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Editor: Jonathan [email protected]: Bill [email protected] by: The JF CorporationCommunications House 26 York Street London W1U 6PZ Tel: +00 44 (0) 845 026 4752
3Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
The 7 Lies Sales Gurus Tell YouPart 1By Dan Waldschmidt
6
The Busy Person’s Pages 4
Why Do People Say ConsultativeSelling Is Dead?Dave Kurlan
8
Featured PartnerRichardson 11
Why Would Anyone Want ToContinue To Cold Call?By Wendy Weiss
12
Focus on:Linda Richardson 10
Improve Your Sales With YourPersonal Sales Gap AnalysisBy S. Anthony Iannarino
14
2 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
For months, we have been discussing the need to produce a Top SalesWorld newsletter, but we don’t do things by halves around here, so wedecided to create a brand new monthly magazine, supplemented witha weekly newsletter for our subscribers (subscription is free by the way!)
This first edition is fairly modest compared to what we hope to produceby the end of the year, but you know, mighty oak trees are producedfrom humble acorns: I will enjoy witnessing the evolvement, and I hopeyou will too.
As well as bringing you unique, original and thought-provoking articlesfrom the Top Sales Experts team, it is our intention to provide our readerswith up-to-date news, views and gossip from around the sales space, inother words, a real F.I.P experience … Fun, Interesting and Profitable.
The launch of this magazine coincides with our recent Top Sales Worldmakeover, so do take a look... then, come and join our LinkedIn group,and rub shoulders with some of the most significant sales minds on theplanet … before finally following us over at Twitter.
Enjoy!Jonathan Farrington
Welcome to our first issue
Our Thanks to the following Sponsors:
News From Our Partners 16
Top Sales HardtalkInterviewsNew Schedule Launches FridayJuly 8th.
Live Online CoachingSessionsEvery Tuesday, Wednesday &Thursday.Launches Tuesday July 12th.
Daily Sales Tips – From the World’sLeading Sales ExpertsEvery Day from July 5th.
Top 10 Sales ArticlesVote for This Month’s Top SalesArticle.And so much more … HERE.
OneSource/iSell “Triumphant” UK Launch
On June 22nd, Phil Garlick(OneSource President) and histeam, unveiled iSell to a packedhouse of highly receptiveexecutives. More aboutinfogroup can be found at:www.infogroup.com/
Annual Top Sales Awards toinclude Marketing in 2011
The annual Top Sales Awardsevent will expand to twentycategories this year, and willinclude a number of marketingawards. Full timetable/schedulecan be found at:www.topsalesworld.com/awards/
Three Top Sales Leadership Gurus Team Up
Linda Richardson, Keith Rosenand Jonathan Farrington haveannounced plans to collaborateon a new book – a “definitiveguide” for sales managers, to bepublished early in 2012. Furtherdetails follow.
News in brief July 2011
4 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011 5Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
The BusyPerson’s PagesHere is what you will find in this month’s edition.
Why Do People Say ConsultativeSelling is Dead?Dave Kurlan
Everyone is right and at the same time, everyone is wrong. The net effect issimply a lot of confusion.
Let’s take Consultative Selling. It’s not important to sell consultatively ifyour interpretation of consultative selling is to ask a lot of questions that aprospect won’t want to answer. ......Read More�
Why Would Anyone Want toContinue to Cold Call?Wendy Weiss
An email recently received:Looking over the numbers… I have noticed that dials to contacts has slowlydecreased in the last 10 -15 years which in turn means appointments havedropped... People have to dial an amount that is unsustainable… My questionis with the tools that are now available ...... Read More�
Improve Your Sales with YourPersonal Sales Gap AnalysisS. Anthony Iannarino
Those of us that carry a bag know an awful lot about identifying the gapbetween our prospective client’s current state and their desired future. Wespend a lot of time asking questions in the discovery phase making sure weproperly diagnose their problems and challenges. Then we spend a lot oftime developing and proposing a solution ...... Read More�
“Controversial”…“Informative”…“Authoritative”… “Witty”…Download a recording ofJonathan Farrington’skeynote speech at therecent OneSource/iSellUK launch HERE
The 7 Lies Sales Gurus Tell You (Part 1)Dan Waldschmidt
Generating revenue is always a relevant discussion.Frankly, it’s all-consuming for the millions of companies trying to stay afloatin today’s madly convulsing economy.
And as businesses find themselves struggling, they turn “to the pros” tofind answers to their important questions ...... Read More�
Training, Customer Centric Selling,Action Selling, Seductive Selling,and dozens of hybrid sales trainingsystems from companies likeRichardson, Miller Heiman, andFranklin Covey.
