THE SOUND OF SILENCE

How many of you have heard the saying “SILENCE IS GOLDEN”? I would guess that just about every one of you has. As a parent I can remember back to when my daughters were young and how strongly I believed this. However, today, as a sales rep and sales trainer I don’t enjoy silence as much as I used to.

We have all been in the situation with a customer where we were giving our presentation and we are waiting for the customer to reply to a statement we made and the reply doesn’t come! Instead we find ourselves looking at the customer looking at us in dead silence.

Seconds seem like minutes and minutes seem like hours. If you don’t believe me, try this, next time someone in your family asks you a question instead of answering immediately just look at them and start counting to yourself – one thousand one – one thousand two – one thousand three…. It won’t take long before you realize how awkward it is (usually by one thousand five) and don’t answer then, keep counting until you hit one thousand ten. That will be about 10 seconds, by then you should both feel VERY uncomfortable and you will realize what 10 seconds of silence is. It will feel like a decade!

At that very moment you will know that “Silence is NOT golden”

What can we do to stop these moments of seemingly endless silence? Come on, the answer is easy.. SAY SOMETHING! I know that many of you still believe in the old fashion rule of the first one to talk will lose. Oh come on, I hate to be the one to break the news but there is no Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause doesn’t exist, super heroes are only in comic books, and babies are don’t get delivered by storks!

When there is dead silence in a sales presentation it is the same as a customer saying tell me a little more and help me make a decision. Sure, if the silence is only a few seconds they are thinking, but anything over 5 seconds and they need answers.

A great way to move the sale along is a 5 to 10 second silence say to the customer, “I can hear your hesitation, is there something that I may not have explained well enough? Please let me know so I can give you all the information you need to make a good decision. You may have another statement you like to use, no problem as long as it gets the sale moving in a positive direction and breaks the silence.

A silent customer is almost impossible to sell. As reps we need some information so we can show the prospect the value of our product or service. Without information we find ourselves shooting in the dark at a target we can’t see, using ammo that we don’t know is affective.

If all you hear is silence make some noise and go after the sale!

Lorin

THREE CHEERS FOR THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

As Memorial Day 2011 comes to a close, I want to take this time to give thanks for the men and women who over the past 235 years have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country, our families, our land and most of all our freedoms.

As sales reps we all owe our livelihood to these great men and women, if not for their dedication and willingness to put it on the line for what is right we would be doing what our government told us to do, and it may not be selling.

There are people around the world who look at our freedoms and can only dream of the opportunity we have. They can only hope that someday they will be able to make decisions for themselves, and they can only pray that the USA never falters or fails in her mission to stop oppression and promote liberty and democracy.

I love sales people because one of our greatest strengths is the ability to give praise where praise is due, and I am sure that every professional sales rep that reads this blog will agree our service men and women deserve our highest praise and greatest thanks.

In the next week make it your business to thank a service man or woman. Tell them how you feel and how much you appreciate what they do. I do this EVERY time I see one in an airport. When you do this look into their eyes, you will see the pride they have in wearing our countries uniform, you will see the gratitude they have for the small gesture of thanks, and you will see the love they have for our country.

Thank you for another year of freedom, thank you for another year of safety, thank you for another year of service to our country. Stay safe, be strong, and know that you stand for what is right in the world.

It is the VETERAN,

not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,

not the reporter,

 who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,

not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,

not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,

not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,

not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN

who salutes the Flag,

It is the VETERAN

who serves under the Flag,

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

God Bless them all!!!

Makes you proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!

Lorin

WHO AM I

I have a fun little exercise for everyone to try, I saw this asked in one of the sales forums I belong to.

In 10 words or less, what do you do? You have 60 seconds, GO!

Let me give you some of the responses;

I help you hire better sales people

I help people protect all they’ve worked to get

I drive you corporate communications, and get messages to your shareholders

I sell rubber

I help businesses control costs with systems, software & solutions

I help professionals struggling with social media win more business

I improve resident communications and retention in the Multi-Family industry

I help people reduce their electric bill and generate income

I provide cost effective internet service solutions for corporate organizations

I help merchants reduce expenses related to electronic payments

From these statements can you tell what these people do? In some cases it is very easy, but in others I still have no clue.

I know that everyone of these people know what they do, the problem comes in saying it in a short 10 word sentence. Why is this so difficult? Simple, it is hard to select the one thing we do that is the MOST important. Every one of us sells something, the product or service we sell usually has multiple features and benefits. Selecting the ONE feature or benefit about our product or service and then saying it is what we do is at best difficult.

That is why this exercise is so important. If you can’t say what you do in a short sentence, how is a customer supposed to have a clear understanding after a 30 minute sales presentation?

Here is a tip for making your 10 word statement, write out what you do in as many words as you want to. Then keep reviewing what you wrote and take out unnecessary words. Keep going through it over and over, always rewording or removing words. If you find you can’t get it to 10 words, stop working on it for a day or two, when you come back to it you may find it easier to dwindle it down further and further until you have your 10 word job description.

Knowing what you do and being able to say it in a short statement will help with those prospects and customers, who just never seem to have the time to speak with you.

Lorin

THE SIXTH DEFINITION

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary there are 11 definitions for the word FAIR. When I hear a sales rep use the word they are usually referring to the sixth (6^th) definition.

 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair?show=0&t=1306464006 for those of you who don’t believe me, here is the link to Fair in the MW Online Dictionary.

6  a : marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism <a very fair person to do business with> b (1) : conforming with the established rules : allowed (2) : consonant with merit or importance : due <a fair share> c : open to legitimate pursuit, attack, or ridicule <fair game>

We talk about the company not being fair, the manager not being fair, the industry not being fair, government regulations not being fair, and CUSTOMERS not being fair.

CUSTOMERS? Where does it say that customers need to be fair? Last I checked a customer was the one with the money, reps were the ones with products or services they are trying to exchange for some of the customers money. It is an old saying, but I believe in the Golden Rule, The One With The Gold Makes The RULES!

It would be great if we lived in a fair world, we all played fair and all parties acted in a fair and equitable way. I hate to be the one that tells you this but SALES AIN’T FAIR AND WE DON’T LIVE IN A FAIR WORLD.

So what do we need to do? Should we play unfair and join the rest of the people we interact with? Should we become what we hate in others just to be able to win? Should we compromise ourselves and allow ourselves to be manipulated by the sales environment into doing things that go against our core beliefs and are beneath our standards?

NO! PLEASE NO! PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP NO!

In sales we always want to win, and in many cases we get rewarded for winning no matter what we did to win. It is a shame that this happens, if every sales rep only got rewarded for good clean well done FAIR sales, our entire profession would benefit.

I don’t have the answers as to how to make the profession work and act fairly overnight. I do however know how to start. YOU and I need to make it our business to only work with integrity, to always be truthful and to be FAIR no matter what the outcome. If we all do this then one by one the number of FAIR sales reps will start to increase. In turn the customers will start to recognize the difference between a sales rep that has their best interest in mind and one that is only looking for the reward and not how they earn the reward.

Being FAIR makes the difference between being a FAIR sales rep and an excellent sales rep. There is a FAIR chance that you will do FAIRLY well if you are FAIR with your customers. Don’t be a FAIR weather sales rep and only be FAIR when it is easy, being FAIR is always FAIRLY easy if you have a FAIR understanding of what it means to be FAIR!

Lorin

AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS

I haven’t been a sales rep for a number of years now, so it very uncommon today to meet old customers, and yet that is exactly what happened about 5 hours ago.

My wife and I were waiting on line for dinner in a local restaurant we both like and another couple was standing behind us. I really didn’t notice them until the guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was a sales rep. I asked him how he knew and he told me that I used to be his rep. He told me his business name and where it was located and I remembered the place, as a matter of fact I remembered several of the products that he bought from me.

We had a good laugh waiting for our tables, and then he said to me, “I bet you don’t remember how you screwed up that demo you did for me, do you?” The truth is I DID REMEMBER! It was the first time I did a demo for this product and it went very wrong.

I told him I did remember and went on to tell him the entire incident. Once again we laughed for awhile until my table was ready. My wife said to me that I must have really messed up the demo for him to remember it so well. I had to agree.

As my wife and I talked I started to realize something, I could remember several (more than I like to admit to) demos that I screwed up. I can also remember products that demoed very well, but I couldn’t remember specific demos for specific customers.

It started to make sense to me, we can remember usually remember mistakes. Think about it, we expect things to go right. When things do go right that isn’t very memorable. But when something goes wrong, well now that is another story. Mistakes generally surprise us and it is the surprise factor that we remember.

When things go wrong a good sales rep will always go back over the mistake step by step, second by second doing our best to pinpoint what went wrong and what we could have done to avoid it.

Customers do the same thing. When something goes wrong they will think about what happened (sometimes getting a good laugh at our expense). They will run to through their minds over and over, and if it was at all funny they will tell the story over and over. This recounting of the mistake makes it something they reinforce in their memory and will be able to recall it for a LONG time to come.

So what should we do when we make a mistake to minimize the memories, NOTHING! Move on. The customer will remember it for years and if you learn from it you will too. Don’t try to hide it, it was there for all to see. Remember it and use it to avoid making the same mistake twice.

