In the recent post, “The 3 Worst Practices For Conducting A Successful Sales Meeting,” I highlighted the three main DON’Ts for a successful sales meeting:

DON’T
1. Berate
2. Intimidate
3. Subjugate

Now let us look into three BEST practices to help you structure your sales meetings to raise people up, increase sales and elevate your sales team to the next level!

DO
1. Educate
2. Illustrate
3. Motivate

#1. DO Educate
While this important “DO” seems obvious and easy, it’s usually not the case in most sales meetings. You need to coach or train during every meeting. Sales people need to learn more and such continuing education is everlasting and is an investment.

The problem is that many managers have difficulty in figuring out exactly what to train/coach/teach. The sales team has already gone through the company sales training. You went over objections a dozen times and there seems to be nothing left to talk about when it comes to prospecting. In fact, the sales team feels that they know everything.

So where do you get educational topics that are not only informative, but also useful and timely solutions?

Uncover Problems and Pain
Just as when dealing with prospects, with your sales team, you need to unearth their problems even when they are unaware that they have any.

You then need to use those problems as the basis for your sales meetings.

You should have a personal one to one meeting with each sales person at the end of every day or month, depending on the logistics and your sales cycle, even if it is by telephone. During that individual meeting, you want to make note of the problem areas the sales person has. However, do not correct those issues then.

If your correct the sales person at that time, it will come across as a de-motivator. Instead, make note of the issues, and uplift the sales person. Then, in the sales meeting, do not single out that sales person. Simply use that issue as a training topic.

Here’s an example:

In your one to one meeting with Steve, you noted that at least twice, he lost sales you think he should have closed. You ask some questions of Steve and find that he is not correctly demonstrating how to run the Profit & Loss Reports of the accounting software.

Three Approaches
There are three ways you can handle this situation.

a) You can inform Steve of the problem right then…
“Oh Steve! I can see exactly what you’re doing wrong. You are not showing the P & L report the right way. It’s in your manual! As soon as possible, come in and I will go over it again with you…”

While this appears to be an innocent approach, what really happened is that Steve went home depressed. He knows he lost a few sales he should have closed and that he is probably doing something wrong. His self-esteem is at an all-time low. Then his wife hammers on him that money is tight and he should forget that sales thing and get a real job. Then he calls his sales manager, who confirms the fact, “Yep, Steve! You blew it!” Not good.

b) You can bring up Steve’s problem during the sales meeting and completely embarrass and berate Steve. Not good.

c) You can bring up the problem as a general training topic for the group.
You can bet that if Steve is having the problem others are as well. Also, it cannot hurt to reiterate something that is apparently so crucial that it can mean the difference in closing the sale or not.

With this method, you single out or berate no-one, and the sales teams always receive just-in-time training topics that are always relevant.

Ask questions to uncover the problems and then offer the solutions as educational topics in your sales meetings.

#2. Illustrate
By illustrate, I’m referring to demonstrating, or proving what you say. This relates to such things as in the above example. Demonstrate the method of how to show the P & L report. If you have sales people who may be experts with that part of the sales interaction, then have them illustrate to the group. In this way, you not only keep the older pros interested, but you also help ensure they stay on track.

Illustrate other topics as well. When you speak of goals and milestones that are possible, exemplify such with someone who has done it. The key is always to back up, show and prove what you say.

#3. Motivate
As you can see, with this structural process, there is already a certain amount of motivation embedded into the sales meeting. In fact, the very structure itself leads to motivation.

Now it’s time for the rah-rah, pep rally. Now is the time for the cheering, congratulations and new sales incentives. Now when you talk about reaching new heights, the sales team can believe it because you demonstrated exactly how. You illustrated how to do it or showed how someone did it in the past. Also, you gave them the education and the tools they need to reach the next level.

DON’T
1. Berate
2. Intimidate
3. Subjugate

DO
1. Educate
2. Illustrate
3. Motivate

Do this and your sales team’s belief will expand their reach and their reach will always slightly exceed their grasp.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

MTD Sales Training

(Image by Ambro)

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…

While a good sales meeting can invigorate sales people and increase revenue, a poor sales meeting will cost you more than you can calculate. Incredibly, many sales managers take the structure of a sales meeting for granted. It is the old, “If it’s not broke don’t fix it…” attitude.

However, here are three basic things to understand about sales meetings:

1. There is no such thing as an ineffective sales meeting. Sales meetings have either a positive effect on your sales team, or a negative one.

