We have become a society trained by our electronic gadgets (cell phones, wireless laptops, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, and blogging). It has been suggested that laptops may soon become an endangered species with the onset of new and better technology.

Information and communication have become as convenient as fast food, and we are as impatient for our technology as we are for our food. We have all seen irate customers who make a scene because their fast food wasn’t ready and waiting before they arrived.

We want it, and we want it now!

When e-mail first came on the scene back in the late 80s, it was intended to provide communication that would allow one to respond in 3 or 4 hours. Now, if we don’t receive an instant reply, we worry we’re being ignored.

Shipley Institute has found with each new advent of technology meant to make our communication better, it really makes us lazier and more dependent. Because of this, our communication is oftentimes ineffective and impersonal.

Communication is such an important part of what we do every day, we need to understand four important elements starting with customer focused.

Be Customer Focused – Shipley Institute has chosen to use the word customer as opposed to boss, co-worker, spouse, children, or end reader. When we plan a document, we need to take time to understand who the customer will be. There are questions we need to ask, including:

• What does the customer want to see?
• What is the customer expecting?
• Is there a specific format the customer is looking for?
• Do I need to tell customers everything or just what they need to know?

These are only a few of the questions we need to consider, but as you apply this first step, you’ll uncover others.

Be Clear – make sure your message is clear, bold, and up front. Guidelines to consider include:

• Check content for accuracy and precision
• Write informative subject lines
• Place important points first
• Use informative headings
• Use emphasis techniques
• Create an appropriate tone

After you have checked for each of these, you can be confident your message will be clear to the customer, and you will have made your point.

Be Concise – Your document should read “short” regardless of its length. Use active vs. passive voice in your communication. Active is more concise and direct, so you are incorporating word use. This will involve careful planning on your part.

Use short paragraphs and call-outs to highlight or draw attention to important information. There is a golden rule to writing, and if you remember this, you will avoid common mistakes:

“Write Unto Others as You Would Have Them Write Unto You.”

Know your readers’ needs, and be sensitive to them. Anticipate their questions, including the first ones almost everyone has when receiving a document:

-  What’s new?

-  Do I need to do anything?

-  Why should I?

-  By when?

-  How?

Design messages that are visually and verbally integrated. When we say “design,” we mean organize your documents and incorporate visuals. Use bulleted lists to highlight information. Use graphics to tell a story; we have all heard the line, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” This is so true if used correctly.

Be Correct – Oftentimes, we miss this step or don’t spend enough time, and the reader can’t see past the mistakes. Don’t rely on your computer to find and correct mistakes. As great as computers are, they are no match for the human mind.

In this stage, we are looking for the mechanics of spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  Readers often base the value or creditability of a document based on its compliance with the rules of writing.

Many of us struggle with the mechanics of good writing. Here is the bad news about mechanics:

• The English language has thousands of rules about mechanics, some of which are contradictory to each other.
• Even the experts don’t always agree on the rules.
• The rules are subject to change.

The good news is that many helpful resources are available to assist us with the mechanics, including:

• On-line grammar checkers. This tool is a good place to start, but it does not replace the human eye. If you are a hopelessly bad speller, consider getting a copy of the Bad Speller’s Dictionary (Random House). This dictionary lists words as they sound and gives the correct spelling.

• Style Guides. A style guide, such as the the Franklin Covey Style Guide, provides useful information on a variety of topics, including appropriate formats. Generally, the major style guides will agree on most issues related to mechanics. Style guides we suggest include.

1. The Franklin Covey Style Guide (originally developed by Shipley Associates)
2. The Chicago Manual of Style
3. The Gregg Reference Manual

We highly recommend one last resource in ensuring your documents are correct – colleagues and bosses are a great source of help. Be careful as to how much you use them; just have them mark the errors, and you make the corrections.

• Employee Morale
• Profitability
• Liability

Employee Morale – Poor communication affects an employee’s performance in several ways:

1. Poorly written or oral instructions can lead to work being done incorrectly
2. Time and money are lost on projects because of mistakes
3. Critical information is not shared in a timely manner to the appropriate people
4. Procedures are not properly followed

Profitability – Companies lose precious time and money when projects are not completed on time. Proposals may be poorly written or non-compliant, and policies and procedures may not be followed, so fines may be accrued. Work done incorrectly adversely affects the bottom line.

Liability - Something as simple as a comma or period can cause issues with liability. Reports or specifications, if written incorrectly, increase the chance for costly mistakes. The saying “garbage in, garbage out” becomes a reality.

It’s always wise to allow your documents to cool and have another set of eyes review them. The cost is too high to allow for poor writing, and we have all learned in the past that “an ounce of prevention can save a ton of grief.”

This conceptual article applies to Sales Practices, Sales Professionals, Account Representatives, and Sales Managers. The article answers the following questions:

• What is account planning?

• What is strategic account planning?

• What is account development?

• What is strategic selling?

• How do I get into and sell the very large accounts?

• How do I know if an account could become a key account?

• How is selling to key accounts different from selling to regular accounts?

• Do I need special skills to sell a large account?

• How do I do strategic planning for a key account?

Summary

Account planning delivers proven results. A seven-step strategic account planning process works best for key accounts. Setting SMART objectives is usually sufficient planning for regular accounts. Good plans are like a road map for the sales rep to guide daily sales activities. Account planning is more than a set of tools and a system – account planning is an attitude.

Account Planning is the systematic process of developing, nurturing, and growing profitable accounts. You can do account planning at your individual sales rep, sales manager, or vice-president level. Your plan must include critical information about the account, specific sales objectives, measures of success, a timetable, resources you will require, obstacles you might encounter, and how you will deal with them.

Strategic Account Planning is the process sales reps use to position themselves with certain key accounts before the sales call. It involves following a set of steps that are transparent, logical, and repeatable, not unlike the strategic planning that executive teams do. You measure customer satisfaction with the relationship, as well as the amount of value created for the customer.

Key Accounts are those that you determine have strategic value or high-profit potential. Typically less than 10 percent of your accounts will be in this category. Key accounts require a cross-functional team approach to the sale, with you as its leader.

Account Development means to focus the company’s material and human resources in a coordinated strategy to capture an ever larger share of an account’s business by selling deeper and wider and uncovering areas to add value.

Key Concepts

The following important concepts are presented in this document:

• The strategic account planning process
• Account planning delivers results
• Stratify your accounts
• Strategic account planning works best for key accounts
• Size of the account is not the only criterion for a key account
• Do not just sell key accounts, partner with them
• Set up a central repository of information about interactions with the account
• Good plans are like a road map
• Account planning is more than a process

The strategic account planning process

Strategic account planning requires broad analysis of sales conditions, starting with a survey of your business, the industry you are in, and the current political and economic climate. Do a similar survey for each of your key accounts, and the stakeholders within the accounts, before deciding on your sales objectives. The strategic account planning process has seven steps:

1. Brainstorm changes affecting the way you do business.
2. Rate the changes as either Opportunities or Threats to your business.
3. Consider how each of the opportunities and threats you listed affects your current sales plans for each account.
4. Record any improvements that have come to mind concerning your approach to each account.
5. Update your sales plan again, this time to see if you are missing any critical information or feeling uncertain about any of the information. Also check that you contacted all the stakeholders, are up to date on any customer reorganization, and have identified the customer’s decision criteria.
6. Anticipate the customers’ response to your value proposition and plan your sales presentation accordingly.
7. Define measures of success in terms of customer value added. Formalize your plan using the SMART objectives formula. Now work your plan.

Planning for your regular accounts usually dispenses with a broad survey of business conditions. You gather information about the customer’s buying history, who makes the decision, the nature of the business, a general sense of how the business is doing, and an understanding of their immediate need. You then set sales objectives for each account, driven by your value proposition. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, results oriented, and time framed.

Account planning delivers results

As a result of key account strategy, 3M saved IBM millions of dollars a year, while increasing their yearly sales by an average of $500,000. A division of Cap Gemini, the global consulting company, experienced growth rates of 30–35 percent as a result of identifying and focusing on the their key accounts. Honeywell reduced customer costs by as much as 30 percent, while growing revenues 61 percent. How? By creating a strategic corporate accounts program. (source: Lore Research Institute)

Stratify your accounts

Not all your accounts require the same level of service, nor will they deliver the same amount of profit. Group them according to their performance, and create strategies for each group.

Try these three levels:

Level 1 Platinum: Key accounts that are performing well, which means that you are delivering maximum value for maximum profit. Your strategy with platinum accounts is to build loyalty and get referrals.

Level 2 Gold: These accounts are performing well, but there are more opportunities to add value and increase sales. Your strategy with gold accounts is to increase account penetration and turn them into key accounts.

Level 3 Bronze: Small or under-performing accounts. Your strategy with bronze accounts is to consider moving them to lower cost channels.

Strategic account planning works best for key accounts

It demands the time, resources, and payoff that only large, profitable orders from a key account can deliver. Your regular accounts require planning but should not absorb as much of your time or your company’s resources as key accounts do.

Key accounts are usually large, in terms of revenue, position in their industry, or end users of your product. They probably have multiple sites. They must have a need for your solution, or preferably multiple needs. If they are current customers, they should have an extensive buying history. They should have the potential to contribute significantly to your sales goals. Don’t overlook their potential for profit versus revenue. Perhaps proximity to your distribution/support/service should be a criterion. And they should perceive your company as capable of servicing a large account.

