You will never achieve your numbers if your people are not motivated

Here is the first in a series of items on how we drive towards closing the quarter. Rather than going straight into closing techniques, we thought it would be useful to start with the essential precondition - the motivation of your people.


Recently, when assessing a sales team, I was asked by their sales manager, "How can I get my people more motivated? As you have seen, they have the talent but do not seem to be out with customers prospecting, qualifying and closing as much as they ought."

Sell them the reason to be motivated - find the trigger
Motivation is emotionally based, linked to an attitude of mind that drives a desire to do or achieve something. Importantly, it is personal to the individual. You can't "make someone more motivated". What you can do however as a Sales Manager, is to create an atmosphere and culture which lends itself to your team having a desire to achieve. It is more of a 'pull' than a 'push'

Motivation is different for all of us; true motivation comes from within – it can’t be imposed. To sustain motivation, you can help team members tap into their own motivational triggers, encourage them to talk frequently about previous times in their career/life when they were highly motivated. Do they have a specific personal target; an exotic holiday, a new car, move house. Get them to visualise what they need to do to achieve that target, now link that to what you need them to do. "One of our colleagues wanted a flat abroad, he broke down what he would need in terms of additional monthly earning and kept a "holiday flat fund" which was always on his desk. Each month we discussed with him the state of the fund and he told us what he needed to sell to achieve his goal"

Help, through coaching, your team members to believe that they can be successful. Limiting beliefs can hold back even the most confident people from achieving success. Limiting beliefs are like having weeds growing in your garden; if you do not pull them out, they will take over your garden.

Provide effective and evidence based feedback on a regular basis to increase an individual’s self-confidence and motivation to taking the next steps to achieving success.

At 1:1 meetings and developmental coaching sessions get your team to set themselves goals (do not impose goals upon them). Get them to come up with their own ways of improving.

A good tip is to ask your team member, "on a scale of 1 to 10 how do you feel about your performance?" Assuming they score it at less than 10 then ask them what they would do to make it a 10.

Motivation comes from within but as Sales Managers we can help our team members to find it within themselves



Closing the quarter exercise

1. Get every member of your team to identify a personal goal, it must be tangible and progress towards success must be measurable.
   
   
2. Each team member should publicise what they are trying to achieve and at each sales meeting get them to tell everyone how they are doing against that target.
   
   
3. By sharing targets you get peer pressure, not around who is selling the most, but on who is achieving their personal targets - that will motivate people. They picked the target themselves and they cannot say it was imposed.

Try it and tell us how it works

Want to know more? Visit our website www.sales-accredit.com or contact me directly fred.nelson@sales-accredit.com

Next week we will look at how you can get your team to create personal business plans to achieve the quarter.

I can beat any price by 10% - That should guarantee the sale

How often have you heard this conversation between sales and marketing "we are not price competitive that's why sales are down"- " but we offer so many more features than our competition, we add greater value, that's why we are slightly more expensive".

There is a constant battle between sales and marketing over price and the desire to sell value. So let's make one thing clear, it is marketing's role (product marketing in particular) to define the "go-to market price", it is the role of sales to sell the value and negotiate where required.

Marketing and Pricing

Pricing is clearly driven by market conditions, it's a reflection of the perceived value of your offering. Marketing must constantly review this and test the competitiveness of the offer. Depending on the market you operate in reviews should be monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly.

Price and value are linked in the mind of the customer. Buy cheap, buy twice is an oft heard saying but cheap may be just right in certain circumstances. That said, if your products are not the cheapest then you have to show how they add value. If you want sales to position the value of the offering then there has to be some real value in your customer's view (not just features) that justifies the price differentiation. It is usually marketing's role to identify these sometimes hidden values generically, but the job of sales to clearly articulate their value to the individual customer. Areas to focus on include:

• Service levels
• Ease of support / use
• Brand "Emotional value"
• Eco friendly
• Quality (build, design, reliability)
• Cost reduction for your customer by adopting your solutions
• Increased productivity by using your solutions

Sales and Negotiation
So how do we go about ensuring we sell at the right price once we have demonstrated value and we have an interested customer who wants to negotiate? Well, the first thing to say is that selling is selling and negotiating is negotiating. What I mean is that price negotiation is something to do at the end of the sales process, to win the business after we have demonstrated value, gained real interest from the customer and believe that a final piece of strong negotiation, leading to a win/win, will seal the deal.

