SOCOM Sales Tips » Featured

The Right Voice-Mail Message Will Get You Through

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:43:00 +0000

Today, nobody seems to be around to answer their phones. You spend time cold calling, and all you get are voice-mail messages. You know people don’t bother calling back if they think it’s a sales call.

Because I kept running into this situation, I decided I had to leave a voice-mail message that would encourage prospects to call back. I found the best results came when I called people who are members of identifiable groups like the Chamber of Commerce. I could reference the group and gain some legitimacy for my call. My message goes something like this:

“I was looking at the Chamber membership list and saw your company’s listing, and I was wondering exactly what your company does. Please give me a call back.”

Most prospects can’t resist this opportunity to talk about their favorite thing–their company–so they call me back. Now I’ve made contact, and my next task is to build rapport. I ask several questions about their company,what they do and how they do it. I never start talking about my company’s products and services unless they ask. I keep the focus on the prospects. By the end of the conversation, one of three things has happened:

I’ve established enough rapport so I can call these prospects back and be reasonably certain they will take my call.
The prospects express interest in my products and services, and I may be able to sell them something right away.
The prospects give me a referral.

From: SalesDoctors Magazine | January 1999

No Motivation? It’s Costing Your Company

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Motivation is not enough. If you motivate an idiot, all you have is a motivated idiot.

Education alone is not enough either. Many “educated” individuals achieve very little on or off the job. They know what to do, and they know how to do it. The problem is they’re not motivated enough to do much about it.

The Gallup organization once analyzed its massive database and determined that about half (55 percent) of today’s employees have no enthusiasm for their work. Gallup labeled these people as “not engaged.” In other words, they didn’t have much loyalty to their organization or much desire to improve their job performance. It found that one in five (19 percent) were so negative about their jobs that they actually poisoned the workplace. In fact, when those employees called in sick, their organizations were more productive and efficient.

You may think, “Big deal. So what if some of our employees are not fully motivated?” But it is a big deal. Their lack of motivation is costing your organization big bucks.

Gallup estimated that if companies could get 3.7 percent more work out of each employee, the equivalent of 18 more minutes of work each eight-hour shift, the gross domestic product in the United States would swell by $355 billion, twice the GDP of Greece.

In today’s competitive world, the really successful person is not only educated, but also motivated.

If you’re educating or training your employees, but you’re not motivating them to use what they learn, you’re wasting your time and your money.

The famous author, William Butler Yeats, said it quite well: “Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire.” A more contemporary figure, Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, says, “In the 21st century, organizations have to achieve peak performance through inspiration by unleashing the power of their people—not by teaching them, not by managing them, but by inspiring them.”

If you educate and motivate your staff, you’ll see an increase in productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately an increase in profits.

The Mercedes Benz plant in South Africa learned that. For a long time, the managers said their quality problems were due to an unmotivated, lazy workforce. That’s why it took them two weeks to make a car that had 70 defects. By contrast, the Mercedes Benz plant in Europe could turn out a car in one week that had only 14 defects.

Then, a fortunate accident occurred. After a year of suffering with productivity and quality problems, it just so happened that a car was being made for liberator and president Nelson Mandela. No particular mention or fanfare was made. The vehicle simply went through the assembly line with a tag on it that read, “For Mr. Mandela.”

To the managers’ amazement, the car was completed in one week and had only 10 minor problems. A light bulb went off in the managers’ heads. Their workers were capable. They were educated enough to do the job and do it well. They had simply not been motivated enough to give their very best. It was at that point that the Mercedes leadership learned that they had to engage their workers’ hearts, not just their hands.

Are you doing that in your organization? You’re buying your employees’ time. Are you also getting their hearts and minds?

Education plus motivation will not only help your organization make more money, but it will also save you a lot of money.

When I was speaking at a construction company, the CEO asked his employees a question. He asked, “What does it cost to put a piece of plywood on the floor? How much does it cost in terms of time and money?” The employees answered, “About ten minutes and twenty dollars.”

The CEO replied, “Yes and no.” He said that’s what it would have cost if the job had been done right. Unfortunately, an employee slapped down the plywood poorly and didn’t cover a hole properly. The ensuing lawsuit cost the company $450,000. The employee was educated. He knew what to do, but he wasn’t motivated enough to do it right.

Here are my top 3 tips to motivating and engaging your staff’s hearts:

1. Take a look at the training you’re offering employees. Is it really motivating them? As a speaker, I find that many people in my audiences are quite well educated. They’re filled with knowledge. However, sometimes they don’t have enough motivation to use all the knowledge they possess.

2. Listen to what your colleagues are saying when they hear about an upcoming seminar. Do you hear groans and complaints about having to go? Or do you hear comments of excitement, as people can’t wait for it to begin? What you hear will tell you how successful your past classes have been in motivating people.

3. If you’re not hearing almost unanimous excitement, re-examine the education you’re offering and re-examine those who are leading it. One bad class or one poor instructor can leave a negative legacy for a long time to come.

So you see…education without motivation serves no useful purpose.

By Alan Zimmerman

Best-selling author and Hall of Fame professional speaker, Dr. Alan Zimmerman has taught more than 1 million people in 48 states and 22 countries how to get and stay motivated all the time. For more information, visit, www.journeytotheextraordinary.com/.

Be CRM Savvy

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:05:00 +0000

Missing the target with your customer relationship management strategy? Follow these five steps to success

By Julia Chang

In his work in CRM consulting, Yacov Wrocherinsky has seen some disasters. One of the most recent was a large manufacturing company that spent millions on a high-end CRM system, only to realize two years later that it wasn’t providing accurate forecasts. “In the old days, people used to select a system based on a decision by the higher-ups, invest millions, and if the project didn’t meet expectations, they would write it off,” says Wrocherinsky, founder and CEO of Infinity Info Systems, a New York–based sales technology consulting firm. “Today, expectations are different.”

That’s because companies now are much smarter about CRM. They want faster implementation that produces value more quickly. And vendors have done a good job of mastering the basic features and making their offerings available at price points for companies of all sizes. But that doesn’t make the process of implementing a CRM strategy any easier—especially since CRM is now expected to be part of broader business strategy.

One thing’s for sure: CRM is at the top of managers’ minds. In a survey of S&MM readers conducted by consulting firm The Alexander Group, 35 percent of sales leaders say they will work to improve CRM in 2007, making it the third most important operational priority for the new year. Not sure if you’re going about it the right way? Follow these five steps to make your CRM strategy stays on point:

1. Set Clear Business Goals
By far, the biggest mistake companies make when it comes to CRM implementation is “not thinking through what customer-facing business outcomes they want to achieve,” says William Band, principal analyst for IT research firm Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass. “You don’t want to start using the technology without thinking about if you want to improve your cross-sell, up-sell, or call-center [capabilities]. You have to think through what business metrics you are trying to improve.” Otherwise, how else will you measure success?

When Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS), a diagnostic imaging company based in Tustin, Calif., began a new CRM strategy, it first identified its business need: How to overcome flat growth. In the late 1990s, TAMS was losing customers as fast as it was gaining them, while the industry as a whole was growing about 10 percent.

After extensive customer surveys, TAMS realized the problem lay in its support and service. “We just didn’t have a good understanding of what customers really valued and what they wanted us to do,” says Cathy Wolfe, director of marketing services.

In order to improve service, the CRM system had to let reps know when a service problem was rearing so they could nip it in the bud. Now, TAMS surveys customers at the start and midway through their relationship with the company. The results are fed into a database managed by its Cognos CRM system, which uses the data to send e-mail alerts through Lotus Notes to managers when a customer is showing signs of dissatisfaction. “It’s an early warning indicator,” Wolfe says. “If you don’t know about it, then you don’t have the chance to address it. [Otherwise] you could have a customer mad for a period of time, bad-mouthing you, and you’d never know it.”

The result of the CRM implementation? Since 2001, the company has enjoyed about a 25 percent year-over-year growth rate and has seen its name rise to the top in several independent customer-service rankings.

2. Assemble a Crack Team
If it involves the customer, it doesn’t involve just sales—marketing, customer service, the call center, accounting and even back-office operations merit consideration when forming CRM strategy. Although the stakeholders can vary by company, most experts suggest representatives for Team CRM come from the following: sales, to provide end-user input; marketing; IT; an executive who can translate the CRM to bigger business strategy; accounting or finance; and dedicated administrative or sales support, if any.

It also helps, Wrocherinsky says, if the group includes a champion who has the respect of his peers and can spread the CRM gospel. It can be someone who is tech-savvy, but it can also be a “difficult or skeptical candidate,” he says, “who once you convert, helps other people see the light.”

Picking the right people as part of the team is essential, since these folks will be responsible for making sure budget, timing, and cost expectations are realistic, and will spend the most time with the vendors in the setup process. And make sure someone on the team has some decision-making authority, or the project could get stonewalled or mired in bureaucracy.

3. Do an IT Audit
For Bob Ritter, there’s one simple rule to the tech side of implementing CRM software: Meet or exceed the requirements. The CRM vendor will tell you what the parameters are for the operating system, network, hardware, software, infrastructure, etc., but there are other hidden IT roadblocks. “Maybe someone hasn’t rebooted their workstation in six weeks and their resources are a mess, or the drive is up to the gills with garbage from the Internet,” says Bob Ritter, president of 1stdirect.com, a CRM reseller and consulting firm in East Fishkill, N.Y. “When you’re putting a mission-critical application out to everybody, you have to make sure the foundation of the infrastructure it is running on is healthy.”

