Before I start this week’s newsletter, I just have to say that I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Brooke. Her energy and marketing experience is something I am very excited about adding to our team. Be sure and click on the link to get Brooke’s social marketing tip this week, and thanks Brooke for keeping us up to date!
Okay … Do you party? How do people know? What are you doing to put on the show? I just spent several days with some of the most fun and passionate entertainers in the world. Just like you and me, they run their business everyday working on the best way to entertain others. That’s what we do in the Family Entertainment Industry. Or at least that’s what we plan to do.
I had the opportunity to speak at the Mobile DJ Show in Las Vegas. I walked through the door of the room I was to speak in and was blown away. There must have been more than 500 seats. It was a big ballroom. I was so excited that I took pictures of the audience just before the presentation.
Many times I’ll open a presentation with music and even the Cupid Shuffle. NOT needed with this group. They had great music going. They understand what it takes to make a party. And Cupid was putting on the party later that evening anyway.
Okay, I can’t stand it! I got to meet Cupid himself! I got to do the shuffle on the stage with him … and I got to learn the new Cue-Step. I was in heaven! You have to keep reading …
It was my good fortune to talk to this group about selling. In preparation for the presentation I called several Mobile DJ companies to book an event. I found that this was not different than most shopper calls we do on a week-to-week basis to book birthday or group events at Family Fun Centers.
True to form, the sales process with the Mobile DJ group has the same type of improvement opportunity, as do many FEC locations. It’s so easy to start talking about the things you like. A customer calls and we want to sell. Many times a salesperson believes spewing out price (which should always come last), and throwing out all the information about products is the right way to do things.
It’s not! My big sales rule – and it has worked very well for me – is to find out what the customer wants first and then sell them that! I call it the CQPC of selling.
CONNECT: Ask about the guest. Get names of the guest of honor and/or the person you’re speaking with so that you can use their name.
QUALIFY: Ask plenty of questions about the event. How many people are coming? Tell me about your guests; is it a mix of children and adults, men or women, etc.? Do you want to come during the week or on the weekend, daytime or evening? I don’t include date during the qualification process unless the customer mentions it because I want to have the opportunity to sell even if their original date is unavailable. They may change their event if you aren’t available when you get the chance to sell. The date is a “closing question, not a qualifying one.”
PRESENT: Now you can tell about your stuff. Based on the information you received during qualification you can best guide your guest to the perfect product(s). Avoid talking about the stuff you like and focus on giving the guest what they want. For instance, the DJ group loved talking about their speakers and their equipment. That’s fine, if I’m interested in that. However, I personally don’t know the difference between speaker quality so for me it wasn’t a great selling feature or benefit. In the FEC environment, I’ve watched a sales person undersell a product special when it was not necessary. During qualification the customer will tell you everything you need to know so you can focus on presenting the best product for their event. It is very tempting to talk about what you like but that’s a way to un-sell your stuff.
CLOSE: Many people are very good at the previous three steps. The difference in whether or not you book all the events you can is whether or not you can embrace the close. It’s easy to connect qualify and present. It’s like dating … you worked up the nerve to talk to someone, you’ve gotten to know them, you know the kind of movies they like and where they like to eat. Now it’s time to close the deal and ask them for a date. This is the scary part! They can say no. Right now you are friends. Everything is nice. No feels bad. It feels like rejection – OH that’s because it is rejection. No one wants that. So normally, we stop with the presentation and hope the customer “books” themselves.
Here are some very good basic closing techniques. When you’ve really listened to what the buyer wants you’re able to present a couple of products to them that best fit their needs. After you’ve presented, ask this simple question: “Of those two products, which do you think your guests would enjoy the most?” Notice, this is NOT a yes/no question. Offer choices and avoid yes/no questions. Explain your deposit procedures and ask if they would like to pay with a credit card or a check. Closing is all about action. So whether you close the sale and get the deposit or not you want to move the buyer to some type of action. It may be that you set up the next appointment. This is not a call you back tomorrow but rather a scheduled date and time to follow up.
I hope this is helpful. Please leave a message on the blog or send me an email if you need specific closing or overcoming objections help. Create the party, establish a good selling system, and plan more events this year than ever before!
