Sales Training Sales Java

In today's market place, you can survive the short term by making quick adjustments to your sales plan, your pricing and market strategy.  These adjustments will reflect in your sales pipeline and in your monthly sales results; however, what you will see in the end is that these adjustments will do little to secure consistent and predictable sales growth, which is what you need to focus on in addition to surviving the current environment.  How do you do that? 

Sales Fundamentals

1. As sensitive as the marketplace is to pricing - don't automatically reduce your pricing or margins just to get a sale. Yes, this will help you today, but if you keep that client, you will have re-established your brand as the low cost provider or a price based resource.
2. As difficult as it might be to maintain your pricing, I understand that you may have to sharpen your pencil in order to get a deal. Ok, then start selling additional services so that you can increase the revenue value of that client. Start focusing on average revenue per account instead of average size sale.
3. Focus on the client. The marketplace today certainly wants good pricing; however, they also are seeking ‘comfort' in a relationship. As much as we have discussed 'not showing up and throwing up', the market has changed. They want assurance that your product will work; you will be there when they need you; and that your business is sustainable. Start early by providing them information that will satisfy their need for security.
4. ABP = Always be prospecting. You need to step up your prospecting activity. If your normal mode of penetrating the market is through introductions, then you need to increase the number of meetings that you have with centers of influence. If you market yourself through networking, then do more networking.
5. One-time hits are valuable right now to prop up your sales and to support your financials, but understand that the one-time hit is exactly that, a one-time hit. If that hit is a $100,000 deal, then your strategy for next year needs to include how to replace that revenue event. You are better off transitioning those one-time hits into long term clients by closing the immediate deal and then entering discussions as a valued advisor.

Certainly, these are unprecedented times, but fundamentals are fundamentals.  When you stray from them, you get into trouble.  When in trouble, return to the fundamentals and return to consistent success.

I'm reading the book ‘Who'.  No, the author is not Dr. Seuss it is Geoff Smart and Randy Street of ‘Topgrading' fame and fortune.  The book is about prospecting, evaluating, assessing, interviewing and selecting the right candidate for the job.  The job could be sales, management, finance, or operations; it doesn't matter.  As Jim Collins states in his book ‘Good to Great', "it is about getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats."  I'm thinking the same thing applies to you and your sales business.  You need a sales scorecard.

The best way to upgrade your client is to have a preferred customer or client base.  In banking, they identify segments such as business banking, middle market, retail and private banking,  just to name a couple.  Why wouldn't this make sense in all sales?  The short answer is that it does.  I was with a group yesterday, Melink, a company that specializes in helping companies and entities build or retro build ‘green buildings'.  They have sales people that specialize in specific market segments.

If your company doesn't look at marketing and sales that way, it doesn't mean that you can't.  You should have a scorecard of sorts to make sure that the people you are getting introduced to fit the mold of the ‘perfect client' for you.  When you work with your ‘perfect client', you provide greater value because you are more familiar with that particular market segment, you know the solutions they typically need and you have a product that fits their specific needs.  However, the problem is that you don't have a system or process in place to make sure that you are really getting the ‘ideal' client for your ‘book of business'.  You need a sales scorecard.  So here you go.  Feel free to use, edit or reproduce any way you feel is appropriate to your specific business, but keep the concepts in place and make sure that you have some sort of accountability process in place to ensure you adhere to your scorecard.  If you would like further discussion on this feel free to call.

Once completed, share this scorecard with anyone that can potentially interface with your clients to make sure there is synchronization in focus, effort and support for this type of client.

I hate having these discussions because the typically come out the wrong way in writing. When I read articles like the one from Fast Company - The Most Valuable Player in Sports - I can't help but think about sales people, selling and sales results.  Check this out.  In 2006 major league baseball spent $311,000,000 (14% of payroll) on players that didn't play.  I automatically think - hmm, how much money was spent by companies on sales people that didn't play / perform?

I also think how many goals were washed out because the sales professional in charge lacked the desire, commitment, or responsibility to overcome obstacles to executing the game / goal plan to make sure they got the sales results they stated they would get.  And, as a result, failed to achieve some, if not all, the personal goals they had set?

