Jonathan Farrington's Blog

The dichotomy facing sales leaders now, is how they reconcile the fact that most corporations today provide less upfront training for their sales staff than in years past, yet attach increasing importance to staff development?

This should not come as a surprise, because current stock market thinking provides a powerful disincentive for firms to invest in their people on an ongoing basis. An organisation’s investment in their human capital, in the form of training and other forms of education, is not separable from general expenditure. It therefore appears as a cost on the corporate balance sheet.

Tough Choices:
Unfortunately, as a consequence, most sales leaders have concluded that their only realistic option is to cut back on training and instead look to recruit sales professionals who, in theory anyway, already possess the necessary skills needed to do the job. They then send them out to win business armed with what they know.
However, most of those same sales leaders are discovering just how difficult it is to find skilled salespeople who have all of the essential skills and personal traits. And anyway it is not possible to equate experience or seniority with success.

As I have said on numerous occasions: Some frontline sales professionals do have ten year’s experience, but most have one year’s experience ten times.

In skills development there are many similarities to sport i.e. does an athletic champion stop training as soon as they win their first medal? In music, does a concert pianist stop rehearsing as soon as they have given their first recital? In art, does the artist stop improving after they have enjoyed the first exhibition of their work?

The answer in all cases is obvious and we should apply the same common sense principals to the ongoing development of our sales teams.

The reality is that selling in today’s climate is both an art and a science. Selling is a profession that demands a far wider range of skills than ever before, skills that require continual fine-tuning and constant practice.

In Summary – Ongoing Reinforcement and Development Is Essential:
The operative word here is “ongoing”. Even if salespeople have undergone progressive sales training, there’s no guarantee that they will be successful. It is common knowledge that skills grow rusty over time and salespeople are prone to pick-up bad habits along the way or to simply skip steps and take shortcuts that can lead to long-term trouble.

Perhaps even more important these days, is the fact that markets, competition, technologies, and customer preferences are all in a constant and accelerating state of change.

This fact requires that sales people are able and willing to rethink their sales strategy and approach frequently and receive a regular top-up of skills and motivational coaching.

Today’s News: All this week, to coincide with the launch of the TSE VIP Choices campaign,  I have twenty FREE places to give away for upcoming TSE events.

Today, you can grab a seat for Tuesday’s TSE Masterclass, featuring Dave Brock & Niall Devitt

The Good News: Customers Want To Buy. The Bad News: They Can’t Find the Funding
Tuesday June 2nd 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN (6:00 PM GMT)

If your target is small and medium-sized businesses, how do you get salespeople to recognize the importance of doing the right job in financial marketing/selling to their customers?

How well do you understand:

■The financial/business justification process for your customers?
■Key metrics they track, key hurdle rates, how they evaluate new investment proposals/authorizations?
■Key financial decision makers and their drivers?
If you customers really don’t have the cash to invest, how do you help them find the funds?

a.    Flexibility in terms.

b.    Helping find bank finance.

c.    Government loans/grants.

Simply click here to claim your FREE place.

Tomorrow: It is “Jill Konrath Day” so be sure to join me.

In today’s business world of ‘quality circles’ and ‘managing for excellence’, the most successful individuals are often accomplished presenters.

That’s because a successful presenter is more than just a fact dispenser – he or she really knows how to communicate with their audience, someone to whom people listen. The effective speaker in business, just as in the political arena, is the one who can make people hear the facts and believe the message.
 
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”.

So 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 In Summary: 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 by proving our credibility to be standing in front of them.

Today’s News: I haven’t forgotten the weekly Salesopedia interview: This week, Clayton Shold is talking to fellow Top Sales Expert  Bill Sayers.

“Empowering Sales Mindsets”

“Bill Sayers is a huge proponent of sales professionalism. He discusses how the “sales game” has changed over the past fifteen years and what you need to know to be successful today. One of the areas he discusses is the importance of empowering your sales mindset and uses his Auntie Mildred as example. Listen to find out why! You will also hear his views on fear in the sales game and what you can do to mitigate those fears to be successful.” Just click on the widget below to listen in.

Apparently I am a “Doyen”- I must be, because that is the second time The Customer Collective have described me thus. I quote:

“A sale in business is like a victory in sports.  Sales doyen Jonathan Farrington, in one of this week’s most read posts, echoed the words of Hall of Fame baseball manager Casey Stengel who said “ya gotta believe.”   Stengel took a bunch of rag tag has- been’s and nobodies out of the National League basement and created the 1969 World Series winners, the New York Mets, by encouraging players to make it happen from the inside.  Instead of imposing a culture of belief from the top down, it was bottom up, intuitive, a viral percolation of what winning was all about. The examples Jonathan Farrington provides in his post can be helpful to all who strive to take their sales game to the next level.  They are, as Casey Stengel would have said… “amazin’.” 

