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 SAVVY
SELLING - MARCH
1, 2007
Keeping
the Chorus in Tune
by Michelle Nichols
EXECUTIVE
OVERVIEW
If
different departments are pushing
different messages, customer
confusion will result. Here's
how to build harmonious teams
When I visited Disneyland in
California recently, the "It's
a Small World" ride featuring
"audio-animatronic"
figures representing various
countries around the world gave
me an idea for how to sell better.
A tour guide told me that Walt
Disney's original plan for the
ride was for each figure to
each sing its country's respective
national anthem. Then Disney
realized that the resulting
clashes of the melodies and
tempos of each song would create
a cacophony for the passenger
on the ride.
This made me wonder: Is it
possible that your prospective
customers hear conflicting messages
when you're selling, creating
a similar disharmony? For example,
if your print advertising promises
that your outfit's primary benefit
is "low prices," then
your sales team brags about
your "terrific service,"
and your customer-service department
extols your "fast response
time," your customers may
flee from the inconsistency
and lack of credibility of your
message. They will probably
spend their money in places
where they can understand the
value of the product or service
and hear consistent selling
messages.
This fractured situation can
happen when a company operates
with a silo mentality—where
communication across departments
is the exception rather than
the rule, and each department
acts autonomously without conveying
a consistent message to the
customer.
Beware Silo Creep
After Walt Disney gave his ride's
design some more thought, he
decided to play the same unique
melody throughout, but have
the figures each sing in their
country's native language. That
way, the tune would be consistent,
but at the same time it would
keep the international flavor
he intended to convey. A brilliant
solution!
Likewise, if you find that
your customers are experiencing
various selling messages during
the buying process, carefully
choose one or two primary benefits
that your customers desperately
want and you are uniquely suited
to provide. Then make sure that
at every step along the selling
process, those benefits are
"sold" and implemented.
Be wary of the silo effect creeping
into your business' sales process.
Take this cautionary story
from a telephone-services salesman
I know. The salesman's company
usually mailed a report and
a bill to one of its major customers
every month. Then, for whatever
mysterious reason, the accounting
department simply stopped billing
this client. When the accountants
realized their mistake, they
sent one huge report and a single
bill for the previous six months.
Due to their silo mentality,
they didn't bother to mention
what they had done to the salesman.
The first time the salesman
heard of the mistake was when
the irate customer called him
to complain.
Big-Picture Problems
What's worse, the salesman had
just delivered a bid for the
upcoming year's business to
this customer. The large, late
bill coming right after a request
for another year of service
pushed the customer to put the
order out to bid—and another
vendor got the job. As a result,
the salesman lost a long-standing,
good customer because the accounting
department didn't think it needed
to tell the salesman about the
mistake. Ouch.
Of course, there are plenty
of stories where a salesperson
didn't communicate well with
his accounting or other departments
and it caused lost business,
too. The effect is the same.
A silo culture drives away customers.
While it's easy to cast blame
for silos, it's faster to take
the onus on yourself to fix
or improve the situation. Here
are a few suggestions.
1. Stay in Touch.
Make a map of everyone in your
company who has any possible
effect on or connection to your
customers. Then introduce yourself
personally to everyone on that
map. Let them know a little
bit about you personally and
professionally. Consider giving
them your cell phone number
or maybe even your home phone
number, so if they should ever
get a call from one of your
customers or have a question
about any aspect of one of your
accounts, they can contact you
easily.
2. Know Your People.
Learn a few key facts about
each of the people on your map,
too. You never know what connections
or nuggets of information your
co-workers have that no one
has ever mined before. It's
possible to leverage your co-workers
to win some new customers as
well as keep your current ones.
3. Build Connections.
Divide all the departments
in your company into six or
12 groups. Then you or your
sales department can host a
"Sales Appreciates Department
X" event every month or
two, and over the course of
the year, cover all the departments
in your company. This builds
great connections between you
and the other departments.
4. Share Your Plans.
Before you commence
going after a big new project
or customer, confidentially
share your plans with those
departments who will be most
affected. Ask for their suggestions
and see if they have any concerns
that you might not have considered.
The creation of the multilingual
Disney ride required some careful
planning, so take the time to
ensure a pleasant trip for your
customers as you take them through
your sales process. You will
sell more and have happier customers
too. Happy selling!
Michelle Nichols is a
professional sales speaker and
consultant based in Reno, Nevada.
She is also the Savvy
Selling podcast host for
BusinessWeek. She welcomes your
questions and comments. You
can visit her web site at www.savvyselling.com
or contact her at michelle.nichols@savvyselling.com.
Her toll-free number is (877)
352-9684 and direct line is
(775) 303-8201.
Copyright 2007. All rights
reserved.
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