Category: Sales Tips

The Five Things I Learned From Training

by mike

A few months ago I was in Las Vegas training at a very large company’s sales summit. I love these events because I not only get to train wonderful groups of sales professionals, but because I always learn so much myself. Below is an example of five things I learned from one of the regional sales managers during one of his sessions to the group. They are in no particular order, but you’ll see there is a ton of tried and true wisdom and experience in each one.

#1: “Prospecting is a lot like panning for gold – you’re going to find a lot more dirt than gold.”

I loved this the moment I heard it. And how true it is! Just think of the old gold prospectors who toiled in the hills and caves and rivers panning for gold. They went through a lot more dirt than they did gold, didn’t they? And isn’t it interesting that the term for cold calling is now called prospecting….

Bottom line is that you still need to do a lot of work and make a lot of calls before you find your gold – a qualified client who buys.

#2: “Most sales reps who call prospects and have ‘commission breath.’”

Another gem! I’m sure you know just what that means. The secret to becoming a better sales person is to concentrate on listening to your prospects rather than pitching and begging a deal. Your goal should be to uncover buyers, not force unqualified leads into your pipeline so you can hound them and chase them with “commission breath.”

For some great techniques and word for word scripts to help you avoid commission breath, visit my blog here.

https://mrinsidesales.com/insidesalestrainingblog/tag/cold-calling-scripts

#3: “Don’t let the exceptions dictate the rule.”
I can’t tell you the number of times bad sales reps encounter one situation once and then base their whole approach on either avoiding or preparing for that situation again. And when they do, they throw away all the best practices and proven methods that work in the 90% of other situations. In other words, they let the one exception (“Well, back in ’83 someone said…”) and that hurts them their entire career.

What Top Sales Reps do is follow the fundamentals and practice perfection on each call. Whatever you do, don’t ‘let the exception dictate the rule.’

#4: “Use Bingo to make calling fun!” For all of you sales managers who missed my article on how to use the game of Bingo to make calling fun and rewarding, visit my blog here.

https://mrinsidesales.com/insidesalestrainingblog/how-to-use-bingo-to-increase-sales

#5: “Telemarketing training doesn’t exist anymore.” Another brilliant and right on comment. Back in the day (the eighties) when the word “inside sales” didn’t exist, there were true “telemarketing” rooms. And in these rooms, there was a ton of structure, scripts, recording and training. These rooms were mightily successful and helped build giant companies that are around today.

But along the way something happened. Telemarketing became a bad word, and as it was tossed out, so was all the great structured training and skill sets. This regional manager was right: ‘Telemarketing training doesn’t exist anymore,’ – but I’ll add – for the most part. There are still a few masters around who know how to build multi-million dollar inside sales teams, and luckily, you’re reading one right now.

If you’d like to learn more about how these proven techniques can help you do the same, then visit here.

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/ManagementTraining/

Hope you enjoyed the article!

2 Great New Year’s Questions for Your Clients

by mike

Welcome back to the office, how do you feel? Overwhelmed? Under pressure already? If so, then you’re not alone. Most company’s management and sales teams are under immediate pressure already to begin accomplishing their new goals and sales targets. In fact, this pressure is also felt in the accounting department, the marketing department, and everywhere else. You can probably feel it in your company, too.

As you speak with your clients and prospects this week, realize that they are all feeling this pressure as well. While this may seem like a bad thing, it can actually present a great opening for you. Here’s how I handle the companies and contacts I speak with this month:

After talking briefly about the holidays and new year’s celebration, I always start with question number one –

“So ________, what are the top 3 initiatives for your department has this year?” Then I hit mute and take notes.

If they need a little help here, I use layering questions like:

“And what was your revenue like last year?” Or

“What percentage increase are you asked to produce this year?” Or

“What are you doing differently to accomplish this?”

“What do you think is most needed for you to succeed at that?”

After I’ve listened and asked layering questions and taken notes on the three initiatives, I ask the second question –

“And how can I help you accomplish that?”

Once again, I hit the mute button and take notes. If I get an, “Ah, I don’t know,” then I once again use layering questions like:

“Have you heard of my new automated Core Inside Selling Skills Webinar Program?” Or I ask a good assumptive question like:

“How much of a budget do you have per quarter for sales training?” Or,

“How big of a role do you think increased sales training is going to play?” Or,

“If you could wave a magic wand and get three resources to help you accomplish your goals, what would they be?”

Now I’m sure you can come up with a few of your own questions here, but you get the idea. The point is to ask questions and LISTEN to your prospect’s response. Remember, your clients and prospects have all the information you need to make a sale, and they will almost always tell you IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS AND LISTEN TO THEIR RESPONSES. This is where your mute button comes in.

One Crucial Lesson My Manager Taught Me

by mike

If I asked you what the most important tip, technique or strategy is that you learned in your sales career, what would you say? I easily remember the one that I learned early on because I’m reminded of it nearly every day. In fact just last week I read a story about Gary Emanuel, the defensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts, and I was reminded of the first lesson my sales manager taught me which was, “No matter how discouraged you get when cold calling or prospecting, never give up – because the very next phone call you make can change your day, or your career.” Here’s what happened to Gary:

Earlier this year, Gary wasn’t working in the NFL. In the last 31 autumns, he had been the typical football journeyman, working on 10 college staffs (including the likes of Plymouth State and Purdue) and only one pro staff (49ers, 2005-06). Gary’s dream was to return to the NFL but there were no teams banging down his door to interview him. So what did he do? He took action and began cold calling…

Call after call resulted in nothing but the typical, “You can send us your resume,” but he kept calling. Finally he reached the General Manager of the Colts, Ryan Grigson. Grigson told Peter King of Sports Illustrated:

“He cold-called me.” Grigson texted me (Peter) after the 17-14 win over Cleveland. “Getting (Emanuel) was like finding money in the street. We had all kinds of big-time recommendations, and after Chuck (Pagano – the head coach) and I met with Gary, we didn’t even want to talk with another DL coach.”

How’s that for a successful cold call? Now I’m sure that Gary, like you or me, got discouraged from all the other calls he made to teams that gave him the brush off. I’m sure he got tired of sending out his resume and calling back only to hear the same old brush off, “Oh, we’ll get back to you if we’re interested.” I’m sure the phone was heavy to pick up after a while, and I’ll bet there were times when he thought about giving up. But he persisted and he made that next call. And look what that persistence resulted in for him.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been calling and calling (both as a sales rep and as a sales consultant), and how much I’ve wanted to just give up. But I always remember what my manager taught me about how you never know what that next call can bring. And because I’ve made that next call, I have many stories of my own, and I can tell you now that many of my biggest clients came because I was willing to keep calling. In fact, here’s one of my favorite results:

Years ago I decided that I wanted to try and get a 30-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers anniversary patch for a new authentic jersey I had purchased. I didn’t know anyone at the Buccaneers so I did what I had been taught to do – I started cold calling. First I looked on the official team website and found out who the head trainer was. Using the techniques I teach and write about – being polite to gatekeepers by using ‘please,’ being assumptive and using instructional statements – I got through to the training room and was told that the trainers and team were in their final preseason work outs offsite and that I needed to call back in a few weeks. After several more calls to the department, I finally got the head trainer on the phone but he told me that he was too busy now preparing for the season, and that I could try him again in a few weeks. I did. When I got him on the phone again, I explained what I wanted and he said he would see what he could do. He took my name and address down and I waited.

After a couple of weeks, I still hadn’t received anything. Now, many people might have given up by then and thought that just getting through was victory enough. Not me. I kept remembering what my manager had taught me and kept remembering all the good results I had achieved from being persistent and from continuing to cold call. So I called again.

