As a new sales
manager, one of the early mistakes I made was thinking that I could
"motivate" my salespeople. In my experience, motivation comes from
within. I believe the most we can do for our sellers is inspire them.
Nothing motivates like achievement. Ever have a
seller close a big deal? They don't need a motivational speaker when that
happens. They are on fire. They can't wait to get back to the office to tell
you about it; they usually call you to share the good news.
Our job as managers should be to train, coach
and equip our sellers. In short, prepare them for achievement. When they
achieve, they are motivated to achieve more.
Iconic management guru Peter Drucker said:
"We know nothing about motivation; all we can do is write books about
it."
In order to influence your sellers’ thinking,
you have to know what they are thinking. In order to inspire them, you need to
know what's important to them. We typically think it's about money, recognition
and status. While those factors are contributors and important, it's usually
something much deeper, more personal and more powerful.
The key to finding what "it" is for
your sellers can be found in a simple question: “Why are you doing this besides
the money?” Don't just accept the first answer they give you; it usually
requires a little digging.
When
you reach that level, you are reaching the core values and purpose of your
seller. Can you see how knowing this information can help you guide them to
greatness? Be willing to ask your sellers, "Why
are you doing this besides the money?" and see what happens!
Here are three
pitfalls usually associated with cold calling. You may correct them with a
change in attitude:
* Making the cold call approach
confrontational rather than consultative. When prospects feel
confrontation, they often feel provoked or challenged. Salespeople who are too
anxious to close the sale in a cold call decrease the odds of closing.
Successful salespeople get a clear picture of the prospect's objectives and
show how their product or service will meet them.
* If the prospect feels pressure rather than
help. When prospects feel pressure during a cold call, they feel that
demands are being placed on them. Creating demand and force won't work in a
cold call. Patience, respect and understanding will give the salesperson a good
feeling for the prospect's motivation to buy.
* When the salesperson shows self-focused
goals rather than prospect-focused ones. Prospects have a multitude of
choices of how and what to buy. Effective salespeople help, support and share
knowledge with their prospects, especially during cold calls.
Your goal with a
sales presentation is to gain commitment to either buy your product or service,
or to advance the sale towards closure, whichever is appropriate for the type
of selling you do.
To do so, you need to know what problem the
client is trying to solve, or goal they're trying to achieve. Determine this in
advance by asking questions, then craft your presentation so that it highlights
and focuses on the features that will provide the benefits that align with the
prospect's needs or goals.
Mix in questions so that the presentation is a
dialogue, not a monologue. And conclude with one that allows you to take the
prospect's temperature.
Practice these simple steps and you'll see fewer
eyes glossing over during your presentations and more presentations leading to
closed business.
