Making a Sales Business Plan - Get the Key Success Factor

I recently reviewed my sales business plan and assessed what strategies were bringing in the business sales and which ones were not. While in the middle of the assessment I happened per chance to stumble across a guy who redefined for me the term sales. To say the least it turned my thinking around and kicked me into high gear.  When I went back to my sales business plan I reoriented the strategies around this new key understanding.

We've all heard it said that when it comes to sales you should be in the seat of your customer and think in terms of their view rather than what you want to say.

We've all heard of the term new sales now, which is rather old, infact about 15 years old now. New sales takes the sales out of selling and puts the understanding and helping into the sales process. So what we do now when we sell is come from the perspective of the customer and help them make a decision rather than sell directly to them.

So that's the sales process. What about this key then that turns your sales business plan into something live rather than something the sales agent ends up wearing out through the hard sell? How is it that this new perspective changes the way we look at business planning particularly the sales and marketing aspect of it? Most people don't even include a sales plan in their business strategies. In fact most business plans stop at marketing thinking that sales is covered. Yet the number one reason small businesses struggle is "not enough business sales".

As business people large or small we need to consider carefully this aspect of our business plan and actually have a section dedicated to the sales business plan. To do that we best understand this key, get our head around this simply idea. That is to redefine what sales means. If you don't understand the term how can you use it least of all master it and even plan accurately for success without it?

Traditionally the word sales has meant:  the total dollar amount collected for goods or services provided; the exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent; the act of selling.  In short sales has meant money, exchange and hard sale. Small wonder sales agents have to work hard. With this concept it also makes it difficult to implement a successful sales business plan because you, as a business owner can't control any of those process and guarantee business sales.

How can you plan for cash if you can't control the process? You can't coerce cash out of someone for too long without gaining a barracuda reputation. Exchange is hardly sales because you haven't made on the deal by much as you've lost something that cost you money to gain something. Hopefully you made enough of a profit to cover your costs and grow. For many this is not the case. The act of selling has no control what so ever and dependent on the good will of the person selling.

What if we were to understand sales from this new perspective, according to the man who opened my eyes, sales would be redefined as choice plus yes.  If your customer doesn't say yes you have no sale. Customers don't like being bullied into or being sold to especially if it's something they don't want. Every customer wants choice. If you don't offer your customer choice its a monopoly not a sale.

Nowhere is this more successfully demonstrated than with infomercials.  They are very clever in their offers. There are two options in any sales transaction. Either the choice between two products or add -ons for acting fast or the choice between winning a good deal and losing out.

So I applied this new found knowledge to my actual sales business plan and looked at the strategies I had in place. I changed one thing - the actual communication message itself. One thing from this new perspective and my entire sales business plan came to life and a month later I can see the increase in business sales because of it.

So as you look at your sales business plan or think of adding sales to your existing business plan ask yourself "What choice are you giving your customers?" "Can you offer a choice between products or successfully communicate win/loose as a choice?" Is the pain of not having your product or service greater than the pain of paying for the product or service? All customers perceive loss when they hand over their money unless you can successfully communicate to them the gain. And that's the key you want to apply to increase your business sales. So make sure you reorient your sales business plan to include the is communication message and then strategize on how you are going to communicate it.

Janet Jeffrey's is a small business owner having had several businesses in her career over a wide variety of industry's from health and beauty to internet sales and marketing. She has put together a number of writers to help small business owners, particularly women in business at http://www.womensbusinessplan.com

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Is Your Sales Force a Sales Farce? - The 5 Steps to Sales Success

When was the last time you purchased a product based on the charm, professionalism, sincerity, and effectiveness of the sales person? These types of sales people are rare, comprising nearly 2% of the "best of the best", in the selling profession. They are the real force of their sales organizations. The rest are average sales people - mostly "order takers", who do not know how to articulate value and solve their client's business problem. And of course, there are sales people that are actually a disgrace to the profession of professional selling, doing precious little.

It is somewhat ironic that organizations spend a considerable portion of their earnings in developing a sales force for their businesses but many do not get proportionate returns. Habituated to working on auto-pilot sales systems, non performing sales people find the going gets tough when the system doesn't work in the normal way. Despite having an apparently well qualified and experienced sales team as well as having good sales practices and processes in place, organizations struggle. Their so called sales force actually present a picture that's close to a farce. You can avoid this and set your sales team on a path of success.

Here is how to go about it.

1 - The importance of sales leadership in an organization

You need to have sales heroes in your organization, at least one. There should be one sales hero, a leader that can lead from the front. Sales leaders are master salesmen, experts in timing their sales calls, flawless in their presentations, careful in their choice of words, and sensitive to the need of the customers. They do not buckle under pressure. They also have the capacity to inspire others with their hard and intelligent work. Such leadership talents are vital for an sales organization thrive and prosper.

They are ever vigilant and tread on new paths believing in the saying of Abraham Lincoln, "Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle".

2 - Let go of the sales people that should not be in sales

Some people are really not cut out for the sales profession. They don't believe in hard work, don't like going out of their way to meet clients and discuss their requirements, and are constantly worrying about their monthly sales numbers. They participate in sales training workshops but learn little. They don't like meeting clients and understanding their problems. How can they sell? Remember that sales is the highest paying hard work and the lowest paying easy work.

The sales profession demands that sales persons should be extroverts and out going people interested in meeting people, solving client's problems with one-size-fits-one solutions. They should have healthy sense of self and self-esteem. Sales people should exude warmth, friendliness, and an eagerness to offer solutions to the client's problems. They also should like their job and the products and services they are selling. If not they should not be in sales and can utilize their talents in other professions.

3 - Motivation as a key to sales direction and success

The profession of sales is not a normal 9-5 job with a desk, a personal computer, a phone, and a cubicle. In fact, the most productive and highest paid professional sales reps do ALL non-sales related activities, reports, power point presentations, etc, between 6-8AM and 6-8PM. The sales day, prime selling time of 8AM-5PM is devoted to getting "belly to belly" with decision makers. A decision maker is defined as a prospect, not a suspect that has need, desire, financial capacity and authority. If the sales person doesn't create prospects there is no work for him. Unless there are the required numbers of sales he will not keep his job for long.

To keep doing this 5 days a week all through the year a sales person needs motivation. When the market conditions are tough and the internal conditions are far from perfect a sales person will require more motivation than normal to keep going. Some have the knack of motivating themselves. Others rely on their sales managers or professional motivational sales trainers.

4 - The sales rep who solves the clients problems and adds value succeeds

Each sales person brings his own unique personality traits in to sales. Some are sincere, some are thorough with technical details, others are helpful with after sales service.

There are sales people that are good listeners. They listen to the client thoroughly and understand the client's problems and offer solutions. By bringing a little effort they add value to the service offered to the client as well as the organization.

5 - Successful sales people like to make money

The profession of sales is a wonderful one where at the one end of the spectrum there lies the possibility of job loss for non performance. At the other end of the spectrum lies the possibility of making a good living, earning respect you're your clients and peers, and gaining a good reputation among colleagues. Successful sales people are driven by the zeal to solve client's business problems, articulate value and a by-product of that hard work is a healthy income stream and job security. That's quite healthy if ethical practices are followed to achieve the aims.

Check out if your sales team has the above mentioned characteristics. If the answer is no, find out what is stopping you from incorporating them? Save your sales organization from becoming a sales farce and turn them in to a potent sales force.

Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. http://www.dougdvorak.com

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Sales Force Productivity - Eight Practices That Ensure Your Sales Success

We have never needed to improve sales productivity more than we do in this dreadful economy. For decades, businesses have embraced  productivity and cost controls in operational functions like manufacturing and distribution; programs like Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma and LEAN are thriving all over the map. Except in the sales department. We suggest that sales organizations can benefit dramatically from adopting some basic principles of productivity management, simple business techniques that lower costs, improve customer profitability and retention, and reduce sales-person turnover.   This article explores the eight key practices that contribute to productivity. Each practice can be either a contributor if it is in place, or an inhibitor if it isn't.

Practice #1: The Prospect Profile

If you don't have a documented prospect profile then you may be lengthening the sales cycle and driving your team to pursue under-qualified or unprofitable deals.

 

Sales people probably spend more time prospecting and qualifying than they do anything else. Sales people who have a documented prospect profile can qualify opportunities more quickly and with greater accuracy than those that have no such guidelines. The basic prospect profile includes standard factual data, such as industry sector, number of employees, annual revenue, and so on. The most effective profiles go beyond these facts and include more qualitative characteristics that describe buyer motivation, trigger events, corporate values and other psychographic elements. 

