Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog

Enthusiasm: an important motivator and tool to increase sales

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Last week, I bought something I didn't think I was going to buy, and I want to tell you what the salesperson did that was terrific, because you can do it, too. I continue to be reminded of how important it is for sales professionals to be as enthusiastic as possible when discussing their solutions with prospects. It's really easy to fall into the habit of drably discussing the solutions we sell, because we sell them day after day, and the story doesn't change much. But enthusiasm is catching. This post is about revisiting how you can pump enthusiasm back into your presentation, and I'll tell you how someone got an unintended computer sale from me last week because he did.

I went into a megastore with a friend of mine last week because his computer broke and he needed a new one fast. OK, the store was BestBuy. A fellow named Spencer was the sales rep sold my buddy his new computer, then noticed that I was looking at a row of lightweight netbook computers. He got really enthusiastic about how small they were and how much you could do with them, and was really excited by how powerful they were, too. I told him I wasn't buying today, my pal Dave was, but it didn't stop Spencer, who showed me 3 or 4 additional neat things. On the drive back, all Dave and I could talk about were the netbooks. And the next day I returned, and bought one from Spencer.

Did I really need to buy the computer? Yes and no. My laptop computer was 6 years old, and I knew eventually it would give out on me, probably in the middle of an important business trip. But I didn't have to buy that day, from that store, or that salesperson. The enthusiasm of Spencer was catching, and that's the main point of this story. Here's another: Spencer wasn't on commission, it was salary only! He's just damn good at what he does, has fun talking to customers, pumps up the enthusiasm, and sells the product.

Pete Caputa, my salesperson at HubSpot, my website's Content Management provider, is another sales rep who's enthusiastic about everything he sells, even though I know he's told essentially the same story hundreds, if not thousands of times. And his enthusiasm is a big reason I'm his customer, because I figured if it was as good as he said it was, he'd be just as enthusiastic being there for me if anything ever went haywire with his solution. Like Spencer, Pete's full of great ways I can use his solution to make my life easier and more productive. So what can we learn from all this?

We all get used to telling the same story, and it gets old. It's not old to the prospect, though, so it's important to pump it up a notch (as Ed Cronin at PowerSoft used to say) and discuss your solution with the same level of excitement as you did when you first started selling it. You've really got to believe that your solution is going to dramatically improve the lives of your prospects, and if you don't believe it, you've got to change companies. As you can tell by this story, I watch how people sell to me, and you should, too.  In every telesales training course I teach, I mention that you take a closing skills class every time someone attempts to sell you something. Watch what he or she is doing to communicate with you, and I'll bet you'll notice the most effective of them have lots of enthusiasm, too. If you're a little behind in the enthusiasm department, try to "pump it up" on your next sales call, and re-insert that chapter in your Best Practices playbook. And next week, I'll add one more post on this important topic, and how you can generate enthusiasm based on sales you've already made.

Increase sales success through better call notes

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Taking great notes during an inside sales call is a necessity, but so basic that many reps I've coached during our telesales training classes have forgotten how to do it, as they've improved their other skills. And these are pretty good reps, too. But because they missed a clue and didn't write it down, the call wasn't as powerful as it could have been. So let's review how to take great notes, and check your own note taking to ensure you haven't "backslid." Here are some fundamental concepts:

1) Many conversations have a number of buying "clues" from the prospect, that you may not necessarily want to address at that point in the call, but will want to discuss before you end the conversation. For example, the prospect may be in a deep discussion about the problems he or she is having that your solution can solve, and make a parenthetical statement like "Dave mentioned needing this, too, and frankly our new product rollout will be held back unless we find a solution right now." Here, I'd want to find out immediately what the new product is, ask about projected revenue for that product, and really drill down on the rollout issue. But I don't want to forget about Dave, because I'll need to find out who Dave is before the call ends. On my notes, I'll write that statement, and draw a star in the middle of my notes page, with a connecting line to the statement. Before the end of the conversation, all I have to do is scan the right hand side of my notes page for the stars, and ask about each one of them.

2) Use a big enough piece of paper. I've seen reps use sticky notes for notepaper, their writing gets cramped, and they leave important information out for brevity. After the call, they can't remember everything they heard, and it's not on their notes, either.

3) Enter your notes into the CRM database immediately after the call. If not you might forget something important. It's quite common, when putting notes into the database, that you'll realize that you forgot to ask something vitally important to your sale. Because you're entering the notes immediately after the call, you can call right back instantaneously to get the information. And the prospect will be happy to take your second call, because he or she realizes that you were really listening, and that you are thorough.

4) Handwriting your notes is critically important: Unless you're in tech support or entering an order, people don't like to hear you typing on the phone. They intrinsically feel you're not listening, and will slow their conversations to match you, which interrupts their thought process. They'll be far more engaged conversationally if they don't hear you pecking away while they're talking.

These are four basic concepts regarding taking great notes, and why doing so will make you more successful. Add them to your Best Practices playbook. And be sure to post a blog note if you have a great note taking idea that's worked for you!

Want a $100 million deal? Here's how to do it.

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Mark Mantel is a salesperson that attended my inside sales training course a few years ago, and earlier this year, he closed a $100 million dollar transaction. I asked him what sales techniques he used that most contributed to his success in this transaction, and here's what he told me. It's slightly longer than two pages, but well worth reading. Do you think you might want to replicate some of them? Here's what he says:

Hi Geoff,

The best place to start for me is philosophy before getting into "blocking and tackling drills." I know that I have to stay humble, or nothing good will happen that day. Staying humble means that I do not know more than anyone else. If I have that understanding odds are better that I will focus on the prospect/customer as opposed to myself. Conversation flows better, and my ego is not in the way. This actually leads to a very interesting dynamic...a customer's ego can close a sale. Ego can be an individual dynamic or a group energy. People like to be experts and leaders, and they talk more when they feel you consider them one.

The 5 practices you list are an excellent guideline for each day:

• Contact skills. If you can't reach a real person, you can't ask qualification questions, or make a sale. This element focuses primarily on contacting people high on the decision chain.
• Questioning skills. How do you ask every question you'll need to ask in order to fully qualify the prospect, and do it in 10 minutes or fewer? And how do you do it on the first call? This is the essential skillset needed to determine your prospect's business need, and return-on-investment requirements.
• Closing skills. No trickery here. We teach you to frame the solution to make functional and economic sense within the technology and business mindset of the prospect.
• Constructing skills. In enterprise selling, understanding, then charting both the decision, and the sign-off chains of command is critical to the business at hand, and future business as well. We teach you to ask the questions that will enable you to draw a line from your contact directly up to the CEO, and be able to identify everyone in that chain.
• Objection handling skills. Superior questioning skills are the critical element to understanding roadblocks the prospect may unveil during the closing process. Here, we'll discuss the most common objections, and provide specific answered customized to your company's solution.
• When working large sales contact skills take on a dynamic that can be complicated. There are politics, budgets, previous employers, other divisions, and so much more. Understanding how to get to the right people, then when and when NOT TO put them together is an art.

Sales do not succeed if questioning is not a part of my vocabulary. If I am speaking I am buying, if they are speaking...

It is my experience that closing can go significantly faster if people focus on getting basic information early... Requirements, Scope, Decision Process, Time Line, Business Consequences, and Budget. If this information is gathered accurately and early, closing falls into place much easier.

Constructing skills are essential in high dollar value sales. A simple example from your training is the #0 on voicemail....still use it today.

Objection handling skills are a high priority. How many people that you know list all objections they get, then chart out answers? If all the employees were required to handle each objection with the exact same answer think of how powerful that would be? Our group did that for the launch of this product. Additionally, we all agreed to do the first hour of every meeting the exact same way...sure does help when you have to jump a plane and fill in for a colleague. A succinct and strong message universally is powerful.

I guess my response to you is that I stick to the basics. Some additional things:

• Read about your industry...research, breakthroughs, competitors, etc....become an expert.
• Read! It helps to keep the vocabulary sharp.
• Always attend sales training...every year set a calendar and do it!
• Present to colleagues regularly.
• Keep in touch with people in the industry.
• Keep your enemies close.
• Talk with customers on a regular basis to learn their perspective on you, the product, competitors, etc.

     - Mark

P.S.  On that concept, $100,000,000 sales do not happen individually. Large teams with many individual contributions close sales of that size. I was a part of a team. Some titles involved in my large sale:

• VP of Sales
• Sales
• Research
• President of Division
• Network Specialist
• Product Development
• Publishing
• Project Management

OK, it's Geoff here, again. So that's the story of Mark's big sale, and how he and his team accomplished it. He's very good about spreading the credit around his company, too, which is one of the superior team communication skills he has as well. Because he credits others, I'll bet everyone in his company loves working with him. All of you can take Mark's example, use the sales techniques he recommends, and go out and develop an enterprise transaction like this yourself. And you can: Another rep I trained got a $1 million commission check one day. He celebrated by buying himself a motorcycle and traveling around North America for a year. And when he returned, his company welcomed him back! So break your own personal transaction size record this year, use these sales techniques, and add them to your Best Practices playbook.

Winning over your new (or current) manager

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I got an email this week from Jacob, a rep that I trained a few years ago, and who has just gotten a great job at a new company. He wanted some tips on winning over his new manager, who has responsibility for both the field and the inside team. This manager has just come on board, and wasn't involved in hiring him, so he wants to start off with the best impression possible. Here's what I told him, and it's deceptively simple and effective. With minor modifications, it can be used to win over your current manager, too.

• Before your meeting, check out his or her profile on LinkedIn, looking for elements in his or her business and personal life that will give you a little background.
  
• At the meeting, tell your manager that you have 2 objectives at your company:

       1) To make the company a lot of money
       2) To make your (the manager's) job easier

• So ensure that within the first 2 or 3 minutes, you ask the following question: "From my desk, what can I do to make your job easier?"

Managers rarely get asked this question, but it's an important one, and sets the stage that you're going to do whatever it takes to meet objectives, be a team player, and have a good disposition at work. Jacob's got a sunny disposition, he's a hard worker, and has always been a high-earning rep. He's already checked out the manager's LinkedIn profile, and found that the manager came from an area of the country where Jacob's got tons of relatives. I suggested he ask the manager about the challenges faced in changing localities, a good example of a question that can be asked to do some initial bonding without getting too personal too soon.

We sometimes make the mistake of thinking managers and execs aren't just like us, but they are. They mowed lawns or had lemonade stands when they were kids, and made sandwiches or delivered pizzas when putting themselves through college. In management, they're caught between trying to do a great job for the company and being liked by the people that report to them. And they can't be "buddies" because being a good manager is about not playing favorites. It's a tough job, and the fact that you care about making his or her job easier is going to be a real plus and will open important dialogue. You can learn a lot from them, too, by watching how the great ones manage people. You might be looking at your own future, too. More than 100 inside reps I've trained have become managers or execs, and what I've put in this post is exactly what I taught them in our inside sales training courses.  Even if you've been in your job for awhile, it's never too late to buttonhole your manager, ask for a quick 5 minute meeting, and ask the question. That question. Add it to your Best Practices playbook.