“Building performance,€¦ · The “fresh” approach will pay off. 4 Got Goal Clarity? Clarity...

“Building performance,

profits, and people.” The

mission of Sales Pro

Insider, Inc. (SPI) is to help

organizations strengthen

these critical areas. In sales,

strengthening performance,

profits and people maximizes

opportunity and results.

Through our combined experience of

over 20 years each, we have worked

with thousands of sales professionals

in selling, prospecting and reaching

higher levels of success. During these

years, we have discovered definite do’s

and don’ts for creating long-term sales

success, and developed some helpful

tips for sales professionals.

We are eager to share our tips with you

and have created this “little” booklet

with an entire year of “big” ideas to

help you become the most effective

sales professional you can be!

Focus on one tip per week. The tips

might seem to be common sense; our

objective is to make them common

practice.

Select a tip and determine 2-3 actions

you will take to ensure that idea is

in place or is not an inhibitor in your

world. When put into action, these

ideas work!

Do you like the ideas, but need help

implementing them? Contact us to

discuss how we can work with you to

gain even higher levels of performance,

profits and effectiveness.

Much success to you!

Nancy Bleeke, 414.235.3064

Lynn Zimmer, 262.707.1171

52 Timely Tips for Sales Professionals 1


1 The Six “Ps” of Success.

Prior proper planning prevents poor

performance. Our controlled studies

show that consistent planners produce

17-25% more than non-planners.

Plan your visits in advance of your

meeting by identifying: Who, What (the

objective) and very importantly Why

(the value or benefits the customer/

prospect will realize by working with

you, the product or service and the

company). Add notetaking to your prior

proper planning and see the resulting

“p” of success – Productivity!

2 Select a Mentor.

Learn from experienced, successful

people. Most people are honored to

spend time and share information with

an interested party. Ask someone you

respect to share some time with you.

Prepare questions and solicit ideas and

lessons s/he has experienced. Then

pay it forward. Who can you mentor?

Many times what we teach to others

reinforces what we can and should be

doing ourselves.

3 Keep It Fresh.

Become a lifelong learner. In any

profession it is easy to become stale.

This leads us to a state of “it worked

so well I stopped doing it.” Sales is

a profession. Make time to continue

sharpening your skills, reminding

yourself of basic communication and

sales processes. This week locate some

of the tools that helped you in the past.

Where are they – shelved somewhere?

In a binder or in a box? Take them out –

review your notes and the information

and select 1-2 specific actions you will

take to put them into practice once

again. The “fresh” approach will pay

off.

4 Got Goal Clarity?

Clarity is the objective in setting goals.

It’s estimated that only 10% of the

population have goals in writing. To

develop specific, written, measurable

goals means clarifying your initial

thoughts. Goals are fluid – they need

to be reviewed, renewed, revised or

recycled on an ongoing basis. Take

time this week to put pen to paper

(or fingers to keyboard) and identify

2-3 specific outcomes/goals you would

like to realize or achieve in the next 60

days. Identify work and personal goals

– our lives are holistic and goals in each

area will impact the other. They should

be in sync and not competing. Clearly

outline the goals and the plans for

reaching them to eliminate spending

time and energy in murky activity.

5 Keep Current.

Stay abreast of market trends. What

magazines relate to your industry?

What podcasts or blogs have relevant,

up-to-date information? What groups

produce newsletters or e-zines that

provide the most current ideas for your

competition and industry? Set aside

30-60 minutes each week to stay

current on recent information. Then

use the information to deepen existing

relationships or reach out to find new

ones.

6 Use What You’ve Got or

Get What You Need.

Identify and utilize your resources.

A resource does not necessarily

mean all the latest gadgetry and

technology. Which resources will assist

you in keeping in touch with your

clients, creating value for them and

having necessary information at your

fingertips? Determine the resources

that will really assist you in becoming

more successful… then make sure you

have them.


8 Set Up a Referral Process.

Current loyal customers are the

least expensive method for finding

new customers. Establish a process

for asking for and following up on

referrals. Identify how to: ask for the

referral, capture the information, and

communicate back to the referring

party on what you have done. When

a referral is given, if the referred party

is not contacted, future referrals will

be difficult to obtain. Send a follow-

up message to your referring party

acknowledging the action you have

taken and thanking them.

