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Do You Know Your Time Quadrants?
Posted by: In: Sales Executives, Sales Managers, Salespeople, Uncategorized 03 Apr 2024 0 comments Tags: , , , , ,

Knowing where your time is being used will allow you to spend more time on the sales activities that make you money.

 
I don’t read many books but at least I try to implement good ideas from the ones I do get around to reading.  One of the oldest books on my shelf that is still in my top 10 is “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.  The chapter on time management speaks of all activities in you life fitting into one of four quadrants.  The concept is that there are two variables that can be attached to any activity you engage in.

1) Level of urgency

2) Level of importance.

Plotting one of these against the other produces four quadrants as in the diagram below.  Armed with this insight, you’ll be able to make better choices deciding what you’re going to spend your time on and be more effective.

Importance vs. Urgency

Let’s first be sure we understand the difference between urgency and importance as people often confuse them with each other.  “Importance” represents the amount of value that this activity brings to you.  A good example would be preparing a proposal for a big prospect.  On the other hand, “urgency” refers to how quickly it needs to be done.  Responding to a complaint from your biggest customer is a good example of an urgent activity.  Combining both urgency and importance allow us to place them in quadrants 1 through 4.  You’ll see some examples of common activities also noted in the diagram.

You Need to Spend More Time in Quadrant 2

The problem is when we end up spending most of our time reacting to urgent activities, quadrants 1 & 3, the important.  The non-urgent activities in quadrant 2 take a back seat — sometimes forever!  People who live in the world of urgency often love the thrill of the accompanying adrenaline and cortisol rush but fail to grow.  They often find themselves languishing in key areas of their career and life.  We’ve all heard the stories of hard driving executives whose health or marriage is failing.

Majoring in the minors

Closer to home, I’ve see countless salespeople who want greater sales success but can’t manage to find the time to attend training sessions or do 1 more hour of prospecting each week.  They spend their time on low value, urgent things or even worse, low importance, low urgency activities like social apps or watching Netflix.  They “major in the minors.”  I know catching up on social and TV can be very entertaining and addictive.  If it’s at the expense of building your career, getting healthy or spending time with your kids, however, I’d argue that it’s not the best use of your time.

Why does this happen?  Because quadrant 2 activities take planning and discipline to happen.  They don’t just appear out of nowhere crying for your attention whereas urgent activities, by definition, do.  If you don’t workout today, what’s the big deal?  It won’t kill you — at least not today.  If you don’t make those 3 extra calls, it’s not going to kill your career — at least not today.

Your Homework Assignment

Set the alarm on your phone or watch to alert you every half hour.  When it goes off, write down what you did in the last 30 minutes.  Do this for 3 days and then mark beside each item which quadrant it falls into.  Add them up in total time.  I promise you that you will be shocked when you see how much time you are spending in quadrants 3 & 4.  I know you will want to spend more time on quadrant 2 activities.  The good news is that after this exercise, it will start to happen as you gain increased awareness and focus of where your time is going.

Effective people are experts in managing their time and have developed a ruthless approach to “time suckers.”  Apply this knowledge and you too can be one of these people.

Happy selling.

Looking for a high R.O.I.? How about 400% from time management?
Posted by: In: Sales Coaching, Sales Executives, Sales Managers, Sales Training, Salespeople, Uncategorized 18 May 2023 0 comments Tags: , , , ,
how-to-time-managementThese days, anything with a big positive return on investment sounds too good to be true. We’re not talking about financial investments per se here but rather something just as valuable—your time management.  And more accurately, we should say R.O.T.I. which means Return On Time Invested.
Specifically, the investment is the fifteen minutes that you can use at the end of your day to plan your next day. Simply by taking those few minutes and following a few simple steps, you will very likely experience a minimum of one hour of increased productivity the very next day!
Here are some basics to follow:
  • Review your list of tasks and mark which ones got done and which are still outstanding.
  • Note your accomplishments—important for motivation. List your outstanding tasks and any new ones you’d like to get done in your next day’s to-do list.  In CRM’s or calendar apps, these are often called “task lists.”  If you don’t know where the task list is or how to use it, take a few minutes to learn.  A calendar for your appointments is not enough.
  • Prioritize the tasks as As (need to get done tomorrow) or Bs (important but don’t absolutely have to be done by the end of the day tomorrow).
  • Put appointments/meetings in the time slots.
  • Work on one task at a time until you’re done (easier said than done we know) before moving onto the next. Multitasking seems to be a good idea but the lack of focus that comes with it causes ineffectiveness.  Recent research shows that it can actually lower your I.Q. too!
  • Mark off your tasks as you get them done, allowing time for interruptions and unplanned activities.

