The Sales Pro Insider Building Performance Profits and People

What does it take to be successful in the sales world?  Intelligence, drive, a good work ethic, being customer and company focused, knowing ‘how’ to sell in your industry and so much more.  Yet all of this can be boiled down to two broader items:  confidence and competence.

In my sales training courses, we build competence and confidence.  When my prospects ask me which is more important – I’m stumped.  It’s both!  Being confident with competence is what is necessary.  Strengthening each of these lasts and gives a healthy ROI to the training!

Let’s look at the alternatives:    

• Confidence with incompetence:  You know these folks – lots of bravado and nothing to back it up.  They create a trail of destruction – inside and outside the company. Often these are what people label the dreaded ‘used car salesman’ type.
• Lack of confidence with incompetence:  Not much to say, hopefully they find another career quickly. The sad part?  Often they are the NICEST people – just miscast in sales.
• Lack of confidence with competence:  They know what to do and CAN do it – but their lack of confidence can rear its ugly head in so many unproductive ways – procrastination, lack of making contact with prospective buyers, and over preparing for everything.

A competent and confident sales professional knows WHAT to do, HOW to do it and does “it”.  They are consistent, productive and proactive.

It’s Friday – let’s have some fun with this one.  Please comment with examples of salespeople you have run into that fit into one of these groups. 

Filed Under: consultative selling, productivity, sales tips, skills

Great Expectations is more than a Dickens book – its a powerful force in business life.  It drives customer loyalty, frustration, sales and so much more.  ‘Managing expectations’ isn’t good enough anymore…driving and exceeding expectations is the ‘real’ differentiator of pros from rookies.  

Don’t get me wrong, managing expectations is important.  But matching expectations to reality should be the goal.   The effort to sync up reality with expectations runs throughout the sales cycle, implementation or delivery and the relationship. Exceed expectations and you’ll do great.  Miss or just manage expectations and you’ve got a hard road ahead.

Let’s look at a few points in the sales process and the ‘reality” for the sales pro and the customer.

Throughout the whole process your reality may be very different from their reality.  What’s important is to:

• Define and clarify expectations along the way 
• Explain intention and HOW things will go or
• WHY you are asking for certain information
• Ask open ended questions throughout all your discussions to determine their reality.  It might be way different than you think. 

I know this sounds easy on paper -and in ‘real’ life – its tough.  People have different ways of communicating, or not communicating.  They are busy and don’t want to take time, or they are clear them self on certain points, needs, information, etc.  Recapping discussions with clear WHAT’s next, WHO is doing what, WHEN time frames, and HOW you are proceeding will help you get in front of the reality to build great expectations together.

Filed Under: consultative selling, sales tips

Last night I returned to Wisconsin after 3 days working with my Sharpenz.com partner in Boca Raton, FL. (Don’t be jealous, it was cold and I was working.)  Traveling always provides interesting situations and sales lessons, and this trip provided a GREAT tip on stalled sales.  The lesson? Don’t be a lemming.

AirTran is the only direct flight and I arrived to check in early. This isn’t a bash on AirTrain, in fact my “TO” flight was smooth and 15 minutes early and the return last night arrived 28 minutes early!

As I entered the Check-in line, there were about 10 passengers in front of me and the line was stalled.  I could see the self check kiosks…without anyone using them.  I asked the man in front of me why no one was using them and he said “Looks like you have to go through one of the agents.”

I waited.

Now there were 6 people behind me and we were still stalled.  I saw an AirTran employee and asked him “Can we  use those kiosks?”  He said “Do you have your confirmation number handy?”  I replied, “No.” (It was buried deep and I didn’t need it on the way out.)  He told me ‘Sorry, then.” and moved on. 

The next 15 minutes were Wait. Move a little. Wait. Stall, stall, stall.  I watched the other people in line (20 or so).  One gentleman really in a panic that the was going to miss his flight.  But he stood in this stalled line like everyone else.

When I reached the front of the line there was another AirTrain employee. I asked her, “Can’t we use the open kiosks?” She said “I don’t think so unless you have your confirmation number.”

Okay.  But I kept looking at them and they LOOKED just like the one I used in Milwaukee three days earlier – you just swiped your credit card and it brought up your itinerary. So I said to the agent, “I think I just need my credit card. Can I try?”  She shrugged her shoulders like “Go ahead’.

As I approached the kiosk I thought “If this works, how many people waited needlessly?”  

