Training Tuesday:Overcoming Objections

If it weren’t for objections everybody would be in sales. Without objections there’d be no need for companies to pay big, fat commission checks. So, while none of us likes objections, we must accept them as part of the business and make sure we know how to overcome them.

Your main goal when faced with an objection is to turn the objection around into a reason to purchase our service. If a prospect raises the ever-popular “Your rates are too high” objection, counter it by saying, “Our prices accurately reflect the value you’ll be getting from Sunteck. And good value is important to you, isn’t it?”

Occasionally you’ll run into a prospect in the traffic or purchasing department who’s sure he’s seen everything there is to see regarding freight companies. In other words, he’s seen it all. You might hear, “Get right to the bottom line and show me your rates?” Generally, all this person really wants is attention, and to show you how much he knows about our industry. Recognize his expertise and give him all the attention he craves. This is always a better way to handle a tough customer than to put him down. With compliments and kindness you can eventually win him over, or at least wear him down.

“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.”
– W. Clement Stone

People love to buy but hate to be sold. Objections are inevitable. Not only should you expect objections, I think you should welcome them. An objection is a positive part of the sales process. A purchasing VP who gives you an objection is listening closely. They’re considering buying your service to solve their transportation problems. And most importantly, their objection gives you an opportunity to answer the objection and add one more good reason why they should buy from you now.

Expect objections, but never create them. Prepare a list of the top ten objections your customers and prospects have had with all their motor carriers in the past and then prepare two or three appropriate responses to answer each one.

When faced with an objection, first restate the question or statement.

  • “The rates are too high?”
  • “You feel your service is too slow?”
  • “You’re worried about damage?”
  • “You wish we offered next day service to Cleveland?”

Give the prospect an opportunity to confirm your understanding of his objection, and hopefully your prospective client will give additional reasons for his or her objection.

Clarify the objection.

  • “I’m curious why you feel that way?”
  • “Could you be more specific, please?”
  • “Do you need more information?”

Remember this is not a contest. Nobody should win or lose. This should be a conversation where two people are answering questions and gathering information.

After you’ve re-stated the question, and clarified the objection, and you’re sure you understand the objection fully, then answer it. Don’t just handle your customer’s objections, instead answer them. Answer the objection head on, honestly, simply, and succinctly. Handle objections early and often. A direct approach to handling objection guarantees greater sales results.

The right questions at the beginning of your presentation can help prevent objections at the end of it. For example, ask questions to confirm that your prospect has the authority to make a decision by himself to make sure you don’t hear, “I need to talk to Mr. Anderson about this,” right before you’re ready to close.

Be careful about what you say when faced with an objection based on one of your competitor’s services. I handle a prospect’s question, “What makes you think your truckload service to Akron is better than XYZ Truckload Carriers?” by responding, “I’ve never been a customer of theirs. I can only tell you what our customers say about Sunteck’s excellent service to Akron. I can be very specific with you about what Sunteck’s services are like. Then it’s up to you Mr. Prospect, to make a comparison.”

If I’m told that another carrier is also presently under consideration and asked to give an opinion of them, I reply, “It’s a fine company. The key is for you to determine who can give you the greatest value. Who’s going to help your bottom line? And when you run into difficulties, who is going to be there to solve your problems? I am. I’m the person who’s going to provide all of that for you. Through me and my access to all of the resources within Sunteck, we’ll get the job done.”

If you worked for a company that offered objection-proof service, you’d have no competitors. Every transportation company in the country has a shortcoming or limitation. If your prospect finds it, don’t try to prove him wrong. The fact that our service isn’t perfect doesn’t lower its potential value to the prospect, but the fact that you acknowledged the objection’s validity might help you build trust and rapport. Admitting our service’s imperfection also helps give the prospect a sense of control that may reduce his fear of making a buying decision.

When possible, let prospects answer their own objections. Sometimes you can stop an objection in its tracks by asking, “Could you tell me why you feel that way?” If your prospect can’t answer, then you and the prospect know the objection has little or no validity. If your prospect does answer with a more specific objection, you have a chance to eliminate it and move one step closer to the close.

