What Happens With NOTHING?

by Jeff Seeley, CEO, Carew International, Inc.

As I sit here today, I am thinking about… NOTHING. That is not to say I’m not thinking about anything. I am thinking about the concept of “NOTHING,” because “NOTHING” is what a lot of folks out here in the business world are doing these days. I have found myself witnessing friends, peers, and business leaders alike doing NOTHING a lot lately. Given the uncertainty in the world economy etc., we could all find a lot of reasons to do NOTHING.

I must admit, there is a certain beauty to NOTHING. There is little-to-no brain activity required; no rejection; and certainly no failure, which we all hate. NOTHING is very seductive in its evil way of luring us into thinking it is the safest course. Particularly in the sales arena, there can be a temptation to lay low; that doing NOTHING will keep you or your company out of the spotlight. The spotlight is where one can be seen, assessed and judged. After all, in these tough times our customers are overwhelmed with their own problems, looking for places to cut. If you can just stay out of the crosshairs...

The problem with NOTHING is that it sounds harmless. It is anything but. NOTHING is worse than starting Something and Failing. If you are doing NOTHING, you’re not even in the game. There is no chance of winning if you’re not even playing. Doing NOTHING is a self fulfilling prophecy for customers looking to cut dead wood. Who’s not contributing to their bottom line? Who’s not adding value? That would be the sales rep from ABC Company, who is doing NOTHING.

And while it may seem counter intuitive, doing NOTHING isn’t really as effortless as it sounds. For those of us who are motivated and have high performance standards, doing NOTHING takes a great deal of effort as well as a certain amount of willpower. In fact, it is an outright energy drain.

If it all came down to losing a customer, a deal, your job, your company (whatever is important to you) would you rather have lost in a spectacular manner -- using every resource, creative thought and effort you could summon -- or receive the dreaded phone call knowing your effort was NOTHING, Zilch, Nada?

So stop doing NOTHING and start SOMETHING...ANYTHING! Even if you fail with great drama and flair, there is always a reward for the effort -- be it learning, new opportunities, new creative approaches to the market or new opportunities inside of your prospects and customers. Get out there and be seen, listen and get in the game. And let’s face it, if we are giving a true effort, there is always the possibility that we can win.

NOTHING is seductive, but do not heed its siren call. Just do SOMETHING!!!!

What Are Your Odds?

Chuck Terry
Executive Vice President & CSO, Carew International, Inc.



Okay, here is the set up: it is the end of the month, and you are already struggling to make your numbers, when the phone rings. It is your best client calling. Well actually, that isn’t a strong enough reference, because this client represents about 20% of your monthly sales. Great client, essential client… I think you get the point. The call goes something like, “Hello, this is Bob Smith with ABC Company.” You are already nervous because Bob never sounds that stiff and formal. He continues with “I need you to get down here as quickly as possible because I am very upset and we need to talk.” Once your heart is out of your throat, you ask what is troubling him. To this, he only replies, “you really need to get here as soon as you can, so we can discuss this in person.”

Wow, it sounds bad… so you race to your car and begin a frantic journey across town. Now, mentally freeze the story right there (in your car as you are flying through traffic) and try to imagine the mental talk show playing inside your head. If you are like most people, you are trying to think about what might have gone wrong. You are calling shipping, billing, and anyone else you can reach, looking for clues to tip you off about what may have happened. But here is the catch: The Odds Are Two to One that you are thinking about the entire situation in terms of how it will impact YOU if you don’t handle things well with Bob. You are thinking about how YOU will deal with the loss if Bob pulls the business, where YOU could go to make up the lost business, how this could be happening to YOU, the timing couldn’t be worse for YOU. But it isn’t really about what is happening to you at all, because it’s BOB you should be focusing on. You need to understand the problem from Bob’s operating reality, not your own.

Carew International has conducted a great deal of research that verifies that “Odds Are Two to One” that you will have an inwardly focused reaction in this type of scenario and fall into what we call the “Odds Are Dilemma.” We call it a “dilemma” because at the times when you most need to be focused on your customer’s business reality, there is a 67% chance you will be focused on your own and processing everything the other person says in terms of “how does this impact me?”

While this is a perfectly natural reaction for all of us, it can be highly unproductive -- particularly in a business situation. In our programs, we teach a very powerful antidote for the “Odds Are Dilemma.” In the end, it is about finding a way to get out of our “Odds Are” and into the customer’s. In the case of Bob, you should carefully listen to what has happened to upset him, let him know you are paying attention and don’t rush into problem solving mode until you have given him a chance to explain himself completely. Once you are absolutely sure you are in alignment in your understanding of the situation from Bob’s perspective, you can offer solutions to rectify the problem. Bob will feel like his concerns were not only addressed, but that he was allowed to become part of the solution.

If you go through the business day operating from your own “Odds Are” the “Odds Aren’t” very good that you will be as successful in solving the problems of your next unhappy client.

Prospecting: Don’t Get Tied Up In “Nots” Over This!

Ed Albertson
Vice President of National Accounts, Carew International

By most measures, prospecting is one of the least-welcome aspects of the sales profession. Call it what you will, from the unpolished “cold calling” to the more elegant “business development,” the mere mention of prospecting in any of its forms can send sales professionals into an uncontrollable flurry of activity involving anything else but. However, by avoiding a few obvious traps, a sales professional can actually come to excitedly anticipate the thrill of prospecting and get gratifying results doing it.

