Saturday Morning Sales

We’ve all been there, trying to hold a conversation with a complete stranger, only to be pushed right out of our comfort zone. It can happen at a social event, a business meeting, or sitting in the stands at your kids basketball game. A conversation begins innocently enough, but either by your own accord or the other person, it gets pushed into a corner where you or the other person become lost and can no longer be a part of the discussion.

Here's a recent example I went through: I was at my daughter’s basketball game and sat down next to another dad from her team. He’s a very pleasant person and is a surgeon by trade. We had about 10 minutes before game time and we so we began to chat. The typical “nice day”, “girls have been looking good out there” kind of stuff. And then, without giving it much thought, I asked how work was going. Without skipping a beat Larry jumped right into telling me all about a recent procedure that was way above my head. Unfortunately, Larry did not pick up on my queue’s and kept going right up until tipoff.

Larry is a brilliant surgeon, but in social settings, he is a bit awkward when it comes to being able to hold a general conversation. And, because of this, he loses people like he did me. He is not what I call a conversation generalist.

Sales people must learn to become conversation generalists. It is not a difficult skill set to learn, but it does require commitment and time. You, the sales person, must be willing to read. And I mean read, read, read. Think about breaking the ice when you first enter a sales call. In almost all cases you exchange pleasantries with the other person by entering into a brief conversation. But, what do you talk about?

Keeping up on the headlines, especially locally, may be a start. Another way is to prep yourself with a little background on the person you’re meeting with and reading up on something that may be of personal interest. For example, if the person you’re meeting with is a youth sports coach, find something relatable that you can discuss.

Over the course of my nearly twenty-five year career I’ve watched many a sales person lose the deal before it even started because they could not break the ice and hold a general conversation with the person across from them. They were either stopped in their tracks with fear of what to say or they jumped immediately into their pitch. Nothing has changed. Sales people still need to master the art of the general conversation. 

Okay, okay, you’ve heard it before…stop emailing. We live in a society where we are too quick to text someone versus calling them. I’ve been laughing at my son recently as an example. He met a new girl that he is very interested in. They’ve been communicating over social medial and texting a lot. But, finally, he had to call her. He even Facetime’s her. He’s found out what I’ve been preaching to him for some time, communication is much stronger when you actually talk to someone. You must hear their voice. You need to look someone in the eyes. Communication is better done live.

In business, as in our personal lives, there comes a time when email just won’t cut it. Too often people don’t proofread their emails before they hit send. Spellcheck is not entirely reliable. And so one’s message may not be entirely clear or convey the overarching meaning they want to deliver.

Believe it or not, while people are busy, they want to talk. They want to be heard. They want their message to come across clear without confusion. And, no amount of emailing can convey the same message as someone’s live voice. Stop emailing and pick up the telephone.

Long before email existed the telephone was a primary tool for a sales person. You could have a conversation, hear objections, answer questions, discuss concerns, and ultimately use your own voice to convince someone to buy. Email cannot replace your voice. Tonality and how you say something is as important as what you’re saying. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe email has its place, but so does the telephone.

Unfortunately, we also live in a society that has learned to hit delete very quickly. We get spam email. We get jokes from our neighbor. We get solicitations and newsletters. We hit delete, delete, delete. And, because of the nature of email today, we also have become conditioned to skim versus read. The true meaning of the message is not being digested as it should be. But, a telephone call can overcome these issues.

Try it before you dismiss it. Pick up the telephone today and call your clients. Talk to them. Ask them how they are doing both personally and professionally. Let them hear the sincerity in your voice. Make them believe in you and your company. Do what email cannot do…tell the story of why they should be doing business with you.

Nowadays, if you ask someone how the grass is, you may get an answer about the legalization of marijuana. But, for this post, let’s get back to the old saying that “the grass is not always greener on the other side”. I’ve experienced two scenarios recently that have provided me much food for thought in writing my blog. This week I am going to focus on the client that left because they believed the grass would be greener on the other side.

