Create a WIN Folder

Sales people live in a unique world, we are constantly judged by one question, “what have you done for me lately?”

It is very important that as a sales person you clearly understand your accomplishments and speak to them in detail. It is more important simply showing your boss what you have done for bonus time; you can gain a lot by recalling your Wins.

Create a Win Folder

Set up a folder in your email inbox and on your desktop. The Win folder in your email in box will be used to file and record positive emails recognizing your positive accomplishments. These emails are more valuable than you think. When sales slow you can open your Win folder and regain your self-confidence quickly.

The Win folder on your desktop should be used to file presentations that have been very successful or a key piece of analysis. You will be able to quickly reference your best work and cut down time when making future presentations.

Check out my article published by Sales Gravy.com http://www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles/business-etiquette/business-casual-dress-code-has-gone-too-far.html

5 Traits of Top Sellers

Right now we are in the middle of an amazing NFL playoff season as we get closer to the Super bowl. Yesterday the NFC and AFC Championship games were played with four teams offering a very different style of play. There is no one defining way a team should play football. In fact, if you ask 20 people what makes a great football team and you will get 20 different answers. There is one constant on great teams though, a great Quarterback.

The Quarterback is the leader of the offence and in many games can make the difference between winning and losing. How can one player be so influential when a team is made up of 50+ players? It is the same way a top sales person leads a company to success or failure. These are the 5 defining traits of what it takes to sell at the highest level. Your ability to understand and do the following 5 things will make the difference in your career:

1.       Read the field

2.       Scramble

3.       Execute

4.       Take Risks

5.       Ownership

I read a lot of ‘sales self-help’ books and articles; and in my opinion there is too much time spent on the actual skill of selling. Understanding the basics of selling is very important; however the basics will not propel you to the top.

Skill alone will not give you the success you are looking for. There have been many ‘skilled’ Quarterbacks that can’t make it past their rookie year and spend years holding a clipboard playing back-up. If you don’t want to be a back-up player in your sales career then keep reading and implement what you read in this article.

Read the Field

It is the sole responsibility of the Quarterback to read the field when they approach the line of scrimmage and make the right adjustments to the plays being called. Depending on how the defense has lined up the Quarterback needs to communicate to his team how they will penetrate the defense and maintain momentum.

In selling you need to continuously be reading the field. During customer visits you will be able to observe your surroundings and look to see how your competition is doing. Perhaps it is small things such as; your buyer is using a pen given to them by your competitor. Pick up these mental clues and adjust your own approach accordingly. That doesn’t mean run out and get your buyer one of your pens; it does mean take note you likely have a skilled competitor playing against you and you will need to align your company with your buyer in similar ways.

Communicate what you learn back to your company. The other players are relying on the Quarterback to call-out what is happening at the line of scrimmage. The success of the other players is directly related to the Quarterback’s ability to communicate. As a sales person you need to communicate back to your managers what is happening on your line of scrimmage and how can you use your company’s resources to penetrate your customer. The rest of your team ie: marketing, supply chain, trade marketing, finance, demand planning, etc... Are relying on your communication to inform them on how they can be best utilized.

Scramble

Every great Quarterback has the ability to scramble. Scrambling occurs when the first option of the play has not worked and the defense is breaking through the offensive line to get to the Quarterback. The Quarterback’s only option in this situation is to extend the play by scrambling away from the defense to find another option.

The very best sales strategy can be thought up in your boardroom at your office however you never really know how your customer will react. Maybe your strategy is sound, but a supply chain issue has delayed shipment of goods and put your sale in jeopardy. When you feel like things are going wrong in a big way you will need to scramble. It is your job to work out another solution at a moment’s notice.

When a Quarterback is scrambling during a live play, he can’t stop and say, “This is not part of my job; you should be blocking me while I think about what to do.” If he did stop, even for a second, the Quarterback would get crushed by the defensive lineman. The ability to scramble and think in real time to find solutions is the difference between winners and losers.

Execute

Being able to execute your sales plan or strategy is a must for top level sellers. When a Quarterback starts a difficult drive from deep in their end you don’t see them try to reach their goal in one play. What is more sensible is to build executional momentum. Executional momentum is built by stringing together several smaller successes to gain the valuable momentum to help you reach your end goal. A Quarterback will use the plays he thinks will work most often to try and build momentum.

A top sales person should build executional momentum when trying to achieve any goal. Starting with smaller victories and building them together will help you reach your highest end goal. You will often see lesser skilled teams that are able to build strong momentum achieve much more than a ‘highly skilled’ team that over look’s the effectiveness of executional momentum.

Think of ways you can create momentum behind your goals. Is gaining internal alignment around your top customer’s strategy going to help you build momentum? Maybe gaining the support of key field sales people will help you? Maybe soliciting customer feedback behind an important idea or strategy will start your executional momentum. The key takeaway is not what you do specifically to build executional momentum; it is that you take actions to start to build momentum behind you.

Take Risks

I am sure we can all name at least one Quarterback (or other famous athlete) that took a risk that paid off. The hail-marry for a touchdown after the game had ended. The game winning homerun, the game winning shot, the big putt holed to win the tournament.

No one ever remembers the risks that weren’t taken. So taking a risk and failing, has the very same outcome as not taking a risk in the first place.

Playing a conservative game is not the way top Quarterbacks win games and it is not the way top sales people play either.

If you are not currently a risk-taker then learn from those around you that are risk-takers. Study how they approach taking a risk. I think you will find a risk-taker’s perception of taking a risk is very different to your own perception. You see risk-takers think that with proper skill and determination taking a risk is not ‘taking a risk’ it is more of a logical outcome. They have trained and prepared for success, so taking a risk that can lead to success is not strange, it is a logical thing to do given the proper preparation.

Ownership

All the top Super Bowl winning Quarterback’s in recent memory take full ownership of the victory, just as they would have taken full ownership of a loss. Being able to take ownership of an outcome is one of the most important aspects of winning.

Top sales people put themselves on-the-line and expect to win. They tell others they will win. They help their fellow sales people better themselves, so they too can win. They live winning. If you are afraid of a negative outcome or hide in the back of sales meetings not wanting to contribute, then you need to change your attitude.

Ownership is simple you take the good with the bad. You take the praise right alongside the criticism.

The best way to build your sense of ownership is to take on small projects and focus on accountability. The Apprentice a reality T.V show with Donald Trump puts contestants through a series of small projects to identify who out of the crowd will take ownership and who will duck responsibility. The project manager is always the owner of the group’s performance. I suggest you volunteer to project manage small tasks your team needs completed. Take full ownership and communicate results back to your team in a timely efficient manner. Once you have successfully completed multiple projects you will find yourself building momentum behind your sense of ownership and soon you will be ready for even bigger challenges.

These 5 traits of Quarterbacks are the very same needed to sell at the top level. You have already got yourself into the right mindset by seeking out and reading this article. Now continue to challenge yourself and keep learning new information to fuel your continued success.

Handle Tough Customers

 

Every person in sales has come across a tough customer that you needed to get along with. You could have a difference in personality, age, level of experience, personal backgrounds. I have come across a few difficult ones in my time selling and there is not one clear way to win them over. If you are in this situation with one of your customers then read on and I know you will come away with a plan to win your tough customer over.

I spent a few years managing bread Direct-Store-Delivery people that were quite difficult to win over. To me it seemed they gave me a hard time every chance they could, just for fun. I needed to win them over and it was difficult to figure out what would work.

Listen Closely

One of the drivers told me flat out, “he had been delivering bread for longer than I had been alive.” Perhaps you have heard a similar comment or objection on your age or inexperience. This fact was indeed true. I responded to him in a counter-intuitive way by agreeing with him, “yep your right.” I said.

You might be thinking, ‘even if it was true, why should you give him the satisfaction of demeaning me.’ That is certainly one way of looking at it. I agreed with him because it took the emotion and negativity away from his comment. If I had responded negatively then his next comment to me would have negative as well.

If I was to dismiss a fact I knew to be true; then I would be sending the message that I wasn’t listening.

Once you are able to convince your tough customer you are listening to them you need to put yourself in their shoes. See what your customer sees from their perspective.

Understand your customer’s perspective

Understanding is a poorly defined concept when applied to selling. You might have heard your sales manager say to you ‘yeah I understand where you are coming from’ the last time you asked him for a raise. Your sales manager most likely was dismissing you request without giving it much thought. If you seek to understand your customer in a dismissive way then you will actually worsen the relationship. So how do you understand you customer without upsetting them?

Questions, the number of questions you ask of your customer to understand their perspective will directly indicate to your customer how much you care.

1.       Am I hearing you correctly when you said service is your main concern?

2.       I hear that price is important to you, are there other areas of concern you have with our company?

3.       Thanks for helping understand the needs of your business…

I have found that when I truly put my-self in my customers shoes then I would react in the same way. Think about how you react when a tele-marketer calls your house during dinner time, are you frustrated? Sure you are. If you are browsing in a retail store and the sales clerk won’t leave you alone, you probably have thought this annoying at least once before. When you think about it your reaction might be the very same your customer is having to you.

Knowing this put you in a great position to authentically say to your customer, “I get where you are coming from. Perhaps I should give you some time to think about how I can help you. Give me a call when you are ready.” You will find your customer really appreciates this approach.

Know you Goal Posts

Once you have convinced your customer you are listening to them and want to understand their perspective; you need to know what you can or can’t commit too. Think of these as your goal posts. You have a best case and worst case outcome for any deal with a customer. Your toughest customer will push you hardest to try and get you to commit to a deal in their favour. Staying within your goal posts will stop you from committing to a deal not in your favour.

The sides of your goal post will vary differently for each and every sales person, the constant must be that you clearly understand what you can or can’t do. Tough customers want to deal with decision makers and if you need to run back to the boss and get his permission to make even the smallest decision then your tough customer will want to speak directly to your boss; not you. Once you have defined you goal posts it is easy for you to tell your customer that you can’t commit to that, however you can commit to this.

Try these tips out with your tough customer and let me know how you do. If you have a real life example I can help you with I would be happy to answer your questions.

Be Yourself and Ace a Sales Interview

If you Google sales interview tip’s you will likely find an endless amount of information. Most of what is being said on these forums, YouTube videos, and how to sites is generic information designed to draw you to the site.  You’ll find buzz words and keywords optimized to rank highly in searches for the keen and eager sales person to find their site.  You are another click on their pay-per-click advertising model designed to make THEM money.

The problem with sales ‘how to’ lists is that sales is an enormous topic which can generate an enormous amount of interest from the Internet public. Stay clear of the following types of headlines, if you want to do well in a Sales Interview:

1.       Influence your Interview

2.       One Best Sales Interview Question

3.       Answers to Top Sales Interview Questions

4.       Sales Interview Techniques

5.       Sales Interview Must Do’s

I will end the list at five but it could go on forever. I will quickly tell you why the above are troublesome and time wasting.

Myth # 1 there are a list of top sales interview questions.

There is no standard list of questions you need to memorize answers too in order to be prepared for a sales job interview. This is not a multiple choice exam at school requiring a predetermined score to get the job.

The focus of a sales job interview is you. You are the only person who can answer questions about yourself. Trying to study what to say during a sales interview is a waste of time because all of your knowledge and experience is hard wired into your brain already. I might as well ask you to study how to breathe, before taking a breath.

You know who you are and what you have done. Your focus should be presenting yourself with confidence and making a great first impression.

Myth # 2 you need to learn sales interview techniques.

If you approach a sales interview with a focus of being anything other than yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure. There is no secret technique to being you. In every interview I have participated in I have always tried to be confident, humble, outgoing and respectful of the interviewer’s time.

You don’t have to convince anyone you are the world’s best sales person. In fact, if you are the world’s best sales person, it would be to your advantage to under promise and then over deliver after you got the job.  

Give the best answer you have and try to make a point without rambling on, your interviewer will appreciate your ability to answer their question concisely.

Myth # 3 you should focus on the questions the interviewer will ask you.

I have never focused on what I will be asked during an interview. The list of questions you could be asked is endless so there is no point trying to guess what you will be asked. In fact I make a list of the questions I want to ask the interviewer once they have asked me the questions they want to have answered. Again you are not studying for a school exam. Memorizing answers is useless and will likely make you come across as over-rehearsed.

You will find writing a list of questions you want answered and determining what you think is a satisfactory answer to your question is one of the best ways to prepare for an interview. By having a list of thoughtful questions laid out ahead of time, you are subconsciously telling the interviewer you have given this interview some thought and preparation, which is exactly what an interviewer wants. They want you to care.

You are attending the interview to hopefully get a job that will increase your standard of living and help you provide for you and your family. You need to give satisfactory answers and you should also expect to receive satisfactory answers to your questions in return.

I have been in interviews where I asked a few questions of the interviewer and quickly realized this was not the job for me, whether they wanted to me or not.

This list of YOUR questions will save you from wasting time in interviews for jobs that don’t meet your standards and it will help you find the most suitable job for you.

Just be Yourself

I don’t see many articles across the Internet encouraging aspiring sales people to focus on being themselves during sales interviews. I see many quick fix, how to, or must do lists that serve the purpose of driving site traffic.

If you want to do well in a sales interview BE YOURSELF and write down a list of questions you want answered. In no time you will find yourself taking charge of the interview and your life.

If you lost your voice, could you still sell?

I recently heard a story about a sales rep that lost his voice due to an acute infection on his vocal cord. A person losing their voice is not entirely remarkable in itself, however this sales rep was still able to sell and very successfully. This got me thinking about what I would do if I lost my voice. I confess that I rely on my voice heavily and I am sure if you are reading this article you would agree with same. As a sales person our voice is one of our most important assets, however it is not our only one.

Almost 100 years ago silent movies were a very popular form of entertainment. No one today would imagine entertainment without the luxury of dialogue and elaborate sound effects. One of the most successful actors today is Johnny Depp and he was very aware of how silent movie actors were able to successful communicate without words.

Charlie Chaplin is one of the most famous of the silent movie actors that was a master as non-verbal communication. Johnny Depp studied Chaplin and others to understand their movements and facial expressions.

Depp used what he learned in the famous movie franchise “Pirates of the Caribbean” playing the role of Captain Jack Sparrow he used his body language and elaborate facial expressions to enhance his performance. Sales people can use the same techniques to transform every aspect of their sales career. Here’s how…

Tomorrow you wake up and you have lost your voice, what next? Talking on your cell phone in the car on the way to the office is out. So your commute to work is going to be much quieter.

Greetings

Without a voice you will have to greet people and customers much more warmly than likely in you have in the past. Making eye contact will need to be your focus when you first meet someone to create an early connection with the person. Shaking hands warmly and extending your non-shaking hand to grab the elbow of the arm you are shaking will hold the persons attention. These non-verbal communications will be your only tool to send a positive message.

Presentation

Once you have greeted your customer you will need to conduct your sales presentation without speaking. The best way for you to present will be to use a PowerPoint presentation to take your customer through your sales presentation. To stop your customer flipping ahead in your presentation you will want to share the presentation making sure you hold the printed deck and control the speed of presentation.

Follow-Up

If your customer has asked questions during your presentation you will need to document the follow up items before concluding your meeting. Back at the office email will be your best tool to answer the questions and respond to follow up’s.

I am hoping this is just an exercise in examining your other attributes beside your ability to speak. I’m not endorsing not speaking during your next sales call just be aware of the non-verbal ways of communicating and how you can use them to your advantage.

Don't Just Sell; Make an Ever-Lasting Impact

Ray Lewis the famous linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL played his last home game this past weekend in Baltimore, USA. After 17 years of being the one of the best defensive players ever in the league Ray Lewis is retiring. A recent documentary on Ray Lewis has turned out to be very timely with the announcement of his retirement this year. In this documentary Ray Lewis made a simple statement, “He lives to impact people.”

Success to Ray Lewis is making a difference in people’s lives. Greatness is making a true impact; leaving an ever-lasting impression with a person they will never forget. Translating the idea of making an impact to selling forces us to move well beyond making the sale and understand how we impact people.

Do you feel in your sales career you have made an ever lasting positive impression on someone?

In my career I have made an impact in my last position during the launch of the company’s largest marketing program ever launched. I’ll share this story with you as an example of making an impact that may help you come up with your own ideas.

The company I worked for at the time was launching their single largest marketing campaign ever. The program was leveraging a major NHL Superstar to endorse the product. I was a field sales manager responsible for over-seeing the execution of this program at the retail grocery stores in my region. I knew this marketing program was BIG and I wanted my contribution to the program to be noticed.

The NHL superstar was the main driver of this marketing program; I thought of ways to make my execution the BIGGEST and BEST the company would see. I settled on my idea, I was going to build a hockey rink display in a grocery store in my region.

As part of the program I had Point of Sale displays to hold the products and a cardboard cutout of the NHL superstar. If I was going to build a hockey rink display I would have to do it myself.

I designed the layout of my display; the dimensions were 20’ wide x 10’ deep this would be a huge display. I purchased plywood sheets and painted them white in my garage to make the ice surface. When the white paint had dried I added the blue and red lines for the hockey rink markings. I purchased actual size metal goals to be placed at each end of the hockey rink.

I had been able to convince the manager of a major retail grocery store to allow me to build my hockey rink display inside his store. The day of execution I arrived at the store before opening and worked for hours building the display out of all the materials I had prepared at my house for the display.

Finally the display was complete and the store manager was amazed at the hockey rink display. The first shoppers through the store were blown away by seeing a hockey rink display inside their grocery store. One child actually laid down on the ‘ice surface’ and had his mother take his picture. Enthusiasm and excitement were high.

I took several pictures of the display and sent them into the marketing department to share my work. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the response. The usual response was a ‘good job’ or ‘nice work’ from a marketing manager.

However, the response I got was much different. Emails started coming in one after another with strong words of praise for the hockey rink display. Each email was forwarded on to a higher and higher level of management at first the brand manager, then director of marketing, then the VP, CFO and ultimately CEO and President.

I received an email from the President and CEO of a $5 billion company congratulating me on my creativity and passion. Later that week the same President and CEO included my Hockey Rink display pictures in his weekly newsletter to the entire global workforce.

While this praise and admiration did not result in an immediate raise or large stock option. It did result in me achieving my goal of making an impact.

There is no one single way for someone to make this type of impact on people or an organization. You should focus on trying to set your sights high and strive to make the largest positive impact possible in your position to put you on the path to greatness.

Turn your job today into your Dream Job

It is no secret that people that read educational or inspirational materials are very interested in improving their lives. You’re open to new ideas, willing to invest in change and highly motivated to take the necessary steps needed for improvement. I write this blog with one clear goal; to provide the type of information you feel will help you be more successful in selling.

Motivation usually comes from a deep seeded desire to do one of two things; make more money and/or achieve significant accomplishments.

Let’s face it; life today is expensive. Most households require two incomes to cover the bills. It is not selfish for anyone to want a few more dollars in their families pocket at the end of the month. So how can you do it?

I can help you position yourself in the job market to earn more money, achieve significant accomplishments and be happier at work.

It is true. I have discovered something powerful that has changed my life and my family’s life. No I didn’t win the Powerball Lottery Jackpot. What I discovered is just as life changing as if I did win the lottery. I am excited to share this with you and I know you will want to share these ideas with friends and colleagues, just as I am sharing this with you.

Land Your Dream Job

I recently achieved a significant milestone in my career’ I achieved my dream job. While this job is not my end goal for my career; it is my dream job. I spent 2 years thinking about achieving this job and 1 year actively pursuing this job. During the time I was hoping to achieve this job; I was working hard at my present job then spending evenings and weekends searching for my dream job.

I was successful in changing jobs and achieving my goal of working on a National Account. Landing this position filled me with HOPE and EXCITEMENT for the future. If you feel you truly need to change your job to renew your hope for the future I will share with you the techniques and tips I used in my search. Before I do this, I want to make a clear point I realized after I changed my jobs. Hope and excitement for your career are creations of your own mind.

Therefore, you do not need to change your job to instill HOPE and EXCITEMENT into your mind.

We have been conditioned to think that change will provide renewal. This is a myth. You control your mind and you control how much HOPE and EXCITEMENT you bring to your job.  Landing your Dream Job can happen tomorrow if you approach your current job with HOPE and EXCITEMENT.

Become Satisfied

Many of you reading this might currently be dissatisfied with your current position. Perhaps your salary is lower than you would like, maybe you don’t receive the recognition you would like. Your employer doesn’t support continuing learning, and this is preventing you from achieving your goals. All of the above are likely true; if you believe they are true. Bringing these thoughts to work is setting the foundation for your failure, not your success.

While you are quietly being discontent at work, your colleagues and in many cases your customers are well aware of how you feel. Hiding your emotions is very hard work. It doesn’t matter how well you think you hide your deepest thoughts, they have a way of surfacing.

Those around you are taking notice that you are not happy about______________you can fill in the blank with salary, work environment, job title, level of responsibility, perks, amount of vacation, etc.

The key to advancing in your sales career is to become highly satisfied at work. Enjoy your work and people will take notice. Opportunities will come your way. It will take time to change the minds of those around you; but it will happen. Maybe your sales manager will ask you to present at a meeting, or take on a test project. If you react positively to these opportunities then you have succeeded in positioning yourself for advancement.

If you ultimately decide you are not able to a HOPE and EXCITEMENT in your current position then you need to make the change. Here are the steps I took to successful change jobs for the better.

5 Successful Job Search Tips

1.       Set clear goals for your new position including title, salary, total compensation, company, working environment, location, work type, customer base. Be as specific as possible and don’t take offers that don’t match your goals.

2.       Network on Linked In. Many companies have incentive payouts for current employees to refer quality applicants to their company. If you want to be a district sales manager at a company then connect with other district manager’s outside of your local geography and see if your target company offers a referral payout. Most people are at least willing to consider referring a qualified candidate if they stand to benefit from a referral bonus. Note: not all people will be willing to do this so provide with caution and do not pressure anyone.

3.       Create email job alerts. It takes time to check job sites daily so set up keyword email alerts to send your personal email account notifications when positions in your area are posted matching your job search goals. Too many people waste time scrolling through job sites looking at old postings. Set up the alerts and let the job site deliver the information you are looking for right to your inbox.

4.       Set up Google News Alerts to deliver news stories about your target companies. If your target companies are experiencing change or integrations then positions will likely be created and an opportunity could be a fit for you. If you are not aware of the current news events about your target companies then you could miss a key window of opportunity.

5.       Use YouTube to search interview tips and techniques for your target companies. Some companies post educational or recruitment videos on YouTube to attract applicants to their company. You can use these videos to gain valuable insights on interview questioning techniques, tips, styles and hear from current employees that had successfully gone through the process.

These are 5 major tips I used when searching for my Dream Job. Remember above all else to be HOPEFUL and bring EXCITEMENT to every aspect of your life and you will soon have your Dream Job.

Has Business Casual Gone too far?

If you attend most major large company’s sales conferences or off-site sales training sessions you will generally find more golf shirts than at a PGA tour event. Golf shirts and dress paints for men have become synonymous with the term ‘business casual’. Is this a good thing for selling?

When I was a kid I don’t ever remember my Dad going to work as a sales professional in anything other than a suit and tie. Even as a young guy I thought it looked pretty impressive that my Dad wore a suit and tie to work every day.

I often struggle to know what to wear when the dress code calls for ‘business casual’. For me a golf shirt and khakis feels too casual, I try to limit the golf shirt to only the hottest of summer days. The rest of the time I feel most comfortable at work in dress paints and dress shirt with no tie for the days I will be only in the office.

