The Words that Lead to Sales – Part Three By Debbie Ouellet Chief Idea Officer – EchelonOne Consulting

Putting It All Together—By Turning Tradition on Its Head
 Anyone who knows me knows, I’m a traditional kind of person. But when it comes to getting your message noticed, the old school approach just doesn’t work anymore. If you look at traditional messages, you’ll find a common format. They usually go something like this:

• tell them who you are and what you do
• tell them your idea
• tell them how they’ll benefit from your idea 

Wrong. In today's world, if you want to get someone's attention, I recommend you turn that approach on its head. That is:

• tell them how they'll benefit from your idea (so what)
• tell them your idea (more about “so what”
• tell them who you are and what you do for them (why you) 

The traditional approach is all about you. My recommended “So What/Why Me” approach is all about your prospect. Think about it. If you were your prospect, which one would you want to read?
Use the traditional approach and chances are good that your prospect will lose interest long before they get to the part that they really care about. That is…what's in it for me?
However, if you start by telling your client what’s in it for them, the chances are greatly improved that they’re going to take the time to read your idea. And, by the time they get to the part about “why you”, if you’ve done a good job of identifying the “so what” factor, they're actually going to care.
Follow these three tips whenever you’re putting together an important message…

1. Answer the “So What” question
2. Tell them, “Why You?”
3. Turn tradition on its head and write in the order your prospect cares about.

 You'll communicate better, build trust faster, and increase the number of times that you hear that magic word…”yes”.

As always, when you need personalized help implementing any of these suggestions, contact me.

- Al

Sales is a “Win-Win”

“I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well." - Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve

If you’ve been reading these weekly tips, no doubt you’ve noticed that professional sales is not about “jamming” the prospect with so much information about you and your company that they will eventually be persuaded to buy.  It’s about discovering how what you do matches with what the client desires, or, how you can “delight” the person.  In other words, it should be a “win-win”.  Your client “wins” in that they receive solutions, real benefit, excellent value.  You “win” in that you generate revenue for your business and for your family. 

This should be a relief to those not experienced in sales; a reminder to those who already understand the consultative sales process; and perhaps a refreshing new perspective to those who have used the old aggressive methods, but are willing to consider a more progressive view.  I’ve found that the more I treat clients with dignity, the better my success rate.  What works best is exploring together with clients ways that your product or service might solve their problems.

For example, the common format for sales presentations often goes something like this:

1. Warm up - about 10% of the call time
2. Presentation - about 40%
3. Closing - about 50%

Let’s make clear that this is the undesirable old pushy format.  A better approach would be to spend much more time doing a “needs analysis”.  I often compare this to what a medical doctor does in diagnosing your condition before prescribing a suitable remedy.

Your sales presentation should be structured more like this:

1. Warm up (Build rapport, establish your credibility, etc.) – about 10%

2. Diagnosis through open-ended questions – about 50%

3. Presentation of your solution based on uncovered needs (The “treatment plan”)  – about 25%

4. Closing – about 15%

When you actually care about your clients your emphasis shifts from “trying to sell something” to “how can I help you?”  Your sales efforts will then be more productive.  Spend time learning as much as you can about the person’s unique situation, so that you will be able to offer an appealing, customized solution.  During the discussion, your showing genuine personal interest is likely to create a strong desire for your product or service.  Then the “close” will more often be something like “It sounds like our solution is what you are looking for, so when would you like to get started?” or “So, where do we go from here?” or “Would you like the red one or the blue one?”  (Note: these are strictly hypothetical – please use the ideas to ask questions in your own words)

Look for the “win-win”’ in every business situation and you will be far more successful in the long run.

As always, when you need personalized help implementing any of these suggestions, contact me.

- Al

Allen Rigby CSP
Business Consultant, SEA Program
(705) 792-0989 or 1-866-963-7327 al@selfemploymentassistance.ca

  www.selfemploymentassistance.ca