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LP:   It gives me great pleasure to introduce Lisa Dennis, the president and principal of Knowledgence Associates, which specializes in transforming marketing and sales information into customer knowledge.   Her philosophy is, the core of successful marketing and sales initiatives is “doing the homework” - making sure that the information sides of programs and campaigns are solid.  Welcome, Lisa.  Tell us what that all means.

LD: Thank you, Lindsy. I’m happy to be here.  What this all means is, when people think about marketing, or they think about selling, they actually think about the outcome.  Now, that may not sound like a bad idea, but people think in terms of “I think I need a brochure” or “I think I need a telemarketing campaign” or “I think I need a presentation.”  Where the homework comes in is this: to whom are you speaking?  How are you speaking to them?  What do they care about?  Most of us focus on talking about our products or services, because we’re in love with our products and services.  And we should be.   But what we need to do is switch our focus.   When I go in and work with my clients, what I often find out is that they’re really not clear as to what issues their customers are trying to solve.  In other words, we are trying to figure out who will buy our stuff, as opposed to, what is the customer trying to do?  And it is a different approach in terms of thinking about what information do I have about all of my sales activities, and what information do I have about all my prospects and prior customers, and put that all together and try to find out where all the patterns are.   In other words, what problems are the customers really trying to solve?  And that’s a bigger issue right now, because everyone is feeling a tremendous amount of sales pressure.

LP: Well, there is a tremendous amount of pressure, as you say, and I love doing features on marketing and sales, because I think the more information we have, the better for us as salespeople to decide.  However, how many people with this pressure, and with the fear, are going to take the time to indulge in this research, or even hire someone to do the research?

LD: That’s the real challenge!  Because in a situation like this, people just want to go out and sell harder.  They cut advertising, they cut marketing, they put enormous pressure on salespeople to go out and get everything they possibly can.  The problem is, they’re not really listening.  Salespeople in a pressure situation don’t listen as hard as they really could.  And they’re not necessarily as well armed as they could be; they’re looking for the low hanging fruit.  And there’s not a lot of that fruit there!

LP: No there isn’t!  It’s a sparse season for that good fruit!

LD: That’s one of the reasons I’m speaking at SBANE (Small Business Association of New England), and the topic that we’re going to be working on is called “Don’t Leave Without a Commitment.”  And that phrase really speaks to two things.  Number one, it’s don’t leave without the sale, which is really the gut reaction of “I’ve got to get this sale, I’ve just got to go in and get it.”  But the reality of it is, especially in this market, that there are many kinds of commitments along the way to getting a sale.  And it’s very unlikely you’re going to get a sale early on in the process.  People’s budgets are tighter, people are scrutinizing things more, and customers are asking way more questions than they used to.  So, the real focus ought to be on, what are the various types of commitments that I need to get along the path to getting that sale?  And if I’m listening hard, I’m really keying into what the customer is saying, and trying to get them to come up with the things that they’re not really saying, such as what their objections or issues might be. Is there a budget, or is there no budget?  Do they need help trying to figure out where to get the money?  These are the kinds of things they may not admit right out of the gate.  But you can help them along in that process. 

For example, a first commitment, which people don’t often think is that important, is getting that second meeting, or that third meeting, or that fourth meeting.  And quite honestly, you need to do multiples.  For most sales, especially more complex sales, it’s a long process.  But even for people in small businesses, who are selling a very specific product, such as their own consulting services, you really need to talk a lot more to get customers down that path.  Because they really think, just show me how to sell.  Just hand me a customer and I’ll hire you.  But it isn’t as simple as that.

LP:  My belief is that selling is always a longer process than we anticipate.  But how much longer, in this difficult market, would you say it is?

LD: I would say it’s probably twice as long, if we want to make a generalization.  You really have to focus on building a stream.  The concept of a pipeline is one that many people understand.  In other words, you’re trying to build up a grouping of prospects that you are working along the way.  The pipeline now is sparse, it’s not as full as it needs to be, and people are staying in it longer.   And quite honestly, most of us give up sooner rather than later.  So, if you’re expectation is that you are going to make a sale in two to three calls, trust me, it’s going to be eight to ten calls at this point. 

So, what are the interim steps?   You can do smaller closes along the process.   You can get an agreement to bring in a demo, which is one step that gets you closer to the sale.  I always look for the multiple sales.  In other words, we can go for the big sale and try to hit the home run, or we can work the client through what I call a grouping of “little sales.”  The first one would be to see me in the first place.  The second one would be, I’d love to show you what it is that we do.  Can I get you to come to a demo, or can I bring one to you?  And who else is involved in the process?  Getting a meeting with other people who are involved in the decision making, the buying process – that’s another close, to be able to get in to talk to them.  Getting them to try a product is another close – no risk, no obligation, just give it try.  Look to building a series of these little sales in order to get you to the point where you actually earn the business at the end of the road.

LP:  So what I’m hearing you say is, that you have to, in your mind’s eye, start viewing things as successes that don’t necessarily carry a dollar sign.

LD:  Exactly!  And that does take a mindset change.  It really does.  But the fact of the matter is, people who are able to provide value, who are able to show the customer that “I am really listening to you and not just talking at you, and I am providing value to you within the process of us deciding whether to do business together,” really do stand out. I happen to believe that, whatever it is you’re selling, it’s ultimately about relationships.

LP:  When you first hear that, about building relationships, it’s very meaningful.  But then you buzz out on it after a while.

LD: You do, because quite honestly, it’s not really sexy, it takes a lot of time, it takes some thought.  I’m doing some business now with a client now that I’ve been building a relationship with for four years, over lunches and meetings.  Now, either I’m crazy, or that relationship has developed into a number of different things.  For instance, this client has introduced me to two people who are now active clients.  So you really have to evaluate who you spend your time with.   The fact of the matter is that it has to be about them, and not about you.  Building a relationship of that kind means you have to invest in them before they’ll ever invest in you.  Lunches.  Dinners.  Meetings.  Here’s someone I want you to meet.  Here’s some material I think you can use.  All this before you ever even ask for the sale.  And that involves patience, and that where many people have trouble.

LP:  It’s interesting that you are reiterating some of the things preached by Jeff Shuman and Jan Twombly of The Rhythm of Business, that is, relationship currencies.  When I first heard it when they were on this program, I was thinking it was jargon, but this is real.  I went to one of their seminars, and at the end, asked the question, “I understand relationship currencies, but how do you articulate that in a way that people understand, without coming off as intrusive or boorish?  How do you let people know that, hey, I’ve done something for you; now you owe me something?”   And Jeff and Jan looked at each other and said, “That’s a good question!  That’s not easy.”

LD: No, it’s not easy.  I would go one step further and say, with the limited time that we have, it hard to figure out how much time to invest in someone before you get something back.  And we all feel awkward about saying, “This is what I need.”  But at some point in the relationship, you should feel confident enough, or gutsy enough, to say, “This is what I need.”  You have to be real careful about outlining what you’ve already done, as I am a big believer that you have to give in order to get.  But you also have to be honest with yourself at some point and say, all right, I am doing all the giving here.  Have I really asked for what I need?  Because most of us are not very good at that.  So that is the next step.  Because if you are waiting for the other person to figure it out themselves and step up to the plate… well, it’s a rare person that will.  So you have to take that step and say, “Here’s how I can help you.  And here is what help I need.  Can you point me in the right direction, to other people that you know, or other resources, or directly?  This gives them some options.  And it also helps you figure out when to cut your losses.

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