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 – Sixth Session in the Dojo (part 1) – “I hear voices!”

Your meeting with your newest prospect begins and you’re having a great conversations. That is not a typo. Whether you are aware of it or not, in every meeting there are at least three conversations taking place. You and the prospect. You with you. The prospect with himself.

Since you were a child, and through college, we have been programmed to listen to our inner voice to answer teacher’s questions, think of questions and in general participate in class to improve our grade. Now that we are in the business world, our well trained “inner voice” keeps participating.

During meetings with prospects and clients, we listen intently to two voices; that of the prospect and our inner voice. “I know the solution!” “You have examples of success! Tell him about the Samurai Capital account!”  “Stop talking so I can tell you all the great things we have done!”  “OOO, pick me, pick me I have the answer!”

The prospect’s inner voice is also talking to him. “Man, this is going to blow out our budget?” Won’t this guy shut up so I can tell him what I really need?” “I wonder when Sue and Tim are going to lunch.”

So what’s a “parent” to do and can we learn to control or just live with this “child?”

First, as Sensei Dan Kreutzer of the Samurai Business Group pointed out, there are three, distinct levels of participation by our inner voices. As programmed, your inner voice takes over. You are distracted from what the prospect is saying. You are spending more time listening to the inner voice, and only hear pieces of the valuable information the prospect is sharing.

The second level is when the inner voice keeps interrupting with answers to the prospects needs, but you are able to quickly return to listening to the prospect. And third, you’ve told the inner voice to “shut up and be quiet.” You continue to focus on the prospect and what he has to say.

So the solution is to just have a conversation. Huh? Leave the sales mode. And just talk. It sounds simple. But if you simply shut up and focus on listening and having a normal conversation, you can move the prospect from the fear of “being sold” and into discussing his compelling reasons. Then you will gather the information needed to present solutions at a follow-up meeting.

OK, now you’re saying it can’t be that simple. Alright, here are a couple of tricks I use to maintain focus on the prospect. First, I invite my inner voice to join the conversation (“Right, are you off your meds?”). I have my inner voice repeat verbatim what the prospect is saying. To do that takes real focus. The other trick is to write down the questions and key points my inner voice wants to ask. When the prospect has finished talking, I ask questions, confirm key points and satisfy my inner voice.

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.

Are You Wasting Your Time on RFP’s?

Many of us have received Requests for Proposals (RFP’s). Most corporations and all government agencies require multiple bids for large projects. RFP’s are sent to selected corporations. Bids are reviewed and a winner is selected.

For many businesses RFP’s are an important element for generating new business. Corporate teams spend hours on research, preparation and writing, submitting and then waiting for the good or bad news.

In many cases, success can be minimal. The team has submitted the perfect proposal. Every section has been thoroughly discussed. Your company’s products or services are a perfect fit for the needs outlined in the request

However, the winner may have been pre-selected. It could be a company that has always delivered great results. It could be that project manager plays golf with the CEO. Or you may have been suggested by your competition, in order to meet with policies or laws.

So how can you determine if it is a true open competition, or if you are “window dressing” to provide the appearance of fair and open process?

Dan Kreutzer, a managing partner of the Samurai Business Group, offers students a few suggestions. Does the RFP provide contact information and an invitation to call with questions? If not, your proposal may not be seriously considered. If you are invited to call with questions, you call, leave numerous voice mail messages without return calls, this may not be a fair competition.

If you do get the contact on the phone, first ask “How did you get my name?” If it was a referral, ask “who referred me so I can thank them?” If the corporate contact says he would prefer not providing a name, odds are it was your competition. If it was via a Google search, you may or may not be in a rigged beauty contest.

Next ask if you can discuss the RFP in person.  If that is impractical, ask if the contact has time or can schedule a time. If the answer is “all the information you need is in the RFP and on our website,” again this could be a waste of valuable, business development time.

However, if you are provided the name of a referrer and a quality meeting or phone conversation occurs, you are in a fair RFP competition. And one final tip. At the end of your RFP, include legal language that the information in RFP cannot be shared with anyone outside of the corporation requesting your bid. It may not prevent your bid from being shared with competition, but it may give pause to the corporate contact.

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 – Fifth Session in the Dojo – Why They Buy

You rarely hear anyone say, “I’m going out today to be sold a new car!” Or someone in the office sending out a memo saying, “We need to be sold a new server. Our current server is not sufficient.”

