Don't Sweat the Sales Stuff
Introduction.. I'm sharing the very best of what I know with you in this
article. I stumbled into my first sales job 20 years ago. I started out
as an administrative assistant for a leasing company. They still had
carbon copies back then, (wow. I'm old) and I was a terrible typist. I
had already gotten fired from my first job as a Dictaphone typist for making
too many errors. I was let go from another job because I was unwilling to
go down the elevator, stand in line at Druxy's sandwich shop and purchase
lunch each day for the gentleman I worked for. He was one of the Partners
in a large accounting firm downtown. They had two coffee breaks each day
in which one of the girls, (thank God it wasn't me) had to go around with a
cart to all the offices and offer the Partner's coffee; I believe there
was 11 of them. The coffee was poured to their liking and delivered right
to their desks. Did I mention they were all males? How degrading. Oh!
and another rule in that office. You had to wear a skirt every day. Oh
Please. Give me peace... It was only 1984, but still, running down to get
lunch for someone who had two legs and an index finger to push the elevator
buttons just seemed archaic. Apparently I was ahead of my time.
About me.
I'm writing this with absolute freedom and pleasure, because I have a natural ability at sales
and because I want to share the very best of what I know from my 20 years of
sales and sales management experience. I've examined good sales people and
worked with bad salespeople. I've had great Sales Managers and really
lousy Sales Managers. Things that worked, things that didn't, Top Dogs,
verses mediocre, selling techniques, hiring techniques. Team building blah
blah
In 20 years I can honestly say I have something valuable to offer you and I
am very pleased to share all of what I know about sales with you so that you
can build your sales team and grow your sales abilities and achieve higher
and higher results.
This is something I know that I do very well. I have worked with these
skills for over 20 years. I have observed the "Top Dogs" and have studied
the differences between them and mediocre sales people. There have been
many lessons learned in 20 years and this book will teach you about the
lessons. I'm pleased to share an understanding of sales that will enable
you to go out and sell anything you want..
Don't cut yourself out of the sales game
I worked with a guy once named Jeff who was convinced he was not a
salesperson. He hated sales. He was an administrator and prided himself
on details and would provide support in client conference calls and client
meetings with regard to his expertise. I watched how he interacted on the
conference calls and in our client meetings together. The first thing he
would say is "I'm not a salesperson" and then go in to his detail of what
we were trying to sell in to our accounts. He connected with the clients.
Why? Because he was honest. He was knowledgeable and he had no agenda
other than to deliver the details of this product. The customer could
relax. He obviously had a comfort level because I being a salesperson was
with him and he could relax. The point I want to make here is that we can
all relax. If you believe that what you are offering is of value to the
customer and you understand and believe in that value, you can relax...
let go. The customer will appreciate that kind of energy better than any
type of forced enthusiasm. .
Whether you are a Business owner or managing a sales team, or a seasoned
salesperson or just starting a sales career, there is something in this article
that you need to know. I can help you.
Simplifying Sales
Sales isn't nearly as frightening as it sounds and it doesn't have to be
complicated. You just have to get a list together of why your product
or service is of value to your prospect and be willing to promote it?
What's in it for them? What's going to make their life wonderful? It's
your job to promote the product or service and find people who will purchase
the product or service. We get way ahead of ourselves when we try and
figure it all out right away? How do we get the incumbent supplier out.
How do upsell them. What do we charge?
Dentist appointments
My son and I went for a dentist appointment for his teeth. He needed some
major work done to repair a sports injury when he was in grade 6. The
cosmetic work had to be completed once he stopped Growing. The dentist
fully expected the business. It was a referral from a friend, our family
dentist and it was a standard procedure. It was going to be a rather
costly procedure and very invasive. I was not convinced. Our hesitation
was met with arrogance. When I questioned him about the guarantee or how
long it would last, he could not answer me. He said look there is no heavy
sales pitch here. I was disappointed. I needed to be convinced. He
then seemed to get defensive about it. This is what I do and if you
don't want it done or you want to get a second opinion, then go for it.
He didn't care whether he got the business or not. Gee, that makes me feel
special and important.
He didn't want to waste his time reassuring us and took it like a personal
insult that we questioned the procedure.
He didn't want to lower himself by trying to sell us the procedure. All I
really needed was to be convinced. Nudged a bit. He didn't get a lot of
things that day, including our business.
3 Year Maternity Leave
I went on a 3 year maternity leave give or take. I had two baby's and was
looking forward to getting back to work. When I got back within two weeks,
I noticed that there was something not quite right. It was an aura of
entitlement. Something I could quite put my finger on but I could cut the
tension with a knife.. My boss who I had worked with for 10 years, said
Carrie, I value your opinion, what is going on here? Paul looks at the
numbers and then needs to fix something. He has to be able to sink his
teeth into something tangible. Paul was a very intelligent businessman.
He knew how to make a profit. But I couldn't explain this with facts and
examples to back it up. It was just a feeling. My intuitive nature was
telling me that things weren't quite right. There was a strong vibe
saying, things aren't the way they seem. He couldn't accept that. Our
conversations would go like this. "Just tell us what you're trying to
say?" I said I don't know, "It's just a feeling I get". "A feeling" "What
do you mean?" Well, It's a bad vibe. Things aren't quite right" who
is giving off the bad vibe? Is it Bruce? Is it Allison? No No. It's no
one in particular. (I wasn't quite ready to throw anyone under the bus just yet)
"Then what are you talking about" It's an invisible
low energy. "It's what" "Carrie you speak encrypted". "Just tell us". Then
it would start all over again. The point I want to make here is that
sometimes we need to listen and hear what people are saying to us
rather than looking for a solution to a problem or concrete evidence. Ask
people you trust, and then you trust them.
Getting Salespeople to take Ownership for the problems
When sales people come in with a problem, ask them for the solutions. How
do you feel it should be handled? They know the customer? They know the
ramifications for the company? Get them to give you the solutions and take
leadership in this area. They will feel your trust and be trustworthy.
"I need your help" Here's where we are at? This is where we want to go?
Post people's numbers up?
Customers will test you.
They will ask you to look into something they already know the answer to.
They will ask you for quotes on items they've already purchased. They will
test your product knowledge by giving you a research assignment to see if
your information matches up with what they already know. Maybe they are
evaluating your response time. They are checking your knowledge and your
prices. If you don't pass these little tests you're given with 90's you
probably won't graduate. People will try your service. You won't get the
$10,000 order unless you can do a fabulous job with the $100 order.
Approach
I had someone working for me once who was so pushy on the phone. He would
keep people on the phone way longer then what was appropriate and would
practically beg them for their business. His energy was "creepy".
3 Promises
Promise #1 - If something goes wrong I will fix it. In business things
happen out of our control all the time. Unforeseen delays, wrong products
getting shipped, defective product, etc.... Stuff happens. What a
customer absolutely must know however, is that you will look after it. Not
another department, or division or person or anything. YOU. If they are
giving the business to you and something screws up, it's you and only you
that needs to fix it.
Promise #2 - I will not make you look bad. Some times our customer is going
out on a limb. Choosing a different supplier. Going against the grain.
Making changes doesn't necessarily mean there is anything wrong with their
status quo. It means you've convinced them to make a change. To give you
chance.
Promise #3 - You can trust me. The most important factor in any
relationship, business or otherwise is Trust.
Price Gouging:To cheat somebody or act dishonestly by demanding an unreasonably high price
for goods or services.
Do you realize how difficult a buyer's job is? When they have to double
check prices constantly you are not making their job any easier. You are making it
harder. Who wants more work? They will tell you that
they are quoting each time but I know that many times they won't. It's very
time consuming for them to get 2 or 3 quotes every time they need to
purchase something. It's much faster and easier for them if
they can rely on a company to give them a fair price each and every time
they place and order without getting a competitive quote.
They are counting on their regular supplier to give them their
regular pricing structure. If they can't trust you, then why should they
deal with you? I remember calling our insurance company once to
innocently get some clarification on our rates. For my records I wanted to
know whether it was a 6 month rate or a 12 month rate. It turned out to be
a 12 month rate that they were charging twice a year. I found out by
calling another insurance company that this was in fact exactly double of
what they would charge for 12 months. When they called to apologize
trying to explain their "error" I was less than understanding. Why?
Because I lost trust. I didn't believe them. I believe they got caught
with their pants down and were back peddling. That's what I believe.
They lost my trust and that's a tough one to get back. You may forgive your
spouse or a child , but in a professional client relationship, when that
line gets crossed, you may as well move on, because it's over....
One Question?
If I was the customer, how would I want to be treated? If you ask yourself
that question a number of things will come up.
I need to feel that my business is important to you.
I need you to call and email me back promptly.
I need to know there is back up for you when you are away.
Making the Big Bucks.
When I first started in Sales it was all about building the relationships.
In leasing you had to know and visit a lot of people on a frequent basis.
It ws very much a relationship oriented sale. In their face on a regular
basis, someone else would likely come in the back door on you. People were
constantly talking about their deals. What I realized was that if I could
build some business relationships and master the art of serving them, then I
could secure my financial future.
Nepotism
There are probably more formal teachings about the rules of Nepotism. It
always seems like a good idea at the time but in my experience, it never
works. Hiring friends, family, siblings, spouses only works in a family
type business. In a corporate office it causes problems and best to avoid
if at all possible. You don't just lose 1 person if things don't work out.
You lose 2 or 3. I've seen it happen over and over and over again.
No means Maybe
I heard no many times from my very best accounts while I was still
prospecting them. No means Maybe, No means not right now, No means not
this month. When someone says No to you, it just means that they aren't
ready to talk to you yet. Call again, they may be ready. If you fold your
tent the second you here No, you've lost the opportunity when the tide turns
because you let the customer get away.. Things change. If you've
persistently and politely pursued their business and promoted your products
and services, when the players change, or their currently level of service
goes down, or someone drops the ball, you will be the first one they
contact.
4 Golden tips for Sales Managers
Set a good example. I've had many Sales Manager's. One came in to the
company, wasn't there long enough to make a lasting impression. He
introduced himself at our first sales meeting. He showed us his cottage
that he manifested with his million dollar salary and explained his past
successes. I rather liked him and thought he could move the company in an
upward direction. I had no problem with his ego, as long as I didn't have
to feed it. At the first sign of trouble, he was out the door. He didn't
last 4 months. The thing I found disturbing about him wasn't his ego, it
was the way who would talk behind people's backs. I wondered what he was
saying behind my back. This is not very professional, especially for a new
Manager.
I had another boss who was a pretty good guy. However he would get all
sulky if things didn't go his way or someone challenged him. He would come
in with a crinkle in his forehead and start stomping around the office. I
would look up from my work and notice his poor behaviour. I would think to
myself, gee it's a good thing he doesn't have to sell anything today. The
point about sales management that I want to make here, is that it's not
very motivating to have somebody stomping around the office in a crappy mood
all day or walking around talking behind everyone's back. How can you
expect your salespeople to remain upbeat and positive when their bosses
are behaving in such childish ways.
Praise and appreciation goes a long way. I always feel valued and important
when someone appreciates what I do for them. Yes I'm collecting my
commission and/or pay cheque but it's always nice when someone acknowledges
you. Great Job, Nice order. Congratulations, You did an amazing job
with that client today. This is going help our numbers out Big time this
month- thank you.....
If they like you they'll work hard for you? I loved my first sales
manager. He was so good at what he did. I would listen to him in awe on
the phone. He was so honest and pleasant and successful and fun to be
around. I would listen to his sales calls and would be so impressed with
his delivery and his gut laughter and his ability to raise the roof every
time he walked into a room. I admired him so much and to this day I
aspire to be like him. I wanted to do a good job for him. I wanted him
to be so successful because I adored him, not just because he was such a
great guy, but because I respected the way he treated me and all his other
employees. I was well liked by my team too. I butted head with a few
people, but in my defense, they were often non-achievers , spewing off a bad
vibe and that simply wasn't tolerated. I had an open door policy and
hands on approach to selling. I will help you close this deal. Let's do
this together, what's the best way to handle this. What price would you
like to go in at? I did the job for years . I understood every
frustration there was out there on the floor. They could come to me about
anything and I would support them and coach them. I would do anything that
I could to ensure their success. But I simply would not handle a bad
attitude. It was toxic and lethal to the rest of the team and it was my
responsibility to protect them. They were counting on me to figure it
out. If you are in this situation and you're waiting for your employees to
blow the whistle on each other you'll be waiting a long time and you may
lose a few more in the web while you wait. . It's your job to figure it
out. They're counting on you.
a boss once who loved to hire people in large groups believing, from his
past experiences that half of them or more, wouldn't work out but that you
could weed them out and end up with a few daisys at the end. There were
so many things wrong with this strategy but the most important thing I
learned about it was ....It didn't work. First of all you throw your
existing people into a frenzy. You go from 10 people to 20. That in itself
is huge. All the administrative staff have responsibilities as well such
adding them to payroll, the phones, computers, all the trainers, your
suppliers, human resources, sales support sales. It puts alot pressure on
everyone. You double your sales meetings, double your calls, double the
amount of people in the lunch room, double the commotion in the parking
lots, etc.. Change is great in a company. As long as it's managed change.
