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The Daly News October 2006 Issue 15

THE LAND DOWNUNDER

I’m fresh back from a month in New Zealand and Australia, filled with a lifetime of great memories. Thanks go out to TEC Australia, the TEC staff, and all the many CEO’s I had the pleasure to meet in my journeys. In celebration of the great visit, I am offering anyone in our database to a special discounted price of $300 for my “Jack in a Box”, one of every training tool I offer and $150 for my “Junior Jack in a Box”, a set of training tools designed just for the Sales Professional. This special pricing can only be obtained by calling Jennifer at 888-298-6868 through October 31. It’s my way of saying “THANKS” to my friends Down Under. Cheers Mates!

I am also excited to announce that I will be returning to Australia and New Zealand in March of 2007 for a series of Jack Daly Smart Selling Workshops. These full day events are designed for the Sales Professional who is looking to take their business to the next level. The sessions are chock full of street tested techniques that make the difference while providing accountability to ensure that things are getting done! These sessions are fast paced, content rich and filled with take-away value. Many more details to come!

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER

Washington D.C. Sales and Management Summit

Time is running out and by the next issue of THE DALY NEWS, our Sales Management and Sales Summit will be history. November 2 & 3 are the dates, so be sure to quickly call Jennifer at 888-298-6868 to get you and your team registered for what promises to be two days of rigorous learning. For history-lovers and culture fans, DC is filled with world-class museums and arts venues. The Smithsonian alone includes 15 distinct museums with vast collections of art and artifacts, including the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of American History. Capitol Hill and the National Mall feature many of the city’s most prominent buildings and museums, including stately presidential monuments. Don’t miss the chance to spend 2 days with Jack in this incredible city. A full day of Sales Management awaits you on the first day followed by Friday’s Sales session will send you back to the office prepared to make 2007 your best year ever!

FAMILY BALANCE

I had the opportunity to attend John DiJulius’ Customer Service presentation at the EO Chicago University – great job John! He handed out an article on secret service systems he uses at home, which I thought many could benefit from. John is the author of Secret Serviceand President of John Robert’s Spa, as well as a recognized speaker in the area of Customer Service. Here’s my summary of John’s home front key points.

A) Daily Journals . First, I sometimes leave for work before my kids get up in the morning, and come home late as they are going to bed. So, I created journals for each child. These journals are filled out every night, and a new one is started each season. I fill out the first page by asking them questions about their current teacher, sports they are playing, height, weight, etc.The rest of the journal blank, filled in nightly with the days highlights, including their high’s and low’s of the day. When I travel I bring the journals and call them nightly to do the updates over the phones.

B) Bedtime Stories – Just before we do our journals, I read the kids short stories with a touching message from a book such as Chicken Soup for the Soul. After which, we talk about what the story meant to them, and I’m able to teach them how it ties into their lives. I also bring the book with me when traveling, and do the same over the phone.

C) After School Phone Calls – I ask my boys to call me every day when they get home. Just a quick check on how their day went, and a reminder to do their homework/chores. My outlook has a 4pm reminder to call them in case they forgot.

D) Surprise Day with Dad – This was one of my favorites. Everyday I drive my boys to school, I always say, “How about we skip school today and just go play?” And, they say, “really?” And I say, “no”. Well, one day a year, my answer is “yes”, and I pull away and we are off on a planned adventure together.

E) Blocking Off Calendar – By June, I have blocked the days and weeks off for the coming year that coincide with their vacations and school holidays. This way I can schedule my business activities and allow me time to be with them as well.

F) Drive-In Movie Night – Three times a year, we host a drive-in movie night at our home for all the neighborhood kids. The three dates are the evening of the last day of school, July 4 weekend, and the last Sunday of the summer. We project a movie on the garage wall, the kids are all on sleeping bags on the driveway, and the parents bring their folding chairs and enjoy the show as well.

G) Lemonade Stand – Once a summer, we put together a neighborhood lemonade stand, manned by the kids, and all monies raised go to a set charity.

H) Video a Day in Their Life – Different days I capture some moments in their life’s routines, piece them together, and present and save it as a day in their lives on video.

I) Email Notice – One day I turned my email notice into something I wanted to hear. My wife and I grabbed our boys one night and tickled them for about 30 seconds all laughing on tape. I then created a wave file on my computer and now whenever I receive an email, I hear my 3 boys laughing, causing me to smile throughout the day.

