Especially during challenging economic times and periods of uncertainty, many people spend more time focusing on that which they fear and as such, being driven by their fears to avoid a consequence, rather than the goals or dreams they want to create. Let’s face it; we’re all pretty good at articulating what we don’t want to happen in our lives yet fall short when trying to come up with a vivid picture of what we do want or our goals and dreams.

If you know what you don’t want and don’t know what you do want then where do you think you are going to continually wind up directing your thoughts and energy? Your goals and dreams don’t even stand a chance! Instead, empower your dreams and goals rather than your fears to be the driving force that moves you forward. Once you do so, you will then be able to achieve them.

The question is, if you are no longer going to be fueled by fear, consequence, or what you want to avoid to generate results, then what fuel are you going to use to drive you?

It’s better to find an energy source that will pull you towards something you want to create, something pleasurable, or something that you are passionate about, rather than fear, which pushes you away from what you want to avoid.

For example, if someone had to declare bankruptcy, they probably don’t want to experience another bankruptcy again. As such, instead of developing a clear vision or some measurable goals to achieve, they may operate from fear, driven to avoid this problem (running away from something) in the future rather than making choices that would be aligned with and complement what they want to create (moving towards something). This person may spend so much time focusing on the past, doing everything to avoid repeating their bad experience again, that they forgot where they are going. Worrying about the future rather than planning for the future is not the healthiest way to manage your thinking.

Since you need to add some type of fuel in your tank of life, here is your chance to tap into a new and positive energy source that will enable you to enjoy the journey of attaining your goals and objectives, especially as they relate to prospecting.

What are your values that need to be ignited? What do you value most that would be worth orienting your life or your career around? The bottom line is: Why do you do what you do? Why do you want to sell what you are selling? Without a healthy, motivating energy source as well as a true conviction in what you are selling, you are bound to travel down the road that leads to burn out. You are also placing a limit on your selling potential.

Here are some suggested fuel sources to assist you in uncovering your hidden passion that will become your driving force when prospecting and make you unstoppable.

1. Knowledge and Lifelong Learning. You have a thirst for knowledge and wisdom. You are a student of life and someone who embraces their own development and evolution. You are always looking for new ways to better yourself and your situation. You enjoy the experience of adding to your knowledge base and learning how to do new things that you never did before.

2. Giving Value and Helping Others. You are someone who experiences a great deal of joy when assisting other people. There’s no coincidence that you are in sales. You enjoy helping people solve their problems or better their condition. You derive a great deal of satisfaction knowing that you have assisted someone by sharing your time and expertise with them. You get energized when people rely on you. You seek to serve.

3. Product/Service: You possess a deep conviction about what you sell. There’s no doubt in your mind that what you offer can dramatically impact your customers and accelerate their success, enhance their life or career, or simply make their life easier. As such, you’re willing to talk to anyone about what you do. Your belief in your product is contagious. You feel as if you are doing your prospects a disservice if you can’t share with them what you can do that would improve their current situation.

4. Excellence. You simply want to be the best. Not to satisfy your ego or to be in the spotlight but because you enjoy the challenge of continuous improvement. You thrive off maximizing your potential and stretching your capabilities beyond what you initially thought you were capable of doing. That’s why you love to prospect! It provides you with a constant challenge. It’s the journey you enjoy, knowing that each day you have the opportunity to excel even further, fully embracing the challenges and opportunities that come your way in your quest to become a master of your life and career.

5. Family. At the end of the day, what’s more important than family? After all, why do you go to work every day? What is the ultimate goal? To raise and support a happy, healthy family. To be a great spouse, parent, and role model. You want nothing but the best for your family. They are your number one priority which you refuse to compromise. As long as it’s in your integrity to do so, you would do anything that honors the commitment you’ve made to them.

6. Relationships. You simply love people and connecting with new customers. You enjoy being part of your community. Your career allows you the ability to interact with a broad range of people and develop relationships with them. You deeply value the relationships you’ve made and give each one the attention and care they deserve. Connecting with people and communicating with them on a deeper level gives you a sense of purpose, comfort, and security.

