Business development has typically been a numbers game — a formula derived by tracking sales activities and successes. The formula predicts that X percent of the number of prospects you contact will grant you an appointment, Y percent will qualify for a presentation, and Z percent will become a customer. The “numbers” make the results of your activities predictable, and they will tell you how many additional contacts you have to make on average if you want to close a specific number of additional accounts.

The numbers tell a story, but they don’t tell a complete story. And, the numbers can be misleading. They focus on the quantity of sales activity, but not the quality of sales activity. Tracking sales activities and successes reveals how hard you are working, not how smart you are working.

An underlying premise of the “numbers” approach is that everybody who could conceivably use your product or service is a prospect on whom to call. If you sell materials handling equipment, for example, then every warehouse operation, every manufacturing facility, every parts distributor, every shipping facility, (you get the idea) is considered a prospect. Maybe they are; odds-on, they aren’t. More likely, there are aspects of your products and services — reflecting the core capabilities of your company — that are more appealing, useful, necessary, required, or beneficial to a subset of the “everybody” list of prospects. That subset represents your ideal prospects on whom to focus your prospecting efforts.

To make the numbers work for you and realize the most from your business development sales  activities, target the prospects for whom you can provide the “best-fit” products and services to meet their real, perceived, or yet undiscovered needs. Identifying and calling on those prospects transforms working the numbers hard to working the numbers smart.

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Where is the tipping point in a sale?

In traditional selling, the close is the tipping point.  It is relied on as the crucial element that makes or breaks a sale.  Books have been published, articles written, and presentations made to illustrate the many hundreds of closes.  Each is trumpeted as a powerful solution to concluding a sale successfully.  Examples include: Impending Event Close (“the price is going up on Monday”), Ben Franklin Close (“let’s decide this in the same way that a great American made decisions”), Puppy Dog Close (“just hold this and get the feel of it, I know you’ll love it”), God Close (“it’s not between you and me if you buy it, it’s between you and your Maker”), Better Alternative Close (“do you want this delivered on Wednesday or Friday?”), Yes-Yes-Yes Close (get them to say yes to a series of questions  to form the habit), and Enlightened Path Close (“if I can show you a way”).  They all make us wince because of their artificiality.  They all reek of “sales-y-ness.”  Rather than being unique intellectual ploys, they are shallow traps.  Closes like this are a sure giveaway that the salesperson is manipulating the prospect.

The center of gravity is the salesperson and how cleverly he closes to entrap the prospect is the key.  No wonder the stereotype of salespeople is so shabby.  Inherent in the ornate presentations and the snazzy closes is an aura of trickery that destroys trust.  Despite all the shortcomings, however, traditional selling does produce sales.  And, its tipping point is at the close.

What’s the tipping point in the Sandler Selling System?  It occurs at the very beginning of the selling process.  Without ruse, the Sandler-trained salesperson establishes the ground rules for time, objectives, role responsibilities, and outcome (called the Up-Front Contract) and insists on mutual agreement on all points before continuing.  Without consensus, the sales interview does not proceed.  At that instant of mutual agreement, the tipping point is reached and the salesperson continues to close the sale or close the file.  There must be crystalline understanding and mutual concurrence before continuing.

By so doing, the prospect relaxes because he understands what is going to happen during the sales meeting and what is not going to happen.  Perhaps more importantly, he believes that he has the power to end the call if he chooses.

At its deepest significance, the Up-Front Contract levels the playing field.  It demolishes the scenario of the prospect elevated to a lofty position issuing commands and demands to the subservient salesperson like they were coins to the impoverished.  In the stereotype, the prospect dictates “send me literature” or “submit a proposal” or “call me after I think it over” and the salesperson capitulates by saying “I’ll send it immediately” or “I’ll call you next month.”  Rather, the Up-Front Contract forges an agreement between mature adults to decide to do business only if there is a reason.  Nothing  more, nothing less.  The Up-Front Contract makes them equal players on a level field.  The entire debilitating and humiliating stereotype of the salesperson is erased with the use of an Up-Front Contract.

The tipping point occurs when there is mutual agreement on the Up-Front Contract.  The salesperson establishes control and closes the sale before any presentation is made.  The prospect, on the other hand, is secure because he knows what’s going to happen and has agreed to it.  He feels that he is in control because he has a mechanism to escape.  Most importantly, the focus is on the prospect and the prospect’s problems.  All this is achieved without trickery or gadgets.  The prospect tips the sale when he agrees to the Up-Front Contract.

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

During a recent private training session with a group one of the guys used the phrase “Sales Monkeys” in a comment he made to me.  Since I didn’t know what he meant I asked him to clarify and he responded by saying “How do we break the pattern of our prospects who are used to Sales Monkeys just giving away all of their info and pricing.”

He explained how his prospects have been trained by other salespeople to expect a certain way of selling (not asking a lot of good questions, not finding out true budget or why people would actually buy etc etc).  He feels like people will naturally resist if he does not do what other “sales” professionals do.  I helped him discover why this may not be the case and used a recent experience to do just that.

A few weeks back our family went to my dad’s cabin for a little camping trip.  Laughery creek runs right through the property and our young son loves to throw rocks and play in the water.  After a short time he started to stack rocks a few feet from the bank which was causing the water to go in a different direction and pool up in a new place on the bank.  The water still managed to go downstream to where it was headed it just took a different path to get there.

He is right, prospects have learned to expect certain behavior out of sales people.  What you have to do is gently place rocks in the right spot so you can help divert the process (stream) in a way that works for both people.  In this example he was able to splash around and the water was still able to flow downstream.  What rocks do you need to put in place to avoid becoming like all of the other “Sales Monkeys?”

Aaron Prickel

a Lushin & Associates Executive Workshop on August 20th in Fort Wayne, IN

Are you and your salespeople…

• Frustrated with being perceived as just another salesperson instead of a trusted adviser?
• Unsure why prospects aren’t buying from you?
• Annoyed with constantly accepting think it overs instead of getting a clear next step?
• Angry with providing costly “unpaid consulting” that never goes anywhere?

Are you managing your sales team, or are your prospects?

Break the Rules and Close More Sales
This executive-level workshop is a free two-hour training session where you can see firsthand how we tackle the same critical sales issues that you deal with every day. Invest two hours of your time and discover how to break the conventional sales rules and close more business.

When: Friday August 20th, from 8-10am
Where: Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne, IN (directions)
Who Should Attend: Business Owners, Presidents, CEO’s and Top Executives
How Much: Free

Register Here

presented by Paul Lushin on August 25th at Lushin & Associates Headquarters

Your sales people…

• Don’t know how to deal with prospects who want to “check the competition” before deciding
• Do too much “quoting and hoping”
• Hate dealing with intimidating people
• Struggle with objections and pressure about price
• Tend to be more of a professional visitor than a salesperson

Find out if ’s sales team is really capable of Passing a Gut Check.
This Executive Workshop is a free two hour training session where you can see first hand how we tackle the same sales issues that your salespeople deal with everyday. Invest two hours of your time and discover if your sales team can pass a gut check.

When: August 25th 8-10am
Where: Lushin Training Headquarters
Who Should Attend: Business Owners, Presidents, VP of Sales
How Much: Free

Register Here

I got to thinking as we are now halfway through the year about my yearly goals. I have done well with many of them however there are a few that I am falling short on. Can anyone relate? Of course my first reaction when I discovered this was to start blaming outside factors but quickly I brought myself back to reality and asked myself what would you tell one of your clients if they came to you with this issue.

My self talk started out like this.  How is my attitude? What behaviors am I not doing that I should be doing? I asked myself am I taking up pay time doing worthless things that are never going to grow my business? Do I feel like I am doing work yet the work I am doing will never lead to a trip to the bank? What excuses do I make each day to avoid the uncomfortable stuff? Am I saying no to things that are not in my best interest?  As painful as it was I had to be honest with myself and change a few of the things I was doing as well as change my beliefs about some things that are necessary in order to grow my business. I have nobody to blame but myself for not being on track for a goal at this point in the year.

There is no easy fix – no magic potion, no special pill that can get our businesses to where we want them to be. It takes time, effort, dedication, and ambition to achieve our goals. It can be frustrating at times when we are not on track but there is still time to change course and make our goals a reality!

Karen Casey

Being committed takes all the questions out of an activity. If you aren’t committed to doing something, then you always have one eye on your emergency exit while doing it. It leaves an out that ultimately will be a major distraction because you are looking for signs that you aren’t going to succeed… and the second you see one, you begin leaning toward your exit plan. This is a sure recipe for disaster in sales.

If you’re going to be in sales, be committed to sales. Many unsuccessful people in sales harp on all the obstacles and always dream about “getting out” or “having the good territory” or “how it was in the good ole days”. The grass is always greener on the other side. And too many sales people feel the grass on their side is already dead.

However, the minute you truly tell yourself, “I am in sales and I am sticking with it no matter what,” you will feel better about yourself and your profession. You’ll feel better because you’ve made up your mind. There is a principle called “commitment and consistency” that states when you are committed there is a strong internal motivation to ACT consistent with that commitment. You’ll feel better because many of your doubts just fade away. All of the things you second-guessed yourself about will dissolve. It’s like instant confidence. When you have to do something, you’ll do it.

The hard part is getting committed. It’s hard to shut off worries and self doubts about what you’re doing. Unfortunately, the sales profession often lends itself to that. There’s no simple solution, you have to confront these fears and doubts. Constantly tell yourself that you are committed and there is no other alternative. Eventually you will find you can shut off those negative thoughts. And once you’ve made that commitment to yourself, it’s a lot easier to get others to commit to you! Commitment is doing the things you know you need to do, even if they make you uncomfortable. Be committed and others will commit to you.

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why You Need This Book?

What if you found the secrets used by the world’s most successful sales people? David H. Sandler did, when he studied the most productive sales stars in virtually every industry and compared their behaviors, thoughts and feelings to those who struggled in exactly the same companies.

Mr. Sandler was more than a great sales representative himself – he was a genius when it came to psychology – and a great communicator. In this long awaited book filled with Mr. Sandler’s wisdom and humor, author and Sandler Training CEO David Mattson illuminates the original rules, with fresh new examples and techniques you can use immediately.

Until now, The Sandler Rules were available exclusively to Sandler Training clients in seminars, private training sessions and reinforcement coaching. Now, they’re yours.

If your serious about growing your business,
get your free copy of Wall Street Journal’s Best Selling book “The Sandler Rules” Here

This is a collection of twelve simple steps all salespeople should live by.

1.  Being genuinely interested in your prospect’s personal and professional opinions will do as much (perhaps more) to develop rapport as identifying his personality style or discovering if he is a football, baseball, or hockey fan.

2.    It’s just as important to disqualify a selling opportunity as it is to qualify it.

3.    What the prospect wants and what the prospect actually needs are rarely the same.

4.    The prospect’s problem is never what he thinks it is.

5.    It’s more important for the prospect to discover that he has a best-fit problem for your solution than it is to demonstrate that you have a best-fit solution for his problem.

6.    When the prospect says, “Money’s no problem,” it’s guaranteed to become one.

7.    A prospect with a budget and a strong reluctance to spend it is no different than a prospect with no budget at all.

8.    The objective of each encounter with a prospect is to either pave the way to the next step in the selling process—and eventually a buying decision—or to end the process.

9.    When a prospect states that he can’t make a decision, he just did.

10.    The financial investment to obtain your product or service is often less significant than the other “investments” the prospect must make to implement it.

11.    Identifying how and by when a prospect will make a buying decision is just as important as discovering who is involved in the process.

12.    If you wait for your customers to voluntarily provide you with referrals as a reward for the exceptional service you have delivered, you’ll be waiting a long time.

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Misconception #1: Salespeople should convince prospects why they should buy.

In a recent trip to our children’s pediatrician the Doctor asked what I did for a living. I replied with a quick “sales and sales management training.” Without missing a beat he says to me “oh, so you teach people how to convince others to buy their product/service.” I informed him how he couldn’t be further from the truth and how doctors and sales professionals are very similar. If you go to a doctor with a problem do they convince you on why you need a medication/surgery or do they ask good questions and help diagnose the real problem then provide a remedy to your pain? Don’t get me wrong, there are people who are out pushing a product/service but they are committing sales malpractice. A good salesperson should be like a good doctor and remember that script before diagnosis is malpractice.

Truth: You can’t convince anyone of anything, they must discover it on their own.

Misconception #2: People would rather buy from a friend rather than a salesperson.

When you were growing up did you want to be in sales? I ask this question to every group I speak to and typically 99% of the people say NO! I then ask how they would describe sales people with the most common responses being: pushy, sleazy, liars, selfish. Growing up these were our perceptions and for those of us who are in sales now guess what we try so hard NOT to be? That pushy, sleazy, selfish liar!!! Here is the problem, instead of finding a middle ground we go to the complete opposite end and just give and give to prospects and they continue to take and take. Instead of being pushy, we allow people to take as much time as possible to “think things over” or we don’t ask tough questions because we are afraid we will look pushy. We overeducate prospects thinking it helps build our credibility and gets them to ‘like’ us and all it really does is allows them to take our ideas and go somewhere else. Prospects love unpaid consulting and salespeople find themselves in this trap because they are trying so hard not to be that person they remember from their childhood.

Truth: A true sales professional is assertive not aggressive. They set expectations that are comfortable for both parties involved to help get a decision (no or yes).

Misconception #3: As long as you have a good technique you will be successful.

Our young son is learning how to ride a bike with training wheels and we spent this winter practicing in the garage. I found myself focusing on his technique when he was riding (head up, feet moving forward etc etc). I noticed we were not making much progress after the first few times and then he said this powerful statement to me “I can’t do it Daddy!”

It did not matter how well he knew the technique of riding a bike. He did not believe he could do it and therefore he was going to prove to himself he couldn’t. I’ve seen this exact scenario in people who are in sales. I’ve spoke with many companies and individuals who learned various sales techniques to help them close more business yet it never helped them to the level they wanted it to. Why? Because they either didn’t BELIEVE in themselves or the technique. It does not matter how good your technique is, if you don’t have the attitude that you can succeed and what you do truly helps your prospects you will find your efforts coming up short.

Truth: You can have the best technique in the world, however if you don’t have the positive attitude to support it you will not reach the level of success you deserve.

Eliminating these misconceptions from your beliefs is the first step towards being more successful in sales. Stop convincing people to buy from you and help them discover that they need your product and service. Stop being a friend first and a salesperson second, prospects buy from people who are like them not who they like. Finally, don’t base your sales skills on technique alone, controlling your attitude is also crucial to your success. Being aware of the misconceptions surrounding your professional role is the first step, it’s up to you change and implement the truth.

Aaron Prickel