By this time the season had begun and the Buccaneers were winning. By now the trainer knew my name and was getting used to my call. By this time there were some things to talk about besides the patch. This time he took my name and address again and seemed to be paying more attention as he did it. A week later I got a package from the Buccaneer training room and when I opened it I found two jersey patches – one home and one away – and a complete decal set with helmet sized Buccaneer flags. It was a pretty cool package. So what did I do? I kept calling…

After a few more weeks and a few more victories, the trainer and I developed a friendly relationship. When I explained to him that I would be flying to the 49er game in a few weeks, he said something that has changed my experience as an NFL fan. He asked me if I’d like to work as part of the training staff and assist one of the coaches on the side line of that game. I can tell you now that experience was one of the highlights of my life!

I arrived in San Francisco the same day as the team, and that evening I went to the team hotel and met the trainer and he introduced me to other coaches and team members as they went through the lobby. He gave me an official coaching shirt and cap (that I still have), and a coach’s pass and parking pass for game day. The next day I arrived at the stadium at 9:30 am as the first bus of players and coaches arrived. I went through the player’s entrance and into the locker room and spent the whole day as a member of the Tampa Bay coaching staff! I don’t have time to relate all the memorable experiences I had – like patting Chris Sims on the shoulder pad after his first NFL touchdown pass or the memorable after game speech by a fiery Jon Gruden – but trust me, it was an amazing experience. And all because I was willing to keep calling.

I remember that experience and many other successful, unexpected calls and results even today when I have to make cold calls. I remember my first sales manager teaching me the importance of being persistent no matter what and of the value of making that next call – or next 100 calls. I remember this lesson when I read stories like Gary Emanuel’s, and I’m constantly on the look out for similar stories of the pay off of persistence and of never giving up. And I always find them.

Today as you face a day of cold calling or prospecting, I hope that you, too, remember the crucial lesson I learned all those years ago. That no matter how discouraged you get when cold calling or prospecting, never give up – because the very next phone call you make can change your day, or your career.

Three Simple Rules for Success in Sales

by mike

If you want to know what truly separates top performers in sales, then look no further than these three simple characteristics below. Each and every top professional I know practices these habitually, and when I focused on these early in my career, I, too, became the top producer in my office of 25 sales reps.

These “rules” as I call them are essential for your success, and you should make it a point to incorporate and work on them every day of your professional career. If you do, you will easily rise to the top of your company and your industry. Read them over now and commit to incorporating them into your daily routine:

1) Invest in your attitude every day. You absolutely must do everything you can do to develop, protect, and nurture a contagiously enthusiastic attitude. Now more than ever, your attitude will be the biggest determining factor affecting your success in your profession of sales. Think about all the negative people you’re going to run into today, this week and this month. Are you going to infect them with your positive, can do attitude, or are you going to get more and more negative with each phone call? IT IS UP TO YOU!!
Starting this week, get into the habit of feeding your mind and attitude daily with affirmations, by listening to motivational CD’s, by reading two pages a day in a positive book, and by goal setting. If you haven’t read books like, “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield, or “Beyond Positive Thinking” by Dr. Robert Anthony, then go to Amazon and order them today.

An all time favorite of mine is an 8 minute DVD I’ve watched over and over on my lap top called: “Finish Strong” by Dan Green and can be found at their website: www.simpletruths.com That book/DVD alone will be a great investment in your attitude.

2) Sharpen Your Sales Skills. Let’s face it – there is no room for error in today’s competitive sales environment. Sloppy sales presentations, poorly qualified leads, and just plain lazy and bad habits are going to make you miserable in your job. You must, and I mean must, learn, practice and use effective sales techniques that will allow you to identify buyers and then deliver effective presentations to close business.

The Top 20% will do well because they already use effective skills and spend time getting better, but the bottom 80% are going to sink like a stone. I’d say that up to one quarter of all sales reps will lose their jobs in the next 12 months because they won’t improve enough to make it in this environment.

What are YOU doing now to improve your skills each day? Obviously there are many things that will work for you, but one of the easiest and least expensive ways to do that is to go to Amazon.com and pick up a copy of my book, “The Real Secrets of the Top 20% – How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.” It’ll be the best $14 bucks you’ll send this year…

3) Start Listening To Your Prospects. Now more than ever, it’s crucially important that you learn how to connect with your prospects and show them you really care about what they’re going through and what their needs are. 80% of your competition is going to pitch and pitch and pitch, and this turns off the people they are trying to sell. The Top 20% take the time to understand the difficulties their prospects and clients are going through and they find ways to help them. And it all begins with listening.

People are going to buy from people they like, know or trust, and the best way to build this rapport is by asking questions and actually listening to their answers. I’ve written many articles on listening skills, and you can read them in my Blog, or invest in my book and read successful techniques that will help you become a better listener. But whatever you do, you must begin showing your prospects you care, and best way to do that is by listening.

Trust me when I tell you that these three simple rules are the bedrock of success in sales. Eighty percent of your competition won’t do these things, but if you will, you will smoke them in sales. In fact, you can become a Top 5% or even a Top 1% producer if you will just take the time to make these rules daily habits.

Remember – first we form habits and then they form us.

Summer Sales Slow? 5 Things to do NOW!

by mike

I don’t know about you, but in the middle of July business slowed down and after that it nearly stopped… We do have business, of course – very much like you – but the pace of business, the new leads and especially the urgency of the first half of the year seem gone…

What happened??

Summer happened, that’s what. As I speak to clients and colleagues (those who aren’t on their family vacations that is) they tell me the same thing – many of their bosses, co-workers, suppliers or business partners are either on vacation, just coming back from a vacation, or just about to take a vacation.

In fact, many people I know are taking as much as three to four weeks off! (I just spoke with a potential coaching client, and when I asked him when he was thinking of starting our coaching relationship, he told me it would be after his month long vacation in August). He and his wife will be back right before Labor Day.

So there you have it. Business is seasonal. Kids get out of school and the weather changes. Heck, I can’t even reach half my Canadian clients until mid way through September! People have worked hard and are now ready to take some time off. Business changes, people relax, and they won’t start thinking about their initiatives until right before the fourth quarter.

Does this mean companies aren’t buying or planning for the fall? Of course not. It just means that they are going to begin doing things on their time table right now, not yours.

So here are 5 things you can do to not only make sales right now, but also to set yourself up for the strongest end of the year you’ve ever had:

1) Don’t let up. Keep working hard – if not harder. Make more calls. Send more emails, stay later and come in earlier. The time you put in now may not seem to pay off right away, but in the fall you’ll see the fruits of this labor.

It reminds me of the “dog days of summer” in NFL training camps. I still remember what Bill Parcells told his players in late December when they were about to begin a drive that would determine whether they got into the playoffs or not. He looked at his exhausted linemen and said: “This is why you lift all those damn weights!”

The effort you put in now will make the difference at the end of this year…

2) Connect with established clients. This is the perfect time to send a card, to make a call, and to talk with clients about things other than business. For example, where are they going for summer vacation?

Face it – if things are slow for you, they are probably slow in their business as well. How about asking what they are doing to deal with this period and what they are doing to get ready for the fall. And how about asking what you can do to help them?

3) Work on improving your sales skill set, or work on a new product development or other part of your business that will make a difference in the second half of the year. If any of you have thought about developing a greeting card campaign to stay in front of your customers and prospects, this is the perfect time to do it!

Some of you know that I use sendoutcards.com to keep in front of my clients and prospects, and did you know that you can now use that same system without a sign up fee? Click Here to find out how. Just use this number to try this system out for free: 83661

Why not design a card with a picture of yourself and family on YOUR vacation and send it to all your clients and prospects. That’ll give you something to talk about when you call in September.

4) Make goals for September through December and develop a plan of action to accomplish them. Develop an affirmation card and goal sheet of what you’re going to earn, what it’s going to feel like over the holidays to have accomplished it and begin smiling each day as you feel the feelings of having done it.

Remember, “Fear Pushes, and Vision Pulls.” Use this time to create a compelling vision of the rest of the year for yourself and let that vision pull you through the summer. If you would like some help with Goal Setting, Click Here.

5) Feed your mind a positive daily diet. This is the time to feed your mind every single day (and many times during the day as well). My favorite book to re-read during each summer is: “Beyond Positive Thinking” by Dr. Robert Anthony. You can get it on Amazon.com

I’ll bet you have your own list of positive reading material you’d like to finally read. Pick one book tonight, put it on your desk and commit to reading it before next holiday. That alone will make a huge difference for you.

The most important thing to remember during the summer is that “This too shall pass.” If business has slowed down, that will change. And if you take advantage of any of the five suggestions above, you’ll be more prepared than your competition to prosper when it does…

The 5 Secrets of Great Vacations

by mike

Have you scheduled the rest of your vacations for this year? I have, and boy am I excited!!

After I did, I remembered an article I published years ago, and I thought about all the positive feedback I had on it. So I decided to reprint it here.

If you follow the advice I give, I assure you you’ll enjoy your work more and you’ll be more successful at it!

Here it is:

At a company I consulted with a few years ago, there was a manager, Brad, who would never think of taking a full week away from the office. “Much too much to do, and I don’t really need it anyway.” He told me.

“When was the last time you did take off on a real vacation?” I asked.
“Heck, I can’t tell you. Got to be over six years.” He said.
“Aren’t you burned-out?” I asked.
“Naw. I take three-day weekends occasionally, and there are holidays. I get by I guess.” He answered.

On the other hand, a woman I’d been coaching at the same company, Mirna, who is now a Top 20% closer, had just returned back from her first trip to Hawaii. She took her three kids and her husband, and when she came back to the office, she looked like a new woman.

She was tanned, relaxed, excited and she was energized! She talked about the fun her kids had, about how incredible Hawaii was, and about how she couldn’t wait to go on her next trip!

Vacations are the key to staying energized, focused, rested and motivated. And when you are energized and motivated, you perform better on your job and are happier overall. All work and no play make Jack, well, you know the story.
But just like in sales, there are guidelines and “best practices” to ensure that you get the most out of your vacation. After years of perfecting the vacation, I offer, “The 5 Secrets to Taking Great Vacations” — enjoy!

Secret #1 — Schedule and pay for your trips at least six months or more in advance.

Don’t wait till the last month to take a trip because it will never happen. You will always be too busy. By planning, scheduling and paying for your trips far in advance, you’re almost certain to actually take them. July or November or March will always come and if you’ve already paid for a trip — you’re going!
Benefit: When you plan that far in advance, you get to look forward to it for months! It’s a great motivator.

Secret #2 — Go somewhere special.

Make a list right now of the six places you and your family would love to go to. Then enlist their help! It’s a great family activity.

Next, pick one special or exotic place this year and — that’s right — book it now. Go ahead, buy the airfare, book the hotel and car and pay for it. And then, have everyone mark it on his or her calendar.
Benefit: Watch the attitude of your family change — for the better. Suddenly there’s something bright, fun and enjoyable you are all looking forward to. Gee, the kids sure are nice to be around again!

Secret #3 — Don’t return to work until Tuesday!

Even though you get back Saturday or Sunday, don’t go right back to the office. Give yourself time to readjust, run errands, and settle back in. Nothing ruins of good vacation more than going back to work the very next day. Vacation? What vacation?
Benefit: Taking Monday off is like getting another “bonus” vacation.

Secret #4 — Take at least one mini vacation per quarter.

Besides your large vacation, plan to take at least one extended weekend, holiday or other three or four day break per quarter. Hitch a Friday and Tuesday onto a Memorial Day weekend, and voila! — you’ve got a bona fide vacation using just two personal days.

Try to go somewhere on at least one of these, and spend the others around the house getting things done or just relaxing.
But all the previous rules apply: plan, schedule, and pay for it in advance!
Benefit: Even more to look forward to!

