NZ Sales Manager Issue 50

NZSALES

50

th

MAY 2011 / Issue 50

SPECIAL

EDITION

Including an interview with Ivo D'Silva:

Selling in the

21st Century

Getting Results from your Presentation • Mastering the Complex Sale • Your Personal Debrief NZ’s e-mag for sales leaders

CONTENTS MAY / Issue 50 speciAl

12

6

6

THIS WEEK'S MUST READ IVO D'silva INTERVIEW Selling in the 21st Century.

11

WHAT'S NEW NOTICEBOARD

12

getting results from your presentation 6 secrets for your call to action

14

NZSM CALENDAR

15

SALES TRAINING DIRECTORY

16

TWO MINUTE TOP-UP mastering the complex sale 11 Timely tips

18

RESOURCE CORNER Poke The Box: When was the last time you did something for the first time?

16

19

Quick Fix It’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell.

22

THE CLOSE

We’re extending our network, so you can too.

Located everywhere you do business, Quest Serviced Apartments truly offer a home away from home, providing flexible accommodation options and an exclusive fixed single rate programme for Rev Sales members. Business can change day to day, but your travel costs don’t have to.

Call 0800 944 400 or visit www.questapartments.co.nz

Serviced Apartments

Your perfect travell companion. i

From the Editor

W

elcome to our 50th and 3rd birthday issue. From our humble beginnings little did we know that NZ Sales Manager would now be reaching thousands of sales leaders, not only in New Zealand, but in many other countries around the world too. Thanks for your feedback, ideas and contributions, which for me as the editor, make it all worthwhile.

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 forwardthinking sales managers, business owners and sales professionals.

One of our readers, Ivo D’Silva dropped me a note a couple of months ago, saying

EDITOR / Paul Newsom

that as a successful and senior sales manager with 35 years experience, he enjoys

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

the magazine, and that some of the articles have greatly influenced his journey

GROUP EDITOR / Trudi Caffell

through life. This is another example of the point I made in editorial of the April issue, that a quality of sales people who are at the top of their field is that they know that they don’t know it all. There is always something to learn. I gave Ivo a

CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Paul on 04 586 4733 or email pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /

call, and in doing the interview for this issue, I have greatly enjoyed learning from

Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 or

his experiences and wisdom. The article contains some real gems, including the

email richardl@espiremedia.com

mindset he has used to both sell airline tickets and give out parking tickets!

ADDRESS / NZ Sales Manager, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162,

Good news on the progress of the first recognised national sales qualifications.

The unit standards are now registered on the framework, and the qualifications are due to be registered this month. The process for the necessary resource

Parnell, Auckland 1151, New Zealand WEBSITE / www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

development and exactly how the qualifications will be delivered is unclear at this stage. Recent funding cuts to the Industry Training Organisations have certainly not helped in this respect, and an industry collaborative effort will be required to get to the stage where people can do the qualifications.

Happy Selling Paul

NZ Sales Manager is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly.

Please think before you print. Thank you!

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MID STRENGTH FULL FLAVOUR FULL LIFE

T H I S W EE K ’ S M US T R E A D

Selling in the

21

Century st

An Interview with Ivo D’Silva

NZSM / MAY 2011 / 6

B

orn in Dar-es –salaam, Tanzania, Ivo D’Silva has been in sales management for over 30 years, including the past 13 years in New Zealand.

With extensive experience within the airline and contact centre industries in Africa, India, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, Ivo is the Cargo Sales Manager for Malaysian Airlines & Delta Air Lines with GSA MCH Holding Australia Ltd. We had a chat with Ivo, about his sales career and his thoughts on how to succeed in sales today.

NZSM: As a child growing up in Tanzania, did you want to be a sales person ‘when you grew up’?

ID: When I was young, I had no dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just enjoyed my childhood. As I approached adulthood, I still had no dreams. How often can we all relate to the one question so many of us are asked as kids, “So what do you want to become when you grow up?” and how often can we all relate to the standard answer, “I don’t know.”

Looking back at my childhood in Africa, I realise that my passion of reaching out and helping people, which did eventually lead to a successful career in

sales, actually started with my humble beginnings living among some very simple people who did not have much in life.

NZSM: How did you get started in your sales career?

ID: It was not until the age of 21 that I was introduced to the ‘selling’ world. As a keen sportsman, I started playing semi-professional soccer in the second division in Mumbai. The father of one of my soccer colleagues, who was the General Manager for an engineering company, discovered my skills in selling and gave me my first challenge of selling a labelling machine in one of the key industrial areas in Mumbai. Unlike the opportunities of today, I had no formal training and was thrown into the deep end and asked to swim.

My beginning was with a lot of apprehension and fear of the unknown. Being young, I enjoyed the challenge and never forgot to believe in myself and maintain a ‘can do’ attitude. I guess this mindset came from the vigorous training I underwent as a semi-professional soccer player. I began to experience that every door I knocked was a learning experience and as time went

by I got more confident and success came more easily.

So began my long and successful journey in a sales career, most of it in the airline industry.

"My beginning was with a lot of apprehension and fear of the unknown. Being young, I enjoyed the challenge and never forgot to believe in myself and maintain a ‘can do’ attitude."

NZSM: So, once in sales, always in sales?

ID: Not quite. I immigrated to New Zealand in 1998 and could not find an opportunity to join the airline industry here. My first job in New Zealand was that of a parking officer, and being a professional in my own right, my mindset was very simple. “For years you have enjoyed a career selling the in airline industry and having pleasure in providing people travel tickets.

Here is your new challenge of selling and educating people on parking regulations and a not so pleasant job of handing out parking infringement tickets.” It is with this mindset that I developed a good rapport with the drivers on the street, and rarely had any conflicts with them.

NZSM: Do you think selling is a more attractive career than it perhaps was 35 years ago when you started?

ID: I surely do. I consider selling to be one of the most exciting careers for anyone to get into. This is one career that offers endless opportunities and challenges that makes work and living a lot more fun.

Selling 35 years ago was just a monotonous process of aimless running around and what I call ‘fishing’ for business. Unlike today, there was no formal training, guidance or initiatives. When I first started, I was given a briefcase, some brochures on the product, an area of the market, and a commission on sales generated and was asked to hit the road.

7 / MAY 2011 / NZSM

The rewards were few and far between. If you were found to be below the expectations of the management you just got fired. We lacked a well defined selling discipline.

Today selling is much more disciplined and well defined. It is much more dynamic and challenging then 35 years ago. Selling is one career that keeps you on your toes and your mind constantly sharp and alert.

The windows of opportunity to enhance your personal development are endless, provided you have a burning desire to succeed and prepared to work hard towards your goals. Every facet of life revolves around the selling phenomenon.

slowly being put off, and we withdraw into our comfort zone and become more complacent.

As a successful sales manager I have seen this transformation and make it my priority to constantly address the mindset of my sales professionals, making sure this is constantly aligned with the ever changing trends in the business world.

NZSM: So, if we are to be more successful, the answer lies within us, and it’s an issue of mindset.

What do you mean by a new mindset?

NZSM: What is the most important lesson you have learned throughout your career?

ID: By a new mindset I mean a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one’s behaviour, outlook and mental attitude. Just keep reminding yourself of some fundamental success factors:

ID: This business environment of diminishing markets

•

and growing competition is here to stay and will not change. What must change is us!!! As sales professionals we have to step back and come out fighting with a new mindset.

The pace this world is changing and with technology almost taking over our world, we as humans have stopped believing in ourselves. The human touch is slowly withering away and we have begun to be more dependent on machines. The spark in our minds is

• • • • •

Success is 80 per cent of what you think and 20 per cent of what you do.

Be passionate about what you do and keep the fire burning deep inside you to be successful.

Have vision and focus – you will soon realise it’s not just building castles in the air.

Believe in your products or services – they are your lifeline.

Remember you are only human and so is your customer.

Use the lives of successful people as your motivation to succeed.

"This business environment of diminishing markets and growing competition is here to stay and will not change. What must change is us!!!"

It has to be said that a selling mindset is never constant. It never has a beginning nor does it have an end. This keeps the mind of the sales professional always sharp and motivated, which in turn provides the energy to drive sales and be successful.

NZSM: The airline industry is very competitive - what is the toughest buyer you have worked with?

ID: Indeed, just like any business, the airline industry is very competitive. I do not consider any customer as being tough but rather a personal challenge of understanding and fulfilling their needs.