Let’s take a look at untying five of those “nots” that can undermine your prospecting efforts:

Not knowing who to call
Narrow your audience to those who would a) know you; b) be interested in you and what you do; c) care about what you can do for them; and d) be able to act or get others to act on what you offer. Define your prospecting audience too broadly and you waste time and energy; define it too narrowly, and you miss opportunities.

Not getting through
Like Tom Cruise’s character in the movie Jerry McGuire, you stand a better chance of being successful if you “have them at hello.” The name of the game is really about getting attention in a busy and sensory-over-loaded business world. That means your chances of getting through are completely dependent upon a) luck, or b) an exciting headline that grabs attention in mere seconds -- quite literally, the time it takes to read it. For e-mails and letters, that attention-getter will be written; for voice-mails and actual person-to-person contact (in the unlikely event that your prospect answers the phone), that attention-getter will be auditory. In either case, carefully plan and deliver an arresting, simple, direct and creative “headline” message that will lead a prospect to desire more of what you have to say.

Not having anything of interest
Customer interest levels are compromised by 1) distraction overload and 2) continuous partial attention. Both are a product of our technology and pacing, and neither tolerates anything that appears to be irrelevant to the moment. Beyond your headline, your main message needs to contain information that your prospect doesn’t know, hasn’t thought about too much, or has thought about in an entirely different direction from how you present it. By default, most of us today are just-in-time, opportunistic listeners. As a result, the main message you deliver to your prospect better be relevant to their business, their company, their role, and their responsibilities or they’ll move on to something that is.

Not having anything compelling (urgent interest)
Even if your prospect has some interest in the topic you offer, deciding to act upon that interest is based upon their level of urgency. Buried deep in the reptilian portion of the all-too-human brains of decision makers there lurks the pain and pleasure motivations derived from centuries of survival. In a hostile world, hesitation could mean extinction and sudden movement brings rapt, momentary attention followed by a quick assessment around “Will it hurt?” or “Will it feel good?” In other words, you and your prospect both need to understand how much worse or better their condition could become, based upon the issue that has drawn their attention in the first place. A well-placed, well-worded and brief question by you is the best method for jointly exploring that level of urgency.

Not following through
Finally, just as your prospects are just-in-time, opportunistic listeners, you, too, have your limits of interest as the hunter. When it comes to prospecting, the most common mistake is lack of tenacity to keep the momentum necessary to gain and keep the prospect’s attention. Worthy pursuit requires worthy effort. And that means anywhere from five to seven to infinite attempts to make contact with your prospects is not an unreasonable expectation, restricted only by the court-ordered cessation of stalking-like behaviors which forces you to stop and move on. Your energy should evolve from your intent. Do you really need to get through to your prospect or are you willing to let your competition persist and make the contact you wish you had?

Mastering the art and science of prospecting doesn’t have to be painful and is typically a very necessary skill set for any sales professional. In addition to the obvious pursuit of new customers, the same skill set can be used for penetrating existing accounts and developing new business opportunities. There’s no need to stay tied up in “nots” when it comes to prospecting. Focus and determination can turn a tangle of activity into a lifeline of results.

5 Tips for Growing your Business during Tough Economic Times

by Chuck Terry
Executive Vice President and CSO, Carew International, Inc.

I would contend that selling is never easy. But during tough economic times, it gets even more difficult. Try as you might --turn off the television, turn off the radio, drop your newspaper subscription -- but you still can’t escape the economic reality that your customers are facing. Here are five essential practices for selling during tough times:

1. Work your relationships -- People still buy from people. The tighter things become, the more importance placed on every purchasing decision. When you can’t afford to make a mistake, buying from someone you trust is even more of a must. These are the times to work your personal relationships and business networks harder than ever. Networking into an opportunity as someone who can be trusted may be the edge you need in earning new business.



2. Stay close to your existing customers- While this habit is always important, it is even more so during tough times. Not only can you help them by adding value during difficult times, but that assistance gains you more loyalty at a time when your clients may be forced to re-examine everything. You may not get new business in the short term from these efforts, but it may keep you from replacing lost business in the future. The long term effect of this renewed focus may very well be eventual business growth within existing accounts.
   
   
3. Make the extra call- Each day as you are ready to call it quits, make one more call. Don’t just make any call. Make a call to one of your top, but more difficult, opportunities. Over the course of a normal work year, this simple practice will result in over 250 additional calls to your best potential customers. Not only that, but often you will find access to decision makers is easier at the end of the day after ”gate keepers” have gone home. Chances are your competitors have quit for the day as well! This is a great habit to get into anyway, because it could just be your best call of the day.
   
   
4. Focus on the positive- It is easy to become discouraged, especially when trying to sell through tough times. Keep focused on the fact that not every company out there is just trying to hold on. There are many companies, just like yours, which are committed to growing while others are wringing their hands. Go find them!
   
   
5. Sharpen the saw- Get plenty of rest, exercise, and make sure you are taking care of yourself. It is easy to run yourself down when things are tough and you’re putting in extra time and effort. But this is also the time when you need all the energy you can get. Make sure you are getting good quality time at home with the family as well. And when you are finally done for the day (after that one extra call) really be done until tomorrow.

There is plenty of news out there that could make anyone just want to crawl back into bed and say “Why bother?” It has been said that the measure of a person is not how many times they get knocked down, but how many times they get back up. Tomorrow is another day, make it great one!