This is our last Episode of Monday Sales Coach for 2017 so my aim is to make it a powerful one. As a Christmas gift to you I am going to give you 3 power packed thoughts to take with you on your holidays. So, let’s get the show started.

So, Sales Champions –

Those who are not craftsman, (men and women) have jobs. Jobs are what those who don’t embrace a craft do.

Anyone can turn a job into a craft or a craft into a job. It comes down to perspective and attitude.

You can make burgers at McDonalds and ask, is this burger cooked correctly, just enough on both sides? Did I put it on the bun correctly, so it doesn’t fall out the sides? Did I wrap it in a manner that doesn’t have it fall out in the bag? Did I put the condiments on in a manner that they don’t shoot out the bottom and onto someone’s white pants as they are headed to their next meeting? How can I do this to perfection?

This is a craft.

You can also flip burgers at McDonalds and say, I flipped burgers for 8 hours. I did what was expected. I came back from my breaks on time. I didn’t burn any burgers. I didn’t drop any on the floor. I wasn’t late getting them out the door. I followed the handbook.

That’s a job.

The only deciding factor in determining if you have a job or a craft is your perspective and how you act.

Do you have a job or do you have a craft?

Making a proposal is not selling.

Anyone can make a proposal. Salespeople must learn to qualify thoroughly before making a proposal.

They must learn how to get a commitment from the prospect that if the proposal meets their needs, they’ll give them the order. (Try getting this commitment without properly qualifying. It doesn’t work.)

Fill your pipeline with quality, not quantity.

All discussed in this weeks episode of Monday Sales Coach plus a lot more.

By inserting “if” into demos we telegraph to the buyer that we have little understanding of how their business works, what’s important to them, or what they need.

It’s ill-prepared sales people who are unfamiliar with the business processes, goals, objectives, and needs of their prospects use “if-then” statements Sales people use “if” as a way to sling features like spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks.

Sales people who use “if” in their demos are hoping that by saying if you use this or if you do this or if you have that, the buyer will eventually say “yes,” we do have that, or we do use that, in order to figure out what the prospect needs.

This type of selling is lazy and doesn’t do anyone any favours.

You’ve heard this one a million times, but it’s true. You have only 7-10 seconds when first meeting someone to make a favorable impression.

Lets talk about what that means.

To refine and polish your first impression, there are several things to remember:

* Do your homework ahead of time and find out what your prospect’s behavioral style is and, if appropriate, something about the person that you can ask about.

* Where appropriate, send a note or call in advance to confirm the appointment.

* Be on time.

* Dress properly for the occasion, but err on the side of being overdressed.

* Use their name when introduced. (A person’s name is their most favorite word plus it will help you remember it later).

* Match their handshake and frequency of eye contact. Remember, body language is 55% of rapport. • Be aware of appropriate distance, usually 4-5 feet for Drivers and Analytical styles, and 3-4 feet for Amiable and Socializer behavioral styles.

* Stand erect leaning in slightly. Too upright is often interpreted as confrontational and can be intimidating.

And don’t forget to smile.

Teach, Don’t Sell this is one of the best pieces of advice I can give you.

In this week’s episode we are also going to discuss having contingencies in your pipeline and we are going to take a look at being played off against a competitor.

Pipeline Catch Ups

Here are some types of pipeline movement questions for a sales manager;

1. Is there a chance the results of the demo won’t be favourable?

2. If so, what happens?

3. What is the customer looking for in the demo?

4. Will the demo provide the results they want?

5. How will they be measuring “success?”

6. When’s the last time you spoke with the CIO?

7. What does she need to approve the deal?

8. What evidence do you have that even if we get approval it will close next week?

9. You said you are waiting on the results, what exactly are you waiting on?

10. What evidence do you have that is going to happen?

11. Could the results divide the customer into two camps?

12. If so, what will we do?

13. What is our backup strategy?

14. What can we do now, that can influence the decision?

15. What is OUR next step, besides waiting? Why?

There are a million questions that could be asked. The objective is to not get a STATUS, but to understand the issues with the sale AND then formulate a response to them. Deals must be moved from stage to stage.

A static pipeline is a dead pipeline.

 

You can’t go to ten social media pages on any social platform without being barraged by #hustle #grind and #success posts or memes. It appears we’re obsessed with the path or secret to success. In this week’s episode we talk about getting better and how to handle negative feedback.

Lets get started.

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The Hardest Part to Getting Better

I get it. Success to most of us equals freedom and validation that we’re worthy of others praise and admiration. To others, success says they did it. They achieved their goals. The concept of success is a powerful lure, and we’re all chasing it to one degree or another.

I think we’re over thinking it. There is no “secret” to success. The path to success almost always comes down to one thing? Being great, I mean really, really, good at what you do.

I call this being a 1%er.

A 1%er is someone who is better than 99 out of 100 people at what they do.

If you’re a 1%er, then it’s almost impossible not to be successful.

