Emcon Team Learns to Question…and Listen

The Situation:

Imagine going to your auto repair shop and immediately, the clerk says, “Hi. We know how to fix brakes, align your wheels, repair you exhaust, do inspections, change your oil, clear your exhaust system, calibrate your pistons….”  Wouldn’t it be easier, and more effective, if the clerk first asked what problem you were having with your car?

That simple distinction was at the core of what Rich Garwood, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Emcon, a leading facilities logistics management company, needed his team to understand.  He recognized that too many times, his salespeople were telling clients everything the company could do, rather than determining what the client needed them to do.

“We were presenting first without learning, hoping our clients would choose from our services and apply it to their business.  We needed to understand our clients’ issues and then present solutions.”

The Results:

Garwood knew he needed a training professional who could organize his team’s approach, systematize their process, structure sales calls and generate results.  Garwood turned to Steve Giglio, whom he was referred to by contacts at Conde Nast publishing.  And while his team initially felt that working with Steve was not going to be productive, they were soon converted as Steve helped shift their mindset.

“Steve got them to understand that they need a process to make a sale.  He changed their way of interacting with clients from ‘this is what I have’ to ‘let’s talk about what you need.’

Results were immediate.  Garwood’s team implemented Steve’s strategies and techniques to improve their interactions, starting by making sure they talked to decision makers…the C-suite. They ask probing questions to get to the root of a potential client’s needs.  These fundamental shifts in how the team presents its services has positively affected the bottom line.

“Our sales will grow by 20 percent this year.  I can site specific examples of where Steve’s training has resulted in additional sales that we would have never captured previously.”