Accelerated Sales Training

Peaceful Warrior

It is not often a film leaves such a deep impression on me that I am
willing to recommend it to my readers. This film (entitled Peaceful
Warrior) is not only the exception, it is exceptional. This is the link
http://movies.aol.com/movie/peaceful-warrior/25524/main to find out
where the film is playing. Enter your zip code and it provides the
closest location.

For those readers looking for an explanation of what "getting in the
zone" is, this book (entitled Way of the Peaceful Warrior) provides
an excellent explanation. This concept can easily be applied to sales
either face to face or over the phone.

Since it is a small release film, it maybe unavailable where you live.
Do not be disheartened because you can read the book by clicking
here http://tinyurl.com/ryhoc or going to your local library. I assure
you it is well worth the investment of your time.

This is a synopsis of the book by the publisher.

During his junior year at the University of California, while training
to become a world-champion gymnast, Dan Millman stumbled on a
94-year-old mentor nicknamed Socrates, a powerful, unpredictable,
and elusive character. He taught a way to maximize performance
using a unique blend of Eastern philosophy and Western fitness
to cultivate the true essence of a champion - the "way of the
peaceful warrior." Millman's first-person account of his odyssey
into realms of light, darkness, mind, body, and spirit has since
become an international bestseller about the universal quest for
happiness.

If your goal is to become a true sales champion, then take the time to
read this book. The applications to selling situations as well as life
are superb.

Simple Rules to Follow When Cold Calling

The assumption made by nearly all sales trainers, is that the sales rep
is already speaking with the person who has the authority to evaluate
and/or buy. This is a tremendous mistake. The first thing on your
agenda when you cold call should be to find the right person who has
the authority to evaluate and buy your solution. Don't waste your
valuable selling time speaking with the wrong people who have no
authority to buy.

Starting at the top of an organization, continually ask who is
responsible for your solution until you reach the right person or their
office. There is a catch though.

If you ask to complex a question such as, Who is responsible for
application integration? of an assistant in a non technology
department, the odds are they will not be able to help you. This leaves
both you and them frustrated.

If possible ask questions you know people will know the answers too.
People like to help other people. It puts them on the defensive when
they cannot answer your questions. As you move down deeper into
the department responsible for evaluating and acquiring your
solution, then you can begin to ask more technical questions.

Ask questions such as Who is responsible for technology or
computers? Simplify your questions to ones people can answer. Ask
for names, titles, extensions, etc. These are questions people known
the answers to or can easily find them. Simple, short direct questions
work best.

Who is responsible for...?

What is their exact title?

In case we get disconnected, what is their extension?

An excellent way to ask for an email is to ask this question. "If I
wanted to send them an email, what address would I use?" Of course
some will say we don't give out emails but many, especially in the
higher offices will immediately provide you with an email address. A
well worded email sent to a high level officer will often get pushed
down and you will get a response..

Even though you may know the naming convention, don't send email
to someone who you have not been given an email address by
someone in their company. This is SPAM and is against the law to
send an unsolicited email.

Take a few minutes to find someone in the company who will provide
you with an email address. You can refer to this person in your email
and the recipient will know that you were given permission to send it.

Often you can explain to an assistant or associate that you are trying
to get in touch with someone and you left them a voice mail and
would like to follow it up with an email. Most people, who
understand how difficult it can be to reach someone nowadays, will
provide you with an email so you can follow up.

It is crucial that you get accurate answers to your questions. If you
hear different answers from different people, get what is called a
double confirm. Find a third person to confirm which of the two
answers is actually correct.

If you send me correspondence to Ron Levine, it will go right into the
trash. If you can't get my name right, how will you act should I
choose to do business with you. People define themselves by their
name. Accuracy counts in business since you don't often get second
chances.

Even a simple name like Smith can be spelled Smyth or Johnson
could be spelled Johnsen. Don't make assumptions. Ask that every
name be spelled out for you even if it is a simple name. Also don't
forget to ask if they are a he or a she. Names like Chris, Terry, Pat
even Leslie can be one gender or the other.

In summary, don't assume you are speaking with the right person
until you confirm it is so. If people give you different answers find
someone to confirm which one is true. When calling into a non
technical department, ask simple direct questions that you know
people will be able to answer. Be sure to get accurate answers and
confirm the gender of the person you will be communicating with.

Follow these simple rules and you will be more successful when cold
calling.

The End of Cold Calling? by Ron La Vine

I read recently that someone is advocating the end of cold calling.
Never cold call again is their motto. They say that replacing cold
calling with marketing will do the trick. I do not agree with this.
One of the main purposes of cold calling is to find the correct
people who have the authority to evaluate solutions and make
decisions to buy.

While smart marketing can help with this process, it relies upon
the fact that the right person will be reached with the marketing
information.

While this may work for a simple type of sale, such as a sale of
information over the Internet the same cannot be said in a
complex sale where multiple buyers or influencers must be
identified. Much as it might seem distasteful, we must still cold
call.

If you reframe cold calling as a game of how much information
you can get on every call you can eliminate the feelings of
rejection. By getting one more piece of information than you had
before, even if it is only another name, you have gotten a result. If
you have gotten a result than you have not been rejected.

Another key purpose of cold calling is to set appointments. While
clever marketing may help with this task, it cannot replace cold
calling as a means of establishing a relationship. People buy from
people not marketing.

People also buy from people they know, like and trust. Like,
means people similar to them. If you match and mirror the speed,
tone and volume of the other person's voice, it becomes much
easier and faster to establish rapport. Again marketing cannot
replace the building of rapport.

The best way to cold call is to start at the top of an organization
and identify the key people involved in making a decision about
whether or not to acquire your solution. As you work your way
down, you gain intelligence from everyone you speak with. This
helps you build a business case based upon value for why your
solution is the answer to the problems a prospect faces.

True marketing is largely designed to help build brand awareness
in the marketplace. It does not substitute for cold calling and it
never will.

Accept this fact and you will be on your way to be building more
business in less time rather than waiting for marketing to do the
work.

Never cold call again, I think not.

Again the purpose of cold calling is build relationships with
people that marketing may never reach. The other purpose of cold
calling is to set appointments. While marketing may offer clever
inducements to meet, it does not assure you are meeting with the
right people.

The bottom line is that cold calling will always remain important
in the accomplishment of a complex sale. Reframe it as a game or
puzzle into how much information you can get on every call and
you will be on your way to eliminating rejection while gathering
the information you need to make a sale.

For some people never cold calling again may work. For the rest
of us, we will need to keep cold calling if we want to make sure
our pipeline remains full.

A full pipeline means more sales in the long run and more sales
leads to more commissions in your pockets.

"What this means is..." by Ron La Vine

How often do you receive a message and the message is about benefits that other companies have received but is not directly linked to what you are trying to achieve?

Unfortunately, this happens too often. Sales reps go in touting what their company has done for other companies trusting that the prospect will make the connection between what has been achieved by others may also be achieved by them.

We have helped companies such as A, B and C to cut their costs by over 15% through the implementation of our report writing system.

Rather than implying the obvious, why not link it directly to the prospect and their company?

The way to do this is to tag onto your message the phrase, "What this means is you can..." or "What this means is we can enable your company to..." or "What this means is there is a possibility we can enable you to..." or What this means is there is a strong likelihood we can help you..." followed by a direct benefit (faster, better, easier or less expensively) or result (more or less, increase or decrease) statement.

In this case, it may sound something like this. "What this means is we can help you decrease your report writing costs while making your data available to your end users when they need it and in the format they want it in.

Use your statement to connect the benefit/result to the prospect personally or their company by using the words "you" or "your".

Make it easy for your prospects to understand your offerings. Link your benefits and results statements to them. You will sell more in less time and that is the goal is it not?

Presentation Tips by Herb Rubinstein

Know the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs. Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence. Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention.

Practice and rehearse your presentation at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues. Use a tape-recorder and listen to yourself. Videotape your presentation and analyze it. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation.

Body language is important. Standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head down and reading from a prepared speech. Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and necessary.

Do not read from notes for any extended length of time although it is quite acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Speak loudly and clearly. Sound confident. Do not mumble. If you made an error, correct it, and continue. No need to make excuses or apologize profusely.

Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved.

Speak to your audience, listen to their questions, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt. Pause. Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think. Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath.

When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available. Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.

Have handouts ready and give them out at the appropriate time. Tell the audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation. I like to give out the notes in advance, so they can make any notes directly on them.

Know when to STOP talking. Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your presentation when preparing it at home. Just as you don't use unnecessary words in your written paper, you don't bore your audience with repetitious or unnecessary words in your oral presentation. To end your presentation, summarize your main points in the same way as you normally do in the CONCLUSION of a written paper.

Whatever you do, do not read off the bullet points on your slide. This is a sure way of putting your audience to sleep!

Terminate your presentation with an interesting remark or a funny video clip. Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion. Do not belabor your closing remarks. Thank your audience and sit down.

Herb Rubinstein is the author of the new book and resource CD PowerPoint for Sales Professionals, now scheduling workshops thru ASR, contact Ron La Vine.

How to Sell More to Existing Clients

This week I had the privilege of working with a client care software sales renewal group in Maryland. These people are tasked with getting clients to continue to renew their software license maintenance agreements and to uncover opportunities to sell more software.

We had three objectives.

1. How can we find out more information about what the client was doing or planned to do without upsetting our existing contact by going over their head?

2. How can we uncover additional revenue we were unaware of from both the people who paid the bills and the people who did the application development?

3. How can this process be simplified so it could easily be implemented over the phone?

I came up with a set of questions some of which I can share with you. We started off by explaining to the person we were calling that their company was a client of ours. This of course immediately got their attention. They were thinking "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

We followed this up with a simple explanation of the purpose of the call which was to let them know that this was a client care call to make sure they received the next release and the latest information on our software. No problems there.

Next came the magic "Is this a good time to speak?" About 9 times out of 10 they person said yes or maybe and began to answer our list of questions. After all, why wouldn't a client want to speak with their vendor?

After making sure that we were in fact speaking with the right person who paid the bills, we asked if they might be interested in gaining a discount and price protection by extending their maintenance agreement over multiple years.

Then we asked if we could help them save them both time and money by syncing up the renewal dates of all there different packages of our software. We usually drew a positive response from this question. This question also benefited us by saving our time and money too so it was a win-win question.

Now that we had our major concern which was the maintenance renewal handled we needed to find the person who actually used the software to find out how it was being used and if there was a need for more software, training or consulting services.

Often the person who paid or approved the bills was one in the same however sometimes it was a different person. Once we were sure we were in fact speaking with (not talking to) the right person, we asked the "money question".

What Are You Selling?

In this issue we are going to talk about value.

Value in the business world is defined in terms of results.

Results are an increase or decrease, more or less. The most powerful results statements begin with a word that ends in an “ed” and then followed by a connecting statement of what happened (these usually have an "ing" ) and finish with a numeric result such as X percent increase or X decrease or $X dollar savings over a X period of years, months, weeks or days.

Results tied to a timeframe are even more effective.

Initiated a safety program resulting in a reduction of accidents by 15% over a 30 day period.

Delivered a marketing plan enabling them to increase their sales by 25% during a three week period.

Promoted a trade show generating over 10,000 qualified leads for our clients over 6 months.

Decreased the defect rate by 15% bringing about an annual savings of over $250,000.

These are all examples of value statements tied to numeric results which in turn relate the value that prospects are looking for. People buy value.

Although it may seem that buyers are interested in the physical or intangible aspects of a solution which are usually the benefits couched in terms such as faster, better, less expensive, easier or harder these are typically not the basis for a buying decision.

When buyers buy, they want to know their investment will produce results. The most powerful examples of results have a numeric value attached to them.

These are some examples taken from the testimonials on my website at

http://www.accelerated-sales-results.com/testimonials.htm.

Over the past month our Call Center has tripled their lead generation performance, and our Inside Sales group has doubled their results in setting qualified appointments.

Because two days after I sent the email, the director called me saying that they wanted to move forward with a purchase, and 11 days later, the purchase order for $65,000 came to my fax machine!

We immediately put into practice your techniques and strategies learned during our live training. In the first week, our appointment volume increased over 25%.

This questioning has taken a single sale with a value of $12,400.00 to an additional opportunity within the same company for over $60,000.00.

Perhaps what I appreciated most about your training is that my telephone time is 100% more enjoyable.

Because of it, my telephone prospecting and qualifying has tripled in efficiency and I'm getting into companies I formerly had regarded as impossible.

Your assignment is to develop value statements which have numeric results attached to them.

Having trouble developing metrics for your value statements? Speak with your customers to find out what results they achieved over a specific time period and use these results to help build your value statements.

Bringing in these value statements into the conversation with your prospects will not only increase your credibility but it will also lead to more sales.

How to Ask Questions that Produce Results

I could not resist sharing this with you when I came across this set of ideas which apply to both verbal and non-verbal communication (body language) in the same book I mentioned last week. The book (which I highly recommend you buy a copy for your sales library) was written by Ferdinand Fournies and is titled "How to get better results from your employees!

Coaching for Improved Work Performance" and is available at: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071352937/qid=1058293293/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-6382085-7484030) and I must say that this is one of the most practical "how to" books I've ever come across.

Understanding How Communication Really Works

Mr. Fournies writes that "The problem is not a hearing problem. The problem is that there is no similarity between electrical or electronic communication and the communication between people.

In the first place, the mind thinks at least six times faster than we can speak, and because the mind thinks so much faster, its primary function is a reactive function. Of course, the mind receives the information transmitted, but the information is received so fast that the mind reacts even before the message is completed." This maybe why we interrupt others who are speaking or why we are thinking other thoughts while someone else is speaking.

"You can demonstrate this reactive principle yourself by saying to a number of people, "Say what comes to your mind when I say something to you." Then you say a single word to each of them, such as black, up, or hard. The responses you will most likely get will be white, down, and soft, but no one will respond with the word you said. In fact, you can say any word you chose and they will never repeat what you said. If you said to them dot dot dash dot their response might be "you are crazy."

"This means if you have an idea in your head that you want to communicate to someone else, the worst thing you can do is to put that idea into the most precise and correct words you can think of and speak them. Because as soon as you say these words, the listener will hear them, but think something else. Because the mind is primarily a reactive instrument, successful communication is a function of thought transmission, rather than information transmission. Therefore, if you have an idea you wish to transmit to someone else, you must say or do something that will cause that idea to appear in the other person's head as a reaction to what you said or did."

"For example, let's say I wanted you to be frightened, and I said to you; "Be frightened! Be frightened! Be frightened!" Obviously, you will not be frightened, so I will improve my diction and say the same words even louder. Is it likely that you are going to be frightened? More likely, you are going to wonder what kind of nut I am, and why am I carrying on this way."

"If I recognize that communication is thought transmission however, and I want to transmit the thought fright to your mind, I might wait until you are relaxed, sneak up behind you, and yell as loud as I can, "Boo!" or I may approach you with a glass of water and stumble theatrically in front of you to make believe I'm going to spill water all over you. In both instances, you would probably jump out of your chair."

"In neither instance did I say the word fright to you. I did something in front of the thought called fright so it appeared in your head. I used thought transmission."

"If you recognize that communication is thought transmission and not information transmission, you will realize that your communication efforts must be directed to doing or saying something in front of the thoughts you want to appear in someone's head."

"The simple fact of communication is that when you are talking to others, the only things you can be sure are working on the subject you are talking about are your brain, your mouth and maybe their ears. If you want to know what a person's brain is working on, you have to make sounds come out of that person's mouth."

"Rather than making the sounds come out of your mouth (telling people all the things you want them to know) you must do or say something to make the sounds come out of their mouths. That something is ask questions the answer to which, is what you want to tell them."

For example I might state or write "It appears that the majority of you readers have been salespeople for a long time; therefore I assume you have been doing that thing called selling or prospecting or cold calling for a long time. The question that occurs to me is this: Realizing how important time is to you sales reps, I wonder why you would want to take your time to read this newsletter and spend it on a subject that you obviously have been doing for many years.

Then you would tell me all the reasons why you should spend time reading this newsletter or about these subjects, and your reasons would be exactly what I would have told you.

"The major difference is that if we were writing or speaking the thoughts would have come out of your mouth or via your writing rather than mine. Moreover, because you did that I would know those thoughts were in your head. Viola! I have been successful at transferring those thoughts from my head to yours."

Now your assignment is to think up questions that will cause your prospects to communicate to you the answers or results you want to hear.

Are You Missing the Close?

I think you'll find this article on closing of great value. Enjoy!

Are You Missing the Close?

By Robert Middleton

I tend to spend a lot of time writing about the front-end of marketing -- getting attention -- but not so much about the tail end -- the close. I'm becoming convinced that people are just as bad, if not worse, at closing than they are at getting attention. And this means that business that should by all rights be yours is slipping through your fingers.

And there's a lot of misunderstanding about closing. Closing isn't a one- time thing you do at the end of the sales process; it's something you do several times throughout the process.

But first, what exactly is a close?

A close is a question that asks for some kind of commitment. It asks for a decision (yes or no) or for a choice (this or that).

If you're not closing, you're "pouring from the empty into the void"; that is, just talking is going on. Information is being conveyed, questions are being asked, answers are being given, but no decision or choice is ever asked for or made. And the sale never happens.

Here are some opportunities for closes that you may be missing.

You meet someone in person and they show interest in your services. Instead of just exchanging cards, you use this close: "I have a report on improving teamwork. Can I send you a copy?"

You have asked and they will usually agree to receive your report. This first close paves the way for the next step in the process. And you have also put the "law of value" into action, which increases their level of interest in you and your services.

Add even more value by offering to assist in some way. You might be able to offer a resource, an idea or provide feedback of some kind. You make a suggestion and close by asking for a decision: "I'd be happy to review your brochure. I'll take a look and get back to you with some suggestions. Can you send me a copy?" Close accomplished, which gets you an automatic invitation to follow up.

Closes can also be used to screen out or qualify prospects and save you a lot of time and misunderstanding.

If someone calls and asks if you do a certain type of consulting, for instance, you answer with your Audio Logo and then close:

"What I specialize in is working with companies whose meetings are killing their productivity and who want meetings to actually increase productivity. Is this what you're looking for?" If the answer is "yes," you've saved a lot of time and can take the next step.

Closes can be used to nail down commitment when people are showing real interest, but haven't yet taken the final step. This is when you tell them exactly what to do.

They say, "I think executive coaching for our management team is a good idea." You say, "So do I. Here's the first step I recommend. (Name the step.) How does that sound to you? If they say "good," you have the sale.

My favorite close, however, is getting the prospect to ask you to close. If closing is the prospect's idea, then there is little or no resistance. I find this works well when I have a qualified prospect on the phone.

I spend most of the time asking questions, giving examples of results I've produced with other clients, and suggesting ideas they might try as well. I never explain how my services work until they ask. When they ask how I work they are really asking me to close. Don't miss it. It's time to nail down a decision or choice.

I usually explain briefly how my services are structured and how they are priced and then ask a very non-threatening question: "Does that work for your budget right now?" This is so much less stressful than directly asking if they'd like to work with you. If it works for their budget, then they have said they are ready to move forward.

Start looking for opportunities to close; that is, opportunities to ask for a decision or a choice. Several positive decisions inevitably lead to the final decision to work with you.

* An old sales saying goes, "Close early and close often." This is good advice, but usually misunderstood. It doesn't mean put on the pressure and make your prospects feel uncomfortable. It simply means asking for small decisions in the course of the sales process.

* Closes should never look formulaic. That is, when you close, you shouldn't look like you're using a technique. That's a turn- off and feels manipulative. Every time you ask a closing question you should sincerely want to know the answer. Your attention is very much on the prospect.

* Sales-closing techniques are neutral. That is, they are not manipulative in and of themselves. They become manipulative if your intention is to trick, deceive or cheat. So don't avoid using closing techniques just because you don't want to be seen as a "sales type."

* The opposite of closing is "order-taking." That is, you don't try to do anything to move the sale forward. You just wait to see what they want to do and then you tell them what you offer. Order- takers think they are being low-pressure and appropriate. They're really just missing the boat.

* In closing, timing is everything. It takes real listening and tuning into your prospect to close at the right time. You only get good at it by doing it a lot. The more contact you have with prospects, the better closer you'll become -- but only if you work at it!

"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at (http://www.actionplan.com) for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service business."

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Has Your Career Derailed?

Dr. Frankel, in her book "Overcoming Your Strengths, 8 Reasons Why Successful People Derail and How to Get Back on Track provides the following reasons why people maybe letting their strengths be their downfall.

Reason 1. Overlooking the Importance of People
Strategy: Build strong one on one relationships.
We build our reputations early in our careers on competence. We remain successful, however, based on a combination and the eight reasons listed here.

Reason 2. Inability to Function Effectively in a Work Group
Strategy: Become an integral member of your team.
People who create strong support systems consisting of relationships with individuals may derail due to their inability to participate as members of task forces or project teams.

Reason 3. Failure to Focus on Image and Communication
Strategy: Capitalize on the power of perception.
Research shows that a full 90% of the impression you make is based upon how you look (50%), how you sound (40%) and what you say (10%). A rule of thumb in business is that you should not dress for the job that you have, but rather dress for the one you want.

Reason 4. Insensitivity to the Reactions of Others
Strategy: Craft a winning personality.
A pleasing personality includes having self-confidence and insight into how you affect others, relating to all kinds of people and making them feel easy around you, knowing that you don't control everyone and everything, striving to act with integrity at all times, treating others the way you would want to be treated and acting graciously even in the most difficult situations.

Reason 5. Difficulty Working with Authority
Strategy: Learn how to manage up.
Managing up means that you are aware of the need to cultivate a relationship with management that produces satisfactory results for both parties.

Reason 6. Too Broad or Too Narrow Vision
Strategy: Balance detail organization with strategic thinking.
To avoid derailment become good at both. Don't sacrifice close attention to detail for broader, more strategic thinking and vice versa.

Reason 7. Indifference to Customer or Client Needs
Strategy: Develop a "Can-Do" attitude.
People who avoid career derailment go above and beyond the obvious job requirements or requests - they anticipate needs and meet them without being prodded.

Reason 8. Working in Isolation
Strategy: Network for success.
With the proliferation of information technology, and the increasingly popular movement towards team-based efforts, individuals are no longer expected to perform their job responsibilities in isolation. Today's sales rep is expected to function interdependently with a large base of information accessible through his or her relationships with others.

In conclusion, until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiatives (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

Consider your strengths and take steps to break old patterns and overcome them. Life is too short not to get the success you deserve.

Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D.
LPFrankel@corporatecoachingintl.com
(http://www.corporatecoachingintl.com)
626-405-7310 (phone)
626-405-7312 (fax)