By Michael Caron, President, Northbound Sales Training
In my business, I’m often asked, “What’s the biggest mistake salespeople make?” Of course, I tend to term them “opportunity areas” rather than “mistakes”. Whatever you want to call them, the most common is the area of questioning. The second area that goes hand-in-hand with number one is the inability of typical sales professionals to quit talking and listen after they’ve asked great questions!
The average salesperson is high in the “D & I” of the DiSC personality assessment, which means that they are “dominant” and “influential”, they like to control their environment and generally, they love to talk (to learn more about the DiSC profile, send me an e-mail for a sample). While these are critical personality traits for a sales professional to possess, they can also be their Achilles heel. In a meeting with the prospect, they think that selling is best done by being the one who talks the most. Their best definition of communication is “taking turns talking”!
How many times have you encountered a salesperson when you’re the buyer and they did the classic, “Show up and throw up!”?
The shortest course on selling is “ask questions and shut up”. Good use of open ended, closed and probing questions allows you to accurately determine your prospect’s priorities, challenges and needs. How can you truly provide a solution, which is an overused word in sales these days, without knowing precisely what the problems are and where the opportunities are?
You should never go into a sales interaction without a list of well thought out questions. At Northbound, we’re hesitant to use the term “presentation” as it implies that the salesperson is “presenting” while the prospect carefully listens while it should be just the opposite.
Except for very small and simple sales, I strongly recommend you use a two step meeting selling process. The first meeting, whether live or virtual, is used to uncover needs and is named the “Goal Aligned Sales Interview” for good reason. You should be essentially “interviewing” the buyer to uncover problems, challenges and issues.
Problems lead to needs and needs lead us to the next phase of the sale which is the “Goal Aligned Presentation” meeting. This is where you’ll be able to demonstrate to the buyer how you can solve the specific challenges uncovered in the previous meeting.
If you’re a sales leader, Northbound’s “Questions Are The Answer” workshop includes a solid skills building segment in this area. For more information or pricing, contact Michael Caron at [email protected] or 416.456.1440.
Growing a book of customers means more than doing your route.
By Michael Caron, President, Northbound Sales
You’ve worked hard over the years and now have a sizeable client base that you’re responsible for. When you get to this stage, your time will be spent less on attracting new customers and much more on going “deeper and wider” with your existing accounts. Here’s how to make the most of your efforts.
Drill where there’s the best chance of hitting oil
The tendency of many Account Managers is to make field calls on the biggest and best customers. Often, these are also the customers we have the best relationship with. It’s likely that we consider many to even be our friends. The argument is “I’ve got to take care of them because that’s one of our biggest accounts”. I’m not suggesting that taking care of your customers doesn’t make sense but the key here is balance.
Is it possible to over-service a client? Absolutely, when it comes at the expense of others that have tremendous growth potential. We’re already probably getting a big “share of wallet” with our biggest, most loyal customers and it’s questionable how much more business we can get by spending more time with them. I know the thought of calling on that account who favours our competitor and was kind of standoffish with you last time doesn’t sound appealing but that’s where your biggest gains might come from!
We recommend that you prioritize your clients using a combination of existing purchasing volume and “sales opportunity gap or SOP” — that is, the difference between their maximum potential volume and current volume. The customer who buys $10,000 annually from you but spends $100,000 on products/services in your sector has a $90,000 SOP. The client who currently spends $150,000 with you and spends $200,000 in total has an SOP of only $50,000.
To continue with our metaphor, the other oil wells have already been tapped. Let’s look for some new ones!
I spend a lot of time in the field observing sales reps do their thing and in my experience, this is how many field calls go. “Hi Bob. I just thought I’d drop in see if I can do anything for you.” This is usually followed with way too much small talk and finally when they do get down to business, it might consist of something like, “What do you need?”
Your job is to uncover sales opportunities, not be an order taker, and this requires planning. Before heading out and dropping in, brainstorm on what the opportunities are. What are they buying from our competitors that they could be buying from us? How can our product or service help them accomplish more than our competitor’s? Do they know about all our products? What problems, challenges or issues are they presented with these days?
When you can relate the expanded purchasing of your company’s products or services to the solving of your customer’s problems or the achievement of some goal that’s important to them, you will enjoy continued account growth. That’s why Northbound’s sales methodology is called “Goal Aligned™ Selling”!
If you’re a sales leader, Northbound’s “Bumper Crop! Account and Territory Management” workshop outlines a proven system to help your team in growing their accounts. For more information or pricing, contact us.
In the high-pressure world of sales, maintaining a positive attitude isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a critical component of success. Salespeople face rejection, competition, and constant targets, which can be daunting.
Compounding the issue is that 80% of salespeople, and likely you too, have much more than the average of the Influence dimension in their personality. One of the highest needs of people high in Influence is social acceptance. Their biggest fear is rejection, yet paradoxically, we get ourselves into a career that involves a huge amount of it. The average # of prospects: # of sales is more than 20:1. This means that for us to make a sale, we have to be rejected 19 times! It’s not a sales funnel. It’s a rejection funnel!
The ability to maintain a positive attitude throughout all this rejection is not for the light hearted. Despite common opinion, it’s not something you’re born with. It’s a learned behaviour meaning you can learn to get better at it if you want to.
Those who harness the power of positivity not only survive but thrive. Here’s why a positive attitude is a game-changer for sales professionals.
1. Enhances Resilience
Sales is a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A positive attitude equips salespeople with the resilience needed to bounce back from setbacks. When faced with rejection, a positive mindset helps in viewing it as a learning opportunity rather than a personal failure. This resilience fosters a growth mindset, allowing salespeople to continuously improve and adapt.
2. Builds Stronger Relationships
Positivity is contagious. Salespeople with a positive outlook are more likely to build strong, trusting relationships with clients. Customers are drawn to those who are enthusiastic, optimistic, and solution-oriented. A salesperson who radiates positivity can create a more enjoyable and collaborative experience for the client, leading to stronger business relationships and increased loyalty.
3. Boosts Performance and Productivity
A positive attitude directly impacts performance. Research shows that optimism can improve problem-solving skills, creativity, and decision-making. Salespeople who approach their tasks with a positive mindset are more motivated, proactive, and persistent. This leads to higher levels of productivity and better sales outcomes.
4. Reduces Stress and Enhances Well-Being
Sales can be a stressful profession, with constant pressure to meet targets and deadlines. A positive attitude helps in managing stress more effectively. Positivity can reduce anxiety, improve overall mental health, and increase job satisfaction. Salespeople who maintain a positive outlook are more likely to experience job fulfillment and a healthier work-life balance.
5. Drives Team Success
Positivity within a sales team fosters a collaborative and supportive environment. Salespeople who are optimistic can uplift their colleagues, share successful strategies, and create a culture of mutual encouragement. This collective positivity drives team success, as members feel valued and motivated to achieve common goals.
Practical Tips for Cultivating Positivity
1. Leads cost money, and your team is probably dropping more than you think! According to a major study of top US firms conducted by CSO Insights, over 50% of leads are not properly followed up, and only 20% of all leads are actually followed up in the recommended fashion!
A good CRM system can completely change the dynamic of a sales pipeline review from one where the sales manager asks the same questions over and over again:
Leave micro-management to the system. All these questions are captured in the opportunity record so that weekly meetings can be much more strategic; that is, “how can we win this deal?”
If you even think you might need CRM, you’re already leaving thousands of dollars of revenue on the table! At a minimum, every customer we work with who says “yeah, we might benefit from CRM” will see a bump of 10% in top-line sales by doing so.
If you currently use Outlook, you’re probably only using a fraction of its capabilities. If you’re not ready to commit to full CRM like Hubspot or Salesforce, you can set up Outlook to perform many of the basic functions of a CRM. Northbound’s associate, Andy Sherwood of Priority Management, has trained many Northbound clients on “Using Outlook as a CRM”. For more information and pricing, contact Andy: [email protected] (905) 334-1575.
Congratulations for reading this and not putting it off! Procrastination has been appropriately called the “silent killer of careers,” yet few people have ever had formal training on how to overcome this immensely costly habit. While managing this problem is a constant challenge to me, I have learned some strategies over the years that have worked very well.
Instead of thinking of how difficult the process may be to accomplish something, think rather of the end result and all the great things that it will mean to you. Turn thoughts of “I hate cold calling, it’s not much fun” into “if I make two hours of calls, I’ll probably book one meeting, I usually close one out of two meetings, so I’m 50% towards a sale if I make some calls!” Once your brain clearly connects the doing of a task with the major benefits of doing so, you will be unstoppable!
Last week’s post on time management got some really good interest even though managing our time is not a technical selling skill. This week’s post is a follow-up strategy. Frankly, most sales people, including myself don’t come by time management naturally because of our personality type. That’s why, at Northbound, time management is almost always part of a program. We often get a serious productivity boost, allowing us to sell more just by getting better organized and disciplined with our time.
I’m going to share one of the best ways to improve your productivity that is echoed in the #1 New York Times bestseller, “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. The power of saying “no”. Clear states (you could say very ‘clearly‘) that “Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. For example, there is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all.
This is not to say you should never attend another meeting, but the truth is that we say yes to many things we don’t actually want to do. There are many meetings held that don’t need to be held.”
