Tag: Selling Skills

Dignity, Self-Respect and Real Estate Success

A Different Mindset for Successful Realtors

We have trained hundreds of Realtors and Brokers. Most of them were already quite successful before they enrolled in our sales courses. And, all of them had previously been trained by one or more well known real estate sales trainers. So, why did they spend time and money to participate in our particular courses?

Word got around that they should read our book, “High Probability Selling” (HPS). It is not a textbook or a how-to book. It tells the story about a veteran salesperson (in the packaging industry) who learned how to find and make appointments with prospects who wanted to buy what he had to offer. It showed them how, by being direct and honest with prospects, he could close a much higher percentage of them.

So what; isn’t that what all sales trainers say? No, it isn’t. Most sales trainers say they can teach you tricks and techniques to get more appointments and close more sales. If you have the drive, motivation and guts to use the manipulative tactics they teach, it usually works. However, most Realtors don’t like to use those tricks and tactics. They don’t like how they feel about themselves when they sell that way. Unfortunately, those who will not sell that way often adopt a totally soft-sell approach and they don’t sell very much.

This book presents an entirely different sales process based on mutual trust, mutual respect, and authenticity. It’s about being totally forthcoming with people. It’s about being who you really are, instead of acting the part of a charming and charismatic professional. In that shift, those highly successful Realtors saw the possibility of regaining their dignity, self-respect and self-esteem. They wanted that more, a lot more, than they wanted to increase their income by some large percentage.

When they participated in the HPS course, they no longer felt the need to be overly courteous, overly friendly, or extremely accommodating. They gave up the ultra-cheery persona, the rapport-building techniques, and the insincere flattery. Instead, they learned to stop treating prospects like prey and to deal with them on the basis of mutual trust and respect. To do that requires a totally different mindset and an organized sales process designed to achieve that kind of a relationship. They also learned how to disqualify untrustworthy prospects before they become the worst kind of clients.

HPS is not a soft-sell process. It requires total disclosure by both parties. Clear, explicit mutual agreements and commitments with prospects who are ready, willing and able are required. Prospects who withhold commitments are temporarily disqualified, quickly and courteously. They will be provided with more opportunities to make commitments again, soon. That saves the substantial time and resources that are wasted on prospects who do not intend to buy.

How did the training work for those successful Realtors? It created a new, more enjoyable way for them to live their lives, and to sell even more in less time. Work became more like fun than work. Personal relationships improved. Their sales and income improved. Many of them hired staffs and their staffs also enrolled in HPS courses. They enrolled in follow-on programs to get a deeper understanding of the HPS mindset that they experienced in previous courses.

If you want to see how the HPS mindset can work for you, read the book, attend an HPS Mindset Teleconference, or both.

Recession: A Great Time to Sell

What Good is a Recession?

Whether a recession is generally spread across all industries, or localized to just your industry, it is a great time to be selling. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters (3 month periods) when economic activity, i.e. total sales, is lower than the two preceding quarters. In severe recessions sales have been as much as 15 percent lower than the two preceding quarters. That means that (only) 85 percent of your market is still buying. However, most of your competitors will have substantially cut back on their sales efforts.

A Time to Sell More, Not Less

In the 1980s, at the start of the personal computer era, there were 151 computer manufacturers in the USA. Due to over-production, the industry went into a tailspin. Fifty-two of those computer manufacturers went bankrupt in the first year of that industry recession. At that time, I was the Executive VP of a company that provided manufacturing equipment and tools to the computer industry.

Most of our competitors, the suppliers to the computer industry, feared the recession. So, they cut back on their sales and marketing efforts. However, our company hired and trained more salespeople, and we increased our marketing efforts. And, that was a period of maximum growth for our company.

Think about it! During that recession, 99 of the original 151 computer manufacturers were still building and selling computers.

And, their average sales went up because their failed competitors could no longer supply computers to the market. There were 33 percent fewer computer suppliers in a market that was buying 15 percent fewer computers. Therefore, the computer companies that survived did an average of 18 percent more business. However, our company’s sales to the computer industry increased by almost 100 percent because most of our competitors made themselves weaker due to their fear of the recession.

