The role of a Sales Leader is to translate the organisation’s vision, mission and values into a meaningful context that sales teams can relate to and feel excited by. If this is achieved then the Sales Leader will have created a sales team with a shared mental model. This transforms an ordinary sales team into a high performing one.

For clarity, here is a brief description of the following terms:

An organisation’s vision is a guiding image of success formed in terms of a huge goal. It is a description in words that conjures up a picture of the organisation’s destination. A compelling vision will stretch expectations, aspirations, and performance. Without that powerful, attractive, valuable vision, why bother?

A mission statement communicates the essence of an organisation to its stakeholders and customers, and failure to clearly state and communicate an organisation’s mission can have harmful consequences around its purpose. As Lewis Caroll, through the words of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
 
Guiding principles are the consequence of a mission statement that are intended to inform or shape all subsequent decision-making, which also provides normative criteria allowing policy-makers to accept, reject or modify policy interventions and activities. They are a guiding set of ideas that are articulated, understood and supported by the organisation’s workforce.

Values are beliefs which the organisation’s workforce hold in common and endeavor to put into practice. The values guide their performance and the decisions that are taken. Ideally, an individual’s personal values will align with the spoken and unspoken values of the organisation. By developing a written statement of the values of the organisation, individuals have a chance to contribute to the articulation of these values, as well as to evaluate how well their personal values and motivation match those of the organisation.

The Human Capital Development Model, created by Krauthammer International, is a logical process that can take top management concepts, and translate them into a context that has real meaning for staff at all levels.

The key to bringing this model to life is to answer the following questions:
• Do my team understand the organisation’s vision and how their role moves the organisation closer to achieving it?
• How can my sales team translate the organisation’s mission into one that is relevant to them?
• How do the organisation’s guiding principles impact on the day-to-day responsibilities of sales people?
• Which of the organisation’s values does my sales team relate to?
• How can we interpret these values so they become compelling for each sales person?

An effective sales team understands the big picture and the context of their team’s work to the greatest degree possible. That includes understanding the relevance of their job and how it impacts the effectiveness of others and the overall team effort. Too often, sales people are asked to work on an activity without being told how their role contributes to organisation’s vision, much less how their efforts are impacting the ability of others to do their work. Understanding the organisation’s vision promotes collaboration, increases commitment and improves quality.

An effective team works collaboratively and with a keen awareness of interdependency. Collaboration and a solid sense of interdependency in a team will defuse blaming behaviour and stimulate opportunities for learning and improvement. Without this sense of interdependency in responsibility and reward, blaming behaviours can occur which will quickly erode team effectiveness and morale.

Today’s News: I mentioned yesterday that we have a really big week coming up and it all kicks-off tomorrow, with the announcement of this year’s twelve finalists, who will be battling it out for the “Top Sales Article Of The Year” award.

I should explain that the public poll will account for 50% of the marks and the other 50% comes from the panel of sales experts, who I will be introducing tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Tibor Shanto is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot

Of the four business meetings I have held so far this week, only in one case was the other person able to produce an up to date and informative business card, despite the fact that they were all very senior executives

As I have said on numerous occasions, a common (and often overlooked) image feature for every would-be business professional, is the business or calling card (the summary information about yourself you choose to give to others).

Although there are no hard facts on the subject, it is estimated that 90% of people do not have a calling card at all. In fact the estimated breakdown looks as follows:

Of the 10% that do have a calling card:

25% have an informative card

35% have cards showing only name, address and phone number

40% have cards with out-of-date or incorrect information

This means that only 2.5% of people have a card that is up to date, accurate and gives a reasonably full picture of who they are and what they do.

Always Carry Your Calling Card

Having no calling cards (or one that is inaccurate or short on detail) is a major inhibitor. Even a supply of blank cards is better than none at all, as you can’t possibly expect people to remember everything that you tell them. Nor do you want to constantly write down names, phone numbers and any other information, in long hand, every time you meet someone.

The design of your calling card can vary enormously in style and look. However, it should be easy to read and include a minimum of name, address and daytime phone numbers.

However, I believe today that it is also appropriate to include fax number, e-mail address, and mobile phone numbers.

Focus On Your Skills Not Your Job

You’ll notice that a job title is deliberately not included in the list. Although in principle there is nothing wrong with including it, it is much more useful to use the space under your name to describe what you do in a precise and concise way that is meaningful to anybody that you meet. Words like designer of roads and bridges or seller of land and property are much better than engineer or sales consultant.

Don’t forget this is the information that helps others to know what skills you have or what you might offer. Hence secretary, for example, is unlikely to be useful in itself but expert in word processing and desktop publishing says a lot more.

Tomorrow: We have a mega week coming up:

On Tuesday, we will be announcing the twelve finalist who will be contesting the “2008 Sales Article Of The Year Award” and launching a poll over on Top 10 Sales Articles.

On Wednesday, the 2008 Sales Book Awards winners will be announced.

On Thursday, I will be announcing the nominees for this year’s JF Awards – winners will be posted on December 23rd.

So, an awful lot of announcing going on next week, be sure to join me - JF

It was around 5.30 am when it happened. The violence of the ear shattering sound which so abruptly broke my sleep pattern and forced me to sit bolt upright in my bed, is what I remember so vividly. What made it all so much worse was the time it took for me to realise where I was.

By the time my brain had worked out that I was not at home, I was already scrambling out of bed and anxiously deciding how to dress. I remembered that it was winter and that it was bitterly cold, so wrapped up well, grabbed my wallet, laptop bag and made my way downstairs at speed – well fairly rapidly anyway.

It is a small, family run hotel, just ten bedrooms, deriving most of its income from its golf course. So there were just a handful of guests that had congregated outside, in various states of dress or undress but all of them wearing a look of total bewilderment.

I am not quite certain what I expected; surely someone would take charge; the fire service would have arrived by now; reassurance – but there was none of those things and we all just stood and waited, making nervous small talk, trying to fully wake up and come to terms with the situation.

After about twenty minutes – which felt more like two hours, one of the guests announced that he had the home number of the owner and proceeded to call him from his mobile. It then began to dawn on me that there was no member of staff on site that night and we were on our own, totally exposed. I also realised that the fire service were not about to arrive and the hotel’s alarm system was not connected to the local fire station.

Whilst we waited, I engaged in conversation with a fellow guest and I related the story of how something similar had happened to me almost forty years ago. On that occasion, I was staying overnight with my girlfriend at her college – an all female establishment in Cambridge, when the alarm went off very early in the morning. I remember the shock on the Principle’s face, as more and more young males filed out of the dormitory block and into the car park.

Years later, I returned to that college for a wedding reception and it was the summer before they allowed in male students. They were still completing the essential modifications, so when I visited the cloakroom, there were no urinals, only cubicles. I still smile today at the memory of lifting the toilet seat to find a note taped underneath which read: “At last, a man”

I digress: It took another fifteen minutes for the owner to arrive and another ten for him to complete an inspection of the entire establishment, before declaring that it was safe for us to return to our rooms – it was a false alarm. I kind of expected something; an apology; an explanation. There was none. Maybe, tomorrow?

It was almost 7.00 am when I climbed back into bed, trying to bring some life back to my frozen extremities and it was 7.05 am when the alarm went off again. This time, I refused to be intimidated and put the pillows over my head.   

No mention was made of the incident that day at reception and I wondered if an apology might be forthcoming the next day when I checked out, because after all, I should be classified as a regular guest – I stay there every month. But nothing; no “We are so sorry Mr Farrington for the inconvenience” or “Mr Farrington, what can we do to compensate you?”

It was almost as if nothing had happened – but it had, and it was much worse than we were led to believe.

The following day, a full twenty six hours afterwards, my colleague, who collects me every day from the hotel, was waiting for me in reception, witnessed two young guys arrive and announce to the receptionist that they were there to service the boiler. She said she wasn’t expecting them and would just telephone the owner.

Just seconds into the call she exclaimed: “Fire, what fire? I didn’t know we had a fire, oh ok” She then related this information to the two engineers with the explicit instructions that they were to be rigorous in their inspection.

So, there was a fire after all and so, we were criminally exposed that night. So many “What ifs”

But here is the burning question: I love staying at the hotel. It provides me with everything I need, and I really do not want to stay anywhere else. But will I feel safe and secure there ever again? I feel as if I have been terribly let down. What would you do?

Tomorrow: What does your business card say about you?

Next Tuesday – December 16th, you will discover who the twelve finalists are, who will be battling it out for the “Top Sales Article Of The Year” award. However, today, I need to remind you that next Wednesday, we announce the winners of the 2008 Sales Book Awards – you can almost feel the excitement mounting.

How did we conceive this great idea? Here’s a transcript of the press release we issued at the time:

In Search of the Best Sales Books on the Planet

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

During one of their regular conversations, two avid readers, writers, and globally recognized sales experts lamented that sales books were often overlooked by book award programs and shunned by many in the publishing industry. 

Jeb Blount, CEO of the sales portal, powerhouse, SalesGravy.com and Jonathan Farrington, Chairman of The Sales Corporation based in London and Paris and CEO of the international sensation, TopTenSalesArticles.com, who share a life-long passion for sales, decided it was time for a book award program just for sales and sales related books, ebooks, and audio books.

Farrington, who has indentified and cataloged the world’s top sales experts on his website TopSalesExperts.com said, “Our ultimate goal is to develop and foster a wide coalition of thought leaders, educators, publishers, authors, and corporations who share our mission to recognize authors and publishers who create outstanding works which contribute to the profession of sales.”

“Advancing sales as a profession is our core mission,” said Blount. “All proceeds from corporate sponsorships and entry fees will be used to create scholarships for deserving students enrolled in University level, sales degree programs.” 

Here are the finalists:

Landslide Sales Book of the Year Finalists:

Reality Sales (Bill Guertin/ Andrew Corbus)

Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions -Keith Rosen

Selling Against The Goal -Kendra Lee

Perfect Selling -Linda Richardson

 Soar - Lee Salz

Salesopedia - Clayton Shold

The Real Secrets of the Top 20% -Mike Brooks

Selling To Big Companies - Jill Konrath

Presentations That Change Minds- Josh Gordon

Sales Coaching -Linda Richardson

All Star Sales Book-Billy Cox

The Sales Manager’s Mentor -Jeff Lehman

It is certainly a very strong line-up and I am really looking forward to the announcement.

Tomorrow: It’s JF Uncut and I will finally share with the story of how I really did nearly “fry tonight”

The JF Guest Spot

Colleen Francis

The number one goal of most sales teams is acquiring new customers. In fact, many of the teams I coach even have bigger budgets, more creative leeway and earn higher commissions when they acquire new business.

To my mind, however, there’s a big problem with this line of thinking.

For one thing, research has shown that it costs as much as fifteen times more to find a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one. What’s more, an increase of just 5% in your customer retention rate – that’s just 5% more of your customers who come back to buy again and again – can increase your profits by as much as 75%.

So why do we focus so much of our time and effort on tracking down new business, when our most profitable customers are the ones we already have? The following 9 Tips are the best ways I know to consistently and reliably exceed your customers’ expectations, and build greater loyalty – and higher profits – for life:

1. Be nice – and say thank you!
You’ll be surprised how much this matters – and how dramatic the results can be!

For new customers, always say “thank you” within days (or if it’s online, within hours) of receiving your first order. After that, if it doesn’t make sense to offer thanks for every order, make sure you do it at least once a year.

I encourage you to use handwritten thank you notes – preferably ones that aren’t branded with your logo to look like an advertisement. Depending on the size of the order, you might also encourage your managers or executives to thank the customer as well.

In addition, many of our clients have gone one step further and developed a special “welcome kit” for new clients, complete with a thank you note, a small but meaningful present and useful information or perks for doing business with them. For instance, my karate school includes a 20% discount coupon for Dairy Queen in their welcome package, as a reward for having a good workout!

2. Make it easy to be a customer.
Find ways to remove the voice mail maze, long login forms and other barriers you set up for prospects (or “suspects”). For example, get a dedicated phone line for repeat customers, or even have a separate customer-only Web site that makes it easier for them to re-order.

To make your business more customer-friendly, start by pulling in 1 person from each department (preferably not management) for a brainstorming session, and ask each of them what changes they would implement to make it easier to do business with your company. Prioritize the list, and then starting working on the new ideas one at a time.

If brainstorming isn’t reasonable at your office, consider hiring an outside firm to “mystery shop” your organization. Have them act as a prospect or client to see what an outsider really experiences when they deal with your company. Then take their findings, and take action to improve those things that need fixing.

3. Reward loyalty.
Most companies make the mistake of rewarding only new customers. I know that I for one always get irked when my current suppliers give a better deal to new customers who may only be with them for a single order, than they offer to me, a client who has already proven my loyalty.

No matter how thin your profit margins, you can afford to give your best customers discounts, special services and even the red carpet treatment. Don’t think so? Just do the math. Remember that new customers cost you up to 15 times more than repeat customers, and factor that into your profit-loss equations.

In many cases, it’s not even necessary to invest in a formal “loyalty” program. Simply invite your best customers to “inner circle” events, focus groups or exclusive training. Even if the customer has to pay for the trip, at least they’ll feel appreciated, and many of them will go out of their way to attend.

4. Make it about them.
Think about how good it feels when the waiter at your favorite restaurant greets you by name, brings you your favorite aperitif and always remembers exactly where you like to sit. You tend to return again and again, and always tip a little more than usual, right?

Believe me, that waiter knows exactly what he or she is doing. The good news is, the same approach works just as well with even the most battle-hardened enterprise IT buyers. Give them advice, counsel and content specific to their needs, without being asked. Make sure any emails, phone calls and special offers are customized to them, and their needs. And remember, it’s all about them – not you.

5. Ask them what they want.
Most people want their opinions heard, and love being asked for their point of view. That’s why simply surveying your customers will not only gain you some valuable information and insights into their needs and preferences. It can also communicate that you care what your customers think – and what they want.

While you don’t want to conduct surveys too often, you can ask for feedback after a particular transaction, or on an anniversary date. Remember: your clients care more about their own opinions than they do about yours. If you also report the results of the survey back to them, you’ll give them a double confirmation of your concern.

6. Ask them how you can help.
Be truly interested in your customers, and show them that you sincerely want to help them. After all, they can’t continue to do business with you if they don’t continue to have a successful business of their own!

One client of mine doubled her referrals almost instantly just by asking, “Now…how can I help you?” at the end of every client meeting. By putting the needs of her customers first, she demonstrated how much she cares about them. You’ll find that many of your customers are genuinely surprised by a question like this, because as often as not, no one has ever asked them that before! And that’s why your follow-up question is indispensable:

“You’ve helped my business grow by becoming part of our family network. I would like to help your business grow, too. So let me ask you, what type of people do you want to meet to help increase your revenues?”

7. Get “buy” with a little help from their friends.
The happier your customers are, the happier they will be to refer you to their own friends, colleagues and associates.

A referral from a customer is the highest form of trust. Trust is built on consistent behavior over time, starting with continuously showing your customers that you’re focused on their needs. Once you’ve established that level of trust, identify “apostles” among your most loyal customers, and empower them to crusade for your product or service.

Of course, always reward customers who send business your way. At a minimum, a handwritten thank you note will show them you appreciate the effort they made. At the maximum, a gift will help you secure that relationship – and likely lead to even more referrals in the future.

8. Get your customers involved.
Build a customer panel or advisory board, and invite your customers to join. You’ll be surprised by how many will be more than happy to join – and how many of those who do join will also start to share, refer and buy more as a result of their participation.

As an added bonus, if you listen and act on what they have to say, you’ll not only build their trust and loyalty, but you’ll also make them more willing to reach out to new prospects on your behalf.

9. Ensure everyone in your company is involved.
Last but most definitely not least, make sure everyone in your company knows how important the customer is, and develop a foolproof communications plan that puts that knowledge into practice.

It takes years to build a great relationship, and just one big mistake to end it. The last thing you want after putting all this work into building loyalty is to have one of your representatives thanking a customer one day, and then having another treat them like an anonymous prospect the next!

Remember: whether they’re responsible for shipping products, setting up accounts, collecting payments or running a marketing event, everyone in your company who will talk to your customers at some point is a customer service rep. So make sure they all know who your most important customers are – and how they should be treated.

In fact, many of my clients find that putting all of their employees through basic customer service and sales training can be an exceptionally profitable investment. Every time anyone talks to a customer, they have the potential to either earn more business and loyalty, or lose it. Make sure you maximize every opportunity you have to treat your customers well, and the results will speak for themselves.

It’s easy these days to complain about needy, demanding or high maintenance customers and clients. The only thing worse is not having needy, high maintenance, demanding – or any – customers at all!

My advice? Get over it! Refocus your time, energy and budget on building profitable relationships with your existing customers, and do everything you can to keep the people who keep the lights on happy.

 
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.

Start improving your results today with Colleen’s online newsletter Engaging Ideas and her FREE 10 day intensive sales eCourse: www.EngageNewsletter.com.

 
Today’s News:

Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Jeremy Miller: Presidential Marketing
“Can the recent Obama Presidential marketing campaign provide insight into how sales organizations should modify their marketing strategy and tactics? The internet has created a new level of authenticity never seen before, are you using this to your advantage in communicating your message? Jeremy Miller provides an informative deep analysis that is sales specific.” A concise review you shouldn’t miss. Just click on the widget above.

Tomorrow: I share my plans for the run-up to Christmas – we are going to be busy, but it’s also going to be fun!!!

“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”

Description taken from The Wisdom of Teams (Harvard Business School Press, 1993).

For a sales team to remain consciously competent at optimum performance levels, they require frequent injections of stimulation, motivational guidance, prompting and directing, otherwise they can easily lapse into becoming unconsciously competent or worse, unconsciously incompetent.

The primary objective of an effective Sales Leader has to be to achieve consistently superior results through the performance of every sales person.

When thinking about your own sales force:

• Do you understand their motivators – what is driving them?
• Do you have visibility of their numbers – year to date, forecast vs. required performance?
• Activity levels – are they working hard and smart enough?
• Engagement – are they talking to the right level in their prospects/accounts?
• Messaging – are they capable of delivering an appropriate message at the right level?
• Qualification – are they only spending time on deals where they can compete and ultimately that they can win?
• Closing – are they constructing successful campaigns and closing business?

A successful sales team is one that is set up correctly, responds to the responsibility it has for the task, seeks constant improvement and sees its Sales Leader as a fundamental support to its success. A sales team in this situation will do well and is more likely to go on doing well than a sales team who are just told what to do.

The Sales Leader’s role is one of catalyst – constantly helping their team to keep up with events, to change in the light of events and to succeed because it is always configured for success.

Today’s News: I am delighted to announce the launch of Phase One of the new Resource Center, over at Top Sales Experts, which includes “The Best Sales Blogs In The World” – including this one! More than thirty of the world’s top sales gurus are taking part in this project. Do go over and have a look

We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Phase Two on January 13th next year.

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot – Colleen Francis – be sure to join us.

Drew Stevens

The world of professional selling is rich with information related to selling skills, sales training and techniques to assist professionals. However, after much rhetoric and information I am finding something completely different…a problem with selling professionals.

