Beyond Referrals Read online

  As we’ve already discussed, the questions you ask your prospects will go a long way in building credibility and value and will help you see if you have solutions to their problems. I’ve always maintained that the process of asking prospects questions should be a discussion, not an inquisition. You have to be careful how you present the questions you ask and how you break up those questions with other parts of your sales conversation.

  Dirk Zeller, in Telephone Sales for Dummies (http://www.DirkZeller.com), recommends you “ask permission to ask.” He says, “Before you jump into a deluge of questions, you want to ask the prospect if you can ask her some questions. Believe it or not, asking permission to ask questions is effective and shows the prospect that you respect her and her time. By allowing the prospect the choice of answering your questions, you frame the opening dialogue and launch it on a positive path.”

  Cindy, would it be okay if I ask you a few questions about your specific situation?

  Cindy, before I make any recommendations of how I might be able to be a resource for you and your firm, I have a few critical questions I need to ask. May I proceed?

  Cindy, what you just mentioned seems very important to what we’re discussing here. May I probe a little further into that? I think your answers will be very helpful to this conversation.

  THE RIGHT QUESTIONS MOVE YOU TO THE SALE

  Here’s an exercise for you and your colleagues that will make you a lot of money, by getting to know exactly what you need to know about your prospects in order to make recommendations that will pique their interest:

  1. Make a list of all the problems and challenges your prospects and clients face related closely and loosely to what you offer. Each one of these problems can yield one or more open or closed questions.

  2. From this list you just made, go deeper by making a list of questions that look for the impact or implication of the problems and challenges. What’s the problem? What’s the impact of that problem—how is it impacting the prospects personally and their business? (Notice I said “personally and their business.” Go for both.)

  3. Make a list of all the benefits you deliver. Each one of your benefits can yield one or more open or closed questions. There may be some overlap between the problem questions and benefit questions.

  4. Make a list of what you believe the “benefits of your benefits” (the positive effects of your benefits) to be. Each one of these may yield one or more questions you can ask.

  This is not an inquisition, but this list becomes your template for things you want to learn before you call (from referral source or Internet), from the first call, and during all the subsequent appointments.

  PAIN VERSUS PLEASURE

  Most psychologists and scientists agree that the two main motivators of action are moving toward pleasure and moving away from pain. What is the more powerful motivator of the two? Fear! Moving away from or preventing pain. Personally, I think that when you are working with prospects, in your attempt to see if you might be a good resource for them, you should apply both motivators. The problem I see is that most salespeople, business owners, and professionals don’t know how to leverage the pain motivator. They talk about features and benefits, but may be missing the most powerful thing that will get their prospects to take action—relief from their problem or protection against future problems.

  When crafting the questions that make up a big part of your process, be sure to include questions that elicit what isn’t working and then keep going to detect the implication of those problems. For example, a financial advisor might find out that a client isn’t saving enough money for retirement and other purposes. That’s the problem. But what’s the implication of that problem? Working much longer than the client wants? Having lots of dreams that go unfunded? Going to the implication of the problem is what usually engages the emotions. Once prospects are engaged emotionally, they tend to start looking for solutions.

  Many sales experts describe this as “going for the pain.” I even heard one “expert” say in a speech, “Put that knife in and then twist it until the prospect can’t stand it anymore and looks to you for the solution.” Wow! That seems a little drastic to me. In fact, I suspect if someone did that to me, I’d run away as quickly as possible.

  This pain-pleasure-problem-solution dynamic needs to be balanced. In addition to questions that uncover the problems (pain), you need to have questions that help the prospect see what’s possible—the solution (pleasure). Sometimes the prospect even knows what the solution is, but is stuck in inertia and unable to do anything about it. Questions that help your clients create a vision for a better future are also very effective.

  CLOSED-END AND OPEN-END QUESTIONS

  You probably already know a little about the difference between closed-end and open-end questions. Lee Boyan, in his book Successful Cold Call Selling (AMACOM), shares some great advice about these two types of questions. And even though Lee’s book is focused on cold calling, his advice works for referral selling as well. Lee says,

  There are two types of questions you will want to consider using. Closed-end questions, sometimes called directive or fact-finding questions, are those that can be answered with a yes or no or simple statement of fact. It is a popular misconception that closed-end questions are only those that can be answered with a yes or no. Another part of the misconception is that all questions starting with “who,” “what,” “where,” or “when” are open-end. Not so.

  Here are some examples of closed-end questions:

  How many people do you employ?

  Have you ever heard of our company?

  What brand of product are you currently using?

  When will you be receiving another shipment?

  Who supervises this project?

  Where is your head office located?

