Is Your Elevator Pitch Taking You Up or Down?

You’re at a networking event, holiday party, or in the proverbial elevator. “So, what do you do?” your companion asks. Your answer can lift you to the penthouse suite or dump you into the sub-basement.

Get In the Door

You answer, “I’m an account manager with ABC Insurance. We’re the largest insurance company in the world. We sell life, health, and home insurance.”

The proverbial door has just closed in your face. Your companion has tagged you as uninteresting or worse. You may talk some more, but it’s unlikely that anything following this type of opening will get though.

Remember: you are irrelevant, your products are irrelevant, your company is irrelevant. Only your audience is relevant. Take the focus off you and turn it to them. What are their worries? Aspirations? How can they relate to your business?

The account manager above would be better off saying, “We take care of the unexpected, keeping you from worry about becoming a bag lady” or “We take care of you, so you can make that golf course retirement a reality.” A bold statement gets you in the door.

Take the Express

For even more audience engagement, tell a story. “I just spoke with a husband and wife who lost their home, everything they had. They had to move in with her sister’s family to get by. Can you imagine how awful that must be?” These types of stories get imaginations going, driving the desire to know how they can avoid the same fate.

You can also talk about points of distinction, what makes you better than everyone else. For example, “We’re different because we guarantee results.” Similar to a story, true distinctions raise the curiosity factor. You can also phrase distinctions as a question, such as “Would you like to double your sales next year?” People are naturally curious as to how you can back up such claims. They wonder and want to find out more.

Don’t Hit the Stop Button

Beware overused words, like “financial planning,” “insurance,” “IT,” or “consulting.” These are trigger words that get you lumped in with the 5000 other people who use the same words. We are a pattern-matching species. Once you are figured out and pigeon-holed, your audience is mentally gone.

Instead, explain what you do for people. “We help make sure your kids can go to college.” “We work with people who face shrinking margins and get them a healthy balance sheet.” It’s OK to state your business in either narrow or broad terms. You are not like those 5000 other people in your industry, so you don’t want to sound like it.

Your Choice: Punch It Up or Down

An elevator pitch listing features and benefits is always going down. To go up, speak to the buyer’s world. Target your best prospects: What’s their life like? What are their struggles? Develop a one-minute infomercial that engages them while avoiding trigger words. Practice it. Time it. Refine it.

Then close by looking for interest. “Does any of this make sense to you?” If yes, you’ve scored a hit. With a little more investigation, you can identify if your companion is a prospect. If so, you can ask to get together and talk about their issue. This gives you a built-in reason for a meeting. It’s not a sales call. It’s problem solving. And solving problems for your prospects is a sure way up.  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.

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

Too often, networking is a complete waste of time. People sign up for all kinds of networking events, attend morning, noon, and night, and think they are accomplishing something. But if you are not getting profitable business from these events, it’s time to stop and reevaluate. You may be joining the wrong groups, working the wrong events, or talking to the wrong people.

The wrong groups

Many people become members of the local chamber of commerce or professional association because it’s nearby, they know someone there, or it seems like the right thing to do. Don’t join organizations lightly. The only reason to join a business organization is to do business. The people you want to do business with are people in your target market. If the organization does not contain a high percentage of people in your ideal prospect set, you are in the wrong group.

There are thousands of groups to choose from. The Directory of Associations contains 35,000 entries, from Alumni organizations to Zoological societies. Your best bet to find the right ones is to start asking. Ask your customers and prospects what groups they belong to. Ask people you know who move in the circles you want to get to. Consider MBA clubs, president forums, and venture capitalist groups—places where decision makers go.

The only way to know whether your networking is paying off is to track where your business is coming from.

The wrong events

Once your have the right group, choose the right events. The holiday party, with lots of spouses in attendance, may not be conducive to business discussions. Similarly, an event in a nightclub may actually preclude the ability to speak without shouting. If you are there to do business and no one else is, you are in the wrong place.

Your personal abilities and style may also rule out certain events. A golf outing may hurt you in the eyes of a prospect if you don’t know the rules or play poorly. You may think a “speed networking” event would enable you meet a lot of prospects, but the forced pace may not suit you or appeal to your target client.

The wrong people

Once you get into the right group at the right event, the next step is to talk to the right people. Too many networkers get embroiled in conversations with friends or acquaintances during these events and never even meet a real prospect.

To ensure you don’t fall into this trap, don’t go without a plan. For example, your plan may be to find five people worth following up with. Walk around introducing yourself, spending no more than 3-5 minutes with each person. At the end of that time, you’ll know if they are a prospect or not. If they are, gain their agreement to talk outside the event and move on. Continue until you have identified your five prospects. Then you can relax, catch up with friends, and enjoy yourself.

The right way is the way that pays

The only way to know whether your networking is paying off is to track where your business is coming from. Each time you close a client, document how you met them. After a few months, it should become clear which activities are most productive. If you went to three chamber meetings and got business each time, perhaps you should spend even more time there. If you’re having a hard time finding prospects, it’s time to leave.

If you’re somewhere in between, analyze your return on invested time (ROIT). Time is the most precious thing a salesperson has. Only you can determine if the amount of time you are spending networking is producing enough business to make it worth your while. Are there other ways of spending your time that could produce a higher payoff? Move to maximize your ROIT.

Networking is not a popularity contest—it’s business. No matter how friendly and fun the people are, if you are not doing business, you’re losing business.

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.

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.

If You’re In a Hole, Stop Digging

When sales people miss their numbers, they are often told they need to work harder. A guy I know was making 200 cold calls a week. When he reported not getting any appointments, his manager told him to make 400 calls.

This makes no sense. If what you’re doing isn’t working, why continue to do it? Even worse, why do more of it?

What if the “tried and true” is no longer true and what I believe produced big sales was really not a significant factor anymore.

Stop Living In the Past

Some of us keep digging because that’s what worked in the past. We cling to our memories of victory, thinking that digging faster or more efficiently will make the magic happen again.

But times change, markets change, players change, and technology changes. Maybe the “tried and true” is no longer true. Maybe what I believe produced big sales was really not a significant factor. Maybe the shovel I’m using is just wrong for the current job.

Stop Avoiding Pain

Humans are habitual creatures, and it’s easy to stay in your comfort zone, even if it’s standing in the way of your success. Change is painful, and only when the pain of the on-going situation overcomes the pain of change, will most people make something happen.

It takes courage to face our own failure, to decide that we’re the ones that need to change. Instead of blaming others, circumstances, or fate, choose to stand up and take control. Make your own fate.

Stop the Cycle

We can also get caught in the press of daily activities, never taking time to step back and analyze our situation. We begin a cycle of working harder to get better results, falling short of our target, resolving to work even harder, and on and on.

If you feel that you’re running in circles, stop. Step outside your circle and look around. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and brainstorm reasons why your current approach isn’t working. Share your reasons with others and really listen to their responses. Clear your head of pre-conceived notions and substitute fresh ideas.

Start Something New

Thomas Edison went through 1000 variations before inventing the light bulb. You aren’t going to come up with the perfect sales approach just by thinking about it. Experimentation is required.

You have nothing to lose. Your only two options are 1) keep doing what you’re doing and keep getting what you got, or 2) try something different. Gather your courage. Figure out what needs to be changed and change it. Use that shovel to climb out of the hole. Identify the other tools you have at your disposal and begin building up and out.

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.

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.

What Do You Expect from a Guy with a Wooden Leg?

The most formidable barrier to success is low expectations based on a restrictive self image. These perceptions about yourself and your abilities limit what you will ultimately achieve. And you will always find a way to avoid taking responsibility for what happens to you.

As a Sales Manager, if my people were not delivering results, I always asked why. An amazing assortment of excuses often poured out, everything from the competition to the weather. I once was standing on the corner of 34^th and Park Avenue in New York City and was told “We don’t have enough leads.” I looked around in stunned disbelief at the towering office buildings, packed with prospects, knowing that another of our sales groups, located in Des Moines Iowa, would bring in 50% more revenue.

It’s human nature to rationalize what happens to us. And when things go badly, it’s easy to blame everyone and everything except ourselves. The problem is that when it’s someone else’s fault, you have no reason to change, to improve. You feel trapped by circumstances beyond your control. You have a self-defeating mindset.

It’s human nature to rationalize what happens to us. And when things go badly, it’s easy to blame everyone and everything except ourselves.

Recognizing Your Mindset

How many of these traits do you recognize?

• Self-defeaters play the blame game. The other guy is just lucky. Besides, he has a better territory and is the boss’ pet.

• Self-defeaters lack confidence. They low-ball proposals, only close small deals, and never meet with C-levels (CEOs, COOs, CFOs, etc.), just purchasing agents and managers.

• Self-defeaters take business personally. Rejection that’s just a normal part of the game becomes an indictment of who they are. “Nobody likes me” or “I’m just not good at this” are part of their repertoire.

While interviewing a guy for a sales job in St. Louis, I asked him how much he would like to earn that year. He should have been thinking $100-125K. He tells me that he was making $45K as a programmer, so he hoped to make $50K. I immediately knew we had a problem. His image of himself was a $50K guy and he would behave in a way that would get him there, but no further. That would reinforce his image of himself, which would reinforce his behavior, in a continuous cycle.

Breaking the Cycle

Dr. Benjamin Bloom of the University of Chicago studied one hundred extraordinarily successful young athletes, musicians, and students. He was surprised to find that most of the young prodigies didn’t begin by showing great flashes of brilliance.

Instead, most received careful attention, guidance, and support, and then they began to develop. The belief that they could be special came before any overt signs of great talent.

It’s the same with any great result. You have to internalize your image as a winner before you can truly become one.

Developing Your Image

Here are three proven ways to build a winner’s mindset:

• Do something that burns a positive image of yourself in your mind. Go out of your way to help someone, volunteer in your community, spend more time with your family, whatever would make you feel good about yourself. Rinse. Repeat.

• Develop a support team that roots for your success. Find even just one person who cares about you and tell them that you want to change your mindset. It could be a mentor, a relative, a friend, anyone who will listen and encourage your efforts.

• Make a conscious choice to believe in yourself. Start every day with a positive statement of what you will accomplish. Whenever you catch yourself in negative self-talk, stop and substitute a confident message. For example, if you’ve made cold calls all day, but didn’t get a single appointment, say: “I did a great job calling 20 people today. It’s taken me that much closer to my next sale.”

Winning Attitudes Win

A lack of confidence devastates sales. It doesn’t matter if you think you will win the deal or lose the deal, you’re absolutely right. If you don’t believe that you are as valuable a human being as the executive across from you, she’ll reject you instinctively. The only way to not let them smell your fear is to have none.

To win at sales, develop the attitude of champions—confidence in yourself. And by the way, if you’ve got a wooden leg, show it off. Be creative. Think of a way to turn it into a sales asset. That’s how winners do it.

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.

If You Build It, Will They Come???

This may work in a movie about a baseball diamond in Iowa. But when it comes to selling products or services in the real world, it’s a different story.

The Setup…

By necessity, sales people have to learn the many features of what they sell. Most sales training revolves around what the product or service does. Sales collateral and presentations come out of the marketing department packed with bulleted lists and feature descriptions.

The result: many sales people fall in love. In love with every detail, every nuance of what they have to offer.

The Pitch…

After learning all they can, sales people naturally look forward to broadcasting their knowledge; especially anything they think is “cool” or “unique.” Most sales people believe all they have to do is tell prospects about all these great features and their job is done.

The Miss…

This rarely, if ever, works. Prospects are not interested in being blinded by a blizzard of features. Prospects only want to know what you can do for them, right now, to make their lives better.

When little, if any, thought has been given to how the product/service could be used for the customer’s benefit, the sales person has walked to the mound completely unprepared for the game. Without understanding the prospect’s perceptions and motivations it’s quite unlikely a connection will be made. If you do happen to get a hit this way, it’s an accident.

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.