THE DIGITAL AGE SIGNALS AN END TO TRADITIONAL SELLING

If you’re not worried about losing your job as a salesperson, an investment advisor, an insurance broker or a banker, think again.  It’s already happening and it will continue to happen. 

This is not a bold statement coming from someone trying to create hysteria to create more business for his own business solutions practice (Anthony Cole Training Group). Think of this as someone who is reporting today’s weather and attempting to tell you that the current weather patterns are predicting with some certainty that tomorrow will be cloudy with a 50% chance of severe thunderstorms with hail and rain coming down like cats and dogs.

(Click HERE for the MUST watch prediction of the future of salespeople…)

THE LIMITATIONS OF COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE?

Dan Sullivan, co-founder of Strategic Coach and author of The 21st Century Agent, attempted to warn salespeople (agents) about what they needed to do to secure their future. These three keys to professional security were based on the known capabilities of the microchip in 1995.  At the time, Dan stated that the microchip was incapable of:

1. Finding and creating new relationships
2. Providing creative solutions
3. Helping people make the decision to buy

But, how accurate are those comments today?  Not very!  Mobile technology, big data, sophisticated algorthyms and search protocols allow for anyone selling anything to:

1. Reach out, find and attract potential buyers
2. Digitally collect the appropriate data and apply that data to provide solutions for the buyer based on the purchase preferences of the buyer (For instance, I now buy most of my shoes on Zappos.)
3. Provide a “1 click option” (like at Amazon) for people to purchase nearly anything in less than a minute

“So…” you reply, “this technology only applies to shoes, books and low cost items.”

Not so fast. Think about the last time, either at home or while in your car, seeing or hearing Flo from Progressive or the reptile from Geico telling you that you could get insurance from them cheaper and faster.  What about State Farm and Liberty Mutual who also consistently tell you that, not only can you get better coverage, but they will also pay your claims quicker and reward you for safe driving?

The technology and AI of today has replaced sales jobs – make no mistake about it!

HOW AI CHANGES THE GAME

You think that your type of selling is really that sophisticated? Alec Ross recently spoke at the Bank Insurance And Securities Association (BISA) meeting at the beautiful Diplomat Resort and Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.  He provided a harsh look at reality to all of the advisors in the room when he candidly answered the following question:

“Alec, what is the one question that this audience (Presidents, program managers, advisors, sales managers, VPs of sales, Investment Product Companies and Broker Dealers) should be obsessing about?”

Alec:  You should be obsessing over ‘disintermediation’. You should be worried about the question – Will the future need financial advisors to help people with their financial independence and retirement planning? Given the state of artificial intelligence and the speed at which data – big data – is becoming available, you should be worried about the role you currently have.  You should be worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) that is so sophisticated that it functions as well, if not better than, any human advisor would and it does so at a lower cost and a higher level of productivity and effectiveness.

I have Alec’s book and am reading the first chapter about robots.  Quite clearly, he states that if your job is defined by

• Collecting data and…
• Applying that data to known information in a data base and then…
• Providing information back to your prospect…

Then you CAN BE REPLACED by the microchip (artificial intelligence) that…

• Doesn’t need a vacation
• Won’t require medical leave
• Won’t need health insurance or a 401(k)
• Will work 24/7/365
• Will never complain about management, competition or compensation

All companies will need to do is keep the machine in a cool room with fresh air, update the components every 18 months at a fraction of the cost 18 months earlier and you are set to go.

THE CAR BUYING EXPERIENCE

My current Ford explorer has just less than 100,000 miles on it.  I received a notice on my notification band (a wrist accessory that used be called a watch) that 1) it was time for a trade-in to maximize the value of the trade-in and 2) the market conditions were going to be perfect over the next 30 days.  The market was going to be perfect because of these 3 factors:

1. The anticipation of a new trade agreement was going to provide tax incentives to manufacture more power alternative vehicles domestically
2. The previous year models were going to be discounted or would have to be shipped overseas – the discount was a better economic alternative for the auto makers
3. There would be a reduction in price due to the redistribution of labor cost

I’ve always dreaded the buying process when it came to buying a new car.  It’s not that I don’t like getting a new car; my family can tell you how excited I get as my vehicles close in on the 100k range.  I start thinking about and ogling cars for at least 6 months in advance. 

