Are You 'Styled' for Success? |
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Industry Specific -
Advertising Sales
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Written by Anne Miller
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Ever have trouble getting your ideas across to advertisers? Do you secretly think they may not be very bright? Most likely it has nothing to do with their intelligence, but everything to do with the communication style you are using.
There are four communication styles, all of which we adopt at one time or another. Most of us, however, favor one or two of them. If you present to me in what is my least favorite style, there's a good chance your presentation will fail, in spite of your site's fabulous features.
Here is a snapshot of each communication style. As you read through them, think of buyers you know who manifest traits of one or more styles. Think of how they behave, what they like, what their tempo is, and how different they are from one another. This will help you lock each style in your mind.
Remember: Styles are value-neutral. They are like the color of your eyes, neither good or bad - they're all fine. But being able to identify the style or styles favored by the person you want to persuade will give you an edge in getting your message across.
Style #1: The Dreamer
These people like to see how your presentation fits in with the big picture, in the long term. They like synergies, challenges; they like to revolutionize and transform the status quo. Think Internet visionaries like Amazon's Jeff Bezos and DoubleClick's Kevin O'Connor.
When you present to them, use their language: long-term... innovative... synergy... integrated... context... provocative.... Present your boldest, most creative ideas in the boldest, most creative way possible. Paint a picture for them that is big, exciting, unique, and new.
Presentation killer: Boring them to death with too many details and long explanations.
Style #2: The Friend
These people value feelings and relationships. They need to feel that what you are presenting is helpful, easy to implement, and safe. They decide by consensus, so you would be smart to present your ideas to them and the other decision-makers in a group setting. Think of Oprah's television personality.
When you present, use language that appeals to them: feel... positive... loyalty... relationship... trust... together as a team/group/family... consensus... proven... easy... fail-safe... low-risk... helpful to others... upbeat... fun... positive.... Tell success stories.
Presentation Killer: Pressuring them for an immediate decision.
Style #3: The Computer
These people value information, logic, order. They need to feel that whatever you are presenting makes sense, has all loose ends tied together, is rational, objective and organized. Think Sgt. Joe Friday from the old television show Dragnet: "Just the facts, ma'am."
When you present, the language that appeals to them includes control... systematic... monitor... check... solid, research-based... evidence shows... proven track record... air-tight... factored-in components. Always bring more information than you think you'll need. Have charts and graphs and sources clearly marked on visuals. Pace yourself to their tempo, which is frequently slower than yours.
Presentation killer: Coming in unprepared.
Style #4: The Bullet
These people care about results. They care about getting things done in the shortest amount of time... solving problems... reaching goals... winning. This is your Type A personality. Think Donald Trump. Think the general personality of many online sales managers!
When you present, the language they like to hear is bottom-line... net-net... the key point is... can be done quickly... done deal.... They like executive summaries and short presentations with brief bullet points. Keep your diagrams and charts simple.
Presentation killer: Wasting their time.
Now for some examples. Suppose you are trying to sell your site or a network of sites to an advertiser. You might say:
1. To The Big Picture Person
Imagine the possibilities here. You can __________, which would really be cutting-edge.
2. To The Friend
It is so easy to reach your target. With a simple __________, we can __________ any way you want quickly and easily. This has worked very successfully many times for all our advertisers.
3. To The Computer
I'll help you design the precise program to reach your specific target.
4. To The Bullet
This is the turn-key. Tell me target, number of impressions, environment, region, time of day and unit, and I'll take it from there.
Since people communicate in a mix of styles, just tailor what styles you use to what you determine is your buyer's personal mix. With a little observation and practice, you'll be styled for presentation success every time!
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Presentations That Move Right to the Sale |
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Industry Specific -
Advertising Sales
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Written by Anne Miller
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If you've ever seen figure skating, you know what a pleasure it is to follow the skaters on the ice because they move so gracefully from one step into the next, seemingly without effort. They don't move in a jerky, disjointed fashion; if they did, you wouldn't want to watch them.
Much the same can be said of winning sales presentations. You want to tell a sales story that moves gracefully and persuasively from beginning to end, that builds excitement from point to point, and that flows naturally to a conclusion and next steps. To change metaphors, you don't want the presentation equivalent of "Chopsticks" or Muzak. You want a presentation that hits buttons, that rocks 'n' rolls with advertisers, that moves them like jazz, that gets them all revved up to advertise with you.
How do you do that? Assuming that you've got the right content, a large part of the answer is by using well-thought-out transitions. Transitions are links, bridges, or phrases that connect the various parts of your presentation into a seamless, compelling story. What follows are transition examples to move sellers and their messages easily and successfully from "Hello" all the way through to the closing step. (You can use these as is or tailor them to fit your style and situation.)
The Hardest Transition
Let's start with the very beginning of a presentation, often the most awkward moment in a sales call. Number one below has no transition; number two does. Notice the difference in effectiveness. Buyers always do.
1. (Weak) You: "OK, enough about the weather. Uh, let me tell you about XYZ web site."
Buyers think: "Oh, Lord. Save me from another self-centered, clueless rep!"
Transition phrases like those below get the presenter, the presentation, and the buyer into the same groove right away. Simply begin by stating the advertiser's objectives and business situation.
2. (Stronger) You: "The purpose of our meeting today is to help you drive traffic to your site" or "What I wanted to talk to you about today was an idea to help you... "
"As you told me, you're facing... [fill in the background facts of your advertiser's situation]" or "Last time we spoke, you said... [background facts]" or "As we both know... [background facts]" (A confirming question is a good idea here. For example, "Is that right?")
Buyers think: "This rep is on the ball. He (or she) actually knows something about me and my business! I think I'm going to like this."
Lead to Your Recommendation
Next, bring your buyer deeper into the presentation by using a setup or framing question to bridge from the advertiser's world to what you are selling or recommending.
You: "Given this scenario, how can we help?" or "So, the question is, 'What is your best option?'" or "With this background, how does XYZ add value?"
A bridging question creates a sense of anticipation in your advertiser for what is to come. Then, answer the question with a brief overview of your recommendation or idea. For example, "The answer is... " or "There are three reasons to use XYZ... "
Use a reinforcing transition to link back to your buyer's objectives. For example:
You: "...which will help you meet your objective" or "As a result, you will see many more visitors to your web site."
Buyers think: "Great! Tell me more!"
Move Into the Supporting Details
A simple phrase takes you and your advertiser into the body of your presentation.
You: "Let's begin with... " or "The first thing we'll look at is... "
Create Momentum and Excitement
Typically, you have three to five major blocks of information to present, each usually with more than one visual or point. Let's say you are presenting these major blocks of information:
• What your site and/or service is/does
• How it does it
• Your competitive advantages=
• How you would work with this client
• Costs
Selling advertising and web services is often more complex than selling other kinds of media. Many web presentations are quite long (more about that in next month's column). It is very easy for buyers to become bored, lost, or both in your many PowerPoint screens. To minimize that risk, use connecting phrases like these to move from point to point within each block of information.
You: "In addition... " "Moreover... " "Another benefit is... "
Buyers feel: a growing sense of excitement and the appeal of your message.
Double That Momentum
Couple the transitions within blocks of information with transitions between blocks of information.
You: "So, again, XYZ web site is the fastest growing in its category. And the story gets even better when you look at how much visitors to our web site spend. (Click. You're onto this next block of information.)
or
"So, you've seen how popular XYZ is and how responsive our users are. Now, what special advertising opportunities will you have?" (Click. You're onto this next block of information.)
Buyers see: cumulative benefits and are increasingly caught up in the possibilities of your web site's story and what it means to them.
Ease Into Your Summary
Summaries are always easy when you use a simple client-centered lead-in transition like either of these:
You: "In summary, you want to (drive more traffic to your site)" or "We started by saying you want to... "
Buyers: silently agree.
Then, restate your recommendation. Add a final linking transition,
You: "As a result, we will help you increase the traffic to your site."
Buyers think: "Yep, that's what I want. What's next?"
Move Naturally to the Next Step(s)
Don't disappoint them. Lay out the next step(s) with one of these phrases.
You: "To get these benefits, the next step is simple. Just... " or "Going forward, all that's needed is for you to... "
Transitions in Action
We began by saying that you want presentations that move easily and persuasively from beginning to end. Strategically placed transitional bridges and phrases create that flow.
