HOME BACK
|
NEWSLETTER "....helping
you win clients and grow profitable
revenues" |
| ||
|
August
2003 | |||
|
This
newsletter is designed for people and organisations that develop business
and sell professional services in the Business-to-Business (B2B) market
place. | |||
|
|
Dear
Rebecca, If
you find the information in our Newsletter of value, get your colleagues
to subscribe: editor@b2bsalesconsulting.co.uk This
newsletter includes; Editor’s
Comment
- “Even
recessions have opportunities” Selling
Tips
- “Understand
your Client; they may be your
competition” Sales
Pitfalls
- “Self-serving
sales people do not sell” Specialist
Seminar
– “Selling your way out of a Recession”
20th, 21st October eArticle
- “First,
Understand your Client” | ||
|
|
EVEN
RECESSIONS HAVE OPPORTUNITIES | ||
|
No
change – No sale. The worst business climate is a static one, where
nothing is changing. Stockbrokers make money in rising and falling
markets, a lot less in a steady market! Today’s professional services
market is in a recession, or at best, slow moving. But
not all sectors and not all services are badly affected. For example, the
Public Sector is spending money on an unprecedented scale to try and
achieve the Government’s targeted eCommerce objectives, whilst certain
types of services, such as Outsourcing and Cost Reduction are also showing
healthy signs of growth in a depressed market place.
Companies
and clients who are doing extremely well have spotted these market
changes. They have successfully re-tuned into the market They have
repositioned their offerings, market targets and their selling style. None
of these took massive capital investment. The opposite, it cost very
little money, just an investment in human capital. In other words they
killed some of their holy cows and left some of their comfort zones. “I
have met the enemy. He is I” They
have also avoided some of the bad selling habits the 90s encouraged. This
was the decade of the “order taker” who didn’t have to think too much
about competition, because there was lots of work for everybody.
Obviously, work is harder to win today, but there are subtle market
changes that not everybody has spotted. So do what you say to your clients
- change to succeed. This
edition of the newsletter includes Selling Tips, Sales Pitfalls, eArticles
and information about B2B Sales Consulting events. We are totally vendor
independent and our newsletters are advert free. All feedback and readers’
submissions for publication will be welcome. | |||
|
|
UNDERSTAND
YOUR CLIENT; THEY MAY BE YOUR COMPETITION | ||
|
We believe that it is easier
to create buyers than it is to sell. In order to create a buyer out
of your prospective client, you must understand what your client needs and
wants (note that they may be different!). In order to discover your
client’s needs and wants, you must appreciate that there are 2 parts to
the buying model: the objective and the subjective. Knowing ‘How’ the client
buys from you (the Rational side – see our Buyers 5 Step model) is
concerned with the objective part and is best understood by questioning
techniques. Knowing ‘Why’ the
client buys from you is concerned with the more subjective, personal or
Behavioural part (the Emotional and the Political) and is best discovered
by listening. The 2 frameworks, the Buyer’s 5 Steps and the
Emotional/Political/Rational are simple to understand and apply to every
buying situation and are developed in the attached article, “First,
Understand your Client”. Understand your
competition Most salespeople understand
the need to be aware of their competition, to treat them with respect and
to know how best to differentiate themselves from those competitors. But
there are also many salespeople who have returned to their office
(following a client meeting) to report to their Sales Manager that ‘the
deal is in the bag’ as there is no competition involved - and still lost
it. The hidden ‘competition’ often comes from the client!
The nature and size of the
intended engagement may be so complex or unpalatable to the client, that
they actually decide not to proceed with the proposed solution at all
(i.e. nobody wins the deal). The other type of competition from within the
client, is their ability to do the job themselves. It is not unheard of
for clients to extract free consultancy and then go ahead and use their
own staff to implement the proposed solutions (really!). When validating
the client’s issues, it is vital that that you constantly check that the
client is not able or willing to do it themselves and so pre-empt them as
competition. N.B. Please send in your own tips for publication. | |||
|
|
SELF-SERVING
SALES PEOPLE DO NOT SELL | ||
|
Clients are harder to sell
to in this recession, either because they are smarter or poorer. There are
a lot of clients who have bought professional services many times and have
been to business schools, so they are already familiar with your
methodologies. Many willing clients have zero budgets, or their company’s
investment approval process is impossible to
overcome. Although clients probably
have more issues than before, they are definitely more sales resistant.
