So, there I am chatting with yet another sales director about their team and how they are going about their business.
The words I’m using to describe sales today are ‘sophisticated intelligent approach where we care about a client’s needs and position ourselves as the authority’. The client nods thoughtfully and over coffee we exchange a laugh and reflections on how the art of sales has changed (for the better) over 30 years. I’ll highlight and share some of those with you.
1992
Sam is the Salesperson.
Hiring style: Hired on your personality attributes and skill labels that the sales manager deemed salespeople needed such as: extrovert, charisma, showmanship, someone who stands out in a crowd, able to talk the hind legs of a donkey, and dare I say it ‘able to sell ice to the eskimos’. In the interview the boss talked about how he started, and his bookshelf showcasing copies of ‘How to win friends and influence people’.
How potential clients knew about your solution:
Through reps like Sam. Sam was ‘the voice’.
Advertising in a newspaper. And when a rep turned up, they had to do the 360 of selling and explaining.
Sam needed to be very good at holding an audience.
He gives out branded pens and business cards.
Business Development:
Yellow pages or stomping your territory patch, pounding the pavement and knocking on doors.
Pick up the phone and say ‘who is responsible for…’
Using catchphrases like ‘it’s a numbers game’ and ‘he who is like a dog with a bone’ over a client will win. He runs after anything that moves and sees speed as essential to get the deal in.
Relationships: Sam becomes mates with the clients, friendly rapport (all sorts of chit chat), spending a lot of time on getting to know them.
Presenting Style:
Materials: paper, a lot of paper, brochures, Sam would demonstrate by doing a ‘show and tell’.
Every rep has their own way of doing a presentation with rare consistency.
Preparation: what does that mean? I just show up (and “throw up” the sales spiel). I can think on my feet. I’ll wow them. I pack my business cards.
(He does like to talk does Sam).
The sales office was like a 1950’s trading floor, all noise, a lot of lunches, boozy sales reps on a Friday afternoon and boy was it loud. Very, very LOUD. A bell was rung when a sale landed. A lot of back-slapping team love. Lot of time spent hanging out at the printer and photocopier. The odd sassy photo may have circulated after a boozy Friday afternoon.
The key words were ‘bonding and fun’.
You work there because: you fell into the job and now are mates with everyone. The boss doesn’t really know where reps are, you thrive on autonomy.
What you don’t like: Marketing department because they think they know it all. Finance department because they upset your accounts, they are not flexible, they ask your accounts for money!! You dislike yearly assessments of your role. Feels like being massaged and kicked at the same time.
What motivates you: having a great time, getting in the sale, having your name up on the leader board and beating Nigel who was just lucky on his patch. You get in the deal and happy to move on swiftly. You are quick on your feet and very driven. You also like those lunch expenses.
What Challenges you: admin, paperwork (organisation in general) and prioritising. If Sam leaves, the company will be derailed for a while.
Evolution of skill set: Sam thinks he knows it all already, sometimes Nigel says ‘this is how I did it’ or ‘go and talk to more people’
Team dynamics and sales culture: your main competition is your colleagues, it’s very competitive. You need to show you know your stuff in meetings. ‘He that talks the most and loudest gets the attention’ and attention is good. You want to be at the top of that leader board. Relations with other departments are up and down. Mainly down.
2022
Sarah is the Client Success Manager.
Hiring style: Companies now use a professional recruiter to remove the bias. Leaders have psychometric assessments to objectively understand how individuals tick and what their behaviours and motivators are. The Sales manager has tests, evaluations, and predetermined questions to understand Sarah and to know how to best manager her (how to get the best out of her).
Sarah is hired because she is extremely well organised, can prioritise. She does what she says she is going to do. Possibly somewhat introvert (and quiet) by nature, Sarah is very good at shifting the focus on the other person so is ideal for sales where listening and understanding trumps over talking.
How clients know about your solution:
Website, they looked at case studies, reviews. They are on live chat and fill in web forms
When the journey reaches a salesperson, the prospect is clued up on what your organisation does and has narrowed down a shortlist of the 5 companies they deem can possibly help them. The salesperson needs to be good at preparation, research, and a master at quickly exploring and understanding a client’s needs.
Business Development: Sarah has a thorough plan of action. She knows the target clients, how to reach them.
She uses LinkedIn as a ‘journey’ and may have tech stack (interconnecting systems to ensure the most efficient way of client reach).
She is organised and carves of time to proactively reach out and provide compelling reasons for those potential clients to engage with her.
Regarding her current clients, Sarah has clear times to ‘Account Develop’ which is about ‘protecting and developing’ her accounts. She has a plan and system which allows her to identify her key accounts, undertake ‘due diligence’ (scooping up info about them and how her solution may be of service) and then how to reach out and add value to them. Her key words are ‘value’ and ‘customer centric’. She is positioned as the authority, the trusted advisor, the ‘go to’ person in her field.
Presenting Style:
Very customer centric. Lots of preparation ensures Sarah’s presentation is more of a consulting and collaboration basis of ‘we work together’. When she does pitch an idea it is precise. She can land a compelling message with clarity.
Sarah’s challenge is she wants a better CRM and technology to do the thinking back end so she can focus on the front end.
Materials: all electronic, she has everything she needs at her fingertips.
The sales office: ‘hot’ desking and agile. Lots of bean bags, coffee machines and gym membership. Flexibility to work from home.
You work there because: they have a progression plan for the next 5 years and you are on an accelerator pathway to get there.
What you don’t like: Speed of CRM changes, things can be clunky and within a year it’s outdated.
What motivates you: Knowing that you are selling something that’s worthwhile, knowing you are recognised for your contribution. Knowing your path in the business, exceeding your KPI’s.
What challenges you: Sarah can be shy to pick up the phone so needs assistance around advanced sales and communication skills + product knowledge.
Evolution of skill set: Sarah is aware of her strengths and evolution potential. She is on a development pathway where the skills required are mapped out.
Sarah is fully invested in that pathway as it encompasses internal and external training. Sarah enjoys driving her own development by watching videos, reading blogs and following podcasts (including this amazing Smarter Selling Academy, which is a resource rich hub of podcasts, courses, videos, Q&A, eBooks and Guides, Blogs and Masterclasses). ?
Team dynamics and sales culture: The team have regular professional sales training which means they are upskilled, empowered and confident. Everyone has learnt about behavioural styles, enabling each person to better understand people, especially their colleagues (including those in marketing and finance) and how to best work together. Everyone contributes positively to team meetings and is empathetic and supportive of others. Collectively everyone relishes in team achievement through objective feedback and sharing successes with a growth mindset, for themselves, each other, and the business.
What can you do to help your team with being current, being seen as the authority – firstly:
Help your team by coaching them on all the objections that come up, start a easily accessible document so that the team can practice, be armed and confident
Learn more:
Handling Objections part one >>>
Handling Objections part two >>>
Also, if you are a sales leader join us:
Contact us to understand how objections fit amongst the full client interaction >>>
Piece written by Charmaine Keegan, author of over 20 eBooks, is a sought-after guest speaker, panellist, and keynote. She is a Certified Trainer Extended Disc System, of Situational Leadership, of NLP (how we operate), Hypnotherapy (unconscious communication) and Timeline Therapy (recognising your beliefs about sales and money – and recognising that of your customer). She has studied the psychology of human behaviour and is considered an absolute authority and true expert on sales techniques. She has ‘walked the walk‘ so her content, programs and key notes are highly practical and focused on results.
