Quotes - On perseverance

"Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.””
 John Quincy Adams

"Fate gave to man the courage of endurance.”
 Ludwig Van Beethoven

"In commitment, we dash the hopes of a thousand potential selves."
  Lord Byron

"Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes."
  Miguel De Cervantes

"Follow up is the key to beating average salespeople."
  Frank Lee

 

Memo from Frank Lee – On beating average

Dear Sales Manager,

The Ag industry is generally in good shape right now – unless you happen to sell to dairy farmers in the USA. The golf and turf industry is also suffering. The compact tractor market follows the general economy and construction market and, quite frankly, sucks right now. Salespeople relying on these industries are getting close to suicidal. They constantly look for signs of improvement.

Times like these separate the men from the boys in sales. Many average salespeople spend a great deal of time sympathizing and crying with their customers. They believe sympathy will endear them to their customers. Their customers don’t need this sympathy. They need solutions.

The average salesperson is very predictable. In tough times, average salespeople give up easily and fast. They buy into the glass-is-half-empty thinking and stop calling on potential customers. If you want to beat average salespeople in times like these, keep going back.

Follow up is the key to beating average salespeople.

Average salespeople make one or two attempts to sell and then stop. If your salespeople continue to make the follow up calls, by the time they are at the 4th call, they are pretty much the only ones left standing. So, when the customer makes the decision to buy, he only has one option left. The others are crying in their beers.

Your salespeople don’t have to be the best. All they have to do is show up and keep showing up. They don’t have to beat the best salespeople in the country. They only have to beat the average salespeople in their areas. And average is not difficult to beat.

See the IAU student comments below from Mike Weber, a very savvy salesperson in our Saskatoon Mixed Class. He has already figured out the value of follow up.

 

My Latest Article in Implement & Tractor

Do your customers regularly beat your salespeople up during the negotiation? In the May/June edition of Implement & Tractor, I look at what they can do to improve their negotiation abilities. Get your copy.

 

International Ag University (IAU) – New Sales Programs Starting

We will be starting new 3-year sales programs later this year in several areas in the USA and Canada. Now is the time to let us know if you would like a program started in your area or if you want to join in a program close to you. Just contact me.

 

International Ag University (IAU) – Information

Read more about IAU on our web site. Just follow the links in the Ag section to IAU. For more information, call me at 800-898-3743 or email me at franklee@sales-academy.com. We have a 12-page brochure that spells out the curricula for salespeople and sales managers. You can view this brochure from the main IAU page on the web site. Or call us and we will send it to you.

 

Quotes from Homework Assignments of IAU Students

“Follow up is one of the most valuable and effective behaviors I know of that promotes future business even if the response to the follow up is negative at first. There is always something to be learned and the rapport-building process benefits greatly from this.”
Mike Weber, Saskatoon 101 Class

On profiles – “Selling the concept first has led to many successful demos and sales. I did seven demos in three days and sold six pieces of equipment.”
John Felice, Stockton 101 Class

“Farmer is responding very openly. He says he sees the profile as a positive tool for me to better service him. ‘Win-win’ was another phrase used.”
Emmet Bowman, Stockton 101 Class

“Dave has become a very big part of our operation. He can read customers very well.”
Manager of Dave Freund, Sioux Falls 301 Class

“I felt good about selling concepts. It helped close a large tractor deal without further negotiation.”
Tim Zeitler, Green Bay 201 Class

“I really enjoyed the IAU classes. I believe strongly in what we covered, especially the importance of the true consultant having to know more about the different aspects of their customers’ business than ever before. Positioning was strongly emphasized, as well as knowledge and financing. I believe everyone was enlightened by you informing them of the importance of used equipment turn. The true consultants will know the weight this bears on their dealerships. I am very impressed with the way you refreshed the "basics" of consultative selling before we dove into class, especially the tactics of selling concepts and ideas first. I don't know how many times I need to bounce back to the basics from the first year. Thanks for helping me become a more refined machinery consultant.”
Vic Hoffman, Graduate Student

 

Sales Management Problem of the Month

Here's a question for sales managers. Please email your responses to franklee@sales-academy.com. Responses will be shown in the next issue.

“Nobody is buying right now.” Dave, a good and normally upbeat salesperson, stated this despairingly in the sales meeting. He had watched as his sales had plummeted nearly 40% in the first few months of this year and the rest of the year looked even worse. “There is hardly any point in calling on customers. They all tell me the same thing – times are tough so they will hang on to what they have until they can see an improvement in the economy.”

The other salespeople agreed with him. They had seen similar drops in their sales. Soon every salesperson was bringing up another tale of woe. Their real-life stories tended to depress them even more. Sam, the sales manager, felt sorry for them. Sales were down and so were their commissions. He worried some would leave and that would depress sales even more. This was not a good time to be spending tight dollars on recruiting and training new salespeople. He knew how bad the market was and he could hardly blame them for being depressed. He was depressed himself and spent many restless nights trying to come to grips with this bad market.

However, Sam knew they had to do something or he would have to trim his sales force. His own budget had been cut in half. Their customers had slashed their budgets and the decision to spend any money was relocated to higher positions. His salespeople generally did not have access to those positions. They had built relationships with lower-level managers. Now those managers had their hands tied and they did not have the authority to buy anything even if they could be persuaded. Sam is desperate.

What can Sam do to revitalize his sales force? How can he help them stay positive and, more importantly, how can he help them create much needed sales?

 

Responses To Last Month's Problem

This was the problem:


And the response:

It sounds like Jim is really good at the trading dollars to get his prospect to a net dollar amount to do the deal. Maybe Rick could just ask Jim to focus on the net amount and stay away from MSRP or his own MSRP in this case. Lots of action takes place at the coffee shops in agricultural towns. I can see Rick's point that he does not want the gang to think he has $10,000 fat in a deal. Let’s talk net trade from now on or use the Mfg MSRP throughout the dealership.
Warren B., Risk Manager, Brownwood, TX

Two things need to take place within this dealership.

1) Rick and/or the owners need to make sure they don’t try to “one up” Jim as they deal with these long-term customers. A salesman who comes along in the middle of the relationship cycle is often at a disadvantage because the customer had dealt with an owner or someone else they liked plenty well before. If that owner still has contact with this customer, that owner or sales manager needs to respect the new salesperson’s integrity. This is, of course, as long as the salesperson is a proven producer.

2) Some dealerships like to leave lots of bargaining room when it comes to the trade game. At our dealership we know the cash price of equipment and can confidently deal with that. So what we like to do is figure a fair profit margin on the front end. Then simply explain to the customer that their trade will also be valued at a cash (wholesale) price. This way the customer gets his bottom dollar quote right out of the gate, but must realize that we are going to offer a low trade as well. Instead of inflating a new piece of machinery to make it look better on the trade, I like to sell based on difference and put some value on customer service too.
Carter B., Salesperson, Sheridan, WY

It seems Jim does not have his finger on the pulse of his customer community. He is obviously missing the fact that his customers already know what the price should be on the items they buy. When they get a much higher price, they head for the hills. This leaves Jim with no potential customer. Rick should help him see this and, instead of asking him not to do this, he should guide him as to what would be acceptable first offers for certain customers. Jim is correct in quoting higher prices to some customers because he knows they will negotiate him down. But he is missing the vital element of negotiation which is knowledge. He is obviously not reading some customers well. Rick should show him one model may not fit all his customers.
Peter V.B., Sales Manager, Amsterdam, Netherlands

As a negotiation coach, I cannot fault Jim’s strategy. However, when dealing with a sophisticated buyer, as he obviously is, his starting price should be more in line with their informed expectations. Rick doesn’t have to give up on Jim. He just has to help him understand the market place better so that his opening offer is credible. By the way, shame on his customers! I thought farmers were better negotiators. They should have figured out they can negotiate a better deal even when a salesperson starts unnecessarily high.
Arthur P., Negotiations Coach, Boston, MA

Rick needs to spend more time teaching Jim about the customers in his area as well as the market values of the equipment he sells. Since he is already reasonably successful with other customers, he has value to his company. However, if he continues to drive some important customers away, he will lose that value. Jim should be told this in no uncertain terms and be given an opportunity to redeem himself. If he does not do this in a defined period, Rick has a business decision to make.
Jeffery J, Sales Manager, Melbourne, Australia

Sales Academy specializes in behavioral sales training. This includes the world-renowned Sales Call Reluctance Program and Customized Sales Training for large and small companies.

If you would like to discuss the sales training needs of your company, send me an email at franklee@sales-academy.com or call me at 1-800-898-3743.

 

Sales Tip: Negotiation – Beating average salespeople

Average salespeople try to sell on price more than others. They approach the sale based on trying to be the lowest price or beating a competitor’s price. Even when they understand the need to bring value, they believe the lowest price will always win. When they lose the deal, they blame the competition for selling lower than them.

If you want to beat the average salesperson, bring a unique selling proposition that can trump a lower price. Average salespeople have a tendency to see things only one way. Above average salespeople bring different perspectives and sell ideas rather than product or price. They sell solutions to problems their customers are well aware of and they show customers how to obtain those solutions in the most economical way. This does not always mean the lowest price.

They talk about return on investment, for example. Business people are very familiar with this term and apply it to most of their large purchases. Above average salespeople force them to apply this to whatever they are selling.

The average salesperson sells price first and then tries to find products to fit this price. The above average salesperson sells the right product first and then sees if the customer’s budget allows for it.

 

Books and Audio Tapes Available for Purchase

1.  Earning What You're Worth; the Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance.
By George W. Dudley and Shannon L. Goodson ($22.95)

2.  P.A.S.S. C.A.L.F. - 8 Behaviors of Sales Success in an Agricultural Dealership.
By Frank Lee ($10.95)

3.  P.A.S.S. C.A.L.F. - 8 Behaviors of Sales Success in an Agricultural Dealership.
By Frank Lee, read by Bob Gee (Audio Cassettes) ($12.95)

4.  Managing Iron Salespeople - How to Manage Salespeople in an Agricultural Dealership.
By Frank Lee with foreword by Bill Fogarty. ($19.95)

Click on “Articles and Books” on this site.
To order, follow the “Order” link or call, email or fax and we will bill you.

Tel: 1-800-898-3743    Fax: 972-874-2864
EMAIL: franklee@sales-academy.com
WE ACCEPT VISA OR MASTERCARD

 

Sales Articles Available

There are several articles and white papers on our web site that you can download and use. Just click on “Articles and Books”. You will also come across several articles written on sales call reluctance written for the IRMI web site. Just point to “Articles and Books” and drag down to “Call Reluctance Articles for IRMI.”

 

Frank Lee
Sales Academy Inc.