Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

Time is our most valuable commodity: Virtually everyone if asked, would accept the offer of a few more hours each day.

So how can you really control the time available to you? How can you guard against the stress that arrives from not having enough time? Who or what is wasting your time – the time robbers? How can you gain an extra month – every year?

Friends and colleagues often remark that I always appear to have plenty of time to spare; that I am rarely flustered and that I nearly always come in on schedule. But it wasn’t always like that, and I have had to teach myself how to be in total control.

Within this FREE ebook, I share some thoughts, some tips and some experiences. Just click on the banner below.

Today’s News: A couple of great blog posts for you from fellow  members “So Now It’s Provocative Selling” from Dave Brock and from Niall Devitt, “Is Provocative Selling A New Kind Of Selling Eloquence Or Just The Same Old Blarney”

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot - fellow  Paul Cherry – here is an extract:

“When I started out in sales, I worked for a manager I’ll call “Larry.” One of my goals at the time was to find a mentor, to learn from someone with experience in the industry. I thought I’d found that mentor in Larry, until I learned his goal was to retire in three years. Nothing wrong with that, except that Larry focused all his time and energy on his impending retirement in a nice house on a golf course, not on his job.”

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

Now, there is a management theory that proposes to interpret Pareto’s Principle in such a way as to produce what is called Top Gun Management. Those advocating this theory suggest that since 20 percent of salespeople produce 80 percent of a company’s results, sales managers should focus their limited time on managing only that 20 percent, the so-called “superstars”. In my opinion the theory is seriously flawed, because it overlooks the fact that 80 percent of our time should be spent doing what is really important and that includes developing all of our people. Helping the good to become better is much more important than helping the great become terrific.

When we work to develop our subordinates, we should be concentrating on converting what I term, the “reactive mindset” because we can certainly apply Pareto’s Principle to reactive versus pro-active. Or, to describe these two mindsets in a different way: The “running towards” mindset and the “running away” mindset. Let me provide you with an example:

The “Running Away” Personality:

The “running away” salesperson is awoken by his alarm clock and he immediately hits the “snooze” button. Ten minutes later, the buzzer goes off again. “Just ten more minutes” he says to himself, “I won’t go for a run today” and he again activates his friend, Mr Snooze. This happens three more times and each time he determines that he will skip a vital activity in order to enjoy a few more minutes slumber – he has already decided to skip breakfast and he will shave in the car on the way to the office. Finally, a full hour after his first alarm call, he leaps out of bed, the image of his boss standing outside his office door, purple with rage at his continual poor time keeping, is just too horrible to contemplate and it acts as his spur.

So what actually happened here? Well, if we apply Pareto’s Principle, we identify that approximately 80% of the world’s population fall into the “running away” category including professional salespeople. That is to say that they do things not because they planned to do them or that they want to do them but rather that they fear the consequences of not doing them. They drift through life, as I have said often enough before, like “rudderless boats” completely at the mercy of the currents. They never go beyond the first few stages of Maslow’s “Hierarchy Of Needs” and certainly “self-fulfilment” is completely out of reach for them because they either lack the courage, or the commitment required, or quite simply they lack the energy. After all, it is nice and cosy in the comfort zone isn’t it?

As someone famously once said: “Some people make things happen whilst others just stand and watch what happens” My take on that is: “A few people make things happen, others just watch what happens, but the vast majority wonder what the heck happened!” The “running away” mindset falls into the last category.

Let’s look at the other side of the coin, let’s see how a “running towards” personality handles their relationship with their alarm clock.

The “Running Towards” Personality:

To begin with, our “running towards” salesperson has invested some of their time the previous evening preparing for the next day: The suit has been pressed, shoes cleaned, notes prepared for those important meetings, in fact all of the next day’s objectives have been thoroughly rehearsed mentally and planned for.

When the alarm clock goes off, our “running towards” typically awakes refreshed and completes their final preparations for the day. They have plenty of time for exercising, for bathing, and to eat a proper breakfast with their family – they are in control. They arrive at the office before most of their colleagues,(80% of whom arrive at 8.55 am – just in time, because they fear the consequences of being late!) so that they can respond to e-mails and attend to essential administrative tasks which would otherwise take up valuable “business time”. Life for these people appears effortless, relatively stress free, because they have made it that way, they are busy working at self-fulfilment as they have no need to worry about shelter, security and the like.

These people are”Winners”

The “Winners In Life”

“Winners in life constantly think in terms of I can, I will and I am. Losers on the other hand concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have done or what they don’t do”
- Dennis Waitley

Can we all become “Winners”? Yes, of course we can. We cannot have everything we want in life but we can have anything that we really want, because if we want it badly enough we will find the means to bring about its happening – this is called “fulfilled expectation”

Unfortunately, most people when asked don’t really know what they want from life. Some talk vaguely about success without being able to articulate precisely what success means for them. I have heard many interpretations of the word but the one I still like the best comes from Earl Nightingale: “Success is the achievement of a worthwhile goal or set of goals”

Therein lies the secret – in order to be successful, to become a “Winner in life” we must have goals.

In Summary:

Each of us has the choice, we can choose to be successful – however we measure success – or we can choose not to be. But if we really do want a more fulfilling and satisfying life – more happiness, greater security, improved health, the means to help others, then we have to accept full responsibility for ensuring we have a rudder on our boat and work to the maxim: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”

Today’s News: News may be scant for the next few days, as I am onsite with clients, but I’ll do my best for you: It’s Monday, so you will know that we have just announced this week’s “Top Sales Article Of The Week”

Simply click on the banner below and all will be revealed.

Tomorrow: Tom Canning provides us with a completely different perspective on the recent Sales 2.0 Conference – interesting stuff!

The Sales Funnel concept has been around for a few years but I took it and tailored it to meet the needs of my own teams very successfully. Essentially, it is designed to assist salespeople in managing their sales time more effectively, subsequently translating that time into real money.

It is also a time-management tool, which will help them to accomplish the following essential selling tasks:
- Collating their numerous sales objectives into three categories or levels of the Sales Funnel.
- Monitoring each sales objectives progress as it moves from one level into the next.
- Setting priorities for working on the objectives in each level of the Funnel to ensure they do not neglect any one of the three.
- Dedicating time to the objectives in each level of the Funnel in a way that is appropriate to their specific situation.
- Forecasting future income, based on how their objectives are moving through the three levels of the Funnel.

Sales Funnel is conceptually divided into three distinct parts, or levels, which correspond to the three different types of selling work.

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

Above the Funnel – Prospect & qualify.
In The Funnel – Cover the bases.
Best Few – Close the order.

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.

Today’s News: Jill Myrick of Meeting To Win, posted an excellent piece yesterday: “The Sales Manager On Auto-Pilot”  I think you will really enjoy it. In fact, you can catch Jill in interview with Maureen Blandford over at TSE Dailies, simply click on the banner below.

The Sales 2.0 Conference has just wound up in San Fransisco and I am wading through a mountain of information that is coming back – two interesting facts, that will affect how we develop our Sales Funnel:

Companies are losing 10% of their sales due to lack of insight into their sales activity and their target market. ~ Gartner Group

Sales cycles are 20 – 30 % longer. ~CSO Insights  

Both Jill Konrath and Nigel Edelshain have been there this week, and I will pass on their thoughts next week.

Tomorrow: Some downtime at last! I am off to Cambridge to meet with No 1 son, and catch up with all his news – and he with mine.

As ever, have a great weekend yourself, and be sure to join me on Monday – JF

For companies to remain competitive now, their sales organisation must be able to respond positively to changing economic tides. As businesses strive to establish customer orientation, sales partnerships and a strategic approach to selling, they are demanding more and more from their salespeople but ensuring that these new methods are widely practised and smoothly implemented falls to sales management.

Building Productivity:
Sales productivity is a strategic issue. That’s why problems in this area stem from salespeople being unclear about their company’s priorities i.e. what their message should be and what they should be selling.

