Tag: customers

Nix the Selfie

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

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This week we continue our series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Habit #4: Think Win Win

This concept may be the most difficult of all the habits to implement.

Double that if you are in sales. 

Why?

The first 3 habits were about us:

  • Be Proactive.
  • Begin With the End in Mind.
  • Put First Things First.

It’s EASY to think about us.

Sometimes it’s hard to think about others.

This is especially true because the game of sales rewards individual performance.

Thinking “Win Win” means each party benefits from the end result.

Thinking “Win Win” takes CONSIDERATION and EMPATHY.

Contrary to popular belief, sales is not a zero sum game.

The opposite is true.

Elite sales people are COLLABORATIVE.

They see their work through the eyes of their customer.

Elite sales people create results where both sides win.

For you to win, the other person does not have to lose.

You win.

They win.

Each party becomes more.

Give to get.

Make other people look good.

Create an environment where everyone walks away with something to brag about.

Nix the selfie.

Take the group photo.

-Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.net

 

 

Play Your “A” Game

“Intelligence is not enough.  You must create relationships.” – Tony Robbins

Proximity is power.

Our success is predicated upon our ability to access our customers.

Access enables influence.

Influence determines relevance.

There are times we need influence in places we have no access:

  • A physician won’t meet with us.
  • A pharmacy director won’t stock our new product.
  • A key administrator won’t buy into our recommendations.

Good times…

What to do?

Get creative!

This is where elite salespeople play their “A” game –

Call in your ADVOCATE.

Think of an advocate as a relationship on steroids.

An advocate is a person inside your customer’s organization that:

  • Believes in you.
  • Believes in your idea.
  • Is passionate about making things better.
  • Is willing to go to bat on your behalf to other members of their team.

Advocates bring your influence to places you are unable to access.

Advocates can facilitate change inside your customer that you can’t accomplish alone.

An advocate could be:

  • An injector.
  • Department administrator.
  • A respected RN.

How can advocates help you?

Glad you asked…

4 Ways Advocates Can 10x Your Influence:

  1. Introduce you to hard to access customers:  
    • “Dr Bill, would you mind walking me down the hall and introducing me to Dr Alison?  I have never met her.  She hasn’t responded to any of my emails.”
  2. Make New Products Available:
    • “Dr Kelly – I need your help.  Would you mind stopping down the hospital pharmacy and asking the pharmacy director to stock the 200 unit vial?  I met with her.  I don’t think I convinced her.”
  3. Get Best Practices Implemented:
    • “Cate, would be able to discuss the flow assessment recommendations with your chairmen?  Dr Andy told me nothing can move forward until they buy in.” 
  4. Create New Customers:  
    • “Dr Mike – Could you connect me with your new resident chiefs over email?  I will work with them on setting up that chronic migraine training we discussed.” 

Our best ideas will not always be embraced.

We will hit obstacles.

We will run into roadblocks.

Average salespeople will respond in average ways.

Don’t be average.

Play your “A” Game…

-Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.net

 

 

 

Be On Alert

“Find out something personal.  Do something memorable.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

No access, no nothing.

It doesn’t matter if it’s your 1st week or 10th year.

Your goal is the same:

  • Get invited in.
  • Get invited back.

The Vibe will jump start 2017 by focusing on strategies & tactics that increase our most valuable asset…

Access.

To have access to our top customers, we must be perceived as having the 6 B’s dialed in:

  • Be engaging
  • Be valuable
  • Be prepared
  • Be trustable
  • Be brief
  • Be gone

The best way to ENGAGE a hard to access customer is to focus on their interests.

You have to do your homework.

  • What’s new in your customer’s world?
  • What has their attention?
  • What do they do in their free time?

Enter Google Alerts.

Google alerts can be your secret weapon for new customer information.

Google Alerts scans the web.

It delivers a report to your inbox each week about anything new that hit the web about your customer.

  • Did your customer just win an award from some obscure society?
  • Did an alumni newsletter just do a feature story on your customer?
  • Was your customer just interviewed on a podcast?
  • Did your customer just complete their 1st Iron Man?

If it hit the web, Google Alerts keeps you in the know.

So how does this increase your access?

Glad you asked.

Imagine writing your customer a hand written note congratulating them on finishing their 1st Iron Man.

Then you follow up a few days later with an email asking them to meet to discuss a new idea that may help streamline their reimbursement processes?

You just tripled your chances of meeting a previously non-responsive customer.

Or combine this with “Before we get started…” for a killer way to expand your time with a transactional customer:

  • “Dr Meredith – I have a new idea for that resident training we discussed. But before we get started… I listened to that podcast you were on.  How did that come about?”

Find ways to create and expand access.

Or lose to someone who does.

-Joe Ciccarone

The Big 3

“There are 3 things every successful salesperson needs: the right mindset, a refined skillset, and an effective tool kit.” – The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need

Mindset is everything.

We must dial in the right mindset before we go anywhere near a customer.

Below are 3 questions that will help you create a killer pre-call mindset.

These 3 questions are applicable to any selling situation.

Below each question is a micro question related to our customers.

Mentally rehearse these before your next appointment:

  • 1) What can I LEARN?
    • What’s been their experience?
    • What do they perceive?
    • What outcomes do they see?
    • What’s most important to them?
    • Where are they apathetic?
  • 2) What VALUE can I bring?  
    • How comfortable are they with dosing?
    • When do they hold off injecting?
    • What muscles are they afraid to inject?
    • How strong is their reimbursement?
    • How efficient is their schedule?
    • What are they working on in the new year?
  • 3) What ACTIONS can we take?  
    • What idea can we agree upon?
    • What 1 patient can we identify?
    • Who can I connect this customer to?
    • Who can this customer introduce me to?
    • What project can we work on together?

LEARN what’s going on inside your customer’s head.

Bring VALUE to every interaction.

Facilitate ACTION.

Do these 3 consistently, take your access and influence to the next level.

#TheBig3

-Joe Ciccarone

The Art of the Start

“Every day the world you live in is created by your attitude.” – Zig Ziglar

Sales professionals live in a sea of rejection.

It’s an occupational hazard.

We hear “No” infinitely more than “Yes!”.

Our job is to weather adversity and keep our positive attitude flowing.

Nothing will destroy your success (or career) faster than a poor attitude.

The good news is that we control 100% of our attitude.

Start each day by creating the attitude you want to bring into the world.

Here’s the advice a mentor gave me:

  • Wake up 15 minutes earlier.
  • Read from a positive, thought provoking book for 10 minutes.
  • Write the best idea you learned in a journal.

This process pushes out any negative thoughts floating in your head when you wake up.

It fills that negative space with positive.

It’s one of my favorite parts of the day.

As an added bonus, in just a few weeks, you will create a KILLER JOURNAL filled with the best ideas you ever came across.

It’s a simple process, but CONSISTENCY is key.

Like bathing, this must be done daily to be effective.

Our minds will go in the direction they are pointed.

What we think about becomes our reality.

We are 100% responsible for the energy we bring into each room.

It’s up to us to bring our best self to our family, friends, & customers.

Wake up positive.  Live positive.

Get your morning right, the rest of the day follows.

#StartRight

-Joe

*** If you would like 12 AWESOME books to consider, click THIS LINK.

 

 

 

Don’t Be Sorry

“When customers yell at you, or blame you, don’t say, “I’m sorry.” Just say, “Thank you!” – Jeffrey Gitomer 

It’s inevitable…

Something is going to go wrong with your product or service.

You’re going to walk into one of your busiest offices and run face first into an angry customer.

Your fault or not, the customer is going to take their frustration out on you.

The interaction usually begins like this:

  • Your customer looks at you and says ,“I need to talk to you. Come in here.”
  • You get hustled into an empty exam room.
  • The door is shut a bit too energetically.

Game on…

When this happens, no matter how upset your customer is, DO NOT say “I’m sorry.”

Thank them!

They just gave you an amazing opportunity to connect & prove the type of value you can bring them.

When you respond:

  • Take full responsibility for fixing their situation.
  • Substitute the words, “I’m sorry,” with the words, “Thank you!”

The situation may be about finances.  It may be a misunderstanding.  It may be real or perceived.

Whatever it is, thank them:

  • “Dr Matt – Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I really appreciate you letting me know your perspective.  I will work on this immediately and fix this for you.”

The advantages of “Thank You!” vs. “I’m Sorry.”:

  • Creates an opening to partner with your customer.
  • Turns an obstacle into an opportunity.
  • Shows your desire to take action.
  • Exhibits a ton of self-confidence.

If you feel personally responsible for what happened, add:

  • “I apologize this happened.  You got my word I will fix this.”

Being confronted by a customer is not fun, but it’s an awesome opportunity to take your relationship to the next level.

It’s not what happens, it’s how you respond.

Respond by empathizing, engaging, & serving.

#Mindset

-Joe

 

The Last Time

“Start where you finish.”

One of the first principles you learn in public accounting is that your ending balance becomes your starting point for the next period.

This principle is just as important in the world of selling.

A killer way to start your customer conversations is by picking up where you left off.

“The last time we spoke…“

Use this phrase to set up your OPENING.

This phrase is engaging and grabs the customer’s attention.

Make this tactic even more impactful by adding “you said..” at the end.

  • Dr Dawn – “The last time we spoke you said…there were 2 patients you identified for chronic migraine treatment.  I’m following up to see how their injections went?”
  • Dr Jamie – “The last time we spoke you said…it may be time to conduct a chronic migraine training for the residents.  I’m here to see if we can schedule a date?”
  • Dr Kris – “The last time we spoke you mentioned…you heard that the department was losing money on Botox.  I am here to see if we can set up a meeting with your billing staff and our business practice specialist.”
  • Dr Andreas – “The last time we spoke you asked me … to get you a list of ULS proctors.  I have 3 names for you.”

“The last time we spoke…”:

  • Gets your customer’s attention
  • Builds on your previous work
  • Creates a call continuim

#ConnectTheDots

-Joe

Power Up

“Small salespeople ask weak questions.” – Anthony Iannarino

Our job is to ask power questions to people in power.

Below are 3 POWER QUESTIONS to ask your thought leaders, chairpersons, & key influencers:

  • “_______________ has been a hot topic to many of our top customers, how are you handling this?”
  • “As you look out to the year ahead, what is the most exciting project you are working on?”
  • “From your perspective, what is the most important issue we should be discussing today?”

#PowerUp

-Joe Ciccarone

Level Up

The fastest way to level up your sales game is to ask better questions.

These 3 questions generate awesome dialogue:

  • “When you see ________,  what treatment options come to mind?”
  • “What type of outcome are you looking to get when you _______?”
  • “What has been your experience with _________?”

“Questions are to sales what oxygen is to life.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

#RaiseYourGame

 –Joe Ciccarone

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