Upside Down On Your Car Loan

I'm angry with the auto industry!  Not with the vehicles but with this specific selling practice:  Burying old loan balance into a 'new' loan.  This practice is used when a customer has an outstanding balance on a vehicle loan and wants to purchase a new vehicle.  It's called being 'Upside Down'.  Both the customer and Dealer/Finance company are at fault in this crazy transaction:  The customer for not paying off one vehicle before purchasing a new one;  The Dealer/finance company for actually writing the loan agreement!  The end result is that the customer pays way more and for a longer period of time!  

Here's a real example:  An associate just buried $20,000 into a new vehicle lease on a new vehicle that had a capital cost of $50,000.  Total indebtedness:  $70,000 on a vehicle worth $50,000!  She has the same monthly payments as before due to a longer lease term.  But hey...she got floor mats and an extended warranty thrown in for 'Free'!

This should be criminal!  It breaks one cardinal rule of sales:  There is no customer benefit.  I can already hear the howls of protest:  'But the customer wanted it and she gets to drive a shiny new vehicle'.  No comment!

Come one people...put on your big boy pants!  Don't buy something you can't afford especially when it depreciates faster than you can pay it!

If you are upside down, here's how to get out from under it:  Facts about underwater car loans.

Until next time...

Listen to Learn

One of the most frustrating things about listening is when we list to respond, not to learn!  In my Professional Selling class at George Brown College we talk about 'active listening'.  This is where we ask questions to learn and turn off the response urge.  It takes practice.  I share stories of times when I've listened to respond versus listening to learn and the results of each.  In almost all cases when I've listened to learn, I come up with better solutions because my mind isn't working to formulate a response.  I'm not a psychologist and don't know the science behind this I just know it works!

Listening to learn involves asking better questions.  The ones that get the person talking about their needs.  Questions with yes/no answers...go nowhere...no good!

A business conversation is not a social conversation!  No matter how much you and your prospect/customer want to talk about family and the kids (and yes there is a time and place for that), these are business questions:  What are you looking for in the product or service?;  How will this improve your process?;  How will this reduce cost?  These are they types of questions that elicit detailed responses...they tell you what your prospect values most...what's most beneficial to them.

At the end of the day, people buy solutions that work for them.  Actively listening to learn what those are is what we should practice doing.

Until next time...

Chris Morales 

Selling: Not just for Salespeople

Everybody hates Salespeople. And many salespeople go to extreme lengths to hide their job descriptions. Think 'Account Executive'!

The stereotype of the pushy salesperson: The one who won't take no for an answer, the one who stretches the truth follows salespeople around like a lingering odour. Commission Salespeople seem to be the worst...we perceive them as particularly predatory, concerned about their conquests over prospects. Think 'Hunter Mentality'.

I started my career as a full commission sales rep at a radio station at the depths of a major recession. My training lasted 30 seconds: 'Here's the phone book...start making calls!' I lasted 4 years...a feat I've never tried to duplicate. In every 'sales job' since then the window of time I've dedicated to making it work has shrunk to the point where now I won't entertain a position with selling in the job description.

But here's the rub: I'm selling all the time! In my second career in Account Management at Advertising Agencies and my third in Marketing Management in Client companies, I'm selling every day. Ideas, Strategies, Programs, Events...everything related to getting the word out about a product or service. And I love it...thrive on it actually! Now I'm at the point where I'm teaching professional selling at a Community College in Toronto.

If you're asking how the heck that happened, you're not alone. Some days I even have trouble understanding how me, a non-salesperson, loves selling. The answer lies here: Uncover a buyer's needs, figure out what benefits are important to them, provide solutions, engage with them ongoing. This style of selling has a name: 'Trust-based, Relationship Selling'.

People respond well to Relationship Selling. When they find that person who looks out for their needs, they remain fiercely loyal to the company and brand. Example: I'm now loyal to a small men's boutique after a recent experience I had in updating my wardrobe. The Owner took the time to get to know me and curated a few high quality pieces. More expensive than the outlet stores but fitted to my body type and needs. I'm now fiercely loyal and don't think twice about shopping there for all my clothes...right down to T Shirts and Jeans! He didn't sell me anything...just solved my needs.

I love solving problems. Tell me what your desired outcome is and I'll find a way to get your there. Call it what you will...that's the true nature of 'Salesmanship'.

~~~~~~~

Sales Training for the Rest of Us Workshop

Sales Techniques that actually work

Sales techniques that actually work, the holy grail for anybody with something to sell.  Sorry to disappoint.  There is no silver bullet.  Determination, perseverance, focus on solving needs...these are at the heart of sales techniques that really do work.  Two specifics:  Listen to prospects to understand their needs

Inside the Mind of a Sales Manager

Whoa...do we really want to know what goes on inside the mind of a Sales Manager?  Yes actually...it's a busy place and you need to know where you fit in.

What's Destroying Your Sales Team

What's destroying your sales team?  Many things.  #1 is poor alignment of Marketing, Sales and Service.  

The first step is to take a hard look at what is going on across your organization to identify the top 3 obstacles.  Then, lay out the plan to address those first.  Give yourself a timeline and check ins to monitor progress.  Adjust as necessary.

The Anatomy of a Professional Sales Rep

Marketing to drive Sales

'Marketing, Sales' or is it 'Sales, Marketing'.  Chicken and Egg discussion I've had many times. The reality is that without demand for a product or service, you're a commodity in a race to the bottom on price!  Marketing and Sales have to work together to understand the marketplace to make better decisions on how to connect with customers.

Chris M Morales

chris.morales@bell.net

@ChrisMoralesTO

647 393 3855

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and are not associated with any other group or organization

The Anatomy of a Productive Salesperson

The Productive Salesperson:  What does she/he look like?  Up before dawn doing administrative paperwork, organized to the Nth degree, positive and enthusiastic.  Smile...it could be you! :)

Chris M Morales

chris.morales@bell.net

@ChrisMoralesTO

647 393 3855

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and are not associated with any other group or organization

Summer School at GBC

Summer school at George Brown College and class is in!

Two GBC classes are approaching their final stages this summer:  Professional Selling and Starting a Small Business. The students both classes have been involved, interested and enthusiastic in both courses. And that's made it special.

The Professional Selling course focuses on improving selling skills through building long-term relationships.  The premise is that a customer-for-life relationship begins by qualifying a prospect properly.  Then by asking the right questions, build trust in solutions that add value for the customer. Many of the concepts covered can be applied to jobs that are not primarly sales positions and that's what makes this course valuable.  Anyone looking to improve their understanding of how to perform better in their current job, look for a new job or change careers will enjoy this course.

The Starting a Small Business course winds up this week with our final class, a Field Trip for ice cream! One of the students opened an ice cream shop in the west end of Toronto and we're holding our final class at the shop to see a small business in action.  In this class, we've been through a complete assessment of each student's business idea covering market assessment, marketing plan, financial planning and culminated with a finished Business Plan.  Each student completing the course learned the key concepts on how to start and run their own business.  

Both courses are on again this fall at George Brown College Continuing Education.  You can register now at these links:  Professional Selling Fall 2017 and Starting a Small Business Fall 2017.

Chris M Morales

chris.morales@bell.net

@ChrisMoralesTO

647 393 3855

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and are not associated with any other group or organization

In conversation with...Smartphone Challenges in Canada

Superphones have replaced Smartphones.  That's what it says on the web site of my Mobile phone Service Provider.  And even though I'm not a Digital Native, I find myself doing more and more with my Smartphone...er, Superphone...through the convenience of Apps.  This single fact has changed everything in the marketing world.  As my Client's continue to build their digital expertise, 'Mobile' seems to be at the bulls eye of their needs.  I screen for Analysts, eCRM, Social Media and Digital Campaign jobs with an eye on the Candidate's experience in Mobile.

I had the opportunity recently to speak with a senior Sales Executive major Smartphone manufacturer.  In particular, the insights he shared helped frame the talent gap in both sales and marketing.

What Business challenge is your highest priority?

I have two.  First, convincing our internal leadership team that B2B vs B2C should be our focus for growth.  Until we are all aligned, we will continue to waste cycles on the internal struggle between the B2B and B2C go to market channels.  Second, convincing customers that my products and services are secure and manageable, as opposed to the platform that we base our business products on.

What is your #1 Marketing Challenge?

Awareness of our enterprise offerings!  Establishing creditability and a unique identity for our product in a market that is perceived to be unsecure, unmanageable and fraught with malware.  

What Canadian companies are doing 'Innovative' Marketing?
Telus, Samsung (to some degree) and Banks to some degree with mobile banking, partnering with mobile carriers on initiatives.

We've heard about the 'Talent Gap'.  What are the talent gaps in your business?

Experienced and qualified internal support personnel who understand the Enterprise and SMB channel, its needs and its differences to that of the consumer channel.  Sales reps with experience in mobility enterprise sales.

What keeps you up at night?

What doesn’t!  :)  Three things.  First, simply trying to manage the workload driven by national responsibilities in both direct sales, carrier channel enablement and regional and national marketing programs. Second, fear of biting off more than I/we can chew due to the current attention we are receiving from customers and end-users, which in my opinion is a limited window of opportunity.  And finally, lack of resources to firstly secure and secondly support the business that is ours to lose

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris Morales

chris.morales@bell.net

647 393 3855

Linkedin:  Chris M Morales