Increase Sales Coach

Filed Under: sales coaching Tagged With: good sales habits, sales coaching, sales skills

Which is More Important When it Comes to Selling?

January 27, 2010 By Cheryl Clausen Leave a Comment

In the last post we talked about attitudes. I pointed out that rather than trying to change your attitudes, which are simply the way you look at things based on your values, you are better served accepting your attitudes and using those attitudes to motivate the actions that produce results. There is nothing wrong with you, or the way you think. You are uniquely positioned to fulfill your dreams.

There are four core aspects involved in your ability to sell. Attitudes is one of those aspects. The other aspects include: knowledge, skills, and habits.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, Habits

Most people think knowledge is the most important when it comes to sales. Knowledge involves both knowing your product or service, and knowing what to do to produce the sales results you want. Far too many people waste precious time and miss tremendous opportunities because they think they have to know every gory detail about their product or service.

You could sell all the products and services you want knowing little more than a bare minimum about the details of your product or service. This is true because your prospects don’t care what your product or service is. Your prospects only care about what your product or service does that’s important to them.

“Knowing” what to do to sell couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do to sell your product or service is:

get in front of people interested in what you can do for them
set appointments with those people
help those people make a good buying decision
maintain your relationship
earn referrals

There are literally thousands of books on selling. You could pick any one and “know” what you need to know to sell, for the most part. However; there’s a BIG difference between knowing what to do, and knowing “how” to do it.

Skill > Knowledge

That’s why skill is much more important that knowledge. Skill is knowing how to do what you know you need to do. Skill is where the disconnect happens.

Most people find it very difficult to read, hear, or watch someone else doing what they know they need to do, and then TRANSLATING that knowledge into their own skill set. Skill involves:

taking a concept and applying that concept specifically to your needs
adapting words and actions to fit with your attitudes
confidence gained through successful repetition

In sports there are lots of players who know the rules, know how the game is played, and know what they are supposed to do. Most players never get beyond an average skill level when it comes to implementing their knowledge of the sport. The very best players develop superior skills not because they have greater knowledge.

The very best players develop superior skills because they work closely with a coach who is able to help them achieve greater skill levels than they ever could on their own. The coach sees the players blind spots, they help the player build on their strengths and work around their weaknesses. The coach serves as their rapid translator and skill refiner. Players who work individually with a coach develop superior skills faster than those who don’t.

Coach Cheryl

Filed Under: sales coaching Tagged With: increasing sales, sales coaching, sales skills

How Are Attitudes Impacting Your Sales Success?

January 25, 2010 By Cheryl Clausen 1 Comment

A lot of people get caught up in the idea they need to improve their attitudes or the attitudes of others. The perceived solution to a poor attitude is motivational training. How well does that work?

The thing about listening to a motivational speaker or participating in motivational training is it is motivating at the time. Yet it has almost no long-term impact. This reality is through no fault of the speaker or trainer. It’s entirely the result of understanding what attitudes are and are not.

Attitudes are nothing more than your world view or opinion of something. Your attitude helps explain why you behave the way you behave, yet your attitude is not a strong predictor of future behaviors. I realize that might sound confusing so please allow me to explain.

Even though you may have a positive attitude about the assumptive close technique your attitude does not predict the likelihood you will demonstrate that behavior in your sales conversations. While you view the assumptive close favorably that positive attitude does not necessarily mean you will use it.

Here’s the big catch. Motivational training or speaking tries to help you change your attitude or world view about an action or idea. However, that’s not likely to happen and here’s why.

From birth to now you have had experiences. Those experiences repeated over time, and the experiences that had a dramatic impact over you transformed into a set of values. Those values are basically the standards you choose to live by because of your previous experiences and beliefs.

What you value transforms into a set of attitudes that create your personal views. You behave the way you do to fulfill your attitudes. An adult is highly unlikely to change their attitudes no matter what because those attitudes are based on what you value. True changes in attitude only come about because of major events that completely change your beliefs and values.

So rather than trying to change your attitudes you need to realize your attitudes are the drivers that make you who you are. There is nothing wrong with your attitude. You simply need to use your attitudes in a way that best serves you.

There are 6 attitudes that cause you to behave in certain ways because those behaviors demonstrate your values. You are driven to fulfill your top 2 attitudes. These top 2 attitudes are the most important to you and for you. According to Eduard Spranger the 6 attitudes include:

Utilitarian – you value usefulness and return on your investments
Theoretical – you value knowledge and truth
Social – you value others and serving others
Individual – you value position and power
Traditional – you value systems, order, tradition, and unity
Aesthetic – you value beauty, harmony, balance, and feeling

72% of all people who succeed in sales have a strong utilitarian attitude. You value money and are driven to take actions that produce it. However, any attitude can succeed in sales. It’s just a matter of structuring the way you implement sales so you feed your values and attitudes to produce those sales results.

Coach Cheryl

Filed Under: sales coaching Tagged With: increase sales, sales attitudes, sales coaching

How Important is Closing the Sale?

January 22, 2010 By Cheryl Clausen 1 Comment

If you listen to most sales trainers, Sales Managers, and countless authors of sales books… you would think closing is the most important skill in sales. Yet, scientific proof demonstrates typical sales closing techniques are ineffective and down right damaging to your sales success. Here’s why.

The closing techniques taught by those sales trainers and authors are very effective at shortening the sales cycle and increasing sales when AND ONLY when you are selling relatively low cost products. When you try those same techniques to sell an expensive product or service you FAIL. You fail because those closing techniques pressure the prospect to buy. Prospects will NOT be PRESSURED into making a buying decision when there is a lot on the line. In fact, once you attempt to pressure the prospect to close the sale you dramatically increase the odds you walk away without a sale today and with no hope for a sale in the future.

All because you crossed the line and destroyed your opportunity to open a relationship with the other person.

Here’s where the confusion really reigns. Most people think closing is about pressuring the prospect into making a commitment to purchase. WRONG sales breath. That is not what closing is about.

Closing is Obtaining a Commitment from the Prospect to take an Action

Please reread that definition. Okay, now that you’ve read that again I want to make certain you understand why this is the definition you want to live by. Low cost products are sold in a single encounter.

You don’t go to the store to buy batteries and walk away telling the store clerk you have to think it over. No; you go to the store find the right battery, take those batteries to the register for checkout, pay the clerk, and leave. End of story.

High ticket product and service sales almost always involve a multi-step process. The idea you would meet and ask for the sale on the first appointment is almost ludicrous. It might happen on rare occasions but you certainly don’t expect that as standard practice. And if you try to shorten the sales cycle by pushing to close the purchase then you also shorten the time it takes to get to “no sale” because you are forcing the issue and offending the prospect.

When you move into big sales you can usually anticipate the sales process will go through 4 phases. In the first phase you introduce your solution and open the conversation. In phase two you determine relevance and specific needs. In phase three you demonstrate your ability to produce your solution. In the final phase you obtain a commitment.

Another thing you will notice about the definition for closing that I’ve used here is that it isn’t specific to the sale. Due to the very fact that large sales often involve more than one meeting you need a way to successfully conclude every interaction. Each interaction should CLOSE by concluding with a plan for the prospect to commit to an action. Both you and the prospect must have a clear understanding of what happens next at the end of every interaction.

The way you successfully close an interaction is by setting the right objectives for action. Simply gaining agreement for a future meeting isn’t enough. There are 4 ways a sales conversation is likely to close.

Money in the bank – you gain a client and earn the sale
Next steps - the prospect agrees to take an action that moves them closer to a purchase decision
No commitment – you didn’t get the sale and the prospect did not agree to an action that moves the sale forward
No sale – you will not be doing business together

Money in the bank and next steps are successful objectives for closing the interaction. No sale is also a success because you know you need to move on and find another prospect. No commitment is an absolute failure because you are either allowing the prospect to string you along, or you are prolonging a sale that should have concluded already.

When You Hear…

”I need to think about it”

“Why don’t you stop back next month”

“I’ll call you when we need to take things further”

These are all examples of no commitment. You can’t allow a conversation to conclude this way. These statements are big clues that should tell you that you did not do your job. A prospect will not make a commitment to act unless you:

help them identify an immediate need for what you offer
answer their questions and concerns
review how they benefit
recommend a next step

Obviously, you can’t recommend a good next step if you don’t have a clear understanding of what your best next step options are. If you haven’t already, list the actions a prospect must take to do business with you. Never forget each action they take should improve your relationship not harm it.

Coach Cheryl

Filed Under: sales coaching Tagged With: closing the sale, sales closing techniques, sales coaching

Persuasive Selling

January 20, 2010 By Cheryl Clausen 1 Comment

The very word persuasion evokes different feeling in different people. Sometimes those feelings are very negative because you think persuasion is manipulation. Manipulation and persuasion are polar opposites like black and white.

Manipulation and coercion have no place in persuasion.

Persuasion is Not a Technique

Persuasion is not a technique rather it’s a way of thinking… an approach. Persuasion creates an opportunity for two people to come to an agreement of thought in a mutually beneficial way. That means before persuasion can exist there are certain underlying circumstances that must already exist.

The first condition that must exist is a search for a solution to an unmet need. In other words, what you have to offer must be relevant for your prospect. Your prospect must perceive you have something they don’t, plus they must be open to exploring how you might help them get that because it’s something they are already looking for. Just like you can’t hypnotize someone and make them act like a chicken against their free will, you can’t persuade someone do to something they don’t want to do. Thank goodness.

One of the biggest challenges you have when talking with prospects is lowering their defenses so they are willing to share ideas with you. One of the easiest and most powerful ways to make it possible for your prospects to openly share ideas with you is to simply ask questions. Whether you ask open or closed ended questions is less important than asking questions with the intent of learning more about the prospect and their needs.

When you try to ask questions that lead a prospect to your way of thinking that’s manipulation. Those types of leading questions immediately trigger a prospects defenses. Those types of questions are dangerous and should be proactively avoided. The questions you ask should be more like the questions you’d ask someone you care about to determine what they think about something.

For example, asking “What do you see as the greatest challenge in commercial real estate today?” Is a safe question because it allows the prospect to share their thoughts and concerns. This is a good question because the intent is learning about the prospect.

In contrast, asking “How much more valuable do you see sales coaching than sales training?” Is a dangerous question because you are trying to lead a prospect to an answer YOU want them to give. A question like that doesn’t help you better understand the prospect and their needs. It’s a leading manipulative question.

The questions you ask are critical because the only way you can truly understand the needs and desires of your prospect is through the answers they give to the questions you ask. Therefore, you need to develop some really good questions. When you are thinking about the questions you need to ask to really understand your prospect be sure to phrase those questions carefully so they are considerate and understanding. The prospect shouldn’t feel like they are sitting across from an interrogator. They should feel like they are having a great conversation with the best listener they’ve ever met.

This give and take conversation will help you come to an understanding of thought.

There are a lot of things you know you should do. There are a lot of things you know you could do. However, there are only a finite amount of things you know you will do because you are motivated to do them. That motivation comes from an internal trigger that forces you to take an action.

You have to know what would trigger your prospect to take action. The only way to find that out is to ask. You might simply ask, “How would you decide to do something like this?” Notice you aren’t specifically asking how they would decide to buy from you, rather you are just asking in general how they make the decision to act. Their criteria for action is another condition that must exist.

You might quickly discover they are just thinking about this, and don’t have any intention of acting now. Does that mean you’re out of luck? Not necessarily.

Again you can’t come to an agreement of thought until you fully understand the prospect’s needs and desires. That means you need to know, “What happens if nothing changes?” As you explore that possibility with your prospect all of a sudden something they were “just thinking about” can immediately transform into “something I need to take care of now”.

Once you have full understanding then the last condition required for persuasion exists. Human nature dictates that we will not disagree with ourselves even when we are wrong. So one of the most persuasive ways to reach a mutually beneficial conclusion and commitment is to simply present your solution to the prospect based on their own words. Including their words, their reasoning, their logic, and their criteria for acting.

Coach Cheryl

Filed Under: sales coaching Tagged With: persuasive selling, sales coaching, using persuasion to sell

One Big Reason They Don’t Buy and You Can’t Sell

January 18, 2010 By Cheryl Clausen 1 Comment

Have you ever bought something that turned out to be a BIG mistake? I sure have. I’ve made purchasing mistakes from inconsequential junk to costly products and services.

When you buy some doo-dad that’s supposed to do something, and it turns out the doo-dad is worthless you throw it away without thinking much about it. You might feel upset about it, but you didn’t risk much so you aren’t all that worried about the risk when you make the purchase decision.

If you’ve ever made a mistake like that, a mistake that wasn’t a big deal, and you’ve also made a costly mistake you already understand there’s a big difference in how that decision impacts you. What you may NOT realize is the reason the impact is so very different. The reason the impact is so different is not limited to the amount of money involved. Understanding this reasoning will help you understand how to overcome this challenge with your potential buyers.

When it comes to larger investments the money required to invest is a concern; however, it is NOT the BIG concern that holds people back and keeps them from making a purchase decision. What holds you back and keeps you from saying “yes” is a fear of…

PUBLIC HUMILIATION

Yes, it’s the fear of public humiliation that prevents you from saying “yes” to the buying decision. A buyer can easily choose to make a $50,000 purchase, yet squirm over a $5,000 purchase and here’s why. Quit often the buyer has sole decision making authority for the $50,000 purchase. If the buyer is disappointed with their purchase decision later no one but the buyer ever has to know. In contrast the $5,000 purchase may involve other people. I don’t necessarily mean other people will be involved in the purchase decision I mean people who will be involved in the outcome of the investment.

Those people will use the product or service. Those users will formulate an opinion about whether the purchase was a good decision. Therefore, this purchase decision is more public and a bad decision is more visible.

The big reason prospects often have trouble with a buying decision is because they fear making a public mistake. They don’t want to have to answer for a poor decision and face public humiliation.

Countering the Fear

Before your buyer can make a “yes” decision you have to counter their fears. The only way to counter their fears is to provide them with a logical argument for why this is a good buying decision. They need you to help them formulate their argument because this is how they will explain their decision. They don’t want any holes in their story.

They want to know if things don’t turn out like they planned that any reasonable person would have made the same decision. They literally want you to finish the statement, “Any reasonable person would have decided to make this purchase and here’s why…”

So before you presume money is the reason a prospect isn’t buying face the reality the real reason may be fear of making a publicly visible mistake. Then help your prospect develop a logical argument for why any reasonable person would make this decision.

Coach Cheryl