The Prospecting Professor

"Call me after the holidays..."

Jeffrey Gitomer is a one-man sales tornado...a kid from Philly who moved to Charlotte, NC and has started a (now) flourishing sales training/consulting mega-enterprise. He writes books, articles, does webinars, sales tours...the whole "ball of wax".

One of his better pieces is helping salespeople counter prospects who object with the line, "Call me after the holidays..." Jeffrey points out this this is not so much an objection as it is a stall (see stalled car illustration for the visual).

As he points out, a stall is worse than an objection. At least with an objection you can come back with a specific counter. With a stall, the salesperson has to bob-and-weave and dance around it...until a real objection surfaces.

Here are some of Jeff Gitomer's Top Seven Comebacks to a Holiday Stall:

1. Firm it up...whenever that may be. Ask, "When after the first of the year? Let me have the honor of buying your first "business-cup-of-coffee" in 2006. How's your schedule for Monday, January 2nd?"
2. Make the prospect put it in his/her daytimer. Ask, "Sure, that's great. Do you have your calendar handy? How about 10:00 AM on January 2nd?"
3. Tell them about your resolutions. "You know...I''ve made a New Year's resolution that I'm not going to let people such as yourself, who really need our service...delay (procrastinate) until after the first of the year."
4. Offer incentives and alternatives. Invent reasons not to delay. Make something up. Be creative.
5. Question them into a corner...and close them when they get there. "As we have discussed, you stated a pressing need for (Insert the pressing need that they have expressed in response to your expert questioning). What will be different after the holidays?
6. Drop in with holiday cheer. Use a small holiday plant, gift, home-baked cookies, etc. to get in the door now.
7. Be funny. Say, "You know...so many people have said to call after the first of the year that I'm booked until April. I do have some openings next week, however. How's Tuesday at 10:00 AM?"
8. Be funny, Part II. "What holiday?"

Reality Check. Jeffrey also points out that the success that you (the salesperson) has in dealing with a stall...is directly related to the quality of the relationship that you have built with the prospect/client. A weak relationship means that you wait until after the holiday. Or longer.

Moreover...if you have a preponderance of prospects who are putting you off with the Holiday Stall...you need some better prospects.

Bill's Billions: Thanks Mom!

As of today, December 5, 2005...the market cap of Microsoft is about $300 billion. Bill Gates' share, 9.32%, is worth about $28 billion.

In a small way...in fact, maybe in a BIG WAY...Bill Gates can thank his mother for one of the initial connections that got him going.

Mary Gates passed away on June 10, 1994. She had been a tireless community-service advocate and one of Seattle's most prominent civic figures. In 1975, the year that her son co-founded Microsoft, Mrs. Gates became the first woman president of United Way of King County.

In 1980, IBM launched its top-secret program, Project Chess, to develop its own PC. It need an operating system. IBM sent a team to Redmond, Washington to help on Project Chess. After two meetings held under promises of confidentiality, IBM offered a hardware and software consulting deal to the the fledgling company. IBM wanted the rights to a desktop operating system for a small sum. Bill Gates was willing to oblige...on condition that he be given rights to sell copies to other computer makers for whatever the traffic would bear.

Why did IBM even go to Redmond, WA in the first place? At the time, IBM president John Opel served on United Way's national board...as did Mrs. Gates. In 1980, when someone mentioned Microsoft to John Opel, he responded, "Oh, that's run by Bill Gates, Mary Gates' son." Behind the scenes, Mary Gates had spoken with John Opel about the new breed of small companies in the computer industry, which she felt were under-appreciated competitors of the larger firms with which IBM traditionally partnered.

It is interesting to note that Bill Gates, and his Microsoft colleagues, were not the pioneers of the first operating system for personal computers. Nearly ten years before Bill Gates signed the epochal deal with IBM, Gary Kildall, a computer science professor had developed his own system...the Control Program for Microcomputers.

Kildall and Gates had known each other from their years...freely sharing ideas in the Home Brew Computer Club, a group that Kildall had founded. Why IBM connected with Bill Gates, and not Kildall, is not widely known. However, one can speculate that Mary Gates' connection to IBM's John Opel played an important, if not critical, role.

Thanks mom!

Target Market: Construction Industry Executives

In 2005, the US construction industry will invest more than $1 trillion in residential, commercial and public works projects. Estimates for 2006 are $1.1 trillion...for 2007, $1.2 trillion. So says FMI, a management and investment banking consultancy in the construction industry.

Of course, the "US construction industry" is not a homogeneous segment. Within this diverse group are subsets, e.g. contractors, construction materials, manufacturers & suppliers, owners, architects, engineers, residential building supply, etc.

To become much more knowledgeable about each of these specific sub-groups, think of the hundreds of trade associations that are linked to each sector...from the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, www.aamanet.org, to the Women Construction Owners and Executives, USA,  www.wcoeusa.org, and all the other trade associations in-between. Many of the associations have local chapters, where associate memberships are encouraged. Financial advisors who want to penetrate deep within these industry segments are encouraged to join.

Trends in the Construction Industry for 2006

• Significant shortages of manpower and materials will put a strain on residential construction, as well as the entire industry.
• 200,000 New Orleans homes may need to be replaced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
• Procurement practices may also change dramatically because of price hikes and instability.
• Low price may not be the determining factor for selecting a contractor, supplier or vendor. Capacity, responsiveness, timeliness, and level of trust will become much higher value than actual price.
• One expert projects that the strongest growth lies in residential, education, retail, office and health care sectors. (Isn't that everything?)

The sanguine future is in stark contrast to the down years of 2001 through 2003. In the coming years, the growth will fill the backlog of work and improve the operating margins for many in the industry.

For financial advisors who want to target construction industry executives, the real challenge will be getting "face-time" with them. Given their very busy schedules, you will most likely need to leave the office and meet with them at their office, work-site, trade show, industry convention, etc.

$3,000,000,000,000+ dollars may mean that your pro-active marketing outreach efforts will be worthwhile.