How To Sell To Difficult People by Amy Walker

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on February 4, 2014)

Ahhh, the Hecklers, the Know-It-Alls, and the Doubters. They are not our favorite people to sell to. I definitely prefer hearing, “This is exactly what I’ve been searching for!” But in every event you are going to have a tricky person to sell to. I know speakers and trainers who just let them go and work with the excited ones. You can do that. I also know that I have had some that were stinkers during the sales process and ended up being my most loyal and long running clients. I’ve also closed stinkers who turned into stinker clients. The key is to know which ones you need to let go and which ones really need you.

Why are they stinkers?

Most human beings are good and it is in our nature to protect ourselves. When you come across crusty people, they are usually nursing some type of hurt. Hecklers have often been through rejection or ridicule and had to laugh their way out of it; Know-It-Alls often can’t handle being weak and imperfect; and Doubters have often been taken advantage of in the process. The first step to handling a tough sale is to try to understand them and think of them as a good person.

The Heckler: Makes Jokes, derails the presentation, asks completely irrelevant questions etc.

Remember that hecklers like to see you sweat. They like pushing buttons. The easiest way to handle a heckler is to get them on your side. Laugh with them. Joke with them. Understand that they want to be seen and heard, and treat them with kindness. When they like you, they will also sometimes be the most outspoken proponents of your products.

The Know-it-All: Everything is great in their life, they don’t need help, every time you get close to finding their pain or problem they will block you

Know-it-alls have a hard time showing weakness. They are usually strong and are used to doing things on their own. They do not want to feel incompetent or wrong. If you keep pushing to figure out their problems, they will put up wall after wall after wall. When I come across these situations, I pull back and invite them to tell me what they see that isn’t working. If they come up with nothing, I ask them what they want that they don’t have and then I ask permission to help them come up with solutions to get there.

Doubters: Second guess you and your product. Want proof. Treat you like you are trying to pull one over.

NEVER sell this person into a product or service, you have to let them choose into it. If you talk them into it, they will inevitable blame you for why their life has gone all wrong! Ask them if they have had a negative experience before. Listen to them and ask questions like, “What do you need from me so that this is a different experience?” Keep asking them, “What else do you need to know before you can decide if this is right for you?” Give them any type of reassurance they ask for. If they want references, let them call your clients. If they want facts, show them where to find it. Your job in this situation is to inform where ever they need it and continue to invite them to get more answers until they have no more questions. Then you ask for the sale.

When to RUN!

Anyone that has worked with a pain in the butt client knows they make your life miserable. Some of my favorite clients and people have fit into these 3 categories in the beginning. But if they can’t pass my test, I will not work with them. My test is simple. Can they take accountability for themselves, or do they blame others? If they blame others, they will blame me. If they can take accountability I know we will be able to work together as soon as they are ready and I will move forward. If not, I bust out of that sales call as soon as possible!

Happy Selling!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Walker is an International Executive Business Coach and CEO/Founder of Amy Walker Consulting. As a Featured Professional Speaker she has shared the stage with some of the top names in the industry including Willie Jolley and Delatorro L. McNeal II. Amy is a Master of Sales and has written sales scripts for billion dollar companies and organizations. She has been regularly featured on television, radio, and print. Amy is passionate about Women in Business, Making Businesses Thrive, and Balancing Business and Family. She is the happily married mother of 5 boys.
Website: www.amywalkerconsulting.com
Facebook: Amy Walker Consulting – https://www.facebook.com/AmyWalkerConsulting
Twitter: @amywalkercoach – https://twitter.com/AmyWalkerCoach
Instagram: amywalkercoach – https://instagram.com/amywalkercoach/
Youtube: Amy Walker Consulting – https://www.youtube.com/user/awalker2911
Linkedin: Amy Walker – www.linkedin.com/in/amywalkerconsulting

Are You Ready? by Amy Walker

Posted on May 24, 2015May 11, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on April 27, 2015)

Want to know what almost stopped me from starting my company?

I am not a fan of the solo-preneur business model. Gasp!!! Did I just say that? To thousands of small business owners? Many of whom are solo-preneurs?

