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Sales Principles

Below are some general principles to keep in mind. And if you keep these in mind and you embody them it will come through in your evaluations and how you interact with your clients. So read this, and then read it again. Embody it. Live it. Win.

On camera

In the news recently there was a video of a delivery driver rubbing a food item in a place that, well let’s just say a food item shouldn’t be rubbed. AND It was caught on camera.

I am sure the pizza man didn’t know he was on camera, but now he is a national headline. I know none of our team would ever do anything like this, but I share this to teach you in a humorous way that you are ALWAYS ON CAMERA! Even if you can’t see the camera, you are always on camera.

So with that being said, even if you can’t see a camera, always assume you are being watched & that whoever is watching can hear you. In a day and age of technology, security cameras, doorbell cameras, phones, live streams, hidden indoor cameras, etc. you are always on camera. In peoples homes they have cameras to watch the dogs, cameras in the fireplace, the bedroom, everywhere! So act as if you are always on camera and that everything you are saying can be heard.

Touching

It’s always a good general rule of thumb to keep your hands to yourself and never touch anyone, but you should never touch members of the opposite sex.

There isn’t really ever a reason to touch clients, but make especially sure you don’t touch the members of the opposite sex at lessons or evaluations.

Medical Advice

As an Eval Pro you are privy to some dog training info. You may even know a few things about doggy medical stuff but a good rule of thumb is no giving out medical advice.

We are dog trainers and not veterinarians. By giving out medical advice we do 2 things. 1) We get out of our lane. Our lane is dog training. 2) We are liable for the medical advice we give out. So let’s just stay away from medical advice.

Communications

In a day and age where so much communication is done through texts and tweets, etc. it makes sense to type like an adult. So when texting clients and prospective clients, use proper punctuation and spell words out correctly. This will help us maintain a level of professionalism that will come off through our language and writing.

Judging

A good rule for life is never judge anyone. Normally just as you judge someone and whatever you judge them for, you will also be judged in the same manner. So…

NEVER judge a book by its cover. Never judge a client by their home, their stuff, part of town, etc.

Example: You see something and make a judgement about someone and assume that they are not a buyer based off something you see or think. Then of course after this you then go into the appointment and you treat them as if they are not a buyer. What happens? They DON’T become a client.

Most of the time when we get to someone’s home and meet them and make assumptions and those are either good or bad. Normally these judgements tend to be more negative than anything and that comes out in how you treat them.

But do this, look at the kind of car they have. Do they have an iPhone? A flat screen? a computer setup? What I am getting at here is that all people are buyers of some sort. At every level we are all buyers in some way. So it is our job to not judge and sell in a non-judgemental way and then show them what we do, how we do and convince them that they need what we have.

Judging Clients and Dogs

Since we just went over judging this is the perfect time to discuss this. And this is a HUGE DEAL.

So so so many professional dog trainers judge and make fun of their clients on FB and other social platforms. These trainers judge their clients in person too, they just don’t do it to such an extreme manner. It is our job as we work to change an industry to do better.

Here is a thought experiment for you: Imagine hiring someone to perform a service you can’t do alone and know nothing about, and then they judge you? That isn’t cool and it is not okay. Don’t judge the dog or the owner. They don’t know dog training clearly or they wouldn’t have hired us. So never judge the dog or the owner.

Get The Breed Right

For our clients that pay a lot to get a certain breed, honor them by making sure you get the dogs breed right. This is similar to making sure you know the name of the person you are talking to and how to pronounce it. At best, you slip up and they correct you. At worst, you make them mad and they get upset. So avoid this by getting the breed right. Example: An “English Cream Retriever” is NOT a “Golden Retriever”.

Broke People are easier to sell

Did you know it is actually easier to sell a broke person than a wealthy person? You may pull up to a home in a great part of town and get excited (I do too!) but broke people are easier to sell than non-broke people. Let me explain: broke people have a hard time and managing their money. That is why they are broke, so don’t just blow someone off based off a part of town. They are broke because they spend money easier than wealthy people do. How do wealthy people get wealthy? They manage their money better.

Rushing = Refunds

As Eval Pros we get so excited to get the deal. Lots of times we are so passionate about our service and helping the person we talk fast and rush. This feels good to us, but the buying process is not to be rushed. When deciding who to work with to get your dog trained, it takes a lot to make that decision. So slow down, make a friend, help them, build a relationship and then they will buy and STAY a client.

Every Eval Pro we have ever had that talked fast and rushed has gotten a TON of refunds. This not only hurts them and their commissions, but it hurts the family too because they don’t use us to train their dog.

Hard Closing = Refunds

As Eval Pros we get so excited to get the deal (and who can blame us, it feels good right?). Lots of times we are so passionate about our service that taking “No” for an answer is hard. Hard selling is a trick used by lots of sales people to close deals. This is the OLD way of doing things. There is a new way to sell and that is relational selling. When you think of the old way think of a car salesman here.

We don’t want to be in the business of selling. We want people to WANT to buy from us. So when people give objections, rather than hard selling, figure out the root of the issue and let’s ask questions. Let’s get people to WANT to buy from us rather than us selling them.

People hate being sold, but LOVE to buy!

This kinda goes with what I was saying above. People HATE being sold things, but they LOVE to buy. It’s our not not to sell, but rather to provide over-the-top value and to make them want to work with us.

Sell the benefits. Not the features.

There is an old school saying in the sales world that goes like this “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”

What this means in our business is to sell the dream of the trained dog. Sell the dog that can be off-leash, go hiking, go to a patio, a dog that doesn’t jump on people when they come over, etc. You get the point here. The idea is to sell the benefits of the service rather than the service itself.

Table > Couch

People put friends in the living room. They sit with the family at the kitchen or dining room table. If they offer you the choice to sit at the table or the couch, pick the table. If they offer the couch, don’t force the interaction and move it to the table, but if they offer take the table.

Hierarchy Of Communication

When it comes to sales their is a hierarchy of communication. It is simply this… In-Person is better than a call. A call is better than a text. A text is better than an email.

So when you are selling, try your best to sell in-person and get the deal in-person because that will be easier than over the phone. If you miss the in-person and have to follow up, call instead of text. If you can’t get them on the phone, text them instead of email them.

This is just the best way to communicate with people and as you move up in the hierarchy, the more likely you are to close the deal.

Pitch in a Seat, Not Your Feet

Don’t stand up when you’re pitching people. People don’t buy when you’re standing. People also don’t buy when THEY are standing, so try to get them to sit down. Don’t do the appointment where you or them are standing the whole time.

Caveat: If you’re meeting with a married couple and the wife is the point of contact, you may be sitting with her in the living room area and her husband may be off in the kitchen standing behind the counter. He is listening but not involved and since you’re working with the wife, we’re not concerned with the husband standing. So, in a scenario like this, this is okay.

Smile

Smiling is mentioned in the section on the intro and greeting in the next section, but it is worth mentioning many times. People like people who smile. So SMILE!

Adversity in Sales

Days blowing up. There are some days on both the sales side and the training side of the business that just seem to blow up for lack of a better term. You have a day of 4-5 evals and start the day excited. One cancels. No big deal. Then another one cancels. Then another. Then another. And you end up with one appointment and you started with 4-5. This doesn’t happen a lot, but it does from time to time. When it does, just accept it as part of the sales game and move on. No point in getting upset.

Liars. In the business of sales, you’ll meet liars. Sometimes when people call in and book a free eval, they will straight up lie. They will say their dog isn’t aggressive, they have money, etc. Then you get there and the dog tries to eat your face off. They have $0. They can’t buy. This is also something that you will have to get used to. Hopefully, as time goes on, we can get better at weeding these people out, but they do slip through the cracks. It is important that you know this and expect it from time to time.

Bad Evals. Similar to the liars mentioned above, there will be bad evals you go to. They may be in a bad part of town. They may have no furniture. They may be mean. Etc. There are a number of bad scenarios you can walk into. These people may not have lied per se, but they aren’t the best evals. Once again, it’s part of the game and to be expectd.

Overall, there will be bad stuff that happens from time to time. Like days blowing up, liars, bad evals, etc. but this is part of being in the sales game. It is important to not get upset and take this out on the Gate Keepers. If you’re upset, take some time and then address the issue with leadership. Do not vent to the Gate Keepers. Complaints go UP the ladder, not downwards or sideways. If you DO call the Gate Keepers, use the call as a time to offer feedback and innovate. DO NOT dog them or complain to them. They bust their tails to get you evals and if you take out frustration on them, it will cause animosity.

If bad things happen and we experience adversity in sales, remember this, it is not sales team vs. the Gate Keeper team. It is US (Sales & GK’s) vs the problem at hand. Like… Days blwiing up, bad evals, liars, etc.