Lack of Clarity, Confusion and Fear.
Warren Buffet appeared on the Today Show this morning. He made a very concise, profound comment — as he always does. Here are his words:
“Lack of clarity leads to confusion. Confusion leads to fear. And fear leads to inaction.”
Now, of course, he was talking about the economy in general and the ineffectiveness of the President’s communication to the people on this front.
But he could just as well be talking to you.
As a sales trainer, I’m always observing how sales people approach me. The world is one big laboratory for us.
I had a sales person call on me from a referral last week. It should have been a ‘laydown’ for him (or ‘layup’ coz of March Madness). I really wanted what he had.
But by the end of the phone call, he had me so confused with so many options that I decided to “do nothing.” Afterall, I didn’t HAVE TO HAVE what he was selling. it was a “nice to have.”
Too many options. Too confusing. Too much Fear. Too little action.
Do you do that to your prospects? Do you get ahead of yourself? Do you fail to realize that they aren’t in your business? You’re in college–they’re just in grade school, comparatively. Do you overplay your hand to the point you scare them?
I hope not. But if you’re experiencing a slow market, don’t be too quick to blame that market. Look in the mirror and see if you’re easy to buy from.
Slow down. Be patient. Ask better questions. Tell stories. Be more clear about your value. And watch your results change. Don’t confuse your prospect.
The Gift of Recession
With all this talk about the country being in a recession, it has brought back memories of my own “personal recession.” The funny thing is I look back on it with fondness, not scarcity or fear.
It all started when I took the giant leap to follow my passion and come to work with Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale as a consultant and trainer. I had enjoyed a successful career in logistics with a company and people that I loved. But, as sometimes happens, you get pulled by an undeniable force to do something new.
It took me a year to make the decision, but I finally did it. You have to understand that with that decision came a clean slate—no clients, no income. My family and I were okay with that because we had planned accordingly. What is it they say ”the best laid plans”? Yeah, one week into my “dream” my husband was laid off. So, welcome to my personal recession.
No income. No benefits.
Oh, and did I mention it was one week before Thanksgiving!
Don’t get me wrong, the “fond” feelings were not immediate. There were feelings of panic and fear. We let ourselves live that for about two days, but then it was time to get on with it. I’m happy to say that my husband found a job within three weeks, and I landed my first client within three months. So what does this have to do with our country’s current situation and our place in it? The value is in the lessons that I learned and how I experienced my life during this tough time.
- We were PRESENT. When you don’t know what the future holds, you tend to live in the present—appreciating, hearing, feeling everything that is now. Sometimes we get so busy we go on autopilot. We don’t remember half of what we feel, think or experience during our day. I was a nicer person.
- We appreciated EVERYTHING. We made our choices about how to spend our money very carefully. If we went to a movie with our son, we really made a big deal about it. It was an event. Something so simple is so special if you are present. Starbucks becomes a treat and not a medication. Long walks became a time to explore, talk.
- Speaking of money. It was the first time, in a long time, that we paid attention—what was going out, what was coming in, what we owed, what we bought. This period of time made us financially healthy. We actually paid off more debt and saved more money. We realized how spoiled we are and how little we really need to live a great life.
- We needed each other. I felt like my husband, son and I were a pack that couldn’t be infiltrated. No worry, no bad feelings—we were going to get through this. They were my rock, my place of shelter.
My hope during this time is that we can get back to the simple things—respecting, caring and helping our neighbors. Mostly, when we come out of this, which we will, I hope we remember the good things.
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“What Should Our Sales Strategy Be?”
We get this question a lot–and have for the last year. What people are really saying is that their current sales strategy isn’t working so well–and do we need to change it?
Yes.
Not sure how more direct to be. The reason I know your sales strategy is off-track is your closing percentage. It’s rare for a closing / conversion percentage (deals proposed to deals closed) to be higher than 20%.
Doesn’t that seem absurd to you? That 80% of people who care enough about your product to entertain a proposal–don’t see anything of value–and either don’t buy at all, or buy from another vendor?
That should tell you you’ve got a problem with your sales strategy.
So What Should Sales Strategy Be?
Simple. Rather than tell you what it should be, let me do you a favor and give you a bigger lesson–what should it revolve around?
Your sales strategy should revolve around client pain and possibility. That is, your features and benefits shouldn’t enter into the strategy until you first hear the prospect MUST change how they’re doing things to survive. And your sales training should as well.
If they don’t tell you that, then you don’t have a prospect.
So, the next time you lose a piece of business, ask yourself if your strategy really revolved around your prospect. Or, if you wimped out on them and focused too much on yourself. The answer’s real easy if you have the courage to look.
