SOCOM Sales - Selling is easy!

Sales Goals and Money

2008-05-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting SOCOM sales. Koka Sexton has combined 15 years of experience in the military and sales to build a solid foundation of sales and execution. Many sales leaders have good groups working for them. So why is it that they miss their targets and seem to struggle?

SOCOM sales is more of a methodology than a company. Teaching sales and marketing people new ways to be highly successful in their trade by becoming masters of executing plans to achieve goals. sales is a process for both the seller and the buyer. We help explain this process and help you determine which prospects are the low hanging fruit to easy revenue as well as ways to take down the whales.

photo credit: guiguis

I follow rules that create business plans based on a proven method that makes goals and a path to success crystal clear.

This blog will host articles I write about business, sales, marketing and articles that I find on the internet that I find helpful and would like to share. If you like what you see, add me to your RSS reader.

Since sales and marketing should walk hand and hand, this site will have information on both sides. Though I am a sales person by trade, I think I know a few things that can help a marketing group succeed.

Speed Networking and Beyond

2007-07-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Speed networking programs generally involve people meeting each other one at a time for a short interval and then moving on to the next person in line. They are fairly structured in the way people queue up to meet.

Speed Networking and Beyond

The Perfect Presentation

2007-07-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

One of the most important aspects of any presentation is the materials you use to back up your pitch. They can mean the difference between a presentation that bombs and a presentation that gets you to the next level. From brochures and PowerPoint slides to props and snacks, here are the essential things entrepreneurs should bring to their first investor meeting.

The Perfect Presentation: Materials - Entrepreneur.com

BillCaskey: How Social Media Affects Sales People

2007-07-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

How Social Media Affects Sales People

Happy Independence day

2007-07-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Lead management done right.

2007-07-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Leads they are the life blood of your sales teams. They come from many different channels. Your company website, trade shows, search engines, and the best are from current customers. But one of the most important aspects of lead management is to actually have a process for managing them. Some of the companies I have worked for had solid processes, some had none at all. Don't spend days or weeks having meetings about how to manage leads. Your company does not need to have the best process out the gate, you just need something.

Here are some best practices that I have come across in my years in sales.

Have one central bucket for ALL automated inbound leads. Most will be from forms on your corporate website. When you upload leads from events, they should all be put into the same bucket. This is done for many reasons. It reduces on confusion and it allows the sales people to pull their leads quickly and act on them effectively.
Require basic information from the leads. Name, company, email, phone number and where the lead came from. The "where" is the ice breaker for the first call. If you don't know where you came in contact with the leads, the initial contact will be awkward at best. Any other information you require will be specific to your company. But get as much as you can from them without making them feel inundated with filling out too much information. 7-9 fields seems to work well.
Follow up on the leads fast. I mean within 48 hours after they are imported. Nothing will impress a prospect than a quick introduction. As a manager you should also be able to run reports on this activity. Track your new lead activities, don't lose new interested prospects. This is the one hole that many companies overlook.
Have a real lead status that maps each step of your sales process. For example - New, Initial call, Contact made, Discovery call... you get the idea. Most CRM systems have customizable fields for this, use them.
Know when your leads have become opportunities. CRM systems have different ways of doing this. Before you get one, understand this process and map your lead management around it.
Above all track the entire sales process so management can see where the sales people are and make the report available to the sales people so they can track this as well. This way nothing falls through the cracks.

5 Quick Tips for Creating Conversations Salespeople Will Use

2007-06-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

More of a marketing focus, but this can help sales people have a message that is actually received better from prospects and get you in the door for a real meeting.

5 Quick Tips for Creating Conversations Salespeople Will Use

The Top 12 Presentation Mistakes

2007-06-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Top 12 Presentation Mistakes

Mistake #1: Overlooking "Murphy"
If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. This mistake basically means that you walk into the room where you're going to present and something is wrong. LeRoux tells a story about a multimillion-dollar sales presentation to which "Murphy" paid a visit—in the form of missing curtains and a boardroom window overlooking a huge pool surrounded by bikini-clad swimmers (you can guess what the attendees looked at instead of the presenter).

Remedy: Visit important presentation rooms at least a day in advance. If that's not possible, have someone take pictures from different angles and email them to you.

Mistake #2: Delivering Split Presentations
It's difficult to read the subtitles of a foreign movie and follow the action. When sellers stand at a distance from the screen, they create a similar problem. You probably won't build rapport with someone whose focus is repeatedly divided.

Remedy: Stand next to the screen and present a united message.

Managing Through a Personal Crisis (Part 2 of 2)

2007-06-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Manager Tools - Tools for Leaders and Managers » Blog Archive » Managing Through a Personal Crisis (Part 2 of 2)

The Art of Asking Great Questions

2007-06-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

It’s been said that one of the most important skills in sales is listening. But in order to listen well, there’s another important skill that comes first: asking good questions. You can’t simply walk in a prospect’s door and say, “What are the issues you are struggling with?” or “What keeps you up at night?” Today, you’d be jettisoned out of the office by savvy executives who demand more researched, intelligent, and thought-provoking questions.

“The quality of your questions is directly related to the quality of your business because unless people change the way they think, they are not likely to change the way they act,” says Jerry Acuff, CEO of Delta Point, Inc., and author of Stop Acting Like a Seller And Start Thinking Like a Buyer (John Wily & Sons, 2007). Before he meets with anyone, Acuff spends an hour – and often two – creating the questions he needs answered to determine if a prospective client is a fit for his service. Here’s some of his advice for crafting great questions:

Be transparent. Open your dialogue by revealing a truth about why you’re there. Say something like, “I’m here to learn if there’s a fit between what we offer and your situation.” You’ll make the prospect more willing to answer your questions because you’ve framed the meeting not as a sales pitch but as an exploratory discussion.

Ask “thinking” questions. Asking a prospect how many units he ships per month or whether his business needs a good return on its liquid funds doesn’t require the prospect to use much brain power, which means he’s not engaging very deeply with you. But a question like, “How important is it that you have instant access to all your deposits?” or, “How will yesterday’s Senate decision on the environment affect your manufacturing procedures?” provokes thought and discussion and therefore opens the door for additional conversations.

Don’t assume anything. Don’t assume you know what’s important to customers. Even if you’re right, you still need to provoke thought to make the sale. Witness what happened at IBM. Years ago, the company found new sales reps were growing their business for about 20 months and then they’d plateau. In examining the problem, managers discovered that after 20 months, reps had so much product knowledge and customer experience, they could walk into an account and immediately tell the customer what would solve their problems. “They could diagnose a problem quickly, but they didn’t give the customer a chance to talk,” says Acuff. So even though their diagnoses were spot-on, they weren’t closing sales. The lesson: even if you’ve seen it all before, it’s still critical to ask the questions.

Use “triggers.” Triggers are phrases that pique the customer’s interest in your question before you ask it. They’re so called because they reference the event or occurrence that triggered the question. For instance, “Last week, I read an article that made me think you might have a problem with…,” or, “I was talking with John in marketing yesterday and he told me….”

Target your strengths. Ask questions that determine how customers value your major competitive strengths. For instance, if your company is the only one that can deliver in 24 hours, you might ask something like, “What percentage of the time is it absolutely necessary to get the product delivered in 24 hours?” followed by, “What happens if on-time delivery doesn’t occur?” If the responses indicate rapid delivery is not that important to the prospect, it could be a red flag this isn’t a great opportunity. However, if 24-hour delivery is critical, and a late delivery could botch up their entire process, you’ve just opened the door for some thought-provoking dialogue.

For more information, visit www.gotochange.com.

10 R’s to Apply if you Want to Succeed

2007-06-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

More good advice from Dave Cheong.

10 R’s to Apply if you Want to Succeed

18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work

2007-06-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

We can all use a little of this.
18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work

Search Techniques: How to research companies on the Web - Lifehacker

2007-06-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ever doing some prospecting and wanted some additional information on the company you are going to be dealing with?
Search Techniques: How to research companies on the Web - Lifehacker

Linked Intelligence

2007-06-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

Linked Intelligence

How to Change the World: LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover

2007-06-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

How to Change the World: LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover

20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively

2007-06-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive 20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively «

Skills set: Develop a Prospecting Strategy

2007-06-05T08:59:00.001-07:00

1. Identify potential customers in your territory.

2. Organize them according to likelihood of becoming a customer, volume, geography and other factors.

3. Determine your "sweet spot" - the customers who are likely to provide the largest return for the least investment.

4. Select a manageable number of targets and slate them into your schedule.

5. Track your success so you can refine your approach.

Skill: Territory management

Problem: Managing your territory to make sure you get a full day each week in front of new prospects.

Solutions:

Develop a prospecting strategy. Organize your leads in a way that makes sense - by geography, size, likelihood of purchasing, volume, etc. Focus on the prospects with the highest return for the least investment. Track your success so you know how much each lead is worth.

What Is Stopping You from Closing

2007-06-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

What Is Stopping You from Closing All of the Sales You Deserve to Close?

Buyers and sellers have different jobs: buyers need to solve a business problem; sellers place product. Before you can sell, buyers must manage all of the internal, historic, and idiosyncratic elements that created their “Identified Problem.” And sellers have had no way to help them manage this hidden process. Until now. Buying Facilitation leads buyers through an unbiased search for the policies, relationships, historic issues, and initiatives that have created and maintained their status quo,...read more.

Keeping Tabs On the Competition

2007-06-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Customer research and competitive intelligence are usually viewed as two separate entities. Moreover, while Voice of the Customer (VOC) research – including customer satisfaction data, account retention interviews, win/loss analysis, and more – is prevalent at companies of all sizes, few organizations have a formal, systematic process in place for collecting and disseminating competitive intelligence. Yet this information is crucial for sales reps to do their jobs well....read more.

Before You Discount Your Price

2007-06-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

So close…

How many times have you been in this situation:

• You meet a prospect
• You take them through your process
• You ask them the right questions, tough questions
• They reveal that they have a problem
• They know it is costing them money
• They think you can help them fix it
• They say “NO” because they can’t afford your solution

WHAT? WAIT A MINUTE! EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL.

What’s really happening…….

I think our first instinct is to believe what they’ve told us - our price is too high. We obviously didn’t hear something right, or our pricing process is flawed. So, maybe I should discount. STOP! If your arm is falling off and you’re bleeding to death, do you negotiate with your doctor for a lower price?? Do you decide to let it bleed a little bit longer before you do something about it? No, you realize you have a problem, you know you have to invest something to fix it, and you believe the doctor can fix it for you. If you have a prospect with a problem as big as a “dangling arm” should they behave differently? My experience is that it’s not about price at all. It’s a belief issue.

What to do about it……..

If you have helped a prospect identify a problem, denominate the cost of the problem, and you and the prospect have decided together that you can fix it, what does price have to do with it? NOTHING! It’s about belief; belief that the problem they have exists, belief that it’s worth investing time and money in to fix, and the belief that you are the person to fix it. So, if the prospect wants to keep making it about price, what can you do? Go back to your process……….

Historical Review – How did you get to this point?
Up – Front agreement – “I want to find out what is really holding you back”
Compelling Reason – What was the pain that was revealed to you? Remind them of it – over and over and over.
Economics – What is the cost of not fixing the problem? How much is the problem costing them currently? Is the value your solution higher than the dollars they will invest to fix it? If yes, than logically, they should move forward with the solution.

If you take them back through your process and they are still hung up on price, you have to lay it out for them:

“My experience is that the problem here is really not the price. Maybe your gut tells you that the problem is not worth fixing, or that I really can’t help you. That’s okay, but if that is the case, I will have to walk away.”

If they allow you to walk away, they weren’t serious about fixing the problem. The thought of you leaving them with their problem will force them to “get real” and get you back on track for the real, true conversation.

By Brooke Green

Make the Most of Your Site’s Sign-Up Experience

2007-05-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

The "join my mailing list" sign-up box on your website makes it easy for visitors to add themselves to your e-mail list. If you don't have one already, it's easy to add. At sign-up, you have the opportunity to gather some very important preferences from your new subscribers. You have control over the sign-up form they fill out--and the welcome letter they receive after they join your list. Putting a little extra effort into both can make a big difference.

Here are some helpful tips on how to make the sign-up experience easy and engaging for your visitors--and how to make it a more effective marketing tool for you.

Sign-up Form: Get the Right Information
Get a correct e-mail address. When people sign up for your list, they may type in an incorrect address without realizing it. Have them confirm their e-mail address on the form before they're added to your list. Otherwise, the e-mails you send them will bounce back--a lost opportunity for both you and them.

Only ask for what you can use. While it may be tempting to know 20 fascinating facts about your new subscribers, most people don't want to spend more than a few seconds filling out a form. So keep it short and sweet. Only ask for information that helps you send relevant and targeted communications. Requiring just a name and e-mail will get you the highest number of subscribers.

Give them choices in the form of unchecked boxes. Put your subscribers in the driver's seat. Let them decide what communications they'll receive and how often. Do they want your monthly newsletter or weekly reports? Do they want promotions and event invitations? By enabling your subscribers to sign up for different communications, you can build segmented lists you can use to send more targeted e-mails.

Do you want your old subscribers to know about the new categories? Send them an e-mail asking them to update their profile or preferences. This will ensure your current customers--possibly your most valuable customers--are receiving communications from you that speak to their interests and needs.

Welcome E-mail: Get Them While They're Hot
According to a recent MarketingSherpa study, your welcome e-mail is likely to be the most opened e-mail you'll send. You want to take full advantage of this chance to engage your new subscriber. Here's how to make the most of this great relationship-building opportunity.

Tell them what to expect. Your sign-up form doesn't tell subscribers much about what they'll receive from you. Sell them on the value of being a member of your list by highlighting the content--from great events to money-saving discounts--your future e-mails will include.

Reward them instantly. Subscribers are at the height of their interest when they sign up for your list. Validate the wisdom of their decision to subscribe with an instant reward. If your e-mails are educational, provide links to past articles or issues you have on your website. If your e-mails are promotional, offer a discount or an incentive to encourage them to take immediate advantage of what you have to offer. Restaurants do a great job with this. I've gotten many welcome e-mails that include a coupon for 20 percent off or a free appetizer.

Lead them back to your website. You've worked hard to make your site a great place for visitors to get information, so make sure your welcome e-mail links them back to that information.

When a new subscriber joins your list, it's the start of a new relationship you hope will be a long-lasting one. Your first contact will make a big difference. It's your chance to get prospects connected and get the relationship going and growing.

Watch Your Language!

2007-05-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

By Jim Cathcart

Who taught you to talk like you do? When it comes to your sales language; chances are good it was your sales manager–your first one. For generations now we have been talking about selling from the viewpoint of the Industrial Era. We have seen businesses as machines and accordingly we have "re-engineered" them, "systematized" them, and more. Our premise has been that businesses are things. So when it comes to selling we have such endearing terminology as "Closing" sales, making "Cold" calls,...read more.

The Customer Isn't Always Right

2007-05-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

How do you react when a selling situation begins to appear unacceptable?
By Bill Sharp

"The customer is always right," is a cliche as familiar to the salesperson as "don't call us, we'll call you."

Although it has an element of truth, a successful sales must satisfy more than just the customer. All parties, the customer, the supplying company, and the salesperson must have their needs met before the sales can be termed a success. The different needs to be reconciled prior to a successful sales transaction include the customer's need for a good buy, the salesman's need for success, and the company's need for continued growth.

Let's examine the tug of war waged around the salesperson. Restrictions put on salespeople by their own companies often leave them caught at the same time between the two power factions of Parent Company and Customer. Customers enjoy power in the buying process and some may try to squeeze the salesperson to get the most for their company or for the thrill involved in psychological gamesmanship.

Nervous? It Might Be Your Own Fault

2007-05-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

The words “presentation” and “nervous” have been used so often in the same sentence that many people have come to accept that the two are inseparable. Indeed, with more of the public fearing public speaking than death, presenters may believe they’re supposed to be nervous and that it’s to be fearful when speaking in front of a group. The reality, however, is that nervousness is not a natural by-product of speaking in front of a group – it’s a symptom of a deeper problem,...

read more.

FEAR

2007-05-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Brooke Green recently wrote her thoughts on an article she in Fast Co. (www.fastcompany.com) magazine about the Fear of Learning. Marcia Conner states that while some people say that they need fear to excel, too much fear about what there is to learn can actually shut you down. It started me thinking about how fear manifests itself in training.

Dale Carnegie's Thoughts for Success

2007-05-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

by Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie seminars for speaking and selling have helped countless numbers of people improve their personal and professional lives. His down-to-earth philosophy, along with his keen insights into human nature, explain the continued success of the Dale Carnegie training programs. Below is a brief sampling of Dale Carnegie's well-chosen thoughts.

On Courage

Would you like to have more courage? Here are five short rules, which, if you follow them, I guarantee will increase your store of fortitude.

1. Act as if you were courageous. This makes you a bit braver, as if one side of yourself had been challenged and wished to show it was not wholly afraid.

"Pause to reflect that others have had to face great discouragements and great obstacles and have overcome them. What others have done, surely you can do."

2. Pause to reflect that others have had to face great discouragements and great obstacles and have overcome them. What others have done, surely you can do.

3. Remember that your life forces move in a sort of rhythm and that if you feel depressed and without the power to face life you may be at the bottom of the trough; if you will keep up your courage, you will probably swing out of it by the very forces which at the moment are sucking you down.

4. Remember you feel more defeated and downcast at night than during the daylight hours. Courage comes with the sun.

5. Courage is the measure of a big soul. Try to measure up.

On Perspective

About 90 percent of the things in our lives are right and about 10 percent are wrong. If we want to be happy, all we have to do is concentrate on the 90 percent that are right and ignore the 10 percent that are wrong. If we want to be worried and bitter and have stomach ulcers, all we have to do is to concentrate on the 10 percent that are wrong and ignore the 90 percent that are glorious.

On Selling Ideas

Don't you have much more faith in ideas that you discover for yourself than in ideas that are handed to you on a silver platter? If so, isn't it bad judgment to try to ram your opinions down the throats of other people? Wouldn't it be wiser to make suggestions -- and let the other man think out the conclusion for himself?

On Worry

If you are worried, do these three things: First, ask yourself, "What is the worst that can possibly happen?" Second, prepare to accept it if you have to. Then, calmly proceed to improve on the worst.

On Values


	People are not lazy; they just have impotent goals, that is, goals that do not inspire them. Anthony Robbins

I honestly believe that this is one of the greatest secrets to true peace of mind -- a decent sense of values. We could annihilate 50 percent of all our worries at once if we would develop a sort of private gold standard -- a gold standard of what things are worth to us in terms of our lives.

On Pep Talks

Is giving yourself a pep talk every day silly, superficial, childish? No! On the contrary, it is the very essence of sound psychology. "Our life is what our thoughts make it." Those words are just as true today as they were 18 centuries ago when Marcus Aurelius first wrote them in his book of Meditations.

On Enthusiasm

How can you make yourself become enthusiastic? By telling yourself what you like about what you are doing and pass on quickly from the part you don't like to the part you do like. Then act enthusiastic; tell someone about it; let them know why it interests you.

Motivation Tools You Need To Survive In Sales

2007-05-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

QUICK TIP:

"Solve, rather than complain."

To make motivation a daily part of your life takes practice and perseverance. Below are nine ways to stock your motivation toolbox. Use these tools daily to keep your spirits and goals on track.

Accept where you are. By accepting your own abilities and working within your limitations, you can use valuable energy to create positive life changes. Someone once said, "Your circumstances don't control you, they define you!" The way you are reflects the sum total of your choices to date.

Dare to Think in awesome dimensions. When you think about what you want to achieve, do you think of yourself-proclaimed limits? Why stop where you stop? Try thinking in unusual or outrageous terms.

"When you give up in your mind, your mind gives up on you."

Don't dwell on defeat. When you give up in your mind, your mind gives up on you. Once this happens the rest is downhill. Remember there is no such thing as failure; there are only outcomes. If you don't like your outcome, try changing your activity.

Listen to motivational tapes. When you listen to your "mental recordings" of past years, you fall victim to your mind's ceaseless broadcast. To counteract this endless tape, flood your mind with positive input every day of your life. If you were to add up the money you spend on the outside of your head you'd be surprised at the annual expenditure. instead, spend some money on the inside of your head by purchasing at least one cassette every month. Listen to a tape every time you drive.

For every dollar you spend ask yourself, "Do I need this and can I afford this?" This tip can help you spend less and save more. If you expect to become one of the four percent of Americans who reach financial independence by age 65, then saving is absolutely essential. Here's a sobering exercise. Ask yourself how much money per month you'd want, net, after taxes, if you retired today and quit working.

Now, leaving the principal intact, figure out how much money you'll need at eight percent net (after all taxes and investment management expenses) to generate that amount monthly for the rest of your life. Add the tax you have to pay on the total amount of income you'll need to put into your life savings account. Now you have a positive basis for beginning to plan for your financial future.

Stay committed to your career goals. People have a tendency to be on the lookout for a better deal. Lack of personal career commitment is the greatest source of personal dissatisfaction with one's profession. Get committed and learn to just say "No" to anything that doesn't support your career purpose.

Do not allow setbacks to control you. If you do, then your supporters may be that you haven't the resolve to stick to your plans for success. When you face an inevitable disappointment, accept it as a learning experience and find creative ways to work through it. You can choose to react to a disappointment by seeking solace and quitting trying, thus weakening your ability to do something positive about it. Or, you can choose to learn from it, to resolve to handle a similar situation differently the next time around, to grow and become more of a person instead of shrinking form challenge and becoming less.


	"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Thomas Jefferson

Never be intimidated. Most success is more perceived than real. it does no good to envy the possessions of others. There is a teaching in Buddhism that says: "People are not their stuff." This means if you take all your elements such as your pride, body, friends, money, status, position, job and anything else you can think of that you normally use to define another, and remove them from yourself, the real you is left. You are as important as anyone else on the planet. Be your own person and don't get caught up in the myth of a "get more to be more" society.

If it is to be, it is up to me. You have to accept the responsibility for getting what you want in your life. When you don't like a situation, take action to change it. Waiting for someone else to make the changes you want decreases your motivation and your ability to act. By waiting you diminish yourself and your cause. Don't just take notice, take action!

How to Close a Sale in the First 30 Seconds

2007-05-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Tap into customers' hidden wants to win their trust--and their business.

Those of us in sales are often consumed with one thing: the close. We've been trained to accomplish this by pushing those all-important features and benefits. From the moment we begin the sales process, our vision is focused on the end.

What if we've got it backwards? In my observation--and research bears this out--the outcome of the sale is determined within the first 30 seconds of a presentation. It's during this key period that decision-makers often reach for the "turn off" switch.

Does this seem rational? Of course not. But buying isn't purely rational; it's greatly influenced by emotion. That's why it's essential to build a sales process around your opening gambit rather than your closing techniques.

