We Like You the Best, But by Jim Dunn & John Schumann

Problem: Most salespeople certainly don't get enough referrals and often the referrals they do receive go nowhere. How many times have you called a referral, failed to get through the gatekeeper, and left a message that never gets returned? Perhaps you've even gotten through to the referral, only to be met with a cool response? We all know that referrals are the best source of new business, by far, so why does this happen?

Diagnosis: First and foremost, salespeople don't ask for enough referrals. There are several reasons for that. Sometimes its perceived as a begging activity, and few of us want to be seen as needy. The second reason is that they have experienced poor results in the past when calling referrals.

Here's what often happens. The salesperson is thrilled just to get the name of a referral and sprints to the phone to make what amounts to another cold call. Often the referral hasn't heard of the salesperson or her company or was simply doing the referring source a favor by saying, Okay, tell her to call me. Then he put it out of his mind.

Prescription: Upgrade the quality of your referrals. Ask your referring source to do just a little extra work for you. When you get a referral, ask a couple of quick questions to upgrade the referral.

First question..

Why do you think so and so would be interested in my product/service? This will help you understand what the prospects pain is.

Next question..

Can I ask a favor? Would you feel comfortable calling so and so and telling him a little about my company and see if he's even interested in talking to me? 90% of the time the referring source will be glad to do this.

And finally..

Thanks. When can I call you to find out if so and so will talk to me? This puts the ball in the referring sources court to turn the cold call into a warm call. And the referring source, since he's close to the prospect, usually will strongly urge the referral to take your call. If the referral doesn't want to speak to you, you don't have to make a cold call that is probably destined for a negative result anyway.

Now when you call the referral, he's familiar with your name and is expecting your call. Here are a couple of questions to break the ice. Mr. So and So, this is Mike Smith with ABC Company, does my name ring a bell? His answer will tell you whether or not he remembered his conversation with the referring source. Next question: What did Jim tell you about me? Or, why do you think Jim wanted me to call you? These questions will take all the pressure off you and get the prospect talking.

From there, based on his answers, begin to ask your qualifying questions and try to get an appointment if the pain is real and he wants to fix it. The bottom line is to get your referring source to do a little more work and your referral business will increase tremendously.

Good Selling! Jim Dunn & John Schumann

About
The Authors

The creators
of the Common Sense Selling® process are two
not-so-common sales professionals and trainers, Jim Dunn and John
Schumann. They saw the lack of results and frustration that most
salespeople experienced using the old “feature, advantage,
and benefit” selling approach in today’s more complex
selling environment.

Using their
combined 65 plus years of sales experience, they developed a new,
common sense approach to selling that is unconventional, by most
standards…and it works!

Visit them at http://www.whetstonegroup.com/

Opening Statements: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly by Mike Brooks

For the past 26 years I’ve worked on the phones as a qualifier, broker, sales associate, sales manager, director of sales, V.P. of sales, owner of various inside sales companies, consultant – you get the idea.

I’ve worked with, monitored and heard thousands of sales reps over the years, and I’ve heard it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Here, for your reading enjoyment and education, are my all time, Top 5 classic opening statements:

First, the ugly:

1) When I was an investment broker in the 80’s, I worked with a woman, Barbara, who was one of the top brokers in our five office broker dealer network.  It was always hard to get through to prospects at their offices, but she had a way of almost always getting through.  While I do not recommend it, it sure worked for her back then:

Gatekeeper:

“ABC company, can I help you?”

B:

“Yes, I need to talk to Jim, please.”

G:

“Can I tell him who’s calling?”

B:

“Yes, tell him Barbara is holding.”

G:

“Will he know what this call is about?”

B:

“He sure will.  Tell him it’s about what he left at my apartment last night – he’ll know.  I’ll hold while you put me through.”

Oh, the good old days…  J  Ugly for sure, but effective back then!

Next, the bad:

2)  There are so many BAD ways of opening a call it’s hard to choose, but here are two that people still use (believe it or not) that they need to stop using now!

Prospect:

“Hi this is Bob, can I help you?”

Rep, (either):

“Oh hi, this is Brad Johnson with the XYZ company, have you ever heard of us?”  Or,

“Oh hi, this is Brad Johnson with the XYZ company, do you have a few minutes for me now?”

Obviously, you’re starting the call off with a ‘no’ response (“No, I’ve never heard of you.”) or you’re giving your prospect an immediate opportunity to get rid of you – (“No, I don’t have time, good bye!”).

Seriously, if you’re using either of those, stop it today…

3)  The other bad way to open a call is to try to trick the gatekeeper to put you through.  Again, believe it or not, many sales reps still do this:

G:

“Can I tell him who’s calling?”

Rep:

“Yeah, tell him it’s Brad.”

G:

“Does he know you?”