A Time to Gain Market Share

Even companies that have a very large market share should continue their levels of sales and marketing during a recession. That has been proven in the auto industry where American manufacturers are managed for profitability per quarter and Japanese manufacturers are managed for long-term growth. While the American car companies have cut back on marketing and sales during recessions, Japanese car companies have continued at pre-recession levels. Thus, the Japanese gained market share during the recessions and they held onto their market share gains when the recessions ended.

Adjust Your Sales Process

Whether you are running a company or your own book of business, you should be able to considerably increase your success during a recession. However, it is not “business as usual.” Having a highly effective sales process is more important than ever.

You must be able to efficiently find and identify the high probability prospects. You must be able to work with them on the basis of mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual commitments.

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One-Minute Sales Tip: Say Goodbye to Resistance

What causes sales resistance?

It’s not automatically produced by the customer; it’s created by the intention of the salesperson. Resistance is created when the salesperson intends to do whatever it takes to get the prospect to buy.

Most people perceive this as pressure.  The natural reaction whenever pressure is applied is resistance. Remove the pressure, and you and the customer breathe easier and more business gets done.

Resistance is not a factor when seller and buyer both want the same thing – to do business together. Change your intention.  Find the prospects that want to buy and say goodbye to sales resistance.  

Script Your Way to Being a Good Listener

By Paul Bunn

“I’m just preparing my impromptu remarks.” – Winston Churchill

One of the keys to effective listening, especially over the telephone, is to use a script.

Before you recite a myriad of reasons that disagree with that idea, momentarily suspend your disbelief and read on.

When prospecting, or selling, you either follow a well thought out process or you’re “winging it”. The chances are that if you’re winging it, you’re not thought of by your prospects as a good listener.

We train salespeople to design “offers” that quickly and accurately describe their product or service. Then we drill them on how to reply to eleven typical responses that they are likely to hear from prospects.

We also recommend that they create a “prospecting board” or visual display of these responses and standardized phrases to handle them. The most successful prospectors use them every time they prospect. Therefore they don’t have to memorize the replies, even if there are only 11 replies needed.

These successful prospectors also read their offer (script) every time they make a prospecting call. Do they sound like they are reading from a script? Yes, sometimes, in the beginning. Does it adversely affect their results? No, it actually has a positive effect.

In numerous surveys on the decision criteria people use in making important purchases, trust and respect are numbers one and two, respectively. Effective selling, whether you’re using High Probability or not, is about those two factors. Listening to prospects is one way to achieve mutual respect.

Even people who are great at multi-tasking find it very difficult to concentrate on two different speakers at the same time. If you are trying to listen to your prospects and at the same time, thinking about what you are going to say next, you’ll find that you don’t hear them or connect with them deeply enough.

Using a script is a reliable and measurable way to discover what works and what doesn’t work in your communication. It also is a way to be well prepared for making calls, and increase your listening and building a relationship of respect with your prospects. Scripts also keep you in control of the sales process.

If you are a salesperson who uses High Probability, perhaps this article is a reminder about one of the fundamentals of written offers and responses. For those of you who want a refresher or coaching on your prospecting system, stay tuned for the announcement of the High Probability Mastery Coaching Program. Or call us to find out more.

If you are a salesperson who is not using our system, to discover how using a script and a few short responses can help you sell more with less stress, and build relationships of respect with your prospects. Or, if you want to discover what HPS sounds like, give us a call at (610) 566-1535, or toll-free at (800) 394-7762.

When Common Phrases Sabotage Sales

by Jacques Werth and Paul Bunn

We live in a cynical world.  Salespeople have helped create that world, by using words and phrases in ways that trigger suspicion, create mistrust and sabotage sales.

Many of these words and phrases are part of traditional and popular sales techniques that are intended to create trust and “build rapport” but actually do the opposite.

You may not even realize that you are using these words and phrases in a way that negatively affects your communication and your business.

Here are four of the most common ones:

“Interested”

Interested is the word that salespeople use when they don’t want to hear “No.”  Interested is the word that prospects use when they don’t want to say “Yes.” There is no commitment associated with interest.

Interested people are gathering information.  Interested people are not ready to buy.  Selling to them when they are merely interested is usually a frustrating waste of your time and energy.  Also, experience shows that it virtually guarantees that when they are ready to buy, they won’t buy from you.

