Separating Good from Great

So here we are in October, a month when many major league baseball teams are preparing for a run at the 2004 World Series. In Chicago we’ll once again be “waiting for next year” for a chance at all the marbles and the bragging rights. On October 2 when the Cubs were officially eliminated from contention for the National League Wild Card, the fans, the pundits, and the apologists talked about how great the team was “on paper.” It is a fact that the 2004 edition of the baby bears was one of the best assemblages of baseball talent the Chicago Tribune’s money could buy.

Why then, will we be sitting it out again while Houston, LA, the big Apple and other cities’ fans celebrate? It’s all a simple matter of execution. Since the games are played on (mostly) grass and not paper it is clear the highly paid boys that roam Wrigley Field couldn’t make a difference between the foul lines. It got me to thinking about this month’s Conversation Signposts. What is it that separates good sales people in banking from the great ones?

When you stop to think about it most bankers have been “trained” six ways to Sunday. Everyone has his or her own “way” of selling – some of which are actually pretty good. Some are consultative, some are back slappers, some have just been doing this so long that they have an amazing network. Some have advanced degrees; some have no sheep skin at all. Most of the more than 200,000 we’ve interfaced with are honest, hard working, dedicated to their job bankers. So why do some continually exceed expectations and others are just OK?

There are hundreds of nuances that make one person succeed and another fail. Here are several

Preparation. Oh my God, it’s the “P” word. The fact is, in a recent study by the Business Banking Board, the 90th percentile sales person in long cycle selling is 179% better than the 50th percentile seller. That tends to translate to more than $400,000 in additional annual revenues. The sales MVP invests (not spends) 37.5% of their time in call preparation compared to 18.5% for the average sales associate. We’ll be talking more about this in our November edition but suffice it to say that even the Cubs had a game plan before they took to the field.

“The sales MVP invests (not spends) 37.5% of their time in call preparation compared to 18.5% for the average sales associate.”

Tenacity. – When our daughter was looking for a position in the event planning industry she learned the value of never quitting. Recently out of college she falsely believed that if she read the classifieds, wrote a nice cover letter, enclosed her resume, and sat by the phone, the position of her dreams would appear. She’s young and she fortunately (or unfortunately) has two parents that understand that “one and done” won’t work in any walk of life. She found her position by doggedly proacting to the firms she wanted to be associated with versus reacting to anything because “I need a job, any job.”

Most surveys indicate in business-to-business selling it takes an average of 12 touches with a cold prospect before a sales person gets in to see Mr. or Ms. Big. Then it takes an average of six more calls to make a sale on that pure prospect. Most bankers quit after three or four touches and three calls. Great sales people understand the marathon-like approach necessary to establish a partnership. They are creative and always leave more than they take when they make contact with a prospect. Great sales people use internal coaches and external advocates and think strategically about how to “get their nose under the tent” of the prospect. All they need is a chance and by being resolute they will more times than not, get that chance.

Another lifetime ago I was assigned a large east coast bank to call on. It took me nine years to convert this prospect into a total client relationship. When he signed the contract, the Senior Vice President said, “I couldn’t think of any other way to object to your working with us and if you can teach our people to be that tenacious, we’ve selected an excellent partner.” OK, maybe I’m not as smart as most people or as quick on the draw. I see sales as a marathon profession and the great ones stay with the process.

Curiosity. My favorite line from any business book I’ve ever read appears in Sharon Drew Morgan’s classic “Selling With Integrity.” The sentence is “The buyer has the answers, the seller has the questions.” If we believe the six calls theory, it then becomes logical that the entire first and maybe even most of the second sales call should focus on questions.

Which questions work the best? It certainly depends on the situation and the buyer seated across from you. In general, we like to see our clients start with BNG. That is; where have you been, where are you now and where are you going. That might be most of, or even the entire framework for the initial sales call.

“…we like to see our clients start with BNG. That is; where have you been, where are you now and where are you going."

Sounds easy in a newsletter, doesn’t it? It is in real life too – especially if the banker places his or her focus on the business person and is well prepared to ask, not tell. Young children ask questions, almost to a fault. World class sales people have retained that childlike curiosity and they are winning as a result – winning big

Follow-up. The first thing to remember about follow-up is to promise less than you can deliver. In the heat of the sales battle, the banker tends to say anything when he or she uncovers a “hot opportunity.” One temptation in this situation is to present a product. Another is to suggest that you can turn something around in two or three days when that isn’t possible. That leads to disappointment, not to mention the upheaval this can cause inside the bank.

Follow-up actually begins in the pre-call planning process. Knowing the maximum goal for the call helps the banker strategize what type of next steps they are looking for. As an example, I was recently with one region of a client bank where small business bankers failed to ask the prospect for a second call 82% of the time. Only one of the bankers took a calendar or day planner to even know when they might be available for a second appointment. Obviously these bankers suffer from maximum goalites.

Follow-up also involves articulating value to the business owner. That begins when the initial call ends. We’ve seen some pretty interesting leave behinds – most of which add nothing. Pitch books, coffee mugs (are they better when they are filled with candy?), annual reports, collateral, and product information are all worthless early in the sales cycle. Most will be thrown away shortly after the banker leaves the office. We love it when bankers tell us they provide articles about the business owner’s industry or a list of sales books that can help the business learn how to generate more revenues. Not only does that approach show value, it immediately differentiates this banker from all the other bankers that come calling.

Follow-up notes and letters are nice. They take some time to do and take some time for the prospect to read. Try Dashboard Thank You. The same day you make the call, contact the business owner’s voice mail on your way home from the bank – sometime around 6:00 – 6:30 PM. (You’ll need their direct phone number which is another good question to ask sometime when you are with them.) Say something like:

Not your style? We hear that all the time. It IS, however, the type of follow-up many business owners are looking for. In addition, Dashboard Thank You takes less time than a letter and can accomplish much more.

One final note on follow-up. If the calendar distance between calls one and two is more than 30 days, consider some type of follow-up in the middle of that timeframe. Many of our clients subscribe (for free) to www.bizjournals.com or www.hr.com as ways to find value-based articles to send as follow-ups. This mid cycle follow-up sends a powerful message to the prospect.

Like baseball, the sales game is not won on paper. Success takes a combination of preparation, execution, and follow-up; each of which need to be accomplished with the client at the center. The Cubs have to wait until 2005 for the next potential championship. Fortunately when a skilled banker carries out his or her sales duties, they are always just one day away from the next World Series.