In Part 1 of my interview with Flo Schell (that’s her photo at left) about sales, we left off talking about how we already have the skills that we need to create a wonderful sales experience for our customer. In Part 2 below, Flo explains how to do this.
Flo: Let’s just imagine that we have a relatively new coach and this coach has created their business and is now really trying to consider who their ideal customer is and perhaps create five or six profiles of the people who might really require or desire their services.
And so that coach is already formulating an idea of the kinds of people that he or she is trying to attract into their business life. In fact, they’re creating, hopefully, a marketing message and even a marketing look that will attract that particular kind of favorite customer.
So, for example, if my favorite customer is a corporate America kind of individual, which it is in my case, my website will look almost like an IBM-like website. It will have the colors of blue and gray perhaps, or with my personality, probably a shot of orange. But there will be a look that a corporate professional could relate to.
Barbra: I’m going to stop you there, Flo. I find this really interesting and yet I’m still trying to get my mind around how this relates to selling. If I put it in my own words, tell me if I’m getting this. So you’re saying, if I understand you correctly, that selling begins even before I’m talking to the customer.
Flo: Thank you so much for clarifying that. Absolutely that’s what I’m saying.
Barbra: Okay. The first thing you said was, I would make a list of who my ideal customer would be and what would be attractive, almost what would make them feel comfortable in terms of a website.
Flo: Exactly. And as we’re attracting those particular people into our lives and they’re feeling, I like the face of this person or I like the feel that I get when I go onto this website or when I hear this voicemail message or when I hear this radio interview, there will be a connection almost the way you would have if you were meeting a new acquaintance for the first time.
Barbra: It makes me think of when I first started doing life coaching and I had a bio on my website and it mentioned that I had three cats. I can’t tell you how many people phoned to inquire about my services said, When I saw you had three cats, I knew you were the one for me. Isn’t that funny?
Flo: It’s wonderful. People are yearning for a connection with the right person. They’re yearning for that. And getting back to our original discussion about problem solving, I want to answer that more thoroughly for you. Let’s just imagine that this initial attraction takes place and that person who loves cats and enjoyed that part of you called you, Barbra.
Barbra: Yes.
Flo: Your job at that point, as any small business person’s job, is to connect, form a connection with that person, something that you have in common, something that you can enjoy together.
In your case, you have those wonderful cats. The cat discussion can almost be, what I call in my book, “the magic click,” that wonderful click that you feel with another human being that makes you say, I’d like to know more about that person, I’m curious about this individual, I’d like to know more. So once that initial connection is made, I almost think of that connection, that click, as the basis for the long-term relationship that we alluded to earlier.
So we’ve got this click, we’ve got two people who are saying, I’d like to know more about this other person, and now the job is to build the relationship, truly build a good relationship. That takes give and take and question and conversation. Again, perhaps that person might say, I really like what you’re up to, Barbra, but I am concerned about the cost here. Now here’s a great time to talk about problem solving.
If you’re in a long-term relationship, you’re probably not going to say to that person, Sorry, can’t negotiate, or, Sorry, we need to end the discussion here. You would explore that. Well, tell me, what is it that really seems to be in the way? Is there some way I might be able to make this work? Could perhaps we bill you monthly rather than quarterly? Could perhaps we have you pay twice a month rather than all at once in the beginning? Do you see where I’m going with that?
Barbra: I definitely see where you’re going. I like that, Flo. I’m wondering if a coach might have a group program or a product that they could offer as something that is not as expensive that would be kind of like that first step, almost like with a first date, meeting for coffee instead of going out for dinner.
Flo: Absolutely. And remember, if the end goal in the selling relationship is the same end goal that you would want for any relationship in your life, and that is to build this good, strong, solid relationship where you could almost go anywhere together, where there’s huge possibility in what we might do together, then you’re right.
There is a get acquainted stage where you might want to try that person out, try them out, really see, Are we clicking the way I thought we were? Is there anything I can do to make the click even stronger? Does this seem to be the right person for me?
Barbra: People seem to get confused between the word “selling” and the word “marketing.”
Flo: Well, it’s a really, really good question. For most of my life, and consider that I have been in the selling domain for 20 years or so, I was kind of using the two simultaneously in many, many ways. Then suddenly, several years ago, I became an adjunct professor at a college here in New Jersey and I actually began teaching marketing and finally got the real definition after all those years.
Marketing, more clearly, is really about creating the product, which can be an idea or a physical product, by the way. It could be a thought or an idea or a way of thinking, creating the product, pricing that product, finding out ways to place and distribute that product or service, and then promoting that product or service.
So marketing is almost like the preparation for the actual exchange of money or something else of value that happens in the selling process.
Barbra: Okay, I get that.
