"The Navigator" News Blog

What’s Your Story?

August 21, 2015The Navigator NewsTroy Harrison

When I’m driving long distances, I like to listen to audio books. You might think I’d listen to professional improvement audio – and many times I do – but I’ve really gotten into historical novels. I just finished listening to “Killing Lincoln,” by Bill O’Reilly. I have to tell you, the miles between Kansas City and the middle of Nebraska just FLEW by (and not only because I was airing out my Impala SS)!

O’Reilly, in the intro, unabashedly says that the book was written “thriller style,” and why not? First of all, dry history narratives are boring. And second, what’s more thrilling than a murder novel (even with one as tragic an ending as this one)? O’Reilly has mastered a skill that’s vital to moving your sales to the next (top) level – storytelling. Good stories can pull a customer into your sales call in the same way that “Killing Lincoln” (and “Killing Patton” on a past trip) pulled me down the road effortlessly. So, what’s the difference between storytelling and conventional selling?

Storytelling is a narrative. Narratives have a beginning and an end. A who, what, where, why, and how. And narratives draw you in and make you part of the story, enjoying it and what comes next. And narratives don’t have to be long. For instance, let’s look at what most people would consider to be a basic ‘company story.’

“This company started in 1994 when the owner decided that he wanted to sell racing parts. Over the last 20 plus years, he kept adding new product lines and decided to carve out a niche in safety products. That’s why we’re the auto racing safety experts nowadays.”

Pretty basic, sticking to the facts, right? A version of this is how most “company stories” are told. Just the facts and nothing but the facts. Now, let’s try this:

“The founder of our company was a lifelong racing enthusiast, and in order to maximize his racing dollar, set himself up as a dealer for a few parts lines. Honestly, it was just so he could buy at a discount, but he sold stuff to some of his buddies, too. It occurred to him that if he did it on a bigger scale, he could support his racing habit, so that’s what he did. Then, about fifteen years ago, a friend of his got hurt very badly because he wasn’t using the right safety equipment. That was the turning point. Our founder started researching racing safety, publishing articles on safety, and decided to specialize in safety products for the oval track racer. That’s where we are right now. When you buy from us, you buy from someone who only does safety products, knows safety, and is passionate about racing safety.”

See the difference? The story had a beginning, a middle (the turning poing – a friend got hurt), and an end (the present). It had the who, what, where (actually, I eliminated that just for the reasons of this article), the why, and the how. And – most importantly – it had the key reason for buying. ANY salesperson working for ANY company can construct a story like this – it just takes a little bit of thought. Here are some stories you should have on hand, ready to give:

Your company’s story: This one seems obvious, but it’s often not. I’m amazed at how many salespeople – and even managers and owners – can’t articulate their company’s story in a way that’s interesting and appealing. Brainstorm your company’s story, and make it exciting and interesting.

Your personal story: I’m really thinking of your professional story here. Your customers want to know you, and why you do what you do. So, tell them! Better than that, tell them in such a way that is interesting and exciting. Something you don’t know about me – I’m a classic “accidental salesperson.” I really (thought I) wanted to be a marketing executive, but before I could do that, I became a salesperson and loved it. A number of years ago, I actually found a position as a marketing VP, did it for a year, hated it because it was so far divorced from the sale, and went back to what I love (sales and sales management). What is it about your career that your customers might find surprising and interesting?

Your key products’ stories: You probably have key product or service lines. Each one of them has, or can have, a story. What is it, and how can you make it interesting?

Your success stories: What have you done to really fix problems or improve the conditions of your customers? These stories can be both interesting and exciting, particularly if your customers are about to face the same problems.

The bottom line is this – you can simply recite facts and figures, show features and benefits, or you can tell compelling stories that draw your customers in. It takes time and practice, but it’s worth it.

Four Prospecting Approaches That Work

August 6, 2015The Navigator NewsProspectingTroy Harrison

Have you ever had one of those moments where you just couldn’t stop yourself? I did this week. A salesperson called me and said in a bored voice, “Hello, Mr. Harrison, I’m xxxxxx and I would like to talk to you about your Web presence.” I couldn’t help it. I said, “Is that really the best you’ve got?” Suddenly I had his attention. “Wha…..what do you mean?” I said, “I mean, is that the best prospecting approach you can come up with? You’ve bored me and it sounds like you’ve even bored yourself.” He hung up on me.

Too bad, because it was a real question. I’d love to know if he has a lot of success with that approach. I’m guessing that he doesn’t, that he hates prospecting, and that he constantly rails about how “prospecting doesn’t work.” I hear it all the time. The truth is that most salespeople don’t have success at prospecting – because they half-ass the calls, and a lack of succes becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. It doesn’t have to be that way. Building a quality prospecting approach line doesn’t take that much time, and there are four good ways to construct one:

The “Everyone Else Around You Does It” approach: This one works really well when you have a commanding (or at least decent) market share in a given market sector or geographic region. It’s based on one of the Principles of Persuasion: people like to be in crowds. It works something like this: “Hi, Mr. Customer. I’m xxxxx. We’ve been helping your neighbors like Company X and Company Y grow their Web hits, and I bet we could help you, too. Would you be open to that conversation?”

Notice the difference between the “I want to talk about” and this. By naming a couple of names (with their permission, of course, preferably backed by a testimonial if someone should ask), you establish credibility and commonality – which are two big barriers to a quality sales conversation.

The “We’ve Got Something New” approach: People love new things. They may not want to BUY new things, unless they’re early adopters – but they love to KNOW about new things. Remember, in prospecting, all you’re trying to do is to get a conversation, and this approach can be a great hinge to getting a conversation going. “Hi, Mr. Customer, this is xxxxxx. We’ve just introduced a great new technology for reducing your operating costs while at the same time improving product output by 15%. I’d like to have the opportunity to show it to you. Could we schedule a time?”

This is completely different from the “Everyone does it” approach. In fact, you didn’t make a claim that anyone was using it, yet, and it’s possible that your customer could be the very first (and if they are early adopters, this in and of itself could be the means to the sale). In this approach, it’s important to remember that it’s not enough just to have something NEW. You have to be able to quote benefits of adopting the new item, process, or technology (reducing operating costs and improving product output). If you can quote numbers, do, but again, make sure that they are backed up with case studies.

The “I Know Something You Don’t” approach: This one can be a bit related to the first. Businesspeople – especially top managers – like to think that they know everything. They don’t, of course, but they want to know everything in their domain. This approach opens the door to the idea that there’s something very important that they don’t know, and that the only way to get that knowledge is to talk to you. It works like this:

“Hi, Mr. Customer, this is xxxxxx. In the past couple of years of working with companies in your industry (or area, etc.), we’ve made an important discovery that can mean double-digit profit growth. I’d like to share it with you, but I can only do that face to face. Could we meet?” This one can be a bit tricky, because customers will always ask what it is. You have to be willing to stick to your guns and not tell them over the phone, or perhaps only give a tidbit. Here’s the key – when you meet, you MUST bring the goods. Whatever you are communicating must not be commonly known, important, and really generate the results.

The “I Might Be Able To Help” approach: “Help” is one of the most powerful words in the English language. Asking for help – or offering it – taps into something very deep in the human psyche, and it makes us more disposed to focusing on what the person is asking or offering. “Help” can also position you with a certain amount of expertise. In all honesty, this approach works best when you’re flying a bit blind into the call. Let’s take a look at our hapless Website salesperson earlier.

“Hi, Mr. Harrison, this is xxxxx. I might be able to help you improve your Web hits and greatly improve your lead conversion rates. How do you feel about the current performance of your website?” Notice the differences? First of all, the salesperson gave me two big potential benefits. He didn’t claim that he KNEW he could do these things (that would be a lie) but he opened the door. Second – and this is vital on the ‘might be able to help’ approach – he followed the statement with a good open ended question about how I felt about the performance of my site. This would stimulate a conversation that might expose a need, which can then serve as a hinge to get an appointment.

So, which one of these is best? All of them. Or none of them. It’s not about a one size fits all approach, and in sales, nothing works every time – it’s all about improving your percentages. Pick the one that best fits your situation, tailor it to you, and then deliver it with passion – and you will succeed in prospecting.