The answer is ‘assertive.’ It’s the best strategy for engaging, establishing control, proving value, creating a buying atmosphere, and forging a relationship.
I define assertiveness as a state of mind and a state of preparation PRIOR to implementation in a sales call.
CAUTION: This writing assumes (a bad thought process in sales) you have both read and mastered last week’s part one. If you haven’t, you can find it here or by entering the words ASSERTIVE SELLING in the GitBit box at www.gitomer.com. You must read, understand, and put those concepts into practice BEFORE part two can take shape.
The two remaining parts of assertiveness are:
The sales presentation itself.
The follow-up to the sales call.
Interesting that the sales call, the actual presentation, does not require the same amount of assertiveness as the sales follow-up. It’s way more difficult to re-engage a prospect and chase down a decision.
However, if you’re a great salesperson, an assertive salesperson, follow-up may not be necessary because you have asserted your way to the sale during the presentation.
THE PRESENTATION: When you get in front of a prospective customer, it is imperative that you look impressive and sound impressive. You know the old saying, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” You must start in a positive position in order to create a positive outcome.
Assertiveness begins with your eye contact, smile, and handshake. These actions establish you in the mind of the prospect as a person who is both self-assured and happy.
You take a relaxed seat. You accept anything that is offered to you in the way of water or coffee. You put yourself in the lean-forward position. Any tools or equipment you need to make your presentation are in front of you and ready to go. And you immediately begin by discussing anything other than your business and their business.
You begin the business of making friends. You begin the business of creating mutual smiles. You begin talking about them in a way that lets them know you’ve done your preparation and your homework. At any moment you can begin to discuss their needs, however you prefer to discuss their family or their personal interests first.
The segue from rapport building to business discussion requires an assertive thought process. There’s no formula, but there is a feeling. The salesperson’s responsibility is to feel when it’s right to move forward, and then have the assertive courage to do it.
Assertive presentations start with questions, offer unchallengeable proof in the middle, and end with a customer commitment that you have earned.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: Whoever you’re calling on wants to know what’s new and what the trends are in THEIR business. If you are able to deliver those during your presentation, I guarantee you’ll develop a value-based relationship, and have the full attention of the buyer.
Harnessing the power of ‘assertive’ in a sales presentation:
The assertive presentation challenges you, the salesperson, to bring forth a combination of your knowledge as it relates to their needs as well as a durability to connect both verbally and non-verbally with the person or the group you’re addressing.
You’ll know your assertive strategy is working when the customer or the prospective customer begins asking questions to get a deeper understanding about your product or service. This changes monologue to dialogue but also creates the power of engagement, or should I say assertive engagement.
At some point you have to complete the transaction. This means either asking for the sale (an okay part of the assertive process), or using some secondary means to confirm the sale (like scheduling delivery or installation).
Commitment to the order is where the rubber meets the road. If you get the order, it means you’ve done an assertively great job. If you don’t get it, it means you have to lapse into assertive follow-up mode. Here’s how…
THE FOLLOW UP: Assertive follow-up will become permissible if asked for, and agreed upon, in advance.
Here’s how: “Mr. Jones, what’s the best way for me to stay in touch with you?” “What’s your preferred method of communication?” “Is there anyone else I should ‘cc’ in our communications?” “May I send you an occasional text?”
These are permission-based questions that tell you where you are in the relationship. If you get a cell phone number and you’re permitted to send an occasional text, it means your relationship has reached a solid position.
WHERE’S THE VALUE? If I ask for a ‘follow-up’ appointment, I’ll no doubt get some vague runaround. BUT if I offer to come back with some valuable information about his or her business or job function, I’m certain to be granted that appointment.
The dialogue might go something like this, “Mr. Jones, I visit 30 or 40 businesses a month. During those visits I don’t just sell, I observe. Each month I list two or three ‘best practices.’ In my follow-up with you, I’ll need five minutes to share those practices each month. Is that fair enough?”
Heck yes! That’s fair enough. Your offer to help the customer with his or her business, and his or her job function, will not just endear you, it will also create the basis of a solid relationship. A value-based relationship. One where assertiveness is actually acceptable.
The ultimate goal beyond a sale is a trusted relationship with your customer. The path to secure that relationship begins with mastering the principles of assertiveness and then putting them into practice.
The by-product is more sales.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-02-18 06:11:532016-08-07 22:06:42Are you passive, aggressive, or assertive? Only one way wins.
StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
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About the Author
Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-02-14 06:12:382015-10-08 00:24:53StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 43 – The Big Picture of Business: Business Leader as Community Leader, part 1 of 2
Rapidly changing market conditions drive businesses leaders to continually reinvent how their organizations do business, their products and their services. Regardless of the changes made, differences between the business of today and the business of tomorrow commonly necessitate a change in personnel knowledge, skills, and experiences. While acquiring some of this background can be accomplished through an initiatives’ change management program, strategic talent needs often require new foundational knowledge, skills, and experiences be added to the organization. Such additions can be costly and time consuming and, therefore, should be planned for within the organization’s long-term and annual business plans.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/TalentAcquisition.jpg300400Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-02-12 06:34:012019-08-18 21:56:53Talent Management Best Practice 5 – Include Talent Needs in Business Plans
Sales reps get a bad rap for trying to sell too hard.
You’ve heard the term “pushy salesman” or “aggressive salesperson” or even “obnoxious salesman.” How do those phrases make you feel?
And salespeople go to great lengths NOT to be perceived as pushy, or aggressive, or obnoxious – so they (maybe you) go to the opposite end of the spectrum and try to be or be known as professional.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: A professional sales call is okay, but boring. Professional meetings typically have no outcome. Or worse, they result in never-ending follow-up, void of sales. Not good. Here’s a good way to think about professionalism: your customer must perceive you as a professional person. It’s more of a look on your part, and a perception on the part of the customer. In today’s world of selling, professionalism is a given. Your words, actions, and deeds take over from there.
Professionalism is not bad, but professionalism alone will not net sales.
MAJOR AHA! Between pushy, aggressive, obnoxious, and professional lies a middle ground – a ground where sales are made. It’s known as assertive.
CAUTION: Assertiveness is not a word – it’s a strategy and a style. It’s not just “a way in which you conduct yourself.” Rather, it’s a full-blown strategy that has elements to master way before assertiveness can begin and be accepted as a style of selling.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: Assertiveness is a GOOD style of selling as long as you understand, and have mastered, the elements that make “assertive” acceptable on the part of the customer.
WHERE DOES ASSERTIVENESS COME FROM?
The root of assertiveness is belief. Your belief in what you do, your belief in who you represent, your belief in the products and services that you sell, your belief in yourself, your belief that you can differentiate yourself from your competitor (not compare yourself to), and your firm belief that the customer is better off having purchased from you. These are not things you believe in your head. Rather, these are things you must believe in your heart. Deep belief is the first step in creating an assertive process. Until you believe, mediocrity is the norm. Once you believe in your heart, all else is possible.
An Attitude of Positive Anticipation. In order to be assertive, positive attitude or YES! Attitude is not enough. You must possess an “Attitude of Positive Anticipation.” This means walking into any sales call with a degree of certainty that the outcome will be in your favor. It means having a spirit about you that is easily contagious – a spirit that your customer can catch, and buy.
Total preparation is the secret sauce of assertiveness. This must include customer-focused, pre-call planning as well as creating the objective, the proposed outcome, for a sales call. Most salespeople make the fatal mistake of preparing in terms of themselves (product knowledge, literature,business cards, blah, blah). The reality of total preparation means preparing in terms of the customer FIRST. Their needs, their desires, and their anticipated positive outcomes – their win. If these elements are not an integral part of your preparation, you will lose to someone who has them.
The assertive equation must also contain undeniable value in favor of the customer. This is not just part of preparation, this is also part of the relationships you have built with other customers who are willing to testify on your behalf, and other proof that you have (hopefully in video format) that a prospective customer can relate to, believe in, and purchase as a result of.
REALITY: It’s not about changing your beliefs, it’s about strengthening your beliefs. It’s not about changing your attitude, it’s about building your attitude. It’s not about changing your preparation, it’s about intensifying your preparation. It’s not about adding value, it’s about delivering perceived value.
BIGGER REALITY: When you have mastered belief, attitude, preparation, and value as I have just defined them, then and only then, can assertiveness and assertive selling begin to take place.
BIGGEST REALITY: Incremental growth in belief, attitude, preparation, and value offered will lead to assertive sales calls and an increase in sales.
