How to Create a Year End Sales Blitz

For you and many others the year has been very difficult. Between the lack of spending form clients and the rhetoric of Capital Hill many cannot wait until the end of the year. But can you?

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.

Sales Coaching: Top Tips for Increased Productivity

This article has been selected for DeFinis Communications’ “Sales Coaching: Top Tips for Increased Productivity” Blog Carnival. You can enjoy even more posts from other exceptional bloggers at their website.

All outstanding sales managers engage in coaching on a daily basis and counseling on an as needed basis. Sales coaching is the proactive manner to help support the mentoring provided for sales professionals to improve their performance and to help them when having difficulties. It is mainly focused on maintaining existing, strong performance and moving it further. Counseling on the other hand is a reactive fractured approach implemented when an employee is performing below expectations due to either a skill deficiency or an attitude deficiency. It is mainly focused on restoring performance to a minimal acceptable level or failing that, removing the employee from that job.

I remember the first time that I was managing a full sales force of individuals and I was asked to evaluate the sales performance of a young woman by the name of Ivy. Unfortunately I was predisposed because I had discovered that Ivy had very poor selling skills, was typically late and was not meeting the quota goals assigned to her. It was up to me to decide whether or not she was worth keeping or terminating her employment. So, with both solutions open to for either coaching or counseling I used both to help increase her performance and reverse many of the poor things people were saying. In the next few moments I will provide you some information on coaching and how to use it to help those with weak into personal skills.

My belief is that all sales representatives should be coached on an ongoing basis. It is a form of mentoring that enables ongoing dialogue between the manager and the subordinate so that feedback on performance doesn’t occur only when there is a problem. Nor should it occur and only one time of the year-the performance review. Moreover it allows for excellent sales work and customer service to be recognized, supported, exploited and then finally conveyed to others.

Unfortunately many sales managers spend 10 times more of their effort and energy counseling. Managers often confuse the two and don’t understand the difference and usually respond only to problems, meaning that the preponderance of their time is spent on correcting weak efforts rather than supporting strength.

The most important attributes of a sales coaching relationship includes:

That the dialogue is constant and ongoing it’s not situated around the periodic review.
The feedback must be timely and it has to be offered at a point where an issue or a problem arises.
It is important to understand that the manager simply coaches and mentors but the employee ultimately performs.
In order for a good mentoring process to occur there must be a good relationship. In other words both sides must be approachable whenever and wherever.
The employee must be able to be coached. Some people simply do not like the told by others how to improve performance therefore is how will to have someone who really wants the assistance to improve.

Counseling on the other hand is a short-term sequence of interactions with sales professionals that results in either restored or acceptable performance or unfortunately and when necessary the employee leaves the job where they can perform better. Counseling is essential to improving sales performance yet few sales managers ever engage systematically and most don’t effectively engage in it at all. The reason being is that many sales managers might believe that counseling requires too much time and effort of which they don’t have and that the employee might actually engage them in too much conflict.

The following is a checklist when you need to use sales counseling:

Determine if the poor performance is caused by a lack of skills or simply a poor attitude.
Focus on the behavior of the individual.
Get agreement on the standard and the actual performance.
Discuss the impact of the performance on others in the organization. Remember here to keep things objective never personal.
Discuss the alternatives and consequences and actually have the employee, suggest some solutions.
Establish action plans and dates so that the employee can be held to accountability standards.
Constantly review and monitor the process.

Drew Stevens works with senior officers and their direct reports who continually struggle to ensure their sales teams meet performance goals. Dr. Drew helps to dramatically accelerate revenues. He can be reached at http://www.stevensconsultinggroup.com

I Object!

I have what might at first seem to be an odd view of objections: I love them! That is so important I want to repeat it: I love objections!

You might think that is silly, but it is not. Objections simply help you understand where you are in the sales process. Challenging though they are, objections provide valuable touch points to gauge your progress.

By and large, objections are nothing more than concerns and skepticism on the part of the buyer. Objections are the result of indecision, fear, and prior losses. If you have done a good job discussing wants and needs, objections don’t get raised as often, but they still appear.

When prospective clients raise objections, what they’re really saying is that they’re not comfortable with the decision for a variety of reasons. Further, they are telling you that they have unresolved questions in their mind. So what’s a good sales professional to do? We must simply address their objections. The simplest way to respond to a sales objection is to listen and then some simple rules.

