"I wish I could sell like...???"‏

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to exceed sales targets easily and consistently and others try really hard and don't get the same level of sales success?  

 

It's all down to Strategies! When you do things brilliantly and effortlessly it means you've developed a great strategy. When you struggle it means you have an ineffective strategy. 

You have millions of strategies. You'll have one for getting up in the morning. You'll have one for your journey to work, you’ll have one for cleaning your teeth! The list goes on. You have devised a strategy for everything you do.

So what is a strategy exactly?  

In this context a strategy is the precise...and I mean very precise...order and sequence of what you think and do from the trigger point to completion of the specific activity. Every thought you have during the process impacts on your inner state and behaviour. Just to make it more interesting, there are elements of your strategies that are done completely unconsciously!  

 

You have modelled other people’s strategies from the moment you were born. You watched. You saw. You copied. In no time you were walking, talking, dancing and feeding yourself. You would have been thrilled every time you mastered a new strategy

 

It’s exactly the same as an adult  

Think of it...all of those things in your life and work that aren’t as you’d like them to be...you can change them easily by modelling yourself on a person that has already successfully achieved what you’re wanting to achieve!  

Some of your existing strategies will be working well. But some of your other strategies will have become out of date. Sometimes though, you don’t always realise that they are out of date, so you continue with unproductive processes and behaviour.  

 

If you aren't getting the sales results you want, my guess is you've got some strategies that just don't work for you. In fact once you start scrutinising them you'll probably find that some of your strategies are actually making it much more difficult for you to achieve the sales success you want!  

 

So the secret to being an amazingly successful sales professional is to carry on using your strategies that deliver results and ditch the ones that don't...and in their place you put proven strategies you know will get you the results you want.  

 

How do identify a great strategy?  

How do identify a great strategy? Go out and find someone that is already achieving the results you want - and elicit their strategy so that you can use it yourself!  

 

There are some pointers to consider before you go charging off in pursuit of the most successful sales person you can find. You must find someone that gets the exact results you want and behaves and thinks in a way that you would be happy to model. Choose your person wisely.  

 

When you find your person – it’s not just what you see in terms of behaviours that you need to elicit. Think of their strategy as an iceberg and their behaviours as the bit you see above the water line. Most is below the water line - their thinking – and it’s in this area of their strategy where the magic can lie.

 

Have a think...in any area of your role...who is achieving exactly what you want to achieve?  

 

Whose strategy can you model?  

 

All part of the psychology of sales.  

 

Until next time...

 

Leigh

PS: Remember to check out next month's TrustConference - Bob Geldof's going to be the Keynote Speaker! Click for details 

 

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

Forprevious 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

5 ways to motivate your team (and money isn't one of them)‏

Here’s my motivation check list...how many of these questions can you say YES to?

If you alone are responsible for the sales results where you work, ask the questions of you. Otherwise ask them for your team and anyone who sells on behalf of your company.

1. Does each member of your team know where they fit in to the bigger company objectives?
2. Do you know the higher purpose of each of your team?
3. Are your team’s targets realistic bearing in mind your industry’s current market conditions?
4. Do your team members only very occasionally contact you for guidance?
5. Do you know the meta-programmes of each of your team?
6.  

So...how many did you answer yes to? Clearly the more you could answer yes to, the more motivated your team is likely to be.

This morning I quickly jotted down just a few of the many principles that I think are important when it comes to motivating a sales team. Of course there’s many more but I’m pushed for space and you’re pushed for time. So let’s throw a bit more light on these five.

 

Where do they fit in?  

Be sure you’ve explained where everyone fits in to the bigger company picture. Where is it all leading? Company growth? How much? And what’s their role in achieving that growth – individually and as a team? Make it simple. No need for fancy charts!  

 

What’s their higher purpose?  

Each of your team needs to have identified a higher purpose for themselves. In simple terms why they are doing what they are doing? And you need to know that purpose. Are they working towards a new or bigger car? A bigger house? An engagement ring? To retire early? Find out - and remind them regularly. Help them to constantly make that link between their day job, their target and that higher purpose.  

 

Targets should be er...on target  

Set your targets too low and it will be feet-up time for everyone. Set them too high and you ‘lose the team’ i.e. everyone knows they’re unachievable, so unconsciously they don’t try. I’m for flexible but stretching targets which take into account the prevailing market conditions, which may well conflict with those the Managing Director came up with 8 months ago but which now look pure fantasy. Let him/her explain their budget away elsewhere - in the meantime set stretching, realistic targets which will get the best out of your team right now.

 

Do they have to ask you about everything?  

If you hired them to do a good job, trust them! Surely they don’t have to ask you about everything? Let them scuff their knees and they will grow into the role. Sure you might have some challenges along the way but you’ll end up with a motivated and developed member of the team – and you get some of your time back too! Read this previous article for more about giving your team more autonomy.  

 

How are they wired? 

Heard of Meta-Programmes? These are the ‘internal wiring’ mechanisms that make up the individuality in each of your sales team. Know these programmes and you’ll never look back in terms of motivating your team. Remember each of your team are different – so your approach needs to be too. Click here for an example of just one meta programme (there are up to 16 in total!). You'll see how useful meta-programmes are for communicating with your team - and your customers.  

 

What about money?  

Phew - I’ve ran out of space and I haven’t even mentioned money. That’s deliberate though. Most meaningful research suggest money is only ever an effective motivator in the short term. And that’s borne out when I talk to sales directors and sales teams. 

For now, work on getting these five right and you’ll have a more motivated team – and more sales success.

Until next time

Leigh

PS; Remember to grab your copy of "The 9 Biggest Sales Mistakes"

   

The 9 Biggest Sales Mistakes identifies those key mistakes that are stopping sales teams, companies and business owners fulfilling their sales potential. The report establishes how to identify these errors, indicates how they can be eliminated - and sets out how to avoid them.

  

  results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

Seal the Deal in 5 Minutes! A Solution to Closing those Sales…

How frustrating is it when you put in lots of hard work for little or no reward?

Perhaps you’ve been working on a tender for a big contract only to see it cancelled, or awarded to a competitor? Or you’ve given a fabulous sales presentation, only for the meeting to grind towards its end with no sign of a sale?

Maybe you’ve quoted and you just can’t get an answer no matter how often you contact them? What about when you think you’ve been fobbed off - they probably don’t want your products but they won’t tell you outright so you keep contacting them ‘just in case’?

We’ve all been there - it’s frustrating and time consuming. The dilemma - do you chase old ‘maybe’ business or spend more time generating new enquiries?

Closing a Sale in 5 Minutes…

The Issue
The meeting’s gone well. You’ve got a fabulous connection with your prospect. Rapport levels are high. They seem attentive. They seem interested. You’ve impressively answered some minor objections that came your way. Yet there’s something that’s holding you back from asking outright for the business.

What to do next? 

The Solution
Three Killer Questions. Before you embark on the first question, make sure you have good levels of rapport with your prospect. If there is any ‘edge’ present, these questions won’t work. With fabulous rapport, they always deliver.

So, back to your meeting. It’s coming to an end and you need to close the sale.

Question Number 1
At the end of your conversation, ask:

On a scale from 1 to 10 – 1 meaning “it’s over…don’t darken our door again” and 10 meaning “we want you to start straight away”…where would you say we are?

THEN…SHUT UP! This is critical to ensure you give the silence that allows your contact to think.

Give them time. Allow your prospect to respond. They will give you a number. Don’t be too attached to the number. The golden nugget is their response to the next question.

Question Number 2
Ask… What would need to happen to get us to a 10?

SHUT UP! Again…this is critical. Give them more time to think.

Allow your prospect to respond.

You have now identified the gap between what you’re offering and what your client needs from you before they can say ‘yes’. You now know how close you are to securing the deal.

If you are able to resolve the gap immediately you’ll be able to close the deal there and then.

Some answers will alert you that these prospects are unlikely to ever buy. Disappointing yes but good to know there and then not several weeks and many follow ups later.

Question Number 3
Open question.

What would you like me to do next?

Their answer is usually like all the jigsaw pieces falling into place. They are explaining exactly what the next course of action is - talking as if you’re already on board.

Agree on the next course of action and be sure to maintain your control by agreeing when you will get back to them.

Asking these questions will change your sales results! They identify how close you are to a sale, they identify how big the gap is - and exactly what you need to do to bridge the gap. And you both decide whether or not you have the means to bridge the gap. All usually in a few minutes.

By slightly tweaking these questions you can use the ‘out of ten’ technique in other situations - for example staff appraisals and job satisfaction surveys come to mind.

Hope this technique brings you lots of sales success.

All the best…

Leigh

www.sales-consultancy.com
020 7903 5426
leigh@sales-consultancy.com

For previous ‘Tricks of the Trade’ go here

Decreasing Marketing; Increasing Sales

Most companies I help receive incoming enquiries - via the telephone line, emails, exhibitions, the list goes on. 

None of these companies convert 100% of those enquiries into a sale. Of course, 100% conversion is pushing it a bit! However – there’s no doubt that all of these companies had potential to increase their conversion rate, in many cases by a considerable amount.
A company in particular comes to mind. They took enquiries mainly by phone and converted 25% of these enquiries into an individual average order value of £997 – we’ll round this up to £1000 for ease of telling the story. 

Sales in volume were slightly over 10,000 a year so we’re talking about a £10m company here.
Having been called in to help, my first thoughts were what a crying shame that a massive 75% of sales enquiries were coming to nothing. Even sadder was that many of the 75% non-buyers were deemed ‘time wasters’ by the staff. I cringe at those words – in my book there’s no such thing as a time waster in sales and terming them as such reflects more on the seller than the potential buyer.

Within six weeks we’d got the conversion rate up to 27%. Now you might think that’s not much of an increase – and you’d be right. BUT – just this 2% increase in conversion rates equated to an annual increase in turnover of £800,000. Needless to say the training was deemed a big success.

The moral of the story? Don’t spend massive amounts of money on marketing when all you have to do is make better use of the leads that you’re already getting - sales success will follow.

How to increase conversion rates?
 
Here are a few pointers.

1. Ban the use of the words ‘time wasters’! I’m serious. Using this word in a sales environment engenders an underlying unconscious disrespect for potential buyers. I firmly believe that no one has got time these days to be a time waster – there must have been SOME level of interest for them to pick up the phone – check out a website etc.

2. Get technology in that can track enquiries and respond to them. This could be web analytics, a more sophisticated CRM, whatever it takes to know exactly who’s showing an interest – and which enables you to have a low cost follow up.

3. Connect! Yes I know some of this is very basic but…! It works. We found out at the company in question that their company was on average one of three that the potential customer contacted before making a decision. There were about 5 major players in their market at the time – and not much to choose between them in terms of product and price. So who do you think was going to get the business? YES – the one to whom the prospect felt most connected.

4. Connection is made through general rapport building and lots of curiosity – in sales terms known as good old fashioned open questions.

5. Structure. I’ll never be an advocate of scripts on telephone calls – I hate them – but a little structure can help considerably. So make sure you give the staff the guidance they need to succeed on the call.

6. Follow up when you’ve quoted. I can’t believe how many companies quote for business and then never follow up with at least a courtesy phone call. This is not hounding people – as a certain company’s ‘sales’ staff once suggested. This is called customer service, which, if we’re lucky, might catch on! If you don’t fancy following up quotes, you might want to consider an alternative career. Referring to suggestion 3, if you’re one of three companies that have quoted for a sale and you’re the only one that follows up, doesn’t that indicate a level of interest on your part that others haven’t matched?

There are of course another hundred+ tips on increasing sales and following up enquiries – but if you do these and do them well enough, your selling skills and your sales conversions will increase.

Converted yet?

Leigh
www.sales-consultancy.com
020 7903 5426
results@sales-consultancy.com

Steve Peters, the England World Cup Squad - and You‏

The World Cup is looming. That thought will fill you with massive anticipation...or complete dread!  

 

This time round there’s a new member of the England Team...who won’t kick a ball for the whole of the tournament. His name is Steve Peters and he will be going to Brazil as the England team psychologist – you can read more in this recent article.  

 

The England management team have identified just how important it is for the players to have the right mindset if they are to achieve their potential in the tournament.  

What about your mindset?  

How often do you focus on YOU? You too should be ensuring you’ve got the mindset you need to get success in your role.  

Imagine you or your team being able to quickly and easily conjure up the necessary elements for success - confidence, determination, calmness, or anything else that's needed, at will...whenever it's needed. 

 

You can! 

It's with a technique called 'anchoring'. Anchoring allows you to take those success traits you feel and experience when you're at your best - and resurrect them when you're not!  

My preferred anchoring technique is the 'Circle of Excellence'. It's easy, fun and works with everyone. Try it out, go with it - and let me know how you get on.  

Here we go...  

The Circle of Excellence   

First, find a quiet area where you won't be disturbed.  

Think of a resource you would like to have immediate access to in the future. This could be confidence, calmness, determination...anything.  

 

Think back to a time when you demonstrated this very resource in the past. Relive that experience in detail. Then associate a colour with that state.  

Now imagine an invisible circle on the floor in front of you. Paint it the colour you just chose. Make it about 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in front of you. Now add whatever you'd like into the circle that represents or supports that wonderful state you want to replicate. Do whatever you need to do, add whatever you need to add, so that your circle is as perfect as it can be.

 

Think of situations...
...in the past where you have possessed, and used, huge amounts of the very resource you now want to access. Think of at least 3 past events where you displayed the very traits that you want to bring into your circle of excellence. Really associate into the experiences. What were you doing? What were you saying? How were you feeling? What were you seeing? See yourself in the circle being magnificent and exhibiting these qualities.  

 

When you have built up your circle, step into it and experience the multiple effect of having those resources again here and now. Feel your power! Really enjoy yourself.   

 

Step out of the circle.

 

Check with yourself...  

...do you need to add anything to your circle? Add whatever you want to further build up those resources that you need.    

 

Step back into the circle and notice how you feel again. Really ramp up the feeling. Imagine you have a dial that increases the intensity and turn it up as much as you can stand!  

 

Then...pick up your circle and put it somewhere that you can access...maybe an imaginary pocket. You can call it your resource pocket...and know that you have access to it whenever you need it. When you do need it, roll out the circle in front of you, step into it, and feel your power and resources increase straight away as you conjure up the necessary elements for your sales success! 

 

You don’t need to be a member of the England World Cup Squad to experience the magic of the mindset.

 

It's all about the psychology of selling.

 

Until next time.  

Leigh

PS: Check out my recent article for O2's "The Business" - Click Here to access "Losing Sales? Here's Why"

 

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com 

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here