Performance Based Results Articles

What THE INFORMANT! Can Teach Us About Workplace Relations

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:48:42 -0600

Steven Soderbergh's latest film, THE INFORMANT!, is a dark comedy based on the true story of Mark Whitacre (played by Matt Damon), then President of the BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland. In 1995, it was revealed that Whitacre had been acting as an informant, supplying the FBI with tapes implicating ADM in a complex price-fixing scheme. Over time, Whitacre had discovered he liked his corporate whistle-blower role -- maybe too much. In his naivete, Whitacre went to outrageous lengths to cling to his new sense of self-importance and keep himself in the spotlight, defeating the purpose of his undercover role. What's worse, Whitacre wound up under investigation for embezzling $9 million from ADM. As a result, he lost his whistle-blower's immunity and spent 8½ years in federal prison. The movie takes a tongue-in-cheek approach, though it was no laughing matter in real life. THE INFORMANT! is a cautionary tale showing how an employee's insecurity and hunger for attention...

Sales Questions to Ask Prospects That Get Through to Their Bosses

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:44:27 -0700

Asking a prospect the right sales questions is vital when their boss is part of the decision-making process. Becoming skillful at asking these questions will save time and streamline the sales prospecting process. The end result -- more closed sales. Have you ever been in a situation where your sales prospect is interested, yet he won't move forward because, he has to answer to a colleague, a higher authority, or his boss? As time goes on, you stay in touch, calling periodically. Before long, it hits you that your sales prospect's just leading you down a path of non-commitment with phrases like: Let me talk it over with my boss. Let me run it by my team. I'll share your ideas with the committee. How do you handle a situation where things seem to be going well, yet your sales prospect continues to stall, unable or unwilling to commit because they are not the only decision-maker? STEP 1: ESTABLISHING WHO'S THE DECISION-MAKER Suppose your sales prospect says, "What you'...

Value Selling: Getting Customers to Buy at a Higher Price

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:10:34 -0700

Value selling is an important sales technique that relies on building on the inherent value of a product or service. Because customers often use price as the dominant factor in a sales negotiation, sales pros need to demonstrate that sometimes the higher price is actually a better solution -- a higher value. I know a long-married couple, Sam and Sarah, who have very different takes on value. Growing up wealthy, Sarah could afford to buy expensive, well-made shoes that would last for years. Growing up poor, Sam had only been able to buy the cheapest shoes he could afford -- and keep on buying them, since they kept on falling apart within a few months. It's easy for people like Sam to confuse price with value, where the lower-priced item turns out not to be the best value. Value Selling in a Professional Sales Environment In professional sales, customers give lip service to value -- wanting the best bang for their buck. But, in reality, when push-comes-to-shove, all they want t...

Tough Questions to Ask Your Customers in 2009

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:20:20 -0600

How will you get your sales customers to increase sales in 2009? The answer is for them to ask the right sales questions. The pressure is on for increasing customer sales in the new year. Plus, how will you and your company make up for the sales accounts you lost in 2008? "By making our sales customers happy and keeping them happy," you say. Sure, but where will you start? Maybe you think the way to keep your sales customers happy is by avoiding ruffling their feathers with tough, uncomfortable sales questions. Think again! Your sales customers can't solve their problems if they don't acknowledge them. Or maybe they've had too many fires to put out this year. As a result, they've had little if any time to constructively think through their challenges and what steps need to be taken to achieve next year's goals. And that's where you come in, by helping them to see the bigger picture. You can use the business version of "tough love," in the form of probing sales questions ...

Sales Prospects: Why Asking the Right Questions will Close More Sales

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:36:45 -0600

Asking the right questions to non-committed sales prospects will help close more sales. We've all had this happen with a new sales prospect. You're thinking "This is it, I've got him!" You have called your sales prospect, and the dialogue is going great. His attitude is positive - he likes your services - you have lots in common with him. You feel a palpable connection between the two of you, a strong sixth sense that this meeting will result in you closing the sale. As time goes on, you stay in touch, calling periodically. Before long, it hits you that your sales prospect is just leading you down a path of non-commitment. COMMON NON-COMMITMENT SALES PROSPECT PHRASES "Let me run it by my sales team." "Let me run it by my boss." "I don't know, your price seems a little high." "I have to kick it around." "Call me back in six months." Maybe you're noticing a recurring pattern: you find yourself in too many situations like the one above, where your sales prospects always seem...

Building Client Loyalty through Honest Selling and Customer Engagement

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:41:38 -0600

The idea that customer satisfaction equals client loyalty is a myth. Client loyalty in selling relies on a combination of customer engagement and honest selling. Take a look at the following example. There is a hardware store in my neighborhood that has been in business for over 50 years. They are not the biggest or least expensive, but they are one of the most successful. Yet, on the surface, they seem to break every rule regarding client loyalty: no sales, no frequent-buyer cards no easy credit terms, no free coffee and doughnuts dusty shelves, bad parking, opinionated salespeople Client Loyalty -- Are You Human or Machine? So why are they successful? Listen to this story. Once, I walked in looking for an extra-long drill bit, and the salesperson all but refused to sell it to me. "What do you want it for?" he asked. To be honest, at first, he was a bit cantankerous and his frankness offended me but I continued on and told him what I "thought" I needed. He then begrudgingly ...

Qualifying A Potential Sales Prospect

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:39:33 -0600

The Agree Clarify and Legitimize Approach is a simple but effective technique to qualify potential sales prospects. We all know the most common problem during a sales call occurs when a potential sales prospect will not make a decision, a fence-sitter. This 3-step approach will save considerable time and frustration helping weed-out legitimate sales prospects from these fence-sitters. It follows a basic role-play model showing common sales prospect reponses and how you (the salesperson) can handle each situation. The 3 steps are: A. AGREE - Agree with the sales prospect. B. CLARIFY - Ask for clarification. C. LEGITIMIZE - Uncover whether a legitimate sales opportunity truly exists. 1. Sales Prospect says... "Send me more information" It's hard to know what sales prospects mean when they tell you this. Many salespeople regard it as a guaranteed blow-off, but good sales prospects will often begin here as well. The only way to discover if this is a good sales prospect is to continue...

Whos Afraid Of The Big Bad Economy?

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0600

One of my colleagues, Will, has given up on keeping up with the news, especially financial news. When asked why, he shrugs. "What's the point? Either the news is all bad, or the media points out nothing but bad news because it grabs viewers and sells papers. It's enough to make you want to get off the grid altogether and live off the land. Where's the barter system when you really need it?" While the current economy hasn't quite deteriorated to the point of us returning to the forest and bartering trinkets and beads, it's easy to be swayed by isolated statistics. Before we panic, however, let's look at the bigger picture. Brian Hamilton, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sageworks, contended in a recent Investor's Business Daily article that we would still have a healthy economy as long as the following economic factors were still going strong: People are working. Right now, 95% of Americans in the civilian labor force are employed. The current unemployment rat...

Jump-Start Sales In A Slow Economy

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0600

When the economy seems shaky, businesspeople feel shaky. Hysteria sets in, sending managers and CEOs running for cover, making panic moves that cause more problems than they solve. When the people in an organization lose their composure, they can end up losing business, too. To avoid making costly mistakes, you can start by learning how to spot the three most common ones most businesses make in a slowing economy. Don't let paranoia set in after setbacks. Pretend you're an undisputed championship boxer getting into the ring. With all those victories and all that fame and adulation, you're at the top of your game. You step into the ring to face your new opponent, who everyone predicts won't last one round. Confident you can take whatever this punk dishes out and have him on the ropes in no time, you're feeling like Mike Tyson. But whoa! If you're Tyson, your opponent is Buster Douglas. Before you know it, you've led with your chin, the punk has led with his right, and you're d...

The Power Of Clear Performance Standards

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 -0600

It had been one year to the day since my friend Jake had relocated to Florida to beef up profits at a medical equipment company. Since I was in Jake's area on business myself, we agreed to meet after work for drinks to celebrate. Jake had every reason to think he'd get a glowing evaluation on his performance review. But when he trudged into the bar at my hotel, Jake looked like he was down in the dumps, not on top of the world. "They gave me the sack! Can you believe it?" As he knocked back his drink, Jake was so angry I half-expected him to swallow his swizzle stick along with his Mojito. "I relocated for them. I worked nights and weekends, I even broke dates. I did everything right and then some. And what does my boss tell me? 'You did a pretty good job, but you could've done more.'" I shook my head. "It's outrageous, Jake. I've seen for myself what a great manager you are, and I'd bet the ranch you followed the company's performance standards to the letter." "I would ...

Repurposing Your Sales Team: How Managers Can Play To Employee Strength

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:00:00 -0600

"My assistant Sid is making me crazy!" Jim, the Executive Manager, rubbed his temples in exasperation. "The glaring errors in his reports just get worse and worse. It's been almost seven months since I hired Sid. When is he going to get the hang of this?" I asked, "Have you taken Sid aside and explained to him how crucial it is for him to pay attention to detail in these reports?" "When haven't I explained it to him?" Jim let out a short, hot sigh. "Don't get me wrong. Sid's highly skilled in other areas, and I don't want to embarrass him or hurt morale by reaming him out in front of the whole department. I've talked with him in private, tried to be subtle. But Sid just doesn't seem to grasp that it's more important to me that he take his time crafting his reports and getting the data right, rather than rushing through them. I've tried giving him more advance notice so he'll have more time to do the reports properly, but they still read as rushed and sloppy. It's all I can do not to ...

To Keep Buyers Coming Back, Don't Be Nice... Be Real

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0600

I know a neighborhood hardware store where they never have sales. They don't offer frequent-buyer cards, easy credit terms, or free coffee and doughnuts on Saturday mornings. The shelves are dusty, the parking is terrible, and the help is crotchety. In fact, they seem to violate most of the rules of good customer service. They're nosy. They argue with customers. Once, I walked in looking for an extra-long drill bit, and the clerk all but refused to sell it to me. "What do you want it for?" he asked. I didn't think it was any of his business, but I needed the bit and didn't want to get on his bad side. So I explained what I was trying to do. He gave me a long look. "I could sell it to you," he said. "But He gave me a long look. "I could sell it to you," he said. "But it's not gonna work." "It's not?" I asked. "No, it's not. Let me tell you why." Of course he was right. And I hated him for it. The store's been at the same location for close to 50 years, and as far...

Why Do Customers Say They Are Satisfied... Then Leave?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0600

A recent study from the Gallup Organization has some alarming implications for salespeople: Researchers found that customer satisfaction does nothing to boost repeat sales. The study found that extremely satisfied customers are just as likely to take their business elsewhere as less-satisfied customers. The researchers concluded that customer satisfaction "has no real value. None at all." And what about all the money and energy that companies spend to measure and improve customer satisfaction? Wasted, they say. Strong words. But there's other evidence as well. Consider, for example, the latest auto ratings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Customers gave Lincoln-Mercury the highest customer-satisfaction ratings in the industry - ahead of Honda, BMW and Toyota. In the past two years, Lincoln-Mercury sales have fallen by 26%. So What Drives Repeat Sales? The researchers did find something linked to repeat sales: customer engagement. In other words, a ...

Qualifying Questions Lead To Quality Sales

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0600

You've been making sales calls all day, leaving countless voicemails -- and finally you reach a real live person! Thirty seconds after your conversation starts, she says, "I have to run to a meeting. Can you send me information?" Sure, you'll send it, but will it be read, or be thrown on top of a pile of other info kits that haven't been touched since the day they arrived? What could be more frustrating? You must make every prospect count, making the best use of your time and energy. You want to accommodate people's requests, but how can you tell if it's a legitimate opportunity before you spend too much effort on it? You don't want to devote hours of your precious time to providing materials to prospects, only to have them blow you off. To keep from wasting time on people who aren't seriously interested in pursuing a business relationship, try the three-step qualifying process on an upcoming sales opportunity so that you know right away whether it's alive with possibilities or a dead...