You know the sales call is going well when the prospect:
• Starts asking you questions
• Writes down what they are hearing (my favorite indicator of a deal headed the right way)
• Maintains an upright and/or forward posture in their chair
• Keeps you for at least an hour
• Does most of the talking
• Invites others from the organization to participate in the meeting
You know the sales call is going really well when the prospect:
• Buys you the lunch
• Asks for your boss’s name to send a thank you note
• Tells you how your product/service will get them a promotion
• Invites you to their daughter’s wedding
Things are not going so well when you:
• Suffer dry-mouth from too much talking
• Start pulling out the marketing collateral
• Are asked to leave your manager in the lobby
• Discover an urgent need to find the restroom
• Have no clue what the prospect just said
• Spilled coffee on your white shirt on the car-ride to the appointment
• Get “30 minutes to tell us why you should be our choice”
The story you have just read is based on actual occurrences. Names and places were changed to protect the innocent! What other indicators do you use to tell you if your work is being well-received?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Employ the "Coach-Finder!"
In a January post, I spoke of the opportunity to employ a “Coach-Finder” or two, and challenged you to watch at least a 30% increase in your pipeline as a sales leader and individual contributor. What is a “Coach-Finder?” This is my term for a traditional lead qualification specialist. You know who they are. Hundreds of firms exist to satisfy the need to outsource a company’s appointment setting requirements. Many firms employ them directly. I have a different spin on this type of resource.
I must qualify my remarks by stating first that I have never had direct experience with employment of an outsourced appointment-setting firm. I am sure that there are many potential relationships with these firms that would work well in certain situations. I only know that by taking direct control of the lead qualification process, my group was very successful. When under my tutelage, I turn them from “lead qualification/appointment setting” resources to “Coach-Finders”.
Why are “Coach-Finders” important and where and how do they succeed where lead qualification/appointment-setting resources may not? In a complex sales environment, defined by Miller Heiman and others as a sales situation packed with multiple decision makers, this role is key. A true Coach will coach you through the complex arena of decision-makers and the client buying process so that you can match your sales process toward the buying process and a successful win. Someone on your side has to determine who the real potential Coach might be early in the sales cycle, determine their influence and develop the relationship into Coach-Finder if the potential Coach has influence and insight. In this way, when your outside sales resource is deployed, they are doing their best work at the right time in the sales cycle.
I have found that there are door-openers and door-closers in my tenure as a sales leader. Most outside sales folks are not the best at both. Even if they are, you are spending lots of money to pay for that outside resource to do a lot of heavy lifting, early in the sales cycle, with small return. How many cold calls and/or lead response calls result in meaningful dialogue between company and prospect? This depends on your industry, product and competitors but 5-10% is a good benchmark for most competitive industries. Point is, you want someone inside, with the right skills, dedicated to this all-important task. Find yourself a door-opener or “Coach-Finder” and put your outside reps to work doing what they do best, discovery, presenting and closing.
I ask my Coach-Finders to identify the following before an appointment can be set for the outside sales person:
• A compelling BUSINESS reason for buying
• The decision-making landscape, roles, titles, influence and identification of the Coach
• The competitive landscape, who else is being considered and why
• A commitment to put at least two of the stakeholders at the table for the appointment
The overwhelming majority of these appointments will result in a closed sale. But hold your Coach-Finder to these requirements! This is the science and discipline of good selling.
What about the competencies of a good Coach-Finder? The true Coach-Finder does nothing but ask questions. They don’t respond to price quotes, they don’t pitch features. They perform outstanding discovery interwoven with tremendous telephone relationship-building skills. They can attract a prospect’s interest on the telephone with those relationship-building skills and solid business questions. They are naturally inquisitive. And, most important, they are willing to work closely with sales management while triaging each opportunity.
If you are an individual contributor and your company will not hire a Coach-Finder, go find one for yourself. Pay them from your increased commissions! If you are a sales leader without this role defined, build a business plan for this role and sell it to your management. If you are a sales leader with this role in place, either in-house or outsourced, is it performing to your expectations? If not, try my suggestions. I hope that I can help.
I must qualify my remarks by stating first that I have never had direct experience with employment of an outsourced appointment-setting firm. I am sure that there are many potential relationships with these firms that would work well in certain situations. I only know that by taking direct control of the lead qualification process, my group was very successful. When under my tutelage, I turn them from “lead qualification/appointment setting” resources to “Coach-Finders”.
Why are “Coach-Finders” important and where and how do they succeed where lead qualification/appointment-setting resources may not? In a complex sales environment, defined by Miller Heiman and others as a sales situation packed with multiple decision makers, this role is key. A true Coach will coach you through the complex arena of decision-makers and the client buying process so that you can match your sales process toward the buying process and a successful win. Someone on your side has to determine who the real potential Coach might be early in the sales cycle, determine their influence and develop the relationship into Coach-Finder if the potential Coach has influence and insight. In this way, when your outside sales resource is deployed, they are doing their best work at the right time in the sales cycle.
I have found that there are door-openers and door-closers in my tenure as a sales leader. Most outside sales folks are not the best at both. Even if they are, you are spending lots of money to pay for that outside resource to do a lot of heavy lifting, early in the sales cycle, with small return. How many cold calls and/or lead response calls result in meaningful dialogue between company and prospect? This depends on your industry, product and competitors but 5-10% is a good benchmark for most competitive industries. Point is, you want someone inside, with the right skills, dedicated to this all-important task. Find yourself a door-opener or “Coach-Finder” and put your outside reps to work doing what they do best, discovery, presenting and closing.
I ask my Coach-Finders to identify the following before an appointment can be set for the outside sales person:
• A compelling BUSINESS reason for buying
• The decision-making landscape, roles, titles, influence and identification of the Coach
• The competitive landscape, who else is being considered and why
• A commitment to put at least two of the stakeholders at the table for the appointment
The overwhelming majority of these appointments will result in a closed sale. But hold your Coach-Finder to these requirements! This is the science and discipline of good selling.
What about the competencies of a good Coach-Finder? The true Coach-Finder does nothing but ask questions. They don’t respond to price quotes, they don’t pitch features. They perform outstanding discovery interwoven with tremendous telephone relationship-building skills. They can attract a prospect’s interest on the telephone with those relationship-building skills and solid business questions. They are naturally inquisitive. And, most important, they are willing to work closely with sales management while triaging each opportunity.
If you are an individual contributor and your company will not hire a Coach-Finder, go find one for yourself. Pay them from your increased commissions! If you are a sales leader without this role defined, build a business plan for this role and sell it to your management. If you are a sales leader with this role in place, either in-house or outsourced, is it performing to your expectations? If not, try my suggestions. I hope that I can help.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tales of an Interviewer
Sticking with interviewing theme and with over 15 plus years of experience screening and interviewing sales candidates, I can boast a fairly robust resume of stories. You can too, if you’ve been a sales manager for some time. Sales folks can be a tough, and humorous, interview!!
Like there was the time when……
• (From an earlier post)…..I once interviewed a sales admin candidate who spent her career in the construction industry, an industry far from mine at the time. As I probed for the attributes she possessed, I asked, “Why have you spent an entire career in the construction industry?” She quickly and assertively replied, “Because I love men!” The interview ended quickly….
• The resume pronounced 5+ years of “PNL experience”. Where does one find “PNL experience” anyway??
• The candidate enthusiastically expressed that he wanted to get into “outdoor sales”. You mean “outside sales?” No “outdoor sales!” he exclaimed. I guess when you think about it, there is probably no difference…
• The candidate who kept me waiting for 15 minutes while he went to the vending machines to buy an ice cream sandwich and dutifully unwrapped it and slowly ate it during the interview….it was a short interview…..
• The resume listed three references, all of whom turned out to be relatives, posing as executives in local companies……
• The candidate who proudly described a certification earned in 1982, when the certification did not even exist until 1992…...maybe a “senior moment?”
• The candidate who woefully failed the interview and then sent a LinkedIn request to the interviewer as a “thank you”………
• The combative candidate with all sorts of ideas on how to run the business better, like “you really ought to build a better hiring profile to keep your attrition down….”
• And my favorite…..the interview starts with ”I know my resume looks scattered and ridiculous……..but……” We ended up hiring the candidate!
Like there was the time when……
• (From an earlier post)…..I once interviewed a sales admin candidate who spent her career in the construction industry, an industry far from mine at the time. As I probed for the attributes she possessed, I asked, “Why have you spent an entire career in the construction industry?” She quickly and assertively replied, “Because I love men!” The interview ended quickly….
• The resume pronounced 5+ years of “PNL experience”. Where does one find “PNL experience” anyway??
• The candidate enthusiastically expressed that he wanted to get into “outdoor sales”. You mean “outside sales?” No “outdoor sales!” he exclaimed. I guess when you think about it, there is probably no difference…
• The candidate who kept me waiting for 15 minutes while he went to the vending machines to buy an ice cream sandwich and dutifully unwrapped it and slowly ate it during the interview….it was a short interview…..
• The resume listed three references, all of whom turned out to be relatives, posing as executives in local companies……
• The candidate who proudly described a certification earned in 1982, when the certification did not even exist until 1992…...maybe a “senior moment?”
• The candidate who woefully failed the interview and then sent a LinkedIn request to the interviewer as a “thank you”………
• The combative candidate with all sorts of ideas on how to run the business better, like “you really ought to build a better hiring profile to keep your attrition down….”
• And my favorite…..the interview starts with ”I know my resume looks scattered and ridiculous……..but……” We ended up hiring the candidate!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Profile of a Hunter
FOWARD: I am pleased to present insight from Greta Roberts, CEO, Target Teams, Inc. around the profile of a Sales Hunter. Her work is timely for this blog given our most recent posts on recruiting, profiling etc. Greta also presents some strong ideas for managing and retaining the successful Sales Hunter. Thank you Greta. Enjoy!
- Gary Johnson
Tracking the Sales Hunter
By Greta Roberts
CEO
Target Teams, Inc.
Every sales executive dreams of having a stable of hunters – especially during a recession – yet how do you identify, motivate and keep them on board?
When it comes to sales reps, you could say there are two kinds of people – hunters and farmers. Hunters live to uncover and seize new opportunities while farmers are better suited to cultivating an existing client base.
While both are invaluable to a company, when it comes to surviving in lean times, the hunters are being hunted more than ever because of their ability to create new opportunities and see them through to profitability.
As a sales executive, you know you need to cultivate an environment that will enable the hunter to thrive, despite a challenging economic climate that presents fewer leads and has created slower sales cycles.
While experience and instinct has taught you what makes a good sales rep, it’s not always easy to identify the characteristics that differentiate the hunter from the farmer.
Based on extensive research conducted with hundreds of sales professionals, what follows are the top 12 traits of the sales hunter. Along with outlining the pros and cons of each characteristic, you’ll also find helpful tips on how to manage and retain the hunter so that they are working to their full potential for their careers and your bottom line.
1. Hunters like to solve problems on their own and on the fly.
Pro: the autonomous sales rep will close the deal with little handholding.
Con: team collaboration can present a challenge.
Tip: break down the responsibilities of the team to ensure the hunter is still able to own and drive part of the effort.
2. Hunters like to lead whatever projects are on their plates.
Pro: they will successfully lead and execute sales initiatives.
Con: they can present a challenge to the manager who is trying to lead the team.
Tip: provide opportunities for the hunter to independently manage projects and ask them to demonstrate the results in a public forum to the manager and the executive team. This will allow the hunter to gain public recognition without usurping the role of the manager.
3. Hunters want (and need) to be around people because they thrive on the energy of others.
Pro: they naturally gravitate toward meeting new people and initiating cold calls and are comfortable addressing a larger audience at the prospect’s site.
Con: if this hunter works from home or is based in a small regional sales office, they will feel disconnected and are more likely to disengage.
Tip: Find a reason to bring them into corporate headquarters several times a quarter and arrange for meetings and other interactions with colleagues and executive personnel. Also, be sure to regularly check in with them on a personal level as hunters appreciate and come to rely on their 1:1 personal connection with their manager.
4. Hunters like working on a lot of different projects at the same time.
Pro: they can successfully manage more territories and service more clients.
Con: they may interrupt existing processes and defined roles in their pursuit of juggling lots of activities simultaneously.
Tip: provide a wider, well-defined territory so that the hunter can tackle lots of projects without negatively impacting other staff.
5. Hunters like change.
Pro: they’ll easily adapt to change whether it’s ushered in by internal or external forces.
Con: they will get bored with routine.
Tip: include changes in the hunter's role every 12-18 months for renewed enthusiasm.
6. Hunters have a strong sense of urgency.
Pro: they want sales to close quickly. No prodding required from their management team.
Con: their patience is tested when it comes to deals that may require longer sales cycles.
Tip: consider matching the length of the sales cycle with the "sense of urgency" of the rep - i.e. small account sales rep with sales cycle of 2 weeks vs. global account sales rep with a sales cycle of a year and a half.
7. Hunters tend to bend the rules.
Pro: hunters will creatively solve problems (and potentially bend some rules) to creatively progress with prospects --typically leading to an increase in sales.
Con: this trait can frustrate those responsible for enforcing the company’s administrative and business processes.
Tip: provide flexibility in the sales process -- require process requirements if they are absolutely critical.
8. Hunters dislike entering sales forecast data.
Pro: they have an innate ability to hold a great many facts in their head and this helps to support their primary focus on active selling.
Con: lack of accurate rep forecast data can impede management's ability to accurately forecast for the executive team and make critical business decisions.
Tip: require only critical forecast data -- potentially sales operations or administrative support to capture and document rep conversations with regard to sales status and forecasts.
9. Hunters want to be paid -- and paid well -- for their high performance.
Pro: greater profitability for everybody involved.
Con: reps are highly motivated when paid immediately. If not paid well, they will leave and chase compensation elsewhere. A reps loyalty is to results and top compensation.
Tip: work with your finance department and CEO to create easy to understand compensation plans that are tied exclusively to performance.
10. Hunters are naturally politically savvy.
Pro: they are superb at recognizing power players inside of an organization and winning them over in the pursuit of their career as well as closing the deal. They love the game of competition.
Con: they will thrive with visibility with senior leaders within their own company that may not always be available.
Tip: establish mechanisms for the hunter to connect with senior leaders in your organization so that they are recognized publicly and privately for their efforts.
11. Hunters are systematic problem solvers.
Pro: they are curious and ask questions making them the ideal consultative sales person.
Con: they don't like to be told how to do something, even if they or the processes are new because they love the challenge of figuring something out on their own.
Tip: encourage and reward questions from reps - as well as challenges from them when they seem to act as if they know everything.
12. Hunters love to learn and to teach others.
Pro: they are highly useful to colleagues, prospects and clients in breaking down and explaining complex topics and ensuring that the team and client has the information to either succeed in their job and/or make an informed purchasing decision.
Con: they can sometimes come off as a "know it all"
Tip: provide an opportunity for the hunter to share their knowledge with their peers or with other departments (i.e. customer service, product development, marketing, executive team).
Certainly, there are many variables that contribute to sales hunters being successful. Yet, more often than not many of these 12 traits appear consistently in sales teams of all sizes and in all industries.
Businesses spend money, time and effort training, coaching, changing compensation plans, redefining territories, changing sales management -- often without examining the most critical element of sales success -- the sales professionals themselves.
Contact Target Teams to learn more how to quickly conduct a “sales audit” of your sales professionals – are they hunters, are they farmers, or something else. How valuable would it be to know?
Greta Roberts is CEO and founder of Target Teams, a recognized leader in creating solutions to help businesses align their Talent Strategy with Business Strategy.
- Gary Johnson
Tracking the Sales Hunter
By Greta Roberts
CEO
Target Teams, Inc.
Every sales executive dreams of having a stable of hunters – especially during a recession – yet how do you identify, motivate and keep them on board?
When it comes to sales reps, you could say there are two kinds of people – hunters and farmers. Hunters live to uncover and seize new opportunities while farmers are better suited to cultivating an existing client base.
While both are invaluable to a company, when it comes to surviving in lean times, the hunters are being hunted more than ever because of their ability to create new opportunities and see them through to profitability.
As a sales executive, you know you need to cultivate an environment that will enable the hunter to thrive, despite a challenging economic climate that presents fewer leads and has created slower sales cycles.
While experience and instinct has taught you what makes a good sales rep, it’s not always easy to identify the characteristics that differentiate the hunter from the farmer.
Based on extensive research conducted with hundreds of sales professionals, what follows are the top 12 traits of the sales hunter. Along with outlining the pros and cons of each characteristic, you’ll also find helpful tips on how to manage and retain the hunter so that they are working to their full potential for their careers and your bottom line.
1. Hunters like to solve problems on their own and on the fly.
Pro: the autonomous sales rep will close the deal with little handholding.
Con: team collaboration can present a challenge.
Tip: break down the responsibilities of the team to ensure the hunter is still able to own and drive part of the effort.
2. Hunters like to lead whatever projects are on their plates.
Pro: they will successfully lead and execute sales initiatives.
Con: they can present a challenge to the manager who is trying to lead the team.
Tip: provide opportunities for the hunter to independently manage projects and ask them to demonstrate the results in a public forum to the manager and the executive team. This will allow the hunter to gain public recognition without usurping the role of the manager.
3. Hunters want (and need) to be around people because they thrive on the energy of others.
Pro: they naturally gravitate toward meeting new people and initiating cold calls and are comfortable addressing a larger audience at the prospect’s site.
Con: if this hunter works from home or is based in a small regional sales office, they will feel disconnected and are more likely to disengage.
Tip: Find a reason to bring them into corporate headquarters several times a quarter and arrange for meetings and other interactions with colleagues and executive personnel. Also, be sure to regularly check in with them on a personal level as hunters appreciate and come to rely on their 1:1 personal connection with their manager.
4. Hunters like working on a lot of different projects at the same time.
Pro: they can successfully manage more territories and service more clients.
Con: they may interrupt existing processes and defined roles in their pursuit of juggling lots of activities simultaneously.
Tip: provide a wider, well-defined territory so that the hunter can tackle lots of projects without negatively impacting other staff.
5. Hunters like change.
Pro: they’ll easily adapt to change whether it’s ushered in by internal or external forces.
Con: they will get bored with routine.
Tip: include changes in the hunter's role every 12-18 months for renewed enthusiasm.
6. Hunters have a strong sense of urgency.
Pro: they want sales to close quickly. No prodding required from their management team.
Con: their patience is tested when it comes to deals that may require longer sales cycles.
Tip: consider matching the length of the sales cycle with the "sense of urgency" of the rep - i.e. small account sales rep with sales cycle of 2 weeks vs. global account sales rep with a sales cycle of a year and a half.
7. Hunters tend to bend the rules.
Pro: hunters will creatively solve problems (and potentially bend some rules) to creatively progress with prospects --typically leading to an increase in sales.
Con: this trait can frustrate those responsible for enforcing the company’s administrative and business processes.
Tip: provide flexibility in the sales process -- require process requirements if they are absolutely critical.
8. Hunters dislike entering sales forecast data.
Pro: they have an innate ability to hold a great many facts in their head and this helps to support their primary focus on active selling.
Con: lack of accurate rep forecast data can impede management's ability to accurately forecast for the executive team and make critical business decisions.
Tip: require only critical forecast data -- potentially sales operations or administrative support to capture and document rep conversations with regard to sales status and forecasts.
9. Hunters want to be paid -- and paid well -- for their high performance.
Pro: greater profitability for everybody involved.
Con: reps are highly motivated when paid immediately. If not paid well, they will leave and chase compensation elsewhere. A reps loyalty is to results and top compensation.
Tip: work with your finance department and CEO to create easy to understand compensation plans that are tied exclusively to performance.
10. Hunters are naturally politically savvy.
Pro: they are superb at recognizing power players inside of an organization and winning them over in the pursuit of their career as well as closing the deal. They love the game of competition.
Con: they will thrive with visibility with senior leaders within their own company that may not always be available.
Tip: establish mechanisms for the hunter to connect with senior leaders in your organization so that they are recognized publicly and privately for their efforts.
11. Hunters are systematic problem solvers.
Pro: they are curious and ask questions making them the ideal consultative sales person.
Con: they don't like to be told how to do something, even if they or the processes are new because they love the challenge of figuring something out on their own.
Tip: encourage and reward questions from reps - as well as challenges from them when they seem to act as if they know everything.
12. Hunters love to learn and to teach others.
Pro: they are highly useful to colleagues, prospects and clients in breaking down and explaining complex topics and ensuring that the team and client has the information to either succeed in their job and/or make an informed purchasing decision.
Con: they can sometimes come off as a "know it all"
Tip: provide an opportunity for the hunter to share their knowledge with their peers or with other departments (i.e. customer service, product development, marketing, executive team).
Certainly, there are many variables that contribute to sales hunters being successful. Yet, more often than not many of these 12 traits appear consistently in sales teams of all sizes and in all industries.
Businesses spend money, time and effort training, coaching, changing compensation plans, redefining territories, changing sales management -- often without examining the most critical element of sales success -- the sales professionals themselves.
Contact Target Teams to learn more how to quickly conduct a “sales audit” of your sales professionals – are they hunters, are they farmers, or something else. How valuable would it be to know?
Greta Roberts is CEO and founder of Target Teams, a recognized leader in creating solutions to help businesses align their Talent Strategy with Business Strategy.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Why Use a Hiring Profile?
Do you even have a hiring profile? What is a hiring profile? Why is it important? So you might be reading this saying to yourself, “Time to find another blog – I simply make my hiring decision on whether I would buy from him/her after the interview…….” But WAIT – don’t change that blog! If that’s you talking, stop and remember that sales people are good at selling themselves during the interview. They better be! If this is your only criteria, the candidate will win the job every time, and you will or you do have a revolving door of entering and departing sales people.
A hiring profile is critical to your revenue generation efforts because, if properly deployed, it will increase the chances of a strong hire ten-fold. Not only will you be more likely to make a strong hire, you’ll find:
• Faster ramp times for your new hires
• More productive discussion amongst the team interviewing the candidate – individual evaluation is no longer gut instinct, it is based on common evaluation criteria
• Less attrition and less of the painful costs that go with attrition
• More time in your day to focus on areas other than recruiting
A hiring profile is a list of competencies required for success in your open sales role. Competency can be defined as a skill, knowledge area or attribute that belongs to the successful sales pro in your organization. In the profession of sales, one skill might be “negotiation skill”. A knowledge area for a sales pro might be “product knowledge”. An attribute of a successful sales pro on your team might be “creativity”.
The difference is in the objective vs. subjective evaluation of that competency. Consider that skill and knowledge are fairly objective criteria. The candidate either has the required skill/knowledge or they don’t, and it is fairly easy to evaluate in a candidate through behavioral interviewing, experience, role playing etc during the interview process. Attribute, however, is much more subjective. The attribute indicates the candidate’s motivation to apply that skill or knowledge. It is often difficult to evaluate during the interview process, but it is critical to do so.
I like to determine five objective competencies, and five subjective competencies for my successful sales pro. I determine these competencies from my already-successful performers, AND their customers. I provide a ranking scale of 1 to 7 next to each competency. I list the objective competencies on one page, the associated ranking scale and room for comments, and I do the same on page 2 for the subjective competencies. Then I give the tool to each interviewer in our interviewing process, and I cross my fingers!
Herein lays the biggest challenge of a hiring profile – compliance amongst your team with the tool during the interview process. Many won’t use it at all. Most will use it, but put little thought into it. Team members may not use it to guide their questions and/or they’ll provide little to no feedback on the tool. In smaller organizations, I’ll typically hear this, “s/he was pretty good, you’re the sales guy, it’s your decision.” Ugh!!
If that is you during the hiring process, sell your boss on the potential impact of the hiring profile and watch compliance improve markedly! Above all else, at least build the tool and use it for yourself. You’ll be much more comfortable with your decision when the interviewing team says, “it’s your call!”
HUMOR: I once interviewed a sales admin candidate who spent her career in the construction industry, an industry far from mine at the time. But her experience and interview answers led me to believe she had many strong skill and knowledge areas for our position. As I probed for the attributes she possessed, I asked, “Why have you spent an entire career in the construction industry?” She quickly and assertively replied, “Because I love men!” The interview ended quickly!
A hiring profile is critical to your revenue generation efforts because, if properly deployed, it will increase the chances of a strong hire ten-fold. Not only will you be more likely to make a strong hire, you’ll find:
• Faster ramp times for your new hires
• More productive discussion amongst the team interviewing the candidate – individual evaluation is no longer gut instinct, it is based on common evaluation criteria
• Less attrition and less of the painful costs that go with attrition
• More time in your day to focus on areas other than recruiting
A hiring profile is a list of competencies required for success in your open sales role. Competency can be defined as a skill, knowledge area or attribute that belongs to the successful sales pro in your organization. In the profession of sales, one skill might be “negotiation skill”. A knowledge area for a sales pro might be “product knowledge”. An attribute of a successful sales pro on your team might be “creativity”.
The difference is in the objective vs. subjective evaluation of that competency. Consider that skill and knowledge are fairly objective criteria. The candidate either has the required skill/knowledge or they don’t, and it is fairly easy to evaluate in a candidate through behavioral interviewing, experience, role playing etc during the interview process. Attribute, however, is much more subjective. The attribute indicates the candidate’s motivation to apply that skill or knowledge. It is often difficult to evaluate during the interview process, but it is critical to do so.
I like to determine five objective competencies, and five subjective competencies for my successful sales pro. I determine these competencies from my already-successful performers, AND their customers. I provide a ranking scale of 1 to 7 next to each competency. I list the objective competencies on one page, the associated ranking scale and room for comments, and I do the same on page 2 for the subjective competencies. Then I give the tool to each interviewer in our interviewing process, and I cross my fingers!
Herein lays the biggest challenge of a hiring profile – compliance amongst your team with the tool during the interview process. Many won’t use it at all. Most will use it, but put little thought into it. Team members may not use it to guide their questions and/or they’ll provide little to no feedback on the tool. In smaller organizations, I’ll typically hear this, “s/he was pretty good, you’re the sales guy, it’s your decision.” Ugh!!
If that is you during the hiring process, sell your boss on the potential impact of the hiring profile and watch compliance improve markedly! Above all else, at least build the tool and use it for yourself. You’ll be much more comfortable with your decision when the interviewing team says, “it’s your call!”
HUMOR: I once interviewed a sales admin candidate who spent her career in the construction industry, an industry far from mine at the time. But her experience and interview answers led me to believe she had many strong skill and knowledge areas for our position. As I probed for the attributes she possessed, I asked, “Why have you spent an entire career in the construction industry?” She quickly and assertively replied, “Because I love men!” The interview ended quickly!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Do You Insist on "The Rolodex" When You Hire?
We talk more on recruiting and hiring. Would you hire “the rolodex” and only “the rolodex”? So many job requirements stipulate a strong need for a rolodex of industry contacts. It makes perfect sense. The sales hiring manager wants someone who knows the industry, knows the players and with those contacts, can move some business in the direction of the hiring company. This last motive, i.e. hire someone who can move business to the hiring company, is a questionable motive from this perspective.
I have managed sales in two different industries and three different market segments. In this limited experience, I have never seen a “rolodex hire” worth a pot to “you know what” in. I am sure that in some niche businesses where there may be few competitors, where change of vendors is easier, and where the customer-supplier relationship is built on relationship and relationship alone, the rolodex counts for much. But that description does not apply to most B2B selling organizations.
I have seen many a hiring candidate and employee use the rolodex as a front to mask otherwise huge gaps in their experience and/or success. Despite supposed great relationships with key decision-makers in their space, the newly-hired cannot convert the prospect to your company’s offerings. Why? Here are a few reasons:
- Despite a strong relationship, change for the customer is hard
- Often, the sales pro views the relationship stronger than the buyer
- There exist other decision-makers who have significant influence on any change/buy decision
- People move on from job to job – that rolodex gets stale very quickly
My opinion is that if the hiring requirements rest heavily on a rolodex, you as the hiring manager will be fooled and led into a bad hire. I want someone who can show evidence of having built a strong rolodex and converted it to revenue. That’s your best hire!
I have managed sales in two different industries and three different market segments. In this limited experience, I have never seen a “rolodex hire” worth a pot to “you know what” in. I am sure that in some niche businesses where there may be few competitors, where change of vendors is easier, and where the customer-supplier relationship is built on relationship and relationship alone, the rolodex counts for much. But that description does not apply to most B2B selling organizations.
I have seen many a hiring candidate and employee use the rolodex as a front to mask otherwise huge gaps in their experience and/or success. Despite supposed great relationships with key decision-makers in their space, the newly-hired cannot convert the prospect to your company’s offerings. Why? Here are a few reasons:
- Despite a strong relationship, change for the customer is hard
- Often, the sales pro views the relationship stronger than the buyer
- There exist other decision-makers who have significant influence on any change/buy decision
- People move on from job to job – that rolodex gets stale very quickly
My opinion is that if the hiring requirements rest heavily on a rolodex, you as the hiring manager will be fooled and led into a bad hire. I want someone who can show evidence of having built a strong rolodex and converted it to revenue. That’s your best hire!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Would You Hire the New College Grad?
Let’s devote the next several posts to recruiting and hiring top-notch sales pro’s. Here is a question near and dear to my heart: “As a sales leader, would you hire from the new-college-graduate ranks for your B2B sales role?”
The answer to this question really depends on a variety of factors. But I would argue, never dismiss this potential pool of candidates for any B2B sales role you are looking to fill. We all want 3-10+ years of experience of sales experience selling a similar product into similar industries, market segments etc. But I would ask, do you want 5 years of experience selling your same product to the same industry, when the experience and success has been mediocre to poor, even though during your hiring process they convinced you it was stellar, or do you want a potential pure sales pro, who will learn your sales process, product and industry quickly and go on to become a superstar? I know what my answer will be!
The BEST sales person I ever hired came directly out of college. He has now gone onto several much larger sales management roles in a very large company selling and managing to very large accounts, with much success. At the time, I was managing a B2B effort in the SMB space for a large company. Our stringent requirements were 3+ years of sales success in the B2B space, but management was open-minded and encouraged all sorts of recruiting channels. I went after the colleges, and naturally, departing military officers!
When I found “Bob”, he was graduating after having sold condo’s for two years during his summers. He absolutely loved it. I know of another college grad who found his way directly into a successful sales career after having sold cemetery plots in college! “Bob” was smart, well-educated and hungry for a career in sales. He was after money and recognition. I brought him into our company hiring process and he quickly impressed.
“Bob” quickly impressed me out in the field, too. Extremely hard worker. Incredible ethics. Learned quickly. Despite his youthfulness, his energy, enthusiasm, persistence and newly-found sales skills were used to overcome almost all of his competitors. When other sales pro’s in his group, years older and more “experienced”, were having poor months, “Bob” was always there to deliver. Time and time again.
So I learned a lesson – don’t dismiss the new-grad hiring pool. While doing so, keep in mind the following:
• Very few of us went through college aspiring to be a sales pro. When you find one, get him/her into your recruiting process!
• Be sure that your hiring process is exhaustive and demanding. My interviews for sales positions out of the military often included large-scale role plays and panel interviews.
• Look for schools and a transcript that has taught business acumen. The GPA does not matter. The best sales pro I know, who I didn’t hire, left school with a 2.5 GPA, but his school is known for teaching incredible business acumen. He just like to party a little, not a bad thing for a sales pro!
• If s/he is hired, be prepared to devote significant coaching time to this new-hire.
You may read this and suggest, “This is fine in the SMB sector, but I’ve got large accounts.” Or, “Our sales process is too sophisticated.” In these B2B segments, we’ll often employ team-based selling. Give her/him a very junior role. S/he may lift the team to new heights!
What is better? Five years of mediocre experience selling your same product into the same industry or bringing on a potentially pure sales pro who will know nothing but success for themselves and you? Everyone of us started some where, for someone who decided to take a chance!
The answer to this question really depends on a variety of factors. But I would argue, never dismiss this potential pool of candidates for any B2B sales role you are looking to fill. We all want 3-10+ years of experience of sales experience selling a similar product into similar industries, market segments etc. But I would ask, do you want 5 years of experience selling your same product to the same industry, when the experience and success has been mediocre to poor, even though during your hiring process they convinced you it was stellar, or do you want a potential pure sales pro, who will learn your sales process, product and industry quickly and go on to become a superstar? I know what my answer will be!
The BEST sales person I ever hired came directly out of college. He has now gone onto several much larger sales management roles in a very large company selling and managing to very large accounts, with much success. At the time, I was managing a B2B effort in the SMB space for a large company. Our stringent requirements were 3+ years of sales success in the B2B space, but management was open-minded and encouraged all sorts of recruiting channels. I went after the colleges, and naturally, departing military officers!
When I found “Bob”, he was graduating after having sold condo’s for two years during his summers. He absolutely loved it. I know of another college grad who found his way directly into a successful sales career after having sold cemetery plots in college! “Bob” was smart, well-educated and hungry for a career in sales. He was after money and recognition. I brought him into our company hiring process and he quickly impressed.
“Bob” quickly impressed me out in the field, too. Extremely hard worker. Incredible ethics. Learned quickly. Despite his youthfulness, his energy, enthusiasm, persistence and newly-found sales skills were used to overcome almost all of his competitors. When other sales pro’s in his group, years older and more “experienced”, were having poor months, “Bob” was always there to deliver. Time and time again.
So I learned a lesson – don’t dismiss the new-grad hiring pool. While doing so, keep in mind the following:
• Very few of us went through college aspiring to be a sales pro. When you find one, get him/her into your recruiting process!
• Be sure that your hiring process is exhaustive and demanding. My interviews for sales positions out of the military often included large-scale role plays and panel interviews.
• Look for schools and a transcript that has taught business acumen. The GPA does not matter. The best sales pro I know, who I didn’t hire, left school with a 2.5 GPA, but his school is known for teaching incredible business acumen. He just like to party a little, not a bad thing for a sales pro!
• If s/he is hired, be prepared to devote significant coaching time to this new-hire.
You may read this and suggest, “This is fine in the SMB sector, but I’ve got large accounts.” Or, “Our sales process is too sophisticated.” In these B2B segments, we’ll often employ team-based selling. Give her/him a very junior role. S/he may lift the team to new heights!
What is better? Five years of mediocre experience selling your same product into the same industry or bringing on a potentially pure sales pro who will know nothing but success for themselves and you? Everyone of us started some where, for someone who decided to take a chance!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Probing Techniques - It's How You Ask It!
This post wraps up our discussion in the area of discovery, namely that this all-important stage of the sales process brings together the need for several sales skills:
• Product knowledge
• Listening skills
• Business acumen
• Competitor knowledge
• Probing techniques
With well-honed skills in these areas, you’ll minimize your sales cycle, greatly improve your chances of winning and truly satisfy your new client. Today, we close with probing techniques.
When you ask a prospect a question, how should it be phrased? The science to this practice suggests the idea of open vs. closed probes. An open probe:
• Encourages the prospect to talk at length
• Starts with “Tell me about….”, “How does….”, “Why do….”
• Gives the best chance of finding a need
• Should be controlled
Open probes sit in contrast to closed probes. Closed probes, typically used later in the sales process:
• Encourages a yes or no answer from the client
• Ends with, “Doesn’t it? “Shouldn’t it?”, “Isn’t it?”
• Sets your proposed solution up for a close
Open probes are your best bet during discovery. Get the prospect to elaborate, to talk. At this stage of the sales process, “you talk, you lose.” A tip I’ve offered my sales pro’s at this stage has been, “If you need to take a swig of bottled water to sooth your throat during or after discovery, you talked too much!”
If your prospect is talking, you are more apt to find hidden challenges that you can solve with your product or service. If you’re talking, you’re feature-dumping. But, be careful. Sometimes people can talk and talk and talk! I’ve left many a discovery meeting, only to look at the watch and proclaim, “we just spent two hours in there and did nothing to advance this opportunity.” Guide your prospect politely, if they are taking you off course. And remember, for many astute buyers, it’s a deliberate tactic to talk and talk!!
What about the art of probing? It’s all in how you ask it, isn’t it? Absolutely it is! An example I hear of time and time again, is the sales pro-wannabe who suggests, “I can’t ask about the competition, if I bring it up, they’ll be more likely to look!” Well guess what, they’re already looking! And there are ways to “bring it up” without getting the typical “I can’t say” response or offending the prospect. Try these:
• “As you survey the alternative offerings out there, what do you like best? What don’t you like?”
• If you’ve purchased a product/service like mine before, what sorts of attributes of that product or service were important to you?”
• “If you were the CEO, today, where might you rank my product/service and why?”
Finally, think carefully about word choices. Certain words can create an offended and/or disinterested prospect. Here are some examples:
• Instead of “pain”, try “opportunities”
• Instead of “other decision-makers”, try “other stakeholders”
• Instead of “difficult”, try “challenging”
• Instead of “you’re right”, try “I understand”
HUMOR: I once saw a thank-you letter back to a prospect, after a discovery meeting thanking the prospect for the meeting and agreed with the prospect on every objection brought about by the prospect. Then, the author launched into a description of the wonderful attributes of his product. Obviously, this was an attempt by the sales pro-wannabe to be “agreeable and appreciative” to the prospect. Right intent, but wrong method. Ugh. Be very careful where you use the word “agree” and “you’re right”. Go back to an earlier post that touts the value of empathy over agreement!!
• Product knowledge
• Listening skills
• Business acumen
• Competitor knowledge
• Probing techniques
With well-honed skills in these areas, you’ll minimize your sales cycle, greatly improve your chances of winning and truly satisfy your new client. Today, we close with probing techniques.
When you ask a prospect a question, how should it be phrased? The science to this practice suggests the idea of open vs. closed probes. An open probe:
• Encourages the prospect to talk at length
• Starts with “Tell me about….”, “How does….”, “Why do….”
• Gives the best chance of finding a need
• Should be controlled
Open probes sit in contrast to closed probes. Closed probes, typically used later in the sales process:
• Encourages a yes or no answer from the client
• Ends with, “Doesn’t it? “Shouldn’t it?”, “Isn’t it?”
• Sets your proposed solution up for a close
Open probes are your best bet during discovery. Get the prospect to elaborate, to talk. At this stage of the sales process, “you talk, you lose.” A tip I’ve offered my sales pro’s at this stage has been, “If you need to take a swig of bottled water to sooth your throat during or after discovery, you talked too much!”
If your prospect is talking, you are more apt to find hidden challenges that you can solve with your product or service. If you’re talking, you’re feature-dumping. But, be careful. Sometimes people can talk and talk and talk! I’ve left many a discovery meeting, only to look at the watch and proclaim, “we just spent two hours in there and did nothing to advance this opportunity.” Guide your prospect politely, if they are taking you off course. And remember, for many astute buyers, it’s a deliberate tactic to talk and talk!!
What about the art of probing? It’s all in how you ask it, isn’t it? Absolutely it is! An example I hear of time and time again, is the sales pro-wannabe who suggests, “I can’t ask about the competition, if I bring it up, they’ll be more likely to look!” Well guess what, they’re already looking! And there are ways to “bring it up” without getting the typical “I can’t say” response or offending the prospect. Try these:
• “As you survey the alternative offerings out there, what do you like best? What don’t you like?”
• If you’ve purchased a product/service like mine before, what sorts of attributes of that product or service were important to you?”
• “If you were the CEO, today, where might you rank my product/service and why?”
Finally, think carefully about word choices. Certain words can create an offended and/or disinterested prospect. Here are some examples:
• Instead of “pain”, try “opportunities”
• Instead of “other decision-makers”, try “other stakeholders”
• Instead of “difficult”, try “challenging”
• Instead of “you’re right”, try “I understand”
HUMOR: I once saw a thank-you letter back to a prospect, after a discovery meeting thanking the prospect for the meeting and agreed with the prospect on every objection brought about by the prospect. Then, the author launched into a description of the wonderful attributes of his product. Obviously, this was an attempt by the sales pro-wannabe to be “agreeable and appreciative” to the prospect. Right intent, but wrong method. Ugh. Be very careful where you use the word “agree” and “you’re right”. Go back to an earlier post that touts the value of empathy over agreement!!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Know Your Competition!
Good sales professionals know their competition, and they know the competitive landscape on every opportunity. Whenever I hear in a pipeline review that “they’re not looking at anyone else” I get very nervous! This opportunity will not make it into my forecast. The prospect is always evaluating your competition at this stage – NEVER believe anything else. This is America where capitalism reigns. Capitalism means choice. Your prospect is exercising choice, trust me!! It’s critical in every discovery call to begin to survey the competitive landscape and to begin to “lay traps” for your competitors at the table. This objective implies that you must know your competitors cold.
Before we start asking questions of the prospect about potential competitors, let’s refer to the “Competitor Matrix” embedded in this post. This is a great tool that allows you to assemble your competitor knowledge into one concise area and forms the basis of questions and traps you might put forth on your discovery call. Construct one of these for each competitor in your space.
List your company’s strengths and weaknesses across one axis. List “the bad guy’s” strengths and weaknesses along the other axis. You’ll want to do everything you can during the sales process to stay in the “Sweet Spot” quadrant and avoid those “Danger” quadrants. Don’t waste your time in the “Me Too” quadrant. If you can create or exploit a need of the prospect in the “Sweet Spot” quadrant, you’ll begin to pull away from your competitors.
How do you learn your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses? This can depend on how well your company supports you here and/or the help of your fellow sales pro’s. Of course, the internet is a potential source. But your best source is your prospect and client base. Ask them. Many times, of course, the prospect will put their arms up and say they are not able to provide competitor information. Don’t stop there. Ask questions like, “What else are you seeing in the marketplace…what do you like best about a particular vendor(s)…..what do you like least about a particular vendor(s)?” etc. You’ll learn quickly with experience that your competitors are at the table.
Now that you’ve completed your Competitor Matrix with knowledge of your competitor(s), here is an example on how we might exploit the “Sweet Spot” to gain an edge. Go back to an earlier post on “Product Knowledge” and discussion around “features, needs and benefits”. Then, look to the “Sweet Spot” where you’ll see a list of features about your company’s offering that the competitor cannot match. Formulate a question that would highlight a need for that feature and describe the benefit.
Let’s say you sell consulting services and unlike most other competitors, you can deliver on a fixed cost or time and materials basis. Your contractual and billing options are flexible. It’s your “Sweet Spot”. Your competitor(s) you have learned, are tied to a fixed cost model. You might ask questions during discovery such as these: “We appreciate the comfort you see around a fixed bid. Your costs are contained. But are you comfortable with the vendor’s assumptions behind the bid and their ability to deliver to those assumptions? If you could move between fixed bid and time and materials throughout the lifespan of the project to best ensure the minimum outlay from your company, would you see a benefit?” This is a classic example of “laying a trap” for your competitor.
