Let’s start with a definition adapted from Wikipedia:

A temptation is something that looks appealing. It’s usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and, as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions for various reasons – legal, social, psychological (including feeling guilty), health, economic, etc.

Temptation goes back to the Garden of Eden – the tree of knowledge, the apple, the serpent, Adam and Eve and the fall of man. It is rooted in our DNA.

So how does this relate to sales?

The temptation to overpromise always leads to underdelivering, and so we must fight it at every level.

• Sales representatives are tempted to overpromise to secure the sale.
• Sales managers are tempted to overpromise to motivate their sales team to greater performance.
• CEOs are tempted to overpromise to provide confidence to boards and shareholders.

No good can come from overpromising and underdelivering.

Bear in mind that intentions are irrelevant; “results” are the only thing you are measured by. In other words, it doesn’t matter what you intended to deliver, only what you delivered.

So, how do you avoid the temptation of overpromising and underdelivering? By doing exactly the opposite – underpromise and overdeliver!

Avoid emotion at all costs!

This is a toughie because we are emotionally driven creatures and emotion sells. Generally though, those decisions / sales pitches / forecasts / projections are more a reflection of our desires, wants and needs then they are a reflection of the truth. Sometimes truth isn’t all that exciting, whereas emotion is.

When someone in business says, “I feel this” or “I feel that” instead of “I think this” or “I think that” – based on “x” fact, “y” fact and “z” fact – run as fast as you can the other way. Don’t be this person!

Emotions cloud judgment and generally always operate in that gray area between fact and fiction. Gray is the devil’s playground, and the playground of those who can pretty much rationalize any deviant behavior or philosophy.

Stick to the facts!

Just as Sgt. Friday used to say in Dragnet, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Stick to the facts and emotions will play a lesser role.

• What exactly are the terms of your agreement? Specifically?
• What exactly are the agreed-upon timeframes? Specifically?
• What exactly is the promised (and demonstrated) feature / functionality? Specifically?

Everything you state in terms of promises and delivery should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-sensitive!

Prove it!

Generally speaking, you should never promise something you have not accomplished consistently in the past. Using this rule, you should have proof of delivering on your promises. This proof can take many forms:

• Case studies
• Testimonials
• References
• White papers

A good question to ask yourself to make sure you can deliver on what you are promising is, “Do I have proof of having done this consistently in the past?” If so, then you are probably safe. If not, you are being driven by emotion rather than fact and you should reconsider your approach.

If you do these three things you will not fall victim to overpromising and underdelivering!

• Stay away from emotion
• Use facts
• Prove it

We are proud of the fact that in more than 10 years as a consulting firm we’ve achieved 100% success with every client that has fully implemented our recommendations.

We are more proud of the fact that we’ve always delivered what we said we would. Or more!

Be that person! Be that company! All the other pieces will fall into place.

Brian

This is the time of year when fans of professional football go crazy with the frenzy of the playoffs and the anticipation of the Super Bowl. It’s not unlike those television commercial in which the characters can’t get the image of a roast beef sandwich out of their brains, only in this case, the image is a football.
Which is why, in a blog devoted to sales and sales management, it makes perfect sense to draw an analogy with the gridiron. So indulge me, if you will, as I consider the similarities of successful sales efforts to successful football teams.

Proper personnel

It all starts here. Your sales cycles will go nowhere if you don’t have the right personnel on the field. That includes the proper sales reps, who understand how to establish relationships, probe for needs, present solutions and address objections. It includes the proper pre-sales and/or support team members, who know how to address the technical requirements of the customer and provide backup to the sales rep. And it includes the right coaches/managers, who know how to execute the…

Proper game planning and and play calling

Even if you’ve got the most talented team on the field – or, in our case, in the field – they’ll be able to go nowhere without effective game plans and strategy. The right product or service solution may totally miss the mark if it’s improperly positioned. Or presented to the wrong individuals. Or if it doesn’t take into account the traps and blitzes set up by the competition. Good managers help make sales reps even more effective by providing the right solutions at the right price points with the right strategies at the right time in the sales cycle. And by helping direct things from the sidelines, which is how they also influence …

Proper pacing and signal calling

If you’ve got the right people at the line of scrimmage, with the right strategy and the right tactical approach, it’s also important to make the right moves at the right time. This means knowing how to “push back” effectively and appropriately, how to identify and address objections, and how to use trial closes and closing techniques effectively. All of which first requires …

Getting to the Red Zone

Except in the rare occasion of a “Hail Mary” sale, it’s much more common for most sales to be made after a well-planned, methodical drive, or sales cycle. That means moving through the process and down the field by identifying and addressing the impacts of the right decision makers, meeting their needs and helping them understand why your solution is best. Being in position, though, is simply the prerequisite for…

Scoring and Winning

It all ends here, of course. Even if you do everything else right, there are still the intangibles that can prevent you from winning when the final gun goes off. That’s why effective sales teams take nothing for granted and continue to think, analyze and strategize – enabling them to score – even when lesser competitors may take their eye off the ball.

Admittedly, I’m not the first person to compare sales and football, and I won’t be the last. Still, putting our day-to-day work in this type of context can help provide discipline and direction when we otherwise may be included to drift offsides.

So, are you ready for your “championship?”

Mike

For a sales representative new to a particular product or industry, there is an exhilaration that comes with being green; opportunity abounds, and the only thing that can hold me back is my own ignorance.

But that’s a double-edged sword. Because if ignorance is my biggest obstacle, it’s also in my hands, as a sales rep, to make sure I climb the learning curve – scale the mountain, if you will – as quickly as possible.

There are numerous ways to learn about the products you sell and the industry in which you’re competing. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s assume that your company either doesn’t offer a comprehensive new hire training program, or it’s insufficient to meet your needs.

There are still many things you can do.

Company training program – Having just stated what we did about training programs, one thing to keep in mind is that a good place to start may nevertheless be exactly there. Indeed, maybe the program your company offered fell short in grounding you in the basics. But perhaps if you were to go back through the material in a self-paced way, holding yourself accountable for memorizing/internalizing the material, the repetition alone may do the trick.

Industry programs / certifications / publications / conferences – Most industries offer tools, programs and events designed to bring newcomers up to speed. Review industry websites, publications and other resources to see if, at a minimum, there are ways in which you can learn more. There may even be formal training programs or certifications that you can take advantage of to truly solidify your knowledge.

Company website and marketing collateral – Whether there is or isn’t industry information available for your use, your company almost certainly has a website and marketing collateral that provides terrific background on the products and services you are selling. Yes, this source of information is limited to the level of customer-facing detail the person behind the website chose to share, but the advantage here is that it will be presented in a way that gives you a head start on your elevator speeches and presentation approaches. After all, the company is clearly comfortable with presenting its products in this way, or they wouldn’t have published the information.

Intranet / contracts – Neither of these are necessarily exciting, but both can be helpful in providing the types of operational and/or technical details that will round out your knowledge. If your company uses a standard contract when it sells a new piece of business, for example, there is a wealth of knowledge about terms, applications, limitations and expectations in the small print. Likewise, the company intranet usually is a repository of reams of operational documents that can bring you up to speed on processes and procedures.

Colleague meetings – Take advantage of your “newness” and schedule meetings and phone conversations with colleagues, whether they’re in sales or not. Ask questions. Be curious. Find out how their particular area of responsibility complements yours, and ask how you can be most helpful to them.

Customer visits / trial and error – Even when you are still learning, one of the most useful things you can do is get out and meet with existing customers. Simply by sitting with them and asking questions about their history with your company and use of your product, you’ll be “forced” to come up to speed on the real-world issues and situations they describe, since you’ll want to be helpful to them. There is, of course, a certain level of fake-it-until-you-make-it involved here, but if you’re sincere and candid with your customers, they will not only understand, they’ll be appreciative that you took the time to meet with them.

Personal use – It depends on what you’re selling, of course, but first-hand experience actually using the widget or service can be irreplaceable.

Other resources – Remember that this information-driven world is full of possibilities, from competitor materials and blogs to industry textbooks and white papers. Search engines are a terrific way to quickly identify and assess the wealth of data available.

