Encino Financial Resources                                  818-995-8088

If you look through the past blogs you will see a theme – change has come to those in sales. It is no longer the old adage of doing the same thing and getting the same results. We are at a unique time in the world of sales. With smartphones, digital, and ridiculously fast response times and broadband and WIFI everywhere – the paradigm for sales has changed.

Yes, it’s still about relationships and trust and creative, frank ways of relaying information to get your sales. But today’s customer has changed because of their access to…just about everything. And what has that done? It’s made all of your customers “shoppers of price”. If your office is hearing time again from potential customers “But ABC said they’d sell it/do it for less than you’ve quoted” you know what I’m talking about.

I don’t believe anyone has to be the lowest priced product or service to get their potential client base to go with their offerings. Yet, because of this new regime of “shoppers”, what are you to do? Let’s look at what often happens at most busy street corners where gasoline is sold. Usually where there is one gas station at one corner, on an opposite corner there will be another competing station. And often, they are within one to two cents of each other in price. Who wins – so to speak?

If I only care about price, the answer is very easy. But what if one has cleaner looking pumps, offers the self-serve window washing materials or an easier store to slip into to get a pack of gum. The answer is obvious, some will still shop price, but plenty are willing to pay a little bit more for the extra service provided.

Now look at your offerings. Are you providing the difference that makes your team better than the next guy? Are you helping your customer to realize that you are more than a “price” to be shopped? Are you pushing your team to be of service and offer a level of professionalism that makes the difference? These cost your company nothing as an “add”, but can make your sales soar.

Your sales team will be chomping at the bit to make your company blossom as the sales world changes – all because you let your company represent more than a thing, a product and/or a service. You make your sales team believe your company makes a difference and that any potential client should be demanding what you are selling – and the selling will seem like “kids play” to your team..

That’s always the question during this season, “Where are the sales?” With folks on vacation or spending their extra money on the family because the kids are NOT in school one has to wonder how to get by and my money during these hot months.

One of my strongest beliefs in sales is that you lead with your strengths and don’t abandon what has worked in the past. But when you read something like that when sales are down, you question how that can help? But the truth about sales do not change because of the seasons. The problem that often ocurs in the summer seasons is the abandoning of the things that work.

We all know the basic concept of working smarter, not harder. If you’ve looked at what has worked for your company in good times, then it’s time to break it down into the increments to examine each part of your sales success, so you can lead with your strengths and  increase your efforts within those successful increments.

When reviewing where your sales are coming from, or you are breaking down which buttons are “hot” when speaking to a potential sale – you then want to increase your efforts to push those increments and stop wasting efforts that aren’t giving you the same return. Break those increments down – how many can you get out of a single sale? What made the phone ring? How long before it was answered? How clear were the qualifying questions to establish your client’s needs?  How well did your sales folks close off other options to help lead the client to the sale? Who’s “hot” right now and leading in closing ratios? What are they doing that others are not? Who is strongest in retention and getting the return sale (the most valuable salesperson on your team)?

When you break down where you are successful and lead with your strengths during the lean summer months, you can increase your ROI and rejuvenate your sales team. And we all know when you do those two things the revenue soon follows.

As we all know, no business can survive without having an effective manner to review the inventory of their company, evaluating both their excesses and their deficiencies.  Without proper inventory checks and balances, no facility can confidently operate.

The same can be made of sales. When evaluating your individual sales team you have to break it down like you are taking inventory. If you just try scoring your sales or looking at only the closing ratios, then you just downing stats, you are not getting the whole picture.

So, how does one go about taking a sales inventory? It takes more than just listing what strengths you want from your team, it takes getting boldly honest about realistic expectations so you can get a smarter assessment of what you’ve got and what you don’t need – or need more of.

If your sales team is out in the field, how much time are your team members traveling and how much time are they spending with their clients – both potential and existing?  Are they good at chasing down their leads? Are they in good contact with the office? Are their proposals concise and clear?

If they are inside sales, how many calls are you looking for each team member to reach per hour? How clearly do they help differentiate your company’s strengths from your competitors?  How proactive are they and do they create a compelling structure that can lead to sales?

Take a look at our CEO Diagnostics page on our site. We ask some great questions when a new company looks to us for help. Start with those questions and work on a check list to examine your sales inventory.

When you think you have something to work from review it with one other thought in mind…am I evaluating both our strengths AND our weaknesses. Too often we want to find our weaknesses when doing these inventories, but seeing where your team’s strengths are can help create a better understanding – a realistic understanding – that can help you adjust your team's efforts for even greater success.

Here are some check points to make sure you are getting the most out of your B2B sales. They are easy questions to ask about your client/customer, but do you know the answers?

• What is the current status of the company?
• How is your contact there feeling about things there?
• How does your service or product affect their workflow?
• Do you understand the buying procedures there?
• Are you just waiting for P.O.’s or have you seen them face to face recently?
• How can you impact their bottom line?
• Who else might they be turning to for what you provide and why?
• When you speak, who does most of the talking?
• Have reintroduced your company with updated information since first contact?
• Can you list three personal interests of your client?

Hopefully, you are not shrugging off these questions with the easy decision that these questions don’t matter. All of these questions really have ONE thing in common, getting to know your customer. Having the gift of gab, as they say is not what sales is all about. Communication is a two way process and so is sales.

I make it a habit to find a way early on in my first conversation with a contact to find out a little about them. More importantly, I write a log of what I learned (or enter it into my CRM), so that I can refer to it later. Sports, family, hobbies, pressures of the company – these priorities help you to know who they are, what they care about and more importantly, what best to bring up in relating what you offer to that they need.

Good sales start with good communication. But more importantly, good work skills. What good is the good communication if next time you speak with them you’ve forgotten all you learned last time?  Make a list of questions and post it by your phone or in your work materials. Make getting to know your customer more than just a saying, make it a skill.

I was working with an account executive of a small company the other day and I was explaining some of the ways we want to help customers towards the sale. I’ve come to believe over the years that our customers want clear direction. In some cases, they actually want us to tell them what to do - if they trust us. And that’s when the power of “we” or “let’s” works as the magic key towards the final part of a good sale.

Any order taker or even a technician can tell someone the benefits to whatever it is your company sells. (Hope that doesn’t hurt to hear) But, it’s the approach into the “close” that can set up an easy, non-objecting “close”.  Yeah, you got it…”non-objecting”. Why?  Because you go through the start of the close as a team, you with them, it eases a lot of possible issues. They don’t feel like they are doing it alone. In fact, they feel empowered by your “joining” them as they take the first few steps towards the “close”.

I often use phrases like “So, why don’t we do this…” or “Let’s do the smart  thing here and do this…” – as simple as these examples seem, the inclusive style of this approach to the “close” allows the customer to render themselves a willing follower of your expert advice. Yeah…remember? You are the expert when you approach your customer; hence you get to tell them what they should do – at least I would hope that you would join me in assuming this.

Creating the “we” in the relationship during the approach of the “close” makes your customer more willing to continue to follow your advice for all the other parts of the sale – deposits or follow-ups. You are now both “in this together”, so to speak, and you can begin to develop a teacher/student type relation that will grow into a great steady customer.

This entry is short and to the point – if you were a plumber and made a house call to someone who had a faulty toilet, no matter what you stated needed to be done to fix it, the customer would agree to have you do it. It’s easy to see how the “need” in this situation creates the impetus for the easy sale. That’s not the point. It’s the plumber that is the point.

He’s seen as the expert. He’s looked to as the hero. He’s the expert, hence the customer trusts him – and THAT’S the point.

The most successful salespeople ALWAYS come across as the expert in their field. It’s a combination of confidence, knowledge and an excellent understanding of offering what they are selling in a service manner (whether they are selling a service or a product) that seems to solve their customers problem.

Briefly put, strong salesmanship starts with a plumber-like attitude, and that attitude creates the trust to close the sale. You’ve got the answer to their problem and you know what they need because you ARE the professional expert in the discussion.  You’ve been trained to know all the ins and outs of your product or service. Help your customer understand not only what you know or what they should know, but also to believe that you have their best interest because you’re an expert in your field (and they are not, otherwise they’d be your competition – not your customer). Gain THAT trust and the rest is just the ABC’s of closing.

There you are, standing there at the end of the hallway with your customer. At the other end is the sale. It’s a straight shot from one end of the hallway to the other. But, like a hotel, there are many doors between where you stand and the other end of the hallway (your sale), and those doors are all wide open. Those doors are the all the ways your customer can exit the hallway and you losing the sale.

So often I speak with folks in sales they talk of tales of the “one that got away” - their customer turning into one of the open doors and walking away from your goal, your sale. And there’s always an excuse or an intangible that they hadn’t seen coming or weren’t expecting.

Look, we all know there are times where there is nothing that can be done to stop the loss of a sale. But all too often, it’s really about preparation and planning.  I can't emphasize this enough - great salesmanship requires more than just natural talent, it requires the discipline of planning and preparation.

Close the doors in that hallway as you walk your customer to the sale by planning out your sales strategy. Plan through what objections might pull your customer in through one of the doorways. Assume there are others wanting their business that might be lurking back there, as well. Game plan the process that gets you to your sale. Be smart and recognize that the closer you get to the sale, the further on down the hall, the greater the chance of a surprise turn into an unexpected doorway and the loss of the sale.

I’m a big believer that the closer you get to the end, the more important it is to close those doors. I’ve seen too many sales folks get cocky and believe their customer is locked up, and yet when the sale goes sideways (yes, into a doorway), they seem shocked and blame the customer. Ego often helps to make that ridiculous argument.

But the prepared salesperson, the one who has done their homework and doesn’t just create a desire for the customer, but has designed a complete course to escort their customer to the sale – one that is designed to close all the doors along the way and keeps your customer on track. Walking that hallway and closing the doors along the way, sprinting to the finish with a succession of “yes’s” and assuming the sale with confidence that you know you are offering the best service or product for your customers needs will get you your sale.

Being based the in the Los Angeles area, you almost can’t go a day without running into someone associated with the television and movie business.  Not so much stars, as those wanting to be one or the droves of those who work behind the camera. One thing sales people have in common with everyone in that industry is “action”.

Now before you roll your eyes thinking “Oh, I get it. This is going to be about getting your sales people off their duffs and get into action”, you’re only partly right. Yes, like that film and television industry, you can do all the lighting and camera preparation, get the costumes and make up just right, but until the actors hear “action” while the cameras roll, it’s all just preparation and nothing else. It’s NOT product or production.

And yes, your sales team must prepare for their battles in the sales world, knowing their products best features, knowing how to overcome objectives, design a clear path of “yes’s” to bring the customer to the sale and be aware both of their ability to deliver, their competition, their margins available to discounts (if necessary) and such – all before there is any “action”.

If you’ve ever known anyone in the entertainment businesses, then you know there is one other special element to the moment of “action” - they all hunger for it. They all know without that moment when the director says “action” and cameras roll and all their work is put to work towards a final product, their work is moot. They ALL live for the pride that comes from doing a good job and it being captured on film or tape.

That’s the spark sales managers and directors need to ignite in their sales team. It’s so easy to let the early turndowns and rejections stop the “action” of selling. It’s important to recognize the busy work sales teams can find when they’re not moving forward and getting more “action”. Some call them excuses, others call it additional preparation – but in the war of selling, it’s just hunching in the foxhole – yet it doesn’t help to preserve their sales life.

The solution is to create ways to track action for your team. Create contests or visible charts that they can all see to inspire, ignite or awaken their desire for “action”. Have group meetings to discuss tactics appropriate for your team to achieve motion, action, activity so that they don’t dwell on their “numbers” but on their actions. Bring a sense of confidence and trust to them but let them know action is what leads to sales. Action, action and yes, more action.

In the end, it’s the people in charge of the sales who must work to get action from their team. Don’t be afraid to try new things to generate discussion and a sense “team” while listening for their fears and issues. Get them trusting the process of your sales management and push them for action. Action leads to results – one way or the other. And every result gets your team closer to meeting the needs of your company’s bottom line.

One of the fascinating parts of my work is the interesting interchange that happens when Encino Financial comes on the scene and after evaluating how to improve sales – resistance from the sale chief occurs.  They feel like there has been an attack on them or an unfair review of their work. Of course, neither is true.

It is so hard when you are working side by side in the trenches of your company and your fellow sales people are, over time, personally attached to the product or service they sell. It becomes an extension of them because they are out there (or on the phone) all day pitching the attributes and benefits. Getting an objective overview of what the problems and conditions for change can be difficult to see from that perspective.

But times, as we all know, are different. What was is not what is anymore. So, doing the same thing and expecting new and better results is the most common mistake. And those in charge of those sales hate hearing that – unless it’s their idea (ha!).

However, often what is needed is an outside perspective – we call it a “third perspective” – to find a new or adjusted way to make sale progress. Taking into account what your account executives perceives, watching how the potential client is reacting and then as a complete outsider, bringing in our experience of sales from a vast array of industries, we’re able to get sales teams back on track and go vertical again.

It’s not brain surgery or Charles Grodin’s “litmus configuration” from the hysterical “Midnight Run” film, but just a common sense approach – a third perspective – that allows us to make the proper adjustments that can help companies turn the corner. We look to work with the Sales Chief’s, not box them out. They will carry on whatever tools need to be implemented after our assessment, so feeling partnered up with our team will ensure success. And that’s what we all want.

I thought today would be a good day to rev up your sales staff with some positive words to get deals closed. Now, before you say “Look, my team is professional and don’t need some kind of pep talk”, please note that I said positive words to get deals closed, not so we can all feel good and sing a verse of “Kumbaya, my Lord” while we all hold hands.

This economy is tough and the daily travails of the salesperson today are not what they were. CEO’s and Sales Directors sometimes lose sight of what the feeling can be like when your team is out there fighting for those sales.  Now is the time for those in charge to monitor, mentor and reassure your team.

When a salespersons livelihood at stake, they want to be heard. It’s important to not brush off their concerns. Sometimes they have great perspective about what is going on out there. After all, they are on the front lines. And whether their opinion is valid, is enlightening or is just them complaining about the problems of getting deals done – how you react has a greater effect on your team than you think. Remember, when you speak to a struggling sales rep, they often go back to their peers and relate what you’ve said. The ripple effect is dependent on how you handle your individual team players.

Monitor your sales team’s individual concerns and ideas. When you find them to be off the mark or inconsistent with the company’s goals, guide them back on track as a team player. Assure them that all companies go through this, but that you like to look for solutions, not dwell in the problem and invite ideas to combat the obstacles facing your team.

Let your team know that this is a time to use the skills that has made your company great. That they can come to you to let you know what is happening out there. That you’ll look into their observations, access the current situation with their shared information and then do what is best to help them and your company generating more sales.

A positive word for your team is sometimes NOT having a cheering session at the water cooler, it’s letting your team feel and know that they AND you are smart enough to assess the landscape of their territory together, and as a joint effort use your combined skills to grow your company’s profits.