sales problem

I've started a new job as the "Marketing Coordinator" for a small business.
One of the problems the business is having that the manager has asked me to
resolve is that the salespeople pursue a lead, provides a quote, is talking
to the customer. Everything seems to be going well. Then suddenly the
prospective customer stops communicating with the salesperson -- does not
return phone calls, does not reply to emails. The sale seems to be lost but
the customer never actually says no.

My feeling is that a few things could be happening:
1. Prospect was not serious and was just sort of looking.
2. Prospect went with the competition.
3. And, related to 2, there is a hidden objection that is not being
addressed.

What I am thinking of proposiing is that salespeople go back and call these
lost sales (sort of lost: the customer never said "no") from about the past
month, and make a big effort to actually get these prospects on the phone.
That is, call multiple times on each one, not leaving a message for several
calls hoping to get the person on the phone. Then see about closing the
sale. It could be that they just got caught up in other things and are now
ready to buy.

The other purpose of these calls would be to find out what the customer's
objections are and -- if they did go to a competitor -- find out why they
did not go with us. It would be sort of informal research to find out what
is happening with these customers and why they are making the decisions they
are making.

--
Robert Anderson

"Robert Anderson" <rbanderson@nospamnwlink.com> wrote in message
news:cu9kaj02bsb@enews1.newsguy.com...
>
>
> I've started a new job as the "Marketing Coordinator" for a small
business.
> One of the problems the business is having that the manager has asked me
to
> resolve is that the salespeople pursue a lead, provides a quote, is
talking
> to the customer. Everything seems to be going well. Then suddenly the
> prospective customer stops communicating with the salesperson -- does not
> return phone calls, does not reply to emails. The sale seems to be lost
but
> the customer never actually says no.
>
> My feeling is that a few things could be happening:
> 1. Prospect was not serious and was just sort of looking.
> 2. Prospect went with the competition.
> 3. And, related to 2, there is a hidden objection that is not being
> addressed.
>
> What I am thinking of proposiing is that salespeople go back and call
these
> lost sales (sort of lost: the customer never said "no") from about the
past
> month, and make a big effort to actually get these prospects on the phone.
> That is, call multiple times on each one, not leaving a message for
several
> calls hoping to get the person on the phone. Then see about closing the
> sale. It could be that they just got caught up in other things and are now
> ready to buy.
>
> The other purpose of these calls would be to find out what the customer's
> objections are and -- if they did go to a competitor -- find out why they
> did not go with us. It would be sort of informal research to find out what
> is happening with these customers and why they are making the decisions
they
> are making.
>
> --
> Robert Anderson
>
If you want to take on the job of sales coaching, your approach sounds about
right. But as a marketing director you might want to consider creating a
spreadsheet analysis of all your pluses and minuses as compared to all your
known competitors and see where you stack up on a comparison. Then convert
the advantages into sales presentations which you can give to your sales
crew. Make sure they have the leverage they need to keep the prospect
interested and focused on the sizzle of your offering.

Here's another idea that might help you find the sizzle in your products:

Everything will depend on how well you visualize the emotional reaction to
the person on the receiving end of your efforts.
Do it now and look for the answers to the following questions as you imagine
that end user of your offering. What age, how are they dressed, where do
they live, what is their family income, what is their educational
background, what do they do to pass the time, are they readers, are they
couch potatoes, are they healthy, do they have imagination, are they leaders
or followers, what made them buy your offering, what will they do with it,
how will they explain the expense to their most significant other, how long
with they be interested in it, will they share their joy with others, will
others listen to them, can you come up with something later to keep them
interested in your offerings, will that person be a customer?
Now, where in all of these questions is there a single word about the
quality, price, specifications, details of your offering? Where is there a
mention of cost of production, cost of distribution, cost of advertising,
profits and loss?
Yet it is in these last items that the overwhelming majority of books on
sales and marketing focus.
Let's recapture your visualization and tackle a few of these questions.
First of all, once you have profiled your end user you have defined your
target market. You have identified the kind of people most likely to buy
from you.
You will discover that successful sales and marketing is nothing more than
breaking down every element of this visualization into projects and into
tasks; each a step toward success. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a
time.
Next is the absolute must in all sales and marketing efforts. Convert this
visualization exercise into a daily ritual in which you spend no less than
20 minutes with eyes closed, in a quiet place, to experience the pure
unadulterated joy of sharing the good feelings of your customers enjoy your
offering. See them in great quantities, in all parts of the world, of all
races and cultures, of all political beliefs. Explore the many ways these
customers enjoy the results of your work, your business. Believe it to be
true. See it as reality. Let your inner self believe it is true. Block out
any negative thought by replacing it with enthusiastic and positive images
of joy.
Immediately after your visualization period, take a piece of paper, lay it
horizontally, draw an ellipse in the middle of the page and write a single
word for the strongest intuitive message or feeling you have at that moment.
As ideas spring into your mind draw lines from the ellipse to the edge of
the paper and write a word or two to name the picture in your imagination
stemming from the intuitive message.
Stop and do an experiment in visualization now. Take a few deep breaths and
exhale slowly, tell yourself you will be visualizing people using your
product, service, idea with joy; happy to have it. Begin the visualization
and linger as an invisible observer reading their mind, sensing their
feelings. Let your imagination run wild. Even if you do it for a few minutes
you will be rewarded with some new insight, some new idea that will help you
make this vision come true.

Wayne
http://home.att.net/~impresario/Index.htm

"Robert Anderson" <rbanderson@nospamnwlink.com> wrote in message
news:cu9kaj02bsb@enews1.newsguy.com...
>
>
> I've started a new job as the "Marketing Coordinator" for a small
> business.
> One of the problems the business is having that the manager has asked me
> to
> resolve is that the salespeople pursue a lead, provides a quote, is
> talking
> to the customer. Everything seems to be going well. Then suddenly the
> prospective customer stops communicating with the salesperson -- does not
> return phone calls, does not reply to emails. The sale seems to be lost
> but
> the customer never actually says no.
>
> My feeling is that a few things could be happening:
> 1. Prospect was not serious and was just sort of looking.
> 2. Prospect went with the competition.
> 3. And, related to 2, there is a hidden objection that is not being
> addressed.
>
> What I am thinking of proposiing is that salespeople go back and call
> these
> lost sales (sort of lost: the customer never said "no") from about the
> past
> month, and make a big effort to actually get these prospects on the phone.
> That is, call multiple times on each one, not leaving a message for
> several
> calls hoping to get the person on the phone. Then see about closing the
> sale. It could be that they just got caught up in other things and are now
> ready to buy.
>
> The other purpose of these calls would be to find out what the customer's
> objections are and -- if they did go to a competitor -- find out why they
> did not go with us. It would be sort of informal research to find out what
> is happening with these customers and why they are making the decisions
> they
> are making.
>
> --
> Robert Anderson
>
>
Robert,

You may be right about the reasons for prospects (they aren't customers
until they purchase) "falling off the scope". I would suggest, however,
that the manager be the one who writes (not calls) the prospect. A letter
from the manager (not an email) is more likely to be read by the prospect,
and if written correctly, more likely to be responded to. The manager can
inquire if the salesperson failed to properly serve the prospect, or if the
product/service fell short of the prospect's needs. By implying negligence
on the part of the sales person, you can often provoke a response from a
tire-kicker who knows the sales rep was not at fault. This way, if the
prospect does respond, the manager has a chance to find out what is really
going on, including the possiblity of sales reps who aren't good at their
jobs.

Second, you can contact the customer by telephone (assuming the prospect
did not respond to the letter), as a marketing person, looking for the
benefit or price differential the competitor offered that cost you the sale.
This call must be clearly intended to ask the help of the prospect in
improving your company's offering. No second-guessing, no arguments (we can
do that better!) is allowed. If you have product managers, they can do this
(and should be doing this) as a matter of course. When issues of price or
competitive benefits are identified, they can be acted on.

Third, you (or the sales manager) should be keeping statistics on each
individual sales person. Leads turned over, contacts made, sales predicted,
sales closed (including total, items, cost per item, etc.). This will show
if any sales people are having problems with qualifying leads, predicting
sales, and/or closing sales. The manager can then work with those
particular reps.

Last, you should be keeping statistics on each marketing campaign in terms
of leads generated (totals and percentages), sales closed (totals, revenue
totals, percentages), and so on. This will allow the marketing mix, target
audiences, list providers, titles targeted, and so on, to be evaluated in
terms of both lead generation and sales completed.

If you are a business-to-business operation, I would be very concerned about
having any measurable amounts of prospects who "disappear". If you are a
B2C operation, I would be much less concerned, as this sort of avoidance is
to be expected.

Good luck with your operation.

George King
G.E. King Marketing

"Robert Anderson" <rbanderson@nospamnwlink.com> wrote in message
news:cu9kaj02bsb@enews1.newsguy.com...
>
>
> Everything seems to be going well. Then suddenly the
> prospective customer stops communicating with the
> salesperson -- does not return phone calls, does not
> reply to emails. The sale seems to be lost but the
> customer never actually says no.
>
> My feeling is that a few things could be happening:
> 1. Prospect was not serious and was just sort of
> looking.
> 2. Prospect went with the competition.
> 3. And, related to 2, there is a hidden objection that is
> not being addressed.
>
> What I am thinking of proposiing is that salespeople
> go back and call these lost sales (sort of lost: the
> customer never said "no") from about the past month,
> and make a big effort to actually get these prospects
> on the phone.

Win/loss analysis is an important part of product management. After a
successful or unsuccessful sales effort, have a product manager (not a
salesperson) follow up with the prospective customer and get feedback on the
sales process, salesperson, product, and reason for the outcome of the sales
effort.

It is essential that you clearly distinguish between the roles of
salesperson and product manager when following up. The product manager
should explicitly identify herself and state at the outset that it is not a
sales call, but an effort to get feedback on the product and sales effort.
The product manager should merely facilitate the process of getting feedback
and not try to defend or sell the product. At the end of the call, it is
okay to mention that the prospective customer and the salesperson may,
separately from this call, make contact, if the prospect is still interested
in purchasing.

--
Roger L. Cauvin
nospam_roger@cauvin.org (omit the "nospam_" part)
Cauvin, Inc.
Product Management / Market Research
http://www.cauvin-inc.com

"George King" <news@geking.com> wrote in message
news:cub3mo02k20@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
>
> "Robert Anderson" <rbanderson@nospamnwlink.com> wrote in message
> news:cu9kaj02bsb@enews1.newsguy.com...

> Good luck with your operation.

Thanks George. Also, thanks for the excellent suggestions. I have talked
further with the sales manager and he is now considering his options. He
realizes something has to be done as we are b2b and having prospects
dissappear after the initial contacts is bad especially since these are warm
leads -- people who called or emailed our company.

--
Robert Anderson

"Roger L. Cauvin" <roger@deadspam.com> wrote in message
news:cuc4ed0g96@enews3.newsguy.com...

> Win/loss analysis is an important part of product management. After a
> successful or unsuccessful sales effort, have a product manager (not a
> salesperson) follow up with the prospective customer and get feedback on
> the
> sales process, salesperson, product, and reason for the outcome of the
> sales
> effort.
>
> It is essential that you clearly distinguish between the roles of
> salesperson and product manager when following up. The product manager
> should explicitly identify herself and state at the outset that it is not
> a
> sales call, but an effort to get feedback on the product and sales effort.
> The product manager should merely facilitate the process of getting
> feedback
> and not try to defend or sell the product. At the end of the call, it is
> okay to mention that the prospective customer and the salesperson may,
> separately from this call, make contact, if the prospect is still
> interested
> in purchasing.

Yes, we have all agreed that research is key if we are going to understand
the reasons. That means calling the lost customers and find out what went
wrong.

--
Robert Anderson

"Wayne Lundberg" <Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:cub3o70252m@enews4.newsguy.com...

> If you want to take on the job of sales coaching, your approach sounds
> about
> right. But as a marketing director you might want to consider creating a
> spreadsheet analysis of all your pluses and minuses as compared to all
> your
> known competitors and see where you stack up on a comparison. Then convert
> the advantages into sales presentations which you can give to your sales
> crew. Make sure they have the leverage they need to keep the prospect
> interested and focused on the sizzle of your offering.

Very good idea. I talked to the sales manager and he is actually having one
of the salespeople put together this spreadsheet of pluses and minuses.

> Stop and do an experiment in visualization now. Take a few deep breaths
> and
> exhale slowly, tell yourself you will be visualizing people using your
> product, service, idea with joy; happy to have it. Begin the visualization
> and linger as an invisible observer reading their mind, sensing their
> feelings. Let your imagination run wild. Even if you do it for a few
> minutes
> you will be rewarded with some new insight, some new idea that will help
> you
> make this vision come true.

Wow. This is a great idea but I question whether I have the patience to sit
and meditate like that every single day. I could see myself doing that once
and definately benefiting but then never doing it again as the crush of a
busy schedule and lots of work interferes.

Does this technique produce results? I am not suggesting that it does not, I
am just curious if you have examples of how it worked.

--
Robert Anderson

"Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote in message
news:cug79i02hq6@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" <Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:cub3o70252m@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> > If you want to take on the job of sales coaching, your approach sounds
> > about
> > right. But as a marketing director you might want to consider creating a
> > spreadsheet analysis of all your pluses and minuses as compared to all
> > your
> > known competitors and see where you stack up on a comparison. Then
convert
> > the advantages into sales presentations which you can give to your sales
> > crew. Make sure they have the leverage they need to keep the prospect
> > interested and focused on the sizzle of your offering.
>
> Very good idea. I talked to the sales manager and he is actually having
one
> of the salespeople put together this spreadsheet of pluses and minuses.
>
> > Stop and do an experiment in visualization now. Take a few deep breaths
> > and
> > exhale slowly, tell yourself you will be visualizing people using your
> > product, service, idea with joy; happy to have it. Begin the
visualization
> > and linger as an invisible observer reading their mind, sensing their
> > feelings. Let your imagination run wild. Even if you do it for a few
> > minutes
> > you will be rewarded with some new insight, some new idea that will help
> > you
> > make this vision come true.
>
> Wow. This is a great idea but I question whether I have the patience to
sit
> and meditate like that every single day. I could see myself doing that
once
> and definately benefiting but then never doing it again as the crush of a
> busy schedule and lots of work interferes.
>
> Does this technique produce results? I am not suggesting that it does not,
I
> am just curious if you have examples of how it worked.
>
> --
> Robert Anderson

Thomas Edison made it a point to sit, close eyes, visualize, fall asleep for
the second or two it took his cane to hit the floor when he let it go
because he nodded off. He would write down the image in his mind just before
dozing off. This gave him the clue he needed to pursue the original problem
or idea, whatever it was.

Yes. The system works. Has worked for every innovator and inventor ever
since, and even before Socrates. But it is not taught in school! Can you
imagine 12 year olds getting Master's Degrees and the number of unemployed
teachers and administrators in the world?

Using the Silva Mind Control method Jose Silva saw his 7 or 8 kids get
doctorate degrees before they were 20 years old.

Tony Buzon is selling books on Mind Mapping like crazy because more and more
people are discovering these techniques.

I have solved so many problems in industry and manufacturing that I can not
list them all, just to say that if I did, the total cost savings or
productivity enhancements from these projects initiated with these
techniques would be in the billions of dollars per year.

Skim some of the chapters in my site. No fee, no come-ons, it's just sharing
from one human's experience to another. Go to the several short chapters on
innovation toward the end to start with.
http://home.att.net/~impresario/Index.htm

Live long and prosper!

Wayne

Robert,

I'm a new member, so apologies if my reply/question does not fit with
the flow, but your issue is very relevant to a problem I'm currently
seeking to solve.

You identified three possibilities (prospect not serious, went with
competition, and hidden objections). I suspect there could be several
more possibilities.

I've recently had a similar problem and am wondering if the
'salesperson' (I use quotes because in our industry consultants also
tend to sell) has a problem with "closure". I wouldn't have thought
this would be an issue with a dedicated sales professional, but the
symptoms you describe are similar to those we've been having. Except
that there is very occasional contact that indicates the prospect has
not fully rejected the proposal/project. In some cases the prospect's
"interest" has been there for two years without resolution!

I tried pressing for closure on a recent project and got quite an
emotional response - indicating that the problem was probably not with
the prospect, but with the person selling. It is a bit of a dilemma,
because a good consultant does not necessarily make a good salesperson,
and vice versa, but we are a small business where both roles have
(hitherto) been integrated.

Have you looked at the previous track record of your salesforce, and
the recruitment criteria etc. used to select them? Sometimes people
are recruited because they are liked, not because of their ability to
close deals. The problem may also lie in the process they are using
(ie it is a training issue).

Regards

Steve

"Steve" <spmyers@teamtechnology.co.uk> wrote in message
news:cujhif01ngh@enews3.newsguy.com...

> Have you looked at the previous track record of your salesforce, and
> the recruitment criteria etc. used to select them? Sometimes people
> are recruited because they are liked, not because of their ability to
> close deals. The problem may also lie in the process they are using
> (ie it is a training issue).

Yes, I too have seen the sort of he is a likeable guy thing with hiring and,
frankly, keeping a salesmanager or salesperson too long. For example, at the
last place I worked the sales manager was a friend of the owners so they
kept him despite obvious imcompetence. He had no ability to follow-through,
plan ahead, or deal with problems. His one strong point -- and this is worth
something -- is that he was very likeable and made the rounds at the company
talking to everyone. They eventually had to get rid of him but it took a
really long time because, I think, he was so well liked. So I think your
point is well taken.

However, at my current situation I think it is a training issue. Since I and
the salesmanager have started coaching on asking lots of questions and
listening to the prospect and never, ever ignore an objection, etc., the
close rate this week was considerably higher. So clearly there was a
training issue.

We said if you run into an objection for which you don't have an answer
don't try to paper over it or ignore it (make sure you are listening so you
hear it in the first place), don't be afraid to say, "I don't know, but I
will check into it and get back to you".

We also talked about, well, basically talking less and letting the prospect
talk more. Sometimes it seems that salespeople are so into giving their
pitch and why this product or service is better than that one, etc., etc.,
they don't slow down to realize that they are in a real conversation with a
prospect.

We said ask questions, find out about the prospects business, situation,
needs, concerns.

The asking questions, listening, dealing with objections has already shown
an approvement. This coming week we are going to specifically delve deeper
into dealing with objections.

--
Robert Anderson