NZ Sales Manager - Issue 99

NZSALES OCTOBER | ISSUE 99

Do You Have Sales Manager Success Insurance?

Page 6

NZ’S E-MAG FOR SALES LEADERS | WWW.NZSALESMANAGER.CO.NZ

From the Editor I

f you are planning some training for your team in the near future, make sure you check out Stuart Edmunds thoughts in this issue on why sales training fails. I think sales training can often be enhanced by including the perspective of the buyer, rather than taking a sales only approach.

To help with this, Procurement Expert Paul Rogers shares an article he wrote for the procurement profession about how to work with suppliers – that’s us, the sales people. I found this

article particularly insightful, and it got me thinking about how I respond to phrases and questions that buyers use, and how to manage a conversation if the quality of question and opinion from the buyer is not particularly helpful. I hope you can use it as a tool in your next team session too.

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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.

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contents

OCTOBER THIS MONTH'S MUST READ...............................................................................................................6 DO YOU HAVE SALES MANAGER SUCCESS INSURANCE?

PASSIONATE ABOUT SALES MICHAEL FRIIS FROM 2DEGREES.................................................................................................12 DID YOU KNOW: COLOUR IN BUSINESS............................................................................................15 WHY SALES TRAINING FAILS.........................................................................................16 LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED...................................................................................20

TWO MINUTE TOP-UP.......................................................................................................................26 3 SALES FOLLOW UP STRATEGIES TO REPLACE ‘TOUCHING BASE’

QUICK FIX..........................................................................................................................................28 It’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell

BOOK REVIEW...................................................................................................................................30 Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallo

CALENDAR....................................................................................................................... 31 THE CLOSE........................................................................................................................................32

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MUSTREAD

Do You Have Sales Manager Success Insurance?

Words by Graham McGregor

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I

recently looked into unusual insurance policies. And I found there are all sorts of interesting things that insurance companies will happily write insurance policies for.

In 2011, Parade Magazine reported that Shirley MacLaine, a believer in the existence of extra-terrestrials, had, along with 20,000 other people, taken out alien abduction insurance. Her policy was in the region of $25 million.

In other words, if you get abducted by aliens (and can prove it) the insurance company will give you a nice pay-out. Many wellknown celebrities insure parts of their body that are a key factor in their success. Bruce Springsteen, well known for his unique vocal qualities, has his voice insured for an impressive amount. If something should happen to Bruce's voice, he stands to gain an impressive $6 million.

During the height of his career, Michael Flatley -- star of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance -- insured his legs for an unbelievable $47 million. However in all my research there is one type of insurance policy that I have never seen mentioned. And that is ‘Sales Manager Success Insurance'.

In other words, you can’t buy an insurance policy that pays you money in the event that you are not successful as a sales manager.

So if you fail as a sales manager you won’t get a large pay-out.

However, I have some good news for you…

You can take out your own ‘Sales Manager Success Insurance’ by following two very simple steps. And these two steps will quickly improve both your skills and results as a sales manager.

You can’t buy an insurance policy that pays you money in the event that you are not successful as a sales manager.

So if you fail as a sales manager you won’t get a large pay-out. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz |

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Let’s take a look at each step.

STEP ONE: USE THE ‘30/10 FORMULA’ This is one of the most practical things you can do to improve your skills not only as a sales manager but your skills in any area that is important to you.

The first day I could only do it for about three minutes, and The 30/10 formula means you spend 30 minutes every day reading my voice got croaky. I found that breathing in at the start of information that will improve your knowledge and skills in an important area for you. During this 30 minute period, you also spend a sentence and then pausing at each punctuation mark was very 10 minutes reading aloud the information you are studying. tiring. The next day I got to about 30 minutes a day is around 180 hours a year or over a solid month five minutes and stopped. It was of forty hour weeks. And 10 minutes a day of reading aloud is over completely different from doing 3,000 minutes a year or nearly 50 hours of voice training practice. my normal talking.

The 30/10 formula is very specific in how you do your reading aloud: I kept up my 30/10 formula for • You take in a breath at the start of a sentence and begin reading about two months, and some remarkable things happened. aloud your material.

• You pause briefly at each punctuation mark and stop at the end I found that I began to really understand and was able to use of a sentence and take another breath. some of the ideas in my book • You then begin reading the next sentence; pausing briefly again on selling. And then something at each punctuation mark. If you need to take another breath really strange occurred. during any sentence, you pause briefly and do this.

Within a one week period, I had When I first came across the 30/10 formula many years ago, I had a four people who knew me well big problem. I had been in selling for a number of years, but I would ask what I was doing differently. speak very fast and my customers found it hard to understand what They wondered if I had a new I was saying. I knew that talking too fast was costing me sales; haircut or was wearing some however I was not sure how I could fix it. I decided to try the 30/10 new clothes because I somehow formula. I picked out one of my favourite books on selling and began appeared different to them. reading it for 30-minutes each morning. I also began reading it aloud What was different was that my for 10 minutes as part of each 30 minute session. Now, reading voice had changed in that two aloud for 10 minutes was a lot harder than I thought it would be. month period.

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If you want to make dramatic improvements in your skills and results as a sales manager, get a small group of successful sales managers together and arrange to meet with them on a regular basis.

I now pronounced words clearer, and I was speaking slower and with more authority.

All from reading aloud for 10 minutes a day. My sales also increased noticeably over this same period. The key with the 30/10 formula is to pick the information that would help you the most right now.

STEP TWO: USE THE TOASTMASTER ‘SUCCESS INSURANCE MODEL’.

This model is very simple: get a Support Group of like-minded people and meet with them regularly for both learning and inspiration. Let me explain…

So you could read articles on sales and sales management (you’ll find some excellent articles in all of the back issues of NZ Sales Manager Magazine). You should also get practical books on sales management and selling and read them as well.

I also observed dozens of other people giving talks and receiving coaching and recommendations in the same time period. Over a six month period, I managed to get quite good at speaking in front of groups.

My favourite book on sales management is ‘The Accidental Sales Manager’ by Chris Lytle. The exciting thing about the 30/10 formula is that it is very simple to use.

And in most cases you will see noticeable improvements in less than two months.

Many years ago I decided I wanted to learn to be able to speak well in front of a group of people. So I joined Toastmasters.

Every week I went to a Toastmasters meeting, and I had to speak for at least a minute in front of a group. I also received coaching and recommendations after giving each talk.

One of the reasons that a support group like Toastmasters works so well is that all the members are committed to the same thing – learning how to speak well in front of a group. Toastmasters gives you courage and teaches you how to become a better public speaker. And it's all done in a very positive and friendly environment.

You get a lot of practice, and you also see other people improve as well. The same support group concept applies equally well to you as a sales manager.

If you want to make dramatic improvements in your skills and results as a sales manager, get a small group of successful sales managers together and arrange to meet with them on a regular basis. Share your sales manager successes and challenges with this group and ask for input and ideas from them as well.

Now you have two options here.

Option A: You can set up your own support group of sales managers.

A good number is eight to 12 sales managers who are all in noncompeting industries.

Arrange to meet at least once a month for two to four hours.

And make it worthwhile for all the sales managers to attend. For instance, you could provide helpful coaching to each sales manager.

Plus, have interesting guest speakers who will give practical advice on how to improve your skills as a sales manager.

Option B: You can join a support group that is already set up. A good example is a brand new business in Auckland I came across recently. The business is called Sales Syndicate and is a high-level networking and mentoring programme specifically for Sales Managers. In effect, they are offering their members ‘Sales Manager Success Insurance’.

Alternatively, it is often worthwhile joining one of the many business networking groups that meet around the country. They meet on a regular basis and can be useful for making new contacts and getting regular inspiration and encouragement.

