Coffee’s For Closers!

Anyone, and I do mean anyone can sell something.  You put the right product at the right price in the right idiots hand at the right time and they can sell it.  You put the right idiot on a corner with the wrong product at the wrong time with the wrong price and when they make a sale, then you are looking at talent.

You put the right idiot in the middle of the tundra somewhere north of Siberia with the wrong product at the wrong price at the wrong time and if they make the sale and up-sell the perspective client some frozen scrub land then you are looking at skill.

This general concept is something that every salesperson knows.  It doesn’t take much to sell something.  If a buyer wants to buy, they will do what it takes to buy something no matter how much you slow them down or screw up.

Getting a person to buy something they need before they know they need it is a whole other level of doing business.  Selling them a complete solution of products or services before they need it is half way to transcendant.  The rubber really hits the road though when you sell someone a solution that they need, when they only wanted a band aid fix and subsequent to your upselling effort they go out and actually use that solution to generate success. 

Then you end up with both a repeat customers, but also a customer evangelist and if they are smart a business contact for life.

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Closing note, I was going to include an image to try and bring a resonant theme to this article.  I was thinking of something like a Siberian twist about selling Ice to Eskimos. 

Don’t get me started about the selling capabilities of Eskimos.  The best sales man I ever met was an Eskimo and he could sell ice with the best of them!

Anyway, I came across this excerpt from a book titled, "Ice to the Eskimos"

This is from Chapter 13 and it is hilarious but definitely makes the point.

"I told the woman that the Blazer Music wasn’t available in stores," Sue said, "But she was persistent, almost panicking." The woman told Sue why she desperately needed the Blazer Music that day. Her husband had died and his final request was that when he was lowered into the ground he wanted the Blazer Music to be played. "I called the studio," Sue said, "and their chief engineer is on vacation. Our original music is locked up someplace there and nobody can get to it. The only thing I have is a tape of one of our broadcasts, which has all the billboards on it." Billboards are the short sponsor identifications at the beginning of sports broadcasts. "Is that okay with the woman?" I asked. "Yes," Sue said, "she’s that desperate." "Fine, give her a copy." Sue delivered the tape. And we sent flowers. The next day, this dead Blazer fan was lowered into the ground. At graveside, the woman pushed the start button on the tape machine. There was a drum roll. Then there was exciting audio highlights from one of our games, "Thompson with the rebound, the outlet pass to Valentine, he’s going lickety brindle down the middle, pass to Kenny Carr on the wing and he jammed it. Rip city!" Then the music lowered and the announcer gave the billboards. The mourners at graveside heard¾and maybe even our dead fan heard "This is Portland Trail Blazer Basketball… Blazer Basketball is brought to you by Budweiser—know when to say no, and by Chevrolet—the heartbeat of America, and by Safeway…" So, even at the end, we were pitching the benefits of our sponsors…

Anyone that has ever taken a speech class, a communications 101 class or has made it through the sales training sessions of more than one retail establishment has probably heard the old communications dictate that says you should

1. Tell them what you will tell them
2. Tell Them
3. and Tell them what you told them

Well this month, I am living the paradigm with a slight shift in verbage that dictates that you should

1. Sell them on what you will sell them
2. Sell them
3. and Sell them on what you sold them

Looking at the two groups of phrases put together on a single page, it looks pretty obvious, but it strikes me that I have never heard anyone ever say it before.

If you haven’t heard anyone say that before either, drop me a comment. Its rare these days when anyone ever comes across an original thought or even a small innovation in the sales process.

I have been working on selling sales leads. 

Rather fitting for a site that has a tag line of Coffee’s for Closers don’t you think!

The thing is that to sell someone sales leads, you do have to instill in them the confidence that the leads you will generate and ultimately sell them are worth anything. 

1.  Sell them on what you will sell them

Then you have to actually gather up the leads and sell the things over, exchanging ownership and exacting just compensation.  No small accomplishment these days, almost as difficult as the actual sale even.

2.  Sell them

Then after you deliver, you have to confirm with the client and insure that they recognize the value and the timeliness of the sales leads that you have just sold.  You have to go in for that good strong close, re-establishing the personal connection that brought you the business and the sale in the first place.  The last thing you want is a cancellation, reversal, refund, rebate, discount request or a bad referral.  You have to go back and sell them all over again to insure that there is no buyers remorse and no buyers blame that the leads were crap to begin with.

