Coffman Group Coaches Blog

7 Mandatory Qualities for your Salespeople

2011-05-16T10:53:00.001-05:00

It should come as no surprise that the best Salespeople and Sales Forces have an abundance of conviction, discipline, positive outlook, courage, energy, creativity and resilience. Put them all together and we have the "Sales Mantra."

The trouble is that until recently, strong demand / economic periods in most industries have reduced the Sales Mantra to a collection of fuzzy, optional, buzzwords. Just ask any salesperson and they'll tell you they have all 7 and then some!

But does your Sales Force really have all 7?

1. Conviction - to ask tough qualify questions and walk away from bad prospects

2. Discipline - to do the behaviors that lead to success every day

3. Positive Outlook - that there is an abundance of new business out there

4. Courage - to pick up the phone when it's likely they don't won't to hear from us

5. Energy - to exude success and intelligence and value to the market / clients

6. Creativity - to find a new way when it looks impossible

7. Resilience - to let failure roll off the back...and get back up.

If they are not present in a sales force, you will likely hear finely articulated and likely very accurate REASONS why we can't get new business. Reasons like:

"We need new products at lower prices to compete,"
"There's no way they will change, they've been with xyz for 20 years,"
"They only buy on price,"
"They have to put everything out to bid."

And if you buy those reasons blindly you will spend lots of money and time on R&D, Operations, and becoming "cheaper."

QUESTION: If you had the perfect product, at the perfect price, at the perfect time, with the perfect service, in the perfect economy, whom would you not need? Exactly: salespeople.

RULE: High-income producers are there to FIND A WAY...when it looks impossible.

TIP: Remember all those attitude seminars you've sent your people to in the past; the ones that threw around the words listed above? You will now need to DEMAND them if your sales force is to win. The invisible "gray matter" that separates winners from "at-leasters" is now critical. A great sales force is more valuable today than in a long time.

You probably already have some winners on your Sales Force who you can't even see. Demanding individual regeneration and growth will make them visible.

Coffman Group
(913) 236-9055 | 6300 Glenwood, Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 66202
Serving the Metropolitan Kansas City/St. Louis Area

Relationship Selling: Is it Dead?

2011-03-14T11:16:00.003-05:00

You might know someone who says "NO way, we sell on relationships, that's how our industry works!"

Okay, but have you ever heard the following from a long term client or prospect...

"we really appreciate the work you did on this project and you had a really good program, but for this one we really thought that ABC Inc. had a better XYZ and their price was a little better than yours..." or "our corporate / regional office told me I had to use ABC, there was nothing we could do about it...out of my hands!"

Relationships are indeed important, providing a chance for last look, a trust level when our price is higher but worth it, and established beach head for clients not to change. However, in the last few years the person we have the relationship with now may not be the ultimate decision maker and the priority for dollars is under far more scrutiny that it has ever been before. There is enough scrutiny to void a long term relationship.

Relationships that turn into "friendships" can also interfere with the account manager's ability to ask tough probing questions for fear they will hurt their relationship, only to find out later what they should have asked earlier. Relationships can seemingly put us in a "box" that traditionally defines what we can and cannot do, only to hear after the decision something like "oh, we didn't really think you guys did work like this, so we didn't really include you..."

Solution: Have good up-front verbal agreement with your relationship clients that "when we lunch we lunch and socialize, but when there is work at hand, I need your permission to be a skeptical stranger that's re-learning what you really need for the first time and ask tough questions to see if it's work / service we should even be bidding on, is that okay?"

http://www.coffmangroup.com/

Due to Demand, New Full Day Boot Camp Sessions added.

2011-02-17T09:53:00.002-06:00

We are now accepting registrations for our Boot Camp Sessions March 30 and April 19, 2011.

Who should attend? People committed to becoming more effective in generating revenue.

Coffman Group Advanced Level Sales Bootcamps are designed for professional salespeople, consultants, and others who need to sell their products and services.

The sessions runs from 8:30-4:30 and handout materials are provided.

More information can be found here.

http://www.coffmangroup.com/

20 great reasons to NOT SELL MORE!

2011-02-15T10:05:00.003-06:00

No one called me back...
I'm juggling a lot of balls...
I have to deliver the projects and lots of client service to do...
There is no growth in our industry right now, I can prove it...
It's not part of my role...
You can't do cold calls in our industry...
I'm really busy....
People know what we do...they will call me when they need me...
My business is special...
We can't hire anyone else...
Those kind of people won't work at our company...
Good delivery is how I make my sales...
The economy is bad...
Too many other people "bidding" on this...
Even if I sold it we couldn't service it...
Our product is inadequate...
They'll never pay our price...
They already work with someone else...
My quota's too high so what's the use...
I already hit my goals...

These are all true and legitimate, which is why they're so powerful and effective. But here's the problem, NO ONE CARES!

If you find yourself stating these excuses, or as a manager buying these excuses, just STOP. No one cares.

Growing sales as a company today likely requires taking market share. Has your company ever done that? Does it know how?

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Coffman Group

6300 Glenwood, Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 66202
(913) 236-9055
http://www.coffmangroup.com/

We Owe it to Our Prospects to Help Them Make Decisions

2010-11-15T19:33:00.001-06:00

Most of you know we’re the people CEO’s call when the company needs more sales. What you may not know is we also enroll individual salesepeople who want to increase their sales production.

Recently I met a successful medical equipment salesperson who was out of work for the last four months. Emotionally, he looked like he had been dragged behind a truck. Understandable.

Here is the sequence of our interaction:

He was referred of course, but not much more than “check these guys out, it’s really helped me.”

We had a short phone call, whereby at the end I said to him “I will meet with you for 50 minutes, and we’ll make a decision to either enroll you or part as friends. Are you okay with that?" He said, “sure.”

40 minutes into that meeting I asked, “what would you like to do?” He started to say “well, I need to think about…” I said to him in my most nurturing manner, “no, I think you and I need to make a DECISION. It can be NO or it can be YES. I’m okay with either.”

So he said YES, and we enrolled him.

I saw him just a week later and he told me “I really want to thank you.” I said “for what?” He said “for making me MAKE A DECISION… I was really STUCK and now I feel like I’m in motion again... I’m learning; I’m re-motivated…”

Was making a decision at the end of my meeting just for me and “making a sale”? No, we both benefited.

So, here are a couple suggestions and rules for avoiding non-decision paralysis:

1. Decisions aren’t life or death. They just lead to other decisions.

2. “Think-it-over” people, tend to get a lot of think-it-over’s, decision- makers tend to get decisions.

3. If someone has a need you can fix, you owe it to that person to help them make DECISIONS!

4. A decision can be NO or it can be YES. Think-it-over’s clog the mind and the pipeline.

5. Understand your Sales Cycle and know WHEN the time is for a DECISION. This seems simple, but you would be surprised how many salespeople don’t really know when to get a decision. They simply keep presenting and following up, hoping some good will occur.

- Casey Coffman

Are Your Prospects Listening to You?

2010-11-12T16:32:00.002-06:00

Are you telling them everything you have to offer? Your features, benefits, and unique selling propositions? Are you using all of your passion and energy to deliver your message and convince them to buy? Oooh bad sign. They'll buy from you when they tell you and you listen: really listen.

-Rick Burgess

5 Things EVERY Business Leader Must Do Right Now

2009-11-12T11:14:00.009-06:00

If you have (or desire) any market share dominance, you should be ATTACKING weak competitors and taking share. Just like if you have money and think you want a place in Florida for winters, NOW is the time to buy!
Now is the absolute time to fire/lay off weak people in all categories. Do not wait. The situation will not get better. Exception: if the weak performer is bright and has high levels of personal desire and professional commitment, arm that person with the right skills: easy ROI.
Now is the time to recruit the strongest of salespeople. You will need a robust and inspiring vision. How do you know if you're shooting high enough? Post-interview, candidates should tell YOU "no" 50% of the time.
Get outside intelligent people to review and challenge your "go-to-market" sales strategies. The landscape has changed and many will waste money trying to sell things the market doesn't need anymore.
ELIMINATE everything that is not moving you toward your goals: stuff on your desk, your email, parts of your life, your office environment, newspapers, TV, booze, distractions etc. "To do" list management doesn't work anymore, and our brains were really designed for the "agricultural age." Sure, we made it through the "industrial age", but are now overwhelmed in the "information age." To keep up, YOU HAVE TO DELETE THINGS, as does every person up and down your hierarchy.

We hope this helps, and if you lead a $10 to $250M company, call us if you need help with the "how to." 888-595-6000.

http://www.coffmangroup.com/

Raising Expectations

2009-09-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Someone that EXPECTS to be wealthy will typically find that end result. Someone that EXPECTS to get by will tend to get by. So expectations are really just our BELIEF of what we anticipate, and of course..... our beliefs always come true.

Preparation

2009-08-20T13:05:00.001-05:00

Very few companies were prepared for this economic downturn. What are you going to do different to make sure that you never end up in this position again?

Aggressive Salespeople

2009-07-24T12:29:00.000-05:00

There is no place in the marketplace for aggressive salespeople. That day is over. There is, however, a place for professional and respectful assertiveness to find the truth with the real intent to help.

Everyone is not your prospect!

2009-07-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Great business development is about efficiently finding those that truly are your prospects and mutually engaging in a process that allows the prospect to discover that truth and to make a decision. Poor “sales” execution is needlessly chasing and convincing prospects that really are not prospects.

What's the difference between online social networking and social media?

2009-07-07T10:48:00.003-05:00

Social networking is done through sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Naymz, Facebook, MySpace and others.

Social media is what the user does to actively engage with readers (i.e., customers, prospects, etc.). Each of them has their pluses and minuses depending on the desired outcome.

The primary question small business owners should ask themselves is, are you trying to market your company by creating buzz about it (social media), or are you trying to actually engage people online (social networking).

The Role of Salesperson is changing, let’s work together

2009-06-30T16:10:00.001-05:00

Author and trends guru Seth Godin made a recent prediction: 90% of your sales will come from word of mouth or digital promotion by 2011. In the few years I’ve followed Seth, he’s right a whole lot more than he’s wrong.

So how do you change what you're doing today to be ready for that? Is it good or bad for the salesperson?

Does web 2.0 social media empower the salesperson/team, or simply provide new avenues for the marketing department?

We at Coffman Group believe that the resulting merger and “gray space” between marketing and sales will produce a huge new power to the individual salesperson. In fact we’re already seeing such power with some of our early adaptor clients, who now have leads waiting for them instead of cold calling all day.

The salesperson must quickly adapt to the merger of sales and marketing and their new found power.

WE’D LIKE YOUR HELP AND INPUT?

As we refine our new social media training programs for sales teams (Power to the Sales-People) we would relish your input, via this discussion space, on ideas and suggestions you would have for Social Media training for sales teams. We’ll even welcome your own participation if you too are an early adaptor.

What is a blog and why are they so important?

2009-06-17T14:03:00.002-05:00

A blog is a Web site typically maintained by an individual who uploads journal-like posts, or entries, that can include additional material of graphics, sound or video. A rough estimate would show that over 70 million blogs exist online and the number grows daily.

It is important to monitor the most influential blogs for your industry, and then regularly converse with them. As traditional media outlets convert to the Web, many reporters now look to blogs for relevant content and generate story ideas from conversations they find online.

Why do great salespeople often make average or poor sales managers?

2009-05-28T11:54:00.002-05:00

Lack of empathy. They just don’t get how you just can’t get it, or how someone could struggle with something they never struggled with.
Incompetent competence. They are masters at getting deals done, but not necessarily good at SYSTEMATICALLY explaining how; therefore it’s not very repeatable or trainable to other subordinate profiles.
Wrong, or not ideal, behavioral style. Typical top producers are aggressive (high “D” on the DISC profile), impatient, assertive and don’t mind conflict, and again not SYSTEMATIC. Not good coaching and mentoring traits.
They get bored quickly. Self explanatory, when it comes to the administrative or operational elements of management it drains their energy.
It’s not their fault. The time demands on mid-management today leave very little time for true coaching and development. Reacting to the “fires” alone can fill a 60 hour week.

This profile of sales manager will resort to joint sales calls and selling to prove their worth, which is not all bad, but a true management role should be focused on developing a “best in class” sales force.

Desire and intelligence trumps behavioral style! What does that mean? If you have a manager that fits the four traits above, but has strong desire to become a great manager and is intelligent, they can overcome these traits through awareness and coaching.

CC

People in Sales that aren't Sales Professionals

2009-05-01T14:56:00.004-05:00

Here are some typical short comings you can expect to see in people that are in sales, but are not sales professionals.

1. They love to educate prospects, but rarely get paid for it.
2. They avoid hearing the word NO at all cost.
3. They think “think it over” means they will eventually get the order.
4. They see NO as personal rejection.
5. They see everyone as their prospect.
6. They think good salespeople CHASE prospects for as long as it takes.
7. They love to give presentations, and try to convince and persuade people.
8. They are ‘COMFORTABLE’ with their income
9. They create a title that calls them anything but Sales Professional
10. They think what they sell is expensive

There is such a thing as PROFESSIONALS IN SALES ! They take great pride in their profession, and understand they are in a wonderful but challenging career. They thrive on "pay for performance."