There are 2 obvious selling signals that clients will spot a mile away. If
you try and force your solution down their throat before you have
understood their problem or indeed, them. Or, if you ask self-serving
questions too early which are of no value to the client, e.g. Do you have
a budget? Do you have signing authority? The premature solution and
your sales qualification done too early, will encourage your client to
treat you as a double-glazing salesman and they will probably want to be
rid of you before you can even spell the word
qualification! These questions have to be
asked and a solution agreed, but not too early. When your client can pick
and choose whom they want to work with, then you have to be patient and
judge the moment when you have earned the right to ask your “sales”
questions. If you have demonstrated to your client that you understand
them and their situation then they will want you to ask your “sales”
questions. Remember, you cannot reap if you do not sow. This is a
particularly hard lesson for business development people, who mistook
order taking in the 90s for selling! | |||
|
|
SELLING
YOUR WAY OUT OF A RECESSION | ||
|
Announcing
‘SELLING YOUR WAY OUT OF A RECESSION’ These
tips, pitfalls and articles are brought to life in our practical
seminar and workshops. The seminar is invaluable for consultants and
account managers who want to get better at business development and enjoy
it more in today's tough market. Our approach combines InterPersonal
Selling© and microBranding© with the best of the IT structured sales
methodologies, but lighter! Newsletter readers have access to special
discounts. Please email seminar.nla@b2bsalesconsulting.co.uk
for details. Previous
delegates have said…. “Extremely
insightful seminar delivered by real experts in their discipline, and
tremendous value for money” “Excellent
– some really practical advice that I can start using
immediately” “Good
content – excellent guest speakers” “Specialist
consultancies without dedicated sales professionals need to attend this
course” To
recognize the financial pressures on solo consultants and niche
consultancies, we would like to offer you access to unpublished
sponsorship discounts. So please click here to learn
more about the sponsored grants for this
specialised
sales seminar. | |||
|
|
SELLING IN A RECESSION (PART
1) | ||
|
“First, Understand your
Client” By Dave Pavitt & Summary When it’s tough to sell,
some people think that they have got to develop the “Next Big Idea” or
think of something really clever, but this can actually make matters
worse. A more productive place to start is in trying to understand your
clients better. When we ask our clients to do Win Debriefs with their
clients, they are often surprised by the results. Why? Because they don’t
always know How their clients buy from them and Why they buy
from them! These are two things that
you definitely need to know more about. How your client buys from
you, but more importantly, Why your client buys from you. We
explore both these important questions in the light of today’s recession
and find answers to help you to sell better and to sell more, using 2
simple frameworks. Introduction Today’s professional
services market is in a recession, but it is not as clear-cut as previous
recessions. The market is a combination of confusing inconsistencies and
simple constant truths. Nevertheless successful people and companies are
managing to find a way through this business development maze.
Some markets, such as Public
Sector, Aerospace & Defence and Outsourcing are very positive, whilst
selling new business into the Financial Services and Telecommunications
markets is like pulling teeth without an anaesthetic! Some clients are
buying more services than ever, because they have reduced their headcount
too much, accumulated too great a backlog of issues or are facing new
problems that are beyond their skills base. At the same time, some clients
are freezing all discretionary spend and reducing external expenditure to
zero. With this confusing picture,
the best place to start is by understanding your client better. It is
better to ask HOW and WHY do clients buy your services, rather than go
into a dark room to think of the “Next Big Idea”, or try to think of
something very clever. This article explores How and Why your clients buy
from you and your company in a recession and how this recession influences
your sales strategy. Subsequent articles will look at how you can
positively tune the key business development phases, Lead, Open, Develop
and Close. Once you have strengthened
your basic sales cycle skills, you are faced with a simple strategic
choice - New Business versus Account Development. Now, everybody knows
it’s easier and better to sell to existing clients than to develop new
business. So, logically, you would expect professional services companies
to have doubled the effort and quality of their Account Development
activities. Who has? And who knows how to do it? Few companies we meet! So
the concluding article in this series, “Selling in a Recession”, will
explore four ways to double your existing client revenues.
Creating Buyers is better
than Selling We have all been in the
situation when we really wanted to buy something. It could have been, a
new house, a new car or a holiday. The purchase was the happy conclusion
to a complex set of needs and desires. You were the motivated buyer.
Unlike consumer purchases,
the Business-to-Business sale allows you to get really close to your
buyer. You have the privilege to understand what your buyer needs and
wants (note that they may well be different!). Whilst it is quite possible
for you to gain this understanding, very few business development people
know how to do it. There are not a million buying motives - they are well
known and fairly easy to see when you look. Unfortunately, most people let
their own agenda and ego get in the way and consequently, their potential
buyer clams up. The most simple and most
fruitful selling model has to mirror buying behaviour. There are five
essential buying steps that we need to understand and be able to influence
constructively. How clients buy in 5 steps
(Rationally) Imagine your client said 5
simple things to you:
If you think about the new
house, new car or holiday you may have bought, you probably went through
these mental steps. They are based on human nature and common sense. Most
buyers want to be assured on these 5 vital, rational steps before they
buy. It’s interesting that the
house, car or holiday is rarely perfectly defined before the will to buy
is established. The parallel with the Business-to-Business sale is that
the Solution doesn’t have to be agreed before the will to buy exists. So
why do so many “super
salespeople” insist on showing off their ability to force their solutions
down their clients’ throats too early? Clearly, the Trial
Approaches discussion must get near to some potential solution and you
have to judge sensitively what is the least amount of ‘solution’ that will
give your client confidence in you and your company (not the most amount,
which is exactly the pitfall most self-centred sales people fall into
because they want to show off their peacock
feathers). Looking for and patiently
developing these 5 Buying Steps with your client is a rational process
that will create their need to buy without you selling. Achieving
agreement on the first 4 steps will help you progress together to want to
close the mutually beneficial deal. Win-Win should always be your
aspiration in Business-to-Business sales. For people who have a fear of
closing, the 5 steps give them a “progressive closing” model, with safety
checks to build their confidence. Why clients buy
(Emotionally, Politically and Rationally) This is a subtly different
from “How” your client buys but it is equally important for the complete
“Win-Win” sale to take place. The 5 Buying Steps provide the “How”, but
the reasons “Why” your client buys from you are more Behavioural than
Rational. Again, the self-centred sales person, who wants to put his or
her agenda and ego first, is going to prevent the client from wanting to
buy. Patiently developing the 5
buying steps will allow your client to build up their Rational reasons to
buy from you and your company. Every Rational buying decision will be
supported and even pushed by your client’s personal reasons to buy. These
reasons may be simple, such as promotion, or they may be complex, like
gaining new credibility or extending their CV! Some psychologists will go
as far as to say that every professional buying motive is a proxy for the
more important personal buying motive. These personal buying motives split
into two parts; Emotional and Political. Both personal buying motives
are driven by behaviour and values, but there is an important distinction
between them, which allows us to understand and influence them. The
Emotional is how your client feels individually and the Political is how
your client’s peers involved in the buying decision feel about the buying
decision. Typically, your client’s
Emotional motives are rarely released to anyone, so a special trust and
counselling approach is required. You need to understand and be able to
help your client’s personal agenda. When two people achieve this level of
mutual knowledge and trust, then this can be the single most powerful
motivation to work together. If you do not have that Emotional
relationship and someone else does, then you know who is going to win the
sale! Whilst the Emotional motives
are harder to access, the Political motives are blatantly present in your
emerging relationship. The Political motives are not necessarily negative.
Quite the opposite, Political interaction between colleagues is the way
people converge to major decisions when there is insufficient fact and
objective analysis. The Politics simply explain how your client will be
influenced by his/her peers and vice versa. This becomes the key to your
client’s decision-making process to retain your services. When you are
developing the 5 Buying Steps, you should also be discussing how your
client’s peers will be affected and want to affect your discussions and
views. This is vital in today’s consensus and safety-first
cultures. Understanding the Emotional
and Political agenda is vital for your client to want to buy from you. The
key is human nature, because it directs all of us, even the toughest
clients. Conclusion There
is no doubt that selling professional services is tough today, so proven
frameworks that are driven by common sense and human nature, have to be
invaluable. This article is based on the simple premise that it’s better
to create buyers than to sell. The 2 frameworks, Buyers 5 Steps and the
Emotional/Political/Rational are simple to understand and apply to every
buying situation. The
key to developing your client’s 5 Buying Steps is questions and the key to
understanding your client’s Emotional/Political/Rational motives is
listening. These frameworks apply to all stages in the buying cycle i.e.
Lead, Open, Develop and Close. This series of articles will look at each
buying stage in turn and give practical examples of how to apply the 2
frameworks in today’s recessionary climate. Then, using these 2 frameworks
we will apply them to Account Development and explore four ways to double
your existing client revenues. | |||
|
|
FREE
eBOOK:
RESERVE YOUR COPY | ||
|
B2B
Sales Consulting is an association of experienced B2B Sales Professionals
who work with Consulting and IT Service Companies to raise profitable
revenues by improving sales effectiveness. This article is from the
series, “How to Sell in this Recession” on Top-Consultant.com and is
shortly to be made available in eBook format, followed by a Seminar. If
you or your organisation would like reserve a free copy of the eBook and
receive advance details on the next Seminar, please email seminar@b2bsalesconsulting.co.uk
with your name, position, company and contact
details. | |||
|
Author
details: Please
email any ideas or questions to the authors. Dave
Pavitt Director
B2B
Sales Consulting davepavitt@b2bsalesconsulting.co.uk Director
B2B
Sales Consulting | |||
|
This
newsletter and associated files are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are
not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use or
dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have
received this E-mail in error, or do not wish to receive any further
newsletter from this address, please click here, including the word
"unsubscribe" in the subject, then delete this
newsletter. B2B
Sales Consulting would point out that the views contained herein are the
personal views of the editor and authors unless expressly stated
otherwise. | |||
|
Produced
by Cruzing e-publishing www.cruzing.biz
| |||
| HOME BACK |
|||
