Jack Hubbard is the chairman of St.Meyer & Hubbard, a sales education firm based in Elgin, IL...that focuses on the banking industry. In the July/August issue of Commercial Lending Review, he discusses the sales prospecting process that he teaches to bankers as they interact with their prospects, primarily business owners.
His training closely follows the words of Dale Carnegie, "You can make more friends in two weeks by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you."
In brief, here's a summary of what Hubbard teaches.
- Thought Starters. A thought starter is a precall email or fax that includes three to five high-payoff questions. Thought starters, sent immediately after the appointment is booked, begin the call several days before the banker leaves the office. The purpose is to create curiosity in the mind of the prospect.
- Never take sales literature on the first call.
- Take two pens that work...and a notepad. Consider writing the Home Run Questions along the margins...or at the top of the page.
- Bring plenty of business cards. At the end of the call, stop by the gatekeeper's desk and leave a card with them...thanking them for their assistance in booking the appointment.
- Bring a "leave behind"...not something about your firm. This could be an article about the business's industry, or a new sales book that can help the business owner grow revenues.
- Types of Questions. Been, Now, Headed (BNH). Mr. Hubbard thinks it imperative that the banker determines where the business has been, where it is now, and where it is headed. These questions uncover overt and latent needs. Issues and Implications...e.g. What are some of the issues that the business owner is facing? If the owner does, or doesn't, do something about these issues, what will be the consequences?
- Final Question. Towards the end of the call, Hubbard suggests inserting the following, "Before we talk about next steps, I'd like to ask the following. What, if anything, haven't we discussed about your personal or business situation that we should talk about now?" In most cases, the prospect will say something like, "I can't think of anything now." Yet, when they do respond to this one, it is most likely a key issue.
Hubbard sums up his sales prospecting process with the following aphorism, "The buyer has the answers, the seller has the questions." Good advice that would benefit us all!
Any insight into Hubbard's "home run questions"?
Posted by: Jim | August 16, 2005 at 10:29 AM
mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I'm more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful.
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