  Does this sound reasonable to you?

  Open-end questions, sometimes called nondirective or feeling-finding questions, usually cannot be answered with a yes or no or a simple statement of fact. There is virtually no limit to the length of their answer, hence, open-end. Here are some examples:

  How does this affect your business?

  What is it you like about brand X?

  What is it you don’t like about brand X?

  How do you feel about this?

  Why is that important to you?

  What directions will you be taking in this regard?

  The Importance of Balance

  In my seminars, I often have salespeople write out a list of questions they ask on three different categories of calls: (1) new prospects; (2) prospects called on before who are giving all or most of their business to a competitor, and (3) current customers. For several years I kept track of the kind of questions listed. Ninety-four percent were closed-end questions.

  GO FROM “HERE” TO “THERE”

  I think we’re making a good case for the power of asking the right questions. Here’s a method of asking questions that we have just adopted at Referral Coach International and have already seen results. Our prospects are opening up more to what they want and what’s keeping them from getting it.

  Bill Whitley, in his book Art of the Rainmaker, says,

  One of my favorite Power Questions is something I call the here/there question. Using a piece of paper, I say, “Let’s say that you are Here and over the next few years you want to get There. There are certain things that will help you get There faster; let’s call those things Accelerators. And of course my job—should we work together—is to help you get There as fast as possible. There are also things that will slow you down. Let’s call them Detractors. My job is also to help reduce or eliminate these Detractors.”

  Then I ask my client four questions:

  1. “Where is There for you?” There is simply the client’s goal; the quest, the journey, the thing that they are trying to achieve related to the work you do. I let the client do most of the talking and I take notes as quickly and thoroughly as possible. When I have a good pictu
re of There, I summarize and synthesize what they have said. The six most powerful words you can use to start your summary are, “Here’s what I heard you say …” When you listen intently and get it the first time, your prospect appreciates it and their faith in you begins to rise.

  2. Once I have a good picture of There, I go backward and ask, “Where is Here for you?” I want to get a clear picture of their current situation. Again, I let them do most of the talking and I listen intently and summarize what I learn.

  3. Once we have a good picture of Here and There I ask them, “What are the Accelerators that will help you get There faster?” I’m still listening, but I might suggest a couple of additional Accelerators based on my knowledge of their situation and other businesses.

  4. The last question I pose is, “What are the Detractors that slow you down?” I’m always amazed at what I learn with this question. If you have done a good job of listening and summarizing on the first three questions, your client is more than willing to bear his soul and share intimate details of foibles, distractions and missteps. Be careful not to judge; simply listen, summarize and empathize.

  14 CREATING AN EFFECTIVE SALES PROCESS

  PROCESS-DRIVEN SALES

  I sincerely believe that most small business owners, salespeople, and other professionals pretty much wing it when it comes to selling. They don’t use a consistent, proven process to convert their prospects into clients. They have a few key questions they like to ask and a few key points they like to make, but very few think in terms of putting their prospects through a process.

  As I keep saying, by working through referrals, every part of your sales process becomes easier to accomplish and more effective in producing results. Having a process will increase your confidence and make you more referable at the same time.

  This chapter will give you the elements of a great sales process. You will need to take a little time to adopt these principles and tactics to your world. When you do, you will see an immediate increase in your results.

  THINK PROCESS, NOT PRODUCTS

  If you’d like to make sales and get referrals more quickly in your new relationships, then you need to think process over products (or services). You need to make the sale in such a way that the brand-new client wants to tell others about you.

  And Your Process Is?

  Do you have a clearly defined process through which you put most of your new clients? Do you help them think big picture? Do you educate them? Do you help them clarify their goals? Do you question their assumptions? Do you lead them to make the right decisions and stop procrastinating? Do they grow just a little by virtue of going through your process? Do you use the same process virtually every time, or do you wing it?

  Take a minute to think about the process you put your prospects through from the minute you first contact them, all the way through to when they become a client and beyond. Are you creating “memorable experiences”? Is your initial process referable? How do you know if your process is referable? You’re getting referrals without asking for them—just from your process—before your prospects even become clients! People are saying, “I have a colleague who should know about you” before you really deliver your product or service.

  Leveraging Your Process

  Here are five steps that will ensure you get the most out of your process—to make your clients happy and to generate word of mouth and referrals:

  1. Have a clearly defined process that is repeatable and be clear on how your clients benefit.

  2. Name your process. When you name your process, it becomes yours. No one else has your process. Prospects or clients can only get this process from you. This is a way to distinguish yourself in a crowded marketplace.

  3. Illustrate your process with graphic design—on paper and your website. This brings your process to life. It helps you explain your process to your clients and COIs. Visuals go into the mind faster and stay there longer.

  4. Communicate to prospects, clients, and COIs why and how your process is beneficial. Get in the habit of talking about your process on a regular basis.

  5. Bring your process to life with stories, anecdotes, and case studies.

  So—if you want to become referable quickly in your new relationships and remain referable throughout—your mantra from now on is “process, not products.” Work to make the sale, but do it in a way that brings such great value to your prospects and new clients that they want to tell others about you right away.

  ACTION STEP

  Take a long, hard look at your process for converting a prospect into a client. Is it merely designed to make the sale, or is it designed to bring value all along the way? The former will help you create sales. The latter will help you create more sales and be more referable more quickly.

  BE TRANSPARENT WITH YOUR SALES PROCESS

  Do you have a two-step, three-step, or four-step (or more) sales process? Do you even know? While it’s always good to be able to be flexible in any situation, once you’ve found a sales process that works well for both you and your prospects, maintain consistency. And don’t be afraid to let your clients know what your process is.

  George, for us to determine if it makes sense for us to work together, I have a three-step process that seems to work well. First, we need to learn a little bit about each other. I need to learn about your situation to see if there are some ways I may become a resource for you. You probably want to learn about me and my firm so you’ll know if you feel comfortable working with us.

  Next, based on that conversation—if I truly believe I can help you—I will make some recommendations for you to consider.

  Finally, we’ll see if working together makes sense and what that looks like moving forward. How does this sound?

  Obviously, this is a made-up conversation. But it gives you a feel for how you might lay out your process to the prospect. Now that you both know the process, it will be easier to stay on track, and when the time comes, your asking for the business is a natural next step.

  Here are a few guidelines to keep your sales process moving forward:

  1. When you describe your process to people in a prospect-centered manner, tell them that there are two primary reasons why multiple appointments make sense. First, you don’t want to take up big chunks of their time. Second, after the first meeting, you’re going to need a little time to digest the conversation and come back with meaningful suggestions.

  2. At the end of your first appointment, you can make sure you have your second appointment scheduled. “Based on what we discussed today, I’ll work up some suggestions we can discuss at our next meeting. I need about a week to get this prepared for you. Can we look at our calendars for late next week or early the following week?”

  3. Find a few ways to be in touch with your prospects between meetings. This in-between-meetings contact can be related to your creating your proposal for them. It can consist of sending the summary notes of the last meeting or sending specific questions you have. It can be other pieces of evidence that will help them feel good about working with you. And it can be articles or blog links or any type of information that you think your prospects will find useful. If you’ve created good rapport with your new prospects, you can also send information related to their hobbies, passions, and other personal interests.

  SEVEN WORDS TO HELP YOU CLOSE MORE SALES

  When you get on the phone with a prospect or a client—or meet in person—do you have a desired outcome for the call or meeting that is very clear? Clear intentions tend to produce clear results. Vague intentions tend to produce vague results.

  For the rest of your career, before you get on the phone with a prospect or client … before you meet in person … think these seven words, “What’s my desired outcome for this meeting?” (Or “phone call.”)

  Would you agree with me that when you have a clear desired outcome for a phone call or meeting, you’re more likely to make that happen? The key word here is clear. Do you know exactly what you want
your prospect or client to do as the result of your interaction? And if you do, do you create an agenda for the call or meeting that is likely to get you the result you desire? Do you craft the right questions that will get your prospect or client thinking in the ways you desire—and that are in the prospect’s or client’s best interest?

  And as you formulate your goal for each call or meeting, always remain client focused. Always work for what’s best for the prospect or client. When you do that, you’ll get what you need.

  ACTION STEP

  From now on, never get on the phone or meet with a prospect without a clear goal of what you’d like to happen. Have a secondary goal, but first go for your primary goal.

  TURN YOUR SELLING INTO BRAINSTORMING

  When you hear the word brainstorm, what comes to mind? Thinking of many ideas and not evaluating any one of them too quickly? The “P” part of my VIPS Method for asking for referrals is “permission to brainstorm.” I believe the referral process should be collaborative with no pressure. There are no bad ideas!

  What if you applied this same principle to other parts of your client acquisition process? That’s what Dave, a business consultant in Tampa, Florida, does to perfection. He clears over $1 million in consulting fees each year.

  Dave told me, “When I approach a new prospect, I tell them, ‘I’m not here to sell you my consulting services. Think of our conversations as more of a brainstorming session. We’re going to exchange a lot of ideas. We’re going to ask each other a lot of questions. There are no bad ideas and no bad questions. Together, we’re going to see if it makes sense for us to work together long term.”