If you make price concessions early in the sales process you may end up having to negotiate a lower price later. Use your selling skills first to sell the value then negotiate as late as you can. Remember that your customer is likely to buy if your price (i.e. the cost to them) is lower than the cost of not solving their problem.

Finally some tips on price and Terms and Conditions negotiation:-

1. Knowledge is power - know your customer, do your research, ask questions, listen and understand the problem they want to solve.
2. Decide on a "walk away price" and "walk away terms and conditions" such as service guarantees
3. Plan your negotiation stance and evaluate your position and your customer's.
4. Understand each others bargaining areas - If you both understand each other's win/win position then you can negotiate
5. Set expectations and never agree to first offers (unless they achieve a win/win for both parties)
6. Never give concessions away - trade them. You will always have "tradables" that you can offer in exchange for price discount or additional after sales service. This win/win element is key as it demonstrates that both parties gain from the deal.

Finally, throughout the negotiation stage ensure that you always communicate clearly, avoiding ambiguity and enabling you and your customer to always understand what is and what is not on offer.

Commission plan drives negotiation focus
It is worth remembering that a key contributor to what a sales person is prepared to "give away" is their commission plan. Whilst recently assessing a sales team, we found a pattern in the areas they would aggressively discount, and those that they held their ground over. Upon further research we discovered that they were not paid on the area they heavily discounted, so they had know emotional interest in maintaining margin here. This resulted in a behaviour that instead of driving value, they were prepared to reduce price.

Want to know more? Visit our website www.sales-accredit.com or contact me directly mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com

Next week we will start to look at how we drive sales in the last month of the quarter.

Don't be shy, unlock the sale by finding the emotion

Would selling be easier if buying decisions were based on pure logic? All you would have to do is to quantifiably prove that your product/solution functionally delivers the required features to achieve the desired business outcome. All sales would be done via a RFP and you would only need to discuss functionality and price.

Sadly, as the key component in the decision making process is a human being, subject to emotional responses, this will never happen. Let me give you some examples:

• Dell are promoting their notebooks in a variety of colours. Why? - I met someone last week who wanted to buy his daughter a new notebook, he could buy a variety of models via his company, but his daughter did not like them she wanted pink
• A salesman said with incredulity to me, the key reason the MD wanted to change the phone system was that he didn't like the phone on his desk, it was "old fashioned".
• In the Sunday Times this week Jeremy Clarkson pointed out that if we were logical we would all by VW Golfs, why should we have small convertibles that mess up your hair, or 4x4's that get attacked by environmentalists, etc. - I am sure you get the picture.

All these are examples of how the emotional aspect of buying is frequently an important element in the decision making process; in the business environment as much as the consumer. The buyer is an individual after all. Just think about those throwaway comments you hear such as, "that's OK for consumers, but it's really design over function, our product is much more robust and is designed for a businessman". Apple already understand their customers are individuals who make buying decisions on grounds that are not always purely logical.

How should we use emotion in selling?

Emotions affect the decision making process in either a positive or negative manner, there is no middle ground.

• Red emotional triggers - These are the negative emotions which will act as a barrier to the sale. These are often associated with
• A fear that the decision will have a negative impact on the decision maker, "If I get this wrong I could lose my job..."
• Having a previously bad experience, "why should I trust you to sort out out my business communications when you can't get my home phone working"
• Have a personal preference for a different approach, "My way of doing this is best...."
• Green emotional triggers - These are the positive emotions that will support your sales, they are often associated with positive outcomes
• Personal reward - "by getting this right I can get the promotion I want"
• Translate a red emotion into a green - "I know that this way is different to your approach but it will allow you to achieve more..."

A great way to identify the emotional status of the decision making is to listen for the words that identify the emotional status; these include:

• Need, want, must have, achieve, now...
• Concerned, worried, pressure,  time pressure...
• Phrases that start with "I" 

Having heard these phrases, then standard selling kick in, ask questions to identify the real trigger behind the emotion, ask "why do you need it....", "why are you concerned....". Then you can address the issue and move forward (which could include qualifying yourself out).

