"Get On Your Sales Cycle and Get Growing"
NLP Mind Training Webinar By
Steve Boyley
August
18th 2003
Webinar Notes by Craig Eubanks
These notes
are offered as is from the webinar with permission from Steve Boyley of the
Performance Institute of NLP. Minor editing and article formatting done by
Steve Boyley. Questions are in bold indicated with "Q:"
NLP Webinar with
Steve Boyley:
Get On Your Sales Cycle And Get Growing
Webinar references
web page:
http://www.nlpmind.com/sales_cycle.htm
Often we become so
focused on the skills to do these things such as persuasion, rapport and
sales, we forget or overlook the process. So this will be to focus on
the process, the sales cycle (see website), and discover that it is
actually easy. That following the process itself is often enough, all
you need to have a successful business.
It is a shame that
someone doesn't succeed just because they don't follow the process.
"Plan your work, work your plan." Having a workable plan is more
important than having fancy communication skills to execute a part of the
plan. If you stick to the process over and over, and feed in new
information as you learn it, to improve the process.
Q: I notice
you have called cold calls, hot calls... what is the reason behind that?
For
many people when they get into sales they are told they must make "cold
calls" whether in person or on the phone. The term has served to send
shivers up the spine of many a sales person. So it is more
descriptive of the process to call them hot calls, since by the time you are
done with them they are either "hot" for your services or "hot " to get you
out of there.
Q: What are
the key points to "hot" calls?
1) State
of mind and attitude about making the calls. Avoid mind reading what the
state of mind the customer will have when you make the call, causes the
result of what one experiences. Framing what it is that you are doing
in your mind effectively is likely the most important element of hot calls.
Check your state, what you are communicating via non verbal means.
Note: the non
verbal stuff can be communicated over the phone by tone of voice.
2) Your
presentation, including how you present to yourself. The frame to
use is "these people out there have a need for this service/product/etc."
that I am selling. When you have this frame you realize you are doing
a great service for these people out there that have been waiting for this
solution to their problems.
3)
Qualifying: Do not waste your time as a sales person.
Qualify that you are speaking with the correct individual as soon as
possible: ask the first person "can you help me" (This is the first
question Steve asks everyone).
"Can you help me, I
am looking for the person that can sign my order for...." they will direct
you to that person.
Note: keep asking
this same question until a person says yes I am that person. This includes
asking if there are any other people who also need to sign.
Then schedule time
with that person, when you are sure that this is the person who can okay the
deal. Often the objective of the hot call is to schedule time to do a
presentation. When asking for the time, always use the work "or".
Is this week "or" next week good? You want to schedule an opportunity
for business to take place between you.
4)
Check with the person that they have the time to spend with you to do what
you want to accomplish. It is very useful when making hot calls.
Do not feel that you have to get the entire presentation in at that time.
You can just show up and say "I am here to make an appointment (for a
meeting)"
So there can be
primary objectives and secondary objectives to the hot call.
This consideration
you are showing can have benefits in that most people want to do business
with people who are considerate of them.
Q: How do you
determine who it is that might have a need?
Leads into product
development, have a product or service that solves a known need in the
market place. This way you have an idea of who has the need, and
whether it is a specific need, or a general need (i.e.: they are breathing
and have the money to purchase what you offer). Most products are
developed in response to a need. Not always.
As you present the
prospect with the product, the feedback you get will determine and help
narrow down who are the prospects more likely to do business with you. (eg
the 80/20 rule) 20 % of prospects provide 80% of your revenue. Better
to focus on the 20% first. Sometimes this is not possible, and you must
present to the full 100% in order to find the 20%
Remember this about
prospecting and marketing: It is a process of discovering those
individuals who already have a desire for your particular product or
idea, and also those who, if they realized it, would have a
desire for your product. So you want to find both those that have a
desire, and those that have a potential need (and educate them) to encourage
that desire. This should lead you to have an 'interested' contact.
