Social Selling Made Easy Social networks represent a huge lead generation opportunity for sales professionals. But taking full advantage of this opportunity - using the right social sites, connecting to the right people, posting with proper etiquette, and following company policies - can seem overly complex and overwhelming. That’s why I’m so impressed with PeopleLinx. It makes the process so easy that I’m happily bestowing a Richy Award on it for Best Social Selling Tool. At Richardson, we test drive a lot of sales support and enablement tools; and, as a leader in sales training and performance improvement, we know a winner when we see one. We created the Richy Awards as a way to recognize cool, innovative, and standout products that make an impact on improving sales effectiveness and efficiency. That brings me back to PeopleLinx. Created by early LinkedIn employees in 2009, PeopleLinx makes social selling easy. And that’s important because, as studies show, buyers now complete 60 percent of their decision process before ever contacting a sales professional. Buyers are also five times more likely to trust online recommendations from people they know than from brands. And social leads generated by individuals are seven times more likely to close than those generated from corporate accounts. PeopleLinx takes advantage of cloud-based technology and integrates completely with CRM systems. It helps to drive new business using social networks by providing the tools required for social selling success. For example, sales professionals using PeopleLinx can easily achieve the following: Enhance their personal brands by optimizing their social profiles. Leverage networks to get warm introductions to sales targets. Share relevant and engaging content that attracts leads. Listen to social networks for business opportunities. The system includes automated alerts to sales professionals when there’s new content available for sharing. They can then post approved content to multiple social networks from their smartphone, tablet, or computer. Salesforce.com integration delivers seamless access in the context of daily workflow, and gamification creates a competitive dynamic that spurs adoption. The impact of social sharing can be measured through analytics that track tasks completed, content shared, and interactions generated with potential prospects. Whether you’re already immersed in content marketing using social media or unsure how to start, consider this final statistic: Research shows that sales teams hit their quotas 31 percent more frequently when they use LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks as part of their process. Now consider your approach, current or planned. Then do yourself a favor and check out PeopleLinx to, as its tagline says, "Empower your teams to drive awareness, leads, and deals through social networks." It really is Social Selling Made Easy!  If you would like to make a connection with PeopleLinx, please click here and we can make an introduction! The post Social Selling Made Easy appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Richardson and Training Industry, Inc. Release New Research, Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs  Philadelphia, PA—January 16, 2015— Richardson, a leading global sales training and performance improvement company, and Training Industry, Inc. announced that it has launched a new research report, Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs. The report researched the sales training programs and initiatives that organizations are using and any patterns in how these organizations leverage external providers to assist in achieving performance goals. The study, which included 223 companies, reveals several key findings, including: Only 22% of organizations’ sales training programs were rated "very" effective Instructor‐led classroom training, on‐the‐job training, and on‐the‐job coaching are currently used most frequently Instructor‐led online training, video‐based learning, mobile learning, and social learning are most frequently identified for planned use External providers were leveraged most often for training sales representatives and managers, defining sales process , and providing L&D data/tools (e.g., CRM) "This particular study provides a better understanding of how effective organizations deliver sales training, what they’re training, and when they’re leveraging third‐party providers," said Tom Whelan, Training Industry, Inc.’s Director of Corporate Research. "Organizations armed with this information can make more informed decisions about where to allocate sales training resources—including strategies and practices they may not otherwise have considered." "Training, developing, and building the skills of the sales team is a critical element to every organization," says Jim Brodo, SVP of Marketing for Richardson. "With the growth of digital technologies and changes in the selling market great training is critically important to every organization. This report offers valuable market information and best practice data, and will help to provide a direction where organizations can focus on to maximize their sales training investments."     To download this report, please click here. The post New Research, Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

How to Make Referrals a Winning Part of Your Prospecting Of all of the possible sources of leads, referrals are often the hottest and most desirable. Brokered by someone who knows you first-hand and trusts your work, there’s an implicit recommendation instilled, which carries considerable weight. The problem is that sales reps too often fail to pursue these opportunities. Here’s a four-step process to bolster your long-term success by getting your sales reps to take a proactive approach to gaining referrals. 1) Timing There are always busy business cycles to avoid when approaching your contacts for something that’s not essential to them. You should obviously avoid those occasions, but is there a right time to ask for referrals? Use common sense — ask when your contacts are happy, not frustrated. Realize that each person is different and has varying attitudes and receptivity to being asked to provide a referral. Therefore, trust your instincts, and ask when you are comfortable with your relationship and the work that you may be doing for them. When you’ve just finished a successful project, reached a significant milestone, or have otherwise helped your contact, these are likely good times to broach the subject. When circumstances are different, you should hold off. For example, if you have something big to deliver but haven’t yet done so, avoid appearing distracted and looking toward your next target. You’ll look selfish and unprofessional. The other aspect of timing is frequency: How often do you ask? There’s no rule, but monthly is likely too often and annually too infrequent. You want it to feel natural and not like you’re being a mooch or pest. 2) Obstacles What prevents sales reps from asking for referrals? As is often the case with prospecting, there’s discomfort in calling people we don’t know. Most obstacles are behavioral, not procedural. If you have something of value to share, then you shouldn’t have anything to hide or be shy about. People get stuck and feel timid because asking for a referral is more personal than cold calling or blasting mass e-mails. The risk of your contact saying "no" or failing to make a personal connection is enough to stop people from trying. Present yourself as a resource. This mirrors how aggressive you are (or aren’t). Offer to help, and set yourself up as someone who can be useful, even if your prospect isn’t interested in buying now. There’s no harm in asking — if you don’t ask, you don’t receive. Other common obstacles include a clash of culture ("That’s not how we do things here — we’re not so forward!") and a lack of process ("How do I know who my contacts know?"). Once detected, these can be corrected. 3) Sources Learn to leverage LinkedIn, which provides a great network of your connections and theirs. The more robust your network, the more opportunities you can identify. Consider traditional sources, such as current and former clients. Also tap into nontraditional sources, such as former colleagues, classmates, neighbors, and relatives. The closer your connection is to the prospect, the better. It should be someone whom the prospect would consider credible and working in his or her best interest. Hopefully, your common connection has already experienced "the value" that you bring and would be willing to broker the connection. You want your contact to feel positive about making the referral — it shouldn’t be hard for your contact to understand why you’re asking. If you’re pursuing a nontraditional source, then provide additional context or reasoning to help quell any concerns. 4) Making Contact Ideally, your contact would make the introduction for you via e-mail or a meeting. Simply giving you a name and contact details to use on your own might fall flat. Draft an e-mail that your contact can send to the prospect, copying you and getting the ball rolling. —————————————- Complimentary New Research Report     To download this report, please click here. The post How to Make Referrals a Winning Part of Your Prospecting appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Overcoming Obstacles to Prospecting In a recent post regarding making referrals part of your prospecting, we highlighted the importance of overcoming obstacles. The point was that, while seeking referrals is one of the best ways to secure warm leads, too many sales reps fail to pursue them due to real or perceived obstacles in their way. Overcoming those obstacles will undoubtedly lead to greater success, so let’s take a deeper look at prospecting obstacles and ways to manage or avoid them. Most Obstacles to Prospecting Are Behavioral There are several reasons  for obstacles that stand in sales reps’ way when prospecting. As you examine the list below, you’ll realize that these aren’t physical barriers; rather, they are mental and behavioral challenges to be faced. Too busy/no time (other tasks have greater urgency, are too time-consuming, not at a good time, etc.) Lack of network Fear of rejection Feeling of imposing/intruding Outside of comfort zone Lack of success Frustration Lack of a process, discipline Bad experiences (just finished a "bad" call; not up to the next one) While some excuses may be valid, sales reps too often succumb to them and fail to grow beyond their comfort zone. It’s up to sales managers and leaders to instigate change. Three Critical Success Factors to Overcoming Obstacles: Skill, Knowledge, and Will Concerns of time and process can be mitigated with attention. Sales reps need to develop sufficient confidence in themselves and what they’re selling to get over most other hurdles. This can be achieved by mastering the requisite skill, knowledge, and will to prospect beyond their comfort zone. Build confidence by ensuring that sales reps have the necessary skills to do their jobs. There may be industry- or product-specific skills to develop to help sales reps relate to their buyers, but efforts should also focus on basic selling skills like presence, questioning, positioning, checking, and negotiating (as well as overcoming obstacles). Be prepared to practice and struggle a bit. It’s no different from getting better at shooting free-throws in basketball or performing surgery — developing any skill requires practice. It’s cliché, but you get out of it what you put into it. With practice and meaningful attempts, sales reps will gain invaluable experience and enhance their selling technique. Possessing knowledge is table stakes — if you’re not acquiring the necessary knowledge to stay on top (or ahead) of industry and business trends, then you’re going to fail. Sales reps must know what’s relevant and how it applies to their prospects’ businesses. Having the will to tackle fears, do what’s right, practice, and the courage to trudge on is critical. Sales reps must be persistent, possess a positive "I can do this" attitude, and maintain perspective. At the end of the day, you’re just making a phone call (for example), not scaling Mt. Everest; your life isn’t in danger. But, if you don’t try, you’re never going to succeed. Managers: Coach Your Reps If you want your sales reps to challenge themselves, raise their game, and overcome obstacles that inhibit their prospecting, then make it part of your culture. Everybody talks about it, but too few take action. Overcoming obstacles should be driven by the sales leader from the top down. Lead by example, measure and inspect, and hold your people accountable. It gets back to the importance of coaching. Leaders don’t do it enough or do it right. For many, overcoming obstacles is a mindset and behavior change that requires time, as well as frequent dialogue with and support of, their managers. Don’t be a barrier to your sales team’s success — lead the charge to change! Complimentary New Research Report     To download this report, please click here.   The post Overcoming Obstacles to Prospecting appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

