The Yin Yang of Selling

Archive for the ‘Sales Talent’ Category

The Yin Yang of Selling
Thursday, December 9th, 2010

In the 20th century the emphasis on B2B selling had a distinct aggressive ring to it. So much so, that you could walk down the halls of many businesses and think that you were involved in big game hunting. Many of these teams saw selling as an extreme sport, or more precisely, Big Game Fishing or Hunting.
» Customers were ‘Targets’.
» Getting a sale was referred to as ‘the Kill’.
» Customers were regarded as objects to be possessed or trophies to be placed in their cabinet; to be shown off and admired (perversely so) like stuffed animal heads on the wall.

Little regard was really paid to building genuine relationships and developing real value. It was in essences an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ approach. And if you tried to develop deeper relationships it was seen as wimpy and soft. For instance, I can recall hearing of the death of one of my long standing clients, who died tragically in a plane crash when I was working as a recruiter many years ago. Upon hearing the news I found myself crying quietly at my desk at the loss of this lovely man. A few minutes later one of our senior managers found me and asked me why I was crying, and when I told him why, he just said “get over it, it’s only a client”. Extreme I know, however I have overheard many sales people speak about their clients in disparaging and disrespectful ways with little regard for the value of genuine relationships built on trust and transparency.

So why title this post as the Yin Yang of Selling? Yin Yang are complementary opposites that interact within a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, but either of these aspects may manifest more strongly in particular objects, and may ebb or flow over time. There is a perception (especially in the West) that yin and yang correspond to good and evil (not respectively). However, Taoist philosophy generally discounts good/bad distinctions and other dichotomous moral judgments, in preference to the idea of balance.

I propose that the profession of selling has been out of balance for some time and to its detriment. If we look at how selling has been evolving over the last 50 years, we can see a distinct shift occurring from the aggressive one sided approach where conquest was king (too much yang) to a more delicate balance between the masculine and feminine aspects of yin yang.

It cannot be denied that selling requires yang – a proactive, focused, go-out-into-the-world and find opportunity approach (prospecting) however, selling must now be balanced with the ability to genuinely listen and respond to the subtleties of more complex relationships which involves patience, nurturing, and dealing with ambiguity which is yin. Think of the types of conversations you now need to have with your prospective customers where listening, questioning, resolving problems, collaboration, empathy and understanding are encouraged.

This is not just a fantasy. In reviewing the latest research on elite sale performers, gender differences in sales capabilities were found; women rated significantly higher than men on 5 of the 7 emerging competencies which gave them a distinct advantage in selling. Some of these capabilities included:
» listening beyond the product needs;
» engaging in self appraisal and continuous learning;
» orchestrating internal resources;
» aligning customer/supplier strategic objectives; and
» establishing a vision of a committed customer.

These capabilities are in the realm of yin. May I suggest that we encourage more yin yang to assist us on our sales journey and encourage more success! To find out how you can achieve this in your team or career, have a look at the sales training that we provide for sales people, sales teams and sales leaders.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

Posted in Sales Relationships, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Value Creation | No Comments »
How can we learn from our best sales performers?
Thursday, November 4th, 2010

How do we get the rest of our sales team learning from our top performers? Should we get our top sales performer in front of our sales team to teach them how to be more effective?

Well that all depends…
» How well does that top sales performer understand how and why they sell well?
» Can they articulate what they do in a step by step process?
» Can they teach to the others in a simple and meaningful way?
» Do they want to teach others?

The reality is that most top sales performers are unaware of what makes them ‘good’ which in turn makes it really hard for them to transfer and teach what they know and do to others. So how do we capture their talent, knowledge, skill or wisdom?

Job Design
One way of teaching our sales people what our best performers do is to first profile these sales superstars by using a Job Design process to map the core capabilities or competencies of top sales performers. By mapping the core capabilities or competencies of our best sales performers we make explicit the behaviours expected for effective performance in the role, and these behaviours can be easily observed in selection, development planning and performance assessment contexts.

Sadly, many organisations use generic capability or competency definitions for profiling, development and succession planning of their people if they use anything at all. However, our research has revealed that these generic competency definitions are often too generalised and not relevant to specialised roles such as sales. This drastically diminished their usefulness in performance development, coaching, talent management and so on.

A Job Design process can provide very specific behavioural criteria for all levels of sales and service roles. Once mapped, they can be implemented into recruitment kits, performance management systems, coaching, succession planning and induction processes.

Video Role Modelling
Another way is to video tape our top sales performers performing true to life role plays where they can demonstrate their sales capabilities across the sales spectrum. This works most effectively when we have a sales process that can be followed and the sales people we want to teach can see the process in action and how it’s supposed to be done via the video. If we then combine this with capabilities developed from the Job Design process, those sales people we want to teach can see the behavioral markers being applied for themselves.

