by Marta Malyk | Apr 24, 2023 | Best Sales Practices, Building Relationships
As a salesperson how you manage your business can communicate volumes about how you perceive your role and the solutions you offer. Ideally, a salesperson should be perceived as having a strong conviction that they are offering something of value to clients. Also, they should be viewed as a trusted peer with your sales prospects and clients. Unfortunately, we may be communicating something very different because of the way we are managing our time and relationships. This could impact our earning potential.
As a seasoned sales professional, I’ve learned that it’s possible that a salesperson could come across as less confident about their solution than they are, and that they could be communicating in a very subtle way that they don’t see themselves as their prospects’ equal.
Let’s look at how this could happen.
Is everyone a serious prospect for you?
It’s important to recognize that not everyone will or should be your customer. The most important part of the lead qualification process is to determine if there is a need and a fit. This is an acknowledgment that not everyone needs your solution immediately and even those who have a need may not be a fit for your specific solution. When you implement a strong lead qualification process, you must take a step back and understand the value that the solution offers a prospect and assess whether the prospect is an ideal candidate for your solution. Doing this assessment with your prospect communicates that you recognize the value your solution provides, and you are not someone who works with everybody. When your prospect recognizes this, you might become more attractive to them as someone to do business with.
Are you always available?
When you connect with a new prospect are you attempting to meet with them immediately – looking for the first moment that they have available time? Or are you sharing that you have a set time each week that you have allocated to meet with new clients and proposing one of those timeslots? Seeking the first available timeslot might cast you as more “needy” than you might like. In addition, it makes sense to allow time to research your prospect before you meet. Having certain days of the week that you meet with clients suggests that your time is in demand and that you have a business process that is well-organized and thoughtful.
Are you working all the time?
We all need personal time. And with all the discussion around work-life balance, there is increasing awareness of the need for it. In fact, by placing limitations on your own time, and creating set work hours, once again, you are demonstrating that you proactively managing your business, not scrambling to meet every need. Of course, there are emergencies that we need to handle, but those should be exceptional. We all need to recharge – and that not only includes taking time for relaxation and family but for engaging in ongoing learning in our field. Placing limits on our time creates the opportunity to recharge, learn, and interact with our clients and customers when we are at our best.
In my experience, salespeople give themselves the best chance for success when they strive for these strong sales management traits.
- They realize that not everyone is their ideal customer and use a robust lead qualification process.
- They organize their time well, including when and how they meet with prospects.
- They work to balance their work activities with their non-work life.
I know that achieving this consistently can be a struggle for some of us, but there is real value in working towards this for our well-being and for how our business is perceived by others.
If you need help bringing out the best in your sales team, reach out to us at One of a Kind Sales. We love cold calling, and we understand the systems that need to be in place to do it effectively. Give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Apr 10, 2023 | Lead Generation, Sales Training
As part of our bi-weekly Sandler training, we reviewed and discussed a video from Simon Sinek, leadership expert and author of several best-selling books, including Start with Why.
One of the key takeaways in our class was that when most businesses describe their mission, they describe ‘what’ they do and ‘how’ they do it, but they rarely touch on ‘why’ they do what they do. When we address our ‘why’ and our ‘how,’ we access the feeling part of our brain. As Simon Sinek described it, this is the limbic brain, the most ancient part of the brain – the part of the brain that controls our feelings, our behavior, and our decision-making. Speaking about ‘what’ we do does not address the most important part of the brain.
What does this mean for salespeople?
We know that prospects are motivated to purchase based on “pain.” The feeling part of the brain is moving them to take action (behavior) and ultimately, they will make a decision. When we share a mission that starts with our ‘why’ we’re already addressing the pain that our customers experience. We are, according to Sinek, “talking to the part of the brain that controls behavior.” Our ‘why’ becomes the hook that attracts a customer’s attention and brings them toward us.
Simon Sinek’s research led him to conclude that organizations that lead with their ‘why’ are best positioned for success in the marketplace because they speak to the portion of the brain that controls decision-making.
After our training, we looked closely at our mission statement and realized we also focused heavily on the ‘what,’ but not the ‘why.’ Our ‘what’ includes lead generation and sales training our ‘how’ is described as unique lead generation techniques with highly trained, highly motivated sales professionals. We decided to tweak our statement to incorporate a ‘why,’ and we believe this makes our mission statement stronger. Our revised mission statement is:
Our goal at One of a Kind Sales is to help businesses stop leaving money on the table. We do this by PROUDLY delivering unique lead generation by setting qualified appointments and providing top-of-the-line sales training for our clients and their employees.
If you’d like to explore opportunities to leverage our capabilities on behalf of your organization, we’d love to talk to you. Give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Mar 27, 2023 | Best Sales Practices, Sales Training
I’m feeling revitalized! I just returned from the annual Sandler Sales Leadership Summit in Orlando. I’ve been a proponent and student of the Sandler Selling System for the past 10 years. Each year I have attended this particular summit. Why? Because I always come away inspired and motivated having learned something new and having interacted with many other highly motivated sales professionals.
What Impressed Me?
