Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

The organisation with the ability to overcome the variety of mental models living in the minds of their workforce, will be the organisation that wins in the future.

Emphasis has to be placed on creating an environment in which the ‘can do – will do’ mentality thrives and becomes the norm; success and achievement are expected, and as a consequence are much more likely to happen.

It is what Earl Nightingale called ”fulfilled expectation.”

Expect Beliefs To Change:

Throughout a person’s lifetime, beliefs change continually. Beliefs that they once thought to be immutable cease to be true.

Take the example of Roger Bannister who in 1957 became the first athlete to break the four-minute barrier for running a mile.  Bannister was a 25-year-old British medical student, and his time was 3mins 59.4 seconds, achieved at the Iffley Road track in Oxford watched by just 3,000 spectators.

Prior to Bannister’s achievement, most athletes considered a sub-four-minute mile impossible. But that same year, sixteen other athletes also ran a mile in less than four minutes. Did they become superhuman overnight? Or, more simply, did their beliefs change?

Our Colleagues Can Exert Positive Pressure:

Like those milers, salespeople have their own unique sets of beliefs, some of which limit their potential in sales. For instance, during a recession, the members of a sales force may all believe that strong sales are impossible. But if just one person increases their sales, what seemed an inevitable fact will suddenly appear more like a thin excuse for poor performance.

We Must Challenge Negative Beliefs:

Sales Captains who challenge negative beliefs with good questions can help create shifts in mindset. Take a look at these examples of negative beliefs and examples of questions that challenge them.

Statement:
“Our solutions are too expensive.”
Response:
“Compared with whom?”
“Compared to what?”
“How do you know?”

Statement:
“I’m hopeless at cold calling”
Response:
“According to whom?”
“What prevents you from being good at cold calling?”
“What would happen if you were good?”

Statement:
“My sales target is too high this month, I’ll never achieve it”
Response:
“What do you need to do so that you can?”

While challenging questions may not instantly create a belief change, over time, they can enable salespeople to shift their perceptions of their beliefs, recognising that there are other possibilities and options available to them.

Developing Self Worth:

Organisations that recognise the importance of helping their salespeople develop a strong sense of self worth are many times more likely to produce high performers. Self worth is vital to everyone but especially to salespeople who hear “no” more often than they hear “yes, I’ll buy”. A salesperson’s self-esteem can sometimes take a hammering, but organisations that find ways to build their salespeople’s self-esteem reap an invaluable dividend. Self–worth translates into attitude, that small thing that makes such a big difference.

In Summary - The most successful salespeople take care of their attitude and they understand that:

Great Attitude = Great Results,
Average Attitude = Average Results,
Poor Attitude = Poor Results.

The second commonality with successful salespeople is that they expect to be successful and they want it badly enough that they bring about its happening i.e. fulfilled expectation.

This article also deals with motivation in the work place: “Understanding Motivation - The Fundamentals”

Today’s News:

My good friend Kevin Eikenberry is running his annual Best Leadership Blog contest - I was actually runner-up last year, when I was blogging for b5 on Leadership Turn, much to my amazement :-) - All the nominees are very good this year, and were selected by a “Blue Ribbon Panel” (which I was honored to be a member of)) I do urge you to take a look and cast your vote - just click on the banner above.

You will also find a great post from Kevin called “Top Ten From TED” here and finally another fine piece from Charles Green - “Why People Don’t Trust Trust” here

Tomorrow: I welcome back fellow Top Sales Expert and good friend, Steve Martinez, who shares the horror of being put on evacuation notice, because his home is about to burn down - he describes superbly the whole experience and the lessons that he learned.

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The JF Guest Author Spot

Mike Brooks

I don’t have to tell you that times are hard for companies these days.
And that means hard on you, the sales rep, too.  Now when companies tell
you that they don’t have the budget; you really believe them, don’t you?

Well not the Top 20%.

Top 20% producers are still making 80% of the sales because they know how
to adapt in a changing market like the one we’re in today.  They also know
that companies are still buying their products and services, and what they
are doing is adjusting how they sell so they can be more efficient with
their time and energy.  And one of their top priories these days is
improving their phone skills.

Whether you only prospect and set appointments by phone, or if your entire
sales cycle is conducted by phone, learning to use the phone more
effectively is going to be crucial to your success in today’s economic
environment.

Here are 5 Secrets of Top 20% producers and 5 critical phone skills you
need to master today:

Secret #1:  Use the phone to disqualify prospects rather than qualify
them.  With gas prices around $5 a gallon, the last thing you want to do
is set a bunch of unqualified or so/so appointments and then spend your
time, energy, and gas running around accomplishing nothing.

So do what the Top 20% do: when they get an answer that gives them that
feeling in their gut (what I call a Red Flag), stop and qualify it!  Ask
the tough questions.  For example, if your prospect says you can drop
something off if you wish, ask:

“I’d be happy to.  And let me ask you, after you see the information, when
are you planning to make a decision on it?”

Or,

“I’d be happy to.  What do you need to see in it to move forward and put
my company to work for you?”

Don’t be afraid to throw away the non-buyers!  Remember: Leads never get
better!

Secret #2:  Be prepared with solid scripts to handle the common brush offs
you get – especially the, “We don’t have the budget now.” When you get
this, you should reply with:

“I completely understand.  Like most companies, I know you don’t have
extra money to throw around these days.  But I also know that you still
need to advertise your business and drive customers in the door.
________, let me ask you - if I could show you how advertising just $1,000
with us this month could bring you back $2,000 or more in business, isn’t
that something you should know more about?”

(Adapt this script to fit your product or service)

Secret #3:  When closing, learn how to cut through smokescreen objections
and find out what is really holding your prospect back – and whether they
are ever going to be a deal or not!

To do this, start questioning and isolating objections rather than
answering them.  If your prospect says: “The price is too high,” say:

“I can understand that.  Let me ask you – if the price were right where
you wanted to spend, is this something you would go ahead and order from
me today?”

Any answer other than yes means that this is just a smokescreen and
answering it will get you nowhere.

To read Secrets #4 and #5, go here:

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s new book:

“The REAL Secrets of the Top 20% - How To Double Your Income Selling Over
the Phone.”  You can read about this by clicking here or simply click on the book below:

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, offers FREE Closing Scripts, and a FREE
audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the
phone. He works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide
teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20%
performance. If you want to Close Business like a Top Closer, then learn
how at: Mr Inside Sales.com

Today’s News: Another busy week for Top Sales Experts over at Business Expert Webinars

How to Double Your Business in 90 Days
Topic: Sales
7/8/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Cheryl Clausen

Get Inside Your Prospect’s Head
Topic: Sales
7/9/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Craig James

Cold Calling Success
Topic: Sales - Telesales
7/9/08 4:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Mike Brooks

To view full details, simply click on the banner below.

Drew Stevens posted an interesting piece last week “Finding New Business In Obvious Places” - I think you will enjoy it.

I think you will also appreciate this from Keith Rosen -”Cold Calling Academy: #1 Shift from Gatekeeper to Concierge” 

Tomorrow: “Attitude, That Small Thing That Makes Such A Big Difference”

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In response to a question I received in my mailbox this weekend, I identified that in my view, there are five main drivers for improvement in organisations:

In no particular order
• Strategy
• Lean operations
• Balanced culture
• Customer responsiveness
• Leadership

Strategy sets direction and gives focus to improvement. It must however be deployed throughout the organisation to be effective.

Processes need to be mapped and analysed in a methodical way; projects must be managed; problem symptoms traced to root causes; data must be collected before decisions are taken; trends in customer preferences detached and fed back; improvement activity of any kind reported on and coordinated; improvement action measured. Just about everything should be done to a discipline.

A balanced culture means effective, creative management of people. Customers are served by people; processes are managed by people. Only people can deliver quality improvement. For them to work well they must be empowered, given direction, measured, reviewed and success recognised.

Customer responsiveness keeps the organisation focused on customer needs, reactions and changing requirements.

Finally, leadership ensures that everyone is enthused and supported to work on the strategy, improve processes, serve customers and become active team players.

You may also enjoy “Is Your Organisation Committed To Success?”

Today’s News:

Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, we have just announced the Top Sales Article for June - no, I am not going spoil it for you, please check it out here

I am making a concerted effort to read more blogs, particularly those written by fellow Top Sales Experts and I promise to share with you any posts that I think you will enjoy. Dave Brock recounted an interesting experience on his blog last week - “What Did You Sell That For”  and Dave Stein had something to say about “Competing On Price”

 Tomorrow: My guest is “Mr Inside Sales” - Mike Brooks, who has a brand new book coming out shortly.

