We are all always looking to become more time efficient, so today I am going to share some tips with you. 

When planning your time, the following suggestions can help you become more time efficient:

• The first vital step is to become consciously aware of how you are spending your time. People who complain that they “Don’t have the time” have unconsciously created bad habits that need to be highlighted.

This conscious awareness is best achieved by keeping a time log of everything they do for one month so they have ‘the problems’ clearly identified before they look for solutions.

• Start with identifying your long- term goals first, because it creates a context for all your activities. Having a clear vision of what you are aiming for, gives you motivation and momentum so that day-to-day decisions that arise can be easily made because you are able to evaluate them in terms of “Is this activity moving me closer towards my goal?”

• Prioritise and schedule tasks on a monthly, weekly and daily basis according to their priority of importance to you. Because people’s efficiency is optimised when they have good work/life balance, it helps to plan in time for family and self so that these areas aren’t compromised. By working on your higher priority tasks first you are able to channel more of your energy and concentration into important activities. As your energy and concentration starts to fade so does the priority of the tasks that you are working on.

• At the end of each working day, make a ‘To Do’ list for the next day. This pulls out what needs doing onto paper, freeing your mind from worry, so that you can sleep more peacefully. Once you’ve completed your list and before you prioritise, review each task and ask yourself three questions:

- Do I need to do this? (If your answer is “No” then delegate the task)

- Do I need to do this tomorrow? (If your answer is “No” then remove it from your ‘To Do’ list)

- Does this task add value to my organisation and myself? (If your answer is “No” then why are you doing it?)

It takes twenty-one days of consistent focus on doing something differently to establish that activity as a habit.

Therefore, it helps to review your daily tasks every evening for twenty-one days by asking yourself the following:

- Did I accomplish all of my high-priority goals?
- Did I reach or surpass all of my other goals?
- Did I invest as much time as I planned in persuading  others?
- Did I contact every prospect that was on my list today? If not what prevented me?
- How much time did I spend prospecting for new customers?
- How much time did I waste procrastinating today?
- What is the most productive thing I did today?
- What is the least productive thing I did today?
- What could I have avoided or eliminated?
- How much did I spend doing something that will profit me?
- Can I devote more time here?
- Was today a productive day for me? For my company?
- Did I take care of all the paperwork I needed to care of?
- How many of today’s activities have helped me achieve my goals?
- How much time did I allocate to my family, friends etc.?
- What can I do to improve the quality time I need to spend with my family/friends etc?
- How much time did I allocate to me?
- If I could live today again, what would I change?
- What did I do today that I feel really good about?

For busy sales people, working smarter requires paying attention to non-urgent and important tasks. This is best achieved by having a proper understanding of how they are spending their time, identifying where their time wasters are and planning into their schedules the non-urgent and important activities.

According to George Murphy, CEO e-Justify-it, he proves that just the process of paying attention to specific areas will increase those areas results by at least 5%. Therefore, if sales people are encouraged to become more time-aware, even if they don’t do anything else, they will generate 5% more time.

Today’s News: Just one more week before we launch the Top Sales Article Of The Year poll and this week’s nominations are excellent – take a look here 

Tomorrow:On the JF Guest Author Spot is my friend Leslie Buterin, a real cold calling guru and she is in fine form. 

Seasoned sales professionals will tell you that they never think about “the close” because it happens quite naturally, but that takes practice and experience. This is what I tell “developing” salesmen and women:

It is time to simply ask for the order when:

– you and your prospect are in line with each other
– your prospect has enough information to make a decision
– your prospects attitudes are positive (excited)
– you see positive body language (smiles, relaxation, friendliness)
– you hear positive remarks (“i like that”)
– your prospect appears confident
– your prospect likes your proposal
– your prospect realises that they can afford it
– your prospect realises that they cannot afford to be without it
– your prospect realises the benefits

If having tried all the appropriate techniques in your repertoire, you still fail to close, use the “doorknob” technique: Smile, thank your prospect for their time, leaving the door open for future sales

More likely than not, your prospect will relax and you can ask them what you did wrong, what you didn’t do and why you didn’t get a favourable decision.

Then pause for an answer – the real objection may surface – and go for the close again

Sold – Now What?

Make full use of euphoria – the best time to discuss the next potential order is when you have just received the last one

• What else?

• Who else?

• What next?

