Sales Development

A Sales Manager’s Function

2010-05-20T15:15:00.013-04:00

Our belief, curriculum, experience and lessons tell us that sales managers have five fundamental functions that they should be spending 80% of their time on.

Accountability - The manager is responsible for holding everyone accountable not only to the company goals and quotas, but more importantly, holding each sales person to view the company as a vehicle to reach their personal goals and improve the quality of life for themselves and their loved ones.

Coaching – This means three things: A) being an 800 lb gorilla, B) acting like Jiminy Cricket, and C) providing encouragement.

Pre and Post Briefing - sales meetings so the right lessons are learned from each selling situation.

Motivation - If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it, and therefore, you can’t motivate it. In a perfect world, sales people are motivated. It is not a perfect world and Sales has more negativity in it than any other profession - except for weather men. Ironically, they are the only two professions that can be wrong 80% of the time and still keep their jobs.

Identify, Attract, Screen, Interview and Hire Stronger Staff – Always be recruiting. Plain and simple: always be looking for better, stronger people so you may raise the bar for the group.

For more information about sales development go to www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Why Is It So Hard to Hire and Keep Salespeople?

2010-04-23T15:28:00.006-04:00

A common question I am asked is, “Why is it so hard to hire and keep salespeople?”

To uncover the answer, I’d like you consider a couple of scenarios. When you hire someone, say for a product development role, they have experience, you explain the job, the responsibilities, the expected results, the level of authority, indoctrinate them with the resources and tools of the job, introduce them to their team, their direct reports, their chain of command and they are off and running. They generally get things done, work as a team, add value to the organization and become part of the company.

When salespeople are hired, it is typically because they looked good, sounded good and impressed during the interviews. Once they are hired, the same introductory process is typically followed as is offered in the above illustration.

Discover the difference: Suppose every where the product development employee turns she is met with resistance. No one wants to accept her calls. No one returns calls. She gets stuck in voice mail jail. She receives no REAL information. Imagine that eight or nine out of every ten projects she presents are denied. Customers are flat out ignoring her or they are just being rude.

Furthermore, she is met with internal resistance in the accounting department and the production department. She is in fierce competition with her peers. She experiences a lack of resources, a lack of direction, a lack of accountability, a lack of recognition, and strife from upper management that believes "product development" is a necessary evil.

It doesn’t seem an acceptable environment for a new product development employee, does it?! Yet, that is the common work environment for a salesperson.

Salespeople are a different breed. Management needs to approach hiring them differently.

Remember: A players won’t work for B mangers.

For more information about how to IDENTIFY, ATTRACT, SCREEN, QUALIFY, INTERVIEW, HIRE AND KEEP STRONGER SALES STAFF goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Top 10 Ways to Make Favorable Impressions and New Contacts

2010-04-05T17:23:00.009-04:00

When attending events, do you ever wonder how to mingle, network, and make the most of the meetings without turning people off or looking like a “typical” sales guy?

Below are the Top 10 Ways to Make Favorable Impressions and New Contacts at an event:

1. Interested people are interesting. Show sincere interest in other people.
2. Stop thinking about yourself and don’t be self-critical.
3. Give more referrals than you get. (Emerson’s Law of Compensation)
4. Seek respect, not approval.
5. Get out of your comfort zone and don’t spend time with people you already know.
6. Don’t confuse professionalism with friendliness.
7. Find a way to make people feel better about themselves.
8. Talk about the problems you solve – not the features/ benefits of your work.
9. Ask questions and listen to the answers.
10. When you want to talk, shut up and listen some more.

Attract people to you by remembering the new Golden Rule: Do unto others as they would have done unto them! (Notice it varies just a little from what your Kindergarten teacher taught you). Reserve time in your calendar and plan to call your new contacts.

Bonus tips to remember: Keep your breath in check and do not get into someone’s personal space.

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Brave Cold Calling

2010-03-23T07:34:00.006-04:00

I am often asked, “Is there a message that I can leave when I am cold calling that will get me in?”

My response is: Voice mail was invented by prospects to screen their calls. However, there are a few things that you can do to be more effective while cold calling. They take risk and bravery.

First don’t leave a message until you have made at least seven attempts. Call at different times of the day. Call early, call late, call mid-day. Call before and after the receptionist is there. Also don’t say, “Hi!”. Ask any secretary how they know it is a salesperson on the other end, and they will tell you, "... because salespeople are so enthusiastic and they always say, 'Hi'.”

Another technique to get through to the right person is to bypass the front line. Most companies have more than one incoming line. Most alternate numbers are close to the main number. So dial 1 or 2 digits off and you may reach a person directly. Even though you know that person is not the person you need, act surprised when they answer and ask to be transferred. This will prompt an inner office transfer and may get you the direct extension for the party you do want for future reference.

Another technique is to have the person you are calling paged. Remember your goal is to make contact, talk about the problems your product or service solves and see if they are attracted. If not, move on.

When cold calling, be brave or go home.

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Any Objections?

2010-02-26T16:01:00.007-05:00

I am often asked, “Do you have any good ideas for handling objections?”

Objections are one of the most misunderstood concepts in sales. Most of the reason why prospects don’t like to deal with salespeople is because of the ridiculous techniques devised for overcoming objections.

My first sales manager gave me a book called 101 Way to Close and Deal with Objections, or something like that. I remember tip # 22: Now that you are thinking about it Mr. / Ms. Prospect, what is going through your mind? And # 78: Well sir, you know, you get what you pay for.

Here’s a revelation for you: If you receive the same objection three times in 60 days, you are the cause of it. What? How can that be? It’s Pavlov, my friend; stimulus and response. You are providing the stimulus to cause the response.

If you are hearing the same objection, here is what you should do: Bring it up first. That’s right. Be upfront about it. Don’t wait for the bomb to explode. Disarm it by dealing with the objection before your prospect does - not by selling more features and benefits and avoiding it. Be polite and nurturing, but face it upfront.

For example, you might say, “Before we launch into this demo, may I share a problem I have with you, and ask you a question? The problem is when I get done with the demo; people typically have some confusion about integration with current platforms and custom application. Since I don’t know your business as well as you do, could I ask you to do me a favor? Will you please ask me enough questions to make a decision as to whether or not you want to proceed? If you don’t want to, that is okay. If you do, we will define each step clearly. Alright?”

You cannot overcome your prospects’ objections because they are not yours. You can, however, ask questions to help the prospect move forward or move out, and either way is okay!

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

How do you get more demos to turn into business?

2010-02-08T17:59:00.005-05:00

The typical sale goes something like this: lead, contact, qualifying questions, demo. You blow them away and then you hear, “Looks great. We’ll get back to you.”

If your closing percentage is less than 80%, you are doing too many demos.

