The responsibility for ensuring that every member of a sales team is successful and performing at optimum levels lies entirely with management and when a salesperson gains promotion to management the first thing they have to do is to quickly acquaint themselves with a new set of working relationships – and a new set of rules.

The salesperson’s primary working relationships are with customers: However the sales manager’s is with the sales force i.e. his subordinates. For example:

Essential Attributes Include:

Successful Salesperson:
- Personal drive (Ego).
- Needs to win battles (Individual sales).
- Able to work alone.
- Persuades customers to see his/her point.
- Needs selling skills, personal skills and knowledge.
- Able to work away from the office.
- Works well with people and numbers.
- Good at implementing sales tactics.

Successful Sales Manager:
- Submission of personal needs to the goals of the Company (Corporate drive).
- Needs to win the war (Meet corporate goals).
- Able to work with others.
- Persuades the sales team to see the Company’s point.
- Needs management skills and marketing knowledge.
- Needs to work at the office.
- Works well with people, numbers, paperwork and the corporate hierarchy.
- Good at developing sales and marketing strategies.

The most common danger in having sales managers who are basically super salespeople is that relations with subordinates including the critical tasks of development and supervision may deteriorate.

When I am asked to diagnose why an individual or even an entire team are not performing at optimum levels, I usually ask just four very straightforward questions:

• Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? In other words are they pro-active and are their activity levels high? I call this CCT as a percentage of TWT (Customer Contact Time as a percentage of Total Working Time)

• Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect organisations? Are they able to penetrate the formal DMU (Decision Making Unit) and reach the MAN? (The person or people with the Money, Authority and Need)

• Are they saying/doing the right things? This really means – how strong are their selling skills?

• And finally, how is their attitude – that small thing that makes such a big difference.

From these four questions, I usually discover the answer but actually, it can sometimes be a little more complex and I refer to the“Eight Reasons Why Salespeople Fail”

If you really want to discover how healthy your sales organisation is right now, you can complete this FREE Health Check now and receive an immediate score – I will provide you with further information on what your score means on Friday, or if you want to discuss it personally, e-m me at jf@jonathanfarrington.com.

Today’s News: I am travelling home to Paris and as there was a fire in the Tunnel last week, I am having to break my journey with an overnight hotel stay: If I said the internet connection was “flakey” I would be being very generous, so you’ll get a double helping of news tomorrow – I promise.

Tomorrow:Also tomorrow, Lee Salz on The JF Guest Author Spot, so be absolutely certain to join me!

The JF Guest Author Spot

Steve Kraner

Despite tons of money spent on CRM software, and hours of time dedicated to business pipeline reviews, the forecast is still not accurate. Why?

Hope-based forecasting

The fundamental flaw in all forecasting is that we are asking sales people to report on their own performance. It’s a bit like the US Congress asking pro baseball players if they use steroids. If we ask salespeople to report that they are failing, we are kidding ourselves.

Level 1 Fix

Most organizations and sales managers ask for a forecast and apply a lot of pressure in the process. For example, a Sales VP told me the other day that his people could not properly project their business. I asked what he had tried to improve forecast accuracy. He said, “Last December I asked them all to commit to what they were going to close in the following 90 days.” I asked if that approach worked and he said, “No. They didn’t make the number they had committed to and they were THEIR numbers!” I asked him what they said when he debriefed their opportunities and walked them through a structured analysis of each deal in progress. He said, “I don’t do that.”

Please stop and think about that for a moment.

If you hired a golf coach who said, “Steve, the problem with your game is that the ball doesn’t go in the hole early enough and often enough.” What would you think of that golf coach?

You can’t coach based on OUTCOMES. If you want to change an outcome you have to address the underlying behaviors. When we beat them up with their own numbers, we aren’t adding any value and we are probably damaging their self-esteem. This results in subjective and inaccurate forecasts.

Level 2 Fix

So then we try a ‘uniform milestone’ grading scheme in an attempt to remove the subjectivity by establishing clear guidelines for what it means to be “at 80%.” This is better, but still more subjective than objective. These approaches fail because they try to solve the problem with tons of paperwork or lots of annoying buttons in a CRM system. The problem is that the reps gather all the information and then PUT IT IN A FILE OR IN A CRM SYSTEM. They look at it as busy work and they do just what it takes to keep their boss off their backs..

Further, if you’ve ever been through an account or opportunity review as a rep you face a manager who keeps asking questions until he find one you didn’t ask. It’s reduced to a game of “gotcha.” Again, very little learning is accomplished and the rep’s self esteem is bruised.

State of the Art

The state of the art is to use an Ultimate Contract. It is an agreement between the salesperson and the customer that outlines all of the key qualification conversations and the due diligence process that will lead to the ultimate ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ The purpose of this document is to make sure you don’t develop a proposal unless you are certain you have captured the full set of requirements and that they are seriously consider buying from you.

“The greatest enemy of communication is the illusion of it.”  – Pierre Martineau.

The Ultimate Contract requires the rep to ask the tough questions. (Please note, the real problem is that reps don’t ask the tough questions! We need to help them learn how to do this.) The verbal agreement is then reduced to writing and SHARED WITH THE CUSTOMER to ensure clarity. Since you send it to the customer, it serves as a behavior trap that you set for yourself, to make sure you ask all of the tough questions.

Since the customer had to see it and agree to it, it adds the next level of accuracy to the forecast. Subjectivity is removed by verifying the conversations with the customer. The account review becomes an integral part of the sales cycle.

How to do it

The manner in which you get to those agreements – tactically – conversationally – is the difference between being pushy and mutual agreement.

We use the term ‘contract’ to emphasize that sales people on the average need to recognize that it is a two-sided agreement and that both parties should have an equal degree of commitment. Contrast that with a proposal – in which the buyer’s only commitment is to allow the proposal to enter their in-box. When you call to follow up, they say, “I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.”

It’s in both parties best interest that you reach an engaged agreement or pull the plug on a process that is going nowhere.

As with any sales tactic, if well-executed, it works well. If not, it comes across as pushy.

Don’t toss out the CRM system

By-the-way, you can still use the CRM system. Just have the salespeople attach the Ultimate Contract to opportunity. Ask them to do less paperwork, then insist they do the minimum essential. The Ultimate Contract will give you a clear window into the real status of every opportunity and into the skills set of the rep who produced it.

I humbly suggest that a verified, mutual agreement is central to the original question about accurate forecasting.

An engineer by background, Steve Kraner is now the CEO of Sandler Sales Institute, a company that helps high tech executives embrace and develop their sales strategies.

Steve confesses that he disdained the sales side of business early in his career. A mistake, he says, that’s often repeated by ‘techie’ founders and CEOs. Steve admits that he had to learn to love sales – and says that so do high tech leaders if they want to win. According to Steve, many technology leaders don’t like selling, so they hire salespeople instead of embracing and leading the sales process. The result, he says, “is a technology company with as many sales systems as salespeople: a company that cannot forecast, team sell or scale.” In sum, a company that’s going to lose.

skraner@hightechguru.com
www.hightechguru.com
703-966-0192

You can read more about Steve here

Today’s News: The Queen of Cold calling, aka Wendy Weiss, has made another royal proclamation:

What would happen to your business if you were able to double the number of qualified, prospects you are able to reach?
 
How would it affect your bottom line if you met with and/or had comprehensive telephone conversations with twice the number of qualified, decision-makers?
 
How would it feel to have qualified, decision-makers eager, willing and delighted to meet with you?
 
Join Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, as she discusses cold calling and how she helps entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals – just like you – prospect fearlessly and schedule more new business appointments in less time.
 
The Cold Calling Free Preview Call is on September 18, 2008 and details can be found by clicking the banner below.

Social Media Today is enjoying a birthday today, so to Robin and the gang – best wishes!

Tomorrow: Question: Why do potentially good salespeople fail? Answer: Bad management.

When was the last time you were introduced to a professional salesperson and when asked what they did for a living, they said openly and honestly: “Oh, I sell?”

No, rather most salespeople prefer to disguise themselves behind euphemisms such as: “Sales Engineer”, “Account Executive”, “Technical Consultant” etc. But nowadays we have to accept that we all sell everyday – doctors, lawyers, estate agents, architects and politicians. The fact remains that anyone who is in business has to sell themselves and their products – and the so called “Captains of Industry” – Branson, Roddick, Marshall, Hanson, Gates, Dell and Co. are thought to be amongst the best salespeople in the world.