Size of the account is not the only criterion for a key account

Key accounts may have strategic value if they are leaders in their industry. Capturing their business may well be the key to penetrating an entire industry.

Key account sales are complex. Many people may have input into the approval or the decision, and the decision making process may not be transparent. The sales cycle is lengthy, involving a number of planned calls on the decision influencers and decision makers. And the sales are high profit, high volume – they require a significant investment of your team’s time in creating a proposal.

Don’t just sell key accounts, partner with them

To partner means to have an agreement with your customer that you will both make certain changes to add greater value to the customer’s customer. The change may mean joint product research and testing, improvements to your materials handling and production process, shared technology or co-branding. The changes usually have additional benefits for your company. You may end up with improved production or a lower cost distribution system, and in addition to satisfied customers, your customer may gain improvements in similar areas.

Set up a central repository of information about interactions with the account

Include all sales and service calls, and marketing and accounting interaction. Track all activity, with an eye for new opportunities. For example, you might recommend new products based on an analysis of service calls. Track metrics to improve your partnership. For example, tracking the number of sales visits with key contacts might be useful information in planning for a new key account.

Good plans are like a road map

Good account plans tell you how to approach your customer, when to approach, what issues to address, and what services potentially to provide. They also warn you of obstacles to the sale you might encounter, and ideas for dealing with them. Good plans also identify sources of support for you. One might be your sales manager; another might be an engineer who worked on a previous project for the customer.

In addition to specific resources for each account, you should have a network of people you can talk to about challenges you experience in planning and selling. Perhaps there is a tip club or a sales network that meets regularly. Maybe it is a colleague, certainly it should be your sales manager, or it could even be a professional sales coach. A good sales coach should deliver a 10 to 1 return on your investment.

Account planning is more than a process

Account planning is not just a process and set of tools; it is an attitude. It is a positive attitude born of the belief that account planning is a good investment of a sales rep’s time, that plans become self-fulfilling prophecies, that accountability with responsibility is a great motivator, that account planning is a professional activity, and that professionalism in sales counts.

Use your account plan daily to prioritize your sales activities. Consult it when you feel like you are “spinning your wheels.” Use it to measure your progress and to celebrate small victories along the way to big wins.

This best practice article applies to Sales Representatives. The article answers the following questions:

• Why should I pursue this practice?
• What is a typical profile of the consumer?
• Will the Customer develop a short list of vendors or solution providers before a formal presentation or as a result of a presentation?
• Who will attend a sales presentation and what is each person’s role?
• What does the Customer expect from the presentation?

Summary

Preparing and Delivering Sales Presentations is one of the most over-looked skills in the sales process. To win business in today’s competitive environment, sales presentations cannot be developed and delivered with a “seat of your pants” mindset. This practice addresses both the development and delivery of an effective sales presentation. Poor delivery of a great presentation will not win business. Great delivery of a poor presentation destroys credibility and trust with the Customer. This practice will help balance effective development and delivery of a sales presentation.

Context

The sales presentation must be considered as part of the sales strategy – it cannot be an after-thought. In the early stages of the sales cycle: qualifying, adapting, and assessing, you should determine where a sales presentation fits into the Customer’s buying process.

Understanding where the sales presentation fits into the sales cycle is critical. It will help you integrate Customer “hot buttons,” issues, and business needs into your message. Early preparation will also help ensure confidence and credibility when it comes time to actually deliver the presentation. You will no longer depend solely on your slide deck or graphics as a crutch – you will deliver a powerful, Customer-focused message. You will be able to present evidence that your Customer needs your solution and prove the impact your solution will have as they implement your product or service.

An effective sales presentation is often the key to advancing the sale – moving the Customer from being a prospect to a Customer; a Customer to a Friend; a Friend to an Advocate.

Figure 1. Preparing and Delivering Sales Presentations. Customers demand and expect clear, concise communication that proves real value.

Your Context – Reasons to Pursue this Practice

Much of today’s selling takes place virtually – through e-mail, phone, and other electronic communication. Once you have a chance to formally present, face-to-face or electronically with a Customer, you had better make a good impression. You generally cannot win significant business today without a sales presentation – even if you need to rely on a virtual medium for presenting.

• Practice Objective. This practice will help any sales professional understand the role of a sales presentation and improve personal skills for developing and delivering an effective sales message.
• Practice Benefits. Tips, tools, and techniques in this practice will help you win more business.
• Sales Presentations as a Competitive Advantage. Sales presentations are especially critical when:

1. Discriminators such as price, products, and service are equalized with competitors
2. Customers are looking for advantages beyond products and price
3. The sales professional is responsible for making a real difference in sales success
4. Customers rely on credible relationships

• Sales Presentations “Hang-ups.” Often, sales professionals consider themselves “naturals” when it comes to giving presentations. It is often this high sense of ego and arrogance that prevents them from winning business. Here are a few typical challenges sales professionals face in the sales presentation practice area:
  • Failing to clearly link the Customer’s “hot buttons” and needs to the solution
  • Assuming the Customer understands your solution
  • Failing to adapt your presentation style to those attending the presentation
  • Guessing at Customer expectations for the presentation
  • Relying too much on visuals or product features to “carry the message”
  • Using poor non-verbal skills

Whether selling to a small organization, a large corporation, or a government agency, an effective sales presentation that applies simple, repeatable steps can make a huge difference in winning or losing the deal.

Your Customer’s Context – Typical Practice Consumer Profile

Any sales professional who delivers sales presentations, whether virtual or face-to-face, can apply the tips and tools provided in this practice area. The practice will help both in the development and delivery techniques of sales presentations. Seasoned sales representatives and those new to the sales profession need to polish their skills and learn to be more Customer focused. Titles could include: Account Executive, Sales Representative, Territory Manager, Client Executive, Solutions Manager, etc.

Step-by-Step Overview of the Practice

It is critical that a sales professional be able to balance skills in two areas of sales presentations: developing the message and delivering the message. These steps show the best practices in both areas, helping to ensure a balance of message quality and delivery effectiveness.

1. Developing the Message – Proven steps for preparing effective sales presentations
2. 2.    Designing Effective Visuals – Making graphics and visuals work
3. 3.    Delivering Your Message with Confidence – Using verbal and non-verbal techniques
4. 4.    Handling Questions and Answers – Planning for and answering questions effectively
5. 5.    Rehearsing and Improving – Letting peers improve your effectiveness

Step 1: Developing the Message (Source: Shipley Associates Proposal Guide pp 115-118)

Successful sales people invest time, energy, and resources to plan and organize each sales presentation. This step requires that sales professionals:

• Interact with the Customer. In most cases, you can collaborate with the Customer as you develop your sales presentation. Make sure you know the hot buttons of each Customer participant attending the presentation. Get input and feedback on both the organization and layout of the presentation.
• Strategize your Message. Make sure your presentation plan aligns with your Customer’s strategic vision of your proposed solution. Presenting features and demonstrating capabilities are ineffective. You need to differentiate your message by linking your solution to real Customer benefits. Your value proposition needs to be clear and logical to Customers – they want to see “proof” that your solution works for them.
• Map your Message. An effective sales presentation is well organized. Create a powerful opening that gains attention and trust. Present an overview of your main points and then develop and validate each point. Close your sales presentation with power and confidence after you’ve addressed any questions.
• Add Impact to your Message. Effective use of color, visuals, and multi-media will add impact to your sales message. Though these tools can be your greatest allies, they can also be your biggest downfall if over-used or misused. (See step 2)

Step 2: Designing Effective Visuals (Source: Shipley Associates Proposal Guide pp 53-62)

The Customer’s retention of information, your credibility, and your effectiveness all depend on the effective use of visuals during a sales presentation. However, if over used, graphics and visuals can become a distraction and be seen by the Customer as a “crutch.” Here are a few keys to performing this step effectively:

• Address Audience Needs. Choose graphics and visuals that the Customer can relate to and that have a link to the business issues you are addressing
• Design Graphics to Emphasize Main Points. By focusing on visuals that support the main points of your sales presentation, you will minimize the risk of over-using visuals.
• Convey a Macro-Message with Visuals. Allow your graphics to support or better describe a concept. Visuals will help your Customers retain your message longer.
• Use Simple Design. Make sure your graphics project well on the screen, not just on paper. Make sure graphics are clear in 10 seconds or less, only use 4-6 words per line and six lines per graphic. Graphics should be simple and uncluttered, have captions, and stand-alone.
• Use Color Effectively. Test the colors to see how they project. Use black or blue for main points and red or green for highlighting. Color can accelerate retention by 55-78 percent. (Source: Shipley Associates Proposal Guide pp 23-25)
• Use Fonts Appropriately. As a general guideline, sans serif fonts work best for projected media. Make sure the font size is appropriate for the room size and image projection size. Be consistent in your use of fonts.
• Choose an Appropriate Medium. There are many ways to support presentation materials – don’t underestimate the value of “old fashioned” flip charts or white boards for collaborating with Customers during a sales presentation.

Step 3: Delivering Your Message with Confidence

The delivery step of the sales presentation practice is critical. Many sales professionals consider themselves “natural” presenters and fail to rehearse or improve their delivery skills. The effective presenter will focus on improving these verbal and non-verbal skills:

• Don’t underestimate the power of vocal and non-verbal skills – Studies show that messages are impacted 7 percent by verbal (actual words), 38 percent by vocal, and 55 percent by visual aspects of a presentation.
• Leverage eye contact – Customer feedback is often most obvious by eye contact you make during your sales presentation. Use direct eye contact with each participant while avoiding “eye darting” – quick glances around the room. Try to maintain eye contact for about 3 seconds before moving on.
• Be aware of facial expressions – You don’t know what your facial expression looks like to the Customer unless you get peer feedback or rehearse your presentation in front of a mirror. Let your face reflect what you are saying.
• Maximize your appearance – Be aware of your Customer’s environment and dress accordingly. It’s better to be over-dressed than under-dressed for a sales presentation.
• Make gestures and movement work for you – Use gestures purposefully to stress, demonstrate, or complement your sales message. Be aware that gesturing too much or being repetitive with gestures can become a distraction. Practice, practice, practice.

Step 4: Handling Questions and Answers

Effective sales presenters expect and look forward to questions from Customers. Questions are often a valuable sales opportunity for clarifying and reinforcing main points. A few reminders for making questions a sales opportunity:

• Schedule for questions – As you are planning your presentation, schedule time for questions and answers that will add support to your message.
• Organize your responses – You can organize your response to questions by simply restating the question (clarifying), giving a bottom-line answer concisely, supporting your answer, summarizing your main point, and asking if the questioner is satisfied.
• Address questions effectively – You should only respond to one question at a time and listen very carefully to the tone and wording of the question. Use eye contact and movement to demonstrate interest to the questioner. Don’t interrupt the Customer. If you can’t answer the question, admit it and move ahead with the next question.

Step 5: Rehearsing and Improving

When preparing and rehearsing for the actual presentation, you should simulate the actual setting as much as possible. Though no sales professional enjoys being videotaped and critiqued, this is the best method for practicing and improving. Peer review is also a valuable tool. When seeking feedback, ask for focus in these areas:

• Appearance – Is your appearance appropriate for the culture and environment of the Customer? Are you appearing comfortable and relaxed?
• Movement – Are your gestures and movement appropriate or distracting? Are they supporting the message?
• Eye Contact – Are you reaching each Customer in the room with your eyes?
• Organization and strategy – Is your message Customer focused and are you addressing Customer issues and “hot buttons?” Is your value proposition to the Customer clear?
• Orchestrate the entire event – Expect the unexpected when actually delivering a sales presentation. The best way to do this, whether it is a virtual presentation or face-to-face, is to practice the entire event, from the “hand shake” to the “next steps” discussion. Know your technology and have a back-up plan prepared.

Mistakes to Avoid … or Other Final Thoughts

The key to an effective sales presentation is balance in how you prepare: balancing the development of your message and the delivery aspects of your presentation. One, without the other, will not succeed. You should:

• Anticipate a sales presentation early in the sales cycle
• Plan early to incorporate your “win strategy” into your presentation
• Design your message with clarity and conciseness
• Use only effective visuals
• Develop and practice a winning style
• Practice and get feedback – swallow your ego
• Win the business

This article answers the following questions:

• Why should I pursue this practice?
• What is a typical profile of the customer?
• What can I do to prevent communication breakdowns?
• How can I increase communication success?
• How can I show that I’m really listening?

Summary

Communication is the sending and receiving of information. You should be adept at sending information formally and informally, in writing or in words, and up, down, and across the organization. Communicate all the relevant facts and also your feelings, opinions, ideas, values, aspirations, and vision. Receive information with equal thoroughness. Listen for facts and feelings, expressed overtly or covertly. Ask questions to clarify the information. Listen for discrepancies, half-truths, and omissions when seeking to understand the facts. Follow up with formal or informal communication acknowledging receipt of the information when indicated.

Feedback is a subset of communication. Interpersonal feedback is communicating to your reps the effect of their behavior on you. The feedback can be positive or negative. Positive feedback is simply praising one’s behavior and is best done in public. Describe and present negative feedback as “constructive,” because it should always contain information that can be used to help, not hurt. Constructive feedback is best done in private.

Feedback is also used to describe the receiver’s communication back to the sender about the sender’s information. This means you should provide feedback concerning key points to substantiate involvement and active listening. Feedback in a business setting or to senior managers and other parts of the organization should also include concerns received through formal and informal communication lines.

Context

Communication and feedback is an essential practice in any relationship both personally and professionally. Success in other practices—planning, recruiting, coaching, and managing conflicts—depends on your performing at a high level in this practice. The ability to communicate and manage the human interactions among and between teams throughout execution is critical to accomplishing business objectives.

A high-performance level in this practice means communicating accurately, promptly, and authentically. Communication and feedback:

• Have a communication plan for the entire organization.
• Communication is the life-blood of every organization.
• Accountability for high-performance communication and feedback begins at the top.

Figure 1. Communication and Feedback. Providing clear communication and feedback will improve productivity and morale.