You Can’t Afford Free Sales Training A client once told me that even if a competitor were to offer free sales training courseware and tools, it would not be wise to accept. So why is free sales training not a good enough value? The short answer is that the cost of the courseware itself is almost always the smallest piece of the overall expense for any sales training and performance intervention. The following two categories dominate the cost of sales training and deserve greater consideration before moving forward: Lost selling time — This is, by far, the largest and most important cost category to consider. If you take a salesperson out of the field for a material period of time, you lose sales revenue and, most importantly, it is a significant expense. It’s pure economics 101 at work, with the calculation taking into account the total average revenue per salesperson, the gross margin, the total number of selling days, and the size of the training population. Costs are large, usually very large, but the returns are even higher — if, and only if, you have a quality intervention, sales behavior changes and sales increase. Even a small gain of, say, 1% in sales performance per person post-training can provide a tremendous present value contribution, outweighing all costs by a factor of 10. Out of Pocket Costs — This is the second-largest cost factor, but it is small in comparison to lost selling time. Still, there’s no reason not to control all costs. While basic skills can be learned through eLearning tools or other online delivery technologies, problem-solving and other higher-level skills are most effectively improved in a real-time, instructor-led environment. The expense of bringing people from far-flung locations to a common site can include airfare, car rentals, hotels, meals, and other miscellaneous travel costs and should be incurred only to build skills that cannot be built in bite-sized pieces in the field without impacting sales time. When you take these factors into account, it’s clear that courseware and the facilitators who deliver training make up the smallest expense category. The problem is that buyers of sales training, often in the Learning & Development group, only have control over this last category. For them, the cost of training courseware and delivery takes a major bite out of their entire budget. They put less focus on lost selling time and out-of-pocket costs because those hit the line organization. L&D are good stewards of their budget, so "free" training might look pretty good. But, free training that does not change sales behavior as much as a higher-quality intervention can cost the company big bucks. For example, a highly customized sales training program — one that’s aligned with the company’s culture, sales process, actual client needs and situations and requires application of the client’s competitive advantage — can drive significant returns well over the cost to implement. Trying to save money on training at the expense of quality, fit, and effectiveness is a false economy. Investing in quality can drive major performance improvement, both behaviorally and in top-line revenues. So, why focus on shaving the smallest cost factor and run the risk of diminishing quality and results? The tradeoff might save the L&D budget, but it’s certainly not in the company’s best interest. Bottom-line conclusion? With the high return that comes from improving sales performance, companies are almost always better off going with the highest-quality training that can have the most impact on changing behaviors and performance. If a less expensive training program gets that done, fine. But, it’s unlikely to be as effective as higher-quality (and yes, higher cost) ones. Simply put, the cost for sales training programs is but a fraction of the return that can be achieved. Why would any company take two or three days’ time from the entire sales organization and bring them together for training, only to be parsimonious about the experience and not secure changes in key sales behavior? That’s why I can say, you can’t afford free sales training. And, you also can’t afford not to choose the highest-quality program to drive performance change. Complimentary New Research Report     To download this report, please click here.   The post You Can’t Afford Free Sales Training appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Measuring Sales Training Effectiveness: When Quick and Approximate is Enough When organizations invest in sales training, they are eager to know how their investments are paying off. Learning the answer doesn’t take complex research design or studies of the sort published in scholarly journals. Quick and approximate measures are often enough. The changes in behaviors and sales results post-training should be major, not minor ones. The need is for visible evidence to build a reasonably high level of confidence that the sales training intervention led to a material change in results. The standard research design for measuring such changes is to compare control group vs. experimental group results. This works in scientific discovery but doesn’t really suit sales performance system interventions. Who wants to be in the control group and be "left behind"? An easier method for assessing impact is to measure performance during the rollout period. New sales training is typically rolled out in stages, especially in large organizations. This provides an ideal opportunity to compare the results of those who have been through the training vs. those who have yet to be trained. This can be done weekly, monthly, quarterly — whatever measurement period makes the most sense. Ideally, you would capture the results for each month following the sales training. If, when examining the data, you see results between groups are alike — that is, the first month after training provides similar increases in revenue — then consistent trends can be noted. As each new group goes through training, you might need to adjust the results for systemic changes between periods, such as with seasonality or other regular patterns in the business. These adjustments can help factor out changes not related to the training, helping you maintain an apples-to-apples comparison. It is possible to design a measurement system that adjusts for many different variables and detects small changes in performance, but that would be both complicated and essentially immaterial. I would argue that quick and approximate measurement is enough. The material changes are the ones that are most important, revealing visible evidence of the value delivered from the training. The results you are looking for should enable you to say: "In the last period, revenue for those who went through the sales training went up by X%, on average, compared with those who have yet to be trained." It’s hard to argue with evidence like that. It’s even harder to argue against training that achieves such measurable results. Complimentary New Research Report     To download this report, please click here.   The post Measuring Sales Training Effectiveness appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

