Purposeful Communication
*The following is an excerpt from Mark Bishop's book, The Trusted Seller; the foundation for the What Buyers Want sales training program.
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The best salespeople have a PLAN. The customer always feels like there is MOMENTUM in the relationship, and knows where things STAND at any given time...
Be Purposeful
To get the buyer's attention and generate awareness of you and your company, you must have a consistent, well-planned communications strategy. The very best reps plan ahead of time how they want to reach each buyer and then stick with their plan. This is what gives the buyer a sense that each communication has purpose.
Whenever the best reps communicate (whether in person or in writing), they always define "next steps" for their buyers. They make it clear as to whether they want or expect buyers to take action, or whether their goal is simply to communicate the options that are currently available. Not only does this simplify matters greatly for buyers on the receiving end, but this tactic also provides reps with reason for continued buyer contact.
Communicating with purpose is accomplished most easily when your actions are part of a bigger plan. So, let's look at that next.
What's The Plan?
Well, that's up to you. But you'd better have one if you want to get in the door. Effective strategies involve contacting the buyer multiple times, with each attempt having a clear purpose and building on the effort made in the previous contact. Let's look at how to get to that point:
- Make sure you've done your homework. By now, you should already have assessed whether the buyer is truly a prospect. (If not, check out pp. 42-44 for suggestions on how to collect data about the company.)
- Identify what the buyer must know about you. List everything you want the buyer to know about you or your offerings. Then, scratch off about half of your list. Force yourself to focus on the nuggets that will pique a buyer's interest in talking with you.
- Craft the message you want to convey. Using your list as a guide, figure out what these items have in common. Is there a theme? For example, do you suspect your products will help the buyer increase sales? Or perhaps you think your company can help the prospect become more efficient in some way?
Find the common thread and build your message around it. Your goal is twofold. First, a consistent message reinforces that you are the one who can solve 'x' problem. Second, the message provides focus for your communication efforts. A consistent message makes you look good; scattered communications come across... well, scattered.
- Identify supporting materials. Figure out ahead of time exactly what information you want to share with the buyer over some predetermined length of time. What do you want the buyer to read/hear/see/watch? Remember, choose information that supports your message and ultimately tells a story about you, your offerings and how you think the buyer will benefit.
- Prepare manageable chunks. Break your story into tidy, bite-sized pieces that your prospect can digest quickly and store away for later use. In other words, instead of preparing a 25-page proposal for a buyer you want to win over, take the material and break it down into manageable chunks that you can disseminate over a period of time.
- Decide how to communicate each nugget of information. Which communication vehicle works best for what you want to share? For your initial contact, I highly recommend that you call the prospect.
For starters, calling is the most personal method you can employ without being intrusive (i.e., showing up unannounced at the buyer's office). Plus, research suggests subsequent efforts via other channels (such as email) may be better received if you first initiate contact via the phone.
A joint study between Northwestern and Duke University analyzed communication between parties who did not know each other. When a "get to know you" chat on the phone preceded subsequent email exchanges, parties were four times more likely to reach agreement on their negotiations versus those who used only email (Krakovsky 2004, 15). Now, granted, you're not yet at the negotiations stage with your prospect. However, I'm willing to bet this study has implications regarding the effectiveness of communication with respect to prospecting; my experiences – and those of many other buyers – certainly support this theory.
Connect the dots. Review your plan to make sure every contact and/or communication is designed to move the relationship forward a bit. If each future effort is not built upon a previous effort, tweak your plan until you've connected the two efforts.
To illustrate my point about connecting the dots, let's consider a typical first effort – making a cold call to the buyer. Say you aren't able to reach the buyer on your first call but you leave an excellent voice message designed to pique interest. Your second effort should connect the dots or build on your previous effort.
Perhaps you want to follow up your first attempt with a second phone call. The goal of your second phone call could be to (1) remind the buyer that you really believe your products will help the buying organization achieve a particular benefit; and (2) let the buyer know that you're planning to mail an article that shows how another firm experiencing similar issues fared with your company's products. Your second attempt builds on the first. Make sense?
Hey, I've got a live one! As you persist in your efforts to reach the buyer, at some point, you're eventually bound to talk with the buyer on the phone. I strongly encourage you to be prepared for live conversation every single time you attempt to call the buyer. Likewise, I strongly encourage you to carry a cheat sheet (or something) with you at all times that will help you quickly recall the following:
- The names of the people you're trying so desperately to reach
- The names of the companies these people work for
- The phone numbers for each of these contacts
- The key message you want to convey to each respective buyer
- Some indication of where you are in your efforts (e.g., just mailed article on company that fared well with our products)
My point is simply this: I can't tell you how many times a rep has called me and then is completely unprepared for a live person to answer the phone. Similarly, I'm amazed at the number of times that I have responded to a salesperson's attempt to reach me, and the rep sounds as though he's never heard of me in my life!
When there's suddenly a live body on the other end of the line, make sure to make the most of your opportunity:
- Pull it together. Check your notes; address the buyer by name (i.e., "Joseph Smith? This is..."). Never give the buyer the impression that he is one of dozens of calls you're making that day and that you've forgotten which poor soul you were calling.
- Remind the buyer who you are and what you offer. Never assume the buyer will remember. In fact, I get calls frequently from salespeople who act like I should know exactly who they are and what they offer. But, because they haven't gotten my attention, or created any top-of-mind awareness with me, I don't remember a thing.
- Stick to your message. Know ahead of time what you need to convey and stick to the point. The simple, consistent message you crafted earlier is what ultimately will position you as THE person to contact for the solutions you offer.
- Keep it brief. Don't launch into a full-blown presentation over the phone. Keep it short and simple. Sometimes, I suspect salespeople believe that the longer they talk to me, the greater the likelihood that I'll buy from them. In fact, quite the opposite is true – and other buyers will attest to this as well. Sales reps who demonstrate respect for a buyer's time stand a better chance of earning the buyer's time. Remember, it's that irony we discussed earlier in the book; you get more of the buyer's time because your communication skills prove you require less of the buyer's time.
- Always ask for a next step. It's actually comical when salespeople get on the phone and don't know how to end the call. I'm not sure sometimes whether they're afraid to ask for the next step or if they just flat-out don't know what the next step should be.
Regardless, the buyer expects you to ask for a next step – a meeting, a presentation, a conference call, a demo, a test run, a sample, an order or something! So, make your request; just keep it reasonable and convenient for the buyer.
If you'd like to schedule a phone presentation, set up a separate time. If you're hoping instead for a face-to-face meeting, tell the buyer the goals of the presentation, how much time you'd need and ask if you can schedule a convenient time to meet.
Be prepared to offer alternatives if the buyer isn't forthcoming with a meeting time for you. There are always other ways you can help your prospect learn about your products or services if you can't work out the initial meeting you'd hoped for. For example, are there any upcoming trade shows at which you could meet for coffee? Does your organization have any local/regional product demos scheduled? What about Web seminars that the buyer could check out?
Know what happens when a buyer receives a call from a sales rep who exhibits purpose while still respecting the buyer's time? The buyer experiences a conversation that isn't painful, which means, at a minimum, that you've achieved a great first impression. That's a terrific start in calling attention to yourself and creating buyer awareness that you're an easy-to-work-with vendor with a solution that solves a buyer's need.
Two things you DON'T want to do.
As frightening as this may sound, I'm noticing an increasing number of reps who call on me, as a buyer, and then say: "So, Mark, can you tell me why my company should choose your organization to partner with?" What?!
I suspect this is some new account development strategy that suggests you can get in the door faster by having the buyer "sell" you on why the relationship may be beneficial. My standard response: "Well, I can't think of any reason why we should do business together." Naturally, this sends the salesperson into an apologetic fit of stuttering as he backtracks to where he should have started in the first place: a purposeful conversation that includes a brief introduction and an overview of the company's products or services. The message is simply this: Salespeople who exhibit purpose without sounding arrogant go a lot further in the buyer-seller relationship.
Finally, don't drop the ball. You've got to make sure that you're prepared to handle buyer interest. Respond as soon as possible if a buyer expresses interest after a conference or demo. Greet the buyer with enthusiasm if he calls you in response to a personalized letter with a great hook. Your goal is to show the buyer that you have purpose – that your effort to attract his business was not random. Accomplishing this brings you one step closer to helping the buyer gain awareness of your organization.
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