Red Adair
Business people say far too much irrelevant stuff. They fling jelly at their audience, hoping some of it sticks.
And, you'll never see as much irrelevant jelly as when you see people selling.
You'll have been on the receiving end of this yourself, as you sat through suppliers flinging all sorts of information at you. And, sad to say, you'll probably be guilty of it yourself. After all, everyone else is.
To show what I mean, imagine you're buying a website from a local web designer. You invite them round to your office and ask the question, 'What do you do?'
They answer in the typical salesman's way – chronologically. In other words, starting with who they are, and then building up to what they do. Look at these eight sentences they might say:
'We produce websites for our clients'
which means
'They have a presence on the internet'
which means
'They have an increased profile worldwide'
which means
'Potential customers are more likely to hear of them'
which means
'Potential customers are more likely to be impressed (because of our fabulous websites)'
which means
'They look better than their competitors'
which means
'Potential customers are more likely to buy from them rather than their competitors'
which means
'Their sales go up.'
A perfectly logical sales argument. But there's lots of jelly. I mean, wasn't it boring to start with? 'We produce websites for our clients.' You know this already, and it's not going to make you want to buy.
But read the eight sentences again, and ask yourself: 'If I was a potential client, which would be the most interesting one to me?'
There's a good chance it's number 8 – about sales increasing.
And which is the second most interesting? Number 7? The fact that potential customers are more likely to buy from you than your competitors?
In fact, if you were to write the above eight sentences in order of interest to you – the customer – it is highly likely that number 8 would be most interesting; number 7, the second most interesting; number 6, the third most interesting ... and so on. The least interesting to you is the first one that was said. 'We produce websites for our clients.'
To them, what they said was in a sensible order – it was chronological But, to you, it was 'chron-illogical'. The order didn't make sense. The first words out of their mouths were boring jelly. It only got interesting later.
When you sell, are you the same as this website company? In answer to potential customers asking 'What do you do?', do you fling any of the following in your first 1–2 sentences:
I guess you do. When I created my sales programme Win that Pitch, I found the vast majority of sellers did.
But it isn't captivating to your potential customer. And you don't want the first words that come out of your mouth – the first impression you give – to be of someone flinging jelly. Instead, you want the most relevant and interesting things first. So, the website company would do better saying their previous eight sentences in reverse:
'We can help improve your sales'
because
'We make potential customers more likely to buy from you than your competitors'
because
'We make you look better than your competitors'
because
'We make you look more impressive to your potential customers because of our excellent websites'
because
... and so on.
In other words, start with the end result first. The website company is now telling you what you'll be left with AFTER your work together (more sales), not what they do (websites).
And this is the crux of selling. The centre point.
Note
The most interesting, most important, most critical fact to tell a customer ... is what they will be left with AFTER you've done your work.
I've mentioned elsewhere my selling programme Win that Pitch. Fig. 5.1 and Fig 5.2 are taken from it and show why AFTERs are so critical in selling, and why they work:
Well, let's see. Table 5.1 gives a list of professions, together with some of the AFTERs they leave their clients with.
Table 5.1. Various professions and the AFTERS they give
AFTER working with [this profession], clients are left with ... | |
|---|---|
Accountant | A larger, healthier business; smaller tax bill, etc. |
Marketing company | Increased sales |
Telesales | More sales appointments |
Printer | contacts who are impressed (by your brochures, letterhead, etc.) |
Business coach | Increased company value; more time with your children |
IT Trainer | staff time freed up |
IT installation | Time saved; less hassle; increased profits through greater efficiency |
Architect | A building you are proud of, that meets your needs |
Nutritionist | More energy; thinner/healthier weight |
Life coach | Being the best you can be, and proud of your achievements |
Recruitment | The right people in place to take your business for ward |
Financial planner | Your money working for you, not you working for your money |
Health insurance | Your children and loved ones protected and safe |
Barrister | Not being in jail |
Banker | The resources you need to move forward |
Graphic designer | Improved profile and image of your company, to increase sales |
conveyancing solicitor | The house of your dreams/business premises you need |
Motivational speaker | Improved company performance, increased productivity of staff |
PR company | Increased sales, profile |
Can you see how this works? Customers are interested in the right-hand column – the AFTERs. They want to pay less tax, buy their dream home, protect their children. They do not want 'an accountant', 'a conveyancing solicitor' and 'health protection'.
There is no doubt that Theodore Levitt's 'drills/holes' idea is true. But the strange thing is that, even though customers are ultimately interested in the AFTERs, very often they are not even aware of it. If you were the one who went to the hardware store and spoke to a drill expert about a drill, you would think you wanted a drill, even though it's the holes you're after.
And this is one of the totally weird things about sales and purchases. There is a total lack of awareness – from either side – that it is the AFTERs that drive everything.
Purchasers don't realise they're only ultimately interested in the AFTERs (they thought they wanted to buy a drill).
And sellers don't focus on the AFTERs, focusing instead on how great the drill is.
Similarly, when you sell, a large proportion of what you say will be focused on how great your drill is, and not the AFTERs your customers get.
So, everyone is focussing on the wrong thing.
For instance, when selling, do you – like most people – spend a lot of your time talking about:
It seems sensible to. But there is no emphasis whatsoever on the AFTERs you leave customers with.
Now, you could easily say, 'Yeah but ... all the above selling points provide evidence that I can deliver fantastic AFTERs for companies.'
And that is no doubt true.
But, do you categorically state the AFTERs that they will be left with?
If not, leaving them to draw their own conclusions about the AFTERs you can deliver will never be as powerful as you stating them, and proving you can deliver them.
This title is a sentence you should remember. Customers don't want the best technical lawyer in the world. They want the lawyer who can solve all their problems.
So, to sell more, you have to be a fantastic problem solver.
And the first step of being a problem solver is to deliver fantastic AFTERs. You must leave legacies of success with every client you work with. And, then tell new clients the legacies they'll be left with AFTER working with you.
One of my good friends, Paul McGee, is a fantastic professional speaker. His book SUMO – Shut Up and Move On has changed the lives of thousands of people. He speaks all over the world, he is a Fellow of the Professional Speakers' Association (the highest accolade possible) and is well known on the speaking circuit as being at the very top of his game.
One concept Paul developed is that different people look at issues as they might look at a beachball. A beachball, as you know, has six coloured segments on it. They might be red, white, blue, yellow, green, orange. If you and I held the ball between us, the ball might look red, white and blue to me. However, from your side, you would think the ball was green, yellow and orange.
So, the same ball looks completely different from different perspectives.
Paul then goes on to talk about how this is true in many aspects of our lives. How two people can view the same thing in completely different ways. Like, I didn't think leaving a wet towel on the bed was a problem. But Emma ...
Apply the beachball idea to selling. You look at your company – the beachball – from a certain point of view. You think of it as having lots of good selling points. You focus on what you think will persuade others to buy.
But, when your prospective customers hear what you say, they're looking at your company – the same beachball – from a different point of view. They want to see evidence you can provide the AFTERs they are looking for. And that's all.
The rest of this section will show you how to sell using AFTERs.
Apply the contents of this section to your business, and it will transform your results.
I know this because it has worked for every single company I have worked with, from multi-national blue-chips, to small Liverpool-based businesses; from charities looking to win national accounts, to family-run enterprises where more income literally means more food on the table that night.
One of my clients is Hubbub UK. They are a PR and marketing company who specialise in creating buzz around what you do, and getting you the attention you need to succeed in your target market. Hubbub is run by two Kiwis, Mark Sinclair and James Kirk (not the one from Star Trek!). They are both very talented men, as are their employees and associates, but – before working with me – they never quite got the sales their skills deserved.
I showed them how to sell based on AFTERs, using my ABC technique (page 104). And, since then, they have won every single sales pitch they have made. Not only that, but clients have signed up quicker than before, making their sales pipeline much more efficient.
And some of their sales successes have been really eye-catching. They won a huge contract with the New Zealand government, which resulted in them running an important campaign, including projecting a massive image against one of the tallest buildings in Central London. Their work was so impressive, it got media coverage on the other side of the world, and made front-page news of PR Week, and led the government's communications and marketing director to say their message had 'reached well over five and a half million people'.
Because of how powerful the AFTERs-based approach is, Hubbub also now get better results for their clients, build better relationships with their clients faster, they're hiring more staff, and they've moved to some swish new premises.
Now, all this is pretty impressive. But it becomes even more so when you realise that Hubbub is a small Bristol-based company. They have less than ten staff, they regularly pitch against huge marketing and PR agencies, with worldwide brand names. Yet they still achieved – and continue to achieve – this level of success.
That cannot happen unless you have a hugely efficient and effective sales message, which they now do.
It's based on their AFTERs.
But that's just one company Another organization I work with – a major bank – won business from 18 sales pitches out of 18. Delegates from another bank who attended one of my courses increased their weekly sales by over 47% based on the AFTERs.
Chris Beadsworth, former Chief Executive of Siemens' spin-out Landis & Gyr UK Limited, asked me to write a sales pitch to their largest client British Gas, at a time when they were – in Chris's own words – 'dead in the water with them'. As a result of their AFTERs-based pitch, Chris said, 'We now work more closely with British Gas than ever before'.
Without boring you by listing thousands of examples, you can see this stuff works. Because there's lots of AFTERs and no jelly!
Imagine a timeline when working with clients, such as Fig. 5.3.
Traditional selling focuses on who you are, what you do, how you work, and the service you provide.
In other words, it focuses solely on everything you do up to the end of your work (i.e. everything to the left of the X).
But, because clients want AFTERs – even though they're not always aware of it – to sell more, you must focus on the time AFTER the end of your work together, i.e. to the right of the X.
The complete opposite of what you're currently focussing on.
Do you remember the sentence 'clients want problem solvers, not technicians'? Well, technicians focus on how they work (left of the X), whereas, problem solvers focus on the right, saying, 'By the time I have finished, these are the problems I will have solved for you'.
Now, let me ask you a question. Would you buy from someone who was a technical expert, or from someone who you knew without any doubt at all could leave you in a better place AFTER you had worked with them?
The answer is a no-brainer. We must focus all our efforts to proving we can deliver great things AFTERwards, not jellying clients with details of how we'll do the job.
I don't know about you, but I've always hated the word 'sales'. And lots of phrases which include the word drive me mad too – sales pitches, unique selling points, etc.
The reason I hate the word is because it is solely to do with us, and not the customer. It is we who are selling. So, the word itself is from our point of view not our customers, who are making purchases.
Therefore, instead of the phrase unique selling points, I much prefer the phrase unique buying points – the unique things about you that customers will buy into. This is more powerful than what you think will sell. For instance, a great selling point for me is that bank winning 18 pitches out of 18. However, the thing you're more likely to buy into is the fact that my Mother is blind, giving me a unique perspective on communication, which helps me show others how to succeed when they speak.
Similarly, I would rather not use the word sales when talking about sales! Instead, I much prefer the phrase agreement to help.
Let me explain. If you can find the AFTERs your client wants, and then prove you can help them achieve these AFTERs, such that they agree to buy from you ... you've both agreed you can help them. Yes, technically, you've made a sale, and they've made a purchase. But it's been much more consultative than that.
I once heard a story about someone who had three children. The eldest – a boy – is two years older than the other two, twin sisters.
So, the couple went from having no children to one child, and then – when the twins came – from having one child to three.
The father of the children said the biggest jump was having the first child. In other words, it was a bigger jump to go from none to one, than it was to go from one to three.
And I love this idea about 'none to one' being the biggest jump. Because, it's like that in so many walks of life. When you go on a diet, the biggest jump is your first healthy meal. Trying a new idea in business ... the biggest jump is the first time you do it.
The phrase 'none to one' appears a lot in this chapter, because it's very important from a sales point of view. You'll see why later.
But, for now, I want you to go from none to one with your AFTERs.
I would like you to think what AFTERs you leave your clients with. Can you think of anything? Do you leave them with more profits? More sales? Do you free up their time? Do you reduce the stress in their office? Do you make them happier?
Go from none to one now, by making a note of an AFTER you leave clients with.
Before you do, a word of advice: when listing your AFTERs, there is one rule. You must exclude what you do from your AFTERs sentence.
So, if you are a website company, you cannot say, AFTER coming to us, you will have a website'. Instead, you should be saying, AFTER coming to us, you will have more sales.' So, a website company cannot mention the word website in their AFTERs.
Go from none to one now. List some of the AFTERs you leave your clients with (you've already touched on this in both the AFTERs and Networking sections). We'll go into this in a lot more detail shortly, but let's do the hardest jump – none to one – before we do.
There are two things your customers want when making a buying decision:
These are the only two things customers are interested in. If they know with 100% certainty that they will get the AFTERs they require, they will buy
This turns traditional selling on its head, of course. Because standard sales stuff – like your date of incorporation – does not satisfy either of these criteria. It has nothing to do with their AFTERs. And it does nothing to transmit certainty that you can deliver them.
I've devised a three-step approach to selling, which I call my ABC Approach. It ensures both AFTERs and certainty are covered. It's really simple, but incredibly powerful.
The three steps to the ABC Approach are:
Note
A FTERs – establish their DESIRED AFTERs;
Be certain – state with certainty you can provide those AFTERs; and
Convince – prove that you can deliver those AFTERs.
In other words, find out what they want, and then prove you can give it to them.
This approach will help you get the sales that someone of your expertise could – and indeed should – get.
Another good thing about the ABC approach is that you don't have much extra work to do. You will see that 90% of what you say in the ABC approach is made up of things you currently say when selling. So, although it's a totally new framework, you have not got much new material to find. What you do need to do is restructure how you say it.
Do you remember the five steps to communication that I outlined in section 3: 'AFTERs'? These are the five steps that my mother and I developed to make communication effective:
Always context first;
Frame of the other person;
Thoroughness is key;
Extra info; and
Required information only
The ABC approach satisfies all five criteria. You will see it puts the sales meeting in context for the customer (rule 1), and that it's totally geared to being in their frame (rule 2). Detail is only given where it's needed (rule 3), you never give too much information (rule 4). And – crucially – the only words you say are relevant to the audience (rule 5).
In other words, no jelly. Not one wasted word. And every single thing you say impresses the client.
The rest of this section outlines how to use the ABC approach. My advice is this: for you to get best use of this section, every time I suggest you apply what I have just said to your business, break off from reading, get a piece of paper and write down your answers to the questions I raise.
That way, AFTER you finish reading this section, you will have your new sales process written!
The A of the ABC approach is concerned with establishing the customer's DESIRED AFTERs.
There are three elements to this:
a) What are the AFTERs you can leave customers with (in general)?
b) If you are speaking to a particular customer – Customer X – how do you find what their DESIRED AFTERs are?
c) How do you change everything you do to being an AFTERs-focused company?
You need the first of these to see the AFTERs your business is capable of producing.
The second helps you apply this info to Customer X, so you don't jelly them.
The third will help your business get the maximum sales possible.
So, let's look at each of these in turn, starting with:
a) What are the AFTERs you can leave your customers with? The AFTERgrid™
There are two types of AFTERs: business-related and emotion-related.
For instance, AFTER buying a computer system, your business processes will be more efficient (business-related AFTER) and your staff won't feel as frustrated as they did with the previous computers (emotion-related AFTER).
Similarly, we can also subdivide AFTERs into being either positive or negative-reducing.
So, in the previous example, increasing a company's efficiency is a positive AFTER (it takes the company forward); whereas reducing staff frustration is a negative-reducing AFTER (it stops bad things continuing).
Putting all this together, you can construct your own AFTERgrid™ for the AFTERs you leave clients with:
Across the top, the two types of AFTERs – business and emotional; down the side, you will see that both types can be either positive or negative-reducing.
To make it clearer, let's go back to the example of the computer company. Here are some of the AFTERs they might provide for their clients, placed in the appropriate quadrant:
Can you see how this works? For instance, the top left quadrant – Positive Business AFTERs – shows how the new computer system will drive the business forward in terms of both increased efficiency and profits.
However, the bottom right quadrant shows the current negative emotional issues that the new computer system will resolve.
Your AFTERgrid™
Earlier in this chapter, you wrote down some of the AFTERs you deliver (when you went from none to one, on page 104.) Why not find more of your AFTERs now, by:
constructing a blank AFTERgrid™;
inserting the AFTERs you currently have in the appropriate quadrants; and
completing the grid?
You'll need at least two entries in each quadrant to ensure you can address whatever AFTERs a particular customer might seek.
Why not do this now and fill in Table 5.2, before reading on?
How to complete your AFTERgrid ™
You should now have at least eight AFTERs, maybe more.
But to find all the AFTERs your company is capable of, here are two suggestions that will help:
Firstly, the best way to find what AFTERs you leave your customers with... is to call your favourite customers and ask what AFTERs they got from you. (Incidentally, I have found an additional benefit of doing this: it reminds your customers how good you are as a supplier, because their AFTERs are spelt out to them. And reminding customers about your unparalleled excellence never does any harm!)
The second way to add to your AFTERgrid™ is to use a simple mnemonic that I created: the 'last RITES'.
Table 5.3. Example AFTERgrid™ completed for a computer company
Business | Emotional | |
|---|---|---|
Positive |
|
|
Negative reducing |
|
|
RITES stands for five AFTERs that customers tend to want some/all of:
Risk reduction
Income increase
Time saved
Expenditure reduction
Stress relief
If your business is able to deliver these five AFTERs, but some are currently missing from your AFTERgrid™, simply insert them, in the appropriate quadrant(s).
Improving the way you phrase each of your AFTERs
The next step is to make your AFTERs as compelling as possible.
To do this, either get a partner – or have a conversation with an imaginary person – and use the following phrases:
| You: [Read out one of your AFTERs.] |
| Them: 'Why should I care about that?' |
| You: 'Well, it's a good thing for you because ...' |
Using these sentences makes the benefits of your AFTERs much clearer. So, taking one of the examples from the computer company's AFTERgrid™, this is how it works:
| You: 'Your staff will stop getting bogged down in unnecessary processes.' |
| Them: 'Why should I care about that?' |
| You: 'Well, that's a good thing for you because they'll be able to focus on more productive work.' |
| Them: 'Why should I care about that?' |
| You: 'Well, that's a good thing for you because they'll be able to increase your company's bottom line, rather than being tied up in resource-draining work which adds nothing to your business.' |
Look at the bottom sentence. It's much more customer-centric.
Again, why not do this now, before moving on? After all, AFTER you've done it, you will have:
a list of every single AFTER you can deliver ...
... phrased in such a way that it makes a very compelling sales argument.
b) If you are speaking to a particular customer – Customer X – how do you find what their DESIRED AFTERs are?
How it works
What you've done so far is a great start but, if you flung all your AFTERs at a potential customer, there would still be too much jelly. Yes, it would be more interesting to them, but would still contain lots of irrelevances. They won't want half the AFTERs you can deliver.
To make sure you don't do this, you need to find the DESIRED AFTERs for every customer you speak to. And this is how ...
When you go to a sales meeting with Customer X, after you have had the initial rapport-building, use some/all of these phrases to establish what her AFTERs are:
What are you looking to achieve AFTER our work together?
If everything were to go really well with this project, where would you be AFTER it?
How would you judge this project to be a success?
If you were to look back in twelve months' time, what would have to have happened for you to think this project had been a success?
