I don’t mean sex as in sexuality and being a sex kitten, or a Romeo, while on the job. I mean sex as in gender; there are basic differences between men and women in their brains, and in their buying styles. If you know the differences, you can use them to your advantage.

Men buy, women shop! Facts vs. relationship!

He wants concise factual answers to his questions.

She wants interaction and eye contact.

For a man, no means, you haven’t given him enough information, stick with the facts! Ask what is missing for him and give it to him!

For a woman, no really means no, so have a plan B ready and practice your patience skills; follow up becomes everything! Figure out what is missing and trust her.

For all my feminists and gays out there – this also isn’t about loosing any of the ground we’ve gained, we all deserve to be paid equally and have the same human rights, but when it comes to sex, we aren’t the same, we are not equal. Acknowledging it, is a far more powerful place from which to come. Women have different needs and desires than men. It’s time to know them and use them to your advantage.

Do you want to know the #1 issue for men and women when buying?

Women- lack of sales help when needed
Men- close parking

That’s a huge spectrum!

Female clients prefer that you listen with 100% attention when selling to them. Women will pick up on your emotions much quicker, so no false compliments guys and don’t patronize.

On the other hand, a woman can give all sorts of compliments to a man and he’ll just love it. It doesn’t matter whether you mean it or not because he can’t tell the difference. This is why some guys think the stripper is really in love with them.

Segue to the sale

The key point to bring to the forefront when selling is, be respectful. Meet them wherever they are:

• If she says, she doesn’t have the money- then she doesn’t see the value, you have not evidenced what is missing for her, go back and ask: why aren’t you buying this product, what is missing for you? Surprisingly few sales people ask this question, yet it is the one they want to know the most, what would make you buy this product?

Mercedes example: if I had a brand new Mercedes out front and told you it was yours for $5, you would see the value! If you didn’t have $5, you would borrow 50 cents from everyone around you to come up with it, the value is evident. Present your product or service’s value clearly, because it is never about the money.

• If she doubts your product - she need more facts, and client testimonials of success.
• If they doubt your company – give them references and reassurance, don’t wait to be asked, make it as easy as possible for them to do business with you.
• And, lastly, let the clients sell themselves! If they aren’t ready to buy – follow through is everything. Remember, 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact! *

The science behind it

Renowned Mars Venus author, John Gray, outlines the sales differences between men and women beautifully, in Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice.

“The larger bridge connecting the left and right hemispheres in women’s brains means women can process more information and do it more quickly than can their male counterparts. While men focus intently on one task at a time, women are fractal thinkers and frequently multitask. Understand how to apply that information to sales: successful sales efforts to men require presenting facts and getting to the point quickly, while successful sales to women include time to talk, identify common interests, relate to personal issues; in essence, to bond first, prior to beginning any sales effort.”

Female Preferences:

• Female prospects after an initial proposal may place an order and be more talkative after they’ve had a few days to think about it.
• During the early stages of a relationship with a new client, a female client is more likely to hold your feet to the fire on your statement that you have made a “casual commitment” to them.
• Female clients prefer that you listen with 100% attention when selling to them.
• Pausing before presenting your solution (even if you already have a solution) is more socially acceptable to female clients, because they want to be a part of coming up with the solution and do not want the solution rushed.
• Female clients prefer to know how the product will meet their needs when buying.
• When a female client or coworker is stressed about a problem she is more likely to walk around talking to coworkers rather than shutting the door and working out the problem.
• Boasting or self-promoting to female clients can turn them off to a sale.

Male Preferences:

• Male prospects make quicker decisions after receiving a sales proposal.
• Male clients prefer to know your credentials and dwell on them before making a sale.
• After the sales proposal has been made, if the offer is higher than what he expected to pay for your goods or services, male prospects are more likely to be quieter during this meeting.
• Male prospects tend to favor being shown appreciation rather than respect when selling a service or product.
• When making your point make sure you are clear in your message to male clients.
• Male clients prefer quick solutions to a problem.
• Male clients prefer people to be brief and come to the point quickly when making a sale.
• Male clients need the most space to think alone after a proposal submission has been made.”

