“Would you please hold this while we talk. It’s a tool we use in our business.”
“We have a thing that we call silly putty tickets--remember silly putty, you can shape it, stretch it, mold it. Well, we can shape and mold our tickets to your specific needs to help you increase your sales.”
(Q.1.) “For instance, how many local salespeople do you have?”
(Q.2.) “How many key accounts does each salesperson have?”
(Q.3.) “What size is an important account?”
(Q.4.) “How important is new business to your salespeople?”
(Q.5.) “Do you have a strict plan that is designed to get new business every month?”
“It's always tough to get salespeople to focus on new business.
By using our silly putty tickets, you can get them to focus on new business, and you can keep track.
For example, the first step is to have each salesperson identify in writing to you which new prospects are key to them.”
(Q.6.)“That wouldn’t be difficult to do, would it?”
“Most of my clients have told me the key to building business from new prospects is for the salesperson to develop a good relationship with them, usually through constant contact. A lot of times, to build that relationship, salespeople will use an out-of-the-office activity like golf or lunches.
Some of my clients have told me their problem with golf is that some people just may not be good golfers and it’s almost more embarrassing to play than not. And, it’s pretty expensive. And when was the last time you had a memorable chicken sandwich at lunch?
However, by using our silly putty tickets, you can get them to build these relationships and focus on new business, and you can keep track.
Here's how it works.
The salesperson calls a prospect who he has been working on for a little while. He says, ’How about joining me for the Kangaroos game next week? I’ve got the president’s seats.’
This is not a situation of the salesperson just giving away the seats--it's the salesperson inviting the prospect to go with him. Now, the salesperson has the chance to do some real out-of-the-office bonding.
Remember, he wants to develop a relationship through constant contact. Giving the tickets away doesn’t help build that relationship.
(Q.7.) “How effective do you think 2-3 hours at one of our Kangaroos games would be for building a relationship?”
(If negative response): “How do you mean?”
“Other companies thought that too, but look at how one of my clients have enjoyed success with our tickets...”
“You're exactly right, look at how one of my clients have enjoyed success with our tickets ... “
“What could be even better when taking a prospect to a game is if you as the president or maybe your sales manager could go also.”
(Q.8.) “Would you be willing to do that occasionally for the right account?”
(Q.9.) “Would it be asking too much of your salespeople to spend just one evening a month with a key prospect at one of our games?”
“Our season is about six months long. If each one of your salespeople took just one key prospect a month to one of our games, each salesperson would bring six new prospects a season.”
(Q.10.) “Of those six prospects, how many do you think would end up as customers?”
“If each salesperson converted just one prospect to become a new customer, that would be $______(the avg. size of an important account from Q3) for each salesperson. With ______(enter the number of salespeople from Q1) salespeople, that would be $______in new business (multiply the average size of an account by the number of local salespeople).”
(Q.11.) “Do you see how I arrived at this number?”
“You know, we’ve been talking about new business. We might also consider your existing clients. After all, your competitor may be out there trying to build the same relationships with your clients.”
(Q.12.) “Would it be asking too much to have your salespeople also spend just one evening with an existing client as well as one evening with a prospect?”
“To give each salesperson one game a month to take out a prospect, you would need ____ games a month.”
(Q.13.) “Does that make sense toyou?”
“You would need a similar amount of games per month for your salespeople to take existing clients out to the games.”
“You would also need _____ games per month.”
“You need a total of ____ games per month. Now let’s talk about which type of ticket would work best for you.”
“Based on what you’ve told me, here’s what I would suggest you do.”
“Our best seating area is the Club Level. With club seats, here is what you get…” (outline the benefits of the club seats).
“The cost to have a planned, controlled, new business effort is really quite nominal for the return. For each one of your salespeople to take just one key prospect once a month and one current client a month, you would need ____ games per month or _____ games for the season.” (Stage instruction: In our example, 5 salespeople would need 10 games per month or 60 games for the season. You should have a chart like the one in this manual on page 18. Look at your chart and find the row with 5 salespeople. You don’t have to stumble around doing math, it’s right there.)
“The return on investment is substantial. If each salesperson brought in only one piece of new business because of this focus on new business, your sales would increase by $125,000.” ($25,000 x 5 = $125,000.)
“Because you need 60 games, I recommend four full season tickets. That would leave 10 games for your employees or more customers. Your costs for 4 season tickets is only $14,000.”
“How happy do you think you’d be with those results by giving this plan a try? That decision would be worth at least $125,000 in new business to you and maybe up to $250,000 in new business.”
“I can get this order in today and reserve you some prime seats.”
(Q.14.)“Would you prefer the account in your name or the company’s name?”
(Stage instruction: PAUSE --- BE SILENT after asking Question 14.)
LET ME TALK TO MY PARTNER (or talk to someone else) Objection
CEO: “It sounds pretty good. Let me talk to my partner (wife or business manager or pet dog or whatever) and get back to you on this.”
YOU: “I can understand wanting to talk to your partner. When do you think you’ll talk to your partner?”
CEO: “Thursday (or whatever specific date).”
YOU: “Having looked at this program and looked at the new business potential, what will your recommendation be?”
CEO: “I would recommend it.”
YOU: “What do you think your partner would be inclined to say?”
CEO: “I think he’d like it.” (If the CEO gives you an objection here, ask “How do you mean?”
YOU: “Then why don’t we do this. Let’s sign you up today and we’ll use our Opt-Out Clause. Here’s how it works. You’re meeting with your partner on Thursday (see above). Well, I’ll write next Monday’s date at the top of the agreement. You have until that date to Opt-Out if you decide that this isn’t for you. This way, you can get better seat locations, but if you and your partner decide that this isn’t for you by next Monday, you just call me up and I’ll cancel the order.”
CEO: “I’m not sure. I really need to talk to him.”
YOU: “We can still do the Opt Out. When you meet with your partner on Thursday (see above), and your partner doesn’t like the $_____ in new revenue for a cost of $______, then just call me and I’ll cancel the deal.”
LET ME TALK TO MY SALESPEOPLE Objection
CEO: “Looks pretty good. Let me talk to my salespeople and make sure they are into it and get back to you.”
YOU: “When would you talk to your salespeople about this?”
CEO: “Thursday.”
YOU: “Jim, you said earlier that it wouldn’t be too much to ask of your salespeople to spend one night a month out with a key prospect, right?”
CEO: “I think it’s reasonable.”
YOU: “And, you said you thought Big City Kangaroos games were a good place to develop relationships and there was a potential of ______in new business, right?”
CEO: “Sure.”
YOU: “Then with all due respect to your salespeople, why let them even vote on it? Why let them vote on $125,000 of new revenue for your company? If you think this will work and you think they have to spend just one evening a month out with a prospect, and generate $125,000 to $250,000 in new business, what’s there to vote on? What if they voted no? I had a client last year who was concerned about whether his salespeople would use the tickets. Here’s how well it worked for him.”
(STAGE DIRECTIONS: Hand a testimonial letter to the CEO.)
YOU: (when CEO looks up from the letter)
“Why don’t we do this? Let’s sign you up today and we’ll use our Opt-Out Clause. Here’s how it works. You’re meeting with your salespeople on Thursday (see above). Well, I’ll write next Monday’s date at the top of the agreement. You have until that date to Opt-Out if you decide that this isn’t for you. This way, you can get better seat locations, but if your sales staff really fights you on this, by next Monday, just call me up and I’ll cancel the order. Can I reserve those seats today?”
BE SILENT AND LET THE PROSPECT SPEAK NEXT
COST TOO MUCH objection
YOU: “How do you mean?”
CEO: “Well, we’ve had a tough year and cut some budgets so I have to be smart on expenses” (or some other expanded explanation).
YOU: “I can understand that. (pause) You know, think about it this way. You said yourself that you thought you could generate $ ______in new business for a pretty reasonable cost of $ ______. That sounds like a pretty smart move on your part. What is it here that is really causing you to hesitate?”
BE SILENT AND LET THE PROSPECT SPEAK NEXT
(STAGE DIRECTIONS: If the prospect really continues to persist that it is indeed a cost issue, you don’t want to become pushy. It’s okay to downsell them to make them more comfortable with the purchase. Your goal is to make a sale.)
YOU: “What would you be more comfortable with?”
(STAGE DIRECTIONS: Whatever figure he gives you, it’s probably the low figure. Come up with a package that is lower than your original figure but a little higher than his.)
YOU: “Within that price range I think this could work for you (cut the original recommendation down with either a cheaper priced ticket or fewer games).
With this plan, you can still get really good seat locations and pretty close to the right number of games. If this works the way we both think it will, you can always add games or upgrade your seats during the season. Will this work for you?”
BE SILENT AND LET THE PROSPECT SPEAK NEXT
NONE OF MY CLIENTS ARE HOCKEY/BASEBALL/BASKETBALL FANS Objection
Or
LET ME TALK TO A FEW CLIENTS TO SEE IF THEY ARE INTERESTED Objection
YOU: “How do you mean?”
CEO: (Some additional explanation)
YOU: “That makes sense to think about your clients. Let’s really think about this though. This program really is designed to get new business. You said earlier that our games would be an effective place to build relationships, right? Well, prospects might not be fans of our team, but most like to see the biggest stars of the league at some of our biggest and best sold out games. This works for getting new business and it will work for most of your clients.
I can take your order right now and get this new business program going.”
BE SILENT AND LET THE PROSPECT SPEAK NEXT
I’ll JUST BUY THE GOOD GAMES
FROM STUBHUB Objection
CEO: “I’ll just buy the good games from Stub Hub.”
YOU: “I can understand how easy it is to buy from StubHub. However, StubHub has some weaknesses for businesses:
- You can’t really plan in advance with a controlled new business strategy.
- You never really know how much you’ll pay for tickets and more importantly, whether you can get decent seats.
- You also don’t get access to the other features and benefits of being a ticket package buyer with the team.
I can’t see this workingobjection
CEO: “I just can’t see this working…”
YOU: “I can understand that this sounds crazy that you can get all this new business by going to games. But, IT DOES WORK. And, what is your risk? It’s only about $14,000. That’s not much of a gamble—$14,000 to get $125,000, maybe $250,000. What if it isn’t as effective as I say it is? What if it’s only 75% effective? That would mean you would get over $90,000 in new business for a $14,000 investment. Plus you’ll have a lot of fun at our games. Would it be all right if I placed your order today?”
LET ME THINK ABOUT IT Objection
CEO: “I’d like to think about it.”
YOU: “I can understand that. If you took some time to think about it—maybe even thinking about it walking some beach—and you thought about the $______in new sales and the $______in cost, do you think you would be inclined to do it?”
(If the answer is yes or probably, say, “Well, then, why don’t we just do it? You’ll really be pleased with the results.”)
(If the answer is no or probably not, ask why. “Really? You’d be getting $______in new revenue and it cost only $______. What is it that’s really causing you to hesitate here?”)
(You’ll probably get a real objection. Now you can handle the objection directly.)
TO THOSE WHO HESITATE
CEO: (Hesitating)
YOU: “Let me tell you about another CEO that was in the same position as you and he followed this plan and decided to give it a try. Take a look at these numbers...”
(Hand the prospect another Endorsement Letterand be quiet while the CEO reads it.)
YOU: “How happy do you think he is that he gave this plan a try? That decision was worth $100,000 in new business to him. Let me get this order in today. Don’t worry about a thing, I’ll take care of all the details...”
MAKING THE DECISION
(Stage direction: You can use this anytime while handling objections.)
YOU: “Let’s take a look at this. . .the pros and the cons.
(Take out a blank piece of paper for this. Draw a line vertically down the middle. Write ‘Pros’ in the upper left and ‘Cons’ in the upper right.)
Let’s put down the amount of new business in the left hand column...” (Stage direction: hand write the new business number on your chart.)
YOU: “Of that new business you would get, is it business that you can renew? If so, what percent do you think you could renew?” (Stage direction: based on the answer, hand write that number on your chart.)
YOU: “That’s $225,000 in new business, and that’s if your salespeople convert only one in six of their prospects. Now let’s look at the Cons.”
YOU: “What would be the first ’reason against’?”
YOU: “You might say expense. Let me write down $14,400.”
(Stage direction: hand write the cost of the ticket package you’re recommending.)
YOU: “Anything else?”
CEO: “I don’t know how effective this would be.”
(Stage direction: hand write that objection onto the Reasons Against column. You then handle that objection like we have outlined in this Handbook.)
YOU: “Let’s take a look at this. It looks like a pretty easy decision. You get $225,000 in new revenue at a cost of $14,000. Let me get your order in today…”
GETTING THE FOLLOW-UP MEETING
STAGE INSTRUCTION: Every meeting doesn’t end in a yes or no answer. There are times when follow up is needed. You should never settle for a follow-up phone call. Usually that ends up becoming a lot of chasing of the CEO to get a final yes or no answer. It’s better to get the follow-up meeting when you’re already meeting with the CEO. Getting the follow-up meeting could go like this:
CEO: “I’m not sure about this and have to talk to a few people first. Give me a call next week and I’ll let you know.”
YOU: “I can understand that. I am actually going to be right down the street at ______(insert company) for a meeting at 10:00am on Tuesday. Would it be okay to stop by here at 9:30am to answer any new questions or get this wrapped up?”
STAGE DIRECTIONS: The salesperson should be reaching in to their bag for an appointment book or their cell phone for a calendar. This will make it seem more ‘official’ that they are going to be back in the area.
CEO: (will give you a yes/no answer or another date)
STAGE DIRECTIONS: Once the CEO says yes, the salesperson should mark the date down on either their phone calendar or in their appointment book. Don’t just write it on a sheet of paper.
YOU: “Great, I’ve got down that I will see you next Tuesday at 9:30am. Does that work for you?”
WHAT IF THEY DON’T HAVE
ANY LOCAL SALESPEOPLE?
Q1 (Alternative Direction) STAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Remember the first question of this presentation, “How many local salespeople do you have?” Well, here’s what you say when the answer is zero. The company may not have any local business. They may be a distribution center or do all their business overseas. That’s okay. Because of Full Menu Marketing, you still have an opportunity to sell them some type of ticket product. Most likely this sale will simply transition into a Group Sale. You just ask a different group of questions. Here are the questions you would be asking: