Driving the Wedge Between Your Dream Client and Your Competitor is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Your dream client is going to make a choice. They are going to choose to buy from you, they are going to choose to buy from your competitor, or they are going to stick with the status quo.
Your job in sales is to make sure that your client chooses you, your company, and your offering. You need to drive a wedge between your dream client and your competitors. You need to drive another wedge between your dream client and the status quo. Let’s look at how to do both.
Differentiation Is the WedgeIt’s critical that you can differentiate your offering from your competitors in a meaningful way. What makes your offering different has to make a difference for your dream client. It has to be something meaningful to them.
Maybe the way you do something allows your dream client to produce better results than your competitors. That better result is a wedge.
Maybe you produce the same results as your competitor but the way that you do it makes it easier for your dream client to achieve those results. The way you fit with your client’s business needs is that wedge.
Or it could be that your values are so differentiating and defining that they resonate with your dream clients. Your alignment on values means you are more likely to be a good long-term partner, and that is a wedge.
Whatever it is that differentiates you has to be something that your dream client looks at and says: “We can’t live without it. It’s right for us because of this, and we can’t buy a solution that doesn’t have it.”
What is your differentiating wedge?
Dissatisfaction and Risk Is the WedgeYour work isn’t over just because you have a driven a wedge between your dream client and your competitors. The status quo can be every bit as dangerous a competitor in many opportunities (as you have doubtlessly experienced). But your differentiation doesn’t do anything to help you beat the status quo. So you are better than your competitors. So what? Change is still scary. And it’s a lot of work. You need a different wedge.
The wedges that you need to push between your dream clients and the status quo are dissatisfaction and the cost of not taking action now.
Your dream client needs to be reminded of all of the ways that they are dissatisfied with the status quo. Dissatisfaction is what drives the decision to change. But that dissatisfaction can be ratcheted up to create a bigger wedge when combined with the cost of inaction. Your dream client needs to be reminded of what’s at stake. You need to help them remember what they lose by failing to act.
Maybe your dream client will continue to lose money that they need not lose by failing to act. The loss of money drives a wedge between your dream client and the status quo.
Maybe they will lose the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in their market and risk being leapfrogged. Falling behind and losing market share is a wedge.
Maybe they risk losing their own clients by failing to take action. Lost clients are a wedge.
It’s very natural for buyers to get cold feet towards the end of their buying cycle. This is especially true if what they are buying is expensive, is strategic in nature, or is a high profile decision. But even when it isn’t, they want to make sure they are making the right decision.
You drive wedge between your dream client and your competitor by being different in a way that makes a difference for your client. You drive a wedge between your dream client and the status quo by reminding them that inaction comes with its own price—one that is higher than the price of your solution.
QuestionsWhat is the wedge you drive between your dream client and your competitors?
What are the differences that make a difference for your dream clients?
Do you have the ability to use different wedges for different sales opportunities?
How do you drive a wedge between your client and the status quo?
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Knowing What Not To Do (A Note to the Sales Manager) is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Recently I had lunch with a young salesperson. This salesperson’s manager doesn’t really care about him—or any of his other sales people. When we first talked about this young salesperson taking this job, his first job in sales, I wanted him to go somewhere where he would have a sales manager that cared enough about him to help him grow. I wanted him to go somewhere where he would get great training and where he would be developed. It didn’t turn out that way.
Instead, his manager believes that salespeople are a means to an end. He treats them as if they are means. He makes no investment in their training, their development, or their growth. He does no coaching. People aren’t means, and it’s degrading and demotivating to be treated as such.
When he is scheduled to ride along with his salespeople, he cancels at the last minute. Even though the salespeople have scheduled appointments with clients and prospects, prospects who are now expecting to see the salesperson and their sales manager, he no shows. This has taught the sales manager’s team that his word is no good. It’s a violation of trust.
This sales manager is always mad at his salespeople. He yells at them. He’s tough on them. Sometimes that may be a necessary approach. But even when they are doing well, there is no praise, only more yelling that they must do more. There is no victory that is worth celebrating. He is stingy with praise, and praise is free.
My young friend is making his number in spite of having no real sales management or leadership. And he is gaining from this experience.
First, he has learned that he can make his number on his own. He has learned that his work ethic and his individual effort prospecting for new business is the difference between him and his peer group (who are not making their number). His manager has nothing to do with either his work ethic or his diligent prospecting efforts.
Second, he has learned that even though he doesn’t know what he is doing, if he finds opportunities to help his prospects get what they need, things seem to work out okay.
What Not to Do (Phrased in the Positive)But the most important lessons he has learned will serve him well later, when he is a manager and leader. They are lessons on leadership. He told me: “I know what I am NOT going to do when I am a sales manager.”
People Are Ends, Not Means: This young salesperson has made the observation that sales managers that care enough to help their people succeed have people who walk through walls for them. He has seen other sales managers with salespeople who go the extra mile every time because of their relationship with their sales manager. Because these other sales managers treat their people as ends, they produce better results. People want to work for them.
Your Word is Your Bond: He’s learned that as a leader, you have to keep your word. If you promise to do something for your people, you have to do it. If you don’t intend to do something, don’t promise to do it. And don’t ask people to do something you don’t really want them to do.
Create and Protect a Positive Culture: He’s also learned that an environment of negativity and fear isn’t the kind of environment that produces the best results. He recognizes that praise, gratitude, and a positive environment produce better results, because he can see how different managers approach their role–and their very different results.
Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. You have been subjected to lessons like these. If you were wise enough to capture them, you know what not to do.
QuestionsThink back to what you have learned from the best managers and leaders you have worked for. What did they teach you about your role as a manager or leader?
Think about your worst manager or leader. What lessons did you learn from them about how not to lead or manage?
Are you using the lessons you learned from your best managers and leaders?
Are you avoiding the crimes that your worst mangers and leaders were guilty of?
What must you do more of to be a better manager and leader?
What must you stop doing now to be a better manager and leader?
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Learn the Five Rules for Social Selling is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
A few months ago, I was in Las Vegas for a conference. Chris Brogan was the keynote speaker. We had met each other on a few occasions at other conferences, so I invited him for coffee. During our long coffee, I said to Chris: “I really think salespeople could benefit from your approach to social media. They could learn a lot about how to use the tools to create opportunities.” Chris replied: “I think social media types could learn a lot about sales from your approach.” At some point, it dawned on us that we should combine what we know about social selling in a format that we can share with our respective communities. And that’s exactly what we have done.
Chris and I came up with a learning opportunity we are calling Five Rules for Social Selling, and we are offering it as a webinar on May 21st at 8:00 PM ET (Sorry Europe, it’s the only time we could cram this into both of our schedules).
You can register for the event here.
I have done very well developing new business using the social selling toolkit. I have even won a major account that resulted in $1M in revenue using LinkedIn as my prospecting tool (you thought I only liked cold calling, didn’t you?). But Chris has done even better. He doesn’t think of himself as a salesperson, but he is a keen observer the rules of sales, and he uses the social tools better than anyone. His calendar is full because of the rules he follows.
If you are here reading this blog, it’s likely that you are trying to use social media as part of your plan to find and develop opportunities. You want social media to be part of your sales toolkit.
If you are like most salespeople, your use of social media isn’t generating the results that you need. Are you getting the results you need from the time you spend on your social efforts?
And like most, you may not have a structured plan for using social media, and you might be taking a haphazard approach to using social tools for business development. Do you have a structured, well-thought social selling plan?
And I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want to produce better social selling results. Would you like to produce better results?
You can do better, and we can help you. We are going to help you generate better results and give you a structured framework for using social media to sell. During this master class in social selling, we are going to cover the five rules for social selling, including:
I want you to join us for this webinar.
As I have been finalizing the presentation and the workbook, it is becoming clear that Chris and I aren’t going to have as much time for questions as I would like. I don’t want you to leave with your questions unanswered. I can’t commit Chris’s time, but I can commit mine. If you join this webinar, I am going to offer a free follow on webinar on May 25th at 11:00 AM ET with the entire hour allotted to answering your questions about social selling. Email me your receipt when you pay for the Five Rules Webinar, and I will send you an invitation to the private questions and answers webinar.
See you May 21st at 8:00 PM ET.
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How Has This Blog Helped You? is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
I missed my anniversary. Yesterday marked my 1,000th post.
The first post here is dated January 24, 2009, but I started writing in earnest on December 28th of that same year. Since then, I have written a post every day, with the exception of 13 days I spent in Tibet (I thought it poor form to miss Tibet and Mt. Everest. I was correct).
I write because I am a writer. I can’t not write. I wake up in the morning excited to write, and I can’t wait to pour a massive cup of coffee and head to the keyboard. I love a blank, white screen with a blinking cursor.
I write about sales, sales management, and leadership. But that isn’t really what I am writing about. It’s not really my deeper message, and it’s not what I am driving at here.
I write here to empower others.
I capture the ideas, the tools, the techniques, and most importantly, the beliefs that it takes to succeed in sales—or anything else. A number of readers have caught onto this fact. They have emailed me and said: “Hey! You’re not really writing about sales, are you? What you are writing about could apply to almost anybody, regardless of what they do for a living.”
They’re on to me.
What I want my writing to do is to help people remove the shackles in which they have bound themselves and to which they alone hold the key. I want to empower people to take action and to make the improvements that will allow them to succeed wildly. That’s what is inside me. It’s what drives me.
This blog has brought me countless relationships with new friends and fellow travelers, none of whom I would have ever known without it. It has allowed me to communicate and share ideas with hundreds of thoughtful sales and business people from all over the world. It has brought me even more business opportunities than I believed it would (and that was a lot).
But that’s not why I write here. I write here for you.
What Have I Done for You Lately?I’d like to check in with you and see how I am doing. I’d like to hear your thoughts and ideas.
If this blog has helped you somehow, how about leaving me a comment or drop me an email and share that with me? I’d like to hear from you. If there is something else you want to share, email me that too.
Thanks for being here! I appreciate it!
Anthony
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I don't mean to be eavesdropping. But I couldn't help but listen in when the guy next to me in the coffee shop started selling his consulting services to another businessman. In the past 30 minutes, he's asked maybe two questions. Aargh! That in itself drives me crazy.
Here's just a snippet of what I'm hearing, as well as my commentary on the mistakes he's making.
Establishing Credentials: "I've been president of a company which we took nationwide. I'm also doing lots of consulting and now I'm coaching entrepreneurs just like you. There are so many things people like you don't know."
(Impressive, right? I love how he unwittingly called his prospect dumb. If I were the prospect, I would have much preferred to learn about the results he's delivered for entrepreneurs who have similar businesses to mine. How do you establish credibility upfront?)
Developing a Relationship: "Lots of wives don't understand what you're going through. That's why it's so important to have people like me to talk to. I have lots of tools and techniques you can use with the wife - like how to handle the "honey do" list."
(A botched attempt at bonding! Plus, if it's so important to have people to talk to, why is he doing all the talking?)
Creating Opportunities: "Do you need some writing done? I'm a good writer, not a great one. I write to the best of my ability. But here's how I get people to help me by using Craig's List."
(Clearly the guy needs work. What he doesn't realize is how much his fear and desperation is showing through. He started out as an executive coach and now is trying to do writing for the guy. BTW, Lots of sellers go through their laundry list of products/services hoping their prospect will bite on one of them. Ever done that?)
Building Credibility: "I've read all the great coaches books -- like John Maxwell. I use his strategies. And other people's too. That's my job. To read those books so you don't have to. I read about 3-4 books per month. I've read a lot about blogs and social media. I can advise you on those. The last thing you want to do it go to a web developer. They'll charge your $5000 or more."
(By mentioning what he's read, he's actually distracting from his own credibility. The best way he can turn himself into a trusted advisor is by asking intelligent, business-oriented questions ... but he never did that. Do you plan your questions?)
Closing the Sale: "I'd love to work with you. Perhaps we can meet 1/2 hour each month just to get started. I'd just give you advice for free, till you decide you need a regular consultant. I'd be willing to do that for you.
"If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know. If you ever want to go through a senior executive planning session, I can help you with that. Tell you what, I'll shoot you an email with all the personal services I can do for you."
(This guy's closing shows his fears. Lots of salespeople, when they know they've blown it will try to do whatever it takes to ignite the opportunity, hoping something will materialize.
You know what's the worst thing? This guy is probably a sharp businessperson. But he's had a bad time recently. He's scared. His fears are driving his behavior and making things even worse for him.
And, he has no idea how he's perceived by his prospects. I see it happen all the time. As sellers, we need to be aware of -- and in control -- of our emotions.
YOUR TURN: How do you prevent your emotions from screwing up a sales meeting? Comment below!I’m Negative Because My Team Is Failing! Now What? is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Two days ago I wrote that negativity about your company is really an excuse, a diversion from the negative person’s own poor sales results. That’s my experience. It’s also my friend Mike Weinberg’s experience.
Yesterday I wrote about how you can help make improvements within your own company without being negative and without being a complainer.
And some time before that I wrote a post about some things you should consider before you quit your job. That post was also about making sure that you work on the one thing that you have reasonable control over: you.
Today, the mailbag brings this from Anonymous:
What if you’re negative because the company you work for has caused you to lose confidence in them because they can’t perform for the customer after you brought them in? I’m more than making my goal numbers, but I feel I either have to lie to the customer to get them to buy from us (not an option) or not really even try, because I can’t honestly say we can do better than our competition. Am I an exception to this rule? I don’t want to be a whiner, but I’m so frustrated…
Anonymous: Here are some ideas you might consider.
Dealing with Your Loss of ConfidenceYou cannot sell if you don’t believe. You have to believe in what you sell, and you have to believe your company is going to deliver what you sell. Your team has to keep your promises. This is why you feel that you will be lying to your customer if they buy from you. You don’t want to make promises that you know are going to be broken. We in sales deal in trust.
Your fear of your team’s failure to deliver is also why you are sandbagging your sales efforts. By not bringing your company the business, you don’t have to worry about the failure to deliver.
Anonymous, you can be a force for light.
From reading your email, I am not sure what you have or haven’t tried from my list from yesterday, but let’s explore a couple ideas.
Have you done everything you can to help understand why your team is failing? Have you taken your teammates to lunch to get a deeper understanding of the challenges and problems they are experiencing? Have you spent time in the trenches so that you can understand how you might help them?
Sometimes there are issues that can be resolved by asking your clients to change some of their business practices. They can help you make it easier for your team and still get them the results that they need. Have you explored how your clients make it harder for your team to serve them? Have you met with your clients to ask them to make changes that will make it easier and more efficient for you to serve them?
Have you included your team on sales calls early in the sales process to understand your client’s needs? Have you asked for their input into the solution that you sell the client so that you can gain their buy-in and so they can bring their resourcefulness to bear on the challenges? Do you know for certain that your handoff isn’t part of the problem?
Have you done everything you might to bring your team’s failures to the attention of your leadership team? Did you bring your leadership team ideas as to how to make the improvements necessary to deliver for your clients? Have you asked them how you can help them help you to make changes?
Are you certain your team cannot do better than your competitor just because they aren’t right now? Could you build a crack team of willing change agents to address the issues you are experiencing and brainstorm ways to leapfrog your competition?
You Are Not and Exception, But You Could Be ExceptionalAnonymous, your frustration isn’t anything that the rest of us in sales haven’t felt at some time (and if you are in sales and you haven’t felt this frustration, just wait. I assure you that your time is coming).
You aren’t an exception. But you could be exceptional. You can work with your company to help them improve and catch up with your success in sales. You can be the positive force and take a leadership role in making the necessary improvements. No one makes you a leader; you just take the role. You can use all of the attributes and skills that allow you succeed in winning clients and turn them inward to use them to sell your company.
I don’t pretend that this is easy. It isn’t. But you can choose to feel frustration, or you can choose to chip away at making things better.
Your success is directly proportional to how much you can take, and how much of a difference you can make. Be a force for light.
You don’t really need more questions than the ones embedded in this post, do you?
Related posts:
How to Fix Your Company Without Being a Negative Complainer is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Negativity is dangerous. It can ruin your sales results, and it can infect the people around you. Misery may love company, but you shouldn’t be the President of the Misery club or provide that forum for others.
But your company–like all others–has its fair share of problems and challenges. These problems and challenges can prevent you from producing the results that you need to, and they should be addressed. There is a way to get these outcomes without becoming negative or complaining. In fact, done well and you can be a catalyst for change and a leader within your own organization.
Here’s how:
Never Discuss a Problem without also Providing a SolutionIf you have identified a problem or a challenge that needs to be addressed, make sure that when you address it that you also provide ideas about how things can be improved. If you continually point out and restate problems and challenges without identifying solutions, you are part of the problem. You are sowing the seeds of discontent and spreading negativity. Pointing at what your company is getting wrong is often a diversion from dealing with your own problems, and it invites others to do the same. This isn’t how you make improvements.
If you provide ideas about how to make things better, you become part of the solution. You recognize the challenge for what it is, and the fact that you are providing ideas about how those challenges can be overcome means that you believe that they can and will be eventually overcome. It means that you aren’t trying to excuse your shortcomings. It means you are engaged in making things better.
If you name the problem, you name the solution.
Redefine the Problem as an OpportunityThere isn’t a more useful human attribute than resourcefulness. You need ideas that will make the improvement and erase the problem or challenge confronting you. One way to engage you and your team’s resourcefulness is to reframe your problem as an opportunity. You do this by tying the problem to some greater value or some longer-term initiative.
Here’s an example. If your team has a problem with customer service, you can tie that problem to your company’s stated value of being proactive. You can reframe that problem as an opportunity to deliver customer service in a way that eliminates the problem, gives life to the value statement, and uses your newfound ability to be proactive as a competitive advantage.
Some of the problems or challenges you face are really opportunities to do something revolutionary, if you are resourceful.
Never Assume Evil IntentionsThis point and the next go together like bookends. They hold an idea together. That idea is about relationships and people.
It’s true that sometimes your company will suffer from self-inflicted wounds. Your people will make mistakes that will make your job more difficult. They will also let your clients down and cause problems to monopolize your time. But this makes the people you work with human–not evil.
When you complain or demonize and individual, you do nothing to help improve the problem or challenge. Most people are trying to do good work. Most people want to do meaningful work. And most people have to deal with constraints that prevent them from performing as well as they would like to. Assume their intentions are good and assume they need your help, not your complaints or criticism.
Which brings us to the second half of the set.
Focus on the Problem, Not IndividualsMany of the problems and challenges you and your team face are systemic. They’re structural. If you focus on the individuals instead of the problem, the problem remains. To fix the issue, you have to deal with the systemic or structural problem. And guess what? After you beat the tar out of the individuals, they tend to be a bit less open to listening to your ideas and helping you to make the changes that you need.
Focus on the problem itself, not the individuals.
Never Complain Laterally or DownIf you complain to your peer group, you are a force for negativity. If you complain to those who occupy a lower rung on the org chart, you are sowing the seeds of discontent. This makes you less of a leader, and you have to be a leader to succeed in sales.
Instead, bring your problems and challenges to your manager or leader. You bring them your ideas about the problem and what’s causing it (and don’t forget to bring your ideas as to how to make improvements). If the problems are systemic and structural and your peer group’s help, you ask to schedule a meeting to present ideas, not to sit around the table and air your grievances. You set the ground rules that no one shows up without their ideas—and that it isn’t a bitch-session.
If you must complain, complain up.
Know That You Have to Sell InsideYou may get what you want, but you have to be prepared to sell long enough to get it. Even if you have identified a problem and its solution, you are going to have to sell your team on taking the actions that will fix it. You cannot expect everyone to drop everything and change at the drop of the hat. You have to do the work of leading that change, making the case for change, building consensus, and then leading the charge.
You are going to have to sell inside if you really want to make things better. This will take longer than you suspect, and you can’t lose heart. Stand and fight for as long as it takes.
QuestionsHow do you address problems and concerns without becoming negative or complaining?
Who should you complain to, if you have to? Who shouldn’t you complain to?
When you recognize a problem, do you also make sure that you provide ideas about how it might be solved?
Why is it wrong to complain without offering a plan to make things better?
How do you make change in your company? How do you sell inside?
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The Real Reason You Are Negative is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
At a certain point in life you begin to uncover some truths about human behavior. You start to understand why people behave the way they do, and you see clearly the beliefs that underlie those behaviors.
Most people don’t make a conscious choice to be negative. They don’t wake up one day and decide that they are going to be a force for negativity and darkness or that they are going to ruin the people around them. I assume that everyone is acting with what they believe are the best intentions, but the human ego is a fragile thing, and some bad behavior is really an attempt to protect that ego.
When I hear salespeople complain about their company, I listen to find the kernel of truth underlying their negativity. There is almost always some kernel of truth in what they say, even when they have a lot of complaints. The compensation plan has some problems. There is a cultural issue that is an obstacle to real success. Their competitors are tough or they sell price.
But the negativity and complaining is always accompanied by other factors: the lack of effort and results.
The real reason you complain and the real reason you are negative has nothing to do with your company. It’s a diversion from what’s really broken.
Lack of Prospecting EffortIt never fails that when I find a negative salesperson that I also find that they have no pipeline to speak of. The salesperson’s negativity is really a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from their lack of effort at prospecting. Their complaints have nothing whatsoever to do with their ability to prospect.
You can prospect even if your compensation plan is problematic. There is no reason to fight over money that no one has yet earned. In fact, you’re better off prospecting and winning opportunities and using your results to bargain for a better deal. Your compensation plan isn’t so big an obstacle that you can’t move it from on top of the telephone and start dialing.
You can prospect and build your pipeline even if your operations team is struggling to execute for your company’s existing clients. No one wants to sell something that won’t—or can’t—be delivered. But you help your company by building the business and winning the opportunities that generate the profits that make it easier to improve their execution—not by starving the company of opportunities, revenue, and profit.
You can prospect and generate opportunities even when your competitors are selling price to a market that wants to buy price. If you lose deal after deal on price, maybe it’s you. Or maybe there is something that your effort can teach your company. You can prospect regardless of how your competitor’s behave. You don’t lose before you create an opportunity, and you create opportunities by prospecting.
Most negativity is an excuse, a diversion. Lack of prospecting is rock solid evidence that your complaints are a diversion from the real problem: your lack of effort in prospecting.
Lack of ResultsNegativity can also be a way that the ego protects itself from failure. When you lose, when you fail, it’s a very human thing to find some reason for the failure that absolves your of responsibility. It couldn’t be your fault, could it?
I have observed this truth: the more negative one is about their own company, the further they are from making their number.
It’s not that the kernel of truth in the complaints of the negative salesperson doesn’t exist for the top 20% of salespeople, it’s just that the top 20% don’t let those issues prevent them from selling. They know that the grass only looks greener from the other side, and the company across the street has its challenges too—a different set of challenges, perhaps, but challenges nonetheless. They sell, they make their number, and they let things sort themselves out.
Negativity is a diversion from the lack of results. It does nothing to improve your results, and I promise, you will find plenty to be negative about in your next job. But the lack of results will follow you until you take ownership and responsibility for those results. Your negativity will never improve your sales results.
QuestionsThink about the negative people you know. Do they produce the best results? Or do more positive people produce better results.
Are the most negative salespeople in your company the top 20% of salespeople? Or are they salespeople struggling to produce results?
Are the issues your company faces really what prevents you from selling? If so, is that evidenced by your tremendous effort?
Who is really responsible for your effort and your results?
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Winning Small is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
If you are going to expend that first big block of effort and energy to participate, you might as well go ahead and give whatever it takes to win. –Johan Bruyneel (Coach to Lance Armstrong)
You won your dream client’s business. Well, sort of. You won some orders. You filled those orders. You’ve been successful, and you continue to get some orders. So now you’ve moved on to pursuing and winning your next dream client.
Not so fast! Your work here isn’t done. There is no reason to win if you are only going to win small.
