Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

Not enough companies have learned how to employ sales training as a strategic tool. Those that have are leaders in their industries, offering their shareholders maximum return on investment, are able to quickly adapt to changing market conditions, are respected by their customers and provide consistent sales performance. The sales people that work for those companies are motivated and stay in their jobs longer.

Quite often sales managers and executives don’t have the time and experience to do this correctly. Companies with internal training departments often provide guidance, but sales training is quite different from designing and delivering training to other constituencies within an organisation, such as customer care, engineering, or human resources.

The first step for any company deciding to make a change in their sales approach is always an assessment of the situation. What processes and methods are currently being employed by the company? What has their sales performance been? What percentage of sales people are delivering against plan? What are the biggest obstacles to success? How dynamic or stable is the company’s environment? What are the practices and expectations of the buyers? These are only a few considerations.

Designing or adopting a sales methodology is critical. Without that methodology in place, training is a tactical attempt to fix a larger problem. The selling methodology must be developed based upon the company’s unique situation—their market, their customers, how those customers buy, the complexity and price levels of the products and services the company offers, competitive pressures, reporting requirements, the participation of partners, the skill level of their current sales people, etc.

The primary objective of creating an individually tailored Organisational Development Programme has to be: “To achieve consistently superior results through the performance of every key individual“, after all, our people are our most important and indeed expensive resource, it therefore makes sense for us to want to see a full and proper return on that investment.

Specifically, we should seek to achieve optimum performance levels via a process and an all encompassing framework for defining performance standards. This involves assessing, appraising, developing, implementing, reviewing and providing continual feedback on performance.

Emphasis is placed on creating an environment in which the ‘can do – will do’ mentality thrives and becomes the norm – success and achievement are expected and as a consequence are much more likely to happen.

This total approach enables forward thinking organisations who are committed to looking ‘outside the square’ and who are not afraid to mentally cross bridges that that their competitors have not even identified, to enter the land of “me – first” rather than the land of “me – too”. It also offers the opportunity to develop excellence in the performance of the company’s teams and build the capabilities necessary to consistently over–achieve short, medium and long term objectives.

Today’s News:

I know I have many female readers and I have no doubt that most of you will be interested in a site that was recommended to me last week – why aren’t there sites for men like this? Ostensibly, it is aimed at today’s modern business woman

It’s called Coutts Woman and I can tell you it is what my mother would have called “very upmarket” but then again, that is to be expected as Coutts has been the bank of choice for the “very well heeled” for many years. However, that doesn’t really do it justice.

My first impressions were very favourable: The site is modern with clean lines and it is so easy to navigate around – I should tell you that my own technical team were also impressed and that doesn’t happen very often!

All of the sections which include: Features, Travel, Money Matters, News, How to…are extremely well written, informative and relevant.

So, if you are a woman in business or a woman entrepreneur, heed my advice and take a look at Coutts Woman

As we wrap up the week and indeed the month, I am delighted to introduce yet another Top Sales Expert Cheryl Clausen. Cheryl is another recent recruit to the team and you will no doubt have enjoyed her work here on The JF Guest Author Spot. You can read more about her here

Tomorrow: I have a very arduous schedule between now and Christmas, beginning with a trip to the UK for two weeks but I will be posting here as usual, so have a great w/e and do make it back here on Monday. - JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

9 Ways To Authentically Sell by Rochelle Togo-Figa

When we think about what we know about selling from the past, for some of us the image of the stereotype pushy salesperson comes to mind. The first thought many of us have is someone is trying to get me to buy something.

None of us likes the experience of “being sold.” We become distrustful and will quickly say, “I’m not interested.” Do you have to be like all those images we have of pushy salespeople? No. We all have different selling styles.

Have you ever watched individuals speak and you found yourself listening to every word they said? You didn’t know the individuals, but there was something about them that drew you to them. It happened because they were being genuine and real. They were being themselves.

Being successful in sales doesn’t come from being slick or pushy, or copying someone else’s selling style. That never works because people can sense you’re not yourself. The key is to understand who you are and be yourself.

Sales success begins with being who you are. It’s really is as simple as that. The prospect will come to you because they’re attracted to your authenticity. When you’re being real, your honesty and trust shines through, and people are drawn to you.

