How To Sell Coach

The First Rule of Negotiation – never accept the first offer.

2012-07-13T02:23:00.002-07:00

“Hang on,” I hear you say. “What if they offer me what I want?” But is it what you want? Is it what they want?

Before you get into the 'make the deal no matter what' mind-set, there are a few things for you to consider before getting the clients signature on the order form. And it's the order form itself that is the problem. Most forms of sales training concentrated on getting to the close and gloss over the importance of the negotiation.

This key point is the difference between being an order-taker and a professional negotiator. An order taker will take the deal in front of him, generally has little scope for negotiation and will not necessarily be rewarded (or thanked) for getting a better deal. Therefore, they will sign up the order and move on to the next customer. And that's fine if that's the environment you're working in. A negotiator will look for the best deal or him or his company.

If you take the first offer, how may you feel and how will that leave your client feeling?

Have you ever been in a situation when your first offer was accepted? How did that make your feel? Did you feel that the seller was too keen to accept your offer? Did you walk away feeling there may have been a better deal to be made? Did you feel cheated?

Any deal feels better for both parties if they have to work at it or have earned it. This is not negotiation for the sake of it (that would be a waste of time.) But its about creating a deal and arriving at a price where both sides believe they've done a good job.

So don't accept the first offer. You owe it to your client.

Prospecting - What's Your Number

2012-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

How to Sell Coach

Almost every book I've read on selling quotes the following;

2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% on the third contact
10% on the fourth contact
and 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact.

Isn't that interesting. Another interesting fact is that 0% of the sales books quote a reference for the research behind these figures. (If you know it, please let me know)
Let's assume for a moment that these figures are true. That would mean that if you are persistent and get to the fifth call, you'll be knocking the vast majority of your competitors clean out of the picture.

That's one heck of a statistic. My own research and experience would suggest that undoubtedly, if you keep communicating with a potential customer in a meaningful way, your likelihood of getting a sale are significantly increased.

I feel that where people get confused with this is that the sales call series must have a clear progression for this to be successful. If you make twelve sales calls saying exactly the same thing, you are unlikely to move forward. But if you take something from each call, add to your knowledge of the customers needs and wants and tailor you next call based on your increased knowledge, then the statistics begin to make more sense.

The other factor however is what is the value of the sale and how much time you can realistically put in to getting it. There is a big difference between selling a low volume, low unit cost product against a multi million capital item. Having sold both, I can tell you my first sales manager would not have thanked me for making twelve calls for an item with was only ever going to make the company a couple of hundred. The flip side of that is one that will make the company a few million. For that I would be available 24/7 and make as many calls as I needed to to clinch the deal.

So there does have to be some rational thinking behind the number of calls to make. The simple truth is - at least one more that your competitors.

Cold Calling - 10 Do's and Don'ts

2012-02-12T05:53:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

So, you need to get some new business in and Cold Calling is on your list of things to do. Great! But are you feeling 'great' about it? Perhaps not. But why? What is it about Cold Calling that fills salespeople with dread, horror and fear?

Fear of failure?
Fear of rejection?
Fear of making a fool of yourself?
Fear of people being aggressive or abusive towards you?

First off, none of these feelings are unnatural. We all feel them from time to time at some point of our lives. It's how we deal with these fears that makes the difference. Will every cold call be positive and have a good outcome. Well no. But when you do make a sale how will that make you feel? What difference will it make to your life and the lives of those around you? How much closer will it take you to achieving your goals?

My first 'proper' job was running a team of canvassers selling subscriptions for publications. We knocked around 400 doors every night. And yes, I had doors slammed in my face, and not answered when I could hear the T.V. on and chased by big dogs more than once but hey..............I was developing my selling skills, coping with rejection and most importantly, learning a lot about myself.

So what kept me going? Well I was young, hungry for success, wanted to make my bonus and keen to be the front runner for the next promotion. And in those days, that's all I needed. I very much had a 'no-next' attitude to an extent but I also wanted to have the best conversion figures of any of the teams. Soon I began to understand the approaches that worked best for me.

But what about all those people who said 'no'? Well, I can't remember them and likely they don't remember me. Nobody's ever stopped me in the street and asked, "Hey were you that guy that knocked on my door?"

Business to business Cold Calling is different of course. But if you're polite, professional and prepared - what's the problem. You're doing your job and a good business person will understand that. More importantly, many of your competitors won't be doing it well if at all so there are sales to be made and business to be done. Right, here are the How To Sell Coach Top Ten Do's and Don'ts of Cold Calling:

1. Attitude - keep you goal's at the front of your mind. Why are you doing this? What's you goal or objective? What is your desired outcome? What will success bring you and your family? What is the life you are working to create. Focus on these things and understand your motivations.

2. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. Prepare yourself, prepare your research, prepare your presentation.

Why would you ever call a potential customer without finding out at least some basic information about their company, their business and better still, them?

"Hello, can I speak to the owner of the business." I still get calls like this every week and I'll tell you straight - I will NEVER buy from any company who opens a sales call in that way. If you can't be bothered to find out who you're calling, I don't have the time to explain my business to you. Not a chance.

3. Making the Call About You. The call is not about you, it's about what you can do for your customer. " Hi, I'm calling from Big Boss Products, we're the largest supplier of stuff in our industry sector." So what. In what way would that make someone buy from you? What the customer wants to know is what your product can do or them. You need to establish a need for your product. Research, prepare and establish the need.

4. Respect the Gatekeeper.
"Hi, I would like to speak to Mr. Jones in your Buying Department."
"Can I ask who's calling?"
You sigh, "It's Chuck Faber from Acme Products."
"Can I ask what it's in connection with?"
"Well it's quite complex, it would be better if you put me through to Mr. Jones."
"Have you spoken to Mr. Jones before?
"No, but he'll want to take my call."
"Mr Jones is busy right now................................"

Your dead. Create a rapport with the Gatekeeper. It's the difference between, "He's busy" and "I'll put you straight through." Treat them as you would the decision maker.

5. Nail Your Opening Statement. Work on this, fine tune it until you get it right. Your opening statement in a Cold Call is just about the most important part of the sale. Get it wrong and you'll be on to the next call in less than 20 seconds.

"I'm calling to introduce myself to you." Hang on, this isn't a networking event. You're not at the Captain's Dinner of a cruise ship. The customer has got to see that there is some value in continuing the conversation so make you opening statement value driven.

6. If you go to Voice Mail - leave a message. Why wouldn't you? You've made the call and paid for it so use it. OK, you may believe that this will just be a heads up for the customer to avoid future calls - and it may be but equally they may call you back which suggest that you would then have a warm lead. Leave your killer opening statement then tell them when you will call back, leaving a contact number so they can get back to you.

7. Focus. Set a specific time aside for cold calling and make it the focus of that time. Clear the clutter from your desk, switch off you email alert, even tell others that you have set that time for cold calling so you don't get any interruptions. Don't try to fit them in between other jobs. You can't do this piece meal. When cold calling, you will get into a flow so stay with it.

8. Tone, don't become a robot. Make every call as if it was the first one you did that day. There is a right 'pitch' for a call. You don't want to sound like this is just another one of the many calls you are making that day as the customer will hear that over the phone. Equally you don't want to sound annoyingly enthusiastic. Remembers selling is just a conversation, so normal is good.

9. Avoid meaningless statements. They're a waste of time and don't move you forward.
" Our aim is to provide a quality service." Of course it is - move on.
" We're the biggest in the business." And this helps me how?
" We always put the customer first." And so you should, next.

Stick to the point and what the benefits are to the customer.

10. Reject rejection. Ah now this is the difficult one for many of us. No, No, No. As Jim Rohn suggests every no takes you closer to a yes. And that is true but sometimes difficult to keep at the front of your mind. It is a discipline and one that has to be practised. When I look at the top pro tennis players. DO they hit the perfect shot every time. No. Often they will shout or stamp around but when they're ready to receive the next serve, it's forgotten. Their are down, ready and focused on making the next shot.

Sure learn from the last call but don't dwell on it. Re-focus and move on.

Pick A Direction And GO - 5 Top Tips

2012-02-11T04:06:00.000-08:00

Most salespeople are avid readers of self-help books. Many buy CD's by the guru's and listen to them in the car between sales calls and that's good use of time. I have collected quite a library of books over the years and although many of them share the same or similar themes, they are all worth reading and re-reading - or are they?

I have a friend with a more extensive library than mine and he can quote you chapter and verse from all of them. So he should be the most successful person I know. Right? Well no, he's not. But how can that be? He's read the books, understood the messages and agrees with the philosophies so what's not working?

Well we had a chat about it and arrived at the following conclusion - his head was so full of information, theories and strategies that he didn't know which to use and therefore which direction to go in. Now that may seen quite strange but think about it. How many of us have some well thumbed books on the shelf. We may love and appreciate them. read certain sections over and over until the book becomes quite worn but are we putting this good advice into action.

Many year ago I read something which stuck with me. R.S.V.P - READ. STUDY. VISUALISE. PERFORM.
(I'll credit the author when his name comes to me) That was my friends problem. The first three parts he absolutely nailed but the PERFORM bit wasn't happening.

5 Top Tips on Making Self-help Books Work for YOU

Pick one author, and only one. To an extent it doesn't matter which one whether it's Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn or whoever you choose. Pick the author with message and teaching that strikes a cord with you right now, at this moment in time.
Read the book or programme all the way through as a first reading. Make some notes perhaps but the aim here is to get a feel for it.
Happy? Good. Right, back to the first chapter and work on it until you really have a grasp on the message and are performing all the actions - fully and completely. Don't skip anything or float around other parts of the programme. Just stick with it and complete it - one thing at a time, one chapter at a time.
Measure your success. Keep a record of what you have completed and your achievements. At the end of the exercise you want to know and understand what difference it has made to you
Don't stop making progress. When you have completed the first one, why not move on to the next. Can you imaging where you would be if you put all the great teaching from all the great teachers in to action. Outstanding.

Inspiration comes from unlikely places sometimes. I found this video quite inspirational. Enjoy.

Take Control - Top 10 Ways to Get You Moving.

2012-02-07T01:44:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't life be great if we were in a state of continual high motivation. Every day when you get out of bed you feel alert, ready to face the day and excited about what that day will bring.

How To Sell Coach

Perhaps this describes you but more likely you will have good days and bad days. That's life - we all have good days and bad days. The difference between high achievers and non-achievers however is that high achievers recognise this and have processes in place to get then through a slump.

The first thing to understand that bad days happen - they just do and you level of motivation can ebb and flow. So don't beat yourself up about it. Where it really get to being a problem is when a down day becomes a down week which becomes a down month. Then you have a problem.

And guess what - that can happen too and it can be a struggle to get yourself back on track. You can feel overwhelmed, that things are getting on top of you and it can be hard to get moving again. So here are the How To Sell Coach Top 10 ways to Get You Moving again:

1. Write It Down - There is no point keeping stuff in your head. Yes, you brain will desperately try to sort it all out but give it some help! Write it down. All the things that you need to do, that are troubling you, that you're worried about. Do it now. In fact don't read any more of this. Get a pen and a pad and take 20 minutes to get it all on paper. Just one line per point. Don't get into the detail just get them out of your head and on paper. Once they are all down, you can begin the process of truly understanding what you need to do. This is now you tasks lists.

2. Focus On Your Goals - If you have a list of goals, great. Get your goals in front of you and spend 20 minutes reviewing them. If you haven't got a list of goals, now is a good time. Do it now. On a separate sheet of paper list down your goals. Take 20 minutes to do this.

3. Prioritise - Now you have the two most important lists in your life - your list of Tasks (where you are now) and your list of Goals (where you want to be.) When you see the two list in front of you, this may seem like a fairly daunting. That's all good but the really interesting thing is now that you have committed them to paper, your brain can begin to make sense of it all. It's no longer a confusion of random thoughts - everything is now clearly in front of you. How To Prioritise? I use a method that I call "Stoppers and Movers."

Highlight you Top 5 Goals, the ones that are most important in terms of achieving the success that you want in life.
Now take your Tasks list and mark beside each one whether it 'Stops' you from achieving your goals or by completing this task, it 'Moves' your towards achieving your goals.
Take you Top 5 Stoppers and your Top 5 Movers and put them in order, the most important at the top of the list.

4. The Power of One - doing one thing at a time to completion is key to achieving results. It may seem that we're really busy and multi tasking but what are you really achieving. How well are you competing these tasks and are the the right ones - the ones that are moving you towards your goals? So pick one from either your list of Stoppers or Movers and work on it until you have completed the task fully. Then go onto the next one. But, one at a time. Don't fall into the trap of trying to do too much. That's likely how to got here!

5. Break It Down - OK, you have picked a task and it's a whooper! "Where do I start? How am I going to get this done. The best way is to break a big task down into smaller more manageable tasks. Write down all you know about it, what you need to know about it and from that create a list of what you need to do to complete the task. It's about taking small steps but steps that always take you towards your goal. Stick at it no matter what.

6. Ask - don't be afraid to ask for help. There may be someone you know who already has the answer or has faced and overcome this problem before. Ask. By ask, this does not mean delegate. You have to get it done ultimately. Also don't ask until you have considered the problem fully and you have at least an idea of what the best outcome may be. There is nothing worst than someone who burdens someone else with their problems. That's a sure fire way to not being offered help in the future. Surely it's better to say, "I've been working on this problem and I have some ideas as to how to over come it. But, I'd really value your opinion. Would you mind having a look at this for me?"

7. Take Action - There is no point doing the hard bit, working out the solution, and not seeing it through. Guess what, the problem will still be there and it will eventually work its way round again so get it done. Strike it off your list of things to do. Even if you are not 100% sure that it is absolutely the right way forward, move in that direction. You will be amazed that by taking action and starting the process how often a better solution will present itself.

8. Set A Time Line - You have to set a time line for the completion of the task. Now that you have considered it fully, you will have a clear vision of what needs to be done. So break it down and work through it. Don't set some fuzzy time in the future, be absolutely precise. Write a mini mission statement to really plant this in your mind. " By 12 noon of the 23rd of February I have completed this task fully and by doing so I have moved closer to achieving my goals." Share this with people close to you to help you focus on achieving the completion of this task.

9. Reward Yourself - Don't wait for people to say, "Good job." Take to time to enjoy the fact that you have done a good job. Reflect on it, take the good points from it and use what you have learned from the process to motivate you towards completing the next task.

10. Consistency - this is key. Don't let up on the completion of your tasks. Once you're on a roll, keep the momentum going. Set time aside every day to work on the completion of your tasks. Getting out of a slump or dip in you motivation or performance is not about completing the big tasks in one go but consistently working on the small tasks that take you toward your goals. This is a journey and as they say, every journey starts with the first step. But it is completed by taking one step then another then another until you get to where you want to be. By working through this 10 point plan, you will get to where you want to be sooner than you think or every thought possible.

Next 5 please!

Don't Telegraph Your Technique

2012-01-31T02:17:00.000-08:00

People like dealing with people. True? I think so and more importantly people are more likely to buy from people they like. Putting them up against a sales system and they become nervous or resist being sold to.

That's why you sales presentation should be practiced to the extent that it becomes natural and that your training is not too obvious.

The time to make you training obvious is in the classroom. Your sales trainer will want to see that you understand and can use the techniques you've been given. It's like sitting your driving test when your trainer will suggest that you off-set your rear view mirror to ensure that it is obvious to the instructor that you are using it. Once you've passed your driving test, you'll put the mirror to a position that you only need to glance at it.

The same is true in the classroom. The sales trainer will want to see you use the techniques in an obvious way but.......that won't necessarily work for you in the real world. The secret is to understand and be able to use the sale training you have been given but to fine tune and introduce you own style to make it natural. So you don't become a script-reader or selling robort. No customer will feel comfortable with that.

In fact this 'selling by numbers' approach is like a red light to a customer. "Hang on, I know where this is going!" And the barriers go up. Keep it real.

Hand-outs - Fuel Up!

2012-01-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

Hand-outs, company or product literature are rarely written by sales people. Generally they are given to the marketing department and sometimes the junior person in that department. They can be very good but they can also be very bad. Sometimes they can be sent out late, or not at all.

But here's a question - who will be responsible for the lost sale? More often than not, the sales person. Presenters and electronic sales presentations are the same - they need to be right too.. I remember being given a presenter for my first field sales job. It was rubbish. The images looked like a school scrap book, the figures were out of date it even had spelling mistakes.

I know it is easier to say than to do, but don't tolerate poor promotional or sales literature. If you are in the fortunate position of writing its or influence who does, why wouldn't you make it the best it can be. Make it sales effective but not salesy.

It may be that you are working for a company who have spent thousands on producing what they believe to be outstanding sales literature. A masterpiece. But in truth, it it affects you job, it affects you!. Therefore do what you can to change it. The use of visuals in any form undoubtedly helps in you customer understanding and retaining information from your presentation so it must work for you.

Stupidly, in that first job, I decided to make my own and was royally roasted by the sales trainer for doing so. (And here was me thinking I would be rewarded for showing initiative. Well you live and learn.) But I went about it all the wrong way. I should have taken the opportunity to present some idea's and when I did take this approach, it was well received. Better than that, it was decided to have a brainstorming session after the next sales meeting and some of the team were sitting on much better ideas than mine. All to the good.

Little point going into a presentation without as much as you can have with you to achieve a successful outcome. It's like trying to drive you car with not fuel. Even if you're making the noises - you're still going nowhere!

Keep Your Goals In Front of You

2012-01-23T01:36:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

Isn't is strange that when you least expect it, life can give you lessons. Just little things, seemingly insignificant. Sometimes we miss the message and other times they can serve as a reminder that we need to do something, re-focus or take action. This week I had a moment like that.

I decided I needed a change. Nothing big, I just wanted to move my office around - make it work better for me. Make sure I had everything at hand. So that's what I did and spent Sunday morning moving furniture, filing cabinets and equipment so that everything was just right. When it was all done and looking good I sat back admiring my efforts and looking forward to how much better I was going to feel when I sat down to work the next day.

Monday, I was full of enthusiasm - good to go. As the day progressed something didn't feel right, but I decided to work on anyway. By the evening (not having had my most productive day I have to say) I decided to take a couple of minutes to reflect on this. I looked round at my newly laid out office. Everything was where it should be - in it's place.

Then it hit me. My Goals Board! I have a big white board on the wall. On one side I have my Goals and on the other, I write my daily actions. In my 'old' office, my desk was right in front of the Goals Board so every time I looked up, my Goals were in front of me. When I moved stuff around, my Goals Board was behind me. I had turned my back (literally) on my Goals!

It just didn't feel right. I had re-positioned everything apart from the one thing that was the most important. And it was in the perfect place. What to do? Simple - move it all back. But there was a clear message for me here. Keep your Goals in front of you at all times. Focus on them. Work on them. Make it a habit to study them every day.

This simple act of turning my back on my Goals in itself made me focus on them and I ended up re-writing them. All is good again.

Selling - Trust Your Swing

2012-01-16T03:08:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

Recently I read and article about Jack Nicklaus, undoubtedly one of the greatest golfers of all time. It explained that before every shot, Jack takes a few seconds to visualise the shot, more importantly, the successful outcome of the shot.

In his mind he would see and hear the club head making perfect contact with the ball.
He would watch the ball make a perfect flight down the centre of the fairway, resting in the exact position to make the ideal approach to the green. Guess what, no doubt he had the perfect lie as well!

Now that's visualisation and the success it can help bring. A valuable lesson we can all learn from.

It also reminded me of a guy I used to work with, Pete. He too believed (as I do) in the power of visualisation. A couple of times a year we used to have a company golf outing and this year I was partnered with Pete. I agreed to pick him up early so we could get to the event in plenty of time.

He loaded his gleaming clubs into my car but before taking a seat he took a half shaft of a golf club from his bag. I was puzzled. It just had a grip and part of the shaft - no club head! Odd I thought so I asked, "What's that for Pete?" To which he told me that he liked to practice his grip before playing and would use the time in the car to work on it before we arrived at the course.

Wow, I thought. That's dedication! Anyway, we were standing on the tee and Pete was up. Approaching the ball, he took three practice swings and then stood back. Like the great Jack Nicklaus he began to visualise the shot, it's perfect flight and exactly where it would land. After three more practice swings and a slight adjustment of his grip - Pete was ready.

Whack!! 50 yards straight into the trees! He did the same thing for 18 holes! Having spent more time looking for his ball than concentrating on my game, by hole 7 my round and nerves were in tatters. On the tee of hole 8, I asked Pete, "Pete, had much golf this year?" Turned out that the last time he had played was the same event last year!

Ah, so may we be beginning to see the potential problem here? Perhaps. While we would all agree that visualisation works in any walk of life including selling, it will not work if you don't practice your skills. Make the calls. Make mistakes, learn from them, make corrections and improve.

How many practice balls do you think Jack Nicklaus has hit in his career? Millions. So he didn't become successful by chance. Gary player once said, " The more I practice, the luckier I get." And that is also true for sales. You have got to make the calls, practice you skills, then make them better. As you practice the skills will come more naturally. You'll be able to trust your swing.

If visualisation we all you needed to be successful - I'd have the perfect six-pack!

Cold Calling - Don't be pushed off the ball

2012-01-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

I was speaking with a friend the other day who recently started his own business. When he opened the door of his new venture, he full of enthusiasm for the future and ready to take on the world but the person I was speaking to now was quite different.

Clearly something had changed. The conversation went on and from previous discussion I knew that he was planning a mailshot and follow-up phone call to prospective customers to drum up some business - so I asked how that went.

Ah, now the problem became clear. The mailshot went out and even without a telephone follow-up, he immediately had two enquiries which he converted to sales. Outstanding! Particularly as it wasn't a large mail out.

"That's great," I said. "You must be really happy with that. The mailer has paid for itself many times over and it is clear that people want what you're offering."

"Yeah, I am pleased with it," he replied "and I got some more business from the telephone calls - which was good."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked "Why are you not happy?"

"Well, it's the cold calling bit that I struggled with. Just picking up the phone and dialling the number was a real challenge - so much so, that I haven't done any calls for ages and didn't complete the follow-up calls from the mailer."

"OK, I totally understand the difficulties of cold calling, believe me but you had had some success. What pushed you off the ball?" I asked - and that was the killer question!

My friend then told me that he had been called by a person who had received the mailer. It appears that they went ballistic.
Where did you get my contact details from?
Why are you writing to me?
I want to be removed from your mailing list right now or I'll call my lawyer and write to the data protection people.

Woah! I asked my friend how he handled the call as clearly he had been quite shaken by such a reaction. He handled it perfectly. He apologised for any inconvenience receiving the letter had caused, told him that his contact details were publically available and confirmed that he would be immediately removed from his mailing list.

Better than that, my friend asked for his contact details to be passed to the customers lawyer and that he would be happy to speak to him and offered to buy the complainant lunch when next he was in town by way of an apology. ( I particularly like that the lunch offer. Many people are what I call 'Brave by Telephone.' You also get 'Brave by Email')

How to Sell Coach Top Tip - If you get a complaint by email, clearly try to resolve it there and then. But if it becomes clear that the complainant wants to play email tennis, offer to meet with them. I have found that even by just doing that, you can change their attitude quickly.

Anyway, back to my friend. "That all sounds good. You handled it well and did all you could." But the problem was that the call had 'pushed him off the ball.' Stopped him making further call because he didn't want that type of reaction again. In truth, one call was seriously affecting his business!

