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NZ’s e-mag for sales leaders
NZ SALESNOVEMBER 10 2010 / IssuE 45
Solving the prospecting dilemma
Using Powerpoint Make sure you have the
Power
sales star Sandy Geyer
– a South African perspective
IntervIew wIth
Developing Sales Capability
NOVEMBER 3Rd / IssuE 45
THIs WEEK's MusT REAd
WE INTERVIEW sANdY GEYER
salesperson, author, trainer, speaker
and business owner, sandy Geyer
talks to NZsM.
dEVELOPING sALEs CAPACITY
New Zealand's biggest opportunity
for economic prosperity.
NZsM CALENdAR
sALEs TRAINING dIRECTORY
TWO MINuTE TOP-uP
sOLVING THE
PROsPECTING dILEMMA
Making your prospect want
to talk to you
REsOuRCE CORNER
FLIP THE FuNNEL
QuICK FIx
It’s not what you sell,
it’s how you sell.
THE CLOsE
8
4
8
14
15
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4
16
COntentS
“We make the call…
you make the sale”
www.ibexmarketing.co.nz
Call Murray Beer on 021 279 2783 or email murray@ibexmarketing.co.nz today!
Generating consistent and qualified appointments can be a mundane and time consuming process...
Let the experienced professionals at Ibex Marketing set them for you so you can spend more time meeting with
prospects and helping them solve their problems!
COntentS
3 / APR 7th 2010 / NZsM
ABOut /
short and sharp, New Zealand
sales Manager is a free e-magazine
delivering thought provoking and
enlightening articles, and industry
news and information to forward-
thinking sales managers, business
owners and sales professionals.
EDItOR / Paul Newsom
ARt DIRECtOR / Jodi Olsson
GROuP EDItOR / trudi Caffell
CONtENt ENQuIRIEs /
Phone Paul on 04 586 4733 or email
pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz
ADVERtIsING ENQuIRIEs /
Phone Alastair on 021 866 036 or
email alastairn@espiremedia.com
ADDREss / NZ sales Manager,
C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162,
Parnell,
Auckland 1151, New Zealand
WEBsItE / www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
Many sales people learn to sell by trial and error.
Without being given the tools and skills, the road
to success can be a slow and challenging journey.
None more so than for sandy Geyer, who we interview in our
lead article. sandy is the Managing Director of educational
publishing company Allcopy Publishers Pty Ltd in south
Africa, and specialist training company Mind Action Mentors
in New Zealand.
sandy is not afraid to succeed in all areas of her life and her
knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for sales and leadership
are evident for anyone who meets her. the story of her
journey of learning how to sell is amusing, and probably more
adventurous than most, but at the same time is somewhat
familiar. sandy’s reflections on what made her successful in
sales, and her thoughts on how sales people view themselves
in New Zealand and south Africa makes this an insightful and
valuable read.
happy selling!
Paul
“We make the call…
you make the sale”
www.ibexmarketing.co.nz
Call Murray Beer on 021 279 2783 or email murray@ibexmarketing.co.nz today!
Generating consistent and qualified appointments can be a mundane and time consuming process...
Let the experienced professionals at Ibex Marketing set them for you so you can spend more time meeting with
prospects and helping them solve their problems!
From the editor
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 4
t h I s W E E K ’ s M u s t R E A D
sandy Geyer is a sales person, sales manager,
business owner, speaker, trainer and author. As MD
of an educational publishing company, a property
investment company and a specialist training company,
sandy moved from south Africa to hamilton to expand
her business. We caught up with sandy to find out just
how she became a successful salesperson herself, and
some of her thoughts on the contrast in selling in New
Zealand compared to south Africa.
NZsM: Tell us about your first ever job in sales, sandy
sG: I haven’t told many people about my first job as a door
to door sales person selling encyclopaedias. For the first
four days of being with the company each new sales person
was drilled with a pre-written script that was to be recited
word for word every time a door opened. I didn’t get the
chance to accurately measure the success of this type of
training as I was attacked on the street on my second day
by a threatening looking man who clearly wasn’t interested
in my vibrant personality. the attacker may have come off
second best though. I was very shaken up but he left the
scene bleeding profusely from a very deep bite wound on
his forearm and in need of medical assistance.
Fortunately I had been well trained in self defence tactics
from years of defending myself against my older brother.
however, when the team leader of my sales group offered
me a puff of his marijuana joint to calm my nerves I decided
I was definitely on the wrong career path. Within the sales
role I did feel awfully like the human equivalent of junk
mail though and this perception was strengthened by the
overwhelming number of doors slammed in my face.
NZsM: Wow, a pretty tough baptism into sales! Where
did that take you?
sG: During the next phase of my career as an air hostess
I committed the cardinal sin of the “trolley dollies” by
falling pregnant with my first child. I was rewarded with
the job from hell at the airline booking office where I
was confined to live out my bulging belly days with the
nickname of the “pregnant fairy”. those were the days
before direct internet bookings were possible and a
relentless stream of calls came in to one tiny office from
travel agents all around the country all day long. the
switchboard looked pretty scary and just complicated as
the airplane cockpit to me but I was rigorously trained
we Interview:
Sandy Geyer
5 / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / NZsM
"In my experience the benefit of genuine selling skills are completely underrated and often marketing functions are confused with, or actively replace selling functions. Marketing is really important but it doesn’t replace selling."
for two full days before being let loose on my own.
sadly I never achieved any job satisfaction but I was
very competent at placing the many rude, hysterical and
downright abusive calls through to the relevant people
from the start.
NZsM: so you have been attacked as a junk mail
messenger, and dealt with all the abusive calls, yet you
still went and got another sales job?
sG: Yes, my next job was in corporate sales for a copier
company and what really astonished me was that along
with a portfolio of important clients I received almost no
training. Although the company was one of the leading
copier companies in the world they seemed to assume
that self motivation and mobilisation was the key to
successful selling and only assisted us with numerous
glossy brochures to distribute enthusiastically yet often
unprofessionally along our call path. With my limited and
somewhat dangerous selling skills it surely would have
cost them a lot less to just post them!
NZsM: so what did you do about your ‘dangerous
selling skills?’
sG: It took me years of reading sales books and articles,
doing the wrong things and watching successful sales
staff closely to work out how to sell effectively. When my
brother and I started our educational textbooks publishing
company in 1996 we focused completely on selling to get
our products into the market.
Whilst competitive companies developed impressive
looking brochures, mailing systems and attended
conferences, we steadily grew our sales team and ensured
that they personally walked into every school to discuss
the benefits of our books with each subject teacher. this
was no easy task I might add as the school secretaries
were pretty difficult to get past. I remain convinced that
there is a “bull dog” school out there somewhere that
trains secretaries in “brick wall” tactics.
NZsM: How else do you differentiate from your
competitors with your personal selling skills?
sG: In my experience the benefit of genuine selling
skills are completely underrated and often marketing
functions are confused with, or actively replace selling
functions. Marketing is really important but it doesn’t
replace selling. I heard someone say once that unless
your brand is Coca Cola no one really takes notice. that
might be a bit harsh but the statement does encourage
us to remember that when we are giving client
information we shouldn’t focus too much on who we
are, what we do and what we look like. Our clients only
really want to know what we can do for them and our
logos, corporate colours and brochures simply aren’t
going to cut it on their own.
NZsM: And how did you get past ‘the bull dogs’?
sG: I learned that it was better to work with them than
against them. they believed that they ran the schools and
if we treated them as such they would eventually work
with us. In many cases their non approachable attitude
was due to the overload of sales people calling on them
and we needed to remain consistent and professional
in our approach for them to eventually let us through to
the teachers. I used to call on schools with my sales reps
around the country and one of these reps had perfected
an approach I had never thought of.
One particularly difficult secretary sat in an office with a
“window” in front of her at the entrance to the school. this
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 6
rep showed me how she would crawl under the window,
out of sight of the secretary and make her way into the
school, straight to the teachers. Although not a technique
I had taught her I had to admire her creativity and tenacity
and we still do a lot of business with that school.
NZsM: You have employed several sales people in
your business. What sets the top sales people apart
from the rest?
sG: It’s all in their attitude and work ethic. I have top
performing reps from completely different backgrounds
and various personality types and skills. they approach the
job differently but still stick with the basics of selling. With
commitment to the basics, accountability and consistency
anyone can sell effectively.
NZsM: so you have been in New Zealand for two years,
how is selling different here compared to south Africa?
sG: the sales process just takes longer. In south Africa
people can be less open and friendly to an approach
but they will make a buying decision more quickly once
engaged. In New Zealand customers tend to be far
friendlier but it actually takes longer to build the level of
trust needed to facilitate a successful buying process. As
appearances can be deceiving it takes one some time to
realise this and work accordingly. I have also noticed that
New Zealanders shy away from selling more which can
negatively affect their business growth or survival. In many
cases selling is the life blood of companies and it needs to
be happening on some level.
NZsM: Are there any differences in the way sales people
are viewed in New Zealand compared to south Africa?
sG: I don’t think there are any major differences between
the countries in terms of how sales people are viewed
by others. there is quite a big difference in terms of how
salespeople view themselves though. New Zealanders
come across as almost apologetic about being in a sales
role and seem to be quite open about the fact that
they don’t like to have to sell. In south Africa though,
if you don’t work you don’t eat so survival of the fittest
is a necessary business philosophy. south Africans have
therefore learned to be more tenacious about risking and
overcoming rejection. Of course this is a generalisation
and only according to my personal experiences.
NZsM: You have taken more than your fair share of
hard knocks - what’s your secret to picking yourself up,
dusting yourself down and starting again?
sG: understanding that failure is a learning process. If
landing on your face teaches you something then it’s
a valuable experience. sometimes a crash is a result of
something within our control and sometimes not. Feeling
sorry for ourselves is a natural response but it’s what we
do after that that really counts and in my experience,
eventually separates the achievers from the non achievers.
NZsM: do you have a favourite motivational quote?
sG: I have two:
"Kyk noord en vok voort" it’s in Afrikaans and a bit
rude but it’s the one I am famous for amongst my
family, friends and colleagues and revert back to when
all else fails. It roughly translates to "Keep your eyes front and just keep going!”&
"Learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long
enough to make them all yourself"
Eleanor Roosevelt
I love this quote for two reasons. Firstly because it
suggests that you can learn so much from others
which I have found to be so valuable. secondly
because it points out that failing is a necessary evil
and is going to happen so we may as well use it to
our advantage. ■
Find out more about sandy at www.mindactionmentors.com
"Understanding that failure is a learning process.
If landing on your face teaches you something
then it’s a valuable experience. Sometimes
a crash is a result of something within our
control and sometimes not. Feeling sorry for ourselves
is a natural response but it’s what we do after that that really counts and in
my experience, eventually separates the achievers
from the non achievers."
Find out more about sandy at www.mindactionmentors.com
MID STRENGTHFULL FLAVOURFULL LIFE
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 8
Paul Newsom Paul Newsom is the editor of NZ sales Manager and helps sales professionals and sales managers to compete and win in complex sales. You can visit Paul’s website at www.salespartners.co.nz
New Zealand’s Biggest Opportunity for Economic ProsperityBy Paul Newsom
$Developing Sales Capability
While the economy struggles to recover,
businesses worldwide are hoping that things
soon get back to normal. however, the new
normal will be different to the old normal, and businesses
that grow quickly will be building capability in their
organisations to take advantage of the opportunities that
this will present.
however, the biggest opportunity for growth seems to be
being overlooked by many. the opportunity is to improve
our capability in how we sell and market our products and
services, both domestically and internationally.
An Economic Perspective
‘New Zealand’s long-term trend of productivity under-
performance is the biggest economic challenge facing
policy-makers and both the public and private sectors
in New Zealand’ said John Whitehead, secretary to the
treasury in April 2008.
