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2 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
3 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Contents
Introduction to Professional Sales................................................................................. 4
Module 1: Understanding Yourself and Others ............................................................... 5
Topic 1 - What kind of sales person are you? .............................................................. 5
Transactional Selling ................................................................................................ 5
Relationship Selling .................................................................................................. 5
Topic 2 - Understanding the DISC Profile for Selling ..................................................... 7
DISC profiles explained: D is for Dominance/Driver ...................................................... 8
DISC profiles explained: I is for Influence ................................................................. 10
DISC profiles explained: S is for Steady.................................................................... 11
DISC profiles explained: C is for Compliance ............................................................. 13
Topic 3 - Adapting Your Approach ............................................................................ 15
Topic 4 - Listening Actively ..................................................................................... 17
Module 2: Vision and Mission .................................................................................... 18
Topic 1: Vision ...................................................................................................... 18
Topic 2: Mission .................................................................................................... 21
Module 3: Building your Business Strategy ................................................................. 23
Topic 1 - Creating a Compelling USP ........................................................................ 23
Topic 2 - Create Your Elevator Speech ...................................................................... 27
Module 4: Territory Planning ..................................................................................... 30
Topic 1 – Planning with a Pyramid............................................................................ 30
Topic 2 – Strategy Development .............................................................................. 32
Topic 3 - Sales Call Planning ................................................................................... 32
Topic 3 – Goal Setting ............................................................................................ 37
Topic 4 – Post Sale Analysis and R.O.T.I ................................................................... 41
Topic 5 - Time Management .................................................................................... 47
Module 5: Account Management................................................................................ 51
Topic 1 – Keeping your Customers ........................................................................... 51
Topic 2 - Key Account Management ......................................................................... 54
Topic 3 – The Sales Funnel ..................................................................................... 55
Module 6: Selling with Insight .................................................................................... 57
Topic 1 - Overview ................................................................................................. 57
Topic 2 – Connecting .............................................................................................. 59
Topic 3 – Convince ................................................................................................. 61
Topic 4 – Collaborate with Influence ......................................................................... 64
Module 7: Negotiation and Overcoming Objections ....................................................... 66
Topic 1: Negotiation ............................................................................................... 66
Topic 2: Overcoming Objections .............................................................................. 67
4 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Introduction to Professional Sales
The sales landscape has changed. It’s no longer a seller’s market. Instead, due to the growth
of content marketing, social media and the wealth of free information that’s readily available,
customers have control. What’s more, due to the change in the way people seek information
to help inform their buying decisions, the role of sales reps have changed too.
You may have discovered that traditional sales techniques such as cold calling are no longer
as effective as they used to be. In the past, sales teams played a key role in educating and
informing prospects to help them make their buying decisions – often right at the start of the
sales funnel. This scenario is now rare.
Instead, in today’s customer’s market, it’s not unusual for a prospect to be a long way down
their buying journey when they first make contact with you. That’s because consumers can
(and do) educate themselves using the huge amount of eBooks, webinars and blogs available
for free. In addition, social search allows prospects to instantly get feedback, opinions and
recommendations from other users.
In many ways, sales is beginning to shift back to the early days of sales when sales were
made face to face with person to person contact. You bought from people you knew and had
a connection with instead of the people with the biggest budgets and fancy ad campaigns.
In the industrial age, sales shifted to a spray and pay model where sales professional became
less engaged and less human. We forced our products and services on our customers without
truly getting to know the core of their needs. This resulted in customer churn and ultimately
a business model that was unsustainable.
Today, technology has given us a chance to connect again. To better understand our prospects
while giving us the tools we need to better nurture and build on existing relationships.
Additionally, these tools are making sales more human again. We’re back to the days of
putting relationships first and building sustainable relationships.
It means sales reps have to work differently... Instead of “pure” selling, they need to focus
on adding value they need to become a source of information and best practices for their
customers.
Insight selling requires skills, product and industry expertise, knowledge of customer
circumstances, and more time and effort than with Transactional Selling.
Over the next few days we will provide you with the detailed support that is required by
salespeople so that it is easy for you to deliver a consistent experience of value. Customers
feel important. They feel that the salesperson cares, is listening to them and is responsive.
This builds more trust and comfort in sharing insights that permit a more valuable and
relevant response to their needs.
You will be delivering powerful and meaningful experiences that quickly increase revenue.
You will have a new set of insight selling skills that will quickly show improvements in sales
effectiveness.
5 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Module 1: Understanding Yourself and Others
Topic 1 - What kind of sales person are you?
Think about someone you seek out when you’re working through a challenge. They help you
think things through and see what’s important. They ask the right questions. They listen.
They don’t just give you answers — they help you come up with them. And yet, they’re not
afraid to tell you what they think, share their ideas, and take a stand when they feel strongly
about something. People like this make us better. They help us see what’s possible. That’s
why we get so much from interacting with them. That’s why we seek them out again and
again.
The sellers who are winning major sales these days are starting to look just like these people.
With the rise of the Internet, today’s customers have a lot of information and choices, but
they don’t necessarily have more wisdom or confidence. They need people to share ideas and
help them think these ideas through. Yet this is where so many sellers are struggling, falling
short and losing, while a select few are getting it right and winning.
Transactional Selling
This strategy is all about short-term solutions. The sales rep is primarily concerned with the
promotion and selling of the product with little or no emphasis on customer needs. This
strategy, also known as traditional selling, is all about the single sale and focuses on short-
term interactions between a customer and a salesperson such as:
Professional Visitor - succeeds on personality or shared interests, forming limited
relationships with customers rather than long-term alliances that promote future sales.
Price and Content Seller - highlights costs, deals, and quotes. While price sales people
may meet customers’ financial needs, only coincidentally do they meet other needs,
reinforcing a perception of their products or services as commodities. Content sales people
emphasize product or service features, often without linking them to key issues for the
customer. This "feature focus" is long on technical information and short on explicit
benefits to the customer.
Chameleon – has the ability to be as changeable as a chameleon, willing to try putting a
new spin on what they have to offer.
Relationship Selling
This strategy is all about building long-term relationships. The sales rep gets to know his/her
customer, their needs and their wants. Then and only then does the salesperson even think
about trying to make a sale. Relationship salespeople likely fall into one of the following:
Loyal Champion - possesses deep insight into the customer’s business and industry. As
a result, the customer views a Loyal Champion almost as an employee, often providing
access to strategic plans and other inside information. In these close relationships, the
salesperson often acts as an advocate for the customer within the sales organization.
Consultative (Needs Satisfaction Seller) - creates mutually beneficial relationships,
uncovering a customer’s critical needs and tailoring solutions to each customer’s situation.
When customers view the salesperson as a Need Satisfaction Seller, a new world of sales
possibilities begins to emerge. As a resourceful expert they apply in-depth product and
industry expertise to configure solutions that meet customer needs. This deep knowledge
often creates value for customers at different organizational levels who interact with the
solution in different capacities.
6 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Insight Seller (Trusted Advisor) - has achieved the ultimate customer relationship.
Trusted Advisors consistently use their in-depth knowledge and highly developed sales
skills to the customers’ benefit. Over time, they earn the right to influence all stages of
the buying cycle. A Trusted Advisor discovers and meets critical needs in unparalleled
ways by providing not only products and services, but also insights, advice and assistance.
Notes:
7 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Topic 2 - Understanding the DISC Profile for Selling
To connect with the customer it is helpful to present and converse in ways that THEY would
prefer, and not necessarily the way the sales person would like. If the customer is thoughtful,
analytical and deliberate and the sales person is “fly by the seat of the pants” . . . then there
is going to be a certain amount of disconnect and stress.
The DISC behavior models allow an understanding of how we might recognize and customize
our message so that it gets through the customer's mental filtering system. DISC looks at
how people interact with the world based on RESPONSIVENESS and ASSERTIVENESS.
8 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
DISC profiles explained: D is for Dominance/Driver
The “D” is looking for: Results
Emotion: Anger
Quick Observations: Extroverted, task-oriented Communication: Direct
Overextension: Impatient
Body Language:
Stance - Forward leaning, hand in pocket
Walks - Fast, always going somewhere
Gestures - A lot of hand movement when talking, big
gestures
Communication Clue: Doesn’t want others’ opinions, only
facts
These people are driven, determined and can tend to be a bit overbearing at time. D-Type
decision-makers are extroverted, active, demanding, forceful, egocentric, aggressive, and
decisive. CEOs often fall into this quadrant.
What are the general characteristics of the D Personality Style?
The D Personality Style tends to be direct and decisive, sometimes described as dominant.
They would prefer to lead than follow, and tend towards leadership and management
positions. They tend to have high self-confidence and are risk takers and problem solvers,
which enables others to look to them for decisions and direction. They tend to be self-starters.
What does the D Personality Type contribute to a team?
They think about big picture goals and tangible results. They are bottom-line organizers that
can lead an entire group in one direction. They place great value on time frames and seeing
results. The D may challenge the status quo and think in a very innovative way.
What are the possible weaknesses of the D Personality Style?
They tend to overstep authority, as they prefer to be in charge themselves. At times they can
be argumentative and not listen to the reasoning of others. They tend to dislike repetition and
routine and may ignore the details and minutia of a situation, even if it's important. They may
attempt too much at one time, hoping to see quick results.
What is the greatest fear of D Personality Types?
The D Personality Type will craves to be in control of the situation, and therefore fears the
idea of being taken advantage of by others.
What motivates the D Personality Style?
The D is highly motivated by new challenges, setting and achieving goals, and seeing tangible
results. They appreciate receiving verbal recognition from others as well as rewards. They
enjoy power and authority to take risks and make decisions. Freedom from routine and
mundane tasks is important. Since repetition is frustrating for the D, changing environments
in which to work and play can be highly motivating.
What is the ideal environment for the D Personality Type?
They like to focus on the future and the big picture, and like non-routine challenging tasks
and activities. They are motivated by projects that produce physical, trackable or tangible
results. They enjoy being in charge or having the freedom to make decisions for themselves
and may crave freedom from controls, supervision, and details.
What does the high D Personality Style desire?
9 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
D personalities desire freedom from others rules. They gravitate towards authority, personal
freedom, and opportunity for advancement. They desire recognition, awards, and prestige
for their work and ideas. In the work environment, D Personality Types, focus on promoting
growth and a "bottom line" approach.
What should one remember to do when working with D Personality Types?
When working with a D, be direct, to the point, and brief. Focus on tangible points and talk
about "what" instead of "how". Focus on business instead of social topics and try to be results
oriented. Make suggestions for how to achieve the goal instead of talking about why it won't
work. Try to thinking like a D, be confident and focus on problem solving.
What should one remember not to do when working with a D Personality Type?
When working with a D, it's important not to focus too much on the problems, the negative
points, and the small details. They are big picture thinkers and may perceive you as negative.
When speaking, try to speak confidently. Avoid repeating yourself or rambling. Don't make
generalizations and make statements without support. Focus on the topic and do not be too
sociable, they want to get right to the point.
What is a high D DISC Style likely to do when working with details or when
analyzing information?
Because the D Style wants to look forward and think in bigger terms, they tend to ignore the
information and analysis of past experiences and the details of what new projects may entail.
They may ignore potential risks, not weigh the pros and cons, and not consider the opinions
of others. They will likely offer innovative and progressive ideas and systems, but will need
someone else to break down the project and work with the specifics.
What positive characteristics does the D Personality Type possess when in teams?
They will likely be very autocratic managers in a team environment and rise to the top during
crisis moments. They will provide direction and leadership, push groups toward decision
making, will maintain focus on the goals, and will push for tangible results. They can
sometimes intimidate groups because of their directness and lack of social interest around
others. They are generally optimistic thinkers, but may have personality conflicts with others
they perceive as negative. They function well with heavy workloads and when under stress
and welcome new challenges and risks without fear.
Selling to D’s - Get to the point fast! Bullet points and headlines make content easier to
read and digest. They like to control their consumption so you may be able to use the
phone but don’t start with, “what are you doing or how is your day going”. Niceties are lost
on D’s, they just want to get on the phone, find out what is needed or what you are selling
and get off. D’s make buying decisions fast. Rarely will they ponder for days, let alone
weeks, on whether or not to buy something. They are jump right in and get started type
of people. That being said, don’t forget, they can dump you just as fast so you might want
to spread your marketing around a bit!
10 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
DISC profiles explained: I is for Influence
The “I” is looking for: The “Experience”
Emotion: Trust/Optimism
Quick Observations: Extroverted, people oriented
Communication: Indirect
Overextension: Disorganized
Body Language:
Stance - Feet spread, two hands in pockets
Walks - Weaves, people focused, may run into things
Gestures - A lot of big gestures and facial expressions when talking
Communication Clue: Talks with hands.
These are the fun people who like to be around other people. They like order and structure.
I-Type decision-makers are extroverted, active, social, talkative, emotional, optimistic, warm,
convincing, magnetic, and trusting. Sales and marketing people are often I’s.
What are the general characteristics of the I Personality Style?
The I Personality Style is not afraid to be the center of attention. They are enthusiastic,
optimistic, talkative, persuasive, impulsive and emotional. This Personality Type will trust
others naturally, truly enjoys being around others, and functions best when around people
and working in teams.
What does the I Personality Type contribute to a team?
The “I” style are naturally creative problem solvers who can think outside of the box. They
are great encouragers and motivators of others. They will go out of their way to keep things
light, avoid and negotiate conflict and keep the peace.
What are the possible weaknesses of the I Personality Style?
The I Personality Style is likely not good with detail. They are more concerned with people
and popularity than with tangible results and organization. It's also possible that they are not
great listeners, and may give the impression of waiting to speak instead of truly listening to
what someone else is saying.
What is the greatest fear of I Personality Types?
Since acceptance and approval by others is the main desire of I Personality Types, rejection
is their biggest fear.
What motivates the I Personality Style?
The I DISC Style is motivated by the approval, flattery, praise, popularity or acceptance by
others. They excel most when they can be the talker, the presenter, the one who builds
rapport or works in teams, but needs another person to handle the details.
Selling to I’s - You need to make I’s sound like you are in it together. I’s are much like D’s
in not wanting to have too much to read and going into overload. If you have a four page
marketing proposal they will not want to hurt your feelings and will promise to look at it, but
will probably find someone that they feel will be easier to work with. I’s will not go off and
work by themselves for days; they need to be with people and like to do things together. I’s
make buying decisions based on the person they are working with. If they like you they want
to work with you – the end. Keep up that relationship with good communication and you will
have them for life.
11 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
DISC profiles explained: S is for Steady
The “S” is looking for: Security
Emotion: Non-emotional
Quick Observations: Introverted, people oriented
Communication: Indirect
Overextension: Possessiveness
Body Language:
Stance - Leaning back, hand in pocket
Walks - Steady, easy pace
Gestures - Will gesture with hands Communication Clue: Has a “poker” face
People with the S style place an emphasis on cooperating with others within existing
circumstances to carry out the task. S-Type decision-makers are introverted, calm, relaxed,
deliberate, and consistent. They are concerned about employees and family, and
uncomfortable with sudden change. Human resources people are often in this quadrant.
What are the general characteristics of the S Personality Style?
The S Personality Style is known for being steady, stable, and predictable. They are even-
tempered, friendly, sympathetic with others, and very generous with loved ones. The S is
understanding and listens well. Preferring close, personal relationships, the S is very opened
with loved ones, but can also be possessive at times and hold them close.
What does the S Personality Type contribute to a team?
The S style is reliant and dependable. They are patient, good listeners, who want to work with
teams in a harmonious way. They strive for consensus and will try hard to reconcile conflicts
as they arise. They are compliant towards authority and a loyal team player. The S is also
good at multi-tasking and seeing tasks through until completion.
What are the possible weaknesses of the S Personality Style?
The S is described as stable and predictable; this is because they like to get into a routine
and what feels secure and stick with it. This results in an opposition towards change. However,
when change is occurring, they adjust best when given a long enough period of time to adjust
and an explanation of why the change is occurring. Because the S style is passive and avoids
conflict, they may also hold grudges when they experience frustrations and resentments,
instead of facing the issue head on. They strive for positive environments and relationships
and can be especially sensitive when it comes to criticism. They want to please others;
therefore may have a difficult time saying no or establishing priorities.
What is the greatest fear of S Personality Types?
Because the S strives for stability and a feeling of peace and safety, they fear the loss of
security through change.
What motivates the S Personality Style?
The S Personality Type is motivated by safety and security. They want to avoid conflict and
exist in peaceful environments and around groups that are at harmony. They truly appreciate
recognition for their loyalty and dependability.
What is the ideal environment for the S Personality Type?
The S flourishes in a team environment, when working with others and getting along. They
enjoy people, but prefer individuals and groups that they trust and feel comfortable around.
They like environments with little change or surprise and little to no conflict. They like tasks
12 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
that can be completed at one time or seen through from beginning to end and enjoy practical
procedures and system. The S style wants stability, predictability, and harmony.
What does the high S Personality Style desire?
S Personality Types desire sincere appreciation for their acts of kindness and security in both
situations and environments. They enjoy repetition and patterns and time to adjust to change
if it must occur.
What should one remember to do when working with S Personality Types?
When working with S Personality Types, try to be personable and build rapport. The sooner
they feel comfortable with you, the sooner they will open up to you, especially if they see
genuine interest in them as a person. Provide them with specifics and clarifications for tasks
they are asked to do and try to explain the "how" questions. If instituting change, be patient
with them, explain your reasoning, and give them time to adjust. It will make them
uncomfortable at first.
What should one remember not to do when working with an S Personality Type?
When working with an S Personality Type, it's important to be kind and patient. Avoid being
confrontational, using strong tone or body language, being overly aggressive, pushy, or
demanding. They avoid confrontation and will recoil if approached in this way.
What is a high S DISC Style likely to do when working with details or when analyzing
information?
The S will genuinely try to help with the details and is a valuable support for team goals. They
may work slowly and systematically, which can slow down the action. If they truly have a
concern or doubt, they will likely internalize it or hesitate to voice their feedback unless a safe
environment has been created for dialogue.
What positive characteristics does the S Personality Type possess when in teams?
They are naturally relational, creating a supportive and positive team environment. The S
style tends to be grounded in reality and common sense and may be able to see a simpler or
more practical way to accomplish a goal. They are talented at multitasking although will work
at a slow and steady pace until something is complete. They can view the project from both
the overall big picture view and the smaller steps to get there. They tend to be peacemakers
and nurturers in groups.
Selling to S’s - S’s are the people who everyone counts on to get things done. If you are
selling to an S, you need to make it sound safe and secure with guarantees and lots of
testimonials from happy customers. They will read your marketing message and will probably
have questions about your products. When prospecting S’s, you can call them, making sure
to ask how their day is going and about their business or family. When sending your marketing
messages, make sure to have trust symbols like the Visa and MasterCard logos, the Better
Business Bureau logo, etc. You want to talk about having been in business for X-number of
years and about how you are going to be around for the long haul. S’s like to make sure
everything will stay on an even keel. S’s make buying decisions slowly and will stay with you
forever as long as you don’t rock the boat too much. You can make changes, just make sure
to give them notice and time to assimilate them!
13 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
DISC profiles explained: C is for Compliance
The “C” is looking for: Information
Emotion: Fear
Quick Observations: Introverted, task-oriented Communication: Direct
Overextension: Critical
Body Language:
Stance - Arms folded, one hand on chin
Walks - Straight line
Gestures - Very reserved, little or no gestures
Communication Clue: Asks detailed questions
People with the C style place an emphasis on working conscientiously within existing
circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy. C-Type decision-makers are introverted,
cautious, systematic, accurate, and comfortable with rules, regulations, and structure.
Purchasing people and those in administrative positions are often C-Types.
What are the general characteristics of the C DISC Styles?
The C DISC Styles are accurate, precise, detail-oriented, and conscientious. They think very
analytically and systematically and make decisions carefully with plenty of research and
information to back it up. The C has very high standards for both themselves and others.
Because they focus on the details and see what many other styles do not, they tend to be
good problem solvers and very creative people.
What do the C DISC Styles contribute to a team?
The C style brings perspective to groups and tends to be the "anchor of reality" in team
thought. When something is proposed, it is the C who will think through every detail of how
it works and the process. The C is conscientious and even tempered. They will complete
tasks they've committed to and will be very thorough. They take great pride in doing their
work accurately and are excellent people to analyze, research, or test information.
What are the possible weaknesses for the C DISC Styles?
The C Personality Type is one of the passive styles, which results in avoiding conflict. They
will avoid conflict rather than argue, and it is difficult to get them to verbalize their feelings.
They need clear cut boundaries in order to feel comfortable at work, in relationships, or to
take action.
What is the greatest fear of C DISC Styles?
Because C Personality Types take great pride in being accurate and correct, they fear
criticism.
What motivates the C DISC Styles?
The C is motivated by information and logic. They have very high standards of quality and
are motivated by being well informed, researching before deciding, having clear parameters
and instructions, doing work accurately and correctly, and seeing a project through to the
end.
What is the ideal environment for the C DISC Styles?
The C Personality Type prefers an environment that is peaceful and organized with few to no
conflicts or arguments. They do not need to be social at work and would be fine working
alone. They need an environment where tasks and projects can be followed through to
completion and especially excel in specialized or technical tasks due to their attention to
14 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
detail. The C feels most safe when there is procedure and routine and they are given
instructions and reassurance that they are doing what is expected of them.
What does the high C Personality Style desire?
C Personality Types desire independence and autonomy, but also a controlled and organized
work environment. They require reassurance that they are doing what is expected and prefer
exact job descriptions, expectations and goals to be laid out. They desire that things do not
change, but if change is necessary, that it's well thought out and planned. The C does desire
reassurance from others and fears being criticized.
What should one remember to do when working with C Personality Types?
When working with a C Personality Style, it's best to be prepared when possible. Do your
research and prepare your case in advance. Pay attention to the details because this is what
the C focuses on. When you can support a statement or idea with accurate data or examples,
which is helpful. When disagreeing, work with facts instead of people examples. Be patient,
persistent, and diplomatic and remember that they fear criticism.
What should one remember not to do when working with a C Personality Type?
Do not speak in broad generalizations with no specifics, use details and explanations when
possible. Try not to answer questions too vaguely or casually, as they need information and
details to make sense of new plans and decisions. Do not criticize the work they've already
done as they take great pride in their work. If you do need to criticize, be specific with your
examples and be diplomatic. Avoid being confrontational as they will not respond well to this
and will close off.
What is a high C DISC Style likely to do when working with details or when analyzing
information?
They will focus very much on the details and can become too focused on them, lacking
perspective on the overall picture. However, they will be cautious when analyzing and will find
any mistakes that need to be corrected. They are very effective trouble shooters. When the
C style works with details and information, they excel, yet if they find problems or perceive a
risk, they will try to avoid or postpone decisions being made based on it.
What positive characteristics does the C Personality Type possess when in teams?
C styles are instinctive organizers, who can both create and maintain systems. They strive for
consistency, logic, and accuracy and do very good work. They ask important questions and
talk about problems that could hold up projects. They are "do it yourself" managers who
maintain focus on tasks and will see something through until it's finished. They emphasize
quality, think logically, and strive for a diplomatic approach and consensus within groups.
Selling to Cs - Details, details, details! They want to know every bit of your sales process,
work flow and reporting deliverables. They will need A LOT of data to make a decision and
will need a number of phone calls to close the sale. When sending your marketing message,
no stone should be left unturned. They WILL read them all, highlighting points that they
need to clarify before buying. C’s also like trust symbols and to know the background of any
company they work with. Include degrees earned, certificates achieved, awards won, etc.
C’s make slow buying decisions and need to nudged into buying, so make sure that you
send them a series of direct mail pieces or emails. The first one could be an overview of
your products or services and the subsequent ones could be more details about different
aspects.
15 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Topic 3 - Adapting Your Approach
You may discover that it is easier to adapt to certain styles than others. This is in part because
of your own DISC style. For instance, if you have a "D" style, you probably emphasize bottom-
line results. This is likely effective when dealing with other D-style individuals. Those with an
"S" style, on the other hand, may find the "D" approach to be blunt or too fast-paced,
especially when dealing with sales.
By contrast, if you are an "I", you probably focus on getting to know your customer personally.
A customer who also tends toward the "I" style may appreciate your enthusiasm and
friendliness. Those who lean toward the "C" style, however, might find it off-putting,
considering it to be frivolous or too forward.
If you have an "S" style you're probably sincere and try to establish a relationship of trust.
Customers with the "S" style probably will appreciate that you care about them and will try
to avoid sudden changes, even if that means there is little sense of urgency. But those
customers with the "D" style might perceive this as uncertain or wishy-washy.
Finally, if you are a "C" personality you probably focus on the quality and reliability of your
product or service. Customers with this style might agree that this is vital to getting things
right, even if the two of you get bogged down in analysis. But for customers with the "I" style,
your cautious pace may feel dry, sapping their natural energy.
Everyone has a unique blend of DISC-based characteristics. The key to a successful
relationship lies with the service provider's ability to identify its customers' styles and adapt
to meet their needs. When it comes to selling, a truly great professional has to connect by
understanding the temperament of each customer. Using the DISC model helps you to quickly
identify, understand, and adapt so you can connect better with your customers-which is more
than you'll ever get out of a Magic 8-Ball.
Notes:
16 © Diversified Operations Corp & Envision Group Ltd.
Body Language
Showing active listening through your body language conveys the message
that you are interested and listening, encouraging the speaker to tell you
more. Some suggestions for effective body language include the following:
Maintain eye contact
Move closer to the person, but do not cross over any personal boundaries
Nod from time-to-time
Say things like “yes” or “uh huh”
Keep your posture open to the person by keeping your arms unfolded and
uncrossed
Keep distractions to a minimum
Guide to Effectively Reading People using DISC
Observation/DISC Style
D Dominant
I Influence
S Steady
C Compliant
Likes to
do things The FAST way The FUN way
The
TRADITIONA
L way
The PROPER
way
Personal
Decor
Large desk,
awards, useful
accessories
Flashy, trendy,
with fun
pictures
Family pictures,
personal
mementos
Aesthetically pleasing,
unique,
functional
Body
Language
Big gestures,
leans forward, advancing
Expressive,
friendly
posture, amusing
Gentle
gestures, reassuring
Unemotional,
controlled
gestures, assessing
Speech Pattern
Directive
tones, abrupt, interrupting,
intentional
Talkative,
varied tones,
personal, easily
distracted
Conversational
, warm tones,
friendly, prefers
listening
Clarifying,
monotone,
logical, focused,
questioning
Processes
by asking What? Who? How? Why?
Personal Strength
Firm Fun Friendly Factual
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Topic 4 - Listening Actively
If, in each contact you make with customers, you provide some sort of value, they will look
forward to hearing from you and ultimately remember you by the extra value you provide.
Often times, salespeople, like most of us, have selective hearing and still miss two key points
about these findings:
1. It is about the “value” you provide, and
2. Educating with new ideas and perspectives is about collaborating (see section 2 for more
on collaboration) and does not mean lecturing and talking too much.
Active listening is a critical component of any conversation you have with another person.
Actively listening to other people sounds easy, doesn’t it? In reality, it is one of the most
difficult aspects of effective communication. Active listening takes commitment and
knowledge of barriers that are keeping you from listening effectively to others.
Blocks to Active Listening
Day Dreaming - Daydreaming is allowing your attention to wander to other events or people.
It is a time when you stop listening and drift away into your own fantasies.
Rehearsing - Rehearsing is when you are busy thinking about what you are going to say
next, so that you never completely hear what the other person is telling you.
Filtering - Filtering is when you listen to certain parts of the conversation, but not all.
Judging - Judging is when you have stopped listening to the other person because you have
already judged, placed labels, made assumptions about, or stereotyped the other person.
Distractions – Distraction occurs when your attention is divided by something internal to
you (headaches, worry, hunger) or external to you (traffic, whispering, others talking).
Keys to talking less and generating more customers.
Assuming you would like to break the habit of talking too much, what next?
Approach sales conversations, like, conversations: Before you engage a sales
conversation, think to yourself, “If I needed to get a full picture of the prospect’s world before
going forth and building a solution for them, how would I approach it?
Balance advocacy and inquiry: While you don’t want to talk too much, you don’t want to
give the prospect the third degree with question after question. A good sales conversation
should have the prospect talking more than you, but customers are also looking for your
insight. Ask open-ended questions: The goal is to get the prospect to start talking.
While the heading for this is “listen actively”, it could just as easily be, “listen actually” or
“proactively listen”. If your prospects perceive that you are not listening to them, building
rapport will be virtually impossible. When you build genuine rapport with prospects, you may
find that the buying process moves more quickly, you’re able to uncover a deeper set of
needs, and that more customers end up choosing you. Tune in to what your prospect is saying.
Tune everything else out.
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Module 2: Vision and Mission
Topic 1: Vision
What is your vision and mission for sales?
Your company vision statement is an aspirational description of what an organization would
like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It serves as a clear guide
for choosing current and future courses of action. Your vision statement is your inspiration,
the framework for all your strategic planning.
What is a sales vision statement?
A vision statement may apply to an entire company or to a single division of that company.
It answers the question, “Where do we want to go?” In terms of sales, your vision statement
should have specific figures and numbers of exactly what you want to achieve:
Examples:
we will win the most awards at next year national sales meeting,
being the most knowledgeable sales team in our industry
to sell 100 units of baby car seats within the first quota
What is your mission statement for sales?
The mission statement represents the enterprise’s purpose for existence. It should
incorporate socially meaningful and measurable criteria addressing concepts such as the
moral/ethical position of the enterprise, public image, the target market, products/services,
the geographic domain and expectations of growth and profitability.
In terms of sales, a sales mission statement addresses how a company would like to be
perceived by the customer, i.e. the company image, and how it products and services will
impact the customer.
Examples:
A radio station advertisement sales mission- Understanding our clients goals and
objectives must always precede any attempt to sell advertising
To Increase our customer’s profitability by improving the knowledge, skill set and
management effectiveness of the sales team
“To solve unsolved problems innovatively“- 3M
Notes:
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Exercise: Vision:
An aspirational description of what you would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term
or long-term future. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future
courses of action.
1. What future state are you most focused on and/or excited about?
2. What does your ideal organization look like, feel like, and sound like?
3. What future state really enthralls, absorbs, and excited you relative to your current position?
4. In what do you absolutely and totally believe is possible for your future (professionally)?
5. How will you know if you have achieved what you most desire?
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6. What are you absolutely and totally convinced can happen once your vision has been
achieved?
7. What legacy do you want to create?
8. What leverage do you have around you to make your vision happen – resources,
support?
9. How do you and others on your team need to behave in order to bring about this
vision?
Notes:
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Topic 2: Mission
What is a mission Statement?
This is an individual or organization’s core purpose and focus. Properly crafted mission
statements serve as filters to separate what is important from what is not and clear sate
which markets will be served and how.
A mission is different from a vision in that a mission is the cause and the vision is the effect;
a mission is something to be accomplished whereas a vision is something to be pursued.
1. What are your areas of excellence? (Those things that you do better than most or all of your
competition).
2. Describe your ideal customer.
3. What Products and/or Services do you offer? (High-Level description of categories).
4. What Market(s) do you serve?
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5. Who are your competitors?
6. What is your competitive advantage?
5. What is the mission (purpose) of your business?
6. Craft your mission.
Notes:
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Module 3: Building your Business Strategy
Topic 1 - Creating a Compelling USP
If your ideal customer walked up to you and asked, “Why should I buy from you instead of
the other guy?” Can you give a compelling answer in ten words or less?
That’s what a unique selling proposition (USP) does. Sometimes, it’s called the unique selling
position. In a nutshell, a well-written USP does two important things:
o Helps differentiate you from your competitors
o Pulls your prospect into the desired action (click on your PPC, sign up for newsletters,
visit website, etc.)
Ideally, you should interweave your unique selling proposition into all of your sales and
marketing materials. So when a prospect has a need, they know exactly why you’re the best
solution for them.
An effective USP is NOT your tagline or slogan.
What many businesses do is confuse their tagline or slogan with their USP. They use them
interchangeably, ending up with ineffective one-liners like this:
o “Powering customer relationships”
o “The leader in email marketing”
o “Solutions from the ground up”
They may sound clever, but they don’t help the prospect understand why they should work
with you.
To illustrate, let’s look at the first example above: “Powering customer relationships.” After
seeing that, your prospects brain may go through a series of thoughts like these:
o What are you powering it with?
o Whose relationship are you powering? Mine or my customer’s?
o I don’t want power; I want answers to my nagging problems!
o Forget it, these guys aren’t for me.
Your prospect may not think exactly like that, but chances are, they want answers and they
don’t have much time or patience to find them. Or they’re comparing several competitors
against you. So you want to make sure your USP grabs their attention and makes them want
to learn more about you.
To do that, an effective USP must contain these three elements:
o Appeal
o Exclusivity
o Credibility
Appeal: Your relevance in comparison to what your prospects want.
Simply stated, what’s your prospect’s main concern? Such as: product reliability, 24/7
support, ease of use, flexible payment plans, or industry experience.
For an accurate answer, get out there and ask existing clients, your sales people, and
prospects. Once you have it, draft a USP that addresses their overriding concern. Then you’re
ready to add the second element of an effective USP.
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Exclusivity: Can someone else match or beat your offer?
By addressing their main concern, you captured your prospect’s attention. It’s time to amp it
up a bit by showing why you’re the best person/company to solve their issue. You can do this
by using distinguishing words like:
o Only
o Fastest
o Best
o Largest
Or use offers like:
o Order by 2pm, delivery by 3pm
o Bottom-of-the-bottle guarantee
o 7,698 parts in stock
o Unlimited, on-site training
Be sure your offer addresses your prospect’s main concern. For the most impact, make sure
your offer can’t be matched by anyone else.
Credibility: How do you quantify your claims?
Most companies make claims generalized, fluffy claims, they are so common, they have as
much impact as pouring a glass of water into a full swimming pool.
Fluff doesn’t sell. Specifics do. To avoid fluffy, lifeless claims, use the exclusivity words, but…
Don’t say:
o “Best customer service”
o “Lowest priced plans”
o “Largest selection in town”
Do say:
o Dedicated support specialist 24/7
o Plans start at $4/month
o 50,357 parts in stock
To fire up your creativity, here are a few strong USP’s:
NetSuite – “The world’s #1, on-demand business software 6612+ customers worldwide…and
still growing!”
Sirius XM – “180+ channels, commercial-free music”
FedEx - "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight".
You can have one USP for the company, and one
for each product or service. Effective USP’s aren’t
born out of a boardroom, they’re pretty much
dictated by your customers. So after you and your
team brainstorm a few strong contenders, test
those to see if they get the reaction you want.
To make the process easier, as a group we will
create your USP.
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Group Activity - What’s Your Unique Selling Proposition?
The foundation of any business marketing starts from knowing your USP. When you weave a
strong USP throughout all of your sales and marketing collateral, it helps you stand out from
the crowd, and convinces prospects to choose you instead of the other guys.
USP Rules:
Show why you’re more unique, more qualified, etc.
You can match a competitor on several points – but one must be different
Prove you are the best choice for your prospect
Stay believable
Only make statements you can back up. If you say you’re an industry leader, show your
credentials, client list, book and training titles, etc.
Avoid fluffy, non-quantifiable claims like “best customer service.”
Focus on how it benefits the customer!
Let’s Get Started…
Step 1: List your top 5 strengths. What do you offer clients that you do really well?
Step 2: How are each of your strengths better than your competition’s?
Step 3: What’s different about you? Look at your education, process, guarantee, offer,
background, experience, who you work with, etc.
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Step 4: For every statement you listed in Steps 1-3, ask, “why’s?” is that important to your
customer? Why should they care? By asking “why?” you drill down another level towards
your USP. Then when you get that answer, ask again and again until you hit the core.
That core is what motivates your prospect to call you. Be sure to ask “why?” at least three
times. Now you know their key motivation and you know specifically how you fulfill that need.
Based on this information, record your new USP in 10 words or less:
Step 5: Test it. Compare your claim to your main competitors. Is it unique enough? Is it
convincing? Does it address your prospect’s deepest concerns? How well does it answer, “Why
should my ideal prospect buy from me?”
How appealing is it (your relevance compared to what the prospects want)?
How exclusive is it (is your offer or a better one available elsewhere)?
How credible is it (quantify your claims)?
If it doesn’t feel strong enough, try again. Chances are, you already know it, and you may be
stating it somewhere in your marketing material or sales presentations already.
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Topic 2 - Create Your Elevator Speech
You've just bumped into a former client at the airport. After exchanging pleasantries, he asks
you what your new company does. You open your mouth, and then pause. Where on earth
do you start?
Then, as you try to organize your thoughts, his flight is called, and he's on his way. If you'd
been better prepared, you're sure that he'd have stayed long enough to schedule a meeting.
This is one situation where it helps to have an "elevator pitch". This is a short, pre-prepared
speech that explains what your organization does, clearly and succinctly. This is an add on
to your USP.
The definition of an elevator speech/pitch is a brief summary that succinctly defines a product,
service, or organization and its value. The name comes from the idea that this summary
should be delivered in the time span of a typical elevator ride — approximately 30 seconds to
3 minutes.
Components & Tips:
Elevator speeches can vary a lot depending on the goal, audience, and circumstances but
they should all contain the following elements. They are intended to be a brief, persuasive
speech that you can use to spark interest in what your organization does. You can also use
one to create interest in a project, idea, or product. It needs to be succinct, while conveying
important information.
To craft a great elevator pitch, follow these steps.
1. Communicate Your USP - Your elevator pitch also needs to communicate your USP
2. Identify Your Goal - Start by thinking about the objective of your pitch. For instance, do
you want to tell potential clients about your organization? Do you have a great new product
idea that you want to pitch to an executive? Or do you want a simple and engaging speech
to explain what you do for a living?
Example:
"My Company develops mobile applications that businesses use to train their staff remotely.
This results in a big increase in efficiency for an organization's managers."
To highlight what makes your company unique, you could say, "We use a novel approach
because unlike most other developers, we visit each organization to find out exactly what
people need. Although this takes a bit more time, it means that on average, 95 percent of
our clients are happy with the first beta version of their app."
3. Engage With a Question - After you communicate your USP, you need to engage your
audience. To do this, prepare open-ended questions (questions that can't be answered
with a "yes" or "no" answer) to involve them in the conversation. Make sure that you're
able to answer any questions that he or she may have.
Example:
You might ask "So, how does your organization handle the training of new people?"
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4. Put it all Together - When you've completed each section of your pitch, put it all
together. Then, read it aloud and use a stopwatch to time how long it takes. It should be
no longer than 20-30 seconds. Otherwise you risk losing the person's interest, or
monopolizing the conversation. Then, try to cut out anything doesn't absolutely need to
be there. Remember, your pitch needs to be snappy and compelling, so the shorter it is,
the better!
Example:
Here's how your pitch could come together:
"My company develops mobile applications that businesses use to train their staff remotely.
This means that senior managers can spend time on other important tasks. "Unlike other
similar companies, we visit each organization to find out exactly what people need. This
means that, on average, 95 percent of our clients are happy with the first version of their
app. "So, how does your organization handle the training of new people?"
5. Practice - Like anything else, practice makes perfect. Remember, how you say it is just
as important as what you say. If you don't practice, it's likely that you'll talk too fast,
sound unnatural, or forget important elements of your pitch. Set a goal to practice your
pitch regularly. The more you practice, the more natural your pitch will become. You want
it to sound like a smooth conversation, not an aggressive sales pitch.
How to Build Your Own Elevator Speech Exercise
WRITTEN EXERCISE: Complete the following:
PART 1: Communicate Your USP
PART 2: Identify Your Goal
PART 3: Engage With a Question
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PART 4: Put it all Together
Notes:
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Module 4: Territory Planning
Topic 1 – Planning with a Pyramid
Strategic planning is one of the most challenging – and exciting – exercises an organization
can undertake. Strategic planning allows an organization to make fundamental decisions or
choices by taking a long-range view of what it hopes to accomplish and how it will do so. A
strategic plan is built on a thorough analysis of the organization’s existing structure,
governance, staff, program or service mix, collaborations, and resources (financial, human,
technical, and material). This analysis is vital because it allows an organization to perceive
which of its above aspects it must change in order to achieve its goals. A well-developed
strategic plan serves as a blueprint for making these changes because it describes the
following:
A vision for the future
Strengths and weaknesses of the organization
The nature of the changes contemplated for future sustainable growth and
development
The sequence of these changes
Those who are responsible for guiding change
The resources required, whether they currently exist within the organization or must be
generated from external sources.
Strategic plans must be
institutionalized so that they serve as
the basis for performance standards,
decision-making, planning, and
resource mobilization and allocation.
Strategic plans must also be
systematically reviewed and revised
so they remain topical, relevant, and
“cutting edge”. The whole
organization must embrace the plan
so that the “daily decisions” are then
made on the basis of this plan, which
must be both practical – based upon
your organization’s mission – and
flexible, to allow for rapid change.
So you are thinking how does this
affect me in my sales role?
Starting at the bottom, you see that the strategic company business plan serves as the basis
for all other planning within the organization. From this plan, an organization will develop
division plans-perhaps tied to a region or a company group. Specific department plans follow;
these are sales department plans, or marketing department plans, etc. At this point in the
pyramid, planning reaches the level of the individual employee. For sales representatives, this
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begins with a territory plan, continues with a strategic account plan, and eventually leads to
individual call plans.
All levels are interdependent-they rely on one another. For example, the division plan
encompasses the ideas, goals, and direction outlined in the company business plan. It is also
tied to all the other plans (the sales department plan, territory plan, strategic account plan,
and call plan).
Notes:
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Topic 2 – Strategy Development
When we hear Sales Strategy we often think of our marketing department and their strategy
to position what we are selling. As sales reps and sales managers we don’t often think of
ourselves as strategists, but we should. Creating a successful Sales Strategy will allow
sales managers and their sales team to focus on the right customers, in the right
ways, and at the right times.
Any successful Sales Strategy should be based on all aspects of the Sales Execution Model.
The overall setup of the Sales Execution Model consists of 3 phases in which you will build our
Sales Strategy around; Pre-Sales Activities, Sale Execution, and Post-Sale Analysis.
Topic 3 - Sales Call Planning
What to Know Before Every Sales Call
In today’s highly competitive, global business environment, pre-call planning is more
important than ever before. Not only do you need to be more prepared for every sales call,
increasingly, clients expect you to arrive to the initial meeting already well versed on their
company and its needs.
So, what are the pay-offs to pre-call planning? First, it will enable you to qualify sales leads,
target prospects, and sell to them much more effectively.
Thorough pre-call planning will also:
o Provide you with greater self-confidence in your sales presentation
o Allow you to come across as a more knowledgeable professional to your prospects
o Increase your close rate
Pre-call planning success begins with preparation. The more research you do, the more
prepared you’ll be to address your prospects needs. Collecting the right information will help
you gain valuable insights that, if leveraged strategically, will separate you from the
competition. When collecting information, do so with the intent of trying to better understand
the prospect’s challenges. Learn what their business represents and how you can be a problem
solver for them. With effective pre-call planning, you demonstrate that you have a vested
interest in the client’s success, which is the foundation to building a long-lasting relationship
with them.
Here are some call planning strategies and questions you can answer for yourself before every
sales call that will help prepare you for success:
1. Your Strategy - This is a bit of a “chicken and the egg” situation. You may need to go over
and validate your response to these questions as you uncover more information through
the preparation process.
o Where is the customer in their decision-making process?
o Where are you in your selling process?
o What are your objectives for your call?
o What information, support, or decisions do you need to achieve your
objectives?
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o What is the prospect's current situation? Often the goals you set for the
customer, the value you feel your products or services can offer the customer,
and your action planning for the rest of the sales call come out of your detailed
knowledge of the prospect's situation.
Tips for finding the current state:
o Look up the company in your CRM system to see if you have worked with the
company, or if anyone in the company has responded to any marketing offers.
o Google the company’s name, click on a few links to see what’s going on.
o Have there been any “trigger events”?
o Who else will influence the buying process? - Try to learn, in advance, who
will influence the solution and the decision-making process to buy from you.
People have a tendency to link to their colleagues on LinkedIn, some of whom
you can infer will be influential.
o See who the customer is linked to on LinkedIn, people have a tendency to
link to colleagues and others in their functional area.
o Visit each buying influences LinkedIn profile, pay close attention to whether
they are linked to any of your competitors, if they are, then that’s a red flag.
o Get smarter on the issues - Talk to your internal subject matter experts
about your products and how they may help your client.
o Brush-up on your solutions to the issues - You need to know how to bring
your company’s capabilities together to formulate solutions to potential
challenges or opportunities. You also need to know the limitations of your
capabilities so that you don’t promise the customer something you can’t
deliver.
2. What are your goals for this customer or prospect? Different goals for your customers will
make for very different sales conversations. Questions you can ask yourself may include:
o Is this the 'discovery' meeting where we get to know each other and build
rapport while learning how I might be able to help them?
o Am I reviewing the results from the previous year with a customer and this
is the meeting where I 'resell' my value so the customer stays loyal?
o Am I trying to displace a competitor?
o Is this a current customer where I work in one of their divisions and I would
like to get introductions into the other three divisions where I can also help?
3. What is your desired next outcome? Sounds simple enough, but this question is so often
overlooked by sales people before they meet with customers or prospects. if you don't
know what you want to get out of your meeting with them, if you don't have a solid plan
as to how to understand where they are and where they want to get to then don’t waste
their time (or yours).
Notes:
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Pre-Call Planning Worksheet
Meeting Date
Company Name
Customer
Name/Title
Other info as
required
Pre-Call Plan
Where is the customer in their decision-making process?
Where are you in your selling process?
What are your objectives for your call?
What information, support, or decisions do you need to achieve your objectives?
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What is the prospect's current situation?
Who is attending?
Your Company Customers Company
GOALS OF THE MEETING:
What are your goals for this customer or prospect?
What are your desired next outcomes?
Questions to uncover your customers’ unrecognized needs”
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Collaboration Strategies:
Anticipate any potential roadblocks in the customer’s path so you are able to address the
roadblocks and show them how they will Achieve Results.
Notes:
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Topic 3 – Goal Setting
Preparation means to set qualitative objectives, quantitative goals, and to prioritize
objectives, goals, and tasks. Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal
future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process
of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life.
If most everyone thinks goals are important; and most everyone would like to be happier,
healthier, achieve more, etc.; why don’t they set goals?
o People don’t know how to set goals.
o People are searching for the perfect way to set goals.
o People are afraid to set goals.
o People are afraid to succeed.
o People are afraid they won’t succeed.
o People don’t want to set the goal too high.
o People don’t want to set the goal too low.
How to set a Goal
How to set a Goal! Sounds simple, setting a goal, many people have Dreams and Goals don’t
understand the importance of taking the necessary steps to make them happen. You can't
just will it or wish it to happen, you need to take action.
There are so many goal setting strategies it can be quite confusing, just know the most
important step of them all is to start with writing down your goals.
Write it - Writing out your goals is the most important part of goal setting ideas. The simple
act of writing down your goals is important because of the accountability that comes with
writing them down. Writing a goal is an action, one of many required in accomplishing goals,
but without writing them down, there is nothing to build on.
Plan it - For each goal create a time frame. Write down the day, month and year in which
you will complete the goal by. Write down what you need to achieve that goal: skill, education,
career advancement or change, finances, resources, etc. Write down the actions that you will
need to take in order to complete the GOAL and the steps required to complete the actions.
Do it - Don’t look at this as the hard part. This can be as fun as the reward if you are in the
right frame of mind. This is part of the adventure. This is challenging yourself and making
yourself better for it. You will learn how to overcome and adjust the path to reach the goal or
sometimes the goal itself. Keep your goals and the plan in sight, review it daily, follow your
plan and achieve your goals.
Enjoy it - If achieving your goal is not the reward itself, don’t forget to reward yourself for
achieving it.
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Understanding SMART Goal Setting
What does SMART goal or S.M.A.R.T goal mean? S.M.A.R.T. is an
acronym meaning:
S Specific, Significant, Strategic
M Measurable, Meaningful, Motivational
A Attainable, Achievable, Adjustable
R Relevant, Realistic, Results
T Timely, Tractable, Tangible
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general
goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions: Who, What, Where, When,
Which and Why. Specific means reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “I want to lose some weight.” A specific goal would be, “I
want to lose 10 pounds in 2 months and I will eat properly and exercise at least 3 days a
week to accomplish my goal.”
Measurable: Establish criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal
you set. Describes how each goal will be measured (numeric or descriptive). When you
measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the
exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continue the effort required to reach your
goal.
Ask yourself:
o How will I know when the result has been achieved?
o How will I verify the achievement/performance of this goal?
Attainable: When you identify a goal, write it out and make a plan, you are making an
attainable goal. You will see opportunities arise that will help you in accomplishing this goal.
You will develop a positive attitude working towards an attainable goal and you will develop
traits that will give you the strength to see it through.
Realistic: To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both
willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can
decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial
progress.
Make sure the goal you have set is something you are willing and capable of doing. When you
set a lofty goal and challenge yourself you will find the reward that much better.
Timely: – Creates a sense of urgency. Knowing you have to accomplish a task at a certain
time makes you accountable. Know what those time lines are. What needs to be done by
when. How much needs to be saved by when and take the steps necessary to meet those
timelines.
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Exercise: Goal Setting
Work through the worksheet that follows, including as much detail as possible under each
heading in the columns.
Clarify your goals to yourself as much as is possible.
When you are done with the table you will be able to write SMART goals based on this.
iSMART Goals
intention Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time
Based
What is it
that you
want to achieve?
Who? What?
Where? Why?
When?
How Much?
How often?
How many?
Achievable? Is it
important to
what you ultimately
want to
achieve?
When?
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Phrasing Your Smart Goals
In the spaces below, develop a statement defining your specific goal, incorporating as many
of the elements that you worked on above as possible into the statement. This will include
the actions you plan to take to meet this goal, your timeline, and how it will meet the
organizational or personal goal you are addressing. Also indicate what types of additional
skills and resources are necessary to facilitate this goal.
GOAL 1:
GOAL 2:
GOAL 3:
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Topic 4 – Post Sale Analysis and R.O.T.I
Most sales reps will point to the end result of, sale or no sale, as all the analysis that is
necessary. There are a few more things to consider such as: what went well and what didn't,
(documenting this will give you some concrete learning's and best practices for next time).
Should we have pursued this opportunity? Was there a project or application, a corresponding
budget and was the budget been approved? Did I understand the customer’s business drivers,
business initiatives and compelling reasons for them to make a decision or were they simply
gathering information? Did I clearly understand what's was happening in the customer's
environment that was creating the need for change and the need for our solution?
Since time and resources are limited, it’s important to determine that the opportunity is a real
and worthwhile investment in time and resources.
Could we effectively compete for this opportunity? Do our solutions fit? Did we know the
formal decision‐making process of the customer? Did I clearly articulate the specific way we
differentiated from our competitor(s)?
Knowing how your company, as well as your solution, relates to the specific sales opportunity
can be a key ingredient to winning the deal. Being able to realistically contrast that
information with that of your competitor(s) is an important factor of assessing this key
question.
Did we feel confident that we would win this opportunity? This question is the one most
overlooked in sales campaigns. Many opportunities are lost even if the salesperson has the
best solution, the best delivery and even the best terms and conditions. This question deals
with how well the salesperson understands the customer’s organizational structure that
reveals the inside support necessary to win the deal.
Since most sales reps have far too many customers to call on it is important to calculate your
Return on Time Invested (ROTI).
What is your time worth?
To objectively determine an account's profitability you need to calculate your Return on Time
Invested (ROTI). This is simply the relationship between the effort you invested and the
outcome of your efforts. Sales results will be your gross earnings (salary + commissions)
from one account; sales effort will be the amount of time spent on that account multiplied by
your hourly rate.
Mathematically stated - ROTI = Sales Results (divided by) Sales Effort = Gross salary +
commissions (divided by) $/hr. (times) # hours worked.
As an example, a sales professional with a million dollar per year sales target and 2000 hours
in a year would require an average ROTI of $500/hour to achieve that quota. When we use
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this formula to understand the returns we need to generate for our time, we start to
understand the true value of an hour, a day, a week.
A Low Return on Time Invested
Some of the activities that you engage in produce a very low return for a high investment of
your time. Many of these activities look and feel like work. They give you a false sense of
accomplishment. But they produce nothing.
Much of the time you spend in your email inbox produces no return on time invested. You can
spend countless hours each day in email, especially if you check your email first thing in the
morning, check your cell phone every 20 minutes, and live with your email open throughout
the day. The return on the time invested in email is low because most of it is worthless and
much of it is simply other people’s requests and demands.
You can add to this list of low return on time invested activities many of your meetings, a lot
of time you spend on the Internet, much of the time you spend with your peers around the
water cooler, and some of the time you waste away with some of your friendly clients.
Ask yourself: What is my investment of time here going to produce? If the answer is “nothing,”
then take the decision to invest your time somewhere else.
Remember low value activities produce outcomes that, while still necessary, aren’t nearly as
important. They don’t have any real impact on your success.
High Return on Time Invested
All of the above activities are sometimes necessary. Just not at the level most people engage
in them. The most productive people spend their time where it produces a greater return on
investment. They invest their time where it produces the outcomes that they really want.
In sales, the most productive investment of your time is time invested with your clients and
your best prospects. There are dozens of high return on invested time activities, like time
spent with existing clients, time spent with the team that delivers for your clients, time spent
nurturing relationships, and time spent prospecting.
You can’t spend every minute on high return on time invested activities. But you can improve
the amount of time there, and you can crowd out the low return on time-invested activities.
High value activities are the activities that produce your most important outcomes. These
activities produce the results you are measured on, and they are the difference between
success and failure.
The high value activities for salespeople include prospecting, nurturing dream clients, making
sales calls, keeping their follow up commitments, and taking care of their existing client
relationships. These high value activities produce the outcomes of opening relationships,
developing opportunities, executing the sales process, winning deals, and owning the
outcomes that they have sold their clients.
These high value activities must dominate your calendar. If they don’t, you won’t produce the
outcomes that you need.
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Invest your time in high value sales activities. Squeeze out just enough time for your low value
activities. If you have to barely get some of your work done, don’t let that work be the work
that really produces the results that you need.
Notes:
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Exercise: R.O.T.I
1. Calculate R.O.T.I. – Over the past 12 months you have a customer that has contributed
$50,000 gross profit and the time required to service the account is approximately five
hours per month.
What is the R.O.T.I. ratio of this account?
Return on Time = ______________________
Time Invested = ________________________ R.O.T.I. = ___________________
Regardless of the methodology, maximizing profitability is a significant goal of today's
sales professional; the philosophy of merely increasing sales volume isn't sufficient. The
R.0.T.I. Ratio is a valuable tool for achieving this new goal.
2. What are the highest value activities for you as a salesperson?
3. What outcomes do the high value activities produce?
4. What are the low value activities for you as a salesperson?
5. What outcomes do these low value activities produce?
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6. How do you minimize the time you spend on low value activities?
7. Are the tasks that are assigned to you by others always the best way to spend your time?
8. Who determines your priorities?
9. What are the dangers of allowing the demands of others to overrule your real priorities?
10. How do you eliminate non-value producing work?
11. What work shows up on your desk but doesn’t produce positive outcomes?
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12. Why do transactional clients tend to dominate your time?
13. Are some transactional clients every bit as time-consuming and needy as a larger
client?
14. How do you ensure that you pursue the opportunities that are going to allow you to
succeed and make your number?
15. Why do we tend to avoid putting the effort it takes to open an opportunity with a larger
client?
16. How do you choose where to invest your time?
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Topic 5 - Time Management
You have a choice in life. You can either live on-purpose, according to a plan you’ve set. Or
you can live by accident, reacting to the demands of others. The first approach is proactive;
the second reactive. The following are some suggestions followed by an exercise.
1. Create a daily plan. Plan your day before it unfolds. Do it in the morning or even better,
the night before you sleep. The plan gives you a good overview of how the day will pan
out. That way, you don’t get caught off guard. Your job for the day is to stick to the plan
as best as possible.
2. Peg a time limit to each task. Be clear that you need to finish X task by 10am, Y task
by 3pm, and Z item by 5:30pm. This prevents your work from dragging on and eating
into time reserved for other activities.
3. Create your ideal week. Having a calendar is the most fundamental step to managing
your daily activities.
4. Use an organizer. The organizer/calendar helps you to be on top of everything in your
life. It’s your central tool to organize information, to-do lists, projects, and other
miscellaneous items.
5. Know your deadlines. When do you need to finish your tasks? Mark the deadlines out
clearly in your calendar and organizer so you know when you need to finish them.
6. Learn to say “No”. Don’t take on more than you can handle. For the distractions that
come in when you’re doing other things, give a firm no. Or defer it to a later period.
7. Focus. Are you multi-tasking so much that you’re just not getting anything done? If so,
focus on just one key task at one time. Close off all the applications you aren’t using.
Close off the tabs in your browser that are taking away your attention. Focus solely on
what you’re doing. You’ll be more efficient that way.
8. Block out distractions. What’s distracting you in your work? Instant messages? Phone
ringing? Text messages popping in?
9. Prioritize. Since you can’t do everything, learn to prioritize the important and let go of
the rest. Apply the 80/20 principle which is a key principle in prioritization.
10. Delegate. If there are things that can be better done by others or things that are not so
important, consider delegating. This takes a load off and you can focus on the important
tasks.
11. Batch similar tasks together. For related work, batch them together.
12. Eliminate your time wasters. What takes your time away your work? LinkedIn? Twitter?
Email checking? Stop checking them so often, block off specific times of the day to check
and respond to e-mails.
13. Cut off when you need to. #1 reason why things overrun is because you don’t cut off
when you have to. Don’t be afraid to intercept in meetings or draw a line to cut-off.
Otherwise, there’s never going to be an end and you’ll just eat into the time for later.
You can’t plan for everything. Things happen that you can’t anticipate. But it is a whole lot
easier to accomplish what matters most when you are proactive and begin with the end in
mind.
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The Ideal Week template, which may be created in a spreadsheet, is the “perfect” week
you would live if you could control 100% of what happens in your life and work.
Themes and Focus Areas
The image below is a snapshot of an ideal week. Daily themes are listed on the top row
above the day of the week. Each day is divided into 3 specific areas of focus which are
listed in the left column.
Some ideas for themes:
Monday team – one-on-one meetings and a staff meeting at lunch.
Tuesday is spent on short-term planning and thinking.
Wednesday is for meetings with key stakeholders – colleagues within the
organization and those in similar positions in other organizations.
Thursday is an ad hoc day during which may be used to schedule various requested
meetings.
Friday long-term planning which includes reviewing vision and business plan.
Saturday is for family time, personal chores, and activities.
Sunday is for rest, and planning and preparation for the coming week.
Some ideas for areas of focus:
Mornings may be devoted to personal growth and development.
The bulk of the day is devoted to work.
Evenings are set aside for my family and friends.
Notes:
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Exercise: Time Management – Create your Ideal Week
Map out your own Ideal Week. Once you have created your Ideal Week, test it for a week or
two. Change it where necessary. Once comfortable with it plug the items from your ideal
week right into your calendar. This is the most important step – if you’re going to make
it work!
Themes
Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
05:00 -
05:30
05:30 -
06:00
06:00 -
06:30
06:30 -
07:00
07:00 -
07:30
07:30 -
08:00
08:00 -
08:30
08:30 -
09:00
09:00 -
09:30
09:30 -
10:00
10:00 -
10:30
10:30 -
11:00
11:00 -
11:30
11:30 -
12:00
12:00 -
12:30
12:30 -
01:00
01:00 -
01:30
01:30 -
02:00
02:00 -
02:30
02:30 -
03:00
03:00 -
03:30
03:30 -
04:00
04:00 -
04:30
04:30 -
05:00
05:00 -
05:30
05:30 -
06:00
06:00 -
06:30
06:30 -
07:00
07:00 -
07:30
07:30 -
08:00
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Module 5: Account Management
Topic 1 – Keeping your Customers
“There is only one boss, and whether a person shines shoes for a living or heads up the
biggest corporation in the world, the boss remains the same. It is the customer! The
customer is the person who pays everyone’s salary and who decides whether a business is
going to succeed or fail. In fact, the customer can fire everybody in the company from the
chairman (CEO) on down, and he can do it simply by spending his money somewhere else.
Most people think that selling means getting new customers. That's part of the job but truly
successful companies thrive on their ability to keep the customers they've already acquired.
The reason is simple. Finding new customers is expensive and time consuming. Many
companies consider a "get new customers" campaign successful if more than 5% of the
companies contacted end up buying. Sales campaigns launched at a base of existing
customers often have success rates as high as 70%, according to research. That's why losing
a good customer to the competition is always a bad thing: You have to work more than 10
times as hard to get enough new customers just to make up the revenue that you lost--and
forget about profit.
Reasons Customers Leave
1% pass away
3% move away
4% loose interest
5% change due to friends or family recommendations
9% are lured by a competitor
10% are chronic complainers
68% leave because of poor attitude or indifference on the part of the service
provider
Salespeople have little control over the first four reasons why customers leave, which account
for 32% of those that depart. But salespeople and business owners have complete control
over at least 68% of the customers who leave.
T.R.U.S.T.
If building relationships is the key to sales success, then trust is the foundation. Ask any top
sales performer what factors contribute to their success, and you'll hear that building trust is
vital in their dealings with customers. But how do you build trust? Usually, it's the little things
you do over time that make the difference.
The following five strategies will help you form strong relationships and long-term success
with not just your customers, but also everyone you surround yourself with.
1. Truth: We can do many things to lose business: not deliver on time, not communicate
effectively, not following up. But from your customers' point of view, lying is the
number-one way to lose their trust and business forever. Build your relationships
around being bone-honest--which also happens to be one of the top traits that high
achievers throughout history have had in common.
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2. Reliability: Here's where the T.R.U.S.T. factor starts getting built. Every time you get
back to the customer with the information he's requested, you're building trust. Every
time you follow up after the customer receives your service or product, you're building
trust. And every time you respond to a problem immediately and solve it right away
(or at least make sure the customer knows you're on top of it), you're building trust.
No miracles necessary--it's just about being there for the customer before, during and
after the sale.
3. Understanding through uncommon efforts: When you invest the time to
understand your customers' needs, business situation, and competition etc., you are
building the T.R.U.S.T. factor by making the effort to see the world through their eyes.
Asking questions that show an interest in their day-to-day business challenges is one
way of doing this. Understanding not only builds trust, but also gives you the
confidence and tools to provide the right solution.
4. Service: There's no better way to build and maintain your customers' trust than
through ongoing personalized service. To stay on top of the activities essential for
sales success, ask yourself these questions:
1. If one of my customers leaves, do I know why?
2. If I don't know why, do I ask?
3. Do I ask every customer I have, "Is there anything I'm not doing that I could
be doing to serve you better?"
4. Do I consider myself a resource for my customers--even in areas not associated
with my business?
5. Do I create added value for my customers by going beyond what's expected?
6. Do I look for ways to help my customers increase their bottom line?
5. Take your time: Building trust does not happen overnight. It's the many little things
you do over time that help you build lasting relationships. The follow-up calls and
visits, solved problems, on-time deliveries and all of the times you say thank you will
all add up.
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Ways to Keep Them
Exceed expectations. Personalize your service. Instead of promising more than you can
give, give more than you promise -- under promise, over deliver. Deliver a "wow"
customer experience.
Always be available. Be there to serve customers whenever they need you to be there.
The Internet has enabled companies to have a constant presence with their customers,
“24/7”. Reliability and availability are vital. Make sure your customers know you are
available on demand. Be involved in the same social media channels as your customers.
Customize how you serve. Find or develop solutions that fulfill your individual
customers’ specific needs. Successful salespeople customize their business relationships
with customers. They pride themselves on their one-on-one interactions. These
salespeople value the differences in customer needs and respond with customized
solutions.
Be easy to deal with. Make doing business with you easy and pleasurable. Assume the
burden of relieving inevitable aggravations for your customers. Salespeople who exceed
their customers’ expectations do so by creating hassle-free experiences.
Put the customer first. Don’t wait for opportunities to present themselves. Seek them
out. Give customers more than they expect.
Resolve conflicts and solve problems. When conflicts arise, some salespeople have a
tendency to deny them, debate them, shift responsibility for them, place blame for them,
or hold their breath hoping they’ll go away. Top salespeople accept ownership of the
problem, collaborate on a solution, and take on the burden of finding a resolution
regardless of fault.
Handle complaints. Complaints usually have some validity and can be an “early warning
system” of conflict on the horizon. When you view complaints this way, they can become
your ally, helping you resolve problems and minimize their impact. Complaints that go
unattended may evolve into conflicts that could have been avoided.
Communicate constantly. Ask questions that result in a dialogue. The more the
customer talks, the more you’ll learn. Continue questioning until you understand and have
uncovered all the information required to proceed. Try to avoid jumping to conclusions
with customers.
Remember nonverbal communication. When communicating with customers, observe
their non-verbal signals. Take note of their body language, appearance and posture. Look
for signs of distraction. Pay attention to their facial expressions and eye contact. Listen to
the tone of their voice as a means for understanding what they may be feeling.
Notes:
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Topic 2 - Key Account Management
Key Accounts are those customers who are strategically important to your business usually
because they account for a significant volume of your business and profit and as such they
require attention, effort, time and resources to grow and retain.
The traditional sales-customer relationship is no longer enough for these major key accounts.
They are looking for a business partner, someone who really understands their business and
can add insight and value to their business. Establishing the essential relationships to make
it work is one of your most important competitive advantages.
To better understand Key Account Management below is a list of the key differences between
the traditional sales-customer relationship and key account management.
1. The Obvious Difference
The rationale behind key account management is the well-researched fact that major Key
Accounts (customers) expect more – more service, more idea generation, more
understanding and more results for you and them. Whereas in a more traditional sales setting
the customer and seller into a transactional based relationship where the sale is made and no
further relationship is entered into until such time as another transactional sale needs to be
made.
2. Growth and Returns
One of the strategies Key Account Managers employ is to focus their efforts with the customer
where they know they will get a high rate of growth and therefore return for their business
as well as the customers’ business over the long term. In a transactional sale the focus is on
achieving the highest price for the sale.
3. Considering the Competition
Key Account Managers are concerned with protecting their customers from the competition.
As such they build a metaphorical wall around their customer and stop the competition from
infiltrating these walls. In a transactional sale there will also be consideration for the
competition but this is usually focused around beating the competition on price, value and the
good or service being sold as opposed to brick walling them.
4. Increasing Long Term Loyalty
As you will have read by now key account management is about the long term relationship
and as such key account manager’s work to increase the long term loyalty of their customers
by providing value to the customer. Transactional selling is short term and the focus in on the
sale not the long term relationship with the customer.
5. Identifying and Forward Planning Customer-Focused Activities
Key Account Managers meet regularly with the customer. In some situations the Key Account
Management Team works on the customers’ site. The focus is on forward planning and
partnering in activities that are mutually beneficial to both parties. This is not the focus of
transactional selling which focuses on a quick win and transaction.
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Topic 3 – The Sales Funnel
Keeping Control of Your Sales Pipeline
At the top of the funnel you have "unqualified prospects" – the very many people who you
think might need your product or service, but to whom you've never spoken. At the bottom
of the funnel, many sales and delivery steps later, you have people who have received
delivery of your product or service and have paid for it.
The metaphor of the funnel is used because people drop away at each stage of a long sales
process:
For example, many of your unqualified prospects may
have existing suppliers with whom they're very
satisfied. Others may have needs which other
competitors are better-placed to satisfy. Still others
may love your products, but not have the budget to
buy them.
Why Use the Tool?
By using the sales funnel, and by quantifying the
number of prospects at each stage of the process, you
can predict the number of prospects who will, in time,
become customers. More than this, by looking at the
way in which these numbers change over time, you can
spot problems in the sales pipeline and take corrective
action early.
For example, if you spot that very few mailings have taken place in a month, you might
expect that in a few months’ time, sales might dry up. Next month, you should make sure
that more mailers than normal are sent out.
Use of the Sales Funnel shows roadblocks and times of standstill, or if there are an insufficient
number of leads at any stage. This knowledge allows you to determine where you should
focus attention and efforts to keep sales at the desired level and to meet sales targets.
The funnel can also point out where improvements need to be made within the sales process.
This may be as simple as ensuring that sales representatives put sufficient focus on all steps
of the sales process.
In the example shown in figure 1, a manager might be pleased by the amount of early stage
prospecting in the month, but might worry that there's been a drop off in activity later in the
sales process.
In the next month, he or she might work with sales people to increase the effort put into
solution development and negotiation.
Tip: If you're to use sales funnel reporting effectively, it's a huge benefit to have an effective
and properly maintained sales contact management system, with a prospect status and
progression workflow in-built. Without this, reporting can be hard work and very time-
consuming.
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How to Use the Tool
The first stage in setting up sales funnel reporting is to understand your sales process fully
(perhaps using a technique like flowcharting).
From this, identify the key sequential steps in the sales process, and from these, create status
codes. Try to keep these to a reasonably small number – otherwise reporting will be arduous,
and it will be difficult to see meaningful patterns within the data.
Next, classify your prospects by the status codes you've identified. (Again, this will be much
easier if you have a sales contact management system, and if people are disciplined about
keeping this updated. Even better is if there's a sales workflow in place, so that as key tasks
are performed, status codes are updated automatically.)
Finally, work out the number of prospects of each status, and calculate the change since the
last month.
Tip: As you build up a picture of your sales funnel from month to month for several months,
you'll start to be able to see expected conversion rates from one stage of the process to the
next.
By comparing these against the conversions other people are achieving, and comparing them
against what you think you should be able to achieve, you can start to understand where you
can improve your sales process. More than this, you can start making changes to the way you
do things, and measuring the effects of these changes on conversion rates.
Notes:
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Module 6: Selling with Insight
Topic 1 - Overview
In the past sales people believed that in order to sell, they needed to provide solutions to
their customers’ problems. In the old playbook, sales reps would take the time to discover a
customer’s needs and sell them the solutions to those needs. For a long time, this approach
worked simply because customers didn’t know how to solve their own problems.
To help differentiate your company from the competition and to open a customer’s mind to
new ideas, or to shift the way they think about their challenge or opportunity, sales people
need a compelling insight about a client’s issue that is important to them, fits the sales
persons capabilities, and is personalized to the clients world.
There are two types of insight selling: opportunity insight and interaction insight.
1. Opportunity Insight: Focuses on introducing a particular idea that is geared to lead to
a sale. To do this, sellers must bring up the idea proactively. Opportunity insight also
creates customer loyalty. Educating customers not only shares the seller’s expertise, but
also demonstrates the seller’s willingness to collaborate with the customer, and that’s the
second type of insight selling.
2. Interaction Insight: Provides value in the form of sparking ideas, inspiring “AHA!”
moments, and shaping strategies based on interactions between the seller and customer.
You’re not just there to sell them something; you’re there to shape ideas and inspire
changes that could benefit their business. Much as a trusted colleague might help you
come up with your own ideas, so does the savvy seller who practices interaction insight.
Opportunity insight and interaction insight work together to build customer loyalty and earn
repeat sales. Whether presenting the customer with a new opportunity, or simply
collaborating with them, insight sellers drive change with ideas that matter.
Attributes of Insight Sellers
Insight sellers often are predisposed to tendencies that drive how people choose to spend
their time:
1. Passion for work and selling: Insight sellers have a desire for success in general and
for selling in particular.
o Lacking it, the sellers don’t do the work. They may be compliant, but they are not
committed to doing what it takes to succeed.
2. Conceptual thinking: Insight sellers conceive innovative ideas and select the right
strategies. They see how the parts affect the whole and tend to have the mental discipline
to think structurally and systematically.
o Lacking it, their ideas are poorly positioned. Sellers tend not to create compelling
solutions or inspire customer confidence.
3. Curiosity: Insight sellers are interested in people and situations. They have a thirst for
knowledge and strive to become experts.
o Lacking it, the sellers are not knowledge seekers. They often don’t ask enough
questions or listen. Insights they do share often aren’t new, interesting, or
relevant.
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4. Sense of urgency: Insight sellers value speed. They drive sales forward, are impatient
with the status quo, and take action.
o Lacking it, and they let too much time slip by. They don’t focus on actions that
drive the best results or push for decisions. They aren’t change agents.
5. Assertiveness: Insight sellers take control and lead discussions. They defend their point
of view and insert themselves into important situations. They are not afraid to create
disruptions.
o Lacking it, they don’t create the tension or disruption required to create change.
They don’t practice interaction insight and aren’t forceful enough to even get on
the customer’s radar screen.
6. Money orientation: Insight sellers are comfortable discussing money and understand
how businesses make money. They are also motivated to maximize their personal income.
o Lacking it, they tend not to qualify prospects or establish return on investment
(ROI) cases necessary for driving new initiatives forward. They don’t ask about
money and waste time chasing leads that don’t have a chance of closing.
7. Performance orientation: Insight sellers manage their time ruthlessly and focus on
results. They take advantage of opportunities, manage their pipelines tightly, and are
driven to win.
o Lacking it, they don’t manage their time or activities well. They make excuses and
don’t make strong ROI cases.
Insight selling can be characterized by specific behaviors at three different levels, Connect,
Convince and Collaborate.
Notes:
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Topic 2 – Connecting
Connect – Great Sales People connect in two ways. First, they connect the dots between
customer needs and their company’s products, services and solutions. Second, they connect
with people. Customers believe that these sales people both listened to them and connected
with them personally more often than the rest.
Understanding vs. diagnosing needs - Fundamentally, sellers need to shift from
diagnosing needs to demonstrating an understanding of needs.
Focusing on pain - Another needed change is a shift away from the prevalent use of
the words “problem” and “pain.” These are the two most common terms associated
with discovering customer needs.
Insight sellers, however, don’t just focus on the negative, they focus on the positive—goals,
aspirations, and possibilities achievable by the customer, even if the customer doesn’t know
it yet. Along with having much richer sales conversations, focusing on the positive opens the
door to significant opportunity to increase sales.
Sellers who focus on aspirations as well as afflictions are able to directly influence the
customer’s agenda by inspiring them with possibilities they hadn’t been considering, but
should.
The point is: sellers who do a good job, even with these changes to the traditional solution
sales approach, haven’t yet won the game, but they’re in it.
Connecting is about uncovering your customers’ unrecognized needs (Educate customers
with new ideas and perspectives, customers want salespeople who bring value to the table,
so expand customers’ horizons and give them ideas that can change their thinking).
Insight selling hinges on the concept of cognitive reframing. Cognitive reframing refers to
creating alternative ways of viewing ideas, events, situations, possibilities for action, or
anything.
Using the customer you created your pre-call plan for, start thinking about asking the
following questions to help bring insight selling alive in your meeting:
1. Why? “Why is that your strategy?” “Why do you say that?” “Why do A versus B?”
By asking why, you are asking customers to justify something. Sometimes, when
customers respond to the “why” question, they give the insight to themselves. But even
if they don’t, that’s an opportunity for you to help.
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2. How? How do you see this all panning out? How do you think you need to proceed so this
becomes a part of the culture? How might you avoid the common challenges like X, or Y,
or Z that commonly crop up?
How questions get people thinking about their current reality.
3. What have you tried that hasn’t worked?
This question will help you understand their thinking, and will help you see the gaps
between what they know won’t work, and what you know will.
4. What will the impact be if you did this? Answers here can show:
a) They see the impact and why it’s important (good!)
b) Their perception of the impact grows as they think it out (great!)
c) They see the impact as too small for action (you can show them it’s bigger!)
d) They don’t know (you can help them figure it out!)
5. What will happen if you don’t act?
Asking this question gets customers thinking of the negative consequences of inaction.
They may work it out themselves (“We’ll bleed cash! Turnover will be unsustainably
high!") and their perception changes. Perhaps they need your guidance to see the
negative consequences of inaction. Either way … insight.
6. How do you know that?
Customers often give “facts” without foundation. Or, they may give facts with foundation
that once was true, but isn’t anymore. By asking for the reasoning behind a statement,
you can help the customer question the fundamental basis for their assumptions.
5. What do you think is missing?
This is the question that often gets a response of, “Good question!” Or, people get up on
their soap boxes decrying what “should be” but isn’t. Openings for insight all around.
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Topic 3 – Convince
Your ability to quantify the impact and paint a clear, persuasive, and believable picture of the
results you can achieve for customers is the foundation for how important it is for the decision
maker to buy from you. If you don’t show the impact, the initiative will fall to the bottom of
the priority list. Make the impact clear, and the customer’s perception of the gap between
where they are and where they want to be grows to its widest.
Here are some ways you can communicate impact in sales and make the case for moving
forward:
1. Calculate the Business Impact - Each affliction that you solve and each aspiration that
you help a customer realize will ultimately have a financial impact.
2. Impact Compared to the Alternative - Not only do you need to know the impact of
working with you, you need to know the impact on the customer of working with
alternatives to you. Perhaps your company offers better ROI, their products are inferior,
or your service is better. Know the alternatives, and you can make the best case for
helping the customer to succeed with you.
3. What Won’t Happen? - Sometimes the prospect sees the positive impact of buying from
you, but doesn’t see any negative impact of not moving forward.
4. Build Credibility with Similar Impact - Customers have aspirations and afflictions.
You’re selling what they need to help them meet their goals. The value proposition is clear,
but they are still unsure. Sometimes customers want to know if you’ve been there before.
And, when you were there, what happened. In this case, share success stories and results
you helped others achieve.
5. Demonstrate Impact Tangibly - The more you can make the impact tangible, the
stronger your case for impact will be.
Not only do you have to show the impact of your solution — you have to persuade customers
you can achieve these results. A powerful way to do this is through telling stories —Compelling
Stories.
Every Compelling Story satisfies the same basic criteria and follows the same story format
and should answer three questions:
o What do I want them to learn/have?
o What do I want them to feel/be?
o What do I want them to do?
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Key components of the Compelling Story are:
1. Connection – Build rapport and establish credibility by demonstrating keen insight into
the customer’s world. This can be an overview of industry trends that are influencing
everything, technology changes that change the game, or an overview of any context that
is relevant to them. Once you show you know what you’re talking about, you’ll get their
attention and build curiosity in hearing the rest of what you have to say.
Rapport – Focused Questions
o What’s going on in your industry these days? How have things changed?
o You mentioned you want to retire in a few years. What are you thinking of doing
then?
2. Current State – The current state can be almost any set of issues: lack of results, slipping
market share, ideas whose time have passed, anything that creates problems in the
customers sales process. Establish the current state and why it’s not good enough. Then
identify the perfect future state or new reality. You can then go back and forth between
the current state and the possible new reality, establishing a very important rational gap
(you’re here, but you could be there).
Current State (where they are today) – Focused Questions
o Why isn’t this particular technology, service, product, situation, issue working
for you right now?
o What’s holding you back from reaching your revenue (or profit, or other) goals?
3. Future State – Establish the new reality. People have a natural tendency to drive forward.
But if they don’t know where they’re headed, any road will get them there. Your ability to
establish the destination—to help them imagine some specific aspiration—is critical. These
are how messages. Nobody cares about the how until they feel the depths of the why.
Getting to a New Reality is the why. Why is a powerful force!
Future State/ New Reality - Focused Questions
o If you were to wave your magic wand and in three years from now, how will
this all look different?
o (In early sales discussions) You mentioned you’re not having a good experience
with your current provider. If you work with us, what are you hoping will be
different?
o What does success look like for you…your business…this project…our work
together?
o If you could overcome these challenges, what would happen to your company’s
financial situation?
o If you were to make this happen, what would it mean for you personally?
o How would implementing these changes affect your competitiveness in the
market?
o How do you think the board of directors would evaluate the success of this
initiative?
o If you don’t solve (insert the particular challenge here), what kind of difficulties
will you face going forward? What won’t happen that you want to happen?
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4. Results – Communicate Results, Create the Feelings. Many sales people know how to tell
a return on investment story, but few do everything they should to communicate the full
power of the impact. You still need to tell the ROI story— and you probably did so in
general terms when you established the possible New Reality—but now you must make it
real by showing real, specific results.
5. Action – Invite Collaboration. Every seller has been told to recommend action, specifically
a next step. Few, however, build in collaboration. When customers feel that sales people
collaborate with them, they are much more likely to buy, and to buy from that particular
seller.
At this point, your call to action will be to invite discussion and collaboration. Use the
Compelling Story structure and you’ll achieve the three outcomes you need to sell.
Notes:
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Topic 4 – Collaborate with Influence
Since the customer isn’t required to buy when salespeople drive demand, salespeople must
be able to take their priority of making a sale happen, and make it the customer’s priority to
make a purchase happen. It’s not that easy, though, because you’re nowhere near the
customer’s priority list when you start. The key to moving up on a customer’s priority list are
desire and ownership:
Desire: They really need to want what you can do for them.
Ownership: You need to take something that wasn’t even on their radar screen and get them
to believe deeply, “I need to do something about this!” Perhaps the most overlooked strategy
for creating customer desire and ownership is getting them involved in the selling process by
inviting their collaboration. In almost every sales situation, collaboration helps.
Here are some steps to engage customers through collaboration:
1. Build a trusting Collaborative Relationship – Position yourself as an ally and a trusted
business advisor; listen actively; be empathetic to their needs, make the customer feel
valued, be non-judgmental, emphasize similarities; invest time.
2. Clarify a common agenda – Seek common ground, seek to understand their situation,
ask compelling questions to find the need behind the need. What are the problems or
concerns they are facing, explore those, find out what is important to them with regard to
their future or desired state. Do your research ahead of time and come to them showing
an interest in finding or offering solutions to their problems or concerns.
Examples:
o Is inaction on the issue hurting your productivity and morale?
o If you know that you need to do something about it, why haven’t you all taken
action yet?
o You took action and it failed in the past, but it seems like you’re considering
doing something similar again. Why is it going to turn out differently this time?
o When I’ve seen similar issues like yours, such as A, B, and C, it’s usually a recipe
for big problems like X, Y, and Z to eventually crop up. But you don’t seem
terribly concerned. Could you make the case for me that X, Y, and Z won’t
happen here?
When customers answer your questions, you can share stories of how the problems
they see have been solved at other places. You can also ask them, “Let’s look at that
last roadblock. How could we fix that?” Many customers talk themselves out of the
problems as they start to wonder about the solutions.
3. Present your point of view and Highlight Incentives – Explain your point of view and
how it supports something that is important to them. Invite the customer to “wonder”
with you about the possibilities. The problem is often not in the impact the product or
service can have on the customer, it’s the psychological effect of not being involved
enough in the discussion.
For example you might say:
o “So it’s happened like this at our other two client sites. Given what we discussed
so far, imagine for a minute you implemented something similar, and its six
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months from now. What effects do you think you might see? What would the
impact be?”
o “You mentioned that A and B are not issues for you, but C and D are. Imagine
for a minute that C and D disappeared as problems. What effects do you think
you might see? What would the impact be?”
o “This is why we think it’s possible that you could increase revenue 20% by
getting your marketing engine firing on all thrusters. We realize, however, that
as much as most company leaders would want this kind of revenue increase,
they’d be skeptical that it would actually happen. Why wouldn’t this work here?
What would the roadblocks be?”
When customers answer your questions, you can share stories of how the problems
they see have been solved at other places. You can also ask them, “Let’s look at that
last roadblock. How could we fix that?” Many customers talk themselves out of the
problems as they start to wonder about the solutions.
4. Confirm Commitment, Give the Customer Ownership of the Idea - By collaborating
with your customers in the selling process, not only will you get on their priority lists and
shape their agendas for action, but the likelihood they’ll take that action with you will
skyrocket. Summarize the options, agree to a next steps and action items, if appropriate
ask for commitment.
Notes:
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Module 7: Negotiation and Overcoming Objections
Topic 1: Negotiation
Negotiating, when done correctly, creates strong win-win situations for both parties. Sales
negotiations might take place over a series of meetings, conversations and phone calls, or
can begin and end within minutes. Remember, successful sales people always ask for
precisely what they want and enter into negotiations a plan in place. With that in mind, here
are five ways that you can quickly become a power negotiator:
1. Know your own position - Identifying what you want before entering negotiations gives
you the ability to both visualize the outcome and avoid leaving the table with the feeling
of selling yourself short. Have an exact dollar amount, terms, etc. outlined on paper prior
to meeting with the other party. Once you identify your desired meeting goal, be prepared
to ask for slightly more, allowing wiggle room for your client to ‘come down’ to your desired
price. Learn what your competitors offer. Stress the advantages your product has over
theirs. Their product might be less expensive, but yours might be of higher quality,
meaning it lasts longer. Let the customer know how much he will actually save in the long
term with your product.
2. Set your objectives - Set your walk-away price. Know when to quit negotiating. Know
the bottom-line you will go to and always be willing to walk away. While this can be difficult
when dealing with large pieces of potential business, it is imperative that you never enter
negotiations without the option to walk away. This lessens the likelihood of the other party
being able to use hard-ball tactics to back you into a corner. Are you willing to make
concessions in return for a larger order?
3. Decide which areas are negotiable - Understand the other party’s position. What are
their requirements and restrictions? Take the time to research the company and/or person
you’re meeting with and discover their surface needs, past negotiation outcomes, and
what would make them look good. Think about what you can offer the customer that
means little to you but a lot to them. Consider the implications. For example, what would
happen if you offered all your customers the same discount?
4. Decide how important the deal is to you - Know your value, what do you bring to the
table? Are you offering a revenue-generating service to another business? If so, how much
money will they make as a result of securing your services? What is the likelihood of repeat
business, large orders or immediate payment?
5. Never accept less without gaining concessions - While you may not walk away with
the exact dollar amount you envisioned, you can ensure that you leave with your desired
‘value.’ Figure out an alternative option that is worth that what you are giving up for you.
Accepting less without gaining something in return is the equivalent of stating that you
are worth less than your initial ask.
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Topic 2: Overcoming Objections
In any selling situation, it is likely that you will need to overcome a customer’s obstacles
before a buying decision is made. Objections are not necessarily a bad thing. If your customer
raises an objection, it is actually a good sign. The fact that they're talking out their concern
means that they're giving you a chance to answer it. If someone is completely uninterested
in buying your product, they won't bother to object.
1. Listen It can be a real challenge to listen to objections. Most salespeople face the same
handful of objections, and tend to hear them all the time. Because of the familiarity with
common objections, you may tend to listen halfway through and jump in to respond.
Instead, try to use this time to slow down the sales process, listen for understanding, and
see objections from the customer’s point of view. Use the active listening skills you learned
earlier in the program.
2. Mirror Back to the Customer. When you're absolutely sure they are finished talking,
look thoughtful for a moment and then repeat back the gist of what they said. When the
customer gives an objection, you can perceive it in four ways:
o What they say
o What you hear
o What you interpret it to mean
o What they really mean
It is critical that, before responding to the customers concern, both you and the customer
clearly understand what the concern really is. Be careful not to interpret the objection,
because your response might be off target if your interpretation is incorrect.
3. Explore the Reasoning. Sometimes the first objections aren't the customer's real
concern. For example, many customer don't want to admit that they don't have enough
money to buy your product, so they'll raise a host of other objections instead. Before you
launch into answering an objection, ask a few exploratory questions, like “Is product
downtime a particular issue? Have you had trouble with it before?” Draw the customer out
a bit.
4. Answer the Objection. Once you understand the objection completely, you can answer
it. When a customer raises an objection, they're actually expressing fear. Your task at this
point is to relieve their fears. If you have specific examples, such as a story from an
existing customer or a few statistics, by all means present them – hard facts make your
response stronger. One of the best ways to respond to objections is evidence.
Evidence DEFEATS doubts.
Demonstration Example Fact Exhibit Analogy Testimonial Statistics
5. Check Back with the Customer. Take a moment to confirm that you've answered the
customer's objection fully. Usually this is as simple as saying, “Does that make sense?” or
“Have I answered your concern?”
6. Redirect the Conversation. Bring the customer back into the flow of the appointment.
If you're in the middle of your presentation when the customer raises his objection, then
once you've answered it quickly summarize what you'd been talking about before you
move on. If you've finished your pitch, check if the customer has any other objections,
and then start closing the sale.
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Notes:
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