Lessons Learned Again

This is why there is a President's Club. You just cannot get all the lessons there are to learn in 8 weeks, it takes a lifetime of learning.

Today I saw lots of "aha moments" for people. Our clients are out in the trenches trying this new approach and guess what, it's working. Some are struggling with how to make it work better, others are feeling uncomfortable because it is not how they have been wired and others are just in the sponge mode, taking it all in. That's what it is all about. Every week we get back together to see what's working, what's not and why.

President's Club, when it is all said and done, is a place to come and debrief, rest and learn some more. The best way to learn is to try and then take a look at what you just did and get some feedback. It's great to have a safe place to come to and say, "Hey this feels uncomfortable, how can I make it work better." And then suddenly find the answer for yourself right in the room.

Sharpen the Saw

One of the habits that Covey talks about is "Sharpen the Saw" which means hone your skills and stay on top of your game. One of the ways I do that is by participating in a local Toastmaster's Group. We meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening of the month. What is great about our club is that we all get turns to grow in different roles. One day you might be speaking or actually running the meeting. You also could be evaluating a speech or helping give candidates impromptu speaking opportunities.

• For me Toastmaster's has given me confidence to speak to groups or one on one with a client.
• It helps me think on my feet. You never know what is around the corner and I like to feel like I can handle any situation as it arises.
• I provides me with the tools I need to learn how to prepare a presentation that falls within the timelines proscribed and how to get my point across in a way that people will understand.
• It has taught me leadership through the various roles I have performed. I was just elected President of our club and will start in that role in July.
• It is also a great place to meet like-minded people who might be able to do business with you.
  

No matter where you are in life, this might be a good tool for you to help you sharpen your saw.

I Love Tuesdays

It's Tuesday and that means it's Quick Start and President's Club. I always feel re-energized after I go to one or the other and sometimes both, depending on my schedule. No matter how many times I go through it, I hear something new and different. I might have been said before, I just wasn't ready. Or maybe it is something new.

The beauty of the system is that we learn from each other. David Sandler discusses on one of his tapes that clients want to know that you have walked in their shoes or moccasin's before they will trust you with their pain. The truth is that we don't always have an opportunity to have those same exact experiences, but at the trainings someone else might have and we can learn. Their stories can be our stories, if we really internalize and learn the lesson.

So even though today was a rainy, dreary day, I knew the sunshine would be there waiting for me. For it is through the group we grow and build each other up.

When Partners Don't Speak the Same Language

Well, not actual language, but are they talking on two different channels. I just talked to someone who is frustrated because a person she's involved with on a project is a "Generalist," talks in concepts and does not give details. She commented on how their constituents are going to want and expect the details. The partner on the other hand feels that if they give too much information they will overwhelm their constituents which will leave them confused and unhappy. He wants to open dialogue and get them thinking.

Interesting that I just came from the seminar that Ed gave on Magical People Skills. Based on the information I gleaned from this seminar, I see this as a difference of styles with one being Macro and the other being Micro. The truth is they are both right. Some people will be overwhelmed by a detailed presentation and others will feel cheated by a presentation with concepts and no implementation strategies. And the truth also is that some will be thrilled with both.

It's great to have these skills. It is clear the more you know about people, how they behave and why, the better you will be able to communicate with them in a way that will allow you to gain better understanding.

Help Others and They will Help You

I think it is Zig Ziglar who always says, "If you help enough people get what they want, they will help you get what you want." There is some truth to that. I have found my most effective prospecting tool and relationship building tool is help connect people. Over the years I have had the opportunity to get to know many people in our local business community. Often I am in a position to give a referral to someone. I have found that over the years, but just listening and keeping my antenna up, I am able to connect people who might not have met otherwise. I have also found that those same people are very grateful and have been in a position to do the same for me.

So when you are out meeting people at a networking event, like a Chamber BAH (Business After Hours), keep your antenna up. You might just be able to help someone else and at the same time be in a position to be helped yourself.

Why a System?

I went to a great meeting today hosted by the Women's Network of York. The presenter was Louis Lavetan and he represents FranChoice. He gave an extremely detailed and interesting presentation on how to choose a franchise, and how to determine if a franchise is right for you. What I liked best was that he broke it down into simple steps. There were 8 key points and he gave great insights into how to work the system. What really struck me about his presentation was that fact that he took something that is very important - the decision to buy and start a business and broke down the decision step into a "step by step process".