Yes, we have been sold. But if the truth is told, we were planning to buy. So why do prospects buy? Robert Lambert, Sensei of the Samurai Business Group, led as we continued our path to Mastery on the Fifth Day in the Dojo.

So why do people buy from you, me or Bob Lambert? Spoiler alert – because we answer the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) question. That’s it! You’re now trained to sell. Well, maybe not. The hard part is getting to WIIFM.

You get a referral to the CIO of Samurai Aeronautics, LTD. Having completed the Samurai Sales Mastery series you listen intently as the CIO provides the Apparent Reasons for the meeting. The company’s servers are five years old, tech support is non-existent and she is considering either adding additional servers or replacing the entire system.

During the meeting, you uncover the Underlying Causes. A great deal of the CIO’s time is responding to complaints and system problems from aeronautic engineers, office support staff and finally the executive suite. “Not only are our computers slow, but seems like the servers are down more than they’re up.” (PAIN)

You then begin asking a lot of questions. A LOT OF QUESTIONS. “Have you considered integrating additional servers? Can you upgrade your servers working with your current vendor? Are there other systems that can effectively integrate with your current servers?”

As you continue the conversation, Ms. CIO says she has other concerns. There is the projected growth of the company. The future needs for storage, and she can’t store information off site due the security issues. And other members in the “C-Suite” want to not only have the best current technology, but the ability to upgrade in the future. And there are budgetary constraints. (FEAR)

She wants a system that is reliable, secure and easily upgradable, with minimum cost. (GAIN)

As you work through the process of providing the solution, you provide options and alternatives. You research upgrades and costs for her current system. Your firm provides servers that can integrate with her current servers. And your firm will provide easy migration and 24/7 technical support for the entire system – your company’s servers and those currently on site. And using your servers, you can easily expand the system as the company grows.

The WIIFM? She wants to look good in the eyes of the corporate president. Through your work, she does. And you do to!

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.

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.

Will the Mystery Guest Please Sign In?

During the sales process, if a person you don’t know appears on the scene, STOP EVERYTHING until you find out who they are, what role they’re playing, and what is important to them.

Sometimes the mystery guest appears in person, other times only by reference.

For example, you might be discussing the decision process. “…then, we just have to pass it by Jack,” you are told. “Jack” could be legal, accounting, finance, the board, a family member, or someone else you never would have imagined being involved.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain

Often, you will hear that you don’t need to worry about Jack. “Jack just rubber stamps the decisions we make” or “Jack is already on board” or “Jack doesn’t play a big role.”

Start worrying. If Jack touches the decision process in any way, he’s there for a reason. It’s your job to find out what it is and ensure Jack’s approval. Play detective and gather all the clues you can. Jack’s history, attitudes, and drivers are all pertinent to your sale.

Meet with Jack if at all possible. Suggest that you go along with your contact to discuss your proposal with Jack. You’ll be there to help with the presentation and answer any questions as well as learn more about Jack.

If you can’t meet with Jack, your next best move is to prepare your contact to fight on your behalf. Don’t assume they will be able to make your case. A good preparation method is to play the “What If” game. Keep asking questions like “What if they say no?” “What if they ask about…?” “What if they delay?” until you feel comfortable with the responses.

During the sales process, if a person you don’t know appears on the scene, STOP EVERYTHING until you find out who they are, what role they’re playing, and what is important to them.

Guess who’s come to dinner

Sometimes the mystery guest appears in person. You walk into a meeting and are told “Jack is just sitting in.” Don’t be fooled. Jack could easily be holding a candlestick and waiting to clobber you. One time I was about to do a big presentation and found out one of the attendees was my biggest competitor!

Table your agenda and start the questions. “What’s your role in this project?” “What do you already know about it?” “Anything particular you are looking for?” “What did you want to come away with today?”

Based on Jack’s answers, you have a decision to make. If Jack seems conducive to your agenda, you can cautiously proceed. But if Jack hints at ulterior motives or would take the meeting in a direction you are unprepared for, make a strategic retreat. It’s better to fall back, regroup, and make your presentation another day than to go ahead and risk losing everything.

Opportunity plus motive equals a dead sale

The Jacks of the world shoot down sales every day. Too often, sales people hear about Jack, but do nothing. Take control of the situation. Work actively to understand Jack and bring him over to your side. Don’t let the sale get away because you don’t know Jack.

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.