Your Context – Reasons to Pursue this Practice

The objective of good communication is to ensure the flow of information throughout the organization in a timely, accurate, and clear manner. The ultimate benefit of good communication is a high-performing team that runs smoothly. As a result, the team provides value to Customers who are delighted with your efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, good communication builds trust and loyalty in your team. If your people know where they stand with you with respect to their performance, they will trust you. If you communicate to them your goals and expectations clearly, they will trust you. If you give them authentic, clear, timely, and specific feedback, even if it is painful to receive, they will trust you. If they trust you, they will give you what you want, and more.

Communication can break down in many ways. Here are just a few:

• Failing to communicate corporate goals and strategies. This may cause the organization to act at cross-purposes. For example, the marketing department invests in a campaign to promote product A, while the sales force is sending out direct mail pieces promoting product B.
• Failing to communicate the reasons and timetable for a process, policy, or technology change results in sales rep resistance, confusion, and distraction from productive activities.
• Failing to listen to feedback about individuals concerns. Front line employees are the closest people in the organization to the Customer and often the first to know about the Customer’s response issues and changes.
• Failing to give constructive feedback to an employee because “the timing is not right.” The best time to give performance feedback is as soon as you become aware of the problem. The “right time” may never come. The longer you wait, the worse the problem gets. And withholding feedback breeds mistrust. Your employees need to know where they stand with you at all times.
• Failing to correct a misunderstanding or failing to clarify your own confusion. Eventually, it comes back to haunt you. For example, you let slide a misunderstanding because you’re not clear yourself. Pretty soon the problem spreads and the initial problem has now become the catalyst to bigger problems.
• Giving clumsy or unhelpful feedback in front of other employees, which puts employees on the defense and may lead to resentment rather than cooperation.
• Failure to adapt your communication style. Some employees prefer to see the big picture and dislike details, others pay attention to the relationships involved, some understand better if there is a process to follow, and others just want you to get to the bottom line. Your communication should address all their preferences.

Step-by-Step Overview of the Practice

1. Be open and receptive to receiving information
2. Listen and probe to get all the information or feedback
3. Share information and give feedback

Step 1: Be open and receptive to receiving information

There are no short cuts to good communication. You must build relationships with all your employees and other key players in your organization. Adapt your style to build relationships with people whose personalities are different from yours. Put in the time and effort it takes to connect with others in the organization.

If you prefer to sit in your office with the door shut and communicate only by email, intentionally or unintentionally, you are building a communication barrier between yourself and the organization. You will miss the subtleties of communication. You will certainly miss the body language that speaks louder than words. You will give an impression that you are not open to communication or feedback. And soon, people will stop trying to get through to you. Email is fine for communicating facts but woefully inadequate for solving problems or resolving conflicts. When emotions are involved, there is no substitute for face-to-face communication.

You can actively encourage the sharing of information, problems, or concerns among employees by providing frequent opportunities to network. Try holding cross-team meetings requiring collaboration on a project, create a mentoring program, or occasionally and spontaneously buy pizza for everyone. Get people talking to each other not just to you about their ideas, concerns, and best practices.

Step 2: Listen and probe to get all the information or feedback

When you’re getting feedback from your employees, use these tips to prevent becoming defensive. When you become defensive, you miss the message, and you lose credibility.

Use your entire body to listen. Your posture should be alert. Lean slightly forward. Don’t let your eyes wander around the room.

Limit your talking. If you dominate the conversation, people don’t get a chance to share their feelings. If you don’t understand something, or feel you may have missed a point, clear it up immediately before it embarrasses you later. Don’t interrupt. A pause, even a long pause, doesn’t always mean they’ve said everything. An occasional “yes, “I see,” etc., shows you’re listening and interested but be careful not overdo this tactic. You must earn the right to interrupt – by first listening, by seeking first to understand.

Pace the energy level and feeling level. The idea is to communicate that you are on his/her wavelength, in sync, in tune with him/her. Take notes. We can only remember 55 percent of the information another person has given us immediately after a conversation, and it drops to 25 percent 2 days later. Taking notes will help you remember important points. But be selective; don’t take down irrelevant facts. Trying to note everything that is being discussed so he/she won’t be left behind. Repeat back complex and important information. Repeat back if you’re not sure you heard correctly. Summarize when they have finished

Use “self-talk.” Tell yourself to shut up and just listen. Tell yourself not to get defensive. Remember that listening is not necessarily agreeing. View listening as a gift from you to those involved in the conversation; the gift of your undivided attention, interest, respect, empathy, and caring. Summarize what you are hearing, resisting the impulse to defend or justify yourself. You are not obligated to respond to feedback, but you are expected to listen.

Step 3: Share information and give feedback

To share information, you must first understand their communication styles and immediate needs, and anticipate their responses. Be prepared to be flexible with your agenda if pressing issues must be addressed first. Organize what you want to say, “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.”

Give reasons for change. Use short, simple sentences. Use visuals to reinforce your points. Be aware of your body language and make sure it reinforces, not contradicts, your message. Make sure you communicate what you want them to do with the information. What action do you expect them to take? How do you want them to feel about it?

When giving feedback, first check your motives. If your only intention in giving feedback is to improve performance, then go ahead. If you discover your true intention is to punish them, vent your frustration, or impress them with your insights, then feedback is not the solution.

Feedback should describe specific behavior, the consequences to you of the behavior, your feelings about it, and a request for action. People need to know the effects of their behavior on you. And feedback has more impact when it is personalized.

For example,

“I was disappointed that you did not follow up with the ABC account … As a result, we missed our goal for the quarter, which affects all our pocketbooks, including mine…. Furthermore, I had promised the VP explicitly that we would make inroads into that account. So now I’m going to be embarrassed in front of the other sales managers at Monday’s meeting…. What are you going to do to prevent this from happening again?”

Mistakes to Avoid…or Other Final Thoughts

There are two big mistakes managers make in this practice. The first is trying to listen while multi-tasking. “Go ahead, I’m listening,” says the manager, watching her computer screen. Listening requires full concentration and attention to the person doing the talking. They know if you are not listening. It is difficult to fake. Your body language gives you away.

The second mistake is to assume that telling your people once is enough. Perhaps, when things are running smoothly, it is. However, when they are under stress, during a time of change or pressure, once is not enough. The reason for this is that feelings interfere with listening. People will hear what they want to hear or will hear what they think confirms their worst fears. When emotions are running high, you should slow down, calm yourself down, and communicate in as many ways as you can until you are certain you have been heard.

* What is an issue?
* What is a motivator?
* What is a hot button?
* What is a gap?
* How do I identify potential issues, motivators, and hot buttons before contacting the Prospect?
* How do I confirm a Prospect’s issues, motivators, and hot buttons?
* What is the best way to summarize what I have learned after a sales call?
* How do I use my understanding of Prospects’ issues, motivators, and hot buttons to win more business?

Summary

Prospects act in their own interests, not yours. You must first view the world from the Customer’s or Prospect’s shoes before presenting your solution as the bridge that enables them to achieve their goals.

Every sales professional professes Customer focus, but the majority are really seller focused. While you might see the similarities between different Customer’s needs, Customers tend to view themselves as unique. Customers often say this about the winning sales team: “They seemed to have the best understanding of our business and our needs.”

Issues are the Prospect’s concerns. Motivators are the objectives that the Prospect is trying to achieve. Hot buttons are a consolidated set of issues and motivators, preferable 2-5 items. Gaps are seller concerns.

Key Concepts

The following important concepts are presented in this document:

* Define and agree to use common definitions of terms
* Identify potential issues, motivators, and hot buttons before calling Prospects
* Explore and listen carefully to clarify and verify Prospects’ issues, motivators, and hot buttons
* Evaluate and summarize sales calls immediately after the call, when possible

Define and agree to use common definitions of terms

Common definition requires common terms. Four of the most universally used and misunderstood terms relating to strategy are issues, motivators, hot buttons, and gaps. These terms are defined below and the relationship between issues, motivators, and hot buttons is illustrated in Figure 1.

* Issues are the worry items that keep the prospect awake at night. Issues might be stated positively or negatively. Whether the glass is half-full or half-empty is the same issue.
* Motivators tend to be broader scope. Common motivators are improve profits, increase sales, reduce costs, improve safety, reduce risk, and improve quality.
* Hot buttons should be discussed using the prospect’s words. Changing their terms to your familiar terms or jargon often leaves the impression that you do not understand them, that you are not really listening, and that perhaps you do not have their best interests in mind.
* Gaps are the positive or negative difference between what the prospect wants and what the seller has to offer. A negative gap could be that your software does not offer the function required. A positive gap could be that your software offers more functions than required. Seeing no value in the extra functions, the prospect could worry that they are paying for more than they need, the product might be complicated to use, and that the added complexity might make it less reliable.

Figure 1. The Relationship Between Issues, Motivators, and Hot Buttons. Hot buttons are mostly motivators but could also include a small number of issues that are not motivators.

All motivators are issues, but not all issues are motivators. Training is an example of a hot button that is often an issue, but not a motivator. Few prospects are motivated to buy because they get to attend training. However, if users were poorly trained on a previous, similar purchase and problems ensued, then training could be a prospect’s hot button.

Identify potential issues, motivators, and hot buttons before calling prospects

Prospects appreciate sales professionals that do their homework before calling. Prospects resent being forced to educate unprepared sellers or breaking in a new sales representative.

