Blatantly Autocratic Sales
A healthy ego is certainly a good thing to have if you want to be a successful salesperson. Yet, some of us are simply off the chart when it comes to self importance. You might know who you are, and the rest of us can certainly spot you from a mile away. But, if you’re not quite sure if you’re the poster child of the blatantly autocratic sales approach, answer the following questions and find out for yourself.
Do you frequently catch yourself saying or thinking “It’s my way or the highway?”
Sure, you may or may not be able to use this tactic with your kids who are living under your roof. However, if you’re not giving your customers options and choices, and don’t bother to negotiate or work to meet others’ needs or wants, you’re guilty!
Guess what? This lack of flexibility translates into you being deemed “difficult” and a “jackass.” Sure, you can stick to your guns, but the people who you’re trying to sell to aren’t going to feel the need to put up with your attitude.
Do you demand that they sit through your presentation or else?
You’ve diligently developed your PowerPoint presentation, honed your speech, and have memorized every benefit and feature of what you’re selling. Of course, your audience is going to listen intently from start to finish without interruption. You don’t need to accommodate their pesky time constraints or questions. Right?
It’s time for a wake up call. Maybe you have a busy schedule, but so do those you’re selling to. Most likely, they have lots of salespeople who want them to sit through presentations just like yours. Unfortunately, there’s probably much more to their day than just listening to their vendors. Hey, give them a break. Make your presentations short and sweet, and do your best to work with their schedules.
Do You Not Really Care All That Much about What Your Customers Want?
It’s all about your needs. You have a commission, a quota, or a boss breathing down your neck. You just don’t have time to focus on what your customers want.
Whether you once cared about your customers needs and have just become jaded over time, or you’re just naturally a selfish, rude salesperson, this attitude is a surefire way to lose customers very quickly.
Sometimes, it’s hard to take a self-assessment and find out that you’ve become the jerk that everyone loves to hate. However, in these tough economic times, can you really afford to take this approach with your clients? Don’t think for a moment that your customers don’t recognize these behaviors.
The good news is that you can change for the better. The best salespeople really do care about their customers and want to do their job well by being helpful, informative, and professional. You can, too! Take the ego down a notch and roll your sleeves up to start working with them not just for yourself. You’ll be glad that you did!
ARTICLE AUTHOR
Adrian Miller is President and Founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a sales consultancy that she launched in 1989. Adrian is also the author of “The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success” and is a well-known and highly regarded speaker and consultant. Always entertaining and rigorously practical, Adrian can energize and motivate your sales force to reach new heights. She also works with solopreneurs and professional services providers to help them grow their business using high-impact sales process.
Topics: Business Improvement
It’s the Little Things
Having loads of contacts, a degree from a top-notch university, and a resume that speaks volumes about your experience can undoubtedly communicate to others that you’re at the top of your game. However, they’re not the only things you need to succeed. Sometimes, it’s those little details that really shout what your personal brand is truly all about.
Far too many high-achieving professionals get clouded by their achievements and egos and forget that common courtesies still matter. In fact, when you’re successful, they matter even more. The stakes are higher and more eyes are watching. If you’re guilty of being rough around the edges with the individuals you’re doing business with, it’s time to polish your personal brand. You don’t want to be the one who loses a major account because your manners are atrocious. No, you have to be an Emily Post clone, but you do need to pay attention to these following basics:
Be Timely and Accountable
Everyone forgets to make a call every now and again. But, if you repeatedly tell others that you’re going to call them and don’t, you’ll quickly develop a reputation as someone who doesn’t follow through. If you’re having difficulty remembering who you promised to call and why, start taking notes. Send yourself reminders and make it a priority to follow up in a timely manner.
Say Thank You
In a fast-paced environment, it can be easy to neglect to say thank you to those who provide you leads, support your efforts, or give your business. Make it a point to be generous with your appreciation for others. Regardless if it’s a hand-written note, a thoughtful gift, or simply a warm “thank you” to someone who helped you, just do it and do it often!
