ABCO Payroll Services®

By Roger Reynolds
President/CEO of ABCO Payroll Services Inc.
MBA from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio

In the late 80's after working for a series of companies which sold out or closed, I decided to pursue a profession where I controlled my own destiny - Life Insurance Sales!! I learned a lot from that experience. The biggest lesson I learned was it takes a special person to sell life insurance on the retail level and I wasn't that special!

However, I did acquire some training and lessons that influenced my future career direction.

• I learned the key was getting in front of the prospect. If you can get in front of enough people that have an interest in what you are selling you're going to sell some of those people... You may not have the closing ratio of the top performers, but if you can get in front of enough people on a consistent basis you are going to sell some of them.
• I learned about residual earnings... That made a lot of sense to me... With residual earnings if you keep plugging along and take care of the people you sell, eventually you are going to be successful.
• I learned the four reasons people don't buy... If you know why people don't buy then you can tailor your presentation to overcome those reasons.

FOUR REASONS PEOPLE DON'T BUY

1. No confidence - If the prospect doesn't have confidence in you, your company and the product or service you are selling, that's the end of your hopes to make the sale.
2. No need/want - If your prospect doesn't have a need for your product or service there will be no sale. You cannot create a need, however, you may be able to make the prospect aware of a need he had not considered.
3. No money - This one can be a little tricky, does the prospect really have no money or just doesn't want to spend it on your product? If you determine he really doesn't have money, then that's a condition you have no control over and you need to get away from that prospect as soon as possible and move on.
4. No hurry - The need is there, but there is no hurry - Well, there are many ways to deal with this - quotes are only good for a certain length of time, policies expire, etc. But, if this is just someone saying later instead of NO you need to move on....

I know that confidence is critical when it comes to selling payroll service just like it is when selling insurance products. Therefore, the first thing I start my presentation off with is information to build that confidence in the mind of the prospect. I start off with, "Let me tell you about ABCO Payroll Services......" I tell the prospect about the company, myself, our employees and what differentiates us from other companies.

Then I ask if I can get a little information from them so I know what reports may or may not benefit them when I go over the sample reports. This is when I try to identify their specific needs, any hot buttons and if they are unhappy with their current payroll provider.

Next, I go over the sample reports showing the prospect how we can satisfy his needs. After a need and a value for the services have been shown, it's time to go over the quote. If the prospect wants to move forward I try to take away the no hurry problem by telling the client the best time to change payroll services (end of month, end of quarter or beginning of the year).

Not everyone will buy, but if you have presented your company, yourself and your product in a professional manner then there is one more person that has a positive impression. They may buy later or even refer you to their business colleagues.