- They draw your advertisers into your message.
- They keep attention and build excitement for your story.
- They make you a better presenter.
The result will help you get more advertisers saying, "Yes," more often to your recommendations.
Going forward, the next step is simple: Incorporate transitional thinking into your future presentations and enjoy the results!
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Partnership Selling for the Long Term |
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Industry Specific -
Advertising Sales
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Written by Anne Miller
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Here's a joke for you: Susan breaks up with Jack, a man her mother adored, and begins dating Mike. Every time her mother calls, she asks Susan about Jack, how he is doing, what he is doing, if she ever sees him, etc. One day Susan becomes so annoyed she finally says, "Mom, enough about Jack. It's over. I'm dating Mike. Ask me something about Mike!" Her mother pauses and says, "So what does Mike think of Jack?"
I see some of you doing this same thing with advertisers. No matter what your advertisers say, you respond on your own track and talk about your site and its benefits. Why? You're excited about your web site. You believe in it. You have a big quota. This is all well and good, but that enthusiasm, pride, and motivation can seriously backfire.
In this dot-com fallout period, there is pressure to produce revenues and results NOW. There is also pressure to build broad, long-term partnerships with advertisers. And the ideal would be to build broad, big-revenue relationships NOW.
It would be easier to take out your own appendix.
Transactional selling is very different from partnership selling. One is the short-term quick hit (and sometimes those are exactly what you want). The other is a longer-term, developmental sale, where the payoff is usually much greater in terms of revenues, renewals, and growth.
It takes time for the latter sale, which requires a lot more listening time while sitting face to face, more time aligning your company's internal resources with client needs, and more time in meetings with the client.
But big-ticket selling, online or off, still begins with that old-fashioned, low-tech skill: listening.
Why Listening?
For two reasons. First, listening is a time-related issue. In this high-tech world, time is the overwhelming limited resource. If you skim over advertisers' real needs and expectations, you're wasting their time (and yours) and irritating them in the process. So, listening is not just a nice-to-have skill; it is an essential skill for being perceived as value added instead of value wasted in people's busy lives.
Second, listening is a human-nature thing. When people really listen to us, whether it's our significant other, our doctor, or the guy selling us a new computer, we tend to feel cared about, important, and secure. Strong listening builds trust. Strong listening in selling elevates you to the level of expert in the eyes of the other person. Strong listening encourages people to share information and feelings.
The bottom line: Strong listening produces a more robust discussion that most likely will pay off big-time in increased revenues.
Example: I witnessed a role-play between an advertiser and a sales rep that exemplified how dangerous it is when you don't listen well. The advertiser said he needed to be aggressive in his advertising. The rep immediately and enthusiastically offered several creative options for aggressive advertising, everything from sponsorships to sweepstakes. I stopped the role-play and asked the rep to go back and simply ask the advertiser WHY he needed to be aggressive. The floodgates opened and the rep got an earful about a previous bad experience the advertiser had had with sponsorships and what he had needed to do to offset the negative fallout that had occurred with customers.
Demonstrating a lack of attention again, the rep went off on her own track and immediately recited a list of all the successful sponsorships that her site had with advertisers and continued to sell the value of sponsorships. Again, I stopped her and asked her to ask the advertiser WHAT the negative consequences of the earlier sponsorship were. This time the floodgates opened even wider, and new information came out that helped the rep craft a specific, applicable solution to this advertiser's problem.
Without the rep picking up on the advertiser's cues and the advertiser being prompted to share this new information, the rep would have missed the opportunity to win the business that was there to be had.
What Does It Really Mean to Listen Well?
You need to be intensively focused on the other person, to have a kind of "listening intelligence." In an October 2000 issue of The New Yorker, there is a wonderful definition of that ability in an article about the election. It includes a reference to Clinton's "emotional acuity... an ability to size up a person or a group of people, sense the vectors of hope and sentiment or anxiety and resentment rocketing around the room, and windsurf the breezes and gales of feeling toward his goal."