You might use small talk to develop a relationship or position a benefit claim. You might ask prospects questions, such as "What would you like to accomplish?" You might even boldly announce your own hopes for the meeting and say, "This is what I'd like to accomplish today."

But if buying decisions are made not in the head but in the gut, are these the best opening gambits?

In the book, You're Working Too Hard to Make the Sale!, researchers William Brooks and Thomas Travisano examine how a buyer's emotional triggers influence the sales outcome from the first meeting. After interviewing hundreds of decision-makers, buyers and end-users, they conclude that customers want to buy from people they believe understand them. Features and benefits barely enter into the decision.

Most salespeople encourage buyers to talk about their needs. But an insightful salesperson will also interpret buyers' subliminal wants. Across the board, it appears that customers who share the same job role--say entrepreneurs, purchasing agents or chief financial managers--share the same underlying wants.

Take selling to other entrepreneurs, for example. Many people assume entrepreneurs are driven primarily by the desire to make big profits. As you probably know, that's simply not true. Entrepreneurs are in business for themselves because they want to call the shots. Their true wants include being the boss, ensuring the company's security and perhaps passing the company along to a successor.

As a salesperson, if you can subtly communicate to an entrepreneur that you understand his or her true wants and that you can help achieve them, you stand a better chance of closing the sale.

So as you prepare for a presentation, think about the person you'll be presenting to and their role within the company. What are their wants? What's the fear or pain they try to avoid? Remember, wants aren't business goals. They're personal, emotional desires that tend to be universal among buyers in similar categories. It's to your advantage to prepare an opening strategy for each category of decision-maker you come in contact with.

Now, let's consider the purchasing agent. In general, purchasing agents need to get up to speed quickly on products and services that may be outside their realm of expertise. They live with the fear that they'll be overwhelmed with technical information they have no desire or time to master.

So when meeting with a purchasing agent, present your product or service in a way that's easily understood. Avoid technical jargon; don't try to wow 'em with your in-depth knowledge. Play to the purchasing agent's want--that your product or service is easy to understand and can be purchased safely--without delving into a mind-spinning education.

By immediately demonstrating to buyers that you understand their wants, you'll increase their comfort level with you, which is the first step to gaining their trust. Once a base level of trust is established, the buyer's inclined to keep an open mind, instead of closing the door.

A word of caution: This technique can be tricky at first. It goes against our habits. As salespeople, we're trained to unearth the prospect's need so we can solve the problem with our product or services. But needs are rationally based, while buyers are emotionally driven. So satisfy the wants first.

Ray Silverstein is the "Sales" columnist at Entrepreneur.com and president and founder of PRO: President’s Resource Organization, a network of advisory boards for small-business owners.

How Premature Presentations Can Derail Your Success

2007-05-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Making your big sales presentation too early in the sales process can lessen the likelihood of you making the sale.

In many conversations with sales professionals, I am often surprised that even the most sophisticated professionals get caught presenting too early. Historically, everything salespeople do, from prospecting to contacting and qualifying potential customers, seems to be aimed at creating the opportunity to present their solutions. Consequently, sales organizations devote a tremendous amount of time and resources creating verbal presentations and written proposals. The irony is that most of this effort is lost on customers. Presenting prematurely is largely a waste of time.

Conventional salespeople hate to hear this because the presentation is usually the key weapon in their sales arsenal. It is their security blanket, their comfort zone, and they don't want to give it up. They seem to be on a mission to relentlessly educate the customer. They believe, "If I can only get them to understand how great my product is, they will buy."

In reality, there are two fundamental reasons why people do not buy; either: 1) they don't believe they have a problem (that includes the problem is not big enough to resolve), or 2) they don't believe the proposed solution will solve their problem. In the majority of cases, it is the first reason. Therefore, a presentation designed to educate the customer on the solution is really not dealing with the real issue.

There are two major challenges with presentations:

Even a presentation that includes advanced multimedia elements is, in its essence, a lecture. The salesperson is the talking teacher and the customer is the listening student. The big problem with teaching by telling is that little information is remembered. People retain only about 30 percent of what they hear. The use of visual aids (e.g., a PowerPoint slide show) boosts retention rates another 10 percent, but the generally accepted rule of thumb among learning experts is that more than half of even the most sophisticated presentation can be lost.
The larger challenge is that a typical sales presentation rarely devotes more than 10 to 20 percent of its focus on the customer and their current situation. Generally, 80 to 90 percent is devoted to describing the seller, its solutions, and the rosy future if you buy. Therefore, while a presentation may raise the customer's level of understanding, that understanding is usually centered on the solution, not the customer. All too often, salespeople are dealing with customers who are not sure of the exact nature of their problems, the risks they are facing, and how their business is impacted by the absence of the solution. As a result, while customers may be greatly impressed with the offering being presented, may even agree to its inherent value, they still lack a compelling understanding of how it connects to their situation.

To help you avoid falling victim to the Presentation Trap, here are four critical steps you can take:

Pre-determine the physical signs (symptoms) your customer would be seeing in their business without your solution.
In collaboration with your customer, confirm that they are experiencing the physical symptom(s).
When you have identified the symptom(s), help the customer quantify the financial impact this is having on their business.
Determine if the impact is serious enough for your customer to take action.

Connecting your solution to the symptoms your customer wants to address will make your solution and therefore your presentation relevant and timely. If you are unable to create this foundation and connect it to your presentation, your chances of a successful sale are greatly reduced.

The advice I share with sales professionals wishing to avoid the Presentation Trap is "Don't present." Instead, use a diagnostic approach -- simply stated, conduct a thorough diagnosis to uncover problems and expand the customer's awareness of their situation. Once the problem is clearly understood and the customer perceives all the ramifications of that problem, then the salesperson is justified in making recommendations, and a presentation will not be necessary.

When you guide your customers through this process, you will be establishing a high level of credibility and find yourself jointly developing optimal solutions, which will ultimately benefit both you and your customers.

E-Advice: E-mail Know-How

2007-05-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

We use e-mail every day, but how many of us really know how to write a good e-mail? You'll lose a lot in translation if you aren't careful. The new book Send is the Elements of Style for e-mail. Here are some tips to keep your e-mail communication accurate.

1. Subject lines
Don't leave them blank, and don't let them be ambiguous. A subject line is like a headline, and should act as a summary to the body of the e-mail. If the subject of the e-mail changes, update the subject line accordingly. This will help the recipient determine whether the e-mail needs immediate attention.

2. Attachments
No one likes opening an attachment when they have ten other things on their agenda. When possible, paste the information to the body of the e-mail instead.

3. Urgent
Tagging your e-mail as urgent is a nuisance to the sender. The importance of your e-mail should be made clear without such tags. Save the "high importance" tags for very rare occasions. You don't want to cry wolf.

4. Introductions
When addressing e-mails to people you don't know, use Mr. and Ms. (never Mrs.). But don't include their first name, as it comes off as awkward and forced. This way you stay professional and avoid offending anyone. If they use their first name in their replies, you can then switch to a more informal greeting.

5. Mirror:
Write back in the style of the sender. If someone sends you a formal e-mail that ends with a question, it's best not to reply with "cool, that works for me." E-mails should be brief but make sure you cover all the information the sender is asking for.

6. Style
Don't annoy your recipient with an e-mail in all caps or he may think you are yelling or are angry. Also make sure you e-mails always look professional and avoid crazy fonts.

From the E-Business Newsletter

By Rebecca Aronauer

Want an Appointment? Just Ask

2007-05-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges in sales is getting that first appointment. Many a rep has lamented, “If I could just get in to see the guy, I can make the sale!” As a result, reps spend a lot of time trying to craft that perfect, compelling message that will get total strangers to agree to spend some time with them. Yet all they really need to do, says one expert, is just ask for the appointment.

“The reason prospects agree to talk to our clients is we ask them to,” says Mike Scher, president of Frontline Selling, a company that helps reps improve their pipeline through training and as an outsourced service provider (www.frontlineselling.com). “We ask them to meet with us a number of times in a number of ways.” There’s no pitch, no stop-‘em-in-their-tracks insights, just a simple request for an appointment.

Here’s an example. Say you’re calling a prospect for the first time and, not surprisingly, you get his voice mail. Instead of trying to wow the person by telling him how you can solve his problems, just say something like this: “Hi Joe. This is John Allen from ABC Corp. I was hoping to get 20 to 30 minutes of your time on April 3rd or 4th to talk about how we can help you become more efficient at building your pipeline. Please let me know or have Becky, your assistant, call me at 123-456-7890.” A few days later you would follow that up with an email that reads basically the same: “Hi Joe. Per my voice mail, I was hoping to get 20 to 30 minutes of your time….” Later, you might send a fax to the same effect. Continue pursuing your request until you get a yes or a no – and don’t mistake a non-answer for a no, as many reps do.

There are two reasons this approach works. First, by simply asking for an appointment, you separate prospecting from selling. Prospecting is about getting the appointment, says Scher; selling is what you do once you’re there. Yet many reps mix the two by trying to sell their way into the appointment and that’s a big turn-off to prospective buyers.

Second, by asking for the appointment multiple times in multiple ways, you plant a seed in the same way that effective advertising plants a seed: at some level, even if subconsciously, the prospect is aware of you and considering your request. When he finally agrees to a meeting, it’s not a split-second decision he might later regret, which can happen when you secure an appointment on an initial cold call. Instead, it’s a “well considered decision” which sets the stage for meaningful dialogue, says Scher. That’s an important distinction, he adds, because the way in which your prospect decides to meet with you – on impulse in response to a cold call versus considering it over time – has enormous implications for the outcome of the sale.

Sure, the switch from selling your way into an appointment to just asking for an appointment sounds awfully simple. It is. And that’s one of the biggest reasons reps are wary of this strategy, says Scher. But it’s like taking a golf lesson after you’ve been playing golf for a long time: When the pro changes your grip, it will at first feel uncomfortable. However, the more you use that grip, the more you’ll realize it’s not only more comfortable, it’s also more effective.

So the next time you pick up the phone to call a new prospect, take the pressure off yourself. Don’t sweat about finding the magic combination of words to get him to meet with you; just ask him to meet with you. Take it one step at a time, concludes Scher. Your initial communication should be focused on trying to get the appointment. Once you’ve got it, then you can focus on the sale.

By Heather Baldwin

How to add a custom field in salesforce.com

2007-05-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Since many of the mods I will be mentioning all have this in common, I'll make it easy and explain this once and link to it as needed.

1. Go to your setup screen. The link is located in the upper right corner of your screen. When you get to the page it should look a little like this.

2. On the left section there is a link for App Setup. Click that.

3. Find the Customize your Contacts tab

4. Now go to Create a new custom link

Add Yahoo IM to salesforce.com contacts

2007-05-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

I found this while looking for information on tweaks I can make to my salesforce.com account. I was looking for a way to add images into contact and account records and came across this. This simple mod not only allows you to add a contacts Yahoo IM name into a special field, it goes one step further to create an icon that will tell you if that contact is online or off. Now the search is on to find simular mods that can do the same for AIM, Google and MSN.

Here are the steps.

1. Set up a custom field. Read this if you need help.

2. Create a custom field of data type “text”

3. Create a field label of "Yahoo IM" and edit the the field name to say "YahooName". use a length you feel comfortable with. I used 50. Click Next

*Now the text field is complete and can be added to the page layout. Next the fun part.

1. Set up another custom field.

2. Create a custom field of data type “Formula”. On Step 2 of the wizard, specify a return type of “Text”.

3. On Step 2 of the wizard reate a field label of "Yahoo" and edit the the field name to say "Yahoo".

4. On step 3 of the wizard cut and paste this text into the box.

IF(LEN(YahooName__c)=0,"", HYPERLINK("ymsgr:sendIM?" & YahooName__c, IMAGE("http://opi.yahoo.com/online?u=" & YahooName__c & "&m=g&t=0", " ")))

*Now add a Yahoo IM screen name to a contact record. It's better if you use someone that you know is online. If all goes well when you add the IM you will see this.

I know that other IM's ust have APIs that can be used. If you know of any, drop me a line. (koka101 at gmail dot com)

Add LinkedIn integration to Salesforce.com

2007-05-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

As a sales person, I live in my CRM. It's the primary tool for my profession second only to my phone. Another sales tool I use is a social networking site called LinkedIn. Here is how they discribe themselves "LinkedIn is an online network of more than 10 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries". I call it the MySpace for professionals. I have put together a way to bring the two tools together and make my Salesforce CRM work for me in new ways.

When prospecting or in the course of general due diligence, the more you know about your lead the better. LinkedIn has over 10 million registered users. Chance are if you are dealing with a company executive, they have a LinkedIn account. Searching LinkedIn can give you some interesting facts as well as give you better insight to 'who they really are."

I used to pull my lead in the CRM that was either uploaded from a trade show or a person asking for more information and cut&paste the name into another tab that had LinkedIn up already. (Yes, tabbed browsing is much better!) This worked fine. I didn't know any better so I adjusted and made it work. Now LinkedIn is looking for specific information right out of the contact record and all I have to do is click the link. Here's how.

1. Go to your setup screen. The link is located in the upper right corner of your screen. When you get to the page it should look a little like this.

2. On the left section there is a link for App Setup. Click that.

3. Find the Customize your Contacts tab

4. Now go to Create a new custom link

5. Click on 'New' and create the Label for the new link. (Call it LinkedIn to make things easy.)

Here is the string to put into the large text box at the bottom. Make sure you save the custom link! Click OK at the pop up box.

COPY LINK

**Make sure that the format for the name is {!Contact.FirstName}+{!Contact.LastName}. There has been some issues with the link in some browsers.

This is searching LinkedIn for contacts that match the first name and last name of the Salesforce

record you are currently viewing.

6. Next click on Page Layout and click edit.

You will find your new custom link in the 'Account custom link' view on the right side.

7. Drag the LinkedIn custom tab and drop it into the 'Useful Links' section. Save everything.

8. Now go into a contact record and see the new LinkedIn link. Go ahead, give it a try!

If you are feeling adventurous, you can follow the same steps in the "Accounts Setup" but use the string below to search for any record in LinkedIn that works for the target company.

COPY LINK

Let's start with the basics.

2007-05-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

You have your account. Either through work or the personal account you signed up for. Now make sure you have your information in correct.

Go to your Setup and edit your personal information in the "My Personal information" section. Make sure you have your name, address and phone number in correct.

Now go to the "Email" section and make sure you have the right email address (This should be done already) and create an email signature.

Something like:

Regards,
{!User.FirstName} {!User.LastName}
{!User.Phone}
{!User.Email}

[and you can add a logo or picture by using the html code for example]
img src="http://www.yourpicture.jpg

Obviously you can add a lot to your signature, this is just an example.

SOCOMFORCE Coming Soon

2007-05-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

This domain will be use for the development of tweaks and modifications to Salesforce.com that a company can use to customize the Salesforce CRM to help drive sales. These posts will be grow over time and will be primarily focused on the sales person and how to use your CRM to gather better information on your accounts, contacts and leads. Since a CRM is supposed to empower the sales person let's make a few adjustments in your Salesforce CRM that will drive better decisions and make your daily sales grind a bit easier the SOCOM way.

Many companies use Salesforce, they are the leader in the CRM market. The most obvious appeal for companies to use a hosted CRM as a sales tool is mainly the on demand nature of the system and the ability to give executives a view into the company with special reports and dashboards.

But what about the account manager on inside sales person? Besides having a basic listing of leads, contacts and opportunities, what can they do with such a great tool? How many dashboards are available out of the box for them? How customized are the fields in their records? Chances are like most companies you have a few special fields created and mostly the defaults for everything else. Then you wrap your sales process around that and figure it out as you go along.

I'm going to show you that salesforce.com with a few SOCOM Sales input can turn your CRM into a well oiled revenue generating machine. That's the plan anyway. :)

You say you don't use or need a salesforce.com account for work? Thats fine. Get a personal account. These are great for socialites, freelancers and contractors. Pretty much anyone that wants to use a better system than Outlook.

Download SalesForce for free here.

Here are a few posts that are coming soon.

Use the power of Google inside your CRM for more information on accounts.
Get LinkedIn integration with your contacts.
Add the links that matter most.

Better Sales Lead Generation

2007-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Building lasting business relationships and effectively marketing your brand is important to maintaining a loyal client base. But with so many new communication media out there, your company will never reach its full growth potential if you rely on a single lead-generation technique. That's why most of today's fastest growing b-to-b companies have a complete arsenal of tools at their fingertips to use at any given time.

Here are eight proven b-to-b lead-generation techniques gleaned from the strategies of more than 170 successful companies:

1. Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing underlies all the "sales-lead-generation-success" methods. It specifically refers to cultivating a personal, sales-winning relationship with your prospects. By creating a personalized relationship with your clients from the onset, you can develop long-term relationships rather than individual transactions. Make sure to always keep in touch with your prospects via a series of ongoing communications throughout your prospective customers' consideration process. It will help you win sales on the first try—and you'll also pick up the leads the competition dropped on the table.

2. Complementary Partner Referrals
Seek out non-competing companies who interact with the same target clients and join forces with them. Teaming up with complementary partners will instantly increase your lead-generation pool with the best qualified leads, meaning your team won't be wasting time and effort on disinterested prospects. Of all the lead-generation programs available to you, complementary partner referral programs can generate the highest qualified b-to-b sales leads.

3. Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Strategies
Business buyers are more sophisticated and harder to reach than ever. In addition to, or perhaps instead of, launching print or radio campaigns, consider the Web for your marketing efforts. Studies show that about 90 percent of business buyers prefer to find solutions for their service and product needs on the Web. Therefore it's critical to have a well-tuned lead-generation program that includes search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing strategies to attract prospects at the beginning of their buying cycle. The sooner they see your company's presence in the market, the more likely they'll be to remember you.

4. Telemarketing
Although many people despise the thought of telemarketing, it can be a very effective lead-generation tool—when executed properly. Telemarketing is a very personal marketing technique that is not only cost-effective, but efficient, especially when compared to field selling. When you use field sales, you can reach about four or five decision-makers a day. By including telemarketing in your lead-generation plan, you can reach up to 30 decision-makers a day.

5. E-mail Publications
The best way to establish your company as an industry leader and legitimize your professional expertise is to create your own company e-mail newsletter. By sending industry news and tips to prospects in your market, you will be on their minds more often than your competition, especially if you ensure the material in the newsletters is actually objective and useful. Eventually this added exposure will be key to transforming leads into sales.

6. Direct Mail
While there is an entire industry of people who are dedicated to b-to-b selling through direct marketing, most sales and business professionals do not know how to effectively and efficiently use this technique. To avoid a common complaint—that salespeople receive very little response after spending thousands on full-color marketing materials—do a little tweaking to make a big difference. The best place to start revamping your direct response marketing is by determining who your best customers are and then targeting your efforts at companies and individuals who are similar in nature.

7. Print Advertising
Print is far from dead—in fact it can be a highly effective lead generation medium. The key is to remember that you need to focus your message on the benefits and applications of your products or services. Make sure the layout and design of your ads enhance your company's image effectively, and be selective when it comes to choosing the publications that deliver directly to your target audience.

8. Event Marketing
Whether you do it live, through the telephone or via the Web, seminars and workshops are a great marketing tool. The majority of people who attend your seminar will already have an interest in the information you are presenting, and there's a good percentage that are in need of your product or service. It's the perfect way to demonstrate your company's knowledge and expertise as well as market to a highly targeted group of individuals.

M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is a leading business-to-business marketing consultant with more than 20 years of advertising, marketing and sales experience. Get his "Free Sales Lead Report" newsletter at www.sales-lead-experts.com.

How to Improve Performance through Goal-Setting

2007-05-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

For most sales reps, meaningful growth comes from working toward clearly defined, individually appropriate goals. As a sales manager, you probably know this. But do you know the best way to help your reps set and achieve their goals? In his book, The Inner Game of Selling: Mastering the Hidden Forces That Determine Your Success (Free Press, 2006), Ron Willingham, CEO of Phoenix, Arizona-based Integrity Selling addresses this critical coaching task by laying out the steps for defining and progressing toward a goal. Here’s a look at each step:

Step 1: Setting Goals. First, you and the rep must define specifically what he or she is going to work toward. Those goals should be written in this format: “By [date], I’ll [verb] [goal].” For instance, “By July 31, I’ll average sales of $200,000 per month.” Or, “By September 15, I’ll close the XYZ account.” Or, “In three years, I will have my MBA.” Tell your reps to write down each goal on an index card and post it where they will see it often.

Step 2: Planning Strategy. As you look at each goal, you’ll realize they have either clear, known steps of achievement and the rep simply needs to take those steps, or the strategy steps will be unknown and you will have to discover them. To work through that process, ask these questions: How can you break your goal down into sub-goals or incremental steps? What different activity levels will it take to reach your sales goal? What activities can you perform today? Once you have the answers, you’ll be well on your way to penning a step-by-step strategy to achieve the goals.

Step 3: Building Belief. This often-overlooked step in goal setting is about building your reps’ belief that they can reach their goals. One way to do this is to teach your reps to visualize success every day. As they go to sleep at night and/or as soon as they wake up in the morning, ask them to think about their goals and what they will do that day to move closer to achieving them. You’ll be amazed at how much faster reps meet their goals once they learn to spend time each day relaxing, visualizing themselves reaching their goals, and imagining themselves enjoying the rewards that come from that accomplishment, says Willingham.

Step 4: Developing Strengths. Sometimes your reps will need to develop some strengths or skills before they can realistically achieve a goal. For instance, if reaching that $200,000 per-month sales goal will require your rep to target a higher level in his prospects’ organization, he might need some training on how to have executive-level conversations.

Step 5: Managing Progress. On an ongoing basis, you and your reps will need to manage their progress toward their goals. You do this by reviewing those goals regularly, asking questions such as, “Where are you with each goal? What sub-goals have you already reached and where should you be to reach your main goal on time? What strengths do you still need to develop – or keep developing – to reach the goal?” Occasionally, you and the rep might decide the goal needs to be revised. When you follow these steps, says Willingham, you’ll find your reps often reach their goals faster than they expected, so maybe the bar will need to be set higher. Other times, circumstances may slow the rep from reaching his goal, in which case the date might need to be pushed back or the sales dollar target reduced.

Willingham promises that if you and your reps “follow this system to the letter, you’ll experience success.” And as we all know, success breeds success, which means you’ll be able to continue pushing your reps to higher levels of performance.

For more details, visit www.integrityservices.com.

How to Tell an Employee He Smells

2007-04-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

As a business owner, you're going to have to deliver bad news every once in a while. Here's how to approach sensitive subjects without offending people.

What's so great about good news? Simple--everyone likes it. Employers don't dread telling a worker they've done a great job. They don't fret over finding a tactful way to tell an employee that everyone in the office enjoys working with them.

But we all know the news isn't always good. Perhaps you have an employee who wears clothes that are too tight, one who constantly discusses a sensitive medical condition that makes other employees feel uncomfortable, or one who simply smells bad.

Upsetting employees can set in motion a negative cycle. They may begin to feel bad about themselves, question their ability to do the job or resent the person who delivered the news. Hearing bad news can also cause defensiveness that protects the recipient, yet prevents him or her from truly hearing the gist of the message. Feeling bad and not focusing on the point prevents them from turning something they don't want to hear into a positive outcome.

So how can you frame the news so that it’s at least partially positive and therefore easier to hear and accept? First, determine whether the issue is one you could address without having to approach the offending employee directly. For instance, in the case of someone wearing clothes that are too tight or revealing, an e-mail to everyone in the company may suffice. You could say, "With summer approaching and everyone wanting to wear cooler clothes, I want to go over the company's dress policy." In the case of the smelly worker you could first send an e-mail that says, "We have some employees with very sensitive allergies. Please refrain from wearing perfume or scented lotion and try to keep your smell as neutral as possible." Maybe the culprit is some very unfortunate cologne.

If you do have to approach an employee individually, start with positive feedback before moving onto the negative comments and the request for change. This method should be brief and to the point.

For example, let’s say that a worker comes to a team meeting unprepared and you want to say something about the situation. Beginning with a positive statement, you could say, “Juan, I really appreciate the work that you've been doing on this committee.” Then state the negative: “This week I noticed you didn't seem as prepared as usual.” End with a change statement: “I want to make sure you're fully prepared with data for the next meeting." Even offer to help create the solution: “Are you overwhelmed right now? Is there anything I can do to help you get ready for the next meeting?” This could also help you get to the root of the problem.

In more sensitive situations--like the one involving the smelly employee--be sure to stress that you're addressing the problem because you truly care. Start by saying you've noticed the person sometimes doesn't smell quite right. Quickly explain you're saying something because you want to help them find a solution--and help their career. Ask if everything is OK and if there's anything you can do to help. Maybe the person is a busy, newly single father and sometimes sacrifices showering, but didn't think other people noticed the smell. Or maybe the person has halitosis, but didn't realize there was medication he could be taking for it.

Concluding with a concrete suggestion of a change provides the recipient with a thought, action or attitude that can help him or her turn a negative situation into a positive one. In some situations, it's nearly impossible to avoid hurting someone's feelings. But once the person has time to reflect on the discussion and make a positive change, he may come to appreciate and respect your concern, honesty and tact.

David G. Javitch, Ph.D., is Entrepreneur.com's "Employee Management" columnist and an organizational psychologist and president of Javitch Associates, an organizational consulting firm in Newton, Massachusetts. With more than 20 years of experience working with executives in various industries, he's an internationally recognized author, keynote speaker and consultant on key management and leadership issues.

What Leading Experts Say about Appearance

2007-04-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

By Selling Power Editors

The growth of any salesperson begins with the realization that the process of selling is not a struggle against customers or prospects, but a struggle against oneself. To assist your professional growth, Personal Selling Power has created this special section which contains a collection of recent discoveries and observations made by leading experts in fields directly related to sales success.

Appearance

Dr. Charles Larson and Shelley Welton, two researchers, recently reviewed scientific evidence suggesting that attractive persons do better in this world.

For example, University of Maryland psychologist Harold Sigall concludes:

"Physical attraction is a critical and positive variable, especially when one is making a first impression."

Studies show that handsome defendants in jury trials are less likely to be convicted. Also, comparatively attractive defendants receive more lenient sentences.

Other research suggests that attractive persons are judged more intelligent, exciting, competent, persuasive, likeable and successful than unattractive persons.

A number of research papers continue to underscore the cultural stereotype that "what is beautiful is good."

Psychologists think the advantages of looks can be explained in part by the effects of a lifetime of positive judgments on an attractive person's self-image. One's self-concept develops from observing what others think about oneself. Thus, if a physically attractive person is consistently treated from an early age as a virtuous person, he or she may be likely to become one.

To gain this advantage, therefore, many try to look better through dress, development of poise, or even cosmetic surgery. Dr. Harry C. Stein, who has improved the looks of salespeople, consultants and politicians, views cosmetic surgery as a means the patient chooses to improve an important asset. "After surgery, patients feel better about their appearance, so they can concentrate more on their work."

In a meritocratic society, where hard work and motivation are supposed to be the key factors, the idea that attractiveness gets better results is an uncomfortable one. Even social psychologists turned a blind eye to the implications of beauty until the late '60's, despite the obvious fact that pretty faces have been turning heads for centuries.

Turn Challenging Questions into Sales

2007-04-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Make the sales process a collaborative one and you'll find yourself in the position of trusted advisor instead of just another company trying to make a sale.

One of the most difficult and feared situations in selling is getting hit with hard to answer questions early in the sales process. Questions such as: "Why should I buy from you?" and "What makes your product better than your competitor's?" For most salespeople these questions are an irresistible invitation for what I refer to as the "Presentation Trap," an open invitation from the customer to "tell me all about your product." Most salespeople jump at the opportunity and declare why their company is better than the competition's and in most cases this wastes time for both the customer and the salesperson.

The exceptional salesperson will turn even the toughest questions into an opportunity to help their customer and themselves more clearly understand the situation and determine if their solution is actually a fit. They recognize the key thought -- "Prescription without Diagnosis is malpractice."

To demonstrate this, think about how a doctor would respond to a question from a patient, before the doctor has completed a diagnosis. The patient asks, "Why should I choose you for my surgery?" The doctor's response would likely be: "I'm not sure that you should. There are many fine surgeons here at the hospital and at this point I don't know enough about your condition to recommend surgery or if I would be the right surgeon for the job. Let me ask you this..."

The doctor's response addressed the question in a very professional manner. It also positioned the doctor to answer the question in a detailed fashion. How can we apply this approach to your customer's challenging questions? There are three key steps to consider:

Acknowledge that the question is on your mind as well.
Indicate how you intend to answer the question.
Ask the diagnostic question that will begin your clarification.

Here's how the conversation might proceed:

Customer: "What makes your product better than competitor A or B?"

Salesperson: "They both make a high-quality product and at this point I'm not sure that I understand your situation well enough to be comfortable suggesting which one of us might be the best fit for you. To determine who might be the best fit, let me ask you this, have you noticed..."

We refer to this type of question as an "Indicator Question." An Indicator question asks the customer if they have observed physical evidence that would tell you your customer's performance is at risk due to the lack of your solution. An indicator is a physical sign they can observe or experience. It is tangible proof of an existing condition that your solution can address.

Consider a software solution that enables hospitals to improve the accuracy of their requests for government reimbursement. An indicator question could be: "Have you noticed any variance in the way your nurses are coding patient procedures?" The answer typically is "Yes." The next question is, "Are you seeing more variation in the coding of your inpatient or outpatient procedures?" If they respond with either, the next question is, "Are you seeing the variance in the multi-procedure cases as well?" By now you get the picture; the customer and salesperson are engaged in a conversation that is diagnostic in nature and helps the customer think through what they are experiencing. Notice that we are no longer talking about solutions, we are discussing the customer's experiences.

The power of this approach, which is the opposite of what the customer would expect, is that it sets you and the customer in agreement and jointly looking for the answer. You will find yourself in a collaborative process with you positioned as the trusted advisor.

At this point you've successfully taken a premature question, and built credibility through your response and follow-up diagnosis. From your customer's perspective, you're standing out from the crowd and guiding them to a quality decision. What you have achieved is a strong competitive advantage and likely a great sale as a result.

So the next time you feel like jumping into presentation mode, consider one of the key steps taken above. You will build more credibility through the questions you ask than the stories you tell.

Lead Generator: Making Lists Effective

2007-04-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Got a prospect list a mile long? That's great, unless 80 percent of them are duds. Mike Schultz, principal at Wellesley Hills Group, a management and marketing consultancy in Framingham, Mass., offers tips on making tired lists more effective:

Consider Contacts

For starters, Schultz says, you should ask yourself if a prospect is even likely to buy right now and if you have the right contacts to get to a decision maker. If not, move on.

Boot the Blow-Offs

Got a contact that's kept you on a string for nine months or hasn't returned your calls after you've left messages three times? Kick them to the curb, Schultz says.

Focus on Margins

Focus on the top 25 percent of prospects who are likely to deliver the highest margins for your company—even if it's a smaller firm.

Eleven Steps to Stress Management

2007-04-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

by Selling Power Editors

QUICK TIP:

Don't talk about what you are going to do, just do it.

Stress is an inescapable part of modern life. But you can change the way you react to it. The following suggestions for stress reduction will help you relax and enjoy life. As a dividend, you'll be more productive, so you'll create less stress for yourself in the future.

1. Laugh. Laughter is one of the best tension releasers there is. Find things to laugh about and people to laugh with. Laughter is a great antidote for taking life too seriously.

2. Take Breaks. Learning to interrupt a stress-producing activity will help give you the break from tension that you need. You'll return to your activity refreshed and ready to be more productive.

3. Make "Happy" Plans. Anticipation is an exciting feeling. Plan to see a special movie, eat out with someone you like, or do something else that pleases you.


	"He who restrains his anger overcomes his greatest enemy." Latin Proverb

4. Focus Your Thoughts. The habit of thinking about too many things at the same time is extremely fatiguing and stress producing. Instead of being overwhelmed and unproductive, concentrate on one task at a time. Try making a list of other things you must do, and then put the list aside, so that you don't have to think about the tasks, but you won't worry about forgetting them either.

5. Check Yourself. Stop to see if you are relaxed. Are your hands clenched? Is your jaw tight? Such tension will begin to spread throughout your body, so catch it early. Let your arms hang loosely, smooth your brow, relax your mouth, and breathe deeply.

6. Tackle the Hardest Jobs First. This will give you a sense of tremendous accomplishment, and provide momentum for finishing your other tasks. The pleasant things you must do will make your final hours at work enjoyable, if saved until last.

7. Go Task by Task. If you finish one task at a time, you will avoid feeling fragmented and overburdened. It is also easier to see where you're going with a job when you give your full concentration. Leave some time between activities to minimize overlapping.

8. Move. Speed up your body action by moving to music, stretching, or jogging. Movement helps eliminate pent-up stress by aiding the removal of chemicals that stress produces and which make you feel bad.

9. Manage Your Time. Use a plan of action. Schedule only as many tasks each day as you can reasonably finish without pressure. Leave time in your schedule for the unexpected.

10. Help Someone and Smile. Lending a helping hand or smiling can do what other methods of relaxation can't do- they give you a wonderful feeling of happiness and well being.

Stop whatever you're doing and delight in being alive.

11. Enjoy Yourself Now. Stop whatever you're doing and delight in being alive. Sense the physical processes inside you, the good in people around you, and the beauty of the world you live in.

The World's Greatest Salesforce

2007-04-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

By Bryan Neale

On the eve of March 1st, it suddenly dawned on me that the world’s greatest sales force is once again in full force in their mission to dominate their market. Oreo’s sales people-take not. Archway sales support-time to step up. Keebler-all elves on deck………THE GIRLSCOUTS ARE HERE.

I believe the world’s greatest, most efficient sales force doesn’t use Salesforce.com, never makes PowerPoint presentations and can’t even find the power switch on a Blackberry. No, the Girl Scout’s do it the old fashioned way. They hit the street, use pure and honest techniques, find our pain and sweetly barter thousands of calories in exchange for even more thousands of dollars.

So what can we mature, seasoned, professional sales people learn from these Punky Brewster clones. More than you probably think:

1-Be Real, Don’t Fake It: I’ve yet to have a Girl Scout ask me transparent, contrived and often hokey rapport building questions. They never come to the door and say, “Hi Mr. Neale, how are the wife and kids?” when really all they want is a sale to meet their quota. No, they get right down to business. “I’m with the Girl Scout’s and we’re holding our annual cookie drive. Would you like to look at purchasing some to help us raise money for our programs?” The answer is irresistibly YES.

2-Know Your Mission: The Girl Scouts do a terrific job of communicating what it is they do. They sell cookies to raise money for their programs. They give me the opportunity to participate in their learning/programs and get some of the world’s best cookies to go along.

3-USE leverage: Leverage is one of the most important concepts for a professional sales person to understand. It simply means making multiple sales contacts in one sitting. The Girl Scouts do this by placing themselves strategically in front of all entrances and exits in most metropolitan grocery stores. Hence one sales call puts them on front of thousands of shoppers who are already in the mood to spend money.

4-Referral Sources can make it Easy on You: Girl Scouts inevitably rely on their mom’s and dad’s work friends to propel their annual sales efforts. How many times have you received an e-mail at work…..”Just to let everyone know, my daughter Cutie Pie, is selling Girl Scout Cookies…..no pressure, but let me know if you’re interested.” What a brilliant strategy employed by these youngsters. I wonder what would happen if we were that pro-active soliciting referrals from our network.

I could go on, but you likely get the picture. So this spring, buy some cookies and pay attention to the sales process. You just might learn something. At worst, you pick up some killer cookies.

Burn Your Boat!

2007-04-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

By John Boe

I believe that the great NFL Hall of Fame coach, Vince Lombardi, had it right when he said, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."

Do you agree with Lombardi or are you the type of person who has difficulty staying focused and keeping commitments? Do you allow the negative influences of fear, anxiety, self-doubt and worry to dominate your thinking and sabotage your results?

Sadly, most people fail to achieve their goals, not because they're lazy or lack self-motivation, but because they were never "fully committed" to succeed. I can't think of a single great achievement that has ever been attained without first a plan of action and then an unshakable commitment to its accomplishment.

Walt Disney was arguably one of the most creative dreamers and determined men of the 20th century. He understood the power of commitment and would frequently tell those around him, "When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably."

The ancient Greek warriors were both feared and respected by their enemies. In battle, the Greeks established a well-deserved reputation for their unsurpassed bravery and unshakable commitment to victory. The key to their overwhelming success on the battlefield had far more to do with how the Greek commanders motivated the warriors than it did with issues of tactics or training. The Greeks were master motivators who understood how to use a "dramatic demonstration" to infuse a spirit of commitment into the heart of every warrior.

Once the warriors had been offloaded from their boats onto their enemy's shore, the Greek commanders would shout out their first order, "Burn the boats!" The sight of burning boats removed any notion of retreat from their hearts and any thoughts of surrender from
their heads. Imagine the tremendous psychological impact on the
soldiers as they watched their boats being set to the torch. As the boats turned to ash and slipped quietly out of sight into the water, each man understood there was no turning back and the only way home was through victory.

In your sales career, your battles are not fought with weapons on foreign shores, but within the confines of your own mind. A truly committed salesperson does not have the luxury or the time for the self-indulgence of negative thinking. The true underlying motivation for all success is a deep and unwavering commitment to the task at hand. The sales profession is a demanding and challenging career, but it is also personally rewarding and financially lucrative for those who are fully committed to becoming successful.

If you are being pushed around mentally by thoughts of fear, anxiety, self-doubt and worry, it's time to "burn your boat" and become fully committed to your sales career!

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have Boe speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com

Study: Users Sabatoge Presentations with PowerPoint

2007-04-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

By Holly Dolezalek

Is PowerPoint evil? The jury's still out on that. But an Australian study suggests that it is being used in the most ineffective way possible.

A study at the University of New South Wales in Australia has revealed that the common practice of showing the same words on-screen that are being spoken out loud actually makes it harder to learn and retain the information. Since the typical use of PowerPoint involves this very practice, Professor John Sweller, an education professor at the university, told the Sydney Morning Herald that "the use of the PowerPoint presentation has been a disaster."

The researchers found that the human brain processes information better when it is presented in verbal or printed form than when it is presented in both forms at the same time. So when you put up a list of bullet points on a slide and then go through them verbally, you'd be better off if your audience either ignored your slide or you.

Sweller developed his cognitive load theory in the 1980s. According to the theory, people learn best when the strain on their working memory (a collective term for the processes that temporarily store and manipulate information) is kept to a minimum. This allows them to move information from working memory into long-term memory. When cognitive load (the load on working memory) is too high, learning is more difficult.

Sweller notes that using a visual aid such as a chart is not the same kind of load, and that this is actually the best way to use PowerPoint. "It is effective to speak to a diagram, because it presents information in a different form," Sweller says. "But it is not effective to speak the same words that are written, because it is putting too much load on the mind and decreases your ability to understand what is being presented."

Looking for some geat business blogs!

2007-04-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am looking for some like minded bloggers that focus on the business, leadership and sales world. If you fit in this group or have any suggestions, leave me a comment or shoot me an email with a link.

I want to start a list of links that can point to your site.

Why Sales Managers Fail and What You Can Do About It

2007-04-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

By Jacques Werth

Sales managers fail for two primary reasons:

1. They don't know how to manage their people

2. They don't rigorously implement effective selling processes.

Just as an engineering manager needs to be a pretty competent engineer, a sales manager needs to be a pretty competent salesperson. In both cases, however, their essential responsibility is to manage staff performance. Understanding modern management principles beyond a few readings of The One Minute Manager is critical.

Most engineering managers know that technology is evolving too quickly for them to keep up at the level of a functioning engineer. However, they do know enough about the latest technology to effectively manage the engineers deploying it.

In contrast to engineers, most sales managers believe that very little has changed in the selling since they became a manager. Therefore, they tend to manage their people in the same way that they used to sell. However, in the last 20 years, the markets for every product and service have changed dramatically. Information overload, the Internet, massive communications, increased competition, more well-informed prospects, brain science and new sales channels have affected all businesses.

Top salespeople have developed new sales processes to address and take advantage of those changing market conditions. Most other reasonably successful salespeople have not.

The key is developing a sales process that is very different from the one that you are now using. Talk to sales training companies, and look for a company that will customize and optimize the selling process for your company and industry. If you find one that fits your current sales beliefs, one that you are instantly comfortable with, keep on looking. Heed the title of Marshall Goldsmith's book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There.

Here are 10 reasons salespeople fail, and what you can do about it.

1. Most sales managers don't know how to use highly effective tools to recruit and train salespeople that will perform well in their organization. Therefore, they often hire salespeople who are incompatible with their company's culture and lack the appropriate sales aptitudes for their industry.

How to hire the right people: Contract with a service agency that will benchmark you and your best salespeople, find candidates with similar aptitudes, and select salespeople most compatible with your management style. For about one weeks pay, you can greatly decrease costly hiring mistakes.

2. Most sales managers don't have a highly effective, uniform sales process for their company's products and services. They advocate "best selling practices" based upon past market conditions and obsolete sales strategies. Therefore, they focus on the wrong metrics, which are inevitably flawed.

What to do: Adapt a step-by-step, sales process that is customized for your products, services and markets. It must include exactly what to do when and how to do it. That kind of sales process makes tracking, coaching and realistic quantification easy. Thus, it enables continuous improvement of every step of the sales process.

3. Most sales managers don't know how to train, supervise and track their salespeople's performance to optimize their sales effectiveness.

How to keep salespeople on track: Maintain a uniform and consistent process, monitoring and benchmarking all sales activity throughout the sales process.

4. Most sales managers lack skills in target marketing and prospecting. Therefore, their salespeople waste most of their time with prospects who will not buy.

How to focus on likely buyers: Set demographic, situational and attitude standards for the type of prospects that are most likely to buy. Develop criteria based upon booked business.

5. Most sales managers believe that, "You can't close if you don't get in front of prospects." Their salespeople go on as many appointments as possible, spending far more time with prospects who will not buy than with those that will buy.

How to stop wasting time with the wrong prospects: Insist that salespeople find and make appointments only with highly qualified prospects.

6. Most sales managers believe that salespeople should be able to convince prospects to buy. Therefore, they have their salespeople try to persuade prospects to buy when they are merely "interested." It doesn't seem to occur to them that their salespeople cannot consistently convince people to do anything they don't already want to do.

How to stop losing at the "persuasion game": Abandon the game altogether—there is no way to consistently win. Insist that your salespeople treat prospects with trust and respect, utilize an effective sales process, and abandon all forms of persuasion, false urgency and manipulation.

7. Most sales managers don't know the difference between qualification and disqualification. Therefore, their salespeople, who are great at qualifying, create sales resistance by attempting to sell to prospects when they are not ready to buy. That lengthens the sales cycle and decreases their closing rates.

How to shorten the sales cycle: Insist that salespeople only make appointments with prospects that are ready to buy or specify. They should temporarily disqualify all others. Closing rates will increase dramatically.

8. Most sales managers do not understand how the human mind works, and how it accepts or rejects information. Salespeople typically spew features and benefits in terms of industry jargon.

How to communicate with prospects: Use words that prospects can readily understand. Provide only the most pertinent information. Prospects will feel more motivated to keep listening, they will absorb and retain more information, and they will be more actively engaged in the sales process.

9. Most sales managers believe that most prospects make logical buying decisions. If that were true, enrolling in logic courses would be the path to success in sales.

How to really get through to prospects: Engage prospects emotionally. Recent studies in brain science have revealed that most important decisions are made in the part of the brain that deals with emotions. Incorporate that knowledge into the selling process. That results in higher closing rates.

10. Most sales managers don't know how to get salespeople past their fears. Therefore, most of their salespeople stay in their comfort zones by avoiding changes that will provide improvements.

How to get salespeople to embrace change: Teach them to accept the reality that change causes fear and discomfort; that acceptance will enable them to do what is uncomfortable and get over it quickly.

Jacques Werth studies the sales performance processes of the top 1 percent of salespeople in many different industries. He knows what they do that most "reasonably successful" salespeople don't do. That resulted in the High Probability Selling process. The book High Probability Selling has been a best seller since 1999. Visit www.highprobsell.com.

LinkedIn and the Art of Avoiding an Asshole Boss

2007-04-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Mean-spirited morons are still running much of the workplace, and it’s time to take a stand. Most nastiness is directed by superiors to subordinates; so before taking a job, do your homework and screen them out in advance. (After all, avoidance is the easier than curing.)

To do this, I propose that you check your prospective boss’s references just like she’s checking out yours. I’m not suggesting that you ask your prospective boss for a list of references (you can try, but it may mean you don’t get the job).

Read the entire post here.

For the library - Secrets of Special Ops Leadership

2007-04-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

So many books, so little time. I ordered a couple things from Amazon that I needed and figured I would get something to read too.

I liked the book Leadership lessons of Navy SEALS and figured I'd get another book from a special operations officer that described the parallel into the business world.

The author was a commando in the Air Force and has written numerous papers and given many lectures on business leadership.

I've only made it through the first few chapters, but this is a book that I'm having a hard time putting down. Between the historical events of wars and conflicts he touches on and his insights into business, he does a good job of educating the reader and providing real tools for leaders and managers to follow in a corporate environment.

Once I finish the book, I'll give a more detailed review of what I think, but so far this is a keeper.

Sales Shape-Up

2007-04-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ready to ramp up your sales--fast? Our 30-day action plan takes your business to new heights.

Online Exclusive: Ready to put your 30-day sales plan into action? Download our helpful sales plan checklist.

What if you could take your sales to the next level in just 30 days? It's more feasible than you think--especially when you break the process down into small, achievable steps. Remember, action is our greatest teacher, and the only way to see a difference in your sales is to act! When you act on an idea, it builds your confidence and enthusiasm, and you I begin to see a clearer path on the road to reaching your goals.

Consider this article your 30-day action plan for sales success. Here is my challenge for you: Today, act on just one of the 10 ideas mentioned below. Each one should take you a few days to complete. Tackle another one when you're through, and in 30 days, you can expect to see results.

1. Keep a positive attitude. Everyone talks about the importance of attitude--and for good reason. Attitude always comes up in conversations with high achievers in all types of professions as the top factor in their success.

Here's an action step that can keep your attitude in check: Take an honest look at the people around you. What kinds of attitudes do they bring to the table? Do they pump you up or bring you down? Everyone is entitled to a bad attitude now and again, but if some of the people you're around are constantly angry, bitter and bringing you down, it might be time to move on.

Every 30 days, make a list of the people with whom you spend the most time. Put a plus sign next to the person's name if he or she has been a mentor, role model or uplifted you in any way. Try to add one or two names to this section each month. Others on the list might have neither a positive nor negative impact on you. You can put a zero next to their names. Then there might be some people on the list who are nega-tive and seem to always bring you down. Put a minus sign next to their names. You can either try to help these people or just stop spending time with them. This might be tough, but if you can do it, you'll be amazed at the difference in your attitude and the way you think. We become what we think about, and our environment plays a big part in what we think.

2. Map out your goals. Many people underestimate and underutilize one of the most powerful tools on the planet, and it's right between their ears. When was the last time you sat down with a blank sheet of paper with your number-one goal written at the top of the page? It's amazing what you'll come up with after brainstorming for 15 to 30 minutes each week . Try to list at least 20 ideas that will bring you closer to your sales goal. Choose one of them to act on right away.

3. Gain access. My entire career revolves around this skill, from selling and marketing unique products and helping business owners gain access to new markets to getting through to the toughest accounts and decision-makers. The list of ways to gain access is endless: Ask for referrals from great customers, send helpful information out to key prospects, and attend important trade shows and walk the floor. But the most successful tactic I've found is becoming relentless when the ROI is apparent. You can't just be tenacious without a purpose. Otherwise, you'll eventually turn off your prospect. But if you can uncover information about the prospect--such as his or her challenges (business or personal)--and then research information and materials that could be useful for that person, it makes a lasting impression.

For clients who can really benefit from what I have to offer, I find useful magazine or newspaper articles that address what's important to them. After a while, the prospect sees my efforts helping theirs, and doors start to open. All it takes is a little time, a stamp and a note attached to a relevant story simply saying, "Thought you might enjoy what's enclosed." Mail an article to one key prospect today.

4. Ask questions. Most salespeople like to talk-myself included. But most customers prefer salespeople who listen well. So I remind myself to do an exercise I that keeps the listening skills sharp. Every time I meet a new person on the road, in meetings or anywhere else, I make it a rule not to share anything about myself until I've discovered what the other person does, their interests and so on. Even when he or she asks about my business, I'm short with the answer and go right back to my questions: "You mentioned you were opening a second store. How did you get to that stage?" The goal is to get them to elaborate on what they've said. Then I can decide if it makes sense to share what I do and what area of my business to focus on, or I might realize there's no opportunity right now and move on. Questions are the keys to selling. Nobody ever listened themselves out of a sale!

Next time you meet someone new, try to listen 70 percent of the time and talk only 30 percent. Get them talking about their challenges, goals and interests.

5. Offer stellar service. It's the details--the little things you do-that make the difference. It's been proved over and over again that the reason most customers don't make a purchase is they feel you don't care, lack interest or show indifference.

I remember conducting a seminar more than 10 years ago and inviting some of the company's top sales achievers onstage to share the one most important idea that contributed to their success. One of them had a very simple answer. He said, "Every time I meet with a prospect or client, I continue to ask them this question: Is there anything I'm not doing that I could be doing to serve you better?" What he was doing was constantly searching for problems. Problems become opportunities, and once they are solved, you have a more loyal customer than if he never had any problems at all. This is because the customer sees your efforts in action and knows you're ready to serve. Customers feel comfortable the next time they make a decision to do business with you because they know you will be there to solve any problems that come up rather than run away from them.

Make a list of your top customers, and call one each day, asking, "Is there anything I'm not doing that I could be doing to serve you better?" You can't go wrong when customers tell you what to do and you deliver.

Originally published in the August 2006 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine

6. Differentiate your business. What makes you stand out in a positive way? How will your customer remember you after four competitors make their presentations? Follow-through, understanding the customer's business, and service after the sale are important to customers, so before the sale is made, we need to come up with ways to demonstrate our track record of providing these. I used to interview my satisfied customers on tape and use their success stories and comments to handle my prospects' concerns. At the time, no one else did that, and it helped me stand out in a positive way that also increased my closing ratio.

I remember talking to a sales rep for Oracle who would tell each customer he was going to tape and transcribe their entire needs assessment meeting so they both had all the notes, key criteria and action items for review. They were complex sales, and he made his customers feel at ease that they were on the right track. Think about it: What can you do to differentiate your presentation?

List three things that differentiate you and your message in a positive way from the competition, and keep them at your fingertips to present them at any time.

7. Sell value. I remember a sign a printing company had on the wall that said:

1. Price
2. Service
3. Quality

(Please Pick Two)

Great quality and outstanding service come at a price. How many times have you got a great deal on a product or service, only to find out later that the product wore out or fell apart, or that the service was nowhere to be found when you called with a question or problem? When customers challenge the price of your product, your company and even you, what they're really saying is, "What am I getting from you that I'm not getting from your competitor for that additional investment?" If someone asked you that today, would you have at least three reasons why you're unique and why they should buy from you? Write down at least three reasons, and memorize them.

8. Follow through. Every customer wants to feel like he or she made a good decision after making a purchase. When you follow up with a call, a thank-you note, materials you promised, or just to ask how the first day went with the new system in place, it ensures that the customer will feel taken care of and not like he or she has been sold.

Review the criteria the customer had prior to making their decision, and when you make your follow-up call after the sale, ask them, "How has our company delivered on your key needs?" Then ask, "What can we do now to keep you as a lifelong customer?" Also be sure to ask what times are best for keeping in touch. With all this information, create customized outlines of long-term follow-up steps for each customer.

9. Create a sense of urgency. Top salespeople seem to always push themselves to move things forward. They're constantly reviewing their accounts and thinking of ways to increase business and get things done. They end every call with a question or statement that will either close the deal or move the sale along. For instance: "Why don't we get together next week and review the product samples as our next step?" Or ask the customer, "What's our next step?" Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with so much activity that we need to ask ourselves every hour: "What can I do right now to make the most productive use of my time?" It's a good idea to put this question in your daily planner.

10. Turn obstacles into opportunities. Great sales-people know rejection comes with the territory. And when you get knocked down, thrown around and beaten up, it has a negative impact on your attitude. What's important is the mental position you take toward a setback or obstacle. As Henry Ford once said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently." When we run into obstacles, we have to continue to believe in our goals and keep the faith strong. Never, ever give up. A "yes I will" attitude has been responsible for more achievements in this world than anything else because of the belief, faith and commitment attached to it.

I've worked on many projects over the years that would have been easy to give up on when the road got bumpy, but have come through in the end. I received 27 rejections on my first book, more than 50 rejections on a patented writing instrument, and a countless number of rejections while selling a now-world-famous comedian to radio and TV. But deep down, I knew there was value in what I was doing.

I dare you to look at every obstacle, rejection and setback as a time to learn. Next time you face any adversity or challenge that gets in the way of your goals, remember that facing them head-on with action is the key to success. Increase your sales activity; call mentors and others you respect to gather their insights for your next move; make a list of things you can do to get yourself back on track. Whatever you do, don't give up and let obstacles get the best of you. Attacking them with intelligent action will tear them down.

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/expandbeyond/article159812.html

By Barry Farber
Entrepreneur Magazine - August 2006

What Do You Do? - Elevator pitches done right

2007-04-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

In the past year or so, the elevator pitch has become a hot topic. Everywhere you turn, consultants are claiming it as an area of expertise, authors are devoting a portion of their business books to it, and professional speakers are adding it to their list of speaking topics. In essence, an entire micro-industry has sprung up around helping sales professionals answer the question, “What do you do?” The downside, of course, is that with more and more sales reps turning their attention to that question, it’s tougher than ever to stand out from the crowd.

“Given this situation, your initial contact with a prospective customer leaves little margin for error,” says Jeff Thull, CEO of Prime Resource Group and a leading strategist and advisor to executive teams of major companies worldwide (www.primeresrouce.com). “The first conversation is the most critical and least forgiving point of the entire sales process. Within the first 20 seconds you must simultaneously establish relevancy and credibility – or you will be dismissed as just more marketing noise in the relentless barrage of sellers looking for attention.”

Thull urges sales professionals to think about how they respond to the question of what they do – and then think about the reaction they get to their answer. When you tell people what you do, are they engaged by your answer and prompted to ask questions? Or do you get the standard, “Oh, that’s interesting” – meaning, of course, that your answer is not interesting at all. If the person you’ve just met is a real prospect, Thull says the first response you should be getting to your elevator pitch should be something like: “That sounds as if you could possibly help us. How do you do that?” Or, “We’ve been discussing that problem. Maybe you should talk to….”

To generate this kind of response, your answer to the “What do you do?” question must focus 100 percent on the customer’s world. “Discuss issues you believe your customers may be experiencing, but don’t come across as certain that they are experiencing them or that you can resolve them,” advises Thull. “If they are indeed having those problems, they will probably be very open to exploring them further with you.” Moreover, he adds, when your prospect believes you understand their problem, they will likely believe you have a solution to it.

Here’s an example. Most sales reps answer, “What do you do?” with something that sounds like this: “We are a boutique management consultancy that specializes in working with high tech organizations.” Bland, right? That’s because it’s all about the vendor and thus sounds like almost every other canned response out there. It will be quickly forgotten. To transform that answer into a springboard to a meaningful conversation, says Thull, you’d reply with: “We work with companies who are facing escalating manufacturing costs and are looking at the possibilities of outsourcing. We help them analyze the risks and potential benefits of outsourcing and have the capabilities to provide the manufacturing services if their situation points to that as a best alternative.”

This kind of response instantly gets your conversation partner thinking about his own situation. As you’re speaking, a real prospect is silently agreeing that this is a problem for his company and he naturally wants to know more. And by cutting directly to his problems, you cut directly through the barrage of sales clutter and open the door for further discussion.

If you’re not getting this kind of response to your elevator pitch, take some time to sit down and re-craft it. Describe who you are by describing the type of company you serve and a major symptom they might be experiencing, the concern they would typically be struggling with, and the value you can provide. Keep it succinct, as in Thull’s example. Then be prepared to listen and ask questions. When you follow these guidelines, you “build credibility in that initial contact, ensuring the conversation continues and deepens,” Thull concludes.

http://www.sellingpower.com

Strategic Lead Generation

2007-04-01T19:01:00.001-07:00

A mentor and great sales leader contacted me recently to send over a document about strategic lead generation. Brian Berlin who I reported to when he was the VP of America Sales at Phoenix Technologies (PTEC) now works for Mansfield Sales Partners an outsourced sales management and lead generation company.

For those that want to read the document, click here.

Summary
The goal of lead generation is the creation of more selling opportunities. Therefore, lead generation is a critical subset of a company’s sales and marketing strategy, and must be carefully managed in order to ensure the sales team is in front of qualified buyers, selling and closing. By coupling this process with guidance from and close interaction with senior sales management, companies are able to achieve a much higher productivity rate with their sales programs.

About Mansfield Sales Partners - MSP is a leader in outsourced sales management and lead generation for early stage companies and companies going through product portfolio changes. Our consultants are determined to help our clients build a scalable, sustainable sales model and drive increased revenue. To learn more, visit the website: www.mansfieldsp.com.

Principles of Sales Leadership

2007-03-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

I have a hard drive filled with every manual and training aid I used while in the Army. Most of it I'll never have any use for in the future, other than for the reason of reflecting back on the 'good old days' but there are folders and documents I look into on a regular basis. One of the folders is called "Leadership". I can hear you already. 'not another post about leadership!' But believe me, leadership is that important. One of the files caught my attention. Actually I shared the files with my Director of Sales who loves to ask questions and hear my war stories, he made a comment on this document and it sparked a conversation, so I feel compelled to write about it.

As you can tell from the title this is about the principles of leadership, Author unknown. My Director (I'll call him "D" since he may not want his name posted in my blog) said that these principles are just as important to know in business as they are on the battlefield because if you lose sight of any of them you are doomed for failure. I've modified the military version for use on a sales floor.

1-1. GENERAL. Leadership is the most essential element of sales power. Leadership provides purpose, direction, and motivation in sales. The leader determines the degrees to which maneuvers, engagements, and protections are maximized, ensures these elements are effectively balanced, and decides how to bring them to bear against the competition.

a. PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP.

(1) BE -

(a) Technically and tactically proficient: Can accomplish all tasks to standard that are required to accomplish the corporate mission.

(b) Possess professional character traits: Courage, Commitment, Candor, Competence and Integrity.

(2) KNOW -

(a) Four major factors of leadership and how they affect each other: The Led, The Leader, The Situation, and Communications.

(b) Yourself and seek self-improvement: Strengths and weaknesses of your character, knowledge, and skills. Continually develop your strengths and work on overcoming your weaknesses.

(c) Your sales reps and lookout for their well-being. Train them for the rigors of sales, take care of their physical/safety needs, and discipline/reward them.

(3) DO -

(a) SEEK RESPONSIBILITY and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS: Leaders must exercise initiative, be resourceful, and take advantage of opportunities on the sales floor that will lead to victory. Accept just criticism and take corrective actions for mistakes.

(b) MAKE SOUND AND TIMELY DECISIONS: Rapidly assess the situation and make sound decisions. Gather essential information, announce decisions in time for sales reps to react, and consider short/long-term effects of your decision.

(c) SET THE EXAMPLE: Be a role model for your sales people. Set high, but attainable standards, be willing to do what you require of your reps, and share dangers and hardships with them.

(d) KEEP YOUR SUBORDINATES INFORMED: Keeping your subordinates informed helps them make decisions and execute plans within your intent, encourage initiative, improve teamwork, and enhance morale.

(e) DEVELOP A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IN SUBORDINATES: Teach, challenge, and develop subordinates. Delegation indicates you trust your subordinates and will make them want even more responsibility.

(f) ENSURE THE TASK IS UNDERSTOOD, SUPERVISED, AND ACCOMPLISHED: Sales people need to now what you expect from them: What you want done, what the standard is, and when you want it.

(g) BUILD THE TEAM: Train and cross train your sales people until they are confident in the team's technical/tactical abilities. Develop a team spirit that motivates them to go willingly and confidently into sales.

(h) EMPLOY YOUR UNIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS CAPABILITIES: Know the capabilities and limitations of your team. As a leader you are responsible to recognize both of these factors and employ your sales team accordingly.

Seems simple enough. BE, KNOW, DO. But it's surprising that some leaders don't know how to BE, couldn't tell you what they should KNOW, and don't DO anything.

Star Search: Prevent Poaching

2007-03-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

"We feel like we're a farm team for our competitors."

That's how a sales manager described his turnover problem to Al Rainaldi, executive vice president of Profiles International, a global human resources consulting firm in Waco, Texas. Competitors poached the manager's team so frequently that the company ended up hiring 4,000 salespeople a year to maintain a team of 2,000. Instead of advising the firm to sweeten its compensation package, Rainaldi encouraged managers to take a closer look at top salespeople. He profiled the top 25 percent of performers, identifying the personality traits, occupational interests, learning styles, and behaviors that made them jibe with the job and company. That profile guided all future hiring decisions. He also set up an evaluation system that allowed salespeople to grade managers—without fear of retribution—on 18 leadership competencies.

In three years, the company sliced its turnover by more than half. "Poaching is becoming more prevalent," Rainaldi says. "If you want to slow that trend, you have to do a much better job of who you select in the first place."

Build Your Business, Talk Less

2007-03-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

By Michele Marchetti

Effective communication is an underrated sales tool. Get your salespeople to stop talking and start listening, and buyers will view these brand representatives as anomalies in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

If this sounds like a lesson for beginners, think again. Triax Pharmaceuticals launched two years ago on the premise of providing dermatologists with an offering that would stand out from the pack. The company pairs its drugs with skincare products, so an acne cream is sold with a cleanser and moisturizer. "Because we're unique, I wanted our salespeople to be unique," says Leonard L. Mazur, chief operating officer of the firm in Cranford, N.J. That distinction lies in how Triax salespeople interact with their customers.

Jerry Acuff, who is leading Triax's training, believes better communication starts with a shift in mindset. He encourages salespeople to think like buyers, not sellers. "If you begin to think like a buyer, you aren't interested in selling," says Acuff, CEO of Delta Point, a sales training firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. "You're interested in getting the customer to buy if there's a fit." The focus becomes finding out as much information as possible, an approach that even pros can undervalue. "What is it that all salespeople like to do? Talk, not listen—even successful seasoned salespeople," Mazur says.

One tip that resonated with Triax's team was to avoid the typical sales call introduction: "Hi, Doc, I'm here to talk to you about X, Y, Z products." Acuff advised setting themselves apart, by starting the appointment with the stated goal of learning more about the doctor's practice. When Gary Talarico, Triax's senior vice president, sales, asked for feedback on this strategy, one salesperson wrote back saying a doctor responded to questions about his practice by saying thank you. "What for?" the salesperson asked. "For realizing that not every product is good for every patient," the doctor replied.

Such reactions don't surprise Talarico, who attributes them to a disturbing trend: As competition for doctors' time increases, the reputation of the pharmaceutical rep decreases. And too much focus on call quotas can alienate both salespeople and their customers. "The stereotypical pharmaceutical salesperson delivers doughnuts and brings in lunch," Talarico says. "It isn't someone who makes a connection with a physician and gets to know him."

Triax's training shifts focus from the number of calls made or samples delivered to the quality of the salesperson's interaction with customers. It's a management style Talarico believes will not only set Triax apart, but will prevent sales-rep burnout. "The salesperson enjoys being in the office with the doctor," he says, "rather than sitting in the car, taking deep breaths and saying, 'I don't want to go in there.'"

Create Lasting Change and Achieve Greater Success At Work

2007-03-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

"This year, I’m going to get that raise."

"I will get my desk organized once and for all."

"I'll have better work/life balance."

"I'll start that business I’ve always dreamed about."

At some point we've all vowed to make some big change—similar to the resolutions above. But by the time the rosy blush of good intentions wears off, the resolution gets pushed aside. Not because we don't still long to have what we want, but because we just don't know how to change.
Changing your behavior takes work.

Our brains have enormous "plasticity," meaning they can create new cells and pathways. But our brains create strong tendencies to do the same thing over and over.

Here's why:

The brain cells that fire together wire together. Meaning, they have a strong tendency to run the same program the next time. That's why lasting change takes lots of practice; you've got to create a pathway to the new options.

According to many brain scientists it can take six to nine months to change your behavior. Yet people continue to waste so much money on those seven-day miracle programs and then wonder why they have not experienced lasting change and greater success at work.

Here are the top three reasons why many business entrepreneurs and executives fail to change their behavior and achieve greater business success:

1. They've not yet realized that the change process is not about getting rid of bad habits. The pathway to your current behavior is there for life. Instead you want to focus on creating new, more positive habits that will positively affect your business. Even stopping doing something, like procrastinating, is really about creating a good new habit, starting sooner.

2. They fail to put external reminders in place, at least in the beginning. Unless you have a trigger from the outside like an email reminder, or a buddy it's very likely you'll keep defaulting to the old behavior because it’s automatic. That's also why it’s so important to be willing to start over no matter how often you blow it or get discouraged.

3. They're not concrete enough about what they want and are unrealistic about what they can reasonably ask themselves to change. Here's what an executive client of mine said he wanted to change in three months: "to be more positive with co-workers, staff and colleagues, to be more creative and productive and to take better care of myself." "How about create world peace while you're at it?" I replied. "And what does 'more' mean anyway? As this client demonstrated, we expect too much of ourselves and we expect to change overnight. When that doesn't happen, we resign ourselves to staying the same, convinced that we are hopeless, weak, or unmotivated. Which makes us even more stuck in a rut.

To truly change your behavior and achiever greater business success requires three things: desire, intent, and persistence. You have to identify what you desire enough to be willing to stick to. You have to make SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) like "leave the computer at the office and don't look at the Blackberry after 9" rather than "having more balance." You need determination and persistence to try again no matter how many times you blow it.

Most importantly you need to avoid these top 10 pitfalls:

1. Being vague about what you want
2. Not making a serious commitment
3. Excuse-making—no time, wrong time..."The dog ate my homework..."
4. Unwilling to go through the awkward phase
5. Not setting up a tracking and reminder system
6. Expecting perfection and falling into guilt, shame, and regret
7. Trying to change by yourself
8. Telling yourself self-limiting rut stories
9. Not having backup plans
10. Turning slip-ups to give-ups

Armed with a new attitude and behavior, you can create lasting change and achieve greater success at work. When you have this invaluable tool in your arsenal, you'll be empowered to bring anything you want into reality. You'll become the master of your fate rather than the victim of old choices.

M.J. Ryan is an executive coach and the author of THIS YEAR I WILL…How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution or Make a Dream Come True. To receive a ton of free resources including free daily "I Will Power" e-mails designed to help you keep your promises and achieve greater business success this year, visit www.mj-ryan.com.

LinkedIn as a resume?

2007-03-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm behind the times, but I just found a real cool feature of LinkedIn that allows members to create a resume like PDF of their profile. Sure the PDF is about 6 pages long, but it contains everything down to your personal recommendations. The only trick is you must have a LinkedIn account to see the link. ;) But it can be saved and sent out.

Here is what mine looks like.

Leadership 101.1

2007-03-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was taking a moment to reflect on some earlier posts and I got stuck on one Leadership 101 and got to thinking I should expand a bit. I wrote the initial post after I had returned from my last deployment and re-entered the professional world. I saw people put in 'management' positions that had no idea how to manage people. They managed spreadsheets and emails but not their direct reports. Managers are responsible for many things. From adhering and implementing corporate policy all the way to measuring specific metrics on their group to show growth/revenue. But what many managers seem to forget is the human factor in all of this. That's where being a leader comes in. If you lead the people in your group well, the other pieces fall into place fairly easily. It should NEVER be perceived a burden to manage the people that work for you. (Which is what I saw.) It should be seen as a challenge and a privileged.

I have been back for about 3 years now and have since moved around a little professionally. I've had the honor of experiencing great managers, true leaders to their people and experienced some not so great ones. Is this a matter of opinion? Sure, I guess, but when all of your staff can't wait for you to get hit by a bus, is it their problem or the managers? I guess your answer to that question will place you in one of my two buckets. :)

Now I know that people hate hearing about my military experience but I find myself deeply rooted in the lessons I learned growing through the ranks. From my lowly days as a Private E-1 to my time getting my Sergeant stripes overseas I took my responsibilities seriously. Again, I was not going to be nominated for NCO of the year or anything, but I did my duty of following orders and then learning to give them to the best of my ability. The Army has a great history of producing outstanding leaders and I had the opportunity to work for some of the great ones. Being a leader for a combat unit is really not different from leading a group of professionals in an office when you boil it down.

Maybe it's a flaw to have extremely high standards of my leaders/managers. But I have high standards for myself and think the people above me should have the same. Maybe that will be my undoing, but then again it's probably not a place I want to work if thats the case.

Leaders should first and foremost lead from example. How can you expect your teams to give 100% when they look at you and see you playing video games, watching YouTube or doing nothing most of the day? (That's a rhetorical question.)

It is a frame of mind that needs to adopted to insure success. Too often I saw managers that acted like dictators barking orders to get things done, or worse gave all of the staff a sense of insecurity by implying they would not have jobs soon. The fact is you will either have a mutiny on your hands or worse show up to work on Monday and get a list of emails with letters of resignations. The idea behind being a manager is to retain your stars, not let them fall to the ground.

If you have members of your staff that deserve harsh treatment, let them go. If you can't correct their behavior without acting like Hitler, then they are doing nothing but sucking up resources and wasting the company money therefore they should just be fired. If your entire staff deserves this, then you need to take about 10 steps back and see what the real problem is. I've never been to keen to 'cleaning house' because the fact is that if this needs to be done then the managers are to blame and not the employees. But too often 'cleaning house' is the case because managers have too much pride to admit they failed and they blame it on everyone around them.

In a work environment your job as a leader is to coach, measure and provide feedback to your staff. The 'work' will get done if these steps are taken. I was at a company that was setting itself up for failure but the front line managers led their people the right way and they continued to achieve dramatic results despite the building falling apart around them and they found a way to keep a smile on their face during the process.

I guess I could go on with this topic for a while, but as I said I got stuck on the initial post and did some reflection. Look around you, are your managers really leading their people or merely standing on the sidelines waiting to point fingers when the game ends? If your in a leadership position and the chips are down, suck it up and start leading. Your people are looking up to you for the example.

The Leader as Motivator

2007-03-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

How do you motivate others? Should you even try? We've all had leaders who have decided that their employees need to be motivated, so they step in with emotional speeches, cute plaques, or possibly stringent reminders that our jobs are at risk—and all we can think is, "Hey, I'm motivated; just leave me alone so I can do my job." Or consider your typical employee-of-the-month program that's supposed to motivate people to excellence. Maybe somebody's version of structured praise works, but a lot of people find monthly celebrations corny or even become upset when they think it's their turn to be honored and they're not.

So now that you're actually a leader, when you think about motivation, you're sensitive to the fact that not every motivational technique bosses employ actually works—or worse still—is even necessary. What's a person to do—drop every technique and err in the direction of doing nothing for fear of constantly doing the wrong thing? Over the years we both have discovered several powerful principles that help inform when and how to motivate.

Never assume that people lack motivation. We often assume that if people aren't doing what we want them to do they aren't motivated. The truth is that people are motivated. They're motivated to do what they're currently doing more than they're motivated to do what you want them to do. When it comes to motivation, it's never a matter of lighting a fire; it's always a matter of helping people restructure their priorities. People already have the fire; it's our job to capture and direct it toward corporate objectives. It's important to understand this view because if you carry around a model that suggests that it's your job to motivate others, you tend to start giving speeches or making threats or creating plaques when you should be trying to figure out why others don't share your priorities.

So, how does one tap into existing motives to align behavior with corporate goals?

Understand the dangers of extrinsic motives. Don't rely exclusively on extrinsic methods to propel individuals to do what should be intrinsically rewarding. For years behavioral scientists have known that if you try to pile praise or extra money onto tasks that are intrinsically satisfying, it can take some of the joy out of the already joyful. For example, if you pay your kids for reading a book, they just might learn to read for the video game they get to buy from their earnings rather than for the enjoyment of reading. In a similar vein, when you pile extra benefits on a person or team that has just created a marvelous product, you can easily take the focus off the act of creation which in many ways is its own reward. At a time like this, words of praise or simply standing back and admiring the creation are likely to mean a lot more than any formal form of recognition.

The Leader as Motivator
March 22, 2007

By Kerry Patterson and Eric Patten

Can Presentations Save Your (Sales) Life?

2007-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Mark Shonka and Dan Kosch are sales guys to the core. They're co-presidents of IMPAX, a sales training and consulting firm based in Westport, Conn.

They believe in selling, and they like to think about selling and write about it and help others to do it well. Between the two of them, they have more than 40 years of sales experience, and that's why they co-wrote their 2002 book, Beyond Selling Value.

But there are no sales, and there are even fewer follow-up sales, without presentations. Shonka and Kosch are fervent evangelists for the role of presentation in sales, and one whole section of their book ("The Power of Presentation") describes how to present the facts that will get you a solid hearing and maybe even help you seal the deal.

But everybody talks about that. Figuratively speaking, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting either a book about the power of presentations or a Web site that offers templates, tips and tools about how to present effectively those crucial facts that make the difference between going home happy and just going home.

We caught up with Shonka and Kosch at their St. Paul, Minn. office, and asked them: What else can you use a presentation for? What about when the sale is made, the relationship is established—and trouble rears its ugly head? How can a presentation help when a client is angry about a missed deadline, a broken promise, or a change they weren't expecting?

Presentations: Isn't the time to present past once the sale is made?

Dan Kosch: That's because a lot of salespeople think about the sale, instead of about overall management of the relationship. Of course a sales rep might be focused on a new opportunity or a new account, because that’s what sales folks do. But there are times when your responsibilities mean that you have to think about how to manage a relationship over time. That’s important because, as you manage a relationship, you can do certain things with the goal of building a wall around that customer so that competitors can't get around it. You can demonstrate the fit between your company and theirs; you can establish a business relationship with them; you can show why your solution makes the most sense, and then you manage the relationship so that only dealing with you or your company makes any sense to the client.

Presentations: But how does that work with a client who's upset with you?

Mark Shonka: Well, the value you bring is only as good as the credit you get for it. You want to be the one who does the homework, who is in tune with the client's business, who understands the challenges the company is facing. You can demonstrate that—and get credit for it—with presentations. And although it sounds counterintuitive, problems or difficulties are opportunities to continue showing that you understand their business and you still know how to help them succeed. Nothing gives you more credibility than to talk about a problem proactively, to be the first one to bring it up and address it.

Kosch: It's also an opportunity, although it sounds counterintuitive, to talk about things that are going right. We always tell our clients that a presentation on a problem is a fine time to discuss recent victories, or successes, or satisfied customers. When you proactively bring up a problem, including ideas for its resolution, you can use that opportunity to discuss what’s going well and why.

Presentations: That sounds like a dangerous game. Won't clients see through you?

Kosch: Well, you have to do it right, of course. It should be done sincerely, not as a tricky ploy to evade an issue. We once had a client in the chemical industry, and they wanted to communicate a significant price increase on one of their products. So they just put it out there and hoped the right people wouldn’t notice. It went over like a lead balloon, of course, and someone had to present to those people to explain how they had chosen to handle the price increase that way. We told them to be forthright, say that they had made a mistake, explain why decision was made to handle it that way and to say that they would like to get past it. And apologize, of course. But we asked our clients: After that part, after the issue is dealt with, why leave the customer thinking only about the failure when there have been successes in the relationship?

Shonka: Our client took some of the emotion out of the issue by acknowledging it, and admitting they shouldn't have handled it the way they did. They also discussed with their customer how to handle issues like this in the future, which re-established the mutual dialogue and allowed them to create a plan that would work for both parties. Having that section of your presentation where you talk about successes helps you to manage the relationship and keep your last contact from ending on a negative note, even when you've just handled a really unpleasant problem. Also, it gives you somewhere else to go in the presentation once you've dealt with the issue, and gives you an opportunity to make other points.

Presentations: What mistakes can you make when trying to do something like this?

Kosch; If there's an issue or a problem to address, don't assume that everybody knows what it is. And don't assume that you know all the ramifications of this issue. Get more than one perspective on how it affects the company. This is definitely a time to do your homework and know what you're talking about. You can't afford not to when the client is already unhappy with you.

Shonka: In a typical presentation, you want to move toward a close, because you’re moving to accomplish something, either to convey some information or encourage the client toward a decision. But you can't close a presentation on a contentious issue that way. You can guide the conversation toward a resolution, but you need to work toward a conclusion with the person or people you're presenting to. And you can't move it too fast, either. You don't want to ask, "Are we done? Can we move on?" If the client isn't satisfied with the way the problem is resolved, you're not done. Here, the presenter is the message—your sincerity, your willingness to work together to fix what’s wrong—and the presentation itself is just the support media.

Original article

Getting the Subject Line Right

2007-03-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

5 tips for writing e-mail subject lines that'll get recipients to read on

One of the most important elements of your e-mail communications is the subject line. Next to the "from" address--which should be a recognizable company name--the subject line will determine whether your e-mail gets opened.

Writing a great subject line is no small challenge. You only have a few words to make it compelling, urgent and specific--without sounding too sales-like or misleading your readers. Here are some tips for writing subject lines that'll get great results.

1. Keep it short and sweet. Do your best to keep your subject lines under 50 characters, including spaces, as most e-mail clients display 50 characters or less. A recent study done by e-mail monitoring company Return Path showed that subject lines with 49 or fewer characters had open rates 12.5 percent higher than those with 50 or more characters. The study also found that click-through rates for subject lines with 49 or fewer characters were 75 percent higher than for those with 50 or more characters. Want to increase your open and click-through rates? Keep your subject line short and sweet.

2. Be specific. A vague subject line is a waste of prime real estate. A great example of this that I see often is monthly newsletters with subject lines like "The Green Thumb Newsletter: June 2007." This tells the receiver nothing about what they'll find when they open the e-mail and gives them very little reason to do so. A better approach for a newsletter like this is, "The Green Thumb: 3 Tips for Summer Gardening."

3. Write it last. Many e-mail marketing services (including Constant Contact) prompt you to write your subject line first as you're building your e-mail. I encourage you to come back to it when you're done with your e-mail content. It's important to determine all the elements of your e-mail first, then look for the most compelling topic to highlight in the subject line. When you're done with the body of your e-mail, read it over and pick the nugget that'll entice your readers to learn more by opening your message.

4. Take some time. Don't just dash off your subject lines. Considering how important they are, take some time to think about them and write several--at least three or four--before choosing which one to use. Once you have a few subject lines you like, run them by a friend or colleague and see which one they think is most compelling.

5. Test it. When you have two strong yet different subject lines, test them. Split your list in half and use a different subject line for each group. After a number of tests like this, you'll have a very good idea of what works for the people on your list. And the better you know your audience, the more effectively you can communicate with them.

The next time you're tempted to rush through the process of writing a subject line, think about the number of e-mails you get every day. After the effort you've put into composing your e-mail, don't you want to ensure people open and read it?

Getting the Subject Line Right

Gail F. Goodman is the"E-Mail Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is CEO ofConstant Contact, a web-based e-mail marketing service for small businesses. She's also a recognized small-business expert and speaker.

Best Sales Practices of 2007

2007-03-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

When it comes to landing the big deal, many sales organizations have a blind spot. The "Miller Heiman 2007 Best Sales Practices" study unearths this common flaw. Too many companies chase every possibility without knowing when to say when.

"The dictum of 'No RFP shall go unanswered' is not a good idea," says Sam Reese, CEO of sales training firm Miller Heiman. Because of the time, energy and money involved in responding to an RFP, "If you didn't spec it," says Reese, "don't bid it."

Among the sales trends:

* Winning sales organizations are twice as likely to have a process for knowing when to stop investing in a large deal; 29 percent of winning sales organizations have such a process, compared with 15 percent overall.

* Is leadership connected to the sales process? The front line and the C-suite disagree. While 78 percent of executives believe they are actively involved in the sales process, only 49 percent of managers agree and just 43 percent of sales reps agree.

Reese suggests companies develop a system to manage CEO involvement in the sales process. Clearly, top brass should not go on every sales call. But at the same time, leadership should not be called in only when there is a problem. Instead, the C-suite should be tapped to participate more closely on the company's strategic accounts.

March 05, 2007
From the Performance Newsletter

SalesForce.com outages over? Doesn't look like it!

2007-03-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

Salesforce.com (CRM) is by far the most well known CRM company in the industry but they are far from the most accessible. Huh? Salesforce.com has outages? Yes, it happens more often than anyone wants to admit, especially in the salesforce camp.

The most well known outage was in 2005 and it has had periodic issues since with the most recent being March 9th 2007 when the connections with the highly touted AppExchange platform seemed non existant. One of the salesforce.com partners said that the outage took 2 days to correct.

With problems like this how can they continue to grow when their are much better solutions like NetSuite available? The answer is in a large budget set aside for marketing.

Now it seems that instead of fixing the problem they have added a partner on deck that will put the data on other availible server in case such an incident were to happen again.

Having a partner to do this service seems like a good idea, but one would think that the SFDC camp would almost be cringing while signing the contract.

It's such a shame that companies pay a premium service for a SaaS model and it comes to having to pay more just to have access to your data.

This is why executives and sales leaders need to ask their CRM vendor if they can provide a guaranteed uptime.

Promote Productivity in Your Workplace

2007-03-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

Employees slumped in their chairs, IM'ing instead of working? In case your office is more chat room than workplace these days, Alex Somos, co-founder of Guelph, Ontario, Canada-based consultancy Juice Inc. has some ideas:

Employees need to understand an organization's measurable objectives, Somos points out. Once they grasp those goals, your leaders will be able to establish processes and systems to support the outcomes your company is after.

Don't overlook what's happening inside employees: "The first response from people is generally an emotional one," he says. "The ability for managers and leaders to understand the feelings economy can create unprecedented results."

You also want to make sure employees stay focused. Somos says to recognize the symptoms of "corporate ADD," such as disorganization and distraction.

Listen to what employees have to say. "The higher up a person becomes in an organization, the less they hear about what's really going on," he explains, "CEOs rarely hear the candid truth, and if they do, it is sanitized and couched, without the real message getting through." So no dilly-dallying…or holding back.

March 05, 2007

By Margery Weinstein

How to Implement Lead Management in Your CRM System

2007-03-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

All sales reps want solid, qualified leads. Not surprisingly, the CRM upgrade that sales reps request most frequently is lead generation and management. Unfortunately, this type of software has a long way to go before it will be really useful. To understand why, let’s look at the early adopters – the high tech firms that always get the newest software technology before it becomes generally available.

According to the analyst firm IDC Research, approximately half of marketing investment across the tech vendor community is allocated to demand generation. Furthermore, about one-third of that investment is earmarked to directly support the sales force. That’s a significant commitment, but new research from IDC shows that, for most high tech vendors, this complex and expensive intersection of marketing and sales remains very much a “work in process.” In other words, they don’t know how to make this stuff work yet.

IDC undertook the study to find out which IT vendors have demonstrated best practices in lead management process development and execution. While IDC hoped to discover best practices, the study revealed that marketing's lead management process at a majority of tech vendors failed to provide even the most basic element: establishing a consistent global definition of what constitutes a “qualified lead.” The high tech vendors were also unable to deal with other aspects of lead generation, such as data collection, lead qualification, sales handoff, lead nurturing, and performance measurement. In fact (and this is the really depressing part) only a few of the companies surveyed were able to demonstrate any impact of lead generation systems on the sales pipeline. Ouch!

The failure of high tech firms to figure out how to do their own lead management is scary because, as Michael Gerard, director of IDC' s CMO Advisory Practice, puts it: “Developing and maintaining an efficient and effective lead management process is mandatory for marketing's success in today's technology organization.”

Take heart. While the high tech firms aren’t exactly going to be role models, it’s still possible to use existing CRM tools to help with the lead generation process. Here are some suggestions from IDC:

1. Create high-level support for lead management. Have the CMO dedicate a lead management individual or team to develop and govern a marketing lead management process across the organization, ideally in collaboration with a similarly tasked sales lead manager. In addition, get senior management buy in and support during process development, rollout, and governance of any lead management software or system.

2. Tie marketing compensation to the use of the CRM system. Providing quality leads and establishing the ability to track leads is only possible once marketers and other system users understand the need for a lead management process and its impact on the success of the marketing function. In other words, if marketing doesn’t get compensated for successful lead generation, they’ll continue to miss the mark.

3. Measure the lead generation process and system. These measurements should be in terms of their true impact on the sales pipeline. For example, the lead generation system should not only track marketing-generated and marketing-enhanced leads, but illustrate that those leads turn into actual sales in a shorter amount of time than leads that enter the sales process from other sources. As a side benefit, a measurement scheme will enable marketing to establish a direct feedback loop to improve its campaign effectiveness along the entire customer development lifecycle – from awareness through advocacy.

No Motivation? It's Costing Your Company

2007-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Motivation is not enough. If you motivate an idiot, all you have is a motivated idiot.

Education alone is not enough either. Many "educated" individuals achieve very little on or off the job. They know what to do, and they know how to do it. The problem is they're not motivated enough to do much about it.

The Gallup organization once analyzed its massive database and determined that about half (55 percent) of today's employees have no enthusiasm for their work. Gallup labeled these people as "not engaged." In other words, they didn't have much loyalty to their organization or much desire to improve their job performance. It found that one in five (19 percent) were so negative about their jobs that they actually poisoned the workplace. In fact, when those employees called in sick, their organizations were more productive and efficient.

You may think, "Big deal. So what if some of our employees are not fully motivated?" But it is a big deal. Their lack of motivation is costing your organization big bucks.

Gallup estimated that if companies could get 3.7 percent more work out of each employee, the equivalent of 18 more minutes of work each eight-hour shift, the gross domestic product in the United States would swell by $355 billion, twice the GDP of Greece.

In today's competitive world, the really successful person is not only educated, but also motivated.

If you're educating or training your employees, but you're not motivating them to use what they learn, you're wasting your time and your money.

The famous author, William Butler Yeats, said it quite well: "Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire." A more contemporary figure, Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, says, "In the 21st century, organizations have to achieve peak performance through inspiration by unleashing the power of their people—not by teaching them, not by managing them, but by inspiring them."

If you educate and motivate your staff, you'll see an increase in productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately an increase in profits.

The Mercedes Benz plant in South Africa learned that. For a long time, the managers said their quality problems were due to an unmotivated, lazy workforce. That's why it took them two weeks to make a car that had 70 defects. By contrast, the Mercedes Benz plant in Europe could turn out a car in one week that had only 14 defects.

Then, a fortunate accident occurred. After a year of suffering with productivity and quality problems, it just so happened that a car was being made for liberator and president Nelson Mandela. No particular mention or fanfare was made. The vehicle simply went through the assembly line with a tag on it that read, "For Mr. Mandela."

To the managers' amazement, the car was completed in one week and had only 10 minor problems. A light bulb went off in the managers' heads. Their workers were capable. They were educated enough to do the job and do it well. They had simply not been motivated enough to give their very best. It was at that point that the Mercedes leadership learned that they had to engage their workers' hearts, not just their hands.

Are you doing that in your organization? You're buying your employees' time. Are you also getting their hearts and minds?

Education plus motivation will not only help your organization make more money, but it will also save you a lot of money.

When I was speaking at a construction company, the CEO asked his employees a question. He asked, "What does it cost to put a piece of plywood on the floor? How much does it cost in terms of time and money?" The employees answered, "About ten minutes and twenty dollars."

The CEO replied, "Yes and no." He said that's what it would have cost if the job had been done right. Unfortunately, an employee slapped down the plywood poorly and didn't cover a hole properly. The ensuing lawsuit cost the company $450,000. The employee was educated. He knew what to do, but he wasn't motivated enough to do it right.

Here are my top 3 tips to motivating and engaging your staff’s hearts:

1. Take a look at the training you're offering employees. Is it really motivating them? As a speaker, I find that many people in my audiences are quite well educated. They're filled with knowledge. However, sometimes they don't have enough motivation to use all the knowledge they possess.

2. Listen to what your colleagues are saying when they hear about an upcoming seminar. Do you hear groans and complaints about having to go? Or do you hear comments of excitement, as people can't wait for it to begin? What you hear will tell you how successful your past classes have been in motivating people.

3. If you're not hearing almost unanimous excitement, re-examine the education you're offering and re-examine those who are leading it. One bad class or one poor instructor can leave a negative legacy for a long time to come.

So you see...education without motivation serves no useful purpose.

By Alan Zimmerman

Best-selling author and Hall of Fame professional speaker, Dr. Alan Zimmerman has taught more than 1 million people in 48 states and 22 countries how to get and stay motivated all the time. For more information, visit, www.journeytotheextraordinary.com/.

Looking for more on motivation? Then check out these stories from Sales & Marketing Management's Ultimate Motivation Guide.

Wholly Motivated

A Will to Win: Rick Pitino on Motivation

The Prize Is Right for Ultimate Motivation

Battle drills for sales leaders

2007-02-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

The battle drill is a tool that soldiers use to practice fundamental skills for their trade. The one that comes to mind immediately is Battle Drill #6 for the Military Police. I think of this one because I had to do this a hundred times (at least) in my military career.

Battle drill 6 was the act of dismounting a MK 19 grenade launcher from a turret and placing it on a tripod away from the vehicle. Sounds easy enough but when the MK19 weighs in at 72 lbs, it can be a challenge after the 12th evolution and you are being timed to standard.

But we did this drill time and time again for the shear fact that when on the battlefield you needed to know how to do this quickly, safely, and correct to complete your mission.

Drills like these were rehearsed with most of our free time to keep us sharp and on top of our game. The same should be done in business.

Sales leaders should develop their own drills that are specific to their industries. For example I work in a hosted application space for a company called NetSuite that competes with SalesForce.com (CRM) (Who I can say is not supportive of hiring ex-soldiers turned to professionals based on their last failed recruiting attempt.) One of the drills I put together was one focused on calling on every contact I had that was either currently evaluating both our products or had indicated they were current users of SalesForce.com and looking for reasons to switch. It was simple to construct and all that was needed was for SalesForce.com to go down for a length of time long enough for me to complete the drill. Which actually isn't very difficult either since they have gone down a couple times in the past few months for several minutes or more.

