Before Billy Mays, there was another great pitchman. True, it was years ago and in a galaxy far-away, but if you’re from the New York region, you may remember a guy named Jerry. Jerry sold appliances and the TV commercials would start with a Brooklyn-ese off stage voice, asking Jerry, ‘What’s the stawry (rhymes with cawfee!), Jerry?”  Jerry would rant about his great deals, then throw his hands in the air and say, with an accent that only a New Yawker could love, “And  that’s the stawry!” The “stawry” moved appliances.

Pushy salespeople give me the creeps. Maybe it’s just my rebellious nature, but as soon as I feel someone - even in a transactional sale - getting pushy, I run the other way. I’m betting you’re a lot like I am. The goal, whether their meeting is next week, or your product is a one -time sale (really, there is no such thing as a one-time sale…. everything runs down, changes technology, becomes out of date)  is to always control the sale and build and sustain the relationship. The key: Thinking about your customer’s needs before your own. That, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t control the sale. 

When I was earning my masters in counseling (go Sun Devils!), I learned how powerful the “directed” or “forced” choice can be. And here is the thing: it’s powerful for both the sales person (or therapist) and the buyer/patient. By giving the other person a choice, you direct them to think through their options. If they don’t like the options, they typically will offer a third choice - and Bingo! If they don’t, you can help them further. 

One really important point to keep in mind: Provide a choice of two times, things, options, products. When you offer more than two, some people become paralyzed by their choices and give up. (The only time this isn’t true is when you want to help your buyer select the middle priced item. The middle price can be made to seem like a bargain compared to the higher priced choice, if the lower priced item is clearly inferior. Again, this needs to be real, not just about the price point. But I digress…)

You: Thanks, but all our speakers have been selected for this year’s conference.

After thanking them, I can go in two directions here - both right: I can either ask when they’d recommend I follow-up with them or I can suggest two different options of when I think it might be best for them for me to follow-up. (Did you follow that? Here are the examples:)

Me: Option A: Thanks so much for letting me know. When would be a good time for me to follow-up with you because the last thing I want to do is be a pest (which is my absolute truth!)? (They tell you and you honor that..)

Me: Option B: Thanks so much for letting me know. I wonder if it would be okay, then, if I followed up with you right after your annual conference, next April, or would it better for you if I emailed you before then? (They tell you and you honor that…)

Control the sale by giving the other person control. What a concept! Want more? I’d be honored to energize your sales team with ideas they can apply today to change the sales conversation, be pro-active and engage prospective customers.

Your thoughts, please.

It’s been a long time since I heard such a manipulative speaker; a speaker who could not only make his voice quiver at the drop of a syllable, he could also sell product like a snake oil salesman and  make fun of the wonderful caricature of a motivational speaker that SNL’s, “Matt Foley”  (Chris Farley) created (that I swear was patterned after HIM), all the time he was saying that applause and a standing ovation weren’t important to him. Oh, and did I mention that he told us (more than once) that the time he was given was too short  for all his “gems” and, get this, that he presented over 411 speeches last year (yes, in one year!) and then told us how important it is for us to have balance in our lives? Need I say more?

But here is the thing: Many of the attendees didn’t seem to realize they were being manipulated. And it’s not that he didn’t have some wonderful advice and some great lines, though mostly they weren’t his, even if it sounded like they were. 

I’m telling you all this because those of us who understand Janis Joplin’s line, “be yourself because it’s all you got,” may not sell as much product and we may not get a (requested) standing O every time, but here is what we do have: integrity. Our clients can trust us to bring their best interests to every platform instead of our own. And we won’t, G-d willing, ever have to worry about waking up one morning living in a van by the river….

Your comments, please!

I had about an hour in the Charlotte, NC airport and sat down with my Starbucks non-fat, venti Chai, in the first row of chairs, closest to the three folks “inviting” travelers to sign up for a USAir credit card. The only flights coming in and out of this specific terminal were USAir flights. And that was why I was so fascinated by the credit card sales folks. The first question they posed to the people they were hopeful would stop was this: Excuse Miss, Sir, Are you traveling on USAir today?

Of course Miss and Sir were. If not, they would not have been in that terminal! 

Once they had their prospect’s attention, they quickly launched into a benefit sell:

Excuse me, Miss, are you traveling on USAir today? Would you like enjoy a free flight? Would you like a free companion ticket? Excuse me, would you be interested in earning free miles from USAir?

Oh, and they selected their prospects carefully, avoiding those travelers who seemed to be frequent flyers. Instead, they’d call out to the leisure traveler, the one who looked a bit confused, or was walking particularly slowly through the concourse.

One guy, in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, stopped, and she said to him, “Where you going today?” followed quickly by, “Oh, I thought you were a a pilot!” OMG! (He signed the forms!)

It was all pretty disgusting but here are my take aways for you:

1. Be careful not to be suckered into a purchase because someone falsely compliments you. Calling me Miss when I’m clearly a Ma’am (particularly in the south) is wonderfully flattering (like, oh, I thought you were a pilot). But when it smells too good to be true…

2. Sell to yes. Check the questions you ask your customers and clients. Do they tend to be positive? Can you reframe them to put your buyers in a more positive frame of mind? People who say yes tend to keep saying yes. 

3. Sell benefits. They didn’t bark about the features of the card, just the travel benefits.

4. Sell to qualified buyers. The form took about 10 minutes to complete.  That is why they asked their prospects where they were flying; they’d check the flight schedule (which they had printed out at their make shift desk) and send them on their way if their flight was boarding. The sales people didn’t waste their time with folks who wouldn’t have time to complete the paperwork. They qualified their prospects and sold only to those who could actually buy.  This is particularly important when cold calling (which is essentially what they were doing). Cold calling is made more difficult because lists are often filled with unqualified buyers. Be loving and respectful, but don’t waste your valuable selling time with people who have no need or desire for what you have to offer. 

