Top producers have mastered many skills. However, we know that all salespeople, including top salespeople, still struggle with 3 primary sales challenges.

Selling is not for everyone but for those “elite” salespeople, it is a most rewarding career. These top producers have mastered many skills including positioning their value to prospects and clients, as well as following a stage-based sales process. Additionally, we know that all salespeople, including the cream of the crop, struggle with 3 primary sales challenges

Sales Challenge #1: Differentiating– how to be Unique

Everyone in selling has been taught the elevator speech, the 15-second commercial, the value proposition, the positioning statement, etc.  You know it's supposed to describe what you do: 

• "I help companies like yours manage their insurance risk." 
• "I sell customized clothing to busy executives."
• "I own a CPA and tax consulting practice specializing in the needs of companies that generate between 5 and 10 million dollars in revenue".

Sound familiar? That's the problem. There is nothing unique about the approach from any one of these statements. That is why being unique is one of the biggest sales challenges.

You have to give the prospect a compelling reason to keep listening. What you say should cause the person with whom you are talking to respond either verbally or mentally in one of three ways;

1. That's me.
2. How do you do that?
3. Tell me more.

When creating your “unique sales approach” (USA) or elevator pitch, answer the following questions;

• What people or companies have chosen to do business with you/your company?
• Why did someone buy the product/service that you offer?
• What problem was it that they wanted to solve? 
• What benefit were they looking for that they weren't getting?

Here are a few examples:

• Insurance: "I provide people buckets of money in the right amount, at the right cost, and at the right time." (How do you do that?)
• Banking: "My clients are companies that discovered that working with a bank should be more than just a place to get money or leave money." (Tell me more.)
• Accounting: "I'm in the business of helping small businesses that are sick and tired of sending the government more money and keeping less." (That's me!)

Sales Challenge #2: Selling consultatively

Consultative selling is a vague term which is why it’s one of the biggest sales challenges. The OMG sales evaluation, the top sales assessment tool for 11 years, has identified these 9 specific attributes for consultative selling:

1. Asks “great” questions. These are questions that help uncover a problem or opportunity. They should not cause you to go into presentation mode.
2. Asks “enough” questions. Do you dig down beneath the surface to understand the impact of the problem on their personal or business situation? Do you stop when you think you have enough to put together a proposal or continue to drill down?
3. Develops strong relationships. This goes beyond the chit-chat to a place where real trust develops. It is a process, not an event.
4. Presents at the appropriate times. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to present and, other times, we get ahead of the prospect.
5. Uncovers issues. Skilled salespeople uncover real problems that exist or might come about if the situation is neglected.  It is understanding your prospect's business challenges beyond the “product” you might offer.
6. Understands how prospects will buy. Remember, it’s their process; however, your questions can help drive self-discovery and urgency.
7. Takes nothing for granted. Elite salespeople understand that at any time, things can go south – they always have a bit of skepticism. It is a process to build a relationship-based solution.
8. Asks tough questions. Anyone can ask the layups; prepare to ask questions even when it is uncomfortable.  That is really the best way to establish yourself as a trusted adviser but it takes courage.
9. Listens and asks questions with ease. Listening does not mean waiting for your turn to talk.  Listen to understand what the prospect is really trying to tell you and then ask your question to clarify what you heard.  Don’t assume you know.

Sales Challenge #3: Knowing when it’s over

What do all salespeople struggle with the most? They have a difficult time recognizing that their pursuit of a prospect is over (even when the prospect hasn’t told them in those exact words). Most don’t want to entertain the possibility and that is why it is one of the biggest challenges in sales. But, why? I mean, it’s not like it has not happened to them before.

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is; “how do I/we increase sales” or “how do I become more successful in sales?” And the best answer I have is that you get better when you recognize two fundamental truths:

1. You are going to lose more often than you win.
2. When you are going to lose, you want to lose early.

Stop dreaming and start asking questions. Ask questions that allow you to confirm that your prospect has a problem they have to fix and that now is the time to fix it. Operate with a bias for disqualification so you are not so surprised when the conclusion is it’s time to move on. No is ok provided you hear it at the right time in your sales process.

We have identified the four Cs of great salespeople and how mastering these traits will lead to better relationship selling and advanced selling skills.

This week we are focusing on the critical trait of Charisma and how being able to attract, charm, and influence those you engage with will help you be more successful. 

Three weeks ago, we kicked off a blog series focusing on the four Cs of great salespeople. So far, we have covered curiosity, confidence, and courage. Last week we focused on courage and the two primary challenges salespeople face that require them to be boldly courageous. One of those challenges is when a salesperson must provide pushback or challenge a statement that a prospect has made. Secondly, walking away from a piece of business when it does not qualify or fit.

This week we are turning our attention to the trait of charisma. Great salespeople are usually quite charismatic. The questions worth asking are twofold: 

1. What is charisma?
2. Where do you go to get charisma if you don’t have it?

Let’s start by defining charisma. It is the quality of being able to attract, charm, and influence those around you. It is generally very easy to identify when someone is charismatic. The challenge is being able to pinpoint the skills or qualities that charismatics have that others do not.

Charismatic people are very interesting to be around. I love the coaching I once received that reminded me that to be interesting you must first be interested. As in being interested in the person you are meeting with (at least more interested in them than you are in telling them about you). How much time are you currently devoting in your pre-call plan to identify the questions you intend to ask your prospect that will convey that you are genuinely interested in them and their problems?

In terms of question #2 above, I don’t know of a place you can go to obtain more charisma. Like your IQ, which is typically fully set around the age of 20, charisma is similar. Some people are simply more charismatic than others. But don’t let that deter you. You can still improve your ability to attract, charm, and influence the people around you. All you need to do is to be interested. That may lead your prospect to find you to be interesting (if not even charming).

We have identified the four Cs of great salespeople and how mastering these traits will lead to better relationship selling and advanced selling skills.

This week we are focusing on the critical trait of Courage. There are two primary challenges for salespeople that require the most courage.

Over the last two weeks, we have been building a blog series on the four Cs of great salespeople. So far, we have covered curiosity and confidence. Last week we focused on confidence and the three areas where that confidence is most evident during the sales process. Great salespeople are confident in; their company's value proposition, that they do not need to be liked to win business, and most importantly, their approach and sales process.

This week we will be focusing on the critical trait of courage. Great salespeople are always courageous. The question worth asking is, where does that courage come from? Maybe the other question worth asking is, how did they get that courage?

Mark Twain once said, “courage is resistance to fear…it is mastery of fear…it is not the absence of fear.” Great salespeople will always have moments in their sales process where they are challenged. Where they will need to have what Susan Scott calls a “fierce conversation.” For more on that topic, I encourage you to read Susan’s wonderful book titled Fierce Conversations.

It is my judgment that there are two primary challenges for salespeople that require the most courage:

1. Providing pushback. The prospect has said something that is just flat-out wrong. They want to do something that is just not right. As a salesperson, you have two options: you can simply remain quiet and let it go, or you can push back and challenge the prospect. Remember – it is never ok to confront or challenge people. But is ok (and quite frankly essential) that you challenge the statements that people make. And this starts with asking permission. One example would be; “Hey Mary, you just said something that I have a divergent opinion on…would it be ok if I offered a different perspective?”
2. Walking away. Salespeople hate what I call the “Crowded House” moment in a tribute to the rock band’s 1986 hit single “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. You know the words- "hey now, hey now, don’t dream it’s over." But what if it is over? Wouldn’t you want to know that so you could move on? Would you be concerned about wasting your time? Of course, you will only walk away if you have something else (other deals, other prospects) to walk away towards. If your pipeline is empty, walking away can be hard to do.

Do you want to be more courageous? Suppose I told you that you can be just that. Look for moments to push back (ask permission and be nice) and prospect like crazy, so you are operating with a full pipeline. Remember – you would like their business. But you certainly don’t need it.

If you consider all the things that you do as a salesperson throughout the day, you’ll notice you spend a lot of time virtually prospecting, qualifying, closing, and building relationships.

But there is so much more involved in making effective virtual sales calls and interactions with your prospects than just using Zoom.

The short answer is this: Everything!