Buying decisions are risky for your prospects. Choosing the wrong carrier can be harmful to the prospect’s career. Objections are the only way they have to help make sure that risk will pay off for them. If you can eliminate those objections, you’ll help provide the reassurance they need to say yes.

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Training Tuesday:Sales Presentation

 

Be sure to focus your presentation. Only after I spend considerable time conducting a consultative/fact-finding session do I present Sunteck’s services. Thorough research and questioning should give you an idea of your prospect’s logistic problems and the solutions you can provide. Tailor your presentation to suit each individual company and focus your presentation on the benefits—not features, that Sunteck has to offer. Before making the presentation ask yourself: what kind of presentation will convince the prospect to buy (analytical? logical? emotional?), then model your presentation to match them.

“Samson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. That many sales are killed everyday with the same weapon.”

Know your audience. Make absolutely sure that all the important decision-makers are in attendance. You’ll want as many VIP’s involved as possible to see your presentation of the quality transportation services that Sunteck offers. When possible, be sure to include the traffic manager, purchasing manager, maintenance supervisor, VP of sales, and anybody else involved in the final decision. Include the CEO or President of the company whenever possible. Be sure you know their level of expertise about the transportation industry, Sunteck, and their company’s shipping needs. Use terminology appropriate to the attendees’ knowledge of the transportation industry.

Prepare a presentation folder for everyone who will be in attendance. Since we’re selling an intangible service; this presentation folder will have to suffice for your product demonstration.

I only present the services that Sunteck offers which apply to the prospect’s needs that I uncovered on my consultative call. I stay close to my customers, and if their needs change, I make a new presentation based on their new needs. This way I don’t waste their time or mine. It also eliminates confusion.

Even in your sales presentation you must remember to be a good listener. Being a good listener generates confidence, and demonstrates sincerity in your desire to understand the prospect’s needs. During the fact-finding session, I let my prospect talk as long as he wants. It’s simply a matter of respect for the other person to let him have his say. Unfortunately, too many transportation salespeople forget to extend this basic courtesy during their sales presentation. Listening can’t be emphasized enough.

Most salespeople who are successful in our industry are strong supporters of concept selling. Consequently, each devotes a major portion of their presentation to securing agreement on the need that their particular transportation solution fills before specifically focusing on the nuts and bolts of how they move the prospect’s freight. We sell an intangible service, so we can’t actually give a demonstration (you can’t physically take the prospect along with their shipment on a Sunteck truck from their dock to the consignees dock – you can only describe what happens). The product we sell is nothing more than a promise – a commitment to the customer to move his or her freight when we said we would, at a reasonable price, with no damage.

The final phase in the presentation of a complicated sale to a large shipper, with several locations, might involve making a formal proposal, complete with a PowerPoint presentation, or flip charts and slides. Included might be a projection of cost savings, a plan to educate the customer’s shipping personnel, guaranteed or example supportable pick-up and delivery times, and special billing agreements. In short, the prospect is told, “I’m going to lay out the exact series of detailed events that will take place, complete with all service standards and procedures.” The prospect knows exactly what to expect, and because there will be no surprises, he or she will feel comfortable doing business with Sunteck. When presenting Sunteck’s shipping services to a group, always stand at the head of the table. Create a classroom atmosphere. Be the instructor, not ‘one of the gang.’

An even more difficult scenario than a group presentation for controlling the sale is selling over the telephone. Telephone selling offers no eye contact nor can you employ facial expressions or body language to help get your prospect’s attention. You also don’t know what distractions may be going on in his office while you’re trying to sell him. Never sell on the phone. You can agree to take a shipment to help the prospect out, but don’t attempt to sell him over the phone. Also, don’t give a discount over the phone. Make time to see the prospect in person; it serves him better, and protects you and Sunteck. Phone selling is for telemarketers, not for highly paid and highly trained sales agents. The consequences are obvious when a salesperson loses control of the conversation on the telephone. The prospective client can become distracted by other matters in his office and end the conversation. In a split second he can cut you off. In general, people’s poorest manners surface both more quickly and more frequently on the phone than when you’re face to face with them.

