Sales & Sales Management Expertise

Whenever I do a workshop or a keynote (link for video clip of following discussion )for group that is about selling, I almost always talk about one of the 9 Keys To Successful Selling - the key of persistence.  And I generally make my point by asking the audience a question and having the following dialog:

How many of you here today have a dog?  Have you ever had a dog?  Know someone with a dog?  Good, that covers everyone. You ( I pick someone from the audience), what kind of dog do you have?  Is it big or small?  How long have you had it?  Is it an active dog or one that just lays around the house waiting for something to happen?

We have a dog in our house; her name is Coco. She is a shih tzu poodle and she's been with us a long time. When we first brought her home, she was brown like cocoa; however, within a year, she turned grey.  We thought about changing her name but we didn't think we should change her name to Grey or Grace or anything like that, so we kept the name Coco.  

Now, when the doorbell rings at your house, what does your dog do? You, Sir, what does your dog do? And you, Ma'am, how about your dog?...Right!  It starts barking.  And where does the dog go?... Yes, straight to the door!  Does the dog just slowly kind of make its way to the door?  Noooo!  It runs to the door, body gyrating, tail wagging, maybe jumping up and down a little. You make your way to the door, while the dog is looking at you with a look that says, "What are you waiting for? There's someone out there!"  (During this conversation I'm prone to run around on the stage, wagging my tail acting, or attempt to act,like a dog.)  So, you finally open the door...and what? (I very deliberately put in a long pause and look expectantly out over the audience) I finally ask..."Is it ever for the dog?" (The crowds laughs with understanding)

At a very young age, when someone would ring the door bell, Coco learned to start barking and run to the door. No matter what time of day or night, when the doorbell rang, Coco would bark, and run to the door. It could be just minutes apart, days apart or weeks apart.  It didn't matter.  And now, if that doorbell rings, Coco is still running to the door just like she did the first time and the last time.  She waits there impatiently, looking at me expectantly with a look that says, "C'mon! Hurry up and open the door; maybe this time it's for me!"

But, it never is.  It is never for Coco.  Not once has the neighbor dog come over to visit with Coco. (More laughter) [Click here to watch the video]

Mark Trinkle works with our company and has for several years now.  He has a beautiful daughter, Madison.  Occassionally, Coco is at the office. One day, Madison came with her dad to the office and Coco was there. She asked Mark what Coco was doing at the office and Mark told her that she runs around the office. When Madison and Mark got home, Madison announced to her mom (Kim) that she met Coco and Coco runs the office.

The story about Coco and the doorbell is a story of persistence and mental attitude.  An attitude that is critical for those in prospecting and sales.  It's an attitude of "maybe this time", even after all the rejection you have faced. After all the years that Coco ran to the door thinking "maybe this time", she never gave up.

About 6 months ago, Coco, the sales dog who ran the office, was diagnosed with lymphoma. We provided Coco with medication to slow down the progress of the disease, and over the last several weeks, we also gave her some pain meds to ease her discomfort.  Over that time period, her runs to the door ceased.  Along with poor vision, poor hearing and ailing body, she was more prone to just sit at the top of the stairs and quietly observe the comings and goings of everyone.

Truly, I don't think she gave up.  I think, if she were able, she would have preferred to run to the door and greet whoever was there.  Because over the years, she learned that even if it wasn't for her, she still wanted to greet the visitors just the same.  Because over the years, our visitors - The water guy, the window cleaning people, the lawn people, the nurses that care for Anthony, Alex's school chums, Steven (our nephew), Jeni (my sister-in-law and our CMO), Mark, Madison, Walt, Chris, Whitey, Jim, Don, Rick, Rich, Tom, Doc, TMackey, UPS, Fedex, USPS, Girl Scouts selling cookies, Jim and Betsy, Traci, Pam and an endless number of other people - all became prospects and, eventually, clients of Coco.  They loved her, and she loved them. She greeted them, they petted her, talked to her and, sometimes, if they knew where the snacks were, they provided her with a treat.

