by Tera Jewell | May 29, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Building trust in customer relationships is critical to a successful sales cycle. To establish trust you need to understand your client’s needs and always keep their welfare in mind. Your ability to enter their world and understand it requires that you have a genuine rapport with them. Without heartfelt rapport it is difficult to develop trust and influence. People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Listen
Listening is the fastest way to gain understanding of your customer’s background. If you are successful in encouraging your customer or prospect to talk about themselves for 20 minutes, they will bond with you. This requires strict adherence to the 80/20 listening rule. That is, the customer talks for no less than 80% of the time: you actively listen for 20% of the time.
Here is a series of questions to ask that will help you understand your customer’s background.
- How long have you worked here?
- What are your responsibilities?
- How long have you lived in this area?
- How do you get to work?
Note behavior
Another way to learn more about your customer is to note their behavioral mannerisms. You should mirror and match their body language, tonality, and words. Phrases like, “I see what you mean,” “I hear what you are saying,” or “How does that make you feel,” let your client know that you are emotionally engaged.
To be better prepared to understand your customers’ behavior, I recommend you take a DISC assessment (discprofile.com/what-is-disc). It will determine if you are a Dominant, Influencing, Steady, or Conscientious communicator. Along with learning your behavioral style, invest time in learning the characteristics of the other three styles. Your goal is to explore how to meet your customers halfway between your style and theirs.
Understand your customer’s needs
Once you have your customer’s trust and a good understanding of their background, you can identify their needs and propose solutions. Your sales cycle is on the success track!
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by Art Waskey | May 22, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Selling involves the transfer of trust, and a successful sales cycle revolves around establishing trust in customer relationships. The manner in which we develop those strong relationships evolves with the changes in the world around us. In my lifetime, the introduction of new technologies has radically changed how one approaches relationship building to succeed in sales.
Telephones and cars
Consider this. I became a salesman in 1972 at a time when the internet was still a research project. My first job title was Sales Engineer. I lived in North Texas and was tasked with calling on independent welding and gas distributors in Dallas, Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Sherman, Austin, and San Antonio. Also, my means of connecting with clients involved many telephone calls (on land lines) and driving just over 20,000 miles per year in my Ford Custom to meet prospects in person.
To achieve success in sales, it’s important to follow a 5-step sales cycle developed by IBM:
- Begin the call with small talk
- Investigate the customer’s needs
- Present the benefits of your product
- Address any objections
- Close the call using a variety of techniques.
Small talk
Being able to converse with your customers on their terms builds trust. The distributors I called on in the ‘70s were patient with my formulaic approach. Additionally, I quickly learned that “small talk” should involve the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Oilers, Texas Rangers, or Houston Astros. I enjoyed making connections with my clientele and I was able to develop a deep sense of trust with those Texas distributors. I still remember each of their names, their likes, and dislikes. Their work ethic and customer relationship experiences have been guiding principles in my career.
More avenues of communication
In conclusion, digitalization has changed how relationships are formed today. Smart phones and computers have opened up avenues of communication not even imaginable in 1972. Lastly, you can build relationships via mobile phones, text, email, and video chat. Digitalization can be effectively used to establishing trust in customer relationships, which are at the center of the successful sales cycle.
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by Art Waskey | May 1, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Having a consistent digital filing system that supports your business’s objectives is critical to success in the digital era. Here are 3 key actions to consider when building your permanent filing system:
- Save files by year. It is important to create new file storage each year. Annual filing prevents data clutter that can slow the search process. Referencing the year it was created, makes data easier to find. If you need to reference a file from a previous year multiple times. Simply copy and paste it into the current year for easier access.
- Create 5 to 10 main folders. Each year create new main folders that represent your focus areas. Moreover, my primary folders include Personal, ISD (business), Ministry (I’m an associate pastor), Art of Sales (for my books), Sales Articles (for regular publications), Seminars (I offer public speaking and training), Rockies (relating to season tickets for the Colorado Rockies), WeeklyReviews, and Planning Management.
Identify your core interests and obligations and create your folders accordingly. For example, as Senior Vice President of Sales for a distribution company, your folders might include Personal, Business, Competitors, Sales, Vendors, and Sales Managers/Reps.
Lastly, creating folders by key responsibilities annually enables you to find specific documents in less than 15 seconds.
- Use Archive folders. How many times have you updated a document only to find that you didn’t hit “save,” or deleted it by accident? The Archive folder is used to keep a historic record of files so you can recreate records if they are lost. Archiving saves endless hours of work and maybe even a client or a job!
The consistent filing system
In conclusion, by saving files by year, creating folders by key responsibilities, and archiving important documents, you can build a permanent filing system and a more efficient business.
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by Art Waskey | Apr 24, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
A full mailbox is a time sink. Many people assert that checking emails is the biggest time-waster among all management tools. This makes it difficult to find important ones that are waiting for a response. To better manage your email and keep clutter at bay, keep your mailboxes empty.
A radical idea
To those of us who check our email every time the phone pings an alert or the computer signals you’ve got mail, this will sound like a radical idea. To manage your time better and achieve an empty Inbox and Sent Box, I suggest that you open your email no more than twice per day. Review it once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Use one of these two times to clear your emails.
File, route, discard
To become more efficient and save considerable time, all new emails should be read with the aim of filing, routing, or discarding them.
- Filing an email signifies that after reading it, you would like to keep it, as the message might be valuable to access in the future.
- Routing is applied to an email that requires follow-up, or one that you need to read at a future time.
- Discard is used for emails that are irrelevant or require no future action.
The Sent Box too!
I consider an email processed only when the Inbox and Sent Box are empty since a copy of the sent emails appears in the Sent Box. Additionally, I recommend going directly to the Sent Box as soon as you send an email. File, route, or discard that email right away.
Careful Management
The careful management of emails can prove invaluable to making your business more efficient. In conclusion, a well-organized email system allows you to access information as you need it and eliminates the clutter that can slow that process down.
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by Art Waskey | Apr 17, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
The digital calendar
Today’s digital calendars offer highly effective calendar systems that greatly improve our ability to manage time. When properly used, a digital calendar serves as a planner, confirmed appointment implementer, and history tracker. Whether you use iCalendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook Calendar, their functionality is the same.
Secrets to success
Here are three ways to make your digital calendar more effective.
- Develop a consistent practice of setting appointments when interacting with people. Make it a habit to always set your next meeting before your current session ends. This ensures your business momentum continues. Setting appointments can be automated. For example, when a meeting ends, you can immediately set up the next meeting date and send a confirming email via your digital calendar app.
- Be sure to set aside time to work on your projects. Your appointments will not be productive if you are not prepared. It is important to allot time in your calendar to address your projects and proposals.
- Prioritize. With digital calendars, you also can note priorities. Digital calendar applications allow you to identify the importance of a meeting by a color code. When a client of mine introduced color coding to his calendar, he was able to recognize key meetings and found he became more efficient at planning future meetings.
The effective calendar
An effective calendar system is the underpinning of a well-managed business. Develop a consistent habit of setting appointments when interacting with people and be sure to set aside time in your calendar to work on projects.
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by Art Waskey | Apr 11, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Generating insights
As I age, I find myself taking more time with a friend or colleague over a cup of coffee. Gone are the “all business” meetings which allowed little time for reflection, contemplation — or even finishing that cup of coffee. The longer gatherings that I now enjoy often result in generating important insights into our world. Recently, an associate shared a meaningful 3-tiered word pyramid concept with me. The wide base of the pyramid is supported by integrity, the middle is filled with intensity, and at the top you find intelligence. This is an important structure on which to model your career.
Integrity
A successful career is built by establishing a foundation of personal integrity. I can recall people I knew early in my work experience who lacked trustworthiness. Over time, those individuals disappeared. Their reputation preceded their ability to stay employed in my trade. To be able to always act with integrity it is important to understand and address your weaknesses and blind spots as these can erode your foundation.
Intensity
With a reputation of trustworthiness as your base, you must demonstrate an intensity to work. Success comes to those who have a strong work ethic. You need to demonstrate a focus on achieving goals. First, determine what you want, then lay out a plan. Do not neglect other aspects of your life, like family responsibilities, in pursuit of your business goals. You could end up with millions of dollars, but you might also experience loneliness and end up divorced. While intensity is essential to success, misplaced it can lead you in the wrong direction.
Intelligence
Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. I once had a business colleague who had finished at the top of his class with an MBA in finance from Harvard. Moreover, I was excited to work alongside someone with such a pedigree. To my disappointment, his knowledge wasn’t indicative of his ability to apply his wisdom in our industry. Learn what is important to your industry and apply that knowledge intelligently to meet your goals.
The formula
The formula for a successful, satisfying life is having intelligence rooted in integrity and applied passionately with intensity. In conclusion, during your next coffee break, take the opportunity to share your intellectual journey with a colleague and relish the satisfaction of celebrating life’s accomplishments.
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by Art Waskey | Mar 26, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Your Contact List is your lifeline. Managing it well is essential to your success. Let’s look at the skills required for an effective automated phone number and address system.
Sharing updates
Whether you operate in Microsoft Outlook, Google Contacts, or Apple Address Book, the great benefit of the habit of updating your contacts is the ability to share those updates with your network. As a past member of an executive team and now a consultant, I am constantly sharing and adding contacts.
Contact list features
Contact list software offers many valuable features such as the ability to identify and screen callers. Consider the time wasted on interruptions from answering meaningless calls.
The searchability of contact software allows you to access email addresses and phone numbers quickly. All smartphones and computers use the standard contact nomenclature.
You also can set up groups in your contacts. This allows you to reach several people at once, rather than sending multiple emails or texts. Group emails save time and the potential embarrassment of forgetting a key player for an important decision-making session. Finally, contact software is available for scanning calling cards. When starting a meeting with new people, scan their calling cards. This practice will increase your advocacy with your personnel, vendors, and clients.
Set up folders
The standard Contact folder isn’t for just storage — it can be used to transfer contacts into other named folders. Moving contacts into specified group folders on the sidebar of your screen makes it easier to remember and locate a new or seldom seen acquaintance. For example, if you can’t remember a contact’s name but you know he is one of your competitors, you can look in your folder named “competitors.” Listing other pertinent information in a contact’s notes also broadens your search capabilities.
Maximize list utility
Maximize the utility of your contact list program by keeping it up-to-date, taking advantage of its many features, and setting up a robust folder system. A carefully managed contact list is critical to business success.
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by Art Waskey | Mar 13, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Many purchasing decision makers are now digital natives and that number continues to grow. This makes the excellence of your digital capabilities critical to sales success in 2024. Here are some key technologies that your team needs to operate effectively in the digital marketplace.
Streamline with ERP
Enterprise selling requires a centralized software system known as an Enterprise Resource Program (ERP). This program helps streamline your company’s essential processes, such as inventory control, asset and rental management, customer sales records, accounting, and business intelligence. Integrating ERP data with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system unifies your internal processes. It also enables your customers to make purchases, review orders, search inventory, check delivery status, and review accounts payable online. As a result, field salespeople can focus on relationship building and value-added selling instead of the traditional tasks of quoting, pricing, and chasing backorders and deliveries.
The convenience of E-commerce
E-commerce software offers consumers the ability to order 24/7. It integrates your ERP with your website and mobile apps. Additionally, ongoing innovations in multichannel marketplaces allow your customers the convenience of purchasing from third parties through your website.
E-commerce also offers the opportunity to develop deeper relationships with customers as it tracks their purchasing behavior over time. In fact, that data leads you to a better understanding of your customer’s needs and requirements and helps project future demand.
Artificial Intelligence transforms business
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly infiltrating the sales cycle and offers exciting possibilities for transforming how business is done. Moreover, distributors collect a myriad of valuable internal, customer, and vendor information in the process of doing business. AI can generate outputs based on that data.
Furthermore, AI outputs are only as good as the data you input. It must be properly managed. In a recent Forbes article on this topic, Simon Jelley points out that only 23% of your collected data will probably be “good” data. According to Jelley, there is a lot of data to clean to get to the good stuff. Also, make sure your team does this.
Sales reps bring knowledge and experience to the deal. With the right AI applications, your best salespeople become even better. AI is most effective in sales when it’s treated like an aid, as opposed to a replacement for key human practices.
Get Capable
Lastly, be sure your sales team has the digital capabilities they need to succeed. Use ERP, E-commerce, and AI applications to build a robust digital platform for your business.
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by Art Waskey | Feb 27, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Independent distributors succeed based on the added value they bring to the customer relationship. In 2024, strengthening customer personalization will be critical to your success.
Here are three key areas to focus on.
- Vendor Managed Inventory — According to a report in Modern Distribution Management, business for one of our industry’s largest distributors is good. Fastenal posted a 2023 net profit of $1.16 billion, up 6.3% compared with 2022.
In addition, Fastenal transformed its company from a distributor-dependent-on-its-branch-network to one that prioritizes integrated supply and self-service at the customer location using vendor-managed inventory (VMI). This created significant savings in transportation, reduction in inventory, and ease of operation for both Fastenal and the customer. Introducing this ease of operation and personalized attention allowed Fastenal to gain market share within the customer base.
Additionally, Fastenal’s continuous growth of in-location personalized sales is a wake-up call to the independent distributor. Distributors need to build VMI manufacturer partnerships and start installing units. Fastener’s goal for 2024 is to add 400 additional onsite customer locations. Also, they added 326 in 2023. These gains will come from the traditional distribution network!
- Robotics — As a vice president of sales for an independent distributor from 1985 to 2018, I watched robotic equipment costs decrease and product efficiencies increase. This enabled our company to increase sales of this equipment each year. Today, the cost of selling a Cobot is less than $100k. The ease of training customers on this product is negligible, particularly for the computer-savvy operator under age 30. To be successful in 2024, your reps must be selling robotics.
- Warehouse automation – One of the biggest issues a distributor faces is warehousing errors. As a sales executive, I spent countless hours working to resolve warehouse-related problems. Today, logistics software can streamline your warehouse operations and save your company time, money, and customers. Moreover, a typical logistic warehouse automation center uses less space than a traditional warehouse and can receive and retrieve stock quickly while eliminating shipping errors. Automated warehouse logistics includes the management of networking operations, information, transportation, inventory, warehousing materials, and handling and packaging. Lastly, having an automated warehouse enables an outside salesperson to take inventory correction responsibility off their customer support list.
Increased customer personalization
In conclusion, for your sales team to represent the company with increased customer personalization in 2024, distributors must pay attention to the changing dynamics in vendor-managed inventory, robotics, and automation.
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by Art Waskey | Feb 22, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
The traditional marketing landscape is changing rapidly as Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are introduced. AI is disrupting the usual sales processes that distributors have depended on for success. To stay competitive, businesses need to adopt new marketing approaches.
A Sea-change
Furthermore, AI is changing how marketing is done at a fundamental level. A recent article in Fortune describes how Wharton School professor Ethan Mollick experimented with how much AI could do for him on a single, 30 minute project. AI, “did market research, created a positioning document, wrote an email campaign, created a website, created a logo and a ‘hero shot’ graphic, made a social media campaign for multiple platforms, and scripted and created a video”. Professor Mollick’s experiment results represent a sea-change in how marketing can be done with AI.
Cultural shift
AI represents more than just a change in business processes. It is a cultural shift. For that reason, you need to be sure your C-level team members are on board with AI applications and that employees don’t feel devalued by them.
You will always need salespeople to add value to the customer relationship. Moreover, they bring knowledge and experience to the deal. With the right AI applications, your best salespeople become even better. AI is most effective in sales when it’s treated like an aid instead of a replacement for key human practices.
More effective customer experiences
AI is a script. Use data generated with AI to make your sales reps better prepared to create a more effective customer experience. Salespeople can benefit from AI when it provides the right product for each customer. AI also can be used to help your customers create business efficiencies through their dealings with you. AI can analyze consumers’ shopping habits, preferences, and behaviors, providing reps with customized client recommendations.
Adopt new approaches
In conclusion, being competitive in today’s market will require that you adopt AI applications in your marketing approach. These changes can be difficult to accept and may leave reps out of the process. Ease reps into new sales approaches by focusing on the success of AI applications in terms of increased sales. Once implemented, AI will keep you on track for success in 2024.
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