Rep:

“Yep, we’ve spoken before.”  Or,

G:

“Can I tell him what this call is about?”

Rep:

“Yeah.  He asked me to keep in touch with him.”  Or, “I’m calling him back.”

Both of these responses are blatant lies, but it’s amazing how reps justify them with, “Well he gets a lot of calls; he won’t remember,” or “Well, I make a lot of calls, and I did call him 2 months ago.”  (Of course they never reached him, but that doesn’t stop them!)

If you’re using any of the above trick methods, please stop it immediately.  There is a better way…

Now the good:

4)  I was consulting with a company a few years ago when I received a cold call that was so honest, so refreshing, that I recruited the guy on the spot.  Here’s how it went:

Me:

“Hi this is Mike, how can I help you?”

Rep:

“Hi Mike, this is Carlos Avalar with the XYZ company.  Mike we have never spoken before and I don’t mean to barge into your day, but I represent a company and a product that I think could be very beneficial to you. 

It has to do with your lead tracking system, and all my clients are happy they took a moment to listen.  Can I run a few details by you now to see it there’s a fit?”

Wow.  Now that was different – honest, respectful, and it contained a value statement for me.  I listened…

5)  The best way to get through a gatekeeper is to use this statement:

G:

“XYZ company, can I help you?”

Me:

“Yes please, please tell Bob that Mike Brooks with Mr. Inside Sales.com is holding please.”

Use please three times – it will change your career, believe it.  And once you get through:

“Hi Bob, this is Mike Brooks with Mr. Inside Sales, how’s your (Tuesday or day of the week) going so far?”  [Listen carefully here to how and what your prospect says!]

“Bob, I know you’re busy so I’ll be brief….I see you visited my Inside Sales Training website, and I wanted to find out what kind of help you were looking for in regards to your inside sales team?”

Now, obviously, I’m calling back a warm lead.  Here’s how you handle a cold one:

“Bob, I know you’re busy so I’ll make this brief.  I got your name from (name your lead source – paper, association, list, etc.) and I see you manage an inside sales team.  Now we’ve not spoken before but I’ve sat in your chair for many years and I understand many of the challenges you’re probably facing right now.

“Let me ask you – if I could give you some free resources that would help your team sell more and avoid rejection, would you be interested in downloading them today?”

Now, those people who blow me off are not buyers, and those who listen and respond are potential clients.  It’s as simple as that.

Compare your own openings with those in this article (and adapt yours to fit the last two).  Where do you or your sales team stand in regards to the good, the bad and the ugly?

About The Author:

Save over 40% NOW on Mike’s Award Winning “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts,” which is packed with word for word scripts and techniques that you can begin using today to make more appointments and more sales.  Save over 40% right now by using this Coupon Code during checkout: SCRIPTS.  You can take advantage of this offer by clicking here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/scripts.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance.  If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

What's The Impact Of Your Management Style? by Tim Connor, CSP

               Words of wisdom for this week.   

“In times of stress be bold and valiant.”  Horace

Many managers during stressful times tend to fluctuate in their approach to their employees and their challenges and roles.  Stress has an impact on everyone in one way or another.  Some people withdraw while others lash out in frustration and anxiety.  Needless to say as a manager you’re every decision, action and behavior has consequences on your employees, group or the organization as a whole.  Unfortunately during difficult times you can’t just hide, waiting until things get better or pass.

If you have excellent people skills and are a decisive manager of you deviate from these during uncertain periods you will send a clear message to your employees that you can’t successfully manage your own emotions and actions.  This can have drastic consequences on the performance, motivation and productivity of your department or division.

Self-management, regardless of what is going on around them, is a vital attribute of all successful managers.

Management style can be described with any number of traits.  It can be but isn’t limited to your;

Vision, Leadership, Empowerment of your employees, Communication style, Ego control, Listening ability, Validation approach, Supervision skills, Decision making, Coaching skills and much more.

So let me ask you, during stressful or difficult times do any of these vary in a way that they will have a negative impact on your employees?

It’s natural to ebb and flow as a manager.  No one is perfect.  No one is immune to mistakes, errors in judgment or the inability to always control themselves in every circumstance.  But again the question remains, are the gradual or abrupt changes in your management style having an impact on morale, communication, team spirit or the trust and respect your employees have for you?

The key to successful self-management is the ability to function from the inside-out and not the outside-in.  In other words the ability to remain centered, calm and focused no matter what is going on around you.  This is not an easy task if you tend to have a reactive or heavy top-down management style.  Over the years I have observed many managers who seem to just not ‘get it’.  They are totally isolated from the apparent consequences of their behaviors on their employees.  They just keep pointing their fingers the wrong way rather than looking in the mirror.

One of the vital management traits for success is consistency, the ability to remain focused on the ball no matter what is happening around you.

