Salesperson Stereotypes and How to Avoid Them

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by Bryan Neale

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a salesperson or thinking of becoming one. What you may not realize is that you probably scream “SALESPERSON” when you simply enter a prospect’s office without even knowing it. I find many salespeople, including the most seasoned professionals, do things to perpetuate the stereotypical salesperson.

So what does the world think of “our noble tranche of peddlers?” In several recent sales training meetings, I asked my classes to do the old “I say a word (in this case ‘salesperson’) and you write down the first thing that comes to mind” trick. Here’s a sampling from the list they came up with:

  • Used Car Salesman
  • Greedy
  • Pushy
  • Talk too much
  • Aggressive
  • Money Hungry
  • Egotistical
  • Annoying

Ouch!  Nothing positive here. As a salesperson you ask, “What can I do to avoid being saddled with any of these descriptors?”

1-Recognize this is where it starts:  No matter what you do, people will pick up on the fact that you’re a salesperson and will form the above opinions of you UNTIL you give them a reason not to. If you even demonstrate a morsel of the behaviors above, you’re dead.

2-Think Differently:  A good deal of the training I do involves teaching people to think differently. Most of the negative characteristics above stem from flawed thinking. Salespeople either think they have to be a certain way OR their thinking drives them to behave accordingly.

3-Shut Up and Relax: The greatest sales calls are those where you as the salesperson literally don’t say anything. Calls like these typically involve the client sharing pains and problems you can help solve. You think you are breaking the rules by sitting there and listening vs. talking (and presenting) the whole time. Be OK with NEVER presenting anything. Often a very simple one-page synopsis of the client’s problem and how you intend to solve it is all you need. Don’t feel like you HAVE to present. You don’t.

4-Don’t Fake It: “Who you are screams so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.” I love that quote. It’s so true. We all give off a VIBE that others can pick up and analyze. You do it everyday. You talk to someone who’s happy. You talk to someone who’s unhappy. Neither has to tell their state of happiness—you can just tell. Prospects are the same. They can tell when you’re after the sale. They can tell when you’re reaching for their wallets before they do. They can tell when you’re having a bad month.

Just be you. In the moment. Present. Objective. Nothing else.

New Rules Teleseminar

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Hope you enjoyed the seminar last Friday.  As promised (although a little late), here is the audio version.  As I said earlier, this is not the quality we had in mind, but the content is there – so hopefully you can look past some of the audio glitches. 

It’s about 50 minutes – I edited it down a little. 

download_new_rules_teleseminar_here.mp3

Sales Process Work – Inside an Effective Sales Strategy

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Recently, I posted on where sales training is going (The Future of Sales Training), I got some flack (probably well-deserved) for not getting in to more detail on each of my points. Sometimes in a blog, you just don’t have space to address the whole topic.

So, today I’ll dive a little deeper into point 1, which I’ve inserted below as a reminder.

1 A lot more process work. A lot less technique work. Not saying you shouldn’t have the basic sales skills (which so few really have), but I’m seeing it become a “process world.” Get the sales process right–and make sure it’s right for the prospect–and results will flow. Most sales companies have no coherent, useful, meaningful sales process. Get one–or hire someone to help you design one.

There is a curse alive and well in professional selling. Most sales processes have been built by sales people (and sales managers, who once were good sales people). The problem with that is the one thing you know about most sales people. They have a tendency for lack of detail. Your accountant or attorney or doctor doesn’t suffer from this. But sales people do.

That’s not a bad thing. It’s just a thing. It becomes a problem though when a “lack of detail person” builds your sales process.

And what has been overlooked in building an effective sales strategy and process are the details of the sequence of events. You see, in every sales process there is a sequence of activities that happen (whether you’re aware of them or not).

Perhaps after the first call, two weeks go by before you get with your prospect again. Guess what? Time kills deals. Consequently, you should have a built-in section of your sales process to make sure no more than 3-5 days go by between contacts with you.

That could mean an article sent to the prospect. It could be a narrative/review of your first call (written of course). It could mean a white paper – or a case study – or a blog that you recently wrote on a topic he/she’s struggling with – or a podcast you’ve done (all the more reason to blog/podcast).

Bottom Line
You MUST think through all the gory details of the sales process. Most companies have not done that. You can do that by doing a Mind Map or a Flow Chart with each and every section of your sales process. Yes, it’s tedious. No, it’s not fun.

But all you have is your sales process. You could have a mediocre product, but with a good sales process, you will win a high percentage of time.

New Rules Teleseminar-August 10- 9-10AM

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As a blog reader, you’re invited to a FREE teleseminar on August 10, from 9-10AM EST. I’m calling it The New Rules Teleworkshop-a candid conversation with Bill Caskey about selling and issues of achievement.

I’ve heard from so many people saying they had a question about something we’ve written in the blog or recorded on the podcast (The Advanced Selling Podcast)– and they want to ask me personally.

