“What Should Our Sales Strategy Be?”
We get this question a lot–and have for the last year. What people are really saying is that their current sales strategy isn’t working so well–and do we need to change it?
Yes.
Not sure how more direct to be. The reason I know your sales strategy is off-track is your closing percentage. It’s rare for a closing / conversion percentage (deals proposed to deals closed) to be higher than 20%.
Doesn’t that seem absurd to you? That 80% of people who care enough about your product to entertain a proposal–don’t see anything of value–and either don’t buy at all, or buy from another vendor?
That should tell you you’ve got a problem with your sales strategy.
So What Should Sales Strategy Be?
Simple. Rather than tell you what it should be, let me do you a favor and give you a bigger lesson–what should it revolve around?
Your sales strategy should revolve around client pain and possibility. That is, your features and benefits shouldn’t enter into the strategy until you first hear the prospect MUST change how they’re doing things to survive. And your sales training should as well.
If they don’t tell you that, then you don’t have a prospect.
So, the next time you lose a piece of business, ask yourself if your strategy really revolved around your prospect. Or, if you wimped out on them and focused too much on yourself. The answer’s real easy if you have the courage to look.
Get Smart
I imagine most people are freaking out about the start of 2009. If you’re not, your mind will start to play tricks on you as people ask: “How does this economy affect your business?”
This is not the time to panic. In fact, it’s a great time to gain clarity and work smart.
When is the last time you looked at your network and used it to grow your business? I know you might have a lot of “business friends” and clients that love you—you go to lunch, you invite them to a sporting event, meet with them once a month to take care of business. When was the last time you asked them to help you grow your business? I don’t mean the casual “Hey, if you know of anyone else I should be talking to…” I mean, giving them a process from start to finish that puts you in front of qualified prospects. I’ve recorded the steps in an audio. Take a minute to listen.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
How To Be A Top Sales Performer
What makes someone a great sales performer? Here are a few ideas:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Why ALL Salespeople Should Blog
In our sales training seminars, we’re often asked, “What can I do to differentiate myself?” This seems to be an extremely common issue for salespeople. With the accessibility of GOOGLEized information, prospects already know a lot about you and your company before you ever talk to them live. The problem is, the information they find using GOOGLE often resides in a generic, flat, loaded-with-marketing babble, static, boring, crowded, all-but-worthless website.
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:
- People always start looking for things on Google. ALWAYS.
- Google likes to send people to sites that are the most RELEVANT to what people are looking for.
- Google likes it when sites contain meaty, meaningful, REAL content directly related to the concept they represent.
- Google likes BLOGS because they do #2 and #3 above.
Why Salespeople Should Blog
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Power of (mis)Managed Expectations
I’m in a Starbucks right now. I don’t drink coffee, but the person I’m meeting does, so here we are. For breakfast I ordered Starbuck’s PERFECT oatmeal. I don’t know exactly how long they’ve had it on the menu; I think it was new in late summer. I’ve had it 8 or 10 times now. BUT the last 2 times I’ve had it, it’s been far from PERFECT.
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.
What to Do When the Prospect Says YES and Then Does NOTHING
This situation occurs in about 1 in 3 sales training sessions I conduct. It’s one of my favorite (not really) things to hear from salespeople:
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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
The Key to Elite Sales Performance: Maintaining a Child's Curiosity
I have four kids. Their ages are: 6, 4 ½, 3, and 1 ½. If you’re looking to relax in peace and quiet, stay outside of a 50-mile radius of my house. I love my kids dearly. One of the attributes I love most about these little munchkins is their pure, unadulterated, naked curiosity.
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).
