Too often sales people guess what it takes to succeed. In most companies, someone has tried to take the guess work out of success by assigning sales activity goals. The theory behind sales activity goals is that the powers that set these goals are saying that “if you do these activities, then you will be successful“. I am suggesting that salespeople take this a step further and learn to predict their own success.
This summer, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a recruiting project for a sales leader I’ve known and respected for many years. In the beginning, we were using educatedguessing to understand what it would take to be successful. After one or two hiring experiences, we were able to extract some data and begin to predict our own success. By backing into our success ratio, I know to the exact numexactly how much recruiting activity I need to execute to get the outcome we desire.
Taking the guesswork out of your success is a powerful tool in long-term success. You can plan for vacations, slower periods – or that new car. So, before the next selling season begins, do the math and predict your success. If you don’t like what you see, you’ll have the information to change your future, also.
Join Meeting to Win before Friday and get a sales team meeting agenda on using your lagging indicators (sales activity) to impact your leading indicators (revenue) or, in the spirit of this article, predict your own success. With Meeting to Win, sales managers get a new sales meeting agenda delivered to their inbox every Friday morning. Stop dreading Monday mornings and join Meeting to Win.
Sales cycles have typical steps. Customer like to take certain steps to make a decision and salespeople take certain steps to make a sale or help their customers make good decisions. Salespeople can accelerate the decision process by strategically examining the sales cycles for opportunities to add efficiencies. The benefits of doing this exist for both salesperson and customer. Customers need solutions and making efficient decisions on which solutions to purchase must be in their best interest. Salespeople benefit from getting to a go/no-go decision sooner, also. They either get to start helping a customer or, at least, realize they aren’t the right solution and can move on to the next one sooner. I am not suggesting that anyone rushes through an important decision process, I am simply suggesting a regular examination of the sales cycles to look for ways to improve the decision process and begin solving problems faster.
To do so, first list out all the steps a salesperson and a customer make to get to go/no-go on your solutions. Jot down the timeline and if there are pre-requisite steps for any of the steps.
Now, carefully examine if there is an opportunity to:
Consolidate any two steps into one step.
Eliminate an unnecessary step altogether.
Simutaneously conduct two or more steps.
List out the benefits to the customer for making the decision with this new sales cycle. Then, make sure that you and the customer are clear on the steps both would like to take to help the customer make an informed yet timely decision. Stay two steps ahead with both understanding what the steps are, who should be involved and what decisions they should be able to make along the way.
The sales cycle is an important process where important decisions are made. Running it as effectively and efficiently as possible is in everyone’s best interest and a salesperson’s responsibility. Enjoy accelerated sales cycles with this simple exercise.
This week’s Meeting to Win sales team meeting agenda is Consolidate to Accelerate. Sales Manager who subscribe to the sales team meeting agenda service will receive a 60-Minute agenda that will lead their teams through an examination of their own sales cycles. Each participant will leave with a new plan for one live deal in their pipeline. Join our subscribers by signing up to get your weekly sales team meeting agendas from Meeting to Win.
For some reason, there is often a sense of comfort when a prospective client asks us to do or provide something – see a demo, send me information, etc. We believe we have a solution that may meet their needs and we take their request as a sign that they may also believe that. As sales reps, happy to stay engaged with this prospect, we march off to provide the requested information. This prospective client may very well want this information and have a real plan to evaluate our solution and actually make a go/no-go decision on purchasing from us or not.
On the other hand, they may be making this request for any number of other reasons – and we may be playing along for any number of reasons. Those reasons can include:
They are too nice to tell you that have no intention of spending a dime with you.
They are busy and the fastest way to get rid of you is to send you on an errand.
They are really good at kicking the tires, but have no history of actually buying.
They stay in the eternal sales cycle never actually moving forward on anything. Professional window shoppers exist in every company.
They are afraid if they tell you “no” that you will keep trying to sell them. No one enjoys being on the receiving end of this tactic.
Your pursuit makes them feel important (ugly truth alert!).
