I’m gonna make my post this week simple. Watch the following short video.
Why Everybody In Your Organization Is a Salesperson
I say it all the time – “LIFE IS SALES” – meaning that all of us is selling something whenever we communicate with somebody. That’s probably no new news to you. However, you’d be surprised by the CEO’s that I know that, in addition to hiring salespeople that can’t and/or won’t sell, hire their executives, customer support people, even their receptionists that have terrible sales skills – and I believe they are leaving tons of money on the table, among other things, because of this mistake!
Am I saying that everybody in your organization needs to be able to prospect, find pain, negotiate contracts/pricing, and close the deal? Well…. yes, but not at the same intensity level as the full-time salesperson. However, every person should be able to gently ask questions to get the real problem and carry that through to a solution, be it a customer, vendor or fellow employee. Every person should have great listening skills to make whoever they are dealing with feel important. Every person should be keeping their eyes and ears open and looking for ways to help.
Be Patient for Big Company
Last week I submitted a due diligence questionnaire for Talus to a major potential Wall St. partner (can’t disclose the company name yet). I have no doubt that the deal will happen, but when this partnership is consummated, even when a letter of intent is in place, it will launch so many new levels of activity for Talus. It will lead to investment, solidified partnerships for the build-out of the online trading mechanism, etc. It will be an exciting domino effect for everyone involved… including me.
The whole partnership opportunity began in November ’08, although I initiated the first call two and half years ago to the sales department, who then helped me get to the VP of Business Development. We’ve visited them numerous times and have had too many phone calls to count. It has been a slow process, but has it been worth it? If it works out as planned, and we’re almost there, absolutely!
I have to remind myself to be patient for Big Company. I am and have to be prepared for a long sales cycle with Big Company, because often decisions need to be made with the approval of other departments… legal, for instance. However, it is always always my goal to know the process and understand as best as possible what is happening and what is happening next. Unexpected turns and delays happen, so I like to try to understand why and what it looks like, including how long. The more I know these things, the less anxious I will be.
Abundance vs. Scarcity… which do you claim?
You either think there is enough, or not enough… you get to decide!
When you believe in your heart that everything is in abundant supply, and that you and everybody else in this world is entitled to as much as they really want, and that nothing is in short supply, then you start behaving differently. You start living a life of less worry and actually start attracting LIFE to you. I’m not just talking about money, but personal happiness, health, relationships… you name it.
On the other hand, when you live with a scarcity mindset, you believe the world and its offerings are finite, and you believe you’re entitled to a little piece and that’s all you’ll ever get. You’ll tend to be very competitive. You’ll have a hard time being happy for other people’s success. You’ll not want to share recognition or profits or credit for success, even when you received help… and when don’t you? In fact, you’ll tend to not ask for help when needed, furthering your demise.
How to Overcome Scarcity
I used to have a scarcity mentality. I used to suffer from all the things above and it was a hard rut to get out of. My sales coach saw that I suffered from scarcity thinking and introduced me to SalesMind – short, subconscious affirmations that help you change your thoughts. It literally changed me! If you think you have a scarcity mentality, I recommend you run, don’t walk, to buy SalesMind … I promise it will change the way you think!
SalesMind can also help you with these negative sales scripts you may also have:
- Low money tolerance
- Fear of rejection
- Asking tough questions
- Talking about money
- Fear of the phone
- Fear about asking for the business
- Low self esteem
- Need for approval
- Control emotions
Along these lines I highly recommend reading Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths That Are Destroying Your Prosperity . It is a great book that speaks to these issues.
The Importance of the Common Problems Sheet
For reference, please open and complete ”Common Problems with Sales Teams“.
Pretend that you are like one of my CEO clients, who have been through the common yet very painful experience of hiring salespeople that don’t sell. If you’re like most, you might get 2 people - out of 10 - that actually can and does sell and increase revenue. What is common is that CEO’s are plagued by salespeople who complain and make up excuses why they can’t sell: the economy, the prospects and/or clients, the products and or services, etc. Add to this the fact that these complainers are usually taking a minimum of $5000/mo. base. Now pretend I have you complete “Common Problems with Sales Teams” at the beginning of the meeting…. it gets the meeting kicked off right!
A “Common Problems” sheet is a tool that you should be using as a precursor to every meeting or call. It can help in several ways:
- Gets the prospect focused on an agenda, i.e. why your are meeting or talking on the phone.
- If your prospect has problems that you truly can fix, it gets them emotionally involved up front (remember, emotions are necessary to get people to make a decision). It is used to see if your prospect has pain. If you were the CEO above, how do you think you’d feel?
- It tells your prospect what you do and how you can help without you having to say a word
You can create a Common Problems sheet for whatever you sell. Just download the “Developing Common Problems Sheet” and be on your way. You’ll see that having your own Common Problems sheet will greatly help you!
You’re using Track-It sheets, right?!
One of best ways to do something your competition isn’t is to use a Track-It sheet that records you and/or your sales teams activities. Here are some activities I recommend you start keeping track of:
- Goals review – at least once a day
- SalesMind – 8 minute affirmations to reduce negative scripts (call reluctance, money tolerance, etc.) – at least once a day – contact me to learn more about SalesMind
- Dials – how many times you just dial the phone
- Contacts – how many times you talk to the decision maker
- Appointments
- New opportunity
- Referrals given – a great way to get referrals is to give them!
- Referrals received
- Yes/Close – agreement to do business, a sign up, a free trial.
- No- no’s aren’t bad. Get through them!
- Blog post – make the world better and market yourself at the same time
- Email opt-in – get people on your ‘touch’ list
Advantages to Tracking Activities
Setting up Track-It sheets allows you to design you and/or your sales team’s time for success. Then, you use it for accountability. If you notice you’re not getting the results you wanted, just look at the Track-It sheet. Did the necessary amount of effort go into closing more business?
Another reason why tracking activities can be a benefit is that it can show you the problems of why more new business isn’t closing. For instance, if the dials to contact ratio is solid, i.e. 10% for cold calling, but appointments are way low, you know there is a problem with asking for the appointment. Then, by recording the sales calls, you’ll be able to determine what you and/or your sales reps are saying that may be affecting the prospect negatively.
For Sales Managers – Tying Salary to Activities
Are you paying your salespeople a base salary? I hope that the Track-It sheet is tied directly to the base compensation. For instance, whenever I pay a base salary to a salesperson, the expectations are set right up front that the salesperson is expected to keep their Track-It sheet on their desk at all times and they need to mark all activities and results. Furthermore, in order to get their base compensation, they’re required to turn their Track-It sheets in as proof of their activities. If the salesperson only does 75% of the agree upon activities required for success, in many cases dials, the salesperson only get 75% of the base. No muss, no fuss.
Ending Endless Follow Up
Stop Getting “I Want to Think It Over” Responses
Tired of not getting a decision? Tired of having prospects hide from you after your presentations? You need to get out of follow up hell. Watching the following video will help you set proper expectations so your prospects know up front that it is not okay to sit on the fence.
Always (ALWAYS) ask “Is this a good time?”
When was the last time a salesperson that called you asked “is this a good time?” I don’t know about you, but you’ve about ruined it with me if you call me for the first time and fail to ask if this is a good time. I’ll go further to say you’ve just about hit a homerun if you DO ask me, because so few people do it and it is such a professional thing to do. I’m willing to bet that you and/or your sales force will have a significant improvement in closed business by getting in the habit of asking such a simple question because it really is a powerful bonding and rapport method.
Record EVERY Call
Have you ever had a call with a prospect that dumped so much on your plate that you hung up wondering what the heck he/she talked about? Have you ever wished you could just sit there and converse with the prospect? I am not particularly good at listening while taking notes, and I believe that while I am taking notes, my face betrays my thoughts. I recommend you and your salespeople record all sales calls (a recommendation for new hires anyway), and not just on the phone. Recording calls allows your people not to have to worry about the facts. They don’t get bogged down with trying to make sure they’ve got every little detail. They can sit and enjoy the conversation and focus on listening and hone in on the essense of the call. And if they need facts, they can then replay the tape and get the facts. In fact, I believe they should be recording their calls and replaying them with you anyways as this will help them become better at their sales skills.
Sales IS Life…
There’s a reason I say “sales is life”; it’s because pretty much everything you do – day in and day out – is selling. If you don’t think so, then why do you think that person married you (or is dating you)? How did you get that job? How did you get into school? You see, you sold somebody something my friend! And I know without a shadow of a doubt that the better you are at sales, the better life will be.
