http://www.salescoachinglive.com/blog/category/sales-2-0-sales-enablement/ Blog categories... http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-aspect-s-of-selling-to-your-prospect-s-brain/
#1 Emotional Intelligence
Selling REQUIRES emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence as “the abilities to recognize and regulate the emotions in ourselves and others”. If you do not connect emotionally with your prospects and clients, they won’t feel the need to do business with you. People value their relationships, including those with their sales professionals. When they receive value, they enjoy rewarding you with a purchase order, because they believe you earned it! However, as we all know, people are different. They have different values, communicate differently, make decisions differently and have varying needs. Your job is to discover what is most important to them so that you can connect with them on that level.

#2 Personality Style
Building a solid professional relationship requires trust. To do that you will have to uncover their needs, which is infinitely easier when you understand their personality style. One of the most powerful questions to ask is “when it comes to investing in a solution like ours, what is most important to you?” Their answer will reveal their values which are directly related to their personality style. For example, Green personality styles are the more analytical and engineering types who value efficiency and competence. Golds are more leader types such CEO, CFO and financial types who value security and control. Oranges are big picture and look for the immediate benefits and value winning and competition, while Blues value integrity and relationships.

#3 Storytelling
Use stories and analogies to engage the right side of the brain. Stories are memorable and others can put themselves into the story, helping them visualize the situation from their perspective. Customers buy when four criteria are satisfied: needs, cost, solution and risk. ONLY when they are comfortable in each of these areas will they take action. When they hear a relevant success story they can relate to, they begin to see what your solution can do for them. From a personality perspective, each personality will prioritize and analyze needs, cost, solution and risk differently. Right brain people are Orange and Blue in our model and they favor more of the intangibles and are more subjective. Left brain people are our Green and Gold and are more objective and look for the tangibles. Don’t forget that people also buy based on what the solution will do for them personally, which is why building a relationship is vital. Business solutions might lower cost, increase revenue or improve productivity. Personal motivations might be getting a promotion, recognition or peace of mind. Left brain (Green and Gold) customers favor business benefits of your solution and right brain (Blue and Orange) folks favor the personal aspects.

The bottom line is this: know why your customer buys. Just understanding who they are will help you shift the attention away from your goals to theirs, which always nets better results!

You need to:
1. Connect with your customers emotionally = emotional intelligence
2. Understand their needs and their personality style
3. Engage them with stories and case studies that will engage their right brain.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-aspect-s-of-selling-to-your-prospect-s-brain/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:16:48 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-sales-tips-for-the-new-year/ Happy New Year and welcome to another year with a new sales budget! You may already be thinking about the potential challenges you might face. Are you...
1-Follow up. Start this year by taking an inventory of those customers you have been working with this past year and which ones have potential to add incremental business. Which ones showed signs of interest but never made the ultimate commitment? Contact them and remind them of the benefits you discussed in the first place. Think about adding even more value that they would benefit from and how that added value makes getting together now even more important for them. Even better, come up with a very explicit “benefit for meeting now”. Why would your solution make a difference this year? Make sure that you have a “stay in touch strategy” so that your prospects and customers don’t forget about you - remember the old saying “out of sight, out of mind”.

2-ROI. Re-examine the return on investment your solutions bring to your customers. For existing customers, set up a meeting to review how your products and services have been performing for them. This is an excellent opportunity to ask about their goals and objectives for the new year and how you might be able to support them. It’s always easier to add business to an existing client and typically has the shortest sales cycle since you have already established a relationship where trust and credibility exist. This type of engagement with your customers also helps to preempt the competition who would be left out if they skip the request for proposal process saying the business is a modification to an existing purchase. With many companies new business from existing clients can easily be over 50% of your revenue generation. Understanding your clients ROI is important as it is proof of your solution’s success. The more proof you have to give to new prospects about what your customer’s have experienced is usually the MOST marketing you can do. Customers today want tangible evidence that your products and services will do what you say they will do.

3-Incentives. Most of you have all experienced company incentives at the end of the quarter or the year as a way to generate business and meet your revenue targets. Why not start the year out by adding incremental value to your solutions as an incentive to buy now. A new year for your customers usually means a new budget cycle and now is the time to stimulate their interest and get ahead of the curve. You’re not discounting your products and services, you’re adding value that might attract the customer or prospect’s attention. Adding value can have a low impact on your margins compared to lowering your price. Knowing your customer base and their needs will help you craft the right incentive that would gain their interest.

Make 2012 be your best year ever. Being proactive from the get go will show your customers and prospects that you have their best interest at heart.
Implement the 3 Sales Tips:

1- Follow up,
2- Show them a healthy return on their investment and
3- Craft the right incentive to spur them on to invest in you and your company.

Happy New Year and good selling for 2012!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-sales-tips-for-the-new-year/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:03:56 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/relationships-say-it-all-in-sales/ But first, let’s look at the definition of “relationship”? It’s the state of being connected. How are we connected to friends, family or business colleagues? We are connected through our emotions. We connect with others by engaging the right side of our brain where our feelings and emotions reside. We connect with people when we discover things we have in common.

1. Your attitude
The first reason customers want to develop a relationship with you is your attitude. I’m sure you’ve heard many times that attitude is everything. Well it’s certainly a huge reason why people will gravitate to you. And interestingly, even in business, attitude usually trumps aptitude. Attitude is critical in having strong emotional intelligence. Customers want to see a positive, can-do attitude in you. They see it in the way you handle the tough questions and objections they might have for you. They see it when you focus on their agenda. In other words they want you to better understand both their needs and who they are. If you’re just there to just make the sale – you’ve already lost them, because the customer can tell. Your attitude is in your control and it affects everything you do and every relationship you have.

2. Your value
The second reason a customer wants a relationship with you is because you add value and help them solve their issues. Most often it’s more about you the person and not your company, unless of course you worked for Enron or WorldCom. It comes down to their confidence in you, which is directly proportional to trust. According to Stephen M. R. Covey in his book- The Speed of Trust, there are two components to trust - character and competence. Both are necessary and you will never have the chance to add value if either of these trust components are missing. Character is your ability to uphold what is right in the eyes of the customer. It’s looking at the right solution at the right price and making sure that the outcome is fair and equitable for both sides. Putting the customer’s needs first is always paramount. Competence is demonstrating that your customers can trust you to solve their problem. Customers expect sales professionals to be the experts in their field and to know what is best for solving their problem. They also expect you to know that they have alternatives, to you, your product or service and even whether to make a purchase at all.

Customers intentionally build relationships with sales professionals that have the right attitude towards them and the right intentions-trusting you will do the right thing.

When you focus on building strong and trust-based relationships, they will trump your products, services and hopefully your competitors-that’s why your customers do business with you.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/relationships-say-it-all-in-sales/ Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:45:10 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/the-psychology-of-selling/ When it comes to reviewing a sales opportunity that either ends in a win or a loss you assess what happened. Why did you lose or why did you win? But ... People don’t buy just for the logical facts about your solution. Why do you buy a car? For the miles per gallon, it’s rating in the consumer report or the safety record? While these are all important, the real decision relates more to the look and feel of the car. It’s what is going on in the emotional part of your brain. There are 3 facts about the psychology of selling. But before we get into these facts we need to define what selling really is. Selling is the transfer of emotions from one person to another. It’s not selling logic or rationale; it’s engaging the customer’s emotions. So let’s look at the 3 facts.

Fact number one: consider a little brain science. Customers react to a pain 3 times more often than a gain. Why? Because dealing with pain is emotional. Your emotions reside in your limbic brain. Logic resides in the neocortex. Your limbic brain is stimulated 3000 faster than your neocortex. People respond to pain by finding a cure as soon as possible. As a sales professional, your goal is to find the pain and heighten the impact of what that pain can do. That’s why impact questions used after uncovering a problem are so successful when engaging the customer. Think about having an illness and what goes through your mind before seeing the doctor. Is it just a cold or is it more serious than you think? When you don’t have a solution to pain, you worry which only increases your sense of urgency.

Fact number two: in order to impact the customer emotions, you need to take them into the future. If you don’t alleviate the problem now, or you wait six months, what happens? Again, when you go into the future you have the opportunity to create what you see. Will it be bad by not taking action, or will it be resolved by fixing the issue now? It’s human nature to take things to the extreme especially when you look into the future. You can either paint the ugliest of pictures or the brightest of opportunities. Depending on the situation at the moment, you have the opportunity to steer the customer in the direction that favors your solution.

Fact number three: when customers are engaged emotionally with us, you will build stronger relationships. Think about the relationships you have with friends. Are they built on logic or emotion? You connect emotionally 100% of the time. Emotions have the upper hand over logic every time because our brain is hardwired that way. That’s why customers buy emotionally and back it with logic. Your first reaction to anything is emotional. Just think about how you connect with a movie. It’s not the words or the actions, but the music in the background that connects us emotionally to the scene. Emotions are a right brain activity and relationships are formed in the right brain. To engage the customer’s right side of the brain you need to establish a conversation that takes them to what’s most important to them personally. This is when they will take action.

When you understand that selling is really all about psychology, you’ll
• Focus on the pain
• Take them into the future
• Engage your customer emotionally to build the relationship
Only then will you earn the right to handle their business for the long term.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/the-psychology-of-selling/ Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:59:58 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/when-will-an-executive-buy/
#1 Financial Impact:
One of the key metrics executives look at is the return on the investment (ROI). Executives will analyze to determine if we make this investment for “X” amount of dollars what will be the return. How long will it take to pay back the dollar investment and what will be the realistic growth as time goes on. No one invests in a product or service that does not have a strong ROI. The executive will always have someone in the finance organization run the numbers on the investment.

#2 Productivity, Efficiency and Effectiveness:
What will the solution do for the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of your culture and your operations? If you were an executive evaluating a Customer Relationship Management software package, think about the criteria you would use to make a decision. Would it be easy to implement-first and foremost? Would people not only be able to easily learn the system, would they use it? Next, what will the system do for reporting key information to upper management? Will we be able to communicate more effectively with customers? Would we be able to evaluate the sales pipeline for reality? Will the system free up time for sales and sale support to get more face time with customers? These are some of the issues executives will consider in the evaluation. It all gets back to a return for the investment. Will you improve your operation with this investment?

#3 Competition
Will this investment improve our offerings so we can increase market share and our competitive position? This depends on the type of company you are working with. Are they product and innovation intensive, or are they service intensive. Every executive is concerned about improving their competitive position which is directly proportional to corporate growth. How can your solution position them for growth? Showing the executive results that another customer achieved is one of the best ways to show how they can succeed, especially if that customer is in the same industry. Testimonials are powerful and of the utmost importance; proving you can do what you say minimizes the risk.

Executives will evaluate your solution based on:
1. The ROI
2. How it can improve productivity, efficiency and effectiveness
3. Whether it will improve their marketshare

When they see these three criteria in a positive light, the risk of buying from you will be minimized. Make sure that your solutions can stand up to this level of evaluation.
If you do, you may earn the privilege described in this scenario: many years ago the saying was, “no one ever got fired for making a decision to go with IBM”. Can your company say the same?]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/when-will-an-executive-buy/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:11:57 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/why-customers-hate-to-be-sold/
Let’s look at 3 reasons why customers hate to be sold.
#1 - they’re tired of being told! Decision makers are more open to a sales person who asks questions about their needs rather than telling them what they need to do? Yet, surprisingly most sales professionals ask just one or two questions waiting for the first opportunity to go into present mode! REAL needs – the ones that are attached to the biggest budgets - aren’t close to being fully understood. The customer’s true issues aren’t evident, yet the sales person goes into tell mode or as we experienced in 3rd grade, “show and tell”. Telling is the same as convincing which is just another synonym for selling. What customers prefer is the advice of an expert consultant that asks pertinent questions about their business.

#2 - they’ve lost their place as the center of attention-you have taken their place. Customers want to talk about their goals, aspirations, the future and their own personal goals. When you present prematurely, the focus and priority is no longer on the customer but on your need to talk about their solution. The right time to present the solution is when the customer asks for it and not before. The customer will ask you to talk about your solution when you have peaked their interest and they have a desire to hear what you have to offer and not a minute sooner. Your job as a GREAT sales professional is to build curiosity in the mind of the customer so that they want to hear more. That is why customers enjoy buying. They see the need for your solution and in their own mind they made the decision and feel good about it.

#3 - no one wants to be pressured. The last thing anyone needs today is more pressure. We live in a world that puts timeframes on everything. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes – they already have enough pressure put on them from their own company to get things done, meet goals and objectives and of course meet every deadline. Customers want to buy on their timeline not yours. Think of all the sales incentives that start with, if you make a decision by the end of this month, we will give you……. Incentives are attractive only when the customer is ready to make a decision. Would you buy a product or service for half price if you didn’t need it? Neither would I.
As you think about the ways to be a more effective sales professional, remember to ask – don’t tell OR sell. Make inquiries and keep the focus on your customer.

The most successful sales professionals always focus on the needs of their customer. This puts them at the center of attention. When they feel valued for the information they share and you work to craft the right solution at the right time, they don’t feel pressured but instead, curious to find out more about you and your solution. Remember sales is all about building relationships and relationships are built by developing trust. Avoiding typical selling and telling will help both you and your customers succeed.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/why-customers-hate-to-be-sold/ Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:22:02 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-ways-to-peak-your-prospect-s-interest/ The first major problem you face when making that initial call to a prospect is their indifference. It’s bad enough that you might be calling someone that doesn’t know you, but just as important is how you can get their immediate attention to hear why they should spend the time to meet with you. Is there a need you can address and if so how bad is that pain?

Step One: What’s their issue?
To peak their interest, start by stating an issue that your research shows to be the most likely one they are facing today. Given the uncertainty of our economy, one issue that would get the attention of most prospects might be cash flow. Test that hypothesis by saying, “Most of my clients say that one of their biggest challenges right now is the need to improve cash flow. How much of an issue is cash flow for you today?” There are several issues that can be of concern to companies/individuals today. It’s fairly easy to uncover what those top issues are in your specific industry. Good research to identify their most common issues will pay off by getting their attention.

Step Two: Impact of their issue?
Once you have their attention, help them understand the impact of that issue on their business. Heighten the issue by asking impact questions. Impact questions reveal how the issue can implicate other areas of their business. For example, ask, “If cash flow is an issue, how does that impact your investment goals in equipment or application software or expansion goals? What’s the impact on your hiring strategy? What’s the impact on your customer satisfaction goals? Impact questions can help the prospect see the consequences of unresolved issues. But remember, understanding impact alone doesn’t necessarily mean they will take action. You’ll need to make sure that you touch their emotions too, because we make decisions with both sides of our brain.

Ironically, even though people may buy when they see an opportunity to improve their business - they don’t like to be sold. So, speak to their emotion first, and then back it up with the logic to justify the solution. Emotions always have the upper hand.

Step Three: What are possible recommendations?
Lastly, be prepared with potential recommendations. Even though you may not have all of the information needed to make a firm suggestion, having some realistic ideas shows that you’ve done your homework – you do understand something about their business. AND, you have experience with other clients and have a track record of success. Customers look to the sales person for advice. To close the call share a success, “Mr. Smith, we recently helped one of our clients free up $250,000 a month in cash flow savings that allowed them to expand their operation by opening up a new office in Boca Raton. Their revenues are now projected to grow 15% this next fiscal year. I would like to sit down with you and discuss an approach that can achieve the same results for you. Would you be free next Wednesday at 2pm?