3.  Sell them on what you sold them

Remeber as a child when it would rain and you would go outside after and run through the puddles. It didn’t matter if we were allowed to do it or not we did. By the time you were done you would be soaked from head to toe.

If you wanted to there would have been another way to get completely soaked. You could go jump in a lake. It wouldn’t take as long to soak yourself, however it may take longer to get to the lake, while the puddles are right out front of your home.

Keep this in mind as you are out and you are gathering leads and you are working them. Although we want to get to the “lake” and make that big sale, the “puddles” will do the same thing for us we just need a few more of them. So take your time don’t rush to the “lake” enjoy the trip and jump in all the “puddles” that you can on your way.

TK

In just a few days, I officially put my sales hat back on after a 3 year hiatus.  I started this website for some friends that work in sales several months ago.  I thought the site was a great idea back then and still do.  They got caught up in the day to day sales chase of things and haven’t really found the time to write.

I am heading to Las Vegas in pursuit of the infamous leads.  The Consumer Electronics Show is not an easy place to go to close a sale.  That doesn’t mean that its impossible or that you shouldn’t try to close a sale there.  But there are literally a million people, lights and whiz bangs and noises everywhere, scantily clad women, alcohol and more foot traffic congestion than St Patrick’s Day in Savannah.  (Similar number of people, except they get to fill up a town instead of a convention center). 

Then there is the rest of Las Vegas.  More drinks, gambling, shows, scantily clad women, tourists etc.  Its just plain difficult to get someone’s attention there and keep it!

I’ve tried lots of tactics there over the years.  Closing before the show, planning to close at the show, wining and dining till the wee hours in the morning, just to get up after an hour of sleep and hit the show to start all over again.

This time, however, I have the amplified power of social networks behind me.  I know how to reinforce a sale with social networks, keep in touch before during and after the show, and prevent those leads from getting cold.  So this year, I am going to the show to simply gather leads.

Gather as many Leads as I can gather in about 3 and a half days.  I’m heading out there packing my laptop, an air card, a camera, a video camera, a voice recorder and the ever important business card scanner.  The goal is to gather the leads and then organize, disperse, (even sell), those leads to close them over the next several weeks to come.  One thing that is a truism about the movie Glengarry Ross, there is power in leads.  Power not only in the use of the leads, but in controlling the leads themselves.  I’m going to work those leads from every angle imaginable!

Have you ever put on a pair of blue socks thinking they were black, or vice versa?

I drive about 35,000 business miles per year. Over the years that I have been driving this many miles I have gotten used to several things that used to upset me on the road. I have learned to be able to see what kind of vehicle is on the road who is driving it and I can usually tell you how they will drive and what they will do. Most of us that have put this many miles on each year can. However there are a few things that still really tick me off.

When I am traveling down a two lane road and someone is waiting to pull out and go the same direction as me. I will politely move over to the left hand lane so that they may pull soon than waiting for me to pass. In this situation there are many different ways it can turn out. The person waiting sees that I have used my turn signal and moved into the other lane and pulls out in the righthand lane and all is well.

There may be someone behind me that sees me pull over and knows what I am doing but this doesn’t prompt them to do the same and the waiting traveler is unable to pull out. Now maybe there is no one else on the road and the waiting driver doesn’t pull out till I have passed. Now this is a bit annoying but can be tolerated.

The thing that really sets puts me in orbit is when I move over so that someone can pull out and then they pull out but they still find it necessary to pull out in front of me. I really don’t understand how they can think this is a good idea or the right move.

T.K.

Coffee’s for Closers’ is the product and brain child of two guys that have been in the sales field for a combined 15 years. Two salesmen, who believe that we are in one of the greatest professions, see ourselves as professionals and like to help others as they grow in the sales profession.

We have stories, we have advice, and we have ways of dealing with the everyday stress and negativity that comes with our “chosen profession”. We wish to share some of these with you in hopes to inspire you, make you laugh, make you mad, and maybe help you along your path down the ever changing sales highway.

The team: Tim K and Dave M. : Friends, professionals, peers, and business partners. There are many others in the background that will help and provide many things to help us.

Everyone counts on the support that comes from the many minds in the background. With the information that we are able to provide we can become that support for you.

We have many other goals that we have set. We share some of these as mutual goals and some that each of us will tackle on our own.

This was designed with you in mind and we hope that you are able to use.We will be adding a forum soon so that we can get more interaction with all of you.

Thanks-

T.K. & D.M.