How can I help a salesperson regain interest in the job?

By Dave Kahle

Question:
How can I help an experienced sales person regain his interest in the job?

Answer:
It sounds like you have someone who is just going through the motions.  That can be deadly for the career of a sales person, as well as detrimental to the company.

One of the challenges of a career in sales arises out of one of the unique fringe benefits of being a sales person.  Few professions offer the degree of freedom that comes with the job of the field sales person.  Sales people have the opportunity to decide what they do with almost every minute of every day. Freedom!

However, with that freedom comes a great responsibility to make good decisions.  It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenges to the job of the sales person.  That’s why so many sales managers concern themselves with “motivating” sales people.  If the sales person isn’t motivated to do as well as he/she can, then he naturally defaults to an uninspired, reactive mode of decision-making.  And that brings us to the question at hand.  If a sales person has lost interest, he/she is not motivated, and that means that he’ll default to reactive, “fill-in-the-day with unimportant stuff” mode.  And that means reduced sales production for the sales person and for the company.

Before you rush to an intervention, first determine how big an issue this is.  If the sales person is profitable and productive that’s one thing.  If he isn’t, then that is another.

The best way to do that is to use Kahle’s Kalculation, an objective, fair measurement of the productivity of a sales person.  You can download a free white paper that explains the concept and provides a line-by-line formula for creating the calculation. Click here to review it.

If that analysis leads you to believe that you ought to intervene with this sales person, then here are some options for you to consider.

It may be that the sales person is experiencing some adversity in his personal life that has caused him to lose interest in the job. If that’s the case, then you’ll need to help him to realize that, and develop a plan to rectify it.  Have lunch with him, probe into the issues, and see if you can uncover the cause of the problem.

It may be that the challenge has gone out of the job. So, put some challenge back into it.  Sit down with the sales person and create a set of performance goals that will stretch the sales person and cause him to push beyond his comfort zones to attain them.  Set some motivating rewards for the attainment of those goals.

Another way to put some challenge back into the job is to make a significant change in the accounts for which he is responsible.  Trade half his accounts with another territory, thereby forcing him to learn the new customers and stretching him out of his comfort zones.

Another approach is to find some responsibilities for this sales person above and beyond just selling to his customers. You may want to bring him into decisions about new products, or have him help interview prospective sales people, or solicit his opinion on key moves that the company is considering.  If you can find some contribution he can make to the company above and beyond the sales dollars, you’ll make him feel like a more valuable part of the company.

Finally, it may be the sales person doesn’t realize the extent nor the seriousness of his problem. Have a heart-to-heart conversation with him. Clearly identify the problem and the consequences of it for him and the company.  Then work with him to develop a specific plan to resolve the issue.  Finally, meet with him regularly to assess his progress and to hold him accountable.

Which of these approaches works best for you depends on your knowledge of this person.  Choose the approach that feels best.  Good luck.

Originally published on DaveKahle.com

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities. He’s written twelve books, presented in 47 states and eleven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. His book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, has been recognized by three international entities as “one of the five best English language business books.” Check out his latest book, The Good Book on Business.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/10/24/how-can-i-help-salesperson-regain-interest-in-the-job/

Exposure to New Ideas

By Dave Kahle

In order for an individual or a society to reach its potential, it must continuously grow and develop. That requires consistent, methodical exposure to new ideas. Unfortunately, many people have arrested their development by remaining within their status quos.

Do You Feel Threatened by NEW IDEAS?

We all try to make sense of the world and our lives within it by forming conclusions about the world.  For example, we have probably all concluded that the sun rises in the East every morning and that our mothers love us. We assemble these conclusions gradually over time and eventually consolidate them into a set of beliefs we call a world-view. All of this generally takes place on a sub-conscious level. Without these conclusions, we would have a very difficult time getting through every day.

We’ve formed some of these conclusions because we’ve observed them in nature.  The sunrise in the East is one example.  Others, particularly in the realm of politics and religion, have generally been taught to us in our formative years.  They are beliefs, as opposed to observations of natural phenomenon, and we believe them because we’ve been told to.

Beliefs

At some point in our development, we have formed beliefs about most of the important things in our lives.  It’s then that our maturation process dictates that, to continue to grow, we must replace some previously held belief with a different one.  For example, we may have attended a socialist-oriented university and been taught that capitalism is evil.  When we get out into the real world, we discover that it provides us with a job and opportunities, and we revise our beliefs.  We’ve replaced one belief with another.

This is called growth.

And, human beings have the capacity to think and grow for their entire lifetime, although few actually do. What seems to happen most frequently is that people level off at some point in this process and stop growing.

We are all familiar with the common belief that the older a person becomes, the more ‘set in his ways’ he/she becomes.  In other words, the less likely they will challenge their beliefs.  As a veteran sales trainer, I can personally vouch for the idea that the older salespeople are generally the most difficult to change.

But, resistance to growth doesn’t have to be an age-related phenomenon.  We all know people who have arrested in their development somewhere along the line.  This can happen to a 20-something as easily as to a 60- something.

Arrested development…

It’s unfortunate for the individual.  It robs them of a fuller and more complete life, of enriching discoveries and relationships, and often of economic enhancement.

In other words, when someone stops growing, they stop expanding their spheres of relationships and become limited to the group of folks they have known. They often plateau at an economic level, as they no longer learn new job skills or seek new opportunities. The boundaries around their lives become rigid, and they fence themselves into a shrinking, not expanding, world.

While arrested development of an individual is sad, when it becomes more common in a group, it becomes a danger to society. Just as the boundaries of an individual grow more limited when he/she stops growing, so too does the society at large.

One of the essential ingredients for growth and development is the continuous exposure to new ideas and new experiences. When we entertain ideas from those who don’t believe exactly what we believe, it helps us confirm or question our own beliefs, leads to a greater understanding of others, stretches our psyche and develops us into a more complete human being.

In our college-student example, above, it took the exposure to the real world economic experiences to change the recent graduate’s beliefs.  If she remained cloistered in the university cocoon, she would likely have never changed her belief.  It took the exposure to a new experience and new idea to cause a change in belief.

A Very Personal Example

My wife and I were foster parents for a number of years.  One of our foster children was a teenager who had escaped from then communist Albania.  One thing led to another, and we eventually hosted John, his 80-year old father, for a week’s visit to the US.  Upon leaving to return to Albania, John said this:  “For my whole life, I was led to believe that we were the richest country on earth. Now, I see that we are the poorest. It’s like my whole life has been wasted.”

We couldn’t help but feel for him. He had been led to believe a lie, and that belief shaped his actions and his attitudes and organized his life. Now, at an age where there was little to be done about it, he regretted his life lived in accordance with a belief that turned out to be false.  The entire country was deceived by a dictator eager to stay in power. There was a reason why it was the most closed society on earth at the time.  New ideas would threaten the movers and shakers.

False Beliefs

While not nearly as poignant and heartbreaking as John’s experience, we all allow the same thing – false beliefs – to impact our thinking and, therefore, our businesses and our lives.

Exposure to new ideas and new experiences is so fundamental to human growth and development that it can be used as a gauge for the growth that follows.  Where there is widespread and continuous exposure to new ideas and experiences, people grow.  Where there isn’t, they don’t.

What Causes Arrested Development?

Learning and growing is the natural state of human beings.  Our creator programmed that into us. Infants, toddlers, teens, adults are all programmed to continually encounter new ideas and experiences and fold new conclusions into their heads.  It takes the intervention of some force of sufficient power to knock us off the track and bounce us into mindlessness.  Here are three such sources:

Fear

At some point in our development, we become afraid of new experiences and new ideas.  We may not be aware of that fear, but it is still the source of avoidance. We get to the point where we value what we have and want to protect it.  That can be the physical things like our homes and our jobs, or it can be the image of ourselves that has taken us some time to develop.

In my work with salespeople, I see this fear take the form of fear of exposure.  They have developed an image of themselves as somewhat knowledgeable and competent and are afraid that new ideas and experiences may expose them as less competent than they want to think they are. The way to avoid that potential exposure is to fend off the new idea.

Very few people will admit to being afraid.

Normally, this takes the form of excuses which absolve them of having to confront new ideas: “I’m too busy.”  Or “I already knew that.”  Or, “I have my own system.”  All of these are fear-based attempts to defer being confronted with new ideas.

Of course, fear can manifest in ways other than fear of exposure.  I see more and more commonly today the fear of rejection as being a ubiquitous reason for people to avoid new ideas.  This fear says that if I encounter a different idea, I may be somehow changed by it.  And that will place me outside the pack.  Better to go along with the crowd and avoid contact with any new idea.

As I am writing this, the news is full of a well-known actor shouting “F.. Trump,” and the Hollywood elite giving him a standing ovation.  That’s a great example of the pack mentality.  The college kids who shout down a speaker with a point of view different from that which they have been taught provide another example of arrested development motivated by fear.

In these, and multiple other examples, to actually consider an idea outside of those accepted by your pack might put you outside it.  That is to be feared.  Better to just go along with the crowd.

Laziness

Face it, it is harder to make changes then it is to remain in the status quo.  It takes time, energy and often intentionality to confront a new idea, learn from that and roll it into your routines.    It is far easier to just not bother. Some people just don’t have the motivation or energy to change, and thus avoid new ideas because they are lazy.

Contentment

This can be a combination of the two mentioned above. Frequently, people develop to the point where life is good.  They have a comfortable income level, their family is settled, their job is well in hand.  They are comfortable.

That contentment serves as a counterweight to the prospect of encountering new ideas.  Better to just hang around with the people with whom you are comfortable and to remain with the ideas that have worked thus far for you.

Other People

I’m going to drill deeply into this in the next article.  For now, I have observed that much arrested development is brought by other people who have a vested interest in confining you within the constraints of a belief system.  Typically, when you accept their belief system, you are then cut off any ideas that oppose it.

The Opposite…

People who continue to grow and develop their entire life are those who actively seek out new ideas; they are unafraid of the potential challenges to the status quo. They are comfortable enough with themselves to take the risk.

Here are some pictures of what this looks like in real life:
One of my clients, the owner of a small business, ‘tries to have lunch once a month with a good thinker from outside the industry.’  In so doing, he methodically encounters new ideas.

Business executives and salespeople who regularly buy the books, download the podcasts and attend the seminars and conferences. Exposing yourself to experts or those who have deeply studied an issue is a time-tested way to encounter new ideas.

Housewives who read the magazines, search the internet and talk to other folks to gain new ideas on their issues.  The world is full of good ideas, and by seeking them out, you find them.

Students who attend the occasional class taught by someone at the opposite end of the political spectrum. The courage to listen to someone with whom you may disagree with seems like a rare commodity these days.

Bottom Line

While the trend in our society is toward more and more mindlessness, if you are going to continue to grow and develop and come close to achieving the potential you have, you must actively seek out new ideas and new experiences. That is just as true for organizations and societies as it is for individuals. When we, as a society, aggressively avoid new ideas and new experiences, we arrest the development of the society and put it at risk.

Originally published on DaveKahle.com

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities. He’s written twelve books, presented in 47 states and eleven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. His book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, has been recognized by three international entities as “one of the five best English language business books.” Check out his latest book, The Good Book on Business.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/10/17/exposure-to-new-ideas/

Lower Our Price or Lose the Deal

By Larry Caretsky

“Boss, we need to lower the price to win this deal.”

How many times have you heard the desperate cry of your sales staff suggesting they can only win a new business opportunity by offering a lower price?  Inexperienced sales people often fall into this trap. They truly believe that they need to do this and may fight you if you suggest otherwise. Here are a few tips I have learned over the years that will not only enable them to win the business but gain valuable experience as well.

First, it’s important to respect the fact that your prospect may be an experienced and shrewd negotiator. You see, competition can be real or imaginary and an experienced buyer can make it seem very real, causing the sales representatives to panic that they are going to lose the deal if they don’t lower the price.  In reality the prospect may have already decided to buy your product or service but is just testing the water to see if they can in fact get a better price. In fact, it’s rare that a prospect does not float the idea of getting a discount if they buy from you. Why not ask? The worst that can happen is that you say no.  So, what can you do to win the business and retain your price points?

Well here are a few things you should not do.

Do not get belligerent and suggest that your company is the best in the industry which is why you may cost more than the competition. No one wants to hear this.

Do not bad mouth your competition. No one wants to hear this either.

There are certainly sales situations where the prospect may be torn between your product or service and that of a competitor.  This happens when the prospect does not see any additional value by going with you and may ask for a discount to differentiate you from the competition.  Do not allow yourself to get into this situation because the prospect may in fact select the lower cost option if they truly believe both are the same.

The winning approach is to reiterate why your product or service will do a better job of addressing the prospect’s initial business requirements. At this stage of the sales cycle the prospect is struggling to find that one differentiator or reason to select you over your competition.  Take them back to your value proposition so that they make their decision based on your ability to address their needs better than your competition.  To be successful you need to fully understand what you do better than your competition and support this via things like case studies, product reviews and customer references or testimonials.  The prospect is looking for that comfort factor that instills confidence that they are making the right decision by selecting your product and company.  If you provide this, you will win the business without lowering your price.

About the Author:

Larry Caretsky is the president of Commence Corporation a provider of CRM software and sales enablement consulting services.  Visit commence.com/sales-enablement to learn more or e-mail sales@commence.com.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/10/09/lower-our-price-or-lose-the-deal/

Small Business Struggling to Adopt CRM Software

CRM even at its most basic level enables a business to capture, track, manage and share vital customer information with the people and departments that need it to efficiently do their jobs. This is critical to the successful operation of every business. CRM is also extremely helpful in managing new sales opportunities and in streamlining marketing programs that generate new business. Once again this is core to growth and sustainability. So why are small businesses struggling to adopt what is as important to their business as their accounting software? Well it’s because industry experts claim that less than 33 percent of small businesses use a CRM system. I believe the reason is twofold.

No Time

First, many small business owners and executives firmly believe that a CRM system will rob their staff of valuable time causing them to spend a good portion of their day entering information into the system, but this simply is not true. In many cases, management is unaware that their staff is spending hours of time entering data into an Excel spreadsheet which is hard to share and virtually impossible to maintain. CRM software has proven that having a single consolidated database of customer information, that is accessible to all authorized employees 24/7, significantly improves productivity. Business owners and executives who have deployed CRM have realized this benefit.

Limited Resources

The second challenge impacting adoption is that small businesses are often resource constrained. CRM is not an appliance that you simply plug in the wall. It requires someone dedicated to managing and maintaining the quality of the data entered, and a commitment from management that the software will be used by the staff to improve business performance.

CRM software as discussed earlier is often used to automate and streamline marketing. In today’s competitive environment small businesses more than anyone need to take advantage of digital marketing programs, generate bulk e-mail mailers, and interact with social media sites to build brand recognition and generate more new business opportunities; but once again this requires having an experienced marketing professional on board. Most small businesses do not have this individual and cannot afford to hire them, making the adoption of CRM quite difficult.

The Winning Formula for Small Business CRM

So, what’s the answer here? How can small businesses become more successful in adopting CRM solutions? I recommend the following.

Step 1: Outline what you need the CRM system to do.

Step 2: Assign someone to manage the implementation of the software.

Step 3: Identify the resources and expertise you have on staff.

Step 4: Only evaluate CRM companies that have the professional sales, marketing and customer service expertise on board to fill any gaps you may have in these areas.

The successful deployment and utilization of CRM requires much more than simply selecting what you think is the best product for your business. CRM does not run your business, people do. If you do not have the expertise on board to realize the maximum value from the product, make sure you partner with a company that can provide this for you.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/10/03/small-business-struggling-to-adopt-crm-software/