Language and emotion are so important in sales yet we seem to take them so lightly.  Most sales books, seminars, and courses spend little to no time addressing language and how to use it ethically.

Most of us pick up our use of words and language on the fly, not really understanding the forces behind it.  If we discover something that seems to work we use it, never asking whether it is a legitimate use of language or whether it is nothing more than a cheap way to manipulate.

I suggest that every seller take the time to head back to your local community college or the university in town and take three courses that will help you clarify how you are using the words you use–and in addition will give you some powerful new tools to use when putting together your prospect solutions, not to mention the advantages you’ll gain in terms of constructing your presentations.

The first course would be a good course in Rhetoric.  Many schools call their basic composition class a rhetoric class.  That isn’t the class I’m speaking of here.  Rhetoric is the study of the art of argumentation and discourse with the aim of improving one’s ability to persuade, influence, and motivate–ethically.  You’ll acquire tools that will help you become a better communicator and you’ll be able to recognize some of the flim flam manipulation strategies used in marketing (and heaven forbid, by sellers also).

Next I would suggest an Introduction to Logic course.  Although it is true that emotion plays a strong part in the sales process, so does logic, especially in more sophisticated sales environments.  A course in logic can help attune you to how easy it is to go awry when constructing an argument.  You will learn about deductive and inductive reasoning along with consistency, validity, and completeness, as well as learning about logical fallacies of which there are a ton.  And to your delight, you’ll have the joy (sarcasm here) of analyzing syllogism after syllogism after syllogism. The important thing is you’ll learn how to recognize logical inconsistencies and how to construct an argument that holds together and leads to a logical conclusion.

After your introductory course I’d advise you go one step further and take a symbolic logic course.  You’ll get further immersed in the rules of logic and go well beyond the syllogism.  After this class you should be able to recognize logical fallacies and be able to knock those false arguments down.  (And if you’re not good at or are afraid of math you need not know that this is a course taught in conjunction with the math department and is usually a senior level math class.)

Of course none of these courses are necessary to be a seller–or to be a top seller.  But I guarantee they will make you a better seller.  Take a look at your local college or university’s offerings and register for a class next fall.  You will be glad you did (but maybe not until after the semester).

What are some of the most difficult challenges in social media in recent years that you can think of?  Would being put in charge of social media for a company in the middle of a death spiral like GM be one of them?  I’d sure think so—trying to help turn around the image of a company that everyone knew was headed for bankruptcy and that many, many people felt should be allowed to die and who received massive, unpopular government dollar, creating the new cynical name of Government Motors.

That sounds like a pretty tough gig to me.  And if one could even partially pull it off they’d be able to make a pretty good argument that they know a little something about how to successfully use social media.

The guy who successfully directed GM’s social media program during that dark and stressful time is Christopher Barger, author of The Social Media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out (McGraw Hill: 2012).  If you are in marketing or social media for a big company, consult with big companies about social media, or would like to do either, without a doubt The Social Media Strategist needs to be on your reading list.

And that’s the rub of the book.  Barger does a great job of laying out how to build a top of the line social media program within a large organization, but despite how good the advice is, an awful lot of it just doesn’t apply to smaller companies.  That doesn’t mean the book isn’t useful for smaller companies, it simply means you’ll have to really pick and choose what is appropriate for your situation.

Barger begins by looking at the need to get a champion for the social media effort in a senior position to clear the way for its success, to working with the company’s attorneys, to selecting the individual that will be the face of the social media program.

A good deal of time is devoted to finding and selecting the person who will be the key social media contact—what Barger calls the Social Media Evangelist.  Barger emphasizes the need for the focal person to be someone with real experience and not some young “kid” put in the place because they’re social media savvy.  According to Barger, the social media evangelist must not only be technically savvy, they must have the wisdom to go along with it—and that isn’t going to be some intern or someone with little business experience.

In addition, Barger discusses a number of “deal breakers” when it comes to finding the ideal evangelist.  Some deal breakers are:

• ·         Overemphasizing their personal brand to the potential detriment of the company’s
• ·         No formal marketing or PR background
• ·         Professionally immature
• ·         No proven previous results

Likewise, Barger advises those seeking a social media position to be aware of what should be their deal breakers such as the company not willing to allocate the necessary resources or viewing the position as a kiddy position or having no clear executive champion for social media.

For smaller companies, not to negate its importance to large companies, Barger’s discussion of the “how to” of social media will be most useful as he deals with how to work with bloggers, how to work conferences and events, and how to use working locally to have a much bigger impact.

And for all, his treatment of what to do when disaster strikes is excellent.  Of particular note are his six most likely causes of crisis in social media and how to deal with them, including when an individual in the company causes an issue, when someone decides to complain on the web, and even when the whole organization melts down.

Barger loads the book with real life examples that give a clear view of not only his point but what has created real crisis for companies in the real world.

If you’re in social media or want to be, pick up a copy of The Social Media Strategist—you can’t read it without learning and knowing you’re learning from someone who really knows what they’re talking about because they’ve been there themselves.

I wrote this post about four years ago and am bringing it back as a reminder that what we do really isn’t nearly as complicated as we sometimes make it out to be.  In essence all we need is a solid process and a good understanding of human nature, both of which we can learn a good deal about from Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe.

In just under 30 years in sales I’ve had the opportunity to meet thousands upon thousands of salespeople. Some have been very good, many not so good, and a few phenomenal. But there are two that I know that are simply the best salespeople I’ve ever met. They work as a team and their closing ratio is well over 90%–most of the time with additional add-on sales to boot. I can honestly say that I’m not aware of a single serious prospect that they’ve failed to approach—ever. And they have an incredible ability to always be in the right place at the right time.

Many times we tend to overcomplicate things. We analyze things to death. We search for the smallest nuance, the tiniest little thing that might give us a bit of an edge, a little bit of an upper hand in nailing down a sale. We sometimes lose sight of the basic nature of selling which is to find a prospect, develop a relationship, make our case, overcome their objections, and close the sale. That’s the basics of a sale no matter what we sell. Of course there are twists and turns, some more complicated than others. But in the end, that’s what we all do.

Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe understand this concept better than any other salespeople I’ve ever met. More importantly, they don’t try to complicate it and they practice their craft religiously and are constantly honing their skills. And for their diligence, their highly honed skills, and commitment to being where their prospects are, they are rewarded with a fat income.

So, who are these top producers and what secrets have they learned?

Mr. B.J. is a miniature dachshund and Ms. Chloe is a miniature Yorkie. OK, yes, they’re dogs. Don’t let that fool you. They are also highly skilled salespeople with the highest close ratio I’ve ever seen, with a sense of timing we humans can only envy, and with a dogged persistence in asking for the order that puts us human salespeople to shame—rejection doesn’t bother or discourage them in the least.  If they fail with one prospect, they know another is right around the corner.

But our lessons come from their sales process. As mentioned previously, it is basic. No fancy tricks, no deception. (In the spirit of full disclosure I have to mention that in their sales process there is tons of manipulation which is unethical for human sellers but appears to be a perfectly ethical sales practice in the animal world.)

Their Process:

1. Going to where their prospects are: Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe are always prospecting. They have two prospecting methods—cold calling and waiting for the occasional walk-in prospect. Since they don’t like to rely on the happenstance of walk-ins, they spend a good deal of time cold calling.

Cold calling consists of keeping a close tab on the neighborhood for any prospect—prospects being anyone outside.

Upon spying a prospect both are eager to introduce themselves. They wait for an appropriate opportunity and approach for the introduction. Since our block is a favorite for walkers and joggers throughout the neighborhood, they are in a constant prospecting mode, meeting dozens of potential customers daily.

If they are in the house, they are ever aware of anyone going into the kitchen. The kitchen is where sales are made and they make sure that at least one of them has the kitchen covered at most times—but since they don’t trust the other to let them know if someone is approaching the kitchen, they are generally both positioned to keep an eye on that most important room.

2. Building relationships: Upon meeting a new prospect they concentrate on establishing a relationship, with the initial emphasis on understanding and addressing the prospect’s needs and wants. Relationship building typically entails a great deal of licking and kissing, demonstrating their sincerity and trustworthiness, as well as their eagerness to please.

They don’t rush the sale. They are content to move at the prospect’s speed, allowing them to become comfortable with the relationship before pressing for an order.

3. Making their presentation: For B.J. and Chloe, moving from the initial connection stage to the presentation stage can sometimes be a bit abrupt, somewhat like some of our less skilled human salespeople–although in this case it appears to be quite effective.

Their presentation tends to consist of sniffing the food or drink the person may have, smelling the prospect’s hands or breath for traces of food, or, if called for, dissolving into pathetic, irresistible sad-eyed looks.

4. Asking for the order: Once they’ve made their presentation, they ask for the order with lots of jumping up and down, barking and whining, and running around the prospect. No one ever fails to understand the request.

5. Overcoming objections: Neither B.J. or Chloe are willing to accept a no. An objection simply means they have not made their case persuasively enough. Upon hearing no they simply brush it off and their kisses, loving, jumping, barking, running around the prospect, and their big doe eyes become even bigger, their mournful looks become even sadder.

It takes nerves of steel to resist them and few do it successfully.

6. Asking for the add-on order: Once the prospect has bought and provided a treat, they have opened themselves up for the add-on sale. The add-on tends to be a more subtle sale than the initial sale, taking the form of nudging the bag the original treat came in or rubbing on the prospect’s leg.

7. Maintaining relationships: After they secure a new client, they make sure they follow up with regular visits and a consistent flow of kisses and leg rubs.

Their sales process is incredibly simple and straightforward. Their reward is a consistent flow of treats from our neighbors, walkers, joggers, and of course my wife and me. They’ve even managed to teach some of the neighbors what their favorite treats are (dried chicken strips, unshelled peanuts—they love to shell the peanuts themselves although it makes an incredible mess, and string cheese).

We may not be as cute as Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe. We may not be able to manipulate (and manipulation is never a valid part of selling for us humans) prospects as they do. But if a dog that can’t speak can follow this simple process and make tons of sales, we should be mindful that this isn’t rocket science. Their secret is simple—they meet lots of prospects, develop relationships, make a compelling presentation, overcome the objections, and ask for the order.

Yes, our sales are more complicated. No, we don’t have the cute factor working for us as they do. But we have the same opportunity Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe have. We have the same time to work with—they get all of their prospecting and selling done in about 6 to 7 hours. And in a bigger, more complicated form, we have in essence the same process. All we have to do is to be as committed to our success as they are to theirs.

It seems that when I friend or follow or connect with someone I’m far more likely now than in the past to get a direct message or inmail or email thanking me for following and “as a special gift” they offer me a super duper deal on their services or books or whatever. 

Often I’ll get an inmail thanking me for the connection and since they know that I’d love to follow their company page on Facebook they’ve taken the liberty to provide the link. 

Other times it is an outright blatant solicitation to sell me something without even the guise of a special offer. 

And sometimes it’s more subtle with an invitation to get to know one another on the phone—that within 30 seconds becomes a hard-line sales pitch.

It may simply be because more and more sellers are using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media and they’re ignorant of proper social media etiquette.

But it might also be a symptom of something more fundamental–the hazard of using a medium that is inherently unsocial—a computer.

Rude and obnoxious anonymous postings on forums and blogs have long been issues, along with the occasional in your face attempt to sell from a new friend, follower or connection. 

I’ve always chalked up the clumsy sales attempt as simply an etiquette error.  The rude and obnoxious comments on blogs and forums I’ve assumed was simply a result of having the luxury of being anonymous combined with “talking” to an inanimate computer screen.

But I’m beginning to think that there is a deeper inherent problem with social media than simply learning proper social media etiquette–and that problem is the impersonal nature of the computer itself.

Even though intellectually we know our emails, direct messages and inmails are going to another human, we are interacting with an inanimate object to talk to someone we do not know and whom know little to nothing about. 

Our message is then received by someone who is looking at an impersonal screen while reading the words of someone they do not know and many very well have never heard of before.

That is not a humanizing combination.  In fact, it makes it easy to dehumanize the other person because in a sense we’re not talking to a person until we get to know them a bit on a personal level.

In addition we may have a tendency to misinterpret the other person’s meaning when they friended or followed us.  Maybe they were looking to make a connection not because they were chomping at the bit to buy our stuff. 

But when dealing with a faceless person who we do not know and who we only have the barest of connections with it is easy to forget about their side of the equation and go full bore to satisfy our wants and needs.

The  direct messages, emails, and inmails we receive from other sellers should teach us a couple of hard and fast lessons:

1. Slow down and consider why the other person might be wanting to connect with you—and realize that more than likely it isn’t because they’re dying to buy from you.
2. Use the same rules of engagement you’d use if you met the person at a social gathering.  People are looking to make connections for all kinds of reasons but no matter the reason, trust and respect must be earned and built and that takes time.

Forget trying to push your wares or your website or your Facebook page as soon as you connect with someone.  Don’t screw up your new connection by immediately sending an unwanted, self-serving sales piece.  You may be typing to an inanimate computer screen, you may not know much about the person you’re writing to, and you may be anxious to make a sale, but the one thing you can count on is that whomever you’re writing to won’t appreciate being treated like a dollar sign to be rung up on the cash register.

“Donna, I’ve sat through three of your team’s executive meetings, one board meeting, and a couple of regional meetings.  One of your company’s biggest problems is there’s no conflict.  No one is challenging anything in the company.  Everyone gets along just fine, but it seems that everyone has taken getting along to the point that your team and your company are stagnant.  If you really want to see your team and your company grow, get some tension and conflict going.”

I believe that at first Donna, the CEO of a mid-sized financial services company was so surprised and disturbed by my statement that I thought she was going to throw me out of her office.

Then she slowly said, “Paul, I trust you so I’m assuming you have a good reason for saying something that I’d take as a pretty stupid thing to say normally.  Before I determine you’re not the consultant for us that I thought you were, explain that statement to me.”