Absolutely! There is one major flaw in the solo-preneur model and it’s YOU! Your time and availability limits your income potential. Your knowledge and skill set limits your income potential. Your mental and emotional capacity limits your income potential. Your scarcity thinking limits your income potential. YOU limit your income potential. Not because you are a flawed human being, but because you are a human being. You are not perfect. You get overwhelmed. You run out of time. And you have strengths in certain areas of your business while you are deficient in others.

I’m not being mean, I’m being honest. I know it because the same is true in my business, and in the hundreds of other business owners I coach.

To get past the solo-preneur hump, you have to hire! Hiring scares a lot of people. And I understand why. It is time consuming and expensive. No one you hire will do it just like you do it. No one will care as much about your business as you do. And when they mess up, it effects your business. It can be scary. In fact so scary, that I almost sabotaged my company before it even started.

2.5 years ago, I was an independent contractor working for an amazing training and personal development company. I had a great job. I had great paychecks and I loved the people I worked with. BUT, I was getting ready to have my 5^th son and I knew it was time for me to have more time freedom and to stop hiding behind someone else’s brand. But I did not, under any circumstances want to run a team of people. I wanted to do it all myself. In fact, I remember consulting with a friend, who is also a genius in business, and asking, “Can I do this and really be successful if I never hire more than 3 people?” His answer was “Sure, why not!”

He lied. We’ve talked about it since and he lied on purpose. Thank Heavens he did or I might never have started my company. He knew I was limiting myself and my companies potential.

I really believe that to get beyond 6 figures you have to hire help. In fact for some businesses, you will have to hire help to even get to 6 figures.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you see if you need help now, and where you need it!

Is my time maxed out? If your time is maxed out, you don’t have room to increase your income.
Could I handle the workload if I doubled my income this month? If the answer is no, you will not be able to hit those types of numbers. Even if you got there, you would not be able to maintain those clients.
What areas of my business are not getting done because I either don’t know how to do it, or don’t have time to do it? Notice I did not ask what is not getting done because you are scared of it or avoiding it. If that is your reason, I say get over it and just do it! But if you really don’t know how or don’t have time, you need help in those areas.
If you could free up 10 hours a week for more income producing activities, how much more income could you bring in? If that number is more than you would pay someone to take 10 hours off of your plate, it makes sense to hire.

I’ve definitely had challenges in working with my team. But the challenges are small compared to the rewards. If I was trying to do everything myself, I think I would have maxed out at $50,000-75,000 a year. I have 5 kids. My time is limited, and if I had stayed a solo-preneur, I guarantee my vision for the company would have remained limited. My team is what inspired me to see my company on a bigger scale. My team is what helped me to hit 6 figures my first year. My team is what drove my sales to an over 400% increase our second year in business. My team is what makes it so I never give up, even on the hard days. And my team is who supports me and makes me feel like I am never alone in this journey.

Are you ready to retire the many hats you wear in business and start hiring?

How To Sell To Indecisive People by Amy Walker

Posted on May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on September 16, 2014)

They want it, they need it, but they just can’t commit! It’s tricky. I get it. We don’t want to lose the sale by giving up too soon. But we don’t want to be strung along missing out on other sales while we do everything in our power to get this person to sign.

The first key to selling to indecisive people is to recognize what type of indecisive person they are.

1. People pleaser: People pleasers want to make everyone happy with them and have a very hard time saying no. Because they are taking you into consideration, they have a hard time getting clear on what they want. You can sell to a people pleaser by manipulation, but DON’T! You will have more cancellations, and dissatisfied clients if you take this route. And both of those are expensive. Instead use verbiage like, “It seems like you are having a hard time deciding. If you take me out of the picture, what would you most want to do? Because even though I would love to have you as a client, I wouldn’t want you to decide to work with me unless it is absolutely what you want.”