One of the things we talk about at our training is the fact that what we offer is a proven system that works. You can look at any sales call that you have ever been to and debrief it to see where in the system you might have failed. Was there good Bonding and Rapport? Did you get enough pain? It is a great way to learn and grow. In fact, we tend to work with a lot of engineers and technical people because they love having a blueprint to something that seemed like smoke and mirrors.

Lou actually gave the following reason for a system, and I wanted to share it with you. When it comes to starting a business and/or buying a franchise, his system helps you:

Save
Your
Self
Time
Energy
Misery

We talk about pain in our world, and the system (Submarine) is a great cure for sales misery.

“Do you think you could close this sale?”

A friend of mine went into a local electronic store to purchase a big screen TV. She had the money and was ready to buy. Her son was in karate and had a limited amount of time to spend on the purchase and she has a short buying cycle. She found the TV that she wanted and it was $2,000. She found a sales person to help her and gave him a credit card. As David Sandler would say, “Do you think you could close this sale?”

As I mentioned before, she was short on time, which she communicated to the sales associate. Instead of processing her order, he insisted in trying to sell her more complimentary products that would work well with the TV, she had chosen. Guess what happened? He lost the whole sale. He had her money in his hand and lost the sale. My friend said she needed to leave and would have to buy a TV another time.

I am sure the person never even knew he lost the opportunity. My friend walked away angry and said she will never go to this story again. In addition, she decided she really did not need a TV that badly so she kept her money to spend another day.

The moral of the story is “Sell Today, Educate Tomorrow.”

It's not too late to go back

At a recent meeting, one of our clients shared a story that I found encouraging and inspirational. He is a young salesperson who is really learning the system. He was working with a client he knows well. In the course of their conversation they asked for a ball park figure for a new server (they sell computer solutions). He made the comment that he just put a similar one in another client's office for $4,000. They said great, get us one. When this young buck went back to the office he found out the real solution was going to cost more like $9,000. He was not sure what to do next. After sharing his story with our group, we encouraged him to go back and fall on the sword.

The following week he came back to our meeting. He was sitting on the edge of his seat. You could see he could not wait to tell us how the appointment went. He shared with us that he went back to his client and told them he made a mistake and needed to talk with them. When this event was all said and done he not only got $9,000 for the server they set aside $10,000 for maintenance cost. He behaved when it was tough and it paid off. So what did he learn:

• He figured out that he has "money" issues and that his clients don't mind spending money for a good solution.
• He was vulnerable and teachable and was able to really learn from this experience and through that teach to the group.
• The group worked as a team to problem solve and further demonstrate that if you fall on your sword, you will be rescued.
  
• He learned not all customers are the same, not all solutions are the same and he needs to slow down to speed up.
• He learned there is more to learn and is back at our latest QuickStart and is focused on learning the effective use of Up Front Contracts.

I see a lot of growth in him and know that in a year or two, if he continues on this path, he will be an amazing professional salesperson.

Focus Grasshopper

I recently found out through an assessment, well I already knew, that I have trouble concentrating. I can loose my focus. It probably comes from being a multi-tasker who always has had to juggle many jobs at once. So I am working on improving my concentration skills. In my quest to gain this skill, I turned to my library. I revisited the book The Power of Focus by Cranfield, Hansen and Hewitt. It is an easy read, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. It states a formula for success that they likened to a Blueprint which I thought was helpful. I am a visual, and I could see the Blueprint. Simply stated: B-ALERT:

Blueprint: My strategic plan for the day. Priorities, appointments, projects. Review the night before or early in the morning.

Action: Concentrate on the most important activities that will move you towards accomplishing your sixty-day goals.

Learning: Expand you knowledge through reading, cassettes, video, mentors, courses.

Exercise: Re-energize for thirty minutes.

Relaxation: Eliminate daily stress. Nap, meditate, listen to music, family time.

Think: Take time to reflect on the day. Review goals, visualize, develop new ideas, use a journal.

This was helpful to me as I work on improving my concentration skills and creating an environment that will be conducive to achieving my goals.

The Morning After

As I sit here with my second cup of coffee, and try to focus my brain, I think about how the Expo went. I, of course, enjoyed myself immensely. I am clearly in my element there. But was it productive. Having fun and making it an effective use of my time are two different things.

• I re-established connections with some former clients and paved the way for a future contact.
• I met four new people that I would call suspects (one who really needs our training) and might be in need of our services.
• I behaved and have set a course of action for future behavior.

Overall, yes it was a good use of my time. Today on my behavior plan I am going to make some calls and do some follow-up and rest a little. I am tired but energized.

I love this stuff . . .

I know this sounds strange, but I love Expos. I feel like I am in my environment. I just spent two hours walking and talking, it just doesn't get any better than that. However, tomorrow I hope to spend less time talking and more time listening. Tonight was the social event, and it was fun. The meat and potatoes will happen tomorrow in the quiet lulls of the day. I cannot wait. Oh by the way, yes I got my coffee, it was terrific.

Expos are great places to reconnect with people and meet new people. I have set up some up front contracts with my contacts to meet them tomorrow and walk around and introduce each other. It will be a great day.

The key will be the follow up after. I have already set aside Thursday morning for follow-up including calls and appointments if it makes sense.

Network, Network, Network

I know the three most important words in our vocabulary are Nurture, Nurture, Nurture. Yet, today my focus is on Networking. This week is the York County Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo. It happens to be their 25th year doing this and as always, it will be an awesome event. So as I plan my behavioral plan for the week, I am focused on meeting new friends, catching up with old ones and being available for my clients at the Expo.

I have been participating in the Expo since 1993, and I haven't missed a year. My plan is always the same, stop off at K&K Coffee to see Dirk and get a cup of coffee. Then start my day of networking.

What is important about working an Expo:

• Bring lots of cards, but only give out if you feel there is a fit,
• Get lots of cards, and ask lots of questions,
• Don't expect to close there, but create an opportunity to follow-up utilizing your up front contracts
• Follow-up, follow-up and more follow-up

See you at the Expo.

What is the cost of a Hiring Mistake?

According to one source, for a salesperson whose base salary is $40,000 and has an annual sales quota of $500,000 it can be as much as $302,000. That's based on you letting them go after six months. Pretty shocking. Of course this takes into account the lost sales from lack of production as well as actual hard cost of benefits and salary. It also includes management time to manage the situation. Let's face it, people don't put on their resumes they are terrible at following up or hate doing cold calls. Resumes always look great.

So what can be done? We believe utilizing an assessments is the answer. For example, the assessment we use can give you such specific information about a candidate such as call reluctance (cold calls) and follow-up skills. If you need a hunter and the candidate is a gatherer, there might not be a fit. So if you don't want to pay later for the mistake of a bad decision, you might want to consider a small investment now to assure a qualified hiring decision.

If you want to know what your sales mistakes have cost you, check out www.getasalespro.com and utilize our Mistake Calculator to get the hard facts.

Best kept secret . . . at least to me!

I love to do internet research. My favorite thing to do is help my clients in their sales efforts. So I try to keep up with their industries and learn more about how I can better serve them. Imagine how thrilled I was to find out about Google Alerts. Just go to www.google.com and then click on More and you will find a list of things you can get with Google. Alerts allows you to set up special searches such as "Entertainment Farms" and on a regular basis, i.e. daily. You will then get the results of those searches. I set mine up to include news and web searches, which gives me a rich blend on information.

What does this do for me and my clients?

• I can keep up with latest trends and statistics,
  
• I see who the competition is and what they are doing, and
  
• I can send articles of interest to my clients which lets them know I am thinking of them. Just another way to give your clients a warm touch. Part of the Bonding and Rapport piece.

So go and set up some Alerts, use the results to stay ahead of the curve and serve your customers. It will be a great tool for you and your business.

Why is the phone so heavy?

Are you like the many sales professionals who hate to do cold calls and see it as a necessary evil? Any one who says they like doing them is usually not telling the truth or is certifiable. So how can we take the sting out of cold calls?

• Stay focused on the goal or the reward. Always remember that overtime cold calls generally pay, and quite frankly, they can pay handsomely.
  
• Remember, cold calls are not forever. As you grow in the business, learn and integrate the tools, techniques and philosophies of the Sandler System, you will not need to do cold calls because you will be busy following up on all the referrals you will be getting from your clients.
• Cold calls are a great place to practice the techniques that you are using. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Try something new, specially when you are doing cold calls in person.
  

So the next time you decide to make a dentist appointment instead of a cold call, remember the above, get on the phone and create your future, one call at a time. You can do it.

The Power of Focus!!!!

I'll admit it, I am distracted easily. I have always chalked it up to my innate ability to multi-task and manage many priorities. Unfortunately, it can be a hazard. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants instead of working a methodical plan. Wow, even the word methodical sounds so confining to me.

I just started reading a new book called the The Power of Focus for Women, and I realized that there is nothing wrong with having a plan and working it. It's more than just goals, but the actions steps and the actual implementation that make the difference. I have always been great at goal setting but easily taken off course because of my resistance to "schedules" and "regimented plans." As it is said "If you are not working your plan, you are part of someone else's plan."

For my attitude/behavior plan I will embrace the concept of planning and working a plan and develop and implement a plan. My first step is to create an environment of solitude that is conducive to planning. Thank you Borders, a good book, a cup of coffee and the Sandler System for making this all clear.

Just when you thought you heard it all . . .

At the last President's Club meeting a client mentioned that one of his clients asked him to participate in a Reverse Auction. I listened in disbelief as he explained. His client created a bid opportunity, on line, the he was to bid on. The only catch, instead of the prices going up like in normal auctions, they needed to go down. The clients was going to pick the lowest bid. What did he do? Being the professional that he is, he sat down and figured out what the job would cost and came up with his bid, he posted it and turned off the computer. Seconds after the computer was off, his client called to ask if everything was okay and why was he not there (why wasn't he playing was what they really wanted to know.) He told them that he posted his price and if he won great, and if not, it wasn't meant to be. After that experience they have created a company policy not to participate in these types of practices.

You really have to have an abundance mentally and the ability to separate yourself from the situation to keep you head on straight.

Empty the Sub Every time?

A light bulb went off at the last meeting and it seemed to resonate with quite a few of our clients.

First, you have to empty the sub every time, with every transaction and throughout the sales process. For example, you might get all the compartments filled and are ready to your fulfillment phase (dog & pony show) and then a new player (decision maker) is introduced to the process. What do you do? Call a time out and start over, overview what has previously transpired and then find out what the new player needs to make the decision. It seems so simple, yet it was amazing to watch our clients get it.

Second, you use the sub with everyone, not just new clients. That was probably the most revolutionary idea for some of our more experienced clients. One client who was coming through the training again said he thought of the sub when he was working with new clients, but suddenly realized he needs to use the sub even with his existing clients. Building rapport and checking to see what has changed in their world is always appropriate and helps to further develop the "Trusted Advisor" role.

Good stuff.

Learn, Grow and Go

I am fortunate to work with an organization that believes in helping people achieve their goals through gradual and incremental change. Staub & Associates has been providing salesforce development and recruitment for 15 years. We provide training and lifetime coaching which is very different to the seminar approach to sales. What is the difference? Well as David Sandler said "You can't teach a kid to ride a bike at a seminar." Also true is you can't teach a person to be a professional salesperson at a seminar. Sure someone might get one or two tricks to close a sale or get past the gate keeper but that will not go far and it will not be sustainable.

True knowledge comes when the student learns, practices, learns some more, makes some mistakes, learns some more and then starts to own the learning. When the ownership happens, forget about the possibilities, they are beyond anyone's comprehension.

Sales is not a Four Letter Word

I used to hate to sell. In fact, I used to say I wasn't selling. People were buying me and my services. Then I realized I needed to go out and get them. That's when I found Staub & Associates who trained me on how to be a professional sales person utilizing the Sandler Sales System. Once I found a system, I was unstoppable.

After 13 years, I made a career change and here I am helping other people find out what I found out. Sales does not have to be hard or painful. Salespeople are not to be despised. In fact, a good sales professional should be considered a trusted advisor.

That's what I want for everyone. To be a trusted advisor and to help other people get what they want which in turn will allow them to reach their goals.