They think they have some power to make this decision. Meanwhile, someone else is actually making the decision at some other level.
We feel “safe” to simply stay engaged in the sales cycle. We have something to report on our activity tracker, in our pipelines and during our team meeting updates. We’ve bought another week of activity.
You look so happy when they ask you for something.
Those just a few of the reasons sales reps are asked to run these errands. How do sales reps stop being gophers? One way is to lay out the next few steps or commitments on both sides. Next time you are asked to run an errand, ask what decision they plan to make once you provide the requested information and by when. For example, if they ask to see a demo of your software. Find out what they hope to gain from the demo (the demo may not be what they even need) and what decision they plan to make upon seeing the demo (no-go, take the next step, involve other decision makers, etc) and by when they plan to make the decision (is there even a timeline?).
It feels “safe” to stay engaged and really….it’s a collosal waste of time. Stop playing it “safe” and start helping your clients make decisions that will ultimately help their businesses succeed. Get commitments before you run the errand – everyone wins when you have an efficient process.
I am getting ready to play my first tennis match in over a year and a half. As I look forward to the match, I am reminded of something my father said to me during one of our matches years ago. Something that I have thought about during every match since when I feel like I am on defense more than I’d like to be. He looked frustrated and said “You’re not playing to win. You’re playing to NOT lose.” He described exactly what I was doing. I was back running down shots, going right where he wanted me to go, just getting the ball in play to live for another point. He was in charge, setting the pace and … having more fun than me. During that match and countless others since then, I have had to change my mindset mid-match and play to win instead of play to NOT lose. For me that means, charge the net, put some shots away, get on the offense, control the pace of the game and, in many of those cases (still not against my Dad…), win. Even when I didn’t win, I walked away knowing I did everything I could and was proud of my game, effort and attitude. There was no risk I hadn’t taken and, therefore, no “what ifs”.
I took my Dad’s insightful observation into my sales life, too, and, man, did life get more fun. Instead of sitting back following the process, chasing the RFP, settling for meeting with non-decision makers, wondering what the competitors were doing, giving discounts and sounding like 80% of other reps out there, I made a clear effort to “charge the net”.
How do you know if you are playing to win or playing to not lose?
Are you:
Following the buying process blindly without challenging steps that don’t help your cusotmers make good decisions?
Meeting with people who can’t make decisions?
More worried about your activity report volume than the quality of your activities?
Spending time on RFPs that restrict your ability to sell by limiting your ability to diagnose and share solutions?
Constantly running off to fetch the next thing your prospective customer needs with no commitments from them (”send me a proposal”, “do an assessment”, “send me a brochure”, “come do a demo”, etc)?
Coming in second or third place?
Getting surprised late in sales cycles?
Or are you:
Creating opportunities by shining light on problems prospective customers didn’t know they had?
Challenging dysfunctional buying processes that hinder your customer from getting the best possible solution?
Sharing solutions your clients didn’t know existed to problems they didn’t know they had?
Bringing new ideas, industry expertise and innovative solutions to the table?
Getting full price for the value of service you provide?
Getting creative on negotiations?
Risking offending non-decision makers to get to the actual decision makers?
Addressing sales cycle slow downs head-on and honestly?
Not afraid to walk away?
Not afraid to say and do the right thing no matter the outcome?
It is so much more exciting to play to win. It takes more energy and guts, but it is so worth it. Charge the net this week!
Sales team meeting idea:
At your next sales team meeting, ask each team member to bring their current pipeline.
Ask each person to examine their pipeline for opportunities to “charge the net”.
Each rep should pick one deal and take a well-planned risk. Get to decision makers, challenge a bad decision, ask about the competition, exit an RFP opportunity, etc. As long as the risk will ultimately help you help your customer make a better decision (even if it’s not you), then take the risk.
Each rep should walk away with one risk to take within the next week.
Plan to report back on the outcomes of the team’s risk-taking. Not all will go well – that’s why we call it a “risk”. So be it…
Play to win. Charge the net. Have more fun.
(Post brought to you by Jill Myrick of Meeting to Win. Meeting to Win provides sales team meeting agendas for Sales Managers who want to take their team to the next level. Play to Win, Not to NOT Lose is the April 2, 2010 Agenda Topic. To get a new sales team meeting topic each week, visit us at http://www.meetingtowin.com/ to subscribe.)
I’ve had many conversations lately about movement in the marketplace. Personally, I’ve been taking calls all week from business leaders moving forward on initiatives they’ve been sitting on for months. Customers are making moves, looking for solutions and ready to move forward. I love it! I can feel it in the air.
This week our focus has been on treating our existing customers like the gold that they are. Salespeople need to be proactive to ensure they stay part of the customer team as they forge ahead. One way to do that is to be visibly accountable. This means that salespeople need to proactively manage themselves so the client doesn’t have to. There are a few ways to do this.
First of all, set up a process for regular business reviews. I believe these should be conducted quarterly and formally. This means there should be a formal agenda that covers:
A review of the original scope of work.
The actual scope of work – what’s changed (something always does!) and what adjustments have been made. This topic ensures everyone is on the same page with the way the partnership has evolved.
The successes and shortfalls. How to make the most of the successes and how to adjust to fix the shortfalls.
An updated Needs Analysis. Find out what has changed in their business, priorities, etc. Uncover new opportunities.
Next steps/Action Items
Customers should leave these business reviews feeling great about their investment with you. They don’t need to micromanage the partnership, you are doing that for them.
Secondly, get to know new people in the account regularly. Ask to speak to people who are impacted by or work with your solutions. Find out what they like, what they don’t, etc. Make sure they have your contact information. You are probably the only one talking to all involved! You will have an amazing perspective and be able to bring useful ideas to the table based on these relationships. Not to mention, your name will be mentioned in many conversations as if you are part of the team!
Then, provide regular emailed updates to senior decision makers. Often, once an account is won, the more senior decision makers move on to the next priority leaving functional people to manage the relationship. Often, the salesperson’s relationship with the real decision makers is harder to maintain and grow. To keep developing that relationship, send an update once a month or every 6 weeks hitting the highlights of recent events and successes. (You may be amazed at the places these emails will get forwarded.) They will appreciate it, feel informed and see you as a true partner and you’ll keep developing this important relationship.
Another way to stay visibly accountable is to put your bosses in front of the client regularly. Bring them to quarterly business reviews or other meetings. Make sure the client sees that your senior leadership team is aware of the work your companies do together. They will feel supported and important when they see the team behind you.
Demonstrate to your clients how important they are by holding yourself accountable in plain sight. They will see you as a valuable team member who takes initiative and ownership of results. You’ll be a dream employee they won’t want to see go.
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Most sales reps get to enjoy some long-term customer relationships. Too often sales reps take these customers for granted and settle into an account management mode. Account management can mean many positive things, but in this case, we’ll call it account maintenance. It is not enough to just maintain an account. Your customer signed on for more than that. This week’s Meeting to Win theme is treating existing customers like prospective customers by helping them identify and secure solutions to their problems and tools to get them results.
In our 10 Things You Don’t Knowarticle, we suggested several ways to treat these existing customers like hot prospects. Here is another way.
Get a Fresh Set of Eyes on an Existing Account
Ask a team mate to coffee. Ask them to review your clients’ website before meeting with you. Ask them to pretend this client was a target account that they were trying to acquire as a client. Then get together with them for coffee and ask their initial ideas for pursuing this client. Then, tell them everything you know about the account, who you know at the account, your theories on what you don’t know and your history with them. Now, ask them what you are missing. Find out how they would move forward to help this client.
Guaranteed you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective on an old account. You and your client win when you take a fresh look at their business.
Sales Team Meeting Idea:
In your next sales team meeting, choose 1 existing account on the team that could use a fresh perspective. (Send an email to the team and ask them to nomimate their own accounts.)
Choose one and let the team know the account name.
Ask the team to research the account before the meeting.
Ask the account owner to send a one-page overview of the account – what they know, who they know, history, etc.
During the meeting, ask the Account Owner to share a 5 minute overview of the account that was not included in the pre-work.
Ask the team to be the “fresh eyes” and share new ideas and perspective on the account.
At the end of the hour, get a list of all the new ideas for the Account Owner.
Account Owner should share what they will try from the list of new ideas.
Fieldwork Idea:
Choose teams of 3 and, over the course of the next 3 weeks, each team should spend one hour per rep on one account per rep doing the same thing.
Choose one rep’s account each week and get together for coffee, if possible. If not, do this on the phone.
Each person on the team should end up with a list of fresh ideas and perspectives on one exisiting account.
Get back together during a sales team meeting conference call and each rep should share the outcomes of gaining a fresh perspective on their exisiting account.
What lessons did the team learn?
Enjoy the Fresh Eyes exercise. Join Meeting to Win to get interactive sales team meeting agendas for your sales team every week. We’d love to work with you!
(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.
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This is Part 3 in our Maximize Customer Meetings Series. This Friday, March 19th, the third agenda in the series goes out to subscribers. The 3 part series will soon be available on our store, also. To get weekly sales team meeting exercises that cover this and many more selling topics, subscribe to Meeting to Win today.
You’ve followed the steps to prepare and execute a productive customer meeting. You’re not done yet! To maximize the work done on this customer meeting so far, it is helpful to send comprehensive and organized Meeting Notes after the meeting. This is where many sales professionals quit. Following up thoroughly is a great way to gain a competitive edge in a sales cycle.
Get started the day of your customer meeting.
Typically, sales representatives will send a quick thank you note via email to the customer.
In that short thank you e-mail, let the customer know you will send them more comprehensive Meeting Notes to outline everything discussed and agreed upon along with a timeline of next steps.
This action gives the customer some ownership in this process immediately following the meeting and sets you both up to accomplish something, therefore, maximizing your meeting.
Within 48 hours send your Meeting Notes. Meeting Notes should include:
A bulleted list of the information the sales representative learned about the customer’s needs.
A list of action items for both the sales rep and the customer along with time lines.
A couple of bullets with high-level ideas on possible solutions you discussed while meeting.
Possible pricing scenarios (if discussed in meeting).
Call to action. At this point, let the customer know what to expect next. For example, “we will contact your administrative assistant to set up a time for you to tour our plant”.
Benefits of using Meeting Notes after a customer meeting:
By outlining this in writing post-meeting the customer has the opportunity to correct any wrong or missing information. This is critically important for the sales representative who is formulating a solution.
This demonstrates to the customer that the sales representative has a clear understanding of the needs which builds confidence and trust and ultimately rapport.
Customer is agreeing to next steps and is sharing in the ownership of finding a solution.
Often customers use these Meeting Notes internally to share progress on finding a solution or to report to senior leaders. This builds your good reputation with more of your customer’s leadership, saves them work and demonstrates that you have their best interests in mind.
Clear communication along the way is critically important when problems or misunderstandings arise in sales cycles. The relationship built along the way can make or break a sales as it gets closer to closing.
Sales Team Meeting Idea:
Ask the team to come prepared to discuss a recent customer meeting that resulted in next steps.
As a team, write your Meeting Notes and share them with the group.
Provide feedback for each other on appearance, communication style and ease of use.
To get more in depth sales training exercises and practice on this topic, subscribe for Meeting to Win sales team meeting agendas here.
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We at Meeting to Win are big fans of Paul Castain and his work. During our 3-week Sales Team Meeting Agenda series on Maximizing Customer Meetings we thought you may enjoy Paul’s thougths on starting your meetings with impact.
OK, pop quiz. How long does it take to make an impression on someone? 30 seconds? 10? Less? …
Here’s something that you can do in your very next client/prospect meeting …
