The Big Question

Sales courses everywhere and over all time espouse the virtues of asking clients open ended rather than closed questions.

It works.  If your questions are considered and relevant you undeniably get more information than you would if you asked closed questions.

Why?

It’s like showing your workings in a maths exam – it shows your thinking, not just your answer.  Great for a sales person – it provides the ‘why’ behind an answer (if you ask the right question).

Questions and answers are great – many CRM’s are full of great responses to great questions.

Now – consider this – imagine your client gets to ask you one open ended question at the end.

Imagine that question is:

 ‘What are you going to do with all the information I've just given you?’

The Biggest Hurdle

Prospecting is the skill of identifying and engaging with new business.  Whether stone cold calling or seeking introductions and referrals to warm the contact up – it is the pointy end of the sales spectrum.  For some sales people it represents all of their role – the pure hunters.  

More often though it represents only part of the sales role you undertake.  You accumulate customers and relationships over time, which reduce the perceived need to prospect as regularly.  Sometimes, you even develop the feeling that you don’t need to do it at all.   You have customers and intermediary relationships – they can do it for you.   You can ask for referrals.  You can wait for business to find you.  Prospecting becomes less important to you, so you do less of it.  Most people don’t like prospecting for new business, so avoid it.

Suddenly, you need more business as your targets have increased, or your pipeline dries up, or you’ve tapped out your known network or the growth potential of your clients slows or stops.  Prospecting rears it’s head again – but it’s hard to know where to start, how to pick it up again.

In my experience, a few things typically happen here.  Some will just get on and do it, and do it well.  The few.  The many will either try it sporadically – be unsuccessfully and quickly slide back to scavenging for business – or they just won’t – they’ll avoid it, look like they’re doing it but won’t.

Why do most fail in this situation?

Most sales people have the skills – if you can sell to an existing client, you can sell to a prospect – so that’s not the issue (if it is, your sales leader has bigger issues than prospecting).

Most sales people can use a phone, speak to people, sell themselves and their business and network – or should be able to

Most sales people can, if they wish to, find lists of potential targets and research them – sure the quality may vary, but they can do it.

However, most people fail in this situation due to not planning.  They don’t set time aside on a regular basis to truly focus on prospecting.  Most fail because they don’t  treat is seriously.  Because they hope it is only a short term glitch in their pipeline, they take a short term focus to prospecting.  They think the first thing to prospecting is picking up the phone – they don’t plan their strategy.

If you wish to develop new business well and you can sell, the first and most important step is setting time aside in your diary every week to focus on it.   Having the time away from the routine of your role allows you to focus on the task of prospecting properly.  It forces you to address it and action it.

As a sales leader – this is the first thing to check – does you staff have regular time set aside each week/period to grow their book.  If not, they just aren’t planning properly.

Most people don't fail at new business acquisition because they don't have the skills, they fail because they aren't preparing to do it properly.

Pot Well

I’ve enjoyed Snooker since I was 14 (a long time) and only just picked my cue back up recently after an extended break. Having recently read a LinkedIn article about Life Lessons From Fishing (http://tinyurl.com/kg4mtnx), I got to thinking about what Snooker can teach us about sales while watching my opponent build an impressive break against me.

Interestingly, there are a number of parallels – so here goes:

Practice                There is no shortcut for getting better at snooker. Even with raw potting talent, you need to spend time over your cue, practising. Sales is no different – do you practice your sales techniques? Do you reflect on what is working and what is? Why you succeeded and failed? Do you hone your craft? You can’t get better if you don’t practise, and you certainly can’t if you don’t play.

The Break:          In snooker, the table always starts the same. However, after the break, the chances of two tables being the same are infinitesimal and grow smaller with each shot. Similar with sales – once we initiate contact with a new client (the break) – there is next to no guarantees as to what paths the conversations will happen to take there after. Sure, we have some control each time we approach the table, however we have to continually assess and react to the table when it next becomes our turn. As a sales person, it is your acumen and attitude that shape how you perform after the break

Position           In snooker, where your cue ball is on the table means everything. It can make a shot incredibly easy, or incredibly difficult. More importantly, it is where the cue ball will be after your shot which is crucial to the flow of the game. In snooker they call this break building – in sales, pipeline management. Sales is no different – you need to visualise the journey and how your next interaction gets you there. Like the snooker player who needs to read the table, their opponents ability to capitalise on mistakes, the angles etc – you as the sales person need to read the position continually, thinking about where you next want the process to go and how to get it there

Pot Well              Regardless of how good you are at getting the right position, you need to pot the ball you’re standing over first. Like sales, you need to execute well each time you address the ball. Consistency and focus are important, like snooker, to ensure that you execute well each time. Like a high break in snooker, most B2B sales situations require a string of high quality interactions, not just one. Being great once won’t win you a snooker match, nor many sales.

Cut Your Losses           Sometimes there isn’t a pot on – nothing to sink. Or, your opponent is so good that the risk if you miss a risky pot is too high. Sales is no different – sometimes you need to cut your losses and retreat in order to pick up the fight later. Sometimes the timing isn’t right, the competitor is stronger or other factors that mean that in order to stay in the battle, you need to know when to fight and when to retreat.

Patience              Snooker can sometimes be a tedious game (for some of you, this describes it). A game full of negative safety play for example. Sales is no different – sometimes the victories are small, sometime non-existent.   Some times you even foul and go backwards to have to rebuild. Sometimes you can’t control the situation – like an opponent that goes on to make a big break despite you leaving them safe.

Resilience           Snooker is about the top 6 inches. Once you’re on the table, your opponent can’t influence anything you do – physically. Though they can mentally – if you let them. Sales is no different. You will have difficult clients, difficult situations, strong competitors and a plethora of other challenges. They only become difficult if you let them influence how you react to them. You will lose some frames and some matches. You will lose some sales and get some knock-backs.   Sometimes you get told no. 

Etiquette             Snooker is a sport steeped in a rich etiquette. Competitively, it is still played in vests and ties. At club level, you still get your opponents ball out of the pocket. You congratulate them for a great shot. You apologise when you fluke to your advantage. Sales isn’t any different. Dress properly, be courteous, be interested and interesting, don’t malign your competitors – respect them, don’t blame the conditions or your opponent. You’re the expert – act like one.

Fun                        Snooker is highly social and very good fun.   It is easier to play when you’re having fun and not anxious. Sure, some situations are tense like when playing in a competition – but still enjoyable. Sales is no different – doing it because you enjoy it is far more productive than doing it because you’re told to. Find the fun in selling

I enjoy the sport immensely – often to the bewilderment of those that know me. I enjoy because it despite playing against an opponent on the scoreboard, I am playing against myself each time. Sales isn’t much different. I can’t blame my opponent when I miss a shot, or miss position on the next ball. I can’t blame my client if they don’t wish to buy my product/service.

Pot well, each and every time. Sell well, each and every time.

Measure Attitudes

Sales is a very intuitive skill.

As it’s a people based discipline, everyone will find their own way of doing it.  As a result, some find successful ways, others not so much.  As a sales leader, this becomes difficult as a successful sales person may not sell precisely to the process desired by the business - or an unsuccessful one may follow that process but still fail.

However, however the good sales people sell, some things are always consistent:

•  Attitude – good sales people talk positively about sales.  They enjoy it.  They don’t avoid it – they seek it.  They’re hungry and one success is never enough.  Success doesn’t happy by accident.  Sales leaders hear this in their language, see this in their actions.
• Service - good sales people are focused on providing the best service to their clients – not products.  They want to help their clients, not sell them.  They have the clients in mind – all the time.
• Planning – good sales people plan.  Their success doesn’t happen by accident.  They know their sales targets, where they sit against them, what they have coming up this week and what they wish to achieve out of that meeting.  They know their workload and it’s priority.
• Prospects – good sales people have a clear line of sight to their prospects – their future clients.   They know them not by industry horizontal or vertical – they know them by name.   They have a laser focus on those they wish to do business with.
• Activity – good sales people are active.  They hunt and are proactive.  Regardless of their workload – they are selling.  It is how much activity they do which varies based on their need.  They have momentum.
• Pipeline – good sales people have a very clear understanding of their pipeline.  At what stage each deal is at, what can move it on and an action plan to do it.  They know when it needs filling and where their ‘dead spots’ are.  They live in their pipeline.
• Networks – good sales people develop and maintain a network.  They don’t have many shallow relationships, they have deep and tight relationships with key people.  Rainmakers.  Like minded people who support one another – professional friendships.  Solving clients issues through relationships, not pieces of work.
• Team Player – good sales people realise they can’t succeed alone.  They develop and maintain good relationships within the business to support their success.  They appreciate and recognise those who help them succeed.  They encourage success in others
• Reflection – good sales people review their failures and their successes looking for ways to improve.  They seek feedback from others.

Regardless of how a good sales person achieves success – somewhere unpinning their success are all the above.

Often, in sales leadership, the focus is on following a process/system or framework for successful sales.  Sure, this provides a means to categorise the various aspects of sales (eg giving names to phases of the pipeline or common terminology).

Sales leadership is about managing these disciplines with your sales team – not the activities or processes.   If you measure the activities, you will hit numbers, if you encourage and measure the above, you’ll get results.  The difficulty is a) these are hard to measure and, importantly, b) they are unique to each person.

Hunt or Scavenge

What sales style do you deploy - do you hunt for your sales results, or do you scavenge?

Good hunters learn about their target, learn about their history, where best to find them, how best to approach them, how best to engage, which are preferable over others.  Do you show your targets this respect?

Or do you stumble upon them, who ever, where ever, when ever – eating what ever you can find, rather than that which tastes best?  Do you scavenge?

Scavenging is easy – so many do it.  Many survive doing it, like the vulture in nature.   Waiting for RFP’s to be issued, rather than displacing a client. Waiting for clients to approach you, rather than approaching them. Sure, you’re selling. But are you having fun?  Scavenging usually involves either waiting for a good hunter to finish with their target (or scare them off), finding dead or dying targets or attacking the slowest or weakest target.

The problem with this strategy is you often can’t choose who you do business with.  You have to take what you can get.  You also can’t control when you encounter it.

Hunting allows you to choose the best target – the ones you really want. If you really want them, you try harder and enjoy it more. The reward is richer.  Hunting allows you to fill the larder whereas scavenging usually just fills you plate.

Indeniably, hunting requires more effort than scavenging, however even if you don’t win your target, it is much more enjoyable spending time hunting than sitting in the office and waiting for the phone to ring….

Which Came First, Value Or Price

Value is the driver of price.  If someone is marketing you a product you have no need or want for, they have to drop their price until the point you start to value that product, if they're marketing you a product you really want or end, that price can be much higher.

Good products command higher prices because people value them more.  Sure, this can be down to the quality of the parts, or, and more likely, due to the value of the whole.

What does this say if you discount your price about what you think about your value? 

What does this say about your service?

Bake The Cake With Love

Most of us have experienced the absolute joy of a home made cake made by a parent or grand parent. Most of us have also helped them make them as some point.   They taste just that much better than a store point commercial cake don’t they?

In sales, that cake is your proposal/package to your client. So, why is this analogy important to think about?

So, if the cake is the end output of sales – the offer. The ingredients are the various components that make up that offer – the products, services, pricing, value proposition etc.   The recipe is the process you used to get there – the journey – and how much of the various components are added and used within the proposal to get to the end position.   The person baking the cake is the expert – they’re making the decisions on what to use & when.

And now is where we deviate. Your parent or grandparent bakes this cake with love and emotion. They bake this cake knowing you like the cake a little denser, with more chocolate chips. They WANT you to enjoy it, it means so much to them as they will usually get much pleasure from your feedback. They have a recipe – but choose to use it or adapt it.   Also, it’s even better when you, as the consumer, have participated in the baking process.

Now the commercial cake is made with the intention of it tasting good – but completely remotely to you, as the consumer, and your tastes and preferences. Guesses are made. A recipe is often followed precisely to ensure consistency and control costs. Ingredients are selected against a compromise of costs and quality.

Which would you rather eat? Isn’t the picture above already making you hungry?

Next time you’re selling to a client consider the following – ‘I am baking this cake with love?’ Think about:  Why am I selling to the client? What reaction do I want from them (focus on the emotion)?

The reaction question is important – the cake made for you was made because your parent or grandparent WANTS you to enjoy it. They know you’ll eat it (ie: the sale will conclude) – but this isn’t enough, they want you to LOVE the cake. In sales terms, this means your client can accept your proposal, but it doesn’t mean they LOVE it. A signature or commitment isn’t an emotion.

The great things that happen in selling aren’t often because we have great products or great pricing. They happen because we do them for great reasons.