Bill Rice Internet Marketing > Sales Training

Same, Same, but Different

March 23, 2010 By
"Same Same but Different"

Image by samemovie09 via Flickr

My wife recently returned from a mission trip to Cambodia to support the Rapha House. In recounting her experiences one of the lighter moments was her description of the marketplaces. 

Haggling over price is expected in their shopping experience. There are also an abundance of knock-off products. From this springs the colorful and frequent phrase, "Same, Same, but Different." The most common use is in response to, "Is that really a Versace, Rolex, [other popular brand]?"

"Same, Same, but Different."

Flash forward…last week I was talking to a client about a new B2B social media sales training program we are building out. This client (in the business of selling big ticket enterprise software) had already noted a few natural trends in their sales organization, as it applied to using social media. There were three distinct groups:

  1. Sales people not using social media and showing flat or declining sales
  2. Sales people using social media and showing declining sales
  3. Sales people using social media and showing increasing sales

I was asked to explain these observations and recommend a solution. 

My mind immediately jumped to my wife’s description of the Cambodia marketplace anthem–"Same, Same, but Different." The answer was simple, the results typical. The key to success in selling into today’s B2B marketplace is realizing that sales is, "same, same, but different."

Social media is not a sales silver bullet. It will not (or very rarely) yield that one Tweet close. And if you sit around staring at your Twitter stream all day you will fall into group 2.

Here was my explanation: Sales principles are the same, building relationships and trust with buyers is the same, some of the tools and much of the buyers behavior is different. 

Here was my simplified answer (specific to enterprise software sales): 

Selling quarter to half-million dollar software is still a complex sale. You have to really understand the customer, their pain and their decision makers. You have to lower their risk to saying, "yes." You have to demonstrate (typically an evaluation) how you are going to achieve the promise result.

What has changed? They don’t start with the vendor for education (the old RFI process). They start by querying their social network–Linkedin, Twitter, etc. They broadcast their evaluations and consideration on Linkedin, Twitter, or blog posts. They ask lots of questions, seek out communities of current users, and look for thought leaders. Multiple people significant to the buying decision are doing their own independent social media "research," being influenced, and reporting back internally.

Social media, if used efficiently, can give you a front-row seat to this whole process. If you don’t learn and use social media, you are always too late to call and confused why you never had a shot at the client. 

Solution: Group 3 figured it out. We just need to teach the other two groups how their job is the, "same, same, but different."

What would you have told my client?

Filed Under: Sales Training, Social Media Tagged With: Sales Training, Social Media

Motivating a Sales Team

June 15, 2009 By

At a time when sales are so important to companies, having an effective sales team has never been more vital. No one team is perfect, but it will only be as strong as its weakest member. If you would like to see an increase in your sales, there are specific steps that you can take to improve sales performance and motivate your team more effectively.

Sales Force Motivation: 5 Steps

Step 1 – Find the Strengths of Each Member. Your sales management staff should be able to assist you in determining the strengths and weaknesses of each individual team member. If you manage them on your own, you should already have a pretty good idea of what they can and cannot do. Take the time to study their past performance and put together a graph that shows how well they are doing. Having it in front of you in black and white makes a big difference.

Step 2 – Pick a Sales Goal. Before you start sales motivation, it is important to take a look at what you hope to accomplish. Your business is about more than just closing deals and if you are looking to create long term relationships with your clients, or if you need to see a specific amount of sales, this will need to be worked into your overall goal. Once you have an idea of what your team will be striving for, it will be easier to divide up the work.

Step 3 – Find Their Motivation. Unfortunately, motivating an entire team is not a one size fits all solution. Some may be motivated by monetary gains, while others would rather work towards another tangible goal. The key is having something tangible that has a high perceived value. No one wants to put in extra effort to win something that they could get elsewhere.

Step 4 – Set up a Timeline. In order to increase sales performance, you’re going to need to have a timeline and share this with your team. If the promotion will be ongoing and you don’t mind keeping up the incentives, then you can leave this open ended. However, most employees work best when they have a specific goal to meet and a specific time in which to do it.

Step 5 – Provide Individual Help. Some team members may need additional guidance and support in order to perform at their peak level. Have your sales management staff monitor team members to see if anyone is having difficulty meeting their goals. The sooner this issue is tackled, the less likely you will be to have to either fire a team member or have them quit. Since it’s easier to work with existing sales staff than train someone new, this is a great technique to utilize.

Sales motivation can be fun when your whole organization is working together towards a common goal. It helps increase employee morale and the benefits your organization can reap are numerous and more than just increased sales. If your company is struggling to make it in today’s tough economy, consider implementing these strategies.

Filed Under: Social Selling Tagged With: sales force, Sales Training, Social Selling

Three Fast Ways to Build a Solid Sales Team

May 28, 2009 By

A company is only as strong as its sales team, and if you have not taken the time to build a strong foundation, your business will definitely suffer. Building a team may take time, but if you go about it the right way, it is an investment that will keep paying off.

There are three main things to keep in mind when you are ready to build your team, and these points will help you fast track your success.

1.    Focus on Sales Recruiting – Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric stated many times that hiring should be the main focus of your business. You simply cannot let your sales staff become stagnant.

By continually working on sales recruiting, you will be able to build a solid and talented team. Don’t be afraid to replace team members that may not be hitting their quotas. In this economy, businesses can’t afford to be tied down by dead weight.

2.    Hire a Sales Management Director – As the owner of a business, you have enough on your plate without having to manage a sales team. You may want to consider hiring someone to handle sales management for you. The extra expense will be offset by increased productivity, and later sales.

Again, this is a position that will need to be monitored for productivity. If your current manager isn’t cutting it, don’t hesitate to replace them.

3.    Use Project Management Software – To some business owners, the thought of utilizing project management software seems incomprehensible, but even the smallest sales teams can benefit from a cohesive strategy laid out in a logical form.

Set goals for your sales staff, deadlines for specific projects and allow your sales management director to actively manage the team’s projects. You don’t have to be a million dollar company to act like one, and the result is typically success.
By focusing your energy on sales recruiting, and letting your manager handle the actual team, you’ll be freeing up your time to spend on more important matters. Hiring should take precedence in your organization unless you are at financial point where this is no longer feasible.

Three Mistakes to Avoid

Your team may not always function the way you would like, and there are a few mistakes that business owners can make that reduces productivity. Let’s look at some of these common mistakes and how to counteract them.

  • Failure to motivate. If your team is not motivated, they will not produce. It’s merely human nature, but you can harness it for the greater good of your company. The success of your company may not be enough of a motivator for most salespeople. Try finding monetary or tangible motivators to keep your staff happy and productive.
  • Letting problems continue. If you have a sales staff member that just can’t seem to get it together, the first move should be discussing the problem and setting a specific date for resolution. If that date is passed and they simply cannot meet their goals, then you will need to let them go.
  • Failure to innovate. Any business can benefit from innovation, no matter how small it may seem. Encourage your team to come up with new ideas and new concepts.

Putting it All Together

Now that you have the key ingredients to making a team that will function for your company, don’t delay putting it together. Start recruiting new team members and see where they can take your company.

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Filed Under: Sales Management, Sales Training Tagged With: Innovation, JackWelch, Project Management, sale recruiting, Sales Management, Sales Training, Social Selling

Social Selling, Building a Sales Process for a Web 2.0 World

March 24, 2009 By
My web 2.0 progess (2006)
Image by sndrv via Flickr

Unquestionably the Web 2.0 moniker has been over used, but unfortunately sales folks have been slow to pick-up the opportunities it gives us. So, I will carefully use it one more time.

If anything defines Web 2.0 it is the rise of the social Web. People are connecting an communicating more than ever on the Internet. Long gone are the days of one-way websites and brochure-ware brands. The new Web has people commenting, interacting,friending, following, Tweeting, and getting involved with the products and services they want to buy.

Why aren’t you getting involved with your customers?

Attracting

Social networks have little value without people. You need to have an audience. Not just any audience–a relevant audience. Fortunately, most social media makes this prerequisite a snap. They are designed to get you connected with relevant people. Here are a few key steps to attracting an initial following:

  • Complete your profile–this is how people find old classmates, expertise, and friends
  • Add what you do–this is a tactful way of selling your services
  • Don’t forget the picture–helps feel more connected or confirm they have the right person
  • Tell your friends, co-workers, and clients–they make a great foundation and referrals

These four simple steps will easily attract you a loyal following of several hundred folks, and the social proofing you will need to get to an audience of thousands.

Listening

Listening is probably one of the most profitable actions you can take in social selling. Consumers are telling you what they want, expect, and how to close their deal. You just have to be listening for the ques–the invitation to call upon them, the opportunity to help.

In order to do this efficiently you need to set-up a listening post. There are numerous ways to accomplish this, but I have found the best way is with TweetDeck or TweetGrid. The tool is really less important–focus on the words (keywords) that people use to talk about the needs and wants that you can help with.

Engaging

Joining the conversation is the popular mantra of the social media world. Getting in the conversation is how you build a strong audience. Just like Web search, social media search is becoming the cornerstone of how audiences are built.

Every input into your social network–every tweet, every wall post, every Flickr picture–becomes searchable content. The more compelling that content the more people will be attracted to your audience.

Your conversations will help build relationships, trust, and credibility–all the elements of a good sale.

Playing

This is the one element many first time social sellers leave out–Play! No one likes to deal with a person who is always business. Your social network wants to know who you are and what makes you laugh. People like to do business with people like themselves.

I do a lot of business with baseball fans. So, if you are in to music, sports, movies, whatever the interest let people know. You will attract an audience of people that like you, and that always makes it easier to do business.

Tell us how you are social selling…

lead management

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Filed Under: Sales Management, Sales Training Tagged With: facebook, Online Communities, Sales Training, Social Media, Social network, web 2.0

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