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

Tagged as: , No Comments
30Sep/112

The Real Reason Salespeople Should Use Social Media

The days of salespeople saying "that social media stuff is useless" haven't gone away, yet. There are a lot of people who don't think they need to use these tools. But salespeople who know how to take advantage of these tools put themselves at a real advantage.

Using Social Media provides salespeople with an opportunity to generate a positive first impression. That's a good thing since the first impression is the most lasting.

Here's what I mean...

It’s now common practice for prospects to “Google” a salesperson before they agree to meet with them. Because Google really likes Twitter and LinkedIn, those sites rank highly in search results. That means you, as a salesperson, have the chance to influence what your prospects think of you before you meet with them.

Why would you NOT take advantage?

WHAT TO DO:

A LinkedIn profile ought to do the following things:

  • Explains what you do for your customers.
  • Provides specific results you’ve produced.
  • Offers recommendations from happy customers.

A Twitter feed should do these things:

  • Shows you engaged with your area of expertise.
  • Reveals information that’s valuable to prospective customers.
  • Leads your customers to information that they'll find valuable.

WHAT NOT  TO DO:

A LinkedIn profile is not a resume.Why would I decide to buy from you if it looks like you're planning to leave at the next opportunity?

By the same token, a Twitter feed should not reveal too much of your mundane day-to-day life. I don't care what you had for lunch. And neither do your customers.

So, get going on this! It's free and easy.

@JebBrooks

Tagged as: , , , 2 Comments
1Sep/112

The Positioning Power of Social Media Profiles

High IMPACT Salespeople understand the power of positioning. They value the benefits that flow from being thought of first, last, and always in the minds of their prospects. To be well-positioned in your marketplace really means that your prospective customers think of you when they have a need for whatever you sell.

Those High IMPACT Salespeople also recognize the power of social media as a positioning tool.

It’s now common practice for prospects to “Google” a salesperson before they meet with them. You can easily influence what they find. Here’s why:

  1. Social media profiles rank highly in search results; AND
  2. You can control what appears on those pages.

That means you, as a salesperson, have the chance to influence what your prospects think of you before you meet with them.

Why would you NOT take advantage? Why would you not invest some time in positioning yourself as an expert in your field?

Here are a handful of ideas about how to do that.

A well-written LinkedIn profile...

  • Does Explain what you do for your customers.
  • Does provide specific results you’ve produced.
  • Does highlights recommendations from happy customers.
  • Does NOT read like a resume. (If you’re looking for another job, why would I buy from you?).
  • Does NOT have empty fields, but is 100% complete.

A rich Twitter feed...

  • Does show you engaged with your area of expertise.
  • Does receive regular updates.
  • Does provide information that’s valuable to prospective customers.
  • Does include links to useful information.
  • Does NOT share what you ate for lunch.
  • Does NOT include offensive content.

In short, get started! Without action, you accomplish nothing...

If you'd like to discuss the role of social media for salespeople, let me know (you can comment below, tweet, or connect with me on LinkedIn). I'll be happy to share some more ideas, too!

@JebBrooks

 

Tagged as: , , , 2 Comments
15Mar/110

Sales 2.0 Conference Report

I attended my second Sales 2.0 Conference last week. It was a great experience. And now it’s time to report. I’ve finally unburied myself from a week’s worth of snail mail (awkwardly the 1.0 world continued even as I immersed myself in the 2.0 world!)

There were many great things about the conference, including a number of great presenters like Bell Mobility's Michael Weening (who talked about Sales transformations) and Jeffrey Hayzlett (who discussed the impact of social media on business). I was particularly impressed with the facts and figures that researchers revealed. Here are a few:

Currently, there are about 18 million salespeople in the US right now. The prediction is that, by 2020, there will be fewer than 3 million.

My question, which remains unanswered, is how many of those are B2B v. B2C? It all goes back to the old argument that sales is going away as a result of technology. That's just not the case. Salespeople capable of helping prospects and customers through a complex decision making process will always be in demand.

