Selling Power Blog

How to Become Your Best Self in 2020

Following the herd is easy. But, as any successful sales leader knows, it takes commitment, perseverance, and discipline to blaze a trail that reflects your authentic self. 

Why Your Mindset Matters

For several years now, I’ve championed the power of investing in developing a better, stronger, more resilient mindset. 

Your mindset is like the operating system of a computer. It needs to be upgraded periodically in order to function at full capacity.

Neuroscience tells us that the prefrontal cortex is where your “inner CEO” is located. It is your inner CEO that’s in control of your mindset operating system.

Let’s say you studied the brain scan of an average salesperson or sales leader while they were interacting with customers. You’d see certain regions of the brain are not fully activated during those meetings and calls. Their minds often run in “automatic” mode. Automatic mode means limited awareness and lack of focus. 

How the Unconscious Mind Holds You Back

People with unexamined, undeveloped mindsets are very likely operating in an unconscious mode most of the time. They’re probably unaware that: 

• They experience 60,000 thoughts a day – and 80 percent of those thoughts are negative.
• Their negative self-commentary at work inhibits their capacity to handle difficult situations. 
• They don’t write down their goals and they never bother to explore their “why?”
• They simply don’t know that the bigger the “why,” the bigger the “try.”
• They don’t see the connection between their poor diet and lack of exercise and their low energy levels.

They could achieve much better results by working on and improving their mindset. However, many of us are so caught up in the daily routine – and tethered to our habits – that we forget we’re human beings, not human doings. We ignore our mental states. 

Meanwhile, sales leaders and salespeople with a positive mindset sell 38 percent more and live, on average, 7.5 years longer.

Tap into Your Peak Performance Mindset 

This is why I launched my new series of Peak Performance Mindset retreats. I wanted to provide sales leaders with an experience that would help them break through their inner barriers, stop ruminating about their negative past, and clear a path to achieve their dreams.

Average performers seek comfort. Top-performing leaders seek solutions.

It’s not easy to learn how to become more aware and increase your focus. That’s why every Peak Performance Mindset retreat begins with a focus on mindfulness. 

Mindfulness is a wonderful place to start, because even a small exercise can easily help you see how much less productive you become when you attempt to multitask. Leaders at our mindset retreat are always amazed by mindfulness expert Alexis Pokorny’s presentation, because she helps them see the habits they’ve developed that aren’t serving them.

If you’re curious to find out what a Peak Performance Mindset Retreat can do for you, contact me at [email protected]. Based on my experience, most people use only a small fraction of their abilities in their jobs or their personal lives. We are all capable of achieving big breakthroughs when we learn how to harness the power of our mindset. 

Visit http://mindsetscience.com/retreat/ to find out more information about the next Peak Performance Mindset retreat in 2020, or contact me on LinkedIn. 

How to Recruit and Keep Great Sales Partnerships

Today’s post is by Daniel Graff-Radford, CEO of Allbound, Inc. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

Gone are the days of solely picking up the phone or shaking hands on a trade show floor to attract and cultivate a relationship with channel partners. The sales partnership ecosystem has changed and we’re now dealing with two key realities:

1. Everything is online 
2. Your partners’ expectations are justifiably high

We live in a world where so many things work as we expect them to – on demand, without friction, and with clear added value. Your sales partnership ecosystem wants this, too. Here are some ideas to help you recruit and keep great sales partnerships.

1. Define your ideal sales partner profile.

You’ve probably defined the buying process for your own company’s products and services. But what does the buying process look like when a sales partner is involved? Build your partner journey and partner profile to coincide with how your product is purchased, and not on how you want it to be sold.

Some questions you should be asking yourself include:  

• Are there companies that have close relationships with my buyers? 
• Would my buyers want to buy from them or be influenced by them? 
• Are there companies that have contracts in place with my buyers that they would prefer to leverage directly with me? 
• Who are the influencers that affect buying decisions?
• How do we bring them into the tent in a way the buyers would respect and the influencers would find mutually beneficial?

2. Align potential sales partnership experiences with the buyers’ decision making process.

To attain better outcomes with partner selling, you can leverage a variety of tools, including events, marketing materials, interactions, and more. Helping those partners learn what works with your products for other successful partners is only half the battle. Most successful partner programs actively help facilitate these interactions by making sure the sales partnership has the tools to align their sales process to the buying process. This will not only show your partner your commitment but will also give you needed visibility into their process.

3. Strategically engage with customers and partners.

Be interesting to your customers and partners by being interested in your customers and partners. Your customers and sales partners are hanging out online in places you want to be. You may be asking yourself how to create content that provides actionable insights pertaining directly to potential partners’ priorities. Connect with online influencers in the space you want to be. Be genuine and honest in your responses; try to “make a friend” and share insights that will be helpful to them and the community.

4. Tools are not to manage sales partnerships; tools are to enhance them.

If you want your sales partners to sell more of your products, faster, your partner portal should enhance their journey by 

• Making communication with you clear and open 
• Offering ways to learn independently about your products and efficiently seek answers when needed most
• Engage for marketing development funds and co-brand materials 

These tools, in turn, will also allow you to learn about your partners. The key I am trying to impart is this: Don’t stop at offering information. Engage with sales partners and ask them why they are succeeding (or not) using whatever tools you have built for them.

Each year, sales partners analyze and remove vendors and companies – and also remove their channel partners. Using the data about what has worked for one partner will help you engage with other partners you think can succeed and help inform your ideal partner profile to add more partners, as well.

Everyone gets better and smarter as they do their job. After you roll out your partner program by building it into your buyer journey, you will learn a lot. After watching the digital body language of your partners engaging with your training and marketing materials (combined with the sales results) you should be ready to move to another version. Stagnation early will lead to poor results. Your partners will appreciate you going back to them and learning from their learnings and engaging your mutual customers in the process. 

How to Integrate Lifetime Learning into Your Schedule

Today’s post is by Troy Korsgaden, president of Korsgaden International in Visalia, CA. He is an international insurance carrier consultant, industry main-platform speaker, representative trainer, and agency consultant, as well as the author of six books. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

To be successful in the future, you must be willing to adapt quickly. The way companies are doing business is rapidly changing. It’s no longer “business as usual.” We not only need to navigate the tsunami of change for our own businesses; we also must lead our clients through the same tsunami.

This means staying informed and up to date on changes within the companies we do business with and those companies that directly affect your industry. If lifetime learning wasn’t one of your core values before, it needs to be now.

Current and potential customers are barraged with an overwhelming amount of information with just a click of their search buttons. Becoming an expert in your field will allow you to help them disseminate the information overload and gain their confidence as a trusted advisor.

Lifelong learning has never been more important than it is today. Shooting from the hip or “winging it” is no longer an option. You will be hard pressed to find any client who hasn’t done some preliminary research on our industry offerings. Your job is to remove the clutter and explain your value in a language they will understand. This will alleviate frustrations or concerns and enable your clients to make informed decisions for their families’ and/or businesses’ personalized needs.

Intentional and purposeful learning must become a permanent component of your business plan. It should become as habitual as unlocking the front door of your office and flipping on the computer. Customers are demanding more astute and informed advisors in all professional industries.

Our authority based on industry knowledge must convey the value of personalized service over the perceived faster and cheaper online options. Daily lifelong learning is necessary to keep us relevant as advisors so we can offer our customers the powerful combination of our own knowledge and that of our expertise partners.

Below are my five simple ways to integrate lifetime learning into any busy schedule.

1. Make an appointment with yourself. Block out one hour each day to devote to learning. This can be any time of the day – before, during, or after work. Keep the mindset that this appointment is set in stone. Do not allow yourself or your staff to schedule anything on top of it, reschedule it, or remove it. This appointment is just as important as meeting with a client.
2. Take advantage of company- and industry-sponsored webinars and video calls. There is no shortage of these in our industry, and they are great ways to get quick information on relevant subjects, as well as input from peers. One caveat: Not all information is good information. If you find that the subject matter doesn’t apply or appeal to you, simply disconnect and move on.
3. Multitask. I like to download audio books or YouTube videos and listen to them while I exercise. Take the time to load your device with impactful videos, audio files, or digital books. Next time you find yourself eating at your desk, waiting in line at the bank, or sitting in traffic, turn on one of the choices from your library. These quick injections of learning add up over the week and month.
4. Go outside your comfort zone. Although it is very important to stay informed and educated within the boundaries of your industry, it is equally important to expand those boundaries. Explore ideas from other industries. How can you manipulate and apply them to your own business? Read or listen to philosophy, satire, biographies, history, or anthropology. The human “struggle” has not changed over the past 2,000 years. You will find that, no matter how old (or new) the content is, some part of it will resonate with you.
5. Embrace digital minimalism. Be open to disconnecting. Part of lifelong learning is also learning about ourselves on a higher plane. Shut out the noise for a set time frame each day. Reflect and rebalance yourself. What could you have said or done differently during today’s sales meeting? How can you improve your communication skills or leadership skills? How can you apply current industry changes to your business? Find solace in the quiet and stillness of time with yourself.

Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed. There is no need to order the past 12 months of every insurance and financial services periodical published or go into debt filling up your Amazon cart.

Today is day one. Start small. Ease into it. Pick one or two subjects that interest you the most that you want to learn more about. Focus on that until you feel you know all there is to know.

There is a reason the term “building blocks of learning” exists. Think of learning as a giant brick wall that has not yet begun to be constructed. One brick does not a wall make. But, over time, those bricks start to add up – and the wall becomes tall and impenetrable.

A small change in your schedule, along with purposeful dedication, will have a huge impact on your business and on your relationships with your clients.

How to Close Business in a Complex World: Bring It in for a Landing

Today’s guest post is by Lance Tyson, president and CEO of Tyson Group. Lance is a recognized speaker and trainer who draws on more than two decades of sales experience training sales talent for some of the biggest names in professional sports and entertainment, including the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins, Fenway Sports Management (Boston Red Sox), Tampa Bay Lightning, San Francisco 49ers, and the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Lance is the author of the best-selling book, Selling Is an Away Game: Close Business and Compete in a Complex World. 

 

For sales professionals, there is perhaps no single word more enshrouded in mystery than “closing.” If you check out the descriptions for sales jobs, you’ll find that companies are always looking to hire closers. There’s a kind of mythology built around closing that implies a rarefied skill possessed by only a few elite salespeople. 

But, in reality, closers are like pixies or leprechauns – they don’t exist. That’s because there’s no special skill required to close business.

To Close More Sales, Prepare to Lose Sales 

A few weeks ago, I was conducting sales training for a major NBA team. At the break, one of the sales reps approached me and asked for some advice on how to become a better closer. I asked him to clarify what he meant by that, and he said, “I want to close more sales.” 

My response back to him was: “Are you also ready to lose more sales?” He gave me a look of pure confusion. So, we walked over to the door of the training room, which was standing wide open. I said, “See this door?” He nodded. I slammed the door shut as hard as I could. “Now it’s closed.”

My point was not to act like a jerk or make the sales rep feel small – I was simply trying to illustrate that the act of closing business means bringing the deal to its final conclusion. As long as that door stands open, the deal is still a possibility. 

As human beings, we tend to accept extenuating maybes because they allow us to keep the door open indefinitely. But clinging to “maybe” actually prevents us from closing the deal.

The Toughest Question in Selling

If you want to close a deal, you have to be willing to ask the toughest question in sales – “Are you in or out?” And, before you do that, you have to accept the fact that you might not like the answer. Because sometimes this question serves as a catalyst to help us close business. In other cases, it means walking away so we can find another, more suitable prospect.

That’s why I believe there’s no specialized skill to closing. You simply have to decide whether you are ready and willing to shut the door. 

Is the timing right to close? To find out, ask yourself these four questions. 

1. Have you successfully established a rapport with the buyer? 
2. Have you done your homework in evaluating and diagnosing the problem? 
3. Have you offered a carefully considered prescription? 
4. Have you had a frank dialogue about objections? 

If your answers to these questions are “yes,” then the timing is probably right to close. 

Successful sales reps need to be confident – or at least act confident. Don’t be willing to live in a world of perpetual maybes. It’s okay to let the cake sit on the table and cool down a bit, but at least be ready and willing to ask buyers if they want a slice.

A Few Strategies for Closing

I travel about 50 times per year, and I still marvel at the fact that a 60-ton piece of steel tubing can thrust itself through the air at a speed of hundreds of miles per hour and manage to stay up. By contrast, landing makes sense to me. After all, we have gravity in our favor – inevitably, the plane will come down. 

Closing business is like landing a plane – at its core, it’s simply the act of bringing the deal to its natural conclusion.

That said, there are a few strategies for closing, and it helps (before you hit the runway) to choose which one you want to work with:

1. The Direct Close. I always prefer this approach, which can be summed up in the words of Nike: “Just do it.” In this variant, you just ask the question directly, “What are your thoughts on this – do you want to do it?” At the very worst, the answer may mean walking away from the deal. But, if you’ve taken the other previous steps in the sales process, chances are that it will move you more quickly toward a positive resolution and closure.
   
   
2. The Alternate Choice Close. In cases where the direct close seems too presumptuous or risky, you might opt for the Alternate Choice Close, where you offer a couple of options, e.g., “Do you want to go with the three-year contract or the seven-year contract?”
   
   
3. The Minor Point Close. If you encounter a situation where the buyer’s position is opaque and they claim to still be thinking about it, you could try the Minor Point Close. Ask how the buyer feels about a particular section of the contract (or some other minor point) to gauge interest and move the dialogue forward.
   
   
4. The Next Step Close. When we are setting up a sales training at a hotel, often the sales rep will actually show us a room and ask us, “What are your thoughts on this?” They are literally helping us see beyond the close to the next step, which can be quite effective.
   
   
5. The Opportunity Close. Often, organizations will pressure buyers by giving them a limited time frame – telling them that, if they act now, they will get a discount. Infomercials and timeshares are notorious for this type of close. Be careful with this one, however, because it’s the most manipulative kind of close, and it can backfire. But sometimes it works like a charm.
   
   
6. The Balancing Close. In this approach, the sales rep helps buyers weigh the pros and cons in order to make an informed decision. There’s something to be said for taking the higher ground and helping someone go back through their consideration process to make sure they will be happy with the outcome. It helps build trust and can produce great results.

Remember: Closing is based on the momentum you have already established during the course of the flight. How quickly and smoothly you bring the deal in for a landing is just a matter of how well you direct it toward the runway.

To learn more about how to gain a competitive edge through the six-step selling process, contact Tyson Group at https://tysongroup.com/contact/.

What Does It Take to Be a Successful Salesperson?

Today’s post is by Austin Ries, a content marketing manager for Zoho CRM. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

Do you assume introverts suck at selling? Do you think salespeople always win by being highly competitive and aggressive? Does a lack of sales experience doom a potential career in sales?

The Truth about Sales Stereotypes

Almost everyone has assumptions and stereotypes about what it takes to succeed in sales. But, if you want to crack the code of sales success, don’t think about what or who you need to be – think about what customers want.

The bottom line is, customers don’t want to buy from people they don’t trust – and they don’t trust people who aren’t genuine. They don’t want to sit through closing spiels that are unrelenting and unnerving. They want a connection.

With this in mind, I talked with a few sales leaders to get their take on three common assumptions about what it takes to succeed in sales. Here’s what they had to say.  

Assumption #1: Salespeople need to be extroverts.

“A lot of people think you have to be outgoing and likable, but some of the most effective salespeople are nonchalant, very casual, and people you wouldn’t necessarily think of as being in sales,” said Kia McGuire, director of sales and marketing at OralWise Inc.

The true definition of an introvert is often misconstrued and mischaracterized. It doesn’t mean an individual is shy or hates interacting with people. Introverts prefer alone time to recharge after their energy is depleted by a long day of interacting with and being around others.

Where you land on the introvert-extrovert continuum is also misunderstood. Most people aren’t one or the other, but somewhere in between. And, while salespeople do need above-average communication skills to interact with people effectively, that doesn’t mean all sales job postings come with “introverts need not apply” clauses.

In fact, not being an extrovert salesperson has several advantages. Introvert salespeople spend more time listening and asking questions during sales interactions – two essential skills when ascertaining potential customers’ needs.

Introverts also communicate best in one-on-one situations, take time to reflect before speaking or answering questions, and enjoy forming deeper relationships with customers. All of which makes for a great salesperson people want to buy from.

Assumption #2: Salespeople need to “always be closing.”

Alec Baldwin’s iconic “always be closing” speech in Glengarry Glen Ross makes for some pitch-perfect Hollywood drama doesn’t evoke sales dogma any more than Grey’s Anatomy is the truth about working in a hospital. More than ever, consumers have access to an abundance of information about any product or service. They do their research, read about the competition, and know the best price before ever talking to a salesperson on the phone or in person.

“[At least in my industry] the hardcore ‘always be closing’ mentality doesn’t work,” said Lisa Blizzard, ecommerce sales manager at Continental Mills. “It’s more low-key, sharing information; less about the relentless pressuring and more about building relationships and selling based on answering questions.”

This is excellent news for consumers, but especially for those just getting into sales who aren’t comfortable with pressuring people or haven’t honed opening and closing lines. The modern salesperson identifies needs by asking thoughtful questions, listening attentively, and showing genuine interest in helping people – not by using canned lines or responses.

In many cases, customers avoid high-energy and assertive salespeople and prefer to talk with more relaxed and more thoughtful salespeople – especially if they have a lot of questions after spending a number of hours educating themselves on the space or product.

If you take care of those things, closing deals will take care of itself.

Assumption #3: Salespeople can’t win without prior sales experience.

There are plenty of career fields where experience is not only helpful, but also required. Sales isn’t one of those. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in sales for three years or three weeks. If you have the desire to work hard, do the right things, and be persistent, you can flourish.

“[Experience] helps but it’s overrated,” said David Oman, sales director at Twist-Ease Inc. “Anyone can be successful in sales as long as you learn about the product, learn to listen twice as much as you talk, and have a desire to be successful.”

In many instances, years of experience can lead to cynicism. Sales is a daily grind and requires a relentless pursuit of increasing your product knowledge, building relationships, and following up with every lead you have. And none of that has to do with being someone you’re not.

So, for those launching their careers in sales – or even those who have been at it for years – think about how you would like to be spoken to or treated as a potential buyer. Then, imitate it.

Yes, You Can Be Successful in Sales

To have a successful sales career, you don’t necessarily have to be extroverted, aggressively focused on closing deals, or highly experienced. You just have to be the kind of person customers want to buy from, and you have to use the right tools.

With Zoho CRM, salespeople can customize their sales process to fit their needs, automate routine sales activities, and track every sales interaction so they can focus more on the customer throughout the relationship.

Why All Effective Sales Leaders Have High EQ

Today’s post is by Jeff Seeley, CEO of sales and leadership training company Carew International, as well as a frequent keynote speaker, columnist, and blogger. Find him online or connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

Success as a sales leader begins and ends with the quality of our relationships.

Those with an ear to the ground have likely noticed increased attention recently to the “soft skills” required to win in “high-value” interfaces with customers. These days, the pressure is on to optimize the customer experience and expand the customer life cycle.

Five Trends That Impact Sales Teams

I read with great interest Gerhard Gschwandtner’s recent eBook, 5 Trends That Will Impact Your Sales Team in 2019. The five trends included AI/CRM, value, customer experience, sales training, and conversational intelligence. Gschwandtner was spot on in identifying these key areas – four out of five of which center on the quality of customer relationships and the degree to which sales professionals can connect with customers to cultivate trust, credibility, and rapport. And, for the most part, current thinking on sales skill development aligns with these trends.

Yet, as I survey the landscape relative to sales leadership development, I worry about the lack of attention on soft skills and relationship building, and that we are overly focused on AI and CRM for leadership effectiveness. How can we recognize the critical role of relationship building and communications skills for our sales teams and so egregiously ignore these same skills when it comes to sales leaders?

In business, we continue to focus our assessment of professional worth in terms of knowledge, experience, intelligence, and education. Sales professionals are typically promoted to leadership roles because of what they know, how long they’ve worked, or how well they’ve sold rather than their EQ (emotional intelligence) or skill in managing others.

This dynamic drives a misconception among sales leaders: that they should have all the answers. This means they tend to spend most of their time talking and telling rather than listening and understanding.

Add to that our preoccupation with hitting our sales numbers and improving sales cycle efficiencies, and it’s no wonder sales leaders are missing a key link in their quest to cultivate optimal performance among sales team members.

What Is EQ?

What, exactly, is emotional intelligence? In their book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, authors Bradberry and Greaves define emotional intelligence as “your ability to recognize and understand emotion in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.”

High EQ fosters leaders who are approachable, relatable, human – and trustworthy. The significant impact of EQ is widely recognized and documented: Research has shown that people with the highest levels of intelligence (IQ) outperform those with average IQs just 20 percent of the time, while 90 percent of top performers have high emotional intelligence (EQ). Bradberry and Greaves say EQ skills are more important to job performance than any other leadership skill.

We often wonder why successful sales professionals don’t succeed in leadership roles. Perhaps it’s because they set aside EQ-driven relationship-building behaviors that served them well in sales, and instead favor the managing, talking, and telling behaviors they perceive as leadership behavior.

EQ Practices to Help Sales Leaders

What if sales leaders fully leveraged their existing EQ and sales development practices as the foundation for their leadership development? This might include the following practices.

• Explore and then listen to understand and identify needs and motivations
• Be open, interested, and curious rather than judgmental
• Consider each sales team member’s perspective instead of your own
• Focus first on building trust – helping and adding value – before making demands
• Make emotional investments in your sales and sales support teams

With these fundamental practices in place, sales leaders would be able to fully leverage strong, trusting relationships with sales team members. They would be able to apply their EQ while honing and deploying specific leadership functions such as providing prescriptive and actionable feedback, assessing performance, managing conflict, solving problems, and motivating each team member to maximum performance.

