"If
only we had more leads." "Marketing is out to lunch." Phrases we
hear all too often these days. Reality: Sales Reps as a group took another
nosedive in terms of quota attainment results: the 6th straight year this has
declined. In an economy that has been growing strongly over that same period,
we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and try to understand what went
wrong in our sales game, what is going wrong? What will we do when things get
even tougher? The blame game is in full swing these days and marketing tends to
be the first stop. More leads are needed. Better leads. Better accounts.
Selling success is being dominated by the top performers and leaving a trail of
mediocre and weak reps that fall back on the "blame and complain"
approach. In addition, sales leaders have been ineffective in moving the middle
and bottom performers up to the top. Only 17% of mediocre and weak reps are
being successfully trained and coached(Objective Management Group)
If you are stinking it up now, what
will you do when the economy contracts, when a recession hits?
There
is so much written today on the changing requirements for successful selling.
Yet, many reps stampede right by this advice and wing it, free-styling like its
1999. Don't get me wrong, I have been selling for a living my entire career and
it has definitely gotten tricky lately. But I also had the experience of
selling for 10 long and hard years in an industry that was once prosperous but
then began vanishing off the face of the US. Read that story here
I
have had the experience of seeing my business disappear, my customers saying
goodbye as they moved all of their business to Asia, my company going belly up,
packing up my desk for good, having to find a new career at age 42. I tell you
this not to bloviate, but to remind you that it can and it might get A LOT
TOUGHER out there and that if you are not performing up to par now, that you
ask more of yourself and find a way to get there.
Selling
in 2019 is complicated, with many opinions and views of what will make us
successful. If you follow my podcast, you have heard me rant and rave about the
importance of these skills. Subscribe here However,
there are a few key foundational elements that are a must-have. Let's start
with these:
Personal
Brand - This is no longer a nice to have. It's first on my list
because as I have said numerous times on the program, "first impressions
now occur online." What is the first thing you do when you are going to
meet someone? You check out their social profiles. Is this person interesting?
What is important to them? Or are they a mystery?
Lack of Social Presence = Lack of
Trust
So
what does a personal brand mean? It means having a point of view; it means
creating original content; it means sharing, posting, commenting,
liking, relevant articles, it means adding value to your network. Buyers search
social channels like crazy, looking for solutions and information. An
impressive social presence will enable you to rise to the top of the list of
the first vendor calls they'll make. Oh, you're too busy to do this? BS,
friends! Find the time.
Giving
a sh*t - Buyers invite sales reps back that
genuinely care about their plight. They don't want to deal with self-focused, self-absorbed
reps that blather on about themselves and their product and dominate the
conversation. We have heard so much about empathy, but it is not feigning
concern or interest while you load up you power point and turn the conversation
back to you. Empathy is vastly more complex than we think and if you
really are interested in developing this skill/trait, I turn your attention to
the great book written by @Helen Riess called The Empathy Effect. A few key
pointers from Helen:
Empathy is understanding what is
unspoken- it understanding the whole person and not just what they are saying.
It
includes listening not only with your ears, but with your heart and truly
understanding the motivations behind your prospect's concerns. Riess calls in
'hearing the whole person." We will get into more of this when she joins
us on the podcast, but one last key point. Empathy is a two way street. You
need to shoot for mutual empathy, which leads to a strong relationship based on
a mutual level of trust.
Always
Adding Value As I said on a recent Linkedin Video this is the era of value selling.
A broad category, for sure. One of the key elements of this selling approach,
is making sure we are adding value to each prospect or customer touch point.
According the CEB, 74% of buyers choose
the sales rep who is first to add value and insight. In today's selling
environment, insight sellers boast a clear advantage. This means coming to the
table with a point of view, with a desire to help( and not only that, but being
able to acknowledge when you cannot help), personalizing each conversation
based on your deep understanding of the prospect's issues. Your follow up adds
value-a relevant article, video, case study, a personal note, that relates the
'whole person.' Not a pest-like, harassing note to see if as decision has been
made, what the next steps are.
Create
your own DEMAND The elite sellers don't bitch, they
don't blame. They take 100% responsibility for everything. Not only the wins
and the commission checks, but also the losses and 'no decisions' - it’s on
them. They learn from what has worked and what didn’t. They come back from the
losses smarter and better prepared. They'll adjust. They never complain about a
lack of leads. They’ll look themselves in the mirror and figure out how to do a
better job of growing their current customer base, of finding more time to
prospect, to network, to spend more time on social, whatever it takes.
And finally, here is how you get
more leads. You create them FOR YOURSELF!
That's
it for now. There is a lot more to talk about, but let's leave it here. What do
you think? Let me know how you are doing. Either in a comment below or private
message. I know this is going to your Year