Back to the Basics – The Five Principles of Selling

If you are in the midst of a struggle or trying to take one’s achievement to another level, harkening back to the basics is always a smart strategy. Let me share an experience I had as a teenager where I learned the importance of “going back to the basics.” It was such an impactful experience that while I was a missionary in the Philippines I remembered it and wrote it down. This is what I wrote back then.

In the Winter of 1976 I was preparing for the 1977 Yucaipa High School tennis season. I was a junior at the time and as you might imagine was hooked on tennis. I loved the sport and played it quite competitively for several years. In preparation for the coming season, I had the opportunity to attend a three-day tennis clinic conducted by Coach Verdieck, tennis coach of the University of Redlands tennis team. If you follow college ratings in Southern California you will know that University of Redlands holds their own against USC or UCLA in pre-season competition. Needless to say, they are quite a reputable team.

On the morning of the first day, I and 15 other high school players were seated in the bleachers to receive some instructions from Coach Verdieck. He went on to explain what the next three days would entail. He began by saying, “When my team gets down, or when we lose that important set, or when everything seems a little off and doesn’t seem to click just right, the next day at practice we do something totally different, we go back to the basics.” He continued, “I teach them how to hold the racquet and how to position themselves on the court all over again. We take a look at the forehand, backhand and volley and go over them step by step.”

At the time I thought, this guy was crazy. He was coaching practically professional players and was showing them how to hold the racquet, position themselves on the court and the fundamentals of how to hit the most basic strokes. As he dismissed us to the courts, he said, “And so today, that is what we are going to do; we are going back to the basics.”

At the beginning I was thinking, “I already know how to do all of that.” I was hoping for some deep strategy session or instruction how to hit that top spin ground stroke like Bjorn Borg or that two handed ripping backhand like Jimmy Connors. Maybe we would cover the secret hand signals of some of the top doubles players or the best way to throw a toss over the back of your left shoulder to make the ball hop on your serve.

No such luck, we were going back to the basics! I resisted at first, but then quickly realized that this guy had a much better track record than I did! He was Coach Verdieck of the University of Redlands! I was a young aspiring teenage high school tennis player from a small rather insignificant school. Needless to say, I changed my attitude and followed along. It was a great clinic!

Remembering this experience brings back a lot of memories, especially all of my time on the tennis court that I enjoyed as a youth. Those were great times!

Consider these key questions:

• Do you need to go back to the basics with respect to your agency success?
• Have you gotten a little rusty?
• Are your results not like they were years ago?
• Has the environment changed and you feel a little behind?
• Is your timing a little off?
• Are more of your shots going out than falling in?

Maybe it’s time you sharpen the saw and take a stroll “back to the basics!” I have selected one area that can yield true improvement if you will ponder its effectiveness and implement its simplicity!

The topic is: The Five Principles of Selling

The Five Principles of Selling are:

• Selling is not telling; selling is asking questions
• As often as you can, turn a statement into a question
• Sales is a transference of feelings
• Give them what they want
• Stop selling and start helping people buy

Selling is Not Telling; Selling is Asking Questions – Oh, this is so true! I hate to be too direct but, most of you talk too much! If you would simply ask more questions and listen for the answers you would yield so much more success. Often times it’s not the first question, but the 3rd and 4th that uncovers the true need or client objection. But asking follow-up questions requires true listening. Consider reflective as well as emphatic listening to improve your results. How can you effectively recommend proper coverage unless you have asked a series of effective questions to find out their true need? Never forget the question that starts with the word “why”. When they say they are interested in auto or home insurance ask, “why” and then drill down further asking three more questions to make sure you understand their core motivation! In short, guide the conversation with a series of questions and you will facilitate success!

As Often as You Can, Turn a Statement Into a Question – This is true in most everything you say or do in selling. You can either tell them by making a statement or you can ask questions to guide the same outcome. It might seem the same, but asking questions is much more powerful. This is true because asking questions transforms your prospect into the role of a student. As you guide the conversation with questions you begin to educate your client. Since learning can be fun and engaging, the student often becomes captivated by the process. As you guide the educational process they begin to draw their own conclusions. Because they are their conclusions, they own them! Simply put, quit making statements and start facilitating the learning process!

Sales is a Transference of Feelings – If you don’t believe this then go to the Mercedez Benz lot and sit in a brand new E or S Class. Smell the leather and new car aroma and tell me you don’t get a little excited! Okay, so you are not motivated, then do the new model home tour in your favorite location or stroll to the end of the Newport Beach pier with that special someone and tell me the environment doesn’t move you. The reality is we are all creatures of our feelings. The bottom line is this; people make decisions largely on emotion and then justify them logically. This is why telling a story in the selling process is such a valuable skill. A great agent once said, “Put people at the point of loss, before the loss occurs.” What does this mean? Tell a great story about that tragic car accident or potential house fire. Unfortunately, we all know these terrible events can occur. Help them experience it emotionally and they will make better decisions about their future.

Give Them What They Want - Do you know what your clients want? Most agents haven’t a clue because they haven’t spent enough time asking the right questions and getting to know their clients to find out. Most agents would say, “They want the cheapest price!” Oh really? In the absence of a value conversation you might be right. Studies suggest, however, that people want value and will pay for it if value is effectively communicated. Trust me, they want much more than price. They want a combination of price, service, coverage and a relationship. Find out what they want and then help them buy!

Stop Selling and Start Helping People Buy – As you genuinely get to know your clients and effectively build rapport, you will begin to understand their needs. As you do this, you will start to see the connection between their needs and the specific benefits of the Farmers products. Help them make this connection, through the process of asking questions and you will find that your clients will ask to buy!

Getting "Back to the Basics" in selling is much like the realization of learning how to hold the racquet all over again. I thought I knew the basics only to discover that I knew very little!

Enjoy the process of getting good at the basics!

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing!

I remember a counseling session many years ago with a business mentor of mine who at a time of personal frustration said to me,

“Mark, keep the main thing the main thing?”

Oh, how this has blessed my life in so many ways. There are so many things we can focus on and yet there are typically only a few things, when kept first, that can have the biggest impact on our lives. Of course as we look at the many roles we all play in our life’s journey (father, mother, husband, wife, provider, church leader, civic organizer, teacher, coach, etc…) there are many “main things” that we need to focus on. Sometimes keeping them lined up can get rather burdensome and confusing, but that is another post!

I want to spend a few moments talking with you about what I believe is the “main thing” on being an effective agent. To do this I need to share an important organizational behavior model I first learned at a BYU Alumni Conference in 2006. The model speaks to the issue of change, more specifically how to effectively change the behavior of individuals or groups to achieve worthwhile results.

I must tell you that the application of this model has made a dramatic difference to me personally and in my business life. I have shared it with several other people and it has caused them great insight as well. Consider the following. The model suggests that our results are determined by our behavior. Our behavior is determined by our beliefs and our beliefs are determined by our experiences. In the reverse it would look like the following. Our experiences determine our beliefs, our beliefs determine our behaviors and our behaviors determine our results. Maybe it would look something like this:

· Experiences > Beliefs > Behaviors > Results

Think of this for a few moments and challenge its simplicity and straightforwardness. Think of a result or set of results you have in your life and trace it back. I think you will find that your results thus far have been largely determined by your life experience. Think about the success in your own life. Have not your successful results come from a series of experiences which drove your beliefs about your efforts and your subsequent desire to succeed? Those beliefs drove certain behaviors which led to favorable results.

Now think of it this way. Leaders are constantly trying to reach some predetermined aim. In order to reach this target you generally need others to help achieve the goal. In order to reach this destination it will take a series of particular behaviors and results that are vertically aligned toward the target to accomplish the goal. In the process, you will find that your ability to facilitate change, in the context of marshalling the resources of others, will make all the difference. You will need people, human capital, to reach the finish line.

Throughout my business experience I have watched countless management teams across a variety of industry classifications fail to understand the power of this simple model. How effective would they be if they simply understood this model on change! They repeatedly attempt to change the results of an organization by attempting to change the behaviors of key team members and line staff.

They attempt to focus on behavior rather than focus at the experiential and subsequent belief level of the person or organization. To accomplish this they often use coercive means and tactics to reach their aim. It is quite common for executive and line managers to engage in manipulative tactics to change their results, because when you fail to focus at the lower levels of the change model (experiences) you are left with a dwindling tool box of effective tactics to get results.

I detest these methods. I have seen them up close and personal, which is probably why I am presently in my own enterprise where I have more control over my own culture. Their approach or management style, if you want to call it that, can be favorable in the short run, but over time since a positive experiential factor has not changed, the desired results often fall off and revert back to pre-manipulative levels. It’s a frustrating way to go if you want true long term change! In effect, the tactics do cultivate an experience, but it is so negative that true change is not sustained.

Consider this topic’s application to the building of a Farmers agency. So much of what we do is about relationships, is it not? The process of bringing new clients into your agencies requires a change of focus and attitude on the part of the insured. Why would they change? Why would they decide to come to your agency and leave their current relationship? Of course clients can change for a variety of reasons. Price, coverage, service and relationships covers the spectrum. But, their decision to change ultimately hinges on some sort of experience they will or will not have with you!

If they have a meaningful and value-added experience with you and your staff they will begin to form beliefs about what this new relationship might mean to them in the future. This experience must be aligned to their needs and they must see a pathway to achieving what’s important to them. But at the heart of their decision process is an experience. As their beliefs begin to form out of this new experience you have provided, their related behavior and results will follow.

I see this play out over and over again… And so, the question that begs an answer is,

“What kind of experience are you providing your immediate and potential clients?”

“Is it an experience that draws them to you or drives them away?”

This is a serious question that demands careful attention!

You are either providing a nurturing, growing, attractive, professional, service-oriented experience with those you touch or you are not! You are either providing a positive, encouraging, consultative environment or you are not! Consider your physical office environment as well… This is a whole other topic that emits an experience to those you encounter. Consider your personal dress and grooming! You can see how the concept of examining what type of experience you are presenting can be far reaching and yet central to your growth!

This is a fascinating topic to me as I see it all around me in most everything I do. I see it in the world of business, parenting, and sports and in my service relationships. More importantly, however, I see it in our individual lives and with those we interact. The challenge is that it is more difficult to work at the experiential level rather than trying to use other manipulative means to change one’s results. I guess we could yell, scream and pout to get our way and in the short run that often works. Conversely, effecting long term change takes more thought, energy and creativity, and it requires one to truly connect with the person he or she is working with. Accordingly, most take the easy way out and are simply not willing to put in the work.

The work comes when we understand that the key to emitting a change driven experience with others is rooted in the personal soft skills that we exemplify. Our soft skills make up of the following abilities:

- Your ability to effectively articulate our thoughts and opinions
- Your ability to practice reflective and emphatic listening skills
- Your ability to managing our body language and physical presence
- Your ability to understanding social and learning styles
- Your ability to communicate and effectively manage conflict

In our techno-savvy world there is a demand for these important skills and maybe a heightened need to shine in these areas. As you provide a better experience for those around you, you will become an attractive magnet that the best will flock to. It will be a feeling that others will detect. It will be a value added aura that you impart. Be the person and you will become what you dream! Never forget the connection between the following:

· Experiences > Beliefs > Behaviors > Results

Focus on the experiential component of life and you will change your results. There is no doubt that this is the “main thing” in building a vibrant agency!