And they all work.And not in that kinda, sorta,
“look at it with one eye closed”type of way. They all can helpyou double and triple your
revenue. All of them.What matters is that you find
one, learn it, and keep practicing.What makes any sales process workis you honing your skills.
Remember nothing works if youdon’t.
3. Using technologyaccelerates prospecting
Social media, email marketing, salesforce automation, and mobile CRMproducts are all the rage. What’seven more the rage is a long line ofexperts filling you in on theadvantages of tweeting and
blogging and creating your own fanpage on Facebook.
And it’s all just a distraction.You can’t use technology to
automate empathy. It does notwork. Robots don’t understandemotional intelligence. Drippingyour marketing on more people justmakes you more annoying. Andpower-tweeting about your latestwebinar or CD series is just flat outunattractive.
Technology can help you do a lotof things, but it’s no “plug it in andlet it go” solution. It’s just a means tohelp more people in more places. ■
To be continued.
Article written by Dan Waldschmidt.
To find out more about Dan, visit:http://danwaldschmidt.com/ideas/
7Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
And what’swonderfully ironicis that you beinghelpful is neveroutdated. But a
strategy that water-boards your prospect
with 37 questions isjust a bad strategy.
Generating revenue is always arelevant discussion.
Frankly, it’s all-consuming for themillions of companies trying to stayafloat in today’s madly convulsingeconomy.
And as businesses findthemselves struggling, they turn “tothe pros” to find answers to theirimportant questions.
Which you would think would bea good thing.
Right?
Why not ask the people who knowthe most about the topic -- the salesexperts.
But that’s where you run intotrouble.
A lot of the advice that you hearfrom leading sales experts justdoesn’t work. It sounds like itshould work, but at the end of theday it’s all a good businessdevelopment lie.
Here are a few lies sales expertswant you to believe.
1. You need to be aconsultative salesperson
Buyers don’t need more questions.They need more answers.
Consultative selling is asridiculously outdated as Alec
Baldwin’s advice in Glengarry GlenRoss to “Always Be Closing”.
And what’s wonderfully ironic isthat you being helpful is neveroutdated. But a strategy that water-boards your prospect with 37questions is just a bad strategy.
Frankly, it’s manipulative andselfish. Asking questions is brilliant,but using an interrogation as a trapto close buyers has a short shelf life.And forget about getting referrals.Buyers aren’t just remorseful; theytend to hold a grunge at this type ofpoor behavior.
2. Your sales processmatters
There are literally “zillions” ofdifferent ways to sell your magicalwonderments.
There is Sandler Sales Training,SPIN Selling, Dale Carnegie
6 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
Are the sales experts you are listening to reallyright? Is it time to examine all the selling advicethat we are getting from the pros?
The 7 Lies SalesGurus Tell You(Part 1)
process in that it deals with how tosell. For example, if you mappedthe SPIN methodology onto theBaseline Selling process, the entiretyof SPIN would take place betweenstage one and stage two. Whilemost of the others that Danmentioned are not completesystems or processes, other thanCustomer Centric Selling, they areall consultative methodologies!
And what about relationships –are they no longer the key tosuccess? There was a time (beforeDan) when all a salesperson neededwas a strong relationship becausepeople bought from who they liked.And in essence, that has notchanged a whole lot. People stillbuy from those they like, but onlywhen the people they like bringsomething of value to the table.And while it is nice to think thatpeople will buy from you as long asyour value proposition is better thanthe next guy’s, it simply isn’t true.Today, you must still be well-liked inorder for your value proposition tobe seriously considered. When was
the last time you heard someone say,“We didn’t like them very much butwe bought from them anywaybecause of their quality.”? Today,most prospects consider things likequality, value and price
commodities. The only thing thatisn’t is the relationship. It’s nolonger the one thing that will get asalesperson the business, but it is theone thing that will advance asalesperson to the short list. ■
The only thingthat isn’t is the
relationship. It’s nolonger the one thing
that will get asalesperson thebusiness, but it is
the one thing thatwill advance a
salesperson to theshort list.
Article written by Dave Kurlan.
To find out more about Dave, visit:http://www.objectivemanagement.com/http://kurlanassociates.com/
9Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
Everyone is right and at the sametime, everyone is wrong. The net
effect is simply a lot of confusion.Let’s take Consultative Selling.
It’s not important to sellconsultatively if your interpretationof consultative selling is to ask a lotof questions that a prospect won’twant to answer. As a matter of fact,if that is your interpretation, then Iagree – it’s wrong. However, if youequate consultative selling withbecoming a trusted advisor, then it’snot only appropriate, it’s essentialthat your salespeople sellconsultatively. The challenge is thatmost sales experts don’t actually sellconsultatively and when it’s time,don’t know how to teach others todo it. I can assure you that whenproperly executed, the art of sellingconsultatively is a beautiful thing,prospects never become aware of it,certainly aren’t annoyed by it andvery much appreciate it. It is exactlyhow one differentiates themselffrom everyone else, and the onlyway to uncover an individual’scompelling reasons to buy and buyfrom you.
