Another reason for this designation is the lack of thinking the decision through.  Sure, possibly some thought has gone into researching where to place the office or who to unite with especially if the business is professionally service orientated such as lawyers, accountants, financial planners, physicians, dentists, etc.  Yet the critical questions never are answered because so many say “Once I hit the ground running, I can think about those other things.”

Those other things are all related to a strategic plan, that has been placed on the back burner from the get go. Big mistake.

Last night I was speaking to a young woman who is leaving her current employer to start her own legal practice. She shared the experience about speaking to a mentor (to someone else) who told her to determine what type of law she does not want to practice. In other words, what is your niche?

In our conversation, I was not surprised she lacked clarity about her ideal customer, her target market and how she was going to reach those unknowns. She mentioned joining a chamber to a formal business to business networking group. I made the observation joining any group should be based upon her ideal customer profile and her target market all found within her marketing action plan. She did not have an integrated marketing plan (uniting inbound marketing and outbound marketing) nor a sales plan because she had not taken the time to develop a strategic plan.

As she was looking to form some existing professional alliances, I asked who was going to do the selling?  She reluctantly responded “I am.” Any experienced salesperson who read the discomfort in her response.

Having those infamous bugs to start a small business or what I call brain farts for entrepreneurs or small business owners can be wildly satisfying  However given the failure rate for so many small businesses, it can be equally disheartening.

The advice is next time you get one of those brain farts be it to open a small business or provide a new solution, invest the time on the front end to do your market research, create an integrated marketing plan along with a sales plan (both located within your strategic plan). By taking this action, you have dramatically increased your chances to being a successful small business owner while reducing some of that stress that is just around the corner.

Over at social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Focus.com, there is a lot of telling going on. However I am not sure how much of that translates into selling. Nowadays more people are telling (think self promoting) at every opportunity and forgetting the purpose of marketing is to attract attention and build positive relationships.  Telling by promoting your next event, your book or your blog will not increase sales.

Telling is selling happens when sales people educate others about their solutions (products or services). This “telling is selling” behavior is done more through a Socratic approach with the emphasis always on the potential customers (prospect). The salesperson intensely listens to what is being said and not being said. Emotional intelligence is highly engaged. Telling does take place from a place of authenticity meaning responses happen when asked. Selling is the result with increase sales.

With all the emphasis on asking the right questions, some sales people forget to listen and answer the questions from potential customers to centers of influence. Here you are indeed telling, but at the discretion of the prospect.

Smart and savvy sales people understand that even though they may not appear to be in control of the conversation, they know from their experience what path the conversation may take. Their responses can pull then closer to the prospect. They do not have to push (tell) their product, price or proposal onto the other person. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Refrain from what others call “pump and dump;” “show up and through up;” or what I call in Be the Red Jacket spew the “3Ps virus” of product, price or proposal.

Yes telling is selling when done effectively because people still must talk to other people as mental telepathy is still hundreds if not thousands of years from happening.  By employing an education based marketing approach within the overall integrated marketing plan, may allow you to tell and sell more .

Seth Godin is quoted as saying the noun “brand” is all about the expectations of your customers, your employees to even voters. However the anticipated result or results associated with any solution from the buyer’s perspective are also part of the buying decision as well as selling behaviors.

The word value is very hot among those providing sales books, sales consulting, sales training coaching to even marketing solutions. And it should be hot because value and expectations go hand in hand. A better analogy is expectations are the shadow or shadows behind the value within the buying decision.Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Focusing only on value while ignoring expectations may leave you pocket poor.

What buyers look forward to can make the buying decision easier or harder and this rests solely on the shoulders of the salesperson.  His or her ability to discover those anticipated outcomes  hiding behind the wants and needs will expedite the sales process to a successful conclusion or grind it to a screeching halt. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Expectations extend into the organization and why in many cases the inability to increase sales is not a sales problem, but a symptom of a much larger problem or problems such as poor executive to sales leadership.

A colleague, Charles H. Green,  just blogged about customer surveys. For years, this customer loyalty building strategy appeared to work. Now with everyone facing information overload, the expectations by the customers have changed.

Recently J.C. Penney changed its business model to be ahead of the expectation river of their customers.  They have removed the special coupons and discount pricing to go to a simpler model where there are monthly specials and two Fridays in each month where older merchandise is heavily discounted.

So what are the expectations your customers or potential customers have about:

• You?
• Your company?
• Your solutions?
• Your price?
• Your delivery?

