Be A Rainmaker

What is it that will make a difference between success and failure at a time like this when the economy is in a downturn and newspapers, TV and radio are filled with all sorts of doom and gloom predictions. It's hard to ignore all the bad news but that's exactly what you have to train yourself to do. Go about your business as though everything is going "gangbusters" and everyone is in a buying mood. You have to motivate and inspire yourself to "get out there" and convince your clients that if they don't buy your publication and your web products, they are not only going to lose share of market but probably face a future that will be even tougher than it is right now.

Ignoring the current status of the economy as well as ignoring the fact that many of your clients and prospects are struggling right now may seem almost cavalier in nature for a salesperson to take but in reality you have to go about your business as though there is still plenty of opportunity out there. To think otherwise simply shouldn't be in your mind. After all you and you alone are what is called a "rainmaker." You make things happen when others cannot and that is why you have been successful in your career. You accomplish the impossible, you make a sale when others sit around talking. In my opinion, people who behave like that really don't truly like what they do. They don't have the passion and they find it uncomfortable to talk to people when times are tough and get them to understand how their products can help them prosper through tough times.

I'll ask the question again, are you a rainmaker? Do you really like what you do or do you think of selling as a job that gives you a pay check and some fringe benefits and helps to pay some bills? Or do you love selling so much that it's in your heart and in your blood and when you get a piece of business it thrills you to no end. As a matter of fact, there is nothing better as far as you're concerned than a selling career.

Look, these are rough times and there is no better excuse than being able to tell your boss that business is bad because the economy has gone to hell and there's nothing you can do about it! Don't fall into that trap. Go out and be a rainmaker. Make things happen, turn the world on its head and give 100% and "then some." Be passionate, be positive and be the most enthusiastic person you can possibly be and don't let the "boo" birds get you down.

After all, you ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Chuck

Leaders Lead...Others Follow

Shortly after joining Automotive News back in the mid '70s (yes, way back then), the sales staff was armed with a slide presentation (Powerpoint was never a consideration) that centered on the book's commitment to “serve the reader” first. Each sales office (L.A., Detroit, New York and Chicago) was given a portable Kodak Carousel Slide Projector that weighed in at about 25 pounds, and each of us would lug this monster out of the building to show it to as many agency and client contacts as possible. At the time, it was a very innovative sales tool and we were more than anxious to get this presentation in front of an audience of one or 21.

The projectors were state of art and featured a sound track that was enabled at the appropriate time. Slides were “cued” and one of them featured a portrait photo of Keith Crain sitting at his desk, and the voice over was Keith speaking of Automotive News’ editorial commitment and making it very clear that Automotive News was the leader in its field and a resource that readers followed. In fact, Keith led off with the statement: “Leaders Lead….They Never Follow!”

One trait that made sales reps successful at Automotive News was the unbridled opportunity to voice ideas to management that would keep us ahead of any market curve. Ideas came from making the calls and listening to what the client was telling us. Customer input led to discussions with editorial staff and helped develop the editorial calendar for the coming year. These suggestions were verified by the Ad Director and/or Publisher who was always available to come along on a client call and confirm the need for us to remain in a leadership position.

Today, there is little doubt that Crain titles are leaders in their respective markets. This leadership results from a continued commitment to the reader and a commitment to serve the needs of the market. As Publishers, Ad Directors and Sales Reps, it goes without saying that being a leader is mandatory in order to succeed, especially in this current economic environment.

The point here is simple: “Lead…don’t follow!” Get your Ad Director and/or Publisher to go on calls with you. Not every call, but certainly those meetings that might lead to an opportunity to better serve the reader who just happens to be a client target. Don’t cross the line. Separation of sales and editorial must be maintained; however, that should not mean that you cannot engage in conversations that reinforce your title's commitment to leadership.

If any Publisher or Ad Director reading this column is not actively engaged in making calls with the sales staff, you need to be reminded that now would be a good time to commit a portion of your weekly duties to find out first hand what’s on the mind of your readers and customers.

Lead…..Don’t Follow!

Keep Making Those Calls,

Tony

Making the Impossible Happen

Doom and gloom is all over the place and it seems everyone is feeling bad about things. The economy is in tough shape and and we all wonder what the future holds. I know it's hard to understand the circumstances of what is happening but it's important you understand that there have been tough times before and many of us who have been through those down times were lucky to not only survive but to learn some lessons which I personally would like to pass on to you.

First of all, remember, no matter what the so-called pundits and experts tell you the economy will get back to normal sooner than later. You can count on it! The nation we live in is so great and so resilient and so robust that nobody or any circumstances will ever keep this country in a permanent nosedive. It just isn't going to happen. Already we see evidence that that there is some rebounding going on in the economy but it is going to take months before we really get back on track.

But my question to you is this, are you ready? Are you ready for the tough times and do you have the drive and determination to simply outwork your competitors and run circles around them? Are you ready? On a daily basis do you turn the world on its head and make and do things that many of your colleagues and bosses think are impossible? Don't listen to the cynics and doom and gloomers, let your positive attitude set your altitude.

Now is the time to really show your stuff. There is no question that what is going on in the marketplace can be used as an excuse for the fact you aren't doing better. But don't fall into that trap. Losers make excuses but winners in our business make more personal calls than they've ever done before. Winners do what I consider is essential in bad times and good times-they HUSTLE! They are so fired up and so dedicated to their profession, they even sacrifice some of their personal time and work on weekends to make it happen.

They work on strategy and they work on reports and they get paperwork out of the way so they can have a clear path to making more personal calls during the week days. They work as though their publication is on the verge of going out of business. They make every moment productive and they don't waste time sitting in the office hoping things will get better. They make things better by working harder and smarter. I said it before and I'll say it again...It's up to you.

Think about it. Your customers and prospects need you and your publication more now than they ever did. That's because they need business to survive and prosper and that's the key. Show your customers and prospects how your publication will give them exposure to the very people that can bring business to them. Tell them that now is the time to increase their share of market because a lot of their competitors have pulled back and aren't being aggressive in the marketplace.

Tell them that there is an urgency now for them to increase their share of market by increasing their advertising budgets. You have to be able to prove your point with good data and show them how other companies survived downturns with case histories of those that not only increased their market share but knocked their competition out of the picture.

By the way, right now is the time to be the most enthusiastic, positive person you can be. After all, enthusiasm is contagious and you want to spread that virus around to your best customers and prospects. Go ahead and make impossible routine.

You are the Best of the Best.




Chuck

Tough Times

Let’s not kid ourselves. All of our markets are in tough shape but that doesn’t mean that we stop selling. Now more than ever, it is important to stay focused and continue to work on basic selling skills. Basic skills like “planning and prospecting.”

Veteran sales reps can share a number of horror stories about selling in the middle of a downturn. Most stories will reveal a renewed dedication to sales skills that helped them get through the tough times. If you have been lax with planning skills, now is the time to get on board and be prepared to make more calls to more contacts than you could have ever dreamed possible. Remember, you represent a leading media resource and clients need to hear the many opportunities that you can deliver. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that they know all about those opportunities because of an e-mail or some direct mail piece that was sent out to support the in- house print campaign. Plan on making more “personal calls” from this day forward. If you lack planning and/or organization skills, start learning them now. There have been a number of books written on the subjects and I’m sure some of you can provide suggestions for reps to consider reading.

Keep the fire burning in your belly and commit to going after a minimum of five (5) new prospects each week. Prospects should be anyone that has not done business with your publication for the last two years....at the minimum. Put together a plan to go after these prospects and follow through with it. There are a number of ways to prospect, not the least of which is the unlimited mountain of opportunity called the Internet. I am not aware of a prospective or current client that does not have a Web site. You should dedicate a portion of your time to prospecting via the Internet. Dedicate another portion of your time to prospecting at events, competitive ad placements, direct mail pieces and so on. Challenge yourself to make the prospective calls as part of your daily plan.