The trend in industry of removing layers of management between the sale force and the general manager presents a challenge to those sales managers who remain. To begin with, the sales manager becomes an essential link between company strategy and what takes place in the customer’s office. He or she must not only grasp the corporate vision but be able to communicate it to the sales force in terms of the real effects on sales practices.

Creating Direction:
Sales managers with an intimate feel for the selling process succeed because their staff regard them as part of the sales team but coaching the team is as important as playing in it. In other words, sales managers must be prepared to provide training, feedback and support to every individual within the team.
Once committed to the training process, they must routinely reinforce new ways of behaving in real sales situations. They must provide a clear sense of direction on a daily basis, not just at the monthly sales meeting / quarterly review / annual appraisal.

The very best sales managers engage in frequent coaching and feedback, even when their sales people work in remote locations. While encouraging salespeople to air their problems openly and discuss their concerns, sales managers must be able to offer clear and specific feedback for improving sales performance.

Rewarding Change:
The sales manager is charged with translating the company’s reward system into specific improvements in sales performance. Both salespeople and corporate managers count on the sales manager to recognise and reward outstanding achievement, formally and informally.

The process of promoting new attitudes about the customer and the role of the salesperson can be frustrating and slow. Reverting back to recent research there is compelling evidence to suggest that companies will see results sooner if they recognise and reward salespeople – “you get more of the behaviour and results that you reward.”

The trend in sales compensation appears to be away from commission to guaranteed salary, from compensation based on orders to compensation based on delivery and sign-off. Interestingly some organisations we know, base their ‘salesperson of the year’ award on the basis of customer satisfaction or customer retention rather than sheer volume of orders or activity.

Today’s News: Three Top Sales Experts are presenting over at Business Expert Webinars this week: Cheryl Clausen, Anne Miller and Leslie Buterin – you can get all the details here

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot, Colleen Francis – “Make 2009 the Year You Reinvent Your Sales!”

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.

Today’s News: Here is a message from a fellow Top Sales Expert and a very switched on guy, Steve Kraner.

THE SANDLER SALES BOOTCAMP

A two-day, precision selling skills training program

Overview

This hands-on course delivers the core principles of the popular Sandler Selling System—a unique, integrity-based system that promotes a more effective and coachable sales process. Revitalize your team’s outlook with a fresh perspective on the selling process and a crystal-clear understanding of the anatomy of a successful sales cycle. Members of your team will refine their ability to handle every buyer-seller interaction in as close to the optimum way as is humanly possible. Many sales training programs tell you what to do — talk less, listen more, stay in control, get commitment – we’ll show you the latest on how to do it.

Click here to see the two day agenda for the Sandler Sales Bootcamp.

If you are interested in attending the Sandler Sales Bootcamp please call our office at 703-689-0439 or email: skraner@hightechguru.com

Tomorrow: Don’t worry, just because I will not be posting, does not mean I’ll be taking the day off! One of my new colleagues posed the question earlier in the week: “Do you ever sleep?” I responded that I am I very rigorous in ensuring that I get eight hours every week – see you on Monday - JF

In his book “Fundamentals of Selling”, Charles Futrell identifies careful use of selling time as perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of the successful salesperson. Frequently there are two main pitfalls that even experienced salespeople can fall into in terms of activities. First, they simply aren’t doing enough. What’s enough? Enough telephone calls to make appointments, enough face-to-face calls, enough calls that involve or influence the decision-makers. In general, the more focused sales activity salespeople generate, the greater the number of sales opportunities they can create.

Poor Quality Activity:

Second, but equally important, salespeople often aren’t clear about how to identify the prospects most likely to have a genuine need for their product or service. Without an objective way to prioritise which prospects to contact first and/or an efficient strategy for contacting them, salespeople are doomed to waste a large percentage of their time.

Another huge dilemma for many salespeople is how to divide their time between servicing existing clients and generating new business from new prospects. Existing clients frequently make requests for service that could be dealt with by support staff. But salespeople who lack a disciplined, future-orientated plan for generating new contacts and sales often find themselves spending more time attending to “urgent” tasks for existing accounts instead. A common approach among salespeople can be summarised in the saying “If you throw enough mud against the wall, some of it is bound to stick”. This approach is exhausting, demoralising, extremely unproductive, and very expensive in the long term.

Speed Of Relaying Customer Information:

The Sales Director provides another interesting dimension to activity management. Apart from product or service knowledge, salespeople require knowledge about prospects, clients, and market trends. Therefore, if the information those salespeople require isn’t relayed in an efficient manner, their “face-to-face” selling activities are dramatically reduced.

Today’s News: Mixed reaction to my new banner: My son Joe, who regular visitors will remember is studying Astro-Physics at Cambridge University said: “The top of your head doesn’t seem to exist. You just go from eyes to eyebrows to white. Very ghostly. I like black on white though. Very minimalist and crisp”

So, this is what an education at one of the world’s leading seats of learning gives you – the ability to identify the obvious!

Tomorrow: My guest is Paul McCord and you can expect more commentary, if I do not get woken up at 5.30 am by the hotel’s fire alarm system and am left to freeze outside for an hour and a half!

Success should be something you don’t just ‘Kinda Sorta’ want to achieve but something you must achieve.

Generally top achievers expect to be successful and as a consequence they usually are. They are driven by a ‘have to’ attitude not a ‘want to’ attitude.

If you have no concrete goals and you have been succeeding in spite of yourself, just think how much more success you could enjoy if you set your sights on a definite path and had a specific time-frame in which you expect to reach your destination.

Setting Goals Keeps You Focussed:

What you should know is that goals give you three distinct advantages, which help you succeed:

• Goals keep you on track

• Goals let you know when and what to celebrate

• Goals give you a focussed plan to work with

If nothing else, goals let others know what they have to aim for to keep up with your standards.

Effective Goal Setting:

Take the time to think about what would make you happy, contented and satisfied and about what would motivate you to become a Top 5% Player.

It’s important to remember that goals are maps; they will guide you towards your success – the more detailed your goal setting the easier it will be for you to reach your destination.

When you are in the first stage of goal setting you also need to remember two important factors – i.e.

• The goal must be better than your best yet – but it must be achievable.

• Goals should be based on productivity not production.

Keeping these two rules of goal setting firmly in your mind will help you to form and stay committed to what is really important to you.

Time Yourself – By Months, Years & Decades:

• Always begin with long-term goals and work backwards. Your long-term goals are probably the most difficult to set anyway, so if you set those first, you accomplish the tough stuff right up-front.

• Long-term goals should be five-year projections and three areas you may want to consider when you set them are personal accomplishments, status symbols and net worth.

• Medium-term goals are usually three year projections and the same criteria can be used – but again think productivity not production and consider the activity that will be necessary to achieve success.

• Short-term goals will demand most of your attention and these are usually a twelve-month projection although you can set ‘immediate goals’ which have a 90-day projection.

You must believe you can achieve all of your goals – otherwise you will not
achieve them.

Setting a Well Balanced Diet of Goals:

It is essential to set personal as well as career goals to keep your life well balanced. If all your goals are connected to your commercial life, you will have trouble taking time out for family and friends because you will always be pushing towards the next career goal.

Remember:

Work smarter not harder. Setting personal goals gives you a life after business.

Put Your Goals in Writing:

Once you have formulated your goals it is time to make your final commitment to them by putting them down in writing. This is undoubtedly the single most important step in goal setting because until they are inscribed somewhere they are merely wishes and dreams.

After you have written them down, your mind will start seeking out whatever it will take to make them a reality.

Remember:

The moment you start moving forward towards a goal is the moment you start to succeed.

In Summary:

Even though you do not need to set goals in order to reach some level of success, most professionals who fail to set goals reach a plateau and lack either the motivation or the direction to go beyond it. They are unable to move upwards to a higher achievement status.

Today’s News:

Special message from the “Queen Of Cold Calling” that I need to pass on to you:

Hello Jonathan,
 
Earlier this week, I sent you an email that we will be hosting our first ever Black Friday Sa.le!  This is just a reminder for you of the following coupon codes needed to take advantage of these special offers:
 
40% off of all products (excluding events and teleclasses) all day Friday, November 28, 2008. (use coupon code BF2008) to view the product store, click here.
 
50% off of one of three available Cold Calling College Live tuitions (starting February 2009) – a savings of nearly $500.00!  (use coupon code BFCCCL) For more information on Cold Calling College Live, Click Here.

Sounds like some pretty good deals to me

Tomorrow: It’s JF Uncut, and I am going to be thinking about what it takes for people to think they have “made it,” just how far the British go to “Keep up with the Jones’” – and how such insane vanity is now leading to such agony.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin

Whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organisations must develop.

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.

Dependence on salespeople is key to delivering the latent capability of a business. Our salespeople are the greatest source of competitive advantage we have and that is precisely why we should continue to invest in them and fully develop them. This is particularly true now that in most market sectors competitive advantage is continually being eroded – i.e. International barriers are coming down, selling time is becoming limited, competitors are getting smarter, fewer and fewer names are appearing on companies’ databases, and product uniqueness is rare. Conversely, undeveloped personnel can bring down a company through inadequate performance, leaving the competition to harvest the marketplace.

If your organisation wants to permanently increase it’s sales results then it needs to approach sales differently to create “the difference that makes the difference” in order to positively impact bottom line performance.

In Summary:
Organisations and salespeople who have 100% commitment to doing whatever it takes to elevate their sales to a whole new level are the ones most likely to succeed. Trying to operate a sales organisation without total commitment is like trying to drive a car without fuel. But every organisation has the potential to harness the power of their salespeople just as surely as oxygen pumps life into the human body.

Today’s News: Is scant, due to the fact that I am with clients, but there will be lots on Monday.

Tomorrow: However, JF Uncut will be here tomorrow – ever heard of George Thorogood? “One Man’s Dream And Another Man’s Dream”

There has been increasing evidence – unsurprisingly - that sales professionals and sales captains are working longer and longer hours, thereby putting health and family relationships at risk. This is not a topic that we can simply sweep under the carpet, it is not going to go away, and I am witnessing it more and more frequently.

Pressure to complete and meet the ever-increasing demands of customers (as well as the need to achieve higher sales quotas) and finishing the year strongly, is forcing people to spend more of their time working -not to mention a stagnant market, that will only become more so in 2009.

Whilst stress does have its benefits, too much can cause errors of judgement, mistakes, accidents and damage to health. Some people are more vulnerable to stress from overwork than others.

American researchers have identified two types of managers – Type ‘A’ who, though thriving on stress, are vulnerable to its effects, and Type ‘B’ who rarely let events disturb them.

Not only are there Type ‘A’ managers but also Type ‘A’ organisations – is yours one?

Types A & B:

Type A: 
• Try to do more and faster 
• Concerned with speed, performance and productivity 
• Tend to be aggressive, impatient, intolerant, hard driving and always hurried 
• Preoccupied with time
• Start early
• Strong competitive tendency
• Always want to succeed
• More likely to have heart attacks

Type B: 
• Easy going
• Take difficulties in their stride 
• Spend time on what they’re doing
• Rarely harassed
• Less prone to heart attacks 
• Take time to ponder alternative
• Usually feel there’s plenty of time
• Not as preoccupied with time

Stress What Is It?

Popular definitions include: ‘the result of a person being pushed beyond the limit of their natural ability’ When used in physics, stress is defined as ‘the external pressure applied to an object’, the resultant change is called ‘strain’

Applied to people, we mix up the two terms, using ‘stress’ to refer to both the pressures we’re under and the effect it has on us

What Causes Stress?

• Where you work – Red tape, changes, demands from customers, uncertain future

• Your Job – Volume of work (too much/little), deadlines, pressures, being responsible for staff

• Your career to date – Still not found your niche, no clear goals, reached your plateau

• Your Relationships – Colleagues, friends, partner, boss, staff, children and families

• Conflicts – Unable to find a balance between work and home; worried about money

• Self-imposed – Giving yourself a hard time, low self-image, poor self-management

What Are The Signs?

• Physical
Headaches, indigestion, throbbing heart, allergies, infections, twitching, nausea, tiredness, weight loss/gain, vague aches and pains

• Mental
Indecision, making mistakes, forgetfulness, poor communication, easily distracted, worrying more, making hasty decisions

• Emotional
Irritability, anger, alienation, nervousness, apprehension, loss of confidence, tension, cynicism, job/life dissatisfaction

• Behavioural
Unsociable, restless, unable to unwind, appetite loss/gain, diminished/increased interest in sex, increase in drinking/smoking, taking work home, too busy to relax, poor personal management

In Summary: Stress Techniques for Handling Stress

Remember, you have some choices – do nothing, fight it or learn to manage it by:

• Identifying what causes you stress and how it shows itself (this will give you a clue about what you need to tackle)
• Concentrating on what must be done and cutting out all those non-essential meetings phone calls and visitors
• Learning to delegate and trust others; none of us is indispensable
• Pacing yourself; have 10 minute breaks throughout the day
• Being tidy and organised; untidiness creates its own problems
• Learning to relax and switch-off, don’t take work home  
• Learn to say ‘no’ – don’t take on everything that comes your way
• Get a balance between work and home; your life is important too!
• Eat properly, avoiding too much fat and sugar
• Improve you listening skills; many busy and energetic people are bad listeners
• Take breaks – make sure you use all your holiday entitlement
• Get yourself on an anti-stress programme if necessary
• Develop breathing and relaxation techniques eg: yoga
• Keep fit – try swimming and/or walking
• Learn to manage your time more effectively

And Finally – Prime Time, When Are You At Your Best?

We all have a ‘prime time’ during the day when we are at our best and fully alert, the secret is to recognise this and complete those activities that require energy, application and thought, when you’re at your sharpest.

When energy is low, we are sluggish and tend to make mistakes, so watch what you eat – a heavy meal and wine make a lot of people sleepy; a healthy meal can provide energy hours.

Work in periods of time; a maximum of an hour before you give yourself a break – this way you’ll concentrate better.

If you want help in identifying your time robbers, this originally titled article will help: “How Identify Your Time Robbers”

Today’s News: I did suggest that the latest Top Sales Experts e-book, would be the last – we plan to go into hardback in 2009.

However, I have relented, and we are producing a Special for Christmas – “How To Sell & Survive In An Economic Downturn – And Have A Great Christmas”

In fact, we are going to install a unique area on the TSE site very shortly, to provide advice and support for front-line sales leaders and sales professionals, including an “Ask The Expert” facility, providing direct access to fifty of the world’s leading sales gurus – more soon.

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying writing JF Uncut on Saturdays and Sundays – if you missed this week’s posts, simply scroll down.

Finally, to make you smile: “McCain versus Obama – The Dance Off“ - well it made me smile

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot I am delighted to welcome back a very good friend and one of the foremost leadership gurus on the planet - best selling author and good all round egg, Kevin Eikenberry – you will not want to miss his pearls of wisdom. 

Even companies that enjoy the luxury of clearly superior products, realise that those products will not sell themselves. As a minimum, companies need a sales force comprised of skilled professionals who understand the application of the product range, have an in-depth knowledge of their customer base, market sector and of course the competition. But even all these elements together are not sufficient to ensure optimum performance levels and profitable sales.

So What Is A Sales Process?

