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16 DNA Markers Of Top Performers
An Important Question
There is an important question that owners and sales manager’s in a successful contracting business ask themselves before engaging in training, coaching or accountability activities.
Here is that question…
“Do I have the right person?”
The difference between mediocre and champion caliber sales managers lies in their willingness to ask this question of every employee, themselves included at any time. The mediocre manager falls in love with the personality of the people they manage and assumes things will turn around eventually.
The winning manager never assumes that the person who they manage hasn’t changed to the point where they might not be a fit with the team any longer. In essence they are asking if the employee is capable of performing the skills and techniques that make up their sales system. Furthermore, if they do have those skills are they willing to take action by using them with a potential buyer?
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The “Dispensable” Service Person
“Where’s Jimmy?”
Ralph who is one of the senior techs working at an hvac, plumbing and electrical service business suddenly blurted out a question to his boss, “Hey Bill, where’s Jimmy? I haven’t seen him for a couple weeks now.”
Ralph was referring to one of the newer techs who joined the company about a year ago. “I think he’s on vacation, right Bill?” said Karen who is one of the CSR’s at the firm. Bill, who has owned the company for 29 years set the record straight, “No, we had to lay him off two months ago when it got real slow.”
Bill of course was just being nice. What he didn’t say was that Jimmy was a dispensable employee. He failed to add enough value to the team, his customers and the bottom line to even keep himself employed, much less to be considered a star player.
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The “Silver Bullet” of Sales
Is There a “Silver Bullet?”
Whenever I work with sales managers who are failing, I notice that they all talk about the immediate issues going on with their salespeople and are looking for the “quick fix” or “silver bullet” answer from me.
Most of them have given up and think they have already thought of everything. The one thing they haven’t thought of is to zoom out and look at the big picture, which includes their own behavior and how it contributes or even causes an issue to occur.
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7 Reasons Why Your Sales Results Suck
Got Your Attention?
One of the more fun parts of my job is talking to sales and service managers who refuse to admit that the results that their people get on their opportunities do indeed, suck. What do I mean by this statement?
First of all let’s face it, I use that word to get your attention and now that I have it, let me explain. When any frontline service or sales professional in your company does not produce the results needed to pay for all the overhead, benefits, pay, education and everything else needed to cover their fair share of these expenses, then they are “sucking” these valuable resources at the expense of other employees who ARE pulling their own weight.
There is an imbalance at many companies that is created by some of the sales team performing at a high level while others do not. Many perceive this as just a fact of life and refuse to believe that EVERYBODY could achieve profitable numbers and reach their goals.
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Mistakes Of Self-Centered Salespeople
An Easy Sale
Someone who studies the sales process like myself may be the easiest person for a good salesperson to sell to. Believe me, I’ve seen and heard more than my share of sales presentations in my life, and most all of them either made me laugh, made me cry, bored me, repelled me or angered me.
I actually pity the people who use outdated, scripted and ineffective techniques. I also get frustrated when i see someone who is good at their trade but too timid to have the confidence to ask for the job. The have essentially poured themselves into how to be very good at their trade but have not invested in the skill needed to convince someone to purchase this knowledge. But then the realization washes over me that what they do or say is just the result of the poor or non-existent training they have received.
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Do You Have a Sales Policy?
Do You Have a Policy Too?
How many times have you heard your prospect tell you that they have a “rule” or “policy” when they purchase? You know something like, “We have a rule, we never make a purchase on the first visit from a sales person.” Sometimes the rules that buyers have are dysfunctional and make little sense for you or them.
Also, the rules are often broken when they meet the right sales person with the right solution. So then the rules are only often enforced when they either don’t like the sales person or their solution.
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Feed Your Ego Or Your Wallet
Your Ego Or Your Wallet
One of the biggest weaknesses ineffective salespeople have is their desire to “look good” in front of their customer. If only this desire to feed the ego was as great as the desire to feed their wallet, life would be very different for these “happy losers.”
A Happy Loser?
I use this term because it perfectly describes the salesperson who is happy to look good even if it means no sale. The need to look smart and sharp to a prospect is more important than getting the result they want. Their success and their income suffer greatly because of it.
So make your choice right here and now. Do you want to
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Do You Make This Olympic Sized Mistake?
Do You Make This Olympic Sized Mistake?
As the 2010 Winter Olympic games came to a close I am haunted by a certain story which involves snowboarder Lindsay Jacobellis and her failed attempt at redemption. Jacobellis suffered a disastrous crash four years ago at the Turin, Italy winter Olympic games when she celebrated too soon just moments from the finish line. She basically had the race won but could not resist the temptation at showing a little flash at the wrong moment and instead lost the race.
The reason this failure stuck with me far more than all the Olympic victories i witnessed is probably because as a sales coach I see this phenomena far more than I would like when trying to help sales people attain better results. The pain of losing is vivid to me whenever I hear the sales person tell me that they have a sale that is “pretty much already sold” and then they start talking about it like they actually have closed it. But here is the twist. After I question further I find that they aren’t even close to getting the sale.
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