Generate a list of accounts that fit the criteria and have it saved for future reference.
Rank them on status
Start at the top and aggressively call on all of them pointing out the fact that SalesForce.com was down and NetSuite was a solution they could count on.
If their systems came up before I could complete the list it didn't matter because the damage was done and I could just tailor the conversation on an event that just took place.
After the calls were completed a skillfully crafted email explaining the downtime and NetSuites guarantee on a 99.5% uptime was better than anything in the industry would be sent to the contacts and usually hammered the point home.

That's it, 5 steps and a Battle drill was designed that can be executed on command.

There are many situations that can be crafted into these drills for a sales group. What do you have?

How to Take the Sales Out of Selling

2007-02-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

It came to me at a peculiar time. I am a sales trainer and I was training sales people. In a moment of uninspired accidental brilliance (that’s an enormous exaggeration) I said something that made all the sense in world, but was completely contradictory in nature.

“My ultimate goal for you,” I said to a roomful of seasoned professional sales people “is to completely remove the concept of ‘selling’ from who you are and what you do.” But wait a minute…..I’m a sales trainer…..a SALES trainer….and these are sales people…….SALES people……..and ALL my clients are SALES people. Was I secretly hoping to put myself out of business? Hardly.

The point is this. The sales process in American business has become painfully stale. It’s wrought with manipulation, misplaced intentions, ego, self indulgence and in some instance, complete fakeness. I certainly don’t mean to offend any professional sales person, but it’s likely time you took a strong, deep OBJECTIVE look at what you do in your role as a professional sales person.

Here’s what I suggest you do about it:

1. Change Your Intent: Completely shift your focus in all sales situation from “getting the deal” to helping the prospective client. Don’t give this lip service. Change what/how you think about the sales process and your role in it. Quit trying to persuade, convince, push, pull and coerce your prospective clients….just focus on making their life better off and let the results just happen.

2. Don’t Think of Yourself as a Salesperson…think of yourself as a BUSINESS PERSON: Lots of sales people will tell you, “I run my territory like it’s my own business.” But do they really? Entrepreneurs tend to think about things very OBJECTIVELY and make decisions using more analysis than emotion. Try to put the same concept into affect for yourself. Be an objective business analyst and you’ll completely change how you sound and appear to prospective clients.

3. Be Yourself: Stop being fake. Stop pretending to be interested in things that you’re not. Just be real. Be yourself. You are likely a very competent, likeable, intelligent person who has a lot of knowledge that others will buy. Just let your ego down and let go of the desire to please them or kiss their ass and just be you.

There you have it.

The Stop Selling Sales Trainer
Bryan Neale

Goal Oriented

2007-02-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

Sales veteran and mountain climber Susan Ershler shares her top-performance tips

QUICK TIP:

"Think Yes! first. The rest that follows will be positive."

By the time Susan Ershler decided to climb to the top of Mount Everest in the Himalayas - the highest mountain in the world - she was managing a 100-person sales team and trying to reach a $300 million sales goal for U.S. West, a small telecom company.

She knew achieving both objectives would require daily dedication. To keep focus over the long haul, she wrote down her goals and kept them where she could look at them every day.

For the sales goal, she wrote "$300 million" on the first page of her business journal. Each Monday, Ershler held a meeting with her team by conference call to measure their progress, and she always reiterated the goal of $300 million.

"There are so many things that throw you off track," she says. "Sometimes, a large sale goes sideways or a customer gets angry or you get distracted by your weekly quota. Sometimes, salespeople will come to you and say, 'I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing.' I tell them, 'Yes you do. You have it in writing.' " At the end of the year, her team surpassed its goal, hitting 150 percent of its quota.

She used the same technique with her mountain-climbing goal, writing down the height of Mount Everest - 29,035 feet - on a "sticky note" and putting it on her computer. "That number is really high," she admits. "But if you look at it several times a day, it can become doable in your mind."

The Air up There

Before she started dating veteran mountain- climbing guide Phil Ershler in 1992, Ershler had never climbed before. "I'd never even hiked," she says.

Early in their courtship, he offered to take her up Mount Rainier in Washington State. Climbing to 14,410 feet meant getting used to breathing with limited oxygen and suffering severe headaches (high altitudes can cause the brain to swell slightly).

"You get exhausted," Ershler says. "You're not sleeping right, and you don't feel much like eating or drinking. I found that it was quite emotional. Things that would be very concerning at sea level are extremely concerning up there."

The lows were indeed low, but the highs were exhilarating. "Getting to the top was such a sense of accomplishment," she says. "I was hooked."

Vertical Market

After marrying in 1996, the Ershlers continued to climb the world's most difficult mountains. Eventually, they decided to tackle Mount Everest, with the goal of climbing all seven summits together. A go-getter by nature, Ershler knew big success meant dreaming big.


	"You can learn a lot about success by failing a few times." Max Gitomer

"What I love about sales is that you're evaluated by your performance. But in the beginning, it can be difficult, because you're starting out at the very bottom," says Ershler, who began her sales career as a customer-service representative. In time, a GTE manager recruited her to sell to major clients.

"I was green," Ershler says. "I came in during the middle of the year, and I still carried a full quota." For nearly a year, Ershler courted the top two law firms without any breakthroughs. GTE moved her to small-business sales.

Ershler was crushed, but defeat fueled her desire to land the deal. A couple of months later - a little more than a year after she had set her goal - she made the sale. It was one of GTE's largest equipment sales ever.

"Once that hit, I was moved right back to major accounts," she says.

By 2000, Ershler had completed 31 successful climbs with her husband to summits higher than 14,000 feet, including Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet) near the Kenya border, Mount McKinley (20,320 feet) in Alaska and Mount Aconcagua (22,840 feet) in the Andes. In 2001, the Ershlers set out to conquer Mount Everest. During the climb, however, her husband's eyes began to freeze, and his vision was severely impaired. A mere 1,500 feet from the summit, they decided to turn back. It was a bitter letdown. After taking a couple of months to reflect, there was no question they would try again.

"I'm motivated by someone saying no," Ershler explains. "So, in 2001, we didn't make it to the top. We turned around. Well, in sales, how many times do you put everything into it and work like crazy for a long time, and then, someone tells you no? One of the biggest things that separate the top performers is that they do not accept no."

READ MORE

Avoid Getting Your E-mails Deleted

2007-02-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Avoid Getting Your E-mails Deleted

From the E-Business Newsletter

It's easy to fall into bad e-mailing habits because the whole format can begin to feel casual. By now everyone knows to avoid writing in all caps and using emoticons, but people often make the mistake of shooting off overly chummy professional e-mails and forming a devil-may-care disregard for grammar and punctuation. Simple rule of thumb: treat e-mail the same way you'd treat phoning someone. Get to the point, but be polite about it. Here is a look at some of the subtler nuances of the written word to help get your message across with style and grace:

1) Do An Introduction
Launching right into your request is the same as bursting into someone's office and making demands. "Please send me this report" is a cold opener, and it may lead someone to brush it off until they're good and ready to help. "Good morning, I hope you had a nice weekend" will ease your reader into a much more cooperative state.

2) Conduct a Read-Through
The software world has yet to invent a "Does This Sound Curt and Snippy?" check. This means your spelling and grammar may be perfect, but your tone may not be. An easy fix is to pretend you’re the receiver and read through the e-mail before sending it. You'll notice if a phrase rubs you the wrong way or seems surly.

3) Make the Subject Line Short and Snappy
Thinking up a subject line that will pull the receiver in and still fit in a small space is tough work. Don't make your subject line too vague or your reader may think its spam. Squeeze in too much information, and it will just confuse. Think of it as more of a reminder line, and write something that will help your reader easily pick it out of their inbox.

4) Avoid Long URLS
Ever get an e-mail that has a link to a Web site that goes on for 30 characters and gives no clue where it will take you? Be a better Web guide in your own e-mails by snipping a long URL down to a bite-sized one. Check out SnipURL.com, a free site where you paste in a long URL, give it a nickname, and click a button to generate a short, clear link. Your reader will appreciate it—and maybe even click through.

How Much Is that Discount Really Costing You?

2007-02-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

“Boss, if I can just drop the price another 3 percent we’ll have ‘em.” Does that sound familiar? As a sales manager, you’ve probably heard all manner of pleas for the authority to lower your price to seal a deal. And in many cases, you’ve probably granted that authority. But do you know exactly how much those discounts are affecting your bottom line? The numbers might surprise you.

Say your organization needs 40 percent gross profit margin to operate. And imagine you want to run a 10 percent discount special to push through some year end deals. Do you know how much you’d need to increase your sales to make up for the discounting? A whopping 33.3percent. “In other words, you have to increase sales revenue by one-third to maintain the same 40 percent gross margin that you had before,” explains corporate strategist Graham Foster in his book, The Power of Positive Profit (John Wiley & Sons, 2007). “Why would you want to work 33.3 percent harder for nothing?”

Here’s another example from Foster that underscores the enormous impact discounting has on a company’s bottom line: If a $100 million organization on 40 percent margin typically foregoes 20 percent through discounts, it should be doing $120 million. And 40 percent of that missing $20 million is $8 million, which means the company is losing out on $8 million in net profit through its discounting practices. But how do you reverse that trend, particularly if your sales strategy has long relied on discounts to close sales? Foster offers these ideas to get you started:

1. Educate your reps on the bottom-line impact of discounting. In most cases, salespeople don’t know how their discounts affect the company. Salespeople are trained to make sales and they typically view any sale as a good sale. When you show them the numbers (how discounts at each level affect profits and margins) and the implications (smaller bonuses, lack of budget for new equipment, etc.) they’ll think about pricing in a whole new light.

2. Update the compensation plan to maximize profits instead of volume. Switch the plan to a margin basis, or at least a blend of volume and margin, to counter the discounters on your team.

3. Require that all daily transactions pass the average margin test and contribute to the bottom line. “Manage by exception in this area,” cautions Foster. “Require that any transaction priced below the budgeted company margin must be approved and signed off.” Then have a margin catch-up plan to recover those losses.

4. Document favors in a logbook so you’ve got a written record of the value you provide and use it to justify your higher, undiscounted prices. Customers will pay more if they understand you bring certain value to the deal. Foster tells the story of a world-class chemicals supplier who lost a big account to a discounting competitor. When the client called his new supplier late on a Saturday night with an urgent request, the discounter was nowhere to be found. Desperate, the client called his former vendor, the world-class supplier. The sales rep took the call, got out of bed, opened the warehouse, and drove two drums of the needed chemicals 100 miles away. Not surprisingly, the rep soon had his big client back and happy to pay the higher prices.

5. “C” customers pay in full. By now you know the theory – every company has A, B, and C customers. Your A customers are the big, top tier customers who make up the bulk of your revenues. On the other end of the spectrum are your C customers, the ones who demand deep discounts, overload your service department, and pay their accounts as late as possible. Starting now put all your Cs on full list price with no discounts. When your reps complain that they’ll lose these customers, show them it’s a good thing: if you lost most of your Cs, your bottom line would improve.

In conclusion, keep in mind that Foster isn’t saying you should never discount. Certainly there are, and always will be, occasions when it is appropriate. The message here is to be aware of how discounting affects your margins and net profit, and to make your discounting decisions with that knowledge rather than with a simple desire to close the sale.

Selling Power

Tech IPOs are back and NetSuite is on the radar!

2007-02-20T12:58:00.001-08:00

The industry has been speculating for years that the next tech boom will come and the indications are becoming clear that it is on the horizon.

Technology has been making a revolution with companies like YouTube and MySpace making the web more interactive. The internet has also become a place for companies to do business. Not just to reach new customers or bring their product to market but with hosted applications making waves, companies can now DO business with nothing more than an internet connection and a computer. Lets welcome the remote workforce for small to mid size companies.

Once a perk of top companies that could afford complicated solutions to accommodate a dispersed workforce, the latest group of on demand solutions are more affordable and easier to implement and use. Great benefits to companies with a limited IT staff that need flexibility. I am glad to see that NetSuite was listed as #3 on the Business 2.0 article.

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- For the first six years of the century, the dream of building a technology company and taking it public was out of reach for all but a few lucky entrepreneurs.

Take Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite, an on-demand business software company backed by Larry Ellison. "Everyone wants to be bought by Google for $1 billion, but counting on that happening is not how to build a big company," Nelson says. "The way you get a big hit is to do an IPO. The appetite is there on the shareholder side to invest in new companies, and it's certainly there on the entrepreneur and the VC side to get back into the IPO mode."

Entire article

10 Ideas for Building Leadership from the Inside

2007-02-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

When it comes to leadership bench strength, some company benches are dangerously light. These companies, from large corporations to small and mid-sized businesses, lack the talent needed to sustain or grow the business beyond its current level.

Some companies have depended on the same leaders for years without developing new leaders. Other companies have attempted to develop leaders, but there is no strategic or integrated approach. Still other companies have unexpectedly lost leaders they were counting on.

Each year, about 25 percent of managers in typical Fortune 500 companies change jobs. Most spend an average of four years in a given position. High potential leaders in mid-senior ranks move more frequently: every two to three years. These statistics demonstrate why companies must build solid leadership. Leaders must concentrate on developing their teams, getting the right people in the right jobs and producing results.

Job dissatisfaction is up. Some research indicates that one out of six people expects to quit a job in the next year. There are more opportunities for people to seek "greener pastures." Good leadership can influence a person’s decision to remain with a company.

10 Ideas for Building Your Leadership Bench Strength
If your company wants to build leadership strength, here are my top 10 suggestions:

1. Transfer knowledge and experience from the top.

Companies can capture the wisdom from experienced leaders to aid in educating and developing future leaders.

2. Build relationships across generations.

Leadership skills, talents and values differ across generations. Dealing with these differences constructively strengthens the overall leadership of your organization.

3. Strengthen leadership peer relationships.

Often, large organizations operate like a conglomeration of silos. It's easy for leaders to feel isolated in their roles. Helping leaders learn from each other and strengthening interpersonal relationships build needed peer support and camaraderie.

4. Develop succession plans.

Companies shouldn't wait until the need for a leader is obvious. Careful thought and planning in advance eases the transition.

5. Identify and nurture high-potential leaders.

Pay special attention to those employees possessing strong capabilities operating below the radar. They can be the most likely to leave.

6. Provide needed cross departmental learning and exposure.

With better knowledge of other departments and the organizational system as a whole, leaders can help your departments function more effectively.

7. Offer executive coaching/real-time learning.

Large companies are turning to fresh approaches to help executives learn, get feedback and gain support based on experiential learning. Many executives like the personalized approach.

8. Include more leaders in strategic planning.

In my work with leaders in many corporations across a broad based range of industries, I find one of their most common challenges is the need to think and act more strategically. Busy executives struggle to find the time to think about the issues they most want or care about. Their focus is diffused. Fostering strategic thinking early in a leader's career will serve him or her well in the future.

9. Provide mentoring or coaching support for new managers.

Along with a new title and pay raise, new managers should benefit by having stronger initial support through mentoring or coaching programs to help them get acclimated in their new roles.

10. Assess leadership talent.

There are a variety of assessments in the marketplace to help companies assess leadership skills, behaviors and values. These tools give leaders insights to help them increase their effectiveness.

A Bonus Leadership Idea: Open Dialogue

One of the greatest benefits to any organization is the opportunity to invite conversation about leadership across all levels. Start by asking questions like these:

• What does your company value most about its leadership?

• What improvement would you like to see?

• What is your company’s philosophy about leadership?

• What would outstanding leadership enable your company to do better?

• What leadership skills are critical for success?

• What is the impact of your company’s leadership on your employees? Your organization? Your market? The community?

As you address these kinds of questions, make a commitment to raise the bar on the level of leadership that exists in your organization. Build your bench strength, but don’t let leaders sit too long. They’re anxious to lead.

Gayle Lantz is president of WorkMatters, Inc. www.workmatters.com, an organizational development consulting firm that can help your company improve performance through consulting, coaching and speaking services. For more free tips on how to improve your leadership bench strength and improve your organization's performance, Sign up for WorkMatters Tips at workmatters.com/signup .

Determined to Succeed but Still Failing: Why?

2007-02-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

You've probably heard the story of the golfer who steps up to the tee box and hits a wicked duck hook out of bounds.

Embarrassed, he reaches in his pocket, tees up another ball and again, hits another horrific twisting shot left out of bounds. Now angry and determined, he walks back to his bag, gets another ball, tees it up again, and duplicates his first two shots out of bounds to the left. In a fit of frustration, he slams his club into his bag, aggressively flings his club over his shoulders, mumbles some choice expletives to himself as he’s chipping his teeth, and heads up the fairway uncertain as to where he's going to drop a ball to make his next shot.

I use this as an analogy often in my talks with groups when discussing business professionals who are determined to be successful yet continue to fail. People like:

The determined sales executive who is working extremely hard and is not bringing in the sales and makes the decision to work even harder.

The determined manager who has a tight grip on her team but cannot get them to take their game to the next level, so she implements even more controls.
The determined leader whose company is not reaching their numbers and meets endlessly with his team to discuss solutions, but he keeps asking the same questions over and over again to the same people, never getting any outside opinions.

So, in these examples, what's missing? You certainly can't fault their determination, can you? These people possess many characteristics of a determined individual. Their persistence, assertiveness, and even aggressiveness are to be admired, right?

Well, yes and no.

You must be determined to rise to the challenge when faced with adversity, challenges, even hardship. However, determination alone doesn't solve problems.

In my daily work with others, I encounter many different executives in sales, operations, management, and leadership roles who are very determined people. They are successful on many levels, yet many are also struggling to breakthrough to new levels and have hit a wall in terms of how to get there. Usually it is because the very thing that got them this far, their determination, is missing a key ingredient: the willingness to make intelligent changes along the way.

People who make personal and business related breakthroughs of any significance are first and foremost determined individuals. However, inside their determination is the ability to learn from their actions and constantly change those actions until they reach their desired goal. Trial and error causes them to rethink and retool their strategies. Their determination is fueled by their willingness to make intelligent changes and adjustments along the way.

Top 5 Things You Must Do Today For Breakthrough Achievements Tomorrow and Beyond

1. Write down the goals you want to achieve and list the obstacles or roadblocks that keep you from reaching them. Be thorough.

2. Brainstorm three new ways to get around the roadblocks. Make sure they're things you’ve never tried before. Run your ideas by someone you have confidence in and see if they can add to or give you any new ideas. Better yet, meet with someone who has achieved the goal you are after. Be open-minded.

3. Turn the three best ideas into actual strategies and prioritize them with the most important coming first. Be bold and take some risks outside of your comfort zone.

4. Put tactics behind those three strategies. Be detailed on the little tasks you have to complete to implement your strategies.

5. Start with your best strategy and implement with pure determination. If that doesn't work, move on to the second one, and so on. If you've exhausted the three best ideas and still have not achieved your goal, make a list of three more ideas and repeat the process. Make intelligent changes.

Successful people have a “crack the code” mentality.

Successful business leader, executives, employees and people in general are forever making changes to their problem solving approaches until their problems are solved. Then, they move on to a new one. Like the golfer used in the example, if your duck hooking the ball off the tee—change your grip, your stance, your back swing, something. Don't do the same thing harder and expect different results. Fuel your determination with intelligent changes along the way.

By Chuck Mache
Chuck Mache has 25-plus years of experience in selling, managing, building and leading sales organizations regionally and internationally. Get his book, The Four Kinds of Sales People: Your Personal Path to Breakthrough Achievement, at www.chuckmache.com.

The Importance of Individual Sales Goals

2007-02-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

Achieving sales volume goals for your business is one of the biggest challenges any owner faces. Many factors beyond your control can affect that final number--the economy, the weather, the competition. But one manageable factor is the people in direct contact with your clients--your sales team.

Some business owners ask every person on the team to meet the same sales goals. That's the easiest thing for a busy entrepreneur to do. But not everyone is capable of achieving at the same level. Some salespeople are better with a certain product; others work best with a certain type of client. You just can't get away from these complicated variables.

Since your business is so powerfully impacted by these variables, you should master the art of flexibility. Smart business owners work with each person on their staff to discuss what's expected of them to keep the business growing. Each person must be evaluated based on his or her skills, knowledge and interests.

It's wise to set an overall company goal so you all know what you're trying to achieve. It's also a good practice to step back every now and then to look at the big picture of your business as it relates to that goal and look for things you can do to reach the goal. It's also critical to let your sales personnel in on your company goal so they can understand where they fit into your plans.

Your salespeople are crucial to growing your business, and to get the results you want, you should meet with them eyeball-to-eyeball (or, at the very least, in a phone meeting) once a month. This should only take five to 10 minutes per person per month, and the results you'll see will be worth the effort.

Begin your monthly meetings by thanking your team members for their service to the business. Review how they did with their sales last month, and ask them if they're pleased with their numbers. Then ask what they might do differently if they had an opportunity to go back 30 days and relive that month over again. Often, both you and your salespeople will be surprised by some of the creative answers they come up with. Use that information to move forward in setting some new goals.

Let your salespeople be in control of their goals by asking what their income goal is for the next six months. Then break that figure down into monthly goals. Ask if that monthly amount seems reasonable to them. When they confirm that it does, show them how many sales they must generate to achieve that goal. Again, have them commit to their belief in that goal being achievable.

To finish up, talk about special offers or promotions that you're implementing so your salespeople can work them into their sales plans. Always end these planning meetings by asking what you could provide your salespeople along the lines of product knowledge or selling skills education to help them continue to grow and achieve their goals with your business.

This type of personal involvement in setting achievable goals for your salespeople always works in your favor. You'll get to know what they believe they can do. They'll get to know what you hope they'll achieve. And best of all, when they know you care enough to help them set individual, personalized goals, they'll do their best to outperform your expectations.

Crafting an Opening Sales Statement

2007-02-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

You've got just eight short seconds to grab your prospect's attention and land an executive sales appointment. This sales expert shows you how.

By Tony Parinello

Before you pick up the phone to make a sales call to an executive, I'd like to suggest you remember the following true story:

A few months ago, one of my salespeople, Daniel, had some car problems, so I offered to give him a ride to work. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to do a little one-on-one role-playing, I suggested we go over some appointment-setting phone skills. I've had a long-standing, well-proven statistic that you have just eight seconds to grab an executive's attention whenever they pick up their phone. Daniel was a bit skeptical about my eight-second standard. He looked at me and said, "Boss, eight seconds is too short a period of time! That's hardly enough time to take a deep breath, let alone make a meaningful opening statement."

We happened to be waiting at a red light when he said this. As the light turned green, I kept my foot on the brake and started counting: "One thousand one, one thousand two...." People started honking. By the time I got to "one thousand four," Daniel was begging me to get moving. By the time we hit the sixth second, the guy behind us was starting to get out of his car, and Daniel was looking for a place under the floorboards to hide. When I finally hit eight, the intersection was a symphony of honking horns, "pointing fingers" and shouting mouths. I hit the gas.

Daniel's never questioned me again on how long eight seconds really is or whether you can make an impact in that length of time.

If you've been reading my columns, you understand what motivates people to buy; you know the relevant specifics about your product, service or solution; and you have a good idea about the strategies at your disposal for contacting people who may give you new business. When you find yourself getting ready to pick up the phone to call an executive, what do you say?

I'm going to assume that your goal for picking up the phone is to develop new business. I'm also going to assume that:

You've decided to use the phone to do this, either by means of a follow-up call on a written communication (see my prior article on this topic), or as your first contact with the target business.
Your aim is to get an appointment or create the next step with a top executive who is the person who can actually buy whatever it is you're selling.

You have three big goals when it comes to developing an opening statement that works. You want to:

Make it sound conversational.
Deliver it with confidence.
Get a favorable interruption--one that will put your prospect in control as soon as possible.

Five Key Opening Statement Components

You're picking up the phone to call your prospect. For right now, let's assume you actually do get through to the executive. (You should read last month's columnto learn exactly how to get past the gatekeepers.) Here are the five key ingredients your opening statement needs to contain:

1. An Introduction. Usually, when an executive (or anyone else) picks up a direct line, they say their name: "This is Jane Smith," or "Jane Smith speaking." Your first step will be to repeat this person's name. Keep things formal for now--use Mr. or Ms., then the contact's last name.

Prospect: This is Jane Smith.

You: Ms. Smith?

Prospect: Yes.

This first step will earn you Ms. Smith's undivided attention. Whatever she was doing prior to you saying her name, she's now stopped doing. She's paying attention to you, and that's a good thing!

What most salespeople do now--despite ample and endlessly repeated evidence that they shouldn't--is say something like this: "Hi, Ms. Smith. This is Will Perish, with the ABC Insurance Company." Unless your name is, say, James Bond, or your company affiliation is, say, the Prize Disbursement Division of Publishers Clearing House, I can tell you exactly what's going to happen next in the vast majority of such calls: The prospect will respond to this self-defeating "verbal handshake" by tuning out, asking you to send written information, pretending the building just caught fire, or otherwise disengaging from the call. In other words, you'll have only been on the line about a second and a half, and you'll be done.

2. The Pleasantry. Here's an alternative plan. What I'm about to tell you will contradict what you've been taught. Do it anyway.

When Jane Smith says "Yes," you're going to respond with something positive and enthusiastic, something that doesn't directly identify you, your company or the product or service you eventually want to discuss. It's too early in the relationship for you to pass along that kind of information. Instead, you're going to use a pleasantry, such as one of these:

"It's an honor to finally speak with you!"
"Thanks for picking up the phone!"
"Thanks for taking my call."
"Your time is important. Let me cut to the chase."

Get the idea? Each and every one of these pleasantries will do a far better job for you than simply volunteering your name and company affiliation at the outset of the conversation. Or saying something totally lame like "How are you today?" or "Do you have a minute?"

3. The Hook. Immediately after your pleasantry, you're going to catch the person's attention by using a hook that's keyed directly to something likely to be of interest to this prospect.

"We've helped (three of the top five widget corporations reduce overhead costs by twelve percent this quarter--and they did it without laying off staff or sacrificing product quality)."

Now there's a tangible benefit if ever there was one! Keep your hook focused and just one or two sentences long, and you can't go wrong.

The Interruption. More often than not, here's where you'll get interrupted if your hook is doing its job. Your prospect is likely to cut in and say something along the lines of one of these statements:

"This sounds interesting--tell me all about it."
"I haven't heard of this before, but I must admit it sounds vaguely interesting."
"I have absolutely no interest."

(Don't worry. You'll be learning how to deal with any not-so-favorable interruptions in next month's column.)

As I said, you'll almost certainly get interrupted by this point. For the sake of completeness, though, you need to finish developing your opening statement, so you know what to say in those cases where you don't get interrupted at this point.

4. Naming Names. Once you've shared your hook, the other person knows the reason for your call--the cat's out of the bag. This is the perfect time to identify yourself and, if you like, your organization. If you choose to identify the name of your business, give it a brief "commercial." What you say will fit in one sentence. It should sound like this:

"This is Will, Will Prosper, with ABC Insurance Company--the hardest-working company in the insurance industry today."

5. Your Ending Question. If you don't get interrupted by this point, you're going to conclude your opening statement with an ending question that incorporates some element of time. Try one of these:

"Ms. Smith, does this touch on issues that are of concern to you this (month/year/quarter)?"
"Are you wanting to accomplish something like this by the end of this (quarter/year)?"
"Is this something you'd like to explore further?"
"Who on your team would you like for me to continue this conversation with between now and the end of this business (day/week)?"

Putting It All Together

Here's an example of an opening statement that works. Yours shouldn't sound exactly like this one, but it should be about this long, and it should, like what follows, hit all the bases you've been reading about.

Prospect: "This is Jane Smith."

You: "Ms. Smith?"

Prospect: "Yes...."

You: "(Pleasantry) It was a pleasure to read that your company has successfully expanded into the European marketplace. By the way...(Hook) after studying another client's operation, we suggested an idea that provided revenue gains of more than $25,000 per year. The real surprise is that we did this without taking one bit of Acme's hard-earned capital. (Your Name) This is Will Prosper at Zenith. (Ending Question) Acme's impressive results may be tough to duplicate. But would you be open to taking the next step between now and the first of the year?"

Again, you shouldn't try simply to insert your company specifics into the script you see above. You should use all the ideas in this article to craft an opening statement that is uniquely yours and that best fits the business you're pitching.

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/sales/presentations/article78614.html

Be CRM Savvy

2007-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Missing the target with your customer relationship management strategy? Follow these five steps to success

By Julia Chang

In his work in CRM consulting, Yacov Wrocherinsky has seen some disasters. One of the most recent was a large manufacturing company that spent millions on a high-end CRM system, only to realize two years later that it wasn't providing accurate forecasts. "In the old days, people used to select a system based on a decision by the higher-ups, invest millions, and if the project didn't meet expectations, they would write it off," says Wrocherinsky, founder and CEO of Infinity Info Systems, a New York–based sales technology consulting firm. "Today, expectations are different."

That's because companies now are much smarter about CRM. They want faster implementation that produces value more quickly. And vendors have done a good job of mastering the basic features and making their offerings available at price points for companies of all sizes. But that doesn't make the process of implementing a CRM strategy any easier—especially since CRM is now expected to be part of broader business strategy.

One thing's for sure: CRM is at the top of managers' minds. In a survey of S&MM readers conducted by consulting firm The Alexander Group, 35 percent of sales leaders say they will work to improve CRM in 2007, making it the third most important operational priority for the new year. Not sure if you're going about it the right way? Follow these five steps to make your CRM strategy stays on point:

1. Set Clear Business Goals
By far, the biggest mistake companies make when it comes to CRM implementation is "not thinking through what customer-facing business outcomes they want to achieve," says William Band, principal analyst for IT research firm Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass. "You don't want to start using the technology without thinking about if you want to improve your cross-sell, up-sell, or call-center [capabilities]. You have to think through what business metrics you are trying to improve." Otherwise, how else will you measure success?

When Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS), a diagnostic imaging company based in Tustin, Calif., began a new CRM strategy, it first identified its business need: How to overcome flat growth. In the late 1990s, TAMS was losing customers as fast as it was gaining them, while the industry as a whole was growing about 10 percent.

After extensive customer surveys, TAMS realized the problem lay in its support and service. "We just didn't have a good understanding of what customers really valued and what they wanted us to do," says Cathy Wolfe, director of marketing services.

In order to improve service, the CRM system had to let reps know when a service problem was rearing so they could nip it in the bud. Now, TAMS surveys customers at the start and midway through their relationship with the company. The results are fed into a database managed by its Cognos CRM system, which uses the data to send e-mail alerts through Lotus Notes to managers when a customer is showing signs of dissatisfaction. "It's an early warning indicator," Wolfe says. "If you don't know about it, then you don't have the chance to address it. [Otherwise] you could have a customer mad for a period of time, bad-mouthing you, and you'd never know it."

The result of the CRM implementation? Since 2001, the company has enjoyed about a 25 percent year-over-year growth rate and has seen its name rise to the top in several independent customer-service rankings.

2. Assemble a Crack Team
If it involves the customer, it doesn't involve just sales—marketing, customer service, the call center, accounting and even back-office operations merit consideration when forming CRM strategy. Although the stakeholders can vary by company, most experts suggest representatives for Team CRM come from the following: sales, to provide end-user input; marketing; IT; an executive who can translate the CRM to bigger business strategy; accounting or finance; and dedicated administrative or sales support, if any.

It also helps, Wrocherinsky says, if the group includes a champion who has the respect of his peers and can spread the CRM gospel. It can be someone who is tech-savvy, but it can also be a "difficult or skeptical candidate," he says, "who once you convert, helps other people see the light."

Picking the right people as part of the team is essential, since these folks will be responsible for making sure budget, timing, and cost expectations are realistic, and will spend the most time with the vendors in the setup process. And make sure someone on the team has some decision-making authority, or the project could get stonewalled or mired in bureaucracy.

3. Do an IT Audit
For Bob Ritter, there's one simple rule to the tech side of implementing CRM software: Meet or exceed the requirements. The CRM vendor will tell you what the parameters are for the operating system, network, hardware, software, infrastructure, etc., but there are other hidden IT roadblocks. "Maybe someone hasn't rebooted their workstation in six weeks and their resources are a mess, or the drive is up to the gills with garbage from the Internet," says Bob Ritter, president of 1stdirect.com, a CRM reseller and consulting firm in East Fishkill, N.Y. "When you're putting a mission-critical application out to everybody, you have to make sure the foundation of the infrastructure it is running on is healthy."

When it comes to choosing the actual software, there's always a basic checklist to mind, before you even get to customization. Is the software easy to use? Will it link to mission-critical applications, such as e-mail, back-office functions or accounting software? (This is especially important to consider with hosted CRM.) Is it scalable? Make sure your cost analysis includes such areas as licensing, maintenance, configuration, training and data migration, Ritter says. And it doesn't hurt to do a little detective work on your vendor's business model, because you want to make sure it'll be around for the long haul.

When it comes to security, the biggest concern used to be whether hosted software was vulnerable to hackers. Since that fear has largely been assuaged, the security concern these days is securing data on the road, says Richard Smith, vice president of CRM strategy for Green Beacon Solutions, a CRM consulting firm for mid-market companies based in Watertown, Mass. Part of CRM's value is the convenience it provides when integrated into mobile devices. But laptops and BlackBerrys get stolen and lost, so the cost of securing data on the road should figure into your tech investment.

4. Fine-Tune the Features
Determining exactly what features should figure into your software will probably be the hardest and longest part of implementation, but one of the good things about this step is that it forces a company to face how it does business and uncovers needed changes. "It's an excellent time to revisit the business process," Ritter says. "Are there ways to break up your data more efficiently? Are territories properly balanced? What communications do you want to merge or manage? Are you trying to fulfill a virtual request more efficiently?"

Running a pilot project helps avoid future pitfalls. When Johnson Controls, an environmental controls company based in Milwaukee, acquired HVAC supplier York International in 2005, one of its first priorities was integrating the new company into its Saratoga CRM system, which is used by about 2,200 employees. York's service organization was integrated relatively easily; it was mostly a matter of eliminating duplicate accounts, merging databases and training the York service folks.

But York's systems installation unit was another story. "Their business was different enough from our installation business that we didn't believe the same CRM screens and business flow could work for them," says Bill Hable, director of market planning, research and systems for Johnson Controls. "They are different in how they go to market, who their primary contact is, and they go through different routes [to prospect]." A CRM pilot ran in the spring in three district offices so they could tweak the views and fields that this particular unit needed. The new system is set to roll out the first six months of this year. "I didn't want to hear first impressions," Hable says. "They used it for three or four months so we could get a good idea about how they do business and what had to be changed."

Large companies often require a lot of CRM customization, but even small firms should tweak solutions to their needs. Donna Keller, senior vice president for Financial Advisory Consultants, based in Naples, Fla., worked with 1stdirect.com to install GoldMine CRM software. Keller says she tried out about six versions before finalizing the solution that her company will roll out early this year. Keller's firm has about 10 employees, but nonetheless needed a more uniform process to qualify prospects, move them through the sales cycle, and communicate with them the way they preferred. "Our [old CRM system] did it in a more manual way, but I was looking for something more automated so each client got the exact same experience," Keller says. "There are a lot of moving parts that go into the process, and we needed to be able to handle all the intricacies."

5. Encourage—or Enforce—Usage
Now that you've laid out your business goals, picked internal champions and designed the software of your dreams, here comes the hard part: Getting your staffers to use the system. Managers can take a carrot or a stick approach, Smith says, but the key is "reinforcing that there is one version of the truth: The report that gets driven out of CRM. If managers start letting the best sales reps submit numbers in Excel, it breaks the model."

The carrot approach is to show salespeople the value of using a system, and your CRM evangelists are essential to this. Sometimes this takes more patient training or one-on-one coaching to prove the system's benefits to your reps. But don't be afraid to enforce a hard deadline by which data must be in, call out folks who aren't following the rules and recognize big wins that get plugged into the system. "People don't want to be shamed, and if they know they've closed a big deal and the forecast always goes out noon on Friday" they'll be more inclined to become CRM converts, Smith says.

And then there's always the biggest stick: No CRM use, no commission. "Everybody suddenly gets clear on things when there is only one way to get data into the accounting system," Hable says. "I've seen guys who hate computers, but if [using CRM software] is how they get their commission check, they are experts in two weeks."

Sidebar: What Customers Want

According to the Forrester Research survey "How to Select a CRM Software Vendor" of 19 large North American and European organizations, the following CRM software criteria are considered the most important:

1. Companies expect CRM software to make its users more productive. High usability encourages adoption.

2. Analytics tools are needed to better understand customer behavior and inform decisions based on customer data.

3. The ability to support a centralized customer master data management system is critical to getting a 360-degree view of the customer.

4. Many companies reported they had started working to improve their contact center, but then moved on to focus on sales and marketing. They have stated that "CRM is never done," and work continuously on ways to improve customer interactions.

5. Companies wanted software with applications that encourage strong and flexible workflow capabilities.

6. Technologies that can be easily adapted and customized to the business environment achieve results more quickly.

7. Any software must accommodate large numbers of users and support global business.

8. Vendors without industry-relevant capabilities likely won't make it to many companies' shortlists for consideration.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Sales Processes

2007-02-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

There are quite a few pieces to the sales performance improvement puzzle - face-to-face selling skills, management style, coaching, account strategy, and so on. One piece that doesn't get much attention is the sales process. The simplest definition of “sales process” is “a linked group of tasks that together create customer value.”

Some sales processes are more effective than others. In his book, Rethinking the Sales Force, Huthwaite founder Neil Rackham asks seven questions that can help you evaluate your organization's sales process:

1.	Does your sales process reflect your customers' acquisition process? If it doesn't, it's working against you.
2.	Is your process self-correcting? Good sales process learns from real-world feedback.
3.	Does your process create value? Good sales process adds value for the customers, for the sales organization, and for the salespeople themselves.
4.	Does your process increase efficiency? If your process has made your selling cycle longer, it's time for a redesign.
5.	Does your process allow mortals to succeed? Nevermind the top performers - a good process should allow average salespeople to get better results.
6.	Is your process scaleable? The test is whether your sales process is a growth enabler or a growth inhibitor.
7.	Are your milestones objectively measurable events? Good process is based on events, not on activities.

Closing the Sale

2007-02-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

I could have used this post last week. :)

Learn how to ask the right questions that will help you complete each sale like a star.

Typically, when I talk with my students on a one-to-one basis, they ask me a lot of questions about how to close sales. That's to be expected because it's the positive end result all salespeople seek in any contact with potential clients.

In most situations where sales aren't closed, it's usually because the salesperson didn't ask the right question. In all my training, you'll hear it repeated over and over that every answer you need to get in order to meet someone, qualify them as to their needs, get permission to give a presentation or close a sale will come to you if you only ask the right questions.

Sometimes, it's not just the question that matters, but how it's presented. You may have to set the stage or tell a story leading up to the question that helps the client rationalize the buying decision. No matter how good your lead in or story is, however, you won't get the sale if you don't ask for it.

Let me give you a few closes that have proven successful for my students the world over. Don't be concerned if they seem a bit wordy--you're painting pictures and involving the emotions of your potential clients. Say the words with warmth and sincerity, and they'll work for you.

When your clients hesitate because they aren't sure it's the right decision, try what we call "The Best Things in Life Close." This is a great close to use with a personal sale, especially when you're trying to sell something to a husband and wife. Compare the decision they're considering right now to other decisions they've made and have been happy with. It's especially helpful when they've admitted they want the product but are just struggling with saying yes. It goes like this:

"Isn't it true, John and Mary, that the only time you've ever really benefited from anything in your life has been when you said yes instead of no? You said yes to your marriage. . ." [And this next part's optional: ". . .and I can see how happy you are." But don't add this phrase unless you've seen signs that they truly are a happy couple!] "You said yes to your job, your home, your car--all the things I'm sure you truly enjoy.

"You see, when you say yes to me, it's not really me you are saying yes to but all the benefits this product offers... [and then list a few of the benefits they were most excited about.] Those are the things you really want for your family, aren't they?"

With these words, you're helping them focus on the benefits they want from the product rather than their hesitation to make the investment to own it. The little agreements you ask for during the close get the "yes" momentum started. If they do truly believe your product is good for them, these words will help them get over their hesitation to give you the final yes and close the sale.

Another situation might be during a business sale where the decision-maker uses "the budget" as a reason not to go ahead. This purchase might not have been in their plans, so the money isn't in the budget. If you truly believe your product would provide excellent benefits to their company, your goal in this situation is to get them to admit and agree to that point. Ask this: "John, if the money for this investment was in your budget, would you proceed?" If he says yes, agree with him by saying "That's wonderful, John. I'm glad you see the benefits our XYZ product can bring to your business."

At this point, you can either move on to a discussion of their return on investment or try these words:

"I can understand your concern with your budget, John. That's why I contacted you in the first place. I'm fully aware of the fact that every well-managed business controls the flow of its money with a carefully planned budget. The budget is a necessary tool for every company to give direction to its goals. However, the tool itself doesn't dictate how the company is run, does it?

"It must be flexible to allow the company to manage crises or take advantage of unplanned opportunities. As the controller of that budget, you retain for yourself the right to flex it in the best interest of the company's financial present and competitive future, don't you?

"What we've been examining here today is a system which will allow your company an immediate and continuing competitive edge. Tell me, under these conditions, will your budget flex or will it dictate your actions?"

Hopefully, you see the difference between just asking for the sale and helping people make decisions that are good for them. That's the difference between an average salesperson and a great one!

Tom Hopkins is the "Sales Basics" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is world-renowned as "The Builder of Sales Champions." For the past 30 years, he has provided the finest sales training available through his company, Tom Hopkins International.

How to Make Winning Software Sales Calls

2007-02-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Here are eight steps to make your software sales calls more effective:

Before the Call

STEP 1. Rethink your role. A software sales call is not an opportunity to “pitch” – a monolog that attempts to convince a customer to buy. Instead, a software sales call is a rapport-building dialog between the right salesperson and the right customer. The subject matter of the call should be how your software can address key business issues – not the software and its features and functions.

STEP 2. Do your homework. You’ll never understand – or be able to articulate – your prospect’s business problems unless you do your homework. Before each sales call, learn everything that you can about the potential customer. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet about virtually every company. Here’s a rule of thumb: you should never have to ask the customer a question that’s answered somewhere else.

STEP 3. Create an agenda. An agenda positions you not as a salesperson asking for a sale but as a consultant or advisor. This is particularly important for software sales situations, because software sales always deal with business solutions and opportunities. This allows you to credibly position yourself as much more than just a product sales rep. To have the best impact, the agenda should be on your company’s letterhead, and should have the customer’s full name spelled out, with the time and date. Ideally, the agenda should consist of five to seven questions that focus the conversation on the customer’s needs, going from the general to the specific.

During the Call

STEP 4. Listen before you talk. It’s a truism that listening builds trust. In the early stages of the sales call, asking questions (and then listening to the answers) makes the customer more relaxed and allows you to learn valuable information that can help you move the sale forward. If the information stops becoming useful, compliment the customer, and gently redirect the conversation. Example: “That’s really a good point, Joe, and it reminds me of something I want to show you…”

STEP 5. Address stakeholder issues. Do not make the mistake of addressing your presentation solely to the senior manager in the room. While he or she may be the final decision maker, software-buying decisions are almost always shared by a large number of stakeholders. Therefore, as you make your presentation, speak to each section of the audience, making sure that the conversation addresses whatever issues and concerns they might have.

STEP 6. Defuse the competition. Never criticize a competitor openly. Instead, praise them honestly for what they do well, but then show the customer why it would be a better business decision to work with your company. Example: “Well, ABC is an excellent software vendor and they’ve been in business a long time and have high standards. However, I believe, based upon what you’ve told me about your needs, that we can satisfy them better because…”

STEP 7. Sell value not price. Because software is often highly discounted, it’s likely that the customer will pressure you on your license fees, consulting fees, etc. Rather than get involved in a discussion over price, you’re better off emphasizing the value of the entire software package to the customer’s firm. Try something like: “When people buy technology, they tend to look for three things: the finest quality, the best service, and lowest price. However, I’ve also noticed that no company can consistently offer all three – the finest quality and the best service at the lowest price. Which two of the three do you think will be most important for your long-term business goals?”

STEP 8. Treat closing as a process. Your objective is the action step you will ask for at the end of the call. Maintain momentum at the end of each call with the next step specifically in place or by asking for the next step. Check for feedback throughout the call to gauge how you are doing. End every meeting by saying you hope to work with the customer. Keep the action step in your court so that it is your job to follow up.

The above is largely based on a conversation with Brian Tracy, chairman of Brian Tracy International, a human resource company whose customers include IBM and McDonnell Douglas.

How to Make Price a Non-Issue

2007-02-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

By David J. Lill

Of course price is important to buyers, but if your product isn’t the cheapest on the market there are ways of getting around the price objection. The next time you hear your price is too high, use one of these strategies to prove that you and your product are worth it.

Determine needs to establish value. The better you know your prospect’s needs, the better you can explain how your product will meet those needs. Address price objections at the end of the presentation, after you have already discussed needs, value and benefits. To tackle the price issue effectively, remember to view it from your buyer’s perspective. When the price objection comes up early in the call, you can try to postpone answering it by saying, “I appreciate your concern about price, and I assure you we will discuss it completely, but before we do I’d like to be sure my service meets your needs.”

Example: “Can we review for a moment why this is the best choice for you? First, you will have higher productivity.
Second, it will save you $75 per hour in service. Third, you will have our three-year warranty. Doesn’t that cover all of your needs?”

Use the lowest common denominator. The price that sounds huge in its entirety often sounds much smaller when you break it down into weekly or monthly installments and compare it to how the customer normally spends extra money. For example, you could justify a stereo system purchase by saying that for the daily price of a cup of coffee and a newspaper, your buyer could enjoy a terrific new sound system on the daily commute to and from work.

example: “I am glad you mentioned price. We’ll translate the purchase price into small installment payments, so your actual cost per month is lower with us than with almost any other company.”

Make your offer exclusive. When competitors may offer a similar product at a slightly lower price, you have to tell customers why your product is worth the extra money. Compare your product’s features and benefits to your competitor’s – if there are no big differences, dig deeper. Maybe you could find a consumer magazine article that gives your product a higher reliability rating than your competitor’s. By continuing to pursue the prospect and emphasizing how you can add to the transaction personally, you could sway the buyer in your favor.

example: “Don’t be deceived by today’s price. You actually pay less because we give you more. More service, more quality, more expertise, more security. Isn’t that what really interests you?”

Turning Sales Into Science

2007-02-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

A friend passed this article along to me knowing that I stay on top of these types of stories. Little did I know that they mentioned NetSuite as a pioneer of the Sales 2.0 era. Thanks Jake!

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It's a question almost as old as commerce itself: Is selling an art or a science? For years, technology companies have been trying to transform the former into the latter. And for years, the results have largely been disappointing.

Think of those days as Sales 1.0. We're now in the era of Sales 2.0. Your bottom line may never be the same.

Remember the bad old days of sales-oriented technology? Customer relationship management systems that cost a fortune to install and crashed easily. Downloadable lists of sales leads filled with old or bogus data. E-mail marketing tools that targeted the wrong consumers. And on and on.

Fortunately, software firms that target small companies with sales tools have been getting smarter and smarter. Following pioneers such as Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and NetSuite, a new generation of companies is offering easy-to-use, cheap (indeed, often free) technology that can supercharge the performance of your sales force--with minimal training and virtually none of the heavy-duty installation associated with the CRM systems of the past. With lead-generation and networking services, e-mail marketing products, relationship managing tools, and other bells and whistles, it's now possible to turn a sales operation into a gleaming high-tech machine. Here's a quick tutorial on some of the new tools and a nine-step guide to launching your sales force into the future.

1. Build a bigger Rolodex

The Products
Jigsaw, Ziggs, ZoomInfo, Spoke

How They Work
It's said that a salesperson is only as good as his or her Rolodex. Fortunately, it's now easy to have a much, much bigger Rolodex. There are a number of websites that invite businesspeople to upload and share their contacts with one another. The most popular is probably Jigsaw, which boasts 4.3 million contacts from professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Subscribers can pay $25 per month to download 25 new contacts; you also can upload contacts from your own Rolodex in exchange for Jigsaw points, which can be accumulated and used for more downloads. Once you're signed up, most contacts come with direct phone lines and e-mail addresses; if a contact turns out to have bad information, Jigsaw awards points to users who report the problem and docks the user who uploaded the info. Two other online services, Ziggs and ZoomInfo, allow users to pay to download contacts or add their own profile. ZoomInfo also provides sales data and listings of competitors within industries, a neat tool.

Other services are taking the kinds of lists traditionally offered by Hoover's and InfoUSA (NASDAQ:IUSA) and putting them on a dose of steroids. Spoke takes big lists from providers like InfoUSA, enhances them by combining these lists with Web search data and user-validated list data, and adds it all together to create better lists. Spoke also makes it easy to slice and dice them by industry, geography, company, or revenue level. Ziggs is free; ZoomInfo is free for basic service, but advanced searches can cost as much as $12,000 a year.

Case In Point
As the director of inside sales at Bay Area e-mail security provider PostX, John Fales has long used the Web to prospect sales leads. But using Google can be time-consuming and cumbersome. And the lists provided by major providers were often filled with incomplete or outdated information. Then Fales heard about Jigsaw. The service made it a cinch to find multiple decision makers inside large companies and organizations. Fales says use of Jigsaw has sliced more than 50 percent off the PostX sales cycle. "We've been able to get into accounts very quickly as well as find a variety of potential players in a position to buy the product through the service," he says. "It's been consistently helpful. It would be very difficult to go back to the old way."

2. Network more efficiently

The Products
LinkedIn, Ryze, BranchIt, CompanyClick

How They Work
The kids have MySpace and Facebook, and it's hard not to be envious. In a matter of hours online, they're building vast networks of connections--the kinds of networks that take businesspeople years of mixers and rubber-chicken dinners to create.

Unless you're selling something like video games or skateboarding gear, you're probably not going to have much luck marketing on MySpace. Fortunately, a number of social networking services geared toward small business have emerged. They promise to change the way we network forever. Palo Alto, California-based LinkedIn, for example, is often described as MySpace for businesspeople. You won't find videos, MP3s, or other flashy media on the site's bare-bones profile pages. What you will find are resumés, people's professional affiliations, special interests--and lots of them. LinkedIn has nearly eight million registered users from more than 100 countries spanning 130 separate industries, including thousands of top executives.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20061201/sales-into-science_pagen_2.html

Breaking the Rules of Sales

2007-02-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

Column by Jeff Thull

Exceptional sales professionals do the opposite of what most professionals do -- and often break the rules of traditional selling to achieve their success.

I have devoted 25 years to studying what top sales professionals and their leadership teams do to achieve exceptional levels of success, answering some key questions about what makes them so extraordinary at what they do. How do they develop such strong relationships, how do they build trust and convey the value of their products and services in a way that builds credibility and allows them to avoid last minute pressures on price?

One of the most interesting characteristics of exceptional sales professionals is that they often are doing the opposite of what most sales people are doing. The encouraging news is that while their behavior may be different than we expect, it's not super-human or destined for a select few. Furthermore, it's not rocket science and it can be learned.

Let's start with two examples of how exceptional sales pros break the rules of traditional selling and achieve success.

Exceptional sales professionals...

Protect their customer's self-esteem.
Many salespeople are unknowingly caught up in a conventional sales approach and inadvertently end up self-sabotaging their best efforts by trying to impress and persuade their customers and prospects. Have you ever heard yourself say to a customer, "You've probably never thought of this, but..." or "We save companies like yours millions of dollars in wasted..." Both of these statements could very well be true, but they also create what I call "dangling insults." They imply that the customer doesn't think and wastes millions of dollars. While you may believe you are enlightening your customers, the customer is more likely hearing a criticism. Trying to be impressive has a high probability of insulting your customer, can alienate them, and often can result in a no-win situation.

Exceptional sales professionals always protect their customer's self-esteem. They frequently begin sentences with what I refer to as "disclaimers." They will begin with something like, "You may have explored this and it may not be helpful, but I've noticed with other clients in your type of business..." or "One of the systems we have provided to other customers has reduced operating costs by 2 - 3%. I'm not sure how helpful it could be to your business, but in your case a 2% savings would amount to around $1.6 million dollars. Do you think it would make sense to explore it further to see what may be realistic in your situation?"

Don't present.
Exceptional sales professionals don't dominate the conversation by talking about themselves, their company or their solution. They focus on the customer and assure the conversation revolves around the customer's world. If you're using PowerPoint presentations for your introductory meetings, you could already be in trouble. Take another look at your presentation and its content. How many slides portray your company and your solution, and how many are about your customer and their business?

On a recent consulting project, we looked at a PowerPoint being used for an introductory 60-minute meeting. Forty slides were involved. Unfortunately, one slide was about the customer, 39 were about the seller. Contrast this with the company's top salesperson, who also uses PowerPoint. She prepares for her initial meetings with Web research and phone interviews with various people in the prospect's organization. Her calls are very straight forward: "I'm preparing for a meeting I will be having in two weeks with your senior management and would like to verify a couple of assumptions I am making about your business." As a result, her slide deck had 18 slides, three were about her company, and none were about her solution. Her slide decks facilitate conversations and a high percentage of her first meetings lead to lucrative orders.

In short, exceptional sales professionals do not think like salespeople; they think from their customers' perspective and look at the situation through a similar lens. They are not worried about making the sale or being impressive. They are focused on understanding their customer's view, their world, and the unique requirements their customer may have.

Using Diversified Selling Strategies

2007-02-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

"Start seeing your customers through their eyes instead of having a one-size-fits-all strategy," says Debbie Allen, international professional speaker, author and president of Allen and Associates Consulting. "People like to be treated differently."

How do you diversify your selling strategies? Allen provides some tips.

Develop a stronger customer focus. What are the buying influences of different genders or age groups? Before you speak with your next customer, do some research. Learn the buying triggers by reading their publications and watching their TV shows. Then listen and pay attention to them.
Develop a strong understanding of different genders. What's important to women versus men? "Women want to build trust and a relationship first," says Allen. "Trigger things that touch women's emotions. Make a connection. Take it slow and nurture the sale. Don't go for the close too soon." On the other hand, says Allen, men want to know that you're the expert. "Men want the details so talk about features," says Allen.

"Men are also very mission oriented."

Develop a strong understanding of different generations. "If you are communicating with different generations, you've got to know how they communicate," says Allen. "There's nothing wrong with asking them. For example, doing business with the senior market [born 1922 to 1943] means you need to relate more and not rush the sale. It's more a respect factor. Seniors like communicating in person or via phone calls. Writing personal notes also might work. Some of the senior market is becoming more techno-savvy, but they tend to stick with what has worked over the years. By the way, this generation can give you great testimonial letters.

"The baby boomers [born 1943 to 1960] are a huge, multitasking generation," says Allen. "They like convenience and time-saving ideas. Get to the point with them. They are also very self-aware; talk about them. A way to connect is to recognize and call them by name."

Generation X [born 1960 to 1980] is a smaller generation who grew up with technology. "Don't be high pressure or come on too strong with this group," says Allen. "This generation is much less trusting. Also, use the right amount of technology – not too much hype or flash in your presentations. They've seen it already and it won't impress them." This is a very visual group and it's okay to communicate with them via email.

The bottom line to communicating with diversity: Make changes, challenges and trends work within your ever-changing marketplace. Be aware that every single person is different. Embrace those differences and enjoy the process of connecting with different people.

Email Allen at Debbie@debbieallen.com or visit www.debbieallen.com for more information.

60 Seconds: Make a client list and figure out the generations and genders you are communicating with. Then adjust your style and presentations to fit their styles.
By Renee Houston Zemanski

How to Build Reengineering into Your Implementation Plans

2007-02-07T21:48:00.001-08:00

Strategic Software Sales (SSS) and Business Process Reenginering (BPR) often go hand in hand. While some types of software (like office automation) can be installed in virtually any corporate environment, truly strategic software, like CRM, ERP, or PLM always require significant organization change (i.e. BPR) before it can be truly effective. The reason is simple. Automating a clunky business process is pretty much like strapping a jet engine to a covered wagon.

Unfortunately, whenever a software sale crutches on the requirement to do BPR, there’s a good chance that the customer won’t buy, because nobody likes BPR. In the classic Reengineering the Corporation, authors Hammer and Champy estimate that “as many as 50 to 70 percent of the organizations that undertake a reengineering effort do not achieve the dramatic results they intended.” That’s an abysmal track record and (since it comes from the guys who literally “wrote the book”) it’s probably overstating the number of actual successes. In the real world of corporate executives, it’s widely understood that BPR is likely to become a major corporate headache rather than a truly transformative experience.

This presents the software sales rep with a challenge. On the one hand, you don’t want to scare your customer away by pointing out that a painful BPR effort will be required in order to use your software effectively. On the other hand, you don’t want to lie to the customer and pretend that everything will work without some form of BPR, when you know that if the customer doesn’t change, the project will eventually fail. Here’s how to deal with this situation:

1. Never directly refer to BPR or anything else that sounds like BPR. Treat the corporate change effort as if it’s simply part of the implementation plan – and something that’s as simple and straightforward as the rest of the installation process.

2. Create a grassroots constituency for the software project. According to numerous experts, BPR usually fails when it’s driven top down, because there’s a fear (often justifiable) that one’s job might be “reengineered” out of existence. To overcome this passive resistance, work with key customer influencers in the rank and file to create a desire to make the project successful.

3. Obtain top management commitment that echoes the grassroots movement. Rather than getting top management to try to force change down employees’ throats, try to get top management to act as a benevolent overseer, providing resources and encouragement to make the project successful.

4. Build and execute a comprehensive training plan. Changing business processes almost always involves massive retraining. The failure to adequately budget for this can scuttle long-term success of any strategic software project. For example, a CRM implementation based upon a consultative sales process, if installed in a company with a transactional sales process, will need a complete retraining of the sales force in consultative sales techniques in order to be effective. To ensure the success of your project, build a long-term training plan that gradually acclimatizes employees to both the new processes and the software layered atop them.

5. Create a communications infrastructure. BPR typically requires the participation of multiple departments to make the change successful. However, as the ripples proceed outward from the original source of the change, the sense of urgency declines, making it unlikely that the other organizations will make necessary changes. To counter this tendency, encourage the sharing of information and create a sense of shared purpose. For example, have the customer create a “team page” for each group involved in the BPR effort. Each team page consists of photos and biographies of individuals on the team, along with relevant project documents. These team pages help break organizational boundaries, getting groups to work together more effectively.

Ask Your Prospects for an I-Date

2007-02-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

You’ve just asked your prospect for the order and you got the most dreaded answer in sales: a big, fat “maybe.” There’s no worse answer for a sales rep because, unlike a “no,” which lets you know where you stand, a “maybe” freezes you in a state of limbo. To move that prospect out of maybe, try asking him for an I-Date, suggests William “Skip” Miller, author of Ultimate Sales Tool Kit (AMACOM, 2007) and president of M3 Learning, a sales and management development company. Miller isn’t suggesting a romantic encounter. Instead, he urges sales reps to focus on critical dates – not features and benefits –to bust through indecision. There are two parts to the approach:

1. The I-Date. When sales reps think about key dates, they tend to think about milestones in the sales process: presentation date, closing date, contract signing, and so on. But prospects couldn’t care less about these things. Prospects instead focus on when they’ll be able to start using your product, when it will be fully functional, and when it will start paying back on their investment.

Find out what date is most important to the prospect, says Miller. What’s happening in the organization that’s driving their need for your solution? When is that event happening? When does your product need to be up and running because of an impending change? That’s the I-Date, or Implementation Date. Say a prospect is in the process of acquiring another company and needs to fuse their different software programs so that the two companies mesh seamlessly and transparently to their customers. Don’t try to sell your fantastic technology merging capabilities, says Miller. Instead, focus on pinning down dates such as when the acquisition is scheduled to take place and when the prospect wants the software integration to roll out. Those are the I-Dates, he says, and you can use them to drive a sense of urgency and plan back to when a decision must be made in order to meet those milestones.

2. The Dragons. Dragons are what cause an I-Date to be firm. They are key events, commitments, promises, tasks, goals, and objectives tied to the I-Date. In the example above, the I-Date might be September 22, but the dragon is the acquisition. Or say you’re an ad agency. A prospect’s I-Date might be driven by the launch of a new product – aka, the dragon. “Something, anything that makes their calendar, has their attention,” says Miller. “Ask them about their dragons, not about your features and benefits. You have to get a complete description of the dragon to see what kind it is so you know if you can slay it.”

Miller tells the story of Karen, a business professional who was looking to buy a new laptop computer. Rather than try to sell her on features and benefits, the sales rep, Scott, pushed for an I-Date. “Why do you need this laptop?” he asked her. Karen said her other one was getting old and she wanted a newer, faster one. Scott pressed the date issue, saying, “Why now? What’s causing you to look today?” Karen said she was starting a new job next Friday and the projects she would be handling were large and required a computer with more memory than her current one. Scott asked if there was anything else that was driving her to look that day and Karen explained that she would be on a business trip all week and wouldn’t return until Thursday so it was her last day to look.

Armed with her I-Dates and dragons, Scott pointed out that if Karen bought the laptop today, she could take it on her trip, transfer her necessary files before Friday and put the learning curve behind her before starting her new job on Friday. It was the revelation she needed. Karen bought the laptop.

Next time you have a prospect mired in “maybe,” try shifting the focus of your pitch from product capabilities to important dates and events. It may be just what the prospect needs to jolt him or her into action.

For more information, visit www.m3learning.com.

Eight Basic Selling Steps

2007-02-07T21:45:00.001-08:00

Whether you sell face-to-face, by telephone, or in combination, there are eight basic steps in the process. By Helen Berman

1. Opening

2. Statement of benefits

3. Qualification and fact-finding

4. Agreement on needs

5. Presentation

6. Agreement

7. Commitment

8. Follow-through

Before the sales call, you will want to do your homework: review the account history, their market niche, sales and marketing goals, your current sales position and best initial strategy.

If you choose not to use each of the eight steps in a single sales call: you might break the stages of the sale into more than one call. For a new prospect, the opening and statement of opening benefits may be a part of your initial phone conversation to set up an appointment. Be sure when you need several sales calls, review covered material each time you call. Your prospect may not remember every salient point.

You should deviate from the basic rules when it serves you. If your prospect is ready to buy at the beginning of the call - CLOSE THE SALE. Many salespeople miss the buying signals or feel obligated to "give them a pitch." Missing your prospect's pitch is an easy way to strike out.

1. Opening:

While stating your name and purpose may sound simple enough, the first few seconds of the call are critical. First impressions do count. Present yourself as confident, professional and personable. You may not get a second chance. Most prospects decide in the first 15-30 seconds whether to give you any attention, move into resistance or give you the brush off.

2. Opening Statement of Benefits:

To gain your prospect's immediate attention, you must quickly answer his unspoken question, "What's in it for me?" Give your prospect an attention grabbing advantage you can offer his company. Write out several versions that work for you in different circumstances. Then practice your delivery.

Sell the prospect on actively engaging in the sales call or to consent to a personal interview. Your prospect wants to know at once the purpose of your call. If you beat around the bush, you lose credibility. Many salespeople err by mistaking the opening benefit statement for the presentation. Many salespeople begin by bombarding a prospect with a series of product features. They believe that if they speak fast enough, not daring even to take a breath, they might be able to make the sale immediately.

3. Qualification and Fact-finding:

By asking questions, you can quickly determine if the prospect is a qualified buyer. Rapport is most easily built during this stage of the sale. Make hefty deposits into the emotional bank which you may need to draw upon when answering objections. By asking strategic questions and uncovering his needs, you can prepare him emotionally and intellectually for the presentation.

The more your prospect begins to formulate and voice his own ideas that will support your presentation later, the more powerful a mark your presentation will make.

4. Agreement on Needs:

Once you and your prospect have discussed his needs, summarize the conversation by listing them. Get any further clarification and agreement about their priority. I find lists of three to be easiest to work with. Be sure the list you create together emphasizes needs your product can meet. You have created the cornerstone of the presentation.

Explain how your product can help meet specific needs. You have created a home base, a safe space. If you lose control of the sale, return to agreement on needs. It provides a transition, signaling your client that you are proceeding to the next stage of the sale.

5. Presentation:

Here's where effective salespeople play their "trump card". Based on understanding his needs, you save your most powerful point - the clincher - for now. This is your opportunity to tie your product's features and corresponding benefits to your prospect's specific needs. Make the cogs of the machine mesh. Reinforce whenever possible the relationship between your product and meeting the prospect's goals.

As you continue the presentation, refrain from a dog and pony monologue whenever possible. Keep your prospect involved or risk losing him.

6. Agreement:

Get the prospect's agreement that the product's features and benefits do meet his needs. He will often have concerns which you need to address. Continue the consultative relationship. Avoid the trap of becoming an adversary.

7. Commitment:

While there are many techniques of sales closing, the close should be a natural outcome of the first six steps. Unfortunately, some salespeople are afraid to ask for the order. As a wise man once said, "You don't ask, you don't get." Get your prospect to agree to specifics. If that isn't possible, get a commitment on something, even just another appointment.

8. Follow-through:

Establish the next action, clarify any procedures, and let the prospect know what to expect. Thank your client for his business and reassure him that he made a sound business investment. Buyer's remorse has resulted in many a cancelled contract. Do what you can to reinforce the sale and your on going relationship.

Ten ways to use LinkedIn

2007-02-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am a huge fan of LinkedIn as many of my colleagues can tell you. I found this post from another blogger that explains why LinkedIn is such a great tool. I have listed the top 5 reasons. Go to his blog to read the others. The original poster has the largest LinkedIn network known of.

The average number of LinkedIn connections for people who work at Google is forty-seven.
The average number for Harvard Business School grads is fifty-eight, so you could skip the MBA, work at Google, and probably get most of the connections you need. Later, you can hire Harvard MBAs to prepare your income taxes.
People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.
All 500 of the Fortune 500 are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are represented by director-level and above employees.
According to my inside sources, the person with the most pending LinkedIn invitations is...Guy Kawasaki. (Though I’m not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of this factoid.)
Most people use LinkedIn to “get to someone” in order to make a sale, form a partnership, or get a job. It works well for this because it is an online network of more than 8.5 million experienced professionals from around the world representing 130 industries. However, it is a tool that is under-utilized, so I’ve compiled a top-ten list of ways to increase the value of LinkedIn.

Increase your visibility.
By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.

Improve your connectability.
Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.

You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.

Improve your Google PageRank.
LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you.

To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature

Enhance your search engine results.
In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc.

If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”

Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
LinkedIn’s reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data.

Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager’s references? Most interviewees don’t have the audacity to ask a potential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out.

You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you’re interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck “Current titles only.” By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential.

By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we’re apt to see more truthful resumes. There’s nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.
Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn

The Right Voice-Mail Message Will Get You Through

2007-02-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

Today, nobody seems to be around to answer their phones. You spend time cold calling, and all you get are voice-mail messages. You know people don't bother calling back if they think it's a sales call.

Because I kept running into this situation, I decided I had to leave a voice-mail message that would encourage prospects to call back. I found the best results came when I called people who are members of identifiable groups like the Chamber of Commerce. I could reference the group and gain some legitimacy for my call. My message goes something like this:

"I was looking at the Chamber membership list and saw your company's listing, and I was wondering exactly what your company does. Please give me a call back."

Most prospects can't resist this opportunity to talk about their favorite thing--their company--so they call me back. Now I've made contact, and my next task is to build rapport. I ask several questions about their company,what they do and how they do it. I never start talking about my company's products and services unless they ask. I keep the focus on the prospects. By the end of the conversation, one of three things has happened:

I've established enough rapport so I can call these prospects back and be reasonably certain they will take my call.
The prospects express interest in my products and services, and I may be able to sell them something right away.
The prospects give me a referral.

From: SalesDoctors Magazine | January 1999