To begin with, our “running towards” salesperson has invested some of their time the previous evening preparing for the next day: The suit has been pressed, shoes cleaned, notes prepared for those important meetings, in fact all of the next day’s objectives have been thoroughly rehearsed mentally and planned for.

When the alarm clock goes off, our “running towards” typically awakes refreshed and completes their final preparations for the day. They have plenty of time for exercising, for bathing, and to eat a proper breakfast with their family – they are in control. They arrive at the office before most of their colleagues,(80% of whom arrive at 8.55 am – just in time, because they fear the consequences of being late!) so that they can respond to e-mails and attend to essential administrative tasks which would otherwise take up valuable “business time”. Life for these people appears effortless, relatively stress free, because they have made it that way, they are busy working at self-fulfilment as they have no need to worry about shelter, security and the like.

These people are”Winners”

The “Winners In Life”

“Winners in life constantly think in terms of I can, I will and I am. Losers on the other hand concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have done or what they don’t do”
- Dennis Waitley

Can we all become “Winners”? Yes, of course we can. We cannot have everything we want in life but we can have anything that we really want, because if we want it badly enough we will find the means to bring about its happening – this is called “fulfilled expectation”

Unfortunately, most people when asked don’t really know what they want from life. Some talk vaguely about success without being able to articulate precisely what success means for them. I have heard many interpretations of the word but the one I still like the best comes from Earl Nightingale: “Success is the achievement of a worthwhile goal or set of goals”

Therein lies the secret – in order to be successful, to become a “Winner in life” we must have goals.

This extract from “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” accurately illustrates my point.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat

“I don’t much care where” said Alice

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat

“– So long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation

“Oh, you’re sure to do that” said the Cat “If you only walk long enough.”

– Lewis Carroll

In Summary:

Each of us has the choice, we can choose to be successful – however we measure success – or we can choose not to be. But if we really do want a more fulfilling and satisfying life – more happiness, greater security, improved health, the means to help others, then we have to accept full responsibility for ensuring we have a rudder on our boat and work to the maxim: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”

Today’s News: Due to popular demand, fellow Top Sales Expert  Paul McCord, is presenting a second B2B cold calling masterclass – details are below. Paul is a personal friend who delivers exceptionally high-quality programmes, so do check it out here

Tomorrow: (Tuesday)The eagerly awaited 140 page FREE Top Sales Experts latest E-book launches and if you do not want to get caught in the crush, you can register now

Plus my guest is Colleen Francis with some excellent advice on how to deal with voicemail.

Research by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) has shown that organisations that are able to offer their salespeople opportunities for ongoing development are ten times more likely to create more peak-performing salespeople than those that don’t.

Data has been collected on more than 2500 firms in sixty three countries, of all sizes and industries. Training investment is measured in dollars per-capita.

ASTD’s results show there is a significant correlation between spend on training per-capita and total shareholder return one year later. Profitability does not show immediately because of a lag effect in the stock market, but it shows a year later because of the hidden nature of investments in staff.

The following findings by ASTD compare the relationship between training investment and total stockholder return (TSR) in the subsequent year:

• Firms in the top quartile, with respect to training investments, have higher median TSRs in the subsequent year than firms in the other three training quartiles. Further, the third quartile is higher than the second and the second is higher than the first (the quartile with the lowest training investment).

• Organisations in the top half for training expenditure in one year have a mean TSR in the following year of 36.9%, while organizations in the bottom half have a mean TSR of only 19.8%.

• Firms that spend more than average on training have TSRs that are 86% higher than firms that spend less than average and 45% higher than market average.

• The model estimates that each dollar invested in training leads to a $33.57 benefit to the firm.

Therefore, Sales Directors need to allow sufficient time to enable their investment in training and development to “pay off”. 

Introducing ongoing reinforcement programs will help accelerate the benefits gained from the training and development investment.

Today’s News: One of my fellow Top Sales Experts, Alen Majer is Croatian and he has written a superb book called “How To Sell To Americans” – I highly recommend it and you can find it here

Tomorrow: It’s a final, final proof read for the 140 page Top Sales Experts e-book, which you can download from Tuesday, all being well – and it’s FREE.

Have a great weekend and be sure to make your way back next week – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Billy Cox

The economy is bad. Nobody is buying homes. The recession’s coming. Every time you turn around Economists predict doom and gloom. That’s enough to get you into a great depression, if you let it.

The reality is ‘Negative news sells’ and way too many salespeople, business owners and leaders believe that the “sky is falling” and eventually it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. If you think about it, one of the worst situations for your peace of mind is to hang around negative, depressed salespeople, business owners, and leaders.

Depression is nothing more than focusing on what’s wrong in your world instead of what’s right. It’s allowing fear to take control of your life. I can assure you that if you think about it long enough, you can find something wrong in any area of your life. On the contrary, if you look hard enough, you can also find the good.

Those who take massive action today with the right attitude and positive expectancy towards the future prepare themselves for greatness tomorrow. On the other hand, those who sit around fearful of the future and feeling sorry for themselves and waiting for the perfect economy or for the stars to line up will never succeed. Why, because there is never a perfect time for any thing and the stars never stay lined up for long. Business is what you make it.

The good news is, as Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker, author, and salesman, once said, “Economists have accurately predicted something like ten of the last two recessions.” Even better news is that top performers understand one simple concept: Business is either good or bad in your own mind. Even in the Great Depression of the 1930s many people became wealthy.

I recently attended a real estate seminar where one of the top real estate agents in the nation talked about the current housing market and how over 400,000 agents nationwide will exit the profession. He thought this situation was great! He was excited because fewer agents translate into more market share for him. One of the reasons he is at the top of his profession is that despite a market downturn he is already positioning himself today to take advantage of the next real estate boom that is already on its way.

Unlike top performers, too many people sit around waiting for someone to call and give them some good news; and then they’ll go to work. They say something like, “When the economy turns around I will really, really get in the game.” These people will never succeed.

I have an old shirt that I sometimes wear when I workout. It has a picture of a Rhino curling his bulging bicep saying, ‘Quit your crying; only the strong survive.’

I’ve been in sales and marketing for over 22 years and the media has always got some type of hype going on. There’s always going to be boom and bust. During the boom, save a little and enjoy it while it lasts. During the rough periods, it is time to bust out of your comfort zone and get creative. Some of the best marketing ideas have come about because of challenges. Leaders always emerge during challenges. While people in general sit around waiting for circumstances to happen to them, leaders create their own circumstances. While some predict doom and gloom, others take massive action because they understand that today’s actions equal tomorrow’s results.

Think about it, smart investors buy when the housing market is down because they know it will come back. It has to, because more people are born today than pass on and the demand for housing will eventually exceed the supply.

Take time today to write down three items that you feel are creating challenges in your world. Then, ask yourself “Is there anything I can do to change this circumstance?” If there is, then take massive action and make the necessary changes immediately. If there is nothing you can do, then ask yourself, “In one year, two years, or five years from now will these challenges even matter or will they be something I’ll sit back and laugh about?”

Chances are you will look back and laugh about your circumstances because they don’t really matter. Either way, forget about it because there is nothing you can do. And, 90 percent of what we worry about never even happens. They are minor issues that will get you all caught up in the moment and they will hold you back if you let them.

Next, write down three good and positive opportunities that are present in your world. If you can’t think of anything positive then write down what could be right in your world if you would only take initiative and make a few positive actions. Now start focusing on how you can make these things better. If you will focus on the good in your life instead of what you can’t change you will see a tremendous difference in your attitude and your performance. People will react to you differently and you will experience positive results.

Another action step you can take is to guard your mind from negativity. We can control what we watch and what we listen to. If you surf the Internet, watch TV, listen to the news or read the newspaper, you have the ability to turn the channel, turn the page and read something uplifting.

We can also control the thoughts we allow to dominate our mind. Successful people learn to recognize when their thinking is negative. When negative thoughts start to come into your mind say the word “Cancel” out loud and replace the negative thought with something positive. Why, because what you focus on the most is the direction you will head. If you drive a car and you focus on the ditch where will you end up? You’re going to into the ditch.

The best part of life is that you have a choice each and every day. You can guard your mind from negativity and consciously shift your focus to what’s right in your world instead of the minor wrongs that may be temporarily. The people that focus on what’s right are guaranteeing their future success.

The choices you make today will determine your ultimate destiny. The reality is there is more opportunity today than there has ever been in the past. There are more options, more ways to learn, and more opportunities to produce positive change in your life than ever.

You see, the greatest depression didn’t happen in the 1930s, it happens every day in people’s minds who allow their outside circumstances control what goes on inside them. Therefore, the mind controls their thoughts, actions, reactions, and ultimately their future.

So, when situations look impossible or you’re tempted to go through the day negative and depressed, that is when you have to step up and change your belief level. Expect good to happen. Expect to rise above your challenges. Expect victory!

When those around you predict doom and gloom for everything from the economy to your goals and dreams, remember that success is mostly a mental game. Your thoughts will drive your results, your success, and even your destiny. So defend your mind against the negative, proactively focus on the positive, and expect to win. You have the power to guard your mind, choose your thoughts and control your attitude. Therefore, you guarantee that the greatest depressions for some will be your greatest success. It’s all up to you.

Believe in yourself…Raise the bar…Move Mountains

Billy Cox is a Top Sales Expert and an internationally recognized business leader, author, and inspirational speaker he energizes people to dream big, take action, and achieve results. His message comes from the authenticity and credibility of his own inspiring, all-American success story. Billy Cox now teaches the essentials that led to his own success – he has lived what he speaks. Billy pairs his powerful message with a high-energy, passionate, and down-to-earth style.

You can find out more about Billy here: www.billycoxinternational.com

Today’s News: Want to hear a great interview about “Sales Presentations?” – You will find full details here

Tomorrow: Some very interesting research…… to finish off the week nicely

Even companies that enjoy the luxury of clearly superior products, realise that those products will not sell themselves. As a minimum, companies need a sales force comprised of skilled professionals who understand the application of the product range, have an in-depth knowledge of their customer base, market sector and of course the competition. But even all these elements together are not sufficient to ensure optimum performance levels and profitable sales.

So What Is A Sales Process?

Put quite simply, it is a set of procedures, which determine how a company wishes its sales team to operate – “The way we do things around here”

The most successful organisations have implemented a process and an all-encompassing framework for defining performance standards. This involves assessing, appraising, developing, reviewing, providing continual feedback on performance, as well as implementing efficient and relevant process tools

Lack Of Direction:

Far too frequently, competent salespeople are expected to channel their own activities into the areas that will produce the quickest wins. Unfortunately, left to their own devices, they don’t develop and pursue a formal strategy for moving a sale tangibly forward during each prospect interaction, neither do they have a clearly defined set of goals against which to measure the progress they are making.

Typically, their judgment is based on gut reaction and is purely subjective i.e., “Oh yes, I’ll get that order, he likes me”, because salespeople have to be optimistic by nature. They end up “dancing around” with prospects, in the hope that eventually they will get to their chosen point on the dance-floor i.e. -the sale. In this scenario, the customer has complete control.

A Discouraged Sales Force Diminishes Sales Efficiency:

When their efforts don’t pay off immediately, even experienced salespeople tend to become discouraged. They spend more and more time struggling to meet their sales quotas and working less and less efficiently.

Feeling increasingly powerless to influence prospects, they may also begin to press for a sale in ineffective ways – for instance, by arranging formal product presentations to prospects that they have not even qualified or who haven’t yet agreed that they need the solution. They allow prospects to milk them for information without getting a commensurate commitment first – and even worse, they fail to defend margin and make unprofitable sales in order to achieve quotas. The details of what goes wrong differs for each individual salesperson but the net result is always the same, a discouraged sales force, diminished sales efficiency (i.e. wasted investment of sales time and resources that fail to produce high quality sales) and, consequently, increased cost of sales which inevitably drastically reduces net profit.

What’s the bottom line? Sales never result efficiently and with maximum revenue unless the sales process is continually and closely managed. But before the sales process can be managed, it must be manageable.

Developing A Consultative Sales Process:

From the Sales Director’s perspective, developing a consultative sales process means developing a comprehensive, formal, realistic and step-by-step outline of what salespeople are expected to do. This is just as appropriate for internal and totally reactive sales teams as it is for external pro-active ones. This outline includes the activity and calls they must make, the relationships they should establish with prospects, the documentation they should use in sales calls, the issues they must discuss and resolve with prospects and the tangible goals they must achieve in sequence along the path to each sale, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

It’s only when such an outline is in place that sales management can be in a position to:
o Monitor the sales force’s activity, progress and results,
o Assess issues as they arise and take appropriate action,
o Redirect individual sales representatives’ efforts efficiently.

Although many organisations appreciate the importance of being customer-focused and talk in vague terms about their “consultative sales process”, surprisingly few sales leaders invest the time and energy required to develop a formal sales process – a process that is at once detailed and resilient enough to guide their salespeople and permit effective management of their efforts.

Today’s News: There is a particularly excellent set of articles contained within this week’s highlighted topic – Sales Presentations – over at Salesopedia and you can check them out here http://www.salesopedia.com/component/option,com_magazine/Itemid,10479/

Tomorrow: Fellow Top Sales Expert, Billy Cox makes his debut on The JF Guest Author Spot

The JF Guest Author Spot

Dr. Tony Alessandra

What do “experts” know anyway?

A number of the world’s all-time great geniuses were at first thought to be anything but gifted.

Einstein, we know, left school in Germany because of poor grades in history and the language arts. The problem wasn’t Einstein, of course, but the type of learning he was forced to do, which required a lot of rote memorization and very little of the problem solving he was good at.

We find an even better example of unrecognized genius in the case of Emily Dickinson. Dickinson, now considered one of America’s greatest literary geniuses, died an obscure poet at 56. A handful of friends and family recognized her potential, but Dickinson herself longed to be known by the world.

In 1862 she wrote a letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, an eminent literary man of this day, and enclosed four poems for his approval and advice. Higginson was impressed with the raw power of her poetic imagery, but didn’t think her poetry was publishable. When he tried adapting the poems to fit the florid, fancy style popular during the day, Dickinson lost interest in the project and gave up. As a result, only seven of Dickinson’s poems were ever published in her lifetime – five of them in her local paper.

When a cache of 1,700 poems was discovered in Dickinson’s cabinet after her death, ironically it was Higginson who published the first volume of her poetry. Within a few short years, Dickinson’s poetic genius was being hailed within the most respected literary circles.

You may look at your own experiences in life and find a teacher, a co-worker, a friend, a boss, or a spouse, who – for whatever reason – can’t seem to recognize the unique gifts or talents you possess. Maybe your gift is hidden below a shy, unassuming exterior. Maybe you’re not in the right environment for it to shine. Or maybe it’s still in the infant stages of what it will become with a little extra work.

Or maybe, just maybe, your gifts are so innovative and ahead of their time they can’t be appreciated by those schooled in older, more conservative traditions.

The point is, you shouldn’t let a few people’s “expert” opinions and judgments crush your hopes and dreams and keep you from exploring the full potential of your talents.

A better course of action would be to accept criticism for what it’s worth and continue sharing your talents with the world. Search for trusted mentors and role models who can give you honest, positive feedback to help you strengthen your skills while still being true to your authentic style. Read books and take courses. Whatever you do, don’t lose confidence in your ability to master your skill. With time, your talents can only get stronger. Besides, down the road, you may finally meet someone who will recognize your talents and give you that long-awaited opportunity to be noticed.

Sure, you may never be called a genius in your lifetime, but then again, very few geniuses ever are.

Here’s to more personal insight.

DR. TONY ALESSANDRA is a Top Sales Expert who has authored 17 books translated into 50 foreign language editions, recorded over 50 audio and video programs, and delivered over 2,000 keynote speeches since 1976. If you would like more information about Dr.Alessandra, call his office at 1-760-603-8110, email him at TA@Alessandra.com or visit his website at www.alessandra.com

Today’s News: Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, we have just announced the Top Sales Article for May – it’s a good one!

Tomorrow: “It Is Difficult To Control External Events, If You Do Not Have Control Internally”

Failing to focus salespeople’s activity reduces efficiency and consequently reduces results because there isn’t a salesperson alive that believes they have enough time in their working week to complete all the activities they want to achieve! Time is a huge constraint on salespeople’s activities so that when their manager asks them for more, it’s no wonder that they are overwhelmed.

Poor Quality Activity Achieves Poor Quality Results:

Secondly, but equally important, salespeople often aren’t clear about how to identify the prospects most likely to have a genuine need for their product or service. Without an objective way to prioritise which prospects to contact first and/or an efficient strategy for contacting them, salespeople are doomed to waste a large percentage of their time.

Another huge dilemma for many salespeople is how to divide their time between servicing existing clients and generating new business from new prospects. Existing clients frequently make requests for service that could be dealt with by support staff. But salespeople who lack a disciplined, future-orientated plan for generating new contacts and sales often find themselves spending more time attending to “urgent” tasks for existing accounts instead.

A common approach among salespeople can be summarised in the saying “If you throw enough mud against the wall, some of it is bound to stick”. This approach is exhausting, demoralising, extremely unproductive, and very expensive in the long term.

Speed Of Relaying Customer Information:

The Sales Director provides another interesting dimension to activity management. Apart from product or service knowledge, salespeople require knowledge about prospects, clients, and market trends. Therefore, if the information those salespeople require isn’t relayed in an efficient manner, their “face-to-face” selling activities are dramatically reduced.

Managing Existing Customers:

A vitally important sales activity is that of managing existing customer accounts to consolidate and grow the relationship. Yet, unfortunately, when compared over time, the customers’ interest levels increase while salespeople’s interest levels tend to decrease.

This creates a “relationship gap”.

Today’s News:

 I am delighted to announce a brand new initiative that has just been launched by Jeb Blount and myself.

The Sales Book Awards recognize books, authors, and publishers whose work advances sales as a profession.

Advancing sales as a profession is our core mission. All proceeds from corporate sponsorships and entry fees will be used to create scholarships for deserving students enrolled in University level, sales degree programs. We will develop and foster a wide coalition of thought leaders, educators, publishers, authors, and corporations who share our mission.

2008 Winners will be Announced December 15, 2008 
On November 15, 2008 we will announce three finalists in each major category based on the aggregate scores received from the judges. On December 15, 2008 we will announce the winner in each category and the Sales Book of the Year.

Winners and finalists will receive:

• a plaque recognizing their accomplishment

• a seal to place on their book cover and website

• recognition on major websites including SalesGravy.com, Top10SalesArticles.com (more TBA)

• a full page advertisement placed in a major trade publication (TBA)

• a scholarship will be awarded in the Sales Book of the Year’s authors name,  to the top ranked junior at the 2009 National Collegiate Sales Competition

Nominating Categories:
1 General Sales (open category)
2 Sales Leadership/Sales Management
3 Sales Motivation
4 Sales Method/Process
5 Prospecting
6 Presenting/ Public Speaking
7 Industry Specific
8 Audio Books and Audio Programs
9 Classic Sales Books
10 E-Books

You can find the full details here:  www.salesbookawards.org

Tomorrow: Fellow Top Sales Expert, Dr. Tony Alessandra is here on The JF Guest Author Spot

As a manager you have a juggling act to perform, one which balances different points of view, and often requires considerable diplomacy.

Classically these are the viewpoints of:
• Yourself
• The organisation
• Your department (or division, section)
• Your people
• External contacts (e.g. customers or suppliers)

Sometimes (regularly?) conflicts arise: something is right for the department and the people, but not for either the organisation or you. On occasions you will find yourself disagreeing with a company policy but having to support it even though you know that your people see it as wrong and personally inconvenient.

How you handle this balancing act is important, and it may be necessary to explain the reasons behind your actions. It is an area for some consistency.

You need to keep certain factors in mind when balancing the interests of different parties:

First and foremost your responsibility is to the organisation and to achieving the targets set for you. You can only do this with the support of your people, so in the long-term you must carry them with you (some disagreement may be seen as inevitable)

You have a responsibility upwards and downwards within the organisation (perhaps one answer is to support a policy, insisting that your people comply, while communicating upwards in an attempt to have it changed if it can be bettered)

You must never be seen as selfish, simply acting to make your own lot better (this will, rightly, always be resented)

You must sometimes be seen to fight your corner on behalf of your section and its people (this will be appreciated, more so if what you take issue with is a nonsense and, especially, if you win!)

Continually Seek To Demonstrate Your Skills At Balancing Different Interests:

As well as making clear your position in respect of the organisation and the other players you need to consider – and make clear – the relationship between you and your own staff. You must always be fair (but rarely democratic). People must see the realities involved. They must understand that there is a balance and that you cannot always be automatically on their side, right or wrong.

Finally – Make It Clear That You:

• See your success as tied in with and, indeed, dependent on them.
• See your role as essentially supportive (in all sorts of ways: guidance, counselling, development and motivation)
• Believe that by working together you can all succeed – not just by everyone doing their share of the work but by everyone contributing creatively (ideas may come from anywhere)

Today’s News: It does seem to me that we are being bombarded with webinars and teleseminars right now. Choosing what is good and what is not must be very difficult and personally I tend to listen into and recommend a very few – mostly from experts who I both know and respect. Yesterday I recommended Paul McCord and today I can share with you an upcoming event from Jill Konrath:

EMAIL COLD CALLING: HOW TO LEVERAGE EMAIL TO GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR
Date: June 19, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM Central

Integrating email cold calling into your account entry campaign is essential with today’s savvy phone-averse and time-starved decision maker. Don’t be fooled by the ease of emailing though. Attend Jill’s teleseminar and find out how to use email effectively.

P.S. If you’re a woman in B2B sales, check out the Sales SHEbang - a new resource, community and conference Jill recently launched. I think you’ll like it!

Tomorrow: The next edition of the FREE Top Sales Experts E-book is absolutely huge!! It is 136 pages and counting. The first draft is ready for editing, so all fifty contributing authors will be checking their work this weekend so that we can hit our publication date of Tuesday June 17th – I think you are going to love it

As ever, have a great w/e and be sure to join me again next week – JF

 The JF Guest Author Spot

Nigel Edelshain

I was reminded the other day of one of the “classic” problems that is experienced by so many people during the sales process – proposals that have “gone to Neverland”. 

The scenario goes like this…you meet with a prospect and they ask for a proposal; you spend a considerable amount of time developing a proposal (I have frequently seen IT solution sales people spending two days out of their selling week just developing one proposal); you send them a proposal and now…your prospect does not return your follow-up calls…What’s up?

Nine-times-out-of-ten the problem is the process you used for selling your product or solution.  Whether you know it or not, you have not sold all the key players in the decision-making process on your solution.  It is too early for you to write a proposal. Prospects often ask for proposals when this is not the appropriate next step in the sales process.  It is up to you, the sales person, to take control of this situation and guide the prospect to the correct next step.

My general advice on proposals is to steer clear of them as long and as often as you can!

Try to avoid writing “proposals” and focus on writing “statements of work”. In other words, only put the time in to write such a time-consuming document when you are 80-90% sure the deal is sold (and has been sold to all the key people).  Up until this time, only offer the prospect the minimum amount of information they need to advance the sale – try to minimize your time developing documents.

Part of sales is about good time management.  Don’t spend your time writing proposals, spend it selling and minimize your time in “Neverland” (unless of course, you really, really like Captain Hook, Michael Jackson or Johnny Depp).

Nigel Edelshain is CEO of Sales 2.0

Companies use Sales 2.0′s telesales and consulting services to take their sales to the next level, typically boosting results 3 – 10 times.

The company applies the latest Sales 2.0 tools and techniques in its telesales operation and shares resulting breakthroughs in sales methodology with clients through its consulting practice.

Sales 2.0 operates a website that is dedicated to sharing the latest information on Sales 2.0 thinking with sales professionals everywhere as part of the company’s broader mission is to take the sales profession to the next level.

Prior to starting Sales 2.0, Nigel sold millions of dollars of technology solutions to major Fortune 500 firms for technology services companies in the New York area. He was head of sales for the financial services industry for a 600-person system integrator called Starpoint Solutions and worked as an account executive for Platinum Technology (now CA).

Nigel is the chairman of the Wharton Business School Club of New York – the School’s largest alumni association. Nigel graduated from Wharton’s MBA program in 1993 and has an undergraduate degree in Microelectronics (chip design) from Edinburgh University.

Visit Nigel ‘s website: www.sales2.com
 

 Today’s News: Here is a message for you from good friend Paul McCord:

Business-2-Business Cold Calling–No, You Don’t Have To
 
Last month I conducted a one-hour teleseminar on how to turn business-to-business cold calls into strong, interest generating calls that result in appointments. This was supposed to be a one-time offering since I don’t really work in the area of prospecting via the telephone.
 
However, the seminar was such a hit and so many have requested that I do it again so that others in their company can attend, I’ve decided to offer it once more during June.
 
Let me give you some of the reactions from the last teleseminar:
 
David Collins said “this is by far the most productive teleseminar I’ve ever attended, bar none. Your approach isn’t like anything I’ve heard before and the best part is after a week of using it, I can say without any hesitation, ‘It Works!’”
 
Lynn Groves says “I’ve taken numerous telephone seminars and teleseminars and none come close to giving me the real honest to God help this seminar has given me. Funny, this seminar at $67 is one of the least expensive I’ve attended and is worth more than all the others put together.”
 
Andy Ramos says “without a doubt, the most effective seminar I’ve attended in the last three years.”
 
What are they raving about? They’re talking about what they learned that gets them to:
• the decision maker without having to lie, deceive gatekeepers, or try to manipulate people
• how to create real interest in the decision maker
• how to know before they call what the company’s needs and issues are
• how to get their voice mail messages returned almost 100% of the time
• how to make a real, welcome connection with the decision maker, not a cold call
• how to set themselves apart from every other salesperson even before they make the call
 
This isn’t some miracle cure or slimy gimmick. This is a disciplined, effective process that turns time wasting, ineffective cold calling into a real conversation and connection with decision makers.
 
Join me on Tuesday, June 17 at 5PM Central Time (6PM Eastern, 4PM Mountain, 3PM Pacific) for the most effective phone training you’ll ever get.
 
I honestly don’t know if I’ll offer this again. It was supposed to be a one-time offering, so I don’t know whether I’ll do it again in the future or not.
 
REGISTER at http://www.mccordtraining.com/html/calling_seminar.html —still only $67.00 for this career changing teleseminar.
 
Seating is LIMITED, so register early

Paul McCord
McCord Training
Sales and Marketing training/coaching/consulting
www.mccordandassociates.com
http://salesandmanagementblog.com
http://themanagementcurve.com

Tomorrow: As ever, we will finish the week strongly

Performance has many components, for example, our activities and abilities that are typically where many organisations focus on. Yet beneath the surface, our beliefs about ourselves, our customers, our job, can either help or hinder our performance. You may have heard the expression, “Whatever you believe you can do, you will and whatever you believe you can’t do, you won’t.” It’s as if our beliefs (which are unique to us all) become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our beliefs can act as huge barriers that stop us giving 100 percent to something.

Here are six beliefs that can have a positive impact on your performance.

1. Every Individual is unique and their perceptions are true to them. Because we each absorb 2 million pieces of information unconsciously and can only process around 7 chunks consciously we each have our own unique perception of the world around us. If everyone reading this was asked to explain beliefs, each individual would give a different explanation. So who’s right? Everyone is right because your perceptions are true for you. That’s why the more respect we have for every individual and the more we seek to understand the viewpoints of other, the richer our communication becomes. By respecting the opinions of others doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to agree with them, we just have to acknowledge that every individual’s reality is the one based on their own unique perceptions.

2. Communication is successful, only if it achieves your desired results. It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve communicated well or if you think you’ve been crystal clear, what matters is that your communication is received and acted upon in the manner you wanted. How many times have you said something to another person who has totally misinterpreted what you meant? Equally, sometimes we are on the receiving end of communication that makes us feel inadequate. If we can look beyond the communication and try to see a positive intention behind another person’s behaviour, then our relationships and interactions with people become more constructive and empowering.

When we communicate with people and if they are ‘not getting’ our point, then the responsibility is ours to adapt our approach until they do. For example; if we have communicated a price increase and the reasons for that price increase, and our customers have not understood those reasons, the responsibility for this mis-communication lies with us. Therefore we can only judge the success of what we have communicated based on the reactions we get from other people.

3. Resistance from another person usually signals a lack of rapport. Rapport is a vital ingredient when developing relationships because it builds trust and allows communication to flow. When that state of rapport is there, communication is a lot easier even if you don’t agree with the other person. When we don’t feel that rapport or connection we have a tendency to ‘nit-pick’ or find fault. Customers respond to people they perceive understand their position and are on the same wavelength. If we are encountering lots of resistance from a prospect or a customer, then it helps us to notice that we haven’t built sufficient rapport. Even if our prospect doesn’t agree with what we are saying, rapport enables us to have an open discussion where we can get an honest reason for their reaction rather than a ‘prickily’ brick wall.

4. Flexibility improves success. The greater your flexibility, the greater your chances for achieving what you want. If we accept that every person is a unique individual then we have to accept that each prospect and customer will require a different approach. Using the same approach with all prospects and customers is like playing the lottery, the chances of getting it right are extremely low. If we have high levels of flexibility that allows us to adapt to each prospect and customer’s style then we are able to build more rapport and reduce resistance.

Albert Einstein gave the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over whilst expecting a different result. As an example, think about a fly…..have you watched how many times a fly bumps its head trying to fly out of a window? I guess that’s why it’s a fly.

The more we are able to adapt, the more opportunities we create. If what you are doing isn’t working, try something different and if that doesn’t work try something different again. Flexibility of thinking and behaviour creates awesome sales people. Your team are also unique individuals requiring a unique approach with how you manage them. The greater your behavioural flexibility the easier it is to connect and develop better working relationships.

5. There is no failure, only feedback. Of course there is failure. If you take a driving test or exam you either pass or fail. Your sales people will either succeed in achieving their monthly sales targets or fail to meet them. The key is how you perceive ‘failure’. Every failure can be looked at as a learning opportunity that is beautifully epitomised by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Despite more than 10,000 failures, he stood by his dream until he made it a physical reality. He said that every discarded idea took him one step closer towards finding the idea that would work.

One of the most powerful self-coaching questions sales people can ask is, “What will I do differently next time?” or “What can I learn from this?” Sales people who make mistakes and learn from those mistakes have a tendency to do better than sales people who are scared to fail. Therefore if your team can be encouraged to see that when they don’t achieve their targets they have an opportunity to learn, because they have been given great feedback on what not to do next month.

6. Accepting 100% responsibility creates transformation. Every action you take creates a reaction that is based on the formula of cause and effect. Everything that happens is the effect of an underlying cause. Most people spend their lives operating at effect….”It’s not my fault I always end up in bad relationships.” “Life’s so unfair, things always happen to me.” “We’re in a recession, that’s why I haven’t achieved target.” “If I could only match our competitors prices, I’d win more deals.”

True personal power can be achieved when an individual accepts 100% responsibility for what they create in their lives. To put it another way, you get one of two things; the result or outcome you want or the reasons why you didn’t (you may recognise these as ‘excuses’!)

The more you focus on the reasons (excuses) and blame circumstances beyond your control you push away your personal power. Therefore, if you believe that you are in control of the situations that life ‘appears’ to throw at you, then you are in control of your thinking and emotions, and therefore in control of your own life. This belief has given thousands of sales people the determination to breakthrough so many barriers and overcome countless challenges when at times it was tempting to wallow in self-pity. If something good or bad happens, ask yourself, “How did I create that?” This question enables you to tap into your brain’s infinite potential and it will give you all the answers you need. If you’re prepared to commit 100% to taking responsibility for your own life, the results can be extraordinary.

Today’s News: As the voting concludes and we are about to announce May’s “Top Sales Article Of The Month” I have to say that the competition was extremely fierce this month with very little to choose between all five weekly winners – you can check them out for yourself here

This is probably a good time to remind you that I also post every week on the “Sales Manager’s Mentor” Blog over at Sales Gravy - so do pop over there and pay a visit.

Tomorrow: Proposals and Neverland is Nigel Edelshein’s topic on The JF Guest Author Spot

The JF Guest Author Spot

Terri Dunevant

Are you the expert in your market?  If your niche is narrow enough, you very well could be!  Most people worry when I suggest a very narrow niche; they worry that they will be limiting their opportunities.  It depends on your industry; but, wouldn’t you rather be famous in a small pond, where you’re known as the one to go to, as opposed to one of many for many? 

I started out with applying my perception reframing technique called The Staircase Principle to just salespeople and soon found that covered way too many people.  It is easier to relate by specializing in a particular field of salespeople.  I had specialized in Property Management when in advertising, so thought I’d start there.  I took my book to the State Department of Licensing and got it approved for continuing education credits for the real estate industry and the property managers who (at that time) don’t usually have anyone specialize in their industry, were delighted!  All the associations and sub-associations promoted for me within their social meetings and it didn’t take but a year to have spoken at most every venue that industry had to offer in my geographical area.

The reason narrowing your niche expands your opportunities is…everyone wants to be special.  Customers want to know that you are in-tune with their industry specific “special” needs.  By becoming educated on their hot-buttons and industry specific vocabulary, and using them appropriately and comfortably, you show them respect.  It’s kind of like taking time to learn the native language of a foreign country before visiting.

So, where do you begin?  What are some of the narrowing demographics?  Check out this list and see if any “speak” to you.

Niche opportunities & (examples):

o Age (Home sales for elderly)
o Area (specialized roofing for waterfront homes)
o Opposite gender (skin care for men)
o Ecological (books printed with recycled paper)
o Ethnicity/Culture (business software with a rap flavor)
o Vegan (coffee & smoothies with absolutely no animal byproducts)
o Emerging fads (investment mortgages for house-flippers)
o Based on the unsellable (if they have in-house speakers, provide speaker training)
o Military (exceptionally durable laptops)
o Multi-level Marketing reps (sales training help recruiting independent distributors)
o Any Industry (pest control – ladybug theme)

If you still don’t know where your specialty might lie, try asking yourself these questions:

o Who did you used to serve?  You may already be an industry leader from past experience for a different product or service.
o What is a common denominator amongst your current clients?
o What industry gives you the best testimonials?
o Who are your favorite clients?
o Who do you wish you had as a client?

Once you do have an idea, try it.  You can always just cross it off the list of niches if it doesn’t work.

How do you “try it” exactly?  Well, first of all, read what they read, sign up for their e-newsletters, watch their training videos to gain insight on their concerns.  Then, create an exclusive combination of Features & Benefits for that market.  For example, an associate who is a hypnotist listed ALL the things hypnosis could help you with.  I suggested he concentrate on one of the most popular, weight loss.  He will always have people who will ask if it works for other things, but to gain more clients quickly, let’s just start here:

 Feature:  3 hypnosis weight loss packages    
 Benefit:  “Everyone has different needs. You may just want to lose a few pounds, or you may desire an entire lifestyle change. You can choose from three different weight loss plans, each specifically tailored to get you to your desired level of health and fitness. I will personally help you to choose the one that will serve you best during your free consultation session.”

Immediately, everyone who receives his marketing remembers he is the guy for weight loss in a different way!  When his clients experience results, they naturally share their hypnotist’s name and he has naturally gained more clients in every category.   I was going to help him target smokers next, but we didn’t need to, it was a natural progression.

Where do you market to your niche?  Here are some ideas to start you off:
 
o Advertise in their Magazines, newsletters, association fund-raisers
o Write articles for their Magazines, Newsletters
o Speak at their Association Meetings

When that niche is saturated or new clients slow down, add another niche.  It becomes easier to identify which one you should try next as you work through this process.  Conquer the world, one pond at a time!

Terri Dunevant brings over 25 years of diverse experience to the training and speaking industry. Her unique insight in people skills comes from her multi-faceted background, from cheerleading as one of the original Seattle Seahawks “SeaGals”, to sweeping awards as a Senior Advertising Consultant, to currently training nationally for Fortune 500 companies.

A recipient of the Distinguished Toastmaster Award, the highest obtainable recognition internationally for both public speaking and leadership, Terri has served as Lt. Governor of Marketing. She is a State Certified Instructor and has formatted some of her book’s contents to qualify for industry specific continuing education credits. The Staircase Principle Applied to the Salesperson outlines reframing techniques vital to success. Terri’s training company: “WinCourage”, empowers others to “Step Up, and Be Leaders!”

Visit Terri ‘s website: www.wincourage.com

Today’s News: I thought that “Trade Shows” died many years ago, but apparently not – it would appear that organisations are still willing to blindly waste their ever diminishing marketing budgets on this intangible return on investment.

Salesopedia, keen to support all of their authors, whatever their opinions, have highlighted this element of “Dinosaur” marketing – you can read a number of outdated views here

Tomorrow: Thoughts about beliefs – more precisely, “Empowering Beliefs”