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
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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
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
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