Here’s a situation. You have created a list of 20 highly qualified prospects. You’ve researched them, and you know that these 20 people hold your prosperity in their hands. But they don’t know you, have never spoken to you, and aren’t inclined to drop everything and see you.

How do you get to see them?

You can do what everyone else does: send them an e-mail, maybe leave a voice mail message, then be really frustrated that no one calls back. Or, you can do something a bit different, and much more creative.

For those highly qualified prospects, think of … Read the rest

I call it FIP. Fine in the Past. It refers to all the sales and marketing efforts, ideas, policies, principles, techniques and strategies that worked well in the past, but are no longer effective. The past is everything that’s pre‑2011.

 

I still recall a poignant moment with an attendee at one of my seminars. During the break he came up to me and said: “I’ve been in business for seventeen years. And we’ve done well. But now, it seems like everything is changing, and I don’t know what to do.”

He went on to explain that he had built … Read the rest

We’re living in incredibly turbulent times. In spite of newspaper headlines proclaiming growing employment and a slowly growing economy, many business people admit to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty and confusion about their businesses.

The well-spring of this uncertainty lies in one of the characteristics of the newly-arrived information age — business people are being buffeted by an increasingly rapid rate of change. Consider this. In 1900, the total amount of knowledge available to mankind was doubling about every 500 years. In 1990, it was doubling about every two years. Today, according to some, the rate of change is doubling … Read the rest

Now that I’ve punctured some of your misconceptions in previous articles about what sales is, and given you some ideas about what sales is not, it’s time to hone in on the good stuff. Here are a number of different definitions to help you come to grips with what selling really entails.

Selling is the Science of Helping People Get What They Want

If your prospective customer doesn’t want or need what you are offering — if it doesn’t fill some need in the customer — then you have no business engaging in the selling process with him. Now don’t … Read the rest

Here’s an issue sales managers confront all too frequently. You just introduced a new product. At the sales meeting, the salespeople seemed excited. Yet, it is three months later, and nothing’s been sold. What’s up?

Or, you work with a salesperson in the field, and identify some skill that seems poorly developed, such as “asking better questions” for example. You point it out to the salesperson, provide some examples and ask him to work on it. The next time you work with him, there is no improvement. Why’s that?

Here’s one more example of this phenomenon: Your company has just … Read the rest

I often hear my clients lament that they wish they had a more professional sales force. That idea of a “professional sales force” gets a lot of conversation in sales management and sales executive circles. But what exactly does it mean? And why is it a good thing?

Here’s one person’s opinion.

First, let’s eliminate those things that don’t matter. There are a number of misconceptions about the attributes of a professional salesperson that center around the externals of a salesperson’s situation. For example, being a professional salesperson has absolutely nothing to do with the product or service the salesperson … Read the rest

In my first professional, full-time sales position, the company brought all the new salespeople to a six-week training class in Mill Valley, California. There, we memorized three, four-page, single-spaced sales presentations. Most days consisted of practicing those presentations in role-playing scenarios, having them video recorded, playing them back, and then having the group critique them. We would do it again the next day, only better than the day before. Believe me, when we were finished, we knew how to present those products.

While that kind of meticulous preparation is overkill for many selling situations today, it was based upon a … Read the rest

Salespeople hear “no” all of the time, but the difference between failure and success is the salesperson’s ability to finesse the prospect closer to a “yes.”

Prospects don’t always say yes! That might be the very first thing you learn as a salesperson. As a matter of fact, “no,” in all of its various forms and expressions, may be the one word that salespeople hear most often. It’s amazing, then, that so few of us are equipped to effectively handle it.

I teach a two-step process: first you finesse the person, then you handle the idea expressed by that person. … Read the rest

Whenever I ask salespeople to rate their competencies at all the different parts of the sales process, they invariably rate themselves low on closing the sale. Unfortunately, salespeople who don’t close consistently are not nearly as effective as they should be; they waste their customers’ time and their own.

Being adept at closing the sale, and every step in the process, is an important key to productivity. So, let’s examine the issue of closing, beginning with the first principle: closing is a process that always ends with your customer’s agreement to take action.

As you consider this principle, you’ll realize … Read the rest

As salespeople, we love to complain about the competition. Unfortunately, complaining doesn’t do us any good. A better approach is to create a system to learn about them. Knowledge of the competition — not only their strengths and weaknesses, but also their patterns and tendencies — will provide you with a distinct advantage and prevent you from being seriously outmaneuvered.

This happened to me. To this day, I still get a sick feeling in my stomach as I remember the day when I lost my largest account to my arch competitor. It was an account that made up 20% of … Read the rest

I still remember the worst sales call I ever made. More than just remember, I react to the memory with a queasy feeling in my stomach, every time I think about it. It wasn’t just a bad sales call; it was a humiliating, embarrassing event that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

There is something about adversity that has the power to linger forever in our memories, shaping our character and molding our behavior for the rest of our lives. Adversity can take countless forms. It can be a gut-wrenching incident, like my worst sales call, or more poignantly, something … Read the rest

Oops! Got a sales meeting coming up in two weeks, better get ready for it. Let’s see, what should we do? I’ll go over last month’s numbers, that’ll take a half-hour. Then…I know! The credit manager has been complaining about the state of receivables lately. I’ll have him come in and complain directly to the sales guys. That’ll take about an hour. Now what…?

Does that scenario sound familiar? All too often that’s how we plan our sales meetings. The focus is on how to fill the time, what information we want to transmit, and who we want to present … Read the rest

Excerpted from Question Your Way to Sales Success by Dave Kahle.

Sales is, at its most basic level, a relatively simple process. I recall one of my clients showing me the flow-chart of his sales process. Twenty six steps. That level of detail may be appropriate for that specific situation, but it is an overkill when we are talking about the application for a typical professional salesperson.

The job of the salesperson is much like playing golf. In a four-hour round of golf, the club hitting the ball only takes about three minutes. Everything else is prelude or postlude. The … Read the rest

I just came across some research that confirmed what many of us in the profession of educating salespeople have known for years: Purchasers would be “much more likely” to buy from a salesperson if that salesperson would just “listen” to the customer. The survey found that some of the worst offenders were experienced salespeople.

Listening is one of the four fundamental competencies of a professional salesperson, and yet, the profession is, in general, so poor at it that most customers remark on our inability to do it well.

Gee, if there is anyone I wouldn’t want thinking I was a … Read the rest

Excerpted from the book Take Your Sales Performance Up a Notch.

Most salespeople love to be active — out in our territories, seeing people, solving problems, putting deals together. This activity-orientation is one of the characteristics of a sales personality. A day sitting behind a desk is our idea of purgatory. Unfortunately, this activity orientation is both a strength and weakness. Much of our ability to produce results finds its genesis in our activity orientation. It provides some of the energy to move us to sales success.

But it can be a major obstacle. Far too often, we’re guilty … Read the rest

Remember John Delorean? He was the superstar General Motors executive who started the Delorean Motor Company. When the company began to falter, he was arrested and charged with complicity in a drug deal that some speculated was an attempt to raise money to prop up the company.

All of this was big news in Detroit, where I was living at the time. One particularly insightful article in the Detroit News theorized that he had been supremely successful his whole life, and thus never learned to deal with failure. His development was stunted by a lack of failure in his life. … Read the rest

“I have great relationships with my customers.” That is one of the most debilitating myths around — one that cripples the performance of the average corporate salesperson. And yet it is endemic within the population of salespeople. I am not sure that there is a salesperson anywhere who doesn’t, to some extent, believe it.

For example, I have never yet had a salesperson come to me at the break of one of my seminars, and sheepishly confess that his customers really don’t like him. It’s never happened and probably never will.

I have, on the other hand, heard senior sales … Read the rest

I just received an e-mail from a frustrated salesperson. His problem? He found it extremely difficult to “pick up the phone and call a prospect.” Ruminating in the e-mail, he shared this thought: “I think part of my problem is I don’t like telemarketers. I always thought to myself, ‘If I want something, I’ll call you. Leave me alone!’”

It is easy for us, on the outside, to see the root of his problem. He doesn’t like telemarketers. He projected that attitude onto his customers, assuming that they thought just like him. Since he didn’t like telemarketers, his customers must … Read the rest

I recently received an e-mail from a young salesperson who described his most pressing challenge — the sales roller coaster. When things go well, he’s up emotionally; when things don’t go well, he’s down. These swings from up to down were really beginning to wear on him and he wanted some advice on how to proceed. The basis of his question is one that every salesperson must confront and successfully resolve: How do I manage myself in order to keep my emotions up and my energy high?

I’ve often thought that this is a fundamental challenge for a salesperson. It’s … Read the rest

I’m often asked to help a company refine their sales force compensation plans. As a consulting company, that’s work that we regularly do. I believe in having a well-designed, effectively managed compensation plan as a fundamental part of any productive sales system. But, it’s a mistake to think that the compensation plan is the entire solution. It’s only a part.

The reason that a company will call us to help with the compensation plan is often a deeper issue. Their sales are flat, or even declining. They are casting about to find a solution to their lack of sales effectiveness, … Read the rest

Field salespeople have a unique aspect to their jobs — they have the ability to decide what to do every moment of every day. The need to make this decision — where to go, who to see, who to call, what to do — distinguishes the sales profession from most others.

I’ve often thought that the quality of this decision, more than any other single thing, dictates the quality of the salesperson’s results. Consistently make effective decisions, and your results will improve. Make thoughtless, habitual or reactive decisions, and your results will be sub-par.

One of the ways to ensure … Read the rest

One of the most debilitating myths about the sales profession is that salespeople can learn on their own, on the job, and eventually become good at their jobs. This myth implies they’ll eventually develop their own style, and that will bring them the maximum results.

That myth is true for about five percent of the salespeople in the world. For the other 95 percent, nothing could be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of field salespeople perform at a fraction of their potential because they have never been systematically exposed to the best practices of their profession. Instead, they … Read the rest

When interviewing a hiring candidate or coaching an employee, it’s helpful to visualize the image of an iceberg with 10 percent visible above the surface, and 90 percent invisible below the surface.

The visible 10 percent is necessary, but limited information:

• Skills.
• Experience.
• Education.

The invisible 90 percent is the essence of the total person and helps to create a good job match:

• Thinking style.
• Behavioral traits.
• Occupational interests.

The difference between what you see and what you need to see can make the difference between hiring a top performer or an under performer.

Companies that use pre-hire and coaching … Read the rest

It’s the Information Age, and we’re all aware of that. We see evidence of that everywhere we look. There is one place, however, that the Information Age seems to have skipped — the routines and habits of the outside salesperson. Far too many salespeople have ignored the power of information to add a powerful and productive element to their strategies.

One specific example of this is a piece of information that can, by itself, help you become more effective — the sales potential of an account. In other words, the answer to the question: How much can they buy? This … Read the rest

No one looks forward to an encounter with an angry or difficult customer. Most of us can’t help but feel emotionally impacted by an upset customer. An ugly incident can ruin our entire day.

Not only that, but there is usually some damage that can be done to the company by the angry customer. Our job security is not enhanced when the company loses business. Put those two things together, and you can see that dealing effectively with an angry customer becomes a challenge that we must overcome.

Here are some tips to make your next confrontation easier for you, … Read the rest

Sometimes it is so frustrating. You know you have a better product than that which your prospect is currently using. Your price is attractive, your service is outstanding. If the prospect would switch to your solution, you know they’d be delighted. You’d save them money, smooth out their processes, reduce their inventory and generally make their life simpler.

So, why won’t they switch? Are people really that stupid? Or, is it you? Did you do something to put them off?

While there are some circumstances where the answers would be “yes” to the questions above, the most likely answer is … Read the rest

There is not a salesperson in existence who hasn’t repeatedly heard of the need to “close the sale.” Every new sales manager must view the process of encouraging his or her sales force to “close the sale” as an initiation into the profession. If you’re going to be a sales manager, you, therefore, must improve everyone’s ability to “close.” Doesn’t it come with the job?

Sales training literature is awash with advice. Some of it is tedious and trivial: “If he says this, you say that.” Other advice is grandiose: “Thirty-five new sure-fire closing techniques.” Still other is harmful. “Overcome … Read the rest

Adapted from Take Your Performance Up a Notch, Chapter 3, by Dave Kahle

Most salespeople love to be active — out in their territories, seeing people, solving problems, putting deals together. This activity orientation is one of the necessary characteristics of a sales personality. A day sitting behind a desk is their idea of purgatory.

Unfortunately, this activity orientation is both a strength and weakness. Much of a salesperson’s ability to produce results finds its genesis in the energy generated by this activity orientation, but it can be a major obstacle.

Far too often, salespeople are guilty of going … Read the rest

We all know the feeling. Your key contact in one of your good accounts sheepishly admits that they have moved some business to a competitor. No problem with your service, it was just a price issue.

Nothing is more discouraging. You’ve spent years developing this account, building relationships, working hard at meeting their needs, and then, in the blink of an eye, you lose the business to a price-cutter.

Is there anything you can do to prevent this? Of course. Here are proven strategies that will help you prevent your hard-earned business from disappearing into the hands of price-cutting competition.… Read the rest