Take your position seriously. It is critical to your profitability and success.

Getting Emotionally Involved

2009-05-01T14:27:00.001-05:00

One of the most important rules in all of sales is not to panic. Regardless of the situation, always keep your emotions in check or you won’t be able to think your way out.

Should Entrepreneurs get an MBA?

2009-04-10T15:50:00.003-05:00

If you’re not growing, your company isn’t growing… period.

Your company is only as big as your own shadow. Learning, good learning, equals growth, expansion of Attitudes/beliefs, behaviors and techniques, so in general any education is vital.

My only problem with conventional education is that it is teaching. Teaching is the dispensing of intellectual insights and knowledge, and the HOPE that you will apply that somewhere where it will provide you positive results. It is also linear in its delivery so it fosters a learn it- then I'm done mindset.

On-going training and coaching on the other hand provides relevant knowledge WITH the repeated application and adjustment needed to get real results. And yes, we are biased, but we also have incredible real results from real entrepreneurs to validate the on-going versus linear dispense and hope model.

Coffman Group - Your Business Health Club

2009-04-07T16:50:00.004-05:00

Thursday's have become "Open Gym" days at Coffman Group. Clients have told us they love the training and coaching but don’t always have time to get around to doing the behaviors. So Open Gym has been created to facilitate those high impact behaviors.

Here are some of the things Coffman Group clients work on during open gym hours:

Making Cold Calls
Creating Prospecting Scripts
Complete Goals/Vision
Listen to/Record Calls
Build Prospect Lists
Sales Call Planning
Develop Pain Questionnaires
Social Media assistance
Access to Coffman Coaches
Schedule Appointments
Work on AB Journals
Debrief Sales Calls
Time Management Planning
30 Second Commercial Development

Open format – Just like Open Gym at your health club!

*Guest Passes available for non-Coffman Group clients
Tell us you read about Open Gym on our blog and receive a complimentary guest pass.
Contact Coffman Group for more information. 888-595-6000

My top reasons for loving recessionary times, not in priority sequence...

2009-03-05T10:25:00.004-06:00

1. I don't need to watch TV anymore
2. I don't need to read the paper anymore
3. I get caught up on my fiction reading
4. We get in easily at 7:00ish times at our favorite eateries
5. When the cable co. says we'll be there 11 to 2:00, now they come right at 11:00
6. I can negotiate ANYTHING, which is fun
7. Me, and my teenagers, get to see reality and appreciate being lucky
8. The BEST is brought out, or not, in people. they either fight or flight.
9. Crappy companies with crapy products are flushed away, leaving quality, unless bailed out.
10. Bright people are "on sale"..... btw, i'm looking ALL THE TIME.

Gotta go... love to hear yours

CC

Condition Yourself for Success

2009-03-04T11:35:00.000-06:00

Becoming a good professional salesperson requires the same type of training that is required of other good professionals. Athletes, physicians, college professors, fire fighters – you name the profession, and the people at the top pay a price every day to stay there. The price they pay is their conditioning.

Conditioning is a way of life. It’s a set of rules, sometimes philosophical, but always practical. Follow the rules and you’ll always be conditioned to make the best use of the system.

Soliciting

2009-03-04T11:31:00.001-06:00

Are you out soliciting or are you providing value?

How's Business?

2009-03-04T11:18:00.004-06:00

When asked, “How’s business?” most salespeople respond with “Great!” “Terrific!” “OK, I guess,” “Not so good,” or “Good, all things considered.” Most of these replies translate to, “I don’t know.”

Selling is a numbers game. Before you can answer the above question, you must first know your numbers. Then you can come back with: “I’m doing just fine. This week I made 22 calls, spoke to nine decision makers, booked four appointments and made two sales, resulting in a $1,700 commission.”

As salespeople, most of us neglect one of our most important sales activities: keeping track of our personal statistics. And, by not doing so, we all do ourselves a big disservice. For only by tracking your numbers can you monitor your selling behaviors. Then, you won’t need a sales manager to tell you how you’re doing. Furthermore, you’ll know how to predict your own success.
Howard Goldstein, Sandler Home Office

Knowing that current times present new challenges, how can we pitch in and help you?

2009-02-25T15:37:00.001-06:00

Answer the question above and we will provide real help.
If we can physically do it, we will help ANYONE with ANYTHING.
No fees.
No catch.
No pitches.
No kidding.
Interested? Reply to this post with your specific help request.