The Best Help for Your Sales Team
As I speak with business owners across the US, one of the things I have found most useful to teach is the Sales Journal. Not a device for measuring sales metrics, but rather to capture those, "Oh, if I could only have spoken with you before this customer came in!" sort of thing. Why? Because salespeople have good days and not so good days. There's always the, "one that got away" story, or the tire kicker or the customer on a "mission" that everyone wants tips on how to better handle next time.
You may be thinking, "Yeah, but I'm an attorney, so doesn't apply to me, right?" Wrong. Every PA, service provider, etc. "sells" themselves to their clientele one way or the other. Most of the time it is just as simple as, "We liked her." Or, "I just wasn't comfortable with him." Even if everything else is equal. Isn't that a hoot? In order for the customer to say "Yes," many deals actually just boil down to a gut feeling in the customer's stomach.
Okay, so how do your salespeople get the right gut feeling to occur in your customers? Your salespeople have to practice and be very comfortable when they interact with customers. Sounds so simple. Yet, any awkwardness or stuttering by the salesperson will doom the sale. Your salespeople need to practice. They need coaching. They need insights and tips. Ask yourself this: do your salespeople tell you their stories? Are they sharing with you their sales struggles? Their sales fears? Their "tried it and it didn't work" sales stories? Hmm? Probably not. Nope. That's because most bosses or owners only care about results and not the triggers to growing those results. And many business owners rationalize this by saying something like, "Well, salespeople have to learn and if they are slow at it, well, it's their commission check that suffers until they get it right." Wow -- what an attitude.
I have a great job: I get to travel, speak to groups, interact with executives and conduct meetings every week. I speak to small groups, large groups, private groups and public groups, and I can promise you that when one person's hand goes up to ask me a question, almost always there are several more that follow. Why? For lots of reasons: people just don't ask questions even when they know they should. Statistically we know that for every hand that goes up, there are probably 6 more that want to, but don't. Don't believe me? How about a flash-back to your high school algebra class. Ouch. But that was then and this is now and now is about getting better at selling.
So, if you can get your sales team to perform better, they actually start winning more business; and who wins? The salesperson? Sure. Their commission checks explode. What about the business? HUGE! And the more salespeople who get with the program, the more the business can grow. And not just because of the one time transaction with the customer, but due to more opportunities the customers have to experience your business, and your people. A great competitive edge. Sweet.
What about you and your team? How well do you know the struggles of your sales team? How plugged in are you to helping them to overcome challenges and help you grow the business (and their commissions)?
As I concluded one my client's training sessions, the feedback was, "POWERFUL!" You see, I typically meet with my client's sales team once a month or every other week, as appropriate. They know how to better handle sales situations because of the training I provide them, but becoming comfortable doing "it" in their own skin took time. And they are still getting better day after day, week after week. For sure there is a period of awkwardness and learning. That's normal. I've found I can easily accelerate this curve however by asking the salespeople to keep a journal and that's where we start at the next session. That way I am 100% sure I am giving them value and the specific answers they need to overcome sales situations the next time they experience them.
Take time today to connect with each person in your business/practice who sells or helps develop your business. Have them keep a journal, and then spend 30 minutes each week reviewing their notes from the previous week. Provide them with specific tips on how to improve. Watch your business bloom –– a beautiful thing.
™© 2007 All Rights Reserved Perception Lab, Inc.
You may be thinking, "Yeah, but I'm an attorney, so doesn't apply to me, right?" Wrong. Every PA, service provider, etc. "sells" themselves to their clientele one way or the other. Most of the time it is just as simple as, "We liked her." Or, "I just wasn't comfortable with him." Even if everything else is equal. Isn't that a hoot? In order for the customer to say "Yes," many deals actually just boil down to a gut feeling in the customer's stomach.
Okay, so how do your salespeople get the right gut feeling to occur in your customers? Your salespeople have to practice and be very comfortable when they interact with customers. Sounds so simple. Yet, any awkwardness or stuttering by the salesperson will doom the sale. Your salespeople need to practice. They need coaching. They need insights and tips. Ask yourself this: do your salespeople tell you their stories? Are they sharing with you their sales struggles? Their sales fears? Their "tried it and it didn't work" sales stories? Hmm? Probably not. Nope. That's because most bosses or owners only care about results and not the triggers to growing those results. And many business owners rationalize this by saying something like, "Well, salespeople have to learn and if they are slow at it, well, it's their commission check that suffers until they get it right." Wow -- what an attitude.
I have a great job: I get to travel, speak to groups, interact with executives and conduct meetings every week. I speak to small groups, large groups, private groups and public groups, and I can promise you that when one person's hand goes up to ask me a question, almost always there are several more that follow. Why? For lots of reasons: people just don't ask questions even when they know they should. Statistically we know that for every hand that goes up, there are probably 6 more that want to, but don't. Don't believe me? How about a flash-back to your high school algebra class. Ouch. But that was then and this is now and now is about getting better at selling.
So, if you can get your sales team to perform better, they actually start winning more business; and who wins? The salesperson? Sure. Their commission checks explode. What about the business? HUGE! And the more salespeople who get with the program, the more the business can grow. And not just because of the one time transaction with the customer, but due to more opportunities the customers have to experience your business, and your people. A great competitive edge. Sweet.
What about you and your team? How well do you know the struggles of your sales team? How plugged in are you to helping them to overcome challenges and help you grow the business (and their commissions)?
As I concluded one my client's training sessions, the feedback was, "POWERFUL!" You see, I typically meet with my client's sales team once a month or every other week, as appropriate. They know how to better handle sales situations because of the training I provide them, but becoming comfortable doing "it" in their own skin took time. And they are still getting better day after day, week after week. For sure there is a period of awkwardness and learning. That's normal. I've found I can easily accelerate this curve however by asking the salespeople to keep a journal and that's where we start at the next session. That way I am 100% sure I am giving them value and the specific answers they need to overcome sales situations the next time they experience them.
Take time today to connect with each person in your business/practice who sells or helps develop your business. Have them keep a journal, and then spend 30 minutes each week reviewing their notes from the previous week. Provide them with specific tips on how to improve. Watch your business bloom –– a beautiful thing.
™© 2007 All Rights Reserved Perception Lab, Inc.
posted by Mark Stephen Ware @ 9:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home