I believe that you need to fully support the people you hire. If you're
hiring large groups of people, your leaders will go off on their own and
you'll be spending all your time with the sheep , They will need some
maintenance. They will get all the attention even though, they aren't the
ones that you want to support necessarily. Your leaders are the ones that
you want to support and nurture and cultivate. Just like an account you
want to be sure they get off on the right foot. How can you do that when
you have your high maintenance staff members taking up all your valuable
time. Now say you have 2 or 3 people you've hired and you're going to ramp
them up. Now if there is one star and two sheep the star can help the
sheep. She can be a bit of the lead on it. It will make her feel even
more empower and stronger, she'll be helping you out and You're still
managing both them and giving equal time.
High Turnover
Turn over is never good for a company. The training costs are incredibly
high and for a sales person even higher because the ramp up is so long.
For an administrator or specialized area, they learn the ropes and learn how
their job is managed and then go ahead and fill the empty seat. For an
example a salesperson in the IT industry takes about 9 months to ramp up.
You are paying for the training, their salaries, the time prospecting and
building their accounts and if they leave. A) many of the accounts are so
new that if the sales person leaves, they just fall off, B) you hire
someone else to take over and now these accounts have to here from another
person in the company . Remember they aren't dealing with the company, they
are dealing with the salesperson at your company.
Sales Mentality
Sales people want to be appreciated. They want to feel their contributions
are important and good salespeople want to earn a good living. If you have
sales people that are comfortable making their base, that's all they will
ever make. They will never be your dynamos. If someone comes in and
tells you they want to make 100,000 per year knowing full well there based
is only 30,000 you may have a producer on your hands.
Placing an Ad for a Salesperson
Put the base salary in the in the ad. . When you interview , if they say
there're happy with the base salary, it's sign they won't produce for you.
You can find out what they hope to earn in 1 year, 5 years. Ask them
questions like, what do you feel is your most important personality trait
for this job?
Productivity
I've worked with salespeople before who would roll in to work around 8:59.
They would boot their machines, walk into the kitchen, put their lunch in
the fridge. Have a 15 minute conversation about their cats, check their
email, change their voice mail, walk back in to the kitchen and make their
bagel or put some oatmeal in the microwave, or make some toast...or walk
over to Tim Hortons and get a coffee or go out for a cigarette and get on
the phones oh around 9:40. They just blew 40 minutes out of their day
being unproductive. They are the first ones to complain and make excuses
as to why their numbers are low. .
Time Management
Use the best part of your day wisely. Are you a morning person or an
afternoon person? Make your calls during the time of day when you have
the best energy.... make prospecting you're priority. You can always
arrange your evening later or do some admin work or call a supplier or type
up a price quote. But prospecting guarantees you future business. If
you're not prospecting what are you going to do next month? Prospecting
guarantees you'll hear from somebody and have something to work on next
month. Many salespeople, even seasoned salespeople, will ignore the
importance of prospecting. They get busy with their accounts and their
producing so they aren't really too worried about it. However my
experience is that accounts drop off. For whatever reason. Things
change. Players change, the dynamic in the company changes, their buying
policies change. If you haven't made prospecting for future business a
priority, then you will dry up. No matter how busy I was, I wanted to
make those 20 calls. I wanted to make sure people didn't forget about me.
I wanted to keep cultivating my list. If you haven't a done a good job
prospecting then you may find yourself short of accounts. I always had an
account to replace the one that dropped off. because I made prospecting a
top priority each day.
Thanking people for their business
I would thank my customers for every order I received, no matter how little
it was. People love to feel appreciated. I had one customer for over 8
years placing orders every day. I said as always "thanks for the order"
he said, of course, who else would I give the order to. I said yes, but
you could've called someone else and you didn't and I appreciate you and I
value our relationship.
Determining the Potential
You absolutely must do a great job with this step. You will get completely
frustrated and agonize over why these people aren't buying when in fact,
they don't buy anything, ever.....You can't sell ice to Eskimos...
One final thing that many salespeople forget to do is ASK for the business. "will you call me when you're ready to move forward? Will you give me an opportunity to quote next year? Will you come and see me when you're ready to sit down and discuss going ahead?" That alone will make you more money than any other thing you do. ASK.
article. I stumbled into my first sales job 20 years ago. I started out
as an administrative assistant for a leasing company. They still had
carbon copies back then, (wow. I'm old) and I was a terrible typist. I
had already gotten fired from my first job as a Dictaphone typist for making
too many errors. I was let go from another job because I was unwilling to
go down the elevator, stand in line at Druxy's sandwich shop and purchase
lunch each day for the gentleman I worked for. He was one of the Partners
in a large accounting firm downtown. They had two coffee breaks each day
in which one of the girls, (thank God it wasn't me) had to go around with a
cart to all the offices and offer the Partner's coffee; I believe there
was 11 of them. The coffee was poured to their liking and delivered right
to their desks. Did I mention they were all males? How degrading. Oh!
and another rule in that office. You had to wear a skirt every day. Oh
Please. Give me peace... It was only 1984, but still, running down to get
lunch for someone who had two legs and an index finger to push the elevator
buttons just seemed archaic. Apparently I was ahead of my time.
About me.
I'm writing this with absolute freedom and pleasure, because I have a natural ability at sales
and because I want to share the very best of what I know from my 20 years of
sales and sales management experience. I've examined good sales people and
worked with bad salespeople. I've had great Sales Managers and really
lousy Sales Managers. Things that worked, things that didn't, Top Dogs,
verses mediocre, selling techniques, hiring techniques. Team building blah
blah
In 20 years I can honestly say I have something valuable to offer you and I
am very pleased to share all of what I know about sales with you so that you
can build your sales team and grow your sales abilities and achieve higher
and higher results.
This is something I know that I do very well. I have worked with these
skills for over 20 years. I have observed the "Top Dogs" and have studied
the differences between them and mediocre sales people. There have been
many lessons learned in 20 years and this book will teach you about the
lessons. I'm pleased to share an understanding of sales that will enable
you to go out and sell anything you want..
Don't cut yourself out of the sales game
I worked with a guy once named Jeff who was convinced he was not a
salesperson. He hated sales. He was an administrator and prided himself
on details and would provide support in client conference calls and client
meetings with regard to his expertise. I watched how he interacted on the
conference calls and in our client meetings together. The first thing he
would say is "I'm not a salesperson" and then go in to his detail of what
we were trying to sell in to our accounts. He connected with the clients.
Why? Because he was honest. He was knowledgeable and he had no agenda
other than to deliver the details of this product. The customer could
relax. He obviously had a comfort level because I being a salesperson was
with him and he could relax. The point I want to make here is that we can
all relax. If you believe that what you are offering is of value to the
customer and you understand and believe in that value, you can relax...
let go. The customer will appreciate that kind of energy better than any
type of forced enthusiasm. .
Whether you are a Business owner or managing a sales team, or a seasoned
salesperson or just starting a sales career, there is something in this article
that you need to know. I can help you.
Simplifying Sales
Sales isn't nearly as frightening as it sounds and it doesn't have to be
complicated. You just have to get a list together of why your product
or service is of value to your prospect and be willing to promote it?
What's in it for them? What's going to make their life wonderful? It's
your job to promote the product or service and find people who will purchase
the product or service. We get way ahead of ourselves when we try and
figure it all out right away? How do we get the incumbent supplier out.
How do upsell them. What do we charge?
Dentist appointments
My son and I went for a dentist appointment for his teeth. He needed some
major work done to repair a sports injury when he was in grade 6. The
cosmetic work had to be completed once he stopped Growing. The dentist
fully expected the business. It was a referral from a friend, our family
dentist and it was a standard procedure. It was going to be a rather
costly procedure and very invasive. I was not convinced. Our hesitation
was met with arrogance. When I questioned him about the guarantee or how
long it would last, he could not answer me. He said look there is no heavy
sales pitch here. I was disappointed. I needed to be convinced. He
then seemed to get defensive about it. This is what I do and if you
don't want it done or you want to get a second opinion, then go for it.
He didn't care whether he got the business or not. Gee, that makes me feel
special and important.
He didn't want to waste his time reassuring us and took it like a personal
insult that we questioned the procedure.
He didn't want to lower himself by trying to sell us the procedure. All I
really needed was to be convinced. Nudged a bit. He didn't get a lot of
things that day, including our business.
3 Year Maternity Leave
I went on a 3 year maternity leave give or take. I had two baby's and was
looking forward to getting back to work. When I got back within two weeks,
I noticed that there was something not quite right. It was an aura of
entitlement. Something I could quite put my finger on but I could cut the
tension with a knife.. My boss who I had worked with for 10 years, said
Carrie, I value your opinion, what is going on here? Paul looks at the
numbers and then needs to fix something. He has to be able to sink his
teeth into something tangible. Paul was a very intelligent businessman.
He knew how to make a profit. But I couldn't explain this with facts and
examples to back it up. It was just a feeling. My intuitive nature was
telling me that things weren't quite right. There was a strong vibe
saying, things aren't the way they seem. He couldn't accept that. Our
conversations would go like this. "Just tell us what you're trying to
say?" I said I don't know, "It's just a feeling I get". "A feeling" "What
do you mean?" Well, It's a bad vibe. Things aren't quite right" who
is giving off the bad vibe? Is it Bruce? Is it Allison? No No. It's no
one in particular. (I wasn't quite ready to throw anyone under the bus just yet)
"Then what are you talking about" It's an invisible
low energy. "It's what" "Carrie you speak encrypted". "Just tell us". Then
it would start all over again. The point I want to make here is that
sometimes we need to listen and hear what people are saying to us
rather than looking for a solution to a problem or concrete evidence. Ask
people you trust, and then you trust them.
Getting Salespeople to take Ownership for the problems
When sales people come in with a problem, ask them for the solutions. How
do you feel it should be handled? They know the customer? They know the
ramifications for the company? Get them to give you the solutions and take
leadership in this area. They will feel your trust and be trustworthy.
"I need your help" Here's where we are at? This is where we want to go?
Post people's numbers up?
Customers will test you.
They will ask you to look into something they already know the answer to.
They will ask you for quotes on items they've already purchased. They will
test your product knowledge by giving you a research assignment to see if
your information matches up with what they already know. Maybe they are
evaluating your response time. They are checking your knowledge and your
prices. If you don't pass these little tests you're given with 90's you
probably won't graduate. People will try your service. You won't get the
$10,000 order unless you can do a fabulous job with the $100 order.
Approach
I had someone working for me once who was so pushy on the phone. He would
keep people on the phone way longer then what was appropriate and would
practically beg them for their business. His energy was "creepy".
3 Promises
Promise #1 - If something goes wrong I will fix it. In business things
happen out of our control all the time. Unforeseen delays, wrong products
getting shipped, defective product, etc.... Stuff happens. What a
customer absolutely must know however, is that you will look after it. Not
another department, or division or person or anything. YOU. If they are
giving the business to you and something screws up, it's you and only you
that needs to fix it.
Promise #2 - I will not make you look bad. Some times our customer is going
out on a limb. Choosing a different supplier. Going against the grain.
Making changes doesn't necessarily mean there is anything wrong with their
status quo. It means you've convinced them to make a change. To give you
chance.
Promise #3 - You can trust me. The most important factor in any
relationship, business or otherwise is Trust.
Price Gouging:To cheat somebody or act dishonestly by demanding an unreasonably high price
for goods or services.
Do you realize how difficult a buyer's job is? When they have to double
check prices constantly you are not making their job any easier. You are making it
harder. Who wants more work? They will tell you that
they are quoting each time but I know that many times they won't. It's very
time consuming for them to get 2 or 3 quotes every time they need to
purchase something. It's much faster and easier for them if
they can rely on a company to give them a fair price each and every time
they place and order without getting a competitive quote.
They are counting on their regular supplier to give them their
regular pricing structure. If they can't trust you, then why should they
deal with you? I remember calling our insurance company once to
innocently get some clarification on our rates. For my records I wanted to
know whether it was a 6 month rate or a 12 month rate. It turned out to be
a 12 month rate that they were charging twice a year. I found out by
calling another insurance company that this was in fact exactly double of
what they would charge for 12 months. When they called to apologize
trying to explain their "error" I was less than understanding. Why?
Because I lost trust. I didn't believe them. I believe they got caught
with their pants down and were back peddling. That's what I believe.
They lost my trust and that's a tough one to get back. You may forgive your
spouse or a child , but in a professional client relationship, when that
line gets crossed, you may as well move on, because it's over....
One Question?
If I was the customer, how would I want to be treated? If you ask yourself
that question a number of things will come up.
I need to feel that my business is important to you.
I need you to call and email me back promptly.
I need to know there is back up for you when you are away.
Making the Big Bucks.
When I first started in Sales it was all about building the relationships.
In leasing you had to know and visit a lot of people on a frequent basis.
It ws very much a relationship oriented sale. In their face on a regular
basis, someone else would likely come in the back door on you. People were
constantly talking about their deals. What I realized was that if I could
build some business relationships and master the art of serving them, then I
could secure my financial future.
Nepotism
There are probably more formal teachings about the rules of Nepotism. It
always seems like a good idea at the time but in my experience, it never
works. Hiring friends, family, siblings, spouses only works in a family
type business. In a corporate office it causes problems and best to avoid
if at all possible. You don't just lose 1 person if things don't work out.
You lose 2 or 3. I've seen it happen over and over and over again.
No means Maybe
I heard no many times from my very best accounts while I was still
prospecting them. No means Maybe, No means not right now, No means not
this month. When someone says No to you, it just means that they aren't
ready to talk to you yet. Call again, they may be ready. If you fold your
tent the second you here No, you've lost the opportunity when the tide turns
because you let the customer get away.. Things change. If you've
persistently and politely pursued their business and promoted your products
and services, when the players change, or their currently level of service
goes down, or someone drops the ball, you will be the first one they
contact.
4 Golden tips for Sales Managers
Set a good example. I've had many Sales Manager's. One came in to the
company, wasn't there long enough to make a lasting impression. He
introduced himself at our first sales meeting. He showed us his cottage
that he manifested with his million dollar salary and explained his past
successes. I rather liked him and thought he could move the company in an
upward direction. I had no problem with his ego, as long as I didn't have
to feed it. At the first sign of trouble, he was out the door. He didn't
last 4 months. The thing I found disturbing about him wasn't his ego, it
was the way who would talk behind people's backs. I wondered what he was
saying behind my back. This is not very professional, especially for a new
Manager.
I had another boss who was a pretty good guy. However he would get all
sulky if things didn't go his way or someone challenged him. He would come
in with a crinkle in his forehead and start stomping around the office. I
would look up from my work and notice his poor behaviour. I would think to
myself, gee it's a good thing he doesn't have to sell anything today. The
point about sales management that I want to make here, is that it's not
very motivating to have somebody stomping around the office in a crappy mood
all day or walking around talking behind everyone's back. How can you
expect your salespeople to remain upbeat and positive when their bosses
are behaving in such childish ways.
Praise and appreciation goes a long way. I always feel valued and important
when someone appreciates what I do for them. Yes I'm collecting my
commission and/or pay cheque but it's always nice when someone acknowledges
you. Great Job, Nice order. Congratulations, You did an amazing job
with that client today. This is going help our numbers out Big time this
month- thank you.....
If they like you they'll work hard for you? I loved my first sales
manager. He was so good at what he did. I would listen to him in awe on
the phone. He was so honest and pleasant and successful and fun to be
around. I would listen to his sales calls and would be so impressed with
his delivery and his gut laughter and his ability to raise the roof every
time he walked into a room. I admired him so much and to this day I
aspire to be like him. I wanted to do a good job for him. I wanted him
to be so successful because I adored him, not just because he was such a
great guy, but because I respected the way he treated me and all his other
employees. I was well liked by my team too. I butted head with a few
people, but in my defense, they were often non-achievers , spewing off a bad
vibe and that simply wasn't tolerated. I had an open door policy and
hands on approach to selling. I will help you close this deal. Let's do
this together, what's the best way to handle this. What price would you
like to go in at? I did the job for years . I understood every
frustration there was out there on the floor. They could come to me about
anything and I would support them and coach them. I would do anything that
I could to ensure their success. But I simply would not handle a bad
attitude. It was toxic and lethal to the rest of the team and it was my
responsibility to protect them. They were counting on me to figure it
out. If you are in this situation and you're waiting for your employees to
blow the whistle on each other you'll be waiting a long time and you may
lose a few more in the web while you wait. . It's your job to figure it
out. They're counting on you.
Hire slowly and fire fast If you're going to ramp up a sales force it's
best to do this slowly. Take the time to find the right people. I hada boss once who loved to hire people in large groups believing, from his
past experiences that half of them or more, wouldn't work out but that you
could weed them out and end up with a few daisys at the end. There were
so many things wrong with this strategy but the most important thing I
learned about it was ....It didn't work. First of all you throw your
existing people into a frenzy. You go from 10 people to 20. That in itself
is huge. All the administrative staff have responsibilities as well such
adding them to payroll, the phones, computers, all the trainers, your
suppliers, human resources, sales support sales. It puts alot pressure on
everyone. You double your sales meetings, double your calls, double the
amount of people in the lunch room, double the commotion in the parking
lots, etc.. Change is great in a company. As long as it's managed change.
I believe that you need to fully support the people you hire. If you're
hiring large groups of people, your leaders will go off on their own and
you'll be spending all your time with the sheep , They will need some
maintenance. They will get all the attention even though, they aren't the
ones that you want to support necessarily. Your leaders are the ones that
you want to support and nurture and cultivate. Just like an account you
want to be sure they get off on the right foot. How can you do that when
you have your high maintenance staff members taking up all your valuable
time. Now say you have 2 or 3 people you've hired and you're going to ramp
them up. Now if there is one star and two sheep the star can help the
sheep. She can be a bit of the lead on it. It will make her feel even
more empower and stronger, she'll be helping you out and You're still
managing both them and giving equal time.
High Turnover
Turn over is never good for a company. The training costs are incredibly
high and for a sales person even higher because the ramp up is so long.
For an administrator or specialized area, they learn the ropes and learn how
their job is managed and then go ahead and fill the empty seat. For an
example a salesperson in the IT industry takes about 9 months to ramp up.
You are paying for the training, their salaries, the time prospecting and
building their accounts and if they leave. A) many of the accounts are so
new that if the sales person leaves, they just fall off, B) you hire
someone else to take over and now these accounts have to here from another
person in the company . Remember they aren't dealing with the company, they
are dealing with the salesperson at your company.
Sales Mentality
Sales people want to be appreciated. They want to feel their contributions
are important and good salespeople want to earn a good living. If you have
sales people that are comfortable making their base, that's all they will
ever make. They will never be your dynamos. If someone comes in and
tells you they want to make 100,000 per year knowing full well there based
is only 30,000 you may have a producer on your hands.
Placing an Ad for a Salesperson
Put the base salary in the in the ad. . When you interview , if they say
there're happy with the base salary, it's sign they won't produce for you.
You can find out what they hope to earn in 1 year, 5 years. Ask them
questions like, what do you feel is your most important personality trait
for this job?
Productivity
I've worked with salespeople before who would roll in to work around 8:59.
They would boot their machines, walk into the kitchen, put their lunch in
the fridge. Have a 15 minute conversation about their cats, check their
email, change their voice mail, walk back in to the kitchen and make their
bagel or put some oatmeal in the microwave, or make some toast...or walk
over to Tim Hortons and get a coffee or go out for a cigarette and get on
the phones oh around 9:40. They just blew 40 minutes out of their day
being unproductive. They are the first ones to complain and make excuses
as to why their numbers are low. .
Time Management
Use the best part of your day wisely. Are you a morning person or an
afternoon person? Make your calls during the time of day when you have
the best energy.... make prospecting you're priority. You can always
arrange your evening later or do some admin work or call a supplier or type
up a price quote. But prospecting guarantees you future business. If
you're not prospecting what are you going to do next month? Prospecting
guarantees you'll hear from somebody and have something to work on next
month. Many salespeople, even seasoned salespeople, will ignore the
importance of prospecting. They get busy with their accounts and their
producing so they aren't really too worried about it. However my
experience is that accounts drop off. For whatever reason. Things
change. Players change, the dynamic in the company changes, their buying
policies change. If you haven't made prospecting for future business a
priority, then you will dry up. No matter how busy I was, I wanted to
make those 20 calls. I wanted to make sure people didn't forget about me.
I wanted to keep cultivating my list. If you haven't a done a good job
prospecting then you may find yourself short of accounts. I always had an
account to replace the one that dropped off. because I made prospecting a
top priority each day.
Thanking people for their business
I would thank my customers for every order I received, no matter how little
it was. People love to feel appreciated. I had one customer for over 8
years placing orders every day. I said as always "thanks for the order"
he said, of course, who else would I give the order to. I said yes, but
you could've called someone else and you didn't and I appreciate you and I
value our relationship.
Determining the Potential
You absolutely must do a great job with this step. You will get completely
frustrated and agonize over why these people aren't buying when in fact,
they don't buy anything, ever.....You can't sell ice to Eskimos...
One final thing that many salespeople forget to do is ASK for the business. "will you call me when you're ready to move forward? Will you give me an opportunity to quote next year? Will you come and see me when you're ready to sit down and discuss going ahead?" That alone will make you more money than any other thing you do. ASK.
Carrie L. Wynne