The CMS Training Sales Model

If you're a student of selling you know that there are a number of models that outline the fundamentals of the sales process. Our approach at CMS Training is to provide an overview of the process and then let the companies we work with modify the steps we've embraced. Here's an overview of our model:

The CMS Training Sales Model - 6 Keys to Selling Success

1. Plan and Review. Review your sales activities every day and the interactions you had. What went right and what went wrong? What can you do about it? Focus on your "pay tasks" - What do you get paid for in your current sales position?

Balance work and play and work in day tight compartments. Develop the discipline to switch between work tasks and down time. This is a huge concept. (Don't play at work and don't work at play as Jim Rohn so eloquently has said.)

Plan who you should see each day and identify your TIP's (Template of your Ideal Prospect) Who do you really want to do business with? Review simple details - Who should you see today? Where are they? And when can you find them?

2. Prospect and Contact. So many people have different philosophies on working in sales. Some push working smarter not harder and too many people take that as an invitation to do nothing intensive. Get out and "hit the bricks" and see the people that can say yes to your product or service. If you're not meeting new people in sales, you're not maximizing your current efforts or future returns.

Have multiple objectives when prospecting... this reduces rejection and increases positive emotions. No other ONE principle will make becoming proficient in selling more fun and fast!

Make "impactful" first impressions. Be professional, be excited and mirror your contact. If they are impressed with you... you've got a chance to do business with them.

3. Qualify and Determine Needs. Be professional and BE DIRECT. Can the person you're speaking to make a final decision? Ask questions and then LISTEN for clues. What needs can your product or service provide the solution to?

4. Present and Outline Solutions. Be an Industry Expert regarding your product or service. Regardless of what you normally say in your presentation, your knowledge of your industry will always be more important than just giving a presentation. Avoid sounding canned. A primary responsibility when jumping into a new position is to learn the sales presentation COLD.

Focus on Benefits. What will your product or service do for the potential client? How will it make them more money? How will it make them feel better? After a prospect knows what you have will "work" for them, then they'll be interested in "how it works."

5. Address Concerns. If people are interested, they'll have concerns and questions. There are very few perfect fits. Smile when you get objections - inside and out - this means your proposal or your product is being considered.

When concerns come your way determine validity first and respond second. Don't confuse a comment for a concern. Many times buyers are simply working things out in their mind and verbalizing their thoughts. Don't jump in unless a question is asked.

Valid concerns need to be handled quickly.

6. Close the Sale and Obtain Referrals. If you've done a solid presentation and asked enough questions that resulted in "yes" answers, then closing the sale is about asking for the final yes and processing the transaction.

Obtain referrals by identify EXACTLY who you are looking for and helping satisfied clients "see" those people in their minds. It's more than asking for referrals - ask with the purpose of helping those people obtain the same benefits and positive feelings as the person who just gave you the name.

Finally, use the law of reciprocation and reward the people that make those quality introductions for you. Anything small, provided up front, will invoke the response you're looking for. Also remember that any time you do an INCREDIBLE presentation and clients don't say yes because of the money, they are very likely to say yes on referrals.

That's our model... find people, impress the heck out of them, qualify them, finding out what they need, show them what you can provide, get the final yes and ask for other people you can talk to.

What's your process? Your entire career will change once you understand your model and maximize your efforts in each area.

TK

Quote of the Week

My friend John Dahl who sells for IBM sent me the following quote on "thinking" and it's perfect for the profession of selling and the need to train... to study our products, our services and our craft which is persuasion.

Here's the quote...

“And we must study through reading, listening, discussing, observing and thinking. We must not neglect any one of those ways of study. The trouble with most of us is that we fall down on the latter – thinking – because it’s hard work for people to think. And, as Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler said recently, ‘all of the problems of the world could be settled if men were only willing to think.’”

Thomas Watson Sr., Founder of IBM

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink (or think). That must be done by the individuals looking to become better at what they do... not just be a salesperson, but be a sales professional.

Our mission at CMS Training is to "Elevate the Profession of Selling" by serving as a bridge between salespeople and relevant, timely and quality content. Hopefully when salespeople stop to think about what they are actually doing for their clients - they'll realize the need for training and growth - because it's training and growth that takes an amateur anything to a professional everything.

TK

Competancy and Quality

These two words must be used in the description of a professional salesperson. Analyze anything a salesperson is doing and if these adjectives can be used to describe their approach - you've got a professional.

Unfortunately, most salespeople never move to the level of a professional, they are just in sales. Many people play touch football in the backyard, softball on the weekends or shoot hoops at the park, but that doesn't make them professional athletes.

I define competency as complete knowledge and understanding of a salesperson's product, sales process, customer base and the overall marketplace for their product.

I define quality simply as the characteristics that set a sales professional apart from other persons who simply work in a sales capacity.

Anyone can jump into selling. There are little or no barriers to entry, one day your in one career, the next day your a salesperson. I'm okay with that - it makes my industry much more valuable! However, if your in sales as a career, pursue competency and quality in your daily approach to your company, your clients and your daily disciplines - then you can say you are a professional.

TK

Quote of the Week

In Brian Tracy's book Advanced Selling Strategies, Brian reiterates this simple and powerful principle:

"You must choose the people you spend time with carefully because they are having an effect on your thinking, your personality, and on everything that happens to you."

As 2007 kicks off and begins to take shape, make an evaluation of the people you are associating with on a regular basis. What are they saying and how do they say it? What are their perspectives on success, failure and accountibility?

Finally, are they the same person in front of you that they would be in front of their family, spouse or minister? Are you?

If not, find new friends and change your associates. Make 2007 your year of success and positive change.

TK

Quote of the Week

I picked up the January issue of Outside Magazine and was blown away to read about a 44 year old guy that runs... I mean he runs A LOT.

His name is Dean Karnazes and he runs 20 to 25 miles a day - before breakfast! He's labeled an "ultrarunner" and last year he ran 50 marathons. No big deal? He ran each of them in a different state and did it in 50 days. How did he top that accomplishment? He decided he'd run home - from New York - he lives in Northern California.

Here's the quote of the week from Dean that I thought was great for each of us pushing for success in the sales field:

"Unless you're pushing yourself, you're not living to the fullest. You can't be afraid to fail, but unless you fail, you haven't pushed hard enough. If you look at successful people and happy people, they fail a lot, because they're constantly trying to go further and expand."

Dean Karnazes (AKA Forrest Gump)

Interesting insight. So... are you pushing yourself?

PS - Maybe there's something to running 25 miles everyday before breakfast because this guy looks more like he's 24 instead of 44. I do 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer a few times a week...










I think I'll crank things up.

TK

Top Three Challenges Facing Sales Leaders Today - Part Three

The third and final challenge sales leaders across the country identified in the Miller Heiman study was "Lack of an effective process for recruiting and hiring qualified salespeople."

First and foremost, the word "effective" is HUGE. Of course anything you do should get you results, but don't take this word for granted in this third and final challenge. I have created a recruiting and hiring program. I've done recruiting and hiring and I've managed a recruiting and hiring director. Let me make this statement... "having a process for recruiting and hiring qualified salespeople is no insurance that you will HAVE qualified salespeople OR any salespeople.

So effective is not a "given" and it takes time to create a results oriented process. In the Miller Heiman study, "only 28% of sales leaders believe they have an effective process... compared to 32% in 2003." That's trending in the wrong direction. Demand results - not just a stream of people coming through the door.

Recruiting is the second most important thing a sales leader can be doing after inspiring and monitoring current sales team members. Thus recruiting is not something you do when someone quits or management decides it's time to grow - recruiting is something you do ALL THE TIME.

When you don't make recruiting a constant priority, you may have a challenge like this sales manager from the MH study:

"... the hiring [actually referring to recruiting] process can be a frustrating experience. He [the manager being interviewed] has pursued many avenues to find the right people including college recruiting, job fairs, the military and even headhunters. 'It's hard and it costs money,' he said. "... Developing people takes time and money, which are both in short supply.'"

Sound familiar?

So the answer I provide for developing an effective recruiting process - do it all the time. If you're not thinking of recruiting top people into your company each week, your going to fall behind. So where do you look? Here's my top three suggestions:

1. Your Competition. If you can find people who already know your industry and your product you've cut out a huge chunk of the training process. (Note of caution - don't hire just anyone just because they know your industry. Some of the worst people I've ever recruited and eventually hired were people that knew the training industry.)

2. The Internet. A few years ago I could throw this suggestion out and managers would be interested in learning all about how to recruit on the Internet... well its caught on hasn't it. It's effective and depending on the position, can provide advantages other sources can't match. Monster.com is the biggest and most well known Internet job posting site. Cities across the country usually have sites that are equally effective. In Phoenix for example, we have Jobing.com which I have used with some success.

3. Employee Referrals. If you've got good people, who don't have scarcity mentalities, then they will be the third and final resource I would recommend. The only thing that would make my job (or your job) better, would be for me to pick one of my best friends and have him come to work with me each day. Someone I'd be proud to join my company and someone who would make me look good to management and my peers. Make sense?

I suggest you offer incentives for your current team members to make referrals. After experimenting with a number of rewards (including cash) and ways to pay them, out I suggest using gift cards. I suggest something in the range of $500 and I suggest it be broken into two segments. One payment provided upon hiring and one payment provided at the 90 day mark. The 90 day mark is key. As a sales management professional, you better be able to determine if a new hire has the mojo to be successful with your organization by the end of 90 days.

I also suggest using a gift card that will really motivate the person making the referral. To do this I would create a menu of choices that cover a range of interests. I always include a card that would benefit my organization too. Men's Warehouse and Nordstrom's gift cards are my favorites because I know I'll see a new suit, slacks, shoes etc. These items not only were a reward for the team member, but proved to be a "walking billboard" for my incentive program.

Let's face it, if you recruit the right people the hiring challenge is easy to solve, but before you hire, drug test and profile. Drug test because it's the right thing to do and profile because you must have a starting point of measuring the skills of your new recruit and next hire.

These two steps actually add to the "effectiveness" of your process, and actually help make your efforts a "process." If you tell someone they must undergo a drug test and they don't come back (and you really liked them), then you most likely were being impressed with a drug-addict. If the candidate just wanted to make a statement - "that they don't have to be subjected to such procedures" good for him or her and BETTER for you. That same person would be "making statements" by disregarding other policies and procedures of your organization for years to come - and taking others with them on their journey.

Profiling let's candidates know that "there is a hiring process" and not anyone who shows up at the door is hired. Something else about profiles... THEY WORK. I've never taken one that has not pegged me PERFECTLY. If you need help finding the right profile - email me at tomk@closemoresales.com.

Finally, have a plan and have it detailed for all new hires when they arrive in your office for DAY ONE. When someone arrives for their first day - that should be a sales managers number one priority (and remain that way until the person leaves training and begins selling.) Sticking someone in a cubicle and having them read a manual is not a good plan and I would say not an "effective process." Everything should be done to impress the new hire just as you were trying to impress the same person when they were a recruit. Here's seven quick ideas:

1. Again, be ready and waiting day one. Don't make them wait in the lobby for you or some other person and stay with them that ENTIRE first day.
2. Lay out the entire first day in detail and an overview of the orientation and training period.
3. Introduce them to everyone in your office - EVERYONE.
4. Show them (again) exactly how they'll make money with your company.
5. Have Human Resources review benefits and payroll procedures.
6. Have an in-house lunch (the first day if possible) and focus ALL the attention on that person.
7. Assign them a RESPONSIBLE mentor for the first 90 days. Someone they can trust and count on for guidance when you are not available.

The need for competent sales managers has never been greater. I'll leave you with this final bit of information from the Miller Heiman study...

"Only 35% of sales leaders quickly identify and move out poor sales performers." That means 65% of the sales managers in this study were continuing to employ poor performers. I would bet this is happening all over the country. So creating an effective process for recruiting and hiring can help sales leaders fix this challenge.

It's critical that we do all that we can to increase the number of successful sales people because successful sales people are usually professional sales people. All of our reputations are enhanced when we raise the professionalism of selling.

Thanks Miller Heiman for being a leader in the sales training industry!

TK

Quote of the Week

You could post quotes for a year and never come close to covering the pearls of wisdom passed along by Napoleon Hill.

Here's a great one liner that revisits the essence of Hill's work:

"Everything that you create begins in the form of a thought impulse." Napoleon Hill

An idea, a goal, a feeling - even a bodily movement, begins with a thought. Thus the title of Hill's greatest work, "Think and Grow Rich." The mind is a powerful thing and is only rivaled by the discipline and persistence it takes to control it.

