Proposing is one of the most misunderstood sales elements we know.

Insights on the Sales Proposal 2.0

1. It should always articulate the specific PAINS, PROBLEMS or OPPORTUNITIES. The proposal is about THEM not YOU. It should be specific. If the client said, “Our current system sucks!” then you type in your proposal: “Tom thinks the current system sucks!” More than anything else, this demonstrates that you’re both listening and hearing. Novel idea for a salesperson.
2. It should be free of surprises. I got this from one of my clients. He calls it the NO SURPRISE PROPOSAL. That flipping to the back of the page stuff stops when you’ve talked about everything in your previous conversations. Let them flip. They should find exactly what you’ve talked about. If you agreed to a $560 a month fee, they should flip to the back and see: “Fee-$560/month.” This isn’t Christmas morning. It should be boring.
3. It should include ALL ALTERNATIVES—including competitors AND doing nothing. This is the best new idea I can share with you. Too often proposals are done too soon and in a limiting fashion. They leave no room for tweaking, creativity or input. We actually title this ALTERNATIVES DISCUSSION DOCUMENT. It used to be called a proposal. Proposal sounds so final. Labeling it alternatives/discussion allows buy-in and input. It helps the prospect write the “proposal” and sell the deal for you.

Take a look at your proposals. Are they full of lots of useless fodder, or are they short, meaningful and relevant to the person reading them?

1. THEY THINK BIG: High performers think beyond the transaction—they think long term, big picture and any other overused corporate jumbo you can think of. You get it.
2. THEY WORK: While I don’t believe effort = output, I do believe there is a positive correlation. The one basic element that we’ll never be able to disprove: the more people you talk to, the more clients you’ll have. Period.
3. THEY ARE TERRIFIED OF FAILING: The highest performing salespeople (surprisingly to me) are often driven by fear—not a paralyzing fear, but a motivating fear. It could be a fear of failure, a fear of going backward or a fear of stagnation. Whatever, they do an amazing job channeling that fear into focused effort that produces results.
4. THEY MAINTAIN ECONOMIC INTEGRITY: High performers know that THEY are a part of what their customers buy. They also tend to have very high self worth. Because of that, elite performers rarely discount what they do. They may negotiate, but they have a true, strong, intrinsic belief that they and their service command a premium fee.
5. THEY EXPECT TO BE A HIGH PERFORMER: When the stack order ranking comes out, the best performers expect to see themselves on top. Average performers just hope they’re not in the bottom 1/3.
6. THEY WORK AROUND FACTORS OUT OF THEIR CONTROL: High performers look objectively at situations and work around conditions they have no control over. Average performers tend to see these factors as insurmountable road blocks, excuses or paralyzing detriments.

You’ll not likely become a top performer by reading this, but it might spur you to e-mail me and ask what you CAN do to start to move yourself into the elite club. bneale@caskeytraining.com if you’ve got the burn.

1. Persuasion is dead. If you’re in it to convince and persuade, you need to call 1986 and ask if you can have your job back.
2. Sales presentations should NEVER be presentations. When one gets out of presentation mode and into conversation mode, the whole game changes.
3. The economy breathes and so do sales results. Those who embrace the ebb and flow of the sales arena and look at breathing times to exploit opportunities, always wind up at the top of the sales results list.
4. For the most part, sales managers suck. Most sales managers don’t add value to their salespeople’s performance. It’s not their fault. They’ve not been taught properly.
5. People pay money for things that make their lives better/easier. They don’t pay money for products, things, features or functions.
6. Personal ACCOUNTABILITY is missing in the DNA of most salespeople. Those who have it are at the top of their game.
7. LEAD GENERATION is still the biggest problem for most sales organizations. A lack of INNOVATION in generating qualified leads is to blame. (Stay with us in 2009 if you want innovation for lead generation.)
8. Most salespeople worry most about what they can’t control and thereby ignore what they can control. (“Danger, Will Robinson!”)
9. Most salespeople are smarter and better than they think they are or allow themselves to be. Are you one?
10. Most SALES TRAINING SUCKS. Product training is WAY overrated. Sales process training is still about getting the deal and persuading someone to buy. Once the majority figure out there is a better way, look out.

That’s the list for 2008. We live in a great time. Relish the fact that selling is a great profession and will continue to be for a very long time.

Question 1: Can you name the best sales manager you’ve ever worked for? Likely you can name him/her without thinking. Question 2: can you name the worst sales manager you’ve ever worked for? Again, I’m sure it took very little thought to come up with a name.

So, what makes a sales manager the best and what makes someone the worst? Here are a few observations:

1. Intent: Sales managers whose TRUE, DEEP-ROOTED intent is to HELP THEIR SALESPEOPLE ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS are far and away the most effective with the greatest results. Unfortunately, too many sales managers are deeply attached to their own success and egotistical gratification. When it’s really all about the manager, the salespeople become mere pawns in the sales manager’s game. Not Good. Your intent as a sales manager is one thing and one thing only: HELP SALESPEOPLE ACHIEVE THEIR OWN GOALS.
2. Consistency: Ever worked for a sales manager who says on Monday “It’s all about volume guys. Don’t worry about margin,” and then on Thursday looks at the deals you turn in and says, “Tom, why are these margins so low?” People can’t follow a moving target. Effective sales managers stick to a plan and a message and continually reinforce it.
3. Coaching: One of the strongest attributes of effective sales managers is their ability to coach their teams. Coaching doesn’t mean “Tom, here’s how I would handle that.” or “Here’s what you should do with that deal.” It’s about playing to strengths. It’s about honesty, collaboration and authenticity. Tell people how it is. Encourage. Reinforce your commitment to make them as good as they want to be. That’s what a good coach does.
4. Accountability: The best sales managers take accountability and expect accountability. I have a client who changed their flowery, 3-paragraph mission statement to something much more simple and compelling: WE DO WHAT WE SAY WE’RE GOING TO DO WHEN WE SAY WE’RE GOING TO DO IT. That’s their mission. It should also be the mission of every sales manager and every salesperson. The culture it creates is powerful. It works with external and internal customers. It’s what everyone seems to want, but no one wants to commit to.

Consider these my birthday presents to you. If you as a sales manager only do these 4 things, look out. You’re on your way to the Sales Managers’ Hall of Fame (as soon as we build one).

What to do?

BLOGGING is your answer. If you don’t think blogging for salespeople is a good idea—great. Enjoy your mediocrity. Without getting into all the technical details, just know this:

1. People always start looking for things on Google. ALWAYS.
2. Google likes to send people to sites that are the most RELEVANT to what people are looking for.
3. Google likes it when sites contain meaty, meaningful, REAL content directly related to the concept they represent.
4. Google likes BLOGS because they do #2 and #3 above.

Why Salespeople Should Blog

1. You will become FAMOUS in your industry. You probably have immense amount of knowledge your prospects could benefit from knowing. Blogging allows you to share your knowledge with the world. This is your way to become WIDELY KNOWN in your industry. FAMOUS people get more deals at higher margins. They get paid for their knowledge and expertise. Imagine having a waiting list to work with you. Imagine it. Fun ‘eh?
2. Prospects get to know YOU. The relationship is becoming increasingly more critical. People are thirsting for transparency. Blogging gives the world a peek into your mind and soul. You can say so much in a blog without saying so much.
3. You create content you can use to prospect with. How many times have you been sitting, staring at the phone wondering what you could possible say to this prospect that you haven’t said on the previous 8 calls? With a blog you get a REASON TO contact them AND a way to stay in touch with them on a regular basis.
4. You become an expert. Check out www.directmaildiva.blogspot.com Stephanie is one of my clients. She’s had her blog for 4 weeks and has already closed business from it. The cool thing about blogs is that the more you do it, the more it pays. It’s like investing—exponential returns.

If you want to really step into the new millennium, check out www.compendiumblogware.com. Chris Bagott’s company is on the forefront of something huge. Blogging is the way to share knowledge and form relationships with new customers. Chris’ company is leading the way in helping companies in this area. (BTW—Chris has no idea who I am.)

E-mail me if you want some help. I’ll charge you for it, but the economics are hugely in your favor. NOW, EITHER CALL ME (317-575-0057) OR GO BLOG.

The last time we met here, my client and I both ordered it and instead of PERFECT oatmeal, we got oatmeal with the consistency of miso soup. We sent them back and got our PERFECT oatmeal PERFECTED, no problem.

This morning while I was in line, another patron was turning her PERFECT oatmeal back in. Reason? Too runny. A small debate ensued behind the counter. The posted instructions on how to prepare PERFECT oatmeal were scrutinized. The other patron was given a 2nd rendition of PERFECT oatmeal.

Undeterred, I ordered mine. When I popped the top after the prescribed 3-minute waiting period, my PERFECT oatmeal was shriveled like a raisin. Humpty-Hump from Digital Underground might like his “…oatmeal lumpy” but Biggie Neale doesn’t.

The lesson: Never name anything PERFECT. The expectation is WAY TOO high.

Practice this (expectation management) in every aspect of your sales life.

• Never commit to fulfilling what you don’t know you can fulfill.
• When discussing price, always start high.
• When there are problems or concerns, lead with them.
• Make lead times longer than they’ll be.
• When something’s wrong, call the prospect/customer immediately.

I was going to title my next book THE PERFECT SALES BOOK. Now maybe I’ll call it THE PRETTY GOOD SALES BOOK.

I GOT THE VERBAL!

You got the verbal? You got nothing.

If you’re a professional salesperson, you probably already know this. If you’re new or struggling, here’s the tip:

IT’S NOTHING UNTIL IT’S SOMETHING.

Deals go bad. Prospects lie. Things change. All of these events can change the VERBAL in a New York minute. So what should you do?

1. Watch what they do, forget what they say: If someone gives you a VERBAL, take it at face value and keep your own emotions and expectations in check.
2. Drive the process: Once the VERBAL comes, it’s your job to drive to an end. Share the crystal clear steps: i.e., Thanks, Joe. Here is a document that outlines specifically what happens next.
3. Stay mentally behind the deal: Everyone around you will want to “get excited.” Not you. You stay even-keeled. You get excited when the money hits your checking account.

Last but not least. No matter who asks, never again say: I GOT THE VERBAL.

My wife and I do nothing OTHER than answer questions, all day and all night.

Mom, where’s dad?
Dad, where’s mom?
Mom, what is this?
Dad, are cocoons real?
Mom, is milk healthy?
Dad, do cars sleep?
Mom, is Grandma bigger than you?
Dad, what do fish eat?
Mom, why has dad been locked in the closet all night with Bose noise-canceling headphones on?

In the words of Randy Jackson, “Do you feel me, Dawg?”

Ah, but in each day and in each moment and in each interaction, a lesson lies. The lesson here is for you, the professional salesperson, you, who knows all, you, who doesn’t need any training and expects to meet your growth targets by doing more of the same thing.

The lesson here is simple: be curious and ask questions.

It amazes me how many professional salespeople will say, “sales is all about listening to your customer.” But when you actually hear them on a sales call, you feel like you’re talking to Del Griffith (John Candy’s rotund, shower curtain ring salesman character in Planes, Trains and Automobiles).

Be curious. Not because you want the sale, need the sale or want to “nail the deal down.” Be curious for the same reason my kids are—to learn. It will make you much more enjoyable to be around (and it will make you lots more money as a sales professional).

]]> http://www.caskeyone.com/blog/key-elite-sales-performance-maintaining-childs-curiosity/feed/ 1 http://www.caskeyone.com/blog/sales-professionals-typewriter/ http://www.caskeyone.com/blog/sales-professionals-typewriter/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:54:15 +0000 Bryan Neale http://caskeyone.com/blog/?p=482 Typewriters.

Seen one lately? Used one in the last 11 years? The answer above is “probably not.” If you had polled an audience in the 1960’s and asked if they thought typewriters would someday be “extinct,” I’d suspect the vast majority would say, “NO WAY. How could we ever live without typewriters?” And here we sit 40 years later and 99.8% of the people on the planet couldn’t find a replacement ribbon to save their lives.

So, what if I told you that salespeople will be extinct? NO WAY. IMPOSSIBLE. Aah, be careful. I predict that salespeople as we know them WILL be extinct. The antiquated process of rapport selling, relationship building, presenting slide decks, consultative sales—you name it—will all be replaced by unbelievably efficient data-based tools that will make today’s salesperson and sales process obsolete.

For us, that won’t be a big deal. In 40 years, I’ll be long retired and enjoying time with my grandkids. But what about them? What can we do now to ensure that our grandkids still have the opportunity to become effective, productive sales professionals? Here are some ideas:

1. Knowledge and Wisdom: Accumulate these and you become inherently indispensable.
2. Live technology: Utilize technology in your sales process. The role of technology in the sales and buying process is going to exponentially increase to levels we can barely imagine.
3. Be a business person, not a salesperson: This is one of our primary objectives with our clients. Be a business person first and a salesperson second. 90% of salespeople have it backwards.

Do what you can to save our profession from extinction. My grandkids will thank you.

As sales professionals, what can we learn here? Most of us have only known about Sarah Palin for a few days, but there are already some terrific lessons we can take from her, her leadership style and her approach to life.

1. BE VULNERABLE: In vulnerability comes strength. She has put herself and her family out there. She knows her shortcomings.
2. BE HONEST: Listening to the other VP candidates (D or R) interviewed before the selection, they all danced around the question, “Would you like to be the next VP.” When Sarah Palin was asked, she said, “Yes. I would.”
3. REVEAL PROBLEMS UP FRONT: We learned about her daughter’s pregnancy and the investigation quickly following the announcement of her vice presidential candidacy. Gov. Palin was upfront with Senator McCain about these situations, and the Republicans handled the release of info. professionally and respectfully.
4. STAND FOR SOMETHING: There is no gray area with Sarah Palin. She stands where she stands. Do you STAND FOR SOMETHING in your sales process? If so, what?

If you want some free sales training, pay close attention to the elections. Watch how candidates act. Listen to what they say. Are they relevant to their prospects (voters)? Do you feel they are authentic? (Most salespeople aren’t but should be.) Would you buy from them (vote for them)? Lots to learn in the next few months.