Put quite simply, it is a set of procedures, which determine how a company wishes its sales team to operate – “The way we do things around here”

The most successful organisations have implemented a process and an all-encompassing framework for defining performance standards. This involves assessing, appraising, developing, reviewing, providing continual feedback on performance, as well as implementing efficient and relevant process tools

Lack Of Direction

Far too frequently, competent salespeople are expected to channel their own activities into the areas that will produce the quickest wins. Unfortunately, left to their own devices, they don’t develop and pursue a formal strategy for moving a sale tangibly forward during each prospect interaction, neither do they have a clearly defined set of goals against which to measure the progress they are making Typically, their judgment is based on gut reaction and is purely subjective i.e., “Oh yes, I’ll get that order, he likes me”, because salespeople have to be optimistic by nature. They end up “dancing around” with prospects, in the hope that eventually they will get to their chosen point on the dance-floor i.e. -the sale. In this scenario, the customer has complete control.

A Discouraged Sales Force Diminishes Sales Efficiency

When their efforts don’t pay off immediately, even experienced salespeople tend to become discouraged. They spend more and more time struggling to meet their sales quotas and working less and less efficiently.

Feeling increasingly powerless to influence prospects, they may also begin to press for a sale in ineffective ways – for instance, by arranging formal product presentations to prospects that they have not even qualified or who haven’t yet agreed that they need the solution. They allow prospects to milk them for information without getting a commensurate commitment first – and even worse, they fail to defend margin and make unprofitable sales in order to achieve quotas. The details of what goes wrong differs for each individual salesperson but the net result is always the same, a discouraged sales force, diminished sales efficiency (i.e. wasted investment of sales time and resources that fail to produce high quality sales) and, consequently, increased cost of sales which inevitably drastically reduces net profit.

What’s the bottom line? Sales never result efficiently and with maximum revenue unless the sales process is continually and closely managed. But before the sales process can be managed, it must be manageable.

Developing A Consultative Sales Process

From the Sales Director’s perspective, developing a consultative sales process means developing a comprehensive, formal, realistic and step-by-step outline of what salespeople are expected to do. This is just as appropriate for internal and totally reactive sales teams as it is for external pro-active ones. This outline includes the activity and calls they must make, the relationships they should establish with prospects, the documentation they should use in sales calls, the issues they must discuss and resolve with prospects and the tangible goals they must achieve in sequence along the path to each sale, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

It’s only when such an outline is in place that sales management can be in a position to:
 Monitor the sales force’s activity, progress and results,
 Assess issues as they arise and take appropriate action,
 Redirect individual sales representatives’ efforts efficiently.

Although many organisations appreciate the importance of being customer-focused and talk in vague terms about their “consultative sales process”, surprisingly few sales leaders invest the time and energy required to develop a formal sales process – a process that is at once detailed and resilient enough to guide their salespeople and permit effective management of their efforts.

Overcoming Implementation Intertia

Even when a consultative sales process has been developed, understood by sales managers, written down and circulated, it’s often not enough. No matter how brilliant, a sales process will only be effective to the extent it is followed and used by frontline sales staff. And this is where most organisations fall down: overcoming inertia – among managers and salespeople alike – and implementing the process. The hurdles that must be cleared in order to get people throughout the organisation to actually implement it are enough to cause Sales Directors to tear their hair out. But a select few, of the very best, have found some innovative strategies that have enabled them to achieve the Holy Grail: Sustained sales growth achieved efficiently, reliably and by design.

Today’s News: What a great reception we received to our first two JF Uncut posts at the w/e: If you missed them, just scroll down.

The next Top Sales Experts ebook, has been delayed and will now launch next Tuesday – October 21st – I am certain the wait will be worth it!

Over on Top 10 Sales Articles this week, we again have a very strong ten nominees – so be sure to check them out here

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot, is the very wise and very smart Kendra Lee, who last week sent me this message:

“Now for a story of how small the world is thanks to the internet and those of us who network. This week, I was working with a new client in a planning session for his sales managers. We had a facilitation session to get their buy-in and agreement on their next steps. During the session the EVP of Sales pulled out a definition of consultative selling “from a fellow named Jonathan Farrington” and quoted it to me!!!! It was so cool to say, “I know Jonathan well. We work together.”

Now, that is cool!