Secret #5 — Don’t work while on vacation.

Your vacation is exactly that — a vacation! Leave your laptop, blackberry, and paperwork at the office. Resist the temptation to check in with your office. This is your and your family’s time.

Train your sales manager, VP of sales, or assistant to handle all business while away. They will do fine without you, and it will all be there when you return.
Benefit: You will actually feel like you’re on vacation and you’ll enjoy it even more!

So there you have it — the 5 Secrets to Great Vacations. I guarantee that if you follow these rules, you will not only enjoy your life more, but you’ll be more productive at work as well.

Imagine that — more successful and happier!

When is your next vacation?

The Road to Success is Simplicity

by mike

I want to share a simple concept with you that can help you grow your business, close more sales, make more money and be more successful in just about everything you do. The good news with what I’m about to share is that it isn’t complicated or hard, in fact, it’s just the opposite – it’s simplicity itself.

The following excerpt comes from an article in “The Economist” by the author Schumpeter. I think it speaks for itself:

The Economist

“Keep things simple, said Schumpeter. That is the key to a successful business, according to Bain & Co. consultants Chris Zook and James Allen. In their new book, Repeatability, they lay out how the world’s most successful companies “make a cult of simplicity” and relentlessly apply stripped-down business models to new opportunities. You can see this winning formula of “simplify and repeat” in Ikea’s flat-packed furniture, McDonald’s hamburgers, and Berkshire Hathaway’s buy, improve, and hold approach to investing.

“Lego learned the lesson the hard way. In the mid-1990s, the Danish toy company expanded feverishly into theme parks, television, and clothing lines; that led to years of dismal results. Only when it went back “to its roots”—those little plastic bricks—did big profits return. Businesses have a natural tendency “to grow more complex as they mature,” and that complexity can be a “silent killer.” For all the worries companies have about being “crushed by the next big thing,” the best way to survive dramatic change is to “keep hammering away at the simplicity mantra.”

The great thing about this article is that it reminds us all to focus on the fundamentals of what makes us successful, and I can tell you from my own experience that is right on the money. Here are a couple of examples:

1) When I was a struggling sales rep prospecting and closing business, I was always on the look-out for the latest technique (you know, the one that happened to work on the last close) or the best leads (there had to be a better lead source than the one that I was calling), or I was looking for some other easier way of finding deals.

I spent a lot of time changing my approach, searching leads, etc, but in the end what I learned was that I was the most successful when I just called a lot of leads and used the proven scripts I had developed months before. In fact, I closed a lot more deals when I concentrated on following the proven scripts and techniques that always worked. When I concentrated on the simple fundamentals of properly qualifying leads and following up with proven buyers, my business took off.

What I ultimately learned was that there was no easier, softer way to write business – I simply had to do the things that were proven to work. And once I accepted and concentrated on being the best qualifier and closer in the office, and once I combined that with making more calls than anyone else in office, that’s when I became the top closer out of five branch offices.

It was as simple as that.

2) Fast forward to my current business as a sales consultant. I have spent a lot of time and money chasing the next (complicated) best thing. In my line of work there is a new distraction (supposed to be an easier way of getting clients) being promoted seemingly every day. There are new leads generation programs, new social media groups to join, new ways of delivering my content – heck, the list really is endless!

Now I’ve chased a lot of these new (complicated) programs and without fail, they all cost me a lot of time, energy and money. Did they bring me a lot of new business? No. What I learned is that when I just focus on my core competency of teaching business owners how to grow highly successful inside sales teams, my business took off. It’s as simple as that.

Could I improve my CRM system? Sure. Could I start yet another group on LinkedIn? Sure. Could I start a membership site for residual income? Sure. Would all those complicated and expensive measures earn me more money than simply concentrating on what I do best? No.

My simple business truth – just like the little Lego’s – is that I make the most amount of money and help the most amount of people when I focus on my fundamental core skills – helping business owners grow their inside sales teams. And that’s what I’ve focused on over the past two years. And, coincidentally, I’ve had the best two years of my business!

