Pay Attention: Sales 101
Pay Attention: Sales 101
1. Turn off your Blackberry.
No, you don’t need reading glasses. You read the statement correctly. Turn off the electronics. An old adage in sales says, “People buy from people they like.” And guess what? People like people that pay attention and make them feel important. When people feel important they say things like, “I felt like I was the only person in the room,” “He made me feel so important,” or “She was listening to every word.”
Salespeople are starting to remind me of dogs on shock collars. The minute the PDA rings or vibrates, they feel compelled to answer or check it, regardless of what they’re doing or who they’re with. For example, a salesperson is calling on a prospect. The salesperson is doing a very good job of building rapport. The prospect is feeling comfortable and thinking that the salesperson really does care about his/her problem. Until the salesperson’s cell phone vibrates. The salesperson looks down to check who is calling him and rapport is broken because the prospect receives the real message: I am important, but not more important than an incoming call.
A colleague shares a story of a breakfast meeting with a possible referral partner. They were ten minutes into breakfast when the possible referral partner took a phone call. This was not an emergency call, just a phone call. As my colleague sipped her coffee (alone), she made a mental note to put this possible referral candidate in the “just doesn’t get it” category. My colleague scheduled an hour out of her busy day to meet this person and expected full attention during that hour. The phone-addicted salesperson lost an important opportunity to build a relationship.
2. Love the one you’re with.
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. This selling scenario often occurs at networking events and looks something like this: You are talking to an individual and throughout the conversation he/she keeps looking around the room to see if there is someone else more important they should be meeting. Actions speak louder than words and the message is clear…you are important; however, the grass may be greener on the other side of the room.
Some salespeople still practice the crazy networking principle of speed networking. This salesperson’s main goal is to meet as many people as possible in an evening. Quantity is the goal, not quality. They carry an invisible time clock that rings after two minutes (hey, they have a room to work). They politely excuse themselves and move onto “greener pastures,” (at which point their cell phone rings and they answer). Speed networking or “working the room” is working yourself right out of a potential relationship. Savvy business people spot phonies and phony intentions. People that are serious about building business relationships take the necessary time to build that relationship. They know processes are efficient and people are not.
3. Listen, record and respond.
Harvey Mackay, author of “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” and president of the Mackay Envelope Company, is a master at listening, recording and responding. Mackay knows that envelops are a commodity product; one that can easily fall prey to the price shopping game. He decided early on that he would not compete on price but he would compete on paying attention and knowing more about his clients than any of his competitors. All of Mackay’s salespeople are required to complete a questionnaire on each one of their customers. “The Mackay 66” customer profile asks 66 questions ranging from personal to business. With this data, the Mackay salesperson is equipped to make their customers feel important by remembering special anniversaries, asking specific questions about their children, or sending articles of interest on a hobby or passion.
Get rid of SADD. Turn off your electronics, be present, and be professional. Paying attention is a great selling skill.
Pay Attention Sales 101 - To learn more about this author, visit Colleen Stanley's Website.
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Corporate America is losing thousands of sales dollars to SADD – Sales Attention Deficit Disorder. Salespeople pride themselves on their ability to multi-task, however, don’t realize they are multi-tasking themselves right out of relationships and sales. Here are a few tips for decreasing SADD and increasing revenues:
1. Turn off your Blackberry.
No, you don’t need reading glasses. You read the statement correctly. Turn off the electronics. An old adage in sales says, “People buy from people they like.” And guess what? People like people that pay attention and make them feel important. When people feel important they say things like, “I felt like I was the only person in the room,” “He made me feel so important,” or “She was listening to every word.”
Salespeople are starting to remind me of dogs on shock collars. The minute the PDA rings or vibrates, they feel compelled to answer or check it, regardless of what they’re doing or who they’re with. For example, a salesperson is calling on a prospect. The salesperson is doing a very good job of building rapport. The prospect is feeling comfortable and thinking that the salesperson really does care about his/her problem. Until the salesperson’s cell phone vibrates. The salesperson looks down to check who is calling him and rapport is broken because the prospect receives the real message: I am important, but not more important than an incoming call.
A colleague shares a story of a breakfast meeting with a possible referral partner. They were ten minutes into breakfast when the possible referral partner took a phone call. This was not an emergency call, just a phone call. As my colleague sipped her coffee (alone), she made a mental note to put this possible referral candidate in the “just doesn’t get it” category. My colleague scheduled an hour out of her busy day to meet this person and expected full attention during that hour. The phone-addicted salesperson lost an important opportunity to build a relationship.
2. Love the one you’re with.
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. This selling scenario often occurs at networking events and looks something like this: You are talking to an individual and throughout the conversation he/she keeps looking around the room to see if there is someone else more important they should be meeting. Actions speak louder than words and the message is clear…you are important; however, the grass may be greener on the other side of the room.
Some salespeople still practice the crazy networking principle of speed networking. This salesperson’s main goal is to meet as many people as possible in an evening. Quantity is the goal, not quality. They carry an invisible time clock that rings after two minutes (hey, they have a room to work). They politely excuse themselves and move onto “greener pastures,” (at which point their cell phone rings and they answer). Speed networking or “working the room” is working yourself right out of a potential relationship. Savvy business people spot phonies and phony intentions. People that are serious about building business relationships take the necessary time to build that relationship. They know processes are efficient and people are not.
3. Listen, record and respond.
Harvey Mackay, author of “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” and president of the Mackay Envelope Company, is a master at listening, recording and responding. Mackay knows that envelops are a commodity product; one that can easily fall prey to the price shopping game. He decided early on that he would not compete on price but he would compete on paying attention and knowing more about his clients than any of his competitors. All of Mackay’s salespeople are required to complete a questionnaire on each one of their customers. “The Mackay 66” customer profile asks 66 questions ranging from personal to business. With this data, the Mackay salesperson is equipped to make their customers feel important by remembering special anniversaries, asking specific questions about their children, or sending articles of interest on a hobby or passion.
Get rid of SADD. Turn off your electronics, be present, and be professional. Paying attention is a great selling skill.
Pay Attention Sales 101 - To learn more about this author, visit Colleen Stanley'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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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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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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Dr. John OdaJohn Oda Ph.D NLP is a business peak performance expert, an author, and speaker frequently called upon to provide corporate training, workshops and seminars for many companies in the United States. He is an expert in coaching sales and business professionals in overcoming the behaviors and obstacles that may impede their sales results and affect their bottom line. Since 1995, John has created a speaking bureau such topics, which include: time management, sales training, human diversity, leadership programs and etc. He provides companies with a strategic plan to increase their bottom line by over 25 percent yearly. - Visit Dr. John Oda'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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Michel NerayMichel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray'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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![]() Colleen Stanley (Visit Colleen's Website) Colleen Stanley is the founder and president of SalesLeadership, Inc. She is a monthly columnist for national Business Journals, co-author of 'Motivational Selling' and author of 'Growing Great Sales Teams: Lessons from the Cornfield.' Colleen was the featured speaker on sales for the 2006 New York Times Small Business Summit. Colleen Stanley is the creator of the EI Selling System™, a unique and powerful sales program that integrates emotional intelligence skills with consultative sales skills. EI Selling™ offers programs in prospecting, referral strategies, consultative sales training, sales management training, and hiring/selection. Prior to starting SalesLeadership, Colleen was vice president of sales and marketing for Varsity Spirit Corporation. During her 10 years at Varsity, sales increased from 8M to 90M. To hire Colleen as a keynote speaker or corporate trainer, contact Katie Kochenberger at 303-708-1128 or katie@salesleadershipdevelopment. com. www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com
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