Did the Era of the Pitch Pass with Billy Mays?

Billy Mays passed this week and it’s not just sad, but perhaps the end of an era. Mays said, “I was the last guy trained on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.” This post isn’t so much about the passing of Mr. Mays, who was a pro of his craft and will be missed, but more about the changing of the guard, from “pitch” selling to consultive assistance.

As I’ve trained sales teams in the US, I’ve taught the different styles and approaches that professional sales people can take to the sales table; from the trial method to the right advice approach, we’ve played all the roles. However, over the past few years, pitch and close has begun to die off.

To anyone who is a pro, it’s obvious why. They consumer is more informed with more options than ever before. For instance, if it’s (your pitch) going to be about price, the traditional method is to outline strengths, cross compare the competition highlighting weakness, run your dialogue and ask for the money.

Sure, DR (direct response) is going to have a place, but their numbers continue to decrease as Ebay, PriceLine, Hotwire, Overstock and so on continue to climb. There is a HUGE difference between those two buying cultures. On one side, the consumer is given limited info, constrained purchase time and forced to make a choice… NOW! But who in their right mind wouldn’t take their time, research data and bid for the LOWEST price? These different buying cultures are what is changing the face of the sales landscape.

The past two years, we’ve trained clients to forget traditional sales models, with their conventional pipelines and begin to focus on serving the client. The stories we hear now are about Zappos, that will go so far as to push you AWAY from their product if it isn’t the right/best buying situation for the consumer. As a free nugget, learning to play hard to get as a sales pro is a great way to pull clients to you.

So what’s on the horizon for the sales person?

The keys to being a great sales pro still embody drive, organization and practice, practice, practice. That said, what is being practiced needs to be:

• Use of open ended questions.Now, I know your going to say, “John… really? Come on, who doesn’t do this?” When I say use open ended questions, I mean layering them and netting them together like a fine tapestry. Go four, five levels deep on the same subject.

• Use a sales method that brings the client to ask you how the buying process works.Like a natural conversation. Walk through the process of dialogue, the phases of questioning, the experience and life change portion and then… shut up! Let them ask, “So, what’s next?”

• Stop talking features and functions and start talking the only thing that matters, where and how the client wins from their persepective, not yours!How will you know? See bullet one!

• Don’t sell to everyone.Be exclusive, chose your clients as much as they chose you.

• View yourself as a consultant and expert.Now, it would help if those were true. If it is, act like it. Not from a high and mighty posture, but from a composure stand point. Had a client in my office last week that told me thier real estate agent was crying! Time and place people, time and place.

• Remember the principle of, “The Economy of Words.”The less you talk, the more your words mean. Don’t babble, be comfortable with silence. Think Mohammed Ali, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Use the jab here and there, set up the big punch and land it. Don’t go in there swinging like a fat kid eating cake.

• Finally, realize the world is changing and grow with it.It’s a new era and I’m telling you, grow or go. Integrate CRM’s, Social Networking and Media. It’s not enough to just have a website, now you have to have a conversation. Blog, tweet, plurk and squidoo!

  I promise, promise, promise… it’s not a fad. If you’d like more information how to step into this and really see some sales results, email garrett@microfitgroup.com.

One more…. because it isn’t about your pitch anymore, it also isn’t about your preference. For the love of God, shut up about what you like. This is especially true for those in real estate here in AL. I’m not sure what it is about this place, but I’m telling you, and take this with love as I love sales people…. listen and pay attention to the client. Don’t tell me the closet is HUGE if it isn’t. I can see….

Closing story:

Tried to help a guy (we’ll call him Bill) who had the classic “pitch” mentality. After weeks of being ignored (me that is), we went out with the CEO of the company, an all star rep for the company, Bill and myself.

We walk into the room and sit with the client and Bill sits down across from the client and goes into his pitch, asking, “Don’t you just love product x?” Bill had sent the stuff HE liked to the client, asked no questions and got what was one of the funniest and most massive crash and burns I’ve seen in over a decade of doing this…

Client looks right at him and say very rudley, “NO!” Then looks at the rest of us in the room, points and asks, “Are you done? Are you done? Are you done? Are you done? OK, well I’m done…” Gets up and walks out.

Morale of the story is…

Learn, truly help, be an expert who can listen and dialogue. Be a pro enough to not chase every person, begging for a deal and realize it’s about hard work and adaptation.

The “pitch” is dead. Keep pitching, so is your career.

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