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In this issue:
Marketing Article: 7 Ways to Stop "Selling" & Start Building Relationships
Marketing Article: Creative Customer Service Strategies

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Sometimes we can all use a friendly reminder to keep us from backsliding into old ways of thinking about selling that lead us down the wrong path with potential clients.

I was inspired to write this article after a few coaching sessions with a client named Michael, who sells a technology solution. Michael had been struggling with a mental block about how to detach from the traditional sales thinking he had learned from old-school sales "gurus".

You know who they are. You may even have some of their books or tapes. And you know their sales messages too: "Always be closing," "Think positive, and you'll overcome all your cold calling fears," "All you need to boost your sales is a few new sales techniques."

But all these outdated sales messages fail to address the core issue of how we think about selling. And unless we get to that core, and change it once and for all, we'll go on struggling with the same counterproductive sales behaviors. We'll go on experiencing the same difficulties and frustrations. And we'll continue to believe that we're always just one new sales technique away from the breakthrough we're looking for.

New Thinking = New Results

Maybe it's time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to seriously analyze our sales thinking so we can identify why we're not making more sales. Take a look at the table below and thinkabout your current selling mindset. How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Traditional Sales Mindset: Always deliver a strong sales pitch. New Sales Mindset: Stop the sales pitch -- and start a conversation.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Your central objective is always to close the sale. New Sales Mindset: Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit.

Traditional Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's usually at the end of the sales process. New Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's usually right at the beginning of the sales process.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Rejection is a normal part of selling. New Sales Mindset: Sales pressure is the only cause of rejection. Rejection should never happen.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Keep chasing every potential client until you get a yes or a no. New Sales Mindset: Never chase a potential client -- you'll only trigger more sales pressure.

Traditional Sales Mindset: When a prospect offers objections,challenge and/or counter them. New Sales Mindset: When a potential client offers objections, uncover the truth behind them. Traditional Sales Mindset: If a potential client challenges the value of your product or service, you must defend yourself and explain the value. New Sales Mindset: Never defend yourself or what you have to offer -- it only creates more sales pressure.

Let's take a closer look at these central concepts so you can begin to open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling activities:

1) Stop the sales pitch -- and start a conversation.

When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves. If you don't know what this is, ask your current customers why they purchased your solution. One example of an opening phrase might be, "I'm just calling to see if you'd be open to some different ideas related to lowering the risk of any computer downtime you may be having in your company?" Notice that you are not pitching your solution with this opening phrase.

2) Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit.

Let go of trying to "close the sale" or "get the appointment"-- and you will discover that you don't have to take responsibility for moving the sales process forward. If you simply focus your conversation on problems that you can help potential clients solve, and if you don't jump the gun by trying to move the sales process forward, you will find that potential clients will actually bring you into their buying process.

3) When you lose a sale, it's usually right at the beginning of the sales process.

If you believe that you lose sales because you make a mistake at the end of the process, take a look back at how you began the relationship. Did you start with a presentation? Did you use traditional sales language like, "We have a solution that I believe you really need" or "Others in your industry have bought our solution, so you should consider it as well"?

When you use traditional sales language, potential clients can't help but label you with the negative stereotype of "salesperson." This makes it almost impossible for them to relate to you from a position of trust. And if trust isn't established at the outset, honest communication about the problems they're trying to solve, and how you might be able to help them, becomes impossible too.

4) Sales pressure is the only cause of rejection. Rejection should never happen.

Rejection happens for only one reason: Something you said, as subtle as it might have been, triggered a defensive reaction from your potential client. Yes, something you said. To eliminate rejection, simply shift your mindset so that you give up the hidden agenda of hoping to make a sale. Instead, everything you say and do should stem from the basic mindset that you are there to help potential clients. This makes you able to ask, "Would you be open to talking about issues you might be having affecting your business?"

5) Never chase a potential client--you'll only trigger more sales pressure.

"Chasing" potential clients has always been considered normal and necessary, but it's rooted in the macho selling image that, "If you don't keep chasing, it means you're giving up -- and that means you're a failure." This is dead wrong! Instead of chasing potential clients, tell them that you would like to avoid anything that resembles the old cat-and-mouse chasing game by scheduling a time for your next chat.

6) When a potential client offers objections, uncover the truth behind them.

Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on "overcoming objections." These tactics only put more sales pressure on potential clients and also fail to explore or understand the truth behind what the potential client is saying. When you hear, "We don't have the budget," "Send me information," or "Call me in a few months," do you think you're hearing the truth, or do you suspect that these are polite evasions designed to end the conversation?

Rather than trying to counter objections, you can uncover the truth by replying, "That's not a problem" -- no matter what clients are "objecting" to -- and then using gentle, dignified language that invites them to reveal the truth about their situation.

7) Never defend yourself or what you have to offer -- it only creates more sales pressure.

When a potential client says, "Why should I choose you over your competition?," your first, instinctive reaction is probably to start defending your product or service because you want to convince them to buy. But what do you think goes through your potential client's mind at that point?

Something like, "This 'salesperson' is trying to sell me on why what they have to offer is better, but I hate feeling as if I'm being sold." Rather than defending yourself, try suggesting that you aren't going to try to convince them of anything because that would only create sales pressure. Instead, ask them about the key problems that they are trying to solve, and then explore how your product or service might solve those problems --without ever trying to persuade.. Let potential clients feel that they can choose you without feeling "sold."

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With a Masters Degree in Instructional Design and over a decade of experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari Galper discovered the missing link that people who sell have been seeking for years.

His profound discovery of shifting one's mindset to a place of complete integrity, based on new words and phrases grounded in sincerity, has earned him distinction as the world's leading authority on how to build trust in the world of selling.

Leading companies such as Gateway, Clear Channel Communications, Brother International and Fidelity National Mortgage have called on Ari to keep them on the leading edge of sales performance. Visit http://www.unlockthegame.com to get his free sales training lessons.

Customers are kind of funny. They will rarely tell you how you messed up, they will simply leave. Poof...gone!

No matter what the size of your firm there are ways to get to the bottom of this problem.

Call them. Talk to them. Mail them. Do your maintenance.

Don't just take the order and run. Remember, it is a lot easier and a whole lot more profitable to do more business with your existing clients than it is to find new ones. So, do whatever it takes to make sure those existing clients are happy campers.

Here are a few simple practices that you might consider adding to your customer service routine.

1. A week after a client buys a product or service, follow-up. Ask them what worked, what didn't.

It’s an interesting fact of business but, sometimes, as long as people get the chance to tell you what's wrong and you do what it takes to fix it, they may become some of your most loyal customers.

2. Send postcards, letters, article reprints, notes, whatever, as often as you can. By staying in touch you create a bond that will serve you well when you launch new ventures and new product lines.

3. The most powerful yet cheapest research you can get. Talking to your customers about what works and what doesn't work is the greatest way to find hidden gold mines in your industry. Understanding very specifically why people choose to buy from you over others is the secret to marketing.

Be on particular lookout for phrases like...that's how we've always done it or we don't like it but we've just come to live with it.

4. Schedule routine maintenance appointments or calls with your clients.

Often after your clients have been enjoying your product or service they forget how much value it is bringing them. Find a way to build regular meetings with your clients into your service. Use the time to educate them on just how much you have done for them. (How much weight have they lost, how much money have they saved, how much more efficient are they, how much more business they now have, how much of what ever it is that you do)

They will appreciate the time and it is a great way to introduce new products and ask for testimonials and referrals.

5. Find out everything you can about your clients.

Don’t stop at name, rank and serial number. Devise a method for collecting personal information about your clients. Information about a client’s spouse, children, hobbies, schools, community involvement can be a tremendous way to further your relationship and offer clues for networking and referrals.

You don’t have to be intrusive or nosey to make this strategy work, sometimes you just have to be observant. Most people wear their allegiances on their sleeve. Any sales trainer worth a darn will tell you to look for ways to strike a common bond with a prospect as a selling tool, I find that as a customer service tool you are simply looking for ways to get a deeper understanding of the needs of your client as a way to uncover more ways to help them get what they want.

Now go do your customer maintenance... Every 3000 miles or so ought to do it!

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John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct Tape System and download your free copy of “How To Create the Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps” by visiting http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com