Much present research directly points to the manager or the organization. Findings denote issues with policies, organizational effectiveness, training and a myriad of other issues. One overlooked area is that of the selling professional and in some cases the business owner.

After 26 years in the field, we find that not only are there two sides to each story but that today’s sales professional must share the blame. Managers and organizations can no longer bear the brunt of the issue if sales professionals falter. Our findings show that sales professionals are culpable in the following areas:

1.    Talent. Organizations simply hiring incorrectly. Talent is innate. Sales professionals either have skills to create trust and relationships or they don’t.
Sales personalities must be gregarious. Behavior can change but only if the person desires change. If selling is not for you- leave!

2.    Passion. Similar to talent, passion is an innate trait. Professionals must love what they do, love what they sell, love the industry and most important love the challenge. When sales professionals struggle to sell product or service, is this a lack of knowledge or a lack of desire?

3.    Excuses. Stop making them. If assistance is required seek it. If knowledge is required, discover it. Humans are creatures of habit, they complain first, castigate others, and then hesitate. The present competitive environment leaves little room for immaturity. Take command and get the assistance you need.

4.    Assistance Abyss. The prior area comments stems from two issues, 1) a need to seek advice but yet more importantly 2) the opportunity to obtain it. We understand that not every organization is employee friendly. We find needed resources are ignored for those narcissistic executives. If selling professionals do not obtain the proper support, seek another employer. To us, it is shameful that organizations do not support the most vital department in every organization- selling. Some organizations forget nothing happens without a sale. Many executives pay themselves before employees; if you find this to be true find an employer that creates a sales culture.

5.    Education. The one item no one can eliminate is your education. I remember a great motto, “Content is King!” In our knowledge economy, education is an investment in you. This is not only a privilege but also a right. If you desire more knowledge, go seek it. The greatest thinkers and philosophers of our time sought that which they did not know, that is what made them great. If you seek greatness, discover it. Read books, network with success, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, seek advice, etc, but do not stop. Do not look for your manager or others to pay for courses and buy books it is your individual responsibility.

6.    Productivity. Sales professionals are notorious for procrastinating. From the nebulous sales reports to the expense reports, sales people spend more time complaining about administration then doing it. Gain some accountability and get the required items completed.

7.    CEO Personality. When we conduct workshops and seminars we ask sales professionals to leave the room and leave all their business cards. The return a few moments later to see their cards torn up in one pile. We explain the plight of a selling professional requires the persona and mindset of a CEO. “C” level executive concern themselves with productivity, profits and expenses. Sales professionals must emulate these attributes. We see a shift in thinking and accountability. Selling professionals must stop believing that salary is a safety net. They must act as if balancing a tightrope each day. Every decision hinges upon their profitable success in the field. Take control by thinking like the boss not an employee. 

8.    Empowerment. Selling professionals are venturesome. Yet too many seek permission before forgiveness. Be bold take a risk make a mistake that is selling. If I had a dime for every mistake I made I would be much wealthier than in my present business. We all make mistakes; it helps our knowledge. Selling is about risk take it. Selling requires more moxie than your expectations.

9.    The Art of Persuasion. I was taught that the first sale must persuade you. You must be convinced you are selling the right product, to the right client in the right territory. Lack of conviction flows through you like fresh lava from a steaming volcano.  To sell well you must have conviction, presence and energy.

10.    Self Doubt. The sales business is the rejection business. Selling professionals go through numerous rejection get over the self-pity, no one cares! Great selling professionals emulate confidence. Self-doubt is unavailable when professionals rebound obstacles.

11.    Bonus.  The profession of selling requires individual growth and individual employment. As a micropreneur one must engage in self-mastery. The ability to overcome obstacles and continue learning is paramount. Learned professionals create mastermind groups, seek expert advice, believe in continuous learning and elicit confidence. The best simply never stop.

During the infomercial craze of the 1990’s Susan Powter coined a phrase “Stop the Insanity”. How true! Sales professionals must stop the insanity. Sales professionals must reset their internal GPS so that more is accomplished without rote excuses. Managers are too busy today to listen and organizations are focused in instant productivity. To survive in this crazy competitive world requires moxie, confidence and a willingness for chronic success. Defy the odds and by taking control of your destiny.

© Drew Stevens PhD 2008. All rights reserved.

Drew Stevens PhD is known as the Sales Strategist. Drew assists organizations to dramatically accelerate business growth. He is the author of seven books including Split Second Selling and Split Second Customer Service and Little Book of Hope and is frequently called on the media for his expertise. Drew was recently nominated as one of 50 Top Sales Experts. Download a FREE copy of Drew’s White Paper on “Selling Effectiveness” or “Business Building” e-book at www.drewstevensconsulting.com/freestuff <http://www.drewstevensconsulting.com/freestuff>

Today’s News:

Three great webinars coming up this week from fellow Top Sales Experts

Close More Sales by Recognizing the Window of Dissatisfaction™
Topic: Sales
12/10/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Craig Elias

Measuring the Value of Your Trade Show Program
Topic: Trade Shows
12/10/08 1:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Barry Siskind

Crucial Points to Succeed in Sales
Topic: Sales
12/15/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Alen Majer

I can also confirm that the Phase One of the new Resource Center on Top Sales Experts, will be live from 12 noon Eastern/6pm GMT today. I will be discussing it in detail tomorrow.

Tomorrow: What Constitutes A Successful Sales Team?

“A team is a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”

More tomorrow.

It is that time of year when all professional and dedicated sales professionals should be focusing on what they want to achieve next year.

Having said that, most people, and I would estimate 80%, because Pareto’s principle is always pretty accurate, will not set objectives and in failing to plan will in effect, be planning to fail.

The greatest difficulty most people have is knowing where to begin, so here are some thoughts that will hopefully assist you in constructing an achievable plan for the next twelve months and beyond.

You have to set yourself goals, become goal orientated and a goal achiever – otherwise you will drift through life like a ship without a rudder hoping to be swept into a “harbour of opportunity” Unfortunately, without a rudder, you are more likely to end up on the rocks and in later life look back in frustration: “I could have” “If only I had” etc, but by then it will be too late.

Do You Have A Life Map? – If Not, Think Of The Pilot:

Before a pilot takes off he knows the distance and the payload; he has assessed the weather conditions at departure and arrival points and he has contingency plans should those conditions dramatically change in any way.

He is the manager of his crew, he is prepared at all times for the unexpected and he is capable of making instant decisions. He is also able to psychologically accept the mundane

What Have You Been In The Past? Making An Honest Appraisal:

The objective of appraising your past performance, whether that is last year or your entire life is to improve and capitalise on your strengths and eliminate your weaknesses or limitations. Completing a SLOT analysis regularly will help you enormously.

The SLOT analysis can be an extremely useful technique for you to think about what you can offer relative to your external environment and helps you to take stock of your position so that you can plan your future development.

S = Strengths:

What can I do well? What are my best skills and attributes? Where do I have the greatest talent? (Try to illustrate your ideas with concrete examples.)

L = Limitations:

What am I less good at? (In which aspects of your work and personal life do you need improvement? Is the improvement needed large or small?)

O = Opportunities:

What is currently happening that can give me the opportunity for personal growth and improved performance? As technology changes and society advances what new opportunities will occur that I can take advantage of?

T = Threats:

What changes or forces may affect my current situation or act as a barrier to future development? Which people might get in the way? How could I sabotage my own development?

The Strengths and Limitations elements are personal to you. Opportunities and Threats lie in the external environment.

Use Your SLOT Analysis To:

• Identify how you can maximise the use of your strengths

• See how you can compensate for your limitations

• Identify opportunities, particularly ones that may not be immediately obvious

• If at all possible, see if threats can be turned into opportunities

What you have been in the past can only have two influences on the present – positive or negative. I believe that successful people have invisible plastic wings on their shoulders and this prevents them continually looking back: They only take good experiences forward with them, casting off disappointments, errors of judgement and unhappy times.

Today’s News: Imagine being able to find all of the world’s best sales blogs in one location – well from tomorrow you will be able to do just that -

Full details tomorrow.

Tomorrow: My guest is Dr.Drew Stevens – the “Voice Of TSE”

I know you are waiting for me to reveal how I nearly burned alive last week, but fresh evidence is emerging and I am determined to give you the whole picture – so please be patient, it will be worth it.

So, on the subject of customer care……………..

Most of us are involved in some form of business acquisition for our respective companies. We all know that winning business often requires a significant investment in time, resources and energy and that the thrill of the chase is an exciting one. Isn’t it a shame that sometimes the customer, who you worked so hard to win, cancels the order during the initial stages because someone somewhere has let them down.

The sequence of events is often typical – an ‘important’ meeting of department heads is set up to find out who the culprit was and why, but its too late – all you can do is learn from the mistakes – or at least that’s the logical outcome.

In this article, I want to cover issues which your company faces in retaining customers and look at:

• The value of customer service

• Moments of truth

• Recruiting, training and motivating customer service staff

• 10 ways to lose customers

The Value of Service

Looking around its easy to see how many companies have developed customer service strategies using the telephone. Take for example some of the fast food establishments who actively promote 0800 care lines, or the soft drinks cans with care line numbers on the packaging and the cleaning product companies with care lines. Care lines are increasing at a rapid pace in some industries.

So what is the value of good customer service? It increases spend, loyalty, reduces cost, promotes your company through positive word of mouth, differentiates you from your competition and can help you charge premium prices for your products and services.

We all want to deliver good customer service and want our customers to go out and recommend us to their friends, family and colleagues, yet finding the most efficient and cost effective way of doing this can be difficult. The telephone can play an important part in developing a comprehensive customer service strategy and should be looked at not just for the obvious applications of inbound care lines but for proactive applications that could pre-empt issues before they arise.

Think of the times when you have been driving along on a motorway and a large articulated lorry suddenly pulls out in front of you, without warning, causing you to brake sharply. Sometimes our reaction can be destructive (as in the case of road rage) however with the recent introduction of telephone numbers on the back of lorries as in the highly accredited “Good Lorry Code”, your feedback can go straight back to the company responsible for the driver. It’s not all bad news that should be reported though, often calls are taken on these numbers by appreciative members of the public who would like to say thank you for a kind gesture or just comment on how courteous the driver was. All of these contacts create a moment of truth that can be positive or negative.

Service isn’t just about answering calls quickly (within 3 rings is what I usually hear). It’s also important that the person you speak to has all the information and that you do not have to repeat yourself. Unfortunately, I have lost count of the number of times I have to do the latter with companies these days – even by some of the so called top service companies.

Looking at badly handled calls, many of us are aware that 86% of customers would prefer not doing business with a company again if a single call is badly handled but still many companies put inexperienced, poorly trained staff at the front end of their business. Worst of all, when you have a problem you can’t get it resolved easily!

Unfortunately, customer care is still regarded by many as a costly activity or a burden on resources. Some organisations have already recognised the importance of customer care and a few are very advanced in its practice.

Every contact an existing or potential customer has with your company is a moment of truth. It could be how quickly their call was answered, how long it took your company to send out a brochure, what happens when the delivery driver turns up with the product, how accurate the invoice is etc.

Recognising all the moments of truth in your company will allow you to address weaker areas easily – for example, Jan Carlzon of SAS identified almost 1000 moments for customers using his airline. He then set his senior managers the task of improving each of these by just 1% resulting in a substantial increase in service!

Recruiting, training and motivating customer service staff

When recruiting staff use telephone screening – it sorts out the good from the bad very quickly and reduces wastage on your time. Use role-plays to check the ability of your potential candidates and score them based on their ability on the telephone, not how they come across face to face, if they never meet customers.

Make sure staff are trained properly not just on how to deal with different situations on the phone but on systems and even how to transfer calls efficiently and professional etiquette. When considering training, look at measuring performance before and after training so that the impact can be measured. Make the training fun as well as relevant.

Motivation of staff is often a problem area in a customer service environment, especially when some staff receive constant complaints.

To address this problem, make your workplace a fun place with regular competitions and recognition schemes. Consider reward schemes for the employee of the month or special incentives based on excellent customer service.

Remember that rewards can be demotivating if they are not thought out in enough detail – better to ask the staff what they want.

And Finally – 10 Ways To Lose Your Customers!

• Pass the customer around – whatever you do, make it virtually impossible for the customer to get what they want when they call you. Make them work by asking them to repeat themselves then to add that bit extra, get someone who doesn’t know how to transfer a call to accidentally cut the customer off!

• Buy a system then fit your strategy around it – do like many companies do and buy a wonderful system for recording customer’s details that does not make it easy for your own perspective.

• Rely on technology – forget the people and buy the best technology, then put it in front of your customer service operation. Best to make it really difficult for the customer so that they get confused and when they don’t make a choice, route them to a really poor quality answering machine.

• Forget about training – just do what so many companies do today and put staff on the telephone without an iota of training. Better still, make sure they can’t be easily understood and are good at arguing with customers.

• Don’t reward loyalty – forget about all those loyal customers who have been with you for years. Instead go out of your way to attract new customers with better deals and tell your existing ones they can’t have the same special offer despite how long they have been with your company and how much they have spent.

• Ignore the millions of people with speech or hearing difficulties – if you operate predominantly in the consumer sector then ignore all those who may not be able to communicate effectively with you – after all, who wants another x million potential customers!

• Ignore customer feedback – why don’t you develop your services and ignore what your customers want. Don’t ask them – they won’t know, so why waste your time?

• Forget about third parties who work with your company – all those companies who work for you and communicate to your existing and prospective customers. Don’t invest time in working with them – after all, if they can’t help a customer then who cares, or if they give wrong advice and you get sued for misinformation so what?

• Forget about service – just sell, sell and sell. Don’t waste time on nasty topics such as service – customers don’t care about this so why bother? Just give them a keen price and rotten service and they’ll come back in droves.

• Forget cultural differences – make everyone do things your way even if they can’t speak your language or have different ways of saying things.

Tomorrow: Two very important weeks before we ease into the Christmas shutdown, so be sure to join me.

JF Uncut

My plan for today was to share with you an experience I endured last week, that at best could be described as the most horrific customer experience I have ever had, and at worst the most blatant act of criminal negligence, that could well have resulted in the loss of human life – but I am travelling today, so you will have to wait until tomorrow.

Instead, I am going to focus on leadership – well in fact, great leadership, which, given the current global financial debacle, is something we are dearly missing.

Shakespeare was good about leadership, as about most other things. The spoof letter which caused poor Malvolio to make such a fool of himself contains words that say a lot about the subject. “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Greatness and leadership are so closely akin that the words give us a useful point of departure.

“Born great” has two possible meanings: either being born to a great position, such as that of an hereditary monarch, or possessing natural talents and/or virtues of an exceptional kind. Clearly not everyone born to a great position is worthy of it, and relatively few have the qualities of a great leader. But the greatness of certain offices can rub off on their occupants, who may not otherwise have qualities out of the ordinary.

Some appear to have the gift of leadership, but are found to lack it when tested. Tacitus wrote of an early Roman emperor that he would have been thought capable of ruling if only he hadn’t actually been called upon to rule (capax imperii nisi imperasset).

Others are recognised as “born leaders” and exercise effective leadership up to a certain level, but prove disastrous failures beyond that level. It is very hard to judge the point beyond which a person will be overpromoted.

“Some achieve greatness” denotes, above all, those whose greatness is self-made. But all of the really great leaders must be regarded as achievers, whatever their advantages of birth and training. Alexander the Great was born to kingship and inherited a strong army. With Aristotle as his tutor, he was perhaps the most privileged person, educationally, that there has ever been. Nevertheless, what he achieved in his short life was beyond anything that could remotely have been expected of him.

Much the same is true of Julius Caesar. He was a young Roman aristocrat whose career began as a demagogic politician, but who turned out to be a military commander of genius. The trajectory of his career could never have been predicted.

Napoleon is the supreme example of the utterly self-made leader – the man who “achieved greatness” by his own unaided efforts. When he was on his way to St Helena, he was still slightly younger than John F. Kennedy at the time of his assassination. And Napoleon was not a millionaire’s son. Of course, he was privileged in another way, having the good luck to be born in a revolutionary period, when opportunity beckoned to a man of his phenomenal talents. But luck is a precondition of most human achievements. Natural leaders know how to exploit their luck.

Most of those who achieve anything in the world are ambitious, and some have very exalted ambitions which they have never the chance to realise. A few rise higher than they or anyone else could have imagined, and then prove equal to the challenge. Like those born to great offices who prove, against the odds, worthy to hold them, such people have “greatness thrust upon them”.

A case in point was Harry S. Truman. He was not born great, and seemed unlikely to achieve greatness beyond the level of a US Senator. Only Franklin D. Roosevelt’s incredibly casual, last-minute choice of him as running-mate for the 1944 election, soon followed by Roosevelt’s death, precipitated him into a situation where, as he said, he felt that the moon and stars had fallen on him. But he grew in the office of President and achieved a stature that surprised everyone, including probably himself. He was a man who seemed to be overpromoted, but was not.

Churchill and de Gaulle, two of the greatest leaders of modern times, also depended upon chance for the fulfilment of their potential. But they had formidable talent and limitless self-belief. Destiny seemed to wait on them. They were manifestly above the ordinary run of humanity, and made no attempt to conceal the fact.

By contrast, Mahatma Gandhi, though no less extraordinary a person achieved his appeal to the Indian masses by seeming to identify with them. His style was studiedly anti – charismatic, yet it gave him a charisma that was quite unique. Like many effective leaders, he used dress (or in his case relative undress) as a weapon. His loincloth was the PR equivalent of Napoleon’s black hat and grey overcoat, or Churchill’s boiler suit. (When Gandhi met George V at Buckingham Palace, and was asked afterwards if he felt at a disadvantage wearing only a loincloth, he replied cheerfully: “Oh no, His Majesty was wearing enough for both of us”).

Leadership is partly a confidence trick, and those who practice it cannot afford to be too predictable. Some have alternated ruthlessness with generosity. (This was one of Caesar’s trademarks). Others have appeared at times to be listless and drifting, only to spring suddenly to life. (This was Stanley Baldwin’s style).

Democratic leaders have the difficult task of both guiding the people and seeming to respond to the popular will. Autocrats  are obviously freer to exercise leadership, but among them the most successful have been aware of the need to be loved and admired as well as feared, just as many of the best democratic leaders have been natural autocrats, restrained only by conscience and realism. The essential qualities of a good leader are much the same, whatever the environment.

Of all the qualities needed for leadership, only one is indispensable – courage. Without it, all the others are more or less useless. Courage has been shown by all who we recognise as true leaders, from Alexander to Thatcher. A leader must have the ability to take hard decisions and calculated risks. This rule applies at all levels and in all situations – in school, factory, boardroom or sporting arena, no less than on the battlefield or in the council chamber.

Leaders have to give courage to others, while creating the illusion that they know exactly what they are doing. In Shaw’s “Caesar and Cleopatra,” when one of Caesar’s officers says something intended to lift his spirits, he replies witheringly: “Do you presume to encourage me?”

Shaw, like Shakespeare, knew what leadership was about.

Tomorrow: “How I Nearly Wasn’t Anymore”