Comments on: The #3 Mistake Sales People Make & Free Webinar http://www.shiftselling.com/2009/02/09/the-number-3-mistake-sales-people-make/ OUTSELL YOUR COMPETITION by Harnessing 'Trigger Events' to get in front of highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:13:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Janet Stone http://www.shiftselling.com/2009/02/09/the-number-3-mistake-sales-people-make/comment-page-1/#comment-905 Janet Stone Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:00:19 +0000 http://www.shiftselling.com/?p=475#comment-905 The trigger event that would generate the quickest level of dissatisfaction, and thus the best chance for a change in how a company does business would be a "bad experience" with a product or service. There is an immediate reaction to something that is not what was expected. If you are holding something in your hand that is not what you thought it should have been, be it quality, features, performance or a combination of those and more, it is very easy to experience a trigger to make a change. If you can be there when that trigger occurs, you can emerge with their business with very little effort. Depending on the nature of the company you are dealing with, the person who would be positioned just below the department head or manager would be an excellent source of information for trigger events. They would be in the know on what is going on that led to the trigger event, and can provide valuable information as to what went wrong, and what the correct product or service should have been. So, not only are you walking into an excellent opportunity to convert the client, but you are aware of exactly what they need or want - which gives you a leg up over competition. The trigger event that would generate the quickest level of dissatisfaction, and thus the best chance for a change in how a company does business would be a “bad experience” with a product or service. There is an immediate reaction to something that is not what was expected. If you are holding something in your hand that is not what you thought it should have been, be it quality, features, performance or a combination of those and more, it is very easy to experience a trigger to make a change. If you can be there when that trigger occurs, you can emerge with their business with very little effort. Depending on the nature of the company you are dealing with, the person who would be positioned just below the department head or manager would be an excellent source of information for trigger events. They would be in the know on what is going on that led to the trigger event, and can provide valuable information as to what went wrong, and what the correct product or service should have been. So, not only are you walking into an excellent opportunity to convert the client, but you are aware of exactly what they need or want – which gives you a leg up over competition.

]]> By: Ken R http://www.shiftselling.com/2009/02/09/the-number-3-mistake-sales-people-make/comment-page-1/#comment-903 Ken R Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:56:49 +0000 http://www.shiftselling.com/?p=475#comment-903 Anything that exposes the client to "loss" or "perceived risk of loss". Even if the actual event was a close call, ie a "whew it was correctly insured/licenced/recorded/etc, I just didn't know it". This type of event leaves open the "but what if it wasn't" perceived risk which can be exploited. The nature of these events will be dependent on the nature of the client's business - so you need to understand the client's business enough to evaluate these. Further the emotional impact of the events to the client will not necessarily be the same as to you. You need to put yourself in the client's shoes to evaluate the emotional impact to the client. Selling is an emotional (manipulation) based game after all. As for who, this is a function of the size of the client. For the really large ones, the media is best, although the sources for mid-sized clients also apply. For mid-sized clients, a gossipy contact in the same industry or professional organisation with whom you can have a casual conversation about the industry. For small clients, casual conversations with as high up the food chain of that client as you can arrange. Anything that exposes the client to “loss” or “perceived risk of loss”. Even if the actual event was a close call, ie a “whew it was correctly insured/licenced/recorded/etc, I just didn’t know it”. This type of event leaves open the “but what if it wasn’t” perceived risk which can be exploited.

The nature of these events will be dependent on the nature of the client’s business – so you need to understand the client’s business enough to evaluate these. Further the emotional impact of the events to the client will not necessarily be the same as to you. You need to put yourself in the client’s shoes to evaluate the emotional impact to the client. Selling is an emotional (manipulation) based game after all.

As for who, this is a function of the size of the client. For the really large ones, the media is best, although the sources for mid-sized clients also apply. For mid-sized clients, a gossipy contact in the same industry or professional organisation with whom you can have a casual conversation about the industry. For small clients, casual conversations with as high up the food chain of that client as you can arrange.

]]>