In which we discuss the importance of referrals rather than the power of magic words to gain audiences with prospects.

In our neck of the woods, Harry Potter movies appear on various cable channels almost as frequently as “storm chaser” programs featuring lunatics who chase or who are chased by tornados.  Having watched both genres a few times, and knowing that in both cases the endings are good and the acting is bad,  I strongly prefer the Potter movies for recreational couch sitting, particularly the first three.

I love the moments when Harry or Ron or their friends are in immediate, ghastly, horrfying danger, blabbering words for a spell,  not quite getting it right, until, just at the last moment, they SAY THE RIGHT WORDS … and… WHAM.. they’re saved.   Strong wizardly power.

As a parent and sales coach, however, I’m NOT crazy about “wizard power” because it creeps into our thinking and undermines our human power.

For example: During one of our recent “Winning at Prospecting” training sessions,  we’d just finished the discussion about “Rule #1: Referrals, Referrals, Referrals” when one of the participants (with the immediate agreement of others in the room) said,

“I just keep thinking that, if I somehow say the right words, I’ll get an appointment.”

In which we consider the advantages of introducing ourselves as our benefit rather than as our job description.

Each time I sat in his office,  his small bronzed desk plaque hissed at me, “Do not confuse effort with results.”  30 inches distant,  securely bolted, passive, dead center, front.   Whatever the topic, the plaque stripped the varnish away. “Let’s look… at what you’ve  d o n e.”
 
Segue to… a business gathering. You’re mingling with others. Someone turns to you and says, “Hello, I’m Fred Smith from Amoximated Company.  What do you do?”  You don’t know Fred, you don’t know what’s important to him or what he’s listening for. How do you respond?
 
With a result.  The desk plaque’s legacy.  You could say:
 
 
 (1) “Hello. Fred, I’m a senior relationship manageer at ABC Company based here in the city. I manage our major account relationships in the consumer packaging industry. I work with a team of people who bring expertise from several important financial and technical disciplines to help our clients manufacture more efficiently.”
 
or..
 
 (2) “Hello, Fred.  I work at ABC Company. I help consumer packaging companies reduce manufacturing costs five to ten percent.
 
 
The first one is an “EFFORT” description — a job title and job description, bland, passive, pablum. The second one is a RESULT – crisp, unapologetic, provocative. If Fred wants more discussion, the starting line is bold and clear.     He’s likely to ask, “How do you do that?”
 
Listen, next time you’re mixing with others. What do you hear? Effort or results?  “I sell office equipment. I’m a corporate banker. I’m an asset manager. I sell ball bearings.  I’m a senior accountant at Knight and Day.”  It’s all “effort” and job description. 
 
To stand out, focus on your results. The benefit statements of you. And, if you can’t prove quantitative results, focus on how you help others achieve them.  For example:  The qualitative result,  “I help business owners operate their companies more efficiently,” is stronger than the job description, “I’m a branch manager” or “I’m a Business Banker.”
 
Do not confuse them with your effort or your job title.  Focus on your results.

by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage

… in which we discuss the benefits of asking broader questions before we qualify someone for our products..It’s a small cafeteria. Solid food to the right. Salad to the left. Cashier at the end.
 
Running to an early morning project team meeting down the hall, two of us swept through, grabbing orange juices, bananas, and blueberry yogurts to sustain us. “Spoons,” my partner said. “Right,” I replied, looking left, right, and down. “Spoons.”
 
None in sight. “This is silly,” I thought, looking at counter tops. “They should be here.” Couldn’t see a one.
 
We found cafeteria staff. She pointed down to the counter that had been directly in front of us. I could see them, now that I’d backed up a few paces. Spoons. Full-sized spoons. BLACK spoons.
 
Well, I hadn’t been looking for full-sized BLACK spoons. I’d been looking for small, flimsy, white plastic spoons. I was right on top of the black spoons and I couldn’t see them while I was looking right at them.
 
We have this experience in sales calls, too. We’re moving so quickly and looking so intently for the specific needs we planned to address (white spoons) that we miss other possible opportunities or needs that we could sell or cross sell (black spoons).
 
One strategy to address this tendency is to start with ‘business’ questions rather than ‘product-qualification questions.’
 
Business questions are broad, survey questions. Product qualification questions tend to be very specific.
 
Suppose we’re selling printers and software. The just-looking-for-white-spoons “product qualification” questions would sound something like, “What kind of computers and software are you using” or “What kind of network are you operating” or “How do you currently print proposals?”
 
If we’re bankers, the product qualification just-looking-for-white-spoons questions could include “what checking accounts do you use” or “how do you use lines of credit to finance seasonal working capital?” or “how do you currently collect and process your accounts receivable?”
 
Broader business questions might include, “How has your business been evolving over the last couple of years” or “What sorts of challenges are you facing in supporting your customers” or “How have the changes in the economy affected your business?”
 
Questions like these broaden our vision a bit. We can, at least, see the black spoons or other spoons, whether or not we choose to pick them up.

by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage

In which we consider the possibility that we may need to sell a transaction to start consultative relationships.
 
Within the last few weeks, several of our clients have said, almost literally, “I’m too busy to manage.”  As in, “I’m too busy to manage my business,” or “I’m too busy to coach my sales people,” or “I’m too busy to do my job.”  These are normally rational people with many years of management experience.

In which we are reminded to clear time-wasters from our client lists and project lists in order to create capacity to grow.
 
Consistent readers of this column will recall that Clarity has moved headquarters to a new location, closer to civilization and dangerous moving objects like trains that did not appear in the previous location. While the physical move happened several weeks ago, the “moving process” is still active.
 
Why? I have a love-hate relationship with moving. The part I hate most about moving

In which we emphasize the importance of articulating the value of a solution before we introduce the idea of the solution.    

One of my friends is a senior engineer for a computer company. His team makes VERY snappy gear. He once said to me: “When introducing a computer command, a computer language feature, or a piece of computer hardware to someone, we find the conversation goes better if we first describe the problem it was designed to solve.”
 
Sales translation: “When introducing our product or services to clients or prospects, conversations go better if we first describe the dollar or time magnitude of the problem we are trying to solve, and then describe the dollar or time benefit of our product or service, then describe the solution.”   So: Problem, benefit, solution.  PBS.