Noise Reduction part 2: Is too much information making you miserable and losing you sales?

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Noise Reduction part 2: Is too much information making you miserable and losing you sales?

May 12, 2010 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, CRM, Sales Planning, Sales Research, Time Management

With information comes choice and without proper guidelines and filters in place, too much information and too many choices can lead to indecision. Indecision can then lead to paralysis making us unhappy, unproductive, and at worst, ineffective. In sales careers, or any role for that matter, too much information and the subsequent indecision is a real killer – in fact, making no decision is far worse than making the wrong decision.

Barry Schwartz, professor of social theory at Swarthmore College in the US and author of The Paradox of Choice states “too much choice is paralysing us and making us miserable”. I can’t help but agree. At times I feel I am drowning in a tsunami of information and feel increasingly confused as I try to work out what to focus on and what to discard. I am not alone in these feelings; many people I speak to are also reporting feeling overwhelmed and anxious by all the ‘noise’. Some are even checking out of mainstream information and news sources and choosing to dramatically reduce their diet of information.

In our haste to keep up, be on top of things, be seen as the one with all the answers, and be ahead of the pack, are we inadvertently creating a climate of confusion, indecision, and unnecessary distress by exposing ourselves and our teams to too much information? I suggest the answer is ‘Yes’.

For instance, there is a learned behavioural syndrome called ‘Overpreparer’ which can account for 40%+ drop in sales productivity for sales people with Overpreparer tendencies. It is often caused by organisations placing undue importance on the need to be overly prepared and knowledgeable. Being prepared takes precedence over getting out and selling. For instance, in banking and finance where compliance is important, Overpreparing is often systemic creating a culture of indecision and paralysis by analysis where sales people use it as an excuse to not prospect and sell.

Despite feeling out of control we can regain control over how we process, use and manage information. Having a clear head and removing clutter from our lives is critical if we want to be productive and effective. As promised in Noise Reduction part 1, here we will explore some strategies that may help us reduce the ‘noise’ and recalibrate our signal-to-ratio (SNR). So in the spirit of less is more, here are some simple principles we can follow as a guide to effective noise reduction and decision making:

Step 1: Set clear goals

Clear goals help you determine what to focus on and what information you need to have at hand to help you achieve your goals.
Clear goals help you prioritise your thinking and actions, assisting you in planning each step of the way.

Step 2: Determine what you need to know

Put in place filters that will help you determine what information you want to focus on: Does this information help you get closer to the goals that are important to you?
Work out what is ‘essential’, ‘desirable’ and ‘nice-to-have’, and prioritise in that order.
Cultivate a scientific mindset – scientists begin by defining a hypothesis then look specifically for data or information that either corroborates or refutes that hypothesis.
Determine what information and networks your business and your sales people need to be aware of in order to make good decisions (i.e. market trends, competitors, product innovations, changes in legislation, etc.)
Find out what your clients are interested in reading and hearing.
Find sites and networks that keep you up to date with the latest trends and are quick and easy to read.
Make sure your CRM is collecting useful client and market information that is aligned to your goals and can be applied in a meaningful manner (i.e. creating client buying patterns report, etc.), then ignore the rest.

Step 3: Determine effectiveness

What information (blogs/references/forums/publications/social media sites/networks, etc.) are proving to be useful to you (your customers, your business and your communities)? Why?
Check why you originally chose this information or network sources and ask if they are still relevant.
Determine how often you use these information sources.
Check how you apply these information sources in your job or in your communication with each other and clients/suppliers (tangible outcomes, practical solutions, etc.)
Verify what is ‘fact’ and what is not. Is it evidenced based? Is it supplied by a reputable source that can be validated and checked?
Check how quickly it takes you to gain a quick and concise understanding of the content.

Step 4: Prioritise and don’t be afraid to limit your options

Count how many subscriptions you currently have or networks you belong to; check for duplications (i.e. similar blogs, sites or networks offering the same information) and irrelevant sites or networks (not aligned to your goals) then cull.
Reduce your ‘daily’ alerts to ‘weekly’ alerts.
Don’t check your emails every time they arrive, make time to check every 15-30 minutes or so.
Create a new email address exclusively for your subscriptions so your working email is not cluttered up with low priority data.
Synchronise your bookmarks.
Create a filing system that allows you to reference your information quickly and easily.
Link new information to what you already know. Drawing concept maps is one such way that helps you to build knowledge over time and draw links between ideas and knowledge sources.
Allocate specific time twice or three times per week to review your subscription information sources rather than being constantly interrupted by incoming alerts.
If you need to surf the web, make time to do so when it doesn’t interfere with your work priorities.

Step 5: Find some quiet time

Allow your mind and your senses to rest and switch off. Being overly anxious narrows your focus and limits your ability to sort through and process information effectively.
As strange and boring as this may sound, find time to do mundane tasks that do not require you to process complex information.
Do some regular exercise like yoga or go for a run to get in touch with your body, breath, heart and nature.
Meditation requires effort to achieve single pointed focus, however the daily practice of meditation quiets the busy mind and gives you the space you need to recharge and recover from information overload.

As you can see, even discussing reducing noise creates noise, and the signal-to-ratio spiral continues… Without running away to live in a cave, my best suggestion is to take on board a couple of things; stop reading about reducing noise and get out there and sell. By staying focused on a few keys things and taking action we might just find that the noise fades into a faint, background murmur and we are happier and more productive as a result.

Remember, everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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I’m not a sales person but I have to sell. What do I do?

February 24, 2010 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Self Development, Self Promotion

After thousands of hours of study and many years honing technical skills to be a competent professional in your chosen field, it can come as a rude shock that you now need to sell your services and capabilities as well. In today’s busy market, a competent selling capability isn’t a nice-to-have it is an essential business and life skill.

Interestingly, the topic of selling and growing a business often doesn’t feature in those university lectures does it? In fact, selling is in many cases covered over and, if spoken about at all, was only mentioned as an unsavoury aspect employed by the desperate. ‘We don’t have to sell because we are …’ are the famous last words of many failed professional or small business owners who focus only on their domain of expertise as the distinguishing factor. Well those days are well and truly over.

This myopic view of the essential life skill of selling has often left people feeling vulnerable, confused and financially worse off. No longer can you rely upon only your technical competence to guarantee your success or wait around for passive referrals.

The bad press that often accompanies the profession of selling doesn’t help either. Often the only ‘selling’ stories we hear or read about in the media are those about shonky operators exploiting anyone they can, especially the vulnerable and weak. For instance, the plethora of insulation businesses and telemarketing firms exposed as fraudulent and incompetent has done nothing for the PR of selling. This type of behaviour is labelled as ‘selling’ by the media which I argue is incorrect. The type of behaviour and intentions exhibited by these operators and other ‘shonk merchants’ is actually fraud and deception, and in some cases bullying and intimidation. That is not selling. This is one reason why many people don’t want to be in sales. Who wants to be associated with ‘shonk’?

There is another issue too, the old Australian legacy of the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome. Heaven forbid that you take proactive control over your destiny by getting out there and promoting your business and your capabilities so others may benefit. Heaven forbid that you actually make a name for yourself. ‘Who do they think they are?’ or ‘They’ve got tickets on themselves’ are some of the catch cries from people who begrudge those who get up and make what they do visible to other the people.

These syncs often confuse proactive, ethical self promotion, prospecting, and selling practices with self- grandiose, boasting or big noting. Sure there are a few people for whom this is true; it’s all about them. While these people can be highly entertaining in some instances, people often tire of them if there is nothing of real value and substance to support them. The truth is one can lead a very successful sales career without becoming a boastful, self-absorbed git. In fact, the research into highly effective sales professionals shows they are often humble, highly self-aware, collaborative, see the big picture and details, effective at what they do, and have a ‘we’ not ‘me’ focus. They are very capable, resourceful, and engender trust on all levels. They are worth knowing. Is this what most of us want for ourselves? Don’t we want people to know that if they work with us they will be better off as a result?

Despite the overexposure of those shonky operators by the media or the cringe factor brought about by the ‘tall poppy’ critics, there are a lot of good untold stories about ethical selling practices out there. They often don’t make the mainstream media or general conversations because they are happening everyday in millions of ways. It’s a bit like IT, we never celebrate or talk about the fact that our IT system hasn’t crashed we only hear and complain about it when something goes wrong.

Yet many people struggling with the concept of selling pay good money to go on selling skills courses to learn how to sell and yet they never put it into practice. So before you pay money for selling skills, examine the state of your mind; the beliefs, feelings, and intentions you hold about selling.

Your beliefs, not your abilities, could be holding you and your career hostage. Before you can dedicate the energy to become skilful and masterful in something as complex as selling, you need to want to sell.

So let’s cut to the chase, for those of you who now need to consciously include the capability of selling in your business mindset and skills here are a few things to consider:

Why do you need to sell? Who will benefit from you being able to sell competently?
How will ethically and proactively promoting and selling your capabilities help you and your clients?
What is your current view of selling? Do you hold onto a view that makes you feel ashamed of selling? How is that view affecting your ability to keep your business healthy and viable?
Can you reframe your thinking about selling? See it as a way to make what you do visible to the people who need to know about you so they can benefit from your skills and talent?
How do you feel about the statement ‘everybody lives by selling something’?
How can selling be incorporated into your business and align with your ethical values and desire to run an honourable business?
Do you feel worthy of being able to earn what you are worth?

Sadly limiting beliefs about selling are a significant issue for many people and something that can be overcome with patience, clarity, and persistence. If this is an issue for you please feel free to contact us to discuss this further. We would be happy to help you get started on your sales career.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Is Call Reluctance® choking your sales effort?

December 9, 2009 in Call Reluctance, Prospecting

Whether we are working for a private or public company, a “not for profit” or government institution, all of us are in some way competing for access to a revenue source to fund our existence.

How capable people are to take on the responsibility for improving the revenue line of a company is a hot topic in today’s competitive market.

Research shows that no longer can companies and their people rely on their technical competence, passive referrals, reputation, brand or blanket advertising to bring in new business and revenue streams as they may have done in the past. They also need to effectively self- promote and prospect for new business using professional and ethical sales strategies, and demonstrate real value for money.

Visibility Management
In short, we need to be visible and manage our visibility so that customers know who we are and what we can do.

The research shows we need to make our competency visible to people who need to know about us. Therefore, companies and sales people must first be VISIBLE to be RECOGNISED for what they do well and they must be RECOGNISED before they can be REWARDED!

Social media is an emerging avenue that makes getting noticed and making our capabilities visible easier if done properly, however on its own it is unlikely to yield and drive the type of qualified sales leads we want in the time frame and volume we need to keep us viable. Social media is visibility management and an education and influencing forum, however it is only part of a prospecting strategy.

So, because of this we need to make sure that our sales teams are fully equipped to prospect effectively and regularly or else we are at risk of missing sales opportunities. Firstly, let’s quickly define Prospecting.

Prospecting is… The identification and pursuit of new business opportunities in new and/or existing accounts.

Prospecting requires sales people to establish contact with people who might buy your products or services. Whether it’s phone prospecting, face-to-face prospecting or group prospecting, in-bound or outbound, nothing gets sold until sales people get in front of or talk to potential buyers.

However, the sad truth is that many people find prospecting very hard work. In fact, research shows that only about 20% of sales people are fully effective when prospecting.

That leaves approximately 80% of people struggling with the function of prospecting. In most cases it is not due to lack of knowledge, skill, ability or talent, rather most people are afraid to prospect due to the attitudes and beliefs they have formed about prospecting over the years. This fear is known as Call Reluctance®.

So, why focus on Call Reluctance®?
Barrett has assessed over 50,000 people on their Call Reluctance® profiles and we can attest to the fact that most sales people have some form of prospecting hesitation or Call Reluctance® which affects their sales performance. Our work has allowed us to develop a deep understanding of prospecting hesitation and call reluctant behaviour and the accompanying attitudes across sales teams and businesses cultures.

If you are not convinced by our word, here is some of the research by BSRP which has been compiled over the last 40 years.

Across industries, the sales people who sell the most are those who are most willing to get in front of prospective buyers on a consistent, daily basis. They sell more because regardless of their talent, experience, or knowledge, they always have new people to sell to.
80% of all sales people fail to complete their first year because of prospecting distress with their energy directed towards coping rather than prospecting strategies.
40% of experienced sales people report one or more episodes of Call Reluctance® severe enough to threaten their career.
The hesitation to initiate first contact with prospective buyers on a consistent daily basis is responsible for the failure of more competent, motivated, capable, revenue generating sales people than any other single factor. Nothing else even comes close.
Despite content or quality, no training can earn back what it costs unless sales people initiate contact in sufficient numbers with new and existing clients.
Research indicates that a prospecting hesitant sales person can cost your company 15 new units of business per month.
Non-hesitant sales people are five times more productive than hesitant sales people.
The only significant predictor for success in sales is the number of contacts initiated with prospective buyers on a consistent basis!

The bad news
The bad news is that call reluctant behaviours are highly contagious as they are learnt from being around other people who are Call Reluctant®. It can take as little as 6 to 8 weeks to become contaminated.

At last count there are 12 Call Reluctant® types that can keep people from prospecting effectively due to fear. Here are some of the marker behaviours from the more common types that may give you clues that you or some of your people may be suffering from Call Reluctance®:

Over-reliance on information such as brochures and technical specs; over-invests energy in always getting ready; never enough information or feel adequately prepared; over-analyses and under acts
Nagging guilt and shame associated with being in a sales career generally based on negative stereotypes; may use ‘deflected identities’ to disguise the sales role; tries to be overly positive and instead comes across as insincere
Hesitates to prospect or close sales due to fear of appearing rude, pushy or intrusive; says ‘yes’ when should say ‘no’; avoids confrontation and needs to feel liked; can gossip to remain ‘in the loop’
Overly-concerned with professional image and credibility; may see prospecting as demeaning and unnecessary; doesn’t listen; may talk over people; needs to be seen as better than average

The good news
The good news is that prospecting hesitations and fears can be overcome and unlearnt, thus freeing people to prospect in a consistent and confident manner. Whether you identify prospecting hesitations and fears via a purpose built assessment or your own observations, the first step is to recognise and acknowledge if prospecting hesitation and Call Reluctance® is holding your or your sales team hostage.

The second step is to put in place strategies to eliminate these unhelpful attitudes and behaviours. This can be done by giving people access to effective prospecting skills training that shows how to confidently and competently prospect in a professional manner. If hesitation or fear still persists, then we suggest that you invest in training and coaching that gives people insight into their specific prospecting hesitations and access to well researched, behavioural changes strategies that can be applied to overcomes these specific types of fears.

Prospecting hesitation is preventable so watch who you let near your mind.

PS Don’t forget to complete the Barrett poll on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010. We want to know what you think will be the number one sales trend in 2010.

We will publish the results of the most important Sales Trends for 2010 in January. Make sure you are subscribed to our blog to receive in depth articles on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010, starting in January with the No. 1 trend as voted by you our readers.

Remember: Everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett is Founder & Managing Director of BARRETT

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Exceptional Prospectors

April 22, 2009 in Call Reluctance, Prospecting, Sales Skills, Success

“My most important appointment is prospecting and I do it first up every day.”
“I qualify all leads I generate and have an approach to handle those that aren’t ready yet.”
“People appreciate a professional sales approach and are able to make an informed decision to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because I clearly explain, up front, my reason for contacting them using a customer centred approach. They need only say ‘no’ if they’re not interested.”
“I have a list of categorised prospects or influencers and a set approach for each category.”

Is this what you say, and how you feel and act about prospecting?

These four points about an exceptional prospector support our findings from over 40 years of international empirical research into prospecting behaviours.

