Thought for Today

You cannot get better at "making a sale", you can only get better at doing the things that make a sale possible.

"Simple" Communication

There are three words (probably more) that have the power to shift a conversation; "therefore", "however", and "but". They all render any conversation or sentence they're inserted into different. Before the word is set up, and after the word is punchline. I heard it said once that the word "but" means forget everything I just said, now I'm gonna tell you what I really meant.

Example: I really like, you, Joe. I think you're a good guy, a man of integrity and skill, one I'd trust to make decisions, etc. but.......

Can you hear it? Suddenly none of the good attributes pointed out before the "but" mean anything to the listener. Now it's all about, "what's he gonna say NEXT?"

The problem in many conversations is not that they contain a "but", but that they don't; they merely imply one. I was working with a band that was working out an arrangement; where to put the solos, etc. but at the moment, who would sing which harmonies. The lead singer looked at me and said, "Otis, I love the way you play guitar." That was it!

What he'd implied with his silent "but" was that he had no desire whatsoever for me to sing harmony. Ouch! I came away with two thoughts. One, I sucked as a singer. Two, that he didn't have the fortitude to look me in the eye and tell me.

I never did get clarity on that statement, and it bugged me.... a lot!That relationship ended eventually, not because I couldn't sing, but because my trust in his leadership eventually faded, and ultimately failed. He left his implied "but" just hanging out there unresolved.

I ask myself in all conversations whether or not I'm implying a "but", and if so, am I resolving it before I finish.

TFTD

We must be careful not to let our quest to break free from religion and tradition, become our new religion.

This ain't exactly motorcycles...

If you don’t yet have a sales process, I hope this will help you create one. If you don’t have one that you fully believe in, I hope this will help you examine yours. If you do have a good process in place, I’m hopeful that if you hold your process up to this month’s column, it may help you refine it.

I’m currently helping a friend of mine grow his carpet cleaning company, and guess what… he needs a sales process too. Fortunately, I’ve built them before, but I’m finding out in hit-me-in-the-mouth fashion that carpet cleaning ain’t exactly motorcycles! This month I simply wanna share what I’ve been battling – with no help – what I’ve been helping dealers do for years; build a sales process.

We’ve been teaching our sales process in dealerships for about ten years now. I’ve said it on many occasions; it ain’t a new sales process, it’s just our take on what all successful sales processes have in common. So in this month’s rant, hopefully I’ve captured what took me years to learn in one simple five minute read... the secret to creating your own sales process… wish me luck.

Measure everything. Yup! That’s it… the secret, the whole secret, and nothing but the secret. If you don’t start measuring something – anything – how can you ever expect to accomplish your goals?

Start by measuring what you wanna accomplish. Define it in as high a degree of detail as you can and then hold it up as a measuring stick. Examine your results against you new measuring stick and see where you landed at the end of the day.

Then ask yourself the following questions. And ask them every day until you can answer them.

Did you get there today? If so, how did you get there? What did you do? Can you do it again tomorrow? How do you know? What will you do to do it again tomorrow? What has to change to do better tomorrow? What has to change to fall off the pace tomorrow? Can you control any of those factors? Which ones? How do you control them? What happens if you don’t control those factors? Which is the most sensitive factor? Which is the least sensitive? Can you do anything to make the most sensitive factor less likely to have a negative impact on your day? If you didn’t reach your goals today, why didn’t you? What didn’t you do that you usually do? Did you do anything out of the norm that screwed up your results? What can you adjust to avoid similar results tomorrow?

Now for the second tear of questions; the ones you ask after you have a, understanding of the first batch. What are the human elements of any negative results? Can you help control those human factors with training, discussion, attitude adjustment, reading or instructional tools and videos, etc? Do you need more staff? How do you know? What are you measuring so that you’re absolutely certain that more staff will pay for themselves? How much is at risk if they don’t pay for themselves right away? How long will it take for a salesperson to generate enough revenue to justify adding them to the team? When will your floor traffic increase to the extent that you can float that added expense? If you’re wrong about the increased floor traffic, how much money do you have at risk?

What we’re measuring at the carpet cleaning service is the same basic things that we measure in the bike biz; opportunities, activities, and results. The first thing I did was to design a simple form for the sales guys to fill out that captures how many people they spoke with, how many jobs they quoted, how many deals they closed, and how many jobs they completed. Is there more? Of course, those four metrics are only the beginning. From there, we’ll eventually measure much deeper; how each salesperson does at each metric, why one guy may do it better than another, the difference between business and residential sales calls, how much per square foot between business and residential, etc. etc. etc.

Where will we be able to take this little $150K per year carpet cleaning venture? We’re just barely out of the gate so I have no idea. I don’t even know if we’re doing anything the right way and probably won’t until we get at least a few months under our belts. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Just get started selling on purpose so you’re not selling… well… by accident.

I heard once that the secret to finishing any venture is about not sitting at a traffic light waiting for all the lights on the street to turn green before you step on the throttle.

Don’t wait. Do it now! Start measuring something… NOW! I dare ya!

Is this anything?

Out riding one day a few years ago outside of Nashville, Tennessee, I ran into a guy who was bragging about the $500 he’d saved buying his Goldwing at a dealership in Kansas City, Missouri instead of the local dealership. As the story about his flight to KC and subsequent ride back home divulged more details, I began to realize that he’d more than used up any “savings” just by making the trek to get the bike. …so I pointed that out to him.

His answer really spun me. He said, with a perfectly straight face I might add, “The difference is that I saved money on the bike and spent money on a ride. The bike was an expense but the trip was an investment.”

I remember wondering, do all customers think like that? Do they justify things that way? I certainly didn’t. But somehow it made sense… and it wouldn’t leave me alone! It was money he would’ve spent riding to KC anyway, regardless of whether he bought a bike on the trip or not. Eventually I had one of those defining moments; one where I completely changed my approach to selling.

Think about it—the difference between a monetary expense and a financial investment is that an investment is all about yielding a return; that’s how you assess an investment. An investment involves tendering some form of capitol in exchange for something worth more to you than the amount you’re investing. Last month I referred to sales training as an investment, but does buying a motorcycle work the same?

Here’ what I finally realized. Motorcycling is an investment while a motorcycle is an expense related to the investment of motorcycling. People invest specific types of “capital” into riding with the expected return of some form of enjoyment. They invest their energy, their loyalty, their passion or their time into the sport hoping to derive some “return” on that investment. The great news for us is that we know that their return will be worth it. The only expense involved is the price of the bike; even riding gear and accessories are mostly about the benefit they’ll get from investing in them.

So how do we apply any of this to our sales process? most of the change came in our pre-paid maintenance program. I know that with the many maintenance programs I’ve helped dealers design, the ones that customers buy most consistently are the ones that add the most value [pronounced: return on investment] to the customer’s ownership experience. If the program increases convenience, the quality of care for the motorcycle, ease of use, etc. the product nearly sells itself. More good news: because customer redemption is typically around 50%, a real discount can be designed into the program truly reducing the amount the customer will ultimately pay to own the motorcycle. That becomes a tangible, easily provable benefit [pronounced: return].

Here’s just one of the things we did to change our sales approach. We were able to further separate the bike buying and/or negotiating process from the F&I process, thereby getting better numbers in F&I. The benefit that sorta snuck up on us was that we also found ourselves involved in protracted negotiations far less often; as we made increased value a genuine part of our competitive advantage, trust increased. Our team knew that we were providing better value and were really excited about letting customers know.

We accomplished this shift as we developed word tracks to help our salespeople keep the sales encounter on track. Salespeople could honestly say to a customer something to the effect of, “let’s pick out a bike first and we’ll show you how much better it is for you to buy it here…” or as one dealer actually incorporated as his advertising slogan, “you might be able to buy it cheaper somewhere else, but you can’t own it for less anywhere! Let us show you how.”

Back to investment vs. expense: basically anything that would provide a return to the customer was part of the F&I process, while the expense (the price of the bike itself… and pretty much nothing else) was now all addressed prior to the F&I process. We’ve also seen the creative side of negotiations get more deals closed by allowing us the opportunity for questions such as, “If I can save you $500 on owning the motorcycle, would you be willing to forego a $500 discount and buy it at our price?” Never forget that the ultimate competitive advantage is always value.

Hopefully this installment has at least made you consider a different approach. Although we made this adjustment to our process years ago, I’m willing to bet that your customers are far more sensitive to how they spend money in the current economic climate. I’m also betting that you can come up with some creative new ways to incorporate this stuff into your process and deliver more value. I dare ya!

I’d love to hear what you’re doing to make your sales process better. Remember, phone calls are free.

“Band-aids & Magic Beans”

This is an installment bourn of frustration. As underemployed auto industry “consultants” flood into the motorcycle business with “new” ideas and approaches to sales, my head starts to spin off the end of my neck watching unsuspecting dealers get the hype jammed down their throats.

Let me say it here once and for all… There is no new sales system!!!!

Even the sales process we train isn’t new. It has constantly evolved over the 30 plus years since I took notes in my first ever sales meeting. Every successful sales process has a few basic things in common, but most of what is currently being hawked as “new” is merely repackaged to look new. So, you ask, why look for outside solutions at all, and what sets one apart from another?

There are some really good, really solid solutions providers out there who are honest and forthright; who operate with integrity. I hate that dealers are forced to wade through all the crap to find them, but be patient… they’re out there. One test is to look at how long they’ve been doing what they do. I personally don’t believe any business can stand the test of time offering garbage.

As you ponder what tools to use to improve your business, consider three things; the integrity, the quality, and the return on the investment. Here are a few thoughts on those three.

Integrity:

The root of the word means “wholeness”. I’ve always taught that whatever system you’re bringing as a solution must be built on the foundation of your company’s mission, vision, and values. The solution must be congruent with what you want to accomplish. I always find it helpful to ask if I’d want to expose my mother to being a customer at the business I’m building.

Quality:

I know we all love duct tape, and we all know how it’ll fix anything. But really, would you want your house fastened entirely with duct tape? What an absurd idea… yet that’s exactly what many dealers are being sold lately. They’re being asked to throw a band-aid on the symptom or buy a few magic beans that will make all their problems go away. It may not make me popular, but let me tell you that these will only make things worse in the long run.

Expense vs. Investment:

This one is pretty simple; if one of your techs buys a wrench for $1 at the local dollar store, he knows that he will get very limited use from the thing before it breaks or he strips the head of a bolt. However, when he steps up and “invests” in a high-quality wrench, he knows that it’ll last longer, work better, and be safer to work with.

Stop and think about that. If it’s an expense, then you might be looking at the wrong solution. Expenses are what we business people try to minimize. Why would you want to minimize the quantity or quality of the solution/process/system that you’re providing for your team? An investment, on the other hand, is an expenditure that is designed to yield a return that will more than pay for the initial expenditure. Band-aids and Magic Beans do not qualify as investments; they are always expenses.

There is no easy way to do this. I’ve told every single dealer I’ve ever worked with that I had no plans of showing them an easier way of doing things. In fact, I always suggest that if it’s getting easier, you might be doing it wrong. Improvement is always hard work. I also don’t want to suggest that the solution to a problem is to throw money at it. Absolutely not. The solution to a problem is to wisely invest in the training, tools, and team/talent. A good employee always brings the company more return than the company invests in him or her. Make sure that whatever you’re looking into for solutions does the same.

So as these carpet baggers descend upon our beloved industry, ask the questions. Is the solution they’re proposing consistent with my integrity? Is it duct tape or is it something that can really add to the integrity and strength of my business? Most importantly, is the solution I’m considering an expense or an investment?

I have worked really hard over the last decade not to use the platform of my column as an advertisement. I truly believe in the concept of “giving it away”. Please, if you don’t have a sales process, get one. Use ours or use someone else’s. If you already have a system, evaluate it. Is it a complete system? Is it the best system for you; for what you want to accomplish and who you want to be? Finally, if you need help evaluating your system or the one you’re considering, phone calls are free.