Jonathan Farrington's Blog

Relationship marketing is no longer a new buzz term and obviously it’s here to stay.

It’s all about looking at your customers and your relationship with them in a new light. Rather than develop a product or service and market it to the customers, relationship marketers think about what the customers want and adapt their product development strategy accordingly.

It’s about customisation to meet the needs of the individual.

Relationship marketing is based on getting feedback and using it to develop and improve your service.

I always evangalise about the needfor companies to make it as easy as possible for customers to complain. In relationship marketing, feedback is sought before a complaint occurs.

This helps to:
• Identify potential problem areas before the customer does.
• Customise.

For many companies it has become practice to encourage customers to provide such information via the website. You need good quality information if you are to have a two-way relationship with your customer.

Customer Expectations:

Have customers changed? – In a word Yes!
• They are more demanding
• Have higher expectations
• Have a more pressurised lifestyle
• Want everything but don’t necessarily want to pay for it
• Are less tolerant
• Want more for their money, time and effort
• Are much more aware of their rights – influenced by consumer rights programmes
• Are driven by customer service issues in their own workplace
• Are more likely to seek recommendations from friends and colleagues than rely on advertising
• Are driven by new technology – particularly the internet

BUT – the key to supplier differentiation lies within these increased expectations, since customers now value closer links with efficient, competent suppliers who are willing to act as long term allies.

And Finally:

Some key lessons on keeping abreast of customer needs and minimising complaints:

• Use as much of the available technology as possible – make it work for the customer
• Focus on customers as individuals
• Listen and act on what they say
• Increase the value of each customer – especially in the long term
• Welcome complaints – always, always, welcome complaints.

Today’s News: It’s a very important day here in Paris – it’s the last Friday in July and half the population will be heading south for the whole of August in a lemming-like trance. Yippee…

We have had a great week over at Top Sales Experts: The Roundtable has been described as the best yet and last night’s Masterclass, featuring Nancy D Solomon – “The Psychology Of Selling” was superb.

I’ll share next week’s events here tomorrow – so do make it back.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a graphic, and I’ll let you figure out what is coming next from Top Sales Associates… have a great weekend and thank you for your company this week.

Obtaining continual feedback against a set of established criteria is vital if an organisation is to retain its existing top clients and seek to improve its standing and the quality of its service levels to them.

There are at least seven benefits of regular feedback.

• Feedback reveals your customer’s current and future plans.
• Seeing your business from your customer’s point of view allows you to answer the question “would you do business with you?” – if not why not?
• Feedback allows you to tailor your service levels so that you enjoy maximum customer satisfaction at a minimum cost.
• If you don’t ask you’ll never know how you are doing until it’s too late! Feedback is magnified by the ‘ice berg factor’ making it more critical than it originally appears.
• Feedback can reveal what your competition are doing helping you to be a consistently strong contender.
• Gaining a reputation for wanting to hear feedback can actually make money for you.
 

How Often?

This will depend entirely on the importance of the account and revenue levels being achieved – or anticipated.

Assessing The Feedback You Receive:

If the feedback you have been receiving to-date has not been useful, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I ask enough questions?
• Do I ask the right questions?
• Do I communicate effectively about why I am asking the questions?
• Do I ask the right people?
• Do I know how to use the data I collect?
• Am I organised to respond to the information?
• Do I value and trust the information I receive?

RememberThe Account Review Process:

• Is a non-threatening meeting.
• It is a fact finding session not a sales event in the short term. But ……………….
• It is highly likely that during this meeting you will uncover additional short, medium and long term opportunities.

You can download a FREE PDF from the JF Sales Kit - ”The Formal Account Review” here

Today’s News: “Should Salespeople Tweet?” Like me, you probably have your own ideas, and over at Salesopedia today, you can listen in to Scott Klososky.

“Social networking has become part of our lives and more recently Twitter has vaulted to the top of the list of what’s hot in technology today.  Twitter is in the news; in fact many TV and radio personalities are using Twitter to connect with their audience. Does micro-blogging have a place in sales? Scott Klososky explains what Twitter is, why you need to understand the two sides of Twitter, and what it takes to turn Twitter into an effective communication tool in your business.  If you don’t know your tweet from your elbow this is a good listen.”

Simply click on the banner below.

Before you even begin to look at engaging seriously in lots of networking effort, it is useful to look at your own temperament or disposition.