Let's get this into prospective. I said to my friend:

You run a good, ethical and professional business. I have no doubt that this person would have benefited from the services you offer but it's his choice not to and that's OK.
Very likely if he handles himself in this way, you wouldn't want him as a client.
You dealt with him in a professional manner.

And that's all good but lets get on to the important stuff:

You are letting him effect you.
Your are letting him effect your business.
You are letting him effect your ability to make money.

And trust me, he's not that important! You're making him important by allowing yourself to feel this way.

So if you're Cold Calling, yes you will get some negative reactions and some extreme reactions but you can't let that push you off the ball. In years to come, when you have made your money and achieved success - will you even remember this call (as they likely will not remember you) so why let it effect you in this way.

And while you are enjoying the fruits of your success, walking along the beach at you favourite holiday destination - what's the chances of you meeting this person? Slim to none. And what would it matter if you did?

"Come on," I said, "let's make some calls!" We did, there and then and got two further appointments, both were converted to sales later that week.

So, keep you goals right in front of you. They are the only things that are important.

Four Questions that will Change Your Life

2011-12-27T04:19:00.000-08:00

Ho To Sell Coach

As you know, I like to keep things simple. So here are four questions that will Change your life. Now I'm not one for New Years resolutions. They're far to easy to break. It's much better to keep track of your progress on a regular basis.

If life was so easy and the path to success in selling, your business, your life was straight and true then we would all be multi millionaires, have a perfect family life, be happy and healthy. But, it doesn't work that way - you have to work at it.

It's all about understanding where you want to go and making regular, small adjustments along the way in order to get there. If you go off course, that's not a problem. Just make a small adjustment to get you back on line.

If your in a canoe, as you pull with your right arm, the nose of the canoe will pull to the right. When you pull with your left arm, it will pull to the left. So at those moments you are going slightly off course. But if you fix your sight on a point in the distance, where you want to go, your mind will make these slight adjustments for you and the canoe will ultimately go to that point.

It's the same with achieving success. Understand where you want to go and focus on that point. Make the slight adjustments you need to make to get there. But always focus on your goal.

Here are the four questions to ask yourself to keep you on track:

What did I do well?
What could I improve upon?
What do I need to do more of?
What do I need to do less of?

Ask yourself these four questions and write down no more that three answers for each. You may have more answers, or fewer (which is fine) but remember, this is about making small adjustments. The for each on the fours questions, pick the one answer that if you make a small adjustment to this, it will make the biggest difference to you.

Then focus on this, understanding it, come up with some solutions and work on only this until you resolve it and move on to the next one. It is key that you focus on one area or answer at at time and work this through to completion.

Very often we have so many problems to resolve, it can all feel like too much and therefore we just become overwhelmed by the seer size of the tasks - all the things we need to put right. So what happens? We either put them off or try to change too many things at once and end up not seeing them through to completion. We do not make the small adjustment.

Taking small steps towards your ultimate goal on a regular basis works better than trying to change your world all at once. By giving yourself little tasks to complete (and completing them) you are making progress - and reward yourself for the progress you are making.

Take 20 minutes now to ask yourself these life changing questions, start making the small adjustments required to achieve your goal. It doesn't matter which aspect of your life you want to change or improve. This simple exercise will work.

Selling Just Got Harder

2011-12-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

I just read an article saying that selling today is much harder than it used to be. Why? Because:
Buyers are smarter and better informed.
Their secretaries are better trained to stop you getting to the decision maker.
The internet means they can find out about what your competitors have to offer.
Customers know all your sales techniques.

Well we better all give up now. What chance have we. Ah, don't worry. The person writing the article is selling a sales course to make all these problems go away. Phew! So let's have a look at what he's selling. Basic selling skills! And good luck to him, I hope he does well and it got my attention any way.

Well let's get some things straight. Let me tell you for sure that customers and buyers 20 plus years ago were pretty smart too. They did not say, "Well I never knew that and thank you so much for calling." They were very well informed without the benefit of the internet. They knew who your competitors were and what they were offering. Why? Because it was their job to know.

Their secretaries or receptionists were pretty good at fending off sales calls too - so that hasn't changed. And yes they had a fairly good understanding of selling techniques. So let's not go down the road that life is harder. What about the economy I hear you say? Well the world has had recessions before - so that's not new. Times are challenging now, they were then and will be in the future.

So let's not worry about what we can't change and concentrate on what we can - YOU.

The only thing that I see which definitely is different is the internet, social media and the ease of the availability to getting information. Yes, that's new and what an opportunity it presents to showcase you, your company and your product.

Sites like Linkedin, Google+, Facebook, Twitter offer a wealth of information about your potential customers which is something we'll talk about later because it's such a massive subject.

While the sales call is all about your customer - the preparation for that call and how you present you, your product and your company all all things that you influence. Are fewer sales being made throughout the world because people are smarter and better informed? No. Likely the opposite as technology has made (and continues to make) it easier than ever to communicate with potential clients and approach new markets.

Is selling harder than it was? Tell yourself often enough and it may become so but I just don't see it.

It's a Wonderful Life

2011-12-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas greetings to all from How to Sell Coach.
Enjoy this time with your family and loved ones but............................rather than watching the re-runs of "It's a Wonderful Life" or "The Sound of Music" how about taking a couple of hours out to review the year? Where are you up to? What's the competition up to? What do you need to do next year to get you to where you want to be?

Sales Improvement

How many sales calls did you make last year?
What was your percentage conversion?
How does that compare to your target?
Where did your most successful leads come from?
How can you generate more sales from your existing clients?
What are your goals for next year?
What is the one thing you will do differently to improve your results?

Self Improvement

What did you do well?
What could you do better?
What will you do more of?
What will you do less of?
What key learning did you take from this year and what are you going to do about it?
Which courses will you book on this year?
Which books are on your reading list and which CD's will you buy?

What are they up to?

What did the competition do well this year?
How does their market share compare?
What have they got planned for next year?
How can you better their offering?
What's their on-line presence like and how can you beat them?
What differentiates you from them?

What about your customers?

What's happening to the market for your product?
Are there any new opportunities?
Are there any new markets for your product?
What are the likely new objections and how do you intend to handle them?
What new ways can you find to add value?

While you're spending a couple of hours thinking about these thing, very likely your competitors won't be - so give yourself a head start.
Best of luck and much selling success in 2012. Go and create a wonderful life.

How many sales calls should I make in a day?

2011-12-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

How To Sell

How's that for a question? I'm good at asking good questions. I was reading a sales forum the other day and this was the question that was being asked.

The person asking the question said that he did 500 calls a day. 500 CALLS A DAY! My first thought was WOW, is that possible. My second thought was WHY.

Digging a little deeper, it turned out that he worked in a call centre so the why was that he was expected or told to make 500 calls a day. Any time you may be feeling sorry for yourself, just think of our friend in that call centre and I'm sure things won't seem so bad.

I'm also sure that our friend won't be working in that call centre for too long because he has recognised the importance of seeking out mentors and learning from their experiences. He's asking questions.

Back to How many sales calls should I make a day. Well that depends on a number of factors:
What's the nature of your business.
What are you selling.
What is the size of your potential market.
Who and where are your customers.
What is the best way of contacting your customers.
And that's all fine. But lets get to the important questions.

What are you goals and how many sales do you need to make to achieve these goals?
What is your vision for your future and what do you need to do to achieve this?
What is your current percentage conversion and how can you improve this?

Whether you are self employed and therefore setting your own sales targets or you have a Sales Manager who sets targets for you the basis of calculation is exactly the same.

Your goal or sales target times your percentage conversion = The number of calls you need to make.

So if you need to make 100 sales and you convert 3 sales in every 10 contacts then you need to make 333 calls. Now depending on the average time a sales call takes will determine how many calls you need to make in a day. If you make 10 calls a day then it will take 33 working days to reach your sales target.

Now this throws out all kinds of questions. If your monthly sales target in 100, then based on the example above, there are not 33 working days in a months and therefore you won't meet your target. Clearly here there are only tow options:

Increase the number of calls you make a day.
Increase your percentage conversion. If a colleague is converting 4 in 10, then spend time with them to find out what they are doing that you're not.

As with any goal setting, you need goals that are realistic but stretch you. One of the biggest mistake that new businesses make is over estimating their sales projections and underestimating the time that other functions of running a business take.

So if you want to make a million - that's all good and I hope you do. But, understand your numbers.

Knowledge, Skills and Attitude.

2011-12-13T07:03:00.000-08:00

Success in Sales can be measures in a number of different ways, The number of sales you make, your percentage conversion, the profit that you contribute to your company, All are a measure of your ability to sell.

To achieve the require level of sales however, you need to have all the selling tools and techniques in your bag and more importantly - know how to use them.

How To Sell Coach

A simple but effective way to do this is with a Knowledge, Skills and Attitude Chart. This is also very useful if you're running sales teams and want to identify areas of training needs.

Here's how. Get a sheet of paper and at the top put the three headings:

Knowledge Skills Attitude

Down the left hand side, list each element of your sales presentation or the selling process. For example this may include the following:

Area Planning
Pre-call preparation
Customer knowledge
Product knowledge
Opening the sale
Open Ended Questions
Establishing the need
Features and Benefits
Overcoming Objections
Closing the Sale
Following up the order
Administration

As with any form of self-assessment, you have to be brutally honest. This is for you remember - nobody else. Just mark a tick or a cross in the appropriate box.
So what are you measuring?

Knowledge
Do you understand the processes and techniques?
Have you had the training?
Where can you get this knowledge?
Is there a course you can go on or a programme or book you can buy?
Who can you ask?

Having the knowledge is one thing but having the skill to apply and use it to best effect is something different.

So you know 101 ways to close a sale - but can you use them? Do you know which ones work for you? Do you know which bring you most success and which one to use in a giving selling situation to bring you most success?

Developing the Skill comes with practising and applying the Knowledge. Yes, you can practise the various sales techniques in a live selling situation by just making sales calls. Real life is always a wonderful teacher but by practising the skills through role play you can help avoid making mistakes, wasting sales calls (and therefore potential customers) or not presenting yourself as a sales professional to the client.

Find someone to role play with. Your Sales Manager, a colleague, and experiences salesperson whose opinion you trust and Practice, Practice, Practice until you are comfortable with that Skill.

Now that you have the Knowledge and the Skills to apply them but what is your Attitude to the Knowledge or Skill? People who are new to sales for example usually have the knowledge and have the right Attitude to use that knowledge but lack the skills because they haven't had the opportunity to put the knowledge into practice. Does that make sense to you?

Also I have met many sales people who can quote chapter and verse on how to do a sale. Put them in the training room and they'll deliver a perfect sales presentation. Put them in the field, on live calls and that's a different matter. Because they don't believe in a particular skill or technique - they don't apply it. Now it also has to be said that I have seen many exceptionally salespeople to don't do it by the book. And that is absolutely fine and they can to this as over a period of time they have worked out what really works for them.

Let's look at an example where the Attitude is wrong. "Sales people are bad at administration!" Are they? Well I've never met a salesperson who can't fill-in their expenses form. Why? Because they understand the importance of this to them.

If they don't understand the importance of completing an order form correctly so that the order can be fulfilled and the customer receiver the order on time and as promised - them clearly there is a training need there. The sale is not completed until the paper work is done but the salesperson needs to understand why. If the payment of their commission was based on the completion of the paperwork and not the getting of the sale, then the education process would be quick. But its better that they understand the why.

So try the Knowledge, Skills and Attitude Chart - it works!

What's the Most Stressful Thing About Selling?

2011-12-12T04:40:00.001-08:00

Often people have asked me, "David, what do you think the most stressful thing is about selling?" Well, that's a good question and one I've given a lot of thought to over the years. In that time my view as to the right answer to that question has also changed.