2. The sales meeting is never the blame. When sales are off, typically the blame falls on sales people, market conditions and everything else, other than sales meetings.

3. Sales people do not tell you that sales meetings are ineffective. First, many sales people would never understand if a sales meeting is effective or not. Second, a sales person is not usually going to go to his or her boss and say, “Your sales meetings are boring and I am not learning anything…”

The point is that just because it does not appear to be broken, does not mean it is not. Below are three DON’Ts, the worst practices for conducting a good sales meeting. Then, posting December 15, 2011, I will detail the three best practices, the DOs for sales meeting success!

DON’T
1. Berate
2. Intimidate
3. Subjugate

#1. DON’T Berate
While you may never have a conscious goal to demean sales people or in anyway, put someone down, it happens all the time in the sales meeting. When a sales person has a problem, or is not performing well, it is easy to use that person’s situation as an example. Never point out someone’s shortcomings in a group sales meeting. Always discuss a sales person’s negative issues in private. Also, remember that as I explained in the post, “The Zero Tolerance Approach to Sales Management,” that a sales person’s failures…are actually YOUR fault!

#2. DON’T Intimidate
Be careful not to intimidate sales people with pressure or threats. Some managers believe that negative motivation is a useful tool in that fear is a far stronger emotion than desire. While it is true, that fear can get people to do things they might not otherwise do; unfortunately, that includes the good as well as the bad things. In addition, when you intimidate one person in front of the group, the negative affects spread like an airborne virus throughout the group. Also, be aware that you can intimidate people without actual threats. Challenges and goals that are beyond the sales person’s belief or imagination, can intimidate, frighten or embarrass a person when done in front of other people.

#3. Subjugate
By definition, to subjugate is to bring a group under control or submission by force: to overwhelm, overpower and conquer them. Unfortunately, such is the organisational philosophy of many sales managers. Demanding better performance is not managing. To lead, people must follow, and that does not mean forcefully dragging them behind you.

Be careful not to build yourself up, in meetings. Instead, uplift the team. In addition, never demand the team do things that you cannot, have not, or would not do yourself. You want to lead, not rule. In sales meetings, be careful not so issue orders or commands. Instead, offer objectives and action plans to reach those objectives.

Just as in dealing with a prospect, with your sales team, you need to PULL, not PUSH. You need to ASK not TELL, and you need to HELP not SELL.

Don’t demand that your sales people succeed, and order them to do it. Instead, show them how to succeed and help them do it.

Posting December 15, 2011:
The 3 Best Practices for Conducting A Successful Sales Meeting

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

MTD Sales Training

(Image by Ambro)

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…

Is it true that the best sales people can sell anything to anyone? Are you one of those rare few in the world of professional selling that has the ability to sell virtually any product to any prospect?

You have heard those old sentiments before, “I can sell ice cubes to Eskimos…” or “That guy can sell prescription eyeglasses to a blind man.”

In the 60s, 70s, and early 80s, many sales people prided themselves in the (imagined) ability to turn every prospect into a customer regardless of the prospect, product or service. Such a sales person could overcome every objection and close every sale.

My first question to you is, “Is such a thing possible?” My second, even better question is, “Would such ability be a good thing?”

The Ultimate Closer
Today, in the age of the modern, educated and sophisticated buyer, some still believe that if you can perfect and maximize the main areas of the sales process, that one can indeed close almost every sale with nearly any prospect. The ultimate closer would then be THE consummate professional in such areas as:

Prospecting – The ultimate closer could fine-tune the sales funnel to filter prospects so well that the majority of prospects become buyers.

Asking Questions – The closer could become so skilful at asking questions that he or she could find a problem that the prospect is having, in any situation. The closer could somehow always find a way to create need or desire for whatever he or she sells.

Persuasion – The closer, of course is so powerfully persuasive that he or she can talk anyone into believing anything. He can simply talk his way out of a straight jacket.

Closing – Finally, the ultimate closer would have the ability to overcome any objection or condition. This sales person has an answer for everything.

Are you that perfect sales person?
Can you sell anything to anyone?
Does such an ultimate closer exist?

I will give you my take on this early next week.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

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…

Many times, your buyer will take a look at your up-front price and reject it. This is because they don’t see how the goods or services you offer will solve their problems at the price stated. In other words, value has not been built up in the customer’s mind.

Value isn’t waht you think it is. Value is alwyas what the buyer thinks it is. If you think it’s goos and the buyer thinks it’s not, it’s not!

So here you need to really educate your buyer. You need to highlight the focal point of the conversation. Either you will focus on the price of your services or products, or on the value of your solution, that is, what is it worth to the buyer. Here are some tips on how to help the buyer perceive that value:

1) Remind him of the value of past services: If you’ve been partners with the company for some time, bring up the value that you have built up over that time with him. Remind him of what they’ve received from you in the past.Is the peace of maind and security you have provided worth something? If so, let him know how much that must be worth.

2) Check if price is the real issue: You could ask something like: “Mr Buyer, if you were to make a decision today on all the criteria except price, who would you go with and why?” The reasons the buyer comes up with will include a number of things other than price, and you can ensure that you build value on those other things. You can then convince the buyer that all those valuable things outweigh a small price differential between you and the competition.

3) Shift the focus off price: You don’t make apologies for high quality and great service. Explain how your services adds value to the offering you are making and explain how your back-up or other unique offerings benefit the buyer’s business.

4) Use testimonials to convince the buyer that price isn’t the be-all-and-end-all: It’s ok you saying that your quality and service makes up for the higher price, but you would say that, wouldn’t you? Use what other customers have said to reinforce your message that value is built in to the long-term service of your realtionship with them.

5) Build performance criteria into your contract: Here at MTD, we ran a Sales Development Programme with a company in the construction industry. We held back part of our fees until the end of the programme. If we delivered to the spec we had promised and the customer profited from that, we shared in those profits. If we didn’t deliver and their profitability wasn’t what we expected, we didn’t get those performance fees. Needless to say, we shared a good percentage of the extra profits the company made!

You can build some kind of performance contract into your relationship with the buyer. You could reduce the risk to your buyer by introducing a clause for failure to perform. This is known as a malus, and it occurs when the contractor must repay or forfeit some of their fees for failing to perform. If you are that confident you can deliver for the buyer, you might consider something like that in your contract to reduce the risks for them, and hence increase the value.

6) Confirm the basis for the value you are offering: If the buyer is still considering using your competitor, you can identify the best value offerings you have and reiterate them. Then you could say: “Mr Buyer, let’s go over our proposition together and I’ll highlight the benefits you will get by going with us. Then, let’s compare what the competitor is offering and we can see which of us would benefit your long-term business the most”.

It’s true that some buyers will fail to see the value of your products and services.Their objections appear as either value-based objections or equity problems. In the first case, the buyer falils to see the value of what you are offering. In the second case, they cannot see the difference between you and the competition. You need to reiterate your value and uniqueness.

Ask yourself, what are your definable and value-building differentials? Where is the value in your proposaition?” The ansers to these questions will build confidence in your customer and encourage them to identify, with you, the full value of your offerings.

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…

Maybe you’ve faced the situation where you’ve prepared a great presentation for the client and you turn up with all your materials and examples of how you can help them, only to have them say ‘You’ve got five minutes. What can you do for me?’

All that preparation, all that research, all that time spent on getting your pitch ready…and NOW they tell me they have five minutes! Great!

How can you ensure this unpredictable client won’t come up with something like this on your next call?

The best way is by confirming with the client what the format of the meeting will be before you actually turn up.

You should confirm what the essence of the meeting will be, describing the objective, the amount of time allocated for the meeting, and its intended outcome. It’s almost like an agenda that you both agree over the phone and can confirm via email.

It will go something like this:

“Mr Client, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss your coaching needs, and see whether we can help you achieve your objectives over the next six months. During the meeting, I will be asking about your current performance and how it compares with where you need it to be. So it would be useful if you had those figures available.

Naturally, you’ll have some questions about our capabilities and what format the coaching would take, so I’ll be happy to answer those.

From my experience, these type of meetings take about 45-60 minutes. By the end of the meeting, we should be in a position to assess whether our services can be of value to your company. Are you happy to invest an hour of your time to assess if we should move onto the next level?”

Both you and the client now know what will take place during the meeting and how it can be more predictable. It may not stop the odd meeting starting with ‘I’ve only got five minutes’, but at least you will be able to confirm another time and date for the meeting without feeling guilty or under pressure.

Also, by phoning the client on the day of the meeting, you can confirm that they still have the time set aside for you before meeting them.

All this should help you make the meeting more predictable and ensure you have the opportunity to present yourself in the best light, without rushing through your presentation.

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…

There are, of course, many reasons why people buy from you, but they all tend to fit into specific categories and if you are able to observe and ascertain the real reason why your prospect says ‘yes’ to you, then you have a good platform to build on for the next prospect.

So what are the main reasons why buyers make decisions to buy? Here are four:

1) The supplier has the knowledge they are looking for. This could be knowledge about the product and its abilities, knowledge of the industry or knowledge of the customer’s position and company. This builds trust, one of the key reasons why anyone would choose to do anything with another person.

2) A clear and pertinent knowledge of the way the prospect’s business works. If you are aware of the business the prospect is in, that’s fine. But if you want to make the prospect look at you as a needed supplier, you require a closer working relationship, and that starts with your preparation in gathering information about the company to show how you can help them achieve their goals.

3) The relationship with the supplier’s company. Having a good long-term relationship with the main contacts is vital to the loyalty required by the supplier to offer the quality of service the buyer will need.

4) The combatability of the two companies. There can’t be trust or promise of future business if there’s no compatability between them. This means that they are “capable of orderly, efficient integration and operation with other elements in a system” as one definition puts it. The orderliness and efficiencies are needed from both sides for it to work effectively, and if it falls apart from either side, you can expect poor results.

These four reasons cover many of the needs of the prospect and you should always measure yourself against them to see how you are faring on a regular basis.

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…

Rapport is the single most important thing to build during a meeting with a client. Without it, you run the risk of losing contact and trust. As a high-quality salesperson, you need to identify how to build rapport quickly, and with integrity.

Here are 5 ways that you can break rapport stone dead:

1. Don’t do your research. The fastest way to kill rapport and trust is to go into any meeting cold. With all the information available online these days—on company websites, in Google, on Facebook and on LinkedIn and other social media sites—it will kill you stone cold if you don’t have specific things to discuss during your meeting.

If you do appropriate research, you can ask specific questions that show you have something of value to offer the client. Your questions or comments on your research can drive the conversation forward. Without that research you offer nothing but your product knowledge and it takes longer to build rapport, because you have less in common to start with.

2. Prescribe your answer before diagnosing any problems. You know what I mean here. The salesperson who turns up, makes some small talk then opens up the laptop ready to present a pre-prepared presentation of their products and services that bear little relation to the challenges the client is really facing.

Your research should help you see what problems the client is facing, and your rapport can be built on what you know or can find out about the client’s business

3. Let the prospect take control of the meeting. There are many things clients want from their business partner, and one of them is to be educated about what is happening in their industry and within their competitive network. If you allow the client to take early control of the conversation, you run the risk of just being a sounding board and answering question after question, so the client just pumps you for information which you obediently regurgitate.

You should build rapport by telling the client what the agenda for the meeting is and keeping the subjects on a specific journey to achieve the goal of assisting them to provide solutions to their problems.

4. Ask questions that your competition are asking. If you want to sound like everyone else, ask questions that everyone asks. Things like ‘How is the downturn in business affecting you? Is that your family portrait? Tell me about your problems today’.

If you want to build rapport, ask quality questions specific to the company, industry, and person you’re speaking with. Ask questions they may not have thought of. Try to understand the prospect’s situation to determine if you are even the right person to help.

5. Don’t follow through on what you say. Trust and rapport is built overtime as you consistently meet your commitments. If you want to kill rapport, tell the prospect you’ll send him a proposal on Tuesday and then send it on Thursday, show up to your meeting 10 minutes late, and be sure not to include anything about the prospect and their situation in the proposal.

When it comes to building rapport there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each buyer has their own unique personality, work style, and preferences that influence how they like to buy and how they connect with sellers.

When you want to build rapport, you need to identify what the customer actually wants to see and hear from you. Be the kind of person that your client can trust by being the partner they want to work with. And resist the rapport-killers mentioned above, as you build trust and integrity with your new clients.

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…

Your product knowledge is an essential tool in your sales armoury, and must be used at the correct time. By this, I mean that if you just present your product without finding out what the real issues are the customer is facing, then this scatter-gun approach will do more harm than good in your sales meeting.

The best salespeople we work with are expert questioners and use this undoubted skill to earn the right to deliver their product knowledge. You need a bank of questions that will draw out the challenges, issues, problems, rewards and opportunities that will make the prospect think about using you.

Here are some questions to ask before you even think about stepping foot in your prospect’s office:

1) Are my questions clear, precise and relevant? Does the customer understand the implication of the questions I have planned?

2) Do my questions make the customer think about the solution coming from my services or products? How can you phrase them in a way that links the solution to you?