Still not sure about “Doyen” though, but it’s better than “John”

Tomorrow: We still have much work to do if we are to meet the JFC re-launch target on Tuesday. I am also looking forward to finding out who wins the May article of the month contest over at Top 10 Sales Articles. Keith Rosen and Nancy Bleeke are still slugging it out – last chance to vote

Have a great w/e – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Wendy Weiss

1. Telephone calls
No one will buy from you if they do not know of you, your company/products/services. Every sale has its own cycle. Depending on what you are selling, it could be a short cycle of a day or two, or it could be a long cycle of a year or two. Your call is your introduction and the start of your entire sales process. Without that initial prospecting call, you will not close any sales.

2. Make a lot of telephone calls
If you have only one prospect to pursue, that prospect becomes overwhelmingly important. If you have hundreds of leads, no one prospect can make or break you. The more calls you make, the more success you will have. Schedule time in your calendar, every day, to prospect. Successful prospecting is not about having one perfect conversation with one prospect, it is about having many conversations with many prospects and filling your sales funnel so that you never want for opportunities.

3. Target your market
Out of every one in the entire world who might possibly buy what you are selling, who is most likely to buy? Start by profiling your best customers. By “best” I mean who buys the most and the most often? You are looking for prospects who match that profile. They are more likely to need and want what you are selling. Those are the prospects you should call first. The more targeted your calling list, the more successful your calls will be and the better it will be for your bottom line. Spend your time calling prospects who will potentially give you the most return for your investment of time.

4. Understand why customers buy from you
Every prospect is thinking: “What’s in it for me? Why should I be interested in speaking with you? What are you offering that will help me, my business, my bottom line, my employees…?”  Ask yourself: What is the value that you offer? What is the benefit that your customers receive from doing business with you? When making your prospecting calls, make sure to lead with the benefit and/or value. This will answer your prospects’ “What’s in it for me?” question.  It will certainly set you apart from the crowd, as most prospectors don’t do this. It will also catch your prospects’ attention and give you the opportunity to have real conversations.

4. Call high
Always call the highest-level person that you believe is the decision-maker. That person will either be the decision-maker or they will know who is and they can point you in the right direction. Too many prospectors make the mistake of going in too low (the low-hanging fruit syndrome). They call managers rather than directors, administrators rather than owners, believing that the call will be easier. It won’t. What will actually happen is that your sales cycle will lengthen and/or implode because you will not be speaking with someone who can make a decision. You will spend months courting someone who will then turn around and say, “I need to ask my boss.” If they come back with the answer, “My boss didn’t like it,” you are dead in the water. Bottom line: If you are not speaking with the decision-maker, you are not speaking with a qualified prospect.

5. Know the goal of your conversation
The questions you want to ask yourself are: When I hang up the telephone what do I want to have accomplished? What agreement do I want from my prospect today? For example: If you are making calls to set an appointment, then the goal of your call is the appointment. It is not to close the sale. That, of course, is your ultimate goal, but it comes much later in the process. Very few sales are accomplished in one phone call.  Make your call with your goal in mind. Say enough to accomplish that goal and save everything else for later conversations. Then repeat the process.

6. Ask for what you want
The biggest mistake that I see time and time again is that prospectors do not ask for what they want. Once you know the goal of your conversation, (see #5 above) decide exactly how you are going to ask for that goal. Create a script so that you can clearly and succinctly ask. Your prospect will not read your mind, guess or offer. You must ask. I have seen clients double and triple their results simply from starting to consistently, in every single phone call, ask for what they want.

8. Have fun
This is not life or death—it’s only a cold call. The fate of the world does not rest on you and your telephone. You will not destroy your company or ruin your life if a prospect says “no.” Loosen up, be creative, have some fun!

Get the Free Special Report, “Getting in the Door: How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script,” at http://www.wendyweiss.com. Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com.
 

You can also tune into Wendy’s next TSE Masterclass:

Cold Calling in the 21st Century: The New Rules - Thursday June 18th 2009 1.00 PM EASTERN

Today’s News:  You may remember that on Tuesday, I alerted you about Nigel Edelshain’s excellent new ebook “Don’t Cold Call. Social Call” and unfortunately I sent you to a page that did not make it particularly easy to download. So do please try again here if you experienced difficulties.

I know that many of you are into “internet marketing” so this will be of particular interest yo you: My good chum David Bain has just produced the brilliant “The 13 Pillars of Internet Marketing eBook.”

It’s 222 pages long and you can download it for free here:  Just a couple of very quick requests…

If you do find it valuable I’d really appreciate if you would just take a couple of seconds of your time to click on the ‘I like this’ button on top of the eBook.

I’d also really appreciate if you would add your thoughts about it in the comments section underneath it on Scribd.

I hope you find it useful!

Tomorrow: We all have to make presentations or impromptu speeches at some point in our careers – some of us have to present often: There is a lot of advice on presentation skills, but virtually none on “What audiences want – and what they most definitely do not want” – I’ll share with you tomorrow.

Leadership, or rather the lack of it, is a hot topic right now – unsurprisingly. Here is what I think.

Although there are many qualities necessary to be a genuine leader in a specific situation, these qualities should be common to all.

Good Memory

To enable them to recall peoples names, and the few essential facts that are pertinent to a wide range of problems.

A Genuine Interest In People

Those that you are responsible for leading will know at once if you are genuinely interested in them and particularly in their development.

Show this and you create that personal bond that is essential to the success of your team. You cannot fake an interest in people, they always find you out. A leader can only be successful by ensuring the success of every individual in the team.

Integrity

This is the big one: If the team has cause to doubt the integrity of its leader, then it will fail when the team is exposed to stress or a risk. If a person is capable of minor lapses in their personal integrity, they fail to keep faith, then they could let their own team members down when they are under pressure.

Once the team doubt the leader, that doubt greatly limits their chances of the fullest success.

 The Ability To Communicate Effectively

A good leader must be able to talk and write simply, clearly and persuasively. They must also listen and digest information intently. Communication is a two way process.

Decisiveness

There is a time when a decision must be made and a risk taken, even though the facts may be incomplete. A leader must recognise when further analysis is unprofitable and action is needed. It helps if the cost of changing the decision is known. If the cost is low, the risk is low.

 The Ability To Relax

If the team is kept tense and under pressure, irritation arises and performance fails. This is overcome by deliberately introducing a break just a light remark or opportunity for laughter. The importance lays in the frequency and the need for the break to be related to the task or the people not a funny story. The break should be brief, even momentary. It should also come at an opportune moment.

Genuine Enthusiasm

Inner conviction, belief in the team and the objectives before it, gives rise to enthusiasm. This must be visible to the members of the team. It provides the motive power they use to tackle their jobs with courage and hope. If the leader has no belief in the task, why should their team even attempt it?

If you are a leader, how did you measure up? And if you are a follower, how does your leader rate?

Today’s News:

Craig Klein of SalesNexus has produced another excellent FREE ebook called:

“E- Mail Marketing The Only Bailout Your Business Needs! How To Create It, Send It and Profit From it”

He will be releasing weekly instalments, and here is a snippet from this week’s episode:

Won’t They Think I’m Spamming?
“If you run a small business or run marketing or sales within a medium sized business, you’re going to remember this year. 2009 will go down in the history books as one of the most financially tumultuous years ever. There seems to be a never ending parade of businesses going out of business! And whoever is left standing, including many prominent corporations, institutions – even state and local governments – are asking for bailouts.”

You can download it here

On a completely different topic, I have received a plethora of messages recently from people I don’t know, insisting on calling me “John” So let’s be clear about this: When I was very young, my mother called me “Jonnie” Then at school, everyone addressed me as “Jontie” – well friends, anyway, because I went to one of those schools where only surnames were used – so “Farrington” or “You boy” if you were in trouble, which I frequently was.

Later on, team mates liked to use “Jono” which interestingly died a death after I retired from team sports, and only re-surfaced recently, via Jill Konrath.

So can we be clear? If you are called Robin, I will not call you Robinho. Jerry will not be shortened to Jez, and Diane will not be translated into Doris. In return, all I ask is that I can be Jonathan – with two “a’s” please, because I like it very much, and so did my parents - obviously.

Tomorrow: If you missed last night’s brilliant Roundtable – “Harnessing The Power Of Referrals” – you should be kicking yourself. The panel were on top form. So tomorrow, to balance the books, I welcome back the leading cold-calling expert in the world, Wendy Weiss.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Nigel Edelshein

This is an extract from Nigel Edelshain’s superb new FREE ebook, which I must urge you to download and read.

Executive Summary

If you don’t have time to read a 20-page e-book then this section is for you. Here are the key points from the next 20-pages all in bullet points so you can read them while eating soup or on your iPhone:

 The cold call is dead, if it means “smiling and dialing” with little-to-no-preparation on behalf of the sales person. But smart prospecting is very much alive. Sales people can execute “social calls” using the latest in Sales 2.0 tools and social networks.

 Getting in the buyer’s office is the hardest part of selling for the vast majority of sales organizations.

 We’ve come up with six factors that dictate if a buyer will meet with you when you’re prospecting:

i. Your product
ii. Your message
iii. Repetition of your message
iv. Talking to the right people
v. Using changes in your buyer’s environment
vi. Establishing relationships

 There are Sales 2.0 tools now available (including social networks) that help you with the three most critical factors: talking to the right people, establishing relationships and using changes in your buyer’s environment.

 Using these tools in your prospecting can increase your ability to “get in” dramatically, using just one of these techniques can cause an eight-time improvement over “cold calling”

You can download the entire ebook here

Nigel Edelshain is CEO of Sales 2.0 (LLC). Nigel sets direction for the company and manages the company’s lead generation team. He delivers consulting and training that provides clients with sales improvements of 2-3 times.

Nigel has sold millions of dollars of IT solutions to major Fortune 500 firms. He was head of sales for the financial services vertical for Starpoint Solutions (a 600-person system integrator). Prior to Starpoint, Nigel worked for Platinum Technology (now CA) selling IT professional services.

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

Companies work with Sales 2.0 (LLC) to:
• Crack into new accounts and markets
• Launch new products
• Reduce the costs of running their sales organization
• Hit sales goals with less resources
• Speed up their sales cycles

Our services include: consulting, lead generation and training. What makes us different is that we are experts in Sales 2.0 tools and techniques (if you’ve read this ebook, maybe you believe that now…)

Today’s News: It’s “Birthday Boy” time for two good chums – “Mr Remarkable”- aka Kevin Eikenberry, and also “Stato” Stein aka Dave Stein. Have a great day guys, and not too much jelly and ice cream please.

I was re-reading Dave’s recent blog post on his Twitter experience and it really does reflect my own – http://bit.ly/shTyc -  I am trying not to self-publicise, but make everyday matter of fact experiences sound interesting - not always easy! Bit like the opening lines of “Lucy In The Sky…..” Woke up, got out of bed, ran a comb across my head, found my way downstairs….

You may remember that last week I was complaining bitterly about the number of spam comments I am receiving, all in Russian? Bad move to complain, I am now being bombarded, but I did manage to translate that first one:

“Hello!
I found in a network interesting blog on a swine flu!!!
alike scientists found the decision of this problem!”

Amazing!! It was more interesting before I translated it.

Now to prepare for tonight’s TSE Roundtable – you still have time to register here 

Tomorrow:”Leadership, or rather the lack of it, is a hot topic right now – unsurprisingly. Here is what I think…………………….”

 “Experience informs us that the first offence of weak minds is to recriminate” Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  
 Negative people typically suffer from what I call the three “C’s” and are usually found to be:

Criticising, condemning or complaining.

I think that of all human traits, negativity is the one that frustrates me the most. In fact I sometimes feel as though I have spent my entire life crusading against negative people.

So, to negative people wherever you may be, here are some tips to help you overcome negativity and to recognise it in others.
 
First of all, develop and build your own understanding of what is really negative. Do remember that constructive criticism is not negative.
 
Then, take time to check your conversation with others, are you being negative? – Check your thoughts and thinking process – remember that if you are thinking negatively the only person you will harm is yourself.

Remove those thoughts as you would a faulty slide from a projector, discard them, you have the capacity to do that and your mind will respond if you are strong enough and willing enough to discard a negative thought.
 
Build a bullet proof screen around you, so that negative comments or behaviour from other people cannotl penetrate. You can do this by instantly recognising negative criticism or conversation.

From time to time, check the company you are keeping. If you have been mixing in the wrong environment, talk to people who are positive. Go out and mix with people you know have positive, constructive ideas. Mix with people who are doing better than you.
 
If another person’s negativity does get through to you, say to yourself “Why did he or she say that?”

You must remember that no positive person becomes so unfeeling that they can’t see life from another person’s point of view. It could happen that someone very close to you says something that can be construed as negative; it may be because they are worried, they are concerned or they have fear.

By asking yourself “Why did he or she say that?”  you will more than likely be able to understand and by reassurance, conversation and looking at the worry from a different point of view, turn the negative into a positive process.
 
 Have your own negative repellent whenever anyone says anything really negative to you just say “fantastic” – no truly negative person enjoys hearing that word; they really run for cover!!
 
In Summary:
 
• Remember, the negative is always stronger than the positive.
 
• Never allow anyone to pollute your thinking
 
• As a professional you must take care of your attitude

 “The most evil, dangerous and cancerous complaint that humanity inflicts upon itself is to be negative” Anon

Today’s News: On a positive note, on Friday we completed a run through of the Roundtable – “Harnessing The Power Of Referrals” which we are presenting on Tuesday.  It went extremely well and the team – Joanne Black, Paul McCord, Nancy D. Solomon and Steve Martinez, were on top form.

You haven’t registered yet? Shame on you! It isn’t too late – and if you cannot make the show live, you can download it afterwards – details here

Looking ahead, I will be co-presenting two webinars in June: The first on June 9th, with Linda Richardson – “How The Most Successful Companies Develop Their Sales Teams” - details here

The second, will investigate sales team assessment tools, and focus on the need to regularly audit strengths and weaknesses – more details soon.

Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, Nancy Bleeke and Keith Rosen are having a real ding-dong battle with the lead changing hands almost daily – have you voted yet? Just a few days left – Vote Here

Tomorrow: News from the Sales 2.0 Conference in Boston and a FREE ebook from the man who first coined the phrase “Sales 2.0″

Performance has many components for example; our activities and abilities are typically, where many organisations focus on. Yet beneath the surface, our beliefs about ourselves, our customers, our job, can either help or hinder our performance.