Times are tough. Do everything you can to help clients through these tough times. They may not have the big budget now, but when market conditions improve (and they will), budgets will go to those that were there for them during the rough times. Remember: “If You Do Nothing……..Nothing Will Happen.”

Keep Making Those Calls,
Tony

Sales Thoughts For A Tough Economy

There was an interesting article in the August 4th issue of Ad Age that reminded me about selling during a market slump. No question that today, we are selling in a market that is extremely volatile with many clients cutting way back on ad budgets. This is certainly nothing new to many old timers who sold during difficult times, but most of you have never had to sell in this kind of environment before and the article spoke to some examples of ad budget cuts that bought the client some time, but eventually resulted in client products or services no longer being top of mind among target audiences.

If you are working to become that market resource for clients, you need to remind them that research has clearly shown the importance of maintaining or increasing advertising and marketing budgets when times get tough. Remind your clients that these budgets are “investments” not expenses and the investment will generate better returns when the market returns. Someone once said: “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time. How true that is.

Read the article from Ad Age (8/4/08): “Ad Cutbacks Backfired For Bankruptcy Victims.” Send it to clients or use excerpts from it during a sales call. Use research that clearly shows the importance of keeping ad budgets intact. McGraw-Hill did research many years ago that helps support the need for clients to keep ad schedules. I would like to think some of our publications have done research that supports this topic as well.

Today’s economic conditions demand that each of us dedicate more of our time to prospecting. Sticking your head in the sand, waiting for good times to return is not the answer. You have to make it happen. You have to make more calls on current clients and certainly more calls to prospective clients. Those calls should support reasons to advertise to your audience, especially during these tough times. We have multiple products that provide ample opportunities for advertisers to interact with our audience. Now more than ever before we must go back to the basics of selling and do our part to help make things happen. Certainly, it will take a whole lot more work to get through this, but in the end, it will be a whole lot more fun and rewarding.

Go outside the nine dots and keep making the calls,



Tony

Remember to Give Thanks

One of the first things I learned about selling was to never forget to send a written “thank you” note for the order. We all know that when selling space there are generally a good number of contacts that helped generate the insertion order and all them should receive a personal note of thanks. One of the ways to make “thank you” notes a weekly standard practice is to send a copy of the issue in which the client ad runs, with an attached note that is short but illustrates how much you appreciate the business. This was a practice that every rep who worked for me was encouraged to use. There is no doubt that this helped to build relationships but more importantly it served as a reminder that the customer order should never be taken for granted.

If you begin to make this a weekly habit, it will also work as reminder for you to send a note of thanks to those that included you on the invitation list for any number of client or industry functions. How many times have we been invited to a client hospitality event at an industry conference and failed to send a thank you note? Whenever any of our publications invite attendees to an event, we can probably count on one hand the number of people who remember to send a thank you note for being invited. Generally, the note comes from the same folks and we never fail to appreciate their thoughtfulness. If you make hand written “thank you” notes a part of your routine, you too will be remembered for your thoughtfulness and caring attributes.

Another way to say thanks to event sponsors or multiple page advertisers is to have a fruit/snack basket delivered to the hotel rooms or offices during industry events. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times this small gesture was warmly received by clients and how much this helped make the next sponsorship sale easier.

I’m certain that many of you can share some of the ways you’ve shown appreciation and thanks to a client’s schedule and/or sponsorship. Let us know what has worked for you and the ways you remembered to give thanks.

Keep making those calls,

Tony

Call Reports Are A Must

One thing I always hated about sales was the paperwork that came along with the job. Sales people love to sell and many are not that good with paperwork. This might be one reason why so many of us struggle with having to do call reports. Some look at these reports as management's score card when in fact they are a necessary document that should recall important facts that arose during a meeting or telephone conversation.