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It’s Friday and I always like to post about something a little light-hearted, however there is also a serious edge to today’s topic.

Of the four business meetings I have held so far this week; only in one case was the other person able to produce an up to date and informative business card, despite the fact that they were all very senior executives.

As I have said on numerous occasions, a common (and often overlooked) image feature for every would-be business professional, is the business or calling card (the summary information about yourself you choose to give to others).

Although there are no hard facts on the subject, it is estimated that 90% of people do not have a calling card at all. In fact the estimated breakdown looks as follows:

Of the 10% that do have a calling card:
* 25% have an informative card
* 35% have cards showing only name, address, and phone number
* 40% have cards with out-of-date or incorrect information

This means that only 2.5% of people have a card that is up to date, accurate and gives a reasonably full picture of who they are and what they do.

Always Carry Your Calling Card
Having no calling cards (or one that is inaccurate or short on detail) is a major inhibitor. Even a supply of blank cards is better than none at all, as you can’t possibly expect people to remember everything that you tell them. Nor do you want to constantly write down names, phone numbers, and any other information, in long hand, every time you meet someone.

The design of your calling card can vary enormously in style and look. It should be easy to read and include a minimum of name, address, and daytime phone numbers.

However, I believe today that it is also appropriate to include fax number, e-mail address, and mobile phone numbers.

Focus On Your Skills Not Your Job
You’ll notice that a job title is deliberately not included in the list. Although in principle there is nothing wrong with including it, it is much more useful to use the space under your name to describe what you do in a precise and concise way that is meaningful to anybody that you meet. Words like designer of roads and bridges or seller of land and property are much better than engineer or sales consultant.

Don’t forget this is the information that helps others to know what skills you have or what you might offer. Hence secretary, for example, is unlikely to be useful in itself but expert in word processing and desktop publishing says a lot more.

Today’s News: It’s Independence Day over the other side of the pond of course, so lots of my friends will be flying their flags and enjoying the holiday weekend.

Over at Salesopedia, one of the latest recruits on the Top Sales Experts team, Bill Sayers is in conversation with Clayton Shold. The topic is Personal Development and it is well worth listening in to here

Tomorrow: We are gearing up for ten days of revelry, as the 2008 Armada gets under way, with potentially 10m visitors passing through - it’s only once every five years, and from my vantage point high above the City, I have a wonderful view.

As ever, wherever you are, have a great w/e and do come back next week - JF

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The JF Guest Author Spot

Cindy King

One of the first practical issues you encounter when marketing to international markets is how to structure the information on your website. 

As the volume of your international communication grows, you will need to organize this effectively online.

How do you organize all of your country specific online communication?  There are different ways to segment your content:

• Language
• Country
• Regions

You need to separate different product or content needs for different countries.  Once you do this, you will need an appropriate communication platform to fit both:

 Good international marketing practices
 Good Search Engine Optimization

Not so long ago, the only option for good country specific online marketing appeared through localized websites.  Website Localization refers to creating a website registered in your foreign market.

Website Localization is still the best step if you company has a sales presence in other countries. 

For smaller companies, this is often too big of a step to start with. You might not want the extra website management tasks involved with Website Localization.

If you are just starting to penetrate your international markets, you do have other good options for segmenting your international communication and getting good international web marketing.

Search engines, and Google in particular, are constantly improving your international marketing options.  Google’s Webmaster tools give you good international search engine optimization.

You can keep your foreign language content or your different country specific content on your main website.

This means you actually have three choices in separating your culture specific content on your website:

Sub Directories

• www.yourcompanyname.com/countryname

Many people start here.  It is very easy to set up. 

If you are just starting out and have minimal content for each country or different culture, you may want to use Sub Directories.  This:

• Is very easy to set up
• Gives your business time to grow

If you have more than a couple of different countries, you should look at the next option: Sub Domains.

Sub Domains

• www.countryname.yourcompanyname.com

This is an easy method to separate and manage your country specific content.

If your website is on one topic aimed at different audiences, it makes sense to go for Sub Domains.

• This keeps all of your content on the same subject on one server.
• You can guide your country specific SEO with Google Webmasters tools to get visibility in foreign searches.

Your Content Is On The Same Subject:

The two options above are perfect if your content is on the same subject.  Both Sub Directories and Sub Domains:

• Link everything to one domain name.

By keeping all of your content on the same subject on the same website, you will have:

• Better search engine results
• Easier website management

Companies with offline sales strategies in different countries should use the next option: a Top Level Domain website. 

Website Localization With Top Level Domains

This is an example of a Top Level Domain or TLD:

• www.yourcompanyname.fr for France

If you sell different products or services to different countries, or if you have a strong business presence in a country, use a Top Level Domain.

TLD’s often represent a distinct business advantage in most cultures:
• Your company becomes a “local” company.
• Stronger cultural marketing

TLD websites are on different servers and require more website management.  A TLD always has a stronger marketing appeal within your foreign market.

More International Web Marketing

The recent improvements in multilingual SEO will continue and lead to even stronger international web marketing.

Your choice on how you set up your different cultural content on your website is a marketing choice now more than ever.

Once you set up the right platform to organize your international communication, you can concentrate on your country specific marketing and get more international clients.

Cindy King is a cross-cultural copywriter and international sales specialist, with over 25 years field experience in international business development. She has a strong dual North American – European identity.

Cindy runs an international web marketing company, King Business Tools, based in France. She helps mid-sized companies expand internationally with cross-cultural web marketing solutions to close international lead cycles faster.

Get more free international business information on her Live Portfolio at: Get International Clients.

Today’s News: I am really pleased to announce that my very good friend and fellow Top Sales Expert  Leslie Buterin has just launched a brand new blog. As you would expect from one of the leading experts in the world when it comes to reaching top decision makers, it is packed with superb advice and tips - just click on the banner to have a look.

Tomorrow: Despite the fact that a very high percentage of my visitors will be celebrating, I will still be here

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The JF Guest Author Spot

Are You Selling to Customers or Clients? 
Know the Difference to Succeed as a Consultative Seller

By Kendra Lee

How do you refer to the people you represent?  Are they “clients” or “customers”?  Or, perhaps you struggle with what you call them, and bounce back and forth from one term to the other, depending on what comes to mind first.

The terms may seem interchangeable, but for those who recognize the subtle distinctions, you may be leaving a wrong impression.  This is important to know if you want to be perceived as a consultative seller to others.  By not using the correct term in meetings, presentations or even casual conversation, you may be hurting your ability to get ahead with important clients.

I often find myself switching between these two terms, knowing I want all our prospects and clients to perceive me as a consultative partner to them rather than a vendor sales rep, yet uncertain I have “earned the right” to call them clients. But even before we’ve earned the right, don’t we need to act as if we have?

Remember that old adage, “dress for the position you aspire to”? I think this is a similar circumstance. We must not only treat our prospects and clients the way we always expect to treat them, but also speak of them as if they have already achieved that level.

From my perspective a client is a person whose business you have a vested interest in, and for whom you perform as a partner within their business. Not everything you provide is billable. And not every opportunity you are awarded was shopped with the competition for the best price.

You are a respected part of your client’s business. Every time you meet with your client, you bring a new idea. They value your expertise and recommendations, even seeking them out. While you want to be successful yourself, your primary objective is to make their business successful because you know your success stems from their success.

In contrast, customers are people who you help meet a need. They have a problem. You address the problem. You may invest long hours in determining the right solution. They may invest a great deal in purchasing the solution, but they don’t recognize the value of your recommendations. You don’t take time to present new ideas, perform quarterly review meetings, or call them spontaneously.

While you like customers as people, neither of you are investing in a long-term relationship. Customers may deal with a specific seller so long that a friendly relationship is established, but there is rarely a vested interest to the extent that a business partnership is established.

So, which would you rather have: clients or customers? Personally, I’d like every customer to be a client, because it means they respect the full value of what I can bring to them as a consultative seller, and what our organization can provide to their business. I have fun working with clients, and they enjoy working with me. We make each other successful.

The big question is: how do we turn customers into clients?

 First, we change how we refer to them. They are clients.

 Next, we examine why we aren’t doing those things for our customers that we do for our clients, like bringing a new idea to every meeting, helping them identify unique ways to address their strategic business objectives, or holding a project review meeting with their staff.

 Finally, we change. We treat our customers like clients. If they don’t see the value after all our efforts, they may select different vendors. But then, they really weren’t our clients in the first place, were they?

The people we’re doing business with can easily sense if they’re being treated like a client or a customer.  If we treat clients — the people who should have our respect, attention and receive valuable input from us — as if they’re only “placing orders” through us, we’ll fail as consultative sellers. And ultimately it’s the clients that make us all more successful.

Kendra Lee is author of “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the Small & Midmarket Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or klee@klagroup.com or visit www.klagroup.com.

Today’s News:

Until last week, many of the Top Sales Experts team were also members of the Top 10 Sales Articles adjudication panel and so we decided that none of TSE community would be eligible to have their work nominated. However, as more and more of the top sales gurus become a TSE, obviously, there is less and less quality articles to choose from. As a consequence, we have reduced the size of the panel and opened the doors again to non-panel TSE members …. still with me?

This week on Top 10, we have some superb articles by: Leslie Buterin, Jill Konrath, Keith Rosen, Wendy Weiss and many more. You can read them all here 

Tomorrow: My second guest of the week, fellow Parisien, Cindy King

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Why is it that some companies grow prosperous on the fruits of their success at winning major bids while others think themselves lucky to garner a few crumbs from the feast?

Just why is it that some companies consistently win more major bids than others?

What do they do that makes them so successful?

Senior marketing and sales managers have long sought answers to these questions, often with little success. Not surprisingly, the most effective bid winners prefer to draw a veil over those factors that make them successful.

But research has pulled the veil aside and provides a glimpse of the critical success factors in winning major bids. The research is part of a major project undertaken by the Faculty of Management at the University of Luton.

As part of the research 293 companies answered a detailed questionnaire, which focussed on two key areas – how successful they were at winning major bids and what they regard as the factors that made them most successful at winning the bids.

The companies in the survey represent a cross section of those British companies that compete in major bids either in the UK market or overseas and came from industries as diverse as information technology, construction, engineering, aerospace, media, consultancy, manufacturing and utilities. Between them, the companies have a combined turnover of more than £65 billion. For the purpose of the survey, a bid was defined as either, a one-off purchase or a contract for ongoing supply over a specified period

They were candid about their success; some 37 % admitted they won less than a quarter of the bids they pitched for. A further 40 % said they won between a quarter and half of their bids. Only 4 % of the companies claimed to win more than three-quarters of their bids.

There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 53 % said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 65 % from existing customers. Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place?

The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.
 
The top five factors are:
• Perceived quality of your products/services
• Relationships with existing or potential customers
• Position of the company in it’s market-place
• The company’s overall image
• Track record in similar projects

However, if 77 % of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for - what do the best quarter have, that the other three-quarters lack?

A yearlong research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities, which contributed to success

These activities fall under four main categories: 
• Assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value,
• Understanding the customer’s buying centre, (Decision-Making Unit)
• Contacting customer’s regularly and reviewing the relationship
• Communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services)

Companies that win less than a quarter of bids, claim to perform an average of only 2.9 of the activities very effectively. Among companies winning a quarter to half of bids, the number of very effective activities rises to 3.5; those who win half to three quarters of their bids perform 4.9 activities very effectively: among those companies winning more than three-quarters of major bids, the number of very effective activities climbs to 8.7.

What is perhaps surprising here is that even the most successful companies are accomplishing less than half of the critical 18 activities “very effectively”. It seems pretty clear, that those companies prepared to focus on these activities and generate even a modest increase in the number of activities performed very effectively, could reap significant improvements in the number of major bids they win.

Aside from these critical activities, the research has uncovered some important issues for managing effective bid teams. The companies in the survey were asked to rate 15 aspects of managing bid teams on a five-point scale from “very important” to “not important at all”.

The top five issues are:
• Leadership from senior managers
• Creating a team spirit
• Leadership from board of directors
• Including team members with specialised knowledge of the product / service
• Giving clear instructions to team members on how to handle the bid

Carol Kennedy, a co-author of the report, says: “There is wide range of different issues that companies need to address more effectively if they are to win more of the bids they pitch for. Bidding relationships with the client is given a particularly high priority in the service sector.”

“There are wide variations in the effectiveness of major bid management between organisations. With more companies increasingly finding themselves pitching against overseas competitors for business, the need to create more effective bid management and use a strategic approach is more urgent than ever.”  

To read this article, “The Myths of Bidding Exploded” in full, please click here:

Today’s News: A really big week over at Business Expert Webinars with several of the Top Sales Experts involved: Just click on the banner below for full details.

Work/ Life Harmony Rather Than Work/Life Balance
Topic: Personal Development
6/30/08 5:30pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Peter Nicholls

How to Prospect like a Pro
Topic: Sales
7/1/08 1:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Alen Majer

Pssst. Your B2B Sales Success Has Nothing to Do with Branding
Topic: Sales
7/2/08 10:00am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Maureen Blandford

Presentations with Muscle - Getting people to Listen
Topic: Business Communication
7/2/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Drew Stevens

Tomorrow: I welcome Rochelle Togo-Figa onto The JF Guest Author Spot

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Your security, believe it or not, affects the way you stand, the way you walk, in short, your physical well being and self-confidence. A person without security is always running. They must take the first job offered, or nearly so. They sit nervously on life’s chair because any small emergency throws them into the hands of others. Without security, a person must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its place but a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A person with security can walk tall. They may appraise opportunities in a relaxed way, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessity.

A person with security can afford to resign from their job if their principles so dictate. A person always concerned about necessities, such as food and rent, education for children, can’t afford to think in long range career terms. They must dart to the most immediate opportunity for ready cash. Without security, they will spend a lifetime of darting and dodging. A person with security can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous in family or neighbourhood emergencies. They can take a level stare into the eyes of any person - friend, stranger, or enemy. It shapes their personality and character.

The best security you have in this world is you. Your efforts, your leadership, and your ability to develop others as leaders.

Today’s News:

The response to the latest edition of The Top Sales Experts’ latest quarterly E-book has been quite incredible and it seems everyone is talking about it - if you haven’t downloaded your FREE copy of this superb 144 page collection of outstanding articles, you can do so by simply clicking on the sunflower

Tomorrow: I have been toying with the idea of converting my daily posts into a podcast that can be downloaded and played anywhere - this weekend I am going to experiment Wherever you are, have a good one and do be sure to make it back next week - JF

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The JF Guest Author Spot

Cheryl Clausen

Yep, I know the squeaky wheel is the one that gets oiled.  But that’s your decision.  You’ve decided to be reactive rather than proactive.  You can change your decision at any time.  Now may be that time.

When you look at your sales force you have 3 types of producers:
• Top Producers (the upper 20%)
• The squishy middle
• Non-producers (the lower 20%)

Even though you know your greatest return comes from the top 20% unless you make a conscious choice otherwise you focus your attention on the non-producers and the squishy middle.  And you know it doesn’t make sense, and you know you shouldn’t do it, but it’s so hard to ignore the whiners and complainers.  However, that’s exactly what you have to do.

If you reward the whiners and complainers and the excuse of the hour producers you’re reinforcing the exact behaviors you want stopped.  You think you can somehow motivate them to change their behaviors and improve their results.  The truth is you can’t motivate anyone to do anything you can only provide a motivating environment.  Plus what motivates some of your sale force is de-motivating to others.

Your greatest opportunity is with your producers in the top 30%.  Why the top 30%?  Because…at any given moment 10% of those producers are fluctuating in or out of the top 20%. 

You know the warning signals:
• You start hearing how they already know that
• They lack interest in honing their already good skills because they’re satisfied with where they’re at now
• They aren’t setting stretch goals

You also know the success signals:
• They’re looking for opportunities to make big improvements from minor adaptations to what’s already working
• They’re eager for new challenges
• They’re looking for personal interaction and assistance

It’s true your top producers are already earning monetary rewards far in excess of their peers.  You also know it’s never just about the money.  These high quality sales people have an inner need for greatness and they deserve more than monetary rewards and prizes. 

They deserve personal attention.  They deserve the time and attention of someone who can focus on them and their needs alone.  Is that you?

Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. 

If you want to increase sales, and I’m sure you do or you wouldn’t be all that concerned about their performance; you want to invest in your top producers over and above the squishy middle and the non-producers.  One way to do that is to align the best of the best with a coach who can work with them one-on-one helping the good to become great.  Someone who doesn’t judge them or push them in directions they may not want to go, but who challenges them and who calls them out when needed. 

The danger with the business owner or sale manager being that coach is even though the sales person realizes you respect them and want good things for them you’re still the boss.  They worry you have motivations that might not serve them well, and they feel they have to be careful about what they say to you.  That doesn’t work.  If they’re going to make real improvements and real progress they need to have open and honest conversation with someone who they don’t have to be on their guard with. 

Sales training is motivating and highly valuable for your non-producers and the squishy middle.  Yet, it isn’t a good fit for your best producers.  They need someone to help them see their blind spots, someone to ratchet up their accountability, and someone to help them create ways to attain their better future. 

What if your top producers increased their performance by even 3%?  How would that impact your revenue?  How would it impact the culture within your organization?   

Looking at the best thing that could happen and the worst thing that could happen if you invested in your top producers by aligning them with an outside coach, could you live with the worst thing? 

While you’re thinking through your best options invite your sales force to IncreaseSalesCoach.com to sign-up for the report and e-course where they’ll review the 7 Secrets Top Producers Know that you can put to use in the next 9 days.       
  
Cheryl Clausen helps clients increase their client base, close more business, and grow into Top Producers. Cheryl works with service professionals on their top 5 priorities: maximum time management effectiveness, assistant buyer skills for improved sales skills long-term long-lasting relationships, a unique marketing position that attracts more clients, obtaining results through other people, and planning a successful business that becomes a reality. Visit Cheryl’s site here

Today’s News:

Over at Salesopedia: Cheryl talks about leveraging objections to make more sales. How you react to objections determines the outcome of the outcome of the objection. If you expect a positive outcome it changes your mindset. She suggests it is important to both acknowledge and respect the client objection, and then attempt to understand the objection. Cheryl touches on which communication signals to watch for. You may find it interesting to hear you should have an internal smile when you hear an objection, listen to find out why. Just go here

Tomorrow: An end of week message to all leaders

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The dichotomy facing sales leaders is how they reconcile the fact that most corporations today provide less upfront training for their sales staff than in years past, yet attach increasing importance to staff development?

This should not come as a surprise, because current stock market thinking provides a powerful disincentive for firms to invest in their people on an ongoing basis. An organisation’s investment in their human capital, in the form of training and other forms of education, is not separable from general expenditure. It therefore appears as a cost on the corporate balance sheet.

Tough Choices:

Unfortunately, as a consequence, sales leaders have concluded that their only realistic option is to cut back on training and instead look to recruit sales professionals who, in theory anyway, already possess the necessary skills needed to do the job.

They then send them out to win business armed with what they know. However, most of those same sales leaders are discovering just how difficult it is to find skilled salespeople, who have all of the essential skills and personal traits. And anyway it is not possible to equate experience or seniority with success.

In skills development, there are many similarities to sport; does an athletic champion stop training as soon as they win their first medal? In music, does a concert pianist stop rehearsing as soon as they have given their first recital? In art, does the artist stop improving after they have enjoyed the first exhibition of their work? The answer in all cases is obvious and we should apply the same common sense principals to the ongoing development of our sales teams.

The reality is that selling in today’s climate is both an art and a science. Selling is a profession that demands a far wider range of skills than ever before, skills that require continual fine-tuning and constant practice.

In Summary - Ongoing Reinforcement and Development Is Essential:

The operative word here is “ongoing.” Even if salespeople have undergone progressive sales training, there’s no guarantee that they will be successful. It is common knowledge that skills grow rusty over time and salespeople are prone to pick-up bad habits along the way or to simply skip steps and take shortcuts that can lead to long-term trouble.

Perhaps even more important these days, is the fact that markets, competition, technologies, and customer preferences are all in a constant and accelerating state of change. This fact requires that sales people are able and willing to rethink their sales strategy and approach frequently and receive a regular top-up of skills and motivational coaching.

Today’s News:

I have mentioned the Sales Sandbox a few times and suggested it is well worth a visit - now you have even more reason, because so many of the Top Sales Experts have their blogs syndicated there - so do take a look. 

Tomorrow: My guest on The JF Guest Author Spot is fellow Top Sales Expert, Cheryl Clausen.

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