Getting appointments is difficult, so you’ll have to stand out from the other noise and competition in the marketplace. Remember to use these three steps to take your sales success to a new level:
Step One: What’s their issue?
Step Two: What’s the impact of their issue?
Step Three: What are possible recommendations?
You’ll find the results to be impressive!

Good Selling!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-ways-to-peak-your-prospect-s-interest/ Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:06:25 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-the-best-sales-people/ Do great B2B sales people, regardless of what they sell, have any practices in common? In other words, do the best sales people all sell the same way...
A number of years ago, a professional association attempted to answer that question. They studied superstar sales people from a wide variety of industries and concluded: Yes!

In fact, the best sales people excel at the same things. Here are the top five practices of the very best sales people:
1. They see the situation from the customer’s point of view.
2. They ask better questions.
3. They listen more constructively.
4. They are obsessed with time management.
5. They do bigger deals.

Let’s look at the relationship among these items to see if there are any lessons for us.

“They do bigger deals.” That is both the result of their work (that is, after all, why they are the best sales people) as well as their focus from the beginning. They start with an understanding that it is their job to bring revenue into the company, and that the more revenue they bring in, the more valuable they are to their companies and the more successful they become. And this realization leads them to what becomes an obsession.

“They are obsessed with time management.” That means that they intentionally and methodically strive to make the best use of their sales time by focusing the bulk of their efforts on the highest-potential opportunities and customers. You won’t find them running an errand for a “C” customer just to be a nice guy.

In my book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, I make the point that this practice – investing in the highest potential prospects and customers – trumps all other sales practices. If you are a great presenter, for example, and wonderful at closing the sale, your skills will be squandered if they are not exercised with the right people.

And what do the best sales people do with the time they invest in the highest-potential customers? “Ask better questions,” and “listen more constructively.” Amazing. These two fundamental communication skills are, perhaps, the earliest communication skills we learn. Yet, the best take these foundational skills and execute them better. And since they excel at these two fundamentals, they naturally gain a better understanding of the “customer’s point of view.” Equipped with that competitive advantage, they formulate creative proposals that lead them back to where they started: bigger deals.

This should be immensely encouraging to sales people. Unlike the promotional messages from legions of sales trainers and authors, the reality is that there are no “secrets” in sales. Success comes not from hidden strategies and mysterious tactics, but rather from the excellent execution of the essentials.

The best sales people execute the most fundamental skills with excellence. And, since we can all do the things the best do, we can, if we choose, strive to do them better. And, if we strive to do them better, at some point we will arrive at the same place they are: a master sales person.

In other words, there is a path to sales mastery, and we can all follow it, if we choose.

It begins with our mind-set. We need to see ourselves as professional sales people, whose job it is to bring revenue into the company. That sounds so simple and so basic, yet legions of sales people are loath to consider themselves sales people. They are account executives, sales facilitators, mobile customer service representatives, etc. Some consider themselves to be exclusively the advocates for the customer and hand out discounts and concessions to anyone and everyone.

Since they don’t see themselves as professional sales people, they don’t invest in improving their sales skills. They don’t understand that their behavior creates a reciprocal reaction on the part of the customer. The sales person’s actions create reactions on the part of the customer. If they want more profitable actions from the customer, they need to improve their actions.

Once we have the mind-set of the professional sales person, we slowly begin to gravitate toward the opportunities and customers that hold the greatest potential. We understand that we only have a small and limited quantity of sales time, and that we must invest it, with a cold-blooded business attitude, in those situations that will bring the greatest reward. In short, effective time management becomes a daily obsession.

Now, since we are interacting more frequently with the highest potential customers and prospects, we focus on excelling at the most fundamental communication skill: asking better questions and listening more constructively. Armed with these two fundamental and powerful communication devices, we strive for continued improvement and constant development.

With this as a path, sales mastery is an achievable goal for every committed sales person.

As the best have taught us, there is a path to sales mastery, and it comes travels through excellent execution of the essentials.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-the-best-sales-people/ Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:45:03 +0000 Dave Kahle http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/the-right-time-for-sales-training/ By Dave Kahle


Q. I wanted to do some sales training last year, but it just wasn’t the right time for it. We had...]]> By Dave Kahle


Q. I wanted to do some sales training last year, but it just wasn’t the right time for it. We had too many things on our plate. Looking at our calendar this year, I am coming to the same conclusion. Am I ever going to have time to do sales training? Will it ever be the right time?

A. Great question. Probably the number one reason sales managers don’t provide sales training for their teams is “the timing just isn’t right.”
Why is it that some companies, regardless of the press of the urgent and the demands of the customers, find time to provide regular training and development opportunities for their sales force, and others, in the same industry, just can’t make the time?

The answer really does not lie in the ebb and flow of “things to do.” Nor does it lie in the open spaces of the calendar – if only you could find some empty days, you could slot in a sales training event. The answer does not lie in the world of stuff outside of ourselves that so occupies our time and attention. Rather, the answer lies inside ourselves and our organizations – in our attitudes, our values and our corporate culture.
Let me lay some ground work with a bit of thinking about effective sales, in general and then circle around to address the question head on.

