Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

Most sales leaders will not have experienced such a severe economic downturn before.

My advice is quite simple: “Stay focused, constantly challenge paradigms, but always keep the overall sales strategy sharply in focus”

One of the key tasks of a sales manager is to continually seek ways to improve the way in which their team operates – constantly challenging paradigms and questioning “the way we do things around here”, will ensure the team remains at optimum performance levels.

However, it is also important to stay within an overall long term strategy and not effect change for change’s sake. Here are some thoughts on moving forward in a structured manner.

First, keep the key management functions in mind:

• Define objectives (your own and others)

• Plan (and time) action

• Communicate (throughout the process)

• Support others’ action

• Evaluate performance (and link to the future)

• Then relate this to the task, the team and the individual people

Keeping the Overall Management Process in Mind:

Define Objectives:

• Task - Identify task and constraints

• Team - Set targets and involve the team

• Individual Needs - Agree targets and responsibilities

Plan:

• Task - Establish priorities

• Team - Structure and delegate

• Individual Needs - Assess skills, train and delegate

Communicate:

• Task -  Brief and check understanding

• Team – Consult, obtain feedback

• Individual Needs – Listen, advise and enthuse

Support/Control:

• Task - Monitor progress, check standards

• Team - Co-ordinate, reconcile conflict

• Individual Needs – Recognise, encourage and counsel

Evaluate:

• Task – Review, re-plan and summarise

• Team - Reward success, learn from failure (and success)

• Individual Needs - Appraise, guide and train for the future

This view encapsulates, and simplifies, the whole process.

With this picture in mind certain key issues are worth a mention:

Link to the Future:

Ongoing success as a manager is influenced by:

• The attitude you take to the transition

• What you do before you move into a new appointment

• The early focus you bring to bear on key issues

• The relationship you thus cultivate with staff

• The working habits you create for yourself (and others) in process

Together, all the above influence early success in the job – and how you take things forward into the future.

Key Issues:

From the beginning, always operate on the basis that managing people:

• Takes time – you cannot get so bound up in your own workload that you skimp on time you should spend with others

• Takes effort – it is challenge, there are no magic formulae or quick fixes that will do the job for you

• Needs thought – the obvious or immediate answer may not be best, things may well need research, analysis and thinking through

• Is not a solo effort – seek and take advice from where you can, including your own staff

• Will not always go right – as Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is the name so many people give to their mistakes”: admit your mistakes (publicity if necessary) and learn from your experience

Remember too that managing people:

Is a process of helping others to be self-sufficient – this implies trust and that management works best when you take a positive view of what people can do (and do not see your role as a sort of corporate security guard)

Is based on good, regular and open communication – something that pervades many issues.

Needs to be acceptable to people before it can be effective– hence the crucial role of motivation as part of the management task

Become self-sustaining when it works – i.e. if people find your management helpful (to the job, the organisation and to them) then they will support it and support you

Overall, management is not what you do to people but the process of how you work with people to help prompt their performance. Work with people from day one, and go on doing it throughout your management career.

At the end of the day success comes down to a considered approach. Charge in, desperate to make an impression, go at everything at once in order to make an impression, and disaster may closely follow. ‘Twas ever thus:

“First organise the near at hand, then organise the far removed.

First organise the inner, then organise the outer.

First organise the basic, then organise the derivative

First organise the strong, then organise the weak.

First organise the great. Then organise the small.

First organise yourself, then organise others”.

General Zhuge Liang

Perhaps we should highlight the last sentence: “First organise yourself, then organise others”

Last Word:

Being a manager is a challenge but it is also almost infinitely rewarding to create and maintain a team of people who deliver excellent performance and produce whatever results are targeted. It is a task that takes time, requires effort and needs a considered approach.

All sorts of things can help, but only one person can guarantee that you become a good manager – and that’s you.

You may also enjoy:”What Is Successful Leadership Really About?”

Today’s News: OK, the upcoming gig I am presenting with Jill Konrath and Kendra Lee, is filling up - here are the details:

Ask the Experts: 3 Leading Sales Gurus Answer Your Most Pressing Sales Questions
Free Webinar brought to you by Landslide Technologies
Wednesday November 12th, 2008 - Free!
1:00 PM Eastern
Register Today! - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

“How can I keep my sales team focused and producing results in the current business environment? ”

“How do I increase my team’s close ratio to compensate for a smaller pipeline?”

“What are my customers and potential clients thinking right now? ”

“How can I best position my company and its services to decision makers?”

Right now you probably have a lot of questions similar to these and would like to have some answers.

Please join Jill Konrath, best-selling author of Selling to Big Companies, Jonathan Farrington internationally renowned sales consultant, and Kendra Lee, best-selling author and expert in selling to SMBs and IT decision makers, to answer these and other questions you may have about selling more effectively to BtoB prospects.

You can either come loaded with questions or sit back and listen as some of the best sales consultants in the business talk about the realities of today’s selling landscape and answer the sales questions that keep you up at night.

Register Today! - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Tomorrow: I will be back with the latest instalment of JF Uncut, so do please join me.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Recently I went to this really cool, really massive grocery store that friends had been raving about. It has all sorts of international foods, smoked pork, fish from all over the world…it was like stepping into a fabulous foreign country!

As we purchased all of our groceries - we were told to grab a gift box of these mango/coconut popsicles (hey I am always game for dessert!) and of course I was thrilled with the little extra touch.

Flash forward - we’ve used the mango/coconut popsicles in some home-made slurpees (with tequila of course!) and loved them.

A few days ago - I was watching a movie and thought “Heyyyyyyy - I want one of those little mango “doo-dads.”

As I opened the wrapper, I was reading the ingredients etc - all good.

And then. I. saw. it. (Insert screechy Exorcist movie music here.) The due date of April 2006!!!!!

My mind was rapidly doing the math - thinking ” This thing has to be almost 3 years old - maybe older!!” I’d been eating petrified mango/coconut goo.

And all of a sudden - the little EXTRA that I had received from the grocery store - left me with a really bad lasting impression of their store.

Are You Handing Out “Goodies” Past Their Due Date?

I know you wouldn’t give any expired food away- but I bet you’ve been tempted to use:
-That un-used box of business cards with your old address
-The out-dated brochures you paid a fortune for
-A give-away that you discovered the printing rubs off
-Cheap candy at your tradeshow booth
-Some silly thing that was cheap but doesn’t work

Remember - Everything Matters!

And it leaves your customers and potential customers with a lasting impression of you. In selling, where top of mind awareness is everything - this is your chance to do something cool rather than cheap.
How do you want to be remembered??

So Have I Been Back To The Grocery Store?

Nope. Even just thinking about it makes me gag a little. Plus - I have told this story to all my friends…and it made them gag too. Remember - viral marketing can go 2 ways.

So there.

Love From Your Bossy Sales Diva,

Kim

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

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

Today’s News: There are ten great articles nominated on Top 10 Sales Articles this week - you can check them out here

I am just off to complete a final proof reading of the Top Sales Experts ebook, so depending what time-zone you are in, you may get a chance to read it today - it should post at 5pm GMT - 12noon Eastern. I think you will be mighty impressed, I am! If you have already registered, it will arrive in your inbox automatically, if not, you can register on the home page here

Tomorrow: “God gave us two ears and one mouth”

In a survey of more than one and a half thousand managers, people were asked what they would most like to see in their leaders. The most popular answer, mentioned by 55% of people, was ‘inspiration’.

When asked if they would describe their current leader as ‘inspiring’, only 11% said yes. The two attributes that people actually mentioned most often when describing their leaders were ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘ambitious’. As well as this thirst for inspiring leadership, there’s also evidence to support the idea that companies with inspiring leaders perform better.

The Sunday Times publishes an annual survey of the ‘Best Companies to Work For’, which is compiled from the opinions of the companies’ own employees. One interesting fact is that those ‘Best Companies’ that are publicly quoted consistently outperform the FTSE All-Share Index. Five-year compound returns show a 5.7% negative return for FTSE All-Share companies against a 13.6% gain for the Best Companies. Over three years, the returns were -11.3% and 6.7% respectively while, in the last twelve months, they were 23.1% and 44%.
The ‘Best Companies to Work For’ have also performed impressively on staff turnover, sickness rates, absenteeism, and the ability to recruit good quality people.

The stereotype of the inspirational leader as someone extrovert and charismatic is the exception rather than the rule. Looking at best practice across business, though some inspirational leaders certainly do fit this mould, a large number do not. Many are quiet, almost introverted.

My personal view is that the best leaders promote a culture where their people value themselves, each other, the company and the customers. Everyone understands how their work makes a difference. This helps to build a commitment to higher standards where everybody is always looking to do things better.

Today’s News: It’s going to be a BIG week: The Top Sales Experts latest ebook launches tomorrow - 143 pages and contributions from fifty of the world’s top sales gurus - and it is FREE! It went out to them for final proof-reading over the w/e and the feedback was, to say the least, AWESOME. You’ll get your chance to judge for yourselves very soon.

Over on my Sales Manager’s Mentor Blog this week, I provide ten tips for more dynamic sales meetings - here

Ph.D Student Needs Your Help: If you are you a sales trainer, sales coach, sales manager, sales professional, or sales recruiter, Brian Lambert would love to get your input into a survey he is conducting with Capella University.

The free survey and analysis link is here:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227YW7PAAT7

* At the end of the survey you can enter a drawing for a 32GB IPod Touch.
* You will also be able to see how your responses rate with everyone else’s.

Thank you for helping Brian in this aspect of the sales profession.

Fantastic feedback from my two JF Uncut posts over the w/e: “Where There’s Life, There’s Hope” and “More Bullshit - When Will It End?” if you missed them, just scroll down

Tomorrow: Greg Bautz, fellow Top Sales Expert, makes his debut on the JF Guest Author Spot, so be sure to join us.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Paul McCord

Are you a salesperson, professional or business owner who is trying to market to anyone and everyone in your market that might even remotely have a use or need for your product or service? If you are, why?

Why would you try to do something that most salespeople and professionals can’t possibly do well? Marketing on a general scale is expensive—just ask Coke, Microsoft, Old Navy, Sears, State Farm, UBS, or any other major company. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year trying to do what you’re trying to do on a shoestring.

But, you say, you’re only working in a very limited area? Fine, do you have the budget of a major, local auto dealership, or major, local furniture store, or any other major, local business that is trying to do what you’re trying to do?

But, again, you say that you’re not marketing to the general consumer but to a specific industry. OK. Do you have the budget your major competitors have to do direct mail, sponsor association events, advertise in industry specific publications, and all the other things your big competitors do?

No, you say, but you don’t need the sales volume they do in order to support all of those things or the massive staff they have. Good, now we’re getting somewhere.

You don’t need the sales volume they need, you don’t have the budget they have, and you don’t have the staff they have. So, why are you trying to capture the same general market they’re trying to capture? You don’t need it and you can’t afford it.

Rather than spreading your time, effort and marketing budget so thin, why not focus on one or two very specific segments of the market where you can become a real player? Instead of trying to spread your marketing budget over say, 40,000 people, why not focus on a small, but highly focused segment of maybe 5,000 people? Instead of trying to get to 11,000 companies, why not focus on 2,000 companies that fit within your ideal prospect template? Better yet, why not focus on 800 companies that are perfect fits to your ideal prospect? 5,000, 2,000, or 800 is still a large number.

By defining your ideal prospect in as detailed terms as you possibly can and then focusing only on that group, you increase your likelihood of selling each prospect, you are more capable of making inroads with each since you can focus your message to that group specifically, and you maximize your marketing dollars. You also can become the expert to really understand and resolve their issues and problems.

Finding and exploiting one or two niches is a far more effective marketing format for most salespeople, professionals and small businesses. Unless you have the time and money to compete with the big boys, you’re better served to do what they can’t—concentrate on and become the expert in a highly focused segment of the market.

Why don’t more salespeople, professionals and business owners focus on niche markets? Fear. Fear of possibly losing a sale. Fear that the niche may not be big enough to find enough clients to stay in business. Fear that they won’t be able to penetrate the niche. Fear that they’re leaving money on the table.

These fears are unfounded for the most part. Becoming a niche player does take time. It takes effort. It takes discipline. However, there is a lot of money to be made being a big fish in a very small pond—and no money to be made being a dead fish in a very large lake.

Today’s News: Most salespeople are looking to finish the year strongly and over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Jim Messenheimer about this very topic.

Clayton says: “I refer to Jim Meisenheimer as a sales expert; he refers to himself as a lifetime student of the selling profession. Which ever way you look at him he is a “player” in the sales game having trained tens of thousands of sales producers and thousands of sales managers. He knows what is required to finish the year strong. This podcast examines if you have what it takes to nail the fourth quarter. Jim walks you through six critical questions which strategically look at your business. He professes if you invest at least one day working through these questions you will not only have a banner last quarter but set the pace for next year.”  Simply click on the banner to listen in.

Tomorrow: What do doctors and salespeople have in common?

Some Background Information:

Did you know that:

• 40% of salespeople are failing in their sales careers?

• 45% of all salespeople earn the average income for their industry?

• A typical salesperson devotes only 10-20% of their time to actual selling because a large proportion of their available time is devoted to cold calling?

• 85% of all salespeople do not generate enough quality referrals?

• Salespeople who actively seek and exploit referrals earn 4 to 5 times more than salespeople who don’t?

•  Referral business closes and converts more than 70 percent of the time?

Why is referral based selling so powerful?

A referred customer is already pre-sold on the credibility of the salesperson, their company and the relevance of the products/services sold. These types of opportunities are much warmer than a cold-call based opportunity because it maximises the goodwill, inherent in the relationship between the referred customer and the referring person.

By association, salespeople are consequently perceived in a different light compared to those that have made contact ‘out of the blue’. The costs of selling to a referred customer are reduced because they are easier to see, and are likely to be reasonably well qualified so that the probability for converting the business is much higher. Generally speaking referred prospects will accelerate through the sales pipeline at a much faster rate than other types of opportunities, and they will also be more receptive towards providing future referrals.

What are the biggest barriers to getting referrals?

If asking for referrals has not been included and communicated in the sales process, this will deter salespeople’s focus as they will see asking for referrals as a ‘nice to do’ rather than a ‘must do’. This in turn usually means that there is no rigorous method for measuring and monitoring how many referrals are generated and what the conversion ratios are for closing referred customer business.

Energy goes where attention flows, so without specific attention to this salespeople are unlikely to invest their energy in this direction. (Even if they are firm believers in the positive impact that referrals can create!). For many salespeople asking for referrals is uncomfortable because they feel unsure about how to do this effectively, and they aren’t confident they will get their desired response.

If people don’t know how to do something and they believe that what they are doing will damage their existing relationships, then it’s better to avoid it all together. Additionally, if salespeople make the common mistake of asking for referrals too early on in the relationship this can result in more refusals that further erode salespeople’s confidence.

Therefore, to optimise the use of referral-based selling the following components are vital:

1. Asking for referrals and acting on them needs to be incorporated in the overall sales process.

2. Metrics around referrals should be sought and evaluated on a regular basis, because this contributes towards furthering the rationale for generating them.

3. Development and training needs to be delivered to the sales team so they can maximise the impact of referrals and feel confident with this skill.

When is the best time to ask for referrals?

People will freely give referrals when they have benefited from your product/service and have an established relationship with you. This rarely occurs during the initial meeting because whilst they may like you, they haven’t yet validated what you can do for them. That’s why asking for referrals should be when the relationship you have established is strong enough to ensure their trust and belief in you.

Assessing the strength of your existing customer relationships can be very subjective unless there is a meaningful set of relationship criteria in place.  Although these will vary from organisation to organisation, they may include factors like:

- Communication frequency with key influencers
- Satisfaction with product/service
- Speed of response to queries/problems
- Length of relationship

The customers with the highest scores (based on the relationship criteria) are those that should be approached for referrals.

What is the best way of generating referrals?

1. Prepare a description in the form of a criteria list that specifies the type of person or organisation that you are looking to approach. This should be based on the profile of your Ideal Customer.

2. Evaluate all your customers using a relationship criteria and identify a list of those with the highest scores. For every customer your aim is to generate a minimum of 5 referrals. Therefore, if you have 25 customers on your list your target number of referrals will be 125.

3. Contact each customer on your list and take the pressure of them by explaining that you don’t want to sell to them, you would like their help.

For example: “Do you know anyone who is (specify your criteria) that would be interested in learning about how our products/services can benefit them?” Preface your question with a softener such as: “I wonder if you can help me” or “I would really appreciate some advice.”

4. When customers give you referrals, ask their permission to use their name when making contact. Alternatively, where your relationship is ‘rock solid’ ask customers to make the initial introduction by letter or email. Often customers will give a glowing testimonial and create a relevant context when introducing people.

5. Thank customers for referrals and keep them appraised of your progress. This creates a positive association towards the giving of more referrals in the future.

So, there we go, my most recent thoughts on the importance of referral selling!

Today’s News: A couple of great blog posts for you: “Martini Glass Prospecting” from Colleen Francis and “What’s The Half-Life Of Sales Training?” from Dave Stein.

Tomorrow: My guest is the amazing Billy Cox, who urges us to “Expect Victory”

A Sales Leader’s level of success or failure may be determined by their ability to influence people within their own organisation, as well as those operating in other companies.

Sales Leaders who use their influencing skills well are exciting to be around and they exude a positive energy that attracts people towards them. Your ability to influence others can empower people development, accelerate results and ultimately ensures an easier working environment. Influencing is about understanding yourself and the effect or impact you have on others. Though, it can on occasion be one way, the primary relationship is two way, and it is about changing how others perceive you.

Truly excellent influencing skills require a healthy combination of interpersonal, communication, presentation and assertiveness techniques. It is about adapting and modifying your personal style when you become aware of the affect you are having on other people, while still being true to yourself.

Behaviour and attitude change are what’s important, not changing who you are or how you feel and think. You may try to exert your influence through coercion and manipulation. You might even succeed in getting things done, but that isn’t really influencing. That’s forcing people to do what you want, often against their will. You won’t have succeeded in winning support. Pushing, bullying, bludgeoning or haranguing DO NOT WORK! Like elephants, people will remember the experience. Indeed, if you force someone to do something you want without taking their point of view into consideration, then the impression that person is left with is how they will see you forever. You’re stuck with it, unless you deliberately change what you do in order to be seen differently. People are far more willing to come halfway (or more) if they feel acknowledged, understood and appreciated. They may even end up doing or agreeing to something they wouldn’t previously have done, because they feel good about making the choice.

What Makes An Effective Influencer?

Winning influencers share a common set of attitudes and behaviours that ensure consistent success. Studies have shown that they:

• Indicate the benefits of their ideas and are able to put a context around these benefits so it creates greater impact on the individual.

• Neutralise resistance, usually in advance. They anticipate, respond and are able to plant a positive association to potential areas of resistance before the other person has even had a chance to voice them.

• Find alternative ways to influence others and demonstrate high levels of flexibility. This means that if the approach they are taking doesn’t get them their desired results they try a different approach. If this doesn’t work they try another approach. Ultimately, the person with the greatest flexibility will always have control over the situation.

• Listen attentively to what others say because this improves mutual understanding and conveys respect for the opinions of others. Giving good attention to people makes them more intelligent. Poor attention makes them stumble over their words and seem stupid.

• Uncover needs and wants because they appreciate that every individual is unique. They have their needs, their own set of problems and their own motives for doing what they do.

• Empathise continuously and are able to adopt different perceptual positions to connect with the feelings of others in different situations. Not only do effective influencers manage to put themselves in their customers’ shoes, they are also able to wear the shoes of individuals in their sales team.

• Have developed high levels of sensory awareness. This means that their senses are fine-tuned to pick-up on the smallest details include non-verbal signals that are sometimes different to what a person is saying.

• Create and maintain rapport throughout their communication that enables them to deepen relationships, build higher amounts of trust and minimise resistance.

• Eliminate weak statements from their language and are able to create multiple positive associations by avoiding negative words and using negations in a positive way. For example; “I’m not going to say that this strategy will be totally successful.” The unconscious mind has to think about the strategy being totally successful, irrespective if the word ‘not’ is contained within the statement.

• Base the success of their communication on the response it produces in others. If other people don’t respond in the way that the influencer was wanting, they accept responsibility and change their communication until they do achieve their desired outcome.

Influencing really is that important!

You may also enjoy reading: “Recognising The Different Influencing Styles”

Today’s News: I posted  over the w/e about the excellent upcoming “Critical Strategies For Winning Big Company Clients” gig in New York (see banner below) - I have to repeat that there are only forty places - simply click here for full details.

Over on Top 10 Sales Articles, we have nominated a top class set of articles this week - you really do not want to miss them - simply go here

Tomorrow: A treat for you on The JF Guest Author Spot - Stone Payton, with an absolutely brilliant piece, all about proposals and proposal writing - you will thoroughly enjoy it, I promise.  

In my role as a leadership coach, a question I am often asked is: “What is the most important leadership trait I should consider developing first?”

Very interesting question, because there are several essential traits that need to be developed as early as possible, but choosing just one - the most important, is a “no-brainer” for me.

Nothing puts you in the “poor leader” category more swiftly than inadequate communication skills.

Staff view an inadequate communicator as someone who is unclear, ambiguous, says too little, speaks up too late, or not at all (keeps secrets unnecessarily) and most importantly, someone who doesn’t relate to their viewpoint.

Leaders should resolve to communicate:
• Using appropriate methods (memo or meeting, e-mail or notice-board)
• From the right perspective (talk about we not I and put things personally – “You will find” rather than “This is the case”)
• Using good communication principles (keep it simple, make it clear, and be precise and succinct)
• Explaining both the what and the why of things.

Because communication is the most important aspect of a leader’s role, if you feel you need to bone up on it, do so. Ignoring failings or uncertainties, risks disaster.

Your early communications will be looked at or listened to carefully. Lines will be read between and inferences about you and the way you do things will be drawn – for good or ill. Take care!

While thinking about communication, make one firm rule for yourself: Always be courteous to your staff.

The old adage that politeness costs nothing is true. Any temptation that staff may provide to descend into insults or even to be offhand may cause problems and will certainly not engender respect. This applies whatever the provocation – and, believe me, sooner or later if you lead people, there will be some!

So keep cool, count to ten if necessary, and moderate your language and your manner.

A final point about communication is that you need to be constantly well informed about what is going on around the organisation and in any other area that is important to you.

Never forget that informal communications are as important here as formal ones.

You need to develop a good network of contacts and here I must flag the importance of the grapevine. This exists in every organisation.
• Discover how it works and who is key to its operation
• Get yourself “plugged in”
• Remember that communication is two-way (you must contribute to receive)

Use it constructively: ignore and do not start rumours, use it for firm information, early warning, and dissemination and keep your eyes and ears open.

Keep In Touch:
Take away communication from an organisation and not much is left. Yet, the subject is often neglected. It is the foundation of a good relationship between leader and staff and thus the basis for success.

Make sure you take action to create good – two-way – communication by, for example:
• Practising LBWA: that is Leadership by Walking About. Talk to people informally, ask, listen, take notes, and ensure feedback.
• Regularly informing people of your thinking: by memo, e-mail, at meetings, etc. Tell them what your vision is, what you plan, hope and intend, what’s happening – and how it will affect them.
• Systematise the processes involved: make aspects of what you do formal and regular (e.g. regular departmental meetings and updates on operational issues).

Fundamental to good leadership is being seen as open and honest, concerned that people should know what is going on and concerned also to encourage and receive their inputs.

I think you will also enjoy reading this: “What Is Successful Leadership Really About”

Today’s News: In the most recent issue of Fortune magazine, Jill Konrath’s “Selling to Big Companies” was selected as a “must read” book that belongs in everyone’s briefcase.

Jiill said: “I’m honored that it was chosen as one of only eight books recommended - especially since the competitors were all the other good sales books ever written!”

If you want to check out Selling to Big Companies, here’s the Amazon link. Make sure you read the 46+ Five Star reviews. Or start by downloading two chapters on her website.

Also, here’s a link to the entire Fortune article:Download Fortune-SelllingtoBigCompanies-9-08.pdf

Way to go, Crazy Sister !

Final blogpost recommendation of the week for you: “How Acting Skills Helps Selling” from Drew Stevens.

Tomorrow: We are working on the next Top Sales Experts ebook, so I will be fully extended this weekend, plus we are also preparing for the launch of TSE 2.0 -exciting times! As ever, wherever you are, have a great w/e yourself, and be sure to make it back here next week - JF

There are four personality types or social styles – Analyticals, Drivers, Expressives and Amiables – and all four have their own unique approach to business, their own language and thought processes etc. As a consequence, the very best sales professionals have become adept at recognising which personality they are dealing with and adapt their approach and communication style accordingly.

In every boardroom, you will always find three of the four personality types, occasionally, all four: I have discovered over the years which personality is likely to fill which position on the board, but more on that later.

The Driver:
Let’s begin by looking at the characteristics of the Driver. Drivers are action and goal oriented, need to see results and have a quick reaction time. They are decisive, independent, disciplined, practical, and efficient. They typically use facts and data, speak and act quickly, lean forward, point and make direct eye contact. Their body posture is often rigid and they have controlled facial expressions.

They rarely want to waste time on personal talk or preliminaries and can be perceived by other styles as dominating or harsh and severe in pursuit of a goal. They are comfortable in positions of power and control and they have businesslike offices with certificates and commendations on the wall. In times of stress, drivers may become autocratic.

The Analytical:
Analyticals are concerned with being organised, having all the facts, and being careful before taking action. Their need is to be accurate, to be right. precise, orderly, methodical and conform to standard operating procedures, organisational rules and historical ways of doing things. They typically have a slow reaction time and work more slowly and carefully than Drivers. They are perceived as serious, industrious, persistent, and exacting.

Usually, they are task oriented, use facts and data, and tend to speak slowly. lean back and use their hands frequently. They do not make direct eye contact and control their facial expressions. Others may see them as stuffy, indecisive, critical, picky, and moralistic. They are comfortable in positions in which they can check facts and figures and be sure they are right. They have neat, well organised offices and in times of stress, Analyticals tend to avoid conflict.

The Expressive:
Expressives enjoy involvement, excitement, and interpersonal action. They are sociable, stimulating, and enthusiastic and are good at involving and motivating others. They are also ideas oriented. have little concern for routine, are future oriented and usually they have a quick reaction time. They need to be accepted by others, tend to be spontaneous, outgoing, energetic, and friendly and focused on people rather than on tasks. Typically, they use opinions and stories rather than facts and data. They speak and act quickly; vary vocal inflection, lean forward, and point and make direct eye contact.

They use their hands when talking; have a relaxed body posture and an animated expression. Their feelings often show in their faces and they are perceived by others as excitable, impulsive, undisciplined, dramatic, manipulative, ambitious, overly reactive, and egotistical. They usually have disorganised offices and may have leisure equipment like golf clubs or tennis racquets. Under stressful conditions, Expressives tend to resort to personal attack.

And Finally - The Amiable:
Amiables need co-operation, personal security, and acceptance. They are uncomfortable with and will avoid conflict at all costs. They value personal relationships, helping others and being liked. Some Amiables will sacrifice their own desires to win approval from others. They prefer to work with other people in a team effort, rather than individually and they have an unhurried reaction time and little concern with effecting change. Typically, they are friendly, supportive, respectful, willing, dependable, and agreeable. They are also people-oriented.

They use opinions rather than facts and data, speak slowly, and softly, use more vocal inflection than Drivers or Analyticals. They lean back while talking and do not make direct eye contact; they also have a casual posture and an animated expression. They are perceived by other styles as conforming, unsure, pliable, dependent, and awkward. They have homely offices - family photographs, plants etc. An Amiable’s reaction to stress is to comply with others.

Most people’s first reaction after reading the four profiles is to believe that they fit into more than one category and this is absolutely right. However, everyone has a dominant style and no-one should believe that they fit into more than two because they don’t.

So, which Social Style do the various residents of the boardroom typically have?

Managing Directors/CEOs are typically Drivers, as you might expect.
Finance Directors are usually Analyticals
Sales Directors are nearly always Expressives
Marketing Directors are also Expressives
Technical Directors are almost always Analyticals

And Finally: In Sales
Level 3, Top 5% Achievers, are normally Drivers
Level 2, Sales Professionals, are typically Expressives
Level 1, Emerging salesmen and women are almost always Amiables

It is of course dangerous to generalise and there will always be exceptions, however based on my experience, I have very rarely been mistaken using this concept of personality identification, which makes communication so much easier and indeed relevant.

If you want to learn more about the four social styles and how to influence them, you will enjoy this: “How To Relate To And Influence The Four Personality Types”

Today’s News: After much anticipation, the Sales SheBang 2008 Conference  kicks-off tomorrow, and we couldn’t resist creating a “Good Luck” card for the seven Top Sales Experts who will be presenting; To Jill Konrath, Leslie Buterin, Kim Duke, Lori Richardson, Colleen Francis, Anne Miller and Kendra Lee, we send our very best wishes.

Tomorrow: Another Top Sales Expert, Tim Wackel is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot, and he has some timely tips for selling in a sluggish market.

The responsibility for ensuring that every member of a sales team is successful and performing at optimum levels lies entirely with management and when a salesperson gains promotion to management the first thing they have to do is to quickly acquaint themselves with a new set of working relationships - and a new set of rules.

The salesperson’s primary working relationships are with customers: However the sales manager’s is with the sales force i.e. his subordinates. For example:

Essential Attributes Include:

Successful Salesperson:
- Personal drive (Ego).
- Needs to win battles (Individual sales).
- Able to work alone.
- Persuades customers to see his/her point.
- Needs selling skills, personal skills and knowledge.
- Able to work away from the office.
- Works well with people and numbers.
- Good at implementing sales tactics.

Successful Sales Manager:
- Submission of personal needs to the goals of the Company (Corporate drive).
- Needs to win the war (Meet corporate goals).
- Able to work with others.
- Persuades the sales team to see the Company’s point.
- Needs management skills and marketing knowledge.
- Needs to work at the office.
- Works well with people, numbers, paperwork and the corporate hierarchy.
- Good at developing sales and marketing strategies.

The most common danger in having sales managers who are basically super salespeople is that relations with subordinates including the critical tasks of development and supervision may deteriorate.

When I am asked to diagnose why an individual or even an entire team are not performing at optimum levels, I usually ask just four very straightforward questions:

• Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? In other words are they pro-active and are their activity levels high? I call this CCT as a percentage of TWT (Customer Contact Time as a percentage of Total Working Time)

• Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect organisations? Are they able to penetrate the formal DMU (Decision Making Unit) and reach the MAN? (The person or people with the Money, Authority and Need)

• Are they saying/doing the right things? This really means - how strong are their selling skills?

• And finally, how is their attitude – that small thing that makes such a big difference.

From these four questions, I usually discover the answer but actually, it can sometimes be a little more complex and I refer to the“Eight Reasons Why Salespeople Fail”

If you really want to discover how healthy your sales organisation is right now, you can complete this FREE Health Check now and receive an immediate score - I will provide you with further information on what your score means on Friday, or if you want to discuss it personally, e-m me at jf@jonathanfarrington.com.

Today’s News: I am travelling home to Paris and as there was a fire in the Tunnel last week, I am having to break my journey with an overnight hotel stay: If I said the internet connection was “flakey” I would be being very generous, so you’ll get a double helping of news tomorrow - I promise.

Tomorrow:Also tomorrow, Lee Salz on The JF Guest Author Spot, so be absolutely certain to join me!

The way in which we behave as managers and the approach we take will have a marked effect on our ultimate success or failure.

Having a range of approaches and styles of behaviour gives us more flexibility. It increases our options – and our chances of success.

Natural Styles

Most managers have a natural style of influence which they prefer to use whenever possible. More flexible managers also keep in reserve a fall back style, used when the preferred style doesn’t achieve the desired results.

However, there are at least eight identifiable styles of influence – not including aggression, manipulation or force!

Because we are influencing a wide range of people, proficiency in a wider range of styles will ensure more success. We can step outside the comfort zone of our natural style and enjoy greater success by practising new ways of influencing.

However, we must think carefully which influencing style has the greatest chance of succeeding. Varying our styles too much may give us a reputation for being unpredictable

The Autocratic Approach

You tell them, they agree

Use this style when:
• You are looking for a quick response
• You seek only short-term commitment
• You are happy to check up and follow through

This approach works best when supported by power, authority, age, knowledge or wisdom. Resistance or objections are minimised. You tell others what you want then to do.

Do remember though that autocracy can be a high-risk strategy. It may result in a feeling of ‘You won, I lost’. They’ll get you next time.

The Collaborative Approach

You include others in the decision-making process.

Use this style when:
• You want to maintain long-term influence with others
• You seek a high level of commitment
• You have no time to enforce the outcome

This approach works successfully without you having any power or authority.

A word of caution, democracy takes time and can result in watered down solutions. Remain consistently collaborative. Don’t give up too early. Avoid imposing too many parameters or conditions – these will create frustration in others.

The Logical Approach

You use clear logical, unassailable arguments, supported by proof.

Use logic when:
• The other person demands evidence and lots of detail
• You are prepared to do your homework
• You are prepared to wait for a reaction

This approach works best when the other person is a logical, linear thinker. Avoid exaggeration and unnecessary emotion. Offer instead facts and figures.

But, you may find this style long-winded and frustrating. You may even be forced to put it in writing. Allow time to prepare your argument, time to explain it, time to wait for a reaction.

The Emotional Approach

You use your natural charm, charisma or enthusiasm.

Use emotion when:
• You want others to feel part of an exciting project
• You want to fire up someone’s motivation
• You are truly enthusiastic about an idea

This approach works when your influence becomes a genuine extension of your own feelings and beliefs. Appealing to the long-term effects of your ideas, you will reinforce their continuing value.
 
 Do remember though that emotional appeal carries risks. It can leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Painful memories linger longer.

The Assertive Approach

You ask directly, clearly and confidently for what you want, or don’t want.

Be assertive when:
• You want to influence autocratic people, bullies, stick-in-the-mud
• You want to influence behaviours
• You need to act and initiate, rather than react

Assertiveness can have a lasting effect, especially on those who least expect it from you. Any resistance is met by your persistence.

Assertive influence carries little or no risk.

The Passive Approach

You win the day by being submissive, by not overtly influencing.

Remain passive when:
• You want to influence others through personal demonstration
• You want to avoid unhelpful confrontation
• You have tried all the other approaches

As you quietly demonstrate desired behaviours, others can see for themselves the value in following your lead. Many potential confrontations with power or authority demand submissive influence, which can pay positive dividends.
   
The downside is that your submissiveness may leave you with feelings of low-esteem. Can you live with this?

The Sales Approach

You use good old-fashioned salesmanship.

Use salesmanship when:
• You know that the other person expects to be sold to
• You need to show the benefits your suggestion will produce
• You enjoy selling ideas

Draw out their point of view, understand their needs, demonstrate that you empathise; minimise resistance by showing how their ideas dovetail with your own; show how they will benefit.
 
Do realise though that logical or submissive people often hate an overt sales approach and may work hard to wreck your plans.

The Bargaining Approach

You trade concessions in order to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

Bargain or negotiate when:
• You are both equally keen to go ahead with the idea 
• You are happy and able to offer a few concessions
• You want to reach a <i>win-win conclusion</i>

Don’t just share the cake – make it a bigger one. Your success as affair negotiator will help cement the relationship.

 Aim too low and you’ll end up even lower. Over collaborate and you may regret giving too much away. Always trade concessions.

The Power Of Positive Behaviour 

Who has been a big influence in your life? A parent, relative, employer, friend or neighbour? Chances are that they often did nothing specific to influence you – they just behaved in ways that you took note of and decided to copy.

The behaviour of others can be influenced greatly when they observe the ways in which you:

• Deal with aggression
• Handle awkward customers
• Control group behaviour
• Field tricky questions
• Overcome resistance
• Live by your values and beliefs
• Walk the talk

Behaviours that help the influencing process:

• Continuous maintenance of rapport
• Maintaining good eye contact
• Congruent body language which supports your messages
• Appropriate voice tone which underpins what you say
• Sensory acuity – noticing how others react to you and your messages
• Flexibility – being prepared to change your approach, when necessary
• Awareness and acceptance of the needs of others
• Lack of conditional words, which dilute your messages

In Summary: Modelling Behaviour

Ok, suppose you don’t have sufficient flexibility of style. With practice, it’s easy to observe, analyse and reproduce the effective behaviours of other people. If you’ve ever studied any skill under a master, you will already have done this.

Suppose you know a person who uses an influencing style in a particularly elegant or effective manner. You have identified this as something you would like to improve for yourself. By closely observing what works for that person and noticing the effect it has on others, you can begin to experiment by adopting these behaviours and strategies and making them work for you, too. Behaviour is only behaviour – it can usually be replicated

You might also enjoy: “Understanding Assertiveness”

Today’s News: We have announced the Top Sales Article of The Month over at Top 10 Sales Articles and it really is a belter - just click on the banner below to see for yourself.

Tomorrow:One of the leading business development experts in the world - Leslie Buterin - is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot.