Below are a variety of questions that people have asked Jill Konrath about her books, her sales approach and her business advice. Please feel free to use them in your publication. Just let us know where they appear.
What are the characteristics of successful sellers?
Good question. The best sellers that I encounter have these qualities:
- Learners: They’re curious about learning new things. They read and ask lots of questions. They never get stale.
- Thinkers: They analyze what they know about a prospect’s situation, plan out the best way to approach customers, pull together long-term strategies, and change things when they uncover new information.
- Customer-Focused: They know that they’ll be successful if they can help their customers achieve their goals and objectives. This also means they work to acquire business savvy.
- Resilient: When they encounter problems, they don’t fold. Instead, they treat them as challenges that they haven’t figured out yet.
Why did you write SNAP Selling?
I believe that we’re in the midst of a fundamental shift regarding what it takes to be successful in sales. And, there are literally no sales books out there that address this topic.
It’s caused by a combination of factors. Most important is this “crazy-busy” issue. Today’s prospects zealously guard their time; it’s their most precious commodity. Every time they encounter a seller, they run through a mental checklist to determine if they should continue or end the conversation.
Unfortunately, most sellers don’t know how their prospects are thinking and haven’t adjusted their sales approach accordingly. Nor have they taken into account how their prospects use the Internet to search for information about issues, educate themselves on solutions and review feedback on their options.
Instead, they still try to set up meetings to better understand their prospect’s needs and persuade them to use their solution. When everything a prospect needs to know is online, they have no need for the traditional salesperson.
However, prospects still need a lot of help. And, the seller who embraces the new way of selling will prosper.
Is selling more difficult today, less difficult, or about the same as when Selling to Big Companies came out in 2006?
More difficult. Prospects today are even busier now than when I wrote the book. Plus, they have no need for a salesperson. Everything they could ever want to know is online.
They can research problems they facie and the resulting business implications. They can discover how other companies address these challenges. They can find out about the vendors, get opinions from their colleagues, learn about pricing and decide which direction they want to take – all without consulting a salesperson.
Also, time is their most precious commodity. They zealously protect their calendar against interruptions. And, since most salespeople are still in the pitching mode, they do whatever they can to avoid contact with them.
That’s the primary reason why I wrote SNAP Selling. Sellers need to understand what it takes to succeed with these busy, busy people.
Why are customers so much more “frazzled” these days?
Public companies are obsessed with maximizing shareholder value and quarterly earnings. They will do anything to keep costs down. Lean-and-mean is the name of the game. To remain competitive, private companies do the same things.
Their employees are simply expected to do more, with fewer resources and in less time. Is it any wonder that they’re burnt out and overwhelmed? I recently read that 78% of the workforce would gladly switch jobs if an opportunity arose.
The bad economy has contributed to the problem. But, even if it recovers, companies will not go back to staffing up. People are working at a breakneck speed and expected to keep it up if they want a job.
Finally, there’s just so much information and new stuff out there. People are bombarded with emails, advertising, data, statistics, reports, e-books, manuals, webinars, seminars, new technology. It’s endless. You can never learn enough.
What do you mean by “SNAP Selling”?
SNAP is an acronym that stands for 4 key sales success strategies that sellers need to use today. Briefly, they are:
Rule 1: Keep It Simple. Because crazy-busy prospects cannot handle complexity of any sort, savvy sellers will do whatever it takes to make it easy for make a change from the status quo.
Rule 2: Be iNvaluable. Overwhelmed buyers want to work with experts who continually bring them fresh ideas. You, the seller, are now the primary differentiator – not your products or services.
Rule 3: Always Align. This is all about relevance and risk. When you’re aligned with their critical business objectives and core beliefs, people will want to work with you.
Rule 4: Raise Priorities. It’s an absolute imperative to work with frazzled prospects on their priority projects. With their limited capacity, that’s all they can currently focus on.
In SNAP Selling, I focus on numerous strategies that sellers can use to implement these new rules. Being aware of them is simply not enough. And, most people aren’t even aware of how they’re adding to the complexity or that they sound just like every other salesperson when they approach new prospects.
What common mistakes are sellers making that hurt their efforts to close more business?
Sellers who still think that sales is a numbers game are dead wrong. Quality trumps quantity all the time. If you’re making a bunch of irrelevant calls and sound like a product-pushing peddler or a gracious, helpful seller, you’ll never get in—no matter how many calls you make.
Today’s seller is a savvy businessperson who spends time thinking and strategizing before taking action. They invest significant time planning for meetings.
Another huge mistake is giving up too soon. Most sellers will give up trying to reach a prospect after five attempts. Today it’s taking 8-10 contacts for mid-level managers and up to 14 contacts to reach an executive. They’re simply too busy to respond and they feel it’s the sellers job to keep reaching out to them.
Can you share an example of how a sales rep can become more valuable to customers?
Absolutely. Here are numerous examples of what prospects might find to be “valuable.” They like ideas, insights and information on:
- Industry trends – theirs or yours
- What their competitors are doing
- Key issues they’re facing
- How other companies are addressing these issues
- What it takes to cost-justify a decision
- Changes in their customer base
- What questions they should be asking
- Comparing the various options
- How to reach an important business objective.
- Getting buy-in from others in the decision process
- Impact of new legislation
- Ways to improve their operation
As you can see, these are business-related topics. You don’t find this information on brochures.
So how can this value be delivered? Through conversations, emails with links to solid resources, webinars, seminars, presentations, white papers, and e-books. Sellers just need to realize that people want help running their business, not to be told why one product is better than the other.
Think: How can you HELP your prospects improve their business? Then whatever you come across that could be of benefit to your contacts – pass it on!
We are all inundated with information now. How do you avoid becoming part of the noise?
We’re all overwhelmed with information these days, so it’s a great question. The first thing to do is define noise. From my perspective, it’s “stuff” that doesn’t contribute to helping me get my work done. With that in mind, I’d suggest that you:
- Practice ruthless relevance. By this, I mean that every contact with your prospect must be focused on a critical business issue, a challenge they’re facing, an objective they’d like to achieve. And, if you can send information on something that is a high priority today, then you’ve really got a winner. (Rule #3: Always Align; Rule #4: Raise Priorities)And here’s the kicker: Your product or service offering is NOT relevant. So don’t send anything on that.
- Think small & parcel information out. Our natural tendency as a seller is to give people all sorts of good information upfront – so they really know how great we are. Unfortunately, that has exactly they opposite affect we’re hoping for.Short emails are better than long ones. Send the message over multiple contacts. Only attach one PDF, not three. Only send one link, not five. Only have one purpose per email, not six. (Rule #1: Keep it Simple)
Hopefully you get the picture. It’s very tied in with the SNAP Rules. And, by providing this good information, you also practice Rule #2: Be Invaluable.
Why do you advise reps to “Kiss your PowePoints goodbye”?
PowerPoint is not the enemy. We are. Over the past decade, sellers have come to rely on these massive decks to tell their story. I’ve seen people with 60-80 slides for just one meeting.
First of all, the slides are all wrong from a SNAP perspective. They’re all about the company, it’s history, locations, mission and products. And, they go into excruciating detail on these topics.
Sellers turn into drones as they cover all these points. And, buyer’s eyes immediately glaze over. They either get bored to tears, get critical of what they’re seeing or pull out their BlackBerry. No good comes from these endless, monotonous presentations.
So, I say get rid of them. We need to engage people in lively discussions, bring up challenging issues, address unanswered questions, and provide leadership regarding the next steps. The conversation is key. PowerPoints kill conversations.
Of all your SNAP Selling recommendations, which seem to be the most difficult to follow? Why?
Planning and strategizing. By this, I mean doing the necessary pre-call research and analysis, and then figuring out the approach that’ll have the maximum impact.
Too many sellers still think they can get by with “winging it.” They’re dead wrong. But all that “thinking” work doesn’t feel like selling to these action-oriented individuals who much prefer to be in front of customers rather than prepping for it.
Also, many sales managers still believe that sales is a numbers game. They put constant pressure on their salespeople to make more calls. Their emphasis is on quantity, not quality. They don’t even realize that this management directive actually exacerbates their problems.
How do you locate a decision maker’s name? That can be really tough too.
Yes, it can! If you’re calling a bigger company, you need to focus in on which business unit or division you want to get into. This is the due diligence at the front end that’s necessary. Once you know that, you can begin your search in earnest.
You can do Advanced Google searches: “Vice President, Sales” “General Mills” “food service” to identify possible decision makers. You can also do the same thing on LinkedIn, with a current job search parameter.
To find contact information, you might want to use some of the excellent and low cost resources out there: Jigsaw, ZoomInfo, Netprospex are just a few that come to mind. From these databases, you can extract email addresses and contact information.
Finally, you can pick up the phone, ask to be transferred to the functional unit (marketing, customer service, legal, manufacturing) within the division. Then just ask for help, saying that you’re trying to reach the person who is responsible for the business issue you address.
How can you speed up the decision making process without being obnoxious?
Here’s some good news for you! Any obnoxious, pushy behavior actually sets you back so you don’t want to do that at all. I don’t believe in closing early and closing often. It simply creates barricades to your success.
I always tell sellers that if they really want to speed up their sales, they need to slow down. It’s one of my Paradoxical Sales Principles. Here are some things you can do.
- Focus on their business issues and objectives. I know I’ve said that a lot, but you don’t have to make a gazillion calls if you’re talking to prospects about what’s important to them.
- Leverage trigger events. Identify factors that create opportunities for your business (e.g., new markets, relocations, new laws, expansions, mergers) and pursue those companies. They make decisions faster.
- Eliminate complexity. Many decisions are simply so overwhelming that people decide that it’s easier to stay the same.
- Show them how to make a decision. If they don’t deal with product/service decisions like yours very often, they need guidance.
- Always suggest the logical next step. Before you leave, make sure your next meeting is on the calendar.
Between your first bestseller and this book, what have you learned about sales, social media, and how both collide?
Selling to Big Companies came out in January 2006, when social media was in its infancy. Personally, for business-to-business (B2B) sales, I think LinkedIn is the best resource. There are so many ways you can use it. I love it for researching prospects and finding names. Also, since prospects check you out online, it’s a great tool to showcase your own expertise via your description, recommendations, answers and more.
My customers and my customer’s customers are spending minimal time on Facebook or Twitter. I’m experimenting with both of them because that’s my job, but I wouldn’t invest a ton of time and effort in this area.
Also, I like blogging and YouTube because both of these mediums can be used to attract targeted prospects. I think all small businesses should embrace these because they’re inexpensive, they showcase expertise and that have a huge magnifier effect.
All careers have pivotal moments, turning points, etc. Thus far, what have been yours and why has each proven to be so significant?
My first pivotal moment was getting hired as a salesperson by Xerox. I was teaching high school at the time and not loving it. Some friends and I came up with an idea to start a services business. We went to SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives) with our concept and they were impressed.
I’ll never forget the retired General Mills VP saying to us, “Now which one of you will be doing sales?” We were stunned. We thought it was such a good idea that it would sell itself. None of us wanted to be in sales – not even one iota. I finally volunteered because I was the most miserable in my current job.
I was fortunate to get hired by Xerox. From my first day on the job, I knew I was in the right place for me. I never looked back – and never did start that entrepreneurial venture.
Another pivotal moment was moving into computer sales. My company loved their technological superiority and touted it all the time. I was totally technophobic; my eyes glazed over the moment they started talking about bits and bytes.
What I learned though was how to focus on and sell the business benefits of the technology. As a result, I earned International Rookie of the Year honors. But more importantly, I started a consulting business with a focus on helping companies who loved their technology too much. This highly profitable niche consulting practice was my lifeblood for 15 years.
Who or what have had the greatest influence on your professional development? How so?
When I was hired by Xerox, they had the best sales and management training program in the world. I took advantage of every professional development opportunity available to me. Plus, I had an incredible manager and mentor named Diane Gulbrandson. She was one of the first women hired into sales by Xerox and she was committed to helping women succeed in sales.
Plus, I immediately resonated with Neil Rackham’s work on the power of asking insightful questions. As a teacher, I’d already seen how good questions could stimulate discussion, engage students and build relationships. So I embraced his SPIN Selling methodology right away – which was a key component of my early sales success.
Are salespeople born or made? What do you think?
Many people are under the mistaken belief that salespeople are born, not made. I wholeheartedly disagree – and I speak from personal experience. I’m an introvert who initially detested salespeople and their manipulative techniques.
Plus, people who make that claim do NOT understand what it takes to be successful at sales. They think it’s about being pushy, having the gift of gab and being able to handle tons of rejection. It’s not.
The best sellers I know are smart, savvy people who have committed themselves to learning what it takes to be successful in this profession. It’s a challenging job, but it is something that can be learned – as long as you don’t define your mistakes as ‘failures.”
Lots of experts recommend that sellers really focus on developing their qualifying and closing skills. What’s your opinion of that?
I have a different perspective. I believe in pursuing targeted prospects who already have a high propensity of doing business with you. By focusing upfront, you naturally eliminate many less qualified prospects.
But I also don’t believe in only pursuing people who are ready to buy now – which may be less than 10% of the prospects you contact. There are a whole slew of businesses that aren’t satisfied with their status quo. If they understood how much it costs them or how it negatively impacts their ability to achieve their objectives, they’d switch.
Sellers who bring them ideas, insights and information related to the business value of making a change can transform non-lookers into buyers in very short order. Plus, they’re seen as invaluable resources – which means they don’t have to fight the battles of commoditization.
Finally, I’ve always believed in leveraging trigger events to create fresh opportunities out of thin air. Sellers who use this strategy are able to close more profitable deals in much shorter timeframes and with minimal/no competition.
My selling approach is focused on creating opportunities, not just finding ready-to-buy-now prospects.
After reading your books, I’m convinced that the strategies you talk about could be used in non-selling situations where persuasion is the ultimate objective. Do you agree?
100%. But you’ll probably laugh when I tell you that I hate the word “persuade.” It means “convincing, swaying, roping in or hustling,” implying that you talk someone into doing something they wouldn’t necessarily do on their own.
So I’d like to reframe what you said. Both books help non-sellers discover how to really understand what’s important to the people they deal with on a regular basis. That’s a critical foundation. Plus, they both show people how to open others up to the potential ideas and value you can bring them.
What has been the single greatest challenge that you had to overcome to achieve success and how did you eventually overcome it?
The hardest time ever was when my consulting business crashed about 10 years ago. My two biggest clients came under pressure from Wall Street at the same time and chopped all external consulting contracts. I went through a totally lost period trying to decide what kind of work I wanted to do for the next decade of my life.
Then, when I was ready to get new clients, I couldn’t get my foot in the door. I’d always been a sales superstar, but now I was failing miserably. For months, I feared that I’d lost my mojo and that my best days were behind me.
How did I recover? When I finally discovered that it wasn’t just me who was having problems, I decided to accept it as a challenge. I spent months studying what it took to crack into new accounts. I did tons of experimentation and fine-tuned my approach till it became a replicable methodology.
But in looking back, I’d say that key turning point was redefining the problem as a challenge. This mental switch freed up creativity and enabled new solutions to emerge. This downtime became the genesis of my online Selling to Big Companies initiative to help small businesses win big contracts. Then came the book by the same name. It resulted in a total transformation of my business within a few years.
Which major historical figure best illustrates the principles of selling that you so eloquently advocate?
Interesting question. I’d say Gandhi, a purpose-driven change agent who led a movement that resulted in India’s independence. With a vision of what was possible, he engaged and united Indians from across the country to make this happen. In short, he upturned the well-entrenched “status quo” by providing strong leadership, coaching his followers and being disciplined in his action.
I love this quote of his: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others.” To me, selling is all about helping your customers achieve their objectives. When they do, you also benefit.
What question had you hoped to be asked during this interview – but weren’t – and what is your response to it?
I was hoping you’d ask, “What’s next, Jill?” It’s a question I ask myself all the time!
Here’s my answer: The business environment has changed rapidly in the past few years and sellers have been slow to adapt. With their dated skills, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reach their sales objectives. In the not-too-distant future, they will be dinosaurs unless they change what they’re doing.
That’s why I want to be a wake-up call for as many salespeople, entrepreneurs and professionals as I can possibly reach. So, right now, I’m planning a multi-city tour as well as some other fun things so I can have a bigger and broader impact. My goal is to make it ridiculously affordable for small- and medium-sized businesses.
To turn this dream into a reality, I’m looking for sponsors who target this demographic. If you know anyone who might be interested, please send them my way!