What Are You Hoping To Achieve?

In my last post I talked about the need for a planning process and I suggested Outcome Based Thinking (OBT) as a useful process for pre-call planning.  I encourage you to do your own discovery in Kevin Hogan's book, "The Psychology of Persuasion".

The modified OBT process that I suggest to my clients consists of 7 questions that will help you Be Prepared for what may come -- in essence, to "Begin With The End In Mind".  The 7 questions are:

1. What is the situation?
2. What do you hope to achieve from this communication?
3. What does the other person want?
4. What might win-win look like?
5. What problems could arise?
6. How could you deal with each problem in a way that benefits the other person as well as you?
7. How will you close this communication in a way that moves your sales process forward?

I've observed that some people have trouble answering the second question ("What do you hope to achieve..."), and I don't think that I'm alone in that.  In a recent post on Stephanie Patterson's blog, she described an e-mail she received from a frustrated salesperson.  Problem?  Wrong goal for the situation.  Hint:  The answer isn't necessarily to "sell something".

In an effort to help salespeople get clear on their goals, I've suggested a simple model that I've come to refer to as "The Sales Engine".  The Sales Engine describes a continuous cycle of three types of calls that a salesperson may find him or herself engaged in throughout his or her day.  The three types of calls are:

• Prospecting calls
• Sales calls
• Service calls

Prospecting calls are done with Suspects.  You are aware of possible problems and/or opportunities for this person / business, but you're not certain it makes sense for the two of you to do business (at all or at this time), and that's the goal of the meeting, to figure that out.  If it doesn't make sense, make sure that you know why (make it explicit) and then exit gracefully without sabotaging the relationship.

Sales calls are done with Prospective Customers (Prospects).  It's clear that there is a problem or opportunity to be solved (there must be Mutual Agreement about this point - neither party can be surprised or uncertain about why you're there), but you're not 100% certain that your solution is the best fit.  It's about diagnosing before prescribing.  Another word for this is Qualifying, and you should have a list of questions you need answers to in order to qualify the opportunity and the client.  For an outstanding (and entertaining) example, take a look at a story that Art Sobczak posted on his telesales blog a while back titled "Art's Reality Sales Show".  But back to my point -- once the opportunity / client is qualified, you have a decision to make -- do you present, or do you exit gracefully (again, without sabotaging the relationship)?  Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig from Franklin Covey's Sales Performance Group have a delightful book titled "Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play" that describes HOW to do this with style; if you're involved in consultative sales, this is a MUST READ.

Service calls are done with Customers.  In other words, you can't provide service unless an order has been placed, and I hope that it's a given that excellent service MUST be provided after the sale.  Service calls are also the mechanism that make the cycle repeat itself with the same client (person or business).  Service calls provide an opportunity to follow up and follow through; to learn about other problems and opportunities, and about what's changing so as to anticipate needs; to SERVE in the areas you should be serving so as to keep what you've won; and to ask for referrals from satisfied customers.

Getting back to the concept of OBT, if you're having trouble identifying the purpose of your meeting, start by asking yourself what type of call you are making.  Keep in mind that there is a difference between a call and a visit -- a visit is an event that may include multiple types of calls and a call may extend across multiple visits.

The concept of an Engine helps us to remember the importance of doing all 3 types of calls, in order.  If your engine only has 3 cylinders and you're missing one of them, that engine is going to run really rough, and it may stall out on the hills.

I've found it's often useful to ask (other people or yourself), "What type of call does this Situation require of you?"  This encourages you to examine The Story Of The Account and The State Of Your Orchard; more on that another day.

I remember a training session where I shared this model with new and experienced sales professionals.  One of the more experienced folks raised her hand and asked, "Are you suggesting that this is something new?"  Great question.  For some people, I've found that it IS new.  For others, it's not new and I find that it's interesting to define the calls and then ask them to determine the last time that they made all 3 to the same client / business (in essence, defining the Story Of The Account).  In yet other cases, I've found that the concept isn't new, but the method of describing it is.

Whatever your case may be, if it works for you, I encourage you to make use of it.  Be well.