Let’s start to define what selling really is. Once you begin to uncover your own authentic selling style, you’ll start closing more business faster and with ease. Here are 9 ways to get you started:

• Selling is no longer being the slick, aggressive, and pushy salesperson.
• Selling is being more interested in the prospect than in what you have to say.
• Selling is creating a trusting and honest relationship with the prospect.
• Selling is being a keen listener and listening for what’s most important to the prospect.
• Selling is thinking of ways of helping the prospect.
• Selling is going the extra mile and doing the unexpected for the prospect.
• Selling is showing you genuinely want to help them get to where they want to go.
• Selling is making yourself easily accessible to your clients either by phone or email.
• Selling is being yourself. Remember, you are unique and special so let that shine through!

ASSIGNMENT:

On a piece of paper, continue to add to the list and write other ways to show your authentic selling style. Let your thoughts run free. Remember the key to successful selling is being yourself.

Each week take on (1) new way of authentically selling and begin practicing it with a client or prospect.

Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System(TM), a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit www.SalesBreakthroughs.com .

Today’s News: Rochelle is also a very recent addition to the Top Sales Experts team and you can read more about her here

Tomorrow: Some hard-hitting thoughts about sales training.

As we approach year end, this is an excellent time to take stock of your performance over the past eleven months and begin the planning procedures for 2008.

When you begin constructing your business development strategy for next year you will, in all probability, include a contribution from existing clients/customers but how can you accurately forecast this?

One very subtle way is to conduct formal account reviews, where you ask your clients for feedback on your performance year to date.

I am always surprised how few companies do this because it is an initiative that customers welcome, why? Because it makes them feel important and cared about. 

So, Why Review?

Obtaining continual feedback against a set of established criteria is vital if an organisation is to retain its existing top clients and seek to improve its standing and the quality of its service levels to them.

There are at least seven benefits of regular feedback.

• Feedback reveals your customer’s current and future plans.

• Seeing your business from your customer’s point of view allows you to answer the question “would you do business with you?” - if not why not?

• Feedback allows you to tailor your service levels so that you enjoy maximum customer satisfaction at a minimum cost.

• If you don’t ask you’ll never know how you are doing until it’s too late! Feedback is magnified by the ‘ice berg factor’ making it more critical than it originally appears.

• Feedback can reveal what your competition are doing helping you to be a consistently strong contender.

• Gaining a reputation for wanting to hear feedback can actually make money for you.

How Often?

This will depend entirely on the importance of the account and revenue levels being achieved - or anticipated.

Assessing The Feedback You Receive:

If the feedback you have been receiving to-date has not been useful, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I ask enough questions?

• Do I ask the right questions?

• Do I communicate effectively about why I am asking the questions?

• Do I ask the right people?

• Do I know how to use the data I collect?

• Am I organised to respond to the information?

• Do I value and trust the information I receive?

What Do You Do With The Results?

Collate & assess

Communicate findings upwards & sideways

Act on vital issues

Feed back remedial actions

Confirm satisfactory resolve

Remember,The Account Review Process:

• Is a non-threatening meeting.

• It is a fact finding session not a sales event in the short term. But

• It is highly likely, that during this meeting you will uncover additional short, medium and long term opportunities.

Today’s News:

As I continue to introduce the Top Sales Experts team, today is the turn of Kelley Robertson, President of The Robertson Training Group and author of the best seller, The Secrets of Power Selling - you can read more about Kelley here

Tomorrow: Rochelle Togo-Figa is my guest on the JF Guest Author Spot

The JF Guest Author Spot 

Weaving Your Own Network by Joanne Black

Are you shy? I bet you are, because 93 percent of adults, when asked, will say that they’re shy. It’s not surprising, therefore, that most of us feel uncomfortable at networking events. “Oh my gosh,” we say, “I’ll have to talk to strangers.” What did our mother tell us never to do? Talk to strangers. And this is the message that has been ingrained in us since we were small children. On top of that, we’re not sure what to say. In fact, we’d rather not be there at all.

But although networking has inspired all sorts of analysis and dread, in the end, it’s really just about building relationships and being genuine. You want to be able to network to sell a product, promote your company, find a job, find new clients, learn the latest from others, or gain more visibility in the business community. Networking opportunities exist everywhere—business meetings, professional associations, alumni groups, sports groups, community groups, weddings, parties, and any place people come together.

But don’t forget about your internal network. Build relationships with everyone—no matter what their title. Don’t forget the guy in the mailroom, the office assistant, or the custodian. If you’re the last person to hear that you’re about to have a new manager or that your company is being acquired, you don’t have your own office grapevine.

The trick to maintaining a successful internal network is to keep in touch with individual network members: don’t call someone only when you want something. Sure it’s tough to keep those connections warm, because we’re all busy. We get so involved in our jobs that we don’t make time for networking. But remember Woody Allen’s old adage: “Eighty percent of success in life is showing up.” Showing up counts. The more often you show up, the more visible you become, and the more people will get to know you and recognize you.

