Grant is a longtime client and a friend. He owns a small products company. He asked me to assess and interview “a friend of a friend” who he is considering for a sales job. I sent the assessment to Steve, and he completed it quickly. When I looked at it, he scored high is all of the areas that would make him good for a service job, but for the type of sales Grant – and, frankly, most sales organizations – needs, he was not a fit.I spoke to Grant about this, and he said: “Can you talk to him anyway? I think you’ll really like him.”That is probably the thing I hear the most from directors and CEOs alike: “But he’s a really good guy; just talk to him.”If I had a dollar for every time I heard that and the candidate was not a fit, I would be living on the beach, enjoying a margarita.I called Steve and spoke to him for quite a while. Actually he spoke to me – frankly, at me – for quite a while. Yes, Steve was certainly a nice guy, friendly, outgoing. He had the gift of gab, which is quite the opposite of what I look for in a sales professional.What I thought was funny: He said he took an online career survey that said he would be good at sales. He also explained that, when he asked people who knew him best, they all said he was a natural salesperson. That’s another quip I hear all of the time.The truth about sales is that most people have no idea what makes a good salesperson. The common belief is if you have a good personality, are outgoing and likable, you would be good at sales. Honestly, that is far from the truth. Years ago and in certain situations, this may have worked. For example, when the economy was rockin’ and you were selling a product that everyone needed anyway and prices were fairly consistent and it was just a matter of who to get it from, maybe this would work.Today, we need to be more skilled, more resourceful and much more consultative to persuade.Some things to look for when hiring;Preparation. Professional salespeople don’t just rely on a good personality to get the sale. They research the organization and develop good, thought-provoking questions to ask.Digging deeper. When professional salespeople get the answers to the questions they are asking, they don’t immediately flip into the selling mode. Top sales professionals take the answers to these questions and dig deeper for full understanding before they recommend anything.Always know the next step. Professionals know that the sale is nothing without having a clear next step. Not just a follow-up call, but a true understanding of what the next step is, and when it will occur.Toughness. Ultimately top sales professionals are tough. Yes, they can be friendly and outgoing, but more importantly: Can they stand their ground when the prospect throws them a curveball? Throw them a curveball and find out. I recommend saying something like: “I’ve interviewed several people that have the same experience as you. Why should I hire you over them?”It’s important to put prospective hires in a situation similar to one they will be in when selling. Put a little pressure on them. Don’t sell them on working for your company; make them sell you and see how they do. That is their job.Greta Schulz is a sales consultant for businesses and entrepreneurs. For more sales training tips and tools, or to ask her a question, go to www.schulzbusiness.com or emailgreta@schulzbusiness.com. Click here to share this post.

 I just finished speaking to a large CEO group this morning, and I asked a very simple question.  "What do you do to track your sales people?" and a lot of them didn't have an answer, but the one said did.  There was a few, and one man raised his hand, who owns a manufacturing company and said, "We track the amount of quotes that they send out on a monthly basis."  I said "Ok, tell me about that."  He said, "Well, we require all sales reps", and he has sales reps around the world, "to put out 20 quotes per month, for their minimum requirement." I said "Ok, why do you do that?" and he looked at me with curiosity, and said "What do you mean?” "That's how we track what they're doing and we know that if each one of them puts out 20 quotes, they'll typically get six back with interest, they'll negotiate and usually close two of them".  I said, "So you're closing 2 of every 20?" "Well, not every 20, but pretty close, that's pretty much our track record" I said "Ok".  "How much time are they spending on the other 18 that they don't close?" He said, "What do you mean? They don't spend any time on them."  I said "Who does their quotes?" "They do."  "Who puts them together?"  "They do."  "Who sends that out or presents them to the clients?" "They do."  "Who follows up?" "They do."  "Then ok, so have you ever tracked the amount of time they're spending on the ones they don't close?"  "And a 2 out of 20 ratio is 10% and so if you think a 10% closing ratio is a good idea, I would make sure that you are hiring very very inexpensive sales reps, and just get them to throw enough quotes out there.  You certainly don't need professional sales people because you're not looking at professionalism when you do it that way."  This is such a common occurrence, when I talk to leaders of sales organizations.  So many of them don't have any tracking at all.  So many of them just say, "I hire professionals, and they get out there, and if they don't meet their revenue number, I get rid of them."  "Ok, that's one way of going about it, but you're supplying no tools to them, no coaching, no mentoring, no leading and that's not the right thing to do.  You take a big chance there."  So I do admire the fact that he's tracking something, though he is tracking the wrong things.  You don't want to track the amount of quotes, proposals, whatever you call them in your world. You don't want to track those, because anybody can throw a bunch of proposals and quotes out there and see what sticks.  You might as well sit back in your office and sent ‘em on out.  What you need to do, is not send any proposals or quotes out until you actually have a conversation with somebody.  It is imperative to pre-qualify every opportunity, confirm that they have issues that you know you can solve with your product or service, you have had some level of discussion about investment so not to spring that on them in the proposal and finally a true understanding the solutions that you're going to provide. Most importantly, and most commonly missed, you know when they get that proposal, what they're going to do with it.  Who's goanna be looking at it?  Who are they, and if they're happy with the proposal, what is going to happen on the other side of that? If you don't know those things, and your sales people don't know those things, you shouldn't be putting proposals out in the street. Depending on what kind of company you have and what you do, you could be spending a lot more time and money than you think developing recommendations and proposals, getting quotes, putting numbers and things together.  It is a huge waste of salespeople’s time to throw a bunch of quotes and proposals out there and just keep following up on them until you either exhaust the client or the salesperson. Maybe, they do buy 2 out 20, It's probably less than that. Either way 2 out of 20, a 10% closing ratio is shameful, absolutely shameful.   Your proposal should never get into the hands of anyone until number 1, you know what their issues are, you know what their needs are and you know you can solve them. You have an idea of what solutions you will use to solve them. Number 2, You have had a discussion of what the approximate dollar amount would need to be for you to come up with a solution to solve their problem.   You don’t have to give the number but you had to have some level of investment discussion..  And 3, in my opinion most importantly, is never give anyone a presentation or a proposal or a quote until you know exactly what they're going to do, once you presented to them, if they like it.  We all know what they're going to do if they don't like it.  So if they do, what are they going to do with it?. My friend who owns the manufacturing company is a very bright man. He has processes in place for everything and I admire that, but the process he has in place for tracking his salespeople is poor, and if I was grading him on it, he would get an F.  Make sure that you keep your proposals back; you hold your proposals and don't show them to anyone until they qualify and deserve to see them.  Proposals never sell.  The sales should be almost complete before you make your presentation, and your presentation or proposal or quote is merely the proof statement of what you already discussed.  If that's not what is happening , you're doing it backwards. Click here to share this post.

  Should I hire a coach? I mean, I have been in business for a long time and I do go to a lot of seminars. I feel like of I can learn one thing each time I go. That’s good, right?” my ridiculously fit client, Darlene, asked me. So, to help her understand if she should hire a coach or not, I tried to help her through what she does. I answered: “Darlene, I don’t know if you should hire a coach, but let me ask you a couple of questions. I know you work out, we’ve talked about that before. And I know you go to the gym.” “Yes, of course,” she said. “Do you have a coach?” I asked. “Well, yes, I have had one for a couple of years.” “OK, so why do you have a coach? You know how to work out.” She told me that the coach taught her exactly how to do things the right way on each piece of equipment. She also kept her accountable. She was with her every step of the way and pushed her when she got tired and didn’t want to go any further. So I said: “Well, let me ask you something, Darlene: Say you hired a coach for one day, you were new to working out and you went to the gym with this coach. The coach walked you around to each piece of equipment, showed you exactly how to use the equipment, told you how many repetitions you should do on each piece of equipment and how to use it for the best result – and then you never hired that coach again. How long you think it would take you to achieve what you have now achieved?” She laughed and said: “OK, I get it.” As we had this discussion and laid it out, she began to understand the reason you need a coach in other parts of your life, whether it’s business or, more specifically, sales. People often tell me they are a people person and it’s all about relationships, so with their personality alone, that will work. Good luck. So, what are the things that you gain from a coach? No. 1, it’s setting up the right activities that you should be doing on a regular – daily, weekly, monthly – basis, whether it’s a business coach, a sales coach or a fitness coach. They set up the right activities for you. No. 2, they set you up with accountability, where they work you through these activities or you need to report back that you’ve done them and discuss how. No. 3, a coach keeps you doing it properly by constantly reinforcing what you’re doing, making slight changes so you do it right, and knowing when and how to bring you to the next level for maximum results. There are an awful lot of reasons why each person decides to hire a coach. But I find it interesting when I talk to people in sales who say: “Well, I know it’s a good idea to get a coach at the beginning. But I’ve been in sales for a lot of years and I don’t need a coach. I know how to do it.” My answer to those people is: “Who’s the best golfer in the world?” and Tiger Woods is what they always answer. I say: “OK, Tiger Woods, the best in the world – in the world of golf – has five coaches. He has a swing coach. He has a pitching coach. He has a putting coach. He has a fitness coach. He has lots of different coaches. So if you can tell me that you’re better at your business than Tiger Woods is at golf, then you’re right. You don’t need a coach.” Until you can say that, sign up. Greta Schulz is a sales consultant for businesses and entrepreneurs. For more sales training tips and tools, or to ask her a question, go to www.schulzbusiness.com or email greta@schulzbusiness.com. Your  Click here to share this post.

Tim, a software sales rep, had been having a rough day. He’d been bombarded with questions from several customers and had gotten behind on a proposal that he needed to finish before the end of the day. Then he got a call from Gene, a prospect who introduced himself by saying, "I’ve heard great things about your accounting software package. I saw a demo about a year ago, and was not in a position to purchase it at the time, but since then it’s become very apparent that I need to integrate it immediately into my system." "Wow," thought Tim. "This will be easy. It’s about time something went right today." Then Gene said, "I need to know about pricing and availability. And tech support is important, too. Tell me how that works." Tim went into his pitch. He discussed tech support in detail, covered availability and other options, and explained that the price was $8000 with 30-day terms. Gene’s response was unexpected. He said that $8000 was quite a hefty price tag and he needed a couple of days to consider the purchase more carefully. He’d call Tim back next week. Tim did a double take. "What just happened?" he thought. "This sale was in the bag, a sure thing, and now he’s thinking it over? He said he needed the software right away." And that was the end of the call. Diagnosis: Tim got lazy, plain and simple. He thought Gene was sold. All he had to do was give Gene the info he needed, then write it up. He got conned into doing a presentation without getting Gene to demonstrate why he was so excited about buying the software. The entire transaction was conducted at the intellectual level. Prescription: Don’t be lured into taking shortcuts. Don’t mistake the prospect’s enthusiasm for your product or service as a sure sale. Take the time to qualify the prospect and make sure he’s real before you make your presentation. In Tim’s case, a couple of quick questions would have made a world of difference. He might have said, "Before we discuss pricing, help me understand why this software is so important. I want to make sure the application is correct for you. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Of course, you’re probing for pain and one of the most important things to find out is the financial impact of not implementing a solution. Having discovered the financial impact and, assuming it was significant, you will find that the cost of the solution disappears as an objection. Don’t take shortcuts! Don’t assume anything. Get the prospect involved at an emotional, not an intellectual, level. Use the system, qualify completely, and get the sale.   Click here to share this post.

   We all know referrals are your best source for building business. There is nothing more effective than getting a referral from someone you know on a product or service that you’re interested in purchasing. So, even though most business people know this, why don’t we get more referrals? Well, there are two reasons: First, we don’t ask. Second, we don’t ask properly. So I want to talk about asking for referrals properly, how important it is to ask by sharing a story. We all have stories that we’ve shared about something we’ve done, over and above the norm, that our clients truly appreciated. Telling a story is the best way for somebody to remember what you do and share it with others when recommending you. I’m going to give you an example of something that happened to me: About five years ago, I wanted to get Lasik surgery, so my husband got me a gift certificate to a surgeon for Christmas. I went in to speak to Dr. Salinger. We sat down and, after extensive examination, he said: “Greta, you’re a very good candidate for Lasik surgery. The only problem is you have a thinning cornea because you’ve been wearing your contacts for so long, and probably abusing the length of time you are to wear them. You certainly will do well with the surgery, but you will take a little bit longer than others to heal. You will have some pain while the scarring heals.” That immediately scared me, because I am one of those people who hates anything even close to pain. But I did get the surgery done. When it was finished, he sat me up and said: “OK, here’s your pain medication. When it starts hurting, I want you to take this.” On our way home, I read the information on the medication. It said to take it every four hours for pain. So, that’s what I did. About 24 hours later, my eyes really started to hurt. I started to feel an intense amount of pain, so I called Dr. Salinger and told him it felt like someone was stabbing my eyes. He said: “Greta, take your pain medication. That’s what it’s for.” I told him I had no more left. He replied: “No problem, I’ll call it in for you right away.” A couple minutes later, the doctor called back: “Because this medicine is considered a narcotic, I can’t call it in.” I said: “What am I going to do?” He said: “Greta, it’s almost lunchtime. Don’t worry about it. I will drive up to your drugstore, hand fill out the prescription and hand it in. Have your husband go there in about a half an hour to pick up your medication.” Well, he absolutely saved my day. What’s the moral of the story? How often does a doctor leave his office and drive to the next town to drop off a prescription? I think never. Now, I’ve told that story several times. The reason I share it with you is to let you understand that people remember stories better than a recommendation. When I share that story, especially when I’m doing a workshop or a seminar, people will come over to me afterward and ask who my doctor is. I know he’s had at least two or three new patients just from me telling that story. So, what does that mean to you? It means that the two reasons you don’t get more referrals is that you don’t ask and you don’t ask properly. Asking properly means you have to think about something specific you’ve done for a client. Think about what you did over and above to help them. Make sure that you describe, in specific detail, what their issue was and what you or somebody in your organization did to help with it. That’s what people are going to remember and share. And that’s what’s going to get you referrals. So, what have you done for customers lately, and who have you shared that with? Greta Schulz is a sales consultant for businesses and entrepreneurs. For more sales training tips and tools, or to ask her a question, go to www.schulzbusiness.com or email greta@schulzbusiness.com. Click here to share this post.