iPhone 4S - What, You Didn't Order It Yet?

Like many of my readers who relish the Apple announcements, I was online watching instant messaging live during the October Press Conference.  With baited breath, I watched in amazement as Tim began summarizing all of the exciting news regarding Apple's continued world domination.  Like everyone else, I counted down the minutes (10, 20, 40 minutes into the media event).  Time to talk about iPhone.

What, no iPhone 5.  Wait a minute, it's been leaked for months.  I saw the screenshots from Sprint's databases and Radio Shack's employee training on iPhone 5.  I saw the phony web-site from Germany with photos and feature descriptions of the iPhone 5.  Where's the iPhone 5?  What's this iPhone 4S thing? I must admit, I also heard of leaks regarding the iPhone 4S, but paid them little mind as I was certain that Apple wouldn't do this.

I braced myself to hear about this iPhone 4S.  Slowly at fist, but steady as the information flowed, I began to understand.  The iPhone 4S really WAS the iPhone 5.  The camera, the wireless antenna, the A5 Chip, Siri...it was all there.  And what a phone this will turn out to be.  Over the next several days, I've watched the iPhone 4S videos and read the blogosphere.  This really is the most amazing Smartphone ever developed.  On October 7, the order was placed.

Are you a salesperson looking to increase productivity and efficiency?  Look no further.  Think the right technology can't significantly escalate success?  Think again.

Change Your Life: Start Trusting Somebody

Unhappy?  The economic crisis still looms drearily over the horizon.  Home prices continue to sink further into the pit of negative equity.  War continues to take lives in the Middle East.  Organizational stability is at an all-time low. 

What's a salesperson to do? 

Today, June 20, 2011 there is a trend simmering in our profession: 

Take what you can get
Everyone for themselves
Win at all costs. 

These expressions of desperation are contagious.  We bicker over account ownership.  We fight back to corporate management and policy.  We rage against the "other" departments in our company.  We go to great measures to show that we are right and will do almost anything to protect our own ass!  These symptoms only lead to spillage into our personal lives, our physical lives, our emotional well-being.

Tomorrow, June 21, 2011, let's try something different. 

As salespeople in front of customers, we have choices. 
Trust or Protect. 
Expose your position or Hide. 
Reach out for a relationship with a customer or get a transaction completed. 

Give people the benefit of the doubt and believe that, overall, they are motivated to do the right thing.  Do you keep your "cards close to the vest" during sales calls?  If so, what happens if you expose a card?  What if you actually TELL your customer that you're going to expose it?  What would happen?  What if the consequence of doing so creates a spark of trust between two people? 

Trust turns into relationships.  Selling is about relationships.

Take a risk by providing value first - even though your competitor might see it. 
Take a risk by exposing that you're human - even though your sales coach told you not to do so. 
Take a risk by proving that you really are who you want to be - even though it may put a sale in jeopardy.  Motivations are the key behind behavior. 

What's your end-game strategy:  purchase order or happiness? 
Want both - trust somebody tomorrow.

Building Trust - Taking a Bullet

I've often thought that building trust with another person (whether it's a customer, fellow salesperson or a manager) was primarily about doing the right thing, telling the truth, going the extra mile and sharing common experiences.  I learned a valuable lesson last week which revealed that sometimes, trust is built by taking a burden off of somebody.  In this case, it meant dealing with a troubling situation FOR that person.

In dealing with this individual, I had tried a number of methods to establish a trusting relationship, but it just wasn't working.  I knew this guy was going to be a difficult egg to crack.  We didn't have much in common, but we're working together, and I wasn't giving up.  I sought advice from both peers and management, which yielded the typical results.

Then, admittedly by accident, I took out a big problem for him that he would have had to spend dozens of hours unraveling.  While I felt somewhat put-out at the time, the result was nothing but spectacular.  This was of true value to the individual, and built rapport (and some trust).  It also opened up a new avenue to communication with us.  While I have much to do to continue building a working relationship with the guy, we're back on track.

I took a careful lesson from this experience (actually a couple of lessons).  First, just because I've been selling and managing people for 20 years, doesn't mean I have it figured it out.  I probably never will.  Experiences like this continue to support this thought and bring me back to reality.  Second, for some people, taking obstacles out of the way is a key factor in building trust.  While there are some folks that want to share difficult experiences, others just want them to go away.  When I can provide this, it makes all the difference.

There will always be more to learn.

The Blame Game

Is your sales career fraught with assigning blame?  Do you try to figure out who was responsible for the challenges getting in the way of your success?  Does your manager focus on assigning blame rather than fixing the problem and aligning you for achievement?  Do you?

Here's the deal:  There's two ways to deal with a problem:  1)  Figure out the problem, learn from the mistake, move on;  2)  Dwell on the problem, keep digging the hole that you've found yourself in, assign blame.  Which will it be for you?  One leads to greatness, the other leads to failure.

Let's say you've identified a problem.  I don't care what the problem is, because it doesn't really matter (does it?).  There are some salespeople, managers, executives that want to dwell on the problem.  They want to examine the problem from a dozen angles.  They want to assign blame.  Maybe they're having a bad day (maybe it's you that's having the bad day).  Certainly, people want to learn from their mistakes, but there's a big difference between understanding and learning from a problem, and having that problem become a milestone in your life.  Here's the best way in dealing with any problem (work or personal):

1. Discover the issue.  Examine the problem enough that you can define what happened, the people and process involved.  Ask the right questions, but realize that pouting or getting angry about an issue is an obstacle that is completely unnecessary.
2. Figure out how to not be here again.  It's important that the "take-away" represents a way in which you can try to create a situation which encourages success.  Some problems are going to repeat themselves a couple of times for you to learn the lesson.  THAT'S OK.  When you've got the way to not make the same mistake again...move on.
3. Put the processes and people in place to have a better situation happen for everyone.  Focus on the positive.  Applaud lessons learned.  

Today will be a better day than the rest.  Conflict resolution doesn't have to deal with blame, shooting arrows, or holding a grudge.  How about forgiveness, positivity and a great attitude.  You'll get through it, and so will your peers, bosses and family.

Take it easy....Life is too short (we only have about 600,000 hours to live).  Make the most.

No. 1 Rule of Negotiation: Stop Suggesting.

Sometimes, there's a lot on the line.  Maybe it's a huge commission check.  Maybe it's recognition and achievement.  Maybe it's keeping your job, your house, your livelihood.  Sometimes, we try so hard to manage a situation that we forget the most important law of negotiating a tough situation:  Let the other person talk first!

Professional negotiators, arbitrators and attorneys are trained in this all-important lesson.  Regardless of what you really want, always stop and ask the other party what they think and what they're willing to suggest FIRST.  This does two important things:

1. Sometimes, you'll get even more than you want.  Remember that the other party in any negotiation has their own agenda and objectives.  Many times, you won't know what these really are.  Sometimes, you simply cannot assume that you know how they'll respond to a particular situation.  This is extremely hard for salespeople to do, because we believe that we know how things will go down.  Trust me, you don't.  Experience shows that in any negotiation, parties are jockeying for position with separate agendas.  If you simply ask them what they want (or what it will take to settle the issue), you may get a response that is more favorable than you expected.
2. Even if the other party's response isn't what you want, at least now you know what they expect.  It's a bit like poker.  If you force a first response, you learn important information.  Like cards, people show "tells" which, if you observe carefully enough, will help you to better position your cause or situation.  Stop suggesting.  Stop telling.  Just ask and listen.  You'll learn critical information that can only be beneficial to you in the end.

Negotiating is just like any other situation in which you must compromise something.  Compromise is what selling is really about:  The buyer compromises by paying a fee for your product/services.  The seller compromises in that there will reach a point where buyers won't pay any more than they think something is worth.  Find out what that value is by careful observation and soliciting other people's opinion.

The best negotiators are those individuals who get what they need by knowing what the other party really wants.

Life'll Kill You - And Then You'll Be Dead

The late, great, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon sang a lot of about death during his amazing 25+ year career.  Ironically enough, he died in 2003 from a rare form of lung cancer that coal miners get (even though he never worked a day in a coal mine).  In one of his famous tunes, he sang, "Life'll Kill You...And Then You'll Be Dead..."

Zevon sang about the fact that we're here and we've got about 650 hours of life in our entire life-span.  Use it wisely.  He also said, "Enjoy Every Sandwich."  I think what Mr. Zevon wanted us to know is that we must seize every moment and nobody escapes the inevitable.  "Some get to die in their sleep, some get the knife, some get the gun..."

In our sales life as salespeople, we must seize every moment and live our professional life to the fullest.  We must make every sales moment count and we must enjoy every moment.  Don't squander the important life moments.  During the hustle-bustle of blocking and tackling sales situation, just remember that, sooner or later, we'll all face a time when we're not here anymore.  Enjoy Every Sandwich.  Have fun.

Enjoy your life.  Live it to the fullest.  Life is a mysterious, exciting time and 650 hours goes by in a blink-of-an-eye.

The Etiquette of Employment Negotiation

Some of you have been there.  You apply for a new sales position at a sales organization.  They like you.  You like them.  Then begins the negotiation phase of getting hired.  I've got some advice that should make this experience achieve your goal:  getting hired for what you really want:

1. One of the most important things to consider in negotiating a new job is to focus on the big things first.  I've seen inexperienced salespeople demanding a shiny new Macbook Pro instead of the company standard of a PC.  Really, guys, is this in your best interest?  Negotiation items that really matter in the bigger scheme of things.  Discuss benefits, discuss car allowances, vacation, the commission plan, etc.  Save your low-dollar demands for either the end of the negotiation.  Better yet, leave them out altogether.  If you want a freakin' Macbook, fork out the $1,600 yourself.  How does this small amount fit in the priority of negotiating a 6-figure compensation program.  Doing these kinds of things demonstrates a lack of understanding that big things must be considered last, if it all.  
2. As part of your due diligence, ask to speak to your future peers, your engineering support people and as many other folks that will give you a well-rounded vision into company culture.  You'll pick up skills that will help you negotiate when you're ready.
3. In a soft and casual way, find out what points are really negotiable and which are not.  Spend your intellectual capital in smart ways.  Align with the company culture and figure out if you're willing to take an offer than may not have everything you want, but overall puts you into a better environment with better growth potential.
4. When it comes to serious negotiation, take advice from the pros.  Trade off things you want with concessions you're willing to make.  For deal killers, state your requirements clearly and shut up.  The one who talks first, is likely the one who will win.  Be careful here, though.  Some items simply cannot be negotiated.  Find out what these sticky points are and be prepared to concede on these points if you really want the job.
5. Don't consider making a move unless your new prospective company really values what you have to bring to the organization.  Don't worry, they'll probably tell you, and if they want you bad enough, they'll likely go to the ends of the earth to get you.  What they WON'T do, is to challenge company culture or set unusual precedent.   

Be smart.  don't fight over the little things and soon enough you'll be part of a new team, with an new business card.  Happy negotiation.

The Science of the RFP

Seems like every sales organization is down on the RFP, otherwise known as a formal Request For Proposal.  These are usually solicited by government/educational institutions, but are not uncommon in the large enterprise space.  The "frown" on RFP's is usually due to the fact that when the rules are formally established before they accept bids, some sales organizations feel as if their power (and therefore, their likelihood to win) are diminished.  Some companies feel that there is too much competition and regulation surrounding RFP's that it's "not worth the effort."  Probably the biggest reason that many companies pass on the RFP process is that history has indicated that they don't usually win.

Let's look at RFP's from another perspective.  While there are more stipulations and regulations for most RFP's, this can also present an advantage to those willing to do some research.  Given the fact that most RFP's are public, an enormous amount of data is just sitting out there, ready to be captured and analyzed.  I've seen several salespeople that have an analytical streak, review the science behind the RFP or solicitation.  Information abounds when it comes to statistical analysis.  Items like:  who usually bids, what did these winning RFP's look like, how does the buyer evaluate and score RFP responses, what are the common positive and negative trends, which buyers adhere to the rules strictly versus a more casual approach, etc.  The list goes on and on.  There's a good argument for bidding on an RFP, even if you know you'll lose.  What if you found a trend that companies that bid on an RFP twice and lost, usually win the second or third time.  Might be good long-term strategy.

Another key factor here is that with today's online environment, much of this information can be found online, making your job easier when it comes to collecting data.  When you think about it, you'd probably do this type of due diligence even if you weren't in an RFP situation.  Great salespeople gather as much information as they can about an opportunity, to appropriately qualify an opportunity.  Why not take the same effort in a competitive bidding environment?

Remember, organizations buy for a variety of reasons and it's not always the lowest price.  This statement has been shown over and over again in the public buying environment.  RFP's are still a sale and there are potential relationships and strategies that can be applied here.  Even quick chats with purchasing agents, buyers and influencers can make that small bit of difference to position your formal response documents.  Just as a note, I'm not suggesting that you can always influence RFP's, nor am I stating that price isn't the primary factor (many times, it is).  I'm simply presenting the fact that RFP's must be more carefully analyzed than the average proposal.

Lastly, while it is generally common knowledge, it's important that all salespeople try to get IN FRONT of any public solicitation.  RFP's are created out of whole cloth.  If you look back in time, there are many months (and sometimes, years) of hard work that goes into writing and budgeting for a solicitation.  It is your job to engage early and often, create a relationship and carefully position yourself for the best outcome.  Good luck!

Unpaid Endorsement: Salesforce.com

Wouldn't I love to actually be paid to endorse the leading hosted CRM application in the world.  Yeah, that's not going to happen, believe me.  To their credit, Salesforce.com (affectionately known to users as SFDC) doesn't need to pay me for me to sing their praises.

In 2010, SFDC released their latest software edition of their Enterprise CRM.  Overall, it's about the best damn customer management and sales efficiency booster out there.  In 2004, the SFDC stock was selling at $8/share and closed the other day at over $125/share.  Would have loved to have seen that one coming.  Why the success?  Why have so many organizations decided to move to a cloud-based, hosted solution?  SIMPLE:  It works the way salespeople think and reports on that effort like a pro.

In my sales career, I've used just about every CRM-style application out there:  ACT, GoldMine, MicrosoftCRM, Siebel, NetSuite and more.  I actually utilized SFDC heavily around 2001-2003 and was impressed by the tool even then.  I had a few gripes and moved away to another tool for the past 8 years.  I can't tell you how impressed I was with SFDC's latest web-based model.  As a salesperson and a sales manager, the power of this tool means one thing:  more efficiency, more productivity and more sales.

One of the coolest things about SFDC is their social networking application sandbox, which pretty much has every type of bolt-on, integration tool and output management plug-in that you could image.  These SFDC applications are pre-made, customizable and nobody else has anything like it.  I liken it to the Apple iPhone of CRM's.  Yes, you're restricted as to content, but there thousands of them, and they work seamlessly.

Whether you work for a small business or a Fortune 100 company, every salesperson can realize huge benefits with SFDC.  Don't believe me?  SFDC will let you try it for free for 30 days.

OK Salesforce.com, where's my shameless plug bonus?

Negotiating Price

"I love the solution you guys came up with, it's just too expensive."  There's probably 20 different ways you're going to get a price objection when you're in almost any phase of the sales cycle.  If you could digest all of the situations you've been in, in regards to negotiating price, there's some key take-aways to remember.  Hope this blog helps to navigate this dicey area, WITHOUT LOWERING YOUR PRICE.

• Uncovering budget (or the way in which the customer will evaluate price) is not the same thing as negotiating a price objection.  Budget discussions should happen EARLY in the sales cycle.  Discussing how the customer will look at value is like uncovering any other piece of information that is critical in the early phase of qualifying the opportunity.  You should be talking about how they make and spend money, whether they typically pay more to get a better solution and setting expectations as to what things really cost.  A good salesperson never experiences "sticker-shock."
• Make sure you get granular as to what a price objection really means.  Many times, customers throw out a pricing problem because there are underlying product or service objections.  Maybe they don't really understand the VALUE that your solutions can bring to their organization (maybe not).  Your job is to flush this all out.  If there are hidden objections beyond price, take those on first.  No reason to discuss price if the solution isn't really valued by the customer.
• If you're confident that your solution is REALLY what they want to buy, then lowering your price should be off the table right away.  To test your confidence, ask this question, "If we can't lower the price, does that mean you're not going to buy it?"  I'm simplifying this for the purpose of this blog, but you get my meaning.  If the answer isn't a straight-out "no," it's all over.  If the answer is really "no," don't you want to know this?
• If you have to negotiate price, ask the customer FIRST what the breaking point is.  Don't offer up any discounts without knowing what they'll consider.  You may give away profit just because you spoke first.  Any good negotiating class will teach you to listen and stop talking.  The party that speaks first will likely give away more than the other.
• There are only 3 things you can do with a real price objection if you take lowering the price off the table:  1) Reconfigure the solution;  2) Show more value;  3) A combination of the two.  If you set these expectations with the customer after flushing out the objection, it's much more likely that they'll work with you to pick one of the three.  Remember, you need to do your job BEFORE you get to this point and assure that what you're selling is what they really want to buy.  If you haven't, you have bigger problems than a discount.

Lowering your price is a lose-lose for all parties.  The customer loses because it forces them into a frame-of-mind in which they have to battle to get what they want.  Nobody likes to do that.  Your industry loses because lowering pricing erodes the profit margin for everyone up and down the manufacturing/service chain.  You and your company lose because you did two things:  1) You reinforced the concept that your company doesn't already come to the table with a fair price;  2) You make less profit.

See you next time.