PUMP UP THE SALES – October 2012

To: ALL KBC TEAM MEMBERS
FROM: PAULA

PLUMP UP THE SALES!

(No it is not a typo, but it may be reflective of how I am feeling after our awesome Potluck lunch today!  Still better to plump up the sales vs. my waistline!  Go for it!)

I have been writing Pump Up The Sales now for well over 20 years – so, this month I found the well a little dry and went surfing on the web to find some new and exciting tips.  Here are a few of them for your enjoyment and use:

Skip to the Beep

I learned an awesome phone skill from one of our lead gen reps at the office this morning. Travis Turner is a lead generation superstar, and I mean that in every sense. He’s been with our company close to three years, solely in a lead generation calling capacity.

On average, Travis makes between 200 and 300 calls every single day he works. No, I’m not kidding. Every single day for three years. And he’s nowhere close to being burnt out by it, because A. he’s very, very good at it, and B. our dialer system automates and reduces the normal headaches of phone dialing so much that making 250 calls in eight hours simply isn’t an onerous task.

The tip he taught us was this:When you get to a decision maker’s voicemail, rather than waiting the 20-30 seconds for the message to play, “Hi this is Bob/Jill, VP of Blah blah at Company X, I’m not here, leave me a message and I’ll get back with you,” press either a 1, 0, or # on your phone, and skip straight to the “beep” to leave your message, saving you 10-30 seconds per voice message call—and when you’re making 200 calls day, that’s 30-100 minutes of time you’re simply not wasting.

If you want to see an interview with Travis, go here:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7806015&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Three Words to Close More Sales

Any Top Closer will tell you that the secret to closing sales is in getting your prospect to disclose to you whether or not they are going to be a sale and getting them to tell you what you must do or say to close the deal. The reason this is key is because only your prospect knows what it will take for them to buy your product or solution, or even if they have the authority, budget, or if they are in the mood, if they like you, if they need it enough, and many other reasons.

Unfortunately, 80 to 90% of sales reps don’t understand this. They continue to pitch at prospects, push their material onto them and then hound and beg them to do business with them. This is why most sales reps hate sales and why most prospects hate sales reps. I’m going to share three words with you that will get your prospect to reveal their true buying motives (and why they might not be buying from you as well.)

Here it is: Whenever your prospect begins stalling or any other excuse for not acting today, you simply reply: “What happens next?”

Now before 80% of you dismiss this – while the other 20% nod your head with wisdom – try it and hityour mute button. I guarantee that you’ll learn more in what they say next than you would if you just kept talking and pitching…

Here are some other things to say to follow up:

“How does that process work?”

“How involved in that are you?”

“What would you like to see happen here?”

“When does a decision on this need to be made?”

“If you had to move on something today, what would you do?”

“Out of everything you’ve seen from other companies, what do you think?”

“What’s the biggest thing you can see that is standing in the way?”

I guarantee that if you ask all of the above questions to a prospect – and truly listen to what they tell you – you’ll know whether or not they are going to be a deal.

There are lots of other techniques you can use, and if you haven’t invested in my Best Selling book: “The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts” then you should do so now. You’ll get over 220 other proven tips, scripts and techniques just like this to turn you into a Top Closer as well.

Get your prospect talking (and to get you to shut up and listen). If you get good at this you’ll be amazed by how much more successful you’ll be.

Yes, You Can! Increase your sales conversion rate and add on sales

Interrogation  – Everyone knows what it is like to get interrogated by a sales representative. Instead of using this approach, make the call seem more like a conversation. For example, make a statement such as “My name is Rich” in front of “What is your name?”

Lead the Conversation – Just because you are answering a call does not mean that the customer leads the conversation. Develop a process to guide a caller through a conversation. A sample process would include: Greeting,  Method of engagement,  Develop a need for product,  Present the solution,  Close the sale by reinforcing the buying decision

Politeness – You have received a lead for business. Make certain to be courteous by listening, saying thank you, and being receptive to the problems they are presenting.

Close the Deal – By making your product or service fit their problem, you are well on your way to closing the deal. Using your closing techniques, present the price and ask for a payment. A good way to ask for payment:”Will that be Visa or Mastercard?”