Guess what?  It took me about 2 1/2 minutes to swipe my card, move through the screens and pick up my boarding pass.

Wow.  Of course being a trainer I always like to share tips and tools that help others so I turned to the Airtran agent, held up the pass and with a big smile said “It DOES work with a credit card!!”  She looked disinterested.  But the man behind me in line, quickly walked up to the next kiosk instead of waiting.

As I was on my way to security, I was thinking:  How inefficient that was!   How many people were just going with the flow and stalled because everyone else was? 

All because they didn’t:

• Want to ask questions.
• Weren’t paying attention to the details. (One half the kiosk were on and unused)
• Were given wrong information and they didn’t question it.

And that’s how this ties into a sales lesson.  How often do salespeople get stuck in the stalled sales line?  And wait it out without finding out why there is a stall and if there is a way to speed it up?

What, if instead of stalling we:

• Looked for other ways to approach the situation and take action?
• Asked questions on why and how?
• Took a chance by trying something – even if others weren’t willing to?

I think we would move the sales process along more quickly, learn something useful (I’ll never wait like that in line again with open kiosks) and be able to share the idea with others!

Last year was a perfect example of this.  While MANY salespeople ‘waited out’ the recession and followed other non-active msed that stall, kept moving forward and had great sales results!

How have you avoided being a leming and moving a stalled sale?

P.S. I’m not sure if everyone knows the leming reference:  Lemings are rodents who are ‘mythed’ to follow one lemming no matter what, even to death (going over a cliff).  The Urban Dictionary says it is a person with no originality or voice of their own.  They follow what others do.

Filed Under: Sales, consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, sales tips

Assumptions.  Guessing or thinking we KNOW what someone else is thinking, needing, objecting to, etc.  How many relationships and sales are lost because of assumptions?  Of course that’s a rhetorical question – we can’t know for sure.  The real question is – how many are lost to you?

Every week I work with sales reps and non-traditional sales professionals (IT consultants for example) on consultative selling skill training.  Our process is 6-9 weeks long depending on the course.  We use the methodology of long-term behavior change process to help everyone “stick” the skils land behaviors.  Why? It takes some people 4-5 weeks to REALLY understand what it takes to stop and listen.  Their mode is go-go-go and “I know” and many assumptions are made to keep moving forward. 

Example?  I have many business examples, but I’m going to use a personal example that is so poignant.  I have a relative who does not listen.  Even when she asks a question – it is closed and assumptive.  The following exchange is a PERFECT example of what happens when we assume.

Sarah was talking with another relative, Carrie, who had been dealing with some heart medical issues for months.  Here is the exchange:

• Sarah, “So, you had a stint put in?”
• Carrie, “No.”
• Sarah, “Oh, they did the scope thing instead.”
• Carrie, “Nope.”
• Sarah, “Hmmm. They probably decided medications were the best thing for now then.”
• Carrie, “No.”

 After several more reiterations of this approach Sarah gave up and moved to another conversation…still having no idea what happened to Carrie.

As I observed this I wanted to scream “ASK her a question instead of “guessing” what happened!!”  Carrie, whose known Sarah for 50+ years knew the drill and wasn’t going to play. Honestly – just writing out that dialogue has raised my blood pressure – it is SO frustrating to be in one of those conversations!

How much easier it could have been, if Sarah had asked, “I heard you were having some medical problems, what’s going on?”  Or “What happened?”  That’s it!  Carrie would have answered and both would be better off.

Do you see this at work?  Do you catch yourself and realize that you didn’t get the information you needed from your prospect, customer, teammate, or manager because you didn’t really ask a relevant question and wait for the answer? 

When my husband and I were purchasing a kitchen set, the salesperson took the same approach:

• Seller: “You probably have family parties.”
• Us: “Yes.”
• Seller: “I’m sure you are going to want extra chairs.”
• Us: Silence…there wasn’t anything to answer.
• Seller: “I bet you want this today and we don’t have it in stock.”

After several similar shopping experiences, I said “I wish someone would just ASK us something.”  The sales process took a lot longer than it needed to.  The seller could have just asked, “Tell me about how you use your kitchen?” or “What type of entertaining do you do?”   I would have given him what he needed to make a recommendation.  Instead, we were the ones asking the questions to filter out our options.   

We’re all a work in progress – and each day if we can focus on one, seemingly small, communication action, those around us will be better off for it. 

In fact, a great tip from Pat at CVS Caremark this week – she took all the little tips and wrote one action item on index cards.  Each morning she shuffles the cards and selects one to be her focus of the day.  What a great idea! 

And if the tips includes stopping to listen, letting the other person answer, asking questions without assumptions, focusing on others’ intent and words, etc. we’ll learn a lot that day that might save us a lot of time, energy and frustration later.  It keeps us all from the adage you might have heard about assuming, “When you assume, it makes an as_ out of U and me!” 

What do you think?  What reaction do you have to the dialogue I shared above?

Filed Under: Listening, consultative selling, sales tips

Collaborative or consultative selling.  What’s the difference?  Aren’t they interchangeable terms? Not really, a collaborative approach is a step beyond traditional consultative selling.  And an opportunity to sell more WITH your buyers.

Consultative selling is a term in use around the globe.  And it is effective – a selling methodology and mindset where the seller, acting as a trusted advisor, assists the buyer in identifying needs and offering solutions within their relationship.  (from the glossary at salesopedia)  And we know consultative selling works – we’ve trained consultative selling skills for over a decade achieving 5-25% increases in sales in 60 days or less!  But is it enough today?  Are the buyers in today’s economy and demographics wanting  more?  I think yes.  They want to be a part of the process AND solution.  Selling collaboratively allows them to do that. 

The definition of collaboration is:  Noun:  The act of working jointly.  Collaborative selling is working with your buyers in a joint process to identify needs, evaluate how your solution benefits them and then navigate through the decision making process.  It’s a side-by-side process instead of a head-on process. 

This quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes sums it up:

Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up. 

Who knows how much more our buyer can add to the depth of how they use our product/service?  They may have ideas for application, usage and implementation that we had never thought of!  Our buyers are much more informed than they ever were with so much information accessible in a moment.  They have some sort of background, experience or information to contribute to the discussion on most topics.  And when we can collaborate WITH them and jointly discover needs, wants, challenges and solutions to help them, we build a deeper relationship and a more loyal customer.

Who wants to be “told” or “pitched” information?  Not many people, though I may be biased by the fact I live with teens    Most people want to be next to you  exploring a topic and adding their input to the discussion.  Does this mean we don’t need to be the experts?  Not at all!  It means that we need to be more of an expert and prepared to:

1. Ask questions that engage and involve
2. Allow time for more discussion
3. Explore with them  how what we offer will work for them
4. Adapt our communication to their style (including verbal style, decision making style and level of involvement style)
5. Share expertise and information without sales pressure

What’s the difference between collaborative selling and consultative selling?   A mindset of partnership and joint efforts.  

More to come on this topic… In the meantime,  I want to collaborate with you and jointly explore these differences.  What is your take on collaboration versus consultation?

Filed Under: Sales, collaborative selling, consultative selling, customer loyalty

Expanding your network and referral base is smart business these days. But so many professionals miss the boat on how to network effectively! As you link with other people, keeping your old connections is as important as making new ones.

Yesterday I met with someone starting her own business. As we discussed how to build a network, I was reminded of the important nuances of building the network lifeline.

In my 11 years of providing sales training courses and tools for successful sales and service, I have been on the receiving end of a LOT of bad attempts to network. Most – and I mean 95% – of people that contact me to network really just want to know who I can introduce THEM to. I learned the hard way how important finding out what value they bring to others is before making these connections.

As a rookie, I was giving out names to new contacts very easily – after all wasn’t that what I was supposed to do? Until…

I realized that I was potentially damaging some VALUABLE existing relationships by not ensuring they would be a GOOD connection. I was wasting my existing connections’ time with people that they didn’t need (or want) to talk to.

Not anymore. I am more careful before making a connection. To value my existing relationships, I have work to do before I link them with a new connection.

Additional specific tips to network effectively:

1. Before you ask to meet with someone to network OR go to a network event, consider what you can offer to the other person(s). Is it expertise? Other contacts? Assistance with something they are working on?
2. Know your value proposition to potential clients. If you can’t explain your value, how will your networkers know who might need what you offer?
3. Do your homework! Know as much about the person or the people in the group as you can prior to connecting.
4. In a “live” setting ask people for THEIR business card first. Look at the card and see what it says – use that as a conversation starter.
5. For live events, always have the following items with you:
   • Your business cards
   • A pen to take notes on their business card
   • A smile on your face
   • Some type of paper to write on
6. Tap into social networking. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. All great potential tools…if you use them correctly and keep the first 3 tips in mind.
7. Ask questions about the motivation and reputation of a new connection BEFORE giving out the names and phone numbers of your valuable existing relationships
8. And with his efforts, I’m pleased to introduce Jim and what he does to you! His blog and newsletter have great marketing information. See how the value exchange pays off?

And a foundation element to all of these networking tips: Networkers that GIVE something to others before asking for something are much more successful in the long run. A great example: Jim Connolly’s blog post shows how a seemingly little effort of giving in networking can pay off big – not only for himself but for everyone else!

Networking with others will be even more important as the world we operate in shrinks with technology. As you consider how you will expand your network, focus on the song I learned in Girl Scouts, “Make new friends, but keep the old…one is silver and the other gold!”

Newsflash! In the next six weeks, the SalesProInsider will be offering more free resources for you! Two eBooks, a free webinar and more! Stay tuned…

Filed Under: Sales, consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, networking, value proposition

Ready for another tip on how to increase your sales in a tough economy?  Commit to excellence and focus on the power of one! 

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to his or her commitment to excellence, regardless of his or her chosen field of endeavor.  Zig Ziglar’s quotation is important for all fields - but most specifically the field of sales!

Today’s economy has created a lot of easy excuses for the average performer to not take action.  Top performers continue to succeed in spite of the economy.  In our sales training courses, we see salespeople become a bit paralyzed as they look at ALL the activities they could be doing to make more sales.  Don’t let that ‘I’m overwhelmed’ feeling stop you.  Instead of thinking you need to do 20 things different today, start with just ONE MORE!

 Today, make the time for ONE more: 

1. Phone call.  Who do you want to connect with?  Take 5 minutes to prepare your objective, how you will engage them when they answer the phone, what you want to find out and the next step.  And then pick up the phone!  Be prepared to leave a great voicemail message if they don’t pick up.
2. Message.  What information can you send to someone as a follow-up?  Is there something you promised that you can get out today?  Send it by email or regular mail.
3. Note. Handwritten notes/cards are a powerful connection!   Select someone that you haven’t connected with in a while and send them a note.  Don’t make it about your company, product or service specifically.
4. Action item from your plan to achieve your goals.  You do have written goals don’t you?  Review them and find one action you can take today that will move you closer to achieving that goal. 
5. Question.  What information do you need from a client, prospect, or internal team member? Craft a good open-ended question and then ASK the question.  If you are in a meeting – with a client or internal team – ask one more question before ending the meeting.

For more ideas that you can do ONE more of – I have a free resource for you!  Timely Tips for Sales Managers is full of 52 tips to increase sales!  The free  tips can be downloaded for you to reference as you focus on achieving higher sales results.

Now that this post is written, I too will focus on the power of one and make one MORE phone call before lunch.

Are you committed to excellence?  If so, what ONE MORE action you will take today for a big pay off later?

Filed Under: consultative selling, focus, priorities, productivity, recession proof sales

Want to give EXTRA value to your customers in tough economic times?  Give great business gifts (free or low cost) now!  With cost cutting in most industries and everyone trying to do more with less, its refreshing to know that there are still easy and inexpensive ways to give value today.  And giving value today allows you to receive sales tomorrow.

Giving value to customers does not necessarily mean discounting your price, buying large gifts, or giving more of your product or service at no charge.  In the long run, giving value to the PERSON is more important than all of those things.

Three Extra Value gifts you can give:

Information.  With time pressure listed as one of the biggest stressors and constraints to further success, many people struggle with not enough time to keep up with the “latest”.  It could be the “latest” topic or information in:

1. their industry trends
2. what their competitors are doing
3. something that is unique and specific to them (hobbies, interests)
4. resources

Find useful information and send it them directly.  Books or links to articles, podcasts or forums that are helpful to them all work.  I sent a group of financial advisers I had worked with an ezine link for an expert on getting referrals in their industry.  Months later one of them wrote to me that they are still finding value in that expertise and getting more referrals for it.  They attributed the success to me, though all I did was make the “link” for them! 

You can send the information electronically or surprise them and send them a hard copy of an article in the mail! 

A caution on this tip is to make sure you verify the quailty of the information first to check the relevancy.  You don’t want to send them information that doesn’t fit and waste their time. 

Tools to help them do something better, quicker or easier. A client that liked photography commented on the price of PhotoShop.  I found an article about Paintnet - a free download that does many of the same things as PhotoShop – and sent it to him.  He was so happy when I sent him a note with the link!  

There are so many legal free-ware items available that can help people with nearly everything.  Do they like to travel?  Do they need to do something more efficient at work? 

Think about specific customers and what you know about them, do some research and send them the tool.  Whether it be an electronic link or a “concrete” tool. I had a client trainer that loved my scented markers but her company wouldn’t let her purchase them.  She was thrilled when I sent her a box of scented markers!

Time.  Don’t underestimate the value of your time and attention.  Getting time from customers might be tough, unless they find that time with you is valuable to them! 

Most people value someone taking an interest in them, asking some great open ended questions that aren’t directly tied to what you sell and then having the opportunity to talk.  The questions might be about the current status of their company, the security of their job, the effect of the economy on people they know.  If you are trusted, you may find you will hear about challenges, fears and “new” news because they want to talk to SOMEone about it. 

Demonstrate restraint and don’t jump into “selling” them something right then and really listen. The perceived value of your relationship will increase.

Customers want value – even when they do not have budgets to support it.  They also want sales people to pay attention to THEM – not just when there is a sale at stake.  The type of attention they want is going to be very different depending on the person.  The closer you match what you give to what is important to them (because it still is about What’s in it for THEM?) the more VALUable the gift.

Filed Under: Sales, WIIFT, consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, productivity, recession proof sales, sales productivity, sales success, sales tips

Maximizing productivity is a key objective for sales people and sales managers. Time and money is spent on CRMs, planners, Blackberries, and more technology. And, when used appropriately, technology can help us with efficiency. Yet there is more…we also need to squeeze the most out of every contact and discussion we have. We need to continuously advance the sale WITH each prospect.

An effective sales discussion starts before contact. It starts with preparation that includes identifying:

• Who, what, why and when for this contact.
• Potential objections that may be raised.
• The decision needed at the end of the contact. Some sales are closed in one discussion, many are not, and the decision might be to schedule a next meeting, introduce you to someone else in the company, provide you information or specs, etc. We need to know what our decision at the “close” of this discussions should be.

After preparation we can maximize the actual discussion with the person by using the acronym WIIFT for specific steps and a road map. WIIFT is a 5 step sales process AND a philosophy of focusing on What’s in it for Them through the discussion.

Wait. Pause and mentally prepare before contact. Review the notes you made, think about this person and company and the value you can possibly provide them. And then…

Initiate the contact. Help the person break pre-occupation by asking them open ended questions that draw them into conversation. Connect with the person before jumping directly into your product information or your business questions. Put the spotlight on them by asking about their job, their history with the company, their interests (look for clues on this one). This step might take 2 minutes or 20, pay attention to time and move the discussion to business when appropriate.

• Tell me how you ended up in this role…
• How is your day going?

And then move the discussion into business…

Investigate. Use additional open-ended questions to allow them to discuss and clarify:

• What their objectives are
• What is happening now
• What are the risks of doing nothing
• What are the rewards of taking action

The gaps between these areas is your opportunity. Use great listening skills by summarizing what you hear, taking notes, and helping them clarify their responses. Once gaps are identified and clarified, you can move to explaining how you can help them.

Facilitate a discussion where you use your expertise to educate them on how what you do/have can eliminate the gaps discovered in your investigation. The more closely you match what you do to THEM, their situation, their needs and opportuntiies, the higher the perceived value (and the less they want to wait to get what you have).
Use YOU transition statements from WHAT you have to the WIIFT (what’s in it for them).

• Our service provides ongoing technical support and in YOUR situation that means that YOU will not have 2 a.m. phone calls from your users.
• We have 20 years of experience which means that YOU will be able to use proven processes that help YOU reach your goals quicker.

To facilitate means to “make it easy” for someone else. As you share your information make it easy for them to see how what you have fits with them…involve them, let them be a part of discovering how this fits with their situation, the value they see, make it a discussion versus a “pitch”.

Collaborate. Beyond consultative selling – collaborative selling is working with someone else to accomplish something. Ask what type of objections or obstacles they foresee in moving forward. Then work through the objections WITH them as a problem solver. Finally, ask for a decision and the next step to close the discussion (and the sale).

Following a sales system brings efficiency and consistency to each discussion. It allows us to keep moving the process forward and using “face” time most productively. Then we can use our technology to capture the order, schedule the next appointment and report to our managers. Productivity will increase as we maximize every discussion.

What do you do to maximize your sales discussions?

Filed Under: WIIFT, collaborative selling, consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, recession proof sales, sales process, skills