Another way to make contacts is through networking groups, where it’s possible—and encouraged—to network like crazy. Your goal should be to attend at least one event per week where you’ll have an opportunity to meet potential clients. In fact, this is a non-negotiable part of my business development strategy. You can attend a breakfast, lunch, or evening event—or all three. I have four goals when attending an event: meet interesting people, learn something, get a new client, and have fun. If I achieve at least three of these goals—and I make a point to do so—I am thrilled!

Decide which groups you’d like to join and show up regularly. A good rule of thumb is to err on the side of joining fewer groups and attending most of the time rather than joining many groups and showing up once in awhile. You need to give people the opportunity to get to know you, like you, and trust you. And even more important is becoming active in a group. For example, when you volunteer, people learn how you work—they’ll learn that you are dependable and contribute innovative ideas—and you’ll begin to develop strong, trusting relationships.

Not sure which events to attend? Find out what meetings your clients attend and go there. Do some research on various professional associations. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce on the events they sponsor. Read your weekly business journal to find interesting opportunities. Attend an event to learn something new from an interesting speaker. The more you learn, the more valuable you are to your clients.

Here are some networking tips for group meetings:

Preparation

• Decide which events to attend
• Put monthly attendance on your calendar
• Set a goal for each event
• Travel solo—if you came with someone, split up—so that you can both meet new people.
• Plan your personal introduction
• Prepare insightful questions

Interaction

• Don’t spend time talking to people you already know
• Look for friendly conversations
• Move graciously from group to group
• Look for a person standing alone
• Ask, “How can I help you?”

Proactive Steps

• Have a system for organizing your contacts—where you met them, what you agreed to send or do, when to follow-up
• Send a note

Tools for Effective Networking

• Wear your name badge on the right
• Read and use the person’s name
• Have a “ton” of business cards—keep them everywhere–in your pocket, your wallet, your briefcase, and in your car.
• Use a firm handshake

A realistic goal at a networking event is to meet one or two really good people and find out about them. Don’t be the person who is the life of the party and is running around handing out business cards to as many people as he can. When Mr. Life-of-the-Party asks for your card in return and wants you to refer him to your clients, why would you? You don’t know anything about him. This person is not genuine, and you can spot him a mile away.

Above all, relax and have a good time. Your shyness won’t matter anymore, because you’ll truly be enjoying yourself.

  Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling. A captivating speaker and innovative seminar leader, Joanne is changing the business of sales. Referral selling generates revenue faster than any other business development method—while decreasing costs, aceing out the competition, and gaining new clients more than 50 percent of the time.

True to her commitment and philosophy, Joanne has built her business solely on referrals. Visit Joanne ’s website: www.NoMoreColdCalling.com

You can also listen to Joanne in conversation with Clayton Shold of Salesopedia here.

Today’s News:

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to a real innovator, a guy with so much energy that after just half an hour’s dialogue with him, I need to go and lie down in a dark room for the rest of the day - kidding! Actually, we seem to drive each other to develop brand new ideas and he has become a good friend. He is the brains behind Sales Gravy, a best selling author, sales guru, oh and my new publisher. He is one of the most recent recruits to The Top Sales Experts Team and his name is Jeb Blount - you can read more about him here

Tomorrow: As the year end fast approaches, I have an idea that will get you a huge amount of incremental revenue!

I want to kick-off the week by looking at buyer motivation because all meaningful actions are performed for some reason or purpose. This is commonly called “motivation”. Success in selling requires an understanding of these basics of motivation:

• Your motivation both as a person and as a salesperson

• The other person’s motivation both as a person and as a buyer

The most important fact to remember in influencing the behaviour and decisions of others is that – “People do things for their reasons, not ours.”

Every successful sale then is made not so much because of the excellence of your product or of your sales pitch, but because consciously or unconsciously, you have found the human reason why your prospect should buy. You have found the door to their motivation and have opened it. The more you understand the function of human motivation, the more successfully you will sell.

In its simplest form, motivation emerges as a cycle. It starts with a want or need, expressed or hidden. Inherent in this is a problem, a problem that must be overcome in order to satisfy the want, that must be solved. Once solved, the want can be satisfied and the cycle is completed.

In terms of personal development there are several levels of needs. You will no doubt be familiar with Maslow’s pyramid of need:

These needs are basic to everyone you sell to, live with, or encounter.

At the bottom of the pyramid are The Physiological Needs. These include food, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. They are instinctive needs common to all living creatures. Until these needs are satisfied, the higher needs are purely academic.

