Monday, March 28, 2011

Are You?

You wouldn’t believe how gratifying it is to get emails after I post a blog. Every week I’m surprised to hear from so many of you who have been affected by what I have written. Last night I was speaking with an old friend, a very successful entrepreneur in Texas. I had no idea he was reading the blog, but he remarked how he is regularly sending about five thank-you notes every Friday. Clearly this guy is a can-do person who read an early blog posting and did something about it. But sometimes - I have to admit - I do get a little frustrated.

First, many of you consistently read the blog and yet have no idea that I’ve written a book. If the title of this blog got your attention, then you might be interested to know it is equally effective as the subject line of an email. It’s great for getting deals unstuck. That’s what chapter four is all about. If you look at the right hand page of the blog you can read all about the book. Take a moment to see it could be of value to you.

Thank you for that bit of self promotion.

The second frustration comes from the myriad of excuses that I hear on a regular basis. Today I was on a sales training call that had some good information about territory and account planning. I shouldn’t have been, but I was surprised to hear the excuses levied by various sellers about why aspects of account planning don’t apply to them. I heard things like “I can’t measure my activities because of what I do. It’s different. I follow up daily on my prior day sales calls and meetings. It just wouldn’t make sense.” Really? Or how about this one, “We are heavily involved in our customers’ implementations, so planning is really difficult.” What?

It reminded me of the excuses I hear all the time about whether or not you are implementing the suggestions in my blog postings – like the Texas entrepreneur has. Here are a series of actual (or pretty close to actual) conversations that have happened after each posting (Each title is hyper-linked to the blog posting in case you haven’t read it yet.):

"Lessons from a Top Rep" – Reader, “Loved the blog, you really hit some great points that I totally agree with.” Me, “Are you following your customers and competitors using Google Alerts?” Them, “Not yet. I’m still trying to figure out whom to follow.” Don’t over-think this one. Pick a few and see what happens!

"I’m Going on a Sales Call and I Don’t Know What to Carry" – Reader, “Your latest posting really made me think. I have this big bag that I’ve been carrying for years in to every sales call and yet I rarely ever use the computer.” Me, “Did you carry the bag in to your customer call today?” Them, “Well yeah, it’s a tough habit to break.” Smoking is a tough habit to break! Leave the bag in the car and take in your portfolio, pen and some business cards.

"What Are You Measuring?" – Reader, “It is really true that home based workers should be measuring what we do. It’s a discipline thing.” Me, “So what sales activities are you measuring?” Them, “Well none yet. I’m still trying to decide.” So stop thinking and start doing. You can’t really go wrong here and the results won’t be published. What are you afraid of? Just pick SOMETHING and start measuring. It’s not hard.

These are three of the eight examples that I originally wrote about. My editor (thanks honey!) told me it was too long and too negative so I picked three that stand out the most.

There are those that read and those that read and do. As you read this posting (aka rant), do any of these excuses apply to you? Do all of them? I absolutely love that you read the blog on a regular basis and learn from it. Now . . . go . . . DO! Put an end to the excuses and commit to the things that you can control. Everything else will follow.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Lessons from a Top Rep

The best sales rep I ever worked with did not look like you would expect. He made his first impression at the all-company meeting by forgetting that he had a blood soaked tissue stuck on his freshly shaved – and cut – face. To say he was forgetful is an understatement. He was always leaving something in a cab – his wallet, phone or something else important. You just never knew what would be next. And, while he was a nice looking person, he was not the most suave and debonair of sales reps that I had ever met. Nope, what separated him from the rest of the pack was his absolute commitment to the job.

Like many reps, he had a territory full of prospects. But unlike the rest of his colleagues, he pulled a detailed list of companies from Hoover’s and spent his long Thanksgiving weekend stratifying his prospects against a set of criteria that helped him rank them in order of likelihood for success. For example, industrial manufacturing firms were less likely to purchase his product than a financial services firm. After this fairly exhaustive analysis he had a list of companies where he could apply laser focus.

Blog continued below . . .

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically get a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!



Next, since most of the companies in his territory were multibillion dollar corporations, he identified the divisions that would be most likely to do business with him. Using information from annual and quarterly reports, he would find the fastest growing divisions and began to investigate them; what did they produce, who was in charge of what, how strategic were they to the corporation? Why fast growing divisions? That’s where the action is! That’s probably where the most investment is occurring. When he learned what he could, he started emailing, calling, mailing, and working his way through the organization. Over time he created a “system” for calling in to accounts that the rest of the company adopted as a best practice. And, what added to the efficacy of his approach was his unobtrusive and authentic manner when speaking with people.

He was also a dedicated student of the industry. If you could award a bachelor degree for industry, competitor and product knowledge, he would have earned his PhD – with honors. It didn’t come any easier to him than it did anyone else. He just spent time on studying the business – his business.

Always recognizing when it made sense, he was artful at engaging the right executives at the right time to help him sell. Since we worked for a small company, our CEO was fairly accessible. But he didn’t always go right to the CEO. Management at each level has currency, so he was always very careful to spend the currency wisely. I’ve been frustrated as a sales leader to get engaged at non-decision-maker levels where my currency is misspent. Make sure to engage your company leadership at a like-for-like organizational level; Director to Director, VP to VP, SVP to SVP, President to President, and CEO to CEO. Or, as close as you can get!

He was also careful to spend his own currency wisely on his internal resources. He almost never cried “Wolf!”, so that when he needed unique financial terms the CFO was ready and willing to help; when he required assistance on a sticky contract problem, legal was at his beckon call; when he needed the implementation to be performed a certain way, the professional services team was almost always willing to oblige.

This guy was not a “squeaky wheel”. He was an absolute grinder that consistently produced great results for the company. If you read my blog “How and Where to Focus Your Energy”, then you can be sure that he was absolutely committed to the things he could control. And because of that, he wielded much greater influence over the people and processes he did not control. In other words, his influence loomed large over the organizations that were poised to help him.

Once he had firmly established himself as the top sales rep in the company, the organization marshaled resources to help him even further. He had a dedicated inside sales rep to help him set appointments and a nearly-dedicated pre-sales technical associate. Other sellers squawked about how unfair it was that he was getting more resources than they were. Management’s answer was simple – produce the same and you’ll get dedicated resources too! Needless to say, he continued to do very well, made amazing money, was showered with stock options, and eventually promoted to a Regional VP of Sales position.

Sound good? It can be you! Just follow the same process:
  1. Work really hard. Commit fully to your book of business or territory like it is your own company. What would you do if you were commission only? Would you waste so much time on senseless email? Would you work with greater urgency?
  2. Get your Industry PhD by knowing all about your company, its products, the industry and your competitors. “I just don’t have time for all of that.” Right. Now tell me all about your favorite TV shows. C’mon and get off your duff. Subscribe to the newsletters and sign up for Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts to get a notification any time something important happens to a customer, competitor or your company. Consume every article you can find. Dig for more and keep reading.
  3. Research your prospects. What divisions are growing fastest? Who is in charge? Where are the locations? What do they make? How do they sell it? Who buys it? Who are their competitors?
  4. Prospect, prospect, prospect. You’ve got to get on the phone, be proactive, and get fresh appointments. All the time. And measure the results. Need some help? Take a look at my “What Are You Measuring?” blog.
  5. Engage your management when and where appropriate, protecting their currency.
  6. Use your currency wisely. It’s okay to be the squeaky wheel. Just make sure that legal, finance, etc. don’t roll their eyes every time you email or call. Be that rep that they love to work with. One that produces results, is grateful for their help, recognizes that they have other priorities, establishes realistic expectations, and doesn’t cry “Wolf”.
  7. Do what you say you’ll do when you say you’ll do it.
  8. Repeat steps 1 – 7.


Execute and you’ll soon find yourself at the top!

