Sales – Page 7 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

10 Key Behaviors that Drive Sales Success

September 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Sales success is about managing key metrics and behavior indicators. When you can systematize your selling efforts, your salesforce will be more consistent and effective.

Today’s post is by Bill Bartlett, author of The Sales Coach’s Playbook (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

I witnessed an interesting phenomenon last week when I was working with a client who is a business owner. He had asked me to observe a coaching session/business review he was conducting with his sales manager. The objective of the one-hour session was to determine why the salesforce was not meeting its quota and develop an action plan to resolve it.

He began by admonishing the manager for the unacceptable shortfall in meeting his quota. He warned him that there would be serious consequences if it was not remedied the following quarter. For the first forty minutes of the hour, he reviewed facts and figures to support how severely it would impact not only the bottom line, but also his and his peers’ bonuses.

He then devoted the remaining twenty minutes to listening to the manager provide solutions to this “crisis.” Instead of proposing suggestions, however, he responded with a litany of excuses beyond his control, such as the market’s volatility and flattening substantiated by data he had brought with him, the company’s pricing as compared to their competitors, and the loss of major accounts because their buying patterns had changed.

He closed the coaching session by committing to “forcing” the sales team to work harder to remedy the shortfall, assuring the “future would be different.” My client seemed satisfied, dismissed his manager, and turned to me with a sense of gratification. He asked for my feedback and was taken aback when I predicted nothing would change in the future and sales would continue to stagnate.

I commented that the meeting was clearly not a coaching session. It was a one hour session that drove fear into the heart of his manager who evidently did not know how to modify his team’s results. Furthermore, I observed that the manager’s self-worth had been damaged and to regain some modicum of self-respect, he would predictably communicate to his sales team in the same way that my client did with him. My client sat back in his chair and wanted to know how he could have conducted the meeting to assure a meaningful and measurable turnaround in results.

I suggested the following points:

Memory and the Power of Decision-Making

June 27, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

The way to stand out and get people to take action is to be memorable. People act on what they remember. Differentiating your business is the key to being remembered.

Today’s post is from Carmen Simon, author of Impossible to Ignore (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Would you tour a museum naked? You may consider it if you visit the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania, Australia.

MONA is an extremely innovative museum, increasing its financial viability each year and disturbing many conventions in the art world. While typical museums are above ground, this one is underground. While typical museums are easy to access, this one is on an isolated island, in a working-class district.

You don’t access MONA by ascending massive staircases or passing between marble columns. You enter it via a tennis court. Art exhibits conventionally have labels. MONA has none. There are no signs or directions, no logical route that visitors must take, and nothing is displayed across a timeline. The museum is a theater of curiosities, from a sculpture of a grossly fattened red Porsche, to rotting cow carcasses, to a library with blank books. Dark walls dominate with the intent to undermine the standard white gallery. An Australian magazine called MONA “a mash up between the lost city of Petra and a late night out in Berlin.” The museum’s daring themes of sex and death are in blunt contrast to the people of Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, who are modest and courteous. For an extra thrill, you can join the “naturist” tour in the buff after 9 p.m. The guards and guides will also be naked.

At some point, we all create something and hope that other people will act on it: read it, listen to it, like it, buy it, or recommend it to others. At some point, we want to influence people’s choices. But how do we get others to act in our favor in an age of increasing competition, complexity, and noise?

People act on what they remember. Not on what they forget.

8 Elements that Differentiate Your Business and Make it Stand Out

June 20, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Sales, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Differentiating your business and making it stand out isn’t about cosmetic external attributes. It’s about sharing the internal elements that make your business different.

Today’s post is from Winnie Brignac Hart, co-author of Stand Out (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Today, we’re bombarded with marketing messages from every side – the New York Times estimates over 5,000 messages every day. Marketers used to try to reach consumers at home watching TV or reading newspapers and magazines, but now advertisers reach consumers in real time, trying to catch their attention at every turn. It’s absolute sensory overload as companies press harder to make their brands stand out.

My sister, Lorrie, and I are identical twins. Because we are identical twins, we know a lot about the confusion and frustration that comes from a lack of clarity when things look the same. It has taught us a simple truth about differences.

We live in a world that appreciates and expects individual differences in appearance and behavior. So when we encounter two identical individuals, this experience challenges our beliefs about the way that the world works. Of course, identical twins are never exactly alike, and some differ in profound ways. Yet we can’t stop ourselves from comparing them and trying to find the differences that help us to tell them apart. By taking a closer look at twins, we can learn a great deal about the concept of differentiation. When I look at my twin, I can experience how others view me – and actually see myself from outside of myself.

I did not think about it much until I was almost 13. Around that time, I remember clearly that looking and being different from my twin sister was just about the most important thing in my world. I wanted to be seen as a separate and distinct person. I dressed as differently as I could. I cut my hair differently, I hung out with other people who were trying to be different, too – artists, musicians, and other experimental types who for one reason or another were trying to find their own identities. What I found was that most of what I did to be different was external. I was trading being part of one group (the twins) with being part of another, larger group (creative types).

Changing Behaviors is the Key to Achieving Your Goals

June 8, 2016/4 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

No matter how SMART your goals are, if you don’t get people to change their behaviors, there’s no way you’ll ever achieve the goal. By clearly articulating what behaviors they need to change and explaining how those changes tie to goals, you’ll increase your chances of “making your numbers.”

The reason we set goals is to drive different outcomes. That means behaviors need to change. You need to know what the current behavior is, what the preferred behavior should be, and have the right incentives in place to make people change to that new behavior. You’d be remiss to set a goal and not tell people how they should behave differently in order to achieve it.

Explain which behaviors should change and how you’re going to monitor those changes. What new skills do you need your people to build? Do you need to train them, coach them, give them different resources? What new information or resources will they need to demonstrate these new behaviors? If you want to hit your goals, tell people what the new behaviors are that you expect. Setting a goal without telling giving your team members behavioral guidance is a recipe for failure. Make sure they know how they should change the way they work and reinforce those changes regularly.

There’s a consumer packaged goods company that had a large sales force. That sales force was previously given incentives based on the revenue they generated. The company was trying to grow which was their strategic imperative. Their original goal of driving revenue was tied to that strategic goal of growth.

All the salespeople had individual revenue goals for the year. The behaviors that led to was first, the salespeople discounted heavily to drive revenue and steal share from competitors. Sales people also chased small accounts because they were easier to sell to even if they were more costly to service. Lastly, salespeople sold any product in the portfolio just to make the sale, rather than focusing on the products that drove profits.

Over time the company changed its goals. Read more

6 Steps to Achieving Your Goals in 90 Days

June 6, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Achieving your goals is all about taking tangible steps every day. If you change your time horizon and ask yourself six simple questions, you’ll find you’re achieving your goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible.

Today’s post is by David Horsager, author of THE DAILY EDGE: Simple Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Make an Impact Every Day (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

I met an eighty-eight-year-old man named Orville at my health club. I first noticed him one afternoon while checking in at the front desk. He was stumbling along behind me. There was no way this man, slowly shuffling along the path to the gym, was going to do any kind of meaningful workout! Orville patiently moved, inch by inch, into the weight-training area, picked up some dumbbells, and, with an audible grunt, started his routine.

One day I happened to see Orville out of the corner of my eye, stepping onto one of the treadmills. I was across the room, and he was already reaching for the start button. Too far away to help him, I just stood there and watched. As the treadmill came to life, Orville took one small step, and then another. The machine picked up speed, but miraculously, so did his legs. Within a minute, he hit full stride, running like a man half his age!

At this point the reality of the situation dawned on me. Orville’s problem was not with his legs, it was with his vision. He couldn’t see where he was going. Though Orville did nothing to cause his vision problem, it is a powerful example of how limited we are when we lack clarity and vision.

How often do leaders and employees lack clarity in their communication, and as a result, drive forward ambiguous goals?

I think 90 days is the best timeframe for most goals. A year is too long – see how few people keep New Year’s Resolutions? Twenty-one days is too short for most real change. However, in 90 days, I was able to lose 33 pounds! And I’ve seen people triple their sales in 90 days.
That’s why I like the 90-Day Quick Plan. It is a strategy for clarifying how you are going to achieve your most vital goals.

Pick an area of your business or personal life that you’d like to address, and then ask six questions. Don’t wait to start because the plan should take less than thirty minutes to create. All you need to do is ask and answer these six questions:

6 Fantastic Negotiating Techniques that Help You Win the Deal

April 6, 2016/5 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Negotiating can be tricky business. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could get fleeced. But with these six great tools you can increase the odds that you end up on the right side of the deal.

Over the years, I’ve learned some great negotiating techniques and tactics. I’d like to share them with you – with the promise that you don’t use them against me because I’ll know what you’re doing.

The Invisible Man

One of my favorites is called the invisible man. That’s where you’re in the heat of a deal and you don’t want to give an answer right now, or you don’t like the position that the other party is taking. You just say “Well, I have to check with my colleagues before I can give you an answer.” Unfortunately that other party isn’t in the room.

By using this approach, you’ve pushed back the negotiation, you’ve bought yourself some time, and now you have the ability to go back to the other party and say “I know you wanted a 20% discount, but I’ve spoken with my colleagues and the best we can do is 10%.” You’ve created an invisible authority that the other party has to negotiate against.

