Elevator Presentations and Your Yankee Stadium Presentation

Most of us have heard of the "Elevator Presentation" which is usually a 15 second overview of the benefits we provide for our clients when they work with us. A good 15 second elevator presentation is designed to arouse curiousity and lead to what Chet Holmes calls a "Stadium Presentation".

Chet sets up the Stadium Presentation idea pretty well:

"Imagine I could put you in a giant stadium right now as the presenter, and the entire audience is completely comprised of your most perfect prospects. Are you ready right now? Could you walk out on that stage and present to every one of them and do it perfectly? Now before you say yes, let me make the stakes higher. Before you walk out there, the audience is told: “You had to come, but you don't have to stay. If this person (you) fails to keep your interest, you can simply get up and leave.”

Chet continues:

So you need to open your stadium pitch (as I call it), with what I call “wow's.” This means that all great presentations start off with information that makes your prospects say: “wow, I didn't know that.” The focus must be on THEM and things of interest to THEM, not you. So rule number one of a great presentation is that it must be focused on the prospect and not on you (at least not initially).

In my language... that means every presentation we make should serve our clients in some unique way.

More on this in my next post...

Describing Your Unique Serve-Haggar Slacks

Why would you buy one brand of casual slack (or as Haggar calls them "Premium Dress Khaki's") over another? The Haggar Brand has done a great job creating an environment in the men's section of department stores with their "Quality for Life" display pictured above. The picture is a bit small so I will do some explaining.

First of all, they do a great job of what marketing expert Jay Abraham describes as "Risk Reversal". These slacks are guaranteed for the life of the owner.

Secondly, the Haggar people go to great lengths to explain what makes this particular slack line of such great quality. Not only do they list the specifics on a poster, they have turned the slacks inside out and placed little explanations at all the appropriate places. Here are the advantages described by Haggar:

A. Buttons - Guaranteed Unbreakable

B. Seams - Guaranteed Unrippable

C. Zippers - Guaranteed Unbreakable

D. Pockets - Guaranteed Unrippable... and they are extra deep and large

E. Waste Band - Expandable for your comfort after that big steak at the Outback


This is great selling!!! Most companies are content to say we have "Quality" this or that and leave it there.

Whatever you sell, it serves the client when you show and tell them what sets you apart or what unique advantage you offer. Figure out how to turn your product or service inside out so they can easily see what's not obvious.

Thanks Haggar... You showed us how to "Make Things Right" in the video from my last post... You are also showing us how to "Sell Things Right".

Making Things Right

Haggar Clothing has a cute series of ads on You Tube that strikes a chord with me. We moved into a new home recently and my interactions with both the cable company and satellite tv were anything but pleasant. Just watching the above ad reminded me of the basic premise of their "service" which is basically you have to sacrifice a day of your life if you want to do business with us. This is sort of understandable given the fact that they have no real way of knowing how complex any individual installation and set up will be. What seems inexcuseable is the lack of communication when they are running late and outside the 4 or 5 hour time window given. It's then over-the-top when they show up past the time window and without the necessary material... but wait there's more... do they put you to the top of the list... Nope... you have to wait another week to 10 days for a new appointment.

...getting them to bill you for what their representative agrees to by phone has been another challenge. My wife has spent unbelievable amounts of time on the phone trying to get the billing correct.

All companies give poor service from time to time. The difference is that the great ones... as the Haggar ad suggests, "Make It Right". Making it right may mean a heart felt apology. But it also may mean providing a more tangible recognition or compensation for the value of the customers time. A few years ago I totally blew off an appointment. I was so embarrassed that I caused 5 people to lose an hour of their valuable time that I went out and bought each a $20.00 gift certificate to a local restautant. I paid for it out of my own pocket.

I have blogged on Service Recovery before. Starbucks has given me gift certificates on more than one occassion for blowing it. They clearly get it and empower their people to make things right. Meryn's Department Stores sadly went out of business last year after the founder sold it to a group who didn't have the same attention to service and detail. I still vividly remember the Christmas when the Mervyns clerk gave me 15% off my purchase for waiting in a line he decided was unreasonably lengthy. That gesture bought my business for several years.

Go "Make It Right" in your business... and if you get a creative impulse from the You Tube next time you have problems with your cable service provider, so be it.

Fix The Product/Service!

Dilbert is a comic strip that runs in most local newspapers. I often read it with a nervous chuckle because the scenarios strip author Scott Adams depicts are way too close to reality in some organizations I've had experience with. Some days I think Dilbert would more aptly be referred to as a "Tragedy Strip". The 3 panel above is suggestive of the all too common strategy of trying to fix core problems with the basic product and service with intensified or clever sales efforts. I can't tell you how many sales meetings I've been in where it was suggested that the way to fix an essentially flawed but fixable problem was slicker sales language or as Dilbert would say "Jargon".

If you're a "Servant Salesperson" and not just a regular sales person it must become a central part of your job description to fix the product or service you sell. Your job is not only to represent the company to the customer/client but also to represent the client/customer to the company. You are a salesperson or influencer on both occassions. This often involves speaking truth to power and may on occassion even put your job in jeopardy.

One of my favorite authors is Harry Beckwith. I think all three of his books can be found in the Servant Selling Bookstore. His first one, Selling the Invisible, starts right in with this topic in the very first chapter titled, The Greatest Misconception About Marketing.

Beckwith begins: "In a free association test, most people - including most people in business - will equate the word "marketing" with selling and advertising: pushing the goods.

In this popular view, marketing means taking what you have and shoving it down buyers' throats. 'We need better marketing' invariably means 'We need to get our name out' -with ads, publicity, and maybe some direct mail.

Unfortunately , this focus on getting the word outside distracts companies from the inside, and from the first rule of marketing. The core of marketing is the service itself.

I am not suggesting that if you build a better service, the world will beat a path to your door. Many "better services" are foundering because of rotten marketing. Nor am I suggesting that getting the word out is enough. Getting the word out and attracting people to a flawed service is the preferred strategy for killing a service company.

The first step to marketing is your service.

Why Are Some Businesses (And Salespeople) More Successful Than Others?

I have been going back through some old cassette tape programs. (For those of you that are scratching your head on term "cassette tape"... I'm sure Wikipedia must have some elaborate explanation)... but I digress...

I cued up one called "Your Secret Wealth" developed by marketing guru Jay Abraham. I think people often listen to these programs hoping to find ways to be more clever and psychologically manipulative in belief that those are the "qualities" that lead to big success. I believe in solid technique and great tools when it comes to sales and marketing, but all my 50 plus years of experience points toward offering value, stellar customer experience, and an effective way of getting the word out.

Jay posed the question on tape 3, "Why are some businesses far more successful than others? and then proceeded to answer it this way:

"Without being protracted, let me give you the answer.

They have identified and understand better than their competition exactly what their customers want and need and they furnish it and they provide it.

As a paying proposition, as a business of which you are the captain, you have to understand what your customer.... whoever he or she or it may be wants and needs and you've got to be able to render or supply or provide it better, more advantageously, and this is a key... more evidently so they recognize what you are doing for them...

And that basically is what drives businesses to great success and will drive you to great success in all aspects of your life and financial well-being through the secret wealth principle."

Jay continues after giving 3 outstanding examples:

"One of the biggest philosophical breakthroughs we have established in the business arena is teaching people how to adopt an attitude of what I'll call a super-servant... because what your goal in life, in business, in jobs must be is to identify how many more and better and continuous ways you can help or serve or fulfill or clarify the non-verbalized needs and desires of your customer or marketplace.

The moment you switch your focus from internal to external, from self-serving to self-less, from what's in it for me to how can I be a super-servant....

How can I enrich the life, the business, the profitability, the satisfaction, or the happiness of the other side, your own situation starts improving massively!"

Some run on sentences.... but beautifully put.

Access" As A Way To Serve Your Customers and Clients

I was doing a coaching session with a Realtor yesterday talking about ways he could more effectively promote his business. I coach that great selling always begins with great service and one way or another my early sessions usually end up with some discussion of access. I knew this particular realtor offered stellar service on this point always either picking up or returning his calls very promptly.

My favorite image of "Access" is a very young John Kennedy Jr. or "John John" as he was called then, under his father's desk. He had access. We all give special access to those we love most. When my cell phone rings and I see it's my wife, I always pick up. She has access.

My father built several successful businesses from scratch. One was a temporary personnel business that catered to manufacturing companies that often ran shifts 24 hours a day. His "Unique Service Proposition" was taking a pager or cell phone to bed with him everynight. He also had "Minutemen" temporaries that could be ready to walk out the door in the middle of the night to take a temporary assignment on a minutes notice. When a night shift foreman called because a worker called in sick, didn't show, or they had to do an extra run of something, dad could be reached immediately. That's Access!!! And he built his business on this unprecedented willingness to be inconvenienced.

How can you give your customers better access? It seems like we live in a sea of businesses all to willingly to allow their customers to dangle on hold or spend an eternity navigating the phone tree in voice mail.


In one of my favorite books, You, Inc - The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry and Christine Beckwith they tell the story of a professional association that commissioned a study poling over 300 clients. They asked one simple question: “As a client, what do you value most?” They assumed that answers like fees and technical skills or competence would rise to the top.

When the study came back, fees ranked 9th and technical skills ranked 8th. What ranked first? “The individual’s demonstrated interest in developing a long-term relationship with my company.” The Beckwith couple thought the answer that came in 2nd was equally interesting: “The speed with which my phone calls are returned”.

Accessibility is square one in customer service. I heard about a customer the other day who was on hold for 1 1/2 Hours. That customer will go to another vendor when she has a chance.

Expectations of accessibility have skyrocketed in recent years for salespeople in the field. When I went to work as a field marketing rep expectations of a returned phone call within 24-48 hours was the norm. Today as a manager I actually get calls from irritated customers who placed a call to one of my reps 2-3 hours earlier and are upset because they “still” haven’t heard from them. The reason can be summed up in two words… cell phones. The expectation is that a marketing rep can return phone calls immediately.

Part of the solution may be to educate your customers about your work day and realities that include 2 hour meetings and long drives through territory with out cell coverage. Beyond that it’s critical to be in your voice mail at 8 am, 12 noon, and 5 pm without fail and block out 20—30 minutes after each check in to return phone calls.

Back to the Beckwith Story. In a follow up survey, the people who placed “speed of response” toward the top of their list were asked, “Does the person need to answer your questions when they return your call?” Those surveyed answered “No”. As it turned out all anyone wanted was a prompt call back. No one expected questions to be answered or problems solved immediately.

The Beckwith Story concluded that callers only wanted what most people yearn for everyday: They want to feel important to another person. People desire a quick response because it communicates, You are important to me.

Adapted from You, Inc by Harry and Christine Beckwith, Warner Business Books, New York, New York

Warmer Service

My wife and I often have conversations about companies that offer stellar sales and service. Yesterdays conversation is proof positive that a company can improve the customer experience in meaningful ways regardless of the industry. (Yes, I did get her permission to post this)

Yesterday was the regular mammogram and let me stop right here and encourage you to get the appropriate regular screenings regardless of your gender. When she returned home I asked her how everything went. The best news of course was that the results were clear but then she continued with a glowing report about the experience which apparently was a significant upgrade from previous ones. An associate offered extra clothing to protect her modesty when she had to run to the restroom mid exam. The kicker was that this screening company now offered warmed jells and equipment. I won't go into greater detail... suffice it to say she was elated with the improvement.

We can all improve service and customer experiences regardless of the industry we work in!

Servant Selling on The Used Car Lot???

Unless you've shopped at CarMax, I already know what you're thinking. Servant Selling on a car lot, especially a used car lot is some kind of oxymoran or contradiction in terms. Used car shopping is about as much fun as a root canal. Well... not anymore. I've been hearing about CarMax for several years but I've had a series of new cars, company cars, and the like so I haven't been in the market for a used car. My wife and financial guru Dave Ramsey convinced me to pay cash and avoid the debt route so used car shopping we went.

We tried the usual used car end of the new car lots first. As you might imagine, I love great sales people with really professional approaches but that's often not what you find when you go car shopping. And things haven't gotten better since my last visit to the car lot. With the melt down in the car industry, if anything, things are worse.

After several rounds of abuse, my wife and I decided to drive the 45 minutes it took to get to the nearest CarMax. What a difference. We were given plenty of space and an opportunity to just walk around the lot to see what we liked. CarMax sales people don't pounce. They allow you to come and ask for help.

When we did ask, we were served by an awesome professional named Jarett. He educated us on how the CarMax system worked. My defenses dropped and we spent a couple of the most enjoyable car shopping hours of my life. Jarett showed us exactly what we asked to see, set up test drives, and introduced a couple of options we hadn't considered. He gave us a tour of the service facility and we found that set up as compelling as the sales department.

CarMax is now a Fortune 500 company that sells more used cars than anyone else in the country. They have also been listed as one of the "100 Best Places to Work" for the last 3 years in a row.

Their slogan, "The way car buying should be" are not just hollow words. These guys and gals are "Servant Salespeople" to the MAX!

My Tribute

My grandmother went to be with Jesus this morning. Although she wasn't a sales person in the traditional sense, she had many qualities that salespeople could use. Even at 102 she was always laughing, teasing, encouraging, and complimenting others. Her best quality was quite possibly gratitude. I ran the following post about her during the series of articles on "Attitudes and Perspectives That Serve You" back on April 5th, 2008:

"My grandmother (pictured above) who just turned 101 this year is my model for gratitude. I’m not sure she always had it naturally. Be she has it big time now. Somewhere along the line she cultivated it. It’s even a bit abnormal at this stage of life, maybe even supernatural. She has aches and pains. Her body doesn’t work all that well anymore. She is still sharp mentally for 100, but nevertheless declining as you might imagine. Still she maintains a discernable attitude of gratitude. She is grateful for the littlest things imaginable. A piece of candy, a visit, the smallest gift. She still enjoys, savors, and chooses to be grateful.I have to admit I’m still cultivating this one. I have to work at it. When I do, the pay off is big emotionally. There is nothing worse than a whiney, crabby life. Whining always locks in negative emotions. You guarantee feeling bad. So why do we do it? Why do we whine and complain if gratitude gives us the positive payback of good feelings? I think the answer might lie in the word “delay”. I think there is a quick immediate relief that comes when we whine and complain. We also sometimes get a quick response of pity. Friends and family will play the violin over our sorrows for a time. In the short run this feels good… maybe addictive good. But like a drug that works and gives a short term payoff you start needing more to feel good and then you are hooked, wandering around looking for any pity pusher we can find.The emotional payback of gratitude pays off slowly. Like any good nutrient for our body, it gets in our system and builds up over time. With repeated use, gratitude builds into a positive emotional fire that glows and spreads as we keep it stoked and replenished with fuel.Think about your job in sales. What do you like about it? Do they pay you? Mark that down. Do you have any health insurance benefits? Mark that down. How about a retirement program? Mark that down. Do you have opportunity to earn more as your effectiveness grows? Mark that down. Do you have customers that appreciate the value you bring? Mark that down. Do you have freedom to make your schedule? Mark that down. What else could you be grateful for if you chose to? Even if you’re considering a change or looking for an even better opportunity, you can still be grateful that you have a financial foundation from which to look. Continue this line of thinking into the other areas of your life. What’s good about your faith, family, and friendships? Do you have generally good health? Consider the country you were born into. Few places on the planet offer more opportunity. Most of us have so much more to be grateful for than we imagine. But we have to cultivate the perspective.And one more thing… Something magical seems to happen when you cultivate gratitude. You end up attracting even more things to be grateful for. It’s a virtuous cycle that spirals up. The more you are grateful, the more you have to be grateful for. Positive things begin coming into your life. The rate can even be exponential. Write me and let me know how this happens for you! "

The C.A.R.E. Presentation System

A friend of mine recently shared a system that she was taught working in a successful telephone selling program. She was very successful with it and it fits perfectly with the Servant Selling Philosophy. C.A.R.E. stands for Connect-Attract-Respect-Engage.

Connect- This is just an attempt to establish a personal connection with the individual you are speaking with. Different people do this different ways. When I'm on a face to face sales call I always look for something in the prospects office that I genuinely like, admire, or am interested in. It could be a book, a picture, a decorating item, the architecture or design of the building... anything. I will usually make a comment, give a compliment, or ask a question. On one call I absolutely loved the neck tie the guy was wearing. I complimented him on it and he took it off on the spot and gave it to me. I walked out with a contract and a tie that I wore for several years.

Attract- This is sharing a lead idea or sample. It's like the headline of a newspaper or a really well designed advertisement. It must be something that is attention getting in a positive way.

Respect- Respect is recognizing that everyone won't be interested. The timing, the chemistry, or the fit may just be a little off. It's releasing the prospect to make a decision not to do business with you and doing that without a struggle. You just move on to the next one.

Engage- If the prospect shows interest, you move on into the buying process. It many mean giving a fuller presentation or just writing up the order on what you presented in the attract step.


This is a simple 4 step plan that will work for selling a lot of things. Whatever you sell, you need a repeatable outline that is flexible enough to accomodate the many directions a sales call can go. Give the C.A.R.E. plan a try.

Systemize Your Presentation to Serve

Your presentation is a vital part of serving your customer. I don't really believe in "canned" word for word presentations. I still remember going to work for the Zig Ziglar Company as a 23 year old and being asked to memorize a twenty page presentation word for word. I was the only one in my training class that took the request seriously and stayed up late many nights trying to get it down. The problem was that none of the customers I called on had spent any time memorizing their responses.

I do believe in "planned" presentations however. You should have a strong outline and system that keeps you on track and encourages a clear concise overview of your offering. A number of sales trainers and books offer some good outlines. Neil Rackham has written extensively on his S.P.I.N. selling program. It stands for Situation-Problem-Impact-Need Pay Off. You can read a thorough explanation in one his books. In Ziglar on Selling you will find the P.O.G.O. System. It stands for Personal-Organizational-Goals-Obstacles.

One of my 2 or 3 favorite books on selling is Conceptual Selling. It can be ordered at my on line bookstore link at the right. The authors, Miller and Heiman stress that all presentations can be boiled down to Getting Information, Giving Information, and Getting Commitment. They emphasize sequenced pre-planned questions and well thought out presentation modules that can be ordered and re-ordered on the fly.

More in my next post....

Serving With Great Samples

Most great companies give some kind of sample. I love walking around Costco for a lot of reasons but at the top of the list is the food samples. I've often thought if I ever ended up homeless, my first strategy would be to collect enough money to keep my Costco membership and hang out close enough to hit the sample tables each day.

A few weeks ago a sales rep I was coaching called me and let me know he had just lost a sizeable account to a competitor in his industry. Like all good sales people he called the decision maker to ask if there was something he could have done better. He was told the only reason the account chose the competitor was that they left a sample to look at for ideas.

This was a painful lesson.  Most products and services involve leaving some sort of sample even if the product or service is essentially intangible. You can start serving the customer from the get go with the best possible sample of your work. Whatever it is, make sure it is in good condition. If you carry them around in the trunk of your car, make sure that you take the necessary steps to protect them. I always looked at my samples like a piece of valuable jewelry. I tried to handle them and display them in a way that showcased the outstanding features and made sure they were carried in a case that made them easy to access during a presentation. Its a distraction to be fumbling around looking for the just the right sample.

You should also match your samples to fit the individual customer. Every one of you customers are unique. They have different tastes and preferences. If you can learn some of these preferences in advance, you can customize your sample presentation to fit. You might find clues in their office architecture, decorating style, web site, brochures, or even business cards. Do they value traditional or contemporary things and ideas?

Start Serving with World Class Samples!

C.O.Y.O.T.E.

When I was growing up I remember hearing about C.O.Y.O.T.E which I believe was an acronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics. I think it was like a union or something for prostitution... which by the way is not the oldest profession. Selling is and that is just a subset of sales.

...but I digress... When I say C.O.Y.O.T.E. I mean Call Off Your Old Tired Expressions. Have you noticed that the sales profession has embedded language that may be counter productive? How you talk about what you do will eventually work it's way out into how you do it.

Do you "Pitch" your customers? Maybe so, but really great professional selling is something you do "with" and "for" your customers not to them. It should be a dialogue and not a monologue that uncovers genuine needs and wants. If you use the "pitch" word, you may over time move away from interaction and toward less productive one way communication.

Do you "Overcome Objections"? The problem with this phrase is that it conjures up images of winning an argument. How many arguments have you won with your clients? Did you still get the sale? Doubt it. Think about "working with" or "resolving concerns" instead.

Great Servant Selling is a dance and a romance. Start working with your customers to find mutually beneficial solutions.

The Servant Cab Driver

The Cab Ride

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.'

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico... Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.

'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Servant Selling at Savemart

I've gotten addicted to the Gatorade G2 drink lately. I like the grape flavor and the 12oz bottle fits neatly in my gym bag. The only problem is, my local Savemart Grocery Store is always out of the 12oz grape. Apparently this size and flavor is a popular addiction. There seems to be plenty of the other flavors and sizes on hand, but never the 12oz grape that I now must have.

I tracked down a lady named Gail last week to complain. She took care of it. I just got a phone call from Gail assuring me that I have two cases of the product waiting at the store. I don't know about you, but this kind of service tends to buy my loyalty and business for life.

Business Weeks Top 25 In Customer Service

Business Week just announced it's annual Top 25 Customer Service Companies. Check out the link:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/customer_service_2009/index.asp

What would it take for your company, district, territory, etc... to be on a list like this?

Servant Seller - ING Direct Banking

Arkadi Kuhlmann is the founder of Online Banker ING Direct. ING is a company who sat down and thought out what they stood for before they decided what they were going to sell. For example, ING does not promote credit cards to College Students. They set themselves apart by consistently promoting the value of saving rather than spending. Watch the video below for other examples from a company who truly has set themselves apart with a philosophy of serving their customer. And... if you want to check out Arkadi Kuhlmann's new book go to: http://www.theorangecodebook.com/