Sales Coaching – Improving Startups and Scaleups

30Jan

Passion To Sale = Key To Success

SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ALWAYS LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE.

Around 30 years ago, our company’s namesake, ResultatPartner (Result Partner), pioneered a revolutionary sales training program for businesses of every size. Today, our proven sales training program has made us one of the leader in sales and management training, with thousands of trainings run since then.

While much has changed in the business world since then, ResultatPartner and Improve Training has always kept pace. Under the leadership of Ronny A. Nilsen, CEO and Founder, ResultatPartner Training continues to innovate through our new company; Improve Performance International targeting Grown-up and mature Businesses (enterprise), Startups and Scaleups. In that spirit, we recently launched an “online digital portal” that our customers and franchisees can use in addition to face-to-face training. And we will continue to incorporate online reinforcement, online learning management and increased mobile availability.

With our unique reinforcement model, our Customers and Franchise Owners and Associated Partners can give businesses a competitive advantage by helping create a highly skilled sales force and inspiring management and leadership to excellence.

KEY TO SUCCESS = “PASSION TO SALES”

At Improve Startups we’ve earned a reputation for providing sales people with the insights they need to dominate in today’s hyper-competitive selling climate.

We believe key to success for Startups and Scaleups companies is driven by a “passion to sales” and the fact is; any employee should be aware of a companies growth is based on sales. Thats why we focus on sales improvement as one of the key elements boosting startups and scaleups.

Improve Startup is a research based sales training, sales coaching and sales consulting firm that is one of the leaders in the integration of proven science and sales. Based in Oslo, Norway, we study the scientific disciplines of social psychology, communication theory, cognitive psychology, social neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics since our founders established ResultatPartner (ResultPartner) back in 1991. We then take the repeatable and predictable principles, which science has proven to create and enable influence, out of the laboratory and academic journals and apply them to selling.

What’s more, we have conducted original scientific research that identified the mental process that the human brain goes through when making a buying decision. We then deconstructed this internal decision making process into clear, manageable steps that equip sales people to literally sell the way that their prospects’ brains are hardwired to buy.

When sales people base their sales activities and behaviors upon proven science, the results are always astounding: sales cycles shorten, market share grows, and sales production skyrockets and it repeat sales.

WHY IMPROVE STARTUPS?

We aim to help the world’s leading companies drive predictable revenue and profitability growth by optimizing sales organization performance.

WHY ARE WE DIFFERENT?

Our clients tell us we are unique for a variety of important reasons including:

Deep customization – actually it`s all about YOUR business, right?
Improve Performance and Training Systems (IPTS) – systematic and measurable driving performance!
Improve Performance Group; Our “Performance community”.
Industry specialization – we “know or adopt” to your industry.
Interactive learning – telling is not selling; showing and interactions make the difference.
Extensive curriculum – best fit!
Traditional and digital delivery modalities – digital portal connecting people, learning and relations.
Experienced and expert facilitators – at least 10 years of proven results and experience.
Results in initiating and sustaining change through the organization – implementing the hard stuff in a simplified way!

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18Jan

6 Tips to Retain Your Top Sales Talent

In business, there’s an expression: To have and to hold, from this day forward. … Oh, wait, that’s a marriage vow. And even then it doesn’t bind. Here in the sales-verse, people coming and going like serial monogamists can sting your bottom line: Onboarding new hires is costly and time-consuming. Organizations must pay to find and vet potential new hires; they also need to invest at least six months and many person hours getting the newby up to speed and transformed into a contributing member of the organization. That initial investment can include helping them up and over the steep learning curve to know your product/services line by heart, as well as helping them understand how to sell to what could be an unfamiliar demographic for them.

Ultimately, you’d like your new hires to be whistling while they work to bring in business and increase your earnings. But if your organization suffers from RDS (Revolving Door Syndrome), you’ll squander company dollars making up for your attrition rate. In other words, until you get to the source of your retention problem and remedy it, you’ll keep feeding monster.com.

On average, it takes seven months and around $30K to find and onboard a new sales rep, according to a study by the Aberdeen Group. Such associated costs should be expected if your organization is in growth mode. Growth is a good problem to have! But if turnover is high year over year in your sales department, you’ve got a systemic problem. Even worse is losing top performers when they decide to move on to a better opportunity. Suddenly you’re busy trying to plug leaks in a ship from which everyone’s jumping.

From the Get-Go, Be Honest About Expectations
Just as you need to know who your prospective sales reps are, they need to know what sort of work environment they might be bringing their lunch box and framed family photos to. Signing them on to what they hadn’t bargained for will hurt you as they grow disgruntled and cynical on the job and/or quit in frustration. Instead of that fiasco, set realistic expectations at the interview stage, being honest with prospective hires about the workplace. You don’t need to scare them off, just be upfront about challenging aspects they might face at your company. If they’re good, they’ll understand that no sales opportunity is without its pros and cons.

