Ok, when the sales person started with your firm, you thought that he or she was a prodigy. You then invested the time and money to get the sales rookie up to speed. You eventually established difficult, yet achievable goals and quotas.

A Big Deal
Finally, the sales person began to hit the mark. The first few times that happened, you where ecstatic! You clearly demonstrated appreciation for the hard work and dedication of the sales person with congratulatory statements, awards and spiffs. When the sales person began to achieve the numbers, it was indeed a big deal, as you know the work it requires.

The Uncommon, Common Place
Then, after the sales person begins to hit the mark over and over, week in and week out, and even with you constantly raising the bar, you know you have a winner; a superstar.

When that understanding sets in, you must be aware that often you now begin to EXPECT RESULTS that are above the norm from this person. You begin to lose the excitement and appreciation you once felt. The sales person’s uncommon sales results, now become a common occurrence.

The Thrill Is Gone
At this point, usually in sales meetings, the admiration and congratulatory recognition dissipates and it is simply the same sales star doing what he or she is expected to do. It becomes very easy to begin to take this person for granted.

Same Effort
You have to remember, that while the reaching that high-standard of achievement has become common place for the sales person, the effort and hard work remains. It is true that many parts of the sales process may have become easier and more routine for the sales star, continuing to deliver exceptional results, still requires exceptional effort.

Appreciate Every Drop
You have to take precaution about beginning to become lethargic in your appreciation of the achievements of those who constantly achieve. Usually management spends so much time working with and pushing those who fall short, that those sales team members that are exceeding, get little attention.

You must continue to pay attention to, recognise and truly appreciate the achievements of the superstar sales person just as if he or she achieved such success for the very first time.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

You can always find a multitude of tips and tricks for sales people. Sales techniques, closing strategies and prospecting avenues abound. However, I have found that usually these pillars of advice pertain to the sales person who has been with their company, at least for some length of time.

I am also guilty of this, in that most of my training and advice, assumes that you have at least some minimal sales experience. Yet, there are those out there who are just jumping into the game, just getting started and face some very different challenges.

Below are some essential tips for the brand new sales person who is just walking in the door.

Become a Customer
If it is at all possible, be a customer or user of your own product or service. Selling at its core, is a transference of feeling. In other words, if I can make you feel the same way I do about this product, then you will want it.

All the training and experience in the world, cannot take the place of true, personal enthusiasm for what you sell. If YOU are personally excited about what you sell, the prospect will see and feel that as well. When the prospect can see that YOU believe…THEY can believe.

If it is not possible to own what you sell, then get with customers. Get their feedback, feelings, and opinions. Get testimonies.

An Advantage Over the Experienced Pros
This is one way that the new, rookie sales person can actually have an advantage over their more experience co-workers. After selling the same product and making the same presentation over and over for years and years, many sales people begin to lose that genuine excitement for their product or service.

Let loose with a childlike passion and joy about representing your product, and you will soar above many experienced pros that have become lacklustre in their sales interactions.

Just Happy to Be Here
In addition to expressing your heartfelt enthusiasm for the product or service, let the customer see and feel how genuinely excited you are about the company you work with. If you have done your due diligence before you went to work for the firm, then you should have confidence and trust that you work for the best company in your industry. Let the prospect know that you believe in the firm, and they will too.

Leverage the Experience of Long-Term Colleagues
Boast of your successful team members. Let the prospect know that yes, YOU are new, but most of the people in your firm have been with the company for years, and have tons of happy, long-term clients. In fact, the longevity of the sales people and their reputation in the market place is the main reason you joined the firm, and you feel confident that you also will be there for the long term!

It Comes From Within
If you are new to the world of selling or just new to the company, there is a lot you have to learn and much growth is in store. There are skills and techniques that you do not know and that you need to know.

However, the old adage is true; people do not care how much you know, until they first know how much you care. Your belief in what you sell and what you do, will carry you as you learn and grow.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

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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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Communication, communication and more communication. No pun intended here, but for some sales managers, communication is just talk.

Effective and proactive communication is as integral to your sales team as professional training, solid sales support and even good sales people. In fact, communication is the glue that holds all of the pieces of the team’s puzzle together.

Here are three powerful tips to use to help you communicate more effectively and proactively with your sales crew.

#1 – Input
Like anything, you can only get out of it what you put into it. The same goes for your sales crew. You have to set up a system for sales people to give you their input. They must be able to feel confident that they can voice their honest opinions to you without fear of reprisal.

Do not assume that since you have a proverbial “open-door” policy , that sales people know that they can share their feelings with you. You may not be as much a part of the “inner circle” as you think you are.

Set up a system so that you know for sure that sales people can freely share their fears, grievances, wishes, hopes and dreams.

#2 – Listen
If you are fortunate enough to have those conversations where sales people can sit down and tell you the “truth” then you also have to listen, and I mean actively listen.

Be careful not to formulate an opinion or solution in your mind before you have completely heard the sales person point of view. Also, maintain deep and steady eye contact and show genuine concern and empathy.

I know that often some of the “major news flashes” that come from a sales team member, to you may be something as old as the hills that you have heard of a thousand times and been aware of for years. So, how do you listen intently and show interest, empathy and even excitement for something that is clearly old news?

Active Listening Tip
Try this, as the person is talking, take an idea or topic they have just spoken, and interject. Stop the speaker and ask if you understand exactly what he or she is saying. To do this, rephrase the statement in different words and recite it back to the sales person. This will force you to listen carefully and to reformulate the topic you must understand it. Simultaneously, it demonstrates to the speaker that you are indeed in tune and following closely.
This is an old sales technique that you should use in any conversation. Just rephrase the question or topic. Whatever you do—-listen actively.

#3 – ACT
As I mentioned, some communication is just talk. You must follow up what you say and act on anything and everything you say—immediately. To ask for input, listen to the sales team and do nothing about what they told you, is worst than if you never heard them in the first place.

Such inaction will cause team members to shut down and not trust you and create a non-productive, negative atmosphere. Sales people will feel as if you are actually working against them, hampering their efforts to make money. In sales management, action delayed equals income denied.

If you do not intend to do anything about a situation, then let them know. If you DO intend to take some action—THEN DO IT!

Talk WITH your sales team, not AT them
Communication is indeed a two way street, and talk just by itself, really is cheap.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

(Image by Nirots)

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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Every sales manager, supervisor, director or otherwise frontline sales team leader, wants to have and develop a great sales force. Everyone wants eventually to have a sales team made up of superstar sales people. We all want that sales crew in where every sales person is a high-level, top performing, consultative, executive-level super sales person.

However, I am continually surprised at how many of those same sales managers are not willing to treat their sales crew like that which they want them to become. The fact is that if you treat sales people as if they are low-level, slipshod, unprofessional slackers, what you will get is the same.

At some point, you have to “Act as if.” You have to treat people as you want them to perform. If you want responsible, successful, multi-million pound producers, don’t treat them like irresponsible, £5 an hour, children.

Here are a few tips to help you plant good seed to reap great harvest.

TRUST
Start by trusting your sales people to do what they say they will do and believe that they will. On one hand, you say you believe in the sales person. You say you have confidence that he or she can achieve the agreed upon goals. Then, you stand watch like a mother hen, or establish rules and regulations that clearly demonstrate that you do NOT trust or believe in the sales person. When you do this, you can easily stifle their potential. If you say you believe, then act accordingly.

Pressure and Time
If you tell the sales person, you truly believe that he or she can achieve a particular goal before the end of the month, then don’t start jumping on his or her back after the first week. You may think you are helping to “remind” the sales person of their goal and commitment.

However, what you are really saying is, “I really don’t believe you can do this, and I must therefore keep reminding you of your commitment every 15 minutes.”

Such micromanagement of good sales people will cause animosity and an anti-productive atmosphere.

To Manage or Not To Manage
Some successful sales people become such due to their sales management. However, some sales people become successful in spite of their sales management. Do not be the latter manager.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

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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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

It is easy to spend a small fortune on sales contests and incentive programs designed to motivate, stimulate and reinvigorate the sales team. However, you may have found that such programs meant to motive, can end up having the reverse affect and deflate, berate and de-motivate instead.

Sometimes the problem is not the structure of the contest in itself, but the manner in which you set up the playing ground.

The Starting Line
When designing a competitive sales contest, you have to take into consideration the starting point of each individual sales person. By that, I mean that you have to consider the experience, skills, closing averages and client-base of each sales person to design a contest that is equitable.

If you base the contest purely on bottom-line closed sales, then sales people who have more experience and clients, from whom they can get referrals, have an unfair advantage over newer, less experienced team members.

Over Before It Starts
For many of those less experienced sales people, such a disadvantage can seem insurmountable. When this happens, it creates a situation where some sales team members do not attempt to win or even compete in the contest. In fact, they feel shunned which causes an anti-productive mentality. Simultaneously, due to the lax competition, the top sales people also operate at less than peek performance.

A Handicapping System
Come up with a method to make all sales people equal, for the purposes of the contest. Perhaps you consider the closing averages of each sales person and design the contest so that those with a lower closing percentage can compete.

As an example, for the sales person who has a 20% closing average, perhaps to win or place high in the contest, they have to close 4 sales.

Then, for the sales rep with a higher closing average, like 25%; perhaps he or she must close 5 sales to place in the same bracket.

A Win Win
With such a method, both levels of sales people compete hard, and get better. The sales person with the 20% closing average would have to complete 20 sales presentations or closing attempt to get the 4 sales.

However, the sales person with the higher closing rate of 25% would also have to complete 20 closing attempts!

This creates an incentive for all sales people to put forth a greater effort regardless of their skill level. In addition, it gives the newer sales people an equal opportunity if they work hard enough.

One Step Further
If you decide to use such a system for the long term, then also create a bonus system, award or incentive to give to the sales people who maintain the lowest handicap.

Level the playing field with a handicap system and watch more sales people come in under par!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

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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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

As economic conditions begin to rebound and more sales opportunities arise, it may be time to reinvigorate your sales team. Below are two ways to help you motivate the sales team for a new charge. Use this new modern approach to reignite that old-fashioned fire!

A New Approach to Goal Setting
Ok, you set the same standard monthly sales goals, month after month, year after year. Slightly alter this approach by basing goals more on sales activity, than on closed sales.

As an example, you may set a goal to increase the number of proposals sales people generate in a given time period. Or perhaps, you reward team members for doing the most sales presentations. Increasing such sales activities will of course, increase the amount of closed sales.

More Sales Activity Goals
Now continue that course of thinking and address sales actions that help create more sales and maintain a strong work ethic at the same time. For instance, you know that to close more sales, the team needs to make more proposals. To make more proposals, they need to make more appointments. Of course, to make more appointments, the sales team has to make more calls.

Create a sales contest and incentive program that rewards the sales people who make the most calls for the month. Reward the team member who contacts the largest amount of new prospects.

By varying the approach to common sales goals, you can keep the team motivated and focus on maintaining a productive work ethic. Your team can operate with a bullish enthusiasm even in a bearish economy!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

I will make this short and sweet. Add these four golden rules to your daily management style and you will be a more effective sales coach. Depending on what you do, and your business structure, some of these may not apply exactly to your situation. However, you will get the idea.

#1 – Lead By Example
The old commanding, “Do as I say, not as I do…” style of management does not work well with today’s modern sales people. Anyone in an immediate, hands-on, supervisory position should have some hands-on, tangible and successful experience selling the product or service as those on the sales team.

You are far more credible when you have personally done and accomplished those things you tell the sales team they can do and accomplish. Simply put; if you can’t walk the walk, you don’t talk the talk.

#2 – Care About Your Team
I mean this literally. You should have personal care and concern for the welfare and success of everyone you supervise. Yes, a lot of it is about money, but you have to care and believe in your people. People perform at peak levels when they believe that the company truly cares about them.

#3 – Praise in Public
Have something good to say about a team member? Make is known! You want to praise a lot in public. Recognition is a critical ingredient to a successful sales mentality. There are times you want to keep some praise private and of course, always keep any negative communication personal. However, you want to shout the positive congratulations from the rooftops.

#4 – Never Let Them Go Home on a Negative
You have may have heard the martial advice that a couple should never go to sleep on an unresolved argument. As a sales coach, you also should never end the day on an unresolved or negative issue. A bad day or month, lost sales, mistakes made, whatever the case may be, make sure you give the sales person something positive to take away at the end.

In summary, lead, care, praise, positive!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

(Image by Leo Reynolds)

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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

The modern day sales process has changed, and sales professionals across all sectors and industries are having to change the way that they sell in order to engage and interact with the modern day buyer.

The days of the mighty cold call are fading away fast, as the modern day buyer simply doesn’t want to be sold to. Instead, the internet and has become the buyer’s best friend, and they can find out all about your business and compare and contrast you against your competitors all with just a few clicks of a mouse. 

The buyer is now in control of the sales process, and knowing how to redress this balance of power is so important for modern day sales professionals and business owners.

Sean McPheat, Managing Director of MTD Sales Training and best-selling author of eselling®, will be presenting a session on the modern day way to sell at the Business Boost 2012 event on June 1^st.

In this fun and engaging session Sean will show you how to prospect, position yourself as an expert and sell using the internet and social media. After this session you will go away with an understanding of how the sales process is changing and what you can do to even up the odds with the modern day buyer.

But don’t just take our word for it – here’s what David Brent, from The Office, has to say:

Sean will be joined at the Business Boost 2012 by an array of high impact speakers including Steve Maraboli, Adrian Webster and Sandro Forte. The event is being held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on June 1^st and tickets are going fast, so book now to ensure you don’t miss out – www.businessboost2012.co.uk

Regards,

Louise

Louise Denny

Marketing Manager

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

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

As a sales manager, director or other frontline supervisor of a sales team, you will often have to help sales people correct mistakes. There are times when you absolutely must teach, correct, fix, train or rectify problems and sometimes you will have to reprimand or take disciplinary action.

However, there are some times when you must hold back on the correction in the face of positive growth. Below is an example of one of those critical moments, when you should leave the teaching for later, even if you have to bite your tongue!

After the Big Sale
Here is a sales person who has laboured long and hard, only to face usual disappointment. In spite of constant failure and tremendous rejection, the sales hero perseveres. Finally, she closes a sale; a big one and comes running to you to report the great news.

You immediately notice that she made a couple of mistakes on the contract. While you do need to correct those mistakes, give the sales person a chance to enjoy the success for a moment, first. Allow the feeling of victory to set in before you rip their heart out.

Sales Person
“Look! I finally got one—a big one!”

Manager
“That’s great…oh, oh… wait a minute. Nancy, you didn’t mark the delivery method the right way. I told you, you have to make sure to indicate the rush or regular delivery. Plus, I can see you also failed to add the warranty information…”

Sales Person
“Pizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….” as in all of the air being let out of a big beautiful balloon!

Good Job!
In cases like this, and even with lesser victories, just let the sales person know that it was a job well done. Unless the situation calls for some emergency, drastic, life-threatening, immediate action, just give him or her, the old “pat-on-the-back,” and let the problem rest for a little while.

Manager
“Congratulations Nancy! I knew you could do it! I told you that if you just hang in there and keep pushing, you would make it happen. I’m proud of you!”

Then, address the other issues later; in private and with a positive attitude.

Manager (Late the following day)
“Now as we submit your big sale from yesterday, Nancy, let’s go over a few things. You did a good job closing the sale, and there are a couple of points I think will help you make even more sales and get things moving even better for you…”

As the sales manager, do not to berate, deflate and humiliate, when you should elevate, congratulate and motivate!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

(Image by Stuart Miles)

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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

As a sales manager, director or otherwise, frontline supervisor of a sales team, you have many challenges. Motivating the crew to do their best is usually the primary goal and the area where most sales managers spend their time.

However, in motivating the team, it is easy to overlook the individual sales person. After a time, you can find yourself treating everyone on your staff the exact same way. While there are some areas where people should receive the same and equal treatment, HOW you manage each sales person should be as unique as each individual is.

You have to recognize the personality differences, skill levels and potential of each member of your sales team and treat them accordingly. Below are just a few thoughts to keep in mind as you build a strong sales force and lead your team to success.

Lead or Direct
With some people, you almost have to physically take them by the hand and walk them through responsibilities and procedures step-by-step. Some people need a bit of handholding, and you have to SHOW them exactly what to do. For some sales people, such close guidance helps them perform better.

Alternatively, for some sales people, the “self-starter” type, this kind of handholding and guidance has the reverse effect. For some the worst thing you can do is try to lead them step-by-step. For these team members, you are best to give them a direction, and leave them alone. Let the sales person know what you want done, what the goals are and what you expect from them, and then get out of the way.

Manage or Micromanage
Though this sounds similar to the above topic, it is not. Now, I am referring to the continued follow-up management style you adapt for each sales person. What I am talking about is should you “look over their shoulder” or not.

Let’s face it, with some sales people you have to know what they are doing every day, and sometimes, every minute of every day. Some need a supervisor to constantly remind them of their goals and help keep them focused.

On the other hand, some sales people can get quite insulted should you “check-up” on them to see if they are doing their job. Do not micromanage those who are good self-managers.

The 80% or the 20%
No sales manager wants to see the old 80-20 rule come into play, in where the situation is that only 20% of your sales people are responsible for 80% of your sales and vice versa. Of course, we would all much rather have a crew full of nothing but 20% types.

The key though is not to expect or demand top 20% performance from bottom 80% people. You should push the 80%, constantly helping them to reach beyond their immediate grasps so that they improve. Yet, you cannot turn 80 percenters into 20 percenters.

When I say, motivate for SHOW, manage for DOUGH, I mean, motivate the group, but manage the individual.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

(Image by David Castillo Dominici)

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 your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…