I’ve been in Florida for 5 days. It’s a chance to rejuvenate and write. the ‘plan’ was morning walks on the beach, writing, maybe a swim in the pool in the afternoon, and more writing. A good plan, right?

Well, the weather changed that plan – it rained for 4 days – serious rain, high winds and gloom. 

Today is my day of departure, and of course, the skies are clear and the sun is shining. I made time for a walk on the ocean’s edge before the airport!

As I was walking, I looked for shells. Each trip I find one or two special sea shells to take back to Wisconsin. We put them in the rocks around our pool to connect the two spaces we loves.

The beach was full of people hunting for shells this morning after the storms. There were thousands of shells – or rather parts of shells.  As I walked the shoreline like everyone else, I didn’t see any special shells, they were probably picked up already. So I waded into the ocean a bit to see what else I could find. Some, but still mostly broken. Then I waded out knee deep – figuring its a better workout anyway – and THERE were beautiful shells aplenty!  I filled my pockets within ten minutes.

Isn’t this how it is with sales? We need to look for prospects and opportunity. Yet often its easy to stay where it is safe on the shore and wait for the perfect opportunity to find that perfect prospect to surface.

We then find that many of the prospects may not be qualified – like the broken shells. So we need to exert more effort, wade in further and get ourselves really wet to find the perfect prospects – maybe they are even untouched by our competitors!

By taking the extra steps, we differentiate ourselves from most other sellers. They stay at the shoreline and fight for the easy picks.

By wading in, we can find a more bountiful opportunity.

As you think about this – are you playing it too safe by the shoreline? What waters should you wade deeper in to find your opportunities?

I challenge you this next week to take that step by:

• Identifying what is happening in your market that has washed ashore some opportunities?
• Where are your competitors focusing their efforts because of this?
• What is the next level for finding more opportunities? Is it calling someone you never have?Asking for referrals from your happy customers? Finding a plan for opening new relationships? Mining your CRM for stalled sales or former customers?

Identify at least ONE action  you can take – and then wade in to grab it!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Collaborative Selling, Marketing Tips, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: Collaborative Selling, learning, maximize sales productivity, prospecting, Sales, Sales Tips

I was shipping four boxes of training materials to Canada. It was a project I had worked on full-time for weeks and was so excited to box them up and ship them out.

I’ve shipped boxes consistently – and globally – for the last 12 years, so I was expecting the regular drill – we even had the forms completed in advance.

The normal shipping drill?

• Who are you shipping to?
• When do they need to arrive?
• Is there anything hazardous, liquid or perishable?
• blah, blah, blah

I was thinking, ‘Let’s hurry this up, we have a a celebration lunch to get to!’

But this time was different, we encountered Ann as we entered the FedEx Office Store. It was immediately apparent Ann took her job seriously as she directed us to a cart to use.

Later as we discussed the ‘regular’ questions and she asked for the value of the contents, she looked concerned. And she started asking  more ‘risky’ questions. I explained that we’ve done this before and let’s just keep it moving. Ann examined the boxes and asked more questions,  two of which got me thinking…

What happens if, when you get to Canada, your contents have been damaged?

Do you realize that these boxes move down conveyor belts at more than 40 miles per hour and that without extra paper packaging and padding, the corners of the box can dent? then she pointed out the boxes we had packed the materials were in – which the empty original binders arrived in – were  a bit crinkled in the corners already.

Well, this caused me to pause.

Ann then continued, “I could pack these in a larger box with good padding and you won’t have to worry about any damage.’

I asked ‘How much?’ She calculated it was a total of $40 – to protect materials worth over $12,000!  This was a small price for ‘insurance’.  I agreed it should be done, and Ann got to work – smiling and enjoying every minute of packaging those boxes. Ended up only $35 extra!

The lesson?  As we seek to understand the ‘sitautino’ of our buyers – we need to ask risk questions!  I had no idea of the risks until Ann asked those questions. I never considered I needed to do something different with a job I’ve done so often. her questions opened my mind to new information…and I bought!

Ann increased her sale by 5% that day. Not bad for asking a couple of extra questions. How would you like to expand your sales by 5% or more each time?

It’s possible if we ask our prospects questions about the risk of doing nothing different. These risk questions might sound like:

• What types of liability are you expected to to if your situation remains  unchanged?
• Tell me what will happen in your facility if you don’t make the change/
• What might be the potential downside for not making a decision in the near future? or What is the potential downside if the decision is delayed?
• What could happen if this issue isn’t addressed in the next 6 months?
• Based on your experience, what type of liability is present when ____________ happens?

Caution! I am not an advocate of manipulating people or scaring them to make a sale. In collaborative selling that is not necessary. We can explore the risks together if we ask the right questions.

Now, I’m not a pushover in any way. I’m always on the lookout for ‘getting sold’ to and scams, and I know that Ann was sincere in her desire to help me…and scare me potential harm. So it worked well.

With some thought on the risks your prospects may encounter…IF they move forward in a decision with your solution OR if they do nothing, you can ask great risk questions that  elevate the sense of urgency and advance your sale more quickly.

Those benefits sound like they are worth the risk of asking risky questions, don’t they?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Collaborative Selling, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: Collaborative Selling, maximize sales productivity, Sales, Sales Tips

When you  present or discuss your solution with buyers, do you let them touch or get in touch with your solution? Do you let them take ownership of the solution before they buy?

Research shows touch is a powerful influencer on sales decisions.  Authors Joann Peck (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Suzanne B. Shu (UCLA) report the following:

“In four studies, we find that merely touching an object increases the feelings of ownership a person has for the object. This, in turn, results in a person being willing to pay more for most objects that they touch versus objects that they cannot touch,” the authors write. “We also find that when touch is unavailable, such as shopping online, having people imagine owning a product increases their perception of ownership and how much they are willing to pay for a product.”

If people have a positive or neutral response to touching an object, they are willing to pay more for it, the authors explain. However, if an object does not feel particularly pleasant to the touch, it decreases the amount consumers are willing to pay. “For most products, the touch experience is positive or neutral so merely touching a product usually increases how much a person is willing to pay for an object,” the authors write.

The research may help explain the link between touch and impulse purchasing, the authors explain. “Encouraging touch in a retail store, as Apple does for products like the iPhone, may increase the feelings of perceived ownership and influence the amount a customer is willing to pay for a product.” Likewise, offers of “free trials” for a certain time before the consumer is obligated to pay are likely to increase perceived ownership and product valuation.

Encouraging ownership imagery can be an effective way for online retailers to increase sales, even when touch isn’t possible, the authors write. “Our findings that consumers respond effectively to the combination of no-touch and ownership imagery suggests a remarkable opportunity for online retailers to increase perceived ownership and purchase.”

Fascinating information!  As sales professionals, we need to get our buyers to ‘touch’ our solutions tangibly or mentally.  How do we do this?

• Demos of the product where THEY are using the solution themselves,  not passively observing us. Example, if we are selling a vehicle, they need to be in the drivers’ seat, not us.
• Stories and analogies are powerful for non-tangible products and services. Relate an example of how someone/company is using and benefiting from your solution.
• Pictures - not a picture of the product/service – a picture of the value/benefits of the product.  If you were selling hotel rooms, showing the configuration of the room is nice, but more powerful is a picture of someone getting a good night’s rest or sitting at the well-equipped business station.
• Customer events where your customers get to talk with each other and share experiences. Using social media to do this is economical and efficient. Forums, customer showcases, Facebook pages all work.

These are thought starters, I’m sure with your creativity you will find ways to let your buyers TOUCH your solution…and increase their ownership and willingness to buy!

Please share any great ideas you have with the rest of THIS community!  All comments are helpful.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Collaborative Selling, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: Presentation, Sales, Sales Tips

Sweaty palms.

Rapid breathing.

Nervous chatter.

Uncertainty.

No, I’m not writing a romance novel. I’m recalling what it feels like to do something ‘new’.

Last week, our youngest child, Jenna, got her learning permit for driving a vehicle.  As I sat in the passenger seat with her at the wheel the first few times, I observed the behaviors listed above. As Jenna kept apologizing for her mistakes and I observed her focusing SO hard on what she was doing, it brought back memories of a younger me.

When I started in sales, EVERY sales call was like that. I was nervous, jittery, unpolished and I made mistakes!  I didn’t want to do those things, but I did. I wanted to be like the successful professionals I observed right away. It was frustrating to not do something well right away.

Looking back now, I realize that this was a stage I needed to go through. To become proficient -and then excel, I had to build my success habits.  I had to work through the stages to build these habits.

Awareness - I needed to know what to do – what worked and what didn’t.

Assessment - the opportunity and openness to critique and feedback on how well I was doing each part of sales.

Application - action! I couldn’t get better at selling if I wasn’t selling. Sitting in my office and not picking up the phone or making calls was holding me back.

Adoption - Learning what worked or didn’t and making the right actions part of my subconscious activities. making them a part of who i was – or better yet adapting the best practices in a way that let me be a ‘better’ me.

In our state of Wisconsin, Jenna has six months to perfect her driving skills and earn the right to drive without me (or her Dad) observing and correcting and monitoring.

In sales, my observation is that the BEST and top performers are on a continuous loop of improvement. they continually move through the four actions of awareness, assessment, application and adoption.

In our training workshops, the top performers do not generally sit back with their arms crossed and ignore the tools, ideas and opportunity to learn from others. They are actively engaged and look for ANYTHING that they can do better. This is how they perform best each year, why the economic conditions don’t impact them as much and is who they are in and outside of work.

What about you? Remember being new and striving to get better?  How it felt when you became proficient and successful?

If you haven’t felt nervous, had sweaty palms or been uncertain about your actions lately, maybe you are in a rut and need to bring the ‘newness’ back to your career again. Try something new, contact someone you know you should or dreamed you should, and stretch your possibilities and opportunities.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, Sales, Sales Productivity, sales success, Sales Tips

A few weeks ago, I hosted a webinar through the Verizon Wireless Women in Sales efforts at SalesGravy.com.  Alice Kemper, my Sharpenz partner, and I were sharing our tips on how to sell to and with different Types of people.

Verizon Wireless, as the sponsor, was represented by Debra Palme, a Business account Manager in Minnesota. Debra shared a tip to the hundreds of participants that day – and I’ve asked her to share it with you!

Debra’s tip on a strategy for those ‘stuck’ prospects or the ‘no call back’ customers  is powerful!  

I have been working in outside sales for almost 10 years and I have been a sales manager for over 5 years.  One of the top challenges my sales professionals encounter is a customer who will not return follow up calls or emails after an appointment.  The sales representative will wonder if they are not following up with the customer enough or maybe they are “stalking” their customer too much.

I encourage my sales reps to be more aggressive and ask the tough question, “Are you still interested in Verizon Wireless?   It is ok to tell me no.”

This question comes in various forms, but the intention is the same.  The sales person wants to know if they have a chance of winning the opportunity.  Each one of my sales representatives has encountered a non-respondent customer and every time they use this form of questioning with the non-respondent customer, they have received a response back within days and sometimes hours.

Many times the customer will say, “Yes we are still interested,” but when a customer says they are no longer interested it allows the sales person to move on and spend more time working on other opportunities.

As a manager, coaching your team members to ask the “tough” question is a good way to monitor and measure those sales people who put all their eggs in one basket; this teaches them to fill up their funnel.

Think of how much time and effort you can say when you KNOW where you stand with a prospect.  Funneling your energy and time into probable prospects is a good time management – and successful strategy.

I thought you might want to know more about Debra. Read about her success in leading her team, wouldn’t you like someone like Debra to be YOUR manager?

I started as a Business Account Executive at Verizon Wireless and after three years I was promoted to a Major Account Manager.  I was a MAM for a year and I have been a Business Account Manager for over 5 years.

I inherited a team that was not achieving quota, but by the end of my second year of management the team was averaging over 120% of quota.  My team has been very successful and over the last 5 years 7 people that have been promoted.

The two objectives I focus on with my team are prospecting and attending their customer appointments.   After prospecting or attending appointments I offer constructive feedback to help them improve sales aptitude.  How we sell has evolved throughout the last 10 years and it will continue to change.  It is important to focus on the basics, but it is imperative to be informed on new ways of selling and evolve with market demands in order to become a successful sales professional.

Thank you Debra!!!

And this was a great reminder of a fantastic book, Go for No, by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, see this post for more information. Yes is great – but being open to NO makes the difference!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, prospecting, Sales, Sales Tips

Many of us in the United States and Canada will enjoy a three-day holiday weekend. Culminating in Labor Day celebrations on Monday.

Labor Day was instituted in the U.S. to honor the ‘working man’ (I include working women) it has built into a focus on laborers with a strong union flavor. Yet, aren’t we all ‘working’ people? Personally I was in a union once and after being told to reduce my output and stop making others look bad, I realized very quickly that a high-achieving person was NOT going to be allowed to be successful in that environment. People in sales work WAY harder than the people I worked with back then.

So, I suggest that YOU should celebrate Labor Day by being labor-less!  Its a day to kick back, try to enjoy a little more summer before fall hits (the leaves have already started falling in Wisconsin). Turn off the email and technology that ties you to work.

My observations over the last few years are that MANY of you are working on weekends and nights. Trying to catch up or get ahead of the next week. Yet, what toll does that take?

I implore you to MAKE yourself labor-less this weekend too. Then let me know what you did…I’m always looking for ideas on how to NOT work on weekends.

Enjoy!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Success Tips
Tags: productivity, sales success

Opening a sales conversation effectively is important. Preparing how you will engage, turn the focus to them and earn the right to get into a good convereation helps ensure you oare successful.  Yet with all the time spent on opening conversations, I notice very little, if any, time is spent on how to close the conversation!

Closing the conversation may mean asking for the buy! Yet in today’s complex sale, the close of the conversation may really mean getting a commitment to what is next.

We call the end of the conversation the Consolidation versus the close. Consolidate means to ‘bring together pieces into a whole.’ Think about ANY conversation you have, isn’t that what you need to do at the end of every conversation?

to advance your sales cycle, build stronger value and save you TIME in follow-up efforts, Consolidate your conversations with these specific actions:

• Summarize what you covered in the conversations -what problems, opportunities, wants or needs were revealed?
• Check for readiness. Are they ready to end the conversation? Pay attention to body language, words and sounds, and responses to your trial close questions.
• Confirm value for what you are asking them to do.
• Ask for a decision or commitment to something.
• Identify next specifics, with specifics. What are you going to do? What are they going to do? By when?
• CLOSE - this is your final comment.  The ‘Thank you’ or ‘Thanks’ is so overdone, it doesn’t even register that you’ve said it. Be specific in personalizing the last comment. Make it about THEM, the value they are going to receive, something you appreciate specifically about them or the conversation.
  • “Sharon, I appreciate that you were able to take the time to explore your __________. I look forward to our next conversation.”
  • “Mike, thank you for the confidence that we can help you _________. i will do everything I can to ensure this is successful.”

I’m often told (just this week two different sellers mentioned this) that they run out of time and the end of their conversations become rushed and this miss pieces of consolidating.  A solution? PLAN in your agenda for the 5-7 minutes needed to consolidate. Set the expectation that you will need to identify what comes next at the end of the conversation.

Think about how much quicker your sales will advance and how much less follow-up or chasing you will need to do if you consolidate EVERY conversation in this way.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, Sales, Sales Tips, skills

This message just in from Jonathan Farrington of Top Sales World – a site dedicated to all of YOU in sales.

——————————————–

For months, we have been discussing the need to produce a Top Sales World newsletter, but we don’t do things by halves around here, so we decided to create a brand new monthly magazine, supplemented with a weekly newsletter for our subscribers (subscription is free by the way!) http://www.topsalesworld.com/Registration/users_Registration.php

This first edition is fairly modest compared to what we hope to produce by the end of the year, but you know, mighty oak trees are produced from humble acorns: I will enjoy witnessing the evolvement, and I hope you will too.

As well as bringing you unique, original and thought-provoking articles from the Top Sales Experts team, it is our intention to provide our readers with up-to-date news, views and gossip from around the sales space, in other words, a real F.I.P experience … Fun, Interesting and Profitable.

The launch of this magazine coincides with our recent Top Sales World makeover, so do take a look…

You will notice that we have dispensed with a number of “redundant” sections, and added new initiatives, including ….

• Top Sales Tip of the Day
• Top Sales Coaching Sessions
• Top Sales Jobs (UK is here already and we are adding North America/Europe/Rest of World)
• Top Sales Store

We have also ported across Top 10 Sales Articles and Top Sales Awards

http://topsalesworld.com/

Thanks for your continuing support!

—————————————–

I’ve been privileged to be a part of this community for several years now. You will find the TOP sales advice, sales authors and lots of FREE resources for YOU to sell more!

Personally, I thought the two articles about whether consultative selling is dead were quite interesting. See what you think.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, Sales, sales expert, Sales Tips

Ready for additional reading selections? Below is Part 3 of the Summer Reading list.  From building a sustainable business to culture to shifting  your prospecting opportunities using trigger events.  Great selections.

For the entire list of 2011 Sales Reading suggestions click here for your own pdf.  Many of the authors have great FREEBIES on their websites as well.

Read through the list and select 3-4 that will help YOU (or your team) advance sales, grow your business, strengthen customer loyalty and earn everyone year end bonuses!

#CORPORATE CULTURE tweet,by S. Chris Edmonds, foreword by Ken Blanchard. This book of short & sweet aha’s will help you understand the impact of your team’s culture to drive sales success. Edmonds’ is Blanchard’s culture guru and shares the best practices of high performance, values-aligned teams in 140-character quotes. No matter if you run a team of 1000′s or of 2, you need this book.

EnergizeGrowth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company, by Lisa Nirell. Growing a sustainable business doesn’t have to be draining. Yet in today’s crazy-busy B2B marketplace, it can be tempting to pursue risky business. By applying the contrarian wisdom you’ll find in Lisa Nirell’s newest book, you can combine strategic planning with smart marketing to spur intelligent, long-term growth. Energize Growth® NOW is a great resource to help you achieve that.

Full Steam Ahead: Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Work and Your Life, by Ken Blanchard and Jesse Lyn Stoner. Summer is an ideal time to reflect on whether the path you are on is likely to get you where you want to go. Full Steam Ahead! clearly and simply lays out the steps to get where you want to go, for your team and for yourself, in the format of an enjoyable story.

SHiFT! Harness the Trigger Events that TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS, by Craig Elias. When you get to highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time the sale almost happens by itself. By luck or sheer numbers you’ve had timing happen before, this book will show you how to make it happen again, and again, and again.

Get out your sunglasses and beach chair and open a great book! 

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, productivity, Sales, Sales Tips

In many parts of the world – summer has arrived or is coming soon. (In Wisconsin, we are desparetly waiting still….)

Summer time often means a little more time to sit and enjoy life or maybe work in a little R&R on vacation! And that’s a great time to read…to let your mind fill with new possibilities or solve agonizing questions such as:

• Why did I ___________ ?
• How can I ___________ ?
• What on earth caused _________ ?

Well, I have put together a list of great sales books. I personally know many of these authors – and their insights, experiences and unique styles all provide something valuable to help YOU be more successful.

There are so many books we have made this a two-part post!  Look for Part 2 on May 30th.

And, to make it easy for you to reference the entire list, we’ll have a full listing of all 25+ books available for download on the 30th for you as well.

Enjoy!

42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness, by Michael Griego. If you are a professional salesperson, sales manager or director, vice president of sales or marketing, CEO, or anyone supporting selling efforts, this book is for you. If you are a senior executive, consultant, venture capitalist, board member, entrepreneur or aspiring up-and-comer, you should know the updated tools, language and tactics of selling in today’s market.

Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball, by Dave Kurlan. Summer and Baseball!  Baseline Selling makes for a great summer read because unlike most sales books, it’s enjoyable to read, it’s easy to apply and the Baseline Selling sales process is both intuitive and easy to remember.

Business Expert Guide to Business Success, 21 Business Experts Guide You to Profit by Lee B. Salz and Jeb Blount. Build your business right the first time with practical, proven strategies that grow profitable business for the long haul. Be in control of that business rather than it controlling you! 

Bypassing NO in Business, New Body language and Influence Strategies to Eliminate or Reduce Resistance to Anything by Harlan Goerger. 31 quick ideas to get you to the beach more often with more green! Get more YES without pushing, lying or negative manipulation of your customers.

Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz. A short, fun easy read about a guy who learns an entirely new way to view success and failure and the “NO’s” he encounters in his sales career. Written in fable style, you’ll get plenty of entertainment and sales lessons along with your tan!

Mastering the World of Selling – The Ultimate Resource From The Biggest Names in Sales, by Eric Taylor. No other resource gives you such depth AND breadth on so many sales-related topics, from so many experts – literally everything you need to know to become a Master of Selling and take your sales to a level you could only ever dream of before now.

Secrets of Successful Selling by Kelley Robertson. A good summer read, because each two-to-four page chapter offers a different piece of sales advice, technique or strategy. Categorized alphabetically, it is a great reference book and its short chapters make it easy to pick up and review in-between sales calls. You can read one or two chapters, go for swim, read another few chapters, enjoy a BBQ, etc.

 SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath. If you’re frustrated dealing with today’s crazy busy prospects who never answer the phone, stay with a status quo they don’t like and take forever to make decisions, then check out this book. Tons of ideas and fresh strategies for dealing with frazzled prospects. #1 sales book on Amazon.

The Art of Social Selling – Free e-book from The Customer Collective, with contributions from Anneke Seley. Summer. It’s a time of relaxed deadlines, vacations, and the perfect time to let your mind explore new concepts and grapple with ideas your busy workaday mind doesn’t have time to explore.  This summer, consider the changing behavior of today’s customer that is prompting the contemporary sales organization to rethink how they sell. In this e-book, top corporate leadership and thought leaders who sell in a variety of industry sectors will share success stories and strategies for using social networks to generate leads and cultivate relationships.

The Selling Gap, Selling Strategies for the 21st Centuryby Harlan Goerger. Gain more beach time in less time with new ideas on how people buy in today’s market. It’s not about product, it’s about decisions and facilitating those decisions.

Negotiation Rules by Jeanette Nyden.  Big deal negotiators know the rules to winning great deals without sacrificing their bottom-line. This book is packed with dozens of relevant and practical skills that will help you successfully negotiate your next big deal.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Marketing Tips, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: learning, Negotiation, networking, prospecting, sales expert, Sales Objections, sales process, Sales Tips