Anyway, I was also impressed by another report shared at the conference. It showed some factors that impact clients’ decision making:

  • 16% Politics
  • 23% Chemistry (Rapport)
  • 29% Solution and Price
  • 32% “They Understand my Business”

What does that mean? That the salespeople who thrive are going to be the ones who take the time to understand how their clients’ businesses work and exactly how (and, frankly, whether) their solutions can make that business work better.

Another interesting report was IDC's 2011 Sales Barometer, which showed how salespeople are spending their time. There were a few surprises (at least for me)...

  • Direct Customer interaction: 46%
  • Admin time (e.g., quotes, pricing, management reporting): 22%
  • Preparing for customer or prospect interaction: 17%
  • Territory Lead Development: 11%

So, what's the impact? Salespeople spend less than half of their time in belly-to-belly, face-to-face, direct selling! That means there's a lot more to the job than the sales interaction. With that said, I'm confident sales leaders want to see growth in that piece of the pie.

Overall, it’s a fabulous conference. A quick blog post can't do it justice. For more, check out Miles Austin's report here and here over at FillTheFunnel.com.

The conference really helps sales leaders think about ways that technology can make life easier for their customers and prospects. I encourage you to consider attending a future Sales 2.0 conference.

@JebBrooks

Tagged as: , No Comments
1Feb/117

No, Professional Sales is Neither Dead Nor Dying

There's an annoying doomsday argument in the "blogosphere" that -- because of rapidly changing technology -- professional sales is dead or dying.

It's not.

The idea rears its ugly head every now-and-then. And it often comes from technofiles (lovers of all things high-tech).

Apparently, the argument goes like this: Because buyers are able to use the internet to...

  • Make transactional purchases; and
  • Get information about salespeople and their offerings,

The sales profession is dying on the vine.

On the other side of the coin, they also say that technology gives salespeople an excuse to avoid talking to prospects because they can rely on a Twitter Feed, Facebook Fans, or LinkedIn Connections to meet quota.

That's a cynic's view of technology. It builds followers. It also ignores the very real, offline relationships that human beings need.

As I said in response to a recent Focus.com question, there will always be consumers who want to buy their shoes online, but I challenge you to find very many people willing to buy things like capital equipment, houses, thoroughbred horses, or airplanes without some input from an expert (i.e., a sales professional). Indeed, I was recently tasked with buying a healthcare plan for The Brooks Group's staff. I've never done that before. I wouldn't have dreamt of making that kind of decision without talking to a number of salespeople.

Yes: Thanks to the internet, salespeople will find some prospective customers with access to more information than ever before. However, there are always questions about products and services that prospects don't think (or know) to ask. There were a lot of healthcare plan-related questions I didn't know to ask. Thankfully, I came across a number of competent, professional salespeople who helped me make the right decision. There will always be a role for those kinds of professionals.

In essence, I agree with my friend Paul McCord on his point that the sales profession is safe.

"Sales 2.0" is really about using tools and technology that make the sales interaction -- and everything that goes into it -- more effective. Of course, I'm not going to tell anyone to ignore technology. That's just as foolish. Instead, the magic is in using technology that makes you more effective. I love using tools like SalesForce.com, Eloqua, Hootsuite, etc. But I also know that I can't hide behind them.

Regardless of what you call them, these advances mean that salespeople will need to be more "on-top-of-their-game." So, let's step-it-up!

@JebBrooks

Tagged as: , , 7 Comments
   Older Entries »


  • Sales Evolution is a B2B Sales Blog for curious people. We talk about things like sales training, sales management, sales assessments, sales leadership, prospecting, and sales relationship building. I’m Jeb Brooks and I’ll be your host. So, please sit back, relax, and join us!

  • Join the Sales Community
  •  

Free Sales Training Tips



I am a: