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Page 1: 15 sales techniques to improve the sales process

15 Strategies/Skills to Be a More Effective Salesperson/Lender

(plus 6 Core Concepts) By Yuri Piltser

February 7th, 2006

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Six Core Concepts/Basic Tenets

● We are knowledge workers in a knowledge economy

● We sell know-how (of our own and our clients’ business); accessibility to decision-making; TLC, the intangibles

●Selling = asking the right questions in the right order of the right person at the right time

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Six Core Concepts/Basic Tenets

●We are a Commodity (reasons: Age of Information, sophisticated clients)

●Positive Energy is Contagious ●Appropriate Cliches: Time is Money,

Early Bird Catches the Worm, Timing is Everything, Genius = 99% Perspiration + 1% Inspiration, etc…

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Strategy #1 Watched Phone (almost) Never Rings

● Call your prospects/contacts; always keep in touch (timing is everything!)

● Call your clients’ CPA’s/attorneys; be in the “loop”

● Call your clients/prospects without a specific reason

● “Dirty little” secret of most people: 90% of the time they love getting your calls! (key reasons: ego, pride, feeling that they matter); for the other 10%, a key question: “Is this a good time?”

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#2 Always Ask for Business!

● Always think “New Business”; Be confident of our Delivery and Execution; accentuate the positive!

● “I’d like to prepare a Term Sheet for a Line of Credit for your company”

● “Can we take a look at that real estate transaction?” ● “If you need factoring – we have that product” ● “If you plan to lease office equipment – we can help

with financing” ● Of another Bank: “Are you looking for another

participant for this line of credit?” and so on…

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#3 Always Ask a Killer Question (or two, three…)

● “Know anybody who may be looking for a bank?” ● “Are you happy with your bank?”● Of a CPA: “Is your client happy with his bank?” ● “ Which companies in your industry, in your

opinion, may be good prospects for us?”● “In your banking situation, if there’s one thing you

could change – what would it be?” ● Bottom Line: Find out their “Hot Buttons”/”Pain

Points”; once you know them, you may then be able to address them

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# 4 Go Ahead, Brag a Little (not too much)!

● Discuss our credit-friendly and customer-friendly culture

● Our Big Fish/Small Pond environment ● Access to senior/executive management ● Quick, common sense underwriting process ● Our having been IDB Bank for over 40 years;

Absence of constant upheavals/employee turnover

● Our being small which allows for a quicker decision-making

● Show Energy/Passion! (It’s contagious)

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#5 Underpromise. Overperform.

● Keep your word; try to promise only what you know you can deliver; Credibility/Integrity are at stake

● Follow up and Follow through; Be persistent & assertive without being pushy & obnoxious

● Manage your prospect/client’s expectations

● Adhere to a “Sunset Rule” for phone messages

● Don’t keep them guessing – keep them involved and in the know

● Make them feel as if they’re your only Client/Prospect!

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#6 Show Them Some “Love” ● Prospects want to be wanted and TLC’d● Bond with your prospects and listen to them; align your

interests with their interest; be their friend ● When you lose a deal, be gracious in defeat (and keep on

following up)● Do something unusual (e.g. photos from a trip, clipping from a

newspaper, etc.) ● Bring them to 511 Fifth Ave. to introduce them to our executive

management● Main Idea: “Small is Beautiful”

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#7 Be a “Student of the Game”

● Know the macroeconomics of our industry; be ready to answer questions about the Fed, currency fluctuations, interest rates, etc.

● Know the competition – who they are, what they offer, how they approach the marketplace, who the major players are

● Know our products; become a “Maven”● “Know their business, know your stuff.”

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#8 Be Well Organized/Use Technology

● A lot of energy/enthusiasm/time is wasted due to not being able to find a name, phone #, etc.

● Keep your desk clean (at least try!); file often ● Learn to use effectively the software we have (i.

e. Outlook, Power Point, Excel spreadsheets): send e-mails straight from “Contacts”, create “smart” databases, import personal information, use the Web effectively (e.g. Youvegotcontacts. Com), etc.

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#9 Get Personal! ● Know your key contacts’ birthdays, hobbies,

likes/dislikes, kids’ names/ages/activities/milestones

● Send cards, e-mails, news clippings, greetings, condolences

● Fact: prospects/clients love to get cards/gifts/premiums, etc.

● Basic message: “I’m thinking of you (and not only once a year at renewal time!)”

● “You’ve Got Contacts” on the Web is a good marketing product

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#10 Develop/Nurture Contacts All the Time

● Build a database of all your contacts ● Divide them into categories (CPA’s, Lawyers, VIP’s,

Bankers, etc.) ● Keep adding names; always ask for business cards ● Attend shows/expos/dinners/events – be visible and

make the Bank visible ● Your contacts will help you get new contacts (“two

degrees of separation” theory) ● Broadcast messages/flyers to many contacts at

once (ex.: one CPA firm merges with another – send congrats to all your contacts at those firms)

● STAY IN TOUCH!

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#11 Learn to Delegate and Prioritize

● Know who to turn to for anything internally (i.e. sending letters, opening an account, making a loan, trade services, investments, etc.)

● Set up schedules, tasks and deadlines (use Outlook)

● “Plan your work, work your plan” every morning

● Know the priorities: what’s important and what’s not

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#12 Do More Breakfast Meetings

● They jump-start the day ● Less vulnerable to cancellations ● Saves you and your customer/prospect time ● Less expensive than lunches● (Lunches work, too!)

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# 13 Learn, Develop and Hone Your Negotiating Skills

● Turn customer objections into customer objectives [e.g. lack of branches may be turned into a positive development (“stay with existing branch!”);]

● Anticipate objections and be prepared for them (e.g. “yes, we’re a foreign bank – just like HSBC”); always think of our “Value Proposition”

● Work on asking the right questions in the right sequence at the right time

● Use sharp/clever similes, metaphors, analogies (loan covenants are merely “road signs” to help us navigate the road or “we’re like airplanes – safety first”; “cheapest shirt/doctor” analogy for pricing objections; no PG’s are like a “mirage in the desert”, etc.)

● Try to resolve most conflicts/objections without involving senior management

● Read some good books on negotiating

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#14 Become a Matchmaker ● “Find me a find, catch me a catch”● Add value through your contacts and

knowledge ● Think of ways to refer business to others (i.

e. cross-sell opportunities, referrals to CPA’s) – become “relevant”

● Think of potential synergies between different entities in the same industry

● Know the financial and other players (mezzanine financing, equity investors, valuation services, etc.)

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#15 Strive to Become a Trusted Advisor

● Graduate from 1) “order taker” to 2) “relationship manager” to 3) “management consultant/potential matchmaker” and, finally, to 4) a “trusted advisor”

● Earn their trust and become their Advocate ● Provide solutions and Add Value ● Work on creating a following ● Be there for/with them when big events

occur (sale, purchase, death, new generation, etc.)

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…and Finally:

Enjoy the Trip!