Sales Training

Selling is Like a Box of Chocolates

A scientific expeiment has revealed the power of choice, and how we are affected by our own perception of control.

Two groups of people were asked to rate the taste of a selection of chocolates. The first group was shown a platter containing what appeared to be a wide variety of chocolate truffles. However, all of them were made from the exact same recipe so their taste was identical. Each member of the first group was allowed to select one truffle from the platter, then after tasting it they completed a survey. They were to rate the taste of the chocolate on a scale of 1 to 10.

The second group completed the exact same process, except they were not allowed to select their own chocolate. Instead, after being shown the entire paltter featuring what appeared to be a wide variety of truffles, each member of the second group was handed a single chocolate and asked to rate its taste ona scale of 1 to 10.

On average, those who were allowed to select their own chocolate truffle rated the taste 2.3 points higher than those who had a truffle selected for them. This experiement was repeated over and over again, and consistently the individuals who were allowed to make their own decision actually felt that the chocolate tasted better.

How is this possible? Obviously the chocoalte didn't really taste better. But just as clearly, having the power to make a choice created a different perception - and that perception was so strong that it seemed as if the chocolate actually tasted better.

So what is the lesson that salespeople can draw from this experiment? When customerrs or prospects are given the power to make decisions (or even just the perception they are making choices) thye will not onlyfeel better about the decision - they will actually like the product or service more. Their "chocolate" will taste better.

Think about this the next time you are trying to push a particular "chocolate" intot he hands of a prospect. Maybe you'll have better luck if you adjust your sales approach to help them make choices for themselves. ALl you have to do is hold the platter.

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How to Sell a $35,000 Watch in a Recession

I love this recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Michal Czerwonka. While the specifics may not be relevant to most salespeople, it is great to see that "salesmanship" still matters during tough times - maybe especially during tough times. Here is the opening paragraph:

When a man in a Cartier watch stepped into the IWC Schaffhausen boutique in Beverly Hills recently, salesman Hua Huynh sprang into action. He led the customer to a case of Aquatimers, the Swiss brand’s line of self-winding dive watches. “What’s the damage?” asked the customer, pointing at one model. “The value is $5,800,” replied Mr. Huynh. “Would you like to try it?”

Hovering nearby, Jean-Marie Brücker winced.

Arnaud Gouel, one of the IWC Schaffhausen salespeople trained by consultant Jean-Marie Brücker, shows a watch to customers at a boutique in Beverly Hills, Calif.

After the gentleman replied, “Nahh,” and left, Mr. Brücker closed in on the salesman. Instead of asking a yes-or-no question, he chided, “next time, you say, ‘I invite you to try the watch. Please take a seat.’ ” He pantomimed swiftly laying the watch on a suede-lined tray, leaving the customer no easy out.

Mr. Brücker, a former Xerox salesman, is training IWC Schaffhausen’s sales force to sell expensive watches in a recession. After years of double-digit sales growth, sales of Swiss watches have fallen off drastically. Watchmakers like IWC—a 140-year-old company whose watches are considered collectors’ items and generally cost between $3,000 and $300,000—are having to re-learn the old-fashioned art of salesmanship.

Click here for the full WSJ article.

A Crash Course in Communication

Talk is cheap and easy. Communication,on the other hand, is often difficult and challenging. Because it requires an exchange or communion with another and requires greater skill. Click here for a great article that explores how to communicate more successfully.

Free Selling Skills Assessment

Want to find out how much you really know about professional selling? Take this Free Sales Assessment, the Ultimate Sales Challenge, and find out how you stack up compared to top earning salespeople. You might be surprised!

Atlas Shrugged

The most important book any salesperson or entrepreneur should read is Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society. The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry, while society's most productive citizens, led by the mysterious John Galt, progressively disappear. Galt describes the strike as "stopping the motor of the world" by withdrawing the "minds" that drive society's growth and productivity; with their strike these creative minds hope to demonstrate that the economy and society would collapse without the profit motive and the efforts of the rational and productive.

While the book is long, with expansive dialogue that repeats and repeats (and repeats) Rand's philosophy of self-reliance and objectivism, it is also an amasing and profound parable that should inspire the hearts of most true sales professionals. We are the people who want to go out, hunt and kill our own food, and reap the rewards.

This novel is especially compelliing today as we see society moving in opposite direction from self-reliance. I can't say it better than a recent WSJ article:

By STEPHEN MOORE

Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read "Atlas Shrugged" a "virgin." Being conversant in Ayn Rand's classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only "Atlas" were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I'm confident that we'd get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.

Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.

Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, naturally, hated her. But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.

For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.

In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

When Rand was writing in the 1950s, one of the pillars of American industrial might was the railroads. In her novel the railroad owner, Dagny Taggart, an enterprising industrialist, has a FedEx-like vision for expansion and first-rate service by rail. But she is continuously badgered, cajoled, taxed, ruled and regulated -- always in the public interest -- into bankruptcy. Sound far-fetched? On the day I sat down to write this ode to "Atlas," a Wall Street Journal headline blared: "Rail Shippers Ask Congress to Regulate Freight Prices."

In one chapter of the book, an entrepreneur invents a new miracle metal -- stronger but lighter than steel. The government immediately appropriates the invention in "the public good." The politicians demand that the metal inventor come to Washington and sign over ownership of his invention or lose everything.

The scene is eerily similar to an event late last year when six bank presidents were summoned by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Washington, and then shuttled into a conference room and told, in effect, that they could not leave until they collectively signed a document handing over percentages of their future profits to the government. The Treasury folks insisted that this shakedown, too, was all in "the public interest."

Ultimately, "Atlas Shrugged" is a celebration of the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect. Critics dismissed the novel as simple-minded, and even some of Rand's political admirers complained that she lacked compassion. Yet one pertinent warning resounds throughout the book: When profits and wealth and creativity are denigrated in society, they start to disappear -- leaving everyone the poorer.

One memorable moment in "Atlas" occurs near the very end, when the economy has been rendered comatose by all the great economic minds in Washington. Finally, and out of desperation, the politicians come to the heroic businessman John Galt (who has resisted their assault on capitalism) and beg him to help them get the economy back on track. The discussion sounds much like what would happen today:

Galt: "You want me to be Economic Dictator?"

Mr. Thompson: "Yes!"

"And you'll obey any order I give?"

"Implicitly!"

"Then start by abolishing all income taxes."

"Oh no!" screamed Mr. Thompson, leaping to his feet. "We couldn't do that . . . How would we pay government employees?"

"Fire your government employees."

"Oh, no!"

Abolishing the income tax. Now that really would be a genuine economic stimulus. But Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Washington want to do the opposite: to raise the income tax "for purposes of fairness" as Barack Obama puts it.

David Kelley, the president of the Atlas Society, which is dedicated to promoting Rand's ideas, explains that "the older the book gets, the more timely its message." He tells me that there are plans to make "Atlas Shrugged" into a major motion picture -- it is the only classic novel of recent decades that was never made into a movie. "We don't need to make a movie out of the book," Mr. Kelley jokes. "We are living it right now."

Mr. Moore is senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal editorial page.

How Do You Handle a Rotten Customer?

We all have had customers from hell. They lie to us. They treat us like dogs. They complain. They squeeze us for every last dollar.

So what should you do? Of course the easy (and often unrealistic) answer is to just get rid of them. But sometimes these are among your biggest and most profitable customers. So is this just the price you have to pay in order to do business with them?

Maybe. Maybe not. The first thing to understand is why the customer is so unreasonable or demanding. There are many factors that can cause a customer to become a nightmare to work with. It is possible that they have had negative experiences with other salespeople, and they assume you are all cut from the same cloth. It is possible that they are under their own pressures at work and all they are doing is transferring to you some of the stress they are experiencing. And of course it is also possible that they are simply jerks.

But before you decide how you are going to deal with a difficult customer you should definitely attempt to determine the root cause of the difficulty. Because your most productive approach will depend upon the root cause.

Is it You?

Notice how the customer interacts with others, if that is possible. If it appears that this person is rude, abrasive and abrupt with everyone, then you know it isn't personal. They are not directing their frustration at you personally - they are directing it at the entire world. If you notice however, that this person is kind and considerate (or just normal and professional) with others, but harsh and demanding when dealing with you, then you know yu have a personal issue. Or at the very least, this person has an issue with salespeople in general. If you know other salespeople who call on this same person, compare notes to determine if everyone is getting the same treatment.

Is it a Difference in Behavioral Style?

Naturally some people are more warm and friendly than others. Some are more analytical than others. Some are more engaging, more supportive, etc. so you should ask yourself if this is simply a difference in style with the tough customer.

In particular, the customer with a High-D or a High-C type of personality can be most challenging to work with.

If you determine that the root cause of the challenging customer situation is simply a difference in behavioral styles, you're in luck. Because there are many ways to bridge the gap of behavioral styles. Even just coming to an understanding that this is an expression of the individual's personality, and not a personal attack directed at you can help to make the situation more manageable.

Is it Temporary?

Another question to ask is if this has been a long-term issue, or if it is recent and (possibly) temporary. If it is a recent development, maybe it is best to just let it go and let some time pass. If on the other hand this is a long standing issue, then ignoring it certainly won't change things.

Does Attractiveness Drive Sales Results?

Like it or not, the unequivocal answer is yes. Most of us are much more open to a sales message when the messenger is hot.

 

You know it's true. Of course it's better to be pretty or handsome if you are in sales. If you (like me) are among the legions of average looking people, and you had a choice to be exceptionally handsome or beautiful, would you turn it down? Of course not. Because being hot comes with many benefits. And one of those benefits is that people are more willing to listen to you. The hard truth is that they are actually more willing to believe and trust you. Although there is some research that seems to indicate it is possible to be too attractive. Apparently, if you are extraordinarily perfect, people find this to be somewhat suspicious. So we should all strive to be handsome and beautiful, just not too gorgeous.

 

This is more than just a personal perception. The issue has been recognized and studied for decades. Recently Cheryl Burke Jarvis, a marketing professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and two other academics decided to examine the link between attractiveness and sales performance. The team used research conducted by the W. P. Carey School's Peter Reingen, a marketing professor, as the kickoff point for their own studies.

 

They found that buyers judged physically attractive salespeople to be more adept at selling. Buyers are more cordial to good-looking salespeople and buy more from them. People also donate more to attractive charity solicitors.

 

What are you looking at, Doctor?

 

Recently a research team focused on doctors' perceptions of pharmaceutical salespeople, measuring the number of prescriptions written by the doctors based upon interactions with highly attractive salespeople vs. their average counterparts. The research team reports in a paper partially titled, "If Looks Could Sell." The researchers felt that the frequent contact gives doctors enough familiarity with salespeople to assess several characteristics, including attractiveness.

 

Of course one would hope that doctors would make their prescription recommendations based upon the patient's needs and the capabilities of the drugs being prescribed. But it turns out that the attractiveness of the salesperson has a significant impact on the Doctor's prescription pattern.

 

The results were "a little scary," Jarvis says. "Of all product categories, this is one that should not be influenced by a salesperson's attractiveness, but it was."

 

Pretty payback

 

To measure the doctors' buying patterns, Jarvis and her colleagues evaluated how many new prescriptions each doctor wrote for one branded drug in a highly competitive drug category dominated by four major brands. During the three-month evaluation period, the average number of prescriptions written for this drug group was 342.