Interested indicates an opportunity for marketing, not sales.

“Honestly” or “To Tell the Truth”

People pay more attention to what you do than what you say.  They have learned that when a salesperson says they are going to be honest, they are likely to do the opposite.

When it comes to honesty, don’t say it.  Be it.

“Just” or “Only”

“I just wanted to let you know…” or “Just fifteen minutes of your time.”  What does the word “just” imply in sales situations?  It communicates that you seem to be trivializing your communication in order to disarm the prospect. You’re minimizing the importance of your products and services, and your own time.  If someone is a real prospect for your product or service, it’s an important priority. 

“Thank You”

While gratitude in a business situation is often warranted, “Thank You” is one of the most over-used and abused phrases spoken by salespeople. 

There is no need to thank prospects for their time and attention.  Repeatedly thanking prospects and customers implies a subservient, begging, position, which will cause a loss of respect for you.

If you say thank you when no real value is received, then you will be seen as being insincere and phony.  That impression will sabotage your credibility, mutual respect and lose business.

In High Probability Selling, we have a list of more than 30 of these words and phrases. We train salespeople to become aware of, and then either eliminate them or radically change how they use them. 

People want to do business with people they can trust and respect.  They will try to avoid doing business with anyone who arouses suspicion.  The words you choose and the way you use them make all the difference.

To learn how to communicate with trust and respect, click here.

High Probability Selling
© 2008.  All rights reserved.

A Process for Sales Success

by Jacques Werth

Most salespeople, sales managers and sales trainers know that sales training seldom has a lasting beneficial effect.  The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and other research organizations state that less than 25% of the people who take sales training courses obtain a sustained increase in their sales performance.   Why not?

The vast majority of organizations that conduct sales training teach the subject the same way they would teach a Philosophy or Literature class.  They outline their beliefs about the basic outline of their sales methods and invite the students to fill in the blanks.  However, for every product, service, industry, market and salesperson there are myriad ways to fill in the blanks.  Furthermore, the students are encouraged to “think creatively” in each situation; to “adapt their sales methods” to each individual prospect.  Almost all of them find that selling that way is too complex, and too difficult, to implement in the real world with real prospects.  

Creativity is extremely important to artists, researchers, consultants, parents, and in many other fields.  In sales, a consistent process that seldom varies is far more important.  Then, making changes to parts of the process should only be done when you discover something that consistently works better.

Top salespeople look at their selling skills as a craft.  Like carpenters, surgeons, accountants, and other skilled practitioners, they strive to do what works best the vast majority of the time.  That means they constantly hone their craft.  Working from a process outline, they fill in each section with what works best.  Most of the best salespeople seldom deviate from their complete sales process.  Rather, they work with written questionnaires and check lists during their conversations with prospects and customers. 

This is a typical sales process outline used by many top salespeople:

  1. Only meet with prospects that are ready, willing and able to specify or buy your type of product.  Confirm the facts before the first meeting.
  2. At the meeting, or telephone appointment, agree on the rules of engagement for the sales process.
  3. Determine whether you can have a relationship of mutual trust.
  4. Determine whether you have a mutually acceptable basis to do business.
  5. Agree on the prospect’s criteria for buying your product or service.
  6. Demonstrate how you will fulfill the prospect criteria and consummate the sale.  

For a lasting beneficial effect from sales training you must develop or find a consistent sales process, comprised of reality-based measurable steps and written questionnaires.  Then, you can develop the skill to utilize the process for consistent, long lasting sales improvement.

For more information about our proven sales process, click here.

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High Probability Selling Inc.
(C) 2007.  All Rights Reserved.

Two-Minute Sales Tip

“I Know Your Time is Valuable.”

Is that what you tell prospects that you call?

Don’t.

And don’t tell them:

  * “This call will only take a minute,“

  * “My visit will be very short,” or

  * “I won’t waste your time.”

Your time is much more valuable than any prospect’s time because it is your life.  To imply that your time is less valuable than the prospect’s accomplishes two things; the prospect perceives that you are insincere, a fool, or both.

Trust and Respect are the two most important buying decision factors for most people.  When you imply that the prospect’s time is more important than yours’, you have put yourself below them. That instantly lowers their respect for you. When they perceive you to be insincere, that automatically diminishes trust.

What to do instead.  Convince yourself that no one’s time is more important than your own.  When you cherish and respect your own time, you do not waste it on prospects that are not likely to buy.  Prospects will intuitively perceive that you are not a time-waster.  That makes them feel good about taking your prospecting calls.  They will also feel good about doing business with you when they want your type of products or services.

To learn more, visit our website:

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High Probability Selling Inc.
(C) 2007.  All Rights Reserved.

Close Effortlessly without Pressure or Anxiety

By Jacques Werth, President

High Probability Closing is not an event. It’s an integral part of the entire sales process.  We define “closing” as Mutual Commitment. Therefore, we request the prospect’s commitment at every step of the sales process, and we make corresponding commitments. We close throughout the entire sales process – typically between 25 and 45 times.

Closing starts when we set the appointment and then ask, “If we can meet all of your conditions of satisfaction for (this product or service), what will you do?” If the prospect doesn’t reply with “I’ll buy it,” or words to that effect, we immediately cancel the appointment, for now. However, we will continue to call the prospect every three to four weeks until he/she is ready to make a conditional commitment.

Most salespeople set out to contact a large number of people who have an apparent need for their products and service. Their objective is to convince every one of them to grant them an appointment.

If we don’t get a commitment at any step of the sales process, we determine whether the commitment that isn’t accepted is a deal breaker. If so, we terminate the sales process (perhaps temporarily) and we leave. Why? Staying and pitching to a prospect who does not make commitments almost guarantees the following:

  1. The probability that the prospect will buy on that visit is highly unlikely.
  2. You’re wasting your time and the prospect’s, thereby creating resistance to yourself and diminished respect.  That leaves them with a negative perception of you.
  3. If and when the prospect does decide to buy in the future, it’s most likely that he/she will buy from a competitor.

Think about how you would react if you were the prospect. This salesperson has given you all the information you need to make a decision when you were not ready to buy. Though mildly annoyed, you listened to their entire sales pitch. Now, when you are ready to buy, isn’t it likely that you will check what his/her competition has to offer? If the competitor’s salesperson appears equally competent and seems to have as good a deal, who are you most likely to buy from? Will you buy from the salesperson who is there now, or will you have him/her leave and call back the one who you wouldn’t buy from before?

However, if the prospect is ready to buy and we do arrive at mutual commitment throughout the initial sales process, we hardly ever encounter any “think it over” objections at the end. The prospect has just made dozens of commitments and affirmations of their intention to buy every feature, benefit and detriment of your product or service. At that point the prospect is anxious to consummate the sales process and get the benefits of your products and/or services. They have literally convinced themselves of the practicality of those decisions. The human mind operates like a self-validating computer. It does not doubt its own data.

People who utilize this process attain very high closing averages, both per number of prospecting offers and per number of prospect visits.

 

 

Trust and Respect – The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

by Jacques Werth

Does your selling style address the most fundamental needs of your prospects? What are the most important factors to someone making an important buying decision?

Universities and market research firms have conducted numerous studies to determine the most important buying decision factors for people who make significant purchases. We gathered as many of those studies as we could find, and did simple correlation analyses to average out the results. Here are the results, in order of importance.

Weighted Values* of Buying Decision Factors(c)

1. Level of Trust in the Salesperson: 87
2. Level of Respect for the Salesperson: 82
3. Reputation of the Company or Product: 76
4. Features of the Product or Service: 71
5. Quality and Service: 58
6. Price (non-commodity): 16
12. Like the Salesperson (rapport): 3
      *(Weight = percentage of people listing each factor in their top 5)

The average salesperson knows how to effectively present 4 of the 7 factors cited above: Reputation (#3), Features (#4), Quality and Service (#5), and Rapport (#12). Most salespeople try to handle the two most important buying decision factors, Trust (#1) and Respect (#2), by establishing Rapport (#12).

Building “Rapport” is an inherently manipulative tactic. Ironically, typical salespeople attempt to establish Trust and Respect, non-manipulative factors, by manipulating people. Building rapport doesn’t establish trust and respect, it diminishes trust and respect. That’s why only 3% of all buyers surveyed rate ‘Like the Salesperson’ as an important buying decision factor.

