893 words. Abstract: All new sales hires are chosen for their talent and expected to succeed, yet the frustration as to why some fail to produce goes on and on. Before you have to cut more underperformers loose, consider the potential impact of sales operations.

Some salespeople do well in your organization, and some don’t. Why the difference? The more important question may be what can you do about the ones who are limping along? Could Sales Operations make a difference?

Not just sales managers, but all company executives want a smooth running sales operation. When revenue is unpredictable and fluctuates from month to month, management is hard for everybody. Frustration, poor decisions, finger-pointing, and waste are often the result. With steady sales, operations gains productivity and efficiency. The whole company gains stability, growth, and profits.

An Important Meating
In departments other than sales, operations are often process-driven and focused. The result is lean and efficient production. I was struck by the power of strong operations during a ride-along with a sales rep.

We arrived for our early afternoon appointment at a meat packing plant near Green Bay Wisconsin. As we pulled past the gate and approached the visitor parking area, we passed a long line of semi trucks hauling cattle up to the loading docks. A few semis passed us going in the other direction, pulling their empty trailers out through the gate.

Once inside, we met with the controller. As he began describing their operation, he casually mentioned “We process 2,800 head a day.” I didn’t hear what he said for the next several minutes because I was doing math. 2,800 a day… that’s about 115 cattle “processed” each hour. That seemed like a really big number to me. And tons of work — literally. They must have developed great processes for each employee in the back to use. And the director of operations would make sure each production employee used the SAME process. That’s where their productivity, efficiency and profits come from.

Divide and Conquer
I didn’t get to see what went on back there, but I’m pretty sure no one employee did everything. In other words, there was a team of people, each with different roles, who did specific parts of the process from the time the cattle arrived at the loading dock until the time the “finished goods” were loaded into refrigeration trucks at the other side of the building. A process is involved, but no one person handles every part of the process.

The concept of a process for selling is nothing new. However, it may be a mistake to expect the salesperson to handle every part of the sales process.

Many companies expect to hire the Swiss Army knife salesperson who can find the lead, respond to the RFP, create the presentation, do the demonstration, close the sale, and train the customer on use of the product. Sales Operations enables selling to be treated more like a multi-part production operation, where one person — the salesperson — is not expected to do three or more jobs. Instead, Sales Operations supports many functions of the selling process so that salespeople they can focus on what they do best: manage customer interactions.

Avoiding Sales Productivity Killers
It’s the distractions and job corruption that kill sales productivity. For example, new products are often released to the salespeople with the requisite brochures and spec sheets and some training from the product manager. From there, each salesperson is often left to figure out how to succeed in selling it. If you have 50 salespeople, there may be 50 different approaches taken in the field. Some of these approaches will succeed, and others will fail.

We were launching a powerful and complex ERP software system that would enable our customers to better run their businesses. Before turning the product over to the salespeople, we asked ourselves, “How can we make this product…

• easy to present,
• simple to understand,
• memorable for customers
• and compelling to buy?”

We developed a day-in-the-life scenario of how a business would use this software in their daily operation, and wrote a storyline that was brought to life through demonstration of the software. This would make it easy for buyers to understand how our software would help them solve their real-world problems. To make the presentation even more memorable, we grouped the software’s capabilities into seven primary functions and created a visual icon for each. After this approach was prototyped by the Sales Operations Group and proven to convert customers, it was rolled out to the Sales team.

As a result, this winning demo format was easy for the salespeople to learn and deliver in a powerful, memorable and compelling way. More importantly, it was easy for buyers to understand and remember why our software stood head and shoulders above our competition. Instead of each salesperson having to come up with their own presentation formula, the results of the work of a few in Sales Operations was multiplied across the entire sales department.

The Surgical Suggestion
If you have talented salespeople that fail to produce, they may not be broken. It’s more likely that you’re just asking them to do too many things. Consider how top talent in other arenas has support:

• Musicians have roadies
• Race car drivers have pit crews
• Doctors have nurses

If you’re looking for more consistent and efficient production from your salespeople, cut away some of their duties and hand them over to a Sales Operations group. Even your top talent will be more productive if they don’t have to go it alone.

© 2010 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson is an award-winning sales manager who explains the six competencies of the sales operations manager at http://salesoperations.us. He has gotten great results for some big players like Siebel Systems (Oracle), ADP and Akzo Nobel and works with medium to large corporate sales teams.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

A Question for your Comments: When did dividing a project or process into separate components cause everyone to be more productive?

1,085 words. Abstract: Billy Mays is dead, but his simple selling system lives on. Employ the single difference that made this pitchman a millionaire.

The late Billy Mays could teach us all a few things about selling. We saw him on TV infomercials selling OxiClean, Mighty Putty, the Awesome Auger, and more. Billy Mays made millions of dollars because he understood how to Bally the Tip, Nod Them In, the importance of The Turn, and the Chill-Down. Do you?

Billy Mays was proud to call himself a pitchman. He understood who bought his products, and why. Vince Offer is another well-known pitchman, and he’s cleaning up selling his ShamWow chamois cloths. These pitchmen are truly celebrity salesmen, known on sight and, often, by just the sounds of their voices. While we may consider them corny, pushy hucksters whose style we would never want to duplicate, most of us would be happy to duplicate their results, at least where dollar signs are involved.

Uncommonly Simple
Their simple selling system can help us all sell more products, more services, and even more of our ideas. Most salespeople are much less effective than these celebrity salesmen. These pitchmen sell more, and they sell faster. You’ll never reach celebrity salesman (or saleswoman) status unless you’re prepared to do one thing.

Sales people think preparation means learning all about the product. They think preparation means learning the sales process inside and out. They think it means doing research on their prospect, and choosing in advance what questions they want to ask. While celebrity salesmen do all these things, too, they do one more thing; they prepare to lead.

Billy Mays learned on the Atlantic City Boardwalk that buyers want to be lead. From the moment pitchmen like Billy Mays open their mouths, they make sure you understand he’s talking to YOU, that he understands the problems you have and, most importantly, he has the perfect solution. When you feel like you are understood, you place more confidence in the salesperson, and you are more willing to trust them to lead you to a successful conclusion, which we call the sale.

Whether it’s firing a flaming fastball or performing the perfect pirouette, professionals execute the seemingly simple with ease. Celebrity salesmen like Vince Offer use a simple system to sell, and they make it look easy. I encourage you to try their simple system, but don’t be surprised if you find it hard to do it well.

1. Bally the Tip
Bally means gather, and Tip refers to a crowd or audience, so Bally the Tip means gather the crowd. Why did Billy Mays seem like he was shouting at you? To get your attention and create a sense of urgency so that you would turn away from whatever it was you were doing. But volume is not enough. That first sentence has got to draw you in, much like the headline on the front page of a newspaper. It’s got to relate to you on a personal level so you want to hear what comes next.

To maintain the Tip, a pitchman has to create interest. He does this with ease because he understands who the customers for his product are so very well that he makes you feel like he’s speaking directly to you. “Have you ever tried to remove ugly mildew stains from your shower walls, only to give up in frustration many wasted hours later?” He understands your pain, and you pray that he brings relief.

2. Nod Them In
When the pitchman asks a question like the one above, he expects to see people nodding their heads. He asks still more questions that hit the crowd right where they live. The frequency and intensity of the nodding rises, and the crowd draws closer to him. Each question not only improves the pitchman’s credibility, but also intensifies desire for the solution.

Often two other techniques are used to heighten desire. Creating a sense of scarcity creates a sense of urgency. Wouldn’t it be terrible if your hesitancy to buy forced you to leave with your problem unsolved and your needs unfulfilled? You better buy NOW before they run out! There’s no time to “think it over.”

The second technique is to use testimonials. If other people are obviously having success with the product, it stands to reason you will, too. Then the herd mentality will take over and a feeding frenzy can begin.

3. The Turn
Now it’s time to ask the Tip for their money. Celebrity salesmen make it clear what they’re selling, but the Tip does not want the product. What they want is to be lead by the pitchman to the answer, and the pitchman reveals the minor investment for the perfect solution. But wait. . .  there’s more! Bonuses push the perceived value even higher, and people are now waiving $20 bills in the air and yelling, “Do ME, do ME!”

4. The Chill-Down
It’s time for action. The celebrity salesman has asked for the order, and it’s time to clean up. The Chill-Down is about completing transactions and fulfilling orders as fast and cleanly as possible so nobody leaves empty handed. Everybody goes away excited and happy, and the celebrity salesman is ready to do it again.

But wait… there’s more! If you’d like to take a deeper dive and learn more about the world of pitchmen like Billy Mays, you’ll enjoy listening to this podcast and related transcript titled, “Pitch Perfect”.

Get the Lead Out
Professional pitchmen make it look easy, but they’ve already worked hard to do the research on the market and craft their presentation into a light, tight, efficient package. Then they test it, tweak it, and deliver it over and over, reworking it to get the dead weight out until the results more than justify their investment in preparation. Celebrity salesmen can make more sales in 10 minutes than most salespeople make all week.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your customer wants to lead during the buy/sell interchange. In reality, most buyers want to be led to a solution with speed, ease and confidence. To join the ranks of celebrity salesmen, you’ll need to assume the customer wants to be led unless they clearly indicate otherwise.

While you may never be hawking products on TV or the Atlantic City Boardwalk, there’s no reason you can’t learn from professional pitchmen and become a celebrity salesman (or saleswoman) within your industry. When that happens, I’m sure you’ll be happy to clean up.

© 2009 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson of Shortcuts to Results LLC collects business shortcuts and shows people how to find and apply them for performance improvement at http://ShortcutsToResults.com. Learn how to become a niche marketing expert at http://NicheExpert.com.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

A Question for your Comments: When have you witnessed an amazing performance by a professional pitchman or pitchwoman, and what made it amazing?

The state of Nebraska encouraged online voting to choose the design of its new license plate. The www.CollegeHumor.com editors got wind of it and encouraged its readers to vote… for the most boring license plate. The power of that crowd pushed the plain plate entry to the top… until state officials figured out what was going on and disqualified those votes.  Details at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090523/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_boring_license_plates

This is another example why testimonials are so important to your success. People will like you and your business more when others like you, too. Take care of each customer, generate goodwill, and then harvest testimonials so that you can spread the good word… about you.  www.TestimonialLetters.com

923 words. Abstract: When your customers want to think it over, it's only natural. Take away three approaches that enable you to leverage human nature and help them buy now instead of later.

Why do we always want the very thing we can't have?

Perhaps you've gone to the airport to discover your gate is the very last one at the far end of the terminal. After schlepping your bags to your gate and taking a seat, you realize you passed the last restroom two blocks back. Suddenly you have an insatiable urge to go to the bathroom.

Perhaps you've been scheduled for some medical tests that require you to eat nothing beforehand. From the moment you wake up that morning until those blasted tests are over, everything you see reminds you of a doughnut.

The Nature of Now
This basic human nature can help us sell more products and services if we put it to good use. We know that buyers procrastinate. For those of us who grew up in the United States, we have been conditioned to expect a world of abundance. We believe we can get whatever we need whenever we need it. Even when what we're selling is perfect for our customer, they will often delay the purchase to "think it over" or "sleep on it." The reality is that people who don't buy now often won't buy later, either. Buyers who delay purchases create longer sales cycles, reduced sales volume, and higher cost of sales. When we let customers assume that our product will always be available when needed, a sale is rarely the reward.

Gasoline is almost always in plentiful supply, yet even a rumor of a shortage creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. People run out and wait in long lines to top off their tanks and create the very shortage they fear. The fear of scarcity creates a buying frenzy.

You can develop your own marketing strategy to leverage this basic human nature and create a buying frenzy for your products or services. The key to intensifying desire is to take away something folks believe they already have.

Know Your Limits
The first approach is to limit availability of the offering. After your prospect has sold themselves emotionally, you need to help them understand that you may not be able to deliver if they don't buy now. Likewise, if you sell a service instead of a product, your customers can't expect to enjoy your service until your people are available to deliver them.

The Apple iPhone was heavily promoted before it was released. Because availability was limited, people were willing to get to stores early and stand in long lines to make sure they got theirs before the supply ran out. Likewise, retail stores routinely offer specials in limited supply on the Friday after Thanksgiving to get people lined up outside their doors at ridiculous hours of the early morning.

Whether you're selling a product or a service, it's important to first make sure the customer does indeed want to buy what you're offering. The next step is to "take away" the offer by explaining why you may not be able to deliver in a timely fashion if they delay their decision. Intense desire and commitment is often the result.

The End is Near
Another approach is to take away a special price or promotion. For example, perhaps you can include a special promotional item to the first 100 people who buy. Or, you could have a sale that ends at the end of the week. While sales and promotions do erode profit margins, they can successfully move some buyers to action as the popularity of this method attests.

A third approach may prove especially useful in this age of Internet shopping. If online shoppers discover that your product is in short supply, they can easily keep looking for a merchant who can deliver. Likewise, if your special promotion ended yesterday, they can keep looking for someone who's having a sale today. Procrastination continues. To capture these buyers, it's important that you not only sell them on your core product or service, but also on one other thing.

Create a special bonus that you can readily provide that they can't get anywhere else. Perhaps it's a free training video, or access to insider information, or a promotional item you had custom-made to go with the core offer. With a special hook like this, they can't afford to buy anywhere else unless they really don't want your special bonus.

One thing YOU can't afford to do is lie. Make sure your product supply or service availability is indeed limited; could you "sell out" if a big order came in tomorrow? Stick to the ending dates on your sales and promotions. Ensure that your special bonus is unique to you. While it's OK to leverage human nature, it wrong to make stuff up to manipulate your customers.

Tomorrow Never Comes
The "take-away" technique has been a selling standard for decades. You can increase the power of this technique and further leverage human nature by designing your take-aways into your product marketing plan. Make sure you're supporting your salespeople with everything they need to help buyers sell themselves. Then, before prospects have a chance to say, "Let me think it over," prepare to take away your product or service, your price or promotion, or your special bonus. Or, better yet, all three.

It's foolhardy to assume that just because you can solve a customer's problem today means they'll actually buy today. Remember that point the next time your cable goes out and you discover an unquenchable lust for that 24-hour Three Stooges marathon. You can't fight human nature. Fortunately, neither can your customers.

© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson is Founder of Consultative Selling. He works with organizations like ADP, Nortel Networks and AutoNation. Discover the application and definition of Consultative Selling at http://ConsultativeSelling.com. Learn about public sales training courses at http://PublicSalesTraining.com.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

A Question for your Comments: When has one of your close advisers pushed you to make a decision you knew you should make?

1,188 words. Abstract: Learn how to prevent prospects from "going dark" and becoming unresponsive to your calls and emails. Take a lesson from your favorite action-adventure movie and avoid selling failures.

It has almost become a movie cliché. The bad guys capture our hero, and they want information. Our hero (think "Indiana Jones") knows that if he gives them the information they demand, they'll kill him. Instead, he concocts a plan to lead his captors along a roundabout route to what they want. Along the way, Jones is executing another secret plan to ensure that he gets what he wants, which includes his own life and often much more. Each step of the way, Indiana convinces the bad guys that they're getting closer and closer to the payoff. But Indiana must be careful; if he gives up too much information, his captors will believe they don't need him anymore. And he dies.

Collateral Damage
I see salespeople routinely do this: they put together a folder with every piece of literature they have and give it to the prospect at the first meeting. Then they wonder why they never hear from the prospect again.

Perhaps you've experienced death by selling in much the same way. I suppose it's fortunate that only the deal, and not you, dies. When a hot lead captures our attention and demands our information, we don't want to chance antagonizing the buyer so we give them everything they ask for to keep them happy. Then when we contact the buyer to gauge their level of interest, they are unresponsive. Emails are ignored. Voicemails are unreturned. Our deal is dead, or is it? No, we'll probably spend time and energy trying to track down and follow up with these people, not knowing if they have delayed the decision, lost interest in our offer, or bought from a competitor. We'll continue to waste resources chasing this prospect. The prospect never actually kills us, but we die of starvation trying to chase their ghost.

Time to Sell
Information is the ONLY thing that makes you, the salesperson, of value to prospects. To avoid death by selling, don't give it away too easily. All sales require time to be cultivated, whether that's hours, weeks or months. The proper flow of information is necessary to nurture the business relationship and harvest the sale. Solving this information flow problem will help you avoid wasted efforts, lost revenues, and worthless forecasts.

Like Indiana Jones, selling (s)heroes need to create a plan to give buyers (not really "bad guys") what they want while sellers get what they deserve. The plan begins with taking inventory of all the information you have that your buyers may need or want to help them make a positive decision. This might include specifications, case studies, articles, white papers, pricing, brochures, demonstrations… you get the idea. Decide what you're willing to give away readily, which items you'll hold back for later, and which items you'll make your prospects beg for. Consider when in the buying cycle each inventory item best fits; some may be needed early, and some fit better at the end.

Access the Mystery
The best information to give away early is that which is enticing and creates intrigue. How would Indiana Jones do this? He would produce half a map written in some ancient language that only he understood. Now Indiana's captors have "proof" that the treasure exists, and Indiana is their best chance for finding it since, now more than ever, they don't believe they can get to it on their own. Entice your prospects into believing you have access to the answers while not telling them the answers too soon.

Every time you want to contact the prospect, you now have a reserve of information that will make your calls and inquiries valuable to the prospect. Instead of being the pest who keeps calling and asking, "Have you made a decision yet?" you can be the stand-out salesperson who continually offers helpful suggestions. For instance, you might offer, "If you're having trouble getting everybody on board with this decision, perhaps you'd like to show your folks the research document our company prepared in tandem with State University. Would that help you?" If you routinely have something new to share with every phone call or e-mail, your prospects will look forward to hearing from you, and you'll be the one they get back to first. You'll stay alive to sell another day.

Show and Sell
Your most valuable information is that which is better shown than sent. You want opportunities for one-on-one interactions with your prospect. The best interactions are face-to-face, followed by webinars, and then telephone. When you ship a document to a prospect or send a link to a video to them, you have no way of getting real-time feedback. You don't know if your contribution has helped you or not. When you have something of value, insist on showing it to your prospect; don't succumb to their insistence that you just send it. If you do, you're about to step into that pit full of snakes. You do have a choice; remember, most death by selling is self-inflicted.

When Marketing Hurts
While managing prospects can be challenging, your biggest fights may come from inside your organization. If the marketing department is killing you, you need to defend yourself.

The evolution of the Internet has fostered a self-service mentality. Many of us go online daily to find information and make purchases. E-commerce is a proven model that works well in many markets. However, your company has salespeople for a reason. Some aspect of the purchasing process requires human intervention. If that wasn't the case, believe me, your company would mirror Amazon.com and do away with the sales department and your job in a heartbeat. But apparently that's not the case where you work.

Often the marketing department creates issues for the sales organization by taking every piece of sales-related information and putting it on the company website. Everything is now conveniently accessible to your prospects. Right or wrong, prospects BELIEVE that if they have ALL the information, they can make a good decision on their own without the "interference" of a salesperson.

If your website has become marketing's Swiss Army knife, death by selling will come sooner for you.

Together on a Selling Path
This is a great opportunity for sales and marketing to come together for a common goal: to acquire and serve customers. We routinely see this happen when we work together with clients to map the selling paths that support their prospects' buying process and yet enable acceleration of the sales process.

At the core, escaping death by selling is about having a plan for how information will be disseminated to prospects, and when. We wouldn't have much of a movie if Indiana Jones said too much and was killed in the first scene. If it's not crystal clear to you what you should hold back and what you can give up early, you've got more planning to do. Sellers and prospects both have a better chance of getting what they want when control of information isn't handed over to the prospect prematurely. When prospects believe you always have more to give, you're assured of a long and healthy selling career.

© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson is Founder of Consultative Selling. He works with organizations like ADP, Nortel Networks and AutoNation. Discover the application and definition of Consultative Selling at http://ConsultativeSelling.com. Learn about public sales training courses at >http://PublicSalesTrainin
g.com.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

A Question for your Comments: What sales aids do you find are most powerful to SHOW your prospect?

865 words. Abstract: While seldom labeled "negotiating," give and take opportunities are abundant in the everyday work world. Learn this simple negotiating technique so you can give up less and get more of what you want, whether there’s money involved or not.

As I look around my basement, I realize that maybe I’m hanging on to too much stuff. When I trade for goods and services (some call that "negotiating"), I realize I’m also pretty good at hanging on to my profit when I’m the seller, and my money when I’m the buyer. How good are you at hanging on to what you already have? One simple technique can make you much better at it.

This works even when no money is trading hands. Perhaps just your time is involved. Maybe your boss wants you to take on "just one more thing." Or you’ve been scheduled for one more meeting. Pretty soon you’re overwhelmed and kicking yourself for saying "Yes" a few too many times. Maybe you can’t say "No" either, but there is another option.

Bad Negotiating Exemplified
Let’s imagine for a moment you’re a seller engaged in a dialog with a potential buyer that goes like this:

• Buyer: "You’re higher than your competition. What can you do when you sharpen your pencil?"
• Seller: "I am authorized to match our competition’s price."
• Buyer: "Great! Unfortunately, I see your standard shipping is 2 weeks, and I need it on Tuesday. Can you do that?"
• Seller: "I can expedite shipping for you. You can have it by Tuesday if you order now."
• Buyer: "Nice! But I won’t be able to use it without the accessories kit. Will you include it at no charge if I buy?"
• Seller: "Sure, I’ll do that just for you, because you’re special."

Let’s stop our example there, although the dialog (and the concessions) certainly didn’t stop there. Notice that at no time did the Buyer commit to the purchase, despite the fact that the Seller has discounted away profit and increased costs by expediting shipping and giving away accessories. The Buyer is "on a roll"; why wouldn’t they keep asking for more concessions?

They will, because they are grinding, a negotiating technique that enables them to continue to sweeten the deal until they either take pity on the Seller and stop, or the Seller makes them stop.

A Fair Turn
Stopping a grinder is easy. Simply replace concessions with trades. Whenever you are asked to give something up, prepare to trade for something of perceived value.

When your boss asks you to do "just one more thing," ask what can come off your current projects list to make room for the new one. When one more meeting comes up, ask which deadline can be pushed back to accommodate the new unplanned need for your time. When your buyer asks for a price concession, ask for… well, what CAN you trade?

Bring In Your Trade-Offs
When negotiating, it can literally pay to be prepared. Anticipate the potential concession requests you may encounter. As a seller, you can prepare a list of possible trade-offs, which might include:

• Reduced feature set
• Slower (less expensive) shipping
• Accepting delivery (and making payment) sooner
• Faster payment terms
• Cash instead of credit
• Adding a "bonus" instead of reducing the price
• Increasing the order size
• Testimonial letter
• Referral to a new prospect
• Booking the order NOW

Being prepared is key. When the Buyer asks for a discount, the Seller better have something ready to trade. When your boss asks for "just one more thing," it helps to have that list of current projects ready so you can agree on which one to cross off or postpone. When you’re prepared, your dialog can sound like this:

• Buyer: "You’re higher than your competition. What can you do when you sharpen your pencil?"
• Seller: "I’d be happy to discuss reducing the price. Which features of my offer would you like me to delete so that I can deliver only what my competition is quoting?"
• Buyer: "Well, we need everything you’re quoting but, unfortunately, I see your standard shipping is 2 weeks, and I need it on Tuesday. Can you do that?"
• Seller: "I can give you expedited shipping to hit your Tuesday deadline for free, if we can increase your order quantities by 10% to hit our free shipping minimum."
• Buyer: "Well, OK, but I won’t be able to use ANY of it without the accessories kit. Will you include it at no charge if I buy?"
• Seller: "I’d love to do that to get a great new customer like you. Tell you what: if you buy now and agree to give me a glowing testimonial letter when you decide you’re thrilled with us, I’ll get the accessories kit included for you. Have we got a deal?"

Negotiating the Give and Take
When you make trades instead of concessions, you can walk away from both formal and impromptu negotiations with more of what you want. Notice that you never have to say "No"; you simply have to be prepared to say, "I’ll give you what you want if I can have what I want." Prepare, and become a trader that stops the grinding in day-to-day negotiations. You’ll find you’ll have more of what YOU want, including time to clean out your basement.

© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson the Trouble Breaker works with organizations to convert trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. Discover breakthrough concepts at http://ShortcutsToResults.com. Visit http://ConsultativeSelling.com for more insights about Consultative Selling.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

443 words. Abstract: If you ever find yourself saying, "Thank you for
your time," you’re creating issues for yourself that can damage
relationships. If you’re in sales, the costs are high. Learn the hidden
meanings in this seemingly safe phrase and what you can substitute to
improve your position.

It happened again, but I’m not surprised. As the insurance salesman was wrapping up our meeting, he shook my hand and said, "Thanks for your time." I thought to myself, "What a crime."

He was being polite, and I welcome that. He genuinely appreciated the time I devoted to our interaction. His thank-you was acknowledging the value of the time I had "spent" with him because we all know "time is money." Unfortunately he — like many of us — failed to notice the hidden meaning in that seemingly harmless phrase that subtly sabotages our sales.

Killer Questions
"Your time is valuable. Mine isn’t." That’s what you tell me when you say, "Thanks for your time." Apparently you have nothing better to do with YOUR time than talk with me.

• Could it be you’re not very good at your job, and people are rarely willing to talk with you?
• Might I wonder if you’re desperate for a sale?
• Are you less than busy because you or your offerings are inferior such that I’d be better off dealing with your competition?

All the energy and preparation you’ve expended to establish credibility with me, engender confidence, and establish the value of what you offer is subtly and suddenly diminished when you thank me for my time. After all, if you truly believe the services you offer are valuable, why would you say anything to imply your inferiority?

Decisions Rewarded
We can still be polite without compromising our position. Instead of thanking prospects for their time, we could thank them for something that will lead us closer to the sale. For instance, we could say:

• "Thanks for opting to meet with me."
• "Thanks for deciding to take a closer look at this opportunity."
• "Thank you for choosing to come to my office."

Ultimately we’re going to ask the prospect to make a buying decision. By thanking them for making a choice, you’re giving them verbal applause for their wise decision to meet with you. Plus, you are reinforcing the value of additional decisions you may suggest in the future. Thanking your prospects for making a choice improves your position with them instead of hindering it.

Serve Without Subservience
Always remember that what you offer is valuable, as is the time you commit to delivering the details that describe it. In the land where "all men are created equal," don’t commit the crime of forgetting that and reducing yourself to a subservient position by thanking others for their time. Compliment their decisions instead. You’ll maintain peer status with your buyer, elevate yourself to advisor status faster, and accelerate your sales success.

© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson is Founder of ConsultativeSelling.com and a keynote speaker. He works with organizations like ADP, Nortel Networks and AutoNation to convert sales trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. Learn how to apply Consultative Selling at http://ConsultativeSelling.com/.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

Two architects in Tokyo have a different take; they’ll let you use 20 slides, but only allow 20 seconds each! That’s right, you’re done in 6 minutes 40 seconds. Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham are credited by Wired Magazine with creating “pecha-kucha” (peh-CHAHCH-kuh), and it has taken off as a creative art form.  Local venues around the world are embracing Pecha-Kucha Nights, where volunteers can present their creative works, concepts and ideas using PowerPoint in the strictly-timed format. Right here in Atlanta, it’s at Octane Coffee Lounge. Some events are even structured as competitions, with prizes awarded to the fan favorite.

Who could have imagined that folks would VOLUNTARILY go to a club and sit through one PowerPoint presentation after another??!!  Yes, PowerPoint may still be the bane of meetings and the crutch of choice for poor presenters, but it’s clear that in the right hands it can be a powerful and engaging tool for selling ideas and much more.

PowerPoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

855 words. Abstract: If you need to hire a salesperson, these tips will reduce your risk of making a bad hire. Learn how the author, a veteran salesperson and award-winning sales manager, filters sales applicants. Discover how to identify the candidates who not only CAN sell, but WILL sell – for YOU.

If you’re looking for a successful salesperson to hire — a salesperson who not only CAN sell but WILL sell — look for a salesperson with PRIDE.

PRIDE is an acronym for 5 characteristics that will help ensure that the salesperson you hire will get the job done for you and make the revenue results you desire a reality.

PRIDE stands for:

•    Proven
•    Respectful
•    Innovative
•    Decisive
•    Enthusiastic

Proven
Proven refers to the candidate’s track record. Have they delivered results? More importantly, who else says so besides them? As you know, resumes can be fact, or they can be fiction. How can you tell the difference?

A person who has been successful producing results should be able to provide you with third party proof. Have the candidate bring in their sales awards, including plaques, trophies and pictures from the trips they’ve earned. Have them show you the stack-ranked sales reports showing their name at or near the top of the field.

More importantly, what do their customers have to say about them? Can the candidate produce testimonial letters from their customers, indicating they were satisfied with the buying experience? Candidates should be able to furnish written recommendations proving that they were able to deliver tangible results.

Respectful
Salespeople should approach being Respectful from two positions. First, they need to be respectful of others. Careful listeners, these salespeople would never be regarded as pushy because they take the time to hear their prospects out. They keep their egos in check, remembering that everyone can make a valuable contribution in their own way and that other team members deserve respect, too.

Second, your salespeople need to respect themselves. Expect them to have a quiet confidence in their own abilities, and a strong desire to use their time, talents, and skills to produce optimal results. They’ll respect their health, physical needs, and family commitments, and as a result be refreshed, well-balanced, and ready for work each day.

Self-respect allows salespeople to be assertive, ensuring that they won’t allow themselves to be used as a doormat by prospects who want to waste their time or abuse a relationship.

Innovative
An Innovative salesperson is a problem-solver. They’re able to quickly assess a prospect’s situation, and then come up with an approach to help the prospect accomplish their objectives. Reactive salespeople need not apply. Proactive salespeople spontaneously look for ways to do the job better, to improve on past successes, to show better results even faster than before.

Innovative salespeople are easy to manage, because they don’t require instructions. They’re pretty much point and shoot; give them an objective to aim for, and they can creatively approach obstacles and move past them.

Because they are innovative, they tend to look at the world through fresh eyes, and hence have a good sense of humor. A willingness to be playful and funny is a good clue that you’re talking with an innovator. Good news! Your buyers would prefer to do business with someone who can make them chuckle and lighten up their day.

Decisive
A Decisive salesperson can make up their mind. They have effective critical thinking skills that allow them to rapidly size up a situation and decide how to best approach it. Decisiveness is truly important for a salesperson, for how can they expect the buyer to make a decision when they can’t make one themselves?

Decisiveness is often related to owning a clear set of key moral values. It’s easy for salespeople to consistently do the right thing when it’s clear to them what the right thing is. You want decisive salespeople who know when to walk away from a bad deal, and can separate good prospects from the time-wasters.

Enthusiastic
Enthusiastic salespeople have become a cliché for all the wrong reasons. Enthusiasm must be more than an induced rush spawned by a rah-rah motivational pep talk. If you want enthusiasm that lasts, you need to find salespeople who are eager to help your customers.

You want salespeople who are excited about what they do and how they do it, so their curiosity is stimulated and they are inspired to continually learn on their own. Enthusiasm comes from believing that you can make a difference, that you can improve someone’s situation when they do business with you.

Enthusiastic salespeople are motivated when they understand the strategy that will help them succeed, when they have access to all the tools they need to allow them to do their job and serve the customer, and when tactical training is available to allow them to skillfully serve the customer as well as the company. Enthusiastic salespeople have every right to believe they can win. And they do.

Hire a Compete Package
From the salesperson’s perspective, PRIDE is about feeling good about your job. It’s about believing in yourself and your ability to deliver. It’s about enjoying yourself, helping the customer, and making the most of your God-given talents and abilities. It’s about recognizing individual contributions and abilities while respecting the value of the team. When you hire salespeople with PRIDE, you, your salespeople, and your customers all win.

© 2007 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About The Author:
Paul Johnson is Founder of ConsultativeSelling.com. He works with organizations like ADP, Nortel Networks and AutoNation to convert sales trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. Discover the application and definition of Consultative Selling at http://consultativeselling.com/

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.

In “In the Details: 10 Territory Management Tips for Better Results” on page 34, I share strategies that I developed when I sold in a geographic territory by car. Here are a couple of my tips that you’ll find in the Selling Power article.

Divide your territory into four quadrants and assign a day of the week to each one, Monday through Thursday. Make calls in Quadrant 1 on Monday, Quadrant 2 on Tuesday, and so on. Use Friday as a flex day for catch-up, telephone work, and “emergency” appointments. Using this approach, you’ll spend less time in your car and more time in front of prospects.

Be careful about chasing so-called “hot” leads.  You want to book appointments with prospects on the days that you’re planning to be in their quadrant.  During your initial telephone conversation with a prospect, evaluate them against these 3 criteria:

• Do they want what you sell?
• Do they have the ability to effectively use your product or service?
• Is there a compelling event with a time deadline?

Only if the answer to all 3 questions is “Yes” should you consider deviating from your quadrant planning.

Here’s a tip that didn’t make the article: buy a car with a sunroof. While you’re at an appointment, the sun can turn your locked-up car into a sauna. When jumping in and out of my car while making stops all day, I leave my sunroof open and the windows up. When I return to my car, the inside is no hotter than the outside temp, and it’s easier to keep cool between appointments. I’ve done this for years and no one has ever bothered my car (keep valuables out of sight, lock the doors) and no flyover bird has ever blessed my interior.

You can buy the September 2007 issue of Selling Power and other back issues at http://www.sellingpower.com/magazine/archive/. Currently, they’re just $5 each.