This is the individual’s internal desire to network and to find value and enjoyment from the whole process of building relationships.

For some people, this will be an almost irrelevant issue to debate. Their motivation to want to talk to people regularly and to network is naturally high. Talking to strangers in supermarket lines, at bus/train stops, or even in the elevator is characteristic of such people.

However, even if you really enjoy talking to people, it is a proven fact that most of us are not highly confident and highly motivated networkers.

In fact, statistics reveal that only one in ten people is actually comfortable in striking up a relationship with a complete stranger.

Unfortunately, this means that their own misgivings, fears and doubts potentially hinder the vast majority of people. And for successful sales professionals, networking is not a choice, it is a necessary part of the job.

Four Networking Types

In practice, you can divide people who attempt to build networking relationships into four distinct types: the Loner (little or no networking), the Socializer, the User, and the Relationship Builder.

Although a salesperson’s aim is to become the fourth option, the “Relationship Builder,” let’s briefly look at each of these types in turn.

Loners like to do most things by themselves. They may feel that they can do it faster or better, or perhaps they don’t want to bother or worry other people. They feels that their knowledge and skills are often superior to most people, and they ask for help only as a last resort (and when it may be too late).

The Loner is an easily recognizable type, because there are times when we all believe that we will do better ourselves than if we ask others for help. The Loner will not usually want to bother anyone else, or necessarily see much point in doing so, believing that others will be slower and will set lower standards.

Unfortunately, the Loner attitude is a major obstacle to effective networking. We need to shift our thinking greatly in this area. We should be more willing to let others assist, and we should even ask for help more often.

Socializers try to make a friend of everyone they meet. They tend to know people’s names and faces, but not what they do. Socializers are not usually systematic or ordered about following up on a sales lead -– contact is random. Such a person may not listen too deeply and is quick to move on.

Although the Socializer may have a wide circle of friends and contacts, he or she knows little of substance about personal skills and resources. As a result, Socializers do not often share their skills.

The Socializer is also a random networker, following little or no formal contact system.

Users are likely to collect business cards without really connecting with people. They try to make “sales” or “pitches” on the first encounter. They talk about and focus on their own agenda rather than information about mutual needs. They often have superficial interactions, and keep score when giving favors.

Unfortunately, people of this type do network widely, but in a way that creates little benefit for themselves or others. Even worse, this kind of networker tends to create a bad impression, and therefore can give networking an image of being about selling, taking, bargaining and keeping score.

Relationship Builders have a “giving” disposition or abundance mentality. They are generally happy to ask others for help or guidance, and listen and learn about people carefully. Builders are regularly on the lookout for useful information for which others can also benefit. They have a well-ordered and organized networking system.

This type of networker is what this article is all about -– an individual who takes a long-term perspective on relationships with others and thinks more about what he or she can give or offer than about the return.

This type is out there for others, or on call to offer help whenever it is needed. If they cannot help in person, they usually know someone else who can.

Maintaining High Self-Esteem

A topic as big and potentially complicated as a person’s relative self-esteem cannot be covered at any level of detail in a short blog post. However, it is important to appreciate how low self-esteem can have a major impact on your networking efforts if it is not at least basically understood and addressed.

An individual with high self-esteem is likely to build his own confidence to want to network by having a positive, open and “can-do” attitude.

Conversely, an individual with low self-esteem is likely to lack confidence to start with. They will convince themselves (and others) that they have little that would be of interest to others in any network.

And in a successful sales career, this is too high a price to pay.

Apart from the Builder, one factor connects the other three types in preventing them from networking more effectively. This is the issue of self-esteem.

The Loner believes in himself or herself, but not necessarily in others (especially relative strangers). The Socializer likes people, but also very much wants to be liked by others (and therefore does not want to ask for favors). Finally, the User takes a relatively selfish view of, “If I benefit or gain, I might reciprocate; otherwise I won’t.”

Of course, all of these types fear rejection, obligation, being too pushy or even looking weak. All of these fears or concerns about networking need to be lessened or overcome.

Today’s News:

Following on from last night’s superb TSE Roundtable, there is another big treat in store on Thursday that you really do not want to miss. I have been looking forward to Nancy D Solomon presenting again for such a long time: Nancy is witty, charming, sharp, incredibly intelligent, with a massive commercial bandwidth. Here are the details….

The Psychology of Selling
Thursday July 30th 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN

You understand your customer. You understand your product or service.

But do you understand who you are in the sales process?

In fact, you are the critical Unique Value Proposition. You are the most important component of every sale. Why? Because:

You make the cold call
You do the presentation
You close the sale
If you’re not on top of your game, there may not be a sale.

Have you ever wondered:

What inspires you to make that call or get another coffee instead?
Why some days you do an outstanding presentation and other days one that is easily forgotten?
Who initiates that million-dollar deal instead of settling for last year’s quota?

You’ll discover how:

Who you are impacts your sales
To sell with your strengths
To work toward the passion and away from the fear
To stop procrastinating and start selling
To find your power position and use it to close the sale

You can book your FREE place here, with my compliments

Finally, over at Jill Konrath’s blog, she has just posted an interview with the ubiquitous Nancy Nardin of Smart Selling Tools – “Are You Using Smart Selling Tools?”  you can read it here

Sales presentations become so much more compelling at the point when you have identified and agreed all your prospects requirements, and have tailored your presentation so that it illustrates how you can completely satisfy their agreed requirements.

If you can then add your unique strengths to what the prospect is looking for, your proposal becomes compelling and much more persuasive.

Here are ten suggestions that help improve the effectiveness of any presentation:

1. Find out in advance how much time you’ll have and plan that your presentation will take approximately 75% of the allocated time. This leaves sufficient time for questions and thorough handling of any objections that you may encounter.

2. If you are in a competitive situation, find out when the other suppliers are scheduled to present and if possible try to be the last presenter.

The reason this can be so important is because your prospect can make a proper comparison of your presentation in light of your competitor’s presentations, meaning that they are better equipped to recognise the added value you provide. This also creates a stronger possibility that you can get a decision from them at the end of your meeting.

3. When structuring your presentation start with a quick review of the prospects’ goals and objectives, and then list their agreed requirements. This will determine the sequence and structure for your presentation, because ultimately you’ll want to highlight how your solution meets each one of their requirements.

During your fact-finding meeting you should have obtained a priority of their requirements so that you can address their most important ones first.

4. Throughout your presentation incorporate relevant customer testimonials that validate the points you are making, and if you refer to research statistics ensure that you quote the source.

5. At the beginning of your presentation you want your prospect to be interested and compelled to listen to what you are about to present. That’s why structuring your opening in a format to appeal to all types of prospects makes it easier for them to understand your message. Therefore, open your presentation by addressing four main questions:

• Why will the prospect benefit from your presentation/products/services?
• What will be covered during your presentation?
• How will you be conducting your presentation?
• When will the prospect be able to ask questions?

This simple structure is based on David Kolb’s work on learning styles, where he categorised people’s ability to learn into four learning dimensions:

• Concrete experience – learning from specific experiences, relating to people, and sensitivity to feelings and people

• Reflective observation – careful observation before making a judgment, viewing things from different perspectives, and looking for the meaning of things

• Abstract conceptualisation – logical analysis of ideas, systematic planning, acting on intellectual understanding of a situation

• Active experimentation – ability to get things done, risk taking, influence people and events through action.

Bernice McCarthy, developed “The 4MAT” system based around these four main learning styles, each of which asks different questions and displays different strengths during the learning process.

The Four Learning Styles are integrated into a cyclical approach that:

- Begins by explaining WHY the audience will benefit from your presentation. This provides concrete motivation in an innovative way to create interest and an openness to want to hear what you have to say.

- The process then continues by explaining WHAT you are going to talk about. This enables the audience to think through the concepts you are about to present and formulate them in an analytical way.

- The next stage is the abstract conceptualisation stage that explains HOW you’ll be delivering your presentation.

- This then leads to the final stage; the active experimentation stage where you want to encourage IF questions so they can apply what you have said to different contexts.

6. Use visuals in your presentations because a picture is worth a thousand words. Support your important points with graphics and images yet keep them simple to maintain interest while conveying relevance. This is particularly important if your prospect has a dominant Visual communication style.

According to the Robbins Research Institute, they have identified the 12 most persuasive words to use when selling.

These are: Discover, Free, Guarantee, Love, Money, New, Proven, Safe, Save, You, Results and Exciting.

By combining some of these words into your visuals as well as in what you are saying will help ensure your prospect remains alert and interested.

7. A good presentation will clearly communicate all of your unique strengths and reasons why you are their best choice. Ultimately, most prospects want to know two things:

- Can you do what needs to be done?
- How can you do it better than the other options we are considering?

8. Seek to gain agreement throughout your presentation either non-verbally or by asking questions, for example, “How does this sound?” After demonstrating a capability you could ask, “How would this be an improvement?” or “How would this help?” Interactive presentations keep prospects more involved and interested. Throughout your presentation focus your attention on your prospect, checking that they are receiving your proposals positively.

9. Handle small customer objections as they occur and agree to handle larger objections at the end of your presentation. This ensures that the flow of your message remains on track, and you may have answered their objection during the process of presenting.
 
10. If your prospect is not in a position to make a decision at the end of your presentation, schedule another appointment. Come up with a reason to get back in there.

Even if the decision is not in your favour, you’ll receive some valuable feedback that you can incorporate when you next present to other prospects.

Today’s News:

I really do hope you are going to join Wendy Weiss, Paul McCord, Lori Richardson, Tibor Shanto and me today on the Top Sales Experts Roundtable – “Cold Call vs Warm Call vs Social Media” – it promises to be a great show. It’s live at 1:00pm Eastern (6:00pm GMT) Normally it would cost you $99.50, but you can register for FREE if you follow this link - do try and make it.

Please spare two nano-seconds and pop over to AllBusiness to complete a very short survey…

Salespeople: We Want to Hear from You!

AllBusiness wants to create a “best-of” ranking for the sales industry. Take our poll to tell us what kind of ranking you’d find most valuable.

“The Lone Ranger is dead. Instead of the individual problem-solver, we have a new model for creative achievement. People like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney headed groups and found their own greatness in them”.

Professor Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, Marshall School of Business, USC,  provides a blueprint for the new model leader. “He or she is a pragmatic dreamer, a person with an original but attainable vision. Inevitably, the leader has to invent a style that suits the group. The standard models, especially command and control, simply don’t work. The heads of groups have to act decisively, but never arbitrarily. They have to make decisions without limiting the perceived autonomy of the other participants. Devising an atmosphere in which others can put a dent in the universe is the leader’s creative act”.

However, the role of the new model leader is ridden with contradictions.

Paradox and uncertainty are increasingly at the heart of leading organisations. A lot of leaders don’t like ambiguity so they try to shape the environment to resolve the ambiguity. This might involve collecting more data or narrowing things down. These may not be the best things to do. The most effective leaders are flexible, responsive to new situations. If they are adept at hard skills, they surround themselves with people who are proficient with soft skills. They strike a balance.

While flexibility is important in this new leadership model, it should not be interpreted as weakness. The two most lauded corporate chiefs of the past decade, Percy Barnevik of Asea Brown Boveri, and Jack Welch of General Electric, dismantled bureaucratic structures using both soft and hard skills. They coach and cajole as well as command and control. The “leader as coach” is yet another phrase more often seen in business books than in the real world. Acting as a coach to a colleague is not something that comes easily to many executives. It is increasingly common for executives to need mentoring. They need to talk through decisions and to think through the impact of their behaviour on others in the organisation.

In the macho era, support was for failures, but now there is a growing realisation that leaders are human after all, and that leadership is as much a human art as a rational science. Today’s leaders don’t follow rigid role models but prefer to nurture their own leadership style. They do not do people’s jobs for them or put their faith in developing a personality cult. They regard leadership as drawing people and disparate parts of the organisation together in ways that makes individuals and the organisation more effective.

Today’s News:

Every now and again, I work to expand my network on LinkedIn, because I think it is an excellent business project, which has connected me with so many great people.

I am always open to linking with new contacts but here are some guidelines if you wish to connect with me.

1. I love connecting people to great resources and other people that can assist them in achieving their professional goals, so yes please feel free to connect – I always try to respond to emails within 48 hours.

2. I will always accept invitations from friends, business acquaintances and clients to join my network on LinkedIn

3. If we haven’t met, I am open to connecting but please send an introductory note providing a little information about your background and how we would both benefit from connecting – a standard LinkedIn request to connect won’t be responded to.

4. As I consider connecting people in my network to others as a recommendation and therefore want to ensure a quality connection for all concerned I will not usually forward requests to connect you to members of my LinkedIn network if I do not know you and your work.

5. Please ensure that you spend a little time writing a thoughtful and detailed request as to the benefit to the person in my network and why they would benefit in connecting to you. In return I promise to only send you relevant, well written requests.

