Bringing all the pieces together...

Sales is a funny group in any business. It is often surrounded by a level of mysticism (or cynicism) but this is just a fundamental misunderstanding of what salespeople and their management ACTUALLY do.

What is even more fascinating as I meet with many clients and colleagues is how, while they are embarking on process improvement initiatives in their operations or some other form of performance improvement program, that the sales organization is often neglected.

"Sales is sales" I often hear. "How difficult can it be?", "They just go out and sell...", "We gave them sales training...", "The VP of Sales manages the sales process...". You get the picture.

There are a few enlightened leaders out there who recognize that Sales, as any other aspect of the business, can be improved - and not just by swapping out the players (or the coach for that matter).

Interestingly, there are those within this group that try to address fundamental sales issues (usually prompted by poor revenues or a weak pipeline/funnel) with what I will refer to as Point Solutions. These are typically broken into the following categories

1. Training - easily the most common, the most pervasive in terms of "solutions" in the market, the easiest to implement but, sadly, the least sustainable. I have written about this at length in the past but we can pretty much all agree, either empirically or experientially, that any postitive impacts of sales training alone are short lived - if at all.



2. Technology - That's right - implementing "Insert your favorite CRM/SFA tool here" will solve all of our woes. Cute, but it doesn't fundamentally address the core behavioural issues that are preventing high performance.  But you can get some nice shiny reports from it!



3. Methodology - again a nice try but a methodology only articulates the information you need in order to be "compliant". Granted, it organizes this information neatly in pretty boxes but it does not address the core skills and principles required to get the information nor does it address the management of results.



4. Process - I would suggest that "Technology" and "Methodology" attempt to address process. Many CRM/SFA tools have embedded processes (but these rarely reflect the business reality) and Methodology is far too broad.



5. Coaching - Most will know my predisposition to coaching. If you do nothing else with your sales team, coaching will produce results. Again, the issue revolves around sustainability through consistent, and competent, application, process control and monitoring.

Only when we bring these 5 elements together can true value be derived. In addition, these elements need to be aligned relative to nomenclature (i.e. naming conventions and definitions), strategic intent, values, culture, the behaviors YOU wish to elicit and, ultimately, the results you want to achieve.

This is not as easy as it may seem - not that any of you thought it was! But you do need a starting point.

The first, and arguably, most logical place to start is your own organization. Without intentionally engaging in consultant-speak - this is where you want to observe best practices - in your context. Who are your stars? What do they do that is so vastly different than everyone else that MAY be an indicator to their success? And, hey, I get it, there are going to be circumstances where these individuals are toxic to the organization. They may do well for themselves at the expense of everyone else. They may consume untold resources within the organization - affecting overall margins, they may have such a high level of activity that sheer volume alone guarantees their success (but they leave a wake of destruction behind with those that did not buy). There are always exceptions. If we assume that these high-performers are essentially "good" people - then let's look at what they do, how they do it, how they engage with clients, internally, socially. What can we learn from them?

Next we want to look to the outside. Who in your industry is the market leader?  How did they get there? How does their salesforce engage with the market? What do clients have to say about them? How can you get the "skinny" on what they do differently?

Third: Let's break out the pocket protectors and get academic. What is your current sales process (from start to finish - however you wish to define this)? What are the key steps you and your people take to identify, solicit and onboard new customers? What are the decision points in this process, where are the key inputs? Who generates these inputs and how are they handled within the process? What are the key outputs (letters, actions, proposals, LOIs, LOEs, SOWs etc.)? When does all of this happen? Who is involved? Where are the breakpoints? - Congratualtions, you are now a process analyst.

Now - start thinking about each of the major process steps. How can each of these be improved? What would that look like? What are the gaps between where you are today and where you can be in this ONE process area? What information is required? Is there technology that can help solve some of the problems you are facing (and it doesn't have to be the latest whiz-bang tool either)?

Now throw all of this in bowl and stir it up...  Seriously.  Some of the best advice I have heard is when you can't run a program linearly then start anywhere and go everywhere.  You do not need to exhaust each aspect but you really do need to at least touch on them.

