How to Create a Year End Sales Blitz
Just yesterday Kathy called me crying that revenues were down that she would not meet her quota. I answer calls like this frequently. Early this week Ron mentioned that he does not understand how he will meet expenses this month!
If this sounds like you then advice is on the way!
One of the largest issues that many sales professionals and entrepreneurs deal with is that when you are busy working, you are too busy not marketing and creating visibility; and when you are not busy, you are busy with everything else but marketing. Procrastination is the order of the day. What you need to realize is that busy or not, client or not, revenue or not, priorities or not, every day is a marketing day! You must be active everyday soliciting business.
Okay you gave me the riot act for the future but what about now?
So by now you are in panic mode and thinking what if anything can I do to salvage the year. Yes there is still time. Here are five things you need to do right now to closer business before year-end.
- Get out of the stands and into the field of play. If you ever want to know the difference between the successful individual and those that aren’t simply look at the workload. Successful people are always busy, constantly adhering to their mission and vision. This requires that you get busy being busy. I am not speaking of the inappropriate things that waste time – only those that point to revenue. This requires that you begin to network aggressively meeting new individuals and passing out your business card. There should be a goal in mind such as meeting 4 new people per day or writing out one new proposal this week. The busier you are the more successful you will become. And, when you are busy there is less time to think about issues, ponder depression and waste the day! When you are busy you are working on a better future. As an action step sign up for two new networking events where you know no one and meet four new people!
- The Art of the Referral – The sweetest sound anyone can hear about their business is the endorsement from a happy customer. Happy clients are your greatest assets because they tell others. This helps value, brand and future client attraction. Think here about Apple, Facebook and many other organizations that never, and I mean never use advertising. The reason- they have happy clients tell the story. The problem here is twofold 1) you never ask enough and 2) you ask too late. It is important that you remain in constant contact with clients and always seek out useful referrals. As an action item today, solicit four referrals from everyone in your database. You will be surprised by the results.
- A Complimentary Offer – Clients today are very persnickety because they have access to a wealth of free information. Clients and consumer behavior have come to expect some complimentary offering. What do you have that have some value that you might provide to clients? Might you provide a free webinar, a one day credit something that creates enough action that makes movement. Remember it is all about value and sometimes this requires a bit more of a push. Giving something away might help prompt the sale.
- Third Party Endorsement – While watching the news recently there was a story on the six degrees theory. You know the notion of it’s a small world! However, in recent analysis of 721 million active Facebook users and their over 69 billion friendships found that any two individuals in the world are connected, on average, by just 4.74 acquaintances. With the proliferation of social media we are more connected then ever. Well if that is the case all you need to do is seek within your electronic Rolodex of individuals of who knows who at the account you are attempting to close and ask for help. You do not ask then you do not receive! Therefore it is important that you do not even complete this article and seek immediately within your circles to gain access to people that know of others that can help you close business.
- Cut the cord and get with the right person – This hellacious environment altered the individuals you believed to be decision makers and those that think they are. If you really want to close business- and I mean now, then stop conversing with those that are not economic buyers. Only concern yourself with a person that can right a check, sign a contract or letter agreement and has the approval. Stop pondering with budgets, organizational politics and senseless bureaucratic refuse. Ask the right questions, meet the right people and you will notice less time wasted and more responsiveness to your value.
Those that get busy today adopting these principles will notice an increase in activity. The requirement today in this crazy busy world is to be consistently and relentless involved with client activity. Action makes you visible and memorable. Action creates motion, and motion creates revenue.
©Drew Stevens PhD. All rights reserved.
Marketing & Sales Alignment Best Practices
In How Sales Executives Can Improve Marketing and Sales Alignment in 2011, ExecSense examines easy-to-implement strategies and best practices used by leading sales executives to build alignment between their sales and marketing teams. Take the 60 minutes to view this webinar (on your computer, mobile phone, iPad, Kindle or printed out) and learn valuable tips and techniques to improve marketing and sales alignment in order to build a single, integrated revenue pipeline and generate and close more leads this year.
