sales Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Dennis E. Gilbert

12
Jan 17
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How to Stick With Your Plan

Tags : growth motivation results sales strategic plan

Have you ever asked yourself, “How will I stick with my plan?” Often the plan is not too complex, the timeline is reasonable, and the level of personal or professional growth is attainable. So what limits your success? Why do so many still come up short?

Coming Up Short

Much of my business is focused on helping individual people or entire organizations reach for more. I work with clients to do coaching programs, training and development, and even create some incredible strategic plans, but not all of them will accomplish their goals.

Often the hardest thing for us to do as people is to stay focused and committed to the plan. That doesn’t mean that the plan cannot change, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t fluid, and it doesn’t mean that it won’t be hard, but a lack of commit to the plan is almost always the beginning of a looming failure to achieve the goal.

Blame

Many will find situations or circumstances to blame, they might cite a lack of motivation, discipline, or even blame it on a lack of time. The truth is that while all of those things might be a factor, they aren’t the real reason.

The real reason is that you or the employee teams responsible for the goals and outcomes didn’t follow through.

You fell back to old habits, made excuses to abort activities or tasks because they felt awkward, cumbersome, or simply not within your comfort zone. Time is often blamed, there isn’t enough or the old way was faster.

If you’re going to make changes you are going to have to stick with your plan.

Becoming Sticky

How do you make that happen? Here are a few tips:

Be realistic. Make sure that your goals are worthy of stretching and reaching, but they must also be realistic. Losing 10 pounds in two days probably isn’t realistic and neither is increasing sales or production efficiencies by triple digit percentages within a very narrow window of time. Stretch is good, unrealistic is not.
Check results. You must always be measuring to your goal. Smaller goals that are progressive are often much better than larger goals that feel overwhelming and cause people to stall or stop. Provide visual aids as reminders, put it on your calendar if that makes sense, and frequently measure your distance to a milestone or the goal.
Stay focused. Don’t stray from your plan or the activities associated with it. It will be easy to tell yourself that something else is more important, or that the timing isn’t right, or you’re just not in the right mood. If you are so compelled to talk yourself out of the actions that support your plan, revisit the plan, make an adjustment if necessary, and stick with the new plan.

Nearly all people and organizations will face hurdles, obstacles, and other scenarios that may result in shortcomings or failures, but that doesn’t mean that it’s time to stop, quit, or send the plan to the recycle bin.

Keep your plan fluid and flexible, but make sure you don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.

Even the goal can change, but it must still be something that pulls you towards it and draws you in.

Will you stick with your plan?

The answer is easy—only if you want to.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

03
Jan 17
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Measuring Job Performance by the Numbers?

Tags : ethics measurement performance sales training

In business we’re often taught to measure accomplishments or success with a number. The principle idea behind measurement is to trend towards a goal. Do you measure job performance or business success by the numbers?

Goals and the pressure associated with accomplishing them can stretch the boundaries of people’s ethics and integrity. Extreme pressure to achieve the numbers can also affect how people perceive and measure risk.

Performance Measurement

Years ago I worked in a mail order business. The company had reasonable success. They had a strong sales force and strict guidelines for performance.

If you were in sales, you occupied an expensive seat, a cubicle equipped with a telephone, a computer terminal (workstation or terminal as they were called in those days) and a calculator. There were only so many cubicles and they were required to be occupied with the highest performing sales representatives.

As a sales representative you were responsible to achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. If you didn’t measure up you risked termination and the odds of long term success weren’t all that great.

I recall that one of the hiring strategies was to bring on fifteen new sales representatives with the hope that three to five might actually make it for at least three to six months.

Some did quite well, but the pressure to perform and acquire high volume repeat corporate customers was intense. As a commission sales representative your success was predominately measured by your dollars in sales, but did it really work?

Beating the System

Unfortunately several ethically challenged sales representatives found a way to make their numbers.

They discovered that they could send out product to random customers without their consent by using a shipping method known as C.O.D. (collect on delivery). Their sales were recorded (for measurement) in the computer system and their paycheck was calculated. If they achieved a high enough number a bonus was also applied.

The problem of course was that the customer never placed the order. The shipping company would attempt to deliver, the customer would refuse the shipment, and within about a week the product would end up back at the warehouse.

Not only was this entirely unethical but it cost the company time and money, the shipping company time and money, not to mention the terrible effect on the customer experience.

I think you get the idea. This was bad, really bad, but what caused this problem?