Today’s News: I am really pleased with the number of people who have signed up for the Zone this week – have you? If not, you can do so here

Tomorrow: I am afraid it is time for some serious Christmas present buying and I will be back here again on Monday, so be sure to join me. Have a great w/e wherever you are – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Define What You Want and Write It Down by Jeb Blount

You want something. You have goals. You have dreams. The reason I know that you have dreams and goals is that as a Sales Professional or Business Leader, it’s just in your nature. It is likely that you chose sales as your profession because you recognize that no other career in business today offers more opportunities for achievement and success.

As individuals our goals and dreams are unique. For some of you, what you want can be complex and for others extremely simple. Some of you want bigger homes, financial independence or cool toys. Others want to put their kids through college without going broke or have more time to spend with them while they are little. Some of you are looking for better personal relationships, career advancement or more money. What matters most is that you find a way to get what you want, and that you leverage your talents to make your dreams come true.

Defining what you want will not be easy. It will take practice and patience. Get some help from your significant other, your friends, manager, or a coach. They can provide you with perspective and feedback that will help you be honest with yourself. Of course, the most important thing you can do is start! A written goal is motivation’s playing field. When you write down your goals you turn energy into action. Action is motion. Motion creates momentum. Momentum moves you forward towards your dreams.

Do you know what you want? Do you have a dream? Do you know what motivates you to get up each morning, hit the streets and be your very best? Think about it… then write it down.

Five PowerPrinciples for Winning Goals

1. Goals Must Be Specific: This means exact, clear, precise, and unambiguous.

2. Goals Must Be Time Bound: The act of defining “when” creates urgency. Urgency forces action, harnessing your desire, removing complacency, and overcoming procrastination.

3. Goals Must Be Attainable: It is important to shoot for the stars and ignore the limits. However, if too many of your goals are long shots you’ll end up becoming frustrated. Getting regular wins helps you stay motivated and on track.

4. Goals Have Steps to Success: Big goals are always achieved through a series of small, measurable steps, and these Steps to Success (your plan) must be defined and written down if you want your big dreams to come true.

5. Goals Must Be Written Down: A written goal is a powerful force. It constantly tugs at you, pulling and pushing you towards your destination. It is there, written in stone, and it cannot be ignored until it has been reached. The PowerPrinciples Goal Sheet™ is designed to help you write down your goals and plan your Steps to Success. Get a free PowerPrinciples Goal Sheet™ at www.salesgravy.com.

Jeb Blount is CEO of The Sales Leadership Group, author of PowerPrinciples, the creator of the popular internet sales community, SalesGravy.com and the host of the top rate Sales Motivation Podcast, SalesGravy: PowerPrinciples. You can read more about Jeb here

Today’s News: Interesting message from my friend Garret Loporto yesterday:

Hey Jonathan,

Here’s to you and all the other crazy ones. Check out this 1 minute Apple ad honoring your kind …
See it here: http://www.ConcordSociety.org/crazyones
Rock on,
Garret
Author of The DaVinci Method

If you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, you can take his test here

Tomorrow: To finish the week, “The Logical Close” – if you need to close, here are some tips.

In any kind of negotiation the planning stage is probably the most important. Too often in negotiations we go in badly prepared and end up giving concessions that reduce the overall profitability of the final deal.

The importance of planning is in having a very clear idea before entering into the negotiation.

1. What are my objectives?

2. What does the other side wish to achieve?

3. What information will influence the final outcome of the negotiation?

4. What concessions can I make?

5. How am I going to achieve my objectives?

6. What part will other people play in the negotiation?

Generally, the more time that is spent in planning and preparing for the negotiation, the more beneficial will be the final outcome.

Objectives

Before entering into the negotiation, you need to have a clear idea of your objectives and try to work out those of the other side. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What exactly do I wish to achieve from this negotiation?

2. Which of my objectives:

a. Must I achieve?
b. Do I intend to achieve?
c. Would I like to achieve?

3. What options or alternatives would be acceptable to me?

4. What are the other side’s objectives?

5. How does the other side see the negotiation?

Information

It has often been said that information is power. In any negotiation, there will be four types of information that is important to the final outcome.

1. What information do I have that the other side has also?

2. What information do I have that the other side does not have?

3. What information do I need to have before negotiating with the other side?

4. What information does the other side need before it can negotiate with me?

This can be particularly important when negotiating with people who concentrate on price issues. What other things are important to this person? What pressures do they have on them to conclude the deal? How well is their company doing at the moment? How important is it that they deal with my company? etc.

The early phases of negotiation consist of both sides finding out more information before talking about a specific deal or set of alternatives.

For example, if you find out the other side has a time deadline that only your company can meet, it may give you the chance to negotiate on more favourable price. If you know that the other side has recently expanded their production capacity, you may be able to negotiate more favourable terms in return for a commitment to buy certain volumes over an agreed time period.

By spending time as part of your preparation in listing what you already know and what you need to know, you will give yourself a better chance to negotiate well on your company’s behalf.

Today’s News: I discovered some excellent new sales related sites this week: The first has been designed and created by an old friend Jan Visser and I was really impressed, think you will be too – www.salesteamtools.com

Tomorrow: Mr Sales Gravy himself, Jeb Blount is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot

The JF Guest Author Spot

Making A Good First Impression Is In Your Hands by Greg Stebbins

As sales professionals we’re told to make a “good first impression.” The most significant first impression we’ll make is shaking another person’s hand. Think about it; have you ever recoiled from a limp, dead fish handshake or winced in pain from a bone crusher? How about your end: do you know what your handshake is telling others about you?

More than just physical contact, a handshake conveys a wealth of psychological information. We walk away from a handshake saying things like, “You know, I just felt real comfortable with her” or “Don’t know why, I simply don’t trust that guy.” Most people don’t spend time probing the depths of this unconscious communication; they just have a “feeling,” or a sense that their “intuition” is telling them something. However, there are things you can use by looking a little more closely at the experience.

What can you learn from another person’s handshake? What are you communicating through your handshake? Quite a bit, according to a study directed by University of Alabama associate professor of psychology Dr. William Chaplin. The study reported that more extroverted people had firmer handshakes and that this usually made a much better first impression. Nothing new in that statement, but what was interesting was that women who had firmer handshakes were also evaluated positively. Women with firm handshakes were deemed more open than were women with less firm handshakes. This runs counter to the stereotype about women being evaluated negatively when they take on traditional male characteristics—including hand strength.

Other research into non-verbal communications and specifically handshakes has provided some refinement on this idea. Much of this will be obvious to you, some might not. Regardless, not only will you get a sense of what your handshake communicates, you’ll be able to refine your interaction with others based on what their handshake tells you.

Sweaty Palms – Few people enjoy grabbing a wet rag. Shaking hands with a person whose hand feels like a wet rag is very uncomfortable. When a person is nervous their sympathetic nervous system often becomes overactive, sometimes resulting in sweaty palms. Do what you can to put this individual at ease. If you tend to be nervous on sales calls and have sweaty palms, you might discreetly blot your right hand on a handkerchief—or even on your pants or skirt—just before the handshake.

Dead Fish – Indifferent handshakes that feel like the person has no bones in their hand often indicate being passive or reserved. This handshake ranks as the number two least favored. Individuals with this type of clasp are generally not people-focused. Knowing this, you can tailor your presentation to de-emphasize the people aspect and focus more on the mechanical or thing-focused benefits. Exceptions to this rule might be musicians and surgeons whose livelihood depends on sensitive hands and who are therefore reluctant to open up to a bone crusher.

Brush Off – A quick grasp and then a release that feels like your hand being shoved aside. This handshake is a statement of “it’s my turf and my agenda that matters, yours doesn’t.” Listen first to what the person wants before talking about your ideas for them.

Controller – You feel your hand being pulled toward the person or strongly guided in a different direction, perhaps towards a chair. People who do this are controllers, which means they want to dominate any inanimate or animate object in the room (and that would include you). If your goals are different than theirs there may be challenges ahead. Do more listening than talking and see if you can find common ground so these individuals can control the situation toward your desired objective.

Politician – Your hand is firmly grasped as in a normal handshake. However, their other hand may cover yours or be placed on your forearm or shoulder. Unless the two of you are good friends, this is a form of false sincerity. The person is attempting to communicate that the two of you have a deeper relationship than you actually have. After receiving this kind of handshake, I recommend you check your pockets or purse to see if anything is missing. Similarly, be cautious about relying on this person’s word for anything and be attentive in your dealings with them.

Finger Vise – When someone grabs your fingers and not your entire hand it is meant to keep you at a distance. These people are often insecure. If they also crush your fingers they are adding a show of personal power, which is also designed to keep you at a distance or at least create some fear of challenging them. I wouldn’t recommend you be submissive, however it will serve your purpose to be somewhat deferential to them.

Bone Crusher – The message of squeezing your hand until you cringe is clearly designed to intimidate you. Even when the person may not know how strong they are, there is still a message of intimidation and power behind the grip. You don’t have to pretend to be a wimp with them, and, in fact, they may respond positively to you if you present yourself with strength. Just don’t get into a hand squeezing contest when you shake because then it becomes a competition and even if you win, you’ll lose.

