Need more top sales performers?

Ever wondered what really makes a good sales person and how you can identify that in potential candidates?

There really is no other position in an organisation that has the impact of a sales person. They can make or break the growth of your business. A great sales person will take your company to a new level, take market share from your competitors and build long term business. A poor sales person can miss opportunities through lack of skills, waste time with prospects that will not buy, and cost your company huge amounts of money in lost revenue. I am sure we have all seen both types in our organisations.

There is no question that sales people in particular experience a range of emotions throughout their working week. From major highs when that sale comes through to low lows when we just can’t get an appointment or meeting our budget just seems impossible. Sales people are held up daily to a set of targets, scrutinized against KPI’s, and other sales people in the company.

In sales, people seem to do the same things over and over and yet get different results every time. Why is that? Perhaps if we look a little deeper we will see that it’s the state of mind they are in that really has the impact and not the amount of activity being generated.

.Also, if you really have a look, you might see that how people operate in their own lives shows up in their sales process. It is no coincidence! What is going on around us is a mirror of what is going on inside us – it stands to reason.

Ever thought about how a person’s relationship to money impacts their ability to sell? What about the way they like to shop? Do they go for the bargain, shop around until they get the best price, or buy the first one they see? Will they expect their prospects to do the same? Do they need to be liked by all their prospects and clients? And does this have an impact on their ability to close a sale effectively? Do they have the emotional resilience needed to be an outstanding sales person?

These are some of the key elements that generally are not considered when recruiting a sales person and it certainly takes more than being well groomed, well spoken and outgoing to generate business.

Yes, I know you are thinking about industry experience and yes this will certainly help to reduce the ramp up time of a new sales person.

What else?

What is really going to ensure they will achieve “success” as defined by you, not them?

What about the complexities of the sales cycle, the market, the product … where does your product or service fit? Do you want a hunter, closer or account manager? What do these terms actually mean?

How can you possibly get a true picture of a sales person in one or two interviews – probably less than 3 hours? Where first impressions are tuned to impress, where a sales person will have all of the finesse to make you believe what they say is in fact true. How will you choose the most suitable candidate?

Maybe you will focus on the culture. But is your current culture one of high performing sales?

Maybe if you like the applicant and feel that you are on a similar wave length? Remember they should be experts at developing rapport.

Will you put a lot of evidence on the reference checks? These are always a good indication IF you know the right questions to ask.

It would have to be said that recruitment agencies, as a rule, follow a fairly traditional process. Add some intuition or gut feeling, a little bit of sales and influence skills, and as long as the candidate ticks all of the boxes and you like them, you will choose to put them on.

Getting into the mindset of a sales person, understanding their strengths as a sales person and most importantly their weaknesses will give you a true insight into what you can expect from them for your sales role. This takes the guess work out of filling a vital role in your organisation.

We, at Neural Networks Consulting, pride ourselves on identifying how people operate at the level of values and beliefs which ultimately colours the decisions they make everyday. We have a recruitment tool and supporting process that takes your sales position criteria and assesses each candidate in terms of their corresponding sales strengths and weaknesses.

If you want to find out more about the tools we have to take the guess work out of recruiting your next sales professional, call me today. Renae Quinn – 03 9555 7955 or email me renae@neuralnetworks.com.au This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Are you choosing to participate in the economic downturn?

I heard a funny story the other day that really reflects some of the thinking that we are afraid to admit to during these uncertain economic times. It is a story about a manufacturing company whose senior executives were looking for ways to cut costs. A cost analysis of the organization undertaken by an external consultant had shown that if they were to shut down two of their manufacturing plants, they would be able to save a significant amount of money. This improvement to their bottom line was exceptionally appealing. The executives were sitting in their board room, looking over the figures and a mountain of detail relating to production timelines and efficiency. There was much debate as to which two manufacturing plants should be closed. The conversation went back and forwards between the executives as, of course, the different managers didn’t want to be the ones to tell their staff that they had lost their jobs. Finally, one of the executives has a great idea, “why don’t we shut down all the plants and really start making some money!”.
We all know that we have been riding a bull market for a long time and many of us have forgotten what it was like 20 years ago when we had to tighten our expenditure, were nervous about redundancies, and were shocked to find some really competent people out of work. Things aren’t quite like they were back then and apparently the economic indicators are on the up. Let us take advantage of the lesson to be learned from the last few months. Make sure that your organization culture, employees and sales team that you have are the BEST they can be. Because if they are, then you can choose not to participate in any economic downturn.
Let’s face it, we all got complacent and let some average staff get away with being average, because it just didn’t seem to matter. I believe that you are doing them a huge disservice by not managing them or holding them accountable. Where is your integrity? Organisations need to have a clear business strategy that is part of the everyday operations of the people and holds them accountable to their roles.
Imagine if you could truly bring your business strategy to life and make it part of your everyday language. This means having it become front of mind for your people, and ultimately increasing their level of focus on achieving businesses goals and aspirations. Imagine if you had a sales team that were committed, passionate and had the mind set required to out perform.
We’ve seen with our clients that if the Strategic Intention for their business is brought to life and lived every day, the results simply follow. The people are clear about the overall mission and strategic objectives for the business and they deliver. It’s a bit like driving to a place that you have never been before; how do you get there? You follow the map and arrive at your destination. This works the same way in developing the strategic direction for a business; you know what you want and you need to develop and follow a map to ensure you get there.
I am passionate about organizations achieving their goals and the well being of their people. The organization that I work for not only can help you to bring your Strategic Intention to life but also is armed with amazing diagnostic tools to ensure that your sales team can and will sell with commitment and integrity.
To talk more about your Strategic Intention, please call me (03)9555 7955 or E: rosalinda@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at www.neuralnetworks.com.au.

Do your people know where you want them to go?

If you surveyed the people that work in your business, what percentage of them would know the true strategy and direction for the business in the short and long term. When Neural Networks Consulting (NNC) visit and work with different businesses, it’s not uncommon to find a very formal strategy document sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
What’s even more surprising is that a significant amount of time (and money) has usually been invested in developing the strategy document, in the form of numerous meetings and workgroups, just to let this key piece of the business planning process sit “out of sight” and “out of mind”.
Imagine if you could truly bring your business strategy to life and make it part of your everyday language. This means having it become front of mind for your people, and ultimately increasing their level of focus on achieving businesses goals and aspirations.
We’ve seen with our clients that if the Strategic Intention for their business is brought to life and lived every day, the results simply follow. The people are clear about the overall mission and strategic objectives for the business and they deliver. It’s a bit like driving to a place that you have never been before; how do you get there? You follow the map and arrive at your destination. This works the same way in developing the strategic direction for a business; you know what you want and you need to develop and follow a map to ensure you get there.
Prior to joining NNC, I managed a team in a Direct Sales environment and developed my strategy for success based on the Strategic Intention approach. My personal experience with combining my Strategic Intention with tailored programs provided by NNC, meant that every staff member was engaged with the overall business strategy and they brought it to life resulting in significant outperformance. I did not leave any room for doubt in relation to the results that were going to be achieved. I am sure that most people can think of a time when they set themselves a goal and achieved it, no matter how big or small.
Now think about what you want to achieve either in a personal or business sense and start to develop your own Strategic Intention, remember to bring it to life by making it part of your everyday actions. See what you can achieve!
To talk more about your Strategic Intention, please call me (03)9555 7955 or E: scott@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at www.neuralnetworks.com.au

Values

Generation Y – Fact or Distortion

A couple came to me for help a few weeks ago. They had been experiencing a few challenges in their relationship and weren’t sure what to do about that. Now the first thing I do when ever a couple is experiencing problems is to get them to individually identify their key life values. That is largely because I know that values have enormous impact on how people behave towards themselves and others. In this case what was interesting was that they both identified their number one value as Security. Initially I thought ‘good they have some common ground here!’ I went on to ask the wife “how do you know when you have security in your life? Give me an example?” and she responded “When my husband is home at night. I don’t feel safe at night when he isn’t home.” As soon as she finished the husband groaned “oh!” So I turned to the husband and asked “how do you know when you have Security in your life?” He answered “when I have a good bank balance, because I like to know that if something happened I could still pay the bills.” What do you suppose he is doing to make sure they have ‘a good bank balance’? Yep… working long hours and travelling interstate over night regularly. You can see the problem. They had a very different value but they used the same name to label it.
That really shouldn’t have surprised me. I’ve worked with people’s values for years. Thousands of people have shared their values with me and certain values regularly come up Honesty, Balance, Success, Achievement, Health among many. Even though the same words are regularly used the description of each person’s values is always as unique as their finger print.
That is the problem I have with the concepts often tabled about Generation X and Y and Baby Boomer behaviour. To accept the generalisation that every one born between period A and period B all share the same behaviour and values is massively oversimplifying how people think and behave. I understand peoples desire to generalise concepts. It is after all one of the ways humans make sense of the world. We like to be able to put concepts neatly into a box to help us make sense of complicated ideas. We should never lose sight of the idea that each of us is as unique as a finger print and what motivates us to think and behave the way we do is far more fascinating and wonderous than the year we were born.

People Development V’s Operational Efficiency (Courageous Leadership)

Before I started work at NNC I tried my hand at a couple of leadership roles. One of the most challenging was as Contact Centre Manager, responsible for up to about 100 staff. When I look back at my leadership approach, I wish that I had known then what I know now - being operationally efficient and technically proficient is not enough to make you a great leader. I spent so much time trying to take care of everything myself that I didn’t spend enough time empowering my staff to do it for themselves, or give them the tools to become the next leaders within our organisation.

Within our Courageous Leadership program we discuss the concept of being a People Developer. That is, truly empowering your people to take ownership and be accountable for their own performance and development. As managers we often discuss the importance of investing time in our staff, but when things get busy it is training, coaching, staff meetings and team building activities that always get pushed aside first. Of course, as we spend more time chasing our tails on operational functions and less on developing and motivating our people, we end up becoming less operationally efficient anyway. It’s a vicious cycle - the fires continue to crop up, faster and stronger then before….and we continue to run around trying to put them out. So the more I increased the number of hours I worked, the more ‘stuff’ just seemed to pile up on my desk; the more work there was to do, the more tired and stressed I became; the more tired and stressed I was, the less productive I was able to be…..and so on.

This is why we believe that creating a high performing team really equates to three main things:

High Performance = Accuracy of Role Perception + Motivation + Skill

Accuracy of Role Perception – ensure your staff are absolutely clear on what the organisation and you expect of them, both in terms of performance results and behaviours. Hold them accountable to this or they’ll end up writing their own job descriptions!
Motivation – find out what drives each person individually and acquire a way to align their job role to this.
Skill – provide them with training to teach them the skills to be a high performer, and then support this through ongoing coaching. Transform your coaching from a style of ‘telling’ to one that promotes self-evaluation and ownership of their development plans.

So put down that report, get yourself out of your office and go spend some time with your staff! Being a leader is not just about being good at your job….its about helping others fulfill their potential and be great at theirs!

For more about NNC’s Courageous Leadership program or Transformational Coaching framework, contact me on T: (03) 9555 7955 E: gina@neuralnetworks.com.au

Good Sales Experience - Good Sales Training?

I was sold to the other day, and it was good!

When I go shopping for anything, I go with the mentality of “I don’t pay retail”. I find that going into a purchasing situation with this mind set is great for negotiating because I find that I become really hard nosed about price.

Knowing what I know about sales, if someone can build enough value in a product during a sale, price is rarely the deciding factor. But it’s rare that someone has the skills to build the kind of value that convinces me to buy without a discount.

Some weeks ago, I remember getting home from work, sitting on the side of my bed and taking my shoes off. As I took them off I realised that they had been worn to pieces almost. The heel was worn down, the toes were turned up and creased, the tongue was falling out. Apart from being embarrassed with myself I made my mind up that it was time for a new pair.

The next day was a Saturday and I set off in the morning to look for a new pair. The first shop I went into was the shoe emporium on Pitt Street mall in Sydney CBD. The great thing about this store is that they have a whole floor designated for men and they have a great range.

When I walked downstairs to the men’s floor I noticed a very pretty girl serving customers, another mind set I like to go in with is “never buy off a pretty girl” because sometimes I can be easily influenced by pretty girls and end up buying something I didn’t want.

I saw a pair of shoes that looked identical to my damaged shoes but were significantly less expensive than the shoes I had previously purchased. I asked the girl to get my size, and she did. They fit really well and looked great on the foot, probably better than my old shoes. I had already decided that I was going to buy them so I turned on my “I don’t pay retail” mindset and started negotiating.

The conversation went like this:

Me: Hmmmmm, I do like them but I’m not 100% sure.

Seller: Really, what aren’t you sure about?

Me: They’re a little outside my price range. (now I’m throwing a line out for the standard 10% off that retailers usually offer, which I would have taken because these shoes were already cheaper than my last pair)

Seller: Right, Can I ask what you’ll be using them for?

Me: I’d use them for business.

Seller: Do you have any other business shoes?

Me: I do have some others, I’m just looking for a spare pair. (which wasn’t true, they would be my only pair)

Seller: Do you have any others in this particular style?

Me: I used to but not any more.

Seller: Did you wear those shoes often?

Me: I wore them all the time actually.

Seller: So if you bought these shoes, is it likely that you would wear them as often. (Now she’s got me, I’m cornered)

Me: I guess I probably would.

Seller: So, do you think you would get value for your money?

Me: Yeah, I probably would.

Seller: Well, that works out well for you, how did you want to pay? Cash or Credit?

Me: Cash please.

Hook line and sinker. I threw out a line to see if I was going to catch a fish and as it turns out the fish caught me. I payed retail and I bought from a pretty girl.

The girl who sold me the shoes was very skilled at getting me to self evaluate the value of buying those shoes. She didn’t try to convince me why they would suit me, or tell me that I looked great in them, that I could dress them up or dress them down, that they were of great quality. The sales person got me to think about scenarios in my head, I begun thinking in pictures of what did I previously have and how often I would have worn them and where I would wear the shoes in the future (if I bought them).

Her tactic was well worked and sharply executed, I walked away happy for two reasons; 1) I got a pair of shoes to replace my old ones in tatters. 2) I was sold to in a silky smooth style that I can only applaud.

Are you a Courageous Leader?

Where do you lead your people from?
I worked for a large corporate for almost 20 years, and when I became a Manager in my mid twenties, I had a very blinkered view in regards to how to manage people. My basic philosophy was that I simply had to tell people what to do and they would do it. If they did not do what I asked, then all I had to do was get really angry with them and this would basically fix the problems I was experiencing. I really had a problem understanding why this approach would not work, as my instructions were clear and I was being very upfront in relation to what I wanted.
The fact that I could not get my people to perform in a way that I deemed to be satisfactory really perplexed me, especially because my managers had always treated me the same way and I had followed their directions because I was scared of the consequences if I didn’t. Come to think of it, this fear meant I would basically do anything that they said. If they could manage like this, why didn’t it work for me? After all I weighed about 140kg and made a pretty good stand over man. I suppose looking back, people did follow my orders, but because I was always a perfectionist, their efforts would never be good enough.

The other thing that I could not understand was that my people were never really happy. I never saw them joking around and having fun, at least not in my presence. I tried to inspire them to have fun, but they did not seem to react to my efforts. The other management trait that I displayed was to take my people’s lack of performance personally, which made me even angrier and only provided me with the ability to yell even louder.

A few years later as I approached the age of 30, I was told by a colleague that had previously worked with me that they were fascinated by the way that I was able to instill fear in people, even a whole team. This came as a total shock to me, because I was only doing what I had previously experienced. The problem was that I was following the example set by the managers that I never enjoyed working for. About the same time I had a couple of fantastic managers come into my life, who also turned out to be great mentors. They were concerned about my personal development and helping me to plan and achieve my career aspirations. I enjoyed working for these people more than ever was because they were “Leaders” not just managers. I can now clearly identify them as leaders because they paid attention to the development of their people. It’s interesting that they all worked in the same division, which was well known for its outstanding performance.

It was then that I clearly identified that I was a manager concerned with the day to day grind, rather than a Leader who was interested in developing my people. It was also at this time that one of my mentors told me that I should always lead from the middle, which at the time was very confronting for me. At that time, my perception of leadership was that I should walk in front of my team and make them come on the journey with me, skull dragging them if necessary. I also thought that it was necessary to move behind them at times to give them a hurry up, so you can see why the notion of Leading from the middle seemed quite daunting.

Once I worked out that I could lead from the middle and take the journey with my people, I became very successful and well respected for the authentic connections that I developed with my teams.

This small piece of advice was one of the most powerful pieces of information that I have ever received in relation to achieving outperformance, and I get a lot of pleasure out of sharing this with other people today.

So I pose a couple of questions to you:
· Do you see yourself as a Manager managing, or a Leader developing your people?
· What position are you Leading your people from?
As a final point, I must acknowledge that to move from the identity of a Manager to the identity of a Leader takes real courage.

To talk more about Leading from the middle and Courageous Leadership, please call me on P: (03)9555 7955 or E: scott@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au/