As a manager, I never fell in love with call reports that were nothing more than traffic reports. You know the kind I’m talking about. Reporting things like: “Sent Suzie a Schedule of Issues and Rate Card”...…. Or “Delivered copies of the current issue.” These types of reports are meaningless and a waste of time. Give me a report that is concise. Better to submit a report that points out reasons why the client doesn’t want to commit and what next steps are planned. Make the report short and to the point. Don’t write gospels thinking that a full page of comments make you look better in the eyes of your boss.

If you write the report so that it helps you recall the facts before the next meeting, you will be amazed at how short and informative the report will be. If you write the report to satisfy management requests, then you are sure to fall into the trap of trying to fill a page with useless commentary.

Another thought about call reports are to complete them as soon as possible after the call has been made. That means the same day, not two or three weeks after. Getting into the habit of doing these reports daily and with pertinent facts will help you better organize for the next meeting and any follow up that needs to happen. Once again, the ACT program allows for the easy completion of these reports.

In short, do the reports so that the information benefits you and the needs of the client. It will help you get over having do to paperwork. It will also help you become a better resource for your customer.

Keep Making Those Calls,


Tony

Communicate With Your Bosses

Recently I've heard a number of salespeople say they cannot get their bosses to go along with some new programs they have proposed. They say their bosses just don't "get it" and aren't willing to look at new ways of doing things. They also suggest that the new programs they have discussed with their bosses would bring in all kinds of new revenues. They also infer that their bosses are standing in the way of their success and they aren't too subtle about placing the blame.

Well, sales people forever have gripes about their bosses and the management team that runs their magazine and the publishing company they represent. What those sales people don't realize is that the reason they have not been able to get those new programs instituted is because of their own deficiencies in communicating and what I call "inside selling."

Many years ago, I was lucky enough to work for a great sales mentor in the consumer publishing industry. He once told me that some of the best selling I would learn to do as I became more experienced was to be able to communicate my ideas to my bosses in a concise and inviting way. He told me that unless I learned to do that I would not be able to expand my horizons and get those things I needed to be a more effective sales person. He was right! I have never forgotten his words of wisdom.

Every salesperson has to learn how to communicate those things they feel are important to their bosses. More importantly, unless they can articulate and communicate what they want and actually get their bosses to "buy in" to what they want, they will forever be frustrated and eventually become cynical. Unless you have the backing of your bosses and they have confidence in your judgement, you will never really be an effective salesperson. Too many salespeople avoid going to their bosses and presenting their ideas because they have a fear they won't succeed.

Really effective salespeople are risk takers; they also realize that unless they have the confidence of their bosses their careers aren't necessarily going anywhere. So my advice to anyone in the selling business is to learn this one basic ingredient of success. Look at your bosses as allies and team members. Go to them with new ideas and communicate with them always. Bosses have the same needs we all do. They want to do as good a job as they can and they want to be respected. Don't hide from them. Ask for their help and take them on calls so they understand your problems in the field. Then when you want some new program they have a better understanding of where you are coming from.

So don't blame the boss for being blind to your needs. The person you should blame is yourself because you haven't learned to communicate well with the very people who can help you the most. It is as simple as that. Finally, real winners and doers and shakers don't whine, they get things done by communicating with the people they need in their corner to get things done-their bosses.

Make it a great day,



Chuck

Expense Reports: Get Them In!

When did you last submit an expense report? If you are in the late camp, the report was submitted later than a couple months from when the actual expenses were incurred, and many of the line items were best guesses because you forgot exactly how much was spent for that cab ride or gratuity, or whatever.

The result of not submitting timely expense reports can be costly to you, your family, or the company. Some have the opinion that the longer it takes to submit expenses will eventually result in a savings for the company because funds stay in the bank longer. Others claim that any guess on expenses might result in claiming more than what was actually spent and this results in cheating the company more times than not.