When the current recession is over, New Zealand’s lowly
OECD ranking in terms of GDP per capita (22 of 30)
will not have improved. New Zealand needs to improve
its productivity, however the biggest opportunity to
improve productivity and grow the economy is not on the
Governments agenda, and needs to be.
Improving productivity
While the statistics on productivity and the need to
improve productivity are widely commented on and
agreed by the economists, the means by which we can
improve productivity is perhaps not so clear.
We need to grow our way to economic prosperity, yet as
a farming nation it is clear that we can not 'produce' our
way to a resurgent economy. Planting more trees and
milking more cows will not change the picture.
9 / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / NZsM
The Opportunity
the biggest opportunity for growth however lies in how
we sell and market the products and services of the
Nation, both domestically and internationally. to improve
productivity, we first need to improve our sales capability.
Interestingly the Proudfoot Global Productivity Report
2007 identifies the top three routes to ensure profitable
growth in the near term as expanding into new markets,
selling more to existing customers and finding new
customers in existing markets. the economic climate over
the past two years has clearly changed the short term
focus, but in the longer term, profitable growth will come
from these routes.
so how good are we at selling?
According to the 2006 New Zealand census, there are
226, 854 people employed in sales or closely sales related
jobs in New Zealand which represents 11.4 per cent of
the workforce. this compares to seven percent in the uK,
and approximately 8.5 per cent in the usA. At 93,840
employees, the sales assistant is the largest category of
occupation in New Zealand.
so how good are we at selling? We are not good enough,
and here are three reasons why:
Kiwis don’t like to be sold to, and we don’t like 1.
selling in case we are perceived to be one of those
sales people that we don’t like. New Zealand is
predominantly a nation of people who don’t like selling.
Contrast this with the culture of countries like America,
south Africa and Australia where they are more
comfortable with the notion of being a sales person.
Like most other countries in the world, selling is not
viewed as a profession or a career in New Zealand,
and does not have a recognised career path as many
other professions do. the stereotypical perception
of a sales person that still prevails is of someone
The biggest opportunity for growth... lies in how we sell and market the products and services of the Nation, both domestically and internationally.
Recognising the need for growth, the Government is now
developing an economic strategy to match Australia’s
GDP per capita by 2025, with the following priorities:
Develop a growth-enhancing tax system •
Drive better performance across the public sector •
Encourage innovation and help firms grow by •
connecting them with scientists and improving access
to capital and world markets
Reforming regulations to make it easier for businesses •
to grow, invest, and create jobs
Boosting infrastructure, particularly in roads, •
broadband and electricity
source NZ Institute
Considering that Australia’s GDP is about 20 per cent
above the OECD average, and New Zealand is about 20
per cent below the average, and this is a moving target,
matching Australia in the next 15 years will be a big
challenge for the country.
the most recent Proudfoot Consulting Global
Productivity Report 2008*, identifies four levers of
productivity which firms should use to address the
critical barriers to improved productivity. the levers are
a focus on:
• Effectivemanagement,
• Thedevelopmentoftheworkforce,
• Clearercommunication,
• Targettedtraining.
(*twelve countries were included in the survey, including
Australia, but excluding New Zealand)
I interpret this to mean that to improve productivity,
we need to build the capability of management and
the workforce through effective training with a focus
on communication. this makes a lot of sense, and while
I agree the elements of the Government economic
strategy are important, I struggle to connect this to the
levers of productivity.
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 10
who puts on the ‘hard sell’, is highly persuasive and
manipulative and not to be trusted. however the fact
is that the modern sales person requires high level
interpersonal skills and business acumen if they are
to be consistently successful in today’s complex and
sophisticated markets.
Changing our mindset and attitude towards what selling
is in 2010, is vital if we are to get better at selling.
Over 96 per cent of businesses in New Zealand are small 2.
to Medium Enterprises (sME). the vast majority are
started by people because of their love of the product
or service, not because they love selling it. they open a
florists shop because they love flowers and are creative
with flowers, not because they love selling flowers, or
they like designing and building boxes, but not selling
boxes. this limits the growth of these businesses.
