Is Sales Getting Harder?

I just got off the phone with a former sales associate. He made a statement that, at first, I took at face value. However, this comment is eating at me: "Sales is getting harder all the time."

Is selling getting harder, truly?

Do you agree? Or do you disagree?

After pondering the idea, I've decided that selling is NOT getting harder. Selling in the new millennium is just different. For example, fifty years ago, people used the typewriter to write a sales letter. If they wanted to contact a prospect, they basically used one of several methods: in-person, over the phone, writing a letter, sending a wire, playing golf together, conventions, or over a meal.

Today, we have more tools: online social networks (LinkedIn, ecademy, Plaxo, Facebook, etc.), email, the telephone, voicemail, in-person, writing a letter, sending a FedEx, conventions, golf, or over a meal.

Our tools to contact and track prospects may have improved, but there are more people selling to our prospects every day. So, in my mind, the tools equalize with the quantity of people selling to the prospect: zero-sum-gain there.

In order to sell, we've always had to be intelligent. We've always had to listen to the prospect, ask smart questions about their business, do our homework and research on the prospect's company, and provide solid solutions. Price is always a variable issue that is relative, as well.

So, considering all things, I don't think selling is harder than ever before. It isn't easier, either (exception: people who can automate their entire sales process when they are selling an online product).

The selling profession is still challenging and a dynamic way to earn a living. I believe the opportunity always exists for the salesperson who is innovative, works hard enough, and targets prospects that maximize their time. I've always been great at following-up, and I'm tenacious. But when I add innovative techniques, and when I target prospects that produce big wins, I always win big. Can you relate?

If certain prospects aren't buying, switch to prospects who CAN buy right now. It's like moving your boat when fishing to find a better hole to fish in. Right?

My advice is to avoid the naysayers who say "we can't sell in this economy" and instead put your ears back and go do what you've always done best, only better. The odds are you'll have a banner year.
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Hope For Gain: The Savvy Entrepreneur Series

If you're seeking to improve success with any sales endeavor, you need to embrace the two biggest motivators: FEAR of LOSS and HOPE for GAIN.

I've already explored FEAR of LOSS earlier (click here to read).

In this article, I'll discuss HOPE for GAIN.

Think about the last thing you bought to improve your life or business. Was there not some aspect of why you bought that item related to increasing your ability to do something, enjoy life more, or experience something new?

If we buy a new car, we almost always seek more air bags, cup holders, gadgets (like my sunroof in my Tundra), sliding windows, more horsepower, better gas mileage, more storage space, SOMETHING MORE. These are all examples of HOPE FOR GAIN.

When I sell my service to companies helping them gain organic search position with their websites, yes, I do use FEAR of LOSS (by asking "How do you feel seeing your competitors with these phrases and you're not there?") but moreover I use HOPE for GAIN by promising to put their landing page in Google's Top 10 results for the phrase they seek. It's a challenge no single company has mastered, but I can realistically say that I'll capture Top 10 over 50% of the time with my methods. And, that leads to more traffic. More traffic leads to more people who click "BUY NOW" on the web page, right? Beyond that, converting more of those leads is also a HOPE for GAIN, too.

When I sold computer service and support, I would use HOPE for GAIN by promising their computers would stay up longer, that we'd respond faster, and that it would cost less money. Those are all examples of hope for gain. I would suggest that by using my competitor, they would increase exposure to slow response time, which is using FEAR of LOSS. See how those two motivators, when used together, become highly powerful?

The majority of Americans vacation, on average, 12 days a year. Yep, that's right, less than 3% of the majority of American lives are spent on vacation. Sad, isn't it? (Notice the use of LOSS there)... well, I'd use that statistic as a motivator when I sold vacations, and indicated that by COMMITTING to a PLAN there was implicit HOPE FOR GAIN of more dreams, going more places, spending time with those they love most, exploring the world, and seeing nice places by buying a vacation program. Those benefits all indicated HOPE FOR GAIN. The benefits extended to other aspects of living: people who vacation more are more productive at work (GAIN), more healthy (GAIN), and live longer (GAIN). See how it works?

How to use HOPE FOR GAIN:

First, make a list describing what are you selling. How do people benefit from buying what you sell?

Next, make a second list extending how they benefit even in other related areas by benefiting from what you sell them. This is the extended list.

Last, put these together in an order of priority that addresses your prospects biggest need first, second biggest need second, and third biggest need third. Keep in mind that smaller prospects have different needs than larger organizations. Selling a company a fleet of cars is definitely a different GAIN pitch than selling a single car to a young woman still in college. And, selling that single woman in college a car will use a different "GAIN" pitch than selling a luxury automobile to a wealthy entrepreneur.

Clearly, a person will buy a Toyota Corolla for different reasons than they will buy the Tesla Roadster. One is economical and simply wheels to get you there while the other is about speed, prestige, and flash. Both people GAIN. They just gain in different ways. So, make sure you utilize the differences in gain to your advantage and then target those benefits to the buyer most likely to buy for those reasons.

Best of success to you in improving your sales using HOPE for GAIN.

Read FEAR of LOSS here.

How have you used FEAR of LOSS and HOPE for GAIN to improve your selling? Weigh in below.
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Business From Social Networking?

Are you doing business from social networking platforms? I've received quite a few inquiries from social networks and closed one deal this past year. So, I can weigh in on the topic. How about you?

This just in from my friend, Lori Steed:

I was excited to see that my friends Jim Ware and Charlie Grantham, authors of Corporate Agility, The Future of Work, and other books, are doing a survey about social networking platforms. I participated in the survey and it took about 5 minutes. Will you share the survey link also with those you think may like to participate? There is an option to enter an email address and receive a copy of the survey results at the end.

The article
http://www.thefutureofwork.net/newsletter_1108_Notes_Social_Networking.html

The survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pkopp3GCNhBMnHVv82cBdA_3d_3d

After a two month break from blogging, I'm back, and sharing new thoughts and ideas. If you missed information in the past or would like to suggest new topics, I'm open to suggestion!

Cheers!
Scott
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Fear of Loss: The Savvy Entrepreneur Series

The two strongest motivators in selling are the FEAR of LOSS and HOPE for GAIN.

When you're making your sales pitch, how often do you utilize FEAR of LOSS to persuade people to buy your product or service?

While many people claim that "fear of loss" is a negative tactic, it nevertheless is proven effective by many of the most effective salespeople throughout history.

Military Generals use fear to intimidate their opponents. Politicians use fear to throw their opponents "under the bus" and win elections. Business leaders use fear to position their company as the "gorilla" and their competitors as "chimps". Salespeople use fear to undermine the strength of competitors and maximize their own product's benefits to a prospective customer.

I recall a saying in the high tech industry, where it was widely known in the early 1990's that IBM, the large technology service provider, utilized FUD (fear - uncertainty - doubt) tactics to create doubt and undermine credibility of their competition to such a high degree they could charge 30 - 200% more than competitors for essentially the same levels of service. They also won business that otherwise might have gone to a competitor.

Examples of ways you can use FEAR of LOSS to position yourself as the best choice include:

"How can you be sure your current provider will be there when you need them?"

"Who will answer the phone at 3:00 a.m. when the system goes down?"

"What training have they received on the products they recommend?"

Some ways you can demonstrate you meet the fear or concern include:

"You're on our mind: With our "alert-status" 24/7 service and 4 hour response, you can rest assured your system's care is in good hands. Not only that, but our "proactive care" program will make sure you have fewer needs for alerts or downtime in the first place."

"You come first: With our "executive alert" plan you will know you always have top priority with our company."

"Your needs - delivered professionally: our people are trained on the systems you use. As a result, we're able to deliver more knowledge, keep your systems running with the least amount of hassle. This will keep your team focused on your business, and both save and help you make more money doing what you do best."

These are examples of marketing statements within the high tech industry that would position one company above another.

Individual competitive situations can get even more nasty. I once saw my coworkers work hard to win a large mainframe support contract - or so they thought. The agreement was signed by the CIO (Chief Information Officer responsible for technology at the prospective company) earlier in the day. During the "celebration dinner", the CIO received a phone call. When he returned to the table, he bore a troubled look on his face. "Fellows, I'm not sure how to say this, but I've been overruled and we're going with IBM," he said. He then explained that IBM made it clear that they might not be so agreeable to offer the code for their new chip if they weren't responsible for supporting the mainframe service. They cast doubt on whether updates would happen in a timely manner and basically said the customer would be a fool to switch vendors. They delivered this message by calling their "friend" on the board of the prospective customer. That board-member then overruled the CIO. That's how high IBM's relationship went. And that is how powerful the fear-tactic ended up costing a multi-million deal for a sales team that they'd seemingly won just moments earlier. Months of hard work and countless hours went down the drain.

Fear of loss is a strong motivator. Fear, properly applied, will help you win more often. Make sure both your marketing and sales pitch utilize this tactic.

Up next: HOPE for GAIN.

How has fear worked for you or against you in business? Comment below to contribute your experiences.
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First Hour Of The Day Matters The Most

Time Management Tactics For Higher Success

Do you start your day by checking e-mail?

Or do you meet with staff?

Do you produce something?

Or pick up a phone?

If you're seeking more success, I'd like to propose you start the first hour of your day at work focusing on the most important task on your goal list at that time.

Most important things in the first hour:

I'm not saying to focus on the most time-sensitive, or the squeakiest wheel. Rather, focus on the most important thing to the development of your business.

Try putting the first hour as the most important hour, and do not allow interference with e-mail, telephones, interruptions, and other challenges to stop you from dedicating this time to getting something done.

My latest tactic is to dedicate 50 minutes, then take a 10 minute break. My break is focused, just like the 50 minute time block.

We can't necessarily control time, but we CAN control how we manage the time we have.

Here's to your success!
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Don't Quit When You Fail To Sell

Recently, I went through a sales slump. It happens to the best. This, just after a month when I sold 80% of everything I touched. So, with the ugly month after the great month, I'm still doing fine.

But, I have to share with you, when I was in the middle of that slump it seemed like nothing I could say worked. I lost all kinds of business that I could have won. Then again, many of the prospects I was meeting weren't going to buy, either.

Sometimes, sales is a matter of qualifying up front. Now, if your sales position doesn't allow you to pre-qualify your prospects, and you have to work certain accounts or prospects, then you simply have to take your lumps and stay positive through any down cycle. However, I do have a few ideas that might help you start selling again.

Here are a few tips I have for you to remain positive when you're not closing deals:

1. Keep on plugging. Don't stop showing up for work, don't show up late to appointments, and keep yourself on time and focused.

2. Remain positive. Use a touch-stone to put you in your "magic place" before you begin your sales calls. Pump your fist in the air. Make sure you eat properly, get a good night's sleep, and smile with your mouth AND eyes!

3. Tighten up your pitch. If you're missing on some deals you'd normally close, it is possible you've gotten off of your pitch. I find that usually when I miss deals I ought to have won, it is because I made the mistake of selling BEFORE thoroughly understanding my client's needs. If you make that mistake, you're showing them that you care more about YOU than THEM. And most clients want it the other way around. Show them you care, first. Confirm that you heard them right. THEN propose your solution. Use less time to sell, keep it tight, focused, and on track, and you'll get the next one.

The bottom line is: when you're failing, if you know you're a winner, keep the faith. You WILL turn it around. I know I did. And it is a GREAT feeling!
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Made Not Born Part I: Sales Masters

Made, Not Born is a series based upon top qualities, techniques, and abilities of the very best professionals in many industries.

PART I: Traits of Sales Masters. Part I of Made, Not Born is focusing on the traits of the super-successful salesperson. What sets the best apart from the rest? Learn more in this article!

I recently read a business headhunter's list of top qualities of an all-star salesperson:

Work Attitude
Integrity
Adaptability
Influence
Interpersonal Relationship
Social Interactions
Positive Self-Esteem
Confidence
Persistence
Organization Skills
Prioritization of Goals

I like each of these, and believe each of these traits will help a salesperson succeed. However, when I interview salespeople and probe my memory for the best salespeople of all-time, my list includes other traits and talents that you might otherwise not consider:

ARRiiVE's Top Sales Masters of All-Time List of Traits and Skills:

1. A master of selling process: able to create a system of selling that builds rapport with clients and prospects very quickly.

2. A master of knowing the buyer's hot-buttons: adept at thinking like a buyer. Researches buyer's industry until they are a master of current issues facing typical buyers in each vertical industry.

3. A master of asking the right questions: the best selling gurus ask intelligent questions about prospects needs. They will quickly move from early fact types of questions into questions that probe deeper into implications of cost, pain, emotional value, and implication.

4. A master at directing the buying process to successful solution. The most masterful salesperson focused on expanding the need, then asking if-then questions to lead to yes. Able to expand the need by probing deeper. This is the quality of the ability to LISTEN and then take that information and expand even deeper. They are able to ask questions throughout the selling process that gains commitment to the salesperson's products and services and that results in each RFP (request for proposal) being driven to favor the salesperson's company.

5. A master at relating the company solution from their company to the customer's perceived emotional needs and logical needs. The best salespeople sell to the emotion, and support their emotional argument by providing irrefutable facts backing up their claims.

6. A master of disguise. The best salespeople are not always obvious to the customer. Many of them have already figured out the client before the client even knows they're being sold to and as a result the salesperson's sales results are considerably higher.

7. A master of proposing the company's products and services, yet able to come across genuine and down-to-earth. The best salespeople are not arrogant. They usually are extremely approachable and very good at presenting the company in the best light. They are quick on their feet, and always able to take a negative and quickly spin it back to make the company look better.

8. A master of describing solutions in terms of benefits and other user's or customer's experiences. The best salespeople are talking about third party and first party references throughout their entire sales process. Nothing is more powerful than a reference from someone the client trusts. The best salespeople know this and use it to their advantage.

9. A master at getting a yes while staying within the buying curve. The best salespeople know their is a buying window. When the buyer goes past the time curve on that window, they may lose the sale. Each industry's window may be different, but the best salespeople stay inside the window and deliver the deal in the most efficient manner possible.

Want to learn more? Sign up for Cold To Gold: Advanced Prospecting Methods To Overcome Fear, Get In The Door, and Build Long-Lasting Successful Relationships - a modern selling program with slides, screen prints, telephone courses, audio downloads, e-book, and bonus downloads and links. The author of this program has a long history of building successful sales relationships and blowing away quotas. Learn more from a master you can trust at Cold To Gold.
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Copyright © 2008 by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All rights reserved. Cold To Gold and ARRiiVE Business Solutions are trademarks of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

ARRiiVE Business Solutions helps executives improve sales, launch products and services, and build dynamic, cross-functional collaborative teams. For more information, contact info (at)ARRiiVE (dot) com or call us at 1 (805) 459-6939.

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Sales Territory Plan

You would be shocked at the number of salespeople who I've met who do not write a territory plan unless their manager first asked them. Yet, how many salespeople would raise their hand in confirmation when asked, "are salespeople, in a sense, in business for themselves?"

I'm not sure what the problem is; whether laziness, lack of focus, or other reason for poor planning, but without a plan, you plan to fail.

My first boss out of college used to tell me "Plan your work, and work your plan." It was great advice. Our branch went from being a dog at $300K a month to over $1M within one year of implementing his management methods. And one of those methods recommended each salesperson having a plan for their territory.

It is a technique I recommend in Cold to Gold Mind Spark Sessions TM, too.

This article will outline the crucial elements of your territory plan. What you put in it is up to you. If you like, you are granted permission to copy this article and use it as an outline for your own personal territory plan. Otherwise, my firm, http://www.arriive.com/, is available to help you craft your own sales plan.

The elements of a successful territory plan are as follows:

1. Cover Page (make it look like you care, if you're going to show it to someone else)


2. Executive Summary (this is just good protocol)


What are the highlights of the plan? Write this last.

3. Mission


What is my mission? This should be no longer than a paragraph, and succinctly state my primary focus.
"Achieve Quota, be significant contributor in company, enable path to promotion to occur."

4. Objectives


What are my primary objectives? List 3 - 7 items I must accomplish to realize my mission. For example:
 "Overachieve Quota each month. Sign 5 new accounts by May 1. Develop vertical market strategy by June
1."

a. Set SMART objectives: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-activated.
b. Keys to Success - Identify key items over course of year which will enable attainment of objectives to occur most easily. For example:

"Identify key value proposition, articulate through email, phone, and in-person."
"Solid utilization of company resources, including upper management and technical team."

5. Territory Summary


Provide overview of territory targeting:

a. Current partnerships;
b. Current customers and reference accounts;
c. Geographical description of territory - where are accounts clustered;
d. Top accounts - listed by vertical market;
e. Current Competitive landscape, by product/service offering.

This is important. Many salespeople overlook their competition.

6. Sales Strategy


a. Define Customer Buying Criteria, by product/service/solution;
b. Define My Company's solutions, by product/service/solution;
c. Define Account list by geography, vertical market, solution category (service offering);
d. Define which solutions I want to target to which group of prospects/accounts.

7. Sales Approach


a. Script out how I want to approach each prospect, by solution;
b. Script out how I want to approach each prospect, by phone;
c. Script out how I want to approach each prospect, by email;
d. Script out questions for first meeting which must be asked in order to determine needs;
e. Structure how I want to spend my day/week/month -- this should take into consideration my own peak moments.


Example of a Definitive Action plan -- Immediate objectives

Action Plan Target Date Completed?

Write Business Plan January 1
Define Account List January 1
Define Top Prospects January 1
Send Intro Email January 10
Meet Top 10 January 20

Now I have a plan. You can too. Just use this format!

Last thing to remember: Work the plan!! Follow-up, change things that don't work, add new ideas to the plan each quarter. This is my personal format I use - hope it works for you. If not, try your own plan. The key is to know who you want to work with, what you're doing, when you want to do it by, how you want to go about it, where you want it to occur, and why this matters (who, what, where, when, why).

If you're seeking help growing your sales, ARRiiVE Business Solutions offers training on sales process and topics like "Cold to Gold: How to Overcome the Fear of Cold Calling to Build Lasting Relationships."

Learn more about the business challenges we're helping leaders resolve.

Sign up for your own Cold to Gold workshop here.
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Post by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

ARRiiVE Business Solutions helps executives improve sales, launch products and services, and build dynamic, cross-functional collaborative teams. For more information, contact info (at)ARRiiVE (dot) com or call us at 1 (805) 459-6939.

Copyright © 2010 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. You may republish this article only if you publish in WHOLE with the COPYRIGHT and ALL ACTIVE LINKS intact.

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