Peak Performance in Prospecting

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Peak Performance in Prospecting

March 2, 2008 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Call Reluctance, Emotional Intelligence, Mindful selling, Networking, Neuroscience in Sales, Prospecting, Resilience, Role Clarity, Sales Pioneer, Sales Skills, Self Promotion, Wellbeing

Building on from last week’s topic ‘The Optimistic Sales Professional’ I thought I would extend the theme further and explore the topic of ‘Peak Performance in Prospecting’.

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.

What is Peak Performance?
“Sustained, continuous performance at world’s best level in the long-term.”
(Peak Performance. Business lessons from the worlds Top Sporting Organisations, 2000). Peak Performance is a term that is frequently used in sport. In recent times, the term “Peak Performance” has made its way into business. There is a strong parallel between competitive sport and prospecting. The concept of peak performance is a very useful metaphor for understanding what it means to be a top performer.

Peak Performance involves reaching your optimum potential, and maintaining this level of performance consistently over the long run. This does not mean all the time as in 24/7, but the ability to be consistently effective every day in a measured and disciplined way. You may like to read an interesting book called ‘The Corporate Athlete: How to Achieve Maximal Performance in Business and Life by Jack L. Groppel (Author), Bob Andelman (Author). To build on your understanding of Peak Performance in prospecting, I encourage you to read the following vignette of a salesperson who is regarded as being one of the best in their field in developing and growing new business.

Vignette
“Karen won the award as the Business Development Manager of the year for a leading manufacturing of computer software. Throughout the past 3 years, she consistently surpassed her sales target. She described herself as “highly driven and very competitive”. Karen started off doing 40 cold calls each day. She now has 250 accounts. She says her greatest thrill comes from converting dormant accounts into and active ones. Karen believes that “it is vital to establish and build relationships.” She hates losing a sale. When it happens, she says “Its usually because I haven’t grasped the opportunity quickly enough”.

Karen completed a personality assessment. Her personality strengths were found to be persuasive, extremely confident, definitely willing to take risks when necessary, and very assertive, disciplined, and gregarious. She came across as a truly outgoing, engaging individual who genuinely enjoys opportunities to meet new people and to transfer her knowledge. She enjoys persuading others or “guiding” them to what she believes is the best solution for them. And, because of her confidence and assertiveness, she won’t hesitate to share her point of view – which because of her discipline and focus, is usually very well considered. Underlying all these qualities is a fundamental urgency, or a need to get things done “now”. This sense of urgency enables her to capatalise on opportunities and not allow commitments to go unfulfilled.

Karen’s approach impresses customers because she conveys a definite perspective, in a confident manner, and wants to make sure her solution is thorough and, ideally delivered before it is even expected.”

(Adapted from Greenberg, Weinstein & Sweeney, How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer. The five Qualities that Make Salespeople Great. McGrawHill, 2001).

Now having looked at person who is considered a Peak Performer in prospecting, consider the notion of Peak Performance as it relates to you or your sales team. Do you believe you and/or they have been performing at a peak level over the past 12 months? Review the options below:

Not at all or very rarely
Occasional Glimpses
As often as not
Almost Always

If you have ticked one of the 1st three options what do you and/or they need to do to get to a Peak Level of performance in your prospecting? If you believe you already are there, try to identify opportunities for further improvement.
Areas to consider may be:

Skills
Knowledge
Motivation
Attitudes
Your well-being/energy
Mindset around prospecting
Prospecting Plan
Clarity/direction/information/tools from management etc.

I wish you happy and prosperous selling.

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Watch who you let near your mind

February 4, 2008 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Call Reluctance, Emotional Intelligence, Mindful selling, Neuroscience in Sales, Prospecting, Resilience, Wellbeing, Yielding

With the Sub-prime market issue in the US and its effects on countries and the world’s stock markets featuring as a daily major news item at present who can blame people for getting a bit nervous and worried about the future. You can see it with the panic selling of shares and so forth. However if we let this and other issues get to us and allow ourselves to blow things out of all proportion we can, in turn, create our own demise. Whilst it is critical for business owners and sales people to keep abreast of market changes and challenges we can let real and, more often than not, perceived threats get the better of us.

Choosing your state of mind, your attitude, is critical in business and in life, especially in more challenging times.

Now I am not suggesting we ignore real threats, they need to be taken and dealt with seriously, however many people, especially some sales people can let negative comments, tougher market conditions, hearsay, etc. really affect them unnecessarily.

Once they begin to believe the hype and only focus on the negative they can find themselves in a self-doubt spiral which leads to further problems such as:

Financial: Loss of revenue; No new sales revenue coming in; Existing customer business drying up; Losing customers to competitors
Emotional: Excessive worrying & anxiety about poor sales revenue results; Doubt about doing this type of work; Lack of sleep & exhaustion; Loss of confidence; Self doubt about one’s ability to do anything.

This doesn’t; help anyone. Selling in the good times is easy however being able to pick yourself up and keep moving forward in the tough times is the real test – a test of character.

Take the Mortgage industry or instance. Up until recently you only had to bump into someone in the street and you could almost be assured of selling them a mortgage. Now the market is much tougher and lenders are tightening up on credit. Many mortgage brokers and managers are feeling the pinch. The talk amongst many is negative. Who will make it? Who will survive? It will be interesting to see. Yet people create their own reality. All I know is that complaining and feeling sorry for yourself will not help the situation and is likely to lead to even less sales. Yet if they only looked in the market rather than at their navel they would find there is still business to be had it is just a little tougher to find.

I learnt early on in my sales career to keep on going and put in the effort by doing the activities that count especially in the hard times. Prospecting is key. Without it nothing else happens. I can recall in my recruitment consulting days in the late 80’s and early 90’s when jobs were really hard to find and many recruitment consultants were going out of business that some of my colleagues and I looked at the market and said “just because jobs are harder to find doesn’t mean there aren’t any jobs. Companies still exist. Someone will be in business and someone will want to hire good people so let’s get prospecting and find those companies who still want to hire staff and be in business.” And you know what? By taking that approach and having a positive, determined attitude, my colleagues and I had some of our best results ever. We looked for opportunity and it was there. Whilst everyone else was in despair and whinging about how hard it was, we were getting the work.

So where did I get the determination from to keep on going? Was I smarter than any one else? Certainly not! Upon reflection I think it boiled down to two things for me:

I looked at the market in a more rational manner and saw the evidence for what it was – there was still work out there to be had.
I was also fortunate enough to have to participate in a demanding sport – swimming. I trained 50km+ per week over a 10-year period as a teenager and competed at state and national level in my sport where you were tested mentally and physically everyday. I learnt to be tougher, to get through the pain barrier and to watch out who I listened too. Many a time at race meetings some swimmer would try and get into our heads and scare us to put us off our game. Me, I just tried to shut them out and focus on my own race, my own goals and listen to what my coach said.

Little did I know that I was using some tried and true techniques that still serve me very well today. Years later I would read about and come to realise that I was practicing, amongst other things, the following technique:

Thought Realignment

Thought Realignment is a special adaptation of the self-talk techniques introduced by ancient philosophers. In modern times this concept has been popularised by psychologists Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, and sensationalised as a modern breakthrough, which it is not. It asserts that most, if not all, of our distressful feelings are caused by the view we take of things and situations in life not the things and situations themselves. How we speak to ourselves can really affect positively or negatively the outcomes of our actions.

We all speak to ourselves every day and what we say has an amazing impact on what we feel and do. Thinking negatively about your market place and seeing only bad things will affect your prospecting and sales efforts. Letting other peoples negative thoughts pollute yours can bring you down as well.

In essence what you say to yourself influences what you feel about yourself or a situation which alters what you do. If you want to change what you do then modify what you feel by altering what you say to yourself. You will be amazed how it can transform your day and your results. If your self-talk is going to be self enhancing it needs to be:

Objective
Logically consistent
Goal supportive
Enlightening
Releasing
Uplifting

A good way to check if your self talk is helping you or harming you is to say to yourself the following: Now say “I want to..” and “I have to..” silently to yourself and feel the difference in energy flow in your body. Which one is easier? Which one feels effortless? You will know what I mean when you do it. I know which one I am choosing.

There are basically two types of self-talk

1. Goal Supporting Self-Talk

“I want to …”
“I’d like to …”
“It would be better if …”
“I’ll try to …”

“…and it’s OK

2. Goal Obstructing Self-Talk

“I have to …”
“You have to …”
“I’d better …”
“I can’t …”

“…or else!”

Now there are some realities we need to face such as I know we have to breath, eat, sleep etc. to survive. And I know we have to prospect to sell however taking an ‘I want to’ approach to these tasks makes life and getting sales a whole lot easier and much more enjoyable. So watch whom you let near your mind (especially yourself) and go get the opportunities that are out there waiting for you.

Happy Selling.

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Getting past the Gate Keeper

January 17, 2008 in Call Reluctance, Prospecting, Sales Relationships, Sales Skills

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?’

A Gate Keeper is the person who can prevent you from getting to the Key Decision Maker, the person who is really in a position to make the sale happen for you. A Gate Keeper could be the receptionist or a personal assistant. Alternatively, it could be your primary contact who you are dealing with during the process and who is preventing you from having access to the people who are in the real circle of influence (i.e. the key decision maker).

The biggest mistake sales people make is taking on the mindset of trying to get past the gate keeper rather than trying to work with them.

As a sales person, your task is to determine as quickly as possible how you can work with and around the Gate Keepers so that you can ensure your message is reaching those individuals who are in a position to move the sales process forward. Influencing this person can even be as simple as developing a rapport with the receptionist and fostering your relationship with them each time you come in contact with them.

Each time I encounter one of these people (especially if they are the PA to the Key Decision Maker) I explain clearly and directly why I am wanting to speak to the Key Decision Maker and then ask the PA for their guidance and opinion as to whether what I am calling about would be something the Key Decision Maker has on their list of priorities. In my experience they are more than happy to help and often end up making an appointment for me to meet the Key Decision Maker.

If you are having trouble getting to see the right people here is are some guidelines that might help you work with and not against the gate keepers.

Key Characteristics can include:

Uncooperative
Protective of Key Decision Makers
Can be on a power trip
Possess a lot of information about the company
Can help you navigate through the organisation
Can very quickly turn into coach if treated well

How To Deal With Them:

Engage them as much as possible as early on as possible
Ask them for their opinion
Make them feel important
Don’t put pressure on them
Build meaningful relationships with them
Don’t ignore them once you get to the Key Decision Makers

Remember Gate Keepers are people too and are often very good at their job. Many of them are just doing what was asked of them. They deserve our respect too.

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Learn to say ‘NO’

October 18, 2007 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Communication, Ethics & Values, Resilience, Sales Skills, Sales Training, Value Proposition & Value Add

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.

Just look at the ‘perpetual sales’ going in retail all the time. No one ends up making any money and people go out of business. If you are in retail check Debra Templar’s website www.retailservices.com.au and read what she has to say about this. She is appalled at the state of many Australian Retail businesses and their inability to hold their prices and run successful businesses.

Let’s face it; there will always be someone offering their products or services cheaper than you. But are they offering exactly the same as you? Make sure you know how you compare to the competition. It’s worth it – are you comparing apples with apples?

If your customer is saying “I can get the same thing much cheaper down the road” don’t just accept this as truth. Too many sales people accept these statements at face value not bothering to check if it is true or not. And some customers try this tactic to see if you will cave in or not so they can get something at your expense.

A particular example springs to mind for me:- I recall, in the early days of starting my business, meeting with a recruitment consultant with the express need of helping me find an admin person. I needed an admin person and I didn’t have the time to find one myself so I was ready to buy. The meeting went well and I thought she would do a good job for me. Having been a recruitment consultant myself I knew what was good value in this field. So I asked her how much her fees were. Her immediate response, with no prompting or bargaining from me was this “Oh it’s 12% but you can have it for 10%!’ I was quite shocked. Not only hadn’t I haggled, I didn’t even say anything to indicate I wanted a discount. I would have paid 12 % but instead, took advantage of the discount. Why not was I going to say ‘oh no I’ll have it for 12%’? She was clearly at fault here and had assumed that I would try and beat her down on price so she got in first.

This got me thinking about what is the real price for things and why do so many sales people drop their prices time and time again. If sales people continually do this it can leave the customer doubting the people they are buying from and questioning the real value of what they are getting.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” points out that more than 74 percent of all people are willing to pay the recommended price. He suggests that your prices need to be fair and your need to be firm. You need to be able to stand your ground and know how to prove your value. He then recommends that you ditch the other 26 percent and let them hammer your competition into no profit and bankruptcy, and concentrate on the customers who are willing to pay.

I recall my days working as recruitment consultant for Morgan & Banks. We were not the cheapest in town, in fact we were in the upper quartile for fees and service. When I met with potential new customers to see if we could work with them we would also discuss the fees we charged. We charged 15% and upwards for recruitment assignments as compared to the industry average at the time of 10% or 12%. Many prospective customers assumed that we recruitment consultants were all alike and baulked at the idea of 15%+. Now I could have crumpled and said ‘ok you can have it for 12%” but I didn’t. Instead I asked them what they were getting for their 10-12% so I was able to understand what was on offer and what they saw as value. Once I had that information I was then able to compare our service offering to what they were getting. What they found was there was more on offer for our 15%+ than what they were getting for 12%. And they were able to compare and contrast the various offerings using evidence not just hearsay and make an informed decision. And so was I.

More often than not they went with me and paid the 15%+.

Don’t forget The price is just an arbitrary figure until it is ascribed a value. It means nothing in of itself. Sure the pricing of your product or service needs to be pitched in the right market level, however, make sure you can articulate the value of your product or service offering using real evidence. If you do your homework you might find that you are selling yourself, your products anfd services too cheaply. Here are some hints:

Make sure you know how your products and services compare and contrast with that of your competition.
Make sure you fully understand what the customer needs and what they value so you can build a sound business case for using you and make sure you have an economic case to justify your price point. Know what your Return on Investment (ROI) offering is.
Stand up for your business. Do not fear confrontation or conflict. Be proud of what you do and tell your customers that you do not discount unless it is based on volume. Make sure you can always make money.
If your strategy is to buy market share then be very careful as lifting prices from a lower base is much harder. And you don’t want to end up like Visy or Amcor.
Do not give things away to keep the customer ‘sweet’ either, they will not respect you and will keep trying to take advantage of you at your expense.

Learn to sell to the ‘right’ customers:

It helps to identify a ‘Viable’ customer – someone who can buy from you right now for the right reasons. Do they have the following three conditions operating simultaneously?

MONEY – the willingness & ability to pay for it?
AUTHORITY to make a decision, and
A real NEED for your product or services?

If so then sell to them, if not move to the next customer but always leave the door open so they know to come back to you when they are viable.

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Ashamed of being in sales

August 27, 2007 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Ethics & Values, Mindful selling, Prospecting, Value Proposition & Value Add, Wellbeing

Need you daily fix of self-help tapes/CDs or guru books to get you pepped up to sell.
Have a fragile positivism about sales, which bursts at the slightest criticism.
Can’t wait to get out of sales to get a “real” job.
Secretly ashamed of being in a sales career – this isn’t what I should be doing, my mother wants me to be a dentist.
Fear the loss of approval of your friends, family or peers because you think they will think less of you if you are in sales.
Don’t like being called a sales person – prefer titles like marketing consultant or pre-need counsellor (yes, this one is for real).
Other departments, friends or family deride your career choice in sales.

Sound familiar?

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.

Imagine waking up everyday feeling ashamed about what you do and carrying that unresolved guilt with you wherever you go. It’s exhausting. Often times it sits beneath the level of conscious awareness, silently gnawing away at your confidence, your feeling of worthiness, until one day you can’t take it anymore.

Always looking for greener pastures as a way to resolve this feeling, sales people afflicted with this issue often quit highly successful sales careers to go into management roles or something else that doesn’t require selling. And no one even questions why.

Many settle for something beneath their abilities and some go into management or worse still – sales management or sales training. What hasn’t changed is that they still carry this unresolved issue with them.

Then they often unwittingly pass it on to their unsuspecting peers with comments and negative attitudes towards sales. If in sales management or sales training, their sales team cop comments like “Oh we don’t call ourselves sales people here”, or “We don’t have to sell – we consult”, as well as “The product sells itself”, “All sales people are pushy and rude and we aren’t like that here, are we?”, etc.

This then perpetuates the whole cycle again by instilling mistaken beliefs about selling and creating doubt and shame about sales in a whole new group of people. And still no-one questions why? Just go into some professional services firms or non-sales departments of business and listen to how they deride sales and sales people.

What are their criticisms based on? Why do many people still hold a negative view of selling? Do they know what good selling actually is? Are they basing their view of selling on bad business practices? How did people develop poor and misinformed views of selling?

Maybe one reason is that in the 1970s, 1980s and early to mid 1990s, many sales teams were trained to be either:

Aggressive and adversarial in their negotiations with clients leaving people feeling battered and worn-out in the process to get product or service.
Very product focused – “show up and throw up” sales approach.
Soft and insipid, basing their sales efforts on mateship or special deals (often bribery) which usually resulted in a loss for the business they represented.

Or another reason may be the persistent myths about the tricks and secrets to sales success touted by so called “sales gurus” who teach people how to get sales at your client’s expense.

No wonder many people shy away from selling as a career. Whether they are conscious of it or not, they don’t like how selling has been “sold” to them. I don’t blame them.

I have spent much of my professional career helping people rearrange their thinking and understanding about what good selling actually is. Techniques of manipulation and intimidation, stimulus response selling and rapport alone do not work and never have for long-term sustainable client relationships.

Relationships do not work or last if they are forced or coerced.

I think “selling” needs a PR makeover. Old selling mythology needs to be superseded by a more accurate view of what good selling actually is. Check the view of selling as defined below and see how it sits with your belief system and values. How does it resonate with you?

View of selling

You have a view of selling that is positive because selling helps sales people and companies understand and identify what their customers’ needs are, then helps them fill their needs in an ethical and professional manner and allows for profitable ongoing business relationships.

Whether you have the skills or not to sell, you shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed of what good selling actually is. Remember: Everyone lives by selling something.

Done well, sales is an honourable career we can’t do without.

We all know people want to buy from people they trust! They always have and they always will, if they can. In fact, top performing sales people have always sold based on trust, transparency and doing what they said they would do. And their view of selling was always positive and honourable, despite the prevailing paradigms mentioned above.

If you’re still not sure, check the following implication – to make more money, you have to like sales people, and that sales people are morally and ethically inclined!

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