Samurai Sales Training – Prospecting: Do You Have a Plan?

Let’s be honest. No one really enjoys prospecting. But to build a successful business or practice, you need clients. You need a continuous flow of clients. And to have this flow, you need to build the prospect pipeline and a disciplined tracking system.

Out of college you were a trained an attorney, creative, engineer, accountant, etc. Trained to create, engineer, account or do law stuff. Not trained to sell. You joined a firm, agency or company. They had business development team (sales people). All you had to do was show up and do that thing you were trained to do.

Then, without warning, the economy went south. Sales people were laid off. You were laid off. And now you need clients. You start networking. You’re meeting new people, collecting cards. In fact you’re hitting a lot of networking events; meeting a lot of people, collecting a lot of cards. You follow up; meet for coffee, exchange emails. They really like you. So what?

You contact friends, colleagues, golf buddies, etc asking for quality introductions in your quest for new clients You even contact former clients (assuming you didn’t sign a non-compete and have a good attorney, “Where is that attorney’s card I picked up at some networking event three weeks ago?”).

So what is working for you? What efforts are building your business? What is your tracking system?

In the last session of the Samurai Business Group “Brown Belt Program,” Sensei Bob Lambert  led us on a journey of organizing and tracking our prospects and prospecting efforts. It requires discipline (there’s that word again from the last blog post).

We were given a system. In fact, it is a very good system for tracking and monitoring a new business pipeline. If you are honest and disciplined, it will show you what business development efforts are working, and not working. It evaluates your list of prospects, who’s hot, who’s not, who’s really interested in hiring you and who just wants free, professional advice

First, look at where you found your current clients and prospects. Track all of the variety of efforts you are making and see if they are important to building your business – or just leading you into a false sense of accomplishment. If the latter, it’s time to adjust.

So what is the Samurai method of building a pipeline tracking system? Easy if you have discipline (no, not that word again!). Forms were provided to execute the system.

1. The Top Five Prospects – You’ve met face-to-face. The prospect has shared information. She has completed her “homework.” You talk or send an email once a week and get a positive reaction or response.
2. The Farm Club – Fifteen, prioritized prospects. There is synergy between his business and what you offer. You contact him once a month, share pertinent information and get a positive response. If a top five prospect falters, you promote someone from the Farm Team to the Top Five.
3. Suspects – Twenty who have shown promise. They have said they don’t see an immediate need for your service. You touch base once a month and respond to their emails and phone calls, as long as they are not seeking pro bono work, with the promise of “one day, when business picks up…

So when you review your prospecting efforts are you saying “SO!” or “So what?”

For further details on “Discipline,” contact either Dan Kreutzer or Robert Lambert or visit the Samurai Business Group website.

Spencer Maus, of SpencerConnect, is a senior-level, public relations executive. Samurai Business Group is a client and providing compensation to SpencerConnect

Samurai Business Training – Eighth Session in the Dojo – Relevant Messages that Resonate

The One-Minute Infomercial, also known as the elevator pitch, we all have one or more. Sensei Dan Kreutzer, of the Samurai Business Group, led us on a journey to develop and then test our new infomercial.

To have a successful “pitch” it must 1) Communicate your key message; 2) Create curiosity; 3) Appeal to emotions; and 4) Avoid trigger words. But first the introduction. Name, company and what you do. Simple, right? Done this hundreds of times. “I’m a strong networker and have to reorder business cards every quarter.” But are you effective?

“Hi, I’m Spencer Maus of SpencerConnect. SpencerConnect is a public and media relations firm that…” “So, what?!? I know at least 20 of you. In fact my next door neighbor/fraternity brother/mother-in-law does PR.”

Ok, let me try again. “SpencerConnect is a promotion and marketing firm, which employs only senior-level talent, that designs campaigns tailor made to specific needs and budgets, and targeted to the influential people you need to meet to grow your business.” Not great, but Sensei Dan and Robert Lambert are helping me.

Next, the Statement of Business Issues. “We work with (your business focus here) that have been concerned with industry regulations and are hesitant to use certain tactics that would have made a tremendous difference in their marketing campaign. For example…”

This allows you to create curiosity and appeal to emotions. The secret? Tell them what you did, not how you did it. Look for a change in expression and the “yeh that happened with my business” gaze. Now you ask the magic questions. “Has this ever happened to you? What happened?” And then shut up. When she is done sharing, suggest that you meet. Get her card and move on.

(Editor’s Note: I have been most successful when the person I am meeting talks first. I can then adjust my pitch to their industry by listening and asking questions. The longer she/he talks, the more I know before I speak).

Finally trigger words, “Words that may elicit negative reactions or cause you to be pigeon-holed.” Consultant, Trusted Advisor, Lawyer, IT. When I lived in L.A., Consultant usually evoked the response, “Oh job hunting.” “Lawyer? I know hundreds of lawyers.” “IT? I never understand what you guys are saying.”

Trusted Advisor? In his white paper Beyond Trusted Advisor – becoming a Trusted Asset, Bob Lambert wrote, “It’s one of the most over used terms today, it’s like the over use of paradigm in the last decade. I would suggest that ‘Trusted Advisor’ has limitations. First you can’t become a ‘Trusted Advisor’ to a prospect until they’ve determined you are a person that they can trust.”

For me the trigger words are public relations. Almost everyone thinks they understand public relations. “Oh, my mother-in-law does that! Thanks for playing!”

So what is the value of all the preparation, testing your spiel on friends (or in my case willing classmates in the Dojo)? You are ready for almost any networking situation. Your infomercial becomes natural. All the preparation and practice on family and friends forces you to think through your market and the message you are delivering.” Fortunately I have Bob, Dan and my classmates in the Dojo to bore to death

Second you are more relaxed. Your message sounds natural. You can easily adjust to your audience member. And it comes across as what you do, not what you are doing now (see consultant).

For further details on “Relevant Messages that Resonate,” contact either Dan Kreutzer or Robert Lambert or visit the Samurai Business Group website.

Spencer Maus, of SpencerConnect, is a senior-level, public relations executive. Samurai Business Group is a client and providing compensation to SpencerConnect

Samurai Business Training – Fourth Session in the Dojo – The Buying Model

When I was told our next session would cover the “Buying Model,” my visions of a field trip to study to habits of models shopping were soon dashed. Our class would focus on the human decision model, created by J.P. Guilford while at U.C.L.A, and its application to sales.

Dan Kreutzer, Sensei of Samurai Business Group, presented the process of how a prospect buys. Every decision we make is a buying decision. Most of our “buying decisions” are transactional – price, location, ease of purchase, etc. Buying coffee, toothpaste or going to work (if I show up I get paid, if I don’t buying coffee is not an option).

However, the more complex the decision, the longer the process will take. Buying coffee for the office is easy. Selecting a vendor for an ERP system is not.

Typically before meeting, the decision maker will have already identified the issues and consequences of a right or wrong decision. Going with the wrong software program, or the wrong provider, could cost the company profits and the executive her job. And a first meeting may or may not be a part of her discovery process.

No executive will meet with a sales professional, unless she has a real need (or perhaps curiosity) for the products or services that you represent. Even before you’re invited for first meeting or before it takes place, the executive will have researched and compared your company and your competition.

You need to avoid the temptation of a “brain dump” during this meeting. You must listen, ask questions, ask more questions and clarify (this will be a redundant theme). A “brain dump” or “show up and throw up” will immediately put you at a disadvantage. You will appear as an order taker and trust will be nearly impossible to gain.

In a first meeting, the critical issues, or apparent reasons for meeting will be discussed. In that meeting it is imperative to understand the apparent reasons. Ask questions and listen, and more questions, clarify and listen. To gain trust, your role is to help the executive make the right decision – which may not be what your company offers.

As you continue the discovery process with the prospect, you need to help her fully consider alternative solutions, products or perhaps services. Assume for a moment you are a corporate law attorney. A current client comes to you needing assistance with an employment matter. If this is a simple matter, law school training may have prepared you for this situation. If it is a more complex situation, perhaps a claim of sexual harassment by a terminated employee, you may want to bring in a colleague to represent the client.

The discovery “loop” of  Situation Analysis, Self Education / Gathering Information, and Considering Options(exploring alternative solutions) will be repetitive and take longer than the traditional sales models (Feature, Advantage Benefit and even Problem – Solution if done without integrity).

But when you and the prospect reach agreement on the best course of action, or best alternative  (Select “Best Fit” – aka “close”), you will have gained trust, perhaps a client and potentially further opportunities through referrals.

But your job is not finished. The Post Sale Evaluation is as important as the sale. As the solution is being provided, you must remain in contact with your client. Is the process going smoothly? Have there been any unplanned consequences you can address? After one month, six months or one year, you should ask if the product / service has performed as expected, better than expected, not met your expectations? What adjustments need to be made?

Again, the more questions asked, the better you can present alternatives, aid the prospect and make the right decision.

For further details on the buying model, please contact either Dan Kreutzer or Robert Lambert or visit the Samurai Business Group website.

Spencer Maus, of SpencerConnect, is a senior-level, public relations executive. Samurai Business Group is a client and providing compensation to SpencerConnect.

Networking is the “Cold Call” of the 21st Century

A mainstay in the sales toolbox, cold calling, just doesn’t work anymore. Three major social changes are the cause:

1) The High-Stress Lifestyle

We juggle work pressures, family responsibilities, and community commitments 24/7/365. In between, we fight the traffic, gobble fast food, and multi-task our days away. All this adds up to stress—89% of Americans report that they often experience high levels of stress.

In this type of atmosphere, how does the average business person look upon a cold call? At best as an interruption they can quash quickly; at worst, with anger. People don’t feel they can afford to be interrupted by people they don’t know. We just don’t have the time.

2) The High-Tech Barrier

Cell phones. Email. Myspace. Text messaging. All these technological innovations claim to help us keep in touch with other people. But do they? A recent study reported that the average American has just two close friends and 25% have none.

More and more, we use technology to keep people away from us. We screen our phone calls and filter our emails. “Cost-effective,” technology-based approaches just don’t work anymore. When the “Do Not Call” national registry was established it virtually eliminated cold calling to millions of consumers and remains wildly popular.

3) The High-Risk Economy

Americans have been buffeted by wave after wave of frightening news:

• 9/11 made people anxious for their personal safety and the latest headlines don’t indicate any slowdown in terrorist activity.

• The stock market meltdown made people worried about their financial security and stocks still don’t show signs of a roaring comeback.

• Job security is a concern—everyone knows someone who’s been let go. Many are afraid that if they make a mistake at work, they’ll be next.

• As we learned from Katrina, natural disasters can strike anytime and you can’t count on the government to help you.

• Many of the other societal institutions that we trusted, like businesses, churches, and charitable organizations, have been rocked by scandals and mismanagement.

The High-Trust Approach

So, how does a sales person overcome a high-stress, high-tech, high-risk environment? Only through high trust.

• Trust overcomes stress: I’ll make time for you because I know you.

• Trust overcomes technology: I’ll take your call because I like you.

• Trust overcomes risk: I’ll do business with you because I can depend on you.

The first step to high-trust relationships is getting to know people. Networking is how you meet them. Once they know and like you, they have reason to assume you might be able to help them and will grant you some of their precious time—time they won’t grant to strangers.

In today’s environment, personal relationships are the key to successful selling. Networking is the first step to a high-trust, relationship-based approach to selling. Forget cold-calling—it’s so last century.

Until Next Time…

Putting the Win Back In Your Sales-

Dan

DAN KREUTZER is an accomplished sales executive, sales trainer, author, speaker, and a Partner of Samurai Business Group, LLC. He has extensive expertise in business development, product and service marketing, and strategic leadership. Dan is a sharp and intuitive student of human behavior, and has fused his observations with a deep knowledge of sales culture to design the Samurai Sales Mastery™ programs. His book, “How to Put the WIN Back in Your SALES,” seeks to shatter the myths associated with traditional selling, and raise the level of professionalism in today’s salespeople.