A customer remembering a “demo gone bad” or an awful sales presentation isn’t always bad. Who knows, a few decades later it may give you both something to laugh about.

Lorin

Please place yourself on my list of followers. I like seeing who is enjoying the dishes on the buffet.

REALLY

I was working with a rep today and as we were telling a prospect about our product he looked at the rep and said REALLY. I have heard customers and prospects say that word a thousand times before, but for some reason it caught my ear this time. Now that I was listening for it I heard the prospect say really 3 more times.

I started thinking, is there a relationship between a prospect saying really and the prospect buying and becoming a customer?

So what does it mean when a customer or prospect says really? The first thing it means is you told them something that they didn’t know. It also tells me that whatever you told them shocked them. Depending on how strongly they say the word really tells you how much shock there was.

Is it a good idea to shock a customer? Maybe yes and maybe no. If the information you gave them is positive and the customer perceives it as adding value, than yes it was good. But if the information isn’t living up to the customers’ expectations and they are saying really in a way that show disappointment than it isn’t good. So shocking a customer can work for you or against you.

Really can also be said in a way that is mocking you. If the customer doesn’t believe what you are saying or what you are saying isn’t new to them at all they can get very sarcastic and say really. If this happens and you don’t pick up on it you can look like a fool.

Now I find myself arguing both sides of the issue. Is it good to hear a customer say really? If I weigh all the facts and place the possible good results against the possible negative results, then REALLY is a REALLY good thing to hear.

So how do you get the prospect to say really? The way I saw it done today was by telling the customer something about the product that was so special and unexpected that the customer was blown away by the fact. Do you know something about your product or service that will blow prospects away? If you do than it is easy, you need to work the fact or benefit into every presentation, if you don’t you need to find one out. Maybe you need to go right to the source, the manufacturer of your product. Talk to one of the designers and let them know what you know about the product and ask them to give you that nugget. If it is a service you need to go to the creators of the service and do the same thing. Go to the experts. If the experts are not available than g to the closest thing to an expert you can find. Maybe it is a sales rep that is doing a great job with the product or service, maybe it is a sales manager, maybe it is someone who has been with the company a long time and can give you important history or developmental information. FIND SOMEONE, you are sales reps, we find people and information all the time.

Getting a prospect to say really isn’t that hard, getting them to say really enough times that it makes the case for them to say YES takes some learning and practice.

Lorin

EVERYTHING NEW IS OLD AGAIN

As a sales trainer my job is to make sure that the sales force is producing to the companies expectations. This means that I need to make sure every rep has the basic skills to sell and is kept up to date on all the newest techniques and tools available.

If you have ever had to do any training you know that sales reps, like just about every other person in the world, hate change. I can tell a sales rep that they are doing everything wrong in their sales presentation and they will be glad (well maybe not glad) to be retrained on each step until they get it right. Tell the same rep that I am changing a form or changing how they enter information and it will be the end of the world as they know it.

My job is to figure out why they feel this way and then find ways to work around the resistance. Over my career I have seen changes that seem insignificant derail an entire sales force. I have watched top producers fall to the back of the pack over some of the most trivial things and I have seen companies collapse because they couldn’t find a way to stop the madness.

No two situations are ever the exact same, however, you can usually group reactions to the type of changes that are being attempted. Let me give you some examples;

1)      If a company changes a label, in most cases even if the product didn’t change at all the sales force will view it as a negative saying the customer will not accept the change. The truth, in most cases the customer won’t even realize a change was made.

2)      If a company replaces a product, in most cases the reps will always perceive the replacement as inferior to the original, even if the new product out performs the old product AND costs less.

Of the hundreds of other changes that can be made, I want to discuss one in particular. This is one that I am will to bet every person reading this post has gone through, CHANGING A COMPUTER PROGRAM!

It may have been a presentation program, a pricing program, a customer management program or one of a dozen others, it is always the same. NO ONE LIKES THE CHANGE! If you ask why they don’t like it you will get the usual list of reasons, too slow, not enough information, too much information, too difficult, and my favorite, it doesn’t do anything the old program didn’t do.

All of these reactions are usually driven by one thing, fear! Reps are afraid that they won’t ever get to know how to use the program as well as they know the old program.

Now let me make a bold statement here, I usually try not to paint with too broad a brush, but in this case I am going to commit myself. THE YOUNGER THE SALES REP THE LESS YOU WILL HEAR ANY OF THESE OBJECTIONS! There I said it. Many reps who were not brought up using computers hate to think about having to learn a new program. Even if they have been using the old program for years you will hear them say things like, I have just gotten used to this one, or just as I am feeling at ease with this one, and this one isn’t THAT old!

All these reactions are based in fear, the fear that they may not be able to learn the new program. Well I am here to set the records straight. Anyone can learn a new program and anyone can become proficient on a new program. All it takes is practice.

If most reps would spend half as much time working with a new program as they do complaining about it they would excel on it. If they would spend as much time working with the new program as they do finding ways to avoid using it they would excel on it. If they would spend half as much time working with the new program as they do making excuses why they haven’t learned it yet they wouldn’t need the excuses.

Like most things we learn, the more we use them the more we do them the easier they become and the better we get at doing them. The more time put into learning a program the less work it is to use the program. It is only a matter of time before we are using the new program as well and sometimes even better than we did the old one. It is as if everything new is old again!

Lorin

ON A SCALE FROM ONE TO TEN

How many things have you rated on a scale from one to ten in your lifetime? It seems that just about everything can be rated on a one to ten scale if we wanted to. In hospitals they ask about how much pain you are in on a scale of one to ten, we have rated satisfaction indexes on a one to ten scale for just about every kind of business from airlines to zip lines. In most cases we are making the judgment on a service or product that we have used or purchased. How many of you have rated your own skills on a one to ten scale?

In sales there are always things that we can rate ourselves on, how well we plan for selling, how well we deliver an opening, how well we demonstrate, probe, answer questions, overcome objections, and close just to name a few. But how many of us actually rate ourselves on a regular basis and take action on our own self assessment?

Before you get out your calculator and start a spread sheet containing every activity you perform every day, I want you to do a little research. You need to gather some information in order for your self evaluation to be accurate, factual, and actionable.

First you need to decide if this is an activity that you can be brutally honest with yourself about. If you rate yourself on the one to ten scale with all tens, than you have done nothing to help yourself improve. At the same time you can be your own toughest critic but you need to give yourself credit where credit is due, all ones on the scale isn’t a fair evaluation either.

You next need to commit to improving based on your self evaluation. This means that you will seek the information, instruction, mentorship, advice or motivation from someone to help become better. Keep in mind what the definition of insanity is, “Doing the same thing over and over the same way and expecting different results”.

Finally you need to make up your mind that this isn’t going to be a onetime thing, rating yourself needs to be an ongoing process that leads to the same kind of action each time. Doing this one time will possibly make you a little better, but to become GREAT, to become the BEST, to become WORLD CLASS you need to continually improve through inspection and action.

I wouldn’t start by rating myself on the top 100 things I do every day. Like the movie “What About Bob”, you need to take “baby steps”. Pick 5 or 6 actions that you feel will help you the most. I didn’t say things you need the most help with. Pick actions that if improved upon will give you the most growth. The reason you start here is because once you see yourself starting to improve and the improvement brings about positive results you will want to change more. SUCCESS BEGETS SUCCESS!

As you keep adding to your evaluation list you will see that there will be areas that you immediately improve in and areas that you may need to work on for a long time to see any improvement at all. Keep evaluating the process and working the areas that will gain you the most growth.

Be honest, be fair, be persistent, be relentless, and be prepared for the most success you have ever seen.

Lorin

ONCE UPON A TIME

Today we live in a world of information. We can go online and read about any topic we can imagine. For those of us that are slightly more comfortable with technology we can also watch videos and hear sound bites on most of the topics. However, it is almost impossible to read or hear stories about these subjects.

Story telling has become a lost art. Stories are one of the most compelling ways to transfer information. The use of stories stirs emotions, creates mental images and stimulates our imaginations better than any other way of communications.

If you have ever been watching a movie and cried, or laughed, gotten angry, or felt pride it was more likely the story than it was the dialog the acting or the special effects.

Last year I was fortunate to be able to go on an Alaskan Cruise with my wife. As we stopped at the ports of call along the Alaskan coast we went to many shows produced by the natives. In every case they message was presented as a story not a documentary. The natives use stories to pass along their history and culture.

The company you work for has its own history and culture. When making a sales call and explaining your company to a prospect, you can tell it like a documentary, only providing the hard facts. You can’t get in trouble telling the truth. But you can also present the information in stories, giving the same information but doing it not as a list of facts but as a story explaining how the facts have affected you, other customers, and will affect the prospect if they get onboard.

Read these presentations and make up your own mind which is a more compelling story;

1)      “We work with all the leading consumer goods companies. Our six-sigma and lean manufacturing services can save you at least 10% of your operating costs and cut 20% from your lead times”

or

2)      “We recently worked with John Smith, the CEO of BigPack. John’s problem was that because of the long changeover times, his production was very inflexible and he couldn’t respond quickly to the needs of some of his best customers and so he was losing market share hand-over-fist. By working with us using our lean manufacturing and six sigma methodology, he was able to offer the sort of flexibility his customers were crying out for – and as an added bonus, he found that running costs were 10% lower than before.”

