Selling Resources

The 4 Biggest Hurdles Facing the SalesforceConsidering the best ways to help your salespeople? Here’s what you need to know

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Areas Covered

Amazing trends uncovered in the sales profession

The 4 challenges, to profitable growth, facing every salesforce

Critical skills every organization must master in order to thrive

Copyright 2011 Program On PersuasionProgramOnPersuasion.com

Researched and produced as a service to our industry

Sponsored by:

Some Industry Trends

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HR Chally Research of 80,000 B2B Customers

Salesperson is customer’s #1 buying criteria

Price

Prod

uct

Tota

l Sol

utio

n

Rep E

ffectiv

enes

s0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Most Influential Factor in B2B Se-lection

21%


39%

18%

22%

6Copyright 2011 Program On PersuasionProgramOnPersuasion.com

One in 1,000 salespeople rated World-Class

• 80,000 B2B customers ranked 7,200 sales forces:

Only 18 rated World-Class 1 rep in 1,000 World-Class

Source: HR Chally Research

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Source: Nightingale Conant Study of 2,663 Sales Organizations

Sales Managers agree their teams need help

8%

50%

42%

Scoring Sales Rep Ef-fectiveness

Peak Per-formers

Need Im-provement

Below Standards


8Source: Speed Of Trust Covey & Achieve

Sales Excellence Stephens & Kinni & Harvard Business Review

Why sales training is needed . . .

• 66% college grads enter sales

• 1% colleges have sales program

• Tribal knowledge dominates

• 29% believe manager cares about developing their skills

• Only 10% of population has learning mind-set

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ES Research Group & Nightingale Conant Study of 2,663 Sales Organizations

Effectiveness of Sales Training

• 92% of reps have scope for improvement

• 90% of organizations report 40% increase 1-year after training

• Best reps (1 in 5) outperform others by 286%


4 Hurdles of Salesforce

The 4 Biggest Hurdles


Differentiating ourselves

Cultivating new business

Planning & Preparation

Upgrading Selling Skills

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1st Hurdle:

Establishing Trust Quickly


Reps are inadequate @ establishing trust

• 16% of annual sales expected from new customers

• Competitors have incumbent relationship w/customer

• 40% reps have call reluctance

Source: Sales Executive Council & Behavioral Science Research Press

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Increased credibility reduces clients fears


Salespeople are ill-prepared to gain trust

• What would your rep say to a room full of prospects?

• Most don’t have a strategy

• Biggest mistake salespeople make is pitching too soon


What should be the strategic sales objective?

1. Develop Rapport

2. Establish Trust

3. Deliver value

4. Build Credibility as Expert

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2nd Hurdle:

Creating Customer Urgency


Customers don’t realize their own problems

• If they did, they would already have taken action.

• Just because a salesperson says something is so, doesn’t make it so.

• Salespeople’s job is helping customers discover their own problems themselves.


Biggest mistake of salespeople

• Salespeople tend to offer their features & benefits too soon.

• Customers must be lead to discover their problems first

• Failure to understand cost of problem leads to price squeeze


Cost-of-problem before cost-of-solution


95% of rep’s questions are not powerful

• Sales questions are designed into 4 categories

• 95% of Rep’s questions fall into the least persuasive category

• Rep’s must learn to replace offering solutions with asking powerful questions

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#3 Need:

Making Persuasive Presentatio

ns


Top 5 sales presentation mistakes

1. No clear purpose

2. No audience benefit

3. No clear flow

4. Too much detail

5. Too long winded

Top 5 errors


Most presentations only convey data

• Presentations should persuade

• Most are data dump

• Persuasive means “no brainer”


No differentiation means lower price

• Presentations that don’t differentiate are commodities

• If you don’t contrast, you might as well sell for the competitor


Reps don’t prove their claims

• 70% of presentation is proof

• There are 4 ways to prove it

• Most reps don’t prove any

• That’s when price prevails

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#4 Need:

Executing on Lead Activities


No one is focused on the lead indicators

• Marketing generates leads

• Management is focused on #s

• Sales reports are lag indicators

• Who focuses on lead activities


Strategies & initiatives fail due to execution

• Strategies are easy to set

• Human behavior is not

• New Sales initiatives require accountability


Low retention of sales training

• 87% of training is lost in 1st 30 days

• On-the-job coaching is key

• Fewer than 20% measure beyond 1-page smiley sheet

The 4 Biggest Hurdles Summary


Establishing Trust Quickly

Creating Customer Urgency

Making Persuasive Presentations

Executing lead activities

However, there are steps and strategies that lead to major breakthroughs

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4 Steps to Success


Design Unique Value Proposition Story

Develop Selling Process

Disciplined Execution

Upgrade Selling Skills

Design Rapport & Trust Vehicle

Step #1


When we start selling we break rapport

• Don’t sell features & benefits

• Customer’s are not interested

• They’re interested in themselves

• Educate them on their market

• Education builds rapport


Specifically educate them on their market

• Immediately gain interest

• Position rep as expert

• Develop a natural rapport

• Deliver value to client

Dig your well before you need it


Educational briefings raise rep credibility

• Educate, don’t push product

• Market research, not features

• Buyer focused, not benefits

• Creates dialogue, not solution

“As rep’s credibility goes up, customer’s apprehension goes down”

Questions that create urgency

Step #2


Most customers don’t know their own needs

• Selling too soon is fatal

• When rep asks right questions . .

• Customer discovers problems

• Most reps ask poor questions

• Do NOT offer a solution


Proper questions move customers to urgency

Learn to Present Persuasively

Step #3


You must grab attention in first 90 seconds

• Grab ‘em with opening remark

• Claim your unique value

• Prove it!

• Explain why they should care


We are programmed to recognize contrast

• Buyers decide by comparison

• Boldly claim your difference

• Demonstrate how it cures pain

• Make it memorablePeople are hard-wired to recognize contrast


70% of presentation is dedicated to proof

• There are 4 powerful proofs

• Most reps use one to none

• Rep must validate claims

• 1st proof - 3rd party validation

Retention is execution key

Step #4

Copyright 2010 Your Company 46

Without on-the-job coaching, retention fails


Specific lead activities change lag indicators

• Leading sales indicators . . .

• Move lag indicators

• Leads are predictable

• Acting on leads gets results

Execution program is key to achieving sales results


Accountability to lead indicators

• Weekly accountability to leads

• Insures no one gets stuck

• Mastery is not doing 1,000 things

• Mastery is doing 4 things 1,000 times

“That which is easy to do, is also easy not to do”

4 Steps to Success Summary


Design Rapport & Trust Vehicle

Questions that Create Urgency

Learn to Present Persuasively

Retention is Execution Key

Experts recommend outsourcing to 3rd Party….

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51Source: ES Research Group

What to look for in sales-training company

1. Customized Sales Methodology

2. Interactive Instructional Design

3. Facilitator Preparation & Presentation Experience

4. Facilitator’s Professional Experience

5. Ability to Measure and Support After-The-Event

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Probability of achieving a new initiative

• Hear an Idea = 10%

• Decide to adopt = 25%

• Schedule it = 40%

• Plan how to do it = 50%

• Commit to another = 65%

• Account to another = 95%

Copyright 2011 Program on Persuasion

Achieving remarkable sales results for your paint company

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Introducing . . .

Copyright 2011 Program On Persuasion ProgramOnPersuasion.com

[email protected](678)610-6509

mailto:[email protected]


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History

• Founded by paint executive

• Customers include largest paint companies

• We speak paint


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What our clients are saying . . .

“Feedback from the team was that your presentation and role-playing were the best they had ever been a part of. We look forward to more REAL training in the future”

Steve Carrillo Sr. Sales Manager PPG – Dallas, TexasCopyright 2011 Program On Persuasion

ProgramOnPersuasion.com

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“There is only one word to describe Jim McBrayer’s training course . . .WOW! Instant credibility from the start . . . Best training in 30 years in the industry. The follow-up is what differentiates and is the key to the success”.

Dean Worley, VP – Single Source Inc


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“We doubled our sales one year after we went through the training. Like most, we were reluctant to set aside the time to train, but we are so much better off that we did.

Andy RobbinsA&K Painting Charlotte, NC


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“This training was the shot in the arm we needed, we now have an edge over our competition. We landed the largest contract in our 20+ year history using what we learned!”

Terry Mathison- Specialty Finishes Inc


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“Since we implemented the sales techniques that we learned . . . Sales have increased 15%! I would recommend Program On Persuasion to anyone that wants to improve the results of their sales team”.

Fred ChapmanBaker Paint


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I attended the “Program on Persuasion” presented by Jim McBrayer in December of 2009. It wasn’t about talking anybody into anything. It was all about how to really understand others, and how to listen to their needs. It will not only improve your sales performance, but will improve your relationships, both business and personal. It is the best investment you can make of both your money and your time.

Tony Collins Chairman EonCoatWilson, North Carolina


Achieving remarkable sales results for your paint company

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[email protected](678)610-6509

