Sell Next Door

 

I took this picture early in the morning. Note, this Dominoes pizza sales team is selling next door.  Giving out Pizza in the morning so they can sell it at night.  What are you doing when the phone isn't ringing?  It's time to sell next door.

 

How would you like to take your sales team’s closing ratio from 20% up to 64%?  It can happen by just encouraging them to knock on the neighbor’s door.  It sounds too good to be true, but working on referrals is the quickest way to increase your closing ratio by almost 40%.  Most managers tell us they make their sales team ask for referrals.  Still most sales professionals fail to do so.  Here’s an easy way to get that referral and rocket your sales closing ratio to a new level.

     Do you know who your next door neighbor is?  Most Americans don't have any idea who lives across the street.  We can thank too much television and the internet for that. Whatever happened to the good old days of “you watch my kids and I'll watch yours”?  Try this on for size:   go out and plan a block party.  I'll write the invitation.

 

“Join us for a pizza party this Friday!

It's a chance for neighbors to meet each other,

and we'll even pay for the  pizza!”

    

     Get your kids to help you hang an invite on every door, order 20 pizzas and get to know your next door neighbors.

   Now you may be asking, “What does this have to do with increasing my closing ratio?”  Okay, here goes:  who's your best client?  I know you can answer that, but can you tell me what business is right next door to them?  And better yet--who is the decision maker?   I'm amazed at the number of sales people who fail to go next door to their best client and ask for business.  Or better yet, take that prized client next door and ask for an introduction.  Talk about a referral!  By the way, if you own a business and you don't know who is next door, try taking your product next door for them to sample. Say you own a coffee shop and the guy next door is a barber.  Take over some samples. Remember, people want to do business with people they know and what better way than to do business with your neighbor--or your neighbor’s friends!  If nothing else, it's a good excuse to order pizza this Friday.

     So now we know we should be asking for referrals.  But there’s another step:  follow-up.  According to my reserarch 81% of referrals are not followed up.  That means the sales person isn’t even making the phone call on the prospect.  Start asking your team to identify the client’s next door neighbor and create a system of referrals and recommendations that will increase your closing ratio by 40%.  It all starts by meeting your neighbor and learning to sell next door.

4 Keys to Refer-ability

When the Nordstrom Rack opened in Boise in April it people lined around the block waiting to get in. I’m a big fan of the store, but I’m not so sure I would wait in line. So I wonder why all of the people in the picture I posted decided to spend a weekday morning standing and waiting.

Nordstrom has impeccable service and great merchandise. They did the right kind of advertising and they had a great call to action. It featured a shopping spree give away and great deals on name brand clothes for all of those who stood the test of time. But I think the big driver on opening day attendance was that others referred them.

Check out my past blog for the secret on asking for referrals. The key to refer-ability (I made up a new word today) comes down to four easy steps. If you do these behaviors all the time I can’t promise you line like Nordstrom Rack on opening day, but you will have raving fans.

4 Keys to Refer-ability

1 Show up on time-preferably early
2 Do what you say you’ll do- no need to over deliver, just do what you promised
3 Finish what you start-a lot of people start projects, few finish them
4 Say please and thank you-astonishing how much they are forgotten

Beggars Can’t be Choosers

I found the man in the photo above at the corner of Progress St. and Meridian Road asking for a hand out. He’s not even getting paid and more than likely he’s doing more prospecting, presenting and-- yes closing-- than your full time sales team. The question you should be asking is ‘why is this happening?’
At Sandler Crossroads Training in Boise we talk about behaviors, attitudes and techniques for successful selling. If you can get your team to have a great ‘BAT-ing’ average, they will be successful in the sales world. Here’s a quick example of helping your team’s average:
Behavior: 3 x 9 Ten and Two. Contact three current customers before nine in the morning, make ten cold calls and two drop- in visits before the end of the day, every day five days a week.
Attitude: The economy is as good as I choose to make it, and I will continue to improve my sales skills each day by reading, writing and practicing.
Technique: I will create a script for each one of my cold calls. I will have a formula for generating leads and will follow a plan to ask all of my clients for referrals and recommendations.
You now have a few choices. Hope and pray your team will come up with a plan and be frustrated that the man on the street is creating more sales activity than they are. Or take action and create at BAT plan that gets results. Sandler Crossroads Training can help if you’re ready and willing.

Carson can do it, why can't you?

