Sue Barrett Articles

Fix the sales force you have - Click To Read Article
Would we expect any elite sporting team to enter a competition without a clear game plan, talent plan, fitness plan, business plan and action plan? No, of course not. We expect them to be aware, organised, focused and determined to play their best and aim to win. Well, more than 90% of sales people do not follow any logical process when selling. They are often left to their own devices and simply fly by the seat of their pants, relying on intuition and hoping for the best. They often cannot articulate their value proposition or know how they compare to the competition. Nor are they clear about what activities they need to do on a daily basis to achieve sales success. Most make it up. No wonder many don't meet business owners expectations.

Creating the right sales training environment - Click To Read Article
The manager, coach or trainer who is committed to accelerating the learning process of their people must attend to creating an optimal learning or meeting environment which also includes it being safe on all levels. For learning, feedback or a meeting to take place effectively you need to create a comfortable and safe environment. For this to occur you need to plan and arrange the environment and resources you will need for your session or meeting.

Create your ‘Ideal’ sales force blueprint - Click To Read Article
Now is the time to rethink your sales strategy and your sales force. Design the sales force your business needs and get great results. To help you start your thinking and planning here are two case studies from our work files where the businesses got it right.

You can’t improve salespeople without improving sales management first - Click To Read Article
I am constantly appalled at the lack of effective sales management in companies these days. Not a week goes by in which I don't see a company make the mistake of focusing exclusively on salespeople in trying to improve sales performance. Experience has shown that sales managers are even more critical than sales people for creating durable performance change

The trouble with sales training - Click To Read Article
What impact does attending a sales training program have on change? It all depends on what type of training format your sales people attend. Too many companies look for quick fixes and waste heaps of money in the process.

What impact does attending a sales training program have on change? - Click To Read Article
What impact does attending a sales training program have on change? It all depends on what type of training format your sales people attend. Too many companies look for quick fixes and waste heaps of money in the process.

The Entrepreneurial Sales Person - Click To Read Article
It seemed to me that successful sales people had a lot in common with successful entrepreneurs who are often the main sales people in their own businesses anyway. I thought we could use this information to help us find and cultivate Entrepreneurial Sales People for our businesses, especially to help we entrepreneurs who need to grow our businesses beyond our own capabilities and personal time constraints.

Leading a healthy sales career - Click To Read Article
It is well documented that being healthy (physically, emotionally, and mentally) is vital to leading an effective and productive life. In sales, your health is a critical factor to your success. Many highly successful sales people I meet are self disciplined in all aspects of their life ensuring they are fit, healthy and well trained in their profession. Having a healthy sales career is underpinned by the individuals healthy life style, and a well managed business which includes good sales support, clear goals and leadership.

Who is your 'brochure' written for? - Click To Read Article
We are sick of apologising for our businesses not being able to live up to false expecations and promises too frequently splashed about with gay abandon in the marketing materials, annual report, PR hype et al that we are required to use.

The trick: no tricks - Click To Read Article
Yet another brochure has landed on my desk inviting me to learn the tricks on how to sell successfully. I wonder how many people will take the bait this time. The motivation circuit in fact is full of sales people who, for a hefty fee, will explain how they hit the big time and offer to share their tricks. Well, here is some advice for free: this approach never works.

Are we limited by our view of success? - Click To Read Article
Given that women are a vital part of our community on so many levels it got me thinking about the definition of success and how often we find ourselves bound by the very narrow paradigms of others' definitions of success.

Getting prospects to talk to you - Click To Read Article
Do you take time to really think about why you are calling a prospect or a client? Do you reflect on how effective you have been post the call? Making prospecting calls to new prospects and existing clients is still one of the most important sales and business development activities you can do on a daily basis. Even with all the electronic communication and marketing options at hand most businesses still need to have someone prospecting for them to build and forge real business relationships. Top performing sales people make sure prospecting is part of their daily repertoire. Like many things prospecting is a process and as a business development person, you will need to do over and over again approximately 500-1,000 times in a year at least! However most people do not prospect effectively and many find it a daunting experience.

Exceptional Prospectors - Click To Read Article
Over the past 14 years, my team has conducted thousands of psychological assessments and interviews with both managers and salespeople about their prospecting and sales behaviours. Our research has consistently revealed that salespeople often experience their greatest difficulties, dissatisfaction, and anxiety at the prospecting stage of the sales cycle. Meanwhile, Sales Managers repeatedly express their frustration that they cannot find salespeople who are competent, confident, and motivated to prospect for new business. Prospecting requires sales people to establish contact with people who might buy your products or services. Whether it is phone, face-to-face or group prospecting, inbound or outbound, nothing gets sold until you get in front of and/or talk to potential buyers.

Are your self-promotion tactics ethical or not? - Click To Read Article
Today it's not uncommon for some people to stretch the truth in order to get a job, get a sale, get ahead or just get noticed, but this behaviour raises some important issues about the good, the bad and the ugly of self-promotion... Proactive self promotion is essential in sales today because good work does not speak for itself anymore - You DO. So are your self-promotion tactics ethical or not?

The cost of poor sales selection - Click To Read Article
Have you ever done the math on how much sales recruitment costs you, especially when you get it wrong? If you are like most managers then chances are you haven't. So let's consider the costs, overt and covert, involved in sales recruitment. If you don't know it already, sales recruitment is one of the toughest assignments around.

Start small and really network - Click To Read Article
I have attended my fair share of networking events and more often than not, I find that I do not get any quality time to network and begin the process of building viable business relationships for the future. I find the time allocated to speak with people and start to get to know them is often too short, coupled with too many other distractions. However, I have been on the look-out for other ways to really connect, understand, and collaborate with people who are interested in leveraging collective networks, especially in this current market.

Are you creating competing motivations in your sales force? - Click To Read Article
I recently met the managing director of a medium-sized software business, who asked me why would his sales people keep selling one version of their product when they had been instructed to also sell in a newer, more comprehensive version of the product. It turned out that his sales people earned more commission by selling in the older version than the newer version of his product. And the sales people made the bulk of their income from their commissions rather than from their salaries. There you have it. What makes perfect sense to the sales person does not always work for the organisation or the customer.

Why you can’t have a one-type-of-sales-person-does-it-all approach - Click To Read Article
There is a large body of research that shows there are many types of sales people for different types of clients, products, and markets. Just because a sales person may be excellent in one market may not mean they are well suited for another. In today's world we are well equipped to define the type of sales role our business needs and define the salesperson's selling style to match that role. So let move away from limiting sales stereotypes and open ourselves to diversity.

Does everybody live by selling something? - Click To Read Article
Whether we call ourselves a salesperson or not, if we have an idea, product, service, skill, capability, talent, or opportunity by which we can make a living and others can benefit from, we need to be able to sell. This means that whatever role we are in, we all need to put ourselves in a position to secure the ongoing custom of customers, members, patients, supporters, peers, students, sponsors, or clients to make a living. Even internal service providers such as HR and Procurement professionals need to be able to sell and consult in order to fulfill their roles accordingly.

Success is a moving platform - Click To Read Article
Do you have the wrong sales team delivering your sales strategy? Ask yourself the follow the questions: How has your strategy and /or market place changed recently? How have you seen the role of 'sales' change over the last few years in your industry? How do your sales people compare to your competitors? How do your sales people need to sell now? How is your product offering behaving in the market place now? Was it once exclusive and now a commodity? The definition of a ‘good' salesperson is driven by many possible needs. Those needs are a function of industry standards, changing market conditions, competition, corporate strategy and culture, personalities, past experiences, just to name a few.

The huge cost of hesitation - Click To Read Article
I knew that being hesitant in the sales arena was a no-no, but I didn't know just how much business it could cost.

How not to make a prospecting call - Click To Read Article
I've been selling for more than 20 years and have learnt many things by trial and error, common sense and staying aware of market conditions and how customers like to buy. There is no shortage of information out there about prospecting, sales, etc. However, I am still amazed at how people don't know how to prospect successfully, given the plethora of calls we receive at home in the evenings, with very much similar outcomes to my experience. So why do many businesses still get this part so wrong?

Professional Visitor or Professional Sales Person? - Click To Read Article
I am seeing a lot of time wasted by sales staff aimlessly chatting with clients. How often are you left with the feeling that your sales people are seeing clients, but beyond the "hello" and general chat, nothing of substance is happening? I call it the phenomenon of "professional visitation".

Burnt-out, tired, had enough? - Click To Read Article
Sales is not for the faint hearted, nor is running your own business. For those of us who run our own businesses and/or have careers in sales or sales management, we find we are often faced with stressful situations. How do we manage ourselves in times of stress?

Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. - Click To Read Article
There is an increasing body of research overseas showing that woman are often outperforming men in achieving sustainable results in sales and client relationships. And I promised you I would start to highlight, from my research, what successful sales women do especially well. So here is your first snippet

What is good selling? - Click To Read Article
Like many people, I have always been curious about what makes "great sales performance". This is a perplexing question that has been asked and attempted to be answered by many people over the years. Also, are great sales people born? (most people believe this to be true - but it's not). What does it take to be an elite sales performer, and can anyone learn how to sell well?

Selling and managing are not the same - Click To Read Article
I wrote recently about sales burnout and the challenges many SME business owners have of being all things to all people including, usually, the main sales person and sales manager. Like many people, I have known that selling and managing are not the same thing. They are two very distinct jobs with different demands and expectations.

Exceeding customers’ expectations? - Click To Read Article
If I hear "Oh let's exceed our customers' expectations" one more time I will scream. Usually my response is: ‘Why don't we just meet their expectations in the first place?' Too many times the marketing hype (the promise) does not always connect with the sales expectation set up by the sales team, which doesn't always translate into a service experience we were promised in the first place. We are often left disappointed, jaded and, if it happens more than once, cynical. Too many of us have stories of where we have been let down by businesses not fulfilling our expectations. We see broken promises, exaggerated claims, hollow offerings, no real value!

Motivation or manipulation? - Click To Read Article
What is the line between motivating sales staff and manipulating sales staff? How do you make sure you don't go over the line and place people under extreme pressure to achieve? Research both here and overseas shows that high performing sales people identified how important it was to their performance that they remain motivated, which they recognised can be influenced by both internal and external factors, with a sense of self satisfaction found to be the most important contributor to their motivation. Management need to act as true mentors and motivators for their staff, especially in sales call centres as this is, or can be,

MYTH: Cold calling is a good idea - Click To Read Article
In the "olden days" when I first started my business, over 95% of my sales came about through cold calling, which I had learnt to do really well when I worked as a sales recruitment specialist with Morgan & Banks. At M&B - and in my business - it was very clear that if I didn't bill anything I didn't earn anything. So I got on the phones and I prospected to people I didn't know - that is, cold calling. This was well and truly before the internet was in mainstream use and I had the privilege of learning how to cold call really well. But it is a FACT that in an essentially crowded market place of the 21st century, businesses require a series of "push" and "pull" prospecting strategies rather than one simplistic "push" approach to selling such as cold calling.

Changing sales perceptions - Click To Read Article
Stop for a minute and reflect: What is your view of selling? Has your perception of sales changed over the years? Your answer is most likely ‘yes' if you are a customer or salesperson in business to business (B2B) sales. But not if you are a customer of retail. More about that another time. Today's changing B2B and high-end B2C sale practice styles are an adaptation to the environmental forces. The change towards people-centricity is evident in a number of organisational functions, in particular the sales function where there has been a significant shift from product-focused selling to relationship selling.

Sales and emotional intelligence - Click To Read Article
The "gender" discussion highlighted by my Sell like a Woman project, articles and other research leads people to believe that women are doing things men cannot because of gender. And this is causing sighing and forelock tugging in some male circles. "Not another feminist on her soap box" or "all men are useless" I hear some say.

Mother of a sales performance - Click To Read Article
As the New York Stock Exchange is now looking at "employee engagement" as a significant predictor of higher share value and market return, and given we are all competing, not just for clients and market share but for good employee talent, maybe a key performance indicator for sales management could be in Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB).

Getting Sales Recruitment Right - Click To Read Article
Your small business is growing and diversifying. You've experimented with bringing in an inexperienced sales person (who did not work out). You realise you need a more experienced direct sales person, but you don't know where to go or what to look for.

Influencing vs Negotiating - Click To Read Article
It has often been said that very strong negotiation skills are critical to being a high performing sales person. However, findings from our "sales force fitness" profiling work, where we profile critical qualities for successful sales performance in many businesses, large and small, is telling a very different story.

Costing cutting at the expense of sales? Bad move - Click To Read Article
I don't know about you, but when markets start to tighten or when things feel a bit uncertain, instead of cost cutting and bunkering down, I have found that you need to do precisely the opposite. You need to invest in your sales efforts with good strategy, sales training, good sales management and good sales coaching.

Missed & Lost Sales Opportunities - Click To Read Article
Not enough new business coming? Sales drying up? Not making a satisfactory impact when in front of prospective clients?

Ashamed of being in sales - Click To Read Article
Over the years I have met many sales people who are really good at selling, have all the ingredients, write great sales results and are highly valued by their companies, yet they never feel satisfied in their sales career. The afflicted sales person just feels a sense of unease and guilt about being in sales, a disquiet that never seems to get resolved.

Not all customers are good customers - Click To Read Article
Ever had some customers who spend very little with you but take up enormous amounts of your time? Nothing's ever right, they quibble about every cent and they do not intend to spend much with you anyway. Or those customers who are really nice and you get along with them very well, but you know they do not have the potential to develop into long-term revenue generating accounts for your business.

Being authentic in sales - Click To Read Article
The 20th century approach of one-upmanship, although still encouraged by many traditional sales managers, seems to be slowly retreating into the shadows of the past as crude and old-fashioned. Polar opposite to the latter, but just as unproductive..

Constipated by information - Click To Read Article
I confess, like most sales people I do not like - no I hate - paperwork and administration, because in my experience most of it is unnecessary.

How to run a Sales Meeting - Click To Read Article
Have you ever sat through a pointless meeting and calculated how much of the company's money was being wasted on individuals sitting around a table completely zoned out?

Learn to say ‘NO’ - Click To Read Article
Giving away the margin and undercutting your prices because you can't say ‘NO' is no good for anyone. It devalues you, your product, and your market. If done on mass then customers expect ‘cheap' all the time, not fully appreciating the real value of the products or services they buy. All you do is risk devaluing you and your business.

What do clients want? - Click To Read Article
Clients don't expect to be coerced, bullied, tricked or intimidated into buying. They don't expect to be treated like an idiot by sales people who just talk at them and flash brochures or product sheets. Relationships do not work effectively if they are forced!

Your pre-call & post-call checklist - Click To Read Article
How well did your last sales call go? Did you achieve what you set out to achieve? Do you know what your next course of action will be with that customer/prospect? Do you have evidence that a real sales opportunity exists? Using a pre-call and post-call checklist is a very useful process when assessing the effectiveness of your sales calls.

What’s your competitive edge? - Click To Read Article
How many of us have been in business for a while and things have been going along smoothly, sales coming in, customers are happy. Then you notice that you are not winning the business you used to win.

Peak Performance in Prospecting - Click To Read Article
A peak performing prospector is a salesperson who displays passion, self motivation and results focus. They are disciplined in their approach, evaluate and purse viable opportunities while remaining optimistic, resilient, committed and energized. They are ethical at all times and display empathy, respect and courtesy towards their prospects. To help us look at this in more depth let's look at what is considered peak performance.

Healthy Salespeople - Healthy Sales Results - Click To Read Article
As I have stated previously, sales is a demanding profession. Top performers know that to sustain a high level of performance, they need to keep fit and well - both physically and psychologically. They are self disciplined, self managed and take good care of themselves. You only have to look at them and know they are healthy. Their skin is clear, they have a vitality about them that is fresh, their attitude is positive and they are keen to learn. What sort of sales culture do you encourage? Is it one of health and wellbeing or a boozy, extreme living on the edge culture?

Trust-based relationships - Click To Read Article
I typed ‘Sales' into 'youtube' the other day just to see what was on offer. I have to say that some of the initial videos displayed on the front page were very disappointing indeed, especially when it came to building trust-based relationships with clients.

You’re on show - ethics in sales - Click To Read Article
Today people are looking for honesty and authenticity and do not have time to be misled. They want to work with people who are what they say they are. They are assessing your every word and action. They are looking beneath the surface and are wanting to see the real you. Many people are now more wary about companies and sales people making big claims and promises with lots of ‘sizzle'. They are wary of the ‘charmers' and the sales people after the ‘big kill'. What they are now looking for is the steak and all that comes with it: i.e. what kind of steak is it? How it was it grown, prepared and cooked? Where did it come from? Is it grown in an environmentally friendly, humane manner? etc. They no longer want to confuse packaging with substance. They look for evidence at every turn and how you align with the promises you make.

Broken Promises & Bagging the Competition - Click To Read Article
Nothing irks customers more than sales people overstating their capabilities and making claims and promises they cannot keep or live up to. It's the fastest way to break trust and leave customers doubting you and your business. Making grand claims with little or no substance is foolish at best. In today's networked world, many people have access to information and can check pretty quickly whether what you claim is true or not. So can you do what you claim you do?

A Time To Reflect - Click To Read Article
I don't know about you, but I often find myself reflecting on a whole range of things in my life including my professional sales career and wondering at all the things I have learned over the years. Conscious reflecting on sales has now become almost a daily occurrence for me, especially, since I have been writing this sales blog. There are so many aspects to selling that the more I look into selling the more I find to reflect upon. So it was with some amusement that I found myself reflecting on reflecting itself and how valuable it is to our continued development and overall healthy functioning in this ever-changing world.

Same, Same but Different - Click To Read Article
I came across some research on sales motivation which seems to shed some further light on why it is important to use programs which are culturally specific to your sales peoples motivations and values. A major study of sales motivation presented at the annual convention of the Society for Marketing Advances has revealed significant cultural differences driving sales success. It has helped explain why some of the better made-in-the-USA sales management practices aren't more effective in other nations. The answers may lie in what really provides motivation for salespeople.

Making the most of Up Selling & Cross Selling - Click To Read Article
Do you sell one thing and one thing only? Probably not. I suspect your business has a range of things it can offer. And I suspect that many of these things can be integrated together to make an end-to-end solution or various combinations that lead to much larger sales. If this is the case, then how well are you selling in the size and scope of your business offerings? Too many times sales people get fixated on the immediate sale in front of them not really seeing the potential of that sale now or into the future. If they would only ask the right questions and get a bigger perspective to work from they might get more and bigger sales for less effort.

Don’t tell me it’s out of your control - Click To Read Article
‘It's out of my control.' ‘I can't do anything about it.' ‘I'm just the sales person.' Sales people who sell in equipment and service contracts take note. This story is about you and your responsibility to the customer for the life of the sale not just the initial sale of the machine and the signing of the contract. The quotes above are what I heard this week from a sales person from a well-known equipment manufacture who sold us a complete equipment and service package 18 months ago. It certainly wasn't what I wanted to hear. Without going into too much detail we have had the ‘printer from hell'.

Getting past the Gate Keeper - Click To Read Article
This time of the year many people are trying to get back into the swing of things after their Christmas break. It's about this time that many sales people begin their prospecting efforts in earnest and many people are back from leave. It is as good a time as any to prospect. So as it's the New Year, I thought we could take a fresh look at some old issues. One of the most common complaints I hear from sales people time and time again is ‘How do I get around the gate keeper?'

The Optimistic Sales Professional - Click To Read Article
Sales is a demanding profession. Top performers know that to sustain a high level of performance, they need to keep fit and well - both physically and psychologically. An increasing body of research is showing that keeping an optimistic outlook, and having the physical energy to meet the demands of working in sales are critical to a sales person's effectiveness, success and overall well-being. Something many of us know intuitively, however it good to have it validated. Managing and overcoming setbacks is key to succeeding in anything. In sales we are tested everyday. Without a sense of optimism it would make getting up to face each day that much harder. So what is Optimism?

Who’s in charge of your sales recruitment? - Click To Read Article
1. How much is a good sales person worth to you? 2. How much is a good hiring manager worth to you? Speaking about recruitment in these current economic times may seem foolish, however in the area of selling, this is where you could make great strides by picking up highly effective sales people who have found themselves on the job market or are looking for a better business to work in. I know of a few highly competent sales people and sales managers who have been let go along with other staff as part of large staff reduction strategies. In my opinion, the last people I would let go in this market would be highly competent and high producing sales people. Which leads me to the contentious issue about who makes the decisions to hire and fire sales people. In particular, who hires sales people.

The Hard Sell - Click To Read Article
I declare right up front that I am not, and never have been a fan of the Hard Sell. You have probably guessed that from all my previous posts. And if you ask most people about what they think about the profession of selling they will often describe something akin to the ‘Hard Sell'. Of late I have also noticed a rise in ‘hard sell' stories where people are being unnecessarily pressured to buy or sales people being pressured to sell at almost any cost. The hard times may be pushing some people to do things they wouldn't normally do like the "Hard Sell".

Count your chickens - Click To Read Article
Everyone I am speaking to, at least, are aware they are working in a softening market. Some businesses of course are counter cyclical, meaning they can make money in these tougher times i.e. outplacement firms for all the obvious reasons, but they are more the exception. If you market is softer or heading or a down turn it doesn't have to be all gloom and doom. It's true now you have to earn your real money through proactive sales practices. So with on the agenda, one of my clients in regional Australia kindly sent me a great article on "The three basic sales strategies in a softening market".

The 'dark' side of selling - buyer beware - Click To Read Article
In the world of sales there has always been the following advice for customers and for good reason: Buyer beware Read the fine print If it's too good to be true then it is And so on. As much as I advocate for and encourage healthy, trust based, open transparent customer relationships I am fully aware of the ‘dark side' in the profession of sales. In my travels, sadly I hear of many stories about people being ripped off and taken advantage of often with no idea about what is happening to them until it's too late. All under the guise of selling.

Good news sales stories - Click To Read Article
You don't have to discount price to win good business and good customer relationships even in tough markets. I mentioned earlier this year my team and I are working on a large sales fitness training assignment in the finance sector around Australia. These guys are hard up against it when it come to ‘price' being a key target at the moment. A number of their competitors are trying to buy market share with discounted prices. The market is being hammered with ‘discounting' of all sorts - some clear, some not so clear and some very dubious.

Professional Firms feeling the sales pinch - Click To Read Article
Professional Services Firms are struggling when it comes to keeping and finding business. This on top of the fact that many have to come to grips with the fact they need to sell. The market has definitely changed. You cannot sit there aggressively waiting for the phone to ring anymore. In speaking with one partner from a well respected law firm, he vented his frustration at the lack of action being taken in his firm by partners and their teams in terms of driving the push to find new business in current and new accounts. He stated that some teams were just sitting around with no work to do and no one knows what to do about it.

Punished by rewards - Click To Read Article
Punishment and reward proceed from basically the same psychological model, one that conceives of motivation as nothing more than the manipulation of behavior. As part of my own development and in an attempt to keep my mind as open and fresh as possible, I take to reading all sorts of things. On my current reading list is a very interesting book called “Punished by Rewards” by Alfie Kohn, author, speaker and educator. He writes about the trouble with “gold stars, incentive plans, As, praise and other bribes”.

Create your own opportunities - Click To Read Article
Just one idea can positively transform your life, career, income and wealth. As I have written before, in uncertain times, we can let the negativity of current events and others consume us or we can continue to look for opportunity. Excessive worry, however, can often cause us to lose sight of our goals and can limit our creativity and problems solving capabilities just when we really need them.

Persistence and the Honourable Retreat - Click To Read Article
Did you know: Over 50% of sales people give up at 1st contact if they get a ‘NO' from the prospect never to go back to that prospect again. At the 5th contact 7% of sales people are left to speak with the prospect to see if they can do business together. At the 8th contact there is only one sales person left to work with the prospect. Hopefully it is you. Many sales people, especially those new to sales, often take it personally when a prospect says ‘NO'. Many fail to persist and often fail to favourably position themselves to ‘leave the door open' for future contact thus limiting their sales opportunities even further.

You are on show - Click To Read Article
Recently I have been watching the rerun of "Life at 1" on ABC TV (Australia) in readiness for the "Life at 3" series as I am fascinated by all things behavioural and developmental. The series focuses on children and their development from age one and beyond, similar in concept to the BBC's Seven Up series. However this series cannot be complete without the children's parents and siblings being involved. One of the fathers being tested in the series had recently changed jobs from being a professional sales person in a luxury car showroom to working in the family market garden business growing vegetable. His ‘stress' levels actual and emotional were significantly lower after having changed jobs which also affected his child's stress levels for the better.

Common Sales Mistakes Part 1 - Click To Read Article
As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman' research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do' in sales. Here is the 1st part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

Common Sales Mistakes Part 2 - Click To Read Article
As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman' research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do' in sales. Here is the 2nd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

Common Sales Mistakes Part 3 - Click To Read Article
As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman' research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do' in sales. Here is the 3rd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

Seeing the world from your client’s perspective can make for easier sales - Click To Read Article
Each week we meet and speak with a variety of prospective and/or existing clients who have problems they need solving in our area of expertise. It is more than likely we will deal with a mix of clients: some with little or no understanding about what we really do and those with previous experience, knowledge and opinions in our area of expertise. And then there are those clients who are in between. Whatever their level of sophistication, how well we understand and identify our clients' key priorities and problems, and what they value about working with a credible business partner is crucial to developing, attracting and retaining healthy client relationships and growing sales. However, most businesses tend to view the world from their own perspective and not from their clients'. This means:

Sales - A test of character - Click To Read Article
I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn't always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn't have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to selling was what I really needed to prepare me for the future. In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson "Everyone lives by selling something'.

What's in a relationship? - Click To Read Article
The term ‘Relationship Selling' is often bandied about by sales managers and sales people without properly defining what it really means.I often hear "We are in relationship selling" or "We need relationship sales people" however what I do not hear being asked is: What type of relationship are we talking about? What type of relationship are we looking for? What do we mean by relationship selling anyway?

Sales Leadership, A Clear Message and a Fit Sales Force - Click To Read Article
I was talking with a number of friends about what 2009 / 10will hold for us, our families, our communities and our businesses. Without exception, we discussed the current and possible effects of the GFC (global financial crisis) on our markets and especially on our thinking and our actions moving forward. We discussed the importance of open, clear and honest communication and decisive leadership, clear goals and defining what we stand for. We discussed the fact that it would be very hard for people to make ‘easy' money this year i.e. playing the stock market, etc. No more making money by just moving money around. And that people now needed do some real work to get real revenue coming in the door. (not that some of us weren't doing that already.)

Why everybody lives by selling something – part 2 - Click To Read Article
For some time now I have been testing the concept of ‘everybody lives by selling something' with almost everyone I meet, including senior leadership teams (comprising of HR, Finance, IT, Operations, and Sales), primary school teachers and administration staff, senior banking risk professionals, and health professionals (including my podiatrist and GP). I am curious to see how people respond and how they see themselves in relation to the concept of ‘everybody lives by selling something'. Often when one mentions the words ‘selling' or ‘sales' you can see people visibly recoil in disgust, with many immediately saying something like "I don't sell" or "It's not my job".

Who's delivering your sales training? - Click To Read Article
You cannot fake real sales experience and sales wisdom. It is one of the professions that is the hardest to teach and train because without real life sales experience you are at risk of being seen as inauthentic. To help you make the best choice when it comes to selecting the right sales trainer let's consider the following:

Why developing your Sales Managers is the key to your sales success - Click To Read Article
It may surprise you to discover that many Sales Managers learn how to be a Manager on their own. According to the latest international study on Sales Training and Sales Force Effectiveness, many Sales Managers are given very little or no support when it comes to being a competent, effective Sales Manager. In fact, many Sales Managers reported that they were given no formal training in Sales Management practices, either before or during their tenure as a Sales Manager. The study reported that Sales Management training is the category of sales training that is addressed with the least frequency, in fact it is less than annually or not at all.

Why Sales Coaching Really Matters - Click To Read Article
Without systematic, on-the-job coaching post a sales training program 87% of skills that were covered in the sales training program are lost within 30 days With systematic, on-the-job coaching post a sales training program the return on the sales training program is four fold. Lesson: Sales training without coaching is a cost liability rather than an investment.

Whada ya rates? - Click To Read Article
Please train your people in how to make proper, well intentioned business/sales phone calls - it's not difficult. A half day session in the ‘how to' will get you started, followed by some pithy little sessions with your team on a regular basis to share what's working well, etc. I know I sound like June Dally-Watkins (famous deportment teacher) but as the saying goes ‘You never get a second chance to make a good first impression'. Good manners, grace, and courtesy go a long way.

What do your sales people really need to know and apply? - Click To Read Article
In today's market selling skills training does not equal product training or pressure tactics. If product training or pressure selling (the hard sell) are on the top of your sales training agenda or the only training you offer your sales people then you may want to rethink your sales training strategy. What is expected of sales people today by way of skillful thought and action goes way beyond the product or the hard sell. Let's first look at what clients want. This will then help us determine what sales people need to be able to do.

What are the benefits of a CRM system in your business? Part 2 - Click To Read Article
Sales reps often represent the "face" of your company. In order for them to do their part in driving outstanding sales results, they should be empowered to put their best foot forward when representing their company. To do this, a Sales Automation or CRM needs to be in tune with their needs. Putting their best foot forward is going to mean many things. Further to this I would like to add that a CRM should also be in tune with your customers needs helping them have the best experience they can have with you.

What are the benefits of a CRM system in your business? Part 1 - Click To Read Article
The concept of CRM has been around for a long time. The original form of CRM was a manual card system kept by a sales person that usually sat on the sales person's desk or alongside them in the car. These client cards sets were very valuable to the sales person as this is where they kept important customer information such customer contact details, key contacts in the company, a running commentary on their activities, personal and product preferences, buying patterns, business connections and so forth. Each card was a dossier on each client. To successful, well managed sales people, their client cards were gold.

The coming together of Sales Leaders in Austalia - Click To Read Article
I recently had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Optimising the Sales Force Conference along with over 120 high level sales leaders across Australia. I was privileged to be part of the panel of international and local experts presenting on sales effectiveness where we explored the latest research on sales strategy, leadership, learning and development, sales management, sales people, and current market trends. This was the first time in Australia we have had the opportunity to come together as a profession and share ideas and discuss important matters moving forward.

Testing times when recruiting ‘good’ salespeople - Click To Read Article
When I consider how I spend my time professionally, I find it is often devoted to demystifying two things: 1. What is ‘good' selling? 2. The proper use of psychometric assessments, especially in sales recruitment Having written on the former on many occasions, I would like to dedicate this space to the latter - the proper use of psychometric assessments in sales recruitment.

Marketing, sales and service silos why? - Click To Read Article
For people in the communications industry it is appalling that there is a lack of real communication occurring between their marketing and sales departments. All too often I see departments vying for budgets, leadership, ideas, etc. Some people believe marketing drives the engine and sales are irrelevant, or sales are king and what is marketing anyway? It's not just the sales people. Some organisations don't even know the difference between marketing and sales or don't see the connection between the two in the first place.

How we can learn Master Sales lessons - Click To Read Article
Like many people in Australia, my family and employees have been captivated by MasterChef Australia. What I love about MasterChef is that it can be seen as a metaphor for expressing our talents and being the best we can be. Given my interest in everything to do with sales, personal mastery and performance, I particularly love the parallel I have been able to draw about what it takes to be an elite master chef and an elite sales person and elite sales leader by the observation I have made in MasterChef.

Help my sales people can’t close sales - Click To Read Article
The biggest cause for people not being able to close sales it not the close itself. It often starts at the beginning of the sales call. Sales people need to be able to properly understand client's needs and discuss possible solutions that meet those needs with the relevant products and services before any close can take place. Once this has happened they can close the sale but not before. If a sales person cannot meet a client's needs with their products and services then it is a ‘no sale'.

Help! My sales team isn’t coping with the fallout from the GFC - Click To Read Article
Many sales people, for the first time, are experiencing tough times when it comes to selling and many are not sure how to handle themselves in these difficult situations. The current climate is, indeed, a test of character. Many sales people, especially those in their 20's and 30's have not likely experienced selling in tough markets before. For the past 12 years prior to 2008, at least, the business climate in our market place has been, for the most part, buoyant. As we all know it's very easy to sell when times are good. It now begs the question: How well have we prepared ourselves practically, emotionally, and physically to manage our way through these tough times?

‘Great’ at sales but they don’t ‘fit’ the culture - Click To Read Article
Sound familiar? A ‘good', maybe even ‘great', salesperson is recruited and hits the ground running, kicking sales goals in the new role, however within a short space of time they have alienated their team, decided that the role is not for them, and left the organisation. As we know the cost of this selection is huge and begs the question, why did this ‘great' salesperson not work out? While there are many possible scenarios and reasons, we often find that a major contributor is the cultural ‘fit' between the individual and the organisation.

Getting back to the sales basics - Click To Read Article
I don't know about you but recently I have found myself getting more and more distracted by the latest trend and fads, especially the social media phenomena. My reason for this is that I have been trying to get my head around social media and specifically, the impact on the sales profession. I like to keep on top of what is current, what is emerging, and what is still an idea. This is why I make time each week to do research as it helps me navigate my way around the present and into the future. However, I am finding there is so much to read, so much to get my head around, and so much to integrate into my business that it can take up a lot of time... and it only seems to be increasing. I read recently that 20 years ago information was doubling every 5 years, 10 years ago it was doubling every 18 months and today

Don’t take your frustrations out on your customers - Click To Read Article
Sales and Service roles are not for the faint hearted and can often take their toll on your good nature, your energy and your ability to deal effectively with frustrating issues, especially when you put in the effort to do the ‘right thing' by your customers and it is not appreciated, acknowledged or actioned. At the end of a long day or week dealing with lots of people, pulling together various deals, solving problems and keeping your energy levels up and being on your best behaviour, you could be forgiven for being a bit ‘short' if things don't go according to plan and something falls short of your expectations. To manage our frustrations, sales and service people can resort to all sorts of remedies.

Competing motivations creating confusion - Click To Read Article
How to incentivise and reward sales people has long been a contentious topic. Too many times I have seen businesses set up incentive programs that reward the wrong behaviours which can affect team morale, client relationships, sales, staff retention, and so on. For instance, I recently met the managing director of a medium sized software business who asked me why would his sales people keep selling one version of their product when they had been instructed to also sell in a newer more comprehensive version of the product.

A Test of Sales Character - Click To Read Article
I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn't always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn't have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to selling was what I really needed to prepare me for the future. In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson "Everyone lives by selling something'. Over the years as my sales career evolved, I began to learn a lot more about myself.

4 valuable life skills that make for success in sales and any other role - Click To Read Article
There are many things written and said about effective sales people, effective leaders, successful entrepreneurs, great teams and so on. Many descriptions are in circulation. There is an overabundance of experts recommending this approach one day and that approach the next. Those of us who want to be effective and successful often follow the advice of those experts however we are at risk of turning ourselves inside out and losing sight of what we are really here to do if we keep trying to bend to the winds and whims of the latest management trends, fads, findings, research, etc.


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