If Trust and Respect are so important, why don’t most salespeople learn how to establish relationships of trust and respect with their prospects and customers? We’ve come to the conclusion that there are three reasons:

  1. Most salespeople don’t know that it can be done.
  2. If they learn a process that develops that kind of relationship, they feel uncomfortable using it because it’s very unconventional.
  3. Trust and Respect are very personal emotions, and sharing emotions is commonly regarded as only suitable for intimate relationships. Most salespeople have a fear of intimacy. Yet, we’ve found that less than 1/2 of 1 percent of prospects and customers have a fear of intimacy.

Let’s suppose you’re faced with a very important buying decision. Let’s say you have decided to relocate thirty miles away from where you live now, so that you and your spouse will both have shorter commutes to work. So, you need to sell your current home and buy a new one. To whom would you entrust the sale of your most valued possession? Are you going to entrust the sale of your house to a charming and friendly Realtor who tells you that they have the best marketing system, the best skills, the best negotiating ability, and affiliation with the biggest real estate firm? Or, will you hire the Realtor whom you trust and respect the most to sell your most valued possession?

Regardless of whether you sell to consumers or B-2-B, all sales are made to people. When the sales are significant, most people want to buy from someone they trust and respect. Why? Fear of loss is the most important buying motivation. You could lose tens of thousands in the hands of an untrustworthy Realtor. At work, choosing an unreliable vendor could cost you a raise, a promotion, or your job.

If you learn a process that establishes relationships of mutual trust and respect with prospects during your first conversation with them, you will have the ultimate competitive advantage. If not, hope to be the most persuasive salesperson your prospects meet- and hope that someone who practices High Probability Selling isn’t your competitor!

 If you want to learn how to make trust and respect your competitive advantage, click here.

Until Next Time…Sell Well

Jacques Werth, President
High Probability Selling

Copyright 2007.

 

Tags: How+to+sell, The+secret+to+selling, Selling+and+Persuasion

A Tire-Buying Experience

by Jacques Werth

It rained here last Friday and, while driving home from the office, my car was losing traction on the wet roads. That reminded me I had been putting off getting replacement tires for my car. So, on Saturday I went to the consumerReports.org website and looked up their tire ratings.

Consumer Reports rated tires made by Falken and Nitto highest. Nitto is the one that seemed to suit my driving style best. I never heard of either brand, but since most tires are made offshore now, that did not bother me.

I looked up both websites to find dealers. Falken is sold by Sears; Nitto is sold by a relatively small number of dealers.  I called a Nitto dealer and he said, "Nitto doesn’t make tires in the size your car needs. They make tires for racing and high performance sports cars. A few of them fit some other cars, but not many. What you really want is Michelin and we have them in stock. They are less expensive and we install them immediately. When do you want to come over?"

I said, "I haven’t decided yet."

He said, "What are you concerned about?"

"My car came with Michelins and I want something better now."

"What don’t you like about the Michelins?"

Not wanting to get trapped by a rhetorical question, I replied, "I just want something better."

"You don’t have any better choice than Michelins, but we can get you any tire you want." I ended that conversation quickly.

Then, I called a large local dealer and spoke to Maureen. I asked her, "Do you have a tire in my size that is close in performance to the Nitto tire?"  

Maureen replied, "Consumer Reports, right?

I said, "Yup."
 
Maureen said, "The only one that we sell, which is in the same ball park, is the Michelin. However, you can get Falken tires at Sears for about the same price as Michelin, and it is rated higher than Michelin. We can provide you with General Tires that are very good, but not as highly rated as the Falken." That will save you about $200 for a set of four. She then
gave me a short explanation.

I said, "Thanks for the suggestion, but the price difference is not important for this car."

Maureen said, "In that case, good luck with your Falkens. Please try us again when you want tires, shocks or brakes for another vehicle." The conversation with Maureen took no more than four minutes.

My wife’s 740-IL will probably need tires in about six months. She does not put much mileage on her car and she does not drive very fast. You can bet that we will buy her tires from Maureen.

To learn more about why Maureen’s response earned my future business, read Chapter 3 of our book online.

Until Next Time…Sell Well

Jacques Werth, President
High Probability Selling

Copyright 2007.

 

Tags: How+to+sell, The+secret+to+selling, Selling+and+Persuasion