As student body president my son, Carson, delivers the morning announcements at his middle school. His custom has become to introduce a bit of humor using Jimmy Fallon style “Thank You” notes. If you’re not familiar, they go something like this: “Thank you outstanding debt (dramatic pause) for sounding like such a good thing!” Fallon, and now Carson, effectively uses the thank you note format to deliver humor and commentary everyday life. It got me thinking that thank you notes are a great vehicle for many messages because they carry such goodwill.
If you think you know where this is leading just hear me out. Many of you have been telling me lately that things are really slow right now. Might this be an excellent time to call or write thank you notes to your current clients? Not only to express your gratitude for their business, but to ask them for future customers: referrals. It’s a perfect way to remove the discomfort from the whole referral request process.
A Seattle sales professional we train told us he was stranded at home by a week-long, record snow storm. He used the opportunity to call all of his current clients and ask if they’d made it to or from work safely. He also thanked them for their business which, in turn, led to referrals. Saying thanks just naturally spurs the conversation!
Here are few more things about referrals. Twenty percent of your customers will give you a referral in a moment’s notice. All you have to do is ask and they will deliver. Another twenty percent will not give you a referral. It’s not you….they just will not give anyone a recommendation, not even their mom or dad. So here’s where you can grow your business. Sixty percent of your current clients don’t know how to give a referral. Meaning if you ask them to help you out, they will say sure but they don’t quite know what you mean.
So here’s a tip to help them work through it using the acronym SEAM. S stands for Stroke, as in when a client gives you a compliment or thanks you for a job well done. You can return the favor by telling them how much you admire their business practice, which leads into the E: Experience. Share with them how you go about generating new business or clients. “I generate new customers with referrals and recommendations.” That will lead you into the next step which is A for Ask. “Would you be willing to give me a referral?” In my opinion the most important part of the SEAM system is the M. That is to match or to assist your customer in finding mates for your business. How about your accountant, or maybe your plumber, do you have a contractor that is really good? Using this system will help you teach the 60 percent of those who want to give you a referral but simply don’t know how, the system to find you a great lead or recommendation.
The nationwide closing average on sales cold calls is about 12 percent. However, if you have a referral that number jumps to nearly 64 percent.
So I’ll close with this thank you note: “Thank you, SEAM, for sounding like something that holds my pants together when really, you’re helping me get more customer referrals!”

What is your business brand?

Like the picture above. (Arby's the King of Roast Beef selling fish)Make sure you
don't forget or confuse your brand. Remember, There is a reason Mcdonalds doesn't sell pizza. Here's as simple tool for you to build your brand.


One of the best ways to start the process is to look at what works. “Blue turf” means Bronco Stadium. Nationwide, this brings to mind “Boise.” The success of that simple brand or image leads to the question: can you define your business with just one or two words or one color? How about “red carpet”? That’s the treatment you get using A-1 Plumbing of Boise. Wow, a plumber and red carpet? That’s what sets this business apart from its competitors. Quick, memorable liners like these make a difference in the minds of your customer. Do these things ring a bell?
• “You deserve a break today!”
• “Can you hear me now?”
• “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz”
They’re like ear worms embedded in the head of your potential customers. Now that’s a marketing relief! The first step in setting yourself apart from the competition is daring to be different. When Boise State picked blue turf in 1986 only one person liked it: the athletic director. Now, everyone loves blue! Friends call from all over the country when they notice the Broncos are on TV. And boy do they notice. Are you a member of Bronco Nation? It’s another great catch phrase. Imagine the daring creative director who pitched the caveman who was smart enough to sell insurance? Now, you’ve got to admit that’s brilliant! That’s something even a gecko lizard can admire!
Here are some simple ideas that can spell success when creating a brand:
S is for Simple. Les Schwab says “sudden service.”
U is for Unexpected surprise. Give more than they ever expected.
C is for Concrete. “We guarantee results on 580 KIDO”
Another C is for– Credibility. “Four out of five dentists recommend Trident gum.”
E is for Emotion. “Listen to him laugh!”

S is for Story. Hewlett-Packard started in a garage.

One more S is for stick with your branding plan. Don’t change your motto in mid— stream. Think how long the folks at Allstate Insurance have been saying, “You’re in good hands.”

Using S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is a unique way to create a brand and make your business memorable in the minds of prospective customers.

Entertain me with your sales presentation

Want to teach your staff to create sales presentations more appealing than mother’s Christmas dinner table? Start by sitting down each staff member and asking them to show you the entire presentation they just showed a prospective client. More than likely it was a one-sheet they show all prospects. Or maybe it’s the Power Point template they just happened to “customize” with the prospect’s company logo. Before you have this meeting with your employees, invest the time and money to have dinner at a local teriyaki style Japanese cooking restaurant. If you’re in Las Vegas I suggest Benihana. In Boise my favorite is Teppanyaki. The key is not so much the food but the presentation. The chef prepares and cooks the food at a grill right in front of you. With a maestro’s upswing he adds oil to the grill and commences a rapid, fiery, high-flying show that results in a masterful mix of seafood, chicken, steak, rice and vegetables. Add the spinning egg trick and the shrimp tossed into your dining partner’s mouth—and the presentation exhilarates and satisfies every time! The question I have for you: do your presentations have the flair of a Japanese steak house or a drive-thru fast food chain?
One of my clients writes commercial jingles for a living. He has a long list of clients including Glade air fresheners, McDonald’s and Heinz ketchup. I noticed during his presentations to attract new clients he would put in a CD, turn up a jingle created for these previous clients and hope the prospect would be dazzled enough to buy. He’s had good success, but I asked him to consider playing the guitar and singing the jingle live and in person. His success rate has increased. So far every presentation, 100%, has resulted in a sale. Think if your business needed a marketing jingle and my music man were to visit, break out the guitar and sing your new custom song. Now that’s a presentation that will make the sale. I once brought a marching band to a presentation. It certainly grabbed the owner’s attention. And perhaps more importantly it rallied the sales team into ‘buy in’ to the proposal as well.
Ask yourself before each presentation you make, “How will my competition make this same pitch? How can I make this pitch different and, more importantly, memorable? In this day and age with audio and video tools at your fingertips, you should be--at the very least-- playing video or audio testimonials. Or how about using video to improve your performance during presentations? Golfer Tiger Woods watches video of every round of golf to scrutinize both the strong and weak parts of his game. Your staff should be doing the same.
If you are in the realty business, how about hiring someone to set up a lemonade stand, a trampoline and some kids at your next open house? During your presentation ask the prospective homebuyer, “What do you want to see out your kitchen window?” Car dealers—sales trainer Joe Verde says that 99% of the people who walk on your lot want to test drive a car. However, fewer than 6 out of 10 actually get a test drive or presentation demonstration. What if you actually drive the new car to that person’s home and leave it at their house for the weekend?
Think BIG and make it a presentation to remember. Christmas dinner only comes around once a year. But I can remember everything special my mom makes because of the presentation. Does your prospect remember you because of your presentation or is it just another trip to the drive thru?

Are you sold on your product or where you work?

I found a coffee shop in Ontario Oregon, that is giving this card away for patrons to have a free "work pass" to drink coffee at this shop. Our your workers given the green light to dream up ideas like this for you. Better yet do they believe enought in your company to take such a bold step. Read more to learn more about selling you're workers on your product and company.

The headline of the newspaper read: "Dave Ruined My Olympic
Moment." The Dave was me--the Olympic moment was Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya
Harding for the ice skating gold medal in 1992. Similar to this year's
winter games, the competitions in Norway were completed well before the
events aired on U.S. prime time television. If you weren't careful you'd
know the outcome before you were able to watch the competition. I didn't
mean to spill the beans about the Kerrigan/Harding showdown, but a
recorded news brief ran just before the women's singles ice skating. I was
the talk of the town on the receiving end of plenty of hate mail for
spoiling the outcome.
My wife, Claudia, recently reminded me of that moment saying a checker
had ruined her "customer service moment". More retail employees are
getting a script or recommendations on how to 'personalize' a customer's
experience. However if the employee doesn't believe in the product or
company, the script does no good. The moment falls flat.
Claudia went looking for costume items for our daughter's sock-hop at
school. When presented with the glittery black felt, the fabric shop
employee asked Claudia, "Wow, what will you be making with this?" Claudia
shared her idea then commented on how nice it was that the cashier took an
interest. He quickly replied that he DIDN'T actually care; he was just
told he had to ask every customer the question. Nothing says "come back
again" like being told "I'm just doing what I have to in order to keep my
job."
Another spoiled customer service moment came when I wanted to buy a
"flip" style video camera. The electronics guy steered me away from the
store's sale item toward a big name brand instead. Then he asked if I'd
sign-up for a store credit card so I could get an additional discount. I
declined which prompted him to reply, "Good thing it’s a bad idea... but I
have to ask all the customers that."
Managers and owners---what are your employees saying to customers? Do
they not understand that truly satisfied customers equate to job security?
Make sure your sales people believe in what you are asking them to tell
customers.
* Believe in themselves
*Believe in the product
*Believe in the company

If they don't--you need to find other employees who will enhance the
customer service moment.

When in Doubt Throw a Party!

Or at the least hang a car from a crane or put a bail of hay in the back of a new car, to get attention for your company. I posted two such people using this method.
It's a start, however, if you read the rest of this blog you'll find a way to finish your marketing plan with a great party.


When in Doubt, Throw a Party!
As a marketing and sales expert (I would rather be referred to as a lead generator), the most common question I get is: “What’s the best form of advertising?” My simple reply is: “The one that works!” It sounds simple, but most business owners looking for advertising aren’t really sure what or how to use the medium they select. An over-zealous sales person may be pushing something on you and not explaining how it works. Or, you may have heard the web is the way to go. Without the proper strategy and tactics, the mission of generating new leads for your business will surely fail.

Here are my Favorite Five Tips when it comes to marketing your business or product:

• Tell a great story! We all love to hear how people got where they are and how they decided to start the business.
• Find a need. All the marketing in the world won’t help you sell a widget that people don’t want. My advice is to ask customers what they want to buy from you.
• Focus, focus and focus. Who is it you want to tell your story to and what do you want them to know about your product.
• You’re brand is a promise to a customer. Make sure you keep your promise every time.
• Price, quality and convenience. Not necessarily in that order, but good notes to remember in your marketing message. You have to prove your value when they come through the door.

Here’s my million-dollar, top-secret marketing weapon. When in doubt, throw a party. It sounds simple, but people forget to do it and do it often enough to make a difference. Invite prospects in to try your product and make it fun for them to use and, of course, purchase. The price of admittance for your party: bring a friend along.

So, now it’s your turn to tell a great story when someone asks you what the best form of advertising is.