 

Nearly three-quarters of the doctors participating in the study were male, and the average number of years in practice was 16.3, making this sample representative of physicians prescribing the type of medication being evaluated. Each doctor answered a series of questions that allowed the researchers to evaluate how the physician felt about his or her detailers' looks, communication ability, expertise, likeability and trustworthiness. Participating doctors expressed their views on these salesperson characteristics using a 7-point Likert scale, anchored by "strongly agree" on the high side, with "strongly disagree" earning a score of 1.

 

Did perceived good looks raise sales? Yes, they did. For each 1-unit increase in perceived attractiveness on the Likert scale -- a move from a score of 5 to 6, for example -- the salesperson's share of product sold increased an average of 1.9 percent. These results held true regardless of the genders of physicians or their detailers. In fact, 68 percent of the doctor-detailer relationships were gender congruent: men working with men or women working with women, the researchers note.

 

Time made the effect of good looks among detailers less dramatic. Where the length of the relationship was "relatively short" -- one standard deviation below the mean of 1.13 years -- the market share changes by 2.94 percent for each 1-unit change in attractiveness rating; but when the length of relationship is "relatively long" -- one standard deviation above the mean of 6.39 years -- market share changes only 1.28 percent for each 1-unit change in attractiveness rating. In summary, the effect of salesperson attractiveness is significantly lower for longer relationships than it is for shorter relationships.

 

The researchers also uncovered some insight into why this occurs. Results indicated that physical attractiveness was correlated with perceptions of trustworthiness, likeability and communication skills. Jarvis calls these "mediating factors" because attractiveness itself isn't what makes the doctors buy. Rather, it is these ancillary beliefs, which are affected by attractiveness, that open wallets and prescription pads.

 

Jarvis notes that her team may not have identified all the mediating factors that were operating. "We also found a direct effect -- just the fact that salespeople were attractive had an impact," she says. "What that means is that there may be something else out there affecting the relationship between attractiveness and performance that we weren't testing." The only factor that didn't seem to affect sales performance was expertise, and Jarvis suspects this is linked to a belief among doctors that all the detailers have a high level of competence and knowledge.

 

At bottom, though, attractiveness was significant. The difference between a 4 and a 6 attractiveness rating could translate into 600 new prescriptions per month for a salesperson covering the typical 140-doctor territory, the team maintains. "Relative to the mean market share of 20 percent, the size of this effect is likely to cause sales managers to take notice," their paper states.

 

Hire the hottie?

 

Despite the results of this study, Jarvis doesn't advocate using looks to sway sales hiring practices. "The takeaway from this paper is not to go out and hire attractive sales people," She says. "That's imitable: it's something other companies can copy. You're not going to get an edge on the market by hiring more attractive sales people."

 

Rather, she recommends sales managers learn from the mediation process operating and capitalize on it. Buyer perceptions of trustworthiness, likeability, and communication skills may have been affected by a salesperson's looks, but such traits can be cultivated by anyone.

 

At the same time, Jarvis notes that her results point to the importance of longstanding buyer/seller alliances. "Sales managers need to be aware of the importance of maintaining relationships," Jarvis says. "Reducing turnover" and "keeping salespeople with the same customers" are two moves she feels could "attenuate the effects of attractiveness."

 

Jarvis said that although there is no legal protection against discrimination based on "lookism" at this time, the courts review cases concerning this issue from time to time and some level of protection for certain physical traits that involve appearance (such as obesity) may become case law eventually. For now the researchers recommend that managers stay knowledgeable about the legal, ethical and business implications of hiring based on appearance. "It's sensitive and complex," Jarvis said.

 

Bottom line:

• Looks did make a difference for physicians responding to the attractiveness -- or lack of it -- among pharmaceutical salespeople.

• Attractive salespeople were perceived to be more likeable, trustworthy and adept at communication than their plainer colleagues.

• Sales were higher for attractive salespeople. Moving from an attractiveness rating of 4 to 5 on a Likert scale increased sales an average of 1.9 percent.

• The effect of attractiveness on sales figures is significantly lower for longer relationships than it is for shorter relationships.

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