It’s not unusual for me to hear sales people say that prospects “didn’t get it”, or “they are just plain dumb”. 

I always wonder what this says about the sales person making this statement.   It’s important for us to remember that we are conveyors of information…like a pipeline.  We are supposed to connect the flow of value through that pipeline between the prospect and our company.

Therefore, it’s unacceptable that we should expect prospects to know much, if anything about us and our organizations.   There is one area, however, the prospect DOES know a lot about and that’s their own situation and problems. 

Remember that true selling is helping people solve their own problems.  You must approach this task as the prospect’s partner - or equal.  Don’t be arrogant or cop a superior attitude - it will show through.

If your prospects aren’t catching on as quickly as you’d like, it’s your problem. It’s your marketing departments problem.  The actual problem is that your messaging isn’t as clear and compelling as it should be.  Until you come away from every interaction where the message was clearly received, you and your business have work to do.

The job herein is the align with the prospect’s intelligence, not to expect them to align with your existing message. 

If the prospect didn’t “get it”, that’s your fault.  Figure out how to make is clearer for the audience you’re speaking with.

 ~Brooks

One of the greatest challenges that recruiters have today in assessing the viability of a new sales rep is whether or not that individual is going to be able to learn the value messaging and deliver it in a way that will drive sales.  The problem with sellers is that we usually interview better than we produce on the job. 

I have met very few reps who do both well. 

Usually managers and recruiters work closely during the recruitment process for each rep.  This is (or should be) especially true for higher profile, larger quota positions such as field based roles or senior sales / executive account manager positions.

The more complex and mission critical the offering, the longer it can take for these sales reps to absorb and leverage all the resources around them to become successful.   For example, Telus has a new division whose new reps will probably take two years before becoming consciously competent, in my opinion. 

To make matter more risky for vendors, if a territory is not already well developed or has been badly neglected, it can take longer for that rep to come out of the ground.  In addition to the reality that many big application sale cycles  (such as those in the infrastructure and ERP space) are taking longer to close and harder to justify with capital expenditures, it become a very frustrating and patience testing process to know for sure whether or not a new hire is going to produce a return on the investment made in thier development and support.   This always adds to management pressure if development expectations aren’t clear from the CEO on down.

This is less true for applications that are focussed on the desktop level or are easier to buy such as the Software as a Service model.   When I was a Program Manager at Business Objects (now SAP), my business unit (World Wide Sales Operations) had a clear body of evidence that the cost of hiring, training and supporting a senior feild rep was well in excess of $100,000 by the time in you included all salary, benefits, travel, etc.   This was the price of hiring a new rep at the field level.  Further, we had lots of data to support that these individuals usually didn’t produce much in the way of meaningful revenue for at least 3 quarters on average.  In addition, attrition was very high (probably higher today) at close to 40%, which meant that every 2.3 years, we were working with an entirely NEW sales force.  So, if you do that math on that situation you can see why it was very important that we paid close attention to supporting reps skill and territory development to ensure as much success as possible.  

This was another reason why the direct sales force had a quota overlay of at least 2.5 times our number…we needed lots of room for error and attrition.  Unfortuntely, this kind of scenario creates a situation where big deals get all the press and hero worship is the order of the day…but that’s a whole other article.

It is farcical that we think because a rep came out of Oracle,  i2 Technologies, IBM, or Veritas with consitent W2’s in the $300,000-plus range, that they are going to be successful in your organization.  As they say in the Mutual Fund industry, ‘past performance is no guarantee of future results’. 

It is up to us as managers and those in Sales Operations functions to design and refine systems aimed at ensuring the success of rep development in the field.  We can’t expect that everyone is simply going to “get” our organization’s message and then deliver against multi-million dollar quotas magically. 

However, managers should be able to determine whether or not reps are going to make it.  Yet, it should not be exclusively their role to develop and deliver the mechanisms to ensure that success.  They should merely be the operators of those mechanisms.  That design and delivery role should be the function of a Sales Operations-type function.  These functions should be well developed in any company over 15 million in revenue.  In companies producing less than that, such as start ups, they’re likely going to be non-existent, which is why those guys need my book even more and should also be hiring reps and managers with same industry expertise.  

That way, it’s more likely their dogs will become successful and skilled at the hunt.

~Brooks

If you are going to work for a tech company today, it is very important that you CLEARLY understand their value proposition BEFORE signing up.  In fact, I think this should be in the top TWO reasons why you would join forces and help them sell. 

Not long ago, I worked with a company that had a poor value proposition in the marketplace and it was very difficult to build sales and marketing messaging that was compelling.  Here were their problems:

• They could only sell 90% of thier product line in Canada due to regulations and tax laws
• The product had to be 100% installed on customer hardware and offered no viable options for offsite or “hosted” services
• The product took 6-12 months to install and the services to do this in many cases were 2:1 as expensive as the licensing.
• It was very difficult to cost justify replacing many separate systems with this company’s single database system, due to the high capital outlay required to buy this software package. Most customers were willing to live with their disconnected systems rather than spend on a new, unified one.
• Their platform was focussed primarily on the healthcare vertical, which is notorious (at least in Canada) for being very slow to make decisions (read: loooooong sales cycles, before you get paid!), slow to adopt new technologies and fraught with a very high level of subject matter expertise required to sell it (read: your personal training commitment is going to be bigger than other companies you might work for).

Are you excited to work with a company like this? 

I didn’t think so.   If you’re looking for a new company to sell for, I suggest you REALLY do you homework and focus on understanding their value proposition.  Companies that would be ones I suggest you consider are those whose value proposition is going to be easier to manage in your sales conversations that the one I outlined above.  For example, a good value proposition would include:

• Anything with Software as  a Service, where the product or software is hosted by the vendor.  Companies like Salesforce.com, SugarCRM are two such examples in the Customer Relationship Management sector. 
• Anything where displacing people and their jobs is the main driver towards cost savings.  Even though it fundamentally makes sense at the economic level, nobody likes to lose their jobs or bring in solutions where that will happen.
• Anything where it helps people do their jobs and eliminates frustrating, long standing IN-efficiencies in the day to day operations.
• Any company that has broad adoption accross the range of industry.  Unlike my healthcare example above, companies that offer solutions anyone can use for a specific problem to all or most businesses is a good place to be.  The Business Intelligence vendors like Business Objects and Cognos did a great job of this in the last 15 years.
• Anything that can either A)directly help drive more revenue (such as the improved conversion in e-commerce traffic like those offered by companies like HackerSafe or The Online Sales Accelerator) B) make the process of driving revenue easier to manage (Digital River is a classic example of this type of business).

These are some examples of things you ought to be considering.  Ask yourself if you understand what the company does and if you can get behind it.  Does it make sense to you?  Would you buy it if you were in the market for such services?  If not, don’t sign up.  

A solid value proposition is one of the most important things you must have in your current or next employer if you’re going to be successful in technology sales.

~Brooks.

Friday night I had dinner with a friend who works for a tech company that has him on the road most of the week.  His accounts are spread out between 4 medium size cities.  He’s travelling most of the time and therefore eating out most of the time.  He’s had this job for two years now and while he’s making a decent six figure income, he’s put on more weight than he’d like. 

He didn’t realize how much weight he’d put on until he saw some recent Christmas pictures of himself. 

Unfortunately, this situation is all too common.  I would have to say that a large percentage of the people that I have worked with over the years in technology experience a similar situation IF THEY ARE TRAVELLING A LOT. 

That’s the key - if you’re on the road, it’s not hard to put on the weight.  Especially if you’re not used to that lifestyle:  You’re entertaining clients, taking them out for dinners, drinking more alcohol than usual and typically eating portions that are larger in both calories and serving size.  But it all tastes and looks SO good! Further, you’re almost always eating on the company expense account which makes for slightly less inhibitions when it comes to have the best stuff on the menu.  This is more true lately with companies being more generous with such perks to keep employees who travel frequently more happy.

Anyway, my point is this, if you’re about to take a sales position that will have you travelling and eating out more often, be wary of the above and do what you can to eat well and stay fit on the road.  Because my friend now has set the goal of stripping OFF that twenty pounds while his travel schedule remains the same.  He said it’s affecting his energy levels and therefore his productivity. 

 …maybe I can document his progress and share the results in my blog.  Take care of yourself if you’re on the road and be wary of all the extra calories that exist in restaurant prepared meals.

 ~Brooks.

Nothing makes a sales person sound more insincere and afraid than speaking too quickly. 

If you’re not calm and comfortable in your own skin, buyers are going to pick up on this and treat you accordingly.  I suggest that you role play your company’s message and sales conversation to the point where someone could wake you up at 3am and have the sales conversation without hesitation or fear.

 The most important thing however, is to speak with a pace that isn’t too fast.  When you speak too quickly, you sound like you’re trying to get everything out as fast as possible.  This type of communicating does not allow buyers to participate in the conversation.  And that’s exactly what a selling situation should be  - a conversation. 

 When I listen to new reps (and some vets) sell, I am often reminded at how much better their results could be if they slows the pace of their speech down and allowed buyers the opportunity to speak more. 

 Don’t speak so slowly that you should stoned or drunk, but to take the time to clearly enunciate and sound like you know what you’re talking about.

 You’ll have much better conversations that will move sales opportunities along farther and fasted because people will buy into your confidence.

The fact is that buyers are going to do what buyers are going to do.

Put another way, you can’t change human nature. One of the greatest sources of stress in selling comes from trying to manipulate people into doing something that is not in their best interest.

Sales close with higher frequency, for less (or no) discount and with less stress if you stay in alignment with buyers.

The best way to help buyers facilitate their own buying decision is to find out early (and often) if they actually have a problem that your product or service can help them with. The next step is to identify how much improvement is possible should they choose to use your product or service.

The worst thing you can do for alignment is to start telling people what they need. Telling isn’t selling. Telling is just a one sided way to have a conversation. It’s bad news because it doesn’t allow you to know what buyers are thinking. Nor does it allow others to add value to the conversation.

The old adage “always be closing” is dead. Instead I recommend that you change it to read like this: “always be confirming”. That is the best way to stay in alignment.

Remember what Ben Franklin said, “Convince a person against their will and they are of the same opinion still”.

If you can help buyers come to their own favorable conclusion about your product or service, then you’ve done a solid job of selling. However, that is only possible if you think of them as a friend first, not someone who should buy your offering at all costs. To achieve this, you need a basic understanding of your buyers situation.

How does one do that? Simple. You ask. Remember; always be confirming.

For more ideas on how to get and stay in alignment with buyers, read New Economy Selling.

You can’t get away from it. But you can learn to manage it.

Added stress is inevitable in sales.

Whether they admit it or not, most people in this industry are affected in some way by the stress of this career. While I feel strongly that the excitement and benefits of this business are worth more, you still must be able to handle the stress that comes with a sales career in I.T.

There are a few things that I have found to consistently manage stress when things get crazy (too many opportunities to manage, quarter end pressure, new product launches, excessive travel commitments). They are simple, reasonable and effective.

1. Drink more water. Cold water is better. Your brain functions better when your blood is more hyposmolaric (the word used to describe increased viscosity in your blood, from higher water intakes). Stress increases cortisol levels in the blood, which the renal system has to deal with. Increasing water intake can help minimize the negative effects of this hormone. You will go to the bathroom more frequently, but the stress reducing effects are well worth the visits.

2. Get more sleep. Sleep is critical to managing stress. I actually plan for it near the end of a quarter when I know that my efforts and activities are increasingly critical. Sleep also helps manage cortisol levels. Chronic stress can lower productivity and mental acuity, both of which can be minimized with more sleep.

3. Meditate. Ok…I’m not talking about loin cloths and medieval chants here. Rather, I’m suggesting you try this. See if you can find a quiet place to sit still with your eyes closed for at least 60 seconds. Don’t move. Don’t do anything. Don’t open your eyes. Sit perfectly still. Just focus on your breathing. Think about the air going in an out of your lungs through your nostrils. It is amazing to me how many people CAN’T do this! If that’s you, chances are there is way too much “white noise” in your mind which is dramatically affecting your ability to sell. People say to me “…but Brooks, I’m too busy to even take a minute out to do something like this!” My response is always the same, “That’s exactly when you MUST do this.” Get rid of the clutter in your mind that stress creates and do this daily.

These three practices I feel reduce my stress levels by 50% or more on any given day. More importantly, they make me feel more in control and focussed.

In New Economy Selling I recommend further ideas on how to manage your mind and body to increase productivity.

~ Brooks.