 

Practice #2: Clear Targets and Incentives for Acquiring New Customers

New-customer acquisition is clearly an element of sales success. In fact, it's the reason your sales people spend so much time prospecting and qualifying. Contribute to productivity by setting clear goals for acquiring new business, and provide incentives. When setting new-customer targets, establish goals for revenue from new customers, and also establish separate goals for numbers of new customers.

Practice #3: Clear Targets and Incentives for Retaining Current Customers

No matter how important it is to acquire new customers, it costs a lot more than retaining current ones. If you are not giving your sales people specific targets for retaining current customers, your productivity is in jeopardy. This practice ensures that sales people will invest effort in keeping the customer happy, and encouraging them to buy again. You need to know if your team is losing loyal customers, and figure out a way to win them back.

Practice #4: Clear Targets and Incentives for Developing Current Customers Through Up-Selling and Cross-Sell

If your team has a goal of retaining a specific number of current customers, give them an additional goal of cross-selling and up-selling those customers. Maintaining the current contract is great, increasing the size of the current contract is better, and adding additional products or services is best. But unless you assign those targets specifically, sales people may not perform at maximum productivity.

Practice #5: Available Sales Support Resources for Labor-Intensive Low-Return Activities (Database Cleanup, Proposal Generation, Collections, Dispute Resolution, Etc.)

Sales people have many demands on their time. One hour of opportunity time can cost as much as $1,100 or more based on calculations we have conducted with our clients. Tasks like database cleanup, email marketing campaigns and past-due collections cost sales people many hours but contribute very little to their sales success. Forcing them to manage these tasks is a false economy. It is far more productive to delegate, outsource or automate these tasks as much as possible, even if it might stretch your budget to do so.

Practice #6: Require Sales People to Take Adequate Downtime

Stressed, tired or burned-out people take twice as long to do the same tasks. And they tend to use poor judgment. So contrary to conventional wisdom, if you encourage your team to work extra hours, you are inhibiting their productivity. Don't simply tell them to work smart and take vacations. Demand it.

Practice #7:  Create Performance Metrics that Cover the Sales Process from Beginning to End.

The classic way to measure sales performance is that of revenue produced or performance against quota. This is a weak indicator of effectiveness of efficiency. It comes too late in the process to correct the situation. Figure out ways to measure the sales process from the very start, and at critical milestones along the way. Define the stages of the sales process, and give your people specific targets for each stage in a given period of time. For example, consider adding number of prospects qualified, number of prospects who request a proposal, number of prospects who negotiate the terms and scope of the proposal. When sales people reach each of these key milestones the probability of a win increases. You can also figure out where the process stalls. The use of end-to-end metrics is a major contributor to productivity.

Practice #8: Useful Methods for Managing Nonproductive Sales People

Figuring out who is productive and who is not.  A sales person may be nonproductive because he is the wrong person for the job, or because he has little clarity of expectations, inadequate or insufficient coaching from his manager, or encounters operational obstacles beyond his control, which impede his performance.  The most popular methods of dealing with nonproductive sales people may not be the most productive.  These include firing the sales person, more product training and more sales skills training.  These methods are relatively high cost and produce relatively low benefits.  Some other practices tend to be lower in cost yet produce significantly better returns.  These include providing more qualified leads to sales people, clarifying and documenting their performance expectations, and improving the management, leadership and coaching skills of sales managers.

Ellen Bristol is the founder and driving force behind Bristol Strategy Group, the Miami-based sales-force productivity company, and developer of Selling the SMART Way®, BSG's flagship solution for productive sales teams. BSG's latest offering is the SMART Way Scorecard, a web-based system for managing sales force productivity. Visit us at http://www.bristolstrategygroup.com email Ellen at ellen@bristolstrategygroup.com, or phone 305-935-6676.

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How to Find and Hire Great Sales People - 5 Steps For Staffing Success

Riding on a wave of an advertising and marketing blitzkrieg, anybody can sell a good product or service. True "salesmanship" lies in selling an unknown or lesser known product that has an average or non-existent brand name. Only a few possess this talent. Sales staffing should be aimed at hiring the best, brightest, and most talented sales professionals.

Sales success for an organization hinges largely on the proper selection of the sales people. Paying enough attention to the selection of sales staff takes care of more than half of the sales job. Smart sales people are adept at highlighting the strengths of the product or service. Sales Professionals are experts in spotting prospects and swift in overcoming objections. They can sell well even in the face of adversity and cut throat competition. Also, efficient sales people have the internal drive to succeed, a great sense of urgency to get the job done and achieve their sales objectives, even when the conditions are tough. So how do you spot such sales winners?

Search at the Right Places

Depending on the type of the organization and their sales focus, advertisements for sales staff should be strategically placed. Newspapers are the obvious first choice in placing ads for sales staffing requirements. But the selection of newspapers for sales vacancies should be correct. Sales people working in the financial field read different newspapers and industry publications than sales people working in the automobile industry. Senior sales executives prefer reading industry specific magazines and journals.

If raw recruits are what you want, campus selection could be a workable alternative. Encouraging your sales staff to poll their contacts and friends from other organizations works well too if you are looking for sales people with some experience. Networking is an excellent way of getting to know senior sales executives working for other organizations. Their current salary, benefits and pay expectations can be determined through networking.

Look for Passion

It does not matter if the sales candidate you are considering is a "rookie" or a seasoned sales professional, everybody on your sales team should have that spark. The "fire in the belly" should be felt through the eyes of the candidates. Selling is a dynamic and competitive job and it has no place for sluggish sales people who can't deal with rejection and the stress the profession has. Active and self-motivated people make good sales people. Most importantly, they should have a passion for sales and a desire to meet new prospects and solve client's problem through creatively crafting their sales solution.

Sales people should love their profession. Apart from the resume, their body language will speak volumes about their interest for the job. Arrange for more than one round of interviews to scan candidates. This will weed out the least motivated sales people from the aggressive and motivated sales people.

Real Experience

A young hire can be a smart choice. But certain sales functions cannot be handled by young and inexperienced sales people. They are the domains of experienced sales people. Screening candidates on the basis of years of service alone is a dangerous practice. Many sales people have 10, 15, or 20 years of experience which could actually mean 1 year of real experience multiplied over 10, 15, or 20 times. Working in more than one organization in various capacities dealing with a range of products leads to a bank of knowledge that is diverse. A sales professional in the telecommunication industry is better positioned if he has worked with landlines and mobile phones in comparison to one that has worked only for a mobile phone sales organization.

Do Qualifications Matter

Yes it does if you are considering hiring new candidates. Candidates with little or no actual sales experience, but who possess a professional degree in sales and marketing are preferable to candidates without the aforementioned. But, if you are hiring experienced sales people then qualification can be overlooked. There are many qualified sales people that are just average performers as there are an equal number of unqualified super sales performers. Talent, achievements, and passion can take precedence over qualifications when hiring experienced candidates.

Adaptability

Probe deeply as to whether the candidate can adapt to your sales organization and culture. This requires honestly matching the candidate's expectations and career goals to the kind of compensation and career advancement that you can offer. Candidates with a strong and independent streak are more likely to desire a sales culture that fosters and engenders a sales culture of independence and freedom. They may be good performers, but there is a chance that they will quit sooner or later if their sales personalities and desires are not met. Similarly frequent "job changers" jump from job to job at unhealthy intervals. They should be avoided.

Some sales candidates are so set in their sales skills and behaviors from their last organization that it becomes hard for them to shed old habits and adapt to a new sales organization and culture. This may cause unnecessary friction. Make this clear from the beginning - which they may have to adapt and change if they are to be successful and enjoy their sales career.

In summary, when selecting a superior sales candidate for your organization you should have a clear picture of the type of sales people you want to hire. You and your current sales team should be prepared to ask some tough pertinent questions of the candidates to determine who best to hire for the position. Candidness and a professional attitude on your part would make the selection process a truly fruitful and enjoyable one for you and the sales candidate.

Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. http://www.dougdvorak.com

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How to Define A Sales Process for Sales Success!

Defining a Sales Process

In simple terms, a sales process is a systematic approach involving a series of steps that enables a sales force to close more deals, increase margins and make more sales through referrals.

The 'series of steps' are customer-centric and help the sales force of a company to retain customers and increase sales volume as well as revenues. The 'series of steps' are systematic and not haphazard. Random acts produce random and uncertain results. In sales, random acts can be used occasionally, but a systematic and well-defined best practices approach can assure predictable results.

