Salespeople (and all people) need to know that closing the deal often means having confidence in your product, your pitch, and pricing – and holding your ground. Here are four rules to keep in mind that will garner more sales and more respect.

1. Hold your ground. Once you have made the sales pitch – and this could be for anything – a sale or even a job promotion – you can hold your ground. The questions and feedback you will get are not necessarily showstoppers, and backing down should not be your first reaction. If you’ve done your job correctly, then you’ve earned the right to not give way as a response. Listen to what is being asked, and answer clearly and precisely.
2. Don’t develop feet of clay. Hearing objections is not synonymous with giving way. Don’t be stubborn, just work through each issue. Holding your ground means listening and being patient while at the same time negotiating in good faith and for the win-win.
3. Have confidence. If you are good at what you do, make sure your attitude demonstrates that. People can hear and see a lack of confidence or conviction, no matter how good the proposal is. Here’s an example: A salesperson was proposing a service to do some specific marketing for me, but his hesitation and uncertainty when I asked a question made me doubt that he could deliver what was being offered! The more questions I asked, the weaker and quieter the responses became until I thanked him and mentally moved on. I sensed a complete lack of confidence, and I lost interest. The sad part is that it may not have been intentional.
4. Know your facts. Any proposals will generate questions, and you need to have answers. Make sure that you are providing factual answers. Everything in today’s electronic, over-connected, and digital world means that anyone can easily verify anything you have to say.
5. Watch your tone. How you answer, and the energy and conviction of your response, says everything about how you will deliver. Any vacillation or uncertainty in your response will be heard and noted – and affect the decision. For example, if you say that writing technical content is your special skill, how you answer questions about it send a strong, clear message. Be careful to send the right message!

In sales – and everyone is in sales – holding your ground is a necessary skill and one that clients respect. Holding your ground means that you believe in what you do, and there is a match between what you provide and what clients need. Buyers look for matches to their needs, and when you have the answer, you must show that in every word and response. Pushback on the buyers’ part does not mean that you have to weaken and cede ground. It doesn’t mean that the client desires a contentious interaction. It does mean that you are being given the golden opportunity to strengthen your relationship and close more business.

The world has changed BIG time. I assume you get the same news that I do and know what a difficult time students are having finding jobs. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that people embrace the idea that to get ahead, students need to learn the principles of sales and how to sell themselves, and gain the confidence to do it right. This is way more than good interviewing skills. Although many students will bring passion, smarts, and energy, they’ll need to sell themselves against other and, in some cases, more qualified candidates. Fewer jobs and more candidates. Differentiating skills are needed desperately.

Some things never change

When I was in school (a million years ago), you went to career services and signed up for interviews and eventually got a few offers. Students today may be great at their subjects, but they lack the one thing that’s not being taught in schools: sales and how to sell themselves. Throughout one’s career, a person will have to always (and I do mean, always) sell himself or herself in order to advance. Selling yourself not only begins with getting the job, but it also continues throughout one’s professional career. That will not change. Not ever.

I have vivid memories of being told in high school that if I knew math and science, I would always be in “good shape.” Therefore, I made it my business to get very good at math (well, most math – loved algebra, hated geometry) and science. Here’s the newsflash – being great at math and science made me pretty good at math and science – but not any more successful at selling myself to prospective employers. This is not to say that some jobs won’t be won on academic prowess alone, but the one indisputable common thread to advancing one’s career is to know how to sell yourself and gain “buy in.”

What schools need to do

Why don’t more schools offer a full sales curriculum? At the very least, one course in sales or personal selling should be mandatory for every student. Created and taught by people with real-world experience who can make the appropriate points with the students. Seriously, we make students take gym courses but not personal-development courses? The good news is that there are some schools (a very few that I am aware of) that actually do offer sales courses, and I have lectured in a few of those classes. The students are from all backgrounds and in all majors. The one thing they understand is that they will have to be good salespeople to get ahead.

Still think I’m crazy? Think about this: If you are interviewing young people today for jobs, how well are they doing letting you know about their passions and how they think they will do in the job? I actually don’t care about a student’s GPA if he or she can’t tell me who they are and sell me on what they will do and why. I was a mediocre student with a mild learning disability, and if any employer had hired me based on my GPA, I would still be flipping burgers somewhere. Grades and the courses you take are only a part of the picture. Every day, I am thankful for my first mentor at Xerox, who saw in me something beyond my grades.