Before your next demo, consider the following check list:

1. Everyone involved in the decision process is at the demo.
2. A decision is promised at the end of the demo - ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
3. Yours is a cost effective solution and you will make profit.
4. Everyone understands the potential headaches.
5. The potential client has agreed to buy from you.
6. The potential client is committed to buying from someone.
7. They have the money/funding and will spend it.
8. They know about how much your product/service will cost.
9. The competition has been displaced.
10. There is enough discomfort for them to go through with a change.
11. Competitive quotes are a formality and you understand their process.
12. The prospect has shared personal compelling reasons to move forward.
13. ROI has been established, discussed and detailed.
14. Past results of other products/service were discussed.
15. The cost of the client’s problem has been identified.
16. The relationship is solid with everyone.

If any of the above are not discussed in depth prior to the demo, you have a suspect not a prospect. Don’t waste your time on demos for suspects!

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

5 Things to Consider Prior to Purchasing Training

2010-01-28T10:02:00.007-05:00

1. One-day training doesn’t work! It didn’t take one day to develop the reason(s) you want training. What will one day do - other than entertain and waste valuable resources? Achieving results takes time, effort, commitment, accountability AND ongoing reinforcement!

2.Self-Image. Training programs most often fail because the beliefs of the participants are not addressed. Self-image is the SINGLE most important determinant of performance. Raise self-image, and watch performance soar.

3. Surgery before the X-RAY?! It makes more sense to do it the other way around, doesn’t it? Typically, training curriculums are prescribed for symptoms, leaving the causes of the symptoms unaddressed. Accomplish twice as much in half the time by evaluating FIRST in order to identify gaps in skills and then, develop your training program accordingly.

4. ROI. Soft skills are difficult to measure. However, with the right pre-training x-ray, GROWTH POTENTIAL can determine ROI. In other words, determine the growth potential of the individual before starting any training program. Not all people are trainable. Not all people have the potential for growth.

5. Invisible/ Hidden Weaknesses. The combination of desire, commitment, responsibility, tracking, bravery, prospecting, selling values, personal beliefs, use of a selling system, style, and satisfaction, along with one’s personal need for approval, emotional strength, purchase habits, and money ceilings determine trainability and sales ability. A training program should address the hidden weaknesses to ensure organic development and growth.

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

The Spark!

2008-11-17T11:36:00.006-05:00

A kid yells! A crowd explodes in enthusiasm. A tear goes streaming! An uncontrollable urge from out of this world wakes up an inner spark, then manifests into an outward flailing of arms, jumping up and down, stomping kicking and screaming like a possessed daemon of excitement. The feeling is overwhelming!

I was lucky enough to make it to a college football game last weekend. About the second quarter, we scored the third touchdown of the game, putting us ahead by 6. It wouldn’t have been that big a deal except for the fact that I was at the college I went to 20+ years ago and I had been tailgating from Friday to Sunday with old friends and some new ones. It has been a while since I felt that feeling. Did I mention the coach for the opposing team was our former coach? Lots of history!!!

The first day or two in New Orleans I kept hearing an ad on the radio that asked: “How Deep does your Fan go?” I didn’t get it. I mean, I was a fan and all but, how deep does your fan go? The question was constantly rolling around in the pin-head that I have. (Ok, big head, little brain.)

Once I “got” it, I felt it all the way into my core! Incredible! I started really thinking at that moment.

I began to wonder how many people get that feeling when they make a sale. Does it set off a spark when the sale is made? When the pen is put to paper? When the first meeting turns your way? Or is when the prospect says, “I want to buy”? Does it happen for you when the check arrives, or when you get the PO? How about when the phone call turns into a meeting? Maybe for you it’s when you get introduced at the meeting and all eyes are on you?

What is it for you?

The first step is to pay attention to your own biochemical messaging! Keep a Loony Log. Ya know, what makes you crazy happy? Keep a Loony Log for two weeks and see what get’s you excited about the sale! Your Loony Log can be as simple as a new Word document or you can capture it in a spread sheet it if you’d like! Maybe you’ll purchase a journal from one of the major bookstore/coffee shop/retail/retreats to keep your record.

Whichever medium you choose, answer these questions every day without too much thought:

Today, I got excited about my selling career when _______________.
I’m excited for tomorrow because _______________.
I can’t wait for _______________to happen again.
The more I think about _______________, the more excited I get.

After two weeks, review all your answers and see if there are any patterns. See if you can uncover what gives you that spark.

What is it that ignites your passion for your career? How deep does your fan go?

Send me your feedback! Email: rocky@mytraininganddevelopment.com.

Good Selling,

Rocky

P.S. Geaux Tigers!

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Golf / Sales Lessons from the Course

2008-09-10T10:44:00.007-04:00

Over the last 10 years, I must have turned down over one hundred invitations from friends and clients to play golf. I was almost anti-golf. ‘Who cares about chasing a little white ball around? Besides, if I have 5 hours to do something, I’d rather be fishing,’ was my attitude until last summer.

There were two problems with that attitude: 1) Not all of our clients fish and the clients that don’t fish all the time usually won’t catch very many fish when they do go out; and 2) Clients who do fish, generally don’t bring other potential clients with them.

Last year, I gave golf the old college try. I set a goal to gain enough business from the golf course to pay for my membership fees and all the ancillary golf equipment. After review of last year, I was more than able to directly relate business that came about due to the game of golf. ‘07 golf was a success.

This year, I decided to learn the game and my goal was to double last year’s results on the course. Not my score…but the business that I could directly relate to the golf course. I took half a dozen lessons over the winter and three more in the spring. By mid-season, my goal was attained.

Here are a few other results: I made 3 eagles (one on a par four), my best score was 84, I broke 90 four times and my game improved to only slightly embarrassing. I played golf with well over a dozen multi-millionaires. I met and got to know people I’d never have the opportunity to get to know otherwise and I learned a few lessons from these successful businessmen/golfers along the way.

# 1 - No one can be good for 4-5 hours. That was courtesy of a client that had caddied for Jack Welch. Jack loved to play golf with potential business leaders and partners alike, because he could learn about their character. One of the best ways to understand another’s character is to observe them under stress. Since golf is an individual sport, it is hard to get mad at anyone but yourself when things don’t go well. Golf and stress are synonymous.

Sales Lesson: Observe people under stress and learn their true character.

#2 - Strokes are not counted if they are about someone’s character. Great shot Bob.

Wow! That was a nice putt.
Man - that was outstanding!
Not bad, you won’t get hurt there.
You’re good. It’s gonna be okay.

There is rarely a time after someone hits a shot that the others don’t make a nice comment about the shot! Never miss the opportunity to give a stroke to someone. Strokes are sincere comments you give to others to make them feel good about themselves. If you consistently make people feel better about themselves when you are around, you will be admired and welcomed.

Sales Lesson: Give sincere compliments to your prospects and clients internal and external, and then watch them relax and observe their willingness to go the extra mile for you.

#3 - Never talk about business with your prospect until they have hit a great shot. How people perceive information has a lot to do with what is going on in there own head. On the golf course, there are different rules of engagement. Some clients like to talk shop and others like to dismiss business until the 19th hole. Learn your prospect and respect their game.

Sales Lesson: See # 1 and remember: the prospect’s mindset is important to recognize. In order to recognize it, you must first listen!

# 4 - A lesson is well-received with execution. I watched a client chip in from 20 feet off the green. After the hole was over I asked how he did it. He walked back to the spot of the previous spot, gave simple instructions while he demonstrated and chipped the ball to less than 6 inches of the hole. Execution is believable.

Sales Lesson: Walk the walk! Have conviction about what you sell.

# 5- Smart play is better than bold play, depending on your goal. If you goal is to score well, then play smart. Keep your eye on the prize!

Sales Lesson: Obstacles are what you think of when you are not thinking of your goal.

# 6 - Visualization is the key to success. If you think you can make the putt, you can. Whether it is golf, basketball or business, you must see it before it can become reality. Read: Think and Grow Rich, and The Secret for details on how to see it first.

Sales Lesson: Success starts with vision!

#7 - Poor shots often create opportunity! Just when you think all is lost is precisely when opportunity raises its head. When bad things happen to good people, view it as a test. Let the mistake get in your head, and it will cost you more! Deal with it one shot at a time. Stay in the moment.

Sales Lesson: Learn a lesson from every selling event! Move on quickly from less-than-desirable outcomes.

#8 - Course management is key. You don’t take a tennis racket to play in a football game. Not every hole requires a driver. Not every shot has to land in the fairway or the green. Learn to use the tools that are best suited for the job at hand.

Sales Lesson: Don’t force fit something and make more mistakes.

#9 -Practice when money is not on the table. The golf course is not the place to learn how to play. Take the time to go to the range. Get some lessons. The more I bleed in practice, the less I die in battle. Practice as if you were on the course.

Sales Lesson: Practice in low risk situations. When money is on the line, it is not the time to try something new.

#10 - Creating the ‘zone’ for yourself is possible and repeatable. Getting into the zone requires focus, forethought, and practice. Focus to not focus, but to react. Forethought: to think ahead, but not to over think. Practice getting in the zone to execute when it is time.

Sales Lesson: The best time to make a sale is right after you just made one.

Bonus 1: Be prepared. One of the biggest complaints I heard on the golf course this year was: “Why can’t he be ready? Stop talking, goofing off and losing focus.” When you arrive at your ball, think about your shot, don’t over think it, just get up there and hit it.

Sales Lesson: Have the humility to prepare, and the confidence to pull it off.

Bonus 2: If you want to be great at anything, hang out with people that are better at it than you. “Hang out” is short for OBSERVE CLOSELY!

The more golf you play the more money you make!

Sales Lesson: Birds of a feather flock together. If you want to make a lot of money, do as those who make a lot of money do. Think like they think. Sleep when they sleep. Eat what they eat. Walk like they walk. Talk like they talk.

In other words, if you emulate success long enough it will rub off and you will be more successful!
For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

R U Avoiding the INEVITABLE?

2008-08-12T09:27:00.004-04:00

It’s going to rain. Find something else to do.

I’m hungry. However, you knew well in advance you would be without food for the evening.

He said he was going to buy! I kind of got the feeling early on that this was a big game for him and he was not that interested.

All the above are the same, with a different focus. If you know in advance what is going to happen and you postpone the inevitable, shame on you.

Consider this scenario:

“John, I really like the software you’ve shown me and I appreciate the early payment discounts. As I told you earlier, we are currently using our CFO’s brother-in-law for this. While I like yours better, you are a bit more expensive and it’s going to be hard for me to get the okay to change. But, I’ll work on it and let you know. Thank you for your time.”

This isn’t rocket science; it’s business development. But, how many times do you go down the highway of hope only to justify their current vendor choice or the decision that was made long before you ever showed up?

If the inevitable is a no and you learn that early, stop! Go find another prospect! There is no shame in telling the prospect NO.

Here’s another scenario:

“I got an e-mail that she wanted to buy our tools and get signed up for our vendor replacement program. She even told me she had already looked at the competition and was sure we would be her vendor of choice. I set the meeting, went out there and spent 3 hours showing her, her engineers, and the head of maintenance our programs. They even took me on a tour. When we got done she told me that she would call when she was ready and it would only be a few weeks. That was several months ago…What happened?”

The inevitable is this prospect will likely buy. The salesperson avoided and postponed the inevitable by educating instead of selling. Show up with a contract and make the sale today! Then educate Engineering, Maintenance, and everyone else after the contract is signed.

If we can quickly identify, based on past experience, what the prospect is likely to do, we may then bring the inevitable to the forefront! If there is a naysayer on the committee, call them out, (respectfully)! If there is a barrier that could stop the sale early, bring it up!

Check out our ALWAYS, Sometimes and NEVER course online!

If the incumbent is going to pitch a fit, and that confrontation is inevitable, bring it up!

Never avoid or postpone the inevitable, good or bad, and you will sell more, faster!

Furthermore, pay attention to the small things, and the big things are easy! For more information about sales development goto http://www.mytraininganddevelopment.com/

Performance Under Pressure

2008-07-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

“What’s the matter with you? You are playing like a little sissy! You missed the last three par putts, you shanked one into the woods and your head must be somewhere the sun don’t shine! If you don’t get a thrill by standing over the ball when the game is on the line…then you shouldn’t be out here.

I mean, if you don’t get a rush from being under pressure, and you can’t perform when you have to, then you should go somewhere else and play. Now get your act together and focus!”

That is a speech I overheard my attorney give to one of his colleagues the other day! I thought how appropriate it is for all of us in sales. So, let me put it in terms of sales.

When you get to the junction that every sales encounter has... you know the one. I'm talking about the junction that either turns the tide your way or turns the tide to the competition, or denial, or whatever excuse the prospect throws at you. At that point, you have a choice. You may choose to stand and perform under pressure, or bail!

Below are some examples of bailing. All begin with internal negative thoughts.

$%^*, I gotta drop the price.

I’m not gonna make that much money anyway.

What a hard a**.

Damn I’m gonna lose another one.

Oh, well. It really doesn’t matter anyway.

Can’t wait to get outta here!

Yeah, it is a lot of money!

How am I gonna get over that objection?

Oh no, I hate when they ask me that question.

Get control of your thoughts! Stop the internal negative thinking. When you lack the ability to control your thoughts during a sales event, you lack Emotional Discipline.

Anytime you lack conviction or confidence, have self-doubt, or become unsure or discontented during a sales event, you open the door for the prospect to sense weakness in your product or service and of course, in you.

Fix this by visualizing success prior to the call. Fix this with positive affirmations - a lot of them. Fix this with conviction that your product/service is the best in your class. Fix this with being comfortably uncomfortable. Fix this with preparation. Bobby Knight said, “The preparation to win is greater than the will to win.”

Prepare with questions. Rehearse. Don’t expect the prospect to lie down and roll over. Be prepared to displace the competition with questions about their weaknesses. Work on your skills until you have unconscious competence. Practice under pressure and when you get to the event, you will not feel the pressure. When opportunity is sent your way, you will have the ability to impress with your natural reaction as seen in the clip below.