Then comes Safety which is almost as basic. Security is another word for this need; security in one’s job, in one’s place in society…safety from unknown dangers…freedom from pain.

Love is a more sophisticated but no less essential need. Every human being wants others to care about them, to receive affection. They want to have the approval of others…to be understood…accepted…respected…to belong. And equally important, they have a need to be involved…to care about and give affection to others. The two are inseparable.

Self-esteem is equally essential. Every human being needs to feel that they are important in some sphere of life…that their presence on earth has meaning and significance. The mature person knows that this begins with self-respect. This need provides a tremendous motivational force.

Self-actualization is the highest need; for personal growth and achievement, for self-fulfilment, the best use of one’s capabilities, the fullest possible realisation of potential, within an honest understanding both of the limitations and scope of that potential.

People of course, are different. Their needs will vary in degree, in shape and in the nature of their answers. But they are common to all. As you are alert to them, as you understand them, so will your success with others be measured.

How do people seek to satisfy their needs? Thorndike’s Law Of Effect supplies the answer:

“People tend to behave in a way to gain rewards and avoid punishment.”

Again, this varies with different people. Generally, people can be classified into three dominant types:

• The Achiever

• The Seeker of Social Recognition

• The Security-Minded

(But no one is likely to be a “pure” type)

The Achiever is most likely to be oriented toward gaining rewards.

The Security-Minded is likely to be dominated by the desire to avoid punishment.

The Social Type stands somewhere between the two.

These are the dominating factors. But in varying degrees, each has a little of the other two in them.

In terms of selling, whatever the dominant drive of your prospect, they are above all, buying benefits. Benefits are best defined in this context as the results of the product, which enable them to gain rewards and/or avoid punishment.

In making their decision, the buyer uses the “Minimax” principle: To minimise their losses; to maximise their gains. This is true whatever the personality orientation. The emphasis depends again on their individual motivational drive.

The Law of Effect then – depending on specific motivation – relates directly to the Pyramid of Human Needs, and expands in this manner:

The benefits you have to offer are both negative and positive. The right emphasis, directed in the right way, offering both to determine preference is your shortest way to your objective.

In summary, according to Russell: “The essence of motivation is finding meaning in what we are doing. Motivation is an inner control of the individual.” Only you can motivate yourself.

All these concepts apply to you in all phases of your life and your work, as well as they apply to others. Finding the right meaning in what you do will be the great motivator for a more effective you.

Understanding the nature of what motivates each person you deal with will enable you to help them make a decision favourable to both of you.

Today’s News: As you know, I am always keen to promote Top 10 Sales Articles and with just five more weeks before we close the doors and prepare for the Top Sales Article Of 2007, the quality just gets better and better - do check out this week’s nominations for yourself.

I am continuing to introduce you to The Top Sales Experts and today it is the turn of Joanne Black. Joanne has been described as America’s leading authority on referral selling and she is the author of the best selling “No More Cold Calling” You can read more about Joanne here

Tomorrow: Appropriately, my guest tomorrow on The JF Guest Author Spot is none other than Joanne Black.

On Wednesday, I promised to share with you some of the advanced questioning techniques I personally use - here we are:

Probably the single most important skill that a salesperson can possess is good questioning techniques and it is certainly one of the most under estimated and under used selling skills. Several other sales techniques also rely heavily on your ability to ask questions effectively.

Types Of Questions:

There are basically two types of questions, open and closed (sometimes called indirect and direct). Open questions are used to get people to open up and provide information whilst closed questions are used to solicit commitment and will prompt a yes or no answer.

Once again our 80/20 rule comes into play. You should analyse your questioning so as to make sure that you ask 80% open and 20% closed questions.

Unfortunately closed questions are easier to ask and if we have a compliant client, we lapse into the bad habit of reversing the 80/20 rule and asking mainly closed questions. When you ask closed questions, even with the compliant client, you are doing yourself a great disservice. It will be as much by luck as by judgement that you are getting any information at all and what you do find out will be limited.

Once the art of asking open questions is mastered, we take the types of questions and expand and define them a little further, so that we can uncover and then develop needs:-

Open Neutral Questions - These get uninfluenced and non specific answers

Open Leading Questions - For long, influenced, specific answers

Closed Questions - To solicit a short, influenced answer, usually just yes or no

The Funnel Technique:

This is a questioning technique, or rather a structure, to use the technique within, that keeps you on track as you guide your prospect towards your service or product offering once you have uncovered the needs.

The technique relies on you using the prospects own words back to them and you must take notes. You will need to remember what the prospect says both now and possibly well into the future so do not rely on your memory

Steps Of The Funnel Technique:

There are four steps to the technique but that does not necessarily mean that it will always be only four questions:

1. Motivate, why you are asking the questions
2. Open neutral questions, to get non-specific, un-biased information
3. Open leading questions, to get specific, biased information
4. Summary and gain commitment with closed questions

Step One:

The first step is to motivate the prospect. You are going to hit the prospect with a barrage of questions so you want to prepare them for it. The best way to do this is with motivation not justification. You might consider using something they said to provide some positive stroking. For example you might make reference to the size of their company or department. They will be on the edge of their chair waiting to tell you about it in more depth! Be careful not to sound too patronising but top salespeople are genuinely interested to learn as much as they can about their client or prospects business and are very good at creating rapport.

Step Two:

Now you have them relaxed, you can begin to probe for information, pegs to hang the sale on and hot buttons. You want to find out as much as possible with.out leading or influencing the prospect. You want to encourage them to talk. You could ask them for instance, how their your company structured or what the partnership does Never use closed questions or be too specific at this stage.

At the second stage you will more likely than not get several pieces of valuable information. You must take notes because you may want to go through the funnel with each piece and maybe several times.

Step Three:

Once you have started to gather information and uncovered the hot buttons you, use open leading questions to pin point specific areas that you want to explore, exploit or lead the prospect into. Again, during Step 3, do not use closed questions.

Step Four:

Now you summarise using their words and information, so as to get their commitment of your understanding of the situation or their needs. You then wait for the commitment and go back to Step One.

Summary:

Questioning using the funnel technique is one of the most powerful selling tools available to you. The key to its success is to practice using it. First of all work on your open questions and then start to consciously differentiate between open neutral and open leading.

When you become skilful with this technique, selling becomes a lot easier, making small orders large orders is easier too! You can make the prospect ask for the products or services you have to offer!

Just remember to ask… How, What, Why, Where, When, Who, Which!

Today’s News:

    Diane Helbig is today’s Top Sales Expert in the spotlight. Diane is one of the most generous and gracious people I know: She gives her help and guidance freely to her friends and is always looking outside the box and challenging paradigms - and she has been in business from a very early age:

“As a child, I didn’t just have a lemonade stand – I had a candy and beverage business. From there I graduated to running a babysitting/summer day camp when I was 14 years old. From setting up the structure to recruiting customers to the daily operations, it was business at its best.”

You can learn more about Diane here

Tomorrow: Here in Paris, the temperatures have plummeted and everyone is talking about a very cold winter - maybe I will begin my Christmas shopping early

Wherever you are, have a great w/e and I will be back with you on Monday - JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

The Most Important Question by Kevin Eikenberry

It all started out so innocently.

I was preparing for an interview and the interviewer had sent me some of the questions to help me prepare.  I was successfully thinking about how I would answer each question until I got to this one:

What is the most important question we can ask?

I didn’t have an immediate answer.

This may seem strange – after all, I have been training and telling people for years that better questions will get us better results and I’ve encouraged people to collect great questions – to ask ourselves and others at the appropriate times.

I’ll admit when I first read the question I started thinking of ways to squirm out of answering the question; rationalizing that it would be impossible to pick just one.

In the end, I did pick one (I’ll get to it in a minute.)  But after another week of reflection and thought I’ve added two more.  I forced myself to stop at three, trying to focus on some core principles that would underlie these great questions. 

I picked these questions for the power they can have for us in helping us lead happier, more productive and successful lives.  I believe these questions apply to us at any age, at work, at home and everyplace else in between.

So I hope you will excuse me for having more than the one question advertised by the title of this article.  If you do, here we go . . .

What is most important to me?

This was my answer during the interview.  I explained that asking this question can help us set goals, help us prioritize our tasks for better time management, and help us create a better balance in our lives – work, family and personal balance. 

Asking this question will help us set better goals – and goals that are truly important to us (as opposed to a goal that you feel someone else wants you to attain or you somehow think you “should” attain).  From a time management and balance perspective we can ask the question globally or more directly – as in what is most important, right now? Asking this version of the question will help you have a clearer perspective.
Why?

Why is the question of our children who we would all recognize as tremendously proficient learners.  “Why” is the question of curiosity.  When we ask the “Why?” question we open our minds to possibilities and options – and allow ourselves to find solutions to problems.