Now it’s time for you to think about your core competencies. What do you and your company do best? If you’re a sales rep, when was the last time you concentrated on the fundamentals of selling? If you’re a business owner, when was the last time you focused on how you help people the most? By going back to basics and perfecting those fundamentals, you will likely grow market share and be more successful.

It really is as simple as that.

The Most Important Word In Sales

by mike

I was talking to a real estate agent the other day about the importance of disqualifying leads, and he told me an interesting story about their office’s top producer. He was talking to her one day and asking her what she did that made her so successful. She said her secret could be summed up with one word. When he asked what it was she said:

NEXT.

The moment I heard him tell me that I was in total agreement. I told him that was what I was trying to teach him with my disqualifying method. The majority of people you speak with, I told him, are never going to be a deal. The problem 80% of sales reps make is they spend time with them anyway, sending information, making multiple appointments, and begging and chasing the deal.

The Top 20%? Their attitude is — NEXT. And that’s when he said something interesting. He said he was afraid to let go because he didn’t want to chance losing a sale.

“If you don’t know after qualifying and listening to your prospect what it’s going to take to get the sale, and who isn’t a real buyer, then you’ve got problems — big problems.” I told him.

“I guess I kind of know but you can never be sure,” he said.

I’m here to tell you that it’s that attitude that separates the bottom 80% of sales reps from the Top 20%! The Top 20% know when to say, and aren’t afraid of saying, NEXT.

Proactive Sales Coaching – How Managers Can Win More Sales

by mike

If you are an inside sales manager (or director or V.P.), then I know you spend a lot of time in meetings – meetings with the marketing department coming up with strategies to create and close more leads, meetings with the owner forecasting revenue numbers, meetings with sales reps going through their pipelines, meetings with potential new reps, sales meetings, sales training meetings, etc.  I get it – you’re busy.

During your busy days and weeks managing and juggling the 100 other responsibilities in your position, how much time do you actually spend coaching your reps through the prospects in their pipeline?  In other words, how often do you get involved during a stage in the sales process to intervene and coach the skills and techniques that are needed to advance that particular prospect through to a closed sale? 

In a report on sales management I just read from csoinsights.com, “World-Class Sales Management: Closing What You Forecast,” it differentiates between two sales management “flavors”: either reactive sales management or proactive sales management.  It defines proactive sales management as: 

“What we meant is that managers need to know which reps need what type of help to resolve what issues related to what deals to get them to close opportunities when promised.  To any seasoned sales professional, improving management’s ability to effectively coach their teams is viewed as a useful objective, but let us share with you why it is actually mission critical” 

According to this article, proactive coaching not only leads to an increase in sales (win rates), but something more: 

“The increase in win rates is generated by a decrease in both competitive losses and no decisions.  When managers can reach out early and often to the reps who need their help the most on any given day, they can help them develop strong business cases all the way through the sales cycle to ensure the prospect can cost justify moving forward with their purchase decision.  In addition, they can ensure their salespeople are able to differentiate themselves from the competition so that when a final decision is made they walk out the door with the order.” 

Decreasing competitive losses and no decisions is crucial because it means that your reps will spend less time with unqualified non-buyers.  This means they will spend less time practicing poor selling skills on prospects who aren’t going to buy.  This will make them more confident and successful, and it reduces the money and time your company spends on chasing bad leads that should have been disqualified out a lot earlier.  This is why proactive coaching is seen as “mission critical.” 

 So what exactly is proactive coaching?  Like the article points out, a big part of it is understanding which reps need help at which part of the sales cycle that is going to make the most difference in moving the sale forward.  It’s also being “proactive in taking action when deals started to go off track.”  It means that you and your reps are on the same page with each prospect and with each step of the sales process.  

Proactive coaching is very different than ‘rear view mirror’ sales management.  Unfortunately, many mangers still coach after the fact, after the deal has been lost.  They coach on metrics and results. This kind of managing has its place, but it’s not effective in driving sales during the sales cycle. 

OK, so how do you learn to be a proactive sales manager?  The article mentions several elements including hiring the right managers with the right skill sets, benchmarking activities, and getting the right actionable data through a “Pipeline Accelerator” CRM type of system.  

Besides that, though, what is needed is to teach your managers the proper coaching activities that will allow them to help your reps succeed during the actual sale.  Methods I recommend are having a phone that allows the manager to listen into both sides of the call live – this allows him or her to actively coach the rep through the sale as it happens.  Another technique is to actively use instant messaging so the manager can send messages to all sales reps while they are on calls, and a third way is to actively use call recording as a way of prepping the rep for the next call.  

If you would like to learn a complete system for teaching inside sales managers to be more proactive in their coaching, see a dedicated product I created for it here (scroll down to “Option Two”). 

I encourage you to read the csoinsight.com white paper on this subject and to invest in ways of making your inside manager more effective.  It will increase your sales team’s win rates and put more money in all of your pockets.

Social Media and Selling – Does it Really Work?

by mike

Social media is all the rage right now and for good reason: We are all social beings and with virtually unlimited access to reviews, opinions, updates, people, information, etc, it would be foolish not to plug into it all and leverage this tool to make connections, make better decisions, learn about companies, products and options, and gain an edge in our personal and professional lives.  And we all do.

Social media has changed our lives in many ways, and it’s changed the way we make buying decisions as well.  If you’re like most people today, you probably search several sites, read reviews, look for deals and coupons and then think about it before you make a decision to buy.  It’s obviously changed the way your prospects buy as well and that leads us to the million dollar question: Exactly how beneficial is social media in helping you sell more of your products and services? 

To hear the social media pundits talk about it, they make it seem that without a strong and sustained presence and strategy in social media, you will get left in the dust.  They promise that if you just write your profile properly on LinkedIn and join enough groups (and are active enough in those groups), get enough people to Like you on Facebook, and spend the right amount of time and activities on other appropriate social networking sites, then you’ll have all the business and referrals you’ll ever need.  Ah, the promise of this global paradise is enticing, isn’t it?  

But does it work? 

To answer that, you just have to ask yourself this:  How much of your business last month came as a direct result of your involvement in social media?   

If you’re like most of the companies and sales reps I speak with, it’s less than 5%.  If that matches up with your results, then you understand why it’s important for you to use social media carefully and intelligently.  That means two things: 1) Don’t let it soak up all of your time (face it, it’s addictive!), and 2) Get the information you need and then do what you do best: prospect, qualify and close decision makers.  

Let’s face it.  While social media, company marketing and referrals are all great ways of meeting prospects, the only real activity that is directly under your control is to pick up the phone and call someone.  In fact, the most successful sales reps in all the industries I work with still make the most amount of outbound calls (either cold calls, warm calls to existing prospects and customers, or follow up calls to prospects identified in a carefully orchestrated social media campaign).  

Now don’t get me wrong.  Social media is a great tool and I use it all the time.  What I’m saying is don’t confuse being busy in social media as the same thing as being busy at what you’re hired to do – prospect and close business.  In other words, identify where you get most of your business from and then do more of that.  And for most successful sales teams, that means identify the best leads and then pick up the phone and make a qualifying call.  

Let me use a personal example.  There are many ways for me to generate leads and deals in my business as a sales consultant.  I’ve spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours pursuing one new “distraction” after another.  I’ve pursued social media, pay per click advertising, webinars with associations, multi-level marketing deals, joined endless groups, etc.  And while all these avenues bring me some results, nothing makes me more money than picking up the phone and calling on prospects and current customers.  Period. 

 So, does social media work in bringing you new business?  I would say that it’s one of many new ways of finding new prospects and making new connections.  But at the end of the day, where does the majority of your business come from? 

If you can answer that, then do everything you can to get better at it and spend more time doing it.  Your result, like mine and all of my clients, is that you’ll make more money as a result.