So, we’re going to ask for questions to be submitted via email and I’ll take as many as I can in the one hour event. Once you register, you’ll get the following:
  *  An email confirming your registration with call information.
  *  A PDF file of some background to read prior to the call.
  *  A place you can email to ask your question

Register here and you’ll be confirmed via email:

The Future of Sales Training. How You Can Play.

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We get asked all the time, “Where is sales training headed?” No crystal ball here, but I do see some trends that every sales manager and company president should be interested in.

As you formulate your selling strategies for the future, and sales training becomes part of that, you should look at how to deliver training so it has maximum value.

Here are some trends:

1 A lot more process work. A lot less technique work. Not saying you shouldn’t have the basic sales skills (which so few really have), but I’m seeing it become a “process world.” Get the sales process right–and make sure it’s right for the prospect–and results will flow. Most sales companies have no coherent, useful, meaningful sales process. Get one–or hire someone to help you design one.

2 More frequent training touches. The idea of having your sales team together once a year for training is absurd. The market changes daily–and the sales team that is on top of those changes–and sharing best practices, is the one that is leading.

3 Better diagnostics before you train. If you’re going to hire a professional training company, make sure they / you diagnose what the REAL ISSUES are. This requires conversations with management, with sales team members and with others who observe market problems. If the training company wants to charge you for this, pay it. It may be $10,000 – $50,000. But it’s worth it so you make sure you get return on your investment. (HINT: Diagnose the real problems, be they fear, doubt, disbelief in product, self image. You can’t change behavior unless you’re working on the real problem. Few do.)

4 More soulful approach. We call it “soulful” but you may refer to it differently. This has to do with training the heart and mind, and letting the words follow. Gone in the future will be the “company script” where the company trains it’s sales force to “say this.” We have a concept we call HIGH INTENT, which is rewiring the sales mind to think differently about the sales process–and be there to help the customer identify and solve problems. If you operate from a place of HIGH INTENT, you control the process. Tomorrow’s sales training will be about changing the thinking of the sales professional–not just changing what they say.

5 Remote Learning. Get used to it. If you have a remote sales force that comes together infrequently, then look at podcasting, teleconferencing, or video blogging to train your people. People want training. The Generation Y’ers need it and value it. But they won’t be happy sitting in a training room for 14 hours at home office. You can’t use the excuse anymore that your sales people are “all spread out.”

6 Clarity of Value. Most sales teams are pathetic at expressing the value of their company. I had a call yesterday from a bank– a well known bank. They were introducing a Payroll Product. Her pitch? “We wanted to let you know our product is cheaper than Paychex–by as much as 30%.” Someone in that bank’s corporate office would stick a pine cone up their nose if they knew that was the sales person’s pitch. That is a result of a miserable training job of helping the seller see the true value to their offer. Result. I don’t buy. And she destroys a little of the brand that they’ve spent millions building.

7 Management Coaching. In all of our training, the managers get coaching as well. This is the future. The manager must believe in, and know how to reinforce the training. The manager should always be one or two weeks ahead of his/her staff when it comes to the content to be trained. If you’re a manager and don’t believe in the training your team is getting, then say so. Because if you aren’t reinforcing it–or think you’re above it–then you’re wasting money.

There is a higher need today to train your sales team than ever. The internet, globalization, and a confused, time-constrained buyer are just a few reasons that your sales team, in order to be high performing, must be well trained.

Their remoteness should never be a reason not to develop them.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

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By Brooke Green

What’s the hold-up?
Almost daily, I hear that one of the hardest aspects of selling is waiting for the prospect to catch up with you.  “Why do they take so long to make a decision? “ “They said they needed help.  I laid out my solution to fix their problem.  So what’s the hold up? “  Maybe this dilemma is a gift.

Discovery
Think about it.  Sometimes when we talk to prospects, we uncover problems that they didn’t realize they had; or, the problem is much bigger than what they had thought. Shortly thereafter, we work with them on how to solve that problem they didn’t realize they had – asking them to invest time, money, resources.

Then, when they can’t tell us immediately that we are the people they believe can help them fix this problem that is bigger or new to them, we get frustrated.

What is your intent?
We need to meet people where they are.  What does that mean?

A really good salesperson is really good at uncovering problems.  He/she also operates from a place of “how can I bring value to this situation?” not “how can I sell something?”  If your intent is to help, truly help, you’ll wait until the prospect can accept your help.

We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve pushed our solution on someone, and if they aren’t ready, it’s more painful for everybody than the original problem.

Sometimes it’s about the prospect believing that the problem is real, and then believing that you are the person that can help them solve it.  If you can help them get to that place (and be patient in the process), you become an invaluable resource, a trusted advisor.         

So remember, if it doesn’t happen on your time, it’s probably happening exactly the way it’s supposed to.

Executive Seminar – Sales Dream Team*

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Executive Seminar – Sales Dream Team

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Whale Hunting Women Launch

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