What disaster will befall your company if you can't get this sorted now?
How will you feel if you can get this right?
How do you measure if your business is doing well, and does this project improve these areas in any way?
What keeps you up at night?
You won't use all of these questions, just one or two of them (until Customer X goes from none to one and tells you an AFTER they want from you). Then use these two words to move things along:
'Anything else?'
Once clients have said their first AFTER, the words 'Anything else?' draw more and more out of them.
In fact, you'll often find 'Anything else?' leads customers into telling you everything you need to know.
In my experience, when my clients hear the words 'Anything else?' for the first time, they ask, 'Is that it?' And, I admit, it doesn't sound very hard. But often in business it's the simplest things that make all the difference.
If I were you, I'd find your best friend in business and practise this questioning technique with them. Remember, you use one or two of the bullet-pointed questions above to get them going, and then say Anything else?' to draw a few more AFTERs out. You're not looking for millions here. Four or five will do.
Here are a couple more ideas that will help you increase your chances of getting the sale for the price you want.
Firstly, if a client starts the conversation with a question to you – for instance, 'What do you do?' – you need to be able to deflect this or you'll end up talking about yourself first, and not them. This means you won't be able to ask them the questions outlined above. This in turn, will mean you won't know their AFTERs in time, so you'll start jellying them.
Where the client asks about you first, simply say, 'Thanks for asking, but the last thing I want to do is bore you with lots of irrelevant information about me. So, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions first, to make sure I tailor what I say to you?'
This phrase is impossible for the customer to say 'no' to. Can you imagine them saying, 'No, be as irrelevant as you can. Throw your jelly at me. Fling away.'
And, secondly, to help with pricing (which is discussed on page 128), ask as one of your final AFTER-triggering questions: 'Excuse my ignorance, but what would these results be worth were you to achieve them?'
Again, customers don't mind answering this question because you've asked it from a knowledge-seeking point of view, and they're almost always happy to increase your knowledge by telling you. And, of course, once you know how valuable their AFTERs are in their eyes, subsequent discussions about pricing become much easier, because they can see the true value in what you will do.
Do you know, in my opinion, this section on AFTERs is the most transformational in the entire book?
Why? Because the devastating realisation that customers don't care what you do means you have to sell in an entirely different way from how the vast majority of people sell. And, using the questions outlined above – like, 'What are you looking to achieve AFTER our work together?' – will help you find exactly what people do want to buy when they see you.
Understanding the real reasons why people should buy from you is the beginning of sales wisdom. It is the strong foundation of your sales argument; the firm platform on which you build all else.
Please, invest the time asking as many customers as possible what they think your AFTERs are. This will give you a more complete, realistic, customer-focused view of the AFTERs you provide.
And, of course, if you've agreed in advance on the criteria by which what you are doing will be judged (their AFTERs), and you are doing a good job, then you've got the start of a continuing series of sales ... you're in business with Customer X for years.
I am frequently told by my customers, 'It was the AFTERs that did it, that won the business.' And this comment is usually followed by, 'I can't believe I didn't mention them before ... or that my competitors don't mention them either!'
In a nutshell? Practise them. Use them. And watch them work.
c) How to change everything you do to being an AFTER-focused company
Since the AFTERs are so transformational, it makes sense to transform your whole business to becoming an 'AFTERs-producing entity'.
It is much better to be ' someone who helps clients' sales go up', rather than being 'a website company', or 'someone who makes people feel better' rather than 'a doctor'.
One time-efficient way to make a start with this is, when a customer is writing you a testimonial, ask them to talk about the AFTERs you left them with.
Most written testimonials are little more than glorified thank-yous – 'Thanks for the work you did. You did a great job.' Testimonials of this ilk are unlikely to lead to more work for you when you show them to potential new customers.
However, if you get a written testimonial starting, 'Since you worked with us, our company has improved by...,' it provides evidence to others that your business is an 'AFTERs-producing entity'.
Since you are calling some of your customers anyway (to find what AFTERs they were left with from your work with them), why not add at the end of the conversation: 'I'm really pleased that the work we did has proved so helpful to you. Would you mind putting in writing what you just said? If you like, I can email over the wording you have just used for you to confirm?'
This kills two birds with one stone. Not only do you find the AFTERs you leave customers with, but – all of a sudden – you have a powerful AFTERs-rich testimonial that you can show to prospective customers.
But it's not just testimonials that can be improved. When demonstrating your product, devise a way of doing it which will show the AFTERs first. For instance, if Customer X is interested in saving time, start your demonstration with, 'Everything we do is designed to save time. For instance, when you press this.'
And it doesn't stop there. If you use case studies to evidence your strengths, change the order in which you have written them. Practically every case study I have seen starts with the background of the client, then the work you did, and ends with the results – the AFTERs – of your work together.
Why don't you flip this completely? Start with the results you got – so your prospects can see the AFTERs straight away – then give the background information underneath.
And don't forget the best thing about all this ... your competitors won't have even heard of the mnemonic AFTERs.
After all, I made it up.
So, at the same time as you're using AFTERs-based selling to impress your prospects, your competitors are still flinging jelly at them, talking about all their products and services, and the fact they were founded in 1922.
And, although life isn't one big battle to smash competitors into the ground, the fact is, if you want to sell more, you do have to appear better than them. Or you won't make the sales you deserve.
What men seek is not knowledge, but certainty.
George Bernard Shaw
The first phase of the ABC approach – establishing Customer X's DESIRED AFTERs – is the start of achieving the sale.
The second phase – the 'Be certain' phase – is very quick and simple: stating with certainty that you can help Customer X achieve the AFTERs she has just told you she wants.
I explained earlier how customers only seek two things when they are buying – AFTERs and certainty. This might have seemed strange when you first read it, but it's definitely true. You're like this yourself. For instance, if you are ill and go to the doctor, you want certainty she'll cure you. Speaking to a wedding photographer? You will want certainty you'll have your treasured day captured forever. A leaky tap? You'll want certainty the plumber will fix it.
From a selling point of view, George Bernard Shaw's quote can be changed to:
Note
What customers seek is not knowledge (about your business), but certainty (that you can deliver their AFTERs).
Although this 'Be certain' phase is critical, it doesn't take very long. In fact, it's only two sentences. It's by far the easiest of the three phases. But it's essential.
It links the first and third phases together by letting the customer know you've finished finding their AFTERs whilst giving them certainty you can deliver these AFTERs for them.
The two sentences are:
confirm their AFTERs (by summarising what they've just said); and
state with certainty you can deliver them.
An example of sentences you could use:
'So, am I right that you're looking for a computer system that will [here come their AFTERs ...] free up your staff's time, so they can help increase your company's profits, by engaging in more profitable activities, whilst at the same time reducing the frustration they currently feel with your existing system?' [Yes].
'Well, I can definitely help you with this.'
And that's it. Just two sentences.
The first sentence is to put a line under the AFTERs part of your conversation by summarizing the key points of what they said. It also ensures you both have total clarity about the relevant issues.
The second sentence transmits certainty to the customer.
Note the phrase in italics in sentence 2: definitely help you. The word definitely is the powerful one here, because the customer sees there is no doubt in your mind whatsoever that you can help her. Without the word definitely (or a word like it), the sentence doesn't work nearly as well.
Now, although I am saying that this 'Be certain' phase is quite simple – after all, it is only two sentences – there are some words of warning that I must impress upon you:
Only say definitely if you're definite. To say you can 'definitely help someone' when you are not sure you can, is lying and lacking in integrity. Remember, you're not trying to make a sale (that benefits only you); you are looking to make an agreement to help (which benefits you both).
Be understated when using the word definitely. Don't make a big song and dance about, it, banging your hands on the table. Understated certainty works best. It's almost a shrug of your shoulders: 'Look, I can definitely help you. It's what I do.'
If your profession is one such that you can't give certainty of an outcome – say, you're a mortgage broker who can't guarantee that the building society will grant your customers the mortgage they're after – make sure you're definite about something you can be definite about. So, you might say 'I can definitely put the best possible case to give you the maximum chance of getting this mortgage.' Or 'I'll give you a definite yes/no by Friday.' Don't make the mistake of promising a mortgage you can't guarantee.
Although it is crucial, don't think certainty alone is enough to get you the sale. It's very unlikely you will say, 'I can definitely help you', and your customer will reply, 'Great – where do I sign?' The certainty sentences are simply statements which start the process of converting the sale.
The final thought for this section: one word to avoid during this phase is the word try. Often you will hear sales people say 'We'll try and sort this for you' and so on. But, when you think about it, the word try doesn't transmit certainty at all. In fact, it suggests doubt, the very opposite of certainty.
So far in this book, I have quoted some notable names – George Bernard Shaw, Red Adair, Drayton Bird and so on. But here are two more quotes from some less auspicious names, both of which convey exactly what I think about the word try:
Do or do not. There is no try.
Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back
And a second thought, given by a loving father trying to cheer up his children who failed at something they had recently attempted ...
Homer Simpson, The Simpsons
Remove the word try from your vocabulary when selling. Speak with certainty. After all, it's what customers want.
So, where are we now?
Well your sales conversation is going really well. You have discussed their AFTERs for 5–10 minutes (the A phase), and then spent 5–10 seconds stating you can definitely help achieve them (the B phase).
A very productive chat so far – and you have not flung any jelly at anyone. Everything that has been discussed has been 100% relevant.
But it's now time to prove you can deliver the AFTERs you have just promised.
Remember, so far you have said nothing about what you do and how you work. It's now time to do so but, because your customer is now thinking in terms of their AFTERs ...
... you must relate everything you say about your business back to their AFTERs.
If you can sell IT to people who hate computers, you can sell anything.
Let me explain how to put your selling points in the context of customers' AFTERs by revisiting the example of our computer company on page 109. The AFTERs their customer wants are:
more free time for their staff;
increased profitability; and
less frustration for their staff.
Let's say the computer company's traditional selling points (SPs) are:
SP 1 longest-established IT company in this city
SP 2 Fastest-growing IT company in the entire region.
SP 3 Highest number of qualified staff (compared with other IT companies in the city).
SP 4 Excerpt from a testimonial from their Client A: 'We have measured our results since you installed our new system, and are delighted to say that you have saved our company 950–1000 man-hours per month. This equates to over £1m saving per year.'
SP 5 All our senior staff have chosen IT as their second career: they are business people first and foremost, and IT people second.
SP 6 Our company also has an IT training division.
SP 7 Our clients include the largest accountancy practice in the city
In the eyes of our computer company, these seven selling points are pretty impressive. But, to read them as they stand ignores the customer's AFTERs they have just worked so hard to establish.
For instance, how does being the longest-established IT company in this city (SP 1) address any of the customer's AFTERs of saving time, increasing profits and reducing frustration?
Or how does the fact the computer company is the fastest growing IT company in the entire region (SP 2) impact on the customer at all?
It doesn't. So there is a very good chance the customer won't be interested.
This example shows why there is so much jelly flung by sales people. They think they're listing some great selling points, but customers feel they are on the receiving end of a barrage of irrelevant information.
But, if our computer company could develop these seven selling points such that they proved they could deliver the customer's AFTERs ... now that's powerful. And likely to lead to a sale.
The way to turn your sellingpoints into prove-you-can-achieve-their-AFTERs points is by using the phrase you saw earlier in this chapter: 'Well, that's a good thing for you because ...'
So, if the computer company wanted to tie in highest number of qualified staff (SP 3) to the customer's desire to save time (AFTER 1), it might look something like this:
'We have the highest number of qualified staff.'
Well, that's a good thing for you because...
'They know the capabilities of IT more than less-qualified staff.'
Well that's a good thing for you because...
'If it is possible for some of your processes to be automated, our staff will be able to do this for you better than anybody else.'
Well that's a good thing for you because...
'Automating your processes means your staff's time will be freed up [i.e. AFTER 1].'
Make sense? It started off with a traditional jelly-rich selling point, with the selling company talking about one of their strengths. But, after development, it ended up with the selling point rephrased as a convincing argument proving they could deliver a DESIRED AFTER.
Let's have a look at another example, this time tying in the selling point our company also has an IT training division (SP 6) to another the AFTERs:
'We have an IT training division.'
Well that's a good thing for you because...
'We ensure you get the best out of your new system by training your staff straight away.'
Well that's a good thing for you because...
'Your staff feel brilliant about the system from day 1.'
Well that's a good thing for you because...
'It will reduce your staff's frustration with IT [i.e. AFTER 3].'
And so on. If you were to continue this, then group the revised selling points under the appropriate AFTERs headings, you would get something like Table 5.4 (page 124). In this table:
The rephrased selling points are much more endearing to this particular customer than the original ones were, aren't they?
One of the selling points (SP 6) appears in more than one of the columns. This does not matter. We want the best evidence for each AFTER.
Two of the original seven selling points – being longest-established, and the fastest-growing in the city – did not make it to the table. This was because there was no obvious link between them and the client's AFTERs. However, if the computer company thought these SPs were crucial in helping transmit certainty, these points should either be (a) mentioned in passing during the discussion, or (b) be developed so that they do link into one of the above AFTERs – maybe, 'We are the fastest-growing IT company in the City (SP2), and this just wouldn't happen if we weren't good at knowing how to use IT to help increase the profits of our clients.' [AFTER 2]. Be careful though: don't jelly customers by forcing irrelevant selling points on them, just because you're proud of them. Some selling points are just not relevant.
You need to rephrase your selling points into AFTERs-proving points if you're to impress customers. Obviously doing this on the spot, during a sales meeting, is hard to do.
So, you need to create a big bank of AFTERs-proving selling points in advance so that, when your customer says they want AFTERS 2, 5 and 7, you just say the AFTERs-proving points relating to 2, 5 and 7 only No jelly. 100% customer-focussed. And both AFTERs and certainty are confirmed.
You have already listed – in the AFTERgrid™ on page 108 the AFTERs you can leave a customer with. The final step in ensuring you're ready for your next sales meeting is to complete Table 5.5 (page 126) by:
putting each AFTER (from your AFTERgrid™) as a separate column heading;
developing each of your selling points using 'Well that's a good thing for you because', until they prove (at least) one of those AFTERs; and
transferring these improved selling points into the appropriate column(s) of the table.
AFTER doing this, you have – on one piece of paper – a list of all the AFTERs you can provide, plus all the supporting evidence you need to convince customers that you can deliver them.
If I was going to recommend you do just one thing from the book, it would be to complete Table 5.5. Your sales will be transformed.
Earlier, during the A phase, you found the AFTERs that are important to that particular client. Let's say, of your eight AFTERs, they were interested in the AFTERs in columns 2, 5 and 7.
Table 5.4. Revised selling points
More free time for their staff | Increased profitability | Less frustration for their staff | |
|---|---|---|---|
Rephrased selling points |
|
|
|
You then went through the quick B phase, stating with certainty that you can help them achieve these three AFTERs.
And now – to close the deal – you simply talk through the selling points that you have previously grouped under column headings 2, 5 and 7. Because these are your best chance of persuading the customer you can deliver their DESIRED AFTERs (2, 5 and 7).
And it really is as simple as that. You just find the AFTERs the client is interested in, state with certainty you can deliver them, and then provide all the evidence to convince them of it.
Don't forget, if you have eight AFTERs in your table, but the client is only interested in 2, 5 and 7, you do not mention anything in columns 1, 3, 4, 6 or 8. Why? Because it's not relevant to them. It's jelly. Don't fling it at them. They won't care.
Bringing it all together – the scripts you should use
Going back to our computer company, they have found the customer's DESIRED AFTERs – more free time, etc – and have stated with certainty that they could definitely help.
So to convince the customer that they can indeed deliver these AFTERS, they could:
Restate AFTER 1
'The first thing you are looking to achieve is to free up some staff time.'
Restate definitely help you.
'I know we can definitely help you do this because
Go through the selling points which are relevant to this particular AFTER.
Benefit 1-differentiating yourself
You will be focusing on the fantastic holes you can leave the customer with. Your competitors will be talking about their drills.
So, your competitors won't be ABCing. They will be selling based on traditional lines (after all, pretty much everybody else does). Therefore, they look as if they are trying to make sales. You look like you are trying to make agreements to help.
It is much easier to deflect awkward questions about pricing.
For instance, how often do you experience this? You speak to a potential customer, they like what you do, they agree to buy from you ... and then they ask if you can 'do anything about the price'?
The great thing about AFTERs-based selling is customers see where they're going to be in the future. And that is much easier for them to invest in, rather than simply giving money to you for a job you're about to do.
Many of my customers use AFTERs as a way to deflect pricing questions. But it's also one I regularly use myself.
Recently, a large organization asked me to speak at one of their international sales conferences. There were to be 1500 salespeople in the room. They asked me for a price. When I told them, they responded by asking if I could 'do anything about the price', saying, 'That's an awful lot of money for a one-hour talk'.
To this I replied: 'Yeah, but ... you're not paying for the hour, are you?
'What my talk will do will give every single one of your 1500 salespeople five new sales techniques they have never seen before, each of which will increase your sales. Not only that, but I'll phrase each one in such a way that they will be able to use them immediately after the conference.
'Therefore, you will have 1500 people, each using five new techniques the next day. That's 7500 new selling techniques your firm will have at their fingertips. The next day. And the day after that. And for evermore.
'These new techniques definitely work. And, the average value of one sale for your organization is over £10,000. So, AFTER your conference, your sales will shoot up.
'And that is what my fee covers. The extra sales you'll get.
'In fact, one thing I can guarantee is that your sales people won't make any sales during the hour I'm talking. Because they're sitting there listening to me! So, if you like, my fee covers all the future sales they will make. You can have my hour talk for free.'
My answer was met with the fantastic response: 'OK. That makes sense. Sorry for questioning it.'
So, I'd made an agreement to help. Both parties had agreed I could help achieve this firm's AFTERs: namely, that their sales people sell more.
But wouldn't it have been an easy mistake for me to try to justify my fee by majoring on what my talk would cover, my experiences to date, my client list and so on. But doing that makes it very hard to justify a lot of money for a one-hour talk.
The ABC approach is very simple. Establish what customers want AFTERwards, and then prove you can deliver.
But, despite its power, there is one rule of selling that overrides it. One rule that you must never forget.
You know when you visit a potential customer? The conversation goes well. They are impressed with what you do.
When this happens, the temptation is to keep on talking because they are enjoying what you have to say.
But, if you're not careful, you can talk yourself out of the sale. Have you ever done this? Most people have. And what started as an impressive discussion has ended up as a load of jelly
The critical thing to remember when selling is the only thing you want from the customer is a 'yes'.
Once they have agreed to buy from you, there is no need to keep talking. Even if you haven't got to your main selling point yet.
So, the golden rule of selling is simple, but one that is very often forgotten:
Note
When the customer says 'yes', SHUT UP!
You will find using the ABC approach gets to 'yes' much quicker. So, when you're in a sales meeting, go for the 'yes' rather than telling them everything you possibly can.
Finally, to answer the question you may well have been thinking as you read this chapter – 'Yeah but ... how long should I talk during the convincing phase?', the answer now is simple: until they say 'yes'.
And then you shut up!
Selling in this way is totally jelly-free.
You did not say one thing the customer didn't want to know.
You stopped talking when they wanted you to stop talking.
And, most importantly of all, you gave yourself the very best chance of getting a 'yes'.