Don’t even take the chance of cheating yourself or the company. If you are consistently late in submitting expenses, then change the bad habit and renew (yes, many will need to renew) a commitment of submitting them weekly. Given that Crain reps have an expense report template available at their fingertips that calculates mileage expense and totals all the columns, there isn’t much room for excuses here.

If you need to commit to better organizational habits when it comes to receipts and making notes on each day’s expense activity, then do it. Don’t hem and haw about it, start making it happen today. You have the Excel file template downloaded and available at a moment's notice. If you are in the late camp, it’s time to start using this tool everyday if necessary.

If you continue to submit expenses way beyond a normal timeframe, you’ll end up being more of a loser than a winner. It’s really up to you.

If you have any tips on how to keep better expense records, we’re all waiting to hear about them.

Keep Making Those Calls,


Tony

Winners Never Quit

Vince Lombardi said ”Winners never quit and quitters never win.” It all comes down to a matter of attitude. Some individuals persevere and are determined never to lose while some seem to wilt as the competition gets tougher. It’s true in athletics, it’s true in business and it’s true in personal relationships.

I have worked with sales people who are able to sell untouchable accounts by their go-go determination. There is so much opportunity today in this country. But any kind of opportunity requires work, hard work. Many people who claim things are rough simply don’t want to pay the price of sleepless nights, bottom line responsibility and at times failure. None of us have gone through life winning every day. If we have, we are most fortunate but I have yet to meet anyone that somewhere in their career hasn't fallen on their face. It’s all part of the drill of living. But it’s those who can pick themselves up and recover who interest me the most. What is it in their make-up and what is it in their personality that gives them the tenacity to soldier on no matter what the circumstances?

These are some of the traits I have found in people who just won’t give up no matter what the circumstances.

1. They are risk takers. They don’t shrink from uncertainty. They can cope with ambiguity. They are doers and they pursue their dreams with unabashed enthusiasm. They are, in other words, our kind of people.

2. They dedicate themselves hook, line and sinker to whatever they do. They commit and it isn’t with one foot out the door in case things go wrong. If the ship starts to flounder, they don’t run for the door. They work through the tough times.

3. They have what I call contagious enthusiasm. Since they are enthusiastic about life, they are enthusiastic about themselves, and they make others into true believers about their products and services. They are positive and inspired and they make everyone around them enthusiastic as well.

4. People who are winners have a sense of humor. They aren’t hung up with a false ego. They like a good joke and they like to laugh.

Be a winner,


Chuck

Best Get Better June Schedule

The "Best Get Better" sales training schedule is as follows:

June 3, Four Seasons at Beverly Hills, LA
June 6, Allegro Hotel, Chicago
June 16, Marriott at Key Center, Cleveland
June 19, Grand Hyatt New York
June 24, Detroit Athletic Club

We're going to spend time discussing online selling and how to put together integrated packages that sell. Sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude by 3 p.m.

Get excited,

Chuck and Tony

Finding New Customers

How many advertisers cancelled insertions with you this year? How many of your current advertisers will cancel or pull back on schedules next year?

No question that you will likely lose and have to replace a minimum of 20% of your sales each year and that fact alone could certainly result in some sleepless nights that will turn into nightmares if you haven’t done anything to fill the void.

Finding new clients should occur daily and there are a number of ways to make this activity part of your routine. Let’s start by reading our own publication as well as the other information sources out there. Reading articles will reveal a market filled with prospective advertisers. If companies are being written about or have some mention in a publication or Web site that serves the market, they are a prospect. While we might read an article to grasp a better understanding of the market, we might miss an obvious benefit by not considering the company mentioned in the article to be a prospect.

Another way to find prospects results from reading the ads, especially those that recognize vendors for outstanding service. How about the recognition of achievements by individuals either in an article or in an ad? Some of these people could have an influence on advertising and if you send them a congratulatory note along the way, it may result in getting that meeting to discuss ways to help them and their companies get more exposure to your audience. Personnel changes announced in publications are another resource to compile a list of prospects. Finally, getting to the right event and gathering a list of attendees or the exhibitors or event sponsors is a great way to seed a prospect list.

It’s no shock that making up for lost business is part of the sales process. Let’s remember to do whatever works best to keep that prospect list growing. Nobody wants to wake up someday only to find a database of “former” clients outnumbering a list of “current” clients.

Any suggestions you have on this topic would be welcomed.

Keep Making The Calls,


Tony

Getting Ready for A Great Monday

I was greeted recently by a friend who told me that Mondays were not her favorite day. But as a sales person, she should look upon Mondays as great days filled with opportunity and promise. Enthusiasm and dedication are the two pillars that make anybody successful and if you are truly someone who wants to excel you should realize how blessed you are to be alive and ready to go on Monday morning.

But how can you look forward to Mondays? Well it’s really quite simple and it only takes a couple of hours of preparation over the weekend to be literally “ready for action” as you start your day at the beginning of the week. Do you draft personal thank you notes to go out with Monday's issues if you are a weekly? Do you have a call list of new prospects laid out for the week ahead? Are your call reports and expenses up to date? These are all great things to get out of the way over the weekend so you can arrive on Monday ready to sell something!

Actually, the best way to get started on the right track first thing on a Monday is to have made an appointment with a client or prospect early in the morning before you go to your office. That appointment should have been made the week before. There is simply nothing like a personal sales call to get you energized for the week ahead.

Too often going to the office first can be distracting and provide too many excuses to delay getting out in the field. You’ll never be able to sell one of your colleagues an inch of business whether it’s ink on paper or the Internet because the only people that can buy from you are the ones you call on outside the office. Make personal calls as often as you can!

Now go set up a call for Monday,

Chuck

Working Smart

It should come as no surprise that the cost of a personal sales call has seen substantial increases over the past year. Given the rising costs of travel expenses (airfare, fuel, hotel) in just the past three months, travel budgets will be stressed and will require all of us to be more efficient and productive when scheduling out of town trips.

Jerry Salame is a sales rep for Automotive News in Detroit, and he sent me an e-mail the other day suggesting this column. Jerry covers at least six states and has always been very efficient at planning road trips. Here are some of his thoughts and ways that he plans an upcoming three or four-day sales trip:

*Plan your travel at a minimum one month out. Set up your appointments for a week that is most convenient for the client (not you). After (and I do mean after) you have confirmed meeting dates, that’s when you should schedule your flight and hotel itinerary. If you have ever scheduled flights before scheduling appointments, you know that more often than not, the trip turns into a disaster.

*Depending on the territory and distance needed to travel, some find it best to schedule a flight that arrives mid morning. This allows time to make a lunch meeting, followed by some calls in the afternoon, and then a client dinner meeting. The next morning you can have a breakfast meeting, followed by a mid morning meeting, followed by another lunch, etc.

Most of you already know this, but if you have fallen into a rut of poor planning, it’s time to pick yourself up and start doing it the right way again.

The point here is that by confirming your meetings ahead of time your next road trip will be much more rewarding. Instead of a poorly planned trip that results in a minimum number of calls that skyrockets the cost of each call, you will certainly get more satisfaction and build better relationships with a smart travel plan. In his e-mail to me Jerry went on to write: “Even if they didn’t buy anything, the fact that you came a long way to see them will pay dividends when they do have money to spend.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Safe and successful travels. Keep making those calls,

Tony

Keep Your Data Current

There are a number of sales tools that we have available to us, but none better than ACT! I make this statement having used this program since version 1.0. That’s correct, I started using this program before it became part of our daily life as a Crain Rep. The folks that worked for me during my tenure with the company learned real fast how important it was to keep the database current. Having this tool at your fingertip is a great thing. Having this tool at your fingertip and not fully utilizing the capabilities of this amazing program is a major mistake that will cost you dearly. If you are not making changes in ACT on a daily/weekly basis, you need to be taken to the woodshed.

