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It’s been 20 years since Neil Rackham published his 1988 book, SPIN Selling. For those of you who are too young to remember when this book was a business best seller, I can tell you that it turned a lot of traditional sales training concepts upside down. To a great extent it set in motion some major changes in how we currently view the customer/salesperson interaction.

1950’s style sales training wasn’t very pretty, nor was it very effective. Neil started a trend with his book that made us challenge those outdated views of the sales process. He also made us look more objectively at how sales professionals are trained and how we interact with prospects and customers.

Let’s review what made this book so noteworthy in relation to sales skills and concepts.

1. The author took time to research his material. Prior to the writing of this book (and even today) much of what passed for sales training was just the writer’s personal experiences and biases. Neil used a scientifically crafted approach to prove his points. This is a trend that fortunately is becoming more prominent in sales training today.
2. Neil broke the sales process down into four basic steps which you’ll find in most current sales training. Prior to his book these steps were not so clearly defined and understood.
3. He introduced ideas that were probably thought to be sinful to even consider in sales training circles 20 years ago. Things like: first impressions are greatly overrated, using scripts is a great way to destroy the sales process, questions are everything when it comes to selling, etc.

While I certainly don’t agree with all of the content in SPIN Selling, I have to applaud the author for researching his subject so well and not being afraid to be a contrarian. We need more Neil Rackhams in sales training.

While we don’t talk as much about this book today, many of its concepts have been integrated into current sales training. We shouldn’t forget the powerful contributions that were made by this book.

Should you read this book? It would be most helpful to those that are involved in consultative sales versus transactional sales, but I would encourage it as a classic sales training must-read, regardless of what type of sales environment you work in.

© 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

As salespeople we have to manage a million emails and files. We constantly need to find information on customers, products, proposals, presentations, etc. that is found in emails and files scattered throughout our computer.

It’s there somewhere, but we have no idea where to find it or when we created it.

There is an answer and it’s called Google Desktop. It’s free and provides search capabilities that will save you hours of wasted time trying to find information.

I’ve been using it for years and it definitely falls into the, “How did I manage without this?” category. People think I have magical powers of recall, but Google Desktop is doing all the work.

Once you download the program from Google Desktop it will index your emails and files and will instantly retrieve your documents and emails based on search terms. It works exactly like Google’s search engine except it’s searching on your files and emails.

Recently I needed to find a customer presentation from an event that occurred in 2005. I had no idea where to look. Was it attached to an old email somewhere? Was it in an old Word document stored in some folder? I just typed in “presentation, Chicago, 2005″ and it brought up the email with the attached Word document I was looking for in about one second.

In addition to finding emails and documents it will also help you find web pages you’ve viewed and it will even help you retrieve deleted files that you accidentally deleted but now need.

Microsoft’s latest version of Windows (Vista) has this feature built in, but Google beat them to the punch and has a product that is better suited to sales professionals and their needs in my opinion.

Get it on your computer and let me know what you think.

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

Chris R. of Lincoln, Nebraska submitted the following question, “Scott, I’d be interested to hear your take on leveraging social networking to develop prospects and clients.”

What a great and timely question. I’ve noticed recently that many sales professionals are not aware of how much things are changing when it comes to networking for business opportunities. I’m going to provide just an introduction to this important topic.

We’re all familiar with what I call “Legacy Networking.” This consists of schmoozing at your local chambers of commerce, leads groups and professional organizations. These forums work well, but there are new and potentially more effective ways to prospect using, you guessed it, the Internet.

MySpace.com and Facebook.com are the two giants in social networking on the Internet. These sites allow users to store all kinds of information about themselves and share this with others with similar interests. The only problem is that these sites have a social focus and not a business focus. They are trying to have more appeal to business professionals but still need further development in this area.

LinkedIn.com, Plaxo.com and Ryze.com are three social networking sites that are oriented toward business professionals. These sites can be a source for finding information about prospects. However, none of them are specifically designed to aid sales professionals.

Jigsaw.com is a social networking website that is specifically made for sales professionals looking for leads. It works like a leads group but with a lot more horsepower. You build up credits by submitting information which in turn gives you access to information. Because it’s web based the only geographical limit is the planet.

This site is an outstanding tool for those of us in sales and I would encourage everyone to take a look. The larger your geographic sales territory the more you could benefit from a site like Jigsaw.com.

We are in the early stages of social networking sites that are geared toward businesspeople. We are in even earlier stages when it comes to social networking sites that are specific to sales professionals. This is a trend that will continue and is going to provide tools that will ultimately change how we share information about prospects.