And besides, positioned properly, it’s great kudos for the top sales performers and can really be an aspirational target for sales people to aim for. If you are fortunate to have a team large enough to have several top performers, video tape them all and make them available to your team. Kath Podnar, GM Sales for Jeans West, knows how effective this can be. This forms a part of their ongoing education of their front line staff, is easy to set up and inexpensive to do.

Modelling good sales capability is like learning to dance. We watch the dance moves performed by an experienced dancer while listening to the rhythm, and then we try it out for ourselves and practice, practice, practice.

Making clear and explicit the behaviours you expect to be applied in a sales role is key. Linking them to a clear sales process and giving people examples of others who can model and apply the desired behaviours and process well helps people learn more effectively.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

Posted in Sales Leadership, Sales Talent, Sales Training | 1 Comment »
Is internal competition eating away at your sales results?
Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Many sales cultures are traditionally based on respect for authority, status and success, and encouraging competitive, challenging and achievement-oriented atmospheres. Although this is not true for all businesses, especially in the 21st Century! There are a growing number of businesses adopting more collegiate, lead team approaches. However, despite different types of cultures, sales performance and results are usually derived from the efforts of individuals. Harnessing those individual efforts to achieve synergy (the sum is greater than its individual parts) is a key task of management, yet so many get it wrong. Let’s take a look at one case study and see why.

What is wrong with the following scenario?
» Sales team has great products and service proposition and is part of an international business
» Sales team is made up of individuals who are measured on achievement of individual sales targets
» Each sales person is given a base retainer but earns the vast majority of their income on commissions made from sales converted
» There are a couple of high achieving sales performers, some average performers and some new sales people yet to prove themselves
» Annual staff turnover of sales staff has been about 30-40%
» Average tenure is 18 months
» The sales team is a state team all working in the same city
» Sales performance is purely measured on sales revenue results
» Sales League Tables are on public display showing who is ‘top sales dog’ each week
» The sales culture is based on respect for authority, status, success and competition
» The workplace atmosphere is competitive, challenging and achievement-oriented
» The sales people do NOT work to specific territories/markets or customer segments to manage and grow, instead it is ‘first in best dressed’
» The competitive environment encourages sales people to fight over leads that come into the business leading to ‘bullying’ tactics, attempts to ‘outdo’ each other, squabbling and fighting over who got to that client first
» Sales people ‘sand bag’ lists of clients just to make sure that the other sales people do not get them even if they themselves are not working on those leads at present
» Management provide no selling skills training, no sales coaching, no sales support, no CRM, no documented sales strategy nor a ‘go-to-market’ plan
» There are no formal sales management practices in place except for the weekly sales meeting which deteriorates into an ‘I’m better than you are’ bun fight

This is an example of lazy and ineffectual management. Only focused on outcomes with no regard for strategy, team structure, performance quality, clear leadership, staff retention, values or culture, this sales team is not geared for high performance and continues to lag behind its true potential.

Why create competition where it doesn’t need to be?

Why make selling harder than it needs to be?

‘Old school’ sales management said that you had to have sales people competing with each other or they wouldn’t sell. You weren’t a legitimate sales team if you didn’t have league tables. They said that internal competition would motivate people to sell more. Well they are wrong. The scenario above is not uncommon. It reflects an actual real life situation – happening right now.

This archaic approach doesn’t work. It’s outdated and old fashioned. If you want to generate real sales growth, try harnessing the energy, talent and ambitions of your sales people in a constructive way where they can all achieve their individual goals along with those of the company without trying to ‘kill’ each other in the process. Remember the old saying ‘a team of champions will not beat a champion team’?

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

Posted in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Ethics & Values, Performance Management, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Relationships, Sales Talent, Self Development, Strategy, Success, Teamwork, Value Creation | No Comments »
How do you create future sales superstars?
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

How many of us entered our sales careers with our eyes wide open? Fully aware of what it takes to be an effective sales person – ably resourced with the tools, processes, plans and support essential to our success. Knowing full well what you were getting yourself into.

For most, if not all of us, our initiation into sales was nothing like this, and was cushioned with little or none of these luxuries. Does the analogy “sink or swim” resonate with anyone?

All of this makes the story I am about to share quite unique and refreshing. Recently, some rather clever and farsighted managers gave some very fortunate young people the opportunity to get a large glimpse into the world of selling.

Here is their story: Two senior managers from one company, both whom I have known and worked with for many years, had the presence of mind and foresight to think ahead and tap into the desire of some of their younger staff to advance their careers.

