Reference Selling is the Key to Higher Close Ratios

Posted by Commence on March 26, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

CRM Software Can Help

Every sales representative dreams about that phone call when they hear a prospect say “I was referred to you by one of your customers.”  Want to know why? Statistics indicate that close ratios for new sales increase from 1% for cold calls to as high as 90% for those calls where a personal introduction has been made.  Despite this, sales people consistently neglect to ask their customers who they know or if they can make a personal introduction for them.

One of the ways sales representatives can improve the potential for personal introduction is through the use of Social CRM.   Social CRM sites such as LinkedIn provide a wealth of personal information about company management such as, where they work, their position within the firm, where they worked before and who they know.  By reviewing this information it’s quite possible that the prospect you are trying to reach may be somehow connected to someone you know.  Armed with this information you can perhaps get the personal introduction into an account that you would have had a great deal of difficulty getting into without it.  So how can CRM software help?

Social Networking with CRM

Many CRM systems today have links to social CRM or what’s known as social media sites.  For example, Commence CRM offers a seamless connection to LinkedIn directly from the contact within the CRM system. This allows the sales representative to review a prospect’s information, determine how he or she might find a way to get that personal introduction through others they may know, and at the same time add additional contacts and important notes to the history file for future use.  The CRM system not only acts as a conduit to the prospect’s information, but as a centralized system for retaining notes and history as well.

Image “social_network” by Trebor Scholz on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Image “Social Networking” by sman5612 on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Sales Best Practice #2 – Broadens the relationship with good customers by proactively introducing them to other employees

Posted by Commence on March 13, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

A Best Practice for sales people by guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator.

By Dave Kahle

The best salespeople understand that the more comfortable the customer is with their company, the less risk the customer perceives there to be in dealing with them, and the more likely it is that the customer will prefer their company as a supplier.

That’s just good common sense.  I bank where I do, for example, because when I walk in, everyone knows my name. That makes me feel important, and it makes it so much easier to do business. Or, at least, I feel like it does.  And that is what’s important.

There is a simple principle at work here: The customer should be comfortable with more people in your organization than just you. The more people your customer knows, the better for you. That simple principle leads to a powerful sales practice.   By proactively introducing your good customers to others in your organization, you broaden the relationship between the two entities, and tie the customer to you via additional relationships.

Make sure that your boss has been introduced to your customers. Methodically take him/her to your customers and facilitate the introductions.  Bring a customer service person or two to visit your good customers.

If it is appropriate, constantly invite your customers into your facility to meet the people who make things happen inside your organization.

Each of these relationships makes the customer feel more comfortable in dealing with your organization, and increases the likelihood that you will become the preferred supplier.

That’s why this is a best practice of the best salespeople.

Here’s a way to apply this best practice. Start with a self-assessment:  List all of the key people in your “A” accounts in the first column of a spreadsheet.  Across the tops of the columns, list each of the key people in your organization.  Then, put an “X” in the cell where the two people have connected.  For example, if customer John Smith knows your customer service person “Jenny,” then put an “X” in that cell.  When you have completed that, use the empty cells as a guide, and plan to remedy the situation.  Over the next few months, proactively introduce those customers with the key internal people until all the cells are “X’d.”

If you’d like to explore this best practice more deeply, consider The Sales Resource Center™, and listen to Nugget N-230.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle
All Rights Reserved.

Thinking about Sales: Selling Commodities

Posted by Commence on March 9, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

Thinking about Sales…

By Dave Kahle

“How do you create a perceived value to differentiate yourself from the competition when you are both selling a commodity?”

That’s a question I’m often asked in my seminars.  It uncovers a problem that is spreading to almost every industry.  The rapid pace of technological development and our ultra-competitive global economy means that no one can keep a competitive edge in their product for very long.  Develop a hot new product or service and before you can take your first check to the bank, a competitor has a hotter or cheaper version.  As a result, customers are more and more inclined to view your product or service as a commodity – no real difference between you and the next guy.

This complicates life for the sales person.  In some cases, you are selling exactly the same thing as your competitor.  In other cases, your product may not be exactly the same, but the customer views your product as a commodity with no real differences between what you sell and what your competitor offers.  How much real difference is there between Coke and Pepsi after all?

Regardless of the situation in which you find yourself, the problem for the sales person is the same – getting the business in the face of the customer’s perception of your “me too” product or service.

So, what do you do?  To put it simply, you must detail and communicate the important ways your offering differs from your competitor’s offering.

That’s easier said than done.  To do so effectively, you need to spend some time thinking and preparing.  And that means that you must carefully consider the two most important elements of the sale – your offering, and your customer.  In this column, we’re going to focus on one part of that equation – your offering.

Granted, your product may be exactly the same as the competition, but the totality of your offering may be dramatically different.  I use the word “offering” to indicate every aspect of the purchasing decision – not just the product. For example, the customer buys the product from a company – yours or the other guys.  The customer buys it from a sales person – you or the competitor.  Your company and you are part of the “offering.”  In addition, there may be differences in your terms, delivery, your customer-service capabilities, your follow-up, your return policy, your value-added services, etc.  All of these are part of your “offering.”

The product may be identical, but everything else about your offering may be different.  For example, let’s say you are contemplating purchasing a new Taurus.  You have identical price quotes from two dealers.  The product is the same, and the price is the same.  However, one dealer is close by, the other across town.  One dealer has a reputation for great customer service; the other has no such reputation.  The sales person for the first dealer is the brother of an old high-school friend, while the sales person for the second dealer is a bit cocky and pushy.  The first dealer has a clean, comfortable establishment, while the second one is cramped, cluttered and dirty.

From whom do you buy your Taurus?  Of course you buy it from the first dealer.  Not because of any differences in the product or the price, but because of differences in the offering.  Got the idea?  There is a whole lot more to a decision to buy than just the product or the price.

Your first job is to identify those differences.  Here are some very specific steps you can take today.

1. Think about everything that is associated with the product when a customer purchases it.  Create several categories, and label columns on a piece of paper with the names of those categories.  For example, the first column could be headed with the word “company,” the second with the word “sales person,” the third with “terms.”  Continue in this way, identifying every aspect of the offering and placing each of those components at the top of a column.

2. Now, consider each column one at a time, and list all the ways that your offering differs from your competitor’s in that column.  For example, your company may be locally owned as opposed to your competitor’s branch of a national company.  Or you may be physically closer to the customer, or larger, smaller, newer, older, etc.  After you’ve exhausted one column, move on to the others, filling in the details as you go.

3. This exercise will typically reveal dozens (and in some cases hundreds) of specific, detailed differences.  Far too many than you can easily communicate to the customer.  So, your next step is to pick out those differences that are most important to your customer.  Keep in mind that often what you see as important may not be viewed that way by your customers.

At one point in my career, I worked for a company that celebrated its 100th year anniversary.  That was unusual.  No other competitors had been in business nearly that long.  The company decided to make a big deal about it.  A history of the company was written, brochures printed, even murals depicting significant moments in the company’s history were painted on the walls of the corporate office.  We all thought it was important.

Our customers, however, didn’t care.  After respectfully listening to our boasting, their response was some form of  “So what?”  In other words, our 100 years didn’t mean anything to them.  In no way did it make their jobs easier, simplify their lives, or make them more important to their companies.  What we thought was important turned out to be irrelevant from our customers’ perspective.

Don’t make the mistake we made.  Instead, take the time to critically analyze your list, and eliminate those items that are not important to your customer, that don’t impact their jobs or make a difference to them.  You should be left with a handful of items.

4. One more step to the preparation.  Translate each of those items into statements of benefit to the customer.  For example, your company may be local, while your competitor ships from 50 miles away.  So what?  What does that mean to your customer?  You could translate that item of difference into a benefit by saying something like this:  “As opposed to some other suppliers, we’re just 15 minutes from your plant.  This means that you can get quick delivery of emergency shipments, as well as rapid response to any problem that might develop.  So, you’ll have potentially less downtime in the plant, and of course, less stress and pressure on you.”

Now that you’ve professionally prepared, you are ready to communicate those differences to your customer.  You need to point them out in an organized and persuasive presentation.

Prepare a sell sheet with each of the differences noted as a bullet.  Next to each bullet, have a few comments that capsulize the benefit statements you prepared.  Then, meet with your customer, lay the sheet down in front of him/her, and talk down through it, explaining each point as you go.

Treat it like you would any other well-done presentation.  Be sensitive to your customer’s reaction, and ask for feedback as you work down through the list.  Say, “How does that sound?” or “Does that make sense to you?” and emphasize those things that seem to be more important to your customer.  Then, leave that sheet with your customer.

I’m always amazed at the number of sales people who are confounded over the customer’s perception that their product is just like the other guys, when those sales people have done nothing to show the customer how it is different.

As always, if you have done a good job of analyzing, preparing, and communicating, your customer’s perception should be altered, and you gain the business.

If you haven’t done well at this, then your customer will continue to see no difference between buying it from you and buying from the next guy.  And, if you haven’t shown him/her sufficient reason to buy it from you, then he shouldn’t.

From the customer’s point of view, if your offering is just like the competitor’s, then the customer is absolutely correct in buying from the cheaper source.  However, if there is any difference between your offering and your competitors’, then the responsibility is totally yours to show the customer that difference.  Follow the process described here, and you’ll have far fewer customers treating you like a commodity.

By the way, you’ll find this kind of insight into dozens of sales issues in our Sales Resource Center. It houses 435 training programs to help every one live more successfully and sell better.  All delivered over the internet, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

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Image “Decisions?” by Alexander Alexander on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. A great source of specific tools to help you close is Dave’s book, Question Your Way to Sales Success. Check it out here.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Three days to transform your business and your career!

Posted by Commence on March 5, 2012 under Sales Training | Read the First Comment

Dave Kahle is an expert on sales process management. His sales training seminars will teach you how to grow your business and get the most from your sales team. Learn about proven best practices for sales execution and the use of online CRM software for better sales management, forecasting and reporting.

How to create a sales system to grow your business more rapidly and profitably

Every organization, if it is going to grow successfully, must resolve how to do “sales” well.  Too many companies struggle with constant frustration with not meeting their expectations for sales growth.

There is a better way. It is not just a matter of hiring good sales people, or of effective marketing, aggressive pricing, or emphasis on service.  All those things are partial solutions.  The ultimate solution is to create and continually refine a sales system that touches every level of the company, and influences every customer contact – a sales system that can be relied upon to consistently bring in an ever-increasing quantity of revenue.

In this interactive workshop, Dave Kahle will show you how to build a system from the ground up.  You’ll leave with an understanding of powerful principles and a set of specific ideas you can use to make an immediate difference in your organization. You’ll create a “systems-builder action plan,” and be ready to bring out positive change the next day.  This is the idea that will take your business to the next level.  Enrollment is limited to the first 20 registrations.

Designed for: Principals, CEOs, Chief Sales Officers, VPs, and National Sales Managers of companies who sell to other businesses and organizations.

How to Unleash the Potential in Your Sales People

The greatest untapped potential in most sales organization resides in the sales force.  Most sales people operate at a fraction of their potential.  They can do better, and you can help them.

Our Sales Management System Seminar empowers sales managers with a system to help unleash the sleeping potential in their sales forces.  You’ll leave with a specific set of principles, processes, practices and tools to empower you to make the best use of your time, while keeping your sales team focused and helping them reach their untapped potential.

Attendance is limited to 30 people.

Designed for:  Anyone who supervises sales people or sales managers:  Sales managers, branch managers, principals, CEOs, Chief Sales Officers, VPs, and National Sales Managers of companies who sell to other businesses and organizations.

How to Become a Master Sales Person: The Top Gun Selling System

There is a way to dramatically improve your results.  Our Top Gun Selling System teaches a powerful and proven set of principles, processes, practices and tools to empower a B2B sales person to multiply his/her results.  This interactive program has changed the careers of countless sales people and can do it for you, too.

If you think you can sell better, then come to this program to learn how. You’ll understand the key competencies and practices of an effective 21st Century sales person, and learn how to do each better than ever. This is the place to learn to sell better.

Attendance is limited to 100.  Quantity discounts apply.

Designed for:  Field sales people, proactive inside sales people, and their supervisors of companies who sell to other businesses and organizations.

About the Presenter:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Registrants will receive a 50% discount to The Sales Resource Center™ for on-line support, follow up, and additional resources. You’ll also be provided with a bound manual containing the PowerPoint slides, exercises, a self-assessment, and a set of tools to help you implement the system. You may register on-line, via phone at 800-331-1287, or via fax.

Sales: Question and Answer #8

Posted by Commence on February 29, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

This is a Question and Answer article for sales people from guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator. Follow Dave’s latest Tweets at @davekahle.

By Dave Kahle

Q. Occasionally, customers may say they have seen or received a lower price for the same product in order to receive better pricing from us.  How would you handle that type of call?

A. You mean this only happens occasionally?  I’ll bet thousands of my readers see it frequently.  Regardless, there are a number of things you can do.

First, assess the validity of the customer’s comment.  Your question says that your customers “may say…” That implies that sometimes, at least, you think they are just saying it, and not meaning it.  So, you have to determine the likelihood that they really have seen the same thing at a lower price.  If you think they are just making it up, and they really don’t have a lower-price option, then just diplomatically ignore it.  Say something like this, “I really don’t know what else is available, but I do know that this is a fair price.  Should I send you one or two?”

You’ll never know if they are bluffing until you call their bluff.  It’s worth losing one or two to help you understand the reality of their comment.

Second, if you think that they really do have another lower-price option, then you need to spend some time in preparation before you even make the call, so that you will have a strategy and set of techniques ready for this situation.

Assess your position in the account.  Ask yourself these two questions:  “Are you the preferred vendor?”  “If all things were equal, would they prefer to do business with you?“

If the answer is “Yes,” and you are the preferred vendor, then that is usually worth at least 3%, but rarely more than 10%.  In other words, if your competitor can sell it for $100.00, but you are the preferred vendor, you can probably get $103.00, but probably not $110.00 for the same product.

So, you need to determine if you are the preferred vendor and, if so, how much is that worth to the customer.  Create a deal which, in effect, lowers the price to what you think you can get.  Have that deal, plus some language to offer it, ready for the situation.

For example you might say, “I understand that you may be able to purchase it for less.  Let me suggest this, when you buy it with item Y, we can provide it for $103.00 plus $8.00 for item Y.  That gives you a discount from our regular prices, plus a great buy on item Y.  Do you want to go ahead with that?”

That, of course, assumes that all things are equal.  The truth is that all things are rarely equal.  There is probably some reason why the customer should buy it from you.  That means some benefit that the customer gets from the transaction with you that is valuable to him/her and that is not going to come from the competitor.

Just ask yourself the question, “Why should they do business with me?”  And don’t answer it from your perspective, answer it from theirs.

If there is nothing that the customer gets that is valuable to him, then he should not buy it from you.  Once you identify the benefits to the customer of doing business with you, you then need to prepare a statement or two that encapsulates the reason why someone should buy it from you.

There are thousands of reasons why they should buy from you beyond just the price or the product itself.  There is the state of the relationship, for example.  They like you.  That’s reason enough.  Or, maybe your invoices are clearer, your terms more flexible, your delivery more reliable, etc.  Or, it may be just more convenient.

Here’s an example.  Almost every morning that I’m in the office, I first stop at the coffee shop on the first floor of my building and get a cup of coffee to bring to the office with me.  It’s good coffee, but no better than I can get several other places.  But it is more expensive.  In some cases, it’s twice as much as I would pay elsewhere.  Why do I intentionally pay more?  Because it’s convenient, I don’t have to go out of my way to buy it, and the people in the shop know me and greet me by name.  To me, those are nice benefits, and worth an extra $.75 a day.  So, while the product is the same, and the price more expensive, there are some reasons why I’m willing to pay the extra price.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes, and determine why they should pay the extra price to buy it from you.  Take those reasons, and turn them into a persuasive sentence or two.  Memorize those two sentences.  Then, the next time someone offers the comment, you’ll be ready to persuasively show them why they should still buy it from you.

Good luck!

By the way, you’ll find this kind of insight into dozens of sales issues in our Sales Resource Center. It houses 435 training programs to help every one live more successfully and sell better.  All delivered over the internet, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

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Image “The Moment of Truth” by Kevin Dooley on Flickr, under Creative Commons license.

Image “Starbucks” by Marco Paköeningrat on Flickr, under Creative Commons license.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. A great source of specific tools to help you close is Dave’s book, Question Your Way to Sales Success. Check it out here.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Stop Selling By the Seat of Your Pants

Posted by Commence on February 21, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

Ever wonder why some sales people are extremely effective while others fail?  There are a bunch of reasons, but those that are not effective need to assume responsibility for their failure.  Selling is part game and part science and you need to understand that prospects are masters at attaining information from you, misleading you about their requirements and how the process will play out.   Sound familiar?  How many times has the person who claimed to be the decision maker turn out not to be the decision maker?  Sound familiar?

Having a structured approach to selling is your best defense against a crafty prospect.  Keep in mind that the prospect has a structured approach. They are trying to get as much information from you without making any commitment of any kind to the next steps in the process. Sales people have been trained to be subordinate to the prospect so that you don’t upset them.  So you play their game providing as much information as you can and often getting nothing in return.  This has to stop in order for you to be successful.

Many companies today are turning to online CRM software solutions to help implement a structured approach to selling.  It’s certainly not mandatory to have a CRM system, but it can and does help.  One of the ways CRM software can assist with this process is by guiding the sales staff through a process via a series of questions that need to be answered before wasting valuable time on a poorly qualified opportunity.  Those questions include such things as: is there a critical need for the product or service you are selling, are the decision makers known and engaged in the process, is there an approved budget for the acquisition and is there a definitive time frame for a decision?   In order for the sales process to be successful there must be a “Win –Win” relationship with the prospect. By this I mean that for every bit of information you provide you need to get something in return.   If you don’t you will continue to play to the hand of the prospect and find yourself frustrated that the prospect does not answer the phone, won’t return messages and has left you with no sale and no commission.  A CRM system can provide a good way to automate the sales process so that it’s the same for each and every new sales opportunity.

Image “give a little GET A LOT…” by silkeybeto on Flickr, available under Creative Commons license

Sales Best Practice #1 – Has a strict code of ethics that governs his/her behavior on the job

Posted by Commence on February 17, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

A Best Practice for sales people by guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator.

By Dave Kahle

Situations in which you must deal with a lot of people always bring with them a great deal of temptation to take unethical short cuts.

Situations in which you deal with a lot of money always bring with them a great deal of temptation to take unethical short cuts.

And situations in which you spend most of your day unsupervised always bring with them a great deal of temptation to take unethical short cuts.

Put all three of those together and you have the daily working environment for a salesperson.  Every day, there is, in some way, an opportunity to take an ethical shortcut.  The list of possibilities is endless – everything from exaggerating a product’s features, promising impossible delivery, speaking badly about the competition or your colleagues, selling free samples, fudging your expenses,  running personal errands on company time, etc.

That’s why a strict code of ethics is such an important attribute of a professional salesperson.  Without it, the temptation to take unethical short cuts can become unbearable.  And, just one ethical short cut can ruin a relationship with a customer and derail a salesperson’s career.

A strict code of ethics is just what it says it is.  Strict, unimpeachable, non-negotiable, black and white decisions, made before the actual event, about what you will and will not do.

The best salespeople have a well-thought out system of right and wrong, and are secure in their commitment to it.  They take the time, in a calm, non-stressful time, to think deeply through their guidelines for their behavior.  They make decisions about what they will and will not do.  Some even commit that to paper.

Then, when they are in the midst of a sales call and are faced with the need to make an immediate decision, they have no qualms about it.  They have already made the decision.

Here’s an example.  Let’s say that one of the ethical guidelines you created for yourself is this:  I will never speak badly about the competition.

Now, you are having lunch with one of your customers, and he casually mentions one of your competitors, and remarks, “The guy is a real know-it-all.”  If you hadn’t thought it out and decided, well beforehand, that you were not going to speak badly about the competition, you may have said, “Yeah, he is a jerk.”

But, since you did make the decision, you keep quiet and don’t comment at all.  The conversation moves on.

Your code of ethics prevented an impulsive action that may have made you look bad.

A strict code of ethics makes decisions easier, reduces stress, and builds a reputation of trust from both the customers, as well as the salesperson’s management.

That’s why it is a best practice of the best salespeople.

To learn more about this best practice: Read Chapter 16 of How to Excel at Distributor Sales, Chapter 7 of Take Your Sales Performance Up-a- Notch, Chapter 3 of Insights & Answers, or Chapter 2 of Ten Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople

If you are a member of The Sales Resource Center™, consider Pod-34: Ethics for the Professional Salesperson, and Nuggets N-19: Ethics; N-96: Integrity; and N-215: Ethics for sales people.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine.

Copyright MMXI by Dave Kahle
All Rights Reserved.

Image “Creating the high-trust organization” by opensourceway on Flickr, available under Creative Commons license.

Sales Best Practices: Think a Lot

Posted by Commence on February 10, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

Thinking about Sales…

By Dave Kahle
It’s a difficult year for a lot of sales people.  The world is changing rapidly, and every new headline contains information that seems to impact business in a significant way.  The competition is more active, customers are more discriminating, and nobody has enough time.

There was a time, just a few years ago, when it was easier.  You could work hard for awhile, and then you could relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors.  You would reach a point where life became easy, your customers were buying from you consistently, and you had your job figured out.

That’s no longer the case.  Pressures are growing on your company to reduce their costs and become more productive.  The bottom line is this: You, personally, must become far more productive than you’ve ever been expected to be in the past.  Today’s performance, no matter how good, will not be sufficient tomorrow.

Easier said than done.  How do you go about dramatically increasing your results?  My suggestion:  THINK A LOT.

I’m not suggesting that you spend your time daydreaming.  Nor am I encouraging you to ponder the meaning of the universe, do a crossword puzzle or memorize the birth dates of all your relatives.  All of those exercises would represent ways to think a lot, but they are not the kind of thinking I’m advocating.

Rather, I’m encouraging you to invest your greatest single resource, your mind, in focusing your mental energy on specific portions of your job.  That means thinking about certain things, thinking in certain ways, and doing a lot of it.

It’s easy to do your job by mindlessly going through the motions.  You see the customers with whom you are comfortable, quote the products they ask you about, grumble about the paperwork, and complain about price competition.

That’s easy.  Unfortunately, it’s also a prescription for eventual failure.  The world is changing too rapidly today to do your job “mindlessly.”  Your customers are changing, products and vendors are changing and adapting, and new competitors and technologies are springing up.  If you go through your job mindlessly, you’ll soon be outdated and ineffectual.

So on one hand, you have the need to improve your productivity to keep up with the pressures on your company, and on the other hand, you have the temptation to get into a rut, and go about your job “mindlessly.”

The most effective strategy to battle these double temptations is to “Think A Lot”.  What should you think about?  Here are three of the most important things.

1.  Think about your customers.

Ask yourself a series of questions about your customers.  As you develop the answers, write them down in your account folders, and repeat the process a few months later.  Here are some questions to get you thinking:

*  What’s changing for this customer?

*  What do they want to accomplish this year?

*  What can I do to help them meet their goals?

*  What is the competition doing in this account?

*  What progress have I made this past few months?

*  What can I do now to increase my sales in this account?

Thinking about these questions keeps you constantly close to the changing conditions in your accounts, keeps you insulated from the tendency to get “mindless,” and provides you with a method to uncover lucrative sales opportunities within each account.

2.  Think about each sales call.

Your face-to-face contact with your customer is the one part of your job that sets you apart from everyone else in your company.  It is that aspect of what you do by which you bring value to your company.

If you honestly think about it, you’ll probably observe that everything else you do can be done by other people in your company.  Someone else can accept orders, train end users, check on back-orders, etc.  The only thing you do that no one else in your company does is call on your customers face-to-face.  So, your eyeball-to-eyeball interactions with your customers are probably the most important part of your job.

Yet, most observers estimate that the average sales person spends only about 25% of his time face-to-face with his customers.

Put those two facts together, and you have the sobering conclusion that you spend very little of your time doing the thing that is the most important aspect of your job.

That being the case, doesn’t it stand to reason that you ought to invest some time and energy planning for those rare moments when you’re face-to-face with your customers?  Ask yourself these questions, and think about the answers, before every sales call:

*  What do I want to accomplish?

*  What forces are working on my customer that may influence his behavior today?

*  What value am I bringing him today?

*  Exactly what am I going to ask, say, or communicate?

*  What can I do to understand him better?

*  What can I do to deepen the relationship?

Going through this disciplined approach to “thinking about your sales calls” will be the single most effective thing you can do to improve your productivity.

3.  Think about continuously improving yourself.

First, commit yourself to the challenge of continuous improvement.  Be discontent with the level of proficiency you have obtained.  Be discontent with your results.  Think about everything you do and examine ways to improve and wring more value out of it.

Challenge and question everything you do.  Is this the best way to write up a quote?  Should you be visiting this account, or would the other one hold more potential?  Should you really be spending your time promoting this product, or is another one more important?  Should you really be lunching with this customer or should you invest that time in another?  Is this the best way to file your old quotes, keep track of customer contacts, and file product literature?

Got the idea?  Never rest.  Be discontent with every aspect of your job in order to provide the stimulation to improve on it.  Question everything. Think a lot.

It will be your key to continuous, life-long improvement.

By the way, you’ll find this kind of insight into dozens of sales issues in our Sales Resource Center. It houses 435 training programs to help every one live more successfully and sell better.  All delivered over the internet, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

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About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. A great source of specific tools to help you close is Dave’s book, Question Your Way to Sales Success. Check it out here.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Sales: Question and Answer #7

Posted by Commence on January 24, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

This is a Question and Answer article for sales people from guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator. Follow Dave’s latest Tweets at @davekahle.

By Dave Kahle

Q. Dave, I am finding it difficult to manage my personal finances.  As a commissioned sales person, my income varies from month to month.  It seems like I’m always struggling with finances.  Do you have suggestions for me?

A. Congratulations for having the courage to ask that question.  Do I have suggestions?  Yep, a bunch of them.

First, a little perspective, so you know where I’m coming from.  For almost my entire adult life, I have been a commissioned sales person whose income varied from month to month.  Even now, my income varies monthly.  So, I can certainly understand your situation on the income side.  On the expense side, there have been times when I had obligations that, at times, seemed overwhelming.  My wife was a full time homemaker, we raised a family of five children, and for many of those years I also had child support payments.  Those were heavy financial responsibilities.

In all of this, I have learned some things about managing personal finances.  Here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way.

Avoid debt

First, as much as possible, avoid debt.  Debt adds tremendously to your stress.  You know that you must make those payments or you are going to have lots of unpleasant consequences.  That may be constantly on your mind, contributing to sleepless nights and rising blood pressure.

Debt reduces your options.  If you have monthly payments, for example, they must be paid even if you have a bad month or two.  Without those payments, you can generally find a way to ride out low income months by temporarily reducing your standard of living.  You can eat in every day, for example, instead of buying pizza or going out.  Without monthly payments, you can even survive a few months of no income at all.

Interest you pay eventually reduces your standard of living, because your interest payments are expenses that bring you no value.  So, be careful about putting anything on that charge card.  And if you do, try to pay it off each month.  Deciding to make just minimum payments is one of the most expensive decisions you’ll ever make.

Also, be careful about any long term commitments.  Instead of a three year lease on a new car, think about buying used and paying it off in two.  Instead of a two year lease on that apartment, try 12 months.

You may not ever be able to be totally debt free.  However, you can make decisions which, over time, will significantly reduce your amount of debt, easing the pressure on you and allowing you more options.

Develop a monthly budget

Second, develop a monthly budget for reasonable living.  In good months, don’t spend the excess, put anything you make above that amount into a savings account.  In bad months or years, tap into that savings account to meet your budget.  At the end of the year, use some of the excess that you’ve build up to make those big purchases that you were tempted to put on a charge card during the year.

For example, say that you set up a budget of $4,000 a month.  In January, you take home $4,400.  Of that, $400 goes into the savings account, and you live on $4,000.  In February, you take home $4,500.  You repeat the discipline, putting $500 away.  In March, you take home $3,500.  You take $500 out of the savings for your day-to-day expenses.  When you’ve built up a comfortable surplus, buy those big things that you’d like to have.

This is one of the best things that I ever did.  Even to this day, my wife and I operate on a budget.  Here’s an example.  We have a certain amount of money dedicated each month to “entertainment.”  We use this for meals out, concerts, etc.  When the money’s gone, we’re done. If we want to go out to eat, but don’t have any money in the entertainment budget, we don’t go.  It’s called deferred gratification, and it’s the secret of surviving financially in a turbulent environment.

A number of years ago, I was involved with a group that had an excellent budgeting system, and taught it in small groups that met in homes.  If you are interested, check out Crown Ministries.

Increase your giving

Finally, one last thought.  This will sound counter-intuitive, but I have followed this rule for all of my adult life, and have found it to be extremely powerful.  That rule is this:  In times of economic uncertainty, increase your giving.

There is something about giving that helps you put your situation into perspective.  It focuses you on people around you who need help in ways that you don’t.  It gives your family a broader perspective, injects new purpose into your life, and encourages everyone to be less self-centered.

Realize that I’m coming at this from a Christian perspective.  There is a promise in the Bible that says we cannot out-give God.  When we give of our time and talents, God will respond by returning to us much more than what we have given.  I have found that promise to be as bankable as my paycheck.

You may not share my perspective.  Regardless, just from a purely pragmatic point of view, there are still some very practical reasons to increase your giving.  When you get involved in some volunteer organization, you mix with a different group of people than that with which you are accustomed.  New people, new situations, new issues are all invigorating for sales people.  Also, you’ll find, through your investigation of places to which to donate time and money, lots of people who need help a whole lot more than you do.  That helps you put your situation into perspective.  And that helps you stay positive, optimistic and effective.

Think of giving in two ways:  giving of your money, and donating your time and talent.

If you have some organization, cause or church to which you regularly donate, consider increasing your donation.  If you don’t, now is the time to find some place to donate some of your money.

Find something in which you can donate your time. If you are not involved in some volunteer work, find someplace to give of your time and talents.  For a number of years my wife and I were foster parents, caring for a total of 19 children of various ages, races, and emotional and physical disabilities.  It kept us humble, broadened our lives, and taught us a lot.  I’d recommend you find something like that – something into which you can invest your time and talent.

It really is the difficult times in your life, and your reaction to them, that shape your character and make you a better person.

Image “credit-card” owned by Baptiste Franchina (cc)
Image “Balancing The Account By Hand” owned by Ken Teegardin (cc)
Image “A MODERN THERMOPYLAE: 300 hunger strikers” owned by SpaceShoe [Learning to live with the crisis] (cc)

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leadng sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMX by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Sales Best Practice #23 – Routinely makes powerful persuasive presentations

Posted by Commence on January 11, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

A Best Practice for sales people by guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator.

By Dave Kahle

In my first professional sales position, I spent six full weeks in sales training before I was released to go out into my territory.  Sales training was defined as memorizing two five-page, single-spaced sales presentations, presenting them to the sales training class, critiquing the video-taped playback of the presentation, and then doing it all again – for six weeks! At the end of those six weeks, every one of us could give those two presentations masterfully.

While the use of prewritten, memorized sales presentations still continues today, it’s only rarely used in the business-to-business selling environment.  It may be that today’s frantic pace of new product development makes the time it takes to memorize a sales presentation seem less valuable.  Or it may be that today’s salesperson is more sophisticated and able to adjust the sales presentation to the needs of each individual customer.

While memorized presentations may be a vestige of years gone by, that in no way reduces the need to make a well designed, practiced sales presentation. The ability to routinely make powerful, persuasive sales presentations, regardless of the customer or product, is one of the practices of the best.

The world is full of salespeople who take a casual attitude toward a sales presentation.  Some think that they know the product so well that their superior product knowledge will ooze out during the presentation, impressing the customer into buying.  Others do not put in the necessary preparation and practice time, and, in an attempt to cover their lack of confidence, focus on those parts of the presentation with which they feel most comfortable.  Still others feel that their ability to improvise will eventually lead them to a persuasive presentation.

The truth is that there is no shortcut to a persuasive presentation.  It begins with studying the customer as well as the product or service.  It takes preparation to decide which of the customer’s issues to address, and which specific features of your offer to emphasize.  It takes time to organize the facts and features into a cohesive presentation.  It takes time to build in interactive elements, and to gather the right samples and documents.  And it takes time to practice (yes, practice) the presentation before you actually make it.  A persuasive presentation begins with methodical preparation.

Maybe that’s why so few salespeople give this aspect of their job the attention that it deserves.  And maybe that’s why routinely making powerful and persuasive presentations is a practice of the very best.

To learn more about this practice, review these resources: The CD, How to Make Powerful and Persuasive Presentations, or the Video version: Persuasive Presentations, Part 1 & 2.

If you are a member of The Sales Resource Center™, consider The One Month ‘Persuasive Presentations’ Course, or The Six Month ‘Consultative Selling’ Course.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXI by Dave Kahle
All Rights Reserved.

[Image "Day 32: Yahoo BT sales exercise" by Kerry Vaughan on Flickr under Creative Commons license]