I did–and now her company is happily engulfed in conflict.

If you want your company or sales team to grow, mature, and become strong, encourage conflict.  In fact, if you want to develop a company or sales team that dominates its market you’ll go out of your way to nurture and fan the flames of conflict whenever they arise.

Now, what comes to mind when you hear the word “conflict?”  Do you think anger?  Do you think arguments about personal territory and personal preferences?  Do you think jealousy, suspicion, and resentment?  Do you think of toes getting stepped on and egos getting smashed?

Those are certainly some things that are rightfully referred to as conflict.  And unfortunately those things arise in every business organizations—and those things have and will continue to destroy organizations.

But those aren’t the conflicts I’m talking about that are good, necessary, and helpful to your organization.

What conflict is good?  That which brings about strong, enduring, positive change to the organization and the members of the team.

Not to get religious on you, but let me begin by quoting a section of Proverbs 27: “just as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  Iron sharpens iron through conflict and tension, through one piece of iron striking another.  And as with iron, tension and conflict can and will sharpen our organization and team members.

How does conflict bring about positive change?  Positive change comes from challenging the status quo and tradition; it comes when men and women have the courage to question how the organization is conducting its business and how it is treating its customers, employees, and vendors; and when the lower ranks within the organization challenge the decisions from on high based on the reality they encounter in the real world that is often far removed from the executive suite.

For an organization to grow and mature there must be tension and that tension must be generated by conflict—the conflict of honest men and women seeking to improve the organization as a whole.

“Seeking to improve the organization” is the rub—most conflict tends to be “me” oriented in some fashion and, thus, destructive.  Consequently many organizations try desperately to eliminate all conflict.  They have conflict resolution specialists come in and present seminars and maybe even do one-on-one counseling.  They put up posters exhorting everyone to put aside differences.  Like Rodney King, the theme is “can’t we all just get along?”

Yes, on a petty, personal level conflict and its accompanying tension is very undesirable and destructive.  But in regards to business and organizational growth there must be some constructive tension and conflict.  Unfortunately that constructive conflict can easily get discouraged in the general atmosphere of trying to eliminate personal conflict and to generate harmony with the hope that everyone will sit around toasting marshmallows and singing Kumbaya. 

Yet the reality is that if no one is questioning no change or improvement is possible.  When people question, there will be others defending the status quo and tradition, and that is when significant growth and maturity can take place.

When policies, procedures, rules, regulations, old ways of doing things, and traditional perspectives are questioned good things happen.  Sometimes those existing items are determined to be right and good; at other times they are determined to be in need of change, whether just a mild adjustment or a radical tearing down and rebuilding.

Whether or not change is needed, the very act of questioning, of arguing, or looking at alternatives is constructive and profitable for forces the organization to evaluate who it is, what it does, and how it does it. 

Frankly sometimes the tension and conflict is uncomfortable.  And on top of as unfortunate as it is, with human nature being what it is, there will be times when egos and feelings get in the way and complicate matters even more.

As regrettable as it may be that people get the ego or feeling stepped on, you cannot afford to let that possibility stop the organization from benefiting from tension and conflict.

How can destructive ego and personal feeling issues be avoided?  There really is no way to keep them out of the mix entirely.  However, there are courses, seminars, and coaches that can help teach team members how to keep the conflict on a professional level, seeking the best for the company, and keeping their personal feelings and ego out—or at least to a minimum.

There is no way around the fact that tension and conflict is bittersweet.  Few actually like conflict and the tension that naturally comes with it; but the tremendous positive results that come from good, positive, constructive conflict are worth stretching the team and getting out of the company comfort zone.

I’m not advocating that your organization become a corporate version of the Golden Gloves, but if your organization doesn’t have some tension and conflict going on, then your stagnating and soon you’ll get left behind by competitors who are willing to raise, discuss, and argue those uncomfortable questions.

Connect with me on Twitter: @paul_mccord
or on Facebook:  http:www.facebook.com/McCordTraining

In short, selling is about communication.

It’s really that simple.

It’s also that difficult.

What’s so hard about selling?  Most of us have been taught, whether overtly or not, that selling is about talking, about telling, about overpowering the prospect with verbiage.

In reality it is about talking little and listening a great deal.

The question how do you get the prospect talking so you have something to listen to?  One of the truisms in selling today is that you listen to the answers to the astute questions you ask the prospect that gets them to open up and give you the factual and emotional information you need.

That is, actually, great guidance.  The problem is then, what questions?

Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas in their just published book Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others (John Wiley & Sons: 2012) present the reader with 337 well thought out questions that will help you dig deep without offending and give you the information you need to really understand your prospect’s situation and goals.

What are some of these essential questions?  Here’s a small sample:

• “How will this further your mission and goals?”
• “Can you tell me about your plans?”
• “Why do you want to do that?”
• “What have we decided today?”
• “What’s the most important thing we should be discussing today?”
• “What prompted your interest in our meeting today?”
• :”If an effective solution is found, how will affect your own job?”
• “What does the company expect out of you this year?”

So, you say, there’s nothing new about any of these questions?  You’re right.  It isn’t the questions that make the book worth the investment; it is how Sobel and Panas address the core of the book.

Rather than simply tell you to ask a particular question, the authors give you guidance of when to ask, and for over 35 key questions they give you a number of follow-up questions to help you dig deeper and keep the prospect engaged.. 

Better yet, once you’ve worked your way through the first 30 odd questions and have learned how the authors follow up the initial question you should be well versed in where to go with the additional 293 questions in the back of the book.

The way NOT to read Power Questions is to simply skim through and pick out the questions themselves; if that’s your intent, save your money.

Instead take the time to learn how to ask quality questions and then listen to the answer.

Many, if not most, may think this too simplistic a book.  They’d be wrong.  Very wrong.

Get a copy of Power Questions, read it and then apply it and you will not only improve your sales, you’ll discover that questions can improve all relationships in your life.

Connect with me on Twitter: @paul_mccord
or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/McCordTraining

What words do you use to describe yourself and your products and services?  Are there words you intentionally try to keep out the mind of your prospects or clients?  Do you use euphemisms instead of plain English when making a presentation in order to try to elicit a particular feeling or response from your prospect?

As salespeople, we’ve been taught to frame our conversations and presentations in ways that lead our prospects and clients to the conclusions and decisions we wish them to arrive at.  In order to do this, we are advised by some to refrain from using certain words that may evoke a negative reaction—or to use words that will evoke a negative reaction, depending on what we want our prospect to think or feel.

Much of this advice is based on the idea that if we control the conversation we control the prospect’s attitude, thinking, and ultimately, their decision making process.  In other words, by carefully controlling the words used in the conversation, we can control the prospect’s thought process. 

Some sales trainers even go so far as to recommend we not bring up potential negatives—don’t address a non-existent objection so as not to plant a potential objection in the prospect’s mind.  Or if an objection is raised, deflect it and return to the presentation or closing the sale.  Gloss over the objection and it will go away.    

It seems George Orwell has become the director of sales training.  Orwell’s Newspeak is now the new “sales speak.”  No longer is communicating with a prospect as a rational human sufficient; now we are exhorted to in essence treat them as nothing more than a computer, inputting only the data we want them to compute–as though if we don’t give them the words, they won’t be able to think the thoughts we don’t want them to think.

Orwell believed that words are the keys to thought.  If the words don’t exist to communicate a particular thought or concept, it isn’t possible to think the thought or concept.  Consequently, if you can control the words someone has available to them, you can control not only what they think, but eventually how they act.  Orwell later repudiated the concept.  Unfortunately, a version of this concept has become quite popular in some areas of sales training.

Like Orwell’s world of 1984, some view the world of sales as an arena where words are not simply powerful in influencing thought and behavior; they are the creators of thought and behavior.  If we don’t say it, the prospect will never think it.  If we can frame it using the words we want, the prospect will never think of their own words to describe it or question it.

Rather than trying to communicate, we are told by some that if we create the conversation we wish to have with the prospect, the prospect will unknowingly go along with us.  If only we learn the right words and phrases to use—and the words and phrases to avoid, we can direct the prospect to the ”proper” decision.  Selling in this view is simply an exercise in rhetoric.

So, we learn the right words and the right phrases; we engage the prospect by making sure we eliminate any words that might evoke thoughts, feeling, or concepts we don’t want them to have; and we ask for the order.  Instead of the automatic ‘yes’ we expected, we hear a resounding ‘no.’

What could possibly have gone wrong?  We did everything right.  We used the right words; we avoided the wrong ones.  We were careful to implant the ideas, concepts, and emotions we wanted the prospect to have.  We executed perfectly.  And they said no.  How could this possibly have happened?

Could it be that they did the unthinkable–they actually thought words and concepts that we worked diligently to keep out of their head?  Despite our best efforts to implant the right “data,”  when we pushed the “enter” button they exercised independent thought and rejected our attempt to manipulate their decision making process?

Is it possible the words we use aren’t as important as the communication and connection we make with the prospect?  Is it possible that our attempt to finesse the prospect by trying to direct their thinking through the careful manipulation of language isn’t as effective as we have been lead to believe?  Is it possible that less rhetoric and more communication would serve us better?  Could it be that more listening, more understanding, and more straight answers to prospect questions could prompt more trust in the prospect?

Maybe it is time to rethink the Newspeak of selling and learn instead to listen, to answer honestly and forthrightly, to drop the euphemisms and begin once again communicating with prospects and clients using plain English.  Maybe rather than the belief that the words we use will create the reality we want in the prospect, we should seek try to understand the prospect’s needs, wants, and issues and try to present our best solutions to those needs and wants as honestly and forthrightly as possible. 

The Orwellian experiment has been tried—and failed.  Orwell recognized the failure of the concept before he died.  Certainly, many trainers in the areas of communication and persuasion recognize the legitimate uses of rhetoric in the sales process.  Yet, there are still large numbers of trainers selling the Orwellian concept of easy sales through language manipulation and its false promise of controlling prospect thought and behavior.  There is a difference between the legitimate use of persuasive influence and the intent to deviously manipulation. 

We are selling to independent beings who exercise their capacity to think autonomously of our attempts to stage-manage their actions and decisions.  Our words can influence, they cannot create the reality we want.  Our words can help create an image, they cannot eliminate independent thought.   Our words can create conversation, dialog, and real communication, they cannot produce a pre-determined outcome.  The sooner we recognize their independence, the sooner we can get back to creating relationships built on trust, not on linguistic manipulation.

Whether I’m working with a newly promoted seller into a frontline sales management position or an established sales leader, I often find someone with a warped and destructive idea of what a sales manager’s work is. 

Generally I find these misguided managers have adopted one of these four destructive management styles :

The Clone Coach:  A common tendency of great salespeople when promoted to manager is to believe that if they could just train all of their salespeople to be mini-me’s of themselves then everything will be great—the salespeople will be happy, they’ll make their numbers, management will be thrilled, customers will be loyal forever, and the new manager will be promoted again in no time.  Thus, the new manager sets out to coach every seller on his or her team to do exactly what they did to be successful without regard to the individual salesperson’s experience level, knowledge, personality, or skills. 

Typically the harder the manager tries to “coach” each of their salespeople to mimic the way they sold, the more frustrated each seller becomes and the more resistant to being “coached.”

Although the manager may succeed in creating one or two clones, they will alienate the majority of their team and eventually there will be a breakdown of trust and cooperation.

The Super Seller:  The Super Seller is the star salesperson who when promoted to manager tells his or her salespeople to forget about selling, “you get the prospects, I’ll sell ‘em” is the crux of their management style.  They haven’t the slightest interest in seeing their salespeople grow as sellers; their only interest is making THEIR numbers because it’s all about them.

Salespeople languish and eventually wither and die under a Super Seller for they not only have no chance to grow, if they do decide to exercise selling skills they are typically scolded for the perceived sin of costing the manager potential scalps on his or her lodge pole.

Although the manager may appear successful to upper management if judged only by the numbers, she is judged a complete failure and is resented by her team which typically suffers large turnover and discontent.

The Disciplinarian:  Less prevalent that the two previous management styles but equally dangerous is the manager who comes in with the attitude of “I’m going to whip these lazy good for nothings into shape if it kills me.”  Most typically it does kill—both the team members and the manager.

The Disciplinarian usually has a chip on their shoulder and disrespect for those they “manage.”  This manager views himself as being not only a superior seller to his team members but also more dedicated to the company and his job than they are. 

Sales teams under the thumb of the Disciplinarian suffer from morale issues that eventually result in high turnover and often outright rebellion. 

The Pal:  The Pal manager has most often been promoted from within the team and is friends with the majority of team members.  The Pal’s transition from peer to manager changes virtually nothing in the team’s relationships as the salespeople have a difficult time making the transition to viewing their old friend as their manager and the new manager has a difficult time now having to hold her former team peers accountable for their actions.

Instead of making the transition from peer to manager, the new manager makes a transition from peer to Super Friend, becoming the advocate extraordinaire for her team mates, protecting them and covering for them no matter what.  The Pal is committed to her friends and is most concerned about how they feel about her rather than managing them. 

Unfortunately for most managers who take on the role of The Pal, the lack of discipline and accountability results in the team members taking gross advantage of them—to the point that often their tenure as manager is very short lived.  . 

The common denominator that binds all four of these management styles together is a focus by the manager on themselves and their wants and needs.

Certainly managing entails coaching, and disciplining when necessary, as well as helping close a sale here and there; and needless to say making the numbers is important.  But managing involves far more than these few traits and it becomes destructive when the manager becomes completely focused on their own needs and their perceived success rather than their team’s growth and performance.

One of the keys to being a successful sales manager is having a solid understanding of human nature and in particular understanding what makes each team member tick.  More than anything else, sales management is about leadership, not about control or being the big shot or even just making the numbers.

Manager, if you see yourself locked into any of these management styles, by all means seek out a quality coach or find a quality management training company and start the process of becoming a strong manager.

Seller, if you find that you are working for one of the above managers, consider your situation carefully and make a conscious decision as to whether you want to continue in such a situation where your growth as a salesperson may be stymied and you may live in a constant state of frustration.

Follow me on Twitter: @paul_mccord
Like us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/McCordTraining

Doesn’t it seem reasonable that if we’re doing something that has a negative outcome that we’d stop doing it?  Even more fundamental, doesn’t it seem reasonable that we’d notice that what we’re doing isn’t working?

Seems reasonable. 

But strange as it seems, our lives are full of things that have negative consequences yet we continue to do them. 

Some of these negative things we may be aware of and consciously choose to do anyway with such as smoking, overeating, or taking a tad too many nips of the juice.. 

Nevertheless, there are whole hosts of actions we take that have negative consequences of which we are completely ignorant.  We’re ignorant of these negative consequence actions not because we’re blind, or stupid, or too lazy to see them.  We’re ignorant because we have never examined them to see what the consequences of those actions really are.  We do them because we’re ‘supposed’ to do them or because that’s the way we’ve always done it.  We do them out of ignorance.

Unfortunately, that same ignorance that invests other parts of our lives, worms its way into our sales careers as well.  We do the things we’ve been told are the right things to do or we do them in the way we were told was the right way to do them.  And when the outcome of those actions isn’t what it’s supposed to be, we blame ourselves or chalk it up to bad luck or bad timing.  Worse, we decide the answer is to do more of those actions believing that if we do them more often and with more conviction, the outcome will definitely be better, right?  After all, weren’t we told that those were the right actions, so then the problem must be we simply aren’t doing them long enough or hard enough, never examining them to see if the problem might be with them, not with us.

So our solution is to do more of what doesn’t work.

Can it get any stranger? 

Yet, that is how the vast majority of salespeople run their sales careers.

Cold calling not working?  Make more cold calls.  Not closing enough sales?  Push for the sale harder.  Not meeting enough prospects at the networking events you go to?  Go to more events.  The direct mail piece you sent not producing results?  Send out more. 

The answer is always more of the same.  Do more of what’s not working and it’ll work. 

What a strange business we’re in.  What other business is there whose answer to the things that aren’t producing results is to do more of it?

Do you think that if the owner of a restaurant decided he wasn’t selling enough fish the answer would be to cook more fish?  Or, if the radiology treatment a physician has prescribed isn’t working they would just prescribe a larger dose without first examining why it isn’t working?  Of course not.  The restaurateur would want to know why he wasn’t selling more fish and he would figure out how to generate more customers who order fish or he would change his menu to reflect the tastes of his customers because if he tries to continue to force fish on his customers, he’ll be out of business.  Likewise, instead of just prescribing a bigger dose of the same radiology treatment, the physician will seek to discover why the treatment isn’t working and change her prescription accordingly. 

Neither the restaurateur nor the physician is just going to say, “oh, well.  What I’m doing isn’t working so I’ll just do lots more of it.”  We’d think they were nuts if that were their answer.

Yet, that’s the answer most salespeople come up with when their sales career isn’t progressing in the direction they want.  And the strange thing is few of their associates or their manager thinks they’re crazy for simply doing more of what doesn’t work.  In fact, they are often the salesperson’s biggest cheerleaders egging them on to do exactly those things.

Can it get any stranger?    

Why would a rational person decide the answer to correcting something that isn’t working is to do more of what isn’t working? 

Although there are a number of reasons such as the advice they are getting from their sales manager, many of the sales books they read, and their associates, all assuring them that all they need to do is make more calls, push harder for the sale, send out more direct mail pieces, often the real culprit is that they have no idea what they are doing that is working and what they are doing that isn’t working.

Salespeople for the most part tend to work off gut feeling.  “I feel that my cold calling isn’t producing the desired results.”  “I feel that my closing skills are really good, I just don’t feel that I’m getting to make enough presentations.”  “I feel that I’m getting a lot of referrals, they’re just not very good.” 

Working off gut feeling is a surefire way to feel–and be–broke. 

The problem is few salespeople take the time and put in the effort to examine their sales business in detail to discover what they are doing that is really producing the results they want—and what they are doing that isn’t.  Few salespeople know exactly:

• What activities they are investing the majority of their time in
• The characteristics of the prospects they really connect with
• Where their sales–not their prospects but their sales–are coming from
• What prospecting and marketing methods are actually producing sales and not just bodies
• What they are doing in the sales process that is working and what isn’t, furthermore, most have no real idea of what their sales process is
• Or know exactly how many qualified prospects they talk to, how many of those prospects bought, what specific products or services they bought, why the prospects bought—or didn’t buy

In order to run a business, the business owner must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of their income statement and their balance sheet.  Those two documents tell the business owner what’s really going on in their business.  They tell them not only how well they are doing, but where to invest more time and money, they warn of potential problems, and they reveal new potential opportunities the business owner might not otherwise have seen.  The balance sheet and income statement are the history of the business and the business’s history tells the business owner what’s going to happen in the future—good and bad–unless the business owner makes changes to the business.

Salespeople need the same roadmap as any other business owner.  Salespeople are not employees—despite getting a W2.  Every salesperson is self-employed.  They run their own sales company.  For those salespeople who are W2’d, it just happens they have only one client—the company they are currently selling for.  Like any business owner, they must have a historical document that alerts them to problems–as well as opportunities.

Rather than having a balance sheet and income statement, salespeople must take the time and invest the effort to reconstruct their sales and marketing history in numerical form.  They must create a document that informs them of not what they think or feel has happened in the past, but tells them exactly what has happened.  Such a document will tell them in no uncertain terms where they have really spent their time; what they have really done in terms of prospecting and marketing; who their ideal prospect really is; what prospecting and marketing methods are really working; what their closing ratio really is; and a great deal more.  And it tells them that if they continue doing what they’re doing, exactly what will happen in the future.  On the other hand, it will also tell them exactly what changes must be made in order to change their future.

If a sales history document is so powerful, why do only a handful of salespeople have one?  Although one of the most powerful tools any salesperson—and their manager—can have, reconstructing one’s sales and marketing history is tedious, takes a good deal of effort, and for many the results are very uncomfortable. 

If you are serious about changing your sales business, you must learn to run it like a business and to take full responsibility for what you do, why you do it, and how you do it.  You can’t do that unless you know–and you can’t know by guessing or going on gut feeling.  You can’t change your career if you simply continue to do what you’re doing. 

For salespeople, finding and selling quality prospects is how they make a living.  Yet, most leave their success or failure up to chance and gut feeling.  Can it get any stranger than that?  You don’t have to be like 85% of all other salespeople who meander along with no real idea of what to do to be successful. 

Sit down and do a thorough review of your prospecting, marketing, and selling activities for a reasonable period, say a year.  Dig out your records of what you did and exactly what activity produced what business.  Figure out what produces business and why.  Likewise, figure out what you’re investing time in that isn’t producing business—and why. 

Once you know those two things you can begin to put together a solid plan to exploit those things that are producing for you and take corrective action on those things that aren’t.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be in control of your sales business and you’ll no longer have to wonder where your business will come from—or if it will come.

follow me on Twitter at: @paul_mccord

“Companies often decide to curtail lead generation spending because cash flow slows and sales stagnate.”

Please reread that last sentence.  Does it make sense?  It should read:

“Companies that curtail lead generation spending because cash flow slows and sales stagnate see a further decline in sales for three to twelve months thereafter because the sales pipeline has been reduced.”

Of course, I can understand caution when cash is short, but slowing down lead generation is not the way out of the morass.  Whether you average 100 inquiries or a thousand a month, if you cut lead generation spending and your lead count drops by 50% or more for three to six months, sales will correspondingly drop within three months.  What’s more, they’ll remain curtailed for three to six months after lead generation picks up.  It isn’t just a fact, it’s common sense.

This is how it works.

After lead generation spending is slashed, sales continue for about three months as the pipeline is drained of opportunities.  At this point, senior management is beating on sales management to increase the pipeline, and sales management replies with excuses for just about everything except lack of leads; that comes a month or so later when he or she gets desperate and every salesperson cries for leads.

It’s not too late, but recovery is several quarters away.  It takes months to build the inquiry level back up to what it was, and months longer to rebuild the pipeline.   Just consider the average sales cycle for your product and you’ll see that the rebuild time is considerable.  But there is no choice.  You can reignite sales lead flow, but it takes months for the pipeline to come back and months longer for sales to reappear.

What do you do?

First, don’t cut lead generation if you need an increase in sales: increase leads to increase sales.

When management requests a reduction in the lead generation budget explain the consequences:

Fewer leads for six months = smaller pipeline for nine months  = declining sales for three to twelve months.

Conversely:

Increased leads for three months  = increased pipeline within six months = increased sales for one year.

The lesson: curtail sales lead generation spending at your peril, understanding that there are consequences to your pipeline and to sales far into the future.

[1] James Obermayer, Sales and Marketing 365,  Racom Communications & Business Marketing Association, Evanston, Ill , #66, page 32.   Buy the book with all 365 Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for making more money all year long; from the publisher: $17.95