9 Break Performance Paradigms!

A paradigm is a boundary or barrier.

Each person has a belief boundary

about his or her own possible level of

performance. Stretch your boundary by

finding successes outside

your current boundary

or comfort level. Once

stretched, like a rubber

band, the performance

will never go back to

where it once was.

The new performance

paradigm will lead

to higher performance

results!

7 Blind Spots.

For most people it is hard to see a

full picture of what we do well and

the areas we should strengthen. To

identify the skills or behaviors that you

would benefit most from developing,

ask others who see you in action what

skills could be strengthened. Outside

feedback and observations can provide

invaluable information to target our

personal development needs. Next,

identify what type of training is

available… classroom, teleconference

dialoguing, sharing best practices

or participating in a conference.

Application of the training as well as

building success habits will allow you

to see the entire picture more clearly.



10 Network.

Talk with other sales professionals in

your industry or in other industries.

Sales challenges cross market

boundaries. Benjamin Franklin was a

pioneer in regularly meeting with other

professionals. His group (known as the

Junto) met weekly on Friday evenings

to debate and discuss topics that were

relevant. Each member’s talents and

interests benefited the others. Select

one or two effective sales professionals

with whom you can share ideas and

challenges. Identify a specific time

each week or month to share and learn

with each other.

11 Time Out.

Many sales pros spend all their time

“doing”. To stay energized for necessary

activities, stop “doing” and take time

to recharge your own batteries. Stand

up, stretch or take a brief walk. Taking

time out will increase your energy level

and help you be more productive to get

back in the game of doing.

12 Meeting Needs.

Define the needs that your product/

service/solution fills. As you focus on

the specific needs that you can meet

for clients or prospects, your confidence

is built on the value of your solutions.

Put focus, energy and effort into

discovering who has those needs. Then

contact those prospects to mutually

explore their needs first and only then

share how what you have can help.

13 Go Live.

Direct, face-to-face contact with

clients can help build your successes

and provide solutions that offer

the most value. If possible, set up a

consistent schedule of visiting clients

and reap the rewards of connecting live.

While telephone and email contacts

are efficient, “live contact” can help

strengthen your relationship and

provide more opportunities. Who needs

to see you?

14 Ask for Feedback.

From whom? Clients, managers, internal

staff and colleagues. About what?

Identify specific items you want to learn

about – products, processes, challenges,

your working relationship, etc. – and

ask for feedback verbally or in a survey.

Listen non-defensively and thank people

for sharing their feedback.

16 Collaborate with Marketing.

Marketing and Sales working together

within an organization provide synergy

that can positively impact a generation

of new business. Schedule time with

your marketer to discuss common goals

and how you might best support each

other. What information or assistance

from you would help keep Marketing

current? What do you need from them?

What are the mutual gains for working

together? Initiate the discussion and

see how your marketing needs are

tended to quickly.

17 I’m Different.

In today’s marketplace there are very

few truly unique offerings. The best

way to differentiate yourself is by

capitalizing on your uniqueness. Make

yourself memorable with the little things

– great follow-up, taking time when a

client needs to be heard, contacting

them for something other than a sale,

sharing current relavant information,

etc. Review what can be done to

separate yourself from the competition

and deliver the unexpected.

15 In the Moment.

Time with customers should not be

an opportunity to multi-task. Send the

message that your customer matters

by being physically and mentally open.

Want to shock a customer? The next

time you are with them – mute your

phone or turn off your computer and

let them know that the time with them

is more important. Staying present

with your customer shows you value a

future relationship.



18 Highlight Successes –

Yours and Theirs.

Share information on successes and

special recognitions. How often? As

they occur. Obtain permission from

your customers to “spotlight” them in

a short announcement – it gets them

talking about you while they share

the recognition with others. Recently.

has your company, product/service or

you personally received recognition?

If appropriate, add it below your email

signature – “Recently recognized by…”

Drawing attention to successes will

allow you – and your customers – to

build more success.

19 Communicate!

Communicate with people the way

they want to be communicated with.

Ask your customers what information

is important to them and how they like

to receive it. Some prefer email, others

like to discuss issues verbally. What

counts is providing information that

matters to them in a way that they will

use it!

20 Locate the Source.

A problem well-defined is a problem

half-solved. Take action to fix the source

of problems, not just the symptoms.

Strive for problem resolution – not just a

band-aid fix. Find the root of a problem,

correct it at the core and it won’t recur.

Identify one ongoing problem this

week and commit to resolving it once

and for all.

21 Say/Do.

Create an environment of trust with

your customers. One way to build trust

is to increase your say/do percentage.

Make sure that what you say, you do!

The frequency of how often your

actions match your words leads to

building or destroying trust. Look at

your actions today and do something

that you said you would do.

22 Celebrate Success.

Olympic soccer star Mia Hamm says,

“Celebrate what is accomplished, but

raise the bar a little higher each time

you succeed.” Many people wait until

something big happens before they

celebrate. Little successes build into

big successes. Acknowledge success

as soon as possible including any

progress steps on the way to your goal.

The journey may become as enjoyable

as the destination.

26 Disciplined Delivery.

Practice helps make perfect. When

learning a new skill or information,

it takes several reinforcement and

application opportunities to deliver

competently. With a new process,

information or product, allow yourself

time to learn and practice to ensure a

smooth delivery.

27 Find the WIIFT.

Ever hear the term WIIFM (what’s in it

for me)? As a sales professional, we

should be more concerned with WIIFT

(What’s in it for them?). Find what

is important to your customers (and

your manager) – they are all unique

individuals – and help them get it. They

will be more motivated to reciprocate

success back to you.

28 Embrace Change.

Change is constant. To maximize

the opportunity from any change,

find the benefit as soon as possible.

Complaining about ”too much” change

deflects your energy and keeps you (and

your success) from moving forward.

This week, select one situation with

change and identify how to best adapt

to it. Now your energy and time can be

focused on productive activities.

23 Make New Friends and

Keep the Old.

It is easy to become distracted and

excited about something new or

different. New prospects and products

can easily take all our time and energy.

Ensure that these new “distractions”

complement your existing products

and don’t get in the way of building

your core solutions. Balance your old

and new relationships and solutions.

24 Focus on Accountability.

A foundation of accountability is a

foundation of productivity! Hold yourself

accountable for doing the activities

needed for success. If you find yourself

skipping necessary activities, ask

yourself why. The best and hardest

person to answer to is you.

25 The Ups and Downs.

Write your strengths and weaknesses

on an index card with the date at the

top. Find situations where you have

demonstrated your strengths and keep

demonstrating them. More importantly,

when you find yourself taking an action

to strengthen a weakness, recognize it.

What are the benefits? How can you

repeat it? Focus on your strengths,

and develop weak areas. Success will

follow.



29 Listen More Than You Talk.

Most people think we talk our way into

situations, sales and deals. Observe

long-term sales professionals. Many

have already discovered that as they

listen and tap into the power of the

knowledge of others, their successes

increase exponentially with the amount

of time they don’t talk! Practice the

80/20 of listening/talking to listen your

way into new heights of performance.

30 Wait. For what?

Answers. It is estimated that people

wait 1-4 seconds for a response to

an asked question. Instead, allow up

to 20-30 seconds for a response and

condition yourself to wait for it. Yes, it

will seem like you are waiting forever.

Resist the urge to ask another question,

rephrase the initial question or answer

the question yourself. Ask, wait, learn.

31 Strive for

Continuous Improvement.

Continuous improvement needs to

happen… continuously! Be open to and

recognize new ideas and suggestions.

See if there is merit before saying that

it can’t be done. Focus on continuously

improving how you, your solution and

your company operate.

32 Define and Solve Problems.

The larger the problem you solve

for people, the larger the value you

provide. Identify the problems that your

service or product solves. As you talk

with prospects, discuss the problem

and its impact on both the person

and the company. If they are open to

it, demonstrate how your solution

specifically alleviates the problem and

the perception of value is higher. The

larger the value perceived, the more

valuable your solution.

33 Ask Great Questions.

Open-ended and thought-provoking

questions should be asked of everyone!

Determine what information you need

to know and design effective questions

to draw out that information. Then ask

the question, wait for the answer and

dig even deeper whenever possible.

“Tell me more” is one way to dig up

great information from a good answer.

36 A Numbers Game?

Being successful in sales is not just

a numbers game. It’s a performance

game measured by numbers. In our

desire to be successful, many times

we focus on how much we’re doing

instead of how well it’s working. Give

yourself a quick performance review -

are your daily actions advancing you

towards your goal achievement or just

keeping you busy? What one thing can

you do differently today to increase

your success?

37 It’s in the Eyes.

A successful communicator once said

that she tries to recall the color of

the other person’s eyes when leaving

a sales call. If she knew the color, it

confirmed she had made good eye

contact and listened to what the

person was saying. Making eye contact

shows people we are truly interested

in them. It keeps us focused on what

they are saying, understanding their

emotional commitment and breaking

preoccupation. In your meetings, look

for the “color” of the conversation.

34 Stop the Blame Game.

When things aren’t going right, who

do you hold responsible? Many of us

want to find blame. Instead, find out

what happened and look for solutions

versus blame. Identify the root cause

and share ideas on how to make things

better. Today, instead of blaming, ask

yourself, “What can I do to make it

better?”.

35 Have Them at Hello.

To open your sales call, ask, “What

would you like to make sure we cover

today?”. By involving the prospect and

trying to determine their needs right

from the start, the meeting will be

more focused on them and the value

they are looking for.



38 Forward and Back.

In the beginning… Many fairy tales

begin with those words. So do most

resolutions. When do most people

begin resolutions? The beginning of

the year. By stretching our beginnings

to the first of each month, week or day,

we have a clean slate waiting to have

SUCCESSFUL stamped on it! As you

move forward, take a moment to reflect

back on the past day, week, month:

Make a list of what went well for •

you and continue to employ those

approaches that worked.

Reflect on what didn’t go as •

successfully as you had planned. What

did you learn from these missteps?

How can you not repeat them?

Looking back and learning from what

you did will propel you forward to more

success.

39 The Power of Thank You.

Today, extending a few old fashioned

courtesies can be a point of

differentiation. A Lenox etiquette poll

found that nearly 5 out of 10 people

don’t say thank you. Remembering

to say thank you provides a point of

differentiation. Thank them in person,

call them on the phone, send them

a card, or email them. How you do it

is not as important as the power of

saying thank you.

40 Let the Telephone Work for You.

When making new contacts, don’t let

voicemail and gatekeepers keep you

from connecting with your prospects. If

your call goes to voicemail, listen to the

message first for an indication if they’re

in the office and then opt out to talk

to a live person. When a gatekeeper

offers to put you into voicemail, ask,

“What’s the best time for me to contact

him/her by phone?”. When you use the

information provided, the telephone

works for you.

41 Think Like a Winner.

What does it take to be successful?

Common answers include: dedication,

hard work, or expertise in your field.

It takes these and a winning attitude.

What is a winning attitude?

The ability to focus on long-term •

goals when short-term results are

shaky.

Moving forward when today wasn’t •

as successful as you planned.

Using each experience as a learning •

opportunity.

Michael Jordan said “I’ve always believed

that if you put in the work, the results

will come.” That sounds like a winning

statement, doesn’t it?

42 Less Is More.

Can you, in 25 words or

less, introduce yourself at a

networking/social event? This

introduction should succinctly

portray what you do and the

benefits you provide. For example,

think of yourself as a Business

Improvement Specialist and focus

on what you do that makes your

customers more successful. Do

you sell billboard advertising or

do you introduce your customer

to 10,000 prospects each day?

Which would you remember?

43 Google Alert!

Technology has made it easy for us to

get current information on prospects

and customers. To differentiate yourself

from your competition, stay abreast

of timely information on a person or

company by creating “Google alerts.”

Email updates are sent with the latest

relevant Google results (web, news,

etc.) based on your choice of query or

topic.

To create an alert, go to

http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en.

Let technology provide you with

possible topics that matter to your

customers.


44 The Power of One.

Often we look for the “big” ideas to

success. Sometimes the small, one

action or idea is more important.

Consider how changing one activity

will increase results. What would

happen if you:

Called one more customer each day?•

Asked one more question during •

each sales meeting/call?

Sent one more email or letter to the •

prospect who hasn’t yet said “yes?”

Addressed an objection one more •

time before you give up?

Sent one more note or thank you to a •

prospect or client, letting them know

that you value their relationship?

One is a tiny number that can multiply

into powerful sales results.

45 Tune In.

As a consumer, when was the last time

a sales associate was truly interested

in what you wanted or needed, not just

what they wanted to sell?

To ensure you are tuning in to your

customers, make a list of the interview

questions you currently ask prospects

and clients. Who do your questions

focus on? Tune your customers in by

asking open-ended questions that

focus on them.

46 Wow ‘Em.

Technology and work overload has

made it easy to lose the personal touch.

Select one customer this week to have

a memorable “WOW” experience. What

does it take to wow others? Sometimes

a small touch such as:

A handwritten personal note. What •

article have you read lately that they

would find interesting? Send a copy

and attach an “I thought this would

be of interest to you” note.

Sharing something inspirational. Find •

a quote of the day and add it to your

email signature. Consider changing

the quote daily.

Calling them without a sales reason •

–thank them for their business and

let them know that you value their

relationship.

Remember to wow ‘em – and they will

remember you too.


47 First-Class Baggage.

A study by Michael Solomon, Ph.D. at

NYU shows that eleven decisions are

made about a person in the first seven

seconds of contact. In face-to-face

contact, we might not even say a word

before that impression is formed! Fifty-

five percent of the first impression is

from non-verbal cues. This includes

the appearance of anything you have

with you. Take an outsider look at the

“baggage” you carry. Does it speak of

success? Or of a hurried, too-busy,

unkempt approach to business?

You only get one time to make a first

impression. Make yours First Class!

48 Do, Delegate or Remove.

How often do you take an item from

your daily task list and move it to the

next day, then the next, until it seems

to have become a permanent item? If

you find yourself “skipping” activities

needed for sales success, find out why

by asking yourself:

Why did this item make it on the list •

to begin with?

Do I need to do this? If the answer is •

no, remove it.

Do I have the skills/information/•

knowledge to do it?

Do I have the time to do it? If it’s •

important, make the time or delegate

it to someone who has the time. If

it’s not important, remove it.

Change your To Dos into a Do, Delegate

or Remove and watch the list shrink.

49 Sell Yourself First.

Your belief in the value you create for

your customer comes through in the

confidence, energy and enthusiasm

you display. If you don’t believe in

what you’re selling, why should they?

Take five minutes and list five values

that your product and service provide.

Add the values that working with you

provides. As you communicate these

values in each customer contact, your

belief will increase and so will theirs!


50 Expand Your Relationships

“Three Deep.”

Have you ever contacted your customer

and found that they are no longer with

the company? What does that do for

the probability that you will maintain

that corporate relationship? Ensuring

its longevity means developing a “three

deep” relationship with all of your

customers. Know at least three other

people in the company. Learn who

your contacts’ key associates are - the

assistant, colleagues who handle their

work in their absence and the direct

manager. Throughout your relationship,

take the opportunity to connect with

these other associates. Expand these

three deep contacts to solidify the

longevity of the company relationship.

51 Start the Day “High.”

Begin each day with something that

makes you feel good - calling a favorite

customer or working on a project that

you enjoy. Next, choose one of your

most difficult activities or challenging

customers to tackle. The positive energy

from the feel-good activity should carry

over to the lesser enjoyable activity.

Knowing you have completed something

more challenging will increase your

energy and provide more “highs” to be

productive the rest of the day!

52 Integrity.

Your belief and commitment to the

company is carried through all your

messages with prospects and customers.

Speak positively though realistically about

your organization, and the customer will

do the same. Know how you stack up

against the competition and share your

strengths without bad-mouthing others.

As American economist Don Galer said,

“Integrity is what we do, what we say

and what we say we do.”


… a year’s worth of ideas and a bonus. Select one per week to

focus on. And then, for best results, instead of thinking

about it, DO something to benefit from the idea.

Do you have any tips to share with other sales

professionals? Send us a note at [email protected]

or [email protected].

Want to learn more about how we might

work together to build your sales performance?

Contact Nancy at 414.235.3064 or

Lynn at 262.707.1171.

To review resource information and our

scope of solutions, and to receive tip #53,

visit our website www.salesproinsider.com.

We wish you the best of success!


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“Building performance,€¦ · The “fresh” approach will pay off. 4 Got Goal Clarity? Clarity...

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