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Archive for the ‘recession’ Category

The Worst Case Scenario

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

It seems that when some make the transition from revenue-producing sales rep to sales leader, they forget some very important realities.  They no longer want to hear about the realities of the field.  They want to call those “excuses”.  I admit, I like to look at everything and determine the worst case scenario.  This does not bum me out, it actually makes me feel better to have a game plan should the worst case scenario play out.  It never does and it still feels good to be prepared.

The reality is that things happen that are disruptive.  Some of these things the reps’ own companies do to them, some are economy driven, some are customer driven.  Yet, leadership still expects the reps to turn in 8% revenue growth.  If you kick a marathon runner in the knee at mile 13, that runner may not beat his previous finishing time.  That’s a reality.  I don’t believe that sales reps like to “make excuses”.  I believe they really want to explain their performance, good or bad.  Being able to explain why something happens is a key ingredient in duplicating the good results and avoiding the poor results.

So, I challenge sales leaders to face reality. Among other things, the following is a list of things that ARE disruptive:

  • Moving territory lines.
  • Adding or taking away accounts.
  • Pulling them out of the field for training.
  • Asking them to complete a whole new set of reports.
  • Introducing a new CRM.
  • Giving them a new product to sell.
  • Reorganizing your sales team.
  • Changing compensation.

And the list goes on.  I challenge sales leaders to face the reality of disruptions instead of pretending like they won’t be disruptions.  It’s delusional to think the sales team won’t be distracted.  They are human beings, not machines. 

Instead, look 30-90 days out and figure out what is coming down the line that could possibly cause distraction for your sales team.  Figure out the worst case scenario in terms of how this disruption may impact your sales results.  You can’t see everything coming so at least get out in front of what you can see.  Get your team together and face reality together.  Expect to be distracted and proactively figure out how to sell through it.  You’ll reduce distraction and your team will have fewer “excuses”.

Face reality and your reality will be much brighter.

Posted in CRM, discipline, management tips, performance, recession, sales management, sales manager tips, sales managers, sales meeting agenda, sales team agenda., sales team meeting agenda, sales team meeting agenda topics, sales team meeting ideas, team meeting | No Comments »

10 Things You Don’t Know

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

(This week’s Meeting to Win sales team meeting agenda is called 10 Things You Don’t Know.  To join us and get new sales team meeting agendas weekly, visit us at Meeting to Win.)

Salespeople are wise to focus on their existing customer base to impact success during economic recovery.  Competitors are getting creative and aggressive and existing relationships could be up for grabs … unless…you treat your existing clients like new customers.  Think about how you treat new customers. 

During economic recovery, treat your customers like new customers by trying the following things:

  • Conduct a thorough needs-analysis with them to make sure your solutions still are solutions. Their business has likely changed like the rest of the world.
  • Find out where they need help and deliver.
  • Figure out how your company can better service them – clear billing, better response on customer service issues, etc.
  • Bring senior leaders to face-to-face meetings to thank them for their business and show how valuable they are to your company.
  • Sincerely thank them for their business.
  • Share new ways to solve old and new problems.
  • Share industry expertise.  Help them be innovative.
  • Help them help their customers succeed.
  • Learn everything you can about their business – you’ll recognize ways to help them the more you know their business.
  • Be attentive, present and part of the team.
  • Commit to quarterly business reviews to hold yourself accountable to the results you promised.
  • Make sure they know all that you can do for them.  (Exercise: Think of 10 things your top customers may not know about your offering that may help them.)  Figure out how to share all your services without giving a sales pitch.  Your competitors are sharing this information.  It’s best to share this information in response to a business need they have.
  • Be someone they can’t live without.

Competitors are gunning for your clients.  Treat your existing customers like the gold that they are.

(To get sales team meeting agendas with exercises and role plays on topics like 10 Things You Don’t Know and other great selling topics, join the Meeting to Win community by subscribing today.)

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Posted in CRM, agenda ideas, agendas, best practice, communication, customer meeting, down economy, free sales team meeting topics, how to have productive sales team meetings, meetings, new managers, performance, recession, sales activity, sales meetings, sales team agenda., sales team meeting agenda, sales team meeting agenda topics, sales team meeting ideas, team meeting, tough economy | No Comments »

One Salesperson’s Keys to Success – My Observations

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

For the past 6 months I’ve had the opportunity to witness a salesperson succeeding.  Of course, I know many salespeople succeeding, but this story really intrigued me.  First of all, this salesperson started a consulting business in their field 6 months ago.  They had no brand, about ten thousand competitors and no marketing budget.  Oh, and we were in the downward spiral economically. 

Flash forward 6 months and this salesperson has more business than they can handle and is now considering adding to their team just to keep up.

I am very impressed with how hard this person has been working and really started to think about the actual keys to their success beyond just hard work.  I started making a list of this salesperson’s activities, habits and characteristics and thought it would be fun to share my list in a blog post.

So, here, in no particular order, are my observations or what I am calling “one salesperson’s keys to success”.

  • Creative deal and pricing structures.  This consultant is in an old industry where they’ve always done pricing the same way.  He surprised prospective clients with better deal structures than they’d seen.  Don’t mistake “creative” for lower – these are competitive deal structures that are a win for both parties.
  • This salesperson is not afraid to walk away from deals.  If the deal isn’t in this person’s sweet spot, he actually walks away from it and spends time where he can be more effective – and valuable to his client. 
  • Cold, hard, disciplined sales activity. This salesperson knows what activity leads to sales results and he does that activity EVERY DAY.
  • Manages time effectively.  Plans his work and works his plan – seems so simple. 
  • Does not get slowed down by rejection.  He is able to expect some rejection and take it in stride knowing he is that much closer to a “yes”.
  • Uses technology effectively.  He is very selective about which technology tools to use and which would be “cool”, but just create more work or wasted time. 
  • Frugal.  He is only spending money where there is clear ROI.
  • Networking, networking, networking every day.
  • Chose a niche and sticks with it.  He is turning down business outside his niche.  Since he began doing this his traction in his niche is growing daily and his client list has doubled each month.
  • He sets attitude rules.  For example, if he loses a deal, he only allows himself to “mourn” it for 24 hours.  He uses business development activity to pull him out of mourning which turns into new opportunities before the 24 hours is even up.
  • He takes care of himself – he works out daily, eats right and even took a week vacation.
  • He doesn’t waste time on administration.  He set up a system that is efficient and doesn’t spend too much time on paperwork.
  • This person naturally has no call reluctance.
  • This salesperson has stayed in touch with past clients consistently for 15+ years.
  • He is a master at LinkedIn.  Daily he is on LinkedIn building and sharing his network. 
  • He asks for referrals every day – and gets them.
  • For some reason, Tuesdays were a discouraging day.  This salesperson figured out why (he couldn’t connect with anyone on Mondays and felt no progress) and did something about it.  He created a plan to stay motivated on Tuesdays and recognized that the week always improved.
  • Extremely and appropriately persistent.
  • Knows his ideal customer and pursues ONLY that.
  • Faces reality and addresses concerns during deal pursuits.  He recognizes when a deal may go south and addresses it with the client before he spends too much time.
  • Works a tactical plan.  This salesperson knows his strategic goals and then carves out time to create a detailed tactical activity plan.  When he gets to his office he “doesn’t have to think”, he just executes his plan. 
  • He really enjoys his business and his clients.  Making them happy and solving business needs genuinely motivates him.

These are just my observations of one successful salesperson.  If you are struggling currently, grab some ideas from this list.  Duplicate his success using his habits.  Happy Selling.

This post brought to you by Jill Myrick, Owner of Meeting to Win, LLC.  Get weekly sales team meeting agendas and create momentum on your sales team!  Visit us at http://www.meetingtowin.com/.

Posted in Uncategorized, best practice, down economy, efficient, management tips, performance, recession, sales activity, sales management, sales tips, tough economy | No Comments »

Maintain a "performance culture" in a recession

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Right now Sales Managers must set the tone for their sales teams. The news is gloomy and Sales Managers have a lot of power to deal with the economy realistically while not allowing their teams to become “victims”. Let’s spend some time on this topic this week.

We sent out a press release regarding maintaining a performance culture during a recession. http://www.ibtimes.com/prnews/20081119/sales-teams-can-maintain-a-performance-culture-during-a-recession.htm

In the next post, we’ll list out several ways beyond what the article shares to create and maintain a performance culture during tough times. We may also create a list of how to do the opposite! It seems some Sales Leaders are masters at this.

Feel free to share a comment about how you, as a Sales Manager, are keeping your teams focused, pumped up, realistic and strategic. We’ll share our findings soon. Check back in….

Posted in What They Are Saying About Meeting to Win, culture, performance, recession, sales managers | No Comments »