Sales training ideas – Who do you hang out with?

This will be short because the idea is simple and yet, a lot of people miss it. You need to surround yourself with positive, upbeat people who are going places in their lives.

If you hang out with negative people, this can destroy any positive progress you would have otherwise made. Negative people will pull you down, tell you why it can’t be done, and do everything to smash your hopes and dreams.

Do you have to replace everyone immediately? No. Let people know the path you are on. Ask them if they would like to come along on the journey and become better or at least hold you accountable and support you. If they laugh and tell you you’re crazy, you may want to look for someone else to hang out with.

If the negative people are your family, make more of an effort at letting them know where you’re going and encouraging them to come along. If they continue to tell you “it can’t be done”, just accept them the way they are and try not to spend too much time with them. Be social on holidays and the like, but don’t surround yourself with these people often.

Also, if you don’t have a lot of positive people around you now, go find some. Join business groups, join groups such as Toastmasters. Volunteer. Look for good, positive, upbeat people and become friends with them.

Bottom line: The level of success of the people around you usually matches your own level of success. If you aren’t already, get around positive people who have goals and a direction in life. It will be one of the most important things you ever do.

John Chapin   www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – Be a contrarian.

Okay, right now the stock market is crazy, the economy is up in the air, and a lot of people are freaking out. It’s time for you to be different.

Yes it’s true that more millionaires were made per capita during the Great Depression, but guess what? They weren’t standing in soup lines and they weren’t panicking. There is an opportunity right now, perhaps a big one.

It’s time for you to remain calm, cool, and collected, and to look for the opportunities here. Low real estate prices, low stock prices, commodities cheap. Question: when do you want to buy things? At the highest price possible when things look great, or would you like to get them on sale? Well, if you answered “on sale” guess what? It’s time to get some bargains. Also, look to alternative energy and green companies. These are the ones that will be huge payoffs in 10 or 20 years.

The bottom line: Stay calm and help your clients stay calm. Look for the opportunities for both you and your customers and take advantage of them.

John Chapin   www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – Why prospects focus on price.

How many times have you found yourself in a price war when competing for business? How many times has a salesperson found him or herself in a price war when you were the purchaser?

When one does not understand the real differences in two or more products being considered, 99 times out of 100 price will be the deciding factor. Why? It’s the one clear difference.

It’s simple, if Box A is assumed to be the same as Box B, and Box A is 1 dollar, whereas Box B is 2 dollars, obviously you’ll buy Box A because it’s half the price of Box B.

Now intuitively we all know that there has to be a reason why Box B is twice the price, but if we talk to the salesperson for Box B and she does not differentiate the two, or show why Box B is twice, or more than twice, as good as Box A, we’ll assume the person selling Box B simply priced the same product as Box A at a higher price and thus buy Box A.

Most prospects and customers don’t know our products and services as well as we do. They also do not want to put a ton of work into the process of getting educated or finding out all the differences for themselves, they rely on the salesperson for that. Many will test us by simply saying, “Hey, this one is half the price of yours, I’m buying this one.” If we don’t then do a good job of educating why we are twice the price and instead get into a price war, they will assume that price IS then the only difference and buy on price.

The bottom line: Assuming you price your product with integrity, the only way your product costs more money than a competitive product is if it is more valuable than the competitive product. When a prospect pits you against the competition based upon price, they are really saying, “Okay, the only difference I see is price and your higher priced, so I’m not going with you. If price IS the only difference you will cut your price to or below your competitor. If price is not the only issue, you will now educate me as to why your product is more valuable.”

Again, people assume the higher priced product is more valuable and they are waiting for you to educate them as to why. Many salespeople go straight to price assuming that is the quickest way to the sale, and through their actions tell the prospect, “My product is NOT more valuable, price is the only difference, and now I’ll do what I can to cut my price.”

Educate as to why your product costs more and build as much value as possible, cut price as an absolute last resort.

by: John Chapin – Complete Selling – Author of Sales Encyclopedia

Sales training ideas – What do you let stop you?

This morning I woke up, looked in the mirror, and gasped. I looked like I had gotten the bad end of a fight. You see, a while back I got laser eye surgery and I ran into a few issues with my tear ducts. The doctor told me what to do, and as soon as my eyes were better, I stopped doing what I was supposed to. Thus, when I woke up, my eyes were swollen quite a bit. The additional problem? I was speaking to a group of real estate agents that I had never met in 2 hours.

What would you do? For a split second, I thought about cancelling. Sure they’d understand, right? I then started getting ready and just figured I’d tell them about the situation when I got there. Well, by the time I got there to speak, my eyes weren’t too bad, but I still explained what happened.

So what stops you in your everyday life? What do you do when you get a flat tire, a fire (either literal or figurative) interrupts your day, or something else happens? Do you let it stop you or do you look for solutions?

I remember a situation in which a Service Manager for the last company I worked at, missed a customer meeting because he spilled coffee on his shirt. Not only that, but when he called the customer, he actually gave that reason for not being able to attend. I don’t know about you, but if I had been that customer, I would seriously considered whether or not I wanted to continue to do business with us.

On the flip side, I went out on customer calls in the afternoon on a day in which I had basil cell skin cancer removed from my nose in the morning. And no, this wasn’t something they simply had to burn off, they had cut into me and I ended up with 9 stitches, 5 on the outside of my nose and 4 on the inside. But there I was, ugly bandages and all. Another friend of mine got into a car accident on the way to an appointment. His clothes got torn a bit, he was a bit bloody, nothing too serious, and his car had to be towed, but he called to say he was running a little late and would be there shortly. He took a cab.

The bottom line: Again, what stops you day-to-day? To get to the top in sales you have to be creative and you have to go above and beyond, you have to go over, under, around, and through obstacles.

John Chapin – co-author of Sales Encyclopedia    www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – How to determine and deal with different personality types.

Identifying personality type will help during the selling process. Your discussions should flow differently from one personality type to another. For example, with one personality type, you will spend a good deal of time building personal rapport. With another type, you will spend very little time with personal rapport and get to business quickly. 

Psychologists and psychiatrists break people down into four buying types. We will call them the Driver, the Thinker, the “Yes” Person, and the Partier. In the following paragraphs, you will learn who they are, how to spot them, and how to deal with them on your sales calls. 

4 “Sales” personality types 

The Driver 

The label pretty much says it all. The Driver drives sales decisions. The Driver makes things happen. Most leaders are Drivers. Owners of companies, Presidents, CEOs, and other corporate hierarchy are usually Drivers. They tend to be early risers and hard workers. They are usually short, quick, and to the point. Drivers are very possessive of their time. They like to make sales decisions quickly. They are direct and tend not to show a lot of emotion. 

You want to be selling to Drivers, as they are your avenue to the quickest buying decision. Typically, the Driver will be able to make the sales decision himself, and if he can’t, he is usually effective at getting others to follow once you’ve won him over. 

The Thinker 

The Thinker likes to see vast quantities of information. Once they see your initial sales offerings—verification on paper—they want to see more. Thinkers have a difficult time making sales decisions because they always feel as though there is some minute detail they have overlooked somewhere that could possibly change the whole picture. They are very detail-oriented and go over information repeatedly. They want to become an expert themselves. Thinkers have trouble taking someone else’s word on something—they need to see, touch, smell, hear, and feel for themselves. 

Of the four personality types, you will have the most trouble getting the thinker to trust you. You can make a sale to the Thinker, but it’s going to take a while—no cold call closes here. You need testimonials, references, and proof that your product is the best for them. You need to demonstrate to the Thinker in detail that your product will do exactly what you say it will.  

The “Yes” Person

“Yes” people want to get along with everyone and do not like conflict. They start nodding their head yes before you get the first word out of your mouth and they continue nodding their head five minutes after the sales presentation is over. They will agree with you on everything except when it comes to signing the sales contract. 

The “Yes” Person is probably the toughest of the personality types to sell. It is simply not in their nature to make a decision, and to get them to make a decision alone is virtually impossible. 

The Partier

The Partier has lots of energy and displays lots of emotion. The Partier gets along well with others and can make sales decisions. These personality types actually thrive in a dynamic environment and get bored very quickly with routine mundane tasks. The Partier is the life of the party and the most likely to be disciplined after the office holiday party. They are creative and full of life.  

The Partier is more difficult to sell than the Driver, but is much easier to sell than both the “Yes” Person and the Thinker. But Partiers need more proof than Drivers and they need time to think about the sales decision. Their decisions are not lightning-quick, but they are not slow like the Thinker’s or impossible like the “Yes” Person’s.   

Things to Look for and How to Deal With Different Personality Types 

The Driver 

The Driver’s office, clothes, and car:The Driver’s office has flashy awards, trophies, and other “king of the hill” and prestigious mementos. The head of the 12-point buck he shot on his Canadian hunting trip, the die-cast model of his Harley, boat, or ’65 ’Vette, and the award he won at the car show for his 1972 Chevelle SS. The speaker’s award from the Women’s Business Forum, her business degree from Yale, and her golf trophies. 

The business male (office executive) Driver wears dark suits (black, brown, gray, or navy blue) with either conservative or bright ties. The worker male (working executive) Driver wears the highest quality work clothes—maybe sneakers, but probably boots, gloves, and outer wear.  

The business female Driver wears dark (black, brown, gray, or navy blue) or bright (red, green, blue) business suits. The worker woman Driver wears the highest quality work clothes—probably sneakers, maybe boots, sweaters, gloves, and outerwear.  

The Driver drives either a luxury automobile, something big, or both. Luxury: Cadillac, Mercedes, 740 BMW, Porsche, Ferrari. Something big: Ford Expedition, Chevy Suburban, Hummer, or Cadillac Escalade.  

The Driver’s body position:

The Driver will not show a great deal of emotion although some can show a lot of energy. She may appear impatient if not interested or if you go into too much detail. She may have a somewhat intense look on her face with eyes slightly squinted and brows slightly furrowed when taking in information, but will sit up slightly and move closer when she sees something that catches her attention.  

Other Driver characteristics:

While some Drivers can be high energy and flamboyant, most tend to be monotone, use little hand movement, and have controlled facial expressions and a rigid posture. All Drivers like to get right down to business. Drivers are active and direct, formal and self-sufficient. 

Signs that the Driver is not interested:

• Directly states his or her sales objection.
• Will try to end the sales presentation.
• Appears to be impatient during the sales call, looking at his watch, using phrases such as: “Okay, I understand that. What’s the bottom line?” or “Look, all I really want to know is…”

 Driver do’s:

• Get down to business.
• Be straightforward and to the point.
• Keep sales points short and succinct.
• Stroke their egos.
• Let them believe they are in control of the sales presentation.
• Name-drop your biggest and most impressive customers.
• Speak directly and honestly.

 Driver don’ts:

• Don’t use wishy-washy, feel-good language.
• Don’t go off on tangents or talk about unrelated issues.
• Don’t spend too much time on anything unless they want to.
• Don’t get technical or give a lot of detail during your sales presenation.

The Thinker 

The Thinker’s office, clothes, and car:

The Thinker’s office is filled with gadgets, parts, and technical manuals. For the most part, the office is a mess. There are probably enough new and used parts to build a Space Shuttle from scratch. They have group photographs from classes they took. They may also have maps or technical posters on the walls. 

Thinkers like jeans and short sleeves, sneakers, or boots. They are not particular about their clothing or appearance. If they must dress up, they look out of place—a red tie with a blue short-sleeved shirt. They also wear the latest gadgets. They have the latest wireless earpiece to answer their phone. They have a wireless computer and can send e-mails, drink coffee, and drive all at the same time.  The Thinker can often take a computer apart and put it back together—blindfolded. 

The Thinker drives a car that makes sense from all aspects, good in all kinds of weather, reliable, good gas mileage, big enough to carry people and parts. The Thinker drives a Ford Taurus, Chevy Impala, or a typical company car.  

The Thinker’s body position:

The Thinker will sit back, shut up, and listen to what you have to say without showing much emotion. The Thinker tends to have a somewhat intense look on his face with eyes slightly squinted and brows furrowed. His arms may be folded. He may not be looking at you, but he is absorbing and analyzing what you are telling him. 

Other Thinker characteristics:

Thinkers tend to make less direct eye contact, don’t say much, have relaxed hand movements, and are interested in facts and data. The Thinker uses logic as opposed to emotion and is interested in facts. The Thinker is also quite reserved.

Signs that the Thinker is not interested:

• Will try to stump you during your sales presentation or get you off track with a bunch of highly technical questions that he hopes you can’t answer.
• Will sit back, arms folded, eyebrows furrowed with a somewhat negative facial expression while you deliver your sales presentation.
• Will begin making excuses as to why you must conclude the sales presentation.

 Thinker do’s:

• Use a slow pace.
• Provide lots of backup information and proof.
• Use detail.
• Focus on the logical reasons to move ahead.
• Be prepared. We’re not saying you shouldn’t be prepared for other buyer types, but Thinkers can pick you to pieces on details. With a Thinker, you need to be able to answer every conceivable question.
• Use technical language, but be sure they understand what you are saying.
• Be specific with numbers and facts and ensure they are correct.
• Compliment the Thinker’s knowledge level. Talk to them as though they know more than you do.

Note: When you are in a sales meeting with a Thinker, you may want to bring one of your technical people along. Just make sure he or she is prepared to answer any questions you can’t.  

Thinker don’ts:

• Don’t give generalizations or ballpark numbers.
• Don’t overstate or exaggerate. Thinkers like exact data; they don’t like “gray areas.”

The “Yes” Person 

 

The “Yes” Person’s office, clothes, and car:

 

The “Yes” Person’s office is clean, neat, and organized, with an inbox and outbox. A calendar with a scenic or animal motif typically hangs on the wall, and there are photographs of loved ones on her desk. She may also have figurines on her desk—the M&M guys, and the like. There may even be a small stuffed animal or two. 

 

The “Yes” Person is a clean, neat dresser. If there is a dress code at work, she defines it. She is always well groomed and her clothes are well taken care of.  

 

The “Yes” Person likely drives a small car or mini-van.  

 

The “Yes” Person’s body position:

 

The “Yes” Person is on the edge of his chair and attentive. His eyes are wide open and he is nodding his head “yes” and giving you a verbal “uh huh, uh huh” as you speak. He will typically show only positive emotions. His arms are open with hands resting on his knees when sitting and by his side when standing.  

 

Other “Yes” Person characteristics:

 

The “Yes” Person likes to talk about the weather and people-related subjects, facial expressions tend to be animated, and he makes direct eye contact. “Yes” People support others and are interested in others’ feelings. 

 

Signs that the “Yes” Person is not interested:

• Will tell you he has to talk the sales decision over with someone else.
• Will tell you he has to think about it, or come up with another reason why he can’t make a sales decision right now.
• Will express negativity through questions.

 “Yes” Person do’s:

• Use emotions, humor, and be sure to smile.
• Spend time building personal rapport. Talk about families and community activities.
• Show some excitement and energy.
• Once the conversation gets to sales business, keep it there most of the time. Many “Yes” People will get off track and start talking about other things. Spend some time there, but bring the conversation back to business quickly.
• Keep the business conversation clear and to the point.
• Use “together” words like “our” and “we” and stress your commitment to them.

 “Yes” Person don’ts:

• Don’t use a stern business tone. Keep it warm and friendly.
• Don’t push while closing the sale. You do want to be firm, however.
• Don’t dictate or be too forward.

The Partier 

The Partier’s office, clothes, and car:

The Partier’s office is a mess. The mess does not include the same things as the Thinker’s mess, but it is still a mess. There are papers everywhere. Most times the calendar is on the wrong month.  

The Partier is a flashy dresser. Men wear flashy ties, women wear colorful outfits. They can occasionally have a slightly disheveled appearance, but for the most part are fairly well groomed for meetings. 

The Partier drives a nice car but, in most cases, not as nice as the Driver’s. She may drive a 3 or 5 Series BMW, a sporty car, an Acura Legend, or a company car. 

Partier’s body position:

The Partier is on the edge of her chair if interested and sitting back if not interested. The Partier will show emotion and let you know in which direction she is swaying. If not interested, she will take on much the same posture as the Thinker, arms crossed, brows furrowed, with a negative look on her face. If interested, the Partier will take on almost the same posture as the “Yes” Person—open, interested, and positive.  

