NZ Sales Manager Issue 5

Issue 5 / 9 th JULy 2008

What to do when

Sales

‘Do Nothing’

or

competitor

is your biggest

Coach Menacing

Sales Manager?

SALES SUCCESS

We talk to reknowned performance psychologist Charles Donoghue about getting the psychological edge NZ’s fortnightly e-mag for sales leaders www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

CONTENTS Issue 5

/ 9 th JULY 2008

5

3

INTERVIEW Charles Donoghue Performance psychologist author of personal and development classics Kite’s Rise Against The Wind and Swim Against The Current talks to NZ Sales Manager about the things that hold us back.

9

9

THIS WEEKS MUST READ Sales Coach Or Menacing Sales Manager?

Richard Gee explores the difference between managing salespeople and coaching by getting your sales team to realise their potential.

11 TWO MINUTE TOP UP When ‘Do Nothing’ Is Your Biggest Competitor How to prevent your proposals falling victim to the status quo in murky economic times.

14

12 NZSM CALENDER 14 BOOK REVIEW 15 THE CLOSE 15 NEXT ISSUE

15 NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

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From the editor

About /

Short, sharp and to the point, New Zealand Sales Manager is a free fortnightly e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forwardthinking sales managers, business owners and sales professionals.

EDITOR / Richard Liew

DESIGNER / Jodi Olsson

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / +64-9-361 1375 or email richardl@nzsalesmanager.co.nz CONTENT ENQUIRIES /

+64-9-361 1375 or email richardl@nzsalesmanager.co.nz

ADDRESS / NZ Sales Manager Magazine,127a Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby,Auckland, NZ. +64-9-361 1375 WEBSITE /

www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

NZ Sales Manager is a Rev Sales Network publication.

I

t’s safe to say that winter is truly upon us with even us hardened folk up here in Auckland needing an extra shot of espresso in our lattes to keep the circulation flowing.

Certainly the climate is much more conducive to settling down with a good book and taking some time to reflect on the goals you set at the beginning of the year, and the year that has been - which is exactly what I did this weekend.

Jim Rohn has long been a favourite author of mine and here’s what he has to say about the season of Winter in his excellent book, The Seasons of Life. “The arrival of winter finds us in one of two categories: Either we are prepared or we are unprepared.

To those who have prepared, who have planted abundantly in the spring, guarded their crops during the summer, and harvested massively during the fall, winter can be yet another season of opportunity.

To those who are unprepared, the arrival of winter is a time for regret and a time for sorrow. Having lacked the willingness to pay the pain of earlier discipline, we now pay the heavier pain of regret.”

If this winter finds your life lacking in any area – money, health, employment, relationships – take heart, Spring, and the opportunity to ensure you are better prepared for next winter, is just around the corner.

Resolve today that you will use the coming seasons to plant and nurture better seeds, in greater quantity, and with more enthusiasm and discipline than ever. Next winter does not have to be so bleak!

Richard Liew Editor

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

I N TER V I E W

CHARLES DONOGHUE Performance psychologist and author of personal development classics Kite’s Rise Against The Wind and Swim Against The Current talks to NZ Sales Manager about the things that hold us back.

NZSM: Charles you’ve been involved in the sales industry for almost three decades now, first as a top salesperson and for the last 20 years as a trainer and performance psychologist – can you tell us quickly how you first got into selling?

mous and I proved that to be correct in my first year at Guardian Royal Exchange (now Asteron Life) when I become their number one salesman.

CD: I was the General Manager of a large textile company here in New Zealand where I increased the company’s market share considerably, but I was being held back by the restrictions of the board. When the opportunity to get into insurance came up I accepted the opportunity to go out on my own where there were no restrictions.

NZSM: In that first year selling insurance you joined the “million dollar roundtable” for selling $1,000,000 in insurance premiums – what do you put this down to when you had no previous experience and others had been in the industry far longer?

NZSM: Many people would think that going from GM to insurance salesperson is a little crazy - what were you thinking?!

CD: The income potential was enor-

CD: Do your homework, study the competition, find out what the number one sales person did the previous year and exceed that as a target… plus a helping of discipline!

NZSM: Many people believe that

you’re either a born salesperson or not – what’s your take on this?

CD: There’s no such thing as a born anything unless you are referring to a person’s talent and everyone has plenty of that in different areas.

