Are You a Student of Sales?

Today sales trainer Kelley Robertson gives us a great remidner - never stop learning!

The business world is constantly changing but many sales people don't keep pace with these changes. Instead, they continue to use tired tactics, outdated scripts, and ineffective approaches.

Consider these questions...

--When was the last time you attended a sales training workshop?
--What was the last sales book you read?
--How often do you implement a new technique, strategy or approach?
--What changes have you made in your sales approach in the last three month? Six months? Twelve?
--Are other sales people in your company achieving better results than you are? If so, what are they doing differently? What could you learn from them?

Several years ago I attended a conference and one of the breakout sessions focused on negotiating skills. I struck up a conversation with the guy beside me and learned that he was the chief negotiator for a prominent gravel company. When he told me that he had held that position for more than 15 years, I asked why he was attending this particular program.

"I can always learn something and even if the session only reinforces what I know, it will be worth it."

What a great perspective!

He truly epitomized the concept of being a lifelong learner and reminded me of the importance of keeping an open mind.

To succeed in today's challenging business climate and increase your sales, it is essential to maintain a student's mindset and constantly look for ways to refine your skill and update your knowledge.

As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com

Digg This!	Stumble It!

SalesDog Quick Tip

Think differently.

Not every group of prospects is going to be interested in the same things. Learn to differentiate between the companies and contacts on your list, so that you can grab their attention in your cold calls and lead generation activities.

Today's quick tip comes from Kendra Lee, a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award winning book "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. To find out more about the author, read her latest articles, or to subscribe to her newsletter visit www.klagroup.com or call +1 303.741.6636

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Where Does the Time Go?

Today sales trainer Tom Reilly shares how a return to some old-fashioned selling may just be your best bet.

Salespeople spend most of their time on non-revenue producing activities. Really?

A recent study found that salespeople spend more than 70% of their time doing things other than selling. Our research found that salespeople spend, at most, 30% of their time in face-to-face selling. The rest of the time is spent handling administrative tasks, making collections calls, resolving logistics issues, attending meetings, and filling out reports.

How can we call these folks “salespeople” anymore when less than half of their time is spent selling? Maybe we should call them "support account administrators who occasionally sell." Who is at fault--salespeople or management? Finger pointing does not really accomplish much other than scapegoating the blame.

It confounds me when salespeople tell me that they cannot make more face-to-face calls. Why not? Do buyers perceive little value in the meeting? Do managers require salespeople to yield to administrative distractions? Is traffic that bad?

I grew up in a sales culture where we were required to make eight face-to-face sales calls per day. If we were in the office between 8 AM and 5 PM, our bosses assumed we were goofing off, and we probably were. Sales managers scrutinized our phone credit card statements to make sure we did not spend the day doing phone work versus face-to-face selling. We did paperwork at night or on Saturday morning. If it sounds a bit Draconian, it was not. We were salespeople after all, not office people. I learned a work ethic that helped me start and run two successful businesses, and I am eternally grateful for the lesson. Maybe it is time for some old-school selling rules again.

Tom Reilly is the president of Tom Reilly Training. He is an authority on value-added selling, and speaks to thousands of salespeople and managers annually on increasing their value to their company and customers.

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Quote of the Week

"Someone might have a germ of talent, but 90% of it is discipline and how you practice it, what you do with it. Instinct won't carry you through the entire journey. It's what you do in the moments between inspiration." -- Cate Blanchett, actress

Time in sales means money. Make the most of yours by practicing, practicing, practicing.

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Lost in Translation

Today's article comes from sales trainer Kelley Robertson. Enjoy!

Too often sales people use jargon, technical terms, acronyms, and other language that sounds foreign to their prospect or customer.

When I worked in consumer electronics, sales people constantly referred to product numbers when talking to customers. Because they worked with the products every day, they were familiar with the SKU numbers but their customers were not.

When you deliver a sales presentation (formal or informal) it is critical that you ensure that your presentation doesn't get lost in translation. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing the other person's attention, or worse, alienating them.

Before every sales call or meeting you need to consider the person(s) you're speaking with, their level of knowledge and expertise, and their position. Then you need to adapt your approach accordingly.

Unfortunately, most people don't think about the presentation from their prospect's perspective. They forget that the other person may not understand the terminology. They don't realize that their prospect may not be familiar with common acronyms or other jargon.

Take the time to simplify your approach before every sales call, appointment or meeting. Eliminate jargon, acronyms and other language that may sound foreign to the other person.


Make it easy for your customer or prospect to understand you and your presentation won't get lost in translation.

As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com

Digg This!	Stumble It!

SalesDog Quick Tip

Find the real value.

If your company offers a lot of different products, think carefully about where their real value lies. What end result are your customers really buying from you? That's the best place to begin your prospecting and lead generation messages.

Today's quick tip comes from Kendra Lee. Kendra Lee is a Prospect Attraction Specialist and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the SMB segment.

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Irritating Listening Habits

Today's article from sales trainer Tom Reilly describes the kinds of listeners we don't like to be around - people who don't actually listen, but are constantly thinking about themselves. Read about these types, and then make sure you're not one of them!

Top-achieving salespeople spend 60% of their time listening on a sales call. Listening is a core competency for salespeople, yet too few companies and managers emphasize its importance to success. Schools rarely teach it. Training budgets generally ignore it because it is a soft skill. Most people assume that if you have two ears you know how to listen. Wrong. Here are some of the irritating listening habits I have noticed in training salespeople:

Competitor —this person is a master of one-upping the other person. The competitive listener typically says, “You think that’s something, let me tell you about something I did.”

Anticipator —this person spends most of his or her listening time thinking about what they will say next.

Rusher —this person is always giving the other person the bum’s rush. The attitude is, “Hurry up and finish, I have something to sell you.”

Distracted —this person is a walking billboard for attention deficit disorder. Every little distraction catches his or her attention. Their being distracted distracts the speaker.

Disinterested —this person cannot even feign being interested. They find the conversation dull and make no pretense to be interested.

Multi-tasker —this person thinks they can effectively communicate with others as they check text messages and emails. This is the phone conversation when you can hear the keyboard in the background. This is just plain rude.

Effective listening requires the listener to put his or her focus on the other person, not themselves. Too many people fail to subordinate their interests in an effort to understand the other person. You can only fully understand what someone is saying (and feeling) when the conversation is more about them than you. This is good listening. This is good selling.

Tom Reilly is the president of Tom Reilly Training. He is an authority on value-added selling, and speaks to thousands of salespeople and managers annually on increasing their value to their company and customers.

Digg This!	Stumble It!