One final tip, regardless of the source of your educational information, is to keep notes for yourself in a place that you can do quick reviews during non-productive down time. Index cards are a favorite of many sales reps. Likewise, I knew one company-leading rep who would keep his notes on 81/2-by-11 pieces of paper, which he strategically placed in the back of his presentation binder. When he was sitting in a waiting room for a customer meeting, he’d take the opportunity to review his educational materials for a quick refresher.

You may have other ideas of your own. The most important thing to remember is that coming up to speed on your industry, your company and its products ultimately is in your control. Being in control, of course, means you can scale the mountain that much faster.

And the view from the mountaintop can be spectacular!

Mike

I had the privilege of being associated with over 100 sales professionals during the course of 2011. I was able to watch as they created and attempted to execute their individual business plans. I saw many successes and many failures, but most of all, I saw opportunities.

One of the opportunities I realized was you must start with a SMART Business Plan. It must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Sensitive.

Specific means you have documented who, what, when and how. For example:

• Document the accounts you will target in Texas, not that you will spend more time in Texas.
• Document new products you will sell to each account, not that you will look to sell more products.
• Document the frequency with which you will contact your accounts, not that you will increase your activity.
• Document what you will do to gather more referrals, not that you will gather more referrals.

Measurability is a key in determining success. What is success if it has no measure? In fact, what is success if it has no timeline (Time Sensitive)?

If someone says they want to make $100,000, that is measurable but not time sensitive. So, would I consider myself successful if I made $100,000 over my career? Probably not. Thus, defining success should be supported by measurements and time.

In addition, your business plan should have short term and yearly measurements and timetables. When you put all this together, your business plan will provide you with multiple points of reference on your progress throughout the entire year. For example:

• Document how many sales you need to close weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly.
• Document how many referrals you need in order to obtain your six prospect appointments per week.
• Document that you need 50 contacts a month in order to contact all decision makers four times a year.

Attainable and Realistic mean “can” and “will,” respectively. Attainable means what you are documenting CAN be done; it is possible for you to accomplish this. If it is not possible, then why set it as an objective within your plan? That would be like me setting as a goal to run a 40 yard dash in four seconds. I am 6’4” and 320 pounds; it is not happening! Also, you must be willing to do what it takes in order to accomplish your objectives. This may mean working 50 hour weeks, or role-playing your presentations in the evening before you deliver them, or purchasing and implementing a sales automation system. Whatever it takes is what you will do. That’s the WILL.

In addition, be sure to use the resources you have to make your business plan as solid as it can be. Analyze the past and use that to help build your plan for better results. Ask yourself what you did in 2011 that you should stop doing immediately. What did you do well in 2011 that you should focus on continuing, or even improving, in 2012? What skills did you use well in 2011? What skills need work in 2012? Which accounts did I do well with, and why, in 2011?

And always remember what Albert Einstein said: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Happy New Year and good luck in 2012!

Dan

Wouldn’t it be terrific if we could anticipate our customers’ needs, and actually know what they required before they said anything?  How much better could we align with them and sell the proper solution if we could do this?

There are a couple good tactics we’ve learned over the years to do just that!

Remember that history is the greatest predictor of future behavior!

To more accurately predict the future, learn from the past.  The companies we work with – just like us – are creatures of habit.  We don’t like change; we like consistency.  To more accurately predict customer needs, take a look at their past buying habits.

• Project history – which projects go well, which do not and why?
• Purchasing history – how do they decide what to buy and when?
• Decision-making process history – who is involved in the decision-making process and how have they arrived at past purchasing decisions?
• Historic buying criteria – what criteria have they used to make their decisions?  Has it been price?  Quality?  Delivery?

With customers – as opposed to prospects – it’s fairly easy to anticipate future needs by reviewing their historic needs.  That said, let’s dig a little deeper into future needs.  What can you do?

• Ask them – meet with them and ask them about plans for the next year, three years and five years.
• Look for trends in their industry – by reading industry news you can oftentimes predict what your customers will be working on and how you might be able to help them.
• Determine what their competitors are doing (particularly the industry leaders) – do periodic competitive analysis and bring your findings to your customers, asking them their thoughts on how their competitors’ moves may impact their future decisions. It’s important to use the tools available to you to keep up on your customers’ industries and competitive information so you can properly position yourself to anticipate their needs.