But how do you say “no” to people who you deal with on a regular basis without upsetting them? “It’s worth asking if things are necessary. Many of them are not, and a simple ‘no’ will be more productive than whatever work the most efficient person can muster.” says Clear.
He adds, “Saying no to these people can be particularly difficult because we like them and want to support them. (Not to mention, we often need their help too.) Collaborating with others is an important element of life. The thought of straining the relationship outweighs the commitment of our time and energy. For this reason, it can be helpful to be gracious in your response.”
For this reason, here are 17 ways to say no from our Goal Aligned™ Time Management workshop. My favourite is number 11. They can be used with customers, co-workers, even your boss. If you’re going to use them with friends or family, choose carefully!
Try these:
1 – “I’m sorry. That’s not a priority for me right now.”
2 – “I can’t help you on this now, but I can get to it next week. Would that be okay?”
3 – “I have so much on my plate now I don’t know when I can get to it. But I do know someone over here who can help you now.”
4 – “Before I take this on for you, let me show you a few things so that you might be able to do it yourself.”
5 – “I have made so many commitments to others, it would be unfair to them and you if I took on anything more at this point.”
6 – “If I can’t give you a ride to the school dance on Friday, how else would you get there safely?”
7 – “I don’t know how soon I can help you on this, but I will get back to you as soon as I am able to help you.”
8 – “I’m sure we’re close enough that when I say “no” you’ll understand it’s for a good reason.”
9 – “Sure I can help you with your request as long as we both agree and understand that the item I agreed to do for you yesterday is going to have to wait.”
10 – “Before I take this over from you, what do you think we ought to do about it?”
11 – “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, I sure can do that for you. The bad news is, I’m so overloaded with everything else, I’ve become delirious and have been lying about my commitments.”
12 – “When I get overwhelmed like I am now, I remove every third person who asks me for something, from my “Good Friends List” and the second person just left.”
13 – “No.”
14 – “Thanks for thinking to ask me, but, no thanks.”
15 – “I would like to help you out on this but you understand I don’t have the resources available to do the right job for you.”
16 – “Now that’s the type of thing I would love to help you on if only I had the time.”
“17 – Just like you, I get overloaded sometimes and have to tell some very special people, “no”. This is one of those times.”
And as you speak, smile.
We all know that good questions are the most powerful tool in sales. But some are markedly better than others. One of the most powerful types is the scale question. What’s a scale question? (Good question!) A scale question is one that asks your buyer to answer on a scale, usually from 1 to 10.
To understand why they are so helpful in sales, we need to take a step back. Solutions, by definition, can only exist if there is a problem. Although many companies claim they sell “X solutions” it’s often not possible because their salespeople haven’t uncovered legitimate problems from the potential buyer that their solution can solve. It’s the dreaded trap of “a solution in search of a problem.”
Needs begin with problems and problems only exist when their is a gap between where someone is currently and where they’d like to be. This is commonly called the “tension for change.” Some might have an issue referring to this “tension for change” or gap as a problem. They might prefer to call it an opportunity instead. It really doesn’t matter what you choose to call it, however. What’s important is that we realize that without a gap, there is no possibility for a sale. The potential buyer sees no reason to change from the status quo. On the other hand, the bigger the gap, the more motivated a buyer will be to find a solution.
During the discovery phase of a sale, a good strategy is to establish what the key result areas are for the customer and then uncover the level of satisfaction in these areas. Here’s an example of a simple way to do this.
You: “John, could you share with me the 3 or 4 most important criteria to you in choosing a (your industry) partner?
Prospect: “Price is most important.”
You: “OK. And besides price, what would be next important?”
Prospect: “Great service.”
You: “OK. Could you be more specific as to what great service looks like to you?”
Prospect: “I’d like to see my rep every couple of months. I’d also like to have my phone calls returned quickly and my emails not as quick but still pretty quick.”
You: “So why is great service so important to you?”
Prospect: “If I have an issue and it doesn’t get fixed PDQ, it can cost us a lot. Plus it’s very frustrating not being able to get a hold of somebody with the vendor we use now.”
You: “So, if you were to rate the service you’re getting now from your current vendor, say on scale of one to ten, what do you think you’d say?”
Prospect: “Oh I don’t know. Maybe six.”
You: “OK. So is it fair to say that there’s room for improvement here?”
Prospect: “For sure.”
Repeat the above for at least 2 other areas. Through this process, you’ll have identified several problems — areas that are important to the customer and that he’d now like to do better in. You’ll see that in most cases, the customer concludes that they are not as satisfied as they could be in key areas and how the “gap” has negative implications. If you simply asked them to tell you what problems they have with their current vendor, not only will you get less valuable information, but they might also say, “I’ve got none.” At this point, you have nowhere to go except out the door!