Our brains are designed to solve problems; to find answers to questions. Asking “Why?” creates a gap and identifies a problem to be solved.  Asking “Why?” is a valuable way to increase our curiosity about the world around us and therefore increase our learning – about anything we are curious about!

In addition the “Why?” question help us better understand our intention for any action we might take.  When we have a clearer and more powerful answer to the why question, we literally begin to catapult us towards change, learning and our goals.

What can I/did I learn?

As human beings we are learning beings, and yet we don’t always learn as intentionally and consciously as we could.  The “Why?” question can get us on that path, but this question helps us take advantage of the learning opportunities that surround us in our everyday lives.

Asking “What can I/did I learn?” is the great question that allows us to reflect, learn, grow and improve.

Are these the most important questions we can ask?  I believe they certainly are among the most important questions we can ask.  As you can see that can have a tremendously powerful impact on all phases of our lives.

I encourage you to do things as you finish reading this article.  First, I urge you to ask yourself a personalized version of the question I was asked - What is the most important question I can ask?

And secondly, ask yourself that question, and the ones I’ve suggested more often.  The questions are powerful, but it is your answers that will change your results and your life for the better.

Potential Pointer: Asking ourselves powerful questions – and thinking about our answers - is one of the most valuable things we can do to improve our results, happiness and success.

  Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. You can learn more about him and a special offer on his newest book, Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at http://www.RemarkableLeadershipBook.com/bonuses.asp

You can also catch Kevin over at Top Sales Experts

Today’s News:

   Today’s Top Sales Expert of the day is  “The Sales Hunter” Mark Hunter, a real professional’s professional and an immensely experienced sales guru - read more about him here

May I take this opportunity to wish all my friends, colleagues and readers in the U.S.A, a very happy Thanksgiving - enjoy

Tomorrow: “Honing Your Questioning Techniques”

Uncovering prospect’s needs can be a painful experience, but it doesn’t have to be, here are some thoughts that will help you turn fact finding into a more pleasurable experience.

Working on the basis that you are dealing with the MAN (the person with the Money, the Authority and the Need) you must very quickly assess if you have a potential prospect or not. In other words can their needs be met by the products and services you have to offer. It may not always be obvious to the prospect that they can use your products but your industry experience tells you that they can. In this instance we are looking for an opportunity to uncover some needs. You cannot create needs - but you can uncover them.

The key to uncovering needs lies in good questioning techniques. Questioning is a skill that requires much practice and concentration but once mastered serves you well because it allows you to:

Sell Not Tell

Most emerging salespeople talk too much. They’re good talkers, they must be salespeople or all you need to be a salesperson is the gift of the gab, are often heard misnomers. Most prospects, at the sales stage, come to expect that a salesperson will probably talk at them, for too long and about very little, especially their needs. You want to do the unexpected with your prospects and sell not tell. Do remember that customers and prospects are most comfortable when they are part of the process and not part of the audience.

Listen

If you are talking you are not listening! If you do not listen you will never find out enough information about the prospect or their needs. Apply the 80/20 rule, you should use questioning techniques so that the prospect is doing 80% of the talking and you are only doing 20%.God provided us with two ears and only one mouth and we should use them in that order.

Uncover Needs, Painlessly

Rarely do you receive information unless you ask for it. You need information to sell your services or products and look for future sales possibilities. Skilful questioning means that you do not seem to be imposing on the prospect by asking too many questions.

Maintain Control

Using questioning techniques you can control the prospect in almost any given situation. You can guide the prospect towards acceptance of your solution. Should you need to, you can use questioning techniques to regain control and on Friday, I will share with you the funnel technique I use.

Today’s News:

  It gives me the greatest pleasure to introduce the next member of the Top Sales Experts team, Anne Miller. She is another member of Jill Konrath’s Sales Shebang superb keynote speakers and a top selling author of a number of highly successful books.The latest, is the excellent “Metaphorically Selling“ Read more about Anne here  

Tomorrow: “Mr Remarkable” himself, Kevin Eikenberry, makes a very welcome return on the JF Guest Author Spot.

The JF Guest Author Spot 

24/7 Customer Centric by Wally Adamchik

We live in a customer centric society. Consumers don’t just go shopping anymore; they want to be comforted by a brand. Been to a ball game lately? These are experiences that have a sporting event as the backdrop. People in our society seek an ever increasing degree of satisfaction whenever they purchase something. Ultimately, this manifests itself in wanting the highest possible quality at the lowest possible price. How did we get here? Who is to blame for this mentality?