My good friend, JB, just bought the latest Lexus SUV… and I’m jealous.  JB is a habitual car buyer and an easy mark.  He takes his car in for service, they lend him a new one to drive around, he does his errands, gets seduced by the latest technology, fuel efficiency, et cetera… and, the next thing you know, he’s taking his golf clubs out of the old SUV (only 2 years “old”) and putting them in the new one.

AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE - BUYING FROM BILL

Every time I search for anything on my laptop, my mobile connection device (MCD or notification band; no longer just a watch, phone or fitness monitor) begins popping up with small ads to notify me about the closet auto distribution center and the “best” deals in a 20-mile radius.  Honestly, I’ve never been one to shop for the best deals.  I’ve purchased cars from Bill for several years now and Bill is the one I will buy from again.

It’s Saturday. I just finished my workout and then headed over to see Bill… but Bill wasn’t there. As a matter of fact, it was hard to find anyone there. The service bays were open so I walked over there and asked to talk to someone about buying a car  - specifically, I was looking for Bill.  Joe, the service manager, told me to head over to the main entrance and I would find “Bill” inside.

I did as I was instructed.

I walked through the sliding glass doors and in front of me were a series of kiosks -   very similar in appearance to what you might see in airports or grocery stores.  They all had names on them and one of them was named “Bill”.  I walk over to Bill and looked at the screen, which welcomed me to the King’s Auto Distribution Center.  As I moved closer, Bill, the kiosk, began speaking to me:

• “Hello, Tony, welcome back! It is great to see you again.” (I'm amazed that it even sounds like my old friend, Bill). Bill continues, “How have you been?”
• I stood there, not saying anything. Eventually, Bill asked, “Tony, are you here to talk about buying another car? I got a notice that your Ford was closing in on 100k miles and I know from your history with us that you like to maximize your trade-in value and buy at just the right time in the market.  How can I help you?”
• The screen instructs me that it’s okay to talk to Bill and that I should put on the headset and talk to Bill.
• “Bill,” I say with some hesitance, “I'm here to look at some cars, SUV’s specifically. You’re right; I have 97,000 miles on my car, it’s got new tires and up-to-date maintenance.  I’ve been look at some other SUVs.  I still like Ford, but would like to see last year’s Lexus XL26.”
• “Excellent, Tony. I'm glad you’ve come back here to let us help you with your transportation choices.  The Lexus xl26 also comes in the Lexus xlndr (NDR – No Driver Required) model.  May I ask you a couple of questions?”

Bill continued to ask me questions about my driving habits, preferences and skills.  He was very cordial and non-offensive with the delicate questions especially the ones about my ability to navigate now that I’m a bit older.  He knew that I’ve had a few vision problems for some time now and wanted to know how that impacts my driving in poor conditions like evening, rain, fog or snow.  He wanted to know if I always drive alone or if I have someone with me like my wife, Linda, my golfing friends or perhaps grandchildren.  He wanted to know how concerned I am about my own safety and the safety of others.  He wanted know if I'm planning on any long trips and if a sudden rise in traditional fuel prices would have a negative impact on my budget.

Once we got through this discussion, Bill informed me about the cars that match my profile that were available now or in the next 7 days. If I wanted to test drive a couple of the vehicles, then all he needed me to do was confirm my driver’s license number on file and to select a payment option as a security deposit.  I could now test drive each car for up to 12 hours with a limit of 3 cars over 5 days or 5 cars over 7.

I selected 3 cars over 5 days and I received a receipt telling me which parking spaces have the cars I’m interested in and codes had been sent to my MCD so that I can start the cars I choose to test. 

Bill wanted to know if I had any other questions. He sent me a notification that provided me with information on how to contact him while I’m on the road.  I can contact him directly from any vehicle or my MCD.  He thanked me for coming to Kings Auto Distribution Center, told me to give my family his best regards and said that he looked forward to talking to me again soon.  He hopes that I find a car to my liking.

BUYING NO LONGER REQUIRES FACE-TO-FACE

No, this really didn’t happen, but as I prepared for writing this article, I spent a lot of time playing the “what if” game.  Given that today you can actually do a lot of car shopping online AND dealerships already have kiosks that have taken over various duties, it isn’t a far stretch to think that the auto industry will soon have a sales model that won’t need “a salesman on the lot”.

Several years ago, my wife and I bought a houseboat at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.  We went to the lake, visited several marinas and looked at a dozen boats or more before settling on “Light’n Up”.  What I didn’t have to do is speak to someone about financing. I had already been approved for the boat loan… without even talking to anyone.  That was 12 years ago. 

It’s just a matter of time before someone can get a $1,000,000-dollar loan that way!

HOW TO SECURE YOUR FUTURE IN SELLING

I know this article might seem harsh, but the situation is not hopeless. In summary, here are the things you can do to secure your future in selling. Be good, and I mean really good, at the items on this list:

• Passion and commitment to success in selling
• Taking ownership of outcomes
• Finding high value, sophisticated opportunities in the marketplace
• Deciding that you will only work with people that have a need and understand the value of what you bring to the table
• Being masterful at a Discovery and Stewardship based sales approach.
• Being able to recover from rejection anytime during the process
• Being able to connect with people via social selling modalities and not be afraid of providing information to help people in their decision-making process.
• Following a specific sales process and executing it flawlessly
• Demonstrating that you are a great investment for a company because you know how to express their value proposition. You represent the company to their target market(s) and you drive revenue growth.
• Being a self-starter
• Having a great figure-it-out factor
• Taking risk, failing, learning, growing
• “Owning the room” when you present solutions

This list represents about ½ of the characteristics and skills demonstrated by elite salespeople as identified by the research done by Objective Management Group. Keep in mind that the top performers today are the ones who will have sales jobs in the future.

Additional resources:

Alec Ross' Book – Industries of the Future

Assessing Your Top Talent – How well will your salespeople perform in the future world of selling?

IT STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING PERFORMANCE

Let’s start with the problem that you have seen me write about again, again and again. 

Perry Marshall’s book – The 80/20 of Sales and Marketing created a major shift in how I think and go about talking to prospects about their sales team and its ability or inability to demonstrate consistent and predictable sales growth.  Everything, and I MEAN EVERYTHING, starts with an understanding of how your sales team is performing. 

IS THERE A PROBLEM?

This exercise identifies if there is a problem or not.  It really IS that simple.  All you have to do is a little simple math and then answer the question – Is this a problem?

I recently reviewed the productivity of a group we are in discussions with.  Nothing is final yet as the company is in that early step of the process – trying to determine if there is a problem.  To help them in the process, we sign the NDA and ask for their production numbers.  I get the numbers, stack rank them and start applying the 80/20 rule.  I don’t follow the exact procedure; instead, I just take the number of people on the list and break the group into fifths.  If I have 100 salespeople, I end up with 5 groups of 20.  Then, I just do the math.

• What percentage of the total is being produced by the top quintile?
• What percentage of the total is being produced by the middle quintile?
• How much is being produced by the 5^th quintile?

ACTUAL NUMBERS MAY BE DISTURBING

The findings were not startling in and of themselves because the top two fifths closely resembled what you would expect from the 80/20 rule.  What was interesting (and what would interest you) was the discussion about the bottom two fifths.  When we discovered that the bottom two fifths generated less than 5% of the total revenue, we then got into the compensation/revenue discussion. 

• How much is 5% of the total revenue?
• How much in compensation alone is it costing to generate that 5% of revenue?

TIME FOR THE “LET’S PRETEND” EXERCISE

I won’t go into all the details, but when we played “let’s pretend”, then everyone in the room got real serious.

• “Let’s pretend that we fired all of those people in the bottom two fifths, how much would that save in compensation alone?”
• Subtract the revenue
• What’s the profit?

I assure that in most, if not all, companies (I suggest you stop reading and do this right now) the profit is significant.  So much so that it starts a really good debate that starts with the question:

Why in the heck are those people still with us?

GET RESULTS WITH AN ESTABLISHED PROCESS

The discussion was robust, honest, helpful and productive. And, yes, they all agreed that they have a “have to fix” problem. But my post today isn’t just about getting to a point where you can determine a problem and the severity of the problem, but more about the cost of the approaching the solution the right way.

Understand we don’t get to close all the opportunities we engage in.  We don’t get them all because, at the risk of sounding arrogant, not everyone qualifies (We just failed to make the cut on a recent opportunity because of our commitment to the process).  Our process, just as yours should be, follows a fairly strict set of guidelines. We follow these guidelines because we know we can guarantee results when they are followed. We have experiences from early on in our business when we didn’t follow the guidelines – we didn’t get results and we didn’t keep the relationship.

INVALUABLE DATA FROM THE RIGHT ASSESSMENT TOOL

The primary step in our approach is the use of an assessment tool.  Specifically, we use the Objective Management Sales Effectiveness and Impact Analysis (SEIA).  It gives our new clients and us everything we need to impact revenue, profit and growth.  Let me explain by using one of the tools we get from the SEIA.  (see chart below)

This chart represents those people in a sales organization that are succeeding and failing the most.   Assuming for a minute that you don't understand the meaning of the headings, just look at the colors:  Green is good, red is bad, high numbers good, low numbers bad.  The first column identifies if the people are performing to goal or not.  The only anomaly in the group is the third person from the top.  I inquired about this and there are two pieces of information that are good to know. 

• The data we collected on performance was based on the previous years sales.
• The manager answering the question “Is this person performing as expected” answered the question for the current year.

So, what we have is someone that performed exceedingly well in one year and is now failing.  What the graph helps the manager do is have a very significant discussion on “why” there is a change.  I won’t go into all the details as to what that discussion should sound like, but now the manager has some interesting data to look at and digest in order to help frame the narrative of the required intentional coaching session to be scheduled. 

TIME TO GET REAL - THE BOTTOM LINE

What I believe is most important is to get arms around the total picture provided by hard data and assessment data.  What we know is the following:

• Coaching the top group will be effective because they are coachable and have the will to sell
• Investing in the bottom group will bring little or no return:
  • They lack desire
  • They lack commitment
  • They have a poor outlook
  • They won’t take responsibility
  • And they are not motivated to succeed in selling
• You can assume (because I did further analysis) that at least one of the other fifths in the organization looks like the top group and one looks like the bottom group.
• The one fifth that looks like the top group may not hit the top ranking because they lack tenure in the company or in the business.
• There is at least one other group that looks like the bottom quintile. They may or may not be new.  In this case, the bottom quintile we are illustrating is NOT at the bottom of the ranking because they are new. They are at the bottom because they suck at what they do!
• The question(s) you have to ask about the entire team is:
  • Did I hire them this way?
  • Did I make them this way?
• This applies to every quintile that you look at.

So, getting back to the title – The Impact on Revenue, Profit and Growth - consider the following:

• What is it costing you to carry those that are failing to perform – in real dollars and lost opportunity? You MUST calculate the cost as if you were reporting this to the board!
• What would the impact be to the bottom line if you fired them all today? Certainly, sales would not suffer.  Also, you have to consider that if they are this bad at selling, what else are they bad at and what is that costing you?
• What is the financial impact of those that looked like your worse performers but have exited over the last 12 to 24 months? Those that you fired or exited? What did that cost you in time, training, recruiting dollars, on boarding, compensation AND lost opportunities?
• How many training dollars will you pour down the rat hole attempting to fix people that are un-trainable or un-coachable? What impact could you have if those resources were redirected to sales management improvement, more focus on developing new hires with skills and true potential, recruiting talent that mimics your current top performers?
• What is the impact of keeping non- and low performers on the team? How do those in the middle react to the stack ranking knowing that those on the bottom are not at risk of losing their jobs? Why should they worry?

Okay, so maybe I’ve beat this drum enough – you got the point.  What’s the solution, what am I getting to, how do you (as the person responsible for revenue and growth) make sure you are making wise decisions when it comes to hiring, managing and developing talent?

DON’T GO IN BLIND

Think “doctor”.  I just completed an abdominal biopsy.  Prior to the procedure last Friday, I had a CAT scan, a Pet Scan, Ultrasound and another CAT scan plus results from the same test taken a year ago. 

I’m glad Dr. Max didn’t go in blind.  It was tough enough even with all the data he had.  Without it, there would have been virtually no chance to get it right.  That’s the point. Don’t go in blind.  Assess your talent, assess your new candidates, know what makes your current successful people successful and know why those that are failing are failing – DON’T REPEAT.

Additional Resources:

• Contact us to find out how to properly assess talent – Jeni@anthonycoletraining.com
• Contact us to have an 80/20 discussion – call me at 513.226.3913 or text.  Subject line: 80/20 and then make sure to include your name.
• Request an SEIA demo – traci@anthonycoletraining.com

Sales management, sales leadership and sales presidency require special diligence this time of year. Actions taken now will assure successful sales results in the coming year. In order to transition smoothly, here are 7 sales management steps that should be completed before the end of the year.  

By now, you should have:

1. Evaluated the individuals on your team for the year. Unless you have anomalies at the end of the year, your team’s individual outcomes and results are pretty much set.
2. (Based on the evaluation) Begun to have meetings with all your people. The meetings are similar to performance reviews, but they’re not the corporate type of review that gets put in the HR file.  These reviews put your team members in 1 of four groups. You then have a discussion about what group they are in.
   1. Met or exceeded sales goal and sales activity requirements group
   2. Met or exceeded sales goal but currently not at sales activity targets group
   3. Met or exceeded sales activity targets but failed  to hit sales targets (below 100% is failing)
   4. Has not met sales or sales activity targets

(If you would like information on what the conversation should sound like for people in each of these groups, call me or text me at 513-226-3913.  If I don’t answer, just leave a message with your name, mobile number and email requesting, “Where’s Walter?” information.  You can also email me at tony@anthonycoletraining.com.)

3. Reviewed performance, actual effort and execution effectiveness results against targets for the year.
4. Assessed where the choke points are for people on the team who are not succeeding. To do this, you look at the conversion ratios in your sales success formula that was built last year and reviewed every quarter.  (Don’t have a success formula?  Click here –> Success formula download)
5. Revised the success formula for 2017 based on each person’s commitment to performance via the “extraordinary discussion”. (Haven’t had that discussion? Ask Jeni at Jeni@anthonycoletraining.com to send you that information.)
6. Conducted an offsite where your salespeople identify personal goals, translate the personal goals into a personal income requirement and translate that into a work plan that you will follow up with every quarter. (Yes, we have information on what that offsite should look like.  Even though it’s late to be doing that now, conducting the session in January would be better than not conducting one at all.  Let us know if we can help: 513-791-3458)
7. Talked to your HR department about additional FTEs for the coming year to grow your sales team and replace the people that are not performing. Think about this: Suppose you had to hire better salespeople (3) but can only grow your sales team by 2 – who would you let go?

These 7 things are the minimum functions for sales management at this time of year.  Failure to execute on these 7 steps will pretty much guarantee that your next 12 months will look like the past 12 months:

• Only a few people will meet or exceed the goal
• Most of the people will miss the goal by at least 10% and some as much as 20%
• The bottom 33% of your sales force will represent less than 5% of your new business revenue
• Salespeople that fail will continue to make excuses
• The salespeople that had a “one-off” great year will coast in the next year and live off the laurels of this year.
• Your top performers will continue to be frustrated by lack of attention, support and recognition for their outstanding contributions.