Encouraging news

One encouraging development I see is the rise of the entrepreneurial programs in higher education. These help prepare students to sell. But what also is needed are courses that prepare young people for today’s world. The ability to articulate and speak about your strengths and make the employer want you and be willing to take a chance on you is the differentiator between people with the same GPA. You must be able to sell the whole package. Yeah – that’s right – you must be able to sell yourself. Success is measured not only by a GPA, but by real smarts, passion, and the ability to articulate and tie these things together. One more thing: Schools that are looking for more ways to find revenue – this class would be filled!

Therefore, here are my 10 simple principles to creating a successful compensation plan:

1. Create sales culture behaviors. The wrong compensation plan will create a silo where the sales team is set apart from the rest of the company. The right compensation plan does not reinforce “me” behaviors.
2. Make sure the compensation plan is written and approved by November 15. This is a very reasonable target date and one that allows for the necessary reviews and adjustments. In fact, the framework for the plan needs to be a continuous discussion throughout the year. If the plan is well written, there is no need to do a complete rewrite once a year. Launch the plan by December 30, and get ready to start the year with the sales team ready to sell!
3. Keep it simple. Simplicity is success. There is no reason a compensation plan needs to be more than one page, two at most. I have seen plans range from one to 55 pages! If the reps cannot calculate how they are going to get paid, the plan is a failure.
4. Make the plan modular and scalable. Comp plans should be able to be adjusted, not gutted as the company’s needs change. It should be written in a way that allows for addition and subtraction of elements and percentages as things change.
5. Include multiple components. I like comp plans that include a few different pieces, such as salary, variable compensation (VC, aka commission), and perhaps a bonus structure or end-of-year bonus. All of these components are based on achieving certain goals that drive the company’s needs. Adding in a management by objective (MBO) for personal development is always a way to drive the salesperson to see that the company has a desire to keep and develop its people.
6. Recognize that compensation plan development is not a democratic process. In other words, I have seen a few too many sales leaders use the sales team as an “approving body.” I think that asking a selection of respected and successful members of the sales team for input and to review the plan as it is being developed is a smart thing to do. Having the sales team believe they have approval and veto power is an unhappy and unhealthy place to be.
7. Include an income calculator. The first thing salespeople will do is to take the plan and figure out how they will make money. Make that process easy – create a simple one-page Excel-based calculator that will let the team plug in the numbers and estimate on how they will do – and what they have to do to exceed the goals.
8. Align, align, and align. Perhaps the most challenging part is to make sure that the comp plan actually drives and rewards the results and behaviors that are synonymous with success. A very common mistake is creating a plan whose connection isn’t clear to the sales team.
9. Benchmark. Your comp plan should reflect some element of benchmarking for your industry. What others are doing is not hard to find out. Don’t develop it in a vacuum.
10. “They make how much?” If the senior leadership of the company rejects the comp plan because salespeople might make more than they do, then they don’t get it. As a sales leader, I was always thrilled to write BIG commission checks. This usually meant everyone was doing well. Yes, there are exceptions, and in the case where someone is over-earning and not driving the company objectives – then if the plan is modular, it can be adjusted.

Finally, the big key to making the compensation plan work is to have a steady and credible method of communication to the field. Comp plans that are a total surprise and a departure stand a pretty good chance of failing. Make sure that as you are developing your plan during the year that you are simultaneously talking with everyone involved about what you are thinking and what your direction will be. I have one client where we prepped the sales team for 6 months before launch that we would be adding a new business element to the plan. This gave us time to assimilate the idea and provide for training and development to meet the reps’ needs. Don’t forget to ask the salespeople what they think of the current plan. Remember that one reason that comp plans fail is that they are not understood, which leads to frustration and finally sales paralysis. You can avoid this by following the steps above and communicating the entire time.

I recently read a book called Leading Change by John P. Kotter.  A couple of things jumped out at me as being very relevant for small business owners and managers.

There was a chapter dedicated to why companies fail at implementing change. Two of the main reasons were:

1. Under communicating the vision by a factor of 10 (or even 100…. or 1000)
2. Failing to create short-term wins.

Kotter spends a great deal of timing talking about the importance of continually communicating the vision to employees, both in words and deeds and in as many interactions as possible. Major change is usually impossible unless most employees are willing to help, often to the point of making short-term sacrifices. Without credible communication, and a lot of it, employees’ hearts and minds are never captured. It’s not enough to read it once at a company meeting (although that’s the start!). The vision must be kept “top of mind” and be constantly incorporated in your communications and decisions. I encourage you all to keep your company visions close by and incorporate pieces of it in your weekly meetings.

In Summit, we talk about getting some small victories. This will create a feeling of accomplishment in your company and show them that you are committed to walking the talk. Focus on one project (or maybe only two). Communicate the project to the company. Explain how it ties into the vision. Plan it, do it, and celebrate it. Kotter talks about short-term wins as more than luck. I have always known luck as opportunity coming together with preparation. Short-term wins come about through planning, organizing, and implementing the plan to make things happen. The point is to make sure that visible results lend sufficient credibility to the change effort, which includes creating a focused organization. Have you picked your one or two projects that will give you the early victories you need to sustain change? Have you planned them before you started doing them? Have you communicated these plans to the organization?

“Discipline is remembering what you want.” Our organizations will thank us if we maintain the discipline to focus and accomplish one or two things at a time. You will reach your summit (your vision) in time, one base camp at a time.

Have a great week!

Brian Nolan
610-449-2135
www.summitservicesinc.com

Usually, salespeople want to make sure that our prospects have choices when proposing goods and services. It’s the way things have evolved – and it’s a problem if we can’t control ourselves! I have seen – and have been guilty of – the sales syndrome I am hereby naming “toomanychoiceitis” or its other name, “overproposingitis.”

The idea is to get our prospects to say “yes” to our proposals in a reasonable timeframe. We all get that, and it’s what gives us the energy and the strength to keep pushing on! In the spirit of getting business done and doing the right thing by our clients and prospects, here are the six rules for the right way to propose and close the business.

1. Propose based on the discovery that you have done with your prospects. Offering a solution based on what you think you heard or what you think they need without having the data or dialog to support your assessment is a fast road to a “no.”
2. Offer TWO choices. As soon as we start offering way too many choices and give prospects too much to think about, they will freeze, and then no decision happens. Proposing is about making it EASY to do business with you and offering a logical path for them to be successful…and making it easy to say yes.
3. Place a deadline on your proposal. Your prospects’ time is valuable, and so is yours. If you suggest that you need a decision by a certain date to be able to schedule the work, this helps them feel confident that if they choose you, they will get the services on a schedule that is a win-win.
4. Stop thinking! The longer you mentally debate every minute aspect of the proposal, the longer it will take to get it done, and the longer the proposal will be. People don’t want long, detailed, and overly complex proposals. They want to see a crisp and clear (and short) document that reflects your understanding of what they need and how you will provide it.
5. Deliver the proposal in person. ASK for the opportunity to deliver the proposal in person. It’s harder to say no that way, and it’s easier to get a sense of any objections you may encounter. Proposal review and debate via email is just not efficient, and much more gets done in person.
6. Nothing can replace YOU. Your proposal is not a salesperson and it’s at best a document to work from to further your discussions and to provide a mutual opportunity to discuss, refine, and build the relationship. If you miss a detail or are not sure how to present something, bringing it up in person is the best opportunity to discuss and resolve it.

Try these six rules out for yourself, and I am sure that you will see a difference in how you’re perceived, received, and welcomed by your clients and prospects. Selling is about you and your ability to match what you do to what is needed. The proposal is just one tool to help prospects see and learn about you. Use it wisely.

Ever notice that sometimes when you are about to give up – when you’ve tried too hard or too long and the obstacles seem too great, when you just don’t have it in you to keep going – as if by magic, you have a breakthrough. I see this in my own life, when the prospects with whom I have been following up with for years finally bring us in for a project. I witness it in the lives of my clients, when the proposal they’ve put before their boss, which has seemingly disappeared, is brought back as a topic of discussion…and then funded. I notice it in the life of my son, who has literally cried his way through homework because handwriting is so difficult for him, and then one day he found himself easily putting pencil to paper and capturing his thoughts without struggling. In each one of these instances, frustration has been high and we’ve all been at the “breaking point,” but when we’ve been patient, when we’ve persevered, it has been magical.

There is a time for realizing, and admitting, that all of our effort may have been for naught. There is a time for admitting retreat, if not defeat, and choosing another goal, or at least another approach. And just as insanity is “doing the same thing and expecting different results,” there is a time when our steadfast adherence to what we want and how we want to get it can appear, at least in some ways, insane.

Yet, there is a time for giving it one more chance, persevering against all odds, and simply being patient. Trusting that it will work out if we just keep showing up and trying. Or at least just showing up. The challenge is to know which of these choices is the “right” one, at least for the moment. The leadership challenge is to walk this fine balance, to be patient and persevere, and to look for the magical results.

Where do you need more patience? More perseverance? How can you get it?
The next time you feel like giving up, give it one more chance instead.

Source: Lisa Kohn of the Chatsworth Consulting Group. Based in New York and Pennsylvania, the Chatsworth Consulting Group helps individuals and organizations articulate and realize their goals. By taking a holistic approach to consulting and coaching, CCG uncovers the often-hidden opportunities for success so that clients move forward with greater focus and purpose. For more information, you can email them.

Join Gene Marks and me on March 30, 2012 to learn how to upgrade your sales technology and increase your sales!

Topics will include:

• How to generate greater impact from your sales incentive and compensations plans.
• How to plan for and create a sales culture and not just a sales team!
• How to convert your customer relationship system from a “Glorified Rolodex” to a productive sales and marketing system.
• Which emerging sales and marketing technologies you should consider this year.

Plus, you’ll get copies of our books – Everyone’s in Sales and In God We Trust, Everyone Else Pays Cash.

When: March 30th, 2012
Where: The Marriott Courtyard at The Philadelphia Airport
Time: 8:30 AM EST – Noon

For details, click here and to register, click here.

I was talking with a colleague about what salespeople do when January rolls around and new goals and territories are handed out. They ask the inevitable question, “How am I going to make this…?” So, my question right back is “Do you dream in color?” Do you see the possibilities and the opportunity beyond what you did last year and see HOW your territory can yield even more and bigger results? Are you still thinking that the business will come the same way from the same tactics and skills? Are you linear on your thinking or challenging yourself to be as expansive as possible as you think about the HOW of your business?

The 5 Rules for Dreaming in Color

1. Think about who is actually saying “no,” or that they “can’t buy any more,” or that “There is nowhere else for me to go.” Is it your client talking or that little voice in your head saying these things? Did you actually hear “no” or are you thinking you will hear no?
2. Stop thinking or saying “I don’t know where the business is coming from.” Every territory has new and untapped possibilities and business to be had. That is a fact. There are new decision makers and new spots of opportunity, and you just need to find them. Are you pushing yourself to see beyond your own beliefs? Dream about what you WANT to accomplish and figure out where the business is – and go get it.
3. Don’t let fears limit you. Are you afraid to prospect where you “think” you couldn’t or shouldn’t be prospecting? Why do you have that “fear”? Right now – end that perception of what you can do or where you can and can’t go, and just go and “knock on that door,” as it were.
4. Think “outside the box” with regard to your offerings and services. Guess what? There are way more needs for what you offer than you realize, and all you have to do is find those people with those needs. That starts with the basics of selling – discovery, asking for introductions, and networking!
5. Improve your skills. What are you going to do to sharpen your skills and hence your sales confidence? Is there someone in your midst you can turn to for coaching and counsel? What do you need to learn in 2012 that will give you the competitive edge you need? Challenge yourself this way – ask five clients what they liked about doing business with you and see what they say. I think you will get a tremendous benefit from this exercise. I do it all the time and my business grows as a result. This takes some confidence, but go ahead and try it anyway!

So – there you have it – are YOU dreaming in color? Are you allowing yourself to see all of the possibility that your sales territory holds even though it may not be obvious? Are you thinking in a way that stretches your offerings and services to fit a new and unfound set of client opportunities, or are you thinking too narrowly to expand your business? That’s your goal for 2012: Dream in color, execute on that dream, and enjoy the amazing outcome!

Good selling!
-Todd

I thought that was a thought-provoking way to ask ourselves a very important question: What kind of show are we hosting? For example, are you talking more or listening more to your clients and customers? Regardless of what you do, you are connecting with people every day who seek you out because you need what they have to offer. When you do connect, what does that interaction look like? What kind of show are you hosting? If you want it to be a great one, consider my seven rules:

1. Listen more and talk less. No new ground here. We all should know this, but it’s always worth reminding ourselves to listen more.
2. Take your time. A common mistake in sales is that there is often a rush to answer a question or concern that has not been voiced yet! So unless you have developed ESP, listen more and talk less.
3. Be humble. You don’t have all the answers – and you don’t need to. Listen more and your clients will often solve their own issues or objections by simply allowing themselves to process their issue as they talk through it with you playing the tour guide.
4. Remember that eye contact wins. Maintain a steady and unwavering gaze. This says that you’re interested and that you care. It’s also the utmost sign of respect, so don’t look around and get distracted.
5. Acknowledge what you are hearing. Great sales professionals always acknowledge without judgment.
6. Never forget: You are the host. It’s your show, and the customers are your guests. Treat them accordingly!
7. Don’t text. Okay, I’m slipping in some of own bias toward the lost art of conversation, but texting while you’re talking with a client just doesn’t fly. Thinking that you can justify it by saying “I’m listening, keep talking” is the best way I know to lose a customer, a sale, or a colleague intending to work with you.

The best part of “hosting a great show” is that we all are capable and do this every day. It’s being conscious of what kind of show you’re hosting. Why do people want to be on the most successful talk shows out there? I would suggest that it’s because the hosts are actually hosting a listening show. And that’s true power.

See you at the Emmys!

Good Selling!
-Todd

At this time of year, executives focus on two key actions:
1) Achieving your 2011 financial plan for orders, revenue, and profit
2) Finalizing a strategic plan that enables achievement of 2012 desired growth targets

For 2011. the clock is ticking, leaving you very little time to reach the end zone. Either you have a game plan to score that touchdown or you’re trying to move close enough to at least get a field goal. Regardless, right now you need to secure a strong finish for 2011 and initiate plans for a successful 2012.

To succeed in 2012, you need everyone in your company to get behind the game plan right away as an active and supportive player. Make sure your strategic plan doesn’t become shelfware that only those in the corporate offices review. Without question, your strategic plan touches every organization in your company – so make sure everyone has a clear understanding of the strategy and is committed to achieving the goals.

How Do You Accomplish That?

With effective communications throughout your business and a solid execution plan. Unfortunately, although everyone knows he or she needs a strategic plan, I’ve seen companies miss the mark on the communication and execution – even though these two criteria can enable your strategic plan to succeed, or they can cause it to implode. Here’s why…

Have You Considered the Following in Your 2012 Strategic Plan?

• Is your plan clear and ready to communicate throughout your company?
  • Reach out to each organization early in your fiscal year to build support for the strategic plan.
  • Communicate the key contributions needed to achieve the plan.
• Are your target markets well defined?
  • Refine “profiling” of your targets to position your sales organization for attaining a higher win ratio.
  • Define accounts clearly to support more focused and directed marketing initiatives.
• Does your sales structure adequately cover your target market(s)?
  • Consider reaching a larger market through partnerships – either strategic alliances and/or channel partners.
• How effectively does your sales compensation plan align with your strategy?
  • Provide a greater incentive for sales reps to sell the strategic products and/or services that drive your growth strategy – not just to sell anything in your solutions portfolio.

Success Follows Implementation, Measuring Progress, and Accountability

Remember…achieving your financial targets is not the sole responsibility of your sales or operations organizations. The cycle of interdependency among various organizations affects success – or the lack of it. What comes first – the chicken or the egg?

• Portfolio management teams with responsibility for bringing new products and/or services to market are key contributors to your strategic plan. Timelines missed here have a ripple effect on the rest of your plan.
• Sales teams need the details on your portfolio of services and/or products, including a competitive analysis, to achieve their sales targets.
• Marketing needs to support sales by generating demand through effective awareness campaigns, events, and lead-generation programs; and marketing is a key participant in any new product or service introduction.
• Operations need to be updated on plans for new products and/or services as well as the sales forecast to ensure they have the scalability to meet demand without compromising quality.

The link among portfolio management, marketing, sales, and operations is clear. Implement a process for these organizations to measure progress on attaining your objectives. Teams focus on what’s measured. Without measurable accountability, too much time slips away before it becomes apparent that the plan is no longer attainable.

In reality, creating the strategic plan is less than half the required effort. The hardest part may be getting everyone in your company behind the plan and ensuring that all the required deliverables are met on time and on budget.

Bottom line – don’t just build a strategic plan…execute it effectively!