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