The Bogey

The second technique is called the bogey. Act like something you don’t care about at all is really important to you. Then as you go through the deal, fight hard for that one point. This gives you the ability to trade it away later like you’re making a major concession but it doesn’t really cost you anything. You create negotiating leverage for yourself by making the other party believe they’ve won something big when instead you were able to extract something of true value to you.

The Nibble

The next technique is called the nibble. This technique is about taking a tiny bite right as time is expiring. At the last minute, right before you get a deal done, ask for something extra. Don’t go after something big enough to break the deal. But beware, this approach can upset the other party.

For example, imagine you’re out shopping for a suit. You buy two suits and you’re spending a lot of money. At the last minute, right at the register say “Well, you know what, I’ll buy the suits. Can you throw in a tie and belt?” The salesperson is looking at a really big commission and they’re not going to lose that big commission over a tie and a belt. It’s a small nibble right at the end.

High-Ball and Low-Ball

3 Ways to Tap Into the Link Between Service and Sales

April 4, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

There are three keys to tapping into the link between service and sales – technical prowess, hospitality, and the wow factor. If you’re able to get your organization to focus on these three elements of service delivery, you can expect outstanding results.

Today’s post is by Donna Cutting, author of 501 Ways to Roll Out the Red Carpet for Your Customers (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

The character Don Draper in the television show Mad Men once said something to the effect of, “The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them.” While Mr. Draper is a fictional character, his words couldn’t be truer.

A study by Harris Interactive in 2011 determined that 89 percent of consumers quit doing business with a company (and went to a competitor) because of a bad customer experience. Compare this to 59 percent in 2007 and you’ll see that one of two things is happening. Either customer service has gotten worse; or consumers are becoming empowered. Perhaps both are true.

Your customers have more choices and louder voices than ever before. It probably won’t shock you that, according to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, news of a bad customer experience reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for a positive one.

However, take heart! The good news is that 55 percent of consumers are willing to recommend a company due to outstanding service over product or price. (source: Consumer Impact Report by Harris Interactive/Right Now, 2010.)

There is a direct link between sales and service. The real sale is made after you earn the customer. Once you get them in the door, it’s time for you to decide. Is it uphill or downhill from there?

There are three specific areas of customer service you’ll want to pay attention to: Technical, Hospitality and WOW!

Sisters, Service, and Sales

March 28, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Sales, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Customer service that is focused on customer relationships will impact your ability to make sales and to improve your business.

Today’s post is by Kate Edwards, author of Hello! And Every Little Thing That Matters (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

There is a scene in the Tina Fey/Amy Pohler film “Sisters” that is hilarious. The scene takes place in the dressing room of a trendy shop where the eponymous sisters go shopping for dresses for a party they are hosting that night. They go to a boutique and try on a number of party dresses, but they are clearly clueless. Each dress the sisters put on is completely unflattering as they wear the dresses in all sorts of inappropriate ways.

The shop clerk watches them in deadpan horror and her face expresses what we are all thinking: each dress is worse than the next. The clerk, however, doesn’t help them put the dresses on correctly or offer them sizes that fit; rather, she says “that looks amaaaazing” in a completely flat tone. This character is the epitome of the lackluster clerk who clearly has been told to compliment the customers. No. Matter. What.

Service that is inauthentic, unhelpful or pushy is the stuff of horrible Yelp reviews and comedic movie scenes. But service doesn’t have to be like that. Businesses that take time to connect authentically to their customers will build a client for life. And businesses that ignore service in the sales moment are doing themselves great harm as sales are based on a human connection. Here are some easy ways to connect with your customers that will make the sisters of your business – service and sales – shine.

Establish Customer Quotas, Not Sales Quotas

Too many businesses focus on the number of sales rather than the number of customers. You must remember that customers make sales. Ask your salespeople to create relationships with every type of customer – not just the ones they already know.

5 Elements of Plain Language that Can Help You Close the Deal

March 23, 2016/3 Comments/in Communications, Entrepreneur, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Big words confuse people. If you want to sell your product or pitch your idea, speak simply. Don’t use huge words that hinder understanding. Just tell people exactly what you want them to know. They can’t buy or invest in what they don’t understand.

Don’t worry – this isn’t some rant about English being the official language of the U.S. It’s a rant about using plain, simple language to get people to want to learn more about your business and purchase your products or services.

Over the years I’ve judged many an idea pitch competition where companies compete to be named company, product, service of the year. It’s a pretty cool way to recognize companies for their accomplishments and give them exposure to broader audiences and prospective clients.