I believe anyone can be taught anything.

The real question is, “What price are they prepared to pay to achieve what they want?”

NZSM :What are some of the key things you’ve learnt about the psychology of top sales performers over the years?

CD: Personality plays an important factor in how they relate to other

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

people. For example, ‘Socialiser’ type personalities are attracted to the sales profession because they like to meet others and to converse at great length, but many talk too much.

However, a top performer will be aware of this and master discipline to achieve peak performance. Of the four major personality types, all of them can become a top performer.

All the top performers or high achievers I have met in my life though have two common qualities – determination and discipline.

Additionally they are able to control their thoughts and are totally focused on what they want to achieve.

NZSM: Many sales managers feel they spend most of their time acting as a counselor or team psychologist – is this a good thing or do you think its a problem?

CD: The role of the sales manager is to lead not to be a counselor.

Very few would be skilled in this area.

If a staff member has a personality or

psychological problem then they should be referred to someone who is skilled to handle this.

For example, if someone has a financial problem then they should be referred to a financial counselor. Managers should not get involved in their staff’s personal problems unless they are of a lesser nature.

NZSM: Lots of salespeople rise to the top of their profession only to fail miserably as sales managers – why do you think this is?

Quite simply because being a good salesperson doesn’t necessarily mean a person has the ability or personality to cope with the challenges of being a manager.

NZSM: Many of the answers to life’s problems are just common sense – why do people not do the things they know they should be doing?

CD: Unfortunately life is not as simple as that or most people would be classified as not having any common sense!

The reason many people do not do what

they know they should do, is because of a lack of confidence which stems from a person’s self-image. Sending someone on a confidence building course will seldom solve the problem long term. What is called for is training in changing the belief they hold about themselves.

NZSM: Your latest program is called Performance Psychology – can you give us a quick overview of what it’s about?

CD: Actually it is about some of the topics I have just been talking about.

Essentially it covers the reprogramming of the brain.

We all have the same amount of brain cells but the problem occurs when children are programmed to believe they are good or bad. This forms their self-image patterns which then has a profound effect on their self-esteem.

They then perform according to this into adulthood and so the cycle continues until it has been broken, which is the purpose of the Performance Psychology program.

NZSM: As a parent yourself, do you have any suggestions on what parents can do to give their kids the ‘psychological edge’?

CD: Instill in them the belief that they can do anything. That no one can tell them what they cannot do tomorrow.

The only commentary that anyone else can tell them, is that their performance to-date is not good.

But their future performance be changed by a change in their belief system which is a subject I deal with in my forthcoming book.

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

NZSM: What comes first – confidence or success?

NZSM: What’s keeping you busy at the moment?

CD: Success at anything results from a person’s ability to cope with life and the role they play.

CD: Completing two new books about how to make permanent changes in the way you think and manage your life.

This in turn requires them to believe that they can accomplish anything. Again we come back to belief and self-image which are programmed earlier in life.

Good or bad.

Many people attend courses from sales training to leadership and management studies, yet a disproportionate number of these people will make never make any significant change in their behaviour or performance, because of the internal views they hold about themselves. How they have been programmed earlier in their life will always dominate how think they can

A confident person is someone who trusts in themselves and as a consequence of that they will be an achiever.

Charles’s Top

perform in the future therefore any training will have only a temporary effect until they change their belief system.

NZSM: You moved to NZ from Scotland over 30 years ago and passed up the opportunity to live in the US as a professional trainer and seminar presenter – what is it about NZ that keeps you here?

CD: New Zealand is the greatest country in the world with the best climate and some of the nicest people I have met - with unlimited opportunities!

Tips

For Getting What You Want From Life

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Set a big dream goal for yourself.

Start telling yourself that you can accomplish whatever it is that you want.

Feel comfortable about the person you are, faults and all.

Become a contributor to society.

Then take massive action!

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

T H I S WE E K ’ S M U S T R E A D

Sales Coach or Menacing Sales Manager?

[

By Richard Gee. Richard Gee is a leading sales and marketing coach, author and seminar presenter.

Visit www.geewiz.co.nz for more info.

H

ow many times have you worked for a sales manager who is in charge of either the sales team or the customer service team, who tries to manage by fear, threats, targets, budgets, and perhaps even a little bit of shouting, and maybe even the odd bit of personal abuse? And their sales meetings are just rants and raves, with no motivational stimulation whatsoever?

