Archive for August, 2013
Four Big Mistakes in Managing your Sales Funnel
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES LEADERSHIP on August 30, 2013
Many sales people are familiar with the concept of the “sales funnel,” with the idea that every sale starts with a large pool of prospects, which are eventually narrowed down by the various steps of the sales process (qualification, presentations, proposals, etc.) leading to a much smaller number of customers who actually decide to buy and close the deal.
A big part of success in managing sales leads is developing a better way to understand and manage your company’s sales funnel. Here are a few of the biggest mistakes that small business leaders tend to make in managing their sales funnels – and ideas on how you can get better results.
Mistake #1: Always asking for “more sales leads.” Many companies make the mistake of thinking that they can get better sales results just by constantly engaging in lead generation activities to “dump more leads into the funnel.” This is a costly and inefficient way of getting more sales, because it takes time, effort and investment to find more sales leads. Chances are good that your business can improve your sales results by doing a better job of managing the sales leads you already have, instead of constantly hunting for more and more sales leads.
Mistake #2: Focusing on CRM technology instead of your sales process. Many sales organizations make the mistake of investing in expensive customer relationship management (CRM) software but without a clear understanding of how they want to use the CRM software to improve their sales process. CRM technology can be a valuable tool, but it cannot replace a smart strategy for understanding and adjusting your sales activities to line up with your biggest priorities in your sales process. For example, you as a small business leader need to understand what is happening at every stage of your sales process. Are you failing to generate enough appointments during your initial contacts with new sales leads? Are your sales appointments failing to result in enough follow-up sales presentations? Where in the sales process are you having the most difficulty, and what can you do differently? These are the questions that CRM tools can help you answer, but you can’t rely solely on technology to do the hard work of identifying and fixing the problems.
Mistake #3: Not training your sales team. Sales training is not just for new hires. Sales people need motivation, coaching and a clear idea of what they’re selling and how to adjust to customers’ changing needs and expectations. You have to constantly keep your sales people up to date on the latest ideas and sales techniques. Help your sales team learn from each other and collaborate by sharing their experiences on what works and what doesn’t. Listen to your sales people during their sales calls and offer coaching and guidance on how to improve.
Mistake #4: Not measuring each stage of your sales funnel. Many sales organizations focus too much on their final deal closing ratios, and don’t pay enough attention to the conversion ratios that lead up to the final negotiations with the buyer. Take a look at all stages of your sales process and measure your success rate at each stage. For example, out of 100 sales leads, how many will agree to an initial appointment? How many of those appointments lead to a more extensive sales presentation? Where in your sales process are the biggest successes and the biggest opportunities to improve?
Managing your sales funnel needs to be part of an ongoing effort to see what is happening within your sales process and adjusting along the way. If you have a clear understanding of where your challenges are coming from, which parts of the process need to improve, and constantly coach your sales team to improve their efforts at each stage of your sales funnel, you will start to see a better result in the most important number of all – sales.
.
.
Three Biggest Networking Mistakes Salespeople Make
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on August 26, 2013
Sales people often are natural networkers – after all, we tend to be “people persons” who love to meet new people, build relationships, and create conversations, both in “real life” and on social media. But many sales people, without realizing it, are making some big mistakes with their business networking.
Business networking is one of the sales person’s oldest tools. We use our network of relationships and contacts to get in touch with decision makers, get advice, and get connected with new opportunities. But if you’re making some of these networking mistakes, you might not be reaching your full potential as a sales professional.
Here are a few of the most common networking mistakes – and how to avoid them:
Mistake #1: Networking without a strategy. Building relationships is a long-term activity. You can’t just expect to run out and immediately find the contacts or opportunities you’re looking for without investing some time and effort. Just as you would develop a marketing plan or a sales strategy to land a big client, spend some time mapping out some short-term and long-term goals for your sales networking.
How to avoid: Spend some time asking (and answering) some “big questions” that can guide your networking activity. For example, who are you trying to meet? Which types of companies would you love to get connected with? Who do you already know who works at these companies or knows some of these higher-level people, and how can you strengthen your relationships with your existing circle of influence?
Mistake #2: Networking only to “get,” never to “give.” Too many sales people only look at networking as a way to get what they want. Too many sales people only network in order to get closer to a decision maker, or get their foot in the door at a company where they’re trying to make a sale, or to get in front of someone who might offer them a new job. This is the biggest networking mistake of all. If people feel that you are in it only for yourself, they will be reluctant to trust you or help you. Networking is a two-way street – and some of the most successful sales people are also the most generous with their time and with their contacts.
How to avoid: When networking, always look for opportunities to “give” more than you “get.” Examples of “giving” might be as simple as sharing a timely article about a prospect’s business or industry, or connecting a contact with an opportunity that is valuable to them (even if it is unrelated to your business). Your generosity might not always be rewarded immediately, but in the long run you will build a reputation as someone who can be trusted, and someone who is willing to help others and connect others with opportunities.
Mistake #3: Networking only with the “usual suspects.” Especially if you sell a complex B2B solution, it can be understandably tempting to spend most of your time focused on networking with people in your niche market. But if you spend all of your time connecting only with a small circle of people, you might miss out on opportunities that could come from connecting with people from other facets of your life.
How to avoid: Remember that everyone you know, and everyone they know, can potentially be a valuable contact for you. Take a look at all of your social circles – work, family, community activities, social organizations – and see how you can become more of a connector. Someone you know from church or from your kids’ school might have a friend or relative who works in a business that needs your help.
Networking is the constant, never-ending work of the sales professional. Sometimes networking feels like trying to navigate a maze – lots of blind corners and uncertainty and wrong turns. But at its best, networking is not a maze, it’s a safety net. One of the comforting truths about networking is that we are all supported by our own “safety nets” of contacts and all of their combined expertise, experience and relationships. If sales people can learn to network with planning and purpose (instead of just impulsively grasping around with no sense of direction), if sales people can learn to broaden their networks and connect other people within their networks (instead of only talking to the “usual suspects”), and if sales people can use networking as a way to deepen their relationships and build trust (rather than only trying to get what they need), networking will become a more purposeful and helpful tool – and a better way to operate as a sales professional.
.
.
The Five Best Sales Management Tips
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES LEADERSHIP on August 19, 2013
Sales managers must be coaches, strategists, and leaders for their sales teams. Becoming a great sales manager takes more than experience – it also requires continual learning through actively seeking out and following through on sales management tips from others who have been successful. Learn from the five following sales management tips to build your platform for success.
Build Effective Communication Skills to Interact with Others
Sales managers must be able to communicate effectively with sales people at different career stages, their management peers, executives, and prospects and customers at all levels. Each interaction requires tailored communication, which makes this one of the important sales management tips for sales managers to learn. Hone your communication skills through:
– Picking the best medium for messages, whether it be in person, over the phone, or through e-mail.
– Being as concise as possible to communicate your key points.
– Paying attention to body language and other cues to inform and adapt your communication style for maximum impact.
Create Best Practices for Your Sales Team
One common problem for sales managers is a sales team of individuals following different sales processes, which predictably leads to inconsistent sales results. You can make sure that all of your sales people are on the same page by creating a best practices playbook that provides your sales team with clear guidance on how and when sales processes should be completed.
– Develop processes for lead generation and follow up; hold sales people accountable for following guidelines.
– Provide coaching on proven methods of overcoming the objections common to your selling environment.
– Create outlines of your organization’s typical sales cycles that include steps that your sales people should be following with every sale.
Develop Talent From within the Sales Team
Few sales people are a “natural” fit for sales. Even top sales people who make selling look easy are constantly honing their skills and integrating new knowledge. The guidance that you provide to your sales team sets the tone for your sales team’s success, and by developing talent from within your sales team you can ensure that you have all of the components for a flourishing sales team in place. Create a development plan for your sales team that integrates sales management tips like prioritizing coaching time so that the sales people who need your help the most can benefit from your advice and guidance and coaching your sales people on motivation and drive to get your sales team to consistently meet new quotas.
Know Your Business Inside and Out
Make sure that you are ahead of the curve and regularly follow how trends within your industry and the science of selling are evolving. The knowledge that you accrue will allow you to construct a path that leads your sales team in the right direction. In addition, by being able to predict conditions for your marketplace you will be able to create better-informed sales strategies that require less adjustment. This will make your job and the jobs of the sales people reporting to you easier.
Know What’s Important to Your Sales Team
If you want your sales team to deliver, you must understand the needs, concerns, and drives of your sales people. If your sales people feel understood they will have trust in your leadership, be more open to discussing issues, and won’t hesitate to follow your direction. Form these all-important relationships with your sales people with these sales management tips:
– Adopt a policy of transparency to keep your sales people well-informed.
– Treat your sales people consistently and fairly in all interactions.
– Always give more of yourself than you ask of your sales people; they will notice and appreciate the effort you put into the team’s success.
Remember that as a sales manager, your accomplishments are measured by the results that your sales team is collectively able to deliver. Follow these sales management tips to help your sales team thrive.
.
.
This article was originally posted on the SalesForce Search Blog by Doug O’Grady on 8 August 2013.
.
.
A Better Way to Measure Your Sales Team
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES LEADERSHIP on August 12, 2013
It’s time we start measuring sales people on more than just quota attainment. It’s time we start looking at the entire body of work.
Determining what to measure isn’t a daunting task. We don’t need a plethora of complex, confusing and superfluous stats. We just need a few that tell the bigger story;
- Average Deal Size: How good is the sales rep at up selling? How quickly do they discount deals? How strong of a negotiator are they? Average deal size provides insight into how well a sales rep can maintain the integrity of pricing and drive greater value into the sale.
- Winning Percentage: What percentage of opportunities does the sales rep close? How effective are they with the opportunities they get. A higher winning percentage suggests an impressive ability to qualify or add substantial value to the sale. High winning percentages means less leads and opportunities wasted.
- Average Days in Pipeline: Take all the opportunities in the pipeline and add up the number of days they have been in the pipeline, and then divide by the number of opportunities. How long do deals sit in the pipeline? How good is the sales rep at knowing when to stop working a deal and close it? Is their pipeline stuffed with “stuff” that just isn’t going to close? Is there a decent ratio between average days in pipeline and average time to close? There should be.
- Average Time to Close: How long does it take for a sales rep to close a deal from start to finish? Who on your team closes deals faster? Who takes longer? How do average time to close rates compare with quota attainment and overall revenue attainment. Are those with longer sales cycles selling more? Or are those with faster close rates selling more. Average time to close includes both wins AND losses. It’s designed to measure the amount of time it takes a sales rep to bring a buyer to the decision.
- New Opportunities per Month (NOP): Who is best at building their pipeline? Which reps are focused on new opportunities vs. closing existing opportunities? How many new opportunities are your sales people putting into the pipeline each month? NOP is a critical metric few pay attention to. Knowing who is bringing in the opportunities is critical.
- Average Monthly Pipeline Size: What does the pipeline look like from month to month? Who is good at being able to keep it consistent, vs. those who see big shifts as they close, then prospect, then close. Tracking AMPS will allow you to see who is capable of maintaining a strong pipeline while closing deals and driving revenue.
Measuring sales reps around these individual statistics requires nothing more than a commitment to track them, share them and rank the team against them. The information generated around these six stats will change the sales game. Good reps will be found even in bad years, bad reps will no longer be able to hide. One hit wonders will not be able to bask in the glory of a lucky kill. Management will have more information to work with; trends will be easier to spot and opportunities will present themselves.
.
.
.
Eight Ways to Make People Believe What You Tell Them
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on August 9, 2013
Credibility is one piece of the bedrock of trust. If people doubt what you say, all else is called into doubt, including competence and good intentions. If others don’t believe what you tell them, they won’t take your advice, they won’t buy from you, they won’t speak well of you, they won’t refer you o
n to others, and they will generally make it harder for you to deal with them.
Being believed is pretty important stuff. The most obvious way to be believed, most people would say, is to be right about what you’re saying. Unfortunately, being right and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. First, people have to be willing to hear you. And no one likes a wise guy show-off – if all you’ve got is a right answer, you’ve not got much.
While each of these may sound simple, there are eight distinct things you can do to improve the odds that people believe what you say. Are you firing on all eight cylinders?
1. Tell the truth. This is the obvious first point, of course – but it’s amazing how the concept gets watered down. For starters, telling the truth is not the same as just not lying. It requires saying something; you can’t tell the truth if you don’t speak it.
2. Tell the whole truth. Don’t be cutesie and technical. Don’t allow people to draw erroneous conclusions based on what you left out. By telling the whole truth, you show people that you have nothing to hide. (Most politicians continually flunk this point).
3. Don’t over-context the truth. The most believable way to say something is to be direct about it. Don’t muddy the issue with adjectives, excuses, mitigating circumstances, your preferred spin, and the like. We believe people who state the facts, and let us uncover the context for ourselves.
4. Freely confess ignorance. If someone asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, say, “I don’t know.” It’s one of the most credible things you can say. After all, technical knowledge can always be looked up; personal courage and integrity are in far shorter supply.
5. First, listen. Nothing makes people pay attention to you more than your having paid attention to them first. They will also be more generous in their interpretation of what you say, because you have shown them the grace and respect of carefully listening to them first. Reciprocity is big with human beings.
6. It’s not the words, it’s the intent. You could say, in a monotone voice, “I really care about the work you folks are doing here.” And you would be doubted. Or, you could listen, animatedly, leaning in, raising your eyebrows and bestowing the gift of your attention, saying nothing more than, “wow.” And people would believe that you care.
7. Use commonsense anchors. Most of us in business rely on cognitive tools: data, deductive logic, and references. They are not nearly as persuasive as we think. Focus instead more on metaphors, analogies, shared experiences, stories, song lyrics, movies, famous quotations. People are more inclined to believe something if it’s familiar, if it fits, or makes sense, within their world view.
8. Use the language of the other person. If they say “customer,” don’t you say “client” and vice versa. If they don’t swear, don’t you dare. If they speak quietly one on one, adopt their style. That way, when you say something, they will not be distracted by your out-of-ordinary approach, and they will intuitively respect that you hear and understand them.
What’s not on this list? Several things, actually: Deductive logic, PowerPoint, Cool graphics, Spreadsheet backup, Testimonials and references, Qualifications and credentials.
It’s not that these factors aren’t important; they are. But they are frequently used as blunt instruments to qualify or reject. We’d all prefer to be rejected or disbelieved “for cause,” rather than for some feeling. And so we come up with rational reasons for saying no, and justifying yes. But the decision itself to believe you is far more likely driven by the more emotive factors listed above.
.
.
This article was originally posted on The Trust Matters Blog by Charles H. Green on July 26, 2013.
.
.
For an Effective Voicemail Message – Ditch the Pitch!
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on August 5, 2013
In an age where phone ringers are set to silent and text messaging is a primary form of communication, finding a successful voicemail strategy can be daunting and discouraging. It can be tempting to just rely on emails for leads, or set up an automated system to leave messages for you, but the ability to leave an effective voicemail is still a valuable skill to learn. Here are some pointers I’ve learned from my time on the phones.
The Basics – Sounding calm and confident on the phone is the first step in leaving a good voicemail. Relax while you’re speaking, and talk a little slower than you’re used to in ordinary conversation. And as cheesy as it sounds, smiling while you talk actually affects your tone on the phone, and makes you sound more pleasant.
Talk Like a Human – It’s fair to assume that your prospects are human, and that you are one too. Surprisingly, you can use this fact to your advantage. There are so many automated messages, menus, and reminders that talking to a real, flesh-and-blood person has become somewhat of a novelty. Leave a voicemail the way you’d want someone to leave one for you. Keep your tone conversational.
Toss the Script – I remember story hour in elementary school. All the kids would sit and listen as the teacher read aloud to us from a book. It was lovely and relaxing, and a lot of kids would fall asleep. Don’t be a teacher reading from a book. People talk differently from how they write, and it’s painfully obvious to your listener if you’re reading from something pre-written. Know your content well enough to avoid stammering through with “um”s and “like”s, but don’t put your prospects to sleep.
Ditch the Sales Lingo – I hear a lot of new hires leaving messages the way they think “salespeople” do. The fact of the matter is if you sound like a sales pitch or an infomercial, your prospects aren’t going to be inclined to return your message. Fast-talking sleazy salespeople in the movies are hilarious, but having one on the other end of your phone isn’t nearly as fun. Explain your product to your prospects as though you’re talking to them about it over lunch. Statistics and case studies have their place, but your voicemail isn’t it.
Keep it Short – Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and no one wants to be held hostage by a two-and-a-half minute long voicemail. There are three things people are listening for in a message: Who are you? What do you want? How do they get back to you? If you go too much longer than that, you’re going to lose your audience. Remember that you’re following up with an email, so you don’t need to say every last thing about your product in your voicemail.
Prospects are bombarded with salespeople every day asking “for just a few minutes of their time.” Make yourself stand out by not acting like the rest of them. Recognize that your prospects are busy, and don’t want to listen to you blather on about how great your product is. Keep your message short and sweet. Try not to sound like someone from a late-night infomercial, and you’ll be well on your way towards messaging that actually generates responses.
-
You are currently browsing the archives for August, 2013
Follow On The Web!
