We had our first live coaching session today, and in spite of a thousand things that could have gone wrong, I’m always amazed at how things have a way of working out for the best.
We had a three hour power outage the morning of the session and I thought we’d be on a noisy generator. Mark Leeper, our sales consultant, had a cable modem go bad on him this morning. But the power came back on, the Internet spirits cooperated, and we had a great session.
In fact, one of our members (Taylor Greenwood) dropped out of the session for a bit. He told me later that he had to leave the session to take a call from a prospective client that is now an “actual” client that he’d been pursuing for awhile. (I’m sure he used some of the techniques he learned from the session!)
If you missed it, here are a few notes –
Mark shared his (very different) perspective of marketing – emphasizing great sales presentations – in person and on the phone.
Here’s his formula for sales success:
- Attitude
- Accountability
- Action
Most people gloss over attitude as “soft” skills and want to get right to technique, but attitude is usually the difference between success and failure for salespeople – probably more than any other profession, except maybe professional athletes. Prospective clients can tell if you don’t have their best interest at heart. It’s not about manipulation, it’s about finding the best solution for the client, which sometimes is financially rewarding, and sometimes not. But always rewarding.
Accountability becomes a problem for people in small companies or entrepreneurs who do their own sales tasks. Mark suggests that you find someone to be accountable to, just as having a lifting partner at the gym will make it more likely that you show up and give your best effort; rather than simply dropping in casually when you feel like it.Mark makes regular appointments with his sales manager and accounts for every lead, every day. He emphasized that being responsive in the sales process sets the tone of the whole business. If you can’t get back to someone on a regular basis in the sales process, they assume you won’t be responsive with customer service, either.
Action is about moving past all the psychology and technique and getting it done. “You can’t steer a parked car.” And you can’t perfect your sales technique while you’re safe in a classroom or in your office or in your home reading textbooks about sales. You have to get toe-to-toe, or at least ear-to-ear, with customers to make sales.
Mark also provided specific techniques for getting in touch with the decision-maker, working with gatekeepers (rather than having them work against you) and effectively using voice mail. He even suggested ways to get the client to make 70% of the sales presentation himself. And how to avoid leaving loose ends after a sales call or meeting.
He answered questions about using scripts, how often to call back, and setting yourself up to try again later when a prospect declines.
If you missed it, we’ll be sending the video and audio files to our Aviation Sales & Marketing Coaching Members.
Now that we’re comfortable with our new technology and format, I’m really looking forward to February’s session – February 8th at 1:30 MST we have another great guest instructor who will answer your questions about applications, mobile apps, inventory systems, e commerce and other technology and how they can add a lot of horsepower to a marketing plan.
Not a member?
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