What about Selling Systems?Dan mentioned 9 in his article.Baseline Selling, one he didn’tmention, has four stages anddepending on how a companyschedules its appointments andconverts its customers, as many asfive or six stages. Each stage has atimeline, and also includes a numberof steps, goals, to-do’s andmilestones. That is a process which,when followed, will produceconsistent and predictive results. Bycomparison, SPIN Selling, one hedid mention, is a methodology. Asales methodology differs from a
8 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
If you read Dan Waldschmidt’s article, you learnedthat Consultative Selling isn’t a requirement. Youalso learned that it doesn’t matter what sellingsystem salespeople use and that relationships arenot the key to success. Is Dan right? Are all of thesales experts wrong?
Why DoPeople SayConsultativeSelling isDead?
Why DoPeople SayConsultativeSelling isDead?
Ibegan my career in education as ateacher and an educational
psychologist. After several years ineducation and then working withfinancial institutions, I listened tomy entrepreneurial voice andfounded Richardson. I feel I havebeen so fortunate to find work that Ilove so much. I have dedicatedthree decades to understanding andimproving sales performance andhave worked with exceptional team
members and innovative andchallenging clients.
If I could use only one word todescribe Richardson it would beinnovation. We introduced theconcept of Consultative Selling,created a customized and integratedcurriculum, and today offer a totalsales performance system that spanstalent management, integration ofsales process with consultativeselling through to enablement.
Some people say salesprofessionals are no longer needed.Nothing is further from the truth. Ithink the great part of ourprofession in the face ofunprecedented change, is ouroptimism and can do attitude. Ourindustry has made major changesand maximized the possibilities thattechnology has opened up. Mypersonal passion is working directlywith sales professionals and salesleaders to synthesize learning andresearch to create new solutions. Iam inspired to see the creativity andresiliency of sales organizations and
the raising of the bar forexpectations, quality, andperformance.
Linda Richardson, Founder ofRichardson, is the ExecutiveChairwoman and Strategist at thefirm. She is the author of ten booksincluding New York Times bestseller Perfect Selling, Sales Coaching— Making the Great Leap fromSales Manager to Sales Coach, andStop Telling, Start Selling andteaches at the Wharton School ofthe University of PA and the ArestyExecutive Center. Her non-business interests include serving onthe Mayor’s Council for the Arts forPhiladelphia, a Director of thePennsylvania Academy of the FineArts, and Director of the AmericanPoetry Review. She is married to Dr.Paul Richardson and lives inPhiladelphia where Richardson isheadquartered. ■
Focus onLinda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Chairwoman ofRichardson, the global sales performance company and is responsible for product and sales strategy.
To find out more about Linda, visit:www.richardson.com/
10 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011 11Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
for their sales team. If you’re a smallbusiness owner, you’re themarketing department.
2. Referrals
Contacting existing customers andasking for referrals.
3. Networking
Joining networking groups and/orusing web 2.0 resources.
4. Cold Calling
While all these activities willgenerate leads for sales, only one isdirectly under your control. Thefirst three are essentially passive, inthat once you initiate the activity youmust then wait for someone else totake action—a prospect to call in orsomeone to come through with areferral. Because you have to waitfor the results, these processes alsotake longer to generate sales.
When you cold call you cantarget the companies that interestyou, make a phone call and beginyour sales process. While coldcalling is not as easy as clicking on alink, the good news is that coldcalling is a communication skill andlike any communication skill it canbe learned and improved upon.
People who say that cold callingdoes not work today are a little like
someone playing softball who whenup at bat, swings and misses the ball.They throw the bat down in disgustand say, “The bat doesn’t work.”The bat works fine… it’s just thatyou missed the ball.
Cold calling today is differentfrom the way it was practiced 20years ago. In the e-mail referencedearlier, if the sales people aremaking their dials the same way theydid 10-15 years ago, then it’s notsurprising they’re not having muchsuccess. It is no longer enough to
rely on sheer volume of calls. Andthis is still the strategy employed bymost people who are making coldcalls. If that’s your strategy, then it’strue, “People have to dial an amountthat is unsustainable.” If that’s yourstrategy today, then cold callingwon’t work for you.
In order to be successful in 2011and beyond, cold calling must bestrategic, targeted and skilled. A coldcalling campaign that is all three willsucceed in developing new business.Anything else will waste your time. ■
An email recently received:
Looking over the numbers… Ihave noticed that dials to
contacts has slowly decreased in thelast 10 -15 years which in turnmeans appointments havedropped... People have to dial anamount that is unsustainable… Myquestion is with the tools that arenow available (LinkedIn, Facebook,Twitter), why would anyonecontinue to cold call?
Well, because it’s the most directand effective way to generate new
business. The problem is that mostsales representatives cold call badlywhich is why it does not work forthem.
Dr. James Oldroyd from theKorean business school SKK GSB,an expert on the measurement ofcold calling, has examined andanalyzed more than a million coldcalls made by thousands of salesprofessionals inside 50 companies.This is what Dr. Oldroyd had to say:
“Most of the growth in the salesindustry is in this area. The growthrate of outside groups has nearlystalled, leveling off at a .5% annualgrowth. By contrast, companies areadding new inside sales departmentsat a rate of 7.5% annual growth. By2012 nearly 800,000 companies areexpected to add inside salesdepartments. Incidentally, evenoutside sales teams spend a lot oftime on the phone.”
So yes, cold calling does workand bottom line” “…even outsidesales teams spend a lot of time onthe phone.” That’s why it’simportant to master the art oftelephone selling.
If you really want to build a solidsales pipeline there are only fourways that you can do so:
1. Marketing activities
Large sales organizations havemarketing departments thatfunction to generate qualified leads
Why Would Anyone Wantto Continue to Cold Call?
Have LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter andSales 2.0 finished offcold calling for good?In 2011 is cold callingfinally dead?
12 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
If you really want tobuild a solid salespipeline there areonly four ways that
you can do so
Article written by Wendy Weiss.The Queen of Cold Calling™
To find out more about Wendy,visit: http://wendyweiss.com
13Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
What do your sales results looklike now? What are the costs to youof not producing greater numbers?Where are you winning deals?Where are you losing deals? Whatactivities are you presently taking?
There are dozens (if nothundreds) of questions you couldask yourself to make sure you knowexactly where you are and why youare there. You would ask thesequestions of your prospectiveclients to understand their presentstate. You need to ask them ofyourself.
And you need honest,thoughtful, introspective answers ifyou are going to improve your salesresults.
Envisioning Your Future
After you know where you are, youneed to identify your future desiredstate.
What do you want your salesresults to look like next quarter?How about next year? What clientswould you have won to reach yourdesired future state? What wouldyour commission checks look like?What would you do with yourincreased earnings? How would youfeel?
The key here is to imagine youhave already arrived at this state.How would you know that you havereached this future state?
The more you can do to definethe future, the better your resultswill be. More still, the more you candeeply connect and feel it, the moreyou will be inspired to take actionon reaching that vision . . . andtaking the action is what brings thevision to life.
Crossing That Bridge
If you have honestly answered thequestions above (or some like it),then you have created a massive gapbetween your current state and yourdesired future. Now you have toidentify what it will take to cross thegap and start taking action.
What activities will lead to theimprovements you need to make itacross the chasm? How will youschedule these activities to makecertain that they are taken? Whatprospects will you need to call on?What outcomes will you need toachieve in face-to-face meetingswith your prospects? How manynew clients will you need to win?What does your pipeline need tolook like?
You must define the activitiesand outcomes that will produce thefuture results you want. But it iseven more important that you makethe personal commitment to takingall of the actions necessary (and alittle more) to get there.
If you aren't dissatisfied by yourcurrent state, you won't take action
to make it better—just as yourprospects don't act unless and untilthey are dissatisfied. If you are notpassionately inspired by the visionyou have created in step two, you'llwon't follow through and build yourbetter future—just your prospectswon't undertake a serious changeinitiative unless they can see thatbetter future.
Treat yourself as well as you treatyour clients. Do your personal gapanalysis, then take action to build abetter future state for yourself. ■
14 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
Improve Your Saleswith Your Personal Sales Gap AnalysisAs a Sales Professional,When Was the Last TimeYou Defined YourCurrent "State?
Article written by S. Anthony Iannarino.
To find out more about Anthony, visit:http://www.thesalesblog.com
15Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
What do your salesresults look like now?What are the costs toyou of not producing
greater numbers?
Those of us that carry a bag knowan awful lot about identifying the
gap between our prospectiveclient’s current state and theirdesired future. We spend a lot oftime asking questions in thediscovery phase making sure weproperly diagnose their problemsand challenges. Then we spend a lotof time developing and proposing asolution that moves them fromtheir current state to a future we can
help them to create.But we don't often apply this
same gap analysis process to oursales results and ourselves. Weshould do so, and here’s how to getstarted.
Defining Your Current State
The first step your personal gapanalysis is to determine your currentstate.
17Top Sales World Magazine July 201116 Top Sales World Magazine July 2011
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