YOUR STATURE IS THE GLUE: Your professional look, your quiet self-confidence, your surety of knowledge andinformation that can help your customer, your past history of success, your possession of undeniable proof, and your assertive ability to ask your customers to beresponsible to their customers and their employees. (Responsibility is an acceptable (and assertive) form of accountability). No customer wants to be accountable to a sales rep – but EVERY customer has a MISSION to be responsible to his or her customers and co-workers.
When you combine your belief, your attitude, your preparation, your value, and your assertiveness, the outcome is predictable: It’s more sales.
Next week is all about the assertive sales call. Get ready.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-02-11 06:13:022016-08-07 22:11:41Pushy, aggressive, obnoxious, assertive, or professional. Which are you?
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Are you passive, aggressive, or assertive? Only one way wins.
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerThe answer is ‘assertive.’ It’s the best strategy for engaging, establishing control, proving value, creating a buying atmosphere, and forging a relationship.
I define assertiveness as a state of mind and a state of preparation PRIOR to implementation in a sales call.
CAUTION: This writing assumes (a bad thought process in sales) you have both read and mastered last week’s part one. If you haven’t, you can find it here or by entering the words ASSERTIVE SELLING in the GitBit box at www.gitomer.com. You must read, understand, and put those concepts into practice BEFORE part two can take shape.
The two remaining parts of assertiveness are:
Interesting that the sales call, the actual presentation, does not require the same amount of assertiveness as the sales follow-up. It’s way more difficult to re-engage a prospect and chase down a decision.
However, if you’re a great salesperson, an assertive salesperson, follow-up may not be necessary because you have asserted your way to the sale during the presentation.
THE PRESENTATION: When you get in front of a prospective customer, it is imperative that you look impressive and sound impressive. You know the old saying, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” You must start in a positive position in order to create a positive outcome.
Assertiveness begins with your eye contact, smile, and handshake. These actions establish you in the mind of the prospect as a person who is both self-assured and happy.
You take a relaxed seat. You accept anything that is offered to you in the way of water or coffee. You put yourself in the lean-forward position. Any tools or equipment you need to make your presentation are in front of you and ready to go. And you immediately begin by discussing anything other than your business and their business.
You begin the business of making friends. You begin the business of creating mutual smiles. You begin talking about them in a way that lets them know you’ve done your preparation and your homework. At any moment you can begin to discuss their needs, however you prefer to discuss their family or their personal interests first.
The segue from rapport building to business discussion requires an assertive thought process. There’s no formula, but there is a feeling. The salesperson’s responsibility is to feel when it’s right to move forward, and then have the assertive courage to do it.
Assertive presentations start with questions, offer unchallengeable proof in the middle, and end with a customer commitment that you have earned.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: Whoever you’re calling on wants to know what’s new and what the trends are in THEIR business. If you are able to deliver those during your presentation, I guarantee you’ll develop a value-based relationship, and have the full attention of the buyer.
Harnessing the power of ‘assertive’ in a sales presentation:
The assertive presentation challenges you, the salesperson, to bring forth a combination of your knowledge as it relates to their needs as well as a durability to connect both verbally and non-verbally with the person or the group you’re addressing.
You’ll know your assertive strategy is working when the customer or the prospective customer begins asking questions to get a deeper understanding about your product or service. This changes monologue to dialogue but also creates the power of engagement, or should I say assertive engagement.
At some point you have to complete the transaction. This means either asking for the sale (an okay part of the assertive process), or using some secondary means to confirm the sale (like scheduling delivery or installation).
Commitment to the order is where the rubber meets the road. If you get the order, it means you’ve done an assertively great job. If you don’t get it, it means you have to lapse into assertive follow-up mode. Here’s how…
THE FOLLOW UP: Assertive follow-up will become permissible if asked for, and agreed upon, in advance.
Here’s how: “Mr. Jones, what’s the best way for me to stay in touch with you?” “What’s your preferred method of communication?” “Is there anyone else I should ‘cc’ in our communications?” “May I send you an occasional text?”
These are permission-based questions that tell you where you are in the relationship. If you get a cell phone number and you’re permitted to send an occasional text, it means your relationship has reached a solid position.
WHERE’S THE VALUE? If I ask for a ‘follow-up’ appointment, I’ll no doubt get some vague runaround. BUT if I offer to come back with some valuable information about his or her business or job function, I’m certain to be granted that appointment.