If You Behave Transactional, You Will Be Treated TransactionalMany salespeople and sales organizations settle for low wallet share. They are happy to get some of the business. They never do the work that it would take to deserve a greater share of their dream client’s business.
You know how I always insist that you create value before claiming it? This is true here too. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that because you are getting only transactional orders that you should treat the client as if it’s transactional. This is wrong-headed. If you want to gain wallet share and win big, then you have to treat your client like it’s already transactional.
This reminds of a metaphor a friend of mine shared with me. There is a man standing shivering in front of a small fire. The man says: “Give me more heat and I will give you more wood.” The fire replies: “Give me more wood and I will give you more heat.” Lest there be any confusion here, you are the man shivering in front of the fire. You have to go first.
You control whether or not you are strategic by behaving that way, and by doing so, you earn the opportunity for more wallet share. This is how you transform what might have been a small win into a bigger win.
If You Are Going to Expend the EnergyIf you are going to put forth the effort it takes to win your dream client, then expend even more energy and really win the client.
Why would you go out and expend the energy to win another client only to create another small win in which you capture a relatively low wallet share? It’s not healthy to win small only to go and win small again.
What makes wallet share so important is that it is often easier to gain wallet share than it is to win another client. Think about it. You already have the relationships. You are already doing business with your client, and it’s easier to get time with a client than it is to get time with a prospect. You already have a contract. And if you’re smart, you already have ideas that will make a difference for your client. You have everything you need to turn your too small win into a bigger win.
If you are going to win, go and win big!
QuestionsLook at your client list. How many clients offer you a massive lift if you were to capture greater wallet share?
Why did what should have been a big win result in a small win?
What can you do to break out of being transactional and act in a way that would earn you more business?
Why does earning greater wallet share require that you first create more value?
What’s the best action you should take to transform your small win into a bigger win?
Related posts:
Why is it important to pique your prospect's curiosity? The answer is simple. It creates an opening for you to establish a relationship at the same time it positions you as an invaluable resource.
So how do you do it? Here are a couple ways:
These kinds of questions are high value to your prospects. They expand their perspective of their issues and challenges. They stimulate new options and fresh ways of thinking.
So from now on, I want you to think about leveraging your successes, knowledge & expertise to get your prospect to say, "Mmmm. That's interesting. I need to learn more."
YOUR TURN: What questions do you ask that get your prospects' attention? Share with us!
Why Should Your Dream Client Choose You in Particular? is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
I was sitting in a client’s office once when one of my fiercest competitors called him. He took the call, and I got to listen to him describe our relationship. He shut the call down quickly, and not just because I was sitting there. We had worked together for some time, and we were producing great results together.
After a few minutes passed, another of my competitors called him. He dispatched this one in just a few seconds. But the experience stuck with me.
It’s hard to imagine (and important to remember) that your dream clients are getting calls all of the time. You aren’t the only caller vying for their attention and a chance to differentiate yourself. It’s tough for your dream clients to determine who deserves an opportunity.
Why should your dream client choose you above all others as their business partner, their level 4 value-creator?
You Are Part of the SolutionYou are part of what your dream client is buying.
If your prospects don’t sense that you care deeply about helping them, then your company doesn’t care deeply. If they don’t sense that you have the ability to help them, they make the assumption that your company doesn’t either (they sent you, after all). You are part of the solution, and you are the person that promises to own and deliver the outcome that you sell.
Your clients believe that they are, in part, buying you. You are part of the decision that they make as to whether or not to give the business to you and your company. Because this is true, you have to make the decision easy by being someone worth choosing.
Instead of me writing what I believe you need to do to be worth choosing over all others (I’ve done that in the hundreds of posts before this one), let’s run through the questions and see what you come up with. [Don't just read these questions. Write down your answers and internalize them]
QuestionsWhat differentiates you from your competitor’s salespeople?
If you can’t answer that question, try this: What could differentiate you from your competitor’s salespeople?
What do your dream clients need to believe about you to believe that you are worth choosing over other salespeople? (Leave your company out of this. Make it about you).
Why do your existing clients believe that you are worth doing business with? What makes you their level 4 value-creator?
How do you convey that you are someone that you dream clients should choose over all others?
Related posts:
What I Have Against the New Buying Process is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Buying has changed. Buyers now have more access to more information than at any time in human history. They are using this information to do a lot of the work in the early stages of the buying process without the help of a salesperson, like identifying their needs and evaluating options. It’s a fact.
So what do I have against the new buying process where buyers do much of the work without the help of a salesperson? It’s acceptance.
Blind AcceptanceThere are more and more people insisting that salespeople should change their game to adapt to the new buying reality. They insist that salespeople should wait until the client determines their own needs and reaches out and grants the salesperson permission to pursue their business.
This is wrongheaded, bad advice, and criminal malpractice. No wonder salespeople are getting soft. They are being told that they should wait. They are being told that shouldn’t ask for the commitments they need. (If you have read this kind of advice, let this post be bleach for your eyes. If you have heard this, let this post burn the sounds from your ears).
You should not accept that the changes in buying mean you should withdraw from the pursuit of your dream client.
Death of a Trusted AdvisorThe most troubling thing about the ideas that salespeople should wait until the client decides to engage with them is that is implies that the salesperson can’t add value to the buying process. The truth is that not only can the salesperson create more value early in the buying cycle, it is there that the salesperson generates the trust, the relationships, and the understanding that allows them to win and execute for their client.
We don’t tend think of a trusted advisor, a level 4 value-creator, as someone who shows up in the boardroom for the beauty pageant with a nice suit and a slick dog and pony show. We think of the trusted advisor as someone who spends time understanding her client’s business well enough to offer advice worth trusting.
Advice for Those Who Would Be Level 4If you want to be someone worth doing business with, accept that the new buying cycle exists and that it is here to stay.
Then, ignore any advice that you read or hear that suggests that it is your job to wait for your dream client to go through 65% of their buying process before communicating with you while you wait for permission.
Ignore any source that suggests that you cannot create value early in the buying process, and that you should focus your efforts on being easy to find when your client decides they might be interested in your company.
Instead, take action and aggressively pursue your dream clients.
Instead, do everything in your power to be someone that your dream client knows and trusts to help them find their way through their buying process, someone they consider part of their management team. You can be more valuable than a website or a white paper (neither of which have the ability to hear or to care about people).
Buying has changed. Don’t let those changes prevent you from doing what you need to do to create value and win your dream clients.
QuestionsWhat has changed about buying?
How has that changed the way you create value as a salesperson?
How much has the changes in buying made it more necessary that you move up the levels of value creation to something more strategic?
What do you need to do to create value early in the sales process if you are to be more than a website or brochure?
Related posts:
How to Compete on Values is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
You want an unassailable advantage? You want a differentiation strategy that makes it more difficult for your competitors to compete? Competing on values gives you that competitive advantage, and it’s extremely difficult to combat. Here is how you might think about competing on your values.
The Reason You Make the ChoiceThere is a reason your business does things differently. Some of these choices can give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace—if you can compete on the values that underlie those decisions. The reasons that underlie certain decisions about how you do business can be a compelling platform from which to compete. This is easier to understand with an example.
I have a client that works in an industry where it is common to subcontract work and to receive a payment from the subcontractor for giving them that work. The money paid to the company who gave the subcontractor the work is often more profit than the company would make from their client. My client believes that he isn’t entitled to keep any portion the money his client paid for the subcontractor’s work. Especially if the client doesn’t know that the subcontractor is directly paying the company for having given them the work.
My client makes the choice not to accept payments from the subcontractors he uses because he believes it is dishonest, and because the profit from the subcontractor arrangement distorts the decision as to whether or not to subcontract work that really doesn’t need to be sent out. It also affects the choice of which subcontractor to use. It’s a shell game, a kickback, and he refuses to play because his values are honesty, integrity, transparency, and fiduciary trust (treating his client’s money like it is his own).
Those are the reasons that drive his decision to do business the way he does, and they are reasons worth competing on. His values resonate with his clients.
What are the values that drive your decisions?
Values Differentiate and DefineYour values can differentiate you and define you.
If the decisions that you take are different because they are attached to your values, you can be defined by those values. Your values demonstrate that there are some things that you care deeply about. They show that there are some things that you are unwilling to comprise, that there are things more important than money.
Those values, and the decisions you take based on those values, must be based on some value that is higher than your profit alone. They have to be meaningful enough that your client will share that value and understand how it serves them.
How do your values differentiate and define you?
Values Drives a Wedge between You and Your CompetitorsWhen your values differentiate and define you, they drive a wedge between you and your competitors who sell on something less then values.
Your values provide your client with a story that goes to the heart of who you are. Your values speak to your purpose and meaning. They provide your prospective dream clients with an understanding and explanation as to “why” you do what you do—not just what you do.
Your values give life to the decisions you take in how you serve your clients. It’s one thing to compete on “what” you do, and it’s quite another to compete on “why” you do it. Providing the “why” drives a wedge between you and your competitors.
What reasons for why you do what you do will resonate with your clients and drive a wedge between you and your competitors?
QuestionsWhat values does your company hold?
How do your values drive decisions about how you serve your clients?
How do these value differentiate and define you?
How do your values drive a wedge between you and your competitors?
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You Can’t Cram to Make Your Number. Do the Work Now. is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
When you were in high school or college, you might have crammed for your final exam, hoping to squeak out a passing grade. You might even have been successful at cramming. You felt a great sense of relief having passed, and you may have even felt some sense of accomplishment. It’s unfortunate that the outcome you were trying to achieve was learning the material and not passing the final exam or the class (you can do both of those things without learning a thing).
But success in business and life isn’t much like a high school or college. There isn’t any way to cram for results, least of all sales results. You have to do the work now that produces the outcomes that lead to your future results. You pay in advance for your successes with the work you are doing right now.
This Quarter’s Number and Next Quarter’sIf you are going to miss your number this quarter, it’s not because of the work that you are doing now. Or even the work you have done over the last few weeks. You can double and redouble your efforts now and still miss your number. There just isn’t any way to cram the results that you need.
If you have a 90-day sales cycle, the results of the work you are doing now will only be seen 90 days from now. You get those results next quarter. If your sales cycle is longer, say 180 days, the effort that you are making today isn’t going to be realized for two whole quarters.
The challenge with a long sales cycle is that it feels like you have more time than you really do. The work you are doing today isn’t going to be seen or felt for a couple quarters, so it feels like you can hit the snooze button and put the work off for a little while. But eventually, you get caught flatfooted. You miss your number.
This quarter’s work is next quarter’s result—or the quarter after next quarter. Sometimes it’s even further into the future. You can’t be lulled into a false sense of security and wrongly believe that you have time that you really don’t have.
Before It’s Too LateThe time to make your number is now. Tomorrow is too late.
You need to produce the outcomes today that produce your sales results tomorrow. If you want to make your number next quarter, open the opportunities that produce won deals next quarter. If you want to make your number in the next three or four quarters, you nurture the relationships you need to open relationships right now. You have to act now, because later is too late. You have to play the cycles.
The closer you get to the day where the measurement is going to be taken, the less time you have to produce the results that are being measured.
Unlike a high school or college exam, there isn’t any way to cram the weekend before the score is taken. Your final grade is going to be determined by whether or not you really did the work you were supposed to do—and whether or not you did it when you were supposed to.
The time to act is now.
QuestionsWhen will you see the results of the work you are doing now?
How long is your sales cycle?
Based on your average sales cycle, what outcomes do you have to get now to produce results when you need them?
Why is it easy to get lulled into the false sense that you have more time than you actually have?
What should you be doing right now?
Related posts:
What Makes Territories Unfair is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Territory plans are mostly unfair.
Territory plans are unfair to the clients within the territories because they are designed to ensure that the opportunities have coverage, not that the right salesperson is assigned to the right prospect. Territories aren’t built on the criteria of who the best person to create value for the client would be. They’re mostly based on geography, even though geography doesn’t affect what kind of salesperson the client needs to get the best result. That makes the territory unfair to the prospective client.
Territories are unfair to the salesperson for this same reason. If you are a level four value creating salesperson, there isn’t much you can do for clients that don’t need that kind of help. Calling on these clients is unfair because it doesn’t let the salespeople with the best skills exercise those skills. Instead, it requires them to call on prospects who could be served as well by a different salesperson. Worse still, if the salesperson could win a dream client that is one street outside of their territory when the assigned salesperson can’t win it, the salesperson and the client are both hurt by the arrangement. It’s not fair to either party.
The company is often the victim of their own territory plans because their design prevents them from winning accounts that could be won by the right salesperson. This is why geographic sales territories work well for transactional sales, where there is little value creation, but not so much for more complex sales, where value creation is the name of the game.
Segmentation is a better idea. Segmentation gives you a running start at assigning the right sales people to the right opportunities. Segmentation produces a better result than geographic territories because it acknowledges the skill sets that the salesperson needs to win the clients they are calling on.
But even with territories assigned by segmentation, doing the best work possible and producing the best sales results still requires that the right salesperson is assigned to the right opportunities.
QuestionsWhen is a geographic territory the best plan?
What are the limitations of territories designed by geography?
Is it fair to the prospect to let a salesperson that isn’t yet a level four value creator call on them when they need a salesperson with that skill set?
When is segmentation a better plan for covering your dream clients?
How important is it to have the right salespeople assigned to the right opportunity?
Related posts:
How Much Value You Create Determines Much Money You Make is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
This morning I took a taxi to a conference. The taxi was clean, the driver was polite, and he took me directly to my destination. It was good service, and I paid him about $6.00 for the value that he created (plus his tip). That is Level 1 value creation. It’s a commodity. Any other taxi driver would have done as well for exactly the same money.
But yesterday I had a very different experience. As I was walking out of the airport, a tall man dressed in a nice pinstriped suit greeted me. “Excuse me, sir,” he said. “Are you going to get a taxi?” When I told him that I was, he asked: “Would you consider taking a town car for $35?” That’s a little more than a taxi, but I assumed it was also going to be a better experience. It was.
The driver came back in a nice Mercedes Benz. He took my luggage. He had a couple bottles of cold water in the cup holders. He had an unread copy of the newspaper on the seat. He also had a couple magazines in the back of the front seat. He was polite, smart, and funny. This was a better experience. That’s Level 2 value creation.
The driver is an independent guy, and he is hustling. I took his business card, and I will use him whenever I am in this city. His value creation made him worth paying more, and I gave him a better tip for his effort in making my trip a better experience.
This same dynamic of value creation at work in the stories of the taxi driver and the town car driver is also at work in business-to-business sales organizations. Value creation at level 3 is very much like our taxi driver. It is the foundational level for business-to-business sales organizations. Producing business results is the minimum acceptable standard, and it can easily be duplicated. Even though you produce the business result that your client needs, others can likely do the same. It’s easy to end up commoditized over time, and commoditization makes it more difficult to be paid more.
This is why it is critical that you work to become a Level 4 Value Creator, someone that creates a strategic level of value. By producing a greater level of value than the business result alone, you make yourself (and your offering) worth paying more to obtain. You do this by helping your client figure out what to do next. You become their go to subject matter expert. You do some of their thinking for them. You act as part of their management team. You treat their outcomes as if they were your own. You turn up the heat and you make things happen.
You are going to be paid for the value that you create for your clients. For little value creation, you earn little money. For greater value, you earn greater money. You are the sharp end of the spear. Make yourself worth paying more to obtain.
QuestionsWhat do you do to make yourself worth paying more?
What could you do for your clients that make you more valuable?
How could you break out of the commodity trap?
What could you do that would allow you to create a greater level fo value and make it difficult for your competitors to duplicate?
Related posts:
How Much Would You Pay for That Client? (A Note to the Entrepreneur) is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
How much would you pay to acquire a major client, your dream client?
Some entrepreneurs (and some business leaders) struggle to pay salespeople for the results that they produce. It’s not that they don’t have the money to pay the salesperson for their results. They’re just unhappy paying salespeople anything over some arbitrary number that they believe is a reasonable total compensation. You see this in capped commission and bonus plans.
Over the last two weeks I have heard from two salespeople that both have a capped commission plan. One works for an entrepreneur that is philosophically opposed to paying anyone over a certain amount, believing no one is worth “that” much money. He isn’t willing to pay more for a greater result not because he doesn’t want the result, but because he doesn’t believe the person deserves it. For him, a salesperson cannot make over a number he has set in his mind, regardless of what they produce. If they were paid more, it would be too much.
In the second case, the entrepreneur didn’t really understand her client acquisition costs. She made a deal that made sense, and then decided later that she was unhappy paying as much as she needs to acquire clients. She still wants new clients—she just wants to pay the salesperson less to acquire those clients. This is her right as the business owner. But it wasn’t a problem until the salesperson’s compensation reached a certain number that feels is too much to pay one person.
In both cases, compensation wasn’t a problem until it reached the number that the business owner felt was unreasonable to pay any employee. In both cases, the business owners would gladly write the same commission check to a different salesperson for acquiring the client —as long as that salesperson wasn’t making above their arbitrary threshold.
A variable compensation plan is designed to protect the company from overpaying for salespeople that don’t produce results while rewarding salespeople that do. The penalty for non-performance is the loss of commission or bonus. Why then impose a penalty for a performance well? Why punish them for doing better than you imagined possible?
Capping bonus or commissions causes other problems, but one of the most important is the timing recognizing revenue. If the salesperson can win a deal but has already reached their cap, they sandbag the deal and close it when they can be compensated for winning it. Who really loses here? The salesperson’s company loses the revenue and profit the new client would have generated. The prospective client loses the better solution. And the salesperson, having earned all that they can earn under the cap, loses nothing (unless the client has to make a move now).
There are some businesses where great salespeople are paid better than sales management. These business are happy to pay for the client to be acquired, and they encourage the salesperson to do more. If you have your client acquisition costs right, there is no reason to begrudge a salesperson earning a lot of money for doing their job and acquiring clients.
QuestionsIs there a certain amount of money that no one should be allowed to make, regardless of her contribution?
