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Get Productive, Drop Your P.I.T.A. Clients

27 Dec

We’ve all had a “PITA client”-perhaps more than one. (PITA stands for “pain in the a**.) A PITA will drain you, consume valuable resources, upset your team, squeeze you on price, pay slowly, and will never be satisfied with the results-even when you’ve agreed on the deliverables.

You know the warning signs. A PITA client will:

  • Nickel and dime you on price
  • Tell you they’re the decision makers when they’re not
  • Threaten you with your competitors
  • Make unreasonable demands, and expect fast, complete, and reliable delivery of your service
  • Not return phone calls

Talk about loss of productivity! PITAs are our biggest time wasters and they erode our profits. When we accept a PITA, it’s an opportunity cost-an opportunity lost to do business with our ideal clients. Yet companies continue to accept this bad business, all the while thinking it’s better than no business. But is it?

Sometimes it’s because we have a quota to meet, or our company insists we do a deal, or we think we can turn a bad situation into a good one. We’re dreaming. Bad business is bad business. Period.

Salespeople frequently say that they will sell to “anyone who fogs a mirror.” Avoid this kind of thinking. We shouldn’t target just “anyone.” “Anyone” all too frequently turns out to be the PITA customer.

Fire the PITA! Most of the time we can identify the PITA client before we even begin to work with them. Say no. It’s OK to walk away. In walking away from the PITA, you’ll have time to attract the kind of clients you really want, to do the work you love, and your productivity will soar!

Want more?
Listen to my podcast on Productivity on Salesopedia

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Holiday Reading to Recharge Those Sales Batteries

19 Dec

For many of us, the end of the calendar year coincides with the end of the sales year. Have you made it yet? Will you (and your customers) enjoy the time between Christmas and New Year’s because you’ve already delivered your revenue committment to senior management?

Battery

When you need a quick break from all the holiday cheer and want to recharge those sales batteries with some quiet time then consider catching up on your sales reading and learning. But don’t have time to read all the new books on selling? Would you like the Cliff Notes versions instead? The Top Sales Experts website has just the booklet for you – and it’s co-authored by many of the top sales experts.

TopSalesExperts

I like “Leaving PowerPoint Behind and Make the Person-to-Person Sale” by Joanne Black, author of “No More Cold Calling” and guest blogger on this site.

Another good article is “A Glimpse at Sales 2.0 – the Potential and the Pitfall” by Keith Rosen. As salespeople, many of us started selling in the days laminated presentations and always making sure there was change in our pockets for the pay phone. Today we’re using web-based conferencing and wouldn’t be caught dead without our cell/PDA. So what’s next?

Read the article. Read them all – in the the order they interest you.

Which articles did you enjoy best?

Happy Selling!

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Where to start networking?

5 Dec

Everyone agrees that getting referrals to new prospects is so much better than cold calling down that long list that your company provided you. But how do you get started? John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing fame has put together a brief video primer on just this very topic. He focuses on

– defining your value proposition
– who you tell this to
– why you are asking for the referral

http://workbench.ducttapemarketing.com/kickapps/flash/premium_drop_v3.swf?b=1&widgetHost=workbench.ducttapemarketing.com&mediaType=VIDEO&mediaId=114181&as=10266

In principle I agree with how John suggests you get started even if it seems a bit pushy and low-tech. A vital part of any networking program is to ensure the people you want referrals from understand exactly what you do – ie your value proposition. Sure, your customers probably know that already but what about your friends, family and colleagues? Don’t bore them with a feature/benefit pitch – think of your elevator pitch that gets makes them chuckle and excited about telling other people about you. What do I tell people we do at Inquisix? “We’re matchmakers [pause] for salespeople!” Joanne Black, author of “No More Cold Calling” announces, “I’m the Referral Queen!”What do you tell people so they’re remember you?

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Stop the Cold Calling Insanity!

12 Nov

Frank Rumbauskas, of Never Cold Call fame, recently sent me a 5 minute video on why cold calling is ineffective. His premise is that cold calling equals 0 results. So cold calling 50 times still means 50 times 0 equals 0. His punch line made me laugh, “…I heard the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

FrankRNoColdCalling

Sales Coaching with Dave Kurlan

8 Nov

I recently attended a luncheon meeting with Mike Ford of TownConnect and about 150 other sales and corporate executives hosted by Dave Kurlan of Baseline Selling fame. Dave spent two hours with us discussing his philosophies on sales management best practices and sales rep hiring & success factors. The audience had the opportunity to choose the agenda based on our biggest concerns – sales management, forecasting, hiring & planned turnover were the most requested topics.

BaselineSelling-small

In reviewing my notes from the meeting, the things that I underlined as most interesting and thought provoking were:

– Hire sales managers for accountability, coaching, motivating, growing and recruiting. NOT for closing deals.
– Sales managers should motivate reps to get deals into the funnel and the coach them on moving deals through the funnel.

If you attended the event, what did you find as most interesting? (other than the tour of Gillette Stadium!)

Networking vs Not Working

19 Oct

Rick Roberge, a Sales Consultant with Dave Kurlan & Associates, spoke at this week’s New England Expo and invited me to join the audience. His topic was about “…how effective networking can begin the sales process with a warm prospect and avoid cold sales calls.” A very engaging speaker, Rick spoke for about an hour about networking, how to do it and why to do it. He provided numerous examples on the power of networking by encouraging the audience to network amongst themselves.

The most important idea that I brought away from his talk is the theory of the Giver’s Gain – you network to introduce new services to your customer so that your customer will remember and value you. You don’t network to help the person you just met!

By providing new and valuable services to your customer, you move from a transaction-based sales rep to consultant to trusted advisor and finally to the go-to resource. As Rick joked, you network to become the second speed-dial on your customer’s phone after their spouse.

Rick then walked-the-talk as he and I strolled the exhibit floor together for an hour while he introduced me to his customers and colleagues. And when I left, I had 20 business cards in my pocket of people he introduced me to that wanted follow up.

And so I’ll close with the second most important idea from Rick’s talk – follow up with those introductions you just made! So I’m getting on the phone….

Reasons Why People Buy

12 Oct

On my office bulletin board I’ve saved an old note from the first days of my sales career that lists the reasons why people buy. I don’t know the source anymore (if you do, please tell me so I can properly give credit).

Reasons Why People Buy

To Increase
– Profit
– Satisfaction
– Confidence
– Convenience
– Pleasure

To Improve
– Customer relations
– Employee relations
– Image
– Status
– Earnings

To Protect
– Investment
– Self
– Employees
– Property
– Money

To Reduce
– Risk
– Investment
– Expenses
– Competition
– Worry
– Trouble

To Make
– Money
– Satisfied customers
– Good impressions

To Save
– Time
– Money
– Energy
– Save

I recently found the 50reasonswhy website that takes the reasons from Geoff Ayling’s “Rapid Response Advertising” and adds pictures to illustrate creative ways to sell.

What are you selling?

Referral Fees for New Business

9 Oct

Inquisix is all about sales reps getting a referral to a prospective customer in return for giving a referral to their customer. It’s really a win-win-win-win scenario as each customer has agreed they’re interested in learning about a new solution and each rep gets a warm referral to a new prospect.

But are sales reps willing to do favors? Do they make an introduction to one of their customers on behalf of another sales rep? Of course they do – it may be a “you owe me one for next time” type of favor but that’s how it works – just make sure you give as many favors as you get!

And are sales reps willing to sell their contacts? Yes, of course they are, that’s what sites like JigSaw are all about – selling your contacts in order to get new contacts. Of course it’s done anonymously as no sales rep wants a good customer to know that their info has been sold – where’s their share!?!

Another way sales reps can make money selling their contacts is via the referral fee. Many companies provide the referral fee to non-employees who help them win business with new customers in exchange for a portion of the sale.

On LinkedIn recently, a question was asked if it was ethical to offer a referral fee for generating new business. There are 7 answers (including one from me) in the affirmative from sales reps, consultants and small business owners with no dissenting replies. This is different than selling a business contact’s information anonymously, rather this is a fee earned for introducing and helping sell the solution to your customer.

Selling to Senior Management

2 Oct

Where do senior managers get their information when evaluating purchase decisions? According to eMarketer and the always informative Paul DiModica of Digital Hatch, the internet is not the first place they look. Instead, the first place they get this information is from their colleagues in other companies. And the surprising second place winner? From the sales reps calling on them. If one of your own customers can’t refer you to the new prospective customer you’re targeting, then find a sales rep who already claims them as a customer!

emarketerreferral.gif

Paul does not have blog but he publishes a weekly email newsletter. I’ve saved every one of his newsletter since I started subscribing in 2004. Thanks, Paul!

Do Unto Others

24 Sep

I find it interesting when someone else is trying to sell me, either as a consumer or executive. The shoe is on the other foot! Even as I’m concentrating on what they’re saying to me, a part of me is critiquing how well they’re selling to me, how they handle objections, how they follow through on commitments and when they try their first trial close on me. And if my wife is with me, it’s even more interesting to see them try to discern who the final decision maker is!

I’ve found that two traits serve me well as a salesperson – one is putting myself in the buyer’s shoes to understand what’s motivating them to consider this sale. (also good for effective negotiation) The other is the biblical “…do unto others as you would have them do unto you…” I would hope and expect that people selling to me would exhibit the same traits.

A recent article by John Quelch in Harvard Business Online takes this further by outlining what he considers are the five traits that make a good customer – be demanding but also respectful. Be reliable but also engaging and surprising. He summarizes by saying the customers that exhibit these traits to a vendor are higher up on the priority pecking order. I wish this was true – unfortunately it’s usually the squeaky-wheel customer or 80%-of-this-quarter’s-sales customer that gets to the top of line. But I do wish it!

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