You may have heard the expression, “Whatever you believe you can do, you will and whatever you believe you can’t do, you won’t.” It is as if our beliefs (which are unique to us all) become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our beliefs can act as huge barriers that stop us giving 100 percent to something.

Three stories that illustrate the impact of beliefs:

- On May 6th 1954, Roger Bannister was the first man ever to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Before this, everyone had believed that this was impossible. Yet, in the same year, nineteen other athletes also ran a mile in less than four minutes…why? Because Roger Bannister had created the belief that it could be done and it was. Today, thousands of athletes worldwide run a mile in less than four minutes.

- Charlie Harris was a hobo (tramp/homeless person) in Chicago and was looking for a place to sleep on a very wintry and cold night. He discovered a trailer yard and broke into one of the trailers. As he closed the door of the trailer, it jammed and he could not open the door. After lighting a match, with horror he realized that he was stuck in a refrigeration trailer and would probably die from cold. He did die that night and the coroner found that he died from hypothermia. Yet the trailer he died in was in for repair and not working. Charlie Harris’s belief that it was refrigerated killed him. (Story taken from Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins).

- The bumblebee has baffled scientists for years, because aerodynamically it should not be able to fly. Yet, it believes that it can and it does!

Here are six beliefs that can have a positive impact on you: Even if you are not in full agreement with these statements at first, simply open your mind and act as if they are true.

You will be amazed at the difference it creates to your results:

1. Every Individual is unique and their perceptions are true to them.

Because we each absorb 2 million bits of information unconsciously and can only process around seven chunks consciously we each have our own unique perception of the world around us. If everyone reading this was asked to explain beliefs, each individual would give a different explanation. So who is right?

Everyone is right because your perceptions are true for you. That is why the more respect we have for every individual and the more we seek to understand the viewpoints of other, the richer our communication becomes. By respecting the opinions of others, does not necessarily mean that we have to agree with them, we just have to acknowledge that every individual’s reality is the one based on their own unique perceptions.

2.Communication is successful, only if it achieves your desired results.

It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve communicated well or if you think you’ve been crystal clear, what matters is that your communication is received and acted upon in the manner you wanted.

How many times have you said something to another person who has totally misinterpreted what you meant? Equally, sometimes we are on the receiving end of communication that makes us feel bad. If we can look beyond the communication and try to see a positive intention behind another person’s behaviour, then our relationships and interactions with people become more constructive and empowering.

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

3. Resistance from another person usually signals a lack of rapport.

Rapport is a vital ingredient when developing relationships because it builds trust and allows communication to flow. When that state of rapport is there, communication is a lot easier even if you do not agree with the other person. When we do not feel that rapport or connection, we have a tendency to ‘nit-pick’ or find fault.

Customers respond to people they perceive understand their position and are on the same wavelength. If we are encountering lots of resistance from a prospect or a customer, then it helps us to notice that we have not built sufficient rapport. Even if our prospect does not agree with what we are saying, rapport enables us to have an open discussion where we can get an honest reason for their reaction rather than a ‘prickly’ brick wall.

4. Flexibility improves success.

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

Albert Einstein gave the definition of insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly whilst expecting a different result.

As an example, think about a fly…have you watched how many times a fly bumps its head trying to fly out of a window? I guess that is why it is a fly. The more we are able to adapt, the more opportunities we create.

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

5. There is no failure, only feedback.

Of course there is failure. If you take a driving test or exam you either pass or fail. Your sales people will either succeed in achieving their monthly sales targets or fail to meet them. The key is how you perceive ‘failure’.

Every failure can be looked at as a learning opportunity that is beautifully epitomised by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Despite more than 10,000 failures, he stood by his dream until he made it a physical reality. He said that every discarded idea took him one-step closer towards finding the idea that would work.

One of the most powerful self-coaching questions sales people can ask is, “What will I do differently next time?” or “What can I learn from this?”

Sales people who make mistakes and learn from those mistakes have a tendency to do better than sales people who are scared to fail. Therefore if you can see that when you don’t achieve your targets you have an opportunity to learn, because you have been given great feedback on what not to do next month.

6. Accepting 100% responsibility creates transformation.

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

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

The more you focus on the reasons (excuses) and blame circumstances beyond your control you push away your personal power. Therefore, if you believe that you are in control of the situations that life ‘appears’ to throw at you, then you are in control of your thinking and emotions, and therefore in control of your own life.

This belief has given thousands of sales people the determination to breakthrough so many barriers and overcome countless challenges when at times it was tempting to wallow in self-pity. If something good or bad happens, ask yourself, “How did I create that?” This question enables you to tap into your brain’s infinite potential and it will give you all the answers you need. If you are prepared to commit 100% to taking responsibility, the results can be extraordinary.

Today’s News: It’s time for a shameless plug, because you really should not miss this gig – really!

What beats a great referral? Not much!

Please accept this personal invitation to join me next Tuesday, May 26th for  a TSE Roundtable,

Harness the Power of Referrals
1:00 PM EST, 10:00 AM PST)

The investment? $25.00  or $99.50.
HUH? You can become a VIP member of Top Sales Experts (at $25.00 for the entire year) and the Roundtables are FREE. If you’re not ready to become a VIP member then they are $99.50.

Read below for full details of everything you get as a VIP member. It’s crazy, really.

Yes, I’m on the call and I’m very excited to be a Top Sales Expert!

Top Sales Experts Is Building THE Most Significant Worldwide Sales Community On the Internet.

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Read on and I’ll tell you!

64        The number of experts committed to your success
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Life is about choices. So are sales.

So…
Here at TSE we thought you’d want to see your choices, clear and simple:

OPTION A
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Tomorrow: I am catching up with my children – have a great w/e and be sure to make it back on Monday – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Nancy D. Solomon

Leaders lead. Followers follow. And then there’s The Unheard Third™: The people in the middle who, for one reason or another, fall through the leadership cracks when they’re passed through or passed over. These latent leaders are the next generation achievers whose potential has yet to, or may never be, turned into performance: Failing to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack, they just blend into the background,. They’re leaders, but just not yet. Left untended, The Unheard Third™ grows more and more disengaged, discontented and disheartened. Eventually, they become just another retention statistic.

There are millions of people who are waiting to make a contribution, who are enthusiastic about their work and their lives: They are waiting to let the rest of the world know about both. And companies can either tap into their enormous potential, or waste a precious resource and lose a competitive advantage.

So why do these folks languish under the radar, unrecognized and unrewarded? Though it’s not for lack of talent, skill or intelligence the reasons are still plentiful. Remember: un-mined does not imply incapable. (Could one of these describe you?)

 They don’t quite qualify for the high potential track.
 They haven’t yet learned the skills to stand up and stand out—to get the recognition they deserve.
 They don’t know where they’re going or, if they do, they don’t know how to get there (grab a mentor, please).
 They’re disengaged in their careers—what they have to offer is de-valued, untraditional or under-utilized so they haven’t put their skin in the game.
 They just don’t see themselves as leadership material or they don’t identify with the word “leadership”. (This is particularly problematic for women who are fully two thirds of The Unheard Third™).

As the middle child in the organizational family, The Unheard Third™ is virtually invisible to the people who can positively influence their careers because, in actuality, they themselves feel invisible. Akin to the middle child in a family of origin, this group refuses to be categorized, is independent by nature and often has a sense of not belonging.

Failing to fit neatly into traditional definitions of leadership, they are needlessly discarded or ignored, more out of efficiency and convenience than for any other reason: Like it or not, most companies simply run smoother when things are nice and neat and tidy. But nice and neat and tidy betrays creativity, innovation and growth. In fact, The Unheard Third™ obstinately refusing to fit into an uninspired model of leadership might be precisely what is needed to shake up your organization and incite change.

Let’s face it—there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all genius: We each arrive with our own brand of brilliance and never is this more crucial than when business is tough or times troubling. Looking at The Unheard Third™ through the lens of opportunity, this population is an invitation to dismantle the status quo and to explore rich resources and previously disregarded talent in the most unlikely of places.

This group teaches us the consummate lesson in diversity by being, well… diverse. They demand we broaden our definition of leadership. They remind us of the value of commitment, and the price we pay for forgetting that.

By far it’s greatest contribution to the workplace lies with the fact that The Unheard Third™ is the ultimate study of the do’s and don’ts of engagement—the intrapersonal and interpersonal relationship between individuals, their work, their purpose and their passion. Our culture is shifting and the chasm is narrowing between who we are and what we do. Engagement is the measure of connectedness between those things. What we know for sure is that there is a growing demand for congruency in all areas of our lives, and we are increasingly unwilling to leave any portion of ourselves behind when we go to work.

Ultimately, what The Unheard Third™ illustrates is the dynamic that occurs when we are not intimately connected to all facets of ourselves or to the organization (or people) for which we work.  This cohort underscores the argument for why it’s essential for us to be profoundly acquainted with ourselves so that we may live from purpose, and access the gifts and talents that enhance our lives and expand our capacity to lead. Failing to fully comprehend the impact we have on our work and, reciprocally, the impact it has on us will default us to Unheard status.

The extent to which we understand who we are and why we do what we do will result in deeper engagement with the company we keep by fostering deeper, more meaningful and sustainable relationships: Amongst co-workers, between management and employees; and between the entire team and the customer. Engagement results in connection and connection is the key to retention. Period.

The Unheard Third™ knows who they are: They just need to be given the opportunity to identify themselves, and to be supported once they have. Once they demonstrate a willingness to step up, then it’s incumbent upon all of us to extend every one of our personal and professional resources to those in this dormant goldmine. After all, that’s why we’re called leaders, isn’t it?

As a nationally recognized human potential expert Ms. Solomon provides training, keynotes, coaching and consulting for executives and their organizations seeking to improve their personal and professional standards of success. For more information, visit www.nancydsolomon.com

Be sure to look out for Nancy’s new book – “Impact – What Every Woman Needs To Know To Go From Invisible To Invincible” – in the stores from September. Oh, and she is also a member of the Top Sales Experts Executive Board, and you can read more about her here

Today’s News: Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Harlan Goerger:

Controlling Time
“Controlling time is a challenge and an opportunity. Harlan Goerger takes us back to basics with his five keys to controlling time. His examples will ring true for many, his suggestions will give you pause for thought on ways you can take control of your day and your life. If you have not “swallowed a frog” before, you’ll find this podcast helpful.

Harlan Goerger is an international sales expert. He has spent the last 25 years leading hundreds of his client companies to explosive revenue growth. He is the author of “The Sales Gap” and has used his proven reverse engineering strategy to generate sales growth for his clients to levels as high as 400%. After spending 20 years as a leader with Dale Carnegie, he created his own strategies to empower sales professionals with practical and effective.”

Just click on the widget below to listen in:

Tomorrow: Is it really Friday already? Ok, tomorrow let me share some thoughts about “self-belief” with you – works for me!!

I’m off to buy a Russian dictionary, so I can translate all the comments I have been getting lately – this from yesterday – “Я вот подумал, а где Вы материал взяли для этой статьи? Неужели из головы?”

I’m not sure, but I suspect it is yet another offer to increase a certain part of my anatomy. What I find curious is how do these people know who has a deficiency in that area – how do they select their targets?

Good old Jeffrey Gitomer (a fellow member of the folically challenged club) said, “If you become a testimonial-based seller (which I believe to be the most powerful form of sales in the world), then you can get testimonials for every element, or every step of your sales cycle.”  and he is right on the money.

Why? It’s very simple…. because customers like to feel reassured that the purchase they are about to make will do everything that the sales person has told them it will do. Why? Because there is a principle based around social proof that effectively confirms, “If other customers like this, it must be good”.

The power of using testimonials during different stages of the sales process increases sales when ‘real’ customers are seen or heard testifying as to how beneficial a product/service has been for them. They increase your credibility because they are third-party endorsements rather than words out of your own mouth. The goal of a customer is to predict the future about a product/service, and by offering real stories from other real customers can turn a picture of your proposition into a tangible experience.

When using testimonials there are a number of elements that can maximise their effectiveness:

• The more specific a testimonial is the more power it has for the customer. For example; “Great company, great service” lacks meaning because it is vague and doesn’t tell the customer anything. Consider the impact when a testimonial becomes more specific: “I was really impressed with this company’s speed of service. They pulled out all the stops so that I had product sitting in my warehouse within 24 hours.”

• Every testimonial should include the customer’s name, their title and their organisation’s name (if relevant), and ideally a thumbnail size photograph of that person. This helps to convey the authenticity of the testimonial and builds credibility.

• Dividing testimonials into different aspects of the sales process can be really useful. When used in context they create more impact. For example; if a sales person is struggling to get an appointment with a prospect, a relevant testimonial could help persuade that prospect to agree to a meeting: “It took me two years before I agreed to meet this company. Having worked with them almost a year, I wish I’d seen them earlier.”

• Within the context of the sales cycle, testimonials can be used at many stages, particularly: – Initial letters/emails to request a meeting – Sales presentations to reinforce key points – Objection handling and negotiations – Post – meeting follow up to provide reassurance – Managing ongoing relationships with regular contact

• Validating the benefits of your product or service can be achieved brilliantly by using a video format for your testimonials at the end of your presentation. This provides a powerful ‘benefits-driven’ summary that confirms and proves your claims. Just remember, the only thing better than saying the right thing at the right time is when your customers do it for you–and better

• You are already acutely aware of your most frequently encountered objections. That’s why testimonials should acknowledge and mention these objections, before explaining why they still decided to buy from your organisation. For example: “I was initially surprised with their prices until I saw the quality of their product and experienced their vast range of promotional services.”

Testimonials are really powerful when they acknowledge an objection that paces the probable experiences of your prospects, and then wipes out the objection with an overarching benefit

• When requesting testimonials you are looking to obtain a genuine viewpoint that praises your organisation/product/service. Therefore, the best time to ask for this is when your customer has experienced the benefits of your product/service.

To help busy customers respond to your request, provide them with other examples of testimonials so they can see how easy they are to write. It also helps if you can provide them with a simple structure to follow, for example:

- Why did you agree to meet us?

- What persuaded you to buy our product?

- What benefits have you gained from using this product?

- How would you describe our level of service?

Using “The most powerful form of sales in the world” is really is that simple.