The article goes on to talk about how Dr. Andrews, in addition to his orthopedic wizardry, developed and honed his therapeutic  mastery as well.  He would engage the prospective athlete in dialog that allowed him to identify a multitude of success factors ‘post' operative procedure.  Here are just 6 of his questions ‘translated' into sales talk to assess a sales person's acumen and preparedness for recovery.

1. What exactly is your current sales problem? Where is / are the choke points to successful selling?
2. What happens if you don't fix it?
3. What are your short- term, intermediate and long term sales goals?
4. How committed are you to rehabbing or turbo charging your sales career?
5. What is your appetite for change?
6. What are the other external factors that will help or hinder your success?

Powerful and insightful questions that need to be asked before engaging in any sales training, individual coaching or on-going development plan.    Too often people jump into the fray of training and or self - help only to find themselves light in the checking account, lost investment of time and very little improvement in results. 

My suggestion to you is that you should look at those 6 questions before  you begin to re-invent yourself or re-commit yourself to ‘really getting it done this year'.  Honestly answer those questions and then decide on what your sales goals will be, what your goal plan will look like and how you will hold yourself accountable over the next 12 months.  Oh, and one more question once you've decided that this time you are really going to get it done:

Why should I believe you?

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.

Too many times salespeople fail to close business simply because they didn't muster the courage required in the beginning of the sales cycle - when they were prospecting.  Instead of calling at the top of the organization or as Anthony Parinello describes this person "VITO - Very Important Top Officer" the timid sales person calls somewhere below that level where the only qualifying capabilities of the HR director or Risk Manager is to say ‘no'.

You want to close more business more quickly at higher margins do the following:

1. Always call at the level where the person as the authority to say yes to your proposal. Even if you get shifted down to another level you can always get back to your initial contact
2. In those situations where you do your best to call at the top and can't get there, but the prospect is on your top ten list, then make sure your inside coach will get you to the decision maker before presenting
3. When preparing for your closing meeting make sure you always - ALWAYS - send an ‘as we agreed to letter', follow the letter with a phone call and then, before you present to the decision maker, review everything discussed so far, the purpose of the meeting (make a decision) and close your review by asking, ‘what's changed'.

For more great information on calling on the right people follow this link to Dave Kurlan's blog: sales development blog.

The blues have it. It was a fight well fought; now it's time to go to work.  The reds don't have it.  It was also a fight well fought; now it's time to go to work.  You won a sale, a fight well fought; now go sell something else.  You lost an opportunity, a fight well fought; now go sell something else.

You see the message is always the same.  The outcome is the outcome.  If you win, celebrate, congratulate yourself and those that helped you win and move on; there is work to do.  Leverage the momentum and keep moving. When you win, now it's time to execute on the win.  You have to fulfill the promise. There isn't any entitlement.  There isn't any gloating over the opponent that lost.  There isn't time to waste thinking about how now you've got it made.  In the movie The Candidate, Robert Redford wins his election bid.  His question when it was all done?  What do we do now?

When you lose an opportunity, the most important thing to think is SW³N.

• Some Will
• Some Won't
• So What
• Next

There isn't time or value in a pity party.  Do a quick debrief and get on with the next activity in your life - prospecting for someone else to pitch.  That is the name of the sales game.  We keep track of wins and losses because that is how we measure our success, our development and our effectiveness.  We need to know how well we stack up against ourselves because that is what we can control.  We cannot control what a competitor says or does, and try as you may, you can't control whether a prospect decides to buy from you or not.  So move on!

Executing your strategy, your activities and your business plan is what matters day in and day out.  You look at the sales results to help you determine if you are on track to hit your personal goals, but you really can't control how the prospects ‘vote'.  So move on - execute.  Stay the course, deliver the message, ask people for their business, get a decision and move on.

Isn't there an element of relief now that the decision has been made?  Certainly, there is, and the same holds true in the sales business.  Things will always get better once the decision is made because now you can move on and execute.  Waiting around for the prospect to say yes is a tiresome exercise, and in the meantime, you fail to execute those items that bring you ultimate success.

If you won - congratulations - Let's all move on.

