Problem:  One of the most common requests we get is for time management training.  It seems there just aren’t enough hours in the day for most salespeople.  Companies spend big bucks for cell phones and PDA’s so salespeople can stay in touch, and also on customer relations management programs to make them more efficient.  Training programs are conducted to help them evaluate areas where they are wasting time and provide solutions.  Yet they still have time management issues.

Diagnosis

Problem:  The other day we were working with a new group of people who had just started our training program and we were astounded at how difficult these folks were making the process of selling.  We reflected on how everyone says that consultative selling (asking questions versus pitching features and benefits) is the way to go, but few can do it successfully.

Diagnosis:  Clearly the old beliefs and habits had become so completely ingrained th ...

Problem: Qualifying is an area where salespeople often do a poor job.  As a result, when the time comes for the presentation, salespeople have normally failed to discover the real issues or get any kind of serious commitment from the prospect about what will happen if he can fix the problems.

Diagnosis: Salespeople have had feature & benefit presentations drummed into their heads for years.  To make matters worse, most of the training received b ...

Problem: Kim, a ten-year sales veteran, never felt like she was in control of her sales calls.  She felt like her prospects and customers were always one step ahead of her.  She attended many training sessions and they all basically taught her the same thing: always ask for the order, use the same 2-3 foolproof ways to overcome the price objection, lead with, “If I could show you a way to fix that problem, would you buy my product?”  She felt these tactics must be effective since all the trainers taught the same approaches.  Why weren’t they working for her?

Diagnosis: Salespeople tend to be rather predictable and, as a result, buyers generally are in charge.  They recognize the salesperson’s approaches and have developed ...

Problem:  Salespeople spend far too much time preparing proposals and close far too few.  Of course, closing rates vary, but closing only 15-20% of the proposals one makes is not uncommon.  This is obviously very inefficient, causing time management problems, feelings of rejection, futility and despondence, not to mention reduced sales and lower commissions.

Diagnosis:  Salespeople have been brainwashed over the years to believe that s ...

Problem: Many companies are frustrated because they have to participate in a competitive bidding process to obtain business.  Winning is often based on having the lowest bid.  More than in any other type of sale, the buyer is in total control of the process.  All information is disseminated to the bidders at a common bid conference and individual meetings are rare.  The seller has no advantage over his competitors and frequently is reduced to guessing what his company will need to win the bid.  If there are six qualified companies bidding, your chances are less than 20% of winning the bid.  And if you’re the “lucky” one that is awarded the bid, chances are your margins won’t be as healthy as you’d like.&l ...

Problem: It was a gloomy day and had just started to rain when Rick left his second lousy appointment of the day.  “Man,” he thought to himself, “it’s pouring down rain, my car is at the other end of the parking lot, and this appointment that I drove 40 miles to see was a total waste of time.  My grandmother is a better prospect than this guy.”  He put his head down and dejectedly trudged through the rain towards his car.  On his way back to the office he reflected on the appointments he had been on recently.  The majority of them had been similar to these two, a waste of time for the most part…nobody seemed interested in buying.  He was starting to feel like they were all bad prospects.  The glo ...

Problem:  While in my office the other day, I got a call from a financial advisor.  As soon as I answered the phone he began a pitch that lasted for what seemed a very long time, listing all the reasons why I should do business with him.  I told him that my wife controls the investing in our family and that she has had a successful relationship with a competing broker for over 20 years.  Although the guy pressed harder, I sensed that I took the wind out of his “sale” when I said, “Look, I’m just not interested.”  My eardrum rattled as he slammed the phone down hard.  This was likely followed by some derogatory reference, most likely directed at me for rejecting him.

Problem: Have you ever heard the term “sales profession”?  How about “medical profession”?  Which one do you think has the most credibility?   Of course, we’re biased.  We are those “professional” salespeople we spoke of a moment ago.  But which would the general public, the people who are our prospective buyers, give the most credibility to as a real profession?  Our guess is medicine.

Diagnosis:  M ...

Problem: Recently I was speaking with Fred, a salesperson who told a story that I could well relate to.  He was lamenting that on his last trip to New York to meet with some prospects for the first time, the airline lost his luggage.  Now we all know what a pain that can be, but Fred was mostly concerned that his big black bag containing all his collateral sales material had been lost.  Quite frankly, he was uncomfortable on a sales call without it.  After all, he was accustomed to doing the “bag dive” when the prospect baited him with this innocent, yet misleading question, “tell me about your company.”  Of course, the “bag dive” was the move he made toward his briefcase to haul out the company and product brochu ...