Sales Management Part 3

Sales Manager Part Three

Common Objections continued

a.)    I want to think about it. Or, we never make a decision without sleeping on it.

b.)    We plan to shop around and get other prices

c.)    The price is higher than I expected.

d.)   We can’t afford it.

e.)    We’ve never had a problem. This is a safe neighborhood.

f.)     We have great insurance. So if something is stolen we’ll get a new one.

g.)    We have a great watch dog.

h.)    We have a gun, we’ll shoot the burglar.

i.)      We have a nosey neighbor next door who watches everything.

j.)      We have nothing to steal

If we know what objections we salespeople in the security business hear on a daily basis as we sell our products, shouldn’t we be prepared to answer those common objections?

Let’s put it another way. Let’s assume we are professional baseball players. Upon doing the research on the team we’re getting ready to face, we learn that the oppositions pitcher throws curve balls, sliders, change-ups, and fast balls. Should our team practice hitting curve balls, sliders, change-ups and fast balls? Of course, we surely don’t want to go into the game unprepared.

If we were professional golfers, wouldn’t we want to practice hitting balls out of the sand, on up hills slopes and down hill slopes if the course we were getting ready to play had plenty of those challenges? Of course we would.

A sales manager’s job is to focus his or her salespeople on the challenges they will likely face making sure they are prepared to face those challenges. And handling common objections and closing skills is an important part of selling success.

Here is a question you sales managers need to be asking yourself. Do all of your salespeople know how to properly answer the objections listed above? Are you sure? Just asking your salesperson isn’t going to get you the answer.

My experience tells me that when I ask salespeople if they know how to deal with the objection “I want to think it over,” which is, in my opinion, the most common objection heard, they will most often say yes they do. However, if I ask them to show me, to answer the objection after I say I want to think about it, they fumble the challenge. If I accompany them in the field on a sales call and the prospect voices an objection I’ll find out how they really handle an objection in a real life situation.

Don’t let pride get in the way of success. Sales managers must make sure their salespeople are truly equipped to sell, and that means being prepared to generate leads, make polished presentation, answer commonly heard objections and close the sale.

When salespeople are faced with one of the above common objections or even one that isn't mentioned above, it is critical to their long term success they know how to answer the objection in a way that increases their odds of making the sale. I believe one of the best ways to accomplish that goal is to learn and practice the 8 step closing pattern.

The 8 step closing pattern turn the handling of the objection into a friendly and caring conversation. You won't appear to be arguing with the prospect, on the contrary, you will appear to understand and even sympathize with the prospect.

In a future Blog I will share the 8 step closing pattern with you. Or you can hear me handle the common objections using the 8 steps on my CD, "Handling Objections & Closing the Sale."

Every salesperson should have their own CD to listen to in their car as they drive to a sales appointment. I guarantee if they do so they will close more sales. 

To Learn more about Lou Sepulveda C.P.P. and what he has to offer to help Security Professionals succeed go to Lou's web site -  www.lousepulveda.com

Lou Sepulveda Consulting & Training

985-778-1571

Lou@lousepulveda.com

www.lousepulveda.com

Book Title by Lou

The Formula for selling Alarm Systems

Surviving in the Security Alarm Business

Managing to Sell

Gerencia de Ventas Efectiva

Order Lou’s New CD – Handling Objections & Closing the Sale

Note: If you would like to read previous Blogs go to http://lousepulveda.blogspot.com

When do Alarm Ordinances go to far?

Some would answer all alarm ordinances go too far and they restrict trade. However, I personally wouldn’t go that far.

I can remember serving on the board and then as president of a state alarm association as the subject of alarm ordinances first came up. At first it was the City Council that proposed what we believed to be an onerous ordinance that would have fined alarm companies for each and every false alarm. The original proposal was $150 each. Of course that got our attention and we sprang into action.

We quickly formed a committee and hired an attorney to fight the outrageous proposed legislation. Of course the City Council didn’t believe for a minute their proposal would pass, they just wanted to get our attention, and they did.

From that beginning entered the protectionism actions. Our membership saw what they believed to be an opportunity to keep “Fly-by-nights,” “Trunk Slammers,” out of the business. So a proposal was added to check the background of each applicant, making sure they didn’t have a criminal record. That, I believe was a good requirement, but what came next, proof of so many years of experience, was designed to keep competition out. The members insisting on the rule obviously forgot that when they started their business they didn’t have the same experience they were requiring of new entrants. And like so many other actions enacted by organizations then managed by State or City Government, the rules got out of control.

If you checked around the United States you’ll find ordinances in more than half of the States, and they are all different. Some just require a criminal background check and the registration of the Alarm Company, while others require all employees be registered. Some States make it near impossible for companies to start a business or expand to their state. Others make it more and more difficult to hire and train new employees.

My State, in my opinion, is among the worst. Louisiana’s Alarm Ordinances are managed by the State Fire Marshalls office. Today in Louisiana every employee has to be licensed, $120 fee each. Every Technician, besides the employee license, has to be an ESA/NBFAA level 1 technician to work alone. In order to qualify as a Level 1 Tech, one must take the Level 1 class, $550 for non-alarm association members or $300 for members, and then pass the test. So before you hire and train a new technician you have to consider the cost in total $420 to as high as $670. Next you have to time the hiring of a new technician based on when the next training class is offered near you, or pay the cost to ship the new hire out of town, put him or her up in a hotel, pay expenses etc., and then hope the background check, which hasn’t been completed fully yet doesn’t reveal a no-hire problem. So, the way around all of that is to hire someone working for another company. Maybe even offer a signing bonus to steal the technician away. Not good!

However, the State wasn’t finished imposing rules. Last year the State decided that all salespeople had to take an Understanding Alarm Systems course. Once again the cost is $120 for the license and then $350 for the course. And once again the UAS course is only offered a few times each year and in different cities around the state. Last year alarm companies were given a twelve month time frame in which to have the new salesperson complete and pass the course. Costly still, but a reasonable time frame to wait for the course to be offered nearby.

But then new change! That’s right, effective November of 2010 the State decided 12 months was too long and changed the requirement to 90 days. Ugh!

Not to leave bad enough alone, the State now says that effective March 1, 2011 alarm salespeople must take the $350 Understanding Alarm Systems course before they ever step foot in a home or business as a security sales rep. Immediately! No 90 day grace period.

Wow! So now if you think you wanted to grow your company in Louisiana you have to spend $470 on every salesperson you hire before they step foot in a home or business. And you have to time hiring that salesperson around the sparse training schedule offered, approximately 3 – 4 times per year somewhere in Louisiana.

So going back to what I witnessed firsthand, members trying to limit and/or make it impossible for competition, has grown into a monster. The problem is, like what always happens, the monster is now in control and is biting everyone in sight. Well established, long term, companies in Louisiana will be punished by the ruling. Anyone trying to grow a company that has to hire salespeople to do so will be punished by this rule.

In this tough economy, when people are trying to get work, the legislation in Louisiana makes it difficult at best to enter the security alarm business. And that my friend is a shame.

In case you think this rant is a case of “sour grapes,” please be aware that I don’t have a dog in this race. I no longer own an alarm company. I don’t manage a company in Louisiana. I’m not affected by this ordinance at all. I’m just sad that something like this has happened in an industry I love. Had the present rule been in place the day I answered an Ad in Louisiana for employment 36 years ago, I may not have had the opportunity to be part of an industry that has fed and housed my family, educated my children, and made me proud of who and what I became.

Am I wrong?

Would you like to weigh in?

Send me your comments, pro or con, and I’ll post them.