And if you have any tips on how you get the most out of LinkedIn or guidance on how to ensure that you manage your online network effectively, perhaps you’ll share them here with our JF Blogit community.

Link with me on LinkedIn

I am delighted to be able to offer you a FREE place on the upcoming TSE Roundtable – here are the details:

Cold Call vs Warm Call vs Social Media
Tuesday July 28th 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN

Is cold calling dead?
Is email marketing ineffective?
Aren’t you on social media yet?
Feeling a little confused?

A panel of experts from each of these backgrounds will discuss metrics and successes for different sales strategies and YOU can be the judge. Will those on the panel agree? We guess not…. Join the call and add YOUR comments…

The Panel:

 Lori Richardson is founder and president of Score More Sales, a sales effectiveness organization based in Seattle, Washington. A frequent speaker at sales off-sites, Lori shares simple and tactical strategies for increasing revenues and ultimately profits. More information can be found at www.scoremoresales.c

 Wendy Weiss, the Queen of Cold Calling, is an author, speaker, sales trainer, and sales coach. She is recognized as one of the leading authorities on lead generation, cold calling and new business development. Wendy can be found on the web at www.wendyweiss.com

 Paul McCord is the president of McCord and Associates, a Houston, Texas based international sales training, coaching, and consulting company. He may be reached at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or visit his training website at www.powerreferralselling.com

 Tibor Shanto works with leading corporations in Canada, USA and the UK, helping these organizations realize sustained revenue attainment through improvement in sales strategy and execution. Visit Tibor’s website: www.sellbetter.ca

Chairman:

 Jonathan Farrington is Chairman of The Sales Corporation, CEO of Top Sales Associates and Managing Partner of The JF Consultancy based in London and Paris. He is also the author of the upcoming “Tougher At The Top” www.jonathanfarrington.com

Host:

 Paul Simon is Communications Director for Top Sales Experts and owner of SharperContent, an editing service that refines written messages within websites, newsletters, blogs and books. Through TSE, and as contributing sales editor for AllBusiness, he works closely with sales experts throughout the United States and in other countries.

You will not want to miss this! – Book your FREE place HERE

It is my view that we must recognise that we are in Key Account Management for the long term.

It takes time to manage a key account and we will only receive a payback on our investment in time if we can have a long term result.

In some of the organisations we have worked with this produces a tension because the whole culture is about creating a short term sales result in which product and profit are the main drivers and measures of success.

We should not underestimate what a challenge Key Account Management can be to the corporate culture. It emphasises relationship more than product, profit more than volume, and team more than individual, long term more than short term. At the same time the practical short term realities of business life need to be recognised.

One of the best ways of managing this tension is to have someone who acts as a mentor, conscience or guide to the account manager and account team. They are not involved in the day to day management of the account but are invited in to look at and comment on major proposals and presentations. Their main role is to be involved in reviewing the long term plan every few months to ensure that the relationship is as productive as possible and is reflecting the values of the organisation as a whole.

The role of the key account manager is to be responsible for the overall relationship. They influence all those involved in the account to ensure a co-ordinated, synchronised approach. The key account manager is responsible for drafting the account plan, gaining the agreement and commitment of the team and then monitoring implementation

KAM Involves Relationships Not Just a Mechanical Approach:

Under this heading we should discuss three main aspects of key account management

• The importance of relationships in Key Account Management.
• The complexity of relationships in Key Account Management.
• Mapping relationships in Key Account Management.

Importance
In Key Account Management it is essential that we manage people as well as processes. Of course we must get the product pricing right. We need to be excellent at administration. Our customer service and product range need to be strong. But “people buy from people” and “we are in a people business”. To manage the complex range of relationships within a key account is difficult and demanding but our ability to manage relationships will define whether or not we sustain success.

Complexity
In a reactive sale there is only one relationship – that between the seller and the buyer. In key accounts the situation is much more complex. There are often contacts going on at many levels and many locations. In one key account we have identified 1000 relationships between the account team of ten people and individuals representing the client. But it is not just a problem of numbers. it is often a problem of politics.

Some contacts do not want us to talk to people in other departments or at different levels. It can also be that the complexity is caused by product range. The users of one product rarely speak to the specifies for another product. In any complex relationship some people will like us more than others. This is to say nothing of inter-departmental tensions. All these things make key account relationships complex and we need to recognise their complexity.

Mapping
If relationships are important and if relationships are complex then it is essential that we find a way of mapping, analysing, planning and monitoring those relationships. Over recent years we have found that an approach based on the game of chess allows a very practical way of identifying the key issues.

If we can answer these questions confidently and communicate our thinking across the account team simply and clearly then we will be half-way to success. This approach has given people across a broad spectrum of organisations a common language and way of working.

Today’s News: Message just in from Mr Sales 2.0, Nigel Edelshain…

Dear Jonathan,
I’ll be doing the webinar thing again this month – July 29 & 30 (there is an encore performance). This time with my friends at Netprospex. If you can take another session of Don’t Cold Call. Social Call, please sign up here

Other resources for you:

1. For those in the Midwest the Sales 2.0 Conference is coming to Chicago, September 10. Check out the details here (hint: I’ll be speaking)

2. Our Sales 2.0 LinkedIn group is over 700 members. If you’d like to join the Sales 2.0 conversation, click here

3. Interesting Top Sales Experts webinar coming up, July 28. “Cold Call vs. Warm Call vs. Social Media” Details here (I won’t be speaking on this one oddly enough)

4. Have you been Tweeting? If you are inclined, please follow me on Twitter@nedelsha

Oh, and if you haven’t signed up already, check out our FREE E-Course Don’t Cold Call. Social Call.
You will receive 26 Free sales tips, one per week, that taken together are the state-of-the-art in prospecting today. Arm yourself with a selling advantage in the marketplace.

OK, that’s it for this week – thank you for your company and wherever you are, have a great weekend – JF

You know that I am passionate about good customer relations, any of my clients will confirm that fact, and I fervently believe that the focus of all modern management thinking and strategic business practice has to be the customer.

Common sense suggests that keep your customers happy and your sales will continue to soar – neglect them or take them for granted and your bottom line will suffer accordingly.

But we must expect and welcome complaints, so my advice is that to respond to a customer who has several legitimate complaints you must keep these six rules firmly in mind.

Rule One:
Listen with understanding & sympathy. This diffuses anger and demonstrates your concern. Tell the customer something such as “I am sorry you have been inconvenienced. Tell me what happened so that I can help you” It is vital to show a sincere interest and willingness to help. The customer’s first impression of you is all important in gaining co-operation.
 
Rule Two:
No matter what or who caused the problem, never, ever blame or make excuses. Instead, take full responsibility and the initiative to do whatever you can to solve the problem as quickly as possible.
 
Rule Three:
Paraphrase and record what the customer tells you. Whenever you hear an important point say “let me make sure I understand; you were promised delivery on the 10th and you did not receive the product until the 1st of the following month. Is that correct?”

Rule Four:
Find out what the customer wants. Do they want a refund, credit, discount, or replacement? The customer is complaining because he/she has a problem and wants it solved as quickly as possible. Find out what their problem is so you can work towards it and not towards a solution they do not want.
 
Rule Five:
Propose a solution and gain the customer’s support. When the customer tells you what he or she wants the solution is usually obvious. State your solution in a positive manner. “I will be happy to give you a full credit for it or other merchandise. Is that acceptable for you?” If it is acceptable, act promptly.

Rule Six:
If the customer does not like your solution, ask what they would consider a fair alternative. Never let a customer lose face. If you cannot meet their request, say so, but never say they are wrong, and never get into an argument with a customer. It is vital to be considerate of the customer’s feelings and to be courteous. Sometimes the customer knows full well that there is nothing you can do. All the customer really wants is someone to hear and respect his or her point of view, and you can always give them that.

In Summary:

Do remember that, a customer’s loyalty is only as strong as the success of their last contact with you.

Today’s News: Lots of news for you today:

First up, FREE places on today’s Top Sales Experts Masterclass, presented by Lori Richardson.

Turn Your Connections into Cash
Thursday July 23rd 2009 4:00 PM EASTERN

How to Leverage Social Media and Networking into Revenue Opportunities

With all of the hype about social media, many of us have jumped on the bandwagon in various stages – others of us are waiting. Combine this with the networking you have done over the years and that leads to many contacts – but have you been able to turn all that effort and time into revenues?  In this Master Class,  learn about how to identify the right connections and then put a system in place to turn connections into relationships and ultimately into sales opportunities in five simple steps.

