“Feast & famine,” or “Peak & trough” are very common challenges which most professional front-line salespeople face – so let’s discuss the “Sales Funnel Concept.”

To enable salespeople to utilise the Funnel concept efficiently they must first sort their sales objectives into three levels as this illustration shows:

Above the Funnel:
The pre-requisite is that they have data that suggests a fit between their products & the prospects needs, all of this type of work requires qualifying.

In The Funnel:
The pre-requisite here is that all the opportunities have been qualified and at least one buying influencer has been met. They then need to “cover the bases” i.e. identify all the buying influencers and ensure each one is contacted by the person best qualified to do so.

It is important that the salesperson understands the response mode of each buyer, identifies the results each buyer needs in order “to win” and ensures they understand that the proposal will serve his/her individual criteria.

Finally, at this stage of the cycle, they need to continually reassess the sales picture and eliminate areas of perceived weakness within their bid using the principle of capitalising on their strengths.

Best Few:
Logically, the pre-requisite here is that they have all but eliminated luck & uncertainty as factors in the final buying decision. -this can of course be subjective!

The tasks involved are end-tasks, like overcoming last minute objections, agreeing terms and conditions and signing orders etc.

As sales professionals they must be able to do all three kinds of work, but obviously they will have several possible orders that they are working on at the same time. Since they will all be at different stages of completion, they will not be doing the same kind of work on all of them at the same time.

By following this system they could potentially reduce the normal sales cycle by 50%!

Using Sales Funnel over time, helps to plan time required ahead of time.The eventual objective in utilising the Sales Funnel concept is to be able to move the various sales opportunities down the Funnel at a steady and predictable rate. This in turn will mean that income and achievement level is steady and predictable.

To achieve this, there is a need to work on two interrelated tasks:

- Setting appropriate priorities for the three kinds of selling work which need to be done.
- Allocating limited selling time so that the three kinds of work always get completed on a consistent basis.

The simple rule of thumb is: “Every time you close something; prospect or qualify something else”

Finally, Let Us Not Forget Good Old Villfredo Pareto And His 80/20 Rule:

The sales that a salesperson completes today were made possible only by activities performed in the past. Equally, it’s what they do today that will create their future sales results. Because there is a time delay between activities and results, salespeople have an opportunity to improve their sales results by undertaking sales productivity planning and implementing an effective prospecting system.

Generally, since 80% of sales are generated from 20% of customers, 80% of salespeople’s time should be focused on 20% of their most important customers/prospects.

In its simplest form, motivation emerges as a cycle. It starts with a want or need, expressed or hidden. Inherent in this is a problem, a problem that must be overcome in order to satisfy the want that must be solved. Once solved, the want can be satisfied and the cycle is completed.

People of course, are different. Their needs will vary in degree, in shape, and in the nature of their answers. But they are common to all. As you are alert to them, as you understand them, so will your success with others be measured.

How do people seek to satisfy their needs? Thorndike’s “Law of Effect ” supplies the answer:

“People tend to behave in a way to gain rewards and avoid punishment.”

Again, this varies with different people. Generally, people can be classified into three dominant types:

• The Achiever

• The Seeker of Social Recognition

• The Security-Minded

(But no one is likely to be a “pure” type)

The Achiever is most likely to be oriented toward gaining rewards.

The Security-Minded is likely to be dominated by the desire to avoid punishment.

The Social Type stands somewhere between the two.

These are the dominating factors. But in varying degrees, each has a little of the other two in them.

In terms of selling, whatever the dominant drive of your prospect, they are above all, buying benefits. Benefits are best defined, in this context, as the results of the product, which enable them to gain rewards and/or avoid punishment.

In making their decision, the buyer uses the “Minimax” principle: To minimise their losses; to maximise their gains. This is true whatever the personality orientation. The emphasis depends again on their individual motivational drive.

The Law of Effect, then – depending on specific motivation – relates directly to Maslow’s Pyramid of Human Needs, and expands in this manner:

The benefits you have to offer are both negative and positive. The right emphasis, directed in the right way, offering both to determine preference is your shortest way to your objective.

In summary, according to Russell: “The essence of motivation is finding meaning in what we are doing. Motivation is an inner control of the individual.” Only you can motivate yourself.

All these concepts apply to you in all phases of your life, and your work, as well as they apply to others. Finding the right meaning in what you do will be the great motivator for a more effective you.

Understanding the nature of what motivates each person you deal with will enable you to help them make a decision favorable to both of you.

