HOPE  a bit passé yet where would we be if we did not have hope that things would be better, richer, fuller, more productive. 2009 and 2010 have been difficult for some.  Many who did not experience the negative effects are more cautious even wary.  Hope is coupled with OPTIMISM that 2011 will be a brighter year.  Our viability is linked to the economy.  Wanting a brighter year for ourselves is tied to a better year for all.

FAITH  defined as a strong or unshakeable belief in something.  It is imperative for our success that we have faith in our skills/abilities, product or service and company.  If you waiver in any of these areas it is time to give serious thought to what you are doing.  An unshakeable belief will carry us through the tough times and motivate us to do even more during the good times.

EXCEEDING  as professionals who sell we are unique in several aspects.  One is that we are not satisfied with the status quo or average performance.  We reach for the next rung. Competition is our middle name.  Goals are meant to be surpassed.  Yes, we are always working to exceed.

CREATIVITY is essential.  We must find ways to get a prospect’s attention, to craft a proposal to win the bid, to stand out from our competitors.  Seeing the situation through a different lens is helpful and many times lands the business.

GRATITUDE we win some and we lose some either way, we work hard yet we are doing what we love.  Knowing our product or service makes a difference in an organization is rewarding and earns our living.  I am grateful that I get to do what I do.

As I look to 2011, I know it will be an even better year.  I hope the same for you.

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Brian Tracy (author of over 45 books including the Power of Achievement) wrote a post titled “Listening Builds Self-Esteem”.  He pointed out that listening builds the customer’s self esteem.  Tracy quotes that:

“Rapt attention is the highest form of flattery”.

Get where this is going?  We hear it often yet how many of us truly practice listening to our prospects and clients?  Or if we are listening are we also mentally forming our reply even before they have finished their sentence?

It irks me when sales professionals are referred to as good talkers.  Or, and I have heard this more than once “s/he would be great in sales because they are so talkative”.  Sadly, many in our profession are still not listening enough to really hear.  The 80/20 rule comes into play.

Listen 80% of the time and talk or respond 20%.

There is also the adage of 2 ears – 1 mouth, use them in that proportion.

Whichever one we connect with – we need to apply to our interactions with prospects, clients and others in our lives.

As Tracy points out, when you listen intently to someone and they get the feeling you genuinely care about what they are saying, their feeling of personal value increases.

Wow, isn’t that a great way to build a relationship?

The other person feels good about themselves and that you care about their situation.  On top of that, you are truly hearing them so you have a clear understanding of what they are telling you.

It has been my experience that when I focus and listen to someone they will tell me all sorts of things.  Some may not be pertinent to the situation but often there are nuggets that help me to gain understanding of their situation.  Since I am in listening mode I can ask questions to gain clarity and a deeper understanding.  All the while the prospect or client is feeling good about themselves and some of that rubs off on me.

We have a relationship that is not just sales focused.

We are learning about each other as the conversation continues.  This rapport carries over to future contacts.  When I phone them the likelihood of taking my call is greater.

I hope you see how this translates to other relationships as well.  Apply the 80/20 rule to interactions with your significant other.  It builds their self esteem and they feel you genuinely care about them – what will be the impact on your relationship?

How about your boss?

Your kids?

Tracy ended his post with these action exercises:

• First, take every opportunity to make the other person feel important by listening attentively to what he or she says.
• Second, avoid interrupting the other person by slowing down and pausing for a few moments after he or she has stopped speaking.

The upside far outweighs the downside.  It takes practice and patience.  Good luck and happy listening!

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Did you achieve your goals for the year?
Take each one and reflect on how you did.
If successful should you take it up a notch for 2011?
If you didn’t reach it – why not and what should you differently?
Is the goal valid and should it be on your list?

Have you done the 80/20 exercise to identify your most rewarding clients?  If not read this post.

How will you handle the clients in the 80% category?
Are there any clients you need to fire?
What will you do to encourage and reward the clients in the top 20%
What is your plan to build the top 20% category and add more clients to it?

What did you do for personal and professional development in 2010?

Was it enough to keep you at the top of your game?
What is your plan to continue the growth in 2011?

What did you do to “give back” this year?

Did you share the wealth through financial contributions?
Did you support others by sharing your knowledge and/or time?
What did you do to nurture personal relationships?
Did you balance work and personal so your loved ones flourished?
Where you a valuable and supportive team member?
Did you coach, mentor and encourage your direct reports?
Was there time and focus to enjoy friendships?

Now that you have reflected on 2010 take these questions and look to 2011 – how will you address each to make the next year even better than this one?

What is your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for 2011?

What will you add or modify as you reflect and plan for success in the year to come?

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Today we will use it to uncover how to use your time and resources effectively.  You will need a client list with year to date sales totals.  If you feel this year does not reflect true sales figures (due the challenging economy) then gather 2009 sales totals as well.  I suggest separate totals for each year.

First step – without looking at the dollar figures go down the list and make a note by each client as to how much time and energy you have put into the account this year.  Take into consideration the time and energy of others in your company who have also supported the clients.

There are several ways you can tally this:

• An easy way is to do the A,B,C designation.  A is for those clients who have required the most time and C for those who coast by without much interaction.  Once you have the A’s and B’s designated go through this short list and do the process again leaving off the original C’s in the second pass.
• You can also estimate the time per month or quarter you spend with each client.  Take into consideration the ebb and flow of their business may increase their needs at certain times.
• Another method is to number each client according to the amount of attention they require.  #1 is for the client who takes most of your time and on down to the clients who are self sufficient.

You will most likely find that approximately 20% of your client’s are taking 80% of your attention.  The percentage may vary but the concept stands.  There is a short list of accounts that are taking more time and energy from you and other staff members.

Next step is to sort the total client list by sales volume.  Hopefully technology will make this easy to do.  Again the 80/20 rule will come into play – 80% of your sales are coming from 20% of your clients.  It might be 75/25 or a variation but you get the picture.  There is a short list of clients producing the bulk of your sales.

Now comes the eye opening step.  Working with the short lists, compare the time and energy expended to the total sales.

If a client appears on both short lists – your efforts are justified.

Clients who are on the short list for sales volume but not on the time/energy list – these are the peaches.  You want more of them.

The accounts on the short list for time/energy but not on the short list for sales – these need further evaluation.  For this group you might want to have a discussion with your sales manager or someone who is objective.  Can you control their neediness?  Can you boost their sales?  Are they contributing enough to your bottom line to justify keeping them as a client?

This is a great exercise to do in December so you can start 2011 with a clear understanding of who your most valuable clients are.

How do you evaluate who your most valuable clients are?



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What now?

Do I wallow in despair?
Allow negative thoughts to take over?
Bad mouth the decision maker or competitor?

No, I will write a thank you note to the decision maker today, express my appreciation for their consideration and wish them well.

This simple act is more for me than for them.  It will help me to get closure so I can move on.  I also feel strongly about not burning bridges.  Whatever the outcome I prefer to leave the relationship on a good note.  Life is full of surprises and you never know when you will reconnect with someone.

Another part of closure is to do a review, step by step of the process.  This post activity evaluation will help me to see the process more clearly and to reflect on how I could have handled it differently.  I’ll review:

• Communications
• Proposals
• Conversations
• The solution proposed
• Presentation

Once I’ve reflected on these elements of the process I’ll be able to see more clearly where I might have adjusted my approach, if my solution was on target and how effective my communications were.  I’ll incorporate any changes that will improve my odds in the future and move on to the next possibility.

Better prepared and ready to apply everything I’ve learned so I will be the winner – #1.

This process of review and applying what I learn will make me a better sales professional.  I move past the negative aspects and use the situation to improve.

I’ve observed others who dwell on the loss and stew about the rejection.  It can be a step in the downward spiral that often ends a sales professional’s career.

How do you handle the loss of a sale?

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Yet, what about the person who helped to make it happen? The contact / DM who supported our solution and often helped to land the business.

Or consider the prospect who has yet to become a client.

Have you ever considered making the relationship a bit more personal? Professionally, of course.
There is a give and take in sales. Today I want to focus on the give. This goes beyond product info, solution oriented communications or tchotchkes.

Add value fits but let’s take it a step further and personalize the offering. Thinking of the individual and their interests or position, find an article or small item that would mean something to them. Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking;

• An article, white paper or report from an industry publication
• A small item – mug, paperweight, book that has a statement with meaning for the intended
• A snack or treat, small box of chocolates, box of tea, nuts or munchies

I am not referring to a mass produced item that you give to all your clients or prospects. This is about giving something unique for the individual that shows you have listened or gleaned something about them as a person.

Recently I came across a whitepaper focused to a specific industry written by a major player. It was not broadcast to the masses but available to a small group. I shared the paper with a few individuals who I knew would find it interesting both for content and the marketing focus.

I am a tea drinker and it is usually green tea since it is a healthy choice. A prospect also likes tea but not green tea which they found to be too “earthy”. I just sent them a collection of my favorite green teas that I personally selected to be more flavorful rather than earthy.

Get the idea?  Think of the client or prospect as an individual not a name on a list.

This is the time of the year when we think about giving. If your company showers clients with a mass produced item – enjoy the opportunity to give. Then consider the individual and what you can do on a more personal level. First quarter 2011 may be a great time to connect again with the thoughtful item you found for them.

How do you acknowledge your clients or prospects?

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Number of calls to make
Prospects to see
Ratio of calls to close
Quotas
Commissions
Proposals/price quotes
On and on

Some sales reps keep very accurate numbers, there are CRM systems with excellent reporting capabilities that provide numbers (when the data is entered) and there are sales managers who hound us with our stats.

And then there are those who haven’t a clue…

Something I have experienced that isn’t written about is that numbers create momentum.  The impact is not always direct but balances out in the long run.

When I make my calls, send emails and connect with prospects/clients business blooms.  I may not see results from the actual contacts I made that day – the deal(s) that move forward are often unrelated.

Then there are the days (or longer) when I am unorganized, not focused and full of excuses.  This is when I talk myself out of doing all the calls I need to make, slack off on communications and spend my time doing things that may keep me busy but are not productive.  I’m not certain if business falls off during these times because I am not connecting or because I am not focused and miss opportunities.

I do know that Activity Breeds Activity – it may take awhile to get the momentum going but experience has proven that doing the right things produces results beyond numbers on a sheet.

Activity builds relationships
Activity keeps us focused
Activity encourages the use of skills and experience
Activity uncovers information
Activity identifies prospects and those who need to be eliminated
Activity is how we turn prospects into clients
Activity is how we close deals

This is substantiated by the success new sales reps often experience.  We know it is not due to their knowledge or skill.  It is enthusiasm and abundant activity that generates business.  As they mature in their position they can fall into bad habits and business falls off.

Today’s take away is: numbers are important.  Whether you track them or not, produce them and they will reward you.

Now, go make that call and another and another…

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Scary isn’t it.  Here we are honing our skills, learning more about our product or service, as well as industry and there must be hordes of sales reps (cannot use the term professional here) who are “winging it” and perpetuating the image of schlocky sales representatives.

Here are a few other shocking stats the survey revealed:

• Salespeople who know nothing about the customer’s business.    60%

• Salespeople who know little about their products and services.    60%

• Salespeople who are not properly or sufficiently organized.  55%

Discouraging as these numbers are we can turn them around and use them in our favor.  Over half of our competition are incompetent and have little regard for prospects and clients.  Our odds for success are greatly increased just by staying in communication and doing our job.

Here are 5 steps to increase your sales success:

1. Schedule and keep all appointments (hard to believe this needs to be on the list)
2. Know your product or service -  inside out
3. Learn about your client’s organization, industry and business goals
4. Be organized and prepared (goes along with #1)
5. Ask for the order (closing sales – that’s how we get paid!)

Jonathan’s post gives us insight into customer’s perceptions which tell us that the basics are not important to all sales reps.  Elementary as they seem these simple steps will lead the way to success.

What sales tips can you share to help improve our sales performance?

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How do we manage to stay in touch, continue to build a relationship and move each prospect forward?

Mini campaigns will help you maintain contact and use your time effectively.

Your clients and prospects can be separated into categories by industry, need or interest. There are many possibilities and unique ways to identify the groupings. This step will help you to focus communications and make them pertinent to each category or group.

Another consideration is how often each client or prospect needs to be “touched”. There are times I’ll connect with a client each week, some a couple times a month, others monthly and then there are those who may only need contact quarterly.

Now you have unique groupings and frequency of contact. Next is to create the marketing pieces. These will be voice mail messages and emails. You can add mailings if your company supports this means of communication and your clients and prospects are inclined to paper communications.

Since you will be using the same communications to multiple contacts it is worth taking the time to really craft the messages. For help with these consult the Sales Tool Kit or read the posts on email and voice mail messages. Prepare several voice mail and email messages, each one should have a purpose and add value.

It is helpful to have a theme for the campaigns whether introducing yourself, your company and product or service, industry information or similar situation stories. The categories and groupings will help you determine the theme. Scour blogs, e-newsletters and white papers for items that would be of interest to your contacts.

A campaign will alternate voice mail and emails messages and include items that can be attached or linked to. The messages should reflect your personality, be concise and be interesting to the reader.

Once you have a few campaigns created you won’t be scrambling to find the right words or something to hold the interest of your prospect every time you initiate a contact. A few hours work and you have months of communications created.

An added benefit is how the variations in communication will help you to determine which your prospect prefers. Some never respond to a voice mail but will reply to an email yet others ignore my email yet will pick up the phone and call me.

How do you manage to stay in touch as your pipeline grows?

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What valuable information did I gather?
What did I learn about my prospect / client?
What behavioral style did I observe?
What went well?
What could I have done better or differently?
How can I incorporate what I learned into my next contact?

What valuable information did I gather?
One of our goals is to gather info from our prospects and clients so we can determine if there is a fit for our product or service. What good does it do to connect with them and then not make note of the information they shared? It is not uncommon for me to remember facts I didn’t pick up on during the conversation when I do my review. This question is critical, record all the details in your CRM system so you can use the info to prepare for your next contact with the prospect / client.

What did I learn about my prospect / client?
If relationships are important to you this questions is essential. Not only do we gather info on the client and organization’s needs, expectations and challenges we also are learning about the person who is our prospect or client. A child’s birthday party, soccer game, family vacation even a medical issue all reveal bits of the human being we are communicating with. Over time these details will enable you to see a picture of this person unfold. This question helps to take the connection from a conversation to a relationship.

What behavioral style did I observe?
If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you know I am a believer in understanding the style a prospect or client exhibits. Even if you determined your contact is a High I – Interactive – take time to ponder if their style was consistent in this last encounter. Behavioral style can change due to circumstances – observe if they are under stress or relaxed. You may be able to peg a change in style more quickly in future meetings and be able to adjust on the fly.

What went well?
Ever leave a client meeting with a warm glow? Obviously things went well. How can you recreate the experience if you don’t evaluate what transpired to create the feeling? Enjoy the glow, as you do your mental playback pin down what made it happen. Also reflect on the prospect / client, did you detect that they felt the same way? If you did not pick up their positive vibes then you need to dig deep to see why it was one sided.

What could I have done better or differently?
Whether the call, meeting or presentation went well or poorly there is always something we could have done that would have made it even better. If things did not go as you hoped you will need to spend more time on this question. It is imperative to dissect the encounter and narrow down what worked and what did not or the ineffective elements will continue to cause you problems. As you ponder this question consider what you might do differently in the future.

How can I incorporate what I learned into my next contact?
Even when calls go well we can improve our communications to make them even better. This question covers all of our review. It will include building the relationship and enhancing our sales skills to make the next call, meeting or presentation even more powerful and effective. During this part of the review consider new skills and methods you’ve learned or observed in others – how could you incorporate them into your process/communications? Learning doesn’t do any good if we don’t implement it.

There you have it, 5 Whats and a How. Refine the questions to fit you – make them yours. Most importantly use them!

What questions do you ask yourself in your call review?

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