I Love “Low-Hanging Fruit”
Why does “low-hanging fruit” get a bad rap. Why shouldn’t every business-to-business sales organization be totally focused on low-hanging fruit? Answer: They should. In my world (the world of sales training), low-hanging fruit is defined as the following:
- A business that has a problem that they are totally committed to admitting and fixing, and they don’t need a salesperson convincing them that they should do something about it.
- A business organization that has the funds to devote to solving the problem. (In other words, they have the budget and/or will spend money to fix it.)
- A company that is open-minded and looking for outside help in solving of inside problems. (Some companies aren’t, and if you’re an outsider then ditch them and move on.)
- A client who doesn’t see you as a vendor—but sees you as a provider of a valuable solution that will improve the wellbeing of the people at the company. (The instant you get into you vs. 10 other bidders, get out.)
- A company that gives you access to information and people. (They don’t hide the CEO, the CFO or the COO because there’s a policy that they don’t see salespeople.)
Believe it or not, there are companies around that have these characteristics. And if you define these as low-hanging fruit, then have at it. I would suggest that if any one of these elements is not in place, then you have to reach too high, which will take more time, which will cost more money, which will rob someone else in the market of your value.
Block and Tackle
Do you ever feel like your business isn’t flashy or tricky enough? You know, you’ve been doing the same thing for a lot of years, successfully. However, you start to take it for granted and think you need to gussy it up a bit. Don’t be so quick to throw out the stuff that works.
I recently lost a prospective client for that very reason. He and I had some great conversations. He thought I could help his team. I put together a beautiful recommendation. What could possibly be the problem? I asked him to have lunch with me to explain to me why he chose someone else.
Here’s what he told me. All of the things that I believed to be true, were true. However, I was more interested in impressing him than speaking to the information that he had shared with me. He told me his people had never been through training. He told me he wasn’t sure how receptive they would be. He told me that they needed the basics. He told me they needed a quick impact. I gave those concerns about 2 sentences in my 4-page recommendation. The rest of it was spent on all of the really cool stuff we help people with, but that his people couldn’t take advantage of for months.
He shared a great analogy with me. At the time we were having lunch, the Colts (and the NFL in general) had just started training camps. His story was that even though these guys are pros and have been playing football for years, what do they do at training camp? They do the basics—blocking and tackling. The basics are the foundation for everything that we all do. You have to keep sharp on the basics.
I’m not saying that getting stagnant in how you approach your business is the right answer. What I am saying is that everything you change, improve, or try needs to be built on a strong foundation.
I didn’t block and tackle (listen). Instead I was worried about my touchdown dance.
Old Sales Habits Die Hard
I recently had the chance to “prep” with a client’s senior management team for a major sales opportunity. The deal was so large my client brought in everyone: CFO, COO, VP Sales, VP Marketing (the CEO was in Asia or would’ve been there too) and others. As you might imagine, many of these people don’t spend their time in sales calls. I learned something from the “non-sales” types in the room that surprised me.
Asking for the order is mandatory and standard protocol.
You would’ve thought the team was a group of bobblehead models with all the nodding that occurred when a non-sales person said, “Well, of course you HAVE to ASK FOR THE BUSINESS.”
My quick response to all who read this…no, you don’t.
Bringing up potentially negative subjects is taboo.
While it is somewhat counter-intuitive, bringing up potential problems is one of the best things a sales professional can do. Again the non-sales contingent pushed back. “Why would we want to end on a negative or bring up something that might cause them to say ‘no’?”
My response…the “negative” is there and it’s going to be there. The best relationships are built on a foundation of open/honest communication—good and bad. I can’t think of a better way to start a relationship than by saying: “What’s going to keep us from getting a deal done here? What are you most concerned with?”
Less is more and slide decks that can be referred to as “decks” are automatically too big.
Take a guess at the number of slides we reviewed…go ahead. OK, I’ll tell you—72.
Here’s a fun thing to do. Go poll a random group and ask them if they’d prefer to sit with you for your 72-page PowerPoint slide deck or sit with you and have a guided conversation. I’ll bet the responses are unanimous.
A few interesting tidbits I thought you might find enlightening.
Sales Strategies Vs. Sales Tactics
How many times can we talk about the difference between sales strategy and sales tactics? Apparently, not too often because here I am talking about it again…
Your sales strategy should be really, really simple…the simpler it is to understand, the more likely your sales team will understand and execute against it. Are you ready?
Your sales strategy should be to educate the customer to the problems he has–and help him solve them.
Everything you do in the marketing/lead generation/sales process should have THAT as your end goal. The mistake most companies make is they make their strategy about THEM — not the customer.
I recently spoke to a group where I asked the question, “What is your sales strategy?” The answers I got indicated that they had done no definitive work on the subject. Isn’t that a bit absurd? With as much chatter as there is about the concept of sales strategy—to have done no work on it? None!
So, now that you have your new strategy, your sales tactics — and marketing tactics — should line up to support that. Here are some tips:
- Maybe you publish an article about all the mistakes you observe people making in the process of solving problems.
- Maybe you create a video where you interview a client about the problems they had they didn’t know about.
- Maybe you create a speech that you deliver to groups in your area–your niche–where you discuss the Top 10 Problems people experience without your solution.
You get the idea. For God’s sake, do some work on strategy. And when you do, make sure your customer is at the center of it.
Should The ‘Butler’ Way Be ‘Your’ Way?
Forgive me for indulging you in the conversation of basketball. But I think if you’ll read this closely, there may be a message for you.
Butler University is in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tourney. And the beauty is they are also the host team (it’s played this year in Butler’s hometown of Indianapolis).
But the reason this is important to you is the light I want to shine on what’s called The Butler Way. And make the case that the Butler Way should be Your Way.
Teamwork. Preparation. Fun.
The statistic that you should care about is 10 of the 12 players on the team are homegrown…right in Butler’s home state of Indiana. They don’t need massive travel budgets…they aren’t looking for the most sought after kids. They look for kids with talent, integrity and a predisposition to team work. If they’re a little shorter, OK. If they play below the rim instead of above the rim, that’s OK too. Because the Butler Way isn’t about getting the best players. It’s about having the best team. A huge difference.
There’s a Lesson Here For Salespeople and Business Leaders
Get the fundamentals right. Get the thinking right. Get your mind right.
If you get those right, you don’t have the be the sharpest knife in the drawer. You don’t have to have the quickest wit in the room. You don’t have to say ‘everything right’ to close the sale or acquire a piece of business. You don’t have to wear the latest fashion so you impress your prospect…in fact you don’t even have to impress your prospect. And you definitely don’t have to have the best price—because it ain’t about price.
Butler Coach Brad Stevens
Because the Butler Way is not about impressing anyone. It’s about playing within yourself–playing your game, not the other guy’s game. Having a ball doing it. Never getting rattled. Being really, really smart on the floor. And it’s about a player being OK with scoring 24 points one game and 4 the next…and not getting bent out of shape about it.
I don’t know whether Butler has a chance to win it all. I do know this: that the tide is changing in our world. It’s not about being the biggest and overpowering today (politicos will recognize this as “too big to fail”).
You don’t have to have the biggest marketing budget–or the biggest booth at the tradeshow to win business. In fact, I would suggest that you have an advantage if you AREN’T big. (I’m quite sure that schools like Butler use their size as a recruiting advantage.) Those are NOT the fundamentals of business.
Here are Six Fundamentals to get you started–and these should be Your Way:
- Listen to your prospect. They’ll tell you what they really want and what’s important to them. In other words, stop talking and pitching.
- Do what’s right in the process. If there is a wrinkle in your product or service, bring it up upfront. Don’t hide it hoping your customer never sees it. It’s not good for your Karma.
- Be of “integrity.” Meaning, if you’re thinking it on the inside, then say it on the outside. When you begin holding things back, you lose.
- Be who you are. Know what you’re really good at and don’t try to ‘make things fit’ just to make a buck. It always seems like a good idea at the time, but seldom is. I can’t tell you how many clients are looking to cut clients because the fit just isn’t right–and some of that business in unprofitable.
- Care. Doesn’t sound like a Harvard Business School strategy does it? But it will make massively more successful than some academic marketing concept.
- Finally, have some fun. How many times have you been called on by someone who just doesn’t seem like they’re having much fun? I have, often. Take a lesson from Butler, and have some fun. Laugh a little. Celebrate. Don’t get rattled. And do the fundamentals right—let the outcome take care of itself.
The Questions You Should Be Asking
How many times have you become aware of a tool that you didn’t know existed–and as soon as you saw it, just had to have it?
There are tons of examples, computers, email, the lightbulb, The Clapper (OK, so maybe you didn’t “have to have” that). But imagine yourself doing without the first three.
The issue is that if you don’t think a problem is solvable, do you really spend a lot of time searching for a solution? No.
In sales training, we hear all the complaints that sales people have about the way they’re treated, but seldom do we hear the questions we should be hearing.
- “Bill, is there a way to keep the prospect from lying to me?”
- “Bill, what can I do to keep the sales process from stalling?”
- “Bill, how can I create a stream of prospects lining up outside my door to buy?”
- “Bill, is there a way to communicate my message so it is more compelling?”
- “Bill, is there a way to differentiate myself from everyone else that calls on that prospect?”
- “Bill, is there a new method of selling that would help me avoid the frustrations I’m feeling in this economy?”
We Should Be Getting These Questions
But we don’t. We wonder why. Is it because we don’t think there are solutions for these–so better to save our selves the frustration of looking for something that isn’t available?
Or, have we relegated ourselves to a sales life of mediocrity and sameness?
We hope it’s the former–that until someone gives us a tool–we don’t even think about a solution.
There Are Tools Available
There are ways around these issues. In fact, over the next several days, I’m going to be addressing each of these six questions in six different posts.
Hope you can join me–and see that there are solutions to problems you didn’t know you had--but that might be costing you money.
When Should A Sales Person Become A Teacher?
ANSWER: When he leaves home in the morning.
Why? You ask.
Simple. In today’s confusing, overwhelming economy, you might be the only one that comes along today to teach your prospect something. And learning is power.
What exactly, can you teach them?
- How to use your product/service better (how to make more money, save more time, conserve more energy). Isn’t it amazing how most vendors disappear the minute you buy something? Think of how many referrals they’d get if they just showed up occasionally to teach you something.
- How to get more value out of the relationship they have with you.We sellers are naive. We just expect that a client of ours knows exactly how to best “use” the relationship to their advantage.
- How to understand their business better (That’s right, you should know their business so well you can teach them a thing or two about it–that is, if you’ve done a good job in the sales process.
- How to recognize if they have pain that you can fix. (What??!! You aren’t doing that right now? Shame on you. Your competitor probably is or will).
- How to understand the high cost of doing nothing. It’s what we call the “phantom cost.” Yes, inaction has a price. If it doesn’t, then they weren’t a prospect in the first place.
Don’t think about lecturing them, though. That won’t do. You must help them consume this knowledge the way they want to consume such knowledge.
Some of them will use the web. Some will use DVD’s. Some will need you to show up physically. Some will consume through audio. Some are visual. Just because you learn a certain way doesn’t mean your prospect will, doo.
And just because you can’t show up in their office doesn’t mean you can’t teach. For God’s sake use the tool you’re reading this on. It’s the best learning tool invented and it just happened to be invented in your lifetime. What a windfall.
