Sales tips, leadership communication skills insight and more from Steve Giglio, sales training professional for more than 25 years.
But the following five words (and words like them) are killing your position of strength with your clients.
How many are you using?
Meeting preparation is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that you stay in control of the meeting agenda. Yet, I am amazed how many executives and sales people are on autopilot when they get ready for an important meeting. They arrive with a presentation or talking points based only on their company’s data. What doesn’t come with them is a series of questions crafted from good client reconnaissance.
Preparing for a presentation or sales call is a repetitive act. It’s easy to lose your creativity. But when you do, you lose your empathy for your client and their issues. Client research, thoroughly performed, will reveal unique aspects of any business, giving you an opportunity to show your skills at effective problem solving. It also demonstrates a great deal of respect towards your client.
Good research will lead you to want to ask specific questions not only to verify the research, but to understand where your client is headed and you can help them get there. It seems basic but really, how can you make any strategic recommendations to your clients if you don’t know specifics about their overall business and current issues?
Showcase your research through intelligent probing questions. Not only will you get information you can use but, you’ll demonstrate the prep work you’ve done, indicating concern and respect for your client. Remember that simply looking at their brochure and web site will only show you the tip of the iceberg. Due diligence, done well, will take you below the water line to where the real story lies!
Have you ever walked into a meeting knowing you were not at all prepared? Share that story with us in a reply below! -SG
I often coach executives who are preoccupied with their image and how they’ll be perceived by their teams, the public etc.
This is very understandable. All of us are concerned about how the public sees and hears us at some point.
Here’s a secret though…whether it’s mission critical or not, your message is best appreciated when its delivered from your heart NOT your image/ego.
Over thinking a message, piece of analysis or sales plan often works against you. Determining what your audience truly needs to understand trumps what you need to look like. It really isn’t about you. It’s about conveying your message effectively so that listeners understand how it affects their business and lives. Do your best to come from this place, not your own.
Here’s an example I wish I wasn’t sharing with you that occurred recently:
I was referred to an executive who runs a large international investment firm. Upon meeting him and probing to understand his goals and challenges, he lamented that he’d become quite frustrated. He felt there was a lack of understanding on the part of the investment community with regard to his investment methodology. As a result, they hesitate in placing funds with him. He was really upset by this.
Upon videotaping his delivery of this investment methodology, I was struck by how complex he made it. So much so that I had to remark, “Were you aware that when you present your methodology it’s as though you’re speaking to yourself?” He was not. Looking at himself on the video, he could clearly see what I meant. It shocked him.
At this point I stressed that his investment methodology was NOT about glorifying himself or his smart team. Rather, it should be about educating unsophisticated listeners as to why his methodology works. I said to him, “Its not about you, its about them.” For the next two hours we focused on how to re-engineer his methodology so that his listeners could self-realize the secret sauce he and his team have discovered, in their own aperture, not his.
I speak a lot about listening first. But when was the last time you listened to yourself from THEIR perspective. Give it a try and let me know what you discover.
The Boy Scouts and I share a common, urgent message that we have been delivering for years: Be Prepared!
We live in a “need it now” culture. Too often, that means not doing the preparatory work needed before you talk with a potential client. “I just don’t have time” is what I hear most often. Which leads to the dreaded “I just went in there and had to wing it.” For your company, a lot of time, effort and resources went into getting you into that room. Winging it just won’t cut it!
If you’ve worked with me, you know that I stress “systematizing the process,” which is about as far from the above scenario as one can get. But I understand that you, like most everyone, are under time pressure to get everything done. So, let me help a bit. Below you will find a checklist. Use this BEFORE the next time you meet with a prospect.
And don’t cheat yourself…go through each point and check it off once you’ve completed it to your satisfaction. What I predict will happen is that you will enter the meeting more confident, with a better understanding of the client so you aren’t asking Client-101-type questions and can really get to their pain points far more quickly.
[frontend-checklist name=”New Client Checklist”]
[frontend-checklist name=”New Client Checklist” type=”pdf” title=”Giglio Co. New Client Checklist” linktext=”Download Your Checklist”]
Did it help? Let me know how. -SG
I’m struck at how often people unknowingly forget to find and/or understand a client’s personal values. Without knowing these values, how can you tailor your recommendation, lead a team or recommend a change?
Here’s a hint…it’s all in the listening. (sound familiar?) Yeah…I’ve posted previously about listening first!
Generally we look at our own circumstances and make decisions from them. I’ve found and benefited from suspending my own circumstances or opinion of an issue and allowed meetings to remain ambiguous for a while. Many aspects open up when I pause to determine the values and beliefs of my listeners BEFORE I look/decide from mine. And then, I ask some pointed questions that help uncover the values that drive their business decisions. Questions such as:
* What’s important to you personally this year?
* How do you want to be viewed by your clients and internal management team?
* What do you value most in a relationship?
Questions like these affirm people. They say to a client your values are important to me. It also may give them time to consider their own values and define them better for themselves. And you made that happen, increasing the value they put on your counsel.
A further reason to determine a person’s values is to discover HOW to align your recommendations with them. Without this effort, you risk being seen as selfish. The “it’s all about me” message comes through loud and clear if you align your solutions based on your values and opinions. The more someone shares their values the easier it is to align with them and tailor your ideas.
Take, for example, Millennials. Depending on your generation, you may not have the same values they do. The World Economic Forum wrote about Millennials last year, saying they will be “the first generation to be worse off than their parents.” Think that influences their values? And if your mindset is that these are just young people (even though some are now in their late 30s!) and that they will come around…that’s the selfishness I mentioned above. YOU have to come around first, understand where they are coming from and where they want to go. Much has been made of their short attention spans due to technology…well that applies to your recommendations too. If you don’t address their issues from a perceptive that understands their values, they will simply move on. Next!
That’s just one example of how clients’ values must shape your recommendations. As you lead a group of people, be sensitive to this. Understand what a team of people collectively value to frame your go-forward actions. Knowing these values also tells you how to relate to people and manage/lead them.
What are some core values your clients’ possess? Share them with a reply below. Thanks! -SG
A bold statement. And it was said to me by a prospective client at our first meeting! As I heard him say this I was slightly taken aback and countered with, “That’s great to hear. I’m curious, though, what’s one skill you’d like to strengthen as we look at our potential collaboration together?”
He said, “I never really know how to close once I’ve delivered my presentation.”
My internal reaction was “but you JUST said that you are a great salesman!” Anyone in sales knows how important closing is and if you’ve worked with me, you know I work on effective and efficient deal closing until the skill becomes second nature. So, I asked him to give me an example of this challenge. He did and it became clear to me that he was not finding and staying in the pain. Here’s what I mean by that:
We ended up speaking at length about how exactly to probe a potential client to understand their goals and challenges. I stressed that if you ask the right questions, you will get the right answers that will help you tailor recommendations. I’ve said it before and said it to him….listen more, talk less. If you hear your own voice far more than that of your potential client, you are not learning…you are lecturing. Keeping them engaged in their pain points and getting deeper explanations through probing questions will open up possibilities for you to give short, precise counsel. And that will help you stand above your competition.
At the end of our meeting he confidently said: “This would help me close wouldn’t it?” I graciously said “Yes. You’re now ready to engage with anyone providing you listen first, recommend second.” This applies to you (and me), too. Make sure you prove to your client you’ve heard and understood them. This affirms your client. It says, ”knowing your world is essential to your understanding my world.”
Be in the pain with them and together, you’ll get out of it!
Are you a great salesperson? Regardless of your answer, what’s a skill you wish was stronger?
This is part three of a three-part series designed to help you plan your leadership and get your team ready for 2017. The other articles are focused on Looking Back to Move Forward and Creating Your Mission Statement.
Now that you’ve studied what’s worked with your organization, critically reviewed your go-to-market strategy and established your 2017 vision, what’s next? I’ll tell you…make sure you’ve got the “A” team to execute it and the metrics to measure it!
You can’t accomplish these goals alone. You need a team of dedicated mature people who are in sync with you. That requires knowing each person on your team, intimately, the lieutenants certainly. It’s important to determine the type of individuals you want on your team, the behaviors you want manifested and the level of collaboration you require. When was the last time you reviewed your team?
One way to insure this collaboration is to formalize it. Determine how you’ll stay in sync as a team. You also need to determine what you’ll measure as an organization that everyone understands.
List out how you’ll remain in sync:
Determine what you will measure:
What each client/prospect meeting must include:
You also need to formalize a development plan for strengthening your “B” Players and a formal review process with your “C” Players. Make sure your lieutenants are capable of coaching and developing your team. I’ve seen it happen that some leaders may orphan their direct reports which will prevent the achievement of your business goals. You can’t let that happen. Help them create a formalized Development Action Plan that you and your directs need to structure and use. Lastly, create a pipeline vetting process. Determine what questions each team member must be asked to separate a deal from a dream as you enter into 2017.
You may also determine at this point that you have to cut some people who will never achieve “A” level, or even solid “B” level, status. Those “C” players are holding back your whole team. Start the year knowing that every member on your team has potential and is eager to achieve it. You, and they, will be more satisfied when they look back at 2017 to assess the accomplishments you’ve achieved together.
Is your team full of “A” players? If not, what is your plan for developing your “B” team members? Let me know if I can help. -sg
Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” movie famously proclaimed to her dog, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Well, neither are we!
