Saturday Morning Sales

For the past few years, since I began using this weekly blog to share stories about sales and sales management, I have been receiving numerous questions from readers including my own clients. Over the next several months I am going to use my weekly ramblings to post one reader question with my answer. Please note – my answers are based on my personal and professional experiences and in no way reflect my company or specific clients.

Q: We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving and the holidays will soon be upon us. My sales team, although small, have accomplished more than I could imagine this year, and I’d like to treat them to a nice thank you gift. As a sales person and sales manager, do you have any suggestions? I cannot give everyone in the company a bonus this year, so I’m concerned about doling out money. The team already have flexible work schedules, so days off don’t seem practical as a gift. They each have relatively new iPhone’s, but their laptops are getting old. Would new laptops be good gifts?

A: My answer is entirely based on my personal opinion. A good friend, Brian, showed me his latest sales tool and I am very jealous. If I were one of your sales people, I’d be grateful to receive a new iPad Pro instead of a new laptop. Loaded with all of the necessary software, such as Word, Excel, etc. the iPad Pro with a fully functional keyboard is a fantastic replacement to a heavier laptop. With all of the same capabilities and the syncing function with the iPhone, the practicality of the iPad is a great way to thank your team while at the same time giving them a business tool that is easier to use. This is also a gift that is geared toward sales and not necessarily others within your organization. It can be considered a gift but also an upgrade to their existing laptops.

For the past few years, since I began using this weekly blog to share stories about sales and sales management, I have been receiving numerous questions from readers including my own clients. Over the next several months I am going to use my weekly ramblings to post one reader question with my answer. Please note – my answers are based on my personal and professional experiences and in no way reflect my company or specific clients.

Q: I am the owner of a small company with 35 employees. I have 3 sales reps that report directly to me. I’ve been working with my management team to put a growth plan in place and now it may be time to have a vice president of sales. I don’t believe any of the 3 people I currently have would be good in sales management, especially because I want someone to help us with our growth plan. At the same time I don’t want to push my sales reps out the door. How do I add a key management team member without losing my sales people?

A: Are you familiar with EOS, the Entrepreneurs Operating System, or the EOS-related book Traction? If not, please check it out, it may be a real game changer for you since you want to grow your company. Through EOS and as carefully outlined in Traction, you must be more focused and concerned about having the right leadership team in place, even if it means losing a team member or two. You’ve already admitted that none of your sales people are leadership material. That’s not to say they’re not valuable sales team members, but clearly you do not believe they can help you lead the company through an aggressive growth plan. This means you must hire from outside of the company. It is also a decision that you must own, as the owner of the company, and be supported by your other leadership team members. If they support you, and you are ready to own this decision, then proceed. I would not initially invite your existing sales people into the process. I would proceed with interviewing the right growth-oriented sales manager that you and your other leadership team members agree would be a good fit. This person must be a good fit for you not necessarily for your existing sales people. The sales manager must believe in your vision for growth and you must believe they can help you accomplish the growth you seek. You need to be transparent with the candidate in that they are being brought in to grow the company with or without the existing sales people. Therefore, the existing team is unaware of this interview process in that moment, but will be brought up to speed before the manager is asked to accept the offer. Once you’ve reached the offer stage, then you bring the sales people into the loop on this process, explaining carefully that they’ve done nothing wrong, but that you want to bring to them a new coach with new energy. You are bringing in a leader to help them not hinder their progress. Introduce the potential new sales manager to the team and allow them to interview each other. But, realize you and your leadership team are making this call, not the sales people. This is a courtesy provided both of them to see where each other is coming from. This will allow the new sales manager, should he or she accept the position, to have a full understanding of what they’re walking in to. And, if your existing sales people are not ready or want this change, the new sales manager will have time to plan accordingly for the addition of their own people. Growth is too important to let everyday sales people hold you back. You must have the right leadership in place to accomplish your goals. The right sales leader will ensure the right sales butts are in the right sales seats on your growth-oriented sales bus.

For the past few years, since I began using this weekly blog to share stories about sales and sales management, I have been receiving numerous questions from readers including my own clients. Over the next several months I am going to use my weekly ramblings to post one reader question with my answer. Please note – my answers are based on my personal and professional experiences and in no way reflect my company or specific clients.

Q: My company is considered more a specialist in our field while a few of our competitors offer similar services but also many others. While we’re more of a niche they are more of a one stop shop. Do you have any advice for our sales people when comparing and contrasting us to our competition?

A: I live this scenario every day, so I’m more than happy to share my opinion. Please keep in mind, this works for me and it may work for you, but I can’t guarantee it. I start my sales pitch off describing exactly what we are, what we are not, and what they can expect from my competition. I never talk about my competition by name or in much detail, rather I provide a general description of my competitors that seem to sell themselves as all things to all people. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes my competitors may actually be a better fit for the prospect versus my firm. In these cases, it’s not exactly that the competition is a better fit, instead the prospective client may be better suited for them than for me. Being more of a specialist or niche service provider, I look for certain types of clients that are a better fit for my firm, an organization that matches our belief system and processes. Generally speaking, when a prospect wants more services from a single provider, more “jacks of all trades”, then I know ahead of time what type of people I’d be dealing with and they are typically not a good fit for me. However, when a prospect speaks the same language in terms of specialty, experience, the need for niche, then we’re headed in the right direction. Heading this off from the very beginning gives you the upper hand because you set the stage and tone for the rest of the sales process. You will make your competition sell against your niche experience and you’ll put them in a position of playing keep up.

For the past few years, since I began using this weekly blog to share stories about sales and sales management, I have been receiving numerous questions from readers including my own clients. Over the next several months I am going to use my weekly ramblings to post one reader question with my answer. Please note – my answers are based on my personal and professional experiences and in no way reflect my company or specific clients.

Q: Many of our clients invite us to participate in their annual budgeting process which takes place throughout November. We do have a few clients that are not keen on our being involved. Is there a way to have them bring us to the table?

A: The only way to be invited to the table for budget discussions is to have a very compelling reason to be there. If you do not have a compelling reason then you don’t belong. Allow me to explain. If everything is going fine with your business relationship, in that you are continuing into the new year without pause in service or delivery, then you shouldn’t have any reason to worry. And, if nothing is changing, then don’t interfere with your client at this time. Now, if you have a compelling reason to meet, such as changes in services, introduction of new services that may have a direct impact on the client, or some other enhancement that you strongly believe the client needs to consider, then you need to share this information with them. It should be as simple as asking for a brief sales meeting to update them so they are aware ahead of time. Don’t make it about their current budget planning from the perspective that you want more money from them. Instead present your case that changes are coming in the future that may have a positive impact on them and that it may be something they’d want to consider down the road. If you can make a compelling case, you won’t need to ask for more budget, they will take it upon themselves to plan accordingly. Then, when the time is right, you can move into upsell mode and the budget will likely be in place.