A Leap in Sales Performance

Do you want to make a quantum leap in sales performance?  Of course you do.  However, many people use words like ‘quantum leap’ as a cliché - as an empty promise.  And, there are lots of clichés.  Let’s go to the next level!  ... to the next generation! 

How do you increase performance beyond the past?  Are you ready?  Do you want the answer? 

It’s simple.  Increase face-to-face sales time.  Yes! - that’s it.  Just increase face-to-face sales time - the amount of time spent face-to-face “with the right prospects” each week.

In one Fortune 500 corporation’s study, salespeople spent 8% of their time each week in front of prospective new customers, or 3 to 4 hours.

What a staggering discovery!  The rest of the week this sales force worked to complete administrative tasks, customer service tasks, and lead generation tasks.  They handled customer problems, returned calls from previous buyers, finished and distributed paperwork (paper or Internet), and networked to uncover new leads.  And, Murphy’s Law applied - “Work expanded to fill the time available,” and sales performance decreased.

Count them.  How many hours a week do you spend face-to-face with prospective customers?  2, 6, 10, 20??? In high activity selling, as the number increases from 10 to 20 hours+ per week, the quantum leap takes place and sales performance radically improves.

What would have to change for you to spend more time in front of the right prospective customers?  Answer the question and then go and make things better.  Lance.

I’m Looking for Consistency - A Pattern

I’m a field rep and I love the idea of independence and an income opportunity without a ceiling.  I do see the possibilities, but I also feel a challenge to its accomplishment. 

What challenge? 

It’s not really time management.  No.  I think it’s self-management.

In the beginning, I’m completing new employee paperwork, learning product information, making a prospect list, and beginning to set and hold appointments.  Things start well.  I’m even making a few sales with and without the help of my sales manager. 

Then, I find that I’m missing something.  I’m still in survival.  Each month I feel the pressure to produce, and I want to produce, but something’s missing.  I’m looking for a pattern - a model - a successful process, that when I repeat the steps (1, 2, 3, etc.), I am fully confident in reaching a certain level of performance.

Words like accountability just do not quite define it.  Focus gets a little closer.  I want to know where I am in a process that, if followed, ensures my success. I want something simple - something easy that helps me stay on track.

Different activities share time with sales activities.  The activities I necessarily do range from paperwork, eating, sleeping, family needs, physical fitness, networking, phoning, returning calls, holding appointments, preparing presentations and quotes, sending out mail, product training, sales meetings, etc.

Some of these activities do not directly produce income.  They are important but not critical to making sales.

I believe what I need is self-management, but I’m thinking there’s a better set of words, and they are ... Activity Management.  Lance.

Some Sales Planning Basics

Some Basics ... Sales blocking and tackling stuff (use anything that will help you or your people) ...

The following information contains questions and comments that will help your salespeople develop new business.  They will also help create a value-focused attitude and sales tools for what you provide ... 


Ask these questions ...

1st - “Do you believe in your ability to deliver value to customers or clients?” Yes or No. 
(If you get past this one, continue. If not, do something else.) 

2nd - “Do you believe that people exist who need what you have?” 
(If you get past this one, continue. If not, do something else.) 


3rd - “What typical situations do these people face?” 

4th - “What needs and problems do they have as they face their situation?” 

5th - “What do needs/problems cost people in terms of $$ or emotional impact?” 

6th - “What typical solutions do you provide?” 

7th - “What will $$ or emotional impact will your solution bring?” 

Now, answer all of these questions on a piece of paper. 


Then, have your people do these exercises:

Help them develop three (3) tools from these questions. 

- Tool #1 ... a 30 sec. statement about what you do, who you do it for, and what typical benefits you provide. 

- Tool #2 ... an approach letter that they can mail out that asks for an appointment and explains what’s in Tool #1. 

- Tool #3 ... a set of open-ended questions that start with: who, what, where, when, why, how, describe, tell, or explain ... that when asked of prospects gets them talking about the typical situation, needs, and problems you listed in #4 above. You will use these questions when in front of prospects and you may use one or two of them when at networking events. 



Next, decide what people, vertical markets, or companies you will put on a prospecting list. List all the companies on a sheet of paper and get any information you can about who makes decisions about what you sell.  Or, when you call, simply ask the question, “Who makes decisions about ‘x.’”


Suggestions:

Now ... 

1. Join a Business Networking International group to exchange leads for prospecting. 

2. Join the Chamber of Commerce and get to know people who can give you leads to prospect. You will also meet small business owners there. 

3. Mail out ten (10) approach letters (tool #2 above) each week and call these people each week for an appointment. Read Bill Goods, “Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success” to learn what to say when you call - use a script as a basic building block to work from. 

4. Also, mail out the approach letter to referrals you receive when networking (mentioning the name of the person who gave you the referral).
5. Cold call (telephone: see Bill Good’s book above) or cross residential or company thresholds cold if you have to in the early part of your career.  

6. When you go on appointments, ask permission to ask your questions (tool #3 above).  Tell the prospect that you want to understand their present situation to see if there are need and problems you can help. Ask your questions, take notes, paraphrase your understanding and, if they have needs and problems you can help, ask to set a 2nd appointment to get back to them with a customized proposal.  If the solution is complex, and other buying influencers are present, then set appointments with them and ask them questions as well.

7. Set an appointment to present your solution and its investment. 

8. Count on doing 3 presentations to get one sale when thinking about your income. 



These basic exercises and suggestions will remove salespeople from the role of “snake-oil salesperson.” They help people work with high integrity and on the needs and problems of others. They’re just basic.  (Also read: Ron Willingham’s “Integrity Selling.” It’s one of those ‘basically“ good sales books.) Any of the above can be expanded and made better.  Do it.  Great selling. Lance.

Sales Ratios: Areas to Measure?

When the sales cycle is greater than ninety (90) days and begins to move toward six (6) months or greater, the closing rate is an unimportant way to manage sales performance. In these longer sales cycles, it is more important to manage the funnel size and to focus on strategies not activities (please reference Neil Rackman’s research in his book “Managing Major Account Sales"). 

For shorter sales cycles, ninety (90) days or less, activity ratios become very important and should be focused on for sales goal achievement. And, in these high activity sales teams, the following ratios are: 



1st Appointments to Quotes (or presentations) 
- This is the Opportunity Ratio and tells a person how qualified are their prospects. A higher rate means a pool of more highly qualified prospects who have needs and problems that the salesperson can help with their service or product. This measures the effectiveness of a salesperson converting 1st appointments into presentations (quotes), and is generally affected by the quality of the prospect and a salesperson’s ability to get the prospect to agree to a presentation based on existing needs and problems. 



Quotes (or presentations) to Sales 
- This is the traditional Closing Ratio, and measures the effectiveness of a salesperson’s face-to-face skills at the end of the sales cycle. In Major Account selling, the sales manager is not effective being thrown in toward the end of the sales cycle. In High Activity selling, i.e. short sales cycles, the sales manager is effective at the end of the cycle. He can help the salesperson with closing sales. (Note: If the sales cycle averages several days and can be as long as ninety (90) days, then one must look at these ratios over a year’s period of time to truly understand what they are.)

How do you track these?  Better still ... how to your salespeople track these?  And, remember, in Major Account Sales, manage the funnel size and the sales strategies for movement in the funnel.  Celebrate the advances.  Now, go and make things better.  You can.  Lance.

Sales Performance in Retail Financial or Wireless Services?

After twenty+ years of working with sales teams in banking, financial services, and other BtoB companies, I’ve discovered a foundational problem to exist in Retail Financial and Wireless Services ... And, it’s the word “Retail.”

While the banking industry has transformed itself in many ways, especially with terms like “sales,” it still has a “wait at home” mentality - or, “Build enough branches and they will come.” The people chosen for sales roles often have low social drive and and personalities that comfortably wait for business to walk in the door.  And, most though they talk the sales talk, would rather focus on operational or product issues than face an aggressive campaign for new customers.  Therefore, sales performance improvements in Retail Financial Services will need to start by installing a new system of attitudes and processes that will also include:  a better common sales language, best coaching or sales management practices, and an outside sales-focused selection process.

The Wireless Industry started out differently - with an aggressive outside sales force.  Today, it’s hard to find an outside salesperson in wireless worth much of anything.  The industry has moved toward retail.  And, even though inside reps have many opportunities for outside sales - they typically sit still and wait. (with some exceptions: like Verizon’s independent distributor: Cellular Sales).  The whole outside sales thing has slowly cooked itself into warm soup.  Meanwhile, many small businesses wish for a wireless rep they could trust - one that would keep up with their changing data and connection needs.

To improve their cultures, the selection process for both these industries must recruit salespeople suited for outside prospecting, goal achievement, and an ability to control the sales process - all within a consultancy approach. Increased sales performance will take a major step forward with GREAT recruits and GREAT “outside sales” coaching.

Sales manager coaching will center around basic sales processes like: sales planning, an activity management process, and a face-to-face sales process.  These processes, installed in retail financial and wireless organizations (reinstalled here), along with high-performance sales meetings will establish a new sales paradigm within a best practice sales system - one that progressively improves itself in incremental steps. This also means that great sales coaches will emerge as the champions of this movement - meaning that THEIR selection (the coaches) as well as the salespeople will be of upmost importance to the retail financial or wireless organization that wants increased sales performance.. Now, go and make things better.  Lance