Printer-friendly version

The other day I had to pick up something at my local mall.  I dislike malls.  And so I was ecstatic to find a parking spot 3 cars from the main door.  Ten minutes later, mission accomplished.  I hunted for my store, when in and killed what I needed, paid and dragged it out of the store all in just ten minute- man shopping.

I clicked my car’s remote door opener and jumped into the driver’s seat. I was about to turn on the ignition when I realized, “This is NOT my car!”  Worried the owner would appear and mistake me for Nicolas Cage (I wish) in the car theft action movie “Gone in 60 seconds,” I scrambled out to find my car parked in the next bay.  OK, admittedly the winter coat of dry snow and salt made both cars look that same shade of “blah.” But seriously - who leaves their door unlocked in now a days?

And who doesn’t recognize their own car?  Apparently me!

Good news is I’m neither crazy, nor am I turning to grand theft auto to make my next million.  I made this mistake because, in that moment, I had been on “auto pilot.” 

It got me thinking.  We all shift into auto pilot periodically.  How many times have you completed a driving journey without giving the route a single thought?

And it got me thinking about selling, and specifically about our sales teams.  Our team is comprised of experienced sellers who are well entrenched in their clients, “know” the sales process, and are delivering good sales results.  Yet, without exception each sales associate reading this article will have a new realization - that they had been missing a real opportunity to support the success of their clients, and to dramatically enhance their own sales results.  They had been on auto pilot for some time – and we had just flipped the switch to manual.

Has your sales approach become stagnant?  Are you flying on auto pilot?  Check out these few indicators that suggest it’s time for you to switch back to manual…

• Your client’s are like your best friends. 
• You hate it when you are moved to a new campaign and disrupt the status quo.
• You’re taken by surprise when you lose a POC (Point-Of-Contact) that had real and personal ‘Pain”.
• You consider people rude when they don’t respond to your calls.
• Your POCs don’t seem to understand the full value of your offering.
• You don’t have time to prepare for POCs meetings until you are dialing.
• Your customers are happy to live with their ‘Pain”.
• You learned all about selling from the boss, who learned from his boss…
• You’re less than inspired with your role and looking for a change.

If you relate to any of these it’s time to take hold of the controls. Here’s my quick “Start – Stop – Keep” formula to get you flying high above the competition.

START sharpening your POC IQ and EQ.
Good sellers have strong POC IQ.  They know what the POC’s “Pains” are, what impact the ‘Pain” has, how the ‘Pain” is important and, most importantly, how the POC feels.  They understand the POC’s business objectives and they know where the solution exists.

Extraordinary sellers know that change is the new status quo. And they intentionally use every single POC interaction to deepen and broaden their POC’s IQ. And they don’t stop there.  Top sales pros develop their POCs EQ (or emotional quotient) … they listen beyond the facts for what’s important to each POC both professionally and personally. They seek out the POC’s perception on tough issues because they know ‘Pain” can, and will, affect all future decisions. 

And when they talk to a new POC a top seller embraces this opportunity. Their approach is one of curiosity, not judgment. Their goal is to understand why the need for change.  And to learn about this POC’s priorities so that they can offer support in ways that will contribute to the POC’s success.  They build competitive advantage while other sellers fight to retain the status quo. 

STOP blaming the customer.
Ever catch yourself thinking, “This POC’s a waste of time – he never returns calls.”  Or “This POC is a fool.  We’ve got the best solution for his need. Why did he choose to turn down the appointment?”  Listen to some sales reps and you’d think that most POCs are obnoxious morons.

My advice; If you’re pointing the finger of blame at the POC, take a moment to point it back at you - and see what you find.

If POCs don’t respond to your calls then it’s one of two things.  Your message missed the mark … or you are not a priority to this POC now.  Either way, the only person that can fix this is you. Do your homework and find out what’s on this POC’s plate now, and re-craft a series of “customer centric” pain indicator questions that focus on supporting their priorities, not yours.

POCs aren’t seeing the full value in your presentations? Then get ruthless with your Closes.  The other guy- the traditional salesperson is still packing the same 20–slide PowerPoint deck that painfully takes every POC through a list of irrelevant features, benefits and case-studies about their offering?  Relevance sells. Use our process. Focus on what’s relevant.  And clearly connect your probing to this POC’s critical pains

I could fill a book with the blame piled on POCs by sellers operating on auto pilot.  But you’ve got my message. Watch where you point that finger.

KEEP re-inventing yourself
The pace of change today is so fast I often feel like I’m hanging on by my finger nails.  No matter how good we are today, we must continuously look for ways to build on our success if we want to be good tomorrow.

Regularly review your results against your activity.  Leverage those activities that deliver.  And dump those that don’t.  In 2009 I took one of my training exercises and applied it to my own business. I did an analysis of where my new business was coming from.  Over 75% came from my network and cold calling.  So in 2010 I put considerably more energy into these two activities.  I saw a 400% increase in revenue in 2010.  Coincidence?

Watch and learn from other great sellers.  While I read a lot of books, articles and blogs on selling and business, some of my most profound learning has come from listening to, or being with talented sales pros.  Talk with our top sales people,  use our sales meetings to learn about their successes – the results and, more importantly, the activities that have led to these results. 

Learn from sales pros calling on different industries. My personal sales capability grew exponentially when I started doing this.  If you rely solely on sales techniques that have been handed down by just me, you’re at risk of getting stuck in a rut and mistaking the sides of that rut for the horizon. Reach out to other sales leaders and trainers. Here at TeleArk you have Abbey, Jori and Jo all super star sales professionals, you have the Sandler Tapes, and you have the ‘Best of Associate Tapes, these articles and Sandler Briefs. There is more too, your book store is loaded with books and tapes:

Recommend Reading List

"Education is not filling a basket, but lighting a fire..”
-          William Butler Yeats

  SALES        

            Managing Major Sales............................................ Neil Rackham &Richard Ruff

            Getting into Your Customers Head..........................  Kevin Davis

            Selling to The Top.................................................. David Peoples

            Power Base Selling................................................ Jim Holden

            Major Account Sales Strategy..................................Neil Rackham

            Stop Selling - Start Partnering................................. Larry Wilson

            Strategic Selling.................................................... Robert Miler & Stephen Heiman

            BrainSell................................................................Buzan & Israel

            Selling the Dream...................................................Guy Kawasaki

            Relationship Selling............................................... Jim Cathcart

            Close the Deal.......................................................Sam Deep

            Changing the Game - The New Way to Sell...........   Larry Wilson

            Be Your Own Sales Manager................................. Tony Alessandra

            Business By Referral..............................................Ivan R. Misner & Robert Davis

            1,001 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back……    Donna Greiner & Theodore Kinni

            Universal Laws of Success…………………………      Brian Tracy

            Delivering Knock-Your-Socks- Off Service………..      Ron Zemke

NEGOTIATING

            Negotiate To Close................................................   Chester/ Guy Karrass

            Dealmaker..............................................................   Robert Lawrence Kuhn

            The Art of Negotiating............................................    Gerald Nierenberg

            Getting to Yes........................................................   Fisher, Ury & Patton

            Power of Nice.........................................................   Ronald Shapiro

SALES MANAGEMENT

            Smart Moves For People In Charge......................      Sam Deep & Lyle Sussman

            Power Tools............................................................ Sam Deep & Lyle Sussman

            A Passion for Excellence......................................... Tom Peters & Nancy Austin

            Focus..................................................................... Al Reis

            Zapp!......................................................................  William Byham & Jeff Cox

            The Fifth Discipline................................................... Peter Senge

            The Charisma Factor........................................          R. Richardson & S. K.Thayer

            Sales Coaching.......................................................  Linda Richardson

            The Vest-Pocket CEO.............................................. Alexander Hiam

            The Greatest Management Principle in the World.....    Michael LeBeouff

            How to Win Customers and Keep Them For Life......     Michael LeBeouff

            Leadership Is An Art.................................................  Max Depree

            Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun..........................   Wess Roberts

            … All One-Minute books...........................................   Ken Blancher

            Management Challenges For The 21st Century.........      Peter F. Drucker

            Managing.................................................................   Harold Geneen

            Entrepreneurial Transitions.......................................     Roy Commarono

            The Art of Japanese Management...............................   R. Pascale & Anthony Athos

            The Art of Being Boss................................................  Robert Schoenberg

            Strategic Choices......................................................   Ed Primozic

Automation Equation.................................................   Timothy McManon

            Genderflex.................................................................  Judith Tingley

            What They Don’t Teach At Harvard Business School...     Mark McCormack

            Swim With The Sharks...............................................   Harvey Mackay

            Smart Hiring...............................................................   Robert Wendover

            The E-Myth.................................................................  Michael Gerber

            The E-Myth Revisited...................................................  Michael Gerber

            The Great Game of Business........................................  Jack Stack

            The Achievers.............................................................  Raymond Johnson

            7 Habits of Highly Effective (all)..................................... Stephen Covey

            Principle-Centered Leadership....................................    Stephen Covey

            First Things First.......................................................... Stephen Covey

            Managing For Results.................................................   Peter  F. Drucker

            The Effective Executive..............................................     Peter F. Drucker

            The ABC of Successful Leadership..............................    Raymond L. Wenderlich

            Celebrating Success.................................................     Gerard Smith

            The Team Coach…………………………………                 Donna Deeprose

            Coaching and Counseling…………………………….           Marianne Minor

            Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hum……………..             Wiss Roberts

PEOPLE SKILLS & HUMAN RELATIONS

            The New Way to Compete............................................. Harry Olson

            The 8 Keys To Becoming Wildly Successful & Happy...... Harry Olson

            How to Raise Your Self-Esteem...................................   Nathaniel Brandon

            COMEX: the Communications Experience in H.R.........     Sam Deep & Lyle Sussman

            First Child, Second Child..............................................  Wilson & Edgington

            How to Win Friends and Influence People.....................    Dale Carnegie

            Dealing With People You Can’t Stand………………..        Rick Brinkman & Rick Kirshner

            Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive…..       Harvey Mackay

NLP BOOKS (Neuro Linguistic Programing)

            Unlimited Power......................................................       Tony Robins

            Frogs Into Princes......................................................    Bandler & Grindler

            The Art of Business Reports.........................................  Michael Brooks

            Modern Persuasion Strategies....................................    Donald Moine & John Herd

TA BOOKS  (Transactional Analysis)

            Born to Win..............................................................     Dorothy Jongeward

            The OK Boss..............................................................   Murial James

            I’m OK, You’re OK........................................................ Tom & Amy Harris

            Staying OK.................................................................. Tom & Amy Harris

            Games People Play...................................................... Eric Berne

            TA  For Management....................................................  Theodore Novey

            Everybody Wins: TA Applied to Organizations................  Dorothy Jongeward

            Choosing Success......................................................   Jongeward & Philip Seyer

            Scripts People Live......................................................  Claude Steiner

            Personal Power……………………………………..              Anthony Robbins

MYERS BRIGSS BOOKS

            Gifts Differing...............................................................  Isabel Briggs Myers

            Type Talk..................................................................... Otto Kroeger & James Thuesen

            It Takes All Types.......................................................... Alan Brownsword

DISC BOOKS

            The Universal Language DISC....................................     Bill Bonnstter

CREATIVITY AND HIGHER SELF ACTUALIZATION

            A Whack on The Side of The Head..............................    Roger von Oech

            A Kick In The Seat Of The Pants..................................   Roger von Oech

            Whole - Brain Thinking.................................................  Wonder & Donovan

            The Creative Brain.......................................................   Ned Herrmann

            Six Thinking Hats.........................................................  Edward De Bono

            The Artist’s Way........................................................... Julia Cameron & Mark Byran

            Creativity In Business.................................................... Michael Ray & Rochelle Myers

            99% Inspiration..........................................................    Byran Mattimore

            Atlas Shrugged (Philosophical)...................................     Ayn Rand

            The Fountainhead (Philosophical)................................     Ayn Rand

            Yesterday  I Cried......................................................... Iganal Vazant

            The Dynamic Law of Prosperity.....................................  Catherine Pounder

            Dare to Prosper...........................................................  Catherine Pounder

            You Can’t Afford The Luxury Of A Negative Thought.....     John Roger & Petter Williams

            Handbook To Higher Consciousness...........................     Ken Keyes Jr.

            The Art Of Happiness.................................................... Dalia Lama

            Ethics For the 21st Century........................................... Dalia Lama

            This Thing Called You...................................................  Ernest Holmes

            Seven Laws of Success................................................  Deepak Chopra

            Men Are From Venus - Women Are From mars..............  John Gray

            Beauty Fades - Dumb Is Forever..................................   Judge Judy Scheindlin

            Don’t Pee On MY Leg And Tell Me It Is Raining..............  Judge Judy Scheindlien

            The Dolphin Story Of A Dreamer..................................    Sergio Bambaren

            The Celestine Prophecy.............................................     James Redfiled

            The !0 Commandments.................................................  Dr Laura Schlesinger

AUTOBIOGRAPHIES / BIOGRAPHIES OF PEOPLE AND COMPANIES  

            Peak Performance....................................................     Charles Garfield

            The Young Millionaires.................................................. Lawrence & Armor

            The Millionaire Next Door.............................................   Thomas J. Stanley           

            Chutzpah..................................................................    Alan Derschwitz

            Work In Progress.......................................................... Michael Eisner

            Infinite Loop................................................................   Michael S Maler

Behind The Golden Arches.........................................    John F Love

            The Disney Touch.......................................................   Ron Grower

            Seven Super Marketers...............................................   Robert Heller

            It Takes A Hero............................................................  General H Norm Schwarzkof

            The Force (Xerox)........................................................   David Dorsey

Auto pilot is an extremely valuable tool.  In airplanes.  But if your sales career is on full-time auto pilot, it’s time to take a step back and grab hold of those controls.