The Business Development Blog

Getting Through to the Decision Makers

Although many options are available to you to get your message across to the decision makers, the best way to decide how you should approach them is to put yourself in their shoes. When was the last time somebody approached you in a mall or called you soliciting a product or service? Chances are you were fairly annoyed if the product or service being pitched wasn't relevant to you, but maybe it was and you purchased it on the spot.

Establishing relevance is nearly impossible without some kind of existing need for a service. When trying to convince someone to change providers you need a different approach than you would if you were selling something new that the client doesn't already want. In both cases you need to approach the decision maker differently.

The best approach to selling a new idea is the direct approach, like the person in the mall who walks up to you with a widget that you may have never seen before, nor thought to look for. That product needs to be in the customer's face to survive.

When it comes to making a client change from one provider to another a more passive approach is necessary, but not always the most effective. When you are selling something that is new but similar to what a client is currently receiving you need to employ a combination of the "in your face" tactics of the new product and the passive cold calling approach.

So try to think about those two examples when you approach a client with your pitch. On one hand you want to show them the relevancy of what you are selling, on the other, you can't be too aggressive or pushy since the client is already working with someone. The best approach is to take the middle of the road and combine the two so that you don't scare the clients away.

 

The Truth May Not Be Easily Discovered

Persistence in sales is one of the most highly praised values you can have. However, when a client becomes evasive even after he or she has expressed an interest in hearing what you have to say, it can be extremely frustrating and confusing.

Rather than completely change our approach by calling every single day to follow up on this seemingly hot lead often running into gate keeper receptionists and voice mail road blocks and losing confidence, you need to know that what you're doing may not have any impact on the decision that the client is making.

Knowing the truth about what motivates a client to seek a vendor's service over another is a dicey game to say the least. As sales professionals we often become excessively filled with the hubris of thinking that we alone control whether that decision is made by virtue of our outstanding sales skills and that further implementation of them is the only surefire way to convert a sale from a reluctant client who has already requested more information.

When a roadblock like this happens it shouldn't change the way you feel about your skills as a sales person, or the effectiveness of your pitch, product, or service. Sometimes, the truth is the client just doesn't want to reveal why they can't make a decision. Sometimes it is out of a complete lack of courtesy that phone calls are not returned, emails are ignored, and the receptionist is told to relay that the client is not available, nor will he or she ever be available.

So what should you do? We've already established that continuing to call and make your pitch makes no sense, but the client was at one point ready to make a decision and might be at that critical juncture at a future date. You need to stay in their face, but in a more subtle way. Phone calls and direct contact might result in you hearing that the client is definitely not interested and you can move on to another prospect. But the truth is they might just be saying that to get your voice off of their voicemail.

So be creative. Send information in emails or letters or reminder cards. Don't be too aggressive, but passively let your client know that you're still there for them. They will appreciate you for it and it might just be the difference in getting a sale

Pioneers Thrive with the Demise of Tradition

As the busy season for photography begins, keep the title of this article in mind as inspiration to think differently about what you are doing when you are doing it. Remember that even though you are offering a service in photography that has been around for almost 200 years, it is an industry that has been invented and reinvented by pioneers over and over in the course of that time. Now it is your turn to activate your thinking cap and come up with the next revision to that history. So try to think about new ways to sell an old service, new spins on the approach you might be taking to sales, and look for hidden value because opportunities do not knock, they wait.

 

Keeping this mindset will help you to understand the potential in this industry where it seems that these days the only constant is change, and that the traditional ways of doing things may not always be the only way of doing them. So even if you are not the most experienced or versed in technical training, there is a place for your ideas out there. Do not be afraid to speak up and share them. You just might make a major and profitable contribution to making money taking photos.

 

 

 

Become the Miracle Cure

You need to become a relentless publisher of all the vulnerabilities of typical photography companies. Know them, tell them to your clients and be different.

Remember; it always takes PAIN AND SUFFERING for money to change hands. If your client is experiencing the pain of a bad photography experience, then your job is easy.

It is easier to sell a cure than a preventative measure and if you don't believe me, compare your monthly medical insurance bill to your monthly bill for vitamins, exercise, and herbal supplements. Find the problem, be the cure and remember this: You'll always make more money, with less pain and suffering for yourself, by selling a cure rather than a preventive measure.

 

 

 

Attitude Sells, Make Sure You’ve Got it Right

Make no mistake about it; the difference between the people producing big sales and those who are not is about 1 thing; their attitude. Believe it or not, the attitude and confidence you portray to potential clients walking into a meeting is what can make or break your ability to close a sale.

Nearly every successful sales person I have ever known shares this single trait of confidence that what they are selling is the best, and that the clients should try to convince them why it isn't and not the other way around.

Walking into a meeting with the knowledge that you have the best deal around, you know how to make these people's lives and businesses easier and more profitable makes convincing them of that fact way easier. It sounds intuitive, but it is extremely important. You have to believe it, walk it, talk it, and live it. You are not acting, there is no deception here and when you convert the sale both you the sales person and them the client, will be better off for it. Stop trying to close sales and start closing them. In the words of the wise Jedi Master, Yoda, "Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."

So get out there and do it.

 

“I’m Not the Decision Maker”

We've all been there before, you're meeting with a potential lead they have a wealth of interest and questions about your products and service, you give them your pitch, answer their questions, and then the conversation hits a road block when you ask for the sale and they tell you they can't make a decision. Meeting with these tire-kickers who are underlings for the powers that be is often easier than getting to the real deal, but like kissing your sister, these encounters rarely produce any real results.

 

The question is, "What do you do?" The first obvious choice is to try to get in front of the decision maker (seems obvious, huh?). For the most elusive decision makers, you need to take drastic measures to get their time and their attention. The first thing you can do is personally address a letter to them containing a list of at least 10 reasons why they should want to meet with you- not why you want to meet with them. Let them know why spending the time you need to deliver your pitch will be of benefit to them. Next, if you can't get through a gate keeper for an appointment, send the letter via Certified Mail. This will definitely get their attention since most people don't ignore certified letters, and this shows creativity and tenacity on your part.

 

If you are able to convert this approach and get a meeting, you should prepare your presentation with thoughtful research that can be aided by the "tire-kicker" you talked to earlier who couldn't make the decision. Get your facts straight before you present; otherwise you might just be wasting your time.

Finally, if all else fails and you just can't get in front of the right people and all you get is the "tire-kicker" who can't make the decision (these are the same people who test drive cars at Bentley dealerships when they currently drive a Buick) you just have to walk away. That's right- even in midsentence, just walk. If you know you've got the wrong person, you need to get out of there and chase other opportunities.

 

At first it might seem scary, eventually it can be liberating, but the confidence to walk from a prospect that won't give you the time of day , or isn't the right person to make the decision should build your confidence by way of the fact you know you can do better elsewhere.

 

Avoid Canned Explanations

Once you've crafted a thoughtful and concise pitch to get an appointment with a client, don't lose the sale by sounding too "salesy" and delivering canned responses to questions rife with buzz words that don't mean anything.

Using a well crafted pitch to get your foot in the door usually qualifies you for a round of Q&A with a client that can be the difference between you either making money and converting a sale, or hearing them tell you to go pound sand. The key to maneuvering between rehearsed and responsive is to remember that these people are being constantly sought after by sales people every day. Most of whom are self-interested and don't have any stake in what they are selling. Your advantage is to take ownership of the deal by creating relevancy between the two of you.

Simply put, you have to remember that most of the sales pitches and marketing they receive are a series of canned routines. They aren't relevant and they are not responsive to the specific needs of the customer. Most sales trainers actively preach dogmatic explanations for "what makes us better" and "why you should work with me" often to the detriment of the sales person's credibility and personality.

At the Business Development Report we want you to break the dogma, avoid the paradigms and buzz words, and most of all- we want you to make a smooth and effortless transition between your practiced, polished pitch and your personal connection with the client

As a result of the aforementioned barrage of sales ads, pitches and canned marketing that everyone sees on a daily basis from the morning commute until they watch episodes of the hit show "24" on Fox, Monday nights without a DVR and then go to bed, it is easy to see why a client might quickly lose interest in what you have to say. Your challenge is to avoid sounding like a FotoIllusion puppet when you get into their office.

So what do you do to differentiate yourself from the pack? You need to relate the fact that you work with clients just like them, and that they all have different needs. You suggest the things that work for similar clients, but bring up ideas that might fit the present circumstances. Not only do you need to listen to what they want from you, you need to fit that into what we provide, so you need to control the direction of the conversation without making them feel like you're railroading them.

Remember not to get hung up in paradigms quoted from the marketing material that is provided to you. Don't just fall back on the company line. You need to be a real human being, not a walking piece of ad-copy. Be conscious of what the client wants and be present in the conversation.

Unless your client is sleep deprived and you are trying to help that condition, you need to speak to them on a personal level and leave the canned responses out of the Q&A session. Speak from experience.

 

 

 

 

Experience is the Best Sales Pitch

Welcome back to another installment of the Business Development Report!

This week we're talking about a different approach to converting sales and making money. The approach we're talking about is to focus not on the givebacks, what makes us competitive, all of the comparisons to everyone else, or the typical "We want your business" way of presenting the product.

No, the approach we're talking about is the steady-Eddie, plain Jane, matter of fact, approach to explaining exactly how and how well we can do what we're selling. How do you present this approach? First, you have to know what you're doing.

For those of you who have a good number of events under your belt, you may have experience delivering this pitch or answering questions about the nuts and bolts of what goes on when the sales pitch ends and it's time to actually take the photos. For those of you that haven't it is time to pay attention! There is a reason for our success in the preschool, sports, and dance and family portrait businesses. It's the unique method by which we take, process, and sell photos- it is truly a process unlike any other.

Learning what makes it unique can be the crux of a successful sales pitch in the future and will give you the confidence to excel as a sales person in any business branch.

The best approach to sounding more authoritative and convincing the client of your expertise is to actually have it in the first place. At the Business Development Report, we encourage you to participate! Ask questions! And above all else be involved in every way you possibly can.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to stay hungry and go after as many photography assignments that you possibly can. Work every single position that is available and don't just be a body in the process, learn how to do each and everything that you can and learn how to do it well.

The most prepared, practiced, and effective sales approach is one not only founded in the comparative science of "selling," or convincing someone of the merits of one product or service over another, but also one that is steeped in experience of the processes involved in producing that which they sell.

Some of the most successful sales personnel are not always the most outgoing, talkative, professionally presentable, but they simply know the product and know the service like finding their way to their own bathroom at night without turning on the lights, that's right they know it that well.

When you are trying to earn a client's business, you are earning their trust. They only give money to people they trust and hence they do not trust very many people. So, to them you must appear to know what you are talking about, what you are doing, and that your company knows what it is doing. The best way for you to accomplish this although it seems obvious is to actually have experience doing all of the things you talk about.

So get out there and take those assignments. Not only will you make more money, you will convert more sales in the long-run because you will know what you sell.

Presentation is Everything

One of the most understated advantages any salesperson can have over their competitors is the most superficial, but often the most important. The manner that you portray both yourself and your product speaks for itself to most prospective clients. Here are some tips to help you give your best impression and convert more sales.

Tip #1: Dress Appropriately

Since there is no telling whether a business suit or a pair of jeans is appropriate for walking into a prospective client's office, it is best to wear clothes that look like they've been recently pressed regardless of the type. You don't want the client to think you slept in them. You don't want to look like door-to-door salesmen so don't over-do it by dressing up too much either. Your rule of thumb for dress is neat, appropriate and presentable.

Tip #2: The subtleties are important!

Are you scribbling notes on a notepad that looks like you've been using it since high school? Even worse, are you still using a number 2 pencil or a Bic disposable pen? You might want to ditch those classroom relics and bring a new pad and a nice pen to your next sales call. Clearing out the old notes says to the client that they are important to you and what they say isn't going to be lost among the Sanskrit you have scribbled all over that old notepad. Tear the old pages out and transcribe them. Remember, organize now and be more efficient later.

Tip #3 ABP – Always be prepared

Perhaps the most important thing you can do to look as presentable as possible in front of a client is to be prepared. This means having enough Copies of marketing material for your clients and not running out in the middle of a sales call. It also means having something with which to take notes, a copy of the most current calendar of upcoming events, new contracts and everything else necessary to book a sale. It is easy to overlook a detail and run out of marketing in the middle of a sales call, especially when you are constantly out there meeting with clients, but if you prepare yourself every time, you will have the tools you need to do your job.

 

Already Committed? Let’s Talk Anyway!

The most common reason you hear from a potential client as to why they don't want to work with you is that they already have another company that they are satisfied with. For some, that brick wall of a statement is like dumping a bucket of cold water on a camp fire. But at the Business Development Report, that is an open door to suggestion and instead of cold water, think kerosene- now we're talking!

What should you say to this cop-out of an excuse? Obviously some people are happy with their current companies, but there is always the possibility that they might not be. Take for example if the company doesn't have space in their schedule to accommodate the client- It could be possible that they might have to come looking for another vendor – and on short notice too! Yikes!

Suggesting that a scenario like that isn't out of the questions is just enough of a reason to get your foot in the door and your pitch book open. If you're already in the door, the pitch book is open, the pitch delivered and the client still won't go for it, you need to become a little more suggestive.

For example, perhaps the company that the client is working with doesn't offer a service that we provide. If so, you can suggest that they schedule an event with us that might not be in the traditional curriculum vitae for their existing company. Once they see firsthand what a difference working with us is and that their parents are as pleased, if not more so with the added value of our products and services, they might just make a permanent change.

Your number one enemy in the sales game is complacency. The power of suggestion is the best weapon in your arsenal to combat a "comfortable" situation where by comfortable I mean the client is just too lazy or too risk adverse to try something new.

Not everyone you encounter will be impressed by bigger, better and badder. Many clients will cling to tradition like a barrel over Niagra Falls. What you need to remind them of is that traditions have to start somewhere and that traditions do become outdated. You're not asking them to tear down their business and replace it with an internet café, you're not touting the medicinal value of yoga for 1 year olds- you are simply offering a new spin on something that already exists. You are offering portrait studio quality portraits in the convenience of their school, studio, or sports facility. Either way you spin it, remember to incorporate that idea.