End of the Month Fun

It’s the last sales day of the month, so here is a funny video on how NOT to use PowerPoint in a presentation.  Of course, only watch this once you’ve made all of your sales calls (we are not responsible if you are caught goofing off on the job).

I’m Pro-crastination

Chances are, if you are not a procrastinator, then you work with one.  You know, that person that is always putting stuff off until later?

To this end, I recently read an article from The Sideroad with some tips on how to deal with them. Here’s an excerpt:

1. Lack of Interest
If your priorities and theirs do not match, explain to them why this is important to you and what the consequences are in not doing it.

2. Lack of Time
When they typically underestimate how long something will take, and then end up with incomplete work, teach them “back-timing,” where you go from the final deadline through the steps to the must-start date.

3. Perfection
If they delay because they are not sure they will produce a perfect result, use the “What if…” scenario, evaluating possible outcomes and consequences of each to recognize what an acceptable outcome could be.

4. Others’ Opinions
If you think that the procrastinator is worried about possible failure and subsequent rejection, help him or her understand it is natural. Share your own fears.

5. Uncertainty
When they are not sure what is expected, encourage them to go back and seek clarification from those involved so that they can fully understand what will be needed to produce the result.

6. The Unknown
They fear new things and this risk factor causes avoidance. Recall things in the past that they accomplished, reminding them that conquering something new can also be stimulating and rewarding.

7. Poor Work Habits
To limit their multitasking habits, you can remove distractions. Keep the children out of the way or handle phone calls so that they can focus.

Turn Your Voicemail to Email

SalesTeamTools.com had a post last week about a service called PhoneTag that transcribes your voice mail messages into email format.

This sounds pretty darn cool.  Initially I was ho-hum about it, but the feature that got my attention was that since it comes in as an email, now your voicemail messages are searchable!  Can’t remember a message from that customer?  Depending on how you organize your email, you can find a specific message almost instantly.  Neat stuff.

Have any of you used this service, or one like it?  Or if you haven’t, would you look into getting something like this?

Turn Out the Lights, the Presentation is Over … Or Is It?

The last PowerPoint slide has been displayed, the last line of your notes is finished, and the presentation is finally over, or is it? Not by a long shot! You have a great opportunity to keep the music playing and continue to make your case during that infamous time at the end of every presentation known as Q and A. At lot of presenters just go through the motions during the Q and A.

Of course, they may be tired at this point, as the adrenaline begins to ebb. But also, they may feel a little bit out of control and vulnerable because they are off the script and people may ask questions that are hard to answer. But remember, you are still out front and people are still watching your body language and listening to your tone of voice. If you can convince them that you sincerely believe in your message, even when you are off the script, you will seal the deal for a lot of people. Plus, it is a great opportunity to go over all of your main points one more time, as you respond to each question. Have you ever watched a politician take questions during a press conference? No matter what the question is about, he or she will always find a way to return to their core message. You can do the same thing. Here is how to make Q and A work for you.

Example of Really Bad Customer Service

The post the other day on customer service reminded me of a story from two years ago when a guy called in to AOL to cancel his account.  Now, if you think you’ve had a poor customer service experience in the past, you have got to hear this guy.  I understand the importance of retaining existing cusotmers, but when a company deliberately makes it impossible to leave, I think that crosses a line.

But what made this experience different is that the customer recorded the phone call.  Vincent Ferrari then posted his experience on his website and it gained momentum from there, even landing him an interview on the Today Show.

So how bad was the call?  Check out the interview below with some excerpts from his call:

My favorite quote: “When I say ‘cancel the account,’ I don’t mean ‘help me figure out a way to keep it’ – I mean ‘cancel the account.’”

Online Networking

How do you stay LINKED IN to your customers?  Do they know you from the other NAYMZ out there?  And how do you get remote customers to see your FACE and BOOK business? (yeah, that last one was a stretch)

When more and more sales people have larger territories, what tools do you all use to stay connected?  LinkedIn is really popular right now, but do you use it?  How do you use it?

Leave us a comment and let us know!

The Good Kind of Pyramid Scheme

By now there is almost universal agreement in the business community that excellent customer service is the key to holding on to customers, which, in turn, is the key to sustaining long-term profitability. After all, it costs almost 10 times as much to sell a customer the first time as it does to sell to him the second time. You do the math. So the million dollar question here is, “How can your company build stellar customer loyalty?” The answer is, gradually and professionally. And it all comes by gaining an understanding of the customer service pyramid.

Before you can deliver excellent customer service – the kind that leads to long-term customer loyalty – you need to make sure you understand how excellent customer service looks from the customer point of view. Companies spend a lot of time designing elaborate systems that they think will be helpful to customers, only to discover customers aren’t impressed at all. Generally, customers are looking for a few simple, practical value items when they do business with you. These items build on one another, which is why it is called the Customer Service Pyramid.

When Sharing Can Be Bad

Last week I shared some tips to help make your online presentations more effective.  I found a story by one of the authors at SalesTeamTools.com that illustrates one more guideline to add to the list: turn off your email during a presentation.

Last week, I sat through one of those sessions for a product we’ll discuss next week. As I followed along, I noticed a continuous flow of email notifications in the bottom-right part of the presenter’s screen. You know, those little popups that Outlook generates to let you know there’s a new message in your inbox.

But not only does it notify you of a new message, it also displays a small part of the message itself. So during a period of about 30 minutes emails about last month sales results, a note from what seemed to be the presenter’s spouse and a few others were partially displayed before my very eyes.

Trust me, I tried ignoring them – but gee, these notifications are hard to miss.

Not only will this eliminate a BIG distraction for you as a presenter, but if you are sharing applications (or your desktop) you will want to avoid your entire audience reading your mail.

Here’s my tip for the day: turn off your email during your presentation.  There are very few jobs that I can think of that would necessitate you having to reply to emails DURING a presentation, especially when you are the presenter.

Has something like this ever happened to you?  Let us know! (It’s good therapy…)

Huh?

I think one of the biggest things that holds back many sales people is not listening. I’ll say it again for those in the back – lots of salespeople are bad at listening!

The thing is, most pepole in sales like to talk. A love of talking in and of itself is not bad, but it can make it harder for you to hear what the customer is saying. If you don’t truly listen to what the customer is saying, then you may offer the wrong solution, thus hurting your relationship and potentially losing the deal.

Listening is not just nodding your head while someone’s talking waiting for a break so you can add your opinion.  So how can you become a good listener? In addition to simply stop the talking, Brian Tracy has a good article over at Salesopedia with some tips.  Check it out and then go listen to someone!

Motivate Me!

What motivates you as a salesperson? Is it the recognition? Bonuses? Time off?

I saw a survey recently that showed that achievement is more motivating to sales reps than money or bonuses. What do you all think? What kind of stuff motivates you?