Write Properly
Poor grammar and typos in an email, letter, proposal, sales presentation, or invoice don’t just look unprofessional, they directly reflect on your level of competency. Hey, if you can’t write a decent sentence, who is going to have the confidence that you can answer a technical question or understand the complex needs of a customer? It’s a slippery slope that you don’t want to head down. Pay attention to all of your writing. It matters! If you’ve managed to get to this level without being able to write properly, you’d be smart to invest in a class or two on business writing. You’ll be glad that you did!
Polish Your Company’s Paperwork
When you started your business, it might have been ok to write up an order on a piece of notepaper. Hopefully, your business has grown from this point, and if you haven’t already, it’s time to revamp the documents that you’re providing your prospects, vendors, and clients. Whether it’s an invoice, purchase order, or contract, your recipients will take them and you more seriously if they look professional. With the wide array of software options out there to help businesses, there simply isn’t any excuse for invoicing your customer on a piece of scratch paper.
Keep the Others in the Office in Check
While you’re responsible for your own personal brand, others can affect it, too – especially those in your office who can make or break an encounter with your business. Develop standards for how everyone deals with your contacts. Without this consistency, you’re opening up the door for someone to seriously sabotage how others view not just your office, but you, too!
ARTICLE AUTHOR
Adrian Miller is President and Founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a sales consultancy that she launched in 1989. Adrian is also the author of “The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success” and is a well-known and highly regarded speaker and consultant. Always entertaining and rigorously practical, Adrian can energize and motivate your sales force to reach new heights. She also works with solopreneurs and professional services providers to help them grow their business using high-impact sales process.
Topics: Business Improvement
Our Next Meeting - October 21
The next regularly scheduled LIEG meeting is October 21. The full year’s schedule is here. LIEG thanks Regus and Stacey Williamson for the use its meeting room in Rexcorp Plaza.
Topics: ** OUR NEXT MEETING **
Top Tips for Building a Salesforce
One of the few positive aspects of this current recession is that there has been a flurry of new business growth. Entrepreneurial-spirited individuals, frustrated with the corporate world, are testing the waters with their new ideas, and startups are challenging large, slow-moving organizations by developing innovative products and services.
While many of these streamlined, smarter enterprises will succeed, others will fail. Why? There are many reasons for business failure. However, it’s almost always due to the lack of building a successful sales force.
Some entrepreneurs think that they are the only ones who can possibly sell. Giving over the sale of their product or service to someone else is akin to handing over their baby. Others get so immersed in day-to-day execution of their business that they simply don’t make the time for big picture projects like working on the growth of the company and building a successful sales team.
The reality is that, at some point, business owners need to spread out the sales efforts and bring in talent if they’re going to be successful. It’s not about hiring a support person who will only get the overflow sales “dregs”. Instead, it’s about hiring one or more sales superstars who share the vision of the organization and use their experience and professionalism to take the business to a higher level.
Finding those superstars can be challenging, but they’re out there. In fact, since the rash of layoffs in the last year, there has never been a better time to hire a salesperson. Many qualified professionals would jump at the chance of working with a company that is growing instead of teetering on the brink of failure. How can you build the best sales force for your specific needs? Here’s how:
Find Someone Who is Compatible with the Company Culture
Startups can be chaotic, and not everyone is cut out to work in one. Make sure that any candidate you’re considering is comfortable with multi-tasking and pitching in at a variety of levels and thrives in an environment where there might not always be a lot of structure. Oftentimes, successful “big company” salespeople are like fish out of water when they don’t have multi-layers of management and corporate structure around them. Others are ready to spread their wings in a startup. Find out their comfort level before you make the commitment of bringing them on board.
Look for Someone with Connections and Contacts
Besides having a desire to work for an up and coming company, your potential new hire will be substantially more successful if he or she has a fat Rolodex of connections and contacts. Where do you find such a person? Go out into the field and attend some industry events to see who might be interested in a new opportunity.