I don’t mean to suggest that AI and CRM are not powerful tools for sales management; they absolutely are – particularly as a means to identify trends and problem areas and to drive efficiencies in the sales process. But these tools cannot cultivate the human-to-human relationships that foster trust, credibility, respect, collaboration, motivation, problem solving, coaching, and performance counseling.

As leaders, our communication is ineffective if people don’t connect with it – and us – on an emotional level and view us as resources and partners in their success.

What about the role of EQ in developing and retaining top sales talent?  Maya Angelou famously said, “People will forget what you said and did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” People don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.

Establish Trust, Credibility, and Rapport

Sales leaders who fail to connect with team members for meaningful conversations will have sales team members who feel isolated, unappreciated, and insecure. It’s a dynamic that drives sales rep turnover and undermines sales performance. Conversely, the leader who is able to engage and model relationship-building skills will reduce turnover and cultivate sales team members who are better prepared to build trust, credibility, and rapport with their own customers.

How to Create a Sales Culture That Keeps Improving

Today’s post is by Duane Sparks, chairman and founder of The Sales Board. He is the author of Action Selling, Customer Relationship Professional, and Action Selling Leadership. Contact him at [email protected].

 

The primary role of all sales leaders is to deliver profitable revenue to the company. To be a great sales leader, therefore, you must focus on how that can best be done. If you want your sales team to function as a well-oiled machine for producing revenue and great margins, you need to do a great job of creating an environment for success.

In other words, you need to create a great sales culture. To do that, you have to put the people and processes in place to produce enough revenue and profit margin to achieve the goals set in front of you. The key word there is “processes.”

A process is a set of linked actions that are taken to create a desired outcome. When it comes to the sales leadership process, our desired outcome is profitable revenue. Just like Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Kaizen, or any other continuous-improvement methodology, sales management needs to be a process...a set of linked actions designed to function within an overall sales improvement system.

Here’s a great example of a complete sales leadership process:

The nine “Acts” are linked actions – sub-processes, if you will – that support the three primary roles of a sales leader (plan, organize, and coach). Put them all together, and you have a great sales-management process – one that lets you create a sales culture that just keeps getting better and better.

At this point, let me just offer a few observations about the critical importance of processes to effective leadership – and to sales leaders, in particular.

• Every outcome is the result of a process.
• The most successful leaders manage processes, not people. Good processes allow you to better manage the people who work for you.
• Documented processes are necessary for achieving high-quality results. If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t understand what you are doing.
• Only a process can give you continuous improvement.
• The best people can be brought down by a bad process. Fix the process, and good people will succeed in their work.
• The greatest sales gains occur when every employee who has contact with customers is able to follow the same sales communication process. That’s when a great sales culture emerges.

Not all processes are critical. The most important are those that are executed often, have a direct link to individual sales performance, and underlie business growth. If sales leaders are going to be great at the key roles of planning, organizing, and coaching, they’ll need to deploy processes like those described in “The 9 Acts of Leadership.” These are the most critical processes to the long-term success of every sales leader:

1. Goal setting process
2. Sales cycle process
3. Hiring process
4. Process for measuring results
5. Sales call process
6. Sales coaching process

Because these processes are performed repeatedly, small improvements in them can add up to huge benefits. Take your sales cycle process, for example. A tweak in how well salespeople orchestrate their sales activities can get you significantly more sales, a sizable acceleration in sales cycle velocity, and an improvement in gross margins. Fine-tuning your sales cycle process can produce big gains as small improvements are consistently applied.

Just like an effective TQM methodology, the best sales cultures have common processes that are reliably deployed. When these processes are consistently completed, sales goals are achieved, an unbeatable sales culture is developed, and your sales team runs like a well-oiled machine.

Which Is the Best Lever to Pull for Sales Performance Improvement?

Today’s post is by Jeff Seeley, CEO of sales and leadership training company Carew International, as well as a frequent keynote speaker, columnist, and blogger. Find him online or connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

Sales leaders are always searching for the fastest, surest route to improved sales performance.

Many ponder the role of digital sales automation and enablement tools in their quest for sales growth. Do sales enablement tools represent the solution to our sales pain, or are they a distraction from other high-impact factors?

The answer will be different for each organization – and largely depends on where the greatest gaps in your organization’s sales process exist. A thorough examination of your current sales capabilities and pain points is essential to select the best route for sales performance improvement across your sales team.

The Link between Sales Performance and Sales Process

First, consider the weakest links in your sales operation and organization. Do you see flaws, bottlenecks, or limitations in the operations process itself? Or are you seeing a low percentage of “wins,” suggesting selling skills may be the issue? Insight on this initial consideration will help you set priorities.

Sales enablement and automation tools – like CRMs, market intelligence, and prospecting tools – really focus on the efficiency of your process, saving sales professionals’ time for “high-value” customer interactions and expanding each sales professional’s capacity for all sales activities. These tools can also be very effective in identifying problem areas and weak spots, like logistical problems related to shipping, billing, or reporting.

On the other hand, skill development addresses the effectiveness of your sales team during customer interface – building customer relationships, diagnosing customer needs, and delivering winning sales presentations.

What Does Your Sales Team Need to Win More?

Do your salespeople need more opportunities to sell – or better skills and a higher close rate when they do get opportunities? In conversations with sales leaders, I often approach this consideration with the following baseball analogy: Which is most needed by your sales team – more “at bats” (opportunities) or a better hit (close) rate with the opportunities that cross the plate? A severe weakness in either realm will significantly hamper sales growth efforts. If a batter can’t hit the ball (or close a sale), it doesn’t really matter how many at bats (or leads/opportunities) he or she gets. Likewise, the best batter in the world won’t score any runs (or close any sales) if they don’t get chances at the plate.

Both baseball and sales require specific skills for success. Whereas, on the baseball diamond, field skills and batting average define the player, in sales, professionals need core communication skills and processes to build relationships, diagnose customer needs, cultivate trust and credibility, and maximize influence with customers. But, in both cases, enablement tools can create an environment for success – that point leading up to and surrounding application of skills and knowledge.

Coaches observe every pitch/at bat for strengths and weaknesses, things a player can improve upon, or things they did well. Sales managers use the ride-along approach in much the same manner – to observe strengths and weaknesses. Baseball managers also watch the data very intently for trends and patterns, as should sales leaders. Sales enablement tools, much like Sabermetrics in baseball, can show rep trends across myriad metrics related to stages in the sales cycle, buyer types, purchase habits, etc. This insight can indicate if skill development is needed to further define which skills are the priority.  

Prioritize Your Greatest Sales Performance Needs

Sales and baseball are both endeavors that rely on key insights as well as exceptional skills for winning sales performance. In a perfect world, sales leaders and sales professionals alike would love more opportunities and a higher close rate, but limited time and resources typically force us to prioritize and focus on our greatest need – be it improved selling skills or sales operations.

Sales enablement tools can identify trends and gaps, increase the efficiency of your overall sales and delivery operations, and potentially improve customer satisfaction as a result. Sales skill development is deployed to improve the win rate with the sales opportunities presented to your team, improve customer relationships, and extend the customer life cycle.

How to Think on Your Feet When You Talk to Prospects

Today's post is by Nick Kane, managing partner at Janek Performance Group. He has trained more than 15,000 sales professionals worldwide and is passionate about helping sales professional improve their selling careers – as well as their lives. He is co-author of Critical Selling: How Top Performers Accelerate the Sales Process and Close More Deals.

 

The conversation with your prospect is going well. You think you have a good chance at eventually closing; then, he asks a question you never anticipated. Thrown, you stand there with your mouth open. A few weeks later, the prospect signs with a competitor. You know you lost when you got stumped by the curveball question.

Every sales rep has struggled to answer a curveball question from prospects at least once. The question (no irony intended) then becomes: How can we develop our ability to think on our feet during conversations with prospects?

Here are three approaches to try the next time a prospect asks a question and you don’t know how to answer it. Practice them often enough and you’ll develop the ability to respond effectively and quickly to questions that surprise you.

Tip #1: Clarify a curveball question with questions of your own.

Instead of scrambling to answer a question that catches you off guard, consider asking the prospect a follow-up question in return.

Some questions surprise you because they’re confusing, or their relevance to the conversation isn’t immediately clear. Sometimes a question that seems to come out of the blue is a mask for a hidden need or an objection, but the prospect can’t find the right words or is perhaps unaware of his or her their real concern.

Asking follow-up questions can establish clarity, draw out the real issue, and provide a base for answering the question in a way that clearly addresses concerns or issues and moves the conversation forward.

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.

Whether it’s a fib, a not-wholly-accurate statement, or a conscious and deliberate deception, one of the fastest ways to lose a buyer’s trust (and the sale) is to lie. Obviously, the overwhelming majority of sales reps wouldn’t ever deliberately lie to prospects or customers, but, in the moment, it can be tempting to fudge or hedge your answer so as not to appear incompetent.

The reality is, being honest is part of thinking on your feet. Saying something like, “I’m not 100 percent certain, but will find out after we finish and get back to you with an accurate answer” will go much further in establishing your credibility than trying to give a partially correct answer – especially if lack of complete disclosure causes problems for the client down the line. In this scenario, following up on your promise to track down the right desired information is critical as well.