Just do a google search on something like ‘business networking in x’, where x is your town. Having a support group of like-minded sales managers helping you is definitely worth considering if you want to be successful as a sales manager.

It’s a success model that has worked for a large number of people and could work very well for you as well.

SUMMARY: There are two practical steps you can take right now to take out your own ‘Sales Manager Success Insurance.’

1. Use the 30/10 formula and improve both your voice and your sales management skills.

2. Meet with a group of success-oriented sales managers at least once a month.

Both of these steps are proven to work, and I know you’ll be delighted at how well they work for you as well.•

 www.theunfairbusinessadvantage.com

Graham McGregor is a consultant specialising in memorable marketing. You can download his 396 page 'Unfair Business Advantage' EBook at no charge from the link above.

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PASSIONATEABOUTSALES

Michael Friis from 2degrees

Sales people and their managers are critical to the growth and success of New Zealand businesses, so we’d like to share stories of real New Zealand sales professionals, wisdom that they have gained during their experience in the sales profession.

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ichael Friis, Regional Business Sales Manager at 2degrees shares some of what he has learned over a 20 year period in the telecommunications industry, having worked in a wide variety of roles such as Global Accounts, Business Development, Sales Leadership and Consulting, as well as having built and sold one business within the telecommunications industry.

Tell us a bit about your current role as Regional Business Sales Manager at 2degrees and what you love most about it.

My role is to accelerate the impact 2degrees is having on the business market. I support two Area Sales Managers each working a team within the SME Market, and I work with our Corporate Business Development Managers to break new ground in Enterprise sales.

What I love most about my role is supporting people to reach for success beyond what they would have considered possible. And through our client wins, redefining the mobile market.

What was your first sales role and what did you gain most from that experience?

To be honest I’m embarrassed to say, but my first formative sales experience was while still struggling through university, I was sold on the concept of a passive income via a network marketing company, it was a self-employed role, and it taught me the skills to manage my mindset, in particular in the face of setbacks to focus solely on your goals and the next step to achieve them. With a goal orientated mindset, all problems can be solved, by innovation, negotiation or compromise.

There’s a lot of pressure on salespeople and sales managers to deliver on results, how do you keep stress at bay and keep on top of your game?

When I feel stress occurring, I like to remind myself of what the goal is I’m trying to achieve. Then I focus on the next action to get me closer to that objective. I stay on target, deal with what is most important, and ensure I’m across my priorities. I put my attention on what is within my control, everything else is a distraction.

When I feel stress occurring, I like to remind myself of what the goal is I’m trying to achieve.

Then I focus on the next action to get me closer to that objective, I stay on target, deal with what is most important, and ensure I’m across my priorities www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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In the past you ran your own business for nearly a decade, do you believe having an entrepreneurial mindset has helped you in your current sales management role, if so how?

Definitely, to lead a business involves similar skills to leading a sales team, the most critical I have found is being able to communicate a vision and purpose for the day to day activities of the team, something unifying at a human level beyond making money. Ideally this purpose inspires your team to think beyond exchanging time for money, and to look at their efforts as making a meaningful difference, a legacy or bringing change and progress. When we come to work to make a difference to a cause, we bring 100% of our abilities, our enthusiasm and all the extra discretionary effort we can spare.

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When did you first become a sales manager and were you privileged enough to have a mentor or training, or like most sales managers in New Zealand did you have to learn on the job?

When I started my business I became the defacto everything, having said that in my previous roles I was fortunate to have worked with some great leaders, that took the time to build relationships with people at all levels in their organisation, and invested in coaching the person not the role. They believed in building great people, setting a clear vision for the business, and giving their team’s freedom to rise to the challenge.

What key attributes do you look for when recruiting salespeople?

Mental toughness to continue in the face of setbacks and adversity.

The ability to see feedback as an opportunity to improve, a history of goal setting and achievement. I’ve found sporting achievements are an asset too.

What do you believe it takes to be a successful sales manager and do you believe it requires a different set of attributes than it does to be a successful salesperson?

Yes I do, often what drives a successful person is a singular focus on meeting their objectives. When leading a team that skillset is alloyed with an expectation of supporting others to greatness, putting your team’s personal and professional development first, and regularly raising the bar on what is possible and expected. The best sales teams I have had the privilege of supporting have been long serving, professionals who felt challenged, appreciated and energized by mentoring them to extend themselves in all directions.

Can you recommend a book, mentor or other resource that has helped you on your road to success?

In my twenties I got a lot out of M Scott Peck’s, ‘The Road Less Travelled’ plus other seminal texts, Dale Carnegie’s, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ and Stephen Covey’s, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. •

 www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/business/

Michael is currently Regional Business Sales Manager at 2degrees and is now helping 2degrees bring positive change to the business market. He is married with two boys aged 5 and 2, and loves boating, spear fishing, gardening, and sports. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

DID YOU KNOW?

U

nderstanding colour meanings in business is essential when you are establishing a business profile. Colour psychology affects our lives in so many ways, yet we often don't realise the impact of our colour choices on our website colours, stationery and packaging, in our retail or office space, in our marketing or our business clothing. Check out the meaning of each colour to determine the best choices for your business:

Red: Red is a physical colour which calls for action to be taken. Its high energy and strength draws attention to itself and demands to be noticed.

Orange: Orange is a colour of adventure which inspires and creates enthusiasm. It is optimistic and sociable and suggests affordability.

Yellow: Yellow is an illuminating and uplifting colour which stimulates our analytical processes and assists with mental clarity.

Green: Green is associated with nature, health and healing.

It balances the emotions and inspires compassion.

Blue: Blue is the safest colour to use in most applications, implying honesty, trust and dependability.

Purple: Purple implies wealth, quality, fantasy and creativity. It works well with many other colours.

More colours can be found here. • www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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Why Sales Training Fails Sales training often fails because it isn’t training that is needed in the first instance. Like water flowing downhill, and human nature, we all tend to find the path of least effort and lowest resistance.

If a manager wants sales improvement, it is easy to assume the first thing your employee needs is more training. Training focusses on skills, but skills alone do not enable a salesperson to succeed.

Words by Stuart Edmunds

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t takes three to tango. A simplistic but clear way to represent the three components that govern individual behaviour is: awareness, skill, and attitude.

1. A salesperson is aware that something needs doing and has the skill to do so but not the desire.

2. A salesperson is aware and would like to contribute but doesn’t have the skill to do so.

3. A salesperson would like to help and is able but is unaware of the need.

All three are necessary if a salesperson is to behave as desired.

When looking for a change in behaviour, start with awareness. This is often the lowest hanging fruit. A simple conversation may do the trick— and listening needs to be a big part of the conversation. “Oh, I see, got it, yes I see what you mean!” is emblematic of the kind of simple revelation that can unlock doors to sales progress and simple changes in sales behaviour.

When looking for a change in behaviour, start with awareness. This is often the lowest hanging fruit.

Assess sales skills second. While inadequate sales skills take time to address, it should be pretty easy to distinguish sales capabilities from awareness and attitude. If sales skills are lacking, then training is certainly needed, assuming you have the right person for the job otherwise.

Attitude is the final dimension to assess. Once an employee knows what is expected and has the appropriate sales capabilities, a lot of attitude problems evaporate.

If attitude still seems to be a problem after making sure sufficient information and sales skills are present, attitude may not be the actual problem. Salespeople don’t operate in a vacuum. The environment around them provides everything from conflicting priorities and mixed messages to inadequate resources and contradictory reward and incentive systems. Most salespeople come to work eager to do their best, and bad attitudes are frequently the result of feeling unable to earn their potential for a multitude of reasons.

If there are too many priorities, there are none. You can’t just keep adding to a salespersons task list. If you want a salesperson to do something that they aren’t doing, you may need to help them identify things they can stop doing or do more quickly and how they can still retain or increase their earning capacity.

