A funny thing happened on my way to the sale… Part 2
by Andrew Shedden
In part 1 of this article some of the reasons for lack of progress in the current sales arena were discussed. Societal, environmental, and technological explanations were outlined. Now let's look at a few things that you can do today to start enjoying a higher level of sales success.
What can business owners do?
Obviously, the manner in which business owners choose to react to these changes in the sales arena will largely determine their degree of success. Business owners need to be sympathetic towards staff about the changes that are fracturing and unsettling the business world.
The most important action to be taken by every business owner is to accept current business reality for what it is. Business owners trying to wish things back to the way they were are delusional at best.
Make sure that you are action oriented and positive about the future. Your company and its sales system must be both adaptable and protean. Rigorous quantifiable analysis must be performed on all of your sales processes. All inefficiencies must be exposed and transformed.
Full empathic communication with your sales managers is more of a necessity today than ever. They are trying to coach performance from the sales force within a lean, result oriented, selling environment that embraces change. Be mindful of the increasing importance of relationships in all sales activities. As competition is becoming more globalized and purchasing options are widening for buyers; solid relationship based sales techniques will give your business an edge.
What can Sales Managers do?
Become au courant with new technology
Sales managers need to become au courant with new technology and all it has to offer. Sitting behind a desk and proudly boasting about a lack of computer literacy can no longer be viewed as a badge of individuality. Don't be a techno-peasant. Today's software is easier and more powerful than ever.
All sales managers need to be fully up to date in terms of sales oriented uses of technology. A firm understanding is necessary from the basics of contact management software through the importance of database marketing. Sales managers need to have a comprehensive understanding of the use of the Internet as a prospecting or lead generation tool.
Sales managers need to be very certain that sales representatives no longer use old school adversarial and manipulative sales techniques. I recommend each sales manager I meet read and understand the following books: Strategic Selling, Conceptual Selling, Spin Selling, and High Probability Selling. All of these books offer the best models for selling in today's environment. The professional sales methods found in these books need to be studied, adapted, and put into practice.
What can salespeople do?
Burn your Power Point Program
This is a provocative and strong admonition. I know that I earlier stated that companies need to embrace technology, this is the major exception. Recently, I was on a sales call with a prospective marketing client. His request was that I help them come up with a new Power Point Presentation that could be used by his sales representatives. I respectfully declined and walked away from several thousand dollars in revenue. He was not happy with me but I felt light as a feather, secure in the knowledge that I had done him a great favour.
Sales representatives who think that Power Point presentations are impressive are sorely mistaken. They may have been impressive 5 years ago, not so now. These presentations tend to encapsulate everything that is wrong about the old school approach to selling. In this approach salespeople make the solution being offered fit every problem. If you have a lap top computer leave it at the office or at home. If you ever call me to your place of business and I fire up my laptop to make a Power Point presentation take my laptop and phone the men in their white coats as it will mean that I have finally gone around the twist.
Learn how to listen
Once salespeople have burned their Power Point Programs, then what? For many salespeople it will feel like performing on the trapeze without a net. Some more introverted salespeople will go through acute withdrawal symptoms, wail, and gnash their teeth. Other more extroverted salespeople may appear to be completely nonchalant about the whole process. In either case they will be doing themselves, and their prospects, a great favour by ditching the laptop. The end result of these more highly personalized interactions will be the formation of strong relationships. Think of it as an interesting trip down the road to Damascus.
Eliminating environmental changes
Like Yogi, buyers are smarter than the average bear. Many have become bears that need to be handled with care. Downsizing and its attendant stresses create impatient and ill humoured behaviour in many buyers and buying committees. Salespeople need to recognize this and cut out the dog and pony show. Then they'll soar like turkeys and gobble like eagles (No more animal analogies in this article).
Despite the vast numbers of new books on selling being published there really is nothing new under the sun. The same sales practices that separated the great from the also rans in the 1950's are equally relevant today. These best practices can be summarized in two sentences.
Great salespeople aren't great talkers. Great salespeople are great listeners.
To succeed in the new sales environment salespeople need to think about the "golden rule" and put it into practice. Every buyer wants to be listened to with great empathy. Every buyer wants to be respected. Every buyer wants to be treated with dignity. I think the best advice that can be offered an aspiring or veteran salesperson would be to think of IBM's "Respect for the Individual." This policy has been ingrained in the culture of IBM and should be ingrained in every business.
Everyone in business ought to be aware of Pareto's Law, or the 80/20 rule. 80% of your profits/sales/problems come from 20% of your customers. Here's a new law for you. When you are out on your sales calls use "Broadfield's Law" or the 90/10 rule. Listen 90% of the time and talk 10% of the time. Don't ever speak uninterrupted for more than three minutes unless your name is Winston Churchill. Your stunning product knowledge and rousing oratory may only impress you. Being an active listener. Remember that listening skills are more important than sales skills.
Taming technological changes
Technological changes have commoditized virtually every product and service. All buyers want solutions to their particular problems. Most buyers solve problems the same way as all of us. Identify the problem, examine the solutions, and pick the best solution based on one or more differentiating factors. The job of salespeople is to correctly identify and promote differentiation in their product line.
Most people in marketing associate differentiation with products or services only. There are, however, instances where differentiation may be virtually impossible. Even if your product or service has become commoditized you can still profit by differentiating your entire sales process. Simply don't allow salespeople to be viewed by buyers as a commodity. If you have a truly customer centred sales process you will stand out from your competitors within 30 seconds of them meeting you. If you want to greatly reduce "comparison shopping" make sure you entire sales process is "no comparison."
