Judd Seida is one of my closest business associates. His company, http://www.biz-hive.net/ provides online marketing services to business and industry. Judd and I partner in the 2009 Success Express series of sales and marketing seminars and workshops. (http://www.successexpressmi.com/) My topic, material and presentation is all about selling. Judd teaches online and emerging marketing tools and tactics. We’re a good team where marketing and sales “old school meets new school”.
New School Tools
Most of us have been exposed to new, emerging web prospecting tools like Ad-Words, Ad-Sense, Analytics, Blogs, organic search engine optimization and social networks like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and others. Some of us are using these tools to meet people, develop relationships and to do business.
Using the Tools
What I have learned from Judd, as we roll the Success Express around Michigan, is that, like anything else we do, there is a wrong way, a right way and a better way to use Internet tools to generate business. The Success Express is all about employing the best marketing and sales practices.
We Deliver
In the real world, Judd’s customers are getting more bang for their marketing dollars. Their web tools are properly set-up, tuned up, working as designed and delivering results. More traffic is attracted to their websites (more hits) and more prospective customers are being identified and qualified. This is a great story. Company hires Biz-Hive, Company increases Internet traffic. Company qualifies more sales leads. Big sales pipeline is being managed and growing.
We Have a Problem
Back to the real world: Not all of these clients are able to convert these quality leads into sales. Incredibly, many of them just don’t know how to sell. They don’t have sales processes and procedures defined and in place. No sales strategies, tools or tactics exist. They don’t understand or employ essential sales skills. Some don’t even have dedicated salespeople on staff.
Marketing and Sales are Different
I’m sorry that I have to do this. Marketing activities are about lead generation and qualification. Selling is the art and science of converting sales leads into sales.
The Answer?
Sales skills, like marketing tools and tactics can be taught and can be learned. If you find yourself in a similar situation…leads but no sales, get some help. Call a good salesperson and talk to them. Share your story. Ask for advice. Or, go to the library and check out books and tapes on selling. Tom Hopkins is my favorite. Or, rent Glengarry Glen Ross. Unconverted leads were an issue discussed in the movie.
Commercial Break
Or…attend an upcoming 2009 Success Express seminar and workshop. Judd and I present proven strategies, tools and tactics for both marketing and sales. Fill your sales pipeline and close sales.
Our Places or Yours
The venues, dates and details of the 2009 Success Express are listed on my website, http://www.davebilbrey.com/ and at http://www.successexpressmi.com/. If you can’t attend our public meetings, call us and we will bring the Success Express to you.
Good Hunting!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
You Are A Tool
Yes, if you are in sales, you are a tool. You are the most important tool of all.
Tools Of The Trade
We spend a lot of time acquiring, learning and using various tools that help us in our day-to-day activities. These are helpful things that maintain prospect and customer lists, create and manage outbound sales and marketing activities and other related tasks. These tools of the trade include an array of electronic gadgets, software and the power of the Internet.
Tools From The Good Old Days
What sales tools did we use in the “good old days”? We didn’t have many tools to rely on other than ourselves. Let’s see…We didn’t have computers. We didn’t have cell phones. What did we have? Well, we had business cards and change in our pockets for phone booths. If we were at our desk we had a phone and the Yellow pages. We had a yellow pad and a file or a plastic three ring holder to collect and business cards.
My First Tickler File
My first sales tool that mattered was a neat 3 x 5 card holder that helped organize my day, week, month and year. The box had tabs for the days, 1 – 31, and months, January through December. It also had A-Z tabs. By moving the cards around, I knew who to call on and when. This manual system worked great. It made sure that I never missed an appointment or phone follow-up. The best thing is that it cost about $5 and it didn’t need to be power or Internet access.
Why We Load Up On Sales Tools
We equip ourselves with a variety of sales tools to help us sell more and to make more money. But, what is the outcome of a successful e-mail campaign or a blog posting that rocks? How do Ad words, a landing page and a white paper advance our bottom line? That’s easy. The tools of the trade are good at getting your prospect’s attention and for qualifying opportunities. They help you generate, qualify and manage prospects, but they don’t make the sale, unless you are selling commodities on a web store. You have to convert the leads into sales. You. In person.
The Sales Tool You Can’t Do Without
It’s you. You are the ultimate sales tool. You are the boss of your sales career. Bottom line: You close the business. Everything else you use is in support of helping you get in front of prospects and converting them into customers.
The One And Only You
There isn’t much out there in the form of sales tools that are exclusive to anyone. As things change, and they always seem to, you can’t and won’t have an exclusive on any sales gadget or system. If you do, it won’t be for long. No, the real advantage that you have in the sales game is you. You can be better than your competitors and can maintain an advantage by being the best sales tool you can be. Really.
Tools Of The Trade
We spend a lot of time acquiring, learning and using various tools that help us in our day-to-day activities. These are helpful things that maintain prospect and customer lists, create and manage outbound sales and marketing activities and other related tasks. These tools of the trade include an array of electronic gadgets, software and the power of the Internet.
Tools From The Good Old Days
What sales tools did we use in the “good old days”? We didn’t have many tools to rely on other than ourselves. Let’s see…We didn’t have computers. We didn’t have cell phones. What did we have? Well, we had business cards and change in our pockets for phone booths. If we were at our desk we had a phone and the Yellow pages. We had a yellow pad and a file or a plastic three ring holder to collect and business cards.
My First Tickler File
My first sales tool that mattered was a neat 3 x 5 card holder that helped organize my day, week, month and year. The box had tabs for the days, 1 – 31, and months, January through December. It also had A-Z tabs. By moving the cards around, I knew who to call on and when. This manual system worked great. It made sure that I never missed an appointment or phone follow-up. The best thing is that it cost about $5 and it didn’t need to be power or Internet access.
Why We Load Up On Sales Tools
We equip ourselves with a variety of sales tools to help us sell more and to make more money. But, what is the outcome of a successful e-mail campaign or a blog posting that rocks? How do Ad words, a landing page and a white paper advance our bottom line? That’s easy. The tools of the trade are good at getting your prospect’s attention and for qualifying opportunities. They help you generate, qualify and manage prospects, but they don’t make the sale, unless you are selling commodities on a web store. You have to convert the leads into sales. You. In person.
The Sales Tool You Can’t Do Without
It’s you. You are the ultimate sales tool. You are the boss of your sales career. Bottom line: You close the business. Everything else you use is in support of helping you get in front of prospects and converting them into customers.
The One And Only You
There isn’t much out there in the form of sales tools that are exclusive to anyone. As things change, and they always seem to, you can’t and won’t have an exclusive on any sales gadget or system. If you do, it won’t be for long. No, the real advantage that you have in the sales game is you. You can be better than your competitors and can maintain an advantage by being the best sales tool you can be. Really.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Go Straight...Straight Commission
Sales Jobs in Tough Times
A lot of good salespeople are on the street these days, looking for employment during the tough economic times we are experiencing. Under normal conditions, it would be hard to accept the economy as a reason for seasoned sales men and women to be unemployed. Excuses have never been acceptable in the tough competitive world of selling.
Things are Different
It seems that I hear from someone who has been let go from their sales job just about every day. It continues to amaze me. There seems to be a large segment of the corporate world that is contracting as fast as they can get it done. They are rushing to or are already in survival mode. Once a decision is made that there are no buyers buying, the sales team becomes most vulnerable and most expendable. I, like a minority of others, believe that now is the most critical time for companies to push for new sales, possibly in new industries or segments, but the current rule seems to be to cut overhead by shrinking the sales department.
A Ton of Talent
There are a lot of educated, experienced and talented sales professionals looking for work because of our once in a lifetime economic slowdown. I can’t hold someone at fault for failing to produce sales in an industry or segment that is in free fall. When I think of how far our domestic automobile industry has fallen and will continue to fall and the resulting cascading effect of thousands and thousands of suppliers, and the services and support resources that rely on them, it makes me very concerned.
We’ve Been Spoiled
As productive sales professionals we’ve had it good over the decades. We really made a lot of money and benefits and have been living high. We have enjoyed salaries, bonuses, incentives of every type and have consistently been among the highest earners at our companies. We earned it.
Things Changed
On the subject of sales compensation, things have changed and may never be the same again. I suspect that the days of substantial salaries and other “up front” or front loaded sales compensation plans have gone away and will stay away. A lot of companies are hurting and are financially fragile. That is the reality of business today. They would love to have a strong sales team on the street fighting for business in the smaller market available today, but they just can’t underwrite the cost of maintaining a sales department that is not making numbers or is non-productive.
Need a Sales Job?
My friends and colleagues, who have lost their sales jobs, are competing in a very tough job market for the positions that are hiring. Some of the jobs are positions beneath what they were doing and offer much less in compensation. It’s a problem. Many of them are not getting hired because their requirements are high and they aren’t budging.
Earn What You Earn
I’m helping coach a Little League Baseball Team. My grandson is playing and I enjoy being there and helping coach the kids. One of the dads who help coach the team has been with a medical device manufacturer for twenty-six years…on straight commission. I was a medical supply salesman for twelve years and forget that I was indeed on straight commission. I was paid a percentage of what I sold. The job was great, I made money. The pay plan was equitable and had no effective limits on earnings. My coach friend confirmed that, for the most part, health care sales compensation is still performance based. Sell more, make more.
Job Hunters: Change Your Thinking
My advice is a little bit tricky. If you are looking for a sales position, it’s a good idea to look in an industry that isn’t distressed. America is still open for business. Commerce still happens every day. If you really anxious to get back to work and if you are confident in you ability to sell, why not change your thinking? Why not consider applying for a commission based position? A position where pay is based on results? The fact is that if you hold out for big salaries and perks you might be holding out for a very long time.
A lot of good salespeople are on the street these days, looking for employment during the tough economic times we are experiencing. Under normal conditions, it would be hard to accept the economy as a reason for seasoned sales men and women to be unemployed. Excuses have never been acceptable in the tough competitive world of selling.
Things are Different
It seems that I hear from someone who has been let go from their sales job just about every day. It continues to amaze me. There seems to be a large segment of the corporate world that is contracting as fast as they can get it done. They are rushing to or are already in survival mode. Once a decision is made that there are no buyers buying, the sales team becomes most vulnerable and most expendable. I, like a minority of others, believe that now is the most critical time for companies to push for new sales, possibly in new industries or segments, but the current rule seems to be to cut overhead by shrinking the sales department.
A Ton of Talent
There are a lot of educated, experienced and talented sales professionals looking for work because of our once in a lifetime economic slowdown. I can’t hold someone at fault for failing to produce sales in an industry or segment that is in free fall. When I think of how far our domestic automobile industry has fallen and will continue to fall and the resulting cascading effect of thousands and thousands of suppliers, and the services and support resources that rely on them, it makes me very concerned.
We’ve Been Spoiled
As productive sales professionals we’ve had it good over the decades. We really made a lot of money and benefits and have been living high. We have enjoyed salaries, bonuses, incentives of every type and have consistently been among the highest earners at our companies. We earned it.
Things Changed
On the subject of sales compensation, things have changed and may never be the same again. I suspect that the days of substantial salaries and other “up front” or front loaded sales compensation plans have gone away and will stay away. A lot of companies are hurting and are financially fragile. That is the reality of business today. They would love to have a strong sales team on the street fighting for business in the smaller market available today, but they just can’t underwrite the cost of maintaining a sales department that is not making numbers or is non-productive.
Need a Sales Job?
My friends and colleagues, who have lost their sales jobs, are competing in a very tough job market for the positions that are hiring. Some of the jobs are positions beneath what they were doing and offer much less in compensation. It’s a problem. Many of them are not getting hired because their requirements are high and they aren’t budging.
Earn What You Earn
I’m helping coach a Little League Baseball Team. My grandson is playing and I enjoy being there and helping coach the kids. One of the dads who help coach the team has been with a medical device manufacturer for twenty-six years…on straight commission. I was a medical supply salesman for twelve years and forget that I was indeed on straight commission. I was paid a percentage of what I sold. The job was great, I made money. The pay plan was equitable and had no effective limits on earnings. My coach friend confirmed that, for the most part, health care sales compensation is still performance based. Sell more, make more.
Job Hunters: Change Your Thinking
My advice is a little bit tricky. If you are looking for a sales position, it’s a good idea to look in an industry that isn’t distressed. America is still open for business. Commerce still happens every day. If you really anxious to get back to work and if you are confident in you ability to sell, why not change your thinking? Why not consider applying for a commission based position? A position where pay is based on results? The fact is that if you hold out for big salaries and perks you might be holding out for a very long time.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sales...A Great Profession
What’s Not to Like About Selling?
After almost 40 years in the field I can say without a doubt that selling is the greatest profession of them all. I've talked about a lot of negatives associated with sales. They include challenges like hard work, competition, rejection, change and instability that face salespeople on a daily basis. But on the other hand, there is a tremendous upside to the sales profession that puts it in a class of its own.
Skills are Industry Transferable.
Sales skills are industry transferable. Technology changes and companies come and go, but the fundamentals of selling remain the same. Sure, there are new tactics tools strategies that modify behavior and results of sales activities, but in my opinion, if you can sell widgets, you can sell do-dads. Productive salespeople are always employable.
No Limits
What excites most productive salespeople and motivates them to excellence is the fact that there are no practical limits on their earnings. Sure, some sales jobs are salary based in with bonus, quotas and other rules of compensation, but when the dust settles, salespeople are paid what they're worth. If not, the move on or are terminated. I have yet to hear an owner, manager or an executive ever tell a salesperson to slowdown. Salespeople exist to generate business and revenue and no rationally thinking business executive would ever slow down a productive salesperson.
Freedom
Most salespeople enjoy freedom that is not shared by others in the workforce. Something as simple as being able to drive to the bank or stop for coffee or to plan your day is taken for granted by salespeople. That freedom would be very precious factor to most working people. Arriving at the same office or cubicle or desk or shipping counter and doing the same exact thing every day for 40 years would have not made me happy. I have always valued the freedoms inherent with my outside sales jobs.
New Friends
An attribute of most successful salespeople, is their eagerness and ability to meet and deal with strangers. Over time, and if things go right, those strangers become friends. I once employed, a young salesman, who had never sold before. He asked me what he should do. I told him to go out and meet people. He came back and told me that there is a problem, because many of the new people he met wanted to talk about our products and services. I pointed out that what he was really doing was cold calling for new business. Meeting new friends is a great way to advance your career.
Change and Challenge
One thing about sales careers is that there is always change and challenge to deal with. Change and challenge are two of the reasons why people do not like to sell. But for those that are up for change and challenge, they are motivating factors. Selling isn't for everybody. In fact, most people would never, ever consider it. However, there are some hearty souls who thrive in this environment.
Doing Good
Mark Thelen defined selling as activity based on a fair exchange of value. After the sale is made both sides are better off. To be more specific, professional salespeople are problem solvers. Salespeople offer and deliver solutions to problems and are compensated with money. In my mind problem-solving is a do good activity.
Your Company and Your Colleagues
Another rewarding side effect for successful salespeople is the benefit they share with their company and their colleagues. Revenue generated by sales, keeps the lights on and keeps the company working. So, selling is essential for business and industry to survive and thrive. To a sales professional, that fact alone is a reward far beyond financial.
What's Not to Like?
Other than the obvious world of hard work, competition, severe rejection, constant change, and insecurity, what's not to like about selling?
After almost 40 years in the field I can say without a doubt that selling is the greatest profession of them all. I've talked about a lot of negatives associated with sales. They include challenges like hard work, competition, rejection, change and instability that face salespeople on a daily basis. But on the other hand, there is a tremendous upside to the sales profession that puts it in a class of its own.
Skills are Industry Transferable.
Sales skills are industry transferable. Technology changes and companies come and go, but the fundamentals of selling remain the same. Sure, there are new tactics tools strategies that modify behavior and results of sales activities, but in my opinion, if you can sell widgets, you can sell do-dads. Productive salespeople are always employable.
No Limits
What excites most productive salespeople and motivates them to excellence is the fact that there are no practical limits on their earnings. Sure, some sales jobs are salary based in with bonus, quotas and other rules of compensation, but when the dust settles, salespeople are paid what they're worth. If not, the move on or are terminated. I have yet to hear an owner, manager or an executive ever tell a salesperson to slowdown. Salespeople exist to generate business and revenue and no rationally thinking business executive would ever slow down a productive salesperson.
Freedom
Most salespeople enjoy freedom that is not shared by others in the workforce. Something as simple as being able to drive to the bank or stop for coffee or to plan your day is taken for granted by salespeople. That freedom would be very precious factor to most working people. Arriving at the same office or cubicle or desk or shipping counter and doing the same exact thing every day for 40 years would have not made me happy. I have always valued the freedoms inherent with my outside sales jobs.
New Friends
An attribute of most successful salespeople, is their eagerness and ability to meet and deal with strangers. Over time, and if things go right, those strangers become friends. I once employed, a young salesman, who had never sold before. He asked me what he should do. I told him to go out and meet people. He came back and told me that there is a problem, because many of the new people he met wanted to talk about our products and services. I pointed out that what he was really doing was cold calling for new business. Meeting new friends is a great way to advance your career.
Change and Challenge
One thing about sales careers is that there is always change and challenge to deal with. Change and challenge are two of the reasons why people do not like to sell. But for those that are up for change and challenge, they are motivating factors. Selling isn't for everybody. In fact, most people would never, ever consider it. However, there are some hearty souls who thrive in this environment.
Doing Good
Mark Thelen defined selling as activity based on a fair exchange of value. After the sale is made both sides are better off. To be more specific, professional salespeople are problem solvers. Salespeople offer and deliver solutions to problems and are compensated with money. In my mind problem-solving is a do good activity.
Your Company and Your Colleagues
Another rewarding side effect for successful salespeople is the benefit they share with their company and their colleagues. Revenue generated by sales, keeps the lights on and keeps the company working. So, selling is essential for business and industry to survive and thrive. To a sales professional, that fact alone is a reward far beyond financial.
What's Not to Like?
Other than the obvious world of hard work, competition, severe rejection, constant change, and insecurity, what's not to like about selling?
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