Hopefully there’s not too many of these ‘old style’ sales managers around, however many new sales managers, when faced with budgets to meet, and revenue targets to meet, get exasperated when their sales team just doesn’t seem to be performing.

You may like to consider that the role of a sales coach is actually more suited to getting the sales team to recognise their potential and deliver promises over and above budget.

What does a sales coach do?

Firstly, the definition of a sales coach is helping the sales team see their potential over and above what they’re currently achieving.

To help your sales team see their potential, you first of all need to fully establish the existing base level. This is done by analysing the customer base, analysing the customer purchasing trends, and face to face visits analysing the personal sales skills of the members of the sales team.

A good sales coach will spend 80% of their time out with the sales team, coaching on the job, adding to skills and fixing faults.

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 /

A good sales coach can sit in a sales interview with a sales person, and let them lose a sale if their skill is not good enough, because the adverse is to jump all over the sales rep and prove to the customer that you really are an idiot coach because you haven’t identified what skills you need to help the salesperson. You can always go back and revisit the customer to achieve the results.

A good sales coach will look at the daily call reports, alongside the salesperson, to help them understand how they have used their skill, their professional ability, and challenge them to do better.

A good sales coach will have sales meetings that have positive beginnings and positive endings. That is, they may start with the “Wins of the Week”, and they finish with the objectives to be achieved during the coming week, and look towards the future rather than back into history when examining trends and customer results.

A good sales coach will match up the best performing sales member in a “buddy system” with the weakest performing sales member to see how they can grow the result and lift the performing result of the sales team up a few notches to maintain the overall growth.

It’s also worthwhile coaching people to maximise the business opportunities within existing relationships with clients, rather than always focusing on new prospects that take a while to develop full revenue opportunities. It’s always easier to get more spend out of an existing client by giving them more reasons to purchase, identifying their problems, and finding solutions.

I once attended a sales meeting where the sales manager started off by telling the sales team that he was sick and tired of their poor results, and they’d all be fired next week if they didn’t start pulling in some sales. As expected, most of the sales team resigned or were quickly out looking for jobs instead of dealing to the real issues, which was why the company’s products were not being bought by the customers.

Remember, people are your greatest resource, and if you can coach them to see their own potential as being better than what they’re currently achieving, you will indeed have better performance

Remember, people are your greatest resource, and if you can coach them to see their own potential as being better than what they’re currently achieving, you will indeed have better performance. Be a sales coach, not a sales management menace!

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 / 10

TWO MINUTE TOP-UP

When ‘Do Nothing’ Is Your Biggest Competitor How to prevent your proposals falling victim to the status quo in murky economic times

By Paul Newsom. Paul Newsom is Learning & Development Manager for the Rev Sales Network.

I

was working on a hot prospect last month. The meetings went well and the proposal was submitted in the knowledge it described a solution which met the clients needs and decision criteria. I was looking forward to starting work on the project. We had no competition, and just had to wait for the order. I’m still waiting!

Isn’t it frustrating when clients decide not to buy? All your hard work, time and resources spent for nothing.

What proportion of opportunities in your pipeline end with the customer ‘doing nothing’? They keep doing what they have always done, or defer to a later date. If this is your situation then take heart, you are not alone. It is one of the biggest hazards in sales (particularly for those who still play sales as a numbers game).

You will never eliminate the ‘do nothing’ buyers. But if you weed out as many as you can early on, your sales will increase as you spend your time with the people who will do something.

‘Do nothing’ is always an alternative for every buyer. And there are plenty of prospects out there who suck up our time and energy but are never going to buy. I often refer to the need to disqualify rather than qualify opportunities. If there is good reason why a prospect might not buy, then you are best to fix it before you try to proceed. Robust qualifying will help weed out these poor quality opportunities.

[

If it is clear to you that keeping the status quo is more compelling than any of the other alternatives in front of the prospect, then why go to the time and effort of developing and writing proposals hoping that you will entice someone to buy? You should be working on higher quality prospects.

So if you are thinking ‘I’m not sure if this client is really interested’, then rather than proceeding in the hope you will persuade them to buy, you should be asking a question.

“I wonder under what circumstances deferring any action, or continuing with what you have now will be an option?”