In these transformative times, it’s essential to insure that your mission statement mirrors the direction in which your organization must travel. Your mission statement from two years ago needs to be created anew and critiqued for its timeliness and purpose.
This will take some time, which it should so that the result is worth the effort. It is not a one-hour conference call. Gathering stakeholders and getting them to focus on this will be key to creating a mission statement that everyone can buy into.
To start, here are a few key questions:
Your mission statement is the foundation on which you then build your corporate behavior. It’s also an ethos that can/will permeate your organization. Many of my clients go deep with this process. It’s quite valuable and healthy to pinpoint specific behaviors with which you will govern your company. It’s the litmus test to so many decisions you and your executive team will make throughout 2017.
A mission statement is also a recruitment evaluation tool. As you interview throughout the year, look for individuals you feel can embrace your mission statement. As you coach your “A”, “B” and “C” players reflect on this mission statement and notice they’re level of connection and ownership of it. In my next post, we will look at what to do about those who don’t get it.
It’s all well and good that you create a mission statement that works internally. However, does it resonate with clients, partners, prospective employees? How people describe your company and its achievements “out there” is critical in shaping your company’s brand. A few questions to ask here are:
Once you create your cultural values you, on a de facto basis, create a covenant of behavior with your organization. That’s how powerful this process can be.
This set of values governs how people relate to one another, procure business and manage client relationships.
Some companies labor over their mission statement…intensely choosing each and every word after much debate. But then, when it’s “done” it disappears from the day-to-day culture exhibited by those who represent the mission….your teams! They must have a sense of ownership for the mission if it is to become a guiding force behind everything the company sets out to achieve. Get your teams involved and ask them these questions:
Creating a new mission statement at this time of year is a very rewarding, healthy process to go through. It instills in everyone a sense of pride, ownership and responsibility to your organization and the difference it makes in the world. The world needs it.
Do you know your company’s mission statement? Does everyone? Let me know what help you need. -SG
This is part one of a three-part series dedicated to helping you plan your team’s direction for 2017.
Part 1: Look Back to See ForwardHere are six essential questions for you and your leadership team to resolve to gain a clear line-of-sight into what occurred this year and where you need to tack your organization for next year:
A whole year has passed. Lots has changed in the world, in the country, in your industry and with your company. It’s important to assess where you were last year at this time. Review the team you had then and the one you have now. What changed? Was there an impact to the culture? Are some of the same factions that resisted your direction still with you? What is your client roster and how has that changed? Why?
Reminding yourself of where you started the year will help you determine how you got where you are now. So…
You set goals last year, right? You must now look honestly at how you did. Goals are nothing if they aren’t measured. What success metrics did you determine were mission-critical last year? Did they turn out to be good indicators of your company’s health? If not, what must you measure this year so that you can get a more accurate picture?
Another critical element here is to find out what others think. Creating a system for gathering feedback from you team is part of that. Where do THEY think the company/department is now compared to a year ago? And your customers need to be heard to. How is your brand regarded? Is it better than it was last year? If not, what happened?
You can’t plan where you want to go without knowing where you are now. It’s like planning a route without a starting point.
Goals. Many companies/teams set them. Far fewer actually reach them. Why? Because they don’t align the goals with where the company as a whole is heading 3-5-10 years from now. Yes, it’s cliched to ask “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” But, it’s also critical. Once you can put that long-range goal out there, you can back up and determine what has to happen THIS year in order to get there.
And then you must ask, “How aligned are my lieutenants with these goals?” If the answer is “not very,” you’ve got some work to do as the leader. In Part 3 of this series, we will tackle what to do about under-performing team members but for now, determining who is on board…and who is drifting…will establish your team’s baseline from which you can start making changes.
Much changes with markets. Last year, what resonated your customer base? What were they buying from you? From others? What wasn’t selling at all? What were the trends this year and how did that impact your bottom line? If your teams have been diligent in their work, they should always be up to speed on this information so, tap them as a resource for this part of your look back.
How did the market react this year? Is it where you thought it would be at this time? If not, what happened to send it on another course? You can’t predict all market fluctuations but, having a firm grasp of the historic performance (this year and from previous years), will allow you to determine patterns that can help you anticipate where the market may be going.
You are going to set 2017 goals so, you need to put some serious thought into where the market is headed. This will give you perspective as you define what will be mission-critical to you as you set out to achieve those goals. Some things to consider are:
Looking back allows you to see more clearly forward. Answer these questions with as much detail as you can, pulling input from a variety of sources not just your own perspective. Now you’re ready for the next step!
Next: Defining, or Re-defining, Your Mission Statement and Culture
I’ve heard every excuse in the world for why presentations fail. Here are some doozies:
“I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“There wasn’t enough time to prepare.”
“My boss just threw me in there without warning.”
