Sharon Knecht International

What my Five Year Old Taught Me About Sales!

2010-03-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best thing that will ever happen to you is losing a deal. It probably doesn't feel that way when it happens; after all sales people get paid to close deals. The problem when we lose a deal is most of the time we don't go back and evaluate what we could and should have done differently. Instead, we say things like:

"That guy was a jerk anyway!"
"They are so stupid, if only they knew what they really buying instead."
"They probably couldn't afford my product anyway!"

My five year old daughter recently learned to ride her bike. And on that first day when she was screaming at me to let go; insistent that "she could do it," I agreed and let go of the bike. 4.9 seconds late she hit the curb, fell off the bike, stood up and screamed at me "why did you let go?"

"I let go because you told me too! You said you could do it!" I said

Tears screaming down her face she said, "But you should have known!"

"You said to let go, that you could do it! What could you have done differently?" I asked trying to sound like a good parent.

"I could have kept my eyes open!"

When you lose a deal, take responsibility. Go back and ask yourself what you could have done differently. Call your prospect and ask them why they made the decision they made. Offer a gift card to them for their honestly. Sincerity works.

Otherwise we sound like my five year old, who for the record, has never hit a curb again.

The Millionare Sales Mind

2010-03-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Salespeople who are million dollar producers aren't necessarily smarter than everyone else, they just use their brain in a more effective way. They say things to themselves like "I won't quit!" or "That no, really means a yes but my prospect just doesn't know it yet!"

And they don't give up. They have a tenacity and a passion that doesn't see and can't hear all of the negative stuff going on in the world today. They are strong in their believes about their product or service. And they remain dedicated no matter what the odds.

To join that million dollar sales club, you must begin to change the way you think and stop joining in the negative tidal wave that so many people now seem to enjoy. For the record, tidal waves are a fairly destructive force in nature. Swimming in one is the surest way to drown. So unless you wish for a mean, suffocating death, begin the process of adding and creating positive thoughts in your mind.

The Hidden Secret in Procrastination!

2010-03-18T12:02:00.001-07:00

Wouldn't it be amazing if everyday we woke up every morning and completed everything we had planned to do that day? Actually, that would be more than amazing; on some days it would be a down right miracle. Sometimes life just gets in the way. But most of the time, we get in the way of ourselves.

Procrastination can be the difference between succeeding in a business and failing miserably. If you're in sales and you KNOW you need to make 10 cold calls a day and you choose to not do it, ultimately you hurt yourself. But when we procrastinate we also affect the well being of other people. In fact, if your procrastination is causing you to make less sales by doing the things you need to do, you hurt every single person in your orgaization whose job depends on you making the sale. From your direct manager, to the accounting department in house, to even the CEO.

To move forward, make a list of the things you intend to do that day. Methodically check them off. And then reward yourself in some way that will be meaningful to you. The economy depends on all of us doing our jobs better.

The Unsophisticated Customer

2010-02-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

It's a price war today. People are sacrificing quality for price and it doesn't matter what industry we talk about. It's really that simple. But there is one word that you can add to your presentations or you sales copy that helps instill trust and handles the objection to price so many people have today.

The word is "Value."

When we say to a customer, "the value in this is....." or it's a value to you because..." we align our words with the true objection of most buyers today.

Try it. We have seen enormous successes by using it as a closing tool. And actually, it's the single most successful word I have taught, salespeople have used and sales are closed.

Remember, the more you understand people, the better you will be at finding the words and phrases that affect them most.

For More Information on Sharon Knecht

Who Ate My Chicken?

2010-02-10T01:06:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I ordered dinner for my family. The delivery was 35 minutes late and my chicken caesar salad arrived without the chicken. (I guess that technically made it just a caesar salad.) I called the restaurant to inquire about the missing chicken. The Manager picked up the line and said without apology, "I was expecting your call, the driver left your side of chicken for the salad in the back."

I paused and then asked, "Were you going to call me to let me know or just hope I didn't mind eating my salad without the chicken?"

Without pause he responded, "Well, I can refund you $1.90, the cost of the chicken."

Now I wasn't asking for money and I'm certain $1.90 wouldn't have cut it if I had been. As a matter of fact, the cost of the salad was $12.95, so one dollar and ninety cents for the only ingredient that seemed of any value was laughable. And so I did just that, I laughed.

Which brings me to a story about a man who knew a little something about customer service. Over the weekend in Arizona a small helicopter crashed killing all those on board. One of the men on board that perished in the crash was Thomas Stewart. Stewart owned the 2nd largest privately held company in Arizona, Services Group of America, that has an annual revenue of 2.5bln dollars. The website for Services Group of America listed the one basic philosophy of Stewart: "Take care of the customer, and everything else will take care of itself." How true that is.

Customer Service is about being proactive. When a mistake is realized, it's being the first to reach out. Often all we need to do is say we are sorry; other times we might have to go a bit farther and offer something of value to the customer.

I have become convinced that the tougher the economic times, the less businesses are willing to go above and beyond. But it's in these tough economic times that consumers are insisting that the money they choose to spend be worth every penny. And when they are not satisfied, they will seek services elsewhere.

I never did get my chicken but after some painful negotiations the Manager promised to refund the cost of the salad. 7 days later my credit card still doesn't show a refund. Technically though, they lose; I will never order from them again. Because just as Thomas Stewart understood: "The customer is the boss!"

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From First to Worst – The Battle for Salespeople

2010-02-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

Today, most Americans hope like hell that the “the Great Recession” is nearly over and a new era of prosperity is about to begin. Yet after two years of hard times one thing remains clear, the damage to the psyche of the American Consumer has been done. Weary and untrusting, many continue to believe they were pawns in the ultimate game of sales; a game that was rigged from the start, destined for their failure.

The result has been a giant tectonic shift in buyer’s attitudes and a compromised ability to process and make decisions. It’s a shift in attitude not seen since the Great Depression where people remained emotionally wounded for over thirty years.

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their minds.” Franklin Roosevelt

Today we read about this “New Economy” and many wonder exactly what that term means? In fact, it means that buyers have changed; they are spending less and taking longer to make decisions when they do purchase. They have become untrusting and are no longer easily swayed by fast talking salespeople selling a dream in a box.

The question I get the most in my seminar and workshops is can salespeople still make the kind of living they once did in the past?

For salespeople, the answer to this question is “yes” or “no” depending on their true sales skill, their character as person and their ultimate ability to overcome the negative attitude and fear of their prospects and customers.

It is an absolute fact that many salespeople today have never learned the basic skills necessary to sell. In years past, hard work, scare tactics, and selling “dreams” that never existed, in what appeared to be a thriving economy, allowed many salespeople to succeed in astonishingly big ways. Although many egos admired their own success, the façade simply could not last.

I’m certain there are a few consumers left who will still respond to crazy tactics so prevalent in the last decade. But for the majority of Americans, these tactics are a road to “rags” and one they can no longer afford or want to be a part of. The game has changed and for sales people to succeed today, they must step up and become the person they want selling to them.

Winning Today

Today salespeople who can get their prospect or customer to “yes,” will be those who change not “what” they sell, but “how” they sell it. The basic skills necessary in the selling and closing process should become inherently second nature. But that’s just the beginning in moving towards sales success today.

Anyone selling in this economy must understand and embrace the inherent problems in the psychology of the consumer and work to overcome it. They must adopt new and better methods to present, speak, build trust and forge deeper relationships. And in doing this, the referral process that only a few salespeople have ever relied upon to grow their business, will become a much more important and meaningful tool to their ultimate success.

The Psychology of the American Consumer!

2010-01-29T00:12:00.000-08:00

Understanding what motivates consumers and their decisions to purchase the product or service you sell has never been more important to American businesses. In fact, in order to move this teetering economy forward, understanding the true nature of the consumer is the first step to renewed economic growth. Recent history provides a clear picture.

In early 2000, many NASDAQ stocks traded to astronomical highs. Average consumers, many of whom had never before invested, bought speculative stocks on the advice of family members, work associates or even strangers. Everyone had the “hot tip” and most were investing in companies they had never heard of prior to their investment. It didn’t turn well for most investors but the bigger lesson of the decade was yet to come.

In mid-2000, with low interest rates as a catalyst and the feeling this asset class could never lose value, housing prices exploded to never before seen highs. In less than 4 years my home in Arizona had risen nearly 100%. Friends and neighbors were buying multiple properties and those that weren’t were using their homes as giant ATM’s to purchase boats, cars and trips. Today, where I live in Maricopa country, 1 in 42 homes are in foreclosure. The devastation to families and communities is enormous.

Many would call this calamity the price you pay for “ego and greed” running rampant in the marketplace. And while this may be partly correct, it doesn’t explain the true, underlying motivation of smart, rationale people who end up making choices that later make little sense to even to them. Consider this simple story.
A few years ago I was watching an Arizona Cardinals game at a Phoenix bar with a few friends. It was a Sunday afternoon and the bar was crowded. Across the bar from me sat a young, very rough looking couple who were clearly not enjoying each others company. By the start of the third quarter they had become so enraged at each other, I was sure a Manager would ask them to leave. But before anyone intervened, the young man suddenly swung his arm high and backhanded the woman with such force, she nearly fell off her chair.

For a moment, everyone in that bar sat in a stunned silence. Did he have a gun? Could he go to his car and get a gun? Even though this man was outnumbered 100 to1, not a single person broke from the herd to come to the aid of this woman or even dial 911. Imagine what would have happened if someone had attempted to restrain the young man? Likely, most would have followed and a different outcome would have occurred.

Fear, not greed, is the overwhelming emotion that drives people to make decisions; right or wrong. But is the collective fear of the group that often causes people to make highly irrational decisions that later make absolutely no sense, even to them.
This collective thinking is called the “herd mentality.”

In nature, animals travel in herds to protect themselves from lone predators. When a member of the herd becomes weak or breaks away, a certain danger lies ahead. Likely, they will be eaten. In civilized society, human beings often exhibit the same kind behavior but instead of staying safe within the herd, they often find themselves face to face with a predator.

Bernie Madoff provides one of the best examples in recent history of the power of the “herd mentality.” Imagine the investor who watched his friends being accepted into this exclusive fund while they remained on the outside. You see, this fear isn’t simply about making decisions. People inherently “need” to be apart of the herd. And if they are not, they become afraid others will get ahead, while they remain behind. Or, afraid their status will be diminished by being an outsider looking in. And in the case of Madoff, some of the wealthiest men and women in this country allowed the collective thinking, once inside, to overlook one very big, obvious fact. It was impossible to achieve the kind of consistent returns he made for his clients, year in and year out. The power of the herd can be mind numbing.

Understanding that it’s impossible to change society and how it works, the first step to successful revenue growth in this economy or in any economy is to create a herd of your own. Today consumers are jaded and creating a herd where information is accessible to the masses and opinions are easily shared is the only way for it to be successful. In order to create your own herd with genuine intention, social medial leads the way.

1. Facebook, Twitter and Linked in- These resources provide a direct way to connect to people and build a following based on trust and information. The more information you provide, the easier it becomes for others to honestly and faithfully follow you and buy from you. In this new economy, people are looking to buy from people they trust.

2. Testimonials – The more testimonials you can garner from your clients, the stronger your brand becomes. When you can do more than show written testimonials, the better. Today it’s important to videotape happy customers and show them prominently on your website, your sales presentations or in your office.

3. Referrals – So many businesses never ask their customers for referrals. In this economy, consumers want to do business with people they trust and the recommendation of a trusted friend is more important than a rich advertising budget. Your mission should be to get 5 referrals from every client you do business with.

Sharon Knecht is an author, speaker and sales trainer. Her new book “Overcome the Madness – 8 Laws for Sales Success in a Crazy Economy” is scheduled to be released in Mid February. For more information on Sharon, go to http://www.sharonknecht.com.

If your Best isn't good enough, that's ok!

2009-12-03T01:11:00.000-08:00

Not long ago I was attending a meeting when a woman stood up to relay a story about dealing with failure in business. She told a story about being in an car accident. One morning while she was driving to work, a car ran a red light. Although she saw the car speeding directly toward her and attempted to swerve to avoid it, she was unable. The other car hit hers on the passenger side. She was fine but her car was totaled. She told this story with this moral: "You may be doing everything right in your business but still not succeed. And that's ok!"