Don’t Micromanage the New Hire
If you’ve hired the right person, they should be able to hit the ground running without the need of being hovered over for an extended period of time. Sure, you’ll need to make sure that they’re completely up to speed on what they’ll be selling. However, once they are, it’s time to give up some of the control, and let them go out and hit the ground running.
Work on the Company and Not in It
While making sales is vital to the success of your business, you also need to devote time to working on its overall growth and direction. Successful entrepreneurs and company owners understand the need to have enough company resources so that they can be the leader and not get bogged down by the nitty-gritty of day-to-day operations.
ARTICLE AUTHOR
Adrian Miller is President and Founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a sales consultancy that she launched in 1989. Adrian is also the author of “The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success” and is a well-known and highly regarded speaker and consultant. Always entertaining and rigorously practical, Adrian can energize and motivate your sales force to reach new heights. She also works with solopreneurs and professional services providers to help them grow their business using high-impact sales process.
Topics: Business Improvement
Video of Ellis Henican’s Sept 16th Interview of Fred Seibert
Ellis Henican’s interview of Fred Seibert was very entertaining and informative. The audience heard Fred tell of his experiences in numerous media and his advice to “try things using the Internet and get new ideas” for your business.
Topics: Uncategorized
Briefing on “The New ADA & Its Implications for Employers”
Jules Halpern, Esq. will be speaking on a topic that is relevant for Human Resources professionals. Titled “The New ADA and Its Implications for Employers,” the presentation will be held on Thursday October 1, 2009 at 8:30 am at The Bristal, 40 Merrick Avenue, East Meadow, NY 11554. To RSVP, please e-mail Cynthia Powers at cpowers@thebristal.com or call 516-233-3146.
Topics: Events & Meetings
Lessons in Brand Development and Innovation
What: LIEG and Bill Sobel of SobelMedia present a highly informative event:
“Lessons in Brand Development and Innovation“
Learn how to create a “buzz” for your business and create your personal brand.
Who: Ellis Henican** of Newsday will be interviewing
Fred Siebert** of Next New Network Online TV
When: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Wed Sept 16, 2009
Where: RXR Executive Park
68 South Service Rd
Melville NY 11747
(Lower Level Auditorium)
As of 12:01 AM Tuesday Sept 15th, registration is available only at the door for $35.
**Fred Seibert is the founder and creative director of Next New Networks online TV. He was the original director of MTV, the president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and has produced more than 50 jazz albums.
**Ellis Henican is a Newsday columnist and a political analyst for the Fox News Channel. He also hosts a show on the Talk Radio Network.
Topics: Events & Meetings
Our Next Meeting - September 16
The next regularly scheduled LIEG meeting is September 16. The full year’s schedule is here.
Topics: ** OUR NEXT MEETING **
Our Next Meeting - August 19th
August 19th is the next regularly scheduled LIEG meeting.
Click here for the full year’s LIEG meeting schedule.
LIEG thanks Regus and Stacey Williamson for allowing us to use its meeting room in Rexcorp Plaza. Photo courtesy of Regus. Please contact Stacey for any of your office, meeting or conference needs.
Please note that the regularly scheduled LIEG meetings are NOT open to the public. You MUST contact us if you would like to attend one of our meetings. You can contact us through our online form here. We do sponsor two public meetings each year and these are open to the general public.
Topics: ** OUR NEXT MEETING **
Mental Health Association Honors Bloom Family & Sir Speedy
Jack, Evan and Brandon Bloom are proud to announce they are being honored by the Mental Health Association as “Corporate Citizens of the Year.” This years Miracle Makers Ball will take place at the Garden City Hotel on November 12, 2009. For over 50 years the Mental Health Association has served our community. Now by helping us support the MHA, you will play a vital role in helping adults and children with psychiatric disabilities.
For more information on this wonderful event please click here.
Topics: Events & Meetings
