Omaha, Nebraska is where my business is based and where I maintain a primary residence.
As I travel the country and mention Omaha, I hear a number of comments. Typical lame
farmer jokes (this is a metro area of close to a million people), and comments from uninformed
elitists who think it is the same place as Oklahoma (hullo, that would be a STATE).
Also, many people associate Omaha with,
-Omaha Steaks
-Mutual of Omaha and Wild Kingdom
-Warren Buffet
-For sports fans, the College World Series. That is the focus of today's Tip. (Trust me, there is a huge sales point here.)
Right now, even though much of the country is still experiencing the frigidness of winter,
the college baseball season has begun, and the goal of thousands of players is to get their
team to Omaha in June for the national championship.
I've written about the College World Series many times over the years. If you are a sports fan, you really should try to get here to experience it.
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) does not hold any other of its many championship tournaments at a fixed location other than the College World Series. They know it would be tough for any other community to support it and embrace it like Omaha has over the past 50 years.
And, Omaha wants to keep it forever. As a result, every time the NCAA says "Jump!," the power people in Omaha say, "How high, sir?"
Well, the NCAA has said that they want a new stadium in which to play the games. A new,
$140 million downtown stadium. Of course, Omaha said, "OK, but we need a new 20-year
contract to keep the tournament here."
I'll spare you all the details, but what it all has boiled down to is that a major power struggle
has taken place here between the mayor, and a few people on a commission that was appointed
several years ago to run a new arena that was built. The ridiculous bickering over where to
build this thing could potentially mean losing the entire College World Series.
OK, let me get to the sales point.
Yesterday, the mayor and a few other high-powered execs on his own stadium committee
presented the NCAA with their proposal for a building a new $140 million stadium, asking for
a 20-year contract.
The NCAA, which considers itself perhaps even more important and powerful than The Vatican,
The Supreme Court, the IRS, and perhaps even Oprah, replied,
"That's nice. But come back to us when you have broad-based support in Omaha."
And the Omaha people left with that as a result of their "sales call."
Kind of like a sales rep who gets off the phone, thinking he has a hot prospect when he hears,
"Sounds good, we'll give it some thought. Get back to us."
Huh?
"Broad-based support"?
Now, I was not in the room, but if I was, I would be waving my hand wildly, like a
second-grader, and would ask this simple question:
"Excuse me, but could you please define ically what you mean by 'broad-based support'?"
I mean, if you were going to spend $140 MILLION to secure a sale, isn't it reasonable to
know exactly what you need to do in order to earn that right?
Sales reps: look at your follow up files right now. Pick a few of the prospects you are working on,
particularly the ones you think you have a good shot with. Why do you think that?
Did they tell you something that sounded like the "broad-based support" phrase? If so, I bet
you don't get the sale.
Sales Managers: How many times have you sat with reps, reviewing their pipeline, asking about
specific prospects, and you hear things like the broad-based support phrase? It often sounds
like, "They said they were going to do something. They just needed to work a few things out."
ACTION STEP
Here's a pretty simple suggestion that can move your sales process along more quickly, and help you get more yes answers: Get specifics on exactly and specifically what needs to happen next. Leave no doubt.
"What specifically needs to happen on your end to move forward?"
"What will we need to do in order to make this happen?"
"When you say you need ______, what does that mean? What does that look like?"
"How do you measure ______?"
"When you are evaluating/demo-ing the product, what criteria will you use to judge it, and what will you need to see to move forward?"
Some squeamish types might argue that this is being pushy. No, it is business.
And if the mayor calls, I'll be happy to go on the next sales call with the NCAA.
Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone, provides proven ideas, tips, and processes to help salespeople use the phone to prospect, sell and service without morale-killing rejection. To see word-for-word phrases you can use right now to get to and sell more buyers, and other resources such as books, audios, and seminars, and to get his FREE weekly TelE-Sales Tips, and access to back issues, go to: http://www.BusinessByPhone.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Art_Sobczak
No comments:
Post a Comment