Sales

You probably don’t have time or the inclination to invest in training your managers. The negative results from the teams of even hard-working managers should make you think again.

You have a process for everything in your business; production, delivery, accounts and so on. But are you sure you have a process for sales? And a methodology that drives that process?

I often get told that the commercial team are already doing something similar to the Sandler process. I'm not sure that's the reality.

What should you do when you meet a potential prospect? The temptation to explain how you can help is enormous. But is that the right approach?

In uncertain times, how do you stay in control of the sales process, particularly in the manufacturing sector?

Why do you need to train your seasoned salespeople? Maybe you don’t need to. But why do we at Sandler train salespeople who have been selling for years, decades even? It’s because most salespeople have not been trained to sell.

If you want your team to have consistent good results, you have to implement and hold them to a solid sales process

Being the best Inside Sales Manager is a real challenge. The specifics vary according to what you need the team to do, but there are four basic steps that are fundamental to excelling in your role.

For great Personal Presence you need to demonstrate great character. And that inevitably means demonstrating self-responsibility. But just how important is self-responsibility in becoming a success in business? If it is important, how can you deliberately get better at it?

In this next blog in the series "Personal Presence the Sandler Way" we look at how important it is to get our delivery right. Content is a minefield, Delivery has to be congruent or your communication will appear insincere and counter-productive!

Salespeople often pride themselves on their communication skills. Perhaps they shouldn't be so quick to judge themselves quite so highly. 

This is the next blog in the series "Personal Presence". To have Personal Presence you need Energy. Passion is the well-spring of sustained energy. 

This is the third in the series of blogs on "Personal Presence". Energy is a vital element of Personal Presence. That demands not only Vitality as described in the last blog, but Perseverance too. What can you do to increase your chances of success?

This blog in one in a series of 12 on "Personal Presence". It is not the start of the series, but the first to be published here. The series looks at how Personal  Presence is vital to good Sales Technique. Personal Presence is made up of Energy, Communication and Character. Communication is central and according to the author, Paul Glynn, is itself made up of Content, Feedback, and Delivery. Included in this blog are a number of practical exercises, some of the "42 Steps to increasing Personal Presence"

Sandler can be seen as a machine that removes the flair of the individual salesperson. Nothing could be further from the truth! The wheels of Sandler technique need a vital oil: Personal Presence. 

Sales Training doesn't work. That's typically what we find. So what can you do to make sure your investment in training (of any kind with any provider) has the right return?

It might seem a strange question. Whoever is responsible for your sales is looking after all your clients. Or client services are. Or somebody trustworthy in your organisation. However, for many that’s not quite the case.

We hire salespeople who claim good past results and appear professional and competent at interview and then they fail to hit agreed targets. Why is that?

You’re meeting with a prospect. You’ve asked all the appropriate questions to uncover the prospect’s problem, concerns, desires, goals, and expectations. After fully analysing the situation, you announce with no hesitation whatsoever, “No problem. I have exactly what you need.”Add a little drama

Does the prospect gasp a sigh of relief, utter under his breath, “Thank goodness,” and pull a purchase order from the drawer? Perhaps in Grimm’s version of the story, but not in the real world.

Why?

Recently, you probably invested a lot of time and energy putting together a presentation of your product or service. You crafted your presentation, dotted all the “i”s, crossed all the “t”s, covered all the bases, and answered all of the prospect’s questions. But, instead of a buying decision, you only received a stall, a put-off, or a request for some concession. At whom do you point the finger of blame?

Salespeople invest time developing their pitch, formulating questions, and preparing responses to expected questions and objections from the prospect. They rehearse, refine, and rehearse some more.

My Mum was a funny lady and during my youth, she was constantly throwing riddles at me.

Some of her riddles came in pairs and the pairs typically had a point.

One such pair of riddles has been a huge lesson for me as I have gone through life. Here they are.

Riddle 1: What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming down the road? “Here come the elephants.”

Riddle 2: What did the elephants say when they saw Tarzan coming down the road? Nothing, elephants don’t talk.

Two weekends ago, I got to take my youngest daughter to a 4-year-old’s birthday party. I’d forgotten how elaborate some of these parties get, and this was a nice reminder. The parents of this little boy had hired an animal trainer to bring some rabbits and let the kids see them.

In regards to your business, the expertise you have gained over the years is completely worthless… until someone gives you money for it. If you have a medical doctorate, all you really have is a bunch of student loans until you have patients, and get paid for your knowledge.

Here is the problem: 99% of people out there are already doing what they think is in their best interest. Of course, there’s the 1% who hate themselves and are self-sabotaging, but for the most part, you are probably doing right now, what you think is best. But why is that a problem?

Well, if you want to achieve a higher level of success or happiness, no matter your current level, you are going to run into a problem.

David Sandler found three areas where people get stuck in their growth and development: Attitude, Behaviour, Technique

A sales template is defined as the step by step set of interactions you want your prospect to go through because it will give you a clear competitive advantage or otherwise increase the chances of you winning the business. An efficient sale system enables you to consistently achieve a desired outcome or set of outcomes without wasting time, energy, money etc. The most effective sales templates are basic enough to accommodate for change (focused on each stage of the sales meeting).

Last time we discussed the tension of wanting to rescue a prospect sales process. Now let’s look at the situation between the buyer and seller as objectively as possible:

Why? Why do we get up every day and go to work?

Because that’s what is expected: Really? In most companies, the last time you saw your job description was the day you interviewed and you don’t know what is really expected, do you?

Because employees depend on us: Really? Management books say a great manager implements systems that will operate well when management is not there.

Really it’s because Mum or Dad said so!

What does a marathon runner know about making prospecting calls?

Probably very little. Maybe nothing! However, the strategy the marathon runner uses to prepare for a race can help you become a better prospector. No runner started out as a marathon runner. They trained over time to build their strength and endurance to go the distance. The first day they couldn’t run 100 yards before gasping for breath. The first week was torture. The second week was a little better. The third week better yet, and so on. With continual practice, desire and effort, they became a marathon runner.

How’s your memory? Do you fall into the category as described the old adage, “I’d forget my head if it wasn’t connected to my body”? Are you constantly setting traps for yourself to be on time for meetings or where your car keys are placed or what’s supposed to be happening on your schedule from hour to hour?

There are a lot of good reasons to pick up the phone and reach out to new prospective customers. When it comes to finding new business opportunities, the phone offers a high level of efficiency, is relatively inexpensive, and is a great way to gather valuable information that can help us find business.

Small business owners tend to stay small because they do not install systems and processes into their business. Most owners want to hire “experienced” sales people. The mentality is to hire someone, teach them about their products and services, then expect the person to “go sell”. What’s the problem? If we hire experienced sales people, once they learn the product or service, they should be good to go, right?

If you're like most sales professionals, you work hard to learn as much as you can about your product or service. You take pride in how much you know about your business. When you can answer any technical question that might come up in a call with a prospect, you feel confident. That's only natural. But as important as it is to be knowledgeable, your eagerness to display that knowledge can damage a relationship and cost you sales. To avoid this problem, you need to remember that expertise can be intimidating. It can turn people off

The rotten economy, if you haven't noticed, may be taking a toll on your health. "Today's economy is stressing people out, and stress has been linked to a number of illnesses-such as heart disease, high blood pressure and increased risk for cancer," according to a new study in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. A lot of this stress is understandable-but also unnecessary. If you are in sales, a sales system can help you reduce that pressure you are under in a big way. You will be as productive as ever, which should mean less anxiety

I am a terrible “bah humbug!” when it comes to “trick or treat” but I do take a keen interest in Ghosts.