Know your competitors and know them cold. Do you know the name and selling style of the competitor rep in your area?? A quick word on your competitor – never bash them. We have all been taught this, but it creeps up again and again in many sales calls. Once you start to bash, you are done. Lay those traps instead….build those Competitor Matrices and aim for the Sweet Spot in your discovery!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Business Acumen
B2B sales pro's need to understand how a business operates. They need business acumen. Sounds obvious doesn't it? Some of us miss this point. The better you understand the inner workings of a business, the better and more credible your probing questions become during the discovery phase. Your questions will be better targeted and you'll more likely uncover hidden pain and/or the reasons for that pain.
There are two aspects of a business that should be understood, accounting statements such as the Balance Sheet and Income Statement, and the Cash Flow Cycle. Today, let's address the cash flow cycle. I like an appreciation for the cash flow cycle because it helps us to sell to all job functions and titles within the company. Information and questions from an Income Statement, for example, will not often be understood by your relationships within the prospect company.
Bear with me through what may appear to be extremely obvious. A business is in business to make money or profit. Profit equals revenue minus expense. To the extent that the CXO can control expenses while driving revenues AND collecting on those revenues, s/he is making profit. Every employee, every job function and title has an impact on the cash flow cycle. That's why I like it so much - you can find opportunities and people to talk to all around the cash flow cycle!
Please direct your attention to the cash flow diagram in the upper right. It suggests a certain direction, certain objectives, i.e. sell and deliver, and typical job functions responsible for those objectives. It all starts at the top doesn’t it? The CXO suite oversees the raising and return of equity into the business so that first, infrastructure needs may be met. Let’s say your prospect is selling widgets. Your prospect has to build an assembly line to manufacture those widgets, hire people through HR to staff the line, invest in IT infrastructure to help manage the business etc. etc. These functions and activities are heavily expense-oriented. Continue moving clockwise around the circle. Now that the widget has been produced, it must be sold and delivered. The widget now begins to represent revenue rather than expense. Once the widget has been delivered, the organization must now collect on that revenue, as effectively and quickly as possible.
Notice that the CXO suite oversees all aspects of the cash flow cycle and will appreciate and understand every aspect of it. It makes the CXO suite a great place to be positioned! But often it is harder done than said. So let’s assume you are positioned with a team of IT managers. They are positioned squarely in the expense side of the cycle. Guess what their overwhelming concern will be? “How will your product or service reduce my costs?” They won’t react to an interest gaining statement that might suggest, “my product will increase your revenue stream by x%” nor will they normally have any answers to questions around revenue generation challenges or issues. Moreover, those types of questions will make them feel uninformed. This is not a good way to start a relationship!
Instead, deliver questions that address cost concerns surrounding their IT infrastructure. If your product or service is considered too expensive for them, look for ways that your product or service might drive cost out of other aspects of their IT operation. Your job as a sales pro is to make the price point of your product or service a side-point to the overall cost-benefit it can provide.
Let’s say that you sell a software application that helps to improve the DSO’s (days sales outstanding) of the prospect’s receivables. Finance, your logical point of first-entry, initially pushes you off to IT. Any reference related back to IT about the improvement of this prospect’s DSO challenge, if they have one, will not necessarily be appreciated. They’ll want to know, “Does it interface with my other applications…..how will it be installed….who will manage it?” etc. Most of all, they’ll want to know, “how much does it cost?” So in your discovery phase, try to get a sense of where the budget might exist (functionally) for this type of expense. Would your product be replacing something else? What is IT doing to support AR efforts currently? Where might there be other cost concerns within IT? You get the point.
Keep your business acumen sharp at all times. Learn not only from the web, existing courses and publications but also from your trusted associations with existing clients. Ask them what their day is like, who and what are they trying to satisfy and why. During discovery with a prospect, keep your questions pertinent to the position your contact occupies around the cash flow cycle. In the end, you will have performed extremely well in discovery, and your sales cycle will be much shortened with a positive outcome!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Listening Skills - The Lost Art!
In the view of this author, listening skills are the most important skills a sales professional can possess. Without them, you’ll throw chili against the wall hoping that something will stick with the prospect. Hoping is not a good sales strategy. With good listening skills, you'll understand the prospect's needs better of course, but most important, you will breathe enthusiasm and energy into the relationship between you and the prospect.
An over-used phrase in our profession, albeit true, is that "people buy from people they like." I think it's better to say, "People buy from people who listen." Think about it. Why is your best friend your best friend? I'll bet because s/he is a great listener for you.
But listening is a hard skill to command. Much of what I'll offer in these remaining paragraphs comes from Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and his chapter “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.” This chapter is mandatory reading for every aspiring sales professional in my opinion. It will truly teach you how to listen better.
Think about the four forms of communication: reading, writing, speaking and listening. How many years of schooling did you get in reading, writing and speaking? Maybe more than you wanted! How much schooling did you receive in listening? This seems to be a skill that our educators expect us to learn on our own, if at all. Or perhaps it has never been valued as a required skill – much to the demise of the sales pro that must depend on this skill at every interaction with a client. Why? Your prospect really needs to be understood first and foremost. Then, and only then, will they truly start to listen to you. The oldest job interview tactic in the world is to get the interviewer to talk more about themselves and their company than to pull words from you. People love to talk about themselves, their issues and their challenges. Use this same approach in your sales encounters.
It is one of our greatest psychological needs, to be understood. We don’t often need agreement and support for our thoughts and ideas, we only need empathy. Don’t confuse empathy with sympathy. Dictionary.com defines empathy as: “the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” Simply put, you’re able to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Rather than respond with empathy in a discussion, us human beings tend to listen with the intent of responding. Just like a tennis match, we’re thinking about our next shot while the opposing player is executing his/her’s.
If we’re thinking about our next response to a prospect while s/he is speaking, how can we possibly be listening? Instead, show empathy by taking what you hear from the prospect and paraphrasing it back to the prospect. Show it in your body language that you care. Be genuine. Don’t worry about your response should be. If you empathize well, you won’t need much of a response. Rather, you’ll see the relationship between you and your prospect grow with energy and enthusiasm. Inevitably, s/he will buy from you because they like you!
TIP: I test for listening skills in the interview process with one very simple question: “How much money do you NEED to make?” Seventy five percent of the candidates come back with something like, “We’ll I’d really like to make $X”. Wrong answer! I did not ask how much you wanted to make, I asked how much you need to make. That’s a big difference! I also like to ask this question because in many sales positions, a ramp up period is before the new hire and s/he may have to live only on a base salary for a period of time.
An over-used phrase in our profession, albeit true, is that "people buy from people they like." I think it's better to say, "People buy from people who listen." Think about it. Why is your best friend your best friend? I'll bet because s/he is a great listener for you.
But listening is a hard skill to command. Much of what I'll offer in these remaining paragraphs comes from Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and his chapter “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.” This chapter is mandatory reading for every aspiring sales professional in my opinion. It will truly teach you how to listen better.
Think about the four forms of communication: reading, writing, speaking and listening. How many years of schooling did you get in reading, writing and speaking? Maybe more than you wanted! How much schooling did you receive in listening? This seems to be a skill that our educators expect us to learn on our own, if at all. Or perhaps it has never been valued as a required skill – much to the demise of the sales pro that must depend on this skill at every interaction with a client. Why? Your prospect really needs to be understood first and foremost. Then, and only then, will they truly start to listen to you. The oldest job interview tactic in the world is to get the interviewer to talk more about themselves and their company than to pull words from you. People love to talk about themselves, their issues and their challenges. Use this same approach in your sales encounters.
