The trick (or secret) is to use your time wisely to build as big a sales pipeline in the shortest amount of time.  After all, the clock is ticking and the sooner you get a score on the board, the easier it is to garner some breathing room.  So where do you start if you have what is considered a fairly greenfield territory? Or your company’s presence has been minor?

You start with a collaborative meeting with your sales manager and the lead generation support (I talk more about this further down) Work with marketing to get awareness and interest in your area.  If you do not have any marketing effort at your disposal, your job is going to be a bit tough.  At the very least, you will have a sales manager, and between the both of you, you need to understand your target market, and how best to segment that market.

Building your pipeline is a bit like asking someone how to paint a picture.  You are going to get several different answers and many methods. I have seen this question asked in an interview.  It is unfair to ask someone without first establishing the premise for the question because it can have many different answers and none of them wrong.  Usually the person asking is looking for the same answer that is in their head so answering it differently does not make it wrong, just different.  Unfortunately, some interviewers do not see it that way.  That is why I think you need to understand from a collaborative view, what management is thinking and form your strategy and tactics from there.  There is not really a wrong or right answer because it can go both ways depending on the end objective.

You have to ask yourself two questions: Am I looking for numbers or am I looking for qualified numbers?  Let’s assume the latter. Qualified leads are the life-source of every company.  Why?  These leads have had a positive response from a potential customer.  If handled correctly, they turn into sales.  Lead nurturing is an absolute necessity to keep this potential opportunity from dying on the vine or your competition to swoop in and steal this right from under your nose.
Earlier I spoke of lead generation. Regardless of the size of a company, lead generation and nurturing is a requirement; period.  Your field sales force needs to be closing sales, not seeking qualified leads.  This role is one of the most overlooked, yet one of the most vital position for supporting a field-based sales force.  When you ramp-up your sales force, place serious importance on how this team is going to be getting their leads.  Do you know why companies always have a ramp up time?  Partly because of the training, but mostly because of the time to get there territory in order.

I realize there are other methods, but these really just lend themselves to the efforts of a dedicated lead generation machine.  Personal leads, contacts, and luck all are good, but a coordinated marketing and lead generation plan should be an integral part of sales.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or better yet, leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this with the tool at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

A paradigm shift is happening in the business marketplace in how you engage a customer.  Very few are adept at noticing the shift simply because of its subtlety.  Customers are not going to tell you why they do not want to talk to you or respond, so I will.  Today, to call a customer, you MUST earn the right to call.  That right encumbers you to bring value, REAL VALUE, not sales rhetoric.  You do not have the inalienable right as a salesperson to call on whomever you choose.  Your right does not come from YOUR belief in your product or service to be the next great innovation must-have.  Remember one thing: No one cares about your widget and what it can do, except you.

The only way you earn the right to call upon the decision maker is by referral or by their direct invitation.  The referral can come from an internal or external contact.  The biggest percentage of ROI success is by referral; not by picking up the phone and playing dialing for dollars. To have a referral you must have a relationship.

Cold Calling is reserved for obtaining referrals and your efforts should be in building relationships to gain those referrals rather than the drive-by-sale approach.  With the top-tier talent in the market today, you need those people in front of the decision makers, not searching for them.  An article I wrote discusses the pros and cons of this level of talent.  So why do managers and companies still insist on doing it?  Because it is the easiest to mandate and fastest way to show “mission accomplished” but at the same time, the least effective in closure.  The other reason is human nature:  “I did, my father did it and my grandfather did it.”

Referrals are an extremely valuable and volatile asset.  This person has the potential to supply what would seem like an endless supply of business, but only if you cultivate the relationship in a proper, ethical process.  They also have the potential ability to shut the faucet off just as fast as they turned it on.  Those that will be your reference need to be cultivated and nurtured just as any other customer would.  Do not expect to pick up the phone and ask for a referral if the last time you spoke was when the deal closed.

Referrals can come from not only customers, but also partners that see the value your product brings.  To draw upon my marketing background, you want a PULL strategy where customers are asking for your product rather then you pushing it upon them.  The only way to get this strategy to be effective is to show REAL value.  The most effective of the 4Ps in marketing is using promotion and drawing upon publicity rather than advertising.  People trust someone else endorsing products far better than any brochure or advertisement you can create.  This all ties back to relationship selling.  If you failed to build the relationships, how do you expect to obtain a referral? (Rhetorical question)

I will close out this article with one last comment about cold calling.  I know this article is going to ruffle some feathers, but that is a good thing.  My intention is to stir debate and foster an exchange of ideas; not create civil unrest.  I realize people have had success using the cold calling method, but the return on your time and effort versus other methods (this article for instance!) is at the bottom of the ROI list.  You can tell me about all the $$$ you have made, but my comment would be how much more $$$ could you have made?

If you find this useful, Contact Me or better yet, leave a comment.  If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this with the tool at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

In later years, I worked for a Fortune 500 company that demanded 4% forecasting accuracy.  Moreover, they got it too!  Being a public company, how the street loved them!

So why are most companies lacking in their accuracy?  I think it comes down to a couple of things.

1. Pressure to make a number that executives have not been realistic in obtaining.
2. Not getting input from the rank and file members of the salesforce.

Too often, I have seen front line managers take numbers, pad them, then pass them upstairs.  No two ways about it, this is just plain wrong.  I think this is unethical because it is now forcing a quota number on someone that was not involved in the planning process.  Crazy idea, but how about getting people responsible for what they were hired to do, generate revenue. When you get the by-in from the sales force, it now becomes a point of pride and ownership.  No salesperson I have ever worked with wants to tell their manager they won’t be making their forecast.

Despite loads of money spent on CRM and SFA tools and software, along with hours of time dedicated to reviewing the forecast, it is still way out of line.  Why?  In all my years in sales, I have never seen a company do a detailed analysis on a territory other than do say “it did $$$ last year and we expect $$$ this year”.  What does this say about the coming year, or the next?  Nothing, absolutely nothing. When a new sales person starts a territory, unless a detailed analysis has been done, how can a quota be set and handed to them with an honest expectation of meeting that quota?

The fundamental flaw in all forecasting is that we are asking the wrong questions.  It does no good to set-up a sales rep for failure from the very beginning by overestimating the territory.  This is like having no target; you are going to hit it every time.

When salespeople, especially those who are behind are asked to update the forecast, are you really expecting accuracy? Organizations are kidding themselves if they do.  The opposite end of the spectrum has the top reps ‘sandbagging’ or understating their pipeline.  The point is, if done correctly, the accuracy is built from the ground up with everyone’s acceptance, and no one has to be double checking numbers.

If this sounds familiar in your company try these:

• Collaborate with the sales force to get ownership of the quota.  Supply detailed supporting data so that informed decisions can be made; not what you want to be made. Managers need to remove the pressure from the process.  If you do not, the resulting forecast is no more than a subjective and inaccurate piece of paper.

• Quarterly reviews are worthless.  The process of review needs to be ongoing and management updated weekly.  Clearly establish grading milestones for pipeline deals over a certain amount.  Once they reach a percentage level towards close, do an overall review.

• Have an agreement between the salesperson and the customer that qualifies all key measures, conversations and meetings.  The process that outlines the due diligence necessary to lead to the ultimate ‘yes’ or ‘no.’  In most cases, any verbal agreement ambiguity from either side removed and now put into writing.  Both parties now share and understand with crystal clarity. Every step the customer adds and agrees to adds to the next level of accuracy to the forecast.

Hope you find this useful. Please let me know by leaving a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Having a well stacked contact list is not necessarily the best hiring criteria of a sales person, yet it still carries considerable weight.  I believe it is one of the worst measures and needs to be removed from the “must have” list.  Let me explain why.

The current state of social media lends itself to everyone having a big contact list.  I like the analogy of your phone book’s white pages.  If you live in or near a metropolitan area, the white pages contain thousands of names.  Do you know everyone included in the phone  book?  No, and that is my point. Same applies to your contact list.  The amount of time necessary to keep up with a rolodex that size leaves no time to do what a salesperson was hired to do: SELL! I’m not saying someone doesn’t have that many contacts, I’m saying that the relevance of the names to the position being filled is probably a fairly low percentage.  I say “probably” because the majority of salespeople do not move to another company that is selling the same line of products.  Ok, granted some do, but most don’t.

With today’s economy, an experienced sales professional (bag carrying or manager) is expected to have a list of contacts.  Personally, I keep 4-5 thousand names.  Sound like a lot?  Not really when you consider my list is broken down into an industry list.  Those individual lists are small in comparison to the whole.  The key is they are valid!

What I find truly amazing is sales managers still believe when they find a candidate that states they have contacts at Fortune 500 companies including the CxOs,  that this is going to be the hiring difference.  What makes you think IF you did have those contacts that the company would just rip out their existing product and plug yours in?  For every contact you have, an investment may not have run the course of the ROI.  There are few questions hiring mangers need to ask themselves:

• Does a big rolodex equal qualified leads?
• Ask your self about brand equity–a relationship established under one does not guarantee success somewhere else
• Are you that desperate that you believe this person’s contacts will boost revenue?

There are situations where having the contacts is a good thing.  Selling services, which can and should be viewed as an intangible is probably a better use for the contact list.  In conclusion, the next time you hire someone, don’t ask about the size, rather how many names are relevant to the position.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

The fallout of the economic recession left extremely talented sales professionals in one of several states of flux.  Either currently out of work, doing less-than-their-potential, or covertly looking for the next position.  Either way, senior sales people are out there.  The rub is, companies are looking to acquire this talent, yet they do not have the “infrastructure” to support this level of talent.  The opportunity to obtain this talent has never been better, and quite possibly will we never see this plethora of talent sitting idle again.

Sales managers coming out of regular or special planning sessions need to understand how extraordinary this level of talent is and how to quickly adjust to accommodate them.  If you made the commitment to raise the level of sales standard in your company by hiring the upper echelon, then you need to understand the following basics:

1. What makes them different
2. What motivates them
3. How to interact with them

Understand that personalities at this level are mostly of the “A” type and nothing should be done to counter what works for them.  After all, you are looking for the best, right?  Doing so could signal an implosion of success and leave you as a manager holding the bag that just exploded and wondering what happened.

Several years ago, I worked for one of the biggest software companies in the world.  This company had a HUGE pool of top-level salespeople.  Yet, they did not possess the infrastructure to guarantee their salespeople’s success.  Why?  Because they didn’t understand the complexities of this group, nor what it took to support this level of talent.  At the time, most other companies didn’t either; and still do not.  The damage this did was to put the mark of “unsuccessfulness” on these people.  There were those that were good and did well, but there were a lot more that didn’t fair as well through no fault of their own.  They were just as talented.  The reason: No Support.  The company basically said here’s your territory…go get’em! The lesson learned was a hard one for every software company at the time.  The bottom line is they gave sales and market share away and never knew it.

So what does this all mean?  The level and number of talented individuals in the labor pool right now is enormous. Not every company needs this level of talent.  If yours doesn’t, then don’t drool over something you don’t need.  If your company does, this use this list as a starting point for successful onboarding.

• If your company’s culture will not or cannot support these people, then do not hire them until it can.
• Does your sales model support this level of talent?
  • lead development
  • no overlap of territory
  • clearly defined compensation model
• How are you going to measure success level?

These are just a very few considerations you must think about.  The biggest and most overlooked is lead generation.  Let’s face the fact here; these people are going to command $6-figure base salaries.  Do you want to pay this kind of salary for someone to cold call or close business?  I would hope the latter, but you might be surprised to learn some managers today don’t understand this logic.  If you don’t understand this, then you don’t need this level of talent…period!!

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Every organization has them, though that is not their primary purpose.  They can be the scourge of the planet or your best friend.  Which would you prefer?  Regardless of what a sales manager says or expects, it isn’t always possible to call the decision maker direct.  That doesn’t mean you will never talk to them, just that you are not starting with them.

Gatekeepers or non-decision making entities can actually help you.  Learning how to deal with them is paramount in gaining access to the real decision makers.  This is the sister article to Reaching the Decision Makers published a few weeks ago.  So how do you start when encountering a gatekeeper?

• Ask questions having an answer(s) only the decision maker can answer (or a high likelihood).  This allows them to direct you to someone who does know the answer.  If they pause, or show a hesitation in wanting to let you know, ask if they could suggest someone.

• Ask what functional units your product might impact.  Now ask for that person’s name.

• Use your past experience and suggest that similar past projects always involved the CIO or CFO.  By doing this, you can ask, “Are you sure the CIO or CFO (or whomever is applicable) will not need to see this”?

Gatekeepers have the duty to guard the castle thereby protecting the company.  Some take this responsibility particularly personal and will do what is necessary to swat everyone that tries to enter.  The problem with this is they really do a lot of harm.  The jury is still out on if the harm is more than the good.  Sales people have two reactions to the gatekeepers; love ‘em, hate ‘em. Those that hate ‘em are the ones that are not successful in winning their support.

When you first encounter a gatekeeper, they usually ask the typical, who you are and what you want.  Most will ask you to send some “documentation or some brochures”.  To get past this, simply say “I would love to but we do not have the standard type of documentation you typically receive from other companies.  If Mr. CxO is interested in saving XYZ% off his bottom line expenses, then I would be happy to discuss this with him and follow up with custom documentation.”

This immediately compels them to pass this on, make the appointment or put you through right then.  It also does not pigeon-hole you as a vendor or salesperson; you are bringing value.  This is where you start to build yourself as a trusted business partner.  If there is any push back, ask if they think the XYZ% is compelling to them.  How can they say no?  They can, but the logic of doing so escapes me.

In closing, there are basically two types of gatekeepers, the one that is charged with keeping everyone out, and the other has the discretion to pass value-producing propositions through.  You can be fairly certain of the type you have run into by asking the above question.   One last item you might try if there seems to be an interest on the part of the gatekeeper, just not the willingness to pass you on. Ccntinue the conversation with the gatekeeper.  Educate them on the value of your solution. They can actually pre-sell the idea in your stead.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

Some common “must have answers” for any sale should include the following:

• Does a need really exist?
• What are the business drivers and motives of this need?
• Does a budget exist that supports these?
• What is the timeline for purchase?
• Do you have explicit knowledge of the buying process? (See the second bullet point)

Unless you know these, your process is flawed from the beginning and puts you at a disadvantage.  Once you arrive at a point in the selling process, a very valuable tool to differentiate yourself from the competition is to draft and write a deliverable document to the executives and team members.  This serves several purposes:  1) Furthers your relationship within the company (insider advantage), 2) Those that respond are usually your allies, 3) The deliverable usually triggers a reaction related to the competitor(s) and allows you to counteract early, 4) Achieve an upsell if the document widens the scope of the project, but only, if there is value and investment is justified.

If the sales process appears to be lagging for no apparent reason, simply ask if the urgency has diminished or that there was no real urgency in the first place.  This allows the opportunity for customer to reveal the timeline changes to you. It also gives you the opportunity to present real dollar figures about how much not buying your solution is costing them.

Another important area to be aware of is the CxO’s time frame.  In other words, if you truly have executive sponsorship and that relationship is solid, use that time line for planning, not yours.

Those that know me know I do not believe in unilateral concessions.  If your client starts early about concessions, push them off until the end.  A lot of salespeople see this as an opportunity for an early close; don’t fall for it, it is a trap. It also shows you to be desperate about the sale.  Set the stage early on concessions.  An article I wrote describes the re-negotiating tactics for those customers that demand concessions.

This last piece of advice to avoid projecting desperation is to fully plan for the type of negotiations you will encounter.  The scope of this article is not long enough to cover the topic, but make absolutely sure you understand what is and is not important to the client.  From that point you can plan your negotiation strategy.  It is unfortunate, but I have witnessed sales managers that have no clue about the art of negotiation.  It is not all about getting the sale, rather it is allowing them to buy and they walk away with the perception they have the best deal.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

This article touches two areas:  Decision Makers, and Pain Issues.   I will also show some effective tactics to use that will help reach your ultimate goal, the Decision Maker. In an upcoming article, I will discuss the Gatekeepers in a company.

Pain:

I mentioned pain issues in the previous paragraph so let’s start there and work backwards.  In today’s economy, unless you have a compelling solution to a business’ pain points, you have no right to call on that business.  You must earn that right.  Think about that for a moment.  This is exactly how you will be viewed until you establish creditability.  This link shows a diagram that pinpoints the moment in an organization when change happens.

There are three elements of pain common in any organization:

• Every organization has it
• Every organization wants to remove it
• Every organization down plays the severity

So how do you or I earn that right to call upon that business?  You do so by pre-planning your call with sufficient facts and knowledge of that company’s business structure.  This is the very reason I (strongly) advocate having a plan.

So how do you or I gain the insight to a business?  Some think just having a plan is the magic bullet;  it’s not, rather it is part of a sales process you should be following.  I have used the following without exception to gain the necessary insight to a company:

• Call the company’s competitors and ask your questions of them

This does two things.  First, you get to practice on someone live that isn’t your target.  The last thing you want to happen is to blow your chance at your target.  Second, you might just generate an interest with this company wanting to gain a competitive advantage.  You could easily be on your way to selling to two companies!

The Decision Maker:

Regardless of the organization, someone IS the decision maker.  This can include more than one so remember one of the first things you need to ascertain is the buying process.  Revealing this early on gives you time to plan your strategy.  But remember one important item: There may (and usually is) an unnamed party that can veto the entire process.

There are generally two ways you reach the decision maker; first contact or being directed to them through working your way through the organization.  If nothing else, remember this: high-level direct contact has the highest success rate than starting at the lower lever. If you start lower, you have for all intent and purposes, created a ceiling for yourself that is hard to break through.  The lesson here is to start high.

With that said, once reaching the decision maker you generally have about 20-30 seconds to make your case before their mind has placed you on the friend-or-foe list.  The higher up you are is inversely proportional to the amount of time you have to speak.  This is the moment that all your planning, practice, and facts had better be second nature to you when you begin to speak.

Lastly, if you are called by a lower-level person in an organization, it doesn’t mean you need or if should call him back first.  Rather, if you have contacts there try them first, and then call the low-level person back.  Or, if this client is strategic enough, have a member of your executive management make the call to a higher level while you in tandem call the low-level person back.  This accomplishes two things.  First, your executive management calling is a peer-to-peer call.  This call will have a greater chance of success.  Second, you have satisfied the low-level person’s request for a call-back while your management sets up a possible meeting.

Whatever the method used to reach the decision maker, your tactics used should never be viewed as condescending, manipulative, or arrogant.  You are seeking a trust level, nothing more at this point.

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

This can even be an illusionist’s trick, and one you as a sales person must master.  In trying to close or negotiate a deal, frustration will always be part of the mix.  How you deal with the frustration is how the tempo of your close will go.  Clients do not like to be rushed, but they do need to be prodded sometimes.

In order to keep things gliding smoothly along without showing any level of frustration, you must be constantly paddling, though you don’t have to be going at a constant 0-100 break-neck speed all the time.  The one thing all salespeople see themselves at a disadvantage over, is time.  In fact, some consider it a liability and this can lead to desperation.  I completely disagree with those that do;  but only if it is accompanied by a plan of attack.  In other words, if you don’t have a plan, it is a liability, a big one!  One thing I am adamant about is having a plan. I wrote this article about the benefits of having a game plan.

Time is a liability if you don’t have a plan. This is because when you enter into the negotiation stage and you are pressed to make your numbers,  you will be at an instant disadvantage. The moment you view this as a liability in your sales cycle is the moment you just gave the upper hand to your buyer (client).  When you become desperate in your dealings with customers, it comes through loud and clear on their end.  Once the genie is out of the bottle, it is twice as difficult to stuff it back in.

So how do you keep from coming off as being or sounding desperate?  Here are a few items that work, but keep in mind that for most sales people these concepts are extremely foreign and difficult to grasp. So much so,  I wager that only 3 in 10 sales people reading this article will really understand the concept.  That’s ok, this is more for the managers in the audience.  Nevertheless, if you want to reach the level of your manager you will need to be a little more open-minded and grasp these concepts.  I’m not asking you to endorse them,  just understand them.  So here are some things to try:

• Build a plan that is inclusive of the buying process of your customer.  This replaces trying to accelerate the process in order to make your numbers.  Did I mention to make a plan? This allows you to forecast the closure date accurately.
• Time sensitive sales closures should be tied back to cause and effect and the consequences for inaction.
• Manage your tunnel digging before you have to use it.  The closer you get to final negotiations, people become less talkative.  This is not the time to be trying to reach the approvers.  This should have already been done early in the sales process.  Doing it now makes you look desperate.

I will end part 1 with this:  You must ooze confidence from the moment you first meet the client all the way to the end.  A keen negotiator will look for any kink in your armor.  Remember the duck;  paddle like heck, but glide smoothly.

I will follow-up with Part 2 and cover some additional techniques that will enable you to project the confidence necessary to reach the levels of attainment meant for the very elite of the sale force!

If you find this useful, Contact Me or please leave a comment. If you have a Twitter account and found this article useful, it would be much appreciated if you would retweet this at the beginning of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner

For those that are on a different fiscal calendar than others, that’s ok as the same advice applies here as well. Now that we are into the 2nd (calendar) quarter I ask:  “How was your first quarter?” Good, great? Ok, maybe you don’t need to read the rest of this article! If not, or the quarter just doesn’t seem to be getting enough steam to roll into the end of the year, maybe I can help.

Let’s back up to last year…Early 4th quarter to be exact. Did you do any planning for this year?

This is the first part I call Shoulda!
While I don’t like to dwell on things we can’t change, that doesn’t mean we cannot analyze for a better next quarter. Keep in mind the goal is to build for the end. Remember Quota Mountain? That’s the objective.  This is the time a lot of junior and some senior sales people as well, realize that hindsight is 20/20.  Here is some advice to keep from looking back over your shoulder.

• Plan every step of your next move. Plan for what might not happen rather than what will.
• Keep progress notes and use what works.
• Look to your sales organization and the management to see what they expect you to use as best practices.

I like to take 5 top clients from the prior year and use the strategy that worked with them to align myself to the current list of clients.  This gives you a running head-start and allows you to change your tactics as needed.

The second part I call Coulda!
This part can also be considered a “looking over the shoulder” move.  If you lost a deal, the first thing one tends to say is “I coulda done that!”. If you have said this, then I have one question for you: “Why didn’t you?” Do not get into the mode of never wanting to take a chance if the decision is based on sound advice or information.

Strategically, you have to outsell you competition. It is not about what your widget does; it is about how that widget can solve a business roadblock.  Ask yourself this, “How important is my product to the strategy of the company I’m trying to sell to?” Can you answer this? No? Go match your pitch to the company’s goals.

Finally, the third part of this is what I call Gotta!
If you have arrived at the end of the year still doing the two parts above, Should & Coulda, you will undoubtedly fall into this third part.  The pressure in making your number is going to be intense and unless you are skilled at pulling a rabbit out of the hat, your chances of year-end success is minimal at best. Panic is going to bear down with the words “I Gotta make my numbers!” There isn’t much I can offer as advice at this point other than to say, “Don’t wind up here– “

I leave you with this quote from Erma Bombeck.  Apply it every day to your life as a salesperson. It will yield awesome results!

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”

If you find this article of value please comment. Have a Twitter account? I would be most appreciative if you would retweet this at the top of the article!

Happy Selling!

Ed Warner