NZSALES NOVEMBER | ISSUE 100
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ISSUE NZ’S E-MAG FOR SALES LEADERS | WWW.NZSALESMANAGER.CO.NZ
From the Editor W
elcome to issue 100! A good way to celebrate an anniversary is to reflect back, so I have selected five articles from the past 99 issues, starting with one from the first issue, and one from each subsequent 20 issues. It was not possible to choose the best, as there are dozens of best articles. Instead, I’ve chosen examples from New Zealand authors that support what we set out to do with NZ Sales Manager. Provide useful, practical, easy to read content that will be relevant and help New Zealand salespeople to be more successful in their chosen profession. I find that like most other countries in the world, selling is not viewed as a profession or a career in New Zealand and does not have a recognised career path as many other professions do. The stereotypical perception of a salesperson that still prevails is of someone who puts on the ‘hard sell’, is highly persuasive and manipulative and not to be trusted. However the fact is that the modern salesperson requires highlevel interpersonal skills and business acumen if they are to be consistently successful in today’s complex and sophisticated markets. They need to be detectives to uncover opportunities and doctors who do a good diagnosis of customer issues and problems and are able to facilitate change decisions. They then need to be able to prescribe optimum solutions. Unlike doctors and detectives, many people begin a sales job with no relevant qualifications, and many fall into sales rather than starting with a career plan. Although graduates are increasingly being recruited into the more technical or complex sales jobs, 02 |
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The modern sales person requires high level interpersonal skills and business acumen if they are to be consistently successful in today’s complex and sophisticated markets.
the career ambition of many new entrants is to progress quickly into management, not to be a career sales professional.
good recruitment decision, and they usually have to train new recruits in how to sell.
There is certainly no national system in New Zealand to produce good sales people, and there is no consistent benchmark to use as a measure of competency. It is usually left to employers to hope that they are making a
There are also the reflections from the founder of NZ Sales Manager, Richard Liew, and insights from five leading New Zealand sales training and development experts. We hope NZ Sales Manager helps in some way with your success, and that you enjoy seeing these articles again or reading them for the first time.
Some companies are very good at this, but many struggle. Salespeople who take personal responsibility for their own learning and development will be the winners.
CONTACT/SUBSCRIBE&SHARE W E
RICHARD LIEW www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz Managing Director
021 123 456
PN
www.linkedin.com
www.espiremedia.com richardl@espiremedia.com
pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz
SUBSCRIBE AT www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz. It’s free!
ABOUT Short and sharp, New Zealand Sales Manager is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking sales managers, business owners and sales professionals.
ISSN 2230-4762 EDITOR Paul Newsom GROUP EDITOR Richard Liew
CONTENT ENQUIRIES Phone Paul on 021 784 070 or email pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz
ADDRESS NZ Sales Manager, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 99758, Newmarket, Auckland 1151, NZ
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Phone Jennifer on 09 522 7257 or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com
ART DIRECTOR Jodi Olsson
contents
NOVEMBER FROM THE FOUNDER...........................................................................................................................6 PASSIONATE ABOUT SALES..............................................................................................................8
Su Walker from ABC Business Sales
The New World of Selling..................................................................................................................10 . . . . ISSUE ONE: Indecent Proposals..........................................................................................16
ISSUE TWENTY NINE: Stop for Red Flags!...........................................................................20 ISSUE FORTY SEVEN: 5 Tips for the Reluctant Salesperson!.........................................................24 ISSUE SEVENTY TWO: Winning Sales Presentations.....................................................................28 ISSUE EIGHTY FIVE: Nine Steps to Supercharge Your Job Hunt....................................................32 BOOK GIVEAWAY...............................................................................................................................36 You're Hired: The Essential Guide to Job Hunting by Tom O'Neil QUICK FIX..........................................................................................................................................37 It’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell
CALENDAR....................................................................................................................... 40 THE CLOSE........................................................................................................................................41
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FROMTHEFOUNDER
100 Not Out!
A Letter From The Founder Words by Richard Liew
I
n 2001, when transitioning from a career in accounting into my first sales job selling Eftpos terminals on 'commission only', the first thing I did was to head to the bookstore to look for New Zealand’s sales industry magazine. I figured that as a new salesperson, the best thing to do was learn as much as I could about this thing called 'selling' so that I could get up to speed, and off the bottom of the sales leader board as soon as possible. To my surprise, the publication I was looking for didn’t exist. I could not understand why one of New Zealand’s most important professions did not have its own magazine. Oh well, I thought, someone will soon fix that. Fast forward to 2008, after several years at the coalface of selling, sales training and recruitment, it was clear to me that the common denominator amongst top salespeople and sales managers was not just a positive attitude or good work ethic, but a willingness to learn and continually be assimilating new ideas, testing them out, tweaking and refining their approach until they get the desired results. Like professional athletes, true sales professionals are constantly working on themselves and to me it is the defining feature of what it means to be a sales professional as opposed to just another salesperson. Sales professionals understand that in order to keep earning, they must always be learning. 06 |
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So we launched NZ Sales Manager all those years ago with the simple goal of helping the people we knew in sales, and it now gives me great pleasure to congratulate the team and the title on its 100th issue. A huge thanks and congratulations must go to Paul Newsom, who as Editor has done a fantastic job as steward not just of the publication but of the sales profession in general. Well done Paul and thank you for making NZ Sales Manager something to be proud of. Similarly, thank you to our talented Art Director, Jodi Olsson, who was able to take our vision for the publication and make it real. It’s great to see NZ Sales Manager continuing to evolve, navigating the fine line between pleasing design and easy reading. Thank you to all of our experts who have shared their knowledge, wisdom and experience throughout the pages of NZ Sales Manager over the years. One can only imagine how much your insights and encouragement have contributed to the success of New Zealand’s salespeople, the businesses they represent and the wider New Zealand economy. Lastly, thanks to you, our readers throughout New Zealand and around the world. The role of the modern sales professional continues to change and evolve as I write this and with your support we look forward to serving you for another 100 issues at least! I’d like to leave you with a quote from one of my heros, Jim Rohn.
“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job, you can make a living. If you work hard on yourself, you can make a fortune.” www.espiremedia.com
Richard Liew, Founder, NZ Sales Manager magazine
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07
PASSIONATEABOUTSALES
Why did you get into sales? It was by chance. I was in a sales administration role at the time and my boss suggested I try it.
Where did you learn to be a sales manager? Whilst I was working for one of the UK’s top IT companies.
What is the best thing about being a sales manager?
Interview with Su Walker of ABC Business Sales
S
u Walker is National Sales Manager with ABC Business Sales, New Zealand’s leading business sales company. Su manages a sales team of 29 and shares here some insights from her extensive international sales career in the technology industry in the UK, France and New Zealand.
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Being part of the team and having the opportunity to influence, empower and support the team to achieve personal and professional success.
What do you look for in sales people when you are recruiting? Our business is about helping people realise their dreams. In addition to having strong business skills and experience I look for people that have a positive attitude, are passionate, have a sense of humour, are able to articulate a value proposition and present themselves credibly.
What sets the top sales people apart from the rest? Their ability to listen and qualify well, able to articulate the business requirements and create value in the service or solution being proposed. They are typically self-motivated, disciplined, well organised, communicate well and create urgency in closing sales.
What's your worst sales moment? Making an assumption on the venue for a client presentation and turning up to the wrong location with the Managing Director.
Tell us about the sales success you are most proud of. On the successful conclusion of a large services contract I was commended by the decision maker as the reason the business selected our organisation, however I attribute the success to the great team working with me.
How do you motivate sales people? By working with them to understand, support, encourage and coach – help them to believe in themselves.
Advice for someone considering a career in sales management? The skill set is totally different as you go from only managing yourself to managing a whole team, all with different strengths, weaknesses, problems, goals, and emotions. Sales Management is about coaching so training before the transition is integral as would be finding a suitable mentor to support you during this time. •
“Our business is about helping people realise their dreams. In addition to having strong business skills and experience I look for people that have a positive attitude, are passionate, have a sense of humour, are able to articulate a value proposition and present themselves credibly.”
www.businessesforsale.co.nz
Su Walker is National Sales Manager with ABC Business Sales, New Zealand’s leading business sales company
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The New World of Selling Taking the pulse of New Zealand’s sales profession Words by Navdeep Kaur Marwah
T
he world of the traditional sales professional has undergone significant change, especially over the last decade. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that 2008’s Global Financial Crisis, as with other major historical economic events, played an integral part in the latest cycle of challenges; shaking sales organisations to the core when the money dried up. While we have largely recovered from the GFC fallout, New Zealand sales professionals in both business-to-consumer, and business-to-business must now navigate the increasing impact of the online world, including social media, on lead generation and the sales cycle. Recent research by Influence Central revealed that for 90% of consumers, an online review of a product or service is more important than input from a salesperson. Constant connectivity coupled with increasing dependence on the 'all seeing, all knowing' Internet has changed the way people buy and thus the way sales professionals must sell. 010 |
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It is clear that buyers like to do their own research to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend before they make any purchase, and this has made the work of sales professionals even more challenging. We spoke to five New Zealand sales training and development experts to take the 'pulse' of the sales profession in New Zealand and get their take on the three biggest challenges facing our sales professionals. Here are their insights.
Martin Percival Managing Director AchieveGlobal NZ
Sales professionals now must possess a resilience beyond that which was required in the past – to remain motivated and excited about the next potential opportunity.
“
“
>PRESSURE TO DEVELOP NEW OPPORTUNITIES OR LEADS New Zealand as a marketplace has always been finite in terms of opportunity and leads. As such, sales endeavours have often related to the cyclical buying requirements related to reinvestment and maintenance and then the GFC landed. We’re still experiencing the spend rationalisation and conservative behaviour that permeated the years following the GFC. In addition, when we do spend we look for cheaper alternatives or drive discounts in our suppliers. As a result, sales organisations are putting increasing pressures and emphasis on sales team members to adopt new strategies, new >LACK OF MOTIVATION thought processes and skills; generally without training or support, Over the past few years, increased to prospect and open doors in a marketplace already limited with buyer expectations, longer sales opportunity as pre-existing relationships dry up. cycles, reduced budgets, and increasing price competition have >LESS EMPHASIS ON PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS all contributed towards the fact Historically, the New Zealand marketplace has been heavily that sales has become a far more weighted in terms of inter-personal relationships. Being able to build challenging profession. Sales relationships built on trust meant long-term success and ensured professionals now need to work that the competition couldn’t enter the fray. In the current climate, twice as hard for a budget which however, budget holders are expected to show a positive return on has been slashed to the smallest investment and often find themselves in an extended procurement permissible level. Therefore, sales process with additional team members who focus on the tangible professionals now must possess a financial aspects of a transaction rather than the immeasurable resilience beyond that which was service or relationship aspect. In essence, it has become about price required in the past – to remain and the salespersons who differentiated themselves through their motivated and excited about the relationships are struggling to maintain their position. next potential opportunity. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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CEO Growing Organisations
>MAINTAINING A HUMAN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BUYER IN THE DIGITAL AGE Our customers' time resource is stretched to breaking point. Everyone is 'meetinged out' and exhausted. As a result, meetings are set weeks in advance if you get one at all. Often we have to resort to 'phone meetings' instead. Therefore, even existing customers are harder and harder to get time with.
>KEEPING UP WITH THE RAPID TURNOVER OF STAFF Contacts, especially gate-keepers, as well as decision-makers, move on before you've been able to build trust and hence one has to start building trust and relationships with the new people all over again.
>COMPLYING WITH MARKETING DEPARTMENTS DEMAND TO KEEP CRM (CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT) SYSTEMS CURRENT AT ALL TIMES This requires hours of a sales person's time every week, taking them away from productive sales activity. Obviously this impacts their sales performance and results. 012 |
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“
Salespeople fight the daily war against distractions and non-urgent activities
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Ross Wilson
Stuart Edmunds CEO New Zealand Sales Institute
>LACK OF LASER LIKE FOCUS Every company in every industry has their own unique sales challenges, but one universal issue is the frustrated inability of sellers to focus on the most important things. Salespeople fight the daily war against distractions and non-urgent activities that come up with the inevitable impact on focusing exclusively on what’s most important to your pipeline.
>EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY Technology adoption among sales professionals has been well behind marketing. There is now an explosion of sales automation technologies specific to sales professionals, but those same sales professionals need to take advantage of what is now in front of them. There is still tremendous scope for more effective tools to play an increasingly important role in improving sales productivity and effectiveness.
>NEED FOR GREAT SALES MANAGEMENT Far too few salespeople have competent sales management who can guide, coach, support, mentor, motivate and direct their activities apart from keeping other conflicting priorities at bay and helping them in creating the best environment to ultimately drive (over-) achievement of sales.
“ Director ProFormance
>KEEPING UP WITH THE TECHNOLOGY Technology coupled with the speed of change is inevitably going to have a widespread and highly impactful effect on sales people and our ability to sell effectively. Our customers are able to access all sorts of information about ourselves, our company and our products through online sources without even conversing with us. Some of the information online we can control and hence is positive on the brand.
A good salesperson needs to be aware of his/ her skills and abilities as well as his/her limitations.
“
Joanne Hyland
But, inevitably there will be information that we cannot control including friends putting inappropriate photos of us online, customers publishing product reviews we don’t like and competitors outplaying us. This puts increasing pressure on organisations and their sales teams to be constantly informed and able to respond appropriately. Moreover, our sales resources have changed. Our customers expect us to have smartphones, tablets and to be able to immediately access sales information, stock levels, pricing options that help them to make their decision. They are not prepared to wait in this environment where we are all time poor and want immediate solutions.
>PROVIDING CUSTOMISED SOLUTIONS
>OVERCOMING OUR OWN LIMITATIONS
Sales is a competitive industry, where the dynamics change continuously. With all the technology we have at our fingertips, we should have live comprehensive sales data to inform, educate and advise our customer on the best solution for their business. No two customers should be treated the same or given the same offer. In-depth analysis enables us to tailor our offer in a manner that is win/win for our customer and us. The outstanding sales person should aim to be in the position whereby your customer does not want to be without him/her.
A good salesperson needs to be aware of his/her skills and abilities as well as his/her limitations. They need to source feedback and coaching to enable continuous self-improvement. They need to look for opportunities to upskill, to grow and develop. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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“
The people who we need to reach have become busier than they used to be five years ago... Getting their attention is a big challenge.
Knowledge is power. More knowledge is more power.
Paul O'Donohue CEO SalesSTAR
>GETTING IN FRONT OF THEIR TARGET MARKET The people who we need to reach have become busier than they used to be five years ago. Moreover, they are bombarded with 1000’s of marketing messages every day. Getting their attention is a big challenge.
“
>COMMODITISATION OF PRODUCT/SERVICE It is a global world and our products and services are being commoditised.
>PROLONGED SALES CYCLES Most of the time, companies only buy if they have to buy, so decisions are being stalled.
www.espiremedia.com 014 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
It is clear the modern salesperson must be provided with a level of management support and guidance that goes far beyond simply increasing their targets for new meetings or cold calls or sales each week. The pressures of rationalised sales teams and budgets, increased reporting pressures and increased operational requirements can leave sales reps feeling isolated, unrecognised and vulnerable. There needs to be more sales management capability in NZ, providing more coaching and support for sales team members. The sales professional of today must understand that more than ever, in this ever changing playing field, it is the survival of the fittest. On the bright side, the sales professional who is flexible, resourceful and innovative, and can add something of real value to each customer interaction will always be able to make his or her mark. •
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ISSUEONE
Indecent Proposals Paul Newsom explains how being too eager to prepare sales proposals can lead to wasted time and lost sales opportunities.
P
roposals have a special place in the mind of many sales people. They are one of the milestones of the sales process and are often the main weapon in the sales armoury. They are the ‘meat of the dinner’. Gaining the opportunity to submit a proposal is considered by many to be a major success. Hours of writing and a few candles later, a proposal is proudly submitted. Excitement, anticipation and anxiety reaches fever pitch while we wait for the outcome to see whether the customer will choose the 'beef', 'lamb' or 'fish' from our proposal. Then guess what, the request comes back to quote a vegetarian option, (because a competitor has suggested this), and back to work we go, developing a winning proposal for the vegetarian. On a bad day, the customer goes for the pork, and you miss out. On a good day, the customer dines with you. Rather than writing your proposal as soon as the client asks what is on the menu and then spending valuable time at the proposal end of the sales cycle, the place to spend your time is doing a good diagnosis and selecting the optimal solution with the client. 016 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
This is the ‘meat’ of developing complex sales. For example, you must spend time understanding how and why 'beef' is the best option, then how the client likes their beef cooked! Don’t let proposals become a substitute for building trust or do the selling for you, whereby you are over-reliant on the proposal to win the deal. Such proposals are easy to pick they are top heavy in ‘about us’ capability information that seldom gets read. Since customers don’t buy proposals, (they buy solutions and value), instead build trust through the strength of your diagnosis, and use the proposal to simply confirm all that you have agreed. Your two-page proposal will then offer only the desired option, and is far more likely to be accepted. Done well, this has far more impact than any hefty proposal, both on your customer and your sales results and the long term relationship.
Are You Sure You Know What You’re Proposing? One of the biggest challenges of complex sales is working with customers and buyers who ask you to submit a proposal before you know what you are making a proposal for. Responding to a request for a proposal so that the client can consider the possible options can be a tough one to deal with. In this situation, we naturally want to seize the opportunity and get our proposal in early to make an impression. We wonder what the competition is doing. If we do not jump when asked to jump, what will the customer think? Will the competition have a head start on us? Well, they won’t, they will just be wasting their time guessing what the customer wants and hoping that something will get the interest of the buyer. Just the same as you will be. Sure you might get lucky once in a while, but to succeed in complex sales requires much more than a game of chance and numbers. The consequence of over-reliance on the proposal to sell, and submitting too early is that you consume vast amounts of your time and resources preparing a proposal of options, most if not all of which never happen.
The cost to your organisation can be huge. I recall an extreme case for a multi-million dollar project where the senior buyer asked very In complex sales, the proposal is early on for a proposal of all the possible options to consider. not the meat, it is the gravy. It is Well, evaluating all possible options to be able to make a the part which brings the meal proposal for them would have taken months and cost $$$’s. together, rather than the main Instead the next few months were valuably spent jointly figuring part of the meal. out the viable options. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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If you don’t know exactly what you are proposing and why, then you must ask yourself also whether the buyer knows what they are trying to buy, or even how they will decide? There are two things you have to do when asked to submit a proposal prematurely:
To be honest, I find this premature request happens when buyers don’t know what they are buying, or don’t know what the extent of the problem is. Repeated submissions follow as the buyer progressively gets a better understanding of what they are doing. As buyers don’t we feel safer reading proposals in comfort to try and figure it out ourselves rather than risk being sold the wrong thing?
that in order to submit a proposal upon which they can make an informed decision, you both need to first understand. This requires discipline.
(That’s why we buy so much over the Internet now – isn’t it?). It is self-defence from the buyer and a symptom of decades of poor seller and poor buyer behaviour working in conflict.
>MAINTAIN THE SELF-ESTEEM OF THE BUYER. You
If you don’t know exactly what you are proposing and why, then you must ask yourself also whether the buyer knows what they are trying to buy, or even how they will decide?
>YOU HAVE TO STAY YOUR GROUND. Be firm, and say
Advise that you can only propose viable solutions that meet all the criteria, and at this stage, the criteria are not defined. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time and their time, and possibly put their business at risk. Plus, how do you know if you have the resources to provide a solution that will achieve the desired outcome? You could be putting your credibility and reputation at risk too.
don’t want to appear arrogant, seemingly knowing better. It will damage the trust you have built. Respect the wishes of the client, but suggest an alternative approach that will ensure you are providing accurate information upon which they can make the best possible buying decision. Submit a proposal without prior agreement of concept and we know what happens– the customer does nothing, decides on price alone, or you submit repeated proposals until someone figures it out!•
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Paul Newsom is the editor of NZ Sales Manager. 018 |
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ISSUETWENTYNINE
Stop for Red Flags!
Three critical areas you must explore to qualify leads Words by Tony Hillyard
S
ales Opportunity Qualification is one of the most valuable skills for a professional salesperson to develop. In this turbulent, recessionary climate it is very tempting to chase down every deal on the prospect list. Even the ones that you know in your heart you have very little chance of winning. However, this can actually make matters worse by diverting sales effort away from the better deals and reducing your chances of winning those.
020 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
Too many salespeople chase large, time-consuming deals that they have very little chance of winning. We do this because in a tough sales environment it naturally makes us feel better to go after every deal we come across - even when we know we shouldn’t! This eats up productive selling time! Salespeople can also often lose deals without knowing why. In many cases, it could be that they simply failed to ask one straightforward question that would have flushed out an objection or a problem that could have been handled quite easily. Using a Sales Opportunity Qualification Process will enable you to get a good perspective on where you stand with any sales opportunity, but it is particularly important for your larger deals.
You must address and resolve these three most important issues before committing a lot of resource to a sales campaign:
1.
Is it real for us? Although there might be a genuine sales opportunity available - it might not be available to you or your company for a variety of reasons.
2.
Do we want to win it?
• What is the risk involved?
IF YOU HAVE RED FLAG ISSUES, THEN SALES ACTIVITY IS REQUIRED Wherever you have answered 'No' or 'Don't Know' to a question, you have uncovered a Red Flag issue that could potentially stop you from winning the sale. You need to stop and think about what sales activities and sales calls you must undertake to get a 'Yes' response to those questions and get yourself into a winning position.
• Will it take more work and effort than it’s worth?
If there are too many Red Flag issues, you may decide that you • Can we adequately resource the sale? just won’t have enough time to resolve all of them before the 3. Can we win it? sale is due to close. In those • Do we have the right solution? circumstances, you might need to consider negotiating • Do we have a good relationship with the customer? for more time. Or you may feel • How strong is the competition? that it is just not worth chasing because it will involve more This Qualification Process will help you answer these questions effort than the sale is worth to and tell you when you have what I call ‘Red Flag’ issues to resolve. you. If so, you will have saved yourself a lot of wasted time Sales Opportunity Qualification is a critical and unequivocal that you can invest in finding process. You must answer: 'Yes', 'Don't Know’ or 'No' with a better sales opportunity. complete honesty for all the questions in each section. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz |
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Here are the 27 critical qualification questions you must answer:
IS IT REAL FOR US?
The Decision to Change
- Do they have a compelling reason to change?
- Is there Senior Executive support for the need to change?
- Have they discounted a ‘do nothing’ option?
The Money
- Have they explained the cost justification for this project?
- Do they have an approved budget for this project?
- Are our costs within their budget?
The Timeframe
- Have we agreed a decision process timeline with them?
- Does the decision process timeline suit us?
- Have they allocated enough time to evaluate our proposal in detail?
Salespeople can also often lose deals without knowing why. In many cases, it could be that they simply failed to ask one straightforward question that would have flushed out an objection or a problem that could have been handled quite easily.
- Can we meet their delivery and implementation timescales? The Commercial Reality
DO WE WANT TO WIN IT? The Risk versus the Gain
- Is the value of the sale enough for the effort involved?
- Have they accepted our commercial terms and conditions?
- Will implementation be - Are we compliant with all of their mandatory requirements? straightforward?
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- Do we have our company's approval to submit a proposal or a quotation? www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
- Can we adequately resource the sales campaign?
There are three parts to the Sales Opportunity Qualification Process:
CAN WE WIN IT?
The Solution
- Are any of our unique features and benefits in their decision criteria?
- Do the Key Influencers favour our solution?
- Have we aligned our solution to their Key Business Drivers and Critical Success Factors?
- Are we proposing a low or reasonable risk solution?
The Relationship
- Do we have a good relationship track record with them?
- Do we have good access to the decision-makers?
- Do we have a well-placed Coach?
1
1. Gaining an accurate perspective on a sales opportunity by answering all of the Qualification Questions with complete honesty.
2
3
- Are we allowed to 'sell' to all the Key Influencers on this project?
2. Developing all of the sales activities and sales calls that are still necessary to get you into a winning position for the opportunity.
The Competition
- Do we know which of the competitors are favoured by the customer?
- Do we know the strengths and weaknesses of the main competitors?
- Do we know the sales strategies of the main competitors?
3. Early identification and elimination of the deals you can’t win and the ones you don’t want to win! Use this Qualifying Large Sales Opportunities Process to dramatically improve your chances of winning the significant sales opportunities on your prospect list that you choose to go after - and stop chasing the ones you are unlikely to win or don’t want to win. •
www.salesacademy.net.nz
Tony Hillyard specialises in giving sales teams around the world smart solutions to help them win more business in difficult or very competitive markets. Visit Tony’s website here for more information © The Sales Academy Ltd. All Rights Reserved. July 2009 www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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ISSUEFORTYSEVEN
5 Tips for the Reluctant Salesperson
Words by Bill James
M
aybe you are new at sales, you topped the training class – but just cannot make the sales stick. Or you could be a veteran of many sales conquests but more recently you simply cannot get the deals across the line. Or perhaps you spent a small fortune acquiring a franchise and it looked great on paper. You have big plans, high hopes, and you are putting in the hours to make it happen. But somehow the results are not coming, and the money is not flowing. What’s wrong? Unfortunately, the answer could be you! Especially for franchisees there are lots of promises about fantastic marketing packages and potential clients coming through the door but the simple truth is that you are now self-employed. No more sick days. No one else to delegate to. It is you that has to make that sale and secure your own money. 024 |
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So here are five tips that will help get you on track if you action them:
1
Stop thinking of yourself as a ‘Salesman’ (Or Saleswoman) Think about it. The word ‘salesman’ or saleswoman’ does not engender confidence and is not respected, even by you. Ask yourself; do you like being ‘sold’? Guess what – your clients feel the same way. There is a huge amount of negative connotation around this wording, and it brings up an image of someone you may not want to be. From a small child, there is every chance your parents told you that salespeople were pushy and not to be trusted, and now you have to become one.
Ask yourself; do you like This obviously causes a real internal conflict and is, in my opinion, the being ‘sold’? number one reason why you could find yourself sabotaging your own Guess what efforts. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself these questions: – your clients • Do you approach every sales opportunity in the belief it will be a sale? • Are you secretly dreading ‘that’ question from your client - The one feel the you find so hard to answer? same way... • Do you find lots of little jobs to do that keep you so busy that you Remember, have little time for new business calls? your role is to help people These issues are even more acute if you’re very technical in nature, make the and you like performing the task but not producing the sale. Why not rename yourself so that you’re comfortable in saying that right decision word when you represent yourself to a potential client. What could – it is not to you call yourself that sits comfortably with you? sell them Remember, your role is to help people make the right decision – it is something. not to sell them something. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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2
The reality is that you could be a complete ratbag, but people still buy from complete ratbags – as long as they are honest about being one.
3
Be yourself
Show some passion for your subject Again we put on this persona of ‘professionalism’ which means we deliver a very dry presentation. What was the passion that got you involved in the first place? If it was simply that you thought you’d make a lot of money you may possibly have made an error – that’s called a job.
So many people will put on a persona they think is needed to create a successful sales outcome. This is simply not the case and could, in fact, be what is costing you business.
Clients enjoy your enthusiasm and passion for your product. It will take you through the tough When you went through all the psychological and personality testing times, but you’ll also need to (hopefully) when you applied for the job or franchise opportunity, show it to your clients, so they these assessments showed the real you and indicated that you know that you are passionate should be successful in your business. So why are you hiding this about what you are doing. real you now? This isn’t easy in cultures where Clients look for faults and are suspicious when you knock on the showing emotion is not the norm door because you are promoting a product. If they sense falseness but the old saying ‘enthusiasm about you, it will raise their alarms and give them good reason not sells’ is as true now as it ever was. to buy from you. Will your natural personality be what everyone Let your passion and is looking for every time? Probably not. You will get on with some enthusiasm for your subject out people better than others. and you’ll take your potential But the reality is, especially if you are less experienced, you were client along with you for the ride. quite possibly never going to sell to those people anyway. The ones The big problem is that if you do that would be attracted to your natural personality will be put off by not show some passion and hide a fake overlay so stop doing it. in facts and figures, your clients will allocate an emotion and a The reality is that you could be a complete ratbag, but people still buy from complete ratbags – as long as they are honest about being motivation to you. What do you think the chances are that it will one. Can you image your reaction to someone who’s obviously a be a positive one? ratbag but is pretending to be nice and you can see through it? It would make you want to run in the opposite direction wouldn’t it?
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None!
4
Jargon kills sales Occasionally you’ll find someone who’s really caught up in the technical aspects of what you do. But usually they are initially more interested in knowing you understand and care about their needs. If you are technically orientated, it’s easy to hide in the features of your product but this will stop you truly addressing the need of the client. Often most products appear to be very similar and have similar pricing, and so the difference is your ability to uncover their real concerns and needs and address those. In this way, you’ll make a connection at a very personal level, which is the key to gaining that commitment from your potential client. Loading them up with jargon will simply occupy their headspace and will actually be counterproductive. Talking everyday language that your client can understand and addressing their real needs will result in you making real progress.
5
Use a low logic approach with your potential client ‘Low logic’ is language that is simple to understand. It is almost like approaching your client underneath the radar. Simply approach them in a very matter of fact way (with a certain amount of emotion) and give them the option to decline your services if they want. In this way, you don’t raise any alarm bells and make them feel trapped. They are much more likely to come along for the ride this way. For example: “Mr. Prospect, the simple reality is businesses like yours can use this product and it has X effect. For you to be interested it obviously has to meet X, Y, Z needs and also fit within your budget, and I have to be able to show you the real benefits of working with our company. If I can’t, then it’s only fair that I should head for the door. But if I can make all that happen, then your company is definitely at an advantage. I’d like to simply sit down with you and run through these different ideas and see where we go from there, is that fair enough?” So be yourself, cut the jargon, and let your passion for the product speak for itself. Approach other people the way you like to be approached and you might well find that your sales increase hugely.•
www.BillJamesSpeaker.com
Bill James is an internationally recognised sales speaker and trainer, who specialises in referral and relationship marketing. To find out more, visit his website above. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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ISSUESEVENTYTWO
Winning Sales Presentations Words by Debbie Mayo-Smith
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Strong opening
C
reating a great sales presentation isn’t very different to crafting a great speech. You want to keep attention. Motivate. Convince. Move to action. Here is a formula that I follow (learnt from the American maestro Patricia Fripp) that should help you to vastly improve your success when putting together and delivering a sales presentation.
To whom are you speaking? Be prepared before you go in and know as much about your audience as possible. Age, attitude, industry and gender will all have a bearing on how you present your points. Men and women have different senses of humour. Younger audiences will be more impatient than older, ‘C’ level executives who don’t need the details. Your presentation style and content must fit their perspective.
You are not the hero What is the ratio of your PowerPoint slides (or written material) devoted to your company vs. the potential client? It stands to reason if you are invited to pitch, you have already passed the preliminary vetting. The convincing is done. Wow them, stand out from your competition by focusing on them - not stories of you, your company, achievements or accolades. Do you like listening to egotistical sales people? Share the glory with sales teams. Ensure you put the prospective company in the limelight.
I-You Ratio Likewise look through your sales presentations and count how many I’s, we’s and us’s you have. Make certain your slides and stories are about them, not you. Change the perspective at every opportunity possible. Wrong: “Our company is number one in ...” Right: “You benefit from our number one standing because...”
If you’re pitching a $500,000 contract and have only 10 minutes, then starting with “good morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you for having us here,” just cost you over $8,300 by wasting 10 seconds. Open differently and strongly. Paint a picture. Take them into the future. Describe how they’re benefiting from the clever decision they made years ago working with you. Decision makers want to benefit the company; they also want personally to be sure they are taking the right action. So highlight how they’ll be remembered for doing the right thing by using your company (don’t make it too much of a butter up though).
Answer questions up front What do they want to know from you? How can you help them? If you’re more expensive, will take longer, or are the underdog – do not ignore the fact. They’re thinking it. Come straight out early into the presentation with a ‘I know what you’re thinking’ statement, then answer their objections. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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Review
Premise Build the sales presentation around the structure of how they will benefit from what you are asking them to do. “You will save $2 million dollars by using our software”, or, “You will cut maintenance expenditure by 20 per cent.” Phrase it so they say to themselves ‘how?’ You then answer in a logical and structured way.