7. Lifestyle. Your life-style is your style of living; the system or routine that you choose to use that governs your days, which makes up your life. You enjoy maintaining balance and harmony in your life. You appreciate the richness in your days that your career offers you. The income potential and flexibility played a huge role in your decision to become a salesperson. You are able to honor the priorities in your life such as your family, health and relationships. You feel that you own your day, which is evident in the amount of time you invest in taking care of yourself by engaging in the activities, hobbies, and sports that bring you the most joy. You are grateful for being able to create a great life and not just a living.

8. Creativity. You are always on the search for something unique, new and fun to try. You look forward to creating different strategies or tools that complement your selling and prospecting efforts. What puts a smile on your face is developing a new approach that will clearly separate you from your competition and grab your prospect’s interest. You love when your prospects say, “Wow, no one’s ever tried to get my attention like that before!”

9. Adventure. As a thrill seeker, what greater rush is there than closing a sale and earning a prospect’s business? You like the excitement and freshness that your career offers. Every day provides you with a new opportunity to create something that didn’t exist before; another new and happy customer.

10. Money. A high percentage of salespeople would admit that money is their primary motivator and why they got into sales in the first place. In many cases, salespeople are seduced by the thought of having a career with unlimited income potential. Before you chose money as your fuel, consider this. Is it actually the money that motivates you or is it what the money represents and what it can do for you? Does it give you security, freedom, a sense of accomplishment, peace of mind, a greater feeling of self worth? Will money allow you to create the lifestyle you want? Does it provide you with the opportunity to buy your dream house or new car, take that family vacation, enjoy more leisurely activities? Chances are, if you explore at a deeper level why you are choosing money as your motivator, you may realize that you’re better off using one of the other fuel sources that has already been mentioned.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A recent report by Selling Power indicates that corporations spend over seven billion dollars per year on sales training. The vital issue, with an investment this large many companies do not provide a means to understand whether it leads to a return on investment. And, many sales representatives do not adopt the sales methodology! In present economic times, the cost of capital is too high not to have measures.

Our firm has spent over 25 years in the field and we have seen this trend too often repeated. There is simply no reason to measure productivity, manufacturing and talent management, and not measure training return on investment.

When the concern is for both sales and growth there is a vital need to form a link. We have found that there are several issues that break the connectivity:

• The sole metric used is new sales or new clients.
• While many companies conduct sales training, it is event based.
• Many selling representatives do not adopt the prescribed methodology.
• “Eighty seven percent of training is lost within one month.”
• Training is not tied to the corporate business strategy.
• Executive buy-in is narcissistic.

The sole metric used is new sales or new clients.
Differentiation is the key to all business and industry. However, many do not have proper metrics to understand the impact of new and decreased sales. If a firm is engaged in an established selling program then it’s vital to work toward a return on investment. Talent is measured, manufacturing production is measured, and customer service is measured, then why not sales? More importantly, new sales cannot be the only metric used to denote if sales training works. Selling does not work in a silo. Clearly, customer service, closing efficiency, handling objections and demonstration of product and service are required. The metric used must integrate with all operational departments effected by sales and more importantly the linkage to the overall corporate strategy.

Sales Training cannot be event based.
A chronic misunderstanding about training is the issue of changing habits. Habits are formed from years of influences and behaviors. These behaviors have cultivated through many years of constant repetition. Enculturation is manifestation of behaviors.  These behaviors do not change in a seven-hour program. It is counter productive to believe that a billion dollar firm will obtain double digit production after a seven-hour event. Results come from repetition. When was the last time other than starvation that you lost weight in a day or increased muscularity without exercise?  Ask your selling professionals, “can you do the job if you life depended on it?” Deter shortcuts and train staff periodically for best results! Treat them as elite athletes.

Many selling representatives do not adopt the prescribed methodology.
The worst travesty for any training program is a sheer lack of accountability. There are countless anecdotes of participants sent into training for hours and days at a time, returning to work no better than before training. Workers return to past habits having forgotten educational practicum. This illustrates a complete disregard for the return on investment. The only mechanism for success is the establishment of new habits. What gets remembered gets repeated and it is imperative for individuals to constantly repeat new processes to change old habits.

Second, review your talent pool. Research proves that certain behaviors cannot be taught. Organizations can hire for physical ability and even certain skills but talent is innate. Your talent does or does not have it. When the methodology is not used, search your talent pool.

“Eighty seven percent of training is lost within one month.”
Training for training sake does not work. While short-term productivity occurs, training is a longer-term process. Selling requires a series of programs that instill motivation, memorization and practicum. Short-term production might help monthly revenue gain, however, quarterly and annual are the proper success metrics. What might your feelings be if you discovered your physician only went to medical school for two years or only assisted a half dozen patients per year? How about an attorney that only litigated four cases per year? Selling is a profession.

We work in a multigenerational, multi-gendered and multicultural workforce. This potpourri requires changes in learning accommodation. Today’s learner desires 1) to be involved in the learning process, they like interaction and adverse to simple lecture and 2) desire different modalities of learning. The proliferation of consumer electronics, the Internet and personal computing allows learners to devour content wherever, however and whenever they desire.  Use a blended approach but ensure learning continues and does not hit obstacles.

Training is not tied to the corporate business strategy.
Tactical sales forces do not work in today’s complex and connected world. Sales representatives are myopic to the needs of the organization focusing only on the “product/service” of the day. It is imperative to denote for all staff the motives for the business. Sales staff must be aligned toward the core values. This provides vision and purpose. Exemplars such as FedEx illustrate this model as all work toward guaranteed overnight delivery. 

Executive buy-in is narcissistic.
The worst travesty for any training program is a sheer lack of accountability. Executives state the important of training yet THEY do not participate in programs and worse, do not follow up with required accountable. Stop the narcissism. Hold all individuals accountable to ALL training program essentials. Participants learn from true leaders and they follow them. People believe what they see and leadership must serve as exemplars.

Conventional wisdom says people change jobs for pay and morale, but lack of training leaves a chasm of frustration. The sales department is the most important asset of any organization. Executives are unpaid, vendors are unpaid, products are not developed until something is sold. End the training gap and begin to invest in the most vital asset of any organization- selling!

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have read a plethora of articles and commentary recently about Sales 2.0 and there is an air of inevitability that at some point in the not too distant future, many of the tasks now routinely handled by “salespeople” will become automated – in fact it is already happening.

But, and this is a really big but, in my view, there will always be a place for the professional business consultant – the “Top 5% Player” – these people never sell anything, but they do assist their clients in making sound buying decisions.

However, this is a wake-up call for the “order takers and marketers” because gone are the days in which a salesperson could simply walk into an office, establish a good rapport with the client, show he/she had thorough knowledge of their products and services and clinch the sale.

Nowadays, the emphasis is on establishing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and in order to achieve this, the salesperson needs to earn the right to continue discussions with his/her client. Before they can proceed to sell their products or services, the salesperson needs to reassure the client of their integrity, reliability, and ability to understand and recommend the appropriate solution.

They can do this by demonstrating:
• Up-to-date knowledge of business news and current affairs.

Best practices include - reading newspapers, magazines, journals, trade publications and other sources of business information; maintaining membership of appropriate professional organisations; acknowledging gaps in knowledge and taking steps to fill them; locating or developing databases with information on customers, their industries and their own customers.

• An in-depth understanding of the customer’s industry, company and strategies as well as an appreciation of “the big picture.”

Best practices include - gaining an understanding of the issues at all levels of the customer’s organisation including strategic, departmental, and individual needs; seeking to understand the customer’s perceptions of market trends, company direction, plus potential product and service needs.

• A readiness to exchange information and ideas between the supplier and client organisation.

Best practices include - familiarising the customer with your own industry and companies; sharing useful business information even if it does not directly impact on the sales effort; demonstrating the cost-cutting or revenue producing benefits of your products and services.

• The ability to listen and absorb information.

Best practices include - refining the way you identify customer’s needs by asking the right questions and listening actively to customer comments; speaking at the listener’s level of knowledge; using stories and analogies effectively; asking for feedback on the clarity of your message. By demonstrating comprehensive knowledge, outstanding communication skills, and the proper attitude, the salesperson earns the right to move beyond the role of supplier to that of a valued business consultant

These are just a few pointers to those wanting to stay in the game – the clock is ticking and as the man said, the one constant that we can absolutely rely on in life is change.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

"Great athletes don't just show up for their games, they work out and practice constantly throughout their careers. Great musicians and opera singers do the same. Even accountants, nurses, and teachers must continue to train, forever furthering their educations to stay on top of developments in their professions. Why should a sales rep be any different?" says Michelle Nichols at Business Week.

If you want to earn more, you have to learn more. There are no shortcuts. There is no rationale in waiting for your employer to provide sales and industry training either. Your educational requirements are continuous. Your ongoing education is solely your responsibility. If your employer does not provide ongoing sales and specific industry training, then you must pursue it on your own. You must consider it an investment will pay both immediate and extended benefits, with a potential return on investment much higher than the norm.

"When I see a book that promises to improve my selling skills, I admit my first thought is that buying it will put me $25 in the hole. But then I remind myself that one good idea in those 200-or-so pages could help me make a sale and net a $1,000 commission. By that yardstick, I just made 4000% on my investment, which beats Wall Street's payouts any day" proclaims Nichols.

A down economy is a superb time to re-invest in yourself. Salespeople need to study methods and philosophies of successful entrepreneurs, business icons and sales experts to advance their success plan. An investment in yourself is always your best investment. Continuous education allows a salesperson to be positioned in front of the next wave of opportunity. Some call that being lucky. I say that the word luck is actually defined as that specific point in time where preparedness meets opportunity. Without training, the timing of that point may pass you by simply because you were not prepared to recognize it.

Your ongoing education allows helps position you properly with eyes and ears open and aware. Thorough preparation at all levels allows a salesperson to effectively operate and prosper, while experiencing less stress. Worry, fear, inconsistency, lack of account preparation, out of date industry knowledge, technical inability and poor sales planning all contribute to increased stress levels and poor performance. Continuous sales education minimizes these negative traits while elevating the importance of goal setting, developing an effective sales plan and learning effective interactive selling skills. Your need for such training is continuous. Your personal development must become a priority.

There are no shortcuts to sales success and personal fulfillment, yet the requirements for such are not at all complex. The formula is simple: Continuous Education = Prosperity.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

More than any other corporate discipline, salespeople second guess their current role constantly. I’m not talking about whether or not they want to quit their current position (that’s everybody). I mean they question if they want to get out of the whole sales racket altogether. Even seemingly seasoned (the George Hamilton look-alikes with the Rolex) will admit that they would love to go back to school and become a teacher, open a restaurant, crew a crabbing boat, whatever. For those people who are still young enough to do something about it, the ones that have their fantasies of joining the circus get in the way of closing deals, allow me to focus you with a few quick pros and cons of being in sales.  Who knows--I might help cull a few of you jugglers out of the woods quicker or rein a natural hunter back in.

Cons of being a salesperson

The number: It won’t go away, not even when you sleep or drink yourself into vaudeville. It gets harder all the time. You don’t get a pass for being old. Or new. It might as well be your prison number that you answer to at company meetings because your relationship to quota is WHO YOU ARE. You are the only person who has to care about everyone else’s job, because they all get paid whether the deal goes through or not.

Your boss: For some reason it is a rule that your manager, your VP, your CEO, your company owner or someone above you in the corporate monkey tree will be diametrically opposed to you in outlook, work ethic, technical ability, looks, etc. For me there was always some process whip-dick who wanted to see the easygoing jokester fail.

The customer: The inescapable reality in sales is that you are totally subservient to the people that will eventually mumble their consent to your proposal. No matter what kind of Far Side cartoon character you are dealing with it is your job to smile your way into their head and get the deal. They set the rules and your only reward for one failed (or Pyrrhic victory) relationship is another one on the spreadsheet. I still have a fantasy of jumping up in the middle of a call, letting everything I really think come spilling out and singing that “Anything you can do I can do better” song in full punk rocker roar.

Pros of being a salesperson

The number: Hitting that number frees you from all the chains of corporate life. Executive management LOVES you. HR shreds your file. PTO days don’t apply to you- and you work your own hours. It is the way that salespeople become the best paid people in the organization. Nobody can look elsewhere for who is number one because it is right there in black and white- I’m the best, so suck it. It is the closest you can get to being a celebrity or athlete.

Your boss: When you crush your numbers, you don’t have a boss.Your manager needs to just stay out of your way.There is no comparison in any other department. The top sales guy trumps the VP. He gets to slap the CEO’s bald head and call him “Woody” to his face. True story--I once laid down on the stage and fell asleep while a new president was grilling the rest of the company. I was closing deals--so he wasn’t talking to me.

The customer: I’m all about new people. Go ahead, jump in the cliché Conga line and say I’m a people person. Success in sales is directly attributable to how many people you can meet and move toward your goal. You are not allowed to sit at your desk and only deal with the same set of tired people (all former and present co-workers of mine obviously not included). The salesperson is constantly learning -and being entertained- and can make his own schedule. Customers are the path to freedom.

That’s right, the pros are the cons. Decide which they are for you and get out now or get back to work.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I was recently asked, "If you were mentoring a new salesperson, what would be your top five sales tips and how did you learn those?" 

Good question! It really got me thinking. There are so many things I'd like to tell a new seller. But what are the most important? What things could I recommend that would have the highest impact on success?

After serious deliberation, here are my thoughts ...

1. Focus on making a difference.

Nobody cares about your product, service or solution. That's the hardest thing for sellers to realize. All they care about is the difference you can make for their organization.

For example, today I sell sales training. If I'd call a VP of Sales and mention that, they'll tell me their not interested. However, once I changed my focus to the tangible outcomes they'd get from using my sales training, the door opened wide. After all, they were extremely interested in shortening their sales cycle, reducing the ramp up time for new hire sales reps and driving revenue growth.

2. Slow down to speed up your sales.

This was one of the hardest things for me to learn. When I first started selling, I was so eager to be successful. I tried to wow my prospects with my great product knowledge. I closed often and early. But the more I tried to rush things, the more resistant to moving forward my prospects became. They'd throw out obstacles and objections that I couldn't overcome. When I learned to slow down, parcel information out over multiple meetings, and simply advance the sales process one step at a time, suddenly my sales increased.

When you're scared about not getting the business, your prospects can intuitively sense your fear. One of the major symptoms is rushing the sales process.

3. Pay the price of admission. Do precall research!

To get into big companies, you can't make a 100 cold calls saying the same thing to everyone. Several years ago corporate decision makers stopped answering their phones and rolled all calls to voicemail. They delete most message within seconds because they sound like salespeople making their pitch.

I discovered that the only way to capture the attention of these corporate decision makers was to create a very personalized message based on in-depth research in their firm. Once I started doing this, I started setting up meetings.

4. Create an account entry campaign.

It takes 7-10 contacts to crack into a corporate accounts these days. Most sellers give up after 3-5 attempts. If you want to set up a meeting with a corporate decision maker, plan multiple touches from the onset. It takes a while to break through their busy-ness and register on their Richter Scale, but it can be done.

You can use multiple formats in your campaign too: voicemail, email, direct mail, invitations to teleseminars, and more.

5. Analyze your sales approach from your customer's shoes.

It's not important what you say. The only thing that matters is what your customer's hear. For example, when I was trying to reach a decision maker a while back, I decided to leave the message on my own voicemail first to see how I sounded. When I listened to my message, I was appalled. I sounded pathetic! So I worked on scripting my message and kept calling myself over and over till I finally created something I would respond to if I were the prospect.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In MassMutual Offers Podcasts to Field Sales, the following was noted:

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., Springfield, Mass., is taking podcasting to new levels by using it to provide its field sales force with company news, product information and marketing tips.