As I thought about this article, I thought about what was all included with virtual selling:

• Marketing to new segments, verticals, individuals
• Prospecting for additional business from current clients/portfolios/books of business
• Following up on contacts initiated from social media or traditional networking
• Conducting initial conversation live but not in person face-to-face
• Qualifying discussions
• Presentations and closing appointments
• Use of video materials or other support content such as testimonials, case studies, and proof of concept reports.

But as I started my Google search for articles on the history of virtual selling, one of the hits was a link to a course offered by IMPACT – a virtual training company. Here is an excerpt from the page:

A couple of weeks ago, I set up an appointment with a rather large, well-known tax company. I went on their site ready to schedule my appointment and saw that I could either go in person, or I could do a virtual call. To start, they clearly laid out what I could expect and what I needed to do on the day of. When the meeting day rolled around, I checked my email to see if they sent a reminder of what I needed to do.

Nothing.

I then logged into the account I created where they said a button for a video call would show up.

Nothing. 

I then called them and asked what I should be doing to make sure the video call works out and then proceeded to tell me that the tax preparer will call me right before because "he’s the only one in the office who knows how it works.” 

Long story short, I received the call and then proceeded to spend almost 30 minutes trying to get it to work (which it never did). What seemed like a seamless alternative to save time on my part turned into quite a frustrating, time-consuming debacle. 

This is why there is so much more to making virtual selling and interactions with your prospects than just using Zoom for your calls. 

So, what can go wrong? Everything. And that, understandably, is why you might hesitate or be resistant to move towards more virtual selling. 

There was probably a time when many of the things you do now were new to you, your industry, or your career. Believe it or not, there was a time when:

• We didn’t use computers as a sales enablement tool
• We certainly didn’t Google anything, use Facebook or LinkedIn
• Emails were considered for internal use only and never, NEVER, would we communicate with a prospect or client via email
• Using a tablet or mobile device was Sci-Fi
• PowerPoint presentations were for those salespeople that couldn’t command the room or didn’t know their solutions well enough

My point here is that there was a time when you resisted, pushed back, or were hesitant to do something that you thought would take away from your traditional approach or thoughts about selling:

• People do business with people they like
• It’s important to have a firm handshake and look your prospect squarely in the eye
• Selling is a face-to-face business
• If I don’t’ get out and see my prospects, my competition will

But if you take a minute and consider all the things that you do, you’ll notice you spend a lot of time virtually prospecting, qualifying, closing, and relationship building.

Virtual communication can be defined as any communication that takes place without you physically being present with the person you are communicating with. If you don’t think you sell virtually today, or you don’t think you live in a virtual sales world, then take a look at your inbox and sent folder and your cell phone call log every day.

So, here is where I’ve landed:

• Embrace the fact that you already have a sales practice that is highly virtual
• Take time to understand how to become more effective in your current virtual communication methods  
• Your body language, facial expressions, eye movement, and tone of voice all gets lost when you send an email
• Much of the same is lost even on a phone call
• Emails have to capture the reader’s attention just like a handshake, and eye contact does
• When making phone calls, you have 5 seconds to capture the prospect's attention
• Expand your current virtual communication to include video: Tips for better, more effective video meetings;
• Duplicate the in-person experience as best you can
• Let an expert run the backroom – set-up and running the meeting – so that you can focus on what you do best
• Professional look and feel. You don’t have to be studio quality for most meetings but if you are presenting the deal that makes or breaks your year, and virtual is your best option, then put your best foot forward
• Practice, practice, practice
• Make sure your participants are prepared well in advance. Also, log-in for the meeting– especially first-time events – should be 10 to 15 minutes before starting the meeting
• Have backup information clearly communicated. For example, if you run into problems, you will switch to a conference call

In closing, think about how much more you can get done, and how much more effective you can be if you didn’t have to get into a car for an hour each way for a meeting. Think about the flexibility it gives your client if there are people that can't make it into the office for the meeting but can now join virtually. Think about your ability to include more of the right people in meetings so that your sales process doesn’t get bogged down. Think about all the things you already do that are virtual and how you can improve your skills in those areas.