Well, that’s a sampling of one Dad proactively connecting with his kids. John could give you more details, as well as some great suggestions on getting your customers to smile as well. He’s atwww.johndijulius.com.

In Case You Missed These – Some key Ideas I Picked Up From Two Business Magazine Articles:

• Inc. Magazine, September: Would You Recommend Us?According to a system called Net Prompter Score, all it takes to measure and improve customer satisfaction is to ask one question: Would you be willing to recommend our product or service to a friend? If the answer is no, find out why. With the book THE ULTIMATE QUESTION, Fred Reichheld lays out the thinking behind his system. In essence, it’s a customer survey that never has more than two questions: On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us? If you would not recommend us, why not? Those who respond with 9 or 10 are considered “promoters”; 7 and 8 are “passives”, and everyone else is a “detractor”. Subtract the detractors from the promoters and you have your score. Most companies score between 10 and 20. The best achieve scores approaching 80-90. The surveys can be administered through the mail, over the phone and through email.
• Fortune magazine, Sept 18: Breakaway Brands. Armed with information about price and quality, today’s consumer is formidable. Brand theory now asks, How can we connect with the public in a really meaningful way? “Today it’s all about trust, community, and creating a dialogue with your customer that shares real knowledge,” says Hayes Roth, chief marketing officer for Landor. Consider Robitussin, once a mom’s trusted potion of choice for sick kids everywhere. Its growth stems from a fairly dramatic package redesign in 2005 that added a symptom checklist on each box to signal which formula was right for which cold-related maladies. “Its very different from how medicine has traditionally been sold, using doctor portrayals on television,” says Roehm. “They speak directly to the consumer.” Our job is to help our customers make the best decision for them- to help them with their needs, opportunities and problems. Do this, and trust will be earned.

Training Workers the SeaWorld Way

Bosses take note, a little praise can work wonders, my summary notes from an article in USA Today, August 21. What boss would not like to have employees as well-trained, responsive and enthusiastic as the dolphins and whales at SeaWorld? Here are some tips on how it’s done from animal ambassador Julie Scardina.

• Keep it positive. Use effective communication, encouragement, rewards, creativity, effort and variety. We don’t take a whale’s compliance, motivation or energy for granted. We work hard to create an environment that is interesting, fun, and stimulating and draw attention to behavior we want to see repeated. Pay attention to good behavior; don’t make a big issue if a mistake is made; set the person up to succeed the next time they are in that situation. Sometimes we reward an animal who hasn’t completed a task but has a great attitude.
• We don’t put ourselves at odds with the animals. We figure that if the animals aren’t getting it, we’re not being positive enough or the animal hasn’t developed enough. It’s our fault, not their fault. We never view ourselves as “boss”, especially when dealing with 8,000 pound animals (I love that line!).

OK,I’ve heard enough. Corporations couldn’t operate successfully if employees were treated the way Sea World treats its whales…could they? “No negative feedback” does not mean we allow inappropriate behavior and unacceptable effort to continue. Where would you do your best work? A positive environment where leaders take interest in and responsibility for their employees’ success, or a company where mistakes are highlighted, being fired is standard, and feedback is intermittent and vague? People are not motivated by fear of punishment. We challenge our animals to greater achievement and higher competency.

C losing tidbits: Don’t give fake praise. What you reinforce is what you get. Next, if you have three employees doing the right thing, don’t give your attention to the one who is not.

Tough to argue the results!

2007 SALES WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE

We are beginning to consider our schedule of Workshops for 2007, and we would like your help. If you have an interest in having Jack Daly conduct a full-day Sales Workshop in your city sometime in 2007, simply call 888-298-6868 or email Jennifer@jackdaly.net and give us an idea of how many sales reps we might expect. As the year unfolds, we will also add select workshops in those cities that indicate enough of an interest.

Here’s what is scheduled for the balance of 2006 and into 2007. Registration is simple, a phone call 888-298-6868 or www.jackdaly.net. Sharpen your axe to make the cut!