1. I think everyone would agree with this statement: Better sales people sell more than average sales people.

Better sales performance is not a matter of inheriting the best customer, or falling into a lucky deal. Those things happen occasionally, but year in and year out, the best performing sales people are those who ‘sell better’ than the rest. They do something, and usually a lot of things, better than their colleagues. As a result, their customers respond more positively to them, and the sales people post better numbers. They sell more because they act differently. Not just differently – but better.

There is a direct relationship between what the sales person does and how much he sells. Here’s a simple example. One study found that 74 percent of purchasing agents said they would be “much more likely to buy from a sales person, if that person would just listen.” Doesn’t it follow, then, that those sales people who listen better sell more than those who don’t? So, if you could help all of your sales people listen better, wouldn’t that result in more sales? Of course it would. And listening is just one of a number of sales practices that are essential to better sales performance.

That’s my point. What a sales person does directly and measurably impacts how much a sales person sells. And better sales people, because they do things better, sell more than average sales people.

2. Most of my readers would also agree with this statement: Almost every sales person can become better.

One of the things that I have most enjoyed about my career as a sales person has been the fact that I have never yet reached my potential. I can always do better. And, frankly, I’m a pretty good sales person.

I’m not perfect yet, even though I have tried to get there my whole life. Rarely does a day go by that I don’t find myself saying, “I should have done this or that better.” Unfortunately, it is in the nature of sales that one is never as good as he can be. Vince Lombardi aptly summed up the challenge of continuous improvement in a different area:

We will relentlessly pursue perfection, knowing full well that we will never attain it, because no one is perfect. But, we will chase perfection, because in the process we will catch excellence.

Put these two paradigms together (#1 & #2 above) and you have a pretty good rationalization for continuous and immediate sales training. If better sales practices bring in more money, and every sales person can become better, then investing in making them better will bring in more money.

How can you afford the luxury of not improving the practices of your sales team?

3. But wait, some of you are saying, sales training doesn’t automatically mean better sales practices.

You’re right. It doesn’t. But it sure outperforms the alternative of not doing anything and expecting everyone will just automatically improve by trial and error. I’m going to make a radical statement here: I believe that there is not an exceptional performer in any endeavor who is entirely self-taught (with the once in a generation exception for the occasional savant). Tiger Woods, for example, has a swing coach.

The more sophisticated and challenging is the endeavor, the more likely that the exceptional performer has had multitude of coaches, mentors and trainers along the way. Sales is an incredibly sophisticated endeavor, where learning on your own can only take you so far.

Everyone who wants to improve, in every endeavor known to mankind, sooner or later puts himself in a situation where he/she learns from a coach, trainer or mentor – someone who has gone before and has a gift of being able to discern and communicate the intricacies and insights of the field. It takes someone outside of ourselves to help us see and realize our real potential.

The dedicated sales person, for example, buys all the books, gets the Ezines, listens to the podcasts, etc. The sales manager who wants his team to perform well, constantly injects them into learning experiences. He brings in the videos, distributes good articles, sends them to the seminars, etc.

And, like everything else, there are qualities of sales training. You can bring in old Tom, for example, who is getting ready to retire and is looking for something less demanding than sales to do. Or, you can employ the local unemployed sales person who always wanted to be a trainer. The world is full of both types.

But, if you are going to invest your sales force’s valuable time and your hard-earned money, I’d recommend you invest it into a safe choice – professionals who have an understanding of how people learn and change, real life successful experience in sales, and years of proven experience in the profession of training.

4. One more point. Have you ever stopped to calculate the cost of maintaining the status quo?

Today -- just this one day -- how many opportunities did your sales people not uncover because they haven’t been trained in how to better uncover opportunities? How many opportunities did they miss because they have not been trained to listen well? How many new customers should have been developed this month, but weren’t because your sales people have never been instructed in how to develop a new customer? How many high-potential customers languish in business-as-usual because your sales people have never been taught how to penetrate large accounts?

Just play around with those numbers and the conclusion will stagger you. The greatest cost in most companies is one which never makes it on the P&L statement – the cost of opportunities lost, customers not created, and sales not made due to a sales force performing at far less than its potential.
Now that I’ve laid some ground work, let me go back and answer the question.

Is there ever a good time to do sales training? It depends on your values, your attitude and your culture.

If you believe that your sales people can not become any better, then NO, do not make the time for sales training.

If you are perfectly content with the numbers your sales force is producing, then, NO, do not make the time for sales training.

If you think everyone will improve forever on their own, then NO, there will never be a good time for sales training.
If, on the other hand, you believe that just a small change in the behavior of a sales person can leverage into huge increases in sales and profits, then by all means make the time, as soon as possible.

Is there a good time to do sales training? That really is the wrong question. The question you should be asking instead is: How can you justify continuing to bear the costs of a sales team performing at less than optimum? How can you justify the maintenance of the status quo?

Parenthetically, our Sales Resource Center provides a virtually unlimited number of sales development lessons, delivered to every sales person’s computer, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog. For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/the-right-time-for-sales-training/ Mon, 16 May 2011 17:21:25 +0000 Dave Kahle http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-don-t-ales-professionals-set-enough-initial-appointments/ Who should be making the appointment setting calls in your organization?

Is the sales force one that cannot, will not, or should not be setting appoi...]]> Who should be making the appointment setting calls in your organization?

Is the sales force one that cannot, will not, or should not be setting appointments their own appointments?