Today’s News:

Still time to register for tomorrow’s webinar over at Top Sales Experts:

How to Close More Sales by Shortening Your Sales Cycle with Dave Kurlan
Thursday May 21st 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN

“Now more than ever, sales are taking longer to close and some have been put on permanent hold.  In this fast-paced, powerful webinar, Dave Kurlan will explain why this is happening, why it doesn’t have to happen to you, and how you can return to the glory days of shorter sales cycles by making just a few simple but powerful changes to how you execute the sales process. Whether sales or management, veteran or rookie, calling on markets or industries that have been ravaged by recession, or merely on people who are using spending freezes, layoffs and cuts as excuses to put you off, you will benefit from this unique and entertaining session.”

It is just $59.50 to register here but of course, you have choices – you always have choices: You can become a TSE VIP Member for just $25 per year and listen in for FREE – in fact, as a VIP Member you can listen in to the other 100 webinars we are presenting this year for FREE too – now that is a “No-brainer”

Take the VIP tour here

Tomorrow: Poor old (well not very old) Nancy D. Solomon has been tucked away completing her book and so I think we should cheer her up by re-publishing one of her excellent articles – from this lady, you just know it is going to be brilliant.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Kim Duke

One thing I cannot stand is CHEESY SALESPEOPLE.

Really – they give all of us a bad name!

I had the misfortune of running into not ONE but TWO cheesy salespeople this past week-end. I’m still on the car hunt, taking my time and looking for absolutely the next purrrrrrfect vehicle for me.

Two sales people (who were obviously tag-teaming the deal) were a younger guy and an older woman. The woman proceeded to tell me within 7 minutes that she had:

* Only started working 7 days ago
* NO product knowledge “All cars look the same to me.”
* Gained 30 pounds because she had quit smoking
* NO idea of the benefits and disadvantages of premium fuel.
And oh – you’ll LOVE THIS, after she took a copy of my driver’s license she told me loudly… “Wow – you look hot – I wouldn’t have guessed your age.” (OKKKKK – thanks for that!)

On to the next dud.

After laughing inside because this salesman focused his energy on my boyfriend – I told him “You’re looking and speaking to the wrong person.” He gulped and said:
“Oh – but I saw him drive up in the sports car.”
Duh – first mistake – don’t make assumptions – I didn’t feel like driving!

I told him I was looking for a vehicle that was “unusual” and he said “Oh – why would you want that? Unusual means awkward to me.”

And with a wave of my hand…off we went because I CANNOT spend my money on people or companies who don’t deserve it. I don’t care how nice the product is.

Good bye sales…..all those cheesy comments were the “kiss of death” for making a sale with me!

Which Leads Me To This Question:

Where are YOU making assumptions about your customers?

The 2 turkeys that were trying to sell me were making judgments on my age, looks, who was with me, who was driving my car, as well as the words I used. Except that they were WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING.

And you know this rule – because I’m sure you heard this from your mother:
“You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Are You Making Assumptions Based On:
* What you THINK you know about your potential customer?
* Your lack of questions to your prospect?
* The research you haven’t done?
* Where your customer lives?
* How much money you THINK they have/don’t have?
*And the list goes on and on?

Listen. People buy from who they like, trust and respect.

Making assumptions doesn’t provide you with opportunities to be liked, trusted OR respected. It just makes you annoying.

My Diva Dare To You?

List 3 projects/clients where you may be taking your assumptions for granted and treating it like REALITY. (Even though they aren’t fact)

Do some digging. And most certainly – I dare you not to be like the 2 cheese balls I encountered. I would bet you’ll discover that you have been WRONG about something BIG and there is a wonderful opportunity RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE.

The good side of my story? The cheeseballs made great fodder for this article. (And I’ll never buy from that dealership again.)

So there.
Love From Your Bossy Sales Diva,
Kim

Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report “The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make” at www.salesdivas.com

Kim is also one of the original members of the Top Sales Experts team and you can read more about her here 

Today’s News: You know, I have always believed that cold calling is one of the most difficult and unrewarding sales tasks frontline sales professionals have to master. Amazingly, some people actually enjoy it! I guess that is because they are good at it.

My good chum from NY, NY, is probably the best in the world and the “Queen Of Cold Calling” Wendy Weiss, has just launched a brand new service – and about time too M’am, if I may be so bold: Here’s her message….

Hello Sir Jonathan,

I am excited to announce “The Queen’s Court” a full service executive appointment setting service staffed with professional appointment setters trained by me personally in my renowned Cold Calling College. 

In this economy, business are looking for more ways to produce income.  Many times the highest producers in companies are unable to manage the time to both set appointments and keep them.  The Queen’s Court allows these companies to have their appointments set for them, freeing up their valuable time to actually follow up with their leads – making them more cash.

We’ve already launched this program and you can find full details here: The Queen’s Court

Best Wishes

Queen Wendy

Tomorrow: “The Most Powerful Form Of Sales”…..

“Good old Jeffrey Gitomer (a fellow member of the folically challenged club) said, “If you become a testimonial-based seller (which I believe to be the most powerful form of sales in the world), then you can get testimonials for every element, or every step of your sales cycle.”  and he is right on the money.”