An added benefit is reducing your stress.  Often, as sales professionals, we feel overwhelmed by the tsunami of things we need (or want!) to get done.  Let’s face it, a salesperson’s job is never “done.”  We could always make more calls or engage in something that will help us grow revenue.  That’s a big reason why getting stuff out of your head and onto the plan for the next day makes so much sense.  Not only will you feel more in control, but it’ll prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night going through your checklist of things to be done.

3 Sales Success Ingredients
Posted by: In: Sales Coaching, Sales Executives, Sales Managers, Sales Training, Salespeople, Training, Uncategorized 22 Nov 2022 0 comments Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Screen Shot 2015-06-03 at 10.35.59 PM

There are some common ingredients among top sellers.

Sugar and spice and everything nice is what the nursery rhyme says little girls are made of but what are the ingredients for sales success?  There are three as well, but you can’t simply buy them at the grocery store like you can sugar and spice.

The three key components that you need to have in good measure are 1) Activities 2) Skills and 3) Attitude.  Strikingly different from each other, they are rarely found together in the right proportion.  Each one deserves some specifics.

Activities – Activities are like the sugar.  The more you have, the sweeter the reward!  A great salesperson needs to understand what the key activities are that lead to sales success and then do lots of them.  Are you taking the proper actions that move buyers through the pipeline?  For most salespeople in traditional sales, these would include things such as leads generated, referrals received, outbound touches such as calls & emails, meetings set and proposals delivered.  For social selling, the activities could be posts, new connections made or conversations scheduled.

Skills – Skills are like adding spice to the selling process.  Without it, your activities will be bland. (OK – I’m stretching a bit to make the metaphor work.)  You need to possess the skills to make your prospecting activities effective and turn them into meetings.  You need to know how to manage your time, set & manage goals, adjust your selling style to the customer, do a great discovery meeting, present solutions, handle objections, move the buyer towards commitment and so on.

Attitude – This is the equivalent of “everything nice” because recent research clearly shows that having a positive attitude brings, on average, 34% greater sales.  See my recent post “Happiness Can Lead to More Sales” for more detail.  Without a positive attitude, you will be stopped in your tracks when you hit the inevitable challenges that selling involves.  A positive attitude ensures that the other two ingredients, activities and skills, are sustainable.

Do you really need to have all three of these to excel in sales?  Yes and no.  I’ve worked with many salespeople who make a decent living with 2 out of the 3.  For instance, I remember one very personable individual who I’ll call Marty who was part of my first client’s sales team.  Marty had a positive attitude.  He always had a smile and a high level of confidence.  He was also pretty skilled.  Even before training, he could clearly make effective prospecting calls and did a decent job in meetings too.  He made a good six figure income.  So what’s the problem?  Maybe nothing except that he could have done so much better if he had the third ingredient: activities.  To be blunt, he was lazy.  He would go for 2 hour lunches at least a few times a week.  At 5 o’clock, you’d better not be standing near the door for fear of Marty running you over on his way out.  I did an analysis of Marty’s funnel and conversion rates and found that for him to earn $15,000 more that year, which was his goal, he only had to spend 45 more minutes prospecting per week.  You might ask, who wouldn’t put 9 more minutes in per day to make 15 grand more?  Maybe you would but not Marty.  It didn’t happen because Marty was in the “comfort zone” and refused to do any additional activities.

On the other hand, I’ve seen some who have have an incredible work ethic, doing massive amounts of activities with wonderfully positive attitudes but have only moderate skills.  Fortunately, these people have the best chance of improving their income from a sales development program because skills are easier to change than the other two ingredients.

Each of these 3 ingredients can be developed to varying degrees.  Your takeaway action is to set a goal for the next 12 months how you’re going to grow each of them.  After that, make a list of things that you can do in the next 30 days to get you started.  The last step is to schedule an action that you will take tomorrow.

By focussing on the fine balance of these key ingredients, you will experience everything nice that a great career in sales can bring!

5 Tips for Phone Prospecting
Posted by: In: Sales Coaching, Sales Executives, Sales Managers, Sales Training, Salespeople, Training, Uncategorized 13 Aug 2014 0 comments Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

prospecting

Do these and buyers will give you more time, more often.

By Michael Caron, President, Northbound Sales

1) Ask questions but ask for permission first

It’s great to ask questions on a prospecting call to understand what issues, challenges or goals a customer might have but don’t forget to frame why you’re asking them.  Otherwise, it can catch your prospect off guard and they will be less apt to want to answer questions until they know “what’s in it for them” to do so.  Use language such as, “I don’t know if there’s a fit between our companies for sure but would it be OK for me to ask you two quick questions to help see?”  In the thousands of calls I’ve personally used this strategy of asking permission with, I’ve only been turned down once!

2) Be friendly and conversational, yet professional

It’s a delicate balance to strike, but if you can speak to someone as if they are already an acquaintance, you will get them to listen to you and open up more as well.  Too casual, such as, “We’re amazing at that kind of stuff man.” and you’ll be dismissed as unprofessional.  On the other hand, “We have a superior track record of excellence within that category” will likely come across as too stiff.

In more advanced selling, you will want to learn how to read the personality of the prospect and adjust accordingly but for now, friendly yet professional will do in most cases.

3) Use softeners

Try to frame your questions with “softeners” that allow you to probe without sounding like you’re interrogating them.  Use language such as “Would you happen to know . . . Could you share with me . . . Do you know about how many . . . How important would you say blah, blah is?”  Be curious not interrogative.

4) Find at least two issues 

Try to probe and uncover at least two problems/challenges/issues that your solution might be able to help them with before suggesting a meeting.  If you can’t get two, run with only one but at least try for two.

5) Keep practicing!

Your prospects won’t give you honest feedback that will help you get better but your friends will!

You and your team can learn to prospect better and in less time with Northbound’s “Power Prospecting” and “Connecting to Mr. Big Cheese” workshops.  For more information or to arrange a complimentary workshop for your team, contact Michael at [email protected] or 416.456.1440.

3 Steps to Handling Discount Requests
Posted by: In: Sales Executives, Sales Managers, Sales Training, Salespeople, Training 04 Jun 2014 0 comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

7Dealing with a discount request while maintaining profit margins and closing the sales requires delicate balance.

By Michael Caron, President, Northbound Sales

Despite your best attempts to sell value and remain firm on your price, some clients will press
ahead with their request for a discount. After a solid attempt from you to reassure them that your price is fair, if your prospect is still pushing for a discount, you have a choice. Walk away from the business because you want to maintain your price or slowly start to give concessions in an attempt to win (or save) the business.

If you want to give concessions, following a simple system will ensure a profitable negotiation.

Your First Step
The first step, always, is to find something else to give up that doesn’t reduce your price. Free shipping. Extra manuals or training. A client profile on your Web site. What you choose will be specific to your business, your markets and your client base. The key is to have the list of things you’re willing to offer prepared in advance, so you can draw on it during the negotiation.

It’s hard to think creatively in the heat of a negotiation, so planning ahead can give you a ready-made solution that leaves both you and the client feeling satisfied with the transaction.
Your goal is to maintain the price integrity of your product while delivering extra value to the customer with a service that does not cost you anything (or very little). For example, if the customer asks you for a discount consider offering them following instead:
1. An unconditional money back guarantee
2. Free shipping
3. Payment terms
4. Payment with credit card
5. Free training CD’s or in house training by you on the product
6. Access to a public seminar or trade show your company is sponsoring
7. Free set up (if you are a printer/embroidery/promotional products company)
8. Future discounts based on volume: the company will pay full price today and receive a discount on a future order. You can also do this as a gift certificate for them to use later.
9. Free electronic copies or hard copies of your help /training manuals
10. Upgraded support levels
11. Participation on your client advisory board or panel

About half the time, your customer will take you up on the offer to provide a “non monetary concession.” The other half will continue pressing for a price discount because in today’s
marketplace it has become all too common for one supplier to attempt to trump all others by lowering their price. In many cases, your clients are being trained by the competition and other vendors to demand lower pricing from you. It’s a short term strategy, and it does little to benefit buyers but that doesn’t make it any easier to assure prospects they’ll get equal or better ROI by paying more.

Sometimes, a prospect just wants you to lower your price, and you (with your company’s support) will need to consider doing it.

Your Second Step
If you feel you have to give up a discount in order to close the sale, do yourself a huge favor and always ask them one of the two following questions first: “What is important to you about an x% discount?” or “Why is an x% discount important to you?”

These questions will flush out any last details that could help you find a different way to structure the terms and pricing. This allows you to keep your price while letting the customer walk away with their needs met as well. If, however, you ultimately do have to reduce your price, make sure to follow these two rules:

Never reduce your price without getting something in return. Getting something in exchange for a pricing concession is key to managing customer expectations that future discounts will not be easily dished out. As with the “no money” concessions above, what you get in return for a price reduction will be unique to your business and markets. It could include references or case studies, a bigger order, introductions to senior level executives or cash up front, etc… Again, whatever you ask for, prepare the list in advance so you can respond quickly and
smoothly.

Your Third Step

Nothing is worse than coming to an agreement on price (especially a reduced price!) only to find out that your prospect is still looking for other concessions. Be sure to get a firm verbal agreement from the customer that this discount is all they will need to get the deal done. Try asking them something like “I’m not sure if I can get you this price, but if I can, is it fair to say that we can go ahead?” or “I’m not sure I can get this discount for you. If I can, though, are you willing to ….?”

By asking them this last question, you can ensure you get
all the issues on the table first, giving you the chance to deal with them fairly once and for all. So what goes after the “willing to”…. in that question? I believe that if you must, absolutely must reduce your price to win the business NEVER let that price drop without getting something in return.

Try some of these best practice ideas for finishing the question… “I’m not sure I can get this discount for you. If I can, though, are you willing to ….?
1. place your order today?
2. provide full payment up front?
3. place a larger order?
4. provide me 3 qualified referrals / introductions?
5. give us a testimonial or case study?
6. allow us to sponsor the event you are organizing?
7. invite me to the event you are having for their clients?
8. provide me space in your newsletter for a monthly column?
9. provide my company an exclusive purchasing arrangement?
10. introduce me to additional departments or internal decision makers?
11. have us in for a “lunch and learn session” with your staff ?

This step is easy to do if you have conviction. The first step to finding better clients – ones that focus on value and not price – is making sure you are 100% confident that you are delivering such a high value to the marketplace. Confident that all buyers will want to own it at full cost. When you do believe this, you will not have any trouble asking for something valuable in return for your price discount.

Remember that what you ask for does not have too be of equal monetary value. In fact it can be free for the customer to provide as long as it has value for you. The goal is to employ reciprocity – you will gladly scratch the customers back as long as they are willing to scratch yours! Creating equality in your client relationships ensures that you will have a long lasting
trust based relationship which reduces the amount of “shopping” the customer does each time they need to order. This increases your profits, decreases your sales cycle and encourages referrals.

You and your team can learn to produce stronger relationships and more equitable and profitable business interactions with Northbound’s “Win/Win Negotiations” workshop. For more information or pricing, contact Michael Caron at [email protected], 416.456.1440