Pop a “sales pill”

Do you want to be a much improved sales person overnight? We all know it’s a process and not an overnight sensation. But what if there was a pill you could take to make it happen, would you take it? There is one that is a 4 part time release capsule and if taken as prescribed you’re well on your way to healthier sales results.

Purpose

Individualism

Live in the moment

Less is more                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Purpose is about finding both direction and passion in the work that we do.  It’s about defining our dreams and goals.

Individualism is about taking control and being self-motivated. It’s about making decisions and following the path we know is right for us.

Live in the moment because that is all that we have. Yesterday is over and tomorrow’s not promised to anyone. In the past we’ve had success and failures but in each case they’ve all led us to today.

Less is more. If we talk less we’ll listen more. If we create less chaos we’ll have less stress. The less complicated we can make things the simpler it can be.

If you’re in sales you’ve probably got a big day ahead. Contacts to call, people to see, presentations to make, and deals to close.  You don’t need water to take this PILL all you need is a few minutes to pause, focus, gain perspective and I promise it will go down easy.

Buy from Me

“They can’t buy from you if they can’t remember you.” 

Julie Hansen, Founder, Author, Speaker and Trainer of “Acting for Sales” made this statement at the end of her recent How Memorable is Your Sales Presentation? blog post.

Julie explains that most complex sales are not decided with you in the room. Realize that in today’s ultra-competitive sales environment there’s an excellent chance your client’s been presented with other proposals and offers.  Time may have elapsed and you’re not the last sales person the decision makers have seen.  Julie helps you understand what you need to do to for your prospect to remember you, your product, and your solution.

I tend to make a lot of sports analogies in references to sales, but Julie effectively chooses acting to get her point across that customers are waiting for that one person to WOW them, rise above the competition and make their decision an easy one.

Julie goes on to ask 5 great T or F questions about how’s your WOW factor? In addition she ask “Why work so hard only to be forgotten when the buying decision is actually made?”

I hope you’ll check out the complete post http://actingforsales.com/how-memorable-is-your-sales-presentation-increase-your-wow-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-2549

Got Sales Talent?

Talent…you better have some of it in something if you want to be extremely successful.  After watching game 7 of the NBA finals I’ve concluded that Lebron guy has a little talent on the court.  In perspective anyone drawing a paycheck in the NBA has some talent, but still it’s obvious some get more out of theirs than others.

I was once a gym rat playing hours upon hours of BBall, but what little talent I had on the court couldn’t take me beyond my 20’s and church league.  Most people figure out when they simply don’t have enough talent in one area they move onto something else. This seems to hold true across most professions with the exception of SALES.

Look at how many choose medical school and never become doctors or nurses. How many people pack up their guitar and travel to Nashville (home town shout out) to become a singer and/or songwriter that never make it. The person that’s short of talent in math probably won’t be an organizations next CFO. We are all limited to a certain degree by the talents we have and some things we just aren’t build for.

On the positive side it’s often our limitations that motivate us to improve.  Through experience, training, determination, and practice most of us can acquire and possess enough talent to stay in sales.  But those with just enough talent to stay in the game are who you want selling for your competitors. If you strive for and your company demands success you must be that next level up sales person.

Over time sales stats don’t lie. Ask yourself are your sales results consistently improving? Are you closing more than most of your peers? Does the competition know who you are? If you can’t answer these self-imposed questions with a resounding YES you might lack the talent required. Lacking present talent doesn’t mean you need to change professions. Passion and work ethic can carry you a long ways but its talent that will put you over the top.

I hope you’ll think about the talents you possess.  Just like in the NBA, I’m sure in your profession there are not to many Lebrons, however there’s a certain amount of talent you must have to compete. I hope these thoughts help you push yourself to be the best you can be in sales.

Your Elevator Pitch!

The “Elevator Pitch”, if you represent a company, product, or service chances are you have one. Furthermore it’s probably well practiced and rehearsed. I’m of the opinion every business person needs one. Being able to speak about your business in just a matter of minutes in a way that attracts your audience is extremely important. It would seem there’s just no downside to an elevator pitch, but not so fast. There are a few mistakes I hear in elevator pitches.

Some believe their elevator pitch is to only be used in an impromptu chance meeting, but there is no better time than a during a planned call or meeting to deliver this message. It’s just as important to quickly capture the attention of your audience in a formal setting.

Consider the following rather you find yourself giving your elevator pitch on the move or sitting at the conference table.

–       Keep it current as every business grows or changes and your pitch needs to evolve with you

–       There is NO PERFECT PITCH (Your audiences will never be exactly the same)

–       Don’t just tell, differentiate!

–       Don’t sell EVERYTHING about you and your business.

–       Be honest and resist exaggeration or embellishment

–       Be aligned with your BRAND

In the spirit of the elevator pitch I’ll close with: It is essential to have the ability to promote your company, product, services, and yourself through a short, clear, and concise message to an unfamiliar audience. Practice because it’s more than a pitch it’s a first and lasting impression.  Remember the goal is simple: Make certain your audience understands what you are saying and that there is value in it for them.

“Bang for your Buck” Sales Training

How much does your company spend on sales training each year? No matter what your answer is make sure you’re getting some Bang for your Buck. 

If you feel your training investment falls short relative to the return to your bottom line you must examine how motivated your team is for training success.

As a sales executive or manager IF you can answer YES to the following four questions you’re set for sales training success. If you answer NO to ANY of the four you’re not ready to spend the first dime on training.

Does your organization have a culture that truly supports continual learning?

Does your management team reinforce the training that is delivered?

Do you provide the technology to assist your sales team to effectively utilize training?

Do you have reasonable expectations of the impact and results of sales training?

The key word is does and do, and not would or will.

Setting your team up for training success is more important than any training session that can be delivered.

As a leader if you are ALL IN your sales team can be ALL IN. However if you are HALF IN your team will most likely be HALF IN or worse ALL OUT.

I don’t mention the above to advocate or advertise myself as a sales trainer. I mention it because I’ve been in a past situations I would had answered NO to all four questions.

Surely I’m not the only person that had the immediate supervisor that was one big “road block” to allowing a culture of learning. I was both fortunate and unfortunate to have “Barry” (I won’t use his last name, his first might not even been Barry – but it was in hopes he does read this – not to hold grudges) as my first and worst manager. This guy was a bumbling idiot that had one seriously warped perception of his value to the company. Years later I understood it wasn’t his fault that the organization put him in his role as a branch manager. Yes he was a real – ick (insert the lead letter(s) of your choice if you can relate) but the company failed me and a few unlucky others by having Barry in place. Though it was only for a little while I recognized I was not in an environment that supported the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute. Barry got fired before I left the company and the company failed (no longer exist) largely because they didn’t support a culture of continuous learning. Without learning you can’t have improvement and without improvement you have no chance to stay competitive or much less on top.

I’m sure I’m also not the only one that has found myself surrounded by my sales peers in a nice meeting room at a fine resort for that “annual” sales meeting. You know the one the company spared no expense with travel, accommodations, lunch, dinners, and “happy hour”. Only to be back one year later trying to remember “what the ___ was it they trained us on last year?” So the next time after the great sales conference/workshop that everyone leaves enthusiastic and confident about the next move is yours because inevitably your sales people are going to ask you WHAT’s NEXT.  What needs to come next is your actions and not your words.

Sales is a battle if not an all-out war. The competition never retreats and keeps coming at you from every direction. Being well trained just gets you in the game but being well prepared isn’t ever going to be enough to win it. You have to be smarter, faster, and have the right tools and resources. I’ll just say the “Never take a BB Gun to a Gunfight” addresses the technology question. There’s efficiency and then there’s cheap. I’ve worked for the “cheap” ones and the best you can hope for is they over achieve just enough to get acquired. But if that doesn’t happen try to stay close to your competition because someday sooner than later you will be interviewing with them.

How big are your expectations of sales results as it relates to sales training? All sales training seminars or workshops have an expiration date when it comes to shelf life. The impact of results from a sales training seminar will show in small increments. Small increments are good because cumulatively they will consistently grow future sales, revenues, and profits. As a manager if you find yourself trying to measure the results of one training seminar you’re wasting your valuable time. The bigger payoff comes when you spend more time supporting the implementation and execution of what was learned, not measuring it. My experience has been the closer sales training is aligned with sales goals the gap narrows and favorable results are produced.