“My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there” Charles F. Kettering.

That quotation very accurately sums up my commitment to looking out and predicting what I believe is going to take place within the sales space over the next three to five years: I have nothing whatsoever to gain from making such forecasts; my statements are not sponsored; I have no revolutionary solutions, which will earn me millions of dollars if I am right …. it is simply what I believe, and I am unafraid to voice those opinions.

You may consider that my opening paragraph sounds somewhat defensive: If it does, then that is unintentional. Neither is it correct to surmise that I am in anyway feeling defiant – I have deliberately eschewed confrontation on this topic. However, as I suggested to my good chum and learned colleague Paul McCord this evening, I am going to challenge a blog post he wrote last week.

It would be dangerous to simply pluck a few quotations, as the piece deserves a full reading – “In 2012 the New Normal in Sales Is . .” but I am going to anyway, because essentially my interpretation is that he disagrees with my assertions regarding the rate of change we are witnessing.. and can expect to continue witnessing over the next three to five years. Whereas, I genuinely believe that there is a momentum building, and we can either adapt and thrive, or resist and possibly become isolated. I am not a lone voice …

“Customers everywhere increasingly prefer virtual interactions with sellers. Trend data reveal that sales organizations are shifting resources from outside to inside sales. Inside sales growth is 30% faster than their outside sales counterparts. The number of Inside Sales departments is projected to grow from 800,000, in 2009, to over 2 million in 2013.”

Dave Stein CEO ES Research (And lest I be accused of simply “extracting” quotes for my own argument, you can read the entire post HERE)

“Over the past few decades, selling has changed. The changes have been incremental, giving salespeople time to adjust. Not so today. The degree and speed of change in the sales world over the past two years is revolutionary — in how, why, and when customers buy and, therefore, in how you sell.

Selling has been turned on its head, and sales organizations are trying to catch up. If you have any doubts about the magnitude of change, just think about your level of control over the last major retail purchase you made and multiply that by twenty, and you will have a sense of the revolution in buying that is going on with your customers. The revolution has created a shift of control — away from you as a seller and toward your customer.”

Linda Richardson, Best Selling Author and Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson

“Inside sales has never been more important, and it seems like every minute brings new changes. Keeping up, staffing up, and preparing for the coming year has never been more important — and for that, you need the inside track. Our trend report is 100% accurate — loaded with great advice on tactics, tools and talent that will keep you on track and ahead of the curve.”

Josiane Feigon, President of TeleSmart (Download her FREE Inside Sales Trend Report HERE)

And most radically of all …

“There are currently 18 million sales professionals in the USA, by 2020, there will only be 3.6 million”

Gerhard Gschwandtner, Selling Power

So, back to Paul McCord’s post:

“My argument is simply that in 2012—and probably for the foreseeable future—there will not be a “new normal.”

•Almost all sellers will find their offline activities will still be more vital to their success than their social media interaction.
•Getting out of the office and in front of prospects and clients will still be the primary relationship building and selling format
•More than likely business travel will increase again this year—and for the foreseeable years to come—including travel by sellers
•Sales jobs will continue to be created with the corresponding opportunities for both experienced and inexperienced men and women
•Social media will continue to be an area that sellers need to learn how to effectively engage—but the reality is it isn’t going to take the place of a seller’s offline activities such as cold calling, networking, and seeking high quality referrals and when a connection is made through social media, for it to be effective it will have to be taken offline.”

“In other words, for now and at least the next few years, the “new normal” will be the old normal. Do those activities this year that have been successful for you in the past and you’ll be successful again this year.”

“It’s fun and exciting to talk about the “new normal,” but the fact is not much has really changed.”

Human nature hasn’t changed since last year.

The phone still works and people still answer it.

Referrals will still get you more and better business than any other prospecting format.

You will still have to work to develop relationships.

You’ll still have to educate, be a real problem solver for your clients, and bring more value to the table than your competitors.

The world hasn’t shifted on its axis—yet anyway.

So take all the talk of the new normal with a grain of salt.  Don’t ignore social media and by all means use technology to the fullest, but if you want to be successful in 2012, pick up the phone, fill up the car, and hit the streets just like you did last year and the years before that.”

Yes Paul, and it took us ten centuries to accept that the world wasn’t flat after all!

Returning to Linda Richardson, and to quote from an interview she did with me recently (which you will be able to read in its entirety on February 14th – and no, no significance!)

“Jonathan is not one to skirt an issue. He is outspoken and clearly never satisfied with the status quo. His vision is to get a global sales conversation going. Top Sales World is a place where experts and practitioners meld and everyone learns.  It reflects Jonathan’s take on life: “Never stop learning. If you do, it is time to pack up and go home. Looking three years to the future, he sees a very different sales landscape”

Yes, I do very much see a very different landscape: I believe that we need to adapt; to embrace the exciting changes that are happening, not resist them, and hope that it is all a figment of the imagination of a few “crazies” I have been openly discussing these changes for three years, and I am happy that more and more well respected thought leaders are now seeing what I first saw all that time ago.

Final Word: “Some people make things happen, some people watch what happens, but most wonder what the heck happened” Anon

News: Exciting w/e ahead; there is a buzz in the air, and no doubt we shall see some responses here. Me? I do think it is important that we “commentators” remain impartial, so “Go Giants!!!”

Slightly later than advertised, over the next few weeks I am going to share my own predictions for the future of professional selling, and also those of a selection of good chums who are not only experts in their chosen fields, but who also have gained a reputation of being genuine thought leaders in the “sales space”

Will we all agree? Is the Pope a Muslim? You will soon discover that there is as much variation and diversity in our thinking as there are lead generation or CRM solutions. As many as that JF, I hear you gasp in awe – well at least in moderate surprise.

We begin by thinking about 2011, and we also begin by thinking about “inside sales”

Who better to kick us off, than the incredibly smart Josiane Feigon?

11 in 11
Smart Inside Sales Trends in 2011

Sales Snipers, Lead Development, and More

Time to exhale! After surviving 2009 and dusting ourselves off in 2010, we begin a new year that promises more vigor and spunk.

Corporations are already beginning to suffer from “frugality fatigue.” This year, many will finally dip into their savings pile and spend, making 2011 the year of the socially smart buyer. The SMB market is well positioned to deploy new trends . . . as long as they can see the ROI light at the end of the tunnel and enough friends within their circle of trust recommend or like you.

Inside sales organizations continue to grow at least 30% faster than their field counterparts, with more hybrid and remote reps. But the real “Sales Snipers” are the lead development teams, projected to grow up to 300%. It’s no longer about having the best salesforce — in
2011, the best lead development engines will win.

So take your protein pills, put your helmet on, and get ready to soar as the Sales Sniper Pilots take full ground control of their sales productivity, intelligence, and social tools and make a perfect landing on their target buyers.

1.  Virtual Salespeople: As inside organizations continue to grow, the need for cheaper and hungrier talent will explode. The buzzword is no longer off-shore outsourcing but out-of-state virtual employees — which means managers must pick up speed on managing remotely and in a virtual world.

2.  Your Social Graph Is the New Job Security: Salespeople will become their company’s chief customer officers, so their social footprint must expand. Social media will become standard operating procedure and an essential part of the entire sales cycle. Time to start designing KPI’s that reward reps who have a high social graph and tools IQ.

3.  Social Surfing Beats Setting Appointments: More and more appointments will be cancelled due to unpredictable schedules and long time requests. So change tactics: The best way to secure a meeting is for prospects to receive a thumbs- up review from someone within their social web. It’s time for inside sales to surf this new social wave and engage with their friends, fans and followers.

4.  Customers Are Mad as Hell: Listen up! Busy prospects are skittish, independent, impatient, and tired of being held in a sales head-lock. They will come to you when they’re ready and not before. Forget cold-calling — they will simply think it’s a rude interruption.

5.  The Hip and Hungry Boomer Reps: By all means refresh your inside sales talent in all categories — from leadgen, to inside sales, to hybrid — but don’t just look for college hires. Boomers are hip, hungry, and they’re not retiring anytime soon. Plus, the 50+ crowd doesn’t party all night! They will gladly accept a position from 7-3 pm without any travel.

6.  Hey Coach, Watch This: Managers must learn to coach and inspire, not embarrass and demotivate. Just because they “smiled and dialed” years ago doesn’t mean it’s still done the same way. Get your leadership skills in gear before your team members decides to take their resumes to the competition.

7.  Write On: Customer 2.0 wants to know who you are before they connect with you, which means that writing good content will be key to your survival. Comments on blog posts, engaging questions on LinkedIn discussion groups, inviting tweet streams, and killer subject lines will get their attention fast.

8.  No-Po Rehab Clinic Opens: It’s about time you stop hanging out with the wrong people- the No-Po’s who have No Power, No Potential and will never provide you with a Purchase Order. Just recognizing you are in the No-Po zone is the first step but going cold turkey is another. We can help with your No-Po addiction, sign up for a No- Po clinic.

9.  Nurture and Engage: Customer 2.0 likes to self-educate, and they prefer to vary their learning methods. Inventory your valuable content, strategically align it throughout the sales cycle, and make it contagious so it turns into an inbound well qualified lead.

10. Call Activity Gets a Makeover: Forget tracking 75 outbound calls per day and give your next call campaign a major make-over. The days of counting are gone. Its time to press refresh when it comes to metrics — and stop relying only on the phone!

11. Data grows Up: Data is everywhere, so there’s no excuse for not knowing. Get smart about what to do with all that data, and put the sales intelligence and analytics at your fingertips to use!

Make Smart Selling Choices in 2011

READ Josiane Feigon’s Smart Selling on the Phone and Online.  — the #1 best-selling inside sales sourcebook, written just for inside sales teams and managers who must navigate the Sales 2.0 landscape. This cubicle must-have is based on the proven and time-tested
 
TeleSmart10 System, the Sales 2.0 training methodology that global Fortune 500 companies rely on for developing their sales talent.

FOLLOW Cubicle Chronicles Blog: www.tele-smart.com/blog
LinkedIn: Smart Selling on the Phone and Online Group
Facebook: Smart Selling on the Phone and Online Facebook Fan Page
Twitter: @josianefeigon
Youtube.com/user/josianefeigon

For More Information, contact Josiane. Phone: 415-543-6537
Email:  getsmart@tele-smart.com

Well, I can tell you that the competition is warming up nicely – despite the extended Thanksgiving holidays in the USA.

The public polls opened last Wednesday, and voting has been very strong in most categories already:

Top Sales Personality: Jeffrey G surged out of the blocks and already has a commanding lead, but with polls open until December 13th, this is a marathon and definitely not a sprint. Expect a reaction from Mrs Konrath, who also has a huge following, and don’t discount Gerhard, he may well force it into extra time and win it in a penalty shoot-out – it’s what the Germans do every time, so why not the Austrians! 

Top Sales Book: Similiarly, that really nice guy whose name I always struggle to pronounce – Art Sobczak – has taken a flier, closely followed by Mrs Konrath, and they are being chased by that deadly duo, Elias and Shanto, or is it Shanto and Elias? Still a lot more business to be done in that category, for certain.

Top Sales Article: Feels kind of strange not to see this final over at Top 10 Sales Articles any more. This will of course be the fourth year that we have held this particular competition, and every year Salesopedia have provided the winner, but I think this is year is much more open. There are so many really good finalists that it is going to be impossible to predict. See for yourselves

Top Sales Star: Nobody was surprised that the irrepressible young Moyes has surged into the public poll lead – anyone with 7 million recommendations on LinkedIn clearly has a very big fan base. But as Ian knows only too well, the expert judges are contributing 50% of the overall marks, and there are some immensely talented contenders in that group. (I was kidding about the 7 million recommendations – I think he only has 6.9 million!)

Top Sales Blog: I hear there was an audible sigh of relief which could be picked up on both sides of the “Pond” when I announced my ineligibility – now I really am kidding! On metrics alone, Brian Carroll would win this, and deservedly so, but that is not all this contest is about. There are some really “big hitters” in this, and provided that none of them are too proud to canvass support, it should be a real ding-dong of a battle. Latest poll results here

Top Sales Resource Site: CanDoGo have managed to get the voters out early, tearing them away from the last turkey remnants, closely followed by Changing Minds. But again, this is going to be such a tight finish (JF prediction – but what do I know?) Look out for a “Monster” finish from SalesHQ – and never discount the “Power”

Top Sales 2.0 Solution: iSell and xobni are neck and neck right now, but I am not sure if it will stay that way – so much quality in this category, that’s for sure.

Top Sales Tool: And in fact, we have a very similiar position in this category, where GoldMail and Echosign are building up a big lead over the others. But I have spotted a number of challengers who though currently languishing down the table, will inevitably make very strong challenges later.

Top Social Media Site: All a bit quiet over there at the moment. LinkedIn making the early pace, but the Customer Collective is hot on their heels. Will some of the other big boys awake from their slumbers? Time will tell.

Top CRM Solution: You know, I really do think that we got the nominees right in most of the categories – you will never please all the people all of the time. Ever met a mum who did not think her baby was the most beautiful in the world? But in this category in particular, I really do think this ten are the best, and I am going to be most interested to see who finally triumphs. Latest positions

Right, I’ll endevour to provide you with regular updates, but you can vote for your favourites every day – HERE

This Week: Look out for a post on the failing marriage between sales and marketing, and what I think needs to be done to resolve their differences.

On Tuesday:

Rev Up Revenue with Selling Tool FuelTuesday November 30th 2010 1PM Eastern

Today’s inside salesperson is no longer tied to phone as their only sales tool. Instead, the smart salesperson knows that their success depends on how well they understand and use many specific sales tools throughout the sales process. In order to survive and navigate the sales 2.0 landscape, they need tool fuel.

Join us in this engaging, interactive, thought-provoking, and fun discussion with two smart-selling women and Sales 2.0 pioneers, Josiane Feigon and Nancy Nardin, as they guide everyone through a targeted “shopping spree” for essential tools.

Participants will receive the Smart Selling Tools for Inside Sales 2010 eBook – the first e-book to recommend top tools for inside sales wrapped around 10 essential sales skills.

In this session, you will learn:
• The “must-have” tools for inside sales
• Why working efficiently is the  fastest path to sales productivity gains
• Which tools to use throughout the sales cycle
• How to pair tools with skills for the strongest combination

Register for FREE

I think it was at the end of 2008 when I first began thinking about an “all encompassing” online location – which I described then(and still do) as a ”Sales Hypermarket” where the shelves are stacked high with every conceivable resource that professional frontline salespeople could possibly need – all in one place.

It would be the logical next stage in the evolution of the “Top Sales Experts” project, which had already proved so successful.

I sounded out lots of good chums, who to a man(or woman) agreed that it would indeed be a superb opportunity to create a “one-stop” experience, but as they all pointed out, it would also be an incredibly ambitious undertaking, both financially and in terms of the resources required. That was my spur; my motivation; my prompt.

So here we are, almost two years on since my creative juices first conceived the idea: Today, at 12 Noon Eastern (5pm GMT) we give you … Top Sales World.

What can you expect to find on your first visit? Well, obviously I do not want to spoil it for you, but I can give you a few clues; a few morsells; a handful of crumbs …

To begin with, you will discover that the site has been divided up into twenty-two sections: Each section comes under five main headers …

Visionary Thinking

Live Events

Resource Center

Expert Advice

Top Contributors 

Overseeing matters is the Global Sales Council - one of the most highly experienced and successful groups of sales experts ever gathered together … in alphabetical order.

Dr. Tony Alessandra, Joanne Black, Dave Brock, Billy Cox, Nigel Edelshain, Kevin Eikenberry, Jonathan Farrington, Josiane Feigon, Colleen Francis, Jill Konrath, Dave Kurlan, Kendra Lee, Christian Maurer, Paul McCord, Nancy Nardin, Linda Richardson, Lori Richardson, Kelley Robertson, Keith Rosen, Tibor Shanto, Dr. Greg Stebbins, Dan Waldschmidt and Wendy Weiss

Phase Two will go live before the end of September, and that involves adding a Top Sales Store and the Top Sales Jobs Board

But the real excitement comes from being able to engage with sales professionals all around the globe, in their own language – this is Phase Three of this incredible initiative, and we begin work on it in October.

It has already been a long journey, which has severely tested all of our resources, and I feel as if we are really only halfway there now – there is so much more to come.

I must thank my wonderful team here at JFC, who have given so much, and made so many sacrifices to bring this in (almost) on time.

No doubt you will all have the opportunity to learn more about them in the coming months..

Editor In Chief: Paul Simon.

Sales & Marketing: Nancy Nardin.

Commercial Director: Jacqueline Male.

Creative Director: Bill Jeckells.

With that, I think I should leave you to go and discover Top Sales World for yourselves – but you will have to wait until 12 Noon (Eastern) 5pm (GMT) HERE

So, today’s post is about two exceptional ladies,  who have produced a significant new Ebook. This is so much more than just another new Ebook: They have created the defining statement of 2010, for all inside sales professionals, and those who manage them.

In their own words …….

POWER UP WITH “TOOL FUEL” FOR INSIDE SALES SUCCESS

Once upon a time, an inside salesperson was hired because they had a nice phone voice. The key to their success was how well they met their outbound dialing metrics and how well they were liked by their field partners. They had the easy part of the job— making new introductions, setting appointments, and supporting the field—and expectations were low: they only had to know a few products and follow-up on leads. Travel for annual sales conferences and President’s Club was reserved for a chosen few. But like every “once upon a time” story, it’s about life in an old world that no longer exists.

Welcome to the inside sales model of 2010!

Thanks to the Sales 2.0 landscape, a fragile economy, reluctant customers, lean headcount, and general travel restrictions, inside sales has become the most desirable and complex position in the entire sales organization. Today, inside sales teams generate up to 50% of their company’s revenues. They are inte- gral to the entire sales cycle, tasked with more responsibilities and expectations to grow their territories, form partnerships, recall product knowledge, and generate metrics. They no longer can rely on outdated sales tactics, other departments, and stale habits. Survival depends on who has the most tool fuel to make it through today’s rugged Sales 2.0 terrain.

Recent Aberdeen research confirms most “Best in Class” inside sales organizations—traditionally the early adopters of technologies—plan to deploy sales effectiveness tools in 2010 and beyond. That means it’s more important than ever to learn how you can integrate tools through the sales process—from begin- ning, to middle, and straight through closing. It’s time to increase your tool IQ and get smart about tools! But there’s so many tools out there, it’s hard to know where to start.

In this e-book, we did all the shopping for you. We scoured the market, reviewed hundreds of tools, determined where they
fit in the sales cycle, and wrapped them around one of 10 essential inside sales skills, and positioned them in the sales cycle for maximum impact. And we found some goodies: tools ranging from lead management, sales analytics, performance dash- boards, sales intelligence, collaboration tools, data integration, and social media have all landed on our hot-list of “next gener- ation” must have sales tools for inside sales.

Our tool selection included these criteria:
• Web-based
• Salesforce.com and Outlook compatible
• Free to download , trial evaluation, cost effective or low monthly fees
• User-friendly, easy to implement
• Inside sales-centric
 • Proven track record
 

Power up with tool
 
This e-book brings two industry thought leaders together with a smart idea: to feature top tools wrapped essential skills that encourage salespeople to use these tools. Josiane Feigon (author of the best-selling book Smart Selling on the Phone and Online, which is quickly becoming the sourcebook for inside sales) and Nancy Nardin (CEO of Smart Selling Tools), selected and matched these tools to the 10 essential skills salespeople must have in order to be successful in their phone and online sales efforts. The next step is up to you, but please start by downloading your FREE copy (no registration required) ……

In 1988 an important article published in the Harvard Business Review, entitled “In Praise of Followers” began to shift attention away from the machismo of leadership to the less glamorous side of the same equation: the role of ‘followership’

What the advocates of followership recognised was that to become an effective leader, most people first had to learn how to be good followers. With few exceptions, this is as true of the corporate world as it is of military and political leaders. Aristotle noted: “He who has never learnt to obey cannot be a good commander.”

More than ever today, business executives have to operate as both leader and follower in the daily rounds of their job. Those who study leadership begin to take more interest in the ‘psychological contract’ between leader and followers. In other words, they began to ask what makes people prepared to follow one leader and unwilling to follow another.

These ideas are now changing both the way we think about leadership and the style of our leaders. This is in tune with other social and organisational developments, including the move to more participative management and the rise of industrial democracy.

Other new ideas are also gaining ground. For example, only now is the notion of ‘emotional intelligence’ becoming widely understood. For the leaders of the future, it is likely to be as important as a high IQ.
In his ground-breaking 1996 book “Emotional Intelligence”, the American psychologist Daniel Goleman explored the issue of personal and professional effectiveness. He argued that in a business world too often obsessed by cold analysis, the emotional climate is more important to the success of a leader than previously recognised.

At senior levels, ‘emotional intelligence’ rather than ‘rational intelligence’ marks out the true leader: “The qualities of leadership and the quality of the heart are largely the same”. This may explain why someone like Branson, who twice failed his elementary mathematics exam, can make a better leader than someone with a degree from Harvard Business School. Branson’s ‘emotional intelligence’ – his ‘people radar’ – is more keenly developed.

According to Goleman, studies of outstanding performers in organisations show that about two thirds of the abilities that set star performers apart in the leadership stakes are based on emotional intelligence. Only a third of the skills that matter relate to raw intelligence (as measured by IQ) and technical expertise.

“Our emotions are hardwired into our being”, Goleman explained. “The very architecture of the brain gives feelings priority over thought”. There is a sign in Harvard’s rat lab that says: “Rats under carefully controlled conditions will do any damned thing they please”. The same is true of human beings. Leaders ignore emotions at their peril.

Most important of all, the role of leaders in developing the next generation has too often been neglected. If we are to grow as a society, this must be the priority for the future. As Sir Adrian Cadbury, the former Head of Cadbury Schweppes, has observed: “Good leaders grow people, bad leaders stunt them; good leaders serve their followers, bad leaders enslave them.”

Today’s News:

Over at Salesopedia, my erstwhile buddy from the frozen north, Clayton Shold, is in conversation with Josiane Feigon – “Josiane Feigon lives inside sales and has puts a magnifying glass to what’s happening in the sales industry. For the past five years she has started the year by listing trends she identifies as “What’s In” and “What’s Out.”  In this interview she addresses a number of the trends of interest to you if you want to hone your sales game in 2009. She’s already off to a great start by predicting Slumdog Millionare would be “in” and turns out the movie did exceptionally well at the Golden Globe awards this week.”  Just click on the image to listen in.

Tomorrow: I’m off on my travels, which inevitably means, delays, frustration, cold feet – I am so grumpy these days – Have a great w/e, wherever you are, and be sure to make it back on Monday – JF

People who are successful negotiators, always have a well thought out strategy before entering into the negotiation; are well prepared; self confident and structure the negotiation, so that they remain in control of the negotiating process.

The recommended structure for negotiations is:

• Establish the issues being negotiated
• Gather information
• Build a solution

Stage 1. Establish The Issues

Begin by agreeing an agenda for the negotiation i.e.
 
• What needs to be discussed and agreed?
• Who will be involved and what will be their role?
• What timescales are we working towards?
• What are the major issues that need to be agreed?

Many negotiators make the mistake of negotiating too quickly whereas skilled negotiators spend 20% more of their time asking questions and looking for alternatives.
 
Do be aware that professional buyers will want to gain your commitment on issues, such as: price, early on in the negotiation but you should never commit yourself to anything until you have established everything that is being negotiated.
 
Seasoned negotiators will often bring up an issue at the end of the negotiation, when you are vulnerable and likely to agree to a one sided (Lose-Win) concession, in order to conclude the deal. You can legislate for this ploy by asking the other side for their “shopping list”  before beginning the negotiation and refuse to accept any last minute additions to the list.

Issues will include things like price, delivery schedule, payment terms, packaging, quality of product, length of contract etc. At this stage issues are kept general and no concessions are made or agreements reached

Stage 2. Gather Information

This is a vital part of the negotiation and you need to remember that there are four kinds of information

• Information you have that you are willing to give to the other side
• Information you have that you are unwilling to give to the other side
• Information the other side has that they are willing to give you
• Information the other side has that they are unwilling to give you

You need to decide, before the negotiation, how much you are willing to share information and what your own information requirements are. This will set the climate for the negotiation and will determine the amount of trust that exists between both parties. Skilled negotiators are able to ask a range of open, closed and follow up questions and are able to listen effectively. They also wait until they have all their information requirements, before making concessions

Stage 3. Build A Solution

Having gathered information the next stage is to begin to put together a solution.  Usually this will take the form of the selling side putting forward a proposal, or opening bid. The opening bid should be ambitious, but defensible. You should always challenge an opening bid and refuse to let an unacceptable bid stay on the table.
 
Typically, there will then be a process of bargaining, concessions will be traded and movement take place, until, hopefully, agreement is reached. Concessions should not be given away for free and you should be wary about conceding on issues for which you are not prepared.

A final tip: The very best negotiators always enter into negotiation with a “three position plan”

That is: Best price, realistic price and fallback price – they never, ever accept less than their “Fallback price”

If you are serious about improving your negotiation skills, you will find some helpful additional reading here

Today’s News: Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, we have just posted the Top Sales Article Of The Month for October and I know you will enjoy it very much: That means that we only have two more monthly winners to find and we will then have our twelve finalists, who will battle it out for the Top Sales Article Of The Year award on New Years Eve.

The finalists so far are: Paul Cherry, Josiane Feigon, Ivan Misner, Mike Brooks, Mark Satterfield, Zig Ziglar, Kevin Eikenberry, Jill Konrath, Paul McCord and this month’s winner – so a pretty heavyweight group.

I will also be handing out The JF Awards again this year to worthy article communities and I will announce the finalists on Tuesday December 16th and then the winners, seven days later.

Tomorrow: My guest on the JF Guest Author Spot is fellow Top Sales Expert, Dr. Tony Alessandra
 

You would think that particularly now, as we shiver under the dark clouds of financial uncertainty, we would be compelled to leave our comfort zones, and go off in search of greater security?

Not “most” people, because “most” people are too afraid.

I often quote this:

“Prince Rabadash’s army lay close behind them, Anvard ahead. If they did not reach Anvard before Rabadash and his horde, their journey, their entire lives, would have been wasted. The horses, Bree and Hwin (both of whom could, of course, talk) galloped. Certainly both horses were doing, if not all they could, all they thought they could do; which is not quite the same thing. But a lion appeared out of nowhere and with the spur of terror; Bree now discovered that he had not really been going as fast, not quite as fast, as he could“.

This extract is of course taken from “The Chronicles of Narnia”, that fount of a million, simple and usually overlooked truths, and it illustrates perfectly what it takes for some of us to be steered out of our comfort zone.

Perhaps of all the temptations we meet in life, money, power, sex, alcohol, drugs and fame, the subtlest of all is the comfort zone, that invitation to settle for less, to go for content when the stresses of over achievement beckon. The way that takes you out of the comfort zone is the route less travelled by. Most of us when we come to that place where the two paths divide prefer the one that leads to safety, to warmth and to comfort.

Both in sport and in business, I have witnessed countless companies, friends, colleagues and team mates that underachieved, despite having far superior skills and talents when compared to others who have made it to the top. The reasons have always been the same, fear of leaving the comfort zone and entering into the unknown, the land potentially of failure and rejection.

However, I believe there is another way to motivate individuals and coax them out and it relies on one simple fact; most people do not know what they want from life. Certainly, the majority working in a commercial field will say they crave success but without understanding what success means for them. Of course, describing success is difficult, because it will be different for all of us. The definition I prefer is ‘The achievement of a worthwhile goal’

I also believe that I can speak with authority about the comfort zone, but in my case, I was lucky enough to discover Earl Nightingale, probably the greatest motivational speaker and personal development guru of our time,and yes, I include Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Tom Peters et al in that assessment.

If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to listen to Earl, I strongly recommend you seek out his work - I can honestly say that no other single person has had such a profound effect on my own work. 

My experience is that you cannot have everything you want, but you can have anything you really want – you just have to know what it is.

Today’s News: Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, we have just announced the Top Sales Article for September – we now have nine finalists for Top Sales Article Of The Year and just three more places up for grabs

They will join a very illustrious group of world-class authors and sales gurus:

Paul Cherry, Josiane Feigon, Ivan Misner, Mike Brooks, Mark Satterfield, Zig Ziglar, Kevin Eikenberry, Jill Konrath and…..

Just click on the banner below to find out who this month’s worthy winner is…….

You have just over a week to claim one of the last few seats at THE New York event of the month – just click on the banner right at the end of this post

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot, my guest is good friend Keith Rosen, who having sent me his latest book, was horrified to have it returned on Saturday: Unfortunately, he sent it to my home address and the rules are now that if you are not in when the postman tries to deliver a package, they don’t try and re-deliver, they return to sender??? Such is French customer service these days.

It all started a few years ago with Web 2.0, and now Sales 2.0 is the hot topic. What does this mean? Essentially, it means a complete transformation is taking place in our sales efforts, processes, tools, customers and markets, which all impact our sales cycle. As the customer’s buying cycle continues to evolve, their research of facts, pricing, and general understanding becomes more sophisticated. This means your selling process must start sooner and therefore, you can anticipate an increase in objections.

Introducing Sales Objections 2.0.

Expect more and more objections to arise in the following 5 categories:

•    Need: We all know multiple initiatives are sitting on everyone’s agenda the remainder of this year and the urgency and need for your solution may easily take a back seat.

•    Relationship: Although customers are more open to change than ever before, they also want to strengthen existing relationships with current vendors and partner with them in new ways. It may be tougher to displace the competition now.

•    Authority: With more decision-makers involved in the process, more No-Po’s pop up each day. These are the people who have no power and no authority to make a purchasing decision.

•    Product/Service: Although customers know more than ever before, they have less patience with anything too complicated and that lacks scalability and integration.

•    Price: Next year is going to be a lean year so prepare for this objection.

How do you rebound? Here are some rebuttal strategies based on the category objection you may receive:

Need Category:

•    Qualify your prospects to uncover the impact of their organization to determine potential for a need

•    Create a strong phone introduction that creates urgency

•    Determine if the prospect really knows what you are calling about

•    Call wide at different levels

Relationship Category:

•    Establish trust and rapport

•    Learn how to sell against your competition

•    Determine if the prospect needs to be sold or educated first

•    Call wide at different levels

Ability Category:

•    Understand the various authority levels and learn the chain of command to include more decision-makers

•    Present your product and align it to their “hot buttons”

•    Early in the sale, set expectations that you plan to align at the highest level

Product/Service Category:

•    Provide opportunities to educate on your product/service

•    Provide a cost-effective solution for easy entry

•    Ask precision questions

•    Neutralize their fears by providing added value for what you can deliver

Price Category:

•    Qualify price versus ownership

•    Determine if this is really a strong prospect who has potential

•    Spend more time creating value and less time talking about budget

•    Call at the highest level and learn the purchasing criteria

Josiane Feigon is a pioneer, maverick and visionary in the Sales 2.0 community. As President and Founder of TeleSmart, Josiane is a 20-year veteran and one of the world’s leading experts on developing sales teams and management talent. She provides consulting, coaching, and training solutions for hundreds of Fortune 500 companies whose global Sales organizations range from 20-800 salespeople. Clients such as Agilent, Apple, Cisco, EMC, Genesys, Harte-Hanks, HP, Mercury, Microsoft, Oracle and Verisign consider her an invaluable part of their sales strategies. Visit her website at www.tele-smart.com

Today’s News: Earlier in the week, I shared with you an upcoming series of webinars by my good friend Joanne Black? OK, you now have the opportunity to listen to Joanne in conversation with Clayton Shold over at Salesopedia - Joanne Black week? Why not? She is a remarkable person, probably the leading authority on referral selling in the world and a very good friend – just get over there 

Tomorrow: With all this bickering between sales and marketing, I make the assertion that “Selling Is The Key Component In The Total Marketing Process”

Have you registered yet?

 
Today, something a little highbrow, but stay with it because it’s interesting!

Everyone has a different make-up that influences how they take decisions. Ned Herrmann’s extensive research in this field led to the Herrmann Brain Theory.

There are four parts of the brain. As well as the familiar parts (the cerebral brain) – Left (realistic) and Right (idealistic) – there are also the less familiar (Limbic) parts – Top (thinking) and Bottom (doing) [based on the work of Sperry and McLean].

Components Of The Brain:
* A (upper left) Logical, analytical part
* B (lower left) Form, process, organisational part
* C (lower right) Emotional, feeling part
* D (upper right) Abstract, visioning part

The Herrmann Brain Theory:
The best performing groups have a balance between the four components of the brain, as is the case with the Star Trek officer team:

• Captain Kirk is the visionary leader ‘D’ and provides the spatial thinking
• Mr Spock is logical ‘A’ and puts the ideas into logical order and context
• ‘Bones’ McCoy expresses feelings ‘C’ and provides the emotions
• ‘Scotty’ is the pragmatic engineer ‘B’ and effects the decisions (‘I canna break the laws of physics!’)

The balance between the characters enables viewers, depending on their own character type, to empathise with one of the officers. This part accounts for the TV programme’s success.

It is important, therefore, to understand the type of person you are asking to make a decision. You have to play to his or her style. With groups you have to play to the members. People with similar profiles working together are a dysfunctional group. You will never get the best decisions as members will compete. If, for example, all were ‘Ds’, they would spend their time generating ideas but take no decisions.

Finally – Group Dynamics

Rarely are important or critical decisions taken by one person. Usually several people are involved, whether through a hierarchical process (e.g. Japanese companies) or in a group, team or committee.

Group dynamics are different from individual dynamics. Members of a group will have group objectives but also their own agenda – their own goals and characteristics.

Each individual’s personal goals …
• Rational
• Political
• Emotional
… must be understood and addressed.

Emotional
“What will I get out of this?”
“What will the impact be on my life?”

Rational
“What does it cost and what is the benefit?”
“Will it work and how long will it take?”

Political
“Will I look good in the organisation if I support this?”
“Will it advance my career?”

Today’s News: You have the opportunity to listen to me in conversation with Kevin Eikenberry on May 20th – registration is free if you click on the banner below – it will be worth it

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot, I welcome Josiane Feigon, a very bright cookie and talented writer.