THE SALES MESSENGER
by
Mary Anne Davis
Selling is the art of convincing people to your way of thinking, and it is not just isolated to products or services. It is also related to ideas. As master communicator Bryan Dodge once said, “For those of you who have children, if you ain’t selling them, someone else is.” The Sales Messenger is especially beneficial to sales professionals, but it is also a practical, informative book that can benefit anyone—because everybody is selling something in one form or another. Whether you are trying to sell a product or service for your company, or even if you are just “selling” your husband or wife on the idea or concept of relocating to a new state, at some point and time you are selling. You might also be selling yourself in a job interview, selling your children on the concept of doing the right thing, or as a campaign manager you might be helping to sell a political candidate. This book will help you gain the basic knowledge and improve the skills necessary to become more effective at selling any idea, product, or service. The Sales Messenger is a back-to-the-basics guide with engaging chapters containing helpful assignments that reinforce its critical concepts.
Smashwords Edition
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Published on Smashwords by:
The Sales Messenger
Copyright 2011 by Mary Ann Davis
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Overview Know Where You’re Going
3 The Art of Engagement Marketing and Your Messaging
5 The Art of Questioning Getting the Facts, Wants, Needs
7 Getting to the Ask Are They Buyin’ What You’re Sayin’?
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This book is dedicated to Jor Molchan, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, whose ability to lead and convey these skills led all those committed to achieve extraordinary results. As a leading general agent, his coaching made a monumental difference in my life and was a powerful tool in my own personal success throughout the years. His passion for sales was the inspiration for this book and the foundation of the training I do today. May the lessons in this book guide you to a new level of success in your career and your life. He always said, “Leave with your flags flying.” That small line has always helped me go the extra mile. I would also like to thank Steve Carroll, owner of Lee Dubois Technologies, for giving me a product to sell when I started. Jor brought the principles of Lee’s course, titled “Let the Customer Buy,” alive in our agency sales meetings and role plays. I want to thank Ann Lovett Baird and Elizabeth Baird for all their assistance in helping me organize and put this book together when it was just a concept. I would also like to thank Lee Colan and Luanne Butler for helping me take this work, which was started in 2003, to the public. Last, thanks to Tremendous Life Books for taking the next step with me on this new journey. Good luck and God bless.
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As I’m rushing to get to my networking meeting I began to wonder if this group is really worth my time. We meet weekly for the sole purpose of sharing leads, networking, and mentoring people who are new to our group. Just a year ago we had twenty members, and now we’re down to six. We’ve had a few come and go, but for some reason, most of the people who came to the group didn’t see the value of our “professional sales association.” I’m starting to see why. We have become great friends, but none of us are really busting our quotas. We are in such different markets that we rarely share leads, so it seems like we spend a lot of time chatting, catching up, and even talking about our businesses. Meeting with this group is not impacting my bottom line; it’s just a monthly activity that has been plugged into my calendar.
Everyone would be very hurt if I dropped out. What they don’t realize is that I have several other networking meetings I’m involved in, as well as being a volunteer for Community Treasure, a local charity. It seems as though my life never slows down. Each day I have to get the kids off to school, take them to their activities, and take care of my personal and professional to-dos. It seems that countless things are eating my time. Ah, but they are great friends, so here I am for another breakfast. Here’s a closer look at the group.
Bob Bailey, whom I have known for years, has been in sales for a long time with a variety of technology companies. He is now the sole salesman for See Me Now, a revolutionary videoconferencing methodology for personal and business use. Bob has been under a lot of pressure as the consumers are slow to adopt the product, while the company has him under the gun to make sales now. He has big-name competition, and I know that the few accounts that have purchased the product are not enough to put his product on the map. Bob is worried that if he does not hit a big one soon, he will be fired.
Patty Stillman was a corporate trainer for many years until she got laid off two years ago and joined a national training company as a contract trainer. When she signed on, she did not realize she would have to sell the training she delivers to corporate America. Aside from formal technology training, her company offers some self-study products that teach word processing, spreadsheets, and other software technologies. Patty receives a small draw against commissions, but her sales aren’t high enough to sustain her. The last time we met she revealed that she might have to get a part-time job at the mall on nights and weekends just to keep the roof over her head.
Of course, others have the same story. Fred, who has his consulting business and charges a hefty fee for management and sales training, even admitted that without his wife’s income, he would be back in the corporate world tomorrow. Betty is a travel incentive planner primarily selling cruises and vacation packages. She complains about getting beaten up by the airlines’ special packages and the Internet. Then there is Paula, who sells printing services. Actually, I think she seems to do OK, but like all of us, she has her moments. As for me, I have been selling insurance for several years. I make a good living, but with all the expenses, it seems, at times, that I am living hand to mouth. Together, our team provides a combination of stories and hard times, successes and failures.
As I approached the door of Sal’s Diner, our regular haunt, I decided I was going to have to address my concerns to the group, and perhaps together we could find a way to make our time more productive.
We all said our pleasant hellos. Our regular waitress joined in on the greetings, too. Of course, after a year, she knew our typical order and asked, “The same today?”
Her question led me to my approach.
I replied, “No, today I would like a change. Let me have some eggs over easy, with some bacon and hash browns.”
To my surprise, Bob chimed in and said, “That sounds good, I’ll have that, too.”
After everyone placed food orders, I said, “Gang, I changed for a reason. I have to be candid: I love you guys and I love the friendships we have created, but I am just so busy. My insurance business leads me to see clients day and night. The Community Treasure campaign has just begun so I am on appointments for them as well. I also have some other groups that I’m involved in, never mind trying to find time for family, friends, and fun. I just don’t know if I can keep meeting for the sake of meeting. I’d like to know what we might do to make our time together more productive.”
Immediately Bob chimed in and said, “I think we should make it mandatory to bring X number of leads to the table every week.”
Patty objected. “No, that leads to too much pressure, and the leads might not be qualified leads.”
Another asked, “How about we bring in speakers?”
All I could think of was that speakers would just be more blah, blah, blah.
So I said, “No, I think we get enough of that elsewhere. When we started meeting we believed it was our interaction that would make us different.”
As our food arrived, Bob said, “Well, you know, I have been feeling the same way. I am the only sales rep in this region for our company, and what I miss are the Monday morning sales meetings. When I was with my last company we had a sales meeting every Monday to focus on our activity, results, pending and closed cases, and sales ideas. Back then, I always made or exceeded my quota and met my financial goals for my family. Sometimes I feel we are blaming everything, including the economy, when maybe we’ve never learned professional sales skills.”
Right then I knew he had it. Our eyes were concentrating on him, with our hands on our chins, while nodding our heads in agreement. He went on to say he went to a one-day program recently and heard a man named George Melchan speak. This gentleman spoke not only on the strategic part of the sales or marketing plan but the tactical skills that help you know what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. As a matter of fact, after that seminar Bob had even looked at his Web site.
Bob said, “I am sure we can’t afford him, but maybe he can recommend someone to coach us.” We agreed to let Bob pursue this so we could discuss our options.
Later that afternoon, we were astounded at the offer George Melchan made to us. Bob e-mailed us and said George had agreed to coach us at no charge if we agreed to his terms:
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• Commit to ten 90-minute Monday morning sales meetings. These meetings would begin promptly at 7:30 in his office.
• The sessions would be complimentary unless we missed a meeting or were late, in which case we would pay an amount equal to his time.
• Use the communication skills we learned in our personal and professional lives, in the written and spoken word.
• Do all homework assignments completely and on time.
• Commit to begin coaching and mentoring three other sales professionals having the same struggles immediately upon completing the sessions with George.
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Based on the time constraints and penalty, only three of us (Bob, Patty, and I) decided to take him up on his offer.
Bob called Patty and me, placed us on a conference call, and together we phoned George to confirm. He set the start date, gave us a few assignments, and told us of some things he wanted to gather. We ended the call by thanking him for this generous offer.
George gave us a homework assignment before our first meeting, so I give you the same assignment before you read the first chapter. The rest of this book has an assignment at the end of each chapter so that you get the maximum benefit from the content. No one is watching you, so you’re on the honor system. This book is about helping you be accountable using the techniques that we learned many years ago, so that you can meet your goals, reduce stress, and most of all achieve your dreams.
Complete the assignment below before going to the next chapter.
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Homework
1. Determine your financial needs and wants.
• Figure out the income level you need to survive. Consider personal and business expenses, including networking meetings, advertising, education, and other expenses you might have.
• Determine your goal—the amount of income that would make you say, “Wow, that was a great year!” Be sure it is realistic for a successful year.
2. List your top twenty-five prospects.
3. Determine the number of fresh prospects in your pipeline.
4. Find and/or print a summary of your company, including
• Products and services offered
• Current and desired markets
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1
OVERVIEW
KNOW
WHERE YOU’RE GOING
If you don’t know where you’re going, you may never get there.
—Yogi Berra
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The three of us arrived at George’s office promptly at 7:30 a.m. He led us into the conference room where he had coffee waiting. He was dressed professionally in an Armani suit. I noticed the monogram on his shirt cuff. I thought it odd that the monogram was CID rather than his initials.
George said that the fact that we took the time to call and request help was a great compliment to him. He set the tone for our sessions: “I hope that, at the end of the ten weeks, you will find a formal process of selling—from the approach to the close—and more important, that you will make more money and have more fun than you have had in years.”
George then proceeded to set expectations. “We only have a short time together each week, and you will have to get used to my style. I will be frank and sometimes tell you things you don’t want to hear. In ninety minutes, we don’t have the luxury of beating around the bush, so I hope you will understand when I am direct in my approach. I have created two letters of expectations—what we can expect from each other and these meetings. Let’s read them together, and if you are comfortable, sign it. Then we’ll move on.”
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Expectations Agreement
What you can expect of me.