We are many times asked, “When should I outsource our appointment setting requirement for the outside sales team?” This question comes up when managers aren’t consistently seeing enough Initial Appointments being set by their sales team.

If we can answer the following question, we’ve got our answer. Is the reason enough appointments are not being set because the sales team cannot, will not, or should not be setting appointments? Now that I’ve settled that topic…just kidding. Let’s explore that a little more deeply.

Let’s look at the last qualifier first, because if the answer is no for that one, then the first two qualifiers are moot. “Should our outside sales team be setting their own appointments?” In a sales environment where the buying cycles are long and complex, the average sized sale is big, and the competitive landscape is tough, our sales professionals are usually very highly paid. In those situations, suggest we, at least, look at having someone else set appointments for them.

The reason for that is that setting our own appointments takes time, and a lower cost resource can set appointments. If I’ve got a team of highly qualified subject matter experts, for instance, who have heavy time commitments in the buying cycles to qualify, present, and close, it does beg the question. Perhaps we are better off letting those sales people concentrate on what only they can do, and hire someone else to set appointments for them.

The trade-offs here are how much subject matter training is required to make the appointment setters competent to set qualified appointments, can we deliver that training, and can we supply reasonably targeted lists. Those are questions you’ll have to answer yourself.

However, let’s assume for a moment that we’ve decided that our team should be setting their own appointments. The next question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are they failing because they cannot, or will not set their own appointments?” If they will not, perhaps it is because the task is arduous, too time consuming, and painful. If we have addressed those issues and they just won’t do it, we need to find those sales professionals something else to do.

If it is because they cannot (or we’re not sure if it still might be will not), we do have remedies for that. Four areas may be addressed to help them become more effective and efficient at this task. They are; better lists of targets to call, a better set of best practices (pre-set business rules for the process), a better set of tools to take the pain out of the process and make them more efficient, and better skills to handle the objections they encounter when attempting to set the appointment.

Do not fall into the trap of; if a sales professional knows how to close, they know how to set appointments. It is a totally different process, requiring a different set of skills, tools and processes. Too many, this is a surprise. So much so, that I dedicated an entire section to this topic in both of my books, Contrary to Popular Opinion, Cold Calling Does Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, the Art of Appointment Making, and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making. You can also find some of that explanation in the blog entitled, The skills that are necessary in the pipeline phase of selling are not the same as those required in appointment setting Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

If you believe that your team needs to be setting some, if not all, of their own Initial Appointments, then make sure they’ve got the proper set of skills, tools and processes to make them both effective and efficient—or you’ll continue to struggle with an anemic pipeline.

Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/why-don-t-ales-professionals-set-enough-initial-appointments/ Wed, 04 May 2011 16:00:19 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/what-s-a-professional-sales-person/
Here’s one person’s opinion.

First, let’s eliminate those things that don’t matter. There are a number of misconceptions about the attributes of a professional sales person that center around the externals of a sales person’s situation. For example, being a professional sales person has absolutely nothing to do with the product or service the sales person sells.

I have met very professional sales people who have sold some of the strangest things imaginable. In almost every open-enrollment seminar that I present, I come across someone who sells something that I have never even heard of before. In my own experience, for example, I have sold cake mixes, men’s shoes, men’s suits and underwear, surgical staplers, sophisticated amplification equipment for hearing impaired children, business opportunities, life insurance, catheters, hand soap and yes, even sales people (as a sales recruiter), to name just a few.

Here’s another irrelevant external issue: Being a professional sales person has nothing to do with the folks to whom you sell. There are people in this country who sell something to every single job description and organization imaginable. Some of the customer types to whom my clients have sold include farmers, both crop growers and live stock growers; tool and die shops, tier one, two and three automotive suppliers; schools at every level, and government agencies of all kinds; the military, grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores and retailers of every kind; contractors of every ilk, including electrical, mechanical, HVAC, plumbing; builders both residential and commercial, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. In each and every one of these industries, there are professional sales people.

Being a professional sales person has nothing to do with the company for whom the sales person works. There are thousands of independent representatives in this country, for example, who work for themselves. Other sales people work for small family-held businesses, others work for large multi-nationals. Thousands sell for distributors; tens of thousands sell for retailers of every possible thing; more thousands sell for manufacturers and service providers of every type. Professional sales people are sprinkled throughout every one of these business types.

Finally, being a professional sales person has nothing to do with how long he’s been at it, his educational background or experience level. I have encountered many sales people who have been selling for over twenty years, for example, who don’t come close to fitting into the mold of a professional sales person. On the other hand, last week, I met a 21 year old, in his first sales job, who was very professional.

I have met professional sales people who had only a high school degree, and many with college and post-graduate degrees. None of these things, which are external to the sales person’s character, matter.

Now that we’ve eliminated the things that a professional sales person is not, let’s look at the other side and examine the marks of a profession sales person. “Professional” is the name we choose to put on a certain set of character traits and attitudes that reside inside a sales person.

1. A professional sales person is proud to be a sales person.

Can you imagine a doctor who is embarrassed to admit that he is a doctor? Or a nurse who covers up that fact? A teacher who doesn’t want anyone to know what he does for a living? A firefighter ashamed to admit it? A lawyer who pretends to be somebody else? (Well, ok, maybe on this one.)

You see, in every profession, the members of that profession are proud to be a part of it. Amazingly, that is not the case with the majority of sales people. They don’t like to think of themselves as sales people. Instead, they make up other terms. They are account executives, product specialists, customer liaison agents, mobile customer service representatives, to name a few.

On the other hand, the professionals understand the challenging nature of what they do for a living, the importance it has for their families, their companies and the economy as a whole. The work of the average sales person in this nation supports four other families within the organization. They are proud of that and proud to be sales people.

They don’t hide it or apologize for it, they revel in it.

2. A professional sales person likes his job.

Not only are they proud to be sales people, but they like being sales people. They like the freedom and autonomy they have on the job, and they relish the responsibility that comes with that. They thrive on the customer contact, and are energized by the constant challenge. They get a high from closing a big or difficult sale, and aren’t afraid to celebrate those successes.

That doesn’t mean that they relish every aspect of every job. I’ve had a sales manager, for example, that I was embarrassed to introduce to a customer. I’ve sold products that didn’t excite me, and worked for companies whose management styles and cultures left me looking for something else. In all of these negative situations, though, I never disliked what I did.

3. A professional sales person believes he is a professional.

He doesn’t see what he does for a living as just a job. He understands that it is one of the most fundamental and important functions, not only in his company, but in the economy in general. He realizes that he touches and influences hundreds, if not thousands, of people, that his work supports and enables a number of other families, and that he represents much of the visible face of the company that employs them. These are serious responsibilities, and the professional sales person understands that to do this well, he must see himself as a professional.

4. A professional sales person continually invests in his own development.

Over the twenty plus years that I have been training sales people, educating sales managers and working to transform sales organizations, I have stumbled upon an observation which bothers me every time I communicate it. It’s this: Out of a group of any 20 sales people, only one has invested $25.00 of his own money on his own development and improvement in the past 12 months.

The non-professional sales people don’t think it’s their responsibility to improve themselves. They won’t buy a book, or attend a seminar without their bosses paying for it and requiring it of them. To them, it’s just a job.

The professionals invest in themselves. Since they see themselves as professionals, they understand that they must constantly and continually “sharpen the saw.” They buy the books, get the newsletters, attend the conferences, listen to the podcasts, etc.

Can you imagine your CPA, as he delivers your tax return, mentioning that he hasn’t spent any time updating himself in years? Or the doctor, as he goes into surgery to work on your spouse or child, off-handedly tossing off the fact that “it’s been years since he bothered to take a class or upgrade his skills.”

These seem like silly examples. But most sales people (95 percent) don’t bother to take the initiative to upgrade their skills and develop their competencies. Only the professionals do.

5. A professional sales person always acts with the best interests of his company and his customer above his own.

There is, resident in the psyche of every professional sales person, an obligation to “serve.” Ultimately, the professional sales person does serve two masters: his customers and his company. A professional understands that the sales he makes are the tangible expressions of win/win solutions for the customer as well as profitable transactions for his company.

The professional will not “push” an inappropriate solution onto a customer, just to make a sale. He’s in it for the long term, understanding that his reputation as a professional is worth far more than any individual deal. “Integrity” is the overriding personality trait, and adherence to a strict code of ethics is the specific expression.

The unprofessional sales person sees his company’s management as, under the worst scenario, the enemy with whom to contend, and under the best, as a somewhat less than competent irritant to be tolerated. The professional understands that he is an employee of the company, and has a responsibility to nurture the company’s interests. He is mindful of his need to provide a return on the company’s investment in him, and seeks continually to increase his profitability to his employer.

6. A professional sales person recognizes a responsibility that is larger than just the job.

A professional sales person, by virtue of the demands of his job, naturally develops exceptional “people” skills. He knows how to get things done, and how to work effectively with a variety of people. These are skills that are helpful in his communities as well as his position. Since he’s a professional, he invests some of his time in the larger community, serving on boards and task forces, coaching the elementary kids, adding his input to PTO meetings, etc. He gives a portion of his income to those less fortunate than himself.

He understands that he is one of the world’s more fortunate individuals and accepts the responsibility to pay it forward. I once heard this expression: “Service is the rent you pay for the position you occupy in society.” Professional sales people occupy a favored position, and accept their responsibility to pay the rent.

A professional sales force is an incredibly valuable asset to any organization, and the acquisition and development of a professional sales force is one of a businesses greatest accomplishments.

To foster your development as a professional sales person, visit The Sales Resource Center. Visit http://www.davekahle.com for more information.]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/davekahle/blog/what-s-a-professional-sales-person/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:46:41 +0000 Dave Kahle http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-reasons-prospects-will-meet/ You call a prospect for the first time and ask to meet. Little do you realize that you are the 10th call they received that very day for the same reas...
Let’s explore 3 reasons that can make a difference when asking your prospect to say yes to an initial meeting.

1. Mutuality - it is so much easier to turn a cold call into a warm one when you have a mutual relationship. It’s naturally easier to start a conversation out with someone by saying “John my name is Stu Schlackman with Competitive Excellence and Jack Reynolds suggested I contact you in regards to….” The probability of John accepting the invitation to a meeting is much higher. After all, John might be letting down his friend if he didn’t agree to meet. It’s natural for people you know to help you - that’s what relationships are all about.

2. Commonality – though similar to mutuality, the difference here is that both you and your prospect might have something in common that reaches beyond that of a mutual contact. It can be an organization, a hobby, an interest in a business topic or friends whether business or social. One example our team experienced several years ago was getting with an executive at a large firm in North Dallas. We were trying to see if this person had anything in common with members of our team. Come to find out the person was in an article of a major magazine and it talked about his hobby of being a triathlete. Since I had completed several in the past, I called leading with the following statement and question “John my name is Stu Schlackman with ….. and I saw your article in …. magazine last month. Besides being interested in the issues you mentioned about IT technology priorities for this year, I was impressed to see that you too competed in the Capital of Texas Triathlon. I participated in the same one 2 years ago and wanted to see if you enjoyed the experience as much as I did”. What do you think happened then? You got it – we met and struck up a friendly and productive relationship. You can do this too – a little research will help you discover what you have in common.

3. Credibility - your reputation in the market is critical to your success and prospects value credibility. Having mutual contacts and being referred by them adds to your credibility. Having something in common like running a triathlon or receiving the same award from an organization also contributes to your reputation which increases the likelihood of getting the meeting. The goal is to connect with the prospect in a way that gets them to be open to who you are and the company you represent. Prospects also like to talk about their successes. Prospects are more likely to open up when you lead with their expertise in the market. The conversation can open in the following way. “John we understand that in the area of inventory control, you are one of the top experts in the industry. Our company has a practice in the very same area and we would enjoy the opportunity to visit with you to get your insight on the challenges the industry is facing. Would you have time next week to visit”? People enjoy sharing their knowledge. Notice that the objective of the meeting is to learn and build trust, NOT to sell.

Mutuality, commonality and credibility are excellent ways to make prospecting more warm than cold. Part of the reason that social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are so successful is that they provide opportunities for warm introductions. They make it much easier to research and find out more about the people you want to meet.

As you create your sales plan for the new month, consider how you can utilize mutual relationships, your hobbies and interests to help you build credibility. You are certainly more likely to find a warm response!

Good prospecting!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/3-reasons-prospects-will-meet/ Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:20:52 +0000 Stu Schlackman http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions-2/ http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions-2/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:10:28 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions/ http://www.salescoachinglive.com/barrycaponi/blog/want-another-chance-to-follow-your-new-year-s-resolutions/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:09:51 +0000 Barry D. Caponi http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/the-3-laws-of-relationship-selling/
Law # 1 - Law of Reciprocity. If you want to receive business from a customer you need to give. Giving of your time and expertise will lead to getting. If your goal is to satisfy your customer’s needs and not your own, then you are giving, and, taking care of the customer trumps all else. Customers enjoy buying from sales professionals that work hard to satisfy their business and personal needs. They love to give the good news to the person that has earned their trust and their business. A trusted sales person becomes the quarterback of the team and helps to decide which team members need to be involved to meet the challenges and needs of the customer. Sales professionals that focus on building a long term relationship earn the right to ask the tough questions that others might not get to ask, or might not get answered. Would you answer a personal question the same way to a stranger that you would to a close friend? I don’t think so. It works the same way with customers. Generosity builds the long term relationship with the customer just as it does with your friends.

Law # 2 - Law of Intention. Your motive is to satisfy your customer’s needs but your intention sets the customer’s expectations. Ideally your intention should be to always exceed their expectations. Have you ever arrived at a store with a sign on the door that says “Open at 7am” yet you’re still waiting for them to open at 7:05? You’ve probably experienced this many times - what goes through your mind? They don’t care, they’re lazy, their apathetic, they come first, not you the customer. Perception is reality and when we over promise and under deliver, it sets us up for failure in the mind of the customer. Then there are those times when we are standing at the door at 6:55 and the staff notices you waiting and they immediately run to the door to let you in, apologizing for making you wait, even though you were early. Isn’t that who you want to give your business to? Customers do business with those that set the expectation of over delivering on their promise. It’s dropping off the proposal on a Thursday when it’s due on Friday. It’s estimating what a project will cost, then coming in under the estimated budget and 2 weeks earlier than planned. That’s what’s called “customer delight”.

Law # 3 - Law of Accountability. It seems like we live in a world where the only time people are accountable for their actions is when there’s good news. You need to be accountable regardless of the nature, and you often have to help your customers be accountable too. It’s easy to blame others for the events and circumstances that affect your customers. Yet that is exactly when you want to take responsibility and avoid the excuses. Accountability means owning up to the good, the bad and the ugly and as the team quarterback it’s your responsibility to communicate the news to the customer. Your customers will respect your honesty even when you are the bearer of bad news. Owning up to customer disappointments shows character. Trust is the combination of the character and expertise you deliver, and customers buy from people they trust. Being accountable will help you build long term trusting relationships with your customers. So, when you can’t deliver on the customer’s expectations, let them know immediately.

To truly serve the needs of your customers, remember the Three Laws of Strong Relationships:
1. Law of Reciprocity
2. Law of Intention
3. Law of accountability
Study each one and reflect on how well you understand and execute on each of these laws. Once mastered, the three laws will help you become the trusted adviser and the quarterback of a team that is in demand for solving customer needs.

Good selling!]]> http://www.salescoachinglive.com/schlackman/blog/the-3-laws-of-relationship-selling/ Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:43:43 +0000 Stu Schlackman