Values, trust and selling technique

This ad is posted on the home page of Doug Hillyard's business in Pennsylvania. Hill rightfully takes me to task on the contractortalk.com forum for taking pot shots at sales trainer and consultant Phil Rea.

Doug Hillyard at American Dream Vinyl Company in Mill Hall, PA, has taken me (rightfully) to tasks for remarks about sales trainer and consultant Phil Rea on the contractortalk.com forum.

You are way off base with your Phil Rea comments. I tend to think that the way you do things in your post are intrusive. Let me ask you: Are you currently operating your own home improvement company?

Or are you just trying to sell articles? Phil Rea would smoke you any time with his material and to boot he wouldn't come on a site like this and start putting down your work. He has entirely too much class for that.

In my area using some of Phil's techniques we have lots of success and I think it was you that said on here about two years ago that it (canvassing) would run its course and make people mad. Well it didn't. Oh sure, there's always the one or two boneheads but most people actually are happy we found them because they didn't know who to call.

Your other ideas for lead sources are good one however they are staples to running and staying in business and nothing new to the way most on this site are already doing.

i guess what I'm saying is like anything else, for some its great for some not, but who are you to judge with your opinion not being fair?

(Editor's note: I modified the grammar here -- writing is my business -- but you wouldn't want me to be selling or installing vinyl siding, which Hillyard's business undoubtedly does very well.)

Hillyard is absolutely correct that I have never met Rea, nor actually tested or evaluated Rea's services. Based on testimonials such as Hillyard's, if you wish to build your business with door-to-door canvassing, you may find value in using Rea, so I provide a link to Rea's website here.

Nevertheless, as I posted in response to Hillyard's observations, some of the business practices recommended by Rea go against my values.

Am I speaking too harshly of someone I know only a little? Trouble is, while I acknowledge canvassing is often effective (and have sought to see first-hand the process), it is against my values. Phil Rea is undoubtedly effective in teaching people how to sell. Maybe this type of in-your-face selling is right for you and your business, but I'd rather develop relationships based on respect and lasting trust.

However, while I may have the right to my opinion that sales techniques where you don't leave cards so people won't know who to call to cancel appointments, or where you push people to canvas door-to-door to win barbeques, or you wear large name badges to build 'trust', are downright destructive in the long term, I don't have the right to slag Rea without knowing him and his approaches better.

My values are that the harder you have to push and sell anything, the more we want to run away. We want to make our own free-will decisions without pressure or intrusion, and when the business respects our time, privacy, and ability to make an informed decision on our own schedule. The "we" here is a family thing -- you'll find similar values are shared by my wife and friends. (And maybe a huge section of the population, reflected by the legislative push for do-not-call legislation and restrictions on canvassing and other forms of cold calling.)

Undoubtedly, intense selling and closing techniques are effective in certain industries and circumstances, but I think where we all want to be is in a place where we can manage the flow of inbound inquiries and referrals where people choose to call or contact us because they think highly of yo business.

You still want to be good at sales -- you don't want your business to be like the store which has beautiful displays but no one to answer your questions or gently nudge you to make the right decision -- but you, if all goes well, want your salespeople to have such respect in the community that they are seen more as friends than sales reps (though they still must make their numbers and achieve real sales results to earn their pay.)

Nevertheless, I've always respected that not everyone needs to share my values to be successful in business -- and it looks like, based on Hillyard's testimonial, and others on Rea's site, that if you want to learn how to knock on doors, he may be able to show you how to do it effectively.

Always be closing (but define closing!)

An intriguing contractortalk.com thread, Time To Close, starts with this question: "How much work is it to close a sale, the process is different for everyone. What is your process and how long does it take?"

The answers are interesting. I offer my own observation, indicating that closing is a constant process, but doesn't need the brutal hard rock approach represented by the Glengarry Glen Ross speech.

Some people really are successful at hard-rock selling; I think my former employee who may soon rejoin the organization referenced in the thread fits into that category; but increasingly, I believe effective selling is a much more patient, long-range and relationship-focused process.

What are your thoughts?

The perfect close

Some really simple, and really useful, advice on "How to Close the Deal — Perfectly" here in this posting on Geoffrey James Sales Machine blog on BNet.

Henry Goudreau, HG Associates

The Measure Call


Marketing consultant Henry Goudreau in his CD Series advocates the use of the "Measure Call". This call/visit occurs after you've systematically qualified the initial lead and, Goudreau suggests, is the point where you find what really matters to your potential client.

For residential work, this 'measure call' is the visit to the home to take measurements and determine the scope of work. But, Goudreau wisely suggests, during this visit you absolutely must refuse to discuss price, even if the homeowner pesters you for a ballpark number. Instead, while you are taking notes and measurements, you use the time to engage in 'small talk' with various questions to determine exactly why the prospective client wants the work done. Then, you arrange a second visit with a well-thought, comprehensive proposal, that answers the prospect's hot button priorities.

Goudreau suggests a similar approach for commercial, industrial or even government work. In these cases, he said once he called members of an organization's Board of Directors individually, listened to their specific concerns and priorities, and then, when he made his formal presentation to the Board, included these concerns in his observations. And for a government design-build project, he again arranged a pre-meeting with the decision-making group; discovered what really matters to them, and then presented an appropriately responsive proposal.

This requires work and effort -- clearly you need to have a screening resource to qualify your prospects because you are going to need to spend time with an additional visit and/or phone calls to gather the insights you need. But it makes a whole lot more sense to do things this way than to just blast out a standard proposal, and 'pitch' your service -- you then, even if you have a chance of winning the work, will likely win it only on price -- and that will probably be unprofitable for you.

Unfortunately, in his CD, Goudreau moves on to an 80s style approach and recommends you not take 'I'll think it over' for an answer. Even though he says he does not advocate 'high pressure', he goes on to say that you should never leave that second call where you make the meaningful presentation without an order in hand. He suggests you press for the decision and hold the pen for the clients to sign. Maybe this approach works if you are a died-in-the-soul hard-rock salesperson, but it doesn't ring right to me. Obviously you need to have confidence to ask for the order, and you should investigate for hidden objections if the potential client uses the traditional "I'd like to think it over" stall, but if you are doing things right, in my opinion, the process should flow so naturally that if the client is the type who really likes to deliberateand think carefully and not sign on the spot, then you will still get the business with some 'think it over' time. The point at which some sincere effort to put the deal through transforms to high pressure can be murky --I think you need to assess the situation on a case-by-case basis.