The Sales Management Minute by Lee Salz

The Sales Management Minute by Lee Salzhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesminute.php http://www.salesarchitects.net/images/sales_mgmnt_minute2.jpg Sales Architects http://www.salesarchitects.netYou Can't Hire Great Sales People – So Stop Looking For Themhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=159&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=159&readMon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netExecutives often try to hire great sales people, but they should be looking for something else. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what you should look for in sales candidates. It’s the epic stand-off. On one side of the table is the sales candidate determined to get hired. He’s ready to position himself as a master prospector and strong closer. On the other side of the table is the executive hoping that she has just found a rainmaker. She’s looking for a great sales person. The sales candidate dazzles the executive with a great gift of gab and receives the job offer. Both sides win … at least, for today. Three months later, this supposed rainmaker is shown the door as he has failed to produce as the company would have hoped. Today, both sides lost. Executives oftentimes walk into the interview room looking for a great sales person … defined as a master prospector and strong closer. These executives have dreams that they hire so-called great sales people and success is guaranteed. Yet, more often than not, the dreams become nightmares as the rainmakers fail to perform as expected. Why does this happen? The issue lies in what executives seek in sales candidates. They look for "greatness,” while they should be looking for "potential to be great.” The difference here is that "greatness” infers that it is a standalone attribute. However, the "potential to be great” means that the candidates are evaluated against your unique ideal sales person profile to see if they have what it takes to strut their stuff in the sales role for your company. Your ideal sales person profile addresses the factors that cause sales people to succeed or fail in your company, not universally. The next time you find yourself in the sales candidate versus employer stand-off, don’t get caught looking for the "great sales person." Find the "right sales people with the potential to be great" in the sales roles for your company. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Don't Search For A Great Sales Leader - Look For The Right Onehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=158&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=158&readTue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netMost executives search for great sales leaders which leads them to hire the wrong ones. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to hire the right sales leader for your company. There are few more critical decisions that executives make than selecting the leaders of their sales organizations. Just like when hiring sales people, the key is to search for the right sales leader with the potential to be great as opposed to looking for a great sales leader. This may seem like tomato-tomahto. It’s not. In your company, you require a sales leader with a particular skillset, during certain circumstances, in a specific cultural setting. There is no one size fits all when hiring sales leaders.  When considering this role, your starting point is to identity where your company falls within the sales organization maturity spectrum. If your company does not have a well-defined sales process, metrics or go-to-market strategy, you will want the entrepreneurial sales leader. This person loves the challenge of new product launches and turnaround situations. There’s no roadmap to follow, but rather this person blazes the trail for others to follow. If process, metrics and systems have been defined, the need is for the executor sales leader. You look to this person to execute the already defined plans, develop the skills of their team and hold their people accountable for performance. Don’t expect this person to create the plan, but rather to follow the plan that has been developed. The entrepreneurial sales leader and executor sales leader represent two end points of the spectrum. You will need to identify where your company falls within the spectrum to make a smart hire. Two key points to keep in mind as you consider this hire… 1. The entrepreneurial sales leader gets bored once the creative part of the role is over. 2. The executor sales leader fails unless all of the critical systems have been defined. Before you hire your next sales leader, profile the role and evaluate candidates against the scope. Remember, there are no great sales leaders. Your quest is to find the right sales leader with the potential to be great in your company. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Are Your Sales People Selling Pain or Pleasure?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=157&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=157&readMon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales people have been taught to sell features and benefits - and it doesn't work. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the secret to engaging prospects. Last night, I woke up at about 2am. Unable to go back to sleep, much to my wife’s chagrin, I turned on the television. Channel after channel was showing infomercials for fitness products. It was a parade of beautiful people using various exercise equipment. Every actress was smiling as if she had just won the lottery, making it seem like this exercise equipment created a delightful experience. All of these infomercials were designed to make viewers see the outcomes of exercise. How many health club memberships would be sold if the sales person said to a prospect, "After your first day of exercising, you are going to hurt…and hurt bad! Day two is even worse. Walking will be a chore. For the first few weeks, you will walk around looking as stiff as Frankenstein. And, you won’t see any measureable results for 4-6 months. Would you like to sign up for our platinum membership?” Good luck selling memberships with that offer. Traditional selling teaches sales people to talk about product features and benefits. Sorry to say, but that philosophy just won’t work. Think about what you sell as the bridge to outcomes. The health club sales person uses needs analysis questions to uncover what each individual wants to accomplish through exercise. He never sells the equipment. Exercise is merely the vehicle that helps people lose weight, get stronger and become healthier. That’s the story people buy all day long. A while back, I launched a technology company called The Revenue Accelerator which helps companies created structured onboarding initiatives for its sales people. If we focused prospect discussions on the amount of work it takes to create an onboarding program, our conversations would be rather short. However, we focus our conversations on outcomes like: reduced ramp-up time, improved revenue performance and the financial impact on both the top and bottom-line. Those outcomes grab the attention of executives. To implement the Outcome –Based Selling approach, identify all of the potential outcomes associated with your products and use needs analysis discussions to uncover which ones are most of interest to your prospects. That’s a story that sells! See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Are Your Sales People Guilty of This Sales Crime?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=156&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=156&readMon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen sales people are on the prowl for new business, they often commit a sales crime. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, find out if you are guilty of this sales crime. It’s the middle of the night. There’s a pounding at the door. You scramble to put on your robe and rush downstairs to see who it is. It’s the police! "We want to talk to you about a crime...” How did they find you? Did they just knock on every door until they found a suspect? Of course, they didn’t. The evidence has led them to your doorstep and that’s why they are contacting you right now. Could you imagine if the police’s strategy to solve crimes was to ring every doorbell and say "Hi, did you commit a crime today? If so, could you tell me which one?” No suspect would ever be caught. As ridiculous as that sounds, this is exactly how most sales people approach their search for new business. They start making calls without a "crime theory” which means good luck finding suspects. If you can’t find suspects, you can’t turn them into prospects. No prospects means no sales. That’s a sequence of events that even makes sense to Inspector Clouseau. There’s an old expression about sales being merely a numbers game. While there is truth to the need for quantity, quality is the ultimate measure. To develop your "crime theory,” visit the company’s website, perform a Google search on them and research "titles.” By "titles,” I mean the titles of those you would be calling on. It would be helpful for your "crime theory” if before you call a CFO that you know what CFOs are most concerned about today. With these three pieces of evidence in hand, connect them with the problems your products solve. Don’t ever pick up the phone to find new business without identifying your "crime theory” … or run the risk of the sales management police knocking on your door. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.What Every Sales Leader Should Learn from Moneyballhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=155&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=155&readMon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe movie Moneyball teaches sales leaders a great lesson. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, find out what every sales leader should learn from this movie. If you aren’t a baseball aficionado, you may have missed one of the greatest sales management movies of all time – Moneyball. Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s, is faced with a challenge. His ownership group has limited funds to invest in players, but still expects to win the championship … competing against teams who have seemingly unlimited dollars to spend on players. Beane hires an assistant general manager who takes a fresh look at the situation using sabermetrics. Through statistical analysis, he determines the number of wins it takes for a team to reach the playoffs. From there, he figures out how many runs the team must score and how few it must allow to achieve that wins total. Given the financial constraints, the team can’t hire the upper echelon of players so they focus on those who can make significant contributions to either score runs or stop runs from being scored. Their entire focus is on runs because they recognize that they can’t will the team to win. Coming back to my point about Moneyball being a great sales management flick… This scenario is a metaphor for how we manage our sales teams. Most sales leaders are not blessed with unlimited hiring dollars, but are expected to achieve the revenue goal. Each of the sales people is tasked with contributing their piece of the revenue pie. However, executives focus on sales, but just like wins in baseball, they can’t make them happen. They can, however, develop a Success Model that focuses on the activities and behaviors that lead to the annual revenue goal being achieved. For example, <ul> <li> <div>The number of leads needed to get one meeting</div></li> <li> <div>The number meetings needed to develop one proposal</div></li> <li> <div>The number of proposals needed to achieve one sale</div></li> <li> <div>The average sale size so you know how many wins you need</div></li> </ul> <div>Focus your management on the team’s activity performance, and the sales take care of themselves.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.</div>The ONE THING That Sets Top Sales People Apart From the Packhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=154&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=154&readMon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWondering what top sales people do that the mediocre don't? In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what rainmakers do that makes them top earners. <div>"Why does Jack lead the sales team year after year?" </div> <div> </div> <div>Sales people ask themselves this question as they are both curious and jealous of Jack. Executives ask themselves this question wondering how they can hire more "Jacks.” </div> Does Jack have a magical selling power? Nope. Does he have a special gift of gab? No, that’s not it. Does he have incredible closing skills? Nah, it’s not that either. Well, if it’s not those things, what does Jack do that makes him the envy of all who sell? There’s one thing that Jack does that few other sales people do. You see, Jack is never satisfied with making a sale which probably seems counter intuitive because he is a sales person. While Jack is never satisfied with making a sale, most sales people are. They are thrilled that a prospect has finally said, "Yes!” to a proposal. Jack doesn’t see the sale as the end (often called "the close”). He sees this new account as a new beginning - the building blocks for two future sales. Jack builds trusting relationships with his clients and earns the right to ask for, not names and phone numbers, but rather introductions to others.  This is not just another harangue about generating referrals. This is about making a philosophical shift in how you look at your sales. Jack’s performance doesn’t look like an EKG report - rising and falling with the corporate marketing campaigns. He has made himself entirely self-sufficient with continued, sustainable growth by simply changing his mindset. Not happy with your sales performance? Stop seeing sales as closing, but rather as a new beginning that leads to two future sales. Remember, you are only as good as your next sale. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Your Sales People Will Miss Quota - Unless You Give Them This...http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=153&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=153&readMon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe beginning of the calendar year is a milestone in the sales manager/sales person relationship - marked by the issuance of sales quotas. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the key to ensuring your sales people are armed with the tools they need to achieve quota. The beginning of the calendar year marks a relationship milestone between sales people and their managers. It’s the issuance of annual quotas! One by one, sales people meet with their managers and are assigned their annual goals. With a handshake and hope, each sales person sets out on a New Year quest for success, but something is missing from this recipe. When we talk about the attributes of great sales people, one of the items at the top of the list is "goal-oriented" inferring that these people run through walls to meet targets. While we say that, we don’t connect all of the dots necessary to leverage the true power of this attribute. At one of the spectrum is an annual quota and, at the other end, is a hard working sales person. But, where is the bridge connecting these? In most cases there isn’t one, but rather both management and sales people keep their fingers crossed hoping that the hard work translates into quota achievement. Sometimes that works, but not often enough for sales leaders (or their sales people) to sleep well at night. The missing element is what I call a Sales Success Plan Model. This model shows the sales person the key actions with corresponding activity levels that leads to quota achievement. The model addresses: <ul> <li> <div>Average sale size</div></li> <li> <div>Number of sales needed to achieve revenue quota</div></li> <li> <div>Number of proposals to generate a sale</div></li> <li> <div>Number of meetings to generate a proposal</div></li> <li> <div>Number of leads to generate a meeting</div></li> </ul> <div>Given your organization, I’m sure you have more to add to the list. The activity levels are assigned to weeks of the year so that the "goal-oriented sales person" has a clear focus of what needs to be done and when...leading to the achievement of the annual goal. </div> <div> </div> <div>"If I get 4 meetings with new prospects per week, I’ll have 2 proposals out and I’ll will win one. I do that, I hit my numbers for the year…and that new car is mine!"</div> Before you present quotas to your sales people, prepare Sales Success Plan Models which create roadmaps to achieve the goals. Use your CRM and reporting systems to make sure your sales people stay on track for success. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Needs Analysis Questions Sales People Must Always Ask Prospectshttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=152&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=152&readMon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales people are told to conduct a thorough needs analysis with their prospects, but what questions should be asked? In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the questions sales people must ask prospects every time. There are over two million potential questions a sales person can ask a prospect during a sales call. Obviously, no one is going to respond to even the tiniest fraction of the two million plus questions. How do you pick which questions to ask?   The answer to that question is a question... "What are your objectives for the meeting?” Another way of saying this is… It was a great sales call if what was accomplished? For example, you might say it was a great sales call if you came away with a clear picture of the prospect’s challenges, a complete understanding of their decision-making and buying process and have identified a solution that addresses their challenges. Given those three objectives for the call, we identify the questions that we need to ask for those to be met. Identifying the objectives helps us to create the roadmap for achievement. If you approach this from the other way around, show up at a prospect ask a bunch of questions and head back to the office, how will you know if you were successful? You won’t. And, chances are, you will ask questions that were pointless while omitting critical ones because desired outcomes were not identified. This line of thinking is a concept I call Outcome-Based Selling™ which is a four-step process. Step 1: Outcome: What is the desired outcome? Step 2: Strategy: What has to happen to achieve the desired outcome? Step 3: Execution: What will you say, ask and do to achieve the desired outcome? Step 4: Measurement: How will you evaluate success? Before you pick up the phone, craft an email or meet with a prospect, identify your desired outcomes. That definition gives you the tools you need to achieve the goal. By the way, outcome-based thinking isn’t just for sales calls, it’s applicable for any management decision. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Is Your LinkedIn Presence Confusing Prospects?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=151&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=151&readMon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a common mistake sales people make when using LinkedIn for business development. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to avoid this pitfall. Sales people often tell me that they want to use LinkedIn for business development…to increase their sales. After hearing that, I immediately pull up their LinkedIn profile with one question in mind. "What message does his profile communicate?” <div>More often than not, my review of their profile leaves me confused…wondering if this person is looking for a job or prospects. If your intent is to use LinkedIn for business development, the message that your profile screams must be exactly that. If in your profile, you try to leave yourself open for job inquiries as well, consider this…</div> <div> </div> <div>Why would a prospect want to conduct business with you...when you are looking to be elsewhere?</div> As you construct your LinkedIn profile, remember that there’s no law that says that everything that you’ve ever done in your life must be presented in it. Only share information that aligns with your business development objectives. When you develop your profile summary, write it with the prospect’s interests in mind and be sure to address how you create value for your clientele. If a prospect were to read your LinkedIn profile, what message would he derive from it? See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Why Johnny Isn't Selling - And It May Not Be His Faulthttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=150&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=150&readMon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen a sales person isn't performing as expected, the accountability finger points right at him. However, it may not be his fault. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to protect your new sales person investment. When I talk with business executives about sales performance, I ask four questions. For the first three of them, they practically leap across the table with a resounding, Yes! Those questions... 1. Would you like your sales people to generate more revenue than they do today? 2. When you hire sales people, would you like them to generate revenue faster than they do today? 3. Would you like to increase the success rate of those sales people you hire? The fourth question stops them dead in their tracks. 4. What program do you have in place to help the sales people you hire apply their sales skills in the sales role for your company? There’s a deafening silence heard as their eyes sheepishly look away. Many don’t recognize that hiring strong sales talent doesn’t guarantee success. It simply means that they’ve found sales people with the potential to be rock stars for the company. However, for the potential to translate into reality, a structured onboarding program is needed. Is creating an onboarding program a significant undertaking? Absolutely. There is work to be done, but think of it as investment protection. Every time you add headcount to your sales team, it is a major revenue investment. Onboarding protects the investment and leads to increased revenue production, shorter timelines to produce sales and increased sales person success rates. As you look at your strategic initiatives for the upcoming year, be sure sales person onboarding program development is high on your list. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Never Encounter the Price Objection Again ... Guaranteed!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=149&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=149&readWed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netMost of you run into the price objection every day that you are in sales. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to never experience the price objection again. You probably have your arms folded as you review this episode. After all, how could someone, after all the years that selling has been around, have the solution to eradicate the price objection. Truth be told, I have never in my life encountered the price objection. Before you throw your hands up in disbelief, let me explain. When we encounter issues in our personal lives, our responses to the situations lay the landscape for how the situations will ultimately conclude. If we’re looking for a fight, we’ll certainly find it. If we seek resolution, oftentimes we can find that as well. Sales people preach how they build relationships with clients, deep partnerships with mutual benefit. Yet, when the price issue arises, they put on the gloves ready for a fight to overcome the price objection. It’s really how a sales person interprets the situation when a prospect balks at their price that determines the landscape. If the sales person sees it as the price objection, their strategy is to overcome it. "Let’s load a dump truck with all of our marketing materials and drop it on the prospect to knock some sense into him. Then, he’ll sign the contract." However, if the sales person looks at the issue as a price concern, he sits on the same side of the desk to work through a resolution. That’s how I look at the situation. It’s not an objection, it’s a concern. If you see it as an objection, you hear "No!" However, if you see this as a concern, you hear something very different… "Help me!" And, that’s my strategy to positively resolve the situation. Consider this sequence of events. The sales person has effectively uncovered the prospect’s challenges, positioned his company as having the solution to address those challenges and helped the prospect recognize that this issue must be addressed right away. Now, the price issue arises. The sales person doesn’t have a problem, the prospect does. The sales person’s role is to assist the prospect in working through the issue. After all, there are tons of reasons why the price issue arises. Top sales people recognize this situation as a concern and arm themselves, not with brute force to overcome it, but rather with creativity to resolve it. The next time you encounter the price issue, keep in mind that how you interpret this situation will determine the outcome. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute!Is Your Sales Compensation Plan Sending the Wrong Message?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=148&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=148&readMon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWondering why your sales people focus on some tasks and not others? The sales compensation plan could be to blame. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to avoid this compensation blunder. My son David decided he wanted to start playing basketball this year. Saturday was his first game. He was amazing and his team dominated their opponent. All of the parents were on their feet cheering and my David scored his first basket. We outscored the other team 18-2, but… we lost! How can you lose a game when you are up 18-2? Before the game started, there was a skills competition. Points were allocated for each skill and those points were added to the score. Watching our team during these drills, we fully expected to be on the short-side of the 18-2 score. The kids on the other team smoked ours in all of the skills. As a result, points were added to their game score and they received enough points for them to win the overall game. At this level, the league emphasizes skill basics over the actual game. They feel it is more important for the kids to develop a solid foundation and so more points are awarded for the team’s performance in the skills competition. This may seem like an illogical system, but this is how the league structured scoring for this season. Being a supportive parent, I attended all of David’s practices which focused on game-play. Very little time was spent on the skills drills during practice. Clearly, the other team focused on the skills drills. You could argue that the league’s scoring strategy is flawed, but the other team played under the same set of rules. The other team won because their coach had studied the scoring system and focused his team on the activities that led to the award of points. Consider this story in terms of your sales compensation plan. The plan communicates a message to your sales people. When you present the sales compensation plan to your people; they analyze it ... dissect it ... study it. They are on a quest to determine how "points are awarded." If it is flawed, your team is going to invest its time on activities that are out of alignment with the business’ objectives. You can yell and scream at your sales people or wave a job description in their faces, but nothing directs sales people more than how they make money. As you develop your next sales compensation plan, make sure the message it communicates is the message you intend. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The ONE Factor That GUARANTEES Sales Managers MISS Their Revenue Quotashttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=147&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=147&readMon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is one factor that causes sales leaders to miss revenue targets...and it is not the sales pipeline. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what this factor is and how to avoid its peril. There is a common belief that the primary cause of a sales team missing its revenue goal is a dry sales pipeline. There is no argument that if a sales team doesn't have a healthy prospect pipeline that trouble lies ahead. Yet, there is a pipeline that is more impactful to the financial health of the business than even the sales one. That pipeline is the sales candidate pipeline. Executives plot out the pathway for revenue goals to be achieved and correlate those with headcount on the sales team. If there are open seats, the math doesn’t work. Each member of the sales team may meet their annual revenue goal, but if you are 20% short on headcount, the department number is in jeopardy. <div>When sales people get busy, the first thing thrown off their plate is prospecting. However, we all know that when sales people stop prospecting, the pipeline eventually runs dry. The same principle holds true for sales leaders. When they stop prospecting for sales talent, they run with empty seats on their teams which means they have little chance of hitting the revenue goals. </div> <div> </div> <div>Panicked, they rush to hire sales people to fill seats instead of making smart choices. Further compounding the issue, once they hire the sales people, they don’t have a plan in place to quickly get these new hires up to speed so they generate revenue fast. Some of the sales people make it, and others fail, leaving the cycle to repeat itself once again. </div> <div> </div> <div>Not having a healthy sales candidate pipeline has a major impact on both the top and bottom-line of your business. Hold yourself accountable for maintaining a healthy sales talent pipeline just as you hold your sales people accountable for keeping a strong prospect pipeline.