After a 9 year business relationship, as several previous posts have eluded to, I had a client leave me. There were several factors that weighed in their decision process, but admittedly, none more so than the addition of a new management team member. Regardless of our long-term relationship, she felt the need to come in and make her mark on the organization early on, and in doing so my firm was dismissed. Her approach was to make the owner and his right hand, those I had been working with weekly for years, question decisions I (and my firm) have made in our services to them. She had them, in very short timing, believing that it was time for a change and that said change should have been made a while ago, and that she had just the right firm to change over to.

Now, Cleveland being a small community, it didn’t take long for me to find out that she has several personal and extremely close relationships with management of this other firm. Pausing for a moment, let me point out that I am not at all bitter, rather I sincerely feel bad for my former client. They hired someone they believed would put their company’s interest before her own and in doing so sold them on the concept that the grass would be greener on the other side. Now, back to my story, she did not disclose to her new employer just how close she was to this other firm. Might this change have been in the works before she even got the job? Maybe.

The decision by my client was quick and abrupt. One day we were knee deep in work and the next we were dismissed. In fact, the owner didn’t even have the courtesy to call me and breakup, rather he sent me an email from the airport just prior to departing the country on business. It’s like breaking up with someone over text, kind of a chicken sh%t move. (Ok, maybe that was a little bitter.) Nevertheless, without much thought, my once active, long-term client was no longer my client.

It’s only been a few weeks since the change, but through the grapevine I am hearing that my client may be second-guessing their decision. Or, at the very least, wondering if they overreacted too quickly without much forethought. You see, as it turns out, the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.

In the time since my client left, the new firm has shown their lack of technical capabilities, in that they’ve never had such a complex client before. They’ve never built nor managed an e-commerce platform that competes on an international stage. And, they are uncertain on how to best maintain the platform. Moving on, they are also making the same marketing related recommendations that we were making for the better part of one year, and showing the client no signs of any unique skill sets. So, why then did the client make such a change?

Relationships and human nature kicked in and emotion drove a decision that the client likely now regrets. Think of it in personal terms for a moment. We’ve all been in relationships with a significant other that for some reason did not work out. Whether it was days, weeks, months or years, we’ve had a regret or two, and wondered what if. Why did the relationship come to an end? Was it you? Was it me? Was it us together? And, was it abrupt without much thought only that the grass must be greener on the other side?

I’m not suggesting that this old saying is right or wrong in every situation. There are certainly times where a departure of the same old-same old is necessary and the grass truly is greener on the other side. As a career sales person, it is my job to be focused and see clearly the warning signs of when such a change may be coming. And, it is my job to counsel the client on how such a decision may impact the relationship going forward and their business.

Would I invite my client back? Maybe. But, the ground rules have changed, as they’ve shown their true colors. Only time will tell.

After a rather heavy topic last week, based on sheer stress of the job, I counseled a client the other day that made me laugh. Both the situation and the imagery that came immediately to mind was comical and almost brought me to tears. I’ve been counseling a personal client and her sales team on how to improve receivables. The sales team have been haggling with one client in particular that always has an excuse on why they haven’t paid their invoice or why its late again.

First of all, being compensated by a client is never a laughing matter, but sometimes the excuses become reason to pause and chuckle. I’ve heard them all including the “dog ate my invoice” (not kidding). And, in this case, my client began to read off the list of excuses why they were not being paid by their client. Every excuse was made from the “didn’t get the invoice” to “I thought we already paid you” to “sorry about that I will drop the check off this afternoon” (only they never show and dodge your calls for two more weeks). As they read their list out loud to me, I began to recite a few that were on there, and I did not see the list prior to our meeting. Comical to say the least.

I then pulled up a clip from an old 1985 (sort of cult) classic, Better Off Dead, starring John Cusack. One famous line from Johnny the paperboy has been stuck in my head for over thirty years, “I want my two-dollars!”. As a career sales person, this is the ultimate collections phrase, that is if you’re old enough to remember or even know this movie. The Myers family has owed Johnny two-dollars for paper delivery for some time, but he cannot get paid. Throughout the movie Johnny shows up in every other scene screaming for his two-dollars. This catch phrase has become synonymous with collections for years, not necessarily in a funny comical way, but in a comedically frustrating way. How often are you yelling out (figure of speech here), “I want my two-dollars”?

