In my experience very few companies I have seen have taken the time to identify the most effective process for selling their products or services which brings me to a sales principle which states:

“For every product category and market segment there is a best practice sales process which ensures optimum sales”

The key is to identify what creates sales and what doesn’t and develop the process into a standard operating procedure.  This will only come about through measurement.

Unfortunately without a process salespeople are left to their own resources and do the best they can.  These same salespeople are given sales targets to meet and budgets to achieve without the sales formula/process to follow and spend most of their time “flying by the seat of their pants”.

So if we agree we need to have a formulated approach to our sales the process could look something like this –

-Introductions and pleasantries
-Agenda set
-Discover needs through prepared questions
-Discussing solutions
-Ask for commitment

Let’s look at introductions and pleasantries.  This is the most critical phase of the whole sales process as the decision to buy from you will be made in the first few minutes of meeting you. The fact that we make decisions about people so quickly is just part of human nature.

Research done with 267 Human Resource Managers from the Fortune 500 companies in America showed that on average they decided that a candidate would get the position being applied for within 40 seconds of meeting them.  They then went on to conduct exhaustive tests and interviews to prove they had made the right choice. 

Think of your own attitudes – have you ever had the experience where you have met someone for the first time and taken an instant dislike to them?   The fact is we don’t buy from people we don’t like!

The keys to this phase are to be on time or 5 minutes early, be professionally presented, have professional tools e.g. high quality compendium, a good quality pen, professional looking business cards, rate cards etc.   There is nothing worse than asking someone for their business card and they pull a dog-eared looking card out of their wallet and hand it over!   Your dress and stationary need to be appropriate to the type of clients you are presenting to.     I was meeting with a senior executive recently and suggesting the company invest in some very good quality leather compendiums for their sales team.   He very graciously pointed out that the majority of their clients were intent on preserving nature – we agreed a recyclable/hessian type compendium would be the order of the day!

You look good, you are on time – now what do you say?

The old school sales trainers would suggest you identify something the buyer may be interested in through observation e.g. they may have a marlin mounted on their office wall – most salespeople would begin by commenting on the fish.  I believe there is a factory in China producing these fish to sell to buyers as an accessory to catch newby salespeople who are trying to build rapport!

My recommendation if you are serious about helping the prospect is to thank them for their time, mention your referral source and then get down to business.

Most prospects are short of time and have answered the same fish questions hundreds of times before– respect their time.

We will look at how to set the agenda of your sales meeting in my next article.

Quote of the Week:

Most people think “selling” is the same as “talking”.   But the most effective salespeople
know that listening is the most important part of their job.

                                                                                       Roy Bartell

Brett Burgess is a Programme Developer and Sales Trainer for Sales Impact Group Limited based in Hawkes Bay

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Following on from my last article regarding order takers and their comfort zones, my focus today is around the issue of confidence.  This is something that always comes up when discussing prospecting for new business.

The truth is not many salespeople feel absolutely comfortable in approaching new prospects with the sole purpose of selling them their product or service.

Confidence comes from knowledge.   With salespeople there are two types of knowledge that they must have.    The first is they must have a thorough understanding of the products and services they offer and just as importantly the application of these.   The next type of knowledge is based around a complete understanding of sales planning, prospecting, and presentation processes.  

Firstly let’s look at the sales presentation, or as I like to call them sales interviews as in today’s selling environment our goal at the first meeting is not to present but rather to interview the prospect to uncover explicit needs that we can possibly help with.   So if we agree that it is a sales interview then we need to have a list of prepared questions to ask the prospect.  

Some interesting statistics I uncovered from a US Survey on sales presentations found that 86% of salespeople ask the wrong questions.

The plan then is to develop questions that lead to uncovering needs and implications and formulate these into a process.

So its all about preparation, remember this leads to confidence. 

The National Cash Register Co (NCR) was the pioneer in developing a “canned” sales presentation. The canned approach they used which most of us have heard about is known as “AIDA”- Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

NCR trained every one of their salespeople in this sales process.

While the sequence worked the process failed as it was too wordy and the salespeople were expected to deliver it verbatim and spoke parrot wise and that’s of course how it came across.  This was in the 1920’s, interesting some companies are still using verbatim scripts today – these are what most people recognize as “canned” presentations.

What I suggest is a planned approach to your sales interview as opposed to the canned version.

We need to have an agenda or sequence that we follow when interviewing new prospects.   This achieves a number of call objectives –

1. It makes the best use of your time and just as importantly your prospects
2. It provides a logical flow to the conversation
3. It uncovers the need if one exists
4. It highlights buying signals for you and the prospect
5. It leads you to asking for the business.
By developing a process that we follow in each presentation we become more confident
as we have a track to run on leading to our destination – more sales!

Just to illustrate the power of good questioning and how it invokes thought and focuses our thinking, here is a question to ponder –

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one ability or quality, what would it be?
 

Brett Burgess is a Sales Trainer and Programme Developer for Sales Impact Group Limited based in Hawkes Bay

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A major study in 2006 in the States found that 51% of businesses do not have a standard operating procedure (SOP) for their sales teams.  From my personal experience over the past 14 years I would have to say the figure in New Zealand would have to be much higher.

The consequences for these businesses can be very expensive.  

Problems caused by the lack of sales procedure include –

• Inconsistency in sales
Which means an inability to budget accurately

• Lack of sales systems and structure
Which means reduced closing ratios

• Poor client management systems
Which means lost clients and opportunities

• Poor reporting and measurement systems
Which means a lack of accountability

• Lack of a detailed sales plan
Which means average results

• Salespeople spending all their time servicing existing and favourite clients
Which means a lack of growth

• Lack of structured prospecting activity
Which means inconsistent growth

While these may not all apply to you, any one of these could be impacting your profitability.

The advantages of developing standard operating procedures for sales include –

A systemised process for selling
Which means – more consistent sales

A systemised prospecting system
Which means – increased numbers of qualified prospects through referrals                      

Increased closing ratios
Which means – most efficient use of time and increased profitability

Reduced sales cycle
Which means – most efficient use of time and increased profitability

System for maximising existing accounts
Which means – reduced costs of sales

A systemised presentation structure
Which means -   increased motivation and confidence of the sales team

The key areas that need to be systemized are –

• Sales Planning
• Prospecting
• Presentations
• Follow-up and 90 day contact system

In these so called tougher times businesses are looking to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. The key area to increased efficiency is in sales.

By developing a systemized approach to the selling process you should be able to increase your sales team’s closing ratio by a minimum of 10%

What would a 10% increase in turnover mean to your business?

My point is it is vital to the success of any business to standardize their sales process.  This starts with all of those involved in sales using the same processes and this is achieved through a customized sales training programme which then becomes a standard operating procedure for all the sales team.

Training is the first step – you learn process through training then practice and eventually it becomes habit.

We will begin to look at sales planning in my next article.

Quote of the Week:

“If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got”
Action Step:

To record all your sales processes and identify key areas that need to be standardized.

 Brett Burgess is a Sales Trainer and Programme Developer for

               Sales Impact Group Limited

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There were two forestry workers, who were very competitive axemen, who decided they would have a wood chopping competition to see who was the fittest and the better axeman.  The rules were simple – whoever chopped the most wood on the day would be declared the undisputed winner.   Both were perched a fair distance from each other – barely able to see the figure of the other person. The chopping commenced at dawn.  From time to time they both took a look at each other to see how much wood was being chopped.  By mid morning the contest was closed.

One of the axemen stopped for about 20 minutes.  The other kept chopping to gain an advantage.  During mid-day the axeman who took a break in the morning took another break.

I’m sure the other guy was thinking, “I’ll get him now”.

They kept chopping.  In the middle of the afternoon the break-meister took still another break.  The other guy just kept chopping.

When the sun had set, the axeman who hadn’t stopped once looked at what he had chopped and felt he had the advantage.

He walked some distance to greet his opponent. When he had arrived – he almost went into shock at the sight of the opponent’s chopped wood – which was substantially more than his own.

He grumbled, “How did this happen, you stopped chopping three times for breaks and lunch, while I kept chopping.  I just don’t understand what happened.”

In a soft and deliberate voice the winner said “yes I did stop three times, but you see, it was to sharpen my axe.”

Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had six hours to chop down a big tree, I’d take two hours to sharpen my axe.”

You don’t have to be Abraham Lincoln to sharpen your axe.

There are a lot of impersonators out there – pretending to be professional salespeople.  They are devoid of any selling skills and basic fundamentals and certainly wouldn’t dream of spending any of their own money on personal development.

Every day you’d better make it a priority to read books and articles, listen to CD’s while driving from account to account, sharpening your axe, (I mean your selling skills) improving your attitude and developing mini-systems, creating your own competitive advantage.

The simple truth is, if you don’t sharpen your axe, you could be working with a dull blade and worse still working for the opposition i.e. presenting to prospects and priming them for your competitors to close.

The key point to all this is we need to be constantly looking at better ways to improve our skills in whichever field we choose to work if we are to retain our competitive advantage.

The benefits are:

Sales Confidence
- Bigger closing ratios
- Increased Profits

Staff Retention
- Client continuity
- Reduced costs of recruitment

Reduced costs to make sales e.g. higher conversion ratio
- Focused prospecting
- Higher qualified referrals
Many companies can’t find money for training yet spend thousands on advertising and marketing to try to attract new business, instead of converting higher percentage of enquiries they are already receiving.

I will continue with this topic in my next article.
Quote of the Week:

Winners evaluate themselves in a positive manner and look for their
Strengths as they work to overcome weaknesses.
Zig Ziglar

Brett Burgess is a Sales Trainer and Programme Developer
for Sales Impact Group
 

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There are two parts to a sale – the first is getting the appointment, the second is everything that happens after that.

The point is if you don’t get the first part right nothing happens!

Brian Tracey talks about identifying what he calls your critical success factors.  These are the activities that will determine either success or failure in your chosen field.  He suggests there are generally 5-7 of these for most of us.  In sales this could include such things as detailed preparation, prospecting, presentation process, following a sales plan to name a few.

People often ask me if I have worked with other businesses the same as theirs and in most cases I am able to answer yes however the point I am quick to make is that the sales “process” is the same for just about every product or service.

You need to:·   

• Develop your sales plan  
• Identify the type of people you suspect may have a need for your product or service 
• Do your research  
• Arrange an appointment  
• Present your questions  
• Establish the return on investment 
• Ask for the business 
• Deliver on all promises
• Keep regular contact 
• Gain referrals
• Resell to new needs

As you can see this is probably how you develop new business using some or all of these steps if you are a pro-active salesperson.

The key to this however is developing processes around each of these areas so they happen on a consistent basis day in day out, week in week out.

The most successful companies benchmark their sales process to ensure consistent sales growth.

The definition of Benchmarking is  -”A systematic process of comparing the activities and work processes of an organization or department with those of outstanding organizations or departments in order to identify ways to improve performance.”

Benchmarking programmes commonly include the following stages – identifying the area requiring benchmarking and the process to use, collecting and analyzing the data, implementing changes and monitoring and reviewing improvements.  From benchmarking best practices can be developed for each process.  This is particularly applicable for the sales process.

Do you have a set process for each of the eleven steps I have identified above?

A quick quiz -

Rate yourself between 1 – 10 for each of the steps above, 1 being no process at all and 10 being absolutely satisfied you have a system to ensure consistent delivery every time.

Your lowest scoring activity will limit and determine your level of success in sales in all the other critical sales activities.  So if you don’t have a set process for arranging appointments then you will miss many opportunities.   Likewise if you can consistently get the appointment but don’t have a process to advance or close the sale once again missed opportunities.

I will be continuing with this subject in my next article.

Quote of the Week -

“There’s no magic to it, and you don’t need a lot of natural talent.  What you need is a disciplined, organized approach to selling.  If you have that, you’ll outperform the great salesman who doesn’t understand the process every time.  Selling can definitely be learned.”    -   Steve Bostic  

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I was hired by the president of a transportation company in Los Angeles to help turn the company around. My first day on the job, I found out the president was called to Sacramento at the last minute to testify before a state legislative committee on transportation. The HR director met me and gave me a brief tour of the offices, explained the phone system, told me where the bathroom was, and finally said, “The president won’t be back for three days. I have no idea what you’re supposed to be doing, but good luck!”