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:

• Montreal, QB- Oct 26
• Lancaster, PA-Oct 27
• DC Summit- Nov 2 & 3
• Toronto, ON- Dec 12

CONTINUOUS SELF DEVELOPMENT

A regular feature of this newsletter is to keep our readers current on business books that can elevate your performance and the results of your companies. This month I reached back 15 years for “MANAGING BY STORYING AROUND” by David Armstrong. Here’s a concept that works in both large and small size companies- one of the best way to communicate in a company is through the telling of stories (unlike the rules everyone avoids reading from the policy manual!).

Stories are timeless, effective for years and years out. Stories are simple, no degree necessary, to tell them, or to listen to them. Stories are memorable, and they are fun. Stories are great for training , and they make for great recruiting tools as well.

I love what Tom Peters says here: ” The marketplace is demanding that we burn the policy manuals and knock off the incessant memo (email) writing; there’s just no time. It also demands we empower everyone to constantly take initiatives. It turns out stories are a-if not the-leadership answer to both issues.”

Enjoy the read!

DALLAS ACADEMY

We hope many of you enjoyed Jack Daly’s message this week in Dallas and got a strong return on your time invested. But…. that was just the beginning.

Jack is returning to Dallas on November 8th and December 6th to cover additional material for both sales leadership and sales professionals.

If you or someone from your company attended the October 11th event, you and other people you refer can register between now and Wednesday the 25th for the “alumni” rate of $149. Just select “Alumni Nov 8 and Dec 6″ option when selecting the Program on the Registration page on the web site.

If you are registering for the first time, the price of both the November 8 and December 6 sessions combined is $169.

Log on to purchase your tickets at the alumni rate before October 25th.http://www.JackDalyInDallas.com

OLDIES but GOODIES

For the past 6 years we have historically produced a newsletter from Professional Sales Coach, Inc. With this Daly News newsletter as replacement, we wanted to remind our readers of a feature each month pulled from the archives which continues to be content rich. Professionalism requires life long learning.

Relationship SellingA sales professional is someone who:

1) Gets business from a prospect who is already committed to someone else

 2) Helps his or her business sources to reach their full potential3) Constantly upgrades his or her clienteleAnd there in lies a problem. How do you gain the attention of these attractive prospects? How do you overcome their commitment to another supplier? How do you combat their indifference to wanting to see you?

A core theme of the Relationship Selling system is that if two people want to work together, the details won’t stand in their way. Another key idea is that success with a client comes by giving “value-added” service. You accomplish this by delivering more than your client expected when he or she decided to try your service.

“Golden handcuffs” tie business sources to you. Your image, knowledge, sensitivity, attitude, and success create those bonds.

You become someone’s business partner because they discover it is in their best interest to work with you. Another way to say this is that a sales professional helps his or her clients be more successful.

Building a relationship starts by overcoming their indifference toward you even before your first meeting together. You shouldn’t call on a probable prospect unless you have “pre-marketed” yourself.

A good approach campaign, in which you pre-market yourself, changes the acceptance rating considerably. Create a positive image in your prospect’s minds by sending them helpful ideas and general market information. The greater the positive image you build, the greater your success will be.

PATH TO SUCCESS

Sales success begins at the bottom. Our first objective is to define the highest value needs of the prospect. To do this we must conduct a meaningful interview in a favorable environment.

When calling prospects for an appointment, or just before reconfirming the time and place, ask if they would reserve their conference room for your meeting. Tell your prospect that you will have some things to demonstrate, and that the conference room would be helpful.

Our real purpose is to get the prospect away from his or her telephone during the interview. At that time you will want to determine four primary things:

• Highest value needs (HVNs) held by the prospect
• Social style of the person
• Current relationships with competitors
• Objections to be resolved

Professionals never recommend an action until they have fully determined the problem, opportunity, or need in the relationship. How would you feel towards a physician who prescribed a medicine prior to conducting a thorough physical? You might sue for malpractice a lawyer who suggested language for your will without determining your wishes.

Interviewing For Results

But when you call on someone, do you “show up and throw up”? Do you dump product information on them? We all know that traditional salespeople talk too much. Relationship sales professionals listen – and listen – and listen! A salesperson that shows up and throws up also should be sued for malpractice.

There is a considerable difference between a traditional and possibly manipulative salesperson and a relational, non-manipulative one.

Traditional salespeople spend most of their time on pitching and selling features. But RELATIONSHIP SELLING focuses on finding customer needs and problems and offering solutions to meet those needs. Less emphasis and time is devoted to aggressive selling and more to building relationships and providing value to the customer.