How would you rate yourself?  How would your employees rate you?  Might be interesting to find out?

 

About
The Author:

Tim Connor, CSP World renowned Speaker, Trainer and best selling
author of 67 titles, Box 397, Davidson, N.C. 28036 USA, 704-895-1230
(voice) - 704-895-1231 (fax) - tim@timconnor.com (email) - www.timconnor.com (Website)

TO HIRE
TIM - CONTACT;

Tim Connor,
CSP

Speaker, Trainer, Best Selling Author

Box 397 Davidson, N.C. 28036 USA

704-895-1230 (voice) 704-895-1231 (fax)

tim@timconnor.com (email)

www.timconnor.com

Value Propositions: Is Yours Strong Enough to Entice Customers? by Jill Konrath

A few weeks ago I sent out a newsletter announcing my new web site, Selling to Big Companies. The next day I received an email from a subscriber that said:

 

"You did a good piece of selling in the email. I read all the way to the bottom, and I had NO intention of doing so when I glanced at it. You must know your stuff!"



While I enjoyed the compliment, what really surprised me was that it was signed by a professor from the pharmacy department of Midwestern college.



Why in the world was a PhD reading my newsletter? It wasn't logical. So being the curious (or nosy) person that I am, I emailed back and asked him why. Turns out that he and a colleague were starting a consulting practice.



When they told me about it, I was floored. They had one of the best "value propositions" I'd heard in a long time! But before I tell you what it is, let me define what that term means.

A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible business

results a customer gets from using your products or services.

Most people and companies have lousy value propositions. They're weak - and I mean really weak. Often they're just regurgitated descriptions of their features, processes or capabilities. Or, they're filled with self-aggrandizing puffery.



Here are a few examples of weak value propositions:

• We have the most robust system on the market.


• I help companies improve employee communications and morale.


• We offer training classes in a wide variety of areas.


• Our product was rated the best-in-class by leading authorities.

You're probably saying, "So what?" That's exactly what most customers think when you share a weak value proposition. They've heard lines like that a zillion times before and don't believe them one little bit. Besides, you haven't shared what's in it for them - and that's all customers care about.



With today's tight economy and overburdened decision makers, you need to have a strong value proposition to break through the clutter and get their attention.

That means you need a financially-oriented value proposition that speaks to the critical issues they're facing. And, by including specific numbers or percentages you get the decision maker's attention even faster.



Now back to the two professors. In researching various pharmacy benefit managers (these are the companies behind your prescription drug card), they found that some firms offer the same amount of services for a lot less money than others.



One of their clients switched to a plan they recommended and saved $800,000 in the first 6 months without reducing services to their employees.



Now that's a REALLY STRONG value proposition! I can't imagine any chief financial officer turning down an appointment with the two professors after hearing those figures.



Let me give you another example. A while back I was having lunch with the president of a $1/2 billion division of a major corporation. She said that if a salesperson said he could reduce corporate waste by just 1%, she  meet with him as quickly as possible.



Now a 1% savings seemed miniscule to me, so I asked her why. She told me that she knew exactly how much her company spent on waste - and it was a big chunk of change. Every penny she saved went right to the bottom line as more profits.



Strong value propositions deliver tangible results like:

• Increased revenues.


• Faster time to market.


• Decreased costs.


• Improved operational efficiency.


• Increased market share.


• Decreased employee turnover.


• Higher customer retention levels.

Documented success stories are great for attracting prospective buyers too. That's why the professors have such a compelling value proposition.



Here's one last example: I help people and companies boost their sales. I could easily describe it as "sales consulting."



But it's far more effective to tell about the regional engineering firm I helped land a huge contract (it grew to over $1 million in just six months) even though they were the underdogs. This story significantly enhances my credibility and demonstrates I deliver results.



So how does your value proposition look? Can you describe what you do in terms of tangible business results? Do you have documented success stories?



Or do you need to do some work to enhance your value proposition? If it's not strong enough yet, don't despair.  Most people and companies have a much stronger one than they use. They just get caught up describing "what" they make or "how" they do things.



Here are several things you can do right now to enhance your value proposition:



1. Brainstorm with Your Colleagues

Review your marketing material and what you say to customers to get their attention.  If you're not talking tangible results, keep asking each other, "So what?"

• So what if it's an efficient system?


• So what if we have a replicable process?


• So what if it's high quality?


• So what if communication improves?

By asking this question over and over again, you get much closer to the real value you bring to customers.



2. Talk to Your Customers

Your existing customers are the best resource to find out what value you bring. Tell your customer you need help understanding the real value of your offering and you'd like a chance to learn their perspective.



When you ask for feedback, you open yourself up to hearing the not-so-good things too. Make sure you don't get defensive; if you do, your customer shuts down fast.



Most people are scared to ask their customers about this. I know it took me awhile before I dared, but what I learned from the exercise was invaluable.



Don't let another day go by with a weak value proposition.

A strong one literally opens the right doors for you, while a weak one keeps you on the outside. During tight economic times, this is especially important. Work on your value proposition today!

About The Author Jill Konrath:

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. She is a frequent speaker at annual sales meetings and association events.



For more articles like this, visit http://www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com . Get a free Sales Call Planning Guide ($19.95 value) when you sign up for the Selling to Big Companies e-newsletter. 

Trust Me on This - Gut Check by Jerry Hocutt

The most trusted man in America.

Who Do You Trust?

“In God We Trust”.

How many times in an interview or a speech do you hear the speaker invoke, “Trust me.” Why? What’s trust got to do with it?

We trust sports figures until we find out they’ve been boosting more than their batting average. Politicians lose trust when their hand is caught in the pockets of the lobbyists. Banks lose it when they create derivative products from out of thin air.

Selling trust is a challenge for salespeople. No matter how good your service, product, or price, if the trust isn’t there, no one’s buying. Ever have your cable provider instantly cut your Internet price in half because they’re afraid you might jump to the competitor? Why didn’t they do that before you had to threat to leave? Where’s the trust?

Trust. Easy to lose. Difficult to gain.

How do you get it? Lose it? Once it’s lost, can you ever get it back?

Why is trust necessary? To create belief and faith in someone? That the investment is safe? But how do the Bernie Madaoff’s of the world get trust from thousands? Did his investors want to believe that he could get consistent high returns on their investments when others couldn’t? You know their gut told them what their dad had repeated so often: “If it seems too good to be true....” Greed overrides trust to create belief. Or maybe the brain just clicks off, as psychologists show in the theory of “social proof”; i.e. if the crowd is doing it, it must be okay.

The scammers of the world, whether investment, sports, or politics, are looking for people who want to believe; people who don’t trust their gut. People who go along with the crowd.

Sometimes the hardest person to trust is yourself. But if you don’t, who will?

How is trust gained or lost when meeting a client for the first time? It could be in the handshake, eye contact, your voice, or maybe your posture. Salespeople invoke things to create trust. A client’s name. Statistics. Numbers. Accomplishments. Nothing wrong with that. As long as it’s all true. But trust is lost when salespeople confuse the client, are disingenuous, or fail to understand what the client is saying.

What’s the lesson? Forget selling your service, product, or price until you’ve sold the trust. Until it’s bought, the customer’s not buying.

Trust. You know when you have it – and when you don’t. Trust your gut. You know I’m right. Trust me on this.

About The Author:

© 2009 Jerry Hocutt. Read more articles by Jerry at his blog http://footinthedoor.squarespace.com/journal and listen to a free preview of his CD/MP3 audio program Cold Calling for Cowards® at http://www.footinthedoor.com/freepreview.html.

Cost vs. Worth by Kelley Robertson

"How much will this cost?"



Many sales people shudder when faced with this question. They stutter, stammer, and hem and haw. This is where the rubber hits the road and when the prospect will either give them the green light to move forward with the sale or say, "thanks but no thanks". Far too often, sales people feel uncomfortable talking about the price of their offering fearing that their prospect will put the brakes on the buying decision if the price of their product or service is perceived as being too high. They unconsciously flinch-mentally or physically-when responding and this hesitation is quickly noticed by the buyer.



Over the years I have learned that the sooner price is discussed in a conversation, the more of a focal point it becomes. If you have not fully uncovered your prospects problem and determined exactly how your product or service can help them solve a particular business issue, then your price will always seem too high unless you are the lowest priced supplier in the marketplace. The key to responding to this question is to establish the value BEFORE you discuss price. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who sell a product or service fail to achieve this which means that their efforts to move the sale forward often ends up in failure. The most fatal mistake is to state the cost to your prospect too early in the sales conversation.



Here are few strategies to use in future sales calls or meetings.



First, if your prospect asks this question before you are prepared to respond, you need to defer your answer. This sounds easy but in the real world it can be extremely challenging to actually execute. I remember talking to a prospect about coaching services and one of his first questions was, "How much do you charge?" While the price of coaching is relatively consistent from client to client, each person has different motives for utilizing this type of service. I knew that stating my fee too soon would likely cause my prospect to balk so I said, "It would be unfair for me to state a price without knowing more about your particular situation. Let me ask you a couple of questions and then we can discuss the investment."



Your goal is take control of the sales conversation and you do that by asking high-value questions. The specific questions you need to ask will vary depending on the type of solution your company offers. It is essential to invest enough time learning about your prospect's situation so you can effectively position your solution. This sounds fundamental; however, after working with sales people for the last fourteen years, I have discovered that most people do not ask enough high-value questions.



In order to establish the value or worth of your solution you need to learn how the problem they are facing affects the performance of the company. This can be expressed in terms of sales, profits, employee turnover, order accuracy, customer retention or satisfaction, time to market, market share, etc. Learn to ask tough, high-value questions that will help you understand the impact of the problem. Most sales people are uncomfortable asking deep, probing because they believe that their prospect will think that they are prying. However, personal experience has taught me that most key decision makers respect sales professionals who ask tough questions. Once a prospect expresses a problem, you can ask questions such as:



"How is that affecting...?"

"What impact is that having on customer loyalty, market share, etc.?"

"What is that costing you in terms of lost sales, profitability, etc.?"

"How important is this compared to other projects you have on your plate right now?"

"If we had an appropriate solution what would that mean to your company or you personally?"



After you have determined the importance and the impact of a particular problem, you can then demonstrate the worth or value of your product or service to your prospect. Not before.



Another challenge with this approach is that it takes time. You need to exercise patience. You need to be able to clearly demonstrate why your offering is worth the investment. If you discuss price too soon then everything you say afterwards will seem like you are trying to justify the cost. However, when you demonstrate how your product will benefit the company and or prospect, your price will appear as a fair and equitable investment.



Remember, there is a significant difference between cost and worth. Here is a simple comparison. A low- end, entry level car will get you from point A to point B. However many people will pay extra to do that drive in a luxury vehicle. Business-to-business selling is no different. Help your prospect see the value and worth of your product, service or solution and cost (or price) will become less of an issue.



© 2009 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved.



Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals close more deals in any economy. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter at www.Fearless- Selling.ca. Kelley conducts workshops and speaks regularly at sales meetings and conferences. For information on his programs contact him at 905- 633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca.

Do I Coach Them Or Train Them? by Keith Rosen

When coaching someone, The Gap is the space that exists between where the client or coachee is today and where they want or need to be. It's the void that exists between the person and their goal. As a coach, it's your responsibility to identify and fill in this gap. The question is, what exactly do you use to fill in this gap?

Part of the reason why identifying the gap is such a critical starting point in coaching is this; you must first determine whether the issue at hand is, in fact, a training issue, a coaching issue or an advising or consulting issue. If you have a salesperson that’s never been trained in the art and discipline of selling, then how can you coach them? In essence, The Gap in this scenario is the lack or absence of a personal selling foundation and core ideology which training would have provided this person.

As such, a solution to this situation and what you would fill into this Gap initially would call for a training component first before coaching can come into play. After all, there's a clear difference between training, coaching and consulting. For example, training and consulting often provide solutions, offer answers or show you how to play the game. Coaching is then used to refine your game, challenge your thinking and remove any obstacles. That's why it's so critical to be able to identify when it's suitable to use each of these distinct approaches to professional development, continuous learning and ultimately, when building an exceptional team.

In the following three scenarios, I’ve identified when each competency and approach would be appropriate by first recognizing The Gap that you need to uncover and assess in every coaching situation.  

Scenario One:

Situation: Tim, a new rookie salesperson has been hired to generate appointments on the phone for the outside sales team.

The Gap: Since this is Tim’s first sales job, he’s never cold called before nor has Tim ever been trained in how to cold call effectively. Therefore, The Gap is the training, skills, knowledge as well as a step by step tactical approach and dialogue needed to perform his job effectively.

Training Solution: This is a training issue, as this person first needs to develop some strong habits to solidify a healthy foundation to build upon. Learning how to do something such as how to sell or cold call, a new discipline, skill or task, is not coaching but more training, consulting or advising. They need to be shown best practices, the “how-to’s” and the mechanics as well as the philosophy behind effective appointment setting.

Scenario Two:

Situation: Nine months into the training, Samantha’s boss was questioning whether or not she would make the cut for the long haul. Out of the initial ten new recruits that completed the week long training, practically nine months to the date, Samantha was one of the only two that has made it this far. When it comes to being an executive recruiter, one message that was continually being reinforced into Sam’s head was that if you can make it a year, and build up your book of business, you can survive the initial hurdle and start developing a successful career.

But nine months into her new career, what started as a strong and promising leap right out of the gate, securing three top accounts that she has been relying too heavily on to make her numbers each month, is now appearing to come to a slow and painful halt. One of the three large clients left her and the other two are slowing down their recruiting efforts. Here’s the thing, though. Samantha was on the phone practically every day making the calls she knew she needed to make in order to survive this first year.

The Gap: Samantha proved early on she could be successful at cold calling for new clients. She also had the evidence behind her to support this claim. Her initial four month’s book of business provided her with the volume to make her monthly sales quota. While Samantha was still making her daily number of cold calls, she was no longer getting the strong results she was when she first started out. Moreover, her boss noticed how stressed out Sam was as a result of all this. For these reasons, The Gap is actually a combination of training and coaching.

Training and Coaching Solution: In a case like this with Samantha, the solution may be more of a multi-faceted one that approaches her situation from a few different angles. Here are just four approaches to explore, diagnose and uncover different ways that you can coach and support Sam.

First, if Sam’s approach was working when she started nine months ago and it’s no longer working today, then something had to change. Her boss noticed Sam didn’t have a templated process that she following and more or less 'winged' her calls, shooting proverbially from the hip. Consequently, she was moving farther away from what had initially worked for her. Thus, having Sam work off a proven template that’s documented and in front of her so that she can create a level of consistency in her selling efforts is one part of this solution.

Second, this fine tuning of her approach and putting it in an actionable, step by step process will eliminate any inconsistency and allow her to best manage what approach works best.

Third, Samantha appears to be fueled and driven by fear and consequence. That is, the loss of her job! Being driven by consequence and scarcity - what you don’t want to happen, is a negative source of energy that dilutes not only the impact of your selling efforts but the quality of your life.

Here, Sam needs to be coached on developing a new way of thinking, one that empowers her, lifts her spirits and focuses on her goals and dreams more than her fears and consequences.

Finally, is Samantha in need of some new resources? That is, where is Sam mining for new business? Does she need to look at alternative ways to prospect? Does she need a revised call list? Is she maximizing the lifetime value of every client she's working with through upselling opportunities and referrals? These are just a few of the components of her sales engine that you can put a magnifying glass over to take a look at a deeper level in order to diagnose exactly what is going on. 

Scenario Three:

Situation: Bob, a successful, established and well seasoned insurance salesperson had been a long time top producer for his company. Since the company merger, restructuring, policy changes and compensation plan revisions, Bob needed to start generating new clients to fill up his sales funnel again. While Bob used to spend half his days cold calling, he hasn’t done it in a while, relying more on referrals and the income he generated from renewal business. Yes, Bob was great on the phone and generated a significant amount of new prospects as a result of his recent cold calling efforts. However, it seems that Bob was not able to close these prospects the way he would a referral or an existing client. He was used to people saying, "Yes" without even asking for the sale. Objections? The only one Bob was used to hearing amongst his clientele was whether or not they should write him a check or hand him their credit card.

Now, it seems that every time Bob met with one of these new prospects, he was walking out with a time to follow up with them rather than a sale.  Bob wasn't used to hearing, "Thanks, let us think about it," or "You're the first person we've spoken with regarding a policy," and he was especially not used to hearing, "Wow, that sounds awfully expensive." While Bob did his best to try and convince these people to buy from him, he felt his rebuttals were falling upon deaf ears. To make matters worse, Bob forgot how to actually ask for the sale.

The Gap: Have you noticed The Gap here? The Gap in this situation is in Bob’s closing technique and in his attitude or philosophy towards closing. Bob is holding on to some limiting beliefs. More so, his tactical selling approach and natural selling acumen needs to be polished to address the new selling situations that he has not had to face in a while.

Training and Coaching Solution: This is a coaching and training issue. We've identified that there are some limiting beliefs getting in his way of taking action. Specifically, salespeople don’t overcome objections, prospects do. Rather than convince someone, which it sounds like Bob was attempting to do, he needs to respond with questions rather than statements so that the prospect can overcome their concern. As such, the coach needs to use well crafted questions and a process of inquiry to explore deeper into his perception of closing and asking for the sale. Does closing mean dumping more information? Is he not asking for the sale for fear of rejection? Finally, Bob needs some hands on tactical responses ready the next time he hears these objections. The training will take care of this, providing Bob with the dialogue and the steps to defusing objections that will turn more of his prospects into customers.

As you've probably encountered yourself, handling employee issues typically requires more of a hybrid approach to management. That is, the utilization of all the disciplines we've discussed, including coaching, training and consulting. This eclectic blend of philosophy and strategy is what today's leaders need to embrace when developing tomorrow's champions.

About The Author:

Keith Rosen is the Executive Sales Coach that top salespeople and managers call first to attract more prospects, close more sales and develop a team of top performing sales champions. Keith has successfully coached more salespeople and managers than any other coach on the planet to achieve positive, measurable change. He’s the winner of the 2009 Stevie Award for being The Sales Education Leader of the Year. An award winning columnist, speaker and best selling author, Keith has written several books including Time Management for Sales Professionals and the gold medal winner, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions, which was named the Sales Leadership Book of the Year and one of the World’s Best Business Books of 2009. Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most influential executive coaches. He's been featured in Entrepreneur, Inc., Fortune, The New York Times, Selling Power, The Wall Street Journal and Sales and Marketing Management. Keith sits on several editorial boards and advisory boards and is the expert sales advisor for Dun & Bradstreet, Hoover’s and AllBusiness.com. For sales training videos, podcasts, information on executive coaching and sales training, visit www.ProfitBuilders.com, call 516-771-1444 or email info@profitbuilders.com. Subscribe to his newsletter, The Winners Path, http://www.profitbuilders.com/winnerspath.htm.

Where is the Sale? Not in the System! Confessions of a Sales Process Agnostic by Tim Wackel

Selling processes have been around for a very long time. My bookshelves are full of binders from various “selling process” workshops that many of you would recognize and most have attended at some point in your career. A recent search on Amazon.com revealed that there are over a hundred books written on the subject and countless white papers that have been published.

But, why?

Why are so many sales organizations consumed with their selling processes? I often hear from reps who invest lots of time filling out paperwork or punching data into a CRM database. I’ve seen sales process flowcharts that make my eyes blur and start to water. None of this seems very productive to me.

Has anyone ever stopped to think about this from the customer’s perspective? How much does the customer really care about your selling process? Not much. Experience tells me that customers are much more interested in who they are doing business with, how that person makes them feel, and what value that person ultimately brings to the relationship.

Here’s the truth: customers don‘t really care about your process, but they do care about the quality of people they do business with.

Sales Process Agnostics win more than their fair share of the business because they focus on principles (what the customer wants) and not on processes (what your boss wants). After observing thousands of sales professionals in action as a manager, coach, trainer and even as a potential prospect, I’ve discovered the ten critical principles that will win you more business than any sales process out there. So what are these principles? And how do you measure up?

 

Please resist the temptation to read these and say, “I already know that.” The world doesn’t pay you for what you know—it pays you for what you do.

Ask yourself, “How good am I at consistently leveraging the following principles?” Evaluate yourself on a scale from one (poor) to five (the best).

 

#1. Set and exceed written goals. Not just sales goals, but life goals. Unhappiness is not knowing what we really want and then killing ourselves to get it.

#2. Accept responsibility. Own your own stuff, both good and bad and don’t look for scapegoats. It’s easy to blame failure on the manufacturing divisions, the corporate pricing structure, the competition or your pay plan. Everyone is quick to take claim for their successes, but do you also accept 100 percent responsibility for your failures?

#3. Prepare. What is the purpose for your next customer conversation? What specific value are you bringing to that conversation and what are the potential payoffs for both you and the customer? Why should the customer be interested in having this conversation, with you, right now? If you can clearly answer these, you’re on your way to proper preparation.

#4.  Ask great questions. Spend quality time planning the questions you want to ask before you engage. Ask questions that are thought provoking, not mind numbing. “What keeps you up at night?” is mind numbing. “What are some of the things that have helped you get to where are today?” is thought provoking. Ask questions that your competition never thinks to ask. Any questions?

#5. Increase your knowledge.  Strive to know more about your products, company, industry, customer, competition, customer’s customers, geographical market, customer’s competition and YOURSELF.

#6. Sharpen your communication skills. How much time have you spent in the last year studying and improving your speaking, listening, presenting and writing skills?

#7. Know the line between persistent and pest. Some reps give up way too soon, and others don’t know when to walk away. Ask your customer what their expectations are and then tread that line carefully.

#8. Build long-term relationships. Going out for lunch or playing golf together is not building relationships. It’s feeding and entertaining. Customers are more than just customers, they’re people. How much do you really know about what is important to them?

#9. Have a clear definition of “selling.” If you ask 25 different sales reps to define selling you, are probably going to get 25 different answers. Is it “persuading”, “convincing others to buy”, “overcoming objections”, or my favorite “the art of closing the deal”? Unless you (and everyone else in your organization) are perfectly clear on “what” selling is, how can you possibly improve?

#10. Read, write and exercise. What are you reading that is helping you get to the next level? Everything you need to know to improve your success has probably already been written. Have you read it yet? 

Writing is a simple but powerful tool that helps evaluate your journey, sharpens your thinking and gives you the ability to “play back” your successes. Where is your journal?

Exercise clears your mind, increases your energy level and improves your overall health. I realize this requires self-discipline, but so does selling. How fit are you?

This is a simple (and non-scientific) way of evaluating yourself. There are ten elements with a total perfect score of 50 points. Where is your performance today?

44 – 50 Congratulations!

You are a rock star, but be careful that you don’t take your eye off of the prize. Good work deserves more good work.

35 – 43 So close you can almost taste it

You have the assets but your liabilities keep getting in the way. Invest just 15 minutes a day improving these performance gaps and you’ll break new ground (and new sales records).

28 – 34 Welcome to the club

You are in the biggest population of salespeople who achieve moderate results. That doesn’t mean you should give up. Create a personal plan today to improve yourself and then find the discipline to execute that plan each and every day.

23 – 27 Press hard, three copies, the bottom one is yours

You may be getting orders, but there probably isn’t much of a commitment to helping others. This is where bad reputations are born.



10 – 22 Ouch!

You’re probably depending too much on external selling processes and not enough time investing in what matters most to your success…YOU!

Speaking of Sales is about finding, winning and keeping customers for life. If that’s part of your job, then you won’t want to miss the next issue.

Until then,

Tim

Tim Wackel

tim@timwackel.com

214.369.7722

Tim Wackel is hired by sales executives who want their teams to
blow the number away. Tim’s “no excuses” programs
are insightful, engaging and focused on providing real world strategies
that salespeople can (and will!) implement right away. Sales teams
from BMC Software, Cisco, Fossil, Hewlett Packard, Allstate, Thomson
Reuters, Raytheon, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Catalina Marketing,
Philips Medical Systems, Red Hat and TXU Energy count on Tim to
help them create more success in business and in life.

The 4 Secrets of Leadership by Mike Brooks

Can you name the one or two best sales managers, or business owners you ever worked for?  If so, how did they make you feel?  What qualities or traits did they have in common, or which ones do you most try to emulate in your own company?

I work with a lot of business owners and managers, and I can tell you that the most successful ones all have at least four core characters in common.

Many of them possess other qualities as well, but these four "Secrets" as I call them are always at the center of their power and charisma.

As you read through them, ask yourself which ones you currently have, which ones you’d like to strengthen, or which ones you can develop.  Once you master them all, you will be able to lead any team and any company to greatness.

Here they are:

#1:  Unbounded Optimism.  Ask any great leader to describe the future, and they will always tell you it’s a wonderful place.  Leaders are extremely goal oriented, have clearly identified what it is they want and what they are willing to sacrifice to get there, and they radiate an optimistic glow because they already live there in their mind’s eye.

Because people want to feel good about themselves and their futures, they naturally gravitate to winners.  People want to work for and, in fact, work harder for people who are optimistic.  Plus, optimism is contagious.

A great leader can often turn an organization full of negativity around, and the excitement they inspire can result in greater morale and greater results.

If you’re in a position of authority, ask yourself if you’d want others to catch your attitude.  If not, then focus on ways to become optimistic – you’ll be a much more effective leader when you are.

#2:  Rock Solid Confidence.  Great leaders are convinced they can do anything they set their minds to.  I love a saying of Napoleon’s: “The improbable we’ll do at once.  The impossible will take a little longer.”

A leader’s attitude is: Whatever the challenge, we’ll find a way to overcome it.

Confident leaders create confident followers, and a company, family, or team with an “I Can” attitude is unstoppable.  The confidence of a great leader always inspires the best performance of his/her employees, and their team’s success just adds to and confirms the leader’s confidence.

#3:  Integrity.  In a recent survey about what qualities employees wanted from the managers and business owners they worked for, integrity was the most desired trait people picked.  Integrity, including honesty, fairness and consistency of attitude and action, are traits that build confidence in a leader and that build loyalty in the people who report to them.

Leaders with integrity genuinely care about the company they are building or the job they are doing, and this helps everybody feel as if their work has meaning and makes a difference in people’s lives.  Most people spend a third of their lives at their jobs, and while we go to work for a pay check it’s the intrinsic satisfaction someone gets from their work that helps them feel fulfilled.  Leaders with a high degree of integrity help foster this feeling by setting the example.

#4:  Decisiveness:  All great leaders are decisive and committed to the actions they take.  This doesn’t mean they act capriciously, on the contrary, they fully weigh out and think through their options, but the key characteristic is that they aren’t afraid to make a decision and implement a plan of action.

Most employees tell many tales of bosses who are afraid of making a decision, or who frequently go back on them, and this habit of hesitation undermines their authority and the confidence of everyone in the organization.  Leaders, on the other hand, may not always make the right decision, but they can be counted on to make a well thought out one, and
then to take action on it.   If facts change or results warrant it, they
are flexible enough to reevaluate and make another decision.

If you’re in a leadership role, don’t shy away from decisions.  Evaluate the data at the time and the relative need of making a decision and then choose the best course of action and commit.  Making a decision – even if it’s the wrong decision – is better than making no decision at all.

If you are in a position of authority and wish to become an effective leader, then find ways of developing or strengthening these four characteristics in yourself.  Remember, everyone is counting on you for guidance, and it is your ability to lead that will determine the ultimate result in your team or company.

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s new book:

“The REAL Secrets of the Top 20% - How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.”  You can read about it by clicking here:

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/bookmarketing.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. He offers a FREE audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the phone, as well as an internationally acclaimed FREE ezine. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by
visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com