Warm and Fuzzy Tips for Closing More Sales

Imagine you are at a gathering and you overhear the following conversation:

Q: “What do you dislike most about salespeople?”
A: “I can’t stand salespeople who call me, immediately say they have this great product and then start pitching, or want to come to my office and waste my time in person. Nearly always, their pitches are way off target.”

Q: “Should they ask questions before giving you a presentation?”
A: “Yes, but not the most basic questions. If people have to ask me what we do or how many locations we have – things they can get from others in my company or information that is common knowledge – they don’t have a chance. Do your homework.”

Q: “What else doesn’t work with you?”
A: “People who make claims they can’t back up. Reps might say they have good quality. Tell me what statistical process measures are built into your manufacturing operation. If you claim to have better service, know what will happen if we need a truckload of product and it’s 4:50 Friday afternoon.”

Q: “Anything else that’s sure to turn you off?”
A: “The old, back-slapping ‘How yah doin’ buddy, can I take you to lunch?’ approach. I want to find out quickly what they can do for me.”

Q: “What will work with you?”
A: “I want someone who knows my business, my competition and their own product inside and out and can apply that knowledge to what I want. Get my attention quickly by telling me what you might be able to do, and be prepared to ask questions to learn what I want. Then you are ready to make a presentation. Getting the best value over the long haul is more important than a low price.”

Your reaction? Art Sobczak, president of Omaha, Nebraska-based Business By Phone and author of How to Sell More in Less Time, with No Rejection, Using Common Sense Telephone Techniques (Business By Phone, 1998), actually had this chat with a buyer for a large paper goods company.

This buyer’s opinions are not isolated cases, however. Selling Power spoke with other purchasing managers and buyers to learn what they appreciate – and what burns them up – when sales reps come to call.

Focus on Customers’ Needs
Dr. David Abel, hospital administrator at Wheaton Animal Hospital in Wheaton, MD, wishes that sales reps would think more about his needs and less about their sales. Abel advises sales reps to maintain adequate inventory so they can ship the same day. “Make emergency ordering easy for customers, because that’s usually the only ordering they do. Be educated about what they most often need to order. Publicize good prices.

“Buyers in small businesses are busy,” Abel adds. “They usually dislike unannounced sales calls that only put them further behind. The last thing they want is to sit and listen to a long list of what you want to sell that they don’t need. Buyers want to be able to pick up their phone and order what they need when they need it. Customers want the best price – and want it yesterday.”

Abel suggests three-sentence emails informing customers of great prices. “Recently, a salesperson emailed me a great price on surgical gloves. I ordered six boxes. We both saved time, and he saved travel expense.

“Tracking down a hard-to-find item for a customer shows you care about them as a person. Tip me off with inside information about an upcoming nation-wide backorder, for example, and you’ll have a customer for life.

“Good salespeople always seek to build relationships with their customers,” says Abel. “But a salesperson’s quest for a relationship is almost always transparent. Customers aren’t looking for relationships with salespeople – only quick delivery of what they need at the best price. If you want a good relationship with your customers, meet their needs quickly and efficiently and they will call you first every time.”

Listen to Prospects
How good a listener are you? Do you really hear your prospect’s message? Sid Gottlieb, vice president of sales and marketing for Corporate Sport Inc. in Washington, DC, purchases T-shirts, hats and other items for his company’s promotions and marketing. He recalls a recent experience that turned him against a sales rep.

“A sales rep came to see me. Early in the conversation, I said I wasn’t buying anything now but would be making my purchasing decisions in six weeks. That was my signal to wrap up the conversation. But she ignored my cue, changed the subject and kept showing me new items for 45 minutes. Finally, I asked, ‘Do you always spend this much time with your clients?’ She responded, ‘I spend as much time as needed to get the order signed.’

“I knew she hadn’t heard anything I’d said. Her inability to listen and her persistence in her static sales approach showed that she was unaware of my needs and only wanted to wear me down so she could make her sale. How could I trust her to custom design our logo on her products when she doesn’t listen to me or care about my needs?”

Gottlieb advises sales professionals to be good listeners, ask questions and be guided by their customers’ responses. “If the rep I described had asked how I promote my business and how she could help me, she might have gotten my business. Don’t assume that a delay or postponement is an automatic no. If I say I’m buying in six weeks, wind down and leave. Use a follow-up to find out if the delay is genuine or a rejection. Sensitivity to your prospect’s response may lead to a future yes and a new customer.”

That also goes for order sizes, Gottlieb adds. When customers place a small order, don’t insist on large orders.

Do Your Homework
As product manager for Moore North America’s western regional headquarters in San Ramon, CA, Lonnie Treat purchases such custom commercial print products as brochures, books, manuals, presentation folders and collateral and marketing material.

Treat doesn’t like being cold called. “Too many reps haven’t researched my company. Go to our Website and read the announcements and product offerings. Look at your offerings to see how they could help me. Then call me with a value-added proposal, or at least start a discussion in that area”

Treat also hates high-pressure sales tactics. To her, no means no. “Too often, salespeople are only interested in telling me what they offer,” she says. “I’ve never yet had anyone ask me, ‘What are your goals for 2001?’ Seldom does anyone take time for a needs analysis.”

As a busy professional, Treat expects salespeople to honor time commitments. “If I give you 20 minutes for a telephone or in-person appointment, finish your presentation in 20 minutes.”

For sales reps interested in her business, Treat recommends a six-step process:
1. Research her company.
2. Contact her.
3. Email her a questionnaire about her goals and needs.
4. Read her answers and do a needs analysis, comparing her needs with what you can offer. Then, based on this analysis, prepare some possible matches of offerings and needs.
5. Request an appointment to discuss the needs analysis and possible matches.
6. Keep the appointment.

Just as important, don’t take her for granted after the sale. “Don’t ever make me call about the status of an order, always tell me the truth, and anticipate problems and have a solution before calling me,” she urges.

Treat shares a problem that became a success story. “We ordered two of a product, but our supplier only gave us one. We needed both quickly for a trade show. When we called, the suppliers promised to get another one out that day. They did, and followed up with a well-written letter from their president explaining what happened and what steps they were taking to avoid that problem in the future.

“We got the second product just in time. My reaction was, ‘They fouled up, but didn’t question or argue. They simply took care of us and solved the problem.’ That told me that their customers came first, and gave me the confidence to continue our relationship.”

Put Your Customers First
Anne Bachrach, president of and consultant with San Diego, California-based A.M. Enterprises, knows firsthand that sales can be lost by not giving customers what they really need and want. In 1998 she helped her husband’s company, Bachrach & Associates Inc., do a survey of what was most important to financial professionals (advisors, planners and brokers) in deciding which wholesalers to select when purchasing mutual funds and other financial products.

The findings? Financial professionals said they wanted ideas and strategies to help them be more successful in their businesses and a system that would help them communicate more effectively with clients and operate their businesses more efficiently. If they could do more business in less time, they could eliminate their 70-hour workweeks. Yes, wholesalers rewarded their customers with golf balls, T-shirts and free dinners. But those weren’t solutions.

Listen to what buyers say they want. Before calling prospects, take time to research their company. Save customers’ valuable time by using email to introduce yourself and make your company stand out. Learn customers’ goals and needs and determine how your products or services can satisfy them. Be responsive to your customers’ concerns, put their needs first – before and after the sale – and you have an excellent chance to develop and keep loyal customers who order from you regularly.