Setting Realistic Goals and Monitoring Progress
Because sales folks are a competitive bunch, you can set goals for them that are challenging—but also attainable. And in doing so, don’t fail to provide the resources necessary to reach those goals. Keep tabs on individual contributors’ progress, and hold supportive one-on-one’s in which you discuss their performance. What you’re doing here is opening the lines of communication regarding job performance, and revealing where improvement and coaching are needed. Ever-competitive, your sales reps will take up the gauntlet.

Outline Realistic Goals and Coach Accordingly
While we’re on the topic of coaching … one of the best investments you can make in your new hires is to coach them. Coaching benefits the company by increasing staff competency rate, while at the same time signaling to your workforce that they are worth investing in. Coaching is something we’ve blogged and “articled” about before because it’s so important for the health of a company. Failing to nurture reps through ongoing coaching will result in a workforce that’s frustrated at being underprepared and under-supported when doing their job.

Reexamine Your Compensation Package
Money is on the mind of top-performing sales reps. They’re not coming to work for the free instant cocoa in the breakroom (with or without mini marshmallows). Casual Friday isn’t tooting their horn. If not properly compensated, they’re likely to shop their résumé around to more generous companies. Reexamine your compensation package on an annual basis, taking into account what’s being offered at competing organizations. Tiered plans with rewards for top performers can attract stronger candidates, as can additional compensation for lower-performing but still valuable reps. Put this question through the thought mill: How much are you saving with your slim-pickings compensation compared to how much you’re losing in attrition costs each year?

Engage in Incentivizing
Developing fun and creative ways to show your appreciation for your valuable staff will further motivate them to stay with you. Incentives such as gym memberships, flex time, additional time off, even an in-house concierge will build loyalty; they also promote a more stress-free work environment. Holding weekly, monthly, or quarterly sales contests will additionally motivate your naturally competitive sales staff to do their best.

Exit Interview: What Went Wrong?
Sometimes despite a company doing everything right for their employees, they lose top people. That’s just a difficult reality you face in business. But these days too many companies fail to take advantage of a relatively painless datamining tool: the exit interview. If you want to know why Jane or John Doe is “breaking up with you,” sit them down one on one and ask why they’re resigning. And don’t have their direct supervisor be the one doing the asking—you don’t want those on the way out to hold back anything. Ideally, the exit interview should be conducted by a member of the HR team.

Remember, when it comes to employee retention, it’s one thing to get them to say “I do”; it’s another to hold them and keep them.

14Jan

How To Overcome B2B Price Objections

Bar none, the biggest objection a customer ever raises is price. Often they don’t comprehend the value of your solution, therefore concluding that the number you’ve quoted is completely arbitrary, maybe even greed-based. It’s true that today’s customers exist in a climate of global competition; they know how to “Google it,” etc. But information isn’t always knowledge, so they’re not necessarily well-versed when it comes to your products and services. At the decision-making phase of the sales cycle, act as a trusted advisor and guide your prospects toward a deeper understanding of how you can fill their need.

In the early stages, be prepared for price objections to rise like odors from an ancient sea chest. It’s your job to both anticipate and neutralize those objections, “Fabrezing” them with explanations that will get prospects to understand that your price corresponds, as we’ve said, to the value of your solution. Below is a list of common price objections and how to effectively respond to each.

It’s Not in My Budget
When customers are bound by a budget, they’ll naturally base their range on its restrictions. But they may also use the old budget excuse for insisting on a lower price. Be a proactive seller, throwing out a number before the customer does. And then, if you choose, ask if that price falls within the range they’re comfortable with. If the customer does trot out a number before you’ve had a chance to name your price, ask how they’ve arrived at that figure, and then explain why, based on your value proposition, you can or cannot meet them at the price they say they’re locked into.

Shock and Awe
We’ve all witnessed the wide-eyed look of shock on a customer’s face, as if the price we’ve put forward has physically harmed them. The shock can be real, but it can also be a bit of theater. Don’t cave in to their emotion, real or “academy award-winning.” Just be direct and ask why they feel your price is too high. See this as an opportunity to link your benefits and features with their needs that you should’ve uncovered by now.

The Price Is Wrong
You could say, “This product is free” and that would still be too high a price for some customers. That’s because they’re poised to balk at the price before you’ve even begun the conversation. When they object to the quote, ask them why. In order to reason with them, you need to understand their rationale. Many things can account for customers’ unrealistic price expectations, including misinformation and limited information. They may have done bad research. When they say they’ve paid less in the past, gently point out that if they’d been satisfied with their last supplier, they would not be looking for alternatives now. Again you’ve got an opportunity here to make the connection between their needs and your goods and services.

Bait and Switch
It’s sometimes the case that a prospect asks for a quote for a large order, but then decides they want a smaller order, only at the same price per unit. Never give them your answer without first reviewing the pricing based on the new scope of the order. As a trusted adviser, look at the sale as part of a whole—you’re building a long-term relationship, not cutting a deal and then never seeing them again. Get more insight from the buyer, and then build on that conversation in order to reach a happy pricing ground. Even though the order is smaller than what you’d bargained for, offer concessions. Keep the relationship going.

Playing the Urgency Card
It’s not only bad sales reps who play the urgency card; customers will sometimes make it sound like a decision has to be made right away or the whole deal is going to blow to smithereens. They might use the line, “I’ve got a meeting in one hour and need to present my options. Is this the best you can do for me?” At which point, you’ve got a choice, you can get scared and cave, dropping the price to suit the “emergency.” Or you can say, “I can’t make that kind of concession without in-house approval. If I’m not able to meet your deadline, I hope we can discuss working together once your meeting concludes later this afternoon.” If you do get a reaction from them later in the day, you’ll know they were never going to dynamite the bridge.

Buyers whose sole focus is price will try one of the above to lower the dollar amount for what they want. They may pull two or more tricks out of their bag. Don’t lower your need based on their price expectations. What they really want is a good product; they know it and you should too. Remember that price isn’t the only thing that makes a sale. What you have to offer are great goods and services—stand behind the power of your solutions. Keeping that in mind will help you stay calm. Focus on asking about their objections and addressing those concerns. Be a trusted advisor, making sure that everyone walks away happy—and comes back for more.

04Jan

Plan and Prepare For Your Sales Call

Research shows that salespeople will never reach their performance potential without a well-defined sales-call procedure that they can follow and learn from. “Winging it” on sales calls has grim consequences – lost sales, extended sell cycles, margin erosion and no clear path to improvement. Bottom line: Your entire sales career can be mediocre if you “wing it.”

Performance improves by as much as 50% when salespeople have a consistent game plan for their sales calls.

Most salespeople make the same mistakes over and over without realizing it. Without a logical sales call plan to follow, they can’t even identify specific problems, let alone correct them. A good sales process mirrors the pattern by which customers make buying decisions.The nine acts of Cosine break a sales call into its most important components, sequenced in the order of the five key buying decisions every customer makes. By analyzing each segment of a call and testing against the customer’s buying decisions, salespeople can quickly recognize problems and adjust their behavior accordingly.

Without a system like Cosine, the only thing salespeople can look at is whether they won or lost the sale. If you don’t know what went wrong or why, you can’t improve your performance.

In The Field

A leading architectural services faced a common problem. They were having trouble trying to sell an intangible service that was seen more as a luxury than a necessity. The firm’s growth had stopped and they were losing business to far less capable competitors.

The Sales Board delivered a 2-day onsite Cosine sales training workshop for their sales staff, teaching the Cosine process and documenting the company’s Best Sales Practices. Twelve weeks of Skill Drill Modules followed, further honing the new selling skills the group had acquired.

Within only three months the CEO reported business grew by 20%. In addition, he said, “My sales team’s professionalism and sense of confidence increased as a direct result of the Action Selling program. Having a clear understanding of the selling strengths and weaknesses of each sales team member has made sales management both focused and effective for the first time.”

Tracking Prospecting Performance

Planning your Prospecting

01Jan

Rational vs. Emotional Buying Decisions

It is probably true that most of us would see ourselves as rational people. When questioned about our reasons for buying we are more likely to come up with rational reasons – but if we are really honest with ourselves, we know intuitively that that isn’t really the whole story. Alongside the rational reasons customers might tell us will influence their buying decision will almost certainly be some very powerful emotional factors that will strongly influence their decision.

Primary Buying Motives

Profit (Price, protection of investment)
Convenience (Makes the customer’s work life easier)
Prestige (Appeals to the customer’s self-image)
Safety (Reduces risks for the customer)
Peace of mind (Security, less can go wrong. Professional. Technical support)
Pleasure (enhances the state-of-the-art products from your company)
Other… Instant response. True 24/7 support. Fast response and deployment time.

What is it about?

These headings pin-point the main customer relevant buying motives mentioned when buying our products and services. We differentiate here between rational buying motives – those dictated by reason and emotional buying motives – those that appeal to the customers’ emotions.

The buying motive counts.

What is it about?

Rational buying motives

Quality. Functionality. Safety. Comfort. Economic. Variability. Environmental. Support.

Question is; how does your product/service/solution fit?

How you prepare for the talk, your questions and way it`s provided?

Emotional Buying Motives

Peace of mind. Individuality. Design. Innovation. Prestige. Exclusively. Flexibility.

How would you trigger the emotional aspects in a sales process?