People Will Judge You on Appearance Everytime

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where everyone is given the opportunity to be fully understood, before others make judgements about them?

WAKE UP!

That doesn’t happen. Even though we (as individual human beings) may strive not to be judgemental – or con ourselves that we aren’t – it is enevitable that we do judge others. At least to some degree.

And we judge them quickly! Research continues to show that we make judgements of others within seconds. Maybe within the first few minutes at most.

Here’s yet another article citing research that identifies the impact of unconscious bias and stigma (in other words, when people make judgements based on appearance):

• Job candidates with facial blemishes such as birthmarks or scars, fared worse in interviews than those who didn’t
• A significant wage gap between those within a healthy weight range and those who are obese. Wage gaps were especially pronounced among females, and it was found that obese women incur an average remuneration penalty of 14.6%.

Some people might argue that our desire to sum people up quickly is a throw-back to our primitive past when we had to make life-and-death decsions quickly about people (friuend or foe) and situations.

No matter… if you are involved in selling you must be aware of the impact your appearance has on your ability to work wmoothly with your clients.

Years ago I worked for a company that forbid men to have facila hair (beards or moustaches). This was on the basis that having some facila hair – no matter what the style – may offend some clients or make them feel uncomfortbale about you as the company representative.

The principal was – why take a chance.

I think it’s still good practice today. Why risk creating a hurdle for you to get over?

Pay attention to what clients expect. I’m not just talking about facial hair (Girls, this applies to you too.)

Your appearance could be:

• Clothing
• Equipment
• Attention to time
• Hair
• Jewellery
• Shoes
• Language, choice of words
• They way you walk, sit, or drink your coffee

It’s OK to express yourself and damn the consequences. Just don’t do it when your sales results (and possibly your income) depend on it.

Spending Big Doesn’t Remove Mistakes

Crowd at CES 2012.

The Consumer Electronics  Show (CES) is a very big annual exhibition in the USA showcasing the latest in consumer gadgets and electronic products.

Companies spend tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars promoting and exhibiting at the show.

Unfortunately even after spending so much money, mistakes abound in the simple fact of not communicating BENEFITS for the customer, as outlined in this article from Harvard Business Review. Too many companies continue to tout FEATURES with little regard to the what consumers are looking for.

This particular mistake (a focus on features) is often experienced in technical or engineering-based industries where the product development process is heavily skewed towards technical specifications.

For anyone in a business development role this is such a basic – yet essential – step that I ensure is covered in every one of my sales training courses. Even for advanced sellers there is a need to fine-tune how the benefit message is expressed during sales discussions.

I admit, sometimes – if you are selling to trade-level customers, or end-users with lots of experience with your type of product – you may be able to focus a bit more on features. This is on the proviso (usually an assumption) that everyone involved clearly understands what the benefits of each feature are.

However, I think many times that is a huuuge assumption to make. And dangerous for your chance of winning the business.

It’s good to remember that even if customers have used the same type of product before, maybe they weren’t getting full benefit from it because of they way they used it, the way it was configured, lack of support from the vendor, or their lack of understanding of how to use all the features.

The solution is quite simple. Take time to understand what your customers want – don’t assume – and express the benefits of your service or product in terms that have an impact on your customer.

Benefits could be:

• Emotionally-based
• Cost-saving
• Life-style
• Status-enhancing
• Less hassle
• Greater profits
• Better teamwork
• Improved integration with other products or services

What’s been your experience with switching from a feature-focus to a benefit-focus?

Have you found it easy to change your approach?

Which benefits do you think matter most?

Leave your comment below.

Standards are Rising, Are You Keeping Up?

In this interesting article at The New York Times (registration may be required) the journalist says:

Long depicted as slovenly cranks who dodged growling dogs and tracked mud on the living room carpet, cable guys (and gals) these days often have backgrounds in engineering and computer science. That kind of training is now required — along with a new dress code for some, calling for button-down dress shirts and slacks — as cable companies and their telephone rivals try to lure customers and increase revenue

Sure, this article talks specifically about ‘cable guys’ in the USA. But think about it for a moment and you’ll realise that expectations are rising everywhere.

• Information is so easy to get, immediately.
• Clients expect a response, quickly, by phone or email, or SMS or Facebook or etc etc
• You expect service providers, professionals and sellers to give you ‘something’ extra that you didn’t know/expect before hand.
• Websites are so easy to produce now that not having a good looking shows a lack of commitment.
• Trades people try and distinguish themselves by dressing better, or cleaning up more thoroughly, or by being more on time than others.

What are you doing to lift your game in 2012?

Can You Recognise the Time to Start Selling?

One of the maxims I have developed is:

Marketing Creates Leads; Sales Creates Clients

In practice, for companies that sell services or technical products, there can be a significant overlap between the Marketing and Sales zones. Let me explain.

Professionals and service providers that work on a project, or ongoing engagement basis, usually find themsleves in frequent contact with clients (and other providers or vendors) while they are delivering their services.

There are project update meetings, discussions with client personnel, vendor meetings, formal reviews and casual conversations over coffee or lunch.

Customer Service and Service Delivery

This type of client contact often falls into the category of ‘customer service’ or ‘service delivery’. That is, you are providing the services that have been previously scoped and agreed to.

However, in many circumstances these points of contact with the client (or vendor) can also be seen as marketing opportunities. These occasions can be treated in a proactive manner. For example you will be reinforcing the knowledge or expertise held by your firm. Or you will relate client success stories to demonstrate points during your discussions. This giving of information (demonstrating knowledge or expertise) is a marketing activity.

Recognise Sales ‘Triggers’

During those conversations with clients you could hear comments that may indicate they have a need for additional services or products. I call these comments ‘triggers’ because they can trigger a sales-oriented conversation whereby you can explore their requirements and determine if in fact a sales opportunity exists.

It’s at this point – the ‘trigger’ point – that you need to switch from service delivery mode into sales mode.

The idea of switching into ‘sales mode’ can sound scary to many professionals and technically oriented staff. They don’t want to be perceived as a pushy money-hungry sales person. The good news is, you don’t need to act like the stereotypical sales person.

Sales Mode

Switching into ‘sales mode’ means that you need to do two things:
1) Ask intelligent questions
2) Slow down and listen

Pretty simple really.

But to do this well, you need to have a strategy. You need to know what to ask, and how to respond to possible answers. Importantly you also need to know what to do next. In other words, if you discover a potential need what will be your next steps?

Have you assessed your client interactions so you can recognise the time to start selling?

Creative Boost workshop in Brisbane Oct 7

I’m very pleased that my friend and expert from Belgium on applying creativity in business, Cyriel Kortleven, will be back in Brisbane for a special workshop on Friday October 7.

Get details and register now for Early Bird rate. Limited seats.

Marketing vs. Gardening – is there a difference?

Here’s a picture of our latest garden bed… ready for a fresh crop of vegies. But what’s this got to do with marketing.

You see, when I put in the first set of garden beds (you can see them behind the new one) I learned a few lessons.

What I Learned…

I learned about how to keep the frame level. Especially about cutting the sleepers to match the sloping ground so there are no gaps for soil to leak out of. And how to use nail plates on the inside to keep the sleepers tight and create a good-looking finish.

I learned about how long it takes to actually finish the job. In fact this one new bed took about 8 hours in total. This takes into account measuring out the bed, taking up the grass, digging up the earth (hard work with a mattock), measuring, cutting and assembling the frame, shifting the soil from the pile into the bed (more hard work) etc etc.

In many ways this is similar to creating marketing activities for your business.

What You Can Do…

You need to understand the tasks involved so you can allow enough time to get it done properly.

Plus, there is always a learning curve. And always the opportunity to improve what you have done before. Never expect to get something 100% right the first time.

Too many businesses start marketing activities without full knowledge of what is required to complete the job. Then, when it all becomes more difficult and time consuming than they expected the activity gets dropped. Result: wasted time, effort, and money.

If you are serious about your sales improvement initiatives you will:

• Plan ahead so you aren’t in a reactive mind-set – being reactive usually limits your thinking.
• Assess what you have done before – see what you can learn from that.
• Plan your tactics so they are in the correct sequence – for example understand your market before jumping at the latest promotional idea.
• Pay attention to the details – examples: make sure you follow up all leads that are generated; accurately track budget expenditure; update your website or other material to reflect current marketing activities, offers and promotional messages.
• Be sure you have the skills to do the job – for example if you’re not good at working with words and writing, outsource that part of the process to someone who is. And if you’re not good with technology, use someone who can do it for you.

Marketing vs. Gardening… actually there are quite a few similarities.

Reacting to Clients Will Cost You Sales… this is why

Recently I was preparing for an inhouse training program by interviewing a number of senior managers and business development staff within the client organisation – the Australian division of a multi-national engineering company.

The company has a great team of experienced staff, and is well positioned for future growth within the industry sectors they serve.

But they have a problem. A major problem that is threatening to block future sales.

And this is the same problem I have seen in other organisations – both large and small.

The problem is… being reactive to sales opportunities.

Many professionals and technical staff think they just need to communicate the skills and experience of their team to win new business. But it’s never that simple!

Especially when your clients are large companies that have multiple stakeholders who have varying degrees of influence over the final decision, and where the decision making process is extended.

In most cases, your potential clients are seeking a reliable relationship – but not necessarily a warm, fuzzy relationship. What they do want is a professional business relationship that makes them feel secure and confident.

The most important thing to understand is…they want this relationship ‘before’ they engage your services. They don’t want to wait until the project is underway. They want to feel comfortable and reduce their perceived risk from the start.

So it’s rare that a prospect will select a provider they don’t feel good about.

And feeling ‘good’ involves more than just reading the CV’s of senior consultants, or reviewing case studies of other projects, or watching snazzy PowerPoint presentations, or receiving glossy promotional material.

Prospects feel good when they believe they have established a relationship with you.

Back to the problem of being reactive…

It is very difficult to establish a relationship when you are being reactive and are focused on developing a written proposal, tender, or quotation… reacting to a specific request the client has already formulated.

The client is now looking for an answer, not a relationship.

Once you are working at that tactical level – and responding to a specific request – it is hard to break out of that cycle because the client has already made certain decisions and has certain preconceptions about what they are looking for and who might be suitable providers.

In essence, they have asked you to compare yourself to their requirements.

And truth be told – in most situations, at this stage, the client is probably looking to achieve due diligence (cover their backside) by “getting three quotes” or will use your proposal to check against their preferred provider. They’re not really looking for an alternative.

The bottom line is you don’t have much chance of success because you are being reactive.

A Better Approach

A much better approach is to work with the client in advance – to be proactive – helping them identify what they need.

But this isn’t always easy. To plant the seeds from which you can grow a relationship you need to:

• Think strategically.
• Make plans for major accounts.
• Spot opportunities to start making contact.
• Be bold in meeting new prospects.
• Follow up in a timely manner, even when there is no immediate project.
• Look for ways to involve other members of your team, spreading the relationship.