The Key to Sales Success - Listening

The Key to Sales Success
By Brian Tracy

A vital key to sales success is listening

Learn to Listen Well
A vital key to sales success is listening. The ability to listen well is absolutely indispensable for success in all human relationships. The ability to be a good listener in a sales conversation is the foundation of the new model of selling. It leads to easier sales, higher earnings and greater enjoyment from the sales profession.

Being A Good Talker is Not Enough
Many salespeople have been brought up with the idea that, in order to be good at your profession, you must be a glad-hander and a good talker. You have even heard people say, "You have the 'gift of the gab'; you should be in sales!"

Focus On the Other Person
Nothing could be further from the truth. As many as seventy five percent of all top salespeople are defined as introverts on psychological tests. They are very easy going and other-centered. They would much rather listen than talk. They are very interested in the thoughts and feelings of other people and they are quite comfortable sitting and listening to their prospects. They would much rather listen than talk in a sales situation. Poor salespeople dominate the talking, but top salespeople dominate the listening.

Practice "White Magic" With Everyone
Listening has even been called "white magic." It is too rarely engaged in by business people. When a salesperson develops a reputation for being an excellent listener, prospects and customers feel comfortable and secure in his or her presence. They buy more readily, and more often.

Practice the 70/30 Rule
You've heard it said that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and he is supposed to use them in that proportion.Top salespeople practice the "70/30 rule." They talk and ask questions 30 percent or less of the time while they listen intently to their customers 70 percent or more of the time. They use their ears and mouth in the right ratio.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. First, resolve today that, from now on, you are going to dominate the listening in every sales conversation. Become comfortable with silence.
2. Second, practice the 70/30 rule in every sales conversation. Listen 70% of the time and only talk and ask questions 30% of the time.

Wise words by Brian Tracy...

Why you can’t live without a 90 day sales plan…

Why you can’t live without a 90 day sales plan…

It’s true. Every top producing rep I talk to has in some way shape or form a 90 day plan that outlines a couple of very key things. We’ll get into those in a minute.

Sales Manager / Profit Center Manager:
“Why 90 days, when I have to do a budget for the whole year?”

Simple – creating a budget is a critically important for the health of a business and budgets are typically designed to hit an over all expense number subtracted from an over all revenue number to give you an over all profit number. We’re then asked as managers to come up with metrics of opened orders and closed orders to “figure out” the revenue on a monthly basis. This is absolutely reasonable if you just stick with the big picture and use it as a management tool to ENABLE your sales reps to plan for themselves quarterly while allowing them to adjust for seasonal and market conditions.

Sales Rep:
“Why do I have to plan if my boss has already done the budget?"

Budgets and 90 day sales plans are two entirely different things that sometimes get lumped together. In simplified terms; budgets for our business or sales team project where revenue and expenses will be and how we’re allocating each to hit a profitability number (basically why we’re in business). 90 day sales plans identify both business metrics that an individual wants to hit in the next 90 days AS WELL AS what that individual will do to get there.

Function:
The function of a 90 day sales plan is for a rep to clearly articulate what results they want (I work backwards from how much commission I want to make this year, break it down to quarters, then figure out how many open deals I need based on my book of business – see the post that more clearly explains how to do that…) AND to help that rep define the activities that he or she knows can bring them results.

Here are some examples for both results and activities:

Results

• Open Orders
• Closed Orders
• Revenue
• Market-share
• Commission

Activities

• Asking for referrals
• Face to face appointments with prospects
• Business review meetings with customers
• Asking for orders
• Conversations with prospects

As sales or marketing reps we should be diligent about creating a 90 day plan every quarter, and commit to tracking what’s working and what’s not working so we can focus on DOING the things we know and have directly experienced in getting us new customers or more revenue. Commit to a minimum activity for each week, because at the end of the day – it’s the ACTIVITY that gets you the results, not just saying I want the results to happen.

By being diligent in creating a 90 day plan and keeping track of your activities, you’ll emulate the top producers both inside and outside our industry. Visit our RightNow eStore for a free download of the template of the 90 day sales plan we use in the real estate services industry. It is provided as a free Excel download, with permission to modify and use.
http://www.rightnowconsulting.com/store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=4&pg=1

Happy Selling!

Do you have a Sales Process?

Ask yourself this question: "How would I describe the process I use to develop a prospect into a client in a step by step manner?". Most marketing and sales reps I ask this question of have vague answers to this question and in many cases - top sales reps do have a process that they haven't clearly defined for themselves.


My position is simple: If you have a sales process, the process alone will help you win more business. Having a process allows you as a rep, sales manager, or president of a company clearly define what activities are required to move a prospect through the sales cycle. Once that is done you just have to commit to doing those activities that you know yeild results.

Here is the sales process I use in our industry - although it relates outside our business as well.

We're creating a set of "Audio Boosts" in the next few months that will delve into each step of this process more indepth and will be available at our website - the link is also to your right.

Basically, imagine $$$ at the top of this pyramid and the foundation which it sits is your 90-day sales plan (see previous post to see what that means). You will work your prospects step by step hitting each milestone along the way until you've reached the top.

A sales process in itself is not rocket science. Sticking to one and holding yourself accountable to activities that help a majority of your prospects move through the process is where great sales people distiguish themselves. If you have a need get a coach, leverage your sales manager and above all, have fun doing this!

Happy selling...

Find Me Some Buyers...

We’ve heard this very comment countless times in the last 60 days, perhaps more notably in the Western United States, as the market continues to shift. The average days-on-market is longer. There are more houses on the market. And, the tables have turned in favor of the “all mighty buyer.” The market has shifted, and this inevitably means for some, on its way back to ‘normal.’


As Title Sales Professionals, what can we really do as real estate ‘Business Consultants’? Do Realtors actually expect us to pull buyers out of our pockets and hand them over? The answer is undoubtedly, ‘no’.


Remember, in the last 60 days, Average Joe Real Estate Agent has communicated more than ever with his/her clients (on the listing side) explaining why their house hasn’t yet sold.
This is commonly due to two things:

1. A shift in market inventory, creating more cost pressure - a.k.a. "Improperly Priced Home,"


2. High Expectations set by their clients from past market performance, combined with lack of evidence - a.k.a. "Comps are Reinforcing High Prices."

Feels like all buyers have fallen off the face of the earth. In ANY given market, there are plenty of buyers for properly priced homes.

We are most likely using the same marketing techniques that have worked for the last 5 years. And so are our Realtor clients. Today is a different market, and sometimes a different market requires us to change some of the ways we look at our business and how we do things. (Please note: I said, some, not all).

SO, Where ARE the Buyers? As a valued business partner in your client’s success, here are a few key topics of discussion with around finding more buyers…How are you….

How are you...Communicating with Your Clients?

• Pricing in general - methods thereof
• Communication around current listings and price adjustments, if needed
• Expectation setting with future listing clients

How are you . . .Marketing the Property to Buyers?

• Increasing the sales price of a home – lot’s of articles attached
  What is the profile of the buyer?
• Where are you looking for buyers (Is it strategic? Is there a plan?)
• Positioning the property in the market to be more appealing to buyers

How are you . . .Pricing a Listing?

• Methods of pricing (comps, other agents, brokers, etc..)
• Research (Are there other homes out there that fit the profile in the same neighborhood?)

Where can you . . .Find more Buyers? Ask yourself “Who needs to buy Right Now?”

• People that are relocating. Get a contact list of all HR departments of large companies in your territory.
• People with kids entering high school - school district lock down.
• People with kids entering college - downsizing.
• People with 3/5/7/10 year ARMs
• Investors with 4+ properties - not the onsie/twosie-types

I hate to say this one, but here it goes…..

• People that are dividing assets through a divorce or estate. Marketing to divorce attorneys for referrals.

