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 finally landed an interview for a
sales position with a company I’ve wanted to join for years. I’m afraid of screwing
up the interview. What advice do you have for acing the biggest interview of my
career?
A: BE YOURSELF!!! While it’s not the
only thing you need to do, I cannot stress this point enough. First of all,
dress the part. If the company uniform is jeans and a golf shirt, ask the HR
rep you’re dealing with if they recommend a suit & tie or dressy casual.
You want to be comfortable and being comfortable will ease some of your stress.
Second, be open. It is expected that you will be honest, but that’s different
than being open. Speak from both the heart and from experience. Do not try to
BS the folks you’re interviewing with, they will see right through it. Talk
about your career not only in terms of accomplishments, but also how you’ve
developed and learned through lost experiences. Third and finally, do your damn
homework. Yes, I am expressing that in the most serious of phrases. You must
set yourself apart from others interviewing. Know who you are interviewing
with, what their backgrounds are, the products or services you will be asked to
sell, as much as possible about the competition and market landscape and be
able to speak to your addition to their team. In other words describe yourself
in terms of already being a part of their team. What do you bring to the table
that other candidates do not.
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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 a sales rep with 14 years of
experience. I’ve been with my current company for 1 year. I feel like my sales
manager is overmanaging-micromanaging me and I don’t like it. I really like the
company and products I’m selling, but I’m thinking of leaving because of this
manager. Do you have any advice before I pull the plug?
A: More sales people quit their jobs
because of management than for any other reason. It could be the manager, the
company’s policies, or the compensation, but in more cases it is due to the
manager. Even in the very best organizations, one bad manager can ruin a sales
team. You are not alone, but you can give it one last try before moving on. You
need to address this situation directly, one-on-one, with your manager. The conversation
needs to be short and to the point, but you must maintain your composure and be
extremely professional. It may go something like this: Susan, I appreciate
everything you are doing for me, but I must admit I feel I could be performing
a little better. You see, I feel like you are smothering me a little bit.
Obviously, you hired me because I have the experience to do the job, and I am
doing the job. But, I am not used to having a manager that micromanages in this
manner. I could be doing better for you, me, the company, and the customers if
you gave me just a little more breathing room. I know you are accustomed to
managing lower level sales people, and I appreciate that, but I am not one of
those folks. Would you mind if we changed things up a little bit? How about we
meet once per week or every other week? If Susan appreciates you as a sales
person, she will be agreeable. If she is not, if she becomes defensive or says
no because that is her way, then you must make a decision on your future.
Addressing the situation head on is the only way to go. Good luck to you.
Tags :
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: What advice do you have for
terminating a long-term client relationship? I have a client that simply doesn’t
mesh well with our company any longer. We have outgrown them and they simply
don’t want to invest in our new services.
A: This can be a very sensitive subject
for many a sales person. After you’ve developed a business relationship over a
long period of time (let’s say years for this example), that business relationship
has likely become personal. You visit your client and talk just as much about
family as you do employees and services. You’ve come to know much about the
inner workings of the clients company and their team. But, over time, you have
grown while your client has not. There is no easy way to part ways from this
client although it is necessary.
I previously answered a question by
referring to time being a precious commodity. Clients take your time. They can
either be a valuable use of your time or a waste of your time. Even though they
are great people and you enjoy talking with them, they are not producing value
to you in terms of repeat business or upselling. They “like seeing you”, but
they “do not buy from you”. This must change.
I’ve dealt with this situation many
times. It’s like breaking up with someone, you don’t want to do it by text. In
other words, you need to have a face-to-face conversation. And, although this
conversation will be a little uncomfortable for you, it must be done. I would
keep it simple: I’m sorry Joe, but since we have been growing and expanding our
services, and you do not seem to be in need of us at this stage, I’m going to
have to move on myself with my newer clients. It’s not that I don’t enjoy
visiting you, but I am under certain time constraints, and I need to be engaged
with others going forward. Just know, if you ever need anything, I am only a
phone call away. I will bet you $100 that it will not come as a surprise.
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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: How do you choose which networking,
sponsorship opportunities, and other events to attend? Do you have certain
criteria you follow? Do you stay away from specific types of events?
A: Time is a precious commodity. As a
career sales person, I’ve come to learn the hard way that time is all I have.
Time can be my best friend or my enemy. I share this because attending events,
any events related to work, are either a good or bad use of my time. So, to
answer your question, yes I take very specific care of my time and how I choose
to spend my time.
I am not a fan of attending any event
where I am surrounded by other sales people. It happens from time-to-time, but
these are generally not a good use of my time. I don’t want to be sold by other
sales people and they certainly don’t want me to try to sell them something.
Sales people, in many cases, are influencers but not decision makers. I want to
attend events with decision makers. But, these too must be chosen wisely.
I would not attend an industry specific
event if I stood out like a sore thumb. I would, however, attend an awards or
acknowledgement event where decision makers blossom. These may include
recognition events for CFO’s or CIO’s. They may be longevity awards events honoring
companies that have been in business for a long period of time. Events that I
attend and encourage my sales team to attend should offer some reward for being
there. The reward comes in the form of an introduction, a referral, or a piece
of information gained that may bring value to your own company, such as
learning that your competitor just launched a new service. Remember, time is
valuable, so spending time at any event should have some value to you
afterward.
Tags :
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: When prospecting do you ever
specifically target your competitors? If yes, how often? If no, why?
A: In short my answer is both yes and
no. There are certain competitors that I keep a very close eye on for various
reasons. First and foremost, I am more interested in what they are saying and
how they are describing & positioning themselves, versus who their latest
portfolio client or case study client is. Don’t get me wrong, I am intrigued by
who they are listing as clients, but targeting these companies may be an effort
in futility. That’s why I also say no. The likelihood is that any client that
allows you to showcase them on your website is happy and not going to move any
time soon. So I do not call on those specific companies. I do use these
companies as homework on specific industries or market segments. I will look
into their competitors and target them based the fact that my competitor just
showcased a company in that industry.
Tags :
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 recently had a prospective client
ask me what was one key characteristic that I thought was a compelling reason
for them to hire my firm. My answer was experience. He did not like this answer
and believed it was shallow. I was caught off guard to say the least. How could
I have better answered this question?
A: I find experience to be a solid
answer to the question so long as there is evidence of experience to back this
up. Individuals and firms alike will tout experience as a reason they should be
hired. However, like in your situation, there is little evidence provided to
back up their one word answer of “experience”. Here is how I describe
experience when I use this word as my own answer to this question.
What separates my firm from others, a
key reason you (Mr./Ms. Prospect) should hire us, is experience. We have been
in business for over 21 years while the average firm comes and goes in less
than 5 years. I would imagine very few, if any, of the other firms you are
interviewing have been in business as long as we have. But, that is not
reason enough, rather the experience I describe comes from a combination of
factors. It is what I call “our formula for success”. Our experience is the time
we’ve remained in business when others have not, combined with an executive
management team (ownership team) that have been with the organization for 21+ /
20 / 18 / and 16 years respectively; and, the fact that we’ve worked with over
700 clients during the course of this tenure in business. We’ve stayed in
business because of a tried & true project/program methodology. And,
ultimately, we drive results for our clients. That is the experience we bring
to the table.
Tags :
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: What is the top characteristic you
seek in a younger, less experienced sales candidate?
A: This one, on the surface, seems easy.
For both experienced and new sales people I want them to be patient. Patience
is a virtue – as the old saying goes. But, I did say on the surface. Patience
is actually not easy to remember, have, and show in all sales cases, especially
for someone new. Sales people must be capable of being patient throughout the
sales process, but also with themselves, and definitely in the early days of
their career while learning and training. It is also important for the sales
manager to remember that patience is required for the new sales person to
learn. The sales person is watching and trying to absorb as much from their
mentor as possible, so this person too must show patience in their sales
process in order for the new sales person to learning the right way.
Tags :
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: What do you believe are the best and
worst current trends or tools being used by sales people?
A: My answer to this question is social
media for both the best and the worst. Social media can be a sales person’s
best friend if used properly. LinkedIn, for example, is an amazing application
based on connectivity. You have the ability to not only make connections with
your customers, but with prospects as well. A sales person no longer needs to
make cold calls if they know how to use LinkedIn to warm the initial call up.
Research on companies and who the right people are to contact are at your
fingertips. But, just as powerful as LinkedIn can be, other social media
platforms like Facebook can be a detriment to a sales person. Forget the “time
suck” that is Facebook, but when a sales person connects with customers on
Facebook they are opening up their personal lives for evaluation and potential
criticism. Politics, religion, parenting styles, hobbies, you name it, are on
display on peoples Facebook pages. A sales person runs the risk of alienating
or upsetting the customer relationship because of the personal agenda. It is
wise to use and manage LinkedIn carefully and even wiser to keep your Facebook
life separated from your business life.
Tags :
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: What advice do you have for a
forty-something sales person changing careers? I am staying in sales, but
moving into a new field, and I am terrified. Thank you.
A: Fear is okay as long as it does not
consume you. I commend you for taking the leap and being willing to bring on a
new challenge in your career. Keep in mind that you are not new to sales just
new to this specific area. Sales is sales in so many ways. You know how to make
cold calls, develop leads, and bring new business through the door. What you
lack is product knowledge. My advice is to study, study, study. You need to
become an expert with the products you are representing and you also need to
know your competition. As you gain this perspective with the new industry, you
will also need to learn the ins & outs of your new company. Gaining an
understanding on who’s who and what’s what in the company will give you the
necessary insight to pave your own way. Last thing – they hired you because of
your skills. You have what it takes to be successful, the tools of the trade so
to speak, now have the confidence to apply those skills.
Tags :
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: What is the most recent mistake
you’ve made in business and what was the lesson learned?
A: I broke the golden rule of hiring
& firing – to hire slow and fire fast. I made the decision to hire a sales
person based on only a few interviews that were condensed in a matter of a
couple weeks. I believed the candidate would be a worthwhile hire based on his
years of experience and his communication skills, especially his writing
skills. Unfortunately, because I fast tracked the hiring process, I did not
spend nearly enough time analyzing his capabilities in new business development
and cold calling. While his sales experience seemed extensive on paper, he was
not skilled in new business development, rather he was a glorified account
manager. He was not successful in cold calling, networking, or developing new
opportunities on his own. I then gave him many more chances and opportunities
to improve than I should have. Actually, it was unfair to him as well to keep
him around with false hope that he could turn around his activity level. In
fact, I should have let him go after three months. It was definitely a mistake
on my part to hire him and even a bugger mistake not to fire him sooner.
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