Fallback Offers – After the initial offer is rejected, have a fallback offer in mind. The fallback offer is almost always smaller and less expensive than the first offer. By presenting a fallback offer, customers think “I am getting a better deal.” This means that you have a better chance at closing the sale.

Thanks to Rich Hessler of Solar Marketing

Two shoe salespeople were sent to Africa to open up new markets. Three days after arriving, one salesperson called the office and said, “I’m returning on the next flight. Can’t sell shoes here. Everybody goes barefoot.”

At the same time the other salesperson sent an email to the factory, telling “The prospects are unlimited. Nobody wears shoes here!”

After hour sales

So many times I’ve been at a party, restaurant, or on a plane, and the person next to me is part of the manufacturing industry.  Being in Illinois, Michigan, or Ontario the chances that someone sitting next to you is a potential client is at least 1 in 4, so keep your business cards on you and keep some sales flyers and catalogs in your car.  Ask people what they do, and if they are in manufacturing, give them your card.  You never know when you can drum up some more business for KBC.

Business only goes where it’s invited and stays where it’s appreciated.

…………and here is your P21 inside sales and front counter practice run for the month (Yep, that’s all the people who take orders over the phone and counter – you know who you are!)

By October 12^th, you need to make5 phone calls to your branch and place orders with another member of your team who will be working in the P21 system.  (Of the 5 calls, one should be a new Credit Card client, one should be a pick up order, one should be a UPS order, one should have a special order on it.)  Your orders should have multiple lines – please no more than 6. Write down all the appropriate information you are giving on your side onto an order form, including the start and stop time – YEP! We’re timing these….just for an idea how long it takes at this moment.

….and you also need to take 5 orders in the P21 system. Yep, that means that you need to receive 5 phone calls from your fellow team members…without writing them down!

Once finished, give your hand written order forms for the orders you placed and your order numbers to your branch manager so that we can make sure the order went into the new system correctly.  Then your branch manager will fax them to Jenny and Elaina by October 15^th so that we can make sure we don’t have any company wide issues.

ALSO….Develop your contacts

By developing a rapport with your accounts, especially larger or higher frequency accounts can payoff big time when it comes to selling and selling more.  Spend a couple minutes getting to know a company’s purchasers or any other contacts that might be involved in the purchasing or decision making process. (For our dealers that would be the inside sales people as well as the outside sales people.)  Knowing something personal about them, their family or hobbies can be a great way to break the ice when you call to inquire about a quote, why we haven’t heard from them lately, or when working with them to increase the number of items they buy from us. – What a great idea!

What a great idea for now!  We are going into our new computer system, and we can add many contacts.  Start collecting info now – see the spread sheet attached, and start collecting!People like being called by their names.  Use them!Give your branch manager your completed sheets by October 31^st (Happy Halloween)….and then keep on going.  Your branch manager will e-mail Paula and Elaina to let us know how many contacts you added to our data.

PUMP UP THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE – October 2012

To: All KBC Managers and A/R Team Members

From: Paula

October 2012

PUMP IT UP!

Bringing in the money one dollar at a time!

Having no idea what I would write about I took to the internet searching for the tried and true, the esoteric, the sublime, and the ridiculous.  Following is a selection of my catches of the day interspersed with some of my own comments.  What you say, you are surprised that I could not keep quiet? Enjoy…..and bring the money in!

One day past due? Take action. Don’t wait.  If you’re supposed to get paid on the 10th and you don’t see the funds on the 11th, e-mail or call with a “past due” reminder. – This is a great tip for clients who are perpetually late and also those that their promises are things that just don’t stack up to a whole pile of beans.  Be persistent and timely.

Deposit checks promptly. Turn a paper check into money by getting it into the bank ASAP.  (In Canada keep an eye on your post dated cheques to get them into the bank on time, not early, but not late.) Years ago during a Canadian postal strike with not a whole lot of money coming in to pay for those necessities such as payroll, I opened our A/R team member’s drawer to discover a whole pile of checks that could have been deposited, but hadn’t because the amounts didn’t quite jive with the account or they were post dated when they came in – but were now depositable.  Oh, no – how could we apply it?!!!  When in doubt, deposit the check, put it on the account, and call the client later to find out how to apply the money.

Develop your contacts – By developing a rapport with your accounts, especially larger or higher frequency accounts can payoff big time when it comes to collecting debts that are owed to you. Spend a couple minutes getting to know a company’s accounts payable person or any other contacts that might be involved in the billing or payments review process. Knowing something personal about them, their family or hobbies can be a great way to break the ice when you call to inquire about payments, and keep relations smooth during rocky times. – What a great idea!  What a great idea for now!  We are going into our new computer system, and we can add A/P contacts.  Start collecting info now – see the spread sheet attached, and start collecting!  People like being called by their names.  Use them!

Ask for tracking numbers – I bet you’ve heard this one before, “The check is in the mail” or “I sent it FedEx”. If they did indeed send the check through a delivery service or certified mail, ask for a tracking number. This way you can verify their statement regarding payment as well as determine how long it will be before you receive payment. Really good for those truly late payers.  Not so good for those clients that always do what they say without question.
The first rule of Receivable Collection is Don’t lose your customer, if at all possible.It is not always possible to live up to this first rule, but, if the collection process is done improperly, none of your customers will want to do business with your organization.  Heavy food for thought! I remember going personally to collect from a client that was at 364 days – just a little past due!  The owner assured me that he would never buy from us again – Gee Whiz! (BTW – they are buying from us again after begging several times, but the owner is no longer involved!)

Rule number two is Always be polite! You can be stern, but always polite . No one appreciates being yelled at, or given empty threats. (If someone gets to do the yelling Paula and John reserve the right to have this special pleasure.)

Rule number three might be the hardest rule to follow, since most people tend to keep very poor records. Rule number:Keep accurate records! – Hey, we’re all in this thing together.  You can’t keep your notes on a piece of paper in your desk as we all have to be able to share notes in the computer.  This will become even more important as we all have access to every client in the system, and whether to hold a client’s order or release it may be a decision made at another branch.

A little humor:

Really Fond-a Of Rhonda

Receptionist: “Hi, this is (company). May I direct your call?”

Caller: “Yeah, I need to speak to Rhonda.”

Receptionist: I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone here by that name.”

Caller: “RHONDA! RHONDA! I need to talk to Rhonda!”

Receptionist: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but there is no one here named Rhonda. What department were you trying to reach?”

Caller: “The accounts receivables girl! I want to talk to Rhonda!”

Receptionst: “Oh, Sue is in charge of accounts receivables. I can transfer you to her right now.”

Caller: “Why did she change her name?!”

The accounts receivable department called and said, “We have your order, but we will not ship it until you pay for your last three orders.”

The man replied: “I can’t wait that long—cancel the order!”

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DANGER SIGNS:

“They’re paying you a little slower. Instead of discounting, they are paying you in 30 or 60 days,” said Shaw, president of New York Credit, Inc. of Marina del Rey. “Why all of the sudden aren’t they meeting discount terms?”

Another red flag is raised if the customer’s bank has asked it to find another lender. That may mean the business won’t be able to find lending on favorable terms. – This translates to the client saying they are changing banks – never a good sign.

Other signs to look for, Shaw said, include:

* The company suddenly is borrowing up to the hilt on its credit line.

* A divorce is in the works for a key principal, which could lead to a division of assets and keep the person’s attention from the business.

* The business is slower in collecting its own accounts receivable and its bad debts are growing.

* The company’s industry is declining.

* The state or region where it is doing business is suffering major economic or disaster-related problems

* There are IRS or payroll tax liens on the business.

* Potentially costly lawsuits have been filed.

And, Shaw said, the creditor often can get a sense of impending problems just from regular phone calls to the business.

If the business isn’t answering the phones as quickly as before it may be a sign that service is declining because of a financial squeeze, he said.  The idea is perception,” he said. “What are you picking up?” –
We call this your spidey sense – listen to it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Happy Trick or Treating!