Bill James Being Real gets the Deal.........
"Sales" is now a dirty word and many people dislike the idea they have to become this,
often distrusted individual to achieve their business goals and end up with a definite
internal conflict.Customers are also a more complicated and educated breed these days. Even consultative
selling has become a well-known practice. They have a "sales shutter" that comes up
when they sense they are being sold. The same happens if they sense that you are not
being genuine. People instinctively know when you are being false (perceived as lying) and
will disconnect and distrust you.In addition the internet has made the world transparent. Over 90% of people will check you, your company or your
product out at a very early stage. This means they will have an expectation of you before you even meet – and you
need to meet or exceed it.
So what works now?
There are many things but amongst the most important is to Be Genuine. Be you!
As Judy Garland said “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate
version of someone else.”
In an age where we are so transparent, being professionally vulnerable and telling the
truth will help swing the pendulum of credibility back in your favour. For example, if
you are a bastard – be a bastard. People know how to handle that and will buy for the
right reasons. But a bastard trying to be nice will cause a very strong feeling of ‘that’s
just wrong!’
The 3% Principle: I meet many people who are in sales by necessity yet do not want to be (especially in New Zealand).
Technical people like engineers, accountants, trades people and those in franchisees who are good at what they do,
yet find sales challenging. They are great at uncovering needs, building relationships and producing excellent
solutions; but not good at finalising the deal. The 3% principal is about them telling the customer that 97% of the time
they build or provide the service asked for at an amazingly high standard and work tirelessly to make the client happy.
This aspect is what they gain satisfaction from and the client loves it.
But 3% of the time they have to convince the client that they should use them and this is what they are not good at.
They are not a smooth sales person and if it’s OK with the client, could they simply work together to create a solution?
The client will need to provide feedback and the sales person will keep going until the client gets what they want.
At that stage, they may ask the customer if they want one, but it won’t be smooth because they are not a
‘sales person’.
It is an open and honest approach that finds favour with the majority of users and recipients alike. In one case we
saw engineers of one company increase sales 38% in three months because this idea did not sound like ‘selling’.
It was just conversation!
Feedback from the clients shows they are very happy with this arrangement as they did not want to be ‘sold’. Our
approach makes all the difference but the most important thing is for us to be comfortable in what we are doing and if
we are not, our customers aren’t.
Bill James CSP, helps you find the business, opens the door and makes the connection to the
sale. His ideas are easy to understand and implement. Bill is President of National Speakers
Association of New Zealand and voted Speaker of the Year 2012-2103.
http://www.billjamesspeaker.com | email [email protected] or phone 0064 9 441 2164