It is suggested that we spend the same amount of time in an interview as we are doing now – our emphasis should be on information gathering and “needs analysis” rather than pitching features. When you are in front of a prospect, how much time do you talk and how much time do you listen? It is important to remember that the listener controls the interview.

We don’t sell our products or services to someone unless they perceive it is in their personal interest to have us do so. Therefore, we must determine their interests and highest value needs.

Once we know those needs, we know that we will do business with him or her . We just don’t know how long it will take to do so.

Fulfilling Unmet Needs

Moving up the critical path, we next determine our prospects social style. We need to be sensitive to a prospect’s style, so that we can prepare an appealing presentation for him or her.

When asking about a prospect’s current business sources, find out the strength of those relationships. You already should be aware of any unmet needs.

While interviewing someone you will be able to determine what their objections are going to be when you ask for their business. If someone surprises you with an objection it is because you did not ask enough questions or you did not listen during the interview phase of the selling process.

If we know our prospects’ needs, social styles, and objections, we are in a position to offer solutions that they will find not only acceptable but also desirable. Thus we can “motivate” prospects to move in our direction.

It’s amazing how many experienced salespeople “wing it” here. Sales professionals should have a notebook full of concrete reasons a prospect should work with them and their company.

Our solution should suggest an action that will move us into, or towards, a business relationship. If we are not successful initially, we position ourselves to continually call on our targeted prospects. Our goal is more to move our relationship along that it is to concentrate on a single transaction.

Prospects tend to react negatively when a salesperson pleads, “just give me a try and I’ll show you what I can do,” because the statement has become trite. It’s far better to suggest some action that will directly benefit the prospect.

We are not suggesting that we avoid asking for the business; but don’t be in a hurry. We want all this top prospect’s business – not just a single order.

When you feel the time is right to ask for your prospects’ business we suggest an open-ended question: “Considering what we have been discussing, do we have a basis for doing business together?” The answer will determine your progress and where the relationship is headed.

If you have demonstrated your knowledge, sensitivity, and constructive help the answer will often be “yes” with some qualifications.

Make Fewer Sales Calls

We start building strong business relationships by targeting a select number of prospects. A successful career as a sales professional is built upon maintaining a limited number of highly productive clients and not on seeing how many calls can be made in any week. “Focus precedes success” is a core concept of the Relationship Selling Process.

Every sales professional should have a written list – by name – of those you have targeted as future business partners. Determine in advance – through your intelligence sources – prospects that you would to be doing business with in the immediate future.

This target list may have as few as ten names for established, career – oriented account executives, and as many as 60 names for a beginner. An exact number will depend both on you and on your industry.

A salesperson – no matter how successful – should develop at least one new client per quarter.

It is essential that we continually upgrade our clientele in order to increase our production. Since we can work only with a limited number of clients, they must be the best available sources of the kind of business we want.

Prospects are open to a new salesperson who will help them to be more successful. Despite this fact, most prospects are reluctant to change, and the more successful they are, the more this is true.

Our goal is to have a predetermined number of clients as business partners. We must select them carefully because it is going to take some time to win them over to us. Additionally, we must get to know our targets’ managers, since often they either assist us – or stand in our way.

It is not cavalier to say, “Find out what someone wants and then deliver”.

Doing so is far more effective than pitching your products and service in the hope that your prospect will respond. Top prospects are too sophisticated for this outdated selling style.

Preparing For Action

Once we have defined our prospect’s HVNs, we must decide whether it’s best to ask for a subsequent appointment in order to present our solution, or if we need to suggest some immediate action.

We are influenced in this decision by how well we have determined needs, the prospect’s social style, his or her present relationships, and what the objections will be. If in doubt on these issues, continue your interview. Or if you’re pressed for time, suggest making another appointment.

Tell your prospect you would like to gather some information and ideas to bring on your next visit. Make sure to schedule your following appointment before leaving!

To sum up, Relationship Selling consists of targeting a limited number of strong potential business sources, developing a relationship with each one, and then building and maintaining those relationships.

You can see that it doesn’t matter how many sales calls you make. What’s important is how effective each one is. See fewer people if you want to do more business, but be sure they are the right business sources for you.

We wish you – Great Hunting!

 
If any article in this newsletter would be of interest to your co-workers, customers or clients we would

appreciate having you forward it along. Thank you!