Becoming a 1%er takes work and commitment. It requires sacrifice, selfawareness, humility, coaching and knowledge, and more.

I spent a week this last European summer, as I have in the past, trying to get better at meditating. It’s one of the areas I want to be and continue to be a 1%er.

It’s hard

I’m at a place now where getting better comes in smaller and smaller increments and is usually preceded by getting worse before I see the improvement. I have to put in some serious time, and it’s frustrating. The improvement I’m looking for just doesn’t come fast enough and feels like it may never come.

But I keep trying.

There is a point in learning I call, the peak of positive return.

The peak of positive return is when the amount of effort you put into something is greater than the improvement you get back. It’s the point when hours and hours if not days and weeks of effort return the smallest of improvement. Most people quit at that point of positive return. They stop getting better quickly and don’t want to put in the additional work required to get better.

Becoming a 1%er requires you get past this critical point of positive return.

I spent a week trying to get slightly better, and as always it’s the best time I put in every year.

Success is about being a 1%er.

Becoming a 1%er is about getting better every day and pushing way past the point of positive return.

Are you on a 1%er journey?

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What To Do With Negative Feedback

Let me be clear, there is a difference between negative feedback and constructive feedback that highlights a weakness, or something you could improve.

I’m a huge fan of constructive feedback. Actually, I seek it out. I want as much feedback in the areas I can improve as I can get. It’s the only way to get better.

Negative feedback, on the other hand, is just that it’s negative. Negative feedback isn’t constructive, it’s driven by negative intentions. Negative feedback isn’t intended to help the recipient to get better or improve, but rather to tear them down, that’s why it’s negative.

When it comes to negative feedback, I have no time for it. Whether it’s a troll on the Internet, sharing their mind-numbing opinion or someone in real life, if their feedback is negative, driven by some ulterior motive to tear me, my content, or my ideas down, I pay it no mind and neither, should you.

So, don’t give negative feedback a second look.

“Why is the prospect looking to buy?”

There is no more important question to a sale than that one, so it makes sense for it to be foremost in your mind. Discovering the “IT” Listen Up.

Go look at EVERY deal you have in the pipeline right now. If you don’t have all 3 of these questions answered

* Why do they want to change?

* What’s the impact of the current problems to them or their organization?

* Where do they want to be instead and how will they measure it?)

Then call your prospects and set up a meeting and get them answered.

If you’re a sales leader, find the 10-15 biggest and most important deals in the pipeline scheduled to close this quarter and next quarter and see if the reps have documented why their prospects are looking to buy.

If the reps haven’t documented the reasons and attached them to the opportunities, then schedule a meeting with every one of them and ask;

“Why is the prospect looking to buy?”

There is no more important question to a sale than that one, so it makes sense for it to be in the CRM.

Is it in yours?

Time management is a bad deal. We try to squeeze the best out of the hours in a day. But everyone has 24 hours in a day. It’s a flawed mindset. And working 8, 12, or 16 hours might or might not get “more” done, but does it get the right stuff done? That’s the issue.

Listen up!

Handling The Biggest Sale Ever

Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for every sales call.

Visualize, practice and rehearse critical components of the interview. Know exactly what you want to say to set the agenda for the meeting. Know precisely how you will transition to the pain step and what questions will be relevant to the prospect’s organization and situation.

Study the prospect’s behavioral style and modify your approach accordingly.

Anticipate the “tough” questions you may get asked and prepare an appropriate response or question. Writing out the playbook doesn’t hurt either.

A peddler wings it. The pro is prepared.

This weeks podcast looks at mind set –  the voices that we listen to inside our heads. By knowing that our inner voice can determine our success or failure, we are going to discuss what you can do to make sure that it is helping you succeed. As a bonus I am also going to discuss 3 Simple Actions you can Do Every Day That will Improve Your Life.

3 Simple Actions To Do Everyday

1) Create Something

When we create something, we are building something new. We’re tapping into our creative mind. Creation requires challenging the status quo. It requires awareness.

Creativity requires a connection and ownership to change, to growth and improvement or the act of creativity for the sake of creativity, as in art.

When we create something, we’re being additive. We are giving to our workplace, our school, our home, our family, to our friends or society. By creating something every day we’re improving our surroundings and the lives of others around us, no matter how small or how big.

Creating is the act of building something and the act of change. Commit to creating something every day; a new process at work, a blog post, a piece of art, a story, a presentation, a new client, a new workflow design, anything. Put yourself in a position where you can create something new every day. It’s how you add to life.

2) Learn Something

There is nothing you can do that’s as impactful as learning.

Our personal development and growth are paramount, yet it’s far too easy to let life get in the way. The day to day becomes our master and learning is an afterthought.

To those who look to maximize life, learning is anything but an afterthought. Learning is personal growth and the more we learn, the more we’re capable of, the more opportunities that are opened for us.

Learning is the selfish act in this trio, as we are the biggest beneficiaries of learning. The more we learn, the more we grow, the more enriched our lives become.

Learning is the answer to preventing and solving so many of life’s problems. Start looking for ways to deliberately learn every day. Build a learning path. Look for ways you can learn each day. Learn how to do something you didn’t know how to do. Learn about something you were unaware of. Learn about history, learn about a new product, learn about your competitors, learn something new about a coworker, your boss or a friend, learn something about your neighborhood or the environment.

It’s less about what you learn and more about making sure you learn something new every single day.

3) Share Something

Giving, it’s a value we all cherish. Few of us would say we give enough. Giving is one of those things we all say we need to do and want to do, but it always seems to end up on the next day’s list.

We just never seem to get around to giving as much as we think we should.

Except for special events, mother’s days, birthdays, and of course Christmas, giving is hit and miss, and all of us know we can do more.

Sharing is giving. It’s a way to acknowledge the presence and importance of others. By sharing regularly, we include others into our lives and validate their value to us. Sharing is inclusive; it connects us to everyone around us. It makes sure we aren’t an island and that we are part of something bigger.

When we don’t share, we isolate ourselves, and we are not completely participating in our community, our family or our work.

Find time to share every day. Sharing doesn’t mean buying presents, but it can mean sharing an idea you’ve had, sharing a tool, sharing information like an article you read that you think someone could benefit from.

It could mean sharing your car to give someone a ride. It could mean buying the coffee for the person behind you in line at a coffee shop. Maybe it’s helping on a project that a co-worker is struggling with. Regardless of what it is,

The next time you ask for advice, don’t say “I know” when they give it to you. Instead, ask them, “How do I do that?”

Lets learn all about it.

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Knowing Isnt Doing

Every day I have a conversation with someone who isn’t where they want to be in their life or their career and they say to me, “I know . . . I know, I need to make more calls. I know, I need to read more books. I know, I need to blog, (or blog more).  I know, I need to use social media. I know, I need to learn more about my customer business. I know, I need to ask more questions. I know, I need to start talking less. I know, I need to build more offline relationships. I know, I need to do more YouTube videos. I know, I need to do more. I know I need to . . .   ”

At least once a day I hear this from someone.

I get paid to tell people what to do. I get paid to help organizations grow sales, improve their selling prowess, increase leads, close more leads, increase conversions, reduce churn, penetrate new markets, grow the pipeline, create new content, etc. And if I’m not getting “paid” to help people, I’m doing it for free.

I have countless conversations where people reach out every day asking for advice. They want me to show them how to get more customers, how to start their own consulting business, how to overcome objections, how to get more social followers, how to get more leads, how to handle pricing issues, how to address their boss, how to address a direct report, etc.

Fifty percent of my time is spent giving guidance, direction, and advice. Some days it’s 100%, like when I’m with clients.

The number one answer I get when giving advice, paid or free, that drives me really crazy is. “I know!”

If you know, then why aren’t you doing it?  If you know, why are you calling me? If you know, then what’s the problem?

The problem is, in most cases, most of us already know what we need to do, but we’re just not doing it. We know we need to make more calls. We know we need to expand our product knowledge. We know we need to create more content. We know we need to expand our social presence. We know we need to stop pushing product. We know we need to save more money, get out of our shitty job, spend more time with the kids, be more focused, or whatever.  Far too often we know what we need to do, we just can’t or won’t do it, and that’s the rub.

When someone is giving you advice, don’t say “I know!”  It’s  really annoying.  Who cares that you know what to do, you’re not doing it, so it’s no different than if you didn’t know. If you know what you’re not doing, then you don’t need advice on what to do, you need help doing it. You need help executing, and that’s a different story.

Knowing what to do and doing it are two separate camps. Too often we lull ourselves into a safe place by convincing ourselves that we’ll be OK because we know what to do. Unfortunately, we carry that security with us far too long, never actually doing anything, and therefore never accomplishing our goals. We don’t get to the next level. We’ve convinced ourselves we’re just a short journey away because we KNOW what to do, but never do it.

Knowing what to do ain’t gonna help you until you know HOW to do it and then PLEASE just do it.

Stop wrapping yourself in a security blanket of cheap dime store knowledge to excuse yourself from taking action. It doesn’t matter what you know; it matters what you can do with what you know.

The next time you ask for advice, don’t say I know when they give it to you. Instead, ask them, “How do I do that?”

Ask them how they would recommend you implement what they are suggesting.  Get them to help you break down the execution process. Get them to share with you HOW you can apply what...

It’s time for salespeople to stop wasting their prospects time.  It’s time sales people stop sending out emails and leaving messages asking for just 15 minutes of a prospects time and offering nothing in return.

This episode of Monday Sales Coach will explain why and how you should fix this.

As an added bonus this edition of Monday sales Coach also covers information on Dining For High Performance

Nutrition and fitness should always be linked since a neglect of either one diminishes most of the benefits associated with attending to the other. Nutrition for high performance is essential to provide the fuel necessary to perform at your best.

I have developed a quick and simple quiz for you to take – to take the test please go to petergianoli.com/tastetest