In complex sales this type of question goes against the outdated traditional rules of benefit selling and using your powers of persuasion to convince someone to buy.

It will help build trust, and demonstrate that you are trying to help the client make a good decision, rather than just trying to sell them something.

However if you can see that the solution is compelling, but the client doesn’t yet realise it, then it is your job to help the client to understand this. Do it well, and a sale will be the outcome.

When you figure out that you are in front of a ‘do nothing’ prospect, it may be appropriate to submit a short formal response outlining your agreement that status quo is the best option at this time. Point out that should the situation change, you recommend that you jointly reconsider the alternatives again. Then keep in contact as tomorrow you may uncover the compelling reason to buy.

You will never eliminate the ‘do nothing’ buyers. But if you weed out as many as you can early on, your sales will increase as you spend your time with the people who will do something.

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 / 11

NZSM

WED 9 JULY Time Management Richard Gee Christchurch

THU 10 JULY Key Account Management NZIM Auckland

FRI 11 JULY Key Account Management NZIM Auckland

CALENDAR SAT 12 JULY

MON 14 JULY Account Management Skills NZIM Auckland

TUE 15 JULY

WED 16 JULY

THU 17 JULY

Account Management Skills NZIM Auckland

SUN 13 JULY FRI 18 JULY

SAT 19 JULY

SUN 20 JULY THU 24 JULY Sales Skills University of Auckland Auckland

FRI 25 JULY

MON 21 JULY Negotiation Skills NZIM Auckland Key Account Management NZIM Auckland Sales Development David Forman Auckland

SAT 26 JULY

TUE 22 JULY Negotiation Skills NZIM Auckland Sales Development David Forman Auckland

MON 28 JULY Prospecting for new business

Sales Skills University of Auckland Auckland

Richard Gee Christchurch Sales Development David Forman Tauranga

Sales Development David Forman Auckland

SUN 27 JULY WED 30 JULY

THU 31 JULY

Mental Toughness University of Auckland Auckland Sales Management Richard Gee Christchurch Sales Development David Forman Tauranga

TUE 5 AUGUST Sales Development David Forman Hamilton

FRI 1 AUGUST

WED 23 JULY Sales Development David Forman Auckland

SAT 2 AUGUST

Sales Prospecting NZIM Auckland

TUE 29 JULY Mental Toughness University of Auckland Auckland Sales Basics Richard Gee Christchurch Sales Development David Forman Tauranga

MON 4 AUGUST Sales Development David Forman Hamilton

SUN 3 AUGUST WED 6 AUGUST Sales Management Richard Gee Wellington Sales Development David Forman Hamilton

THU 7 AUGUST

FRI 8 AUGUST

Creating a Successful Sales Proposal University of Auckland Auckland

Creating a Successful Sales Proposal University of Auckland Auckland

Sales Development David Forman Hamilton

SAT 9 AUGUST

SUN 10 AUGUST

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 / 12

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    

 

   

               

BOOK REVIEW

Wink

By Roger Hamilton

W

ink is a modern day parable of a nine year old boy being raised by his carpenter father who is sick and tired. Every day for the last 20 years the carpenter has visited the Well of Wealth and spent a dollar, believing that if he gives generously to the Well, it will give generously to him in return. On this day, the Carpenter is so unwell he is unable to visit the well, so he sends his nine year old son, Richard, in his place. Richard is entrusted with a treasured crumpled dollar, and sets off on his journey to the Well of Wealth.

Following an overgrown path, Richard discovers that the Well of Wealth is not where or what he thought it was. On the journey Richard meets a host of mysterious and intriguing characters including an old woman, an Optometrist, a Plumber, a Gardener, a Fisherman, a Rower, a Musician, and an Inn Keeper. Each have built their wealth in very different ways, and yet, there is something about them that is common to them all.

This fictional tale makes you think deeper as to the dynamics of wealth creation. The keys to wealth are in a story behind a story. To find the keys, you need to become better at seeing as “What you see is always what you get.� Each reading will help you to discover more keys, until one by one, they will unlock the doors to your wealth.

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 / 14

THE CLOSE

“If I’d had some set idea of a finish line, don’t you think I would have crossed it years ago?”

- Bill Gates

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

*GEE WHIZ!

Richard Gee celebrates 25 years of training sales people

*PERSONAL BRANDING What do you stand for?

NZSM / JULY 9th 2008 / 15