The Difference Between Position and Competition #selling skills

Watching the recent political fall out of republican candidates conducting a debate on character reminds me of the sales methods used by many that cannot sell. Similar to politicians with their backs against the wall, many untrained sales professionals, even entrepreneurs begin to speak ill of their competition. Not only is this a dereliction of professionalism it is the wrong way to sell. If you cannot find the right words that focus on your value and benefits then don’t sell. Two things attract consumers: a) trust and b) respect. These qualities come from great dialogue focused on strengths and value. All else is wasted banter because there is nothing good to say. Good business professionals are successful from building good relationships that control business. Speaking ill of others only means you have lost all control.

What to Watch for in Sales in 2012

It seems like yesterday most sales professionals and sales managers were planning goals and speculating on the year. All might have predicted, perhaps hoped for a vast improved economy. Many are still praying.

Clearly our business landscape has been altered by numerous factors but those most influential while also uncontrollable are political, economic and technical changes. Clients today have curtailed buying in lieu of budgets or making excuses using them. Life for many in sales has altered in a huge way and will continue to do so.

In volatile times it will be necessary for organizations to remain ahead of the curve rather than chasing it. Selling today is more difficult then ever. There are many issues at hand and sales institutions must follow or remain ahead of the curve. Avoiding trends or becoming cocky towards them might mean the difference between surviving and thriving.

Here are some of the top sales trends for 2012 to help keep sales teams ahead of the competition:
Service or Suicide – Clients today are increasing their desire to be treated well by their vendors. Customer service is the ultimate in competitive differentiation. Service clients right or lost the contract. Selling representatives cannot blow off sales calls, forget certain aspects of contracts, try to negotiate to hard and lose contact. Unless customer service is part of the sales culture, do not plan on selling.
It is all about value – Clients have more information at their fingertips then ever since the use of the Internet allows for voluminous information about the firm and its competitors. Selling professionals must then continually formulate value rather than speak of features. Unless the selling professional can articulate value properly, the impatience of customers will have them moving on.
Customization – Prospective clients no longer desire off the shelf solutions but rather products and services that can be customized to immediately aid competitive ground. This will also require different levels of sales support. Organizations must reengineer around customer needs rather than self – profit motivation.
It’s all about results – Sales teams, simply put, show results or get shown the door. Executives are beginning to tire of excuses in sales gaps. Sales teams must illustrate measurable results. This requires sales managers holding individuals accountable or they too will be shown the door. The competition is too fierce as organizations attempt to remain profitable so it is important for everyone on the sales team to produce.
Change the Paradigm. – There are too many organizations that pay high salaries to sales professionals – many in the six-figure range. However the organization carries the risk not the sales representative. As organizations seek to continually cut expenses look to lower base salaries and higher commissions. In fact, look to many firms hiring only on zero salary and commission only.
Cold Calling is for Losers – With the proliferation of caller ID, cold calling continually remains a futile effort. First, decision makers never make choices from a cold call and most important people are too busy. Selling professionals will be required to network more aggressively while doing some new things such as speaking, writing blogs/articles etc. Selling is a relationship business so sellers will be required to build direct relationships that matter and build business.
High T’s – With some many connected today by technology there remains too much noise. Amplification of social media, electronic mail and other platforms only adds more noise not sales. Selling professionals and sales managers will then be required to perform more high touch relationships.
Connectivity is Key – The only way to build solid relationships is with consistent and relentless communication. Direct calls, email, Skype etc are required to ensure clients keep selling professionals top of mind.
Business Intelligence – Selling professionals cannot pick up a phone and believe that buyers will just buy. The Information Age requires selling professionals to use information such as industry, competition and company to position their products/services with the client. Failure to prepare to have articulate conversations will lead to being left out of conversation.
Constant Improvement – Much like athletes, selling professionals must constantly seek methods for improvement. Organizations will stop paying for education so it is up to the individual. Sellers must engage in reading, audios or class instruction for constant improvement. Education will be the difference between surviving and thriving in tomorrow’s economy.

Stay tuned part three where I depict the major changes in, marketing and leadership.

Four Sales Rules That Establish Value

While coaching George and Jeffrey this week I noticed a trend I see frequently in the selling profession that sales managers need to be aware. Too many business development professionals seem to be too prescriptive to potential clients. This means that rather than engage in healthy debate they spew information about product features and company information.

The issue with this is two fold. First consumers know more about your products and services then selling professionals realize. And second, people do not have the time and patients to listen to tiresome “sales pitches”. Clients want to have discussions with those they can trust, build a healthy relationship and invest with now and in the future.

Sales managers must ensure that business development professionals conduct essential research to decide what to say before, and after hello. However according to research 92% of selling professionals lack the process necessary to have purposeful conversation. Therefore sales agents must then shift their conversations from features and facts to that of value.

How might you do this? Here are four rules to help you.

Rule One – Forget the tiresome brochure repetition. Begin to ask questions that engage the potential client about their business. Center them around objectives and measurement for success. Think about the goals they want to receive. Presently much is centered on productivity, profitability and ensuring goals are achieved to meet shareholder return.

Rule Two – Read voraciously about religion, politics, economics and business. Be ready to have good conversation about current events to illustrate your understanding of the world around you. Good places to begin on well-known news agencies on the Internet or simply subscribing to the online or paper version of the Wall Street Journal. Spend more time on established sites rather than on blog speak. These help you not the client.

Rule Three – Develop some research for both your perfect client as well as establish an audio logo and value proposition centered on the benefits consumers receive from working with you. If you are unfamiliar a value proposition is a short 15 to 20-word sentence that states what you do in a benefit oriented manner. An example is “I work with senior officers that desire to dramatically accelerate revenue and outstrip the competition”.

Rule Four – Focus on the output or the benefits that consumers receive. Invest some time here establishing your value. After I met with George I spoke with Dan who was having issues articulating his message. I asked straight away what is your value? He could not answer the question. If you cannot speak it then how will your customers know?

In today’s mission critical and challenged world sales managers and sales representatives must produce stronger methods of differentiation. In a service based economy and one that drives its knowledge from the Internet, the goal is to illustrate value before your competitor does.

What methods do you use to communicate your value? Place your information is in the comment area.

Sales Techniques – Do You Want To Be A Million Dollar Sales Representative?

There are many individuals out there that desire to become million dollar-selling representatives but they are not successful at all. Many struggle in small offices with poor managers curious as to why they fail to be successful. There are a number of factors.

If you desire to sell more and truly want a seven-figure compensation then here are some keys to your future success:

1. Do your homework – Million dollar selling representatives understand issues that their potential clients face. They have a voracious appetite for information and constantly seek out content to comprehend client and competitive issues. They do offer to sell the client anything but rather communicate content that improves the potential clients competitive position.

2. Community Development – Great sales people are constantly networking to meet new people. They know how to build community so they are seen and known.

3. Referrals – The best sales agents understand that cold calling, script development and other fodder make for wasted time. Sellers attract community through referrals because of the value they provide.

4. Customer Service – The differentiation in today’s competitive arena is customer service. Calls are returned when promised and sales professionals constantly engage with their most important asset.

5. Passion – Enthusiastic sales agents constantly attract customers because of the joy and passion for their craft. They want to meet new individuals, are enthralled with their product and desire to tell all. Their commitment does not end on weekends or holidays.

6. Self Mastery – Successful people always seek to improve. Constant learning is the key to their continued success. They voraciously read, research, listen to audio; whatever it takes to hone their craft and aid their client.

7. Committed – Family, friends and other issues do not impede a successful selling professional. They work continuously to ensure they meet client commitments. Time is their most precious asset but they are not bound by hourly and weekend rules. Their work is cyclical rather than event based.

What are some of your best practices to ensure your high level income? Our readers want to know.

Drew Stevens Ph.D. President of Stevens Consulting Group is one of those very rare sales management and business development experts with not only 28 years of true sales experience but advanced degrees in sales productivity. Not many can make such as claim. Drew works with sales managers and their direct reports to create more customer centric relationships that dramatically drive new revenues and new clients. He is the author of Split Second Selling and the founder and coordinator of the Sales Leadership Program at Saint Louis University. Contact him today at 877-391-6821.

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Effective Selling Techniques – What is Fueling Your Sales Team?

Too many sales managers are concerned about productive sales forces. This is because too many sales representatives spend too much time in the office or too much time behind a windshield. If your sales team is not producing results it might be a good opportunity for sales managers to understand what activities are fueling sales performance. Dr. Drew provides some interesting thoughts in his latest Sales Acceleration Podcast on sales activity. Listen Now!

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Sales Management Issues – How to Find The Right Talent

I was recently with Rick and he mentioned to me the difficulty of finding good selling professionals. Rick has been a sales manager for 35 years and during that time he has stated that he continually hires trouble. Poor hires seem to always slow down productivity and form a downhill slide into mediocrity for everyone around them. Poor hires only placate morale and productivity.

The problem that I find especially in today’s competitive environment is finding the right individuals. This is especially true in a post recessionary world. As the economy continues to pick up steam there is enormous pressure to recruit and hire the best selling professionals possible. However, there is a great concern over the ability to find the proper personnel with the right talent. The recession provided an opportunity to purge poor salesman. Essentially the economic doldrums separated the professionals from the wannabes. Now as productivity needs increase so will the need to find the best to keep organizations thriving.

So what might a hiring sales manager today look for?

It is a job of the sales manager to always be seeking the proper talent for the organization. There’ve been too many times in the past where organizations have hired for behavior and not talent. Talent is those sets of innate skills that people possess. Such skills include relationship building, lead generation and the abilities of poise and professionalism. Sales managers that hire for behavior seemingly fall short of expectations. The problem is that these individuals require too much support, do not invest in self-mastery and weigh heavily on organizational costs. As Jim Collins said in his number-one selling book “Good to Great”, it is essential to have the right people on the bus. Hiring for anything less than talent does not provide the performance expectations required of most organizations.

Second, sales managers must begin an active recruitment process. This means that even if your staff is at full capacity, it is essential to budget more people. This way if you do find an outstanding candidate you can hire them immediately without special dispensation from senior executives. For over 25 years I have always required sales managers to utilize the ABLE method of hiring: Always Be looking for Employees. Unfortunately too many organizations and their sales managers are very reactive when it comes to hiring. Why wait when the right one comes along?

Third, one of the largest issues for any sales manager is proper compensation. The fact is that in a competitive situation, organizations must have a proper competitive matrix to hire right. It is wise to look at the competitive marketplace and invest wisely in your compensation plan so that good candidates do not transition to competitors.

Fourth, perhaps one of the most missed opportunities during recruitment is seeking individuals with proper flair. Refrain from only looking at resumes that get people in the door. Look very keenly at the manner in which sales candidates have approached you as a sales manager. Would they do the same in trying to achieve prospective clients? Look for creativity and competitiveness – what got them in the door should keep them behind it, not in front.

Finally, in order to find the right sales talent similar to marketing and other business development endeavors organizations must be visible. This includes using your distribution channels: clients, strategic alliances and vendors. Tell your distribution channel you are seeking talent. You must use all competitive resources possible to obtain them. And, with good relationships these alliances will only provide the best people.

One final note – ensure that you’re not hiring future problems. Years before the recession organizations hired quickly because they were forced. However the wrong people were chosen. Commitment and time are the resources necessary to recruiting great people. Do not rush to achieve finding the most valuable resource for your organization.

What are some of your best hiring practices. I would like to know. Share some with our readers in the comment area below.

Not certain if you have the right talent. Take the Business Development Scorecard

Sales Process and Activities – To RFP or Not RFP That is the Question

RFP- Requests for a Proposals are very labor intensive activities. Sales professionals tend to spend much of their sales process and sales time on these requests. However, the bottom line is do these intensive exercises lead to results? Let Dr. Drew inform you of the good, the bad and the ugly side of RFP’s.

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Selling Techniques – The Seven Qualities of Successful Selling Professionals

Sales Expert and Thought Leader shares his 28 years sales experience to help you understand the seven important qualities and behaviors of highly successful selling professionals. This is a must listen for any professional and sales manager.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.0MB)

Effective Selling Tools – Being a Buyer Peer

Sales Consultant and Business Development Expert Drew Stevens illustrates why it is necessary to create customer centered relationships by helping you reduce labor and create partnerships with decision makers.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.1MB)

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