If you cannot call-in to attend the webinar and view the presentation at 4:30 EST, Friday, March 18th, ExecSense will email you the PowerPoint, audio and supplementary files by the next day for viewing at your convenience during your next commute, business trip, flight, lunch, or free hour in your schedule (you simply need to register before the webinar occurs). If you would like to ask an anonymous question or request a specific topic to be covered during the webinar, please email the moderator at lauraj@execsense.com after you have registered to attend and we guarantee your question/topic will be covered.
Find out how to order at:
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Overcoming Sales Hurdles
Through trial and error we understand that the more issues remain the same the more they must change. Research in a myriad of periodicals mentions numerous challenges for organizations especially in the selling process. New issues abound daily impacting how selling professionals meet buyer’s needs.
What we know are the following:
➢ Decision Makers are hard to find. There are so many responsibilities for people that trying to find the time for discussion is difficult. Additionally, since organizations tend to focus on lean, more people are making decisions rather than management. A recent Wall Street Journal Report states that personnel without authority to purchase a laptop can plan a regional meeting with a budget of $500,000!
➢ Competitive Neutrality. The proliferation of the Internet and information is challenging. Buyers comprehend more of your organization than your own sales force!
➢ Organizational labyrinthine. Globalization, rightsizing, mergers and multitudes of organizational transformation are as perplexing as discovering the DaVinci Code. Reporting lines and decision processes are difficult.
➢ Financial Planning. The one constant is decreasing divisional funds. Agreement is reached only to discover the unavailability of funds.
➢ The best defense is unclear. 15 years ago, training your sales force was mandatory. With tightening budgets and productivity issues, selling professionals are sent into battle without armaments.
➢ CRM. The sales tool offered to assist selling professionals is underutilized and mis-understood.
➢ No Teamwork. Sales require more collaboration with the marketing department.
With over 27 years of research and analysis with numerous organizations we constantly hear about sales excuses- no return calls to numerous voice mails. I have made return calls to interested parties only to never hear from them again. The world has become more complex and navigationally difficult.
Read any present newspaper or periodical and you will begin to acquire the phraseology of the “knowledge economy”. This is defined as an economy based on creating, evaluating, and trading knowledge. In a knowledge economy, labor costs become progressively less important as opposed to the amount of knowledge acquired by individuals and organizations to become more effective. Simply put, the more information one has the more knowledge one gains. Content is king! This is the key differentiator.
Selling professionals similar to your clients must be content experts. Clients desire trust and respect and they desire intellectual conversation. Drop the features and benefit discussion- these left when public seminars did. Your clients crave illustrious council. Selling professionals must be advisors, consultants and experts. This is vital to your business success.
There are some rules about sales:
1. There are simply four techniques of selling that are vital. One does not need numerous methods and training. Learn the four simple steps and you will sell more than you realize.
2. There is no basic selling rule or principle that has been discovered in the last hundred years.
3. One needs to take these principles and use them daily. Practicing these rules and making them a habit in your daily life will make you better.
4. Do not rush learning. Rome was not built in a day. You must learn daily and practice daily but without haste and impatience.
5. Evaluate yourself. Be critical and learn by what you are doing and not doing to become better. Be honest in your assessment.
The one issue of selling never expressed in training or research is that it is not event based or linear. Selling is a process, it takes time, it takes effort and it takes patience!
© 2008 Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Original sales article published here.
Why Training Investment is a Failure to Most Organizations
Reading a recent Wall Street Journal article I was flabbergasted to learn of organizations that are recently increasing the amount of leadership development training. Ironically, organizations are dropping organizational development in light of budget limitations. With tighter budgets and concerns over the recession, many organizations are attempting work on both leadership and team building skills.
With careful analysis of both value and outcome organizational development is heading in the wrong direction. Developing staff during an economic quagmire sends both the improper message and focus.
Here is the rationale why training fails in organization:
1. The first area of focus during economic turmoil is sales. Nothing happens without something in the organization getting sold. There must be a solid focus on selling methodology, value orientation and relationship building. Energies must be applied to building sales adjuncts and not leadership.
2. Every organization exists for one purpose- the customer. Attempting to build narcissistic programs without focus on client retention is wasteful.
3. Leadership Development is a waste. If the organizational culture does not exemplify empowerment, strategy and client focus I good or bad times, the training is wasteful.
4. There is a current fear that training aids employee retention. This is farthest from the truth; people leave bad managers not bad companies. Seek to retain talent by ending the infighting, the silos and the bad management.
5. For years I have watched organizations attempt team building. I enjoy seeking an organization try to mend conversation between Bob and Ted. They take the two on a whitewater rafting trip with a case of beer hoping for cajoling. Believe me if Ted and Bob do not like each other, one is not returning. All of our clients believe that greater teamwork is essential to their efficiency and effectiveness. However clients actually have groups rather than teams. There are those in the group that win while others lose. In addition, there is too much focus on the individual accountable versus what the team can provide.
6. The training and development industry is self-serving. Over $60 billion is spent on training every year with very little focus on return on investment. It is wasteful to conduct training without any sustainable result. Training is an event that does not change behavior in a six-hour period. In addition, training is a reaction to something gone awry.
7. Training attempts to throw independent consultants and money at an issue to be resolved. What is required are metrics of accountability both before and after. Managers must hold themselves and employees accountable after an event.
8. Training must be part of an ongoing process, such as coaching, mentoring and counseling. These techniques not only think through what is before but what goes after. Using these techniques, managers can review the obstacles seeking application on the job.
©2009 Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.
How to Deliver Customer Service like and Athlete
Peter Drucker once stated that the purpose of every American business is one thing – creating customers. Research by the American Management Association show that your average HAPPY customer will tell 3 people about her experience with you. Research shows that, out of 25 dissatisfied customers, one customer complain, 24 are dissatisfied but do not complain, and 6 of 24 non complainers have serious issues with the organization. More importantly for selling professionals, customer service is included in 40 percent of every client interaction.
I remember the greatest words I ever heard when seeking to repair my computer after a 3 hour conversation, the representative getting tired stated, “You are a customer, and I will get this repaired for you no matter what”. When you supply grand slam customer service, your business costs are lower and your success greater.
Great Service Requires Great Solutions
After doing some research, I have discovered that the key to grand slam customer service is practicing it. Just like an athlete practices for an event, or the musician practices for a concert, the service provider must practice. Here is my seven-step protocol to enhance your service delivery.
PRACTICE ™ Customer Service
• Positive First Impression – you must be genuinely interested in assisting others. passion and empathy separates the athletes from the spectators.
• Rapport – 98% of every interaction involves trust and respect. Ensure you establish rapport with every client.
• Assess the Issue – Asking provocative questions is the only way to get to the heart and soul of every issue.
• Communication – The best communicators listen first and speak second. Athletes know when to ask and when to tell.
• Time Management – Customer Service representatives are trained to expeditiously respond to issues but can you do this qualitatively too?
• Interest – Gaining interest requires an understanding of the multi generational and cultural issues that assist in building rapport and becoming genuinely being interested in others, a famous Dale Carnegie and biblical trait.
• Closing on a Positive Note – Always close your calls on the positive side seeking to address any open issues and questions.
• Evaluation – Customer service requires conviction and passion to aid others. Once complete with your calls ensure you also evaluate to carry these themes from call to call.
No Clients are the same
You must adjust this process to fit your business and strategy. Ensure success by evaluating your clients, and your staff to closely align the staff with compelling client needs. Document your successes and discuss these with your team, so that your game plans adjust as new needs arise.
© 2008. Drew J. Stevens. All rights reserved.
Food Fight
I had the opportunity to meet a dear friend for dinner at a local steakhouse near my home. As we were seated, Danny Devito’s twin greeted us. Oscar aka Danny took almost 25 minutes to return to our table taking drinks and our meal order. Mind you this was not a very busy evening, but you could tell from the moment we were seated Oscar did not want to be working.
During our order I desired one of two choices: fish or steak. Naturally I asked Oscar which he believed best. His glib reply, “Well this is a steakhouse”. My friend and I were aghast but continued our meal.
No one needs to be treated disrespectfully whether eating a meal or simply sitting in the waiting room of a physician’s office. The fact is that customer service is a vital aspect for each business; product or service.
Here are some thoughts for sales professionals, managers, and business owners.