MassMutual is using the latest MP3 technology to create a 15-minute weekly audio program in the form of a digital audio file delivered via the Internet to field representatives.

MassMutual's National Center for Professional Development (NCPD), a unit at the company responsible for providing training content and opportunities for MassMutual's field force, writes, produces and distributes a user-friendly educational and training program called "Radio NCPD," which is designed to provide concise, engaging and informative programs to enhance knowledge and productivity.

Podcasts are available by subscription, and any member of MassMutual's field force is eligible to receive them for free, including general agents, agents, sales managers, trainers and recruiters. Subscribers automatically receive the podcast each week on a Monday. Field associates can either play the podcast on their computer or laptop, or transfer the file to their portable MP3 player and listen to it anywhere at their convenience. Each week, listeners are provided content on a wide range of topics, including updates on product information, underwriting policies and procedures, interviews with MassMutual's top sales representatives and tips for success in particular markets.

MassMutual has been offering podcasts since early February. Currently, more than 700 of MassMutual's field force subscribe to the weekly program, and that number continues to grow, reports the company. Subscribers are invited to provide regular feedback to the NCPD on content they would like to hear, which results in timely and informative programs that speak directly to the interests of listeners.

Field Sales Training is an excellent use for podcasting and a trend I expect will grow rapidly.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In case you actually have a few hours to catch up on some reading in the next couple of weeks.  Here is a quick list of my favorite sales books that can help you prepare for your "Sales New Year's Resolutions". Taken together these books cover most of the different skills needed to succeed in IT sales.

1. The Power to Get In by Michael Boylan (Key Learning: how to prospect): this is the best book on prospecting that I have come across.  Michael's system is very clear and detailed and does work.  Definitely the one to read if your key problem is "getting in the door"
2. Solution Selling by Michael Bosworth (Key Learning: how to run a sales meeting): no book covers the whol process of selling IT solutions (in my opinion) but "Solution Selling" is the one that comes closest.  The book is strong in explaining how to run a sales meeting and helping a client express their needs.  It's weakness is that it is short on information on prospecting and how to get to that first meeting
3. The New Strategic Selling by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman (Key Learning: how to progress a deal): this book contains the best framework for selling solutions that involve more than one decision-maker - as most do.  Once you have had the initial sales meeting this book takes you through the process of progressing the deal to close.
4. Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty by Harvey Mackay (Key Learning: how to network): a great book about networking.  Networking gives sales people and business owners a big edge in the long run.  This is a great book to read to get your started or hone your networking approach.
5. Getting Things Done by David Allen (Key Learning: how to get organized): so many sales opportunities seem to get lost because sales people are not well organized.  David Allen's book is a new classic on getting organized and keeping track of everything you need to do.

If you have any real "sales geeks" in your family or friends, these could also make nice holiday gifts!

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I often ask sales people what sales methodology they use...and I often get greeted by a blank stare. 

So then I ask which sales training they took over their career is the one they use on a day-to-day basis.  The answer to this question is often a list of four to five, often well known, training courses...

Then the sales person usually tells me they don't really use any of them...

In my opinion this is not good news for the company these sales people work for.  If you, like me, believe that sales is a process, you want your sales people to have a process. The goal of sales training is to change behaviors and to pass on a sales process to attendees so that they are more effective in selling in the field.

Research conducted by the Huthwaite Group (authors of SPIN Selling) concluded that 87% of skills are lost within 4 weeks of sales training if no reinforcement is carried out.  If skills are lost, behavior will not change and sales people will keep doing things "by their gut" - often in a fatally flawed manner.

So next time you consider sales training, make sure you factor in ways to reinforce the learning that takes place in the classroom, either through formal reinforcement sessions or on-the-job coaching.  Otherwise, your sales people will come out of the training class looking like "shiny cars that just went through the car wash" but they will not improve their sales results.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)