Your Wholesaler Can Give you a 24% Return on Investment

Many wholesalers offer the contractor a discount for paying their bills within a certain time period. This article will look at why it is good for the contractor to take advantage of this. Only read this if you think a 24% ROI is a good thing. If you don’t think it’s a good thing then please call me so we can talk…and hurry!

What do the discount terms mean?

You will see terms that look like, “2%/10th Net 25th”. This means:

• The discount amount is 2% of the total invoice
• The discount can be taken if the invoice is paid by the 10th of the month
• The invoice is due in total by the 25th and no discount may be taken

Example:

Let’s say that you ordered $1,000 of material and it was delivered on April 30th. If you pay the invoice in full by May 10th, you may take a 2% or a $20 discount. If you don’t pay by the 10th you must pay by the 25th, and no discount may be taken.

So, what’s the big deal about $20 you ask?

The big deal is that if you do this every month with the same $1,000, that $1,000 would produce $240 for the year. That…is a 24% return-on-investment! And that is something you can’t miss getting.

It gets even better. If you are a $500,000 a year company you might be purchasing approximately $200,000 in equipment, materials and supplies. You make purchases continually so you are likely to have invoices due continuously. Given that, you don’t just have 12 times a year to take the discount, as in the example, you have as many as 24 times a year to take a discount. At 2% per invoice, that would be a 48% return-on-investment, or in this example, create an additional $4,000 Additional Annual Net Profit!* If your $500,000 company now produces a 2% Net Profit Margin, or $10,000 in Annual Net Profit, that $4,000 increases net profit by 40%.

* ($200,000 annual purchases / 24 invoices = $8,000 per invoice x 48% = $4,000)
Fill in the blanks on this worksheet to see what it’s really costing you to not take your discount:

WHAT IS IT COSTING YOU TO NOT TAKE YOUR DISCOUNT?

TOTAL ANNUAL PURCHASES FROM WHOLESALERS     $
DIVIDED BY 24                                                      / 24
AVERAGE INVOICE AMOUNT                                  $
TIMES THE 2% DISCOUNT RATE                              X .02

TOTAL DISCOUNT ON EACH AVERAGED INVOICE       $

TIMES 24 INVOICE PER YEAR                                X 24
TOTAL DISCOUNT DOLLARS YOU ARE MISSING         $



Next month we’ll finish this topic by looking at the Three Reasons Why You Want To Take Your Discount.

Now go pay your bills!

Leading a Company to Success - November 2006

by Tom Piscitelli

The term “leadership” is one we hear and toss around in conversation without, I believe, fully understanding what it means. In particular, I believe it gets mixed up with “management” all too often; I know it did for me for a long time. They are two completely different, and vital, functions. This month I had the pleasure of seeing both in action, working together, as they are intended to. This will begin a series of sort articles on the subject, including some real-world examples I’ve been privileged to observe.

To get us all on the same page with definitions I’ll use the ones quoted in the highly-acclaimed business book, First, Break All the Rules by Buckingham and Coffman. This book reported on Gallup’s 25 year study of over 80,000 managers in over 400 companies. Their findings on management vs. leadership: “Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs and motivation of each person. These subtle differences guide them toward the right way to release each person’s unique talents into performance. Great leaders, by contrast, look outward. They look out at the competition, out at the future, out at alternative routes forward. They must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, activators. It is a critical role…but it doesn’t have much to do with the challenge of turning one individual’s talents into performance.”

Great companies have great people who are managed by great managers and led by great leaders. If you are a contractor principal reading this you might be thinking this seems fine on paper and you are sure it’s valid but you are one person wearing both of these hats…and more. I understand. Still, the challenge is there if you want to create the most successful company you can.

So how can this work in our small-business world? I’ve seen one way, and have had the opportunity to play a small role in it. My part began with the owner-founder-manager-salesman-leader listening to one of his sales team members who felt we could all work together to the company’s benefit. The owner and I talked and later I spent two days working with nearly his entire company. I got to know the team members, understand their goals and challenges, and provide some ideas and skill-building that has produced results they are happy with. Happy enough to have me come back a second time and repeat the experience, with additional results gained.

What does this have to do with “leadership”? The owner is fulfilling the requirements of leadership. For starters he told me he had a great team and he wanted to help them improve their performance by bringing in fresh ideas. He has a vision of where he wants to get to and he knows he needs everyone fully engaged in doing their part. When it came to our working sessions, he sat through every one and listened to what his people had to say. Listened! After a while he kind of faded into the background a bit and at the same time his team members starting speaking up, sharing their ideas and concerns. It was a wonderful thing to see and experience. In the end, those things on their action list came from within and not from the top. The result? When I returned for the second time, nearly everything that had been planned had been accomplished. Why? I believe it was because it was their action list, they owned it, and they wanted those things to happen. It also happened because the leadership of the company helped each team member understand how their work was important to the company’s future.

In the next few articles I’ll take some of the findings from First, Break All the Rules and link them to the successes I am finding with this outstanding company. You will be impressed.

Leading a Company to Success - December 2006

by Tom Piscitelli

From the textbook to the street

In last month’s article we introduced the discoveries shared with us in the book, First, Break All the Rules, by Buckingham and Coffman. This book reported on Gallup’s 25 year study of over 80,000 managers in over 400 companies. They found that great companies have great people who are managed by great managers and led by great leaders. Since “great” seems to describe a common success trait, we’re going to look those characteristics, and apply them to your business.

Leading a company to success is less about a great plan and more about hiring managers who help those who report to them perform in an effective manner. The study found that there are The Four Keys of Great Managers, which we will start looking at today. They include the capacity to:

o Select for Talent
o Define the Right Outcome
o Focus on Strengths
o Find the Right Fit

Select for Talent

Traditional thinking has been to hire someone based on experience, intelligence and determination. These are all good qualities, to be sure. Great managers went beyond this and select for talent, which they learned to define as any recurring pattern of behavior that can be productively applied. This suggests that each of us have some innate capabilities that are “just there” and when those capabilities have a great fit into a job, great results will naturally happen. Think about your talents…you can relate to what this means. This would explain why, all things being equal…education, training, tools, resources, time…some significantly outperform their peers. Skills can be taught, talents cannot.

There are three broad categories of talents: Striving, Thinking and Relating.

Striving Talents explain the “why” of a person, such as why he is on time, or not; why she is goal-oriented, or not; why he needs to have a lot of information before he makes a decision, or not.

Thinking Talents describe the “how” of a person; how he thinks, how he processes information, how he behaves on his own, and with others.

Relating Talents explain the “who” of a person; whom he trusts, whom he avoids, whom he builds relationships with. This also includes how she relates with others; if she is open to new connections or cautious at first; is calm during confrontation, or emotional.

So to begin with we’ve established that the top performers will have all of the essential skills necessary for the job, but they also have appropriate talents for that job. How does the manager know exactly which talents are the right ones for the job? The best solution is to study your most effective people currently in that role. Or if you don’t have others in that role, find out from those you know in other companies with similar positions what their top performers’ talents are.

Example:

You have an opening for an additional salesperson. It’s tempting to “steal” someone away from a competitor, or perhaps they are actually knocking on your door looking for a job change. What’s wrong with that? Maybe nothing. But then again it’s more likely that if s/he would change companies to come with you, they are likely to leave you in the future. In a way that’s one of their “talents”. A better solution, one I see being used often, is to “find the right person” and then train them to sell HVAC. I get these people in my seminars all the time. Little product knowledge, little industry knowledge, and very excited about their new career. How do they do in training? Usually among the best. How do they do once they get back to work? I often hear from then and the answer has always been very positive. I believe it’s because they haven’t learned what they can’t do, only what they can do. What “talents” do these people seem to have in common? Here are a few:

• Enthusiastic

• Optimistic

• Motivated, self-starter

• Willing to learn

• Good people skills

• Good personal behavior traits

• Accountable

• Goal oriented

• Service oriented

The old expression “Hire the Attitude” was a good start. Now we need to update it to “Hire for Talent”.

Next time we’ll discuss the second Key, Defining the Right Outcome.


Good Selling,

Tom

 

Leading a Company to Success - January 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

From the textbook to the street

Leading a company to success is less about a great plan and more about hiring managers who help those who report to them perform in an effective manner. First, Break All the Rules, by Buckingham and Coffman, established that there are The Four Keys of Great Managers:

o Select for Talent
o Define the Right Outcome
o Focus on Strengths
o Find the Right Fit

Define the Right Outcome

Managers are in a tight spot. On one hand they are accountable to produce certain results. Their income, even their job depends on it. On the other hand, they don’t actually “do” anything themselves…they have to get it done with/through others. And in most cases, the “others” don’t want to be tightly managed. Sound familiar?

To quote from the book, “The solution is as elegant as it is efficient: Define the right outcomes and then let each person find his own route toward those outcomes.”

Whoa you say, how can I just let them go? The response is clear: once you have defined the desired outcome, you have to trust them. If this isn’t something you are willing to do, and to sincerely feel, then the rest of this process will likely not work for you. TRUST…sound familiar?


Defining the Right Outcome means you will have to begin with the hard work of discovering what your “best practices” are for every job, painstakingly documenting them, and training your employees to them. No short cuts. They can only perform to what they clearly understand is expected of them. Here are some “rules of thumb” to guide you:

1. Employees must follow certain required steps for their role that deal with accuracy or safety.

2. Employees must follow certain steps when they are part of a company or industry standard.

3. Required steps are useful only if they do not obscure the desired outcome. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

4. Required steps only prevent dissatisfaction; they cannot drive customer satisfaction. Whoa again, think about what this means. My take on it is that if a person’s heart isn’t in it, then no matter how accurately they follow the guidelines the customer may still not like doing business with your company.

So, what do customers expect? In order, from the bottom to the top, they expect accuracy, they expect availability, they expect partnership and they expect advice.

So, if Defining the Right Outcome is intended to bring you and your employees on the same chart and on the same course headed to the same place, what/where is that place?

Not surprisingly, the most successful companies defined the “right outcome” as:

1. What is right for the Customer
2. What is right for the Company
3. What is right for the Individual

Sound right, Mr. Jackie Rainwater (Win + Win = Win).

Next time we’ll discuss the third Key, Focus on Strengths.

Good Selling.

Leading a Company to Success - February 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

From the textbook to the street

Leading a company to success is less about a great plan and more about hiring managers who help those who report to them perform in an effective manner. First, Break All the Rules, by Buckingham and Coffman, established that there are The Four Keys of Great Managers:

o Select for Talent
o Define the Right Outcome
o Focus on Strengths
o Find the Right Fit

Focus on Strengths

Many of us have the thinking that those working for someone should pretty much “toe the line” and “do what they are told”. I confess…that had been my core thinking for quite some time. It does not get great results…in fact it doesn’t even get good results. The research showed conclusively that the best modus operandi was for the manager to focus on each person’s strengths and manage around their weaknesses. Some of us may think we can “fix” people so that they can come around to our way of thinking and acting. Our time is better spent discovering an individual’s talents and helping him or her develop them.

The book explains that if you want to turn talent into performance, you have to position each person so that you are paying her to do what she is naturally wired to do. Or, in other words, you have to cast her in the right role. Everyone has the talent to be exceptional at something. Find it.

We all learned the Golden Rule, “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” Here’s another rule, one I’ve heard referred to as the Platinum Rule, “Treat others as they want to be treated.” In fact, research again showed this to be the more effective management style. Sure, there are certain rules that everyone has to follow, but to the degree that you can allow flexibility in your style, adapting as you can to his or her needs, they will be more effective and successful. And so will you.

The book challenges us to take a management test. On the left side of a page, starting with the best, make a list of your most productive workers, and on the right side rank the ones who take up most of your time. Are they the same names? Likely not…and they should be.


The most effective managers did three things for their most productive workers:

1. They created a unique set of expectations that stretched and challenged them
2. They tried to highlight and perfect each person’s unique style
3. They ran interference for them

As a result, the authors found an interesting synergy; the more time they spent with their best people, the greater the return on their investment.

Now, what about managing around a talented worker’s weakness? A performance deficiency can be attributed to one of two broad categories, “mechanical” or company-related, and personal. This should be easy to identify. Once identified, the first question to ask is if the performance is trainable. If the talent is there, training can be the solution; if not, then no amount of training will change the performance.

There is more to glean from this section of the book but I’ll just include one more nugget: Create heroes in every role. Every job is important or it wouldn’t exist. Every person is important. Let everyone know they are valued and respected for their contributions.

There is a lot you can do to make difference…and it doesn’t cost a penny to do it.

Leading a Company to Success - March 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

From the textbook to the street

Leading a company to success is less about a great plan and more about hiring managers who help those who report to them perform in an effective manner. First, Break All the Rules, by Buckingham and Coffman, established that there are The Four Keys of Great Managers:

o Select for Talent
o Define the Right Outcome
o Focus on Strengths
o Find the Right Fit

Find the Right Fit

So you think everything perfect right now. Sales and profits are up, you’re meeting your targets, and there are no employee problems to deal with. Time to relax? Wrong. Time for you to get to work on where you need to go, including where your people want to go.

The “right employee” will want to grow. He’ll perform today’s job well but at some point, a month, a year, two years, he’ll be bored, frustrated, want to increase income, want more recognition, want more responsibility…he’ll be ready to move ahead. The question is, where to?

There can be many answers to this, but the right one is that your job, the manager’s job, is to help each person find the right fit.

In 1969, Laurence Peter’s book, The Peter Principle, said that if a person continues to “climb the ladder”, at some point he will be put in a position where he is destined to fail. In the end, we lose, or demoralize, a contributing employee. Today’s best managers reject this vertical approach to career building, and create value in each job, each role, making recognition and financial reward attainable without having to move “up”. In other words, they strive to “create heroes in every role.”

Compensation strategy is important in considering how to help your top performers make a career choice. The solution for creating a meaningful financial reward for every role is called “broadbanding”. For each role there is pay range, in broad “bands”, with the top and bottom overlapping the next range. For example, the top pay as a salesman might be well into the range of sales manager. And the bottom range of sales manager might be at the low end for the salesmen. This strategy reduces the financial incentive for seeking a “promotion” that might be a bad fit.

So, how do the employees make their choices on where they want to go? This is, as it should be, ultimately up to them. The research found that “self-discovery is the driving, guiding force for a healthy career.” Given what we’ve learned about each of us having innate talents, this makes complete sense. One needs to do the work to find out what s/he is really good at and the manager’s job is to help them create a job model that supports their talents, and brings the company greater success.

Leading a Company to Success - April 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

From the textbook to the street

Leading a company to success is less about a great plan and more about hiring managers who help those who report to them perform in an effective manner. First, Break All the Rules, by Buckingham and Coffman, established that there are The Four Keys of Great Managers:

o Select for Talent
o Define the Right Outcome
o Focus on Strengths
o Find the Right Fit

The Art of Interviewing for Talent

The authors found that best way to discover a person’s talents in an interview is to allow him to reveal himself by the choices he makes. The idea behind this is that the person’s true attitudes and behavior will show up when you ask open-ended questions about work-like situations…and then listen. An example could be, “What do you like about selling?” The way a person consistently answers these questions will reveal his true performance.

Many interviewers create their own trap by reading into the answers, perhaps to support what they want to hear, instead of simply taking what the person says on face value. A person’s initial, unaided response is powerfully predictive of their consistent behavior in real-world experiences. Believe whatever he says.

Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. The question, “Tell me about a time when you… .” is a good one to ask. As the person responds, listen for specific examples that illustrate the actual behavior he is referring to. Providing a theoretical answer to an open-ended question tells you he has the concept down, but you are getting no information about the choices he would make in that situation, and how we might behave. You are looking for recurring behaviors so the person should be able to give you a top-of-the-mind specific example.

One clue about a person’s natural talents is how rapidly they learned something in the past. Ask them what sorts of things come easily to them and you’ll find out what they can do well...more importantly will do consistently well.

Another clue is what brings them personal satisfaction. Ask them what makes them feel successful, strong or satisfied. That’s what they will tend to seek consistently over time.

How do you know what questions to ask? Start by asking your top-performers the same questions. How they consistently respond is a good indicator of a required talent for another’s success. And keep a record of the responses all of your new position candidates give. Over time you will create your own highly-predictive questions that will help you discover your best potential candidates.

How to Handle Any Objection in 4 Easy Steps - May 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

Objections are the customer’s way of saying “Yes, but (I need more information…).”

Week after week I ask sales people if they ask for the order every time and very, very few do. Why? They tell me that it’s because they “fear rejection” by the customer. I absolutely understand that, and can personally relate to their point. But, the facts are:

1. We aren’t likely to get the order unless we ask for it
2. Customers expect us to ask
3. It’s our job

Here are the four steps you need to take in responding to any objection:

1. Disarm…with agreement
“Sure…I can understand that.” By agreeing with their right to their opinion or position, you will take the negative or confronting energy out of the moment. This gives you, and the other, a moment to take a breath and be open to continuing.

2. Clarify…by summarizing what you heard
“So what I heard you say was….” Just let the other person know you heard them. The best way to do this is to simply repeat back what they said and ask them if you heard them correctly. If they have more to say, let them. At the least they will say that you got it. Now you’re ready to move ahead.

3. Provide New Information…or repeat the old information
“Could we look at how this product, even though it costs a little more, actually saves you more than that over the long term?” Notice you have asked permission to provide more information, not just blurted something out. They will almost certainly listen, and, if your information is compelling, perhaps be persuaded toward agreement with you.

4. Close Again…go for it!
“So, given that, would you like to order a case and have your installers try this out?” Expect to hear “yes”. If you do, stop talking and write the order. If they say no, and you are both willing, repeat the process.

It works. Try it on your kids…!

The Best Darn Trial Closing Question Aver - June 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

This one is older than I am, but I am continuously surprised at how few know it, and even fewer use it.

Let’s start with a definition of a “trial close”. Trial closes are questions asked prior to asking for the order and may begin very early in the sales process. In fact, it can be argued that the best sales people are continuously “trial closing” as a way of ensuring the customers are engaged and in general agreement with you before asking for their final approval.

If you are trial closing and don’t get agreement you have a chance to clarify what might be missing and correct that before moving on.

Some examples of good trial closes are:

• Sure we can do something about that outdoor unit noise waking you up at night. Would you want us to move that to the other side of the house?
   

• So do I understand that reducing your energy costs would be something you are very interested in?
   

• You would like to have the temperatures more even between the upstairs and downstairs, is that correct?

In each case you are first of all restating what the customer said, always a good idea, and you are also demonstrating that you are hearing them…but most importantly you are asking them to agree with you. That, my friends, is a small affirmation, or in a small way, is a way of moving you on your way toward closing the sale. Think of it as a “baby step” forward.

So what is “The Best Darn Trial Closing Question Ever”? It’s this:
If I could ____________, would you___________?

Simple, but very powerful. With this question you are not only asking for agreement, but the agreement is around a “business proposition” where both parties, you and the customers, are in agreement.

Let’s change the three examples above with this in mind:

• If we can do something about that outdoor unit noise waking you up at night, would you want us to move that to the other side of the house?
   

• If I could show you how to reduce your energy costs would that be something you would interested in investing in?
   

• If we could make the temperatures more even between the upstairs and downstairs, would you want to include that in your new system?

Give it a try and watch how it keeps you on the right track with your customers, and how much more comfortable you, and they are, when it comes time to ask for their final agreement.

And, yes, “If I could _____, would you ____?” can also be used as a Final Agreement Closing Question. Can you see how?

Good Selling!

Tom
 

Control vs. Power - July 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

Most salespeople like the idea of having control. Well, I have news for you, you don't... and you can't. I know you've read books or have been to seminars where someone made a compelling case for being in control of the sales call, or being in control of the customer. And you may have learned techniques to help you establish a semblance of control (some would call it manipulation) so you can get the customer to sign the contract. A controlling approach to selling does get results, but I think there's a better way.

Consider the idea that you, as a salesperson can't have control. To clarify this let’s define control as having the ability to say yes or no. In a selling situation, who has the ability to say yes or no? Only the customer can make that decision.

So if you don't have control, what do you have? You have power. That sounds good, doesn’t it? We will define power as having the capacity for influencing.

Is this question true or false? “When I'm talking I'm in control of what you are thinking.” I hope you said false. It has to be false because we can’t possibly know what someone else is thinking unless they tell us. In a lot of cases we don’t want to know what another is thinking!

Now answer this question, true or false, “When I am asking questions and listening I can influence what you're thinking about.” True! In fact, when you read that question a moment ago, I was using my power to get you to consider your thoughts on my question. I couldn’t control your response but I could influence what you were thinking about. Power.

So, in selling, if you would like to influence the customer to think about what might be important in making a decision to purchase your product or services, simply ask questions, listen and write down what they say.

For example, let's say that your product will significantly reduce your customer’s home energy use and save them a lot of money. Instead of telling them your product will save money it would be a lot more effective to ask them if saving money is important to them. By looking at them when you ask a question and then writing down their response, you are effectively showing them that you are interested in their needs and wants. Demonstrating this early in the sales process is vital to establishing rapport and building trust. Once you have discovered what is important to them, it's a simple matter to create a proposal that will reflect their exact requirements.

Pygmalion Effect in Management - August 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a prince who wanted to create a statue of the ideal woman. The result was so beautiful and perfect that he fell in love with his own creation and prayed to bring the statue to life. His prayers were answered and they lived happily ever after. Nice story…Read on and find out how the 8 Pygmalion Guidelines for Good Management will help you work more effectively with others.

In George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, a professor boasted that he could take a lower-class flower girl and, with training, pass her off as a duchess. He succeeded but the key point of the play comes from the flower girl’s comment, "You see, really and truly, apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated. I shall always be a flower girl to the Professor, as he treats me as a flower girl, and always will, but I know I can be a lady to use because you always treat me as a lady, and always will."

The Pygmalion Effect is also generally referred to as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, we form a judgment, consciously or unconsciously, and act, consciously or unconsciously, toward another with certain expectations and they tend to meet those expectations. These 4 principles apply:

1. We take in information and form a judgment that produces expectations of others.

2. We tell others, consciously or unconsciously, verbally and nonverbally, what our expectations are.

3. Others respond to the information we give and behave accordingly.

4. As a result, we have our expectations met.

For example, a manager might not communicate as effectively or thoroughly to an employee he holds in low regard so the employee tends to under-perform because he is not fully informed. A manager might be friendlier toward an employee she favors and other employees who don't receive this treatment are less likely to have an effective working relationship with her.

8 Pygmalion Guidelines for Good Management

1. Expect a lot and receive a lot; expect less and receive less.
    

2. We like someone more when they are more successful so expect more; we like someone less when they are less successful so... expect more!
    

3. We are more comfortable around people who meet our expectations; we are less comfortable around people who don't meet our expectations. This applies whether our expectations were high or low.
    

4. It is natural for us to form judgments and expectations; what we do about them determines the results others will produce.
    

5. We will achieve what we perceive.
    

6. Good managers create confident employees.
    

7. Performance reviews not only provide feedback on the past but they tend to determine future results. Focus on positive future outcomes.
    

8. The best managers are confident in their ability to create an environment where people will want to produce their best results.

Assuming the Sale…Without Being an A** - September 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

We’ve all heard the old saying that “assuming” (ass-u-me) makes an “ass out of you and me”. Given that axiom has survived for so long it has to be given credit for being true…and most of us will avoid assuming things since we don’t want to be seen as the backside of a 4-legged creature. That said, used appropriately, “assuming the sale” can be a very powerful technique. Here’s what I mean.

Long-time Sales Bytes readers and System Selling grads understand that sincere caring about the customer is fundamental to establishing rapport, building trust, making the sale and creating a lasting client relationship. With that as a foundation, then isn’t it reasonable that you can “assume” that you will make the sale and act confidently and appropriately toward that end? I think so. This can be done simply and subtly with language. For example, doing and saying things like:

• When we install your new system…

• Here’s where your new condenser will go…

• Which of these systems do you think will be the best for you and your family?

• We have three financing choices, Monthly Payment, Visa/MasterCard and 12 Months Same as Cash, which of these would be best for you?

• When our installers arrive, Rick, our lead installer, will go over everything with you.

• When Bob, our Comfort Specialist arrives, he will ask you questions and he will ask you to help him take measurements of your home. Then he will prepare some choices for you to consider and help you make the choice that will be the best for you and your family.

I’m sure you see the pattern here. Don’t worry about which words to use or when to use them. Just put them into your head, and your heart, telling yourself that they will be happy with choosing you and your company, that they will be buying from you. The rest will come naturally.
 

Selling to the One-legger - October 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

Ask an in-home sales person to tell you what kind of call they dislike the most and odds are they will say the one-legger. For those new to selling, a “one-legger” is where one of two or more decision-makers are present and the one you’re meeting with invariably says “I need to talk with my (spouse, partner, significant other, father, neighbor…the list goes on)”. That’s a tough objection to deal with and most sales people hang their heads and go home. Here’s how to reduce the one-legger calls, and here’s how to get some one-leggers to buy on the first call.

The First Sale is the Appointment

I’ve written to this point before. This first contact with an interested prospect is critical and should be handled with care and professionalism. If you take the call or if a receptionist/dispatcher/support staff does, there must be thought put to how you want this to be handled. Here’s a suggested script:

“Sure we can help you with that. Let me ask you a few questions and we’ll schedule a Comfort Advisor to meet with you. First, (get name address, etc., and a description of the problem or need.) Thanks. I see Rich is available to meet with you. He’ll arrive on time and ask you help him with a quick survey of your home. He’ll ask you some questions and then be prepared to show you some choices to consider. This takes an hour or so depending on your questions. He also suggests that you invite anyone else who might be interested to join you; that way everyone’s questions can be answered while he’s there. So, would Tuesday at 10:00 AM or Wednesday at 5:00 PM be better for you and anyone you want to have there?

Try it. This avoids the offensive “Are you the only decision-maker?” approach and will help you get more couples at your appointments.

To Close or Not To Close

Okay…you tried to get both but you have a one-legger. Here are some guidelines:

• If she seems interested and engaged, then sell to her as if she will make the decision without her partner. She just might.

• If she seems disengaged, then measure and ask some questions and schedule a return appointment. Saturday morning is a great time for these since the “other” will likely be home and if they give you Saturday morning time they are highly-likely to be buyers.

• If she says “I need to talk with my husband.” Then reply with, “Sure, I can appreciate that. Some of my customers choose to call him while I’m here so that I can answer any questions he might have that we didn’t go over. That can save time and frustration. Would you like to do that?” It will surprise you how often she does, and surprise you even more how many times she gets his “agreement” and signs without him.

Treat her with respect and believe she can decide if she wants to. She can.

And please, don’t be discouraged if she or he does have to discuss this with “the other”, just make sure you follow up…they are going to buy from someone and your sticking with them will increase the odds it will be you.
 

Closing the Sale Part 1 - November 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

There’s an old sales adage that says “90% of all sales are made after the 5th close, and only 10% of sales people ask for the order more than 5 times.”

There was a study done by Dartnell and McGraw Hill that found:
* 80% of all sales are made after 5 or more contacts
* 48% of all salespeople give up after the 1st contact
* 25% give up after the 2nd contact
* 17% give up after the 3rd and 4th contact

Startling, isn’t it? I can relate. As a rookie sales person, which I consider to be my first 10 years (slow learner), I don’t recall ever asking for an order. I wished for an order. I yearned for an order. I may have even prayed for an order. But I didn’t ask. I was afraid to.

When I became a sales manager (go figure…) and had to teach others how to sell (those who can’t do…teach), I finally realized why I was, and the sales people I was training were, so afraid to ask. We were afraid of rejection. My fear was well-founded because I wasn’t convinced that what I was asking my customers to buy was in their best interest. I was right to anticipate rejection because of that, and so I avoided that pain by not asking. So what’s the fix?

Accept this idea: Everything you want begins with the customer. Everything.

So what if you left your needs out of the sales call…didn’t think about making the sale, didn’t think about your commission, didn’t think about your quota, didn’t think about winning the sales contest…none of that. What if you were there with the single purpose of serving the customer to the best of your ability? What if the customer sensed your sincerity and openly told you what they wanted and needed to make a buying decision? Do you think your chances of making the sale would improve? Bet on it. Read on.


What is a “close”?


A sales close, or closing question, is what the sales person says and/or does that moves the customer to sign the order. I know one guy who has 26 closes. I know hundreds who have none. Some people are very subtle when they close; others use closing as they were using a sledgehammer. Ouch. There is a better way.


First…The Trial Close


As the name suggests, the trial close is preliminary to the final close. Trial closes are like testing the water, like taking a baby step, like getting permission to move ahead in the old game Mother May I. You can ask trial closing questions early and often. I like to think of trial closes as getting permission to continue, getting feedback on what the customer wants, and also getting affirmation that the customer is in agreement up to this point. Besides, it’s nice to hear “yes” a lot.
For example:

• Do you like the beige or dark brown cabinet better?

• If our installers arrived by 9:00 AM would that be okay?

• When were you thinking of having this done?

• If I could help you save money on your utility costs, would that be of interest to you?

You will notice that these are questions. Trial closing is a questioning, listening and note-taking time. If, in your excitement, you start selling during this time, the customer is likely to shut down. Be patient. Ask, listen, write, nod, smile, assure…stay in the flow.

Can you see that positive responses to these questions are small agreements? You are moving forward toward the sale with each affirmative response.

What if, you ask, the customer says no to one of these questions? That…is a good thing. You have just discovered something important that you can respond to early in the sales process and get out of the way before you ask for the sale. As we will discuss later, an objection is a gift the customer gives you; it’s their way of saying “Yes, but… (this is in the way of me buying).” Learn to love objections and the earlier you get them, the better. Trial closes get the objections out of the way in advance.
 

Closing the Sale Part 2: The All-Purpose Close - December 2007

by Tom Piscitelli

This category has a clear-cut winner with “If I could….would you…?” It’s a trial close, a final close, and anytime close that begins with focusing on something the customer has said they want and you knowing you can deliver it. In other words, this is a pretty sure thing.

You’ll want to be careful that this doesn’t come across as too “staged” or manipulative, which can happen if you are not being truly customer-service oriented. An example of a manipulative approach with this might be, “If I could convince you that there was no other furnace as efficient as this one would you place the order tonight?” Even if the customer had said saving money was very important this still comes across as pushy…as if you were trying to box him into a corner. Will it work sometimes? Sure. Will it irritate people? Pretty good chance it will. Why risk that?

Here are some softer uses of the same technique:
• If I could provide a 100% money-back guarantee, eliminating all risk on your part, would you be inclined to choose us?
• If I could provide the names and contact information of 10 other people who made this decision, and everyone you called raved about it, would that be enough assurance for you to feel comfortable with using our company?
• If I could show you how this paid for itself in 5 years, a 20% tax-free return-on-investment, would that be an important factor in you making your decision to invest in this?

For any of the above, turn it into an even softer trial close by ending with: “Would that be important to you?