In-Tune News You’ll Want To Use

Hi,

In a number of issues of YSS I have talked about the words you use in a selling
situation, but that is only part of the story.

It’s not just the words you use but how you use them that makes a difference.

And that reminds me of a joke.

You see there was this unfortunate man who broke the law and went to prison. He
was feeling very scared his first night alone in his cell.
After the lights went out he heard one of the other inmates in a cell quite a long way
off shout out “32″. Then all the prisoners burst out laughing. When the laughter
subsided he heard another inmate call out “66″. Once again followed by a burst of
laughter. This went on for some time before they all fell to sleep.

The man was intrigued by this behaviour.

The next morning during breakfast in the eating area the man gathered up his courage
and spoke to one of the older prisoners and asked him what was going on.

The older inmate said, “Many of us have been in here for a long time. There’s not
much you can do when the lights go out. So, to amuse ourselves we tell jokes. But
after a while we all seemed to know all the jokes, so it became easier to just give the
jokes a number and just shout out the number rather than taking all that time to tell the
joke.”

Ahhh. Now it all made sense.

So, for the next few weeks, the man listened to the numbers and found out what joke
corresponded to what number and which numbers got the biggest laughs.

Finally, one night he decided to join in. After about five or six jokes had been told “by
the numbers”. He shouted out “22!” Nothing happened? Dead silence. He thought that
maybe the others didn’t hear him. So, he waited till a few more jokes were numbered
and shouted out, as loud as he could, “66!” Again, just silence? This happened to him
about five times.

The next morning he just had to find out why no one laughed at his numbers. He went
to the old man again and asked him. “Why does no one laugh at my jokes?”

The old man replied, “Ahhh, it’s the way you tell them.”

On a serious note, the way you say something has a big bearing on how that statement
is perceived and reacted to.

Two studies that I know of have documented non-verbal aspects of communication.

Bob Birdwhistle, (”Kinesics & Communication”) and Albert Mehrabian both studied
non- verbal communication and came up with the following assessment. ( Note
Mehrabian has summarised his works and the work of some others in a book entitled
“Silent Messages”)

Communication is:
7% verbal,
38% tonal,
55% physiological.

That is, only 7% of the message received when you communicate with someone
comes from the actual words you use. Whereas, 93% comes from your tone and
actions.

You make be doubting the validity of those figures and frankly I do too. However, I
sure know that when I was growing up that if my mother shouted out “Gregory !!!!”,
it meant more than just my name. I knew I was in trouble for something.
Similarly, think about some of the comedians you know that stand up on stage and
make a living out of insulting people or making fun of them, yet they rarely offend
people. It’s all in the tone they use !

Think about the intonation we use in uttering a sentence. Basically, we have three
choices. As we say something we can finish the sentence with:
An upward voice intonation
An unchanged voice intonation
A downward / deeper voice intonation

Try it for yourself. Lets pick a sentence to say. ” You want to buy this “

If you repeat that sentence and speak the last two words in a higher pitched voice it
sounds like you are asking a question. In fact there are languages ( e.g. Italian ) where
you indicate you are asking a question by the intonation of the sentence. And guess
what, these languages use that same higher-pitched voice tone to indicate a question is
being asked.

Next, say that sentence keeping your voice tone constant. Different, isn’t it. That tone
is indicating you are making a statement.

Finally, utter that same sentence again but say the last two words louder and deeper.
This is command tonality. This command tonality is well utilised by hypnotists and
can, of course, be used in hypnotic sales techniques too.

How is this useful in selling ?

Well, when you make a comment like ” This product is the one you want”. It has very
little positive impact if you utter it with a question type tonality. In fact, it sounds like
you are asking a question and are not really sure if it’s a good product or the best one
to use.

You have probably been told by your sales manager or in a sales training course to be
positive when you are in a sales call and assume you are going to make the sale. This
spills over into your tonality so that you make statements with a statement tonality or
a command tonality rather than using a questioning tonality.