Here are a few simple methods and sources of information about prospects:

* Annual reports are available on-line. Most annual reports begin with a 2-4 page Letter to Shareholders from the Chairman or CEO, stating their vision for the organization and their primary objectives or motivators for the next fiscal year. Consider how your organization’s services could help this prospect address these objectives.
* Web search for information about the prospect’s organization. Review what others say about them. Carefully consider the source, asking, why would this source say this about this organization?
* Review any documents or your notes from conversations that you or others in your organization had with this prospect. Do you have a draft statement of work, specification, or project description?
* Review the news releases pages on their web site. Often the news releases are more current than the annual report.
* Review articles from regional newspapers, looking for news that might be less carefully filtered than the information in national media.
* Review your organization’s account records. Prospects expect you to know what services you have delivered and how they were received. They expect you to have discussed their needs with the prior sales representative.
* Consider what other similar organizations have purchased from your organization or your competitors. What motivated them to make the purchase?
* Consider your organization’s marketing plans and strategic direction. What issues are your services designed to address?

Now list, group, and prioritize. List all potential issues and motivators from the prior sources. Group those with similar characteristics. Then, prioritize them in order of importance to this prospect.

Finally, draft questions that you might ask, to free your mind to actively listen while meeting with prospects.

Explore and listen carefully to clarify and verify prospects’ issues, motivators, and hot buttons

Explore the prospects’ needs by actively listening to what they say. Actively listen in four steps:

1. Listen
2. Probe
3. Observe and probe the prospect’s body language
4. Respond

Actively listen by limiting your talking. Never interrupt. Take notes. Ask questions to clarify your understanding, not to make a point or inference. Ask neutral questions that encourage prospects to elaborate without a positive or negative inference.

Probe to deepen your understanding and uncover any objections. Probe the following potential issues:

• Business and professionals needs
• Recent changes or developments in your customer’s business situation
• Budgetary restrictions or guidelines
• Objections to you, your product, or your company
• Selection process within the customer’s organization or department
• Common clichés and technical jargon
• Reactions to your sales message

Observe and probe prospects’ body language. Prospects’ actions communicate feelings more clearly than their words. Pay plenty of attention to body language to recognize when the prospect is agreeing, resisting, skeptical, or ready to close on this point.

Prospects’ body language communicates three basic messages:

1. “I’m with you.”
2. “I’m not with you.”
3. “I’m dead against you.”

Respond only after your have listened, probed for greater understanding, and actively observed the prospect’s body language. You have earned the right to discuss your services only after you have summarized what you heard and verified that your understanding is correct.

Evaluate and summarize sales calls immediately after the call, when possible

Immediately after the sales call, list the issues expressed or confirmed by each individual in the prospective organization. Then, consolidate the issues into similar groups. Prioritize the issues, giving more weight to issues confirmed by several people and the people with greater decision-making power. Narrow your list to 3-5 hot buttons.

Buying committees often select the winning solution and vendor. Individuals comprising the buying committees have slightly different issues, motivators, and hot buttons. You need to win selection recommendations from the majority while neutralizing minority objections.

Typically, all but one or two hot buttons are motivators. One or occasionally two hot buttons are issues, but not motivators. Issues that are not motivators usually reflect prior problems.

Organize subsequent prospect communications, both oral and written, around these prospect hot buttons. Use the prospect’s word and jargon. Lead from their hot buttons, linking each hot button to key aspects of your solution. Never present your solution independent of these hot buttons.

When addressing hot buttons, always make prospect ownership of the hot button explicit. Begin by stating:

“In our meetings . . ., In your bid request . . ., you said . . .”

Avoid the potentially arrogant opening:

“You need . . ., In our opinion . . ., We believe . . ., or, The ideal solution must . . .”

• An engineer reporting the results of a test
• A doctor recording medical findings of an autopsy
• An editor explaining why “which” is a more appropriate choice than “that”
• A financial specialist explaining a company’s fiscal performance on the annual report
• A professor of medieval literature explaining a rune
• Anything written by an attorney (or so says the stereotype)
• A wine expert describing the subtle flavors and scents of a particular vintage

If a body of written content causes a well-informed lay person to say “huh?” or otherwise struggle for understanding, the content probably qualifies as technical writing. Admittedly, a struggle for understanding may also just be a case of very poor, but non-technical writing.
Another similarity that business and technical writing share is the development of arguments.
Argumentation is not the “tis and taint” bickering that goes on between quarrelling children or
members of Congress. Argumentation is reasoned discourse—claims are made and conclusions
are drawn that are supported by reasoning and evidence. In business, this is called “making a
business case”—providing the justification for a conclusion or recommendation that a prudent
business person could accept.

In scientific writing, writers may be expected to provide a recipe for replication, providing a
process description with sufficient detail such that someone else could replicate the research and presumably come to the same conclusion.

Shipley’s four-box template will help produce documents that are customer focused and relevant to the customers’ needs and objectives. The process is easy and simple while the results can be profound when customers receive business communication that is clear, concise, and correct.

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