2. Co-dependent: Co-dependent people struggle to make decisions on their own. They want someone else’s input. Sometimes that other person really does need to be involved in the decision and sometimes they have no business being involved in the decision. The key to selling to this type of person is to find out who the other person they need to talk to is. The second step is to ask, “Does this person play a role in (your business, your household management, your daily hair styling etc.)?” If they do play a role and should be involved in the decision, simply ask, “Can we get them on the phone or schedule a time when the three of us can meet?” If they are not involved ask the question, “What do you think they will say, and why is it important to you to talk to them first?” Honestly, I could write an entire article on how to close this one, but for the sake of keeping this article from becoming a novel we’ll leave it at that. This will give you some crucial information to get the conversation started.

3. Over Analyzer: This person needs a lot of details! They will want to read everything you have printed, they will want to interview your clients, they will want to scope out your website, and they may want to pull a back ground check on you. To sell to this type of person DO NOT ask them to make a decision before they know what they need to know. You will break rapport. Asking this type of person to act without information is like asking them to jump off a cliff when they don’t know what is at the bottom. Instead, ask the questions, “What do you feel like you need to know in order to feel good about this purchase?” “What other questions can I answer for you?” And “What type of information would you like on this?” They may need to read through information on their own, but whenever possible try to get all of their questions answered during your meeting. Make sure you set a follow up call with a very firm date and time. Set the follow up call for a day or two later. Don’t let them go a week, because during that time they will come up with another question, not have an answer and decide that it isn’t going to work for them.

4. Feeler: Feelers need to feel good about the purchase and no amount of logic or information will replace them having an internal confirmation about what is right to do. These people will need to pray about it, sleep on it, consult their crystals, do muscle testing, or any other host of things that are completely unrelated to your conversation. Believe it or not, I am a feeler. I do get a lot of information and ask questions so I can see the big picture, but when it comes down to it, if I don’t get a good vibe, I will not work with someone. But that is not the kiss of death! Feelers need an internal confirmation, but they can also get that pretty quickly. You just need to ask them questions that will get them looking inside right now. Use phrases like, “I understand and I want you to feel good about this decision too. Can I ask you a question? As we have gone through the information about (my product, service etc) what is your heart telling you? Are you feeling comfortable with me? Do you want a few minutes alone to check in and see if you feel like this is right?”

5. Green Lighters: This group wants the perfect time. They want the stars to align. They want all of the lights to be green before they start out. This is the most challenging group for me to work with. I will have people who really want to coach with me and just need to wait for the right time, and a year later they are saying the same thing and again the next year, same conversation. It’s crazy! Your goal with these people is to help them understand that if they choose not to move forward, they will not receive the benefits they are looking for. I do everything I can to close these people on the spot because I have found they are the least likely to close at a later date. I will ask them questions like, “Why does this feel like the wrong time?” What would need to happen for this to feel like the right time?” If they say something like, “The fall would be better.” Don’t accept that answer! They are just trying to put off making the decision. If they have something concrete like, “I’m having a baby in 3 weeks and it’s not a good time.” You will want to accept that answer, it’s legit!

All of us are indecisive at one point or another. Don’t get frustrated with your clients, just patiently resolve their concerns. They are human and so are you! If you want to attract people who are more ready to make decisions, get clearer in your own decisions. Don’t ask people to do what you are not doing. What brand of indecision shows up for you?

Ten Truths about the New Sales Professionals by Linda Holroyd

Posted on July 13, 2013January 30, 2015 by Kimberly Wiefling

You hear us speaking on marketing and leadership and the age of personalization all the time. This newsletter will include our monthly top ten rules of marketing blog, as well as our new top ten rules of leadership blog. To better follow and report on the trends around personalization, we have created a Scoop.It blog, which captures articles and information on the blend of marketing, leadership and personalization.

FountainBlue’s monthly top-ten rules of marketing are designed to guide our client entrepreneurial tech companies and the community in general on marketing practices that clearly communicate and connect, thereby generating momentum for people and organizations. This month’s top-ten-marketing rules topic will be on the ‘Ten Truths about the New Sales Professionals’.