</div> See you next time on the Sales Management Minute! Are You Making This Sales Person Recruiting Mistake?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=146&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=146&readMon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a common mistake that companies make when recruiting sales talent. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what that recruiting error is and how to avoid it. Would you like to buy a house? Don’t worry about where it is or how much it costs. Are you in? Do you want to buy it? Trust me; you are going to love it! Just sign right here. No one would ever make a major purchasing decision like this. How could they? Key information that affects the decision has not been provided. Yet, every day I see companies extending job offers when critical information has not been provided to the candidates. And, they’re expecting to hear “Yes!” to the offer without hesitation. These employers are not being intentionally secretive or deceptive. They haven’t thought through what sales candidates need to know to make an informed employment decision. You’ve heard me talk about the importance of defining your ideal sales person profile. However, before you can develop the profile, the role must be fully scoped. From title, to expectations, to process, to success metrics, to compensation … every one of these aspects must be crystal clear if you are to be successful in attracting top sales talent to your company. Once you scope the role, develop your onboarding program to bridge the new hire sales person’s skills with proficiency in the role. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute!The 6 Sales Person ONBOARDING Mistakes That Can Lead to DISASTER!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=145&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=145&readMon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen sales teams aren't performing as expected, the root cause could be founded in the sales person onboarding program. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the six common onboarding mistakes and how to avoid them. When a sales candidate accepts a job offer, everyone is all smiles. Yet, those smiles can quickly turn upside down if you are making any of these sales person onboarding mistakes. 1. Not having an onboarding program. When sales people aren’t performing, few trace the issue back to how the sales person was assimilated into the organization. Yet, that is oftentimes the foundation of the problem. Sales people arrive at a company with potential. The onboarding program should be designed to ensure the potential becomes a reality. 2. Not having onboarding objectives. Many, once they recognize the prudence of having an onboarding program, start by creating content. If you start by creating content, how will you know your program is designed to position your sales person for success? The onboarding starting point is the end. Document the expectations you have of those who successfully complete your onboarding program and create content that leads to those expectations being met. 3. Having AN onboarding program. This may seem like circular logic given the first two points. The issue is the word “an” and thinking of onboarding in the singular form. You may hire from within the industry, outside of the industry, transfer an employee to the sales team or hire someone just out of school. Each of these backgrounds requires a unique onboarding experience. The expectations of those who successfully complete onboarding doesn’t change, just the path to ensure they are met. 4. Turning on the fire hose. We would all love for the new sales people to be able to effectively sell for us yesterday, but that’s not realistic. Plus, they don’t need to know everything on day one or even week one. Identify when proficiency is required in their tenure and structure the program accordingly. Keep the pace such that the knowledge and skills are retained. 5. Not assessing proficiency. You put your sales person through a glorious onboarding experience and then send them off to sell. Something is missing … Proficiency Assessment! At the end of onboarding, have an assessment program that gives the new sales people the opportunity to show their stuff. This can come in the form of a written exam, simulated sales call or group presentation, and/or a CRM practical. The end of onboarding is a key milestone to ensure your new sales person is positioned for success. 6. Not soliciting feedback. Onboarding can always be improved. At the end of onboarding, conduct participant surveys so you get the information you need to continually enhance the programs. Turn these six mistakes into your competitive advantage. Remember, top performing companies don’t think of adding headcount to the sales team as hiring. They see it as an investment in revenue. Use onboarding as your strategy to protect the investment and ensure a high rate of return. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The One Question You Need to Ask to Reach Your Sales Training Goalshttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=144&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=144&readTue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales training events are almost never as successful as leaders want them to be. Leaders must think about sales training as an investment, rather than just an event. In this episode of The Sales Management Minute, guest host Mike Schultz, co-author of the The Wall Street Journal bestseller Rainmaking Conversations, will tell you the one question you must ask to get the most out of sales training. Hi, I’m Mike Schultz, co-author of the The Wall Street Journal bestseller Rainmaking Conversations and guest host of The Sales Management Minute. In today’s episode, I’ll be discussing the most important question you should ask before you engage any sales training initiative. Ninety percent of sales training initiatives fail to have any impact on business results after 120 days. The question is why. We see sales training failing for seven common reasons, but if you ask yourself one question, you can set yourself on the path to success. That question is, “What will it really take to get the results that we want?” Ask this question, and you’ll start to see sales training as an investment intended to produce a specific business outcome. You won’t see sales training as it’s often seen as an event because you’ll quickly learn that sales training events are just swallows carrying coconuts. Now work with me for a second. “What? A swallow carrying a coconut?” “It could grip it by the husk!” “Well, it’s not a question of where he grips it. It’s a simple question of weight ratios. A five ounce bird cannot carry a one pound coconut!” You might be thinking, “Hey, that’s Monty Python,” but it’s really about sales training. Doesn’t matter where they grip it; swallows can’t carry coconuts. And it doesn’t matter how amazing it is; a two or three day sales training event by itself won’t create millions and millions of dollars of returns for your company. The questions that naturally follow, “What will it really take...?” are: • Where’s your sales team now regarding the skills, the knowledge, and the attributes needed to succeed in their particular sales role? This is point A. • What will it look like when we’ve succeeded? This is point B. • And then, given my people, what kind of effort and time is it going to take to get from point A to point B? <div>Ask this question, “What will it really take…?” and you’ll be well on your way to major revenue growth for your company.</div> <div> </div> <div>Mike Schultz is President of RAIN Group, a sales training, assessment, and sales performance improvement company that helps leading organizations improve sales results. Mike is co-author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade and Sell in Any Situation (Wiley, 2011) and publisher of RainToday.com.  He also writes for the RAIN Selling Blog. He can be reached at mschultz@raingroup.com. </div>Closing Is NOT the Problem - It's A Symptom!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=143&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=143&readTue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen sales people aren't performing as expected, the kneejerk reaction is to focus on closing skills. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to troubleshoot your sales team to get to find the reasons for subpar performance. When executives contact me for help, the conversation usually starts with, "My sales people can't close! Can you help me?" Rarely does "weak closing" turnout to be the real issue. Closing is merely the final step of the process. If a runner isn't winning races, it's not because he doesn't have the ability to pull down the finish line tape. There is something else in his game that is impacting performance. Not sure why your team isn't performing as you expect, let's troubleshoot the issue. Two questions for starters… 1. Did you hire the right sales person for the role? If you aren't getting the performance levels you expect, you may have selected the wrong person to do the job? If you haven't defined your ideal sales person for the role, this could be your smoking gun! 2. How did you bring the sales person onto your team? Many companies leave success to chance and don't have an onboarding program in place during which the sales person learns how to apply their sales skills in your sales role. Without this bridge, you have a high risk of new hire failure. If you feel you have the right person on your team and have prepared him for success...and you still aren't achieving the results, here are some other areas to investigate. 1. Do you have a well-defined Ideal Client Profile? Not every prospect is a match for your offerings. If you don't have a clear definition of your ideal client, your sales people could be chasing deals that are nothing more than a mirage. If you are a value-provider and the prospect buys cheap, there's little chance of a deal being consummated. 2. Have you documented your Needs Analysis Strategy? Sales people need your guidance in determining what questions to ask prospects, when to ask them, why they are relevant and where to direct the conversation based on the received responses. 3. Have you set expectations for Pre-Call Research? No one wants to feel like the sales call of the day. Your sales people need to master the industry, competitors, prospects and the people who affect the buying decision. Remember, companies don’t buy anything...people do! 4. Have your sales people mastered the Two Most Powerful Words in Sales? These aren't trick words. Yet, mastery of them will guarantee that your sales people sell more than they ever have before. Unfortunately, they never get to say these words to prospects. Those two words… Synergy and Priority. Synergy is the connection between buyer challenges and supplier capabilities…the solutions to the problems. Priority answers why now? Synergy gets deals into the sales pipeline. Priority gets them to come out the other side. If your seller can't position priority, he will be quickly reminded of the old Roach Motel. Deals will come into the funnel, but they'll never come out! The next time you think that "weak closing" is the reason your team isn't selling, run through these troubleshooting steps to get to the real issues. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Do You Know the RIGHT TIME to FIRE A Sales Person?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=142&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=142&readWed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netNo sales manager enjoys firing sales people, but there is a time when it must be done. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the two types of sales performance issues and the test that tells you when the time has come to end the relationship. Nick achieved 80% of his monthly goal. Not pleased with his performance, his manager calls him in for a chat. "Not only do you need to achieve 100% of your goal next month, but you need to make up for this shortfall." Another month goes by and Nick again achieves 80% of goal. His manager meets with him again and tells him he needs to get to 100% and also make up for the total shortfall. A third month goes by with the same results. Like Groundhog Day, month after month goes by and results are the same. All the while, the superstar performers are watching the subpar results tolerated by the company and losing respect for their sales manager. Saying "farewell" to a sales person is a part of the sales management job that no one enjoys. You start thinking about the sales person's family and personal circumstances and dread that final conversation. How do you know when it is time to end the relationship? A tried and true method is the "mirror test." If you can look in the mirror and say that you have done everything to help this sales person succeed and it is still not happening, the time has come to make a change. When sales people aren't performing, it's for one of two reasons: incompetence or insubordination. Incompetence means that the sales person does not possess the skills to do what has been requested. He understands what you have asked of him, but just cannot do it. This could be the result of a poor hiring decision or an onboarding problem. In either case, this sales person is not going to succeed unless action is taken. Keeping your fingers crossed won’t change the results. The sales manager's job is to determine the skill development needed and formulate a prescription for resolution. Insubordination means that the sales person has the skills, but for whatever reason is not doing what has been asked of him. This could be a motivation or morale issue. It could also be a time management issue. Once again, the sales manager needs to go on a quest to get to the root of the issue so a resolution plan can be developed. Whether the identified problem is incompetence or insubordination, sales managers need to put a timeline on the resolution plan to reduce the financial exposure to the business. Not every sales person is going to make it. Do what you can to position them for success, but don't be afraid to end the relationship when the reflection in the mirror tells you the time has come. As the old saying goes… "If you can’t change your people, change your people." See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.How Do You Develop A WINNING Finalist Presentation Strategy?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=141&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=141&readMon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe finalist stage of the process is an exciting time, but there is work to be done to develop the winning strategy. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the SIX QUESTIONS that shape your finalist strategy presentation. The day started just like any other day for Lisa. Then, the call came! It was ABC Company's Procurement Officer telling her that he loved the RFP response, selected her as a finalist for their account and invited her firm to make a presentation to their leadership team. She thanked the Procurement Officer a thousand times and rushed off the phone. Lisa did the happy dance all the way down to her sales manager's office and burst through the door. After an elated high-five, her sales manager asked her a few questions about the opportunity. "Uh oh! I forgot to ask about those things." She better not cash the commission check just yet. There's work to be done to best prepare a winning finalist presentation strategy! The finalist stage is an exciting time, but top sellers don't let exuberance knock them off their game. For your team to develop the winning finalist presentation strategy, you need to know answers to the six following questions: <li> <div>What did they see in the RFP response that led you to be selected as a finalist?</div></li> <li> <div>What did they see in the competition's RFP responses that they want you to address during your finalist presentation?</div></li> <li> <div>Who from their team will be represented at the finalist presentation and what do they want you to be sure to cover?</div></li> <li> <div>What other firms have been selected as finalists?</div></li> <li> <div>What criteria will be used to score the finalists?</div></li> <li> <div>What is the selection process following the finalist presentation?</div></li> For each of these six questions, there are several follow on questions that needed to be asked based on the responses received. Will you always get answers to all of the questions? Of course, you won't. However, every information nugget you receive helps you develop your finalist strategy, select your team and craft your presentation. During the conversation, be sure to also ask about logistics like: <ul> <li> <div>Amount of time for the presentation</div></li> <li> <div>Who to ask for upon arriving at their office</div></li> <li> <div>Projector/Internet access (if needed)</div></li> </ul> One final thought… Oftentimes, non-sales people are included as part of a finalist presentation. Don't assume that they came out of the womb knowing how to handle these situations. Coach them on presentation delivery and proper handling of questions or concerns that arise. Remember, it's your deal. You are the captain of the ship! Steer the team on a course for victory. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute! Are Your Sellers MISSING This OPPORTUNITY To Get Ahead of the COMPETITION?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=140&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=140&readMon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netAre your sellers looking for a competitive edge? Sure they are! And, the answer is right under their noses. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to take what is perceived as a task and turn it into opportunity. Michael has been chasing the account for six months and he's feeling pretty optimistic as the buying process comes to a conclusion. The company is considering his firm plus two others. The competition is fierce, but he feels like he has a leg up. At 11am, the Procurement Agent asks for three references to be provided to her by the end of the day. In a panic, Michael sends a company-wide email in search of these referenceable clients. At 4:58pm, he gets the three references from his colleagues and quickly sends them out to the Procurement Agent. Whew! Mission accomplished! They wanted three references and he got it done. And, so did everyone else. Michael sees the finish line, but has forgotten that many a sales person has fallen one step short of victory. The request for references is a standard part of any buying process. Ever consider why prospects ask for them? Despite all of the sales speak, sexy websites and dazzling marketing material, they don’t believe the story. Rarely will anyone ever say that, but that’s what this step of the process is all about. Validation! Making a supplier selection decision has risk and prospects want to conduct their own due diligence to make sure they make the right choice. While this step is about trust, they still come to your sales people for names...usually three of them (not sure why three is the magic number). Unfortunately, sellers often see this as a task rather than an opportunity. Let’s be honest. They see it as a pain in the neck all the while complaining about competition, price pressure and commoditization. Yet, they don’t use this step of the process to stand out from the pack. Here are six tips to turn this from task to opportunity. 1. Build a stable of referenceable clients so the same three are not used and abused. Consider what prospects want to learn about your company and develop a portfolio of clients who can address each area. 2. When prospects request references, ask what they hope to learn from the discussion so you can provide them with clients who can speak to those points. 3. Ask who is going to be calling. This gives you an opportunity to align a title with a title. Imagine connecting a prospect CFO with a client CFO. Powerful! 4. Profile the prospect. Consider their industry, size and circumstance when selecting client references. The more the two entities have in common, the more effective the reference. 5. Prep your client…unless you want disaster. There’s nothing more disastrous at this step of the process than a prospect surprising a client with a reference call. Contact your clients and let them know who will be calling and what they want to discuss. 6. When you send the list of references back to the requestor, provide a short narrative explaining the background of the relationship to best prepare the prospect for the discussion. Think about the deals your team has won and lost. It was the little things that led you to victory or resulted in defeat. Use the reference step of the buying process to give your sales team a competitive edge.What Most Sales Forecasting Methodologies Are Missinghttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=139&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=139&readMon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netOne of the expectations of sales leaders is that they accurately forecast sales. Yet, there is a missing element from the data they are receiving from their sellers which causes forecasting mistakes. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what causes these sales leader headaches and how to avoid it. Most people start their day by grabbing the remote control, turning on the TV and checking that day’s weather report. "There's a fifty percent chance of rain today," says the weatherman. Fifty percent? In other words, it may rain today or it may not. This is not exactly what one would call information that empowers the day’s decision-making. What if the weatherman on channel 2 says it would be "partly cloudy?" Yet, weatherman on channel 4 makes the call for "mostly sunny." These are two very similar situations forecasted differently be the weatherman. Forecasting is open to interpretation making it difficult for the recipient of the information to make heads or tails of it. When it comes to sales forecasting, most sales leaders use a percentage ranking system to score the deals in the sales pipeline. However, there is often an element missing which puts the entire forecasting exercise in jeopardy. Imagine you have ten sales people on your team. Each person has a deal in their sales pipeline forecasted at a fifty percent chance to close. What does fifty percent mean? Is the seller optimistic? Pessimistic? Are you to interpret that ranking as the seller having no idea whether or not the deal will happen? The missing element is a well-defined definition that corresponds with the percentage. Without percentage definitions, each of the ten deals could be at totally different stages of the process even though each is reported as a fifty percent chance to close. In other words, the forecast data is completely meaningless if the percentages do not have a defined context. To design an effective sales forecast methodology for your sales team: 1. Analyze your sales process and document each step. 2. Based on historical sales success, correlate a percentage (or a percentage range) for each process step. 3. Assign a clear definition for each step corresponding with that percentage. 4. Train your sellers on the methodology and hold them accountable for correct forecasting. 5. Be sure your CRM is configured to support your forecasting methodology. How important is forecasting accuracy? Ask the product seller who can’t get an order through because there isn’t enough of the product on hand. Or, the services sales person who can’t get her deal done because there aren’t enough people to support the account. Or even the sales leader who was fired because the company over purchased product based on the reported forecast. While it may cause chuckles when the weathermen are inconsistent, there is nothing funny about sales management executives who cannot accurately forecast sales. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Factor That Causes Both Sales Person SUCCESS and Sales Manager FAILUREhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=138&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=138&readMon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a factor that makes sales people successful and dooms sales managers. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, sales managers learn how to avoid this fate. Joan is a rock star seller! She works the phone from dawn until dusk. Rejections are no cause for concern with Joan. She may get knocked down, but she quickly gets back-up, brushes herself off, picks up the phone and is on to her next call. She knows she has the talent and nothing gets in her way as she blasts through her quota. A few months ago, Joan was promoted to sales manager. She received no training or mentoring...just a few words of wisdom from her boss. "Get your sales team doing what you were doing and we’ll be minting money!" Off Joan went with that thought in mind. Yet, she quickly hit the wall. Joan was tasked with hiring sales people, but had never evaluated sales talent before. She needed to develop a new sales compensation plan, but had no clue where to start. Management issues were everywhere, but she didn’t know what to do. Within a few months, her sales team was a disaster. Joan was getting knocked to the mat, but this time she couldn't get back up. The same executive who promoted her also escorted her to the door saying, "I'm surprised you couldn't cut it as a sales manager." The same factor that makes sales people successful also causes sales managers to fail. That grab the bull by the horns, run through walls, never give up mentality is what makes sales people strong. Yet, when these strong sellers are put in sales management roles, this approach backfires. Being successful in sales doesn’t prepare you for hiring, onboarding, managing or compensating sales people. And many business executives are blind to that and put their top sales person in an untenable position. Where sales managers go wrong is they don't seek help. Interestingly, sales leaders are the only ones in the corporate setting who view help as a sign of weakness. CFOs bring in consultants to review the books. CIOs hire experts to make recommendations on new technology. HR leaders seek outside guidance on employee benefits and health insurance. Yet, few sales leaders follow the same path. Hubris was the fatal flaw of Greek mythological heroes. Don't let pride doom your sales management career. Your Sales Person's First Day - Dream or Nightmare?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=137&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=137&readMon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netYour new seller's first day experience establishes the foundation for their tenure with your company. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to avoid common first day blunders. It’s 8:28am when Steven arrives at work ready for his first day selling for ABC Enterprises. He walks up to the receptionist and says, "Hi, I'm Steven, your new sales person." Looking puzzled, the receptionist responds, "New sales person? I didn’t know we hired a new sales person. Hang on a minute." She calls a bunch of managers and finds out that she should take Steven to his office down the hall. Getting settled in, Steven opens a desk drawer to find a moldy sandwich. He opens another drawer and finds the performance improvement plan for the prior office dweller. There’s no PC on the desk and the phone has the name "Phil" on the screen. As Steven peruses his office, employee after employee walks by, takes a quick glance and continues along. Yet, Steven hears whispers in the hallway. "Who is that guy in Phil’s office?" Yet, no one dares to step into the office and meet Steven. <div>He’d love to get a cup of coffee, but he has no idea where to get it. </div> <div> </div> <div>He also needs to use the bathroom, but once again he has no idea where it's hiding.</div> The rest of Steven's day continues much like this. As he drives home, his wife calls on his cellphone asking how his first day went. What will he say? There's a common misconception that when a candidate accepts your offer that he is fully committed. That's not the case at all. Steven hopes he made the right decision, but he is keeping his options open. As part of your onboarding program, develop a first day plan that ensures a positive first day experience for your new sellers. That first day will establish the relationship foundation. The question is... Will it be built in cement or quicksand? You, as the sales manager, are the one who makes that decision. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Prospect Voicemail Messages - Waste of Time or Lost Sales Opportunity?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=136&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=136&readMon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere's an age-old debate of whether or not to leave a voicemail message for prospects. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how how to turn voicemail messages from a waste of time to an effective strategy. “Uh oh! I just got voicemail. What should I say? Hi, um…this is um Lee Salz from um Sales Architects um 763.416.4321. I’m um a sales management strategist and if you aren’t um happy with your sales, call me.”(click) If you believe this is a sample of one of my voicemails, it is safe to assume I live in a refrigerator box under the highway because there’s no way I’m going to make it in sales with that approach. Anyone who has been in sales for any duration knows that 75% of the time (or more), they’re going to get voicemail when calling prospects. That being the case, why do sellers develop a live call strategy, but few create a voicemail one? It stands to reason that with such a high percentage of selling time spent leaving messages there should be a defined, documented voicemail approach. Once there is recognition of the need for a voicemail strategy, most start writing what they will say when they get a prospect’s voicemail. And, this is exactly why most voicemail strategies fail! How do you know what to say in the message if you haven’t identified your goal (purpose) in leaving a voicemail? If the goal is to prepare the prospect for when you reach her live on the phone, that’s a very different message than when you desire a return call. Once the voicemail goal is identified, every word in the message should serve the sole purpose of achieving that goal. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Your Sales Process - Revenue DRIVER or Sales KILLER?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=135&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=135&readMon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe reason for sales process is to drive consistent sales results. Yet, there is a common mistake made that causes the sales process strategy to backfire. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to construct a sales process that your sales people love! Ever watch professional baseball players when they are hitting? Every one of them has a different batting stance. Some hold the bat straight while others hold it at an angle. Some wiggle the bat and others hold it still. Yet, regardless of their batting stance, if you “freeze-frame” right when they swing the bat and make contact with the ball, you see the swings all look similar. The players’ heads are down, the bats are even and their hips are pivoted. Batting coaches never try to make their players use identical stances, but they do make sure the hitting mechanics are sound. Sales people are very much in the same situation as professional hitters. Sales people aren’t robots and shouldn’t be forced to do everything exactly the same way as their peers. If you’ve tried that approach, you probably weren’t pleased with the revenue results. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge proponent of having a well-defined sales process that the company holds sales people accountable for following. After all, if the process is developed on sales best practices, why wouldn’t the executive team expect their sales people to follow it? Since the company is making an investment in revenue by having the sales people on the team, it is a fair expectation that the sellers follow the company’s sales process. As big a proponent as I am for process, I’m equally passionate about providing sales people with the opportunity to be creative. The sales process should provide a success framework, but it should not be so tightly structured that sales people lose the ability to be innovative. It’s a delicate balance…no doubt. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.New Rep Syndrome - The Number One Killer of Effective Sellinghttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=134&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=134&readWed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is an affliction that causes sales people to become ineffective. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the number one killer of effective selling and how to avoid it. There is a metamorphosis that takes place as new sellers get their sea legs. At some point during onboarding, a light bulb goes off and they really start to get it! When they do, they want the whole world to know that they now get it. How do you make sure the world knows that you get it? You tell them! And that’s exactly what happens when they are interacting with prospects. The new sellers get on their soap boxes and deliver beautiful soliloquies about the product and the industry. They now suffer from New Rep Syndrome – The Number One Killer of Effective Selling. The good news is that they now get it. The bad news is that they have forgotten the first rule of selling. “It’s about them, not about us.” A great way to turn lecture into meaningful interaction is with a tool I refer to as “positioning questions.” Teach your new sellers that, instead of telling a prospect that the product is available in every color of the rainbow, they can turn that feature into an open-ended question. What thought have you given to your needs for color of the product? Positioning questions help sellers to come across knowledgeable without sounding arrogant – turning a soliloquy into a productive, needs analysis conversation. As the old expression goes… “It’s more important to be an INTERESTED person than an INTERESTING one. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Big Question Sharp Interviewers ASK THEMSELVEShttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=133&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=133&readTue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a key question that top interviewers ask themselves when evaluating sales talent. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what these top interviewers ask that you should be asking too...and the indicators of candidate trouble. You walk into the conference room to interview a sales candidate. As you look across the table, there should be a big question on your mind. The wrong answer to this question is an absolute deal breaker…or at least it should be. This isn’t a question you ask the candidate, but rather ask of yourself. Does the candidate want A JOB or MY JOB? Recently, I was shopping in a novelty store in the mall when a job seeker walked in and asked for an application. The store manager told the candidate, “We don’t have applications, but go to another store, get one of theirs and bring it back here.” When the candidate walked away, I had to ask what the thought was behind this approach. He said that there are so many people on the street looking for jobs that they are using this technique as a filter to identify who show initiative. After all if he won’t walk across the hall and ask for an application, how much effort will he really put into this role? An interesting technique… Here are three surefire tips to make sure your sales candidate wants to be on your team, not a team. The first is the resume review. If the resume appears to be generic and isn’t tailored to your opportunity, that should be a red flag. A second tip is the candidate’s interview preparation. What research have they done on you and the company that shows genuine interest in the role? Third, at some point during the interview, you ask the candidate to share their questions. If he doesn’t have questions…or well-thought out ones, that is also indicator that you may want to look elsewhere for your next rock star sales person. When you look at the main reasons why sales teams miss their revenue targets, poor hiring decisions is always near the top of the list. Take the time to make sure the candidate genuinely wants your job. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Hunter-Farmer Strategy: 3 Reasons Why It Often BACKFIREShttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=132&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=132&readMon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSeparating your sales team into hunters and farmers may seem like a great idea. Before you implement it, check out this episode of the Sales Management Minute to learn how to avoid three common blunders. When businesses reach a certain maturity level, the idea of segmenting the sales team into hunters and farmers is introduced. And, on paper, this strategy seems like a logical way to position the business for explosive growth. The hunters go after new accounts… The farmers grow the existing ones… Success is imminent, right? Unfortunately, more often than not, the results of this strategy are 1+1=1 because three key implementation points are missed. The first is The Handoff.  Since the hunters have been working for an extended period of time with the prospects, how do you transition them to the farmers? This hits on two big issues starting with trust. So, for last six months, the hunters have regular contact with the prospects. The deals get signed, the hunters disappear and new people step in. How often have we all been told that people buy from those they trust? Without careful planning, this handoff can feel like a “bait and switch” sale with trust eradicated. Identify the right insertion points in your process to include farmers before the sale is finalized and consider keeping hunters involved until the client is satisfied with the transition. Second is Compensation. Hunters want a huge chunk of cash for bringing in the deal. Farmers want their piece of the pie for growing the accounts. Since compensation plans should drive desired behaviors, how do you pay both entities without sacrificing the entire deal margin? A common mistake is throwing money at one of these parties rather than structuring compensation based on their contribution to the revenue of the accounts. Third is Skillset. All roads lead back to the decisions you make when hiring sales people for these roles. A common mistake is to hire farmers with an eye on servicing. The farmer’s role is to grow the accounts, not just serve as expensive customer service reps. That said, the make-up of the successful hunter is very different than that of the successful farmer. Few sales people develop mastery in both. Before you hire or assign sales people to hunters or farmers, develop a detailed profile of your ideal sales person for each of the two roles and carefully evaluate candidates for fit. With careful planning, the Hunter-Farmer Model may be a viable option for your business. However, as with any strategy, the devil is in the details. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Promoted and Fired - On The Same Day!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=131&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=131&readMon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIt could easily happen. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the keys to analyzing sales performance. Promoted and fired… On the same day! No, this didn’t happen to me, but it could easily happen to anyone in sales. There are so many statistics associated with sales performance that, based on how you organize the data, you could easily justify promoting or firing any of your sellers. I remember when I took on the leadership of an inside sales team several years ago. I was cautioned not to disrupt this one particular rep. “He’s our rockstar!” I was told. People in this company thought the guy walked on water because he was the top revenue producer. True, but there’s more to the story. This was a sales environment where we made the phone ring…generated the leads, if you will. It turns out that this rep was Quick Draw McGraw in disguise. He was the fastest at answering the phone and hogged all of the leads. After close analysis, it turned out that while he was the top revenue producer, he was actually the lowest performer. His conversion rate was the lowest on the team. In essence, by his being so aggressive at grabbing leads, it negatively impacted our team’s ability to reach its goal. To get underneath sales performance, develop your sales metric management system which includes metrics defined as: Measureable Meaningful Quantifiable Goal-oriented Each metric you identify should meet each of those four criteria. Once you develop your sales metric management system, you will have tools to drive sales performance. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. The BIG QUESTION Executives Need to Ask When Developing a Sales Compensation Planhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=130&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=130&readTue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netAre you paying sales commissions unnecessarily? You may be...if you have a traditional sales compensation plan. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the BIG QUESTION to ask to develop an effective sales compensation plan. When I talk with business executives about why they pay dollars to sales people above and beyond the salary, they often say they pay it “because the sellers sold something.” Sure, this approach aligns with the age-old expression… “You’re only as good as your LAST sale!” Yet, that’s shortsighted. That expression, if it is to align with true business objectives, should be “You’re only as good as your NEXT sale!” We’re always looking to the future which is why we look at forecasts. Ever try to sell a business? Yesterday’s revenue is nice, but it’s what the future holds that drives your value. Wall Street looks at performance, but looks more heavily at what’s coming next. When developing a sales compensation plan, the BIG QUESTION to ask is… “By paying an upside (commission, bonus, etc.) to a seller, how does that investment help us get more of the sales we want in the future?” Sure, we all want more revenue, but we can’t impact it. We can, however, impact the sales behaviors and activities that lead to revenue. The sales compensation plan should be structured to drive those behaviors. Ever wonder why your sellers have huge peaks and valleys in their performance levels, your sales compensation may be the root cause of that dynamic. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. The Sales Interview Question That Makes You HIRE the WRONG Candidatehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=129&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=129&readTue, 31 May 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a commonly asked sales interview question that could lead you to make a poor hiring decision. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn this sales candidate interview question to avoid and why. There is a question that starry-eyed interviewers ask of sales candidates in the hopes of instant revenue. “How much business can you bring with you?” There is an executive dream that they hire a seller and he arrives with a huge book of business. Maybe, once in a blue moon that happens. Let’s be honest. It’s not that easy to move mass clients from one supplier to another. When sales people have left your company for a competitor, how successful were they at moving their clients with them? Probably, they were not very successful at all. Personally, I’d be skeptical of any sales candidate who claims to have that kind of power. Yet, there is a bigger issue here. Asking a candidate this question also opens up an ethical Pandora’s Box…not to mention potential legal issues. Their employer has paid some form of compensation for these clients and they own them, not the seller. Is this the kind of person you want representing your brand? A final thought. One day this sales person is going to leave your employ too and how do you think he will exit? As they say, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Evaluate your sales candidates for the potential to succeed in your company, not by causing an ethical dilemma, but by being the right person for the sales role. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Sales Training Is A Waste of Time!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=128&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=128&readTue, 24 May 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIn this episode of the Sales Management Minute, you will find out why sales training is a total waste of corporate resources. I lied. Sales training isn’t a waste of time. It’s a waste of time, resources and corporate dollars. At least, this is most often the case. Before you tune out, let me explain. Do you remember high school science class when your teacher had you use a Bunsen burner to heat a flask of water? It was an experiment on heated atoms. When heat was applied, the atoms went berserk! As soon as the heat was removed, they returned to a static state. Oftentimes, companies bring in a sales trainer who dazzles for a day. When the sales trainer leaves (i.e. removes the heat), the sales team returns to a static state. In essence, they return to what they were doing before. The missing element is the reinforcement plan. A one-day sales training program, by itself, will not lead to an increase in your sales - although that is the dream of many executives. However, it can (and should) serve as a foundation for the sales manager to focus the team on specific initiatives. Before you hire your next sales trainer, establish clear goals for the session and create your reinforcement plan to ensure the teachings stick. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Why Most Sales Compensation Plans FAIL?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=126&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=126&readMon, 16 May 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is a key point missing in the development process of most sales compensation plans. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the key to constructing an effective sales compensation plan. In most companies, it’s an accepted practice to pay commissions to sales people. Yet, few executives take a moment of pause and ask themselves why they pay commissions. Most sales compensation discussions center around how much to pay and on what (i.e. revenue, gross margin, quota attainment, etc.). The key element that is often missed is what the company is trying to accomplish by paying commissions to its sales people. In essence, what message do you want to send to your sales people through your sales compensation plan? Most sales compensation plans fail because executives begin the construction process with commission levels. “How much should our sellers earn at plan?” It’s a relevant point, but not the starting point. There are steps to take before you put pen to paper with your sales compensation plan ... beginning with identifying your company’s sales best practices. In essence, what works and what doesn’t. Best practices become process. With a well-defined process, metrics are developed to measure seller performance relative to it. Your sales compensation plan should reinforce the process and metrics leading to your desired revenue results. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The One Critical Question Top Sales Managers Ask of Their Sales Peoplehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=125&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=125&readMon, 09 May 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales people are inherently optimistic. Yet, the same optimism that helps them succeed also causes them to fail. In this episode of The Sales Management Minute, learn the question top sales managers ask of their sales people to ensure success. Johnny is fired up! He just got off the phone with his prospect and everything looks great. You can even see the dollar signs in his eyes. In his mind, the commission dollars are spent. He’s not thinking strategy anymore. Victory is his…or is it? After several unreturned voicemail messages, Johnny receives an email from his prospect. They’re going with someone else. Johnny is devastated. Yet, this outcome may have been avoided if his sales manager asked him one critical question. <div>Sales people, by nature, are optimistic. It’s one of their success characteristics. However, their optimism often blinds them of the perils within their potential deals. Top sales managers ask one critical question of their sales people when it appears a deal is nearing the finish line... Why won’t this deal happen? By asking this question, sales managers and their sales people identify deal pitfalls and formulate strategies to avoid them. </div> <div> </div> <div>Don’t let optimism blind your sales people from the holes in their deals. Ask them why the deal won’t happen … and they will be prepared to make sure it does.</div> See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Have You Mastered The Two Keys To Becoming A Top Vice President of Sales?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=124&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=124&readMon, 02 May 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere are two keys to becoming a rock star Vice President of Sales. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, you learn what it takes to lead the pack. I often see the two expressions sales leadership and sales management used as synonyms. Yet, they aren’t synonyms at all. Far from it! Yet, they represent the two keys to becoming a rock star Vice President of Sales. One without the other doesn’t work. You need to master them both! Some argue that the difference is semantics, it's not. The sales management side develops strategy, process and metrics. The sales leadership side motivates and inspires the team to follow the developed strategy, process and metrics. A sales leader who is not also an adept sales manager struggles to get consistent results from their sales team as there isn’t a process to follow. It reminds me of high school science class when we used a Bunsen burner to heat water. When heat was applied, the atoms were excited, but went all over the place! When the heat was removed, the atoms returned to a static state. A motivated sales team without a channel to direct their energy will not perform consistently…and eventually flame out. A sales manager who is not also a strong sales leader will scratch his or her head wondering why the team isn’t following their grandiose plans. In this situation, sales people get frustrated as they feel micro-managed. Leadership inspires people to perform at levels that even they never dreamed possible. Without it, the strategy is nothing more than words on a page. Countless studies cite that the number one cause of CEO failure is not the inability to develop strategy, it’s the inability to implement it…to get their team to bring it to life. Want to be that rock star Vice President of Sales? Invest in mastering both sales management and sales leadership…and you will be blown away by your results. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Revenue Is NOT A Sales Metric!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=123&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=123&readMon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netAsk most business executives what metric they use to gauge their sales team and they will tell you it's revenue. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, you will learn why revenue is not a sales metric and the 4 keys to developing your sales metric management system. Albert Einstein once said, “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.” As a sales leader, you are inundated with sales data, but what sales metrics truly tell you how your sales team is performing. And, of course, you’re thinking REVENUE! After all, that’s what your sales people are paid to deliver. I agree that your sales people should bring in the dollars, but revenue is not a sales metric. It is a result of the right metrics being delivered upon by your sales team at the desired frequency. You can’t affect revenue, but you can affect the sales metrics that lead to it. To identify the metrics for your sales metric management system, each one must meet four criteria. The first is measurable. By measurable, I mean that this data point can be tracked statistically. Gut instinct does not qualify as measurable. The second is meaningful. There’s a sea of sales data, but which ones truly tell you something about sales performance relative to company objectives. The third is goal-oriented. If we can track it and it is meaningful, let’s place a goal on it and measure performance against it. The fourth is trainable. As this metric is a key driver of sales performance, what can you do to improve your sales team’s skills at delivering upon it. A final point…Your sales metric management system isn’t just a performance driver. It’s also your key to designing an effective sales compensation plan. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. The Proof - You Believe the COMPETITION Is BETTER!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=122&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=122&readMon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales leaders don't say the competition is better, but their actions convey that they believe it. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn how to avoid this sales management mistake. Welcome to the 100th episode of the Sales Management Minute! This title probably made you bristle. After all, no one would ever say that the competition is better than them. Yet, actions speak louder than words. When you have an opening on your sales team, where is the first place you look for new talent? The Competition! Why do so many sales leaders hire sales people from within their industry? One word… Lazy! There is a belief that the industry is too difficult to teach so sales managers try to hire those from within the industry. Let me ask you this. How many of you came into this world mastering your industry? You learned it…just like your prospective sales hires can. The way to do it is through your sales person onboarding program. Identify the industry aspects that sales people must master to successfully sell for your company and develop a knowledge development plan to get them there. Still firm in your beliefs that the industry is too hard to teach? Be prepared for another challenge…Scalability! After all, there are only so many sales people in your industry and only a small subset that would be interested in your sales role. A final thought…If you limit your search to those within the industry, what will you do when you run out of sales candidates? See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. The Absolute Toughest Sales Management Rolehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=121&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=121&readMon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is one sales management role that is more challenging than any other one. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, you will learn what that role is and the three keys to making it successful. When a company reaches a certain revenue level, the decision is made to insert a sales manager to lead the sales team. Oftentimes, this isn’t an outside hire, but rather a “promotion” of a top seller. I put quotes around the word promotion because she isn’t just going to be the sales manager... She’s still going to continue to sell. She is about to become The Selling Manager…also known as the toughest sales management role. It’s easy to understand why a company pursues this strategy. For one, there is the worry that a major revenue contributor will be lost so keeping her in a sales role protects that…at least in theory. Another is that, by promoting a veteran seller to management, there is institutional knowledge that the sales leader has which reduces ramp-up time. While this strategy is easy to understand, it’s also a venture that would give even Indiana Jones a moment of pause. A few points to consider… First, how will you determine the right amount of time to be spent on sales versus management? Since management is new to her, she will likely default to selling versus managing. After all, it’s her strength! Second, how will you compensate your new sales manager so she focuses on the right parts of the role at the desired frequency level? Remember, the comp plan drives the behavior! Finally, how will you help her assimilate into the new hybrid role? She’s new to management and you don’t come out of the womb with management skills! Not to mention, yesterday’s peers are today’s subordinates.  Before you create the selling manager role in your company, develop a detailed strategic plan so you get the results you desire. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.STOP Telling Your Sales People to CLOSE!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=120&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=120&readMon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.net"Great sales people close..." Not true! In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, you will learn that this age-old expression misses the mark and how top sellers really achieve success. "We want you to build rapport with prospects, conduct thorough needs analysis meetings that identify challenges and deliver effective solution presentations. Remember, we create deep relationships leading to true partnerships. Now, get out there and CLOSE, CLOSE, CLOSE!" This sales team speech is delivered every hour on the hour to sales people around the globe. Yet, there is an oxymoron built into it. How can you talk about solving problems and building relationships when your perspective is closing? I assure you that I didn’t wake up this morning and say, "Gee, I hope someone closes me today." Neither did you! As a matter of fact, when people feel like sales people are attempting to close them, they shutdown. Sales leaders are often guilty of sales management double-talk … Build relationships and make them buy! Buyers hate to be closed. Don’t talk to prospects about win-win when your approach is really win-lose. Top sales people never close deals! They facilitate discussions with prospects leading to the development of solutions. These top sellers help prospects recognize the ramifications of not tackling that solution right now. It’s all about synergy and priority…the two most powerful words in sales. Synergy is the connection between prospect needs and supplier capabilities. Priority answers why tackle this problem right now. Keep this in mind the next time you tell your sales people to close deals. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. The Worst Needs Analysis Questionhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=119&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=119&readMon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere is an age-old, needs analysis question that sales people ask, but it hurts them more than it helps. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what that question is and why you should avoid it. There are two types of sales. There’s the Takeaway which means prospects are buying from someone other than you. Oftentimes, the traditional seller focuses much of the conversation on budget to see if they can save the prospect a few shillings as a selling strategy. The other sale type is Demand Creation where prospects are not using a particular product or service today. There is no budget in place … no dollars to reallocate. Once upon a time, every Takeaway deal was a Demand Creation one. There was a time when not everyone had a car … or owned a cell phone. The Demand Creation sales person has to position those as must haves for prospects to buy. <div>Curiously, once an industry shifts from demand creation to takeaway, the selling approach changes to one based on What’s your budget?! It’s the worst needs analysis question! What’s your budget? puts up fences unnecessarily. Every one of us has purchased things that were not in our budget or were priced well-beyond what we had planned to spend. We just had to have it! Maybe, it was your flat screen TV or iPad. It’s the role of the sales person to help prospects recognize that they absolutely must have this right now. </div> <div> </div> <div>It’s the two most powerful words in sales that help you do that…Synergy and Priority. Synergy is the connection between prospect needs and supplier capabilities. Priority answers why the prospect should pursue this solution right now. Master the two most powerful words in sales and you will never focus your conversation on budget again.</div> See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Will You Pass The $20,000 Test? Probably Not!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=118&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=118&readMon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe figure $20,000 is merely a number, but business leaders don't always treat that number with the same level of scrutiny when spending it. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn the $20,000 test that most business leaders fail. As a sales leader, you develop a new idea which requires that the company spend $20,000 to implement it. You research, strategize, plan, get input from colleagues. After all of this preparation, the time has come for you to deliver a presentation to the leadership team so they can make an informed, educated decision. After all, a $20,000 expenditure is not an easy decision. But, what if that $20,000 was not for a new initiative, but rather was the salary for a new hire sales person. Would that investment be looked at with the same level of scrutiny as with your new idea? In most companies, it would not. Not to mention, oftentimes a sales person’s salary is factors beyond $20,000. The reason for the difference is that most don’t think of hiring sales people as an investment, but it is. It’s investment made in revenue. It’s no different than when the company spends $20,000 on a trade show. There should be careful decision-making when selecting sales candidates in which you should make an investment. And, there should be a detailed implementation plan, also known as a sales person onboarding program, to ensure your investment yields a fast return. And finally, there should be a performance evaluation so you know when to invest more…and when to end the investment. Hiring sales people is one of the most costly investments made by companies. Make sure you treat your new hire sales people as the revenue investment that they are. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Two Words Guaranteed To Turn Prospects OFFhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=117&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=117&readMon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere are two words often used by sales people that unintentionally kill their deals. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn what those two words are so you can avoid them. Many sales training courses teach sales people to begin sales calls with “What I want to do today is…” The concept behind this is that it sets an agenda for the meeting which is true. Unfortunately, it also immediately tells the prospect that the sales person’s objective is to sell their wares, not help them address challenges. The issue is the opening… “I want” These two words send prospects running…unfortunately, they are running away from your sales people. Compounding the issue is that the use of “I want” is not limited to beginning a sales call. It’s pervasive in the entire prospect experience. When prospects hear “I want,” they are immediately turned off. After all, you’ve just told them it’s all about you when it should be all about them. Remember, other than your parents, no one cares what you want. Figure out how what you are asking of your prospect is a benefit to them and help them to see it. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Why Role Playing Has No Place On Your Sales Teamhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=116&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=116&readTue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales leaders regularly conduct role plays with their sales team. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn a better approach to help your sales people improve. As a sales leader, one of the things that’s been burned in your brain is that you need to conduct role play sessions with your sales people to help them improve. As soon as the team gets the email, a collective groan is heard throughout the office followed by “I hate role playing.” After all, who has time for playing when there are quotas to be achieved and commissions to be earned. Let me ask you this… When football players are in camp, don’t they participate in drills? When baseball players warm up, don’t they have batting practice? These professionals aren’t playing. They’re developing their skills. If you want your sales people to take these sessions seriously, stop calling them role playing … start calling them skill development sessions. These sessions should be well-structured with a focus on a particular selling skill like converting an inbound call into a meeting or handling a prospect concern. After each participant exercise, you and the team should provide constructive feedback that helps the sales person improve. Remember, the sales team is the revenue front line of the business. There’s no time for playing, but plenty of time for skill development. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Sell the Value! A Sales Management Coaching Mistakehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=115&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=115&readMon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen the price concern arises, sales managers tell their sales people to sell the value. Listen to this episode of the Sales Management Minute to learn why - sell the value - won't get the deal done and what sales people should do instead. <div>When sales people complain that prospects are balking at pricing, the mantra heard across the land is “Sell the value!” So, off the sales people return to battle to lecture on features and benefits…only to return in defeat. </div> <div> </div> <div>A prospect doesn’t buy because a sales person pushes their wares. She buys because the sales person has helped to uncover a problem that must be addressed right now. When deals are stuck due to pricing, rather than send your sales people off with the “sell the value” mantra, help them develop needs analysis mastery. Remember, the two most powerful words in sales are synergy and priority. </div> <div> </div> <div>Synergy is the sales person’s ability to uncover prospect needs and challenges…and align them with capabilities of their company. Priority is the sales person’s ability to help prospects recognize that the identified problems must be addressed right now. The mistake commonly made is uncovering a problem, but not positioning priority. After all, we all have problems. Yet, we aren’t trying to solve them all this minute. And, we certainly aren’t going to tackle it just because a sales person tried to sell us the value. </div> <div> </div> <div>See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.</div>Handling the Sales Candidate Who Wants A Better Offer - Stand Firm or Negotiate?http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=88&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=88&readMon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netWhen you make a job offer to a sales person, are you willing to negotiate? Listen to this episode of the Sales Management Minute to learn key considerations when deciding whether or not to negotiate the offer. You're at the hiring finish line… you've made the offer to the sales candidate who has passed all of your interview tests with flying colors. Then, she comes back and wants a higher salary than you've offered. Do you offer more money? Do you stand firm? This is a tough situation to be in as you really want this person on your team, but you must also consider the ramification of your decision to negotiate. There isn't a standard right or wrong answer, but there is a point that many don't consider when making the decision. <div>If you elect to negotiate, what message are you communicating? You have just conditioned her to think that whenever you put something on the table, be prepared to negotiate it. Since this is a new relationship, you are establishing a foundation that can cause mistrust. She will think you are always trying to low-ball. </div> <div> </div> <div>Before you make an offer to your next candidate, think through the next steps of the process. </div> <div> </div> <div>Do you make an offer based on zero negotiation? </div> <div>Or, do you present an offer that you are willing to negotiate. </div> <div> </div> <div>Remember, your ultimate goal is to create a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships between the company and its sales people. </div>Revenue Is Not A Sales Metrichttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=15&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=15&readTue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIdentifying the right sales measures and metrics are key to driving sales performance. However, revenue doesn't tell you the whole story. Sales managers can't affect revenue, they can affect the metrics that lead to it. <div>Caddyshack…One of my favorite all time movies. Do you remember the locker room scene where Judge Smails asks Ty Webb about that day's golf game? </div> <div>Ty says, “Oh, I don't keep score." </div> <div> </div> <div>A puzzled Judge Smails asks, “How do you measure yourself with other golfers?” </div> And, Ty says, “By height.” A very funny scene, but what isn't funny is when sales performance is gauged by the wrong measures. When I ask CEO's about sales metrics, the first critical metric they say is revenue. And, I have to be the one to break the bad news. Revenue isn't a metric. It's a result of the right metrics being delivered upon by the sales people. I'll give you an example. Let's say the sales cycle in your industry is six months long. When a sales person wins a piece of business, does that tell you he is doing the right things now? No, it means he did something right six months ago. You can't affect revenue, but you can affect the behaviors that lead to revenue. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Two Words GUARANTEED to Help Your Sales Team Sell Morehttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=14&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=14&readThu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThere are two words that are guaranteed to knock your sales team's quota out of the park. You don't believe me…do you? You've clicked on this episode of the Sales Management Minute totally skeptical of my claim about the two words guaranteed to help your sales team sell more. After all, what words could a sales person possibly say that would make a prospect buy? Well, there aren't any. These aren't two words that sales people say. Yet, if you instill them in the minds of your sales people, they will sell more. I guarantee you! These two words are Synergy and Priority. Synergy is your sales person's ability to match the needs of a prospect with the capabilities of your company. It means mastering the product and needs analysis to develop a solution. Synergy gets the deal into the pipeline. Priority is the motivation for the prospect to buy today…not tomorrow, today. Just because a problem and a solution have been identified, doesn't mean that it needs to be addressed today. Have your sales people ask themselves why the prospect should pursue this solution today. If the answer is weak, so is the deal. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Why Your Sales People Can't Get Referralshttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=13&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=13&readWed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netA little change in how your sales people ask for referrals can dramatically improve their success. Today, we're going to talk about referrals. Imagine this…Two classrooms, side by side where the teachers are teaching the same lesson. Both deliver the information equally well and finish at the same time. The first teacher looks out at her students and says, “Any questions?” How many kids ask questions? None! The teacher across the hall looks out her kids and asks, “What questions do you have? And, she spends the next thirty minutes answering their questions. When your sales people ask for referrals, how many ask… “Do you know of anyone who would be interested in what we do?” What do they get back? “Well, I can't think of anyone, but I'll keep you in mind.” And, they don't get squat! What if they asked the question a little differently? “Who do you know who would be interested in what we do?” Who do you know infers that they know someone maybe even a number of folks. Get your sales team to try this approach. It's a subtle change, but a sure-fire way to improve their effectiveness when asking for referrals. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Never PROMOTE Your Top Rep to Sales Managerhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=12&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=12&readThu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netBefore making a sales rep into a sales manager, there are some key considerations.After all, it's not really a promotion. Is it? Today we're going to talk about promoting your top sales person into sales management. First of all, if you perceive this move as a promotion, you're in for a heap of trouble. Moving a sales person from rep to manager is not a promotion, it's a job change. That means there are a series of steps to take before making this move. The first step is to evaluate the rep relative to the requirements of the sales management job in your company. This starts with developing the profile of your ideal sales manager. Contrast the candidate to the profile to see if there is a synergistic match. If you don't have a match, keep your rainmaker selling!  When you do have a match and make the move, develop the systems to train, measure, and monitor their performance. Remember, no one comes out of the womb knowing how to develop a sales comp plan, hire the right sales people, or put together a successful trade show. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Key to Developing the Right Sales Compensation Planhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=11&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=11&readWed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netSales compensation plans double as a job description for your sales team. Use the equilateral triangle method to ensure the plan drives the right behaviors. Today's topic deals with developing a sales compensation plan. As you know, your compensation plan doubles as a job description for your sales team. Get it right and you're golden. Get it wrong and welcome to the law of unintended consequences. “Why are they focusing on their existing clients when we want them to bring in new account?” Well, what did the plan tell your sales people to do? As you review your compensation plan, consider the three sides of the equilateral triangle with the sides representing the sales person, the client, and the company. Note that I said equilateral triangle, not isosceles. The most successful plans keep these three entities in balance. For example, if the plan compensates for winning a contract, but the expectation is that the sales person continues to service the client, the client won't be happy because there is no incentive to service them. Ask yourself what message your compensation plan sends to your sales team…and ensure it is the intended marching orders that positively affects the company, its clients and your sales team. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Develop A Social Media Policy To Guide Your Sales Teamhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=10&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=10&readSun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netProvide your sales team with guidance and structure so they successfully leverage social media tools to extend your marketing dollar. Today's topic is social media policy. Social media is a fantastic tool for building your brand. And, many companies are encouraging their sales people to leverage these tools to drive visibility in the marketplace. Yet, before you encourage your sales team to use these tools, make sure you have a social media policy in place that lays out the rules of engagement. Be sure to address things like how to behave in online groups with respect to commentary, information posting, and ethics. Social media is very new and everyone is still figuring out this medium. Just yesterday, I saw a post from a friend complaining about the number of hours they had worked that day and named the employer. I'm sure no malice was intended, but this post did nothing to enhance the corporate brand. Provide your sales team with the guidance they need to successfully use social media to expand your marketing dollar. Never forget, the same tools that can build your brand can just as easily destroy it. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Handling the Blind RFPhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=9&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=9&readMon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIs a blind RFP an opportunity or a lead? Listen to this show and find out. Today's topic is the dreaded blind RFP. Q4 and Q1 are the times when these most frequently show up on our sales team's desks. They come running in and tell us how great these opportunities are and that we should use all of our company's resources in pursuit of them. This approach causes our sales teams to chase pipe dreams…mirages. The real issue is that they see these as opportunities. Blind RFPs are not opportunities. They are leads. What's the first thing you need to do with a lead? Qualify it, right? Find out how your company got on the list, what's driving the selection decision, and every other piece of information that will help your company develop a strategy to win the business. Before your sales team chases these supposed opportunities, have them call the procurement agent who is facilitating the process and qualify the lead. Chase the opportunities and put the duds in the circular file. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.The Power of One Wordhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=8&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=8&readSun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netA subtle change in the approach your sales people take can dramatically improve their results. Today, we're going to talk about the power of one word. Years ago, I built a sales organization in the technology training industry. We advertised to make the phone ring for our sales people. The only acceptable outcome from the inbound call was scheduling an appointment with the prospect. That was the only acceptable outcome! Interestingly, we could draw a line down the middle separating those sales people who did it tremendously well and those who failed miserably at it. When we listened to those who did it well, here’s what we heard. “The way we begin the process with all of our prospective students is with an interview…” When we listened to those who struggled...same point of the conversation… “Typically, we begin the process with an interview...” What was the new word? Typically! What does “typically” mean? There are other ways! Imagine the prospect responses… “Can you fax, email, or send me the information?” As soon as we got typically out of their vernacular, they performed just like the others on the team. What are your sales people saying that makes it even more difficult to sell? See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.3 Key Words to Effective Sales Onboardinghttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=7&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=7&readThu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netTo establish a solid foundation for your new hire sales person, a program is needed to help them succeed.These three words give you focus for your on-boarding program. Congratulations! Everything went well during the interview process and the candidate accepted your offer. Uh oh! They're going to show up on Monday! What is the plan to assimilate your new hire sales person into your organization so they are positioned to succeed. Remember, she comes to the table with the skills, but needs your help to apply those skills successfully in your world. What you need is an onboarding program which I refer to as your Revenue Accelerator Program. When you design your program, start with the end in mind. At the end of the assimilation period, what do you expect this sales person to KNOW– DO– USE. Those are your 3 magic words… KNOW – DO - USE. Once you know what those are, you can develop the new hire training that provides the specific focus that they need to thrive. Don't forget to put steps in place to test the new hire's proficiency on do, use, and know. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Get Rid of Your Customers Now!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=6&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=6&readWed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIf you have customers, trouble lies ahead... Today, we are going to talk about your customers. Gosh, I hope you don't have any customers. I assure you that I don't have any customers. Yet, I don't live in a refrigerator box. Take a moment and look up the word "customer" in Webster’s… A customer is someone who buys a good or service. That's it…nothing more, nothing less. What you should be striving for is clients. A client is defined as one who is under the protection of another. I'm proud to say that I have no customers…just clients. Think about what you provide to those with whom you do business. If you truly have customers, the relationship is founded on price and you're always vulnerable. If you have clients, there is a broader, deeper relationship…trust. So, here's a disconnect. You get ticked when you are called vendor. How dare they! Don't they see value in what we do? Think about that the next time you call them customer. Developing The Profile Of Your Ideal Sales Personhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=5&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=5&readTue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netHiring the right sales people starts with the development of your ideal sales person profile. Today, we are going to talk about designing your ideal sales person profile. If you listened to my earlier show about sales hiring, you heard me introduce the concept of a profile of your ideal sales person for the role. This should be a very healthy list that looks at your product type and position in the marketplace, the length of the buying process and organizational attributes. What is an example of an organizational attribute? Let's say you have a CFO who beats up sales people for sport… Yet, in your environment, the sales person must be able to work with the CFO to get the pricing they need to get their deals done. You can't hire a sales person who folds when dealing with a tough company executive. For them to succeed, they need to stay in the ring and fight for what they need to get the account in the win column. Developing a detailed profile of your ideal sales person sets the foundation for making educated hires for your sales team. Making the right hires means peak performance and revenue growth. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute. Never Let Your Sales People Cold Call!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=4&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=4&readMon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netThe practice of cold calling as we know it is dead...at least it should be. Today, we're going to talk about the death of cold calling. Yes, cold calling is dead in the B2B world. Now, I didn't say prospecting is dead. And this is not a call to sales people to put down their phones. Cold calling infers dialing for dollars…that the sales person has not done any preparation before picking up the phone and calling the prospect. Folks, we live in the information age. Not long ago, you could call a prospect, be less than informed and it was okay. "What is it you do here?" Today, that practice is completely unacceptable! Prospects expect that if you are calling on them that you've done some homework…some research… that you've identified some potential synergies between their needs and your solution. Help your sales team develop the right prospecting habits to make a great first impression. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.Dealing With A Sales Rep Who Needs Help, But Doesn't Want Ithttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=3&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=3&readSun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netAs a manager, it's your responsibility to help your sales people succeed, but what do you do when a struggling rep rebuffs your efforts? Today, we're going to talk about how to deal with a rep that needs help, but doesn't want it. I'm sure you've never encountered this. As a manager, you have two choices in this situation. You can force your assistance on the sales person…but guess what happens when you do… He resists you and resents your efforts. Here you are trying to help him succeed, but he rebuffs your efforts. <div>Your other option is to focus your time and effort on the sales people who welcome your support. They'll succeed with your teachings and will appreciate what you've done for them. After a little while, you'll get a visit from the rep who wanted to be left alone… </div> <div> </div> <div>Rep: How come you don't spend any time with me on my accounts? </div> <div>Sales Manager: Well, I didn't think you wanted help so I left you alone. </div> <div>Rep: Oh no, I need your help on this account. I'm not sure how to tackle this. </div> <div>Sales Manager: Happy to help you!</div> Don't force yourself on reps that want to go it alone. Work with those who are receptive, deliver results for them, and the others will naturally gravitate to you for help. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.There Are No Great Sales People!http://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=2&readhttp://www.salesarchitects.net/salesdet.php?aid=2&readSun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00Info@salesarchitects.netIn this episode of the Sales Management Minute, learn why there are no great sales people...and what you should look for in prospective sales hires. Welcome to the Sales Management Minute… I'm Lee Salz your sales management strategist helping you deal with the challenge of building a scalable sales organization. Today, we are going to focus on hiring sales people. For starters… There is no such thing as a great sales person. Don't believe me. Look at the sales people that you hired that had a great pedigree…but failed in your organization. If you believe that there are great sales people, then you also believe one of the following. This great sales person completely forgot how to sell when he arrived at your company or your company is the worst company to sell for… There is no other choice. This is one of the common mistakes made by sales managers, business executives, and small business owners. They search for great sales people as opposed to searching for the right sales people who will succeed in their company. The quest to hire the right sales person begins with the development of your profile of your ideal sales person for the role. Think of how much time you spend thinking about your ideal client and the fences you place around that scope. Make the same investment in your sales hire to ensure success. See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.