Solicitors will be shot on sight - darn tootin!

I'm having a real tough time biting my tongue and holding back from telling a friend of mine to STOP IT!!!

She is starting a professional practice, and went for advice to her friendly neighbourhood Local Business Development Office (funded by the city and provincial governments). There, they provided her with a "Start Your Own Business" course and the services of a small business counselor. They made her write a big fancy business plan (it's her first time in business), and now are encouraging her to cold-call her "target market" (corporate clients) to offer her services.

Cold-Calling! In 2009! Nooooooo!

As I see it, are two schools of thought in sales:

- one, is the "interruption" approach, positioning yourself in the pathway of consumption, where there is a "need" already being filled on a recurring basis (or about to be filled), and you try to divert that consumption stream towards you; and

- the other, the "attraction" approach, to somehow distinguish yourself from others and generate a "desire" that was not there before in such a way as to draw people towards you who appreciate your value and who are ready to buy.

Interruption selling has a certain (poor) track record of success for commodities, goods and services that look relatively the same from vendor to vendor. Most of the advertising we are subjected to on a minute-by-minute basis falls into this category (all beer is more or less the same, ditto for shampoo, cars, long-distance providers, whatever).

The problem with cold-calling is that it's interruption marketing HEY DO YOU WANT TO BUY MY COLA? of the worst kind. People don't appreciate it, and it's effectiveness is quickly fading away because we get HEY DO YOU WANT TO BUY MY CEREAL? so much of it. Roy Spence, highly successful marketer HEY DO YOU WANT TO BUY MY BATHROOM TISSUE? and author of "It's not what you sell, it's what you stand for", says "People don't wake up in the morning and say i'll have a coffee and another ad, please".

(Did that last paragraph convince you that interruption selling doesn't work?)

Other thoughts about why cold-calling is counter-productive:

- People don't appreciate people who cold-call or cold-emailing. I know that when I receive an e-mail out of the blue from someone pitching their services, I don't get the urge to call them and say "Funny you should ask, I was looking for that!" I actually lump the person who made the cold-call or cold-email into the category of "desperate people". There's a certain long-distance phone company that cold-calls me every few days, always at dinner-time, asking if we want to switch. This has been going on for *years* (cannot complain to CRTC because they are calling from overseas). Do they think that suddenly one day I will say yes?

- It's a hit and miss. What you are looking for is the right combination of three main factors:
.. "right place" (their greatest need or desire matching what you are offering)
.. "right fit" (their expectation of results fits with what you can deliver), and
.. "right time" (their motivation to act matches your timeline).
If you are cold-calling, basically you are throwing a dart at a board while blind-folded. You may hit one or maybe two of the marks, but highly unlikely you will get all three. You end up with a low-quality client that is more trouble to service than it's worth.

- The prospect has the power. Cold-callers usually come across as needy (because you need to convince the prospect they need your services). The moment you do that, you hand the power to the prospect. This is especially problematic in professional services, because the proper relationship is that the client should need you more than you need the client. This creates stronger a stronger trust bond, and the client will respect you and your services so much better.

- Even if you succeed in generating interest, the probability is high that the prospect will start comparison shopping. "Now that you've triggered my interest, I want to compare you with others." Instead of being the preferred supplier, you become a commodity, and you will have to start cutting your price just to get the contract. And especially in professional services, the moment you have to defend why people should choose you rather than others, you have just lost the sale because the trust bond is broken. And trust is central to the value of a professional services provider to a client.

Why is it that many office buildings have a "No Soliciting Allowed" sign right on the front door? Because people don't want to be interrupted. They have their own priorities, issues, goals, projects. And irritating them is no way to start a relationship.

With all these disadvantages, why do people still cold-call? This strategy looks appealing to new solos just starting out because at least you are doing something. It looks like a simple way to get your first clients, in reality it is destructive, demoralizing and just plain wrong.

In 2009, people are just plain tired and fed up with being cold-calling or cold-emailed.

Pour your energies instead into building your positioning and your network, and get qualified referrals of people who appreciate what you have to offer and who are ready to commit. My clients, and myself, have had very good results, quickly and inexpensively, through networking. In the end, the attraction approach to selling is faster and creates a more stable foundation of the right kinds of clients for your business.

p.s. I wonder what would happen if my friend's (government-paid) small business counselor had to cold-call people in the white pages to find out if they're thinking of starting a business, and if so, would they be interested in their services?

Newsletter: Selling is the highest form of leadership

Here is your thought of the moment:

"Selling is the art of influencing the actions of another person so that they willingly engage with you towards a shared, win-win outcome. Sales is the highest form of leadership."
- Coach Davender

I meet so many solopreneurs who have great talents and cool ideas – but what holds them back is that they believe “selling” is beneath them.

I effectively killed my first business, a technology consultancy, because of this attitude. I took the money that I borrowed from the bank thanks to my "brilliant" business plan, leased a class A office in a prestigious technology centre right by the airport, put up a brass nameplate on the door, and sat behind my desk waiting for the phone to ring. Which it did not.

Without clients to benefit from what we do in providing our products and services, we have nothing. Those who believe that they can "hire someone" to get clients for them are deluding themselves. If you outsource your sales, the trust connection is made between the client and the agent. And if the agent walks, so will your best clients. (Been there, got the t-shirt.)

What distinguishes a self-employed person from a solopreneur, is that a self-employed person is at the mercy of the client. Self-employed people surf from project to project, taking what they can get, just to survive to the next payday. Solopreneurs do the opposite: they first focus on building a network of contacts and positioning themselves in that network so the right and best clients come to them in a continuous flow.

I love it that now the phone rings a couple of times a week with people who say "Coach, help me!" They recognize the value of who I am and what I offer, and are ready to commit to action. No tirekickers or comparison shoppers here!

Sales takes time and effort. Expect to spend a third of your time in networking, prospecting, promotion and positioning activities. (Make sure you cover this time in your billable rates!). The effort you invest in building a stream of clients who appreciate the value you bring to them, and who are ready to commit to what you offer, will pay off big time.

Personally, I love the sales aspect of my project. I feel a freedom in going out and connecting with people. As I get more and better clients, I can improve how I deliver a result that makes my clients happier, while giving me the opportunity to live my passion. And my best clients become good friends!

Master the ultimate leadership skill of sales, and you will successfully make the transition from "self-employed" to "solopreneur". Life is so much better when opportunities come to you, rather than you having to chase them!

So, who will you bless today with a sales conversation?

Success!

-davender

p.s. An awesome resource that helped me love selling is http://www.justsell.com
They have a great free newsletter and informative downloads. Highly recommended.


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Put some gas in the tank (i.e. go get clients!)

This came to me in a discussion this morning:

"A business without clients is like a car without gas... pretty to look at but doesn't get you far."
- Coach Davender

A shortage of money is the symptom of a bigger problem

A newsletter that I highly recommend is Roy H. Williams' Monday Morning Memo, an "insightful and provocative series of well-crafted thoughts about the life of business and the business of life."

In today's issue, he links to posting on his blog with the eye-raising title "Money and Jews"

Why is it that while this cultural group comprises only 1.7% of the U.S. population, they account for more 24% of the "mega-donors" (people who give more than $10 million dollars in a single year to social and cultural projects)?

On the other hand, why do Jewish people have a reputation for being stingy or tight-fisted with money?

Roy Williams describes it this way:

Jews hesitate to hand over cash because they’re taught from a young age that a shortage of money is merely the symptom of a bigger problem. “To give money and walk away is the easy way out. If you really care, you will do what is necessary to make sure this person never again has a shortage.”

Looking back, I saw this in my first business, a technology consulting practice. When starting up my venture, I was trained (through the "Start Your Own Business" course I took), that the main problem with starting a business is finding the capital.

I sweated through writing a business plan which I then presented to my banker, and was surprised at how easy it was to actually receive the money. I promptly proceeded to "burn through" this found money without generating any cash flow, because I did not know how to really be in business. It was only later I realized that they did not lend me over $75K based on my business plan, but rather on the basis of my excellent credit... (those days are now long gone!) The bank basically "gave me money and walked away". I eventually had to repay the loan, which was a very painful process.

In a previous post I ranted about the ineffectiveness of subsidies and government grants. Almost every solopreneur or entrepreneur I meet has a cash flow issue. They are looking to solve it by having someone give money to them, and in Québec that someone is more often than not the government. They want someone to give them the money, no strings attached. But even with "easy money", this access to cash does not make a business project more successful. (How many businesses that receive subsidies become profitable?)

What I learned is that it's not how much you get, but rather how much you can generate and keep... to reinvest and generate more. Money is generated when I make offers that provide people with genuine results, and when I take responsibility for moving my project forward. This means mastering the art and science of relationship selling - influencing the actions of another person so that they themselves willingly take action on what I suggest to them, towards a win-win result.

So to cure a money shortage, I have to go out and sell something that makes a meaningful difference to my customers. Mastering this skill ensures that I will never again be short of money.

Finding money is not the problem. The real question is... what will you do to never have money troubles in the future?