If you lost - congratulations - you probably learned something, you can cross something off your list and now you are free to move on.  So move on, go sell.

It is Election Day and arguably the single most important Presidential Election of our lifetime. In the spirit of making decisions that make a difference, here are 5 decisions to make that will impact your sales success:

1.  to have clear and extra-ordinary goals. There is something inspiring about having goals and making them extra-ordinary. As Walt Disney said, ‘dream the big dream, there is nothing in small dreams that stir the blood.'
2.  to be a leader within your peer group and be the dominate player in your market. Too many times I hear, ‘we are not the dominate player in our market'. So, what does that have to do with you deciding that you will be the dominant player in your market place? All of you have the product selection, the support and the resources to be the dominant player. Vote for yourself to be that kind of player.
3.  to get decisions from prospects. In other words, get them to vote. Today you can't go to the polls and say, ‘let me think about it'. No, all the thinking has been done. Today you take action and decision making takes place. You can do the same thing with prospects. Ask them to do all of their thinking before you show up so that they are armed with questions, you are prepared to answer them and when done, people can decide. Yes or no is ok, but vote.
4.  for prospecting. You have to understand that you can't get people to choose you unless you are out their campaigning for yourself. Establish your brand by getting into the market. Let people know who you are even if you don't get the appointment. If you call them and let them know who you are the first time, then the second call gets easier.
5.  to qualify who you will work with. Not everyone is someone that fits your vision, mission and goals. Not everyone in the market place qualifies to pick you as someone they want to work with or represent them. You can't approach the market place hoping that you can serve all the people all of the time, it just isn't going to happen. Decide who you are best suited to represent and then do that to the best of your ability.

Thanks for listening to my stump speech today.  Go VOTE!

I look at about a dozen blogs and newsletters a week.  That is not a lot of browsing according to standards set by Seth Godin, Verne Harnish, Dave Kurlan or Guy Kawasaki, just to name a few.  It is enough to know that when it comes to selling, sales training, sales coaches and driving sales results, no one person has all the answers and no one person is right or wrong. Therefore, here are a couple of links to blog post that I'm sure you will find helpful:

• Marketing: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/waiting-for-the.html
• Selling on price: http://www.sellingtoconsumers.com/art_offering_the_lowest_price_is_overrated.htm
• Quality Selling Activity: http://www.sixsigmaselling.com/six_sigma_selling/2008/04/how-to-avoid-th.html
• Sales training: http://www.omghub.com/salesdevelopmentblog/tabid/5809/bid/6914/10-Types-of-Sales-Advisers-and-How-to-Choose-the-One-That-s-Best-For-You.aspx
• Effective Prospecting: http://www.referralcoach.com/individuals/
• Closing: http://blog.anthonycoletraining.com/Sales-Training-Sales-Java/bid/4767/How-to-Sell-to-Close-the-Business

I just did a search on Google for ‘sales techniques'.  In .19 seconds, I had over 7 million listings for sales techniques.  If prospecting, qualifying or closing seems to be problems for you, it certainly can't be because you can't get information on ‘how to'.  Maybe you haven't taken the time to learn how to, or are comfortable with the position that you've been selling for 20 plus years.  As the song goes, ‘the times they are a changing'.  If you haven't changed, then I'm guessing that in many cases, neither have your results.  Oh, you may be selling as much as you used to, but I'd guess it's not as easy as it used to be.  Come on, take a few minutes every week and brush up those sales skills.  It will make a difference.

Effective and successful selling requires excellent technique.  One must excel at asking questions and listening.  One must have skill at telling stories and using metaphors and analogies to make a point,  Certainly, one must be expert at dealing with stalls, questions and objections; however, what drives a sales person's ability to execute these techniques and skills will be hard to find in a traditional sales training setting from traditional sales trainers.  As Curly said in the movie City Slickers:  "One thing, just one thing, you stick to that and the rest...

The one thing that drives consistent execution in sales is courage.  In our sales training classes, we talk about commitment, desire, outlook and taking responsibility.  Those components help drive courage.  If you think about each one of those, you would soon discover that they are not very trainable.  As a salesperson, that is what you have to bring to the dance if you want to get