the scanner when I plug it in which I fix with a reboot. I am sure there is a better way to solve the problem but the Toshiba is still new and quick so a reboot is fast. This tools plays nice with both Mac and PC hardware.

The scanner is great for capturing paper versions of documents you need to email/fax, but the software brings a lot more to the table. Neat Receipts uses standard OCR or optical character recognition software and then some sort of secret sauce that makes it much more efficient to use than a standard flatbed scanner. The software lets you scan in your receipts as the name implies, business cards and documents for filing, synchronization with Outlook, exporting to a searchable pdf format, other Office applications, Quicken QuickBooks, TurboTax or in text format. The instructions say the database can hold up to 1.5 million receipts.

It connects via USB and is powered off of the USB port.

The scanner captures all of the data on the receipt and does a pretty good job of determining the restaurant and other details that can be annoying to deal with. It also lets you tag the receipts for reimbursement or tax planning purpose cutting expense report time down from several hours to just a few minutes. I am a big fan.

The business card scanner is solid. It uses the same type of technology the receipt capture software does and does a good job of capturing the data and giving you a color or black and white copy of the card as well. Once the data is captured it can be synchronized with Outlook to create a contact for you.

The documents tab does just what it says. It lets you scan single or multi page documents in, index them and save them to your preferred location, manipulate the file type or send them to another application.

I have used this tool to capture original customer docs where copies were not available so I did not have to request originals or hit Kinko’s.  I can also scan in signed documents so my pricing desk can begin work immediately or get contracts in and processed before they expired. Great tool.

I would buy Neat Receipts just for the time it saves me on expense reports, the other functions are just a bonus as far as I am concerned though not having to manage piles of business cards is a nice secondary perk.

HP H470 Mobile Printer

I have not used this printer much, but when it is needed it is invaluable.

The printer is Bluetooth capable but the model you buy at the store will most likely not come with the Bluetooth adaptor. The adaptor is $60 when ordered from HP, but it is cheaper to buy the printer with the adaptor already, better known as the HP H470wbt model. That model also comes with an extended life Lithium-ion battery and a protective printer sleeve. It works with PC and Macs as well.

my printer, the base printer has no case or cover.  You can buy a simple cover for $40 from HP.  At least Neat Receipts came with a small velvet bag for the scanner. So, you are going to need to have a bag big enough bag to hold the printer and keep it safe and secure or deal with the logistics of toting around a five pound black box the size of a loaf of bread everywhere you go.  HP has a bag that they will sell you for $85 that will do the job, of course.

I would also recommend having a plastic storage case for the ink cartridges when not in use if you do not use it a lot.  Of course it does not come with one but HP will be happy to sell you one ($15).  I would also recommend packing extra ink cartridges. Nothing worse than having everything you need in the field to do your job but ink. It does come with a rechargeable battery, cords and software.

The paper tray holds 50 pages, but I have never loaded it with more than 10 and it prints up to 18-22 pages per minute according to HP.  There is no duplexing or automatic stapling, but they have to leave a feature or two out for future models, right?

The printer uses the same dual cartridge configuration of desktop inkjet printers (cartridges 94, 95,97 and 98 fit it plus a photo cartridge, etc.)

Fully setup with the laptop, scanner and printer with wires everywhere in some cases, I see the value of having the Bluetooth connectivity.

That is my rolling office.

I keep the laptop, scanner and printer in my rolling bag. My sales binder won’t fit in the bag with the printer, but that is not a big issue for me unless I am flying somewhere. I keep the file box and the 3 drawer plastic box stuck to the floor of the trunk with Velcro. I use a stretching cable with hooks to keep the drawers in place and strapped down.

If I am working out of a rental car I take my rolling bag and sales binder with a few empty folders and print and scan what I need on the fly.

It is easy to find yourself spending too much time managing cords and battery life. Plan ahead and go Bluetooth wireless where possible, buy extra power adaptors for places you frequent and keep USB cords around with standard and mini connections to recharge your phone or other accessories off of your laptop in a pinch. Leaching electricity off of my laptop for my phone kept me from going radio silent at a critical juncture in France last year when Air France gave my luggage an all expense paid trip to Nice without me.

Now, tell me how you roll.

Illustration courtesy of http://www.jesperdeleuran.dk

In training new people to become sales professionals and developing them into successful sales teams, or building sales engines as I like to call it, I have found that how you allocate your sales team is just as important as the training and development that gets them ready for a sales career in the first place.

The default way to allocate sales professionals seems to put the strongest relationship builders and highest income earners on the largest companies/named accounts in a territory, and then allocating the balance of the sales team in support of those large account representatives or scattering them across the remaining territory, engaged in outside sales, inside sales, or sales support typically based on their years of experience.

This approach can anger and annoy customers and prospects alike. This method can also be an incredibly inefficient way to field a sales team that unnecessarily raises Cost of Sales.

What if we divided sales teams not by the size of the customer but by the way a customer prefers to buy?

Your company has customers that could care less about your sales team or interacting with them because the customer knows your products and their applications as well as you do, perhaps better because they interact with your products every day. Does it make sense to deploy a “relationship building” sales professional or a dedicated sales team to this large customer and raise your Cost of Sales by providing your customer sales resources they do not want or value?

Nope.

Regardless of the client’s size, if they are ultimately only concerned about bottom line cost, then provide a method to purchase for them that meets their needs. Let them order through an inside sales representative or build a nice functional online purchasing mechanism that makes sense for you and will let them do business with you in a way they prefer.

For those clients that value the expertise of your sales professionals, big or small, deploy your relationship builders and subject matter experts, delivering the products your customer needs and the support the customer values and is willing to pay for.

If you are thinking ahead a bit, you might envision a scenario where a very expensive relationship building sales professional could be assigned to a small opportunity with a company valuing your expertise that could be as wildly unprofitable as anything we have mentioned previously.

Your right. So, don’t do that. You need more than a sledge hammer and a flyswatter in your bag of sales tools. Allocate internet sales, inside sales, junior account managers, senior account managers, Subject Matter Experts, Field Overlays and your Sales Top 10% where it makes the most sense for your customer and the most profit for you and your sales professionals.

The one guiding principle of this model that needs to be understood is that regardless of how sales people and resources are deployed, they must meet or exceed the accepted level of service the customer requires. Under deliver and you lose the customer, exceed their expectations beyond the point of where a customer cares and you are unnecessarily raising your Cost of Sales again.

Before you begin a full sales retreat and cut your head count or risk alienating your customers by trying removing some of the perks customers have come to expect from a relationship with you, I urge you to reassess how you sell your products. Is it possible to cut your Cost of Sales by reorganizing your sales team to sell the way your customer wants to buy and continue to grow your company while your competitors are running for cover? I don’t know, but I certainly hope you will tell me when you find out.

Image is the sales team for Microbizz and provided by Microbizz.

I got some great responses on both the article and the survey at the end of the “How to get Referrals & get Them to Work for You” article, so I decided to share one more story that should motivate you to get moving.  This story is particularly interesting because this story takes place in economic conditions like we are seeing today.

 Salesman Joe Girard is our main character.  Many of you may have heard of him, but for those that have not, listen up.

 Joe never finished high school and bounced around from job to job until he ended up in Michigan begging a Sales Manager of a Chevrolet car dealership for a sales job.  Joe got the job and sold his first car that day and borrowed $10 from his Sales Manager to buy groceries on his way home.  The dealership owner fired him two months later after having sold an amazing 18 cars because the other salesmen complained he was being too aggressive.

 Based on his new found success, Joe found employment at Merollis Chevrolet and began a legendary career that would put him in the Guinness Book of World records and earn himself a spot in the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2001.   He is the only sales representative in the Hall of Fame.

 Joe Girard, according to the Guinness Book, sold more new cars and trucks on a one-to-one basis (that is retail, to people like you and me, not wholesale or fleet cars) than any other sales representative in the world, and then repeated that feat 12 consecutive times.

 Over 15 years he sold 13,001 cars or roughly 17 cars every week for 750+ weeks.  In his best year he sold 1,425 cars, or between 5 and 6 cars a day, depending on how many days he worked a given week.

Here is the best part.

 In 1974, during a major recession, unemployment at 9% (today it is hovering around 8%,) oil was in short supply, gas being rationed, not sold, (see picture) the consensus was you could not sell cars.  Joe only sold 1,376 that year, or roughly 27 cars a week!

 How did Joe sell so many cars?

 As you might have guessed, primarily by referrals.  Long before email and the personal computer Joe sent a handwritten card to every single person on his list, every month, just to let people know he was still out there selling cars and thinking about them.  No promotions, no advertisements, just hand written cards.

 Joe referral system was so successful he personally hired two assistants to help him pre-screen his customers, manage his appointment-only sales schedule, and assist him in writing 500+ cards every day.

 One simple idea, staying in touch with people and letting them know you care about them executed by mailing each person one card a month put a sales representative named Joe in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best car salesman of all time.

 Imagine what Joe could do with the technology we have today.  Better yet, imagine what you can do, and then do it.  What one simple step can you take to start building a referral generation system for your business?  It does not have to be impressive, worst case just send a card.

 Let me know what you come up with.

•  Want to see what the stock market in 1974 looked like compared to 2008, see the graphs here.
• Learn more about the best car salesman in the world, Joe Girard.
• Cartoon image courtesy of http://www.automation.com
• Gas coupon image courtesy of Wikimedia

What is Dead Air, as it relates to sales, anyway?

dead air – noun. Silence in the room when no one is talking or the silence between the time a question is asked and the answer given.

Do not be afraid of dead air.  Do not be afraid to ask your client a question and let silence fill the room while you wait for the answer.  Well placed silence can be a sales tool just as strong as any other in your bag.

Trust me when I say it is not necessary to fill up all of the gaps in a conversation with more words for the sake of saying more words to avoid awkward silence. 

 There do not have to be words in the air at all times.  In fact your words, as a dutiful Business Development Executive, should be far fewer on average than your prospects.  80%/20% is what the experts say.  Remember, you want to hear what Mr. or Ms. Prospect has to say because they have the problem you are trying to get paid to solve!

 There are times you are going to need your friend “dead air,” so you might as well get comfortable with him right now.

 For example, when the time is right, and you ask for the order from your prospect, let the dead air out there hang to add emphasis to your question.

Ask the question…

 “Mr. Jones, if I can put together a pilot project that meets the criteria we have defined here, will you sign off on the proposal?” 

Then do the most important part… be quiet and wait for an answer.

 It will either be “Yes,” “No,” a valid reason, an excuse, or he will create a diversion and run screaming from the room like his hair is on fire.  That is my experience, anyway.

 When you have pushed a man to a decision or woman for that matter, give him a chance to answer.  This is true of all of the defining questions you will ask throughout your sales career.  I will go as far as to say that your very success in sales hinges on your being able to identify and ask the right questions and sit in silence while you listen attentively for an answer.

 What do you think? (I am not saying a word until you answer.)

Are you getting any value out of the time and money you are spending at trade shows?

 While I can’t say I get a lot of value out of all of them, I can give you my tips for maximizing the time and the dollars you are spending to attend.

I am not going to go over the merits of having a booth vs. not having a booth here.  Most of these points apply either way, but I write this assuming, for the most part, you are not tethered to a booth.

1. Define a strategy for the show.  Figure out exactly what you want to achieve before you set one foot on the show floor.  With clear objectives it will be much easier to stay focused and tune out the chaos that can ensue when the show floor opens. 
2. While the show is still several weeks out, identify who you would like to meet with at the trade show.  For best results, avoid the standard practice of showing up and winging it.
3. Setup email campaigns and/or call these prospects and try to setup an actual meeting time at the show.  Meet in your booth, a lobby coffee shop or a good couch, whatever works.  TIP:  Pack a snack in case your schedule forces you to miss lunch.
4. There are an amazing number of people that will take a meeting at a trade show having no idea if you can benefit one another.  For the prospects you do identify, do a little research and figure out how you can potentially benefit one another or don’t take the meeting.
5. Confirm your meetings with the prospect face to face or voice to voice on the telephone.   TIP:  Only confirm with something that can feel responsibility or guilt.  I have seen some pretty sophisticated voice mail systems, but never one that will take a meeting with you if his or her owner skips out on you.
6. The tag scanners at trade shows can be great when all you need is an effective swap of electronic business cards.  Be careful not to fall into the trap of scanning the prospects name tag and just trusting yourself to remember what you talked about.  I use a 5”x5” ruled notebook for this purpose with a handy dandy $3.00 mini stapler.  
   

   Swingline Slim T Mini Stapler

   When we exchange business cards to start, I staple the card on the first blank page on the spot and write my meeting notes.  In doing this I have found that I do not lose business cards, I know everyone I met with because I have all of their cards stapled in the book and in the order of how they were sitting in the meeting so I can keep faces associated with names.  I will write more on the value of this little spiral in a future post.

    

    

7. In my most recent trade show visits I have had a full multimedia presentation and a demo reel showing our work.  I keep a copy of everything loaded on my Blackberry as well as my laptop and use the most convenient one based on the situation.
8. Get a rolling bag.  Skip the free bag you get at registration, or the laptop bag you carry around on your shoulder, if you will be carrying your laptop or anything significant in the way of sales literature buy a rolling bag with the a retractable handle.  TIP:  Pay close attention to the quality of the retractable handle.  A bad handle will pinch your hands and in some cases draw blood.
9. In some cases I have had up to 40 meetings over the course of a 5 day show.  I keep a small version of my schedule with meeting times, names of contacts and firms, and contact numbers to stay in touch at the show.  I typically keep this information on the backside of the name tag on the lanyard around my neck.
10. Business cards.  Take twice as many as you think you will need and hand them out to anyone you talk to.  Never miss an opportunity to build some awareness about you or your offerings.
11. Talk!  This is no time to be timid.  Develop some ice breakers in advance of the show if you have to.  I talk to people everywhere.  In the lobby, at lunch, at the hotel, over breakfast, on the shuttle to and from the hotel, anywhere there is an opportunity to have a short conversation.  Don’t whack all these people over the head with your offerings, but when you find one that seems like a fit schedule a time to meet “officially” or have a good 30 second elevator pitch prepared to entice them to want more information.
12. Get a hotel room as close to the show venue as possible.  The hotels closer to the show are a bit more expensive and fill up fast, but having the ability to get back and forth to the hotel without enduring significant time loss or  logistics issues will be money well spent.
13. Evening events.  In many cases there are show sponsored events and private parties scheduled once the day on the show floor is done.  Plan to attend these if you do not have any evening meetings or dinner appointments setup.  Look for the invitation cards while you are at the show and ask around as you meet with people to find out what private events are scheduled.
14. Plan a private event.  If it makes sense for your offerings and if you have the budget, setup a private event one night after the show.  A few drinks, great snacks or a nice dinner can loosen tongues and allow conversations to take place that would be difficult anywhere else.
15. Be prepared to meet a prospect anywhere.  I think of it as traveling heavy, with my rolling bag, all my materials, my laptop, etc. or traveling light with just my mobile phone (with presentations loaded,) business cards, and a small notepad.  I will sometimes carry my 5” x 5” notebook tucked into the small of my back under my jacket.  It works well for me.

Trade shows can be an incredible source for contacts, leads, and opportunities or complete dismal failures.  From maximum success I develop my goals; I develop a primary and secondary strategy unique to each show I attend.  I try to remove as much mystery as possible by defining my prospects, pre-scheduling my meetings, and researching my prospects developing a mini strategy for each meeting.

The last thing I can say is even with all this planning, keep a degree of flexibility built into your schedule.  As I have discovered, even with all my planning, I will on occasion forget something important, like remembering to pack my pants.

Got your own trade show tip?  Is there something you have done to turn a miserable show into a screaming success?  I want to hear about it.

Image courtesy of managemytradeshows.com

I am always looking for unique ideas to stand out from your average (sales) bear with clients and prospects alike.

 For some prospects that are deemed critical to the success of a territory I will sometimes step way out of the box to capture that prospects interest or make them at least curious to hear what I have to say.

 To that end, I recently stumbled upon www.sweetpics.biz.  Sweet Pics can take any digital image and print it directly on chocolate, and yes, you can eat it.

They can take your plain white business card and create a chocolate version that looks like they just taped your business card to the top of a business card sized piece of chocolate.  The edible business card weighs one ounce and comes with a case for each card so you don’t have to worry about the logistics of handling a chocolate business card.

If you want to rev it up a bit more they make a package that looks like a standard box of chocolates with a clear lid that has your business card, in chocolate, front and center surrounded by various truffles and chocolate treats.

I have not tried them yet, so I cannot comment on the taste, but I thought the idea alone was worth comment.

Taking that a step further, remember they can put ANY digital image on chocolate. 

What does this chocolate treat cost?  Best I can tell, the business cards are $2.49 each, minimum 50, but there are other options available on the cheap.

Have you come up with something creative to get your foot in the door or to stand out from your competition?  I would like to hear about it.