The establishment and implementation of a sales process with definable steps in a company could result in:

o Predictable Outcomes - desired and predictable outcomes through a series of actions that could lead to more sales and higher margins.

o Repeatable Activities - activities that should be repeated to obtain the desired outcomes again and again by any salesperson within the organization.

o Tangible Results - the outcomes that can be measured and compared.

o Relevancy for Others - A good sales process may be cloned to suit other organizations and they may emulate a successful sales process model. A group of companies may apply a particularly productive sales process to all or some of its divisions.

Simply having a sales process in place doesn't guarantee anything, just like simply buying and installing exercising equipment doesn't lead to a chiseled body. Proper use makes the difference. Actively using and a desire to become willing to implement a sales process could lead to more sales.

Normally a sales process involves the following key steps:

1. Prospecting

2. Qualifying

3. Proposal/presentation

4. Handling Objections

5. Closing

6. Follow-up for repeat business - referrals

Characteristics of an Effective Sales Process

Any ordinary sales process may produce the desired results in normal times. But an effective sales process has elasticity to accommodate extra ordinary situations. Is your company prepared to meet a sudden spike in demand for your products or services?

Does your sales process have the elasticity to deal with fluctuations in customer buying trends? Is your customer database current and up-to-date? Does your sales process take in to account the change in buyer tastes and preferences?

Effective sales processes stand the rigors of changing times and market conditions and produce the best possible results in most circumstances. An effective sales process produces sales results with unerring precision as a manufacturing unit produces finished products. An effective sales process manufactures customers. It's a 'customer manufacturing system'. Isn't that an awesome productivity tool for any company to own?

Just as a manufacturing unit uses raw materials, strategy, technology, and manpower to produce finished goods, a sales process can be viewed as an integrated method where manpower refers to the sales force, the product or service is the raw material, strategy refers to sales plans and methods, and technology refers to the latest communication and sales technologies.

A results oriented sales process accomplishes the following tasks:

o Identifying and qualifying leads so as to take in to account only those prospects that truly have the potential to buy according to their importance to assign the right resources to each of them. Successful salespeople spend more time with their top revenue producing accounts.

o Impress the customer with the uniqueness of the product/service and your company.

o Talk about the 'need' of the customer and develop customized value propositions to solve their business issue.

o Convince the customer that your company is the one that can take care of the 'need' and none can do it better than you.

o Assess the purchasing power of each potential customer.

o Larger percentage of profitable sales.

o Forge stronger bonds between the company and the customers through the sales staff.

o Exploring the possibility of up selling and repeat business. Ensure repeat business through adequate customer satisfaction and proper follow up. It costs five to eight times more to acquire a new customer than selling to an existing customer. (Source: Personal Selling Power Magazine)

About the Author

Doug Dvorak helps companies and professionals achieve results through customized, creative and non-traditional sales training systems that are "one size fits one" and developed to the unique business needs and "sales pain points" of each client. He is available to speak on these topics.

For more information visit http://www.salescoach.us or call 847-359-6969

Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site as long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided

Copyright 2008 The Sales Coaching Institute, Inc.
Sales Skills Training l Strategic Sales Coaching
Chicago, IL l 847-359-6969 l doug@dougdvorak.com
http://www.salescoach.us

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Sales Success: Four Critical Steps

It's been said often, "Some folks can't seem to see the forest for the trees." Perhaps that's true in any arena, but it seems that it's rampant in sales, especially when sales are down. Time after time, when sales start to fall we find sales people becoming so caught up in the "slump" that they fail to focus on the four critical steps to consistent sales success.

Motivational speaking is a multi-million dollar a year business and, in large part, it is attended by those who need that inspirational reminder of what they already know. Not that speaking for a living is bad. I do that. The audience, however, through years of experience already knows the answer. They just need to be reminded.

Sales people tend to be motivated by immediate gratification. Those who have been in sales successfully for years understand that seeds planted today come to fruition later. Although there are moments of immediate gratification, frequently the fruition will take time. Motivational speeches are, perhaps, that little nudge to focus them not on the slump, but on the outcome.

Let's define the four critical steps to sales success, in order to re-establish successful habits. Mind you now, once you read this you'll know just how simple sales success can be, if only you'll focus on these four items and ignore all other distractions.

Question One: If your income comes from sales, are you making as much as you want or need?

If you answered, yes - Stop reading! You obviously are practicing the fundamental principles that create success and reading further is a distraction. Go back to doing what you do best.

If, on the other hand, you answered No - then you don't have enough sales. Sales create income and not enough income equals not enough sales. Solution - go get more sales.

Now, I know from making hundreds of presentations to countless sales professionals, some of you are a bit perplexed at my simplistic approach. How, you say, do we just go get more sales? We'll get to that, but for now stick with me. The first step is increasing your sales volume. Simple. There is nothing hard about this concept. It is critical to grasp, however, because the solution is always to the left. That statement will make sense a bit later.

Question Two: If you don't have enough sales to support your income needs, then aren't you lacking in enough people to see - enough presentations or appointments?

This one seems obvious. If you are not generating enough sales volume either you lack people to see (enough appointments) or your closing skills need improvement. More times than not, the issue isn't just closing skills, it's people to present to and close.

Let's look at this two ways: (1) if you are having trouble setting appointments from your leads (which, by the way is closing), then you will have more trouble closing the sale when you do make a presentation; and (2) inadequate presentations will always result in inadequate sales.

So let's look at our matrix thus far. Remember the solution is always to the left!

PRESENTATIONS = SALES = YOUR INCOME

O.K., so you get it? The solution is always to the left. If you don't have enough presentations you won't have enough sales. So what now?

Question Three: If I don't have enough presentations, then how many leads do you have in your pipeline?

Well, I don't know. Probably enough! Really? Ask yourself this question; do you suspect that highly successful business people guess at their income or assets? Better still, if you were having surgery tomorrow would you want the person administering the anesthesia to guess at the amount? Of course not! Then, why would you guess about your leads?

If you don't know how many leads you have, then you don't have a finger on the pulse of your lifeline. For sales professionals, lead acquisition and management is critical. You can take it to the bank, if you lack presentations, you lack a sufficient number of leads to support your sales efforts.

Let's go back...remember the solution is always to the left. Look at the matrix again.

LEADS = PRESENTATIONS = SALES = YOUR INCOME

The point is - you have to have leads in order to make presentations and enough presentations equal sales and that creates your income...right?

So are those the four things?

No - those are three things that help to generate your income. Your income is the outcome and we've just identified three of the four critical steps to success. So what is the fourth?

Question Four: Since you've identified that lead deficiency is a problem, what's the solution?

Good question! Any building built on a weak foundation is subject to crumble. Likewise, any sales professional who misses the foundation of sales success will struggle and, likely fail. This foundation is prospecting.

One of my dear friends and a great professional speaker, Gary O'Sullivan (www.garyosullivan.com) states in his book "Principle Power" the following: "Every day you don't prospect, the next day you must settle for a lesser degree of performance!" Ladies and Gentlemen...that statement is a fact. The foundation of consistent sales performance is prospecting on a consistent basis.

How many times have I heard someone say to me in a job interview, "You hand me a lead and I'll close 'em. I'm a closer." Well, let me say, I didn't hire those folks because they were applying for a sales position and closing is just a part of the process. True sales professionals do four things: (1) prospect for leads; (2) develop the leads they identify; (2) make sales presentations; and (4) close sales. Each of those represents the four critical steps to sales success.

Remember the solution is always to the left!

PROSPECTING = LEADS = PRESENTATIONS = SALES = YOUR INCOME!

Sales success requires constant attention to the four critical steps to success. For presentations to your sales organization to help them refocus or remind them of what they already know (but need to hear from a professional) contact Chuck Gallagher at http://www.chuckgallagher.com.

On a crisp October day in 1995, Chuck Gallagher took 23 physical steps? opened a door? and began a new experience that was life-changing. Gallagher explores that experience and the success that followed? while involving the reader in ways that could be life-altering for them. Gallagher captures the heart of the audience in an honest way that deals with human emotion. For information on Chuck?s keynotes and workshops go to http://www.chuckgallagher.com or for a free ezine on Ethical Choices contact Chuck at chuck@chuckgallagher.com.

