At 12:55 p.m. EST on March 1st, I'll be hosting the first in a series of free, 35 minute webinars.

It's called "Selecting the Highest Performers."

If you're like many sales leaders, you recognize that selecting sales talent is a critically important part of your job. You also recognize that it's rife with challenges.

In order to help you wade through those challenges, I'd like to invite you to sign-up for this webinar where you'll learn:

• What to Focus on in a Candidate's Background
• What Interviews Won't Reveal
• Interviewing Best Practices

Because 2012 marks our 35th Anniversary in the Sales Training Business, we wanted to use the year to give back. Since all of our customized sales training programs incorporate individual sales assessments, we have unique insight into what makes the best sales candidates "tick."

If you can't make it, sign-up anyway for access to the recording!

Click here to sign up!

- @JebBrooks

Your prospects probably want two, seemingly contradictory things.

1. They want to feel in complete control of their buying process.
2. They secretly want to be led through their buying process.

In other words, prospects want control and a leader.

Let me give you a personal example. Last year, I was placed in charge of a committee tasked with buying a new healthcare plan for the staff here at The Brooks Group. Admittedly, I’m no expert on buying a corporate healthcare plan. I didn’t really know what I wanted (other than to be sure my coworkers and I were covered), but I certainly didn’t want a salesperson to instruct me. I wanted control and a leader!

How do you, as a salesperson maximize your sales effectiveness in a situation like that? That’s the art of selling.

As our founder (and my father), Bill Brooks said,

“People don’t want to get sold, but they desperately want to buy from people who understand what they want.”

~ You're Working too Hard to Make the Sale

The secret of balancing those two points comes from your ability to effectively understand what your prospects want.

Most salespeople focus on the needs their prospects express. Needs are features-based. They’re things like color, size, output. The need to obtain healthcare coverage is a great example. They’re easily expressed, surface-level requirements.

The salespeople who allow their prospects to maintain control while at the same time leading them, focus on wants. "Wants" are below the surface, they’re much deeper than needs. Often your prospects have trouble expressing them. In my healthcare example, a great salesperson helped me realize that I wanted a plan that helped us recruit great talent and required less of my time to maintain. "Wants" relate directly to the fact that your prospects secretly want to be led.

Here’s another example: The surface reason for needing a new car is to get to and from work. A below-the-surface reason for wanting a convertible are the glances it offers the driver. These wants are not product-specific. After all, a Rolls Royce would also deliver glances to its driver.

Implementing this into your sales efforts is more than sales motivation. Again, it's the art of selling.

Ask yourself these questions about your prospects. What’s the surface need your product or service provides? Now, what’s a deeper want your offering can fulfill? Why would a prospect want what you sell?

• Ego?
• Recognition?
• Reputation?
• Status?
• Savings?
• Budget impact?
• Because their competitor has it?
• Because their competitor doesn’t have it?
• Others...

Then, come up with questions that allow you to understand whether these wants exist. After you uncover them, you must use those questions in your efforts closing the sale.

How have you discovered wants before? What are some wants your prospects have?

-@JebBrooks

"What do I do with my cell phone on a sales call?" was a question posed at one of our most recent sales seminars.

It's a good one. Picture this:

You're meeting with a Whale -- your ideal prospect. Something good will inevitably come out of this meeting...if you perform flawlessly. The trust is there. The rapport exists. The information is flowing. Then, suddenly, your phone rings. The vibe is lost.

What role should your cell phone play during a sales meeting?

Some argue that you should leave it in your car to avoid the distraction altogether. Others say having it available to you shows a level of responsiveness that a prospect should appreciate.

We believe that you should have it with you and it ought to be silenced. The reason? To set the definitive next step. You've worked too hard in your sales prospecting efforts to find this sales opportunity. In order to ensure closing the sale, you have no choice but to keep up the momentum!

When it's time to set a follow-up phone call or appointment, you don't want to have to say, "well, Ms. Prospect, I'd love to set the meeting, but I need to go back to my office to check my calendar and call you back." Doing that puts the brakes on your efforts. Instead, you can say, "Let me pull out my iPhone [or blackberry, or whatever], and determine a good time that works for both of us."

Always, always, always silence your phone. And don't set it to vibrate because that will only distract you. Your efforts must be focused -- like a laser -- on your prospect and what he or she wants to accomplish.

What do you think the cell phone should be used for during sales calls?

-@JebBrooks

So much has been written about Apple's rapid ascent than any of us could read in a lifetime.

For example, more iPhones are sold everyday than babies are born.

In the spirit of an over saturated topic, I'd like to add my own tale to the mix. I'd also like to hear what you can apply to your own business from the lesson.

Here's my story:

Over the weekend, my MacBook suddenly stopped working. I went to the Apple website (on an iPhone) and scheduled an appointment at the local Genius Bar. I arrived and clambered through the crowds (eagerly spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in a "down" economy). I was quickly helped. The Genius -- there's a job title for you -- broke the bad news to me: My computer was dead and they'd have to order some parts. He told me it might be a week.

Fast forward two days to Monday...here's where the magic happened.

I received a call from Lisa at the Apple Store with an update. Nothing had changed. Lisa just wanted me to know that they expected the parts anytime and would keep me posted on their progress. She promised, no matter what, that I would get a call on (or before) Thursday with another update.

Why is that so great?

Because Apple anticipated my expectation. By anticipating the question, "What's happening with my computer?" They avoided an angry call and an upset customer. They reduced my frustration with one, simple, 90-second phone call.

That's a true marketplace advantage. If you find yourself anticipating your customers', prospects', or boss's expectations and are able to deliver on them before you're asked, you have an advantage.

• How can you anticipate your prospects' expectations?
• What common frustrations do your customers express that you could somehow help them avoid?

Let me know.

-@JebBrooks

According to a Harris Interactive Poll, 23% of people routinely search the names of business associates before meeting them. That means a prospect "Googles" you before one out of every four meetings.

It also means your online reputation is critical to building trust and breaking through the invisible wall of apathy and resistance that exists between you and them. And, I'll say confidently, that the 23% searching today will only grow with time.

Two hundred years ago, your reputation carried across town. If someone in a neighboring village heard something about you, it probably didn't matter. Technology couldn't carry your story very far and, in most cases, it didn't matter because you likely didn't do business outside your own neighborhood. That's no longer the case.

What can you do to manage your online reputation?

Online reputation matters. Period.

The first step is understanding that your online reputation matters. A lot of salespeople incorrectly believe that it doesn't. They mistakenly think that they can "talk their way out of anything." Including a poor - or weak - online showing. That's no longer the case. The truth is that whatever shows up during a prospect's web sleuthing, will either: (1) Propel or (2) Repel your sales efforts. Here are a handful of things to consider in today's Google-centric society:

1. Check yourself: Googling yourself is called "Ego Surfing." But, it's so much more than that. It's also a way to find out what people are saying about you. While you're at it, check on your company, its products, and even your prospects and customers. In sales, "knowledge is power." The one with the most knowledge wins. So go out and get it.
2. LinkedIn: If you're not on LinkedIn, join. If you are, check out this video from Bill Rice about using LinkedIn for Sales. I don't know Bill, but he's one of the most knowledgable people I've come across in this area.
3. Play an active role online: Show your expertise by commenting on blogs and in LinkedIn groups. I'm not going to say that you'll get business by doing this, but you will become better positioned. Regardless of what you sell, your prospects want to do business with someone they perceive as having something valuable to say. Use the web to get that done.
4. Be intelligent, consistent, and professional: Now, more than ever, it's impossible to be inconsistent. What do I mean? I'm talking about authenticity. If you contribute to one blog by talking about how "annoying and demanding your customers are" only to jump to another to say that they "are the most impressive people you've encountered," you're setting yourself up for failure.

In short, online reputation matters a lot now. And it's only becoming more important. Manage it well.

What steps are you taking to manage your reputation? Have you arrived before getting there with a prospect? Did that make it easier or harder to sell?

- @JebBrooks

Are you prospecting by email? First of all, the phone is - almost - always better. But, you don't have every prospects' phone number.

So, if you find yourself sending prospecting emails, here are four rules:

1. Keep it short: It can't be longer than a blackberry screen.
2. It better be tailored: If you're sending generic emails, don't expect to hear back.
3. It often takes more than one: Count on sending three, four, or more before hearing back.
4. Get permission: If you're just sending emails without gaining permission, you're probably spamming.

Let me share two examples of recent emails I've received. One good. One bad.

After requesting some information from a professional services firm we're considering engaging, I received this message:

Hi Jeb,

Since you requested information about our work last night, I thought I'd first send you the attached case study. It highlights a project we recently completed with an HR Training firm. I've personally worked with a handful of training firms (candidly, no sales training firms) and have found a number of ways we can help. Let me know a good time to call. If I don't hear back, I'll try to reach you by phone tomorrow.

[Name]
[Phone Number]
[Company]

Why is that so great? First, it's short - I could read it on my iPhone. Second, it's obviously tailored to me - he knows I'm in the training business. Third, he's pre-prepared me for his multiple contact approach. Fourth, I'd already requested his contact. Also, I like this one because he's provided something for me to review. Chances are, I won't. But it's still nice to get it.

Here's a bad one that I received . . . on the SAME day from one of his competitors.

Your request has been received. One of our experts will cnotact you shortly.

Sincerely,
[Company]

P.S. This email address is not monitored. Please do not respond.

Why is that so bad? I don't think I have to tell you.

Do you have any effective email prospecting tips? If you've got some emails that generate results, please share them in the Comments Section below. How do you use email to get someone to call YOU back?

-@JebBrooks

Becoming comfortable with ambiguity is essential to professional selling. That’s because there’s an invisible wall between salespeople and their prospects. It’s built of apathy or resistance. Prospects are often apathetic or resistant to a salesperson’s efforts. Salespeople might even be feeling that way about some of their prospects.

What's on the other side?

And, anytime there’s a wall between two people, ambiguity exists. Salespeople have to work to understand what’s behind that wall. We have to work to understand why a prospect would buy from us.

The wall gets broken down by whoever (prospect or salesperson) most want what’s on the other side. For prospects, that’s whatever is being sold. For salespeople, it’s the sale.

Regardless, until it’s broken down, the wall of apathy or resistance creates ambiguity.

We’ve all been in sales situations where we’re disinterested in working with a particular prospect. Maybe our focus is elsewhere (a vacation) or perhaps we’re thinking this prospect will be a pain in our side. Regardless, we’ve certainly been resistant.

We’ve also all been in situations where prospects are apathetic or resistant to our sales efforts.

Our jobs as salespeople, however, rest on our abilities to overcome those feelings and break down that wall. 

How do you break it down? What's the best way to understand what's on the other side of the "wall"? Let me know.

- @JebBrooks

Well, we're getting close to that time of year when cable television networks broadcast their retrospectives. Since we can't provide a reality television marathon, we've decided to offer links to our eleven most popular posts of 2011. So, here they are...as chosen by YOU, our readers:

1. Is it Better to Ask Permission or Beg Forgiveness?
2. The Ten Worst Practices in Selling Today
3. Outline for a Sales Training Manual
4. A Sales Skills Audit
5. Avoiding the Activity Trap
6. What if you Really Do Offer Great Customer Service?
7. No, Professional Sales is Neither Dead Nor Dying
8. In Sales, as in High School, You Are the Company You Keep
9. It's Not in the Budget
10. How Big is the Sales Profession?
11. Stop Collaborizing and Synergating

As always, thank you for reading. Your comments, criticisms, ideas, suggestions, and questions are encouraged and appreciated.

- @JebBrooks

First, I'll admit it...I'm generalizing here, so forgive me for that.

A lot of younger salespeople don't like to use the telephone.

Younger salespeople enter the job market with more knowledge of technology than the people they're replacing. This can be a tremendous asset. Effective sales technology improves time management and makes every step of the sales process much easier. However, that comfort with technology is a double-edged sword: It can also be a crutch.

I hear a lot of sales managers saying something like...

If I can only get these younger salespeople on the phone, we'd close more deals!

Or

Why won't these young reps do more than email their prospects?!

Shake a real hand!

Younger B2B salespeople, it seems, turn to an email or text when a good-old-fashioned phone call would do. They prefer technology to human interaction. That's short-sighted because technology will never fully replace a B2B salesperson. Making that argument is, in my opinion, hogwash.

Of course, I’m also not going to argue that younger salespeople will spell the end of professional selling. As Plato said 2,500 years ago, "I fear the coming generation." He was wrong then. And, if I said it today, I'd be wrong, too.

Instead, I’m going to recognize a reality (they don't like the phone) and offer a solution (at the end of this post).

Simply telling younger salespeople to get on the phone isn't enough. Gen-Yers (born in the 80's and 90's) need to understand the WHY behind every HOW.

So, when asked to get on the phone, younger salespeople say, "My prospects don't want to be bombarded with calls." And they're right. Cold calling is stupid.

But the best managers go on to explain that, if you're bringing value, you're not bombarding anyone and your calls will be warmly received.

But that's not really the problem. The real reason that younger salespeople don't like to make phone calls is that they've never had to do it! For virtually their entire lives, instant messaging, email, and texting have been more legitimate modes of communication than actual conversation. Their resistance is nothing more than call reluctance. It's that they don't really know what to do on the phone.

Sales managers should help them get more comfortable using this simple, five step process:

1. Choose prospects you can feel good about contacting: Only call prospects who have expressed interest in what you're calling about. It's a lot easier to talk to someone who wants to talk to you than someone who's never heard from you.
2. Be 110% "sold" on what you're selling: Having the "courage of your convictions" gives you a much greater chance of winning more deals. If you believe in the value of what you're selling you begin to believe that someone who chooses not to buy from you is the one who loses.
3. Recall past accomplishments: Great athletes do this. So should you! If you believe that you can't win deals it's likely because you're forgetting about the victories you've experienced in the past. Don't lose sight of them.
4. Mentally rehearse: Practice success. Imagine a great call. What happened? What did you ask? What did you hear? Plan your call, but don't script it. The best sales calls are really just conversations.
5. Relax: As basic as this sounds, a lot of call reluctance relates to nervousness (especially if you haven't made a lot of calls before). Just relax. What's the worst that will happen?

Am I wrong? Why do you think Younger Salespeople tend to resist the phone?

- @JebBrooks

Not everything in sales is as complicated as funnel management or sales forecasting. Let me present a familiar conundrum: You’re in a client’s office for a meeting and she asks if you’d like anything to drink. Do you accept?

This ubiquitous situation presents salespeople everywhere with a dilemma:

• If I accept, am I being too friendly? Greedy? Awkward?
• If I say no, am I being rude? Arrogant? Awkward?
  

The answer depends on who's offering.

Are they direct?

or

Are they accommodating?

If you're with a direct person and you're not thirsty, it's probably okay to pass. If you're thirsty, take the offer.

If you're with an accommodating person, there's a chance that the offer is being made because of their own thirst. Accept.

Simple, I know.

Of course, in either case, you should be polite.

• “Yes, please. May I have a glass of water.”
• “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

What about you? What do you do? How do you handle this quandary?

-@JebBrooks