Years ago, when I was a kid back home in Hammonton, NJ, I lived on a farm.  My dad, Ray, was the foreman on the 400-acre blueberry and peach farm.  Dad raised hunting dogs. Exclusively rabbit hunting dogs.  His all-time favorite was Tootsie.  She was a "low to the ground", long-earred, black, tan and white beagle.  She was pregnant and, unfortunately, died giving birth to her puppies.  My dad took her to the vet, and the vet told my dad that there wasn't anything he could do. His best and most humane option was to put her to sleep.  My dad was tough as nails.  Never saw him cry until that day.  As a young, cocky teenager, I didn't get it.  "Come on, dad, it's just a dog."

Now, I understand.  Yesterday, we had to put Coco to sleep.  Life just got too tough for her. Our vet told us the day would come, and we would know it when we did.  I got up yesterday and started the usual routine of starting the coffee, turning off the alam system, and looking for Coco so I could let her outside.  Unlike most mornings, she didn't follow me out of the bedroom.  I had to go and find her.  I found her under the kitchen table and she wasn't moving.  I went over to pet her. She woke up and struggled to stand.  I picked her up and brought her to her water bowl where she drank like she was never going to drink fresh water again.  I carried her outside where she attempted to "do her business", without success. Then she just stood there and didn't... couldn't, move.  I picked her up and brought back in to her place on her dog bed in front of the fireplace. When I put her down, she just fell over, no longer able to stand.  I knew the day had come.

Our daughter, Alex, came down from UD (University of Dayton).  She, Linda and I went with Coco to the vet.  We held her, we cried, we said our goodbyes and thanked her for all the wonderful love and fun she gave us.  I told her she would be in heaven (all dogs go to heaven) and she would once again chase rabbits and birds and, once again, run to answer the door.

Friends, thank you for indulging me today as I share my...no, our loss.  Just part of the grieving proces, I think.  But, I also wanted to leave you with the Coco the Sales Dog story. It has entertained people for years in all my keynote presentations, and I hope it entertained you here today.

Learning about sales and selling is one of the things I enjoy most about what I do.  When I started my personal quest to improve my understanding of sales, my ability to execute a sales process effectively and to ultimately improve my sales results, there was much for me to learn.  My first introduction into sales was with Nautilus Equipment Inc. in Dallas, Texas.  I thought that was selling.  In 1987, when I entered the life insurance business with David Zimmerman at National Life of Vermont, I learned that selling life insurance was truly "selling" and my experience with Nautilus had been merely "order-taking".

Over the last 20 years since we began Anthony Cole Training Group, it's been a combination of learning of new stuff, old stuff and old stuff taught a new way.  Yesterday, Jeni (our CMO), and I met with long-time friend and Mortgage officer, Rich Ambrose.  Once again, I had the opportunity to learn something old, something borrowed and something new.  Here are 10 points about selling that Rich made yesterday.

