(June column)
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A few weeks ago I was watching a golf tournament on TV and I heard Johnny Miller say, "He missed that putt before he hit it!"
How did that happen?
It happened because sometimes even the top world-class pros make mistakes in their setup, and that often preordains the outcome.
It's hard to correct a bad setup in mid-swing.
Hey, wait! It happens in selling, too! And, trust me, merchants see it every day.
You've seen it, too: Alfred Adrep comes through the door and says, "Hi! I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by to ..." blah, blah, blah. Or, even worse: "Hi! I just came by to drop off our latest issue ..."
You can almost see the merchant's eyes glaze over. Some of them will actually dive under the counter. The few that will actually sit and "listen" to you -- probably the worst thing that can happen since it's the MERCHANT who should be doing the talking -- will politely sit through it all then tell you they'll think it over. Alfred Adrep goes back to the office and tells his manager, "I need help on closing." Good luck.
Closing isn't the problem.
Alfred shot himself in the foot -- at the beginning. Yes, Virginia, the "setup."
During my early years in advertising sales, I developed a reputation as a top "closer." While I don't want to minimize the importance of gaining commitments throughout the process, in truth, closing was NEVER really the issue. It was more about "creating" then "preserving" the selling situation -- something that begins the moment you walk through the door.
As a publisher, our account executives spent a lot of time on "the opening" in our morning workshop training sessions. Over the years since, I've found this to be one of the most productive exercises you'll ever perform.
See if this works for you! When it came to "the opening" I did have a few simple rules:
1. Always look busy. Never look like you have all the time in the world. Be busy, even if you have to wait!
2. No media kit. I left all my product data (media kits, brochures, etc.) in the car. I didn't want to be tempted. If you even LOOK like you’re pushing product, you've lost. Besides, any clerk can carry a media kit.
3. Show your value. Lead with service BEFORE the sale.
If you don't look busy and/or you're leading with product data, you're telling your prospect:
* I have all the time in the world;
* I can come back a thousand times if I have to; and
* After the sale, I'll make a thousand trips to service your account, because
* I'm new to this and I'm not very bright.
* Oh, and I'm really here just to push my product and make money off of you.
So, if it all begins with THE SETUP, how do we craft an opening that gets us off on the right foot?
Here's a workshop for you: See if you can craft a short, compelling opening incorporating as many of my "Attention Getter Guidelines" as possible:
1. Use some type of exhibit. Do NOT use a brochure or anything concerning the product or service you're selling. Use something the prospect cares about. It can be a reprint (be sure to get permission) about a concern for his/her business or industry or economy.
2. Make a startling statement. It doesn't have to be earth-shaking, but it should be something that gets them to look at you with a decent level of interest.
3. Ask a question. Questions are always better than statements. For one thing, they call for a response!
4. Provide a service. Anytime you can provide a service in advance of the sale, you'll have a prospect who will feel some level of obligation, even when none exists.
5. Give something away. No matter how small, anything that's free is appreciated, provided they perceive some level of value.
6. Pay a compliment. Everyone likes to be complimented; but, there's a caveat: Make it quick and brief. Wordy compliments sound phony.
7. Appeal to curiosity. People become engaged when they want to know something. Why work at it? Build it into your opening.
8. Create urgency. When something is perceived to be important and timely, it usually gets attention.
9. Use a referral. If you have been referred by someone the prospect knows and respects, you've just compounded your effectiveness.
Now, put this article aside and craft a three-sentence opening incorporating as many of the first eight attention-getters as possible. It may take awhile. I once conducted a workshop with 10 veteran sales managers who spent over an hour on this and called it one of the best exercises they'd tried.
Okay, do your own workshop. Brainstorm it with a few peers! I'll get some coffee.
Workshop over?
OK. Here’s the opening I used with great success for six years.
First The Setup:
1. I would find an article that would be of interest to the prospect. It could be literally anything, as long as the subject matter impacted the prospect's business! One requirement: It had to have nothing to do with my product or service. That would be too self-serving. Once I had the article, I contacted the publication to obtain reprints/authorization -- and that provided the centerpiece for my opening.
2. When I arrived to see the prospect, I looked busy. NO pleasantries; no handshakes, no admiring the plaques on the wall, pictures of the kids or dog, etc. I walked in quickly to firmly implant the image of "urgency" in the prospect's mind.
The Opening:
(While walking in) "Hi, (first name)! When I was in the office this morning, I saw this and thought of you! (I put the reprint down on a desk or counter) Have you seen this?" (brief pause) "Does this affect you?"
That's it! Let's check what I did against the Attention-Getters:
1. Exhibit: The reprint is the "exhibit."
2. Make a startling statement. "... I saw this and thought of you!"
3. Ask a question. "... Have you seen this?" "Does this affect you?"
4. Provide a service. "... I saw this and thought of you!"
5. Give something away. You're providing the reprint.
6. Pay a compliment. "... I saw this and thought of you!"
7. Appeal to curiosity. "Have you seen this?"
8. Create urgency. I saw this, "this morning" and (immediately) "... thought of you!" "Have you seen this? ... Does this affect you?"
Important point: I NEVER handed the reprint to the prospect. I put it down on the desk, counter, whatever was handy.
Reason: I wanted to produce a positive physical response on the part of the prospect. I wanted that prospect to actually walk a step or two and pick it up! The more positive physical actions you can produce, the less negative thinking you'lll encounter later.
I did this with prospects I'd never met.
I did this with prospects who knew me well.
It didn't matter. I did it with everyone -- all the time!
Sometimes the prospect was someone who'd seen me come in the front door every single week! It didn't matter. I never had ONE -- not one in six years -- who ever remembered I'd done the same thing the week before.
If the prospect was someone I'd never met it didn't seem to make much difference; they'd usually pick up the reprint, look at it -- even answer my question -- and then, almost as an afterthought, ask "Who are you?" Except, now, the question came from curiosity, not negativity.
I'd smile, apologize, introduce myself, then ask again (a) Does this affect you?, (b) How does this affect you, or (c) How are you insulated?
It doesn't matter what their answers are. You're on your way. Your opening created a dialog and the prospect is now engaged. Hey! Don't look now; but you have the prospect's attention!
That's what you wanted, wasn't it?
James Lorenzen is an international speaker and consultant who successfully founded, built and sold independent weeklies of his own. In six years of advertising sales, he never sold a one-time ad! All of his sales were campaigns under contract of 13 consecutive weeks or longer and over 80 percent were for a full year or longer, getting deposit money with each sale! He once sold 22 campaigns in 22 days and 52 campaigns in 29 weeks. Five times, he received all the money for the entire year in advance! Since those days, Jim has been the headline speaker at more than 500 conventions worldwide, including FIVE at IFPA since his first appearance in the spring of 1985! He’s appeared in scores of publications as well as on Nightingale-Conant's Sound Selling audio series and American Airlines' Sky Radio. For information contact Gardner Hathaway, LLC at (805) 265-5418 or go to jameslorenzen.com.
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