It is one of our greatest psychological needs, to be understood. We don’t often need agreement and support for our thoughts and ideas, we only need empathy. Don’t confuse empathy with sympathy. Dictionary.com defines empathy as: “the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” Simply put, you’re able to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Rather than respond with empathy in a discussion, us human beings tend to listen with the intent of responding. Just like a tennis match, we’re thinking about our next shot while the opposing player is executing his/her’s.
If we’re thinking about our next response to a prospect while s/he is speaking, how can we possibly be listening? Instead, show empathy by taking what you hear from the prospect and paraphrasing it back to the prospect. Show it in your body language that you care. Be genuine. Don’t worry about your response should be. If you empathize well, you won’t need much of a response. Rather, you’ll see the relationship between you and your prospect grow with energy and enthusiasm. Inevitably, s/he will buy from you because they like you!
TIP: I test for listening skills in the interview process with one very simple question: “How much money do you NEED to make?” Seventy five percent of the candidates come back with something like, “We’ll I’d really like to make $X”. Wrong answer! I did not ask how much you wanted to make, I asked how much you need to make. That’s a big difference! I also like to ask this question because in many sales positions, a ramp up period is before the new hire and s/he may have to live only on a base salary for a period of time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Discovery - The Art and Science of Probing
For me, there is a magic moment in the sale process when we've reached the discovery phase, the point at which we gather the prospect’s requirements. I call this the "50% Stage” on the forecasting continuum or sales ladder. If this is done well, you’ll have a much easier time of climbing the rest of the ladder. Your sales process will shorten. You’ll improve your win-rate. You’ll also notice better margin in your sale!
Critical sales skills come together at this all-important stage of the sales process. They are as follows:
• Product knowledge
• Listening skills
• Business acumen
• Competitor knowledge
• Probing techniques
Let’s address one each day this week. We’ll start today with product knowledge.
Obviously, any good sales person knows their product or service. In fact, we spend so much time training in this area, it often results in a non-professional sales person performing a “show up and throw up” at this critical meeting(s) of discovery. When I say “product knowledge”, I am really referring to a true understanding of features, needs and benefits and an ability to distinguish between them. You may know your product cold but nobody likes a feature dump!
“Feature” might be defined as an attribute of your product or service.
“Need” can be defined as your prospect’s want or desire for a solution to their challenge.
“Benefit” is the product of matching your products feature(s) to your prospects need(s). People buy benefits, not features!!
The science of discovery suggests that you are asking questions that might draw a need for your product feature(s). If your questions draw a need, great, you’re moving forward. If not, find another prospect, or keep reading this blog! Every successful sales pro I have ever met can ask thoughtful questions into the night. They are naturally curious, careful to ask only the right questions, know their product and pitch the benefit, not the feature.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you sell bottled water to the cafeteria manager. One feature of your bottled water is that it comes in easily-dispensed fruit flavors. That’s a feature. Some potential benefits might be that it’s a healthier choice over the office coffee machine and it’s less costly to deliver than the same cup of coffee. But these are only benefits if the prospect has expressed a need to reduce their coffee costs and/or provide healthy choices for their employees. You’ll draw that need out if you ask questions such as: (this will be obvious, but it is amazing how many sales-pro-wannabe’s can’t make the connection)
“Do you look for healthy choices for your employees in the cafeteria?”
“Is your coffee machine expense rising amidst a need to reduce costs?’
You get the picture. If there is a “yes” to any one of these questions, your response might be, “Through the adoption of our fruit-flavored H2O dispenser, organizations like yours have improved employee morale and reduced cafeteria refreshment charges by 25%.” THAT’s a benefit!
HUMOR: I love the sales management role. You are always the second set of eyes invited to an appointment. And when your sales pro runs out of questions to ask, s/he invariably turns and twists their head at you, with wide open eyes, and a look of peril looking for that life-saver! If you’ve seen the movie Avatar, those wide-open eyes on each character brought me back to many sales calls! When a sales pro gets on a roll, I let them go. But we have an agreement: Need help? Tug on the ear. I’ll pitch in!
CHALLENGE: If you run out of questions to ask from time to time, or you are new to your firm, build yourself this great tool. First, in column A, list your product’s features. Second, in column B next to each feature, list the potential benefits of each feature. Third, in column C, write down the question you might ask to develop interest in that benefit. You’ll have hundreds of questions to ask your prospect on the discovery call to draw out their pain!
Critical sales skills come together at this all-important stage of the sales process. They are as follows:
• Product knowledge
• Listening skills
• Business acumen
• Competitor knowledge
• Probing techniques
Let’s address one each day this week. We’ll start today with product knowledge.
Obviously, any good sales person knows their product or service. In fact, we spend so much time training in this area, it often results in a non-professional sales person performing a “show up and throw up” at this critical meeting(s) of discovery. When I say “product knowledge”, I am really referring to a true understanding of features, needs and benefits and an ability to distinguish between them. You may know your product cold but nobody likes a feature dump!
“Feature” might be defined as an attribute of your product or service.
“Need” can be defined as your prospect’s want or desire for a solution to their challenge.
“Benefit” is the product of matching your products feature(s) to your prospects need(s). People buy benefits, not features!!
The science of discovery suggests that you are asking questions that might draw a need for your product feature(s). If your questions draw a need, great, you’re moving forward. If not, find another prospect, or keep reading this blog! Every successful sales pro I have ever met can ask thoughtful questions into the night. They are naturally curious, careful to ask only the right questions, know their product and pitch the benefit, not the feature.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you sell bottled water to the cafeteria manager. One feature of your bottled water is that it comes in easily-dispensed fruit flavors. That’s a feature. Some potential benefits might be that it’s a healthier choice over the office coffee machine and it’s less costly to deliver than the same cup of coffee. But these are only benefits if the prospect has expressed a need to reduce their coffee costs and/or provide healthy choices for their employees. You’ll draw that need out if you ask questions such as: (this will be obvious, but it is amazing how many sales-pro-wannabe’s can’t make the connection)
“Do you look for healthy choices for your employees in the cafeteria?”
“Is your coffee machine expense rising amidst a need to reduce costs?’
You get the picture. If there is a “yes” to any one of these questions, your response might be, “Through the adoption of our fruit-flavored H2O dispenser, organizations like yours have improved employee morale and reduced cafeteria refreshment charges by 25%.” THAT’s a benefit!
HUMOR: I love the sales management role. You are always the second set of eyes invited to an appointment. And when your sales pro runs out of questions to ask, s/he invariably turns and twists their head at you, with wide open eyes, and a look of peril looking for that life-saver! If you’ve seen the movie Avatar, those wide-open eyes on each character brought me back to many sales calls! When a sales pro gets on a roll, I let them go. But we have an agreement: Need help? Tug on the ear. I’ll pitch in!
CHALLENGE: If you run out of questions to ask from time to time, or you are new to your firm, build yourself this great tool. First, in column A, list your product’s features. Second, in column B next to each feature, list the potential benefits of each feature. Third, in column C, write down the question you might ask to develop interest in that benefit. You’ll have hundreds of questions to ask your prospect on the discovery call to draw out their pain!
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