Tip #3: Keep cool.

It can be nerve-wracking to face a difficult or unexpected question, but stay calm and collected. Remind yourself customers ask questions that, no matter how seemingly unrelated or unimportant, speak (overtly or subtly) to their concerns.  As a trusted advisor, your job is to uncover and address those issues – even if that sometimes requires an extended dialogue.

Remember: The buyer asking questions, even odd ones, is a sign they’re still interested in what you have to say and is listening. Otherwise, the prospect wouldn’t be taking the time to continue the discussion.

Although curveball questions can be stressful, they should, like most objections, be welcomed as opportunities. Thinking quickly and staying confident will allow you to address the buyer’s concerns, strengthen the relationship, and improve the probability of a future sale.

For more helpful advice on how to advance your sales skills, visit Janek’s resource library and sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Six Predictions on What 2019 Has in Store for Sales

Today’s post is by Mark Magnacca, president and co-founder of Allego.

 

 

As we come back to work in the new year – refreshed and ready to hit the ground running – it is once again time for both reflection and planning for the year ahead.

There’s no doubt the business of selling has seen rapid change in recent years, as game-changing technologies and increasing competition have transformed how sales reps develop and deliver compelling presentations, where and when sales training takes place, and even the way reps interact with one another to share information and insights.

As sales teams across the country ring in 2019 at their national sales kickoffs, here are a few predictions we think will become more noticeable in the year ahead.

#1: Collaboration between Sales and Other Organizational Functions

Alignment between sales and marketing has always been top of mind, but 2019 will see increased focus on the alignment of sales with all business functions.

Sales reps on the front lines of customer engagement and intelligence gathering take the pulse of market pressures, customer needs, and prospect demands. With competitive pressures continuously increasing, HR, R&D, legal, and others will begin to see the value in aligning more closely with the real-time feedback and insights from sales.

#2: Team Selling Accelerates

It takes a village to train and enable a sales force in today’s competitive markets – particularly in highly complex or regulated segments such as life sciences and financial services.

Sales teams today need increased knowledge and integration. Salespeople must be willing to share valuable peer-to-peer insights, instruction, and learning with each other.

This team-based approach is critical because sales reps who share knowledge, intelligence, and experience can outperform the individual rep and create significantly greater organizational value. In 2018 we saw teams adopt team selling models and peer-to-peer learning – and adoption will accelerate in 2019.

#3: Sales Compensation Plans Incorporate Team Contributions

For decades, sales teams exalted the star sales rep as a “lone wolf,” but those days are behind us.

However, as cited in prediction #2, market pressures such as increasingly sophisticated products and services, along with more educated buyers, are aligning to make team selling a market necessity.

To help instill this team-centric culture, organizations will begin revising compensation models to value team achievements. Modern technologies can help managers build an internal sales community where reps are encouraged to continuously share insights gained from the field, provide peer-to-peer coaching, and seek knowledge from the wealth of information and experiences their team has attained.

#4: Socially-responsible Purchasing

Socially-conscious buying has been important in consumer purchasing habits for years (think Patagonia). As millennials continue to make up a larger segment of the workforce, we’ll begin to see socially-conscious purchasing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) play a bigger role – not only in B2C, but increasingly in B2B purchase decisions as well.

Therefore, in the coming year, sales reps will need to learn how to carefully position their company as socially responsible during SaaS/B2B sales pitches so they can more effectively influence and sell to multiple generations of buyers.

#5: Personalized Sales Training Moves from Idea to Reality

Sales organizations will continue to recognize the importance of training content that is targeted to reps’ individual needs and specific selling situations.

Instead of one-size-fits-all training materials, sales organizations will realize the value of providing reps with customized skill- and scenario-based learning that aligns with existing competencies, knowledge gaps, active deals, and more. Useful, relevant material motivates learning, and motivated people learn better.

Delivery of this content will be aided by AI and predictive analytics, which will help surface relevant content based on a sales rep’s active deals, their prospect’s stage in the sales funnel, and their individual learning preferences.

2019: The Year Ahead

Looking holistically at these predictions, there’s mounting evidence to suggest that the structure of the sales team will change to reflect a more collaborative and team-based approach to selling – and, for many teams, this change has already begun. With more complex products and increasingly informed buyers, sales team culture and collaborative selling are now more important than ever. As we dive into 2019, keep a close eye out for how these trends will affect your reps and your bottom line.