I think it is clear, putting facts into a story will make you more affective at what you do every day, TALK!

Lorin

IT WAS FUNNY WHEN MAYNARD G. KREBS SAID IT

I am sure that a few of you out there are at least my age and will remember the TV series called Dobie Gillis. It was a great sitcom (BTW the word sitcom wasn’t even in use during the years Dobie Gillis aired) with some very memorable characters. There was Darla who was the brainy girl that had a crush on Dobie, Chatsworth Osborne Jr.  who was the rich kid with all the toys, and Maynard G Krebs played by Bob Denver who later played Gilligan on the show Gilligan’s Island, who was the beatnik that played the bongos and never had a job. As a matter of fact Maynard was all but allergic to working. He was so against work that when he heard the word work, he would immediately repeat it in a very high pitched startled voice. (It was a lot funnier when you heard it than it is to read it click here to hear it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzpQPDSr2s ).

I just finished reading a post on a blog that will remain un-named. I won’t tell you the name because the blog post was titled (I am changing it just enough so you can’t Google search it and find it) Sales Reps That Work Hard Are Stupid. The writer tries to make the case that the same amount of sales will be made no matter what the reps does. If they work hard or not it won’t affect the outcome.

When I started this blog I decided that I would use no adult language, right now I am regretting that decision. It is very funny to see how Maynard reacts to the word work, but to think that a sales rep can succeed without hard work is just as funny.

In the sales profession we need to be smart, we need to know so much information about not just our product but the industries our customers are in, the markets we are selling to, and any rules and regulations that are involved. But all this knowledge will not make a single sale if we don’t work. We need to make the sales calls either in person or on the phone. We need to tell our story and help prospects make decisions. It is a simple fact that the harder we work the more sales we make.

Sales is an activity driven profession. Every product and every company has its appropriate level of activity. If you exceed the appropriate level, all other factors equal, you will usually make more sales. There is a point where too much activity hurts you, this is when your activity doesn’t allow you to do proper presentations. I have seen many more reps fail because of lack of activity then I have overly active.

Hard work is really nothing to laugh at. It is something to be admired. Hard work is nothing to look at negatively, it is one of the most positive traits a sales rep can have. Hard work is not fun, but all the things you can do with the money you earn by working hard are.

Lorin

WHO IS YOUR FRIEND

1)      A customer you have been selling for 8 years. He has good coffee, a great family that you have been following since you first sold him, and the best jokes and stories you have ever heard. When you show up it is like old home week and you have a great time talking to him.

2)      A fellow rep who was your mentor when you first started and has become your friend. She is the person you call when you have a problem and is there for you when everything bad. You call her several times a day and talk about everything from customers to traffic. It is not unusual for her to tell you she is in a sales call and she will call you back. You have waited in the parking lot of a prospect as much as 30 minutes for her to call.

3)      Your Sales Manager who calls you every day and drills you about what you did that day. He has a hard crust and doesn’t cut you any slack. He is always pushing you and never accepts mediocrity. He gives you his advice even when you don’t want it. It seems he holds you to a higher standard than any other rep in his group.

4)      Your family who understands why you didn’t have a great day and knows that all your reasons are valid. They give you all the sympathy you want and never give you a hard time.

OK, so what is your answer? Is it the customer, the rep, the sales manager, or the family? The correct answer is…. 3 …. The manager. Although it sounds like this manager is unfair, the truth is the manager is the only one who is doing everything they can to help you. Maybe their method may not be one that you appreciate, he is working with your best interest in mind.

Realizing who your friends are is sometimes not as easy as it seems it would be. The people who we THINK are friends can be the ones who are robbing you of your opportunity. The customer above seems to be a good friend but this customer can be a time waster. You make call after call and you leave feeling good but without an order. If you think about it in many cases this type of customer hasn’t bought anything new in a long time, in some cases their orders have shrank over time. The rep was a great asset to you when you started but has her own business to conduct. The biggest difference between you and her is she knows her business comes first. She wants to help you all she can but on her schedule not yours and this causes you to spend time waiting instead of selling. Finally your family, they love you so much that they don’t want to hurt you by telling you the truth about what they feel. If they don’t see the truth it is just as bad because either way they accept your failure.

Picking your friends out of a group isn’t easy but once you look at how each person you interact with during the day affects your business you will at least know who is working on your behalf and has your best interest in mind. These people are your BEST friends.

Lorin

NINJA SALES REPS

The other day a rep said something to me that I hadn’t heard in a long time. When I asked him why he would ever walk into a customer empty handed he replied, “I don’t want to LOOK like a salesman”.

All I could think was “Here we go again”. A sales rep who doesn’t want to look like a sales rep. This has always made me wonder what these reps want to look like. Maybe they should wear hospital scrubs, that way they will look like a doctor. Or should they wear a clown suit and look like they just escaped from the circus. I guess they could wear a Stetson and boots and look just like a cowboy.

But WHY?

Do these reps really think that the customer is going to never catch on that they are there to sell something? And when the customer does catch on isn’t the idea that the reps has been trying to fool them going to make them mad?

I know one thing for sure, when I go to my doctor I want her to look like a doctor, I want the pilot flying the plane I’m on to look like a pilot, and the guy who fixes my car to look like a mechanic. I don’t want anyone surprising me. Can you imagine if you were sitting in the dentist chair waiting to have a root canal and in came someone in blue jeans, a dirty shirt wearing work gloves and said, OPEN WIDE, WE’RE GONNA GET THAT SUCKER OUTTA THERE RIGHT NOW!”

A sales rep should look like a sales rep. The good news is every rep makes the decision what they should look like (unless your company makes that decision for you). The basic rule of thumb is dress for your industry. You don’t want to be too over dressed and you don’t want to be too under dressed. If you are in a Christian Dior suit calling on metal working shops, I would dare say you probably won’t blend in with everyone else in the shop, at the same time if you are wearing coveralls selling pharmaceuticals to a doctor’s office you will be just as out of place. Dress for success, but the success you are selling to.

I just figured it out, the reps that don’t want to look like sales reps want to be NINJA SALES REPS! They slip in un-noticed, do a few quick flips, have the customer say yes, get the signature grab the check and out the door like smoke! No one knowing they were ever there!

Lorin

WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU

Below is an article I read by Jonathon Farrington. I hope you find it as good a read and the information as interesting as I did.

Identifying Top 5% Achievers

Recent exhaustive surveys suggest that only 5% of professional salespeople reach and remain at the highest level, which we call 'Level 3'. A further 15% attain 'Level 2' status, but the majority - a massive 80% - remain at 'Level 1' in terms of potential achievement.

'Level 1' salespeople sell products and depend on having the right technical solution for the customer’s specification.

'Level 2' salespeople sell solutions, which changes their image from sales rep to business consultant and positions them as a potential strategic resource.

Most salesmen and women manage to advance from Level 1 to Level 2 fairly easily, but unfortunately, many find breaking through that final glass ceiling extremely difficult - i.e. moving from competitive sales professionals to collaborative sales consultants.

'Level 3' salespeople are able to first identify and then capitalize upon the political component within the buying process. They develop and sustain strong commercial relationships at all levels within their accounts. These relationships endure, because they are based on mutual respect and trust. Their clients feel secure, so secure, that they would be fearful of changing supplier.

'Level 3' salespeople rarely, if ever, lose an order that they really want, because they are always in control of the sales cycle. They have identified that in marketplaces where product uniqueness and technical expertise are no longer enough, it is they themselves, that make the difference - i.e. their superior skills.

Three additional areas, which set 'Level 3' players apart from the rest, are:

Commercial Acumen - Collaborative sales professionals have high levels of strategic awareness and they can communicate comfortably with board level players - i.e. the economic buyers - using common language and terminology. 'Level 1' and 'Level 2' performers, unable to demonstrate credibility when discussing financial, commercial and political issues, are usually left behind and require assistance from a manager or director.

Competitive Courage - In order to achieve consistent levels of success in today’s environment, it is necessary to be able to pro-actively target competitors and their client base. Any individual, who lacks the guts for a fight and is not comfortable with competitive selling, will severely restrict their potential.

Being Focused On Political Activity - You can of course question the legitimacy of politics, but you cannot deny their existence. The sales professional who fails to recognize the importance that politics play in virtually every complex sale, will almost certainly consign themselves to a career at 'Level 1'.

No one ever said that we must take part in the political game, but recognizing that a game is being played, whether we like or not, is essential - i.e. what you understand, you can manage.

However, I fully appreciate that most organizations will not necessarily need to populate their sales teams with 'Level 3' performers, even if they could find and afford them. There will always be tasks, functions and markets, where 'Level 2' or even 'Level 1' salesmen and women can comfortably exceed expectations.

What is important is that we ensure we have the right level where we need it most - i.e. round pegs in round holes. If an organization is attempting to compete in a market sector where 'Level 3' skills are required and yet their team is predominately at 'Level 2' in terms of expertise, experience and development, they are unlikely to consistently win the business they need in order to fulfill their financial ambitions.

Jonathan Farrington is Chairman of The JF Corporation and CEO of Top Sales Associates, based in London and Paris. He is also the creator and CEO of Top Sales World and the man behind the Annual Top Sales Awards.

As sales reps it is always in our best interest to keep up with the world of “Best Practices”. Search the internet and you will find nuggets like this every day.

Lorin

LIKE AT&T SAYS, “RETHINK POSSIBLE”

That’s impossible were the first words the prospect said after the rep I was with told him how our product could help him. The sales rep looked like he had just lost his puppy. He had just spent the last 10 minutes giving what I thought was a great sales presentation and the customer didn’t believe what he was told.

I didn’t want to say anything because I knew this was going to be an opportunity for this rep to really show me his sales skills by getting himself out of this corner. The rep did what I thought was going to be the end of the sale. HE LAUGHED! Yep, he just hung his head and laughed. Both the customer and I looked at each other and sort of shrugged our shoulders as if to wonder what was going on. The rep slowly stopped laughing and said to the customer, “Impossible? You need to listen to AT&T and RETHINK POSSIBLE”.

The rep then used one of the best probing lines ever written, “I’m sure you have a reason for thinking this is impossible, would you mind sharing them with me?” I immediately realized he had tweaked this line to fit the situation.

The customer immediately replied with a reason to which the rep was able to clarify what he had originally said. With the better understanding the customer asked, “What do we need to do to get started?”

SALE CLOSED!

When we got outside I asked the rep what he was laughing at. He started laughing again and said, I had no idea what to say and needed some time. He then said YOU are the one who taught me how to divert attention to give yourself time to think. He said the laughing gave him the time he needed to gather his thoughts and come up with a comeback line for the customer.

Now it was my turn to laugh, he had just reminded the teacher of what the teacher taught. He didn’t get stuck, he wasn’t caught speechless, and most importantly he didn’t just throw something at the customer that might have caused even more confusion.

I had to ask him another question, “Is this a tactic you had planned for when you need time or did you just grasp for anything that might work?”

I am still waiting for his answer!

Lorin

I CAN FLY, I CAN FLY, I CAN FLY

 

If you wanted to learn how to fly where would you go to learn? Would you go to a gym? Maybe you would go to a driving school? No wait, I can’t believe I missed it, you would go to a cooking school!

Well I don’t know about you but I would go to the best darn pilot I could find. If Sully was available he is the one that I would be looking for to teach me. (For those of you with short memories or reading this 50 years in the future, Sully (Chesley Sullenberger) is the Pilot that safely landed a US Airways flight in the Hudson River after it hit a flock of birds shortly after take off in 2009, saving the lives of 115 passengers)

Doesn’t the same go for anything we want to learn? Shouldn’t we seek out the best teacher available to us? ABSOLUTELY! But there is more, once we find the best teacher available we should LISTEN to what they tell us and DO what they say to do.

If we all agree on this (If you don’t agree, please e mail me and explain why) then can someone tell me why so many sales reps have GREAT mentors and after being told what to do and how to do it they ignore the instructions and go about doing things their own way?

It baffles me to see this and it amazes me how often I see it. Please, this isn’t a posting to promote myself and my training ability, it is an observation that I see happening to me and many other top notch trainers and mentors.

When I talk to other trainers the number one thing reps do to frustrate them is to ignore what they are told. The number two thing that frustrates them are reps who tell them things like, “I know that might work for others, but I am different”, or “This is really good stuff, but I don’t think you understand my customers/territory”.

Although territories and customers are all different, in most cases, the basic skills taught by a sales trainer/mentor will work universally. Some may need to be tweaked a little and the delivery of some sales presentations may need to be personalized (actually I believe every rep needs to personalize any sales presentation they are taught) but the bulk of the training will transfer easily with minimum changes needing to be made.

Having the best available teacher teach you how to do something doesn’t guarantee success, it simply minimizes the risk of failure.

Lorin

ABCDEFG

How well do you know your alphabet? Not the ABC’s you learned in elementary school, but the new alphabet of the business world.

CEO, IT, PPO, EBT, EOB, QBR, EVP, HR, FY, the list goes on. You can sit in a business meeting today and not hear a full word for 10 minutes.

How important is it to know the meanings of all these letters? Well try calling an EVP a VP and see how close you come to making a sale.

Every industry has not only the basic sets of initials but they also have their own unique sets as well. If you are going to play in these sandboxes you need to learn what these are.

Start where so many searches start today, on the internet. Look up your industries trade associations and read some of the articles posted. Most of these will give you the initials and tell you what they stand for also. The more websites you go to and the more articles you read the more acronyms you will learn.

If after learning what the acronyms stand for you still don’t understand them, search the web for more information. It won’t take long until you have a good understanding of not only what the acronym stands for but how it fits into the industry and if you really understand that you will quickly learn how to use the information to help make sales.

Ever hear the saying, “Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk”. I’m sure you have, well if you Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk and use the right letters you will be the resident expert in no time.

Lorin

IF ALASKA CAN DO IT ANYONE CAN

It was one of mans most challenging construction projects, the Alaska Pipeline. It is 800 miles long, 48 inches in diameter, cost $8,000,000,000 (BILLION) in 1977, was the largest privately funded construction project at that time, took a little over 2 years to build, has moved over 15,000,000,000 (BILLION) barrels of oil since it opened in June 1977.

Pretty impressive isn’t it? Well I have something even more impressive. THE SALES PIPELINE! The sales pipeline doesn’t have nearly the impressive stats of the Alaskan Pipeline, but its value is far greater. Everyday millions of sales opportunities are put into the pipeline. Everyday millions of sales are closed from the sales moving through the pipeline. Everyday millions of sales reps are earning millions of dollars in commissions from these sales. Everyday hundreds of thousands of sales drop out of the pipeline. The most impressive stat of all is that every business in the world is in the sales pipeline at one time or another.

What does your sales pipeline look like? Is there a constant flow of good leads and prospects being added to it? Do you keep an eye on the level of business in your pipeline and manage your business by it? Is your pipeline full from end to end or do you stuff it one week and let it run dry before you start stuffing it again?

A well organized sales rep, and I dare say most successful sales reps, will monitor their pipelines closely and make sure that they are working on both ends every day. They are always looking for prospects they can add to the pipeline and working what’s in the pipeline to make sure no opportunity slips by. They use their sales tools to help them stay organized, stay focused and stay on top of their business.

I have seen reps that have charts on their walls diagramming their sales cycle so they know exactly where a prospect in the pipeline is within the cycle. These reps all know one thing, a good plan is THE most valuable tool a rep can have and working that plan will always lead to success.

The great part about your sales pipeline is you don’t need any tools, you don’t need any permits, you don’t need any funding, and you don’t need to be out in the cold to build it. Just start tracking and keeping records about every sales call you make. Update these records so you always have good information. Work your pipeline and never allow it to run dry by making the cold calls, following up on the leads and asking for referrals.

If you do the math, today crude oil is selling for around $100.00 a barrel. At $100 a barrel and 15 Billion Barrels having gone through the Alaskan Pipeline that means $1,500,000,000,000.00 (one Trillion five hundred Billion Dollars) worth of oil has been through the pipeline since it opened. That much or more goes through sales pipelines every week!

Lorin

I WANT TO BE LIKE JEFF

In a training that I was in today I watched a YouTube video that I had not seen before. It is called “DOING YOUR BEST” by Jeffrey Gitomer. For those of you that have not heard of Jeff Gitomer, he is one of the top sales guru’s in the world today. He has written many books including “The Sales Bible”, and a series called “The Little _____(a color goes here)_____Book of ….” Which has 5+ different books.

Jeffrey is known for his no non-sense way of writing usually saying the things most motivational speakers and sales guru’s only think.

In the YouTube video I saw today he lists 10.5 things you can do that will help you do your best. I recommend you watch the video. Click on this link to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQn1ov65bQc

I won’t list all 10.5 hints he gives, I will let you learn them while you watch, but I will talk about 3 that I feel are the stand outs on the list.

#1 – Wake up early – This is also Jeffrey’s first point – it is a fact that your mind is the most alert, most creative, and most capable to problem solve shortly after you wake up. From a sales presentation standpoint you will be better able to overcome objections, find ways to build value and demonstrate features and benefits if you are an early riser.

#2 – View a NO as a NOT YET – When a prospect says “NO” what are they really saying. A very small percent mean NO, the vast majority mean “I’m not ready to say yes yet”, or “Not yet, I need more information”. The problem is most sales reps hear a NO and think the customer means NO, how silly.

#3 – Tell yourself you’re the “BEST” – If you don’t believe in yourself why should anyone else? Telling yourself that you are the best reinforces a positive self image. Telling yourself you are the best is also motivating. Telling yourself you are the best replaces any negative thoughts that creep into your mind.

These are only 3 of the 10.5 points Jeffrey talks about in the video. While you are watching click on any of the other 490 results that come up and you will find out why Jeffrey Gitomer is one of the best sales guru’s and after you listen to him you will immediately know why he is one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit today.

Lorin