5. Be prepared. Have everything your customer may need at hand, on your website, in your email, to help them buy.

6. Don’t be a creep. 

Comments please? Have you been taken by someone who didn’t have your best interests at heart? Tell us the positive lessons learned.

Dissatisfied customers? You really can’t please everyone, every time. Ignore their social media complaints however at your own risk. You have the power to shape the future of your company by the way you respond to online comments. Keep customers loyal by knowing what to say — and what not — when they complain in person, via email, or on a public site. Here are 5 tips: 

Be human. If you’re upset or worried by the comment, tell them. You might begin with a sincere thank you and then say (in your own words!) something like: I am so upset about this situation because I thought this had been taken care of while you were visiting us. Or: I am worried that this is happening and am grateful for your comments…

Don’t say “I understand.” You don’t. You don’t know how they feel; you can only know how you feel. Authentic empathy is saying: I can’t even imagine how upset you must be. That is your truth. You can’t imagine it. When my dad died, and people with two parents said to me, I understand how you feel, I wanted to scratch their eyes out. And even people who had also lost a parent don’t know exactly what another person is going through. Authentic empathy helps the other person; I can’t imagine how you feel is empathetic; I understand how you feel is not.

Keep talking. You responded to the on-line comment in a timely manner and you spoke your truth. But don’t stop now. Stay in touch. Keep the updates coming. Maybe you want to tell them, We’re still working on a solution for you. I just didn’t want you to think we forgot you or what you said wasn’t important to us.

Take it off-line. There are times when the conversation should be taken off-line. Ask them respectfully to do so. You might say: We’d like to offer you a solution and would appreciate it if you would contact us directly to do so.

Go out of your way for good words. When they say good stuff, don’t ignore them. Show appreciation. When I blogged about the wonderful housekeeping staff, especially Luisa, at the JWMarriott Cancun, the hotel PR person emailed me to thank me, and to tell me what nice things they had done for the housekeeper. Then, Luisa, the housekeeper, responded to my blog post in her native tongue. The same thing happened when I posted positive comments about TSA. They even asked permission to reprint my comments in their training newsletter. So here I am talking about them again. When people are happy, make them heros! 

Your ideas to keep the story positive? I’d love to hear them.

Want more? I’m happy to help your team craft an on-line communications strategy that will delight your customers and invite them to become raving fans.  Contact me: Sue@SpeakerSue.com

One of the most charming things about Twitter is that you have to say what you want to say in 140 characters. And it’s amazing how everyone can do it. Abbreviations are used, yes, but more than that, people take time to post thoughtful and complete tweets.

I thought of this when I was reading Will’s post: Releasing Software: Bringing order out of chaos. He says “the biggest factor effecting how likely I am to read and process an email is how long it is. ”  And, he added, “I need to be either interested or feel responsible for the outcome of the email by sentence two.” (The bold is his)

He’s right. I’d like to start a  ”Twitter-ize email” movement. Here would be the movement’s guidelines:

Keep it brief but not blunt.

Be direct, clear, concise and positive.

Write  from the recipient’s viewpoint. Say what they need to know, not what’s nice to know. 

Respect their time. Make it easy for them to read (caps and lower case, punctuation, proper spelling). Y

Make it easy for them to act. Suggest the next step and ask their approval or to confirm.

Want to join? What else should the movement include?

Let’s face it. For many of us, this weekend will be more fun because it gives us the opportunity to catch up on work. That is not to dismiss the meaning of this particular holiday. (I love the Boeing Memorial Day commercial I saw tonight about our Veterans: We will remember them. Always.)
But, it is the reality of those of us who love working that a 3-day weekend means at least one day to work. 

So here is my advice: Use your vacation day to update everything you can. 

A good friend of mine spoke at a meeting last week. She was amazing. Except her materials had a copyright on them from 2003. 

A client asked me to critique a sales pitch. I had to stop at the first slide. It was titled: History of ABC. Like who cares? Tell your story, sure, but tell it from how it impacts today and tomorrow rather than what it was yesterday. If your back story is so compelling, they probably already know it. Think about why it matters to them and you may find that it doesn’t.

My friend and computer guru/master, Patrick Rhone,  owner of MachineMethods is re-inventing his website, moving away from corporate gobbledygook to telling his story. Stay tuned for an authentic experience that speaks of what he can do today. Here is his current website. Wait until you see his new one. 

Buyers depend on you to be here and now. Be smart and get better. Go through your closet and your files. Get rid of everything that worked yesterday and transform it to meet the demands of today or trash it. Using yesterday’s ideas won’t work tomorrow.

Which closet will you start cleaning?

“Got it.”

That’s all she wrote in response to my email that said: 

Your support has made all the difference on this project. Thank you!

I’ve attached the updated manual and incorporated the changes the team suggested. In the two instances where the team had opposing viewpoints I took the liberty, as the course designer, to cast the deciding vote.  

Thanks again for inviting me to be a part of this initiative. 

Would it have been too much for her to have responded (because others have told me how pleased she was):

Thanks so much! 

Or maybe:

Got it and it looks great.

Or perhaps:

Appreciate the work.

Or even:

Got it. Thx.

I remember someone saying, when you’re happy, always tell your face. The email application is clear. 

So am I being too sensitive or not. What do you think?