Sales Training Blog

The $887.9 million dollar Twitter campaign

 
In July 2009 Amazon.com bought online shoe retailer Zappos.com for $887.9 million from entrepreneur Tony Hsieh (shown). 

At the time, Amazon was selling all kinds of things online: books, consumer electronics, movies, toys, and tools. Why spend that money just to add shoes when Amazon could have easily added a shoe line of their own?

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, said he was motivated to buy because Zappos had a unique corporate culture and brand. But it was Hsieh's ability to communicate the essence of these using Twitter that captured a national audience and created a competitive selling advantage.
Hsieh opened his Twitter account in June 2007 and by 2009 had over 1.5 million followers, one of the top 100 followed accounts in the country.  

Surprising to many Hsieh, did NOT Tweet about: shoes, online retailing, or special shoe offers. No shoe Tweets? Nope. In fact, Hsieh only owned 10 pairs of shoes and was rumored not to know much about any of them.  

Here is what Hsieh did Tweet about: customer service.

Why was this content strategy so successful? Two reasons:
1. The people side of customer service is more interesting than shoes. Even if you are a shoe fanatic, there thousands of shoe websites to visit. One more Twitter account would not make a difference.   
2. Customer service is the key issue holding back potential shoe customers from buying online. Selling books online is easy because the book you buy in a store is as good as the same book you buy online. But a when buying a pair shoes, their fit is critical. In a store, you can try them on, and the fit is assured. But buying shoes online is a big risk unless the online retailer has a high enough level of customer service to overcome the “fitting” problem. Customers that bought into Hsieh's obsessive view of customer service were more likely to give online shoe shopping a try. That was the defining moment, after that, about 75% of Zappos sales came from repeat customers.   

Hsieh's content strategy was not to share a series of short and clever Tweets, rather to communicate a larger vision. Here is his explanation:

"Think of each tweet as a dot on a piece of paper. Any single tweet, just like any single dot, by itself can be insignificant and meaningless. But, if over time, you end up with a lot of tweets, it’s like having a lot of dots drawn on a piece of paper. Eventually there are enough dots for your followers to connect them together. And if you connect the dots, in the aggregate it paints a picture of you and/or your company, and it’s that total picture that is your brand.

Think of each tweet as a dot on a piece of paper. Any single tweet, just like any single dot, by itself can be insignificant and meaningless. But, if over time, you end up with a lot of tweets, it’s like having a lot of dots drawn on a piece of paper. Eventually there are enough dots for your followers to connect them together. And if you connect the dots, in the aggregate it paints a picture of you and/or your company, and it’s that total picture that is your brand."

What are your Tweets about? What happens when you connect the dots? 

Unfortunate facts about sales training today

The Fisher Institute for Professional Selling, at the University of Akron, has a great list on their website that describe what is wrong with sales training today. Think about your own sales staff as you read thorough this list which I reproduce with permission:

• Sales managers tend to not understand how different Generation X and Y are in terms of sales training needs.
• Sales people should be more focused on the roles of: market analyst and planner, selling team coordinator, customer service provider, information gatherer, sales forecaster, and market cost analyzer – and this is not the current focus of sales training. 
• Sales people are not adequately equipped to deal with personnel such as production engineers, quality assurance personnel, design engineers, and other technical staff which may make up the buying center.
• The single biggest difference between top performers and poor performers is listening skills, yet most sales people do not seem to understand this.
• 80% of the selling process should be devoted to understanding customer needs.
• Studies show an average 50% error rate in terms of sales people understanding their customer’s expected performance levels.
• 47% of salespeople admit to having no clue about their customer’s biggest concerns.
• 65% of sales mangers focus on building volume instead of wooing profitable customers.
• In order to completely understand customer needs, sales people must have high levels of analytical skills to understand productivity goals.
• An average of only 10% of training is devoted to questioning and listening skills.
• 40% of sales training is designed to increase product knowledge.

Fisher Institute for Professional Selling at the University of Akron is one of the few Universities to offer a college degree in selling and offer sales training for companies. Their website: 

http://www.uakron.edu/cba/cba-home/dept-cent-inst/fisher/training.dot

Never underestimate the selling power of a survey

In 1997 my book, Tough Calls, came out.As the first national release of an unknown business writer expectations were low. My publisher told me most business books sell less than 3,000 copies in their lifetime and if I could hit that number I should be happy.

But my book had a secret weapon build into it: an imaginative survey that offered new insight into problem customer behavior.

Within a year of the book's release I had been asked to share survey insights with appearances on CNN, CNBC, Wall Street Journal TV (twice), and The Fortune Business report. Book sales were bolstered by international translations with the Korean edition alone hitting that 3,000 copy sold mark. You can click on the picture to see a video clips from four of my 1997 television appearances. Remember, it all started with a survey. And before you play the video, also remember, I had more hair then.

