Sales Force One

Trust Me

This week I started reading The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey.  One of the more interesting observations in the early chapters is the idea that trust has an impact on economics and speed.  Covey writes that when trust is low, speed is low and cost is high.  A great example is what happened to flying in the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Trust went down, the speed to get through an aiport decreased dramatically and the cost of running our airports increased dramatically.

The other economic impact according to Covey is the impact that trust has on organizational success. 

Think of the formula S x E = R where S stands for strategy, E stands for Execution and R stands for results.  Covey suggest the true formula is (S x E)T = R.  The only difference is the T which stands for trust.  If an organization is operating with a high degree of trust, Covey writes that they are receiving a trust dividend.  Conversely, if they are operating with a low degree of trust, Covery believes they are paying a trust tax.

For example, even if you use a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 the final result of the formula would not be 100.  When you account for the trust factor, the final result will likely be higher or lower than 100...depending upon whether your firm is paying a trust tax or receiving a trust dividend.

Check out the book.  You will enjoy it.  Trust me!

Danger

I have been reading a book by Kevin & Jackie Freiberg titled Boom!

In the book they quote the French essayist Emile Chartier who once said "nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have."

As a sales force development expert, I have a different spin on that quote.  My thought is this:  "nothing is more dangerous than a prospect when it is the only one you have."  A central element in the selling system we teach at the Anthony Cole Training Group is that highly effective salespeople approach each prospect thinking they would like the business....but they don't need the business.

When salespeople start "needing the business" they start taking shortcuts in qualifying prospects which leads to pipelines being more pipedreams than anything else.  Do desperate times call for desperate measures?  Sure they do.  Just don't sacrifice qualifying your prospect because they are your only prospect.

No More Proposals

This morning I read a fascinating article by Stone Payton on the Eyesonsales website.  You can read the entire article by going to:

www.eyesonsales.com

Stone writes about no longer using the term proposal.  His point is that the word proposal is defined as "to set forth for acceptance or rejection, to put forth for consideration."  The reality is that you as the salesperson are supposed to be the expert.  To that end, Stone refers to his final product as a summary of recommendations.  He believes (as do I) that the realities are as follows:

1. People have problems.
2. Experts have solutions.
3. Recommendations should be made.

The other part of Stone's article that should resonate with you is his discussion of "firing the prospect."  Instead of making proposals and then waiting for the phone to ring (which it rarely does) he suggests making firm recommendations and then asking for a decision....even if that means you ask for the "no."

You are the expert.  Start calling it something other than a proposal.  Either they have a problem that they want to fix or they don't.  Somehow calling what you do a "proposal" just doesn't seem to fit.

Failure

A small group that I am involved with at my church is beginning a six week study of John Ortberg's book titled If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat. 

I am struck by Ortberg's definition of failure.  He defines failure as "not an event, but rather a judgement about an event.  Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things.  It is a way we think about outcomes."

When you think about translating this over to selling, the question I encourage you to ask yourself is this:  "If I want to be successful at selling, what boat do I need to leave?"  Are you currently paddling along in one of the following boats?

1. The boat of comfort that you don't want to rock.
2. The boat of failure because the last time you tried something new it did not work.
3. The boat of experience that says you will never make more than your current income.
4. The boat of timidity that says prospects will not like you if you qualify opportunities by asking fierce questions.

How about it?  What boat do you need to leave today?

The Brand Mindset

I am reading Duane Knapp's book titled The Brand Mindset and he has some excellent content around how to create branding success.  Knapp believes that for an organization to have a "genuine brand" the following expectations must be met:

1. Is the brand truly distinctive or different in a manner that is important or valued by its consumers?
2. Is it committed to providing certain emotional and functional benefits to the consumer?
3. Does it consistently fulfill its promise and deliver on its commitment?

The book also identifies why companies have trouble developing distinction with branding:

1. Not understanding the need to be distinctive.
2. Difficulty in identifying their distinctive characteristics.
3. Failing to create the perception of distinctiveness.
4. Lack of continuous innovations or enhancements to reinforce distinctive characteristics.
5. Choosing or communicating the wrong characteristics,i.e. those that are not beneficial, valued or desired by the target audience.

So what are you communicating with your brand promise?  How sure are you that what you are communicating is relevant to your target market?

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

The following comes from Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone.  It is a great reminder on the steps to take when you blow it with someone.

Tip 116 - When You Say The Wrong Thing
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Recently I hosted a dinner with a great group of friends and people I wanted to meet. One of my guests was a particularly good friend, a guy I care about and respect deeply.  Until recently, this guy was a high profile CEO. But due to politics, he was let go - despite the fact that everyone knows he's a total superstar, both in his performance at that company and in every position prior.

While introducing my friend at this dinner, I put my foot in my mouth. Deep. I made what I thought was a well-intentioned joke about his recent misfortune, and - though I was oblivious at the time - it came across as rude and disrespectful.

Maybe it was the red wine. Maybe it was that I think so highly of my friend that I didn't realize a witty barb could ever come across as legitimately insulting. The fact is, it doesn't really matter: I said something that hurt someone undeserving, someone who I care about a great deal.

Chances are, something like this has happened to you - and if it hasn't, some day it will. So once the damage is done, what do you do? How do you fix things?

The only course of action when we hurt others unintentionally is one of vulnerability, transparency and accountability.

First, don't depend on hearsay: Talk it out with the person in question, if they didn't already approach you directly. In my case, my friend himself didn't call me on my misstep; someone else mentioned it. So I called my friend. And sure enough, he concurred: Yep, I had been a schmuck. I started to understand that whatever my intentions, what I said really wasn't funny.

Next up: Apologize. Don't make excuses. Own up to what happened and move on. If your friend forgives you - and I was lucky, mine did - then trust that. Don't belabor it, don't revisit it. Instead, move forward in the spirit of friendship and good faith - OK, maybe with a little extra sensitivity so you don't have to make room in your mouth for two feet next time.

Of course, if you're me, there's one final step: Write a blog on the entire episode with your heart on your sleeve, hoping that perhaps your mistake at least gives others the chance to learn. You can be sure, I'm going to make sure those at the dinner get this particular tip of the week!

Some Day

This coming week I will be traveling to Washington D.C.  During my stay in our nation's capital I am going to visit the National World War II Memorial.  The memorial honors the spirit, sacrifice and commitment of the American people...particularly the roughly 400,000 who died in World War II.

My only regret is that I will be visiting the Memorial alone...that my father will not be with me...he passed away in 2005.  As a proud World War II veteran, it was my intention to take him to the Memorial.  It was important to him...and it was important to me.  And each time we talked about doing it, I ended our conversation the same way:  "we will do that some day."

The problem with "some day" is this:  some day never comes.  Life comes and goes and before you know it, some day simply fails to arrive.

How about you?  What do you want to do...what do you need to do, either in your personal or your business life that you keep planning on doing some day?  Is it a difficult conversation with a client or a prospect?  Is it taking that trip with your family or a friend?  Is it finally putting your goals in writing along with developing a plan to track your progress?  Remember, some day never comes.

As for me, I am looking forward to visiting the Memorial.  I just wish it would have been a day other than some day.  That way, my Dad would have been with me...and that would have been some kind of day.

Little Things

I can't tell you the number of times salespeople all over the country ask for the magic pill that will somehow take them from mediocre results to extraordinary results.  The sad news is this - there is no magic pixie dust to sprinkle over salespeople.

The truth is that selling...like golf...is a slight edge business.  In golf, the guy who finishes first on the money list and the guy who finishes 100 on the money list are usually separated by the slimmest of margins...often less than a stroke.  But the difference in the money they earn is in the millions.

The same goes for selling.  With most of the people I train, there is no one thing that that the salesperson needs to do dramatically better.  Instead, there are several little things where they need to improve only slightly.  It might be just 10% more prospecting activity.  Perhaps it is becoming just slightly more effective at asking questions.  Or they need to be just a little better at closing.

Remember, it is a slight edge business.  Where does your improvement need to come from?  How well do you do the little things?  Winners do them all the time...and they do them very well.

Questions and Answers

Great salespeople generally know a lot of answers to a lot of questions, but the one question that every great salesperson knows the answer to is this:

"If I were my prospect...and I knew what I already know about my company, our products and our competition why would I do business with my firm?"

Sometimes we refer to this in the salesforce consulting world as knowing your pathway to victory.  Unfortunately, sometimes the answer to the above question is a guess.  I am always dumbfounded when a salesperson I am coaching replies to "Why will they hire you?" with "I'm not sure exactly."

How will your prospect benefit from doing business with you?  Among all the options that are available to them, why will they pick you?

The reality is this:  if you don't know, why should they?

Baggage Claim - Part 2

A few days back I posted about the baggage many salespeople bring to the office every day.  Today I would like to comment on the baggage that sales managers sometimes pick up when they hire new salespeople.

Without a reliable pre-screen assessment tool, you are really trying to beat the odds.  Just because Fred sold down the street for one of your competitors (or at least he said he did) does not mean he will sell for you.  Make sure you take the time to open the bags of your new hires.  At the Anthony Cole Training Group, we use a tool that has been created by the Objective Management Group located outside of Boston.

We believe that successful candidates must have what we call the four crucial elements:

1. Desire
2. Commitment
3. Responsibility
4. Outlook

The assessment also uncovers the candidate's severity factor for five major performance factors that have the ability to hinder a salesperson's performance:

1. Need for approval
2. Ability to control emotions
3. Record Collection
4. Money Issues
5. Buy Cycle

If you would like more information on how we screen sales candidates, contact me at (513) 324-3487 or at mark@anthonycoletraining.com.