At the beginning I used to believe it was Opening the Sale. How do you get in, establish the need, create desire. Yes that's it. Once I'm in, I can sell my product but then you've got to get to the close. Ah, The Close - now that's the most stressful part of the sale, The Close. And so it went on.

Having worked with sales people and interviewed many, there is a common trait that underlies every thing that can seem to be stressful in selling and it is this:

Not Taking Action.

You see, selling, sales techniques or the ability to sell is about three things - Knowledge, Skills and Attitude. If these three things are not right, then you would be as successful in selling as you could be and your making the whle process of getting a sale more stressful than it need be.

So here's a How to Sell Coach Top Tip or making selling less stressful. Selling can be stressful if you don't equip yourself with the right knowledge. Have you been on the courses, read the books, done the research, asked for information? If not you're not going into the call sufficiently prepared. You know it and your client knows it.

OK so you now have the knowledge but do you know how to use it. Have you practiced it in the classroom, with your manager or a colleague, are you doing the calls to perfect your skills. Finally attitude. Do you feel right about yourself and your product. So much so that you can't wait to get out there and take action.

Get these things in place and you'll take the stress out of selling.

Are you asking for Referrals?

2011-12-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

How To Sell - Referrals

If I was paid everytime a small business owner said to me, "Word of mouth is to most successful marketing for Me. Our business grows by referral" - I'd have retired years ago.

The fact is that referrals are seriously important to any business, of any size, but it can't be your only marketing activity.

Referral work does yield a higher percentage conversion because the potential client has already been 'warmed up' by the referer. You have a foot in the door and yes you still have to make the sale but you have been referred by someone the potential customer trusts. Therefore the likelihood of getting an appointment is high.

So are you asking happy clients, business contacts, suppliers for referrals? You should be! But somethings that you need to think about.

How To Sell Coach Top Tips on Referrals.

Ask!
Be specific.
Be alert.
Take every opportunity.
Always follow-up.
Always thank the the person who gave the referral.
Always look to return the favour.

There's more detail on this if you check out the tab at the top of the page: How To Sell Coach Referrals.

Get A New Job.

2011-12-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Now this I found interesting. While having a look round some sales guru type websites and blogs, I found one from some selling a book and dvd set - and that's absolutely fine. Out of interest I read through the usual sales stuff and, because I'm the easiest person in the world to sell to, I was beginning to believe that I couldn't do without what he was selling.

Further down the page, he offered the opportunity for readers of his blog to ask him questions. Now this is where it gets interesting.

Two people who work in business to consumer environments as his advice to improve their sales performance. It would appear from what they had written that their jobs involved some level of cold calling. Love it or hate it, agree or disagree with it as a way to make a sale - many people need to make a living. Fact. And some have to take the job that presents itself, for what ever reason.

Anyway, his answer to both questions was basically, "Get a different job, one in B2B sales." Now how can that be helpful and if your selling yourself as an expert, is that really the best you can do?

Well, if he's selling some books them good luck to him but all it did was help get me focused on populating the How To Sell Coach blog with as much free sales technique information as I can write and further encourage others to add to and improve this.

So I'd better get writing, and hope that you do to.

Always leave them laughing!

2011-12-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

How To Sell Coach

Is there a place for humour in a sales call? Well I think there is but it's a difficult thing to get right. As with any form of humour, you have to know your audience and it generally helps if it is actually funny but I think caution is the word here.

Many years ago, in my first position as a Sales Manager, I was given what was considered to be a difficult team to manage - likely because I was young, didn't know better and so keen to have my first management role.

I was actually younger than everyone else in the team and to say my appointment was not welcomed with open arms would be a gross understatement. So what to do? Well in my wisdom I decided to spend two days dual calling with them on their areas. My thought process being clearly to see how they were at selling, meet some customers and get a feel for what was going on but also you get to know a lot about someone if you spend two days on the road with them.

One of the older reps. Walter had been with the company literally man and boy. If you bit off his head, you would see the company running all the way through - he was also a genuinely funny man.

He could mimic all his collegues and had a joke or comment for every occasion. His customers loved him, he could basically go in whenever he liked and they wouldn't dream of giving the business to anyone else in case it upset Walter.

He also played every trick in the book to put me off thrack of actually doing a structures dual call with him (a great lession to get so early in my career.) At one stage I while we were driving between calls, I had to get out of the car and take a walk, I was laughing so hard and needed to get myself together for the next sales call.

So it worked for him - but he had 30 years to know his audience!

The How to Sell Coach Top Tips for Humour in a Sales Call

Caution, caution, caution!
Take your lead from your customer.
If you not naturally funny, don't try to be. Just being a professional sales person will serve you well enough.
Keep any humour in the context of the call.
Know your audience.
Never, never say or do anything that could be inappropriate - ever.
And if you hear yourself saying the words, "Did you hear the one about...." STOP. He will have done and will likely be too polite to tell you so.

You don't want to be in the position of a potential customer saying, "That's a good one but you'll have to excuse me. I have an appointment with this guy who keeps selling me stuff - you know the type!

He's a born salesman.

2011-12-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

I've heard that said about some people I've met. He's a born salesman or he can sell anything or he's got 'the gift.'

Well, I don't buy that. I have never heard of any child being born wearing a nice suit and carrying a presenter. This whole 'born salesman' just puts a picture in my head (perhaps wrongly) of the smooth talking steriotypical flash types that give professional salespeople a bad name.

OK, I'm probably wrong. Yes, I could be convinced that some are better disposed to selling than others, that some may be naturally more confident or articulate or passion for it. But, I absolutely believe that you can take someone with no selling experience and teach them how to make an effective sales presentation. If this is not true (and please argue the point)how have the many brilliant people, inventors, engineers and innovators ever taken their product to market.

Did they just go and hire a sales team on day one? No. But what they did have was a passion and belief in their product and from that, the need to be able to and desire to sell it is born.

Zig Ziglar puts it like this, "Selling is about making your customer as passionate about your product as you are."

I like that.

Time - you can't buy it.