The sales heroes of the 80s and 90s often left me with a sense of oil and grease – to me, they were people who were more slick and connected wheeler-dealers than consultative, customer-oriented providers. No longer are we in an age of buying-what-you-don’t-need, with money-you-don’t-have, to impress people-who-don’t-care.

The economic meltdown precipitated both the aftermath of Y2K (no disaster, reduced IT spending) and 9/11 (which created a global culture of suspicion and caution) coupled with the empowerment of the user (through Google and Yahoo with its search, through Oracle and IBM and its big data solutions, through FaceBook and LinkedIn and Twitter with social media, through consumer-based e-commerce solutions like Amazon and eBay) is driving the age of personalization, and revolutionizing the sales process.

As marketing professionals and leaders, we need to understand and support the next generation of successful sales professionals:

They will be more customer-oriented, so help them profile their customers and prospects, and communicate with the team in delivering what the customers want.

1. The new breed of sales professionals will truly and genuinely understand the current and anticipated needs of the customer, and great leaders will reward them for doing so.

2. Indeed, they will consider the needs-of-the-customer above their own immediate needs, even if it means walking away from a sale or even directing them to another, even competitive solution. The old type of successful sales professional will have a difficult time adapting to the concept, and the new sales professionals will not look and feel the same as successful sales professionals of the past.

They will be more tech-savvy, so develop the tools to help them do their job well.

3. The new generation of sales leaders will increasingly better understand enough about databases and software to know what can be efficiently customized.

4. Indeed, they will understand the types of solutions which can leverage technology to be personalized, and the types which would be difficult to make efficient, seeking scalable, customizable solutions for their customers. They may be a current sales professional who sees things differently, or someone from another field who gets-the-tech, and wants to apply it to address specific customer problems.

They will astutely leverage social media to spread the word and reputation, and it will take a successful partnership between sales and marketing to make this work!

5. The new sales professionals will proactively leverage social media and reputation management solutions to credibly spread the word about company offerings.

6. Indeed, the more experienced and savvy professionals will recruit and incentivize ambassadors to spread the word to identified niche audiences.

They will be more collaborative, at least the successful ones will be, and it’s a great opportunity for marketing and sales to bury the hatchet and find a path forward, together.

7. The new sales professionals will work with product marketing, development and marketing to ensure that the company understands and delivers precisely what the customer needs in the short term, and even anticipates what the customer will need in the longer term.

8. In fact, they would willingly mentor others sales people to better deliver solutions to customers, and understand the value of doing just that. This is a new-world-order way of looking at sales, and goes against the grain of sales-professionals-of-the-past, who covet and protect their leads, their territory, their knowledge and skills so that they can reap rewards beyond their peers.

They will be more proactive, and let’s hope partnering with marketing leaders to deliver all of the above.

9. The new sales professionals will follow the trends and manage and even anticipate the evolving needs of the customer, and proactive approach customers about how trends would impact their business and offerings and what they can do to address these shifts.

10. Indeed, they will learn from the needs and deliverables for one customer/company/industry, and be able to generalize offerings to others while optimizing customization and while conducting business at the most ethical levels.

The bottom line is that the new successful sales person is someone who is intelligent, articulate, genuine, collaborative, informed, proactive and tech-savvy, and they may or may not be in sales now. They are someone you would trust implicitly to put your company first. Where do you think we should find them? How can we groom them? Your thoughts are welcome. E-mail us at info@FountainBlue.biz. See previous ‘Ten Rules of Marketing’ posts:

Ten Truths about the New Sales Professionals, Jan 2013
· Ten Ways to Build Social Currency for Your Business, Dec 2012
· Ten Ways Marketing Services Differs from Marketing Products, Nov 2012
· FountainBlue’s Top Ten Momentum-Building Marketing Consulting Services, Oct 2012
· The Top Ten Rules for Marketing on a Shoestring, Oct 2012
· Top Ten Rules for Customer Engagement, Sept 2012

Visit and follow us at http://www.scoop.it/ageofpersonalization. Your comments are welcome.

ABOUT the AUTHOR:

Linda Holroyd is the CEO of FountainBlue, a Marketing and Strategy Adviser Company for many Tech Companies.

The FountainBlue’s monthly top-ten rules of leadership article is designed to guide Linda’s clients, entrepreneurial tech companies and the community in general on leadership best practices for themselves, and for their teams and organizations. Launched in December 2012, the questions and stories raised and the advice given has been mentioned before to individual members, and compiled and gathered to benefit the larger community. This month’s top-ten-leadership rules are on ‘The Top Ten Tips for Sharing Your Stores’.

She invites your questions about your marketing and leadership successes and challenges. Please E-mail her at info@FountainBlue.biz if you have your suggestions on her marketing and leadership topics. You might want to ask for her help with your own marketing or leadership opportunities or questions.

You can follow on her Scoops: http://www.scoop.it/ageofpersonalization.

Tweets: http://www.twitter.com/@lindaholroyd

Facebook posts: http://www.facebook.com/linda.holroyd,

FountainBlue group on LinkedIn: http://www.tinyurl.com/fountainblue.

SWSWSWSW: Some will, some won’t, so what? Someone (else) is waiting by Judy Banko

Posted on April 19, 2013April 19, 2013 by Kimberly Wiefling

In the mid-seventies, my chubby, gruff, cigar-smoking sales manager, Bill, taught me the art of dealing with rejection—a lesson that’s helped me, and it can help you too whether you’re in sales and marketing, general business, or just plain life.

I was one of the first women in Texas, and most likely, one of the first in the country, to sell business equipment. I sold copiers! We were called sales ladies then. Some of the best advice Bill offered was if I spent too much time fretting over prospects who don’t buy, I wouldn’t have enough time to find those who would buy.

That lesson applies to any situation in 2013. SWSWSWSW: Some will, some won’t, so what? Someone (else) is waiting.

When I went into my own consulting and training business (me and everyone else), I learned the lesson all over again.

SWSWSWSW works in other areas too. Say you’re a fundraiser for a worthy cause, and you ask someone for a sizeable donation, but they say no. Remember, SOME WILL (donate), SOME WON’T (for a host of reasons), but SO WHAT? Losing time and energy worrying about it will not give you time to get to SOMEONE ELSE IS WAITING to give.

See how it works?

My daughter, a successful business owner in Dallas, understands SWSWSW. A single mother when she started her business, Julie had little choice but to keep on keeping on despite rejection. The SWSWSW approach helped her close deals and build financial strength for herself and her children. Had she stressed over the “NO’s”, she would have had to throw in the towel and return to the job market.

Speaking of the job search process, the SWSWSWSW strategy is highly effective here too. If one prospective employer turns you down, remember: Some Will (hire you), Some Won’t (you’re not quite the right fit), but So What? Some other company is waiting for your skills and talents, so keep on truckin’!

For the past two years I’ve searched for a medical professional who could tell me why I’ve been in pain. When I say I have seen every type of specialist there is, I mean it! Each time, the doc would say, “No, there’s nothing I can do for you.” Or, “See this other guy, it’s in his specialty.” Rejection time after time after time.

There were so many times I wanted to throw in the towel and take the well-meaning advice of friends and family—go on pain killers. There were times when I began to believe what several doctors said: there was nothing anyone could do for me and I’d have to live in pain for the rest of my life. But, Thank God I’ve had the support of an awesome good spouse who helped me fight the rejection and continue looking for answers.

At last I found a physical therapist that told me what had happened to my body to cause the pain and began treating me. After a month of treatments, my pain level went from a high of 10 to an average of 8, and then to a 4-5. If this is the most relief I ever get, it’s plenty good, but Beatrize and I are working to get it down much lower.

The next time you face rejection of any kind, try the SWSWSWSW approach. Some will accept you. Some won’t. So what? Someone else is waiting for you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Judy Banko is the Owner of SofTel Consulting Training (specializing in business-to-business telephone sales & customer service).

She is also an University Russian and English Instructor. The first female sales person of business equipment (copiers, etc) in Texas in the 1970’s.

Spent five years living, working and cruising on our 45-foot sail boat.