Repeating the comment above, being owed money by a client is never a laughing matter, but is an issue that businesses, Accounts Receivable departments, and sales people face on a weekly basis. So, what does a sales person do when they are owed money, and the excuses are piling up? My answer is based solely on one fact: your firm is legitimately owed this money without question.

Generally, I almost always make the sales person a last resort in attempts to receive compensation, that is before being turned over to collections or legal. In most cases I advise someone other than the sales person, preferably in accounting, to make as many attempts as possible to contact and gently nudge the client toward payment. Documenting each and every step is a key to successfully being paid. But, this should not be a full-time job. After 3, 4 or 5 attempts by a combination of phone calls and emails, then the sales person should get involved.

The sales person has a unique relationship with the client, one that should be treated as fragile almost, because when the sales person gets involved in collections, it may never be the same relationship again. The sales person needs to lean on their personal relationship with the client. An explanation of why their lack of payment is a detriment to the relationship if not addressed. I’ve even witnessed sales people go so far as to explain how the lack of payment is causing them personal issues with their employer.

Sales is all about relationships. Typically, sales is talked about in terms of closed deals, won business, signed contracts, etc. Sales doesn’t end with a signature or PO#, sales is ongoing, and the sales person can be an effective tool in business-client relations beyond taking an order. Collections too, at times, is a part of the sales process. Sales people should never be afraid to say, “I want my two-dollars”.

To say this week was stressful would be an understatement. I knew it was coming. I could see it coming. And, as much as I wanted to believe the meeting would go differently, it went as expected. To say the meeting went poorly would also be an understatement. Pleasantries aside, a longtime client’s newest executive team member is as cold as she is calculated, and I found myself quoting a saying my father taught me many years ago: “we’ve gone from working under the spirit of the law to working under the letter of the law”. Furthermore, my internal crystal ball is telling me to prepare for this longtime relationship to end sooner than later.

I’ve long been a believer that there is no single, right way to enter into an agreement with a client, rather every firm/company does things a little differently. My personal approach for practically my whole career has been based on the handshake (yet still written) style of negotiation and agreeing to do business. What I mean is this, my handshake is my bond, and our relationship is more valuable than a signature on a legally binding contract. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not naïve and I do believe contracts are a necessary tool in business, but I prefer to err on the side of “spirit” versus “letter” of the agreement.

I believe in the good that is within people I choose to do business with, and I believe both my client and my firm will treat one another with respect and fairness. Leaning on the fact that no one is perfect, or that perfection does not exist, means that people are human and make mistakes. Owning up to one’s mistakes is a sign of honesty and maturity. Sometimes my side makes a mistake and sometimes a client’s side may make a mistake. How these situations are handled is what separates one firm from another, one firm being calculated in every aspect, while the other firm may be more open to changing the rules of engagement along the way for mutual benefit.

Going back to the point that various firms have varying ways of working with clients, in the area of professional services, the time & materials approach is likely the most common, and on occasion you’ll come across fixed bid contracts. Time & materials tend to lean on terms like “estimated”, “approximate”, or “ballpark” in the description of fee’s and timeframes for deliverable or engagements. In many case’s there are simply unknows at the time of execution of the agreement that both sides just don’t know how much that engagement may total by the end, at least not down to the penny. Unfortunately, there are those individuals in business that either do not agree with this approach (or like this approach), or they simply cannot grasp the concept. And, these are dangerous business people for long-term healthy relationships. These are the cold and calculated, and are the type of individuals that believe in the vendor-transactional approach to business, not the human-relationship approach. They tend to think of it this way: business is business and personal is personal and never the two shall mix.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dealt with these types of clients in the past, and will likely deal with them again in the future. However, you generally know what you’re dealing with or getting in to in the beginning, and can then plan your business engagement and agreement accordingly. However, when this type of person comes into your existing business relationship, after years of being treated not as a vendor but as a partner, well your relationship is about to be torn apart.

Dealing with these types of individuals and so called relationships requires tact in the sense that you must remain level headed at all times. Additionally, you must move away from the spirit of the law or the spirit of the relationship, and work on the letter of the law or the letter of the contractual relationship. This can be tough on a person or a firm that believes in always putting the clients best interests first. Regardless of the situation, you will be held accountable for the details in writing, and not the intentions you’re attempting to display. It will no longer matter if you have a better idea, a better solution to their problem, you must abide by the documentation set forth, or else you may wind up not being compensated or you’ll lose the client.

It is a hard lesson to learn and one that I hope you’ll learn through my experience. My client does not see the detriment for which their new executive has already caused in our relationship, but my guess is they will after it is too late, and we are done doing business together. It may not be tomorrow, it may not even be in six months, but I’ll bet in a year’s time this client will come to regret their decision to hire the cold and calculated executive. The Rolling Stones sang: You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need. When those in business always demand they get every little detail of an agreement fulfilled, ruling only by the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law, they will then get what they want and rarely get what they need.

Over the past few weeks I’ve touched upon a few ways in which to deal with communication. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about communication between vendor and customer, husband and wife, or father and son (etc. etc.). Communication ultimately is about human relationships. Some of us are good at managing relationships, some are okay, and some people just struggle because they have flaws in their personality. As I wrap up my posts pertaining to communication I am reminded of advice from my father. Two simple words: Be Kind.

My father is an accomplished attorney and lobbyist. He has been involved in a series of mergers and acquisitions over his 45+ year career. He is an excellent negotiator. And with all of these attributes, his best advice for communicating with others, “kill ‘em with kindness”.

We can call it human nature or something similar, but when dealing with human relationships and communication, no one is perfect. That is just a fact. We all can be short tempered or lose our cool every once in a while, just ask anyone that has been married for more than a week. However, if you manage your career (or life) with these instances being the exception versus the rule, and you simply remind yourself to communicate with kindness, well then you are less likely to end up on the losing end.

I’ve shared my ideas about communication in documenting all of your notes and conversations. When delivering the information back to a client, do so in a sincere manner, that you’re just wanting to make sure everyone is on the same page, and not with an attitude that you are forcibly reminding them of what they are or are not buying from you. When you deal with an abusive client, by email or telephone, do not stoop so low as to attempt to match them with insults. There is no place for disparaging remarks in an honest and open relationship. Sure, there are times for constructive criticism, but not for criticism alone. Bite your tongue and be kind in your tone. Maybe the other person is just having a really bad day or received bad news about a loved one. Give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they’ll understand by you Not losing your cool that maybe, just maybe, they were out of line. And, when push really does come to shove, and the other person in the relationship has no sense of reason, your kindness will shine through in the form of professionalism. Again, no need to lower your standards.

Not to bring religion into a post, but I am reminded of the “Golden Rule” – treat others as you wish to be treated. If you want to be treated with respect than you need to treat that person with respect. If you wish to be treated with kindness than you need to be kind. And, when the other person doesn’t necessary abide by these lifelong rules, you will come out ahead, simply by being a better communicator and a better person.

Throughout my career, and actually well before, I’ve relied on the communication tactic known as Just The Basic Facts. No, I’m not referring to a Pink Floyd lyric, rather the approach one must use when dealing with communication confrontation. Stick to the facts and the truth will set you free (or something like that).

While my recent posts have been dealing with communication, I have been using a very recent and relevant example to emphasize certain points. It is an unfortunate recent and relevant example. A client who has no patience, does not understand how to manage her emotions, does not think, speak or write rationally, and who does not rely on any facts whatsoever.

As you may recall, I have taken extreme abuse from this client, something more than I’ve ever experienced in my 20+ year career. False accusations have been guiding her rants due to her lack of knowledge, her lack of understanding why she hired us in the first place, and her poor business acumen. It really is a shame because her former employee, the assigned project manager, was a true delight to work with and she was very knowledgeable.

Regardless of the ways in which I and my firm have been treated, I must remain steadfast in my communications, since she still is considered a client at this time. Sure, I could raise my voice, or I could throw vulgarity her way in an email. What would that get me? Nothing. Instead, I’ve maintained my composure (see last week’s post), and I have buried her in facts. Facts cannot be disputed. The facts are documented in a legal and binding agreement for which she signed. The facts of what was and was not included in her specific project were witnessed and documented by others in her own organization as well as my own. Facts are facts whether she likes it or not. And, because we deal in just the basic facts, she can only use her foul mouth to attempt to sway us into believing she is right about any of our business dealings. Again, I say, what a shame.

Sales is a fantastic profession and one I am proud to be a part of. Like any chosen profession though, there are up’s and down’s. I’ve tried to mitigate the down’s. Occasionally, there may be a dispute between a company and customer, between a boss and an employee, between two employees, between parent and child, or between spouses. Getting angry and venting may occur, even in the best of situations, but when you manage emotion, keep your composure, and work on just the basic facts, both parties will come to an amicable understanding. When the one side doesn’t want to work with facts or simply does not believe in facts, well then they unfortunately lose.

Sales, regardless of product, service or industry, is about human relationships. And, we all know human relationships can be complicated, just ask any married couple. There are times when relationships are pure bliss (aka the honeymoon phase). Then there are times where the relationship feels strained, that no one is listening or willing to talk, just scream and yell. Naturally in a professional environment you’d think no one would stoop so low as to scream and yell, but human emotions can take control of the most level headed individuals at times.

I promise, the timing of the example for this post is purely circumstantial, it really is. I’ve been planning this post for a few weeks as I’ve been attempting to answer questions and concerns from private clients and colleagues, but this very real example just happened yesterday. And, I have a feeling this may become an example for upcoming posts as well.

When I look back on last week’s post about record keeping and sharing, and then I dwell on a telephone call with a client yesterday, I am baffled by how ridiculous some so called professionals act. I’ve been thinking to myself, if they act like this toward me, just imagine how they treat friends, family or employees. It seems my client, after terminating her employee who was a project manager, now has no recollection of why she hired my firm. To make matters worse, even though I documented the sales process in terms of notes, summaries, and a detailed proposal, she is now claiming that we are not delivering what she wanted to buy. Unfortunately, I cannot turn back the clocks and ask her to be more active in conversations, instead of relying on her very talented and knowledgeable project manager.

On a review call yesterday, she screamed and yelled. She called me names. She called my company names. She called my employees names. She acted out as if throwing a temper tantrum. She screamed and yelled for nearly 25 minutes before allowing me to utter any sentences. I must say, with over 20+ years in my career, this takes the number one spot on my list of Did That Really Happen In Business list.

Now, for those of you that know me, you’d probably think I gave it right back to her. I tend to stand my ground with my held high, but I am also rather blunt. When push comes to shove, I will push back. I believe it to be an appropriate position when being confronted with falsehoods, lies and accusations. But, in reality, these are words. Words may sting a bit, but will only hurt if they are true. If they are not true, well then they are just words.

Maintaining one’s composure is the right thing to do, not just in this scenario, but always. You can and should push back when pushed, but with composure. Keep your head on straight. Don’t lose your cool. Do not lower yourself to meet the behavior for which you are being treated. And, no matter what, do not scream and yell back. Keep your composure.

I simply asked my very angry and unreasonable client why she was yelling at me. I wanted to know if she recalled the details of multiple conversations throughout the sales process. I very calmly asked if she had been involved in meetings since signing the contract. I gently pushed through a series of questions if she remembered assigning her own employee as project manager and instructed us to work directly with this person. It is a real shame that some people cannot separate emotion from business. It is my hope, always my hope, that when these types of situations occur (even if only once in 20 or so years) that people will breath deep, calm down, reflect on the sales process and what they were purchasing, and then be open to conversation and collaboration versus, as in human relationships, divorce.

