Tips: Finding the Best Sales Tools

As a professional sales person, we are always looking for ways to get better at our profession. There are numerous tools available for sales people out there. From Smartphones, Software, Hardware, Aps and whatever else, there are a plethora of tools available.

What most people fail to do, is to look within themselves for the tools that we inherently have, and fine tune them. Here is a quick list that I like. I found this blog looking for salesmanship tips, so here you are!

1. Patience

If you’re patient, you let customers decide at their own speed.  You realize that nobody ever got a plant to grow faster by pulling at the leaves of a seedling. If you lack patience, you’ll be frustrated whenever things take longer than you’d like. Customers will sense your frustration and hesitate to buy.

2. Commitment

If you’re truly committed to both your customer’s success and your own success, you’ll do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical bounds) to get the job done. You’ll banish all thoughts of ever giving up. If you lack commitment, you’ll consistently fail to follow through–and will often drop the ball at the worst possible moment.

3. Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is contagious: If you’re enthusiastic about yourself, your firm and your product, your customers will “pick up” your enthusiasm and believe in your ability to improve their lives.  If you lack enthusiasm, however, you’ll always find yourself surrounded by naysayers and endless “objections.”

4. Curiosity

Curiosity is essential to growth–and if you’re growing as an individual and a professional, you’ll spend time each day learning something new to better serve your customers. You’ll read books, listen to audio training, take courses, and network with peers. If you’re not growing, your ideas will become stale; your career will languish and your ability to compete will slowly drain away.

5. Courage

If you’ve got courage, you take the necessary risks to expand yourself and your business into new areas–even when you’re facing enormous odds. You’ll see setbacks as learning opportunities rather than failures.  But if you lack courage, you’ll freeze up when things get weird, turning small failures into big ones.

6. Integrity

If you’ve got integrity, there’s no disconnect between your stated purpose and your real motivations. Because there’s no hidden agenda, customers sense the honesty and feel comfortable working with you. If you lack integrity, however, customers will have a nagging feeling that something is “not quite right”–and tend to balk rather than buy.

7. Flexibility

Life is all about change; nothing stays the same. If you’ve got flexibility, you can observe what’s working and what’s not and change your approach to match changing circumstances. If you lack flexibility, you’ll pursue brittle strategies and tactics long after they’ve ceased to work.

I will give credit where credit is due … this blog was written by;  http://albesurenigeriablog.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-sales-man-tools/

Note that: Reading free blogs is yet another tool for us to be successful.

If you are looking for ways to be more professional in your sales efforts, look beyond the tangible software and hardware programs out there. Take a look at coaching, and then take a look at Pinnacle Sales, LLC.

Pinnacle Sales uses a coaching technique that actually focuses on using the skills and tools that everyone has, such as these above and the ones written about in PROFITS, Your Seven Letters to Success.

If you are looking for an edge, then call us at:

Pinnacle Sales, LLC

+1 (734) 516-0221

mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

 

Tips: Closing the Deal

If you are new to my blog, you’ll see quite a few sports analogies. I think sports can teach us quite alot, and for sales professionals, there are so many similarities in the competition, that it’s sometimes a perfect training or coaching opportunity.

Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers “closer”, on his way out of the game after losing a 4-run lead in the bottom of the 9th Inning!

He stayed in the game, because there was no other option warmed up and ready to go

 

Today, I am talking about how NOT to BLOW a SAVE or DEAL!

First of all, we all have bad days, or weeks, or soft spots. Sometimes we just are not capable of giving it our best. We hate to admit it, but it happens and we lose opportunities because of our capabilities. Those losses of opportunities are easier to accept than the ones we lose when we “should-a”, “could-a”, “would-a” …

Ask yourself a question, and provide a good honest answer:

Have you ever walked out of a negotiation session and said, “AWE, when he said this, I should have said that”, or “I could have brought that actual sample to show them”.  These mistakes are truly inexcusable. These are the ones that are all avoidable, and truly your fault.