Psychologically, the most memorable parts of sales presentations are the beginning and the end, so they deserve special attention. Engage the prospect from the beginning and get to the point quickly with an imaginative opening that showcases the most important benefits of using Sunteck. Use your conclusion to summarize the key points of your presentation. As you plan it, ask yourself what lasting impressions you want to leave your prospect with before you finish and ask them to choose Sunteck.

“It’s not your customer’s job to remember you. It’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t forget you.”
– Patricia Fripp

Practice, practice, practice. Increase your odds of closing more sales by practicing your presentations. After you’ve made sales presentations, they become practice sessions for presentations you’ll give in the future.

Collect the ideas you’d like to suggest or selling points you want to make; then organize them according to your purpose and the needs of your prospect. Give your words greater credibility by backing them up with data or testimonials. Keep your words as simple and direct as possible; use active, not passive language; and vary your tone, volume and pitch to keep the prospect interested. Illustrate your words with examples and interesting stories to add color to your presentation.

Lastly, get to know everything you can about the transportation business – Sunteck – as well as the competition. Make sure the prospect realizes that you’re an expert. When you demonstrate how much you know about your industry, you’ll gain the respect of your customers and prospects. When people believe they’re dealing with an expert it’s a lot easier to close the sale. Most customers want you to advise them. When they realize that you have a great knowledge of the transportation industry and of available carriers, then they’re happy to let you take control. You become their consultant. It’s when a salesperson doesn’t know as much about the transportation industry as his or her prospect that people resent a strong sales presentation. However, there’s no doubt that traffic and purchasing people are better informed today than they’ve ever been.

The best way to make a compelling sales presentation is by demonstrating that you’re an expert in your business as well as his. When you exemplify excellence in your sales presentation, the customer is eager to find out what you can do to offer solutions to his or her particular transportation problems.

To make the best presentation possible, you must have conviction in the services you’re there to sell. A customer instinctively knows whether you believe in your service. If you do, they in turn will believe in you. Only then can you make a sales presentation that turns into a sale every time.

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.”
– Zig Zigler

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Training Tuesday:Fact Finding

I’m a big advocate of consultative selling. But before I tell you how great I think the consultative sales approach is, I want to warn you of the negative impact this type of selling has had on some salespeople. Some sales reps visit a customer two or three times, ask them every question they can think of except the most important question of all – asking the customer to buy their service.

If on the second call you don’t ask for the shipper’s business, it then becomes a social visit and not a sales call. You can and should qualify the customer and re-visit their needs on a regular basis. If they’re qualified to buy and you don’t offer Sunteck’s help, then you’re doing them a disservice. On the other hand, if you keep calling on a customer who’s not qualified, you’re stealing time and money from yourself. Be sure after you’ve made a consultative sales call that you follow up by asking for their business.

Treat all your sales work as a consulting assignment. Consultative selling turns salespeople into experts and clients into partners. When you first meet the prospect take your “sell” sign down for the majority, if not all, of your first call.

The best salespeople are professional problem solvers. We’re in the business of solving transportation problems. But you have to know and understand the problem first before you try to solve it. You have to be willing to walk in the door without any preconceived notions as to how best to solve the problems identified.

Since you sell to other companies, you should consider yourself in the business of solving profitability problems. That’s the key concern you’ll ultimately be addressing: how to increase profitability. Everything you do should eventually lead to the goal of the clients’ company increasing its level of profitability. If you can’t break your sales efforts into solutions that help the customer, you’ll either base your sales on manipulating others or fail to persuade prospects that you’re offering anything of value.

On every sales call, be the student, because you really are. In real estate, they say it’s all in the location. In transportation sales it’s questions, questions, and more questions. You’ll be surprised and sometimes shocked at what a customer will tell you.

Not only is the consultative sales approach effective in finding the correct sales solutions, it’s also very helpful in eliminating people who are not potential customers, thus saving you time in the long run.

Even though it’s okay to call an initial visit with a customer a qualifying call, don’t only make the call to qualify. Make the call primarily to learn.

