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.

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

Let me start by telling you this post has nothing to do with sales or selling.  It does have something to do with mentoring in sales and looking for the right mentor for sales.

I have some great friends here at Lake Cumberland.  Not only have they become great friends, but many of them are also mentors.  Jerry B taught me how to drive my houseboat.  Jerry H helps me with the mechanical and functional issues of the boat.  Glenn  has mentored me on the fine art of the right music at the right time of the day.  His lovely wife, Vicki, has mentored me on beverage variety.  Alan is becoming my mentor for my specific boat, a Thoroughbred houseboat.  And recently, Paul is mentoring me on catching 'bucket mouth' (large mouth bass) fish.  When my brother-in-law, Mike, visits from Virginia, he will teach me guitar.

This is what they all have in common:

1. They know their business.  They have become 'experts' in the specific area they are mentoring.
2. They all explain what I need to do and they all have the ability to demonstrate.
3. They have been incredibly patient with me.  I've been boating for over 10 years, but there is still so much I don't know.
4. They give me a chance to execute.
5. They continue to learn from each other and increase their know-how.

It is this last point that is important for you even if you are not a mentor.  One of the 'objections' to training I've heard over the years is "Tony, I've been doing this a long time."  Normally, this doesn't come from a veteran sales person that is highly successful, but normally from someone that has a long history of being in the business but is moderately successful or has decided to coast.  Those at the top of the game continue to learn and improve.  They are eager to learn and figure out how to improve their skill thus improving results.

If you are looking for a mentor, pay attentions to these 5 characteristics of great mentors.

If you are a mentor, ask yourself if you fit these 5 characteristics.

If you are not a mentor and don't want to be a mentor but do consider yourself a senior producer, you should still exhibit these 5 characteristics anyway.

Finally, regardless of your status, the best way to learn something is to teach it to others.  As you go about your business today, find a way to help someone just because.

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.

My nephew, Steven W., is five.  Today, he gave me a hint that he might go into sales.  Why?  Because he knows the key to getting a decision is to ask.  Not just once, twice or three times.  If I counted the number of times he asked, I would guess it was somewhere between 35 - 50 times in the space of about 20 minutes.

From the time Linda and I picked him up from kindergarten late this afternoon, until we walked into Blockbuster to rent a WII game, he just did not stop asking:  Blockbuster, Blockbuster, Blockbuster.  I'm sure many of the readers would have found this annoying, and if I wasn't in the sales training business, I might have.  However, it amazed me that his repeated question of "going to Blockbuster?" was a conscious effort and just did not stop.  He knew exactly what he wanted, and if there was any sign of not getting it, he knew the old guilt trip of a 5-year old would work on Uncle TT and Aunt Winna.  He was bound and determined to not just get a decision, but to make sure the answer was "yes".

I'm not schooled in psychology or anthropology, but I'm sure someone could explain to us at just what point we lose that insistence behavior.  I've often thought that it occurs after the first serious rejection of a request.  Maybe it was a dance, a date, a request to borrow the car keys  or to stay out past normal curfew (maybe I'm shedding some light on my development here).  But, certainly, it happens.

I've heard that a sales person should ask at least 7 times for the order.  When I hear this, a line from the movie Hitch comes to mind. The female lead, Sara, responds "no" to a young man that has approached her and offered to buy her a drink. He tries another tactic, and Sara says, "'No' doesn't mean try harder."  It also doesn't mean "try a different closing technique".

Sara is right.  But, keep in mind that "no" doesn't mean stop.  It simply means that you have not addressed something that the prospect wants answered nor provided anything that satisfied a need.  Don't be a pest and just try harder.  Back off, say thank you for the decision and ask a question or two before you leave.  This alone may get your prospect to open up and tell you what you failed to do and what you need to do to make them a client.

Start the year with a clear vision of

1. What you are going to accomplish,
2. How you will accomplish what you have set out to do and more importantly
3. Identify those metrics and benchmarks that will measure your progress to your objectives.

Once you've taken those three action items

1. Communicate your plan to someone that will hold you accountable
2. Find a training resource that will help you improve areas of execution
3. Identify rewards for success and consequences for failure

If you  did  these 6 things  by the end of the first full week of the new year you will be well on your way to a successful and productive 2009.

Happy New Year!

Sales lessons come in many disguises.  This one is about hitting sales goals with a ‘no excuse' attitude about doing whatever it takes to execute your required sales activity.

During basketball season when I was in high school, I had to work on our farm on Saturdays from 7:00 AM until basketball practice, which was about 2:00 in the afternoon.  My sister, Tresa, worked with me. We had to build blueberry crates that we used to ship pints of blueberries across the country.  On a normal day, Tresa and I would make about 800 to 1,000 crates.  On a short day, when I had practice, our goal was about 700.

One day, we had a little fight. Tresa got mad, went to the house and told my dad.  He came over to the barn where I was working, reamed me a good one and then, for good measure, told me that if I planned on going to basketball practice that afternoon, I had better plan on still building 700 crates without the help of my sister.  I could have gotten mad at Tresa, but admittedly it was my fault; however, the real issue was that I couldn't miss practice or I wouldn't start in the next game.  So instead of sitting there fuming and playing the blame game and thinking dad was unfair, I started hammering nails into those wooden crates like a machine.

I finished my 700 by 1:30, went to practice and started the game on Tuesday.

You see, it all comes down to what motivates you to do the things you have to do to succeed.  Certainly, my goal wasn't to make the 700 crates.  It was to make practice so I could start and nothing, not even my own stupidity of having a fight with my sister, was going to get in the way.

What have you let get in your way this year?

• 1. Decisions by your company to change pricing, policies or products?
• 2. A competitor going to the low cost provider strategy and doing a land grab?
• 3. The economy blues where you now have an easy excuse not to prospect for new business?
• 4. A sales manager who is taking a bullet for the team by telling the president that she shouldn't expect to hit the sales goals?
• 5. A too understanding spouse who says, ‘that's ok we'll take a nice vacation in 2010?

Whatever the reasons, you have a choice. Buy into the excuse making or ignore it and focus on your commitments.  If you focus on your commitments chances are you'll be the lone ranger because your competition is laying around making excuses, instead of making sales, leaving the market open for you to go and grab.

At the end of the day, all you have is your reputation. Will your reputation be one of an excuse maker or one of a person that fulfills their obligations?  It's your choice.