I offer two companies. First, is Taco Bell. In the mid-1980s they did something radically different. They introduced the value menu in fast food. This was like getting a pay raise. All of a sudden you could get a taco for 99 cents – and a full meal for not much more than that. This move started a price war that the fast food industry continues to fight today. To confirm that the fight is still on, what is the first thing you look for when you walk into a fast food restaurant? For the majority of readers, it is the value menu - often featuring a 99 cent price point.

An interesting, and often overlooked point, about this shift in that industry is that Taco Bell made dramatic operational changes to their system to support the introduction of the value menu. They moved some of the food preparation out of individual stores and into central commissary kitchens. They also began using other pre-prepared items. This lowered their cost structure enabling them to charge less. In this case, they enjoyed a true competitive advantage. Other chains were forced to mirror pricing but were slow to introduce an updated operational model.

The other firm I blame is Fed Ex. Before FedEx if you wanted to send a letter from New York to Atlanta, or anywhere else in America, let alone the world, it would easily take 3 – 5 days. With the introduction of FedEx, we could send a letter around the world with the reasonable expectation that it would get there overnight. Today we still send material cross-town, via Memphis, to make sure it gets there overnight.

Still other changes have made the consumer more demanding. The final push to this customer centric society is the internet and our new ability to access information related. If you want to know where your package is, how much your balance is, or what your car insurance may cost, all you have to do is get online and after a few clicks, you have the information you need. Don’t forget the ever present Wal-Mart and the impact that is having on consumer expectations. Some reports indicate that over 60% of Americans will shop in a Wal-Mart in any given month.

All these changes mean one thing – your customer is more demanding than ever. Often business to business sellers will argue that the person buying from them isn’t using their own money so they don’t really think this way. How else are they to feel? If most other purchases in their life are met with superior customer service and value, you can expect that they have the same expectation of you. Truly sophisticated buyers may in fact know your business model and the attendant challenges with delivering superior service, but that does not mean they don’t shop at Nordstrom or Wal-Mart and have a standard they would like to see all buying experiences attain. 

So, what have you done lately to make sure you are delivering the experience that your customer truly wants? Notice I didn’t say to deliver what they expect; their expectations may not be very high. Do you know what they truly want? On time and on budget is not what they want – they expect that, it is what you do for a living. Imagine you are purchasing a brand new automobile. You have waited six weeks for this baby to show up at the dealer and you are truly excited about the prospect of picking up your new machine. The day you are to pick it up, you took the day off to polish the floor of your garage and you drive your old trade-in to the dealer. As you get out of the old clunker, the salesman greets you with a genuine warm welcoming smile and addresses you by your name. You honestly feel welcome as your old car silently disappears from the picture. The salesman is beaming as he congratulates you on your purchase and invites you to walk with him. As he rounds the corner to the new vehicle delivery room, he stops and looks you right in the eye and with total seriousness he says, “You are going to love this car. We went all out for you. In fact, we even put tires on it for you!”

Are you dazzled? Probably not. Don’t you expect the tires when you buy the car? What does your client expect when they buy from you? Are you delivering? Even worse, what do they not expect and are you delivering that? All too often we mistake the satisfied customer, the one who doesn’t complain, as the loyal customer. They may just be waiting for the next viable vendor to show up. You must ask how you are doing. And you must ask in many ways; surveys, follow-up calls, face-to-face and what ever else is appropriate. Additionally, everyone in your firm must be able to ask – and that takes some training but the payback is in the form of increased customer retention because you show you care. This retention generally shows up in market share and as profits.

The changes in customer buying practices over the past decade are permanent. Disregarding this new reality is a strategy for business failure. As a consumer you are demanding and have expectations. The people who consume what you sell are demanding and have expectations to. Do you know what they are? Ask them.  24/7, It is all about them.

  As an Officer of Marines, Wally Adamchik deployed throughout the world in training, peace-keeping, and combat operations. First, in a tank battalion and then, as the pilot of AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. Always seeking a new challenge, Wally entered the hyper-competitive private sector. He was recognized for superior performance and award-winning leadership at two national restaurant companies. At the same time he earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting and serves today as a consultant, speaker, and author. His new book, “NO YELLING-The Nine Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership” is getting rave reviews. www.firestarterspeaking.com

Today’s News: My good buddy Clayton(Salesopedia)Shold likened me to Mick Jagger on his blog this week- you can read his commentary here

 I would like to re-introduce you to the excellent work of my Texan friend, Paul McCord: I posted one of his articles a few weeks ago in two parts and at the moment, I am reviewing a “galley” copy of his next book. Paul is a sales giant and a very welcome addition to the Top Sales Experts team. You can read more about him here.