The dialogue might go something like this, “Mr. Jones, I visit 30 or 40 businesses a month. During those visits I don’t just sell, I observe. Each month I list two or three ‘best practices.’ In my follow-up with you, I’ll need five minutes to share those practices each month. Is that fair enough?”
Heck yes! That’s fair enough. Your offer to help the customer with his or her business, and his or her job function, will not just endear you, it will also create the basis of a solid relationship. A value-based relationship. One where assertiveness is actually acceptable.
The ultimate goal beyond a sale is a trusted relationship with your customer. The path to secure that relationship begins with mastering the principles of assertiveness and then putting them into practice.
The by-product is more sales.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Leadership Inspirations – Creating Rivalries
/in Leadership Inspirations/by StrategyDrivenDr. Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)
English writer
StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 43 – The Big Picture of Business: Business Leader as Community Leader, part 1 of 2
/in Management & Leadership, StrategyDriven Podcast/by Hank Moore and Nathan IvesEpisode 43 – The Big Picture of Business: Business Leader as Community Leader, part 1 of 2 examines the role of business leaders within their communities. During our discussion, Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist and author of The Business Tree: Growth Strategies and Tactics for Surviving and Thriving
, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:
Additional Information
In addition to the outstanding insights Hank shares in The Business Tree
and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.HankMoore.com. Hank’s book, The Business Tree
, can be purchased by clicking here
.
Final Request…
Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!
About the Author
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:25 — 37.7MB)
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Talent Management Best Practice 5 – Include Talent Needs in Business Plans
/in Premium, Strategic Planning, Talent Management/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
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About the Author
Pushy, aggressive, obnoxious, assertive, or professional. Which are you?
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerSales reps get a bad rap for trying to sell too hard.
You’ve heard the term “pushy salesman” or “aggressive salesperson” or even “obnoxious salesman.” How do those phrases make you feel?
And salespeople go to great lengths NOT to be perceived as pushy, or aggressive, or obnoxious – so they (maybe you) go to the opposite end of the spectrum and try to be or be known as professional.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: A professional sales call is okay, but boring. Professional meetings typically have no outcome. Or worse, they result in never-ending follow-up, void of sales. Not good. Here’s a good way to think about professionalism: your customer must perceive you as a professional person. It’s more of a look on your part, and a perception on the part of the customer. In today’s world of selling, professionalism is a given. Your words, actions, and deeds take over from there.
Professionalism is not bad, but professionalism alone will not net sales.
MAJOR AHA! Between pushy, aggressive, obnoxious, and professional lies a middle ground – a ground where sales are made. It’s known as assertive.
CAUTION: Assertiveness is not a word – it’s a strategy and a style. It’s not just “a way in which you conduct yourself.” Rather, it’s a full-blown strategy that has elements to master way before assertiveness can begin and be accepted as a style of selling.
BEWARE and BE AWARE: Assertiveness is a GOOD style of selling as long as you understand, and have mastered, the elements that make “assertive” acceptable on the part of the customer.
WHERE DOES ASSERTIVENESS COME FROM?
REALITY: It’s not about changing your beliefs, it’s about strengthening your beliefs. It’s not about changing your attitude, it’s about building your attitude. It’s not about changing your preparation, it’s about intensifying your preparation. It’s not about adding value, it’s about delivering perceived value.
BIGGER REALITY: When you have mastered belief, attitude, preparation, and value as I have just defined them, then and only then, can assertiveness and assertive selling begin to take place.
BIGGEST REALITY: Incremental growth in belief, attitude, preparation, and value offered will lead to assertive sales calls and an increase in sales.
YOUR STATURE IS THE GLUE: Your professional look, your quiet self-confidence, your surety of knowledge andinformation that can help your customer, your past history of success, your possession of undeniable proof, and your assertive ability to ask your customers to beresponsible to their customers and their employees. (Responsibility is an acceptable (and assertive) form of accountability). No customer wants to be accountable to a sales rep – but EVERY customer has a MISSION to be responsible to his or her customers and co-workers.
When you combine your belief, your attitude, your preparation, your value, and your assertiveness, the outcome is predictable: It’s more sales.
Next week is all about the assertive sales call. Get ready.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author