Where Do I Start?

In my last post I introduced the concept of The Sales Engine, which helps people to get clear on the second step of the Outcome Based Thinking (OBT) process for pre-call planning, which is to clarify what you're hoping to achieve.

When I share the model, most people nod their heads and say, "Yeah, that makes sense."  And when they attempt to put it in practice, the most common question I get is, "So where do you start this thing?"  Begin by understanding that The Sales Engine is an answer to another question -- what's the goal of your call?  Or perhaps a better way of asking it is, "What should you be trying to achieve in this call?"

By the way, I also suggested in the last post that "sell something" is not the best answer to this question.  Rather, you should be thinking "What needs to happen, in this interaction, to move my process forward?" Do you have a process?  Is it written down?  Is it accurate and are you following it consistently?  Is it in control?  In other words, does it consistently produce the results that you're after?  Or are you constantly changing the ingredients, the way that you mix them, or the temperature of the oven and wondering "Why don't they taste like Grandma's cookies?"  I guess I'll have to write more about that in a future post...

But back to the point!  The Sales Engine is a simple model -- it suggests that there are 3 types of calls that a salesperson might be asked to make throughout the course of his or her day.  The 3 types of calls are:

• Prospecting Calls (with Suspects)
• Sales Calls (with Prospective Customers, also known as Prospects)
• Service Calls (with Customers, or people who have placed an order)

The three types of calls describe a Continuous Cycle -- one type of call naturally leads into the next, and it assumes that you are interested in building and maintaining an ongoing relationship with your clients.

Important:  There is a difference between a Call and a Visit.

• A Call is specific event done for a specific purpose, and the purpose is based on the status of the person you're talking to; is he or she a suspect, prospect, or customer?
• A Visit is any interaction with a suspect, prospect, or customer, be it face-to-face, over the web, on the telephone, e-mail, or texting.
• There may be multiple calls in a single visit, and a single call may require multiple visits.

So how does it work?  Notice the arrows that extend out from the center of the diagram.  At the end of each arrow is the criteria that must be satisfied before you can move to the next type of call.  For example, note the arrow that is between a Sales Call and a Service Call.  It says that in order to move to a Service Call, an order must be placed (or you must clarify what 'no' means).  If this person hasn't purchased anything from you, then they aren't a customer -- you can't make a service call.  But you can satisfy the next criteria through some research; you can identify a possible problem or opportunity that you know you may be able to help them with, which means your next call should  be a Prospecting Call -- this person is a SUSPECT.

By the way, I love what Art Sobczak has to say in his book, "Smart Calling" about eliminating the fear, failure, and rejection in cold calling.  He provides specific guidance in how to make sure that your next Prospecting Call isn't 'cold' by showing you what you should know and how to learn it.  Chapter One says it all:  "Cold Calling is Dumb, but Prospecting Is Necessary:  Smart Calling Is The Answer."  I am obligated to point out that Art Sobczak and I are not affiliated in any way, nor do I receive any compensation in any form from Art or anyone he may be in business with.  I recommend Art's stuff because It Works.  Period.  (Thanks Art - keep it coming!)

Remember that Step 1 of the OBT process asks you about the current situation.  What type of call did you make during your last visit?  Is there unfinished business related to that visit?  Based on the activity during the last visit, what kind of call should you be making on this visit?  In other words, "Where are you in this process?"  Start The Sales Engine from there.

As another example, let's say that your last call was a prospecting call, but it turned out that there was no need to move forward - not because the problem didn't exist, but because there were bigger fish to fry from the Suspect's point of view (you learned this by clarifying WHY "no" was the right answer).  Where should you start the sales engine?  Why not consider making a service call (assuming that this person or organization has made a prior purchase)?

The best part about a Service Call is that making it is 100% in your control!  And who knows what you might learn next.  What might your goals be?  Perhaps to review the order history and share your insights, perhaps even offer some constructive changes?  Perhaps to get feedback on an issue that you know is important -- is there anything you should be doing differently?  And during that visit, a secondary goal might be to Pay Attention and Notice other opportunities that you should be working on for this client -- maybe this client has some suggestions for you about what you should be working on?

I hope that this has helped to clarify where to start The Sales Engine.  The Sales Engine can help you to get clarity on what you should be doing at your account, and help you improve The Story Of The Account and The State Of Your Orchard.  Use OBT and Let the Situation drive your Process.  If you're having trouble getting clear on your goals or where and how to start this with your next visit, use The Sales Engine.  It works.  Period.

The good news is that The First 100 Times Are The Hardest.  Have you made a commitment to make pre-call planning a part of your life?  Have you determined how long it will take to do it 100 times?  Have you started a logbook to keep yourself honest?  Looking forward to hearing about your homework!

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.

Do You Have A Planning Process?

In Geoff Colvin's most excellent book, "Talent Is Overrated", example after example of top performer is examined with one conclusion -- top performers don't get there by accident.  It's not about being a natural-born anything, it's about Consistent, Deliberate Practice.

Top performers are consistently working on the things that they need to get better on, and they practice "the basics" in a very deliberate way.

That's worth saying again -- Consistent, Deliberate Practice.

So how, you might be wondering, does this relate to having a Planning Process?  A process is defined.  By its very nature, it is something that can be practiced.  There are concrete steps that can be executed well (or poorly).

I advocate having a planning process that is simple enough to be accomplished quickly when appropriate, yet flexible enough to work across a broad spectrum of complex situations.  Do only the amount of planning that is required for the situation, no more or less; let the situation drive your use of the process.

Kevin Hogan, in his book "The Psychology of Persuasion", refers to a planning process he calls Outcome Based Thinking (OBT).  OBT has its roots in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and is oriented towards communication.  "All Master Persuaders use this process," he says, "whether they are conscious of it or not."  OBT is a perfect model for pre-call planning.

Here is the version of OBT I recommend to my clients:

1. What is the situation?
2. What do you hope to achieve from this communciation?
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?

In many situations, this Planning Process can be accomplished in 3 to 5 minutes.  It can also help you to craft a strategy for more difficult situations; more (or less) time can be invested as needed.  The answers to these questions helps you to craft a strategy or approach to the situation; it helps you to anticipate the problems that could come up; it helps you to Be Prepared for what may come.  It helps you Begin With The End In Mind.

The good news is that it's a pretty simple process.  The bad news is that it's deceptively simple.  There are good ways and not so good ways to address each of the questions in the process.  More about that in future posts.

If you're interested in getting started, I highly recommend that you start a Sales Logbook and write down your answers to these questions (this is your pre-call plan).  Treat this as Deliberate Practice.  BE deliberate when you're doing it.  At the end of your call, write down a few notes about how well your plan matched the actual situation and what your next pre-call plan should take in account with this client (this is your post-call analysis).

Don't get discouraged if you had to throw out your plan because something changed.  It's OK to throw out your plan, but you can't do it if you don't have one.  The more often you Practice this process in a Deliberate fashion, the better you'll get.  The good news is that the first 100 times are the hardest.  Here's a question to ponder, how many days will it take you to log 100 planning sessions?  If you make 15 visits per week, that's about 7 weeks, right?  Take the challenge -- Practice this Planning Process, Deliberately, for a minimum of 100 times.  I promise that you'll notice a difference.

When is it OK to plan?

Are there some situations where it's bad to have a plan?

OK, I'm hoping that you answered that with a "NO".  I mean really, when is it EVER a BAD thing to go into a [business] situation with a plan?  If you can have a plan, shouldn't you?  "Begin with the end in mind."

When I speak to sales professionals about planning, I get mixed responses.  Some people respond with a simple head nod (as in 'Yeah, I already know that' or 'I already do that').  Other times I get passionate, fervent agreement - dare I say "foaming at the mouth" -- you get the sense they've got someone else on their mind who isn't doing it.  And at other times I get passionate disagreement -- you get the sense that they're frustrated with someone else's attempt to control them and/or get them to follow a process that they don't agree with.

Stephen R. Covey popularized the concept of the clock and the compass as a way to describe the apparent conflict that many people see between Efficiency and Effectiveness.  Efficiency is the realm of time, the clock.  Effectiveness is the realm of direction, the compass.  Covey's point?  Effectiveness must come BEFORE efficiency -- it does not serve us (or anyone else) to be efficient at ineffective things.

Planning is about effectiveness.

Sometimes we are so focused on planning that nothing gets done; this might lead one to advocate "no planning" for fear of Analysis Paralysis. Those who don't plan often say that they are acting in the name of efficiency (the clock).

Sometimes we are so focused on DO-ing that we suffer the consequences of winging it -- we're not adequately prepared, and this causes us to lose time and money; this might lead one to advocate "being super prepared" for fear of the consequences of the Ready-Fire-Aim approach.  Those who advocate an overly-complex approach to planning often act in the name of effectiveness, but in a way that is out of balance.

Avoid both extremes.

It's possible to make a plan (avoiding ready-fire-aim and all of the lost opportunity and waste that comes with it) while at the same time avoiding analysis paralysis (and all of the lost opportunity and waste that comes with it).  But there is a price to be paid.

If you're having trouble finding the time to make a plan, there are at least a couple of things you may want to consider.  (1) What's your planning process?  (2) Are you in constant crisis mode? 

What exactly are you concerned about when someone tells you that you should "take the time" or "take more time" to make a pre-call plan?  Is the concern about not being willing to abandon a bad plan?  Is it about lack of know-how (as in, I don't know how to make a good plan)?  Is the concern about the act of planning itself (as in, it's bad to spend time doing that), the degree of planning (the amount of time you'll be required to invest in a specific process), or the timing and quality of the act of planning itself?  What does the word "plan" mean to you?  What does a good plan look like?  How about a bad plan?

The point of planning is to be prepared for what can come.  Knowing this, it's also important to "BE" in the moment that you are executing your plan and, if the situation changes, you should be willing to throw out the plan and "DO" as the situation requires.  Adequate planning helps you to be prepared for what might come, to be centered, and have some idea of how to respond.  You can't control everything, but you can control you.

One of my favorite quotes:  "In battle, I have found plans to be useless while the act of planning is invaluable."  -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Every situation deserves a plan.  It's an issue of respect - for others as well as yourself - and it's an issue of being prepared to do what you need to do.  Doing requires Being.  Planning helps you by keeping you centered.

How much planning is often the issue at center stage.  Let the situation be your guide.  Do just enough planning to Be Prepared -- no more, no less.  Period.

My Favorite Books

Today I created the start of My Favorite Books list using one of the blogspot tools -- you can see it on the left hand side of the blog.  I am taking care to list what are truly my favorites and NOT listing every single book I've ever read -- I think that's important, don't you?  There is such a glut in the marketplace of books and e-books (and blogs).  How do you know which ones to trust?  So, my intent is to share with my readers the books that I think matter most.  Maybe that's a good project for the future, making a list with details about why I would recommend them and for what purpose.  What do you think reader?  Would that be of value to you, or not?  Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

P.S.  If you care to visit my Linked In profile, you'll note that I do recommend books using the Amazon plugin.  If you like my reviews, you can follow my list.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cck08