Points laid out logically You can help them make $2million. How? You enumerate and discuss the points one by one with examples. Point one is cutting costs. Point two is increasing revenue. Point three is boosting staff productivity. Highlighting points by telling a story will work infinitely better for you than simply stating it or just saying why. By the way, you turn masterful in your sales presentation story telling skills when you give your stories flesh and blood characters and dialogue.
Seamless transition Moving from a main point (cutting costs) to the next (increasing revenue) should have a smooth flow instead of an abrupt change. Carrying on our example, you could transition by saying, “lowering costs is only one side of the equation of boosting your profit. Increasing sales in a challenging environment might not seem easy, let me show you how we help”. That places you nicely into the segment on how you increase their revenues.
Questions Don’t end with questions, rather take them before you review at the end so you can close on a high note.
www.successis.co.nz
If possible use a story again – outlining a client that benefited in all the ways you highlight they will benefit.
Repetitive reframes/ sound bite statements You can be sure they’ll remember stories. Hit home with better retention by giving them little sound bites and repeating them often.
Strong Close Refer back to your opening story or bring all the elements together describing how they’ll benefit. If you didn’t use the’ looking into the future’ in your opening, you can use it in the closing. “Picture yourself in two years’ time. It’s the gala dinner. Award night. Everyone is abuzz because of the success of the new software system you approved and installed the year before. Five different staff have come to you throughout the evening – all award winners from their significant leap in productivity”. •
Debbie Mayo-Smith is one of New Zealand’s most in-demand speakers, trainers and bestselling authors. Debbie works with companies that want more effective staff. For more tips and business ideas sign up for her free monthly newsletter. 030 |
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ISSUEEIGHTYFIVE
Nine Steps to Supercharge Your Job Hunt
Tom O'Neil shares some strategies to ensure you get a jump on your competition
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1. Follow-up and use your personal networks Surprisingly a large amount of job offers come from word of mouth. When a person is a colleague or friend, their word is generally more trusted. Therefore, a person who is referred to an employer has a higher 'trust value' and, therefore, a higher chance of getting employed. This is especially true if there is not actually an official job vacancy and you are the only person being assessed for the role.
Surprisingly a large amount of job offers come from word of mouth. When a person is a colleague or friend, their word is generally more trusted. Therefore, a person who is referred to an employer has a higher 'trust value' and, therefore, a higher chance of getting employed.
2. LinkedIn Go through your LinkedIn profile with an objective eye, making sure your profile 'sells' you as much as possible. Look at common keywords in the types of positions you are seeking and ensure these are included in your profile. After you have done this, ask a friend or two to have a look through as well to see if you have missed anything of importance.
Check the number and quality of your recommendations on LinkedIn. Social media author Linda Coles calls these your 'silent salespeople.' I recently was told a major international IT company Therefore, it's vital to get back in would not select any senior level staff unless they had more than contact with your network with 20 recommendations. I was chuffed when I read this as I am up your good wishes, as well as tell to 45, however when I asked Linda I found that she has over 120! them you are now looking for Therefore, you can start to see the power these 'sound-bite' type new career opportunities. recommendations can have. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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Has there ever been a company you would just 'love' to work for? Why not contact them directly and introduce yourself, your skills and what you can do for them. 3. Go back over your successes in the past 12 months Most people tend to rush into the job hunting process, only really thinking about their successes (and failures) when they are in the interview. Were you awarded further authority in your role? Did you exceed any sales or performance targets? Did you train or mentor any new people? All these things are important to an employer so make sure you take some time today to think about the positive things that shaped your career recently (and be sure to include them in your CV!)
4. Plan your career, not just your next job Remember that each position is a stepping stone to the next, so take some time out to think about what you want to be doing for a role in 2020. Once you have done this, map out ideal positions (and study if needed) to get you there.
5. Direct marketing Has there ever been a company you would just 'love' to work for? Why not contact them directly and introduce yourself, your skills and what you can do for them. You would be surprised about the amount of people who, because they demonstrated a strong interest in the company, got a position personally crafted for them, even though there appeared to be no position available. The other major benefit of this direct approach is that it means a manager does not have to pay a $15,000 recruitment fee, as you have come to them for free! 034 |
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6. Check in with your verbal referees Time and time again a candidate has missed out on a dream job because their referees were too old or not overly positive. During my HR and recruitment career, I have contacted the referees of candidates I have been really interested in employing and got responses like "Oh no... is Steve looking for ANOTHER job?" or "Sorry I don't remember a Mike Smith... Are you sure he put me as a referee?" Contact your referees, ensure they are aware that you are back on the job hunt, and ask them if they are happy to provide a verbal reference. The five-minute call you make today may well be the difference between getting your next job in October or March.
8. Take time to tailor your CV, cover letter and interview to the role
7. Follow-up Because of the nature of the recruitment process (especially executive search and selection), the hiring process can be extremely drawn out. Make sure you keep in contact with the recruiter/potential employer on a regular basis. Most candidates are not keen to do this as they feel it's overly aggressive. However, as long as you are friendly and professional in your follow-up, you should be remembered positively when the time for the final decision comes.
A vacant position is a major headache for a company, especially if that position is at a senior or executive level. Therefore, it's vital that you tailor your entire approach as a 'complete solution', specifically for the opportunity. In most job advertisements and position descriptions, there is a section entitled 'Personal Specifications/Characteristics/Competencies' etc. This section is the key to the role and is what you need to target. Read through the documentation and summarise what the ideal person would look like. With your skills, achievements, qualifications and experiences, how can you meet or exceed these requirements? Finally, you want to ensure that the main aspects and keywords are 'mirrored' in everything you send to the employer and in your answers during the interview. The closer you meet their brief of the ideal candidate, the higher the chance of you getting that job!