Is Relationship Selling Dead?

Guest blogger, Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies makes her case that is is:  

Is Relationship Selling Dead? It sure feels that way today! You rarely reach your prospects on the phone and when you do, they quickly brush you off. When you’re in meetings, they want you to get right to the point.

Sometimes they’re so busy multi-tasking, that you’re not even sure if they’re paying attention. Even your long-term customers fail to return your calls for months, making you wonder what you did wrong.

Welcome to the new normal! Your prospects are suffering from Frazzled Customer Syndrome, a debilitating condition brought on by increased expectations, excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines and fewer resources.

They’re good people who are doing their very best to survive in a frenetic workplace. Their calendars are overflowing, they’re constantly falling behind and they feel powerless to stop the escalating demands on their time.

The truth is, they don’t need another “relationship.”

They barely get to see their best friends anymore. They even eat lunch at their desk everyday so they can get more done. It’s all work, work, work. New relationships are a low priority.

But you want a relationship! Of course you do. You’re a relationship seller. Your best customers love you. They value your work. They refer others to you.

And, you love them back even more and take great care of them. Working with people like this feeds your soul – and pays well too!

Wanting to replicate these strong relationships is natural. But establishing that great connection can be a real challenge when dealing with stressed out people who seem more intent on pushing you away than inviting you in.

Here’s the good news! Underneath all that rude, brusque behavior are normal human beings who desperately want relationships with people who they can trust to help them achieve their goals.

That person could be you. But first, you need to understand what’s going on in their mind in order to create the connection you want.

What Your Prospects Think
Whenever you deal with frazzled prospects their brains immediately start firing off alert signals: “Warning. Pay attention. Salesperson.” While you may not see yourself that way, they do and that’s what matters.

They evaluate your voicemails, emails and initial conversation to determine if having a more in-depth conversation with you is worthwhile. They make lightning-quick decisions to allow you access to them based on these criteria:

Is this aligned with what I need to accomplish?
How big a priority is it? What’s the urgency?
Does this person provide value?
How simple is it? Will it take lots of effort?
Unless you can convey all this very quickly, you won’t get your foot in the door. But it doesn’t stop there. To retain or grow a relationship, you have to keep your focus on these decision-criteria at all times too.

Relationship selling today goes far beyond the warm fuzzy feelings that you get from working with people you like and vice versa. It’s about creating partnerships where you’re a contributing team member, working towards your client’s short- and long-term success objectives.

SNAP Rules Change the Game
You need to follow the new SNAP Rules to be successful with the “new” relationship selling. Here they are:

Rule 1: Keep It Simple
Your goal is to ensure maximum simplicity in everything you do. That’s going to require you to look at all aspects of your interactions with your prospects to see where complexity can be eliminated or minimized.

When you keep it simple, you make it easier for your them to buy from you.

Rule 2: Be iNvaluable
Today’s crazy-busy prospects want to work with sellers who “know their stuff” and bring them fresh ideas on a regular basis. Perhaps you’ve never even seen that as your role. But today it’s essential to turn yourself into the competitive differentiator.

When you become invaluable, people choose you over competitors, are less price conscious, and remain loyal.

Rule 3: Always Align
This is all about relevance and risk. At the onset of your relationship, clients need to see an immediate connection between what you do and what they’re trying to achieve. As they move through their decision-making process, they need to know that the alignment extends into core beliefs they value in the people they work with.

When you’re aligned with their critical business objectives and core beliefs, clients want to work with you.

Rule 4: Raise Priorities
It’s an absolute imperative to work with frazzled prospects on their priority projects. With their limited capacity, that’s all they can currently focus on. Because your prospect’s priorities are constantly shifting, you need to be alert to what’s going on in their organization.

When you raise priorities, your sales process goes much faster and you get the business with less competition.

Relationship selling isn’t dead. In fact, it’s more alive than ever before. You still need to connect with your prospects on a personal level, but it’s no longer sufficient.

You have to earn the right to have a relationship with them first.

They want your expertise focused on their priority business objectives, issues and challenges. They want you to continually bring them fresh ideas and provocative insights. They’re looking for you to simplify the complex and make their life easy.

When you do this, they’ll be friends forever.
To download two chapters of SNAP Selling, visit www.SnapSelling.com

Does your website “show up and throw up?”

In the sales trade, a salesperson who “shows up and throws up” pushes his agenda at customers with no concern for their needs or pain points. His canned presentation is all about his products and company. This approach bores customers to tears.

Better salespeople realize that selling is about motivating customers, which rarely happens by dumping product information on them. These salespeople work to understand the customer’s point of view and to put their product into the context of the customers world. Before talking product they might ask questions to find out... 
• What are the problems or pain points unique to the customer?
• How does this customer fit into his or her competitive market?
• Are there technical, regulatory, or financial trends that will affect their needs?
• Which applications or best practices might affect this company's purchasing decisions?

Better salespeople focus on solving customer problems first, product information follows. They collect information and advice helpful to the customer not just with a purchase, but in using the product successfully.    

Now, let’s get back to your website.  Which of these two approaches describes the content on it?  Is your content just about your company and products, or do you also have information helpful to solving customer problems? 

Problem solving content can... 

• Motivate registration (for a newsletter or webinar etc.) and capture early stage sales leads.
• Help your customers feel like you are committed to their success. Don’t you think this is more meaningful than just telling your customers how committed you are?
• Your customers become familiar with your website. Wouldn’t it be better if they were familiar with your website before they head into their next product purchase?

In a recent blog post, Junta 42 founder Joe Pulizzi shared a great example of this this on the Monster.com website. Pulizzi noted that the needs of Monster's customers, as they look for jobs in the recession, were addressed directly on the site:

 "Let's take a look at challenges faced by those people looking for or trying to keep their job:

• What jobs will be readily available with the passage of the stimulus bill?
• If I'm downsized, what do I need to do now to protect my career?
• How much am I worth in a downturn?
• How do I protect my job in a tough economy?
• Can I still get a raise in a recession?

Those five questions that employees are struggling with are actually the first five articles on the Monster.com site."

Sure, Monster.com provides a job search service, but the content on the site does not hype their service, instead it services the customers.  

What content is on your website? Hopefully, a balance of product and company information, combined with content that helps your customers solve problems. If it's all about you...your customers will not be frequent visitors.

Selling problem clients...Tough Calls on slideshare

Many thanks to Shaun Halloway for posting a PowerPoint summary of my book "Tough Calls" on Slideshare:

Many thanks to Shaun Halloway for posting a PowerPoint summary of my book "Tough Calls" on Slideshare:

Sales "Tough Calls" by Josh Gordon - Book Overview

View more presentations from Shaun Holloway.

The Scott Brown Senate win: if you make the calls you make the sale

Tip O'Neil, the legendary Democratic House of Representatives Majority leader from Massachusetts once said, "All politics are local." I have a slight modification of that, "All politics is local selling." This includes selling ideas, selling legislation, and especially selling candidates.

The recent upset victory that Massachusetts Republican State Senator Scott Brown pulled off over Democratic Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley proves my point. In a special election held to replace the late Edward Kennedy''s National Senate seat, the two candidates were given about a month to campaign. In that time Coakley made a total of 19 campaign appearances, about one every two days. In this photo she is shown demonstrating the her campaign style by staying at home and sitting on her porch with her husband and dogs. 

 

Martha Coakley:

19 campaign appearances  

Republican candidate, Scott Brown had a different campaign style. He was out all the time and seemed like he was everywhere. In the same time frame Coakley made 19 campaign appearances, he made 66, over 2 a day.  

 

 

 

 

 

Scott Brown (far left) 66 campaign appearances 

Even in a Democratic state, in a campaign for the seat of a former Democratic legend, you can't fight the oldest lesson in selling; 

if you make the calls you make the sale. 

More on my theory that all politics are about local selling

Are “consultative style” presentations killing your business?

About 15 years ago I interviewed Mack Hanan, who wrote the book, Consultative Selling, and pioneered the sales movement by the same name. At the time, Hanan was disturbed by sales organizations who borrowed the style and semantics of consultative selling while not investing in the content needed to provide a true consultative selling service. He was particularly upset with media sales organizations, most of which he felt, had embraced consultative selling in name only.

Today, that same activity that upset Hanan is alive and well. How many sales presentations begin by appearing to take the side of the customer, imply that great and helpful content useful to increase business and profitability is coming, only to have the presentation deteriorate into a product pitch. Presentations like this are consultative in style only. Customers nod politely through them and five minutes after you leave the room have forgotten everything you said.
Content that fuels consultative selling feels different. It is…
• About their business, not about your products
• About their profitability, not your sales terms
• About their customers, not your customers
• About a new market opportunity
• New information about your customer’s customers they didn't know before

The real damage for using consultative style presentations comes when it marks the end of deeper inquiry into your customer's needs. When organizations believe they are delivering a consultative approach by stylistically shaping their product pitch, a deeper understanding of the customer, and all the opportunities that come with it, are lost. Over time this can kill a company.  

Three free sales training sessions on selling thorugh the recession

Robin Carey, CEO of Social Media Today, introduces the three 30 minute training sessions. Each session is anchored by a content expert: Jill Konrath talks customer loyalty, Richard Nacht on social media in sales, and I talk about selling through the recession. The program was produced by The Customer Collective, a social media community managed by Social Media Today. The program was sponsored by Oracle Corporation.

Here Robin Carey introduces just my session:  

All the sessions are FREE with registration. Register HERE.