I am fortunate the company I work for still has a suit and tie policy for customer visits. Likely this isn’t a written policy, more a generally accepted practice as part of the working culture. I like the idea of knowing that when I will be meeting with a customer, my colleagues and I will be wearing a suit and tie. It is simple. No guessing.

This is not common place anymore. When I see other account managers at customers I rarely every see others wearing a suit and tie. For me I gain a subtle hint of confidence from this. I know I and my colleagues have made the effort to dress for success during our customer visit.

You don’t have to look hard on the internet to find motivational coaches providing the benefits of dressing for success.

“You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.”

By Zig Ziglar

So with all this being said, has business casual gone too far? There is too much of a good thing. Dress down Friday extends into off site meetings and trainings. Then business casual seems to fit in the hotter summer months. Before you know it you are only wearing a suit for Weddings and Funerals. When do you draw the line?

I suggest that you try to make an effort to steer yourself always towards more formal than casual. After all I have never met a customer or colleague that got upset because I was dressed well. Most of the time; you may hear, ‘why so dressy?’ The perfect time to reiterate the importance of the meeting or person you are meeting with.

The Image of Selling Needs a Facelift

When I was a teenager I remember being heavily influenced by John Grisham’s novels and movies. Grisham had taken the legal drama and elevated it to new heights. His books are international best sellers and his movies made millions. I know this was one of the primary reasons I wanted to be a lawyer when I was 18.

As one of the comments by a reader of this blog pointed out, ‘if you ask 18 year olds what they think about selling they will likely tell you something negative.” Why is this? At 18 I doubt they have had some overtly negative experience with a sales person to shape their outlook. I would guess it is the lack of information presented to them at 18. If there is a void in positive information then all it takes is one piece of negative information to cast a long shadow over selling in general.

In real life if you visit a court room or meet with a lawyer and find out what makes up most of the daily activities you’d find it pretty boring. According to a Grisham book your life would be filled with high energy drama from start to finish and you would end up being a hero. Who doesn’t want that? High School students are impressionable and these movies help draw their attention and shape what they want to study in University. It is no wonder that law, business and medicine are popular courses in all level of post-secondary education.

Hollywood has a way of making almost anything seem exciting.

Jerry McGuire starring Tom Cruise had one of the most famous lines in recent memory, “Show me the money” Tom Cruise played a sports agent that resigned from a position at a top sports management agency and lost all of his clients but one. Cruises character was forced to propel his one remaining client into the spot light.

Sales, and the profession of selling, badly need to give itself a facelift and inject some more positive images of sales in popular culture. Even movies that feature sales people in the story lines due it in a subtle way.

There is nothing subtle about “Wall Street” released in 1987 featuring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. The message is clear it is cool to be a trader on Wall Street. Follow up movies to ‘Wall Street’ such as; ‘Boiler Room’ released in 2000 staring Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel or ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ released in 2010 again starring Michael Douglas have carried on the message.

During the 90’s the medical show ‘ER’ starring the now ultra-famous George Clooney led the way in creating a very positive; high drama image of the medical profession. Following the show ER came the highly popular medical drama ‘House’ starring Huge Laurie as a colourful diagnostic genius Doctor.

I am not saying that everyone that sees a movie about investing, law or medicine pursues a career in those fields, but it does help their popularity. Find the right career is a long path however the journey starts with a positive image or feeling about the job.

It is no wonder that professions that appear in many best-selling Hollywood movies and TV shows receive the most demand from students to study them at College or University.

In my experience I have met lots of great men and women in sales. Most of the people I have met have been quite successful when you compare against national income averages. Selling needs to leverage these great men and women to spread the word about just how good a career in selling can be.

This blog is an effort by me to inspire current sales people and potential sales people to decide to excel at selling. I challenge everyone that reads this post to use social media to spread the positive word about selling. Remember, when there is a void of information, it is easiest to provide a negative point of view.

Use all social media outlets to encourage people to choose selling and we will slowly see the current negative paradigm of the image of selling change.

The ultimate goal will be to create a very positive image of selling that High School and University students will see and then attract them to want a career in selling. This will eventually force educational institutions to develop sales specific programs.

