by Admin | May 15, 2012 | Networking, Prospecting, Referrals, Selling
Are there days you ask yourself why you do what you do? I know many of the professionals I coach will stop and ask themselves this question. Especially if they are experiencing not so great results from a lot of hard work. We spend 1/3rd of our days at work, sometimes more. And that’s ½ of our waking hours. We enter the workforce when we are 20 (sometimes sooner), and we exit at 70+ (remember the ‘new normal’ with retirement planning and social security?). That’s 50+ years you devote to a professional career. God promises us 3 score and 10 (translates to 70 years in non-Bible math) in our life. If we are promised a lifespan of 70 years and more than 2/3rds of that is devoted to our profession, shouldn’t it be something worthwhile? I ask you these questions to get you thinking about what you do in sales. I was visiting with a group of sales professionals who thought by expanding their relationship with their clients it would appear as if they were ‘just selling more stuff’. Is that really what you consider a career of sales? People buy solutions from people they know, like and trust. I don’t know about you, but if someone is ‘just selling something’ they don’t fit into the ‘know, like and trust’ category. There are a few really smart people I know that are always seeking innovation. They adopt new habits, buy new technology and hire the best service providers. I call them when I am looking for a solution. I do this because I – like most business owners –...
by Admin | May 6, 2012 | Networking, Prospecting
I love the lessons learned from the big screen. For the first time in my life, I recently went to see the first showing of a new release. It was The Avengers – a definite must see for children of all ages! During the movie, though, I kept thinking of how many of these plots demonstrate a valuable skill set for us to learn from. Of course, my lessons are around prospecting and networking in particular, so here are my thoughts around the 5 Lessons Learned from the Avenger’s Network… Reach out. Even though you may be super talented and have super powers, you have your own strengths and weaknesses. Others are often able and willing to step in and help you out so reach out! You are stronger as a team. Each member of the Avengers is a bad ass in their own right, but together they are unbeatable. Even when problems may arise and you feel defeated, look to others to help you and you must be there to help them when they are down. Ask for help. It’s OK to not have all the answers and often by brainstorming with your peers and partners you can find answers to the biggest problem the mightiest villain can throw your way. Sometimes your super powers are hidden. The ‘normal folks’ bring great substance to this story. Not to be a spoiler, but one of the key support members of the Shield Team inspired greatness, from his connection with the love interest of Iron Man. He gained her support to engage this critical team member into giving more than...
by Admin | Jan 25, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting, Selling
Nike may have made a billion dollars on that phrase, but in sales you can make a jillion (as my 9 year old would say) by, yes, just doing it! So many times, though, we don”t just do it. How often do you find yourself overthinking an issue rather than just pushing for a next steps? Example: John is on a sales call and his prospect has just greeted him with the news that the account that was potentially a ‘deer’ for him (could feed him for a month) was about to turn into a ‘bear’ (he can eat for the winter). Pretend you’re John, do you… Say ‘That’s fantastic, what has changed internally?’ and proceed on with the initial agenda for the call which was gathering the scope of work? Get flustered and go for the close? Start overthinking and underselling – meaning you are worried about saying or doing the wrong thing so you become hesitant about asking tough questions to flesh out what is truly in this opportunity? Professional athletes train for hours and hours each week so that when they are in the moment and the pressure is on their body and brain know what to do. These are like autopilot settings for them. They have conditioned the response to happen to the point that the actual situation is almost irrelevant. How is this any less critical than your success in sales? Sales is about process, not online casino personality. Malcolm Gladwell talks about what defines an ‘expert’ in Outliers (awesome book by the way, highly recommended). In his definition, it’s not someone who is...
by Admin | Jan 18, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting
In coaching sales people I have found many similarities to raising children. Not that sales people are childish at all, but we tend to be an emotional and reactive lot. Take Ben as an example. He knows that he needs to book 2 appointments every day to reach his sales goals, but setting appointments is not his most fun thing to do in his day. He’d rather research companies to call, read his trade journals, call his buddies to network (of course) and fill in the blank with any other activity possible to put off doing what he knows he should be doing: scheduling appointments. We’re all guilty of this, even my hyper-productive sales people. Even if our prospecting effort is solid, taking the time to fill in our contact database with solid leads or our calendars with appointments is just not fun. That’s work that we would rather not do – even if it brings us that much closer to our sales goals. I know I would rather have fun – and I know most of my clients would too. It’s our natural childlike instincts that are resisting our adult ones. But who’s running the show? Is your inner child in control, or does your adult stay in command? If you’re honest, you probably will admit to the child allowing procrastination to creep in. Here’s how to corral your inner 9 year old. Ask yourself a key question. Stop what you are doing right now (although you do need to keep reading for a bit!). Ask yourself: “Is what I’m doing right now taking me closer to or...
by Admin | Jan 16, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting
Who will your best client be in 2012? Do you know what they look like? How big they are? What market they are in? What stage of growth or contraction are they in? Which of your products and services will they want or need to buy? What value will you provide to them? What positive impact will you have on their company”s bottom line? Why am I asking all these questions? In sales aren”t you at the mercy of fate with who you will work with? Not really. In the past 12 years I have spent coaching and training sales people, some successful, some not so much – the common thread with the intentionally successful producers is their determination and planning of their market early in their sales career. That”s not to say happy accidents don”t happen in your prospecting effort, after all we know that Luck is merely preparation meeting opportunity as quoted by some really smart guy I can”t remember the name of right now. (If you know it, please reply). And then there”s “Hard work is it”s own reward” and countless other quotes that we can all recite… The point is that if you get sick and tired of taking what life hands you, you can decide instead to act with purpose in your prospecting effort. The best place to start? Determine who will be your best client this year. But…How? I”m glad you asked! Here are the 3 steps you can take right now for intentional success in your prospecting effort. Look at who your best clients were last year. Not just the biggest and...