Should salespeople be allowed to capture some of the value that they create? What about a business? Should a business be allowed to capture some of the value that it creates?
If you would pay a certain amount to acquire an new client, is there some reason that you would pay someone else for winning it to avoid paying someone already highly compensated?
Related posts:
Whenever I do a sales workshop, I get asked, "How often should I contact my prospects?" Salespeople want to know if once a week is too much -- or if they should wait longer before reaching out again. If this is something you're struggling with, here's a fresh perspective for you.
VIDEO TEXT:
If you're like most sellers, you worry about being a pest. You hate bugging a prospect over-and-over again. But I'm here to tell you something very different today.
It's your responsibility to keep bugging them -- especially if your prospect told you that they're interested and really do want to work with you and then disappear into the black hole. The truth is, they've been sidelined by other priorities. They still want to move ahead, but other more urgent matters have popped up.
Let me give you an example. I just went to the dentist the other day. They know I want to get my teeth cleaned on a regular basis. But I can think of gazillion other things that take priority over that.
Fortunately, my dentist's office keeps after me. I get a post card about 3 weeks before I'm supposed to go in again. Then they call, but I don't call them back. Then they call again. Now they're emailing me.
I keep putting it off -- even though I know I need to go. Then I get a message that it's past due -- and they're only trying to help me keep my dental health -- like I requested.
Ultimately, I do what I want to do. But it's only cause they kept after me and focused on why it was important to me.
They didn't just touch base or check to see if anything had change. They just kept reminding me of my priorities. And finally, I set up the meeting.
See what I mean. It's okay to be a visible irritant. It actually helps your prospects.
It’s a Lead, Not an Opportunity is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
Leads and opportunities are different.
If a company spends money in your segment, that company is a lead. Even if they spend a massive amount of money, they are still just a lead. Spending a lot in your segment doesn’t make them an opportunity.
If this company would benefit from using you to buy the product, service, or solution you sell, it’s a still only a lead (maybe even a qualified lead). If you have had a conversation with some contact within the company to learn about their needs and some ways that you might help them, it’s a lead, or maybe a qualified prospect. But it still isn’t an opportunity.
If you have no commitment to explore working together and to take the next step in that process, the company is still only a lead. Without a commitment to pursue working together (something that results in this company potentially buying from you) there is no opportunity.
If you have the names of companies that fit this description in your sales force automation and they haven’t moved from their present stage for months (or years), that company is a really a lead. To transform it into an opportunity, you need to gain some commitment to take steps towards working together to turn it into an opportunity.
If it’s a lead, treat it as such and work to create an opportunity. If it’s really an opportunity, gain the commitments you need to move it forward.
QuestionsWhy are some “opportunities” really just leads?
What has to happen for a lead to convert to an opportunity?
What commitment does the company you are pursuing need to make to convert it from lead into an opportunity?
How many opportunities in your pipeline are really leads? How should you go about converting them into opportunities?
Related posts:
Mismatched Sales Skills and Value Creation is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino
You and your client (or dream client) need to be right for each other. Your models need to match up, and your sales skills need to match up with the value that they need you to create.
Foundational Skills for Commodity BuyersIf you have only the foundational sales skills, you will know how to prospect, close, and pitch your client. You will have been trained to describe your products or service’s features and benefits. You will have learned to overcome objections.
How you sell will serve clients who are buying a good product or service. They will expect a good product and a good experience working with you and your company. They will also expect you to be knowledgeable about your product.
These clients won’t likely care about how different your product or service is, and they won’t expect you to be a level 4 value creator. You don’t need to be a strategic advantage. That would be a mismatch in value creation, and your client won’t likely pay for strategic when that value can’t be created. They buy commodities, and they treat their salespeople as vendors.
Foundational + for Business Results Oriented ClientsIf you have been selling business-to-business for the last couple of decades, you know how to differentiate your product, service, or solution. You know how to diagnose your client’s needs. And you know how to negotiate an agreement that allows you to capture part of the value that you create. These skills are built on top of the foundational skills, so we can call them foundational + skills.
Having these skills will help you to sell to clients that are looking for some business result (level 3 value creation). Your ability to diagnose your client’s needs and propose a solution that generates a business result is exactly they need from you. They also need you to differentiate your approach and help them make the best choice of a number of solutions that might get them results. These were the skill sets of the early consultative sales people.
Clients in this segment won’t buy from you if you only have the foundational skill set. They need you to be bigger than that. But as long as they generate the results that they need from what you sell, they may not need you to be level 4 value-creator, a strategic advantage.
These clients treat their salespeople as partners. They share some information, and they prefer to have deep relationships.
New Consultative Sales Skills for Strategic ClientsThe new skill sets required to sell to clients that are buying something more than commodities or a business result are more difficult to obtain and more rare. You need to have the business acumen of a great general manager, with some subject matter expertise in your business and some working knowledge of your client’s industry. You need more than the ability to diagnose; you have to have a much greater level of understanding. You need fingerspitzengeful (fingertip feel, a sixth sense).
You need to manage change. This means you need to ability to build consensus in your organization and in your clients. It also means you can help produce the results your client needs once you begin to execute and the real work of selling begins, sometimes selling more within your own company.
You also need the ability to lead a team. You are going to be handing off the client to your operations team, and you are going to be working with your client’s team. Leadership requires that you help others see the vision and take the actions that get them there.
You need these skills because your client expects you to own the outcome that you sold them. You are in the foxhole with them.
When your client needs you to be a level 4 value-creator, they need you to be someone who can think and develop the ideas that continually move their business forward. They need you to be an active part of their management team. They need you to see around corners and guide them.
Possessing only the foundational and foundational + skill sets makes you a mismatch for clients that need a strategic partner. These clients will pay more for you to be that strategic advantage because of what you know and the results that you can help them produce.
If you need to be strategic, create the right value for your clients and nothing less.
QuestionsHow do your skills match up with the value that you need to create for your clients?
Do you have prospects who need a lower level of value creation from you? How does this mismatch effect your sales and your pricing?
Do you have clients that need or expect a higher level of value creation from you? What skills do you need to have to create that value?
What mismatches in skills and client needs have you noticed?
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