When it comes to choosing the actual software, there’s always a basic checklist to mind, before you even get to customization. Is the software easy to use? Will it link to mission-critical applications, such as e-mail, back-office functions or accounting software? (This is especially important to consider with hosted CRM.) Is it scalable? Make sure your cost analysis includes such areas as licensing, maintenance, configuration, training and data migration, Ritter says. And it doesn’t hurt to do a little detective work on your vendor’s business model, because you want to make sure it’ll be around for the long haul.

When it comes to security, the biggest concern used to be whether hosted software was vulnerable to hackers. Since that fear has largely been assuaged, the security concern these days is securing data on the road, says Richard Smith, vice president of CRM strategy for Green Beacon Solutions, a CRM consulting firm for mid-market companies based in Watertown, Mass. Part of CRM’s value is the convenience it provides when integrated into mobile devices. But laptops and BlackBerrys get stolen and lost, so the cost of securing data on the road should figure into your tech investment.

4. Fine-Tune the Features
Determining exactly what features should figure into your software will probably be the hardest and longest part of implementation, but one of the good things about this step is that it forces a compan
y to face how it does business and uncovers needed changes. “It’s an excellent time to revisit the business process,” Ritter says. “Are there ways to break up your data more efficiently? Are territories properly balanced? What communications do you want to merge or manage? Are you trying to fulfill a virtual request more efficiently?”

Running a pilot project helps avoid future pitfalls. When Johnson Controls, an environmental controls company based in Milwaukee, acquired HVAC supplier York International in 2005, one of its first priorities was integrating the new company into its Saratoga CRM system, which is used by about 2,200 employees. York’s service organization was integrated relatively easily; it was mostly a matter of eliminating duplicate accounts, merging databases and training the York service folks.

But York’s systems installation unit was another story. “Their business was different enough from our installation business that we didn’t believe the same CRM screens and business flow could work for them,” says Bill Hable, director of market planning, research and systems for Johnson Controls. “They are different in how they go to market, who their primary contact is, and they go through different routes [to prospect].” A CRM pilot ran in the spring in three district offices so they could tweak the views and fields that this particular unit needed. The new system is set to roll out the first six months of this year. “I didn’t want to hear first impressions,” Hable says. “They used it for three or four months so we could get a good idea about how they do business and what had to be changed.”

Large companies often require a lot of CRM customization, but even small firms should tweak solutions to their needs. Donna Keller, senior vice president for Financial Advisory Consultants, based in Naples, Fla., worked with 1stdirect.com to install GoldMine CRM software. Keller says she tried out about six versions before finalizing the solution that her company will roll out early this year. Keller’s firm has about 10 employees, but nonetheless needed a more uniform process to qualify prospects, move them through the sales cycle, and communicate with them the way they preferred. “Our [old CRM system] did it in a more manual way, but I was looking for something more automated so each client got the exact same experience,” Keller says. “There are a lot of moving parts that go into the process, and we needed to be able to handle all the intricacies.”

5. Encourage—or Enforce—Usage
Now that you’ve laid out your business goals, picked internal champions and designed the software of your dreams, here comes the hard part: Getting your staffers to use the system. Managers can take a carrot or a stick approach, Smith says, but the key is “reinforcing that there is one version of the truth: The report that gets driven out of CRM. If managers start letting the best sales reps submit numbers in Excel, it breaks the model.”

The carrot approach is to show salespeople the value of using a system, and your CRM evangelists are essential to this. Sometimes this takes more patient training or one-on-one coaching to prove the system’s benefits to your reps. But don’t be afraid to enforce a hard deadline by which data must be in, call out folks who aren’t following the rules and recognize big wins that get plugged into the system. “People don’t want to be shamed, and if they know they’ve closed a big deal and the forecast always goes out noon on Friday” they’ll be more inclined to become CRM converts, Smith says.

And then there’s always the biggest stick: No CRM use, no commission. “Everybody suddenly gets clear on things when there is only one way to get data into the accounting system,” Hable says. “I’ve seen guys who hate computers, but if [using CRM software] is how they get their commission check, they are experts in two weeks.”

Sidebar: What Customers Want

According to the Forrester Research survey “How to Select a CRM Software Vendor” of 19 large North American and European organizations, the following CRM software criteria are considered the most important:

1. Companies expect CRM software to make its users more productive. High usability encourages adoption.

2. Analytics tools are needed to better understand customer behavior and inform decisions based on customer data.

3. The ability to support a centralized customer master data management system is critical to getting a 360-degree view of the customer.

4. Many companies reported they had started working to improve their contact center, but then moved on to focus on sales and marketing. They have stated that “CRM is never done,” and work continuously on ways to improve customer interactions.

5. Companies wanted software with applications that encourage strong and flexible workflow capabilities.

6. Technologies that can be easily adapted and customized to the business environment achieve results more quickly.

7. Any software must accommodate large numbers of users and support global business.

8. Vendors without industry-relevant capabilities likely won’t make it to many companies’ shortlists for consideration.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Sales Processes

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:58:00 +0000

There are quite a few pieces to the sales performance improvement puzzle - face-to-face selling skills, management style, coaching, account strategy, and so on. One piece that doesn’t get much attention is the sales process. The simplest definition of “sales process” is “a linked group of tasks that together create customer value.”

by Maxey

Some sales processes are more effective than others. In his book, Rethinking the Sales Force, Huthwaite founder Neil Rackham asks seven questions that can help you evaluate your organization’s sales process:

1.	Does your sales process reflect your customers’ acquisition process? If it doesn’t, it’s working against you.
2.	Is your process self-correcting? Good sales process learns from real-world feedback.
3.	Does your process create value? Good sales process adds value for the customers, for the sales organization, and for the salespeople themselves.
4.	Does your process increase efficiency? If your process has made your selling cycle longer, it’s time for a redesign.
5.	Does your process allow mortals to succeed? Nevermind the top performers - a good process should allow average salespeople to get better results.
6.	Is your process scaleable? The test is whether your sales process is a growth enabler or a growth inhibitor.
7.	Are your milestones objectively measurable events? Good process is based on events, not on activities.

Eight Basic Selling Steps

SOCOM Sales — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:45:00 +0000

Whether you sell face-to-face, by telephone, or in combination, there are eight basic steps in the process. By Helen Berman. Before the sales call, you will want to do your homework: review the account history, their market niche, sales and marketing goals, your current sales position and best initial strategy.

by Dan & Erin Sweeney

If you choose not to use each of the eight steps in a single sales call: you might break the stages of the sale into more than one call. For a new prospect, the opening and statement of opening benefits may be a part of your initial phone conversation to set up an appointment. Be sure when you need several sales calls, review covered material each time you call. Your prospect may not remember every salient point.

You should deviate from the basic rules when it serves you. If your prospect is ready to buy at the beginning of the call - CLOSE THE SALE. Many salespeople miss the buying signals or feel obligated to “give them a pitch.” Missing your prospect’s pitch is an easy way to strike out.

1. Opening:

While stating your name and purpose may sound simple enough, the first few seconds of the call are critical. First impressions do count. Present yourself as confident, professional and personable. You may not get a second chance. Most prospects decide in the first 15-30 seconds whether to give you any attention, move into resistance or give you the brush off.

2. Opening Statement of Benefits:

To gain your prospect’s immediate attention, you must quickly answer his unspoken question, “What’s in it for me?” Give your prospect an attention grabbing advantage you can offer his company. Write out several versions that work for you in different circumstances. Then practice your delivery.

Sell the prospect on actively engaging in the sales call or to consent to a personal interview. Your prospect wants to know at once the purpose of your call. If you beat around the bush, you lose credibility. Many salespeople err by mistaking the opening benefit statement for the presentation. Many salespeople begin by bombarding a prospect with a series of product features. They believe that if they speak fast enough, not daring even to take a breath, they might be able to make the sale immediately.

3. Qualification and Fact-finding:

By asking questions, you can quickly determine if the prospect is a qualified buyer. Rapport is most easily built during this stage of the sale. Make hefty deposits into the emotional bank which you may need to draw upon when answering objections. By asking strategic questions and uncovering his needs, you can prepare him emotionally and intellectually for the presentation.

The more your prospect begins to formulate and voice his own ideas that will support your presentation later, the more powerful a mark your presentation will make.

4. Agreement on Needs:

Once you and your prospect have discussed his needs, summarize the conversation by listing them. Get any further clarification and agreement about their priority. I find lists of three to be easiest to work with. Be sure the list you create together emphasizes needs your product can meet. You have created the cornerstone of the presentation.

Explain how your product can help meet specific needs. You have created a home base, a safe space. If you lose control of the sale, return to agreement on needs. It provides a transition, signaling your client that you are proceeding to the next stage of the sale.

5. Presentation:

Here’s where effective salespeople play their “trump card”. Based on understanding his needs, you save your most powerful point - the clincher - for now. This is your opportunity to tie your product’s features and corresponding benefits to your prospect’s specific needs. Make the cogs of the machine mesh. Reinforce whenever possible the relationship between your product and meeting the prospect’s goals.

As you continue the presentation, refrain from a dog and pony monologue whenever possible. Keep your prospect involved or risk losing him.

6. Agreement:

Get the prospect’s agreement that the product’s features and benefits do meet his needs. He will often have concerns which you need to address. Continue the consultative relationship. Avoid the trap of becoming an adversary.

7. Commitment:

While there are many techniques of sales closing, the close should be a natural outcome of the first six steps. Unfortunately, some salespeople are afraid to ask for the order. As a wise man once said, “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” Get your prospect to agree to specifics. If that isn’t possible, get a commitment on something, even just another appointment.

8. Follow-through:

Establish the next action, clarify any procedures, and let the prospect know what to expect. Thank your client for his business and reassure him that he made a sound business investment. Buyer’s remorse has resulted in many a cancelled contract. Do what you can to reinforce the sale and your on going relationship.

Using Diversified Selling Strategies

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:49:00 +0000

“Start seeing your customers through their eyes instead of having a one-size-fits-all strategy,” says Debbie Allen, international professional speaker, author and president of Allen and Associates Consulting. “People like to be treated differently.”

How do you diversify your selling strategies? Allen provides some tips.

Develop a stronger customer focus. What are the buying influences of different genders or age groups? Before you speak with your next customer, do some research. Learn the buying triggers by reading their publications and watching their TV shows. Then listen and pay attention to them.
Develop a strong understanding of different genders. What’s important to women versus men? “Women want to build trust and a relationship first,” says Allen. “Trigger things that touch women’s emotions. Make a connection. Take it slow and nurture the sale. Don’t go for the close too soon.” On the other hand, says Allen, men want to know that you’re the expert. “Men want the details so talk about features,” says Allen.

“Men are also very mission oriented.”

Develop a strong understanding of different generations. “If you are communicating with different generations, you’ve got to know how they communicate,” says Allen. “There’s nothing wrong with asking them. For example, doing business with the senior market [born 1922 to 1943] means you need to relate more and not rush the sale. It’s more a respect factor. Seniors like communicating in person or via phone calls. Writing personal notes also might work. Some of the senior market is becoming more techno-savvy, but they tend to stick with what has worked over the years. By the way, this generation can give you great testimonial letters.

“The baby boomers [born 1943 to 1960] are a huge, multitasking generation,” says Allen. “They like convenience and time-saving ideas. Get to the point with them. They are also very self-aware; talk about them. A way to connect is to recognize and call them by name.”

Generation X [born 1960 to 1980] is a smaller generation who grew up with technology. “Don’t be high pressure or come on too strong with this group,” says Allen. “This generation is much less trusting. Also, use the right amount of technology – not too much hype or flash in your presentations. They’ve seen it already and it won’t impress them.” This is a very visual group and it’s okay to communicate with them via email.

The bottom line to communicating with diversity: Make changes, challenges and trends work within your ever-changing marketplace. Be aware that every single person is different. Embrace those differences and enjoy the process of connecting with different people.

Email Allen at Debbie@debbieallen.com or visit www.debbieallen.com for more information.

60 Seconds: Make a client list and figure out the generations and genders you are communicating with. Then adjust your style and presentations to fit their styles.
By Renee Houston Zemanski

What are your personal strengths?

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:20:30 +0000

As I had mentioned in the previous post The Matrix: Lessons in sales, I recently had something short of an epiphany while having a conversation with my boss. The conversation reminded me of the scene in The Matrix where Neo was sitting in the room with Morpheus for the first time. Walking away from the discussion I started really thinking about ‘who’ I am at work and not so much with ‘what’ I do at work. I’ve always been an overachiever but walked a line that kept me from being all I could be. I had a conversation with a friend of mine that pointed me in the direction of a book called Strengths Finder 2.0. I ordered the book from Amazon and was eager to get the results.

The book is based around an online test of approx 75-100 questions that took about 20-30 minutes for me to complete. The answers to the multiple choice questions were going to identify my top 5 talents and explain where my strengths are. Once the test was done the answers were calculated and the results were given to me.

My Strengths

Achiever
Maximizer
Relator
Focus
Self-Assurance

Out of 34 “themes” a person could fall into, these were identified at my top 5.

Here is the break down.

1. ACHIEVER

People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work
hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

Instinctively, you sometimes enjoy launching new initiatives. Perhaps you have a reputation for
knowing how to get projects moving forward. Driven by your talents, you sometimes dive into
challenging situations because you trust yourself to survive or excel. Maybe you know that you have
the talent to deal with obstacles or hazards as you encounter them. Launching new ventures might
thrill you. Tackling impossible goals might energize you. Stepping out of your comfort zone into
unfamiliar territory might stimulate you. Chances are good that you have the extra energy to work
hard whenever you are acquiring information to broaden your base of knowledge. You desire to
deepen your understanding of various topics, opportunities, problems, solutions, situations, events, or
people. By nature, you actively seek out advisers whose judgment and expertise you trust. Whenever
you find yourself in a questionable situation, you likely ask them to help you identify the proper course
of action. Why? You are committed to doing things correctly. Because of your strengths, you
approach your work-related or academic assignments with a great deal of intensity. You are known
for putting in long hours and working hard.

2. MAXIMIZER

People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate
personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

By nature, you may feel upbeat when you spend more time using your talents than trying to fix your
limitations. Perhaps you have noticed that you progress faster or accomplish more when you give
yourself permission to do what you do well. Instinctively, you might find that life is more satisfying
when you concentrate on using your dominant talents. Perhaps you move more quickly toward your
goals when you practice doing what comes naturally. Because of your strengths, you may give
yourself some credit now and then for creating streamlined processes to efficiently handle certain
types of mundane, tedious, or repetitious tasks and duties. Perhaps creating orderly or efficient ways
to do things benefits you. It’s very likely that you may realize you are careful and thorough if you are
performing certain tasks. Once in a while, you pay close attention to specific details. Perhaps doing
the little things right matters more to you than it does to some people. Chances are good that you
occasionally tell yourself that you are an effective mentor or trainer. Perhaps individuals benefit from
the investment you make in them.

3. RELATOR

People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They
find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Instinctively, you typically use sound reasoning to identify the basic components of a complicated
situation, process, event, or decision. You describe intricate things in ways that people can easily
understand. You are likely to direct their attention to key points. You avoid overwhelming them with
every fact and detail you know. Because of your strengths, you embody the adage: “If you want to get
something done, ask a busy person.” You deliver peak performances when you can tackle a task.
You experience tremendous satisfaction each time you accomplish something. You probably like
being held accountable for your actions and words. Chances are good that you genuinely enjoy
activities when just about everything makes sense. You naturally gravitate to tasks where facts,
events, processes, or ideas are methodically outlined. Driven by your talents, you might do your best
training after you become well-acquainted with someone. Perhaps you want to discover each
individual’s unique talents, work style, goals, motivations, or interests. Maybe these insights tell you
what suggestions to make or what tips to offer during coaching sessions. It’s very likely that you are
sometimes open and honest about who you are, what you have done, what you can do, and what you
cannot do. Maybe your straightforward explanations and stories help listeners see you as you see
yourself. You might reveal your strengths and limitations. You might choose to be forthright and
plainspoken. This partially explains why various people seek your company and want to work with
you. Perhaps your words and examples move them to action.

4. FOCUS

People who are especially talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make
the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.

Driven by your talents, you typically immerse yourself in intense activities. Preferring a fast pace, you
thrive on excitement. You appreciate being surrounded by like-minded individuals. They motivate you
to expend even more energy accomplishing whatever needs to be done. You stay busy and work
hard whenever it is necessary. Instinctively, you thrive in environments where goal-setting
discussions are commonplace and clearly defined objectives are agreed upon. It’s very likely that you
feel life is wonderful when you can channel your mental and physical energy into things that intrigue
you. Your interest is ordinarily piqued — that is, awakened or aroused — by activities, ideas, problems,
opportunities, and people that challenge your mind. Because of your strengths, you devote your full
attention to immediate tasks and challenges. This explains why you give yourself plenty of time to
comprehend what you read on the printed page or the computer screen. Diligence, persistence, and
concentration are three of your distinguishing traits. Chances are good that you can mentally zero in
on tasks for hours at a time when you have a goal to reach. When the assignment demands extra
time, you would be wise to honor your body’s natural rhythms. In other words, if you are a “morning
person,” work in the morning. Work in the afternoon if that is when you hit your stride. Work in the
evening if that is when you think better. Work around midnight after everyone has gone to bed if you
are someone who usually stays up very late.

5. SELF-ASSURANCE

People who are especially talented in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to
manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their
decisions are right.

Instinctively, you have great fun exchanging large-scale thoughts and opinions with your colleagues,
associates, coworkers, or fellow students. These animated conversations allow you to refine your
thinking and test your ideas. Chances are good that you might prefer to enroll in a difficult class rather
than register for the easiest one. Perhaps comparing how well you are doing in relation to others has
meaning only when you earn the best grades in the hardest courses. To some extent, you crave
recognition for your knowledge and winning spirit. By nature, you might feel a bit more upbeat about
life when you register for a few demanding and rigorous classes. Perhaps you aspire to enroll in
specialized courses. Why? Maybe you trust yourself to meet the challenges. Maybe you know you will
acquire lots of knowledge or special skills. It’s very likely that you sometimes discover that contending
for a real or even imaginary first-place victory makes your job or your scholarly pursuits a bit more
exhilarating. Driven by your talents, you may help some individuals be stronger and tougher in the
face of life’s challenges, difficulties, or adversities.

10 Lead Generation (Prospecting) Tips for Sales People

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:24:22 +0000

I found this subject while trolling through the B2B Lead Generation Blog by Brian Carroll and I agree with his process so I am using it and adding some of my own comments.

Sales people often lack the support of a dedicated marketing team that is able to execute lead generation programs on their behalf. This is particularity true in small companies. Even some small companies that do have ‘lead generation’ teams do not use them the way they are traditionally intended. In dual sales groups like these lead generation is supposed to be the group going through the database and calling into cold or warm leads to gain additional information and discover interest in your product or service.

Because of this Sales people have to do more than just close deals, the must pick up the phone or hit the streets to gather their own new prospects. This is never an easy task, but for most seasoned sales people this should not be new either. not the greatest part of the job, but you are in sales and you make the big bucks, so suck it up and prospect. If you follow a process to gather and engage prospects, the job can become easier and maybe even fun.

Be consistent - Remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare? Dig your well before you’re thirsty. No matter how busy you are, be sure to make time to do personal lead generation activities especially, if you don’t have a marketing team supporting you.

1. Build an ideal customer profile – This is a subject taught in Miller Heiman sales Training. Focus your energy on leads that best fit your ideal customer profile. Both the companies and the individuals you covet as customers. Your company should know who falls in this category based on current customers and their marketplace. What separates your best and worst customers? What are their attributes and demographics? What organizations/associations do they belong to?

2. Talk to your best customers – How much do you really know about your customers? A simple phone call can generate plenty of useful information as well as make the customer feel appreciated. Ask your customers why they chose to work with you? Is that the same reason they keep doing business with you? How has working with you helped their business? Would they refer you to other people? Use this information to refine your message to identify more leads just like your best customers. Once you understand why clients chose your products or service you can tailor your message around the needs you solve.

3. Build your personal prospecting engine - Leverage these activities by communicating with your prospects, customers, networks and alliance partners in a consistent manner by using traditional direct marketing methods such as direct mail, phone calls, personal publicity, and email campaigns.

4. Develop a lead generation calendar - Map out your activities for each month and then really follow it! And don’t just make irrelevant pitches more often! Create a plan to add value every time you touch your future customers with relevant ideas, content and resources.

5. Act like a good financial manager - Your lead generation efforts should include a portfolio of tactics that you apply consistently over time. You’re not in it for the big hit. You’re investing in planting seeds that will eventually grow into relationships.

6. Define your goals for lead generation – Be clear on what you want. Do you want 200 more leads in your database? Do you want to generate $600K in new business in revenue this year? Do you want to add 26 new customers this quarter?

7. Rigorously qualify - Every sales opportunity to make sure they fit your ideal client/customer profile before you starts to develop a proposal or agree to do work.

8. Be consistent - Remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare? Dig your well before you’re thirsty. No matter how busy you are, be sure to make time to do personal lead generation activities especially, if you don’t have a marketing team supporting you.

9. Develop a lead nurturing plan – While you may generate leads from your initial campaign, you will generate more by following up with additional touches just be sure that are meaningful and relevant to your audience.

10. Develop and maintain your own database – Even the best lists are not 100% accurate. During the planning phase you should make sure your list fits your ideal customer profile. Also, don’t create the biggest database possible. Instead, seek to create the most relevant database possible which contains the right companies and contacts that influence the buying decision. In the beginning, you won’t have all the data you need. Be patient and you’ll build the opportunity profile over time.

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Lead management done right.

SOCOM Sales — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:29:00 +0000

Leads, they are the life blood of your sales teams. They come from many different channels. Your company website, trade shows, search engines, and the best are from current customers. But one of the most important aspects of lead management is to actually have a process for managing them. Some of the companies I have worked for had solid processes, some had none at all. Don’t spend days or weeks having meetings about how to manage leads. Your company does not need to have the best process out the gate, you just need something.

by sheeshoo

Here are some best practices that I have come across in my years in sales.

Have one central bucket for ALL automated inbound leads. Most will be from forms on your corporate website. When you upload leads from events, they should all be put into the same bucket. This is done for many reasons. It reduces on confusion and it allows the sales people to pull their leads quickly and act on them effectively.
Require basic information from the leads. Name, company, email, phone number and where the lead came from. The “where” is the ice breaker for the first call. If you don’t know where you came in contact with the leads, the initial contact will be awkward at best. Any other information you require will be specific to your company. But get as much as you can from them without making them feel inundated with filling out too much information. 7-9 fields seems to work well.
Follow up on the leads fast. I mean within 48 hours after they are imported. Nothing will impress a prospect than a quick introduction. As a manager you should also be able to run reports on this activity. Track your new lead activities, don’t lose new interested prospects. This is the one hole that many companies overlook.
Have a real lead status that maps each step of your sales process. For example - New, Initial call, Contact made, Discovery call… you get the idea. Most CRM systems have customizable fields for this, use them.
Know when your leads have become opportunities. CRM systems have different ways of doing this. Before you get one, understand this process and map your lead management around it.
Above all track the entire sales process so management can see where the sales people are and make the report available to the sales people so they can track this as well. This way nothing falls through the cracks.

The Operation Order (OPORD) Sales Operations

SOCOM Sales — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 05:39:00 +0000

The OPORD or Operation Order is the single most important piece of mission planning. A directive issued by a commander to subordinate commanders for the purpose of affecting the coordinated execution of an operation. (Joint Pub 1-02)

The format has not changed much over the years because of it’s effective nature. Every troop has experience with them and if you’re in a leadership position you better know the format by memory. To hammer the subject home, the Army Rangers have a 10′ 10′ board at the entrance to the infamous Darby Queen obstacle course outlining the OPORD and stress the importance of reading it twice.

When used effectively, it is possible to gain complete clarity of mission goals and execution. These are created by Generals for the important task of maneuvering troops on the ground and for much smaller tasks of getting some ice in downtown Nasiriya.

Having this clarity on your obstacles, goals, and plan of execution hands troops the power of the outcome. Imagine going into battle and having your commanding officer say “Here you are, now go North and do something.” What do you do? We’ll save the discussion about being set up for failure later. Lets focus on the solutions for a while.

You NEED a plan and most of us unless we have had some exposure to mission/project planning in the past have zero clue on what to do next. As my Drill Sergeant used to say. “Without clarity, there is chaos.” He left out that sometimes there is chaos anyways. But it’s always better to have a plan.

The same is true in business. Since I am a sales guy, I’ll use that as the example. I have created an OPORD for every one of my positions since I understood what they do. If you play semantics with me for a moment, I’ll explain the format.

1. Situation (Whats going on?)

a. Targets. (Who are my target companies)

(1)Weather. (Is the industry hot or cold?)

(2)Terrain. (Do they have an advantage because of market share, informed sales people?)

(3)Enemy Forces. (Who’s the competition? Do you have information on them?)

b. Friendly. (Do you have partners to help with the goal?)

2. Mission.

This is an explanation of what you plan to accomplish. Not a short summary of what you want, put some thought into it and write out a couple paragraphs of ‘what’ you want and ‘why’ it NEEDS to happen.

My goal is to saturate my sales region with information about the XXXXX product learning the details of the businesses I come in contact with and understanding their needs. Working with them to solve their pain by implementing a solution that gives them business clarity and a means to create a positive cash flow.

By doing this I will gain new contacts in a growing industry by selling awesome products and gaining market share for my growing company insuring a long and profitable career in sales.

That’s just an example.

3. Execution. (This is where the rubber meets the road.)

a. Concept of the Operation (Understanding line item 1 how are you going to position yourself?)

b. Specific tasks. ( How many calls are you going to have to make? How many hours are you going to put into it? Brainstorm on everything you can think of that will bring about the result you want.)

c. Coordinating instructions. (What marketing campaigns are being executed? What features are being released? Create a starting point.)

4. Service Support. (Who’s going to help you?)

a. General. (Who’s in your chain of command, managers peers?)

b. Material and Services. (What sales tools do you have available? White papers, demonstrations, communication tools?)

c. Personnel. (Do you have product marketing or engineers to back you up?)

d. Miscellaneous. (Every other support platform you can use.)

5. Command and Signal (reporting and references)

a. Who else is involved in the operation

b. Links to supporting documents/records

c. Metrics identified.

This seems like sales 101, but I’d venture to say that 60% of the sales professionals I know do not have a clear written plan of what needs to be done and how they plan on achieving the task. and the other 30% never follow through. The 10% of high achievers in any company will have some variation of this report handy and revise it as needed.

For sales people, having a plan and executing it, is the difference between steak, lobster and a BMW or PB&J and a Yugo. Consistently hitting your numbers or worrying how you are going to pay the bills this month. Where do you fall in the mix?

Some sales methodologies use the same principles and they call them ‘Blue Sheets’ using Miller Heiman as an example. What ever you call it. You WILL get further in your career by having a plan to get there!