The most important thing that we sell is ourselves, and yet as we consider the pathway that a Heartaver vendor and his or her team take to close a deal, we ask ourselves what the heartaver always needs to do. (The chicken makes the steak.) We want the right combination of attitude, recognition, professional practices, and abundant frustration in order to make the sale. We know from years of selling experience that a key to becoming a World-Class Sales Professional is patience, perseverance, and persistence. We also know that a sales manager will support these traits through his or her pipeline, so what we may be going through in the process can all be managed, but is it worth it?
Look around your team, not to the individual members, but to their respective “team mates.” What are the five things that will get a heartaver excited about the deal? Is it that they will absolutely be delivered with feelings of personal satisfaction, pride, confidence, or appreciation and recognition? What will help them stand up and perform at their peak? In many of the deals that I have worked on, an educatedoffice party Vietnamesemember of my coaching team was great with talking “bashing out” and “getting things done.” This team member was great with selling his “good side” to a customer. Instead of jumping into things with this individual, “the spirit” member came up with a way to handle that specific customer that made him feel much more confident in his approach. Again, a team member of my coaching staff liked the way that this individual sold his side to the client, yet more importantly, the “spirit” member worked with him to make a sale. So was the “spirit” member really at the party to close a deal? No. I think this sales coach was much more effective in driving home energy than were most his other Clients. That’s why it didn’t go great.
Your selling team, will have similar messages of excitement, and energy. However, the message from the Client is often missing a beat or lacks fresh ideas to spur them on. In other words, not all Clients will have positive thoughts. So what is it that moves your team members to hit their “ball out of the park” with the success of the Client?
Here’s what I suggest:
1. Listen.Don’t do all the talking or prompt your team member and let them dumb down their calls by reading from notes. Take another step back to get a bird’s eye view of the situation and also to give them time to form additional questions and illustrations to their side of the conversation.
2.Allow as much time as possible for your team member.Tackling a sales call is not as easy as going out on a Friday night. Your Team Member needs time to cool, focus, and come back with the right words.
3. Remind them of the sales call objective.Start off with VP objectives, Humor Objectives, and Customer Objectives. Once prior sales calls have a track record of success, let them know that they will only be given 80% of the time set for a final close. (The “80% of the time” makes a habit and helps them feel like they are getting a good deal.)
As a little bonus tip, when all is moving along, remind your individual team members that you are always available to any questions or concerns they may have. This always leads to happy clients and results that last longer.
Don’t allow your team members to make mistakes, because they will. Learn from the mistakes that you make and you will become a better sales professional. There’s no learning likes adversity, except from those who have never faced it.