Challenges of Measurement

Certainly the persons who participated in this type of behavior had some ethical challenges, but then again did the company they worked for push things too far? Was the pressure to achieve the numbers and the witnessing of sales representatives getting hired and fired seemingly without care or concern for them as people a contributing factor?

Could it be that the culture adopted a feeling of, “I don’t care about the company because the company doesn’t care about me?”

Measuring success by the numbers is important but at what point does it cross the line? Do some exert too much pressure causing the employees to inappropriately assess risk and make very bad decisions for themselves and the company?

There are plenty of examples in business history. Companies such as Adelphia, Enron, and more recently Wells Fargo have all experienced ethical issues in part created by measuring by the numbers.

What to Measure

Using numbers as a measurement often brings with it the idea that more or higher numbers are better.

What if your automobile mechanic measured by the number and frequency of your visits, your dentist measured by cavities filled, or your doctor by knees replaced? Do they? They might.

Does the highest volume in ticket sales for the latest movie measure the best movie? Is a bestselling book the best book?

Are the highest sales numbers the most important or is the quality of the product, service, or customer experience a better measurement?

Measuring by the numbers probably works but the KPI’s (key performance indicators) need to be measuring the proper metric. What we measure and how, can have a significant impact on organizational health.

Companies who measure the right thing might be those with the best reputation. Those with the best reputation probably hire the best employees, they have the best training programs and they are most likely to have a low employee turnover ratio.

There is also a pretty good chance that they have the highest customer satisfaction ratings and will outlast their competition.

Are you measuring job performance by the numbers? Which ones?

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

12
Dec 16
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Who Is The Voice Of Your Business?

Tags : customer experience customer service sales

Who is the voice of your business, in a word, everyone.

Many businesses probably feel pretty good about managing their in-bound sales calls. They probably have a great website and probably have well established sales professionals managing all of their web-based sales as well as those old school sales that come in from callers.

What about all of the other departments or employees in your business that might interact with the outside world? Do they need to know how to manage calls and perhaps be well trained in customer service techniques?

I don’t do a lot of cold calling, but I do some. Most weeks I have a specific target for the number of new potential clients I’m trying to reach. I’m not alone, many business people and entrepreneurs are out there trying to build better relationships and earn more business, and a lot of them establish and build these relationships on the telephone or with video technology.

In today’s world many calls end up in a voice mail message, but occasionally you’ll get to speak with a real live person. Sometimes it might be the person who you were trying to reach and sometimes it might be someone far removed from your target.

What is the Point?

The point I’m about to make is that every auto-attendant, voice mail system, or person gives you an impression of that business. Every button you have to push, the length of time you spend listening to a recorded message, or the tone or perceived attitude of each recorded personal greeting is telling you something about that business.

On a recent call I reached someone in a department that was close to my target, but not an exact match. My impression was not good. The person listened patiently and gave me a few seconds to introduce the reason for my call, she didn’t seem especially hurried or annoyed, but when it came time to help me reach my intended target she acted like I just asked for the social security numbers and birth dates of her entire team.

I’m typically not a suspicious person, but my suspicion in this case is that she has been the victim of an internal assault for giving out anyone’s name or identifying anyone in a specific position. My asking to get to a specific person in a specific job role terrified her.

What is the Message?

The message here is that your business has people who are outside of your in-bound fielding team (or sales group) who may receive some occasional in-bound calls from a potential vendor or a misrouted customer, and those people who are representing your business are creating a first impression. They are the voice of your business. They represent everything that your business is and everything that your business does, including how it respects people and other businesses.

It doesn’t matter how awesome your website, marketing materials, or television ads are, when someone touches your operation through a telephone call they are visualizing every moment of that interaction as a representation of your business.

The worst part of this is that everyone gets it, this isn’t rocket science, but yet so many businesses fail to manage this properly. Often their thought is, “We’ve got better things to do.”

What to Do?

If you’re considering making a difference for your business you’ll need to review your auto-attendant answering system, you’ll need to consider who might be receiving calls. Many businesses have what is referred to as a dial by name directory, and these are great but then an outside caller may reach anyone in that system.

What does each employee have recorded as their personal greeting message? How does is it sound? How often is it changed or updated? What is the protocol for managing an in-bound call? What are the guidelines? Do you have a response time policy? Is their voice clear, warm, and friendly?

Does every employee know and understand?

So, I have to ask. Who is the voice of your business?

Everyone.

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

10
Nov 16
4

How Do You Prepare To Gain Confidence?

Tags : confidence performance prepared presentation sales

More confidence is something that so many people seek. If you’re inspired to gain confidence, it should never suggest that you are not already confident, but when we step out of our comfort zone we might need to find some more.

One of the most important factors to make a difference will be how you prepare. So many professionals feel rushed with schedule pressures and effective time management. Procrastination can often lead to individuals denying the necessity for preparation and taking the approach that they will deal with things as they come.

Less Confidence

You might be familiar with the phrase, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” Unfortunately I don’t know who to credit for these wise words but they are very applicable for those seeking to gain confidence.

Here is why. Perhaps nothing will more adversely affect your future confidence than your past performance. When you make a blunder, get tripped up, or have some type of performance failure you can grow from it, or you can set self-limiting beliefs which might make you feel less confident.

Gain Confidence by Preparing

Much of our confidence has roots in feedback or expectations that have been set by others. Our confidence might also be closely connected to self-efficacy and self-esteem. The best way to build more is to be prepared for any actions you are about to take or encounter. Here are a few tips to help you prepare.

Visualize. Whatever you are about to do, whether it is giving a sales pitch, starting a new job, or giving a presentation to a large group imagine yourself in action. Really visualize what you might say or do. What the room or surrounding environment might be like, and most importantly visualize the positivity you will illustrate as you deliver. Visualize the event or situation in its entirety with you nailing it as you finish strong.
Rehearse or practice. Practice in your mind (as part of visualization) or consider physically going through the motions depending on your circumstance or situation. Give yourself a test, do what you have to do to get it right, every time. Working out any kinks or bugs and connecting what you’re practicing to positive end results is important.
Double-check. In the fable of Santa Claus he makes a list and he checks it twice. Consider everything you will need to have or do. In a professional role you might think about things like business cards, marketing materials, a tablet and a pen. In some cases you might think about the type of shoes you’ll wear, the possibility for bad weather, or changing temperatures. You might think about how you will visualize any distractions and you might also consider your nourishment, meals, and the timing connected with eating and resting.

Over Prepared?

Yes, it might be true that you can over prepare. Preparing too much can set you up to underestimate the intensity required for your success. For example, if we rehearse too much it might make our interactions appear unnatural or not authentic. It is also possible that your level of confidence is so high that it creates self-deception about the reality of the circumstances or situation you face.

The most confident people are probably the most prepared, the depth of their preparation will be conditioned by both the specific situation and their level of experience.

What about you, are you prepared? What is your level of confidence?

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

14
Oct 16
-

Do You Ask About Training Needs?

Tags : needs assessment questions sales training

Many times I’ve been asked to either conduct a formal training needs assessment or provide consultation to other workforce professionals who are charged with conducting such an assessment.

Nearly every client engagement includes exploring some level of assessment based on needs. Some are very informal and some are more formal.

What is the correct approach? There certainly might be more than one answer, and in-depth assessment practices can fill an entire book, but here are a few basics.

Do I Just Ask About Needs?

A properly managed needs assessment is not a process of asking several questions about what an organization needs. This is as simplistic as a medical doctor asking if you have a cold, you say either yes or no, and they then prescribe what to do next.

It is not about just asking, “What are your needs?”

needs assessment

Below are a few of my favorites (not to do) that I’ve witnessed being used to conduct a so-called needs assessment. I must stress this is what not to ask:

What skills are lacking with your current workforce?
What training would help your team become better?
Do you need technical skills or soft-skills?

Sure this will collect some answers from the person or team that is being asked, but this is not the best way to determine current or future needs.

I’m amazed at the great number of people who approach a needs assessment in this manner. In fact, some of them are highly paid consultants.

The Right Approach

I’m a firm believer that there should be some balance in the approach for any assessment process. By balance I am referring to cost and value.

A full blown assessment that is going to reach in-depth to consider job tasks and duties, assess skill requirements, and perhaps even explore competency models is going to require considerable resources.

training needs assessment

Make no mistake about it, conducting an assessment of that caliber might be appropriate, but for many organizations especially small businesses this is probably too extensive.

Most organizations need to find a balance between low end and high end arriving at a cost effective solution that provides the greatest value.

Training Needs Assessment

The right path for developing training needs assessment questions must be approached without inappropriately leading or suggesting outcomes. It should be as unbiased as possible and should not make assumptions or predetermine possible outcomes.

Appreciative Strategies Assessment

Here are a few examples that are much better for discovering training needs.

You have several star or exemplary employees on your team, what is different about them when compared with your average employee?
Please describe one specific circumstance where employee performance resulted in an unfavorable or costly outcome for the organization.
What are the most significant barriers preventing your (department, team, et al) organization from achieving or exceeding its goals?

It’s important to recognize that there are many aspects to conducting an appropriate needs assessment.

This includes who to assess such as executives, supervisors, or front-line staff, and what to base the assessment on which may be things like efficiencies or productivity, customer service, sales, and even culture or leadership.

assessment needs training

A proper needs assessment must be representative of the best value and right-sized approach for each situation.

The most effective training needs assessment is not conducted by simply asking, “What are your needs?” Effective assessments help organizations discover both the obvious and the not so obvious.

What approaches have you used?

– DEG

Originally published October 14, 2016. Last edited on October 12, 2018.

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

13
Oct 16
-

Does Experience Make You A Better Negotiator?

Tags : experience negotiation sales workplace

When I was in my early 20’s I remember going into a television store (long before on-line shopping or super stores) and trying to strike a bargain with the store owner for a brand new floor model television set. My experience and negotiation skills were terrible and I left the store without the set and insulted the owner in the process. Young and perhaps a little foolish, I didn’t know the first thing about negotiation, only that I wanted to pay less than the ticket price.

Negotiation is a vital skill for anyone in the workforce. Of course we can easily see a direct correlation to sales positions, or perhaps salary negotiation, but beyond that we may not realize how often we actually negotiate. We might negotiate for the timing of a meeting. We might negotiate for a level of service we provide internally or externally. We might even negotiate for time off work or for the date of our next vacation. As people in the workforce we negotiate often.

Many would likely agree that experience is an important factor for performance and often experience is a critical discussion point with workplace generational challenges. The generations that have been in the workforce the longest preferring to cite experience as one of the most important factors for performance while the more recent generations often prefer to focus more on knowledge or technical skills. When we consider our effectiveness as a negotiator based on our experiences, things can sometimes become a little misleading.

Experience and Negotiation

Experiences that result in learning are where we find the most value. Negotiating can certainly help us to sharpen many skills. We can improve our communication, how to read body language, and even how to research for critical negotiation factors like discovering more about price or value. Bringing experience and negotiation together really exists in the feedback we exchange or in the future opportunities that we’ve learned to create as part of the process. Negotiation is sometimes mistaken for creating a win/lose position, one where we win and the other party loses. This is not effective negotiation; effective negotiation (for most circumstances) is about creating a win/win. This point alone illustrates that learning or focusing on the wrong tactical approach can result in more experience, but more experience of the wrong kind.

The bottom line on experience and negotiation is that experience can certainly improve our confidence, but experience does not always make us a better negotiator. Measuring the effectiveness of any negotiation should consider feedback from those involved in the process, results as compared to the negotiation goal, and where applicable, the atmosphere created for future opportunities.

Are you an experienced negotiator? Has experience improved your skills?

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

07
Oct 16
-

Does Good Negotiation Require Big Risk?

Tags : information negotiation risk sales

Negotiation skills and managing risk are critical in many job roles. During my career I’ve met plenty of people who are energized by risk, and plenty of people who are so risk adverse that despite having tremendous talent, they achieve very little. If you are going to be successful at negotiation do you need to have the audacity to take big risks?

We often see negotiation scenes in movies. We see it in movies based on true stories like the deal slaying stock broker film, The Wolf of Wall Street, (2013). We also see it in the high intensity hostage negotiation film, Bridge of Spies, (2015). While both of these films are based on true stories, any risk associated with real world negotiation should be carefully calculated.

In business transactions whether it is negotiating on salary or closing a multi-million dollar deal the best negotiators always examine risk compared with the benefits or potential gain. Sometimes the benefits will be measured in short-term value, in other cases it might be long-term value, or in still other cases it will be some combination of both. In nearly all cases the benefits cannot be fully realized without extensive information which makes the evaluation of risk a carefully calculated process.

Information and Risk

The risk factor lessens with more information, but more information is about quality and is always balanced with timeliness and effectiveness, as most would quickly realize too much information can create analysis paralysis. Managing information wisely, you can evaluate whether it supports your direction or it does not. If it doesn’t, you probably don’t want to take on too much risk. On the other hand, if you have information that does support your direction you may make what appears to be a big move, but because it has been carefully calculated the risk is not really as big as it seems.

Any information and past experience used for effective negotiation needs to be based on facts. Listening skills and other factors definitely come into play when considering risk. Often when people speak they are speaking more in terms of opinions instead of facts. Discussions in negotiations are often subject to judgment by those involved. The more compelling the discussion, the more factual it may feel even though the expressions may be those of opinions and not facts. Keep in mind that good negotiators focus on building a win/win outcome, not capitalizing on or intending to create a win/lose opportunity.

Big Risk

Big risk in negotiation should most likely be left for the movie scenes. Good negotiators are very calculated and have extensive experience, and while experience builds confidence it does not necessarily improve the negotiators effectiveness. In the best negotiations whether it is for annual salary, sales, or the boardroom, negotiators are using a variety of skills, experience, and information to create winning (win/win) deals.

Based on my experiences, good negotiation requires calculated, not necessarily big risk.

– DEG

23
Aug 16
-

Make A Different Sound

Tags : being heard influence sales

Being heard is often important to the change seeker, they want the opportunity to voice an opinion, state a fact, or influence a decision.

You hang a picture on the wall and barely notice it again. A guest visits your home and asks about the chiming clock and you realize you didn’t even hear it. A bird chirps outside your window or the noise of rush hour traffic means it is just another day.

There is a quest to be heard, but when it is the same noise, the same picture, or the same old daily grind it goes completely unnoticed. It might be the element of surprise, a new venue, or a different sound that changes everything. We target our marketing, our voice, and our opportunities to influence in the same space at the same time and following the same rules, and yet we wonder why we aren’t being heard.

Make a different sound.

-DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

28
Jan 16
3

Can Millennials Sell To Boomers?

Tags : millennials sales selling to boomers tactics

The easy answer is, yes. The harder answer is that selling across the generations may require a certain amount of interpersonal finesse. Many people quickly recognize that there are some differences when selling across the generations and some will quickly jump on the idea that the use of (or lack of use of) technology is a big reason for gaps between earlier generations and later generations. Perhaps technology is a barrier, but even the rival political baby boomers, Hillary Clinton, and Donald J. Trump, tweet.

So what works best? The psychographics associated with any generation can certainly keep the best of the best on their toes, but here are five tips that will help millennials reach across the generational framework when selling to boomers.

Eliminate hoops. Most buyers don’t like jumping through hoops and the boomer generation will quickly get frustrated with any hoops they are expected to jump through. Technology is big for this; things like automated telephone systems, website pop-ups, and multiple log-ins for information are a definite turn off. Most boomers are also not inspired by the mobile phone app craze.
Social proof is not a big factor. Depending on what you are selling, social proof may not be all that important to a boomer. While there is a trend towards seeking information and reviews on-line before making buying decisions, the boomer generation will often resort to old school word of mouth when considering their final buying choice.
Place experience over technology. Millennials and generation 9/11 (Gen Z, iGen) will likely have the most interest in technology oriented solutions while boomers are going to feel more comfortable with what has proven itself in the past. Boomers don’t necessarily want new, they want tested, proven, and trusted. For this reason, talking their language instead of forcing yours will yield the best results.
Believe in what you are selling. This is universal for selling to any generation, including your own. When you are passionate and truly believe in what you are selling others feel it, and for you, it may feel like you aren’t selling at all.
Don’t give up quickly. Boomers have a soft spot for demonstrated effort. Of course, that doesn’t mean they like being pestered, but being appropriately persistent can be a plus. Remember that some stereotypes exist throughout the generations that the more recent generations don’t work hard or value hard work. Be resilient to impress the boomer.

Lastly, remember that many factors go into conditioning the values and beliefs of any generation, including things like rural versus urban living, espoused parental values, and geographic location. Not every person in any generation will fit the generalized values and beliefs the experts often describe, but popular wisdom supports the notion that many do.

Consider these tips and watch your sales to boomers, boom!

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker, and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

27
Jan 15
-

Attracts Flies

Tags : customer service results sales

Do you have the clients, customers, or business relationships that produce the outcomes you wish for and need?

Chances are good that you attract what surrounds you. While this may not always be your intention or how you wish it would work out, it may be reality that you own what you attract. Business or personal.

Is the customer database for low priced economy automobiles the same as the database for mid-sized business sedans, or to go one step further, high priced super cars? Most would quickly say no, the demographics are quite different. And with that, I suggest so are the people and those relationships.

Sure, marketing and advertising have something to do with all of this, but sometimes the results aren’t so apparent. So we do more of the same, yet we expect something different.

Do you want something different? Different customers, different interactions, and perhaps most importantly different outcomes?

What you attract is what you’ll get. Don’t attract flies.

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Photo Credit: William Cho

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Tag Archives: sales

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Less Confidence

Gain Confidence by Preparing

Over Prepared?

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Do I Just Ask About Needs?

The Right Approach

Training Needs Assessment

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