Five articles I found in 5 minutes researching “How to increase the sales price of a home”, and “Why not to lower it (if it’s a fair price)?”, and “What the percentage return you can get if you decide to spend the money to make improvements.”

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/BuyerGuide2004/increase-resale1.asp

http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Checklist-Increase-the-Potential-Sale-Price-of-Your-Home.10494.html

http://www.reiclub.com/articles/never-reduce-sales-price

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fa9mpwbab.0.0.7qs4zobab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Fmoneycentral.msn.com%2Fcontent%2FBanking%2FHomebuyingguide%2FP84657.asphttp://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fa9mpwbab.0.0.7qs4zobab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Flala.essortment.com%2Fincreasehome_rwli.htm

We are not expected to have all the answers – the key herein lies in asking your clients the right questions. All of the possible, unique, individual, customized solutions to this ‘Problem of Buyers’ are already in your clients’ heads. YOU just have to pick their brain to help them get it. Asking the right questions, armed with the right information from the articles above will help you do just that.

Remember, your overarching goal is to help your clients build their business in a way they see as meaningful. In this next 60 days, try focusing on what they are telling YOU. It is NOT ‘not enough buyers’, it is in empowering your clients and prospects knowing where to find them.

Try this out to get some appointments:

"My goal for all my clients this quarter is to help them position themselves in this market to capture a greater share of the buyers that are out there. Is that worth sitting down for 30 mintues to talk about and see if there is some way I can add value to your business?"

Good luck out there, I know it's tough...

Top 10 Golden Rules to Selling to Realtors - or just about anybody

Top 10 Golden Rules to Selling to Realtors - or just about anybody...

So how can you differentiate yourself from your competition? Stop being a salesperson! Instead, become a valued business partner or consultant to your clients. It all starts with making YOUR top priority knowing what THEIR top priority is ~ to increase their business, or a way to improve their business by working less. You are bringing VALUE to them. A consultant advises after listening and obtaining facts. A consultant is knowledgeable and worthy of respect. A consultant’s customer doesn’t want what they have - s/he wants what they know. This is what today’s salesperson must become.

Below are a few of the top Golden Rules of Selling to Realtors which may put you in the correct mindset moving forward:

1. Know who you are, and how YOU want to be perceived.


2. Limit your target list to no more than 40 contacts and update every 30 days.


3. Focus, focus, focus.


4. Set up formal appointments. Don't perform drive-by sellings.


5. Never make a call without a purpose. Provide value.


6. Interview prospects to educate yourself, not to close the sale. Since you don’t know if you can help..get more info and be a consultant to set up the next appointment.


7. Intend to understand what it is the customer wants, rather than “sell” your services and products.


8. Never tell a customer what to do, or what they want.


9. Focus on after-sale fulfillment, communication, and service issues to build customers-for-life.


10. Look for opportunities to evolve or expand with your customer. The second you take your customer for granted, they become vulnerable. Meet with them once per month in a business setting to re-evaluate your service levels.

Sales is about perseverance. Typically, the most fear-inspiring realtor, lender or attorney in the office is the one you should be talking to. It will take creativity and tenacity to get time in front of them and likely he/she thinks you are just like every other title rep or lender. As General Patton said- "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

So persevere, and be courageous. Apply what you’ve learned and blow away your competition by setting a higher industry standard.

Happy Selling!

Working By Interview

Working By Interview

As you think about the clients you interact with, especially top producers, notice that those that are extremely busy and value their time, tend to be driven by scheduling. When we work by appointment / interview ONLY, we communicate to those we are working with that our time is as valuable as theirs. (look at other professionals that work by appointment, Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, etc…)

I understand that there are times when we absolutely have to do things for our customers RIGHT NOW! I’m not suggesting that you put off an important client with an immediate need. What I am suggesting is that when working with a new Prospect, use scheduling to create perceived value. By showing our Prospects that we can and will be available at their beck and call, we set an unproductive precedence which will permeate the relationship going forward.
By now, you’re probably getting pretty good at getting interviews with your Top Prospects – if you want to know how to get these appointments, email us at info@rightnowconsulting.com .

Once you’re on these interviews, it is important to remember that you are using a new method of uncovering needs and determining if there is a possibility of a mutually beneficial relationship. Resist the urge to present a solution during the first meeting. Remember, your prospects are more interested in how well you understand their needs BEFORE they are concerned with how well you know your products.














Beginning and Ending Interviews and Conversational Questioning.

Beginning the interview

1. Build rapport
2. Restate your Value Statement
3. Establish joing confidentiality
4. State your goal for the interview
5. Ask if the agent has a goal for the interview. Or, perhaps a qualifying question such as,
6. "How will you know if this was a successful interview?"

Start with a kick-off question (unique to the customer and/or focused on past successes) – see my other post on asking great questions

Conversational Questioning Steps

1. Ask a baseline question to introduce a topic
2. Continue with at least two follow-up questions to explore key points raised by the customer
3. Summarize what you heard regarding that topic
4. Check for the customer's agreement
   

Ending the Interview

1. Summarize the interview
2. Re-establish your desire for a business relationship
3. Confirm the need and specify next steps
4. Ask a Relationship Definition Question
5. Arrange for the next appointment

Put some structure to the way you interact in your face to face appointments with both your prospects and clients - you'll be surprised at the reaction you get.

I'll elaborate further on each as I get comments from you.

Happy selling!

Ride-Time for Sales Managers

It's Time to Be Seen
It is 2008. Where has the time gone? With a New Year already upon us, it is time to venture out from behind our desks and be seen. Not only should you be seen by those beyond the security of your own office, more importantly, it is time to get out there and visit your customers.

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
It's funny when you overhear discussions about sales management. Most of the time, these discussions are centered around a few key things. There is the tendency for upper level management to want more accountability and measurable results from the sales effort. The sales manager is caught between their boss, who wants to quantify sales results, and their salespeople, who sometimes struggle (as we all often do) to turn in an expense report on time. Frustrated, sales managers exhaustively find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. The goal is hardly worth the punishment

The One Single Thing
OK, so what’s the point? The point is, the most important subject gets lost in the shuffle. I know it’s hard to imagine there is anything more critical to sales management than accountability or keeping up with the competition. Even though sales reports seem like the Holy Grail of sales management, there is something more important to the process. There is a secret, a hidden treasure of the successful sales managers of the world. The bizarre thing is that the secret is what made you successful when you were a top-notch salesperson in the first place. The secret is simply this: Spending more time in the field talking to customers is more important than any other single thing you do. Period.

You’re probably scratching your head. You might be thinking, "isn’t that what I have salespeople for?" Well, yes, and no. Yes, your salespeople do a good job at developing and maintaining relationships on a daily basis. But, you don’t have to be everywhere and do everything for everyone, as much as it often feels that way. When you are in the field with customers, a lot of really important things happen. Let’s look at some of them in a little more detail.

Benefits of Field Time
As sales management, when you call on customers, you get a different level of interest. It’s amazing what a little 'perceived' power will do for your sales process. The title on your business card will give your access to people, places, and issues others will never be a part of. It’s not until you’ve been invited inside do you realize the opportunity had been there all along.
You should be going out in the field with your salespeople a minimum of once per quarter, using a call route you design. Here’s why. Seeing your rep in action gives you a chance to experience their strengths (and weaknesses?) first hand. It gives you the ability to make recommendations, offer encouragement and give compliments when you catch them doing something right.
Your field call schedule should include the big offices or top producers you want to your reps to be targeting. Offer pointers and help support the interaction; either way, you’ll both learn something.

This also allows you get a great sense of the salespersons’ work habits, how well-known they are, and how dominant your company is in the territory. In general, your rep’s value to the customer will become very apparent. Do the receptionists seem to know the rep? What about the top producers? Do they acknowledge the salesperson? Does the rep introduce you warmly to people they clearly have already met? Has the rep figured out how to get behind the iron curtain in closed offices? Answers to these questions will truly help you to gauge their effectiveness, something that can only be expressed first hand.

Staying In Touch
Being in the field allows you to stay in constant touch with customer opportunities and needs. When you are busy running sales meetings, having endless internal conversations, handling customer calls, and attending meetings, it’s easy to make the mistake of relying on salespeople to supply you with information about competitors, customers, and the market in general. It isn’t that the information they provide you isn't important, it’s just that outside observations will be from their frame of reference. It won’t (in most cases) be “global” enough. The goals of outside conversations for a sales manager might not be the same as the salesperson. Asking existing and prospective customers about their views of the market place, about your competition, about their business challenges, and their views of opportunity will help you get connected to things that are about to happen outside the office, rather than history of a particular escrow file. This inevitably helps you guide your strategic efforts while you’re building relationships with high-end prospects and customers. A “no-lose” scenario.

Sales managers who are in the field regularly have direct control over their results. Though it probably goes without saying, the most powerful benefit of getting out in the field with salespeople and customers might be the timing of the market knowledge you gain. For example, if you are discovering a market opportunity before your competition, you’ll have the chance to get there first. You’ll hear about customers who want to enter into joint ventures, competitors you should be recruiting, and overall market conditions. The information you gather will be high quality and will answer the global questions you struggle with when making strategic decisions. You’re able to test ideas that you’ve been considering before wasting a ton of time and energy on their implementation. You’ll be able to put your resources and people in motion going towards tangible customer opportunities, rather than making healthy guesses and getting lucky.
Sales managers have so many conflicting priorities, it can be difficult to make this one of them. Unfortunately, we find that more than 68% of the sales managers we consult don’t spend one full day in the field with each of their salespeople in a year, much less a quarter. The good news is, if you are one of the few, the elite managers who make a serious commitment to the “once per quarter” field effort, you’ll likely be the only sales manager in your area who does this and have a serious competitive advantage.

But, But... Ten Easy Reasons
If you struggle with finding the time to do it, let me leave you with a list of ideas that will put you in front of customer situations that take less than an hour to conduct.

• Call your company’s top existing customer and take her (or him) to coffee. Bring the appropriate rep.
• Call your Company’s top prospective customer and interview him/her in their office. Bring your rep.
• Set up an office presentation in one of your high priority existing customer’s office operations and bring your salesperson.
• On a weekend, go with a salesperson to visit three prospective customer’s open houses.
• Create a list of your top 10 target customers and interview them in the course of 90-day period. Bring the appropriate rep.
• Take the top competitor’s best salesperson out to lunch. Don’t bring a rep.
• Create an event that your company conducts entirely on its own. This could be a Mastermind group, a highly pertinent educational event, whatever. So long as it’s yours and you call to invite your top 10 customers personally. Get all of your reps involved
• Arrange to meet one of your highest opportunity office managers at an office where your company has little to no market share for lunch. Don’t bring the rep.
• Arrange to meet a customer who you are aware had a pretty ugly problem in their office and let them rant their frustration. Bring the appropriate rep.
• Stop by one real estate office every day and meet its top producer.
  

No Excuses
OK. There you have ten easy reasons to spend time out talking to customers, each in less than an hour. It is a New Year and time to renew your commitment to finding out what is important to your customer. Time to be seen, ask questions, and find out for yourself what makes your customers (and future clients) tick.On your way home, take this as an opportunity to pick one of the ideas and act immediately, (but don’t hurt yourself.) If you’re working at home, or working out, do one of these things immediately after you’re done. You’ll be on the road to being more informed, more in control, and even more successful. And by the way, the next time you hear someone talking about the three over analyzed issues in sales management, tell them the best kept secret. Go out and talk to customers and everything else will follow.
So why are you still reading this? Now get out there.