Strategic Discipline Blog

Connecting.  In our monthly sales training with one of my clients we’ve established that building rapport, respect, trust and the relationship is the most important part of the sales process.  The RAINGroup.com’s study What Sales Winners Do Differently includes tips and research that diminish this aspect of selling in today’s environment. 

Have you heard the news?   Consultative Selling is Dead.   This from an Inc Article, Why Consultative Doesn't Work.  Not alone, Harvard Business Review issued an article in as much agreeing with this End of Solution Sales. 

I promised to provide nineteen questions your sales people should be asking to qualify prospects.  These questions are provided to me through our Gazelles partnership association with Objective Management Group.  When I first started selling I recall being excited anytime I got someone who wanted to speak to me about my service.   Radio sales was a tough business to start a sales career, and someone who would actually speak to you generated a lot of enthusiasm.  As time evolved I recognized that my time was as valuable as my prospects and I learned that if I spent time with someone who wasn’t qualified it meant I had less time to invest in a good prospect.  I can recall having a great debate with another coach, who was my mentor, over the value of qualifying for price.  In his opinion you shouldn’t qualify for price at the outset because the prospect wouldn’t be able to appreciate the value our service provides until after we discovered their frustration.  My view wasn’t it didn’t do any good to explain value if the prospect didn’t have enough money to pay for our services. 

Determining how to compensate your sales team or person is often one of the biggest challenges a business can face.  Finding capable sales people is a challenge onto itself and then determining who the keepers are makes this muddier.  If you want to keep the performers, you have to come up with a formula that pays them for performance and yet doesn’t hook the company too long compensating them just for potential.  One of our strategic partners, Dave Kurlan of Objective Management Group wrote a blog Sales Force Compensation - X Marks the Spot that offers great insights in the process of rewarding your sales staff.

The first day of medical school students visit the morgue.  This is where their mistakes end up they are reminded. Nothing quite as dramatic is done for sales people, however if you have an idea how to impact salespeople in a like manner please suggest it!