Mind you, you can use questioning tonality to your advantage. Say your customers
tells you she is using Acme brand material ( your competitor ). If you reply with “You
are using Acme brand?” with that upward inflexion in your voice, I can just about
guarantee you that your client will ask “What’s wrong with Acme brand?”. To which
you can just reply “Oh, nothing.” They will, of course, still be wondering what’s
wrong with that brand.

Careful use of the command tonality can be very effective in selling too but it’s use is
too big a topic to cover here in this eZine.

Let’s talk about what you do with your body when you’re presenting ideas to people.

Michael Grinder from the USA teaches about patterns of communication. He says
there are two patterns namely Credible or Approachable.

The Credible Style of communication is best for sending information; to increase
importance; to express vehemence. This Credible style uses the downward intonation
at the end of each sentence ( or at least holding the tone constant ). In terms of body
position this style is characterised by stillness. The head is held still, the body is
straight, the arms should be at the side or parallel to the ground with weight on both
feet and toes pointed forward.

The Approachable Style of communication is used when you are seeking information.
It uses a more rhythmic tempo with upward voice intonation at the end of each
sentence. In terms of physiology it is characterised by much more movement. The
head often bobs; the body leans forward; hand gestures abound; weight often shifting
from foot to foot.

When you want to get your message across, and have your best chance of being
believed, communicate using the Credible Style.

When seeking information and establishing rapport use the Approachable Style.

Of course, like many other sales techniques, it takes practice to master them.

By the way, I just thought of another joke. 66. ( Are you laughing?)

Happy practicing. Here’s to YourSalesSuccess.

Greg is a salesman. He’s been selling for 23 years and has negotiated supply contracts in the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore and Japan. He has sold as much as $7million in a year. His worst result over 23 years was 94% of budgeted sales at 99% of budgeted profit. He’s now semi-retired at 46. He has a desire to help other salespeople live a good life, free themselves of money worries and retire early. OK. Greg can sell but teaching and coaching is another matter. He has been trained in one-on-one coaching skills acquiring a “Professional Development Certificate in Coaching Practice” from the Psychology Department of the University of Sydney. He is a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming ( NLP ). Naturally, he has attended many sales training courses at home and overseas and is an avid reader of sales books.

Over the years Greg has become more interested in helping people that helping companies.

More info, click here ==>http://www.sellingandpersuasiontechniques.com

In happens every year in June.

Six months down and six months to go. What will you do differently during the second half of the year to improve your selling results? If you don’t take time to think about what you’ll do differently, you may not do anything different. Now that’s okay if you’re happy with your year to date results. If however you’d like to do more during the second half of this year you’d better think about making some changes now.

One of the keys to raising the bar is effective sales planning. For most of us selling is fun and planning is not. Remember that selling success doesn’t come from doing what everyone else is doing. The most successful salespeople do the things that few salespeople take an interest in doing. There are two requirements for planning. First set aside some quiet time for creative thinking. Second, be sure to put your thoughts on paper.

At least once a year professional salespeople should dedicate a minimum of one-day to strategically think about their businesses. Don’t be too quick to say you’re already doing it. Most sales reps acknowledge they think about their territories and customers daily. When pressed however most will admit they don’t have time to creatively think about blue sky scenarios that may happen a year from now. If you can’t devote one solid day for unrestrained creative thinking, don’t think about aiming for the stars. Your best bet is to wait for a shooting star to come your way.

Begin your planning process with these six critical questions. Direct these questions at your business, your territory, your accounts, your customers, and naturally your competitors. These questions will raise more questions and you should consider this process a success if you end up with more questions than answers. Here are the six questions.

1. Where are you are now? Where are you now relative to your sales results and selling skills? How’s your performance? What’s your relative rank within your region and within your company? What kind of overall growth do you have in your territory and in your top-10 accounts? Where are your competitors making inroads in your
accounts? How well are you managing your time in your territory? What are your biggest challenges and best opportunities for growth?

2. Where are you headed if you don’t change anything? What’s the implication for you if you don’t acquire new skills? What happens to your overall performance next year if you don’t make up the loss of your second-largest customer? How will your customers react to a strategy that is really based on a “more of the same” concept,
especially when your competitors are becoming more creative in their approach? With more work and less time available, how are you planning to manage next year when your business is expected to grow 10 percent across the board? If you can’t handle the sales and marketing challenges and opportunities this year, how will you respond to the one’s you face next year?

