Selling to Muggles: How to Make the Sale when Buyers have No Idea What You're Talkin' About
You are receiving this email because of your relationship with
Directions Consulting. If you do not wish to receive any more emails,
you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this e-mail
Hi!
Here's the April 2011 issue of Psyche-Selling TM
eNewsletter, and it is the time to go out to the market and
start selling!
Recently, I have been getting a lot of feedback from sales
people saying that they had a lot of trouble handling
customers who has all the buying power but none of the
business and technical knowledge to make sensible buying
decisions. We call this kind of buyers "Muggles", a
word which we borrow from the
Harry Potter series, which
means people
who lacks any sort of magical ability.
If Buyers who do not know what really matters most to
them are called Muggles, then we can also term those who
know a lot about their business, technical and user
requirements can be termed as Wizards. Selling to
both groups of Buyers will require the sales person to
be highly skilled in guiding the customer to your way of
thinking.
Hence, this
month's topics:
-
Selling to
Muggles: How to Make the Sale when Buyers have No
Idea What You're Talkin' About; and
-
Nobody Asked for Butterflies: Use Singapore's Changi Airport as an example, and your employees and customers will fall in love with your enterprise
This issue's main article is on "Selling to Muggles: How to Make the Sale when Buyers have No Idea What You're Talkin' About", and we will
be exploring some of the strategies to either persuade,
educate or out-flank the customer.
In brief:
To read the rest of this newsletter, pls.
click here (http://www.psycheselling.com/page4.html.
In the meantime,
if you had missed our February 2011 Power Breakfast
Hour, you can download our PPT on "Taking On the Giants: How to Sell to BIG Companies even when You have Small Budgets and little Brand Recognition"
or click the links below for the video recordings:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/RG-tHcU5VGQ/
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/_w7slrt-YO0/
Selling to Muggles: How to Make the Sale when Buyers have No Idea What You're Talkin' About
by c.j. Ng
Jack has been working closely with a new client for several months to try to get them to switch from their current supplier to Jack's company. Since the particular materials they use can vary a lot from system to system, Jack has lots of questions and wants to make sure it will meet the customer's needs. Based on Jack's understanding of what the customer's current vendor is providing, it's unlikely that this competitor could meet the customer's needs for energy and waste reduction, even though the competitor claims otherwise.
Armed with the latest research to show that if the customer would just switch, they could definitely achieve substantial cost savings in energy consumption and waste disposal, not to mention additional improvements in productivity due to reduction in maintenance-related downtime.
Jack then approached the customer's Purchasing Manager who has a reputation for always trying to cut costs to the bone,
that Jack felt like it’s almost a personal thing for her.
It didn't help things when
Jack's product, while far
more superior than the
current one the customer is
using, is priced 50%
higher per unit.
Furthermore, as Jack's
product is a new innovation
that had just been launched
into the market. That
means, the Purchasing
Manager hasn't heard or
known about the benefits of
such technological
improvements. Although
the Purchasing Manager knows a fair bit about the business,
she misses some of the
business, technical and user advantages of
Jack's product.
Undaunted, Jack set up the meeting with the Purchasing Manager, hoping that he can convince her with his research data. To Jack's dismay,
the Purchasing Manager was ONLY interested in price.
All the research data that showed the
potential cost savings did not appeal to the
Purchasing Manager at all. In fact, it is
precisely that Jack's product is a new innovation
that sparked the Purchasing Manager's concerns that
the new product's delivery reliability and quality
consistency might not match those provided by their
current vendor.
Feeling frustrated, Jack now
explores what other options he has in order to move
forward with this client.
Let's face it. None of us can be a "Wizard" in
all aspects of our work. So it is normal that
some of the Purchasing Managers we face can be
a Wizard in managing the purchase, but is a Muggle
when it comes to understanding their company's
business, technical and users needs. Based on
our preliminary surveys, about 83% Purchasing
Managers rank the following criteria as the most
important when considering a purchase:
-
Price
-
Flexible payment terms
-
Fast and reliable delivery schedules and consistent product quality
-
Ease of maintenance
-
Reputation of the Vendor
By and large, Purchasing Managers are not familiar
with "the Total Cost of Ownership" concept, and are
very skeptical about how your products can help them
reduce costs, improve productivity or reduce
hazardous risks.
They are usually Muggles when it comes to helping
their companies achieve better business results.
If you are skeptical with the above findings, look
around you and ask:
Purchasing Managers also don't usually initiate the sourcing of new innovations in the supply of materials and equipment.
It's usually the user's departments that raise the
need to upgrade or source for new and better
supplies for production. These needs to switch
to or explore new suppliers can include:
-
Addressing a flaw
in the current supplier's materials or
equipment;
-
Sourcing for a
back-up supplier in case there are outages
caused by either sudden increase in production
needs, or the lack of inventory of the current
supplier
-
Buyers are not
necessarily confined to Purchasing Managers only,
and even if the Buyer is the boss or managing
director or CEO, that does not mean that he or she
is automatically a Wizard or a Muggle. Sales
people will have to exercise caution and sound
judgment to decide if there are needs to further
educate the customer.
Open vs. Closed Customer
Besides distinguishing between Muggle and Wizard
customers, sales people also have to distinguish between
customers who are more "Open" to discussions and the
external world, as well as those who are "Closed" to
discussions and exploration of future possibilities.
Hence, we can group buyers into the following 4
combination:
-
Open Muggle;
-
Closed Muggle;
-
Closed Wizard;
-
Open Wizard
If your goal is to persuade and educate the Buyer, then
you are referring to the "Open Muggle". These are
the Buyers who understand there are limitations to their
understanding of their buying needs, and are willing to
take steps to understand more. In fact, they don't
confine their understanding of their buying needs and
requirements to just the sales person. Rather,
they take steps (and sometimes great pains) to
communicate with their business, technical and user
stakeholders so as to understand their needs as well.
These are the Buyers who will appreciate the sales
person's help in educating them, and will resent those
who want to take advantage of their lack of knowledge.
"Closed Muggles" are those who don't know what they are
doing, but often assume or pretend they know. They
tend to focus a lot on price, block any attempt for you
to talk to any of their colleagues, and refuse to learn
their company's business. Unfortunately, most
Purchasing Managers belong to this category. With
the "Closed Muggles" it's either you are referred by
someone who knows them well, or you may have to
out-flank them and talk to someone else instead.
"Closed Wizards" tend to be
authoritative figures who know what they are doing
and are directive in their communication. They
tend to give clear instructions to sales people, and
will not accept any "if, and or but". While
"Closed Wizards" may know a great deal about their
business and how to get the best deal from sales
people, they are unlikely to be "Wizards" all the
time, and might make judgmental errors too.
When dealing with the "Closed Wizard", sales people
will have to do lots of preparation, and be prepared
to answer lots of difficult questions.
Finally, there are the "Open Wizards", and are
so-called because they know their stuff and are
still open to new ideas and discussions.
These Buyers are the rarest in the market, and are
almost undetectable. They tend to judge sales
people by the questions the sales people ask to see
if the sales people know their own stuff.
"Open Wizards" are in no hurry to demonstrate their
in-depth knowledge, and prefer to share those
knowledge to sincere sales people who would like to
explore better solutions that deliver better
results.
Advancing Your Sale
Even when you can distinguish whether a Buyer is
a Muggle or a Wizard, or is she Open or Closed, you will not
know what the Buyer really is until you have met her.
By then, the Buyer would have then made her opinions and
judgments about you, regardless of what she is.
Hence, here are some tips on how you can create good
first impressions even with the toughest of the Buyers:
-
Be prepared.
Don't just rush out for the sales meeting. Do
prepare for some tough questions or even objections
that you may need to answer;
-
Build trust.
Don't rush into selling just yet. Seek to
understand your customers' business, technical and
user needs, then your customer will want to
understand your solution;
-
Don't just "die" with one contact.
Beware the Buyer who claims to
be the Key Decision Maker when he is not.
Typcially, Key Decision Makers don't claim they are
Key Decision Makers, and those who claim so are
usually not. Be prepared to develop networks
within the customer's organisation.
Ultimately, the sales person would have to size up the
sales situation and know what kind of Buyer is she dealing
with, so as to implement the most suitable sales strategy to
advance the sale.
