How to Leverage the Power of LEADER'S MATH to Multiply Results

The first act of leadership is obvious. To obtain followers. The second act of leadership pays the biggest dividends. To develop leaders. Any leader that develops leaders makes the shift from follower’s math to leader’s math. 

Here’s how it works.

Leaders who just develop followers grow their organization or department one person at a time. But leaders who develop leaders multiply their growth, because for every leader they develop, they also receive all that leader’s followers. Add ten followers to the organization and you have the power of ten people. Add ten leaders to the team and you have the power of ten leaders times all the followers and leaders they influence.

That’s the difference between addition and multiplication

LEADERS WHO DEVELOP FOLLOWERS ADD ONE AT A TIME

LEADERS WHO DEVELOP LEADERS MULTIPLY THEIR GROWTH

Leaders Who Develop Leaders Look For the Gold

Successful leaders all have one thing in common. They know that acquiring, developing and keeping good people is a leader’s most important task.

An organization cannot increase its productivity—but people can! The “asset “ that truly appreciates within any company is people. Systems become dated. Buildings deteriorate. Equipment wears. But people can grow, develop, and become more effective if they have a leader who understands their potential value.

The bottom line is that you can’t do it alone. If you want to be a successful leader, you must develop other leaders around you. You must establish a team. You must find a way to get your vision seen, implemented, and contributed to by others. Developing leaders is a process and will require a time commitment on your part and the on the part of those you are developing. When you calculate your investment of time with leader's math you’ll see how leadership development pays off.

It takes a leader with vision to see the future leader within the person. Michelangelo, when questioned about his masterpiece David, answered that the sculpture had always existed within the stone. He had simply chiseled the rock around it. Leaders must have the same kind of vision when viewing potential leaders. Some of the qualities to look for in a person include the following: positiveness,  hunger to grow , follow-through, resiliency, integrity, discipline, humor, “big picture” mindset, dependability, work ethic, teachability and gratitude.

There is something much more important and scarce than leadership talent: It’s the ability to recognize leadership talent. One of the primary responsibilities of a successful leader is to identify potential leaders.

Andrew Carnegie was a master at identifying potential leaders. Once asked by a reporter how he had managed to hire forty-three millionaires, Carnegie responded that his leaders had not been millionaires when he hired them. They had become millionaires as a result. The reporter wanted to know how he had developed these men into valuable leaders. Carnegie replied, “People are developed the way gold is mined. Several tons of dirt must be moved to get to an ounce of gold. But you don’t go into the mine looking for the dirt,” he added. “You go in looking for the gold.”

Anyone can see people as they are. It takes a leader to see what they can become, encourage them to grow in that direction, and believe they will do it.

Check out our related post: 

The Pygmalion Effect: Sooner of Later Leaders Get What They Expect

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how to develop your organization's culture, employee engagement and leadership capability? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Amp Up Sales for the Rest of 2019

As we are well into the Q2, it's time for rigorous reflection... and it's time to get super-charged for the rest of 2019 
.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself and your sales team:

+ What did you learn so far 2019 that helped you acquire new accounts? Retain accounts? Penetrate accounts?
+ What did you do that wasn't so successful? 
+ What are you going to do better or differently in the rest of 2019 to acquire new accounts and retain/penetrate existing accounts? 
+ How much commissions are you going to make in 2019 and what are you committed to doing to achieve that? 

One of our favorite books to help us answer some of the questions above at this time of year is: "Your Best Year Yet" by Jenny Ditzler .

In this edition, we share a set of proven best practices that will help your sales team achieve its robust sales goals. 

Take these tips, share them with your sales force (during a sales meetings and/or 1:1s) and apply them in daily selling efforts--you'll find that even just using a few of these tips will help you and your people reach your goals and put more money in all of your pockets

The Single Most Critical Instruction in Closing

You are now going to receive the eight most important words in the art of closing. These are the most powerful words spoken on the complex, demanding, and well-paid art of closing. Here they are: 

Whenever you ask a closing question, zip it! 

Why is it so important to keep quiet? 

The first person who speaks after the closing question has been posed owns the product. If you speak first, you (or your company) still own the product. If the clients speak, they’re either going to say “yes” or “no.” 