But what about your prospects?  How can you anticipate their needs without a relationship or prior purchasing data?

Do your homework!

When it comes to anticipating your prospects’ needs, it gets a little more complex, but it’s not impossible. The easiest method to anticipate your prospects’ needs is to do research.

• Read industry news, blogs and press releases.
• Keep up on what’s happening with them and their industry by “following” them using social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Once your research is done, you have to do some educated guessing at what their needs may be.  A great way to do this (post research) is to spend time on their website.  What does their website tell you about what their needs may be now or in the future, and how might you align your products or services to meet those needs?

Let’s use our website to demonstrate how you might go about doing this. What do you see?

• We have a 4-stage approach to building better sales forces – strategy, recruiting, training and management. Do you have tools or offerings that could help us execute our model?
• We have a case study and testimonials page that lists some of our clientele. What industries do we have experience in that align with your industry experience and what you see as needs in those industries as they relate to the products and services you sell? How can you familiarize yourself with the industries we are in so that you can bring new ideas, trends and recommendations about how your products/services can help us achieve our goals?
• We have a blog on which we muse and opine. Based on our subject matter and questions, perhaps you can learn ways in which to connect with us so that we are familiar with you and want to talk to you further about your products and services.

Better yet, you can actually engage with us, participating in the dialogue and actually helping shape our future needs that align with your product / services!  Now that’s an idea!

And so on.

It seems to me that, in order to anticipate our customer or prospect needs, we need to do a little homework and research, then apply some common sense based on our findings!

Either that or we could use your handy dandy 8 Ball.

Do you attempt to anticipate your customers’ needs? How do you go about it? What’s your method?

Brian

Role-play your company image presentation while doing 20 jumping jacks. Perhaps close three times in between push-ups. Better yet, do 10 sit ups between every prospecting phone call. Is this a sales workout regimen? Of course not!

So what do we mean by a “daily sales workout regimen”?

Any change of habit or development of skill requires preparation and practice. Sales success requires the proper habits and skills, too. Therefore you must prepare and practice (work out) in order to be ready and able to perform (habits and skills). So, what are the types of “exercises” you should use?

• Role playing your company image presentation
• Scripting how to handle your most common sales objections
• Creating an email template to promote a new product
• Analyzing your wins and losses
• Taking what you learn to increase your close rates

With a physical workout regimen, you must change the muscles you work and the types of exercises you do in order to continue to develop; you must do the same with sales. One day you may work on your elevator speech – before, during and after your foot prospecting activities. The next day you concentrate on handling sales objections – before, during and after your phone prospecting session.

Be sure to prepare and practice the habits and the skills you need to develop. Set a schedule that enables you to cover it all while ensuring your accountability. And lastly, prepare and practice, but then also perform (live sales activities) and analyze so that you can better prepare and practice going forward.

All of this becomes your sales workout regimen and creates stronger sales results.

Dan

Over the years, I have noticed that I dive in and then quickly back out of sales blogs. Without many exceptions, most are a) a regurgitation of – or all-out piracy of – someone else’s musings, b) write-ups/advertisements to drive up monthly affiliate marketing fees, or c) useless, un-actionable diatribe by someone wishing to be heard by anyone who will listen.

I’m also not sure how to “rank” or “prioritize” a list of blogs. I guess you have to start with what the “experts” say. So how did I find these blog ranking experts? I just Googled the topic and found this site: http://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/Sales. If you want to have a list of the top 50 blogs sliced/diced and measured a bunch of ways, this link provides that.

The list confuses me a bit after looking through it, though. (Please excuse me while I channel the late Andy Rooney momentarily.) I’m not sure how a blog like “the truth about Amway” is considered a top-ranked sales blog, but I guess it is. Well, at least blogrank says it is. Actually, it’s ranked #14! Wow! I read it. I’m pretty sure I still have no clue why I’d want to read it, but perhaps that’s because I’m not an Amway salesperson. Apparently, there are a lot since it’s the 14th-ranked blog in all of cyberspace. Whoda’ thunk it?

There’s this other one called salesroundup.com. I’m not sure why this is a blog and why it’s #35 in the world, since it’s not a blog, but a podcast. Isn’t there a difference between a blog and a podcast? I’ll have to confer with our social media guy so that he can teach me the difference between a blog and a podcast. Assuming there is a difference. I’m pretty sure there is.

OK, I’m done being Andy Rooney.

The Point is Learning

So where do I go now? I guess it depends on what your “goal” is in reading a blog. My goal is generally to learn something I didn’t know before. That’s why we do our blogs the way we do. We don’t communicate the latest silver bullet. We don’t post fancy titles (“End Cold Calling as You Know It” or “The Two Words That Will Change Your Life Forever.”) We try to impart knowledge and experience from 20+ years in the trenches. Perhaps that’s why we’re not ranked in blogrank?

Anyhow, back to my point. If my goal is to learn something I didn’t know before, then I typically go to those that have the track record to back up their advice. In other words, they walk the walk. This generally leads me away from the pimply faced 22 year old right out of college and toward nationally renowned centers of influence.

So where do I typically end up?

Here – http://www.salesandmarketing.com/
Or here – http://www.sellingpower.com/homepage/
Or here – http://www.entrepreneur.com/entrepreneurmagazine/2011/12
Or here – http://www.score.org/
Or my favorite – http://hbr.org/

So that’s my list. I’m not sure if it’s a “good” list or the “right” list but it is my list, so take it for what it’s worth.

What about you, what do you look for in a sales blog? What is your favorites list?

Brian

Sales are down! It must be the marketing department’s fault. No? Can I blame the down economy? Not that either, huh? Well, I better get back to work then.

Ever notice the best sales professionals don’t need ideal conditions to perform at the highest level? Give them a phone and a chance and they’ll succeed. When you break it down, being a successful sales professional takes nothing more than determination and unwillingness to fail. There are no excuses; there are only results.

So, what happens when you find yourself in a situation where conditions are not perfect? You have no administrator pre-screening your calls or scheduling your appointments. Your office space resembles more of a college frat room than an ivory tower corner office. There are no billboards of your company posted on the highways, and there are no radio spots. It’s just you, your call sheet, and stale lukewarm coffee.

In today’s downsized, wear-multiple-hats society, most of us are asked to do more with less. This means that our marketing budget, if we even ever had one, is now small to nil. We still need prospects to find us and consider purchasing from us. So what do we do?

Here are 5 ideas for marketing your business when you don’t have any support:

1. Utilize what social media has to offer
2. Create advocates and referral partners
3. ABM – Always Be Marketing
4. Automate processes whenever possible
5. Create content that’s stored online

Utilize what social media has to offer

Social media can be a wonderful outlet to connect with other business professionals. When you communicate online, you’re marketing yourself and your business. The more effective you are, the better your results will be. Over time, you have the opportunity to develop a large network of “brand ambassadors” that share your content or information with their networks.

Create advocates and referral partners

Whether you develop your advocates online or in person, having others who are willing to proactively tout your business is the goal of any successful organization. Having an army of referral partners who regularly introduce you to targeted prospects can replace even the most expensive marketing campaign. This requires treating each customer or client like they are the most important one to you.

ABM – Always Be Marketing

You may be at a networking opportunity or a professional sporting event. Regardless, when the opportunity arises, share your passion with those around you. Passion is infectious and resonates with other passionate people. Look to have conversations with people that are as serious and excited about their business as you are. There’s no time sheet to fill out when it comes to your marketing efforts. Like 7-11, you’re always open for business.

Automate processes whenever possible

Busy, successful professionals automate things like emails, so that whenever someone signs up for their newsletter or asks a question, there is an automated email response ready. It allows you to spend the bulk of your time on income-producing activities and in essence creates a virtual administrator. Your ability to market your business could be heavily automated if you understand the sales funnel process – moving serious prospects along without having to be there.

Create content that’s stored online

Creating content like blogs, white papers, newsletters, podcasts, webinars, and the like, is the backbone of today’s marketing efforts. When you create awesome content, your network shares it. If enough people deem it worthy of sharing, your content can go viral. In layman’s terms, send out your content once and watch it spread like wildfire. Housing this content on your website and other portals that you maintain gives people a chance to find you on their own through search and recommendations.

There are many more things we can do as professionals to market our business without having much, if any, support. What are some other suggestions you can provide for us? Feel free to link any content you’ve created that supports this topic.

David

Motivation can be defined as the drive (or force) by which people achieve their goals.

There are two types of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is a driver that comes from within myself. An example of this is that I like selling. To me it’s a sporting event. I love it in and of itself. Even if I didn’t need to make money, I’d still be involved in sales in some capacity. I love learning new things, meeting new people and solving problems. The love of sales comes from “within” me.

Extrinsic motivation is a driver or influencer from the outside world. A classic example of an extrinsic motivation is a compensation plan. A properly crafted compensation plan provides an incentive for me to help my company accomplish its goals and help me accomplish mine.

Another example might be my family. I want good things for them; the best sports coaching, nice home with land to roam free and discover, and of course money for college. So my extrinsic motivators for making a living can be attributed to my family desires.

To uncover your sources of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, simply ask yourself some questions:

Intrinsic motivator questions:

• Where does my passion lie?
• What do I love doing? Why?
• What makes me feel accomplished or successful? Why?
• What brings me joy?

Extrinsic motivator questions:

• What is it the company/person wants of me? Why?
• How can I align my extrinsic motivators with my intrinsic motivators for the perfect “one-two punch?”

We are all motivated by different things and in different ways. That’s what makes motivation such a tricky thing. To motivate myself properly, I need to know myself well – my likes and dislikes, what fulfills me and gives me that sense of accomplishment.

To motivate others we need to really know them, and realize that each person has his or her own uniqueness and individuality.

I’ve found though that my best motivator outside of my family is my faith. I want to live by those principles that God wants shown to the world. If everything I do is motivated by what God wants of me – and through me – then I cannot go wrong.

Will I make mistakes? Of course I will. I am human and flawed. But overall, if my path is right and my guide is my God, ultimately I will win.

How about you? What are your sources of motivation?

Brian

I am a sales professional. What is my day like?

Well, I wake up, and…

I immediately begin thinking about my 8 a.m. customer conference call, my 10 a.m. prospect appointment, my 3 p.m. customer appointment, the 15 prospects I need to call in order to set at least two appointments for next week, the three referrals from yesterday that I must follow up on, the customer proposal and two prospect proposals I need to send, the two quotes I have to follow up on, how my most recent new client’s conversion is coming along and … do I even have time for breakfast?

At the Office

I get to the office at 7 a.m. in order to properly prepare for my day. My manager is already in the office, and she asks me about a recent customer issue, what my forecast for the month looks like, and if I have followed up on – and the outcome of – two recent reactive leads. I answer all those questions and hurry to prepare for my day. I finish in just enough time to be ready for my 8 a.m. conference call.

In the Field

After my call, I head out into the field. During my day of field and phone calls, I receive numerous emails and phone calls from customers or colleagues in customer service with issues and obstacles that need to be resolved. (Of course, every issue is urgent!) I handle the situations that must be handled immediately, while making sure I maintain control of my planned day. My goal is always to be making sales calls during sales hours. I finish my day’s calls as I had committed to do, all while handling the unplanned issues that arose. It is 5 pm.

Did I have time for lunch? I hope so.

Back to the Office

I head back to the office to put together a new quote for my prospect meeting, and send an email asking about an issue my 8 a.m. customer brought to my attention. In addition, while the information is fresh in my head, I need to spend some time recording my notes from the day, including new contacts, new quotes, issues, obstacles, and next steps.

I am done for the day. I head home, have dinner, spend time with my family, and go to bed. Tomorrow, I will do it all again.

Sales professionals must be able to plan and react. They must be detailed but efficient. They must be able to prioritize while being empathetic.

But most of all, they must figure out a way to get it all done!

Welcome to a day in the life of a sales professional.

Dan