Golf Pro Tom Patri on "Unforced Errors"

 

Tom Patri, Professional Golf Pro

Many golf and tennis sports announcers refer to what they call “unforced errors”. Unforced errors are errors that are made in just about any sport that would not be made under normal circumstances. A basketball player coming down the court unchallenged misses a layup.  In tennis, if your opponent hits a nice shot to your forehand and you bang it into the net. You should have made the shot.
In golf, if you hit a tee shot into the middle of the fairway, 100 yards from the green, and you slice it into the woods, that’s an unforced error.
A recent article I read by golf pro, Tom Patri, discusses how to eliminate five “unforced errors” in golf.  Eliminating unforced errors can apply to the sales profession as well.  As Patri says “Through the years, I've watched a number of shots carelessly thrown away—not due to a player’s skill level—but due to one’s inability to either manage their emotions, the course, or both.”
Over the years, I have seen this very thing in our sales profession.  Unforced errors result in lost sales and these lost sales may happen, not because of a salesperson’s skill level, but because of one’s inability to manage the course (product knowledge), managing one’s emotions, and understanding the customer's needs.
The first example in Patri’s article is the golfer who hits a poor shot and makes an unforced error by trying to hit a great shot to recover from the bad one. As Patri says, "You didn't get in this position because you were in control of your ball. What makes you think you can thread the needle in your recovery shot? Play back to safety."  We, as salespeople, need to understand ourselves, our motivations, our customer's requirements, and always play within ourselves. 
You've just left a sales call and you realize that you started off totally wrongly.  Maybe you made assumptions about the customer’s likes and dislikes, or needs, or issues and now the customer is angry or just withdrawn.
Don't try to correct the situation by putting yourself in a worse position.  Play back to safety.  Make a new appointment.  Start over.  Admit your error, apologize and get back into play.  The customer will respect you for that.
I once played in a music group and when the lead singer and guitarist started the set by playing all the wrong chords, he then blamed it on the fact that it was a new guitar and he wasn't used to it.  We were all embarrassed by his unforced error and the fact that he didn't just apologize and start over.  Trying to explain what you did wrong is not an apology.  Never try to explain your error.  Apologize and fix it.
I have stated in several previous blog posts: when your gut tells you that things aren’t going right, believe your gut.  And then fix it.  Get back into play.  Don’t stick your head in the sand and hope it all works out.  Admit your error, fix the issue, apologize and get the sale.
In Part II, we'll talk about how emotions can cause unforced errors.

Sales is a Performance Art With No Applause

Performance arts are wonderful.  You rehearse for weeks; you have a dress rehearsal to prepare for the performance; then you perform--perhaps many times--in front of a (hopefully) approving audience that gives you a standing ovation after the final curtain.
Sales is a performance art, but the audience never applauds.  A scowl is more often the reaction of your performance.  Sales is a solo art.  The sales performance is primarily you and the customer, or customers.  The sales rep is the artist and, just as with an artist, the sales "performance" is lonely since there's no applause. It's very easy to get down on yourself, especially if the sales aren't coming and the reward doesn't equal the effort that you're putting into it.
So what do you do when you hit a dry spell?  What happens if the sales don't equal the effort that you're putting into it?  What happens when your boss starts asking you where the orders are?
Like any performing artist who doesn't get the applause they expected, the first job is to look within yourself for some of the answers. 
Are you doing everything you can do to get those sales?  
Is your product knowledge up to date? 
Is your pitch honest and clear? 
Do you really believe in your product(s)?
Do you believe in yourself and your abilities?
If you don't believe in yourself and your product, you will never convince the customer to believe.
Once you've answered those questions, honestly, you know where you need to focus. 
All sales start with a belief in yourself and your product.  (In a recent interview, even Liza Minnelli confessed that had to learn to believe in herself and the song before she could sing it successfully.)
All sales start with an intimate knowledge of your products. 
If you're deficient in either of these--believing in yourself and your product--fix it. 
When you're confident in yourself and excited about your products, you're unbeatable.

Why Email is the Worst Way to Communicate!I

You've heard the saying many times: "free is not free".  There's a cost to everything.  Well, the same can be said for email.  Email is free and there's horrible cost related to the free email: inundation. We are inundated by emails.  They get lost in the shuffle.  You know the conversation: "did you get that email I sent you?"  "What email? I get 100 emails a day.  How do you expect me to pick your out from the bunch?"  And some folks get many more than 100--probably hundreds.
According to statistica.com the forecast is that, by 2025, more than 376 billion emails will be sent globally every single day.
So, as a salesperson, do you think you have a chance finding and communicating with customers by email?  The future for communicating by email is almost gone, and will only get worse.
What are the alternatives?  What do I say to someone who says "they aren't responding to my emails."  
Call.  What a shock.  Pick up your cell phone and call.  But when you do that, you better have your pitch prepared.  There are two ways a call gets answered: by voice mail or by the customer directly.  And you'd better be ready to have a good 30 seconds prepared or you'll never hear from them again.  I know sales reps who just say: "This is John Jones.  Please give me a call back."  Not.
Get a pitch, a good pitch.  Try it out on spouses and friends.  You have to state your name, return phone, company, and the reason why the customer should return your call--and make it a good, strong reason.  "I represent a manufacturer of industrial air compressors and we have stock and can ship immediately.  It's an excellent product and outperforms the competition.  I can't wait to hear from you.  Remember, high quality and in stock."
Get back on the phone.  It's worked for decades and it beats email.
If you have the customer's cell phone, try texting.  Use this carefully.  Always give the customer an option to opt out and always put your name in the first line and use the customer's first name in your intro. 
And use your text for a good old pitch.  "Joe.  This is Ed Maxwell. Sorry for texting you but I really need to tell you about the line of industrial air compressors we represent.  And they're in stock! Just reply STOP if you don't want to discuss this, but I'd really like 5 minutes of your time.  Give me a call."
Use LinkedIn.  Find your customer's profile.  Try to connect with them.  Send them an email--again with your pitch.  Never forget your pitch--sometimes called a Value Proposition.  (See my blog post on Value Proposition.)
The bottom line--email is dead.  Be creative, use another way.