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Consistent Sales Success Requires Passion

A friend of mine was hired as President of a building supplies distributor in the Midwest. The company was profitable but they seemed to have run into a brick wall once they reached the fifty million dollar mark in sales. This can be quite a challenge for any management team. It is not an uncommon problem. Sales in many companies may from time to time hit a brick wall and become stagnant regardless of the overall size of the revenue stream. My friend told me that his entire sales team seemed to have lost their passion.

Rekindle the Passion

Sounds easy but exactly how you rekindle passion. Is there really such a thing as rekindling passion? The answer to that question is yes. Passion is a result of doing something you love to do. It means becoming really good at it. If you love doing it, you become committed to being successful at it.

You might scoff and say; "Rick, we had that passion in our sales force but we seem to have lost it."

Surprisingly, that does happen which brings us to the first question; how do you rekindle passion? I certainly can't downplay this. It is difficult. But, it starts with having the right sales leadership in place; a leader that has excellent people skills. Not sales skills but people skills, leadership skills that make people want to follow them. They make people want to release discretionary energy and give that extra. That may mean an extra call everyday or working till 5pm on Fridays or doing whatever it takes to provide solutions to customers problems.

If our Sales Manager has lost it, how do we get it back?

The answer to that question begins by asking yourself another question; do you have the right person in the job of sales manager. Are they a leader or were they simply your best sales person. Do they have real leadership skills? Sometimes rejuvenating your sales force requires a change in leadership. It may even require a change in the sales force; the development of a documented sales strategy or even just a simple territorial restructuring.

However, before you get radical, ask yourself the following questions;

o Have you supplied leadership training for your sales manager

o Have you provided any coaching or mentoring to support the sales managers efforts

o Do you get involved in supporting the sales strategy

o Does your human resource department support a formalized program for new sales recruits

o Do you show participative support in quarterly or semiannual sales meetings

o Is the sales force held accountable - do they have scorecards

o Is the sales manager held accountable beyond what I call the statistical disappointment review via e-mail

o Is your sales force trained in value selling

o Do they really understand what it means to be a total solution provider

Nowadays, salespeople must be problem solvers able to generate solutions for customers in their time of need. Therefore, they must possess a great deal of knowledge about your customers' business. They must actually define what those needs are because the customer may not know, nor take the time to explain if they do know. Customers want you to have the knowledge and intelligence to comprehend and analyze their problems before showing up at the door. Customers will listen and buy from the salesperson that finds the "pain" and takes it away."

Sometimes going back to the basics is part of the answer to rekindling the passion. That means revisiting best practice in all areas including targeting, goal setting, customer profiling and action planning. Some of your sales people may have forgotten and some of them may have never known the principles

Selling is a profession that requires Professional Leadership.

Managing a group of professionals with the type of personalities required to succeed in sales is no easy task. So if you have done everything possible to support, educate and train your sales manager and you just can't rekindle that passion, you may have to change sales managers.

Sales management holds the key to meeting company objectives. Effective sales management must build the platform for success. Sales people are not the easiest group in the company to manage. If they were they would not be sales people. Selling is not easy. It takes a special talent, self motivation, self discipline, a passion to succeed and the ability to accept rejection. The reality of the situation is simple. The majority of sales people are not managed well.

Today our sales environment leans toward a more multifaceted atmosphere; salespeople must become strategists with a plan. This plan requires more knowledge about the business, better relationships and better solutions. Some

old school salesmen may believe they know what it takes. They have the experience. They've been around a long time. They also may have lost that passion. The world has changed. To rekindle the passion that has been lost may mean doing things differently. You can't afford to be complacent. Complacency destroys passion.

Sales is a profession that requires professional sales people and professional leadership.

Every company needs aggressive, creative and resourceful salespeople to have their products specified, accepted and used by customers. Without informed and capable field salespeople, no company could hope to compete in the marketplace today. But they have to have a passion for success a leader they look up to that shares that passion for success.

I believe that good salespeople, the kind who can help a company really grow, don't just happen to come along by chance or fate. Just as there is no such thing as a "born leader"; there is no such thing as a "born salesperson," because selling ability is much more than an intangible given that a person either has or doesn't have. Granted, selling does require certain attributes in a person and some people are naturally born with these attributes and some aren't. Also, the person must be intelligent, able to grasp ideas and details easily, retain them and recall them for use whenever necessary in selling situations. These factors and many others relating to personal and emotional characteristics are contributing elements in the makeup of the professional salesperson. However, these attributes alone do not make a sales person nor do they guarantee success. It takes more than that. A sales person must have a leader they can look up to, a leader they can respect, and a leader that can rekindle their personal passion when the tank starts to run dry.

So, if your sales have become stagnant check the passion level of your team. Get involved with your sales force. Analyze what you have done as a company to support sales leadership. Become a coach, a mentor and take on the responsibility for rekindling that passion even if it means creating change.

http://www.ceostrategist.com ? Sign up to receive ?The Howl? a fre*e monthly newsletter and get your choice of "CEO Strategist's Hiring and Interview Guide" or "The Guide to Effective Training Sessions", valuable resources for all levels of management. The Howl addresses real world industry issues. ? Straight talk about today?s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution?s ?Leadership Strategist?, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Dr. Eric ?Rick? Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in Distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information.Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com.

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B2B Sales Leads Success Checklist

You've spent a great deal of time, effort and money putting together your business-to-business sales lead generation programs. How you handle B2B sales leads once you get them makes the difference between a happy sales team and new customers or an unhappy sales team and lost sales.

Here's a checklist of questions to ask yourself to determine if you have the best chance of being successful with your sales lead programs:

Are you prepared to send requested information immediately?

Prospects have their own agenda and timeline, not yours or your firm's. So, you need to be efficient and strike while you have the opportunity. Timing of your inquiry handling processes are of paramount importance. Your firm needs to respond to all inquiries quickly--the faster, the better.

Here are some questions to keep in mind:

* Do you know what to send in response to different types of inquiries?

* Do you have electronic versions for those who want the information by e-mail or via downloads from your Web site?

* Do you have adequate supplies of printed materials ready for those who prefer them?

* Do you have the people, systems and processes in place to get the requested

information out the door quickly?

Are you prepared to capture all inquiries in a database for ongoing nurturing and qualification efforts?

To avoid having any of the golden sales opportunities represented by your inquiries fall through the cracks, you need to capture all of your inquiries in a database so you can properly manage their fulfillment, nurturing, qualification and distribution. With this in mind:

* Do you have the database ready to go?

* Do you have the data entry people or outside services lined up to get the inquirers into the database?

Do you have a program in place to "qualify" sales leads before sending them to your salespeople, reps, dealers or distributors?

If your business-to-business marketing-for-leads program is to succeed, marketing, sales and corporate management need to share a unified definition of qualified sales leads. If you all agree from the start on what a qualified lead is, then deliver leads that meet that definition, your sales team will be able to effectively and efficiently follow up and close more sales.

* Have you agreed with sales management on which questions to ask in order to determine which leads are qualified?

* Have you agreed what information is required to know which sales contacts to route the qualified leads to?

* Do you have proactive programs in place to contact and qualify your leads?

Do you have a process in place for distributing qualified leads to sales contacts as they are identified?

Sales leads are worthless unless they are quickly handed off to the right sales contact for follow up. Your lead distribution process has to be well defined and ready to go--in advance--so as to prevent delays or misdirection when leads are qualified and ready for sales attention. It also has to be easy for your salespeople, reps, resellers and distributors to access the qualified sales leads and manage their lead follow up.

* Is your sales leads program designed to get the leads into salespeople's hands without delay?

* Have you made it easy for your salespeople, reps, dealers or distributors to use?

* Can they access leads over the Internet?

* Does it integrate with their existing contact management or email systems?

Do you have a program in place to nurture or cultivate your not-yet-qualified leads?

Salespeople generally focus on those one-in-four sales leads who are ready to buy soon. However, research shows that three of four sales come from longer-term prospects who are frequently ignored by sales. As these longer-term leads represent the lion's share of the potentional sales, your sales lead management program must be designed to help nurture the longer-term leads until they are qualified as being sales-ready opportunities.

* Does your company have a prospect relationship marketing program in place to keep in touch with these longer-term prospects, using email, fax, mail and phone contacts, until they are identified as being qualified and ready for sales attention?

* Do you know what messages to send as part of your prospect relationship management program?

* Do you know how often to contact prospects with these messages?

* Do you know what offers to use to get them to further identify their needs and situation so you can determine if they are ready for sales?

Do you have a program in place to measure and track the results of your various sales-lead generation, cultivation and sales follow-up programs?

A marketer I know recently reported to her management on the results of the company's lead generation programs: Awareness of their company and its products among targeted prospects more than doubled; the cost per qualified lead delivered to sales by marketing dropped by nearly 40 percent; 58 percent of the opportunities in the sales pipeline were found first by marketing; and 48 percent of the sales closed; and 62 percent of the revenue during the past 12 months came from marketing-generated leads.

The result? She got a bigger B2B marketing budget and senior management no longer doubts marketing's contribution to the company's success. Can you answer these questions and show your management how your lead generation programs are contributing to your company's success?

* Can you determine your cost per lead, cost per qualified lead and cost per sale?

* Do you know which lead programs generate the highest return on investment?

* Do you know which nurturing techniques worked and which didn't?

* Can you prove to management that your lead generation programs are paying off in increased sales and market share?

Refer to this checklist of questions to guide the development or improvement of your company's sales lead management programs and processes and you'll have the best chance of being successful.

M. H. ?Mac" McIntosh is described by many as one of America?s leading B2B marketing consultants and an expert on the subject of sales lead generation. For the latest sales lead response-producing tactics that are working NOW to drive leads and multiply sales subscribe to Mac?s FREE Newsletter, Sales Lead Report®, at http://www.sales-lead-experts.com.

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We Will Make It Back----- A Fictional Story Based on Fact About Sales Management Success

Bill Borders stepped up onto the podium. He had just been introduced as the new Vice President of Sales for Kiechler Building Supplies. As he looked out at the fifty seven faces staring back at him, time seemed to stop and everyone was motionless. Bills mind wandered. This wasn't a nervous reaction; it was more of a reality check.

Bill had already met most of the fifty seven faces that were now looking at him in anticipation of what he might say. In fact, he had individual casual conversation with many of those faces in the audience.

Bill had been hired by Tom Thompson, third generation President/owner of Kiechler Building Supplies just five short months ago, but he had already managed to personally visit every single one of the sixteen branches Kiechler owned. He was hired to change the direction of the company, to recapture lost market share, to rejuvenate the sales force and put Kiechler back on the growth track to become the premier building supplies distributor in the Southwest once again.

Bill was confident that he could meet the challenge that Tom Thompson had laid out before him. His personal history and knowledge of the industry gave credibility to his confidence. Challenge was no stranger to Bill Borders. Being a decorated Marine platoon sergeant combined with the street experience he gained growing up in the building supply business, provided Bill with exactly the quality of leadership necessary to tackle the issues Kiechler had been facing for the past five years. Lost market share, deteriorating competitive advantage, a culture of compassion that lost all of it's acquaintance with accountability and a lack of trust in the leadership of the company was pushing Kiechler toward the brink of disaster.

As Bill stood on that stage, facing his sales force all together for the very first time, he scanned the room looking from left to right and then right to left. As he looked into the faces of the people that held a major share of Kiechler's final destiny in their very own hands, he briefly revisited his decision to accept Tom Thompson's offer and plea to come out of retirement and help rebuild a company that had seemed to have lost it's passion, it's energy, it's sense of urgency and most importantly it's will to regain the reputation it held for over fifty years as the premier building supply distributor in the Southwest.

Bill had sold his own company located in the Northwest and moved to Southern California four years ago. He was only fifty eight years old at the time. Retirement seemed like the very thing he wanted to do. After two years of playing golf five days a week and relaxing by reading over 100 different books, boredom started setting in. Then Tom Thompson approached him with an offer. Bill accepted Tom's offer and they agreed on a three year contract that would take Bill to age sixty five. Bill knew with complete confidence that he could solve Kiechler's problems and recreate the success factor that had once existed at the company. Bill knew that Tom Thompson needed guidance, coaching and mentoring, but he believed that Tom was not the root cause of the problem even though he was a young forty two year old President trying to fill his father's shoes.

Bill was confident that in three years, he would make Kiechler Building Supplies the number one distributor in the Southwest once again. He was sure that he could rekindle the passion, the commitment, the culture and ultimately the reputation Tom's grandfather began creating the day he opened the business in 1957. He knew it would be a challenge, but Bill seemed to have that unique leadership quality that made people want to follow him. He had that unique ability to get people to release the discretionary energy that is critical to success, energy that is only released if you believe in the company and you believe in your leader.

A few seconds had passed since Bill stepped onto that stage, but time was still at a standstill in Bill's mind. He scanned the room one more time. Slowly this time looking squarely into the eyes of the men and women that represented the $125 million in revenue Kiechler reported the prior year. This was a year that reflected a 20% decline in previous year's sales. As Bill looked into the eyes of his sales force, he felt he could almost feel the many different facets of the problems the

company faced. The sales force before him seemed to send that message. In Bill's eyes, most of the problems were written all over the fifty seven faces that stared back at him from the classroom style setup in this conference hall.

A few faces in the crowd were even older than Bill himself with a look that cried out, "What do you know? What can you tell me? Why should I listen to you? Why should I bust my butt? I'm happy with the ways things work here. We don't need any 'Rah Rah lets all work harder speech'."

That look didn't appear just on the faces of the few in the audience that were older than Bill. He could see that look on most of the veterans in the audience that had ten or fifteen years of service with the company. Bill had seen that look before. It was a look of complacency. He liked to refer to it as the "pickup truck and boat syndrome". He actually had a salesman at his own company confirm his theory face to face once. He recalled those words as if he had heard them yesterday as he reached down and turned on his lavaliere microphone to begin his presentation to his sales force.

"I don't need to work my butt off anymore. I paid my dues. I've been around a long time. I own my customers. I have my boat, I go fishing every weekend and my son finished college. What else is there? Life is good and a few extra bucks every year isn't worth messing up my life style."

Bill almost chuckled out loud as he recalled that conversation with a stogy old veteran of the industry that had worked for him. It took a little while, but Bill had reached that sales veteran and today he is a good friend and still the number one sales person at Bill's old company.

Bill's recollection of that conversation also reminded him that the "pickup truck and boat" syndrome is probably just a part of the problem. The faces before him seemed to confirm that suspicion. There were the eager faces of the newer sales people willing to learn but perhaps they haven't had the opportunity. Bill knew the company "Talked the Talk" professing in their mission statement that employees are their most important asset but they failed to invest profits in training and development. Bill also saw a different look on the faces of the majority of his sales people. That look seemed to point out that they were being held captive in a culture embracing a reactive, passive order taking environment, a culture that didn't even understand demand creation, a culture so distant from accountability

that reactive route mentality sales became the platform for Kiechler's market share degeneration.

Bill's microphone went live and a loud screech from the sound system brought his consciousness back to the moment. The very last thought that raced across his mind before he began to speak took him back to the biggest challenge he had ever faced in his life. For a brief moment he was back in the jungle on the outskirts of DaNang, Vietnam. He made a speech that day too, a much more important speech. He peered into the eyes of those men he had to lead also. Young men, young warriors, young marines that looked up to him as their platoon sergeant. He looked at them and told them he believed in them. He made them a promise that day. He promised he would take them back, take them back home. Twenty five of his men were in the fight of their lives that day, the day DaNang was over run. Twenty four of them came home. Bill regretted that one loss, but all his men knew that he was one of but only a few leaders that could have got them through that day. They believed in him and it paid off. Bill took them back home.

Bill started his little talk by saying;

"Nowadays, salespeople must be problem solvers able to generate solutions for customers in their time of need. Therefore, we must possess a great deal of knowledge about our customers' business. We must actually define what those needs are because the customer may not know, nor take the time to explain if they do know. Customers want us to have the knowledge and intelligence to comprehend and analyze their problems before showing up at the door. Customers will listen and buy from the salesperson that finds the "pain" and takes it away."

Bill hesitated a little for effect before he continued.

"That means we need to go back to the basics. We are going to revisit sales best practices. Some of you will know exactly what we are talking about. Some of you may have forgotten it and some of you may have never known the principles upon which we are going to rebuild our sales force. In the building industry today our sales environment leans toward a more multifaceted atmosphere, salespeople must become strategists with a plan. This plan requires more knowledge about the business, better relationships and better solutions. Some

old school salesmen may believe they know what it takes. They have the experience. They've been around a long time. They also may be wrong. The world has changed ladies and gentlemen. To recreate the competitive advantage that Kiechler enjoyed in the past we must do things differently. We can't afford to be complacent. Complacency destroys competitive advantage. As sales professionals, we can't become full of ourselves, no matter how long we've been in the field, no matter how much experience we have."