It therefore follows that the quality and success of our salespeople will ultimately determine the success of our business: Certainly the world has become more competitive and in order to survive and prosper we need to continually expand and develop the skill sets of our sales teams.

Sir John Harvey-Jones said “Most companies fail not in their attempts to be innovative or creative. In this country most of them fail because they undervalue the importance of professional selling”

Unfortunately, the task of selling never becomes any easier and as competition continues to intensify, sales people will face issues that can be extremely difficult to deal with e.g. decreased product uniqueness, increased competition within ‘safe’ markets, longer sales cycles and shorter product life spans. Every organisation that intends to survive in the re-engineered environment, which arrived with the new millennium, must, in my view, respond to those realities.

In summary: Our commercial functions, particularly the sales team, represent our forward line, if they are not scoring regularly we cannot possibly achieve our overall commercial objectives – i.e. nothing happens until somebody sells something and all  that investment in costly accounting software, new office equipment, expensive IT systems etc. will count for nothing. We can therefore say with complete confidence, that selling really is the key factor in the total marketing process.

Today’s News: This is going to be a particularly busy week; to kick-off:

On September 17th there is a no-charge webinar, being hosted by JigSaw, that will have an audience of 1,000+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales & marketing professionals looking for an edge or unfair advantage in sales.

During this 30 minute webinar Craig Elias will prove that there is a Silver Bullet in sales. Just click on the banner below for full details.

A great article from Paul McCord was this week’s worthy winner over at Top 10 Sales Articles - be sure to check it out.

Tomorrow: My guest is CEO of The Sandler Institute and fellow Top Sales Expert Steve Kraner, so do join us.

Nobody seems to remember who first coined the term elevator pitch, or elevator speech, but I know it’s been around a long time, and I am often asked to help design such speeches for clients.

An elevator pitch is a short presentation that you could deliver to someone in an elevator as it travels from top to bottom, or vice versa. It must be compelling as well as descriptive. It should contain such punch that the other person would love to buy from you. Of course, you can present such a speech in places other than an elevator!

When cold calling in person, it is a good idea to have your pitch ready. When the buyer meets you in the reception area, deliver the elevator pitch with enthusiasm, and he or she is much more likely to agree to allocate time to you. On the phone, you can use this method to obtain an appointment. You may even want to use it in a sales letter where you introduce your company to the prospect.

For those who work trade shows, have your elevator speech ready for people as they approach your booth.

I use my elevator pitch as a networking tool, and I deliver it by way of an introduction of myself and my companies.

The Main Components of the Pitch

An elevator speech should meet the following criteria:

• Keep it brief – long enough to convince, but short enough to hold the other person’s attention.

• Be articulate – use the right tone and speed so that you don’t rush the message.

• Make it sincere – the buyer must feel that you’re a credible source (which of course you are).

• Be enthusiastic. Use appropriate excitement when telling your story. Buyers take their leads from salespeople. Enthusiasm is infectious, and if you are not enthusiastic about your products/services or your company, change jobs!

Your elevator speech should answer these questions: Who are we? What do we do? To whom do we sell? What makes us unique? How do we bring value to our customers?

Do remember that knowing what you want to say and rehearsing it will make this sound natural. This may be the first time the buyer has heard it – but you don’t want it to be the first time you deliver it.

Used effectively, the elevator pitch can be a good salesperson’s foot in the door. Once you get your break, it’s up to you to finish the deal.

Today’s News: I recently completed a couple of interviews with one of my favourite article community sites, Eyes On Sales, and you can listen to the first one by simply clicking on the banner below:

I am often asked if the Top Sales Experts team collaborate much on joint projects – the answer is a resounding YES WE DO. Obviously, if you are going to expose your clients to another consultant, there has to be a very high level of trust, but this week was a typical situation: One of my favourite clients has a small team who needed some specific coaching on how to reach the decision maker via cold calling, so I immediately turned to Leslie Buterin, who is after all, one of the world’s leading gurus in this area.

Leslie delivered a two hour online coaching session. Result? They were bowled over by her and are already reaping the results of her pearls of wisdom. This is where relevant, specific mentoring comes into it’s own and proves the point that I evangelise about so often – “One size fits all” sales team development no longer works, it really has been consigned to the annals of history.

Would you hire the local handyman if you had serious structural problems with your house? I hope you would not! You can catch up with Leslie here

Finally, I tried to find you another good blogpost today, but in vain – I’ll keep searching over the w/e.

I need to thank you for your patience with delayed posts this week and also with the technical issues we experienced with The JF Journal – I have to hope that patience was rewarded.

Tomorrow: My last few days in the UK, so I am getting together with two of my children for some “bonding” - so wherever you are, have a great w/e and be sure to make it back next week – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Kendra Lee

Sooner or later it happens to the best of salespeople – a sudden slump that starts slowly and then snowballs.

Conventional wisdom says the best way to break out of a slump is to keep doing the things you’ve always done.

Avoiding the deep slump.

To get back on track and avoid a deeper slump, try these six tactics:

1. Retrace your steps.

Are you leaving anything out of your presentation that’s worked in the past? Maybe it’s a word or phrase, a transition you skipped, or a step you omitted.

Ask yourself if you’re stressing the same things. Or, are you including something that may be turning prospects off?

Compare a call you made before the slump started to one you’re making now. Can you see or hear a difference between the two?

2. Be persistent

Selling, like football, is a contact sport. If you don’t stay in contact with your customers, your competitors will.

Can you trace your slump to a period when you didn’t stay in touch with customers as much as you should?

Maintaining regular contact so you’re there when the customer is ready to buy is a great way to avoid slumps.

3. Try to keep your confidence up

Confidence and morale are usually high when sales are good. When sales are harder to come by, it’s difficult for salespeople to stay up.

You’ve proven that you can sell in the past. Now it’s a matter of finding out what’s missing and getting back on track. Once your confidence is back up, your sales will probably follow.

4. Set specific goals

Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re sure to end up nowhere.” The same can be said of a salesperson who tries to break out of a slump without setting specific goals. Maybe you should make more calls or do more prospecting than you did before the slump hit.

5. Plan each step

Salespeople who spell out the steps they’re taking to break the slump are more likely to get results than those who simply go back to the plan they used when things were good. The slump may have nothing to do with you or your sales techniques. Maybe the market has changed, and unless you adjust your plan accordingly, you’ll have difficulty ending the slump.

A plan is not just a means of breaking out of a slump. It’s a process for learning from and building on the past, a confident way of knowing that the steps you’re taking at the moment are actually in a forward direction.

6. Never relax the tension

Some salespeople blame “burn-out” and “stress” as the major cause of slumps. Salespeople who keep up the pressure usually stay ahead of the pack. To never let up may be the smartest way to avoid “burn out,” “stress” and “slumps.”

Kendra Lee is author of “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the Small & Medium Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or info@klagroup.com or visit www.klagroup.com.

KLA publishes an industry-leading online newsletter. To subscribe and get a free Quota Gap Calculator ($18.95 value) visit www.klagroup.com. For information on sales training, call 303-741-6636.

You can read more about Kendra here

Today’s News: Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Shannon Smith, the image guru – interesting stuff!! Just click on the banner below:

Thanks to everyone for the fantastic feedback on The JF Journal, it really does make it worthwhile.

Finally, a great blogpost for you:”Is This Describing Your Product Or Service?”

Tomorrow: “How’s Your Elevator Pitch? Mine’s OK!”

The JF Guest Author Spot

Leslie Buterin

The best cold callers on the planet are topnotch sales professionals. Oddly enough we are also the worst.

When we sales pros first start the process of cold calling prospects, it’s not unusual for us to establish new records for scheduling meetings with decision makers—magically transforming scheduling as many as 8 appointments out of cold calls to 10 prospects. 

Then, one day, seemingly overnight, the novelty wears off. The thrill is gone. The smile and dial routine, becomes, well, routine.

Although cold call prospecting is lucrative …

You quickly tire of the repetition.

You want the meetings and deals that energize you. But the process of  ten to twenty calls per day, five days a week, leaves you bored right out of your gourd!

Did you know many people thrive on repetition and routine? More than half the population falls into that category. As you may well imagine, those folks aren’t drawn to the sales profession.

Our natural behavioral style gives us:

The confidence to do the difficult assignments

The ability to think on our feet; and to support (or oppose) strongly

The talent to bring fresh ideas for solving problems

By our very nature we:

Are optimistic, enthusiastic, and build confidence in others

Have the “gift of gab” and an ability to verbalize our feelings

Are excellent troubleshooters

With the right incentives we sales professionals are willing to take risks that can give our companies unbelievable success.

Routine. Our nemesis.

So, how do you reconcile the fact that the most successful cold calling system has to do with using the same script over and over again?

You have to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses so you can develop strategies to meet the demands or routine cold calling. You must claim victory over “the boredom-factor”.

I know that’s tough to do, nonetheless, your ability to fight the boredom is critically important to your success.

Folks like accountants and clerks who gravitate toward routine flip out as they read these suggestions. But successful sales professionals, you’ll laugh … and value these simple yet effective tips. Blast past the dreaded “boredom barrier” as you follow through with these techniques, and keep laughing all the way to the bank.

OK. Let’s shake things up a bit

Your prospect never needs to know you are doing these kooky things on the other end of the line to break the monotony of cold calling decision makers.
 

These are the tips that’ll blast you past the boredom barrier.

Get rid of your chair.

Conduct calls from squatting position—position yourself as though you are sitting on air. The physical tension of this “squat” will distract your brain from the boredom as you are challenged to sound natural to the executive assistant on the other end of the phone!

Stand with pen in hand over a calendar or stylus over your PDA—ready to schedule a meeting. The changes in your voice as you assume this position and your sense of expectation will convey to your prospect. Much like when you extend your hand in person and expect the other person to extend their hand to shake yours; your sense of readiness will convey to your prospect. 

Keep the chair. Lean back in it and put your feet up on the desk, like the big wigs in the movies.

Oxygenate – project your voice with clarity and strength.

First time I did this I got dizzy and called the doctor. He said, “No worries. Your brain isn’t used to that much oxygen! This is good for you. Keep it up.” To get as much air in as you can, put your hands on your bent knees. Lean forward into this slight squat lean, take 5 deep breaths in through your nostrils–so deep that your abdomen fills first then your lungs, and finally your chest. Then, exhale through your         mouth. This will pump you up for your calls and add strength to your voice.

Immediately follow one successful call with another.

Your sense of exhilaration and success will carry to the listener. And you’ll feel the sweet sensation of riding the crest of the wave of success!

Is boredom keeping your from your personal best with cold calls? You will blast through that barricade as you master these tips! 

Forward this article to friends—they’ll thank you for it!

For your FREE mini-course “Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company Presidents” visit www.ColdCallingExecutives.com ! Or call the office of Your Sales Coach for Extreme Profitability, author, speaker, Leslie Buterin (like butterin’ bread) at  (816)554-3674 9-3 CST (that’s Kansas City/Chicago Time).

Today’s News: First up, my apologies for such a late post – we had some technical issues, and I am also with clients, so news today is brief. I can tell you that The JF Journal is definitely launching today, and it really does look great, so grab a copy!! 

Tomorrow: “How’s Your Elevator Pitch? Mine’s Pretty Good”

The way in which we behave as managers and the approach we take will have a marked effect on our ultimate success or failure.

Having a range of approaches and styles of behaviour gives us more flexibility. It increases our options – and our chances of success.

Natural Styles

Most managers have a natural style of influence which they prefer to use whenever possible. More flexible managers also keep in reserve a fall back style, used when the preferred style doesn’t achieve the desired results.

However, there are at least eight identifiable styles of influence – not including aggression, manipulation or force!

Because we are influencing a wide range of people, proficiency in a wider range of styles will ensure more success. We can step outside the comfort zone of our natural style and enjoy greater success by practising new ways of influencing.

However, we must think carefully which influencing style has the greatest chance of succeeding. Varying our styles too much may give us a reputation for being unpredictable

The Autocratic Approach

You tell them, they agree

Use this style when:
• You are looking for a quick response
• You seek only short-term commitment
• You are happy to check up and follow through

This approach works best when supported by power, authority, age, knowledge or wisdom. Resistance or objections are minimised. You tell others what you want then to do.

Do remember though that autocracy can be a high-risk strategy. It may result in a feeling of ‘You won, I lost’. They’ll get you next time.

The Collaborative Approach

You include others in the decision-making process.

Use this style when:
• You want to maintain long-term influence with others
• You seek a high level of commitment
• You have no time to enforce the outcome

This approach works successfully without you having any power or authority.

A word of caution, democracy takes time and can result in watered down solutions. Remain consistently collaborative. Don’t give up too early. Avoid imposing too many parameters or conditions – these will create frustration in others.

The Logical Approach

You use clear logical, unassailable arguments, supported by proof.

Use logic when:
• The other person demands evidence and lots of detail
• You are prepared to do your homework
• You are prepared to wait for a reaction

This approach works best when the other person is a logical, linear thinker. Avoid exaggeration and unnecessary emotion. Offer instead facts and figures.

But, you may find this style long-winded and frustrating. You may even be forced to put it in writing. Allow time to prepare your argument, time to explain it, time to wait for a reaction.

The Emotional Approach

You use your natural charm, charisma or enthusiasm.

Use emotion when:
• You want others to feel part of an exciting project
• You want to fire up someone’s motivation
• You are truly enthusiastic about an idea

This approach works when your influence becomes a genuine extension of your own feelings and beliefs. Appealing to the long-term effects of your ideas, you will reinforce their continuing value.
 
 Do remember though that emotional appeal carries risks. It can leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Painful memories linger longer.

The Assertive Approach

You ask directly, clearly and confidently for what you want, or don’t want.

Be assertive when:
• You want to influence autocratic people, bullies, stick-in-the-mud
• You want to influence behaviours
• You need to act and initiate, rather than react

Assertiveness can have a lasting effect, especially on those who least expect it from you. Any resistance is met by your persistence.

Assertive influence carries little or no risk.

The Passive Approach

You win the day by being submissive, by not overtly influencing.

Remain passive when:
• You want to influence others through personal demonstration
• You want to avoid unhelpful confrontation
• You have tried all the other approaches

As you quietly demonstrate desired behaviours, others can see for themselves the value in following your lead. Many potential confrontations with power or authority demand submissive influence, which can pay positive dividends.
   
The downside is that your submissiveness may leave you with feelings of low-esteem. Can you live with this?

The Sales Approach

You use good old-fashioned salesmanship.

Use salesmanship when:
• You know that the other person expects to be sold to
• You need to show the benefits your suggestion will produce
• You enjoy selling ideas

Draw out their point of view, understand their needs, demonstrate that you empathise; minimise resistance by showing how their ideas dovetail with your own; show how they will benefit.
 
Do realise though that logical or submissive people often hate an overt sales approach and may work hard to wreck your plans.

The Bargaining Approach

You trade concessions in order to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

Bargain or negotiate when:
• You are both equally keen to go ahead with the idea 
• You are happy and able to offer a few concessions
• You want to reach a <i>win-win conclusion</i>

Don’t just share the cake – make it a bigger one. Your success as affair negotiator will help cement the relationship.

 Aim too low and you’ll end up even lower. Over collaborate and you may regret giving too much away. Always trade concessions.

The Power Of Positive Behaviour 

Who has been a big influence in your life? A parent, relative, employer, friend or neighbour? Chances are that they often did nothing specific to influence you – they just behaved in ways that you took note of and decided to copy.

The behaviour of others can be influenced greatly when they observe the ways in which you:

• Deal with aggression
• Handle awkward customers
• Control group behaviour
• Field tricky questions
• Overcome resistance
• Live by your values and beliefs
• Walk the talk

Behaviours that help the influencing process:

• Continuous maintenance of rapport
• Maintaining good eye contact
• Congruent body language which supports your messages
• Appropriate voice tone which underpins what you say
• Sensory acuity – noticing how others react to you and your messages
• Flexibility – being prepared to change your approach, when necessary
• Awareness and acceptance of the needs of others
• Lack of conditional words, which dilute your messages

In Summary: Modelling Behaviour

Ok, suppose you don’t have sufficient flexibility of style. With practice, it’s easy to observe, analyse and reproduce the effective behaviours of other people. If you’ve ever studied any skill under a master, you will already have done this.

Suppose you know a person who uses an influencing style in a particularly elegant or effective manner. You have identified this as something you would like to improve for yourself. By closely observing what works for that person and noticing the effect it has on others, you can begin to experiment by adopting these behaviours and strategies and making them work for you, too. Behaviour is only behaviour – it can usually be replicated

You might also enjoy: “Understanding Assertiveness”

Today’s News: We have announced the Top Sales Article of The Month over at Top 10 Sales Articles and it really is a belter – just click on the banner below to see for yourself.

Tomorrow:One of the leading business development experts in the world – Leslie Buterin – is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot.

Unfortunately, public speaking is not something that comes naturally to most of us. Without prior training in the basics of timing, body language, humour, organisation and all the other skills that go into the act of public speaking, even the smartest, liveliest and most articulate individual can wither in the glare of “the spotlight”.

What Do Audiences Want?
• To feel you ‘know your stuff’
• That you look the part
• That you respect them and acknowledge their situation and views
• To find what you say links with what they want from you
• To have sufficient information to make a considered judgement about what you say (they will ‘weigh it up’)
• To be clear about any action necessary – at the end
And above all to find it understandable, interesting and a good fit with the audience and the occasion.

And What They Most Definitely Do Not Want
• To be confused
• To be blinded with science / technicalities or jargon
• ‘Lost’ in the structure (or lack of it)
• To be talked down to
• To be made to struggle to understand inappropriate language
• To be made to make an enormous jump to relate what is said to their circumstances

And they do not want to listen to someone whose lack of preparation makes it clear they have no respect for the audience. As with most things in life, preparation and planning is everything.

It is important to remember that as the presenter or speaker, we are there for our audience, they are not there for us – we must earn the right to be standing in front of them, by proving our credibility.

If you would like a complimentary copy of my E-book, “Professional Presentations – How To Prepare & Deliver A Compelling Presentation” simply use the Contact form here

Alternatively, you will find a selection of articles on this topic here and here

Today’s News: A number of the Top Sales Experts team have got together to produce a great new series of teleseminars – “Hear It From The Experts” The line-up includes Wendy Weiss, Cheryl Clausen, Diane Helbig, Mark Hunter, Karl Goldberg and many more. Best of all it’s absolutely FREE and you can register here 

Finally, a great post from the great man in Texas: “Skeptical?”

Tomorrow: I am on my travels, but I will certainly be back on Monday and hope you will be too – I have always wondered what you do at weekends without the JF Blogit to read? Do you have withdrawal symptoms?

The JF Guest Author Spot

Linda Richardson

Win or lose, how diligent are you in placing a call to get feedback from your clients about why they did or didn’t choose you? There is so much to learn — whether to identify strengths you hadn’t even recognized as such that you can use to win future business, to know what appeals most to your client so you can be extra sure to deliver on that, or to correct misses and prevent them from happening to sink future deals.

Even if you ask for feedback and get just one point, it will help you improve. It also shows respect for the client’s judgment — i.e., “I can learn from you,” and sets you apart as a professional with passion to be the best and win the next time. It also makes the next call and finding the next opportunity easier.

The only glitch is when you ask your clients for feedback post-deal (which most salespeople don’t do), particularly when they lose a deal, even if they ask in the best way possible by prefacing it with the reason for asking and without being defensive, they may not get frank feedback.

Even hard-boiled clients can be very reluctant to give harsh feedback. Some don’t want to hurt your feelings, others feel guilty that you worked hard but lost out, and still others feel they may need you in the future.

The following describes a strategy that, while it may be a hard pill to swallow, is a very effective way to get the straight scoop when you lose business — ask your manager or another trusted colleague to make the call to your client for you.

When an experienced but new to the organization salesperson didn’t win a deal, the fifth in a row, as a part of debriefing the call, her sales manager asked her what she thought happened. She said she felt she had done the right things — built rapport, understood the client’s needs, and offered competitive pricing. The sales manager suggested the salesperson call the client for feedback. Shying away from that suggestion, she surprised her sales manager by asking him to make that call. The sales manager agreed, realizing he would likely get a more frank appraisal.

One minute into the phone call, the sales manager gained valuable feedback:

Sales Manager:
Thank you for considering us. We were very excited about the opportunity to support you in the … project. I’ve spoken in-depth with Karen and I know you’ve chosen … To help us improve we’d appreciate your feedback to understand where we missed the mark.

Client:
I judge salespeople harshly. Still — I don’t want to get her in trouble.

Sales Manager:
I understand your feelings. It’s not about trouble or blame. Feedback will help us as a company and will mainly help Karen.

Client:
She was a real disappointment. She asked me about my needs and took my time but came back with a vanilla solution that completely missed the key things we’re trying to do …

The sales manager probed more, was able to reopen the door for future opportunities, and thanked the client for the feedback.

Based on this feedback, the sales manager and salesperson reviewed the client needs which she had uncovered and measured them against the solution she presented. The gap was clear.

After you win or lose a deal — ask your customers for feedback. When you win a deal you’ll get insights that you can use and actually get quotes to help you win the next opportunity. And when you’ve lost a deal you’ll get information that will also help you win the next one.

To get unfiltered feedback, consider asking your manager to make the call for you. Granted this isn’t easy, but if you have a good relationship with your manager you’ll likely learn something important to winning the next deal. At a minimum, you make the call. Making that call is a lot easier than losing more deals.

Linda Richardson is the Founder and Chairman of Richardson, a global sales training business. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence for 2006 and in 2007 she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Read more about Linda

Today’s News: Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is interviewing Jill Konrath: “Failure inspired Jill Konrath to write the book “Selling to Big Companies”. A sales consultant who couldn’t get people to call her back led her to identify insights that really work. In this podcast she dispels the myth that prospecting is a numbers game. Jill describes specific techniques that really work. Listening to this eleven minute podcast will increase your prospecting productivity.” Just click on the banner to listen in.

I received a message from Mike Brooks  (aka Mr Inside Sales) yesterday, and he attached a fantastic image from his recent vacation. ”just came back from holiday up in Washington State, hiking in Mount Rainier National Park. Amazing…” Amazing indeed!!

Tomorrow: To finish the week: “Professional Speaking – What Audiences Want, And What They Definitely Do Not Want”

Having worked with hundreds of organisations during my career, where I have helped, supported, and developed sales leaders, I am aware that many of those sales leaders were promoted into their role because they were top performing sales people. Yet, the role of sales person and sales leader has so many differences, which frequently result in the newly promoted sales leader feeling out of their depth and overwhelmed by their newly acquired responsibilities.

In 2004, a significant piece of research was conducted involving 2663 organisations: The report highlighted the fact that a major barrier to sales success was a failure to select and develop a sales leadership team capable of nurturing and fully developing their sales people’s potential.

The majority of sales leaders, new and experienced alike, say they do not have sufficient time or the resources to train and develop their sales teams. They are so focused on sales results, and so accustomed to achieving success through their personal pursuit of those results, that they overlook their greatest potential source of power – the power to achieve optimum performance levels from their teams.

I believe that the future trend for producing world-class standards in sales leadership will be achieved not by traditional classroom-based training alone. Until sales leaders are equipped with the resources, competence and motivation to want to accept the mantle of developing their own sales teams, any training is likely to be a tactical ‘one-off’ fix, born out of desperation to ‘hit that target’ rather than a sustainable planned approach that can be weaved seamlessly into the sales leader’s role.

Sustainable shifts in behaviour will only ever be realised when sales leaders have the skills and capabilities to provide coaching ‘in the moment’. The greatest value will be created by investing in building coaching capability and providing resources for support rather than endless programmes that rarely have impact longer than a three-month period.

As the whole sales profession continues to evolve, methods of the past become old-fashioned and redundant, overtaken by new exciting ways to boost sales in today’s global competitive marketplace. Yet, this in turn can be confusing and costly because how can a sales leader choose a method from the thousands of methods available with complete peace of mind?

Sales leaders are busy people with a huge variety of development requirements which means that the option to source development and knowledge based on what each individual wants, when they want it, can best be provided through a type of online sales library, where learning is categorised into key areas for speed of reference and provided in bite-sized chunks for easier implementation.

This is why we are adding a brand new dedicated section to the Resource Area at The JF Consultancy in October

The Zone will be a place where sales leaders can ‘pick and mix’ what they want, according to their own requirements. From sales team development sessions and sales team health checks to online sales leader competency profiling and essential techniques for sales leaders, It can be likened to a sales leadership encyclopaedia – it is an absolute “must go to” for time-strapped sales leaders everywhere and it will be FREE!

Today’s News: The very last of Jill Konrath’s FREE pre-SheBang teleseminars is running today, so be sure to register by clicking on the banner below.

Very interesting post from Dave Stein, which confirms much of what I have been evangelising about for the past two years – certainly a wake-up call for ”traditional” sales trainers: “iPhones And (Sales) Education”

Tomorrow: Fellow Top Sales Expert, Linda Richardson is my guest, which is timely as I am currently reading her latest book – “Perfect Selling – Open The Door, Close The Deal” – and I will be reviewing it for you in a couple of weeks.