“Every profession expects the serious practitioner of that profession to continually seek out the best practices of that profession, and then to roll them into his/her routine with discipline.”

That statement comes out of my mouth in almost every seminar or key note that I present. Sometimes I follow it up with the ironic observation that there is, apparently, one exception to that rule – and that is the profession of sales, where we don’t expect anyone to improve.

That is, of course, nonsense. The truth is that better salespeople produce better results. The best salespeople produce the best results. And better salespeople continually imbed best practices into their habits. That’s how they become better. They practice.

I just got off the phone with one of my clients. We were discussing the miserable state of the market in his industry – down about 35 percent from two years ago. Yet, he observed that four of his 12 salespeople where having record years.

“It’s easy to do well when the market is growing,” he observed. “Most salespeople don’t know what they did to gain business when the market was growing, and they don’t know what to do when the market is shrinking. The good salespeople, though, know how to sell. And that brings them results.”

Good salespeople sell more than mediocre salespeople. That is such a blatantly obvious truth, that I’m embarrassed to even mention it. And the way that salespeople get to be good is just like every other professional becomes good – they practice!

Good doctors practice their craft and continually improve. So do good social workers, teachers, accountants, and lawyers. Ditto for ministers, nurses, airline pilots, chefs and executives. The list goes on and on. No reasonably mature person thinks that after a year on the job they know it all. On the contrary, they expect to learn, grow and improve for the balance of their careers.

According to the Encarta Dictionary, the word practice means:

1. repetition in order to improve.
2. process of carrying out an idea.
3. work of a professional person.
4. usual pattern of action.

All of these accurately describe the behavior that separates the good salesperson from the mediocre. Here’s how:

1. repetition in order to improve.

A good salesperson studies the best practices of his profession, and repeats them in order to improve. This expresses itself in things like learning to ask a series of good questions. You work at it, repeat it and repeat until it becomes a habit, and you have improved. Or, you create a memorized 30 second introduction to your company. You repeat it and repeat it until you have it down and it comes out of your mouth smoothly and persuasively. Or, you practice a presentation for a key product or service. You repeat it and repeat until you are confident and competent in it. That’s practice.

It’s just like golf, tennis or any area of human endeavor. If you are going to become good at it, you must practice.

2. process of carrying out an idea.

The good salesperson is continually on the lookout for good ideas. He collects them, sorts through them, prioritizes them and then implements them. For example, he may come across the idea of prioritizing his accounts based on the potential for business in those accounts. That’s a different idea than the typical sorting by the amount of business they did in the past. It is, for some, a new idea. The good salesperson takes that idea, works it out, applies it to his territory, and then focuses on the high potential accounts. As a result, his production improves, and he becomes more effective. Then he looks for the next good idea. That’s practice.

3. work of a professional person.

The best salespeople view their work as a profession. They understand that sales is a challenging, demanding job that is critical for the success of every business. They also understand that it typically takes years to become adept at it, and that it is so sophisticated and challenging that they must learn and improve forever. They also understand that their work is crucial for the success of their employer and that at least four or five families are employed as a result of every salesperson’s efforts. That’s a profession. And those who are a part of a profession practice it.

4. usual pattern of action.

Sales is an action-based profession. In other words, it is our actions that cause reactions in the customer. They don’t send us a purchase order, and then we go see them. We see them first, and it is what we do that causes them to react. If we act effectively, we gain the business. If we don’t, we don’t.

Our success is less about the product and service and company that we represent and more about the actions that we take. And a pattern of action is a sequence of actions that are repeated. That’s it. Good salespeople understand, over time, the most effective actions they can take, they put them together into patterns and repeat them until they cause more effective customer reactions.

Back to my example of asking a series of good questions. When a salesperson has turned that action into a pattern, and by repetition, turned the pattern into a habit, and then by discipline and thoughtfulness continually exercises that habit, that salesperson has become an excellent salesperson. It’s what you do that counts. And, good salespeople practice doing the right things until they get it right. It’s the practice that does it.

—

© Dave Kahle, used by permission

View Dave’s Profile

For more information contact:
Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
3736 West River Drive
Comstock Park, MI 49321
www.davekahle.com
(800) 331-1287

Are things changing rapidly in your business?

Silly question, isn’t it? Of course they are changing. Rapid change is the distinguishing characteristic of the new millennium.

Take that rapid change and add to it growing competition, increasing complexity, consolidations at every level, and increasing demands from customers and you have the recipe for a business climate that will turn anyone’s hair gray.

This rapid change whirling around every company puts great pressure on organizations to change themselves. Not only must the organization as a whole change, but the individuals within each organization must themselves change, learn and grow more rapidly than at any time in the past.

This ability for an organization and its people to change in response to the changing world around them may be the ultimate success skill for the Information Age.

A few years ago, it was good enough to allow learning and change to happen in a hit or miss fashion. Not so today. If your organization and your employees are going to change as rapidly as the environment, they are going to have to get serious, dedicated and systematic about those changes.

That means you must organize and manage an effort to stimulate and support positive personal change. In other words, organizations, including yours, need to develop a new capability - the capability to change rapidly.

Every organization has a unique set of capabilities. While some of these capabilities are necessary for any successful business, others are unique to that individual concern. For example, every business must be capable of accounting for its money; every business must be capable of generating sales; and every business must be capable of providing the goods or services its customers want. Those are universal and basic capabilities. If your organization cannot do these, you won’t be in business very long.

However, the real strength of the business comes from those capabilities that are unique to it, that differentiate that business from its competitors.

Some businesses have created great research and development capabilities, others are outstanding at customer service, while others emphasize quality throughout. Some are outstanding in sales, other marketing, still others in management.

One way to prepare your organization for the rapidly changing 21st Century is to develop a unique and new capability. That capability is what I call “active learning.”

So what is active learning? And why is it important? Let’s start with a definition: Active learning is the process of acquiring new information and/or gaining new insights, and then changing behavior as a result. You’ve experienced it. It’s what happens when you go to a seminar or a conference, gain several new ideas, and then come back and implement them in your organization.

Active learning takes place at a number of different levels within an organization. But they are all dependent on an individual employee changing how he/she behaves. The employee who is adept at active learning regularly absorbs new information and acts in different ways as result. It’s the same process you engage in when you attend a seminar, except that it’s required of every one of your employees, not just you.

Here’s an every day example. Let’s say you upgraded your software to the next round of upgrades. Now, every employee who works with that software must take in new information, (the changes in the software) and then change his/her behavior to correspond with the new information (they must use the software). This learning process requires that they do something differently then they did before.

There is a fundamental and powerful concept underneath the surface of this simple example: Learning to use this software upgrade is not a one-time event. There will be other upgrades soon. And your employees will have to learn (take in new information and change their behavior) again and again and again.

While the computer upgrade is an easily-identified culprit, the reality is that the kind of regular change epitomized by the software will likely occur in every aspect of the employee’s job. Software will change, customers will change, products will change, bosses will change, co-workers will change, strategy will change, policies will change, procedures will change. If it doesn’t, your organization is in danger of becoming a dinosaur, wonderfully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

One of my clients summarizes it accurately when he tells every new hire: “The only thing I can guarantee you is that you won’t be doing the job you’re hired to do a year from now. Either the job will have changed in such a way as to be significantly different, or you will have grown to take on new responsibilities.”

In this kind of environment, it’s easy to see that the companies who will be the most successful are those who have filled their offices and cubicles with individuals who are willing, able, and skilled in learning.

Now that’s a good thing to keep in mind whenever your are hiring. Hire well, and eventually you’ll evolve into a learning organization. In the mean time, you must work with the employees you have.

Unfortunately, not all of them are “change-friendly.” Many were educated in slower times, and view change as a threat to their positions and status. Many resent every attempt to get them to do something differently.

Clearly, some organizations, some groups, and some individuals are better at active learning than are others. While it’s true that everyone can learn, it is just as true that not everyone can learn equally quickly and effectively. This ability to learn quickly, effectively, and continuously will be one of the most powerful capabilities of the organizations that hope to succeed in the information age.

So why is this such an important new competency for the information age? For several reasons. First, we have seen the economic environment change dramatically in the last few years. Every futurist I read or listen to has predicted that the rate of change will continue to accelerate in the near future. That means that if you have witnessed a great deal of change in your business environment, you probably have seen nothing yet. The ability to change your organization and all the individuals within it will become ever more important. Those organizations, groups, and individuals who excel at learning will have a strategic advantage over those slower to change.

Not only is the institutionalized competency of active learning a strategic imperative but it is also a powerful fringe benefit for your employees. One of the biggest problems for growing organizations in the last few years has been the challenge of attracting and retaining good employees. One of the things that attract employees to an organization is their perception that the organization is headed for success and is willing to invest in its employees along the way. Helping your employees gain new skills or deepen their current capabilities is a powerful way to show your commitment to the future and your investment in your employees. Helping them learn to learn is viewed as a powerful fringe benefit.

So creating this learning capability within your organization and instilling the capability at every level in the organization provides a double benefit: it’s both a strategic advantage as well as a powerful fringe benefit.

How to begin…

This all sounds good, but how do you do it? Here are four simple steps to start the transformation.

1. Develop a compelling vision for the company’s future and show your employees how they can be a part of it.A vision is a description of what the company can be in the future. By describing a future that is different then today’s you provide a reason for every individual to grow: the organization needs them to become something better than they are now. The difference between your vision for the future and your current situation is clearly an opportunity for the different pieces of the business to grow and expand.

   One of the core principles upon which active learning is based is this: that adults don’t learn unless they want to eliminate some pain or achieve some gain. As long as everyone is content with the status quo there can be no serious growth. Your job, if you’re going to build this capability of active learning, is first to instill some discontent.

   The individuals within your organization must want to be something that they are not now. The more challenging and exciting is that vision, the more likely it is that the individual will want to hop aboard and be motivated to change. Here’s a great example. Steve Case, the CEO of America Online, has been quoted as espousing this vision:

   “We want to be the most valuable and respected company on earth.”

   How’d you like to be a part of that organization? That’ll quicken your pulse.

   So, challenge the organization with your vision of the future, and see to it that every individual knows that you expect him or her to grow in their job, so that they can be a part of it.

2. It is not enough merely to instill the vision, you must also enable the learning. That means that you must invest time and money in the learning process. That can mean something as a simple as creating a budget item for “training and learning” and allocating money for this process. It can also mean creating policies that reimburse employees for job related learning. It can mean investing in outside trainers, classes and courses, and continuous growth programs. It can also mean policies which allow for released time for seminars, retreats and training programs.
3. Begin to instill this capability in your organization by mandating personal growth. Write into every job description a phrase that says every employee is expected to continually grow in their capabilities to do this job better as well as to expand their knowledge of other jobs within the organization.Make learning a strategic initiative. Manage it like he would any other strategic issue. Give it lots of conversation. Mentioned it in newsletters and memos. Write it up in the annual report. Talk about it at employee meetings. Create learning lists for individuals and small groups. This is a list of the things that they need to learn in order to do their job more effectively. Let everyone know from the top to the bottom that continuous personal improvement, i.e. active learning, is a necessary part of everyone’s employment in your organization.

   Let everyone know that coasting along with last year’s knowledge and last year’s capabilities is no longer acceptable.

4. Lastly, be a model of the kind of behavior you expect everyone with an your organization to mimic. Let people see you learning and growing. Let them see you invest in your own development. Let them see you go to seminars, be involved in CEO round table groups, read books, periodicals, and go to training courses. Become a model for the kind of active learner you want your whole organization to be.

Implement these four strategies, and you’ll begin to instill the number one competency for success in the Information Age into your company. You’ll begin to turn your organization into a learning company

Assessment
Complete this quick assessment to determine how well your organization has embraced active learning. Answer Yes or No to each question.

1. Do you have a budget for training/learning?
2. Is the budgeted amount larger than 3 % of payroll?
3. Do all employees know that they are expected to continually improve their capabilities?
4. Are employees regularly evaluated on how well they are learning and gaining new skills?
5. Does your organization have a compelling vision of what it could become?
6. Are all your employees aware of that vision?
7. Does each employee understand how he/she can contribute to attaining that vision?
8. Does each employee understand the benefit to them for moving the company toward that vision?
9. Do you encourage employees to expand their skills via reimbursement or released time programs?
10. Do you model the kind of continuous personal growth that you expect of them?

If you answered yes…

• 9 or 10 times, you are in great shape.
• 7 or 8 times, you are well on your way. Focus on adding the missing pieces.
• 5 or 6 times, you are off to a good start but you need to spend more time moving your organization toward active learning.
• Under 5 times, you are lagging behind. Time to get serious about building this competency into your organization.

—

© Dave Kahle, used by permission

View Dave’s Profile

For more information contact:
Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
3736 West River Drive
Comstock Park, MI 49321
www.davekahle.com
(800) 331-1287

It is easy to work with people you like, and it is even easier to work with people who like you. But that’s not always the case. Sooner or later, you’ll have to deal with a difficult customer.

Difficult customers come in a wide variety. There are those whose personality rubs you the wrong way. They may not be difficult for someone else, but they are for you. And then there are those who are difficult for everyone: Picky people, know-it-alls, egocentrics, fault-finders, constant complainers, etc. Every salesperson can list a number of the types. 

But perhaps the most difficult for everyone is the angry customer. This is someone who feels that he or she has been wronged, and is upset and emotional about it. These customers complain, and they are angry about something you or your company did. 

There are some sound business reasons to become adept in handling an angry customer. Research indicates that customers who complain are likely to continue doing business with your company if they feel that they were treated properly. It’s estimated that as many as 90% of customers who perceive themselves as having been wronged never complain, they just take their business elsewhere. So, angry, complaining customers care enough to talk to you, and have not yet decided to take their business to the competition. They are customers worth saving. 

Not only are there benefits to your company, but you personally gain as well. Become adept at handling angry customers, and you’ll feel much more confident in your own abilities. If you can handle this, you can handle anything. While any one can work with the easy people, it takes a real professional to be successful with the difficult customers. Your confidence will grow, your poise will increase, and your self-esteem will intensify. 

On the other hand, if you mishandle it, and you’ll watch the situation dissolve into lost business and upset people. You may find yourself upset for days. 

So, how do you handle an angry, complaining customer? Let’s begin with a couple tools you can use in these situations. 

1. RESPECT It can be difficult to respect a person who may be yelling, swearing or behaving like a two-year-old. I’m not suggesting you respect the behavior, only that you respect the person. Keep in mind that 99 times out of 100 you are not the object of the customer’s anger. You are like a small tree in the path of a swirling tornado. But unlike the small tree, you have the power to withstand the wind. 

   What is the source of your power? Unlike the customer, you are not angry, you are in control, and your only problem at the moment is helping him with his problem. If you step out of this positioning, and start reacting to the customer in an emotional way, you’ll lose control, you’ll lose your power, and the situation will be likely to escalate into a lose-lose for everyone. So, begin with a mindset that says, “No matter what, I will respect the customer.”

2. EMPATHY Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, and try to see the situation from his/her perspective. Don’t try and cut him off, don’t urge him to calm down. Instead, listen carefully. If someone is angry or upset, it is because that person feels injured in some way. Your job is to let the customer vent and to listen attentively in order to understand the source of that frustration. When you do that, you send a powerful unspoken message that you care about him and his situation. 

   Often, as the customer comes to realize that you really do care and that you are going to attempt to help him resolve the problem, the customer will calm down on his own, and begin to interact with you in a positive way.

Here’s how you can use these two tools in an easily-remembered process for dealing with angry customers. 

CRACK THE EGG 

Imagine that you have a hard-boiled egg. The rich yellow yolk at the center of the egg represents the solution to the customer’s problem, the hardened white which surrounds the yolk represents the details of the customer’s situation, and the hard shell represents his/her anger. 

In order to get to the yolk, and resolve the situation, you must first crack the shell. In other words, you have got to penetrate the customer’s anger. Then you’ve got to cut through the congealed egg white. That means that you understand the details of the customer’s situation. Finally, you’re at the heart of the situation, where you can offer a solution to the customer’s problem. 

So, handling an angry customer is like cutting through a hard-boiled egg. Here’s a four-step process to help you do so.

1. LISTEN
   Let’s say you stop to see one of your regular customers. He doesn’t even give you time to finish your greeting before he launches into a tirade. 

   At this point, about all you can do is LISTEN. And that’s what you do. You don’t try and cut him off, you don’t urge him to calm down. Not just yet. Instead, you listen carefully. And as you listen, you begin to piece together his story. He ordered a piece of equipment three weeks ago. You quoted him X price and delivery by last Friday for a project that’s starting this week. Not only is the equipment not there, but he received an invoice for it at a different price than was quoted. 

   “What kind of shoddy operation is this?” he wants to know. Do you understand how important his project is? Do you know how much time and money is at stake? If he doesn’t get his equipment and something happens to this project, you’re going to pay for it. He knew, he just knew he should have ordered the equipment from your competitor. What are you going do about it? 

   Now you have the basic story. Hopefully, after this gush of frustration, there will be a pause while he comes up for air. 

   More often than not, once the customer has had an initial chance to vent his rage, it’s going to die down a little, and that’s your opportunity to take step in. 

   Even if he has started calming down on his own, there comes a moment - and I can almost guarantee you’ll sense it - to help calm him down. Try something along the lines of: “It sounds like something has gone wrong, and I can understand your frustration. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this problem. Let’s take a look at the next step.” 

   Try to calm yourself first, and then to acknowledge his feelings. Say, “I can tell you’re upset…” or, “It sounds like you’re angry…” then connect to the customer by apologizing, or empathizing. When you say something like “I’m sorry that happened. If I were you, I’d be frustrated, too.” It’s amazing how much of a calming effect that can have. 

   Remember, anger is a natural, self-defensive reaction to a perceived wrong. If there is a problem with your company’s product or service, some frustration and disappointment is justified. 

   This is so important, let me repeat it. First you listen carefully and completely to the customer. Then you empathize with what the customer is feeling, and let him or her know that you understand. This will almost always calm the customer down. You’ve cracked the shell of the egg. Now, you can proceed to deal with the problem.

2. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
   Sometimes while the angry customer is venting, you’ll be able to latch right on to the problem because it’s clear-cut. Something is broken. Or late. Or he thinks a promise has been broken.

   But sometimes in the middle of all that rage, it’s tough to comprehend the bottom-line issue. This is a good place for some specific questions. Ask the customer to give you some details. “What day did he order it, when exactly was it promised. What is his situation at the moment?” These kind of questions force the customer to think about facts instead of his/her feelings about those facts. So, you interject a more rational kind of conversation. Think of this step of the process as cutting through the white of the egg to get to the yolk at the center. 

   It’s important, when you think you understand the details, to restate the problem. You can say, “Let me see if I have this right. You were promised delivery last Friday, because you need it for an important project this coming week. But you haven’t received our product yet. Is that correct?” 

   He will probably acknowledge that you’ve sized up the situation correctly. Or, he may say, “No, that’s not right”and then proceed to explain further. In either case the outcome is good, because you will eventually understand his situation correctly, and have him tell you that “Yes, that’s right.” 

   And at that point you can apologize. Some people believe that an apology is an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. But you can appreciate and apologize for the customer’s inconvenience without pointing fingers. Just say, “Mr. Brady, I’m sorry this has happened.” Or “Mr. Brady. I understand this must be very frustrating. Let’s just see what we can do fix it, OK?”

3. AVOID BLAME

   You don’t want to blame the customer by saying something like “Are you sure you understood the price and delivery date correctly?” This will just ignite his anger all over again because you are questioning his credibility and truth-telling. 

   And you don’t want to blame your company or your suppliers Never say, “I’m not surprised your invoice was wrong. It’s been happening a lot.” Or, “Yes, our backorders are way behind.” 

   In general, you AVOID BLAME. Which is different than acknowledging responsibility. For example, if you know, for a fact, a mistake has been made, you can acknowledge it and apologize for it. “Mr. Brady, clearly there’s a problem here with our performance. I can’t change that, but let me see what I can do to help you out because I understand how important your project is.”

4. RESOLVE THE PROBLEM

   Now you’re at the heart of the egg. You won’t always be able to fix the problem perfectly. And you may need more time than a single phone call. But it’s critical to leave the irate customer with the understanding that your goal is to resolve the problem. You may need to say, “I’m going to need to make some phone calls.” If you do, give the customer an idea of when you’ll get back to him: “Later this afternoon.” Or “First thing in the morning.” 

   Then do it. Make the phone calls. Get the information. Find out what you can do for this customer and do it. Then follow up with the customer when you said you would. Even if you don’t have all the information you need, call when you said you would and at least let him know what you’ve done, what you’re working on and what your next step will be. Let the customer know that he and his business are important to you, that you understand his frustration, and that you’re working hard to get things fixed. 

   Use the tools of respect and empathy, and the “crack the egg” process, and you’ll move your professionalism up a notch.

—

© Dave Kahle, used by permission

View Dave’s Profile

For more information contact:
Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
3736 West River Drive
Comstock Park, MI 49321
www.davekahle.com
(800) 331-1287

1. Don’t intentionally misrepresent anything.
   Never, never, never lie to a customer. About anything. Ever. Period.
2. Fix any important misunderstandings that you can.
   It’s possible that your customer will form incorrect ideas about some of the products you represent or the services that come with them. It’s also possible that they will misunderstand things about your competitors, and about the needs and statements of other people who work in their organizations.

   It’s very tempting, when these mis-understandings work in your favor, to ignore them. However, that’s not acting with integrity. When you become aware of any significant misunderstandings your customer has that impact the buying decision or the larger relationship, you need to correct them. Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to set him straight on his political beliefs or his views on the controversial call in Sunday’s football game. But it does mean that, on the important issues that impact the sale, allowing misunderstandings to exist is an act, on your part, of passive dishonesty. Correct them when you can.

3. Work hard for your employer.
   It’s easy for a salesperson to give in to the temptation to cut corners when it comes to working a full day, every day. After all, who really knows if you hit your first call at 9:00 A.M. instead of 8:30 A.M.? And who knows if you take a 30-minute coffee break between calls? And who knows if you make it home by 3:00 P.M. some days, and take a number of afternoons off to visit the golf course or the fishing hole during the summer?

   All of these examples are ways of short-changing your employer that, in all probability, no one will ever know about except you.

   And that’s my point. You will know. A code of ethics is easy to live by when everyone is watching. But it’s a real test of character when your ethics are tested in situations where no one else knows, and you know you can get away with it.

   You owe your employer consistent, full days of your best efforts. Anything less is unethical.

4. Always be willing to trade a short-term loss for the sake of a long-term gain.
   This may be another definition of integrity — the courage and conviction to walk away from an unethical short-term gain in return for a long-term gain. In other words, always be willing to give up a sale or some immediate advantage if you must stretch the truth or act unethically to get it.

   For example, you may have an opportunity to acquire a quick sale because your customer has misunderstood the specifications or features of your product. It’s tempting to take the order and not say anything. But that would not be ethical.

   The ethical salesperson will correct the customer and lose the immediate gain that the sale would have brought. The payoff, however, is the long-term gain in your reputation for integrity.

   A long-term gain achieved ethically is always worth more than any short-term advantage.

5. Do what you say you are going to do.
   This isn’t as simple as it sounds. One of the obvious implications of doing what you say you’re going to do is that you must not say you are going to do something that you know you can’t do. In other words, don’t over promise. That’s difficult to do when you’re in the middle of a competitive situation over a nice piece of business, and you know the competition is over promising to get the sale. But, if you’re going to be an ethical salesperson, you won’t over promise, because you know you won’t be able to do what you say you’re going to do.

   There’s another implication — you must be organized enough to follow through on your promises. The most honest person in the world can be perceived as unreliable if he is not organized enough to follow through on his promises. If you say you’re going to call a customer back on Thursday, make sure that you have a tickler file, day-time planner, computer program, or some other system that will remind you to call them back when Thursday comes. It’s not only good business, it’s ethical.

6. Give liberally.
   As a salesperson, you enjoy a challenging job with a lot of freedom and a substantial income level. The world is full of people who would love to have that. You’re one of life’s more fortunate people.

   I think that means that you have a greater than average responsibility to give back to society. Give of your money freely to charitable or religious causes, and give liberally of your time and expertise to the organizations that you can help. Your expertise, your time, your people skills, your organizational skills, and your confidence and ability to get things done — all of these are assets you can bring to the Boy Scouts, your church, the PTA, and a thousand other organizations that can use your abilities.

   Since you are more blessed with talent, time, and money than most of the population, you have a greater responsibility to use it for purposes other than just your own edification. Give liberally.

7. Recognize those who help you.
   It’s easy to get into the mind-set that you alone are responsible for your success. After all, you’re out there all alone, fighting the battle every day. Nobody else knows what good work you did in getting that account, or how hard it is some days when nothing goes your way.

   In spite of this, you couldn’t do your job without the support of a whole group of people back at the office. Your manager gave you an opportunity and nurtured you along. The inside people have cleaned up more than a few of your messes, and they have positively impacted many of your customers. The manufacturers you represent have put lots of time and energy into creating the products that ultimately provide your livelihood.

   All of these people, and probably dozens of others, have contributed in significant ways to your success. It is just as dishonest to not recognize them as it is to misrepresent a product.

   The ethical salesperson recognizes those people who have helped him.

8. Continuously learn and improve.
   You are not as good at sales as you can be. You have yet to reach your potential. One of the reasons why your employer hired you for this position is that he/she saw potential in you. I believe you have an ethical obligation, not only to your employer but also to yourself, to become as good as you can be - to continuously improve yourself. When you decide that you are good enough, that you know about all you need to know, you quit learning and improving. And when that happens, you rob yourself and your employer of that potential you have that will not be developed.

   What a shame! It’s not good business. And besides, it’s unethical.

9. Never give up.
   This may seem odd in a section on ethics, but I believe that giving up is the same thing as going home early or taking extra days off without anybody’s approval. Both shortchange yourself as well as your employer.

   When you give up prematurely on a sale, or you give up on yourself and give into negative thinking, you’re choosing to deprive yourself and your employer of the full benefit of your talent and time. That’s unethical.

10. Don’t speak badly about anyone.
    In my first sales position, when I was selling amplification equipment, there were 29 major installations purchased in my territory. I got 28. My stomach still gets a little tight whenever I remember one of my crucial sales calls with the #29 customer.

    During the course of the conversation, she stopped me and said, “You know, I really don’t like it that you’re so negative about your competitor.” I was stunned, embarrassed, and flustered. I turned beet red, and stumbled out an apology. But that was the end of that deal.

    All because I had spoken badly about my competitor. That was an intensely painful lesson for me. I resolved never to make that mistake again.

    As I matured, I realized that, when you negatively judge anyone, you really say more about yourself than you do about the other person. Speaking badly about a competitor, your boss, your company, or a manufacturer, always makes you look bad. And besides, it’s unethical.

—

© Dave Kahle, used by permission

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For more information contact:
Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
3736 West River Drive
Comstock Park, MI 49321
www.davekahle.com
(800) 331-1287

One of the habits often practiced by highly successful people is the habit of regular goal setting. There is a reason for that. Goals compel you to work with discipline and concentration rather than going about your job mindlessly and routinely. Goal-setting is a discipline that helps you focus. 

This doesn’t mean that you can’t do your job without goals. You can, and many salespeople do. But the discipline of goal setting forces you to think about what you do. It moves you out of the realm of being reactive — doing what other people want you to do — to being proactive — doing what you want to do. 

Ours is a world that is more and more full of stuff to do; interesting things, multiple tasks and unlimited opportunities. Over the course of your career, you are going to be presented with thousands of opportunities and literally millions of decisions. If you’re going to maintain your sanity and have any kind of life, you need to focus on the most important of that chorus of possibilities crying out for your attention. That’s what long term goals help you to do. 

Here’s how to go about creating long-term goals. 

 
1. Select an area on which to concentrate. 
   Since we are talking about long term goals — say 10 or more years into the future — you should be working with fundamental aspects of your life. I often suggest that people think first about these five areas of their lives:   
   1. Spiritual
   2. Financial
   3. Career
   4. Relationships (social)
   5. Physical

   Pick one area, work on it, and then move on to another area until you have all five fundamental aspects of your life covered with long-term goals.

2. Brainstorm (Daydream). 
   Next, daydream about what you´d like to achieve with respect to that part of your life or job. Kick back, relax, and begin to list on a piece of paper all the things you’d like to accomplish in the area on which you’re focusing. Create a list of your dreams. Don’t edit or judge what you’ve written, rather, just make a long list of your dreams. Keep the time frame in mind. We’re not talking about next month. These are long term, decades ahead, lifetime-ish sorts of dreams.     

   Nobody else can do this for you because no one really knows your situation and your aspirations better than you do. 

   Here’s an example. Let’s say that you are thinking about your career, and you’ve begun to daydream about what you’d like to accomplish in that area. You write these things down:

   • make a lot more money
   • become one of the top salespeople
   • advance into management
   • successfully go into business for myself
   • become a vice-president of sales somewhere
      
3. Prioritize. 
   If you’ve done a good job daydreaming, you probably have a long list of things you’d like to accomplish. Unfortunately, you can’t do everything. You just don’t have enough time and energy to do everything you’d like to do. And, some of your possibilities, your day dreams, may be mutually exclusive. So, you must prioritize and select those things that are most important to you.     

   There’s no formula for this, other than to think carefully about each of your daydreams, compare them to your situation, and select those that you feel are the most important to you. Remember to apply a dose of realism to this process.

   In our example, let´s say that you´ve decided to focus on two career goals: 

   1. to make a lot more money
   2. to move into management
       
4. Specify. 
   This step requires you to turn your daydreams, which are often pretty vague at this point, into specific, achievable goals.     

   Let’s take the first of the two examples, “to make a lot more money.” What’s a lot more? After some reflection, you think along these lines: “I made $50,000 last year. But I think I’m potentially a lot better than that. Good salespeople make over six figures in today’s economy. I can be at that level.” Your goal then becomes much more specific when you say, “I will consistently earn an annual income in the range of the best salespeople in the country - at this point, that’s over $100,000 a year.” 

   Your earlier, vague goal of “making a lot more money” has now been turned into something very specific — “Consistently earning over $100,000 a year.” 

   This is a key step in the process because the specific detail of the goal is part of what gives it power. If your goals are vague and abstract, they have less power to shape and direct your behavior. 

   You should now have a piece of paper with your specific, prioritized goals written on it. When you’ve reached that point, you’re ready for the next step. 