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm Going on a Sales Call and I Don't Know What to Carry

Update: A poll accompanied the original post of this blog that asked the reader to answer one or two of the following questions:
  1. I carry a backpack: 33%
  2. I carry a briefcase: 43%
  3. Backpacks are unprofessional: 43%
  4. It doesn't matter: 20%
During our national sales meeting earlier this year, one of the younger reps shared with me that he had been chastised by a very seasoned sales leader for carrying a backpack to a customer meeting. He was told that he looked like a student, not like a sales professional. This hit home for me because about ten years ago I started carrying a backpack after years of being a briefcase guy. Carrying a backpack made a ton of sense once I moved from Dallas to Chicago where I had a train commute followed by a long walk to the office. The backpack was very practical since I was almost always carrying my laptop. It was much more comfortable than a briefcase and didn’t cause any fatigue. Now I’m a home based worker without a commute. Carrying my backpack is now relegated for business travel that is frequently centered on visiting a customer.

Shortly after the sales meeting I was on the road with a rep and caught a full-length glimpse of myself in a large window with my backpack on my shoulder. Having just recently heard the “you look like a student” story, I took a fresh look at my appearance. I was wearing a nice sports coat and slacks. The backpack was slung over one shoulder and was doing real number on my coat. My jacket was all bunched up around my neck and the backpack was sagging even though it is considered top-of-the line. It was big and fairly heavy – and that’s exactly what it looked like. Since I’m too old to be mistaken for a student, I wondered what this look was doing for my brand.

Blog continued below . . .

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically get a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!



When I got back home, I wanted to hear some other perspectives on the topic, so I posed a question on LinkedIn and got some very interesting responses from around the world that I’d like to share with you. The LinkedIn group is the “Sales Management Association.” The question that I posed was, “Do you carry a backpack or a computer-bag/briefcase? Is one more professional? Does it matter?” Here are some of the responses:

“I cover a very large area, so utility is much more important to me. I carry a backpack that has several pockets and has the capability to charge my laptop without it leaving the backpack if needed. I also have several areas of document storage for my other needs. I think in America we have moved beyond some of the traditional norms for sales managers to have to carry a briefcase, but in some areas I see it as still the standard.”

“Briefcase looks more professional but when I need my laptop I carry it in my backpack.”

“The way things 'look' accounts for 55% of our human perception and 'back-packs' look crumpled and slack. A trainer we employed always turned up at client premises on a bike with helmet and backpack. He had to go...customers in the London financial district (City and Docklands) didn't like the unprofessional look of it. I notice when selling in the Wall St area of NY smart suits and briefcases are the norm for my clients and by default therefore for me too.”

Then I posed another question, “So what would you carry in to a conference room in a B2B selling situation if you needed your computer?” Here’s how the same group of people responded.

"A laptop in a good cover. Leave everything else non-essential in the car. The more you carry in the less important you appear and the more threatening you look.”

“Computers and laptops should be the exception in sales meetings. Most customers are simply not interested in seeing or hearing about all our 'stuff'. Customers in general want instead to tell us at length about all their problems in areas where we (the sellers) may have a solution. The current research shows that the longer customers are allowed to do this the more likely a sale will result. This approach is so rare that over 80% of prospective customers say that they would pay for each hour with a sales executive who knows how to ask questions and create value without resorting to the dreaded presentation especially in the early stages of the sales process.”

“From a lady's perspective; guys who carry briefcase are more presentable and give an impression of someone who is more organized. Generally the dressing still count towards the overall impression. However, this impression give way to your skills in listening and asking the "right" questions once the meeting started."

So what are the common-sense-sales takeaways on this topic? First, whether you carry a backpack or a briefcase, you should always look sharp and professional; and second, whenever possible, less is best.

If you don’t need your computer, why carry a bag in to a customer meeting? What about a portfolio, pen and some business cards? Even if your sales role requires you to carry samples, you should observe the less is best philosophy. (Pharma reps read and heed – doctor offices are tight, do you really need all that stuff other than the samples?)

If you need your computer for the meeting, make sure to utilize the least bulky and “crumpled” bag that you have. You probably don’t need all those extra accessories that serve to take up room and create a jumbled mess when you are just searching for a pen. When I’m on the road, my backpack is full of travel-related items that have zero use on a sales call. Consequently, I have stopped taking my bag in to sales calls and only take in a notebook. Just last week I was on a call with a rep and this topic was top of mind. I wanted to see how successful the meeting would be if we didn’t have all of our “stuff”, so neither of us carried in a bag of any kind. We had a few file folders and notebooks but that was it. The meeting went just fine.

Ultimately, our visual clutter is a very important part of the impression we create in the minds of our prospects and customers. As the LinkedIn messages confirm, appearance counts. How you dress along with what and how much "stuff" you carry with you matters. If you are trying to give the appearance of being busy and important by carrying big bags with lots of stuff, you are throwing off the exact opposite impression. Clean out your bags, take only the essentials, and leave the rest in the car.

For now I’ll still carry my backpack, but for customer calls I’ll shed it and only take in the bare minimum. I’m still pondering a briefcase for those times that I need my computer . . . I just can’t seem to get over the site of me carrying that big thing over my shoulder while trying to look my best.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Want to Sell More? Just Ask "Why?"

Sales people never want to do or say anything that will interfere when things seem to be going their way. When they sense that the prospect is leaning their way and wants to buy, they become more and more agreeable. While that is not always a bad thing, sellers often overlook key opportunities to ask meaningful questions that if left unanswered could lead to the demise of their deal; or they don’t uncover even greater opportunities within the deal that they’re working on. One question that should be asked with far more regularity is “Why?

Last year I was with a rep at a large customer. They had an urgent need to utilize one of our services. They said something like, “Can you get this done by the end of the year?” The rep appropriately responded, “Yes, of course.” Then the customer started to move on to another topic. I interrupted them and asked, “What’s the urgency with getting the project done this year?” It’s another form of asking “Why?” The customer was more than happy to explain why, remarking that it was all about their year end budget. That lead to another series of questions regarding other projects that we could complete for them prior to the end of the year. And the pipeline got fuller.

Blog continued below . . .

If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.

If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.

Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically get a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.

The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.

No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.

What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!

There are plenty of situations to ask “Why?” and in multiple forms. Some examples:

Customer: “Your company is performing well against the competition and is in the lead on this project.”

Average Seller: “Great to hear!”

Top Seller: “Great to hear! What are we doing particularly well that has us in the lead?”


Customer: “It is important to me that your product has this particular feature.”

Average Seller: “Our product has that feature.”

Top Seller: “Our product has that feature. But if I may, why is that important to you?”


Customer: “We only buy direct from the manufacturer. We don’t use middle men.”

Average Seller: “Our product is supported through multiple channels.”

Top Seller: “Our product is supported through multiple channels. Why is it important that you buy direct?”


Customer: “The summer is a bad time for us to begin implementation. It’ll have to be this fall.”

Average Seller: “We can start this fall, no problem.”

Top Seller: “We can start this fall, no problem. What about the summer makes it a bad time for you?”


Customer: “We’re terminating the relationship with our current vendor and want to speak with you about your services.”

Average Seller: “Okay. Let’s set up some time to speak this week.”

Top Seller: “Okay. Let’s set up some time to speak this week. Before we do, I’d like to learn more about what happened with the other vendor to see if we can avoid making the same mistake.”

It’s very tempting to agree with a customer when things seem to be going your way. Failing to ask “Why?” can lead to the loss of some critical information. It can be the difference between winning and losing a deal. More importantly, prospects are looking for credible business partners when they make important buying decisions. Being a “yes man” throughout the sales process won’t differentiate you from your competitors and certainly doesn’t position you as a business partner. Your willingness to ask “Why?” can and will set you apart. So the next time it sounds like things are going your way, stop and take a moment to ask “Why?”