How does marketing help?
Green emotions are all about the outcomes, so marketing should help sales articulate the outcome of their solutions (just the way consumer marketing tells you how you will look good, feel better, etc.), as opposed to the features of the product.

As an example, a supplier of office phone systems is no longer talking about how many extensions it supports and whether it has music on hold, instead they are focussing on improving efficiency of people, enhancing customer service, allowing flexible working.

People really do buy emotionally
That people buy from people is an over-used phrase, often by sales people who are trying to justify their existence. The reality is that it is the emotional aspect that drives the sale, and it is only during the sales conversation that the emotional triggers are identified. That is not to say that we cannot drive the emotions, you only have to look at someone like Apple to see how emotions can be used to drive a sale, just try and tell them that a standard notebook based on Microsoft Windows is a better technical solution!

Want to know more? Visit our website www.sales-accredit.com or contact me directly mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com

Next week we will look at pricing and negotiation.

Sales get the positive decision - what's that got to do with marketing

I am sure you have come across this mindset before - "marketing finds the prospects, all sales has to do is to get them to buy from us." At the basic level this is the true essence of sales - "the ability to take someone who has expressed an interest in solving a problem, to agree to solve that problem using your product/solution".

There are a limited number of sales people who are naturally able to persuade the customer to make a positive decision, but for the rest of us we need to think about how we address the three key components of the decision making process.

• Cost
• Risk
• Reward

Decision-making is a combination of a rational and emotional responses. If we understand the triggers to these responses we can position ourselves an our sales messages so that it's easier to make a decision in our favour. Another way of looking at this is that we have to overcome the customer's objections to buying from us. (So we are really talking about objection handling)

If you accept that a customer buys to solve a problem (real or emotional), the triggers to make a positive decision in your favour are focussed around:

Cost

This is not price, but the overall cost associated with using your product/solution. In some quarters this is known as Total Cost of Ownership. In an ideal world we would have a calculation that describes the overall cost of our offering and compares it to that of our competition. However, as many of us live in a commoditised world, at face value there may not be much of a difference between our offerings and those of the competition.

However, if sales are to mitigate the perceived issues of cost in the decision making process they must know:

1. What are the implied costs with using our solution, e.g. Buying SKY HD will involve owning an HD television, Buying a Blue-ray disc requires a Blue-ray player, etc.
2. What are the associated costs with using your solution, e.g. Support costs associated with moving to Windows 7.0, training costs, hardware upgrades, etc.
3. Actual cost of using your solution. This is not just the purchase price but also the cost of implementation.
4. Cost of not doing anything. Whilst many customers might prefer not to change at all, they might not understand the impact and costs associated with remaining with the status quo, e.g. you will not be able to see the latest movies as they will only be released in HD, or Microsoft will drop support for Windows XP, etc.

Risk

If cost is a financial driver that can be measured, then risk is more of an emotional driver, "why should I risk my career on your solution when I could stick with the existing solution/supplier?"

To be able to deal with the emotional issue of risk you have had to identify these potential risks through effective questioning, which is of course the essence of objection handling - you need to understand the objection before you can overcome it.

The likely risk issues you are going to come across are

1. Financial risk - This is an extension of the cost discussion but focuses on the opportunity cost, "could I spend the money on something else....". This is a factual risk, i.e. if you know what else the money could be spent on you could address this.
2. Supplier risk - Are you a safe pair of hands - "why should I change from my existing supplier...." This is a factual risk; it is an extension of competitive positioning.
3. Personal risk - "As the decision maker how is this decision going to impact my reputation....". This is an emotional risk; you have to understand the decision makers's emotional triggers.

Reward

As a salesperson your aim is to accentuate the positive, i.e. show the decision maker the return they will achieve as a result of making the decision in your favour. "By using our product you will not only reduce your costs, but offer a higher customer service level which will result in more sales..."

If you do not align your proposed reward against the decision makers desired reward, you could instead be introducing risk, e.g. only offer to help them reduce head count if that is what they want to achieve, or you could make them think their job is at risk.