5. Refine. 
   Because the power of a goal is to direct your behavior, it’s very important that you write your goals exactly as you want them to be. You will direct a great deal of your time and effort toward achieving that goal. So, it behooves you to make sure the goal is right.     

   Once you have created written, specific goals, take a moment to apply some criteria to them. See if they measure up to the following questions. If so, good. If not, rewrite them to meet the criteria.

   1. Are they specific?
      Does each goal specify, in detail, exactly what you want to accomplish? Can you make it more specific than what it already is?
   2. Are they realistic?
      Deciding to be elected president of the United States may be a worthwhile goal, but it may not be realistic for you. This is where your daydreams meet reality. Your goals should be a stretch and require you to work hard to accomplish them, but they shouldn’t be so optimistic that you have no realistic chance of achieving them.
   3. Are they measurable?
      Can somebody else tell whether or not you have achieved your goal? Have you stated it in measurable terms? Back to the example. To make a lot more money may be realistic, but it’s not measurable. What’s “a lot more?” By turning that phrase into a measurable unit, “$100,000,” you have made your goal measurable.
   4. Do they have a specific time frame?
      Every goal should have a deadline for completion. That helps put power into it. A goal with no deadline has little motivational power. For each goal, specify the date by which the goal will be attained.
   5. Are they worthwhile?
      You can spend years of your life working to achieve goals that, upon reflection, were not worth it. Don’t let that happen to you. Rather, consider, before you commit to it, whether or not this goal is worthwhile. Is it a good thing? Will you be proud of accomplishing it after the fact? If so, good. You are now ready to commit to your goal.

At this point, you will have created a set of long-term goals for each of the five fundamental aspects of your life. Good work. You’ll find them to be a major force in helping you focus your life and your energies. Now, place them someplace where you can review them every few months, and keep track of your progress.

—

© Dave Kahle, used by permission

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For more information contact:
Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
3736 West River Drive 
Comstock Park, MI 49321
www.davekahle.com
(800) 331-1287

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of different sales closes. They all work. At least they all work at one time or another. Obviously, when closing you do everything you can to create urgency. You use all the honest tools you can muster and all the options your company provides. You use your favorite assumptive closes, forced choices, whatever you like.

But closing isn’t some magical spell requiring just the right incantation. One of my most successful final closes is the simple phrase, “Give it a shot.” When you’ve done your job right a simple request for the order is often all it takes. In reality, the entire call is the close. At the end of your interactive presentation, you’re merely asking for what makes sense. (Or, if you use an assume close, you’re expecting what makes sense to happen.)

Whatever the actual close itself might be, I often set it up with by selling the negatives. I make my original recommendation, recommending, let’s say, the finest Premier Level package. I of course make the prospect want the Premier before ever mentioning the price. I make him want it, even if he’s thinking that it’s going to be far too expensive. Then I give him the price, provide all the reasons why it’s worth every penny of that price, and move into my initial close.

Often that will be a summary close. Most summary closes entail listing all the benefits then, in one form or another, asking for the order. “As we’ve agreed Mr. Customer, the new Jiff-o-matic is the fastest, the easiest, the most cost-effective…” Since no product is perfect I usually include a few negatives on that list.

Sometimes the prospect closes right away. Not usually, but once in awhile. If he doesn’t, I continue the process until I’m sure he can’t or won’t be able to buy the Premier. Then I try just a bit more, even though I don’t expect it to work. At that point, and not before, I cut back to my secondary recommendation. Slowly. Selling the negatives.

“Well, if you really can’t see your way clear to go with the Premier—and as I said, I think you should give it some very serious thought—but if you can’t, we do have the Marquee Level. Now, the Marquis package is not going to…”

And I list all the things the Marquee Level won’t do, all the ways it falls short of the Premier Level, stressing any features the prospect will be losing that he’s indicated might be important. Then I say, “But what the Marquis will do…” and I detail the positives—perhaps just a tad grudgingly—again stressing the features most important to the prospect and any additional advantages, even beyond saving money, gained by cutting back. Perhaps the Marquis package will take significantly less storage space or it will give him a chance to try out the product or service without such a lengthy commitment.

So I’ve set up a forced choice between my original recommendation and my cutback recommendation. Often at this point, the prospect takes over the selling: selling himself away from those features the cutback doesn’t offer, features he needed just a few moments before; trying to sell me into agreeing that the Marquis Level is really best for his situation. It’s astonishing how quickly vital features become unimportant when a significant amount of money can be saved. And if there’s a feature or two found only on the Premier Level that’s still important to him, often I can find a way to package it with the cutback recommendation—either for free or at a relatively small additional price—as a sweetener to clinch the deal.

If he isn’t losing any vital features by cutting back—and I made him want the original recommendation enough—anyone that’s breathing, and a few that aren’t, should be able to close the sale.

If necessary, a good salesperson can cut back three or four or more times before finally getting the order. The mistake mediocre salespeople make is that they cut back too quickly or they fail to stress what’s lost with each cutback.

“No way,’ the prospect says, shaking her head. “It may be a Premier package to you, to me it just looks overpriced. Way overpriced.”

“Well, we’ve also got our Marquis package” the rep says quickly. “Not only is it our highest rated in terms of customer satisfaction, it’s considerably less expensive than the Premier. Actually, it’s probably the best deal we offer.”

Then why was he just trying to foist the Premier on her? If he was any kind of salesperson at all, there must have been good reasons. He needs to make certain she knows what they were. Otherwise his original recommendation loses all credibility. Which means he loses all credibility. And the sale.

When done correctly, closing by cutting back can sometimes be as easy as cashing a big commission check. You just tell your prospects what they lose by cutting back—along with all the benefits they don’t lose and anything they gain—and let them sell themselves. This strategy also helps minimize buyer’s remorse. After you walk out the door, the prospect is far less likely to start feeling like he was sold something he wouldn’t have bought on his own. And he’s far more likely to feel he got the package he needed, the one he wanted to buy rather than the more expensive one you were trying to sell.

—

© Barry Maher, used by permission

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Barry Maher speaks, consults and writes on sales, sales management and motivation. Selling Power magazine said, “To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business.” This article is adapted from his latest book No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool, which has been translated around the world.

For more information contact:
Steve Wilson
Barry Maher & Associates
P.O. Box 1104
Helendale, CA 92342
www.barrymaher.com
1-866-243-8062

I once took a position as a sales manager with a Fortune 100 company, having been told was that my unit had been first in the division the year before. However when I got there, I found that the six person unit had three new, floundering rookies and one opening—where the top salesperson in the region had recently transferred out. This year, the unit was dead last in the region, so far in the hole that no matter how much they sold some of them wouldn’t see commission checks for at least two months. And because of the way the previous manager had manipulated the current canvas to insure his promotion, each rep was stuck with a desk full of problem accounts—all of which had to be dealt with in the next three weeks. Morale would have had to improve greatly to reach abominable.

My boss—the brand new division manager—almost immediately announced his retirement. His replacement was immediately disliked, and everything she tried seemed to make the problem worse. She scattered candy dishes around an office where most of the employees were trying to diet. She had Muzak pumped in, and everyone hated the music she selected. Her “motivational” talks left veterans snickering and rookies confused.

In my first meeting with my new unit, I’d told them that within one year they were going to be the number one unit in the region. Within less than a year they were. So how did I build their morale and turn the unit around.

I didn’t. They did. I just made it possible for them to do it.

1. I demonstrated faith in them. To me, great leadership is about showing your people that there is more in them than they know: so they’ll be unwilling to settle for less. I made it clear to them that I truly believed that individually and collectively they had the capability to be the best. Then I acted as if that were true. Within a very short time, they were all trying to live up to my expectations. A little while longer and they had adopted those expectations as their own. Which meant they worked even harder to fulfill them.
2. I demonstrated my loyalty to them. I fought for them and championed them in the division and in the company. I had their best interests at heart.  I found out what their short term and long term goals were, and together we worked out concrete plans for reaching those goals. I never asked them to do anything without making it clear what was in it for them. And it wasn’t long before they were doing things just for me and for the company.
3. I worked for them. I explained my belief that the company was a selling organization and that made those who did the selling the most important people in the company. I told them that all the rest of us, the administrators, the managers, the VPs, the CEO, were sales support. Then I acted on that belief and supported them in every way I could.
4. I praised and rewarded them for their accomplishments and made sure the company did the same.
5. Together, we created a team mentality. We were going to be number one, and we were going to help each other and mentor each other to make sure that we all made it together. We set up a mentoring program that went beyond the constant training that I was doing. No one who wanted or needed help was ever left alone with a problem.
6. I made it OK to make a mistake, to fail.  I did all I could to overcome their fear of failure, their fear of giving their best and proving to themselves, to me, and to those around them that they did not have the potential they all wanted to believe they had. I also realized that I could never help them overcome their fear of failure unless I could first overcome my own: if I were afraid of failure, they would be also afraid. They learned to review every call, every day, every week and every month, always asking themselves what they could have done better. But after absorbing the lesson, they learned to absolve themselves—leaving the mistakes behind—and move on to the next call.
7. Whenever possible, we turned negatives into positives. For example, we discussed how the top salesperson in any company is always the one who hears the most Noes: the most Noes in total and the most within any given call. Then we started collecting those Noes. And worked on building the kind of rapport with our customers and our prospects that would create the kind of tolerance in them to allow us to get more Noes in each of our calls. Eventually of course we ended up, also collecting the most Yeses.
8. We had fun. And we made having fun on the job and in the accounts a priority. We tried to create an atmosphere where everyone would look forward to going to work, and look forward to making the calls. A salesperson who enjoys what he is doing will sell more. One who can make the call fun for the prospect is half way to a sale.

—

© Barry Maher, used by permission

View Barry’s Profile

Barry Maher speaks, consults and writes on sales, sales management and motivation. Selling Power magazine said, “To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business. This article is adapted from his latest book No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool, which has been translated around the world.

For more information contact:
Steve Wilson
Barry Maher & Associates
P.O. Box 1104
Helendale, CA 92342
www.barrymaher.com
1-866-243-8062

Obviously you have to be careful with humor in sales. You don’t want to offend anyone. That’s why self-deprecating humor can be so powerful. You’re poking fun at yourself. No one else is likely to be offended. It makes you seem modest and likable while at the same time demonstrating that you’re confident enough about yourself (and by extension your products and/or services) to laugh at yourself. In effect, you’re bragging about your own negatives.

“So there’s no question it’s the right service for the right price,” I once told a prospect.

“It’s a great service. It’s a good price.”

“And this is certainly the right time.” It was. And I’d given him any number of excellent reasons why.

“I’m still not convinced that I need to sign up right now, today,” he said.

I nodded. “That’s because I forgot to mention the best reason.”

“Oh, and what’s that.”

“Because that’s the quickest way to get my sorry butt out of your office.”

“Sold!”

That became known around the company as the Sorry Butt close. Not only did I use it again from time to time but a couple of other people started trying it as well. It worked just often enough that every new hire got to hear about Barry Maher’s Sorry Butt.

A young sales rep once had a meeting with the top executive team of his number one corporate client in the office of the CEO. He was trying to build a little rapport before they got down to business, but the others were all a good forty years his senior. The small talk soon became miniature talk, then microscopic talk, then no talk at all.

Searching for something he could use to generate a little conversation, the entrepreneur spotted a large silver picture frame on the CEO’s desk. Inside the frame was a picture of an attractive young woman. She wasn’t Miss America but she was certainly attractive, and he was desperate.

“Wow, she is absolutely gorgeous,” he enthused.

The CEO’s face lit up. This was the right thing to say.

Then the entrepreneur asked, “Is that your granddaughter?”

A stunned silence seized the room. The CEO shot him a look that could have frozen fire. “That, sir,” he muttered, “is my wife.”

Now it was the young entrepreneur who was stunned. All he could think about was all that business—far too large a percentage of his business—vanishing as quickly as the CEO’s smile. He glanced around nervously but no one would meet his eye. He did happen to notice a ceremonial sword resting on a shelf on one wall.
He thought for just a moment. Then he rushed over. He grabbed the sword. He snatched it off the shelf. He dashed back to the CEO’s desk. He dropped to his knees in front the desk. He raised the sword high over his head. He shrieked. Then he plunged the sword down . . . into the space between his arm and his body. He fell face down, twitched once or twice, gurgled a death rattle, and lay still.

Yet another stunned silence filled the room.

Then the place erupted into laughter. After a moment, the young rep peered up cautiously and saw that the CEO was laughing too—not as loudly as the others perhaps, but laughing nonetheless.

The tension was broken. The account was saved.

Have fun selling. Have fun with your prospects and your customers. As far as I’m concerned, he or she who has the most fun, wins. Tattoo that on your arm. Just remember laughter is a two edge sword. It works a lot better when it’s pointed at yourself.

—

© Barry Maher, used by permission

View Barry’s Profile

Barry Maher speaks, consults and writes on sales, sales management and motivation. Selling Power magazine said, “To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business. This article is adapted from his latest book No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool, which has been translated around the world.

For more information contact:
Steve Wilson
Barry Maher & Associates
P.O. Box 1104
Helendale, CA 92342
www.barrymaher.com
1-866-243-8062

Even the best of companies with the best of intentions occasionally fail to deliver. Here’s how one salesperson with a corporate screw up handled an unhappy customer.

The scenario went like this:

“After what happened last time, Linda,” the customer complained, “I’m amazed you can even show your face around here, much less ask for more business. Nothing personal, you understand. But your company just didn’t deliver.”

“Tim, we both that know that last time our execution just wasn’t what it should be. Not that it was intentional . . .”

“I’m not saying it was intentional.”

“Actually, intentional or not, it really doesn’t matter, does it? We messed up. Only the results matter. And let’s face it, our people dropped the ball.”

“So how can I know they won’t do it again?”

“Actually, you can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“To be honest, Tim, with the merger and the kind of growth we’re going through, until we can get all our new people properly trained, I can’t promise somebody won’t screw something up again.”

“That’s encouraging.”

“But here’s what I can promise you. I’m going to oversee the entire transaction personally, every single step of the way. I mean every single step, hands-on, down to the smallest detail. And I don’t think I have to remind you of how successful my track record is. And why I can guarantee we’re going to get everything you need, when you need it and according to specs.”

Sometimes the solution to a customer problem is simply to ask yourself what you can bring to the table so you yourself become the difference between a negative and a positive situation: between a deal the customer can’t buy into and one that he or she can.

Obviously, one of the best ways to do this is through massive customer service: devoting time and effort to making certain that the experience of doing business with you and your company is everything you’d like to be able to claim it is. And more.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve purchased any number of products and services because I was convinced that the salesperson that I was dealing with actually cared about my satisfaction and would be there for me if I had a problem.

Or maybe you can become a resource for your customers, a font of knowledge they can rely on: product knowledge, industry knowledge, even just business knowledge in general.

If a sales exec calls to ask about hiring me as a trainer or a speaker and we don’t think I’m right for her particular need, we’ll recommend a speaker who will be right. If we don’t know of one, we’ll do our best to find one. We’ll spend whatever time is necessary to answer her questions about hiring and working with speakers. We’ll let her know that she can call us at any time if she has additional questions and concerns.

Down the road, when she is looking for what I have to offer or when someone asks her to recommend a sales or sales management speaker or trainer, who do you think often gets the call?

Part of what your customers are buying (often a big part) is you. Make yourself the ultimate value-added feature and you can be the final benefit that lifts your products and services above the competition: and makes the situation one you can brag about—negatives and all.

—

© Barry Maher, used by permission

View Barry’s Profile

This article is adapted from his book  No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool, which has been translated around the world.

For more information contact:
Steve Wilson
Barry Maher & Associates
P.O. Box 1104
Helendale, CA 92342
www.barrymaher.com
1-866-243-8062

I’ll never forget the day I watched a secretary outsell a team of sales veterans.

The company sold customized CRM software. That morning I’d met with some of their less successful reps. Most of them knew exactly why they weren’t selling. “Our prices are just too damn high,” they assured me repeatedly. I’d heard it before. As we all know, price is often the single biggest obstacle for acquiring new business. It’s also the number one excuse of unsuccessful salespeople.

Now, I was riding with Helen Daniels, secretary to the boss and the person who’d handled new business inquiries during the startup phase, before the pros had been hired: handled them, I’d been told, with great success. I wanted to see just how she’d done it.

We were meeting with the VP of Operations of a good size uniform company. Sure enough when the issue of price came up, the VP acted exactly as the reps had predicted, using almost the exact same words they’d used.

“Sounds to me like you people are awful damn expensive,” he said, accusingly.

“Absolutely,” Helen agreed, offering her brightest smile.

“So why do you charge so much?”

“Simple,” she said. “Because we can!”

“What?”

“We charge that much because we can. Because our clients are not just willing but happy to pay those kind of rates for the results we generate.”

“But can’t they find someone else to do the job for less?”

“Absolutely.”

“Somebody who will do the exact same job for less?”

“Well, they could certainly find companies that will charge less. I’m no expert on the kind of work these people might do, so I really can’t say whether or not they’ll do the exact same job.”

“So you’re saying, You get what you pay for?”

“No,” she smiled, “I’m saying to get us, you’ve got to pay for us. I really don’t know that much about the kind of work these other companies do. Or why they charge less. Maybe you should ask them. I don’t know a lot of businesses that charge less if they could charge more, but maybe they’re humanitarians.”

“I seriously doubt that,” VP said.

“Well, like I say, I’m no authority about their work. We charge more because our clients are happy to pay more for the results we generate. Maybe these other companies charge less because that’s what their clients are willing to pay for the results they generate.”

“But your rates . . . ?”

“Expensive.”

“Very expensive.”

“Exactly. And worth every penny. And let me tell you why.” Which she then preceded to do.

Twenty-five minutes later we walked out of there with a signed contract.

Great salespeople don’t stumble over potential negatives and the certainly don’t hide them. Great salespeople use potential negatives as selling points, even bragging points. No lie: truth is the ultimate sales tool.

—
© Barry Maher, used by permission

View Barry’s Profile

Selling Power magazine says, “To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business.” His book No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool has been translated around the world.

For more information contact:
Steve Wilson
Barry Maher & Associates
P.O. Box 1104
Helendale, CA 92342
www.barrymaher.com
1-866-243-8062