  Three Missteps in Sales Coaching A sales manager’s most important job is coaching. An effective sales coach can accelerate learning, change behavior, and boost the performance of both individuals and the entire sales team. The sales coaching process we use at Richardson is both simple and effective. When followed, the results are clear. The problem is, sales coaching only works if managers do it properly. These are three common missteps we see in sales coaching: Telling vs. asking The key to effective sales coaching can be captured in three words: they talk first. Our coaching model is all about asking specific, neutral, open-ended questions — and then, drilling down further with more questions. Coaching by asking allows coaches to learn about their sales teams and the situations that they face. It builds commitment and buy-in and helps sales professionals take responsibility for their own learning. There are times when coaching by telling is appropriate, such as an urgent situation in which there is no time to do anything but quickly tell and when moving toward disciplinary action. But, this is always the exception, never the rule. Directing vs. collaborating If coaches remember to ask instead of tell, they often do not ask enough questions. They might start with, "What are your thoughts?" or, "How do you feel the call went?" but tend to slowly put on their manager hats and start formulating solutions and giving their opinions. In three words: they take over. Instead, coaches need to probe more to gain greater insights. Ask questions, such as, "What ideas do you have?" "What do you think the issue is?" "What is getting in the way?" "What steps will you take?" No clear and measurable objective for the sales coaching session If you do not know specifically what you want to get out of the coaching session, the conversation will be too long, ineffective, and confusing. Too often, a coach will say: "My objective is for John to increase sales by 20%." That is certainly a measurable objective, but it is not SMART. In a 20- to 30-minute coaching session, there should be a desired outcome based on a SMART behavioral objective. This means it should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Time-bound. So, if you want John to increase sales by 20%, what behaviors does he need to work on? What is getting in the way of his achieving this goal? Maybe he is not making enough prospecting calls, or he is not talking to the decision maker. Once these areas are pinpointed by the team member, the conversation can focus on developmental actions. Maybe John works on identifying the decision makers at targeted accounts and schedules phone calls with them over the next three weeks. That is a behavior that the coach can measure and follow up on three weeks later. By remembering these three simple things — asking instead of telling, collaborating instead of directing, and focusing on SMART objectives for each sales coaching session — sales managers and their teams can improve their performance and be more successful. Learn more about Richardson’s Developmental Sales Coaching Programs                 The post Three Missteps in Sales Coaching appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Why Sales Objections Can be Opportunities As sales professionals, we are quite familiar with sales objections. We hear them on a daily basis, and sometimes, several times a day. We can hear them at any part of the sales process: when we open, when we discuss our solution, or when we close the deal. The ability to resolve these sales objections is crucial for a number of reasons: It enables you to maintain and strengthen your client relationships. It helps you move your sales cycle forward in a non-confrontational way. It helps ensure that conversations remain positive, focused, and consultative. It gives you confidence to address tough conversations. When dealing with price objections, it ensures that you don’t discount too early or leave money on the table. Sales objections are most often thought of as roadblocks in the sales process, carrying negative connotations. In reality, sales objections represent an opportunity — the client is willing to share objections, which gives you the chance to address them and move the sale forward. It’s important that you don’t make assumptions about the objection and instead ask the client to elaborate. This demonstrates your interest in learning more, while giving you extra time to think. It also confirms that you’re dealing with the right objection, as most times, the objection you first hear can be a smokescreen. I call this the Matryoshka effect, like the Russian nesting dolls: inside one there is another and another hidden away. Clients feel strongly about their objections, and there is an emotional component attached. So, you must acknowledge and show empathy to defuse any negativity and to avoid becoming defensive or aggressive yourself. If the client says, "I am happy with my current provider (X)," you might start with, "X is a good company." Your questions should be open and linked to the objection. You don’t want to fall into the "flight" trap ("How good is their service?") or into the "fight" trap ("There are always things that a long-term provider can do better."), trying to fish for areas of weakness. You might ask, "What specifically do you like about your relationship with X provider?" These are important steps that shouldn’t be bypassed in favor of positioning your solution. As sales professionals, this is our comfort zone, our bread and butter. We love any chance to talk about our solutions. Going there too quickly risks creating other objections. Instead, take the time to relate, question, and listen. This will be the most effective use of your time. Finally, check to ensure that you get the client’s feedback. Silence doesn’t mean agreement. Don’t force a "yes" by asking a closed-ended question. You might ask: "How comfortable do you feel now that we have discussed X?" or, "What are your thoughts?" If you don’t know how to resolve objections positively, you will likely lose some deals, weaken the relationship, make the sales cycle longer, or leave money on the table. So, remember to acknowledge and get on the client’s side. Ask open-ended questions to gain more insights. Position your solution, idea, or recommendation persuasively. Finally, check to make sure you have resolved the objection. You might ask: "How does that sound?" I pose this same question to you, the reader. How does this approach to resolving sales objections sound to you? ——————- Learn More About Richardson’s Consultative Selling Solutions Want to learn more about how to resolve challenging sales objections? Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at jim.brodo@richardson.com The post Why Sales Objections Can be Opportunities appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Let’s Make a Deal. New Research Reports that Best-In-Class Sales Coaching Can Shorten Your Sales Cycle Richardson recently partnered with the Aberdeen Group to provide their newest research study that looks at how adding real-deal sales coaching elements to training activities achieves better business results in today’s competing market place. The research report analyzed the specific competencies around the more in-depth sales coaching tools that help shrink the sales cycle window for the most successful sales operations teams. The study reveals several key findings, including: Best-in-class organizations are 26% more likely than all others to move beyond the basic, generic training on products, pricing, and messaging, to a formal one-on-one coaching methodology that is specific to individual needs in the pipeline or key accounts. Best-in-class organizations are 61% more often turning to external consultants and trainers for assistance Best-in-class organizations lead all others by a 16% margin in promoting a culture of continuous improvement by formally engaging in win/loss activities to understand why they win or lose deals To download Aberdeen’s full report, click here on the image below: The post Complimentary Research Study: Best-In-Class Sales Coaching Can Shorten Your Sales Cycle appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Philadelphia, PA — March 3, 2015 — Richardson, a leading global sales training and performance improvement company, has been named to TrainingIndustry.com’s 2015 Top 20 Sales Training Companies list for the seventh consecutive year. The Top 20 list recognizes the top providers for sales training services and technologies, and Richardson is one of seven companies included in the list each year. Richardson develops customized sales training programs that change behaviors and provide measurable results. From assessing talent and developing sales teams through verifiable outcomes, coaching, and reinforcement, Richardson employs effective learning methodologies that draw on the best of interpersonal interactions to help build individual and organizational capabilities. Richardson has spent 30 years examining every type of sales conversation — deconstructing them, rebuilding them, and making them learnable and repeatable for each stage of the sales cycle which Richardson has covered in their eBook, The Sales Conversation Pendulum. Richardson has been recognized for providing outstanding service and a proven track record for delivering superior training and improving the impact of sales organizations.  Inclusion to this year’s Top 20 Sales Training Companies list was based on the following criteria: Industry recognition and impact on the sales training industry Innovation in the sales training market Company size and growth potential Breadth of service offering Strength of clients served Geographic reach "Being named to Training Industry’s list for the seventh consecutive year is a great accomplishment and something we are all very proud of", says Jim Brodo, SVP for Richardson. "This recognition validates our dedication to providing our clients with relevant sales training that will make an impact on their organizations." "The Sales Training segment showed a strong innovation push in 2015 with continued, above-average growth rates," said Ken Taylor, chief operating officer at Training Industry, Inc. "The companies selected to this year’s list are leading the deployment of some new strategies in mobile learning, micro-learning, and innovation in sustainability in support of their programs." "This year’s list demonstrates the continued strength and quality of offerings of the Sales Training segment," said Doug Harward, chief executive officer at Training Industry, Inc. "These organizations are leading the way in providing their clients with innovative products and services in their desired modalities." Earlier this month, Richardson was also named to TrainingIndustry.com’s Top 20 Leadership Training Companies list for the second consecutive year. To learn more about Richardson, please contact Jim Brodo at jim.brodo@richardson.com or visit www.richardson.com. About Richardson Richardson is a global sales performance company that helps leading organizations improve sales results. We do this in three ways. We analyze the structure and talent of your salesforce, we train and develop your sales team, and we continue that development through coaching and reinforcement. We equip your sales leaders and salesforce with the skills and strategies they need to win in today’s complex selling environment. What is unique about Richardson is how we create truly customized solutions that change behavior and provide measurable results. The post Richardson Named to TrainingIndustry.com’s Top 20 Sales Training Companies List for Seventh Consecutive Year appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

What’s your Questioning Strategy? Asking to be a strategic advisor to your client usually never happens. But, having the right questioning strategy can build the credibility required to become one. The questions that you ask and the way that you ask them can define how you operate and how you are perceived by clients. Do you ask the questions that get you paid? These questions are your bread and butter; they’re part of your comfort zone. These questions allow you to position your solution and the need for your product or service. These are what we call "current situation questions" — questions that probe how the client is currently operating, his/her level of satisfaction with the operations, and facts about how he/she does business. All good questions, but they’re the wrong places to start. The best first questions are strategic ones that explore the client’s main objectives. What is he/she trying to accomplish? What are his/her key priorities and objectives? Why did he/she decide to change from X strategy to Y? Why should we ask these questions first? Because we don’t want to focus on our agenda; we want to focus on the client’s. At this point, we want the client to talk about what is most important to him/her. We want the client to take the conversation — and us — where he/she wants it to go, not where we want it to go. Some people think that asking too many questions makes you look unprepared. Others think there are no stupid questions. The best strategy when talking to C-level executives is to leverage your preparation and ask questions that demonstrate an understanding of the client’s business. Don’t waste clients’ time with a generic, "What are your main objectives?" Instead, show that you’ve done your homework. You might say, "In speaking with Tom in Western Region sales, he mentioned the key areas of focus for the company are X, Y, and Z. I would like to get your take to find out how you feel these are working." Asking open-ended, strategic questions allows you to go deeper into the iceberg. We don’t want to just uncover the obvious, observable things (the tip of the iceberg) or what we know about similar companies. We want to see beneath the waterline, to uncover the bigger issues that we might not be aware of. The first questions should uncover short-term business objectives, strategic goals, and key needs. Then, switch the focus to the present. What is most important to the client NOW (the client’s current situation, his/her process, operations, etc.)? Is the client satisfied with the current situation? Is it going well? What changes would the client make? From there, move to future needs (long-term plans and goals), personal needs (what is at stake for the individual?), the client’s nonbusiness interests, preliminary thinking about possible solutions, and the client’s feelings about you as a sales professional and your company. Any implementation questions should come last (budget, decision making, and time frames). To avoid sounding like a prosecuting attorney, it’s important to make questioning a conversation and not an interrogation. It helps to remember these three basic skills: Prefacing to introduce the question with a rationale that makes you sound more credible and the client more comfortable answering the question Trading information based on your knowledge of the market, industry, or similar clients to add value to the discussion and encourage the client to share new information Acknowledging what the client is saying to show that you are listening The types of questions that you ask will determine whether you are perceived as a vendor or as a partner. It will become difficult to differentiate yourself from the competition, and you may end up selling a solution that isn’t a customized fit for the client. The more generic your questions, the more generic the sale. You will also lose the ability to use the client’s own words when positioning solutions or to uncover additional opportunities. Most importantly, you will have a harder time accessing and connecting to C-level executives and company decision makers. To make sure this doesn’t happen, prepare your questioning strategy and questions in advance. Let your questions show your preparation and understanding of the client’s needs, and leverage your industry knowledge. Most of all, make it conversational and focus on the client’s agenda, not yours. Learn More About Richardson’s Consultative Selling Solutions Want to learn more about how to build a world class questioning strategy? Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at jim.brodo@richardson.com. The post What’s your Questioning Strategy? appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Sales 101: Five Techniques for Positioning a Price Increase Karl is a Sales Professional with McGinniss and Company[1], a leading supplier of raw materials to manufacturers. For 15 years, Karl has been using Sales 101 techniques to build strong relationships with clients, despite a volatile economy that has driven prices down and materials costs up. Fortunately, the economy is improving, and McGinniss is seeing the benefits through increases in sales as high as 10% in seven of the last eight quarters. As a result, McGinniss is now in a position to implement price increases for the first time in seven years. Karl doesn’t know what to do. Like many Sales Professionals in the volatile economic conditions of the 21st century, Karl has never had to communicate price increases to his clients. Lacking experience in positioning a price increase, he is afraid of weakening the strong relationships that he has developed, or worse, losing clients by delivering this difficult message. However, for Karl, as for many Sales Professionals, economic growth is making price increases inevitable. Fortunately, it is possible to maintain strong client relationships in this situation by following five techniques borrowed from Sales 101 for leading a consultative conversation about price increases: 1) Know the reason for the price increase. There are a number of reasons for increasing prices. For example: Your costs (materials, labor, facilities, etc.) have increased. The original pricing that you established with the client no longer reflects current conditions, and your margins are too low. The market has shifted upward since you last quoted a price for the client. Be honest with your client about your company’s reason(s) for the increase, which will help create transparency and build trust. 2) Anticipate client resistance. Think through the implications of the price increase for your client, and be prepared to acknowledge these implications. Anticipate in advance how the client will react to the increase so that you are best prepared to address his/her objections and concerns. 3) Neutrally position the price increase. As briefly as possible, lay out for the client why you are implementing a price increase, how much the increase will be, and when it takes effect. Do not belabor the point with excessive rationale. Remain neutral and confident. Avoid using phrases like, I know this increase is hard on you … or, I know this increase seems high … which could create a perception that you don’t support your company’s decision. 4) Remain silent after positioning the increase. Anything you say after that point will open up room for negotiation in the client’s mind. Do not ask a checking question. If the client raises objections or concerns, use the Objection Resolution Model to address them, but avoid creating the impression that the increase is negotiable. 5) Strengthen the relationship. End on a positive note. Thank the client for understanding and for his/her continued business. Express your enthusiasm for continuing to work together. What sales techniques have you used to position price increases? Share them with us in the comments below! Learn More About Richardson’s Consultative Selling Solutions Want to learn more about how to position price increases, yet maintain long-term relationships? Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at jim.brodo@richardson.com.               [1] Company name changed to protect confidentiality The post Sales 101: Five Techniques for Positioning a Price Increase appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Sales Coaching without Secrets or a Hidden Agenda One of the challenges that sales leaders face is recognizing that their job isn’t just to make their own targets, but also to support five, ten, or twenty people -- their entire sales teams -- in achieving their targets. And, if these sales reps aren’t making their numbers, it’s up to the sales leader to help them figure out why and identify ways to improve performance. There are two major pieces of information needed to make this happen: What does it take to achieve the target? This involves the organization’s sales process and the skills and behaviors that salespeople need to use on the job. How can you, as the sales leader, help your team use this process and these skills and behaviors in the most effective way? The answer: coaching. The secret of the sales coaching process at Richardson is that it shouldn’t be a secret. As a leader, you should tell your sales reps that you’re using a coaching process so that it’s not a secret. This shows there is no hidden agenda. And, even share what the process is with them so that you can use it together. Sales coaching is not about you looking like the world’s most successful manager and leader; it’s about you sharing and transferring your knowledge and experience to people who don’t have it, collaborating with them in a nonjudgmental way -- in a safe space -- about what they want to work on. The first step is to give them a chance to share with you what they know. What do they do well? What do you think they do well? It’s as important to remember those factors and continue doing it as it is to improve. The Richardson process is like a seesaw between questioning and dialogue, between you and your sales rep. You might say, "Let’s talk about (fill in the blank -- like creating customer dialogues and questioning skills) and the first thing I’m going to ask you is: What do you think about your skills in that area? What are your strengths?" Then, you listen. It’s the sales rep’s side of the seesaw now, his/her chance to express his/her views. You drill down a little bit, giving the sales rep an opportunity to really talk about his/her strengths in more detail. You might probe further and ask a few additional questions, now that you know fully what the sales rep’s view is. Then, as sales leader, you share your perceptions of this area -- in this case, questioning skills and strengths. Now, it’s the sales rep’s side of the seesaw again. You ask the sales rep what it is that he/she thinks he/she needs to develop in the area you are discussing (in our example, customer dialogues and questioning skills). You continue to drill down, encouraging him/her to share views about areas that he/she might need to develop. Now, it’s your turn again, as you share your perceptions about what the sales rep might need to develop; then, together, you agree on what the sales rep needs to work on to correct these weaknesses. Now, ask the sales rep his/her view of obstacles that stand in the way of being successful in this area. Share your views. Then, ask the sales rep his/her view of ideas to improve, and share your views. Finally, ask the sales rep what his/her action plan is or what his/her commitments are to improve. Share your ideas. It’s an easy process, especially if you lay out what you’re doing upfront. Making the process transparent shows that there’s no hidden agenda, no secret. At Richardson, we even encourage leaders to take a copy of this framework when they meet with their sales reps. Tell them: "We’re going to start doing this, and we’re all going to work together at getting better, because we all need to get better -- and that means me, too." The framework makes coaching easy because it lets everyone know what’s involved. It allows everyone to better prepare and perform. Learn more about Richardson’s Developmental Sales Coaching Training Solution Developmental Sales Coaching Programs The post Sales Coaching without Secrets or a Hidden Agenda appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Why Consultative Selling Is Still Relevant There will always be someone proclaiming that their New! Improved! sales model tops all others in getting through to today’s ultra-informed B2B buyer and in winning deals. Maybe it’s the pressure and stress of an increasingly competitive business environment that creates a kind of desperation around the search for new answers. In looking for the next silver bullet for successful sales, we must be cautious not to get distracted from proven fundamentals. Sellers do not need a radically new way of selling that contradicts or retires the principles of consultative selling. The goal of consultative selling is to focus on client needs vs. your product to ensure that your solution is relevant. If being relevant to clients still matters, then consultative selling, by definition, is still relevant. We must remember that the philosophy, underlying psychology, and skills of consultative selling are timeless. They enable the seller to deeply understand the client’s unique situation and to tailor a solution that is in the client’s best interest by approaching the buying situation through the client’s eyes — and in doing so, the seller earns the client’s trust and business. What is different today, in light of changes in the selling environment, is the need for sellers to have a higher-order level of skill in consultative selling to effectively leverage their knowledge, experience, and expertise to engage clients in insightful dialogue. These higher-order skills help in the following areas: Building credibility and earning the right to gain the information needed to tailor their insights and ideas to ensure relevance Creating value in the buying experience by helping buyers to have better clarity and depth of thinking around relevant business issues and solutions so that they can achieve their business goals Guiding the client in making the best buying decision by understanding root causes and navigating options Fostering trust by focusing on the client’s needs rather than on selling a product Developing buyer urgency and driving opportunities to closure With command of a higher-order level of skills, sellers can effectively differentiate themselves based on the quality of the sales dialogue itself. The moment of truth happens in the dialogue: how the client feels about the seller and the seller’s organization is the output of the dialogue. Preparation and strategy are key, but if you do not create an exceptional client experience in the dialogue, you are doomed to fail. Dialogue is the vehicle through which you create value. The best-of-the-best sellers have always used this higher-order skill set, and in doing so have achieved trusted advisor status with their clients, in addition to exceeding their sales goals. They recognize that dialogue helps them to gain a more nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing their clients. Only then can they offer their best advice, insights, and ideas in an environment of mutual respect among business equals. Consultative selling is the way to engage the client in a productive dialogue. And that’s something that never goes out of style. Learn More About Richardson’s Consultative Selling Solutions Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at