If they say “yes,” whoopee! 
If they say “no,” they’ll likely say something you can grab hold of...another talking point that, once covered, allows you to try another closing attempt. 

So, keep quiet and don’t risk destroying the buying emotions you’ve worked so hard to build during your presentation. That is one area where average salespeople lose and winners win. 

The average salesperson can't wait more than ten seconds after asking a closing question to say something else. 

How NOT to Close a Sale

I recently heard a story about a salesperson trying to close a sale. He tried the old “IQ close.” He said, “This option makes the most sense; in fact, this is the option my smart customers chose.” So… I guess they are idiots if they don’t choose that option. No wonder salespeople get a bad rep. 

Some salespeople place too much pressure on the customer at this stage. Other salespeople spend too much time trying to find the magic pill for closing. Customers are turned off by gimmicky closing techniques. Customers are turned off by overbearing salespeople who treat the interaction as a win-loss scenario. If they close the sale, they win. If they don’t close the sale, they lose. 

Salespeople will also put too much pressure on themselves at this stage. They have a now-or-never approach to closing the sale. Even the term “closing the sale” sounds like a power-trip statement. In this scenario, the focus is on the salesperson, not the customer. 

Professional salespeople focus on understanding the customer’s business, needs, and problems

PLEASE COMMIT THIS TO MEMORY: The more time spent understanding the customer, the less effort it takes to move the sale forward. A clear understanding of the customer’s needs earns you the right to ask for their business.

Professional salespeople simplify the process. Closing the sale is not arm-twisting pressure. It’s about moving the sale forward. It’s not about finding a hundred different ways to close every sale, it’s about progressing this sale forward. 

In your next sales presentation try this simple two-question approach. 

Ask the customer for their thoughts. For example, 

“What do you think of my recommendations?” or “Am I on the right track?” 

If the customer gives you a buying signal, then ask for the business. For example, “How would you like to proceed today?” “How would you like to move forward today?” 

It’s not complex, it’s not about pressure, it’s not gimmicky, and it certainly isn’t about IQ; it’s about the customer’s needs. Once you understand the customer’s needs, progress the sale forward by asking them two questions. 

5 New Ways to Handle the Objection: “The Price is Too High”

The price is too high is an objection that is as old has humanity itself. If you think hard enough, I’m sure you can see the ancient Egyptians walking around an outdoor marketplace haggling with sellers using this very objection. And if you think even harder, you can probably envision weak sellers dropping their prices to make a sale. Things haven’t changed much in four thousand years, have they? 

The good news is that today there are a variety of proven ways to handle this age old objection. The most obvious way is to see it for it often is: a smokescreen hiding either a real objection or an attempt to haggle and have you to cave in and give a better price. In either of these situations the technique is to isolate the objection first and see what other stalls they come up with are before you negotiate price. You’ll see examples of these below. 

Below are five new ways to handle both types of price/budget objections. Pick the ones you’re most comfortable with, then make them your own and practice them until they become automatic. Given the frequency of this objection, you’ll be much more confident once you know how to handle it: 
“The price is too high – We don’t have the budget for it” 

Response One: 
“You’re right, and I know we’re not the cheapest out there – and it’s important that you heard that right – we’re not the “cheapest” service on the market. And there’s a very important reason for that: The quality that you get with us goes far beyond the few extra dollars you’ll invest today, and let me tell you the top three reasons why….” 

Response Two: 
“And that’s exactly why we offer our introductory program. Here’s the thing: we’re so convinced that you’ll come to appreciate the added services and value we offer that as soon as you begin using our service, you’ll forget all about the small initial cost. 

In fact, you’ll find that in the long run our (product or service) is not only affordable, but it saves you time AND makes you money. And that’s something you’re interested in doing, isn’t it?” 

Response Three: 
“_________, if you really think about this from a business perspective, you’ll soon see that this is actually something that you can’t afford NOT to do, and let me tell you why: If you don’t put this (product or service) to work for you, while you may save a bit of money today, you’ll be losing money tomorrow in terms of (lost revenues, extra work, lost sales and opportunities, etc.). As a operator, you just can’t afford to keep doing that. 

Response Four: 
“You know, a lot of business owners (V.P.’s, etc.) at first think this is an expense, but think again: if it helps to bring you more business, and/or helps you keep the clients and customers you already have, then it becomes an investment in your success, doesn’t it? And that’s how all successful companies grow – they invest in their business. 
And that’s what you have the opportunity to do right now. So let’s get you started…” 

Response Five: 
“I hear you _________, and let’s just say that I could wave a magic wand and get you the money (or reduce the price to where it would fit within your budget). Level with me: what other reasons would you have for not at least considering putting this to work for you today?”
[Now listen for the real objection and deal with it appropriately]

So now you have five new ways of handling the price objection. Make sure and listen for what the real objection is and then use the right script to overcome it.

The Number One Cause of Price Objections

Fairness is how you hope the other person will treat you. 

Last year, a survey of 500 people identified the causes of price resistance. Limited resources, fear, and lack of differentiation ranked toward the top, but they were not number one. The top driver of price resistance was a perceived lack of equity. They said things like, “I want a fair deal” or “I don’t want to feel I’ve been taken advantage of.” Buyers wanted to feel that they are getting at least as good as they are giving. Most defined value as a return greater than the investment. 

The equity theory of motivation proposes that humans compare outcomes to inputs. If the payoff is equal to or greater than the investment, the buyer perceives equity and is motivated to buy. Perception plays an important role in the appraisal of value. It is always the buyer’s perception that counts. Perceived inequity results in no purchase. 

As a salesperson, you can demonstrate the equity of your solution by demonstrating the short and long-term gains of your solution. Discuss the full value of your end-to-end customer experience. They must enjoy a return on their investment over time. Price is a one-time thing. Customers must perceive your value as an annuity. This way, they experience a return on the investment long after they pay the price to acquire it. 

The Root Cause of Many Lost Sales Opportunities

I was visiting an old friend not long ago and he reminded me of the great ping pong tournaments we used to have when we were in college. He also told me he had just purchased a ping pong table and it was “waiting” for us in his game room. My buddy quickly grabbed one paddle; I picked up the other. It's been decades since we last faced off against each other. We were never very good, but we were always competitive. 

After a brief warm-up period, I felt the old rivalry re-emerging. 

My friend had moved too far to the right side of the table. With a nice hit to the left corner, I could score an easy point. Maybe even a bragging point. 
  
Eagerly, I whacked the ball into just the right spot -- or so I thought. Instead, it sailed six feet beyond the table into a potted plant. (Too much adrenaline!) 

Moments later, another opportunity presented itself. My pal was playing too close to the table, making it difficult for him to hit a long ball placed directly in front of him. 

I swung hard and fast. It hit him in the chest. Another big miss for me. 

The Problem 
After a few more lost points, the root cause of the problem became glaringly obvious. My eagerness to score big was causing me to make rookie mistakes. 
  
To win, I needed to control my emotions -- which, as you might imagine, is easier said than done. 
We have to do that in sales too. Good sales opportunities get my adrenaline flowing. We can see how we can help. We know we can make a difference. We want to pounce on our prospect. 
  
It doesn't work. Instead, it creates serious, sales-ending obstacles. Prospects don't want to play with you anymore. They think you're only out for yourself. It's probably not true, although I have to admit that early in my career it was. 

The Solution 
If you really want to win at the game of sales, it's crucial to control your emotions. Sometimes the first step is hardest -- recognizing your own actions are causing the problems. 
  
Then you have to figure out new ways to respond and even learn new skills. It's hard work, but it's worth it. 

As for my ping pong game, I realized that mastering the skills I needed to beat my friend would take longer than my weekend visit. I decided to focus on having fun instead -- and keeping the ball in play. 

Sell Value Not Price

Selling value is the number-one obstacle that salespeople face. It is challenging but not impossible. Big box superstores, category killers, and discounters of every stripe are attempting to re-define the concept of value by using the word value as a euphemism for cheap. A solution that fails to perform for a customer is lousy value, regardless of the price. To sell value, let’s begin with an understanding of value—what it is not and what it is. 