Sales listening is patient listening. Don’t anxiously wait for an opportunity to jump in and solve all the customer’s problems right away. After I ask a question I shut up and allow my prospect to speak. Sometimes I wait for several minutes. I don’t feel threatened by the silence. Most salespeople can’t stand a pause in the conversation. Take a deep breath, relax, and listen. Some prospects want to be listened to more than they want their problems solved. If a client or prospective client has had a bad day, let them talk about it. Don’t try to stop them. Once they lighten themselves of their burdens they can better concentrate on Sunteck’s services.

Everyone is so busy that asking for someone’s time is a big request. A prospect that agrees over the phone to give you a ten-minute appointment will give you an hour in person once you establish value. One of the best ways to establish value is to show that they are important and that you recognize that fact. People love to talk about themselves, their jobs, and their companies. Encourage them to do so.

“Pretend that everyone you meet has a sign around their neck that says MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT. Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.”
– Mary Kay Ash

Transportation salespeople who have been in our industry for a long time should re-visit how they qualify and maintain accounts. It’s easy to start believing that you possess all the answers. Too often we make assumptions based on outdated information. Visit accounts often and ask questions. You never know what changes might have taken place since your last call until you ask.

Take notes! Taking notes during your meeting with the prospect can be one of your most powerful sales tools. It will reinforce the reason you made the appointment in the first place: to learn more about the prospect and his company’s transportation needs.

Taking notes helps you listen. There’s something about holding an empty notepad in front of you that makes you pay better attention to what is being said. It also makes it more difficult to miss important points.

Taking notes puts you in a position of authority. You can also glance at notes and questions you prepared prior to making the sales call. Taking notes will also encourage the prospect to open up. Taking notes sends strong positive signals to the prospect. It says, “I’m listening to you. I won’t forget. I’ll use the information you’re giving me to find solutions when I get back to my office.”

It’s a fine line between asking questions that will help the prospect solve their transportation problems, and a cross-examination. Be sure your prospect feels at ease. Be natural. The consultative sale should be a comfortable two-way conversation.

Never waste the prospect’s time. That may seem like an obvious point, but many of your competitors never know when to get to business, or for that matter, even when the appointment is over. There will come a point when the customer will be ready to move past the small talk, and usually it’s quicker than you might think. Your contact, like most of us these days, is short on time. Most traffic managers, purchasing managers, and other decision-makers you call on appreciate you getting to the point. You can tactfully do this without jeopardizing the emerging relationship.

First, give the prospect a reason he or she should answer your questions. Second, make sure everyone involved in the decision making process is present if at all possible.

Salesperson: “We currently work with General Motors, ASW Technologies, and (use your own local examples of similar companies) in several areas to improve their service while reducing their costs! I feel there’s a good chance we can do the same thing for you, but I’m not sure yet. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

The prospect expects to answer questions and they’ll give you their permission to proceed.

Salesperson: “At most of the companies I’ve mentioned more than one person was involved in carrier selection. Are there any other people here that would be involved in this decision?” (If NO, proceed on. If YES, obtain their names and ask if they could also be present). Next, move on to your questions.

The following list will provide you with good examples of questions that you can adapt to your sales presentation. Know the questions you’re going to ask before you arrive at the customer’s desk. The list below is provided to stimulate ideas that will help you customize your own list. The information you collect from the customer’s answers will increase your chances of putting together a great proposal after you’ve made the consultative sales call.

1. What does your company do? Manufacturing? Distribution?

2. What do you ship? In what quantities? Expedited? Air? Truckload? LTL? Intermodal?

3. What commodities do you ship?

4. Where do you ship? Intrastate? Interstate?

5. What are some of the cities you ship to?

6. How often?

7. What service level is required? To where?

8. How is your product packaged? Skidded? Banded? Loose?

9. Average weight?

10. What is the normal pick-up time? What unusual pick-up requirements do you require?

11. Are your shipments normally prepaid? Collect? If so, what percentage?

12. What are your average monthly freight transportation costs?

13. Who’s handling these shipments now?

14. How long have you used them?

15. Do you have any vendors that you receive products from on a regular basis?

16. Who chooses the carrier that handles those shipments?

17. Where are those vendors located?

18. What commodities are they?

19. What is the frequency of those shipments?

20. Who’s handling those shipments now?

21. How long have you used them?

22. What percentage of shipments is routed by your customers?

23. How do you feel about your current service?

24. How do you feel about your current pricing?

25. What would you like to change about your current carrier’s pricing?

26. What is most important to you: service, carrier stability, technology, or something else?

27. Why?

28. How do you rate carriers? How is the rating communicated to the carrier? How often?

29. What are the ratings of the carriers you use today?

30. If you could change one thing overall about your current logistics provider, what would it be?

31. Does this problem lead to… (Build up problem with multiple implications / need pay-off questions)?

32. Would you change anything else?

33. What would cause you to begin using a different 3PL or carrier?

34. What is the volume of your cargo claims? Do you experience any frequent service failures?

35. Would you be interested in our EDI capability?

 

Last, but not least, be sure to wrap up the appointment by asking for the next appointment, and by getting a positive response on a trial close. It should sound like this:

Salesperson: “Mr. Smith, I’ve learned a lot here today, and I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me. We’re at the point now where we should set up another appointment, one where I can come back after having sorted through everything I’ve learned here, and show you more about what Sunteck may be able to do for your company. Is Thursday at 2PM okay?”

Prospect: “Sure, next Thursday at 2PM will be just fine.”

Salesperson: “Great! One last question ( pause ) if you like the program I develop for you, would you be willing to give us a try?”

OR

Salesperson: “I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. Based on what I just learned, I’m confident there’s a fit between our companies and that we can definitely help you solve some of your shipping problems. I’m going to make a commitment to you to develop a customized proposal, which will include my recommendations to you and your company. What I’d like in return from you is a commitment to give us a shot. Let us prove how good we are. I’m confident you’ll be very happy! Can I get that kind of commitment from you?

“Great! I’ll need about a week to get with my team back at the office and develop a package just for you. Is this time next week good for you?”

Both of these approaches let the prospect know that when you come back for your second appointment, your sale sign will go up. It prepares them to say “yes” when you come back later and ask them to buy.

We’ve focused so much of our respective sales energies on the consultative approach that very little emphasis is placed on the sales presentation. I think this is a huge mistake. In the old days, many salespeople could care less about what the customer wanted or needed; all their energy was on the presentation. Nowadays some people in transportation have no definable presentation at all. They just go back to the customer and answer any questions or shipping requirements that surfaced in the qualifying call. I think both are hugely important—the consultative call and the presentation. Give your customer a dynamic sales presentation. He deserves it. It will make you stand out from the other freight reps.

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Training Tuesday:Meet & Greet

The initial approach to a prospect is the most crucial part of the sales presentation. All the selling skills in the world won’t matter if you don’t get your foot in the door.

Up front I state my name, the company I represent — Sunteck, and the particular transportation services I’m there to sell. Unlike a lot of salesmen and saleswomen, I don’t beat around the bush. I’m a big advocate of concept selling. I tell the prospect, “I’d like to share an idea with you. I’m in the transportation business. I’m assuming that you’re always looking for ideas that will help your company ship or receive goods in a way that will make your company more efficient, more service driven, and more profitable. I’d like to run some ideas by you.”

This statement is a big attention-getter and opens the door. It creates immediate interest. Of course you have to substantiate your statement in your presentation.

The first moments of your sales call should create initial interest by making a statement. “Sunteck is in the business of providing solutions for a variety of different transportation needs. Technology is moving very fast, and I deal with many companies similar to yours. You need a transportation provider which not only can handle your current needs, but is also working on your needs for the future.” Another great opener is, “Our main goal at Sunteck is to enhance your productivity.”

Early in your initial meeting be sure to mention the names of several of your satisfied customers. This is done to establish credibility. It lets the prospect know that Sunteck’s shipping solutions have benefited leading logistic decision-makers that came to the well-informed decision to trust you and your ideas. I always make it a point to discuss other customers in their industry who are working in similar environments. I wouldn’t, for example, mention how we handle an account like Microsoft to a small locally owned computer software company. Their problems are so different that the prospect won’t be able to relate to an organization that is one hundred to one million times bigger. When I speak about familiar customers who have found the solutions to similar shipping problems through Sunteck, I get the prospect’s immediate attention.

When you use a prospect’s competitors or companies in similar industries as examples, it creates an opportunity to use another great opening approach. “Mr. Fulton, I’m Dave Dallas with Sunteck. Has Sean Clancy mentioned my name to you?” It doesn’t make any difference what the prospect answers, this breaks the ice. In fact, even when I don’t have a referral, I’ve been known to mention the name of one of the prospect’s competitors who’s a client of mine. Now, it’s highly unlikely that his competition would have talked to him about me, but again, it’s an icebreaker. And you can bet that he’s interested in all the transportation services that are available to his competition.

If I know beforehand that the prospect knows little about Sunteck and nothing about me, I sometimes send a short bio-sketch and a few magazine and newspaper articles that have featured Sunteck or were written by me. I provide something tangible to the prospect that adds a new dimension to the relationship. Rather than simply sending them a brochure about Sunteck, I personalize it, and at the same time the articles express something about me and my philosophy on transportation.

There are too many freight sales reps in the U.S. today to even come up with an accurate number. I think it’s important for your prospect to know about your qualifications. Tell the prospect about yourself. No grandstanding or patting yourself on the back, just an informative look at your career and the customers you’ve helped. It lets the prospect know that he’s dealing with a professional. It tells him that he’s not dealing with the run-of-the-mill freight rep. In the transportation business there are two kinds of sales people: those who add value to the client’s traffic department, and those who seem to mishandle every shipment or transaction their company is involved with (late, damaged, billed incorrectly, etc.). Let the customer know early on that you fall into the first category.

Of course, when the moment of truth arrives, you’ll have to find the best way to make a good first impression. Take into consideration the particular dynamics of your prospect’s age, position, and gender in comparison with your own. Accommodate and welcome the differences.

Every prospect will react differently to what you have to say. Some prospects will give you all the time in the world, while others believe making time for a ten minute meeting threatens a crisis. Some are skeptical, while others are freethinkers who pride themselves on being open to new ideas. The point is you can’t win everyone over with a single script designed to handle the first few minutes.

Usually there is an advantage to beginning an exchange by focusing on your own observations and experiences. Doing so takes some of the pressure off of the prospect, who’ll be expecting you to try to “draw him out.”

You can always find something that will serve as a positive conversational starting point that has to do with the way your prospect has chosen to decorate his or her surroundings. It may sound corny, but it’s a fact, people say a lot about themselves in the way they decorate their offices.

First impressions are lasting impressions. By using the advice in this chapter you‘ll put the customer at ease and give them confidence in Sunteck’s ability to handle their demanding logistic needs. In the process, you’ll develop a lot of new customers and lasting friendships.

“The better your relationships the shorter your sales cycle and the more money you will make.”

Here are fourteen additional suggestions that will help you create a winning first impression.

  1. Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe you can win the prospect’s confidence, you’ll self-destruct in the opening moments of your first sales call.
  2. Develop and maintain a positive attitude. The first thing a new prospect notices is if you’re upbeat and positive.
  3. Visualize the first meeting with your prospect before it takes place. It will help you become more assertive and confident.
  4. Shake hands firmly, but don’t overdo it. This applies to men and women. A weak handshake creates doubt in the mind of the prospect.
  5. Be conversational. Speak as though you’re talking to an old friend.
  6. Don’t prejudge the prospect. Everyone is different. Respect their differences.
  7. Qualify the buyer early, preferably before your first face-to-face meeting. Don’t waste your time on someone who has no impact on the decision about whether or not to use Sunteck.
  8. Believe in Sunteck and the services you sell. If you don’t, the prospect won’t either.
  9. Know the prospect’s industry before you make the call.
  10. Know the prospect’s business before you make the call.
  11. Look professional. Your appearance is the first thing the prospect notices.
  12. Be prompt. Lateness tells the prospect you don’t respect his or her time. In our industry, it’s particularly telling. How can the prospect expect Sunteck to be on time with his shipments if you can’t make it to your very first meeting on time?
  13. Use humor early. It’s one of your most effective sales tools. Laughter signals approval, so make your prospect laugh. Keep in mind, what is humorous to some, misses the mark with others. Keep your humor PG13.
  14. Be sincere. Sincerity wins customers – insincerity loses customers and prospective customers.
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