The two least understood words in sales are also the most powerful.
Both of the words are related.
Both of the words have nothing and everything to do with the sale.
Both of the words have more power than any other fact or figure about your product or service.
Both of the words determine your understanding of the selling process and how it relates to your sales success.
Neither of the words currently appear in your slide presentation or your sales presentation.
The words are ‘ownership’ and ‘outcome.’
When someone comes into your place of business, or you call on someone, or someone calls you to buy, or someone goes to your website to buy, it’s based on the same reason: they want to take ownership.
And after ownership, they have an expectation of how they will use, enjoy, and profit from the purchase. That’s called outcome. And customers have an expectation of it BEFORE they purchase.
I don’t go into a car dealership to buy a car. In my mind I’ve already bought the car. The reason I’m there is to get back and forth to work. Or show my customers how cool I am. Or show my neighbors how cool I am. Or take vacations with my family.
Those are outcomes.
What happens AFTER I take ownership of whatever it is you’re selling is one billion times more powerful than the sale itself. Salespeople who focus on ‘trying to sell’ miss the entire opportunity to engage the customer emotionally about how they will enjoy, produce more, and profit more from the purchase – from ownership.
NOTE WELL: In the sales process, it’s broken down to: What’s the real need? What’s the real urgency? What’s the real desire? Who is the competition? Does the prospect have the budget or the money? Do I understand the customer and his or her business? Have I emotionally engaged them? Do they like me? Do they believe me? Do they have confidence in me? Do they trust me? And am I good enough to gain commitment?
That’s a pretty complete list. But those answers pale in comparison to “ownership” and “outcome.”
What will the customer do after they take ownership? What does the customer want the outcome of their purchase to be? And as a salesperson that needs to be your focus.
THE BEST NEWS IS: Neither ownership nor outcome have anything to do with price. They have everything to do with the emotion of the sale. And your main job as a salesperson is to find out why they want to take ownership, and what they expect the outcome to be after they take ownership.
It is a visualization process. You literally paint a picture of what you believe will happen to the customer once they possess what it is you’re selling. And please do not misinterpret this lesson as only for a ‘product’ sale. Service is sold exactly the same way.
I don’t want to pay an annual maintenance fee. Rather, I want peace of mind that if my air conditioner, or my heater, or my copy machine, or my roof needs repair that someone will be there to do it in a heartbeat. Terms and conditions are one thing – that’s the cost. Peace of mind is another thing – that’s the value, that’s the outcome, and that’s what I am buying.
And more often than not, it is NOT what you’re selling.
Here’s what to do:
Review your entire sales presentation. See what percentage, if any, focuses on the pride of ownership and the outcome of ownership.
Allocate presentation time to outcome. If, as I suspect, there is little or nothing about ownership and outcome, then I recommend at least 25% of your presentation focus on it.
It begins by asking questions. Questions that will get you to the motive of why the customer wants to buy. Questions that will get you to the understanding of when they want to buy, and why that’s important to them. Questions about their past history as it relates to your product or service. And questions about how they intend to use your product or service once it is purchased.
Questions will generate dialogue. Emotional dialogue. Emotional dialogue trumps price. Once your customer or your prospective customer understands how they win, how they will enjoy, how they will benefit from, how they will produce from, and how they will profit from what it is that you’re selling, then you can get down to buyer urgency.
Get to their urgency. The more emotional the dialogue, the more ‘urgency’ will become evident. And the less important price becomes.
KEY POINT OF IMPLEMENTATION: Visit customers who have already purchased your product or service. Discover how they use and benefit from ownership of your product. Document everything you find. Don’t try to remember anything. Write it all down.
Visit at least 10 customers. At the completion of those visits you will have all the information you need about ownership and outcome. You will have a new and more powerful presentation. You will also make more sales. And that’s an outcome you can bank on.
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.pngStrategyDriven2013-06-24 06:07:442016-08-07 20:38:35Make a sale or create an outcome? One has more power.
When examining organizational performance, assessors too often fall into the trap of concluding that the absence of adverse outcomes indicates a lack of underlying performance issues. This is an evidential fallacy. Many organizational shortfalls exist without causing consequential outcomes for reasons of redundant barrier prevention, lack of recognition, or simply blind dumb luck. The lack of a noticeable consequence does not necessarily equate to an absence of an issue; it simply means that the problem itself, up until the point of examination, has not manifested itself in a substantial outcome.
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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.
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Hello Mr. Gitomer, I read your article on LinkedIn in the Daily Herald Business Ledger here in the Chicago Suburbs. I am a fan. You make great points and observations that many people miss. I’m in the process of retooling my profile. I can’t help but to ask if you have ever made a sale through LinkedIn? Thanks, Kyle
The simple answer is YES. But it ain’t that simple.
I have a business brand, a personal brand, and a social brand. All of which are interconnected. All of which are mature. All of which provide value messages. All of which create attraction. All of which generate leads. All of which make sales.
MY MARKETING MANTRA IS THE CORE OF MY SOCIAL EFFORT: I put myself in front of people that can say ‘yes’ to me and I deliver value first.
Long before social media, or as I prefer to refer to it business social media, my marketing mantra was the hallmark of my sales success. As a writer and speaker in the early ’90s, I built my brand in print media and created attraction through value messaging. Still do.
It was hard to create attraction (leads and sales) if you weren’t in print.
The HUGE difference (and your advantage) is that now there are a variety of additional media and social media outlets available. Most of them are free. And you can become attractive on all of them, if you choose the right path.
The value messaging path.
The path that will attract the all-important CLICK.
CLICK means someone wants to see more.
Especially if they’re looking to buy or connect.
CLICK AROUND: There are very few ‘one source’ sales anymore. Too many options available. People, you included, click around before they connect, interact, and especially buy.
The omnipresence of mother Google, combined with the advent of business social media, has created new and better ways to search, find, connect, attract, and interact. And one social media outlet proves, promotes, and reinforces the other to someone that clicks around.
Everyone clicks around.
People searching do not just search one source. They keep searching until they find comfort enough to click, and click again in the same spot. And my value messages promote multiple clicks.
ONE CLICK MEANS NOTHING. One click means you get a ‘look.’ Two or more clicks on the same page or site gets a deeper look and maybe a connection. Especially in social media.
If I’m looking for someone or something, I click ALL their social media. Don’t you?
NOTE: Your customers, your prospects, and your potential connections are clicking you. And you can’t stop them.
NUMBERS MATTER: The number of followers and connections you have can be the difference between click and no click. Your prospect is seeking some comfort and assurance that you are safe to connect with or do business with.
COMMENTS, RATINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND ENDORSEMENTS MATTER MORE THAN NUMBERS: Especially in the business world. If you have 500 business connections on LinkedIn, it pales in comparison to who has recommended and endorsed you. Recommendations and endorsements are proof. So are positive ratings and comments. And many businesses live and die by them.
RULE OF THE MORE THE MORE: The more a prospective customer clicks on you and your stuff, the easier it is for them to make a buying decision in your favor. They are more likely to click if your site is easy to navigate, your information is easy to understand, there is clear value to the possible purchaser, and you offer social and video proof that others have purchased from you and love it.
FINAL POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Building and growing your ‘attraction platform’ is not just about what you say, post, or do; it’s all about what OTHERS think of what you say, post, and do combined with what actions THEY take as a result of it.
Do they post a favorable a comment? Do they re-tweet to their followers? Do they share with their connections? Do they ‘like’ you or what you do? Will they subscribe? And (of course) will they buy?
Those are the actions I seek to achieve in those who click on me.
Am I perfect at it? Heck no.
Do I work on making it better every day? Heck yes!
“OK, SO DID YOU MAKE A LINKEDIN SALE?” No, I made hundreds of them. I have more than 15,000 connections on LinkedIn, and EVERY DAY I post a value message.
Here’s what happens: People comment, people share the post with THEIR connections, people email me, and people call our office. EVERY DAY. And whether they want a twenty-dollar book or a fifty-thousand-dollar training program, the cost of that lead (and that sale) was ZERO.
Understand it was a value message that created the attraction and the sale(s), not an ad or a self-promoting message. Yes, I send out an occasional sales offer, but it’s less that 10% of the time. No one is gonna re-post an ad.
Next week you’ll see the detail of what my social game plan is, how one element ties into and supports the other, and how that creates attraction that leads to sales.
Stay tuned…
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].
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A performance measurement system’s complexity and organizational impact can bring with it many people, process, and technology challenges post implementation. For several months following a system go-live or significant upgrade, the organization adjusts its processes, procedures, and behaviors so to achieve the best possible reflected performance. This evolution is not without its costs or problems.
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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/iStock_000013738753XSmall.jpg282425Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-06-11 06:08:362020-10-24 16:12:33Post System Implementation Challenges
Most people reading this have never tweeted. (You included?) On the off chance that you have tweeted, my guess is you have less than 5,000 Twitter followers – maybe less than 500.
Whatever your situation is there’s no denying that Twitter is a major force in business social media. The next few paragraphs will challenge your thinking in regards to participation, specifically why you need to begin to take advantage of it today.
This is not simply a lesson. It’s also a perspective and a business building challenge. Or to put it into your language more sales NOW!
I began tweeting several years ago, but I didn’t really understand the impact it could make or the opportunity it presented. I just took quotes from my books and began to post them.
What happened was very surprising to me. Not only did I gain more followers, but people also began to retweet my tweets to their followers. Cool.
That put my message in front of the followers of my followers. For free. Many of their followers then became my followers. For free. Is that cool, or what?
That was 50,000 followers ago. I now have a much more sophisticated strategy to distribute my message, to add to my followers, and to gain new customers. For free.
Here are my Twitter actions and the thoughts behind them:
I tweet several times a day. I’m consistent. Never miss.
I include links to my videos or promotions on less than 30% of my tweets. Some days none.
I tweet my own thoughts 95% of the time. The other tweets are profound quotes of others, or people I believe are worth following.
I only tweet what I believe my followers will benefit from.
I tweet what I believe is valuable enough to pass along.
Here are several actual examples of my tweets:
Fear of being wrong is more powerful than risk of being right. Leaders emerge as they become fearless. #gitomer #fear #power
Social media is everywhere, you may not like it, but you can’t ignore it. #gitomer
In a nuts and bolts world, there are far too many nuts, and an extreme shortage of bolts. #gitomer #greatquote
Are you a thinker beyond your business? If not you’ll wallow in mediocrity. #gitomer #think
Two hours ago I tweeted: It’s no sin not to tweet or use Twitter, it’s just a tremendous lost opportunity to sell and become known. #gitomer #twitter #opportunity. So far this tweet has been retweeted fifteen times and seven people favored it. It has already reached more than 20,000 followers of other people. With my name on it. For free!
Two days ago, this tweet: The key to selling is to ask for the sale in a sincere, friendly manner. Don’t push or use high pressure. #sales #gitomer had twenty-four retweets and thirteen ‘favorites’ within twenty-four hours (on a SUNDAY). This tweet reached another 20,000 people. With my name on it. For free!
Three days ago, this tweet: If you lose, ask yourself this all powerful question. Did I do my BEST? If you didn’t, you’ll blame the world for your own lack of effort got fifty-six retweets and twenty-four favorites. ON A HOLIDAY. This tweet reached another 50,000 people. With my name on it. For free.
DESIRED OUTCOME: My Twitter goals are to be re-tweeted 100 times a day, be “favored” fifty times a day, and pick up 250 new followers a week. I usually tweet three or four times a day.
CAUTION: I have been tweeting for four years. In that time I have learned what to do and what not to do. I am far from an expert, but I have more followers than most people who claim they are.
The advice I’m offering is based on my own experience and my own strategy. The best advice that I can give you is to create your own strategy focused around what you believe will help your customers the most. Then follow that strategy consistently. Daily.
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.pngStrategyDriven2013-06-10 06:33:202016-08-07 20:51:06Twitter thoughts and Twitter thinking. Tweet and Re-Tweet.
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Make a sale or create an outcome? One has more power.
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerThe two least understood words in sales are also the most powerful.
The words are ‘ownership’ and ‘outcome.’
When someone comes into your place of business, or you call on someone, or someone calls you to buy, or someone goes to your website to buy, it’s based on the same reason: they want to take ownership.
And after ownership, they have an expectation of how they will use, enjoy, and profit from the purchase. That’s called outcome. And customers have an expectation of it BEFORE they purchase.
I don’t go into a car dealership to buy a car. In my mind I’ve already bought the car. The reason I’m there is to get back and forth to work. Or show my customers how cool I am. Or show my neighbors how cool I am. Or take vacations with my family.
Those are outcomes.
What happens AFTER I take ownership of whatever it is you’re selling is one billion times more powerful than the sale itself. Salespeople who focus on ‘trying to sell’ miss the entire opportunity to engage the customer emotionally about how they will enjoy, produce more, and profit more from the purchase – from ownership.
NOTE WELL: In the sales process, it’s broken down to: What’s the real need? What’s the real urgency? What’s the real desire? Who is the competition? Does the prospect have the budget or the money? Do I understand the customer and his or her business? Have I emotionally engaged them? Do they like me? Do they believe me? Do they have confidence in me? Do they trust me? And am I good enough to gain commitment?
That’s a pretty complete list. But those answers pale in comparison to “ownership” and “outcome.”
What will the customer do after they take ownership? What does the customer want the outcome of their purchase to be? And as a salesperson that needs to be your focus.
THE BEST NEWS IS: Neither ownership nor outcome have anything to do with price. They have everything to do with the emotion of the sale. And your main job as a salesperson is to find out why they want to take ownership, and what they expect the outcome to be after they take ownership.
It is a visualization process. You literally paint a picture of what you believe will happen to the customer once they possess what it is you’re selling. And please do not misinterpret this lesson as only for a ‘product’ sale. Service is sold exactly the same way.
I don’t want to pay an annual maintenance fee. Rather, I want peace of mind that if my air conditioner, or my heater, or my copy machine, or my roof needs repair that someone will be there to do it in a heartbeat. Terms and conditions are one thing – that’s the cost. Peace of mind is another thing – that’s the value, that’s the outcome, and that’s what I am buying.
And more often than not, it is NOT what you’re selling.
Here’s what to do:
KEY POINT OF IMPLEMENTATION: Visit customers who have already purchased your product or service. Discover how they use and benefit from ownership of your product. Document everything you find. Don’t try to remember anything. Write it all down.
Visit at least 10 customers. At the completion of those visits you will have all the information you need about ownership and outcome. You will have a new and more powerful presentation. You will also make more sales. And that’s an outcome you can bank on.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Evaluation and Control Warning Flag 2 – Absence of Evidence as Evidence of Absence
/in Evaluation & Control Program, Premium/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
How to make sales calls on social media. Kind of.
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerLetter from a fan:
The simple answer is YES. But it ain’t that simple.
I have a business brand, a personal brand, and a social brand. All of which are interconnected. All of which are mature. All of which provide value messages. All of which create attraction. All of which generate leads. All of which make sales.
MY MARKETING MANTRA IS THE CORE OF MY SOCIAL EFFORT: I put myself in front of people that can say ‘yes’ to me and I deliver value first.
Long before social media, or as I prefer to refer to it business social media, my marketing mantra was the hallmark of my sales success. As a writer and speaker in the early ’90s, I built my brand in print media and created attraction through value messaging. Still do.
It was hard to create attraction (leads and sales) if you weren’t in print.
The HUGE difference (and your advantage) is that now there are a variety of additional media and social media outlets available. Most of them are free. And you can become attractive on all of them, if you choose the right path.
The value messaging path.
The path that will attract the all-important CLICK.
CLICK means someone wants to see more.
Especially if they’re looking to buy or connect.
CLICK AROUND: There are very few ‘one source’ sales anymore. Too many options available. People, you included, click around before they connect, interact, and especially buy.
The omnipresence of mother Google, combined with the advent of business social media, has created new and better ways to search, find, connect, attract, and interact. And one social media outlet proves, promotes, and reinforces the other to someone that clicks around.
Everyone clicks around.
People searching do not just search one source. They keep searching until they find comfort enough to click, and click again in the same spot. And my value messages promote multiple clicks.
ONE CLICK MEANS NOTHING. One click means you get a ‘look.’ Two or more clicks on the same page or site gets a deeper look and maybe a connection. Especially in social media.
If I’m looking for someone or something, I click ALL their social media. Don’t you?
NOTE: Your customers, your prospects, and your potential connections are clicking you. And you can’t stop them.
NUMBERS MATTER: The number of followers and connections you have can be the difference between click and no click. Your prospect is seeking some comfort and assurance that you are safe to connect with or do business with.
COMMENTS, RATINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND ENDORSEMENTS MATTER MORE THAN NUMBERS: Especially in the business world. If you have 500 business connections on LinkedIn, it pales in comparison to who has recommended and endorsed you. Recommendations and endorsements are proof. So are positive ratings and comments. And many businesses live and die by them.
RULE OF THE MORE THE MORE: The more a prospective customer clicks on you and your stuff, the easier it is for them to make a buying decision in your favor. They are more likely to click if your site is easy to navigate, your information is easy to understand, there is clear value to the possible purchaser, and you offer social and video proof that others have purchased from you and love it.
FINAL POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Building and growing your ‘attraction platform’ is not just about what you say, post, or do; it’s all about what OTHERS think of what you say, post, and do combined with what actions THEY take as a result of it.
Do they post a favorable a comment? Do they re-tweet to their followers? Do they share with their connections? Do they ‘like’ you or what you do? Will they subscribe? And (of course) will they buy?
Those are the actions I seek to achieve in those who click on me.
Am I perfect at it? Heck no.
Do I work on making it better every day? Heck yes!
“OK, SO DID YOU MAKE A LINKEDIN SALE?” No, I made hundreds of them. I have more than 15,000 connections on LinkedIn, and EVERY DAY I post a value message.
Here’s what happens: People comment, people share the post with THEIR connections, people email me, and people call our office. EVERY DAY. And whether they want a twenty-dollar book or a fifty-thousand-dollar training program, the cost of that lead (and that sale) was ZERO.
Understand it was a value message that created the attraction and the sale(s), not an ad or a self-promoting message. Yes, I send out an occasional sales offer, but it’s less that 10% of the time. No one is gonna re-post an ad.
Next week you’ll see the detail of what my social game plan is, how one element ties into and supports the other, and how that creates attraction that leads to sales.
Stay tuned…
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Post System Implementation Challenges
/in Organizational Performance Measures, Premium/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a FREE StrategyDriven Insights Library – Sample Subscription. It’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required.
In addition to receiving access to Organizational Performance Measures – Post System Implementation Challenges, you’ll help advance your career and business programs through anytime, anywhere access to:
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Numerous other StrategyDriven articles provide elaborating information on how to avoid/address many of the challenge points above including:
About the Author
Twitter thoughts and Twitter thinking. Tweet and Re-Tweet.
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerMost people reading this have never tweeted. (You included?) On the off chance that you have tweeted, my guess is you have less than 5,000 Twitter followers – maybe less than 500.
Whatever your situation is there’s no denying that Twitter is a major force in business social media. The next few paragraphs will challenge your thinking in regards to participation, specifically why you need to begin to take advantage of it today.
This is not simply a lesson. It’s also a perspective and a business building challenge. Or to put it into your language more sales NOW!
I began tweeting several years ago, but I didn’t really understand the impact it could make or the opportunity it presented. I just took quotes from my books and began to post them.
What happened was very surprising to me. Not only did I gain more followers, but people also began to retweet my tweets to their followers. Cool.
That put my message in front of the followers of my followers. For free. Many of their followers then became my followers. For free. Is that cool, or what?
That was 50,000 followers ago. I now have a much more sophisticated strategy to distribute my message, to add to my followers, and to gain new customers. For free.
Here are my Twitter actions and the thoughts behind them:
Here are several actual examples of my tweets:
Two hours ago I tweeted: It’s no sin not to tweet or use Twitter, it’s just a tremendous lost opportunity to sell and become known. #gitomer #twitter #opportunity. So far this tweet has been retweeted fifteen times and seven people favored it. It has already reached more than 20,000 followers of other people. With my name on it. For free!
Two days ago, this tweet: The key to selling is to ask for the sale in a sincere, friendly manner. Don’t push or use high pressure. #sales #gitomer had twenty-four retweets and thirteen ‘favorites’ within twenty-four hours (on a SUNDAY). This tweet reached another 20,000 people. With my name on it. For free!
Three days ago, this tweet: If you lose, ask yourself this all powerful question. Did I do my BEST? If you didn’t, you’ll blame the world for your own lack of effort got fifty-six retweets and twenty-four favorites. ON A HOLIDAY. This tweet reached another 50,000 people. With my name on it. For free.
DESIRED OUTCOME: My Twitter goals are to be re-tweeted 100 times a day, be “favored” fifty times a day, and pick up 250 new followers a week. I usually tweet three or four times a day.
CAUTION: I have been tweeting for four years. In that time I have learned what to do and what not to do. I am far from an expert, but I have more followers than most people who claim they are.
The advice I’m offering is based on my own experience and my own strategy. The best advice that I can give you is to create your own strategy focused around what you believe will help your customers the most. Then follow that strategy consistently. Daily.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author