February 2014 - Page 3 of 9 - SalesTactics.org

The first 90 days of selling are critical. I don't know how many people I've encountered who wanted to have their own business, or took on a new sales role, but didn't last. Why not? Their expectations are poor or very fuzzy. Any training they may get, and it's probable they won't get any, is focused on the best possible results. Struggles or negative possibilities are ignored. They are simply not prepared to handle what is actually going to happen out there.

How to Survive the First 90 Days of Selling

Sales force developer Dave Kurlan shared an article he wrote awhile back that continues to be relevant today. It's a series of questions you need to answer so that you or your salespeople will persist through the first 90 days. Here are some of the most important:

What are all of the problems we solve?
How do we position ourselves in the marketplace?
Who are our customers?
How do we get to them?
What does the first call sound like?
What is our sales process?
What kind of objections will I hear?
How do I handle those objections?
How do you want me presenting our solutions?
How do we justify our prices?
What are the expectations for me during the first week, month, quarter, year?
Who can I go to for help?
What kind of help can I expect?

For the complete list, go here.

If you don't know the answers, you'll stumble, get confused, become frustrated and give up.

What Can We Change to Help New Salespeople Continue Beyond the First 90 Days of Selling?

Seeing these questions today really made me think about my own training process. I do this for a living. And the list made me question more deeply: How can I make my training process even better, so that new salespeople are totally assured that they have the answers? That they have someone to go to for help? That they know what to expect beyond positive generalities as they step out of the classroom and into the outside world?

I may think they have been given those things--but have I asked them whether they believe it? Do they know they have the answers? What they can do to get help?

This is far more important than me, as the trainer, knowing.

Have you answered these questions for your business?

>> Jason Kanigan is a sales force developer. Did this info help you? Please Like, Share or Comment to let us know! <<

What is a Unique Selling Proposition?

I'll tell you a secret: most people get this wrong.

They think it's about themselves.

Or even worse, they think it's about price.

Throw that thinking out right now. Neither your thinking nor your price should be in your USP.

What Is a Unique Selling Proposition: Not What You Think

Huh? I can hear you asking. But how are we supposed to be different?

Therein lies the rub. Your USP isn't about what you think or value. It's about what your market, your prospects and your customers, believe and value. What is a Unique Selling Proposition is what they value.

I'll give you an example.

I once worked for an IT firm. And that company is owned by a man who has solid IT experience. His name is Tom. Tom and the team are competent. And they focus on database-driven custom applications for colleges--student record management, course delivery, that sort of thing. But that is NOT why many of his postsecondary customers bought and continue to buy.

At that job I learned something of interest: the secular colleges in North America (and it's probably true elsewhere, but I don't know for certain) were typically founded with a religious core. The Deans and senior staff of these central colleges are often deeply religious...and there is frequently a religous studies school in the midst of the university.

The secret: prior to switching to business and IT, Tom had studied--and still studies--the holy orders. He was quite close to becoming a priest-academic himself.

So whether he makes a point of it or not, theology-talk is almost certainly going to come up with the decision makers at these colleges. They are going to find out about it.

The senior college staff immediately regard Tom as One of Us.

Answering the Question of What Is a Unique Selling Proposition for You

Now THAT is a "killer USP." How many theologically-trained IT pros do you know? Whether Tom chooses to make use of this fact or not, it does allow him easier entree to these college projects than other equally competent IT firms are permitted.

So again, note it's not what Tom values that makes up his USP. It's what his market values.

Now how do you answer the question of What is a Unique Selling Proposition? Your USP does not have to be earth-shattering. It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't even have to be particularly unique! But it does have to make you perceived as at least slightly different in your prospect's eyes: something that makes you stand out just a little bit or a whole lot more. This is how you get the conversation. This is how you get rid of the price objection.

How do you find out what this is?

Go to your past customers. Do it in person or over the phone--email is too easily ignored. Ask them to think back to when they first chose to work with you: what was it that made them decide you were the one they wanted?

You should see answers that match up. They will tell you what is a Unique Selling Proposition...to them.

If you don't have customers yet, it's going to be tougher. Even calling some representatives of your market and asking isn't likely to get to the truth--because they may not even be consciously aware of where their preferences sit, or that whatever makes you special in their eyes is even an option. But careful study of your market should reveal an answer. Tom's USP isn't so crazy you could never come up with it. If you found out about the religous center of secular universities, and matched that up with Tom's theological background, it wouldn't take an Einstein to figure out what to do next.

>> Jason Kanigan is the only sales force developer to quickly scale up your business and your revenue by implementing a systematic sales process within A WEEK. Did this article help you? Please Like, Share or Comment to let us know! <<

Itching to change your sales compensation plan? Every so often I get a call or an email from someone who is bursting at the seams with the thought. They believe altering their sales compensation plan is going to solve all of their problems. Careful with that. Changing the plan will cause more problems than you think.

I'm not saying "Never change your sales compensation plan." That would be silly. But I am saying, "Don't head into the process of changing your comp plan and believing nothing bad or unexpected is going to happen."

Challenges of Changing Your Sales Compensation Plan

The first thing you should know is that when you change the comp plan, whatever alterations you make, people are going to be mad at you.

Here's the truth: no matter how good the change is for your salespeople, even if it truly is better for them, someone is probably going to quit.

Irrational, I know. But this is what happens. "Who the heck do they think they are, coming in and messing with how I'm getting paid? Forget this." Be ready to lose your top performer. Maybe it won't happen to you. It can, though.

If you look at the DISC profile, you'll see most people are Ss and Is. These people don't publicly complain very often, because they want to get along. But they may resent the change. And resentment causes a ton of problems: work slowdowns, your tasks being put to the bottom of the pile, low motivation...and more bad things.

The second common issue with altering sales comp plans is the "Robin Hood Syndrome". Rob from the rich to pay the poor. The plan gets weighted to reward the top performers less and the low performers more. That way the low performers are incentivized to stick around. Again, sounds irrational, but business owners and sales managers do this.

Comp plans need to reward your top performers so that it's perfectly plain that they're top performers. No one should be in any doubt.

The #1 Step You Can Take to Minimize Problems When Changing the Sales Compensation Plan

Many owners and managers come from 'on high' to make sweeping improvements to the business. Especially owners: after all, it's their business, isn't it? The problem is the friction this causes with employees who feel steamrolled by that process. They had no involvement. They're being dictated to. The Ds in the DISC profile may quit outright. The rest will resent the steamrolling. See the problem?

So what you can do to make a huge difference in managing this change is get their involvement.

Tell them what's going on before you do anything.

"I called you all together because I'm thinking our sales comp plan isn't working. What do you folks feel about it?"

Ask them what they believe would be a good solution.

You don't have to adopt their suggestions--but getting their ideas and feedback is a big step to reducing that friction accompanying the adjustment. They'll know you listened. And that goes a long way.

Thinking about changing your sales compensation plan? Tread carefully. Well-meaning but high-handed alterations breed resentment and cause unexpected friction. People may quit. Be ready for that. For best results, involve the sales staff early and often. You do not have to accept their recommendations, but just by asking for their opinions you'll have helped ease the stress of the process. And who knows? Maybe they'll give you a better comp plan than you would have come up with on your own.

>> Jason Kanigan is a sales force developer. Did this info help you? Share, Like or Comment to let us and others know! <<

Month: February 2014

The First 90 Days of Selling