By knowing, acknowledging and meeting (when possible) these expectations reduces those sales objections to you, your company, your solutions, your price and your delivery.

Once you know the expectations helps you to determine where the potential customer (prospect) to center of influence places her or his value. Here is probably where emotional intelligence is truly an advantage because expectations and value are directly connected to emotions.  Your ability to recognize, manage and then use those emotions to motivate your potential customer will propel you ahead in the sales process and achieve the goal to increase sales.

Now some may say relationship selling or relationship marketing rules the global marketplace. This may be true. However, it is those expectations even within those relationships that will ultimately determine if you are successful in sales as measured by your ability to actually increase sales.

Credit www.sxc.hu

Since human beings still communicate verbally (we have yet to develop our brains to be telepathic), the necessity for face to face communications is still required in spite of all the technology from emails to mobile devices. Given that those engaged in selling must communicate, then it is reasonable to presume that face to face interactions will increase sales or conversely decrease them.

According to the executives surveyed, they believed four (4) out of the following six (6) activities cannot be achieved without face to face interactions:

• Engagement and focus on shared content (92%)
• Tone of voice (81%)
• Facial expressions (81%)
• Words someone is using (72%)
• Subconscious body language (72%)
• Conscious movements or gestures (67%)

Additionally 89% of the respondents said the primary function of any meeting is to build relationships with customers (external and internal). Sales Training Coaching Tip:  The purpose of marketing within the sales process is to begin to build relationships.

Unfortunately, for many in small business to even those in Fortune 2000 firms, effective face to face interactions are not part of their educational experience. These individuals have not developed the necessary communication skills and more importantly emotional intelligence to enhance those face to face business meeting opportunities.

Years ago, a gentleman by the name of  Professor Albert Mehrabian along with his colleagues developed a communication model based upon the following results:

• 7% of any message is verbal or what is actually said
• 38% of any message is para-verbal or what is heard through syntax, grammar, loudness, speed, inflection, etc.
• 55% of any message is non-verbal or what is observed through body language, facial expressions, etc.

The results from the Cisco survey appear to reaffirm the importance of the non-verbal and para-verbal, but more importantly reveal the importance of word selection relative to what is heard. Here comes into play working with emotional intelligence.

When we consciously consider the impact of the words we speak we can dramatically improve the results we are seeking.  This conscious word selection along with understanding non-verbal and para-verbal communication signals can not only build stronger business relationships, but ultimately increase sales. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Emotional intelligence is recognizing the emotions of others,  understanding how to manage and motivate through those emotions.

Yes technology is important in building business relationships, but to actually solidify them, to elevate them to their highest level does require face to face interactions.  To believe and think otherwise is simply a foolish folly.

This morning in reading a another blog by another sales consultant, Jim Keenan, I was again reminded about the relationship of attitude toward honesty and it being a choice.

We can choose to be honest or choose not to be honest.

Several weeks ago I shared in several of my social media accounts this Yiddish proverb:

A half truth is still a whole lie.

In the business, especially in sales leadership roles,  consistently displaying an attitude toward honesty is a must choice behavior. This attitude is truly the capacity to examine one’s own view toward honesty and how that fits into the structure and order in society. Additionally, it encompasses the level of self esteem relative to accepting the consequences of our actions or inactions including the reporting of the dishonesty of others.

Within the Innermetrix Attribute Index, a professional and personal performance appraisal tool, people who display a high attitude toward honesty have:

 ”a positive image of the concept of honesty, structure and order in society.  They have sufficient self-esteem to accept the consequences of being honest and the condemnation associated with reporting the dishonesty of others.  They will not become so involved with others that they won’t report any inappropriate actions.”

Those who do not have this capacity or attribute may have:

“an unclear view of honesty, or someone who gets so involved with others that are overly reluctant to report any dishonest actions.”

Again life is all about the choices we make and the willingness to live with the consequences of those choices. Nowhere is this more evident on a daily basis than in sales especially for so many small business owners who need to increase sales, but are concerned about balancing their own capacities with the needs of the customers both external (paying clients) and internal (employees).

Do I take this sale even though it is probably not the best solution for the client, but I do need to make my sales goals?

Do I tell the client the truth, someone in the organization dropped the ball and this is why his or her product is not being delivered as originally promised?

Do I walk away from a great sale because my gut is telling me this is not going to end well. 