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.

Definition of Prospecting

Prospecting is looking for, qualifying, and pursuing potential sales opportunities with new and existing customers and appropriately developing viable prospects into profitable sales.

40 years of International Empirical Research in Prospecting
(Research Reference: Behavioral Sciences Research Press)

The research showed that the main predictor for success in sales is the amount of contact initiated with prospective buyers on a consistent basis!

Across industries, the sales people who sell the most are those who are most willing to get out and get in front of prospective buyers on a consistent daily basis. They sell more because, regardless of their talent, experience or knowledge, they always have new people to sell to. They are visible and they manage their visibility so that customers know who they are and what they can do.

The hesitation to initiate contact with prospective buyers on a consistent daily basis is more responsible for the failure of competent, motivated, capable, revenue generating sales people than any other single factor. Nothing else even comes close.

Despite content or quality, no training can earn back what it costs until and unless sales people initiate contact in sufficient numbers with new and existing clients.

It is a reality that in order to achieve and exceed sales targets through attracting new business, a significant part of the process is going to come down to how well a sales person is able to apply themselves to the prospecting process.

So Prospecting Comes First!

Prospecting is not the only part of selling, or even the most important, however if you want to grow your business it must come first. Unless a sales person will consistently prospect for new business, what difference does it make if they are empathetic or knows the product?

The Good News

While most sales people, by far, experience their greatest difficulties, dissatisfaction, and anxiety at the prospecting stage of the sales cycle, the good news is that many of their issues can be overcome and usually boil down to 2 key areas:

Lack of training in how to prospect effectively: most people are thrown in the deep end and not given adequate training in clear processes and tools to show them how to prospect effectively.
Misconstrued beliefs and attitudes around prospecting: leading to people generating fear-based thoughts, and responses towards prospecting – in other words they avoid prospecting because they are scared of it. These attitudes and subsequent behavioural responses are entirely learnt and can be easily unlearnt with the right support.

If you are at all concerned about your prospecting effectiveness, don’t worry you can address your concerns by using the right approach:

If you don’t know how to prospect but are not scared to have a go then get skills training specifically covering a structured prospecting process and techniques.
If you are afraid to prospect whether you are trained in a prospecting process and techniques or not then you would benefit from gaining insight into your beliefs and attitudes around your hesitation to prospect. (This can be achieved with purpose built assessments and qualified feedback)

If you want advice, coaching or skills training on prospecting process and techniques call us on (+61) 03 9532 7677 or email contact@barrett.com.au

If you want to read more about effective prospecting go to Peak performance in prospecting

Sincerely, your advocate for selling the right way.

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Create your own opportunities

October 24, 2008 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Prospecting, Strategy, Value Creation

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.

These tough times call for us to be even more innovative, inventive, creative and persistent. Some of the most successful sales people are the most adaptive and creative people you can meet, especially when it comes to finding new markets and new ways to solve customers’ problems with their products and services.

As the saying goes “Necessity is the mother of invention’. And in these tougher times it is not only necessary to keep our sales activities going and ensure that have enough people to speak who can work with us but to think creatively about how we going to do that.

Does your thinking or sales approach need a refresher?

If you are feeling in a bit of sales slump here are some questions to consider that may help you keep your ideas fresh, check for any blind spots and help you create opportunities so you can keep your prospecting and sales efforts on track:

What are the current boundaries or rules in your business, team or area of expertise?
What are the rules that can increase the likelihood of success in your business, your team’s field of expertise? Rules can be formal (written down) or informal (spoken or implied). How do these rules help you solve problems?
List 3 times when you didn’t listen to an opportunity and it hurt you, your team / business. What can you learn from this?
What were the rules you followed that kept you from seeing or taking advantage of those opportunities?
What changes can you make to your thinking to increase your imagination and flexibility and create more sales opportunities?
What is impossible to do right now, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change you, your team and your business for the better?

Often times our customers can have the answers to these question also. So if nothing get out there and ask them for feedback about how you can all work together more effectively and creatively get through these challenging times in good shape.

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