by Scott Howard | Aug 29, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Today, I have a few key tips for anyone in the business of sales, which is not limited to people who sell for a living, but nearly all of us. The three words I want you to remember is: Help People Buy.
This month, the company I work for, Federated Media, experienced a tragic loss with the unexpected death of Charly Butcher, the host of Fort Wayne’s Morning News on WOWO Radio. Charly began his career with Federated Media in the 1980’s on WOWO’s sister station, WMEE. His life touched countless numbers of people as made evident by the stories and tributes.
One story I heard from my coworker Tracy was how a car salesperson was struggling with a sale but then Charly stepped in to Help People Buy:
We were at a remote at Fort Wayne Subaru and they just got in one single BRZ sport coupe in bright red that was stunning. This guy about 23 was looking at it with lust and the sales person just could not close the deal no matter how hard he tried. Charly went to the guy and said “I tell you what…you buy this car now and I will put you on the air live on Monday to brag about it. You can tell all your friends you will be on WOWO Monday morning.” The guy agreed to it on the spot and sure enough he got his 5 minutes of Fame on Charly’s show that Monday. We had a happy customer, happy sales person, happy manager and Charly was so proud of himself.
I’ve recently told you about my most recent car buying experience, which was filled with unnecessary sales pitches, because by the time I went to the dealership, I already decided exactly which car I wanted and all they really had to do was take care of the paperwork.
Today, I’m going to share with you another bad buying experience I had.
The afternoon after attending Charly Butcher’s funeral, I needed to visit some funeral homes for a brother-in-law who was just transferred to hospice care. Yes, it was a dreadful week, but sometimes you have to plow through it to get things done.
I visited 3 places and told each exactly what I was looking for:
I am here to get price information for direct cremation for the upcoming passing of my brother-in-law who is likely in the final week of his life. I am getting this information for my wife who will be making the decision of who we use. No public funeral or additional services are needed, just the bare bone basics. A family memorial will take place in a few months out of town.
That was the story I told all three funeral homes. From what I said, if they were listening, they would know that I am looking only for their price and I was not going to be buying anything today. I told them I was price shopping only.
So what happened?
At funeral home number one, I get what I am looking for, the bottom line price, in writing, but first the guy shows me his powerpoint on who he is, how many funerals they have done over the past 10 years complete with the standard bar chart.
He was not listening to what I said, he was stuck in selling mode. I redirected him to get the info I needed and left.
Funeral home number two was worse. Two guys, teaming up to sell me, after I told them exactly why I was there. They even asked questions about my wife and I that had absolutely nothing to do with why I was there. Like, “how long have you and your wife been married?” I almost walked out. In the end, I got the answers I wanted and a bad taste in my mouth to never do business with these two salespeople.
Funeral home number three was actually the best. When I told him the same story I told the other two, he actually listened and told me that they are not the least expensive for cremation services. I appreciated his honesty instead of his sales pitch and we talked more. I learned a few things that made me want to transfer some of my own business to them in the future.
I learned a few lessons that day about the sales process that I am going to apply to my work, and hopefully you can apply these same lessons in your company:
How to Help People Buy
- Listen first to find out what they think they are shopping for so you can focus on what they want.
- Ask questions to clarify what they are looking for as an end result.
- Answer their questions first, then ask how else you can help them.
Funeral home number two, almost had me walk out in the middle of their sales pitch, can you imagine having a potential customer come to you and then walk out because you were too salesy?
I bet it happens more than we realize.
By the way, I wrote a piece about Charly Butcher and his impact with WOWO and the community, but did not create a podcast for that article because it contains a few videos. I invite you to read and watch by clicking on the link to this article on my website at ScottHoward.me
Here’s the link: https://www.scotthoward.me/remembercharly-butcher-of-wowo-wmee-fort-wayne/
by Scott Howard | Feb 28, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Really? The Personal ScLoHo, ScLoHo Sales Tips, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized
I bought a car this month and thought I’d share some lessons for you and your business in this essay I’m calling Selling a Salesperson.
While I am keenly aware of the process because of my profession, the general public is more aware of the tactics too than ever before. Here’s the list of 9 observations I wrote right after buying my car:
- Customers may be smarter or better informed than you.
- Over reliance on certain sales phrases can actually work against you.
- Ask the right questions and pay attention to the answers.
- Using your customers name is nice, except when you get it wrong.
- Upselling works with some people but you have to be straight with your customer.
- Customers can walk away if they don’t like the deal you are offering.
- Tracking your advertising is usually a guessing game at best.
- Honesty wins and builds trust.
- Follow through helps with referrals and additional sales.
As I share my story, see how it applies to you and your business and what lessons you can apply to make things better for all.
My wife, Kathy, was driving home from a friends house and noticed the temperature gauge on her 1999 Chevy Lumina was sneaking into the danger zone so she pulled over and let it cool down before heading all the way back to our place. She took it to our mechanic who popped open the hood, opened a few things and pronounced the verdict: blown head-gasket.
(Kathy found this car a few years ago as a steal. Only 30,000 miles and in decent shape. Since then she has racked up another 20,000 miles and we’ve had to replace a couple tires, but she loves this classic beast.)
When I heard about the situation, I knew we were not going to spend a thousand bucks or more on this no matter how much attachment my wife had to her baby. I followed the advice of a friend to try a special sealant and when that failed, I started shopping.
I started the process online, doing research and asking the auto experts in my family that I trust for recommendations. On Friday night, while I’m at a hockey game, they are sending me links to cars they found online in my price range that were recommended. Saturday I narrowed it down from 10 to 2 cars and then Sunday, when the car dealers were closed, I visited and checked the two contenders out in person.
By this time, we decided that I was going to get a new (used) car and my wife was going to reluctantly inherit mine. Not that she didn’t want my car, but she LOVED hers and it was hard to consider saying goodbye to her baby.
Sunday night, I decided which car I was going to buy. It was because of who I was buying from more than anything else. A Toyota Prius from a used car dealer or a Honda Fit from the Honda Dealer, and I decided the Honda Fit would likely be my next ScLoHoMobile. After doing my online research, it was my gut that told me to check out the Fit and I sent the dealer a note that I was interested using the online form on their website.
Monday morning, I got a phone call from Ross, one of the sales guys at Don Ayres Honda to set up a test drive for 12:30. Remember point 1: Customers may be smarter or better informed than you.
When I arrived at the dealership, I knew who I was looking for because I looked on the Don Ayres website and saw a picture of Ross. I surprised him when I arrived and simply said, “Hi Ross, I’m Scott Howard.” It caught him off guard because we had never met in person before, but I did my research.
Your potential customers are also doing their research and may know more than you realize
In my case, I was better informed than Ross on this vehicle. I spent a few hours researching not just this model but also this particular car using the free Carfax that was in the online listing. When we got in for the test drive, Ross told me he didn’t know how to drive a manual transmission which was not problem for me, I did.
When I walked in and told started my conversation with Ross, before the test drive, I told him I was planning on buying the Honda Fit if the test drive checked out and the deal was good. I knew what options I had with payments so I was 95% sold before Ross saw me.
Before the test drive, Ross asked me numerous routine questions that would be used to start the finance process and I started noticing point #2: Over reliance on certain sales phrases can actually work against you. No matter what I said, he responded with, “Great!”, “Fantastic!”, or some other positive affirmation. Some of my answers were certainly not worthy of a “Fantastic!” like when I told him I’ve lived in my current house for nearly 4 years. I almost tossed in a comment like, “my Dad died”, just to see if I’d get a “Great!” but I controlled my tongue.
Which brings me to point #3: Ask the right questions and pay attention to the answers. Ross was not paying attention to the answers I was giving him. At one point in our conversation he asked me if I wanted to look at any other cars, I told him, “no, I’m hear to buy the Honda Fit.” A few minutes later he offered to show me some other cars and again I reminded him, “I’m here to buy the Honda Fit.”
Point #4: Using your customers name is nice, except when you get it wrong. My name is Scott, yet I counted at least 3 times that he called me Steve in our interaction. When I looked over the paperwork, I double checked that it said Scott Howard and not Steve Howard. I’ve been guilty of this every once in awhile myself but I am much better because I decided to overcome this kind of mistake.
Finally it was time for me to talk with Taylor in Finance. I had a few minutes between the time I was first introduced to her and when we went to her office to work out the final details so I Googled her from my smartphone and found her LinkedIn profile. From that I learned that this was her first job in automotive and she had been there less than a year. I knew where she went to college and that she had worked in a coffee shop awhile ago. In my conversation with her, as she was trying to get me to buy stuff I didn’t want to buy, I sprinkled some of the information I learned into our talk, not in a creepy way, but just enough to throw off her pacing of her sales pitch.
This part of the car buying process is not my favorite but I’ve made it a game. Taylor was there to seal the deal and get as much money from me as possible. Those Finance people are also sales people, sometimes better than the salesperson on the floor. Which brings me to our next point: Upselling works with some people but you have to be straight with your customer.
Because I was buying a used car that was out of warranty, they offered me three additional warranty options. Each time I declined. Why? I did the math and I knew my own risk tolerance. The first option would add $100 to my monthly payment for the life of my loan. That would mean paying about $5,000 extra. I knew that if I needed a repair for my Honda Fit that cost anywhere up to $5000, I had the means to pay for it myself. The other options she offered were not anything I wanted either.
Under most circumstances, customers have an alternative to spending money with you.
Remember I was 95% sold on buying the Honda Fit from Don Ayres Honda, before I talked to Ross or Taylor. It was their deal to lose. Because, point #6: Customers can walk away if they don’t like the deal you are offering.
In the end, I bought the car and Taylor asked me to tell her how I decided to shop at Don Ayres that day by using a tracking sheet, On a sheet of paper where various advertising and marketing options and I was asked to circle the one that fit. I circled the Cars.com logo and no further questions were asked. Point #7: Tracking your advertising is usually a guessing game at best.
Cars.com is not why I bought the car from Don Ayres. It just happened to be the website that first introduced me to the car along with several others. And it really wasn’t the website, it was my son-in-law who sent me a link to the car and also recommended both the car and dealership to me. Cars.com didn’t deserve credit for that sale. But when I was given the choices on the sheet of paper, my son-in law was not listed as one of the choices.
If you want to track the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing, you need to ask the right questions otherwise you are bound to get inaccurate answers.
Point #8: Honesty wins and builds trust. I may be coming off a little harsh as you read this, but overall I really like Don Ayres Honda and here’s a couple reasons why. Ross told me at the beginning of our conversation that he is not a car guy. Not that he doesn’t like cars, but he is more like me, someone who doesn’t know all the ins and outs of what’s under the hood and I really don’t care, except for my car. My expectations are that everything works and that leads me to what happened after the sale was complete…
I noticed when Ross and I were talking that there was only one key, so I asked for them to provide me with a second key as part of the deal. No problem. That night however I noticed two additional items that were not discovered during the test drive. The interior dome light was not working and the heater blower only worked on high speed. I wrote an email to Ross and mentioned that I was sure that these couple of items were probably overlooked by the service department when they prepped the car for sale, and I asked them if they would fix the light and heater.
Ross introduced me to one of Don Ayres Service Advisors, Pete, and got permission from Carlo, the Used Car Manager to get those items taken care of at no charge. Pete gave me his business card that included his cell number and told me that he would let me know when the parts would be in and we booked an appointment to get everything taken care of.
Which brings me to our final point: Follow through helps with referrals and additional sales.
The day I came in to get the repairs made on my new Honda Fit, Pete told me that Ross is no longer working for Don Ayres, but if there was anything I needed, to please contact him (Pete). There was a slight hiccup in the repair paperwork that Pete took care of and I have written positive reviews online and shared with friends and family my experience and recommendation for Don Ayres Honda. As you can tell, everything was not perfect and smooth sailing but that was okay.
What matters most is how you take care of those customers and potential customers along the way.
I learned somethings about the way I conduct myself in business, what lessons can you apply to you and your business?
by Scott Howard | Aug 23, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
There is a simple concept that is overlooked by too many sales people, business owners, advertising gurus and marketing wizards that I just have to share it:
Sell To Buyers. Period.
I’m going to break this down in simple terms.
For decades the generic name something that a company manufactured has been a widget. But in recent years the term widget actually is a thing, so I’m going to use the term gizmo, which Wikipedia defines as a gadget, especially one whose real name is unknown or forgotten.
When a company makes those famous gadgets because they love making gadgets, they need to sell those gadgets or they won’t be around very long.
The only people who the company can sell their gadgets to are people who want to buy their gadgets, right?
Sell To Buyers.
Here’s a couple of examples:
My son Josh and his wife have no children. My daughter Abby and her husband have 3 boys including their youngest who is under the age of one.
Who is going to need to buy diapers this month?
My son and his wife with no kids or my daughter with a toddler who isn’t potty trained?
I don’t care how perfect those diapers are that you make and want to sell, Josh and his wife are not Buyers. Abby and her husband are diaper buyers.
Example 2:
My co-worker John is a vegetarian. John is not going to buy bacon this week.
Another example:
Mike is a renter. Mike is not going to buy a new furnace this year.
Now let’s flip this around with a few more examples and remember:
Sell To Buyers. Period.
I bought new tires this year before my wife and I drove 2000 miles for a vacation.
I am not going to be buying any more tires this year.
I own my own home and bought home owners insurance. I will not be buying renters insurance.
My main computer is 6 years old. While it is doing fine right now, odds are I will be wanting to (or needing to) replace in the next 18 months.
Too often the simple concept of…
Sell To Buyers…
… is ignored by people who think they can sell to anyone.
They ignore the most important part of the buying equation. You have to sell to the person that wants to buy your gizmo.
And just because someone fits a certain demographic, doesn’t mean they automatically are buyers.
“No kid” couples don’t buy diapers, but there’s plenty of other couples who buy tons of diapers.
Vegetarians aren’t going to buy meat, no matter what the price, but there’s a lot of bacon being bought by others.
There are simply people out there that will never be your customers, because they are not interested in buying what you want to sell.
And that’s okay.
There’s another group of people who aren’t going to buy what you want to sell because they already bought. You have to wait until the next time.
There is also some of us who could be buyers, but not yet. We’re still in the market and perhaps we will become buyers next week, but at this very moment, not yet.
Then there are those that are ready to buy right now. Today. They are done looking around and shopping. Or a new need cropped up that wasn’t there yesterday. Either way, these people are defiantly buyers. And like I said at the beginning:
Sell To Buyers. Period.
But this is different than marketing and advertising.
You need to place a priority on today’s Buyers.
But you also need to start now building your name and reputation with potential buyers down the road.
Remember the difference:
Sell to Buyers.
Advertise to both Buyers and Potential Buyers.
And don’t worry about the rest.
by Scott Howard | Mar 7, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Really? The Personal ScLoHo, ScLoHo Sales Tips, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
The last few months I’ve noticed something that may have been going on longer than just the last few months.
Here’s that something:
The number of people who know me and see me face to face in “unplanned meets” has become substantial.
Let me define “unplanned meets“.
I fill my week with planned meetings such as a business meeting, lunch meeting, or even church is a planned meeting. Other times when I see someone that I know but we did not plan on being at the same place at the same time, that’s what I’m calling an “unplanned meet“.
Not everyone you meet is real
I’ve been back in my hometown of Fort Wayne for 18 1/2 years. But it wasn’t until 2003 that I started working in the advertising sales world in Fort Wayne. Ten years later, 2013 was when I joined WOWO Radio and Federated Media. Part of that job is to meet people. And while I’m sure that has been part of it, there are others that I’ve been having “unplanned meets” with that are not related to my working life.
Last week I was at the Fort Wayne Home and Garden Show and had a few people come up to me and say hi. Not the, you look familiar, but I don’t know who you are kind of hi, but folks who remembered my name and details about the last time or even first time we met.
The week before I was attending a Fort Wayne Komets hockey game and a couple people did the same. Sometimes it’s at a place I go to regularly but just as often it’s someplace I rarely show up at.
Apparently there is some kind of momentum that happens on a personal level that is similar to the kind of momentum that most businesses want to have happen with their advertising and marketing. It’s Not WHO YOU Know, but who KNOWS YOU that makes the difference in the success of your business and also in personal lives too.
It’s not a fame thing either. A few years ago when my sister-in-law moved to town, she remarked that my wife and I must be famous because everywhere we went, people knew us. No, we just took her to some of our favorite spots in this city and people at those places were familiar with us.
There was a time when these “unplanned meets” were rare. Now it occurs several times each week. People that I have not spoken with in years, or even decades are popping up. Sometimes they are reaching out to me on Social Media, not Face to Face but that’s a bit different.
While I’ve been talking about my personal experience today, I’m just using it as an observation. This is not really about me… It’s about the lesson all of us can take away from this observation and apply to our business and personal lives.
That lesson is it takes work and effort to build positive relationships. Positive relationships where people make an effort to stop and say hi & talk with you when they see you unexpectedly. Do it enough and with integrity and one day you will see the return in ways you never imagined. You and your company can flourish if you build it on a strong foundation.
If you want some help and guidance, reach out to me.
by Scott Howard | Jan 31, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
In my world of marketing and advertising, I see all kinds of schemes designed to get people to buy stuff. Sometimes I get unsolicited emails from people who think I want to buy their stuff, but they are paddling up stream and up the wrong creek.
I’m going to show you an example from last week.
I’ve been getting emails from Matt, well okay, I’ll use his real name and show you the exact content.
The subject line was:
First impressions are overrated
That was good. Here’s what the body of the email said:
Scott,
Something must’ve been wrong with my initial outreach to you because I still haven’t heard back. I think it’s time for a fresh start.
Hi, I’m Matt, a Founder at CONSENSUS™. Our software powers personalized, interactive, video demos to drive ridiculous revenue and I think it’s a great fit for you.
Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.
I clicked on the Watch Demo Button and started down a rabbit trail to see how bad this would be. It was an interactive video and I realized it wasn’t going to get any better than my first impression.
Here’s how he wrapped up the email to me:
We can show you how we’ve helped companies 2x their close rate in a 30 minute meeting. Are you available sometime early next week?
Here’s what I wrote back to Matt:
You have not created a valid business reason for me to respond. As such, I am very unimpressed with what your service could provide.
Unless you can create a personalized V.B.R. your success in email prospecting is limited.
I am not the person who can say yes and with this experience I am the person who can say no to recommending your services for our company and the clients I serve.
Get better, be better.
Good luck.
Let this be a warning to you if you send me an email like his, you may be the subject of an article like this.
I decided to use his email as a lesson.
A lesson for him, for you and for me.
I spent the time to respond and share a lesson with him.
Sharing this online right here is a lesson for you.
And all of this is a reminder lesson for me not to get lazy.
But really, there is a Better Way of Getting Customers than what this guy did.
If you want some ideas for your business, contact me and I promise not to send you a form letter.
by Scott Howard | Sep 15, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Pay attention as I tell you a true story and see if it applies to your business:
I’ve got a great client, they are a true advertising partner.
Our partnership began last year when I volunteered to help them formulate an advertising and marketing plan that they could use with me or without me.
They decided to use me and a few of the advertising solutions I have available thru my radio station, WOWO and our digital division, Federated Digital Solutions.
I also help them plan and buy other advertising from others. I am their unpaid advertising consultant. But I am going beyond the advertising world with them.
I want them to be as successful as possible and anything I can do to help them to help their customers solve their problems is what I am attempting to do.
I have observed a disconnect at times in how they are communicating with the potential customers that are calling them, and it’s costing them business. 
Oh, they are very successful despite this, but they can do better.
They are a service business. If you need them to fix something at your home, you call them and they send out a technician who will diagnose the problem and offer to fix it.
But here’s where I have been observing the disconnect…
I have witnessed phone calls where a potential customer calls and asks questions and what they really want is their problem solved. Not a conversation over the phone or even possible answers over the phone.
If you are a service business and your phone is ringing with potential customers on the other end, they have problems they want you to fix. This wasn’t happening all the time with my advertising partner.
I listened to calls that the service manager took and he wasn’t setting up appointments for his techs. I listened to phone calls that the owner answered and they weren’t consistently setting up appointments either.
Advertising can make the phone ring. It’s up to you and your crew to convert those calls into happy customers.
You may not be aware that there is a problem. My advertising partners were not aware. Business was booming and they were busy.
But they could be busier.
So I’m going to do a training session with the office staff. I’m going to teach them how to answer the phone.
I’m going to teach them to answer the phone when a potential customer calls with a problem and set an appointment so they can help solve those problems and create more happy customers.
I care about this stuff. You should too, if you own or run a business. Are you missing some customers?
Want help? Reach out to me. My contact info is below.
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