Other Partier characteristics:

Partiers are faster paced, show emotion, use lots of hand movement, have a louder voice than the other types, lean forward, and make direct eye contact. Partiers, as their title indicates, are the life of the party. Partiers are dynamic communicators and express their opinions openly.  

Signs that the Partier is not interested:

• Will make direct negative statements or jokes about your product or company.
• Will tell you what she doesn’t like about you, your product, or your company.
• Will tell you directly and bluntly that she does not have time to listen to your sales presentation or has to end the conversation immediately.

 Partier do’s:

• Make the sales process fun and convey yourself as a fun person.
• Be businesslike, but also open and friendly.
• Be direct, but soften your approach a little.
• Build rapport by talking about social activities, fun vacation spots, or extreme sports.
• Give lively, fun sales presentations, and incorporate computer graphics.

 Partier don’ts:

• Don’t get overly technical or bogged down in detail.
• Don’t get sidetracked talking about social events.

  

Keep the above ideas in mind with regard to personality types when you’re out on your sales calls. The primary thing to remember is that, while everyone is different, most people can be classified as one of the four sales personality types. If you sell to the preferences of each type, you will find yourself on the way to more sales.

John Chapin – Sales Encyclopedia – Complete Selling, Inc.

Sales training ideas – Using eye contact to determine whether or not someone is telling you the truth.

Last night I was watching the baseball game and an ad came on for a new television show: Lie to Me. They showed a clip from the show in which one of the actors said to the main character, “I hear people don’t make eye contact when they lie.” To which the main character replied, “Actually, they make more eye contact when they lie.”

I knew I had to address this because, if you’ve ever heard me speak about eye contact, I mention that most people in fact DO NOT make eye contact during a lie. They will either glance away or blink during certain key words while lying.

So, which is true? Do people make more eye contact during a lie, or less? Actually, they are both true, but for the most part, you only need to pay attention to people looking away while giving you an answer. Here’s why:

The main character on the show was referring to pathological liars. On the show he deals with criminals and other people trying to deceive others. The point is: if someone is really good at lying, that person will tend to overcompensate by making more direct eye contact during a lie, not less. Kind of like the loud, obnoxious guy who is overcompensating for a lack of self esteem.

The good news is: most of your prospects and customers do not spend the majority of their lives lying and deceiving people thus, they aren’t very good at it. As a result, your prospects and customers fall into the 99.9% of the population that does not make direct eye contact during a lie, as opposed to the .1% of people who make either the right amount or too much.

The bottom line: Pay very close attention to the eyes after asking an important question. If the prospect says she doesn’t like the location of the property, but won’t look at you when she says it, it probably means something else such as: she doesn’t think she can afford it.

John Chapin – co-author of Sales Encyclopedia    www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – Are you using technology too well?

Technology seems to be becoming more important in our lives every day. The better, faster, and more advanced devices get, the more we’re able to get done; the more we can get done, the more we seem to find to do. But are you using too much technology in your approach?

The more technology we use in our sales process, the more we eliminate the human factor. The more we use faxes, e-mails, web conferencing, etc., the less real contact we have with customers and prospects. Don’t get me wrong, technology is great, it can give you a “cutting edge” image, it can cut costs tremendously, and, as I already mentioned, it can help us get a lot more done in less time. At the same time, technology does have a way of distancing you from people if you use it as a substitute for another form of more personal contact.

The bottom line: Use technology and all its benefits, but use them as an add-on as opposed to a substitute for other, more personal methods. For example, if you used to hand deliver proposals, but now you e-mail them, it is a good idea to get back to hand delivering them. Instead of using e-mail to replace these former face-to-face functions, use it to send out pertinent industry information or perhaps even a bi-weekly newsletter. In other words, use it as another touch point to stay in touch and keep your name in front of people, not as an alternative to the personal touch that has helped you build solid relationships over the years.  

John Chapin – co-author of Sales Encyclopedia    www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – Demographics that can effect the sales process.

There are two demographics that most salespeople overlook when trying to make the sale. Both factors can give the salesperson a good idea as to where they should be focused when selling. 

2 Key sales factors 

1) Age

In addition to preferred sense, it is also helpful to look at the various life stages people go through as age can affect the sales decision. This will be particularly helpful in the insurance and securities fields. 

Young Adults  

Very materialistic, focused on the present, little savings, little money knowledge, small picture focus – details, focus on logic, mostly focused on price, technology focused, faster is better,                 &nbs p;        

Middle Age    

Family – less materialistic, present and future focus, building wealth, some knowledge and beliefs, less detail – more big picture, focus on logic and emotion, focus on price but can be convinced of value, some technology focus, pace depends on situation, more fickle – change easily, open minded, no concrete life view, fairly firm beliefs    

Mature Adult 60+

Family focused, leaving a legacy, largest nest egg, solid money beliefs, focus on big picture, focus on gut feeling, focused on value, prefer hard copy, more methodical pace, set in their ways, set values and beliefs

Use these tendencies in your sales approach and in the entire selling process. Mirroring someone in his sixties versus someone in his thirties will usually vary greatly. 

2) Gender

Gender is the third factor that can affect sales decisions. Following are some generalizations that will give you a good idea of gender-specific tendencies.

Women

More relationship focused, more team focused, more Big-picture focused, softer and indirect approach, more descriptive

Men

More focused on the business deal, more business focused, focused on competition, tunnel vision, more direct, more concise

As a salesperson, you need to adjust your sales language to your prospect’s gender. Also, women tend to want a closer relationship and to hear from the salesperson more often than men do. To most men, interactions with salespeople are simply business transactions. 

Important Note: Factors relating to age,and gender can get somewhat confusing, especially if you’re new to selling. If that is the case, don’t be too concerned or allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. These are some of the subtleties you’ll become more aware of as your sales career advances. 

Sales training ideas – Keep track of your sales calls.

Keep track of the number of sales calls you make and what happens on each call. For example, if you made ten cold calls, perhaps two weren’t there, two you didn’t get in to see, two weren’t qualified, two weren’t interested, and you got two leads. 

You also want to get some reasons behind the numbers. When will the two people be there? Why didn’t you get in to see the two prospects? Why didn’t the two qualify? Why weren’t the two interested? Why were the two leads you did get interested? 

From this information, you will start to recognize patterns and areas of the sales process that need work. For example, are you making your sales calls at the right time of day? Are you effectively handling the gatekeeper? Are you calling a qualified list? Are you building sufficient interest? What are you doing right on the leads you do get? 

You also want to do this with presentations or sales calls. What happened on each call? Did you close the sale? Did you lose the sale? Did you get an objection you couldn’t overcome and you have to return? Was the prospect not in?  

From the information on your follow-up calls you will also start to recognize patterns. Did you not build enough urgency? Was the person not really an interested lead? Did you fail to properly qualify the prospect? Do you do enough right to get the sale? What are you doing right and what do you need to work on? 

Keep track of this information on a sheet of paper, recording the information after each call. Take the results to your manager and the top salespeople in your company, get their feedback, and then work on your weak areas. Save these numbers to review, and look for trends. This will give you some ideas as to what you need to improve in order to make more sales.

Sales training ideas – Spend the right amount of time on sales calls.

Keep track of the time you spend on each sales call. Spending too much time on each call can cut into your total number of calls and/or keep you from other potentially more productive sales calls. Not spending enough time on each call can lead to less qualified leads, less rapport, and less sales. 

Generally, your in-person cold calls should last about 5 to 12 minutes; phone cold calls should last about 3 to 5 minutes. This should be enough time to create some interest, build rapport, and ensure the prospect is qualified and open to doing business with you. In-person sales presentations can vary greatly, but for the most part 20 minutes to an hour is probably the average; on the phone 10 to 20 minutes is more common. Enough time to do your sales presentation, answers questions and objections, and close several times.

In addition to the time you spend speaking, watch other aspects of your calls. For example, how much time do you spend waiting for prospects? This may be unavoidable in your industry. Talk to the top salespeople and your manager and find out what is standard and how they deal with this. What tasks, other than selling, do you spend time on during the day? 

Overall your objective is a good quantity of sales calls without sacrificing quality. You need to find a happy medium here. You want to put your best effort in, but you don’t want to be wasting your time either. This sense will be developed the longer you’re in sales and the more sales calls you make.

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