Note: Over the next few weeks my posts will cover various topics around communication. I have been asked by a few personal clients and colleagues to answer their questions or comment on their concerns. So, here we go:

By now you’ve certainly read about having solid communication skills whether you’re a seasoned sales vet or a newly minted college grad. But, being able to verbalize clearly or give an A+ presentation to a huge audience is not all that is needed in the area of communication with a client or prospective client.

There’s one issue that tends to creep into the sales process more than you can imagine: the client (or prospective client) hears only what they want to hear and not entirely what you’re saying. Sometimes you’ll have a client (or prospective client) that will be open to you gently correcting their “misunderstanding” and then there will be times when you are the devil, as in how dare you tell me I’m wrong. This is where keeping and sharing records with your client (or prospective client) pays off.

I’ve taken some sense of pride over the years in both my ability to be an effective communicator and I believe this has to do with how I obsess on keeping written communications with clients as much as verbal. For all the times that I, and many other sales managers-coaches-trainers, have said that a sales rep cannot rely solely on email, that one must be able to communicate face-to-face and over the telephone, there is still always a place for email (or print). Typically, this tends to come into play when you want to ensure your notes are on track with the client (or prospective client). It can be something as simple as a note with a few bullet points asking, “are my notes from today’s meeting accurate, just want to make sure”. Or, it could be something slightly more formal as in a summary sheet typed, printed and delivered (email or face-to-face), highlighting the previous conversations so as to again ensure accuracy before committing to a formal proposal or contact.

Now, I must admit that this tactic is not full-proof. There have been times when I’ve gone above and beyond the norm to provide summaries in email or hard printed and the client still comes back months later to dispute a detail in the “wait I thought I was getting X but you sold me Y”. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I’m still a believer that sharing your notes, dropping a few emails back, or even the printed documentation is a great way to cover your butt…you are also covering the clients (or prospective clients) butt too. Keeping records and sharing records keeps you and the client on track, on the same page, and ultimately helps ensure the project, service, or product is what you said it would be.

Here we are once again, Thanksgiving time, and as in all of my years past I am taking time to reflect on what gifts have come into my life. Of course I am thankful for my wife and children, my parents love and support, my co-workers, clients and friends. I am thankful for the lifestyle I have and for the enjoyment I can take in hobbies and my children's activities. And, I would expect you feel the same.

However, in the business of sales, being thankful needs to be much more than words, gratitude must be shown in actions. Now, I’m not talking about running out of the office and taking a client to lunch. Such activities, the client entertainment during this time of year, are so overdone. I’ve written several posts about this topic in the past. What I mean by actions speaking louder than words is simple: show your client how grateful you are for their business.

Here is a personal example: I have a clothing manufacturer as a client that primarily serves the outdoor worker and outdoor enthusiast community. I’m confident this client knows how grateful I am for their business. I say it often face-to-face and in notes (written and Email). I also purchase an item of clothing from them every time I visit and I proudly wear their clothing whenever meeting with their team. In an effort to show my true gratitude, beyond what should be considered the norm, I made a monetary donation to an environmental organization for which my client supports, and I did so in their name.

On another occasion, with a not-for-profit client serving underprivileged children, I enlisted the help of my own kids. We worked with friends and neighbors to collect toys, games, video consoles, clothing, etc. and donated these items to this organization to show our support. I am not only grateful for their business, but grateful such a place exists in Cleveland in support of children that do not have what other children have in terms of these day-to-day items.

Giving to charity or one’s community is certainly a personal choice. In reflecting upon all I have in my life, and realizing my career in sales is a large reason I am where I am today, I cannot ever sit back and think I did it all on my own. Without my clients trusting in me and my company, I would not be where I am. Saying thank you goes a long way. Showing gratitude in my actions will last long after my words fade.