People who fear the consequences probably also fear the truth. Additionally, from their past experiences, this attitude or habit of thought toward honesty potentially declines and enters the justification area of the brain.

We all have heard “It’s Okay, everyone else does it.”

Many young people appear to believe it is Okay to cheat to be dishonest according to research.  In 2006, a study of over 5,300 students in 54 institutions revealed that 56% of the MBA students admitted to cheating compared to 54% in engineering,  48% in education and 45% in law school.  What was also revealing in instead of accepting the consequences, some of the respondents blamed the universities for not doing enough to stop cheating and the “pressure cooker” atmosphere, high stakes environment.  Personal accountability was never discussed.

No it is not okay to lie, to be dishonest.

Honesty is still the best policy even if it may cost you a sale, a higher grade on a test or even a job.

Part of the reason so many employers are having difficulty with finding the right employees is because so many fail to have a strong attitude toward honesty. They have been conditioned by their educational and life experiences that to lie even though it is just a little bit, to fudge the truth is Okay, no one will know the difference.

For those in small business to large business who consistently demonstrate this sales leadership talent of an attitude toward honesty, they may not have the most sales, the most money in the bank, but they will have their own self respect. And that my dear readers cannot be bought at any price.

Sales leadership in the 21st century is very much about you and your behaviors.

Do you fear your competitors?

Do you speak ill of them?

Do you bring then up in the conversation with a potential customer, potential client or prospect?

Do you ignore them and hope they will go away?

Maybe you view them as Lori Richardson calls them industry counterparts?

How you view them and what you do speaks not only to your own values (business ethics), but more importantly to your own sales leadership, your self confidence and your self esteem.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit in a roundtable discussion with 20 small business owners who all offer different aspects of sales training, sales coaching, and sales consulting.  What was interesting to learn that no one had exactly the same business seeking exactly the same customers providing exactly the same services.

Imagine  that!

What everyone shared was a unified goal to use this strategic alliance to everyone’s benefit.

How novel!

Later participants continued the relationship building over dinner.  Conversation flowed and everyone learned about each other from a personal perspective.

One of my colleagues once said “We drive by more business than we will ever have.”

Wise words and this speaks volumes about one’s perspective when it comes to a competitor or an industry counterpart.

So the choice is as always yours.

You can cower in fear of your competitors, challenge them head on or possibly we rethink of them as being industry counterparts. How you view these competitors or industry counterparts will ultimately determine your ability to increase sales not to mention your overall sales leadership behaviors.

However if you have an integrated education based marketing plan, another how to increase sales tactic might be to develop strategic alliances with those who some may perceive as your competitors.  The onslaught of social media affords the opportunity to unite with other like minded individuals who may share similar solutions but the target audiences may be different.

Today I will be traveling into Chicago to meet with approximately 10 other individuals in business leadership roles who make a living selling sales training, sales coaching and organizational or continuous business process improvement.  We came together through social media and the referrals of others.

Our united goal is simple:

How can we support each other to increase sales

for all members?

If we accept the premise the greatest competitor we all have is the status quo, then we are truly not first degree competitors.

By uniting with others, we have literally expanded our sales forces because no one person can be everything to all those inbound sales leads.

Currently we work together to spread our business and sales blogs through social media sites.  This one simple action of uniting with 20 other sales consultants to sales coaches has increased traffic to this blog by 25-40% while doubling the number of daily Twitter followers.  Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Use a Twitter hash tag to track the spread of your united efforts.  Our group uses #salesinsight.

One critical factor to consider when establishing strategic alliances is everyone must be liked minded and this goes all the way down to positive core values.  Uniting with those who do not share your same high standards, rules of engagement, call them what you will is a recipe for disaster.

There are many how to increase sales strategies for those in business leadership roles be them small business owners to crazy busy sales people. The challenge is to continually to think differently and then take action because thinking and doing are always required.

Sales Cartoon

Credit www.funnysalescartoons.com

Sales Leadership Quote

“Winners are consistently challenging their existing beliefs,  limits and results.”

Leanne Hoagland-Smith

If you are not defining you first, then you are allowing others to define what is important to them and not to you.

This leads to be more concerned about what others think of you instead of holding true to yourself.

Today especially with credentials being so easily inflated, individuals (think potential customers or sales leads) are seeking authentic people who truly care and who have already defined who they are.  Sure there are some uncaring folks as there has always been. Yet, sales success, the ability to consistently increase sales and develop long term relationships is far simpler to be achieved when you are know who you are.

So this leads to the question:

What defines you?

Are you defined by:

• The demonstration of your positive core values?
• Your friendliness?
• Your ability to remember conversations?
• Your follow-up?
• Your insight?
• Your style or wardrobe?
• All of the above?

In other words, what do people remember about you when they meet you the first time?

President Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying:

“No one cares about what you know until they know how much you care.”

People who truly care, who are not just in for the quick, gotta make a sale, close the deal and then adios baby, do know themselves far better than those pushy type sales people. These individuals have taken the time to reflect, to examine themselves from the inside out.

So when you read some dribble from some so called executive consultant, small business or sales coach  that you should let others define you, run do not walk in the opposite direction.  When you know who you are, then you can make a decision (choose) what you wish to change and then put an action plan in place to create that new future path.

Credit www.sxc.hu

“How may I support you?”

He looked at me in dumbfounded silence for several moments and then replied:

“No one has ever asked me that question before.”

Usually, he continued with, they (other business to business networking contacts) have asked me for indirect or direct referrals. But they have never asked me how they could help or support me.

This particular small business owner is not new to small business. His firm had been around almost 5 years and he had extensive experience in business to business networking.

I was taken aback because my belief is small business owners must support each other and not always be in ego drive where they want this sales lead or want that referral from another small business owner. Yet I know there is a lot “It’s all about me ” and you as the potential contact (sales lead) are just another channel for me to spread my ego.

Then today I read a blog about how sincerity in business is missing today’s world from the small business owners to life in general.  The first statement in this blog was the definition of sincerity:

“The quality or condition of being sincere; genuineness, honesty, and freedom from duplicity.”

The phrase  “freedom from duplicity” could be easily rewritten “freedom from self serving egos.”

As more and more small business owners to sales professionals continue to seek to increase sales through social media and other more traditional marketing channels the exposure to egos running amok, self serving promotion is increasing.  Social media sites such as LinkedIn are becoming havens for self promotions (ego driven selling disguised as education based marketing) and not places free from duplicity.

So if you as a small business owner to sales professional wish to increase sales, then check your ego at the door and look first to support others before you look to gain from any business relationship.

1. Anvil
2. Ladder

Think about an anvil.  First it is very heavy.  Moving it from one place to another is difficult. Second, the shape of the anvil has not changed for hundreds if not thousands of years. Third, an anvil is usually constructed from the same materials. Fourth, the actions associated with the anvil are all outside in. External force is the courtesy of the blacksmith.

Heavy – Immovable – Unchangeable – External Force

Now a ladder is entirely different. Ladders are not nearly as heavy as anvils. They can be far more easily moved from one place to another. Their physical shapes have changed over the years and are now constructed from a variety of materials. Finally, the individual must take his or her own actions to move up or down the ladder.

Light – Moveable – Changeable – Internal Force

When sales training is examined, much of it is more anvil in construction than ladder.  Yesterday I received a survey from a national training association seeking my input on sales training certification.  Once again, the curriculum is pretty much the same old stuff and does not reflect what is happening in today’s market place.

There was not any reference at all to marketing either inbound (social media) or outbound (business to business networking, paid advertising, etc.).  The sales training certification program was truly geared for much larger organizations over 50 employees (30,000,000 businesses) even though the majority of small businesses (90% or approximately 27,000,000 per Manta) are under 50 employees.

Today’s small businesses must combine marketing (attracting attention and building relationships) with selling (earning the sale). These organizations truly cannot afford to have separate departments.

Of course, it is much easier to sell the old sales training even if a new name is put to it such as Sales 2.0.

One of my favorite quotes is by Marcel Proust who wrote:

“The true voyage of discovery is not seeking new landscapes,

but seeing with new eyes.”

Now is the time to look at sales training with new eyes especially given how the marketplace has changed.  Big companies (500 employees or more) in the United States are less .002% of all organizations. However, how much of sales training is still structured to reflect that dwindling minority of companies?

Years ago, there was a reference about “handing a drowning man an anvil.” Today’s sales training is very much like that anvil. Sales people are drowning because they do not have the necessary skills such as emotional intelligence to engage in both marketing and selling activities within the overall sales process. These professionals would be better served with ladders that are flexible, tailored to their specific industries or target markets and be far more self directed based than having some blacksmith (sales trainer) hitting them with irrelevant information.