Sometime you have to stand your ground

Putting in the time, qualifying heavily and connecting with the true buying authority is key in any buying selling exchange. These steps were in place on the front en of the buying cycle.

Time for a face of face meeting.

On a recent road trip with one of my customers national reps we flew out late one afternoon for a morning meeting in Pittsburg. I’ll spare you the details but the meeting went well. We connected well and positioned our offering as a resource through basic questions. At the conclusion of our meeting, we agreed on following up with some key information and a date to determine next steps. Time to grab a coffee and head to the airport. I followed up with a discussion summary, received a thank you for coming, and thought we are gaining the long awaited traction.

Fast forward two weeks.

I followed up on the date and time as agreed, addressed the information that was requested and received then the decision maker responds with the generic/vanilla your offering is a commodity – ‘thank you for calling’. Wow my first thought was what happened since our previous meeting?

It’s now or never to test the real commitment to moving forward. Here goes – my next questions were:

1. Which portion of our offering do you feel best suits your needs?
2. If we decide to move forward what type of follow up strategy do you prefer? (note the ‘we’ as in my customer)?

Dead silence. Then a change in demeanor and a sincere response to both and a promise to place an opening order.

Two hours later an order was placed. The office was in a state of celebration.

Lesson learned. The timing was perfect, yet a consultative approach made the difference in moving forward.

Stay the course in the midst of your buying cycle. If you have a sincere prospect with a solid offering you can penetrate a long standing incumbent and accelerate growth for you and your organization. Be ready you may have to stand your ground.

To your success,
Andy

Does this sound familiar?

One of my customer’s senior rep. has been working to gain serious traction with a national player. Great chemistry, lunch at a recent trade show, several email exchanges – even common ground in terms of sports and the age of their children.

Bam! A rush order out of the blue appears, in fact a small order with high demands and short turn around time. The group rises to the occasion fulfills the order based on the buyers criteria hoping this equates to capitalizing on a competitors mistake or lack of preparation.

The rep reaches the now customer to thank him and to begin the cultivation process only to hear – great job in helping us with our fire drill. Translation – he is a back up supplier only to be used in rush cases. You have been there as have I. Some may view this as a proving ground while in reality under the existing circumstances it is a dead end.

What really happened? Simple. The incumbent ran out of product and a quick fix was in order.

Lets look at this from a positive and creative perspective on what you can do instead of what was not done.

5 Tested solutions:

1. Qualify- research on the front end to make sure their business, and objectives are in alignment with your offering and solution.
2. Identify- research to discover the right decision maker.
3. Leverage- your existing relationships to refer you to the right person.
4. Connect- with the decision makers to discover their requirements and expectations in choosing a new supplier.
5. Cultivate- with a planned follow up strategy that clearly communicates new ideas and how your service can create a solution for them.

Best to you in using these to create a healthy prospecting experience, a healthy pipeline and new business opportunities.

To your success,
Andy

You are working hard, and have done so from day one. You have exceeded well beyond your expectations when your adventure in sales began. You have developed an experience curve that is respected and valued by both your customers and organization. You are viewed as a ‘game changer’.

But perhaps in recent months you have noticed that the zip isn’t there. Your passion has waned. Overall your ‘game changer’ results and influence are not up to par. You ask, “Is it the economy?  My offering? My organization?”

Truth is, each of these could be contributing factors, but before you halt your analysis – have you considered that a portion of what you are experiencing may be you? Is it possible that you are just on ‘autopilot’ and your experience curve is actually working against you?

For sometime now, your experience and instincts alone have served you well (and they will in the future). But if you have discovered that the reason behind your performance shift is that you are operating on autopilot, then today is different. To regain the performance levels of which you are capable, hitting ‘refresh’ and abandoning autopilot is a must!

Below are 5 proven principles to regain your ‘Game Changer’ level of performance whether you are a sales professional or sales leader. I would encourage you to take action before someone or your circumstances takes action for you:

1. Hit the streets with a new rep calling on existing customers – early and often.
2. Get involved with their on-boarding process. Avoid leaving them alone to sink or swim. Once they figure it out, in their mind they will no longer need you.
3. Become a player coach by creating and nurturing 2-3 prospects through the buying process.
4. Share your activity and accomplishments with your team as you advance through the buying cycle. This builds trust as you lead from the front and advances their learning curve.
5. Once you land a new piece of business (and you will, you always have) transition it to a deserving rep.

Do these things and you will be  a renewed ‘game changer’ with an increased level of influence.

To your success,
Andy

This morning in leading a sales development exercise one of the participants shared that she is experiencing a rather long buying cycle with one of her key prospects and that her solution is now gaining more traction.

After a few minutes another rep stated that the definition of traction seemed to be different from one rep to the other.

As the group discussion continued it seemed to make sense to take a deep dive and let the creative juices of the group flow – game on! At the end of our session we divided our thoughts into two separate groups – what prevents traction from occurring, and what does it look like in action.

First and foremost we defined traction as it relates to our craft- professional selling.

Traction – the steps in gaining sincere interest with your offering and compressing the buying cycle to reach a solution that achieves and maintains profitability for your customer.

What prevents traction from happening? (The following were just a few)

• Calling on the wrong person
• Bad timing
• Failure to articulate value on the front end
• Falling short in gaining trust

Now for the fun part! What does traction look like in action?

• You have buy in – i.e. the top person wants it to happen
• The buying cycle is compressed – with measurable progress
• You become a part of their culture
• A spark that provides great hope and encouragement

What started out as a normal exercise this morning, finished with a group that understands and sees the benefit of gaining traction from each of the prospects and customers alike!

Now that I am on the plane headed home I get to offer my definition:

Traction is the thrill that keeps all of us hanging in there and coming back for more as we work our craft.

To your success,

Andy

The first half of January is in our rear view mirror, and we have the remaining half to go.

In your world, all may be in great order and your year is off to a great start. Or you may be in a position where you have inherited a sales goal that is well above your 2011 trajectory, in which case time is not on your side.

In either case, I would be willing to bet that new business acquisition could increase your sales trajectory well above your own expectations.

The reason I know is that I have been there many times. In fact, over the past few days I have spoken with several reps across multiple industries that are either experiencing the thrill of a new year, or are on the verge of deep concern as they chase their ‘new number’.

First of all, relax. Second, place your number in a folder and focus on building trust and creating value – in doing that your number will take care of itself. There is a proven concept that you know about, but I would like to offer a friendly reminder (we all need reminding from time to time). Remember the practice of asking for a referral from a satisfied customer? You have developed and invested months and years in these relationships – leverage them in a way that benefits them and you as well.

Below are three key benefits in leveraging your relationships to create solid referrals that will create huge upside for you:

1. A solid referral to an interested prospect will shorten the buying cycle.
2. You will enter the new relationship in a stronger position because you now have reduced the time to build credibility.
3. Once the process begins you will be given access to others in your prospect’s organization that would have taken months or years to discover.

There may be instances where your customer places a call to your prospect and they are willing to meet via phone or face to face but the timing is off or the political landscape does not work to your advantage. That is part of sales. None the less, you can use this as an opportunity to ask their advice in suggesting one of their peers that may benefit from your service or product offering.

These are but three of the many benefits that are available to you in leveraging your relationships in creating solid referrals. Give them a shot – you will be glad that you did.

To your success,
Andy

It has been said that the people we learn from the most are not the ones who teach us what we did not know before, but the ones who help us apply our skill set and experiences that we have quietly honed, give it expression and speak it clearly and boldly to benefit others. This is our desire at Directional Achievement and purpose in our blog series and service offering.

Over the past several years you have been faced with challenges unique to prior years in your profession. As a sales or organizational leader, you have been required to operate with limited staff and limited resources. As a sale professional, the landscape has changed and you have been forced to adapt to these changes with your customers and prospects while facing sales growth demands.

A friend of mine stated recently that to connect and inspire my customers in today’s market “I had to return to the basics in today’s world, not 15 years ago”.

For many of your customers today it is about short-term survival. They are looking for you to provide more value, lead them with your knowledge, and develop a genuine connection. The majority are not looking beyond Q2.

In terms of new business acquisition, to advance in the buying cycle they are looking to see how you can hit the ground running and that, once in, can provide solutions quickly and efficiently.

Here are 3 Creative Tips to help you optimize your sales in 2012

1. New ideas – Get to the benefit quickly and distinguish you and your offering up front.
2. New techniques – Sales principles do not change application but techniques do when trying to connect and convey value.
3. New knowledge – Knowledge provides direction and establishes a clear cut path and commitment.

Your customers and prospects are special people. Inspire them with your creativity and move beyond your competition that is operating with a Rolodex in an iPad World.

To your success!

Andy

We are five days into the New Year and I see a bright year ahead for us. I say this because I am one of you! I am on the streets carrying the flag, working to deliver value, differentiating my offering and satisfying my customers just like you are – we are on this sales journey together.

Today, January 5th is a great day, my third grandchild was born and I experienced earlier today refreshing yet sustainable changes happening with several representatives that are part of my client base. These changes came from finding, implementing, and paying forward 3 Power Questions & notes that I found in a forgotten journal.

These are….

1. What do you want?
2. What are you doing about it?
3. What do you need to abandon that is not working?

Before we go any further, please let me explain.

In 2008 I was on a return flight to Orlando and happened to be sitting next to a gentleman that was interesting to say the least. During the course of our flight we began our chat in typical fashion and in a few minutes time I knew this guy had real substance based on real life experiences. My business was growing, and while his discussion was thought provoking, I took a page of notes thinking that these would be needed for a ‘later time’, or a ‘rainy day’ as it were. After all I was doing well – little did I know (ever felt this way).

The flight landed, we shook hands promising to connect, and the notes were tucked away in a journal that later found it’s place on a shelf in my study – forgotten.

Fast forward to June 2011.

Circumstances had changed somewhat since 2008. I had experienced business challenges that I had never dreamed possible. Early one Saturday morning I was looking through my library and happened upon several sales books that I had forgotten about, plus the forgotten journal. I picked up the journal and the Delta ticket stub was still in place, taking me to the page with a title at the top [3 Power Questions].

I first read through the questions and a sense of clarity hit me like a bolt of lightening. I read them a second time and had an entirely new perspective. Beginning that Saturday morning June 11th my sales journey took on a refreshing perspective and is going strong today as we head into a new year. In reading and applying these 3 Power Questions & notes they can do the same for you. The first step is to be willing to make some new choices; the second is to take them one at a time. You will be glad that you did – I promise!

I would like to wish you all the best to you in 2012. If you will contact me, I will gladly provide for you the rest of the notes portion of my 2008 discussion which is the most thought provoking and career changing part of all.

By the way, if you are the gentleman that shared this treasure trove with me, please contact me immediately. I along with 40 plus sales professionals, are deeply indebted to you and your insight.

Create your sales legacy,

Andy

You must have a strong ending to assure a strong beginning!

In writing each blog article, my focus is on you and my goal is to create as much relevant value as possible. That said I hope that you will indulge me for the next few sentences.

Today was a special day. While waiting in the crowded Crown Room in Atlanta I headed back for another cup of their finest java. There he was, right there in front of me. My first mentor. After a few words to break the ice I was relieved that he remembered me from our earlier years of working together. This person is the best leader that a sales professional could ask for. Today at 71 he is going strong- not because he needs to, but that he chooses to. This guy is a warrior! (I would love to peek at his financials.)

I returned to my seat and he and three of his associates joined me. Once the pleasantries and digital photos on our iPhones were exchanged he shifted into full mentor form. His first question although casually presented was “How is your year going to finish?” Tagged to that was “What are your goals for 2012?” My face turned red, but not from not being prepared, instead it was due knowing that what he was asking was true.

How about you?

An eventful year is slowly coming to a close and you hear a lot about ‘finishing strong’ and rightfully so. Unfortunately, many people back off and miss the potential awaiting them even up to the last day of the year.

As our discussion continued my mentor kindly reminded me of a statement that still holds true:

“You can not have a strong beginning without a proper ending”.

In short, creating a strong finish will create a strong beginning.

As you close out 2011 and prepare for 2012 please allow me to pass along a world-class reminder:

3 Steps to assure a strong ending which leads to a strong beginning

1. Make everyday count. Avoid the trap of following the pack and ending the year prematurely.
2. Contact those tough to reach prospects. Your competition is at the mall. Set up an appointment for early in 2012.
3. For those that choose not to grant an appointment identify a topic that is a trigger event to pick up with after first of the year.

Today was a special day and I hope it was for you as well. It was great to be reminded that ‘you can not have a strong beginning without a proper ending’. I hope that you take the time and have a strong ending for 2011, which will create for you a strong beginning and a successful start for 2012.

To your success,
Andy

Great! A flight delay (you know the feeling). Looks like I have some unexpected time.

Let me ask you, ‘What does your sales success and a Swiss Army knife have in common’?

Plenty!

There are many virtues that explain the role of you as a professional sales representative. This is true now today more than ever, in the recession and recovery environment that you compete in.

The single virtue that I am referring to is your versatility.

I spent the day working with one of you! Yep, you! I just finished up a terrific day in the field with a sales rep that has created remarkable rapport with her customers, and has forged a strong bond of trust with her prospects.

Like you, the rep that I am working with has found that many of today’s decision makers are required to generate results while working with limited staff and limited resources, and have done so since the “economic fun” began in 2007. They are ready for something new. They are ready for you; they are ready for a business peer that offers versatility.

Below are five points of versatility that will optimize your sales efforts!

1.    Position your offering to match their strategic direction.
2.    Present new ideas that match their vision.
3.    Provide new techniques that reduce their administrative burden.
4.    Offer your skills to solve their problems.
5.    …

As you become versatile; and function as a Swiss Army Knife you will capture more market share and improve the trajectory of your sales revenue.

Gotta go, they are boarding the flight. Contact me for the fifth point – it’s the best!

To your success,
Andy

Today I had the good fortune of meeting with a friend that is CEO with one of the premier grocery store chains in the U.S. This individual represents the C level Executive that has the influence and authority to create magic within his organization and industry in a matter of minutes.

After the pleasantries were exchanged and the Thanksgiving stories shared I had one burning question that I wanted to gain clarification around.  That one question was as follows…

“What do you expect from someone trying to earn your business”?

All of a sudden his office was stone cold quiet. His demeanor changed, although remaining pleasant. For a moment I wished that I had not posed the question, but what happened next made it worth while. He said:

At this level you must be able to deliver in five areas.

1. Create value on the front end: You do that by bringing me ideas.
2. Connect quickly: You do that by understanding my business.
3. Get to the point: You do that by respecting my time.
4. Take ownership: Own the outcome that you promise.
5. Remain transparent: This continues to build trust.

This time was worth its weight in gold, in that it brought together many principles that we often overlook or are not aware of.

By applying each of these five keys, I feel certain you will benefit in Becoming a First among Equals in your respective organization, market and sales team.

To your success,
Andy