Your homework for this week:
1) Come up with a scale question that will help uncover an area that you have a competitive advantage in.
2) Use it on your sales calls this week.
You should have your own list of questions that you constantly refer to in sales calls. If you don’t have any pre-written ones, these will give you a great start!
Northbound’s workshop “Questions Are the Answer” teaches you and your team the consultative approach to selling then helps you create dozens of powerful questions that you can immediately use to grow your sales. For more information or for pricing, contact Michael, [email protected].
One of the best single pieces of advice I can give to sales managers is to spend more time in the field with their salespeople. It’s shocking how many sales managers tell me that they want to play the role of coach with their people yet spend a pitiful amount of time in the field where coaching should happen. It would be analogous to a hockey coach discussing defensive play along the boards but not showing up at the games to watch his team put it into practice.
If you’re a sales manager, the only accurate way to gauge the skills of your salespeople is to observe them doing their thing. When you get out in the field to do some joint calls, it’s important that you agree ahead of time with your sales rep what type of coaching call it’s going to be. Here are your choices:
The Joint Call – In this call, you both participate. The goal is usually to get the sale or solve a problem which will require both of you. Agree before you go in who is going to do what as it’s unprofessional if you start tripping over each other when you get there!
The Training Call – In this call, you take the lead and the sales rep remains quiet for most of it. The purpose is for you to demonstrate a call and have the rep learn from observing. Don’t assert that you are going to do a perfect call. Rather, state, “I’m not saying that I’m better than you but you might pick up a few things by watching someone else do a call.” After the call, do a de-brief at your favourite coffee shop.
The Observing Call – As the name implies, this is where you as the sales manager, need to stay quiet during the call. This is easier said than done especially when you see your rep making mistakes! It’s almost impossible for us to keep our mouth shut when we see our salesperson struggling, but we need to. If you jump in, two things will happen: 1) You will undermine his authority and throw him off track and 2) You won’t get an accurate picture of what he’s doing when you’re not there! Take very detailed notes.
Important: Only do your de-brief after you’re finished doing several calls. Why? If you give him corrections after the first call, he will try to adjust on the second call. If you give him corrections after the second, he will try to adjust on the third and by the end of few calls, he’ll be a mess! Instead, pick out one or two things for him to work on and make your suggestions after the series of calls is over. People can only focus on learning a few things at one time. Keep your list in a safe place as you will refer back to it the next time you’re out with him.
Of course, there is a lot more to doing effective coaching calls than just the above. You can learn proven and powerful strategies by booking Northbound’s “Coaching People in the Field” workshop. Click on the link for a full description. It’s available in classroom format for groups or can be taught one-on-one with sales leaders.
Are you frustrated constantly by trying to connect to buyers when prospecting and getting their voicemail? I hear this complaint from many of our clients.
Times have changed. In the early 90’s before voicemail was ubiquitous, studies showed that one business person attempting to contact another business person would get through 22% of the time. Sounds low doesn’t it? But it gets worse. Spurred on by the pandemic, the work-from-home trend makes getting people at their desk next to impossible and today’s stats are more like 10% or even less. That means that 9 out of 10 times, you’re going to get voicemail when doing cold prospecting.
What I find crazy is how many salespeople don’t leave a voicemail when they’re calling a buyer. By not leaving a message, they are missing a great opportunity!
Instead of looking at this marvel of communication engineering as being your enemy, it can be your friend – at least in the short term. Before you say I’ve lost my selling marbles, let me explain. How many of you can convey a compelling description of your product’s benefits and features in 30 words or less? Some of you may be able but wouldn’t it be nice if you had a full minute? Of course it would. A good prospecting voicemail can do just that for you.
There’s a big difference between getting a prospect on the phone right off the bat and being able to leave a voicemail message first. I far prefer to leave a carefully crafted, practiced, voicemail message as my first voice contact with a prospective customer. You can’t get cut off, you can build some “personality” and trust and with many systems, you also have the added benefit of erasing it and doing it again if you screw up. Be careful to leave the message as best you possibly can and finish before trying to erase it though in case you can’t!
Just like in advertising, multiple impressions are often required before a message registers with someone. Each time your buyer hears what’s possibly “in it for him” to have a conversation with you, it helps strengthen your case.
Obviously you eventually want to connect in real time with the prospect and there are specific techniques to drastically increase your chances when the time is right but that will have to wait for a future post.
Using voicemail to your advantage is part of Northbound’s “Connecting to the Big Cheese” workshop. To arrange a complimentary condensed version of the workshop for your team, contact Michael Caron @ [email protected] or 416.456.1440.