The Secret of Recession Proof Sales Team Motivation

We’ve ridden the crest of an economic wave for a decade. And whether you believe it has come crashing down on the beach or will just slap lazily against it, the fast and easy ride is over for now.

We are in a recession, and we’ll all be the better for it.We’re supposed to be in the business of finding solutions… the business of increasing sales team motivation, getting customers to buy, and encouraging people to work harder, smarter, more productively. It’s up to us to look around and find ways to deal with the tougher times, reasons to celebrate our business spirit… to electrify ourselves… and arm ourselves and our people to deal with the days ahead.

A Womb for Brilliant Ideas

Tougher times, like any crisis faced squarely, are healthy. Great ideas flourish in prosperous times, but they are born in tougher times. Creative solutions multiply in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems. And when do we have more problems than when the economy is in the state we’re in now?

When the nation’s on a roll, the living gets easy. People do things from habit because no more is called for. We can make a living by just doing things well… not differently, not imaginatively… just well. But “just well” won’t do when we’re in an economic valley. And anyone who doubts that notion need simply read the business press to see the mental agility being exercised to deal with our current environment.Tougher times get flabby minds back in shape… make thinkers out of people who haven’t been or haven’t had to be.

Emotional Gratification

Look back for a moment. You’ve just closed a major new contract, you’ve hit new sales and profit highs. You look around and find that so has everyone else… including some people who couldn’t carry your briefcase. It happens all the time when the economy is good.

Now, move the setting forward to the present. You’ve just closed a new deal, hired some great new talent, had another great idea. You look around and hear the other guy saying, “The only thing standing between me and prosperity is two more rate cuts.”

A warm glow of satisfaction sets in when you realize that you’re doing things that others say can’t be done; you’ve taken control while others are being controlled by their excuses; you are, in fact, one of those over-achievers who lead other people into the future.

And before you walk away, you could suggest to the guy next to you that since tight capital is on everyone’s minds, he might want to create an incentive program to contract his receivables. Oh never mind, he probably wouldn’t listen anyway.

The Men from the Boys, the Women from the Girls

There are some people who simply should not be in the role they currently occupy in the business they are in. In the good times, anyone with half a brain can make a living. A good old-fashioned slump makes life a little tougher for the professionals, but it makes it impossible for the amateurs. Which is a good thing because the amateurs will probably be happier in a place where the Federal Reserve Board doesn’t stand between them and prosperity.

Residual Benefits

When the tough times are over, we are all the better for the experience… just as the steel is stronger for having been through the fire. And one of the most important benefits is that we have been prepared for the next tough times. Oh, you know there’ll be more… and more… and more.

But the most enduring benefit of any economic convulsion is this. If we remember the extraordinary success we had when we applied heaping doses of imagination and creativity, and then continue to recognize the edge that intense, non-linear thinking gives us, we will carve out a special place for ourselves that lasts through the good and the bad.

Normal Isn’t Anymore

“When are we going to get back to normal?” How many times have you heard that line uttered lately? Well, my friend, we’re never getting back to normal. This is normal. One crisis after another. Rapidly accelerating change. Recession, inflation, prosperity. New markets being born… others dying. The only constant on which we can rely is that when the tough times abate, they will be followed by another problem that some will view as disaster and others will see as a challenge.

How well we deal with these tough times is a matter of attitude. They give each of us an opportunity to reach deep down inside ourselves to fulfill our own true, full, human potential.Recessions start and end with attitude. You know how to predict them. Recessions occur when enough people believe they will occur. And if you know how they start, then you know how they end… when enough people believe they will end. We are marketers. And we now have a marketing task at hand. We have an idea to market to our clients, our associates, our employees, our peers, ourselves. The recession is over.

About Dittman Incentive Marketing

This article was provided by Dittman Incentive Marketing (http://www.dittmanincentives.com), a quality leader in the field of people performance improvement. Since 1976, Dittman has helped companies achieve critical corporate goals via original, one-of-a-kind sales team motivation programs that inspire a sales force to sell more, customers to buy more, and others to do more.

About the Author:

R.L. Fielding is a freelance writer who has written on a wide variety of topics, with special expertise in the education, pharmaceutical and healthcare, financial service and manufacturing industries.

If you find that after you have read the following article your best approach
when you are interviewing for a sales job that you have something to contribute.
Please share your thoughts with a comment at the end.

How to Prepare for Your Sales Job Interview

I am frequently asked about questions that may be asked at a sales rep job
interview. Everyone wants to know “How can I ace my job interview?
In this
article we are going to look at tips on how to present yourself in the first
interview, how to answer interview questions, how to prepare for your interview,
how to behave during the interview, questions you can ask the interviewer and
how you can maximize the chances of getting the job you really want.
The best
way of approaching a sales interview is to think of it like a normal sales
meeting with a customer. But instead of selling goods or services, in a sales
interview, the product is YOU.
By thinking of the interview as an ordinary
sales call, you will find it easy to structure the call and prepare for it. For
example, when you are selling, your first approach will often include a brochure
or other sales literature setting out your offering. When you are selling
yourself, this is the function of your resume or CV. It is essential that you
present an employer a carefully constructed document which highlights the
features and benefits you have to offer. This will usually be in the form of
achievements, qualifications and training. Similarly, a well crafted cover
letter will help your application to stand out.
Professional salespeople
never visit a customer without having done some research first. At the very
least they will have Googled their customer to find out the latest developments
and announcements. They should also have checked recent files and had a look to
see what is going on in the customer’s marketplace.
In the same way, the
interviewee should carry out some pre-interview research. This will not only
boost confidence but is fine preparation for some standard interview questions
like “What do you know about our company?” or “What do you think the biggest
challenges we face in the market today?” It should also prompt you to think
about questions you can ask at the end of the interview when you are invited to
do so.
Nowadays, it is more and more common for employers to filter job
applications by conducting a telephone interview. Although many
people are concerned about this, in fact it is usually an easy opportunity to
score well and make an early impression.
The first thing to remember is that
you are in charge. When the phone rings, the interviewer has absolutely no idea
what you are doing and will nearly always ask if it is convenient to talk.
Unless you are fully prepared then your answer should always be “no”. Set a time
when you know you will have had time to do your research and create an
atmosphere conducive to giving the right impression. Make a list of the key
points you want to get across and have any reference materials easily to hand.
The objective of this session is for you to sound relaxed, confident and full of
potential. The main goal of the discussion is for you to get a face to face
interview. As the call draws to a close, it is essential that you try to set a
date (remember to have your calendar to hand).
The main operating environment
for a salesperson is when she is talking to her customer. When applying for a
job, the potential employer is the customer, so the interview should use the
same ground plan as you would for a customer sales call. Remember to arrive
punctually, suitably dressed and with anything you might need (like a spare
resume or a certificate of achievement) easily to hand in your bag. Remember
that the interview starts the moment you arrive and your behaviour with garage
attendants and receptionists may be assessed as part of the process.
There is
no set pattern for a sales job interview. Some companies have a highly
structured approach; others will be more amorphous in character. Regardless of
structure, there are usually two questions that you can expect. You may be asked
a something like “Tell me about yourself”. The answer should be a very brief
recap of your career lasting no more than three minutes, which highlights key
achievements and finishes with the question “…what would you like to know
about in particular?” Do not fall into the trap of rehearsing details of your
childhood and upbringing thereby wasting valuable time on information that will
not support the product on sale - you.
The second question you can expect is
a derivation of “Why do you want this job?” Again, you must align the answers
with the skills you are offering. An answer like “I read in your accounts that
you are planning to expand into the South West. I have built up a considerable
network in that region, am very familiar with the political issues and feel that
with the new products you announced last week I can make a significant
contribution…” will play very well and serves both to demonstrate the skills
you bring and the fact that you have done your homework.
Inexperienced
interviewers will often take off their watch and say “sell this to me! Don’t be
tricked into doing a “feature push” sale. Step back and remember your basic sales training. Respond by asking
questions about what he wants in a watch before constructing a sales
presentation aligned to his needs.
Good interviewers nearly always provide
the opportunity to ask some questions. Do not let the opportunity slip by. This
is your chance to showcase your research and ask about the company’s markets,
plans and processes. Even if some of these items have been covered during the
interview, you should be able to find a way to open up another angle especially
if it will highlight one of your key strengths.
Although sales job interviews
are very similar to other job interviews, they do differ in one important
respect. At the end of the interview, the candidate is expected to attempt a
close of some sort; if only to show that he is capable of asking for the
business. This doesn’t need to be an in your face “am I hired?” question. Indeed
depending on the circumstances, this could be counterproductive. However a
gentle question seeking feedback or confirmation that the interviewer will be
taking your application forward can rarely do any harm.
In some situations
the interviewer may start to ask you questions about package. Be on your guard.
This is am opportunity to close. Do not just jump in with your number. Remember
that this is a sales interview and the question could be a ‘buying signal’.
Therefore respond with a trial close: - “As we have started to discuss
remuneration, can I take that as a sign that as long as the package is right
your will be making me an offer?” If the answer is “yes”, you have a deal and
you can then start talking about the salary and benefits package you need,
usually best expressed in terms of a range rather than outright figures. If the
salary is lower than your target, you can push for an improved car or better
health or holiday benefits.
Occasionally a sales interview will end with a
firm offer being made. More often than not though, there will be further stages
before an offer can be issued. In this event is is good practice to follow up
the interview with a “thank you” letter or email. This should be short,
summarize the key strengths that you have to offer, clear up any uncertainties
and if appropriate add some further information or collateral which the
interviewer might find interesting or supportive of your application.
And
finally you should approach every sales job interview with the thought that good
sales people are really hard to find and keep. If you can demonstrate that you
know how to sell and are confident, well researched and have the energy and
drive to perform well them you will be well on the way to meeting your objective
of passing the interview.

About the Author:

Perry Burns specializes in using tools & exercises to
improve performance. A former director at Ernst & Young he now provides soft
skills training, resources and strategic advice Contact
Copyright 2008: Sales 101 Ltd.

Technorati Tags: Interview, Sales, Questions, Job, Job Interview, Recruitment, Answers

Ok. This is false advertising. There is no secret to “overcoming” the price objection.
The truth is that the price objection cannot be overcome. That is because it
isn’t intended to be overcome. It is meant to be resolved through thought
facilitation by a sales person. The sales person’s role is to help the prospect
work through the price concern as opposed to attempting to overcome
it.
First, can we agree that it isn’t really an objection? It is a concern. I
know that many sales books call it an objection, but it is not. It is an attempt
by the prospect to resolve financial questions in their mind. People want to
feel good about decisions they make and that is why concerns are brought
up.
The mistake many sales people make is that they think they understand the
prospect’s concern when the price issue is initially raised. A fatal flaw,
indeed! The truth is that the cause for this concern isn’t initially known. A
myriad of possibilities could be causing this to come up now such as:
* Is it
a question of how much use they will get of the product?
* Is it whether or
not they can afford it?
* Is it that they saw a similar product at a cheaper
price?
* Or is it a sales person being hyper-sensitive to the mere mention
of price?
There are others, but you get the point. The bottom line is that
without knowing what is causing the price concern, you can’t possibly help the
prospect work it through. To share a personal example, I live in Minnesota where
owning a boat is commonplace. To me, however, it is expensive. It isn’t the
price of the boat, or the cost of maintenance, or even the price of the slip. It
is the fact that the season for boating is so short that I don’t feel I would
get enough usage out of it to make it worth the financial investment.
On the
other hand, I bought Peg Perego, motorized cars for my three kids.
Each one had a $300 price tag on it. Expensive to some, but cheap to me. Why?
Because I’m rich? Hardly. No, it is because my kids use them, a lot! From my
perspective, it’s worth every penny! If I get significant utility out of
something, I can justify the price in my mind. At the other end of the spectrum,
like most parents, I have also bought tons of toys in the $20 price range that
have been used once, maybe twice. After that, the toys are never touched again.
To me, that is expensive.
Some other price concerns center on whether or not
the prospect can financially afford the product. A good sales person will
facilitate the conversation that helps the prospect to recognize the options
available to them for financing the purchase.
In other scenarios, the
prospect has seen the same product, or a similar one, at a lower price. The
human mind tries to make everything into an easy to understand commodity. When I
worked in employment background screening, prospects would compare a $9.95
database search with a comprehensive courthouse search. The comparison of the
two was apples and oranges. The strong salespeople were able to explain the
difference in a way that led prospects to see that they needed the comprehensive
search. The $9.95 search can be perceived as very expensive since you rarely
catch any bad guys with it.
The worst case is when the salesperson does not believe that
his product is worth its price tag. If this hits home for you, I highly
encourage you to look to be somewhere else. If you don’t believe in your price,
I guarantee you that no one else will either. If you believe that all sales
ultimately come down to price, help me to understand this:
1. Why doesn’t
everyone buy generic drugs?
2. Why do people buy bottled water when they can
get it for free from the tap?
3. Why doesn’t everyone drive a Yugo?
4. Why
are people buying satellite radio when there are plenty of good stations
available for free?
5. How come most people have cable or satellite television when they can
get a dozen stations for free?
6. Why isn’t everyone shaving with a
single-blade disposable razor?
7. Why isn’t everyone drinking generic
coffee?
8. Why isn’t everyone fighting to sit in the last row at the ball
game?
9. Why do people even go to a ball game when they can watch it
comfortably for free in their living room?
10. How did your company get any
clients at all?
I think you get my point. Thus, you really do believe that
someone will pay more if they feel the purchase is worth the price. Maybe you
can’t afford the product you are selling. That is a completely different issue.
There is a great expression that goes along with that. “Don’t spend the
prospect’s money.” You don’t belong in their shoes, so don’t put yourself there.
You never truly know a person’s financial situation.
Look, no one wants to
get ripped off. And everyone wants to brag that they got a good deal. So, if you
can master the facilitation of the discussion around the pricing concern, you
will inherently have more sales.

About the Author:

Lee B. Salz is President of Sales Dodo and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo
Sales Manager.” He specializes in helping companies and their sales
organizations adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world of business. Lee is
available for keynote speaking, business consulting, and sales training. He can
be reached via his website at Sales Dodo or by phone at 763.416.4321.

Technorati Tags: Sales, Selling, Sales Training, Sales Management, Sales Process, Keynote Speaking