3) Do my questions take the prospect down a new road of thinking than they would if they were talking to my competitor? How would the competition ask them, and how can I go deeper?

4) Am I supporting the direction the prospect is thinking by asking quality questions down that path? Are my listening skills sufficient to keep track of issues they bring up?

5) Are my questions making the prospect think about the pain of staying in the position they are? What will be the outcome if the prospect does nothing?

6) Do my questions concentrate specifically on the business situation the customer is facing now? What is the exact current situation?

7) Are my questions directed towards the rewards the customer may get by changing the current situation? What opportunities might there be for them in the future?

8 ) Do my questions make the sale easier? What do they expect the product to do?

9) Am I creating enthusiasm for the solutions I may come up with for the client? Do my questions make them feel they want to know more?

10) Have I lined up some commitment questions that ensure the customer feels safe and confident they are making the right decision by choosing me?

These are questions that will help you achieve your goals by pointing you in the right direction to formulate quality questions in your sales meetings.

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…

Have you ever thought about the impact that your words have?

Words create images. Words create thoughts and feelings. Words drive decisions or stop progress.

Words can have a grand effect on our sales if we know what impact they can have, both on ourselves and our prospects. Let me give you an example:

Think of something that you want to happen in the future. Anything. Something that you would look forward to. Got it?

Right. Now say to yourself  “I hope that happens. I really hope that happens.”

How does it make you feel? Look at your body language when you use those words. Identify the feelings they evoke. Describe you emotions when you say “I hope it happens”.

Now…think of the same thing that you want to happen in the future.

This time, stand up or sit tall, shoulders back, head up and say “I know it’s going to happen. I just know it!”

If you did this properly, with a strong tone and certain body language, did you notice that it created a different, stronger feeling?

The words we choose to use can make a massive difference in how we present a message in sales.

Think of the alternatives – we can do it, we might do it, we could do it, we should do it, we may do it, it can be done – and so on. They all mean something slightly different. Not all phrases are equal.

Think for a moment. What is the most powerful phrase that gets you motivated to do something right now? Is that the one you use most often, or do you try to motivate yourself with ‘guilt’ or ‘duty’ phrases like ‘I should’ or ‘I ought to’ or even ‘order’ phrases like ‘I’ve got to’?

I know when I use those kind of words, they don’t motivate me much, or deliver much passion.

Certain words and phrases create action and belief in us. The same is also true for our prospects. Watch your clients as closely as you listen. Identify the phrases that you or they use which produce positive reactions in them. Test them to be sure.

Use words that motivate you and see the reaction in the prospect. Replace phrases like ‘we could do that” with “We can do that” and watch for the reaction the change gets.

When you get the strongest positive reaction, you have a ‘Trigger Phrase’. A Trigger Phrase consistently produces a reaction, like a verbal anchor – only with an urge to action attached to it.

When you get to the point of asking for the order, use that trigger phrase, and watch the reaction. It’s not trickery, as long as you use it ethically.

What you will get is a customer acting in line with his buying motives, and he’ll be happy he made the decision because it is the right one for his business.

So, listen out for the words you use, and make them work for you, not against 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…

I had an interesting experience this week.

A company called us to introduce a new CRM system that they had developed and made an appointment to come and see us at the office. The salesperson arrived on time, looking very professional and very official.

Now, you know me through my tips and blogs, and you must know how I like to be sold to. This salesperson didn’t, and he started by talking about his product and how wonderful it was, without even asking me a single question, except what we used at the moment.

But the main reason it was so interesting was the fact he had prepared his presentation on his new iPad.

Having one myself, I wondered how he was going to use it to sell his product.

Well, he started it up. All fine so far. Then he spent about five minutes trying to find the file he wanted. It wasn’t there. So he dived into his briefcase and brought his laptop out. The battery was dead.

You can imagine how flustered he was. He spent the next few minutes nervously describing what the system would do and explaining how good it was. He offered to return later that afternoon with the correct demonstration materials, but by then I’d lost interest. Not because he couldn’t back up all his claims, but because he came across simply as unprofessional.

Technology is a great asset to salespeople and can make your products come alive so clearly. We use technology every day in our presentations, and they can be mightily impressive. But when it goes wrong or lets you down, it can make a complete idiot of you.

The morale? Check, check and check again before you present your solution using technology. Make sure your battery is fully charged if you’re using your laptop. Make sure you can find that file before presenting it.

And make sure your technology adds to your offering, rather than making a fool of 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…