Old sales habits, squeaky wheels, and the path of least resistance have a way of persisting. If you want salespeople to change their behaviour you need to set expectations, ensure they have the skill and support they need, and then hold them accountable. Wishful thinking is not a substitute for sales management. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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Encourage desired behaviours. Sales support resource limitations are related to conflicting priorities. You must support desired sales behaviours with time, information, tools, equipment, experts, resources, process and methodology. You would never expect someone to fix your car today with only a screwdriver. However, the equivalent happens in sales organisations all the time.

‘Just do it’ is often followed by a declined request for investment in what is necessary. While obviously salespeople can’t get everything they want to make their jobs easier, you do need to provide essential sales support and avoid creating a damaging us-vs-them dynamic within your organisation.

Contradictory reward systems include official and unofficial reward systems, namely the financial compensation system and many forms of informal recognition. Sometimes both are in conflict with the desired sales behaviours. Where does your company stand when a salesperson consistently exceeds quota with deals that require constant revisit and margin erosion, versus a salesperson slightly behind on budget, but regularly sells clean, well scoped and well-managed deals requiring little to no revisit.

If you want a salesperson to do their job well, not only must you be sure they have clear expectations, the right skills, and a willingness to do well, you must also be sure the many forces around them support the desired behaviours and discouraging undesirable behaviours. It may sound overwhelming and financially impossible to get this right. It isn’t. Accept there is no perfect sales organisation. What is ‘best practices’ for one sales organisation might be worth contemplating, and some elements adopted with due consideration, but what works in one context, never produces the same results in another.

Sales training success lies in properly diagnosing the hurdles to improved sales performance in your particular situation. If priorities aren’t really priorities, step back and reassess, where you are going, and how you intend to get there. If your sales reward system is encouraging the wrong behaviours, change your reward system. If sales training is needed, train.

If you ‘fix’ the wrong things, you waste money, time and opportunity. If you ‘fix’ things randomly, the odds are massively against fixing the right thing. Determine specifically what is preventing the individual and team sales behaviours that would make a difference in your company, and then remove those obstacles to better performance.•

 www.instituteofsales.co.nz

Stuart Edmunds is the founder of the New Zealand Institute of Sales, dedicated to elevating the sales profession in New Zealand by supporting professional development, peer networking and industry awards among members who support, work within, and lead sales organisations.

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Let’s Get This Party Started

From the desk of the Procurement Manager

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e can all use endless clichĂŠs until the cows come home but does it really matter what words we use when dealing with suppliers? Yes, it does! Paul Rogers opens his toolkit and this time considers the phrases that we use in day-to-day negotiations with suppliers.

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Words by Paul Rogers

Hardly strategic stuff, but whether for use by the sourcing team or by staff in the business, here are some do's and don'ts of tactical negotiations with suppliers.

Imagine that the words we use could either increase the outcomes we are seeking to achieve by one percent or alternatively, reduce them by one percent. Which would you choose? I thought so! Sales representatives deal with rejection every day of their working lives, so if you are the 10th person of the day to tell a salesperson that their price is too high, how likely is it that they will exercise whatever discretion they may have, and show you some flexibility?

Let's look at some of the phrases that make sellers wince: • "Can you sharpen your pencil?"

• "Have another look at your prices."

• "Come to the party/table."

Have you ever played 'buzz phrase bingoʼ? The previous three phrases are amongst the most common phrases used by buyers to try and persuade the seller to make them a new offer. Each of them uses figurative language; we don't really expect the supplier to turn up at our offices with a party hat and whistle, ready for a fun time! It's almost as if we are afraid or embarrassed to express directly what we are looking for.

Why not try the following phrases?

• 'What can we do to release some value?' i.e. if they happen to be the incumbent supplier.

• 'How can you improve the competitiveness of your offer?' i.e. if they are a potential supplier.

The use of the word 'we' implies a more collaborative approach than simply "what can you do to release some value?". But both phrases benefit from being direct and clear in their meaning and intent. The other party may respond by saying: "Nothing!", but, on the other hand, they may say: "If you were to change your payment terms/agree to a longer term contract/increase your volume, then we could consider a new discount structure".

The use of the word 'we' implies a more collaborative approach than simply "what can you do to release some value? But both phrases benefit from being direct and clear in their meaning and intent. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz |

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At least we have opened up an opportunity for further negotiation. Additionally, the use of the word 'valueʼ broadens the range of options open to the supplier.

For example, telemarketing staff may have limited discretion over the prices they can quote, but they may have discretion over freight charges, lead times, packaging or other aspects of their value proposition, all of which would be of potential benefit to the buyer.

• "Is that your best offer?"

• "Is that your final offer?"

There is only one answer that these questions deserve!

Questions like this tend to stop any negotiation in its tracks.

They close down the dialogue. They paint the other party into a corner! Don't use them! Consider the following phrase as an alternative: "What can we do to improve upon those terms?".

What is interesting about this phrase is that it assumes that improvement is possible.

Contrast that with the following two leading questions: • "You couldn't improve upon your offer, could you?"

• "We don't get a discount, do we?"

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The use of phrases such as these might soften the message being delivered for the other party, but they also clearly invite the answer "No!".

Assume a positive outcome and leave it to the other party to decide if they can move towards you.

Consider the following phrases: • "What flexibility can you show me?"

• "What discount do we get?"

There is no suggestion that these phrases are silver bullets, which will automatically unlock some value. However, in most negotiations open questions are more powerful than the closed alternatives, and leading questions should almost invariably be avoided.

For example "Have you stopped stealing office stationery?" assumes your guilt; how would you feel if asked that question? • "You are behind the eight-ball on this one!" • "You are really up against it!" • "You are going to have to come up with something special, this time!"

Taken literally these phrases seem to say "You don't have much chance of winning!" Are they really supposed to motivate the other party?

A 'Dutch Auction' is when the buyer approaches a supplier who's price is, let's say $1.00, and says: "I've had a better offer Many buyers have only ever known a buyers market, and so it than your quote; either you beat is easy to fall into the trap of assuming that every supplier is the offer of $0.95 or I switch the desperate for our business. What if suppliers do want to grow their business to a new supplier!". business, but by pursuing opportunities that they have a realistic What's wrong with this? The chance of winning? use of another supplier's offer as Wouldn't this language, which emphasises how remote the prospect leverage is not only a crude threat of winning is, be more likely to cause the supplier not to bid at but abuses the confidentiality all? Consider the following alternative: "The best offer will win this that suppliers are entitled to business, and I want to help you be as competitive as possible". expect from the process.

Am I just playing with words? Perhaps! However, if you The problem in the longer term are negotiating on the telephone, the language used is is that if the seller could give disproportionately important, so we need to choose words that this customer a market-beating emphasise that the opportunity is open and possible, rather than deal, and they suspect that the words that describe the opportunity as remote or unlikely. terms would soon leak out to One of the strengths of professional procurement practitioners is that they are usually agnostic about the bidders, i.e. they do not have a preference for one supplier over another. So the benefit of saying "the best offer will win the business" is that the potential supplier understands that no incumbent supplier has the 'inside track'.

other customers, they might think twice about exercising that discretion. It is better to 'quarantine' each supplier's offers and work with them to improve their competitiveness. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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By putting down a 'marker', you are potentially limiting the movement the supplier is likely to make.

Most suppliers will ask "How far am I out?" or "What do I have to Why are these statements do to win the business?". different? There are two reasons; firstly neither Amateur or unprofessional negotiators will respond with the likes of: "Knock off 10 per cent, and the business is yours!" "You statement contains a marker or any precise details on need to come down by at least $0.07 unit!". what the supplier should do.

Why? Because while it may appear 'smartʼ to tell the supplier Secondly, both statements what they have to do, that is all they will do. By putting down a open up the prospect of a 'marker', you are potentially limiting the movement the supplier continued negotiation, rather is likely to make. than suggesting that the negotiation is all but over.

Consider these responses instead: • "As things stand, your offer is not the most competitive.

What can you do to improve your offer?"

• "The other suppliers offer are a matter for them; I am interested in what you can do to make your bid more competitive. The key issues are..."

 www.comprara.com.au

Most of us have a few stock phrases that serve us well; be aware of what you say on the phone or face-to-face, and aim to make sure that the words that you use are maximising your chances of success! •

Paul Rogers is the Director of Capability and Excellence with Comprara Pty Ltd. 024 |

www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

GOT A PRODUCT, SERVICE OR BUSINESS WORTH TALKING ABOUT? Want to grow brand awareness in a more effective and useful way?

TALK TO ESPIRE MEDIA ABOUT OUR CONTENT MARKETING SERVICES We offer a range of ways to attract and retain customers, by creating and curating relevant and valuable content to engage and add value to your audience.

BENEFITS: • Expand your digital footprint • Grow brand awareness • Increase traffic to your website • Thought leadership • Media exposure • Attract new customers • And... grow SALES!

Get in touch with Jennifer now to discuss our options. +64 9 522 7257 (NZT) | jenniferl@espiremedia.com | www.espiremedia.com

Check out our blog for content marketing advice, tips and ideas, plus a free copy of our content marketing guide The Content Creation Cookbook! www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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TWOMINUTETOPUP

3 Sales Follow Up Strategies to Replace ‘Touching Base’ Words by Jill Konrath

W

hen you leave messages like ‘I’m just touching base’, or use phrases like ‘checking in’, your prospect deletes them in a nanosecond. Worse yet, they see you as just another pesky salesperson. Clearly, that's not good!

Here's the deal. To keep sales momentum alive, you need to provide value on every interaction -- even a quick follow-up call.

That means you need to rethink your entire call-back strategy.

026 | www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

HERE ARE THREE APPROACHES THAT HAVE WORKED FOR ME: 1. Re-emphasise the business value

Your prospects will only change because of the impact you can have on their organisation. Reiterate it. Remind them of how you can help.

You might say: "Pat, in our previous conversation you mentioned how important it was to get going on this soon so you could realise the savings (eliminate redundancies, drive incremental growth) that you need by year end. Let's set up time to talk so we can get you moving forward".

2. Share ideas and insights

Your prospects want to work with someone who's constantly thinking about how they can improve their business. Be that person.

You might say: "Pat, I've been thinking more about how we can help you increase sales (reduce costs, speed up productivity).

I thought you might be interested in what we did with XYZ organisation when they were dealing with the same challenge.

Do you have a few minutes for a quick conversation?"

3. Continue to educate

Sometimes your prospects are still asking themselves: "Does it make sense to move forward or not?" From the outside, you won't know. But you can keep giving them more reasons to change!

You might say: "Pat, I know it's a big decision to change from the status quo. That's why I thought you might be interested in this article (ROI calculator, case study, webinar, eBook) on (relevant topic). Let's set up a time to talk through your questions."

See the difference? You're still providing value. Even though they said they were interested.

Even though they told you to check back next week. Even though they told you it was a 'slam dunk' and they just needed to get the paperwork done.

Drop the 'touching base' and 'checking in' mentality from your vocabulary entirely. When making follow up calls, become an asset in their decision process. That's when they'll really want to work with you!•

 www.jillkonrath.com

Sharing her fresh sales strategies, Jill Konrath helps salespeople to speed up new customer acquisition and win bigger contracts. www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

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QUICKFIX

Know Your Competition

Knowing your competition requires a lot more than keeping a watch on price and product.

C

hanges in your competitors staff, supply chain or marketing, may give you a short window of opportunity to exert your strength in their area of weakness. You will need speed and creativity to turn these opportunities into sales.

Companies make mistakes and errors of judgement from time to time. Sometimes the damage control is done well, sometimes not.

This will happen to your competitors. Know which opportunities you can take while keeping your own integrity and credibility intact.•

028 |

www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

CONTENT MARKETING SE How to attract MINAR

customers & grow sales with content marketing MAKING CONTENT MARKETING COUNT IN NEW ZEALAND Content marketing is an extremely powerful marketing tool right now, but there’s content, and then there’s relevant content. Putting aside the hype, what actually works in New Zealand and what doesn’t?

What you'll learn at this info-packed event: • How to use content to discover and cultivate the right audience • Three strategies to ensure you never run out of relevant content streams • A simple, low cost content technique that keeps the online enquiries coming (real life case study) • How effective content marketing complements each stage of the sales cycle • Find out what works in New Zealand’s small ecosystem and what doesn't – yep, NZ content marketing 'fails'!

• And more!

PRESENTED BY COLIN KENNEDY Content Marketing Thought Leader & Head of Content at Espire Media Colin Kennedy is a journalist and writer by profession, and one of New Zealand's foremost experts on content marketing. With more than 20 years experience in journalism, public relations and marketing, his previous roles include newspaper and magazine editor, CEO of New Zealand Agritech Inc and marketing director for BNI New Zealand.

GUEST SPEAKER CHRIS PRICE Founder of Ark Advance

Ark Advance was founded by Chris in 2002, and provides consultancy services to improve the effectiveness of your online marketing. They have worked with over 150 clients across 12 different industry groups including, legal, financial services, travel, health, publishing, telecommunications and technology.

kland uc A , or at er en G e Th | 15 20 r be em ov 10am–12pm | Friday 6 N p business owners - tickets only $39p Powerful insights for marketers and

REGISTER NOW!

RESOURCECORNER

Talk Like Ted

The 9 public speaking secrets of the world’s top minds

T

ED talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking around the world.

These are presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use are the same ones that will make any presentation more dynamic, fire up any team, and give anyone the confidence to overcome their fear of public speaking.

Communications coach and bestselling author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Carmine Gallo has broken down the top TED talks and interviewed the most popular TED presenters as well as the top researchers in the fields of psychology communications to get their cuttingedge insights and to reveal the nine secrets of all successful TED presentations.

From 'Unleashing the Master Within' and 'Delivering Jaw Dropping Moments' to 'Sticking to the 18-minute Rule' Gallo provides a step-by-step method that makes it possible for anyone to create, design, and deliver a TED-style presentation that is engaging, persuasive, and memorable.

Ideas are the true currency of the 21st century, and Carmine Gallo's Talk Like TED gives readers a way to create

 030 |

Available from Mighty Ape

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presentations around the ideas that matter most to them, presentations that will energise their audiences to spread those ideas, launch new initiatives, and reach their highest goals.. •

By Carmine Gallo

EVENTSCALENDAR

DATE

NAME

PLACE

COMPANY

29 October

Advanced Serious Selling

Auckland

Geewiz

29 October

Sales Management

Auckland

Top Achievers Sales Training

29 October

Fatal mistakes we make in sales presentations

Hawkes Bay

Sales Impact Group

10 November

Winning Negotiator

Auckland

David Forman

10 November

Negotiation Skills

Auckland

NZIM

12 November

Sales Seminar

Christchurch

Top Achievers Sales Training

12 November

Overcoming Objections

Wellington

PD Training

15-17 November

Advanced Negotiation Skills

Wellington

Scotwork

17 November

Sales Performer

Auckland

David Forman

17 November

Sales Basics

Auckland

Geewiz

24 November

Sales Basics

Palmerston North

Geewiz

24 November

Writing Winning Proposals

Christchurch

PD Training

27 November

Sales Management

Auckland

Top Achievers Sales Training

www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

| 031

THECLOSE

“If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.

“

- Marilyn Monroe

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