A typical sales day!

Scene: Sales Person just getting out of bed

The good vibe is on the right shoulder, the bad vibe is on the left shoulder

Good vibe: It’s going to be a great day today!
Bad vibe: No it won’t! It will be just like every other day….boring. No closes, loads of ‘no thanks’. What’s the point?

Sales person gets dressed, has breakfast and goes out to the car

Good vibe: I just need to prospect well, get my motivation going, concentrate, focus, loads of great calls coming up. It’s going to be a great day of opportunities!
Bad vibe: O, what’s the point? No-one buys these days in this economy. The competition is cheaper than me. We don’t have a USP. Quality is poor. Why do I bother?

Sales person get to the office

Good vibe: If I get it right today, and I will, I can get really close to my target for the month. Can’t wait to make plans for that first call!
Bad vibe: It’s just a waste of time and energy! It saps morale and makes you feel bad. Don’t bother today. Just pretend you’re not well, and skip it. You can always make it up tomorrow

Good vibe: Right, loads of prospects out there. I just have to hit the hot buttons and make them aware of how great it would be to have a relationship with our company
Bad vibe: Who are you kidding! No matter how much you try, you always get knocked back!

Sales person picks up the phone

Good vibe: Right, I’ve planned for this call, made my introductions and they will want to hear from me. Proper planning prevents poor performance!
Bad vibe: That’s it, put the phone down. They’ll be busy anyway. No-one wants to speak to salespeople on the phone!

Good vibe: That’s it. Plan. Think it through. Think of this as a partnership. Build the relationship. I’m not selling; I’m helping the customer buy.
Bad vibe: Rubbish! If you want to hit your target, you’ve got to make as many calls as you can. The more calls, the more closes you make.

Sales person visits prospects

Good vibe: Right, make sure you ask the right questions. Show interest in his business. Find out what his business really needs
Bad vibe: No, just go for the close. Don’t waste time on all that other stuff. All he wants to hear is the product details and the cost. Don’t mess about.

Customer comes up with objection

Good vibe: That’s ok, uncover the reason for the objection, just go over the benefits again, and adjust if I need to
Bad vibe: O, here we go…just offer him a larger discount..they all buy on price anyway…he’ll soon take it

Customer ends up taking the offer

Good vibe: You see…when you spend time doing things right, the results naturally follow
Bad vibe: Well, you got lucky that one time

Sales person back at the office

Good vibe: Well done…if you build the relationship with the client, treat him like a partner, ask business-relationship questions, convince him in the style he needs, you will hit your targets!
Bad vibe: mmmm…maybe I need to think it through more

Remember, you choose your attitude……so what’s it going to be today?

Happy Selling

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

How many times have you been told in training courses that people don’t buy features, they only buy benefits? This is very true, as the brain doesn’t compute what the product ‘does’, it only listens to what it will do for me. A long list of features only confuses the prospect, as they have to do the work in converting the meaning of the feature to how it will benefit them.

However…do you just stop at the benefit? Or do you go beyond that, to appeal to the emotional desires of the prospect?

You see, prospects have individual as well as organisational needs, and their viewpoint may well be very different to yours. They need to know what choosing your products and services will mean to them, in the short and long term.

‘Meaning’ is a key driver to making decisions. Look to this example:

Salesperson: “So, Mr Prospect, by taking our extended credit terms, you benefit by spreading the cost over a longer period, helping your cash-flow and freeing up finances for other purposes”

Here, the salesperson has taken a feature and added the benefit. For many prospects, that may be enough. But what if you created a real meaning to the conversation?

Salesperson: “So, Mr Prospect, how beneficial would it be to you to spread the cost over a longer period, meaning you would be able to invest in other areas of the business, making your new marketing plans easier to put into practice?”

This way, you are helping the prospect not only see the benefits, but also see what your products and services will actually mean to them as a company. You will be creating a clear picture in their mind about how the correct decision (choosing you as their supplier) will make a meaningful difference to their business. And notice that by phrasing the choice as a question, you make the prospect think about the answer rather than trying to find reasons to disprove you statement.

Think about how the benefits of what you offer adds value and extra opportunities to them. They will go beyond the benefits and have a deeper reason for choosing you!

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

Click on the image below to find out why you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Getting the best out of your Sales Team…

Managing Performance for many sales managers is the holy grail – how exactly do you get a disparate group of team members working effectively together to achieve common goals and still keep them motivated?

One area we are always trying to improve is the way people perform on the job, and it is vital that we understand the elements that make up an individual’s performance so we can influence them and, ideally, set some parameters for them to work around.

That is where the Performance Equation comes in, and its applicability is so generic, it can be discussed and utilised in virtually any industry and with any individual.

The Equation is: Performance = (K plus S) divided by I multiplied by A

The Performance Equation states there are four elements that are common to all human performance:

Knowledge (K) and Skills (S) – The Ability to Perform

To achieve high performance, individuals must know how to do the job (their knowledge) and be able to do the job (their skills). The gaining of knowledge and skills creates the ability for individuals, teams, and organizations to perform to an acceptable and, consequently, higher level.

Interference (I) – The Opportunity to Perform

To achieve high performance, people must have the opportunity to use their ability to perform. Interference amounts to those aspects of a business’s infrastructure and culture that hinder the use of ability. A training program to develop teamwork, for example, may be useless if an aggressive culture and negative attitudes exist within the team, as participants learn that, “This is not the way we do things around here!”

Attitude (A) – The Willingness to Perform

To achieve high performance, people must be willing to use their knowledge and skills and willing to overcome the Interference that will block their performance. Attitudes, the fourth element of performance, determine if people are willing to use their existing abilities, are willing to develop new abilities, and are willing to overcome the interference to their performance. As Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right!” So, individual attitudes are a basic element of all human performance.

The relationship between the elements of performance has a tremendous effect on results. When ability and willingness are met with opportunity, dramatic and sustainable performance can be achieved.

Think about how you perform as a sales manager. Do you know the knowledge and skills your people need to achieve their goal? Have you worked on the interferences that exist within your team, so that you achieve your goals without having to force change on the team? Do you have the attitude that sets the example of what you are looking for?

The performance equation will help you achieve the department goals because it sets your people up for success.

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

It’s Budget week here in the UK!

Don’t you just love it when politicians try to balance the books and make it look as if they’re doing us a favour! No matter what any of the parties say, the others always find a different view.

I’ll wait until the Telegraph comes out on Thursday to find out what it was REALLY about!

No matter which direction we turn, we rarely get away from politics and the ramifications of it all.

What about you?

Do you often suffer from customers who use company politics as an excuse to buy from some other company?

Selling to a company steeped in politics is more about listening than pitching.

You’ll hear the expression ‘we’ more than ‘I’. When the prospect says that ‘we’ will be looking at your proposal, then believe it!

Your client may be looking at the big picture, and prioritising between department schedules. Make sure the person you are talking to is actually the one making the decision!

So, what can you do?

• Start by being very clear on objections and who, exactly, is raising them.

• Keep the perspective of your products and services company-specific

• Make sure that people in your firm are connected with the people in your prospect’s firm. Ask if your engineers can talk to your prospect’s engineers.

• Ascertain how much power the person you are dealing with actually has within their firm

• If you already have a contact within the company, get them to help you by acting as an advocate for you

• Show how buying your products and services equal no risks to them or their company

• Close your customer with a written proposal that includes enough information that whoever reads through it has everything they need to make an intelligent decision

Alistair Darling’s Budget might not be to everyone’s taste this week, but at least you’ll have the right mindset to approach your customers when they get political!

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

With all the advice and ideas available about how to manage and lead in difficult times, it can hard for a sales manager to know when to remain resilient and when to adapt to changes in circumstances.

If you’ve carried out a personality profile in the past, you’ll know that some characteristics are good to
maintain, whereas other behaviour traits often need adapting for different people.

Here’s our take on what should remain solid and what should be flexible in sales management terms:

Be solid on standards, flexible on rules

If your team see you wavering on standards, you risk losing respect. If you adhere too tightly to rules, you risk becoming too autocratic

Be solid on character, flexible on behaviour

Great managers know what characteristics are looked on as positive, and these need to be developed and enhanced. With that solidity behind you, you are more likely to be adaptable to others’ behavioural traits

Be solid on expectations, flexible on method

Create clarity with the team on what you expect from them, and let them become creative on how they can meet and exceed those expectations

Be solid on rewards, flexible on means

Everyone needs to feel they are worthy, so the recognition needs to be clear and upfront. How you do this for each individual can be personalised to their motivational direction

Be solid on the destination, flexible on the journey

In turbulent times, people need a foundation on which to build their futures. If you can give them security on where the business plans to go in the future, then the journey can be adapted to the prevailing circumstances.

Learn when your team need you to be solid and when they want you to be flexible. It will give you the respect and encouragement to manage effectively

Have a great selling day!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

I trust you’re keeping well, and sales are good?

Those of you involved in computer programming will know how important every line of a programme is.

If just one instruction is left out, incorrectly written or in the wrong place, it can cause chaos.

However, the most important line in a programme is the line that ends “.exe”

Yes, it’s the ‘execution’ line, the instruction that tells the computer to carry out all the other instructions.

Without that, the programme is useless.

What about our ‘execution’ line?

We can learn all the theory we want about sales; we can attend all the courses and seminars; we can
read all the books…but unless we ‘execute’ and put into practice all the ideas we have picked up, we
are just ‘knowledge sponges’ and our value to our clients will be minimal at best.

So today, think about:

How can I put into practice that one brilliant idea I picked up at that sales course?

What action can I take today that will make a real
difference with my next prospect?

Remember: The theory is just theory until it’s
executed in the right way.

Have a great selling day!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

An interesting change of thought came up at one of our recent Essential Selling Skills courses.

One of the delegates was bemoaning the fact that he spent a great deal of his working day sitting in traffic queues, and after he had made his customary phone calls and listened to Radio One, he got
bored and frustrated.

Our trainer asked how much time, on average, he spent in his car.

The salesperson said ‘about 2 to 3 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less’.

Do you spend that kind of time travelling? Do you feel that your time is wasted just sitting there listening to the radio or music CDs?

How about contributing to your personal development while driving to your next appointment, or back to the office?

Think about it for a moment…if you spend just 2 hours a day in the car, that’s an average of 40 hours a month, or (gulp) over 400 hours in a year!

That’s the equivalent of over 50 working days a year…or (are you ready for this?) TWO AND A HALF MONTHS of extra time in a year!

What did our trainer suggest to the delegate on the workshop?

How about turning your car into a ‘mobile personal development vehicle’!

There are literally thousands of CD packs out there that you can buy, or hire from libraries, on diverse subjects like selling, management, personal development, creativity, brain improvement, etc…the list is endless! Plus, there’s always my ‘Drivetime’ CDs that give you a shot in the arm before you get to your client!

Even if you only listened to these CDs for half the time you are in the car, that still equals 25 extra days training in a year!

What would your boss say if you asked them for that amount of training?

How about taking that training yourself…training that YOU are in control of!

Start off with the greats…like Jack Welch on Winning, Anthony Robbins on personal development, Brian Tracy on Sales Development…and then choose those people that inspire you to improve in other aspects of your job and life.

So save yourself the traffic-fume-frustration…get yourself a CD pack on an area of personal development just for you…tune in to the ideas that work for you…and see your sales confidence soar!

Happy Selling

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

If you’d like a copy of Drive Time Sales Strategies, my new 5 cd sales improvement programme, then please click on the link below.

CLICK HERE NOW FOR THE DETAILS

One of the best one-liners I’ve ever heard in sales is this:

“Always remember that people buy for their own reasons and not yours”

This is so true for a number of reasons and this should be engraved on your office wall!

Your products might be awesome and you’ve got key USP’s and benefits for them but if your buyers have no need or don’t want it, or don’t have the money or the authority to purchase it then you’re onto a loser.

A lot of sales people try to ram their features and benefits down the throat of their prospects without ever really understanding what they want and what their reasons are for purchasing.

You need to uncover their pain first and find out the reasons why they would want your products and services before doing anything! Their reasons come first above all else.

And don’t assume that their reasons will be the same as yours because they’re usually not!

That’s why I always like to say “Make it easy for them to buy, rather than you sell to them”

“Buying” means that they have purchased for their reasons.

“Sold to” means that you have pushed something.

Don’t get me wrong, as long as it’s in the best interests of the client then I do not have a problem with influencing and persuading to get the deal done. Buy still, they must be centred on their reasons and not yours for wanting the sale.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

On the way to work this morning Elvis came on the radio with “A little less conversation a little more action” and I couldn’t help but turn up the volume!

It made me think though of how sales people follow up on their prospects for some reason!

I know….I’m weird!

Picture this:

You’ve had a great meeting with a prospect, you’ve gone away thinking that you can do business and then you call a couple of days later to “touch base” (I know, I hate that term too!) and they say, call back later and then you go into ping pong mode with emails and calls.

The thing is, a lot of sales people follow up on calls just to get updates to see if the prospect has a “yes” or a “no” for them. The prospect knows the reason why you are calling!

You then wonder, how long should you leave it until you call the next time? Would calling back in a couple of days look like I’m desperate?

Instead of these follow up calls where all you’re doing is calling, why not put new prospects into an education and positioning follow up series?

The aim of this is to keep in the front of the prospect’s mind without being a nuisance or looking desperate.

Done in the right way you can look really professional if you execute this correctly.

Here’s what I mean:

DAY 1 - You meet with the prospect
DAY 2 – You send an email saying thanks for the meeting and the next steps you agreed
DAY 4 - They receive something of value to them or their situation like a report, a news article you’ve found, a website link of interest
DAY 8 – You call them. To see if there’s any news and to talk about the resource you sent them

And then you put other actions in place. Note that you’ve spoken to the client twice yet you’ve had “4 touchpoints” with them.

A little less conversation, a little more action does pay off! It’s all about doing the things that your competition are not and it’s not about being a pain in the rear end and bugging them with calls all of the time.

Being in the front of their minds is the most important part and a combination of calls, emails, post and the like go a long way in achieving this.

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS

If you’re a true sales professional then you’ll know all there is to know about your competitors.

You need to know their products and services, the features and benefits for each, pricing and pricing options, their key USP’s, what the company is up to, latest news – you name it!

That’s the difference between a Billy Average sales person and a sales professional. You need to be able to educate your prospects and clients on the differences between you and your competitors and when you find out that they have been to a competitor you need to know what they say about your products, services and your company as a whole.

Armed with this information, you’ll sell more through positioning yourself against the competition in the right way.

So, how much do you know about those who are trying to eat your lunch?

Set to it and find out as much as you can and that means letting them sell to you too!

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Improve your SALES SKILLS Click by signing up for our FREE SALES TIPS