“I got lost so I was late. It threw me off my game.”
“The moon was in the wrong phase.”
What is common about all of these? They are excuses, and not very good ones. Here’s MY list of why most presentations fail:
Presentations fail when they are not linked to solving the exact needs of a client. You have to make that link rather than trusting the client will do it for you. Like a lawyer to a jury, you must present beyond a reasonable doubt that your recommendation matches a mission-critical need the client has. A sure-fire way to know that your presentation won’t connect is if you’ve given it before! A “canned” presentation is, in my opinion, arrogant. It says that you didn’t care enough to tailor your recommendation because you think your client should just buy into what you’re saying. If you don’t have several moments in your presentation where you say, “What this means to your business is…..” then you didn’t do the work to connect the dots for them.
You’ll see later in this post that I recommend rehearsing a presentation. However, that’s to build confidence, not so you get stuck on a “script.” Most presentations fail when they are so rigid that there is no room for commenting, questioning and generating new ideas. You want your client to be engaged and you should encourage conversation about your recommendation. I always say, “Listen first, sell second.” But too many times, I see leaders and salespeople so focused on delivering the presentation, or “getting through it,” that they lose their audience. The next thing that happens is the client says, “Ok, thanks. We will get back to you.” No, they most likely won’t.
So many times I see presentations prioritized by what the presenter wants to say rather than what the audience wants to hear. This is a failure of research. If you don’t have a strong idea of what your client wants or needs, then you have to work harder to find out. Did you do a pre-presentation call with stakeholders, finding out their needs? Did you study the industry trends and key issues? Are you prepared with a list of open-ended probing questions? Once you’re armed with information, become the client. Structure your presentation based on what you believe they will want to learn, and in what order. What this does is demonstrate understanding, rather than just knowledge, which should get your client’s attention!
More is not better. I’ve heard hundreds of presentations that are just too dang long! You have too? We all know the type…they are packed with so much information that none of it is memorable. Think about the best presentations you’ve heard. There was a rhythm to them. They flowed well. Like a good song, there was just enough to stick with you throughout the day. Your presentation should be music to your client’s ears, not a test of endurance.
Did I get your attention? Visual representations that support points you are making orally go a long way towards conveying your message….without you having to say it. This sample chart clearly says something is growing over time, a powerful image as you deliver your key messages. Pictures are worth a thousand words….so use them!
I think this reason might be really important to you. Not very convincing there, was I? As I’ve written about before, using qualifiers, such as “I think,” as you make your recommendations weakens your position. Sure, sometimes qualifiers are necessary. But most of the time, presentations are time for boldness. Being tentative is not going to win over your clients and get them to accept your recommendation. Tentative behavior slows down your momentum and reduces the confidence your client has in your ability to recommend strong solutions.
Just about every presenter I’ve ever seen says some form of this at the opening, “And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I want this to be an open discussion.” I don’t believe them. Why? Because they stumble so badly when someone actually does interrupt and asks a question. Too many times, the answer is “That’s a good question. I’m going to answer that a few slides from now so, why don’t we keep going.” Wrong! They want, and deserve, an answer now. Give it to them. Resolving their issue will get their minds off of it so that they can pay attention to the rest of what you have to say. And if you don’t know the answer…that can be a GOOD thing. It’s an opportunity for you to ask a few clarifying questions, through which you will get to the real heart of the matter. Just make sure you ask the right questions.
“I’ve done this before so, I can just wing it.” If you say this, well, what a great predictor of doom! Practice your presentations. You don’t have to do it out loud each time but, what you must do is become crystal clear about your content, the transitions you will make and the key points you want your audience to remember. Write down questions you anticipate being asked and rehearse the answers you want to give. Rehearse in front of your peers or video tape yourself. Overkill? Not at all. Your body language can say a lot.
Oh my…the number of times I’ve seen people deliver great presentations yet not ask for what they came to get is astounding! If you remember anything from this post it is this….delivering the presentation is NOT the goal. Say that out loud the next time you are giving a presentation to a client. It will remind you that you have to close! You have to know what you want out of the meeting or you’ll never get it. And then if you don’t ask for it, how can you expect it to happen? Be sure to have a strong close such as, “I’m confident I’ve answered all your questions. As I see it, the next step is to create a formal proposal that you can review internally. Does that work for you?” Whatever the close is, make sure you don’t leave without delivering it or, you’ve just wasted your, and their, time.
I hope this helps with your next presentation. Much of this post was taken from a book I wrote a few years ago, “Beating the Deal Killers, Overcoming Murphy’s Law (and other Sales Nightmares).” If you found these tips helpful, the book has a lot more so give it a read!
The last time you delivered a presentation that you thought failed, which of these reasons was the cause? Let me know in a Reply below. Thanks! -SG
