The art of observation - learnings from Animal behaviour

The mother of all education is observation. I have learnt so much in life from observation. One of my favorite books is "How to read a person like a book". Let us discuss animal behavior especially dog behavior and what we can learn from it. 

Dogs gulp their food: This is a tendency that they have retained from their wild days. In the wild dogs are pack animals and they hunt and eat in groups. It is very important that a dog eats and eats fast. The dog that shows table manners by eating slowly will starve itself to death. Speed matters in eating if you are a dog. 

Dogs circle the place where they sleep many times before they settle in: Again a throwback to their wild days in the forest. In the forest dogs have to sleep on grass. The grass might be thorny, tall or might have unwelcome pests, small insects, bugs etc. By circling the grass gets crushed and so too all the unwelcome guests. That is why even domestic dogs circle many times before settling down. 

Dogs treat different people in the family differently: Very true. Dogs are pack animals and they tend to treat member of its family differently. The most dominating person (in many cases the father) will become the tribe leader and mother will become the feeder and the others will be the siblings. If the dog can dominate it will become the most dominant of the siblings and would dictate things to the children!

Dogs are friendly and are very social: Most well trained dogs are very friendly and can adapt to new situations very easily. A new dog in the surroundings would immediately gauze the environment and adapt. If it is possible the new dog would stiff leg (walking to the other dogs with stiff legs) and appears to be bigger than itself with raised body and fur. The dominant dog would growl. If the other dog does the same it could either led to a fight or one of the dogs will withdraw the aggressive posture thus defusing the situation.

The submissive dog would immediately tuck its tail inside its hind legs and make itself appear to be smaller and whimper. The entire posture is that of submission. If the aggressive dog were to approach the submissive dog, it would yelp and fall on the ground. It would lie flat on its back, expose its neck and look away. This  indicates total submission. The submissive dog is saying “I am totally at your mercy. Kill me if you want”. The dominant dog also has a code of conduct. The dominant dog would sniff the neck of the submissive dog and both would become friendly.  

Thus it is important to notice the play of body language in all situations including in sales and marketing. The customer might be saying something and the body might be saying something else. If there is a discrepancy of what is being said and what is being felt (through body language) the smart sales man who can detect and act on the discrepancy would emerge as the winner and walk away with the sale.

Gatekeeper is the Person to watch out for!

Secretary, personal assistant, office manager, receptionist, gate-keeper.  Call them by any name they all do the same function. Regulate the flow of information and visitors to the decision maker in the organization. It is their responsibility to see that the decision maker is unfettered and free to concentrate on his/her work. To make sure the decision maker's valuable time isn't taken up by needless interruptions. Gatekeepers are a necessary evil in everyday business.

Getting past the gatekeeper can be challenging but not impossible.

First you must pre-qualify the information that you already have regarding the decision maker (name, title).

Ask the assistant "who is the person handling the insurance matters for the company". Or. " Who is in charge of the specific services/product you are providing (insurance, graphics, Printing)? The person who answers the phone will probably be able to tell you who the decision maker is even if they don't allow you to speak with him/her.

So let's say for example that you are calling Mr. Ravi Sharma  at Ratan Body Shop. But instead of getting Ravi, you get his assistant. His assistant's job like any good assistant is to govern which calls require Ravi's immediate attention and which will receive a phone call at a later date.

Here is an example of what a conversation might sound like.

Salesman : Hello, is Mr. Ravi in?

Gatekeeper : Who is this?

Salesman : This is Paramjit Singh calling for ALL-IN Insurance Services. I'm trying to reach the person in charge of accepting proposals for the employee Insurance policies for thecompany. I was told that it was Mr. Ravi.

Gatekeeper : Yes, Mr. Ravi is the person who handles the insurance but he is tied up right now can I take a message?

Salesman : Can I make an appointment at a later date?

Gatekeeper : Yes Can you make it at 1000 hours on the next Friday.

Salesman  : Sure I will thank you

There are some points worth considering here.

First, always try to get the Gatekeeper on your side. You don't get anywhere by making an enemy out of the person who probably has as much info on the company as the owner/Managing Director.

Second, be straight forward with the Gatekeeper . If you are coy or evasive with him/her, the assistant will pick up on it. You want this person on your side so be direct and simply tell him/her the purpose of the call.

Third always ask for the decision maker’s E-mail ID.  If you get a particularly Gatekeeper on the phone, the chance that the decision maker will in fact receive an unbiased message from you decreases. So be sure to leave a message.

Next, be sure to send some information to the decision maker which helps to insure that they know who you are and what you can do for them. If you still haven't received a return phone call from the prospect then you may want to send a voice or e-mail to his attention. 

If you don't have an e-mail for the prospect from the Gatekeeper then be sure to go on-line to the company's website. There may be a link to the person's e-mail address or fax number.

A good sales man is as good as his last sale

One adage that is frequent used by many sales professionals. A sales person is as good as his last sales. A salesman can’t rest on his laurels. The euphoria of the sales gets evaporated as soon as it is submitted in the office. 

The race earnestly starts for the next sale. The sales person always has to be on his toes. Most sales people do not consider a single sale as a high point. It is the total sale that matters. That is the target achievement in a month or a quarter is more important than a single sale.  

The Prima donnas’ of a single glorified sales man are long gone. Most companies resort to systems selling. Systems selling where a team of sales people are responsible for servicing a client.  Systems selling also eliminates the need to have a daily high. The daily high of a successful sale. In the glorified single person –single order regimes the pressure of getting a sale was so high that sales people would get a sale by hook or crook.

In systems selling getting a sale is only a process not an end in itself. Lot of focus is on lost orders. Lost orders are identified, tracked and reasons for losing an order are analyzed. Analyzed, so that orders are not lost in the future.

Systems selling also emphasizes that getting an order is not as important as seeing that the sales is transacted well. The item has to be delivered, installed, and the user has to get the total satisfaction of possessing and using the product.  

Sales men are submissive and will inevitably have a dog!

Sales career is the toughest among all careers. Sales men are seen as parasites and they are, frankly barely tolerated. One can’t really blame the sales people. In many cases they sell or market products that are not purchased willingly. In other words if the product can get sold by themselves there is no need for sales men. 

Sales people thus acquire cunningness and ability to play the underdog – always. They appear to be the most submissive of all the people. But that is a just a front. A sales man hears about his targets early in the morning. The not so polite boss minces no words in letting the sales man know that getting the target is sacrosanct. 

On the road the salesman has to grin and bear with the heavy traffic. He does not want to lose his temper lest it affects his ‘getting into the zone’ mood (the psyching up or getting prepared for the sales pitch).

At the prospect’s office, the sales man has to deal with the tough security, go through the drill, bear getting his things examined and get a visitors pass. Then starts the waiting at the reception. The sale man can’t show his impatience. There are watching eyes always watching and ready to report. Getting past the determined and tough gatekeepers (the secretaries) is an art in itself. 

Once inside the sales man has to play his cards well. The prospect behaves like a know all. The prospect preens about his knowledge and stops the sales man dead on his tracks. Sales men have to bear with interruptions, sudden objections and many and sundry colleagues of the prospect joining in the discussion and dragging it in many other directions.

The salesman is not sure of the sale till it happens. The prospect argues on all items including the price, the guarantee, the delivery period and the payment process. The training of the sales man comes into the fore at this juncture. He very carefully and subtly gets his work done that is to get the order.

But his travails are not yet over. He has to play the submissive role at his dealer’s office too. The dealer/distributor has many reasons not to generate the sale that is expected but comes out with demands of early delivery of material and late payments. The sales person has to be wary of not rustling the feathers of the dealer/distributor. So he cajoles and wheedles his way through the dealer and sees that his work is transacted satisfactorily.

Back at the office the boss is not very happy. He is not satisfied with the quantum of discount that the sales man had offered. The boss Complains about the delivery date and lack of advance payment. He grudgingly accepts the order as if he is favoring the sales person. The concerned data entry operator who has to key in the order also plays his role. He shouts at the sales person on his late arrival. He makes snide comments about sales men who can’t manage their time.

Tired and worn out the sales man returns to his home. He takes off his shoes and whistles at his dog (all sales people have dogs). This is the moment that the sales man was waiting for. He talks to his dog in a confident and dominant way. The dog listens carefully and wags his tail. The sales man’s day has ended happily. For the sales man his dog is the only thing that can be dominated by him.

Smooth talking Salesmen!

I was traveling to work and got stuck in the traffic. Out of sheer boredom I turned into the local FM channel "Radio Mirchi" the radio channel that prides itself as being very spicy and hot. I heard the over exuberant and over the board radio jockey getting exited about a very trivial issue. Luckily for me there was a commercial break. 

I heard the voice over blaring " once in  a life time offer. XYZ realty is offering something unbelievable. Come and book your flat at Hi-tech City ( a posh downtown in Hyderabad) and get a cash discount of Rs 5,00,000/-". This was what alerted me "one out of every three lucky buyers will get this offer. The other two will get cash discount of Rs 75,000/- and Rs 50,000/-. The offer will end soon. Hurry up flats starting from a price of Rs 30,00,000/-".

As the innately boring chatter of the RJ started again I got thinking about this sales promotion. On the face of it, it looks unbelievably exciting. But the marketer and academician in me kicked in. If anyone give you an unbelievable offer most probably it is true. Don’t believe it. There is a catch some where!

In the face of it the offer is very good but the catch. The offer says buyer. Which means that it is not for everyone and the buyer has to commit himself/herself by paying some token advance amount (and as we all know advances are never returned). That way the buyer is captive and he/she has no escape route. 

One in three will get that Rs 5,00,000/- wonderful. On a base price of 30,00,000 rupees that is a whopping discount of nearly 17%. In the depressed economies that is a great savings. But the second buyer gets only 75,000 rupees off. And that is a discount of only 2.5% and the third gets a discount of 50,000 rupees and that amounts to less than 2% of offered price. That much discount can be had by anybody who asks for a discount. And second and third buyers are captive and they cant wriggle out of he deal. They will have to take it or lump it.

The total outlay for the realty company is only Rs 6,25,000/- (5,00,000 + 75,000 + 50,000) and that is on the total list price of 30,00,000 x 3  which is 90,00,000/- rupees. This works out to less than 7%. This way the company is not shelling out a major discount but is getting captive customers at a very low acquisition cost. Good for the company but is it good for the buyer?. Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).

So the next time someone offers a unbelievable deal, don’t believe them. There is no free lunch in this world. The discount that is being offered has to come out of someone’s pocket and that pocket is inevitable the customer’s. Even in the above deal the company has no real issue as the quoted price is only the list price and the realtor will invariably add cost of common spaces, lift cost, parking fee cost and cost of the lift and the generator on to the customer. This way the company laughs its way to the bank and the buyer is not wiser as he does not know how he was swindled. Ignorance is bliss.

Busting sales myths!

There are lots of myths about sales people. 

A sales person is very dominating: This is one of the myths that every one believes. They imagine a sales person to be like a James Bond . Suave, smart and utterly over powering. He is seen as a bulldozer, who can raze down everything in his wake. But a sales person is one of the most submissive (or plays the role of a submissive) person. He has to subordinate himself to his boss, his customer, the dealers and even the service department. He has to be good negotiator to get along with his job. Some people call sales people good wheeler dealers. Most Sales people have dogs as pets. Dogs are the most submissive of all pets and his pet dog is the only thing that submits itself to the sales person.

A need can be created: This is something that I always hear even professional sales people say. But my friends that the basic tenet. A need can’t be created. Only wants can be created. If a person is not hungry nothing in the words can make him consume anything. Yes if he is hungry he might choose any of the various option of overcoming his hunger.

Selling combs to a bald person: One of the favorite questions of all interviews.  “Can you sell a comb to a baldie”. My answer would be a no. But pushed to answer, maybe I would volunteer to say that one of the uses of a comb for a baldie would be to scratch his head if it is itching.

Selling a refrigerator to an Eskimo: This is something that is possible. Yes Eskimos use the refrigerator and for the exact reverse uses of what we are it using for. We use the fridge to keep the food cold and to see that it is not spoiled. The Eskimos who live in a very cold area find that all their food is frozen so hard that a person can be killed with a sharpened chocolate bar! Eskimos use the fridge to keep their food soft and malleable and in a eatable condition.

A sale is an art and not science: Sales is seen as a mambo jumbo. Something that is like black magic. Customers are hoodwinked and they are sucked into a sale. But sales is pure science. The steps of a sales process can be broken down into logically and any any smart person can master these steps. It is as simple or as difficult as surgery or accounting. Correctly trained most people would find sales to be a very enriching experience.

Sales ends with the procurement of an order: Most sales professionals exclaim that sales ends with the procuring of the order. But sale is cyclical and would go on and on in circles . The order has to be executed, installed, the customer has to be trained, the payment has to be collected and the customer has to be given excellent service. All these successfully executed the same customer could be approached to buy the product again.

Sales myths busted - Part - III

15. Marketing is replacing selling. Selling is part of the marketing process. Sometimes, professionals use the term 'marketing' instead of selling, believing it is more acceptable. There is also a mistaken belief that marketing can replace selling and eliminate the need for direct, one-to-one customer contact. This may be true for some products or services where the salesperson acts simply as an order taker. For most products and services, however, selling is a necessary and valuable part of the marketing strategy.

16. All successful salespeople are hard closers. Surveys show that today's top salespeople seldom spend much time on closing. Instead they focus on finding customer needs, demonstrating benefits and asking for customer feedback. The professional salesperson, after making sure his client has all the information needed to make a decision, simply asks if they would like to take the next step.

17. Product knowledge is what separates the mediocre salesperson from the outstanding salesperson. Product knowledge is extremely important in professional selling. But product knowledge is isolated information, which has really no value to anyone. Facts, data, and statistics about products or services do not create sales. However, what really is the key to most sales is the proper understanding of the problems of a prospect or a specific business. To understand a business problem is to properly analyze and then to provide solutions to the customer is the essence of professional sales. Product knowledge is only a small part of this process.