1. No Surprises - When peope hire Rich to help them secure a loan for a home, they can count on no surprises.  Can your clients or prospects say the same thing?  In a world where many of your prospects see what you sell as a commodity, this is ONE thing that can separate you from the crowd.
2. Get Pre-approved - When buying a home, get pre-approved for a loan before you even look at homes.  If you are selling and dealing with some sort of approval process, before you begin to pitch a solution, make sure your prospect is qualified or "pre-approved".  In our Effective Selling Systtem approach to selling that means:  1) the prospect has a compelling reason to act or make a  change,  2) they have the money, time and resources to invest and 3) you have clarity regarding their decision making process.
3. Get Introductions - Get your referrral sources to introduce you and qualify prospects for you.  When you are working with your centers of influence, make sure they understand exactly what marketplace you work best in and get them to introduce you those people they know that you could help BEFORE they need the help.
4. Set Expectations about the process.  Too often sales people make assumptions, hope they can get approval, hope that they can overcome challenges to close the business as those challenges arise. This makes for a less-than-dazzling experience and this impacts your opportunity for a long-term relationship.  Yes, you might fund the mortgage, place the insurance, or provide a solution, but it ends up being a one-time deal because the process was perceived to be a hassle... because you didn't set appropriate expectations.
5. Sell - If you are doing something other than sales activity, then you aren't making money.  Do I really need to say anything else?
6. Be More - Rich is not just a loan officer.  What else are you besides a banker, an accountant, and insurance agent?  Rich is a guy, a professional, and a trusted advisor that helps people complete their dream of owning the right home, at the right time, at the right cost.
7. Go to Every Closing - This was interesting because this event gives Rich a unique opportunity to do a couple of things:  1) secure his relationship with a new or current client,  2) secure the on-going relationship with a current realtor and/or  3) meet and secure a relationship with a new realtor
8. The Proof is in The Pudding - There is a great Google article about the ZMOT (zero moment of truth).  This paper describes the buyer's buying funnel today and discusses the consistency between the zero moment of truth, the 1st moment of truth and the 2nd moment of truth.  The idea is that the buyer is looking for consistency between the promise and the deliverable.  Rich is saying/suggesting/asking:  Is the deliverable you bring as good or better than the promise?
9. Don't Submit Problems -  Often sales people are guilty of knowing a potential problem exists with getting business placed, but instead of dealing with it directly, they lay low, hoping the problem will solve itself during the underwriting and qualifying process. This leads to several problems:  1) the opportunity gets rejected, 2) the process takes too long and 3) people spend all their time working on "problem opportunities" while clean/good opportunities sit on the desk waiting to get placed, funded, secured, presented and paid for.  (This is the case in any sale that requires a submission of ANY KIND of paper work for more information before a solution can be presented, accepted and/or contracted.)
10. Get Lucky or Do it Right? - Do you want to get lucky or do you want to do it right? Rich discussed situations where prospects make calls to other mortgage lenders that, within a minute, tell the prospects that they are pre-approved.  Rich takes the same call and slows the process down to dig deeper, explain the potential problems with "pre-approval" and simply asks the prospects if they want to rely on "gettting lucky or getting it right" when the house of their dreams shows up in the market place.  He explains that good houses go fast and they go fast to those that have done the approval/lending step right.
11. The Relationship Business Starts on the Phone.  When he said this, I immediately wrote down some notes (it's what I'm working from now as I write this post).  I joted down these questions:  Are you in the relationship business?  When does the relationship start (In most B2B sales, it starts on the phone)?  How long does your first conversation last? What I didn't write down, but was thinking, was this:  If I were to observe you making calls in order to set up meetings, what would I observe?  Would I observe someone that was doing something on the phone that was consistent with "a relationship business" as stated on your website and marketing materials, or would I observe someone that sounded like a telemarketer working to just get an appointment?
12. Operate from Power - Are you in a position of power?  Being in a position of power, or operating as IF you are in a position of power, allows you to leverage opportunities, control a sales process the way you know it ought to be contolled, keep from being/feeling desperate AND to qualify the prospect rather than feeling like you have to qualify for the prospect.

By Mark Trinkle, Sales Development Expert, Anthony Cole Training Group

“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints….only the good die young”.

Our sales brew today is all about celebrating Global Belly Laugh Day.  Yep, you can Google it if you want. January 24^th is Global Belly Laugh Day.

So, what does laughter have to do with selling?  Well, quite a bit in my opinion.  And let’s get one thing straight right off the top. I am not in any way suggesting you need to be a comedian in order to have great sales results.  And yes, I would agree that too much of any good thing can be a bad thing, so you have to pick your moments.  But for my money, in a world filled with both badness and sadness, few things can awaken the soul of a human being better than laughter.

Jarod Kintz once said, “Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing” and I can’t think of a better reminder in terms of the kinds of conversations you should be having with both your prospects and your customers.  Another perspective on laughter comes from Victor Hugo who said, “Laughter is the sun that dries winter from the human face.”

There is no question that your conversations with your prospects need to be just that…conversations, not sales pitches.  There is no question that the questions you ask your prospect need to be fierce - meaning passionate, bold, rich in meaning and unbridled.  So, take your preparation seriously but… take yourself just a little less seriously.  We all have relationships with people whose presence we enjoy because our day is just a tad brighter because of the light they shine through humor and conversation.

So lighten up just a bit…ok, maybe a lot.  Inject appropriate humor into your conversations.  Laugh with your prospect and laugh at yourself.  The next place you might find yourself laughing is all the way to the bank… with a closed deal.

That’s all for now… have you heard a good joke lately?

Now go sell like a champion today!

Well, if I really stop to analyze the last 20 years Anthony Cole Training Group has been in business, I am sure that I would find multiple things that I've been wrong about; but, for today, let me just focus on this ONE thing that I've been wrong about.

Now, to take a moment to defend myself, I haven't been wrong about this one thing all the time.  There have been moments, in sales training sessions and when working with sales managers, when I have made a better clarifying statement about this ONE thing for success in selling.

You see, I've always declared that success in selling starts with EFFORT.  And, while that is true, it is only partially true.  Here is an example of effort NOT getting the desired result.

When I was the strength and conditioning coordinator for varsity athletics at Iowa State University, we had a young man, Steve, that spent more than enough time in the weight room.  Effort was not the issue - focused effort was the issue.  You see, Steve loved to do all the exercises that built his upper body into a massive block of muscle.  Though this was important for him as a defensive lineman, what was as important, if not more important, was leg strength and overall body endurance.  When opponents who had greater leg strength and better endurance faced Steve, they would eventually get the best of him.

In selling, effort starts with prospecting.  However, it isn't just any prospecting that directly leads to results.  It has to be a focused prospecting effort.  Some of you reading this have heard me say: "The #1 job in successful selling is prospecting.  Prospecting is nothing more than effort.  Everything starts with effort".  And while that may be true, this statement is more true:

"Prospecting - calling on the the right people that have a need, are willing to pay you for your value and can change from their current relationship - THAT is the job."  THAT is focused effort.  Some of you may have heard me say that as well, I just don't say it as often as I should - all the time.

What has brought this to light is work that I'm doing for a firm on the East Coast.  They have quality people that have strong desire and commitment to succeed, but it is becoming clear that they are confusing activity (effort) with progress.  They are busy, but they aren't making sales, they aren't moving names into the pipeline and they aren't moving prospects in the pipeline.  To address this as a sales manager, you must be aware of the following:

1. Are my people calling enough people?
2. Are they calling the right people? (Example: C level that really makes the decision rather than just influences the decision)
3. Are they calling on prospects that fit our wheel house? (our go-to- market strategy)
4. Are they qualifying for C3? - Compelling reasons to buy, capacity to invest, clarity of decision making

I was in church this holiday season and, seated in front of me, was a mother and her 6-year old daughter.   The daughter had jet black curly hair, a beautiful complexion, brown eyes and a wonderful child's smile.  As we began the service, the music director instructed us to turn to song 358 for the opening song, which would be Joy to the World.  The little girl pumped her fist in delight and, when the music began, she sang along with a great deal of enthusiasm.

So, how does this relate to our daily world of sales training?  In our normal course of on-boarding a new client, our first step in the process is to evaluate the sales environment.  We do this using a tool called the Impact Analysis, for which we are a licensed distributor (provided by Objective Management Group).  The analysis provides us insight into the sales organization's systems and processes that support or hinder sales growth.  It allows us to identify sales skills, as well as strengths and weaknesses of the sales team and management.  It also provides data around the sales environment, systems and processes that either help or hinder the organization.

Over the years, I have had the chance to review several other sales evaluations and I have a strong bias for the one that we use.  It identifies, for the client and me, clear root causes for failure, strengths that support the opportunity for success, and skills that can be leveraged.  It helps identify who will help the organization grow and provides a road map of where to invest time, money and effort to further grow the organization.

One of the findings in the sales evaluation is “desire for success in selling”.   For managers, it is a finding of "desire for success in sales management." 

As that beautiful child sang with all of her heart, what I began thinking right in the middle of Joy to the World was this:  Does desire mean the same thing as enthusiasm?

I don't know.  And I don't know that enthusiasm or desire are traits that can be measured in terms of degree, but I do believe they can be observed.  I believe that there can be indicators of their success.  And, I believe that they are both crucial to sales growth and success.

I have seen this over the years with a few managers and a few sales people.  They are excited about what they do.  They approach each day and each opportunity with a fresh set of eyes and a fresh mindset about what opportunities the day can bring.  They are excited about engaging people, about telling their story, about helping people improve their current situations.  Their energy is high, their attitude always positive, and their pace always, always hard to keep up with as they go about their daily routine.

As you begin this new year leading your sales team (or if you are an individual sales professional reading this post and you begin to lead yourself in this new year), stop and consider your enthusiasm for the job and for the opportunities you can create for your clients, your company and for yourself.  Think about the satisfaction that you and your clients can enjoy as you go about bringing solutions to problems that have long been a bother.  Think about approaching each new day as if this is the day you were hoping would happen.  This is the day, this is the week, this is the month, and this is the year. THIS IS THE SONG you were hoping for!  Go ahead and do a fist pump if you feel like it!