NZSM / MAY 2011 / 8

To give you an example of a ‘tough’ customer, I once had a tourist from Europe who was travelling on the flight to Queenstown. On check - in he insisted on carrying his camping cooking burner with him in the aircraft. All efforts by my check in staff to explain to him the international rules of carrying such dangerous items on board the aircraft were getting no where, and he was holding up the queue and there was a possibility of the flight being delayed. I finally stepped in and offered him the option of us providing a camping burner in Queenstown and that he would leave his own one in Auckland and pick it up on his return. This ended the customer’s ignorance of the law and the possible dangerous outcome of his actions,

and was a positive selling point in the eyes of the other passengers that this was an airline that seriously considered the safety of its passengers.

In summary toughness in the airline industry does not come in the form of tough buyers, but rather in the form of tough options that would meet the needs of the buyer and simultaneously achieve the bottom line of the airline.

NZSM: And what is your ‘secret’ for gaining the trust and respect of such a tough customer?

ID: My secret to gaining the trust and respect of any difficult customer, is driven by a simple saying that goes: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins…..not through strength, but through persistence.”

This saying forms the foundation to your mindset as a sales professional in the 21st century. On this foundation you build the pillars of success that will hold a growing weight of customers that are loyal, long term business partners, have mutual respect, trust in your honesty, professionalism and integrity.

The cream on top of this foundation is just to be human, enjoy the moment and believe in yourself.

NZSM: What do customers need from sales people?

ID: Understand that in today’s economical environment, your clients do not need salesmen or saleswomen. They have just two fundamental needs: • A partnership that understands their business and works with them to provide solutions to their needs.

• A long-term business relationship that provides service, is reliable, professional and trustworthy.

There will be times when the world economy is down and businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water. I personally feel this is the time to reflect on relationships and make your customers know you share their hard times and possibly look at a different approach to your selling techniques. Your mindset is more focused on sharing a difficult situation then closing a sale. This ensures a long term gain in your business relationship with your customer. There are many examples of what I am saying here as business starts the recovery from the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.

NZSM: Have you ever had to turn around a poor performing team, and how did you do this?

ID: Yes, I transformed a call centre in just one month by changing the entire environment. I got all the staff including myself to repaint and decorate the

"My secret to gaining the trust and respect of any difficult customer, is driven by a simple saying that goes: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins…..not through strength, but through persistence.” " centre. The furniture was very old, broken and uncomfortable. I managed to replace them all. The result and morale of the staff was immediate and seen by the vast improvement on call results and determination.

success. I increased ownership of my supervisors and encouraged communications by introducing a daily ten minute morning briefing and some non business dialogue. This had a positive impact all across the floor and productivity improved.

On another occasion I was managing a total of 65 staff in three different units at AA Insurance – Inbound Sales, Outbound Sales and Customer Service.

This gave me an opportunity of developing a new mindset to move this vibrant environment forward. I introduced a ‘wall of fame’ where super sales people would personally place their names on the wall each month and would win a gift voucher for their

As a leader of a sales team and knowing where I want my team to be in terms of productivity and morale, I have always made it my mission to personally develop, train and mentor my teams as individuals or as an entire group. This gives me the opportunity to better connect with my people and always have my finger on the pulse to ensure better results.

9 / MAY 2011 / NZSM

NZSM: What advice would you give to someone starting a career in sales: ID: Once you are out in the open market, using every skill and determination to succeed, I strongly recommend you keep reminding yourself of five important lessons that can be learned from a simple pencil:

1. It tells you that everything you do will always leave a mark.

2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.

3. What is important is inside you and not outside you.

4. In life you will undergo painful sharpening that will make you better in whatever you do.

5. To be the best you can be, you should allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

NZSM: And your advice for sales managers?

ID: You’ve got to walk the talk. As a leader, you must begin to lead by example. Your sales team is the greatest asset you have.

Take time to know and understand each and every member of your team. Know what makes them tick.

Keep a watchful eye on their mindset and ensure this aligns with every changing moment in the business world. Keep a close watch on any sales professional showing signs of burn-out. Understand why and take immediate corrective action.

Finally be prepared to share your vision and encourage open communications with your sales team. This improves morale and enhances transparency.

NZSM: To end, what is your favourite quote which captures the essence of what you are saying about the sales mindset of the 21st Century?

ID: “Understand what people are buying not what you are selling. People do not buy drills they buy holes, not airline seats but destinations. Are you therefore selling airline seats or something else? Do you sell getting there or the experience after they arrive? ” - Craig J Kelly - Banc One Corp, Senior Vice President of Marketing ■

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W H AT ' S N E W N O T I C E B O A R D POWER OF NETWORKS PROVIDES ACCOMMODATION WIN FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS

T

he Rev Sales Network and Quest Serviced Apartments New Zealand and Fiji have teamed up to provide sales representatives and business travellers with a deal aimed at providing a high quality, value for money accommodation solution for sales professionals travelling out of town for business or pleasure.

Sales unit standards are registered

U

nit standards for the National Certificate in Sales at Level 3 and Level 4, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) recognised sales qualifications, have now been registered on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF). You can view them here As the next step, NZQA advise that they have completed the evaluation of the qualifications and recommend that they be registered. If all goes well with the consideration, then the qualifications are expected to be published on the NZQA website on 10 May 2011. Wendy Hetherington, of the Retail Institute, comments that ‘they are pleased that they have been recommended for registration and (now) plan to work with a number of different ITO’s and industries with regards to resources and delivery options.

Richard Liew, founder of the Rev Sales Network, an organisation set up to support sales professionals in New Zealand, says that the partnership with Quest acknowledges the significance of salespeople and business travellers to the domestic travel market. “Sales representatives and sales related travel are responsible for a large percentage of the commercial travel market and we felt it was important that salespeople are looked after when they are away on business. Selling is a high stress occupation at the best of times and the last thing you need to worry about when you have targets to meet and are away from home and family is where you’re going to stay at the end of a long day of business meetings.”

Liew says that in choosing Quest Serviced Apartments as their preferred accommodation supplier, it was the Quest team’s service and attitude that sealed the deal. “As an organisation representing salespeople it is imperative that the organisations we deal with conduct and sell themselves in a manner consistent with our values.

While Quest certainly met our criteria in terms of quality of properties and value for money, what impressed us most was the way their team actually listened to our requirements and then worked with us to come up with a solution to benefit all parties.”

Launched in 1998, Quest Serviced Apartments New Zealand and Fiji operates the largest serviced apartment network across the region representing 28 properties stretching from Invercargill to Suva, and is poised for further expansion with 4 more planned over the next 2 years. Each property is based on 40-50 apartment complexes, mixed with studio, one and two bedroom apartments.

Strategically located in business hubs, each property is closely aligned to location features including conference venues, restaurants and bars. All Quest properties are Qualmark rated 4 or 4.5 star standard and the majority of the network has also achieved Bronze Enviro status for their commitment to sustainability.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rev Sales Network members who book direct will receive a standard rate of $115.00 plus GST for Tier 1 properties and a standard rate of $135.00 plus GST for Tier 2 properties, available at Quest properties throughout New Zealand and Suva. This rate represents the maximum they will pay, and if the member books direct via the Quest website they will also be able to enjoy any special rate of the day that happens to be lower.

Quest CEO, Stephen Mansfield, explains the offer provides all sales professionals with the convenience and assurance of a fixed rate regardless of the size of their company. “For both corporate clients and SME’s, the assurance of a fixed rate is one less business variable to manage, we understand the value of that, we’re business people ourselves. Some of our guests have expressed frustration with the hotel sector, where a room worth $100.00 today can be sold at $200.00 tomorrow. At Quest we focus on delivering certainty to the corporate traveller - certainty of product standard, room availability, price, service and location.”

Liew says the partnership with Quest is a welcome benefit for businesses who have been struggling to maintain and grow market share in tough sales environments over the last few years. “Salespeople are the lifeblood of our economy’, says Liew, ‘and we are delighted that Quest has put their hand up to help us out.”

For more information see Rev Sales Network at www.rsn. co.nz or for a list of Quest properties see Quest Serviced Apartments NZ at www.questapartments.co.nz ■ 11 / MAY 2011 / NZSM

Based in Wellington, Olivia Mitchell is an internationally-renowned presentation blogger Speaking about Presenting. Olivia provides presentation training in New Zealand through Effective Speaking.

Getting Results from your Presentation 6 secrets for your call to action

By Olivia Mitchell

H

ow can you increase the likelihood that people will take action after your presentation? Chip and Dan Heath reveal many of the secrets in their latest book, Switch. Here are 6 more tips that I’ve learnt over my years presenting and training.

1. Script the critical move Tell people exactly what you want them do. Chip and Dan Heath tell how school students in Miner County, South Dakota wanted to revive the local economy. The students worked out that if residents spent more of their money locally it would make a big difference.

But they didn’t just say “Buy Local”, they scripted the critical move. They asked residents to spend 10% more of their disposable income in Miner County. They calculated that this would boost the local economy by $7 million. A year later, the amount of money spent in Miner County had increased by $15.6 million.

So in your presentation don’t just use a clever slogan.

Be clear and specific about what you want members of your audience to do.

NZSM / MAY 2011 / 12

2. Give explicit instructions An experiment on encouraging university students to take part in a food drive for charity showed that giving explicit instructions can give a tremendous boost to the response rate.

3. Get them to imagine what they will do If you’re asking people to take some action which only they know the details of, it won’t be practical for you to give explicit instructions. Instead get them to work out the details.

One group of students received a letter asking them to give a can of food to a booth on Tresidder Plaza (a well-known spot on the campus). A second group of students received a more detailed letter including a map and a specific request for a can of beans. 4% responded to the general letter whilst just over 33% gave food after receiving the detailed letter.

Gary Rodriguez describes such a situation in his book Purpose Driven Public Speaking. Gary was recently back from the Vietnam War and his peace activist brother had welcomed him home with the words “How many babies did you kill?” Gary was deeply hurt and found it impossible to forgive his brother. That was until Gary heard a speaker talking about forgiveness:

In your presentations, take people through the detailed steps they’ll need to take and give them all the information they need to carry through in a handout.

Believe me, I have heard plenty of talks on forgiveness, but not one like this…The speaker challenged us to

In your presentation don’t just use a clever slogan. Be clear and specific about what you want members of your audience to do

pick a specific person and put into practice what we had learned. Gary chose his brother. And the next time he saw his brother he was able to forgive him.

4. Develop action triggers People who create action triggers for themselves are far more likely to take action. An action trigger is a mental plan you make about when and where you will do something or what you will do in a certain situation.

For example, patients recovering from a hip operation who wrote down when and where they would go for a walk were much more likely to carry through on that decision than patients who just decided they would go for a walk.

Don’t just ask people to do something, get them to make a mental plan of when and where they will do it.

5. Appeal to their identity People don’t do things simply because it’s in their selfinterest, but because the action conforms to their view of themselves. Talk to your audience as if they are the type of people who do what you want them to do.

For example “As people who love this community and want to see young families flourishing here, you’ll want to donate to refurbishment of this playground.”

6. Set up an accountability mechanism Sharing a commitment to take action is powerful.

There are a number of ways you can set this up for a presentation. You could ask people to pair up with another person and commit to keeping each other accountable. Or you could ask audience members to email you by a certain date with the action they’ve taken.■

13 / MAY 2011 / NZSM

NZSM CALENDAR MAY-JUNE 2011

5 & 6 May

12 May

Professional TeleSelling Skills

Overcoming Objections

Auckland

Auckland

AchieveGlobal

Top Achievers Sales Training

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Consultative Sales Skills Auckland NZIM Northern www.nzimnorthern.co.nz 9 May Directors' Forum

18 May Business to Business Sales Skills 45 d Mt Wellington Highway Auckland Zealmark Group www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_ Business.php

Auckland Shipley NZ

19 May

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10 May

Top Achievers Sales Training

Directors' Forum

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Wellington Shipley NZ

19 & 20 May

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Key Account Management

11 May Foundations for Sales Success 45 d Mt Wellington Highway Auckland Zealmark Group www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Foundations_of_ sales_Success.php

Auckland Sales Star www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/8-keyaccount-management 1 & 2 June Winning Proposal Strategies

9 to 11 May

Wellington

Professional Selling Skills

Shipley NZ

Auckland

www.shipleywins.co.nz/training/

AchieveGlobal www.achieveglobal.co.nz/calendar

7 June Cold Calling/Hot Knocking Auckland Top Achievers Sales Training www.topachieverssalestraining.co.nz

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TWO MINUTE TOP UP

J eff Thull is a leading-edge strategist and valued advisor for executive teams of major companies worldwide. Visit his website at www.primeresource.com

Mastering the Complex Sale 11 Timely Tips

By Jeff Thull

E

very sale is not a good sale. About 35 percent of all sales are bad sales. In one way or another, they leave the customer disappointed or the seller with excess costs and diminished returns. Often salespeople are so concerned with "getting the order" that they write business that is not good for themselves, their company or the customer.

Walking away from a situation that is not profitable for anyone is the right thing to do. It requires that the salesperson become comfortable with both hearing and saying "no" and moving on to the next opportunity.

When professionals move on, they open themselves more quickly to higher levels of opportunity and success.

Spectacular success is always preceded by unspectacular presentation. Traditional selling maintains that if the salesperson is clever enough to say all the right "sales stuff," he or she will be successful.

This is far from the truth. Sales professionals know that

NZSM / MAY 2011 / 16

the preparation put into understanding the customer and his or her industry is vital to success. Understanding the customer's critical issues and dissatisfactions-and recognizing the business opportunities that arise from them-takes research time and dedication.

Do not allow the customer to self-diagnose. This is not to say that the customer isn't intelligent, it's just that he or she doesn't make a decision regarding your products and services very often. A customer may only make such decisions once a year or even far less often.

Sales representatives, on the other hand, continually diagnose customers with similar situations. The successful sales professional takes on the role of valued advisor or business consultant.

You have competitors. Your customers have options.

When you're with your customers, don't refer to your competitors as competitors; for example, by asking a question like "Who are some of our competitors you're

considering?" It conveys a very traditional sales image of concern about the competition in the sales process verses concern over the customer's situation. A better question would be, "What are some of the options you are considering?"

Never ask for the order. If you have to 'ask for the order,' it should be clear that your customer has missed something, and it's your fault. If the diagnostic protocols have been followed, and the customer has recognized problems that can be eliminated by the solution you offer, the decision to buy will come as the next step in a well-executed quality decision process.

The arm-wrestling of the traditional selling process is replaced by the acknowledgement that a mutually beneficial business relationship is developing.

You will gain more credibility through the questions you ask than through the stories you tell. Every prospect expects salespeople to say good things about themselves and the products they sell. Thus the stories you tell are rarely taken seriously and are frequently discounted. What is taken seriously is the concern and knowledge you display in learning about the customer's situation. Ask thought-provoking questions which will help you to understand the customer's unique situation and will help you and the customer to manage quality decisions. When the customer hears your question, he should say to himself: "She wouldn't be asking that if she didn't understand our business."

across as "too hungry") that you run into problems. The professional operates with an objective and clear mind and methodically unravels the customer's challenges so both the salesperson and the customer can come to a mutually beneficial understanding of the problem and the alignment of the solution. Being emotionally involved is being defensive and biased toward your needs.

People never say what they really mean...at first.

People learn from a very early age that saying what is really on their minds can have negative consequences.

As a result, they are cautious to express their real feelings until they feel 'safe enough' with another person. The professional salesperson 'peels the onion' to allow the customer a feeling of safety, which allows for the free expression of thoughts, opinions and feelings.

You can't sell a group. A guaranteed prescription for failure is to present to a group without having first identified and appealed to the critical perspectives of its members on an individual basis. By the time you present the solution, there should be no surprises to anyone. Everyone should be aware of how the proposed solution will impact them, and enough support should exist to guarantee that the group decision will be a mere formality prior to implementation of the solution. â–

Always be leaving. Customers have learned through annoying experience that a traditional salesperson won't take "no" for an answer. They hang on to their customers like a bulldog on a postman's leg. Consider that the customer's view could be valid. Displaying a willingness to accept the customer's view will greatly reduce the tension and cause the customer to be more comfortable in expressing his or her real feelings. This relaxes both of you and helps build an atmosphere of mutual cooperation and trust.

Don't get emotionally involved. Salespeople don't have problems, their customers do. As you perform your diagnosis and lead the customer through a quality decision process, "yes" is not a problem and neither is a "quality no." The customer who is losing $1 million in sales due to inability to get a finished product passed by quality control has a problem. It is only when you feel the need to get the order now (when you come

17 / MAY 2011 / NZSM

R ES O U R C E C O R N E R

Poke The Box: When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Author: Seth Godin Publisher: Amazon $20.97 from Fishpond.co.nz

I

f you're stuck at the starting line, you don't need more time or permission. You don’t need to wait for a boss’s okay or to be told to push the button; you just need to poke.

Poke the Box might make you uncomfortable. It’s a call to action about the initiative you’re taking – in your job or in your life. Author Seth Godin knows that one of our scarcest resources is the spark of initiative in most organizations (and most careers)– the person with the guts to say, “I want to start stuff.”

Poke the Box is a manifesto about producing something that's scarce, and thus valuable. It demands that you stop waiting for a road map and start drawing one instead. You know how to do this, you’ve done it before, but along the way, someone talked you out of it. Poke the Box just may be the kick in the pants you need to shake up your life ■

Personalised booklet calendars for your business.

250 New Zealand Scenic Booklet Calendars Normally $6.00 each

3.20 each + GST

Special Price $

Includes your company details printed in black ink. here/ ils 2011 NZSM / ta MAY ur de yo

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To order phone: Tony 09 625 3373

QUICK FIX

Quick Fix

It's not what you sell, it's how you sell Your personal debrief

T

he quality of your sales conversation will determine your success. Very often we miss opportunities because we fail to ask the next question to develop the conversation and dig a little deeper.

After your sales call, take a few moments to do a personal debrief on the conversation. Do this before you make the next call, or when you get back to the

car. Reflect on what went well, and what didn’t go so well. What questions did you ask, and what answers did receive to your questions?

Think through how you can improve the outcome and value of the conversation for both you and the customer by identifying the question that you didn’t ask this time. This debrief will prepare you to ask the question next time. ■

WIN A LASER POINTER PEN FOR YOUR QUICK FIX! If you have a favorite ‘quick fix’ that you would like to share with our readers (without giving your winning secrets away!) then email the editor at pauln@ nzsalesmanager.co.nz. You will be in to win a highpowered laser pointer pen, courtesy of the great guys at Brand Storming Promotions.

IM G _2

752.jp

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Is your business committed to professionalism in selling?

Join New Zealand’s network for Sales Professionals today!

Click to watch an introduction from Rev Sales Network founder Richard Liew!

The Rev Sales Network would like to congratulate the following sales organisations for making the commitment to excellence in selling!

Visit us at www.rsn.co.nz for membership details!

The Rev Sales Network invites you to join us for

Auckland Rev-Up #2 Wednesday 11 May 2011 Guest Speaker Hannah Samuel RSN Rev-Up Series AUCKLAND 2011

The Topic "The Currency of Trust” With thanks to

The currency of trust is at the heart of every purchase decision. From $1 donuts to million dollar deals, the greater the amount of trust a prospective buyer has in you, and your organisation, the more likely you are to make the sale.

When traditional decision-influencers such as product, price, place and promotion are largely equal, buyers will use intangibles such as reputation, integrity and trust, to guide their purchase decisions.

Quite simply, the higher your ‘trust-quotient’, the more successful you’re likely to be as a sales professional.

Understand: • The value, and cost, of reputation and trust • The sales professional’s role in influencing and

managing expectations • A 5-step trust-building process that will keep your

clients coming back for more, and recommending you others • Integrity-based credibility builders that will enhance your reputation and help build trust

The Presenter An award-winning speaker, columnist, and author, Hannah Samuel speaks, writes and mentors worldwide on issues around reputation, trust and integrity.

Hannah’s insights are based on more than 20 years experience working in business development in the UK and New Zealand and she is the founder of online reputation service directory TRUSTcite.

You can find out more about Hannah and hear what others have to say about her at www.hannahsamuel.com

The Details RSN Rev-Up Series 2011 Auckland Rev-Up #2 With Hannah Samuel 12pm—2pm, Wednesday 11 May 2011 OfficeMax Training Centre 30 Sir Woolf Fisher Drive, Highbrook, East Tamaki Auckland Rev Sales Network Members: Free Non-members: $49.95 incl gst pp Includes light lunch

How To Register To register your attendance for this event send an email with “Hannah Samuel” in the subject line and the number of tickets required to info@rsn.co.nz.

Or for more details visit us at www.rsn.co.nz Hurry! Registrations close Friday 6 May! Spaces allocated on first reserved, first served basis. Limit 80 attendees only.

Visit us at www.rsn.co.nz

“ You always pass failure on the way to success.

“

- Micky Rooney

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