Why Great Sales Skills Ain't Enough
Why Great Sales Skills Ain't Enough
By Stuart Ayling
Selling is an essential skill in business. But even the most highly skilled salesperson is not guaranteed to get fantastic sales results.
That’s because there is more to being successful in sales than just having great sales skills.
Your recipe for sales success has three critical ingredients.
#1 Sales Skills
I teach relationship-based sales skills to people from a wide variety of industries. And I’ve seen training delegates pick up new skills and realise they actually can sell. It’s not as difficult as they first thought. They leave the training workshops confident, re-energised, and ready to use what they have learned.
Having the skills is one ingredient.
However, sometimes the company they work for is missing the other two essential ingredients for success.
What are these other ‘secret’ ingredients?
They’re not often talked about. That’s because many people don’t understand them. And they usually mean more work has to be done.
So it’s tempting to gloss over these ingredients and just hope for the best.
#2 Your Sales Process
Ingredient number two is to understand the Sales Process for your company. Your Sales Process is the series of specific steps you go through to achieve a successful sales outcome. This can vary from business to businesses, even within the same industry.
To develop your Sales Process you need to look at the crossover point from your marketing activities to your selling activities. There is a big difference between marketing and selling, and you must know where one stops and the other starts.
#3 Your Business Development Plan
Ingredient number three is to have a proactive Business Development Plan. This plan will guide the sales strategies you choose to build the sales territory, or the overall business.
For some companies the business development plan will be quite detailed. It will need to manage multiple communication channels across various personnel within the client organisation. In other companies the business development plan may be based more on geographical factors, requiring the sales person to expand their territory, or to achieve greater market share.
You see, having great sales skills is only part of the recipe. To be truly successful in building sales for your business you need to understand how to manage each sale (using a specific sales process), and also have a forward-looking business development plan (to prioritise your sales activities).
If you are managing a sales team, or running your own business, the recipe wont change. You need all 3 ingredients to be successful.
Why Great Sales Skills Aint Enough - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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Why Great Sales Skills Ain't Enough
By Stuart Ayling
Selling is an essential skill in business. But even the most highly skilled salesperson is not guaranteed to get fantastic sales results.
That’s because there is more to being successful in sales than just having great sales skills.
Your recipe for sales success has three critical ingredients.
#1 Sales Skills
I teach relationship-based sales skills to people from a wide variety of industries. And I’ve seen training delegates pick up new skills and realise they actually can sell. It’s not as difficult as they first thought. They leave the training workshops confident, re-energised, and ready to use what they have learned.
Having the skills is one ingredient.
However, sometimes the company they work for is missing the other two essential ingredients for success.
What are these other ‘secret’ ingredients?
They’re not often talked about. That’s because many people don’t understand them. And they usually mean more work has to be done.
So it’s tempting to gloss over these ingredients and just hope for the best.
#2 Your Sales Process
Ingredient number two is to understand the Sales Process for your company. Your Sales Process is the series of specific steps you go through to achieve a successful sales outcome. This can vary from business to businesses, even within the same industry.
To develop your Sales Process you need to look at the crossover point from your marketing activities to your selling activities. There is a big difference between marketing and selling, and you must know where one stops and the other starts.
#3 Your Business Development Plan
Ingredient number three is to have a proactive Business Development Plan. This plan will guide the sales strategies you choose to build the sales territory, or the overall business.
For some companies the business development plan will be quite detailed. It will need to manage multiple communication channels across various personnel within the client organisation. In other companies the business development plan may be based more on geographical factors, requiring the sales person to expand their territory, or to achieve greater market share.
You see, having great sales skills is only part of the recipe. To be truly successful in building sales for your business you need to understand how to manage each sale (using a specific sales process), and also have a forward-looking business development plan (to prioritise your sales activities).
If you are managing a sales team, or running your own business, the recipe wont change. You need all 3 ingredients to be successful.
Why Great Sales Skills Aint Enough - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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