So here's the thing, we’ve been working on a project with a large organization recently and hope to close the deal soon. But, suddenly, without warning, our client has gone missing. MIA, gone, nowhere to be found. Not literally, but they stopped returning calls, answering emails and basically began ignoring us. Did we do something wrong? Did they buy a competitors solution? I got to thinking about what may have happened and have come to a few conclusions. Read on and you may save yourself a few deals….

You lost a deal when everything seemed to be going just fine, you didn’t do anything wrong (so you think) and the relationship was getting stronger with each phone call. Then suddenly, without warning, whammo, game over, no more prospect. This happens to everyone and your being confused it not unusual. Here’s the thing, you were probably not as far along as you thought you were. You were HOPING to get a deal, but in all your hoping you forgot about learning the prospects real truth. In other words, you were caught up with yourself, what you may have gained and how you needed this sale. Getting caught up with this stuff before learning the truth is a recipe for disappointment.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, everyone does this. We start to anticipate how the process will go and also begin expecting that things will happen as we hope they will. When our prospects go missing, we are left feeling lost, anxious, confused and sometimes downright offended. Don’t feel this way, it doesn’t help. What does help is learning what happened - exactly.

When your prospects go missing it doesn’t mean you lost the sale, it simply means you don’t know the truth yet.

You may be thinking, OK, but if Joe Prospect won’t return my calls, ignores my emails (even the fancy ones with pictures and other neato stuff) and we don’t have a scheduled appointment, how will I get to the bottom of this? Easily. Take a step back for a minute and stop chasing sales that don’t exists (yet). Call Joe (emails don’t work for this) and tell him you are totally OK with his decision, regardless of what it is, but you are concerened that YOU let him down. Yup, take the blame, jump in the fire, take-it like one of those army dudes you see on TV lunging on the grenade  - it’s your only option, just like the GI Joe dude that lost his X#@ while saving his buddy.   Here’s a little something to get you going…..

“Hi Joe, this is David, I’m calling because I feel like I dropped the ball and let you down. We had a good relationship going for awhile and when it suddenly ended, I was worried that I offended you. I’m not calling to move things forward, I assume you went with somebody else, I’m calling to see if you have any feedback as to where I can improve the level of service I try to bring all my clients. ”

You may or may not save any deals with Joe. But, at minimum you will learn exactly what went wrong and work to avoid it in the future. You will learn that you are far less anxious and stressed out about Joe (yes, you were frustrated when he bailed on you). And, finally, you will increase your confidence and selling ability because you will know exactly what strategy to take the next time this happens. 

Learning the truth is productive, educational and profitable! If your making sales without learning the total truth about your customers, their expectations and the problem you are trying to solve for them - consider yourself lucky. In some things it’s better to be lucky than good (so they say), in sales, it’s better to be GOOD than lucky because luck always runs out. Like they say on the diamond, skill never slumps!

Cheers
David
http://www.mygoaltracking.net
follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mygoaltracking
 

My wife (Lynn) and I took the kids (Paige, Austin) to New York City for a family vacation this summer. We did all the typical stuff. Statues, Museums, Ballparks, all of it. The Books enjoyed the city and we've been sharing "big city stories" with our friends and family ever since. Of all the things we did, and we did lots, the thing that sticks in my memory the most is a taxi-cab ride we took through central park. Yes, through the park. The taxi wasn't a real taxi but one of those little bikes with the seat on the back - a Rickshaw.

The ride was OK but the guy pedaling was amazing. He wasn't amazing because he was pumping a family of four around the park on a little bike, five people counting him! He wasn't amazing because he smiled, and laughed, and entertained us the entire time. And he wasn't amazing because he spewed neat facts about the park for three hours. He was amazing because he had a LINE of people waiting to take a ride from him. There were other taxi's sitting empty, everyone was waiting for him. In fact, we headed to the park to get a ride on his little taxi because of a referral from the people we were staying with. They said: "it's hard to explain, you just have to do it." This guy had raving fans all over New York, all sending him customers.

We all know the importance of referral business. We all know how profitable it is. But, almost none of us do anything about it. Yeah, we try to treat our customers with respect and yes we ask for their support. But really, do you stand out? Are you any different than the next guy? I would bet not. I would bet that you are a regular-Joe. You are surely nice enough, knowledgeable enough and generally fine to do business with. But, I would also bet that you are forgettable. Most of us are.

At this point, you are probably wondering what this taxi-pedaling mad-man did that was so different, so great, so UNFORGETTABLE. Like my friends say, it's hard to explain. You just have to experience it for yourself. I'm not sure if it was the mints he offered us, the cold water (it was like 90 degrees out that day) he fetched for us, or the little boom-box he had rigged up in his little machine that played our kind of music. It could have been that he peddled and peddled and peddled some more without ever complaining. It could have been that he told us the "inside story" about Central Park that only a Jamaican cabby could know. Or it could be that he CALLED MY CELL three hours after our ride to make sure we enjoyed the trip and asked me to tell our friends to wait for him if they want a ride. What I am sure of is that I will never forget that little ride and if I ever return to NY I will certainly look him up.

More about the taxi-peddling maniac. He didn't speak much english, he was like 5 foot nothin' and maybe a buck fifty-five. He was one small dude with one giant goal. He was trying to earn as much money as he could before the summer ended to send home to his family in Jamaica because they have no work. He meant ALL his family. He's supporting Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Brothers, Sisters, Mothers and Fathers with his little business. He asked me for a hundred bucks after three hours work. I gave him $150! Call me gullable, call me naive, doesn't matter - it was one awesome ride.

Set yourself apart, be different, be unforgettable. Treat your customers with such amazing and genuine concern that they become raving fans. It's not hard to do. Be creative, don't be bashful. If your customers can't brag about you, who can? If you think you have to "give it away" - think about the taxi-peddler. If you think your customers won't return, think about the taxi-peddler. If you think you have it rough, think about the taxi-peddler. You can do this, but only if you NEED to.

Cheers
David Book
http://www.mygoaltracking.net

A dozen or so years ago most folks had no idea what CRM was. Today, most folks still have no idea. If you think it is software - you are wrong. If you think it’s a secret weapon used to increase sales, productivity, or reduce expenses, you’re partially right but not totally.

CRM is a concept not a product: Before changing anything, you should get your head around the idea behind CRM - Customer Relationship Management. Generally speaking, CRM is a well formulated plan that is centered around getting you and your staff customer focused rather than product focused. CRM is not software, fancy tools, web-based magic or anything else. CRM is a plan, a process, a customer-centric philosophy. 

This post is a simple list of common pitfalls many dealers experience when purchasing software to help their CRM strategy. They are not in any order of importance. Some experience these pitfalls immediatley, others down-the-road. Very few organizations (or individuals) are fortunate enough to avoid these simple pitfalls. One way to avoid these, and others, is to not pretend that you want your organization to be customer-centric when you really do not. Running a customer-friendly business is demanding - very demanding. Doing things the same way you always have (assuming your like most dealers) is easy. Take the easy road if you think customers are second-fiddle compared to products. Hint: Detroit has done this for a few years now, they have taken the easy road. And, as we all know, the city of Pistons could sure stand a tune-up.

Pitfall 1: You think CRM is software and you call your software "our CRM." CRM is not software, lead management, follow-up scheduling or anything else. It’s a strategy. There are many, many tools available that can help you implement your customer-centric plan. Call them whatever you want. But, understand the difference between what tools you use and what you are trying to accomplish.

Pitfall 2: Expectations are too high. For many, there is a belief that sales will increase shortly after they sign a contract with a software provider (the software used to help with the CRM plan, not the CRM software). Don’t be silly. CRM is not magic, it’s work, lots of it. Managing your customers and improving your individual relationships with each customer is no simple task. Yes, software helps but NO SOFTWARE can do this for you. Like they say: “Software does not sell cars, people do!”

Pitfall 3: Don't ignore your data. OK, so you invested in a super-duper software system that stores a gazillion "customer" records. And yet, nobody seems to value the data. For sure, folks assign some mystery value to it that is only talked about when there is a threat of losing it. “What about all my clients?” But, almost everyone is comforted with a belief that their “beloved clients are safe and sound in some magic box somewhere” and totally ignore it on a daily basis. Don’t ignore it. Mine it, query it, put this amazingly valuable list to work. Get professional help if you don’t know how to take advantage of the single most important asset of the entire company - the customer list.

Pitfall 4: Flattered with features. So your CRM initiative includes some software that will become the cornerstone of your plan. You shop around, talk to vendors, go to trade shows, then finally settle on “the best one in the industry.” This thing costs tons of money (thousands and thousands per year) does all kinds of amazing things (so you hear) and connects with every other machine in the building with amazing simplicity (giggles). After a few weeks it becomes painfully obvious that features a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k….. you get the idea, are not used, by anyone, ever. Your staff logs in, checks a “list” of leads or clients, does some quick task then logs out. It’s one thing to pay for features that don’t get used, it’s another thing all together to OVER-PAY for lists and lists of complicated gadgets that nobody understands. If this is the case, you may be better of with a simple spreadsheet. Those yellow-pads with the lines on them work well. Make sure you actually NEED what you buy.

Pitfall 5: The folks that wanted it in the first place don’t use it. This happens all the time. Joe Manager insists on the Turbo, All-Wheel Drive, Sales Creator 2000. He test-drives it, demands that the staff use it (you better use it, this thing costs us tons)  then ignores the initiative all together. Don’t bother implementing any CRM plans if everyone involved doesn’t totally “get it” and that everyone makes a commitment to improving customer service and understand that this fancy new tool will HELP us do that, not do it for us. Make them sign something, make 100% sure that everyone is aboard. If not, save your money, Staples has the yellow-pads on special this week.

There are countless reasons CRM plans fail. But, a misunderstanding of what CRM is, unreasonably high expectations from a “system,”  ignoring information, flashy unused features and a lack of support from management are the biggest reasons most dealers waste thousands and thousands each year (some each month!) on CRM plans. Don’t be naive. My advice to you is this: Formulate your CRM plans, write them down, communicate them. Implement your plan WITHOUT the help of software (or with the software you have) for a few months and see if everyone is dedicated to actually improving customer service. If they are, help them buy buying some technology. If you have a mess now, and change nothing but the software, you’ll have a mess later - an automated mess.  

Cheers
David

David is a tech-guru at http://www.mygoaltracking.net

Dealers promote step-by-step sales processes in nearly every store we visit. Processes help us by allowing us to stay focussed, track and measure results (how many ups do I need to take to sell 15 units?) and  predict the future (this ad budget should produce this much traffic). But, applying a rigid sales process every time, with every customer, is not a good approach. In fact, flexibility is an important skill that many salespeople never learn. It is especially important when trying to set appointments.

This post is in-your-face but the harsh reality is, if you can't answer each of these 10 questions with an astounding yes, you shouldn't be in sales. If your a manager and EVERYONE in your staff can't score 10 for 10, lose the ones that can't. Why bother? You are not in the babysitting business.

I figured this audience had thick-enough-skin to get through this with a slight smile and few laughs. If you can't answer yes to one of the questions, ignore the others, they don't mean anything individually, they mean tons together.

One more thing.... You may be asking yourself, "how am I going to cover the floor?" or "who's going to unlock the cars?" "None of my gang can score a perfect 10 on these questions, your kidding me right?" No, I'm not kidding. I'm a firm believer that a customer would rather have no help than horrible help. If your salespeople can't score a 10 for 10 on this simple quiz - your customers are better off without them and so are you. k, done' with the rant, on to the quiz....

#1: Do you want to be average or above average? This may seem like a no brainer. However, you would be surprised at the number of folks that are satisfied with mediocrity. Look at this way, if your not above average you are not helping the store succeed. Some help, some hurt, if your hurting your dealer, find a new gig.

#2: Are you ambitious? Lazy doesn't work. Claiming to be too-busy to meet someone on the lot when sales are down 50% everywhere is a total joke. You do have the time, and you don't have an excuse, go sell something already!

#3: Do you utilize your specialized sales skills? You have spent hours and hours in the "training closet" watching videos, reading books, flipping through product knowledge materials and learning how to sell like a professional. If you are not implementing these valuable skills your not selling. Understand objections (and why they are good), question customers until you know what's best for them. Do all the things the little book you threw away told you to, they work. 

#4: Do you set and track your goals? If you don't know what you are trying to accomplish how will you know if you did (trust me, you probably didn't if you don't set and track your goals). If I were your boss I would ask to see your written goals and results before I wrote your paycheck.

#5: Are you self-supportive? How many salespeople have you worked with that are needy and high-maintenance? Zero bars on the cell-phone, rain without a coat, and a Red Sox loss are annoying. A co-worker that can't take care of themselves, unlock cars or blow-up balloons is downright frustrating. Solve your own problems and don't create new ones for others.

#6: Do you know how to use a computer, basically? Typing is not a specialized skill (unless dialing a telephone is too). Emailing is not a specialized skill (unless licking stamps is too). Figure out how to use the darn thing in the most basic form and stop worrying about becoming a geek like me, nerds are sometimes the best salespeople. Yes, I'm laughing.

#7: Do you get along with everyone at work? If you answered no to #5 you already failed the quiz and shouldn't be thinking about this anyway. You don't have to be buddies with everyone at work but you do have to learn to get along with everyone in your organization. Don't get me wrong, there will be people you genuinly don't like, we all know the #5's. But, this doesn't mean you shouldn't work very hard at becoming easy to get along with yourself.

#8: Do you smile, always? You should be smiling at work, not because your having a great day or anything but because it's your job. Your dealer doesn't pay you to frustrate customers and nothing is more frustrating for a customer than to see a disgruntled employee. Fake it if you have to, smile at work, good thing happen when you do.

#9: Do you know what your dealer expects? Understanding what your dealer expects of you is no simple task. But, figuring it out is the only way to be sure you are doing well for the dealer. Reminder, you are an employee, your job is to do what your dealer expects. If you perform like a professional he'll write paychecks with professional numbers on them. If you perform like an amateur, he'll write numbers with teenager numbers on them. If your making minimum wage in the car business (lots do), your either way to far along in this quiz, your lying, or your wasting your time.

#10: Do you know more about your products than your customers? If not, why do you expect them to ask you for help? For sure, customers have access to loads of information that they only dreamed of a few years ago. So do you. If you are not willing to take the time to learn the ins-and-outs of each and every product (there are not that many, really) you sell, you may as well put "order taker" on your business card (order takers don't get paid very well in most industries).

Hopefully you went 10 for 10. If not, you cheated if your still reading. Either way, find somebody at work and put this rant on their desk, a few giggles never hurt anyone.

Cheers
David

David Book is a tech-guru at MyGoalTracking. He can be found at http://www.mygoaltracking.net

I was in the grocery store the other day digging through some apples, looking for some without all the dents and such. I hate shopping but my wife asked me to do this weeks duty because she's not feeling well. My shopping list included apples. After finding the apples (it was easy, they were under the GIANT produce sign in the market) a lady pulled up a little scooter and parked it next to the apple-bin. She was blind. Her little scooter was like the ones some senior citizens drive. The blind lady reached into the apple-bin, pulled out an apple then placed it in the little basket hanging off her handle bars. She did this three times. The first thing I thought of was "how the heck does she know what apples she just selected?" The next thing that crossed my mind... "How the heck did she drive that crazy cart through the store without crashing into stuff?" 

She didn't seem to spend anytime "feeling" or "squeezing" the apples, she just grabbed them and tossed them in her basket. I asked her... "Do you want me to find you some good apples?" Her reply..."Nope, I got the best ones, the most perfect ones in the entire bin." Me..."How do you know that?" Her.. "because the produce manager looks for the best ones for me and places them in the exact same spot every-time, I know right were to look for them." She drove her little cart away, maybe to go find the perfect tomatoes - who knows. 

It took me forever to find my stupid apples without any dents and bruises, eventually I did. My apples sucked compared to the ones the blind lady got but I was satisfied. I finished finding the items on my shopping list and headed to the check-out stand. I was among maybe 50 customers, it was really busy. I watched lady after lady, with an occasional dad tossed in, a few teenagers, some old folks, and a blind lady in a stupid-fast go-cart. None of us had anything in common, EXCEPT, we all knew exactly how to give this place our money. We knew the process. We knew the routine. We were all very different in most ways but very alike in one important way - we all knew how to shop at this place. Heck, even the blind lady knew how to turn over her money. 

On my drive home I was checking out a local car lot while I waited for the red light. I see this lot constantly, it's on my way home. I probably know more about their inventory than their best guy - I spy it everyday. I watched a couple kind-of wander around unassisted. It sure looked to me like they wanted to buy something. Their beater Civic was parked on the curb and the "mom" pushed a stroller around gazing at mini-van after mini-van while husband perfected his dazed and confused look. It occurred to me that maybe these people really did want to buy a car but didn't know how. Could they not understand the process? Could they have never bought a car before? What the heck, are they looking for a checkout stand? 

Hundreds of thousands of people (a million?) buy cars every year for the first time. Does your store help them understand the process or do you just "drag them around from base-to-base?" Do you assume they already know how you do business? If you have not told them, believe me, they don't. Your website (the one they looked at earlier in the day) didn't explain the process, your store doesn't have a debit machine at the door, you don't have a "checkout line." How could they know? 

Confused customers are difficult customers and almost never end with a sale. Know this, most dealers confuse customers and frustrate them to the point that they want to move on. Do not frustrate your customers with "mysterious processes." Explain to each and every customer HOW to do business with you. Tell them the basics, even if it sounds silly. You will be amazed at the result. Taking away the anxiety of being on a car lot may be your single biggest secret weapon. And get this, it's easy. All you have to do is explain what you already know and they do not. 

"Hi Mary, my name is David and it's my responsibility to help you enjoy your visit to ABC motors. My boss and I understand that being on a car-lot can be a bit overwhelming and confusing so I want to explain how we operate....."

Tell them how you can help them find a car. Tell them you can help them drive a car. Tell them you can help them find more information that the internet may not have provided. Tell them you can help them figure out what the terms may look like in the event that they decide to buy. Tell them HOW to buy from you. Make your dealers buying process so easy to understand that a blind-lady could do it. Our little blind-friend at the market would never consider going to another market - ever. Not because the apples are any different or because the prices are any different or because the store is any different. She wouldn't go anywhere else because she doesn't understand how to!

Happy selling.
David

I thought I would share some thoughts on what the heck social networking is. Believe it or not, some folks have zero idea. I'm attempting to shed some light on what it is, how it works and why you NEED to get involved if your in the car biz'.

Lots of people ask about online social networking and what it's all about. Why do it? Isn't it a waste of time? As a sales professional, there are lots of reasons to do it and it's certainly not a waste of time. In fact, it may be paramount to your survival.

Today, many of these organizations have been replaced by online social networking. Yes, many still exists but the benefits of doing things online far-outweigh the negatives. Facebook™, Twitter™ and LinkedIn™ are the largest, most popular social networking organizations in the world. Each is different but they do have some things in common. You need to understand each network and how they operate. You need to be involved in each one. Scary thoughts I know but the truth is, our world is changing and you can embrace the change or run from it, up to you. Those that embrace it will increase their chances of survival in the business world exponentially. Those that run, who knows?

The other day, the board-leader at one of our clients stores remarked: "I haven't had a fresh up in days, all I get lately are internet customers visiting the store."  I wonder what a "fresh up" means to Joe? What's an internet customer to Joe?

It never ceases to amaze me how so many salespeople categorize their "ups" and "leads" into types based on how much research the customer may or may not have done prior to visiting the store. I would bet that Joe also mutters under his breath that "their not buyers" when the customer says they were online before the visit. Would he also think that they are not buyers if they said "I talked to my Uncle John about this car before I came down, he knows everything about cars." I would bet not. 

Hint: If you are not helping the customer that visits the store (because they are not buyers), you are not helping anyone, yourself included. Think about it, they would not be visiting the store if they did not need something. Most salespeople understand this most basic principle but also CHANGE their approach when they learn that their "up" came from the internet, Costco, the credit union, anywhere really (except for Uncle Johns). 

The only reason you are on the lot is to help people buy cars - period. If people visit your lot, help them. Help them FIND the right car. Help them DRIVE the right car. Help them BUY the right car. Help them no matter where they came from or why they visited. I may be preaching to the choir but I'll continue until I stop hearing about salespeople changing their approach because of what they THINK vs. what they KNOW. 

Start with this: "Hi, my name is David, it is my job to HELP you." Don't be surprised when nearly everyone will smile and begin to tell you HOW to help them ;-)

David is a tech-guru at MyGoalTracking, he can be reached at dbook@mygoaltracking.com or by visiting http://www.mygoaltracking.com

My kids played hooky from school today, it was going to be a big day. After tons and tons of anticipation, we watched the historic inauguration while their classmates studied english, math, and science up the street at the middle school. We sat glued to the television. We all listened. The kids gawked at the fancy helicopter as it banked away towards Texas with the Bush's aboard. I worried, hoped and wondered.

In President Obama's words, our challenges are "serious and many" and "starting today we must pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and begin rebuilding." The question is, will you? Do you have what it takes? Or, are you going to continue doing the same things this year as you did last. Are you going to wait until December to look back on '09 and ask yourself "what happened?"

As a nation we have our work cut-out for us. As a small business operator, or a sales person, the burden is larger for you than for most people. Many of our nations problems are associated with the economy, an economy that relies on the auto industry, the nations industry, your industry. The challenges you will face in '09 are numerous indeed. But, you will have less trouble overcoming these challenges if you get a plan together and stick to it.

First: All of your efforts in '09 must be strategic, organized and planned. Winging-it' is not going to work. Develop a game plan for the year, divide it into 12 smaller steps. Today, now, not tomorrow, sit down and write down (or use a computer) your goals for the year. How many units are you going to sell? How much money are you going to earn? How many Ups, Demo's and Write-Up's are going to be needed to reach your goals?

Next: Everyday, without fail, print your daily work plan (or create one with a pencil). Carry it around all day, everyday, do not wing-it, you will need this work plan if you are going to succeed. Like a professional quarterback that constantly refers to the playbook, you too will need to refer to your game-plan.

Finally: At the end of each day, everyday, review the work-plan you carried around all day. Did you do everything you needed to reach your goal? Did you take enough ups, make enough calls, do enough demos? How come? Are your goals unreasonable? During the month and year you may need to adjust your goals and objectives, this is OK. 

Putting together a very basic plan and beginning to set goals and track activities is the first step to "picking yourself up and dusting yourself off." The first step is the most important, without the first step there cannot be a second, or third step. I worried as Obama spoke because so many people in our industry wing-it and work without a plan, a recipe for disaster. I hoped because the president himself may be just what this county needs to get our #$% in gear. I wondered because I have seen and listened to countless inspirational speakers in the past but watched hundreds and hundreds of salesman and dealers struggle to put into action the speakers advice. Don't let '09 expire the same way '08 did, horribly. Start today, do something, take control, the year has just begun.  Everyone is watching. Your family, your boss, your country, they believe in you and trust that you will do the right thing in '09 - will you? Or will '09 end the same way '08 did, with one giant difference, '09 may be your last chance.

Cheers,
David

David Book is a partner at MyGoalTracking in Monterey CA. He can be reached at dbook@mygoaltracking.com. Our award winning accountability software system can be seen here: http://www.mygoaltracking.com