Other countries have a high number of sME’s too,
however in New Zealand an sME employs fewer
than 20 people, in the European union fewer than 50
employees is small, and fewer than 250 is medium,
while in the usA, fewer than 100 employees is
small, and fewer than 500 is medium. sME’s in other
countries are large enough to employ a small sales
team with the specialist skills required to succeed,
and these teams are led by a sales manager. In New
Zealand, sales people often have no leadership when
they report to a business owner who is not a sales
professional themselves.
there is no culture of ongoing learning and 3.
development in the sales industry, and insufficient
investment by employers and the sales people
themselves in developing sales capability and
competency. the common, but scarce, mentality of ‘I
train my people then they leave,’ is understandable.
Indeed, high staff turnover rates are identified as
the top barrier in the retail sector that prevents
companies improving productivity. however we
have to get over it, or find ways around it. It is being
shown that the Generation Y people now entering
the workforce are more loyal if they are given
personal development and training opportunities,
and recognition for their achievements.
the Proudfoot Global Productivity Report 2008, also
compares the number of training days by industry and by
country. As is often the case with these reports, sales is
not a category.
Workers in south Africa get the most training at 16 days
per person per year. the uK is the lowest at 7. 6 days.
Australia is just under 10 days. By industry, the retail
average is nine days. I doubt there are many retailers in
New Zealand who provide their workforce with nine days
training per person, per year.
Of interest is that a category high 86 per cent of
managers said their top plan to drive productivity
gains is to invest in skills, development and training of
the workforce.
Productivity improvement requires change.
to seize the opportunity to improve the economic
performance of this country, we need to change our
attitude towards building the capability and competency
of sales management and the sales workforce in our
largest sector of employment.
11 / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / NZsM
A look at how other countries in the world are
changing to tackle this same problem highlights how
quickly New Zealand will fall further behind unless the
attitude to developing sales capability is changed, by
the government, by employers and by the sales
people themselves.
American imperative to get sales right
In America, the university sales Education Foundation
has produced a documentary called ‘the NEW selling of
America’. this has reportedly been screened into 50 per
cent of the homes in the usA.
the documentary begins by reflecting on the changing
state of world business and markets. In the 1960’s, the usA
was the powerhouse of the world economy. today, it has
lost its manufacturing clout to Asia, and progressively India.
Industry experts comment on the realisation that sales is
the engine of the economy, and that they now must get
sales right if they are to remain competitive. they say the
imperative is to develop the one remaining competitive
advantage America has, and professionalise sales.
sales people in America are regarded more highly than in
any other country - selling is closer to being a profession
than in any other country. Yet experts still see selling as
the biggest opportunity for America.
the university sales Education Foundation is working
with industry to effect this change. there are now 26
universities in the usA offering sales programmes. And
while sceptics might say academic degrees don’t help
anyone to sell, I remind you that the role of the sales
person has changed, and that on the evidence of the
documentary, the qualifications have a high practical and
workplace content.
uK retailers invest in their people
In the uK, retailer Wm Morrison announced in July
that they have 24,000 graduates with the new Level 2
Certificate in Retail. In the largest vocational training
programme in the uK, 100, 000 Wm Morrison employees
are expected to achieve the qualification by 2011.
Norman Pickavance, group human Resources Director of
Wm Morrison supermarkets was quoted in the Guardian
on 6 July: ‘this commitment to training is one of the key
factors in our success as a business. Getting it right can
have a huge impact. Large companies have an obligation
to get more people involved in gaining skills – we have to
make this agenda more important for the economy and
more relevant to modern business.’
skillsmart, the sector skills Council for retail in the uK,
comment on their website that the uK is beginning
to realise that vocational qualifications are the way to
improve economic performance.
At their recent Retail Employer conference, Charlie Mayfield,
CEO of John Lewis Partnership said: “We can’t cut our
way to once again become a prosperous economy; we can
actually only grow our way into that position. We need to be
making the business case for skills. this is not a nice-to-do
activity. You need to look at the costs and the opportunities,
and you need to craft a business case for doing this.”
this year, iconic retailer harrods have become the first
retailer in Britain to offer an honours degree in sales. the
programme lasts two years, and is run in partnership with
Anglia Ruskin university. Funded by harrods the staff
receive a free degree, and lectures take place at the store,
during normal working hours. this prototype is expected
to be copied by many other businesses.
the Guardian, 21 June 2010, quotes Arkin salih, harrods’
Learning and Development Manager: "We're not shy to
admit that we're a business, we're here to sell, and it'll be
great to see our sales go up as a result of offering the degree
in sales. But, at the same time, the fact that this scheme is
accredited gives the training legitimacy. It will hugely boost
staff development, and bolsters the reputation of sales as a
career. We have staff with spectacular people skills who are
master craftsmen at making a sale – we want this degree to
nurture that talent, and promote it in other staff, too."
Productivity improvement requires change.
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 12
salih says he came up with the idea of offering the
degree because "a lot of firms restrict the availability of
accredited courses to managers, but I realised that, as a
retailer, our sales team are our frontline. they're the ones
serving our customers, and they, too, deserve some formal
career development and really good training."
Positive things are happening
It will take time to develop our capability in sales, and
grow our way to economic prosperity. After all, we need
to change the ‘snake oil salesman’ stereotype of selling
that has been created by sales people themselves through
decades of questionable, unethical and at times downright
dishonest practices. this won’t happen overnight.
the good news is that there are positive things happening
in New Zealand.
Recognised sales qualifications1.
For the past 12 months, the Industry training
Organisation, the Retail Institute, has been
working on the introduction of recognised NZQA
qualifications in sales. By sales, we are referring to
people employed full time in a job that requires
personal selling either face to face of by phone,
whether it be in retail or B2B field sales. It is
envisaged that a level 3 & 4 Certificate in sales
skills will be available during 2011, and proposed
that a higher level certificate or diploma will also be
developed depending on funding.
the fact that the Retail Institute is struggling to fund
and resource the development and introduction of
these qualifications highlights the lack of recognition
of the opportunity by the government.
Aut university offers New Zealand’s first
undergraduate business degree with a major in sales.
the sales major was co-developed with a group that
comprises some of the largest companies in New
Zealand. senior executives from Vodafone New
Zealand, New Zealand Post, ANZ Bank and AMP came
together to help create a qualification that meets the
requirements of business.
NZTE Capability development scheme2.
the new NZtE initiative to offer up to 50 per
cent discount from management training, strategy
and coaching, through approved providers is
very encouraging. It is great to see sales and
marketing included. It should be one of the most
highly used services.
National Personal and Professional development 3.
network for sales people.
A new national personal and professional development
network for sales people has been formed in New
Zealand.. Called "Rev" which is an acronym for the
organisations aim of bringing Respect, Encouragement
and Vision to sales professionals in New Zealand,
founder Richard Liew says, ‘Our purpose is to help
New Zealand build more world beating businesses by
creating a world leading sales profession. We advocate
the highest standards of professionalism and the Rev
Code of Professional selling underpins the network. It
is hoped that through the co-operation of the leaders
in the sales industry in New Zealand we can provide
some much needed direction and leadership to the
sales profession.”
sales people are the front line with the customer,
selling is the engine of the economy, and sales people
both deserve to be, and need to be, provided with
training and capability development opportunities by
the government, their employers, and through their
own initiatives, all supported by industry organisations.
Developing the sales capability of the nation is the biggest
opportunity for economic growth and to gain competitive
advantage for New Zealand as a nation, at an industry and
business level, and for individual sales people. this needs
to be recognised now, and action taken. After all, if you
are in business, you are in the business of selling.
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2 November
Negotiating skills (Day 1)
Wellington
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
3 November
Negotiating skills (Day 2)
Wellington
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
4 November
Negotiating skills (Day 3)
Wellington
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
Foundations for sales success
Auckland
Zealmark Group Ltd
www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Foundations_of_
sales_success.php
sales Mindset & Motivation
Auckland
sales stAR
www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/7-sales-
mindset-motivation
5 November
Business to Business sales skills
Auckland
Zealmark Group Ltd
www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_Business.
php
sales Dynamics
Auckland
sales stAR
www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/9-
sales-dynamics
11 November
Consultative selling
Auckland
sales stAR
www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/5-
consultative-selling
18 November
Foundations for sales success
Auckland
Zealmark Group Ltd
www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Foundations_of_
sales_success.php
22 November
Business to Business sales skills
Auckland
Zealmark Group Ltd
www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_Business.
php
23 November
Negotiating skills (Day 1)
Auckland
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
24 November
Negotiating skills (Day 2)
Auckland
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
25 November
Negotiating skills (Day 3)
Auckland
scotwork
www.scotwork.co.nz
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Tweet Twins Social Media
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www.tweettwins.wordpress.com
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 16
When you approach a new prospect, what do
you have to offer? Whether you’re sending
an email or cold calling, you need to grab the
attention of your contact and make them want to talk with
you. But too often sellers spew on about their product or
lead off with a trap question that screams sales person.
the solution to this prospecting dilemma used to be to
start your discussion as a business conversation rather
than a traditional semi-scripted cold call. You based it on
needs you uncovered in research before ever approaching
your prospect.
But even that isn’t enough any more.
Business owners and executives are busy people with
too many responsibilities, too little time, and too few
staff to pick up the slack. they don’t have time for a
conversation unless it will help them do their job more
efficiently and effectively.
too often the prospecting business discussion is one
designed to gather a prospect’s needs and covertly qualify
if an opportunity exists. While you begin the conversation
discussing the business issue you uncovered in your
research, it quickly deteriorates into a series of questions
that feel much like a sales call.
Your contact ends the conversation without agreeing to
a first appointment and you don’t know why. You never
mentioned your product and you were only talking about
them. so what happened? It used to work.
What changed?
If you want to catch your prospects’ attention, you must
go beyond even the business discussion. You have to have
something important to talk with them about, something
that feels almost life changing for them.
Solving the Prospecting Dilemma
Making your prospect want to talk to youBy Kendra Lee
Kendra Lee is a top It seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award winning book “selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. specializing in the It industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the small and Midmarket Business (sMB) segment. to find out more about the author, read her latest articles, or to subscribe to her newsletter visit www.klagroup.com
t W O M I N u t E t O P u P
17 / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / NZsM
Solving the Prospecting Dilemma
here’s how it works:
Know your purpose. 1. In your first call or email, your
purpose isn’t to close for an appointment. I know
you’re shocked, but it isn’t. Rather, it’s simply to have a
conversation to get to know each other, begin building
a relationship, and see if you should have a meeting.
While you’re feeling the pressure to fill your pipeline
this moment, many of the people you’ll speak with
won’t be ready to make any immediate changes. But,
if you leave a positive impression as a thoughtful,
intelligent person who may be able to help their
business in the future, they’ll want to stay in touch.
that gives you a lead for 3, 6 or 9 months from now.
Better still, they’ll probably call you because they’ll
remember your discussion.
Offer to share your expertise freely. 2. Research
is important but it’s how you apply it that is truly
distinguishes you. Determine the business issue you
could assist with, then offer your expertise on what
they should be thinking about to address that point.
Don’t hold back because you think a prospect should
pay for your advice. Few companies you speak with
will be able to implement your suggestions without
your company’s help. Let go of that concern and open
up. share the great knowledge you have.
If you have ideas about how a company could
better control their It costs, tell them. some will
be recommendations that directly connect to your
offerings, but others should not. If, for example,
during your discussion you believe that some basic
training would help their office manager to administer
better system back-ups, tell them. You can sell them a
full-scale business recovery solution later.
Guide them with ideas they can implement right now
while positioning what you can assist with in the future.
Make them think about the possibilities.3. As you
share, discuss what you’ve seen other companies do
to address a similar problem. think about your clients,
the challenges they’re facing and what they’re doing
about those problems.
show prospects the possibilities of what they could be
doing to improve productivity, cut costs, or address
that need you uncovered in your research.
share one or two simple-to-implement ideas, as well
as one or two more complex, suggestions. Base your
ideas on how you’ve observed your clients address
those matters in their organizations, or how they have
implemented your solutions to change their businesses.
the executives you’re calling are so busy they haven’t
had time to consider other possibilities. they’re
surviving with the issues when they may not have to.
Help them re-examine their status quo. 4. By not
pushing prospects into a change with your first call,
you’re freeing them up to rethink their status quo.
Your conversation of suggestions and possibilities
allows them to take time out and think for a moment
about what could be.
suddenly training the office manager may not be
enough. they may want your recommendation on how
they can protect their business during hurricane season,
or secure their data, or better manage their whole It
infrastructure. they won’t want to wait 3 or 6 months
to talk again. they’ll want to pick your brain some more
and consider ways to eliminate the issues they’ve been
living with now that they know they don’t have to.
I know, you’re thinking that this sounds like a deeper
conversation than you usually conduct in a cold call. And,
you’re concerned that you interrupted the person. they’d
never stay on the phone for this type of discussion.
But, it works.
It works because you’ve grabbed your prospect’s
attention and made them want to talk with you. After a
conversation like this, they either want to schedule time
for a deeper conversation, or they want to hear from you
again sometime soon.
You can solve your prospecting dilemma by elevating your
conversation to one based on your expertise and ideas.
Before you know it, not only will your pipeline increase,
but your relationship database of potential new prospects
will be overflowing, too.
NZsM / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / 18
R E s O u R C E C O R N E R
Companies continue to
disproportionately spend
their budgets into the
'wrong' end of the funnel - the
mass media or awareness side.
What we haven't paid enough
attention to is the 'right' end of
the funnel - the word-of-mouth
component that essentially acts as
a multiplier for future business.
the economic impact of an
active, engaged and loyal
customer is tremendous. And
the same is true of the opposite
scenario, namely the impact of
angry customers and negative
word-of-mouth or referrals.
It is this thinking that Jaffe
has channelled to challenge
marketers to 'flip the funnel'
once and for all. With a
renewed focus and energy
on customer experience, it is
possible to grow your sales,
while decreasing your budget
- in other words, getting more
from less.
Engaging a few customers
to spread the word to many.
using this new 'flipped funnel'
model, together with a set of
new rules of customer service
and a revolutionary customer
referral and activation process
you'll learn how to transform
your existing customers into
your best salespeople..
Flip the Funnel
Author: Joseph Jaffey
Publisher: Behavioural science Research Press
$39.97 from Fishpond.co.nz
Flip the Funnel
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Using PowerPoint – make sUre yoU have the Power
If you use Powerpoint for your sales presentations, stop
and think about whether the slides are driving you, or
you are driving the slides. Powerpoint is a great tool
when used in the right way, yet it is regularly used
incorrectly for presentations.
too often the entire presentation content is written
onto the slides. the talk is then little more than
reading out the slides, and so the slides drive the
speaker. this results in the audience giving their
attention to trying to pick out the information they
need from the slides, rather than being focussed on
you, the presenter.
It should work the other way round. the audience
attention should be on you, the presenter, and the slides
used to reinforce the key point you are making.
so don’t create your presentation by writing it out in
Powerpoint. Write your presentation in full in words or use
a mind map, then put together a few Powerpoint slides to
visually support the key points you are making. then you
will have the power, and the attention of the audience..
It's not what you sell, it's how you sellQuick Fix
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If you have a favorite ‘quick fix’ that you would like to share with our
readers (without giving your winning secrets away!) then email the editor
at pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz. You will be in to win a high-powered laser
pointer pen, courtesy of the great guys at Brand storming Promotions.
20 / NOVEMBER 3RD 2010 / NZsM
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-Eleanor Roosevelt
“ “Learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself