Increase Sales Blog

Posts Tagged ‘sales training coaching’

The simple fact of the matter is we all have expectations when it comes to branding, buying and selling.  Those expectations are part of our conditioned experience memory bank that is tucked faraway into our amygdala.  How will this new solution perform to what I already have is often the unasked question ruminating in our brains.

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.

In this age of high tech where social media has become the way to conduct business, many still fail to recognize the importance of face to face interactions and how they increase sales. A new survey by Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Cisco, entitled Business Leaders’ Views on Interaction revealed the importance of face to face interactions specific to communications and other business leadership concerns.

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.

Some may advocate that the last thing you want is a business surprise. However, such an event may provide an opportunity to rethink what you have been doing or even embrace some new business language.  This was my recent business surprise when I read the book Do You Mean Business? Technical/Non-Technical Collaboration, Business Development and You bu Babette N. Ten Haken.

As someone who is asked to review business books on a regular basis, I look for those few twists on older ideas not to mention entirely different ways at looking at the same small business or sales landscape.  This book did provide those and offered even a few more business surprises.

Possibly my first business surprise started with the general overview of this book. I was prepared to receive another sales book, but much to my surprise Babette looked at sales as only a small part of what it means do you mean business. Her book was more like a text book, far easier to read than most, that had been intertwined into a process for understanding small business development. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Remember the majority of organizations in the US, are small businesses with under 100 employees.

She identified several new concepts, at least new to me.  The first one was her discussion about communication and the need for one page thinking.  Here she challenged our own status quo and how we have been conditioned to communicate more and thus need to streamline much of that communication.

Another key business and sales insight was this statement:

“Communication is the hallmark of humanity”

When we understand that listening is part of the communication process, we are demonstrating that we indeed are caring human beings.  Far too many small business and sales people appear to be in presentation mode 24/7 and fail to engage in active listening. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Active listening is directly connected to emotional intelligence.

In the discussion of value, a hot topic in today’s business world, Babette believes business development is part of everyone’s job description and contributes to the overall value of the company to the solution.

Another business surprise was this statement:

“Your professional currency is the worth of your value proposition.”

This statement was further explained by:

“Your professional currency as a salesperson is your self discipline towards continuous improvement of your profession.”

These two statements along provide incredible food for thought and lead to continue reflection about one’s true capabilities or talents.

The book also looked at business plans and strategic plans and their importance. Even though we disagree about the definition of each of these terms, she does provide great information missing in many who speak to business planning.

Finally, one overriding business surprise was Babette’s belief we are all engineers.  As someone who believes everyone was in sales, this concept was very easy for me to embrace because she returned to the root of the word engineer.

If you want a 30,000 viewpoint on business development along with some down to earth what do I need to do tactics, then I recommend this book even if you are not an engineer by training.

P.S. Babette was a past guest columnist when she discussed the talking head syndrome.

Sales 2.0 is a scam!

There I said it and quite glad I did!

And  I will probably be drowned by a sea of mental thoughts who believe just the opposite. Some may actually leave this posting right now thinking this writer does not know what she is speaking about. While others may leave short to rather extensive comments that I will approve provided they are written with respect.  It is okay to agree to disagree.

In today’s business world, there is a tendency to attach numbers to indicate the next level of something such as Internet 1.0 to Internet 2.0 or Version 223.322 of web browser whatever.

Using numbers to indicate that an update has taken place is a good thing.  However respective to Sales 2.0, there is an implication that the sales process has changed, that selling is now different than ever before. And nothing could be further from the truth.

In actuality, sales is still remains the “transference of feelings” (Zig Ziglar). What a great and simple definition, thanks Zig.

How you as a salesperson engage the feelings of people (your potential customers, centers of influence or strategic partners) may change such as through social media, email marketing or electronic billboards. Yet, the essence of that engagement is still the same regardless of the marketing channel being employed. Actuality, I probably have less of a problem with Marketing 2.0 than Sales 2.0 if push came to shove.

What technology has done is to change the landscape (think bazaar), but not the sales process. You, especially the small business owners,  still must attract attention and build the relationship be it from your marketing message to how you interact with your prospects or potential customers.

From there, if appropriate, you can enter the selling phase of the sales process. Upon completion, marketing takes over to keep in touch with that customer so that ongoing customer loyalty can be further nurtured and developed.

Marketing + Selling + Marketing = Sales Process

The market place bazaar has expanded from a couple of streets in a small town  to millions of miles that circle the thousands of cities. This small business expansion contrary to social media experts, sales trainers, sales coaches and organizational consultants has not changed the basics of selling or rather the sales process.

A person has a want or a need and is willing to exchange his or her assets (usually money but may extend to bartering) for someone to solve that want or need.

