Tips: Negotiation Position!

What is the one thing that every sales person would love to hear during a negotiation?  Wouldn’t we all love to have the prospect say? “I need you, more than you need me.”

Dealing from a position of strength tops the list, doesn’t it?

All of the sales techniques and processes preach to us the common theme of, creating a need, and then matching those needs to the products or services you sell. You want to do such a good job, that the only solution is your company, right?  Well yes you do, that’s a no-brainer. However, before you put the screws to the customer you need to be careful and take into consideration the customer’s position.

Having the ultimate solution, or product, must be one of the greatest feelings of all. During the summer of 1983 I worked in automotive retail (yes, I was a car salesman). I was fortunate to be working at one of the largest Dodge dealerships in the area. We were awaiting the deliveries of our first Dodge Caravans for sale, and in our position of being the largest; we were going to have the biggest selection for sale in the entire area.

Back in those days, we were paid on the profits we could earn for the dealership. When the announcement of this vehicle was made, the consumer interest was the highest we could ever remember. This dealership would get nearly double the amount of Caravans as anyone in the area, therefore our commissions this year would be huge!

It was mid-August, and I was roaming the lot waiting for the next customer to come into the dealership. I watched as a trailer full of vehicles drove into the lot, and I saw the first Caravan sitting there. I knew that this one was our first for sale that had not been pre-ordered and we were all under strict orders to wait until the car hit the ground before we could actually sell it. Well, lo and behold, there was a customer actually following this truck from dealer to dealer waiting for that vehicle to be unloaded and to find out if it was for sale or not. This was their lucky day, as well as mine.

To make a long story short, I was the lucky sales person; this customer was the person coerced to spend as $2,500 over the sticker price in order to take it home that day. The negotiation was brutal, and the dealership made sure they let the customer know that there were 100 people in line for this vehicle and the ones that would come in. If they didn’t want to spend the money, someone would.

What we didn’t know then, was that out of the 100 or so Caravans we sold at these huge profits in that summer of 1983, only 2-3% of those people elected to buy cars from us in the future. The normal retention rate for our dealership was well over 80% at the time, but the way to we treated our position of strength put a very bad taste in our customers’ mouths. When they had a choice in the future, we had no chance at winning their business. We couldn’t rely on having a new introduction like the Caravan every summer. Therefore, future commission checks were very low compared to that wonderful summer.

Today’s lesson in negotiation is not that we made too much money at the dealership. We had every right to earn whatever we could, that is what premium pricing is all about. The lesson is how we treated the prospects.

We treated them with the attitude of; “we don’t need you, and you need us.” When you are in a position of strength, it is not wise to use that as your only negotiation position. You still need to sell the benefits of working with your company or firm, and actually acknowledge the fact that under different circumstances the buyer is in a better position. Customers, employees, partners, or whoever you are negotiating with, need to feel that they are valued for more than the current transaction.

Another way to say this is that in the end, you need the customer to “want to buy from you”, not one that is forced to. If that buyer is given an opportunity to make a choice in the future, you want them to come to you and allow you a chance to earn their business. Arrogance in any given situation will be met with some form or animosity or lack of respect. As a professional sales person, you need to realize this and continue to earn that respect.

Someday you will be in that once in a lifetime position of rolling out the World’s best new “mousetrap”. Before you do, understand that you need a pricing and marketing strategy to promote the product, while protecting your image.

As always, if you are in need of this type of advice give us a call at Pinnacle Sales! Our motto is that our Service is Above the Rest for a reason, and you will be happy to pay the premiums we charge.

 

Tips: Best Methods for Following Up

There are numerous times in the sales process where the sales people are expected to follow-up. Those are the obvious ones; where there might be deliverables in a contract that have to be met. Or, there is a standard meeting that takes place every quarter to go over delivery, quality, logistics, and other key items. Those are the easy ones; those are the action oriented tasks that we keep on our daily to-do lists. I am not going to discuss those in today’s blog, I am going to talk about the things you need to do between those items, and the ones that will keep you and your company’s services on the mind of your customer.

The first thing you need to realize is that your customer is probably more than one single contact. It’s up to you to strategically map out this client and see who needs to be touched on a regular basis. There are key people in the decision-making process, and there are also individuals that may come in and out of the project as time goes by that you need to work with.  When you list out all these people, make sure you list out what their direct responsibilities are. If you list the logistics manager at the manufacturing location, he is responsible for day-to-day operations, and making sure he has enough products on a daily basis for his line.

The next thing you do, is list the types of information that person can give you that help you better service the entire account. Using the logistics manager as the example, he can give you up to the minute information on product usage, demand for the short-term, and may help you understand how the supply chain works, and if there are any snags (opportunities) for your company. This automatically gives you the reason you need to pick up the phone or email this person.

The key thing about staying in front of the customer is to have a reason to call or write. If it’s not an emergency, and you just are looking to remind this person how great of a supplier you are, you need the reason. Once you have the above table put together, you have a solid method of follow-up with each person in that organization. The last thing you want to do is call someone and say “well, I just wanted to say hi and see if there is anything you need, or are working on”. You are wasting their time with that call.  If you call the engineering manager, and ask “I know you are responsible for the warranty issues in your organization, are you having any issues that need to be solved with my parts, or even something else that ABC Corp can work on with you?”

People like to have the recognition that what they do is important, and that people respect that. The best way for you (an outsider) to show that respect, is to ask about it.

These types of follow ups will help in the long run. You will learn this companies business, and probably have a better overview of who does what, than anyone inside the company. And, the more you understand, the more you can help them with problem solving.

Having issues with strategic account management? Give us a call at Pinnacle Sales, and we can help you map out your customers, and your future!

Tip: Decison Making Made Easy

 

When you have firm principles, whatever they are, decisions can be made much easier. As managers, we are constantly presented with data that we need to make decisions on. If this-then that scenarios are piled upon our desks daily. Here is a quick way to scan these opportunities and make decisions to at least thin down the pile.

What you need to do is define what your guiding principles are. Usually those principles are developed around your ethics. It’s a safe bet to say that those without high ethical standards will have very few guiding principles that they need to enforce.

I won’t be presumptuous and tell you what your principles should be, but I will provide you with my mission statement as a professional marketing representative. This is my definition of a “sales professional” and I refer to this daily:

A Sales Professional:

• Is a PEAK PERFORMER who has the abilities and understands the importance to PLAN and PREPARE
• Understands and acknowledges their RESPONSIBILITIES to their organization and customers,  and can RETAIN their business, while maintaining RESPECT with their clients, companies, and most importantly themselves
• Takes OWNERSHIP and are ORGANIZED
• Maintains a FOCUS on their duties and goals  
• Has a character built on INTEGRITY and they have personal INITIATIVE
• Has the ability and TRUST to work in a TEAM environment
• Provides all this to their internal and external customers with the utmost SINCERITY

 

I feel that if I have to compromise any aspect of being a sales professional, I have to violate my core principles.

If a decision is made that will create a level of mistrust, or questionable integrity, then the decision is simple. If I make a decision that does not allow me to focus, or plan & prepare like I should, then its an easy decision.

This mission statement is wrapped around my ethical standards and that is one thing that no one can ever question when dealing with me. I don’t feel bad about decisions, even the ones that may cost me money, if I made those decisions based on the above.

If you are having difficulties with decision making, let’s talk about it with the team at Pinnacle Sales, LLC!  We can work with you and help you determine what the keys to your success are!

 

Tip: What the Debates Have Taught Us!

The recent Presidential debate has taught us one thing regardless of where you fit in the political spectrum. I heard that the final poll from CNN (not necessarily a conservative outlet) had Romney as the clear winner 72% over Obama 20%. Like I said, you have had to be blind, literally and figuratively, to not agree with this poll.

 

I say blind for a reason. This debate taught us that body language and being prepared are very key in any type of presentation.

The President was clearly not prepared for this debate, and one could turn the sound off the television to see who was winning. The picture above was the most damaging picture of all. It looked like the President was losing, regardless of what was being said. Just trying to get through this ‘thing’ so he could do something else.

Now, to put this into a sales perspective, how many times have you looked like the guy on the right? Have you sat through meetings with bad body language, only trying to endure the pain and get out of there?

In my book, PROFITS, I spend an entire section on being prepared. It’s our responsibility to take the lead in our debates with our customers, and not show up just to get to the next meeting.

This was a quick post, but something very clear and evident. If you think you’re having lapses of ‘Obamaism’s’, you may want to give us a call at Pinnacle Sales so we can get you prepared to debate like a pro!

 

Tips: What the NFL Has Taught Us!

One of the things that one of my first sales managers told me was that no matter what we do, “we are all replaceable”. If that is truly the case, then why did the NFL struggle recently with the referee situation?

Yes, I’m going to pile on this bandwagon. I’m going to use the replacement referees as an example of why it is so important to work with true professionals, and how you can tell the difference between a pro and an amateur.

Over the past 3-weeks of the NFL season, we have witnessed why it is so important to have a fully trained and competent staff. The biggest complaint about the referees this past three weeks is two-fold; one being that the game was too fast for them and the other was their inability to manage the game. When you place people in a position that has certain demands, you expect them to keep up with the speed of the situation and not lose control.

When a sales manager or business owner just plugs a person into a sales situation, one that doesn’t have the true training and commitment to being a professional, they often fail. The manager then puts others into the position and ends up with a bad taste in his or her mouth about sales people, because they don’t see the benefits. That is, until they find a true professional.

As a pro, we commit ourselves daily to continuous improvement. We go to various training courses and seminars, learning the best ways to answer objections, or learn more about the benefits of our products we represent. When asked a question, we can answer it or know where to find a solution. Given any type of customer, whether they are irate or exuberant, we know how to manage them. We don’t lose business, because we are trained to manage it. The sales call isn’t going too fast for us to adapt, we are controlling the pace and pretty much know what the outcome is going to be.

If your team of sales pro’s miss opportunities, don’t manage the process well, and are not brining you value, maybe it’s because you have done what the NFL just went through. Maybe you hired bankers or bus boys to do something that you think anyone can do. Don’t make this mistake, and invest in sales professionals and continuous improvement programs for the team.

If you need guidance on how to turn your team into NFL Caliber professionals, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales, where we offer service above the rest.

Tips: Do it right the first time, don’t get HK’d

 

This is one of my favorite stories, and I like to read it (and share it) as many times as I can. The reason I’m writing about it today, is because of the numerous reminders that I have had recently about rushing things, just to get them done. We’ve all heard “measure twice, cut once”, or “why do we always have time to do it again, but never enough time to get it right the first time?”.

I don’t know if this story is true, but I think you’ll all get the point …

 

I call this, “Don’t get HK’d”

            The famous Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had an intern working for him. On one random Thursday morning, Secretary Kissinger asks the intern to write a position paper on a certain topic.

The intern is excited and spends the next three or four hours writing this paper. He’s excited, and leaves it on Secretary Kissinger’s desk at the end of the day. He is pretty proud of his achievements, so he goes to the bar with a friend of his and has a couple of drinks, boasting that he is now writing positions for the Great Secretary Kissinger.

As the intern drives into work very early that Friday morning, he’s excited to hear what the Secretary thought of his paper. He’s all smiles as he walks the halls of Foggy Bottom and comes to his desk to see his paper, positioned directly in the center of his desk, with a handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            A little deflated, the Intern plopped down at the desk, read the paper and realized, objectively, that he could have done better. So, he pushed his workload aside and began to tackle this paper all over again. He tore it apart, re-wrote passages, did more research, and worked pretty much all day on this new revision. He had worked straight thru lunch and finished around 4pm.

He knocks on the Secretary’s door to find that he wasn’t in, and drops the paper on his desk again proudly. Thinking, he’s got to like this.

Since he had worked through lunch, he was pretty hungry and went to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat. He was gone about 45 minutes, and when he came back to his desk, his paper was positioned directly in the center, with another handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            “Does he realize that I spent the last 7 hours writing this?” the intern thought, but before he started throwing things around, and getting angry, he objectively tackled the problem. He began to re-read the paper, making small red marks on the pages. Seeing quite a few in the 8-page document, he thought to himself, “maybe I need to compare this to ‘his’ work”. So, the intern digs up old files (physical ones remember, things weren’t stored on the company server back then). And he finds quite a few random position papers that Secretary Kissinger himself had written over the years. He carried the box back to his desk thinking, this is going to be a very long day.

He read them, and not only realized that there were certain angles that he hadn’t considered, but research in so many topics that was missing in his paper. So off to the Library of Congress he went, and spent the entire weekend. Yes, he read, researched, and noted everything that he could on the subject and spent the next three days and nights working on the paper.

At 7:30AM Monday morning, still in the same clothes from Friday, he sat at his desk waiting for the great man to come into the office. As he saw Secretary Kissinger walk into his office, he stood up, straightened the tie around his unshaven neck, and confidently walked into the ‘man’s’ office.

          “Excuse me Secretary Kissinger, I’m sorry to barge in like this”  ..

          “What is on your mind so early?” Kissinger asks

          “Sir, the position paper you asked me to write, and then re-write two times, is now complete. Before you read this and turn it back to me saying that I can do better, you need to realize that I spent the entire weekend reading everything published on this subject, researching every contingency and published thought on this position. 

          I even dug up old position papers that you personally wrote to compare my thoughts and work on what you had done in the past. So please sir, take that into consideration, I can’t do any better than this one”

The Secretary smiled and responded, “Thank you, for that clarification then this one I’ll read”

 

Get it done right the first time, make sure you put the proper amount of effort needed into every project, so you don’t get HK’d.

 

Pinnacle Sales prides itself on helping its clients, customers, and interests by providing “Service Above the Rest”. We chose this motto, because it’s what we believe and put into practice every day.

We look forward to working with you and your team, and providing you the service that is deserved.

 

 

Pinnacle Sales, LLC  418 Main Street, Belleville, MI   mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

Tip of the Week: Higher sales effectiveness, by having a defined sales process

Pinnacle Sales has been serving the automotive and industrial markets for nearly 30-years. Over these past 4 decades, it has become apparent that there is a one thing that the sales profession is lacking in these industries, which other professions have made into a science. That is a Defined Process.

Yeah, a simple word, but something that goes overlooked in sales. Yet, this is the single most important thing in professionals such as; doctors, lawyers, engineers, chemists, and just about everyone. For a doctor to properly diagnose an illness, there are established protocols that they must go through. Would you feel better if you listed off your symptoms to a doctor and they immediately wrote you a prescription? Wouldn’t you want them to look at you, listen to your heart, or at least ask a few questions?

Let’s say you are interviewing a design engineer that you wanted to contract for a special project. You have presented your vision of this great project or product, and they open a drawer – pull out a file – hand it to you- and say, that will be $15,000 thank you. You want to them to put everything on a Gantt chart, control plan, process flow diagram, and give you facts and figures of how this thing is going to work.

As I have written in this blog as well as my book, PROFITS. In order to be considered a professional, you must act like one. There is not an exact process that is used in every sales situation. All industries are different, but there is something that YOU and YOUR industry has in common for every situation. It’s up to you to define what the key milestones are in your process, and map it out so that you are more efficient.

You need to define your process clearly. Define the phases which are always required. Make sure you don’t miss those phases in your quest for the new business opportunity. Skipping phases will cause you to miss important things that you will need for this project to be considered a success at its completion. In the old days, we called that “leaving money on the table”.

As a true professional, you should be able to identify what is needed to be done, where you are at any specific time in the process, and how you are going to map yourself to the finish line. This entire process could be 1 hour long, or 1-year long, but the cycle must have a starting and ending point. Don’t rush through it, and make sure you prepared along the way.

Once you have identified these milestones, put together your action plans within each one. If you are in the discovery phase, make sure you are discovering and not closing. Before you negotiate, make sure you’ve completed the problem identification phase. Obviously, if the customer starts writing the check you may think you are finished. At the end of the transaction phase, you start the next one immediately – retention, feedback, support, customer service, or discovering the next opportunity. The sales process is an ongoing event, you need to identify where you are at every moment, and be aware of what needs to be completed from that point on.

If you are having issues developing or even identifying your process, Pinnacle Sales can help. Give us a call or send us a mail. Your first meeting with Pinnacle Sales is our discovery phase, where there is no charge. From discovery we move on to defining the problems, SWAT, and presenting solutions and action plans. Our overall process can run from 2-3 hours, or we can become part of your permanent process as we have with many companies around the world.

We look forward to hearing from you …