The JF Guest Author Spot

 Kelley Robertson
Some cold calling experts suggest that you leave a message when you receive a prospect’s voice mail. Unfortunately, many sales people feel that this is an exercise in futility because most of the time their prospect does not call them back. If that sounds familiar, here are nine reasons why your prospects don’t return your calls.

1. Your voice mail message is too long.
The majority of voice mail messages decision makers receive are far too long. Decision makers are too busy to listen to a long, rambling, and disjointed message. That means you need to get your message across in 30 seconds or less. In fact, I suggest that you try and limit your message to a maximum of 20 seconds.

2. Your voice mail message is too cryptic.
On the reverse side, a short, terse voice mail with no details will not likely motivate someone to call you back. You MUST give a prospect enough information to capture their attention and say, “I need to talk to this person.”

3. You leave the same voice mail message.
It is important to keep trying to connect with your prospect which often means leaving multiple voice mail messages. However, if you want someone to call you back you need to leave a different message every time you call. Plus it must be compelling (see the next point).

4. Your message is not compelling.
Most voice mail messages do little to motivate someone to pick up the telephone and return your call. A compelling message MUST demonstrate that you understand your prospect’s industry, situation or circumstances and portray that you might have a solution.

5. You have not developed a relationship.
In today’s competitive landscape, people want to do business with suppliers and vendors they know and trust. A call from a salesperson in an unknown company is not likely going to be returned

 6. You sound like every other sales person.
The average executive receives dozens of sales calls a day so if you want a busy executive to call you back, your message MUST stand out from every other call he or she receives. I once sat in a Vice President’s office as he listened to his voice mail messages on speakerphone and was fascinated how similar every sales call sounded. I was equally intrigued by how quickly this person deleted the messages, too. His finger hovered over the delete button, and in most cases, he erased the message in the first few seconds.

 7. You have not done any research.
When you leave a voice mail message that clearly demonstrates that you know nothing about your prospect’s business, there is no chance they will return your call. For example, “Mr Prospect, we provide solutions that help call centers improve their productivity and performance and generate a higher ROI on their out-bound calls.” If this message was left for a small business owner (and it was!) it is highly unlikely the salesperson would get a return call (and they didn’t!). At the very least, do some basic research and make sure that your message reflects that homework. It will improve your chances of a return call.

 8. Your product or service does not interest them.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs your solution and when you call companies that are not the right fit for your product, service or offering, you are simply wasting your time and that of your prospects. Improve your results by more closely targeting your prospecting calls to companies who can actually use your product or service (see point 7 above).

 9. Your prospect is simply too busy.
Most sales people fail to realize exactly how busy executives are. A client of mine once said, “I’m so busy right now I can’t possibly take on any more projects.” This sheer volume of work often prevents decision makers from returning your call because they don’t have the time to talk to you and because they can’t fit another project into their schedule. Unless your product, service or offering is something they desperately need right now, they probably won’t return your call.

Kelley Robertson is a professional speaker and trainer on sales, negotiating, customer service, and employee motivation. Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free newsletter available at his website. Visit www.kelleyrobertson.com. He is also the author of Secrets of Power Selling: 101 Tips to Help You Improve Your Sales Results; Stop, Ask & Listen-Proven Sales Techniques to turn Browsers into Buyers.  For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The JF Guest Author Spot

Paul McCord

Living in the desert means living with some pretty nasty neighbors such as rattlesnakes and scorpions, and although they aren’t in my desert, not that far away is another desert resident, the Gila Monster. All of these are venomous, and although rare for the scorpion and Gila Monster, under the right circumstances they can kill a human. Fortunately, for us who live with these creatures there are specific actions we can take to prevent them from harming us and our families.

Also present in my desert—and in your area, no matter what area you work in—are objections to our efforts to sell. Like snakes, scorpions and Gila Monsters, objections are also venomous; but unlike the scorpion and Gila Monster whose bite is seldom lethal, objections are mass murders, killing tens of thousands–probably millions–of sales every single day.

Despite the fact that objections are deadly for such a massive number of sales, like the poisonous creatures above, objections need not be deadly if we simply learn how to prevent them from harming our sales.

A few lessons from how we handle poisonous creatures can be easily and successfully applied to handling objections:

1. Keep the objections away. Our primary defense against our venomous neighbors is to anticipate the environment that would attract them and to then create an environment that would discourage their presence. We keep our lawns mown and gardens weeded not just so our home looks good, but to prevent unwanted creatures from having a place to hide. They hate being out in the open where they can be easily spotted and attacked by their enemies.

We do the same with objections by creating an environment that discourages them. We anticipate the typical objections we get and weave into our presentation the answer to the objection before it is asked. Just as we whack down weeds before they become problem areas where a snake or Gila Monster can hide, we whack down objections before they have a chance to grow into an issue of real consequence.
 
2. Don’t let the objection linger. Once we notice there is a problem—we spot a rattlesnake or a scorpion nest—we take immediate action. We don’t let it stick around. Our question is never “do we address it” but “how do we address it.” Do we need to call in a professional or can we handle it ourselves? Do we need to kill it or find a way to move it somewhere where it—and we—can live safely?

An objection demands we do the same—acknowledge its presence and take immediate action. And just as we must decide how best to deal with our unwanted neighbor, we must decide how most effectively to handle the objection. Do we answer it fully now or explain that we will address it later at a more appropriate time? Whether we address it now or move it to a later time, we must let the prospect know we understand the objection and that we will in fact address it fully. If we let it linger without acknowledging it, we may as well take its poison and inject it directly into our veins.

3. Address the objection and probe for others. When we find an unwanted visitor around our home, we not only have to eradicate it but we have to do a thorough search to make sure there aren’t any more around. At times we may be tempted to reassure ourselves that the one scorpion was all there were and we don’t have to bother with a detailed search. If we don’t make sure we got them all, we’re only setting ourselves up for a whole boatload of trouble a little later.

It’s the same with objections. To bastardize Woody Allen in Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, “these things usually travel in groups.” (ASIDE FOR MY YOUTH READERS (those under 50): the scene is a giant boob running amuck, squirting milk at everyone in its path. When Allen finally manages to trap it in a giant bra, he warns his companion to be careful because “these things usually travel in pairs.”) Like the giant boob, objections seldom travel alone. Probe to uncover and address objections because if you don’t, they’ll likely drown you when you least expect it.

4. Recognize objections for what they are. Not all lizards or snakes are poisonous. Just because it slithers or is cold blooded doesn’t mean it is lethal. Some of the creatures that have some resemblance to a rattlesnake or Gila Monster are beneficial and welcome in our yards. We have to be able to differentiate between those creatures that are harmful and those that are beneficial.

The same goes for objections because not all objections are the same. There are certainly legitimate objections, but there are also some objections that are designed to stall or just wrangle a lower price. We must be able to determine which objections are real and which are designed to obstruct or stall. Asking questions so that you really understand both the objection and the reason for the objection will guide you determining whether the objection is real or designed to stall or obstruct.

5. Address objections honestly. OK, OK, the analogy breaks down at this point. We really don’t come clean with the rattlesnake that we’re about to kill it, nor do we have a heart to heart conversation with the scorpions, warning them that if they don’t move we’re going to spray their nest with poison; not because we’re heartless, but simply because we find them too similar to our children—lousy listeners, so what’s the use?

When it comes to objections, however, we must deal with them openly, honestly, and fully. For many of us the temptation is to try to hide or even deny the truth—whatever it takes to make a sale. But doing so ultimately only creates an unhappy, unsatisfied client likely to tell a great many about our dishonest and unethical practices.
As with all things in sales, honesty is the only real policy. Yes, on occasion it may mean not losing a sale. But the lost sales will pale in comparison to loyalty and word of mouth gained by giving your clients what they seldom get—straightforward, honest guidance from a seller.

Objections don’t have to kill your sales, you just need to handle them way you’d handle any deadly critter—find ‘em and eradicate ‘em. Better yet, make your presentation a place where objections can’t hide and grow.
 
Paul McCord is the president of McCord and Associates, a Houston, Texas based international sales training, coaching, and consulting company. He is the author of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble best-selling book on referral generation, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2008), and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar. You can find Paul here – www.powerreferralselling.com

During one of my senior management coaching sessions last week, I posed the question: “So just what is it that makes a company successful?”

I had the group whiteboard the exercise and brain-storm around it, with some interesting results.

Unsurprisingly, the finance orientated managers talked about healthy cash flow, strong financial foundations, low debtor days, controlled stock levels and robust management reporting systems.

Sales and marketing people, highlighted strong customer relationships, reliable products, good people, who were fully developed and understood their place in the grand scheme of things.

All however, highlighted strong leadership as being the most obvious commonality when identifying consistently successful companies – and of course, they are right.

