7th Sense Parables are always a true story, always thought provoking.

They are published monthly via email.

The one below is about a retail/service situation. It is a true story with questions and comments that make it useful to your selling, managing, business situation. They fit into your life because they are true life.

If you would like to have a monthly thought provoker to keep you in top form, please

As you read on you will see that 7th Sense is always a short, useful, thoughtful read.

 

I need a one and three quarter inch wide belt.

What Is Selling?
If you own, manage, or work in a business, you are selling.
If you sell anything, you are in business.
I often ask people, do you sell? The answers are interesting.

Here is one response: " No, not as I think of selling, but I do enjoy going to conferences and trade shows with the boss, talking to people about the company's services and figuring out if they might be someone our salesperson should talk to. I do this by asking questions. From their answers I know what to tell our salesperson.

A successful businessman said, "I have spent years creating designs for brochures and printing them; I have long relationships with the people I do this for. They like the designs I create after looking at their ideas for text and learning about what they are selling or trying to accomplish. People buy their products after reading the finished brochure or marketing piece I've designed and printed. I enjoy this and do it very successfully."

This reminded me of a conversation between a prospect and a shop owner that I'd witnessed and written down several months ago.

"I need a one and three quarter inch wide belt."

"The widest I have is one and one half. One and three quarter inches is not available in standard belt blanks."

"I had one several years ago; haven't found one to replace it; that explains why. Can you make one for me?"

"That would be very expensive since I would have to buy a whole hide and cut it. Why do you want such a wide belt?"

"Normally available belts seem to disintegrate when I wear them. I have been told it is because I sweat a lot. The wide one I had seemed to resist that. Is it really because of my sweat?"

"From my experience, yes. It is not the amount you sweat but the composition, probably acidic, which breaks down the leather. Have you tried a laminated belt?"

"Yes, the laminations separated quickly."

"That's because they used the wrong adhesive. It would be easier to find a belt maker that knows the correct adhesive and have a standard width belt laminated with heavy leather so it will last longer, than to get a wide belt."

The prospect looked at a pair of boots sitting on the bench.

"Do you make boots like those?"

"Yes, those are about to get new heels and a polish."

"Those look like the kind I would like to have. They are taller than the ten inch ones available in stores and they are big enough to fit around my thick calves."

"They take about six weeks to build. We start by measuring your feet and calves, and then make a Last for each foot. We build them to a certain point, forming the leather to the Last; then we ask you to come in and try them on so we are sure the leather conforms to each foot. We then do some sewing and have you try them on again before we attach the sole. They are your very personal boots when we are finished. That pair fits a man that has had injuries and ended up with different size feet and ankles. He loves them."

"How much does a pair like those cost?"

"Depending on the leather you choose, $650.00 to $1,000.00. I can measure your feet now."

The prospect spent some time thinking about that. The shop owner waited patiently. He had spoken with quiet conviction throughout the conversation. His tone and manner communicated a desire to be helpful.

"Not today, but I will plan for them later this year. I really like them."

"Thank you for coming in; here is my card, you can call in advance or just drop in."

"Thank you for your courtesy, I appreciate it."


What is the customer buying in each story?

Is it a tangible or intangible?

Is it the end product the customer receives?

If not, what has the customer "bought" first?

What process or methodology is each salesperson using to sell?

Is the process the best for that product? Why or why not?


The first person believes he is selling is a service. He does it by asking questions so people will tell him about the part of their business, his company's service can help with.

The businessman believes he is selling printing. He does it by asking questions to learn what the customer is selling or hoping to accomplish with the finished printed product.

The shop owner believes he is selling beautiful and useful leather belts and boots that he and his people have hand crafted. He does it by answering customer questions and explaining how a custom fitted boot is created.

All three are making two "sales". The first is a relationship with the customer, which is an intangible built on trust, an intangible. The second "sale" is the result of the service the business provides. That is what the customer is really buying.

They are all using the same process or methodology. It is the answer to the title question. It is not manipulative, it does not result in buyer's remorse, it usually does not result in a quick sale, it is satisfying to the salesperson and the customer.

If you aren't sure of what it is, call me or email wes@7one.us.com.

Nuff Said ! ! !

Wes Zimmerman
Email: wes@7one.com
©Wesley W. Zimmerman

Was this helpful? (click) to comment, please

 

In the following 7th Sense Story, see if you can spot the business management, selling and customer care lessons.

“But We Don’t Want To Lose Your Business”
This is a true story, not a fable.

Like any business that starts out small and under capitalized, growth forced us to establish a line of credit. We visited our branch of the bank we had dealt with for years. That branch had our home mortgage, savings account, checking account, business savings account and checking account, and records of numerous loans paid off over two decades. The corporation had never borrowed money. Most of this time, I was well known at the branch at the teller, Manager and Assistant Manager levels.

Two years before this story took place we’d experienced an extended slump in cash flow. I went to the then Branch Manager who knew me well, presented the financial status of our organization and sought to get a loan. He uttered those famous last words, “You should have come to me six moths ago when you had all that money in the bank and things were going great, because now I can’t lend you a dime”.

I left his place unhappy, but recognized that with a lot of scratch, we’d make out. However, I took the knee route as I always do, you know - bent knee in front of bed and three weeks later the phone rang from a rival financial institution and the lady, after introducing herself, asked me if I would be interested in a line of credit. I looked at the ceiling, whispered thank you and then said, “Yes”. Three weeks later we were all taken care of.

As a result of this episode, I did not bother to talk to any officers at the local branch of my bank for over two years. This changed when I attempted to deposit a large check from a Fortune 100 client and was told by a teller, I had never seen before, that the check would be on hold for at least two weeks. In our business, we normally get money in fairly large amounts but at infrequent times. Since I had been depositing checks of this size and much larger all these years, I came unglued inwardly. Through clenched teeth, I explained to the teller why I thought I should get my money immediately. The situation escalated very rapidly, and I found myself in the Branch Manager’s office facing a total stranger who didn’t even bother to stand up or shake hands. I stood, she sat and the interchange was “strained”.

“I think we have a problem.”

“Oh? Who are you?”

“A long time customer with many accounts.”

“Is there anyone in the bank you know, or anyone who knows you?”

(I thought of the Executive Vice President, a dear friend who helps us make wine, but decided to save that for another day.)

“Yes, at least there are three or four tellers here that I know, but none of them are on duty today.”

“Do you have a personal banker at this branch?”

“That’s a joke -- they never stay here longer than a month so I’ve always dealt with the person in this office or next door.” (The Assistant Manager.)

“Why haven’t you come to see me before?”

(I was now so angry I chose to keep my mouth shut.)

“Does my Assistant Manager know you?”

“I don’t know, after nineteen years with this bank I discover I am dealing with total strangers.”

(She finally stood up.)

I proceeded to tell her what accounts we had in the branch, discovered that their computer systems wouldn’t let them go to a terminal and see all our records at once, and finally left with the money available and a bad taste in my mouth. She never did shake hands!!!

When it became apparent four months later, that we had to have a new credit arrangement, I decided to shop around for money. I started with our local branch bank. This time I did it the right way with complete corporate and personal financial statements, a history of our company, a copy of our five-year business plan, copies of our brochures and all the documents we use in selling a new prospect. I asked for an appointment with the Branch Manager, who did not remember me, but was busy and said that I should go to the Assistant Manager, whom as yet, I had never met.

The Assistant Manager looked over everything I had and asked me to come back in two days. When I returned, she announced that she was sorry but they couldn’t meet my needs for less than 12% a year and only half of the amount of credit that we needed. I informed her that she was completely non-competitive and walked out, as I did so she said,

“But we don’t want to lose your business because you’ve been an excellent customer for almost nineteen years.”

In the next three weeks, I lost the equivalent of six and one-half working days that I could have spent earning my full fee on billable projects, while I went through the effort of applying for the credit line we needed at four different competing establishments. One of them offered me money at 7.5%. The others settled in at 9.5%. Two of them were able and willing to support us with the size credit line we really needed. After all of the paperwork had been done, each of them had to check our credit, check the value of our assets, send out appraisers, etc. This took a lot of calendar time. (It was useful however, since we got copies of the credit reports and appraisals, and discovered that we were a pretty good credit risk.)

While we were waiting for these various deals to come to fruition, so we could make a final choice, the Assistant Manager of our bank branch called and asked us to please come over. She surprised me with more money than we were going to get anywhere else; the rate had dropped to 9.5%. The payment arrangements and the means of utilizing the credit line were simpler than anyone else’s. She wanted my permission to send in the appraisers and do all the things that everyone else was doing. I informed her of my decision deadline, which was tight. I then discovered that all of the other establishments had contacted her to get information about us. She knew exactly how many of her competitors I was talking with and what their names were. She asked if her new proposal was competitive and I said, “Well frankly, yes it is.”

She had my signature and we had money before any of her competitors came through. Two of them called with papers ready to sign the day after I had accomplished this with her.

When we were completing the deal, I commented that I hadn’t really expected her to be able to do anything for us. She said, “I worked at this almost full time for the last week and a half to get it through.” She also explained that I was the first recipient of a new product that had been designed to meet competitive pressures and that it had been designed because they didn’t want to lose my business.

Ironically, the institution that had called me three years before with a line of credit that had been entirely satisfactory, lost my business, whereas the bank that I was very willing to leave got it - why?

In my original shopping around, I did not go to that institution because they were charging me through the schnoz. The credit line had a variable interest rate tied to the prime rate. They had not bothered to lower the interest for a year after the prime had dropped. Their District Manager, from a different state, called me in the evening, four days before we completed the deal with the bank and said, “Look, we know you’re shopping, I want to talk with you.” I tried to get off the phone but he was persistent, as a good salesperson is, and kept me on the earpiece for forty-five minutes. I went to see him the next day with my whole package of information. He explained that the best he could do was 11.5% and I informed him that, of course, it was unacceptable.

He had made the comment in the previous evening’s phone conversation that he was put out with his local branch people, particularly the Branch Manager, because they had not automatically offered me the new rates and double the credit line four months previously, when his corporation changed its guidelines. As we talked that day in his office, I told him that I really had lost a little trust after realizing that they were not adjusting the rate when prime changed. He said,

“I know, I don’t blame you. What would you have done if we had sent this through for your signature four months ago? Would you have gone out looking and shopping around?”

“No, after your call yesterday evening I told my wife that if you had adjusted the rate on a timely basis we would never have looked elsewhere.”

“Why not?”

“The cost to us of the difference in interest rates would have taken two and one half years to equal what we lost in billings lining up a new credit line.”

His reaction reminded me of a Bible verse describing a man’s sorrow; He tore his garments and wept bitterly!

Both he and the bank had forgotten the Second Eternal Law of Sales Success[1]. I would have purchased from either one and did purchase from the bank, because of the First Eternal Law of Sales Success[2]. If both of them had practiced the Fourth Eternal Law of Sales Success[3], I would have saved a lot of money and an awful lot of time. Quite frankly, I was very troubled by the fact that the Branch Manager and the Assistant Manager at the bank both:

- Said that I should keep in touch with them.

- Said that I should have done it in the past.

- Said that I should be sure to do it in the future.

- Thought that I should come to them.

Baloney! WHY SHOULD I BE THE PERSON WHO SHOULD COME IN AND KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THEM?!!!!!!!!

I don’t do that with any supplier or sales person, who never contacts me or shows any interest in our company.

Nuff said!!!

Wes Zimmerman

Did you spot the business management, selling, and customer care, lessons?

What is the moral of this 7th Sense parable?

Have a good day!

Now that you have read two examples

Thank you