HOW TO KILL A BOAT SALE Or It Is A Waste Of Money Trying To Train Some People

HOW TO KILL A BOAT SALEOr

It Is A Waste Of Money Trying To Train Some People

Bob SchwartzPerformance, Inc.

ADP Company

• First things first:

– I am not a sales trainer.

– I don’t play one on television.

– I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

• What you are going to hear is based on:

– The numbers I regularly review.

– The results I regularly see.

– The people I regularly talk with.

How To Kill A Boat Sale

• The trainers I have seen at this conference over the years are top drawer.

• They know their stuff.

• Good training under the right circumstances, for the right people is worth the money.

• I am pro-training, pro sales person, and pro manager.

• I am anti-wasting money. How To Kill A Boat Sale

• One of the things we discuss almost every meeting is what should someone already know before being sent for training?

• For managers:

– Is there a knowledge set for managers that is so basic and fundamental that not to know them and be able to instill them in a sales force means that we should not waste our time trying to train them?

– Managers should come to the store ready to instill this knowledge set.

– They should not be working as managers if they cannot.


• For sales people:

– Is there a knowledge set for sales people that is so basic and fundamental that not to know them and be able to apply them means that we should not waste our money trying to train them?

– We may hire a sales person if she/he does not know these basics.

– The manager should be able to instill this set.

– We probably shouldn’t send her/him for training until she/he demonstrates proficiency.


• It is not that a trainer can’t teach these things.

– It is whether or not we should be wasting our money teaching something that should have been done at the store.

– Trainers add depth and skill to the already known basics.

• I don’t consider myself a sales trainer because I don’t have the ability to add depth to what I am going to present.

– I know nothing about how to use the Internet and social media.

• In no particular order, here are what I consider to be the basic basics.

– Not doing these things probably kills at least one boat sale a month in our stores.


• Absolutely everyone is a prospect.

– Especially, those who call the store.

– Especially, those who walk into the store.

• Sales are lost every day because sales people prequalify and managers let them pre-qualify.

– We let potential buyers wander around.

– What can they afford?

– We are not that busy.

• People don’t come into a boat store to get a haircut.

– They are thinking of buying a boat.

– We sell boats.


• We must do our best to sell a potential buyer what the store wants to sell her/him.

– We always want the buyer to leave with something that will fit their needs and that they are happy with.

– Many/most potential buyers don’t know what they want when they first arrive.

• A good trainer will show us how to make sure that at the end of the day everyone is happy.

– We did our job.

– The customer left the store happy with a purchase that will fit their needs.


• Focusing on newbies at the expense of oldies.

• Focusing on first time buyers kills sales before they get off the ground.

– How many sales are hidden in our book of past business?

• Managers must know how many contacts a sales person can be expected to track.

– Hire on lost opportunities, not present sales.

– Pay plans based on a revenue stream.

• The telephone is our best friend.

• Good trainers can provide guidance in this area.


• Sales people must know that a kept appointment is one of the best buying indicators.

• A low kept appointment ratio kills boat sales.

• Managers have to know that kept appointments go up when they call and verify.

– Managers should place an appointment board where the sales staff can see it.

• Trainers can help sales people and managers work out the kinks to get a kept appointment.


• The manager must know her/his sales people with the highest closing scores.

– Sales floors are not democracies where everyone is equal.

• Best people should see:

– Any appointment from a telephone call that is made and kept.

– Leads from good Internet sources.

– Any sale that we really, really, really want or need to make.

– Allowing second rate people to deal with first rate potential buyers kills sales.

• A good trainer will show a manager how to keep harmony.


• The higher up the food chain we go, the better the chance to sell something.

– Managers can’t trust all of their sales people to be equally proficient throughout the entire sales process.

– Squatting on vs. presenting vs. negotiating vs. closing.

– Early, early, early, early.

– Dead end ability kills sales.

• Good trainers extend the time you can trust a sales person to be alone with a potential buyer.


• Avoiding the many questions of death.

• These are questions that:

– Immediately kill a sale.

– Immediately make a sale more difficult than it was originally.

• Generally speaking, any question that provides an answer we don’t want to hear should probably not be asked.


• Some examples:

– Can I help you?

– If I could work it out, would you buy it today?

– Do you want to go inside and see what we can do?

• What happens if the potential buyer answers no?How To Kill A Boat Sale

• Word patter is where a good trainer excels.

• Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time kills a deal.

• A pro will give us the correct words and:

– When to use them.

– In what order.

– When to shut up and wait.

• In my experience, for example,

– Most sales people are not good at dealing with a question regarding price.

– Most sales people are not good at establishing instant rapport.

• Pros know how to smooth transitions.


• Active and passive listening skills.

• Men have a hard time listening.

– Watch women communicate.

• Most managers have a hard time with this.

• Good trainers are strong in this area.

– Like.

– Listen.

– Trust.

– Buy.


• Specifically also:

– We need trainers to help us with telephones.

• The idea is to get a kept appointment, not sell the boat.

• Poor telephone skills cost us sales every day.

– We need trainers to help us use the Internet and new social media efficiently. How To Kill A Boat

Sale

• We lose sales everyday because many managers and sales people do not recognize when a deal is makeable.

• It is not how much we make off each sale.

– It is whether or not we are maximizing our opportunity.

– Work the deal hard, using the right processes, see what is in the deal, and decide what you want to do.

– Can I replace the boat?


• The concept of urgency.

– Today.

– Now.

• Follow up.

– Speak with the person.

– Communicate with the person how she/he want to be contacted.

– Is calling and leaving a message communicating?


• Not following the process the same way with each customer costs sales.

• There should be some kind of a selling system.

• Personality store versus a system store.

• Individual vs. company-wide.

– Every potential buyer every time.

– Step one, two, three, etc.

– Trial closes.

• Features and benefits.

• On water demos.

• Word tracks.


• Most sales people don’t like someone else’s process.

• Good trainers set them straight pretty quickly.

• Most processes I see have some good things.

• A good trainer will:

– Refine what you already have.

– Tell you if what you have is worthwhile.

– Prove it.


• How can we sell something if we don’t ask for the sale?

– Supplying all the information the customer wants.

– We are not in the be back business.

– We are in the first time closing business.

• There is a gold ship and there is a silver ship, but the best ship is friendship.

• Not getting the name and telephone number of a customer.


• Sell to the hot button of the customer.

• Who cares how much a sales person knows about a particular boat?

– Can we relate it to the hot button(s) of the customer(s)?

• It may be the greatest boat in the world at the greatest price in the world, but …How To Kill A Boat

Sale

• Personal appearance.

– Dress.

– Cleanliness.

– Odor.

• First impressions are crucial.

– Form opinions on first sight or smell.

• Good trainers know how to form good first impressions.


• Work spaces.

– Coffee cups.

– Soda cans.

– Dirty ash trays.

– Cluttered office.

• Maybe a few pictures.

– Personal family pictures.

– Personal boating pictures.


• A male sales person addressing himself to the man when a man and woman come in together.

– Google women and buying decisions. Girlpower: Women’s Statistics.

– U.S. women constitute the number three market in the world. Their collective buying power exceeding the economy of Japan.

– Women comprise 51.4 percent of the U.S. population, and make or influence 85 percent of all purchasing decisions.

• Do they have this much influence when buying a boat?

– If momma ain’t happy, nobody is happy.


• Breaking contact with the customer in front of her/him to:

– Read her/his text message.

– Respond to a text message.

– Answer the cell phone.


• Should we send a manager for training if she/he does not know enough to:

– Be sure that her/his biggest boat is ready for the show?

– To have enough sales people available for the traffic that will come in as a result of a special event?


Bob SchwartzPerformance, Inc.

ADP Company202-271-8975

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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HOW TO KILL A BOAT SALE Or It Is A Waste Of Money Trying To Train Some People