Sales Blog with Professional Sales Tips

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May I be blunt? Talking heads (also known as news reporters) absolutely love to report bad economic news. They even have a little expression that says, “If it bleeds it leads.” These talking heads can make a small downward business trend sound like a tsunami of catastrophic economic news. If we listen too much it can hurt our sales skills. Here’s a sales tip on how to avoid being their victim.

“…it does demonstrate the incredible latitude we have…”

Time for Some Mental Drano
Too many sales professionals have let these talking heads get to them lately. This is the worst time to be diving for cover. “Weathering the storm” is not a good sales strategy right now. It ultimately comes down to what is going on between our ears more than what we’re hearing with our ears. We need to clean out all the economic bad-news-media gunk accumulating in our heads that causes us to retreat. It’s time for some mental Drano to clear out our brain pipes and get us selling again.

Sales Tip from an Island
I know there are a million shoe salesman stories out there but this one hits right where some of us are living right now.

Two shoe salesmen go to an island where no one wears shoes. What follows are their reports to their sales manager.
Shoe Salesman #1: “There is no opportunity on this island. No one wears shoes.”
Shoe Salesman #2: “This island represents an unbelievable opportunity. Not a single person has shoes.”

Sales Tips to Take With Us
All right, I know we’re tired of shoe salesman stories and this one is simplistic. However, it does demonstrate the incredible latitude we have in interpreting our sales environment. I have some uncomplicated, but important, sales tips I want us to remember:

1. Talking heads exaggerate negative economic news.
2. Perceiving our sales environment in a positive way is one of the most important sales skills we have.
3. This is not the time to withdraw; now is the time to stay aggressive, see opportunities that others miss and keep our sales skills strong.

Further reading: Direct Sales Tips: What the media does to ruin your sales career.

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

Barack Obama and John McCain have a commanding presence. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be U.S. presidential candidates. Are they making all the key decisions regarding their campaign? In large sales, does one decision maker, operating alone, ultimately make the decision to buy from us?

“They aren’t seeking agreement because they are kind or democratic.”

Sales Tip: Fear Factor
Fact: There is rarely only one decision maker in a large sale. I know we’ve all been given sales tips about the ultimate decision maker. But there is a variable that keeps all the decision makers in play right up until that big order is finally placed. Fear.

Don’t Confuse This with a Democracy
The person in the corner office likes to know he or she is supported in their decision to make a substantial purchase. They aren’t seeking agreement because they are kind or democratic. They want concurrence because they share a common human emotion, fear. They are fearful of making a bad decision and wasting corporate resources. They have to answer to someone and it sounds better to be able to say, “We decided to…,” if things don’t work out so well in the end. They don’t like being fired any more than the next person. Those overpaid high visibility management positions aren’t easy to replace. Just ask Carolyn Kepcher.

How to Sell Big Orders
While there is an individual who has to give the final authorization for a large purchase, they work with their official or unofficial team of decision makers, recommenders and information gatherers right up until their pen hits our contract. We have to keep selling to that team until the order is in hand.

Further reading: Decision Makers, Vertical vs. Horizontal

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

I’ve observed something important over time about sales managers. I’ve seen that a sales manager is in a unique position to help us if we have a good relationship with them. The ways they can help us are frequently not readily apparent. Their position allows them to improve our sales skills and assist us in how to sell for our company.

“The ways they can help us are frequently not readily apparent.”

It doesn’t matter whether we think our sales manager is the best thing since cell phones or if we dislike them more than filling out call reports. They can provide real sales help if we’ve built a relationship with them. Here are some of the benefits this relationship provides:

• Territories are always being changed and/or being reassigned (once a year in many companies). The sales manager is the person who decides who gets assigned to specific territories. We all know that all territories are not created equal.

• Sales rep’s leave companies and frequently they’ll have some cherry accounts that need to be reassigned. Who do you think makes those assignments?

• They have the combination to the safe that holds the best sales leads. Do you think they give them out fairly? Of course not. They give them out to sales rep’s they like and think will best handle them.

• Who do you think is the primary influencer of budgets or quotas? There is nothing more loosey-goosey then setting sales budgets. They are very subjective. A good relationship with your sales manager will only help you here.

Sales managers are in a position to help us in many behind-the-scenes ways. The password to this sales help is relationship.

Related links: Sales Manager and Sales Representative, Working Together, Do you think your sales manager is competent?

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

There have been many studies researching the main reason that some sales reps are extremely successful and some are less so. Virtually all of the research comes to the same conclusion and it is surprising in its simplicity.

Sales managers want to know this predictor because it can help them hire the right people and provide focused sales tips in order to teach them how to sell. Sales reps want to know in order to improve their sales skills in an area that will have the biggest impact. This quest for the magic pill is one of the reasons that there’s a new sales blog around every corner.

“This predictor of success is not one that you have any control over…but in a way you do.”

What is it? Time in territory. That’s right, the longer a sales rep is in his or her territory the more likely he or she is to be successful. In the math world they call this a positive correlation. As the length of time increases, so does sales volume.

I think the implications for this are significant:

• If you’re a sales rep and thinking about changing jobs, remember that you’ll have to start the clock over again. Be careful about throwing away the time in territory that you’ve already earned with your current employer.
• Sales managers, do you have a long term sales rep that is not performing like you think they could? Then get out there and encourage and nurture them. You don’t want to lose his or her time in territory.
• Changing jobs frequently can hurt a sales rep’s career and a high sales rep turnover in a company can hurt an employer.

The bottom line sales tip is that hanging in there with our sales job or, if you’re a sales manager, hanging in there with a struggling long term sales rep might be the best thing you can do for your sales volume.

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

Every customer you have was once a prospect. Either you, or someone in your organization, had to initially get a decision maker’s attention. The following are some things I have learned about doing it simply and effectively.

What I’m talking about here is what is commonly called an Elevator Speech because it represents how much time you have to show the prospect your value when you first meet. An elevator ride is usually no longer than 30 seconds, which should be the maximum length of your Elevator Speech.

I first met many, if not most, of my best customers in the most unexpected places (car dealerships, weddings, drivers license office, etc.) where having a good Elevator Speech in my hip pocket paid off. It can also be used effectively in routine prospecting.

Decision makers have two things you want: attention and time. You’ve got about 30 seconds to get their attention. Here are the basics to start crafting the two different types of Elevator Speeches that you’ll need (you’ll use one of the two depending on the situation).

1. Someone asks you what you do for a living.

a. Introduce yourself if you haven’t already. b. State one or two key standout value propositions that you and your company provide to your industry. Please do not sound like you are reading from the Yellow Pages. Boring! I do not believe these value propositions necessarily have to be unique in your industry; they just need to be compelling. c. Tell them the bare bones basics about your company and its products/services. d. Ask for their Elevator Speech, which will help qualify them and provide you with their contact information (not to mention that it shows you have some interest in them, which never hurts).

2. You initiate the conversation. Basically this just represents some important changes to the sequence.

a. Introduce yourself. b. Ask for their Elevator Speech. You can optionally skip the next two steps if they are absolutely not a prospect for you. c. State one or two key standout value propositions. d. Tell them about your company.

This is one skill that requires a lot of practice. My wife used to make fun of me for practicing my Elevator Speech prior to going to a prospect rich event until she saw the positive results. I eventually even got her to play the role of the prospect when I was practicing.

© 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer