VP Of Sales

May 9th, 2008 The Importance of the Sales Package As sales trainers who get asked in to fix sales problems, we find that the solutions aren't always in the place you're looking. Often, our ...READ MORE

The Importance of the Sales Package

Friday, May 9th, 2008

As sales trainers who get asked in to fix sales problems, we find that the solutions aren’t always in the place you’re looking. Often, our VP of Sales clients want us to come in and teach the team how to “sell harder” and “close more.”

But sometimes, the package just isn’t right. Which has caused me to think a lot about packaging lately. I wonder if this is a skill for the 21st century salesperson. Or, maybe I should say the 21st century company.

Years ago, we used to refer to Proctor and Gamble and the like as “packaged goods companies” before they were consumer products company. That was probably a very useful description.

Mainly because they knew that on the supermarket shelves, it truly was a packaging challenge. Album covers were the same way–and CD covers. Ever bought an album partly because of the package/design?

B2B Challenge
If you’re in B2B business which most of our readers are, then you, too, are a packager. You package your message, your diagnostic and yourself. How a message is packaged can be as important as what the message is.

A new way to define it is “all that the customer sees ‘around’ the product/service.” It’s not just website. It’s not just brand/color scheme.

It’s “how you are” and “who you are.”

So when we’re training sales teams, we work as much on “the package” of questions you ask, of skills you possess, of stories you tell, and of “how you behave” in front of the prospect.

In selling high level solutions, the package is the thing. Bryan Neale and I will podcast on this topic in the future. But what do you think? How important is “packaging” in your business? Before you say “not at all” think hard.

Tags: Bill Caskey, sales packaging, sales strategies, sales training, VP of Sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Expression of Value, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

May 2nd, 2008 Exec Seminar -May 29 or 30 You're cordially invited to attend an Executive Seminar called "Building Your Sales Dream Team" on either May 29 or May 30 from 7:30-10:00AM. Click here ...READ MORE

Exec Seminar -May 29 or 30

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

You’re cordially invited to attend an Executive Seminar called “Building Your Sales Dream Team” on either May 29 or May 30 from 7:30-10:00AM. Click here to register.

It’s primarily for CEOs, VP Sales or Sales Managers. The intent is to discuss the pros and cons of builing a “sales dream team.”

Click on the VIDEO (below) to get more information. We’re limiting this to 25 people on each day.

Registration is open now!!!

Tags: building your team, Presidents, sales strategy, sales training, video, VP of Sales
Posted in Video Blogs | No Comments »

April 23rd, 2008 Sales Training Tip #1 in a Series Over the next few weeks, we'll be offering up some sales training tips for you trainers/sales managers who take that role in your company. Never start ...READ MORE

Sales Training Tip #1 in a Series

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be offering up some sales training tips for you trainers/sales managers who take that role in your company.

Never start any sales training unless your team has bought in to it.

I know this sounds like heresy. “Why on earth would we want the inmates running the asylum?” (as one of my friends puts it).

Well, if you don’t engage your people in some kind of a Sales Problem/Pain Assessment (what do they believe they can improve on to get better/different results?) then you already have an asylum — you just don’t know it.

Sales People Are Honest If You Ask Them–And Care
OnestThe first thing that happens when you ask people is that, if they think there is a chance you can help them, they will tell you honestly what’s not working. Secondly, they will be much more engaged in training.

(Those are two words you don’t hear much in the same sentence: engaged and sales training.) And thirdly, you can tell who on your team is really in “growth mode” and who’s just going through the motions.

As a sales manager, you know your people have to change to meet market demands. But most won’t unless threatened (with their job).

We don’t believe it has to be that way.

Assess Your Sales Team
Take a few hours and come up with an assessment of your own. Create space for rigorous honesty. (I know this is tough in the corporate world.) And then purchase sales training to solve sales problems.

I have seen salespeople starved for something new and different that helps them grow professionally. But they never get it because the company nevers sees the connection between the training investment and return on that investment.

And do you know what? It’s not the people who really need training that feel that way. It’s usually the already-high-achievers that want to explore new ways do to old tasks.

So before you buy into the old myth, “seasoned sales people don’t need training” ask them what they want. You’ll be shocked.

Here’s an example of a very short assessment–it’ll at least get you started. Right click to download. My gift to you.

Ebook: Download

Tags: Bill Caskey, sales strategies, sales training, sales training tips, VP of Sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Sales Management Content, Training and development, VP of Sales | No Comments »

December 21st, 2007 Too Much Certainty Kills Curiosity - and Costs You Money! Last month I was giving a sales training seminar, and one of the participants voiced his opinion on how he does something in the sales ...READ MORE

Too Much Certainty Kills Curiosity - and Costs You Money!

Friday, December 21st, 2007

Last month I was giving a sales training seminar, and one of the participants voiced his opinion on how he does something in the sales process. He was actually saying all the right things, but the “way” he said it turned other people in the room off a little.

I got to thinking about what he said and was curious about why that had such an effect on people, I determined that certainty kills curiosity.

Whenever I hear someone say, “This is how I do it and it’s always worked,” they almost certainly have killed themselves off from being curious about other ways to do it better. You’ve heard the saying, “only fools are positive.” To me, that is exactly what happens when you are so sure of yourself that you are not open to other ways to improve your results.

As you think about your sales approach to prospects and clients, be careful that you don’t “have all of the answers and don’t need more input,” because you may be cutting yourself off from one easy tactic that can monumentally affect your business.

Tags: Account Executives, Presidents, VP of Sales
Posted in Account Executives, Bill Caskey, President | 1 Comment »

December 21st, 2007 Calling On The CEO. I Know I Need To. But How? A study recently conducted by www.siriusdecisions.com in conjunction with the H.H. Gregg School of Sales at Ball State University, revealed (not surprisingly) that sales people, ...READ MORE

Calling On The CEO. I Know I Need To. But How?

Friday, December 21st, 2007

A study recently conducted by www.siriusdecisions.com in conjunction with the H.H. Gregg School of Sales at Ball State University, revealed (not surprisingly) that sales people, when calling on CEOs, are ill prepared.

And the CEOs don’t like it.

The report says 82% of the CEOs experience sales people who have not done their homework.

So Now What?
Good information. But if you’re a sales professional who “should be” calling on higher level contacts, exactly how do you do your research? The report didn’t talk about that, (most reports don’t tell you how to solve the problem) but I will.

Here are a few ideas:

Web Research. I suggest you go to the company website but don’t just take what they say. Remember, a website is a brochure. Not too many websites talk about the pain the company is experiencing–and that, after all, is what you’re looking for. You can get a “lay of the land” of the businesses they’re in–and some of their objectives.
Blog Research. What I’m doing more and more is going to blog.google.com and search there. Search on terms like “trends in the industry” or “company by name,” or even the contact himself/herself. You can get a lot of good information that way. And much of it is unfiltered by the company.
Zoominfo.com This is a great site to learn more about the person you’re calling on–where he went to school–where she last worked–how he came up through the ranks. It gives you a sense of who this person is and how they have experienced the world. All great stuff if you’re going to be having a conversation with them.

The Bottom Line
Be careful that you don’t do so much research that you fail to ask questions because you think you know it all. I’ve seen that happen. Nothing is more annoying (not even an unprepared sales person) than one who thinks they have the answers before they ask the questions.

Get serious about your pursuit of the CEO’s pain and dreams. Then you can position your solution in a way that is meaningful for him.

Tags: Presidents, VP of Sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Sales Management Content | No Comments »

December 20th, 2007 Sales Managers: How Much Time Do You Spend Talking Value? If you're in the majority, you probably fill your meeting time with forecasting rubbish. You know: "what's in the sales funnel? when is that going ...READ MORE

Sales Managers: How Much Time Do You Spend Talking Value?

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

If you’re in the majority, you probably fill your meeting time with forecasting rubbish. You know: “what’s in the sales funnel? when is that going to close? what do we need to get them over the hump?”

For God’s sake, dump that technique. There is no growth in funnel review. If you must do that (which you must) do it in a short time frame, or one-on-one.

Instead use valuable group time to do valuable group work.

What is that? Here’s a suggestion from one of our clients after he’d been working with us for a few months.

“Bill, I use 75% of the sales meetings asking them one question: What have you done since last meeting to help your clients solve problems?”

At first, he reported that he got very few comments. But since we (Caskey) were training his people to reinvent themselves in the sales process–away from being the master persuader (where it was all about you) and toward a process where they were focused on the prospect and their problems, they eventually got it.

As he observed his most recent sales meeting he said he was shocked at how the mojo in the room had improved. The motivation level was enormous. And it all had to do with changing the focus of the meeting–to solving customer problems.

Try it. It takes some courage. But it works.

Tags: sales process, sales training, VP of Sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Sales Management Content | No Comments »

May 31st, 2007 Before You Discount Your Price By Brooke Green So close…How many times have you been in this situation: *You meet a prospect *You take them through your process *You ask them the right questions, ...READ MORE

Before You Discount Your Price

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

By Brooke Green

So close…How many times have you been in this situation:

*You meet a prospect
*You take them through your process
*You ask them the right questions, tough questions
*They reveal that they have a problem
*They know it is costing them money
*They think you can help them fix it
*They say “NO” because they can’t afford your solution

WHAT? WAIT A MINUTE! EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL.

What’s really happening…

I think our first instinct is to believe what they’ve told us - our price is too high. We obviously didn’t hear something right, or our pricing process is flawed. So, maybe I should discount. STOP! If your arm is falling off and you’re bleeding to death, do you negotiate with your doctor for a lower price?? Do you decide to let it bleed a little bit longer before you do something about it?

No, you realize you have a problem, you know you have to invest something to fix it, and you believe the doctor can fix it for you. If you have a prospect with a problem as big as a “dangling arm” should they behave differently? My experience is that it’s not about price at all. It’s a belief issue.

What to do about it……..

If you have helped a prospect identify a problem, denominate the cost of the problem, and you and the prospect have decided together that you can fix it, what does price have to do with it? NOTHING! It’s about belief; belief that the problem they have exists, belief that it’s worth investing time and money in to fix, and the belief that you are the person to fix it. So, if the prospect wants to keep making it about price, what can you do? Go back to your process……….

Historical Review – How did you get to this point?
Up–Front agreement – “I want to find out what is really holding you back”
Compelling Reason – What was the pain that was revealed to you? Remind them of it – over and over and over.
Economics – What is the cost of not fixing the problem? How much is the problem costing them currently? Is the value your solution higher than the dollars they will invest to fix it? If yes, than logically, they should move forward with the solution.

If you take them back through your process and they are still hung up on price, you have to lay it out for them:

“My experience is that the problem here is really not the price. Maybe your gut tells you that the problem is not worth fixing, or that I really can’t help you. That’s okay, but if that is the case, I will have to walk away.”

If they allow you to walk away, they weren’t serious about fixing the problem. The thought of you leaving them with their problem will force them to “get real” and get you back on track for the real, true conversation.

Tags: it's not about price, VP of Sales
Posted in Brooke Green, Inner Game | No Comments »

May 14th, 2007 Getting to the Decision Maker–Your Attitude Matters Recently in our SELECT (advanced sales training) program, we got into a conversation about getting to the right person in the sales process. As we went ...READ MORE

Getting to the Decision Maker–Your Attitude Matters

Monday, May 14th, 2007

Recently in our SELECT (advanced sales training) program, we got into a conversation about getting to the right person in the sales process.

As we went down the path, it became apparent that it was less a technique issue and more of an attitude issue on our part.

I went back in to the studio and recorded a short eight-minute recap for all of our client base and anybody who has subscribed to our email newsletters.

Hopefully, it can provide you with a little guidance when you are faced with this idea of “How do I get to the decision maker inside my prospect company?”