TK

Top Three Challenges Facing Sales Leaders Today - Part Two

The second major challenge sales leaders across the country identified in the Miller Heiman study was Poor Sales Call Activity and Productivity...

If you've ever managed sales people at any level you can relate to this issue. This challenge is present at every level of professional selling. From retail to wholesale and from simple sale to complex sale, different settings and different approaches with one thing in common - the human being.

According to the study "Sales leaders reported their sales force were not meeting expectations when it came to making enough new sales calls to continually add qualified opportunities to their funnels." Again, if you've managed on any level, you have had this conversation with a rep or prepared and delivered this training message.

My sales teams in the field consistently fought prospecting for new business and depended 99% on inside lead generation to be successful. The answer to the challenge is to set clear goals for prospecting and lead generation and insure your team knows they will be held accountable for their assigned contribution. Contributions may be different for top producers compared to other producers - but everyone should contribute.

Here's a three step plan to improve the call activity of your sales reps - and when you increase their activity the productivity follows.

1. Set clear expectations as to what is expect in prospecting for new business,
2. Create a commitment form that will outline what you'll provide for support and what the sales person will accomplish in the way of finding new business,
3. Report Desired Activity vs. Actual Activity on a weekly basis. Celebrate success and have a plan to make up for any negative gaps.

This is consistent with what Office Max vice president Carlos Martijena is doing with his 120 sales people who cover the southwestern United States and Mexico. According to the study "For him, improved sales activity and the productivity of sales calls requires better visibility and accountability."

People are drawn to selling for the money and the autonomy that typically comes with most sales positions. The challenge is that although everyone loves autonomy, not everyone can be successful with it. They need a sales manager or a position with restrictions to stay on track.

So sales managers... not only "know thy self" but "know thy people!"

Where do you find the right people? Read the third and final post in this series...

TK

Top Three Challenges Facing Sales Leaders Today - Part One

Miller Heiman is one of the best known names in the sales training industry. Some time ago they published the "Top Three Challenges Facing Sales Leaders Today." The study was conducted in the Fall of 2004 and compiles the responses of 3,400 sales leaders throughout the country. For me, it was actually comforting to discover that the challenges identified in the nationwide study were the same issues that my small business has faced year after year!

Here they are...

1. Lack of a well-defined methodology for identifying the right opportunities to pursue.
2. Poor sales call activity and productivity.
3. Lack of an effective process for recruiting and hiring qualified salespeople.

Over the last few months I put together the "answers" I've discovered over the years to "counter" these challenges. I'll be presenting them in three different postings, starting today with number one - "Lack of a well-defined methodology for identifying the right opportunities to pursue."

In each of the challenges facing sales managers the central theme is simply lack of desired results. This is evident in number one - Lack of a well-defined methodology for identifying the right opportunities to pursue. Simply put, if your sales people aren't laser focused on who they should be pursuing, they are going to be doing something unproductive!

It's noted in the report by Peter Foster of Cardiac Science, Inc that "Walking the line between too much structure and total freedom is a tough balancing act." Mr. Foster is right on the money. I found over the years that producers of all levels want their freedom, but don't want to deal with the consequences of not achieving results. Thus the purpose of structure (or methodology) is to provide guidelines to success.

Doesn't it make sense that salespeople at all levels should know who they should be contacting? Is it possible that salespeople are given a territory and not trained to prospect? Yep. Another interviewee of the study, Bob Hayworth of Lockton Benefit Company, said "the lack of an effective approach to successful prospecting is the result of an absence of focus. You must have a strategy for prospecting, which allows salespeople the ability to focus and find success."

My company found that identifying a "TIP" (Template of an Ideal Prospect) for our salespeople was the starting point. Whether they would do the work or not, we made sure our people knew who they were supposed to be pursuing. Which leads to the second major challenge... Poor sales call activity and productivity.

My answer... in the next posting.

TK

Quote of the Week

Have you seen Microsoft's stock price lately? It's on the move - and it's moving up!

Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft said the following:

"The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do... It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential."

I agree with Ballmer - do you?

If using technology could help you double your income, would you embrace it? Need some ideas? Check out my technology blog at salestechnologyreport.com. Each week I'll provide information on technology products, services, websites and tech etiquette. Information guaranteed to help you make more money in sales.

Here's to an awesome 2007!

TK