18. A career in sales is usually near the bottom in terms of status and income. Selling is the highest single paid career in the world. Furthermore, many CEO's and other executives started in sales, which has always been one of the fastest tracks to upper management.

19. Women are only effective in certain types of sales positions. More and more companies are asking to interview women candidates as well as men in such fields as industrial equipment, chemicals, construction, etc. Success in sales has nothing to do with gender but everything to do with that person's ability to reach well defined goals within a certain time frame. We are seeing more and more women entering the selling profession as more awareness is created about this dynamic profession.

20. The most effective salespeople are more extroverted than introverted. Actually, high performance salespeople are quite analytical and the majority of studies indicated that the top salespeople lean more to the introverted side than the extroverted side. For example, in the strategic consultative sales process, a winning salesperson has to pick apart a complex problem to come up with a workable solution often in a very competitive environment. The emphasis here is on thinking and problem solving skills versus being a real socially inclined person. The art of selling is the art of problem solving.

Sales myths busted - Part - II

8. Successful salespeople use a lot of tricks and gimmicks. Tricks and gimmicks are the tools of the old style salesperson. Today's buyers are too sophisticated to put up with these tactics. Tricks and gimmicks may still be used by some salespeople in some industries but these techniques are not the skills used by today's sales professional.

9. Successful salespeople are aggressive. The best salespeople are not aggressive, by the usual definition of that word. They are self motivated and enthusiastic. The irritating pushiness that the public perceives as part of buying is the trademark of the un trained, unprofessional salesperson. Top sales people in any field are sincere, knowledgeable, considerate, helpful and empathetic.

10. Great salespeople are born, not made. Great salespeople are not born, they are trained. Desire, training, practice and experience will enable anyone to reach a successful level of sales performance.

11. Selling is something you do to people. Selling is something you do with people, not something you do to them. A sales presentation is conversational in style. It should be comfortable, not confronting. The client needs information and looks to the salesperson for guidance and advice. The salesperson is helpful and supportive as the client considers the presentation and makes a decision.

12. Selling a professional service requires a compromise in ethics. The salesperson is motivated only by a desire to satisfy their customer's needs and wants. Professionals always place their client's best interests ahead of their own. Trust is essential to a successful sales relationship and a professional never compromises his/her integrity to achieve success.

13. The public does not trust or like salespeople. People do not like or trust poorly trained, poorly informed, ineffective salespeople. They often share stories about unethical and pushy sales service, but  also praise the experience of dealing with their stock broker, real estate agent, or car dealer. They say, "He's different, you can trust him." Today's consumer wants sales service they can trust and rely on, and they will remain loyal to salespeople who provide it.

14. To be effective in sales you must adopt a new personality. Not really true. The more open the sales person is with the client, the more effective he will be. The more he shares his values, feelings and experiences with his clients the more comfortable they become.

Sales myths busted - Part - I

1. Buyers are liars. Do buyers mislead salespeople? Many a times. This usually occurs when the sales person has failed to earn that person's trust. Gaining someone's trust means not pushing them into making a buying decision. It means focusing the sales person’s attention on customer’s situation rather than trying to close the sale.

2. Anyone can be persuaded to buy. This may be true of impulse purchases but in today's business world, buyers are more savvy than ever before. The real key is to determine whether or not the person or company the sales person is speaking has a genuine need for the product or service. If they do not, then the best strategy is to move on to someone who does need and want that particular solution.

3. Price is the primary reason people make a buying decision. Price is important in the sales process but it is not usually the primary reason, unless, of course, if the sales person fails to establish the value of his products or services. And If he does not clearly show how his solution will help the customer, price will become the default decision-making criteria.

4. It's critical to close the sale as soon as possible. Yes, it's important to move people towards a buying decision and it is important to gain commitments along the way. It is important to include a call to action in the proposals and conversations. But, it is also important to recognize that not every sales decision will be made quickly. Decisions can be delayed for a number of reasons, and in certain situations, trying to rush the customer to a commitment will cost the sale.

5. Close the deal at any price. Too many people feel they have to close every deal, even if it does not make good business sense. Many sales people will accept a sale that has virtually no margin. Many sales people match the prices of the competitors in order to prevent people from going to their competition. However, this seldom creates loyalty and only conditions that customer to continue asking for a better price. If the sales person are not making the desired gross profit on a particular sale, then he needs to consider whether it makes good business to accept it.

6. Do whatever it takes to get the sale. Manipulative, aggressive, high-pressure sales tactics work. But, they don't create loyal customers and clients. The sales person may win the sale, but in the long run, the customer is lost.

7. A salesperson can sell something that is not wanted: People buy to satisfy needs and wants. A salesperson may help a customer to identify their needs and wants but customers only buy when they believe the product or service they are offered will satisfy them. Selling is not about seducing or coercing the client into buying something for which they have no use or desire.