How many contact names do you maintain with ACT? How many changes do you make in those files each month? Are you even using the program? Ask yourself this question: “If I were to send invitations to everyone in my database, how many would be returned?” How many would be undeliverable carrying that big red stamped message: “moved” or “no longer employed here” or how about “deceased?” Remember, a mailing list is only as good as the last time it was updated. If you are not maintaining contact data, you are not doing your job. Think about the number of contacts you have to cover at a client. Now, think about the number of agency folk you touch for that client schedule. For some schedules, it’s not uncommon to have a dozen people involved in the decision given job changes that have evolved over time. If you don’t maintain the contact data it will be impossible to have success in sales. What would be the result of having something come up and all of a sudden, your ACT data would have to be handled by a coworker? Would you be confident that the files are current?

Are you using all the fields of information that are available with ACT? Do you complete the information fields of: Home Address, Spouse Name, School Attended, Birthday, Anniversary, and any number of other fields you could have? Used properly, these fields of info will become a daily reminder to stay in touch with contacts.

I could go on about all the features this program offers that will help make you a better resource for clients, but I’ll save some of those for another column. If you use ACT the way it is intended, your sales focus will become clearer and you will put any competitor at an even greater disadvantage.

You are the best at what you do, and ACT will help you get better. The rest is up to you.

Keep Making the Calls,



Tony

Quality v. Quantity

I just read this article about 15 minutes ago, just after our sales manager and I were bemoaning the fact that three accounts that spent almost $600K with our book last year haven't started yet. Our market share at these three accounts was outstanding- easily over 75%. The space didn't go elsewhere in the market but we can't shake budgets loose for various reasons concerning new ownership, new directions etc.

If you take a look at the Quality vs. Quantity section of the article, in our case it makes sense to spend an inordinate amount of time rekindling the flames at a few accounts. I certainly agree with the author's claim that sellers must provide information not available elsewhere. Our publications and audiences help us provide that but we don't use it enough. Worth a look.

Lessons from the Sales Master Article

Best,

Tony E. from Plastics News

Fear Nothing

Fear is a tough thing to overcome. In the selling business, it can handicap the most skilled and competent sales people and in some cases actually ruin a person’s career. Fear can take many forms. Some salespeople have a difficult time asking for the order. Others have an inordinate fear of making a stand-up presentation to an audience. Other salespeople have a difficult time making calls on an account where a key person is difficult. There are all sorts of hang-ups that salespeople can experience and yet because they don’t want to make their “fears” known to their bosses and colleagues they keep their shortcomings secret.

It’s a mistake to do so because there are ways of overcoming sales fears by good old common sense and logic. I even know salespeople who have had some measure of success in sales who find it difficult to handle any kind of rejection from a client or a prospect thinking that the rejection reflects on them personally and their abilities. Rejection is a given in the selling business and unless a salesperson accepts that premise they are in for some very rough times which in the long run could hurt their effectiveness and productivity.

So how does a talented Crain salesperson overcome fear? The simple answer is to recognize your fear and then be prepared to do something about it. That takes courage. Fear can do funny things to individuals and unless you are determined to take your fear head -on you will probably have a very difficult time defeating it. When dealing with a fear you’ve simply got to put together a plan to deal with it.

Let’s take the case of the person who has a problem of asking for the order. Talk to others about your fear and ask them how they think you could find ways to defeat it. Don’t forget, asking somebody for help is always a smart thing to do and when you do you make others feel that you respect their opinion. We all like to help others because when you do it you not only give yourself a boost but the person you are helping as well. Then when you receive help from whomever you’ve asked for help work with them on how you ask for the order. In other words, try playacting with them. Rehearse closing lines like, ”When do you want to start your schedule?” Or, something like “I would love to have you sign a contract right now for that program.” There are all sorts of ways of asking for the order but actually going for the order on a call is essential to success. So work on various scenarios and lines so that when you ask for the order on an account you do so prepared with the right verbage. Like anything else, practice closing and eventually any fear you have will dissipate. But like anything else you have to work at it.

