Four Questions You Must Answer

Author Brian Tracy in his book The Psychology of Selling says, "Businesspeople ask themselves four questions that you must answer clearly and distinctly to gain the sale. The questions are:

• How much do I pay?
• How much do I get back?
• How soon do I get results?
• How sure can I be that I will get the results you promise?"

Price-conscious customers zero in on the cost quickly. While this is a question that has to be addressed, it is imperative that you lead the conversation to identify the prospective client's needs. In a service-based business climate this upperhand can be easily gained simply by saying something like this, "We have a variety of scenarios that can meet your budget concerns, but before we talk price, why don't you tell me what it is you are looking for?" This engages the prospective client to describe to you her wants, needs and desires.

A common tendency of zealous business owners is to put out a laundry list of goods or services they sell. Much more important to the consumer are the benefits of what you are selling. This is the core of question number 2. The customer is evaluating if the exchange of money for your product/service is in his favor. Does he come out ahead? It's a question of ROI. I'd like to suggest that you consider the ROI from the customer's point of view, not yours. You may think sliced bread is the best thing ever: it saves time at breakfast, it makes sandwich making a more pleasurable experience, and jelly spreads so much more easily. But your customer wants to make a bread bowl salad and sliced bread doesn't cut it.

Question #3 points out the urgency of the need and/or the lasting impact of the benefits you offer. How you sell financial services to a young person is not the same as how you approach someone about to retire. Identify a prospective client's sense of urgency and tailor your solution honestly highlighting the benefits of what you offer.

Consumer advocacy groups, buyer beware alerts, and customer burn notices have taught us to be cautious when making purchases. It all comes down to the risk the prospective client is taking when purchasing what you offer. Your objective is to build trust, reduce risk and provide reassurance.

Take the time to carefully consider these four essential questions every buyer asks in one way or another. Address them clearly (value, cost, time, risk) in a way that aligns their needs/wants with your solutions. Result: increased sales.

The Trial Close

Making sales is a process. Depending on what it is you are selling, the process may have different points of emphasis. But the sales process always has a path it follows. I engage business owners in discussion about these essential aspects of the sales process to help keep them on track to grow their businesses.

When a business owner stays true to the process, increased sales are guaranteed.

The Trial Close is a very important diagnostic tool that can help you determine where a prospective client stands. Due to the nature of the Trial Close, it can be used at almost any point in the sales process. It will guage the level of interest and commitment, identify issues that need to be addressed or concerns that a person may have, provide needed information, or it can produce an agreement that moves to the final step - closing the deal.

A key distinction between the Trial Close and the actual Close is the distinction between asking for a prospective client's opinion and asking for their decision.

Some examples of questions used in a Trial Close include . . .

• Is this what you had in mind?
• Based on what we have discussed so far, does it make sense for us to move to the next step?
• Considering the different options we have discussed so far, which one best satisfies your needs?
• We have identified what you are looking for, I have showed you how our company can meet that need; is there something more you need to know before moving forward?
• What is most important to you about our service?
• Tell me what you think about our guarantee.

Garnering a prospective client's opinions helps you to address the right issues and put forth a solution that genuinely meets their needs.

The purpose of the Trial Close is to help you determine when to close the deal. We all like those times when the signals are so strong that we go right to making the sale. But if you are not utilizing the Trial Close you may be alienating a prospective client and never close the deal. Alternatively you may close too late and risk "boring your prospect to tears" and overstay your welcome.

Are you wanting to close more deals? Using the Trial Close will help you to identify your prospective client's wants, needs and desires so that you can offer tailored solutions.

Splitting Hairs

Every business I have ever owned (four to date) has always been service oriented. In my first business I provided creative services, in the second I provided homecare services, in the third (current) a marketing enhancement service and in the fourth (also current) business coaching services.

With the exception of the first business I found myself considering the question of how to refer to the people or entities that used the services I provided. I know, I know; it sounds like I had too much time on my hands to give it serious thought. The question was particularly poignant when I owned the homecare agency. The elderly people that we provided services for were too valuable in my mind to be reduced to common terminology like "customer," "consumer," or "client." Professionally we referred to these wonderful people as clients. But in my heart they were always much more.

Maybe that's because I am passionate about what I do. I'm not a "job" owner. I am a business owner and my businesses reflect who I am and what I am about in life.

I digress. Back to splitting hairs ...

The dictionary makes a subtle difference between the words customer, consumer and client. In some ways they all blur together. But it seems to me that a customer is transaction based. A person may go through the check out but never consume a product because she is just a "customer." The consumer is pretty obviously a user through and through. A consumer may or may not be the one who is actually paying for services; hence not a literal customer. Then the client is that individual or entity that uses the advice or services of a professional. There is the sense of ongoing reliance on a service.

It's all up for debate and the differences certainly are not a hill to die on as one of my colleagues would say.

The important underlying point goes to your understanding of who is purchasing what you offer. How you perceive them affects how you approach them . . . and ultimately how the money goes from their wallet into yours.

If you are in a service-based business then it is imperative to evaluate carefully the importance of relationship and how it strengthens your business objectives.

If your business is based on a deliverable product, then the transaction becomes the pinnacle of the relationship. You are obliged to make the transaction process a positive experience.

No matter which way your business bends, when was the last time you gave it serious thought and intentionality? When was the last time you really cared?

The Power of a Story

I like a good story. And I really enjoy a good storyteller.

If an author is a good storyteller, I will not put down his book until I finish it.

If the screen writer weaves a good tale, I will be living the parts portrayed by the actors.

If a speaker has some good yarns up his sleeve, he's got me wanting more when he's done.

Just a few weeks ago I was packing up my trade show booth after a Business Expo. My feet were tired from standing for hours and I was hungry. I wanted to get home, sit in front of the television and decompress.

I was putting my brochures into a box when an elderly gentleman walked up to me balancing a plate of food and brochures. "Young man, would you mind if I sat in one of your chairs?" he asked nodding with his head toward the chairs behind my table.

"No problem. I'd be glad to help." I reached and unstacked a chair thinking to myself that home just got a few more minutes away. I should not complain about the opportunity to show kindness -- it's a lost grace -- so I sucked it up, smiled, and set a chair down for my guest.

"Thank you." he said and parked himself down with a genuine smile.

"So, what brings you to the expo?" It did surprise me that this octogenarian would be roaming among the booths of businesses who were targeting young, vibrant, growing businesses.

He glanced up at my table and said, "The Growth Coach. What's that all about?"

"I work with small business owners helping them to stay focused and achieve success and balance in life." It rolled off my tongue like Homer Simpson falling down a mountainside. "But you look like you've got quite a story to tell. I'd like to hear it." I pulled up a chair prepared to listen. It felt good to get off my feet.

For the next 45 minutes I sat in the presence of greatness. This gentleman had started his own business "in the garage" and built it to multi-millions. He told how he had sold it to an international company. He spoke of his inventions. He told me how he was one of the first ever to employ commission-only salespeople. He wove into his biography the names of successful business people, some of who I also knew from previous business ventures. He told me about his family.

I had to know more and so I asked, "What do you do now?"

His eyebrows lifted up high and his steel gray eyes penetrated mine as if to determine if I really truly wanted to know. I did. With a passion coming from deep within he told me how excited he gets when he is surrounded by young people who want to do business. He meets with students in college and forms think tanks. They brainstorm ideas and business plans and then in some cases he funds them. "I want to give back and this is how I do it."

By this time all the other vendors had packed up and left. The hotel staff was taking down curtains and railings, stacking up chairs and vacuuming. I hadn't noticed till now and said, "It looks like they want us out of here."

"I guess so. No one has time to listen any more. But you did. I never got the chance to learn about the Growth Coach."

"The pleasure was truly mine. Thank you for telling me your story. Maybe we will meet again." He reached out his hand and shook mine. There was a moment there that I felt like I was touching a generation of business greatness. I did not want to lose it. I wished my heart could snap a picture of this conversation.

Turns out, I did get a photo of a different kind.

