Be up front and honest with your sales pitch

"Never sell to a salesman!" So the saying goes ...and I'd add to that "...certainly not on the same day!"

The first attempt came through the letter box. One of those bells and whistles extravaganzas of direct mail from that well known subscription book.    I muttered something like "Blooming Rxxxxxx'x Dxxxxx!" and threw it back on the mat. But then I just had to open it up and view the contents  ...clearly  they had scored well on Attention and  Curiosity.  With so many goodies to investigate I felt immediately involved.  Clever display of the words "Time sensitive" ..."Official"  ..."Medically approved!" ..and "Free!" subliminally communicated  Limited availability ...Reassurance ... Reciprocity. They were getting through to me! Even an apparent handwritten letter from an ex-employee was thrown in to to press the Social Proof button. Yet despite more subliminal urging from the YES envelope ...the contents returned to the hall floor.

The second attempt came over the telephone. Friendly introduction of caller and company and successful attempts to pace me earnt them a point for Rapport. "We're carrying out a survey on media attitudes!" he said.  Yes I should have spotted the old "survey" line, but rapport was doing its stuff. And "media" triggered thoughts of recent correspondence with my MP about the News Corp and BSkyB merger ...so a simple Generalisation allowed me to misinterpret  what the caller meant.
When I subsequently found myself revealing my monthly spend on telephone and internet services the penny dropped. But a salesman has to encourage one of his own. And there was the question - do I lose face and admit I'd got it wrong when taking the call?  So I saw it out to the bitter end ...already thinking how I should reply when Sky or Virgin media inevitably call and tell me I had declared an interest in their services.
Such attempts to camouflage a pitch do of course ultimately back fire. Whether it's disappointment over raised expectations, irritation over timewasting, or annoyance at being mislead. Any of these reasons will prompt us to curtail the interview or cancel the order afterwards.
Which is why I've argued with sales colleagues over the years that upfront openness and honesty ...with its consequential state of trust and rapport is undoubtably the best policy.
It also corresponds with a life long belief that people prefer to buy ...not be sold to!
So whenever I get in front of a prospect I always start off with something like this:
"I believe what I have to talk about will certainly interest you ...but so that I can focus on the particular benefits that will be of interest ...would you mind if we first talk about  your needs."
I rarely encounter a prospect who doesn't respond well to this. I've certainly never met one who was happy to be duped into a sale!

 For more on tips persuasion visit http://persuadability.co.uk/

Presenting with spontaneous creativity!

I do not have a great memory!  I believe it to be quite large ...as you'd expect at my age! But my filing system and search facility or should that be faculty, are barely average on a good day. Unless of course we happen to be talking about acronyms! Then I just can't forget as these two favourites from way back on the CV illustrate:
Work Study Analysis (c1966):- 1:Select 2:Record 3:Examine 4:Develop 5:Install 6:Maintain.
...Rarely used now but unforgetable thanks to S.R.E.D.I.M.  
Kraft Foods Promo-Display Criteria (c1976):- Position + Impact + Message + Price + Ease of self-selection + Stock availabilty + Stability.    
...Of by-gone interest but forever inscribed through P.I.M.P.E.S.S.  
I don't know why my brain finds acronyms so powerful but I know it likes them and responds very well to them! I think it may have something to do with my left-brain right-brain balance?

 Which in my case suggests a leaning towards things of the left-side such as lists and logic, but also a "rightish" passion for imagination and day-dreaming. Something often mentioned in school reports.
This manifests itself in a particular way when I try to write a presentation or a training programme. Try as I might I cannot anticipate and write the content in full and final detail. Not a problem uniquely mine by any means ...a great proportion of people I work with face the same difficulty. When circumstances demand that I write a script in this manner I can guarantee that on delivery day I'll think of something a lot better to say. So the end result is that the script becomes a constraint.  That apart, there are often occasions when an informal talk is the order of the day and working from a script just isn't right. But if you're like me you'll still need a flight plan to fly by or there's no knowing where you'll end up or when!!
Is this sounding familiar? If it is and you're like me then try out this scriptwriting strategy:

1. Write your script out in the usual way. Sorry you're not getting away with it! Choose your style, set your objectives,  map out the key topics, and write the words. But don't worry about perfect grammar and spelling. This is just for you to read.
2. Read your script several times to yourself to hear the messages and their meaning and to get the timing right.
3. Identify KEYWORD(S) that relevantly describes each key message throughout the presentation.
4. Create an acronym from the Keywords.  Play around with them if you need to, to get acronym-friendly keywords.
5. Finally for reassurance and the visual confidence that this gives, list the Keywords with first letter in bold on a pocket-size card. Visualize the acronym on the card in your pocket.

So why do I think this works for me? I believe that my brain needs to lean on the orderliness of its left hemisphere to then allow itself confident free-rein into the creative right-side. Something that Tony Buzan discusses in his The Power of Creative Intelligence. 
So give this method a try and don't be surprised if it's the best presentation you ever made.


for more on persuasive communication visit http://persuadability.co.uk/

What really is the most important step in the sales process?

What is the most important step in the sales process? Well like I said three posts ago is has to be Qualification. Qualifying of needs, wants, underlying preferences and beliefs. However if the question had asked for the most important skill I would  have to say Handling Resistance would be an equal-first choice.

And I say that because as a persuasion skill we observe it every day in exchanges of opinion between: business colleagues, fellow travellers, TV talent show judges, football pundits, and critics of anything from art to books to cookery. Actually we don't see it so much as see the absence of it as "exchanges" descend into heated and often bad-tempered  disagreement!

When you step back and think about it ...it's not difficult to understand why this happens ...and with a little bit more thought how to avoid it.

The "bad" feeling happens because we don't like our opinions being dis-respected. And that's because our opinions all stem from our beliefs and values system ...something we are highly protective towards. After all much of it came from grannie

So I'm OK about you disagreeing with me ...but when you tell me that I'm "wrong to think that way" you instinctively trigger off an attack on my beliefs and values.
And it's not just saying it. You're involving my subconscious here. And it is hyper-sensitive to audio-visual signals. Which explains the instinctive trigger bit. So interrupting me ...a shaking head ...a dismissive tone of voice can all be such triggers.
Are you starting to get the picture? Right then, here are four good habits that will help avoid these problems and get more people agreeing with you:
Good habit No.1: Listen attentively and patiently. Let me hear and see that you're interested in what I'm saying. Encourage me to explain and elaborate.
Good habit No.2: Don't tell me that I'm wrong. You may think it but don't say it ...or show it!
Good habit No.3: Show respect for what I'm saying. Develop some natural sincere responses like: "Fair point" "I understand why you say that" "I can see why that's important to you."  Mutual respect is an essential pre-cursor to agreement. Start by showing me some.
Good habit No.4: An important part of the psychology this! Make me feel that rather than arguing with me you're actually discussing my doubts or concerns. Rephrase my statements (eg: "Telesales is a waste of time") into a question. "Yes you understandably question it's role Bob ...what are your main misgivings?" With these aired you're then able to align your points of view with them and move towards agreement.

I reckon (not researched!)  that disagreement is 80% bad communication and behaviour.  Letting somebody know that you respect their opinion, and implicit in that share their beliefs and values, sees you 80% of the way to gaining their agreement. 
Something that grannie would be very happy about! 

How do you pitch your idea quickly?

"How do you pitch your idea quickly?" That was a question that came out of a chat I was having yesterday with Jason, my digital designer buddy.  He was showing me his great designs for a new company logo at the time. We talked about presenting these to his co-MDs for agreement ...and got onto the general subject of pitching ideas.

There are a many issues to think about when putting a pitch together. Issues like:
Is it in response to a pre-qualified brief?
Is it a competitive pitch with a decision to come later ...so a "highly memorable" presentation is key?
Will a decision be made on the day and so should the style be more options based and participative?
Or is it a situation where a need has to be established as the first step.
That last scenario is what we see reflected in the classic advertising sequence Attention! Interest! Desire! Action!  ...etched in stone generations ago. And of course for any of us that served a traditional sales and marketing apprenticeships ...it would have been etched in our brains too! As was the 1975 upgrade "the 5 Part Brand Talk" which made Market! Product! Pack! Support! Profit!  unforgettable as an etched-in-my-brain Sales Talk template.
And unforgettability is the beauty of it! To have an embedded pattern around which you can pitch an idea or proposition ...when as occasionally happens you have to do it spontaneously.
What I love about this old favourite is that you can adapt it to suit whatever you're pitching:
Market: What is the proven opportunity or need?  What are its size or growth  characteristics that make it a must have? 
Product: What is the solution we're coming up with that meets that need? What makes it really special and says it will be a winner?
Pack: (keeping the anticipation going here) So what does it look like ...feel like ...sound like?  Let's get enthusiastic about the details and benefits ...experience the solution and understand why it's special!
Support (The reassurance part)  What is the research that proves it's a winner? What are we doing to "guarantee" a result?
Profit What will you get out of this? What is the financial ...people ...reputation value that this delivers?
Follow this Jason and it should be a piece of cake with the MDs!


For more on persuasion visit the Resource Centre at www.persuadability.co.uk

The "Concrete" base of persuasion

It was like one of those meetings that we have all been to. A group of "interested parties" trying to brief a design company on the key messages for our new marketing brochure.  And believing that we could quickly "knock them out" ...without any prior agreement on our proposition or our distinctive competence (preferred speak for USP.) Let alone a published mission statement ...or company vision and values. And adding to the challenge...it was with some  creative agency colleagues.  So we had a room full of clever minds ...excess testosterone ...and fierce desire to see one's own idea prevail.
As generally happens the MD and I got into a row! He was insisting that we should lead off with "service excellence." "But what does that mean?" I asked.  "What are you saying?" he retorted "...that we shouldn't want to offer service excellence...that's stupid!"  He "qualified" stupid in the way that he qualifies most words when being assertive.  Then as we do ...our exchanges deteriorated into moody mutterings ...all my persuasion skills having long since "crashed!"
 If only I had read Made to Stick ...and knew then what I know now about "Concrete" as the authors apply the term to making your message work. 
I would also have known the full and proper meaning of the word Abstract!    

But then I've always known what abstract means! It means abstract...like as in abstract art. You know! Modern. Not the real thing! 
And I guess that's the first problem the MD and I had, as do so many others when communicating - not sharing the same meaning of words.  But now that I do understand better the meaning of abstract ie: considered apart from concrete existence  I can see the other problem that we also had. When you discuss things in abstract terms it leaves too much vagueness for clear understanding. To achieve that, you must convert abstract terms into their concrete equivalents or constituents.
This is the point explained so well by Chip and Dan Heath in their book.  Illustrating this with several examples, my favourite deals with the challenge of raising grants to protect California's vast  environmentally critical areas.  Acreages or area percentages were abstract. The solution was to identify the key areas they wished to protect with the recognisable "concrete" term Landscapes.
My problem with "service excellence" was that it is too abstract. To influence prospective clients, "service excellence" needed to be translated into its concrete constituents such as "cost management" or "sustainable production" or "project communication."  Then the MD and I would have had some concrete terms we could recognise  ...evaluate ...and I'm  sure to ultimately agree on.
But at the time I didn't know what abstract meant.  Next time I'll do better!

For more on persuasion visit  http://persuadability.co.uk/

Which of these options would you prefer?

Do options encourage decision making?

Well it's something I've always believed since it was ingrained into me in my Sales Training Manager days at Kraft Foods.
We were taught and so in turn taught others to:  "Offer a choice between an in-cabinet promotional display of Dairylea or a dump bin." And more often than not we got one or the other. Always the innovator! I introduced the "options approach" when selling in large sizes of regular  stocked lines like Philadelphia in the then 8oz size. "Suggest to the store manager that with one size only customers have a 50% choice of saying yes. With two sizes the choice is small, large or no. So we're increasing the chance of a sale to 66%!"
To be honest our success with this line did surprise me! But it seems I was simply ahead of my time with my persuasion psychology.
Since then some serious research has looked at the issue of options and decision making. I was introduced to one in the excellent book "Made to Stick" by Dan and Chip Heath. They discuss work carried out by Psychologists Amos Tversky and Donald Redermeier into situations where the existence of choice affects how people make decisions.

In one example, students faced the choice between - going to the library to study or attending a lecture given by a famous author. 21% chose to study.
Another group of students was given the same choices and a 3rd option was  offered - to watch a foreign film you've been wanting to see. 40% chose to study. Suggesting that increasing the number of alternatives to the "responsible" option reinforced it as the choice that should be made.
Further insights into the impact of choices are currently available in a  fascinating presentation by psychologist Sheena Lyenger available on http://www.ted.com/.  She points out that different cultures respond in different ways to choice. Apparently Russians see a proliferation of soft drink brands as simply one choice of soda!   And she also makes the interesting assessment that too many options result in bad choices being made. 
Clearly no researchers are trying to mathematically model the probability of success based on numbers of options - apart from me that is!!! But when planning that next response to a business pitch ...as an option to the single solution  response why not work up two options? And ask them which one they prefer? You'll probably increase your odds of success!

For more on persuasion browse through the Resource Centre at http://persuadability.co.uk/

What is the most important step in the Sales Process?

"What is the most important step in the Sales Process?"
I love the questions that are pitched into the discussion groups on Linkedin.

And of course you can't resist offering an opinion...for a variety of motives:
- Genuine altruism from sharing "wisdom" with industry peers.
- Satisfaction when peer approval and agreement is bestowed on your opinion!
- Recognition as being a trend-savvy pundit if you get in early on a subsequently popular discussion.
All of which was in my mind when I posted my carefully considered answer:

"Happy to echo what most others are saying here. Yes it has to be the Qualification step with Rapport Building as its essential pre-cursory step. When prospects/clients etc feel that you really do understand their needs and share their values, and you maintain this state of rapport when discussing solutions and recommendations, then they will instinctively trust and believe in you and your ideas...."
And I absolutely do believe that. Based on the realisation over time that almost all of us do not enjoy being sold to. Because most of those that try are content to learn something about our needs, and then happily attempt to satisfy them... without any recognition or reference to the underlying values and wants that drive our needs.
And that "values referenced" approach is even more critical when seeking acceptance of change in opinion or behaviour in business and life. Persuading a colleague to happily change to another team, or enthusiastically embrace new practices  means finding reasons that align with their inner motivations.

Discussion Groups are of course exercises in persuasion.

We want buy-in to our views and opinions. Ironically, groups with Sales Professionals tend to go heavy on the weight of opinion rather than subtly with values recognition! Response number 370 kind of summed it up "Oh for heaven's sake. How is Trust part of the Sales process ...Does any body know of what a Sales Process consists?
Are well! I guess he like me didn't find his inner needs of peer approval and recognition were satisfied.
But then we should have remembered that you should never try and sell to a saleman!

For more on persuasion visit http://persuadability.co.uk Resouce Centre