In my book, PROFITS, Your Seven Letters to Success, I speak about planning and preparation. One of the things that we all are guilty of, is falling into a habit. Using the same lines in the same situations because they have worked 99% of the time in the past. History has shown us that this is the best thing to say or do when a certain action occurs.

Don’t get me wrong, when we are in these familiar situations, we should go with the proven answer. Where we make the mistake is, not having an option ready in case this doesn’t work!

In baseball, we often see a “righty and a lefty” warming up at the same time in the pen. Both getting ready, and if the circumstances warrant it one or the other goes in. What this also gives the manager is a 2nd choice, all warmed up and ready to go, if the 1st one is a bust.

Back to your sales situation. You’ve used close number 10 successfully for years, you are getting ready to go into a negotiation session and you’re practicing it and warming up. Are you practicing your 2nd option and even 3rd?  Are they ready and warmed up on the bench so you can finish this off at THIS appointment and not walk out saying;

– Woulda

– Coulda

– Shoulda

If you’ve blown a few saves lately, you might need a pitching coach to work with you mechanics and delivery. Give us a call at Pinnacle Sales, where Service is Above the Rest!

(734) 325-6557

mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

 

 

 

Tip: What the Debates Have Taught Us!

The recent Presidential debate has taught us one thing regardless of where you fit in the political spectrum. I heard that the final poll from CNN (not necessarily a conservative outlet) had Romney as the clear winner 72% over Obama 20%. Like I said, you have had to be blind, literally and figuratively, to not agree with this poll.

 

I say blind for a reason. This debate taught us that body language and being prepared are very key in any type of presentation.

The President was clearly not prepared for this debate, and one could turn the sound off the television to see who was winning. The picture above was the most damaging picture of all. It looked like the President was losing, regardless of what was being said. Just trying to get through this ‘thing’ so he could do something else.

Now, to put this into a sales perspective, how many times have you looked like the guy on the right? Have you sat through meetings with bad body language, only trying to endure the pain and get out of there?

In my book, PROFITS, I spend an entire section on being prepared. It’s our responsibility to take the lead in our debates with our customers, and not show up just to get to the next meeting.

This was a quick post, but something very clear and evident. If you think you’re having lapses of ‘Obamaism’s’, you may want to give us a call at Pinnacle Sales so we can get you prepared to debate like a pro!

 

Tips: Do it right the first time, don’t get HK’d

 

This is one of my favorite stories, and I like to read it (and share it) as many times as I can. The reason I’m writing about it today, is because of the numerous reminders that I have had recently about rushing things, just to get them done. We’ve all heard “measure twice, cut once”, or “why do we always have time to do it again, but never enough time to get it right the first time?”.

I don’t know if this story is true, but I think you’ll all get the point …

 

I call this, “Don’t get HK’d”

            The famous Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had an intern working for him. On one random Thursday morning, Secretary Kissinger asks the intern to write a position paper on a certain topic.

The intern is excited and spends the next three or four hours writing this paper. He’s excited, and leaves it on Secretary Kissinger’s desk at the end of the day. He is pretty proud of his achievements, so he goes to the bar with a friend of his and has a couple of drinks, boasting that he is now writing positions for the Great Secretary Kissinger.

As the intern drives into work very early that Friday morning, he’s excited to hear what the Secretary thought of his paper. He’s all smiles as he walks the halls of Foggy Bottom and comes to his desk to see his paper, positioned directly in the center of his desk, with a handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            A little deflated, the Intern plopped down at the desk, read the paper and realized, objectively, that he could have done better. So, he pushed his workload aside and began to tackle this paper all over again. He tore it apart, re-wrote passages, did more research, and worked pretty much all day on this new revision. He had worked straight thru lunch and finished around 4pm.

He knocks on the Secretary’s door to find that he wasn’t in, and drops the paper on his desk again proudly. Thinking, he’s got to like this.

Since he had worked through lunch, he was pretty hungry and went to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat. He was gone about 45 minutes, and when he came back to his desk, his paper was positioned directly in the center, with another handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            “Does he realize that I spent the last 7 hours writing this?” the intern thought, but before he started throwing things around, and getting angry, he objectively tackled the problem. He began to re-read the paper, making small red marks on the pages. Seeing quite a few in the 8-page document, he thought to himself, “maybe I need to compare this to ‘his’ work”. So, the intern digs up old files (physical ones remember, things weren’t stored on the company server back then). And he finds quite a few random position papers that Secretary Kissinger himself had written over the years. He carried the box back to his desk thinking, this is going to be a very long day.

He read them, and not only realized that there were certain angles that he hadn’t considered, but research in so many topics that was missing in his paper. So off to the Library of Congress he went, and spent the entire weekend. Yes, he read, researched, and noted everything that he could on the subject and spent the next three days and nights working on the paper.

At 7:30AM Monday morning, still in the same clothes from Friday, he sat at his desk waiting for the great man to come into the office. As he saw Secretary Kissinger walk into his office, he stood up, straightened the tie around his unshaven neck, and confidently walked into the ‘man’s’ office.

          “Excuse me Secretary Kissinger, I’m sorry to barge in like this”  ..

          “What is on your mind so early?” Kissinger asks

          “Sir, the position paper you asked me to write, and then re-write two times, is now complete. Before you read this and turn it back to me saying that I can do better, you need to realize that I spent the entire weekend reading everything published on this subject, researching every contingency and published thought on this position. 

          I even dug up old position papers that you personally wrote to compare my thoughts and work on what you had done in the past. So please sir, take that into consideration, I can’t do any better than this one”

The Secretary smiled and responded, “Thank you, for that clarification then this one I’ll read”

 

Get it done right the first time, make sure you put the proper amount of effort needed into every project, so you don’t get HK’d.

 

Pinnacle Sales prides itself on helping its clients, customers, and interests by providing “Service Above the Rest”. We chose this motto, because it’s what we believe and put into practice every day.

We look forward to working with you and your team, and providing you the service that is deserved.

 

 

Pinnacle Sales, LLC  418 Main Street, Belleville, MI   mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

Sales Professionals, Continuous Improvement Opportunity!

If you have been following this blog for the past few years, you have noticed that I use a theme referred to as continuous improvement in many of my posts. These blogs, suggestions, ideas, and comments are all for “us” to become a true professional.

This past year, many of you have come to the agency for one on one coaching so you can improve, and many have written to me asking when and where I will be doing my next seminar. I am putting together the next event now for late May or early June, and am looking for help from you, my consumers.

Today, I have a poll included in my blog so that you can help me pick the best location for the event. This quarters session will be held again in the Detroit Metropolitan area. By voting in the poll, it doesn’t commit you to coming, it is only giving me an indication of how many people in these areas would be interested. If there is enough interest, I will have the event in more than one area.

As with all my speaking events, a copy of my book; PROFITS, Your Seven Letters to Success, will be included with the price of admission.  For those of you who haven’t been to my sessions, here is some general information.

Topic: Continuous Improvement, Planning for Success

Time:   7pm – 9pm

Location: TBD

Cost: $49 if paid in advance, and $65 if paid at the event.

I look forward to this event, and look forward to seeing you there!

Tip of the Week: 3 Simple Steps to Sales!

Tip of the week: 3 Simple Steps to a Successful Sale!

Problem, Promise, and Path

Most of us in sales already know that we are problem solvers first and foremost. Here is a quick way to look at any opportunity that the customer has given you, and make sure you are covering these areas thoroughly. If you keep these 3 things in mind, and make sure that each one is addressed the best way, your sales will increase:

Problem:

Define the customer’s opportunity (problem). Do this with your prospect at the same time. Make sure you understand the implications of not moving forward to solve and issue or introduce a new product. Find out where all the possible objections are now and possibly in the future, so you can start working on answering those

For example, you are called into a prospects office to discuss a new project. What is the new project replacing? Why? What were the problems with the old program and how is this new project/part/component going to fix all the old concerns?

Promise:

Once you understand what all the problems are, this is where “sales” comes in. You have to illustrate how your product or service is going to address each of these concerns. You should also try and quantify – yes use NUMBERS – each of your benefits so your client can objectively argue your case.

For example, there is an old problem with a design that is creating 3% scrap. Your component will eliminate that scrap. Remember, it’s not just the cost of your component, but also the labor, time, energy, and any additional items that you can point to that installation of your service will eliminate. Make sure you take credit for things that you can put a hard number on, but also additional factors such as time. If you can implement your program faster than your competition, time is also money.

As you make your promises (older sales people remember this as selling the sizzle), you are building a case for your company’s products and services. Your client will have a number so he can justify why his company should switch to yours.

Now, the fun part … PATH to this success!

This is where we objectively identify what needs to be done, and by whom, in order to implement this process. You, your client, and others that are not in the room at this time, all have to agree on an implementation program. Each task of the process such needs to be identified and an owner assigned. That owner needs to make the commitment that it will be done on time.

These three simple steps to a sale all need to be done, regardless if it’s a simple transactional sales, or a complex engineering project. Businesses don’t buy things because the “want them”, they buy because they need them. If you can prove the need (problem), you will create a want (promise), and then you can both take credit for the success!

Pinnacle Sales offers sales process consulting to individuals as well as teams. Identifying your product or services benefits sometimes is not as transparent or obvious as we like. We can help you and your teams develop this process!

Give us a call, or come to our open office hours (see tab above for dates / times).

3 Tips on Improving Your Performance!

As I have written these blogs for over 2 years now, those of you know that I get my ideas from a variety of sources. This one, I’m ashamed, came from Facebook!  Yes, it was a status update of a friend of mine, and it really struck me as something simple and for us to keep in mind at all times.

I think you can all agree that this is a good formula for problem solving; Don’t react, respond (control yourself) – Look for a Win:Win (alternative solution) and Answer Objections (Delete the situation).

Every situation we encounter starts off with an emotional jolt, it could be jubilee or dismay. The best advice here is to control yourself and your emotions. Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems on the first reaction. Take in the information, process it, and respond accordingly. Remember our physics lessons from high school, “Every action is accompanied by a reaction of equal magnitude but opposite direction”. We want to make sure the person receiving our response doesn’t blow a gasket!

Step two is critical, always look for alternative solutions. If answers are that obvious, no one would have questions in the first place. As for the alternative solutions, pick the ones that offer win-win’s with you, your company and your clients. Sure, there is always a solution that benefits one more than the other, but try to do your best in reviewing as many alternatives as possible.

Finally, when we answer the objection, let’s make sure we have truly eliminated it. Just because you are convinced you answered the question, make sure you client agrees that the objection is cleared. This is just good communication skills, so make sure you get feedback and both understand what is being said.

Pinnacle Sales is an agency that helps you in all three of these aspects. In the book PROFITS, Your Seven Letter to Success, we discuss things in depth on response vs. reaction, communication issues, and many other general skills a professional sales person needs.

In addition to the highly selling book, Pinnacle has new office hours every Friday (see web page for details). During this time, you can lay out any sales & marketing issue you have, and we can work on solving it together free of charge.

Check out the other articles, the book, or take some of our time during the open office hours. We aim to prove we offer Service Above the Rest!

Pinnacle Sales, LLC

418 Main, Suite 6, Belleville, MI  48111  mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

Making your New Years Resolution Easier to Obtain!

This week I will not be blogging, due to the holidays. However I do want everyone to know that Pinnacle Sales, LLC now accepts MasterCard & Visa for payments. After numerous clients requested, I have finally found a solution!

Coaching and Training, as well as ordering your sales team a copy of PROFITS can now be securely done with a simple email to mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com or a phone call to (734) 516-0221.

I would like to thank all the tech geeks out there that are making commerce so easy now. The GoPayment Application is free from Intuit and can be downloaded to your iPad, iPhone, or Android Operating systems.

I hope that this will help you make your New Years resolutions come true! I hope that continuous improvement is one of your annual goals! And I also hope that Pinnacle Sales can be apart of helping you achieve those goals.