One client with a storefront office learned that during presentations he'd wave to a neighbor tenant whenever he passed by. Another learned that when he finished his sales pitch and talked about price, he'd cough repeatedly.
Both made the self-discoveries in videotaped presentations, part of sales training offered by Carroll Franklin Moore, an Olive Branch, Miss., business/marketing consultant who contracts as a sales coach.
Moore videotapes employees who have contact with clients, from receptionists to production managers. Videotaping puts people face-to-face with their habits, good and bad, Moore says. "By putting it in your face, you have to deal with it," he says. "And by dealing with it, you become so much better."
Stephen Gidus of PSG Construction in Winter Park, Fla., says Moore's training has helped improve client relationships, which has meant higher profit for the company. It has helped him with trial closes -- "mini-agreements" during the sales process. It also has changed how he presents. He asks clients more about their experience, then he responds to needs. "Before, I just started talking and telling them about what we could do for them," Gidus says.
Moore's videotaping is part of a program examining all client contact, from marketing materials to how phones are answered. The consultant typically finds from videotaping that, like Gidus, remodelers spend too much time talking about themselves, which means "they spend too little time talking about the client, what quality of life they're looking for, their lifestyle," he says.
Remodelers also don't ask customers to buy, he says, and presentations have no continuity from the initial contact. Few use trial closes. "You should know whether or not you're doing a good sales job long before you hit them with price," Moore says.
Of course, mannerisms or idiosyncrasies are easy targets for jokes when company employees review videotapes together, but Moore asks that egos be left at the door. "Although it's a funny thing in the beginning, after a while, everyone watching gets real serious," he says.
Moore's programs are tailored to the business, but a typical two-day sales training fee, which includes videotaping, is $1,500. For more information, contact Moore at [email protected].