Tomorrow:”How To Uncover Your Prospect’s Needs Painlessly”

A lot of people think they know an awful lot about motivation but in reality, most of their theories are based on the very outdated “Carrot and Stick” principle: I discovered Hetzberg many years ago and his thinking in this area is very advanced.

The first set of needs defined by Hertzberg is called “Hygiene Needs” and deal with a person’s relationship with the environment. They consist of how people are treated at work.

* Do you pay them well?

* Good working conditions?

* Human relations - the nature and quality of their supervision.

* Status

* The nature of the Company’s policy and administration.

They are called Hygiene Factors, because if the factors are right, they prevent people from being dissatisfied in their working environment, so they keep people from being unhappy and that is their function - but they do not motivate.

One form of hygiene that has long been practised is to deny people fair treatment at the beginning. For example:-

“I am not going to pay you as much as the going rate, but prove you can do the job, and I will make it up to you later”.

The trouble is that you can never make it up. That lack of fair treatment at the beginning will never be forgotten and normally leads to a revenge psychology on the part of the employee. In other words, they will get back at you later because they cannot forget the remembered pain. The principle here is very simple - Treat people fairly, because it is in your own and their best interests.

The other set of needs of people is caused by the fact that they are human beings and therefore, not only do they not want to hurt, so treat them well (Hygiene), but they want to do something. They want to grow and show what they can do. They want to be able to say at the end of the work experience not that they vegetated, but that they are more than they were (know more, can do more and, therefore are more) and the only way to measure this by what they have done in that experience.

They are therefore asking these questions:-

* Do I achieve? Am I contributing?

* Am I given increased responsibility?

* Am I advancing and growing?

* Is what I do meaningful and significant? Is it interesting?

* Is my ability recognised?

These are “The Motivators”. These are the variables that managers can use to motivate people, because people who want to do something, want to do it - that’s motivation.

Referring back to carrot and the stick, Hertzberg suggests that anyone can be made to do anything, so long as they are threatened or bribed enough, but do they want to do something? The answer is no.

In other words, people can be got to move by what he calls ‘K.I.T.A.’ - Kick in the Ass - and if more movement is needed, more K.I.T.A. is needed. K.I.T.A. can either be:-

Positive - Offering people a reward, bonus or an incentive;

or

Negative - Threatening them.

By the use of K.I.T.A. then, people can be got to move but unless they want to do a good job because they want to do a good job, they are not motivated.

One of the other problems about applying K.I.T.A. is that it normally causes a short term improvement in productivity, at the cost of a long term decrease in the average days work, because a reward once given becomes a right. So if we want to talk about motivated performance, we have got to talk about -

The Motivators which are:-

Achievement

Recognition for achievement

Meaningful and interesting work

Increased responsibility

Growth and development

In other words, the quality of the human experience at work.

A point that Hertzberg insists is vital is that the Motivators are not more important than the Hygiene Factors; each of them has to be given equal importance, because each of them is vital if motivation is going to be strong.

One of the most important variables in creating motivation is training, because motivation is a function of ability and the opportunity to use that ability. So the more ability you can give people by training them, the more they will want to do. One problem that has been very evident in industry is the lack of the second factors in the equation - that of opportunity - and Hertzberg has, therefore, promoted the Job Enrichment Movement.

So, what should a job contain?

* A range of responsibilities and activities to keep a person interested.
* Areas of growth, since all jobs should be learning experiences.
* Direct feedback, since how a person is doing should not be dependant upon someone else telling them - they should be able to see for themselves.
* The responsibility for checking one’s own quality, because that responsibility cannot be delegated to a control system.
* Direct communication between that person and the people they need to communicate with, not via supervisors or managers.

Herzberg suggests that the situation will improve and productivity will improve when management is prepared to say:-

“It is our fault. We didn’t know how to manage people well; we just knew how to hurt them well. We didn’t respect them enough or challenge them enough or give them enough satisfaction”.

When Managers are prepared to say that, then a new understanding will come.

Today’s News: My plan is to highlight each of the Top Sales Experts and introduce them to you one by one, because there is so much collective talent within the team.

 Today, I would like you to meet Leslie Buterin, one of Jill Konrath’s “Sales Shebang” keynote speakers and a very bright, dynamic and highly experienced sales guru.She is the author of the best selling “Secrets To Scheduling The Executive-Level Sales Call” You can read more about Leslie here 

One of the adjudication panel described this week’s ten nominated articles over at Top 10 Sales Articles, as the best selection he had seen so far, you can check them out here

Tomorrow: My guest is good friend and leadership guru, Wally Adamchik