During one pitch competition in particular, as I read one of the submissions, my head almost exploded. Their pitch was riddled with awesome $5 and $10 words and phrases. If you read it at face value, it sounded like this is the greatest company ever to walk the Earth. Allow me to illustrate with some selected portions of the submission:

“Our product is a game changer. It is shifting the paradigm on how an organization can better protect its assets.”

“But just like any quantum advance in technology, many are still waiting for the early adopters to validate how this paradigm changes the playing field.”

“But looking beyond the obvious cost benefits and immediate ROI, what makes our product uniquely worthy of Product of the Year is the scope of the solution. Its holistic approach to security is unlike anything on the market.”

What. The. Hell?

How effectively do your content marketing efforts drive action?

February 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Communications, Innovation, Leadership, Poll, Sales, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How effectively do content marketing efforts (blogs, white papers, etc.) drive action by your customers?

– Extremely — our content marketing drives great lead generation: 6.06%

– Generally — our content sometimes sparks new conversations with prospects/clients: 34.55%

– Not at all — our content generates few, if any, comments, feedback or leads: 36.97%

– Not the point — we only publish content because everyone else does: 4.24%

– Not relevant — we have much higher priorities than content marketing: 18.18%

Increase Your Return. “That’s Marketing’s job.” Sorry but if you think content marketing is only the purview of marketers, you’re missing a big opportunity. Thought leadership is your product and the leaders in your organization have plenty of it. If you’re not tapping into it, you’re missing out. First, you should be driving new ideas. Second, share those ideas with the world. Think about all the knowledge your team has to share with the outside world. Give them a platform to do so, have it link to your product/service (both in terms of the content you share as well as with relevant URLs), and be responsive to the ensuing discussion. You’ll be surprised how many leads come from sharing great ideas.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Magnetic: The Art of Attracting Business

February 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Books, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Sales, Social Media, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Growing your business is all about understanding how to attract and retain customers. There are several simple techniques you can apply immediately to make customers flock to your business.

Today’s post is by Joe Calloway, author of Magnetic (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

We’ve entered an entirely new marketplace for business with an entirely new set of rules. Businesses can no longer thrive following a strategy of going out and getting customers. Today we must become, in effect, magnets for customers and create a never-ending flow of new business that comes to us. It requires letting go of much of what we’re used to, what we’re comfortable with, and what used to work.

Let Cate represent a business. Cate can be in any arena of business – retail, business-to-business, consumer, industrial – it makes no difference. There are some new factors at work that can, if Cate gets them right, ensure steady and ongoing growth. Of course, the main rule is this: the rules always change.

The first factor that Cate must understand is that traditional advertising and marketing will play a much smaller role than ever before in creating business. They are still part of the mix, but the most powerful factor in buying decisions, whether business to business or consumer purchases of products and services, is word of mouth. Nothing else even comes close. It is the single most important element in the growth of any business. It is more powerful than any advertising and it should be at the core of Cate’s marketing strategy.

To be a magnet for business Cate must also change how she thinks about social media. It’s not what she says about herself on social media that influences prospective customers; it’s what her existing customers say about her. The Internet has changed the math on the power of Cate’s customers, be they satisfied or dissatisfied. They don’t tell a handful of people anymore. They tell dozens, or hundreds, or thousands. Today’s buyer of almost anything goes to the Internet to see what others think as they make their buying decisions. If the Internet, meaning everyone who posts their impressions of Cate, says “we love Cate’s business,” then her success is assured. She becomes a magnet for attracting business. If the Internet says “one star – stay away,” they stay away.

The Simplest Sales Boosting Technique EVER

January 6, 2016/4 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Sales are the lifeblood of any company. No sales, no company. In a cluttered, competitive world, it’s hard to get through to your prospects and make the sale. The good news is there’s an incredibly simple technique that should immediately boost your numbers and you can start doing it right now.

Strap yourself in. You’re about to have your mind blown.

Ever since grade school when I sold anything that wasn’t nailed down, I’ve been drawn to sales. It started with pencils I painted with custom designs and people’s names on them. I then graduated to selling comic books. Then I sold table space at comic book conventions I put on myself (at age 14). Over the years I’ve migrated to other sales roles and, in the day to day running of thoughtLEADERS, I’m the head of sales.

I won’t lie – sales can be a grind especially when facing competitive situations or making big ticket complex sales. Long lead times, budget constraints, and prospects who are tough to get a hold of make selling efforts difficult.

But I’ve found a secret. I’ve found a way to get in touch with clients and prospects and engage them in a sales conversation 100% of the time. Not only that, they’re excited to talk to me about it and they’re usually ready to buy by the time we finish talking. I’ve been astonished with how effective this technique is and it’s beyond simple. I’m going to share it with you now and it will change your life.

Ready?