Sin # 1

Mistake Number 1: You assume long-time customers are loyal.

Evidence in this area confirms the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of customers are satisfied and twenty percent are loyal. Satisfied customers will shop for other options. Loyal customers love you. They don’t shop because they’re 110% satisfied. Ask yourself which customers are loyal and which ones are satisfied. Find ways to convert satisfied customers into loyal ones and reward loyalty.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Selling

Jennifer walked into Daisy’s Café to grab a quick bite of lunch. She had been on the phone all morning making cold calls and was ready for a break. Scanning the busy restaurant, she spotted Rick Masters alone at a table. Rick was a real sales pro and she often ran into him at networking events. Since they didn’t compete in the same industry, he was always willing to share his extensive knowledge. She walked over to where Rick sat and said, “Do you mind if I join you?”

Rick struggled to muster a smile. “Sure, but I can’t promise I’ll be good company because I just found out I lost an account to my biggest competitor.”

“Ouch,” Jennifer said as she sat. “What happened?"

“Over the past year, I got complacent and committed the seven deadly sins of selling. Today they came back to haunt me,” Rick said.

Be sure to check back over the next seven days to learn about the seven deadly sins of selling!

"R" Word Wrap-Up

To sum it all up, write this five word question on a sticky note. “What matters to customers now?” Place that question where you see it every day.

The old saying, “Timing is better than brilliance,” speaks to the power of relevance. When your message matters to customers, sales cycles are shorter. Profits are higher because relevance increases value. When you continue to communicate message that matter, you forge strong and lasting relationships.

Remember that today’s concerns may not be important tomorrow. Regularly refresh messages so they connect. Find new ways to be pertinent to customers every day because relevance sells.

Enjoy your weekend!

"R" Word Questions

Tap into the power of the R-Word. Think about what prompts potential customers to buy and use the information to craft a better sales strategy by asking the following questions.

1. What’s happening in my customer’s world and how does it affect me?
Businesses and individuals exist in a wider world. What happened when gas prices went up? There were lots of consequences but one of them was a drop in restaurant sales because people cut back on unnecessary travel. Fly up and observe customers from the thirty thousand foot view. How are they affected by commodity prices? What about economic conditions? Is their situation getting better or getting worse? Scan the landscape for changes and determine how you’re affected.

2. What pain does my customer feel now?
People purchase to solve problems, so what problem is your customer looking to solve today? Be as specific as you can be when describing pain. Is the pain chronic or acute? Would they change to avoid it? When change requires dramatic action, what person within the organization has authority to institute change? Find pain because it shows you the shortest route to a sale.

3. How do you get a customer to take note of their pain?
When you talk to potential customers, you get one of three responses.
· Complete disinterest.
· Polite interest but no desire to buy.
· They sit up, take notice and say, “Tell me more!”
They say “Tell me more,” when your message is sharp and to the point. Paint a vivid picture of pain. Show them you have the cure. Use punchy selling words to color messages and make them memorable. Chose words like powerful, proven, innovative, rugged, profitable, superior, eye-opening and guaranteed. Strong language grabs the buyer’s attention. Use it to present your value proposition in a way that makes customers believe it’s in their best interests to talk further and learn more.

4. What bomb explodes if customers don't act now?
Some problems are dangerous to ignore. What happens to customers if they don't act now? How will they be worse off? Put the negative consequences of not making a decision under your sales microscope. Inaction comes with a cost. What is the cost? Use it to persuade.

5. What regrets does the customer want to avoid?
We look back at missed opportunities, recognize we made a mistake and feel regret. The next time we’re in a similar situation, we remember the path not taken and chose a different fork in the road. Mark Twain had it right when he said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do then by the things you did do." Raising the ghostly specter of remorse and tying it to the customer’s current situation is a sophisticated selling technique that increases the odds of success.

Final thoughts on the "R" Word tomorrow!!

Why the “R” Word Sells

Tom walked into his office and a thought struck him. He realized he hadn't heard from Sarah, one of his best clients, in almost two weeks. Picking up the phone, he called her and said, "Just wanted to check in. I figured it was about time for you to place an order."

The silence that greeted Tom laid waste to his good mood. Sarah said, "I've been meaning to call you. Our lines are about to undergo a major shift. You’ve been a good supplier, but the change means we won't be purchasing your product anymore."

In business and life, one constant we can count on is change. To maximize profits, customers constantly evaluate products, services and processes searching for improvements. When they find a way to do something better, what is relevant shifts and salespeople often feel the ripples.

Relevance lies at the heart and soul of every sale. Buyers base purchasing decisions on what matters now. To put it another way, umbrellas sell on rainy days.

Businesspeople discuss how buyers compare apples to apples and ask themselves to consider what gives their “apple” a competitive edge. To use the umbrella analogy again, online umbrella sellers won’t benefit from changes in the weather but they will sell more orders in bulk. As circumstances change, the buyer’s wants, needs and motivation to purchase changes too.

More tomorrow on the "R" Word!

Ranking Three Critical Customer Questions

Customer want answers to three questions in this order.

Number 1: What do you do?
Number 2: Why do I care?
Number 3: How do you do it?

“What do you do?” is number one because customers need a frame of reference. Buyers first seek to establish context. Once they understand how it fits in their world, they are willing to consider if makes their life better—which leads to “Why do I care?”

Question number two is all about the “What’s in it for me?” aspects of your product or service. Once the customer understands what you do, they want to know if it matters to them. If the benefits appeal, they invest time and gain a deeper understanding by asking, “How do you do it?”

This is where many complex sales can derail if the salespeople can’t provide an answer eliminating headaches and risk for potential customers.

Do you want to sell more? Write out answers to these three questions and find a way to improve on them.

The Seven Fundamentals of Great Sales Calls

1. You focus on understanding what the customer wants to buy—NOT what you want to sell.


2. You walk away knowing more about the customer’s value equation.


3. You establish or deepen a relationship so the customer trusts you enough to buy.


4. You differentiate yourself from your competition.


5. You sell benefits—NOT features.


6. You come across as a credible source of information.


7. You create forward momentum in the sales cycle. If there is no forward movement toward a yes or a no from potential customers, then you’re NOT a sales professional, you’re a professional visitor.