Success permeates downwards and whatever happens in the boardroom, affects every single employee: As leaders, we have to accept the huge responsibility that we have to our people – they have given us their trust; their loyalty; their commitment.

I believe that there are in fact five main drivers that determine our success, but first let’s consider some other fundamental facts:

Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time. Senior management must be capable of reacting to those changes and be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework and agreed strategy.

The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organisation are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core competencies of a business, is an essential precursor to achieving optimal shareholder value.

The world’s leading organizations continuously seek to improve their performance. There may be unlimited potential for achieving accelerated improvement, but if this potential is not being realized, good change agents must line up and mobilise all the forces (or drivers) for improvement.

So what are the five main drivers for improvement in organizations?

• Strategy

• Lean operations

• Balanced culture

• Customer responsiveness

• Leadership

Strategy sets direction, and gives focus to improvement. It must however be deployed throughout the organization to be effective.

Processes need to be mapped and analyzed in a methodical way; projects must be managed; problem symptoms traced to root causes; data must be collected before decisions are taken; trends in customer preferences detached and fed back; improvement activity of any kind reported on and coordinated; improvement action measured. Just about everything should be done to a discipline.

A balanced culture means effective, creative management of people. Customers are served by people; processes are managed by people. Only people can deliver quality improvement. For them to work well they must be empowered, given direction, measured, and reviewed and success recognized.

Customer responsiveness keeps the organization focused on customer needs, reactions and changing requirements.

Finally, leadership ensures that everyone is enthused and supported to work on the strategy, improve processes, serve customers and be active team players.

Today’s News:

The new JF Consultancy site is finally live – still some tidying up and cosmetic issues to attend to, but hope you like it – HERE 

I have two excellent guest posts coming up on Saturday and Sunday, so do please join me, and have a great w/e!!

No, don’t worry, this is not a last minute “Party Political Rallying Cry” post – well maybe, just a little… But first, some serious thoughts about the “ego/empathy balance.”

Organizations that recognise the importance of helping their salespeople develop a strong sense of self worth, are many times more likely to produce high performers. Self worth is vital to everyone, but especially to salespeople who hear “no” more often than they hear “yes, I’ll buy.”

A salesperson’s self-esteem can sometimes take a beating, but organizations that find ways to build their salespeople’s self-esteem reap an invaluable dividend. However, it is absolutely vital that the “ego-empathy” balance is regularly monitored, as over-confidence can lead to arrogance.

Arrogance, in whatever form it arrives, is highly unappealing and it is a lesson that I learnt from my mother at a very early age (it was just one of numerous lessons she passed on to me, and they have been my guiding principles for most of my life).

Apparently, as soon as I could walk, I began kicking a ball and it is, my mother said, when she first recognized glimpses of my potential sporting prowess. So began a love affair with sport; many sports – as many as I had the opportunity to experiment with, which in those days was not too many.

At my school, the easiest way to earn peer respect was to excel on the sports field: We were like gladiators, with all the adulation from younger boys that went with that! It would have been very easy to have become egotistical, but I don’t remember  that ever being a problem for me personally.

At university, I was exposed to more competition: Academic prowess was part of it, but there were much more enjoyable challenges, or so it seemed at the time. Aside from the recognized sports, I remember excelling in such contests as “most pints consumed in one session” and others, which cannot be discussed here… I am embarrassed to admit those unhealthy and potentially hazardous accolades now that I reflect back. But still no arrogance. My mother would have been very proud, but quite what she would have made of  the “non-curricular” triumphs, one can only imagine!

And so on to further successes in both my commercial and sporting careers, but always with a balanced perspective and always with my mother’s wise words firmly planted in my mind: “No matter how good you think you are, or indeed how good you actually become, there will always be other people better than you. Be gracious in defeat and modest in triumph. Never lose respect for your competitor, but most of all, never lose respect for yourself.”

A few years ago, when I decided to develop an online presence, and create what my would-be publishers called “a platform,” I sent out a few messages to people whose work I respected and admired. Typically, the message would begin: “Dear xxxx, You won’t have heard of me but…”

Remarkably, all of these very important people came back to me, almost immediately, why? Because that is how they came to be successful. They are not stuffed full of their own importance, they genuinely care about helping others – they “get it.”

If I may give you just one example: One of those who came back straight away to me was actually on a hiking holiday in New Zealand at the time, but she still took time out to get a response to me – a very warm and reassuring response – confirming that she would write again, just as soon as she arrived back home – and of course she did.

In my world, there is no place for arrogance and there never has been, and that leads me nicely back to a very important date in the UK calendar - a General Election.

Not any old General Election; this time there is genuine interest, so we can anticipate more than the typical 38% apathetic “they are all the same, so why vote” brigade turn-out.

Why? Two obvious reasons actually – many of us are hoping to observe the demise of one of the most arrogant men I have ever met in my life. Gordon arrogant? Witness how he dealt with a little old lady last week – a life-long Labour Party supporter - HERE 

Then he apologized … Chocolates £2.50; Flowers £1.50; False humility …priceless; for everything else, there’s Mastercard

But we are also hoping to finally see the back of one Peter Mandelson … and he is getting ready to go! Word from Switzerland suggests Roman Polanski has asked him to star in his latest movie – “Gay Lords In Bondage” – sounds like a potential blockbuster.

But he may have already decided on an alternative career as Nick Clegg’s make-up artist …

We are witnessing the change of British politics for good: The tired two old ladies suddenly have a young, vibrant and terribly attractive alternative to deal with – after arrogantly dismissing her for years – the Liberal-Democrats have earned their place at the top-table, and Nick Clegg is well set to become a “King-Maker” in an expected hung Parliament – and yes, after the orgy of falsified expense claims, many of them should indeed be hung.

Meanwhile, Gordon will slink away – a Prime Minister whom we never elected, never wanted, and who will never be elected – that’s a first!

Maybe he’ll have more time for reading ….

Not even “Tony The Poodle” who has suddenly re-appeared, tanned, and with a North American accent can swing this one – and please don’t allow your children to see this latest photo of him unless you are present …. But if you want to enjoy a few hours of child-free peace, send them out into the garden and ask them to find some WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) – they won’t of course, they don’t exist, they never existed, but that never stopped children believing in Father Christmas.

If they object, tell them that Uncle Tony insists they must be there – after all, Uncle George W. told him so.

Thirteen years ago almost to the day, I placed a sticker in the back window of my car: It read “Don’t blame me, I voted Liberal” I am a patient man, and I am always happy to allow others to catch up with me – that isn’t arrogance, it’s reality

Performance has many components: For example, 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’s as if our beliefs (which are unique to us all) become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our beliefs can act as huge barriers that stop us giving 100 percent to something.

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

1. Every Individual is unique and their perceptions are true to them. Because we each absorb 2 million pieces of information unconsciously and can only process around 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’s right? Everyone is right because your perceptions are true for you. That’s why the more respect we have for every other individual and the more we seek to understand the viewpoints of others, the richer our communication becomes. Respecting the opinions of others doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to agree with them, we just have to acknowledge that every individual’s reality is the one based on their own unique perceptions.

2. Communication is successful, only if it achieves desired results. It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve communicated well or if you think you’ve been crystal clear, what matters is that your communication is received and acted upon in the manner you wanted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. In the late 1940s, Dr. Joseph M. Juran inaccurately attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto’s Principle. While it may be misnamed, Pareto’s Principle or Pareto’s Law as it is sometimes called, can be a very effective tool to help us manage efficiently but it can also be applied to virtually every facet of our lives.

So what does this have to do with front-line selling? I hear you ask. Well it has everything to do with it because you see, recent exhaustive surveys suggest that only 5% of professional salespeople reach and remain at the highest level, which we call Level 3. A further 15% attain Level 2 status, but the majority, i.e. a massive 80% remain at Level 1 in terms of potential achievement.

It is true that most salesmen and women manage to advance from Level 1 to Level 2 fairly easily but unfortunately, many find breaking through that final glass ceiling extremely difficult i.e. moving from competitive sales professionals to collaborative sales consultants.

Top 5% salespeople are able to first identify and then capitalise upon the political component within the buying process. They develop and sustain strong commercial relationships at all levels within their accounts and these relationships endure because they are based on mutual respect and trust. Their clients feel secure, so secure, that they would be fearful of changing supplier.

In addition Top 5% salespeople rarely, if ever, lose an order that they really want because they are always in control of the sales cycle. They have identified that in marketplaces where product uniqueness and technical expertise are no longer enough, it is they themselves that make the difference i.e. their superior skills.

So What Is It That Top 5% Players Will Be Doing This Year?

• They will position themselves with the real decision-makers and avoid those without ‘approval power’ because they are able to first identify and then access the formal decision making unit.

• Not only get the order but a satisfied customer, repeat sales, enthusiastic reference sites and constantly increase sales penetration within their accounts.

• Know how to minimise the uncertainties of a cold call on a new account, by careful planning and rigorous opportunity assessment.

• Recognise when to treat an old account as a new prospect and keep the relationship fresh, alive and maintain profitability.

• Never entertain business they do not want because they recognise that it takes just as long to work an unprofitable opportunity through the sales funnel, only to lose it at the death, as it does a profitable one. They trust their own judgement but also rely heavily on objective assessment.

• Readily identify and know how to deal with the four different buying influences present in every sale i.e. Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer, User Buyer, and Ally.

• Understand how to prevent sales from being sabotaged by an internal enemy. They insulate themselves by developing strong allies within.

• Will be able to recognise fail-safe signals that indicate when a sale is in jeopardy. This comes from experience but also information supplied by their allies.

• They will be focused on tracking account progress and be able to accurately forecast future sales because they use proven methodology, which allows them to weight every opportunity in the pipeline.

• Avoid ‘dry-months’ by allocating time wisely to their critical selling tasks i.e. Prospecting for new business, covering the bases with existing opportunities and finally closing the best few.

Three additional areas, which set Top 5% players apart from the rest, are:

Commercial Acumen: Collaborative sales professionals have high levels of strategic awareness and they can communicate comfortably with board level players, i.e. the economic buyers using common language and terminology. Level 1 and 2 performers, unable to demonstrate credibility when discussing financial, commercial, and political issues, are usually left behind and require assistance from a manager or director.

Competitive Courage: In order to achieve consistent levels of success in today’s environment, it is necessary to be able to pro-actively target competitors and their client base. Any individual, who lacks the guts for a fight and is not comfortable with competitive selling, will severely restrict their potential.

Being Focused On Political Activity: You can of course question the legitimacy of politics, but you cannot deny their existence. The sales professional that fails to recognise the importance that politics play in virtually every complex sale, will almost certainly consign themselves to a career at Level 1. No one ever said that we must take part in the political game, but recognising that a game is being played, whether we like or not is essential i.e. what you understand you can manage.

However, I fully appreciate that most organisations will not necessarily need to populate their sales teams with Level 3 performers even if they could find and afford them. There will always be tasks, functions, and indeed markets where Level 2 or even Level 1 salesmen and women can comfortably exceed expectations. What is important is that we ensure we have the right Level where we need it most i.e. round pegs in round holes. If an organisation is attempting to compete in a market sector where Level 3 skills are required and yet their team is predominately at Level 2 in terms of expertise, experience, and development, they are unlikely to consistently win the business they need, in order to fulfil their financial ambitions.

What I can say for certain, is that successful selling has become an exclusive club of highly skilled professionals where, for example, product knowledge, time management skills, objection handling and closing skills are the cost of membership, not leadership.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The key to bringing this model to life is to answer the following questions:

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

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

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

Today’s News: Congratulations to Gil Cargill, who won April’s Top Sales Article of the Month, over at Top 10 Sales Articles. He now goes on to the 2010 Top Sales Article of the Year Final in December. You will also discover the ten nominated articles for May – it is a pretty formidable line-up. HERE

The JF Guest Author Post

Dave Brock

I have to admit to being a little bit more than impatient–my wife says I have to be more tolerant. But there are conversations that just drive me up the wall—-”We’ll just wait it out” is one of those conversations that drives me crazy.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve heard that about the economy, “Things will get back to normal; we’ll have to wait it out.” But I hear it about all sorts of thing—major changes within a company; we don’t have the right products now, but new products are around the corner; our customer is going to let things settle down; changes with the way our customers buy—-the list goes on.

Underlying this statement is the assumption that things will go back to normal, if we just wait, the “good old times” will return.

Frankly, it’s a defeatist attitude. How long have we been repeating the maxim, “the only constant is change?” But it’s accurate. Business is about change—as sales professionals, we are driving our customers to change. We can take different positions about change–whether our organizations are driving change, whether we respond to it, but if we don’t change, we will be left behind.

This impacts us as individuals, as well. We have to constantly change, learn, and grow. Our companies, products, competitors, and customers are changing. If we sit around to wait for thing to get back to normal, we will be left behind forever.

I think Fleetwood Mac had it right:
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here,
It’ll be, better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.
 

Dave Brock has spent his career developing high performance organizations. He worked in sales, marketing, and executive management capacities with IBM, Tektronix and Keithley Instruments. His consulting clients include companies in the semiconductor, aerospace, electronics, consumer products, computer, telecommunications, retailing, internet, software, professional and financial services industries. www.partnersinexcellence.com