Sales Blog with Sales Tips

I’m going to write about something today that is profoundly obvious, no one will disagree with, and many of us are probably guilty of not doing.

Let Me Provide Some Groundwork
I think most of the sales professionals who read this sales blog know what pacing is. This is when we mirror a customer’s speech rate, volume, voice tone, energy and even body language when talking face to face with him or her. There are numerous advantages when doing this. It provides a way for us to “sync up” with the customer. When we are good at pacing, we are able to speak the language of the customer in all of its dimensions. It enhances communication, and this is always a good thing.

A Little More Groundwork
Whether we are an inside or outside sales professional, the phone is one of our primary communication devices. Many people don’t realize that outside sales professionals spend a significant amout of time making appointments, providing customers with information, fixing problems, etc. via the phone. All of us have to be good on the phone to be successful in sales.

Now Let’s Put It All Together
What are most sales professionals guilty of? We forget to use pacing when we’re on the phone with a prospect or customer. That’s right. We almost instinctively know to pace when we’re face to face, but we completely forget this important concept when we’re on the phone. And we all spend a lot of time on the phone.

It Gets Even Better
When we talk with customers on the phone, all they receive is our voice. Our body language cues are lost. As a result, we may get an even bigger payoff when pacing ourselves on the phone than when we’re face to face with a customer.

We already know how to pace. All we need to do is apply these same skills on the phone to greatly improve our communication skills. Simple…and powerful.

Further reading:

• Why a Bullet in the Head Frequently Kills [or, Your Brain Is Your Greatest Asset In Communicating With Customers]

>To receive these sales tips by email click here, to receive by RSS click here.
>Follow Scott R. Sheaffer on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter by clicking here.
©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer

If you’re a sales manager you may be making the following error and not even know it. If you’re a sales professional and your sales manager is making this error, you can take steps to work around it.

First, Some Examples
Most sales managers are able to provide the following “coaching” with little or no sales management training.

• “You’re behind on your numbers for the month.”
• “Your funnel is not where it should be.”
• “You’re contacting the wrong level of decision maker.”
• “You’re not introducing new products or services to your customers.”
• “You’re not engaging with buyers early enough in the buying cycle.”

The Problem
The problem with this kind of “coaching” is that it isn’t helpful. I call it “Report Card Sales Management.” When I was in junior high, I didn’t need to see my report card to know that I was doing badly in algebra. Pointing out my poor skills in algebra did not make me better in math, nor did it inspire me to be a mathematician.

What I needed was help in algebra. This is the dilemma when sales professionals are struggling and they work for a Report Card Sales Manager. They need coaching on the “how-to” from someone who knows what they are doing and has a stake in helping.

A Personal Story
I used to work as a Sales Director for a VP of Sales who had never carried a bag. No sales experience whatsoever. I know it sounds crazy, but it was a Fortune 500 company where tenure and who you knew were the primary criteria for promotion. How much help do you think I got from this person other than a statistical analysis of where my sales team stood?

For Sales Managers
If you find yourself with the title of “Sales Manager” and you don’t feel competent in that role, then start learning and quit insulting your sales team with Report Card Sales Management. It doesn’t help, and it is annoying to them. Simply stated, start learning how to help them instead of analyzing them. This will eventually cause them to respect you more too.

For Sales Professionals
Not sure whether you have one of these sales managers? Here’s the decisive test. Has he or she ever sold what you’re selling? Does he or she actively participate in helping you develop business? If the answer to both of those questions is “no,” you can be fairly confident that you have a Report Card Sales Manager.

If you find yourself working for a Report Card Sales Manager and you need developmental help (and we all do), you can do several things. Look for help from your peers. Look outside of your company for a sales mentor. Search for sales training both inside and outside your company that will fill the gaps.

Further reading:

• Sales Competency Categories: Are you competent or do you just think you are?

To receive these sales tips by email click here, to receive by RSS click here.
Follow Scott R. Sheaffer on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter by clicking here.
©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer

If you’re like me, you are tired of the myriad of sales clichés that circulate in every company.

1. “Let’s see how many ‘no’s’ we can get today!” Right from the mouth of a cheerleader.
2. “Plan your work and work your plan.” What if the variables change?
3. “Your customers won’t care about you until you care about them.” Just give them good service. They’re not looking for love, most likely.
4. “Start smiling and dialing.” I hate this one so much it actually hurts to type it.
5. “Salespeople are coin-operated.” This one makes me angry. Whoever uses this expression has no knowledge whatsoever of sales or sales professionals.

The Most Worn Out Sales Cliché
There is one sales cliché that is repeated so often it ought to be a felony for just saying it. I would make it a capital offense if it were up to me.

“Sales is just a numbers game.”

Aren’t you sick of it? Every half-rate sales manager who doesn’t have a clue about sales coaching will use this line whenever one of his or her sales professionals is not performing up to par.

Don’t get me wrong. The number of prospect and customer contacts is important. But, it isn’t everything.

The Reason This Is The Worst Cliché
Surfers spend a lot of time and energy positioning themselves to find the perfect wave. They will let many lesser waves pass them by. They want to ride the wave with the most potential. Experienced surfers also know exactly what a good wave looks like.

If they blindly jump on whatever wave is next, they’ll only be going through the motions. Their only hope for a good ride is to accidentally hit a good wave and hope they have the energy left to ride it in. Most of their rides will not be rewarding. Not only will the majority of their rides be a bore, but they’ll have frequent long paddles back out.

The Sales Analogy Is Obvious
Our contact with prospects is no different. This analogy with surfing has reminded me of the following three simple unchanging truths when prospecting:

1. Not every prospect is a good prospect.
2. You have limited time and energy.
3. Know what a good prospect looks like.

Now carefully pick a few good waves and ride them all the way in.

Further reading:

• Contrary to popular opinion, sales is NOT just a numbers game.

To receive these sales tips by email click here, to receive by RSS click here.
Follow Scott R. Sheaffer on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter by clicking here.
©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer

If you are concerned about reaching all of the decision makers at your customers and you want to stand out from the crowd, I have something you might want to try.

First, allow me to lay the groundwork for what I’m going to propose.

Sales Facts For 2009

• Prospects and customers are less willing to give us time.
• Reaching decision makers is more difficult than ever and this trend is only getting worse.
• Purchasing decisions are increasingly being made by groups of individuals, not lone decision makers.
• We can get lost in the “white noise” of increased competitive activity. This is especially true during a recession.

There is a technique you can use to address these trends that is literally in front of your nose at most offices.

The Scenario
You’ve been working for two months to put a deal together. You make a presentation to a group of four decision makers. One of the key decision makers was not able to attend your presentation. You realize the chance of scheduling a separate meeting with her is probably zero.

The attendees tell you to email your PowerPoint to the missing decision maker and they will “relate the information you shared during your presentation.” You know that using someone else to do your selling never works.

The Digital Proposal
Rather than using the feeble approach of depending on someone inside the prospect company to do your selling (and they won’t), use technology that is right at your fingertips. Video, or even narrated PowerPoint, is what I’m suggesting. These are simple and highly available technologies.

• Make a personal video targeted at the missing decision maker. Keep it very short, to the point and use his or her name in it. Cover only your key points and remove the blather about the history of your company. This does not need to be a studio quality production, incidentally.
• If you can’t put together a video, then use the PowerPoint you created for the meeting, customize it for the missing decision maker and add audio. Yes, you can record audio on PowerPoints.
• Email the video or narrated PowerPoint to the missing decision maker with any relevant supporting materials. Include a note about how you intend to follow-up. Be sure to call or send an email to let him or her know this “package” is coming.

Why This Is Outstanding

• This will make you stand out from the crowd, for starters.
• It gets your voice in front of the prospect, making the points you want to make in the way you want to make them.
• It’s simple. You might already have everything you need on your computer to record a video and do basic editing. If not, see “Further reading” below for some ideas.
• Everyone is getting comfortable with short videos. You might even be making your own YouTube videos right now. Use this knowledge to create these videos and close more sales.
• While you could schedule a conference call or even a web conference with the absent decision maker, both of those options would still require him or her to put you on the calendar. Not being able to meet with you at a scheduled time is what caused the disconnect in the first place. This allows the no-show decision maker to view your material at a time of his or her choice.

Standing Out And Connecting
You will have to invest some up-front time to make this work. However, your second and third digital sales proposals will require a much smaller investment of your time, maybe even less time than trying to unsuccessfully chase down that critical decision maker.

The missing, yet critical, decision maker has never heard your voice making the points you want to make, in the way that only you could make them.  That is what makes this such a powerful selling tool.

Further reading:

• How to create web videos without breaking your budget

To receive these sales tips by email click here, to receive by RSS click here.
Follow Scott R. Sheaffer on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter by clicking here.
©2009 Scott R. Sheaffer