Thanks for your question, Chris.

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

Have customers changed much in the last 15 years? The answer is a mega-yes. If you were selling prior to 1993 you have seen a big change in how customers buy. Suprisingly, many sales representatives sell the same way today as they did 15+ years ago.

What has changed?

1. Customers are much more knowledgeable about the products and services they are buying.
2. When it comes to sourcing products and services there are many more options.
3. Customers expect immediate, if not instant, delivery of products and services.

What’s so magical about 1993?

Customers started to change how they view their vendors shortly after 1993 because the common availability of the Internet created an entirely new, and better, information source for them. Since that time our customers have access to information about suppliers, products, services and pricing that would have been the stuff of our worst nightmares for those that remember selling prior to the Internet.

The Internet has totally changed how we sell because customers do have access to any and all information about our products, services, pricing, availability and competitors. The game has changed.

1. Because the Internet can make all vendors look the same to buyers, we must be careful to differentiate our company from our competitors.
2. People are social animals and like dealing with people. The Internet cannot replace you. We have to showcase our personal value (or personal capital) to our customers.
3. We must be better educated about our products and services. If we know little more than what is easily found on the Internet our customers will not be wowed.
4. With the easy availability of overnight shipping and super efficient e-commerce web sites for placing orders, our customers have become accustomed to very fast order processing. We have to compete against that standard in our direct sales efforts.
5. We can create a hybrid sales environment with our customers by encouraging them to use our company’s web site for ordering the smaller and simpler orders. [Of course, if your company doesn't pay you commission on these sales you'll probably have another view of this.]

Keep in mind that you can also use the Internet for selling. Never has it been easier to get information about prospects and competitors. Fight fire with fire.

Now, more than ever, we need to be sure to sell the value we bring the customer beyond just the products and services we sell. If we don’t, we’re nothing more than order processors and most e-commerce web sites do a pretty good job of that already.

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

Summary: We have to bring value to our customers or we simply become order takers. Order takers are easily replaced.

There are two basic types of value that you bring to your customers.

The company you work for has capabilities and strengths beyond just the products or services sold. The customer recognizes these as added value. The verbal or written expression of these values is called a value proposition. Hopefully your employer has taken the time to provide you with some carefully researched value propositions (which are basically just feature-benefit statements) that you can use with your customers and prospects.

You don’t want to use value propositions verbatim; you only need to have the basic concepts in your arsenal to use when appropriate. The best time to use them is when you are providing information to the customer or prospect in response to their expressed needs. Value propositions are for responding to the customer; they aren’t intended to be verbal sales brochures that you throw around.

The other type of value that you bring to your customers is what I call your personal value. This type of value is more important than the value your company adds. Your customers recognize the value that you, their sales representative, bring to the table because you know the following things about them: who/when/how to contact decision makers, their buying cycles, how they want things packaged and shipped - and where, how their purchase order process works, how they like to be invoiced, their policy on product/service substitutions, special packing requirements, budget limitations, etc.

Your ability to help them in these areas makes you a valued partner with your customers. These are things that allow you to charge a higher price than your competitors because you’re doing more than dumping products and services on their doorstep.

Without establishing your company’s value to the customer, and more importantly your personal value, you are really nothing more than an order processor who has to sell on price and availability. That can be limiting.

The best time to demonstrate value is during the prospecting stage of your sales cycle. This goes a long way in preventing many objections and helps you justify your pricing before it becomes an issue.

Of the two types of value that you bring to your customers, please know that your personal value is the most important. I am surprised at how many salespeople don’t realize how important this is to their selling success. Make sure you leverage personal value with your customers. At the end of the day it’s why your customers buy from you.

Are you aware of the value you bring to your customers? Have you stopped to think of all the things you personally do to partner with them?

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

Summary: We need to use the correct terminology when we are talking to sales management about companies in our sales funnel.

Hardly a day goes by without my overhearing someone use the wrong terminology regarding the status of a company in their sales funnel. It really does drive me crazy. Why? It makes them look unprofessional and makes it difficult for everyone to have a clear picture of their funnel activity, including their sales manager.

There are really only five categories of companies (not “customers”) that you deal with on a daily basis.

Name. This is simply, and literally, the name of a company that you need to look into in order to determine if they should move to the next level. If they don’t meet the basic definition of your company’s business target, then throw them out and move on. An example would be any of the names on a list of leads.

Suspect. This is a company that you have most likely not contacted, but have determined that they meet the basic guidelines of your company’s target market. They are worthy of more research. A customer referral could be an example here.