Value is not bloated, feature-rich products. Value is not layers of services that a company offers. Value is not a cheap price. Price is a product feature—like size, color, packaging options, etc. Why allow yourself to have a sale derailed over a product feature when the real issue is value? This reminds us of the famous Mark Twain quote, “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” Salespeople that allow themselves to be sucked into a price debate think no differently from the person who raises the price issue. 

Value is an outcome, the result of your solution. Value is return on investment, yield, or the impact of your solution on the customer’s world. Price affects this outcome no more or less than any other product feature. Salespeople lose the value argument when they get lost in the weeds of price justification. Like price-shoppers, they lose sight of the real purpose of a solution—to create something of value for the customer. 

The value of something is determined by what customers sacrifice measured against the outcome of the solution. Sacrifice includes price and ownership costs. Outcome includes what the solution does and how it affects the customer. If the outcome of the decision is greater than the sacrifice, it is great value. If the sacrifice is greater than the outcome, it is lousy value. Price is a piece of the sacrifice, not the whole of it. At the heart of buying decisions, customers want great value, not just cheap prices. Salespeople, who find themselves arguing over price versus selling their value, must heed the advice in Proverbs: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” 

IF YOU'D RATHER GET A ROOT CANAL THAN MAKE A COLD CALL READ THIS...

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” Georgia O’Keeffe, 20th-century American Artist and Painter 

You may not feel what Georgia O’Keeffe is describing here, but if you are like many salespeople, you probably experience varying degrees of cold call reluctance. 

Cold call reluctance is the fear, unwillingness, or hesitancy salespeople experience when they think about reaching out to customers whether they are cold calls or repeat calls. This can range from mild to severe. It includes prospecting by phone, in-person canvassing, networking, or asking for referrals. 

Call reluctance is either a problem of will or skill. If it is a problem of will, it includes the fear of rejection, the belief that cold calling takes too much effort, or the attitude that it is not a viable way to build your business. If it is a problem of skill, it means that you have never been taught an effective way of cold calling. Simply, you lack the necessary skills to make this a viable business-building strategy. 

If it is a problem of will, consider the possibility that you can build your business by reaching out to prospects. Rejection is highly overrated. How can anyone reject you personally when they really don’t know you? All they are rejecting is your messaging. Do some serious soul-searching, and ask yourself why you do not like reaching out to prospects. 

If it is a problem of skill, you can reread and PRACTICE the SMART training module entitled, 

"Turning Cold Calling in to Gold Calling. "

Reaching out to prospects is still a viable way to build your business. A study of calling habits found that 80% of salespeople still cold call as a way to fill their pipelines. A successful cold-calling campaign requires planning, practice, and persistence. 

The Power of Surprise in Customer Service

“FIRST TIME I’VE EVER LOST A GAME THAT WAY. FIRST TIME I’VE EVER SEEN A GAME LOST THAT WAY.” -NICK SABAN 

Saban is referring to his surprise loss to Auburn in the 2013 Iron Bowl. With one second left, Alabama attempted a 50+ yard field goal. The ball soared through the air, on target, but it didn’t have the distance. The ball fell eight yards short into the arms of Chris Davis, an Auburn receiver. Davis ran it back for a touchdown to win the game. The Auburn nation was in a euphoric state while Alabama was devastated. Although the game was just another win and loss, there was one element that made this game larger-than-life, surprise. Surprise can have the same effect in customer service. 

Surprise has the ability to make every service experience that much better, or make everything worse. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review article mentions that surprise can amplify whatever emotion you are experiencing. The article also argues that surprise is one of our most powerful marketing tools. Surprise can make or break your customer experience. 

However, surprise is becoming more and more difficult. Companies benchmark themselves against their competitors. Companies are too quick to say “me too” instead of “Surprise! We’re different.” Companies are changing to become the same, rather than changing to surprise their customers. 

Given, the ubiquitous nature of products and services, it shouldn’t surprise you that only 7% of customers are delighted. In a recent customer service survey sponsored by American Express, customer experiences are average or below average 93% of the time. 

To surprise customers, we must look for opportunities. Customers will give us hints, but we need to recognize these hints as opportunities. If the customer shows the slightest hint of dissatisfaction, it is an opportunity. The slightest hint of satisfaction is also an opportunity to heighten the experience. 