Lobster Claw –The palm of your hand is touched by the other person’s thumb and finger(s), not unlike the claw of a lobster. The person doing this fears connecting at a deep level and may have challenges building relationships. Take your time, allow them to open up at their own pace. As they become more comfortable with you their handshake may actually change. Once they fully accept you, they can be a client for life.

Hand Wrestler – Your hand is taken normally and then twisted under the other person’s. This is usually done aggressively. Be very careful in your own presentation as this person is absolutely committed to being on top, regardless of what they say they want.

Tea Cup – This handshake feels normal except that there is no palm-to-palm contact. The other person’s palm is cupped, like a tea cup. This handshake indicates that the person is hiding something from you. It might just be a serious case of shyness or it could be something more substantial. Always check for missing information when working with this individual.

In any sales situation, the more you know about the person you’re dealing with, the better you can communicate with them and let them know you are there to serve their needs. Primed with the information presented here, you can start of creating a strong first impression by being aware of your own handshake, and learning the hidden messages in your client or customer’s. Then making a good impression is truly in your hands.

Sales Psychology Expert Gregory Stebbins has helped over 20,000 sales professionals become the point of differentiation while their competitors struggle with how to differentiate their product and service. In his book PeopleSavvy for Sales Professionals, he unveils for the first time his simple but groundbreaking plan to win your customers’ trust and business forever. Get your free sneak preview at http://www.peoplesavvy.com/book.htm

You can also read more about Greg here

Today’s News: The tension is mounting! We just have three more weekly winners to announce over at Top 10 Sales Articles and then we will have our nine monthly finalists who will be competing for Top Sales Article of 2007. A poll will open on Top 10 from Monday December 17th and close at midnight GMT (7pm EST) on December 30th.The winner will be announced on New Year’s Eve

Tomorrow: I look at the preparation stage of negotiation – it is what I call the “Essential Stage”

It is Monday and so I thought you deserved a post of substance to kick-off the week. 

Extensive research recently completed by the Corporate Transformation Department at Luton University in the UK, confirms suspicions and beliefs that I have had for some time now.

In business terms they claim that these findings represent a revolutionary breakthrough in understanding what makes a successful contract bidder.

Their research team investigated 293 companies who regularly bid for major contracts. Between them they have annual revenues in excess of £65bn

Two key facts tell a worrying story:

1. 50% of them said it is important for them to win new business in order to fulfil their corporate plan.  

2. And yet four out of five companies interviewed win less than half of the bids they pitch for.

Conclusion: Most companies are not winning enough new contacts to meet their business objectives.

Not unnaturally this would cause some anxious looks around the boardroom table if it were not for another key finding from the report

A small improvement in bidding techniques and tactics can lead to a disproportionately large increase in the number of contracts won.

Not surprisingly, the most effective bid winners prefer to draw a veil over those factors that make them successful but the research has pulled the veil aside and provides a glimpse of the critical success factors in winning major bids.

The companies answered a detailed questionnaire which focussed on two key areas – how successful they were at winning major bids and what they regard as the factors that made them most successful at winning the bids. Figures are rounded to the nearest decimal point. The companies in the survey represent a cross section of those British companies that compete in major bids either in the UK market or overseas.

The participants came from industries as diverse as information technology, construction, engineering, aerospace, media, consultancy and utilities.   

                          
The Myths Of Bidding Exploded

For these companies just what is a major bid? For nearly half (48.1 per cent), it was a bid of between £1 million and £10 million. Around a fifth (18.6 percent) defined a major bid as less then £1 million. 1.9 per cent defined it as more than £500 million, and the remainder (31.4 per cent) defined a bid at various sizes between £11 million and £500 million.

The companies were candid about their success.  Some 37 per cent admitted they won less than a quarter of the bids they pitched for. A further 40.1 per cent said they won between a quarter and half of their bids. Only 4.1 per cent of the companies claimed to win more than three-quarters of their bids.

But for these companies, what constitutes “success” at winning major bids? Among the companies 71 per cent “strongly agreed” that it was to win bids at “acceptable profit margins”, while an almost mirror image of 70.6 per cent “strongly disagreed” that it was to win a bid “at any cost”. Among other possible definitions of success 31 per cent strongly agreed that it was winning sufficient bids to achieve growth targets, and 19.2 per cent winning bids from blue-chip customers.

There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 52.8 per cent said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 64.5 per cent from existing customers.

Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place? The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.

The top five factors are:

1. Perceived quality of your products/services (68.5 per cent say very important)
2. Relationships with existing or potential customers (54.4 per cent)
3. Position of the company in its market-place (52.2per cent)
4. The company’s overall image (47.6 per cent)
5. Track record in similar projects (46.5 per cent)

However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.

What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack? 

A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)

Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:

Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:

1. Understanding the value/benefits customers expect to gain from your products/services (25.6 per cent)

2. Understanding the cost of ownership issues that impact customer decisions about your products/services (17.9 per cent)

Understanding your customer’s buying centre – DMU:

3. Understanding the business environment in which your customers operate (25 per cent)

4. Understanding each customer’s mission, objectives and markets (15.1 per cent)

5. Understanding the decision-making process each customer uses (21.3 per cent)

6. Understanding the factors the customer considers when purchasing(24.6 per cent)

7. Understanding the roles played by those in the DMU (24.3 per cent)

8. Understanding your customer’s communication network (9.9 per cent)

Contacting customers:

9. Maintaining continuing visibility with customers through advertising,mail shots, etc (11 per cent)

10. Developing person-person relationships with potential customers (44.8 per cent)

Communicating key messages about your company and product/services:

11. Communicating key marketplace issues to customers (8.2 per cent)

12. Communicating generic benefits offered by your products (8.6 per cent)

13. Establishing the superiority of your products/services (18.1 per cent)

14. Building a distinctive and helpful image of your company (26.6 per cent)

15. Establishing an understanding of your market standing (20 per cent)

16. Communicating the value/benefits of your product/services (20.5 per cent)

17. Persuading potential customers to invite you to bid (34.1 per cent)

18. Ability to offer support or ancillary services (23.1 per cent)

In the survey each of the companies was asked to rank its performance on each of these 18 activities on a five point scale from “very effective” to “not effective at all”.

The research demonstrates a clear correlation between being effective at these activities and winning a higher proportion of major bids.

Companies that win less than a quarter of bids claim to perform an average of 2.9 of the activities very effectively. Among companies winning a quarter to half of bids, the number of very effective activities rises to 3.5; those who win half to three quarters of their bids perform 4.9 activities very effectively: among those companies winning more than three-quarters of major bids, the number of very effective activities climbs to 8.7.

What is perhaps surprising here is that even the most successful companies are accomplishing less than half of the critical 18 activities “very effectively”. It seems pretty clear that those companies prepared to focus on these activities and generate even a modest increase in the number of activities performed very effectively could reap significant improvements in the number of major bids they win.

Aside from these critical activities, the research has uncovered some important issues for managing effective bid teams. The companies in the survey were asked to rate 15 aspects of managing bid teams on a five-point scale from “very important” to “not important at all”.

The top five issues are:

1. Leadership from senior departmental managers (very important for 64.3 per cent)

2. Creating a team spirit (55.8 per cent)

3. Leadership from board of directors (49.5 per cent)

4. Including team members with specialised knowledge of the product (46.6 per cent)

5. Giving clear instructions to team members on how to handle the bid (46.3 per cent)

Once a pitch is under way there is a fresh range of issues to consider in order to win the bid. The survey companies were asked to rank 11 issues on the same five –point scale.

The top five issues for completing successful bid negotiations are:

1. Guaranteeing quality, delivery dates and after sales service,etc (very important for 59.9 per cent of companies)

2. Having a clear bottom line (56.7 per cent)

3. Developing clear objectives for the negotiations (54.7 per cent)

4. Preparing detailed bid documentation (48.8 per cent)

5. Making the first formal presentation of the bid (48.1 per cent)

Summary:

There is wide range of different issues that companies need to address more effectively if they are to win more of the bids they pitch for. Bidding relationships with the client is given a particularly high priority in the service sector.There are wide variations in the effectiveness of major bid management between organisations. With more companies increasingly finding themselves pitching against overseas competitors for business, the need to create more effective bid management is more urgent than ever.

Today’s News:

When we conceived the Zone, our primary objective was to provide a location where sales leaders could find all the information they needed to assist them in developing a first class sales team. We believe we have achieved that but we are not attracting the visitors we anticipated – well that’s not true, we are seeing huge numbers of one-off visitors but an insufficient number are subscribing. 

It was never our expectation to make vast sums of money from this project but merely cover our costs however, what is vital is that this huge amount of collateral gains the exposure it deserves. Therefore, as a consequence, we will be dropping the subscription charge from later today and reimbursing all those who have subscribed to date. Yes, that’s right, from today you can join this unique and exciting community for free!!

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot is my friend Dr. Greg Stebbins, author of the best selling book “PeopleSavvy“ and internationally acclaimed expert on sales psychology.