In less-elevated day-to-day selling terms, this translates to:
1. Seeing advertisers with the intention to understand them and their situations first before you talk. Think: I am here to help the advertiser win, and, thereby, I will win as well.
2. Paying attention and responding to the other person's expressed and observed emotions. Here's an example. Advertiser: shaking his head while saying, "We really need this to work." Rep: "My sense is this is more important than usual. What is going on that makes success here so important now?"
3. Asking questions for clarity. For example: "Why?" "What does that mean to you?" "Tell me more..."
4. Suppressing your need to listen to the sweet, dulcet sounds of your own familiar voice.
In sum, everyone wants to bring in big ad contracts. To win big, listen big. Remember, while no one ever listened himself or herself out of a sale, so to speak, many have talked themselves out of one.
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Flash -- It's Not About You |
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Industry Specific -
Advertising Sales
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Written by Anne Miller
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A famous proverb says, The more things change, the more they remain the same. But one thing that has not changed is that good selling remains good selling. Data dumps, even sexy looking multi-media ones to media planners and clients, do not an online advertising sale make. Never did. Never will.
In my presentation skill seminars with some of the top online companies, I am often blown away by the disparity in the quality of sales reps' technical knowledge and their ability to communicate the power of their sites or services to advertisers.
Here are three of the biggest mistakes I see online reps make.
The "Hi, Your Place Or Mine?" Approach
If you were at a party and someone new to you opened a conversation that way, your reaction (snickers aside) would probably be something like, "Whoa! I don't think so!" Similarly, if you saw someone you wanted to know better, you probably wouldn't use that line either. Yet, that's the approach so many reps take with buyers on a sales call.
Too often one hears, "Thanks for having me in today to tell you about 'X.'" Then, they launch into a description of the wonders of their site or services. For a women's target for example, they review the growth of the Internet, the number of women on-line, how much they buy, their demographics, the various site buying options, etc. Several times a day, other reps walk in and dump similar facts and figures on the agency or ad director. Result? Buyers are confused and bored, not sold.
Back to that party. If, in fact, you wanted a date with someone new, you would more likely start a conversation that built some common ground and then move to an invitation to continue the relationship. My recommendation is that you do the same with advertisers.
Begin with their stated goal. For instance, "My understanding is that you want a successful product launch for new widget ABC."
Re-cap their business situation:
"The good news is a) you're a household name, b) this new product is really state of the art, and c) the potential market for it is huge."
"However, the challenge is a) that your company is perceived as stodgy, b) your budget is not as big as you would like, and c) your window of opportunity is short before competitors jump in with a similar product." Check that your assumptions are correct "Is that right?" or "Have I left anything out?" Bridge to your recommendation. "So, how can XYZwomen.com help?"
Now, figuratively speaking, invite them out! Present your answer to that question.
• Who Do You Want Flying Your Plane?
Imagine you're taking off from Kennedy airport on a flight across country. Which of these two announcements would you prefer to hear from the pilot?
a) "We're going to try to get you to San Francisco. The weather, we think, will be fine and, if all goes well, hopefully, we'll arrive on time. Now, sit back and enjoy the ride."
b) "We're going to San Francisco this morning. The weather is fine and we expect to arrive on time. Now, sit back and enjoy the ride."
• Don't Crash Your Own Sales Message!
Internet newbies have enough trouble understanding and getting comfortable with online advertising. Don't inadvertently make them any more nervous than they already are about committing major bucks to your site.
• I-strain
Okay, now you're on a three hour flight and you luck out. Instead of sitting next to someone's grandmother or a screaming kid, you find yourself sitting next to what appears to be the person of your dreams. Yes! Until he/she opens their mouth.
For the next three hours, all they do is talk about themselves, what they do, what they think, what they are all about, what they like - a long three hours.
In selling, every time you say, "We have...," "I think...," "I want you to look at...," "We can...," you are behaving like that boring seatmate.
• Turn "I" To "You"
Very simply, instead of using "I" phrases, use "you" phrases. "You get..." "When you sponsor this site, you'll find..." "Clients (like you is implicit) tell us they find this feature particularly useful because it gives them..."
Bottom-line, selling advertising online is not about you and your site. It's about your advertisers and their needs. Use these tips the next time you are on a call to win big business.
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