Interesting question, isn’t it? By the time we hit our 30s, 40s and 50s, we do have some of the answers to life’s biggest problems (although there are always more questions than answers). I caught up with Lori Richardson, who spent a little time talking about her outlook as she coaches salespeople and sales teams, and what some of her core philosophies are that help people grow their revenue. Lori is also a part of the Shebang faculty that will be teaching at the conference in September in Minneapolis.

 

 Lori Richardson Interview (12:30): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, Bill and Bryan discuss some of the most gut-wrenching things you will hear from your prospect. It seems like things can be going along very smoothly in the sales process, and, all at once, the prospect says something that throws you for a loop. They talk about what to do about these objections/verbatims when they arise.

 

 Worst Things to Hear (13:14): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My client, Jeff Jones, told me in a meeting this week that this is his motto: You tell them nothing until they tell you everything. I love the sound of it.

The idea here is that you, as a sales professional, should never lead with a brochure. In fact, you should never lead with “all of the great things you can do for your prospect.” (There seems to be a tone of John Kennedy in there “Ask not what your country can do for you…” but I can’t make it work.)

You only tell them what you can do for them after the prospect tells you everything about his business, his issues, his pains, his dreams….

I’ve seen it happen where a salesperson is actually invited in to a prospect’s office, and the first thing the seller does is slide a brochure across the table to him. WRONG MOVE. You’re toast if that’s your approach. A high school kid can do that.

So withhold your desire to prove to her how valuable you are–and how hip your product is. Hold your ego in check long enough to find out about them. Then, and only then, can you talk intelligently about how you might be able to help.

And when it comes to “brochure sliding” don’t do it.

As sales trainers, we get called in to fix sales problems, of course. And many of those problems begin (and end) with the salesperson and their life attitude.

Frankly, many salespeople appear unmotivated to do what needs to be done in order to achieve. (This is not meant to be a “people-today-are-different” rant.) And this doesn’t mean they don’t make calls.

It means they make the calls in the same way they have for 10 years even though the world has changed. And for whatever reason, they are unmotivated to change their approach.

So it seems like a really good question should be, “What motivates you?” Shouldn’t every manager/leader on the planet want to know that?

Yet, so few do.

The sales managers we talk to get really excited about the “comp plan” and the workings of it–yet few pay attention to their people–as individuals.

Couple that with a fundamental fact of human behavior–we will act in accordance with our values, beliefs and attitudes–and you wonder why more managers don’t know what really “juices” their people.

I’m sensitive to the fact that this is an emotional question. So, I’ve left space you can use to email me below, privately. I’m interested in two things:

• What have you seen work in the world of personal motivation for a team of performers?
• What motivates you to be the best you can be?

Anxious for your comments.

Over the next several weeks, Brooke Green will be interviewing the presenters for the SheBang Conference. The SheBang Conference is an opportunity to learn from top women sales experts who know what it takes to be successful in the sales profession today.

You’ll enjoy the rich camaraderie of talented women who are coming to this event from across North America. For more information, please visit www.salesshebang.com.

Today’s interview is with Anne Miller, CEO of Seamless Selling (www.annemiller.com).

 

 Anne Miller Interview (08:48): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

During our sales strategy training sessions, we often hear from our clients, “Hey this sales method works when I’m selling inside my company, too!” The truth is anytime you’re communicating ideas to another person—and you want that other person to take some action–this content works. And we also know that some of our listeners are not even in front line sales—but they are required to make sales internally. For you folks, this is a must-hear episode.

 

 Selling Inside (12:08): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Over the next several weeks, Brooke Green will be interviewing the presenters for the SheBang Conference. The SheBang Conference is an opportunity to learn from top women sales experts who know what it takes to be successful in the sales profession today. You’ll enjoy the rich camaraderie of talented women who are coming to this event from across North America. For more information, please visit www.salesshebang.com.

Today’s interview is with Jill Konrath, founder of the Sales SheBang conference.

 

 Jill Konrath Interview (19:24): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I am very excited to be participating in a conference in September geared toward professional saleswomen. I decided to accept the invitation from “Sales SheBang” because I feel that women have a lot to say and so much more to teach other women.

I am going to be facilitating a breakout session “Personal Value…This Little Light of Mine.” I am passionate about the topic of identifying and owning our personal value. The world extinguishes our value, we do it to each other, and, more importantly, we do it to ourselves. I think we question “Do I matter?” Of courrse you do. “How do I matter?” is the question we want to answer. And the answer to this question is what differentiates us from our competition.

The 3 things to remember about personal value are:

• Your value is not conditional. It’s not tied to being a mom, wife, the car you drive, or the job you have.
• When you are afraid of admitting your value, your world goes without; your world is not at its full potential.
• If you are having a hard time identifying your personal value, look at the tough times in your life. The times that you really need to dig down deep to cope are most often the times that your personal value shines.

If you are interested in learning more about the conference, please see the information below and check out the website at www.salesshebang.com.

***************************************************

Mark your calendars right now for the upcoming Sales SheBang 2008 conference. This unique event brings together the smartest, savviest women who sell from all over North America.

You’ll have a chance to learn from the world’s top female sales experts including:

• Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies
• Leslie Buterin, author of Secrets to Scheduling the Executive-Level Sales Call
• Kim Duke, The Sales Divas, Inc.
• Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal
• Colleen Francis, President of Engage Selling
• Anne Miller, author of Metaphorically Selling
• AllBusiness sales blogger Lori Richardson
• Colleen Stanley, author of Growing Great Sales Teams
• … and many more - including me!

I’m so excited to be a part of it and want you to join me there! Don’t miss this chance to expand your expertise, gain invaluable insights, grow your network and be inspired by like-minded women.

GUYS: Please share this event with the saleswomen you know.
They will really appreciate it. Also, if you really want to, you can attend too.

Download SalesSheBang-2008.pdf BG

What sales training course have you been to where they DON’T teach you how to handle stalls and objections? But is this the real problem?

I think not, but would like your comments.

When a prospect objects to something you have put out there, it simply means that you have missed the mark. By ‘overcoming/handling’ these objections, you actually do more harm.

I’ve seen sales people get into armwrestling matches over the wrong things because they were too eager to handle objections.

The best thing you can do is “seek clarification.” Ask the prospect to help you understand his objection/stall. We have a rule: What people say is not what they mean.

So following that rule, even though they say “your price is too high” that many not mean what they’re thinking.

You Should Object To Them

The fact is that in a selling process that’s run the right way, you should be obecting to them because they have not earned their way onto your prospect list.

They either don’t have enough pain to make a change. Or they lack the funds. Or they lack the commitment. If they don’t have one of those three then they aren’t a prospect and you must move on.

What are the symptoms to an unmotivated attitude? And can you really do anything about it?

In this podcast, Bill and Bryan deal with this issue. They’ve seen it a lot lately—is it the market? Is it a recession? Or is it just boredom? Whatever causes it, this situation can be serious—and costly.

If you have comments or questions on any of these podcasts, go to www.askbillandbryan.com.

 

 What Do You Do When You're Unmotivated? (14:15): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download