Trust Triangle Selling February 2009 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2009

Issue: 25

Opportunity Knocks!

Q. Dan, in this economy, I've seen a lot of my fellow reps laid off or put on 'special assignment', as you call it. It's rough out there. The customers are trimming budgets and even canceling orders, if I'm lucky enough to get them. What do you recommend for these tough times?

Kaitlyn, Boston, MA

A. Great question, Kaitlyn.

I've heard plenty of these 'woe is me' mind sets: "The economy is horrible, nobody is buying and the world is coming to an end." I strongly believe that when times are tough, opportunity knocks! Honestly, think about it. Winston Churchill said: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." I am reminded of a story you may have heard.

"A shoe company sends two reps to a remote island where people don't wear shoes....
One rep calls the day he arrives: "Boss, I need to come home.
People don't wear shoes here".
The other rep calls, "Boss, send the entire warehouse, I need to stay for one more month.
People don't wear shoes here."

Unknown

If you've read my book or participated in my workshops, you know I believe that success in selling is all about gaining trust. It's only when you are endowed with the precious commodity of trust that you can truly act as an advocate for your client. This is when you are truly consulting as opposed to 'selling'. What better way to help your customer then when she is facing economic challenges and constraints? Your customers are now feeling tremendous pain. You can help by calling upon the basic tenants of Trust Triangle Selling that we have been addressing all along. When else will you be given the chance to test your mettle and come through for your client? When will she appreciate it more than she will now?

"It's not the strongest of the species that survive; nor is it the smartest. It's the ones that are the most responsive to change that survive."

Charles Darwin

Let's say you represent a company that makes rope and you are trying to sell 50 feet of rope to me. Am I interested? No way! Now let's say circumstances have changed and I am hanging off the edge of a cliff. Am I interested in your rope now? You bet!

The bottom line is, your customers tend to listen more when their business is hemorrhaging in some way. Your customers are all hanging on the edge of a cliff right now. Help them by providing exactly what they need. Try contacting them with a way to help keep their doors open; they will listen.

Remember, the product does not matter! What matters? What do they need? They need you to help them increase revenue and/or reduce costs. NOT "sell" a product or solution to them.

You must understand this very simple formula: Revenue - Costs = PROFIT. Revenue in most companies is dropping dramatically. Unless your customers find a way to increase revenue and/or reduce costs, they will be out of business.

Am I advocating going into your key accounts and lowering your price? No, although you may need to do so in some cases to retain their business. Here's just one example of strategic approach:

Let's say you sell widgets. Call the CFO in of your target account with this message: "In researching your business I have noticed that like most companies in your industry you are under intense financial pressure. We're helping business like yours dramatically reduce costs with some very innovative programs we recently announced. When can we get together to discuss what we have done for them and how we may be able to assist you?"

Some ideas: Use an "expand the pie" strategy (Building Trust, Growing Sales, chapter 4) to offer the customer a way to reduce their total widget expenditure.

This approach will make use of the following assumptions:

Typically, you do not have 100% share of the total dollars that your customer spends on widget per year.
There is a high cost to a company to have multiple vendors supplying a product or service in their business.
Reducing the number of suppliers in a business and developing strategic long term relationships with the remaining suppliers typically results in a lower total cost for both the business & supplier.
Suppliers' cost of sales drops when entering into a long term strategic business partnership.

Therefore, in return for a long term strategic business partnership (much larger share of the widget market share in an account locked in for multiple years), most suppliers would be willing to lower prices and offer other incentives.

When you meet with the CFO, step one is to understand whether she is open to entering into a strategic long term partnership given the right incentives. If yes, then step two is to conduct an analysis of what their current spend/year is for widgets. Step three is to then present a proposal which outlines the benefits which would result from a strategic long term partnership with your firm.

As a review, think of these times as the perfect context in which to review your basic consultative skills. As a starting point, remember the following premise. The way to a customer's heart involves a simple formula: You need to establish your credibility, show concern for the customer, and display sufficient competence.
Credibility + Concern + Competence = Customer Trust

Before you even think about your sales process, the quotes, brochures, presentations, test drives, site visits, headquarters visits or demonstrations, make certain that you fully understand the pains/challenges your client is facing. Think about her everyday corporate, economic, employee and environmental demands. Talk to your customer about her world and her challenges. Listen, truly listen, to how she responds and to the content of her answers. Soon your customers will think of you as someone who is in the trenches with her, someone who is willing to go to bat for her.

In conclusion, these times present unprecedented opportunities for us to serve as consultants to our clients! Remember what Albert Einstein said: "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity!"

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!

Dan Adams, Adams and Associates