Only when you have a well defined and improved process, supported by the appropriate technology and rolled out using appropriate training are you then ready to reinforce it for proper coaching.  Coaching will be the determining factor as to whether you are successful in your sales improvement initiative... Or not.

Like, umm, uhhh, kinda, sorta....

You may be thinking that I have lost it given the title of this posting. I have not.

I wanted to spend a little time to write about "the details". We all know that there are some very common facets to sales and sales management - some common principles on how to either sell or how to manage those that are selling. What I am interested in at this moment are those little things that can make a very big difference in your client or employee interactions. I wanted to discuss communication. In this instance, verbal communication.

I should hope that, if you are reading this, you have determined that your ability to effectively communicate with others is a critical aspect to your success. I will state though that I have seen incredible swings in overall sophistication in speech. From extremely articulate to the "less-than-stellar" 'nuff said.

What I would like to examine are some "sloppy" speech habits and discuss what we can do to avoid them, raise our level of communication and differentiate ourselves from the competition.


Let's start with the easy stuff. Those thought interrupters "Um" and "Ah". While I am not a cognitive expert, my belief is that the reason we utter these is to provide time for our brain to catch up with our mouths. Sometimes I am sure it is simply a matter of habit. Either way - STOP IT! It is distracting and those of us that have received any form of formal speakers' training will notice it. The bottom line is that people (clients, employees, family) will judge you on your ability to communicate.


Ums and Ahs denote a lack of confidence and even competency in the subject matter at hand. Clients believe you are not able to think clearly, employees will think the same. Here is something simple to stop doing it:


1. The first step is self-awareness. Now that I have mentioned it you will notice it.


2. The next is to understand when it happens. Think about what is happening cognitively just before the Ums and Ahs are released - how are you feeling and what's going on in the head of yours?


3. Now that you know when it can happen - when you feel that it is starting to occur - take a decided and deliberate pause in your speech.


It is amazing how well this works. In fact, I will admit that I was once guilty of succumbing to thought interrupters. But now, I simply pause when I feel one coming on.


Added benefit by the way: it adds a little drama to the discussion. It allows the individual with whom you are conversing to absorb more information, to catch up with you and, finally, it allows you to structure your thoughts. I believe this is probably one of the most effective means of immediately impacting your ability to communicate.


The next area I would like to cover are informal speech elements. This includes use of "words" - and the term is used loosely - such as "like" "kinda" "sorta" or, my personal fave "you guys". I, and most of your clients (depending on their level of sophistication) consider this common-language. And, what I want to stress here is KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Perhaps using slang and common-language is appropriate when speaking with teens or perhaps in industries where this is common-practice or widely accepted. What I would suggest is that raising the bar in communication can rarely go wrong. The same process applies as related to thought interrupters. Only in this case, what I would suggest is to be cognisant of when it is happening and what you might say differently in order to communicate more clearly. Example:


BAD: "So he was like "we have to reduce shrink", I kinda think he wants to reduce it by 20%"


GOOD: "The client said "we have to reduce shrink" - I believe he wants to reduce it by 20%"

BAD: "I think we can really help you guys take your sales team to the next level"

GOOD: "I believe we can help your organization improve sales performance and enhance sales management effectiveness"

Again - it is sometimes the small stuff that makes a big difference.

Cheerio

Are You Sure it's Real?

Qualification....



I am guessing that next to closing - this is one of the most discussed topics in sales. And equally, likely one of the most inconsistently and likely poorly executed.

Of the sales interactions I have observed, the pipeline discussions I have led and the incredibly shrinking (then disappearing) deals I have witnessed - I have some thoughts. As usual, I will share these with the masses.

For all of the sales managers (VPs, EVPs, Directors of Sales, etc.) I would like you to think back or thumb through your respective pipelines for the past 6 months or so. How many of these deals would you now consider to be "real". My guess is that this is some fraction of the original number (for some it will be a higher percentage, for many it will be much lower).

For all the salespeople out there - and you know who you are - I am confident that you have loaded the pipeline on occasion in order to satisfy one of the managers above. This is not necessarily done out of malice but it is a self-preservation measure. My fear is that so much effort goes into maintaining a charade where this time could be spent on pipeline building activities or, even better, on qualifying those opportunities already in the funnel.

Let's do a quick back-to-basics here:

Qualification means asking all of the questions the will lead to answers to the following "is this deal real?", "can we win?", "do I know what it will take to win?", "what are the steps we need to go through", "so, we're going to win, right?" - you know where I am going with this.

Now - the question that I am typically asked is - when do I qualify the deal? My answer is simple: When would you like to "qualify out" an opportunity? Early, when you haven't spent a lot of effort and potential money on the opportunity or later, when you may have spent a lot of time and money? The answer is self-evident. And, conversely, when would you like to "qualify in" an opportunity? Right. Equally early so you can amass the resources required to win.

SO what is stopping most of us. Well, I think this is a complex answer so let's examine a few of the potential root causes:

1. Pressure: Now I know this is a cop-out of sorts - but let's face it - in the world of sales, pressure is a reality and salespeople deal with it in certain ways. One way of relieving some of the immediate pressure is by maintaining a robust funnel. This usually translates into a funnel of poorly or even unqualified opportunities - creating the illusion of activity. Typically this leads to very little deal conversion and hence, a short shelf-life for our deal salesperson. My sincere belief is the honesty pays dividend. Apart from the philosophical "you're only kidding yourself" mantra, you are doing a lot more than that - you are discrediting yourself: In the eyes of your manager, that individual's manager and so on. If the pipeline is weak, best to come to grips with this and seek the assistance of your manager (this is his/her job). Who knows, with this help you may discover areas of growth and opportunity.

2. Fear: Fear of asking the tough questions of clients. Fear of the answers we may hear, fear that the client may perceive us poorly, whatever. Note the questions earlier in this post. Are these questions where we may receive an answer we don't want to hear: namely "NO", "MAYBE" or some variation thereof? Well OF COURSE. Again, back to core principles. When do we want to hear these answers - early or late? If we hear these early this gives us an opportunity to identify and address a client concern - early enough in the cycle that we can then focus back on value. And as far as client perception of us. Come on, I do not think I know many clients that don't appreciate being given the opportunity to express how they feel - this makes it very easy for the client and allows for a higher level of engagement, dialogue and collaboration. Last I checked - these are all good things.

3. Lack of skill. This one is easy to resolve but difficult to identify. Salespeople are a funny bunch. We don't want to admit we aren't perfect (no truly, we don't). There is a great deal of cognitive dissonance that goes along with this one. Coming to grips with our shortcomings is a tough one (and, fortunately something that typically develops with maturity). If you are a salesperson all I might suggest is to get into a room by yourself and seriously reflect on your sales calls. Ask the question of yourself "what skills and capabilities might I require to do just that much better with my clients"? If you are a sales manager that believes your salespeople might lack certain critical qualification (or any) skills. My humble suggestion is to "ride-along". PLEASE READ THE COACHING POSTING FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ON WORKING WITH SALESPEOPLE IN THE FIELD

OK, I am through with this one. Simple rule - qualify early, qualify always!!!

Until next post!

Steve

Mmmmm. Money.....

So let's think about money for a moment. I personally love this topic. We all love money right? In fact, it is one of those "things" that we all have experience with - from a very young age at that. So you would think we should all be comfortable talking about IT?


So why do so many good and presumably smart salespeople fall apart during the money discussion with clients. These are people that will fight tooth and nail for their commission cheque but not for their company's invoice. So let's think about this for a moment.


If we have done our jobs right, then we have established some needs, we have drilled into the detail of these needs, established some metrics around their resolution, defined a solution that speaks to the resolution of these needs and agreed to the value of the solution. We've also set timelines, identified the resources (internal and client) and maybe even a budget. If we haven't done these things then we need to reset - and quickly - or else the pricing discussion becomes premature - not based on value and only viewed as a COST and not an INVESTMENT. There is a subtle but very big difference. We all know that costs are always viewed as something to be minimized. Investments are viewed more by the returns they generate.



Now we get to a pricing discussion. If we have established value then pricing should be moot - so long as it is reasonable compared to the benefits associated with it. Now I am not naive here - of course there are competitive pressures, we know clients are becoming more and more sophisticated in their buying behaviours and your management has been "trained", mostly by you, to accept leaner and leaner margins.


Let's run through a few possibilities in the pricing discussion:

"The price to too high" - I figured I would start with the most common objection. Rather than simply discount, discount, discount - here is how we may want to handle it. First let's figure out the answer to this question; "Too high compared to what?". This is what we really want to find out isn't it? Is our price too high compared to their budget, is it too high compared to what they perceive the benefits to be, is it too high compared to what they were simply hoping to pay? You get the point.

Let's also think critically about this. What are the drivers of cost? Generally they are:

1. People - theirs and ours - in many consulting engagements - we use a number of our people as well as a number of our client's. The allocation and distribution of these resources will drive direct and indirect project/solution costs.

2. Timing - what period of time are we delivering, are they paying, etc? Would a compressed delivery schedule reduce cost/increase cost, would shorter payment terms allow for better financial terms?

3. Scope - obviously applicable to more complex scenarios - the scope of what we are trying to solve or capitalize on will drive the cost of our solution - more scope = more cost, less scope = less cost

When we start pulling these levers we must understand one more important aspect: RISK. Pulling each of these can have either a increase or a decrease in risk for the client and for ourselves. The client must be aware of these risks before we start pulling on the levers.

There is another level - TERMS. This one is a little trickier as now we are approaching corporate territory and some of these are not movable depending on the organization you might be with. If you are an entrepreneur - it's simple - adjust your terms to the point where you KNOW you will get the business. And the best way to know this? ASK!!!

So where does this leave us?

Assuming we have everything together then we can confidently and, with conviction, present the pricing for our services or product. If we have completed all the right steps then we should be ready to put contract to paper (contract negotiation will be for another posting).

Let's now be sure we understand the steps the customer/client will take at this point in order to transform a pricing proposal into a purchase order or agreement. Again, let's do something revolutionary here and ask the client what the process is and how the decisions will be made. WE can then trial close through each of these responses (i.e. so once you have approved this and it has passed through the chain of command what else do we need to do? IF we were to do "that" then are we in a position to move forward?).

This stuff isn't difficult folks - it is just executed inconsistently. It is easier to simply give in on price but where is the fun in that!

Until next time...

Steve

Open Your Ears Laddy...

Hello everyone. Time for me to clear the summer cobwebs out of my skull and drop a few more tidbits...

Sales is a funny thing. We are ALL told that we must listen to our clients. But how many of us really, truly do this?

Think back to some of your recent sales calls. Do you think there might have been an occurrence or two where you might have glossed over something the client said? Were there instances where you left the call thinking to yourself "If I had only asked..." or "I should have found out more about..." These are all symptoms of not actively listening to your clients. Let's face it, we have all done it.

Here is the problem. Everyone goes into a meeting with an objective or set of objectives. As a seller, we go in with a lot of internal dialogue. It is not uncommon for a lot of salespeople to constantly think about the "list of questions" that they need to get through in the call. Or, worse yet, what they NEED to say... Clients want to talk, we all know that. But think back to your personal lives. How do you feel when you get the sense that the person you are speaking with is ignoring you or not really paying attention. Those of you with teen aged children will know of what I write. Now put yourself in the place of a client who has just told you that "something", let's say a business strategy, is really important.... and you blow right past it, continuing with your list of questions (or with the interrogation as it were). What do you think the client feels your level of interest is in his/her needs?

The principle I am floating is ACTIVE LISTENING. The term itself seems simple enough. Listening - we know what that is. But what do we mean by ACTIVE. Quite simply, this is the act (or art) of being involved in the conversation - turning off the internal dialogue and intently listening to the information that is being provided - assimilating it - and then utilizing this information to guide future questioning, discussion, positioning... whatever...

Let's get pragmatic for a moment. How can you do this? It is easy enough to say one needs to actively listen, it is quite another to actually DO IT and execute on the principle!

As with many of the principles I am fond of articulating - mastery starts with practice. The great thing about this skill is that it can be developed in absolutely every aspect of your life. So let's take it one step at a time.

In order to listen you need to hear. So clean the wax out of your ears, perk them up and pay attention. This means making direct eye contact with the other person. I am still amazed at the number of professionals that I work with that can not maintain eye contact, have a tendency to allow their eyes to wander and then require reiteration of points and information. Practice this with a friend, a partner and even your children if you have them. The next time you speak with them - look them directly in the eyes (remember to blink else they think you "weird"). Try and compare the amount of information you understood versus those times where you weren't really paying attention. Incidentally, my wife calls me on this one all the time!

Next step - "clear your mind Daniel-san". Face it, when we are on sales calls we are thinking about stuff: "what are those questions I need to have answered, how much is this deal going to be, can I afford that fancy new tie with my commission, what was that next question again, I wonder what's for dinner tonight...." You get the point. The key to active listening is to move those mental distractions away. I assume most of you are quite conversant in your products and services, your sales process and what you really need to know - so don't worry about them at this point! The more involved you are in the conversation at hand, the more possibilities for exploration will open to you.


Final step - assimilation and information utilization. Assimilation (not not the Borg-type - sorry - geek moment) is critical. When we are receiving information we need to file this in terms of our current understanding of the client. This means that as the client is speaking, we are intently listening and the information is being processed against our current understanding - sometimes changing it. Now is the time to analyse what we have heard and use this as the basis for further exploration. This requires some relatively rapid analysis and some quick thinking. An easy way to get into this habit is to simply think of some HOW or WHAT questions as follow-up. It will be easier than you might think.

That's it for now. Try this out - again in all areas of your lives - and I am sure you will find the quality of your discussions will improve and you probability of understanding those with whom you are speaking will certainly be enhanced.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Steve

WHY, WHY, WHY

As some of you may already know, I am not a huge fan of subscribing to every new whiz-bang sales method that is out there. I have covered this before and, if you don't know where I stand, I do believe most sales methods are pretty much the same. They cover similar principles generally using different, albeit very colourful, nomenclature.

I am sure, buried within most of these tomes, is something about asking questions. I have covered this as well but wanted to focus on one word today: WHY

Why is an interesting word. It is the question that we believe we want answered:

"Why are you considering implementing a new ERP application?"
"Why would you contemplate switching service providers?"
"Why are you looking out the window when I am saying something very important?"
"Why do I feel the uncontrollable urge to sing at the moment?"

Interestingly, the use of the word WHY generates an interesting response in some people. I have actually observed clients cringe when the word is use. I have also seen clients "shut-down" when WHY-questions are used. Again, let's be pragmatic here, there may be some instances when WHY could be appropriate (I'll need to think of a few). But let's think about WHY this reaction occurs:

Theory I: The 3-year old syndrome
This theory of negative reaction to the word WHY generally applies only to those people who have had considerable exposure to young children. For those that do, you will relate. For those that do not, think hard to when you were a very young child.

What are children notorious for asking? WHY? And they ask this of everything. Personally, I think it is fantastic. This is how children make sense of the world and their place in it. It is how they figure things out. It is how they seek guidance. I honestly wish most salespeople would adopt this mentality. And those that I see that do actually do ask the WHY questions. It is OK to adopt the inquisitive mentality but it is not OK to adopt the behavior! The reality is clients that fall into this bucket-theory will be the "cringers" - reflecting on a young child who incessantly asked WHY of everything. Let's adopt the inquisitive nature but raise the level of discussion.

Theory II: Implied Insult Theory
Let's work through a scenario. The client has agreed to meet with you. You are having a discussion on some of their business issues, some of the challenges, etc. You determine that they have decided to make a purchasing decision for an MPLS solution (inside joke). You are puzzled because this doesn't seem to make sense. You ask the questions "Why would you consider implementing an MPLS at this time?". The client, who is already somewhat nervous about this decision hears the following "Why would you consider implementing an MPLS at this time - DUMMY?". Prefacing your question with WHY can have the opposite desired effect. Again, we need to get to a higher-order of thinking on these things. What do we really want to know?

We may want to know "WHY" but let's think this through with some higher-order thinking. When asking why we are seeking to understand underlying motivations: "Why are you doing that?" - becomes "What is your motivation for dong that?". Now, I am not suggesting that you simply transform every why question to a motivation-based question - doing so will smell of prescribed dialogue and borders on method-acting. All I am suggesting is that you seek to understand more than just WHY. There could be a lot more you could discover. Asking WHY is a lazy way to get at information. Asking WHAT, HOW, WHEN and WHO-type questions are much more effective and a lot less personally invasive. But they do require forethought.

So these are some of my thoughts on this simple three letter word. What I am suggesting is that the thought is fine, the mentality is fine but let's think through and PRACTICE using some different language that leads us to a higher-level of understanding about the client.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Steve

"I object!" If only it were that obvious...

Sorry I have not been around lately. My bad.

I thought I would throw out a rehash of a very common and probably over-discussed issue. What is most amazing is how poorly this issue is understood and how poorly it is executed.

I am referring to objection handling.

So, traditional thoughts on client objections are when the client says something negative. Typical examples have been "The price is too high", "I don't think we need that", or better yet "NO!!!". While these are objections, let's first take our definition to a higher level.

Let's first define an objection is anything that a client does or says in the course of an interaction (or even outside of an interaction as it may be).

We can argue this point but go with me on this one please.

If we define an objection as anything a client says or does that seems pretty broad - and it is. Some examples:

The client asks a question: "Is your company big?"

Our immediate temptation is to assume we understand the motivation behind this question as being "they know we are big so they need someone big" and we eagerly reply "Yes, in fact we are the biggest damn company in the space". We should be very proud of ourselves right? WRONG!!! The client then says "That's too bad because we wanted to work with a small organization that would be more responsive to our needs"....

The client is consistently viewing his/her Blackberry or other mobile device (I guess iPhone's are way cooler)

We have been trained and our ego tells us to ignore this as saying something may be perceived as rude (especially if we are Canadian where we are so damn nice we would apologize for someone stepping on our toes).

The client makes a comment "I am concerned about the recent offer made to acquire your company".

Again, the temptation is to simply go into defensive mode and describe all aspects of the transaction in every manner of detail. HOW MUCH DO YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE UNDERLYING MOTIVATION BEHIND THAT COMMENT?

Let's go through each of these with some high-level thinking.

Question: Is your company big?
Potential Responses: How does your company define big? What aspects of organizational size are you interested in? In selecting an organization with whom to work, what aspects of size are important to you?

Client Action: Not paying attention to you but Blackberry or other
Potential Responses: Mr/Ms. Client, I have noticed you have been looking at your Blackberry quite a bit during our meeting - my concern is that we might not have caught your interest, is this the case?

Client Comment: I am concerned about these recent reports.
Potential Responses: What is it in these reports that is a concern for you? What aspects of the transaction are a concern for you?

The real key here is to gain a deeper level of understand, to understand the underlying motivations and needs of your clients - in everything they may say or do. This will allow you to respond to their specific needs and not the surface-level questioning or objections we typically receive.

I often suggest to sales professionals to adopt the 3 year old mentality of constantly staying in questioning mode - not just when in discovery with the client but in EVERY interaction.

I am not suggesting you do this on every occasion. Let's use a little common sense and courtesy but what I am suggesting is that if you are able to get at the real issues, put them on the table, address them then and there, you stand a much better chance of removing objections, clarifying ambiguity and moving a sales forward than if you were to do nothing or simply respond based on what you THINK the client MAY want to hear. I suggest trying it the next time anyone asks you any type of question - it'll be fun.

Cheers,

Steve