Sales Blog with Professional Sales Tips

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I love sales and marketing but occasionally I run into companies that use sales skills and marketing techniques that are a little nauseating to me. I don’t want to name any companies but the one I’m thinking of uses pink Cadillacs to reward their sales superstars. But hang on lipstick lovers around the world - this story has a twist.

What bothers me?
I hate when they teach their salespeople when prospecting, “every ‘no’ means that we’re just that much closer to a ‘yes’!” Just hearing that kind of sales advice makes my skin crawl because it’s so superficial sounding.

“It’s a backwards kind of engineering…”

What is good about it?
As much as I hate to admit it, they are actually giving their sales representatives a good sales tip. In fact, they are giving them many sales tips rolled into one statement. If we imagine all the companies that will never buy from us and those that will buy from us in one big pile, isn’t it our job to both eliminate the non-prospects and identify the qualified prospects?

Some more thoughts.

• We tend to have a fear of “no’s” when prospecting. They represent the boogey man in the closet. Let’s think differently about “no’s” in the future.
• We can’t stop when we get a “no.” A “no” means a “no” from that prospect at that moment, and that’s all.
• When we get a “yes” we sometimes stop asking other questions for fear of getting a “no.” We need to keep asking product questions, decision maker questions, etc. from a “yes” prospect until we get the information we need.
• Setting a “no” minimum quota while prospecting can go a long way in removing the psychological fender bender we experience when we hear one. It’s a backwards kind of engineering, but enough “no’s” will generate your “yes’s.”

Even though this company’s sales help might sound corny, this respected organization is actually providing good sales tips on how to sell.

Related information: Sales Tips: What is Cycle Prospecting or Perpetual Prospecting?, Hierarchy of Prospects

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

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To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Have you ever thought about the balancing act sales managers must endure as they help develop our sales skills? Oh, I know, we frequently see him or her as a tyrant demanding that we meet unrealistic goals. However, think for a second about the chess game a good sales manager has to play in order to provide sales advice that we value.

“…give your sales manager a big hug.”

Close to Us
They must have a good relationship with us so that we listen to them and value the sales help they provide. While maintaining a good connection with us they must simultaneously not be a salesperson. We don’t want them running our accounts and upper management needs to see them as part of management, not as a sales representative.

Bootlicking Upper Management
While loving us they also must kowtow to upper management. A sales manager has to be close enough to upper management to get information but not be viewed as “one of them” by his or her sales team. Normally the valuable information gained from upper management is beneficial to the sales team and passed on as sales tips.

It’s not easy for a sales manager to keep the plates spinning and balanced. Every sales job has its notable challenges, especially the sales manager’s.

Now go give your sales manager a big hug.

Related links: Key Sales Advice: Your Sales Manager’s Password, Sales Manager and Sales Representative Working Together,Sales Tips to Keep Your Manager Happy

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

We’ve all seen families where the kids run the show. I’ve seen very few five-year-olds that even have a hint of what is required to successfully run a household. Finance, career, insurance, taxes, etc. - they’re clueless about these things. We can’t let kids run the house and we can’t let customers undermine our sales skills and run the sales show.

“…we can’t let customers…run the sales show…”

When it comes to the sales process itself this is the hierarchy of players.

#1 Sales Professional. That’s right. We come in number one. We are the bond between our customer and our employer. As a result, we must necessarily direct the sales process and provide sales help when and where needed. Who else is better positioned with the sales skills to fill this role, especially in larger transactions?
#2 Our Customer. Without the customer not much else happens does it? They are the ultimate source of our income. However, realize that the sales professional knows how to sell to a specific customer and can put together the following mix of ingredients: customer relationship management, competitive benchmarking, product recommendations/information, budgets and timing. How else would all these building blocks come together if an account manager wasn’t in control of things? The larger the sale the more critical this becomes.
#3 Our Employer. In the threesome of sales representative, customer and employer we see that the employer comes in last in the sales process. Is the employer important? Yes, but without a conductor standing in front of the employer (and customer) orchestrating all the ingredients noted above, there is no music.

This hierarchy is predicated upon one thing however, that the sales professional is really a sales professional. When our employer and customer have confidence in us, they want and need us to coach the team.

Related links: Capital, Sales Representatives and Business Development, For improved closing skills you need to drive for show and putt for dough., Sales Competency Categories: Are you competent or do you just think you are?

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

I was in a sales training class recently and sitting next to me was the Purchasing Director for a Fortune 1000 company. After a couple of days of polite conversations with him I finally had to ask, “What the heck are you doing in a sales skills seminar where we’re learning how to sell to people like you?” His answer got my attention. “My department is responsible for purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products and services from salespeople. We are constantly negotiating contracts, terms, etc. as part of this process. Doesn’t it make sense for my department to understand how salespeople sell? Every sales tip I learn here can be used to our advantage in purchasing.”

“What the heck are you doing in a sales skills seminar…?”

The lesson is obvious isn’t it? Doesn’t it make sense that we might benefit by learning more about how purchasing departments work? We could benefit by knowing how they view us, what they look for and generally how purchasers purchase.

In 600 BC Sun Tzu wrote in his well-known military strategy book The Art of War that “We must know our enemy.” While I don’t view Purchasing Managers and their kind to be enemies, they can certainly cause conflict in our attempts to sell. We might be smart to listen to Sun Tzu and turn his military advice into sales tips by getting trained on how to navigate our way through purchasing departments.

There is no shortage of places we might go to find this training. Click here for a resource list.

Related links: Tips for Sales: Don’t take this customer bait., Customer Negotiation 101

To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer