Peter Lamb’s August 13 webinar, “Who is winning the revenue war, and why?”, packed a tremendous amount of valuable information on sales best practices and new revenue ideas into a 45-minute presentation.
His direct, practical approach was delivered with a level of confidence gained after more than three decades of sales and marketing experience, consulting with some of the world’s largest media companies to make them more efficient, more competitive, and more profitable.
Lamb focused on delivering a few “nuggets of information”. How can we utilize sales best practices and new revenue ideas as the country is recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and how to be memorable to your clients.
“When you are memorable, you can get past the gatekeeper and have no problem getting an appointment,” said Lamb.
The basis of his process starts with TLC, not tender, loving care but think like the customer. Pretend the customer is next to you. Think about what you have done since March, is it to make money or for the customer?
Lamb believes that customers want to hear from you but they want it to be on their terms. You are their trusted partner and link to the outside world but they do not want to be sold. They want the ability to vent, you to listen, and provide options to address some of their challenges through Covid-19 and beyond. This can be a teaching moment for you to educate them about what’s going on at your company and in the world of advertising.
The next part of the process, which works in person or through a video meeting, is LADDER:
- Look them in the eye
- Ask questions
- Do not change the subject
- Do not interrupt
- Empathize
- Respond
A sales call with existing customers during this time is about making it personal, letting them talk, and leveraging the relationship you’ve built. This is the time to ask questions like:
- Given everything going on with COVID, what takes up most of your time?
- What have you done since March to increase, grow, or promote your business?
- Going forward what are your top two or three marketing challenges?
- What have been your top-selling products or services for the past four months?
- Given the past four months, what charities or causes do you subscribe to or endorse?
End the call with, “I appreciate your time. I will meet with my team of experts and come up with some options to meet the challenges you are facing.” Then take out your phone, whether in person or on a video call, and start looking at your calendar for dates. The customer will usually do the same thing and you conclude with your appointment booked to come back with a proposal.
Prospecting during this time is about finding out as much as you can about the prospect. Lead off with a survey to determine the impact of COVID on local businesses and how your company can assist. Ask for a couple of minutes of their time to do the survey and then ask a quick personal question like, “How are you and your family doing during this crisis?” Then shut up and listen to them talk.
For prospects ask these questions:
- What have you done since March to increase, grow, or promote your business?
- Did you manage to retain your most valuable customers?
- Who are your most valuable customers?
- Going forward what are your top two or three marketing challenges?
- When people talk about your business what do they say they like?
- Given the past four months, what charities or causes do you subscribe to or endorse?
End the call with, “I appreciate your time, and if you don’t mind me asking what inspired you to start your business?” Let them talk and before closing and ask if they have any questions for you. Let them know your team of experts will come up with some options to meet their challenges and either you or someone from your team will reach back out to them with the information.
The first thing you do when putting a proposal together for the prospect is review any relevant market data you have access to like Pulse Research or Borrell. Figure out how the date applies to their situation when putting your proposal together.
Think about including branded content or events as part of your proposal. These two revenue generating ideas are being used around the world today by media companies.
Lamb uses a 12-minute proposal format he likens to the McDonald’s Happy Meal.
- Step 1 – Address the needs you discovered during your previous meeting with the customer in four or five points.
- Step 2 – Why use us? Walks the customer through four or five bullets about your company and coverage and emphasizes that the most important point is getting you as a representative who will take care of them. Give examples of other customers and how you have helped them.
- Step 3 – This is the “Happy Meal” part where you present the package options.
- Step 4 – You present the monthly investment, not cost, for package options.
- Step 5 – Go for the close or set-up next meeting.
Remember to listen, let them talk. The more you talk at this point the more likely you are to lose the prospect.
So what are the traits of a great sales representative according to Lamb:
- Passionate about your business.
- Product confidence.
- You love objections.
- Frequently request field rides, or video-call sit-ins with your manager to observe you and get their feedback.
- You win every contest.
- Always fight for good ad copy to make sure the ad will work.
- Make 30 calls a day, which leads to 3-4 conversations, which leads to 2-3 proposals.
There are more valuable sales best practices and revenue ideas to learn by watching the recording of the presentation.
Lamb is doing a follow-up presentation geared towards publishers, ad directors, and sales managers on Thursday, August 20 at 10:30 am. Register here for the event. Peter Lamb can be reached at lambps@aol.com.