Pretty simple  and why Sales 2.0 is a scam because the implication is that social technology has altered the sales process.

When was social never part of the sales process?

Maybe by placing a number after sales, it can provide some differentiation and in the process sell some more sales training coaching, social marketing updates or sales books. Boy does that sound somewhat jaded.

What I know to be true is the sales process is the same today as it was 10,000 plus years ago. Sure the tools have changed to attract attention and maybe the process to build the relationship is more complex because more people are involved, but the basics are still there and will always be there until human beings can magically convert atomic particles into what they currently want or need.

Human beings are social creatures and sales is probably the epitome of a social relationship outside of a personal relationship.

So before you jump on the Sales 2.0 bandwagon and have your hard earned small business profits scammed by some social media consultant or worse yet some Sales 2.0 consultant, you may wish to secure greater clarity around your own sales process.

Finally, a Sales 2.0 solution will not improve a dysfunctional organization and most sales problems are truly symptoms of much deeper organizational challenges.

P.S. After being in sales industry for over 40 plus years, I understand  human beings still have a tendency to make something natural unnatural in their quest to line their own pocketbooks.

Symptom fatigue more often than not infects the mindset of small business leadership.  These crazy busy small business owners to management and sales executives because of what they believe seek solutions to the symptoms or shadows of the real problems.

Credit www.sxc.hu

The inability to increase sales is one example of symptom fatigue.  Sales have been flat for a couple of years and so a solution is sought to turn the sales around. Possibly a small business coach or sales coach is hired.  And in the short term sales possibly increase, but in the long term the inability to increase sales returns.

What does not happen is to identify the real problem causing this symptom.  From my experience, lackluster sales represents a misalignment between strategy, structure, processes, rewards and people. This symptom, poor productivity within the sales department, is truly a small business leadership problem.

The small business owner to the C Suite executive must be actively engaged in any solution to increase sales.  This usually means to returning to the strategic plan and determining where the gaps exist.  Sales Training Coaching Tip:  No goal driven strategic plan always is the first indicator of a small business leadership problem.

Another prevalent example of symptom fatigue is employees not being productive. The belief is the employees are:

• Lazy
• Skill deficit
• Not committed to the organization

When in all actuality, they may be:

• Working under job descriptions that expired several to 10 years ago
• Managing because of technical expertise (why they were promoted) not people expertise
• Unsure as to where the business is going because they are receiving mixed messages from the leadership

Millions of dollars every year are spent on symptom fatigue.

Why?

Small business owners to sales management teams want the quick fix.  Blaming the sales people or other employees  is far easier than looking in the mirror by small business leadership.

Addressing the core, the real problem or problems and not just the symptom or symptoms does require an investment of time. And time is something those in small business leadership roles do not have or believe they do not have. So symptom fatigue takes over resulting in repetitive, unsustainable and I might add very expensive solutions.

One of my coaches once said:

“If you do not have the time to do it right,

when will you have the time to do it over?

Time is indeed a precious resource as once it is gone it can never be recovered.

Yet for those in small business leadership who truly want sustainable results must address this issue of symptom fatigue and stop seeking the quick fix or be fearful of looking into the mirror.  As I have said several times these past few months and many other times over the last 10 years:

“You do not have a sales problem,

you have a leadership problem.”

There are a lot of how to increase sales myths with “work smarter not harder” as probably one of the most common.  Attend many of the sales training coaching seminars to workshops or even some some of the sales management software tools (customer relationship management CRM) and eventually you will hear all about you, as the individual contributor, need to “work smarter not harder” if you want to increase sales.

Credit www.sxc.hu

What a bunch of hooey!

No one gets anyplace in life without working hard!

To suggest that it is all about brains, strategies, positive thoughts or attraction is just a scam to sell more butts in the seats for sales training workshops or seminars, more sales books, software programs or more executive or small business coaching engagements. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Work smarter not harder translates into the quick fix mentality.

Action is needed.

Yes that action does require some thought. This thought is a strategic plan that unites predetermined business goals including marketing goals, selling goals, management and leadership goals, customer goals, innovation goals and financial goals.

However research continues to tell the business community that most strategic plans fails because of this one word:

Execution

Translation for failed execution  is not working hard enough to achieve those predetermined smart goals.

Successful execution is all about hard work. 

• Doing what needs to be done within the right time frame

• Excuses of  “it can wait until tomorrow” just don’t cut it

Successful people in life work hard.

They pay their dues through their hard work including long hours with little pay. Many entrepreneurs thrive on facing those mountains of hard work each day and then look forward to that next day of even more hard work.Yet many others due to education from kindergarten to college and culture believe having to work hard should not be part of the success in business, success in sales or success in life equation.

How many times have we heard “everyone deserve a trophy?” Translation everyone did not work hard to earn the trophy but we need to make them feel good, to feel smarter.  What a disservice to those young people and to our business world!

Other sales research supports how many have bought into this how to increase sales myth of work smarter not harder.

For example, up to 50% of all sales leads are not acted upon. Is this an issue of work smarter or an issue of not working hard?

Twenty percent of the sales force is responsible for 80% of the sales results. Again, sounds like 20% are working hard and 80% are not working hard enough.

Brains must be accompanied by brawn.

This brawn may not require lifting hundreds of pounds, but does require making those phone calls, taking care of all aspects of the business operations including the sales process.

If you as a salesperson to C Suite executive have bought into this “how to increase sales myth” of work smarter not harder, maybe it is time to recognize this sales myth exactly for what it is an obstacle to your business and sales success.

Relationship marketing through the various channels or rivers of social media continues to grow. What is so revealing is that people connect with you through a continuum of rivers.  The initial attraction may be through an actual face to face meeting, a comment on a blog or in a discussion group or through a mutual acquaintance.

Credit www.sxc.hu

The more channels you have both inbound (Social Media and the Internet) and outbound (more traditional marketing activities) the greater opportunity you have not only to attract attention, but to begin to build solid and positive relationships.

For the past six months I have been conducting my own private research specific to LinkedIn.  When I receive an invite (after thanking him or he for the outreach), I ask if he or she would not mind sharing with me what prompted the connection?  Amazing information one learns when one asks with thoughtfulness through emotional intelligence.

So far there has not been one prominent factor in prompting the request but rather a series of at least two factors to three of the following factors:

1. Shared contact
2. Shared group
3. A comment made usually in a discussion group and sometimes somewhere else such as another social media site
4. A desire to speak about a specific issues (a qualified sales lead)
5. A visit to this blog
6. Read one of my articles online usually via EzineArticles or Sun Time Post Tribune column
7. Read one of my articles in a published business journal such as NBiz
8. Met in person at a business to business networking event
9. Direct referral from another LinkedIn member
10. Read a book review over at Amazon

The last five in the list have not been referenced as much as the first five.

Relationship marketing is the future and has been the past.  Unfortunately, many so called experts both in marketing and within the sales training coaching industries in their quest to sell their solutions failed to acknowledge this concept of relationship marketing even though we all know people buy from people. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  People do not buy from glossy brochures, fancy dancy websites or because the marketing firm won a plethora of awards.

If you want to increase sales, then invest the time to look at your own social media river and where people are entering that marketing channel.  By taking the time to understand what prompts people to connect with you, to follow you, to like you, (fill in the blank), will provide you the opportunity to further hone those actions. build a stronger relationship marketing following and ultimately increase sales.

P.S. If you have time, consider reading today’s (4/16/2012) business column on email marketing.

One question that I have not often heard is:

“How does your sales process earn the currency of trust?” 

Credit www.sxc.hu

There is all that talk about establishing rapport or  building rapport in many sales training coaching programs. Yet how does a salesperson go beyond earning the currency of greenbacks and actual builds a savings account filled with trust?

If people buy from people they know and trust, then not only establishing trust, but building trust is essential for repeat business (increase sales) and securing additional sales referrals. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  For some, this is called becoming the trusted advisor.

Maybe now is the time to consider the currency of trust is actually more important than the dollars paid for any solution?

In today’s global market place the sales process begins within the first marketing phase of attracting attention and building the relationship. With so many small business owners with zero to under 10 employees and having limited marketing budgets, attracting attention through various Internet activities (in bound marketing) is becoming more and more prevalent.

Yet these same small business owners along with the much larger organizations still engage in product based or sales based marketing within what is now called the Sales 2.0 world.  One of my colleagues, Dan Waldschmidt, shared with me yesterday one company “had a good product, but its spamming through social media” kept him from further investigation.

In a recent blog post of Look Beyond Sales Ego to Buyer’s Value, Karla Campos commented about the failure to focus on the customer “especially online.” Martha Giffin shared “The best sales people on the planet are always thinking about their customers and what’s best for THEM!”

To build trust does require a commitment of time.  Given sales research suggests that the majority of sales within the sales process are earned between the fourth and 12th contacts and that the majority of sales people be them small business owners to C suite executives give up after the third contact, this gap does suggest the currency of trust does require for sales people to being committed to doing what it takes over the long haul.

People as in potential customers, prospects, centers of influence, strategic partners do not develop long term trust on that first encounter. Sure these folks may begin to trust you. However, long term trust requires ongoing work especially in the sales 2.0 marketplace.

If your small business is not reaching its goal to increase sales or you as a salesperson are frustrated with your inability to consistently increase sales, then maybe it is time to ask yourself this question:

“Am I consistently earning the currency of trust within my sales process?”

Buyer’s value for many in sales is quickly presumed to be seller’s value. After all, value is value, isn’t it?

A colleague, Tibor Shanto, in a recent video blog shared his thoughts about defining value as well as other words within the sales process if the goal to increase sales is to be achieved. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  By defining shared words creates greater clarity and will improve the desired results not to mention save miss communications and other limited resources.

One of the best books on buyer’s value with the sales decision making process and understanding what value means to the buyer  is A Seat at the Table by Marc Miller. In this book, Miller encourages the salespersons to look beyond their own sales egos (my words)  if they wish to establish long term sales relationships with their customers or clients. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Miller’s book deserves a place in your  library.

Unfortunately, the majority of  training programs offered by sales trainers, executive consultants or business coaches all start from the sales ego. By learning these sales skills you will close more deals. The sales ego drives the sales process.  And even some of the more “sneaky” sales training program give a false appearance to be non-ego driven, but bottom line it is all about you, your ego and how to sell more stuff.

One key business skill or better yet sales leadership skill when understanding buyer’s value is emotional intelligence.  By demonstrating this skill allows you to “see” the emotions behind the decision making process. Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Daniel Goleman’s Working with Emotional Intelligence or Primal Leadership are two great books to expand your knowledge about this very important sales leadership skill.

Emotional intelligence is a mindset just as its opposite of always be closing (ABC) is one. This way of thinking becomes a belief that drives the actions creating the results. The difference between emotional intelligence and ABC or any other typical sales skill  is one word – ego.

To truly be successful in understanding the buyer’s value requires letting go of your own sales ego.

Surrendering it. 

Now for some this concept of surrender is foreign or a sign of weakness. Surrender does not mean to give up. Quite the contrary.  This word means to render up. When you render up, you truly accept that you are not the main focus, the potential client is.

Understanding the buyer’s value within the sales decision making process will truly separate mediocre and average sales people from top sales performers.  And when you let go of your sales ego, let go of it’s all about how well you behave from asking the right questions to overcoming stalls and objections (your sales skills), you will indeed be able to build authentic customer relationships and increase sales.

Personal commitment is a necessary talent for those in sales leadership positions. Actually, it is a necessary strength or capacity call it what you will for anyone in any role and in any industry.  However, this is one talent that some lack.

Over the years I have been able to observe this talent not only in myself, but within others.  For me, when I give my word to someone else, I have made a personal commitment to ensure the completion of the action.  Now sometimes I must admit I am not as consistent when it is about me.

One strategy to help me improve my own talent of personal commitment is the use of a calendar to ensure that all actions are taken. For example, I belong to a Tribe over at Tiberr.com.  Two times a day I check my Triberr home page and take action by liking to retweeting the posts of those within this tribe.  Sales Training Coaching Tip:  Using automation is a great strategy and tactic, but some social media sites do not allow automation so you must physically give it a “like” such as on Google plus.

Over the years I have made commitment to write articles for different sites and I have honored all of those commitments. What I find puzzling is those who initially make the commitment and then back out when business gets too good because they do not have time or they just wanted a quick jolt to their marketing or sales.  Sales Training Coaching Tip: Learning how to say no is also required so that you can honor and keep all your commitments.

Some people confuse commitment with being involved.  The old ham and eggs breakfast quote is one of the best illustrations of that confusion.

The chicken was involved by laying the eggs while the pig was committed.

Personal commitment as defined by the Innermetrix Attribute Index (AI) is defined as:

“The capacity to focus and stay committed to a task.  It is the measure of a person’s internal personal commitment, without any external influences or pressures.  This commitment can also be directed at their goals and ambitions, and will be reflected in their focus toward a goal or task.”

Individuals who have a high or good sense of personal commitment “will maintain a consistent level of activity toward a task and will stay busy with little direct supervision.  They will work steadily at their task and stick solidly to their beliefs and goals.” Conversely those who are weak in this talent may be “easily distracted from the task at hand.  The distractions don’t have to be from an outside source, it can be a daydream or random thought.  The poorer the score the more problematic this will become.  They may also have difficulty maintaining a sense of focus or direction toward obtaining personal or professional goals.”

One of the keys to personal commitment is having clearly articulated written SMART goals along with a business as well as personal values statement.  Focus is further strengthened by having a written strategic action plan of action be it a sales plan to a business plan or even a personal life plan.

Top sales performers know and demonstrate this sales leadership talent of personal commitment 24/7.  If you wish to increase sales, consider having this talent assessed to better understand your current talents or strengths. This may be the best action you have ever taken to improve your ability as a salesperson, a small business owner to even a C suite executive.

P.S. When you fail to honor your commitment, you are disrespecting those who are honoring their commitment to you.