Remember:
What is in it for them? Why should they take the time to read or listen to
your presentation. Answer those questions and you will reach your
objectives.
Q: Can you
give us an example of some prospecting you have done?
Selling home
renovation products
-
They must own a
home. Occasionally the resident, but involves the owner. Multiple owners
may all need to be involved.
-
Use
a reverse directory that list houses by neighborhood, so can assess market
potential of the hood.
-
Then
call and ask "are you a home owner" If no, say thank you. If yes,
then proceed.
Another
example:
-
Looking
for people interested in NLP, by Internet.
-
By describing the
training etc. get a list of names of people that do have an interest in
taking NLP training at some point.
You want the list
of people that DO HAVE AN INTEREST. That is the criteria for the
prospect list that builds.
Q: How
important is follow up after the sale in your opinion?
Depends on the
nature of the product and potential future business with client. If there is
potential business it is much more important. If they are unhappy and
unlikely to contact you, then follow up is important.
Example: NLP
training. as soon as it's over, the students go into a mailing list with a
request for feedback.
-
Request for
feedback within 24 hours.
-
An email goes out
to each one of the students reminding them to review (thank you in it); 24
hours, 48 hours 1week, 2 weeks, month, 2 months, then every 3 months.
How important is
this process? Imagine if a sales person calls you and each time they start
with the same pitch like they never met you before.
Q: Can
tracking too much mislead you into, "it is just a numbers game" instead of
calibrating?
People do track too
much, but as long as it doesn't bog you down, it's better to have a little
to much and not use it all.... than not have enough when you contact
them next. Good to be able to say "you know when last we spoke, we
talked about X, and we agreed that next we would do Y" establishes
continuity.
Make the process be
beginning to end. Whether it happens all at once or over a number of
different meetings and contacts.
Q:How can you
determine if there is interest that may be just displaced by an over crowded
schedule.
Goes back to the
comment, can you track too much? Better off to focus on the numbers
game than the calibration. The calibration can mislead in this
situation.
If you have
submitted a proposal when they were interested, then you meet again and they
seem reluctant. If you have good records, you can remind them of where
you left off, and this can change their state back to where they were
enthusiastic at the last meeting. You can say "Listen I know you have
a tight schedule, when last we met you said you are interested in this.
I know now is not the best time, so when would be convenient for
you?"
(Recall where
Steve said that someone with excellent skills can miss out on the business,
but someone with a good process and average or even mediocre skills gets the
result.)
Q: I often
have to convince people to take an appointment with me, to take the extra
time to see another (real estate) agent and not sign with the one they are
seeing sooner. Then I try to close them when I am there. Any ideas how I
fight my own contradictory statements?
Point is, they are
going to list with somebody. Remember that the person makes the buying
decision when they see maximum personal gain at minimum personal risk. So
hopefully as a result of your presentation they will feel this way about
doing business with you.
One of the ways you
can maintain credibility... Check for buyers remorse. This shows you have
integrity. That you are going to do the right thing for THEM. "Now
remember what I've said, here it is (the contract). If you are not
happy I'm going to tear this up (start to tear it a bit).
Works like a charm.
Especially with something that has a cancellation time frame.
Note: there are
course after course taught on each part of this sales cycle, and yet
people are not following a systematic process to get the business and keep
it coming and growing.
Point: does
matter your talent level, AND you need to do the right steps to get the
business.
Q: I have a
client who won't sell his home because it is $500 away from what he wants.
He is living in a $144,000 and can afford $250,000 and he won't make the
stretch. I have dropped my commission dramatically. He paid $8000 in costs
and down payment and he isn't leaving without the $8000. His home has been
on the market for 1 1/2 years! Any ideas?
It has nothing to
do with the price, it has everything to do with him recovering his 8000.00
from when he bought the home.
How long was it he
incurred the costs? (4 yrs) You have to look at the invested cash value of
that money, and show that it is more than 8000.00 he should recover so he is
behind on the inflation of that value. Show him the time value of $.
This will drive home that time affects the value of money.
Then point out that
the last 1.5 years he has refused the $500.00, and show him that in that
time his 8000.00 has gone up more than that had he invested it. So the
longer he waits, the more it costs him, even if he gets the
full price that he wants.
A reframe:
Then say, you know if I were you, I would take that $143,500 now before you
lose any more money.
Step number 5.0,
comes into play when you have a prospect is interested, from either a hot
call, or marketing campaign.
Do one of the
following:
5.1) Gather
intelligence, who is this that has contacted you or you them. Find out
the nature of the organization, how much they might use, potential value of
the business with this client. The intelligence is not only about the
company, but can be the history of the relationship if they have prior
business. May also be gathering referrals. And gathering
information about the individual (meta programs, hot buttons, etc.)
This is where NLP comes into play. do this on each and every contact with
the client, improving the intelligence
The info you gather
gives you what you need to make an effective....
5.2)
Presentation. An effective presentation leads to a proposal. You
want a tailored presentation for that prospect. Note: continue
gathering intelligence.
5.3) Proposal
that will work for both parties. mutually beneficial business.
5.4) Order, ask
for the business. This is where you answer the question... did you get
an order or not, if yes, then you will go to order follow up. if no... go
to...
6.0) Order
follow through. Very Very important. This is the continuation of
the close. Can go into a loop here, but to make sure it is not static,
continue to gather information.
Note: this is
the strategy of the most talented and successful sales people. Follow
through is crucial, this is not follow up.
-
Intelligence
gathering... then follow through
-
Presentation...
then follow through
-
Proposal... then
follow through
-
Ask for the
business... follow through
This process will
lead you to the outcomes that are right for you. It can
be that this is not the business you were looking for.
Note: you can
have a variety of skills to run the strategy, your skills can be 'not so
hot', but the strategy is.
The follow
through and follow up are vital. So many sales people do not do
this. This leaves opportunity for people that know how to work the
system as we now do.
Q: How much
should you push a prospect to work with you. How do you calibrate with new
people that they are going to turn
Until you get
someone annoyed and angry with you, you don't know.
You can not lose a
sale you don't have! So go for it. Push it to the limit from time to time so
you know where the limit is. If you do push it, back off and apologize and
thank them for helping you determine where the limit is. Explain that
sometimes you get so enthusiastic that sometimes you can be doing the wrong
thing for the right reasons.
Besides how else
can you calibrate a limit?
Important thing
about a marketing plan, is knowing where it is leading you to. Then
the second marketing plan is the repeat business marketing plan.
(Steve has made this sales cycle "the bible" for any companies he has
managed. )
Remember: when
you set it up right, it is driven by your calendar.
If you take NLP
skills and apply them to each step, you can make it dynamite. The fact
the companies can take this strategy and do well with no skills at all is a
testament to how well it works.
PART II 7PM
WEBINAR
Comes down to the
criteria that defines who your market is, when developing a marketing plan.
Ground zero - the
beginning where everything explodes from there, where you determine who are
the potential prospects. So you don't waste your time on people who
are not good prospects. You want people who are interested in your
product service and have the capability to make a deal for it.
So you need to find
the criteria about what makes a potential prospect for you. Then you
can asses the number of prospects in your region, the number your marketing
channels are likely to reach, and then the number of those that meet your
criteria. The better you can match the marketing to your specific
targets the better.
2 kind of analysis
-
what criteria for
a client
-
what fits the
target your marketing channel is reaching
example: an ad in
the paper, your marketing channel, reaches a broad criteria of readers
(newspaper readers). If you think your market consists of 15% of
newspaper readers, then you can test your ad and see if you are getting to
those you are attempting to reach.
Big distinction;
area might have 2 million people in the region it covers, however the
newspaper might only go to 1 million of those, and of those maybe 30 percent
take not of the ad, of those maybe 20 percent might be interested, and of
those maybe 15 percent are ready to take action.
This is actually
true for many forms of marketing unless you have more qualified leads.
Niche marketing is more along the lines of having qualified leads. marketing
to business is like this, you can buy lists.
Ya can have all
the sales skills, but ya gotta find the people who want what ya got.
This is true,
people often think this about the Internet since there are 6 billion people
on the Internet, but it has nothing to do with the size of the market, but
your potential to get attention in that market. So finding a Niche
makes a big difference.
Plan your work, and
work your plan. so having a strategy, or a habit of behavior, can make you
much more effective. When you have a plan, even if your skills along
each step of the way are not the greatest, you will get the results.
Then if you have great skills, you become the kind of person/business the
competition are worried about.
Hot Calls: In the
past they called it cold calls. The connotation of that is enough to
send chills down anyone's spine. Yet this is one of the hottest way to
get new business. Called hot calls since they will either be hot to do
business with you or are hot to get you out of the way.
Also people would
go in cold, instead of going in hot, if you want to get people excited, you
have to be hot your self. (Steve sings, "I got the juice, I got
the fire, I got the burning desire.")
Better to go in hot
and simmer down to where they are. This goes for the phone as well,
you must be in the state of someone you would want to get a phone call from.
Lead them into the state you want them to be in, or pace them and lead them.
eg: as Steve
tells us these stories he is sending his energy to us over the Internet
when he tells the stories.
Q: What are
some motivation strategies for getting your self into these states?
If you are not
going to be there in the state you want to be, when you are doing it, you
might as well go home.
Doing their job vs
having fun with it and being excited in your state.
Note: at every
step of this you should be gathering intelligence.
The hot call can be
just for setting a meeting for an intelligence gathering session.
Important:
some times people limit themselves by saying such things as "I'm on the
phone, that is only for making appointments" entire deals have been done
on the phone, you might be able to complete the deal then.
Sometimes it is
useful to walk in, in person and just ask for an appointment at future time.
Q: so Steve
how does one get over the "rejection button" that results from a "don't want
to talk to you" attitude?
Too many times
sales people take it personally. They have presuppositions about what
will happen.
e.g.: a person
has just had a huge argument with their spouse when the sales call comes.
The person calling has no idea what just happened. So you can not take
that personally when they hang up the phone.
If you can hit them
with "what you can do for them" you will get their attention. If you
don't they will likely not listen to you.
Steve tells
another story: A customer that told him to "fuck off" he made a
note of it, knowing that his company has a good reputation, he called him
back a month later and said "Hi I just wanted to let you know that I did
exactly what you said last month, and I wanted to know if you had a little
time today so I could report the results to you and tell you exactly how I
can help your business"
Q: How do you
get past the person at the front desk?
They actually take
training on how to do this (screen calls). So what you do is to phone
and say this, "Hi, I wonder if you can help me?" or "Hi, I would like to
know if you can of help me?"
Note:
if you are being passed from secretary to secretary, you can phrase it, "I
wonder if you are the person who can help me answer a question about...."
Then.... when they
say "I can", you ask "I am looking for the person who can sign my order on
X, do you know who that is?"
Q: What about
correspondence?
So think of it this
way... how does your correspondence help the personal assistant? The
PA can think, how dare you bypass me. That belittles their position.
You can include a thank you for them forwarding it on to Mr. so&so.
(Steve likes to form a great relationship with the PA as they can often help
you get more stuff done than anyone else.)
Q: How do you
get them to open up about their needs if they don't want to talk?
You wouldn't be
there if you already didn't have some idea of their needs, now you are more
confirming their needs. Frame this as a service to them. "your time is
valuable and so is mine, let us make this process efficient so it minimizes
the amount of time that it takes for us to come to a mutually beneficial
business arrangement together"
(Steve repeats
the phrase mutually beneficial throughout the conversation to
reinforce it in their mind.)
Follow up is
the phase where you gather more intelligence on a prospect, most likely you
haven't done a proposal yet. The point of the follow up is to move
them from step 4 to one of the steps in 5. Follow up moves it into
active selling phase from marketing phase.
Follow through
is in the sales phase. Think of the sales process like a golf swing,
you have made contact with the ball, you still need to follow through to
make it a good shot. If you have done the proposal follow through and
ask for the business.
If they are not
interested in not going to the next phase, you need to go back and follow
through on more intelligence, a different proposal, maybe even a
different product.
You have their
attention, follow through. Find the objections, why aren't they doing
business with you today. If they didn't have concerns they would be
doing mutually beneficial business with you right now! Do your
homework, find out what their concerns are. This is the follow
through, this is the selling.
The key thing is
the process. If you follow the process you will have success,
regardless of your skills. Some companies have specialists at each
point in this process. You
may have fantastic skills and if you do not follow the process you may get
no sales at all.
(Steve always
asks them to set an appointment for follow through, and what the type of
follow through they would like or need.)
Note: can use the
study cycle as a model for when to contact a
person who you have given information to, since it is as if they have
studied with you. This allows you to use the anchors in the memory
to reinforce the learning.
Remember out
of sight of of mind. So they will push things out of the current data
accessed if they are not encouraged to access it. A newsletter is a
way of keeping it in mind. But don't become too frequent to the point of
being ignored.
Metaphor of
using this sales cycle to get someone to go to the movies with you. You go
through this exact same process. And if you go through each step and get
results you will move on through the process.
This process has the tenacity built
into it that good sales people really use
Think of NLP like
this, it is something everyone has already. Only the programmers are
able to manipulate it and adjust it.
System for
tracking: need three
things
2 a-z indexes
1 calendar (day by day)
You gather a list
of potential prospects and what ever intelligence you have on them, and put
them in the first a-z filing in the binder or Rolodex. These you have
not marked in the calendar for anything, a mail out, or phone call etc.
IF they are not in one of the 8 steps of the sales cycle, they stay in this
index.
Once you have
decided to do something with them, mail, phone, meeting etc. they go into
the second index since they are now IN the sales cycle.
Why this way?
If you have a mix of prospects, you will have to go through client by client
to see where you are at. This way you keep the ones you have future
contact with separate.
e.g.: You have
one that you send a mail out to. Once that is sent, if you don't know what
to do with them (meaning schedule next event) then you can move them back
to the first a-z, until you decide what to do with them to move them back
into the sales process.
The second binder
is only for people that are in the sales process. This way, if
you have already covered all the people in your second binder (plan of
action) then you can go back to the first one and start the cycle with new
prospects, and move them into the IN process/calendar binder.
When you get a prospect you don't know what to do with, you can move them
into the not in process binder till you figure it out.
One of the
greatest time wasters is having to flip through a Rolodex of clients that
have no info with them... no plan. It takes so long to go through
in alphabetical order that only the first half of the list gets any
attention by the time follow ups come around.
Primary
difference with repeat business marketing is; customer already knows
you, so you can carry your credibility with you and get to the sales much
faster. Exceptions can be a new product line.
Initial marketing
takes time to establish credibility. So the nature of repeat marketing
changes some what.
example: Think of
the practitioner training. Before the training the letters talked about
the nature of the training, what you will get etc. If we received
them again we wouldn't be likely to read them. We would expect to be
treated differently having already been customers, having given the
performance institute the honor of having done business with them.
Q: Good
books?
-
"101 ways to close the sale" by Zig Ziglar.
-
"how to master the art of selling"
by Tom Hopkins.
-
"How to sell anything to anybody" by
Joe Girard.
-
"the one minute sales person" by spencer
johnson.
Craig Eubanks is an Author,
Trainer, and Communication Skills Specialist
Affordable NLP Training