Click one of the following for more information:

Desire for Success

Commitment to Success (audio file)

Enthusiasm for Success (GREAT Video LINK)

Evaluate a sales team

Sales people typically want to know how to do three things better:

1. See more people
2. Manage their time
3. Close more business

When we are working with sales professionals during our sales training workshops, closing is one of the last things we get to. Not because effective closing techniques aren't important to every sales process, but because it isn't as important as the sales steps leading to the close.  However, I've decided that, as I was posting the 10 solutions for successful selling, I'd pop "8 Steps for More Effective Closing" in up front so that, with those deals you have in your pipeline today, you might have a slight edge in closing those deals with this information.

Years ago, I was taught that 'the close' is an affirmation of the conversations you've already had with the prospect - or at least that's the theory. The theory runs aground, so to speak, if your qualifying steps weren't as strong as they needed to be and if your set up for the closing wasn't as strong as it needed to be. Let's do a quick recap of what should have happened prior to showing up for the close:

1. A relationship, based on confidence and trust, should have been developed  (check out a brief Seth Godin Blog)
2. You should have identified motivation / compelling reason for your prospect to take action.
3. The prospect should have told you that they wanted to fix a problem or they realize a currently unrealized benefit
4. You and the prospect should have agreed to an investment of time, money and resources
5. You and the prospect should have agreed to a decision making process that included:
   • You would supply a solution that fits their specifications
   • You would supply this solution within their budget
   • You would be prepared to answer all of their questions
   • They would be prepared to make a decision- yes or no.
6. You would have sent an 'as we agreed to' letter
7. You would have followed up the 'as we agreed to' letter with a phone call confirming the contents of the letter.

If, in fact, you have done these 6 things, then your close should be an affirmation of everything that you've already agreed to. If you haven't executed on these 6 items then, well, you are in trouble at time of close.

Here are 8 steps for more effective closing:

1. Be prepared to be dazzling (10 presentation skills you MUST execute)
2. You review why you are there to present
   • There is a problem that needs to be solved
   • There is an agreed to investment to solve the problem
   • There will be a decision today to either solve the problem or not solve the problem (Tell you yes or no)
3. You place your 3 page presentation in front of the prospect:
   • Page 1 - cover sheet
   • Page 2 - list of problems identified in closing process
   • Page 3 - bulleted list of solutions to problems
4. You ask the prospect which problem they want to discuss first
5. You provide the solution and answer all of their questions
6. You ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 you love it, 1 you hate it, how do you feel about the solution I've just presented?"  If it is 7 or better, you are in good shape, but the prospect does not have all of the information they need.  You now have to ask them "What information do you need to get to a 10?"
7. You proceed through each solution the same way
8. When you finish all of your solutions you ask the question, "What would you like to do now?"

If you have done all of your work the right way, you will get a decision. The challenge here is two-fold:

1. Did you do all the right stuff?
2. Are you okay with hearing "No, I don't want to do business with you?"

Executing the right stuff and being okay with hearing "no" are two of the things that make selling so damn hard.

As a sales person, sales manager and sales development expert I read lots of books on lots of topics.  The one I'm talking about today is one that my Linda is reading and has been quoting to me for the last couple of months.  I decided to pick it up and thus the post for today:  Sale Guru.  In the book, "The Big Questions"  by Lama Surya Das, the Dalai Lama has said:  "If you want to be wisely selfish, care for others." Wow, now I know why the Dalai is the Dalai and I am a sales development expert.  

So, maybe I'm the Sales Guru of Sales because for years we instructed sales people (go to recommended reading list) to focus on "caring for the client". Forget about what you need and what your company wants you to sell.  Focus on this: what is the compelling issue that would cause someone to take action?  In other words, we have this '1st base' appointment, but what has to happen to get to 2nd, 3rd and eventually score a run / making a sale (Dave Kurlan's Baseline Selling)?  Which leads me to The Big Questions in Sales.  Before I get to them go to this great article by Linda Richardson about asking Tough Questions. Here are Questions you should always ask (assuming you are meeting with the decision maker) on the first call.