9. Positive state of mind As the job hunt progresses, it can become a painful process. However, it's vital to stay as positive as you can, as employers can sense frustration, anxiety, and antagonism, all the emotions they won't want in an employee. Make sure you go into each situation with a positive outlook, take the best from all situations and remember every challenge is an opportunity to grow and improve your skills. •
 CV.CO.NZ
Tom O'Neil is a leading international author, career specialist and MD of CV.CO.NZ. You can contact Tom via email: tom@cv.co.nz www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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COMPETITION
BOOK GIVEAWAY!
We have two copies of the brand new job search manual; You're Hired: The Essential Guide to Job Hunting and Personal Branding by Tom O'Neil to give away.
T
he book provides up-to-the-minute practical detail to choose the social media strategy best suited to your situation and ways to promote yourself through online networks, particularly LinkedIn, as well as the importance of ‘offline’ branding. Also included are sections on résumés and covering letters (with access online to templates), interviewing tips, networking, direct marketing, salary negotiation and career goal-setting, making this the essential job hunting guide. There has been a huge shift over the last three decades in the way employment recruitment takes place, and the power of the individual to take control of their job hunt has improved massively, according to career specialist Tom O’Neil. But the strength of your ‘brand’, and your ability to sell your skills and achievements, will dictate how successful you are in your search. In this compelling new guide, Tom provides job seekers with simple exercises
and guidance to identify personal attributes and key career highlights that will assist in marketing yourself to potential employers. The advice holds equally well for consultants and contractors like real estate agents and insurance brokers, looking to procure new business. •
pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz
Email Paul before 30th November to be in to win a copy. We have two copies to giveaway. Published by New Holland Publishers. 036 |
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QUICKFIX
Honest Apologies
So it’s all gone wrong, and you have let your customer down. It’s time to write to them with an apology. How many letters start like this?
‘
Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control we <have let you down>… And end like this: ‘We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused’. As a customer, I read this and think – well at least they have told me they have stuffed up, but they obviously don’t want to tell me why because they think that will make them look even worse, and their apology is so canned they don’t mean it anyway. They don’t really care.
QUICK FIX: To show you do really care and to build a relationship built on trust, cut out the canned opening and closing lines that everyone uses and use real language. • Tell it how you would say it - which is not the canned written way. • Tell what did happen, and what you learned that will improve customer service in the future. • Show that you understand their business you should know what inconvenience it has caused them so apologise specifically for this. Do this and your customers will be much more understanding! • .•
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THANKYOUFROMOURREADERS
It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge all the wonderful work done by the NZ Sales Manager Magazine and all the efforts put in by the editor Mr Paul Newsom. This magazine has been a great inspiration to all sales professionals, as well as a valuable learning tool. With a well laid out plan, this magazine has given all sales professionals including myself a great platform to focus and learn from, and thus being very successful in our sales efforts in a very demanding business environment. Congratulations for coming up to your 100th issue, which is indeed a great milestone and I personally wish the magazine and all those who run it every success and keep up the great work!!! Best Wishes, Ivo D’Silva, Sales & Customer Service Manager I've been reading and using pieces from NZ Sales Manager magazine since Jan 2011. It has helped me immensely in gaining trust and building sales teams. It gives me motivation each month to try something new and see if I can mould it to suit our team. Thank you for providing this sales tool - it really has been a great source of information and motivation.
Shaun Matheson 038 |
Regional Manager at EDL Fasteners Ltd
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“This magazine has been a great inspiration to all sales professionals, as well as a valuable learning tool.”
“Thanks for your wonderful insights, challenging the norm, and keeping us focused on doing our best”
Congratulations on the 100th issue of NZ Sales Manager eMag. You provide valuable tips on selling and sales management and your 100th issue is great proof that you share great ideas that your readers appreciate and find useful. Graham McGregor, Marketing Advisor & Journalist A big congrats to NZ Sales Manager on the 100th issue! Thanks for your wonderful insights, challenging the norm, and keeping us focused on doing our best. We look forward to the next 100! Paul Brophy, Team Leader NZ at CXC Global Sales management everywhere should be reading the NZ Sales Manager. Congrats on your 100th issue. Jill Konrath, Author of Agile Selling, SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies What a wonderful milestone for such a useful and inspiring magazine. Congratulations to you and all your hard work'. Linda Coles Online Marketing Expert Great work and contribution to Sales Managers all across NZ. Thank you. Ambrose Blowfield Owner, The Marketing Company To the editors and team behind NZSM, well done. Many growing challenges in the sales arena at an accelerating pace of change and great you have contributed so much to the profession. Stuart Edmunds Founder of New Zealand Institute of Sales • www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
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EVENTSCALENDAR
040 |
DATE 27 November
NAME Sales Management
PLACE Auckland
COMPANY Top Achievers Sales Training
1 December
Negotiation Skills
Wellington
IMNZ
1 December
Sales Seminar
Auckland
Top Achievers Sales Training
2 December
Key Account Management
Christchurch
IMNZ
2 December
Effective Sales Prospecting
Auckland
PD Training
8 December
Sales Basics
Auckland
Geewiz
9 December
Advanced Serious Selling
Auckland
Geewiz
11 December
Sales Training
Auckland
PD Training
15 December
Cold Calling and Prospecting
Auckland
Top Achievers Sales Training
15 December
Professional Telephone Skills Training
Auckland
PD Training
www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
THECLOSE
“I never ran 1,000 miles. I could never have done that. I ran 1 mile 1,000 times.” - Stu Mittleman
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