Attendees will receive:

* An actual step-by-step plan to track your strategic contacts
* A PDF Mindmap of how to visually “see” your alliance partners
* An e-book on building and maintaining strategic partnerships
* An “over the summer” challenge for you to identify and gain 5 new alliance relationships

Book your FREE place, with my compliments here

Meanwhile over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with my colleague and friend Paul McCord, who is having a very busy few days – following on from his superb Top Sales Experts Masterclass on Tuesday, he is co-presenting with me next week on the TSE Roundtable – more details tomorrow.

Paul McCord talks about professional development and how important it is in this current economic environment. He shares ideas on what you can do to enhance your professional skills and competencies. He lists a number of sales resource sites and provided tips on how to track down expert resources in very specific niches. He goes beyond simply identifying resources and expands on what you can do to make sure what you are learning “sticks”. Just click on the banner below to listen in.

Finally, more good news from Wendy Weiss:

“Getting more sales by phone can be easier than you think.”

How to make more money calling prospects – guaranteed or your money back!

  * 101 ways to get more business by phone
  * What to say and what not to say
  * Ways to relax, have fun calling prospects and get more sales

Get 101 Cold Calling Tips for Building New Customers in a Down Economy at a special price here

Old ways of doing business no longer work: the increasingly intense competitive challenges of the world economy challenge everyone, everywhere, to adapt in order to prosper under new rules.

In the old economy, hierarchies pitted labour against management, with workers paid wages depending on their skills, but that is eroding as the rate of change accelerates.

Hierarchies are being replaced by networks; labour and management are uniting into teams; wages are coming in new mixtures of options, incentives and ownership; fixed jobs melt into fluid careers.

As business changes, so do the traits needed to survive, let alone excel.

All these transitions put increased value on emotional intelligence.

Competitive pressures put a new value on people who are self-motivated, show initiative, have the inner drive for outdoing themselves, and are optimistic enough to take reversals and setbacks in their stride. The ever-pressing need to serve customers and clients well and to work smoothly and creatively with an ever more diverse range of people makes the ability to empathise all the more essential.

At the same time, the meltdown of old hierarchies increases the importance of traditional people skills such as building bonds, influence and collaboration. And that is as true for employers as it is for employees.

The task of the leader draws on a wide range of personal skills. Research has shown that emotional competence makes the crucial difference between mediocre leaders and the best. Indeed, emotional competence makes up about two thirds of the ingredients of star performance in general, but for outstanding leaders emotional competencies – as opposed to technical or cognitive cues – make up 80 to 100% of those listed by companies as crucial for success.

Star performers show significantly greater strengths in a range of emotional competencies, such as the skills of persuasion, team leadership, political awareness, self-confidence, and achievement drive.

Empathy, one of the key elements of emotional intelligence, is central to good management; it is difficult to have a positive impact on others without first sensing how they feel and understanding their position.

People who are poor at reading emotional cues and inept at social interactions are very poor at influencing others in the workplace.

Empathy has become more relevant as the whole world of work changes.

These are troubled times for workers – it seems that no one is guaranteed a job anywhere any more. The creeping sense that no one’s job is safe, even if the companies they work for are thriving, means the spread of fear, apprehension and confusion.

An attitude of self-interest is, understandably, growing more common for employees confronting downsizing and other changes that make them feel their organisation is no longer loyal to them. This sense of betrayal or distrust erodes allegiance and encourages cynicism. And once lost, trust – and the commitment that stems from it – is hard to rebuild.

If employees are not treated fairly and respectfully, no organisation will gain their emotional allegiance. Sensing others’ development needs and bolstering their abilities is emerging as second only to team leadership among superior managers.

For sales managers, developing others’ abilities is even more important – indeed, it’s the emotional competence most frequently found among those at the top of the field. This is a person-to-person art, and the effectiveness of counselling hinges on empathy and the ability to focus on our own feelings and share them.

Research suggests the best ‘coaches’ show a genuine personal interest in those they guide, and have empathy for and an understanding of their employees.

Trust is crucial – when there is little trust in the coach, advice goes unheeded. This also happens when the coach is impersonal and cold, or the relationship seems too one-sided or self-serving. Coaches who show respect, trustworthiness and empathy are the best. One way to encourage people to perform better is to let others take the lead in setting their own goals rather than dictating the terms and manner of their development. This communicates the belief that employees have the capacity to be the pilot of their own destiny.

Another technique is to point to the problems without offering a solution: this implies the employees can find the solution themselves. And people hunger for feedback, yet too many managers, supervisors and executives are inept at giving it or are simply disinclined to provide any.

Virtually everyone who has a superior is part of at least one vertical ‘couple’ in the workplace; every boss forms such a bond with each subordinate. Such vertical couples are a basic unit of organisational life. Therein lies the blessing or the curse: This interdependence ties a subordinate and superior together in a way that can become highly charged. If both do well emotionally – if they form a relationship of trust and rapport, understanding and inspired effort – their performance will shine. But if things go emotionally awry, the relationship can become a nightmare and their performance a series of minor and major disasters.

While vertical couples have the entire emotional overlay that power and compliance bring to a relationship, peer couples – our relationships with co-workers – have a parallel emotional component, something akin to the pleasures, jealousies and rivalries of siblings.

If there is anywhere emotional intelligence needs to enter an organisation, it is at this most basic level.

Building collaborative and fruitful relationships begins with the couples we are a part of at work. Bringing emotional intelligence to a working relationship can pitch it towards the evolving, creative, mutually engaging end of the continuum; failing to do so heightens the risk of a downward drift towards rigidity, stalemate and failure.

Today’s News: My colleague Ken Thoreson of the Acumen Management Group is hosting a very exciting upcoming event – here are the details:

The Sales Leadership Summit: Moving Up and Moving Ahead!
August 11-12th 2009

Registration Includes:
 
Personalized Sales Executive Assessment Report – a $375.00 value
Sales Manager’s Tool Kit – a $495.00 value
Break-out Sessions with Sales Executives
Personal Training & Coaching Plan, Guidebooks….and much more! 

Topics covered include:

 Sales Leadership
 Sales Plan Development
 Sales Accountability
 Coaching Your Team
 Re-tooling Your Sales Team
 Conducting Productive Sales Meetings
 Sales Strategy Sessions with case studies…and much more!
 
And here’s the “stimulus” package:Register by July 31, and save $500.00!! 

Standard registration fee for the Sales Leadership Summit is $995.00, but if you register prior to July 31, your special registration fee is only $495.00!

Registration Fee:  $995.00 per person plus lodging & meals 
 
Invest in yourself!  Don’t let this opportunity slip by! Full details here

As I highlighted in yesterday’s post, having a tilt at every windmill that presents itself, is neither practical nor profitable.

Qualification, is a core competency that every professional salesperson should take on board as quickly as possible. Working to the maxim that “All business is good business” is unrealistic and totally erroneous.

It takes just as long to work an unprofitable opportunity through the pipeline only to lose it at the death, as it does a profitable one – the ability to determine which is which, can have a huge impact on your ultimate success in a front-line sales role

The following is an explanation of the S.C.O.T.S.M.A.N. a very basic but nevertheless, accurate forecasting and qualification system. There are eight qualification elements that should be considered for each potential client. If you identify five or more areas which are positive, then the client is worth entering into the sales funnel and progressing further.

S.C.O.T.S.M.A.N. will not only allow you to identify potential buyers, but will also enable you identify areas which need converting, in order to ensure that you achieve the sale.
Solution: 

Is there a solution you can supply and support?
Can it be matched within your companies’ current portfolio?

Competition:

Are you aware of who you are competing against?

Originality:

Can you offer something ‘original’ or unique to this potential sale?

Timescale:

Are you aware of their timescale?
Is their timescale reasonable?
Does it fall within you own ‘sales cycle’ criteria?

Size:

Is the potential order value worth the effort?
Is your company large enough to handle it?
Is the potential client of a size that you would normally deal with?

Money:

Is there a budget allocated?
How much is it? Is it approved?
It is reasonable; can you provide a decent solution for that amount?

Authority:

Are you speaking to the right person?
Do they have the authority to make the decision?
Do you know who else is involved?

Need:

Are you aware of all their needs?
Can you match them?

In Summary:
As the value of the product, service or solution increases, the depth of the qualification should increase proportionally. Equally, it is important to remember that qualification is an ongoing process, not a single event!

Qualification is always more accurate if conducted face-face and you may therefore enjoy the following article – “The Most Important Stage Of The Sales Cycle”

Today’s News: You know I am adamant that the proper use of process tools is vital for long term success in selling and so I am delighted to introduce you to a relatively new site:

I urge you to check them out today – you will find a wealth of excellent sales aids here