Brave New Sales

Make a "Cold Call" Warmer - The Triggering Event

Happiness is a Warm... Trigger.

O.K., I'm dating myself, and revealing my wanna-be cult past.  The above is a play on a Beatles title, one of their more surreal songs from The White Album.

But it fits this Friday's post for two reasons.

1. Cold-calling is extremely difficult in the Brave New World.  A buyer's guard is arguably at its highest when taking a first call from a salesperson.  Therefore, any tool for turning a cold call into, what I call, a "warm call" is a tactical advantage.
2. The tools for pre-heating an approach call are few.  One of the most effective ones is to seize the moment -- the moment you learn of a "triggering event."

Remember, most purchases are initially driven by emotion.  Then ration sits in the passenger's seat and feeds the driver with analytical reasons to satisfy this emotional need or desire.

Activating the triggering event addresses the early stages of the buying process, be it in B2B or B2C, when buyer emotion is often at its highest.

As Kendra Lee writes in All Business, "Triggering events are changes in (your prospects') companies, community or world that cause your prospects to make an adjustment and possibly a buying decision."

"Pain" has become a big word in sales over the past decade, as pain often drives buyers to act.  And "trigger" implies sudden, catalyst.

So triggering events often create an immediate need to act, whether it's to correct a problem, exploit an opportunity or fulfill a desire.  What better time to be seen as resourceful by your prospect?  What better time to distance yourself from one of those... cold-callers?

This is not just about seizing an opportunity; this is about "customer focus" in its most genuine form.  If your goods or services can address this sudden awareness of pain, you owe it to yourself and to the prospect to show how you can help!

This still requires good cold-calling skills (topic for a future post), but the point is, your call will be warmer if there has been a triggering event.  You will be seen as being up-to-date and resourceful.  You will be positioned as a professional.  You could be a white knight.

Here are several types of triggering events.

• Positive financial news.  Prospects may be able to exploit opportunities now, may have to now, and may have the budget now... but not tomorrow.
• Negative financial news.  They may have the need to correct something.  Pronto!
• New product launch.  They need to get it right.  Can you help them?
• Product recall.  They really need to get it right.  Can you reduce the pain?
• New management.  Perhaps previous management should have used your services in the past.  ("If only they would've listened to me!")  Perhaps the new managers see the light, or know they need a flashlight.
• New legislation.  Big brother has put up another obstacle.  Everything needs a re-think.  "All hands to the pump!"
• Other stuff.  Your field may have triggers that other industries don't.  You're the expert in your field... you get the point.

Keep an ear to the wind.  Keep an eye on the news.  Be solutions-oriented.  Be fast.  Be trigger happy!

Post Script:  Here's a timely and cool example of a B2C trigger.

A few friends of mine here in Luzern Switzerland are as passionate about FIFA World Cup as I am.  (See previous posts.  And for those who know me, "Viva España!")

Switzerland beat Spain in the first group match... which was Spain's only loss in the tournament, before Spain went on to win every match thereafter, including the final.  Spain, World Champions.  Campeones del Mundo!

So the buzz in Helvetia this week has been, "Switzerland, the only team to beat the World Champions."

ESP 0:1 SUI

And so my three amigos, Padi, Wes and Thomi, designed t-shirts in Swiss red with white letters, "Weltmeister Besieger" (see photo above).  They put together an online campaign including a website Weltmeister Besieger and a Facebook page.  By Monday morning they had their campaign going online.

They're doing alright with it, they're having fun, and they're staying in touch with their Brave New World entrepreneurial-side!  I bought a t-shirt for my son, who's in touch with his Swiss side.  "Kewl."

Padi, Wes and Thomi seized the opportunity, and they're helping Swiss fans fulfill their desire to celebrate this tiny country's most positive story out of World Cup.

Pride = emotion = triggerable.

"Happiness is a Warm Gun."  (Lennon/McCartney, 1968).  Sehr kewl!

Build Trust Early. Agree "Rules of Engagement" Early!

It's exciting to return from a first visit to a prospect that was hot-to-trot.

It's frightening to see how many of these hot prospects fall into the abyss of "chase" mode and, ultimately, die a slow death.

Come on, we've all had the experience.  You follow-up with a call to your soon-to-be-newest client, and her assistant does an Oscar-winning job of sighing over the boss's vicious travel schedule.  Or the prospect herself replies with a vague email citing back-to-back meetings leading up to the annual management retreat.  "Love your stuff.  Let's talk at the end of the month.  Thanks for comin' by."

It's bad enough losing business that you thought was a sure shot.  What's worse, though, is the hours you spend trying to nail down the next step or trying to get a response to a proposal.

Time is our most valuable resource.  Chasing disingenuous buyers can suck the productivity right out of salespeople - and the profitability right out of Brave New World start-ups.

"How can buyers be so heartless?" some ask.

Because many buyers believe that once most salespeople get in the door, they're going to push every button they can to close a deal.  And many times, they're right.

Selling in the Brave New World is about changing your mindset and, thus, changing your tactics.  SBNW requires transparency and, to some degree, paying it forward.  But it also requires being politely firm and, thus being seen as an equal... and not as a sales dog!

Here's a great tool for gaining respect - and trust - from your prospect right up front, while saving yourself the disappointment of false expectations gone real.

Open with "Rules of Engagement (and Disengagement)" early!

Depending on the style of the prospect, I might say it like this... sometimes within two minutes after we're first engaged, and always at some point during a first meeting:

"I'm a big boy, Joe.  I learned to live with 'no' a long time ago.  So if something about my style, proposed solution or anything else doesn't work for you, you have every right to opt out.  Just tell me.  I might ask you a last question or two to ensure there hasn't been a misunderstanding, or to see how I can do better, but that'll be it.  We'll both feel better about our relationship, and we'll both save time.  Deal?"

Find your own words, but put a quid-pro-quo understanding into your toolkit.  Be courageous about disengagement, and your terms of engagement may become stronger than ever.

It can have an incredibly positive impact on your prospect's perception of you... and on the relationship.

1. The prospect will see you as confident, and as a "straight shooter."
2. The prospect will see you as a professional who values your own time.
3. The prospect will see that you value his/her time.
4. The prospect will see that you won't play manipulative, traditonal sales games.
5. By making it easier to say "no," the prospect will drop his guard and be more comfortable in speaking frankly.
6. Add 'em all up, and the buyer will trust you!

Whereas time is our most valuable resource, trust is the most valued quality in the buyer-seller relationship.  "Rules of Dis/Engagement" can put you way ahead of your competitiors.

Perhaps the most innovative concept auto giant General Motors ever developed had nothing to do with the design, manufacturing or mechanics of a car, but rather the brand promise around the Saturn line.  Saturn advertised a quid-pro-quo agreement between their dealers and car buyers.

Too bad GM screwed up at the corporate level and could no longer finance this niche brand, because the "Rules of Engagement" concept is something the Saturn marketing team got totally right.  And now other dealers are copying Saturn's mojo.

Here was Saturn's promise:  "Visit our showroom and... we'll leave you alone!  Feel free to ask us anything, and we're more than happy to help.  If you want your space again, we'll leave you alone again!"

Yep.  Walk in to a Saturn showroom and all you got from the salespeople was a friendly, "G'mornin'."  They didn't hound you.  They didn't play manipulative games.  Sure, if you had any questions or, well, needed help buying a car, that's what the salespeople were there for.  But they honored the "right to engage/disengage" agreement.  Car buyers gained so much trust that they often found themselves chasing the salesperson.

And wouldn't that be an exciting position to find yourself in?

Photo by Li-Hua Lan / The Post Standard, Syracuse NY 2009 

Storytelling By Email: 9 Best Practices

In the Brave New World, we're all fighting for share of voice, as well as impact.  Email is no exception.

One way to cut through the clutter is to craft your email in to a short (very short!) story.

Storytelling became a hot concept in branding and marketing a decade ago.  Guess what.  It's here to stay.  Because it works.

It's the cornerstone of publishing, and it's an essential part of TV programming.

Storytelling can make an online property go viral in minutes.

So why not "storytelling in selling"?  Why not in prospecting?

I know several salespeople who use storytelling in their approach emails, and they are getting good results.  I have started doing it, and I must report that I'm seeing an increase...

The "Haves" vs The "Have Hads" - Keeping Your Edge

One of the clear messages coming out of "Riding the Economic Rollercoaster" hosted by the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce this week in Zurich, was that the centers of gravity are changing as we speak.

The West is losing its economic influence.  What used to be "the developing world" is becoming wealthier and more influential.  So what?

One U.S. corporation sees such deep implications in this that it's moving its CEO from the U.S. to Shanghai, for two reasons.  First, the CEO and other key executives can instil part of the corporate culture in to the Asian operation.  But they don't want to instil all of it, and therein lies the second reason for the move.  The CEO wants to learn from the workforce and from the customers -- not just locally, but from the region at large.

The day before the BSCC event, I was in a Starbucks, sitting in a big cushy sofa across from a friend.  We were enjoying frothy cappuccinos, envisaging the world after the global financial crisis.  We swung from optimism to pessimism and then back to optimism.  But I did wonder if I should be home brewing my own coffee and saving my ten Swissies.

Optimist or a pessimist, one thing is for certain.  When the global financial dust settles, the world will be a different place.  Welcome to Selling in the Brave New World.

No longer will it just be a question of the "Haves" vs. the "Have Nots," we mused.  It will also be a question of the "Haves" vs. the "Have HADS."  It's not all doom and gloom, but the pain in the West will be broad and, in many cases, it will be acute.

Hmmm.  My cappuccino had lost its froth.

Fast-forward two days...

Prospecting: Are You Promiscuous Enough?

Some of my closer colleagues emailed me with comments to my previous post, "Are You Too Promiscuous?"  (Come on, folks, help me out.  Why not comment directly on my blog itself?  Actually, I know the answer, it's quicker and more efficient to send an email.  That's cool, too.  Thanks!)

The ensuing "Promiscuity Debate" centered around the big question: to research, or not to research, before establishing contact with a new prospect?

One friend who works in commodities trading pointed out that his sales are transactional in nature.  "You call.  You tell them the price is on the move.  You point out the benefits of...

Speaking at a Conference? 8 Tips for Industry Leaders

I returned from a major industry conference two days ago

Was I disappointed!  While the networking was good, the presentations overall were... average.  And "average" is so far below the potential of anyone who speaks at a conference.  Brave New World entrepreneurs must seize opportunities like this big time!  Yet time and time again, the vast majority of conference presentations fall in to the abyss of meaningless... boring... forgotten.

Indeed, there were a few diamonds in the rough.  A few industry leaders actually cared about their presentations.  They not only prepared well, but they executed well.  And they made a big impact.  They strengthened their own personal brands and maximized their lead generation.  Could this be one of their secrets...

28 Seconds. (Or Simplicity Sells Part II)

I love living in Switzerland.  The precision of the Swiss is incredible and even a source of humor, even among them.

As you drive in my native U.S., you may come across road signs that read, "Stop Ahead."  Not in Switzerland.  Here you'll find a "yield" sign with "96m" immediately below it.  Not 100 meters, but 96 meters!  Or 117 meters... or... you get my point.

So it should not have come as a surprise to me

Simplicity Sells

You could say I'm a leadership junkie.  I'm always eager to read things related to the topic of leadership.  But I also like to be pulled in quickly, lest I stray to another topic.  Recently I came across this quote from a leadership consultant.  Here goes:

"In its most simplistic form, leadership is your ability to compel people to act in a complimentary manner that accomplishes desirable organizational goals with integrity and respect."

Say what?  I read it again... and still didn't get it.  Call me slow, but