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 A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 25, 2008 at 1:17 PM |
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RichBohn
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I have a nephew named Andy who is a great kid! Like a lot of recent college graduates, he is trying to do something very difficult right now - launch a new career! He is working as a Financial Advisor for one of the large brokerage firms (in the Washington, DC area.) I was surprised to learn that these firms still like to do things the old fashioned way: give the kid a desk and phone book and tell them to have at it! A weird election year and funky economy do not provide the best circumstances for launching a successful brokerage career!
Now, I am sure that Andy will do fine. He is a Duke University graduate with plenty of smarts. He was really attracted to the Washington, DC scene and worked as a political consultant and RNC fund raiser for a few years. But, now it is time to get on with a real job. His challenge is the same as many folks in that field. He is great with clients, smothering them with love and attention and lots of great advice. The trick is to cold-call his way to enough clients to earn a comfortable living before is guaranteed draw goes away. The clock is ticking!
As a caring uncle, I have tried to give him the best advice that I can but last night I had a potentially great idea. What if I asked all the sales folks (there are LOTS of you! I know for their suggestions for Andy? Why reinvent the wheel when today's internet technology makes it so easy to create a virtual MasterMind? Then, by posting things here, lots of other young sales folks might benefit as well!
So, let's do this!
What advice would you give a young sales pro? What have you learned (The hard way! that you wish someone had told you when you were just getting started? What are the great resources (books, CDs, web sites, logs, whatever! that you would recommend to the ambitious young sales pro? What are the quotes you turn to for comfort on a bad day? Whatever, you have more ideas than I do! Let's send a "Message to Andy" that will get him over the hump and on his way to a successful sales career!
Simply post your "Message to Andy" as a reply to this thread and you will make this old fart uncle proud and happy!
Thanks again for your help, Rich Bohn
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 25, 2008 at 3:50 PM |
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neulio
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Andy,
Basically, the whole deal comes down to:
Number of qualified prospects * Close Rate = Results
So, there are the two variables you need to manipulate. (Notice that unqualified prospects only count insofar as they allow you to sift through to get to qualified prospects.) Since you're looking to generate results quickly, here are some specific suggestions:
* Buy qualified prospects. There are plenty of resources to find sales prospects. Invest in getting the best ones available so you don't have to waste a lot of time with basic, low level qualifying.
* Come up with a methodology to front end process large numbers of prospects. If you have to hire someone to help you with administrative stuff, do it. As with investing in qualified prospect lists, a relatively small investment here can pay large dividends by allow you to spend your time on high level activities.
* Keep in touch. There are a hundred reasons why someone isn't ready to make a move today. Ninety-nine of them have nothing to do with you or your product. If you have identified an otherwise qualified person, then stay in touch. Their circumstances could change.
* Get referrals. When you have a good customers - and you've done a good job for them - then they are the best source of business you could possibly want. But you must always ask. "Who else should I be talking to?" is a low key question that will yield good results. (You should ask even when you don't make the sale. It's just not quite as effective.)
Those are just some thoughts off the top of my head...
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 25, 2008 at 5:22 PM |
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gpetersen
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Andy,
One of the critical issues you must face is the profile for a likely prospect? Older, more established individuals are likely to have a financial advisor; however, younger people may have not established such a relationship but have a high potential for needing such a service. This is good news for you since you have not been out of college that long and can relate to the needs of these individuals. The name of the game is to network. Where do these people congregate? Do you have access to alumni lists? Social networks? Volunteer organizations? Create a compelling message and make yourself known.
Best wishes.
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 25, 2008 at 6:27 PM |
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kraffel
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Andy,
Not sure why Uncle Rich expected me to have great insights, but here goes.
No one likes to get cold calls. So you need to get recommendations on whom to call.
But first you need to be organized. You can set something up yourself, use Salesforce.com, or use Oracle CRM OnDemand. (I'll be your uncle can recommend something.) Any of them should allow you to put in leads, track where they are from, move them along a process, and figure out where your best leads are coming from. (There are services that will populate your tool with prospects if you do want to go that way.)
Then you need to find interested people to start putting in as leads. Start with your friends, relatives, neighbors, fellow chruchgoers, etc. Ask your friends who have just graduated if they want to start investing $500 per month. Ask the people who lived on the block where you grew up if they have started planning for retirement. Tell them you will do a portfolio review for them at no charge. Build some portfolios for people and track your performance vs. some indices. Point out your sterling results when you talk to people. Or tell them you are following the recommendations of Ms. X, the chief investment officer of your firm, who has beaten the S&P by an average of x% per year for a decade. How about advertising in your church newsletter? I might, just might, get myself a website and try spending $1000 on Google so that when someone searches for a financial advisor in your locale your name pops up. If you are tracking, you can see how effective this is.
Everytime someone expresses satisfaction with what you have done, get a recommendation for someone else. After all, you are doing them a favor. You are helping them plan for the future. Tell friends that you will buy them a bottle of champagne (or a 6 pack of beer) for every recommendation they give you that turns into a meeting.
It's a start. Good luck.
Keith
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 26, 2008 at 9:10 AM |
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schmonsees
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All the ideas the other guys have given are great. There are only two things that I can add and they are a bit more philosophical.
1. The reality is that you never know ahead of time which call will light a spark or turn into something great for both you and the customer. So, as hard as it is, try to look at each call as an opportunity not a task.
2. Then, try to look at that opportunity not as an opportunity to make a sale but as an opportunity to help someone. If you approach calls like this, you will find that you listen better and be in a much better position to make a suggestion to help that person even if it does not immediately lead to a sale for you. Remember what goes around comes around so always try to add value with each call in some way.
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| My Friend Andy Birol passed this good article along! |
| Posted On Apr 26, 2008 at 5:19 PM |
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RichBohn
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A Young Clevelander's Guide to Success
See: http://www.andybirol.com/article_read.asp?id=363
From Andy Birol
Owner, Birol Growth Consulting
Helping Owners Get There
www.birolsblog.com
www.andybirol.com
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 26, 2008 at 8:39 PM |
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DavidLee
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First, let me say that I am impressed with the advice everyone has given and I second their comments. On a more tactical level:
One of the things that I would avoid is the tired trick of asking for permission to call back when you have a killer opportunity. Almost everyone sees through that ploy (I get at least two or three of those a month). Instead, ask respectful and logical qualifying questions and ask for permission to put them on your email newsletter list if their answers indicate that they would be interested.
If they already have a consultant, dont try to convince them to change. Instead, congradulate them on having found someone with whom they are comfortable and ask if you can keep in touch. Remind them that things change. Their person could leave the industry or their needs could change in the future, and you just want to stay in communication.
These are reasonable, non-manipulative approaches and they can be easily supported by your CRM system.
This approach will generate a great book of business. Unfortunately, it takes time before it really works. A much faster approach is to get referrals.
You must ask for referrals whenever you can. And you must know how to ask. Develop a list of 12 or more questions such as
Who do you know who has been complaining about his broker
Who do you know who has changed jobs and has to roll over his IRA
Who do you know who has [fill in the blanks based on your own expertise]
The questions should be based on pain points that are easy for the person you are speaking with to understand and identify. The implication is that you will help their friend address a specific problem rather than simply try to sell him.
This is effective because most people will not be able to think of a good person for you to call, but may well remember a person who has a particular problem. Next time you ask that person for a referral, use a differene question. Take multiple rifle shots instead of a shotagun approach.
If you cannot directly help a person, then try to refer him to someone who can. Do whatever you can to make sure that person benefited from his conversation with you. That will make him more likely to turn to you in the future if he needs your services. It will give you a basis for asking him for a referral. And it will give you a story to tell to the person who referred you. Which brings us to:
Always follow up on referrals and always report back to the referring party. Never disclose confidential details, but let him know it was a positive experience for the referee (which is one reason that you must make every effort to make it so). This is the single best way to get additional referrals. For example:
I called Joe and we had a nice chat. I was not able to directly help him. However, we plan to talk again in 6 months, and meanwhile I referred him to XXX. Based on our conversation, Joe thinks that XXX will be able to help him.
Note that you do not say that YOU think XXX will be able to help Joe. JOE thinks so. Also, you had a nice chat. Joe was pleased. Your referrer is now more comfortable in referring others.
Again, your CRM system is vital for getting referrals this way. You need to follow up and report back 100% of the time, which is almost impossible without a good system.
One other point: Even though this is a web forum, I would be happy to meet you in person if you would like to discuss it further. My office is in Fairfax so I am pretty close to you.
Dave Lee
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 27, 2008 at 12:16 PM |
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budelsea
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LISTEN!!!
Andy, I don't know anything about your background so I'm not going to assume you've had any formal sales or communications training.
From my experience training sales professionals in the financial services industry for the past 25 years, the skill that EVERY great sales person I've met possesses is they are all GREAT listeners. And of course, I don't mean they sit there in front of a prospect just nodding their head every minute or two. I'm talking about the art and science of "Active Listening."