Prospect. A prospect is a company that you have personally contacted and have verified the information you have about them. They definitely fit in your company’s sweet-spot for business development.

Qualified Prospect. This is a prospect that you have communicated with directly and on more than one occasion. The information you gleaned answered all of the following questions in a way that tells you that there is a high probability of converting them into a customer: Do you have access to the decision maker(s)? Is there a good fit for your products/services? Do they have the budget? Are you coming in at the right time in their buying process? Does competitor presence verify the quality of this prospect, yet not preclude further inroads?

Customer. If they have bought goods or services from you in the not too distant past and paid for them, they are a customer, then and only then.

Are you using the right terminology in your office and with your sales manager? By doing so you can improve the accuracy of information you are sharing, as well as looking like the true sales professional you are.

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

Summary: Even though Microsoft’s PowerPoint presentation software controls the majority of the market, there are other products to consider.

Just like most areas where Microsoft competes, they dominate in presentation software with 90% of the market, so competition is fragmented. Below I’ve listed some of the better known product alternatives and an enhancement to PowerPoint. Please keep in mind that poor presentation skills won’t be remedied with different presentation software tools (see my other posts on using PowerPoint).

1. Ovation by Adobe is a $99 enhancement to PowerPoint. I tried this product and found that it can provide some animation beyond what is available in PowerPoint. The real standout feature is the ability to include moving backgrounds. For the most part it doesn’t really provide animation that is significantly sexier than what is possible with PowerPoint. At $99 the investment is not that substantial however.
2. Google has just rolled out a competitor to PowerPoint called Google Presentation. This is available for free and if you know Google you know that they will limit features to achieve ease of operation and that is exactly what they have done here (i.e., no sound, video or animation capabilities). This is a very easy tool to use with the strongest feature being the ease in which you can share and store presentations on the Internet. Google is not really trying to play nice with Microsoft when it comes to this product; you can import PowerPoint presentations but you can’t export from Google Presentation in PowerPoint format. This will become a problem if you need to share presentations and the recipient isn’t in the Google fold. This one is worth trying because it’s free and you’ll never have to worry about upgrading software again because it’s all online.
3. If you have an Apple computer you know that they make a competitor to PowerPoint called Keynote. This product is only $79 and has Apple’s customary outstanding graphic capabilities. There are features on Keynote that will probably show up on PowerPoint someday. The only big negative is that the audience for this product is limited to those with Apple computers.

4. If you hate Microsoft, love PowerPoint and don’t want to spend any money, then you need to go to openoffice.org and download their free competitor to PowerPoint that has essentially the same look and feel of the older versions of PowerPoint. This product is an Open Source project that is contributed to by Sun and a host of volunteer coders.

You can opt for different presentation software, but at the end of the day please remember that it is the presenter that will have the greatest impact on any presentation, regardless of the software used.

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

Summary: There is a quiet revolution going on in corporate America. People are beginning to protest against Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

I think it’s safe to say that most people think of PowerPoint as the presentation instead of just a tool to help them give a presentation. Are the really dull presentations a result of PowerPoint or is it the person using PowerPoint? It’s both, but the majority of the problem is usually with the presenter. PowerPoint lets you get lazy with presenting because you can simply read your presentation from the screen. As a result, a cycle of declining speaking skills and increasing audience annoyance ensues.

Below are some ideas for using PowerPoint (or any presentation software for that matter) more effectively:

The latest trend is to use little or no text whatsoever on PowerPoint presentations. By using graphics that match the speaker’s content, very limited (or no) text and good presentation skills by the presenter, it is possible to put together a great presentation. Warning: this technique requires more preparation than using a PowerPoint laden with text.

How about taking a course on presenting in order to sharpen your presentation skills? Relying on your PowerPoint presentation to be your presentation never works. We’ve all seen great presenters give outstanding presentations with really bad PowerPoints. If the presenter is a terrible speaker, the best PowerPoint in the business won’t pull things out of the fire. Get to the root cause and quit blaming PowerPoint for all your problems.

How about not using any presentation software whatsoever. What a radical idea! Flip charts, audience participation, speaker notes and role playing are wonderful and refreshing substitutes for PowerPoint, not to mention tried and true ones. Think of the best presenters you have ever seen. Did any of them use PowerPoint? This technique also requires more preparation by the speaker.

A good starting point for improving your PowerPoint presentations is to use better PowerPoint creation techniques. Let me get you started by listing some basic rules of thumb for crafting better PowerPoints.

