What you can learn about print sales from Ghostbusters
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This year we celebrate 30 years since Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddmore saved the world from ectoplasmic destruction, and we’re still finding nuggets of sales wisdom in their supernatural comedy. Who would have thought that investigating the paranormal would teach us so much about being effective sales people in the printing industry? Joe Kern, Vice President of Marketing for PagePath Technologies, dives into the iconic movie from the 80’s and discusses many of the sales secrets known only to the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster.
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What you can learn about print sales from Ghostbusters
- 1. What You Can Learn about Print Sales from Ghostbusters PagePath Technologies | www.PagePath.com
- 2. Joe Kern Vice President of Marketing PagePath Technologies, Inc. 866-770-7569 JKern@PagePath.com
- 3. PagePath Technologies, Inc., an awarding-winning Web-to-Print storefront provider, is committed to our client's profitability. Since 1983, we have been helping those in the printing and graphic arts industries become the most productive and profitable in their respected markets.
- 4. This year we celebrate 30 years since Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddmore saved the world from ectoplasmic destruction, and we’re still finding nuggets of sales wisdom in their supernatural comedy. Who would have thought that investigating the paranormal would teach us so much about being effective sales people in the printing industry?
- 5. Wisdom #1: Ask questions Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?
- 6. Wisdom #1: Ask questions Make your prospect feel like you care. Use questions to gather information which you can then use to position your product or service more effectively. Ask questions that'll make your prospects aware of the consequences of their action or inaction. Remember that all questions aren't equal.
- 7. Wisdom #2: Think outside the box Dr. Venkman: Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head. Remember that? Egon: That would have worked if you hadn’t stopped me.
- 8. Wisdom #2: Think outside the box Stop thinking about what you can sell the customer and start focusing on how you can help them reach their goals. Think of your product as only one aspect of the value you can provide to your customer. Get used to a longer sales cycle
- 9. Wisdom #3: Getting THEM to say YES!
- 10. Wisdom #3: Getting THEM to say YES! Make yourself likeable. Become a respected authority Get endorsed by the customer's peers Make your offering soon-to-be scarce
- 11. Wisdom #4: Be persuasive Janine: Do you want some coffee mister Tully? Louis Tully: Do I? Egon Spengler: Yes have some. Louis Tully: Yes have some!
- 12. Wisdom #4: Be persuasive Establish a common ground Point out the benefits Turn objections into strengths Use the reciprocity principle
- 13. Wisdom #5: Make sure to study Ray: You never studied. Peter: Ray, pretend for a moment that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering, or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on.
- 14. Wisdom #5: Make sure to study Research your prospect first Use social networks Company’s Press and Media Releases Page Competitor Press and Media Releases Pages Blogs Google the Company Google the Prospect
- 15. Wisdom #6: Divide and conquer Ray: I think we better split-up. Egon: Yeah, good idea. Peter: Yeah we can do more damage that way.
- 16. Wisdom #6: Divide & Conquer Split tasks up Work into individual strengths Break it down into workable chunks Divide touchpoints
- 17. Wisdom #7: Get Excited I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do it!
- 18. Wisdom #7: Get Excited You need to be excited first Believe in your product Be outwardly enthusiastic about your solution – it’s infectious Most importantly, be passionate about the results your solution can bring to your clients
- 19. Wisdom #7B: Get You Prospect Excited Become a Dependable Source Speak to Results Watch Your Wording
- 20. Wisdom #8: Listen to your prospects Janine: You're very handy, I can tell. I bet you like to read a lot, too. Egon: Print is dead. Janine: Oh, that's very fascinating to me. I read a lot myself
- 21. Wisdom #8: Listen to your prospects Slow the conversation down Don’t interrupt Clarify & paraphrase Listen to emotions Ask questions
- 22. Wisdom #9: Talk to the right people Louis: I am Vinz, Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer. Volguus Zildrohar, Lord of the Sebouillia. Are you the Gatekeeper? Coachman: Hey, he pulls the wagon, I made the deals. You want a ride?
- 23. Wisdom #9: Talk to the right people How do you get to the right person? A key question to ask early on in the process is how the customer has handled other buying decisions similar to the one you are proposing.
- 24. Wisdom #9: Talk to the right people Build the Relationship First Provide an Incentive for Action Position Yourself as an Ally
- 26. Questions Joe Kern Vice President of Marketing PagePath Technologies, Inc. 866-770-7569 JKern@PagePath.com
Notes de l'éditeur
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- Make your prospect feel like you care. Many people long simply to be heard and understood. By focusing on your prospects and their problems through questions, you will show that you genuinely care about hearing their problems. And you should genuinely care, because you want to find out as much information as you can about their problems, especially how they perceive their problems. Use questions to gather information which you can then use to position your product or service more effectively. Too many salespeople assume that they fully understand their prospects' problems. You need to ask questions at the right time about the right things in order to get the information you need to make the sale, or else you might lose credibility and lose the sale forever. Ask questions that'll make your prospects aware of the consequences of their action or inaction. At the end of the day, you will not be able to push your prospects into the sale. This is what most salespeople try to do. We have worked with countless salespeople who think that their product is the answer to their prospect's problem, and they push and push and push to show their prospect that they have the answer. But people resist, especially when you push too hard. That's why you must use questions not only to find out about your prospects' problems but also to make your prospect aware of the consequences of their action or rather inaction, that is, what could happen to them if they don't buy your product. Remember that all questions aren't equal. Some types of questions are more powerful than others. There are two basic types of effective sales questions. Trigger Questions. Just like a psychiatrist, your job is to get your prospect to open up and tell you what is on their mind. To do this, you must ask open-ended questions, that is, questions that require them to respond with a relatively complex answer rather than a simple yes or no. Remember, you want to get them talking. Closed questions, which allow your prospect to answer you with a yes or a no, don't get them to open up. Open-ended questions do. There are many types of effective question formats, but when in doubt, rely on the open-ended questions called Trigger Questions. Here are some examples of basic Trigger Questions: Can you tell me more about?? Can you be more specific?? Can you give me an example??
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- Get used to a longer sales cycle. The nature of this more creative, collaborative process may necessitate a longer sales cycle than you are accustomed to, even for products that might be considered commodities. You need to allow time to really get to know the customer and understand their situation. This might require several conversations spread out over a few weeks or – in some cases – even a few months. You also need to devote more time to asking questions, processing answers, researching solutions and developing customized recommendations. These recommendations will then need to be socialized throughout the customer’s organization to get feedback and buy-in from key players. The longer sales cycle generally leads to a higher trust level between you and the customer; it also very often leads to bigger deals that close at higher margins, with a higher potential for developing into long-term relationships that drive greater revenues year over year.
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- 1. Make yourself likeable. Customers are far more likely to say yes if they know and like the person who's selling to them. That's why so many TV commercials use celebrity spokespeople, because consumers like and "know" them. The true key to being likable is to be genuinely interested in the customers. Never fake friendliness, as in, "Hi, howya doin!?" Instead, cultivate curiosity about the customer and the customer's life. As you have a conversation, discover characteristics about the customer that you appreciate and respect. As you express those emotions, the customer will naturally echo them back to you. 2. Become a respected authority. People are more likely to buy from you if they see you as having specialized knowledge or unique credibility. There are many ways to create this impression. One common method is to sell for a well-known corporate brand, like IBM. Another is to sequester a fancy job title. Some sales groups have dozens of titular vice presidents simply because customers respect the title. A more honest way to create the impression of expertise is to actually become an expert. This is much easier if you find the subject matter interesting, of course. Hobbyists, for example, often make great salespeople. 5. Get endorsed by the customer's peers. Customers are more likely to buy when they know that people "just like them" are also buying. That's why TV infomercials always feature interviews with happy buyers in the target audience. The same principle applies in business sales, which is why so many companies feature reference accounts and case studies on their website. However, there is a more effective route. The easiest opportunities to close are always the ones that start with an unsolicited referral from an existing, happy customer. How to manage this all-important technique is described in this (heretofore neglected) post. 6. Make your offering soon-to-be scarce. Customers value offerings that are rare or dwindling in availability. Classic example: When GM announced the death of Oldsmobile, cars that had been on the lot for months sold in a matter of days. The reason that so many companies use "limited time offers" is that they work. They work even when companies trot out the similar offers week after week after week! For business-to-business selling, a more sophisticated way to use this rule is to focus the discussion on the financial loss the customer will incur through a delay in buying your offering. In other words, make the ROI scarce!
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- Establish a common ground Many people buy products from the people they like, therefore a salesperson should establish rapport with potential customers. You should establish areas of commonality and if you don't know what you have in common, then you should ask questions about their criteria and be genuinely attentive to the prospective client. You should keep smiling and strive to be likeable by being confident, enthusiastic, prompt and respectful. A sales person should never argue with customers. Point out the benefits You should highlight the major benefits of using the product or service to the consumers. You should try to show how it is a good idea to buy the product e.g. by aligning with their personal goals and criteria and showing them how it is beneficial to buy the products from you. You should avoid trying to push for a sale, as it will make you look desperate. Turn objections into strengths Every salesperson should expect to be objected to. This is normal in selling, therefore, a good understanding of the products will help you to counter any objections and criticism raised. You should agree with the prospect's objection and then illustrate how it is easily overcome by your product or service. Also, illustrate the advantages of the product that will eliminate the prospects pain points and help satisfy their wants. Use the reciprocity principle The principle implies that when someone does something for us we feel obliged to return the favor. In selling, if a sales person gives a gift to his prospects and clients it will endear them to him and might result in them making big orders in future. The gifts don't have to be expensive but something useful and valuable e.g. they may be in form of educational content. This technique is very effective for lead generation.
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- 1) LinkedIn LinkedIn is a gold mine for prospect research. If you can only research your prospect on one platform before your call, make it LinkedIn. Find your buyer on the network, and check out each of the following areas of their profile: Experience at their current job – Most people list primary job duties or major projects they’ve worked on. This can help you get a sense of what falls under their jurisdiction, and what doesn’t. Experience at their former jobs – Customize your messaging based on their career history. Is this their first time making this kind of purchasing decision, or have they done this many times? Shared connections – If you have a connection in common with your prospect, make sure to bring it up during your conversation, and ask how they know this person. This could be a referral opportunity. Groups – Click through to their groups to see what’s being talked about. Recent activity – Take a look at what your buyer has recently shared and where. 2) Buyer’s Twitter Account If your prospect has a Twitter account, you should spend a few minutes on their page to get a sense of what they’re interested in. Read a handful of the articles they’ve recently retweeted, or look into an issue they posted about. Click back through their feed to spot any major trends in their interests. 3) Company’s Twitter Account What kind of content and messaging has the company been promoting? Understanding how the company is presenting itself to its customers can help you better understand how to present yourself to your buyer. 4) Company’s Press and Media Releases Page Scroll through the recent press releases and see if anything major has been announced such as leadership changes, product releases, financial statements, events, or customer wins. 5) Competitor Press and Media Releases Pages If a competitor has made a significant announcement within the past few months, that will color the way your buyer looks at your offering -- either as a competitive advantage, or an unnecessary expense in the face of more pressing priorities. Figure your footing out before you pick up the phone. 6) Financial Statements If your buyer works for a public company, it might be a good idea to check out its most recent financial reports on the SEC’s website. This will give you an idea of how the company is performing, as well as the problems it’s facing (check out “risk factors” sections). 7) Blogs Read what your buyer reads, and read what your buyer writes. If your prospect maintains a blog, be sure to read at least the last few posts and comment on them during your call. In addition, visit the websites of popular industry blogs and peruse the latest posts to learn more about the trends and challenges shaping the environment. 8) Facebook Facebook is more of a personal social network, and so typically less important for researching purposes than LinkedIn or Twitter. Still, it might be helpful to check out your buyer’s Facebook profile to pick up a few personal tidbits about them. Just make sure to weave these into the conversation naturally, or you risk giving off an overly personal vibe. Also, this is another good place to see if you have any friends in common. 9) Google the Company Conduct a search on the company to bring up any news stories that they've kept off their press page -- good or bad. Be sure to select third-party publications that are high-quality and reliable. 10) Google the Prospect Search your buyer’s name in quotes to surface any other information about them that might’ve fallen through the cracks. Baking contest winner? Amateur trumpet player? Right on.