First, always anticipate that you will receive objections at some point in the sales process. You should never be surprised when you get one. One of the first things that you need to do when handling an objection is to use a technique that I learned many years ago called the B.I.C. Principle. The only way to maintain control during a sales presentation is to constantly listen or ask questions. You should never lose control or seem surprised. Objections are simply a part of the sales process and, more importantly, the closing process. Your ability to remain in control is essential to your success.

A second rule of thumb is to never argue when you receive a sales objection. The buyer is merely seeking to gain more information – it’s his or her way of indicating that you have not provided enough data.

Third, objections can be genuine concerns or trivial points. It is incumbent upon you to ask the proper questions to determine whether an objection is genuinely concerning or simply a minor glitch. In my experience, the most common trivial objection is “the price is too high.” You must ask more questions to determine genuine objections – in other words, to discern the primary reasons that the buyer considers most valid for not moving forward.

Fourth, too many people want to talk and not listen. Sales professionals can become too focused on trying to close the sale. This can result in the salesperson neglecting to listen to the buyer’s objections. The best thing you can do is intently listen to the buyer’s reasons for not progressing.

So the next time you hear something such as the price is too high or I’m happy with my current vendor you might want to consider where you slipped in the sales process or what additional questions does the prospective client need to understand your value.

If you want to know more about objections you might want to read the chapter in my book Split Second Selling

Sustained!

No Trust, No Relationship, No Sale!

Derrick arrived at my door last weekend seeking to sell me some home improvement services. I normally do not answer the door on the weekend since I am busy doing chores but needed to respond when since the front doorbell continually rang.

Once I opened the door I was greeted by a young (perhaps new) sales representative that continually asked me questions that included:

- Do you need any home improvements?

- Any windows that are broken an in need of repair?

- Any desire to expand on your current home?

Not once did he stop to create a relationship but prodding me with questions to “buy” his services. Not once did he establish rapport or care about my wants and needs!

“Why don’t people take the time to learn professional selling?

After close to thirty years of sales it is getting embarrassing to see so many individuals “attempt” sales. Selling is a profession that requires as much study as management, law or any other professional degree. “If so many do it then why do so many fail?”

The problem is that selling requires a mindset that builds upon customer-centered relationships. Clients today want to build trusting relationships with their suppliers. Failure to do so only makes sellers a vendor. This reduces the power to negotiate, build a referral network and future sales. It is 88% more effective to discover sales from retained clients than prospective.

It is also important to be reminded that clients have choices and just because you show up at my front porch this does not produce a conversion. Door to door sales are no different from cold calling they are intrusive, unprofessional yet more specifically a waste of time. If you are in sales desiring more business then:

Take the time to build honest sincere relationships
Use your referral network to gain access to “buyers”
Stop using the same tactics as competitors; illustrate your difference.
Network like crazy to gain third party endorsement.
Build a network that gets others to speak about you while attracting them to you; end the hard labor.
Learn proper questioning skills focused on objectives and measurements of success.
Find methods to learn mastery in the sales craft; attend a public seminar, obtain a personal coach, listen to tapes – anything that makes you better.

What best practices can you share with our readers to lessen labor and make them more effective?

Monday Momentum

Monday Focus – As you begin the day think about benefits and value you provide to consumers. Clients today know more about so there is less need for features than there is for value.

Monday Perspective – Stop the ridiculous game of cold calling. Use referrals and third party endorsements to assist you with better business development opportunities.

Monday Motivational Quote – “In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom” – James Graham Ballard

How to Sell to Large Accounts

I remember when I first arrived in sales. I was selling a service to day traders. It was very rewarding but I was missing something. I worked hard for four years and worked the phones like mad but I was not satisfied. Until one day a recruiter called with a job offer than altered my life. Rather than solicit services over the phone I was asked to work for a large organization that desired to employ sales professionals who could get appointments with “C Suite” executives. Yes I was asked to sell new services to the CEO’s and CIO’s of Wall Street. Now I was Top Gun.

Similarly, you will want your sales team to do the same. Selling to large accounts is actually no different from selling one to one but there are some considerations.

First and foremost before any selling representative picks up a phone to place a call with a large account it is important to know what to say before hello. Large accounts require proper planning and analysis so that provocative conversations can transpire between sales agents and decision makers.

The proper research includes:

Annual Report

This important multi-section document is a must read. Within the front pages sales professionals will find a letter from the president or CEO indicating new products, growth plans, operational woes and competitive plans. This first section will communicate how you and your producers help the company.

Other ways to obtain the report go to the firm’s website or subscribe to an Internet services such as Hoovers.com or Dow Jones News Retrieval.

Business News

To properly service your customers you must understand their successes, feel their trials and tribulations and help to downplay competitive and marketplace pressures. Reading a major periodical will apprise you of new customer news and keep you abreast of business changes.

Industry News

As important as the real-time business news is, you must clearly understand the industry you service. It is your job to follow the industry news. Perhaps you are servicing a niche industry such as I do in Wall Street Technology. Ask your clients and contacts about the periodicals they read to follow industry trends.

Know the Who

Once you have prepared then you must discover methods to help get you in the door. There fore you must then identify you key economic buyers. Gatekeepers waste time and do not understand value. Gatekeepers focus on victimhood and conceit. Decision makers concern themselves with productivity and value. Do not be confused by titles. There are many individuals who believe titles have enormous clout. 67% of business professionals spend too much time with those that cannot make a decision. Sellers are often duped into the process because they do not ask the proper questions. Good detective work means asking the difficult questions.

Large Accounts Require Results

In my entire business career so many automatically know what they want, but few know what they need. Ask additional questions that provide value by honing in on these differences. The focus here is on value to the organization and to the individual, as well as measurements for success.

Focus on Results

No one cares about your creative advertising or corporate office. Demonstrate important outcomes for the client, such as speed, guarantees, high return, and transition management. When you focus on client results, conversations become crisp and tightly focused.

Customer to Customer Influences

People like to conduct business with those whom they know and like. Begin by obtaining a testimonial from every possible client. Relationships are built based on prior expertise. Your ability to nimbly build a “book” of testimonials will assist you in becoming the provider of choice.

Selling large accounts is not an overnight process. Large Account Management takes years to master, and even then, there is always something to learn. There is no way that in three weeks you will become proficient in selling. Nor can it occur in one sales training course. Selling, like human development, is a process that will take you years of time, energy and investment.

Sales Lessons

Lessons from the Sales Field

We just completed our latest Business Acceleration Sales Seminar. Our dialogue was crisp and thought provoking and many came away with several good best practices to take back to their firms.

With over 29 years of aiding sales managers and sales professionals there are some new trends developing. Here is a list of best practices from the sales field that will help you immeasurably in gaining new business.

Avoiding transaction to make traction. Selling today is about relationship. Good trusting relationships bind deals not selling widgets.
Cold Calling is as innovative as AM Radio. The world is changing and so too are buyers. Individuals do not have time and resources available to be interrupted by total strangers. The root to the buyer comes from different paths.
The key to success is differentiation. Sellers today must articulate value. Buyers research firms before the seller arrives. They know their needs what they are not clear on is the obtained value.
Content is king. Those that prepare for every call and every circumstance will win. Procrastinators are left at the back door. Know what to say before you say hello.
Moving right along. Great sellers move issues to the next level they think in terms of movement and action steps. Sellers are the leaders of the band not the other way around.
Consistent and Relentless Referrals. The only manner to gain successful business today is constantly seeking referrals or being introduced by third parties. Remember to make at least three to four sales when selling. You are selling the initial prospective client and others in their network.
Professional Presence. Selling professionals that are constantly prepared always prevail. In a world rift with casual dress and lethargy those that use the right tools, dress appropriately, engage in great conversation, articulate content on the world around them and relate to the client will always remain successful.

There are several others but for now that is base line. What might be some other best practices for the list? What are things you do to accelerate your sales success? Place a comment in the field below.

Sales Difficulty – Return to Fundamentals

During my high school and collegiate days I ran track. I recall the numerous times I attempted new goals and failed to reach them. Or there were times when competing that required some changes. In both instances I returned to fundamentals,

Similar issues happen to those selling, Sales professionals compete each day with some days going great and others not so much. Sometimes no matter how hard you attempt to meet new prospects or close new deals it is similar to running up a mountain on a hot day with a 30 pound sack.

Rather than continuing on the path with no results it is best to review some fundamentals to center your efforts and reclaim your confidence.

To assist you here are seven of 25 aspects:

Preparation – Never say hello without conducting complete research on your prospective buyer. Review annual reports, proxy statements, current news, and the company website so that you can engage in healthy conversations.
Questions – Many keynote speakers use notes to guide their presentations. Therefore prepare a series of provocative questions based on objectives, measurements and returns clients desire. Do not think on your feet when you can prepare questions that lead clients on a path.
Stop Prescribing – Clients desire value therefore your conversations must be value based. Stop sounding like other sales agents. Base discussions on results and outcomes. Stop telling information and listen to what they need.
Value – Engage clients with a value proposition. End the features and facts discussion. If you desire a template on a value proposition contact me.
Start Listening – A former mentor Norm Strauss had a wonderful ability to ask questions with a question. Sales representatives do not get information when they speak they do so when they ask questions. Be in control of every call by forming the discussion with purposeful questions.
Evaluate – Every athlete always reviews strengths and limitations of competition, why not selling professionals? Conduct a quick SWOT and make your next client call better.
Seek Council – Unfortunately when sales people reach out for aid they believe it is a sign of weakness; not true. Mentorship is a sign of power as individuals seek supremacy of their craft. Never be afraid to ask for help.

What fundamental practices do you use that aid you during difficult times? Place your best practices in the comment area below.

Sales Management Blog Voted in the Top 50

SalesCrunch releaes its Top 50 Sales Blogs.

The list is generated according to the “Grade” in Blog Grader and is updated daily so the list is always accurate and up to date. Stevens Consulting is ranked number 17 of the top 50 sales blogs. Thanks go to Kevin Vecchione and Tom O’Leary for their infinite wisdom and to Samantha Hartley for her power of repositioning and branding.

Please return often to read our valuable content on sales manager training and development.

Sales Trends – The New Norm

Undoubtedly the end of the recession and the beginning of the New Year create times of change. Many fear change because of the fear of the unknown and an alteration from their comfort zone. Change needs to be embraced.

Selling will be one of those areas of change and deservedly so. Selling has been slow to alter for several reasons:

1. Personnel – the good times prior to the recession focused less on people and more on process.

2. Leadership – there are so many theories on selling many do not know whom to follow or trust.

3. Training – many believe that training is the best method to alter selling patterns but have found little return on investment.

4. Customers – many selling professionals and managers believe that customers buying patterns have not changed.

With over 28 years in my field I find there are tremendous alterations in buying patterns, customer behaviors and selling processes. When I began selling we attempted sales with visual words or on site demonstrations. Today some customer conversations are conducted over the Internet and demonstrations are arranged with apps and cloud computing.

Customers do not want or need to be sold. In fact they know more about your business, your industry and your company then ever before. If they want it they will connect with you. Customers are smarter and more connected than ever. That said, the key differentiator is the service, support and systems you provided to engage clients. Here are some things to consider:

1. Cold Calling – Dump it. It is very discouraging to see how many people believe this rote methodology still works. In the age of caller ID, the number of gatekeepers and simply busyness- people are too busy. Cold calling is a disruption. It wastes time. Name one millionaire representative that did so cold calling?

2. Customer Response – I wish I had a dollar for every selling professional that kept promises to contact me on specific dates and times. I have a return call policy of 90 minutes, yet I am amazed when it takes days or weeks for sales representatives to return my call. Return calls when promised.

3. Customer Service – There is research that illustrates that over fifty percent of customer interaction is service related. Treat your customers correctly by becoming engaged. I am reminded of Aaron who was attempting to sell copiers and got the prospect’s name incorrect four times in the same conversation. Be in the moment.

4. Selling versus building relationships – Social networking groups are besieged with conversation about “selling to the c suite”. Not only is it interesting to discover so many self proclaimed experts but more ironic to view the opinions on how to sell to senior executives. Herein is the best advice. Senior Executives do not want to be sold anything. They desire healthy conversations that build relationships with trusted peers. Senior officers know what they need and when they need it. Stop listening to unhealthy advice.

5. C2C – With the high levels of connectivity customers are more interested today in hearing from other customers. People buy from those they know and trust. Individuals desire customer-centered relationships. Build your community with case studies, testimonials and audio/video snippets that illustrates results from other customers.

6. Customer Communication – Technology is not the answer to everything. You must be constantly top of mind so avoid activities that diminish relationships. Rather pick up a telephone or send a simple handwritten gratuity card. Illustrate your value not the need to make commission.

7. Customer Discretion – Customers are no longer in a hurry. Credit concerns, economic volatility and shareholder return are more important than ever. In addition, the use of the Internet enables customers the necessary time to conduct the proper research before making decisions. A recent client researched John’s firm for over six months. They conducted research and sought council from former clients then signed a six-figure order. If you’re patient they will come.

What buying patterns and “new norms” do you see in the selling process? Other would like to know. Place your comments in the space below.

Do you have all the sales you want? I don’t think so. I provide a FREE No Obligation Business Acceleration Assessment. Contact me today to put money in your pocket!

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