And I wondered...."would I pay for someone to tell any one of my employees this?" The answer is probably not. Unless, of course, I wanted them to continue to fail.

Barter Yourself Broke!

2009-12-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Consumers have become very interesting in their approach to "negotiating." You pull out a pen and a price quote and your intended buyer suddenly seems to be transported to a beach in Mexico looking to purchase a sandy sea shell necklace. You offer your product or service at $10,000.00. Your buyer counters, "I'll give you $1000.00 right now and I'll tell everyone how well your product works." Oh thank heavens! You thought you were "negotiating" with a potential buyer. How lucky you should feel to discover you are "bartering" with Ralph Nadar!

Technically, bartering is "trading" without the exchange of money. "I have a gun, you have corn." Negotiating is coming to a mutually agreeable price - that usually doesn't include the trade of something except money. Unfortunately, potential buyers seem to be trying to mix the two in this time of economic uncertainty. This poses a very difficult challenge to sales representatives who are employed by the company they represent.

The best thing to do is to remind your potential buyer that you are in no position to barter for a product or service. Unless you actually own the company and you prefer to barter.

Remember, if a potential buyer is attempting to barter with you, you have just been put on the defensive. You can't win in that position. (Unless you are actually in a position to barter and want to do so.) If your selling style uses humor, this is the easiest way to deflect barters: "The only form of payment I can accept is Visa, Mastercard, or cash. My list doesn't include verbal or written endorsements, horses or small farm animals."

Always restate your price no matter how you have expressed to your potential buyer that their offer is not an offer at all. Your job then is to remain silent. Wait for the buyer to give you a reasonable counter offer.

If your buyer remains unreasonable, don't be afraid to go back over your price quote - stating to him or her exactly what is being offered, your price discount already built into the offer and how YOU reasonably expect the negotiation to proceed. This will put you back in an offensive position.

If you find that your buyer does not move, your sales process likely needs some fine tuning. It could very well be this "buyer" wasn't really a "buyer" at all. Learn to ask more probing questions to understand your buyers psychology and hot buttons. Understanding what a buyer truly thinks and believes is one of the first keys to executing successful negotiations.

If you Still Say “I want to Earn your Business,” Please Get Out of Sales!

2009-11-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

This morning I had a conversation with a salesman who happened to be at least 20 years my senior. He was curious what I did for a living. I told him I was a motivational speaker who trained sales groups. Have you ever had a moment where you knew you had just challenged someone’s ego? He slightly moved back in his chair and wrinkled his brow. “Reallllly”…he asked. “What’s your hook?”

I wanted to shout out “Captain Hook” because I felt like Wendy being hoisted on the plank. I admitted that my only hook is to help sales people recognize that selling today means you have to do things differently than you did even two years ago; and then providing them with real tools to do that?”

“Reallllly, what exactly do you mean?” he asked with a slight grin.

Now, my own ego suddenly seemed to wake up and slap me on the face. I sat up straighter in my chair and tilted my chin a little forward. Now let me just say right here, I believe every person you meet knows something you don’t; every person has something to contribute to the conversation and most people are more brilliant than they give themselves credit for in some area of their life. But at that moment, he looked like a deer hunter just waiting for the deer to move away from the tree. And there I was!

“I believe that this generation sales person has experienced very few, real economic setbacks. As a matter of fact, you have to go back to the great depression to find anything close to how consumers have been financially devastated over the past several years. I teach the things that are absolutely required to be successful in sales today and the things that we must change to succeed when consumers turn from being greed driven, to fear driven.” I said.

And then he stopped me. He explained what HE had done to be successful in sales. I listened as he told me story after story about being successful in sales. And I have absolutely no doubt he was once highly successful. But he didn’t tell me a single story about what he was doing TODAY to succeed in this marketplace. Every story was when he began his career decades ago. And then he added with some delight “I ask every prospect what I can do to earn their business?” I almost stuck my pencil in my eye.

First of all, I have never really understood this question. Are salespeople asking if they can get their prospects coffee, baby sit their children, cut their firewood. How exactly would someone “earn” someone else’s business? I had an old boss once who hung a physicians Christmas lights to get a sale. If that’s all it took to get a sale today, we would even buy the lights.

The biggest reason this statement is so patently awful is that the prospect simply can’t answer it. If they could they would say, “please make me less afraid, please show me how this is going to save me money because I have lost a lot of money, please show me how this is ‘all about me’ and not ‘all about you,’ please show me how I can trust you?” But consumers can’t say that because human beings don’t tell total strangers their deepest feelings and they certainly wouldn’t tell a sales person.

Bill Gates said today “Innovation is why capitalism works!” To sell in this new economy, salespeople must innovate their processes, their thoughts, and their words. We must recognize this process of change in order to get better at what we do. Those that do will be the ones that close the deals.

We'd love to hear your questions! Email me directly!

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Goals! And I'm not talking about Soceer!

2009-11-01T22:23:00.000-08:00

Most people don't like the word "goals." I'm really not certain why. Maybe it's because in the back of our minds we aren't sure we can or will reach them. And if we can't reach the goals we set, our minds tell us we fail. None of us want to see ourselves as failures. Our egos cringe at the very thought. So we decide not to construct them and convince ourselves without them we can't fail. Or, something like that.

The miraculous things about goals is that if you write them down, review them and BELIEVE them, you will achieve them! It's really that simple. Consider Jim Carrey:

“I wrote myself a check for ten million dollars for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make ten million dollars for Dumb & Dumber. I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together.” Jim Carrey

If you are in sales today, wrap your mind around the fact that not only do you need goals, you want goals in this current economic environment. It's when we write these goals down and believe, the power of the universe seems to take over. Even if you sell a product today that is unaffected by the economy (pacemakers, stents etc...) having goals will keep you at the top of your game and in the running for your companies top award.

For those who have never written a goal in their life, I don't expect you to take my word for it. But, if you want to excel in sales, decide for just a moment that what I am saying is true and test it for yourself.

Write down how much money you want to make for Q2. Then go backward from that. Write down how many sales you would need, how many presentations you would need,how many prospects you would need, how many cold calls you will have to make, what time you should start your day and what time you should end it. I even include how many weekends I think I need to work. Include everything on this sheet you need to do in your particular sales job to meet your goal. This exercise will probably not take more than 10 minutes.

And in doing this exercise you accomplish two things: 1. You have set your goals and 2. You have just built your road map success.

You might be surprised to find that this simple little exercise will actually change your life.

The Super Negotiator

2009-10-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Salespeople come in all shapes and sizes. But the true measure of a salesperson is really, how well can they negotiate and close? I have been thinking a lot about the different kinds of people I have met in sales. I like to break it down the following way!

Some salespeople are simply order takers. Order takers are lucky when the economy is strong and robust but the order taker fails miserably when the economy turns or competition grows stronger. The order taker often knows the product or service well and can easily talk about features and benefits. But they lack the true ability to establish rapport with their prospect. Without the ability to establish rapport, the order taker simply cannot establish trust and credibility. Both are necessary ingredients to move a sale forward.

Joe Average Salesman - Now this salesperson can establish rapport and knows the product or service. The problem here lies simply with the ability to close. The only close this salesperson knows is the "soft close" where they simply wait for the prospect to ask for the order.

The Negotiator - This salesperson has it all. They establish rapport, know their product or service and can close. These folks are usually in the top 10% of the sales organization and consistently remain there, year in and year out. But, they lack one trait that keeps them from the number 1 spot.

The Super Negotiator - or the great showman. The Super Negotiator has it all and then some. This type of salesperson captivates an audience and never lets them go. They walk into a room and fill it with dynamic energy. They constantly read the room and immediately know how to interact with everyone there. There greatest skill lies in their ability to make a product demonstration a show everyone wants to be a part of. They are usually fun, energetic and bright.

To become better and more accomplished at what you do always takes work. Sometimes just understanding the differences will put you on the road to great success!

We'd love to hear your questions! Email me directly!"