The “BAT” Triangle. This is a foundational Sandler concept that describes three elements required for success in any activity. BAT stands for “Behavior,” “Attitude,” and “Technique.” David Sandler believed that the most important of these is Behavior. Engaging in the right behaviors can favorably impact your Attitude, and as you use these behaviors, your Technique will improve. David Sandler said, “You cannot manage results, only behavior.”
This makes sense to me. If we focus on results and have no supportive behaviors directed at achieving those results, we end up frustrated about our performance. This brings to my mind a scenario in which a sales rep is worried about achieving her sales plan, but not making any sales calls.
At One of a Kind Sales, we see daily proof that intentional, consistent deployment of key behaviors or practices drives our results. And those results support our positive attitude (team morale). As a leader, I reinforce those behaviors with training focused on honing our technique.
And Next Year?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, ‘I’ve been doing this for my entire career, so I don’t need to go to a conference where I will hear something I’ve possibly heard before.’ But I know I will gain a different way of seeing things, reinforcement of best practices, and a strong commitment to continuing this proven approach. As a result, I will continue to attend these Sandler Leadership Summits. (I’ve already reserved my spot for next year!)
My team and I engage in weekly Sandler training sessions. The Sandler Selling System has contributed directly to our success and I believe it sets us apart from the rest. You need to invest in yourself so that you can utilize your best skills on behalf of your clients. As my team and I work with our clients, we know that we are using best-in-class approaches and we can consistently get results, even in an increasingly competitive environment.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love selling. We are experts at cold calling, in particular. If you want to discuss how we can help you and your team, please contact us at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Mar 20, 2023 | Podcast
About Kevin Hopp: Kevin Hopp is a Founder of Hopp Consulting Group. Kevin is an expert in outbound sales development for B2B SaaS companies. He has worked with over 50 organizations, crafting outbound campaigns that have generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue for some of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing companies. Kevin shares his top tips to win at cold calling, including having a script and following up. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Kevin.
In this episode, Nancy and Kevin discuss:
- Why does Cold Calling get such a bad rep?
- Why does training and having a well-structured system matter in sales?
- VM World – How long does Kevin pursue a prospect until moving to another one? How many attempts does he make?
- How to set a qualified appointment without cell mode?
- Kevin’s thoughts on the consultative discussion in setting appointments.
- Fun fact about Kevin – 3 thumbs!
Key Takeaways:
- Nobody likes to be sold. Everybody likes to buy things.
- If you think cold calling is dead, you’re just not doing it the right way.
- I believe passionately that if you get good at the systems and processes that make sales development people more efficient, you will enjoy your job more.
“Many salespeople, as you and I both know, are kind of unprepared to have a conversation with a live prospect at any given moment, and because they’re unprepared. They’re scared of it. They’re really scared of cold calling. They’re scared of what might happen. They’re scared of getting told I’m not interested and getting hung up on. And they don’t have a structure or a process. I’ve gotten so obsessed and so passionate about Cold Calling because I was an entry-level sales. Though that had to just cold call all day, and I had the pit of my stomach feeling every time before I pick up the phone. So I’ve dedicated, the beginning of my career here for the first 9-10 years just becoming as good as I could possibly be at having sales conversations.” – KEVIN HOPP
Connect with Kevin Hopp:
Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
Connect with Nancy Calabrese:
by Marta Malyk | Mar 14, 2023 | Best Sales Practices, Cold Calling, Leadership, Sales Best Practices
Salespeople hear the word “NO” often, and that can be very demotivating. If your business depends on a sales team for growth, it’s important to ensure that the team can weather those disappointments and not lose momentum. Cold calling, in particular, is one of the most difficult aspects of sales. As an expert in cold calling, I know we will hear a lot of NOs before we hear the YES response that makes all the negative feedback worth it. In my experience, it’s critical to keep the team motivated. Here are some steps I recommend you take to keep your sales team moving towards their next win.
Develop a personal relationship. Show interest in your sales team members as individuals. Set aside time to meet with them individually, get to know them, and let them get to know you. You’ll begin to develop a deeper understanding of what motivates them.
Facilitate a “team-centered” approach. Encourage the team to share wins and losses in an environment that is non-threatening. They can learn from the successes and failures of team members, and this will make your team stronger and build trust within the team.
Be open to and seek feedback. Being on the front line, your salespeople may be the first to recognize gaps. By engaging and addressing these issues directly with your team, you demonstrate your respect for them and their important role in the business.
Set achievable goals and compensate them for what they deliver. Competitive salespeople are goal-oriented, and they will have a good sense of what is realistic versus what is not. For cold callers, the goal is to make an appointment with a qualified prospect. When that happens, they should be rewarded for it, and they should not be penalized if the appointment must be rescheduled.
Invest in your team. I’m a strong believer in ongoing training. If you value your salespeople, you should want them to have the strongest sales skills that they possibly can. This will drive excellent performance and increased sales. Investing in your salespeople with training communicates to them that you value them. This will maintain their motivation and increase their loyalty.
Cold calling is our specialty. At One of a Kind Sales, we create the plan, establish the tracking process, build the skills, and make the calls. If you need help creating an environment that supports an effective cold calling team or want to add cold calling to your sales mix, give us a call at 908.879.2911.
Good Selling!
