CBiz Features -- Perfecting your pitch -
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Published on: 11/30/2001
Last Visited: 11/30/2001
And there are other perks, insists Eric Crowell, sales performance coach at Calgary-based People Performance Consulting, a training and development company that specializes in helping corporations build their business.Crowell, who often does on-site presentations for his clients, wraps his programs in a catchy phrase: the power of WOW short for "Wonderful Opportunities Worth talking about."It also happens to reflect his overall sales philosophy."If you can get your customers to say ‘Wow,' then they'll do the selling for you."In fact, he adds, "I've come to learn that there is no ‘selling'; there's only a buying process."If only it were that easy.
Clearly a lover of acronyms, Crowell also preaches his own set of fundamentals, something he calls the DISC questioning technique.‘D' is Discover the problem."If there's no problem, there's no buying."‘I' is how much Impact the problem has on the customer's business situation."If it's not having any major impact, they ain't gonna be buying."‘S' is Specifics."These are the detailed questions that need to be asked once you've help them identify the problem."
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If you haven't gained it, Crowell says, "you have to ask for it."In other words, close the sale.He compares this process with leaving a doctor's office."When you finish your check-up, the doctor is usually saying, ‘My recommendations are ...' So you must say to your potential customer, ‘I understand the problem, now let me go away and come back with some ways I can help you.'"
DOCTOR, I FEEL LIKE A SHARK
Too many salespeople believe they have to spend most of their client-facing time showcasing their product's best features.Not the wisest approach, says Crowell.He says a far better door to go through is to position yourself as a problem-solver.For an example of the consummate salesperson, look no further than your family doctor.They "are the best sales people I've ever met," Crowell says."They don't sell you anything, they just help you get rid of pain that you want to go away.So if they need to stick their finger [anywhere] or jam a needle in my arm, I don't care.I want them to figure out what it is I have and get rid of it."
Selling I.T. products and services, however, comes with its own diagnostic challenges more heart surgery than treating the common cold.There aren't many tech sales calls today that require you to push boxes of PCs out the supplier's door and into the customer's.
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As a result, says Crowell, "you can't dwell on the technology."He retells a story of one of his sales training customers in Calgary who told him its salespeople were struggling to get their message across and close sales.
"Well, what's your message?"Crowell asked.
"We're a network company that specializes in using Ethernet and integrating it into a company's infrastructure so that they can have faster ways to transfer data across their own network and external networks."
"That sounds pretty boring to me," Crowell said."What you just told me is that you specialize in helping companies communicate with their customers faster, transfer data between departments with effortless ease so that you can win more business using speed as your strategy."
"Yeah, that's what we do."
"All of a sudden, I saw the light go on in her head," says Crowell, chuckling at the memory."It just clicked in."He believes I.T. needs to be speaking on a more fundamental business level, "to get them to understand business competitive issues," he says.
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS
Channel companies are only as good as the products and services they represent and sell.As a result, they often look to suppliers to help them refine their pitches.In the past, I.T. vendors have been accused of inadequately equipping their sales channel with the requisite tools and training.This is especially true among vendors not traditionally known for heavy indirect sales, and those making the transition to selling through the channel from direct sales.
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