2011-11-29T10:58:00.000-08:00

Or can you? Certainly you can't increase the number of minutes in a day or days in a week but you can make best use of the ones you have. What are the things that eat your time? Who are users of your time? What can you do to increase the number of productive hours you have in a day?

This is a massive subject and one that is personal to each of us. One exercise I do regularly (but not so it starts to eat my time) is to keep a Daily Time Log. Even if you do this one day each month, it will highlight areas for you to work on. Keep it simple - a lined sheet of paper with the day broken down into half hour intervals then write a one line description of what you did in that half hour.

Don't try to remember it later in the day - you won't so write it there and then. Later that evening, break the log into areas that are important to you. The heading could be Face to face sales time, Telephone sales time, administration, (now here are some interesting suggestions) Interuptions (and by who), Meetings, Unscheduled meetings, Incoming sales calls, non-work related time on the internet. Whatever works for you.

See what I mean, but you have to be honest with yourself. From this if you are not spending at least 50% of your time selling, likely you need to change something. The log will tell you what.

If you can get to 50% or more (particularly if you are a Start-up Business), you're getting ahead of the competition.

Jack Canfield tells a wonderful story in his book "The Success Principles" about when he hired a gardener from his home. The message here, for me, was - what value to you put on your time? For him, while he wanted to enjoy a beautiful garden, it paid him to delegate the responsibility to this task buying him more time to spend writing or with his family or exercising or recreation.

While I may not be ready (yet) to hire a gardener, I can see clearly that in time my money would be better spent delegating tasks like this so I can spend my time working on the business or just taking time out. Something to work towards. So perhaps you can buy time.

But how about making best use of your time. As a sales person, time is money. For the How To Sell Coach Top Tips for Effective Time Management - have a look at the tab at the top of the page.

Send Me A Brochure

2011-11-28T04:12:00.000-08:00

Has anyone said this to you just to get you off the phone? Have you said this to anyone to get them off the phone? And here's the strange thing - income tax forms arrive in the post, as does you membership renewal for the gym but sales brochures seem to go missing, really!

Emailed sales brochures go missing too! There must be a Bermuda Triangle where all sales information sent out disappears to. So you call back, having sent the information and ask "Did you receive the information I sent?"

"Oh, comes the reply. Just tell me what it was for again. Right, I'll just check my inbox. No, nothing there. Could you send it through again."

If he checks the deleted box, no doubt he'll find it there.

So what to do? Clearly if someone requests that you send information, you should send it. Not everyone will bin it. But how about trying this:

"I'll happily send you the information, we have loads of good material available. But to be sure that I send you exactly what you require, can I just ask you a couple of questions?"

Your back in! Good open ended questions at the ready and the conversation continues.

Try it, it works!

Walking is good for you.

2011-11-27T05:25:00.000-08:00

My first ever sales manager taught me a much but one thing that has stayed with me was: "If you want to find out what's happening, get out of your car and walk."

I haven't got time for that, I thought. I have appointments to be at, targets to achieve - I can't just spend my time walking about. But because I trusted him, I thought I'd give it a go. So one Sunday, I drove to my sales area, parked up the car and went for a walk armed with a notebook and pen.

I was working on retail sales at the time for a publishing house so my job was basically to increase the subscribtion sales of our publications. So what did I see in an hour.

New housing development scheduled for completion in 3 months.
7 For Sale signs therefore 7 potential new customer soon to be moving in
Our main competitor had renewed their point of sale material
A planning consent notice for a new mini market shop
A poster for a summer fair in 2 weeks time

So in all around a dozen new opportunities for me to follow-up.

I posted welcome to you new home leaflets in the new development and the 7 for sale homes
Put new point of sale material up
Wrote to the owners of the mini market to take our publications
Set up a stall at the summer fair

Think about it in your business, what are you missing that's there to see if you just set aside an hour a week. By the way following up on that hours walk about, I was asked to do a 20 minute presentation at theweekly sales meeting.

Anyway, it's Sunday - so I'm going for a walk!

Cold Calling - What's in a Name?

2011-11-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've been out networking again (great way to get warm referrals but more of that later) and overheard this conversation. True by the way and as best I can remember - it went something like this:

"Hi, how's your week in business been? Making money?"
"I've had a terrible week. Three days cold calling. It's just sole destroying."
"I used to do that and just hated it."
"Total waste of time, might have made one sale from it."

Sound familiar? Now so called Cold Calling is a subject all on its own and there are a whole heap of views on that one. But before we deal with that more fully on How To Sell Coach, just do one thing for now - call it something different.

The image we have on cold calling, the way it can make us feel, how it makes others feel can be very negative. You feel low at the very thought of picking up the phone. So make up a new name - on that's positive and works for you.

Instead of joining the "Isn't life bad" club, how would the conversation have gone if you change the name?

"Hey, how's your week been."
"Good thanks, I'm looking to take on some new business by generating some new leads."
"Cool, business must be good."

Now I hear you say "if only it was that simple." And your right but why make it more difficult and depressing for those around you. Go on, find a new name. Mary perhaps?

Joking aside, Cold Calling is a big subject which I'll give my thoughts on in a later section. Come back soon.

Features and Benefits are Dead

2011-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Are they? Nobody said - I would have sent some flowers, perhaps a card.
While at a networking meeting last week, this is what our guest speaker said. What rubbish! No, let me think about that again.....................no that is rubbish.
If you don't know the features and benefit of your product, how are you suppost to identify which are going to be of most interest to your customers?
I thought I'd better understand what our guest speaker meant so I asked.

He replied that being able to list through countless features and benefits in a sales presentation doesn't work. What he didn't realise is that it never did work. That one sure fire way to either send- your potential customer off to sleep or you off to the car park.

What is missing here is not the Features or the Benefits but what I call the Personal Benefit or what some call "What's in it for me."

With good pre-sale planning and question technique you will be able to establish the need or needs specific to that customer. He may not want or need to know ever feature and benefit of your product (but it's important that you do) but just the ones that give him a Personal Benefit.

So are Features and Benefits Dead? I think not but your sales presentation may be if they're not used correctly.