If you do not see a video box above, copy this link to your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcLHURwjCns

Make it your habit to perform under pressure, and make it look easy!

Till next time, Good Selling.
Rocky

We welcome your response and your stories of how you’ve overcome the negative internal naysayer!

What Role Does Online Training Have In Today's World?

2008-06-10T08:18:00.000-04:00

Sales Training??? With the price of gas forcing the cost of everything up, choking budgets and worming its way into everything like a virus, how can we justify spending any training dollars?

I give you the age-old question, “What is worse: to train your staff and have them leave, or to keep them and not train them?” Guess my position.

In the past, training was one dimensional. The concept was to get everyone in a room, bring in the ‘speaker/expert’ to disseminate the information, and then anticipate better results. Three months later, the results would be the same as they were before training and hands were thrown up into the air with dissatisfaction, disgust, and despair. Many a company has wasted thousands of dollars on training in that way.

Enter the new era of Online Training! Most online programs begin with a brief multiple choice quizzes, then some interactive content, followed by a True/False or a multiple choice test which is not much different than the beginning quiz. If you are barely computer literate, have a strong sense of how your mouse works and can use the space bar, then you can buzz through most online courses while you are on the weekly conference call. Many a company has wasted thousands in training dollars that very way.

Are you starting to see a pattern? Many a company has wasted thousands that very way.

What if someone built a program online to provide solid foundation training that was customized not only to your industry, but also to your company? What if that same program was tailored specifically for your sales staff as individuals, sales managers included?

What if someone could provide a comprehensive analysis of your team – each individual and each manager? What if it uncovered their individual AND their collective strengths, weaknesses, and invisible weaknesses (the ones you don’t see that create negative outcomes and deviate from your strategies and priorities)?

What if everyone on your team had a total customized solution to fix just their weaknesses and build upon their own strengths?

What if you could take a glance at the advances made by each person and receive progress reports any time you wanted?

And what if you didn’t have to spend a single dime on travel and/or logistics for all that?

What if that program included coaching with a Master of sales?

And what if the investment was less than your holiday party and netted at least 30% increase to the bottom line?

Would you be interested?

We just described our online sales training model.

Call me at (518) 378-8456 if you want to discuss the opportunity. Don’t forget to ask me about our money back guarantee!

Networking Overflow

2008-03-11T09:00:00.002-04:00

Springtime is approaching. In the great northeast, the snow is melting and calendars are booking up fast! Do you know how to work a room and make that full calendar of yours overflow with opportunity?

If you are scheduled to attend an upcoming event, here are some tips for networking:

Stop trying so hard. (90% of the other people are not sure what to say either.)
Go with the intent to help.
Find out what the other person is looking to accomplish at the event, then see if you can help them first!
Be sincere.
Smile.
Remember: Interested people are interesting.
Listen actively.
Laugh a lot.
Nod and say things like: Really? No kidding? Tell me more? What about you?
Strike up conversations by asking people about:

Hometown
Children
Family
Vacations
College
Sports Hobbies
Parents
Current events (Keep it light)

Follow these steps and remember: If you feel awkward at an event, chances are the other people do, too. Try to make others feel good about themselves and comfortable talking to you. They’ll appreciate you and want to be around you more often.

What’s the first rule of human behavior? “People buy from people they like.” Help people like you, and your sales pipeline will overflow with opportunity.

Happy networking to you!

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Ping Pong Sales...not what you think!

2008-02-27T10:07:00.006-05:00

All too often salespeople get jammed up on a live sales call because they are trying too hard or they are following some kind of predetermined script. Practice in low risk situations and practice often. Then, when you get to the live meeting, just let it happen. Trust your gut! Get out of your own way! Stop thinking and start listening.

If you are worrying about what kind of objections you’ll hear, you’re not actively listening to the person in front of you; you’re talking to yourself.

We all know we are supposed to listen to the prospect. Yet, we often find ourselves listening so we will have an opportunity to offer our advice. Or maybe, we are listening only for a break so we may ask more poignant questions. Sometimes, we are listening to the sound of our own voice pontificate about something that is irrelevant to the moment in time. (Check out our online Emotional Discipline course for more information.)

A few weeks ago, my daughters had some friends over hanging out in the basement. I was summoned by the self-proclaimed “King of Ping”. Devon was undefeated against his peers. He challenged me to a game, then another, then another, and another. I let him play for a while without using too many spins, back SLAPS, and SLAMS. I didn’t want to intimidate him, but more importantly, I wanted to learn his style, his weak points, and his strengths.

Like most winners, his attitude was strong! He had some pretty good moves for an intermediate player. I’m no pro by a long shot, but it is my table! And I started playing in junior high school with a group of overly competitive friends. I took him apart and set him up time and time again. Not because I was so much better, but because I was playing to his weaknesses. Of course, I had to be observant and patient. I had to discover what his weaknesses were before I could exploit them.

After several games, he began to lose confidence, become emotionally involved, and lost stamina. I asked for the next player. Mike had never played the game before and I began to teach him. “Serve like this.” “Hold your paddle this way.” “Change the angle of your wrist.” “Don’t hit it so hard.” “Learn to control.” And so on and so forth. Mike is right-handed. After 10 minutes of practice, he began to do a little better. Then, I floored him with a change. I asked him to switch hands. “Use your left hand.” With a bit of hesitation, he switched.

What an awesome sight! He began hitting the table more often. His returns were stronger. The serves were more on. His instincts kicked in as opposed to thinking about what he had to do then sending the signals to his body and being late to the ball. Mike was amazed, as were the other teenagers in the room.

To prove this theory I did the same thing with three other kids. We could argue over motor skills, natural left-handedness and all kinds of other things if you would like. However, the point I’d like to make is that we need to stop thinking during our sales calls and simply react. Trust yourself to do the right thing at the right moment and stop thinking so much.

Do your thinking before and after the meting. Practice in your office, at home, in social situations. Pro athletes don’t practice on the field during game time, why should you?

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Creative Entries

2008-02-19T12:10:00.002-05:00

Have any of you ever found: The harder it is to get your foot in the door, the easier it is to get the sale? That is the lesson I learned when I was selling vacuum cleaners door to door in the early eighties. As a rule, if I needed to put forth a substantial effort up front, my meeting was usually more productive and rewarding in the end.

The same principle applies in today’s fast paced world. The top dogs are usually pretty well-insulated. Battle-hardened executive secretaries or electronic gatekeepers work to help keep you and other “distractions” at bay.

It’s not easy to get in front of the decision makers in an organization. So, what's a sales professional to do? GET CREATIVE!

Below are a few ideas you can use to get the attention of an executive you want to meet with.

Find out the favorite restaurant of the executive. Go there, steal a menu, box it up and send it via FedEx or UPS along with an invitation to lunch.
Cut a 2x4 piece of lumber down to about a 3 foot length. Write a message on it something to the effect of, “Please beat me with this next week. Then, let’s have a real conversation about how I can help you.”
Hang out at the same country club the executive does and get to know some of their friends. Your mom was right, “Birds of a feather will flock together.” If the friends like you, the executive will be more open to meeting with you.
Park behind the executive in the parking lot, raise the hood of your car and pretend to have car trouble.
A client of ours claims to have gotten into see Donald Trump with the following progressive technique using a deck of cards. On Day 1 - Overnight the Ten of Hearts, Day 2- Overnight the Jack of Hearts, Day 3 Overnight the Queen of Hearts, Day 4 – Overnight the King of Hearts, and finally, on Day 5 – Overnight half of the Ace of Hearts card. On Day 6- Show up with the other half.

I want to make sure you don't take this information the wrong way. Remember: The best way to get your foot in the door is through a referral. In the real world, however, that is not always possible. If you decide to use one of the above listed tactics, proceed with caution and confidence. These ideas are not for the faint of heart.

Be unique, be innovative. It’s important to make contact and be prepared after you do. I invite you to try one of the suggestions above, or consider your own creative way to make contact with someone you want to get in front of.

I'm sure you have a way that has worked for you. Perhaps, you've heard of something that works for others. In the spirit of sharing, would you be kind enough to take a minute and post it here for the benefit of your fellow sales professionals?

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

The Illusion of Familiarity

2008-01-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

“I know, I know, I know!” “I’ve already done that.” “It won’t work that way?” “Why should we do that?” “You don’t understand! This is the way it is.”

When ever you get a group of people together that have the same base of experience it is difficult to get out of your own way. A wise man one said, “If your toe hurts, you are probably standing on your own foot.”

The 80’s tune Freak Out! plays in my head as I think about the common reaction to – ‘break out!’ Break out of the normal, the routine, the everyday, the commonality, the day to day mundane is almost impossible when you stay in the zone of familiarity.

When there is a problem, a reason to grow, or a mandate to do something different, get out of your day to day. If you drive to work the same way every day, do you find yourself thinking the same thing at the same locations? For example: There was a wreck at that intersection not to long ago. This is the exit I always used to get off. That is the shortcut that is not the shortcut I thought it was. Remember the big warehouse building that burned on that corner. This is always the place traffic begins to pile up!

While those thoughts are going through your head, they are taking up grey matter for other more productive thoughts. Thoughts like: How do they do that? What can I do better? How do I get to be the best at what I do? What can I do differently to make things better? Where can I go for new ideas?

If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done!

If creativity is a challenge, surround yourself with creative people, things and events. If marketing is not getting the message out, find a company that is really good at getting it’s message out, and do what they do.

If labor is a huge challenge go find companies where labor is not a problem and see if you can learn anything. If relationships are a challenge, then find people with great relationships, and do what they do.

For more information about sales development goto www.mytraininganddevelopment.com

Extraordinary Service or Leave

2006-01-03T10:34:00.001-05:00

The sure fire, fail safe, system for Extraordinary Service!

D –on’t get emotionally involved. Your job is to solve the problem not have a fight about who’ right or wrong. When you get emotional you have lost control.

I – nvite the client to vent. In other words give them a mental enema! There is no way anyone is ready to listen when they have a problem until they have all that pent up negative karma.

S – Show empathy & give Strokes That doesn’t mean you agree and talk bad about your co-workers or company. Just simply say I understand, I appreciate your situation. Strokes are sincere comments about someone’s qualities or characteristics. They have a tendency to make people feel better about themselves.

A- ction. What action is necessary at this point to solve the problem? Your action and their action.

R – esults. What results can we expect from the action?

M – ake and offer. Now it’s time to take your service hat off and put on your sales hat. They are not the same. You can’t control the outcome, you can only control if you make the offer or not. You will miss every shot you never take! You will also be surprised at how many clients accept your offer.

Additionally never make the decision for your clients. You are actually doing them a dis-service if the offer would benefit them is some way!

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

No Time to Kill

2006-01-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

Clint Black wrote a great song a few years ago. 'No Time to Kill', and it has never been more true than today. Work with me here as I develop the basis for this theory.

The first Baby boomer turned 60 years of age Jan. 1, 2006. The baby boomers have the most power of any generation due to the simple fact that there are over 71 million of us. In 1945 the soldiers returned from WWII and that began the basis of the population explosion. SEX. Yes SEX is the basis of population. In 1964 ‘The Pill’ was approved and began widespread population declination. So between 1945 and 1964 70+ million people were born. That's 19 years for those who are bad at math. Yeah I know we’ve all heard that before. But let’s take a look at the spending habits of this population group. And what that means.

The average age of Baby Boomers is 52 which means the middle of the baby boomers were born in 1954. Most of the baby boomers got out of college and/or into the work force between ages 18 – 25 which was about 1974. Here they began to earn money. In 1974 a great paycheck was about 30k a year. At age 30 most had a home, a couple of cars, and were making about 35-50k a year with 2.1 kids. Suburbs sprang up and at the same time technology started doubling at about every 15 years. By the mid 80’s technology was doubling about every 10 years. And in the ‘90’s the Baby Boomers were entering into their peak earning period. Which also translates to their peak spending years.

Between ages 40 and 60 most baby boomers will become empty nesters, downsize housing and spend for luxury and comfort. Most will also inherit assets from their passing parents. This translates into a ton of expendable income!

Now it’s 2006, and that puts us in the middle of the peak earning years for baby boomers…between the ages of 41 and 60. Technology is now doubling every other year. We have a solid 10-12 years for peak spending. This is also a time where the greatest transference of wealth will take place. As baby boomers parents pass on their savings and assets to us. Some more than others of course.

These three things taking place at one time is a historical event. Technology growing at exponential rates, baby boomers entering their peak spending years, and the greatest transference of wealth this country has ever seen! Could you write a better prescription for OPPORTUNITY! With this ton of expendable income, they will buy things. Therefore someone has to sell it to them!

Truly there is no time to kill!

Good things come to those who wait, but only what’s left over by those who go there first!

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Traditional Model for Hiring Sales Is Broken

2005-08-22T16:45:00.000-04:00

For the past 15 years we have helped companies hire stronger sales staff. Inside, outside, techies, specialist, marketing coordinators, professional, low tech, B2B, in home, financial experts, channel directors, vertical liaisons, and just about every thing else you might think of. What we’ve learned is that most companies (most means more than half) seem to believe the sales department is the same animal as the rest of the departments that make up a company. Therefore they use the same paradigms, processes and systems to hire sales as they do the rest of the company.

Let’s look at the big picture and first define the ‘Traditional Hiring Model”. Step 1 - Place an ad. Step 2 – Wade through piles of resumes. Step 3 – Interview the top candidates. Step 4 – Sell the offer to the top candidate, and Step 5 – Hope and pray.

As you can guess there are many many challenges with this process and that is why the average tenure of a sales pro is 18 months at one company. Sure the numbers are skewed a bit because that stat includes all the knuckle-heads that should never be in sales to begin with. However, this doesn’t change the fact that hiring mistakes in your sales department cost 3 times the annual average compensation of your average sales person.

Here are a couple of trade secrets to assist in improving your hiring process. Step 1 – First decide what exactly you are looking for. Skill sets, what markets the salesperson will be calling on, the position of the company in which the sales person will be calling on, the length of your average sales cycle, the pressure and accountability you will put on the sales person, the dollar amount of your average sale, just to name a few of the categories that can help to define your criteria. Additionally, it would be good to know is this a pure hunter role, a farmer, an ambassador, or a fisherman. Which means how much time is the salesperson required to spend developing new business verses growing and maintaining accounts. And are they required to go find the business or are potential customer knocking down your door. In short – Define the attributes of your successful candidate.

Resumes are a problem. They point is I review hundreds every week and I’ve never seen a bad one. They are usually written by a third party who has had very little real world experience with the candidate. Resumes tell you two things; A) the work history and industries the candidate should be familiar with. Which if read into a little further can give you insight to the parallels they may share with your markets. And B) A pattern to determine the natural up and down cycle of your potential candidate. If you see the person has changed jobs in the past typically in the first quarter then you should expect that every year about that time they will be a bit antsy. Therefore, you can head off the problem at the pass and spend ‘motivation’ time in the previous quarter.

The interview; Salespeople are typically pretty good at first impressions. That is what they do remember. Don’t judge your interview by this. Stop trying to sell your company and start making the sales person sell you. I don’t mean, ‘Here, sell me this pencil’. I mean turn the interview into an audition! Provide the same hardnosed environment that your prospects will give your new salesperson. It’s a busy world out there. Give the a few stalls and put offs! Tell them you not sure they can make it. Listen for questions, watch for uneasiness, see how early you can get them to start talking about themselves and see how they perform. This will give you great insight to their secret selling styles and you will find out what excuses you will expect to hear 90 days later if you hire them.

After the offer: So you have a new hire now what? Do you send them out to the field with your ‘best people’? Is it your sales manager’s job to do OTJ training? Have a prepared training program. If they need specific product knowledge give them time lines and test. Don’t send them into the field with any other sales person. One, it’s distracting to the current salesperson. Two they will pick up the bad habits of the good salespeople. And three they will not ramp up as fast. Do measure their activity and hold them accountable to every goal you set and they agreed to when they accepted the job. DO NOT accept any excesses!

Here’s what we do; Identify, Attract, Interview, Screen, Interview, Test the Test, Interview, Screen, Test, Interview and then we provide Success Conditioning with tracking tools for accountability. If you don’t have time to do all of this please contact us.

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Wha'd you say?

2005-08-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

In the profession of sales, a razor sharp mind is a definite advantage. A main component of a razor sharp mind is memory. Names, events, places, and contact information certainly top the list of things to remember.

Do you know the business model of your prospective client or customer? What about the process of how invoices are paid? Communication style and conversations are also key in penetrating the account.

There are four basic memory techniques. I’ll do my best to outline them for you here.

Pegging – is an effective technique that will assist in remembering a list of things of one word items or concepts. We frequently think of a peg as something to hang objects on, like a coat hook. Your place of residence holds many pegs. Most rooms have at least five easy pegs. Let’s build an imaginary kitchen. Stand in the kitchen and pan right ‘till you complete a circle. In front of you is the sink, to the right is the dishwasher, then the kitchen table, and around the room we go. Next we find the refrigerator and then the microwave. As you need to remember items for a presentation or main points of a sales meeting agenda, use your kitchen pegs. You can also attach the agenda items in the order of your kitchen appliances. Then while in the meeting, you can stick to the agenda by mentally turning around in your kitchen. You can use each room of your residence as a checklist to create more pegs for a longer list.

Repetition- Repeat, repeat, repeat! For example, take a simple list of ‘things to do’ or better yet, a list of grocery items; milk, eggs bread, cheese, grits, bacon, eggs, cheese burgers, and cereal. Your visualization here is key. Repeat the objects in order and in reverse order 13 times and you will have it in your brain as long as you need it.

Association- Here we associate the item with another more memorable item. This technique is especially effective with names. Chris sounds like kiss. Roger – dodger.

Sherry is merry. Association can also be used in a visual sense. What do you see when you are introduced? How is this name or concept associated with something more familiar to you? In effect we associate something new to something old because it is easy to make the transition in our mind.

Stacking- By far the most powerful and effective technique. However, it also requires the most effort to implement. Let’s pretend we were going to ask a specific set of questions. First we need to identify the questions. Here are some that may help to find a compelling reason to do business. Can you tell me more about the situation? How long has this been a problem? What have you done to fix it? Did it work? How much has it cost you? Have you given up trying to fix it? What in the personal impact of this situation? Here we have seven solid questions that will help us determine if the prospective client is a suspect or prospect. Let’s build a stack for these questions so that we remember them in the heat of battle when we are likely to become emotional and forget the next question.
Chattering teeth represent question 1- tell me more. Spinning Clock represents question 2- how long has it been a problem. Purple and yellow-stripped pipe wrench represents question 3- what have you done to fix it. Greasy work glove represents question 4- did it work, etc. The key to using the stacking technique is the vivid colors and the action placed upon the object that represents the idea, item, or concept.

Memory is a muscle of the mind and like any muscle, the more exercise it gets, the better it functions. Try a few of these techniques and let me know how they work for you…if you remember to.

Good Selling,

Rocky LaGrone

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Psychic Rewards

2005-05-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was one of those days that comes together as a day to remember. I'm going to share with you 4 events that took place and I have to premise it with this: It's not about me! While the message may come from me and may look like I'm double-jointed patting myself on the back, it really is not about me. This blog is a tribute to my clients success and what they shared with me. Kudos to these and all my clients for having the guts to use the tools, principles and the system! Of course I will change the names to protect the guilty and the innocent!

In my first training session we reviewed material from the last session. (Duh! Isn't that what trainers are supposed to do? Yes Of course!) Anyway, in the previous session we discussed prospecting and cold calling. John had been trying to get to a particular prospect in a very large corporation. This prospect was at the"C" level and very insulated. John, used one of the techniques we had discussed in the previous prospecting session and viola! He got to the prospect, got a 5 minute phone conversation, then a meeting the following week and they expect to sign the contract this Friday. Congratulations John!

My next meeting was with a client to assist in hiring a new sales perosn. After 45 minutes the interview was over and my client looked at me and said, "I can't believe you were able to expose so many weaknessess and show me what I would find out a few months down the road. I can't believe that I even let this process go this far. I can't believe I set the bar set so low that I would consider this candidate to be on our team. You just saved me $40K. I simply smiled and said, I'm happy I could help.

My next training session was outstanding as well. Not because I'm the greatest sales trainer in the world, (I have a long way to go) because the group is relatively young. Ok, I'll define that for you... early 20's to early 30's, most being their first sales job. Anyway, Judy came up to me after the program and said, "Rocky, I just wanted to let you know that before your training program started in March, I was ranked number 18 of over 200 in the eastern division, (from Maine to Florida) and now I am #1 and have been for the last two weeks. Great job Judy for having the courage to try new things and live through the discomfort of change. Go girl!

Then I get home about 7 pm and upon checking e-mail I receive a thank you from a client that I've been working with for a few years... more off than on. As a matter of fact I've been trying to schedule a meeting with them since March. Anyway the message went something like this, "Thanks dude, we've been sooo busy I don't have time to do training. But I wanted you to know, I took your advice set the trap. Two weeks ago I went to Three Rivers Canada and ordered a 40 foot Doral! I get it next March it's cost is over $300k. Thanks for your lesson on traps and money! Business is great!"

The psychic reward from the profession of sales is incredible! I would encourage everyone to apply the principle in Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich; Help others get what they want first and you will get what you want. However, I think this principle can be trace back to the best sales trainer that ever walked the earth, around the year 30 AD.

Figure out how to help someone today and every day and it will come back to you 10 fold. But don't help with that in mind! This is one fundamental principle that separates true sales professionals from the amatures that give the rest of us a bad name. If you are selling something that will help people and you have their best interest in mind, this truely is one of the secret ingredients to having more people buy more of you stuff!

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Sales Manager Responsibilities

2005-05-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

Sales Managers have one of the toughest jobs in the world! I know that because I’ve worked with hundreds and I was one long enough to know. Why? You have management driving you like a dog, you have fewer resources than most other department heads, none of the other departments are cooperative, sales departments are dumped on like no other, you deal with primadonna’s, weaklings, self proclaimed studs, whiners, complainers, excuses, and you typically close more that 80% of the business yourself.

So I hope to impart some help for those of you that reside between a rock and a hard place. Sales management can be a great place if you have equality between authority and responsibility. However if this equilibrium is out of kilter one degrees you are trapped in a world of funk.

So what’s a Sales Manager to do? Focus on 5 areas to develop your team!

1. Accountability – Easier said than done I know. However, while it’s imperative to keep you job and move up the corporate ladder you have to hit the numbers. An easier way to hit the numbers than just pounding on your team is to tap into personal motivation. Help each team member define exciting personal goals that create commitment and desire. Then assist each individual in seeing how the company can be a personal vehicle to achieve their personal goals. Build a covenant to hold each person to the fundamental activities that produce results bringing them closer to their own personal goals. Once that is accomplished we have a true partnership. Let’s face it, it may not be everyone goal to work for the company forever, so let’s find out what they want, help them get it and as long as you help them they help you.

2. Coaching – Jimmy Johnson the great coach previously of the NFL said, ‘A coaches job is to help others perform at a higher level than they can by themselves.’ A coach is required to get people out of their comfort zone. Coaches find a way to keep the team inspired. Sometimes it’s tough love, sometimes it’s encouragement, sometimes it keeping the focus clear! A coach is like the leader of an orchestra. He knows how every instrument is played and what each part is supposed to be. Then he brings it all together for an awesome and exquisite performance.

3. Motivation – In a perfect world sales people are motivated. But this aint no perfect world and salespeople deal with more rejection and negativity than any other profession. So it’s critical that the Sales Manager be sensitive to each team member, their interactions with each other, their personal life and what is really going on under the surface. Sales people are motivated by many different things just as any other group. Believe it or not most sales people are not as money motivated as everyone on the outside may think. I have found that competition and recognition are bigger motivators. And then of course FREE time off is always good too.

4. Pre and Post Briefing- One of the most important things a sales manager can do is to help the sales person learn the right lesson form each selling situation. Often we draw conclusions from events that seem logical. However we all know that many of those conclusions are incorrect and then salespeople make the same mistake over and over again. Another problem is changing to quickly. Most salespeople are creative and continue to change something due to an event. Instead let’s look at patterns and define the root cause of the outcome. Instead of asking typical questions that get you typical answers define the fundamental issue and focus on that. Keep a log of what events take place with each sales person and look at a 30, 60, & 90 day pattern. This will work on the right end of the problem and it is usually between the ears.

Just like sighting in a rifle. Most shooters when sighting in will make adjustments after each shot. However, the more experience shooter will fire three shots, triangulate the center and adjust from there.

When pre and post briefing ask questions that will define the cause in two categories: A) Conceptual or B) Technical. A conceptual issue means they salesperson knew what to do, but didn’t because of some discomfort. A technical issue is based on the fact that the salesperson just didn’t know what they were supposed to. Now we have a lesson to apply to the next selling situation.

5. Building a Stronger Team – This means to always be looking for stronger salespeople to add to the staff. The problem here is like most departments. The manger gets emotionally involved and it becomes difficult to graduate non productive or mediocre sales reps. Sales recruiting is a must. Then we have to be able to determine the difference between those who not only can sell, but will. The only way to truly be effective with the first 4 responsibilities is to never be held hostage. The only way to never be held hostage is to always have a bench or a goto guy. Then this brings up the on boarding issue, ramp up and training. Too much to put into this blog for sure. However I will promise to discuss it next.

So I hope this had been a least a little insightful for all of the sales managers out there who are in the middle of the battle. Keep you head down, stop accepting excuses, take responsibility for growing you team and work smart, not hard.

Good Selling,

Rocky

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Value Equation

2005-05-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest complaints I hear from business owners is; 'My people don't even know what our value proposition is!' While that may be a problem that is usually a symptom not the problem. The problem is no one has take the time to discuss the companies unique selling proposition. We all have competition and competition is good. You may have heard the 'ol saying, "I don't want No competition I want weak competition.

So here is an exercise for you. Write down the problems that your product or service solves. Then write down the problems that your competition solves. Are they similar? What points of difference can you find that may help your future clients more effectively? Make a list of the differences and then turn those into questions. Now when you're in a selling situation use those questions to find out if the things you think are important are really important to your prospects. Never assume! Ask! Often it is important for the prospect to hear themselves talk it through and this allow you to use your listening skills. You can't effectively tell a potential client you have value beyond your competition, they must discover it for themselves. Help them discover by asking questions.

When we look at value, often what has value to you does not have value to your potential clients.
When we don't get the business due to 'price' what they said is, they don't see the value.

If you don't ask you won't know. Take two minutes now and complete the exercise. When you have your list of questions, learn how to ask them in many different styles. Forget the old open ended, closed ended traditional sales techniques. Your prospect are on to that and it makes you look like a sales person and raises their defenses. Ask questions in an assumptive way. Example. When (your competition) came in last month for a review of how they re helping you make money and what you could do to make more, what did that sound like?

A wise man once told me that every time you ask a question and get the answer, " don't know".
You just earned more respect, and created more value.

Stop selling, start asking more questions and create value beyond you product!

Between the Ears

2005-05-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

Q. What makes some sales people more successful than others.

A. Very interesting question and one the will conjure up a lot of debate. I’ll give you my take and stir the pot.

The biggest challenge is between the ears!

In the April Field and Stream issue there was an article that addresses competitive shooting that maps over exactly to what I’ve seen in the sales training world for the last 15 years. I’ll paraphrase. Research shows that a shooters heartbeat can go from a normal 78 to an extreme 180 when a target appears. (Ever feel your heart race in a sales situation?) The article further identifies three very distinct attributes that make the difference in champions and first losers (second place). 1) Champions are so confident they are borderline arrogant. 2. Champions never expect to do anything but WIN! They visualize themselves successful. And 3. They practice to the point of automation. They eat breath and sleep their skill so much that when the target appears the instinctively do the right thing to create success.

Additionally, I believe that Desire, Commitment, Personal Responsibility and Outlook determine the slight edge difference between outstanding achievers and at leasters.

Successful salespeople consistently execute the hard things in sales that others don’t. The have the humility to prepare and the confidence to pull it off.

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

You Stew

2005-05-04T09:24:00.000-04:00

Imagine if you will, that you are in a foreign land but didn’t realize you were there until you were there. You don’t know the language, the culture, the signs, the unspoken language. You could flip someone off unknowingly and become one of those ‘heads on a stick’.

Imagine again, if you will, that you are in this foreign land and you start telling everyone what to do. How to get from here to there in the shortest route, how to save time and effort, how to harvest information, new ideas, change, and happier lives. How long would it be before you were introduced to the boiling pot of ‘you stew’.

Isn’t that what most sales people do? Before ever learning the culture, the language, the unspoken language, they tell, and think that is sales. They say I and me and they close their minds to openness and learning. How can you ever learn if you don’t listen. Listen with intent to understand. Listen with out assuming. Listen between the lines with intent to be understood. Listen to learn how to present ideas the way they want them presented, so that the ideas to use your service and products are the ideas of the foreigners.

Listening is the alternative to ‘you stew’!

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Stuck

2005-05-04T09:22:00.000-04:00

I’m stuck. My manager says ‘sell’ but the developers can’t keep deadlines. How can I sell when they can’t complete what we sell now?

This is a common challenge. Here are some questions that come to mind. How long has it been this way? What has management done to fix the problem? What is the normal turnaround time? How does that compare to your competitors?

DELETE the ABOVE! Look at the real problem. You’re not gonna like this but, the problem is between your ears! For some reason you’ve mistaken your role in the company. You’ve given merit to the inner sanctum BS of what, why and how much the developers do or don’t do.

You were hired for SALES! Sales is introductions, relationships, finding companies/people who need your stuff. You’re not management. You don’t run the developers.

STOP making excuses. Get more appointments, get $ upfront, get contracts and the company will have more to invest in internal resources.

If you don’t believe in your company, how can you expect your prospects to believe? Stop spending your grey matter on things you can’t control. Focus on being the best salesperson you can. If you can’t, resign and find something you believe in soooooo much, the conviction exudes from your pours. Or get out of sales and stop giving real salespeople a bad wrap.

For more information about sales development goto www.thetrainingroup.com

Top Ten Rules of Prospecting

2005-04-28T08:44:00.000-04:00

Top Ten Prospecting Rules

What’s a four letter word that salespeople hate most? Prospecting! I know it’s not four letters but all the other four letter words are taken. Prospecting Prospecting Prospecting. These are the three most important words in sales. While this is one of the most dreaded activities in sales, it is by far the one activity that can not be overlooked, shaded, procrastinated, ignored, put on the back burner, hidden, obstructed or forgotten.

So here are the Top 10 Prospecting tips.

Do it and do it some more. Like Nike’s motto just do it. When we dread it and find excuses not to do it we pay later. You know a weak pipeline is no pipeline at all. Sometimes we make excuses not to do it because we aren’t in the moon, our mind set is not right or we just plain don’t feel like it’s effective.

Attitude is 90% of everything. Results are a direct relation to attitude! Don’t fall into the trap of procrastinating and waiting for our attitude to get better before we begin. Attitude affects behavior and behavior effects attitude. Is it the chicken or the egg? It doesn’t really matter because without either we don’t eat.

Never let them see you coming. A lot of salespeople will leave messages, send e-mails and continually come up with excuses that are disguised as efforts they call prospecting. I’ll send some mail before I call, if they are interested they will call back, I sent several e-mails and left messages but they haven’t called back. Your goal is contact not activity. Stats tell us that to reach a decision maker it takes on average 5-7 attempts. Never leave a message until you made 7 attempts. Different times of the day, different days, ask the gatekeeper for more info, but never leave a typical sales message. If you look like a salesperson, act like a salesperson, smell like a salesperson, and sound like a salesperson, then you get treated like a salesperson!

Give the prospect a reason to get back to you. If you call and leave a message of who you are, your company, and what you’re calling about the success rate of contact is usually less that adequate. It’s more effective to leave a little to the imagination and use curiosity as the reason to get back to you. Be creative!

The wrong focus. Stats tell us that 70-80% of the time we will get put off, shrugged off, stalled, and objected to. That is a lot of negativity we have to deal with and it’s way too much pressure to deal with all the time. Change you goal. Instead of saying I’m gonna get 2 meetings, say I’m gonna get 20 no’s today. This will give you a positive way of achieving your goals and along the way a few are bound to say yes!

Schedule prospecting time. If prospecting is the most important activity then get your schedule out and put at least one hour a day in your book for prospecting. Don’t let anything get in your way and don’t make excuses not to do it. If you schedule prospecting and treat it as important as the million dollar meeting you will have more million dollar meetings.

Prospect Consistently. Don’t wait for one day of the week to prospect. Don’t let the anxiety build and deal with the feelings of guild and pressure to make all your calls for last week in one day. Three interesting things that happen when we prospect daily. A) We get better at it and B) We put karma in our favor and C) One day of the week we will be in the ZONE. The Midis touch…everything we touch turns to gold.

Set Traps. Traps are things we put in place to force us to do what we either don’t like doing or forget to do. Chances are you checked you alarm this morning so that you’d wake up on time. No alarm = Late. Make the lack of prospecting more painful than just the lack of prospecting. One lady we work with set the trap to come in 30 minuets early one day a week if her prospecting goals aren’t met the previous week. She hates getting up early. If you don’t meet or exceed your prospecting goals take your office nemesis to lunch, wash your bosses car at the office, give $50 to your favorite charity.

Use different strategies. The phone gets old in a hurry. A lot of civic organizations are always looking for someone to give a 5 minute talk on some subject you are an expert at. Relate your services and products to the economics and get visible. Don’t just join a networking group, get on the board. Mix up your prospecting activities and they won’t be mundane.

Get your clients to prospect for you. Become a referral animal. Let’s face it we have at least 50% more success prospecting when we are introduced. The most common reason salespeople don’t get referrals is because they don’t ask. Start asking. However it you buy into Emerson’s Law of Compensation, [you know ebb and flow, every action has a reaction, give and take. (It’s a long and difficult read but worth it.)] The best way to get referrals is to give them first!

Take a moment review the top 10 and make a commitment to implementing one a week for the next 12 weeks. Then you will have more appointments, more 2nd meeting s and more money in the pipeline. Start with number 6 because as you get busier you’ll put off prospecting!

In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy…. GET’er DONE!