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Good Selling!
Brian Mac Guinness
The 7 obstacles that affect so many sales professionals! These are so obvious that you probably miss most of them… Leave a comment and let me know what your experience is in this area. I’d love to hear from you.
Good selling
Brian Mac Guinness
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To be successful in sales you must overcome 7 obstacles. Almost every sales professional runs into these obstacles at some point in their career. For many these obstacles continue to reoccur. These obstacles are not always addressed in sales training, which is why we advocate an ongoing sales coaching relationship. As you read, assess your sales skills and your effectiveness at overcoming these challenges. By conquering them you will be able to take your sales performance to a whole new level.
Obstacle #1: Fear of the “No”. Much has been written about the fear of rejection but it still Continue reading
This is a great article about the 7 key pitfalls that keep sales professionals from reaching their goals. Be honest now, do you ‘suffer’ from any or all of these?
Post a comment and let me know. I would love to hear your if you agree or disagree with the points raised.
Good selling.
Brian Mac Guinness
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Most individuals are involved in selling whether it is selling learning to selling an idea. However a few are compensated for their sales efforts because they sell products or services. Far more sales professional could dramatically increase sales if they would change their behaviors (sales skills) by avoiding these top 7 pitfalls for sales failure.
Pitfall #1: No sales action plan. As a sales coach, I cannot count the number of sales professionals who lack a plan. This should not be surprising because planning is not taught in the K-16 experience. Planning is one of those behaviors learned through what I call the “Osmosis Factor.” Stand next to people who know how to plan and their knowledge will magically seep into you.
Pitfall #2: No goal achievement process. Here again is the Osmosis Factor. Can you remember where you learned how to plan, set and achieve your goals? For most sales professionals, the answer is simply no where. Yet, as a sales professional, you are expected to achieve sales goals.
Pitfall #3: No marketing action plan. Marketing and selling are two entirely different behaviors and require two different skill sets. A marketing plan is very much like a flight plan, the big picture of where you are going depending upon your target market.
Pitfall #4: Lots of confusion. This confusion is not only between marketing and selling, but motion with progress and activity with results as one of my colleagues, Doug Brown, has often stated. Lots of professional sales people are very busy, but are their actions moving them forward and securing results? This is the question to be answered.
Pitfall #5: Poor time management contributes to a lot of failure among sales professionals. This is due in many cases to a lack of a proven goal achievement process.
Pitfall #6: No focus. Sales success is predicated on focus. Of course without an action plan to confusion as to your actions, your focus can be dramatically reduced. Sales Coaching Tip: You cannot be everything to everyone.
Pitfall #7: Finally, the seventh reason is a culmination of the previous six that being self leadership skills. If you cannot lead yourself, how can you lead others? Self leadership skills include: planning, positive communication such as active listening, effective and balanced decision making and collaboration through team efforts.
Take Action Sales Coaching Tip: Determine what reasons may be keeping you from your goal to increase sales. Decide now to take action and you will realize your sales goals.
Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.
Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session with Leanne Hoagland Smith provided you are willing to be uncomfortable.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leanne_Hoagland-Smith
Presenter and life coach Les Brown says it all in this short video. Most people fail in life (or in their sales career) because they set a bar that is too low for themselves and then reach it! We need to have much bigger goals so we can make a real mark on the world when we finally leave it…
Let me know what your thoughts are by clicking on the ‘comment’ button below. I’d love to hear what you have to say.
Good selling
Brian Mac Guinness
According to Tom Hopkins our Prospects biggest fear is a fear of us as salespeople.
We have to get them to like, trust and then listen to us in order to get them to buy from us. As a trusted advisor we have valuable information that can help THEM and is so doing help us as well.
Have a listen to what Tom Hopkins has to say on the topic in the video below. Please make sure you leave a comment so I can get your thoughts on his viewpoint. I’d love to hear from you.
Good selling
Brian Mac Guinness
This is a classic story about up-selling and closing from Zig Ziglar. I love it!
How do you work this close in your sales closing process? Click on the comment button below and let me know your thoughts!
Good selling.
Brian Mac Guinness
This piece by Jim Rohn is fantastic! He discusses the four key elements that will turn your life around:
Disgust - at your current situation
Decision - to do something about it
Desire - to have a better outcome, and
Resolve - never give up until I succeed
I am always inspired by Jim’s words, these are very moving. I strongly encourage you to have a look at the video below and please let me know what your thoughts are by leaving a comment in the section below.
Good selling.
Brian Mac Guinness
I came across this video and thought you might find it interesting. It deals with having to do ‘whatever it takes’ in order to get the sale done and dusted. In these hard economic times we have to be prepared to work hard to ensure that we have a successful outcome.
please take a moment to have a look at the video below.I’d be very interested to hear your comments and views as to what the presenter has to say. Just click on the leave a comment here button below.
Good selling.
Brian Mac Guinness
Hopefully you’ve taken the time to clarify the roles of your sales team and sales management. It’s a valuable exercise. Now you get to assess sales team strategy and culture. Regardless of your methodology half of your sales representatives currently perform below average. Fifty percent are performing below average! Think about that. This is an indisputable fact. So why even assess the team? Simply put, to sell more.
Successful selling organizations consist of three components; investment, activity and results. The first component is the investment in the sales team. The investment is measured in compensation, benefits, computers, software, training, hiring, meetings, sales material, phones and other related expenses.
The second element is the activity of the investment. Face-to-face meetings, travel, preparation, telephone calls and administration comprise the second element. The third, and vital, component stands alone; results. How many sales were generated? Profits? Current market share?
The glue that binds the three distinct parts includes your people, culture and customers. Is there a career path for salespeople? What is your turnover rate? Who are the sales heroes? What is driving the team to achieve?
The best sales managers and sales teams recognize four productivity drivers.
1. Sales research-information related to market trends, target markets, customers, trends, etc.
2. Investment and organization-size, structure and deployment of sales team allows you to get the right people at the right place at the right time.
3. People-selection, training, managing, motivating, evaluation and termination.
4. Sales systems and processes-compensation, incentives, benefits, internal support, etc.
Tests and surveys remain the most effective way to assess salespeople. Companies rarely assess sales management instead relying on results to determine effectiveness.
A successful selling organization operates in a progressive culture. What’s a culture? That’s best answered by the following story.
Six apes were placed in a room with a ladder. A bunch of bananas hung from the center of the room. One ape started to climb the ladder for the fruit and the entire room was showered with cold water. This happened a few times until any ape that wandered near the ladder was beat up by other apes. A new guy replaced one of the original apes. The new guy, wanting to be a hero, headed for the ladder and received a thorough beating. He learned not to go near the ladder. Eventually every one of the original apes was replaced. The beatings continued. The replacement apes were unaware why they were prohibiting others from going near the ladder. They just knew the ladder was off limits.
That’s a culture. Are there any new apes on your team following old practices without knowing why? Cultures evolve over time and their origins are rarely known. Does your sales team have a culture? I bet it does. Is it a good one? Sales cultures consist of three elements:
¨ Norms-how individuals actually behave.
¨ Values-how individuals should behave.
¨ Work styles-diligent, tardy, professional, thorough, detailed, casual?
Changing negative cultures represents a significant challenge but is mandatory…if you want to stay in business. People are the agents of change and must be supported by management. Who are the heroes of your sales team? How long have they been the department hero and for what reason? Knowing these answers will help you assess your culture.
You must first formulate your vision of the sales team and evaluate all key contributing factors. Great companies communicate their vision clearly and frequently with all sales related personnel. Don’t leave anyone out that comes in contact with your sales team.
Next, you must put your vision in action by rewarding individuals for acting in concordance with your vision. This is a process not a destination but as it evolves your sales will increase and profits will soar.
This takes courage. You need to ask and answer tough questions. Dedication to a better selling team is required. Don’t give up until your vision is clarified, communicated and leads to rewarding the winners.
“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”
Confucius.
I’d love to hear your comments on the above. Let me know if you agree with these statements. Just click the ‘leave a comment’ link below and let me know.
Good selling
Brian Mac Guinness
Confucius observed, “He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”
Learning and thinking are fundamentally linked. They need to be.
Let me state a working assumption, that is, people who choose to work in sales have been through a selection process to identify competencies and the individual has a realistic understanding of the sales role, responsibilities, and challenges.
When starting a sales career, sales training plays a critical role. Development usually focuses on three key areas, technique, process, and product. Layered over these are marketing components that address networking, prospecting and promotion. Together they form the technical components of sales training. Once mastered, they only improve with practice and repetition.
Arguably, the technical learning described in the preceding paragraph is not difficult. Product knowledge may be the exception as product can be complex. The topics have been studied and presented over many years. They have evolved and adapted but there have been few changes to the fundamental concepts of selling. Perhaps the last major change was the shift to needs based selling and the impact of a more informed consumer due to greater access to information on the Internet.
So then has the art of selling been perfected?
Perhaps, but some say it’s all for naught if you haven’t first tackled the way you think!
In fact my experience suggests that how we think should be an “up front” consideration.
Before getting on the road to technical development, there are real advantages to individuals and their organizations if both appreciated the impact effective thinking has on learning. Imagine an individual who is negative, pessimistic, lacks self-esteem, and procrastinates. Compare that person to a positive, self-starting optimist who is full of confidence and believes in himself or herself.
How you think, or your mindset, sets the tone for what follows in your career. It sets the tone for how you learn, how you interact with peers as well as prospects and clients.
In the perfect world, we would only hire those with a positive and optimistic attitude. We attempt to avoid recruiting those with a negative mindset who don’t have a strong belief in self and who are not achievement oriented. In reality, we encounter individuals all along the spectrum.
The good news is someone with a negative or neutral mindset can learn to be an effective thinker. In fact, even those with a positive mindset can find ways to improve.
If one consciously understands their personal thinking style, and is able to recognize such things as negative self-talk and counter-productive behaviours, they are well on the way to affecting their mindset. Similar to learning, practice and repetition will enable and adjust the thought process. In time, the conscious re-framing, positive self-talk, and awareness becomes the new mindset.
Imagine the impact a positive mindset can have during the training event. The outcome can be significant. This permits an organization to better leverage its training investment – and ultimately the individual benefits from increased likelihood of personal success.
I’ll close with a last thought on mindset from Confucius, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”
I’d love to hear your comments on the above. Let me know if you agree with these statements. Just click the ‘leave a comment’ link below and let me know.
Good selling
Brian Mac Guinness