1.  Why are you taking time out of your business schedule just to meet with me?  (Assume you didn't beg your way into the appointment but you got invited instead)

2.  (Assume the prospect gives you an answer that 'sounds' like a problem)  Why is that a problem?

3.  How long has this problem been a problem?

4.  What have you done to try and make the problem go away?  (Assume they give you an answer that describes something they've tried)

5.  And that is working?  (They will say 'no' or they would not have invited you in to see them)

6.  What is it that you or someone like me could do for you?  (Assume they say, 'fix it', or something like that)

7. I"m not sure that I can because I don't know enough yet.   But there is one thing that I need to know and that you need to address before you go any further with me, your current provider or anyone else, can I share that with you?  (Yes)

8.  Is this problem really bad enough, compelling enough for you to have to invest time, money and resources into in order to get a different outcome that you are getting today? 

We can stop right there for now.  If you get anything other than a 'yes, I have to fix this, this is compelling enough for me to invest in', then you don't have a prospect.  There isn't anything else to focus on. You can ask questions until you both get sick and tired of playing cat and mouse but the reality is:

1. You have to care enough about them and their time to tell them that until the problem or desired outcome becomes compelling enough to take action then there isn't anything to do.
2. You have to be wisely selfish enough to realize that if you move forward you are wasting your time and the time and resources of the company or companies you represent
3. You have to care enough about this relationship that you've been nurturing to be honest about the first decision they have to make:  Do they have to fix the problem?  You can't worry about whether you will get the business, or miss an opportunity.  As David Sandler used to say, 'no pain, no prospect'.

Think about your last sales call and your next one.  Think about how you conducted the last sales call and how it might have changed, been better if you asked these questions and responded accordingly (Accordingly means, you didn't say much other than ask the next question on the list).  Now imagine, see the next sales call.  Feel yourself asking these questions.  Trust that you will truly be focused on your client and the outcome will be a win win no matter what happens.

Go in peace. 

If you do nothing else fun today, do this: Click this link, Men's Brains, and get ready to laugh.  When the email was sent to me, the subject line read, "This explains it all".  I don't know if it explains it all, but it certainly explains a lot.  And, as usual, I take something that I read, hear or watch and translate it to sales or sales skills, selling or something to do with sales development.

So, once you see the video, you will understand where I'm going with this, but if you choose not to, the gist of the message is that men and women's brains operate differently.  Mark Gungor, the speaker in the video, describes this in terms of "boxes".  Men have boxes and women have wires.  This where they think from, act from and make decisions from.  (You really need to watch the video!)

So, now I'm in my "thinking-about-my-next-blog-post" box and I've come up with "sales boxes".  I'll start with just these three and see where we go from there.  These three boxes represent what we call in our sales training program, "The 3 Habits of Highly Successful Sales People".

Box 1:  Relationships.  This is the box that all sales people must have.  If you don't, then chances are you will always struggle with your ability to drive new business from new people or companies.  Best practices suggest that you, as a sales professional, should spend somewhere between 25% and 33% of your time in this box developing new business.

Box 2:  Qualifying.  This is the box where selling really takes place. You will notice that if we talk about a "closing box", it will be a very small box.  The qualifying box is the box that requires your best skills in maintaining rapport, asking questions and listening.  You must also develop a child-like curiosity and your favorite words and/or phrases while in this box must be:  Why, and, tell me more, how long, what happens if, when you, I don't suppose, suppose we could, do you want to fix...  This is a box that you must spend time in mastering these skills as well as executing these skills.

Box 3:  Decisions.  This is a box that you should have lined with wallpaper that looks like money because this is where you get paid.  Until someone makes a decision and you get paid for your work, you will find yourself in another box called "unachieved personal goals box".  Most, if not all, of your goals require freedom: freedom of time and freedom to choose.  Both of those freedoms normally require that you have cash flow or financial independents.  You must understand that when you are in this box, you must not leave easily.  Do not let people get you out of this box by telling you that they want to think it over, crunch some numbers or compare.  No, this is a box that you have to make sure you are committed to staying in once you are in there with a prospect presenting a solution.  They may want to leave this box and go to their "think it over box".  That is not an option you should let them have.

I find that I can stay in my blog box for about 15 to 20 minutes as I share my thoughts with you.  After that, I have another box calling me.  It's Box 1.