Just Give

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When you’re feeling your in a rut or experiencing a lull in performance, take a little time and give:

Give Time: Go to lunch with a customer. Talk about anything except business. You’ll learn new things, build a deeper connection, and be under no pressure.

Give Back: Take a day and volunteer at a homeless shelter or swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the day you’ll be dead tired, but thankful for what you have and refreshed to tackle a new day.

Give Ideas: Come up with three ideas that will help one of your customers increase their business. These ideas should have nothing to do with your offerings. You will be forced to look at things from a different view and your customers will start to view you as a trusted adviser.

Give It A Rest: Take a day off. Go see a daytime movie, enjoy a great lunch, and surprise your wife with dinner when she gets home. Don’t check your email or take phone calls all day.

Give Thanks: Take the day and drive to as many clients as you can. Show up without an appointment and tell them you just stopped by to thank them for their business. Have a brief conversation (don’t overstay your welcome) and tell them to have a fantastic day. They’ll always take your call after that.

Give Hugs: Show some love to people. Hug your husband, your kids, your friends, your assistant, or your customer. How can anybody feel bad after a good hug?

One Moore Thing: The more you give, the more you get back from the universe. It may not always be in the way you expect, but good always comes back to you.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Relationships, Sales, Training/Education

Show Me The Money

January 16, 2012 By 4 Comments

You can’t get it without asking for it

The typical sales presentation starts with 45+ minutes of technical features and benefits, many of which are probably missing the needs of the client. After you’ve put the prospect to sleep, then you sneak the price into the end of the presentation. Why do salespeople do this? Are you hoping the audience won’t notice? Are you embarrassed about the price?

Start your next sales presentation by showing the price. That forces the rest of the conversation to support the price using value and will ensure that price isn’t an objection at the end of the discussion. You never know, maybe your price is well below what they expected. I’ve had that happen and by discussing price first, I didn’t talk them out of buying… and the meeting went from hello to agreement in less than 15 minutes.

One Moore Thing: People have more money than time. Starting out with your price will respect that time and the questions they ask will immediately start justifying the investment.

Filed Under: Feature Post, Motivation, Prospecting, Sales, Training/Education

How Do You Find & Keep Great Salespeople?

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The difference between good & great? Training.

Most organizations struggle to find sales talent. Large companies hire ten people figuring on average less than two of them will still be producing in 2–3 years.

Small businesses experience even greater struggles. The owner gets to a point that she figures a salesperson is worth hiring so the owner can focus on running the business instead of selling. They find a person that has had sales success, make them an offer, then show them where their desk and phone is and expect them to produce… and within three months they are second-guessing their decision. They expect that salesperson should approach the market exactly the same way the did, but never tell that to their new hire.

So how can you find and, more importantly, keep great salespeople? Find people that know how to make money, have confidence, have backbone, and aren’t afraid to ask for the sale. They may not be in sales right now. Some of the best salespeople have come from backgrounds that have zero to do with selling. After finding the right person, the real work begins: you have to continually train and motivate salespeople… make them feel as if their voice counts and that they own the business.

Pro sports teams do the same thing. They find talented players in college. These are already some of the best athletes in the entire world, but do they just send them on the field to play? NO! They have an entire squad of coaches, nutritionists, strength coaches, and psychiatrists. Sports franchises invest millions in practice facilities, weight rooms, batting cages, and the newest products to turn those athletes into even better players that remain motivated and at the top of their game.

One Moore Thing: When you find a salesperson, don’t stop at the hiring process. Good people become great when you push and train them.

Filed Under: Feature Post, Motivation, Sales, Training/Education

Longevity = Sales Success

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Did Gandhi worry about the short term?

How do you determine the value of a customer? It’s not a single sale, project, or even a multi-year contract. You determine the value of a client by the lifetime value of that customer plus the referrals given by that customer. Need an example? If you sell new cars at an average of $30,000 each, that customer is not only worth that initial $30,000 in revenue because, if treated properly, they may buy a new car every four years and over the course of 20 years, that makes them worth $150,000 in revenue ($30,000 x 5 cars). If you offer not just good customer service, but outsanding customer service, you earn the right to ask for referrals. If they refer four people per year and only one of them buys, that makes the original customer now worth $750,000 (the original $150,000 plus 20 referrals at $30,000 each). You can even go a step further and cascade the original referrals to second level referrals and that original customer could be worth $6.45 million.

The problem? Most salespeople jump to a new company well before hitting their stride. You’ll never realize the true value of a client by job-hopping or only focusing on new clients. You need to be in it for the long-haul, because longevity breeds success.

One Moore Thing: If you’re unhappy with your job, take this year to be the best that you can be. Become the top producer on your team… you won’t be miserable when you’re #1. But if you are still unhappy, then you know you’ve done everything possible on your end, and it either comes down to your organization or your attitude (although the odds of you being #1 with a poor attitude are about zero).

Filed Under: Attitude, Feature Post, Motivation, Sales, Training/Education

Losing on Price?

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Losing on price is bull

Your organization has lost a sale. It could be a new prospect or a long-time customer, but as a manager, it’s your job to find out why. You meet with the salesperson and ask them what happened and more than 80% of the time, the standard response will be “our price was too high”.

Bull.

If they have lost on price, the value of the offering wasn’t properly communicated, which points to a need to increase selling skills, not decrease prices.

  • Do you drive to three different grocery stores to buy milk, bread, and potato chips because of their respective prices? Does your time count for something?
  • Do you buy clothes only at Goodwill? Why not, it’s the cheapest place?
  • Do you have cable TV? Buying an antenna would be cheaper and nobody really needs 150 channels.

Have your salesforce answer questions similar to those above and dig into their buying motives. This will take some time to get to the very root of the cause.

For example:

  • Why do you buy clothes? To cover my body (typical guy response).
  • Why do you not buy clothes at Goodwill? Because they’re used.
  • Do used clothes not cover your body? Yes.
  • Then why not buy them there? They’re typically outdated.
  • Why is it important that your clothes aren’t outdated? Because I’m trying to portray a professional image to my customers.
  • What does a professional image help you achieve? I feel more confident and successful.
  • Do you perform better or worse when you feel confident? I definitely perform better. Selling is all about confidence.
  • How much more money would you estimate that you make each year because of your increased confidence? Probably $30,000.
So based on eight simple questions, you’ve helped the salesperson determine that they buy clothes not just as a commodity, but because it makes them feel better about themselves and puts more money in their pocket. Have a team exercise to use this same line of questioning to determine why your prospects may buy your product or service. Hint: it’s rarely about price.

One Moore Thing: Sometimes the lowest price wins, but those aren’t the customers you want. As soon as somebody else offers them a lower price, you will either lose their business or cut your margins to an even deeper level. More sales are lost by a lack of selling skills than by price concerns. What are you doing to increase your selling skills?

Filed Under: Feature Post, Motivation, Relationships, Sales, Training/Education

What Shape Is Your Business In?

November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do pushups to push up your sales

You are a window into your business. When you market to customers, they perceive your company by the way you present yourself, and part of that perception is based on your physical appearance. This doesn’t mean you need to have six-pack abs or be a size four, but it does mean you should put some effort into your persona. This isn’t easy and I have struggled with it my entire life, but it definitely makes a difference in the bottom line.

By engaging in a regular exercise regimen, you will stand up straighter, have better skin, higher energy levels, and project confidence. These are traits that attract people to you and your organization.

Ask yourself, “how can my business be in shape if I’m not?”, because that’s the question prospects ask themselves about you.

One Moore Thing: Instead of sitting on the couch in front of the TV, get off your ass and go for a run, join a team, or take some laps in the pool. Make exercise a mandatory part of your professional development plan.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Prospecting, Relationships, Sales, Training/Education

Do Your Presentations Inspire Action?

January 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How are your presentation skills? Do you have the guts to get up in front of an audience of 10 people? 100 people? 1,000 people? If you do have enough confidence in yourself to stand in front of a large group, do you just talk to the audience… or do you hold their attention and inspire them to take action?

Throughout my early twenties, I never hesitated to speak in front of audiences because I had nothing to lose. I was the hot-shot tech guy at a large company and I knew more than anybody else in the room (maybe that’s an overstatement, but that’s how I felt). There was no downside, no risk. As a matter of fact, I never felt the pangs of stage fright until I had to present at a press conference at a large Chicago trade show. There were over 50 members of the press writing and recording every single word. I had developed my script and rehearsed it. But when everybody else said the same thing I was going to say, I decided to wing it. Looking back, that was probably not the right move (understatement of my career).

When I returned home, I decided that would never (and I mean never) happen to me again. I looked into everything from college speech classes to Dale Carnegie courses to hiring a private coach. In the middle of this process, I heard a gentleman on the radio talking about Toastmasters International, a public speaking and leadership organization with local “clubs”. I knew nothing about it, but when they invited me to check out a meeting, I knew I was going to join before I even showed up. I had to make a change and this was going to be it.

I’ve now been involved with Toastmasters about eight years and it’s been one of the most influential (and cost-effective) educational resources I’ve ever utilized. It’s allowed me to communicate more clearly in small venues and one-on-one meetings. It’s also allowed me to speak eloquently on TV, radio, and on stage in front of a thousand people. My goal is no longer just to speak, but to make my audience think or take action… my goal is to inspire.

One Moore Thing: Most people see themselves as great orators, when in reality their audiences would rather stick rusty nails in their eyes than listen to another lame attempt at humor. If you think your presentations suck, they probably do. If you think your presentations skills are crazy-good, you’re most likely delusional. Video your next presentation and judge for yourself… or have somebody else critique it. If you admit that you need help, find a local Toastmasters club for yourself.

Note: I receive no compensation from Toastmasters. It’s just an organization I wholeheartedly believe in.

Filed Under: Motivation, Training/Education

Ready For The New Year?

December 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Traditionally, I take this week to clean up loose ends from the year and organize myself for next year. That way, on the first workday of January, I’m excited about working from a clean slate, clean desk, and clean mind.

All my posts this week will be about ways to prepare yourself to be even more successful in 2011. I’ll be talking about planning, tactics, and organization. All these tactics may not work for you, but many will. I’d like you to take a few minutes to tell others what you’re doing because it may help them in their preparations.

One Moore Thing: I wholeheartedly believe that the best way to become good at something is to share and teach others about the subject. It will ignite your passion and help you see other perspectives. So0oo… what are you doing to better yourself next year?

Filed Under: Attitude, Motivation, Training/Education

Succeed Uniquely

December 2, 2010 By 1 Comment

The road to success is paved with failure

I attended a presentation tonight at which the keynote speaker was Carol Coletta, President and CEO of CEO for Cities. Her speech highlighted the things that cities can do to make themselves more attractive to talent (i.e. employers and employees). Among her assertions was the statement “When cities fail, they fail similarly. When they succeed, their success is unique.”

That sentence resonated with me. For years, we’ve been told that if we just mimic what successful people do, we will replicate their success. How many people have emulated Donald Trump, Michael Jordan, or Steve Jobs only to fall short?

Instead, why not examine successes and failures?

One Moore Thing: Study failures. Famous failures, peer failures, and, most importantly, your own failures. Determine why these people or ideas failed. Avoid those actions at all costs. (Note: failures are harder to find as most people are more willing to discuss success than failure.)

Then study successes. Learn the basics about what made these people or ideas successful, but do not imitate them step for step. Instead, take copy the actions in their basic form but enhance them to fit your own strengths and personality.

Filed Under: Attitude, Customer Service, Feature Post, Motivation, Sales, Training/Education

Too Smart to Succeed

November 30, 2010 By 3 Comments

At least these guys asked questions

Whatever industry you’re in, you probably see the same cast of characters at every conference and seminar. They show up because their company paid for the conference and they’re happy to tell you all the great things they’re doing. They’ll tell you how smart they are and all the things they know. What they won’t tell you is they’ll be unemployed in three years. Why? Because instead of listening to the expert on stage or the incredible ideas floating around the conference floor, they believe they know all they need to know. The way they’ve always done things is good enough for the future; their knowledge is static.

Those same people have a shelf full of books that they may even, God forbid, read from time to time. If they did read them, they didn’t take any actionable ideas from them.

These geniuses already know the answers. They’re too smart to succeed and, therefore, their life never improves.

One Moore Thing: When you go to a seminar or conference, listen to the speaker. Listen to the conversations. Take notes. Then look over those notes and decide on three things that you will do over the next three weeks. Implement one new idea/action/thought each week and see the difference it makes in your performance.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Motivation, Sales, Training/Education
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