Does your sales training develop the sales motivation to thrive on adversity?
Sales training should develop the sales motivation to take on challenges
Build adversity management into your sales management process
I’m hooked on Wii Fitness Plus and the balance games. As an entrepreneur, I’m particularly competitive as I attempt to navigate the pool balls, despite numerous obstacles, to their sink hole targets. The result? In addition to improving my balance, I’m also exercising my creativity.
So, how does Wii Fitness Plus relate to our challenging leadership and sales management environments?
As business leaders and sales managers, we are navigating new obstacles every day. As we reach an obstacle our fight-or-flight response kicks in. It is tempting to avoid the challenge and place our energy in another market or product area, one in which results are easier to achieve. According to Brain Creativity, if we stay and fight and think up innovative ways to overcome the obstacles we will become more creative. This, in turn, will sharpen our business skills and make us more effective sales people.
Sales leadership today is full of opportunities to choose fight over flight. A sales culture in which the sales team does not take responsibility will lead to a lower sales ROI. A culture of accountability, in contrast, will lead to a high ROI. With the right sales discipline, sales vision and sales direction, your sales team will choose to stay and fight and overcome obstacles. It is this commitment to overcome adversity that leads to high sales performance.
The Sales Lesson: Capitalize on the energy of adversity. When used as sales motivation, big problems are the stepping stones to bigger successes.
The Sales Question: What is your organizational attitude toward adversity in your sales performance? Do you hide from it as long as you can?
Sales Management Coaching – part 3
Coaching Rules for Sales Managers.(18 – 25)
As mentioned in my last post as well as a post last fall, I’ve been coaching a number of sales managers to improve their sales coaching with their sales people. Here are a few more sales coaching rules that I’ve picked up from my friends and colleagues, experts such as Terry Slattery, Steve Montague, and John Condry over the years. I trust that you’ll find these helpful also.
18. There’s no such thing as a salesperson handling stalls and objections. There’s only one person qualified to do that, and that’s the prospect.
19. Don’t surprise your prospect in a presentation. Use your professional selling skills to address only the prospect’s pain that’s been discussed. Ensure everything’s been covered verbally prior to the presentation, even the price.
20. Don’t work too hard. Let the prospect give you the responses to work with. Remember the most effective move in sales, “Tell me more.”
21. If it starts to stink, bury it. Don’t waste your time on a prospect that’s dead.
22. No wimping. Follow your strategic sales plan, not the prospects.
23. The sale is complete when the check clears the bank and you get referrals to their friends and business associates.
24. Understand and accept the worst-case scenarios. In fact, be preemptive. Be the first one to bring up the worst-case scenarios.
25. When asked, a prospect will always clarify and add depth and detail to his question. This is important as once you understand the real pain, then you can determine if you can provide a real solution. 
Here are a couple of other helpful coaching resources:
Professional Sales Coaching, Manager’s Workbook
The Optimal Salesperson, Mastering the Mindset of Sales Superstars and Overachievers by Dan Caramanico and Marie Maguire
Sales Management Coaching – part 2
Coaching Rules for Sales Managers, 8-17
I’ve been working with a number of Sales Managers recently, providing them with Sales Management Coaching, and thought would be helpful to compile a list of some of the coaching insights that I’ve picked up from my colleagues over the years. When you’re coaching your sales people, here are some “rules,” some bits of advice to share with them that will increase their success in the field.
Rules 1-7 were covered in the previous post. Here’s the next section: 
8. You can’t lose what you don’t have. So, take the risk.
9. Decisions to buy or change behavior are made emotionally. People buy emotionally; however, they make decisions intellectually.
10. Agree on the rules before starting the game. It’s critical to be crystal clear on the prospect’s decision making process before your play their game.
11. Presentations come after the prospects have qualified themselves. Making proposals and presentation before the prospect is qualified results in wasted time, thought and attention for you and your company.
12. Understand other people’s subconscious need to feel “OK.” Always keep the prospect (and your sales person) in the OK Chair.
13. True sales professionals maintain their objective detachment, even under pressure.
14. Spend no time with jerks.
15. Set a strong process agreement that requires a decision be made at the end of each meeting. A “yes” is good. A “no” is good. A “think it over” will only result in wasted time, thought and energy.
16. Deal with all problems early.
17. Use the same intonation you would use with your best friend.
For more insights on how to coach your sales people to develop a strong selling mindset and improve their selling skills, download a complimentary copy of my Professional Sales Coaching, Manager’s Workbook.
Sales Management Coaching: Part 1
Coaching Keys for Sales Managers: 1 – 7
I’m in the process of actively coaching a sales manager as part of our Turnaround Sales Management Program. These are some “mantras” that I’ve learned from some of trusted colleagues (Jill Konrath, Dave Kurlan, John Condry, Terry Slattery, Steve Montague and Hunter Byington) throughout the past couple of years that I’m sharing with him…..and thought I’d share with you.
- Don’t educate a prospect, educate a client.
- When you are talking, you aren’t selling. Selling happens when you’re asking- a critical sales skill to master.
- When your prospect goes negative, so do you.
- Every time a prospect asks you to do anything that involves an expenditure of your time or resources, make certain you know before you do it EXACTLY what happens afterwards and that you like it.
- Take no vague words – practice your sales techniques.
- If you’re not last, you lose.
- You can’t lose what you don’t have.
Plus, you’ll love these Sales Paradoxes by another Top Sales Experts colleague, Keith Rosen.
I’ll have more for you next time, so stay tuned.
Sisu: From Conforming to Courage
If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that I’m stuck for at least for one more post on the Finnish work SISU.
Conforming requires a norm in order to conform. But what is a norm for a sales management leader but a line in the sand drawn by someone else? While some norms are useful, objective and needed for the management leaders, such as those determined by sales metrics, others are products of subjective – and often deeply buried – groupthink. 
While the leaders values teamwork, the sales management leader with sisu in their backbone rejects group-think and this sort of sheep-like behavior. Confronted with an excuse, they’re not afraid to challenge the excuse-maker’s assumptions, just as they’re not afraid to challenge anything else. The leader does not go along to get along; they blaze their own trail – not foolishly but in recognition of all the facts in hand. A SISU leader has the courage to stand up when those around them threaten to pound them back down. SISU sales management leaders break the steel of the old groupthink and forge a sharp and strong sales culture that stands accountable for its sales results.
For more information on SISU, go to Filling your Sails and Making More Sales – with SISU
To learn about how SISU, in contrast to fear, impacts spirituality, go to www.Marketplace-Ministers.com.
Top Sales Experts & “The Power of Sales Process”
Sales leaders, you’ll find this upcoming roundtable on “The Power of the Sales Process,” sponsored by Top Sales Experts, to be packed with practical, how-to ideas on structuring your sales process. A strong process will give you a competitive advantage, even during this recession. I’m on the expert panel with well-respected sales process gurus Craig Klein, Steve Matinez, Jonathon London and Jonathon Farrington. You can get more details here.
I’ll be sharing principles used to create the Hardball sales process for Flint Group, formerly xSYS Print Solutions. They were the largest international supplier of narrow-web tag and label-printing inks struggling to reverse a three-year trend of declining revenues. We help the VP of Sales develop a system of sales management processes that changed a culture of excuse making into one of personal accountability to generates predictable, sustainable results. Listen to Hank tell the story of how we accomplish the following:
- Market share grows despite an industry recession
- Predictable revenue with more accurate business planning and sales forecasting, more efficient operation and higher margins
- Faster, organized sales process generates revenue more quickly
- New hires reach higher sales performance levels 30% faster
I recently conducted a webinar with EcSELL Institute on the same subject. Bill Eckstrom, Founder of EcSELL Institute says that it was one of the most practical webinars they had–strong take-aways that sales leaders can implement immediately.
Hope to see you there!
Sales Management Negotiations
This is a short post. Thought you’d enjoy this video since it talks about the everyday insanity that sales people deal with: http://tinyurl.com/leemo3
How to Improve your Sales – 67 Tips
Sales Leadership Behavior: Know your People
In addition to knowing your business, the authors of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done also suggest that the CEO, President and VP of Sales need to know their people. What are some practical ways that you can begin to really learn about your people?
In my most recent tips booklet, Yes You Can: 67 Tips to Raise Sales Results in a Recession, I’ve included a couple of ideas to get leaders started:
Tip 29: Identify Dreams. Salespeople work primarily for themselves. I know it’s disheartening for us to realize, but the company’s profits and sales performance are not the prime motivator in their lives. Their own dreams, goals, and aspirations are what inspire them to do the extra effort needed to exceed quotas. So, what can you do? Help them develop a game plan to achieve their goals and aspirations. Link their personal goals to their professional goals. Create alignment and the sales motivation will be there.
Tip 41: Help your people overcome the high Need for Approval. In fact, help them identify their selling mindsets that support their sales effort. Then, take the next step and help them identify those mindsets that are sabotaging their selling effectiveness. Then, with both of you grounded with objective data, you can create an action plan to start Making It Happen! In my 18 years of sales management leadership, I’ve found the data provided by Objective Management Group to be the most helpful in really knowing my people and knowing how I can help them through sales coaching.
Tip 37: Understand your salespeople’s Workplace Motivators. Workplace Motivators help explain why your salespeople behave as they do. When you understand their Motivators, you can more easily come alongside them and help them execute at a higher, more intentional level.
I invite you download the entire complimentary tips booklet. And, I’d love to hear your feedback on what other Know-Your-People tips that you’d recommend adding to future additions.
The Sales Leadership Lesson: One of the ways in which sales leaders can grow sales is to really get to know their salespeople’s dreams and aspirations. When aligned with the company’s goals sales performance will improve.
The Sales Leadership Question: So, what steps are you taking to really know your people?
Sales Manager’s Communication Challenge
Sales Managers must “tune” their communication to each person, especially to help each team member stay engaged during difficult times.
I call Kevin a “D Squared” sales manager. He has a focused, direct, aggressive and bottom-line oriented communication style. This mode of communication helps him in a strategic setting; however, his communication style doesn’t seem to help him when interacting with his star salesperson.
Mark, the star salesperson, believes in the need to connect with a person on an emotional level before actually entering into business issues. When Mark starts a conversation, no matter how insignificant, he has a need to “feel” the level of intensity before he can choose a strategy. Mark and Kevin, each in his own way, want to be in control of the conversation.
Kevin’s been realizing that to best influence Mark, he has to alter his communication style when speaking with him. Instead of directing Mark with a list of “to-dos” that need to be “checked off” by the end of the day, Kevin’s learning to slow down and take on a more collaborative style with Mark. As a result, Kevin and Mark are having much better communications and Kevin has learned an important tool as a manager
Learn to communicate in a way that resonates with each individual on your sales team. Listen and analyze how each person prefers to communicate. There are lots of tools that can help you, whether is DiSC, Meyer’s Briggs, or Strengths Finder. Just knowing the proper way of communicating with each person on your staff improves understanding.
What unique communication styles do your salespeople have? How have you changed your communication style to enhance understanding with others? I look forward to hearing from you.
Keep Pressing Forward!
Danita
Sales Management: Sales Motivation and the Pygmalion Effect
Have you seen the new movie release, The Express? It’s an inspirational story about a great coach, Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), believing in and bringing out the best in Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), who eventually earned the Heisman Trophy. It’s a great movie about the incredible impact of coaches and mentors and the impact of self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m reminded of my first sales manager (and my best sales manager!) at Xerox Corporation, Bob Klein, the coach that always believed in me.
When I join Xerox at 21 years old, I know nothing about professional sales. I’m from Cowboy Country in northwestern North Dakota. And, I ‘m a pre-med student. So, I know how to cultivate a field, haul hay bales and set up a science experiment. But, I know nothing about cold-calling, qualifying or closing. I was confused, scared and intimidated.
Often, about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, discouraged after too many cold calls and too many no’s from prospects, I’d call Bob for encouragement and some sales motivation. After listening to my sob stories, he’d always say the same thing, “Danita, you can do it. I know you can. I only hire the best.”
Bob expected me to be a winner. I worked hard to live up to his expectations.
And, I would never let him down.
My experience with Bob taught me a great lesson: As a great manager, always remember to tell your people how much confidence you have in them. Be positive.
Put the self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion Effect to work for you. The Pygmalion Effect, the practice of expressing your confidence in your staff, can subtly influence them to improve sales performance and produce better results. Here’s what Wikipedia has about the Pygmalion Effect, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect
The Sales Management Lesson: Sales Managers can use the Pygmalion Effect as sales motivation by subtly influencing their staff to improve sales performance.
The Sales Management Question: Who have been your great managers and coaches? What made them great? What did they do to encourage you during times of adversity?
Keep Pressing Forward!
Danita
P.S. I think you’ll enjoy watching The Express.
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