High Probability Selling

At the end of one of my training workshops on High Probability Selling (HPS), I asked the participants what they were going to do with what they had learned.  After some discussion, one of them asked another what she was going to do.

She answered, “I’m going to use High Probability Selling for one month.  I’ll compare my sales volume with the average of my previous twelve months.  If I come close to that average by just taking one course in HPS, I’ll keep using it and I’ll take the course over again.  If not, I’ll go back to the way I was selling before.  The worst that can happen is that I will lose one month’s income.”

She was already a very successful Realtor before she took the course, but was looking for a way to increase her sales while reducing her work hours.  Her willingness to try new things is what led to the success she already had, and also to the new success she found with High Probability Selling.

It is very difficult to hit a baseball, thrown at over 80 miles per hour, with a regulation sized bat.  You get to swing the bat at the ball up to three times, each time you get up to bat.  If you get a hit one out of every four times at bat, that’s up to twelve attempts to hit the ball.  Almost any team will pay you $2,000,000 a year to do that.  You also get a three month vacation and free coaching.  If you can get a hit one out of every three times you go to bat, you can make upwards of $5,000,000 per year.  That is the sports entertainment business.

In most other businesses, salespeople only make about $165,000 per year to sell one out of four prospects.  On average they get about 4 attempts to sell each prospect.   Salespeople who sell three out of four prospects and only need to make 2 attempts per prospect, often make upwards of $700,000 – and they have to pay for their own coaching.  However, it’s a lot easier than hitting a baseball.

For most salespeople, establishing a relationship with someone is the most difficult and confronting aspect of High Probability Selling.  It requires the salesperson to forget about selling and just be a person.  It’s also the single most important step in High Probability Selling.

It’s a time when you don’t talk about your product at all.  Your only purpose is to get to know the prospect and determine whether he or she is someone you can trust and respect.  That decision is key because it determines whether you’re willing to do business with that person.  You learn that through conversation and by asking questions.

When you don’t trust and respect someone, it’s very tough to hide it.  If you don’t, they’ll know it almost as soon as you do, and they won’t want to do business with you.  But more importantly, you’ll know it and you won’t want to do business with them.  If you try to do business with someone you don’t trust and respect, you’ll never have a workable relationship.  And if the relationship isn’t workable, it’ll be difficult and unrewarding at best, forever.

Put yourself in the prospect’s place.  If you were the prospect and you felt that someone was trying to get you to do something, you would naturally try to protect yourself.  That’s where resistance, suspicion and hostility come from.  Whatever the salesperson does or says in that kind of environment will be construed as manipulative, insincere and inevitably creates resistance.

In High Probability Selling we only do business with people we trust and respect.  When you’re establishing a relationship with a prospect, your purpose is to discover who the person inside the prospect is and how he or she got to be there, both personally and professionally.  How you do that varies.  Everyone’s style is different.

In order to determine whether you trust and respect someone, you have to really get to know them – find out what makes them tick.  What motivates them and why?  What incidents or feelings shaped who they are?  How they wound up in their current job?  The search goes way beyond surface amenities.

It’s not a matter of prying or trying to manipulate.  You only have a limited period of time to spend on a call and you sincerely want to develop a relationship that means something.  All meaningful relationships, professional or personal, are based on mutual trust and respect.  If you can develop that kind of relationship with a customer you have such a competitive edge that is very difficult for anyone else to overcome.  Everyone prefers to do business with someone they trust and respect.  If you don’t develop that kind of relationship with a customer and get to know who they are at a personal level, you’re just another salesperson to them.

In order to do what I’m suggesting, you have to be sincerely interested in the prospect.  That kind of sincerity can’t be faked.  People know when you’re asking questions and only pretending to be interested in the answers.  When that happens the prospect will abruptly cut you short.

Remember, your purpose in discovering what makes a prospect tick isn’t to uncover any “hot buttons” or what it will take to convince, persuade or manipulate someone to buy.  It’s to see whether they are the kind of person you’re willing to do business with – to see whether you trust and respect them.

To do that you probably have to operate in a way that’s goes against everything you’ve been taught or conditioned to do in sales.  You have to let go of “trying to please,” “dancing to the prospect’s tune,” “getting them to like you,” “being interested in what they’re interested in” and “flattering them.”  You’re not there to impress, entice, or “build rapport.”  You’re not there to “get them to buy.”  You’re there to discover whether there’s a mutually acceptable basis for doing business, or not.

Editor’s Note:  This blog post is excerpted from the book, “High Probability Selling” by Jacques Werth and Nicholas Ruben.

by Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls of High Probability Selling

“Market demand” comes from people who want what you’re selling.  This article describes an efficient process for finding and connecting with these people.

Call the Right People

Get a list from a reputable list broker of people who are likely to need your product.  Start with the demographics of your current customers, or with those of your competitors.  Check all the different demographics that the list broker can sort for and select those most pertinent to your business.

Focus only on the decision makers, the people who have the authority to buy.

Call each person on your list.  Ask to speak with that person.  If you get a gatekeeper, ask for help.  Don’t attempt to “get around” the gatekeeper.  Some can and will influence the decision maker.  Treat everyone with respect.

Have the Right Attitude

Be direct, open, and transparent.  Be clear and obvious about your purpose.

Be a seeker.  Be the prospector looking for gold, not the alchemist who desperately tries to turn everything into gold.  Look in likely places, and move on when they don’t pan out.

Respect the fact that the buying decision is up to the prospect, not up to you.  Think of how you feel when a salesperson tries to make your purchase decision for you, and especially when you know that you are the one who has to deal with the outcome.

Begin your conversation by immediately getting down to business.  Don’t begin with, “Hi, how are you?”  That sends the wrong signal.  People who want to do business aren’t looking for a new friend.

Say the Right Things

Identify yourself and your company.  Describe your product as concisely as possible.  Ask if this is something they want.  Say all of this in 45 words or less, preferably less.  If you’re still talking after 45 words, your prospect has probably stopped listening.

Avoid saying anything designed to persuade, convince, or influence.  You are looking for someone who already wants what you’re selling.  Anything you say that is meant to influence them will create sales resistance.

How you say these things matters just as much as what you say.  Pay careful attention to your clarity, tone, and timing.

Ask the Right Question

The question is simple: “Is this something you want?”  It doesn’t ask the prospect to decide if they will buy from you.  It asks them to tell you whether they want your specific type of product or service, or not.

This question will identify the prospects who have real buying intent, as opposed to those who are merely interested.

Do not ask, “Is this something you might want?”  It’s too tentative.  You’re not looking for a maybe, and neither is a real buyer.

Listen and Respect the Answer

Only after the prospect says a definite “Yes,” should you spend any time talking with them.

You need to be prepared to take “No” for an answer, and to respect that answer.  Don’t try to turn it into “Yes.”  Don’t even attempt to discuss it.

If the prospect says “No,” simply accept it and courteously end the call.  Don’t let any disappointment or frustration color your tone of voice or manner.  Always be respectful and professional.  This will significantly improve your chances that the same person will say “Yes” on a future call.

If the prospect says “Maybe,” you can tell them that you are looking for people who definitely want what you are selling right now.  Politely end the call and do not spend any time talking with them.

If the prospect asks a specific question about your product or service that can be answered simply and directly, then answer the question.  Then restate your offer and ask again if this is something they want.

Never hesitate to answer a question about price.  Answering with a wide price range often works best, i.e.: “It will cost between $10,000 and $20,000, depending upon your specific requirements.”

If the prospect is merely interested or asks for general information, verify that you have their correct email address and send them the appropriate email brochure.  Then end the call politely and move on.

If the prospect asks you not to call them again, make sure you comply completely.  No mistakes.  Keep your own “do not call” list, and never call that person again.  (There may be other decision makers in the same company you should be calling; find them.)

If people seem confused about what you’re saying and don’t understand the question, then your prospecting offer may be too vague.  This can also happen if you attempt to sell the benefits of your product, rather than clearly stating what it is.

Move On and Keep Records

After each call, record the results and move on to the next person on your list as quickly as possible.  Be persistently disciplined.  Set a goal for how often you are going to prospect, and for how long.

Keep a log of how much time you spend prospecting, who you called, what offer you gave them, and what was the result.  There is software to manage these details for you, but doing it manually for a while is a good way to develop a clear picture of what’s happening.  Tracking results is the best way to improve your methods.

Call People Again and Again

Continue calling the same list.  Each individual should hear from you every 3 to 4 weeks.  Vary your prospecting offers so that you don’t repeat yourself.  It’s best to have a cycle of at least five different prospecting offers, so you go through all of them before the prospect hears the first one again.

Being able to take “No” for an answer, respecting your prospect’s time, and not being repetitive are the things that will allow you to call again and again.  This creates favorable “front-of-mind” awareness, so that when the prospect does want what you’re selling, they will likely think of you, and respond positively to your next call.

If you follow the steps in this article, you’ll have a much higher probability of contacting prospects when the time is right.  Prospects buy in their own time.

There are plenty of moral reasons to be honest, but there are also very pragmatic ones.  Even in selling, honesty just works better.

When I set out to determine how the top 1% of salespeople actually sell, I did not start out looking for a totally honest selling system.  My sole intention in studying Top Performers was to find out what sets them apart and why they were so successful.  The most surprising thing that I learned is that most top salespeople are scrupulously honest.  It’s just how they do business.

Most people, regardless of their profession, don’t understand the technology of honesty.  Most salespeople, however, do understand the technology of manipulation.  It’s how they learned to sell.  Convincing, persuading, and all other forms of manipulating – what most salespeople are taught – create resistance, a natural barrier to closing a sale.

Top salespeople, on the other hand, have mastered the technology of honesty.  It’s what works best.  Honesty is not just a moral ideal – it’s an imperative for successful selling and business transactions.

We don’t preach or teach morality.  I didn’t start out looking for a totally honest selling system.  It just turned out that most of the very best salespeople have mastered the technology of honesty because it’s what works best.  That’s why we teach it in High Probability Selling.

I was riding along with Jim Langworthy, one of the top sales producers in the industry that supplies production equipment to the electronics industry.  He was not an engineer, but almost all of his prospects and customers were engineers.  I was there to watch him sell.

Jim was meeting with two decision makers of a multinational electronics company.  Iris was the Manager of Manufacturing Engineering and Paul was the Product Manager for Motherboards.

Jim started by introducing me as an observer, and then talked with Iris about her background for a while.  Then, he reviewed the information about their new capital equipment requirements for manufacturing motherboards that he learned from Paul in a prior meeting.  That included all of the specifications of the motherboard substrates, the quantities to be built, and the types, sizes and quantities of all the components that would be attached and connected to the boards.

Iris and Paul agreed that Jim’s understanding of their new manufacturing requirements was accurate.  Then, Jim asked, “If I can supply you with the assembly equipment necessary to meet these requirements and also show you that we can meet your conditions of satisfaction, what will you do?”

Iris said, “If you have the best equipment at the lowest price, we will buy all of the equipment from you.”

Jim replied, “That is not what I asked.  We all know that you can’t get the best for less.  I asked, ‘If our equipment meets your conditions of satisfaction what will you do?’”

Iris said, “Sorry, I thought that might be a trick question.  Seriously, if you can meet our conditions of satisfaction, I will authorize Paul to buy your equipment.”

“When will you make your decision?” Jim asked.

“Since we already know all of the other machines on the market, there is nothing to keep us from making a decision today,” said Iris.

Jim said, “In that case we need to discuss each feature of our machine, the benefits of each feature, and the detriments of each feature.  Then you can decide whether each of those features add up to a machine that meets your conditions of satisfaction, or not.  Does that work for you?”

Iris looked at Paul, who nodded his agreement.  Then Paul said, “Are you really going to disclose all of the detriments of every feature?”

Jim said, “Yes.  I provide total disclosure and I expect the same kind of candor from you.  It is the only way I do business.”

As Iris said, “Agreed,” Jim opened his attaché case and took out a four-page questionnaire.  He began with the first feature.

“One of these machines can handle motherboard substrate boards up to 8 inches by 11 inches with a maximum of twenty, half-inch component feeders.  Two machines, in tandem, doubles the size of the boards they can handle and the component feeder capacity.  Add two more machines with a computerized conveyor belt, and the maximum board size becomes 16 by 33 inches and you’re up to eighty half-inch component feeders.

“The benefit is that you can start small and add capacity as needed.

“The detriments are:  a computerized conveyor adds an additional cost of 15% to 20% to each machine; and operating machines in tandem requires more sophisticated programming.”

“Does that work for you?”

Iris said to Paul, “It’s your system, what do you think?”

Paul said, “It works for me.  I like its flexibility.”

Iris said, “It works for me, too.”

Jim checked off the “Yes” box next to their names and wrote in their comments.

Then, Jim introduced the second feature.

“The component placement cycle rate is 2400 units per hour (UPH).  However, the average actual placement rate is about 1,400 UPH.

“The benefit is that any configuration of our machines produces the lowest cost in the industry for any given average actual placement rate.

“One detriment is that you need more than one machine plus a conveyor to match the UPH of our competitors.

“Another detriment is that configuring a multi-machine line takes up more floor space.

“Is that acceptable?”

Paul said, “I ran the numbers.  Adding in our floor space costs and a four to six machine configuration still gives us a 40 percent quicker amortization rate.”

Iris said, “That’s a no-brainer.”

Jim’s third feature was, “If any one of the machines in a line breaks down, you can remove that machine and reinstall the component feeders in the same arrangement on a replacement machine.  Then, just load the same program into the replacement machine.

“The benefit is that you can have your line up and running again within an hour.

“One detriment is that you need to buy an extra machine and have it available at all times.

“Another detriment is that it takes a trained mechanic to do the switchover quickly.”

Paul asked, “What is the average down time per machine, per month?”

Jim said, “The downtime average is a little less than one hour per month, per eight hour shift.”

Iris asked, “If we need to send a machine back for factory repair, what is the average turnaround time?”

Jim said, “If you notify us that you are shipping one back, we will immediately ship you a loaner by overnight freight.”

“That definitely meets my conditions of satisfaction,” said Paul.

Iris said, “Mine, too.”

It took another twenty-five minutes for Jim to go through the other nine features, confirming that they met their Conditions of Satisfaction.  Among them, there were two that got negative responses from Paul and Iris.  In both cases Jim responded, “That is something we cannot change.  So, is that a deal-killer or are you willing to accept it as is?”

In both cases Iris and Paul decided that the benefits so outweighed the detriments that their overall choice had to be Jim’s machines.

At the end of the process, Jim said, “Is there anything else that we need to discuss before you make your decision?”

Iris said, “Our Operations Vice President will not allow us to issue purchase orders for production systems until we have seen them operate satisfactorily, in our plant, for at least 30 days.  So, you will have to send us a machine to try out if you want our business.”

“I can’t do that,” said Jim.  “However, I can accept a conditional purchase order that stipulates that you can return the machine within forty-five days and pay us nothing if it does not meet your specifications.  Will that work for you?”

“Yes,” said Iris.  “Why don’t you help Paul write up the purchase requisition?  That way, I’ll be able to get home by this weekend.”

“I’ll be glad to,” said Jim.

Iris said, “Thank you.”

Jim said, “You’re welcome.”

Jim Langworthy was one of hundreds of top salespeople that I observed, and most of them used a closing process very similar to this one, with total disclosure.

(Update on 14 January 2010 – You can find a description of the Conditions of Satisfaction closing process at www.HighProbSell.com/workshops/CoS_Process.html)