Students Of Success

How effective is your sales approach? The art of question
asking is a key element in your selling success. Is your
approach putting your customers on the defensive?

Here are two examples. First, we’ll take a look at the “Wrong
Approach”.

As my husband’s company was transferring from California to
Florida, we found a new home development which we were anxious
to visit. Upon entering, we were greeted by a sales counselor
whose “approach” left much to be desired.

Within seconds after entering the model home, I was interrupted
by a phone call that I had to take. I exited the model and my
husband was left with the sales counselor - who, as I learned
later - completely overwhelmed him with her rapid line of
questioning. He explained it as the “machine gun”
approach making him feel as though he was being interrogated.
She (the counselor) never introduced herself, asked for my
husband’s name, waited for me to return or took the time to
establish any rapport before “opening fire” with her
litany of questions.

Here’s a sampling of her questions, delivered in rapid
succession:

Where are you living now?

How long have you been looking?

How many communities have you visited?

When are you looking to move?

Do you own a home now?

Do you need to sell your home?”

Do you have children?

Do your have pets?

By this time I had completed the call and was on my way back
in to the model home only to be greeted by my husband who
was on his way out of the model home, motioning me to
leave a business card as they could “sure use the help”.

Needless to say, we never returned to this community which we
were initially so anxious to visit. And, we’ll never know
whether or not this new home development would have been exactly
what we were looking for.

Good Approach

Upon entering the model home, the counselor should have first
introduced herself. The “better approach” could then have gone
something like this:

Suzie: “Hello, my name is Suzie. Welcome to XYZ community.
Thanks for stopping in today. Could I get both of your
names?”

“Yes, Teri and Tony.”

Suzie: “Is this your first visit to our community, Teri &
Tony.”

“Yes it is.” (At this point, my phone rang). “Excuse me Suzie,
this is an important call that I have to take, I’ll be back
shortly.” (At this time Suzie should stop any question asking
and begin developing a rapport with Tony until I return. After I
return, the questioning/qualifying would go something like this):

Suzie: “Are you looking for yourself or someone else?”

“Ourselves.”

Suzie: “That’s great Teri and Tony, I have a few additional
questions to understand your needs. Then I’ll provide you with a
packet of info to help explain our floor plans, options,
etc.”

“OK.”

Suzie: “In your selection a new home, what’s the most
important factor in the decision making process?”

“Location.”

Suzie: “Does this location meet both of your needs?”

“Yes.”

Suzie: “Aside from location, what else is important to
you?”

“The layout”.

Suzie: “When you say layout, could you be more specific?”

“Yes, open concept is very important to us.”

Suzie: “Is there anything else?”

“Yes, a large lot.”

Suzie: “Do you live in the area now?”

“No.”

Suzie: “Where are you currently living?”

“California.”

Suzie: “What brings you to Florida?”

“Tony’s company.”

Suzie: “Oh, that’s wonderful, we’re glad you’re here. How
about time frames, how soon are you looking to move?”

“Provided we find what we’re looking for, we’re ready to make a
decision now.”

Suzie: “Thanks so much Teri and Tony, for helping me help
you. I’d like to make a couple of suggestions. Based on the
information you provided, I’d like to recommend you spend some
time looking at our Sunburst model. It has a great ‘open feel’
concept. I feel it would meet all of your needs. And, it comes
in various elevations. Another benefit to the Sunburst is that
we have a model which is just about completed. And, the best
part of all - it’s located on a double sized lot. Of course, I
encourage you to look at all of our models and welcome your
feedback as that’s important to us. I’ll be available to answer
any specific questions you have when you’ve completed your
tour.”

Can you feel the difference in these two approaches? In any
sales and communication setting it’s important to help create an
atmosphere of comfort and interest. Please take a moment to
review your everyday approach. It could be costing you
sales.

How can I figure out how much to charge for my product or service? What is the highest salary (raise) I can ask for? Talking about money is a thorny issue. Everyone has opinions about it but those underlying concerns are:

-Did I set the price so high that no one will buy? (Is the salary I asked for so outrageous that they will hire someone else)

-Did I give them such a low price that they question my value or did I leave money on the table? (Is the salary I asked for so low that they wonder if I know what is going on in my field?)

This month I had three different experiences that involved pricing.

First my mother showed me a pair of shoes that she got through Medicare. (She is a diabetic and evidently Medicare will pay for one pair of shoes a year.) She told me she would never order them again. Why? Because the doctor charged Medicare $500 for the shoes and she thought that was far too much money. (She watches the government’s money like her own!)

Next a friend told me most of her colleagues were telling her to charge more for her services. She was adamant in her stance that no one was worth what they were telling her to charge. In fact her colleagues were in the same business and commanding the fee they were recommending to her.

Finally in the news once again one of the presidents of a large company here in the US (Exxon) was reported to have negotiated a huge retirement package.

Finding an appropriate price is not easy. There is a lot of psychology in pricing along with some mathematical computation. Sometimes people forget to think about the mathematical piece. The cost of delivering the product or service including the time of the deliverer is important. If you do compute your actual costs you can then add a percentage on top (margin) to give you your profit.

Seems simple but now you’ll need to see what others are providing. How does your product compare with those it competes with? This is the market research part of pricing. If you are negotiating salary for a job, you’ll want to know what others who do similar work get for that job.

Now here is where the psychological factors come in. Price something way above what the competitors charge and you could price yourself out of business – maybe or maybe not. Perhaps your product is like no other that it competes with. In my mother’s case maybe there is only one manufacturer of shoes for diabetics and each pair must be made individually to that person’s specifications? The price may in fact be justified.

Price something way below what the competitor’s charge and it is possible you will be very busy. If you haven’t done the cost analysis, you may find yourself losing money though. Another possibility is that potential customers may question your value. “Why are you so cheap?”

Justification – that is what is necessary. In your sales pitch you will need to tell the potential buyer what makes your product so special. (Why you do charge so much or so little.) If my friend doesn’t really believe that she is worth more than she’ll have a hard time convincing others that she is. Clearly Presidents of large corporations have no problem with their sales pitch and are really good at convincing boards of directors to pay them huge sums.

“Whatever the market will bear” is often the philosophy you hear. It certainly must be the justification of the presidents and CEOs who get big salaries, bonuses and pensions. In my opinion the answer lies somewhere between my friend who doesn’t think she is worth that much and the big company pay outs. That is a place where the business owner gets what he/she is worth and the consumer gets the value he/she expects. For me there is also integrity involved in pricing not just what the market will bear.

Take Action

1. Assess your own work situation. Where are you undervaluing yourself? Write down a list of the benefits you offer to your customer (employer).

2. Check your competitors. What do they offer? How do they price their offer? Compare their offer to yours. How are they alike? What is unique about your offer? How do you tell your customers about that uniqueness?

3. Not unique? Why would your customers choose you instead of your competitors? If your uniqueness is price alone, you are on a slippery slope because there are always others ready to price below you.

About Alvah Parker

Alvah Parker is a Business and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. To subscribe send an email to join-roadtosuccess@go.netatlantic.com.

Parker’s Value Program© enables clients to find a way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. She is both a Practice Advisor and Coach to attorneys, managers, business owners, sole practioners, and people in transition. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.

In a statement that surprised gamers and non-gamers alike, Peter Moore of Microsoft Xbox, endorsed Nintendo’s new Wii console. Speculations circulated whether this statement by Moore was a genuine praise or a calculated move designed to offset the launch of Sony PlayStation 3. Moore even referred to himself as a big fan of the Nintendo console. He suggested that for the price of a PS3, gamers would be able to get a new Xbox 360 plus a Nintendo Wii, with some leftover for a few games. It can be recalled that Sony pegged the price of their new PlayStation at $499-$599, a price the company claimed to be fit for a Blu-ray console.

This move by Microsoft seemed to be another tactic to push the Xbox 360 sales higher with the imminent release of the PS3 at its heels. Peter Moore was downplaying the viability of the PS3 by pointing out the only disadvantage of the new Sony console: its price. But Moore’s reason was not only consumer concern. Moore’s statement also implied that Microsoft do not see Nintendo as direct threat and competitor. Perhaps he thought that having Nintendo’s support would clearly buoy Microsoft’s sales. Moore was right to do so in this case, since ugly numbers were cropping up in sales reviews of the Microsoft consoles.

The marketing and research firm, NPD Group supplied numbers and reports that indicated that the prized console of Microsoft lagged behind the PS2 in terms of hardware sales. Launched half a decade ago, Sony’s PlayStation 2 still lets its presence be felt at the game console market. The five-year old Sony console even managed to exceed the sales of the then-brand new Xbox 360 especially in the month of May. The next-gen console sold only 221,000 units; 11,000 units less than the PS2 sales. Though Microsoft retaliated quickly by revamping shipment processes and adding a third manufacturer for its console, it wasn’t enough to draw considerable margin between their sales and that of PS2.

But even if the move didn’t suffice, it somewhat improved Xbox 360 console sales. Succeeding sales reviews showed that the sales of the console picked up; the influx of consoles ensuring amply supply and brisk sales. But the PS3 was touted to be a bigger threat. It didn’t help either that Sony’s processing systems have improved since the release of the PS2. Clearly, it became imperative for Microsoft to beef up its marketing operation to ensure their new console’s top position within the next-gen hierarchy.

In conclusion, Microsoft’s marketing plan included Peter Moore banking on Sony’s overly-inflated ego that expected gaming fans to shell out big bucks for the PS3. Moore targeted the rival console’s price when he made that statement about Xbox 360 and the Wii console. He also hoped to draw in Nintendo fans over to the Microsoft side by actively endorsing the Wii. If Nintendo approves Moore’s tactic, the next-gen console battle will be a two versus one fight. Another tell-tale sign of Microsoft and Moore’s pricing attack at Sony’s new console was the reported price slash for Xbox 360 consoles during the holidays. The price slash was clearly planned to coincide with Sony’s PS3 launch. However, the affirmation if Peter Moore’s tactic worked still rests on gamers’ shoulders.

If you are a loan officer, you may be considering purchasing internet mortgage leads. But you may be leery of whom to buy them from and the type of lead you should buy.

There are many internet mortgage lead companies out there, and they sell all kinds of lead types.

Such as, real time, live transfer, recycled, and lets face it, a lot of these companies sell junk.

For this reason alone, it is important to take your time and research the internet mortgage lead companies you are considering investing with.

For starters, read what they propose to loan officers on their web sites, especially what their return policy states.

Once you have read and familiarized yourself with their site, call and speak with someone in their customer service department. Ask about the things you believe are important when it comes to the leads. Such as, how they generate the leads, are they fresh or old and recycled, what is their pricing, and ask about their return policy.

If you are unable to contact anyone in customer service, or you are not getting crystal clear answers to your questions, than move onto the next internet mortgage lead company.

If you are not satisfied with the customer service you are receiving, than you better believe that you will not be satisfied with the leads.

Remember, you work hard for your money, so there should be no reason why you don’t get a return on your investment with the internet mortgage lead company you decide to go with. Best of luck.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

Convert Leads Into Sales. Why is it that so many sales people fail to follow up on sales leads that are handed off to them by the marketing department? It never ceases to amaze me how often I hear the same complaint from sales managers and from marketing managers who are working hard to drive new opportunities in the door. Part of the issue with sales people and their lack of willingness to follow up on sales leads is many sales people have large egos and believe that anything that has been brought to them by others is probably not very good.

They have this, “I’m the king of my territory” mindset, which translates into them thinking that if they haven’t created an opportunity for the company, it must not be real. It’s the job of sales management to dispel this notion and make sure that your sales people are taking all of the leads that are coming to the company through its various marketing programs seriously. A good way to convert leads to sales, is to focus weekly attention on reviewing the sales leads that are coming in from marketing and from telesales efforts and categorizing those leads in getting a quick report from each of your sales people on what they’re doing to follow up on the leads that are coming in.

Lots of sales people are still resistant to this process. And sometimes, it makes sense to segment the responsibility of following up on leads between field sales people who don’t believe they have the time or don’t believe in the quality of the leads that they’re getting, and inside sales people, whose sole responsibility it is to qualify and further advance the sale with leads that are still in fairly early stages of gestation.

Most big, best in class companies in many industries have now gone to an inside sales function whose job it is to qualify and continue to nurture leads forward, until they’re ready for the involvement of outside or field sales. If your company is struggling because it’s not capable of getting its field sales people to follow up on sales leads, think about changing the mix of your sales organization and moving some of your field sales resources into an inside sales role. Probably this means that you’re going to have to replace a few people and you’re going to need to do some recruiting because the profile and aptitudes of an inside telesales lead generation person are quite different from the profile and aptitudes of field sales personnel.

We find that many companies are in the process of reducing their field sales head count and shifting some of that mix towards an inside sales model because of the lower cost and increased efficiency, and teaming those inside and outside personnel together is a much more effective way to make sure that you’re aligning your resources correctly and making sure that you’re following up on every single lead that’s coming in through marketing. Many companies are spending money on marketing but they’re not following up on leads. As a result, they’ve got huge leakage through their pipeline and they’re wasting resources on programs that are not being optimized. Think about how to make sure that each of those precious leads that your marketing department’s producing for your company is followed up on in 2006.

About Cube Management:
Cube Management provides sales acceleration services to emerging growth and mid-market companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. The experts at Cube Management work across the entire spectrum of marketing, sales and business development to provide customized solutions that drive revenue and profit growth. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process & People to produce winning results.