In this podcast Peter discusses the first of three aspects for creating the environment for high performance sales cultures to grow.
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In this podcast Peter discusses the first of three aspects for creating the environment for high performance sales cultures to grow.
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What is the value that sales managers are responsible to add to their team?
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Do you know what your customers are looking for and the 10 top qualities they are seeking? Listen to this podcast and to Peter discuss these attributes
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Are your sales approaches delivering the right results? Discover the new sales reality.
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Recent research has found that only 20% of customer sales information is being recorded in a company’s CRM system. This seems like a shocking statistic when you consider that senior management is relying on this information to enable them to make major decisions.
To illustrate: Can you imagine looking at a painting where only 20% of the picture was visible to you? This is effectively the same situation faced by many company executives as they try to make sense of their sales management reports.
Why does this happen?
And what can you do as a sales leader to improve the quantity and quality of your customer relationship data?
In working with clients over the last few years, five key areas consistently require attention.
1. Lack of support during implementation. – When a new CRM system is implemented, or new people join the firm, not enough time and support are given to enable them to become comfortable and confident in performing their essential tasks. Leading to them wasting time and energy as they muddle through each day without full competence. It’s not surprising there is a lack of enthusiasm for keeping customer records up to date. It’s seen as a chore rather than a vital way to protect and increase customer retention and revenue.
2. Ease of use and Mobility. – Senior Management needs to ensure the CRM system provides full mobility to both access and update customer details remotely in real time. Research done on adoption rates has shown that where salespeople can update records within 90 seconds, there is a significantly higher rate of adoption. However, once the time it takes to complete an update increases over two minutes the adoption rates fall dramatically. So, the lesson is clear, sales managers need to ensure their technology is completely user-friendly if they want enthusiastic adoption!
3. Overly complicated sales processes. – Another critical factor is ensuring the correct sales process is used for the specific sales role. If you try to roll out a process company wide, there is a high risk of asking salespeople to report on information that is not relevant to their sales role, which causes frustration.
4. Not selecting the right metrics. – With modern technology, the list of possible metrics is endless. So, what should you measure? Select the metrics that measure your key sales activities. This helps your team focus and saves you from drowning in a sea of sales data!
5. Sales coaching. – You need to work collaboratively when coaching your team. Consistently helping them to see how the sales data that they record can be used to improve their sales results. This is a perception change for many salespeople who routinely see keeping their CRM updated as a necessary evil, rather than a way to maximise their effectiveness. A second factor senior management should consider is the time and investment they make in their sales managers. Helping to mentor and develop their potential then benefits the whole team as they effectively transfer their experience throughout the team leading to enhanced results.
In Chapter 13 of my latest book “The Sales Strategist“.
I delve deeper into this subject and provide further practical tips on how to maximise your team’s potential.
I invite you to share your thoughts, experiences and comments on the subject!
Over the last few months, I’ve had several conversations with senior executives about an insidious challenge they are seeing develop with the use and proliferation of mobile device technology.
The issue is ‘Phubbing’ and it has been receiving increased attention in the media recently due to its negative impact on personal relationships.
The term describes the practice of ignoring one’s companion or companions in order to pay attention to one’s phone or another mobile device.
So how are these sales leaders affected? In three ways:
People’s habits are changing and their preferred methods of communication too. So, the challenge as sales leaders and sales professionals is to keep developing the art of personal interaction and communication both internally in the organisation but also externally with clients!
Many people who are guilty of phubbing in business will say that they do it to be more efficient. All I see is that efficiency is lowered rather than increased. Imagine someone in a training session who is also answering emails, their participation and learning might only be 60% while the effectiveness of their email communication might also only be 60%. They will have missed out on their learning and may need to repeat it later and may also spend more time resolving questions or issues arising from their emails!
But what is the potential impact externally on client meetings?
Hopefully no one is guilty of checking their phone whilst attempting to have a conversation with a prospect or client…are they?
Recent studies have shown that many of us are checking our phones 150 times a day for social media updates, texts and emails. The impact of this constant distraction seems to be a lowering of people’s ability to concentrate, focus and stay in the moment. All critical attributes required for building trusting relationships both personal and in business.
When you link this situation with the responses given by clients in a recent Rain Group survey that asked:
What qualities do you value most in a sales person?
The answers are very insightful.
Here are the Top Ten Qualities Customers Value Most.
It’s interesting to note that of these top ten attributes only the last one involves the organisation, all the others focus on the individual.
Which underlines the critical role the sales person plays and how vital their ability to interact is on who will win the business.
This is a key issue that I explore in greater detail in my latest book ‘The Sales Strategist’ https://www.linearstructure.com/the-sales-strategist-book/
So, let me ask you a question.
What are you doing to aid to your team to develop their ability to communicate and avoid the phubbing trap?
Here are three positive actions we can take to address the challenge.
At the half way point in the year, sales managers and their teams will be analysing their YTD sales results against target.
Some will be rushing ahead and that’s great. But that’s not always the case. If you need to play some catch up, this week I want to share some tips on forging your own stunning comeback!
We have all seen amazing moments when a team comes from behind before the final whistle to score the winning goal…a classic example was the unforgettable UCL final win by Liverpool vs AC Milan in 2005. Coming back to win from 3-0 down at half time!
Keep on keeping on is a sporting motto, but often it doesn’t happen as often as it should.
And in business it happens much less often.
I want to share with you some keys to create a successful comeback that were originally featured by Alan Weiss in the Balancing Act TM. They will help you get yourself and your team back on the winning track.
Most of the time, when we see sports teams facing huge deficits they tend to fold and simply await the inevitable as the clock runs out. The same can hold true of sales people, they start focusing on the wrong things and let their heads drop.
So, to be a great sales manager you need to know how to rally your team in challenging situations. Anyone can be a good captain when the sea is calm, but it’s the man or woman that can lead though a storm that is truly valued.
The difference seems to be more about mind-set than talent and the same holds true for sports teams or sales teams.
So here are 5 attributes for a successful comeback:
So, if you do find yourself falling behind don’t give up. Never give up.
It’s not the end, but rather the beginning of your successful comeback.
Making consistent small improvements can deliver a massive impact to your overall performance.
Sports teams provide a great example: England v France Feb 2017 Six Nations, think of how each phase of play may only gain the team 4 or 5 meters. It seems punishingly hard work. But as they progress down the field into a scoring position, eventually a try is achieved.
Sometimes we are always looking to celebrate the big wins but we forget the small incremental steps that got us there. It’s so easy to ignore or under value the small wins people have.
Acknowledging these and giving them recognition motivates and inspires them to keep going when the going seems tough on the road to achieving their goals.
This is especially important when you have a large sales target to hit each year or you are given a large complex project to deliver on time.
Often whilst doing executive coaching this issue comes up. Hard working business owners and executives express how the day to day business priorities and pressures are pushing out the bigger more important projects that they know they should be working on for long term growth. It can be a frustrating experience as you never seem to get the time you need!
So how can you get the time to work on your important growth projects?
One of the best approaches I’ve found to achieve this is by applying the following 5 Steps.
1. Break the whole task down into 5 smaller steps that act like a staircase, logically linking together your climb from one task to the next to achieve your goal.
2. Make the steps small enough to manage and complete within short time frame. Then put all your focus and energy into completing the first step.
3. Allocate 90 minutes every other day to work on the big project. This helps you maintain your performance in your other daily activities whilst allowing you to complete the big project.
4. Book these 90min time slots as priority meetings with yourself and then ensure you and others respect them!
5. Create accountability and visibility by sharing your steps with a colleague or partner who will hold you to them and keep momentum high.
6. Finally, celebrate the incremental wins as you go step by step. It will give you added energy and drive to complete the whole task.
Working with this process has three powerful effects:
1. Head space – Mentally you feel more in control and it removes the negative habit of procrastinating which in itself is emotionally draining your energy.
2. Momentum – Taking action! …getting started on an important first step gives you added energy and focus to complete the project on time.
3. Motivation – Achieving completion on these business building projects gives you a real sense of accomplishment that motivates not only you but your whole team to take the business to the next level!
How could you use this same principle to add value to your clients?
I was reminded of the incremental principle unexpectedly early one Monday morning during a taxi ride to the train station.
Halfway through the journey the taxi driver turned and asked me, “Would you like a receipt?”
I looked at him quizzical as I wondered why was he asking me half way through the journey.
I said “why are you going to charge me 40 quid?” – He laughed…and replyed
“No I just thought I’d save some time, instead of making you wait for me to write it out when we arrive I’ll have it all ready for you. I find most customers are rushing for the train first thing in the morning!”
Then he shared with me an interesting thought, he added ” you know every day before I pick up a fare I write out a receipt so they don’t have to wait and I just have to fill in the amount on arrival.”
Sure enough on arrival he handed me the receipt and I was promptly on my way.
Contrast this with my regular experience, where I’m sitting waiting with a queue of impatient drivers behind while the cabbie looks for his pen, remembers what date it is and then fills in the receipt! This was a refreshing change.
It reminded me of an important lesson.
Small things count.
What could you do in your business? It might seem a small difference to you but does it make life easier for your customers?
How about asking them what’s the best time of day to call them?
Do they prefer communication via emails or do they appreciate a personal call?
Why not try and personalise your service so it really works for them.
Have you ever taken a step back and mapped out your entire sales process from beginning to end from your Customers point of view?
When I complete this exercise with clients we almost always find parts of the sales process that have evolved over time to suit us as a company but are actually cumbersome or duplicative for the customer! By making some simple changes often improvements can be made that make us easier to deal with from the customer’s perspective and benefit the organisation’s effectiveness.
So why not ask yourself…
Are we really easy to deal with?
Do our services and products synchronise with and support our customers in achieving their goals?
Often when consulting with firms I review elaborate account management plans created at the beginning of the year for their key clients. The issue many of these plans have in common is that they been prepared without first involving and consulting the client themselves to ensure the plan actually supports them. In big and small areas.
By doing this we can all score dramatic wins!
Today I want to share with you my top tips to ensure you are aligned with clients in your meetings and you are always moving forward to the next step.
Too often I see sales people starting meetings with prospects without sharing or agreeing an agenda. The conversation is left to drift in any direction and without any expectation of what will be discussed or conditional agreement to taking a next step.
I find this disrespectful to a busy prospect, who no doubt is thinking “I hope this meeting is going to be useful. And I hope it’s not going to take too long. I’ve got a stack of work to finish today.”
So, I want you to set the stage correctly for a productive conversation.
The opening of the meeting is the point you set the tone and direction for how the meeting will run. Done well it will put the meeting on ‘The Winning Path’.
There are three things that you must share in the ‘Opening’
Purpose
Share the reason you have set up the meeting with the client which passes the W.I.IF.M Test: The client is thinking – ‘What’s in it for me?’
Your Objective must be to Stimulate Interest.
Vs
Content
“As a suggestion, I thought we could look at…”
Payoff
You and the prospect have set the expectation for a follow up meeting if you discover an area of interest, rather than leave this to chance at the end.
Now let’s put these 3 points together to create a relaxed and professional introduction to your meeting that takes less than a minute to share.
So, I encourage you to always start you meetings by sharing these three aspects at the outset
Your clients will love your clarity and purposeful way of working, one that sets their objectives as a top priority and not your product or service!
This week I watched an amazing TED talk by Benjamin Zander – The transformative power of classical music.
It contained a great lesson for all of us as sales leaders. Often, it’s easy to lose sight of our role and how we can truly impact the lives of others.
Ben speaks about a transformative moment in his career at age 45. At that point he had been conducting for 25 years, when he suddenly had a life changing realisation.
A conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound.
He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for him, it was life changing. People in his orchestra came up to him and said “Ben what happened to you?!”
He realised his job was to awaken possibility in others, and of course he wanted to know if he was really doing that?
He says, “How do you know if you’re doing that? You look at their eyes…if their eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it.”
So, if the eyes aren’t shinning, you’re going to ask a question.
Who am I being that my player’s eyes aren’t shinning?
We can do that with our children too.
Who am I being, that my children’s eyes aren’t shinning.
Who are we being out there in the world? Maybe success should have another measure. The number of shinning eyes we create.
So how can we apply this insight? Maybe before our next team presentation or when out on 1-2-1 sales call with a sales person we can reflect on our contribution. Is it helping them grow? Or is it all about us?
I was reminded of this in a recent conversation I had with a sales manager. He’s a lovely guy but he readily admitted that he can’t help taking over his sales person’s sales call when he’s on a client visit. I’m sure many of us have found ourselves doing the same thing at some point if were totally honest with ourselves!
That’s when we need the reminder, our job is to awaken possibility in others, and make them powerful.