3. Where should you be headed? Do you have specific personal and professional goals? Are these goals specific and clearly defined? Are they in writing? Do you have completion dates established? For each of your top-10 accounts do you have specific objectives for sales, margins, growth rates, product mix, etc? Have you made a commitment to read sales books and to subscribe to sales publications? Have you analyzed your travel time and your time allocated to large, medium, and small accounts?

4. How will you achieve your objectives? You really can’t “do” a goal or an objective. What you can and must do is create an action plan detailing how specifically you plan to achieve the goals you outlined when considering question three. For example, if your goal is to increase your sales by 12 percent in your largest account, how specifically will you do it? How many “how’s” will it take to achieve your goal? Your goals define
(what you want to achieve) and your strategies define (how specifically you’ll do it.) Without proper linkage between goals and strategies, your goals begin to look like dreams.

5. What are the specific details involved? The details referred to are the who, what, where, why, when, which, and how as they relate to initiating and implementing your strategies. Ben Franklin once said, “Small leaks can sink big ships.” In sales, minor adjustments often create big impacts and higher sales in your territory.

6. What should you measure? Always measure what matters. One of my favorite old sayings is “what gets measured gets done.” To keep you on your stated course (objectives) how will you measure your progress? What key elements of success should your review monthly? Personal growth and development are often the result of careful measurement and evaluation. The difference between first-place and second place is often a very narrow margin.

These questions can make a significant contribution to your selling results, but only if you invest the time to ask them. The favorite day of the week for procrastinators is tomorrow. Action-oriented people, the real doers in life, recognize, if you focus your energy on today, tomorrow takes care of itself. The future is yours to live one-day at a time. The shape of your future depends on the foundation of your plan.

Are you planning your future today or waiting for tomorrow to do it? It’s a clear choice and it’s all yours.

Jim Meisenheimer is the creator of No-Brainer Sales Training. His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by visiting his website: http://www.meisenheimer.com

I was speaking to the operator of a successful business the other day, asking him how he and his fellow franchisees earn their clients. He mentioned 10 ways: networking, referrals, and advertising are among them.

But one, he said, outperforms the rest: selling by telephone.

Businesspeople who make calls outpace their peers by a wide margin, he said, noting that he is the franchise system’s top performer.

Why aren’t more experienced business people emulating this fellow, using their people skills to meet and greet potential clients by phone? There are several reasons:

1. They’re afraid of real-time rejection.
2. They believe the phone is a tainted tool.
3. They have low frustration tolerance.
4. They think there has to be an easier way!
5. They believe they come across poorly.
6. They believe phoning lacks dignity.
7. They believe their target market is deluged with calls.

8. They don’t have a manageable database.

9. They lack an effective phone presentation.
10. They lack good phone training.

If you look at this list, at least half of the items result from psychological factors. Many people resist phoning because they needlessly beat themselves up and disparage the medium. That’s what items 1-7 are all aboutnegative beliefs and judgments.

Instead of focusing on themselves, businesspeople should attend to the last three items: managing their database, devising an effective phone presentation, and getting good coaching and training. Address these challenges, and the first seven impediments will either go away, or be dramatically minimized.

Let’s discuss these items briefly, and put them into proper perspective.

1. They’re afraid of real-time rejection.

Most of us are rejected silently and indirectly. If we send out a zillion resumes, most will end up in the trash, but we don’t feel that pain, directly. Nor do we hurt if we mail out as many business brochures, which meet the same fate. But when we empower someone to flatly say no, directly in our ear, it feels threatening. Rejection is usually not about usat most it’s about our offer, our value proposition, and how we have communicated it. So, there’s no reason to take it personally. Attend to the real challenge: fix your message and how you’re delivering it. (For a more complete discussion, please see my article, “Thanks For The Rejection!”)

2. They believe the phone is a tainted tool.

As consumers, many of us have been bombarded by calls that have had little value. For years, it made economic sense for giant call centers to spray-and-pray. Now, with the ubiquity of answering devices, caller I.D. and effective anti-telemarketing legislation, these calls have been diminishing, but our negative attitude about them, persists. The phone, as a medium, is alive and well. We need to work on developing the message and the messenger.

3. They have low frustration tolerance.

There is a math-of-success in prospecting and selling. If you make fifty calls, you’ll probably find ten people who will express some interest and be worth pursuing. After sending information to them, and following-up, three may still be interested, and of these, you might close one or two.

I’m just using these numbers as an example, because they point out that fifty tries might earn you one success. Let me tell you one of my favorite war stories about a guy who did much worse than this.

A Houston-based client of mine sells investments to institutions such as colleges and large banks. One of their commission salespeople worked from January through October without earning a sale. Literally, he made thousands upon thousands of calls, to no avail.

Every other salesperson was making at least some money, and a few were doing very well, but he struck out, left and right.

Then, in November, he got his first order of the year. It was so large that it made him a millionaire, on the spot.

He had high frustration tolerance, which is a trait worth developing! (For a fuller discussion, please refer to my audio seminar: “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant.)

4. They think there has to be an easier way!

The other night, at a meeting of business professionals, I was discussing marketing with a consultant. He beamed that he got a client four years after initially meeting him at a mixer. Networking is his favorite way to get business.

I agree, networking can be pleasant but it’s just too unpredictable. Waiting for the phone to ring only seems easy. In my experience, it is harder than proactively selling someone, which permits much greater control and instant feedback.

5. They believe they come across poorly over the phone.

True enough, when you hear certain people over the phone, there’s much less than meets the eye. Their voices may be inherently unpleasant, squeaky or gravelly, or their articulation may be flawed.

But most people don’t suffer from these ills, and even non-radio announcer voices can be enhanced through training, while others can be improved with medical help.

(6) They believe phoning lacks dignity.

Some aristocratic businesspeople feel that phoning is simply too far beneath their social station to be permissible for them to do. They equate it to begging.

All I can say is that the dignity in phoning is equal to the dignity you bring to it. If you sound impressive, and credible, you’ll generally encounter fair treatment.

(7) They believe their target market is deluged with calls.

I’ve been in business over twenty years, and the cold calls I receive today are significantly less than ever before. I suspect fewer people are making business-to-business calls, if only because they don’t know how to penetrate voice mail systems and call screening.

(8) They don’t have a manageable database.

Calling isn’t merely about dialing and smiling. It’s about getting organized to call and being able to capture information about the calls you’ve made.

The first challenge is to get a good list of prospects. Once you have that, you should load it into one of the many inexpensive database programs offered by software sellers.

By tackling these tasks, you’ll be able to be productive and you won’t have the time or interest in wallowing over your rejection rate. You’ll be able to measure it, and improve upon it.

(9) They lack an effective phone presentation.

You need to write, or hire a pro to write a good script.

No matter how glib you are, you should know exactly what you’re going to say to get through screening, to leave a captivating message on voice mail, to greet a real-time human, to credibly introduce yourself, to state your basic offer, to earn a commitment from the listener, to confirm the progress you made in the call, and to identify the next step to come.

Without a script, you’ll ramble, seem disorganized, invert the order of what you say, and hopelessly change your talk from one contact to the next. That way, you’ll be unaware of what’s working, what’s failing, and what you need to change.

A script mustn’t sound stilted or canned, and you need to make yours seem
fresh and spontaneous. But when you do, it will serve you very well.

(10) They lack good phone training.

I had the luxury of being trained by my father, who was superb at making cold calls to develop his advertising, radio, and TV ventures. He’d phone from home, and I’d listen, fascinated by his ability to adjust to different people.

In college, I worked as a full-time collector for a finance company, and then I became top salesperson and a manager at Time-Life Books. Later, with a Ph.D. in Communications, I started training others as a consultant.

I’ve found that some people are “naturals” over the phonebut they’re rare. Most need to be trained and coached, to develop their skills.

But once they have them, they feel as I do: I could land in any place in the world where I speak the language, pick up the phone, and prosper.

It’s always the right time to Reach Out & Sell Someone®!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman
President, Customersatisfaction.com

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can be found in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.