And that was it.

I remember sitting in my new office with the big window behind me overlooking the Hollywood sign and being very excited about the job but having no idea what I was supposed to do.

The Guidance Factor
I learned two extremely valuable lessons from this experience. First, I learned the value of creating relationships by meeting people and asking those magic words: “How can I help you?”

I also learned the importance of a thorough orientation and training when taking over any new position. I remember sitting in my office and thinking, If I ever run my own company, no one will ever come on board without a thorough orientation.

You cannot expect great results from anyone without providing guidance and training. Later, I learned it was equally important to be introduced to the “traditions” of the organization, because these are the characteristics that create a corporate culture of support and success.

Imagine boarding a large plane, only to find out your pilot was not trained to fly. That would be ridiculous. But think about this: the Leadership Team members of a BNI Chapter are the pilot and co-pilots of your group! They are the ones responsible for flying the chapter.

Granted, flying a plane is more serious business than running a chapter, but running a chapter is still “business”; that’s why we are all part of BNI—for BUSINESS. This is not a social club. It is a business referral organization, and in order for it to fly, the leaders need training.

No Training Is Ever Enough
What about people who have been to training already? We live in an ever-changing environment. I had the opportunity to hear a director of one of the largest competitors to BNI recently say, “We haven’t changed anything since we were founded years ago. Not one thing. We follow the same system as it was originally devised.”

Well, at BNI we think differently than that. BNI continually revises and updates materials. With nearly every Leadership Team training, our manuals are updated. Our system is constantly being improved. We have more than doubled the content of our manuals in the last six years. Because of this, it is critical that Leadership Teams “brush up” on the things that perhaps they’ve already learned. All quality professionals get refresher training of some kind, and BNI’s Leadership Teams are no different.

Plus, the input from Leadership Team members who have experience doing this can be a valuable resource to other people at the training. That’s why we believe it is critical for everyone to attend training before taking over any role on the Leadership Team (even if more than once).

People say hindsight is 20-20. Looking back I’m confident that one of the things BNI got absolutely right when we began was requiring training of our Leadership Teams. No one—and I mean no one—spends as much time as BNI educating people on how to successfully run a networking group. Last year, we spent over 100,000 person hours in Leadership Team training alone! That number doesn’t even include Membership Committee training, Visitor Host training, Director training, or any other special training.

Education is one of the core competencies of this organization. It is one of the things that sets BNI aside from other networking organizations. And it is an important element in the success BNI has seen worldwide.

BNI works when people know the system and understand how to implement it. Don’t accept anything less! BNI without a trained Leadership Team is “BNI-Light.” So, if you ever hear someone in your group who wants to be on the Leadership Team but doesn’t want to go through the training—give them this article and tell them you want a “trained” pilot to fly your plane!
——————————————————————————–

Why do I need to go to Leadership Team training?

• to gain valuable contacts with other members of Leadership Teams whom you can call for info or to bounce ideas off of
• to learn the responsibilities of your Leadership Team role
• to learn common errors and how to prevent them
• to get your specific questions answered
• to receive the Leadership Team manual and learn about it in-depth
• to learn the “hidden elements” of the meeting – WHY we do what we do
• to bond with the other members of your Leadership Team outside the meeting
• to learn what other local chapters are doing
• to get good ideas about how to “energize” your meetings (i.e. meeting stimulants)
• to get to know your Director(s)
• to network with other BNI members
• to hit the ground running when you take over a leadership role in the chapter
  to learn how to handle chapter problems or complaints (skills which help in your own business also!)
• to learn about BNIBlog (BNI NZ’s blog site – www.bniblog.co.nz)
• to gain access to the Leadership Only section of www.bni.co.nz
• to get a Leadership Team ribbon for your name badge!
• to help your chapter grow and prosper
• to get updates on the organization and changes to the manual
• to share your knowledge and experience (especially LT members who’ve attended before)
• to have fun
• to cross-train people on the different positions
• to make sure your plane has a pilot!

If you have some other positive reasons why your Leadership Teams should attend training, email them to me at misner@bni.com.

Source: Ivan Misner – Chairman and Founder of BNI  

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