To surprise customers, we must also find a way to say yes. When a customer needs our help, we say yes. When a customer needs more information, we say yes. When a customer asks “can you do this,” we say yes. There are several ways we can say yes. For example, if you don’t know the answer, find out who does. If the customer problem is unique, research a solution. If they need to vent, then listen. I recently met a business owner who understands the importance of saying “yes” to customers. Surprisingly, the name of his company is Yes Cleaners. 

The next time you are presented with an opportunity to surprise a customer, say yes. They will remember the experience. Think of the last time you received surprise service. 

If you'd like to become a better sales coach (or help your managers to be effective coaches) call me at 323-854-1713 or email me at petercmclees@gmail.com

To your greater success,

Peter C. Mclees, Principal
Smart Development

We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

Are you giving your prospects and customers a clear choice? And is it you?

Quote of the Day: "As long as I'm learning something, I figure I'm OK - it's a decent day." 

- Hunter S. Thompson

The old saying still rings true: if you are in a business without competitors, you’re in the wrong business. 

FYI, I don’t know anyone in the wrong business. 

When too many vendors crowd into a market, inevitably the differences between products narrows; as do the pricing differences. 

In the eyes of your and your reps prospects and customers, all vendors appear virtually to be the same. 

However, you can help your prospects and customers by providing them a clear choice. 

You just have to make sure that it's you. 

Becoming the clear choice starts and ends with a superior buying experience. 
Buyers want to quickly gather information to make good decisions with the least possible investment of time, effort and money. 

Is your selling process aligned to helping the customer achieve this? 

• Are you completely responsive to their need for information on a timely basis?
• Is the information you provide (insights, stories, data, stats, context and so on) relevant and easy to understand?
• Did you qualify the prospect that your solution will enable them to achieve their desired outcome(s)?
• Did your every sales interaction with the customer provide something of value that helped them make progress toward making their decision?
• Did you build the trust-based relationships with key stakeholders in the decision?

If you have an affirmative answer to each these questions then you’re on the right track. 

What you need to do is simple. Yet, too difficult for so many sales managers and reps to execute. 

Your prospects don’t possess an unlimited store of time in which to evaluate products to purchase. 

More often than not, the winners are sellers that learn how to make themselves the easy choice. 

You got this!

Click here for tips on how else to boost sales for the rest of 2019

Peter C. Mclees, Sales Coach and Trainer

Smart Development

petercmclees@gmail.com

Mobile: 323-854-1713

We help sales managers coach their reps to accelerate profitable sales. 

Grow with FeedFORWARD (without the baggage of feedback)

Marshall Goldsmith created Feedforward. It’s name is a play on words with feedback. You’ll see when you practice it. It’s quick, easy to learn, and simple (Although not always easy), and, most importantly, it works. You can use it your whole life, learning from it each time you use it.

Dr. Goldsmith built his executive coaching practice on it over decades. As a testament to its ease of use, applicability, and effectiveness, his client Alan Mulally, as an executive at Boeing, used the technique enough that Marshall barely had to coach him. He soon became CEO of Ford and soon after that he was named CEO and person of the Year.

You will master Feedforward as well. It only takes a few times practicing to get the basics.

The Feedforward Exercise

The person you can never see from another perspective is yourself, yet you wish you could the most. After all, everybody else sees you from another perspective.

Others’ views are indispensable to improving your life and leadership skills. Most people get them through feedback. At work they get reviews from their managers. Athletes, actors, and other performers get feedback from coaches.

As much as feedback helps, it has limits, mainly that it evaluates the past.

Asking someone to evaluate creates communication issues. People often hold back what they think you won’t like hearing or if you might react in a way they might not like. If you ask someone how well you did on a project and they say, “You did part X great, Part Y great, and Part Z great,” does that mean you did everything great or that they didn’t want to tell you what you did poorly? You’ll never know, not because he or she isn’t a great friend, but because of inherent issues with communicating evaluation.

When you ask about the past, you’re asking about something you can’t change. To act on feedback, you have to translate information about the past into something you can do now.

Feedforward gets usable information and advice without the baggage of feedback. It looks forward instead of backward. It’s a simple, two-minute practice that can get you more useful information than feedback.  We’ll give some background and then outline the practice in a simple script.

What to Do

Follow the Feedforward script 10 times for one behavior you want to improve.

Like you learn piano scales by playing do re mi fa so la ti do, not in other orders, you learn Feedforward by following the script. If you want to improvise, you can, but you’ll do so more effectively after you master the basics. You get most of it after 5 or 10 tries.

1.     Identify something behavior-related you want to improve.

2.     Identify a person who can help and why he or she would be helpful.

3.     Say to him or her, I’d like to improve [X]. You’ve seen me [do X] and others who are great at it. I wonder if you could give me two or three pieces of advice that could help me improve at it.”

4.     Write the advice down. Clarify if necessary. Do not evaluate.

5.     Say, “Thank you.”

6.     Optional: Ask for accountability.

For example, as frequent public speaker, I might do it as follows:

1.     I would identify public speaking as something to improve.

2.     I’d identify people who saw me speak in public.

3.     I’d say to each of them, one-on-one, in turn, “I’d like to improve my public speaking. You’ve seen me speak in public and others are great at it. I wonder if you could give me two or three pieces of advice that could help improve at it.”

4.     I’d record their answers, asking clarification if necessary.

5.     I’d say, “Thank you.”

6.     Say that they recommended that I slow down after making key points. I might ask them to review a future presentation to make sure I slow down after making key points.

You do steps 1 and 2 on your own. You can pick any behavior you want to improve—punctuality, sleeping better, interrupting less, losing weight, quitting smoking, saving money, and so on.

Tips

What you want to improve will determine whom you ask. If you want to improve something at work, you might ask colleagues, or a mentor. If you want to lose weight, you might approach someone you know who lost weight. If you want to improve your relations with a family member, you might approach another family or someone you know with great family relations. If you want to improve your first impressions, you could ask random strangers on the street.

The person you ask the advice from will feel like an expert, important, honored, and flattered.

Note that the wording of the exercise is precise. Marshall Goldsmith cut out many counterproductive things people say and included only what’s necessary. Feedfoward doesn’t benefit from deviating from the script, at least not until you’ve mastered following it. For example, adding judgment, which beginners often do, will undermine it.

For example people often say, “That’s great advice,” thinking it’s encouraging. It still judges. How do you feel when you help someone and they judge your help? Even if they judge you positively this time, you know it may turn negative, so you feel motivated to avoid next time.

Step 3 asks for advice, not evaluation or judgment. In Feedforward, you don’t ask, “How did I do?” If you phrase your question to be about the past, people will evaluate your past, which creates the problems Feedfoward is designed to avoid.

This exercise, done properly, gets the value of the feedback without its discomfort or limitations. If I ask people for Feedforward about public speaking and three people tell me I need to slow down at key points in a presentation, I can figure out that they think I rush through parts of my presentations, even though they would not likely have told me had I asked for feedback. Asking for feedback almost never get you information like that. Asking for clarification encourages them, as does taking notes.

In Feedforward, Quantity Creates Quality.

Feedforward won’t always result in advice you want or can use. When you get useless or unhelpful advice, still say “Thank you,” since however unusable, the person still gave you advice. Then move on.

What do you do if you want to make sure you get advice you can use?

Do Feedforward with more people. Since it costs no money, takes little time, makes the other person feels good, and builds relationships, there’s almost no downside to do Feedfoward with as many people as you like. Keeping track of all the advice you get lets you rank it. Act on the most valuable advice first and you’ll generally improve before reaching the lower-value advice and never have to act on it.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development your managers improve their ability to give and receive Feedforward. We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

3 Tips to Break Out of A Sales Slump Fast

Just keep swinging … It’s happened to all of us: One month, we’re hitting home runs out of the sales ball park; the next, we’re swinging and missing on every sales opportunity.

We’ve all been aboard the sales train wreck before. You fail to secure an important sale. You have a series of bad days. Worse, you struggle to sell to your own clients. You can’t seem to disentangle yourself from its deadly grip. You’re in a sales slump.

“Sales slumps don’t discriminate”

Even heavy sales hitters have bad days, bad months and even bad quarters — it’s how they get through it that makes the difference.

Sales is a mental sport and slumps happen to everyone. A sales slump is especially unfortunate since making sales is how sales reps make a living. No sales, no commissions makes for empty pockets.

WHAT’S A SALES SLUMP
A slump is any decrease in sales performance. It happens over time, not just one bad day. A slump may start without much harm. You might simply lose a sale. It may bother you a bit. You lose another sale and now you’re getting pissed off.

Then, your manager makes the comment, “you might be in a slump.” You struck out again. It’s at that point, you decide you’re in an ‘official slump’. Depression sets in as anger fuels it, making it worse. Your poor results worry you even more. All you begin to think about is the slump as it “gets into your own head” way too much.

Every sales professional goes through seasons of frustration and even despair. There is an aspect of sales that is very emotional.

Let the negative emotions fester and they can drag you down, shipwrecking your career.

SALES IS RAW AND EMOTIONAL
One moment, you’re on top of the sales mountain and unfortunately the next, you find yourself tumbling down the side of a cliff. Sales is raw. Sales is emotional. Sales is not for the weak at heart!

There are four season’s in a year. We have seasons in our sales career. Quite frankly, nobody wants to talk about it. If you’ve been in sales for any length of time, you know sh%t happens.

You lose one of your largest accounts. You miss budget over a series of quarters. You make a string of bad decisions such as failure to prospect and then the funnel dries up!

You go from being hungry and aggressive too complacent and bored. Once was an exciting career becomes a drudgery and routine. You hit the funk! It starts to wear on you!

THE SALES FUNK
The person who can control the sales funk is YOU. Take a step back and become a bit vulnerable with yourself.

What’s your morning ritual?

How about every morning set aside 30 minutes to reflect? What did yesterday look like? What will today look like? What can I do better? Find problems when they are pebbles as opposed to boulders rolling down the side of a mountain.

You may be getting out of a sales funk, coming out of a sales funk or you will be in a funk. Nobody knows it but you. You may be spinning out of control or somehow lost your way, it happens! You’re burned out! What are you going to do about it?

BREAKING OUT OF THE SALES FUNK
What can you do when you find yourself in this dark place, the sales funk zone? What can you do to rescue yourself from it? Stay in it and you’ll submarine your career.

“Negativity fuels all of those emotions to the point that it consumes your every thought.”

Acknowledgement
You’re the only person you knows immediately that you’re in the funk zone. Admit it and put it out there. It’s ok! Confide in your manager, a friend, a mentor or even a teammate but more importantly; do something about it.

Step one in the process is just own it. Put some light to it.

Ego
Check your ego at the door and admit you need to do something about it.

Professional athletes go into slumps. However, what makes them different is they’ve set their pride aside and seek help. They increase their levels of practice, planning and preparation. They don’t blame others. They don’t make excuses. They go back to the basics.

Your clients and prospects sense desperation mode when you’re in the funk zone, as you spew your commission breath all over the room.

Suck up your pride and start prospecting consistently again!

It's been said by many sales gurus: “The brutal fact is the number one reason for failure in sales is an empty pipe, and, the root cause of an empty pipeline is the failure to prospect.” 

INVEST IN YOUR HEART
When you’re slumping, dig in and find out what’s in your heart and mind? What is it that you really want to change?

Invest in yourself and self-reflect. Reflection time is about taking care of yourself. Taking care of yourself is the first step forward in breaking the funk. We all know the phrase: “You have to take care of yourself, nobody else is going to do it!”

Meet with yourself every morning and ask yourself a few of these questions…

• How am I feeling?
• How is my energy?
• What do I need to align?
• What am I willing to do about it?

In the professional world of sales, we will all find ourselves in a sales slump. When that happens a true sales professional will recognize it early and then take the steps needed to minimize the slump, and turn it around fast.

Good selling,

Peter C. Mclees, Sales Coach and Trainer

Smart Development

petercmclees@gmail.com

Mobile: 323-854-1713

We help sales managers coach their reps to accelerate profitable sales.