Limit number of bullets to six per slide.
Cool it on the animation; less is more.
Lose all the fancy headers and footers.
Keep consistent and large font sizes and types.
Use no cartoon characters to depict people; only use photographs of people. Generally limit your use of all cartoon type graphics.

Audiences are tired of PowerPoint. But what they are really tired of is poor presenters. Creating a professional PowerPoint presentation and using good presentation skills are all under your control.

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

Twenty-five years ago I started my sales career. It is amazing that we were able to sell anything back then considering the limited technology. Think about what was not commonly available back then:

No PC’s or laptops
No spreadsheet or word processing software
No voice mail
No email
No Internet
No FAX
No cell phones
No overnight delivery
No CRM, SFA or ERP software tools

For the most part it would be virtually impossible for sales professionals to do their job today without most of the tools noted above. If we look ahead 25 years what changes can we anticipate? New technology will continue to be created at an increasing rate so we can expect some significant changes in available technology for sales professionals. For instance:

1. A salesperson in 2032 will carry a foldable tablet that will allow them to access information; it will also allow anyone they designate to easily access information they want to share. Unfolded it will be 8-1/2” X 11” and will fold up to wallet size. It will be operated by touch and verbal commands. If desired, a picture of the person they’re talking to will be available. It will run for weeks without needing any kind of power input. The salesperson will be able to create text by just speaking; no keyboard or mouse will be needed. Instead of printing, the salesperson will simply send data to other users’ tablets. Did I mention that these tablets will be about $100 or less in today’s dollars?

2. Personal assistant software will be how the busy salesperson will organize their day. This software will take its cues from the user’s foldable tablet and from additional voice input provided by them. It will take all of this information and ensure that the salesperson receives it in a way that best suits their style. It will learn their scheduling patterns and preferences and adapt accordingly. Through artificial intelligence the customer’s personal assistant will automatically contact the salesperson’s personal assistant if both personal assistants conclude that customer and salesperson need to be in contact. It will know all of the salesperson’s customers and prospects and ensure that they follow-up with them in a timely fashion.

3. Almost all of a salesperson’s contact with prospects and customers will be through technology. A three dimensional holograph of both salesperson and customer will be available in holographic meeting facilities. These facilities will be much like video conferencing facilities today. Product demonstrations can be easily accomplished through these facilities. Because of the increased use of technology for communication, sales territories or boundaries will disappear, a process that has already begun. The globe will be the territory for the salesperson selling in 2032. Foreign language skills will be quite valuable for sales professionals in the future.

Some of the technologies mentioned above are already available in elementary forms. Increasingly we know that sales organizations that leverage technology are more productive. It is important that sales management keep their eyes open for emerging technologies that could benefit their salesforce.

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

It seems like every company I come in contact with has salespeople that are concerned they are going to be replaced by the company’s ecommerce website. They reason that if a customer can order on the web then why would their employer need to keep them on the payroll? They are right about one thing, eliminating the sales department at a company would result in massive savings. Believe me; if a company could find a good substitute for their sales department they would most assuredly eliminate it. For that matter, if a company could eliminate any department they would do so. It’s all about the money. But, eliminating the sales department is not in the cards for the vast majority of companies. Some facts, historical and otherwise, to consider:

Many thought that Sears and Montgomery Ward (remember them?) with their paper catalogs would eliminate sales representatives and retail stores. Well, we see what happened with that prediction.

Remember in the 1990’s how the soothsayers predicted that the Internet would mean the end of universities, retail stores, “brick and mortar workplaces,” etc.? Didn’t happen.

Let’s not confuse a customer’s use of a company’s ecommerce website with buying on that website. Depending on the product, 20–80% of buyers go to a company’s website before buying to research their purchase. When they have finished gathering information they contact a sales representative to purchase.

A little secret about ecommerce websites is that most companies frequently charge their highest prices there. Not surprisingly, corporations like that part of ecommerce. While customers may go to a company’s website to research their purchase, they will then contact a salesperson to negotiate the price. Most customers don’t want to give up that ability.

Even the major league dotcom companies have sales representatives. I’m talking about Google, EBay, Yahoo and others. That should probably tell you more than anything else. These companies are the Internet and ecommerce.

Guess what? People really like being with people; we’re social animals. People like to buy from other people too. Always have and probably always will. Think of your company’s ecommerce website as an informational resource for your customers and as a job aid to you. It’s also a great place to send those small customers that you don’t want to fool with. Relax. You have nothing to fear.