There are a multitude of reasons why salespeople are not managing to sell.
For reasons that can range from the obvious to the (in most part) unconsciousness.
Common ‘obvious’ reasons include:
- They don’t really know what they are selling.
- They know what they are selling but intrinsically don’t believe in or appreciate its value.
- They do know what they are selling but they lack professional structured sales training on how to sell it effectively.
- Market factors, i.e. competing against a better solution whose price point is better than yours.
Now let’s move on to and dig deeper into the less obvious reasons:
- They subconsciously don’t like ‘salespeople’ (so are not happy being known as one).
and now even deeper,
- They are ‘old’ school and like flattering the customer.
- They are under pressure to reach KPI’s.
- They are angry (either consciously or subconsciously).
Let’s examine these one by one.
They don’t fully know what they are selling
Yes, would you believe there are salespeople out there who are ignorant of the ins and outs of what they are selling? They think sales is being nice to everyone and having the ‘gift of the gab’, so they spend lots of time seeing and talking ‘at’ people, or conversely, they avoid people engagement altogether by being preoccupied with admin tasks.
Issue: The boss thinks ‘it’s a time management problem’ so hasn’t picked up on their sales reluctance.
Solution: Ensure everyone is fully knowledgeable about what they are selling. The induction should include a thorough (and recorded) explanation of your solution, its USP, questions you would ask a client, and the outcomes gained from using your solution.
They know what they are selling but inherently don’t believe in it’s value
As a leader, we take it as a given that our salespeople are “sold” on what they are selling. After all, they are out with clients explaining (influencing/convincing) how your solution X is right for them.
How on earth can they do that effectively, without being truly convinced themselves? Now for some hard facts: in our programs, we uncover that over 90% of salespeople are not up to speed on the full value of what they are selling: the features, benefits, competitors, and differences.
Issue: There are so many issues it’s not funny, let’s look at a few.
They’ll end up talking at the client (the old ‘spray and pray’ technique) and avoid a two-way discovery engagement out of fear that it will unravel (and expose their lack of knowledge).
Or it ends up being a numbers game. See enough people, enough will buy.
Or they discount heavily to get the deal. (Hint: they reduce the cost to meet their perceived value in their heads.)
The question is why don’t they speak up and say ‘I am not convinced’?
In my experience, there are two reasons
- They are blissfully unaware that they lack the latest product info so are merrily naïve or ignorant, or
- They are simply too scared to tell their boss ‘I’m not 100% convinced of this solution’ fearing embarrassment or worse, losing their job.
Solution: regardless of what you think your team’s mindset is, relate regular ‘success stories’, where you outline a client’s issue/pain point, share what questions you asked, illustrate how you aligned and put forward your solution to the successful champagne bottle cork opening effect of the ecstatic customers. As a leader, the key people you need to convince of your solution is your sales team and you need to continuously remind them of great results and brilliant outcomes that have been achieved for your clients.
They know what they are selling but they haven’t had professional structured sales training to know how to sell it
This rolls into two areas.
1. Lacking: They are aware of their skills incompetence and that they don’t know how to sell, so they find someone internally to learn from.
A colleague, like Sam Smith, may have taken them under their wing (which means they’ll be exposed to all of Sam’s behaviours, good and bad, plus Sam’s approach and style – which may or may not resonate for them).
2. Overconfidence: They think they have mastered selling, possibly even to the point of saying, ‘I know everything there is to know,’ so they are not open to evolving. You and others might share tips and guidance for development, but they will ignore them.
As far as they are concerned, they have learned all they need to.
Delving deeper into this vanity, the reasons could be that they believe sales is ‘innate’, there is ‘one way’ and they have cracked the code – or – they are fearful of change. Change means a closer look under the bonnet and reviewing how they are currently selling. Things may unravel, and they may face having to do things differently. Change equals effort. Some are too set in their ways, ‘I’m too old to change’.
So, they persist, “head down, bum up” – keep looking ahead.
Issue: The way we engage is always evolving.
Take the last five years as an example: marketing/websites/Li, clients’ education, tools, how we build trust, who is making the decisions, you name it—all of it is rapidly changing. The point at which a client now engages with a rep has shifted down the funnel. To be ahead of the game, you need professional, structured, modern training and insights covering the latest sophisticated sales techniques.
Solution: Let’s stop pretending that ‘innate ability’ is enough. Selling is a science.
It is a veritable profession relying on sophisticated people and communication skills.
Get your team excited about learning and development by sharing what you are reading, which podcasts you are listening to, and which experts you are following.
Give them a taster. When they see the value of a tip here and there, they get quite hooked. Suddenly, your team has identified 15 ways to handle that objection, not just a default way. They understand why the client didn’t call back. They realise how to get ‘in the door’. They know how to make successful acquisitions, and how to protect and develop accounts. They develop an array of tools and structure on how to drive growth.
To give you an example of this, I regularly hear Managing Directors speak about a high-performing rep, saying, ‘he knows what he is doing’. They honestly think that a course done over 10 years ago along with ‘he gets it’ is equipping them with what they need now, in today’s market. I love getting hold of high “benchmark” performers because usually within a day they have listed more than 30 simple tweaks they can action immediately for enhanced results. As a great example, recently 1.5 hours into one of our programs a senior highflyer said ‘The lightbulbs are going off, I’m lit up like a Christmas tree’. He simply didn’t know what he didn’t know. With a tweak here and a different approach there, he said he would be up by 35%.
Market factors i.e. competition with a better solution whose price point is better than yours
People do not buy solely on price. Their buying decisions are influenced by a variety of factors.
If what you sell is no different to a competitor and the salesperson (encompassing the engagement, relationship, and care factor) is no different, then there’s not much to distinguish between the two solutions. In that case, a client only has the price difference to go by.
If the competitor’s solution is substantially better than your offering, you need to find a credible gap that your team can leverage.
Maybe the competition’s and your offering are only marginally different. Theirs may seem ‘better,’ but the client may not need their extra bells and whistles.
Issue: The team becomes jaded. A spiral of expected failure may start. They think their solution isn’t good enough. They start to discount early to ‘win’ the business. Their attention is on the competition instead of being focused on building solid relationships with potential clients. They end up being ‘needy’ in front of the client, tipping towards the ‘begging’ end. If they get a meeting, they are so grateful the client senses it. The client feels the buying pressure. A sure way to turn them off.
Solution: Your team’s mindset is primordial in keeping them buoyant. Remind them and illustrate that people buy for different reasons. It’s not about price, otherwise competition would not exist! Create lots of practice across all scenarios. Help them formulate an impressive investigation approach to determine (not assume) what the client needs and wants.
The focus should be on success stories and advanced sales and communication techniques, where they thoroughly examine the client’s requirements. If it’s B2B, they need to position themselves as the Trusted Advisor, be active on LinkedIn, and demonstrate how they are the authority, the subject matter expert.
They don’t like ‘salespeople’
Reading that you probably either nodded or you screwed your face up in disbelief.
If you are a salesperson in disbelief, just skip to the next section. There is nothing for you to see here.
If you are a leader who can relate to this, or may have a salesperson who falls into this thinking – read on.
Some people have negative beliefs about what defines salespeople.
Let’s work on that disarming belief. Actually, first let’s identify ‘What is a belief’?
It is something you have told yourself enough times that you deem it to be the ‘truth’. Often, we buy into someone else’s belief.
You are not even aware that it’s a ‘belief’ that can easily be discarded.
There are many reasons we hold onto old beliefs.
Issue: One, we were not even aware it was a belief, we thought it was a true fact (as above). Two, there is more to gain from holding onto it than letting it go.
Example: If I admit I’m a salesperson, then I need to live up to that title. Yet saying ‘I’m not a salesperson’, gives me a ‘get out of jail’ card and an excuse for any poor performance.
I am honoured to train thousands of sales leaders and salespeople each year. They genuinely want to help people obtain the right solution. I’ve always had a positive anchor with the word sales.
Solution: Instead of sales, let’s call it ‘helping’. That’s what we are all doing—helping a client.
It is only called ‘sales’ because money is exchanging hands.
They are old school, flattering the customer
Is your team going over the top with client ego-stroking?
Self-denigration in the form of placating, flattering, deference, self-effacement, and passivity are all attempts to influence others by catering to their ego in order to get favourable treatment and as a consequence, get our own way.
Issue: False humility merely implies to the other person, ‘I am inferior and insignificant’ so you can treat me that way. And of course, they do.
These emotions are manipulative and destructive to forming real relationships.
It can be uncomfortable for the other person and destroys trust.
Solution: Teach your team that sales is a sophisticated, professional approach in which they find out all manner of needs—known and unknown—and put forward a helpful solution for a client. Have integrity and authenticity. Be client-aware, observe, and adapt.
They are under pressure to reach KPI’s
Reps under the spotlight usually perform the worst. Their energy is directed on ‘getting the business’ when it should be on partnering with the client and delivering the right outcome for them. They start to fixate on getting a ‘win,’ and boy, does the client know it.
When we put pressure on other people to get what we want, they automatically push back. The harder we push the harder they resist.
Issue: Even though the client may concede to our demands (simply because they are in need) later they will regret the energy exchange, feel short-changed, and be critical and intolerant.
Solution: Development needs to involve constant coaching and mentoring on the job, offering daily and weekly examples, underpinned by professionally structured training.
It all needs to be naturally woven into the fabric of your company culture.
If someone isn’t performing, then as a leader be sure to know or learn the KPI Handling and Assertion Techniques* (where your rep leaves the conversation empowered and confident with clear steps – as opposed to feeling beaten down, inadequate, and depressed).
*Assertion for leaders is our top training this year. It seems we all benefit from some extra guidance in this area.
They are angry (consciously or subconsciously)
Anger and resentment, conscious or subconscious, for whatever reason, manifest in our daily behaviour.
You may be angry with things at home, your job, your boss, or the client.
To help clarify the impact of emotions in interpersonal relationships, a very quick lesson is to realise that another person is conscious and aware of our inner thoughts and feelings. We like to think that we can mask and others are oblivious to our innermost feelings, but quite the opposite is true. We are all connected on a psychic intuitive level. You can safely assume your feelings are being read and known by others.
I’ve frequently had a rep say to me ‘That’s a difficult customer’ and I’ve challenged them on how that thinking plays out in their customer engagement. They are always very quick to defend, ‘Well obviously I wouldn’t let them know’!
Do we really think that a client (or anyone) is impervious to our feelings and thoughts?
Therefore, if you consider yourself (or others have observed you) feeling resentful and angry, then it’s not about ‘band-aiding’ it. Anger will eat away at every element of your life.
Anger caps fear. Fear can be driven by a host of insecurities, like worrying about providing for yourself and loved ones, and fear that you are not as good at this career as you thought or hoped. An insecure person is fearful and prone to jealousy, clinging, possessiveness and attachment in relationships, an approach that always leads to frustration.
These feelings lead to pressing others to prevent loss and achieve security.
Issue: Anyone sensing that possessive energy and pressure will have an inner impulse to avoid and detach.
As a result, those attitudes will drive a need to constantly influence and control situations and others, which will cause people to intuitively resist and turn away. Put simply, your client will run for the hills.
Solution: The only way to overcome other’s resistance is to let go of wanting to influence them in the first place. Fear is often linked to pride, which is a negative energy. When that is relinquished, the fear is resolved.
Feel it, own it, recognise it, and then decide to let it go.
Ensure your team knows how to own and handle their state of mind and how to move from a negative to a higher energetic positive state. This enables a willingness to see something from a different perspective and be forgiving. It will also allow them to be open to feedback and shift to a growth mindset.
Sales is always about evolving with change and with the times. So the skill to adapt to change is key. Being positive is crucial.
In summary
Sales is the engine room of the business, the oxygen of your business.
Invest time in ensuring everyone is 100% convinced of their solution.
Bulletproof we call it.
Your client is buying into certainty and confidence.
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