Their business is in the industrial equipment market where they sell new equipment, spare parts, service and rentals. Recently, they advertised for a new service sales person and received, amongst others, applications from several of their internal service technicians.

The senior managers took these applications very seriously. However, they could not appoint any of their internal applicants because they had no experience and very little idea about what it takes to be an effective sales person. Thinking about the future of their business, staff retention and the desire of these young people to advance their careers, the senior managers took it upon themselves to give these driven and ambitious staff the opportunity to really understand what selling is all about – so that they could one day go in into a sales role with their eyes wide open.

This is where Barrett came in. In discussion with the managers, we developed a one day session where these young participants explored topics like:
» Why sales matters
» The changing face of customers and what they really want
» Ethics in selling
» Missed and lost opportunities
» Critical success factors, and key qualities of the 21st century sales performers
» Olympics Game – our sales fitness and simulation exercise which tests peoples’ natural sales capabilities and gives them real time feedback
» The sales essentials overview:
5 step sales planning process
4 step sales prospecting process
7 step sales communication process
» Skills you can apply NOW to build your steps to being a sales performer

As part of the session, we pointed out that even if they were not currently in a sales role, there were still numerous, valuable things they could take from the session and apply immediately in their current roles. Skills, knowledge and insight that would (and did) serve them, their customers and the company well right now, as well as lay the foundation for when the time comes for them to knowingly and willingly step into a sales role. Things like:
Knowing, understanding, communicating and modeling the vision, key message and promise, values and customer service ethic of the business
Knowing how to make effective phone calls to clients, etc. – being clear about the purpose of their calls and how to position themselves confidently (this relates to how to make prospecting phone calls)
Recognising and understanding different communication styles and how not to confuse different with difficult
Knowing how to ask good questions to clarify and verify their understanding.

What was most impressive was the prolific note taking, questioning and genuine interest in really getting a handle on what it takes to be a great sales person. For me it was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring days I have had in a long time. There is nothing like working with people who really want to be there and be their best.

All the people I have shared this story with in the last month have all expressed the same wish – that they had had the chance to experience such a session before they became a sales person.

All credit to Cameron and Mick for having the wisdom to provide this opportunity to their team. I am sure that the benefits will be varied, significant and long-lasting.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

Posted in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Sales Training, Strategy, Success, Value Creation | No Comments »
How fit is your sales team?
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Earlier this year we had the opportunity to put a client’s field sales force through the Barrett Sales Fitness Circuit to test their sales fitness.

The Sales Fitness Circuit is designed to reinforce and continue the process of learning from the Barrett Sales Communication Training. The Sales Communication competencies (skills, knowledge and mindset) covered in the initial training is put to the test through a series of exercises. The aim is to embed the learning from the training as a way of life in the sales team’s actions and thinking.

Specific skills, competency enhancement, and behaviour change were supported during the Sales Fitness Circuit Course through:
» Reviewing and reinforcing key learning’s from the 7 Step Sales Communication Process, in particular the Pre, Analysis, Problem Solving, Recommendation and Closing steps
» Sharing lessons learnt and obstacles experienced in using the models, techniques, and skills in the field
» Reflecting on strengths and areas requiring further development
» Developing individual action plans to address skill gaps moving forward

The Sales Fitness Circuit Course provided an experiential and high impact learning opportunity. The 1-day session is designed to be fun, high energy, and collaborative. It creates an effective learning environment that combines conceptual knowledge, real sales situations experienced in the field, and reflective learning.

Like the physical fitness circuit you would see in a gym or on the hit show The Biggest Loser, the elements of the Sales Fitness Circuit included:
» Sales people worked in discrete teams
» Each activity is set up as a station in the circuit
» Each station simulates a different activity requiring the use of Sales Communication skills, techniques and tools
» Props and visual cues were used at each station to enhance the experience and recall
» Teams rotated around the stations receiving instructions, feedback, and wrap up from the ‘Sales Fitness Instructors’
» Participants were required to perform under time pressure, simulating the real pressures in the field
» No one salesperson was able to complete all client interactions on behalf of the team
» Competencies positively demonstrated were reinforced throughout the circuit via allocation of points
» At the end of the circuit prizes were awarded to teams and individuals who demonstrated exceptional levels of sales fitness
» Participants observed others in action and were encouraged to reflect on potential positive and negative consequences of different approaches
» The participants collaborated at the end of the circuit to rate their overall sales fitness as a team across the key competencies

We have run this circuit format with many sales team sizes over the years and the feedback has been fantastic, even though some people were really challenged by it. The insight people get into their skills and capabilities by really putting themselves to the test helps them see what they need to do and how they need to perform if they want to step up and be real sales performer.

If this has got you wondering how fit your sales team is give us a call and we would be happy to put them to the test.


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