# Selling Your Wood Work Tutorial



## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Introduction: What is the art of selling?*

6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.

Hope you enjoy. And of course, critiques, comments and criticism is welcome as well as suggestions to making it a better blog.

I believe that selling is not hard. Surprisingly as it might seem, that is a minority opinion. There are a great number of so called sales experts that will say that selling is a complex art of utilizing extreme levels of persuasion and manipulation in getting the prospect to do what you want them to do, namely buy your woodwork, services, artistic piece etc. Whatever your product is from full sets of kitchen cabinets, handcrafted furniture or small arts and crafts products like small boxes or wood turnings, or even components to other woodworkers or finishing services for unfinished furniture or refinishing antiques, there is a market for handcrafted work. The key to successfully selling your product lies in being able to sell yourself to your prospect. Let me rephrase that: *You must be able to sell yourself to your prospect.*

One common misconception that I have heard from various woodworkers is that they do not have any sales skills at all and don't need to try to sell their work because their work sells itself. While I have high regard for quality and believe that quality work is very important, relying on your work selling itself will result in a great deal of missed opportunities and lost sales. For example, look at all the project posts on this site alone. Every single project I see is made with quality and is a showpiece worthy to be displayed in some of the finest art galleries in the world. Most are worthy to be spotlighted in various wood working magazines, however; as some are, most are not. What is the difference between the work that is printed in magazines and those on this site that aren't? Opportunity. Those that have had their work published recognized an opportunity and submitted their work for publication or by some means were noticed and approached by the publisher. Does that mean that the piece that was built with great care and precision but is not featured in any type of published print is not worthy of the recognition? Of course not, it simply means that the opportunity hasn't arrived or been presented. Personally I would rather create the opportunity than wait for it to come knocking on my door.
Let me put it into a sports context. Several years ago when I was a child, the heavy weight boxing champion was Muhammad Ali. He was well known for his slogan that he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Several of my grade school buddies and I got into a discussion of Ali and his fighting ability. One friend made the comment that Muhammad Ali was the greatest fighter that ever was and ever will be. My father who overheard our conversation interjected a lesson I have remembered all my life. His words of wisdom were simply that there was probably a man in every county throughout America who had the ability to beat Ali in a fight. However all those men out there capable were not recognized because they were not in the professional boxing circuit. 
My point is your work will sell itself to a certain extent, but without actively selling yourself, how do you get recognized from the competition? What will make your work stand out from all the others to entice a person to buy from you rather than the next guy offering a similar product? 
In this tutorial series I will show techniques that have worked for me over the years. These same techniques can be used and employed for any type of woodwork you may be trying to sell. I have used the techniques that I will show you to sell to private individuals, small companies, large companies, and even fortune 500 companies. 
Back to the original topic. What is the art of selling? I would define it as a process of finding out what people do, how they do it, why they do it, who do they do it for, and trying to make their job easier by buying from me. I don't use pressure or gimmicks; I simply convince a prospect that it is good business to do business with me.
When I first went into business for myself, I rented a shop, set up my equipment, hung a sign on my door and purchased a yellow page add as well as a add in the local newspaper and sat eagerly waiting for the phone to ring. These were the days before the internet so web page design was not existent. I sat ,,and sat, and sat,, and guess what? The phone didn't ring. I soon realized that if I planned to be in business very long, I needed to learn to sell my products and services and I needed to learn it fast because before long the rent was going to be due again and I needed some sales to survive. I started reading books and magazines and anything I could get my hands on concerning selling. What I found was all of the books out there had essentially the same message. The emphasis would vary from book to book but the central idea was the same. Each book stressed outside research, in person probing, and then giving a presentation geared toward closing the sale. And each book would give specific techniques to employ and scripts to use all to "entice the person to buy".
Now looking back after several years and being successful at selling my work I feel that most of the methods that are in the books on selling that are commonplace in how to sell are the exact reasons why people in general cringe when a sales man approaches them.
Selling is not a gimmick, or a way to persuade, and if you follow the techniques I will outline throughout this series, you will find that the art of selling is not hard, and you will actually have people asking to do business with you.


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## FlWoodRat (Sep 12, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Michael,

Looks like this could be an interesting thread to follow. Although it's been quite a while since I was in the sales business, I still remember some of the RULES

1. Listen to your client
2. Always give your client a choice between two YES answers.
3. Always Be Closing
4. When a client says "No Thanks", it often means "I haven't heard the right reason to buy yet"

5. *Attitude is important*. If you think you will make the sale or you think you won't make the sale, in either case you will be correct.


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## monalisanot (Oct 4, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Michael,

This should be a great blog which I will follow with interest, I tried to comment on your earlier post, but suffered "log in problems".

Some of the items I would like to see you cover are:

1) Researching the market - what do they want, what will they pay and importantly how soon will they buy
2) Developing relationships with other outlets for your products(i.e. other retailers) - including how to get them to pay cash up front rather than consignment
3) Pricing strategies for other retailers versus what I charge retail
4) Advertising - what works , what doesn't and what gives good return for the money
5) WWW presence - how to get customers to your website - if I want to eat this is important, I live in rural area which is too small to feed me - however there are larger markets available within a couple of hours that would ideally be served via the web.

Anyhow, whatever you cover I will read as this is all new to me

Thanks in anticipation

Steve


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## WoodSimplyMade (Apr 23, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Michael,
Great read can't wait to follow the rest of your thread. I will be waiting in anticipation.

Thanks for the lesson and advice!

Mike


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


I simply convince a prospect that it is good business to do business with me.

This for me sums it up. I like your entire first blog though.

FlWoodRat:

Good ones, I would add, to be successful you have to look successful.


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## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


I look forward to seeing the next installment


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


I enjoyed the first blog in this series. Looking forward to the next.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Thank you all for your support. My goal is to make this as educational as possible and help anyone who wants to sell their work to have the right "tools" to find their prospects and present their products so that thy are as successful at selling their work as they are in creating it.

Thanks again


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Thanks for taking the time to do this, my shyness and anxiety are holding me back from selling more… I need tips on how to better promote myself, so I am eagerly reading all you write.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


i missed this two weeks ago when you first posted but was given a heads up by…Woodendeavor.
This looks like it might be something to follow closely…Thanks for taking the time to post…


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


Michael, I am looking forward to reading this series, which by now, you've posted almost a dozen installments. Thank you for taking the time to do this. I am looking forward to learning and garnering a list of ideas from this blog series, both from you, and from those posting their own personal wisdom and experiences.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Introduction: What is the art of selling?*
> 
> 6 Hours ago I posted a question concerning the interest of members for a tutorial on selling your work. So far I have had 132 reads and six direct comments showing interest so I am posting the first of my series which is mostly an introduction. I will post a blog daily giving a specific lesson in all major categories of the sales cycle.
> 
> ...


fill 'er up sir

i am about as empty
to this 
as a vessel can be

thank you !


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Market Research and Competition*

MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION

Your shop is set up and you have your product in mind. You have the motivation and encouragement from friends and family that somewhere out there someone would want to buy your work. But where do you begin?

In order to successfully sell your product you must have a target market. It is not realistic and actually foolish to think that everyone needs or wants your product. On the surface this should seem logical if you are creating hand turned bowls on your lathe. Of course not everyone is going to want a salad bowl set turned from the finest blanks of walnut your supplier is stocking. But take something like residential kitchen cabinets. Everyone out there has a kitchen if they live in a habitable place. It is required by building code that there be a kitchen, with a sink and counter top space on each side of the sink and at least one side of the stove. But that does not mean that everyone out there is going to need a kitchen up grade. Some already have their kitchen and some that need a remodeled kitchen might be making do with what they have. How do you research the market to find if what you are making has a market potential and will appeal to enough people to buy?

Many sales books out there will say that you want to "create" the demand for your product. This is easier said than done. Sure if you have a load of money to spend on advertising and commercialization this might work. However; for most woodworkers, conventional advertising is just too expensive to be realistic. 
For some products market research is easy. Say for a custom cabinet shop, you can go to your city or county website or extension office and obtain pertinent information on building and construction based on permits issued for new construction and remodeling. You can find out the number of new homes in the area being built and their reports usually itemize out the numbers based on the months so you can tell the "busy" season from the slow seasons.

In casket making, I get my demographic profiles from the State Department of Vital Statistics. This breaks down the number of deaths by county and I can tell the age groups of those deaths. I take these numbers and factor in the cremation rate of 30% and multiply this by my estimated market share 3% and I know what my sale potential is for the year allowing me to know what type of inventory to keep. For instance, and not to bore everyone with vital statistics, but by these reports I have determined that if I were to produce and stock 10 caskets that were sized for a child (by industry definition is a person aged 2 - 14 yrs old) and I had 3% of the market share for my county, It would take 50 years to sell those 10 child sized caskets. Therefore it is not feasible for me to stock a slew of child sized caskets.

That's fine and dandy you say, I don't make kitchen cabinets and am not in the funeral supply industry. Where does that leave the craftsman who makes small gifts and novelty type work that shows off my creativity like small turned bowls, clocks, furniture, picture frames whatever? 
These types of items are a little harder to determine a statistical demand for. Especially when it comes to novelty type items that people might purchase simply because they appreciate the beauty of the craftsmanship but don't have burning need for the item as they can get along without it. There is still a great deal of demand for these types of items. It is just more difficult to measure.

For starters, take your product and brain storm all of its uses and how you might market it and through what avenues. Don't be narrow minded here. Take for example something simple like sandpaper. We are all familiar with it. We all use it to sand the wood in our shops. But how many uses can you think of for common grit sandpaper other than sanding out blemishes and smoothing wood? I have built some shop made push blocks for the joiner and glued sandpaper to the face to grip a board to keep my fingers away from the cutter head. I have seen some make their own thickness sander and use a sanding belt for the feed table to pass the stock through their machine. The people at 3M have devised a way to put it on a sponge and market it as an easy way to sand molding and contoured work. I have a set of Rockler Bench Cookies. One day I had a makeshift assembly line going and needed an extra set. Not having time for them to arrive by mail order, I cut out four plywood disks and glued sandpaper to each side and had another set of bench cookies. There are probably a dozen more applications for sandpaper than what I have listed here. 
My point is with the product that you make, how can it be adapted to serve an additional client base than what you are currently targeting? Here is another real world example. Let's say you make small trinket boxes or jewelry boxes. I would be willing to bet that the variety of boxes I make and sell every week are very similar to those that many of you might be making. The difference is, rather than having a traditional lid; my boxes have a fixed lid, and are accessible by unscrewing the bottom, and are sold to funeral homes as cremation Urns. I do the same with segmented wood turnings, vases etc.
Years before I ever started working professionally in wood, I built a walnut jewelry box as a Christmas present for my sister. It was a standard box, with a hinged lid and pull out tray. In fact I was a novice and couldn't seem to get the mitered corners to align right so I hid the joints with a small turned accent column on each corner of the box. She loved the box. Little did I know back then that years later I would take the exact same design, place a divider under the tray to seal the bottom compartment from the lift out tray, call it a cremation urn and market it as an urn that had a small tray to store keepsakes like jewelry, or a wallet of the deceased. That design is now my largest seller in urns and I make them a dozen at a time and am constantly back logged with orders for them. 
Am I telling everyone to go into the funeral supply business? Absolutely not. Truth is it is a difficult industry to break into and sell to. What I am saying is take your product and look at all the ways it can be marketed. Can it be used by more than one group or can it be presented in a different light to another group? I am not saying you have to come up with 100 different uses for your product, but if you were to come up with just one, you have the potential to boost your sales.

With this I would like to shift gears to the second part of this blog and make a brief comment on the competition. Sure there are a lot of other woodworkers out there that are selling products similar to what you make. Some might be right next door to you and have larger and better equipped shops. In the funeral supply industry some of my major competitors are very large publicly traded companies on the New York Stock exchange. If fact; one particular competitor, is considered one of the largest producers in the world. I won't mention their name, as I haven't obtained permission from them to name them in this blog. However; to give you an idea of their production volume, they produce more caskets in a single day than I can produce in ten years. I have a humble 30X40 shop where they have three manufacturing plants that are approximately 800,000 square feet a piece. But do you know what? I manage to compete with them. And as intimidating as it may sound this particular manufacturer is not my largest competitor.
Who is my largest competitor? You might be surprised to find that the same largest single competitor I have is the exact same single largest competitor that you have as well. In fact "OUR" largest single competitor is also the same largest competitor my barber down the street has, as well as the gas station, grocery store and everyone out there selling a product or service has to compete with. Who is this SINGLE LARGEST COMPETITOR? No, it's not Wal- mart, or Costco, or the Chinese imports. Our single greatest competitor is The Status Quo.
What is the status quo? This is what your prospect is currently using before you came along. It might be the guy with the larger better equipped shop than you. It might be someone who has a smaller operation than you have. In fact it might be nobody at all. They might not be using your product or service by anybody and sometimes that is a harder sell to break into because it involves getting people to see a need for your product.

*The main reason people do not buy a particular product or service is they see no reason to change the Status Quo. *

What is the point here? My point is not to worry about the larger shop, or big mass production competition that you might be facing. No matter how large your competition seems to be there is a way to sell what you have to offer if it is presented in the right light to the right prospect. What your main focus needs to be when you attempt to sell is to sell yourself and your capabilities and bring to the attention of your prospect that what you have to offer is unique and something they will benefit from compared to what they are already doing or using.

I hope you all have enjoyed this blog. Tomorrow we will discuss the three groups of sales and the four sections of a sales call. 
If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me and I will reply to all.
Thanks for reading my blog and I hope it is enjoyable as well as educational and beneficial


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Michael, you have alot of great and valuable information and I also appreciate all the time and effort you are putting into this blog.
Thanks!


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the effort you put into this blog, it is very interesting and most of it new to me.


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## jimp (Feb 7, 2008)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thanks for putting this blog together. I look forward to reading future parts.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Good blog Michael.
In my experience the most important concept is the one you hit right off the bat in the first blog, namely that what you are selling, first and foremost , is you.


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## FlWoodRat (Sep 12, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Michael.

I agree with most of what you have to say. As far as identifying one's 'big.gest' competitor, all one needs to do is look into a mirror. If one see's the "I can't do this" reflection.. that person has already identified their biggest competitor. When one sees the "I can do this" reflection the rest is easy.

Yes folks.. Believing in yourself and portraying that attitude to a potential client goes a long way toward closing a successful sales


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## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Having read both parts one and two I will be following this series closely. As someone who is starting to believe in himself and his work more and more as time goes by and things happen I now find myself in a position, mentally and physically, to start to do something about selling.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Another good one, keep them coming.


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## CalgaryGeoff (Aug 10, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Great posts. I've enjoyed reading them and found them educational. As mentioned anyone can do it with determination, market research and mainly believing in yourself. To date all of my projects have been gifts for family and friends. They are now talking up my work and directing paying customers my way.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thanks for taking the time to put this blog together.
Looking forward to the next installment.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thank you all for your support on this. Selling is a passion as well as a necessity for me as it is required in order for me to make a living. It makes me feel good that other people are able to benefit from my posts.

Thanks Again


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## renthal (May 11, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thank you for these posts. You are spending a lot of time on them and we can all benefit from your experience.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Well I for one … will be following this blog… I find your views refreshing and intriguing…


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## WoodNuts (Apr 30, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Market Research and Competition*
> 
> MARKET RESEARCH AND THE COMPETITION
> 
> ...


Thanks much Michael, good and needed info.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*

THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE

In my first blog I had mentioned that when I first went into business I bought and read every book and magazine that had anything to do with business and sales that I could get my hands on. I read allot of books and soon realized allot of books are designed not to be educational, but are in my humble opinion, written with the sole purpose of selling the book. One such book out there claimed to have 205 ways to "close the sale". It had all kinds of ridicules gimmicks that when executed were suppose to lure your prospect into buying. Most of the techniques were ridiculously dumb. One of the gimmicks said that while on the sales call, take blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the center to form two columns. Then tell your prospect that you were going to play a game. On the left side you would write down all the reasons that the prospect should buy from you. On the right side was the column for the prospect to list all the reasons they had to not buy from you. Then get the prospect to agree that if you listed more reasons that they should buy, they lose the game and have to make the purchase. If they listed more reasons not to buy than you do than you would agree to leave their office and not make the sale.

Can you believe someone actually wrote that and published it in a book? Personally I don't want to take the time to present my products if the end result is based on the skill of a game. If this were the case than a round of golf or a few rounds of high stakes poker with the prospect would be more fun.

A few years ago I was contracted to give sales training to a regional field office of a large national home security company. In the interview stage with the sales manager, I learned that his office was behind national quotas for sales. He stated that by corporate policy, in order for their sales people to "keep their job," they each had to sell a minimum of 17 units per month. His office was not complying with corporate policy in terminating the non performing sales members because if they had, his office would not have a sales team at all, as his top producer's best month was 14 units sold, and most on his team averaged 9 units per month.
We agreed on a course curriculum and scheduled weekly sales training to take place every Wednesday morning with two hours of group instruction.

The first week when I arrived at their office for training, the sales manager had his sales team together in the conference room giving them a motivational speech as I set up my Power Point presentation. Listening in to his speech I soon recognized their problem. They were being taught some of these ridicules gimmicks. One of his team members stated that he didn't have a problem with scheduling appointment or presentation, but ran into price objections at closing. The sales manager's reply was to ask the prospect how much they paid for their refrigerator. Based on the theory that the average refrigerator costs from $800 to $1500, point out to the prospect that they spent that much to protect $100 in groceries and therefore wouldn't it make sense that they spend $1000 to protect a $150,000 home? He was a little surprised when I started my first lesson stating that if any of them came into my home with that type of closing tactic, they would surly find themselves escorted to the door in less than a polite manor.

Another gimmick I have read in more than one of the many books out there was if the prospect didn't buy, you were to give them big puppy dog eyes and say "Mr. Prospect, if you don't buy from me, I am going to lose my business." That's right, you are suppose to make the prospect believe that if you don't make the sale then you will lose everything, and wonder the streets like a homeless beggar and your children will end up in jail rather than in college?

I am just going to go ahead and say it right here. If you are willing to use these types of gimmicks to sell your work, then you are looking at your career as a woodworker completely wrong. If you believe that the best approach is to place your relationship with your prospect based on pity rather than trust, and have your prospect make decisions based on your problems rather than what is most beneficial to them, rather than your ability to deliver a quality product as promised, then I recommend you keep woodworking as strictly a hobby.

If however; you are repulsed by the idea of using gimmicks, and treating your prospects and customers as opponents that can be manipulated, then keep reading. This blog series is written for you!!!

You are going to run into people who claim to use the stupid gimmicks like these in some variation and claim they are successful at it. Don't pay any attention to them. Let me explain a little bit about the statistical analysis of sales.

Unless you are a complete idiot, you are going to close about one third of your sales regardless of using stupid manipulating tactic like these or not. It doesn't really matter what your tactic is, there are some people that are going to buy, because your work sold itself and your stupid gimmick did nothing to persuade the prospect to move on your behalf. Likewise, you are going to lose about one third of all your sales regardless of what you do. Not everyone can be sold to your product and no matter how good your product is or what kind of trust value and ability that you sold yourself to your prospect; there are uncontrollable variables that keep the prospect from purchasing from you. Either the financial condition of the prospect won't allow the purchase, the timing of your presentation to the prospects needs, or some factor is out there that you have absolutely no control over is prohibiting your prospect from moving on your behalf.

What matters is what you do with the remaining third of your sales. These are the ones that can go either way and are dependent upon your ability to gain a trusting relationship with your customer to make the sale and create a barrier preventing your competition from moving in on your customer and stealing your business away.

It is these middle third sales that separate the winners from the users. Have you ever seen this scenario? Take any town or city out there. With in this area you can have two companies in the same industry, say like a residential cabinet shop. Both shops serving the same client base. Both companies can start out with the same resources, similar capitol, size of building and equipment. They can both have the same woodworking skills and abilities and have similar construction techniques. However; as time goes on, one shop will barely squeak by while the other is extremely successful. What is the difference? How they handles those middle third sales!!

*There are basically two reasons why people decide to buy.* They either act on something they perceived as important before you showed up, or they act on an opportunity that you presented to them. 
The first category of sale you should be able to close the majority of the time. It is similar order taking. You might run into a hurdle or two in the sales cycle like your price or delivery timing, but for the most part it is an easy hurdle to sort through and compromise on and you make the sale. This type of sales falls into the group that you are going to win.

The second category of sale takes a little more work on your part. It requires listening intently to your customer and recognizing an opportunity and presenting your product in a way that is going to benefit both you and your customer. It involves building a trusting relationship before the prospect is willing to advance themselves into being a customer and signing on the dotted line. Now when I say recognizing an opportunity and acting on it, I don't want to convey being manipulative. Often times when we here of a person who is an Opportunist, we picture someone who is out to make a quick buck and is conniving, and ruthlessly ambitious. The type of opportunity I am talking about is where you keep a keen eye out and recognize how what you make can benefit your prospect and you tailor your presentation to build a trusting relationship with your prospect. This second category of sale falls into the middle third type of sale that can go either way.
In order to win those middle third sales, you must recognize the four areas of the sales call.

Stage one: *Prospecting.*

Prospecting is also referred to as Qualifying. This is where you and your prospect mutually agree there is a reason that you should discuss your product further and there is a potential for them to buy your product. It does not mean they will buy but that they are interested enough to talk to you and discuss what you have to offer. For most people this stage will take the form of a cold call.

Stage Two: *Interviewing*

This is a very important step in the sales cycle where your main job is to ask questions and listen to your prospect to determine if your product or service has malleability to fit their needs. All too often during this stage, people who are selling are not listening and are giving a product dump to their prospect of all the features and don't pay attention if what they make and sell is going to benefit their customer. Let's say you make hand crafted furniture and you are in the interview stage of the sales cycle. Wouldn't it be tragic if you were too busy selling yourself on your ability to make cabriole legs for sofa tables and night stands when your prospect is interested in having a dresser made with dovetail drawers? During this stage of the sales cycle, your main focus is to listen. You can steer and guide the conversation by asking question but you want your prospect to do most of the talking at this stage.

Stage three: *Presentation*

This is the part where you get to sell yourself. And by listening and asking questions you learned that your prospect who is interested in dressers with dovetail drawers and tailor your presentation around your ability to make dovetails. At the same time you learned because you were listening that they want a new dresser because they are expecting an addition to the family in a few months and you take this opportunity to suggest also a changing table, and crib, or bassinet. If you hadn't listened or asked questions, you might have only known that they were interested in a dresser and your sale was limited.

It is also important that during the presentation stage that you concentrate on the BENEFITS your product has to your prospect. The fact that your dresser has dovetailed drawers is a Feature. But what is the benefit of a dovetail drawer? Perhaps it is a stronger joint than other types of joints used for drawers giving the benefit of longer user life? How about the esthetically pleasing look the dovetail has over other types of joints? All too often it is easy to get caught up in the features of what you sell. When I put a presentation together I try to picture myself as my prospect and ask the question, "What is in it for me?" As in how is my prospect going to benefit from what I an offering and I try to tailor my presentation around emphasizing the benefits and letting the features of what I make back up the benefits.

An example of the difference between a feature and a benefit in my business of caskets is the head panels to my caskets. A benefit is if the funeral director is showing my casket and their customer wants a different head panel, he does not have to order a different casket. My head panels fasten into the lid of the casket with Velcro and the head panel can be changed out in a few seconds saving him time and energy. The feature is the interchangeable head panel. The benefit is it saves him time in not having to send it back to me to have the original one removed, changed out and shipped back to him.

Stage Four: *Closing*

If the proper ground work is laid in the prospecting, interview and presentation stage, then closing is the easiest part of the sales cycle. You simply ask for the business. Unfortunately this is the area that many professional sales people struggle in. If you don't confidently ask for the business than you will continue to muddle along going on about all your features. Your prospect has already heard that. Closing doesn't require any cunning or manipulating tactics. To me it is as simple as finishing my presentation and saying something like: "Mr. Prospect, this proposal makes sense to me, what do you think?" It is an honest question and deserves an honest answer. You might get some resistance like a price barrier or other objection but if you made qualifies your prospect, listened to what they do, how they do it, why they do it and who they do it for, and made a solid presentation based on the information you learned from them, you should be able to confidently ask for the business without polarizing the relationship.


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## FlWoodRat (Sep 12, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


Michael,

Another great discourse on the subject of sales. You gave an example of a qustion you might ask when closing a sale. It was "Mr. Prospect, this proposal makes sense to me, what do you think?"

I might be inclined to ask the client if he or she has any questions, answer them honestly and then say "Mr Prospect, thank you for this opportunity to provide you with the product or service you desire. Would you like me to start next week or the week after?"

Again, I always tried to keep my "customer choice questions" limited to positive responses. Whenever possible, I avoided giving them a choice of yes or no. Of course, your questions need to be sincere.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


More good tips here. Thanks again.


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## Tootles (Jul 21, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


This is shaping up to be a great series of blogs.

I especially liked your comment about "If however; you are repulsed by the idea of using gimmicks, and treating your prospects and customers as opponents that can be manipulated, then keep reading. This blog series is written for you!!!"

Thanks for all your effort in putting these together.


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## brian88 (Oct 26, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


well stated. This all brings back my training with f.a.b. statements while in retail sailes. At that point so many years ago I had no idea that I would be one day running a cabinetry/woodworking business and that ,that training would be so valuable.


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## RONFINCH (May 24, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


Wow, this blog is earily similar to "*Closing techniques (that really work!) By Stephan Schiffman*" ..... it's a great book.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


I have not read any of Steven Schiffman's books but I have been to several of his training seminars. he is a great motivational speaker. One of my favorites


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## DavidWhite (Jun 2, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Three catagories of sales and the sales cycle*
> 
> THE THREE GROUPS OF SALES AND THE SALES CYCLE
> 
> ...


On a related note, the best peice of marketing advice I ever got was "Take all the time and money you were planning on spending on marketing, and spend it on doing a better job for your customers."

In woodworking, gimicks won't earn you a dime. Great craftsmanship and good relationships with your clients will.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Effective Prospecting*

EFFECTIVE PROSPECTING

In order to find the right people to sell to you must have an effective prospecting plan. Recently I read an article in INC magazine where the focus of the article was that prospecting was no longer necessary for success. Personally I can't disagree more. The message of the article had a good general idea to rely on referrals and word of mouth to promote your business rather than cold calling leads and prospects. While this approach might work if you are well established, but what about the person just starting out?

Now I will say and stress that I believe that the best advertising you can have is a word of mouth referral from a satisfied customer. I don't care how much you spend on your advertising budget for the perfect well placed advertisement, it will not yield the kind of results that word of mouth can do.

However; let's look at the reality of word of mouth. Have you ever heard the saying that "Good news travels fast and bad news travels even faster?" Let's say you are commissioned by a customer to build a piece of furniture. Everything goes smoothly and you deliver as promised and your customer is overjoyed with their purchase. Who are they going to tell about it? Chances are, nobody unless someone comes into their home and is impressed with the piece of furniture and inquires about it, they will say they had it custom made and then tell about their experience and may even give out your name and phone number. Perhaps they will be so excited about the work you did for them that they call their friend or neighbor just to tell them of the new piece of furniture. Chances are though that your name will only be mentioned if someone inquires about it to them.
Let's say, something went wrong during the transaction. Maybe the customer was not as satisfied as they expected to be. Perhaps things went so south that the customer felt that they were done wrong. Who are they going to tell in this case? EVERYONE and I mean everyone they come in contact with. They might be in a conversation about the weather or the Sunday afternoon football game and out of the blue they say something like, "Oh by the way, if you ever are in the market to have custom woodwork done, don't go to this shop, I had a really bad experience.
I don't want to imply that good word of mouth is not effective. However; in reality, relying on word of mouth for someone just trying to get established is a long hard road.

A perfect example of bad new traveling fast is a week or so ago I came across a blog on this very site where a LJ was upset with a mail order supply company and the blog they wrote had several comments from those that read it of similar unpleasant experiences and a few mentioned other mail order companies they went to instead, but most just confirmed why they didn't use that particular company. A few times I have seen a blog where someone asked if anyone recommended a particular vendor, say a lumber supplier where others would respond with who they used. But to my knowledge I don't ever recall anyone ever writing a blog saying "Hey everyone, I went to this particular store or ordered from this particular place and it was so awesome that you should go there too." It is just the way things are.

So for the shop that is just branching out from hobby to professional or even the person that decides to make the move to full time woodworking as a means to make a living, where do you sell your work? Allot will depend upon the type of woodworking that you are doing.
Let's say you are building residential or commercial cabinets. There are a slew of contractors out there to solicit your work too. On the commercial construction side there are also several publications that you can subscribe to that list job postings such as Dodge Reports (www.dodgeprojects.construction.com) another good one is the Associated General Contractors (AGC). (www.agc.org) Most states have a chapter of the AGC and they as well as Dodge reports publish a monthly paper that lists commercial construction project out to bid and also lists the bidding contractors who have indicated that they are planning on bidding the project which you can use as leads to submit a sub bid in the architectural casework or finish carpentry section. For most projects this will fall under section 6200 of the specifications.

One word concerning these reports. Subscription fees are pretty steep. They can be beneficial especially if you partner up with other tradesmen and share the publication and split the cost of the subscription.
An important note on using these types of publications. While they are valuable resources concerning job leads and I have found that if you were to call any contractor on the list of bidding contractors to inquire if they will accept your bid, I can almost guarantee that you will get 100% response of them wanting your bid. You might even be the low bidder but that does not mean that they will necessarily contact you to do the job. I have found from experience that it still pays to make a sales visit to the contractor's office to sell yourself. 
If the world of contracting was merely who had the lowest price, then there would be no need for salesmen and everyone could get on a computer data base a look at who had the lowest price. 
What happens is Contractors are usually on a tight schedule in getting a project finished. Most will use your bid to compare with the bid from who they are already using to ensure they are still giving a competitive bid, but are reluctant to try some one new. A general Contractor's success is based upon other people doing what they are supposed to do in terms of getting the project built. When the General contractor goes with someone new, they are taking a gamble that they might be successful on the project or they might end up eating crow when someone does not perform on time.

Although my main line of business now is caskets and funeral supply, I still build commercial and institutional casework, namely for banks, and finance companies as well as schools. When I submit a bid to a General contractor that I have never worked with before or who is not familiar with me, I always try to get an appointment with them to sell myself to them.

In 20 plus years in the cabinet industry, I can only think of a few times where I was contracted by a contractor based on being the low bidder and not ever meeting with them prior to submitting a bid. I have on several occasions been awarded a contract and told that I was the highest bidder or on the higher end of the spectrum but still received the contract based on past performance and confidence that I was going to perform as promised.

For those who are not in the cabinet industry but more into furniture or smaller crafts, where you have a product line that you build and are not really building to specifications of what a designer lays out but entirely your own designs, where do you sell your work? A good place to start is local furniture stores and gift shops. I recommend keeping with stores that specialize in custom work. Visit the stores in your area and target the stores that sell items similar to your products. If there is an unfinished furniture store in your area, that is selling solid wood furniture rather than veneered particle board furniture, would be a good potential prospect. You might also be able to contract with the store to perform a custom finishing service for customers that do not want to finish the furniture themselves.

Another avenue is to solicit Interior designers. Often times an interior designer is contracted to decorate a home all the way down to the furnishings and being teamed up with a good designer can lead to allot of custom work. In this scenario, many designers will have you contract with the homeowner directly so it is good business to pay the designer a fair commission for referring your work and giving you the lead for the sale.

Some stores that you contact will want to do a consignment agreement rather than buying your goods out right. Consignment is not all that bad of a deal if it is approached correctly. The most important aspect of consignment is that you should be able to set the retail price. Most furniture stores and some specialty craft stores have extremely high markup on their product. It is not uncommon to see a furniture store place a 300%, markup on furniture. That means an end table that they purchase for say $200.00 has a price tag of $800.00 It is not fair to you to give them the product on consignment and they make this kind of a markup and it doesn't matter to the merchant when or if the piece sells because they have no invested interest in the piece. What happens is they naturally tend to push the items that they have to purchase, especially if they bought them on credit as the bill for the inventory is coming due and the longer it sits on their showroom floor the more money they lose. Your product is only shown or an effort made to sell it only occurs as a back up when they could not close on other items in the store.

Often times I have funeral homes that are interested in my caskets but want to test the waters and as the funeral homes have a large capital outlay for inventory, they often ask if I will place them in their showroom on consignment. When they do, I usually say, "We do have a standard consignment agreement that we use and these are the guidelines we practice." Then I go into detail of the policies. I make the consignment agreement so it is beneficial to both parties, and tell them that they can place any price on the casket not to exceed 100% markup. I also tell them that I have the right to remove the consigned item at any time. Also if th eitem isn't movong and they need the floorspca for something else, They have the right to contact me and have me come and remove the unsold casket. I do this because I might get an order for the same casket that another funeral home has on consignment and if I don't have another one in inventory, I don't want to lose the sale. 
The reason for controlling the retail price is to not limit the amount the funeral home makes from the sale but to give a competitive edge over the competition in the price sector. Of course not all will agree to these terms, but to me they should purchase the product and they can sell it for whatever amount the market will allow. 
Often times I believe that when a merchant agrees to this type of agreement, I have a better opportunity for increased volume as my product is sold at a faster pace than if they purchased it out right and put a 300% mark up on it and it sat in their showroom for several months, As long as there is one of my caskets in their showroom, they are not ordering a replacement.

Another avenue is craft festivals and art shows. If you do an internet search for "craft Fairs" there is a large selection of web sites that list craft shows and art festivals that you can do a search from to find dates for shows in your area. The prices for booths range from economical to very expensive. Before choosing a show and purchasing a booth, it is a good idea to contact the show organizers and investigate what types of vendors usually attends that type of show and the number of general public that attend. It is better to stay with the well established shows as new shows often don't generate the amount of general public that you might need to be profitable, however the more popular the show is, the more you will pay for your booth space. The same applies for flea markets. I have known people who were very successful at flea markets and also have known people who said the flea markets were a complete dud. I believe the difference is the type of flea market and what the public is expecting or accustomed to purchasing at a particular flea market, so it is wise to do your research.

Also do not discredit the potential power of the internet. You can sell your work on your own web site as well as purchase a storefront on many established web sites. I would recommend Etsy (www.etsy.com) or Artfire at www.artfire.com. One that I am not as familiar with but would be worth looking into is Made It Myself at www.madeitmyself.com. 
What I like about these types of web sites is they let you design your own page and you are competing with people who have similar crafts and not distributors that are importing their goods.


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## brian88 (Oct 26, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Effective Prospecting*
> 
> EFFECTIVE PROSPECTING
> 
> ...


well written. I agree that prospecting is one of the best ways to move business. I put potential customers into two basic categories in this economic environment. There are those that see the face of the dollar and those that see the value of the dollar. I think the first group are those that are spending there money on the very cheapest item of what they need out of fear of never seeing another dollar. The next group sees the value of the dollar not only in how paying a little more to get something that will last longer but also as an investment into the local economy by buying local from a local producer. Those are the people I focus on. I feel that business now must refocus on building customer relationships and loyalty rather than just trying to close the deal in front of them. I think people are for the most part more educated spenders so they will do some research into the company and or product they are purchasing. Prospecting should be done carefully and strategically. In my case I try to use the uncommon circumstances to open a sales presentation. I will work it into a conversation at a restaurant, a home center, at parties, it is much easier than one would think. I also try to always have business cards with me as well. I have also found that Craigslist has been very good for me. You can post a few photo's of work you have done and if priced correctly and worded in an intelligent fashion I can generate about 5-10 leads a week…and its free. I use Craigslist as another client base. Understanding that I must be willing to take a profit margin hit to gain another branch of clients through their friends and family….We must all be creative and let our performance character sell itself…


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## LesHastings (Jan 26, 2008)

Michael1 said:


> *Effective Prospecting*
> 
> EFFECTIVE PROSPECTING
> 
> ...


100% of our work is by word of mouth. We have no website and spend no money at all on advertizing. So I guess we are pretty lucky. We stay busy all the time.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Effective Prospecting*
> 
> EFFECTIVE PROSPECTING
> 
> ...


I like your "standard consignment agreement". 
Thanks for sharing.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Cold Calling*

MAKING THE COLD CALL
When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.

For most the prospecting stage will take the form of COLD CALLING. This is where you call your prospect to introduce yourself and is the initial stage of the sales cycle. It is important to remember that with each stage of the sales cycle, your objective is to get to the next stage. Just as the purpose of a resume is to gain an interview with a prospective employer, the sole purpose of the cold call is to get an appointment.

Secondly I do not try to sell to them at this point. The cold call is where you determine with the prospect if what you have to offer might benefit them enough to make an appointment.

You might have heard that in selling to always ask a "yes" question. I agree with this to a certain extent but also disagree with it. The problem I have with it is many sales people ask the most retarded "yes" questions that make a prospect feel like an idiot and when a sales person does this to me, it immediately puts me on guard. Stock brokers and investment planners are notorious for this. I might get a call from a financial planner that comes up with the most ridicules question like "You want your kids to go to college right?" or "You want every dollar you invest to bring the maximum return possible right?" What does he expect me to say, "No, I want my kids to be uneducated and spend their adult life struggling to make ends meet and I invest my money where the risks are high and the rewards are low." This type of idiotic questions result in making a person put on a defensive guard and is no way to start a trusting relationship. But let's say that that annoying stock broker rephrased his question to something like: "If I were able to sit down with you and show you a system that would allow you to gain maximum returns on your investment with limited risk, would you be interested in setting aside about 30 minutes where I could explain this system to you?" I am not a stock broker but as a consumer I might be a little more inclined to set an appointment with the person to learn more of what they had to offer and wouldn't have my guard up in the process.

The most important part of the sales call is to simply ask for the appointment. I do not keep my prospect on the phone asking a big series of questions either. I try to keep it brief, concise and to the point. I do have variations of my sales call that I use depending upon the situation. If I am calling from a referral of someone else I definitely use that referral as it helps establish credibility.

When making the cold call, if you are calling another company, you always want to speak with the decision maker. This might be the owner, or a manager in charge of purchasing. For a General Contractor this is generally a Project manager, For a retail store this will generally be the owner or store manager. If you are trying to sell to a large company, say a large retailer, that has several locations, you will want to speak with the director of the purchasing department. It does not do any good to try to set the appointment with the receptionist or someone that does not have the authority to buy. On some occasions, this might be your only option to try to sell a person that does not have the authority to buy just to get them to present the idea to the person who does have the authority in order for you to get the appointment. However; I do this as a last resort as it does nothing but prolong the sales cycle.

Having a script is important prior to making the call. Outlining a script of what you are wanting to say keeps you focused and helps to organize your thoughts. DO NOT rely on knowing what you want to say and shooting from the hip. You do not have a second chance to make a first impression and it is too easy to say something that might sound wrong, or after the call you might think, I could have worded that differently. When writing your script, write a couple variations to it. But use your script to make sure you have your thoughts organized. DO NOT read your script verbatim as people can tell your reading your script and it is very impersonal. 
Your script needs to be tailored to your style and I highly recommend that you DO NOT use proper English in writing your script. Why would you not use proper grammar when writing your script? In general people do not speak in proper grammar. I am not saying to murder the language and sound ridicules, but write your script as you would speak and not speak as you would write.

There are allot of variations that you can use to your script and it will greatly depend on your style and the industry you are selling to. I know of a very successful cabinet maker that told me he doesn't use the phone at all for cold calling but goes to a contractor's office or job site instead unannounced. Once he is in front of his prospect he simply extends his hand to shale there's and says, "My name is John Smith, cabinet maker, here to offer my services." It seems to work for him as he never seems to be in short supply of work. 
For me, I prefer to make an appointment over the phone as I am not as comfortable doing impromptu in person meetings. I am not saying that my friend is doing it wrong; it is just not my style.

One very simply script I use quite a bit:
"This is Michael Mills with Showcase Caskets located in Greensboro. We are manufacturers of handcrafted wood caskets and I was calling to make an appointment to discuss our product line. I will be in your area on Thursday; would 10:30 be a good time for you?

At this point the prospect will usually give an alternate time. I have performed an unscientific study of comparing the obituaries in my local paper and determined that fewer funerals are performed on Thursday than any other day of the week. The most common days for funerals and hard days to get appointments with funeral directors are Fridays, and Mondays. Similarly the most common times for a funeral is 2 pm. By picking a morning time I have a greater chance they will not be busy. If so they usually counter with an alternate time but it tells me that they are listening. Often times; what I here in reply is, I have a service scheduled for 10:30, can you be here late afternoon, or sometimes they will ask for an earlier appointment at like 9 am.

Of course nothing is full proof. One day I called a particular funeral home that was several miles away and they failed my "Are they listening test." I asked for the appointment at 10 am and they agreed. When I got there the place was packed with about 200 people and they were in the middle of a service and I was forced to reschedule for another time.

I always throw the time out there though. If I were to say I wanted to meet with them sometime, but not specifically set a time, It is too easy for them to say they will check there schedule and get back with me, and guess what, they don't call back. It is not that they are not interested, just that calling me back is not a priority and five minutes after they finish talking with me they forget and are off doing something else.

For this same reason, I do not leave messages if I am not able to talk directly to the person I need to talk with. I have heard different methods of leaving a message so that people will call you back, but personally I haven't had success with them. If I am not able to talk with my prospect, I might ask the secretary or receptionist for a better time to call, but I do not leave voice mail messages to my prospect.

Sometimes when you make a cold call, the person whom you are speaking with will ask for you to send literature of a brochure or ask if you have a web site. Do not send out any literature to them. I use brochures as a means to introduce my company and hopefully get a person to initiate contact with me. But when you have initiated the contact, sending a brochure will only prolong the sales cycles. Secondly, I don't care how carefully worded your brochure is, there is no comparison to an in person meeting. Your brochure can not sell yourself the way an in person meeting can.

Secondly when you send out sales literature often times it is not read. The secretary sorted through the mail and threw it away considering it junk mail, it was lost it, and they didn't have time to read it anyway. It doesn't really matter what happens. It only prolongs the sales cycle by making it a longer process before you can move on to the interview, presentation, and closing stages. When I am asked to send a brochure or other sales literature, I simply and tactfully tell them I don't do this. Of course tact is very important here than just simply saying no. How I usually handle a request for a brochure is to say: "Mr. Prospect, we normally do not send out sales literature as they service we offer with our caskets is unique and different from the other manufacturers and I can best describe our products and services with an in person meeting. Would Thursday at 10 am work for you?"

What your particular style is will determine the best approach for you in cold calling. Do not try an approach you are not comfortable with as it will reflect and most likely be unproductive. If you are comfortable with a particular style, then you will naturally be able carry on a flowing conversation.


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## tom427cid (Aug 21, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Cold Calling*
> 
> MAKING THE COLD CALL
> When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.
> ...


Hi,
Interesting and informative. However,some wood products such as small clocks and pens do not lend themselves to calling in advance IMO. As an alternative to cold calling I prefered to visit the shop in question. To avoid the salesman detection device that seems to be a part of every gift shop I carried my products in a briefcase. I dressed casually and this sort of low profile approach allowed me to survey the shop and the products that were being offered for sale. Sometimes I would decide that my products and the shop in question would not be a good match. At which I would thank them for their time and exit. If I thought that the shop would benefit from adding my product(and benefit me also) I would ask if they carried any other clocks or pens. Or I might comment about the products that they did have on hand. Point is,I did not use a script. Sometimes they would purchace,sometimes not. 
I did this for about 4-5 years. I would supply my customers two to three times during the year or ship items to them on a needed basis. I also made it a point-especially to the customer- that I would not have my product at another store in the same town. During the "supply trips" I would also keep on the look out for new customers.
Another thing that I think is worth mentioning is not to sell more than you can produce.
Just my .02
tom


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Cold Calling*
> 
> MAKING THE COLD CALL
> When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.
> ...


That is a very good point Tom, Not all products will necessitate a cold call or appointment setting and a walk in style of prospecting can be a better approach. Particularly anything that you make that has a good WOW factor once someone gets to view what you make. I would believe that also small priced items or "Impulsive buy" items would fall into this category like some of the scroll saw work that I have seen people do.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Cold Calling*
> 
> MAKING THE COLD CALL
> When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.
> ...


This is turning into a great series on selling.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.


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## doordude (Mar 26, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Cold Calling*
> 
> MAKING THE COLD CALL
> When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.
> ...


Michael,loved your discertation on your selling process; it's right on the money. i don't know if you run out of cold calling prospects,after you build up your clientel like i have. cold calling is the funnest part of selling for me. but there is always a
new business that pops up, and the fun begins again.
loved the cremation urn you did for the twelve year old. must have been rewarding.


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## becikeja (Sep 12, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Cold Calling*
> 
> MAKING THE COLD CALL
> When making a cold call I leave out the pleasantries and formalities and tend to get to the point. I do not ask the person that I have called if I am catching them at a bad time or how their day is going? After all what do I expect them to say? "No, you are not disturbing me, I was just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring." Of course you are disturbing them from whatever they were doing before you called.
> ...


Michael,

I just stumbled across your blog this morning. This is a very interesting read. I have developed and trained sales and marketing teams on sales processes for the past 10 years, so I know a little about the subject. I read a lot of these type blogs and am in full agreement with you that it is amazing some of the tactics you come across. There are 2 comments I would like to add to your entry number 5 on making cold calls. I hope you don't mind. I would also enjoy your thoughts on these points.

1)We are all individuals. Some are very comfortable with cold calling; some would prefer living under a bridge as long as they never have to talk to anyone they don't know. One thing I stress to people is to know who you are, and be that person. All of us can spot a fake, what will work for you is based on who you are not what works for others. Be yourself. You know your product better than anyone else, and have absolutely nothing to loose in telling others about it. In fact your passion around what you have to offer will result in more sales than the product itself. Once you have this understanding cold calling becomes a little easier but can still be very difficult for many of us. I have been cold calling for 24 years, and I still struggle with it. In fact I absolutely hate it. But one thing I have come to realize, if I don't tell others about what I have, I can't count on anyone else to do it. Even if word of mouth spreads I still have to address the customer at some point and be confident in my abilities. This even works for small items at a craft fair. Your cold call is when the client walks by your table, and you simply say hello and recognize that he is walking by. That's the start of the cold call. Now find out where his interest is, and show him what you have.

2) Set the expectation. When you make your initial phone call you suggest a time to meet. This is great. The expectation has been set for the next step in the cycle. What I have found is that if you continue to set clear expectations as you move through the process it becomes much easier for you and the client to come to terms and complete the sale.

I look forward to reading the rest of these, keep them coming.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Interviewing your prospect*

INTERVIEWING YOUR PROSPECT

You have scheduled an appointment with your prospect and the day comes for your appointed time to deliver an effective presentation and you are on your way to closing the deal and gaining a new customer. 
Sometimes when you are in front of your prospect, they might throw you a curve ball that forces you to think quickly on your feet. The features and benefits you planned on selling them with come to find out are not the benefits they are looking for. For this reason many people do not try to close the sale on the first meeting. Sometimes this approach works well for me and other times I go ahead and move into closing directly after my presentation.

Whether or not you do a "one call close" will greatly depend on your product and your style. As far as I am concerned when selling woodwork, there really isn't a right or wrong way as far as if you close on the first meeting or not. Some of my clients I close at the first meeting and some I visit two or three times prior to going for the close. Allot will depend on your personal style and how things go during the first meeting.

But as far as the elements of the presentation, where do you begin? In my last blog on cold calling I said to leave out the pleasantries and to get straight to the point. When it comes to your first in person meeting, take what I said about cold calling and throw it out the window because it doesn't apply here. Usually your meeting will start out with the pleasantries and hand shake and introductions. I usually comment on their office or store or anything to "break the ice" and get the conversation moving. Allot of times I will then start out with a short 30 second "commercial" if you will about my company and who we are what we make and the clients we serve. At the end of this short commercial, I don't go right into presenting my products but start getting the prospect to talk by asking questions.

The questions you ask can be in any order tailored to your particular presentation but the key points you want to know are: (Note: do not ask these verbatim as they can sound too direct, try to use tact in asking your questions to not sound forward)

1. Do they currently use a product similar to yours?
2. Who are they currently using as a vendor for their products?
3. If they no longer use a product like yours, why did they change?
4. If they are not using a product like yours, what are they using instead?
5. What are their future plans for using a product like yours?
6. Who are the customers they currently serve?
7. What are they usually paying for a product like yours?

Depending upon your product that you are selling, some of these questions may or may not apply. There might be a lot more questions that you can ask that will benefit your presentation too depending upon your product. The important thing to remember: *DO NOT shoot from the hip.* Before you show up to the meeting, have several questions in mind and just how you plan to ask it.

Let me tell you a horror story that happened to me not long ago. I was giving a presentation to a casket dealer that served funeral homes across three states. Being use to presenting directly to funeral homes, I asked a question that I have asked several funeral homes and have never had a negative response.
Basically concerning what he was paying for his casket is where I flubbed up my presentation. Normally I will ask a funeral director very direct, what are they paying for their caskets from my competition. They have always been very receptive to pull out the price lists and show me what they are currently paying, as this price list will vary from funeral home to funeral home depending upon the volume they give a particular supplier.

I asked the casket distributor this question in the same manor and forgot to remember one small detail. In one of those three states, he considered me a competitor as I sell directly to the same funeral homes that he was targeting. His reply was very direct that he didn't feel it was any of my business to know what he was paying from other manufacturers.

Needless to say, this set a downhill atmosphere for the rest of the presentation. Hind sight being 20/20 I should have rephrased that question (and in fact have modified the question even when presenting to funeral homes) to say: "If I were to supply you with my caskets at X amount of dollars, does this leave room for you to be able to market my products at a competitive level and still be profitable for you?" After all the whole reason for asking what they are currently paying was to find out if my product is priced competitively. Perhaps if I had asked the casket distributor in this fashion, the outcome would have been more rewarding on both of our parts.

Even if you believe that you already know the answer to a question, still go ahead and ask it. I learned this technique from a friend of mine who was an expert at marriage counseling. He told me something that holds true for sales. He said that in effective counseling, most people already know the answers to the problems in their marriage and how to fix it, but some people just need to hear it from an outside source before they apply it.

In sales, sometimes asking a question you might already know the answer to will allow a prospect to see your product in a different light or see a benefit they hadn't realized before.

Now when I mention asking a question you already know the answer to, that does not mean to ask a ridiculously dumb question. I don't go to a funeral home and ask "What do you do here?" Of course they are in the business of funeral services and final arrangement planning. But how I would rephrase this is:"Does your funeral home cater to a particular religious or ethnic group?" When you phrase your question in this type of manor, your prospect will usually answer with more detail than a simple response to your question.

Some sales trainers and books will say to ask questions that uncover a particular problem your prospect is having and then give them a solution to it.

This approach sounds good, however; not every prospect is going to have a problem with their current supplier. I tend to believe in the internet age, if a prospect is experiencing a problem with a supplier or their product, they are not going to sit long waiting for a new company to come solve the problem but get on phone and contact a new supplier on their own.

Earlier this year I fell victim to this thinking that there was a problem with a prospects supplier. I gave a presentation to the manager of a funeral home. We closed the meeting with another appointment where I would give the same presentation to the Board of Directors prior to them committing to using my product.

He made the statement that he really liked my product and would brief the board that he wanted to remove all products from another supplier and use my products exclusively.

A few days later, I was back in front of their board and gave a very solid presentation. The President of the board then stated that they were already under an exclusive contract with my competitor and excused himself from the meeting so that he could call their attorney to find out if there were any repercussions of canceling their contract early to use my products instead. While waiting for him to return, I mentioned to the board that twice I had heard remarks about the competing company and sensed there was a problem, and exactly what went wrong with their other supplier. They all looked at each other with blank faces and finally the manager spoke up and said, "Nothing went wrong, the difference is you. You have a casket in front of us and 15 different styles of urns on our table and to be honest, they are similar to what we already sell, but we just like you."

When you here a statement like this from a customer, you know you did your job well in selling to them.

Do not transition from the interview stage to the presentation stage too quickly. The interview stage is where you are learning about your prospect and taking note of how your product can benefit them. It is during this stage of the sales cycle that they should be doing most of the talking. This does not mean that you cannot go into your presentation stage in the same meeting, just be careful to not transition too quickly as this is your opportunity to learn all you can from your prospect.

Some sales books out there will say that each of the stages should take part in separate meetings. Where you interview during one meeting, give a presentation the next followed by a third meeting for your final proposal and closing of the deal. This might apply if you are selling high tech custom designed integrated software systems, but when it comes to woodworking, I really do not see a problem with a one call close.
There have been times where I did not go into my presentation stage or closing on the first meeting. It all depends on the situation and your prospect.

One time I went to my first meeting with a funeral home that had been in business since 1935. To my surprise, it was still owned and managed by the wife of the founder. I arrived for a 2pm meeting and she mentioned to me that she had another appointment scheduled at 4pm. Thinking this was more than enough time I gave my 30 second commercial and went into the interview stage. She told me the whole history of the funeral home, took me on a tour of her facility, told me the ups and downs and trends of her business over the years and before I knew it, 4pm had arrived and I had yet to open my presentation binder to even show her any of my products. She began to apologize for dominating the conversation and not giving me a chance to even show her my products. I told her that it was okay, I wasn't planning on selling her anything that day because I needed the time to get to know her and her business before I would know if my products would benefit her business. I suggested we meet again and set up another appointment for the following week.

A week later I returned for our second meeting and gave my presentation and closed the sale. In wrapping up the formalities of our contract, she mentioned that she was sold the week prior on the fact that I listened intently and didn't assume my products would fit her needs.

When you see yourself in the position that you do not close on the first call, the most important thing to do is to move to the next step which is to set another appointment. Do not tell your prospect that you will call them in a day or so to schedule the appointment as this may very well set you back to stage one. The person might not be available to be reach on the phone for a couple weeks and they forget everything they know about you. Do not depend on the person to call you later to set an appointment, they never do. They end up getting busy with their other tasks and with the status quo, and for the most part calling you to schedule another appointment is on the bottom of their priorities. By not setting the appointment right then, you only prolong the sales cycle. At all costs, try to get the next appointment scheduled prior to you leaving.

The style you choose in interviewing and presenting your products will greatly depend on your style and comfort level. If you attempt to go to a presentation using methods that you are not comfortable with, this will show, and reflect on your presentation as a whole. It doesn't mean that certain techniques are wrong, they are just wrong for you. As long as you concentrate on the key factors of asking questions and interviewing your prospect, regardless of the method, it will enable you to transition into the presentation stage and closing stage more easily.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *Interviewing your prospect*
> 
> INTERVIEWING YOUR PROSPECT
> 
> ...


I got to be honest.

I was way bored before I ever got to the end

It's been my experience that BS doesn't sell well, neither does boredom.

Make them laugh, put the mood at "ease", show "comfort" in what you know even if it isnt much : )

a conversation should start with a hand shake and end with one, even if you dont believe a word you heard……make sure, they at least try to smile and "always look them in the eye". Sarcasm allowed.


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## Sarit (Oct 21, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *Interviewing your prospect*
> 
> INTERVIEWING YOUR PROSPECT
> 
> ...


I have been following your posts and I thought it was an interesting read.
I'm glad you took the time to write this.

I'm wondering if you have a huge casket making business? It sounds like with all the different types and funeral homes you seem to be doing business with I don't see how you could do it alone.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Interviewing your prospect*
> 
> INTERVIEWING YOUR PROSPECT
> 
> ...


I echo Sarit thoughts. I can see how much time it would take to put this series together, let alone gather all the information presented. 
Thanks again for all the good info.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Presenting Your Product to Win Sales*

I apologize to the faithful readers of my blog series for the delay in getting this bog out. I have had an exceptionally busy week this past week and have limited computer time. Hope you enjoy….

How to Present your products to win sales

When you transition from the interview stage to the presentation stage of the sales cycle, it is important to remember that the sole purpose of the presentation stage is to lead into the closing stage and effectively be able to close the sale without gimmicks or pressure towards your prospect.

It does not matter if you are performing a one call sales cycle or meeting on more than one occasion, the interview stage must precede the presentation stage and the presentation stage must precede the closing stage. For many types of woodworking, you might have been able to do allot of the interview stage during the cold call in setting up the appointment. I do this often times if I feel that the prospect will allow the time on the telephone to answer a few questions and it can be a great time saver by qualifying your prospect during the cold call and it also re enforces the idea to the prospect that it is worth their time to set up the appointment with you.

The most effective presentation will make the closing stage so easy that the prospect practically asks to do business with you rather than you asking for the business. But how do you format your presentation in order to accomplish this?

If you will recall, we have previously established that your main competition is the "Status quo" meaning what your prospect was doing before you came along. The status quo might be a similar product from another competing source, or it could be nothing at all. Also we have already established that the number one reason people DO NOT buy is they see no need to change the status quo.

The objective is to get the prospect to see your product in a way that gives them a reason to change the status quo.

In order to accomplish this in the most effective and productive manor, you must identify you customer. Ultimately who are you selling to? On the surface this might seem to be an easy question. Let's say for example you are selling custom built in cabinetry and furniture. On the surface you might say that your customer is homeowners who seek one of a kind home furnishings rather than mass produced furniture made on an assembly line. Although this might be the final end user of your product, your immediate customer might be the furniture store owner, or interior designer or Contractor that you are giving your presentation to. And in this case, this is who you must sell in order to close the sale.

If you are presenting your product to the end user, your presentation will be different because the end user is who you must sell to. What if you are selling wholesale to a store, or contractor or distributor who is buying your product to sell retail to the final end user?

Remember in the first blog, on WHAT IS THE ART OF SELLING, We determined that the object in selling is to find out what your customer does, who they do it for, why they do it, and how they do it, and help them do it better. The only way to show your customer how you can help them do what they do better is to sell them on the benefits of using your product. Also it is important to realize that you are not not only selling your product but selling yourself as well.

Before preparing your presentation, think of it this way. What is in it for your customer? What benefit do they get from choosing to go with your product over the competition? For example, let's say you build furniture that is handcrafted from solid wood rather than particle board or MDF. This is not a benefit but a feature. Too often, people tend to concentrate on the features of their product, but it is the benefits the customer will receive from your product that sells.

I am sure that many people out their will say that they sell their product, no matter what it is on the merits that it is finely crafted, quality woodwork made from the finest woods available. And these are very strong features that are valuable in your presentation. In order to reach those middle third sales you must not stop at just the features but point out the benefits that those features bring.

To give an example, in the casket industry, there are three primary fabrics used for the interior lining. Economy priced caskets typically have satin lining, while mid grade caskets have crepe lining and velvet is used in the most exclusive models. Recently I had the opportunity to purchase crushed velvet at a lower price than satin or crepe. Of course I jumped on the opportunity and thought that this would be a really good selling feature to have such a high end fabric in a casket that was priced in the economy level. I soon found out that this was not perceived well with funeral directors, that although the final end user might go for the soft feel and rich texture of a velvet lined casket, the funeral directors did not want it in their showroom for an option because traditional velvet actually makes their job harder. How could this be? It turns out that traditionally the fibers in velvet shed very easily onto other fabrics it is in contact with and a casket lined in velvet makes their job harder because they are fighting the "lint" and shedding of the velvet against the cloths of the deceased. As I am mostly presenting to funeral directors, the feature of crushed velvet would not sell them but create and objection. Therefore in order to sell caskets with crushed velvet, It is necessary to educate the funeral director on the benefit that crushed velvet does not have the same shedding properties as traditional velvet, and the benefit is that by using my casket, they can offer an economy priced casket with high end features like the soft and plush feel of velvet.

Depending upon who your audience is, your product might have features that mean nothing to who you are presenting to. Take caskets again as an example. As a standard "Feature" all caskets that I produce are equipped with an adjustable bed. When I am presenting my caskets directly to the public, I do not concentrate on the ease of the lift mechanism or the adjust ability of the bed. After all the benefits of this feature are designed to benefit the funeral director and essentially mean nothing to the final end user. Instead, when selling direct to the public I tend to concentrate on other benefits such as cost savings or the benefit of a casket that is unique as the handcrafted feature makes no two caskets to be exactly identical. or the benefits of the memorial tube and why a memorial tube is included on all models. The benefit that if they buy from me I can customize their casket anyway they choose and I deliver the casket to the funeral home of their choice free of charge.

When establishing the list of benefits that you want to include in your presentation, do not forget ti include benefits that are not directly related to features of your product like customer service, or payment terms, warranty, etc. For some products that do not have a laundry list of features, this can be instrumental in closing the sale. Consider gasoline as an example. Essentially, you receive the same benefits of gasoline regardless if you buy Texaco, BP, Exxon or whatever. That benefit being that your vehicle will go from point A to point B as long as you have fuel in the tank. But are you one of the majorities of people that buy most of your gas from the same station? Think about the reasons you buy from a particular station. I guarantee it is most likely because there is a benefit you receive from buying at that particular station rather than another. That benefit might be the stations close proximity to your home or work, a penny or two in price savings, or better fuel economy for your particular vehicle. You might purchase at a particular station on the benefit that they give a free soft drink with a fill up. It might be that you also purchase convenience items and they have the best selection. It might be the service you receive from the gas station attendant. Whatever the reason you choose to buy gas at a particular location most likely has little to do with the gasoline itself. After all, the main benefit of buying gas is it allows your vehicle to run, and all gas regardless of brand will make your engine run. Can you really tell the difference between Exxon and Texaco fuel?

A price advantage can be a good benefit. However, if all buying decisions were based upon the price, there would be no reason for salesmen. Everyone could get on a product data base or search the internet for the lowest price. A perfect example of this is the distributor that I buy my material for lining caskets with. Believe it or not, the supplier I most commonly use is also the most expensive. In fact, when it comes to satin, they are twice as expensive as the lowest priced vendor I know of, and their crepe is 7 time more expensive. Why do I use the vendor I choose rather than the lower cost supplier? Better quality of material is one, but mostly I like the service I receive and the dependability for them to deliver what I need on time without losing shipments.

Another example is the hardware for my caskets. Within 100 miles of my location, there is a national manufacturer that specializes in hardware for caskets. On the surface it seems that it would make more sense to use them than anyone else. Their price is competitive with other manufacturers and considering their close proximity, I would pay less for shipping. However, I buy all of my casket hardware from a manufacturer in Ontario Canada. Buying from them means I have to pay extra shipping and import tax, not to mention it takes a few extra days to receive their products as they usually have a day or two held up in customs. Why do I use them rather than the practically next door vendor? They were masters at finding out what I do and finding a way to help me do it better. I first contacted both companies the same day with an email that I was seeking a supplier for casket hardware. The local company never called on the phone and in fact failed to return several calls I made to them, but instead emailed me an electronic catalog and price list. The company in Canada however, took the time to call me on the phone and before trying to sell me anything, they asked me questions. They found out everything they could about what I was doing and who I was doing it for. The sales person spent about 30 minutes on the phone with me and then asked that I send him some photos or drawings of my designs so he could select hardware that would be best suited for my designs and help me do what I was doing better.

When you present your product it is important to look at your product in the same light. Pick out the benefits your product and service presents and preferably finds benefits that are different from the competition that make you unique and creates a desire for your prospect to change the status quo. Remember that features of your product are not the selling points, but the evidence that backs up the benefits your product brings.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Presenting Your Product to Win Sales*
> 
> I apologize to the faithful readers of my blog series for the delay in getting this bog out. I have had an exceptionally busy week this past week and have limited computer time. Hope you enjoy….
> 
> ...


Ok, you keep hitting the ball out of the park, thank you for taking the time to do this. It has been very helpful (at least to me)...


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Presenting Your Product to Win Sales*
> 
> I apologize to the faithful readers of my blog series for the delay in getting this bog out. I have had an exceptionally busy week this past week and have limited computer time. Hope you enjoy….
> 
> ...


Glad to hear you are busy.

Lots of good points in the above post. Service does go a long way with most people.

Thanks again for putting this together.

Scott


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Closing the Sale*

Closing the Sale

You have done all your homework on your prospect, you have interviewed your prospect and found what they do, how they do it, why they do it and who they do it for and you have given a solid presentation and are ready to go for the close. The problem is how do you close your prospect so they graduate to the class of being a customer?

I have heard all kinds of tricks and antidotes to use over the years and it is the subject of many books and magazine articles. Truth be told, if you have done your homework, it is the easiest part of the sales cycle. I am not just saying this and don't mean to boast, but fact of the matter is my closing rate is almost 90%. Okay, to be exact, it averages 87% and if you employ the techniques I use to close sales I promise your closing ratio will improve too.

What do I mean by closing ratio? This is the ratio of the number of times I move to the closing stage and result in a signed contract. Some books on sales and some business colleges teach on sales numbers and the importance of keeping track of your ratios. By keeping track of your ratios, you know how much work you need to do to close a sale and also identify your strengths and weaknesses. To give an example, my current sales ratios for this year look like this: 20%.67%, 40%,87% my sales ratios for this week look like this: 100%, 100%25%100%

Now I will explain what these numbers mean. The first number is my call to contact ratio which represents how many times I must dial a number to get a live decision maker to get on the phone. I don't include receptionists or the hard to get through secretary, but how many times I must dial numbers to get the person I need to speak with like a purchasing manager, owner of someone with purchase authority on the phone. According to these numbers, I am only averaging two completed calls for every ten numbers I dial.

The second number is the ratio of set appointments once I have made contact with the prospect. Sometimes the prospect might be busy that week and I need to call them back to try to get an appointment the following week, but basically, for every 10 prospects I actually get on the phone, I am able to set an appointment with 6 to 7 of them. The third number is how many of those prospects actually keep their appointments without canceling or rescheduling. And last is the closing ratio of presentations actually made.

To explain my numbers for this week, I dialed four numbers and surprisingly was able to get a decision maker on all four calls, I also set an appointment with all four decision makers but out of the four appointments two appointments called to reschedule for next week and one out right canceled by having the hard to get through secretary call me so I have not had the opportunity to confirm a new appointment date. Lastly, the one appointment that did follow through I was able to give a solid presentation and close the sale and am on my way to building what I hope to be a long term relationship with a new customer.

Why would anyone want to keep track of these types of numbers? The advantage is it allows you to predict your future and lets you know how to plan your schedule. Based on my numbers I spend a great deal of time on the phone dialing numbers that are not answered with the right person. Secondly, let's say hypothetically I have ten appointments scheduled for a single week. My number averages tell me that most likely I will actually only make four presentations and of those four I will most likely close the sale on three of them. 
This in turn also tells me how much lumber and plywood I need to keep in my shop. I order my hardware out of Canada so I use these numbers to know how many hinges, casket locks and swing arms to keep on hand as well because if I run out, it is not as simple as running to the local Woodcraft store to buy more because they don't carry the type of hardware I need

You can tailor your numbers and what they mean to you anyway that works for you but what is important is that you keep a record to know how to set your personal quotas that will lead to the business revenue you need to generate and meet your goals.

Now, some of you that have been following my blog might say how can I have a closing rate of 87% if I said in an earlier blog that all your sales are divided into thirds and there will be one third that you will not be able to close no matter what you do. By that statement it would seem that a perfect closing ratio should be 66%. This is where interviewing your prospect comes in and finding the right information concerning your prospect and fitting your prospect to your product. When I boast an 87% closing rate, these are those that after proper interviewing and presentation I go into the close and am able to get the prospect to become a customer.

I am going to go out on a limb here and break the rules of every sales book and sales trainer out there and say I don't always attempt to close a prospect. It has happened on some occasions that after the interview stage, I realized my product was not right for the prospect and I would rather gain their trust by admitting that my product is not a good fit for them rather than trying to muddle my way through a presentation and pressure them into a purchase that is not right for them.

But enough of that, this blog section is on closing, and how do you transition from the presentation stage to the closing stage? And what makes it so easy?

During my presentation I am looking for any type of body language from my prospect I can get. I am sure you are all familiar with the statement that the majority of communication is through body language rather than verbal. I don't recall the percentage and that is not important. What is important is that you recognize body movement with your prospect and are able to read what they are thinking. For example, if your prospect is sitting with their arms crossed during your presentation this is usually a sign that they are skeptical of what you are saying. Either they have an objection that they haven't brought to the surface or they have a problem with something about you or your product. 
I will go into more detail on tomorrow's blog on dealing with objections, but in a nut shell, do not attempt to close when your prospect is giving negative body language.

Proper body language I like to see on my prospects that I use as good non verbal communication is if they are leaning forward in their seat toward you. Their eyes are usually wide and bright and they are very engaged in conversation asking questions and giving positive feedback to your questions.

Do not rush into your close too early. Only close once you have wrapped up your presentation and then simply ask for the business. This can be done in many ways. I have known many other sales people who have said things like set a pen on their desk in front of the prospect and if they pick it up you know they are sold. Personally to me, a prospect picking a pen up off the desk tells me nothing. Maybe they just wanted something in their hand to fiddle with as a nervous habit while they are in a discussion with you and that pen was the closest item. However; about 9 or 10 years ago I was at a sales seminar by one of my favorite motivational speakers and sales trainers by the name of Stephan Schiffman who had what I thought was the most logical approach to going into a close I have ever heard. Simply give your proposal and then say: "Mr. Prospect, this proposal makes sense to me, what do you think?" Once I started using this approach I have found I close more sales than any other psychological trick or approach I have ever heard. It is not threatening and does not polarize the relationship that you have worked to establish. Of course this can be changed into several different variations. You could also say something like: "Mr. Prospect would you like me to get started this week?" Or if you are selling small craft type items like to a gift shop or retail store, you could say, "Mr. Prospect, I have X number of these in stock right now, if I delivered Y number of them to you tomorrow, do you think this would be a nice addition to your inventory?"

What I would not do is say something like: "How many would you like me to bring?" It might sound innocent enough but your prospect will interpret it as being sarcastic and they will respond with sarcasms or simply chuckle at the idea and not take it as a serious inquiry. However, if you simply ask for the business in a non threatening manor, you are likely going to here, a positive remark that confirms they are ready to move forward and make a purchase,or you might here an objection. If the reply is an objection, you must find out the root of the objection because truth be told, usually the first objection a prospect gives, is usually not the actual objection. However, we will go over handling objections in detail in tomorrow's blog.

In summary, closing the sale should be the easiest part of the sales cycle. However; it is imperative that you performed your due diligence in the earlier sales stages of the sales cycle. Only after asking the proper questions during the interview stage and presenting the benefits and not just the features during the presentation stage will you be ready to successfully go into the closing stage and transform your prospect into a customer.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Closing the Sale*
> 
> Closing the Sale
> 
> ...


Pretty interesting. Thanks.


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Closing the Sale*
> 
> Closing the Sale
> 
> ...


some time ago before i became a nurse i was a sales trainer for a chain store. I always taught my people to ask for the deal this means after finding what they need and qualifying the prospect showing them your item will meet there needs you must ask them to buy. then shut up if you speak again before they agree or decline you will loose the deal.this is a simple concept that is tough to learn but once mastered your closing ratio will go up a great deal. if you do these steps you will succeed I have used these techniques for years they do not work as well in online sales but they do work on face to face and phone sales the silence is awkward . none the less you must not speak after you ask for the deal. there are several phrases to close with the best is the presumptive close you have done your work as described above you know what they want and you know you can build it a simple close is to ask if they would like it in the oak or cherry finish this presumes you have met their needs and they are obligated to be polite and say why i like the cherry fine then Mr Jones i can have this ready in 10 days i require 50 percent down and this is not refundable should you change your mind as this covers my cost of materials have your contract ready and have them sign take their payment now. any of you that need coaching on sales i am glad to help you free of charge this is a skill i have and now that i am older i don't work any more and like teaching a great deal.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Closing the Sale*
> 
> Closing the Sale
> 
> ...


You are exactly right old dude. Once you ask for the deal you got to shut up and not speak no matter how long the silence is. You have to look at it as if you speak first you loose. Thanks for adding this important point!!


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Closing the Sale*
> 
> Closing the Sale
> 
> ...


Good blog. Looking forward to the next installment.


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*How to handle Objections*

DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
Part One

Before I get into dealing with objections, I received a very good comment from fellow LJ thedude50 that is a very good and important point in closing the sale. When you present your closing statement, many times there will be a uncomfortable silence period. It may feel like several minutes, but rest assured you are nervous and it really is only a few seconds. Sometimes the prospect is digesting your proposal before making a decision. If your prospect is also a savvy sales person they might be doing this on purpose to test you. What ever you do, do NOT say a word. You have had your time to speak and laid your proposal out on the table. Possibly your prospect is thinking it over and this is the time that you need to keep quite no matter how uncomfortable or how long it seems to take. Look at it as if you speak first, you will likely lose the sale. Often times people will get uncomfortable and think they need to say something to their prospect. Reiterate the features and benefits or ask a question. Your prospect has already heard what you have to say and to put it bluntly , this is the time to shut up. I promise you the time lapse is not as long as it feels like it is and it is your prospects turn to speak, so give them the opportunity to collect there thoughts before they do speak. They are either going to respond to your proposal in one of two ways. They will either agree and sign a contract, or give an objection.

The subject of Objections in the sales cycle is very broad so I will break this up into more than one blog.

In a perfect world you make your sales call, deliver a perfect demonstration and close the sale without any type of objection from the prospect. Unfortunately this seldom happens, and in fact, when it does, I would bank that this sale is one that you would have gotten no matter what you did to "persuade" your prospect to buy because this would qualify as one of those sales in the first third that you are going to win anyway.

But what happens when you face objections from your prospect? Many times we are faced with objections that make us want to crawl into a dark corner and hide. But as we can't really hide, the way we handle objections will make the difference between closing the sale and losing the sale.

Before we discuss what to say when faced with an objection, let me first go over what NOT to say. In no way do you want to respond to an objection that will polarize your relationship. You have too much invested in this stage of the sales cycle to do anything like this because it will certainly cause you to lose the sale. Selling isn't a contest where if you close you win and your prospect loses. Don't ever get into an argument with your prospect or say something that will offend or belittle them. This might seem like common sense but I have seen many sales people do this.

About a year ago I was inquiring about health insurance and had a high pressure insurance salesman do this very thing. He made his presentation and asked for me to sign. My response was I wanted to take some time and discuss the proposal over with my wife before I made a decision. At this point it would have been in his best interest to move to "the next step" and establish a time line where he could get back with me after I had time to discuss his proposal with my wife, or better yet, offer to meet again at a time the three of us could go over his proposal together. Instead he made a vital mistake by using a technique that I have read in more than one sales book written by high pressure salesmen. He got this astonished look on his face and said: "Oh, I must have been mistaken; evidently you are not the decision maker in your household. I apologize for taking up your time sir when I needed to be presenting to your wife in the first place as it is evident that she wears the pants in the family."

The psychology behind this "gimmick" is that by challenging my role as the leader and decision maker for my family would anger me to the point of signing to prove that he was wrong about me not being the decision maker. Instead of signing, he polarized our relationship and lost any chances of making the sale.

Of course this seems obvious but I have seen it performed a number of times.

Secondly and I am going to go against almost every sales book out there by saying to avoid a quick comeback. Most sales books will say to take an objection and turn it into a positive. However; by giving a quick comeback to an objection, we don't really solve anything because most of the time the first objection is not the root problem the prospect has. It is easy to take an objection as a personal hit against our product,or service. But allot of times an objection is a hidden question the prospect has. Rather than making a quick response to the objection, consider if it were asked as a question, how would you respond? Most likely it would be different.

When selling wood work, generally we are talking high ticket items and often times we run into price objections. But rather than trying to justify your price right away or even worse lower your price, consider asking some questions. You will be surprised at the number of times an objection like "the price is too high" is really not the true objection, but is asking a question on financing possibilities or flexibility in invoicing. Your prospect might be expecting the standard 50% due at signing and 50% due upon completion and asking for installment payments or another form of creative finance options to make the purchase easier.

Under no circumstances do you want to lower your price as soon as the prospect says your price is too high. By lowering your price as soon as you here a price objection only tells your prospect that your initial proposal was overpriced and taking advantage of them. Instead, when you here a price objection, ask a question. I usually start by asking "What price were you expecting?" or "What price would work for you?"

Let's say for example you are selling a set of kitchen cabinets to a homeowner and you went through the whole sales cycle and asked the appropriate questions, and made a solid presentation and hypothetically you quoted their new custom made kitchen at $7500.00. The prospects eyes get wide and they say:"Gee that is more than we had budgeted to spend." Then by asking what they were expecting, they tell you they had $6000.00 budgeted, you have a couple of options. I would start by reassuring my prospect that I do not want to pressure them into spending more than they are comfortable and if we go over the proposal together, and list the features and benefits of each of the features of their new kitchen, maybe they can isolate certain features that are not as important to them and thus will lower the price. (Only lower your price by subtracting features and benefits like a lazy susan or style of hardware etc.) If the true objection was the total price, they will usually agree to this, however if the price objection is deeper rooted they are usually reluctant to give up some of the features and benefits they will receive. This usually tells me that the true objection might not be the price at all but the payment terms and by offering some flexibility in deposit amounts and draws will lead to closing the sale.

Sometimes when dealing with Kitchen cabinets, you will run into a price objection based on the price offered by large box stores like Home Depot. This is where you can justify your price by pointing out the quality of materials used and also point out that the price they often receive from the box store might not be including all costs such as installation and delivery, and as they are factory mass produced cabinets, there are allot of extra costs in filler pieces that will be required in installation. However; if you asked the proper questions in your interview stage and made a solid presentation of your product, this objection should have came out before you reached the closing stage.

If at all possible, try to avoid pricing objections at the closing stage by naming the price or even an estimated price early in the sales cycle. If you make and sell a tangible item that you mass produce this is easy. However if you are selling kitchen cabinets or another type of commission woodwork it is hard to give a final quote until you receive all of the information you need in the interview stage. But if you throw out a ball park figure, like a basic price for a custom made kitchen in red oak is X dollars per foot, this will take some tension off your prospect and they often times realize your price is more affordable than they originally thought. They spend more time giving you the proper answers to your questions and listening to your presentation than worrying if the price is going to be too high. Also by giving the price early in the sales cycle, you can overcome pricing objections before you get to the closing stage.

A few months ago I went to give a presentation to a funeral home. Oddly when I arrived and we went through the initial greeting and hand shake and I touched on our conversation during the Cold Call two days prior, he claimed he didn't remember talking to me but had a note on his calendar of an appointment at that time and did not know what the meeting was about. So I started by giving my 30 second commercial on my company by saying: "Mr. Prospect, I own Showcase Custom Caskets located here in Greensboro and we specialize in handcrafted wood cask…." Before I could finish my first sentence, He held up his hand to stop me and said: "Usually when I hear the word "Handcrafted" that tells me they are too expensive and I can't afford them." At this he started to get up out of his chair as he assumed the meeting was over. My reply was simply: "Mr. Prospect, many funeral directors in this area have had the same concern over our pricing, however; we have been working with ABC funeral home and Kevin *(last name)* over there has assured us that our pricing is competitive with mass produced assembly line caskets and has had great success in marketing our products on the benefit of hand craftsmanship and the appeal of selling a locally produced product. In fact as the average wholesale price of our caskets are $1300.00 and some models as low as $900.00 I believe you will find that we are not only very competitive in the wood casket market but are also competitive with the cost of steel caskets." At this he sat back down and we continued the meeting.

Now take this particular case as an example. By pointing out that others have had the same objection, I show empathy to his concern. I let the prospect know that this is a common objection and he is not alone in thinking this way and I used a success story to neutralize the objection. Obviously if I had come off with a quick knee jerk response like "How do you know it will cost too much if I haven't given you the price yet?" would polarize the relationship before it had even started.

A common response you will also hear is "I need to think about it." This response is extremely common. Get use to hearing it allot. Like I said before though that many times when a person gives an objection, what they state as an objection and the true objection is not the same. The true objection might be a fear of changing the status quo or fear of taking the chance on someone they are not familiar in working with. There might be a fear of how the change will be accepted by a boss or their peers. These types of objections can be surfaced to the true objection but it takes a little patience on your part. Do not pressure the prospect into making a decision they are not comfortable. This is not a way to make a prospect a customer and then develop that relationship into a partnership. When I hear the "I need time to think about it" objection, I accept their wish to have some time. I then establish a next step. Do not tell the customer to think on it and call you in a few days as chances are they get busy and don't call and you lose the sale. How I handle this is to establish a time line. I usually tell the prospect that I can respect their desire to think things over, and I we will meet again. Then I set another appointment in person for a few days, say 4 maximum. (I avoid setting follow up appointments as phone appointments because by conversing on the phone, you are not able to read body language and as we discussed in yesterdays blog, the majority if conversation is through body language rather than verbal) At this point if the objection is truly they want to think on it before making a sound decision they will agree to meet again. If there is another underlying problem though they will be reluctant to set the next appointment.

Last week I gave a presentation to a new cremation service in town. During the interview stage, I learned that the company had been advertising and prospecting for nearly a year, but had only had possession of their funeral license for three months. I was giving my presentation to the owner. She seemed very enthused about my product from the time I had first made the cold call and all through the sales cycle. I hadn't even gotten to the closing stage when she stated, I really like the artistry in your designs. Most cremation urns made from wood are just boxes and they all look the same, but these are unique. All through my presentation she never gave any objections. However when it came time for the close, I gave my proposal to what I had to offer and what terms I was willing to extend in invoicing. She already knew the price during the presentation stage and hadn't given any pricing objections, but at this point said, "I know I want to buy from you but would like to take a few days to think this over before selecting specific urns." I replied that I could respect that and as this was a Thursday, I suggested she take the weekend and why don't we meet again on Monday at 10:30 am. She replied that the following Friday would be better as the front of the week is usually busier for her. So we set a new appointment for today at 3pm.

I usually don't like to give this amount of time between meetings at this stage but didn't want to pressure her. Just to keep the thought fresh in her mind, I stopped into her office the following Tuesday with a new style Urn I had finished over the weekend. She was very receptive of the design and asked the price. I told her it was $150.00 and suggested that she go ahead and set it on her display to see how the public would perceive it. She declined and stated she better wait until we meet on Friday. Then based on the information from my interview stage and knowing she was just starting a new company, I thought maybe the real objection is a cash flow issue and she needs flexibility in invoicing so I told her to go ahead and set it on her shelf and she could pay me for it later. At this she brought out the real objection. She has a silent partner who is financially backing her and she did not want to make any purchasing decisions without him present and he was out of town until Friday. Now we are at the real problem. So by allowing her time to set up an appointment with the person providing the financing, I still have the opportunity to close the sale. Imagine what would have happened if I pressured her into a decision she wasn't going to make in the first place? I would have polarized the relationship and lost the sale.

How did it go at this afternoons meeting? I can't tell you. The financial backer got delayed in coming back into town and we had to reschedule for next week again. But the sales cycle is still moving forward.

When dealing with any type of objection.  It is important to realize that often times the objection that the person states is not the brass tacks true objection but a convenient reply. My prospect had stated that she needed time to think, however the true objection was waiting for approval from a business partner. Why do people respond this way and why don't they just come out and state a true objection for what it is? I guess there could be a number of reasons, embarrassment, not wanting to give too much detail of their operation, it really isn't important as to why, but how you respond to it. By asking appropriate questions and building trust is the only way to effectively build lasting relationships with your clients which will lead to more future sales.

Tomorrow we will continue on the topic of Objections and how to handle specific common objections you face in the sales cycle.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Michael1 said:


> *How to handle Objections*
> 
> DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
> Part One
> ...


with blunt force

b true to yr word


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

Michael1 said:


> *How to handle Objections*
> 
> DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
> Part One
> ...


Because I have crappy eyes … I didn't read the entire post, but … liked what I DID read.

One comment, and-if you said it-forgive the repetition.

When you're selling … there's only one way to hear an objection in the first place: listen.

I can't believe the number of sales people that I encounter who simply talk, talk, talk, and NEVER take a moment to find out what I want, what I'm thinking, and how I'm reacting TO their sales pitch.

Listen. Ask questions. Actively seek to figure out what they like and don't like. Seek first to understand, and THEN to be understood (Stephen Covey).

Cheers !


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Dealing with Objections Part 2*

*Dealing with Objections*
*Part 2*

Often times when selling, we encounter other objections than price objections or the customer wanting time to think about the purchase. What do you do if you get a downright "No" when you close the sale? Or what if the customer is reluctant to change the status quo? Maybe your competition is a larger better equipped shop and your prospect has objections to your capabilities or lead times. What are the best ways to handle these types of objections?

An outright "no" objection does not happen often, but when it does occur, it is important to know how to handle this type of objection. One of the most important aspects of this type of rejection, is to find out the underlying objection that is sparking the outright no objection. As we discussed in the last blog, Often times the objection we hear is not the true objection. When you here an outright no, there is more than likely an underlying objection that is making your prospect respond to your closing statement in such a negative way.

To properly handle the outright no, it is imperative that you did a thorough job in the interview, and presentation stages of the sales cycle prior to going into your close. Providing that this is the case, you want to pick out a non threatening aspect of your presentation and create an objection of your own toward that aspect of your presentation. To clarify this, let's use the example of selling kitchen cabinets. You went through all the aspects of the sales cycle, and when you get to the closing stage, and ask for the business, the prospect gives you an outright "NO".

At this point, you will most likely be surprised or possibly offended of the objection as it can sometimes be delivered in a rather rude way. Showing your surprise is part of your proper response. Then pick out a non threatening aspect of your presentation, let's say the 120 degree European cup hinges that you were including. Then say, "Mr. Prospect, I obviously went wrong somewhere in my presentation, I am guessing I spent too much emphasis on the use of European cup hinges. Is this where I went wrong in my presentation?"

By doing this, you have placed the prospect in a position to respond as to why they are saying no and most likely the true objection will be brought to the surface. Most likely the objection has nothing to do with hinges and they will say something like:"No ,no it is not the hinges, it is the financing. I was expecting a home equity loan to pay for my new kitchen and just received word from the bank, that they are not loaning me as much as I originally applied for." Now you have the REAL objection. It is up to you what you do to turn the objection into a positive and close the sale.

Let's say you are presenting to a residential home builder and they give you the outright no. You pull out your nonthreatening aspect of your presentation, and the contractor says:"No, it's not the hinges, It is Bill my Project Manager. He is set on using XYZ Cabinet company because we have been using them for years and he is reluctant to change." Here you are dealing with the status quo. I highly recommend that you do not say a single bad word concerning your competition. It is simply bad business and also your prospect is expecting you to bad mouth your competition and it makes you look worse by spreading slander. The best approach to dealing with this type of objection is to show respect for your competition. Say something like:"I can sure appreciate your loyalty to XYZ Cabinets and I know they are a great company to work with. In fact I would love to have the opportunity to gain the same kind of trust and loyalty that you have in working with them. If we could schedule another appointment where Bill can be here as well, I am sure he will agree that with our capabilities, he will find me to be a great source as an additional supplier."

Now most sales people out there will say that you have lost the sale at this point and why would you ever say anything nice about a competitor. Let me explain. First, you haven't lost the sale. You have gained the respect of the prospect because he is expecting you to say something derogatory about your competition. If you do say something against your competitor, you can rest assured it will fall on deaf ears. By complimenting the competitor you are telling your prospect he is making sound business decisions. When you back stab the status quo, you are telling them they are making bad decisions and polarizing your relationship.

Secondly, It leaves you open to get at least some of the business from your prospect and to be the number two choice isn't always a bad thing. Nothing will last forever. Sooner or later, the number one vendor your prospect is using will drop the ball, or a key employee of the company will change, retire or something that changes the status quo. Remember in the first blog of this series, it was discussed that you are not only selling your product but selling yourself as well. This applies to your competition as well. Often times your prospects point of contact with the competing company leaves, and the prospect is open for trying a new supplier. Wouldn't you be in a better position to be their number one contact by starting out as the number two contact rather than hoping they remember you and kept your phone number for when that time comes?

These objections I have covered deal with objections during the close. However; if you interview and present properly, most of your objections will come up in earlier stages rather than during the close. After all, you do not want objections at your close. It is better to have the objections surfaced before the close in order to make your closing stage easy and full proof.

Many books out there will say to always ask "YES" questions. I cannot disagree further, and oftentimes ask questions to spark an objection during the interview and presentation stages so that they can be brought to the surface and dealt with prior to the close.

When you are able to bring objections to the surface during the interview and closing stage, you are in a better position to turn the negative objection into a positive strength. In selling caskets, most of my prospects are used to dealing with large corporations that have the ability of mass production and a national distribution system. Fact of the matter is I simply do not have the production space let alone the capitol to compete with this. So instead, I use my weakness as strength. By not having a large assembly line and being more of a custom shop, I can offer a better degree of customization than my competition.

Usually the conversation goes something like this:

Prospect: "When we order from our current vendor, I can place an order today and it will be delivered tomorrow."

My reply is:"Mr. Prospect, I know I cannot always offer next day delivery, however, I do keep a certain number casket models in stock, and if your order is a model that is currently in stock, I can have it delivered the same day. Furthermore, I keep a vast inventory of pre manufactured parts and molding and if your particular model is not in stock, it can be fabricated and delivered in 96 hours to be used in your scheduled funeral. Also, the main benefit of me being a small operation is I can offer customization of your casket and it will not cost you any more than the base model casket ." "Let me ask you this Mr. Prospect, If you were to order a customized casket from your current supplier and specified the wood species, trim, color, and lining material, would your current vendor have it delivered to you within 96 hours?

Prospect: "Well no, actually it takes about three weeks for manufacturing and then up to a week in shipping.

ME: "Mr. Prospect, if you were to order an over sized model, does your current vendor charge more for the casket?"

Prospect: "Yes, they charge about 15% more. I have been told that it is because they have to change the set up to their assembly line."

ME: "Mr. Prospect, an added benefit of using my casket, I don't have a large assembly line that has to be changed over. To make an over sized casket is nothing more than setting my saw to cut a few pieces of the casket wider and the material involved is nominal. There are no additional costs to you bringing you larger margins and a better bottom line."

Prior to making your presentation, look at your product and service from your prospects point of view. Be your own devils advocate. Try to think of every objection you can think of that your prospect will likely or possibly bring to the surface. Then take each objection and rehearse questions to ask that will lead to the TRUE objection and have rehearsed responses that can turn the objection into a positive. Of course you will have objections that cannot always be turned to a positive, but if you can neutralize the objection you will be on your way to closing more sales.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Michael1 said:


> *Dealing with Objections Part 2*
> 
> *Dealing with Objections*
> *Part 2*
> ...


Thank you for doing this, in fact I am thinking of printing all your blogs and make a little booklet out of it so I can read it at leisure. You have opened my eyes o many sales problems I have had in the past.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Michael1 said:


> *Dealing with Objections Part 2*
> 
> *Dealing with Objections*
> *Part 2*
> ...


Michael, I don't know how I missed this blog when you first posted it.
I could not agree more about not slamming the competition.
Thanks for all the tips.
Scott


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## Michael1 (Feb 12, 2011)

*Treat your Supplier like they were your Customer*

*A VARIATION OF THE 80/20 RULE*/Treat Your Supplier Like They Were Your Customer:

This theory is more directed to business philosophy and practice rather than direct selling but if practiced, can lead to customers in areas you would otherwise overlook.

The *80/20 rule* as considered by most in business is nothing new. To my knowledge, it is taught in Business 101 at most colleges. I say "to my knowledge" because I did not major in business in college. No sir, I acquired my Masters degree in Business Management from the *School of Hard Knocks.* Anyway for those of you who might not be familiar with it, the 80/20 rule is this:

*If you analyze you sales over a given period of time, say a year or more, you will most likely find that 80% of your business sales come from 20% of your client base.*

What this means is that of all your sales over a given year, 80% of your volume will be from repeat customers, or from referrals of existing customers. The importance of this rule is to stress the importance of customer service and service after the sale to keep your clients happy and in a high trust relationship.

My variation of this rule that I would like to discuss takes the 80/20 rule a step farther.

Consider this question: *If 80% of my business volume comes from 20% of my customer base, then is it possible that I could very well be in the 20% bracket giving my suppliers 80% of their business?* (Did you follow that?)

With that in mind, there may be a day where a company who is a supplier to my business may need my product or service. Secondly, it is very possible that someone might inquire one of your suppliers for a referral to a company offering your product or service and if you are in the 20% bracket giving your supplier 80% of their business, there is a better chance they will come to you or recommend you over your competition.

Now I am *NOT* saying to run with this and start to make large orders of supplies you do not need.

It is important to realize that your business volume you give your supplier will not necessarily guarantee you a referral, but your* relationship* with them will very well increase your chances.

There is a natural instinct to have a relationship with a supplier based on the theory that it is the supplier's job to keep you happy. After all, you are the customer. However, if you treated your supplier with the same respect that you treat your customers, you will have their respect and a stronger relationship. This will lead to the possibility that they mention you if someone comes to them for a referral.

How do you treat a supplier like a customer? Respect is paramount. When you make demands on your supplier and they "jump through hoops" to fulfill your order, making a dead line or giving you the special attention that your account with them requires, acknowledge your appreciation for it. This can be done in more ways than just simply thanking them at the time your order is delivered.

For instance, if you run a credit account with a supplier, make it a priority that the account is paid on time or even early. Give the creditor the same respect you would give an employee in making sure they were paid in a timely manner.

Secondly, let's say you have ordered a load of lumber and and included in your order to have the lumber surface planed to a given thickness. If you are picking up the order,* be on time.* Your supplier's time is just as important to them as your time is to you.

Think of the frustration you would have if one of your customers ordered a custom made piece from you. At the time of ordering, they specified a time they needed it. You work late in your shop, and miss out on something important in your personal life, or even turned down another order, because you were worried about making the dead line. You have the order ready on time only to have the person come three days late in picking up their order.

Believe me, I have had this happen to me plenty of times before.

One occasion that comes to mind is the order I received for the casket pictured below. Caskets are an item that are usually needed within 3 to 4 days of being ordered. The order was strictly custom concerning the interior lining and finish. I did not have a model in stock that came close to the specifications they ordered, so this casket had to be built from scratch










When the funeral home owner placed the order, he stated the day he wanted it delivered with instructions to only allow him to sign for it upon delivery, and even specified the time of day to have it delivered.

In order to meet his order time and date, I immediately got to work in the shop, I worked late into the night for 2 days, and all night the 3rd day ensuring it would be complete and delivered on time. Then after driving 40 minutes one way to his funeral home, his staff informed me he was out of town for the rest of the week and the casket was ordered for display in their show room.

Then to add insult to injury, Two weeks after I finally delivered the casket, I inquired how the casket looked in his showroom. He stated he still had it in storage as he had not taken the time to place it in his showroom.

Don't get me wrong, I am very appreciative of all my customers and the sales i make. However, if I knew his delivery schedule had some wiggle room, it would have made things less stressful on me at the time, not to mention I would have taken the opportunity to fulfill the lost sale I turned down.

My point being: If the order you place with your supplier has some wiggle room in the delivery date and time, let them know this at the time of the order. You might very well get a better price, and if not, will definitely go a long way in earning the respect of your supplier.

Often times as a casket manufacturer I am asked by people for a referral to a funeral home. It is a sad statement that of the 15 or so funeral homes on my frequent customer list, I have only named two of them to people seeking a referral. The two I have referred to others are the ones who treat me with the greatest respect. They are the ones who treat my relationship with them as a partner rather than a supplier. One of the funeral homes always pays for their caskets upon delivery, even though I extend them 30 days credit because they know I am a small company and the timely payment is well needed.

What is even sadder than the idea that I have only referred two out of 15 funeral homes is I have two family members who are funeral directors. Their funeral home is not one of the two I frequently recommend. Why? Because if I am going to recommend another company, my recommendation will reflect on me, so I recommend the ones I have the strongest relationship with and trust.

When it comes to my business and lively hood, I don't follow the "friend" or "family" mode. I follow this rule: Business is business, if I want a friend, I will get a dog!!


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