How To Stop Being The Lowly Order-Taker, Become
The Consummate Marketer, And Get
More Sales From New Buyers
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
When was the last time this happened to you? You go into a
store to buy something. You encounter an employee who asks
what you want and if you need any help. You say what you've
come for. If you're lucky, he helps you get it. If you're
blessed, he thanks you for your patronage and sees you out
the door.
Very neat. And very disastrous -- for the employer. For you
see, the employee who has so kindly helped you is nothing
more than a lowly-order taker, a person who'll sell you what
you're already determined to buy but who makes no attempt to
find out what problem you have so that he can sell you more
by solving it.
It goes without saying that most of the people masquerading
as sales personnel are actually order-takers, drones who
regard their job as completed if the customer gets
(something close to) what he came for and who make no
attempt either to understand what the customer really is
attempting to do or see if additional sales can be made by
truly serving him.
Whether you are selling a product or service, if you think
like an order- taker, or employ people who do, you are
losing mega-bucks every year. In fact, the degree to which
you and your employees are order-takers is the precise
extent to which you are sabotaging your profit.
The Key Rule Of Successful Sales: Never Sell, Always Solve
To begin to solve this pernicious problem, you need to
understand what client-centered marketing is. One rule is
critical: Never sell, always solve.
The order-taker is quite content to give people what they
came for. He makes no attempt to understand what your
prospect is attempting to do, what problem he needs to
solve. The order-taker regards his work as complete when he
gives a prospect what he says he wants.
But consider how truly stupid this is. There is an implicit
assumption in the way the order-taker works: namely that
your prospects know precisely what they want and precisely
what you have available to meet their need, solve their
problem. This assumption, of course, is absurd. Even if the
prospect knows exactly what he wants (a wanton conjecture in
its own right!), he almost never has a good idea of the
various ways you have available to help him solve his
problem.
The job of the true salesperson, then, is clear. He must
listen to what the client wants to do and the way the client
now thinks he wants to solve this problem. But, before
selling him anything (which is the first thing the order
taker wants to do), he must ask a simple question like
these: "What are you trying to accomplish?" Or, "What
problem are you trying to solve?" Or, "What do you want to
do?"
To the order-taker these questions will seem superfluous.
After all, the order-taker seems to reason, the customer
already knows what he wants: "I'll serve him best by giving
it to him with the least possible fuss, then going on to the
next customer (or, more likely, returning to gossip with my
co-workers, which, of course, I like a whole lot more than
sales anyway)".
It may be true that the customer knows what he wants to
achieve, but, not being a specialist in your field, he is
not as aware as you should be of how his problem can be
solved.
The true sales professional seeks to understand precisely
what the customer wants to achieve (as well as the extent of
his means for achieving it) before he even thinks of
offering a suggestion about how to achieve this beneficial
result. Then, and only then, does he offer a recommendation.
"Sir, given that you want to achieve this result, I think
you'll be well off using this product/service." It goes
without saying (I hope!) that the recommendation made by the
consummate salesperson is always more comprehensive than
that the prospect comes up with on his own. After all, the
salesperson is an expert in solving the problem and knows
precisely what must be done to solve it, as the prospect
ordinarily does not.
Will the prospect resent this approach? After all, order-
takers might argue, prospects generally have an idea of what
they want. Certainly it's presumptuous to probe into what
they want to do instead of immediately giving them what they
came for. Nonsense!
Most prospects are ecstatic when anyone in our apathetic,
selfish, and slothful age takes an intelligent interest in
their affairs. They are accustomed to (but not happy about)
buying from order-takers who evince no interest in what
they, the prospects, are doing or why they are doing it;
they are accustomed to handling over money to enervated
employees and contemptuous clerks, whose eyes never focus on
yours during the entire transaction and whose behavior is a
clear indication that they regard your presence as an
unmitigated irritation. Don't tell me that you don't
regularly encounter such "sales personnel", because I know
that you do. What's worse, you may be one yourself!
Act Like A Problem-Solving Consultant,
Not An Order-Taking Drone
-----------------------------
The next time someone wants to buy something, then, don't
immediately sell it. Pause. Ask what the prospect is trying
to accomplish. Even if the prospect is eager to buy the
right thing, he probably hasn't considered all the ancillary
things he'll need to reach his objective. Should a prospect
want to buy a can of paint, in other words, you'll remind
him that he'll need such things as a ladder, brushes, drop
cloth, and everything else which must be a part of getting
his problem properly solved.
The order-taker sells the paint. The sales professional gets
the room protected, painted, and entirely cleaned up. It
should be obvious who is responsible for more money being
generated.
It is important to point out that you can be the complete
sales professional with your clients whether you see them in
person, deal with them on the telephone or by mail. And,
indeed, it's important to think through in advance precisely
how to act in each situation so that you derive the maximum
amount of profit in the minimum time. This is not the way
order-takers think. They give a customer what he wants and
then wait for the next customer, who (at best) they also
give what he wants.
The sales professional meets a prospect, works to understand
his problem and what he wants to accomplish, then sells him
the maximum solution possible given his (the prospect's)
resources. If these resources are insufficient entirely to
give the prospect his desired outcome now, the sales
professional lets the prospect know what he should do next.
In other words, he doesn't think merely in terms of this
sale but in terms of transforming this prospect into a
client, that is an individual who regularly brings in
problems for your company to solve, thereby generating
regular revenue in the process.
Then and only then is the sales professional ready to move
on to the next prospect, whom he is equally interested in
becoming a client, not just a momentary (and relatively low-
level) buyer.
Rules For Becoming The Complete Sales Specialist
------------------------------------------------
To achieve this result means following a series of simple
rules:
- Even before you have any prospects, think like a sales
professional. Think through all the problems you solve
with your product or service. Then group your products or
services into logical clusters, or lines. Thus, you'll
know that if the prospect is interested in something, he
should also be interested in a related item. Thus: ice
cream means cones, napkins, bowls, spoons, syrup,
toppings. You get the idea. Sales professionals think in
terms of problem-solving clusters. Order-takers think
about individual items.
- Even when the prospect want to buy, don't sell -- yet.
Instead, ask informational questions to determine what
the prospect wants to accomplish and if he is well
informed about the means you have available to reach his
objective. The larger the dollar transaction, the more
important these questions are.
- Once you know what the prospect wants to accomplish, let
him know you can help him solve his problem. Who do you
think builds more trust with a prospect, the order-taker
who merely gives the prospect what the prospect thinks he
wants, or the sales professional who takes a sincere
interest in what the prospect is trying to do and lets
the prospect know equally sincerely how he (the
professional) can help? Isn't it obvious?
- Don't act like the stereotypical salesperson. Instead,
function like a problem-solving consultant. Salespeople
engage in all kinds of devices to get people to buy,
often against the prospect's own interests. Prospects
know this and distrust a salesperson to the extent they
feel he is using such techniques. Consultants, on the
other hand, make a real effort to understand what the
prospect is trying to accomplish and to present the
various ways the prospect can reach his objective. Having
gathered information on what the prospect wants to do,
the consultant says, in effect,"I understand what you are
doing. Let me give you some ideas about how to get what
you want." And then he lays them out, always laying
stress on the benefits of the most comprehensive (and
profitable for you) solution to the prospect's problems.
- If the prospect is not able to buy this comprehensive
solution now, the sales professional always lets him know
what the prospect's next step should be, the step he can
take when his resources permit him. The sales person must
note this step and the approximate time the prospect will
be ready to take it. Reconnecting with the prospect at
that time helps build the trust relationship between
sales professional and client and should result in
continuing sales. It goes without saying that the order-
taker never attempts to contact a prospect. How could he?
He has no idea what the prospect wants to achieve and
thus has no sense of when he wants to achieve it.
Being The True Sales Professional In Person
---------------------------------------------
When your prospect is physically present, he either buys
your entire solution package or he doesn't. If he does, your
job is to show him off the premises graciously and to write
an immediate thank you note. In this note, confirm that with
what you have now sold your new customer, he will be able to
reach his objectives.
One of the things that most amazes me about so-called sales
professionals is how infrequently they bother to send a note
to their new customer expressing their gratitude for their
business, telling them they made the right decision, and
hoping for further business in the future. In computer age,
it's inexcusable for any firm not do this kind of client-
cementing. It goes without saying that it's perfectly
permissible to pack this letter with your firm's flyers,
brochures and other problem-solving information.
If your new customer didn't buy your complete solution
package, do the following:
- Send a letter welcoming the buyer to your firm's family,
let him know that solution to the extent he purchased it
will help him begin solving his problem and that you are
glad he chose to start solving it through a relationship
with your firm.
- Then add a secton about what the customer should be doing
next, the next move he should make to reach his objective.
If he didn't purchase your complete solutions package
initially, properly handled he will purchase it in due
course. Your job is to remind him about what needs to be
done and to say when you'll be back in touch to discuss the
project again. Then do it. Most people don't follow up.
Indeed, they regard follow up as beneath them. Don't be one
of them. Follow up is one of the things that distinguishes
the consummate sales professional from the mediocre order-
taker.
Being The True Sales Professional On The Telephone
--------------------------------------------------
All this equally applies when your prospects order by
telephone. Before even thinking of filling the order, find
out the problem the prospect is trying to solve and the
extent of his interest in solving it. Sometimes you do this
by asking directly; other times you can deduce his problem
by the product he calls to inquire about or purchase. Thus,
when someone calls to buy my book MONEY TALKS: THE COMPLETE
GUIDE TO CREATING A PROFITABLE WORKSHOP OR SEMINAR IN ANY
FIELD, I know he wants to mount successful talk programs.
This suggests that an interest in good speaking habits,
writing effective direct mail copy, public relations skills
and the like. By asking the telephone prospect if these
subjects are indeed of interest to him, I can upgrade the
sale and make it more profitable than would have been the
case if I had merely acted as an order-taker and delivered
only what the prospect said he wanted. And please note, if
you are sincerely client centered and interested in what the
prospect is attempting to achieve he is happy to use his
telephone call to have you suggest how he can be better off
(and hence buy more of what you're selling).
If the prospect buys your recommendations immediately, well
and good. If he does not, you have two options:
- If the items you are selling are relatively low in price
and will not support your making long-distance telephone
calls and extensive personal follow-up, nonetheless mark in
your sales literature what you feel the prospect needs to
completely solve his problem. Either design your literature
so that you can include a short personal note or (if you are
computerized) have these notes essentially written up in
advance, needing only brief personalization. The important
thing is that you let the prospect know he needs more to
solve his problem and that you have what he needs. Don't
leave the prospect to work all this out for himself.
- If the items you are selling are more expensive and thus
will support more extensive personal follow-up, write the
client a personal note, explaining why the prospect needs
what you have proposed and when you'll follow up. Then, do
indeed follow up like the true sales professional you are.
Being The True Sales Professional By Mail
-----------------------------------------
If your prospects order by mail, again avoid the temptation
merely to be the order-taker and merely give them what they
say they want.
Make sure you cluster your products into logical, problem-
solving lines. If a person orders a single item in a
particular line, give him an immediate inducement to buy the
entire line by offering him a special price. Make sure this
is a timed offer, say thirty days.
If you have a catalog, give your prospect an inducement to
buy more by having premiums that are only available if the
prospect buys a certain dollar amount. And make sure they
can only get these premiums if they order by a particular
time.
Develop a letter to send each buyer. Open by saying you're
sure that if the buyer had known about the special offer, he
would have made use of it initially. However, as a friendly,
client-centered person, you are still giving him the
opportunity to take advantage of it for the next thirty
days.
If you follow these steps, you will succeed in upgrading
your customers. They will buy more and buy sooner. Moreover,
by working in this fashion they'll develop a relationship
with your company which no order-taker will ever succeed in
creating.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of some of America's most
well-known and useful 'how-to' books, including THE
UNABASHED SELF-PROMOTER'S GUIDE: WHAT EVERY MAN, WOMAN,
CHILD AND ORGANIZATION IN AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT
GETTING AHEAD BY EXPLOITING THE MEDIA; MONEY TALKS: THE
COMPLETE GUIDE TO CREATING A PROFITABLE WORKSHOP OR SEMINAR
IN ANY FIELD and his latest MONEY MAKING MARKETING: FINDING
THE PEOPLE WHO NEED WHAT YOU'RE SELLING AND MAKING SURE THEY
BUY IT. Best-selling business author Robert Bly calls this
285-page resource "the most practical, information-packed
guide to business success I have ever read." Each is $32.50
postpaid from The Sure-Fire Business Success Catalog, 50
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