Bill's gaze sought out the veterans in the audience as he spoke those words. He continued:

"Going back to basics and revisiting best practice means we are going to be talking about targeting, goal setting, action planning and customer profiling. Targeting is the process of selecting high potential customer accounts to receive intense sales focus. Goal setting translates that high potential into achievable numeric objectives, i.e. revenue and margin growth. Action planning means we have to define the activities that are required to achieve our expected results. It's about strategizing, figuring out exactly what it is going to take to succeed at every individual account we target. That is why it is important that we understand the customer's customer and the customer's industry. Be more knowledgeable and conscious of our customer's problem. We are no longer selling a product, we are selling a solution to make their life easier, happier, better, less complicated, or more fun. By understanding the customer's business and his customers, we help them make a profit through cost reductions, improved efficiencies, increased value and increased sales. Solutions come in many forms and may have nothing to do with our products. That's okay. Look for the pain regardless of what it is and focus on the solution. Customers don't want products; they want profits - or ways to make profits. They want satisfaction, feelings of comfort, pride, praise and self-esteem. They are people just like us. Well, maybe they don't have the same crazy genetics that we have as salespeople, but they are just as smart, just as caring and have similar personal needs and feelings."

Bill paused again as he contemplated the reaction he may get to his introduction of a sales effectiveness process. A process he himself had employed at his own company. One of his first initiatives as the new Vice President of Sales was to create a team to develop and implement this process at Kiechler Building

Supplies. Bill had formed a hand picked team that included two of his sales managers, an IT person and three sales representatives. Those three sales representatives were in the audience today. Bill knew rumors had been flying about what this team was up to but nothing had been officially disclosed as of this date. The team worked hard and developed a process and program that would bring Kiechler back to a level playing field with the competition. This process would give them the opportunity to rejuvenate the sales force and create the success necessary to recapture the market share they have lost over the past five years. Bill started his introduction of the new sales effectiveness program by saying,

"There is a pill called Nexiom that some people believe is a wonder drug. It solves several problems. It does wonders for people that have experienced distress. I wish I could pass out a pill to each and every one of us including our entire management team to create instant success. Unfortunately, there is no "Purple Pill" that you can buy to drug our sales team. There is no "Purple Pill" that will improve effectiveness, there is no "Purple Pill" that will increase profit, there is no "Purple Pill" that will generate more revenue, there is no "Purple Pill" that will increase market share but there is a proven process that sustains continuous improvement that can help you achieve all those objectives. It's actually very simple, and not that difficult of a methodology. It's called a Sales Effectiveness Process. This is simply a structure for continuously improving sales force performance through focus, discipline and process built on a platform of accountability. We have put together a team that has helped develop such a process for our company. This team has worked very hard over the past four months developing this process built on a best practice platform."

Bill could almost feel the anxiety experienced by some of his sales people in the audience. Bill knew that by introducing the sales effectiveness program they would all but eliminate any place for the non performers in his group to hide. He expected that about 20% of his sales force would not be able to meet the requirements of this new program. He fully expected to have to replace them. He also felt sure that he had several sales managers that may have been great salesmen at one time but just weren't cut out to be sales managers. He had reminded himself and Tom the President that compassion was an admirable quality but it was also one of the biggest weaknesses that privately held companies exhibit throughout wholesale distribution. Bill explained that we may think we are being ethical and acting with integrity by not replacing under performers that have been under performing for a long time. But in reality, we are doing a major disservice to the majority of our employees that want to step it up and recreate that sense of urgency for success that has been missing for the past five years.

Bill continued his introduction of the sales effectiveness program by using power point slides to talk about a sales force scorecard that would be introduced.

"Once we understand basic sales best practice and make sure we have trained our entire sales force, it's really about execution. Execution involves the day-to-day activities of the salesperson. For most industries, this entails both planned, proactive tasks and opportunistic, reactive events that the salesperson uncovers by doing the right things in the right place at the right time. It's critical that the progresses of the tasks in the target action plans are carefully monitored to avoid surprises. Our new sales effectiveness process will circumvent the most common mistake made in distribution today, trying to manage results. We have to manage activities because it's the activities that produce results. Once the results are in, the horse is out of the barn and everything we do from that point on is reactive. That's the biggest mistake we have been making for the past five years. If we proactively manage the activities, the expected results will follow."

Bill paused again to search the faces in the crowd to get a feel for their reaction to his words. Most of the faces glowed with excitement. Some showed disdain, a look of disbelief and some had that look of; "Ya right, I'll just wait and see." Bill knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was pleased with what he saw so far. He continued;

"Sales is a profession that requires professional sales people. Every company needs aggressive, creative and resourceful salespeople to have their products specified, accepted and used by customers. Without informed and capable field salespeople, no company, including Kiechler could hope to compete in the marketplace today.

I believe that good salespeople, the kind who can help a company really grow, don't just happen to come along by chance or fate. There is no such thing as a "born salesperson," because selling ability is much more than an intangible given that a person either has or doesn't have. Granted, selling does require certain attributes in a person and some people are naturally born with these attributes and some aren't. Also, the person must be intelligent, able to grasp ideas and details easily, retain them and recall them for use whenever necessary in selling situations. These factors and many others relating to personal and emotional characteristics are contributing elements in the makeup of the professional salesperson. However, these attributes alone do not make a sales person nor do they guarantee success. It takes more than that. A sales person

must have adequate tools, resources and leadership to maximize their effectiveness. I am here to provide that leadership. I am here to take us back to the level of success this company used to enjoy. Things will change. Your President has made a commitment to me and to you that we will have the resources and the training necessary to make this happen. This new program is our first step. That is why the Sales Effectiveness Process is so vital. This is the program that provides the support and the resources to allow each and every one of you the opportunity to maximize your personal effectiveness in your individual territories. This is our chance to prove we are professionals. This is our chance to prove we can create success. This is our chance to regain our position in the market place. This is our chance to regain our pride. Our pride in our company, our pride in our leadership, our pride in each other but more importantly this is our opportunity to regain our pride in ourselves."

Bill was taken back by the noise, the applause. Unexpectedly all the people in the audience rose to their feet and cheered. It was exhilarating. Bill had planned to talk for another twenty minutes. He was going to discuss the sales management review process. He was going to explain his hands on involvement. He wanted to talk about functional cross selling but Bill knew when he had the order. And when you have the order you need to shut up. He waited for the applause to die down and he ended his talk that day by saying,

"I believe in this company or I wouldn't be here. I believe in our President or I wouldn't be here. I believe in our ability to change the direction of this company or I wouldn't be here. But I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart that I believe in you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. I know that you can become the most talked about, the most feared and the most successful sales force in the building products industry that exists today. I have faith in you. I believe in you and I'll be by your side as we win this battle together. We will make it back, back to success."

Bill walked off the stage to an applause that was deafening. He had a big smile on his face as he muttered under his breath, "Step one!"

(E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for the Five Steps to Maximize success on Target Accounts)

Dr. Eric ?Rick? Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in Distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information.

Rick received an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management from Capital University, Columbus Ohio. Rick recently completed his dissertation on Strategic Leadership and received his Ph.D. He?s also a published book author with four titles to his credit: ?The Toolkit for Improved Business Performance in Wholesale Distribution,? the NWFA & NAFCD ?Roadmap?, Lone Wolf-Lead Wolf?The Evolution of Sales? and a fiction novel about teenagers called ?Shattered Innocence.?

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Turning Sales Techniques Into Sales Success!

The goal of all sales training is not just to teach solid selling principles and techniques, but to actually help participants increase the number of new accounts (products and/or services) they sell and improve their multiple sales ratios. Unfortunately, many sales and service industry professionals gain an intellectual awareness of the methods of selling from the sales training they receive, yet fail to improve their bottom line sales results by systematically using the concepts in their daily transactions. See my article, The Processionary Caterpillar Syndrome Costs You Sales?

There are a number of methods you can use to move beyond an intellectual awareness of sound sales techniques. By applying some of these ideas, you can begin to see a steady improvement in the number and scope of your sales transactions. These concepts can help any sales professional drill-for-skill the vital selling principles needed to become a sales leader. Really all it takes to be successful in sales is just a little practice and perseverance.

Give Yourself Permission To Succeed

To become a sales leader in any kind of business only requires that you give yourself permission to succeed. In sales, as in every endeavor in life, it is your attitude not your attributes that count. There is no reason you can not be extremely successful at selling your company's products and services, if you make up your mind to do the job.

