The eagle swooped down with its talons extended, on what it must have thought was a beaver swimming across the lake in the Chilcotin one summer day.
In reality, that beaver was the long matted hair of the hippie Michael Theodor. Sensing something out of the ordinary and seeing the eagle as he came up for air, Michael waved his arms frantically to scare off the attack, and save his scalp.
It was a lucky day for Michael, who went on from his wild days on the fringes of society, to build MTB Brokers, one of the largest and most highly regarded food brokerage companies in Canada.
One of the keys to Michael's success and a factor that needs to be paramount in the success of many small businesses was his ability to relate to his customers and sell his products and services.
While selling seems to come natural to a few people, to most of us entrepreneurs, it takes work. We need to understand that there is a science to it. Michael didn't leave his sales process to be wild. So what are the steps to being successful in selling as Michael was?
No. 1 - Build great relationships: Michael was successful because he was able to use his charm and to build relationships with his prospective customers. How does this happen?
In order to understand the needs of our customers we have to listen, we have to ask questions that go deep in understanding the pains or pleasures that these people are seeking. The point of this is to build trust with our prospects, to let them know that we are not so much trying to sell them something as to help them solve a problem.
No. 2 - Ask why do they need what we have: In order to move further towards selling to prospective customers we to understand why they want to buy from us.
This not only requires us to qualify them as real prospects and identify if they have need of what we sell at this moment, but understand whether or not what we sell is going to be of value to them. If we think we can provide value to them and they are ready to find out more about our product or service, we can go deeper.
No. 3 - Ask can they afford it: I was never a good customer for Michael because in reality I was small potatoes for his type of business.
As a result Michael never spent much time trying to sell to us. He would cajole me, just in case I became a 10 or 20 million dollar business but I really didn't qualify for his real attention.
When we are working with people who are interested in what we have, we need to ask those budget questions to determine if the fit is right. This doesn't mean that if they don't qualify, that we treat them any less importantly.
It does mean however that we need to move on at some point, to focus on customers that can afford to buy what we sell.
No. 4 - Find out who makes the decision: Many times I have tried to sell products or services to someone who seemed really interested without understanding that I wasn't talking to the right decision maker. When you do this, you end up wasting your time.
Great salesmen like Michael discover early who makes the decisions and how to reach them.
No. 5 - Present a solution that works: Only when you completely understand the needs of your customer, their uses for your product or service, their budget and that you have the right person in front of you, can you present a solution to their problem.
If we have not heard what our customer is asking for, or if we present a solution that does not fit, we have wasted their time, our time, and ultimately, insult them. This is how salespeople get a bad rap.
God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, as my friend Dennis Bonagara, another great salesman told me once. We need to spend the time listening well so that we can present the optimal solution.
No. 6 - Don't forget to follow up: Great salespeople follow up with their customers to make sure that the product or service really solved the problem and was the solution to the customer's issues.
When you follow up, you show that you care, and that you are around for the long run. Selling is never a one-off event. Even if your customer is not going to need what you have again, they can recommend to others that they buy from you.
If you want to save your scalp and save your business from the threats of eagles or your competition, you need to build a sales system like Michael did.
When you spend time understanding the selling process, and training your staff to do the same, your business will be on the road to success.
Dave Fuller - business owner, salesman and author - can be reached at [email protected] or 250-617-7467.
