Sales Question:

“My sales confidence is at an All TIME LOW… Everything my sales manager has to say, I've heard before and nothing seems to help. Has this ever happened to you and what did you do to get out of it?”

ANSWER:

Yes, I've been in that exact situation before.

To boot, this time of year brings extra pressure for inside sales reps because if the numbers aren’t where they should be or need to be, not only do they hear about it at work, they feel it at home by way of needing extra revenue that isn’t there for the Holidays.

The weight on a salespersons chest during this time of year can feel like a gigantic boulder, suffocating them with no relief in sight.

If you’re in that situation, and would like some ideas that could help you get out of it, there are a few things I’ve learned through the years as a straight commissioned salesperson that may be of some assistance to you.

Essentials to Stimulate Your Own Bailout

Here you go…

1 - Believe in yourself. This isn’t just words. This is literally a conversation that you need to have with yourself.

You need to know that you can do this. That there is a way out and that you have the ability and courage to do so. You will find away. We are made to achieve more than we think and can handle more than we think is possible. This mountain you are facing is nothing more than a grain of sand and you will conquer it. You just need to find the path. It’s not a question of “if” but “how” and know that you have the ability to do it.

2 - Make a List. Start with what you need to do and get on it. Quickest way I’ve ever found to get myself out of a financial jam or sales slump is to pick up the phone and start doing what I should have been doing all along and that is – make sales calls.

Here’s the twist though… Do NOT try and sell.

Desperation selling leaves you empty handed with a trail of prospects in your wake that will never want to hear from you again. Simply call with the purpose to see if it would make sense to have a conversation that would determine if what you have to offer “might” be of some help to them. You will be less threatening to your prospects this way and you’ll pique interest (if your opening value statement is what it should be) and you’ll gain some momentum as you start to set appointments or advance the sales calls right then and there.

3 - Stay focused on the tasks at hand and not the looming cloud of pressure that is hanging over your head. With each sales call, that cloud is breaking up and dissipating. Clearer skies are on the way but you need to keep doing what you are doing.

Bonus Round...

Check your ego at the door. Having confidence in yourself is a must however arrogance is a success killer.

Seek out advice from others who have already been through AND have successfully achieved what it is that you are after. Learning from others who have already succeeded enables you to get the results you want faster than what you would be able to do on your own.

Hope this helped.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)

Sales Question:

"How Many Sales Calls Should I Make Per Day?"

ANSWER:

Depends on what your goals are…

If you want to do just enough to keep your job, make as a little as you can get away with.

If you want to make or even break your sales goals, 60 sales calls per day (including callbacks from prospects) and or 3 hours of talk time (to prospects, not your mom) has been the best winning formula I've found to help me outsell my co-workers and outwork my competition.

WHY 100 DIALS PER DAY IS BAD

If you are making 100 dials a day, that's too many because it means you aren't having any meaningful conversations with prospects. If you were having meaningful conversations, you wouldn't have time for 100 dials a day.

And if you aren't having meaningful conversations, that tells me your entire sales strategy is off. And it's costing you commissions and your organization revenue.

Sure, 100 dials a day may have worked when there was enough low-hanging fruit, but that isn't the way it is now nor is it predicted to be that way again anytime in the near future. "Pitching" is out - "Engagement" is in.

WHY LOW CALL VOLUME ISN'T THE ANSWER EITHER

20-30 calls per day is too little (unless you're breaking the 3 hour talk time mark) because it means you are probably spending more time "researching" then you are selling - which means your sales process and time management skills are in need of an upgrade from what you've been taught. Remember, times are different.

Doing something over and over again that no longer works just because it "used to work" isn't a smart growth (nor survival) strategy.

It's time for some fresh ideas / approach that will help you be more productive (ie. make more sales)

WHAT'S MORE IMPROTANT THEN "DIALS"

What's really most important is the time on the phone, not the dials.

If we aren't having meaningful conversations with prospects we aren't going to be making our numbers.

And if we aren't making our numbers, we can only blame the economy, leads and our competitors "better product / marketing / pricing" for so long.

Make the necessary adjustments and get back on track.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)

Sales Question:

"My Contact Has Gone Cold and Isn’t Returning My Calls or Emails – Should I Try and Call Higher?"

ANSWER:

In my opinion, if in fact your prospect is giving you the cold shoulder, calling higher will most likely only make the situation worse.

Obviously something happened that put you back in the “not worthy of respect” salesmen category.

Notice I didn’t say you did or didn’t do anything to deserve it, but nonetheless, there you are. No sense in doing something that would further solidify their decision by trying to go around them.

I am curious however as to why you didn’t start higher to begin with but let’s assume that you were speaking with the right person based on this particular prospects purchasing process.

Let’s also assume that steps were not skipped and looking back, everything was in line.

Let’s also say that based on previous calls, it is reasonable to believe you were “liked” by the point of contact and were close to finalizing a deal when all of a sudden, poof! No communication.

Not even a “we’ve decided to go in a different direction” email. Nothing.

Now keep in mind we are making a lot of assumptions here that you the salesperson followed the sales process plan to a “T” and were spot on… This is rarely the case in these situations! Most often when a qualified prospect that you would normal sign on as a new client goes “south” we can trace it back to a few missed steps that led to the missed opportunity.

But let’s say everything checked out and you are experiencing that “very rare” situation when what should have been a new client signing goes silent on you.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Don’t Assume Anything. Critical thinking skills take “assumptions as facts” out of the equation.

Maybe your contact was reassigned (or even resigned) or went on vacation or had a personal issue to deal with…

This is where an assistant or a secretary (also known as gatekeepers) can be of huge value and an asset to you…

Try contacting the assistant and be very upfront…

Something like:

“I’m calling because (Prospects Name) and I were close to (however you want to word it) and then all of a sudden POOF! He disappeared on me… If I’ve done something wrong or he no longer wishes to speak with us that’s fine, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t something more serious before we move on… any chance you could ask him how he would like us to proceed from here?”

If there was something internally (like a personal issue or a promotion / demotion or pink slip), you’ll probably hear about it now from the assistant / gatekeeper.

If however nothing like that happened and your prospect is still there, once an internal person passes the message along the odds of you getting a call or at least an email back, will go up.

What If I Don’t Get a Call / Email After That?

TWO CHOICES

If you don’t get some response after contacting their assistant you are really down to only to choices at this point.

Choice Number One:

Drop it and move on. It’s an expensive lesson to learn that you can lose more than one sale by putting your thoughts and energy into trying to resurrect a deal that was within reach but is now gone.

As a professional salesperson, part of our top-level success will come when we can mentally handle the fact that a deal that was within our grasp slipped though our fingers.

You hear all the time that professional athletes need to have a “short memory”… A goalie gives up a soft goal, a pitcher makes the wrong throw that gets taken out of the ballpark, a quarterback gives up an interception or a tennis player flubs an easy winner…

“Sales” is no different. You need to learn how to purge your mistakes and losses and move on (learn and move on, that is) so that that “one missed opportunity” doesn’t turn into 3, 4, 5 or 10 missed sales.

Choice Number Two:

Let’s say this was a really large account and want to make sure you pull out all the stops before opting for Choice Number One above…

Do something that most salespeople won’t do to get on their radar.

Sometimes that means reaching into your own pocket.

• FedEx them a "door stopper" with a note that says “Hope we can keep the door open for possible business in the future”.

• Or try sending a cactus gift basket with a note that says “Up until recently, I thought everything was rosie with our offer... What happened?”

• Or my favorite… It’s a greeting card or poster with a picture of a bridge that says “Problems Become Opportunities When the Right People Join Together" and write a note that says “I can’t help unless I know what the problem is…”

The options in choice number two are the type of solutions salespeople use to separate themselves from their competition. It takes creativity and guts.

And it’s where the glory and rewards are.

Caution: If your prospects “occasionally” or “often” go silent on you that is a symptom of a bigger problem. One that most likely requires an overall tune-up to your current sales philosophy and process.

Hope today's sales tips help. Thanks for reading.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)