Annette Simmons is the author of The Story Factor. She believes that telling a story is the best way to persuade and motivate people. One of her contentions is that we are so bombarded with data and statistics that we no longer trust them. "People want to believe what a leader has to say, to have faith. It is faith that moves mountains, not facts." Simmons defends that it is the well told story that connects in such a way so as to inspire and influence.

What is your story?

FOCUS x 6

It is all too easy for people to lose track of what is most important to their business. The tyranny of the urgent -- email, voicemail, cell phones, PDAs, . . . and the stack of papers!, etc. – keeps a strategic individual from being focused on the crucial concerns. Consider these six areas where focus is essential to success . . .


FOCUS on Customer Satisfaction
Your company’s primary focus should be squarely on exceeding the expectations of your customers. One business owner said, “I want my sales team to fall in love with our customers, their needs and wants. That’s the best way to switch their thinking from selling our products to being the solution-finders for our customers.” The real value of your business is tied directly to the future, predictable cash flow from your highly satisfied and loyal customers. Without customers, you do not have a business.
Value your customers, serve them well, and sniff out any customer problems or complaints. Keep your customers delighted and coming back for more! Create an environment in which the customer is your enterprise’s primary focus.

FOCUS on Getting Results
Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Establish the company culture where:

• Thinking and planning are admired
• Actual results are valued more than busyness
• Effectiveness (doing the right things) is rewarded more than efficiency (doing things right)
• Intelligent, meaningful action is prized over procrastination (paralysis-by-analysis) and excuses.

FOCUS on Continual Improvement
If your company is not improving, it is declining. If you aren’t getting better, your competitors may well be.

You can easily stifle continuous improvement by creating a culture where the fear of failure and making mistakes keeps employees afraid to try or offer ideas. Do not let your employees fear failure or making mistakes. Just eliminate repeated mistakes. Failure is not fatal, but failing to change might be.
“If your company is not failing occasionally, either your goals are too low or your rate of innovation is too slow.”
Insist that your employees continually improve what they do and how they do it. Focus on thinking about how to improve their roles, responsibilities, and contribution. Improve systems and processes.
Try new things. If something works better, keep it. If it doesn’t, lose it. Admit mistakes and let go of failed ideas fast. Keep your ego in check. In my creative agency during the 90s I used to say that 95% of my ideas ended up in the trash can. But the 5% that survived made us a great value to our customers.

FOCUS on Profits
Focus on both top line and bottom line growth. Focusing only on revenue growth is often ego-driven. Cash flow and profits are your lifeblood. Keep your gross margins strong.
Avoid over-emphasizing the slashing of costs. Stay on the offensive, not the defensive. Revenue growth is nearly endless while cost cutting is limited – you can only cut so much before you do real damage. Some costs are really strategic investments in the future of your business (new equipment, advertising, training & development, etc.)

FOCUS on the Long-Term
Business is a marathon, not a sprint. Do what is right, always. Maintain the highest integrity and ethics. Your reputation is everything. Business is about sustaining lifelong relationships with customers, employees, investors, suppliers, advisers, etc. Repeat business is absolutely critical to the very life force of your company. Do not take shortcuts.
Calculate the Lifetime Value of your customers. For example, if a typical customer buys from you several times a year, yielding you a total annual profit of $1,000, and you generally retain such a customer for 5 years, the Lifetime Value for a typical customer is $5,000. Stated another way, every time you attract a new customer and serve them well, odds are that customer will be worth $5,000 to your business over time.
Once you know this number, it validates spending money to attract new customers and helps you to determine how much should be spent in the process. Invest a little to make a lot! That’s leverage.

FOCUS on Having Fun
Make business fun. Celebrate worthwhile progress toward your goals. Celebrate your company’s successes often and reward your employees for superior performance. Come up with excuses to praise your team and recognize success. Share the joy. Make coming to work a meaningful and fulfilling event.
Never forget that good employees want to learn and grow, be challenged and rewarded, and fulfill their cravings to be social beings. Make your culture an enjoyable place to work.

Check out upcoming Strategic Mindset Workshops!