MOMENTUM PERFORMANCE COACHING BLOG

Just imagine how strange it would be for someone to go into McDonalds, patiently queue up, and, when it is their turn to be served, they ask the till operator “What’s the best price you can offer me on a big mac?” and when given the price, they reply with, “If that’s the best price you can give me, I need to go away and discuss it with my family.  I will come back to you and let you know about our decision.”

What are the chances of that really happening? I am sure you will agree, pretty slim. Why is that? It’s because it is a low risk purchase, which means little or no sales resistance  and less decision time on behalf of the customer which, therefore, requires a low sales effort on behalf of the till operator.

Now imagine you have decided to purchase yourself a new coffee machine and you see an advert for the very impressive Clover Coffee machine. So, in a similar scenario as above, you approach the company and ask, “How much?” Only to be told, 8500 euros! What is your sales resistance like now? How much sales effort is required? How much decision time is needed?

The clover coffee machine is real and until it was bought by Starbucks it was retailed at 8500 euros for the baby in their product range. So how on earth do you sell an 8500 euro coffee machine?

The way they achieved sales was by taking people through a carefully thought out sales process that would include a number of personal touches designed to build a relationship and trust.

Before I go on to explain the process and the difference having a process could make to your business, consider the McDonalds scenario and ask yourself “How often is a similar situation occurring in my business?” and “How often am I giving away my profit in order to make the sale?”

To sell a Clover Coffee machine, the first thing the sales person has to be really clear about is their target market because clearly it isn’t an ‘anybody in the market for a coffee machine’ kind of product. They will have a clearly defined description of their perfect customer. This allows the Clover Marketing team to have a laser like focus in their marketing efforts, instead of the more usual ‘shotgun’ approach to marketing.

This opens up the idea that a sales process is as much about de-selection as it is about selection. How much time is spent in businesses all over the country wasting the most precious resource we have; our time, hoping that people within the sales pipeline will one day make a purchase. The whole thing smacks of desperation and, once that sets in, the customers sense it and will begin to haggle on price. If YOU don’t see the value in YOUR product, then don’t expect the customer to see it either!

Once their marketing hit the spot, enquiries were made, and people are then offered the opportunity for a home trial. A company expert brings along the machine, a free supply of coffee beans and makes sure that invites are sent to the customer’s friends, family members and neighbours. With everybody gathered, the machine is strategically placed in a place of prominence in the kitchen and a demo is given to all attendees (or, should I say, additional future customers)! The question here is, ‘How good does coffee taste when it has been brewed in an 8500 euro machine?’ Once the expert is confident that the customer understands how to get the best from the machine he lets them get on with their trial.

This technique is what is known in sales as the ‘puppy dog close’. Imagine you are going to purchase a puppy and, when visiting a breeder, you find a pup that you take a liking to.  If the breeder were to say to you that you could take it home for a trial and give you some free food, all the while ensuring you know that the cute little pup has all its inoculations and that if you have any problems, you can just bring the puppy back and pick another… What are the chances that after a few weeks of growing attached to the pup you would decide to take it back? The same thing is happening here with the coffee machine, the customer will grow very attached to the superb coffee they are drinking and sharing with jealous friends, family and neighbours.

Once the trial period is over, the expert returns to discover what the customer has enjoyed most about having the machine, safe in the knowledge that they will have grown very attached to having this superb piece of engineering taking pride of place in their kitchen.

Once the customer is gushing over the experience they have had with the machine, they will then be shown the full range-remember, this was only the baby model. The customer, who has enjoyed showing off the new machine, is now shown bigger and better models, with the expert pointing out how much envy people would have if they had an even more impressive model to show off.

With the up-sell in place, the customer is now shown ways that this could be made more affordable by spreading the payments over a longer period and, of course, in no way will they miss out because the nice sales person will leave the present model with them until his or her new model arrives.

Now the sale can be made, “All we need to do to ensure delivery by xx date, is for you to autograph the paperwork…” and suddenly, a sale for a 8500+ euros coffee machine has been closed.

• The key pieces to this sales process are:
• Dealing with the correct target market
• They are only ever selling the next stage and not the machine: “We have this brilliant coffee machine for sale do you want to buy one?” will not work!
• They test, measure and constantly improve each stage; knowing where people dropping out of the process lets them know where improvements can be made.
•  Each stage is designed to grow the customer’s attachment to the machine and therefore provide a ‘need’ to purchase the product.
•  It is as much a de-selection process as a selection process

If you are selling a high ticket priced item ask yourself “What does my sales process look like? “Is it mapped out and does each stage build trust and relationship?” “ What measures have I got in place at each stage?”” What difference would it make if I did have a process?”

As I mentioned Clover Coffee machines are now owned by Starbucks and they are utilised in a number of their more upmarket stores where their clientele is generally more affluent.  Here, when ordering their coffee, customers can select their preferred coffee machine; the cheap regular coffee, or the Clover Coffee, which, incidentally, is about twice the price of the regular cup.  Another clever bit of sales work is at play here; customers are offered the prestige of ordering the most expensive coffees on the Starbuck menus in front of their company; friends, family, associates, clients etc. and Starbuck turn a nice profit, but also, the Clover name is spread and advertised more and more and, additionally, those same clients that were so delighted to show off their Clover Coffee machine to friends and family in the original sales pitch, can also reference the Starbuck model too-they will have their very own top of the range coffee machine that is so good that even Starbucks use it, but only for their top end customers of course! Double boasting rights.

Want to know how to put in place a sales process that will really ramp up the sales in your business? Come alongto our Double Your Sales Workshop. It will be great to meet you.

Thoughts:

“it’s not your customer’s job to remember you. It is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you”…Patricia Fripp

“The sale begins when the customer says yes”…Harvey MacKay

“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service”…Brian Tracy

“In sales there are going to be times when you can’t make everyone happy. Don’t expect to and you won’t be disappointed. Just do your best for each client in each situation as it arises. Then learn from each situation how to do it better the next tiem”…Tom Hopkins

“Always be closing…That doesn’t mean you’re always closing the deal, but it does mean you need to be always closing on the next step of the process”…Shane Gibson

Dedicated to your success

Kevin
Business Performance Coach


Our next Workshop 'Double Your Sales in 2015' is on Friday 21st November 2014
To Book Simply go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/double-your-sales-in-2015-tickets-13756053727

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