There are tons of great books and courses on listening. I'd suggest asking your uncle and the folks in this community what's worked well for them and the people they manage. Learn and practice the process. I practice and use it every day of my life. Or at least I try to!
Not only will being a great listener make you a better sales professional, it will enrich your life and make you a better parent, spouse, son, friend and colleague.
Best of luck young man!
Bud Elsea
Bud Elsea Productions, Inc.
Norcross, GA
Last edited on Apr 27, 2008 at 12:18 PM by budelsea.
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 27, 2008 at 5:12 PM |
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macmcintosh
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Andy, another trick is to use one-to-many direct marketing (mail, email, etc.) to keep in touch with prospects until they are sales-ready or in between sales calls. This allows you to expand the size of your prospect universe while focusing your limited one-to-one time to those who are closer to being ready to buy!
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 28, 2008 at 9:26 AM |
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jkonrath
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Andy, I just posted this article on my blog a few weeks ago. I think you'll find it helpful.
Top 5 Tips for New Sellers
I was recently asked, "If you were mentoring a new salesperson, what would be your top five sales tips and how did you learn those?"
Good question! It really got me thinking. There are so many things I'd like to tell a new seller. But what are the most important? What things could I recommend that would have the highest impact on success?
After serious deliberation, here are my thoughts ...
1. Focus on making a difference.
Nobody cares about your product, service or solution. That's the hardest thing for sellers to realize. All they care about is the difference you can make for their organization.
For example, today I sell sales training. If I'd call a VP of Sales and mention that, they'll tell me their not interested. However, once I changed my focus to the tangible outcomes they'd get from using my sales training, the door opened wide. After all, they were extremely interested in shortening their sales cycle, reducing the ramp up time for new hire sales reps and driving revenue growth.
2. Slow down to speed up your sales.
This was one of the hardest things for me to learn. When I first started selling, I was so eager to be successful. I tried to wow my prospects with my great product knowledge. I closed often and early. But the more I tried to rush things, the more resistant to moving forward my prospects became. They'd throw out obstacles and objections that I couldn't overcome. When I learned to slow down, parcel information out over multiple meetings, and simply advance the sales process one step at a time, suddenly my sales increased.
You can read more on my Selling to Big Companies blog. A number of other people have added their two cents as well, so it's worth visiting at http://sellingtobigcompanies.blogs.com
Wishing you great success,
Jill Konrath
Author, Selling to Big Companies[/url]
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 28, 2008 at 11:51 AM |
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woodmancy
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Hi Andy:
I see that you have a good educational background to get into finance. That's the first step. But where to you go to get education in sales? Some universities are offering programs in sales, but one of my pet peeves is "not enough"
I'm just doing a second book on sales methodology - here is chunk from the introduction. Very relevant I think!
"The reader of this book will likely be a salesperson or someone who has a vital interest in sales. Most salespeople gravitate to selling in a roundabout way, arriving from previous experiences in other parts of the company. While in their teens, most of them don’t have an early vision of wanting to be in sales. Many doctors do, and dentists, maybe lawyers, geologists, engineers, but, salespeople? People usually get enticed across the line into sales after demonstrating strong track records of commitment to the customer. They are reckoned to be the strongest candidates for the front line job of convincing customers in competitive situations.
Because of this roundabout route that leads to their careers, salespeople often don’t get a step-by-step grounding in the essentials of sales. Other professions (yes, selling is a profession), start with formal training programs, usually within intense academic environments over a periods of years. I’m sure that most salespeople would admit that they never had that – they picked up the talent by doing the job. Don’t get me wrong, a salesperson can have an MBA or a degree in science or the arts, but won’t have earned a formal qualification for selling. But, the story is changing. Universities are beginning to offer comprehensive programs on selling, but only after listening to persistent appeals from the corporate world. Business leaders have discovered that an effective, performing sales team has a dramatic effect on the health of a company."
So the message is: if you have not had a formal grounding in the way to sell, you have to go get it yourself. You can't rely on your company to do it - often they won't. But there is plenty of good stuff out there. Find something that starts at the bottom and works up. Mostly, sales training assumes that you know the bottom, when you don't!
Good luck,
Wonderful profession to be in.
Keith
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| Good Luck! |
| Posted On Apr 28, 2008 at 12:40 PM |
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rlombardo
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Andy,
Lots of luck in your new and honorable career. I recommend you do two things. One, subscribe to Selling Power magazine for only $27 per year. It contains very useful articles and tips on selling. Visit http://www.sellingpower.com/shop/template.asp?Action=Item&pid=SP05364&pageTitle=MagazineXXZZSubscription
Second, read articles I've written for my monthly newsletter called "got sales?". They are free and hopefully useful to you. Visit http://gotsales.blogspot.com/ to access the archives of these free newsletters.
Lots of luck.
Russ Lombardo
PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC
702-997-4451
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| Re: A Message for Andy! |
| Posted On Apr 28, 2008 at 2:16 PM |
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dleehym
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Quote:
I have a nephew named Andy who is a great kid! Like a lot of recent college graduates, he is trying to do something very difficult right now - launch a new career! He is working as a Financial Advisor for one of the large brokerage firms (in the Washington, DC area.) I was surprised to learn that these firms still like to do things the old fashioned way: give the kid a desk and phone book and tell them to have at it! A weird election year and funky economy do not provide the best circumstances for launching a successful brokerage career!
Now, I am sure that Andy will do fine. He is a Duke University graduate with plenty of smarts. He was really attracted to the Washington, DC scene and worked as a political consultant and RNC fund raiser for a few years. But, now it is time to get on with a real job. His challenge is the same as many folks in that field. He is great with clients, smothering them with love and attention and lots of great advice. The trick is to cold-call his way to enough clients to earn a comfortable living before is guaranteed draw goes away. The clock is ticking!
As a caring uncle, I have tried to give him the best advice that I can but last night I had a potentially great idea. What if I asked all the sales folks (there are LOTS of you! I know for their suggestions for Andy? Why reinvent the wheel when today's internet technology makes it so easy to create a virtual MasterMind? Then, by posting things here, lots of other young sales folks might benefit as well!
So, let's do this!
What advice would you give a young sales pro? What have you learned (The hard way! that you wish someone had told you when you were just getting started? What are the great resources (books, CDs, web sites, logs, whatever! that you would recommend to the ambitious young sales pro? What are the quotes you turn to for comfort on a bad day? Whatever, you have more ideas than I do! Let's send a "Message to Andy" that will get him over the hump and on his way to a successful sales career!
Simply post your "Message to Andy" as a reply to this thread and you will make this old fart uncle proud and happy!
Thanks again for your help, Rich Bohn |
Andy - as a very successful salesperson long ago, despite lacking obvious sales skills other than listening, I'll share this with you. A big part of the secret to sales success is organization. The average sales person wastes at least 50% of his or her time. Some of that waste goes into not focusing and promptly achieving necessary tasks (and successful selling requires far more than making sales calls); part goes into poor scheduling of calls; some goes into making non-productive calls to prospects who are willing to see you as a courtesy but have very limited potential (all salespeople think they can talk blood out of a stone); and some is a by-product of lethargy (I think I've accomplished enough today). Being brutally organized and dsiciplined makes all the difference in the wqorld.
Good luck,
Dick Lee[/quote]
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| Message to Andy |
| Posted On Apr 28, 2008 at 2:52 PM |
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BernieG
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Hi Andy,
You've really received some great advice from all of your uncle's expert friends. I would only add that you really need to create some uniqueness to get someone's attention on the telephone. If you can create a strong offer made very early in the call you can give the potential customer a reason to talk further. It maybe possible to purchase or license an article that the prospect can want to receive.
The two most common offers used to promote from business to business are send for additional information or have a salesperson call. Neither of these offers is exciting or descriptive. Most of us have a fear of being sold by a salesperson and will avoid meeting with them if at all possible. As the lead generation program is planned and implemented, there is little or no thought given to the offer that will be promoted.
The trick in creating an exciting offer is to answer the question of "what's in it for me?" Virtually anyone you contact will immediately be defensive when they receive your call - it would be smart to overcome their fear by offering them something that has high perceived value.
Like the others who have responded to this thread I receive multiple calls each week about investment advice - the calls typically end abrubtly with "I'm not interested!" If you can start a call with how you obtained the name, why you're calling and what you have as an offer which will allow you to call back and discuss your services the call might go easier. For example, Hi Bernie, I got your name from Rich Bohn and he suggested I call to offer to send you an article he found intersting about why traditional strategies won't work in 2008. I'd like to send you the article and than call back to discuss your reaction. Can I send this out to you today?
Bernie Goldberg
Direct Marketing Publishers
bernie@dmpublishers.com
www.dmpublishers.com
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