23Nov/112

Avoiding the Activity Trap

Many salespeople make the faulty assumption that activity leads to results. “As long as I’m doing something,” they argue, “results will come.”

This is a mistake. It's the best way to get stuck in the activity trap. The activity trap occurs when you begin working too hard to make the sale. Sales is much simpler than a lot of salespeople make it out to be.

Above all, your interactions must be meaningful. If all you're doing on a call with a prospect is saying 'hello,' all you'll hear is 'hell no.' Instead, your activities need to fall into one of these four productive buckets:

  1. They educate your prospects.
  2. They uncover essential information about your prospect.
  3. They reveal pivotal information about your solution to your prospect.
  4. They close opportunities (for the good or bad).

First, Educational activities provide information to your prospects that make them more receptive to your messaging. These kinds of activities help them understand the business impact you can have on their operation. They help them understand that you have something meaningful to say to them. Examples include:

  • Sending useful content (e.g., articles, whitepapers, etc.) to them
  • Sponsoring roundtable discussions for your prospects to meet your happy customers
  • Publishing pamphlets about your solution
  • Providing well-documented case studies to your prospects

Activities that allow you to uncover essential information about your prospects are some of the most important. The most common is the face-to-face (or phone-to-phone) meeting. These probing meetings allow you to ask meaningful questions that help (1) demonstrate your expertise in their field and (2) gather information you need to make a meaningful recommendation to them. They include:

  • Surveys
  • Interviews
  • Focus Groups
  • Sales Interviews

Revealing your recommended solution to your prospect is -- obviously -- essential. Doing it, though, requires more than just activity. Instead, meaningful sales presentations are carefully targeted to your prospects particular situation. This can be done in any number of ways, but is dependent on effectively uncovering practical information in your probing meeting.

  • Webinars
  • Formal Presentations
  • Demonstrations
  • Tours

Finally, the most directly meaningful of all sales activities are those that close business. This is typically in some kind of interaction between a salesperson and a prospect-turned-customer. Alternatively, you might discover that a particular prospect isn't a good fit for your solution. This, too, can be good because it allows you to move on.

If your “activity” doesn’t fall into one of those four buckets, it’s probably wasteful. Many outside reps believe that activity begets results. With one slight change, the statement becomes true:

The Right Activity Begets Meaningful Results.

- @JebBrooks

Tagged as: 2 Comments
21Nov/111

Outline for a Sales Training Manual

Every now and then, we get requests for an outline for a sales training manual. We usually respond in the same way:

What prompted your interest in a sales training manual?

Typically, it's because someone told someone else to come up with some sales training. If we've learned one thing after 35 years of sales training experience, it's this: There's a lot more to a successful sales training initiative than the manual.

Simply building a sales training manual -- even a really good one -- won't do any good. The secret to successful sales training is in bringing it alive. Experienced sales trainers can do that. In order to be effective, sales training needs a lot more than a manual.

We've delivered sales training to salespeople all over the world. So that means we've been involved with a lot of sales training programs.

Here's what the successful ones have going for them:

  • They're proven by real-world results. Sales training that's all "theory" just doesn't cut it. Salespeople are too cynical to be fooled by sales theory. Instead, they're looking for examples of tactics and principles that have been used in their industry, by their peers successfully.
  • They're backed-up by research. Naturally, "back of the envelope" sales tactics aren't going to work anymore, either. Sales leaders expect proof of the effectiveness of training initiatives. And now, more than ever, sales skills can be tested. In fact, this is a tremendous benefit of the Sales 2.0 movement.
  • They're individualized. Everyone inside a sales organizations sells in different ways. No matter how much effort is put into "competency modeling" or "benchmarking," there's a certain element of art in sales. And that means training needs to reflect the artists on your team. That takes more than a one-size-fits-all process.
  • They're customized to your unique environment. Your selling environment is different than your competitors'. And the sales process they follow will probably be a bit different than theirs. Sales training can't be a one-size-fits-all solution. A truly impactful engagement needs to map to your existing best practices. Not ignore them.
  • They're delivered by experienced salespeople and managers. Sales trainers can't tell salespeople what to do unless they've already done it, themselves. Salespeople are quick to pick up on the "Do as I say, not as I do" mantra.
  • They're reinforced beyond the training engagement. Changes in behavior do NOT come from a 2-day event. Instead, meaningful sales behavior growth and change must come from a longer-term, reinforced engagement with follow-up coaching.

So, you see, a manual, by itself, simply can't generate the effective change that a customized sales training program will.

- @JebBrooks

Filed under: IMPACT Selling 1 Comment
8Nov/110

There’s not a first time for everything. Only for the things that you actually do.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Unfortunately, most journeys never get started. Lately, I’ve been struggling with selecting which projects to begin and which ones to shy away from.

Being able to say “no” is a critical part of effective time management. But too many salespeople are willing to chase any opportunity at the expense of focusing on the most valuable ones. 

As with most things, if you place labels on opportunities, it’s much easier to segment them into the ones that are worth pursuing and the ones that aren’t.

Let’s look at prospective customers. The ones that are most worth pursuing...

  • Have a need for your offering and are aware of it.
  • Have the legitimate ability and authority to buy from you.
  • Have a relative sense of urgency about the decision.
  • Have (or can develop) trust in you and your organization.
  • Are willing to listen to you.

The more of those characteristics your prospects exhibit, the more worthy they are of your investment of time, energy, and resources.

Too often, salespeople aren't willing to face the hard, cold truth that all prospects aren't created equally. Instead, they waste time with prospects who aren't qualified at the expense of putting forth the (difficult) work of searching for the most qualified ones.

In short, there's not a first time for everything. But there should be a first, second, third, fourth... time for the right thing. And the right thing in sales is always to get in front of qualified prospects!

The lesson? Say "No!" to weak opportunities and "Yes!" to valuable ones.

Over to you now...

  • How do you select the most valuable opportunities? What criteria do you use?
  • Have you ever gotten bogged down in a project and struggled to get out of it?

-@JebBrooks

Filed under: Professional Selling No Comments
3Nov/110

Stop the Wasted Emails

I just sent an email I regret. It went something like this:

“Okay.”

What a waste! Emails that simply acknowledge without adding any value should stop. Here are some examples of emails that should never be sent:

“Thanks!”

“Sounds good.”

“See you then.”

"Alright."

"Fine with me."

And, dare I say...

“Okay.”

They provide no real value. Sure, quick acknowledgements are sometimes important. However, if you are trying to confirm a meeting, add in the purpose of the gathering and the specific time and location. That’s confirmation! Simply saying, “Understand,” isn’t useful.

When you're selling, every single contact you have with a prospect must add compelling value. Your time -- and theirs -- is simply too important to waste.

Anytime you're contacting a customer or prospect, it better be good. In short:

if all you're doing is saying 'hello,' all you'll hear is 'hell no!'

Stop sending those emails! They require the recipient to waste the calories required to tap the “Delete” button. Please, help put an end to it!

-@JebBrooks

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