Bill Guertin | 800 Pound Gorilla Blog on SalesGravy.com

I used to think that every argument had a simple solution. One side is right, the other is obviously misguided and unreasonably wrong. All that’s needed is a little bit of applied reasoning, and the other side will come around.

So how do you explain the current national budget challenge here in the US, and how could we have avoided this big mess?

“As long as we have some Republican lawmakers who feel more enthralled with a pledge they took to a Republican lobbyist than they do to a pledge to the country to solve the problems, this is going to be hard to do,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington), co-chair of the special Congressional budget deficit committee, on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on 11/20/11.

“Unfortunately, what we haven’t seen in these talks from the other side is any Democrats willing to put a proposal on the table that actually solves the problem,” countered the other co-chair, Republican Jeb Hensarling of Texas.

The White House is trying to taze somebody to get them to move, but each side is apparently unwilling to give. “Avoiding accountability and kicking the can down the road is how Washington got into this deficit problem in the first place,” said Amy Brundage, a White House spokesperson. “So Congress needs to do its job here and make the kind of tough choices to live within its means that American families make every day.”

When we in our daily lives put off tough decisions — ignoring an overdue bill, putting off a trip to the doctor, waiting to start that retirement savings account — the pain of those decisions is rarely felt right away. To blame others’ inactions for a current problem doesn’t make the current problem any better.

One of the rules for becoming an 800-Pound Gorilla – a company or an individual that achieves dominance in their category and becomes next to impossible to compete against – is that they’re not afraid to do what others won’t. It’s easy to pawn off a tough problem to someone else; it’s smarter to address the problems early on and suffer the short-term pain than to sweep them under the rug until they grow to momumental proportions.

By admitting mistakes early on (i.e., Netflix), apologizing for things that go wrong and fixing them (i.e., Toyota), and taking the high road early vs. staying quiet and hoping it never comes up (vs. the Penn State football tragedy), 800-Pound Gorillas avoid B-I-G problems by making sure they never get to the B-I-G stage in the firs place. The pain is suffered in a controllable way. You take your own lumps, you let people know how you’re going to fix it, and the damage is minimized.

What “small” problem are you wrestling with right now that will most certainly rear its ugly head at some point in the future if it goes unaddressed? Is it financing? Cash flow? Declining consumer interest? Marketing trends? Is it your career growth or direction? Retirement options? Personal issues?

As witnessed by the federal government, the NBA, and many other entities embroiled in last-gasp negotiations, waiting for a resolution to happen by itself only makes the pain of resolution worse.

What is it you may need to address today in order to be more dominant and in control of your own destiny tomorrow?

Let me know what you decide to do.  The first step in moving forward is sometimes telling someone else that you’re going to do it.

– Bill Guertin is a speaker, author, and CEO of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a unique company that helps others improve their sales and service skills through dynamic learning programs.  Check out his book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales, or say hello to him on Twitter. 

Gatorade’s innovative “G Series” of beverages for athletes was introduced with great fanfare in the spring of 2010. Each stage of an athlete’s performance cycle was taken into consideration, with the intent of maximizing what the body needs at each point of competition.

According to Gatorade’s marketing materials, Stage 1 is called “Prime”, a pouch-like container with a concentrated blend of carbohydrates and B vitamins to prepare an athlete for the boost of energy he or she will need in a competition or event. Stage 2, “Perform”, is designed to hydrate and deliver immediate vitamins and minerals during competition without slowing down their performance, while Stage 3, “Recover”, replaces the body’s lost essential fluids just after a peak performance, repairing the body to its pre-competition state.

Gatorade claims that each stage of athletic competition requires a specialized formula of hydration and nutrition, and that you’ll perform at your best if your body has what it needs to be its best at each stage.

What if we looked at the sales preparation cycle in the same way?

I believe there’s a parallel to how we should be preparing for the race that is a sales day with the same attention to these three stages:

Stage 1 – Prime
Just before a sales call is made, the best-prepared sports sales “athletes” prime themselves for success by:

- Checking their company’s records for the prospect’s past history
- Googling the prospect to learn more about them or their company
- Making sure that all distractions are put aside
- Having all the current company pricing and literature in front of them
- Having their voice mail prepared and ready for the client they’re calling
- And most importantly, having a reasonable, easy-to-determine outcome for the call before you dial, so you can verify its success or failure afterward.

Those who don’t prepare for success like this often find themselves without the proper “conditioning” for when an actual prospect is on the phone. They’ve succeeded in rushing into their tasks and contacting them, but just like a poorly conditioned athlete, they flame out and fall short of what’s needed when the game’s on.

Stage 2 – Perform
When they’re in the heat of battle, on the phone or in person, the best don’t wing it or rely on their wits alone to carry the sale along. They’re successful on the field by:

- Having a rock-solid opening statement
- Preparing and using excellent, needs-based questions
- Recognizing key elements of their prospects’ answers that relate to the benefits of their product’s potential solutions
- Suggesting the right solutions based on prospect needs
- Closing the sale, perhaps several different times, and
- Thanking the prospect for their time, regardless of the outcome.

Unprepared sales athletes may have higher call volumes, but their success in converting those contacts to sales is much lower. This is where the hours of prep work behind the scenes pays off. Others may look at this and say they’re born with it, or they’re just lucky, but those who work the hardest off the sales “field” are the ones who make their excellence seem almost effortless.

Stage 3 – Recover
Once a successful sales day is over, the true sales athlete is making sure they’re ready for the next day’s competition by:

- Entering all pertinent information into their CRM system, for use in the future with that same client
- Completing all the necessary paperwork
- Performing the things they told the prospect they’d do (i.e., send a one-sheet, get them additional info via E-mail, etc.)
- Planning their next day before they leave each night, and
- Getting a sensible amount of rest each night.

These post-game steps are just as vital as the others, because it determines the long term success of the team as well as that of the sales rep.

What pieces do you need to add to YOUR game become a fully Primed, fully Performing and fully Recovered sales athlete?

There’s never better time to get it together than right now.

– Bill Guertin is known to many as “The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales Performance.” An author, speaker, and sports nut, many of his clients are actually sales departments of professional sports teams. Get to know Bill at  www.The800PoundGorilla.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800PoundGorilla, or reach him one-on-one at bill@the800poundgorilla.com.

The announcement came suddenly, as if out of the blue. AXA Equitable, the company that since 2006 has been using a large animatronic gorilla to symbolize a giant problem in the room that people tried to avoid (namely, retirement planning) has chosen to retire its ape.

I’m not sure anyone will notice, much less miss the big, hairy guy. I hope he enjoys his retirement, wherever he chooses to go. (Any ideas on where he should hang his hat for his golden [banana] years?)

But here’s a question for the marketers in the room: Did anyone connect AXA Equitable to the 800-Pound Gorilla anyway?

Even after five years and several million dollars in advertising later, people still connect the thought of a gorilla with the American Tourister ads of the 1970′s way more than they do the AXA ape.

And here’s the reason why: They connected the animal to the company in a way that was memorable.

Just look at the 30-second commercial from 1970 that featured the now-iconic gorilla in the cage with the suitcase, and you’ll remember why this ad worked so well: http://youtu.be/B2ZeIoLz8FE   There’s an connection between what the gorilla does in the cage — throw the suitcase around — and why the product works so well.

Now take a look at the AXA commercial: http://youtu.be/PETkHFxL-ks   It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s interesting to watch. But it misses the mark in connecting the product with the reason to have the animal there in the first place.

The biggest problem is that meaning of “800-Pound Gorilla” is being mixed up with the phrase “the elephant in the room”.  The definition of the elephant is a big problem that no one wants to deal with.  An “800-pound gorilla in the room” is used by the news media to describe two separate things; a problem that no one addresses and won’t go away (i.e., ObamaCare) OR the more common meaning, which is a company that’s so big and dominant, it’s next to impossible to compete against (i.e., Google, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, P&G).

Confusing?  You bet.  Which is why the poor fella’s retiring to do bit parts in Adam Sandler movies.

American Tourister’s campaign was brilliant in its simplicity.  AXA made us think too much.

And in the world of marketing, if you’re not crystal clear in your messaging, you’ll be history too.

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- Bill Guertin is known to many as “The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales Performance”; his company, named The 800-Pound Gorilla, helps boost the performance, productivity, and effort of sales and customer service reps. Learn more at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

One of my favorite movies is “The Shawshank Redemption”, a story about Andy Dufrain, an accountant who is wrongly convicted of a crime and does 20 years of hard time in Shawshank Prison. Andy is forced to run a money-laundering scheme of the warden’s, and then finds a way to escape his torturers, expose them, and begin the life he dreamed of outside of the prison walls.

Morgan Freeman plays Red, the main character’s best friend in prison. As he and Andy discuss life inside the prison’s four walls one day, he begins to talk and act strangely. It’s as if something had changed within him. He shares a philosophy with his friend Red that day that becomes the defining statement of the movie.

“Red, you’ve got to get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’.”

It has become the best-known line in the movie, and has since been used in many places and in many ways. It’s also relevant to your job, your business, or your career.

Are you just marking time, as if you were in prison? Or are you feeling alive, excited to get up in the morning, anxious to discover what’s ahead for you? Have you grown complacent with the status quo, or are you striving for something that’s the next big thing in your life?

May I share something with you?

I sit here thinking that very thing right now as I prepare to attend the annual National Speakers’ Association convention in Anaheim, CA. I’m more excited than I can remember being in my entire career. I’ve enjoyed several key successes in the past few years, but at times I’ve asked myself, “What’s next?”

I never want to feel as though I’m Andy Dufrain, trapped inside the four walls of a job, a career, or a situation. And that’s why I’m here today, this weekend, at this place. To meet with colleagues and discuss their strategies, and discover the next big thing for me.

Often it’s easier to do nothing.

The difficult part is deciding to get busy, and then doing it.

What will you “get busy” doing today?

(I’ll let you know what I discover myself. I’ve got an exciting day of sessions to attend.)

-  Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla (www.The800PoundGorilla.com), a sales training and development company whose list of top clients includes many professional sports teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, and NASCAR.  His book, “The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales”. is a bestseller in his hometown of Bourbonnais, IL.

You’re going out on a date.  A first date.  You don’t know your new friend’s tastes, budget, or anything about them, but you do know that you’ve decided to start off your evening by going out to eat.

You hit “Restaurant Row” in your city, and as you approach the many choices for eating out, a hundred different things go through your mind:

-          What does he/she like to eat?

-          Do I have enough money to go to the expensive place?

-          Do I want to get messy?

-          What am I hungry for?

-          Will the atmosphere be right?   Will it be too loud to talk?

-          Are we appropriately dressed?

-          Am I going to run into someone I don’t want to see?

-          Do they have enough parking, or are we going to have to walk a long way?

It’s a little snapshot of time, but in that moment, you’ll make a mutual decision based on lots of little things… and all those influences add up to the choice you’ll make in that moment.

This scenario is just like what your customer goes through when you call them about your product or service for sale.  A hundred different influences are acting upon your customer’s thought process at that moment in time, bringing them to a “snap judgment” – a quick conclusion about your offer:

-          They may have just ushered a bad sales rep out of their building

-          They may have just learned that their best client has dumped them for a competitor

-          They may have bill payment problems, shipment problems, or personnel issues

-          They may just have ended a “gloom-and-doom” meeting, a “come-to-Jesus” meeting, an insufferable budget meeting, etc.

-          They may have personal issues at home that are weighing heavy on them

-          They may be overwhelmed by all they have to get done in their day

-          They may have someone in their office that’s out sick, and everyone has to cover

-          They may be hiring new people, training new people, or re-educating their current staff on new tasks, and it may be frustrating and time-consuming

-          They may have learned about something that the company is considering that could impact them negatively

Just because they react negatively to you doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in your product!  Depending on the way their day is going, your product could literally be the FURTHEST thing from their mind at that moment.  They may not want to tie up their brain for something like your product, but it may very well be something they WILL be interested in talking about at the right time.

Don’t give up.

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market, will be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

We all know who Bertha is.

She’s the ever-present Gatekeeper… the evil lord of the Decision-Maker’s precious  appointment book, telephone, and front door.  She eats unsuspecting sales reps for breakfast.  She’s been around the block, and knows what you’re up to.  You’re a Salesperson, and as far as she’s concerned, you’re the enemy.  She’s made up her mind; her boss’ office is the end zone, and she’s the entire Steelers front line.

When Bertha asks, “What is this regarding?”, we all know where she’s going.  She wants to get to the bottom of why you want to waste her boss’ time, and if she doesn’t get a satisfactory answer, you’re getting flushed like last night’s Taco Bell.

As a professional sales rep, it’s critical that you answer Bertha quickly and confidently. One hesitation – just one hint that leads her to believe you’re tentative, nervous, or don’t know your stuff – and you’re toast.  So Rule #1 of getting past Bertha is: Be Ready For Bertha.  Don’t count on your last-minute, off-the-cuff wit to pull you through; you must be prepared for questions like “What’s This Regarding?” and answer them with confidence.

(NOTE: Want to know my best responses to the question, “What’s This Regarding?”  Just E-mail me at bill@The800PoundGorilla.com with the words “BERTHA” in the subject line, and I’ll send ‘em right to you.)

Rule #2 is: Play Her Game.  This is her turf.  In order for you to win, she has to believe that SHE’S in control.  You won’t beat Bertha; your best bet is to win her over, which leads us to:

Rule #3: Treat Bertha Like She’s The Decision-Maker. You don’t know how much the Decision-Maker counts on Bertha to help him or her decide what to do.  Many bosses ask their assistants what they think about certain vendors or product lines.  They often ask their assistants questions like: “What’d you think of that person that just walked out the door?”  Most every Bertha has an opinion, and even though they may not take their advice, they listen to their responses, and it does influence the Decision-Makers’ thinking.

One of the other things to consider is that Bertha may actually be a better prospect for what you’re selling than the Decision-Maker… in which case you’re better off getting to know her in the first place.

In many of the sales training programs I conduct, I’ll ask one or more of the executive assistants that work at their own company to come into our class.  I conduct a brief interview with them, Oprah-style, and ask them what sorts of things impress them from the many salespeople that call them in their role as gatekeeper for their boss.  I’ll also ask them to tell the group what really gets them angry, and tell a story or two about someone that really blew it with them on the phone, and will now NEVER get through to the boss, no matter what.  We’ve heard some pretty amazing stories!

I also ask them, “What single piece of advice would you give to your sales reps here in the room when they’re dealing with gatekeepers like you?”  Here are the four boiled-down responses that are most common:

-          Recognize them as someone with a brain, not as something to “get past” in order to achieve their objective.

-          Speak to them as a human being.

-          Don’t lie to them.  (They eventually find out, and it’s not pretty!)

-          Give them respect and courtesy.

As I teach in every sales training program I conduct with teams across the nation:  Sales is a game – play to win!

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market, will be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

You have a prospect who’s genuinely interested.  They’re asking all the right questions, and you’re responding perfectly.  All seems to be going well, and it looks like you’re about to close the deal.

All of a sudden, your prospect says, “I’ve got some other pressing things that are going on right now, so I have to go… but I have all your information, and I’ll call you back later.”

ARGGH!  What happened?

Most, if not all, conversations that end abruptly like this are out of our control.  We can do our very best job and not be able to make the deal happen.  But what more can we do to assure a positive outcome (a sale) without sounding pushy, overbearing, or insensitive to their other obligations?

Here are a few responses that I teach in my “Sales Dominance” Program for Sports Ticket Sales (which you can easily adapt to your own product or service!) to overcome this situation and move it to a positive end at that moment:

-          “Well, as hard as it is to reach people by phone today, if we can just get it done right now, it would only take a few moments, and we won’t have to go back and forth with phone tag.  We’ll probably SAVE ourselves some time in the end!”

-          “I’ve got a lot going on too, but if we can just get it done right now, it won’t take but a few moments, and I’m LIGHTNING FAST on the computer!  Would that be OK with you?”

-          “We can do that, but I can’t guarantee that these same seats will be here when we get a chance to talk again.  There’s 10 other people on the phones selling the very same area we’re talking about right now.  All I need is a deposit so I can put your name on them, and we can work out the rest later.  How does that sound?”

-          “OK… but if where you sit is important to you, I should make sure you know that I can’t hold the seats we’ve been talking about unless I have a deposit… and the longer we wait, the less attractive the seats become.  Can I get your credit card information for the deposit, so we can hold these seats now, and take care of the rest of the details later?”

-          “Well, this IS where you want to sit, right?  The thing is, I can’t hold any seats unless there’s at least a small deposit on them, and we’re selling seats here every day.  Do you have just another moment or two to wrap this up so that you’re sure to have these seats we’re looking at right now?”

[These are the TAME responses… for three more bold, out-there, how-could-you-ask-that sorts of answers to the “Call Me Back Later” stall, just E-mail me with the word “BOLD” in the subject line, and I’ll send those to you right away.]

For the person that simply HAS to end the call now, here are some tips to make sure the end result is as positive as possible:

-          Make sure that you set a date and time for you to return your call. Simply saying “I’ll call you back later” or “Let’s talk next week” isn’t specific enough, and may lead to weeks of phone tag.

-          Ask for their E-mail address, so you can send them a reminder for your follow-up call.  Those who are busy will truly appreciate that you’re sending them an E-mail reminder, and by seeing that E-mail, you’ll have far more people who will remember that they’ve agreed to talk to you on that date and time.

-          Do what you promised you’d do. You’d be amazed at how many people SAY things they’ll do, and never follow up!  Be sure to actually CALL on the date and time you arrange.  By being punctual and keeping your word, you’re earning their trust and showing how much you respect them, their time, and their potential business.

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

Benny speaks a little slower than he used to. The stroke has taken a little bit of quickness from him, but he’s still got it upstairs. It just doesn’t come out as fast as it used to.

The “it” is the wit and personality of a sales professional 79 years young, an entrepreneur enjoying his retirement years traveling and seeing the world.
I met Benny on a recent flight from Chicago to San Diego. I was going on business. Benny was going for fun.

“So what do you do in Chicago?” Benny asked, smiling. He’s always the first to start a conversation. He’s never met a stranger.

“I work in market development for a major hospital health system in Kankakee.” I said. “I’m on my way to a big conference.”
“Oh, that’s great!” he said with genuine enthusiasm. “Those conferences are fantastic. There’s so much to learn. I went to plenty of them myself.”
And then I began to ask about Benny.

For 30 years Benny Rae was the floor covering king of Rochester, NY. His single store did incredible volumes from 1965 until he gave the business to his son in 1995.
He began in business by going door-to-door selling commercial accounts during the day, and selling carpeting to families in their homes in the evenings. He worked tirelessly to get the business started, and eventually had many people working for him.

“That’s fascinating,” I said. “I do some sales training myself. From all your experience, what would be your best advice to a new salesperson today?”

He stared right at me, and I could almost hear his mind whirring, looking for exactly the right words. Slowly and deliberately, one word at a time, he said, “Ask for the order.”

“Salespeople need to learn to always ask for the order. From the day you begin, you’re closing every minute.”  You could see him light up as he talked about the subject. “By closing, I don’t mean to be pushy. Some people learn all these fancy, pushy lines and think that’s closing.”

”When I was selling, people told me over and over again that one of the reasons they bought from me was because I didn’t pressure them. The thing is, I actually did use pressure, but they just didn’t know it. The words I chose and the way I said them helped to persuade them to say yes. I was just persistent in a nice way.”
One of the things Benny learned early on was the importance of listening.
“My partner in the business was the best salesman I ever knew. He taught me everything I needed to know to get started. I was willing to listen to him. And while I was listening, I wasn’t talking.”
Many times Benny would hear the word “No.” It didn’t stop him from continuing on.  “When a customer said no, I took it as a sign that said, ‘Tell me more.’ I gave people more reasons why they should buy my product.”
Throughout his career, he taught the fundamentals of selling to dozens of his employees. He found that not everyone was willing to work as hard as he did.
“Lots of salespeople today are lazy. They don’t take the time to learn what people want, or how much they’re willing to spend. They’re order takers.”
“True salespeople help people to figure out what it is they have, and what it is they need. To do that, you have to ask questions and be willing to listen. That takes time and effort, and many people today don’t seem to want to put in the effort.”

He also talked about the importance of a spotless reputation.  “My reputation was everything,” he said. “When I bought flooring directly from the mills, my word was all they needed. I never once let anyone down. My word was my bond, and it was golden to everyone I dealt with. If a salesperson today can build a reputation like that—to always do what you say—it’s better than money in the bank.”
He should know. Benny and his family had plenty in the bank, as well as a lavish home in the city and a summer home with several boats, jet skis, and other toys.
“Everybody accused me of being lucky in life,” Benny says, a smile crossing his expressive Italian face. “The truth is I was always going, going, going. I never stopped trying, even when the chips were down. When you stop trying, you’re out of business.”
New salespeople, take note: Benny wasn’t expecting to give a sales lesson on the plane. For the very best in any profession, however, if it’s what you love, it just comes naturally.