Happy Holidays!

Selling Is What the Customer Does

 

I recently heard a great quote by John Jacobs a legendary golf instructor, “Golf is what the ball does.” John’s explanation of one of the most complex sports was incredible. The simple statement hit on every aspect of the game with precise accuracy.

The idea behind stating, “Golf is what the ball does” was Jacob’s ability, and many others after him, to diagnose the swing fault from the flight of the golf ball. Too often golf instruction is focused on the golfer; analyzing every inch of the swing from address, to takeaway, to follow through. Was the error in the set up? Hand position? Golfer’s stance? Swing plane? The list goes on and on to the point where it is nearly impossible to accurately tell what the true problem was.

The result of how the golf ball flew tells a trained instructor exactly what the problem is and even in many cases what needs to be done to fix the issue. Selling is very similar. This leads me to coin a similar term, “Selling is what the customer does.”

Focusing on the customer, not the sales person can tell a great deal, to a trained instructor.

The fault of too many sales trainers is that they focus their attention on their customer, the failing sales person. The sales trainer is actually following my idea correctly and focusing in on the customer. The problem is that doesn’t help the flawed sales person better understand their customer. The trainer looks into how the sales person sells; not how the sales person’s customer reacts to them.

Let’s continue with the golf analogy to keep things simple. If the golf ball flight is a large slice; the club face is too open at the point of impact. If the golf ball flight is a large hook, then the club face is too closed at impact. These are the two most common mistakes in golf.

A slice in selling is not explaining the value proposition of your product or service fully; causing the buyer to be unable to see the reason for buying. A hook in selling is talking too much; not taking the time to listen to your customer and understand their position. These are two very common selling mistakes.

To improve your ability to sell and solve your slice (poorly explaining why a customer should buy your product) review your customers reaction.  By focusing your attention on how your customer reacted you open your mind to be able to identify the problem and work to correct it.

Did you customer respond negatively to the price? Did your customer see a need for your product? Was your customer a fully qualified potential customer? Did your customer offer a reason why they would not be purchasing your product? Did your customer listen attentively or did their attention wonder?

From these reactions you will be able to understand what area of your sales presentation needs work. By focusing your attention on how your customer reacts to you; you will greatly improve your ability to understand how you are performing with each and every customer.

Now let’s look at the hook in selling (talking too much). How do you know if you talk too much? Focus again on your customer’s reaction. Did your customer ask you any questions during your sales presentation? Did your customer ask to try your product? Did you get any feedback from your customer? Did you learn key information about your customer? ie: name, age, family situation, reason for purchasing. If you know very little about your customer and seldom receive feedback from your customers; it is likely you talk too much when selling. You simply can’t learn about a person if you do all the talking.

Many sales people think by doing all the talking they are ‘taking the lead’ or ‘warming up the sales call’ or even better ‘reeling them in’. The only thing you accomplish by talking all the time is displaying arrogance and ignorance at the same time.

Effectively listening is harder than most people think. You will need to start slowly if you suspect you talk too much. The most effective way to get a customer to talk during a sales presentation is to ask a question about the person directly. Everyone is an expert on one thing, themselves. Take note of what the person says even make a quick note about one particular point. Taking notes helps commit a fact to memory and creates a pause when the customer may offer more information assisting you greatly in learning more.

If during a sales presentation, you feel you are talking too much and things are going poorly, come clean. Early on in my career I remember coming clean a few times. I would say something like, “I am having a tough time here; is there something in your opinion I could be doing better?” If the person blows you off you have really lost nothing because they were going to blow your off anyway. On the other hand, if the person senses you are genuine they might give you some free advice that you one day come in very useful. In my career I found many people were willing to help me after I came clean.

By reading your customer’s reactions you will be able to tell what area of selling you need to improve on. However, if you are really unsure and very new to selling, seek out an experienced colleague then explain how your customers react and get their advice.

You will see improvement in your selling skills just by focusing in on how your customer reacts to you. It won’t solve all your problems over night; but it will demonstrate your genuine interest in your customer and they will take notice of that.