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- 1. Become a Dependable Source In an article for Inc., sales expert Geoffrey James suggested reps ask themselves if their claims about the product are reliable. When you are speaking with a new customer, the first few minutes are important to sowing the seeds of a trustworthy and beneficial relationship. Ensuring each of your claims are credible and showcasing your expertise of the product can help inspire the customer. This is where gathering market insights is key in the sales process. Assembling reliable testimonials from authoritative sources or speaking to how an expert in the field uses the product can help customers understand that you can back the claims you're making about the product. This can also help clients be aware that other companies or professionals in the industry believe in the item or service, and they should too. 2. Speak to Results Talking about the product's features is often not enough—you need to be able to show its measurable results. Gregg Schwartz, a sales and marketing profession, wrote in an article for Young Entrepreneur, an online entrepreneur community, that sales reps can lose a sale by being too evangelical about a product. This can be anything from depicting your product as being the greatest new invention to giving the customer unrealistic expectations about the product. So talk about how the product, service or solution will benefit the company, but be careful not to promise too much. Entrepreneur also suggested reps bring along market research to the meeting so customers are able to see results firsthand. Allowing clients to read as well as listen to how the solution will help them can be crucial in getting customers energized. 3. Watch Your Wording Perhaps one of the most important tips is to be cautious about the words you use when speaking to a client. While a document you may bring along uses the word "excited," saying the word is not going to help the client feel enthusiastic about the product. Employing buzz words, like innovative or guarantee, may alarm rather than inspire. Customers are aware of which words or phrases may be rehearsed, or what Schwartz calls "mental spam." Making an effort to avoid overused words can help you be more creative with your sales approach. For example, instead of saying a product is new and improved, speak to its previous limitations and how the latest version is the answer to those challenges. One way to do this is by making a list of words you think may put off the client and stay focused on avoiding them during a meeting. Later on you may notice one or two instances where the word is applicable, but exciting the client is about showing them something they may not have seen before.
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- It is dangerous to assume that if you ask outright, "Are you the decision maker?" that they will come clean — especially if they are not. You can, however, get a feeling from their tone of voice, verbal clues and body language. If you determine that the person you are dealing with is not the decision maker, there's no need to terminate the discussion, because there is still plenty you can learn. You do need to be careful about what you are willing to share, and even more important, keep mum about what you might be willing to negotiate. Use your meeting with the non-decision maker to gather new insights that will help you when you do meet with Mr. or Ms. Big. Often the non-decision maker will be a key influencer, so you want them on your side, and need to help them feel confident about your proposed solution.
- Build the Relationship First In order for you to get someone to introduce you to their manager, colleague or a member of their management team, you'll have to build the relationship first. You have to deliver value, and do so for long enough for them to: Start trusting you Start liking you Believe you have their best interest in mind All of these things take time. But if you consistently deliver value, and do so in a way that positions you as a valued advisor instead of a salesperson, you'll get to the time where you can have an open and honest conversation and say something like, "I can't help but notice we've had several conversations and things don't seem to be moving forward as much as we expected. Is there anything we can do together to move this forward?" Provide an Incentive for Action Even if you've built the relationship to the point where they trust you (and trust you will do the right thing), you still have to give them a reason to act. Helping you make the sale is about their agenda, not yours. So make it about them: their rational and emotional needs, their agenda, and their personal afflictions and aspirations. Provide a clear, compelling reason for them to take action and decide the best next step together. A great way to do this is by asking questions like: Out of all the options we have available, what do you think our next move should be? Is there anyone in the organization we haven't talked to yet who should be involved? What would happen if we kept pursuing the same path we're on now? What wouldn't happen? If you're on board, what else needs to happen to get going? What do you think is required to move this forward? Build on the answers to these questions, keep asking "why," and dig deeper until you get to the point where they tell you what the impact on them (personally) of acting (or not acting) will be. That's when you've found their individual reason to take action. Position Yourself as an Ally You've built trust and the relationship. You've discovered their reason to take action. The next and final step is to position yourself as the person who can help them get what they desire. Figure out a basic plan of action, demonstrate how it will achieve the outcome they seek, and then execute. In the end, getting to the decision maker usually isn't about going around people. It's about using your networking skills to build relationships, get introductions, and take people along on your journey, so they win and you win.
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