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Listen More by Talking Less

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Listen More by Talking Less

When asking business questions, it is quite common to ask "closed-ended" questions which often result in a "yes or no" answer, or a single word answer. This is the main reason that salespeople end up speaking an average of 78% of the time, and only listening 22% of the time during a conversation. If we want as much information as possible to help our customer with solving a problem or a need, we need to flip these numbers and begin listening closer to 78% of the time. The key is to ask "open-ended" questions to probe for information.

Here are some tips for asking "open-ended" questions: First, try to limit your questions that begin with the words can, do, is or are. The answers to these questions will often be a single word, forcing many salespeople to make the mistake of asking more closed ended questions (the interrogation technique.) Second, focus on questions that start with the word How or a word with the first letter of W (i.e., What, Why, Who, Where or When.) These questions will allow your customers to expand their answers so you can ask good follow up questions and accurately determine their needs. The result is your customers will be doing more of the talking, while you are effectively data gathering, actively listening, and taking notes.

Examples of some open-ended questions that will create great dialog:

• How do you measure success?
• What issues or challenges are you encountering?
• Where do you see your business expanding?

What are some of your favorite data gathering questions? Let's start a conversation.

Happy Holidays & Happy Selling!

What Salespeople can learn from Surfers

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

What Salespeople can learn from Surfers

Watching waves in the ocean can be mesmerizing. After each wave hits the beach, another one shortly follows. Then you watch the surfers sitting on their boards out beyond where the waves break. They patiently wait for that perfect wave for a great ride to the beach. These waves are few and far between but when the right one comes, the surfers paddle to be in the right position to catch it. Ten, twenty, or even more waves may come and go, before the surfer feels it is the right one.

When there is not a lot of activity in the ocean, surfers need to consider the options below to maximize their surfing efforts:

1. Consider getting out into the water earlier, and possibly spending more time out there.
2. Consider riding waves that are a notch below the perfect one, just to keep it going.
3. Consider the surfing options at other beaches, where the conditions may be better.
4. Prepare their equipment to be more effective (like waxing their boards).

There are many similarities with this topic that salespeople can learn from to maximize their sales efforts:

1. Make more sales calls (and utilize time blocking dedicated for prospecting on your schedule).
2. Work on smaller projects, while keeping an eye out for the bigger ones.
3. Consider prospecting in multiple market segments or new geographic areas.
4. Stay prepared, and always keep your sales skills sharp.

Have a great sales week!

What Salespeople can Learn from CPAs & Doctors

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

What Salespeople can Learn from CPAs & Doctors

On the surface you may not think of these professionals as being in the sales field. However, a sales successful sales professional focuses on building customer relationships for life.  When a sales professional consistently focuses on solving customer problems and fulfilling needs, they will be viewed as more of a resource (or even partner) rather than just a salesperson. These relationships are built on a solid foundation of trust and may last for decades. Unfortunately, many people in the sales world focus on the immediate transaction in front of them, and not on assisting the customer for the long-term.

Think of some relationships you have had with CPAs or Medical Doctors. If these professionals have earned your trust and demonstrated their value, they did not need to "sell" you each time you met with them. The last time you were sick, did you call your doctor, or did you request 3 bids from some doctors you found on-line to see how much they would charge you for their services? Would you be interested in the best medical care you could receive? If you are completely satisfied with your CPA, and feel that they understand your business, your goals, your needs, and you completely trust them - would you consider switching CPAs if you heard that someone out there may charge you 10% less for your tax return? Or would you be interested in your big financial picture, and trust that your CPA had your best interests in mind?

Think of the total value that you bring to your customers. Are you focused on the immediate sale in front of you, or on a lifetime of potential sales and referrals? 

Have a great sales week!

Anchor appointments can help you "gain" additional time in your day

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Anchor appointments can help you "gain" additional time in your day

Let's face it – most of us aren't making money while we are driving to and from sales meetings. In larger metropolitan areas especially, many salespeople waste a lot of time in their cars (or using public transportation) and are seeing fewer customers or prospects.

To maximize your customer-facing time, I suggest dividing your sales territory into specific areas or quadrants and scheduling specific days to be in those areas. When laying out your schedule in this format, you can target accounts you need to visit on a proactive basis. Yes, there are occasionally going to be those days when you have to drive from one end of the metro area to the other based on customer need; however, these occurrences can be dramatically reduced with effective planning. Start with setting up a primary appointment in the area (an anchor appointment) and build your schedule from there. Ultimately, this technique is most effectively used when a sales professional can spend an entire day in a single office building or business park (and never need to move their car.)

I've found that customers are very understanding when you share with them the day(s) you will be in their area. Of course, if it's an emergency situation or a customer schedule issue – you make that work. Also, if you haven't scheduled that particular day yet – this could be your anchor appointment.

The results are more productive time management so you can focus on what's important to you,  higher quality appointments since they're planned and thought out 
, and a reduction of your expenses.

Have a Successful Sales Day!

What Salespeople Can Learn from Olympic Athletes

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

What Salespeople Can Learn from Olympic Athletes

Can you imagine training several hours each day over the course of several years for an event that lasts a matter of seconds? Before you answer, consider that if you win the Gold Medal in the Olympics (especially 8 of them like Michael Phelps won in 2008, or Katie Ledecky who has won seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals, competing this year) you will go down in history as one of the greatest at your sport.

The training and dedication can be grueling. However, it helps you perform at an optimum level, which will pay dividends down the road.

The sales process can also be learned, practiced, and perfected. By learning to perfect your process you will become more proficient and find that your sales results will dramatically improve. Repetition can make actions and responses seem like second nature.

Harvey McKay (the great author and speaker) once shared with me that it’s not “practice that makes perfect” it’s “perfect practice that makes perfect.” 

It's Nearing Halftime of 2024! How are you doing?

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

It’s Nearing Halftime of 2024! How are you doing?

It's time to reflect on the 1^st 6 months of 2024, celebrate your success and make any course corrections for the 2^nd half.

Evaluate what opportunities did not materialize in the 1^st half, and why?

• If you have a quota shortfall, add the number to the last 6 months.
• If you don’t have a quota shortfall, act like you do for the 2^nd half and keep your foot on the accelerator.
• Revisit your sales activities – are you making your day/weekly activity goals?
• Identify and pursue an account that you’ve avoided or experienced reluctance in contacting.
• Visualize what you'll do if you finish the year strong and post pictures of if (vacation destination or special purchase).
• Look at your work schedule, how a would 5-10% increase in hours help your results?
• Explore sales coaching to assist with your sales results 😊

Have a Great Summer and Second Half!

Creating Awesome Customer Loyalty

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Creating Awesome Customer Loyalty

If you want to stay on top of your game, you need to know what your customers think of your company as well as the products and services that you provide.

Getting feedback from customers can help you understand future purchase potential, consider product or service enhancements, and help determine commission or bonus plans. Overall, when reviewing customer service levels, we find three major categories of customers:

• Highly satisfied customers tend to tell many people about their experiences, make recommendations to others about the company, and usually return for future purchases.

• Satisfied customers tend to tell a few others, but generally don't go out of their way to recommend the company, and may return for future purchases. However, other competitive offers may impact the amount of future business.

• Dissatisfied customers tend to tell the largest number of people about their unsatisfactory experiences, will make recommendations to others that they buy from different companies, and most likely won't return for future purchases.

Strive for highly satisfied customers who perceive your service levels as excellent. This ultimately translates to customer loyalty. In a competitive marketplace, satisfactory is not good enough. You need to stand out, and be considered excellent in your field. This will help build a loyal customer base that will continue to purchase from you, and be extremely valuable in regards to referring you to others.

Activities to consider when creating customer loyalty:

• Always exceed any commitment you make to a customer, be specific when discussing times/dates and be aware of your customer's work hours/time zone.

• Ask for feedback early in the process so you can resolve any issues before it becomes too late.

• Create short surveys or feedback requests (5 questions maximum), and add space for specific comments. Scores are good, but customer comments will be more valuable to you.

• Let customers know why you are looking for their feedback; consider sharing some of the results of your findings, and any changes you plan on making. Be appreciative of their time and feedback, and most importantly, make this an opportunity to once again thank them for their business. 

Activities to avoid when creating customer loyalty:

• Don't over-survey your customers, but consider having a feedback link in your website to supplement input from your customers.

• Don't bribe all of your customers with a gift for completing a survey. This could slant the results, and could look desperate. If there is a drawing for a single prize, make it public so people know it's legitimate.

• Don't ask customers to submit their survey directly back to you. Consider an unbiased third party to collect the data for you. This helps your customers know your feedback request is both genuine and legitimate.

Asking for feedback is great; however, if you're not going to listen to what your customers have to say - don't ask. It's a waste of their time and yours. Be willing and prepared to implement changes in your business, and understand that inflexibility may lead to unsatisfied customers - and lost business potential. 

The goal of this topic is to help you keep your highly satisfied customers at that level, and move the other customers (satisfied and dissatisfied) up one level.

A Few Big Customers, or a Lot of Little Customers?

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

A Few Big Customers, or a Lot of Little Customers?

This question can cause great debates with Sales Coaches, Sales Managers, and Sales Executives. In my opinion, some sort of blend of both is in order. Using Baseball as an analogy – think of this as a blend of Base Hits and Home Runs. Base Hits normally win Baseball games, but fans love Home Runs, and they look great on TV highlights. Unfortunately, batters that are purposely trying to hit Home Runs (as opposed to Base Hits) tend to strike-out or fly-out more often.

Smaller accounts can have greater growth potential, may be easier to obtain, may be easier to maintain, and easier to replace (if the customer is lost or goes away).

Larger accounts are extremely gratifying when you win them, tend to get you recognized, can be more complex or exciting projects, can be more demanding, and are harder to replace (if the customer is lost or goes away).

Let's use a 2023 corporate acquisition as an example. As a Sales Executive, your largest customer was Bed Bath and Beyond, which represented a large percentage of your sales territory. Through the bankruptcy process, Overstock United acquires Bed Bath & Beyond – what happens to your account, your territory, and your commission? Going back to COVID-19 as an example, your largest account was an Airline or Hotel Chain – imagine the revenue impact.

Industry experts suggest that your larger accounts should individually account for no more than 10-15% of your total business.

If you have an opportunity to land a "big one" and you can provide excellent service on the back-end, do it! Just focus on getting some additional customers, and don't sit back and coast. Add more accounts, and never settle for just handling your existing accounts (you never know what unexpected events can occur.)

Have a great sales week!

Is it NO for now, or NO forever?

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Is it NO for now, or NO forever?

If we do hear NO we have to determine if it's a timing issue (i.e., no current need or no current budget), or it's a permanent NO. Things do change for our prospects over time. What may not have been a challenge for them a couple of years ago, may now be creating a business issue that you may be able to impact today.

First, when we hear NO, tactfully probe for an objection. If it appears that you can not or will not overcome the objection (i.e. lower your price), consider asking the questions below:

• When would be a good time to follow-up with you to see if we can assist you with future projects?
• Since things change for all of us, when would be a good time to follow-up with you?
• What are your plans when the market changes? (You may be able to expedite a shift to a YES if you can help the prospect feel a sense of urgency.)
• Down the road, how to you see our solution benefiting your business? (You may be able to expedite a shift to a YES if you get a positive response here.)

Second, if the NO appears to be permanent and there is nothing you can do (or will do) - let it go! It's time to close out the opportunity and move on to other things. You should keep this person connected to your newsletter, broadcasts or through social media so that your name is still out there (unless of course they unsubscribe). This could also be a great time to see if they may know of someone else you can assist. I normally prefer asking current and past clients for referrals; however, I have received referrals in this situation as well – it can’t hurt to ask.

Have a great sales week!

Don’t Assume You Can Close on the First Sales Call, Unless You’re Selling… Girl Scout Cookies!

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Don’t Assume You Can Close on the First Sales Call, Unless You're Selling… Girl Scout Cookies!

Except for selling Girl Scout Cookies, your sales approach should be a process. The goal of your initial contact should be to learn about your prospect, begin to understand if they have a need that you can potentially fulfill, and then move to the next step.

Do not assume when you reach your prospect for the first time that they are available to spend time with you. Avoid "selling" your product or service before you understand your prospect's needs.

The next step can be to schedule an appointment when the prospect has set aside time to meet or speak with you. From this point, it is possible to combine the steps of the sales process (data gathering/needs analysis, proposal/presentation and close) depending on your product or service. Always avoid the "feature dump" and share how your prospect will benefit from your solution.

Continuing to the next step with your prospect (forward progress) is a "mini close" and you are on the right track.

With Girl Scout Cookies, the sales process truly appears to be a "single call close" (meaning you want them, or you don't want them). The only questions may be how many do you want, and how many Girl Scouts do you know (so you can divide up your purchase?) There are some other products or services out there that can result in a "single call close" but these are few and far between.

In case you are interested, my favorite Girl Scout Cookie has always been Thin Mints. I like keeping them in the freezer (but they sure don’t seem to last long.)

Have a great sales week!