Need help in selling to Muggles (and Wizards too)? Simply e-mail
info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-136 7190 2505
or Skype:
cydj001
and arrange to buy me a mocha. All information
shall be kept in confidence.
Power Breakfast Hour: 18 May 2011
Selling to Muggles: How to Make the Sale when Buyers have No Idea What You're Talkin' About
Join International leadership, innovation and
sales force effectiveness consultant c.j. Ng in this Power
Breakfast Hour in Shanghai where you will find out:
-
How to identify whether
your Buyer is a Muggle
or Wizard, or if she is
Open or Closed to your
ideas;
-
How to deal with each kind of Buyer, even if they might have no idea
what you're talkin' about;
-
How to be prepared to give a good first impression that builds trust
and credibility to any kind of Buyers
VENUE: Crowne Plaza Shanghai • 400 Panyu Road
(near Fahuazhen Road) • 上海银星皇冠酒店 • 番禺路 400 号
(靠法华镇路)
DATE: Wednesday, 18 May 2011
TIME: 08:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
PRICE: RMB 200 ONLY!
To make this a more conducive
discussion, we are expecting a small group of about 15
people only. The room can only take in 18, so please
register early to avoid disappointments. Please e-mail
your registrations to sales@directions-consulting.com
You can also download our Power Breakfast Hour video on
How to Motivate Gen Y (80's/ 90's)Employees.
Pls. check out our web sites
www.directions-consulting.com and
www.psycheselling.com/page4.html for more inspiration.
Need a Keynote Speaker for your Annual Conference?
Whether you are holding a
conference for your regional staff, resellers or even
customers, we have the right speaker who can help you
deliver the spirit of your conference, and effect positive
changes to meet your goals.
The topics our
speakers can speak on include:
-
Achieving
Exceptional Customer Satisfaction, Productivity and
Talent
Retention by Boosting Your Employee Engagement
-
Using the Six Thinking Hats® to Win More
Sales and Get More Customers
-
Why Some Sales People Succeed While Others Fail?;
-
How to Lure Away Your Competitors' Key Accounts, and
Make Them Buy from You Instead?;
-
Improving Sales Productivity by Motivating the Sales
Force;
-
Sun Tzu and the Art of Strategic Decision Making;
-
The End of Guanxi as We Know It!; and many more!
Simply e-mail your requests to
info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-21-6219 0021
for enquiries. Sample video and audio recordings
available upon requests.
Practical Tips for Customer Service Managers:
Nobody Asked for Butterflies: Use Singapore's Changi Airport as an example, and your employees and customers will fall in love with your enterprise
By Ron Kaufman
Excerpt from
BusinessWeek
There you are, wandering through life, when suddenly someone does something unexpected for you. Instantly your heart thumps. Your face becomes flush. And your reality changes forever. I'm talking about the moment you experience butterflies.
Human interactions fill our days. Some are negative.
Most are easily forgotten. But then there are those rare
occasions when we fall, absolutely, in love.
Do you know how to make someone fall in love with you? Your business? Your culture?
Changi Airport in Singapore knows. It's actually the most applauded and awarded airport in the world. And it gives millions of travellers
butterflies every year, literally.
So the next question is, what if we either could not
find, or could not afford the higher pay as demanded by
the smart-and-hardworking new hire? Does that mean
we will have to compromise our workforce's productivity
as such?
The facility combines the thrill of an amusement park, the comfort of a luxury resort, and the intrigue of a massive shopping mall. And it contains a real butterfly garden with a profusion of flowering plants, lush greenery, and an indoor waterfall. Visitors can witness the beauty and majesty of the butterfly at close range. And not just a few butterflies. Hundreds.
Add to that all the amazing shopping and dining experiences, a swimming pool, napping rooms, spa treatments, movie theatres, video gaming stations, and a slide that zooms travellers (if they dare) from the third story of an enormous terminal down to the first. Suddenly you're no longer in a place of transit, but rather a destination. How can you resist falling in love? That is, of course, the intention of Changi Airport.
"Our vision is to connect lives," says Foo Sek Min, executive vice-president of airport management. "Airports are typically stressful places. Our goal is to remove stress. And it doesn't just happen with people. It must envelop the entire culture. It must uplift the entire organization—the people, the equipment, and the process."
Obviously this methodology worked for Changi Airport. Since the airport's humble beginnings in 1981, Changi has turned into the global standard for functionality, aesthetics, and service. It ranks as the world's sixth busiest airport, surprising and delighting more than 42 million travelers a year. That's seven times more people than Singapore's entire population.
Travellers fall in love with Changi because the airport
has built an uplifting service culture. What is that?
Here's my definition: An uplifting service culture is a
shared purpose within every aspect of your business—from
the boardroom to the front line—where everyone focuses
on creating value for other people both internally and
externally.
Uplifting service cultures create customer loyalty, unite and engage employees, accelerate teamwork, add value to a product, and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Yet the impact of creating an uplifting service culture is much bigger. Changi Airport, for example, serves as the gateway to Singapore. And due to its geographical location, the island country is also one of the busiest layover airports in the world. Consider that effect. Even if you never leave the airport terminal, what will be your perception of Singapore as a country?
How do you build an uplifting service culture to make people love your organization?.
"Share a vision," says Foo. "Twenty-eight thousand people come to work at the airport every day. Only 1,300 are airport employees. The rest work for more than 200 companies who do business in the airport. That's a lot of people. That's a lot of mission statements. But there's only one Changi."
"Teach a vision," advises Foo. "I can't train an immigration agent how to perform their job. But I can teach them how a smile can impact the entire organization. And when they are taught, not trained, they are inspired by the bigger picture and choose to perform. Realize your vision. Almost every Singaporean travels each year. They understand they have a stake in the success of this airport. It's the gateway to their home, Singapore's front door to the world. That's important for everyone who works here to understand. And when this is realized, we make it real."
Uplift the service where you work and see how quickly people fall in love with you. And if you need an inspiration or a new idea to get started, consider this: Nobody asked for butterflies.
Ron Kaufman is a global
consultant who specializes in building service cultures.
He is the author of Up! Your Service
and 14 other books. His firm,
Up! Your Service, has
offices in Singapore and Newark, Del.
If you would like to get more and better ideas how to
create "wow" customer experiences, you can e-mail
info@directions-consulting.com or call +86-136 7190
2505 or Skype:
cydj001 and arrange to buy me a mocha. All
information shall be kept in confidence.
About PsycheSelling.com
Sales... ....the
lifeblood of a company, a matter of "life and
death", survival or extinction. Indeed,
something that needs to be studied, applied and
re-modified consistently.
Yet today,
-
many companies still don't have a coherent approach
as to how they can generate more sales and
achieve better margins;
-
many sales people are still lying to their
customers so that they can meet their targets at
the end of the month;
-
many customers are still waiting ethical and
professional sales people to help them find out
their real needs, and provide solutions that
work
Psyche-Selling TM
is set up so that companies and sales people can
make healthy profits and STILL provide genuine
solutions to customers.
Psyche-Selling TM
would like to create an environment where customers
can trust sales people to give them what they
want, and NOT be pushed with all kinds of
products and services. In return,
customers will become loyal fans of these
ethical and professional sales people, and repay
them many fold for the long-term.
Psyche-Selling TM
will not rest, until the above is achieved.
Not just in China. Not just in Asia. But
everywhere where buying and selling takes place.
Psyche-Selling TM
is a wholly-owned brand of
Directions Management Consulting Pte Ltd
that specialises in the field of improving sales
performance by enhancing the performance of the
entire sales team. Apart from the regular
"selling skills training",
Psyche-Selling ng TM
conducts pre- and post-training analysis,
interviews, monitoring and reviews, working
closely with managers and even senior
management, to deliver real improvements in
sales leadership and performance.
Hence,
Psyche-Selling TM
would like to be known as the preferred choice of
outstanding and remarkable clients, and pride
ourselves as such. We will also be
continuing to assist our clients achieve greater
heights in 2009 and beyond.
Enquiries and suggestions,
pls. e-mail
info@psycheselling.com or visit
www.psycheselling.com
|
|
Mailing Address:
Shui Cheng Nan Road 51 Lane No. 9 Suite 202 Shanghai 201103
China |
|