Category: Sales Training

How to Help Underperforming Salespeople

Sales Management, Sales Training

There are a lot of people that are simply not good at sales. Perhaps they could be good under the right circumstances, but sales is often a sink-or-swim career. It really depends on what the salesperson is willing to do to achieve her goals just as much as the support she receives from her company. The fact is, no one wants to fail in their sales career. Deep down, every salesperson wants to be thought of as one of the top performers. Every salesperson wants to achieve some level of success. So why is it that so many salespeople fit in the category of ‘underperforming’ and what can be done to correct this? 

Most people wait too long to call attention to a poor-performing salesperson. They tend to appear in environments where accountability is limited, processes are absent, goals are ignored and leadership is weak. The trick is to catch the issues before it is too late and do an investigation before you jump to conclusions. What does the underperforming salesperson tell you the issue is? What does the sales data tell you or what trends do you see? What does their process tell you? What do the goals and results tell you? Once you find the defect, there are a few ways to coach the salesperson back to the path of success. 

  1. Affirm the pipeline – Does the salesperson have enough qualified leads and prospects to work on? Are they focused on the right types of accounts and customers?
  2. Affirm the activities – Is the salesperson doing enough of the right activities in the right way to generate results? Are they over-focusing on one method and ignoring another one? Does it match what other successful salespeople do?
  3. Roleplay – Salespeople will tell you one thing, but when you roleplay real scenarios, you will find out very quickly what they are actually doing if you run it the whole way through. It is very difficult for any salesperson to hide their habits when it is time for roleplaying. This creates great coaching opportunities.
  4. Attend presentations – And listen to phone calls as well. This also creates really good coaching opportunities. Find out where the defect is, help them to see it, and give them an action to correct it.
  5. Listen to the customers – They will tell you what the salesperson is doing right and wrong. Share all of that feedback with the salesperson. Some of it may be difficult to hear, but it will create a pathway for them to grow.

Is the New Salesperson Going to Make It❓

Uncategorized, Sales Management, Sales Training

Their resume looked great, they interviewed well and you can see that the new salesperson that was hired is going to be a great fit in the company. The courting was fun and the honeymoon is now over. So here comes the big question, is the new salesperson actually going to be successful. It is a question that everyone is wondering about, including the new salesperson. They talked a good talk and now it is time to perform. Chances are that you’re thinking about all the duds that have come through the company that showed a lot of promise early on, but somewhere along the way things went the wrong way and they maintained their employment much longer than they probably should have. Now it’s back to the pile of resumes and this time everyone is a lot more skeptical. 

New salespeople that are unsuccessful create an unpleasant experience for everybody; especially that salesperson. At what point can we tell that they are getting traction instead of offering excuses instead of results. Remember that this employment is a two-way partnership and the company is at least half responsible for their success. 6 months after the new salesperson completes their onboarding, you’ll start to know whether or not they have what it takes if you see them producing certain things. Here are the 5 things you should look for in a new salesperson to see whether or not they are going to be successful. 

 

  1. A good pipeline – Do they have a list of prospects that they are working on? Are they moving prospects forward through their process. Is the list of good quality and reflects the kinds of customers that the company wants? A good pipeline of great prospects is the first key to their success.
  2. A goal – Too often do salespeople and sales managers leave results up to chance. They have a hard time discussing goals because it suddenly makes everything seem too real. Don’t get your hopes up too high for a salesperson who has no goals. If you fail to let them know what is expected of them, the chances are that they will fail too. 
  3. Sales activities – Is the new salesperson actually picking up the phone, getting in front of people, and delivering a healthy level of sales activities necessary to build a book of business? Are they being bogged down by other responsibilities within the company? You definitely want to make certain that they are doing the work.
  4. Sphere of influence – Is the new salesperson out meeting with their sphere of influence? These would be old contacts, relationships, and influencers. They may or may not be an ideal customer for your company, but this is an excellent warm-up exercise for new salespeople because this network of contacts can start steering them in the right direction. 
  5. Getting meetings/ sending quotes – This is the biggest thing that you want to look for. If a new salesperson has been at it for 6 months and has not had any meetings or sent any quotes, they are not going to make it. It is time to break the relationship. However, if they are able to get meetings regardless of closing deals, then chances are that you have a winner. They may need some help with their presentation and closing techniques, but getting prospects to agree to a meeting is the hardest thing. Everything after that can be easily corrected. This one is going to make it. 

What To Do When Your Customer Is a Bully

Marketing, Sales Management, Sales Training

I don’t like jerks any more than you do, and still, they exist. Do they even know that they are jerks? Do they even care? Why are there so many of them? Why are some of them trying to be my customer? How do I go about handling difficult customers? To be clear, I am not talking about customers that are angry or mildly difficult to manage, I mean customers that want to walk all over you, show you little respect, and constantly try to take advantage of you. A bully. These customers take an enormous amount of time and emotional energy and too often there isn’t a win/win outcome. They want what they want and they will stop at nothing to get it.

The first problem is that we believe these bully customers are in control and we let them have control because we fear losing the sale. We get caught in their trap of aggressive behavior and must constantly play defense. You’re a people pleaser and you want to make everyone happy. I don’t blame you. But there is a way to change the odds in your favor without stooping to their level. Assuming that you believe this aggressive customer is worth closing the deal with, there are 5 simple things you can do to keep these kinds of customers in check and start doing business on your terms.

 

  1. Listen Listen Listen – Sometimes the more we talk the more trouble we cause for ourselves and the same is true for an aggressive customer. Let them wear themselves down and spill their guts. This may take some time and test your patience but these type of people always need to hear themselves talk. Avoid the impulse to react and speak until the moment is right.
  2. Ask questions – As much as it might pain you, keep the aggressive customer talking by asking questions. This will change them from playing offense to defense. Even questions that allow them to clarify their position keep them responding to your cadence and takes them off their course.
  3. Normalize their irrationality – You can’t tell a crazy person that they are crazy, but you can win them over by normalizing what they feel is rational. I am not suggesting that you agree with them, but let them know you understand where they are coming from. In other words, tell them that if you were in their shoes, you might see how they arrived at their idea.
  4. Challenge what they say – You always have a right, if not the duty, to challenge any aggression from a bully customer and you don’t have to be aggressive to do it. Instead of telling them your position, ask them if they have considered the opposing viewpoint. Let them talk through that viewpoint and many times that will start to see things differently and, hopefully, your way. 
  5. Maintain your position – You cannot let aggressive customers bully you into getting their way. They won’t respect and they will have their way with you again. You don’t have to bully them back but tell them confidently and calmly your position and why you have no choice to maintain it. You do risk losing them as a customer, but that might not be such a bad thing. There is a better chance that you will get them to change their behaviors and start doing business on normal terms like the rest of your customers.

Would you like to learn more? Check out Aaron Jacobs e-book, “Controlling the Sale”, The New Way To Win Customers, Deals & Profits On Your Terms.

Beware of the Comfort Zone

Business Analysis, Marketing, Sales Training

Are you comfortable? I’m not asking if you’re in your favorite chair right now, but are you following a routine that keeps you safe and happy? If so, good for you I suppose. If you have really found the key to your happiness and you have arrived at where you always wanted to be, then you are among very few who have. The rest of us have yet to satisfy all of our desires.  But if there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that we don’t like being uncomfortable. This is what keeps us from growing. Without discomfort, there is little chance for growth. Think about all the important improvements that have happened in your life. Did it start from a point that was uncomfortable? I am certain that is had, and still, we avoid discomfort even when we desire change and growth. 

 

You must not only embrace discomfort, but you must also have to actively pursue it as well. It is the only way to bring about meaningful change. I’m not talking about change for the sake of change, but rather fully exploring your greatest potential to satisfy your deepest desires. That can mean wealth, status, achievement, or whatever is in your heart, but there is something you have always wanted that you are not actively pursuing because you are afraid of the discomfort that risk will bring. In sales, in order to be successful, we must constantly put ourselves in uncomfortable situations, yet some of us still avoid it. If your sales career has left you feeling unsatisfied for any period of time, then it is time to embrace discomfort. Here are 5 things you can do to get uncomfortable, grow, and achieve better results.

 

  1. Network – It’s time to get out and meet new people. That’s what you should be doing all the time. If you find yourself in a lull, check your contact list and see how many new names you have recently added. There is a good chance that there aren’t many new faces. Take the uncomfortable chance of meeting new people. 
  2. Prospect – Nothing is more uncomfortable for a salesperson than cold-calling. But this activity is what kick starts sales for sure no matter where you are in your sales career. Activity breeds activity, but it must start with you.
  3. Target new markets – Try hunting in a different pasture. It is as exciting as it is uncomfortable. This could be a new territory, demographic, or industry. It is a challenge that you can meet with success.
  4. Set higher goals – Why do you keep settling for the same results every year when you know you can do better? It is because you don’t want to be uncomfortable. Striving to get higher than you ever have can be done easier than you think if you try. 
  5. Change careers – If you have maxed out your current opportunities and you are still unhappy, you are likely just collecting a paycheck at this point. No one else can change this for you except for you. Most people don’t like starting over again, but sometimes you have to take a small step back to take a big leap forward.

No Apologies For Prospecting

Marketing, Posts, Sales Management, Sales Training, Strategy Planning

Have you ever been cold-called by a salesperson who opens the call with ‘Sorry to bother you, but…”? You should never apologize when selling and prospecting. How many of your co-workers in other departments, such as operation or finance, have to spend their time apologizing for doing their job? So why should you apologize for doing yours? Timid and weak salespeople bring timid and weak results. Why? Because they have a poor self-image that they project onto prospective customers who will, in turn, reinforce those beliefs.

 

If salespeople could accept the hard truths about prospecting and the benefits it brings, the less reluctant they would be to do these essential selling activities. Frankly, these aren’t big mountains for us to climb, they are little bumps that trip us up every once in a while. Prospecting new customers not only works, but it is the best way to acquire new business. So embrace these 5 realities of reaching out to new customers.

 

  1. Your call is unexpected – Of course, it is. So what? The day can be filled with a lot of unexpected things and many of them can be good? Why wouldn’t you and what your selling be one of those things? If you didn’t have something great to offer, why would you bother them with an unexpected call?
  2. You are calling at a bad time – Yup. At least that’s what prospects will tell you. My advice? Open your call by acknowledging this. “Hi, did I catch you at a bad time?”. It’s a personal favorite way to cold call. They will always say ‘yes’, but ask you what the call is about. This means they have given you permission to start selling. Go for it.
  3. You are a disruption – Salespeople who are not willing to disrupt their prospect’s day will not bring in new business. Period. You have to be a disruption to get their attention. Today, phone calls achieve this better than emails for sure (for those of you who say that phone calling is dead). If you don’t disrupt people, you will not get noticed. 
  4. You must get noticed – This is the fact in sales. You have to get noticed in order to begin any sales process. Unless you have a fantastic marketing plan that brings in a lot of new leads, you will need a campaign that gets you in front of people one way or another. 
  5. It takes more than one try – It can take as many as five, ten, or more tries to get time with your prospect. Be persistent and don’t give up too easily. Be willing to try several methods including phone calls, emails, cold call walk-ins, social media, and so forth. Sooner or later they will have to notice you good, bad, or otherwise.

Small Fires Make Little Heat

Marketing, Sales Management, Sales Training

A salesperson without desire is like an oven without a flame. You can’t cook much with it. Salespeople should be the most goal-driven in any organization because, without their hard work of bringing in sales, no one else really has a job. So, it would stand to reason that a salesperson with a passion for achieving great things for themselves or their company will usually produce average results. Should this be fixed? Yes. Can it be done? Of course. Will it be easy? Well, that depends.

 

All salespeople like the lowest hanging fruit. In a world of constant rejection and uncertainty, who could blame them. It’s the easiest way to explain the high resistance against prospecting and cold calling. But small fires make little heat and little desires bring little results. Who can cook great things in an oven with little fire? What is a salesperson with tiny goals and small desires? You want a sales team that hungers for success and here are 5 simple (but sometimes hard) things you can do to build big fires that make a lot of heat.

 

  1. Set lofty goals – Too often we are afraid of scaring away salespeople by giving them goals that might be too hard that cause a rift between sales and management. Set low goals, get low results. Remember, you don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect and you aren’t inspecting the progress of lofty goals, the goals will not likely be met.
  2. Create proper incentives – Management gets this wrong more often than I care to share. The ones that get it right have a strong sales force. Remember, the more a salesperson sells, the more the cost of sales associated with them decreases. They become more profitable. Tiered incentives demonstrate to the salesperson that not only do you believe that these lofty goals are possible but worthwhile.
  3. Don’t be afraid to challenge salespeople – Many owners and managers feel like they are being held hostage by their salespeople. As long as they are bringing in sales, that means they have control in the employment relationship and if you disrupt this you risk losing them and their sales. This is rarely true and, unless you have a real rockstar on your team (why challenge them when they challenge themselves), most salespeople will usually not push back? Why, because pushing back is too challenging. Do you see the fallacy in this loop?
  4. Stop rewarding mediocrity – How many times have you given salespeople a participation trophy? Way too many of us do. Your reasoning is noble in that you want to offer positive reinforcement and help people improve. But over time this becomes enabling and we communicate to average salespeople that being average in sales is ok. Is it?
  5. Coach them – Most salespeople are too proud to ask for help and some go so far as to resist it. Don’t let them fool you. Show them that you care by showing them that you care. You don’t have to micromanage them, but show them that you are paying attention because you want them to succeed and help them through their challenges. 

Passing The Persistence Test

Marketing, Sales Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Training

Sales is not a quick path to riches for all of us, but it certainly can lead us there. Some people take to it like a duck to water while others seem to slowly trudge along. Are the successful ones just having a run of good luck or possess exceptional skills? Maybe, but there has to be more to it than that. It’s not so much a matter of what they have, but what is it that you are lacking? There is a very good chance that you don’t invest enough in persistence. Napoleon Hill once suggested something along the lines that great success is given to those who pass the persistence test. In other words, those who work through their fears and failures are eventually rewarded.

The persistence test, like so many other tests, is one that most of us want to skip. It is a difficult test because it requires both hard work and a willingness to make mistakes. If the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again with the same results, then ignorance means doing nothing at all. Persistence falls somewhere in the middle. It is your ability to achieve your goals by following your plans while overcoming obstacles. And there will be plenty of obstacles in sales. If you want to be successful then you must pass the persistence test. Here are 5 tips to help you with this test. 

  1. Have a goal – Simple enough, but have you really identified in great detail what your desired outcome is? It can’t be a vague vision of yourself sitting on a beach somewhere with bags of money. It needs a number and a timeline.
  2. Have a plan – You can’t apply persistence to an idea without a plan. It just doesn’t work that way. I understand that telling you that you need a plan isn’t anything new to you, but if you aren’t successful, then I suggest this is one of the places you look first.
  3. Avoid shortcuts – When the plan is hard, shortcuts are tempting. There are times when they make sense, but shortcuts usually lead to shortfalls when it comes to your goals. You cannot be afraid of putting in the hard work. Shortcuts counter persistence which means you are trying to avoid the persistence test. Don’t do that.
  4. No more procrastinating – Inaction breeds inaction and delivers no rewards other than the certainty that you can play it safe and stay where you are. There is a difference between careful planning and prioritizing instead of moving forward into the unknown. That’s what successful people have to do.
  5. Permission to make mistakes – You are going to make mistakes along the way in the sales. Some of these mistakes will be painful and perhaps expensive, but they are unavoidable. Persistence is all about confronting these mistakes, learning from them, and moving forward. If you do not allow yourself to make mistakes, you will paralyze your plans and goals for success.

Getting Punched in the Face? Cold Calling & Rejection

Marketing, Sales Coaching, Sales Training

Very few salespeople get excited about cold calling and sales rejections hurt no matter who we are. That’s your baseline and it’s something we all have to overcome to be successful in sales. I want to tell you that there is a great hypnotherapy technique that will quiet your inner voices or give you a pill that will turn your anxieties into exuberant confidence. We already know that these don’t exist, but what you are really looking for are coping and motivating skills to help you push through your own fear of rejection. And there’s the good news, these skills do exist.

 

It is natural to avoid rejection. That’s why we all want warm leads. It’s hard to feel successful when so many strangers tell us ‘no’ before they even know what we have to offer. The fact is that you will have more opportunities and success if you introduce yourself and your products & services to people who are otherwise unaware. I don’t want to bemoan the importance of prospecting and handling rejection because you know most of it already. However, these simple tips are a practical way for you to get back creating new opportunities for success.

  1. You’re not a pest, you’re a problem solver – This is something that I recommend that everyone repeats to themselves each time they pick up the phone, send an email, etc. It’s a fact. You just need to find people who have the problem you can help with.
  2. Looking for a fit – You are not seeking validation of your sales skills, you are looking for those who are a good fit for what you sell. There’s only one way to do that and that is asking. If it isn’t a good fit, no big deal. Onto the next opportunity.
  3. Set easy goals – Don’t drown yourself in prospecting activity if you don’t have to. It is exhausting. Set goals that are achievable. 10 phone calls a day isn’t all that much, but compound this activity over days and weeks, you’ll see that you are improving and getting better results. 
  4. Prospects can’t hurt you – I have yet to hear a story where someone cold calling got a bloody nose, went to prison or had their birthday taken from you. Prospects can’t hurt you. They have no power to do so. Remind yourself that you are safe and create an emotional distance from their response.
  5. Be Persistent – The more you cold call or prospect, the better you get at it and the less painful a ‘no’ becomes. You will build a natural immunity to rejection just from the exposure alone. Your mind will create its own coping mechanisms to help you handle rejection if you are willing to try.

Dealing With A Tricky Sales Objection: The H.E.L.P. Method

Posts, Sales Training

Don’t you just love it when a customer throws you a curveball during a sale? Something that really takes you off course and keeps you from your sales process. We call them Sales Squirrels. They show up out of nowhere and, like a dog, you chase them around and around the tree getting nowhere. There is no hard rule about what a Sales Squirrel looks like, but here are a few examples:

  • “Let me tell you all about a bad buying experience I had 10 years ago.”     
  • “Why do you use those colors for your logo? I don’t like those colors very much.”
  • “I really don’t like spending money, so just show me the cheapest option you have.” 

Sales Squirrels take everything out of your control if you let it, and by that I mean you spend too much time indulging the question that isn’t in the best interest of the sale. If you see a Sales Squirrel, then you are going to need help to get the sale back under control. That’s where the H.E.L.P. Method comes in.

 

Hold – When you see your Sales Squirrel, stop everything you are doing to take a moment and think. What did I just hear? How important is it? Will this take me off my sales process? What is the best response I can offer? Think before you speak.

Empathize – Acknowledge what you just heard and repeat it back to the customer. Let them know it is okay to bring this up. “I understand that you saw some of our online reviews that concern you and that’s something you would like to discuss. I check online reviews as well so it makes sense to me that you would bring this up.”

Leave it – Let the thought perish as you move the customer through a quality sales process. Sometimes acknowledging the objection is simply enough. After all, you don’t want to spend 10 minutes of your 30 minute engagement talking about a bad online review. If that matter needs to be discussed, then we should wait until after we have completed the sales process.

Postpone – The objection might be a sales squirrel, but perhaps it is important after all. Does it mean that it has to be discussed immediately? Usually not, and if it is, that means that you have given control over to the customer. Why not wait until after you have completed your sales process? Oftentimes at this point the customer has either forgotten about it or finds it to be less important than they initially indicated. “This sounds like something I should know more about. Let me make a note about this and come back around to our online reviews a little bit later.” 

The 3 Truths About Sales Objections

Posts, Sales Training

If you are like most salespeople, you do not like any sales objections. On the one hand, who could blame you. It would be nice to have every sale be easy with nothing but fun to answer questions from enthusiastic buyers who have already made up their minds that they are going to buy from you. If you like that kind of selling, you would probably enjoy working the cash register at a local fast food restaurant (and even that isn’t always that easy). When I say sales objection, I mean statements and questions like:

  • Why are you so expensive?
  • Is that all you have to offer?
  • I think I would like to think this over.

None of these examples are an outright ‘no’ or deal killer. It is a question from the customer that shows that they probably have not made up their mind yet and are still engaged. 

One of the biggest mistakes you can do is avoid sales objections. You know one or more objections exist for your customer, but you are doing everything you can to dodge it. In fact, encourage and embrace their objections because as you satisfy each will, you will increase your odds of closing the deal. That said, there are 3 basic truths about customers when it comes to sales objections.

 

  1. One or more objections will occur at any given phase of the sale process.
  2. Objections never magically disappear on their own.
  3. Objections will always fester until they are acknowledged and addressed.

 

         Take a moment and reflect on some of your own purchasing experiences. Have you ever made a major purchase without at least having one concern about your purchase? If the concern was important to you, did you just let it fade away without discussing it? Do you fixate on your objection, possibly tuning out the salesperson, because no one is taking time to address what is important to you? Of course you do, but just because an objection cannot be satisfied doesn’t mean the sale is dead, it is now just part of the purchasing equation of what is most important to a buyer. Continue to demonstrate that their objections are important to you and help them to solve it together.

 

Want to learn more? Schedule Managing Sales Objections Training for your sales team and head off objections before they defeat you and kill the sale.