Flo: However, in my mind, and this is my thought, of course, you cannot separate the two. My belief is, in order to really be good as a sales professional and good as a small business owner in terms of expressing what it is you do and how you do it, you need to take the time to do all of this preparation work so that in fact you’re clear yourself on what makes you special, what makes your business unique, exactly what it is you’re selling, exactly which problems you’re solving for your customers. All of that, which could be labeled marketing is really in my mind part of the bigger process of selling.
Barbra: It sounds like if you take the model that you talk about in your book, Flo, the model of selling as a relationship.
Flo: Yes. And I think, too, what I try to be so clear on is that selling is not a one-time situation where money is being exchanged. Selling is a process, just like relationship building is a process.
And that process goes through a variety of stages in order to be really good at the end. So that when the money is actually exchanged, Barbra, when a client becomes a client for you, for example, they really feel that they’ve made a good decision. They know how to renege on that decision.
All of this is done up front in case it doesn’t work for them the way they hoped, they know exactly what to expect in that relationship and what they should get as a final result. They know what their part in the process is. They know what your part in the process is. So we’re really creating an educated consumer.
Barbra: That’s interesting. You know, Flo, talking about it in terms of building a relationship, thinking about the analogy to the dating scene. Thinking about somebody who wants to have a date with someone, you don’t go up to that person the very first time you meet them and say, Will you go out for dinner with me?
You’re probably not going to have as high a success rate as you would if you just kind of talk with them the first time and you get to know them, they get to know you, and then you run into them again.
You’re more likely to have them agree to go out on a date with you once they know a little bit more about you, they know that you’re not an ax murderer because they’ve talked to you a few times and gotten to know you.
Flo: You’re so right, Barbra. And there’s another big part to that dating analogy and that is this. Most people who date hopefully do not kind of throw the idea away after one date. So of course people are assessing at every point in a relationship. Does it seem to be a good fit? Does it seem to be safe and comfortable? All of those things.
But as with any relationship in life, we’re probably not going to know a whole lot after one date. So isn’t it great if you can arrange somehow safely and honestly to have a number of dates before you come to some conclusions. I find that so many people seem to rush that process and make immediate decisions way before they know a lot.
Barbra: So what that’s telling me, Flo, from the point of view of the small business person and selling is that follow-up is very important.
Flo: Absolutely. And giving people the chance to succeed. That’s an interesting theory because in the franchising world, when we were selecting people who would become franchise owners, for example, of a Sylvan Center, I was always looking to see, how can I help them to better their case? How can I help them to strengthen what they bring to the organization? Rather than and in contrast than, Oh, they’re absolutely not a fit because they’re lacking one thing.
Barbra: In that interaction at Sylvan when you were talking with someone about them possibly becoming a franchisee, are you the seller?
Flo: Yes.
Barbra: And they’re the buyer?
Flo: Absolutely correct.
Barbra: So, if I understand you correctly, what you’re saying is, as the seller, it’s not just a one shot thing where you kind of just look at their resume and say yes or no. You’re talking about that relationship where you’re saying, Okay, I’m wanting to sell this to this person, there may be things that they are unsure of and there may be things as the seller that we’re unsure of in selling to them and let’s see what we can do to address those.
Flo: Barbra, that’s so well said. When I was the sales professional, for example, or if I was the seller at Sylvan, my goal was not to sell a learning center to whomever came to the table, my goal was to be sure that we were selecting people that really fit, with the organization, with the culture, with the business model, and had the necessary skills to really do well. We wanted those business owners to be successful.
Keep in mind that a small business owner may be a home-based business owner, may be a franchisee and therefore a franchise owner of a larger franchise system or maybe an independent sole proprietor. So there are many, many definitions, of course, of small business persons.
Barbra: Does the selling process differ depending of what kind of small business person you are?
Flo: Not really, the principles remain the same. I think that the system that I’ve created works for all of those individuals. Let’s again take that example of a new coach, which I think is just such a good one, or a consultant.
In my mind, the very first step for that individual is to know what makes them special and unique. What is it about their personality, their background, their specific training, their levels of expertise in various modalities, what is it that makes that individual really unique?
In order to really find that out, they might have to dig a little. I offer, for example, a questionnaire in my book that helps them to see, what are the areas that they are really strong in, and what are those growing edge areas.
What are those areas that feel a little challenging and might be great areas to put on to their action plan for future growth? Selling might be one of those items.
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You have been reading Part 2 of the Flo Schell interview.
Part 1 of the Flo Schell interview is here
Part 3 of the Flo Schell interview is here
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I agree with this 100% and i find it interesting how you draw parallels between the two. Business and relationships but can be fruitful or quite horrible if you associate with the wrong people.