William James, a Harvard Professor and the man many view as the father of American Psychology, wrote in 1895:

"The greatest discovery of my generation is, that a human being can alter his circumstances in life by altering his attitude of mind."

James also gave people a formula for achieving an altered attitude of mind. He simply told them to "act as if" they were already successful and this act alone could make them successful. If you act as if you have changed or act like a different person, according to James, you must change or become a different person. If a sales professional acts as if she can sell, her sales ratios and product account closings can do nothing but improve.

By releasing your "inner brakes" and seeing yourself using the sales and customer service techniques you have learned, you can become extremely successful in your efforts to sell your company's products and services. If you want to consistently produce multiple sales transactions, just let yourself go and you will start to see the success you are seeking. You have the right to be successful. The only thing that can stop your improvement and ultimate success is yourself. Tell yourself that it is all right to produce outstanding sales results; and then, begin envisioning the success you expect to achieve.

Use Affirmations To Produce Success

To help you consistently execute the sales techniques you have learned, use affirmations to change the way you think and perform. Affirmations can also help release your internal breaking system.

We gravitate to our dominant thought patterns. By using affirmations ("I can," "I am," etc.), you can create dominant thoughts about specific sales methods that will help you to move away from your fears (the fear of failure or of looking foolish) toward successful sales transactions. Write down a series of positive affirmations about the sales process or a specific technique. Then read them over until you create the dominant thought patterns that produce success.

As we teach in all of our Sales Success workshops and discuss in detail in our published training material, it is vital to your sales success that you regularly affirm your selling skills and visualize successful transactions using the techniques you have learned. To succeed you must see yourself as one of your company's top sales producers by regularly performing mental dress rehearsals for the position.

Repeat The Technique Until It Is Yours

As you are taught new sales techniques you need to practice them on the job as well as in your mind, until you can use them in each transaction without even thinking about their use. We call this level of sales proficiency "unconscious competence."

Many sales professionals, try a new sales approach only once or twice before rejecting it out of hand or deciding that it will not work for them. True professionals; however, diligently practice a new sales concept until they can execute it without even thinking about it. This approach (going beyond an intellectual knowledge of a sales method) sets top producers apart and can be seen in their extraordinary closing and multiple sales success. It is also quite noticeable in their pay checks as well!

Role-playing at each new sales technique with a co-worker is a powerful way to gain the ability to consistently use these concepts on the job. Remember; however, that practice does not make perfect. Only "perfect practice" makes perfect. So as you practice with other employees, try to be as accurate as you can in the execution of a given sales concept.

Set aside some time each working day to drill in the sales concepts you have been taught. Take them one at a time and master each one. It might surprise you how much more you will enjoy coming to work when you become truly proficient in building sales and long term customer relationships for your company.

Saturate Your Mind

Saturate your mind with sales and motivational materials. As you do this, you will move from an intellectual understanding of the sales techniques to a daily working knowledge of the methods you need to succeed, and you will have more than just an occasional thought about what you are trying to accomplish. What is needed to help you change your behavior is a constant positive saturation of your mind by reading over the materials you have been given or the notes you have taken on the subject.

In his tapes, The Psychology of Selling, Brian Tracy tells his listeners that one of the best methods to increase sales success is to read then reread one of the best books on sales for 30 minutes each day. He feels this type of saturation will have a tremendous impact on the sales activity of an individual. Research from Stanford University indicates that you can learn more from reading the same book six times than you can from reading 40 books on the same subject.

Work Smarter Not Harder

Outstanding sales results come to those sales professionals who correctly follow and apply sound sales principles. They won't do the work for you but they will lighten your load and give you an edge. All it takes to be successful at selling your company's products is to want to improve the way you perform, see yourself using new selling techniques, give yourself permission to use the concepts and regularly practice them until they become second nature.

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by the Thompson Learning, Crisp Learning division. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides. Check them out at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/Book1.htm.

Virden teaches for the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University at Lubbock, Texas and in the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School Of Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. You can contact Virden at: Virden@TheSellingEdge.com. or learn more about him at: http://TheSellingEdge.com

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Using Desktop Sharing Tools to Drive Sales Success

In the traditional sales model, presentations are made in person at the client's place of business. Today, however, rising fuel costs have translated into higher airfares and gasoline prices. As a result, the travel budgets of companies around the world are straining at the seams. Similarly, company executives are recognizing that traditional business travel consumes a significant amount of a salesperson's time, thereby negatively impacting employee productivity. Both travel costs and a salesperson's time increase the cost of on-site meetings, and represent resources that could be better leveraged to generate additional sales. As a result, businesses are increasingly seeking less expensive technological alternatives to on-site sales presentations.

This paper explores computer desktop sharing solutions as a means of leveraging resources to drive sales success. Specifically, this paper addresses four questions:

What is desktop sharing and how does it work?

What are the benefits of desktop sharing?

How can desktop sharing tools be used in sales?

What features should an effective desktop sharing tool include?



Although business travel and on-site sales presentations are sometimes necessary, many on-site pitches can be replaced by online presentations at a fraction of the cost. Effectiveness and efficiency increase, positively impacting both the sales professional's and the client's bottom lines.

Desktop Sharing: A Simple, Innovative, Technological Tool

Desktop sharing is an innovative software program that allows one or more people in remote locations to view the primary user's computer screen. Using a Web-based interface, the user can show others any document or application that is open on his or her desktop.

Desktop sharing is initiated when the presenter invites others to participate in a session. The presenter begins the session, and participants join via the Internet, using a unique session ID. During the session, the presenter's screen - including mouse movements, documents, and applications - is visible to the participants. The participants simultaneously interact with the presenter by phone or audio conference call.

The Benefits of Desktop Sharing

By delivering sales presentations online, desktop sharing allows sales professionals to increase the effectiveness of their presentations while leveraging their time to reach more clients and prospective clients.

Through the use of desktop sharing technology, sales presentations are amplified with visual components. The instantaneous, real-time delivery of documents, slides, or software applications allows for better communication and increased flexibility in addressing the specific needs and concerns of the customer.

As a Web-based tool, desktop sharing enables the sales professional to make a presentation instantly to anyone, anytime, worldwide. Because a session can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, traveling to a customer's place of business isn't necessary. This not only represents a significant savings in travel costs, but also a tremendous savings of time, allowing the salesperson to exponentially increase the number of sales presentations he or she can initiate.

Desktop Sharing in Sales

Lead Generation

Many companies have found that desktop sharing quickly becomes a critical tool to generate leads.

Breaking Down Geographic Barriers: As part of the salesperson's repertoire, desktop sharing provides sales professionals with the ability to schedule online meetings with larger groups of prospective customers, regardless of their geographic location. Web conferencing allows companies to gather leads in new markets without incurring the travel expenses associated with reaching these prospective customers.

Passive Lead Generation: Companies can, through their websites, offer visitors the opportunity to register for informational online meetings or for the launch and demonstration of a new product or service. Potential customers self-select as leads through the registration process. The data collected from registrants and from those attending the online meeting can be used by the company's team of sales professionals to convert leads to customers. When a company archives their informational meetings and educational seminars on their website, potential customers can register to download or listen to the information, which generates additional passive leads.

Existing Customers Become New Leads: Desktop sharing allows new products, services, or specials to be shown in order to upsell or cross-sell existing customers. Current customers make excellent prospective customers for new products, and desktop sharing enables a salesperson to upsell or cross-sell without having to make an on-site sales call.

Educational Seminars Hook Prospects: Online meetings can also be utilized as a non-sales marketing tool to present live educational seminars to potential customers, who then become qualified leads. In contrast to online meetings that introduce a company or a specific product or service, the topic of an educational seminar serves to address a common challenge faced by the company's potential customer base. For example, a company that provides shopping cart software might hold an educational seminar on cost-effective marketing techniques to drive traffic to e-commerce sites. The information gleaned from the attendees of these lead generation seminars can be passed on to the sales team, which can convert sales by using the collaboration features offered by desktop sharing.

Qualifying Leads

When marketing tools, such as white papers, recordings of product demonstrations, and customer testimonials, are posted on a company's website, potential customers self-select by downloading or accessing the materials. This process begins the selling process prior to a sales team member contacting a prospect.

Similarly, an online meeting utilizing desktop sharing technology can drive prospects to download or access supplemental materials that can further pique their interest and speed up the sales cycle.

Sales Calls

Desktop sharing is most useful during sales calls, and represents a tremendous savings of resources. The salesperson can invite one or more prospects to a presentation or project demonstration, regardless of the geographic locations of the potential clients, thereby saving both time and travel expense.

Presentations and Product Demonstrations: By enabling prospects to view the sales professional's computer screen, desktop sharing allows the salesperson to easily present information about the company and its products and services. The salesperson can also turn over control of the desktop to a participant, allowing him or her to try the product or browse through various parts of the presentation. This hands-on experience gives the prospect a clear understanding of the benefits of the product or service.

Building a Virtual Bridge: When some members of a potential client's company can attend an in-person meeting but other key personnel cannot, desktop sharing allows those who can't be physically present to participate in the meeting to attend from a remote location.

Cold Calling: During cold calls, the sales professional can quickly initiate a desktop sharing session and invite the prospect to review the company profile and view slides or other information about the product or service.

Immediate File Sharing: During an online meeting, desktop sharing allows the sales professional to provide potential customers with any material they may request. This capability communicates efficiency and a commitment to customer support.

Closing the Sale

Desktop sharing is a powerful tool for closing sales and shortening the length of the sales cycle and increasing revenue streams.

Document Collaboration: Desktop sharing streamlines the process of working on proposals and contracts, since it allows both the salesperson and the client to modify proposals together in real time.

Team Leader Involvement: A salesperson's upline or supervisor can sometimes be instrumental in closing a sale. Desktop sharing solutions enable sales team leaders to join a sales presentation without ever leaving the office, thereby enhancing the interaction and increasing the client's level of satisfaction.

Client Authorization: When a sale hinges upon the go-ahead from a potential client's higher-level manager, desktop sharing solutions can smooth the way to closing the deal by allowing managers to attend meetings without ever leaving the office. In addition, the flexibility inherent in the tool makes it possible to initiate or reschedule a presentation at a moment's notice.

Customer Support

Once the deal is closed, desktop sharing tools can be utilized to enrich the relationship with the customer.

Transitioning to Customer Support: Desktop sharing can become a bridge to provide the customer with the support needed to implement the company's product or service. For example, desktop sharing can be used to introduce the company's customer support team and walk the customer through the support services offered.

Follow-Up Meetings: Desktop sharing can also be utilized to conduct follow-up meetings, during which the sales staff can stay in touch with new customers. A series of weekly conferences, for example, can go far in demonstrating a company's commitment to their new clients.

Customer Retention: Similarly, desktop sharing can be incorporated as a way of keeping in regular contact with existing customers. Inviting customers to educational seminars, new product launches, and company news events are just three of the ways that desktop sharing can help ensure customer satisfaction and pave the way for future sales.

Features of Effective Desktop Sharing Products

There are a number of desktop sharing solutions in the marketplace. To ensure maximum accessibility and security, you should consider a number of factors when selecting a desktop sharing program.

In order for clients and potential clients to embrace participating in a multimedia sales presentation, there cannot be any barriers to accessing the technology. From a technological perspective, this means that the desktop sharing product should enable participants to connect through corporate networks, firewalls, and proxy servers. They must also be able to connect using a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. Similarly, customers should not be required to install software in order to participate in sessions.

In order to facilitate spur-of-the-moment presentations, participants should be able to connect using any Internet browser and without having to register or submit any personal information. The desktop sharing interface should be intuitive and easy to use.

From the presenter's perspective, a desktop sharing tool should allow him or her to show his or her computer screen without first having to upload the content to a presentation server. Likewise, he or she should be able to hide confidential screen areas and have the ability to pause transmission in order to browse through confidential files. In order to facilitate discussion, the participants should be able to highlight items on the presenter's screen.

Finally, a desktop sharing solution should have strong security features. Transmission should be encrypted to the best practices standard, and connections to individual sessions should be made using unique, random session IDs.

Leveraging Resources to Boost Revenues

With tight travel budgets and time at a premium, using innovative tools to conduct remote sales presentations can leverage both your time and the time of your clients. Desktop sharing solutions can reduce routine business travel costs and increase productivity. The result is the ability to reach more prospective clients and an acceleration of the sales cycle. When sales presentations can start with a click of the mouse and reach customers and potential customers around the world, the result is an increase in the bottom line.

Mark Patrick Zondler is responsible for software development and global operations at http://www.BeamYourScreen.com, a software company that develops simple, easy-to-use, secure business communication tools for small and medium-size enterprises. Mark developed the technological vision for BeamYourScreen.com and defines the long-term development plan. He has several years experience in developing and operating Internet software systems. Prior to BeamYourScreen, he co-founded Allegro Solutions, a Singapore-based software firm specializing in dynamic price negotiation and online auction systems. Mark also worked in the consulting divisions of IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He studied business administration in Germany, Singapore and France.

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How a Sales Training Course Was Developed to Give a Whole Team Selling Success

How a sales training course, with some unique techniques, was developed to give each member of an average team an effective process and selling success.

The new sales manager was introduced to the existing team at their monthly meeting. The team of 15 field sales people were a mixed bag of industry veterans that had been around forever, and younger people who had moved into selling from other parts of the company. There were a couple of salesmen and women that had sold in other markets, and some with C.V.s that showed a long a list of selling related roles such as account management and company representatives.

After the introductions the new manager wanted to get a feel for the level of sales skills the team had. In a conversational style, the manager asked questions that would highlight the team's knowledge and experience. The idea was to assess their sales skills and the manager would then provide the sales training courses that would increase each individual's sales results and make the team successful.

After asking questions and discussing the sales process that each of the team used, the manager discovered the following:

Very few of the sales team had an effective sales process that took the prospect from first contact to closing the sale. One of the more mature team members said they had received only one sales training course in their 20 years with the company.

Each sales person on the team had one way of selling, and their lack of sales skills meant there was no flexibility in their sales pitches. If what they did didn't work they lost the sale, and then blamed the company, the product, or even the prospect.

Sales introductions focused on telling the prospect that they would try to offer them a cheaper deal than the one they currently had. Sales questions were poor and did not highlight real customer needs. They established the details of what the customer currently had, but not what they really wanted.

All the sales presentations were based on price. The aim of all the sales presentations to prospects was to beat the current supplier's and the competitor's prices. Despite the team's many years in sales they had not had effective sales training on how to sell to a prospect's needs. The team talked about features and benefits but didn't know how to use them to sell.

Sales objections were answered with prepared replies that came from their own experience and they had no real process for dealing with objections.

You would expect the sales manager to have been surprised, and disappointed, at his new team's lack of sales ability. Here was a team of people who had been in sales for many years but did not know or understand the sales process. You might think the manager would feel there was a massive uphill struggle ahead to turn this team into consistent target achievers. But the experienced manager had seen it all before. It's an unfortunate fact that many people in sales have not had the benefit of effective training. There are sales teams around the world in exactly the same situation as this one. Some have had sales training, but it either hasn't worked or they haven't taken the techniques on board. Others haven't received sales training. Many sales people don't know what they don't know, they are unconsciously incompetent. It isn't their fault and it can quickly be fixed.

Instead of feeling negative about the new team the manager used a sales training course that covered all the sales skills needed to build a successful selling process. The course used a step by step guide so that all sales people could learn, and fully understand, the professional sales skills presented. What made the course different was a unique set of exercises that helped each person to build their own successful selling process one stage at a time.

It started with a sales introduction, that grabbed the prospect's attention, and then used special motivation techniques to move them through to the next stage, sales questions. The clear instructions, and unique exercise program, showed every person on the team how to structure their sales questioning to get all the prospect's real needs. Then the sales presentation section used a technique that really explains features and benefits, and how to use them for selling success. The sales presentation gently led into an easy closing technique, which meant there was no need to use trick closes or hard sell techniques. One of the most effective parts of the sales training course was the sales objection section. A four step process that was easy to use in real sales situations.

The sales training course worked so well because it had been developed by the sales manager while training and coaching real sales people in the field. These were not complicated classroom sales skills, which had obviously not worked with many of the team in the past. This was sales training that had been developed and proven with working sales people, selling to real buyers, and each individual on the team used the course content to achieve selling success. The result was that each team member had an effective sales process, in their own words, and unique to their products and services.

You can have the same sales training course that was used to transform the very average sales team and turn each individual into a successful, highly skilled, professional seller. The Selling Success Workbook Training Course has been the basis for corporate sales courses and individual training programs. I know because I developed it, and I have used it throughout my career as a successful sales manager and trainer. I'm Stephen Craine, and you can have the complete Selling Success course and start using it today. You can see more information on the training course, and then decide to buy it, at my website http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/sales-training-course.html

Selling Success Using a Sales Process is only published by the website http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com

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