Men buy, women shop! Facts vs. relationship!

She wants interaction and eye contact.
He wants concise factual answers to his questions.

Use sex to sell!

Your website should be an extension of your sales staff. It should help generate and nurture leads by educating prospects, something your salespeople usually do. Like a good salesperson, it shouldn’t just sit around and wait for the phone to ring.

So, are you using your website as an opportunity to solve problems for prospective buyers, or is it a brochure all about you? Are you demonstrating in a clear, honest way how your company and its products and services can ease their pain?

A real website is now the most important tool in your arsenal!

If your website is not helping you generate and nurture leads, the way I see it, you have three options:

1) Build a new website,

2) redesign your existing website,

3) or upgrade your existing website.

Build a brand new website

Whether you are new in the industry or in the process of capturing market share, show that you are serious about what you do:

• No cookie cutter websites - use a custom design!
• Easy navigation is key
• CMS, Content Management System, so you can make your own updates!
• Forms online, secure and easy
• eCommerce, let them buy your products and services when they want!

Redesign

The nice part about a redesign is that much of the information we need to create effective content, already exists; so, we will:

• Create a new site map fully organized
• Upgrade to use a CMS, Content Management System
• Design new powerful graphics to match your preferred image
• And improve navigation, creating a truly effective website

Upgrade

The perfect option if you are happy with the look of your existing website but want to improve the ability to manage it on your own. Sometimes the only thing you need is the freedom to do something yourself. We can make that happen by:

• Installing a CMS on your website
• Giving you an extensive library of tools to enhance your site, easily
• Portfolio management
• Calendar and map modules
• Post classes and events with easy online registration
• Online forms easy and secure
• Press Releases, Blogs, and automatic archiving

You can’t update your website without your IT guy?

Your competition can.

Call me at 925.222.5624; I’m happy to help you choose the right option for your budget. Harness the power of your website to increase sales!

And make it a successful month!

The fact is, consumers are now even more savvy, they can fact-check our products and pricing on the Internet. In most cases they can buy the same products and services elsewhere. Customer service becomes the defining factor.

In a closing keynote I attended at an EMS conference the speaker, Steve Berry, BA, NREMT-P, talked through 3 things needed in the sale of any product or service. Not only do I agree, but also they make for an extraordinary company, one standing out and leading in their sector:

1. to be technically accurate- know your product or service and all its details
2. to shower your prospects with customer service- always
3. to leave them with a WOW-factor!

Being technically accurate is HUGE; make sure your sales reps know your products and services from every angle. Quiz them, train them, and make them know it, or get them off your team. Your sales reps are your front lines, they are the ones out there in the trenches, either making you proud, or not. Equip them with every detail they need to be technically accurate, every time!

Showering your prospects and existing customers with customer service is a leadership issue. It starts from the highest ranks. If you don’t have a customer service policy, make one. Define what it means to your company specifically, and then tolerate nothing less. Insist on, and expect, every person in your company, to shower each person they come in contact with, with extraordinary customer service.

The WOW factor is my favorite! Steve Berry told a story of an ambulance company in FL, which increased their sales instantly in a very large retirement community as a result of their WOW-factor. In the ambulance after medicating a woman injured in a car crash, the EMT was surprised she was still crying and asked where else it hurt. She said her quadriplegic husband had to have medication at 4pm and she was the only one who could give it to him; if he didn’t have it he could have a seizure and die. So after the EMT brought her to the emergency room, he went to her house and gave her husband his medication. WOW! You know she told everyone in the senior community!

What is your WOW-factor?
What makes you truly stand out from the competition?

Customer service is everything; serving is the new selling!

Sound crazy? Not if you have the right sales people.

Sales in the 21st century are no longer about aggression and tenacity; they’re now about the customer and the fit. Today’s successful salespeople are a company’s front lines communicating the products and services you offer while listening to the needs of the customer, ultimately finding the fit that has the clients sell themselves. It’s not crazy; it’s brilliant!

You have heard me say the number one way to get more business is to ask for it.

But don’t just have anyone do the asking, you need sales experts fueled with listening skills, leadership and authenticity; they are the ones who will generate the results, the money!

The best sales people negotiate for 100% commission in lieu of salary. They welcome the challenge; they know what’s at stake and what it will take to hit their goal. They aren’t afraid of it, they take it on with enthusiasm and the increased results flow naturally from their effort. Sound like the sales reps on your team?

The 80/20 of Sales

Twenty percent of all salespeople make eighty percent of all sales, which means eighty percent of a sales force fights over the remaining 20 percent of business (Greenberg & Greenberg). In addition, a whopping 55 percent of salespeople have no ability to sell!

Harvard Says

A study done by the Harvard Business School found that top performing salespeople have these traits in common: do not take “no” personally; take 100 percent responsibility for results; possess empathy; have above average ambition, willpower and determination; are intensely goal-oriented; and can easily approach strangers.

Management Says

In a 2001 survey conducted by Jeffry Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, 365 CEOs were asked what they thought were the key factors that separate high performing sales professionals from low-performing sales professionals; their top answers were: self-discipline, motivation, product knowledge, customer knowledge, and innate talent and personality. But the characteristics they indicated are not among those, which separate superior performers from inferior performers.

The Facts Say

The same Gitomer sales study found the following characteristics, if mastered by a salesperson, would make him rise above the rest and be in the 80% of top sellers:

• Unyielding belief in the company, the product and yourself
• Creativity to differentiate yourself from the competition
• Sense of humor that builds deep rapport
• Ability to promote yourself
• Ability to maintain price integrity
• Unyielding personal values and ethics
• Reliability and dependability
• Passion and desire to excel and be the best
• Exciting presentation skills
• Ability to generate profit and loyal customers
• Selling for the love of helping others get what they want rather than for the love of money
• Perpetual positive attitude and enthusiasm

Salespeople are recession proof. There will always be something to sell, so it’s important to keep your top performers happy and well incentivized, especially if they know their worth. But if you are settling for mediocre results from 80% of your sales team, consider which of them may be among the 55% with no ability to sell at all.

Do they offer reasons or results? Reasons why they aren’t hitting quota? Or results, despite the economic reality, making it happen!
The cream of the crop is out there waiting to be hired. Play a 21st century game, put the best there is on your front line and allow your clients to sell themselves!

Ask for it!

There’s no magic in what I do. I call people and I ask them for their business; the ones that need what I have to sell, buy. Sales are different in the 21st century, consumers are savvy, they are price aware and they can fact-check us on the Internet. Instead of trying to sell them your products and services, how about you let them sell themselves? No magic needed.

It’s easier than you may think, too.

During your prospecting calls, ask questions instead of talking. Have the questions ready before you pick up the phone. Have at least three prepared. Tell them you just want to ask them a few questions, get their buy in, or schedule a time to call back.

Every time someone answers the phone, I ask, “Am I disturbing you?”

Every time.

If I am disturbing them, they tell me, and the next thing I ask is, “When would be a good time to call back?”

Most tell me immediately.

My point, always ask, always respect the answer.

Depending on who you are calling, some broad sample questions may be:

1. What would it take to earn your business?
2. What are you looking for in an architect/designer/insert your trade?
3. What can I do to make your job easier? (When you get an answer to this one, you have the makings for a long term relationship, listen to the answer!)

A max of five simple questions, stop at two or three if necessary, pay attention to the tone of their answers and let it guide you. You can tell when you have a willing listener on the other end and when you don’t. If they are willing, ask the questions. If they are not, schedule a time to call back and move on to the next call.

If you are calling prospects who have already said they want to work with you but they haven’t yet signed a contract, questions like these will work:

1. I am ready to partner with you, is there anything in the way of you signing the contract today?
2. I’d like to move forward with you, what do you see as the next step?
3. If not now, when? I’m happy to follow up with you and do what it takes to earn this job.

Be direct, ask exactly what you want to know, no sugar coating, no sales pitch. Ask the questions one at a time and listen to the answers. They will tell you what they want and when they want to buy it.

There is no magic. If you want more business, ask for it.

If you have your questions ready and ask them in a straightforward manner, you will get the answers. If you indeed have the value they want to buy, they will sell themselves!