I don’t consider myself old, but I am starting to waver on that belief after reading this Selling Power article. I started selling back in the days before cell phones and Internet, when the fax machine was viewed as such a timesaver. Frightening by today’s standards. The article identifies 4 selling skills you need in today’s socially-connected world. Here are the first 3: Social Listening Social Researching Social Networking Those 3 are critical and hopefully most salespeople are aware of these needed skills. However, the 4th point is most interesting: 4. Social Engaging This is the newest skill for sellers. Consequently, it holds the biggest competitive advantage for sellers who… Read More
Continue ReadingA Shorter Presentation
Here is a great, short article from Selling Power about an ad agency’s sales call with Steve Jobs at Apple. A taste of the setup: When Steel and his two partners arrived at Apple, they were met by two senior members of Apple’s marketing department-employees Jobs had inherited from the former CEO. "Steve’s running late," announced one of the executives. "We’ll get you up-to-speed while we’re waiting." And they ushered Steel’s group into a darkened conference room. They droned on for 2 hours as you will read. The saving point in the article is the second Steve Jobs entered the meeting. You’ll have to read it to see the marked… Read More
Continue ReadingUncommon Sense
I’ve been swamped of late with sales candidate assessments for different customers and have encountered an important trait – common sense. This is a broad topic, but we use it in a fairly defined manner – using common sense. We actually measure this aptitude in one of our assessments which often leads to rather pointed discussions…especially when a candidate has a low score in this area. But what of it? Our definition utilizes speaks to common sense being more of a natural reflex as opposed to a logical thinking process. I’m not talking about intuition but rather the practical thinking in regards to seeing the world. Does that make sense? … Read More
Continue ReadingSelling Advice From A Badger
No, not a Wisconsin graduate, an actual badger. JustSell.com has the video on their site. The setup is this – the badger is an “old-school” car salesman who badgers his prospects. The 30 second ads are for a car dealership. It is quirky, but I love quirky and got a real kick out of them. Here is a taste: Badger Sales Rep
Continue ReadingROE Over ROI
Here is a somewhat ethereal concept I have been encountering in this present economy. It starts with this – return on investment (ROI). ROI has been the backbone of sales since time immortal. This is the basis of sales in that customers pay the money to receive the solution. As long as the customer views the return on their investment as greater than the investment, they will make the purchase (generally speaking). The top-performing salespeople possess this motivation pattern (called Utilitarian). They view prospects in terms of ROI – how much return ($) will I receive if I invest time to close them. This principle has changed in the present… Read More
Continue ReadingTexting And Lightning
The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. -Mark Twain If you would, allow me to speculate a bit. I’ve been involved in volunteer activities with high school students over the past 2 years so I have become a reluctant texter (is that a word?). I learned quickly that their preferred method of communication is texting. I didn’t even have texting on my cell service when I started. I now have unlimited texting out of necessity. I tell you this in regards to a concern I see in this younger generation. I’ve read… Read More
Continue ReadingSalespeople – Born Or Made?
The nature vs. nurture debate is one for which I am most intrigued. My Bachelor’s degree is in psychology and this topic was a popular debate topic in my courses. Yesterday I came across this article from CNNMoney.com – Are entrepreneurs born or made? As I look at the stats, I tend to interpret the result as saying entrepreneurs are made: Shane and his fellow researchers compared the entrepreneurial activity of 870 pairs of identical twins — who share 100% of their genes — and 857 pairs of same-sex fraternal twins — who share 50% — to see how much of entrepreneurial behavior is genetic and how much is environmental.… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Dumb
This is from the JustSell.com crew – it is a description of things salespeople do to upset prospects. I found it quite comprehensive: They (Ed.-prospects) don’t like it when… we’re pushy we call too much we’re “just checking in” we’re unprepared we’re disrespectful of their time we keep calling if they say they’re not interested we don’t respond fast enough we appear not to understand them, their industry, their situations, and their challenges we don’t work in their interest we don’t listen we don’t know about our own products/ services we’re rude, arrogant, or inattentive we’re vague or unclear they’re made to feel like they’re interrupting us we seem like… Read More
Continue ReadingThis Is 85% Of Sales Success
From an article in our local StarTribune.com (bold mine): A Carnegie Foundation study once found that only 15 percent of a businessperson’s success could be attributed to job knowledge and technical skills — considered an essential element but overall, a small contribution. A whopping 85 percent could be determined by “attitude” and the “ability to deal with people.” I grant you that “attitude” is a fat word – I’m not sure exactly how he defines it in this survey. Nonetheless, you get the point when it comes to hiring. I would estimate that 85% of sales hires are based on technical skills as opposed to the ability to deal with… Read More
Continue ReadingQ Is For Qualifying Questions
I come across this often – a company wants to hire a superstar salesperson and the hiring manager’s first instinct is to find a loquacious talker. Perhaps you have seen this approach too? Clearly no readers of the Hire Sense would administer this approach in their hiring. Right? Ok, maybe not. The point is that smooth talkers are not categorically the best salespeople. I am appreciative of good communicators, but being good at talking is the lesser part of communication. Being an active listener is more important. This fact is often overlooked in sales hiring. The reason this ability is important is that is supports the foundation of successful selling… Read More
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