Are you avoiding a task (for example: calling on a particular group of prospects, writing an article for a trade publication, or giving a speech to an organization) simply because you didn’t consider yourself an expert in the particular endeavor? Perhaps, the perceived complexity of the learning process or amount of time it would take to become an “expert” has discouraged you from making any attempt.

Do you have to be an expert?

Are you an expert driver capable of taking a Formula 1 car around a 14-turn Grand Prix track at 200+mph (without damaging the car…or yourself)? Probably not. But, I’ll bet you can competently drive your car, day to day, to get where you need to go.

Are you an expert chef capable of whipping up a gourmet meal for 14 guests with only three hours notice? Again, I suspect not. However, I’ll bet that you can toss a salad, broil a few steaks, bake a few potatoes, and steam some vegetables competently enough to even please your in-laws. (OK, that may be stretching it…but you get the point.)

The same applies to speech making, article writing, and prospecting. You don’t have to be an expert you only have to be competent - in many cases, only somewhat competent.

But, you’ll never become competent without first “giving it a try.” If you’ve been putting off writing that article or outlining that speech or developing that compelling prospecting strategy, stop procrastinating and just start. Ask a friend or colleague to review your work and make suggestions. With a little effort…and faith, it will come together.
No one starts out as an expert - they must first develop competency. And, no one develops competency without first starting out. So, what are you waiting for?

Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2010 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com or toll free at 1-866-645-2047

What separates the assertive, confident, and results-oriented salesperson from the aggressive, arrogant, and manipulative salesperson? 

Very little!

Think of assertiveness and aggressiveness, for instance, as aspects of behavior along a continuum of behavior.  So, what separates assertive behavior — being firm, focused, and direct — from aggressive behavior — being forceful, pushy, and antagonistic?  A thin line.  You can’t see it and it’s hard to describe.  But, when you cross the line, or when someone else crosses it, you surely know.

Think of confidence and arrogance, as well as results orientation and manipulation also being aspects of behavior along behavior continuums, each pair separated by a thin line.

You might think the challenge for salespeople is to not cross the line.  While that is true, the bigger challenge, and perhaps the more difficult one, is to get close to the line.  Many salespeople maintain too great a distance from it.  Perhaps it’s the fear of crossing it.  Or, maybe it’s the discomfort of engaging in the behavior required when you get close to it. 

You don’t have to be overly accommodating to avoid being perceived as pushy.  You don’t have to appear unsure to avoid being perceived as arrogant.  And, you don’t have to act tentative to avoid being perceived as manipulative.  It’s OK, even desirable to get close to the line.  There tends to be a direct relationship between your closeness to the line and your overall effectiveness.  The closer you get, the more effective, efficient, and productive you perform.

So, how do you operate close to the line without crossing it?  Certainly, you can emulate the behavior of someone you know who operates in that area.  If you don’t have a role model to follow, think of someone who clearly crosses the line.  Then, identify exactly which aspects of his performance constitute the over-the-line behavior.  For instance, if you consider the individual to be overbearing, is it the words he speaks or the manner in which he articulates them?  Is it his physical demeanor?  Does he tend to “invade” other peoples’ “space?”  Once you’ve identified the inappropriate behavior, picture what it would be dialed back a notch or two (or maybe three).  You will then have a pattern of behavior to copy.

It will surely take practice to model the new behavior.  But, one thing is sure: when you operate close to the line, you’ll get more done, more quickly, and more effectively. 

Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2010 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com or toll free at 1-866-645-2047

Do not judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you sow.

I recently spoke with a salesperson who confided: “I love sales: once I get in front of the prospect I feel really good! It’s all the stuff up till then that I hate. My boss tells me to cold call and I’m forced to call guys who don’t want to talk to me." I sat in with him to get an idea of his approach. The early calls were full of enthusiasm, and features and benefits about himself, his product and his company. As he continued, his enthusiasm ebbed and he became more negative, to the point of saying: “I sell this product, are you interested in talking?” Not surprisingly, he got a “no”. Full of defeat, he looked at me and said, “There, I told you, cold calling doesn’t work in my business." What I observed was a common situation in sales: a self-fulfilling prophesy and an inability to recognize one’s own “head trash”.

Business growth demands new business opportunities be found with existing clients and new prospects. It is, however, one of the most common problem areas for people in business development. It’s a high rejection exercise and most people are reluctant to expose themselves to what they consider personal, mental and emotional ridicule. The on-going joke in hiring sales people is: it’s a great career if you like being rejected ten times a day.

But that’s the negative view, I see it as looking for opportunities, not unlike a prospector looking for gold in the wilderness or more sophisticated exploration companies trying to find the next big oil gusher. Sometimes you just need better methods, attitudes and behaviors to make this prospecting activity productive rather than busy.

Intellectually, sales people understand two things. First, that approaching new prospects and developing business is essential. And second, prospecting is a means to that end if we want to reach our business and personal goals. When you think about prospecting as an umbrella, what strategies and techniques used by salespeople come under it? Cold calling is the one prospecting activity you have greatest control over. You decide who to call, when to call and what to say. Some, however, have made up their minds that cold calling is not an option. They’d rather clip their fingernails in the Cuisinart and that’s understandable given their approach, methods and objectives.

The biggest barrier to success in cold call prospecting is the comfort zone of the sales person. Cold calling provides greater control, superior time management, resource savings and, if done right, the highest yield. Even with these advantages, many people are uncomfortable picking up the 900 pound phone, calling a stranger and getting rejected. Our belief is that cold calling is also focused on the seller and the product/service features and benefits. This approach is old, tired, and buyers get these calls several times daily. Both a new approach and paradigm is necessary for cold calling to be effective.

First, a reality check. Rejection is inevitable. You’ll get “no” more often than “yes” and, if you allow it to, it will affect your confidence, self-esteem and belief in the success of cold calling.

Sales professionals are not the only people who take these kinds of chances. If you fail 70% of the time in baseball you get to the Hall of Fame. When a player goes to bat do you think he’s thinking, “this is one of the 7 out of 10 times I’m going to fail?” or is it more likely they see the opportunity as one where they’ll hit safely.

Attitude in cold calling is often the biggest reason why sales people fail. Because of their existing belief, objectives and system, they are conditioned to failure.

The beauty of cold calling is you can control it. You choose when to call, who to call, what to say, and whether they qualify for more of your valuable productive time. You must learn to be gutsy, understand that it’s simply a business function and that the rejection is not about you.

Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2010 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com or toll free at 1-866-645-2047

If you could not fail, what would you attempt?  

Take a few minutes and jot down a few things you WOULD do (not COULD do, but WOULD do) if your success was guaranteed.

How many of them did you come up with?  Two?  Three?  Four?  More?

Would you call on your competitors’ biggest customers in an attempt to woo them away?  

Would you meet with the customers who eat up a disproportionate amount of your time and tell them they must increase their volumes of business with you or you won’t be able to give them the amount of attention you have been providing?  

Would you schedule appointments with your top ten customers for the express purpose of identifying prospects to whom they can refer you?

If you take away the option to fail, there’s hardly anything you wouldn’t attempt.  

Completely removing the possibility of failure, however, is not possible.  Failure is a natural part of the human experience.  Everyone will “fail” at something — perhaps many things — during their lifetime. 

Unfortunately, fearing failure — making the wrong choice or taking the wrong action — holds many people back from taking any action at all, a strategy that creates double negative outcomes.  The first and most obvious negative outcome is missing the opportunity to succeed.  The second negative outcome is missing the opportunity to learn from a “failed” attempt — obtain the valuable knowledge that is often revealed from attempts that don’t create the desired result.  It is often the lessons learned from our failures that allow us to go on and accomplish great things.  

The real challenge in life is not to make the correct decision and take the correct action all the time.  The real challenge is to just make a decision and take action…and accept and learn from the result.  David Sandler once said, “There is no status quo.”  He explained that you are either taking action and gaining ground, or you’re standing still — perhaps, waiting for something to happen — and losing ground to those who are taking action and succeeding.

Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2010 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com or toll free at 1-866-645-2047