SuperSkilled Sales Speak

First, you had better just get over the notion that effective salesmanship is the ability to deliver a good pitch. That's old-school thinking and a great way to experience the heartache of missed targets and declining revenues. Of course you must have something to meaningful to say. But to assume that a canned sales spiel is going to work on every sales prospect is a severely misguided notion.

Consider this concept instead: EFFECTIVE SELLING IS ALWAYS A DIALOGUE, A CONVERSATION. It is an exchange of information. If you're not receiving twice as much information from your prospect as you're delivering, you aren't even coming close to maximizing your sales effectiveness.

It is your job to create and nurture a relationship with your prospect. And the more meaningful that relationship, the greater the rewards for both of you.

Solution selling. Promoting benefits, not features. However you say it, the bottom line is this: the needs and desires of your prospect dictate how you will sell, if you're actually going to do any selling at all. And in order to craft the right message for THIS client, you will have to get to know them pretty well, at least as it relates to the sale.

Why is this level of personal understanding so critical today? Why do you have to really "know" someone in order to sell to them? Simply because the world and everything in it is at our prospective customers' fingertips, 24/7. There is nothing your customers don't have access to. Information about your company, your product or service, about you and your background, who likes you and who doesn't. And most important of all, everything about your competitor.

The wolf is waiting right outside the door, ready to pounce with a better offer. And your customer knows it. Either you are going to connect with them, or your competition will.So just what do you need to learn about your prospects, and how do you use that knowledge to make yourself more effective?

1. Find out who your prospects are and what matters to them. The more you know about a sales prospect before you meet, the greater your odds of success. It just stands to reason. People like doing business with people they are familiar with and who understand them. But it goes far beyond a comfort level. By discovering how your prospect thinks, what they like and don't like, what they are trying to achieve and what they're afraid of, you can position your product or service as the ideal solution for THEM. For starters, you should at least know your prospect's age, professional background and education level. But dig deeper. Where were they born? Where did they go to school? Married, or single? Kids? How many? What are their hobbies? Golf or tennis? What specifically are their work responsibilities? What are they trying to accomplish, and what are the greatest challenges facing them in their jobs? How can you find all of this out? ASK—ask them, their colleagues, their assistants. Ask your co-workers or others you know in your industry? Ask Google! The internet can reveal amazing information with just a few clicks. Remember, when it comes to sales success, knowledge is power.

2. Learn their language. If your sales prospect spoke only Japanese, and you could only barely manage English, the conversation probably wouldn't get very far, no matter how strong your pitch. But the "language barrier" doesn't have to be so extreme or obvious to be a deal killer. I've seen sales people who showed up for a meeting in traditional business attire instantly disregarded by ultra-casual customers, and vice-versa. Know the style and attitude, the language, your prospects are comfortable with, and then adopt it to the best of your ability. Are they formal or friendly? Will they be offended if you call them by their first name, or completely put-off if you address them as Mr. or Ms.? Do they enjoy a good joke, or are they all business? Are they young, either literally, or at heart? Or are they seasoned pros who value maturity and experience? One of the best sales pros I know always says that people need at least a dozen reasons to hire you and only one to pass. Don't let "style mismatch" be that one.

3. Show them how you will make they're life better. Once you know who your prospects are, what really matters to them and how to speak their language, all that's left is connecting the dots. Search for ways to reconcile their needs with what you have to offer, and present it in a way that is meaningful to them. This is the essence of solution selling, and it is key to sales success in the current business environment. Think of your sales negotiations a maze—you're at one end, your prospect is at the other. Your job is to find the way through, uncover the connection, and unite your desire to sell with their desire for a solution.

No more than 20% of selling is "telling." The rest is "gelling," forging strong, personal, mutually-beneficial connections through excellent detective work. Ask questions, watch for clues, use your gut and you'll be able to deliver precisely what your prospects really need.

Would You Rather Be Right, or Liked?

Someone once asked me this question. And now I'm asking you.

Before you answer, think about it. Would you rather know that you're right, even at the risk of being disliked by others... or would you rather be popular, even if it means you have to sacrifice the opportunity to state your opinion?

For most of us, the answer's not black and white. And in fact, most of us fall somewhere to the left or right of center.

There are those of us who will generally keep our mouths shut in order to avoid unpleasantness -- rather be liked -- but only up to a point. And there are those who will say just about anything to anyone to prove their point, even if it angers others -- rather be right -- but not so much so that we do any significant damage.

Those who are most extreme in their approaches are also the ones who must sacrifice the most. Try too hard to prove how smart you are, and you'll be lonely, ostracized, probably not getting to far in your career and lacking meaningful relationships. Try too hard to please others, and you'll just be a pushover, generally feeling bad about yourself and not getting what you really need out of your job, your relationships, your life.

The real key to success is finding that midpoint. And no surprise, this is what The SuperSkill is really all about.

Strive to understand others, their needs and wants, their perspectives and opinions, their personalities and idiosyncracies. And then work to express your thoughts and desires, points-of-view and feelings, in a manner that is in sync with theirs.

It's not always possible. Sometimes you have to make that choice -- right or liked.

But in the vast majority of cases, you can successfully express yourself while at the same time making people feel good about themselves and you at the same time.

Would you rather be right, or liked?

Why not be both?

Think Like Apple

How do you think Apple gets millions of people to enthusiastically lay down hundreds of dollars for iPods and iPhones, and thousands for MacBooks?

Marketing. Apple is extraordinarily effective at communicating that their products will meet or exceed the desires, needs and expectations of their target audience.

What is it you want to accomplish? More sales? Greater efficiency at work? A better job? A successful business of your own?

Maybe you can learn a thing or two from Apple.

You have an audience, too -- the person or people you’re hoping will provide whatever it is you want. They also have desires, needs and expectations. And your task is to get them to believe you’ve got the perfect "product" for them.

Apply these same time-tested marketing techniques used by the world’s most successful companies, and your “goal achievement campaign” will be just as powerful and rewarding.

Identify your objective. Before you launch any campaign, you have to be clear about what you want to accomplish. Be as specific as possible. By being crystal clear about your objective, you can measure every step you take against it. Everything you do, every action you take, should always be moving you closer to your objective.

Know your audience. So just who is this person you’re going to convince to “buy” your idea? You had better know more than a name. How old are they? How long have they been in their current job? Are they casual or formal, liberal or conservative? How long have they worked in their industry? Where did they work in the past? Are they on the rise in their career, or on the decline? The more you know about the person or people doing the "buying," the better your chance of making a meaningful connection with them. How do you find out? Ask. Engage them in conversation, or casually ask a few questions of an assistant. Google them. Ask others in the same industry. Become a detective (as we've discussed before), and you just might uncover the clue that will get you one step closer to success.

Understand their needs. One of the great paradoxes of success is, in order to get what you want, you have to give someone else what they want. How can you do that if you don’t know what that is? If you’ve already gained an understanding of the people you’ll be interfacing with, you’re halfway there. Now you have to probe deeper. WWhat are their specific needs? What is their “pain?” In other words, what problems are they trying to solve, and how can you help solve it? The better you understand the needs of your “audience,” the better you can position yourself and the qualities you bring to the table as the answer to their prayers.

Create your campaign. Here’s where it gets fun and interesting, and where all your research pays off. Just as if you were putting together a puzzle, you can now take the information you’ve gathered and craft a meaningful, persuasive, memorable “campaign” to sell your audience on your ideas. Remember, your message begins with your very first communication and continues at every subsequent encounter. Consider carefully what you say, how you say it, how you look, your attitude and tone of voice, your energy level. Every single element should be chosen consciously to be appealing and valuable to your audience, and move you closer to your objective!

Here’s a fact you must always remember: you will never get what you want unless you can convince someone to give it to you.

By carefully choosing each step you take, you will make that all important connection. Then you and your “audience” will come out winners!

Two Sides, One Coin

I work with this guy. He's terrific - really friendly, outgoing, self-confident. He's a great conversationalist and often adds a lot of energy and life to projects.

That's when he's at his best.

When he's not doing so well, he can be a bit loud, boisterous, pushy and overbearing.

And why shouldn't he be? These are the same qualities as the first list. Only these are the "dark side."

In fact, in the majority of cases, someone's greatest strengths are also his or her greatest challenges. Someone who is sweet and attentive can at times be too much-so, and annoying. Someone who is ambitious and goal-oriented can also be aggressive and overly-competitive. Someone who's generally very agreeable and willing to give others their way can come across as weak, timid and a pushover.

Start noticing this phenomena and I'm sure you'll see that it's true almost every time.

So besides being a very interesting aspect of human behavior to observe, what use is this information?

LOTS!

We all have a "dark side;" we all have a good one, too. (At least I hope we all do.) And it's good to recognize this in our personal and professional relationships, right from the start. If we can see the people we interact with more realistically, we will be better prepared to communicate with them in the most appropriate and effective manner available.

In the previous post, I suggested we should learn to "be a detective." This is an ideal example. If we are hoping to make a meaningful connection with another person, how useful will it be to understand as quickly as possible the best we can expect from them, and the worst?

Of course, this knowledge also helps us to be more compassionate with others when they're not exhibiting their most impressive qualities. We can remind ourselves that the annoying, hurtful or offensive behavior we're currently experiencing is offset by some outstanding traits.

We all have two sides. It's good to know them both.

Be a Detective

I've been working with The SuperSkill concepts for years, but I'm still surprised at how we all fall into the same patterns of behavior when trying to attain a goal. Our natural tendency is to focus entirely on ourselves, our own wants, needs and desires. And we pretty much ignore the interests of others involved.

This is not to say that we are, by our nature, self-centered or inconsiderate. Only that we seem to believe the path to achievement lies entirely on our own efforts.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In virtually every situation, your success depends on -- no, requires -- the agreement others. And in order to gain their cooperation, they also need to feel that their desires are being realized.

So what can you do about it?

Become a detective. Learn as much as you can about the people whose cooperation and support you need. Who are they? What's important to them? What to they want? What do they fear?

I was invited to participate in a sales-related conference call yesterday at the marketing communications company I work with. The call was with a young executive at a major corporation, and our objective was to get a face-to-face meeting. The host of the call , a colleage from my company, knew the exec's name and title.

I asked, "Is that it? Don't you know anything else?"

He didn't, and I was suddenly "inspired" to do a little quick detective work, twenty minutes before the call was to begin. I Googled our prospect, made a quick call to a colleague, searched his corporate website for press releases related to his department. In fifteen minutes I knew enough about him to at leat hold a meaningful conversation, reference successful initiatives he had been part of (and related work that our company had done), make mention of his last position with the company and most important, briefly discuss his interest (well documented on the Internet) in advanced technology solutions for marketing communications challenges.

We got the face-to-face meeting.

If we just take a little time to focus on what others want and need, we can often be the one that provides it to them -- and in the process, get exactly what we're looking for. Great marketers like Nike and Apple know this. It works for them. It will work for you.

KH

So what is this Superskill???

Welcome to The Superskill blog, where you can learn more about the little-known skill shared by the world's most successful people.

If you regularly achieve your goals, both professional and personal, you may already posess The Superskill. In fact, many people don't realize they have it, even when they do. FYI, it's not a "great personality" or "the power of persuasion" or a "Harvard vocabulary" or "minty fresh breath." The Superskill is a proven system for getting exactly what you want out of just about any situation.

I refer to this skill as something individuals use, because that's easiest for most people to grasp. But in fact, the world's most successful businessness share The Superskill, as well. In fact, in the corporate world, The Superskill has been developed to a science. And the beauty is, we can all use the same concepts, the same techniques, the same processes in our own lives.

So for starters, let me tell you that The Superskill is based on one simple principle: in order to achieve success -- in other words, in order to get something you want that you don’t have now -- you absolutely must have the cooperation, acceptance, approval, buy-in, support or agreement of at least one other person, and probably many more.

Someone, somewhere has to "give" you what you want.

The trick is, how to get them to do that, and do it on a consistent basis.

That is where The Superskill comes in.

I'll share many more Superskill conepts here from time to time. And please watch for the launch of TheSuperskill.com to learn even more.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading. I look forward to helping you have it all!