Sales Snipers
Doyle Slayton | Feb 15, 2009 | Comments 11
You have probably heard me say it before, “Figure out what works… and do it over and over an over again.” The top sales pros find ways to make slight improvements along the way… but over-tweaking can be dangerous. Everyone gets into a little slump once in a while. It is during these slumps that reps want to make wholesale changes because they think, “What we were doing isn’t working anymore.”
Almost every time that happens, you have to check yourself to make sure you didn’t run into a “sniper” recently. Let me explain. You have multiple prospects that say, “You are the best sales person we have ever worked with!” They thank you for being sincere and tell you that the main reason you got the deal was because of your persistence.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, you get blindsided by a “sniper” who has a different opinion of you. This “one” prospect tells you that you are too pushy and that your techniques are that of a blah, blah, blah… all of it bad. They are not interested in what you have to offer, and they request to be taken off your list. You begin to question your persistence. “Am I too pushy?” you ask… and then you start to back off. Deals start falling through the cracks and going to your competitors who seem to have all the momentum.
Here is another example. You have always separated yourself by being the type of sales professional who has no problem making calls on Monday. In fact, you have a history of scheduling tons of appointments and closing lots of deals on Mondays.
As with the previous example, you have a little “breakdown” in the action. You call a prospect on Monday who jumps all over you about NEVER EVER calling them on Monday! This “sniper” gets you thinking… second guessing yourself for all the wrong reasons… and then your Monday call volume begins to slowly drop off. You begin to find “administrative” things to do on Monday.
Success Principle: Never let a sales “sniper” bring you down. You are better than that! We are halfway through the first quarter. There is still plenty of time to exceed our goals. You know what works… go do it… over and over and over again!
What sales “snipers” have you run into recently… and what will you do to overcome the second guessing?
Terrific article, Doyle. Maintaining your attitude and consistency is one of the hardest parts of the sales task.
Hank
Sales snipers can be avoided altogether by focusing your energies on the three-way target for every sales call:
1) The “shoehorn” person (your “contact”) who gets you in the door and serves as your confidant, and who you must maintain the closest relationship with and make sure to somehow reward or spotlight for others to appreciate (without drooling, please).
2) the “money” person who holds the purse strings and can shoot down anything at anytime (even if only armed with a slingshot!)unless you make a strong play to convince this individual of the economics involved, and
3)the decision maker (who has probably either hired or promoted the shoehorn as well as the money person, and who has likely also charged that individual with the responsibility to make money decisions and be the guardian of the budget, or simply be the “go-to” barricade/excuse for not buying).
Sometimes all three entities are the same person. Sometimes three are two! Most often though, three is three (even in a family situation where the kids want, the father decides but only after the mother/wife has accepted the expense of it (or sometimes the opposite).
With wine and cars, for example, the man may be the “consumer” and tells the woman the brand or make, but the woman is the “customer” and makes the actual purchase and/or (with a car) decides on the model or the options.
When all three entities are dealt with, the sale is made regardless of who’s sitting in the treetops with power scope rifles!
And Doyle is correct that you are “better than that” and can outsmart the snipers.
As for the not tweaking point, I think there are times when it’s better to adhere to the “if it ain’t broke, fix it anyway” policy because the constant attention to tweaking a spiel, for example, can result in a more innovative approach, whereas maintaining the status quo in your presentation can have a tendency to dry up over time.
I guess I would suggest to always be looking for new avenues, but hold onto the words and style that have proven themselves to work over time… until you can demonstrate otherwise.
In the meantime, keep your eye out for the other two entities who may be hidden behind the decision maker, or the shoehorn.
Have a great Pre$ident$ Day $ale$ week!
I’ve actually have heard this concept before and one which is covered in my e-book that goes to the “root” of the issue. It all starts with changing one’s approach and mindset to dispel the stereotype and the “triggers” of the so called “sales snipers”.
As I describe, people will not buy WHAT you “sell” unless people can buy HOW you sell…pure and simple and bottom line. With more gracious language and a proven approach that not only dispels the dreaded “sales person” stereotype, but also one which diffuses the pressure inherent in the buyer/seller relationship, one can learn quite effectively to
eliminate not only “sales snipers” but rejection forever…guaranteed.
And, it all starts with changing one’s mindset.
If you are open to it, please feel free to visit, if you are so inclined, http://www.nonlinearselling.com to discover how this syndrome, as well as others, can be addressed quite effectively as it has helped thousands already across corporate North America.
Warm regards to all!
I like your article. There is also a sound mathematical basis for ignoring the “snipers”. If you plot your data on a graph and pay attention to the trends, you wil get far more value than reacting to an “outlier”. That’s a statistical term for a data point outside the normal range. If the trend is that you get 18%-22% of your sales on a Monday, for example, then reacting by taking drastic measures like stop making calls on Mondays will change this to a zero. So, trends over time are what counts, and these normaly respond best to small, cautious changes.
Another way to reduce the snipers to zero is survey your clients. There is a free way to do this. Visit: http://www.surveymethods.com to see if this may be a good fit for you.
I also think that you can try your best and not be able to please everyone all the time. As a sales person, I do my best to give my buyers the best possible service after the sale and this keeps them as my clients for many years.
Sales snipers must be resisted as derailers. Its important to hear what is said and to spend a little time understanding who said it but also, get to “why” it was said. Remember, we can learn from the exceptions as in sales snipers as well as the successes.
They are just that, learning opportunities. Never let a sales sniper derail you or consume a lot of worry or time. For instance, Mondays are fine for calling. Remember that the recipient is dealing with a new week, organizing, and that 1st thing Monday morning may not be the best time to call for most folks. A little later, definitely. In fact because your prospect now has a fresh view of their objectives, issues, projects and needs, your call may be perfectly timed to talk about issues ad solutions.
Neil Licht answers@ucanpreventbadhires.com
ndlicht
Doyle: Right on! Tweaking and adaptation is fine, but don’t lose what made you successful in the first place. The true sales professional understands the value they bring to a relationship. That’s the core, and you have to hold on to that. As an example, persistence is usually demonstrated once a “no” has been received.
If what you do is successful, then keep doping it. “Sniper” on the whole are not qualified and if you get one you may want to ask the question very conversational “I didn’t mean to upset you, but before I hanf up can I ask you one question?” They may stop and say yes. You put them off guard, sort of apologized for the interuption. Now ask them a very important question. In my world my clients may ask ” are you experiencing slow sales due to a weak pipeline”. Then work form their. If you can’t get them to answer a question, move on. Some will, Some won’t, so what, NEXT. There are plenty of people that need your product or services. Good hunting.
Great post,
This is another reason why we must have an updates and through understanding of the buying process. If your marketing department has not given you this, you do it by calling clients and asking how they buy. Once we understand the buying process and map the sales process with the right tools to help move our clients along to a sale we have a model that works.
Snipers or even internal ankle bitters will always be there, but we must become experts in the process of sales. When the criticism hits that challenges and rocks your foundation do what my sales rep in Texas used to tell me…”be a duck” let it roll off your back and keep swimming.
Good afternoon Doyle.
Great topic. My two cents on the “dreaded sniper” is to climb back on that horse right away and move on to that next potential deal. That is what I find is the simplest way to forget about the “sniper”.
Best Regards,
Mark Secko
Mantralogix
http://www.mantraogix.com
That’s why on Mondays I try to make sure that my first call is a call I am looking forward to make. If you set an appt on that first call, or if it is just a good call or a good conversation, then you are beginning your week on a positive note and that momentum should carry through the rest of the day. However, sometimes that one call turns out to be a sniper so you are “double sniped” — forget about it and make sure your next call is to a prospect you know wants to talk.