The likely reward types you will come across are:

1. Financial reward - It must be quantifiable, e.g. show the ROI.
2. Organisational reward - The solution will deliver competitive advantage, again needs to be quantifiable.
3. Personal reward - This is the emotional aspect of the sale, what will the individual gain as a result of the decision, kudos, reputation, keep their job, etc.

So it's simple. Sales align their offer against the Cost Risk Reward issues of the decision maker - Marketing can just sit back and watch

NO. As ever marketing have to provide the ammunition. The average sales person will need help in knowing what are the triggers to look for and the core of the response. This is where marketing MUST help.

• All aspects of the costs associated with the offering are known
• Potential risks and answers to these must be provided
• Financial models must be provided to justify the financial rewards.

It's just objection handling. Sales identify the target and marketing provides the ammunition

There is no silver bullet to getting a positive decision. Sales have to position the decision maker so that they have answered all the objections that could impact a positive outcome. If the customer wants to solve the problem they will. The solution they choose is the one that best meets their issues. (Cost Risk Reward)

This is not complex. It is just the practice of selling and objection handling. Successful sales teams are those that realise that they have to have answers to these issues. Why not find out if your team can do this, accompany them on a call or review their proposals and ask yourself the question, is there a compelling reason why I would buy? If not then now is the time to coach your people.

Want to know more? Visit our website www.sales-accredit.com or contact me directly mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com

Next week we will look in more detail how sales has to be aware of the emotional components of decision making.

Believe me - we are much better than anyone else

The unfortunate thing about selling is that in most instances there are other people who offer similar solutions to the ones we are offering. Therefore, just knowing the customer's issues will not guarantee a sale, we have to convince the buyer that our solution meets their needs better than similar solutions available in the competitive market.

How do we know we are different?

Differentiation takes many forms and marketing ought to be able to provide the following:

1. Unique Product Features - Product marketing ought to be able to generate a list of unique or differentiated features versus competitors and what issues they address.
2. Unique "Delivery" or "Service" Options - Beyond the product features marketing ought also to be able to identify the difference between your delivery options and your ongoing service or after sales options and those of your competitors. These differences can also be linked to the value a customer will derive from the options available from you.
3. Competitive positioning - Marketing should provide, by key competitor, an analysis of competitive offerings highlighting where you have strengths and weaknesses, and where there are therefore opportunities and threats.

So all sales has to do is to present a list of the differences!

It is marketing's role to ensure that sales understand the differentiators, but sales also have to know how and when to use this information, and this is where the problem often lies.

"our laptop is 6 ounces lighter and 1/2 inch thinner than the model you are looking at" is only a differentiator if the customer is concerned about lightweight and size!

Key to good competitive positioning is once again effective questioning, by fully understanding what is important to the customer, and of course what is not, an effective salesperson will identify which differentiator to use.

"you mentioned that your company had a strategic objective of being carbon neutral; were you aware that we are the only manufacturer to have achieved Carbon Trust's 5 star award for energy saving on all our devices...."

Do we need to know who we are up against?
Effective differentiation relies on relevance to our customer. There is no point telling a potential purchaser of a Mini, how much more fuel efficient it is versus a Hummer if the key competitor is a Fiat 500. So again key to effective differentiation is questioning "so who or what else are you considering.....?"


So it's simple - Marketing identify our strengths and sales works out when to tell the customer

YES! Effective competitive positioning is simple

• Marketing has to
• invest time and effort in identifying why customers might want our product (the issues customers want to address)
• map these issues to the competitive offerings to identify our strengths and weaknesses and understand opportunities and threats
• Clearly articulate our strengths and how they better address the issues than our competitors
• Clearly identify our weaknesses and when we should qualify ourselves out or focus on a feature or advantage that we are better at.
• Sales has to:
• Understand what the customer really wants to achieve
• Identify how to win against the competitors
• Use the information provided by marketing to effectively position the offering
• Qualify out where appropriate

This is not theory, more marketing departments are realising that they need to link their competitive information against customer issues and not only features. The clever organisations are "testing" their sales teams abilities to use this information effectively and win more business.

Want to know more? Visit our website www.sales-accredit.com or contact me directly mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com

Next week we will examine the issues around decision making and reducing the risks for the customer.