1. Smile – The first thing consumers see when they are getting serviced. Ensure there is a smile on every agents face. When was the last purchase you made from David the Depressed?
2. Enthusiasm – Smart people like, smart-ass people can live without. If your people do not like what they do, ask them to leave.
3. Engaging – Service does not have to look similar to Thanksgiving Dinner with the family but it does require being genuinely interested in others. Ensure conversations occur.
4. People Make a Difference – Hire the right people for the right job. Clearly Oscar had no business waiting tables on a busy Saturday evening.
5. Check your Baggage – Like you there are good days and bad days, everyone has them, however consumers do not care. Leave the misery and angst at the door; service everyone equally and respectfully.
2009. Drew Stevens PhD. All rights reserved.
How Selling Professionals Avoid Failure
A common travesty that underpins sales success is fear. Selling professionals fear picking up the phone, they fear asking for referrals, they fear asking for the agreement. Sellers fear because they do not know what to do if something does not go their way. They have failed. Not true, failure is the best teacher in the world. Stop looking at failure as a negative. A terrific mentor, author and king of the consulting world Alan Weiss states, “If you are not failing you are not trying”.
First, selling professionals are constantly immersed in rejection. Yet it all begins with confidence. Sellers must believe in the products and services they represent. If you do not believe it you will not sell it! How do you expect buyers to believe you if you cannot believe it? Avoid failure with passion and conviction for the company you represent.
Second, regular readers of this column know my thoughts on cold calling- I abhor it. There are times when it is necessary. More importantly, there are times when friends, peers and colleagues might provide sellers with a referral. Research in this area illustrates that over 78% of individuals procrastinate making these calls because of rejection. Refrain from preconceptions and pick up the phone! What you are really saying is that you do not know what to say after hello! Rejections diminish with proper preparation, provocative questions and action steps.
It is important to remember that buyers do not reject you personally, they reject the offer simply because there is a lack of trust and value. Therefore, sellers must find methods that counteract these issues.
“Failure is not an option” originated from the issues of Apollo 13. Unfortunately many selling professionals use the cliché for all their efforts. With so many organizations lacking investment in their sales teams and with less individuals investing in themselves, failure is the best educational tool. Keep trying, continue failing, stop looking for short term results but long term strategies of self-mastery. Failure is the key to your economic selling future!
Additional Quote for the Day
“Why don’t you want to do what you know you should do? The reason you don’t is that you’re in conflict with yourself.” – Tom Hopkins (The Art of Selling)
©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Limited beliefs also withhold your success, Click Here for a Free Report on Overcoming Limited Beliefs
Drew Stevens PhD is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and practice management success. Dr. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling and the upcoming book Ultimate Business Bible – 10 Strategies for Achieving Ultimate Business Success. Click to receive a free chapter of Ultimate Business Bible. Dr. Drew is one of the founders of the Sales Leadership Program at St. Louis University and operates Sales Fitness and Business Expert Radio one of the Internet’s highly successful podcasts and radio programs. To discover how Drew Stevens can dramatically accelerate your revenue contact him through his website.
Sales Techniques with Dr. Drew
If you or one of your selling staff where pulled over by a police officer and arrested for being a selling professional, would there be enough evidence to convict you or the others?
The purpose of selling is meant to create relationships. Selling requires building trust and asking provocative questions that instill dialogue to gain customer understanding. So why then are there so many floundering, failing and simply annoying many. Too many selling professionals today fail to do the required homework to have any intellectual discussion. It is criminally negligent to not conduct the necessary detective work and discover information to assist conversation.
In two recent and hellacious examples one seller was an SEO firm seeking to assist me my web efforts. However he knew nothing of my Google ranking. In the other, one sales professional did not get past hello because of the rote script she was reading from. This folly conveys ignorance and most of all laziness. Selling requires research and knowledge before engaging conversation. Anything less results in rejection.
Before you pick up the phone to say hello, make certain that the actions you take can convict you of being a professional, ethical and knowledgeable selling professional.
Quote of the day
To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge. – Benjamin Disraeli
Monday Momentum with Dr. Drew
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.”
Jules Renard quotes (French Writer, 1864-1910)
As an avid reader of the conquest of American History I am often reminded of the stories of the Gold Rush. Those that sought gold traveled far to stake their claim to fortune. They traveled far and through rough terrain to capture their dream. American history is rampant with stories of those taking action and subsequent risk to seek out new futures and fortunes.
The contrast today is the laziness of many. Rather than diet and maintain nutrition individuals use a remote in search of the 6-second workout. So many are in a rush they do not signal on highways while others text and drive. Rather than make their own luck they lament by victimization therefore seeking alternatives to work.
If you want a new future stop the folly of laziness and do something. I am amazed when selling professionals and their owners blame customers, the economy and political issues for lack of business. 92% of selling falters because of a lack of a process and more importantly the lack to establish a relationship. Stop whining; stop making excuses and start creating a new future. If you want to reap you must sow. Seek out an education and invest in resources to help you. Gold miners worked for their fortune why shouldn’t you.
There are 7 techniques you can use daily to assist you preparation efforts. Get the 7 Secrets to Sales Preparation by emailing me today. Ask about our Free 30 Minutes “Sales Acceleration Coaching Clinic” to help you gain immediate sales result!
©2009. Drew J. Stevens Ph. D. All rights reserved.
Drew Stevens PhD is one of the worlds leading experts in sales and sales skills. Dr. Drew is the author of six books including Split Second Selling and the soon to be released Ultimate Business Bible. With over 25 years of sales experience and business leader, Dr. Drew has extensive experience in assisting both entrepreneurs and selling professionals to experience higher efficiency and effectiveness. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness offering tips and techniques that immediately improve selling performance.
Dr. Drew's Thursday Sales Rant
It is the age of information and knowledge, but it is ironic how lazy many have become. Each day I am amazed over the emails, newsgroups and other electronic media requesting innovative methods to sell. Folks if you or others like you are not making your numbers and seek answers to your selling woes look within! If you seek The Secret, here it is… there isn’t any. There are four issues prevalent in today’s society:
- Selling is a relationship business. And, your relationships should be with buyers not gatekeepers. I suggest a quick review of your address book and CRM system. As they say in the database world; garbage in, garbage out. Further look around you and determine whom you speak with and whom you network. Filter your network to only include those that can make a purchase decision.
- Selling requires a process. If you have never been taught how to sell and your organization does not provide training- invest! There is nothing more sickening then the person that wanders in the woods without breadcrumbs. The process of selling is similar to a GPS system; it guides you toward your markets, your buyers and your eventual contracts. Research shows that failure to have a solid process negatively impacts your closure rates. I am amazed and those that desire results but refuse to invest in expertise. Do you join a gym yet never exercise?
- If you build it they will not come. I tire of stupid organizations that believe their product and service sells itself. Recently a young man approached me about coaching and he requested reimbursement from his structural engineering company. The President stated, there is no need to invest in training since engineers do not need to know how to sell. This pomposity ruins organizations and profits because they will not or ever will invest in their greatest asset- sales. If you work for such an organization or your present manager shares such beliefs- leave. Trust me the business will not be around long.
- So many even those reading this post feel victimized by customers, competition, the recession, etc. These are excuses not solutions. Stop hiding behind rocks, rugs and rooms and begin to invest in things that help you become innovative. While there is much uncertainty during a recession, there are assurances. 1) Growth and innovation spark during recessionary times. 2) Those that move are not captivated by fear. 3) Those that go against the tide thrive. Start learning, growing and educating not getting stuck in the malaise of Internet promises. Create your own original opportunities. By gosh do something!
There are 12 techniques you can use daily to assist you sales efforts. If you seek a quick 12 step tip sheet for selling efficiency email me today. And ask about our Free 30 Minutes “Sales Acceleration Coaching Clinic”.
©2009. Drew J. Stevens Ph. D. All rights reserved.
Drew Stevens PhD works with organizations to dramatically accelerate revenue. Dr. Drew is the author of six books including Split Second Selling and the soon to be released Ultimate Business Bible. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness with Dr. Drew. To gain a free 30 Minute Coaching Session or to request Secrets of Ultimate Business Success contact Dr. Drew today get the proper prescription for your success.