The same would be true of presentations whether to colleagues or customers or prospects. You have to be willing to work with others to do away with your basic fear of giving a presentation . It takes hard work and it takes practice but it can be done with perseverance and a willingness to become a good presenter. Watch others give presentations, read everything you can on how to give any kind of a presentation in front of others. Practice giving a presentation in front of friends or family members and colleagues. Practice and practice and practice and in time you will overcome your fear because you will be prepared for anything. But you have to be willing to learn and you have to set aside your ego and learn from others. Others will be delighted to help you over come your fear of giving a presentation.

Finally, rejection is part and parcel of selling and unless you have learned to accept rejection and turn it into a positive when selling you are doomed to live a continual life of frustration. Exceptional sales people take a rejection as an opportunity to go back and back and finally get an affirmative from a client or prospect. The reason they are able to do so is because they take the reasons they were turned down initially and turn them into positives. In other words, they go back and answer the objections that were thrown at them on the initial call and make sure those objections are answered one by one so that at the end the client has no alternative but to say yes. That kind of selling also takes hard work, practice and perseverance. The only way I have defeated my fears is to admit to them and then dedicate myself to turning them around into strengths. Athletes do the same thing. They keep working on their weaknesses until they become strengths. They don’t sit in a corner and feel sorry for themselves , they make it happen with enthusiasm, ambition and dedication.

Fear nothing,

Chuck

Prepping for the Sales Call

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?

We now move from the Crain Sales Boot Camp to our own Crain Sales Blog. This space is indeed all about sales. It will provide each of us with some thoughts on basic selling practices and help us get better at what we do. So, let’s get ready by beginning with a topic that needs to be at the top of everyone’s list. Are you ready? OK then, let’s go.

How much time do you spend getting ready for the sales call? A very basic question that some of us take for granted. Of course we spend time preparing for the call, so perhaps the question should be changed to "How do you get ready for the sales call?"

When reporters and editors were in Journalism School, they learned that a good investigative story contained answers to Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. If that formula works for investigative reporters, then it certainly has an application for sales (especially media sales) as well. So, let’s expand on that basic question of how to prepare for the call, and ask ourselves these questions:

*Do I know “Who” I’m calling on?
*“Why” am I calling on that particular agency or client contact?
*“Where” are they trying to go with their messages?
*“What” are the market objectives?
*“When” does budget planning take place? Am I making the call “When” the media plan has already been executed?
*“How” am I going to present my product lineup to this agency and/or client contact?

Certainly, there are a number of variations to these basic questions, but I’m sure you get the idea of how the answers will help us prepare for the call. Often times, we get so passionate about making the call because we finally were able to get the meeting with an important client contact that we have been trying to get an appointment with for the last several months.

We go into that long awaited meeting with some butterflies in our stomach, but once we get rolling, the butterflies are gone and we have made the pitch without a complete understanding of “Who” we are meeting with, “Why” we are meeting with them, “What” their market goals are……well, you get the idea. I know the feeling since it’s happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. Experience is a great teacher, and reminds us to go back to the basics and make the next call more meaningful for the customer, not for ourselves.

So, bottom line on this topic is very simple. This is not brain surgery folks! Plan your calls and build them around the person and/or client. Never assume that everyone knows about your medium, because more often than not, they don’t. Hard to believe, but they do not lose sleep thinking about how best to spend their budget with you. Prepare for the call and you will be amazed at how your listening skills will improve. Prepare for the call and you will develop a clear understanding of how you can be a resource that helps the client reach market goals. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Regards,

Tony