Jim.brodo@richardson.com   The post Why Consultative Selling Is Still Relevant appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Five Misperceptions about Consultative Selling In a world of dramatically changed B2B buying behavior, Consultative Selling remains one of the best ways — if not the best way — to focus on the client’s business issues and needs (not products for sale) to ensure that the proposed solution drives the needed business outcomes for the client to achieve his/her goals. But, because it’s not the shiniest, newest sales approach on the market, there are some misperceptions about its relevance today. Following are five common misperceptions. Consultative Selling is not assertive enough. Consultative Selling dialogue skills are used to create an environment of openness and mutual respect — ingredients that are necessary to stimulate thinking and gain a deep understanding of the client’s unique situation, diagnose root cause, and recommend the best solution. The seller may need to challenge the client’s thinking in the dialogue but certainly must do so without challenging the person. The only way to do this is to create an environment of openness and mutual respect, which is only created through the use of Consultative Selling skills. Consultative Selling leads sellers to go native. It’s unusual, but not impossible, for sellers to focus on their clients at the expense of their own company. However, the objective with Consultative Selling is to win profitable business. If an individual is not behaving as necessary, it becomes a coaching opportunity for sales leaders. Consultative Selling makes the seller subservient to the client. Not true. The approach and skills of Consultative Selling are designed to establish an environment of mutual respect and productive dialogue that can be used to reduce stress in the moment, resolve conflict, and hold the line on price and other terms. The Six Critical Skills are at the heart of a healthy, respectful business relationship where the needs of both buyer and seller are met. Consultative Selling focuses on asking questions, but sellers need to do more teaching. Sellers help to facilitate learning with clients, but teaching doesn’t mean the seller foregoes learning in the process. The idea is to facilitate learning on both sides to understand the client’s unique situation, generate ideas, and validate possible solutions. Insightful people bring a high level of curiosity to consultative conversations with a willingness to be both learner and teacher. Consultative Selling is not relevant in light of newer selling models. Sellers do not need a radically new way of selling that contradicts the principles of Consultative Selling. The goal of Consultative Selling is to focus on client needs, rather than positioning product, to make sure the solution is relevant. Sellers do need a higher-order level of skill in Consultative Selling to engage clients in insightful dialogue that builds credibility, creates value in the buying experience, guides the client in making the best buying decision, fosters trust, and assertively identifies and drives opportunities to closure. Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at Jim.brodo@richardson.com   The post Five Misperceptions about Consultative Selling appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

New Richardson Research Study Identifies Biggest Sales Challenges for 2015 Philadelphia, PA — March 25, 2015 — Richardson, a leading global sales training and sales effectiveness company, announced today the launch of a new research study, 2015 Selling Challenges. This study, written by Michael Dalis, a Senior Consultant at Richardson, and SVP Marketing, Jim Brodo, highlights results from a survey that Richardson conducted at the end of the 2014 with field sales representatives, senior sales professionals, and sales leaders to gauge what they felt would be their biggest selling challenges during 2015. The survey received more than 370 responses globally, mainly from B2B industries. The survey focuses on prospecting, retaining and growing client relationships, and pricing/closing. The results from the study allow the reader to gain insight into the potential challenges that his/her sales organization may face in 2015 and plan how to overcome these obstacles. Some of the critical challenges that respondents felt they would face include: 18.59% of respondents said gaining appointments is the biggest prospecting challenge in 2015. 30.11% of respondents said providing insights and challenging clients is the most difficult challenge in expanding relationships in 2015. 30.61% of respondents said competing against a low-cost provider is the biggest challenge to closing a deal in 2015. "The results of the survey support what we see in the market, working with thousands of sales reps and managers each year. It validates sales leader concerns about how they are going to drive new business and retain and grow existing client relationships," says Michael Dalis, Senior Consultant.  "Many of the challenges they expect are created by continued changes in buying patterns largely driven by financial pressures, risk management, and technology changes. This reinforces the work that we do with leading sales organizations, enabling them to leverage newer technologies and information while getting up to speed on selling strategy, process, and skills to gain relevance and win in today’s crowded marketplace." To download the study, please click here. Michael Dalis facilitates highly interactive Richardson workshops for sales and sales management professionals in a variety of industries. He is also a highly skilled Executive Sales Coach who utilizes the practical insights and strategies that he has gained throughout his career to help sales teams strengthen customer relationships, increase qualified opportunities, and grow revenue. About Richardson Richardson is a global sales training and sales force effectiveness company. We have more than 30 years of experience in creating customized sales training solutions that build organizational ability and improve the individual skills necessary to grow profitable sales. Our approach is highly collaborative with a focus on enabling the right sales activity and effective customer dialogues. To help you achieve your goals, we partner with you to develop a culture of continuous learning to help drive improved organization performance. We partner with some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world, providing an emphasis on developing the necessary skills and talent to execute in the sales process and achieve organization results. The post Richardson Launches New Research Study: 2015 Selling Challenges appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Consultative Selling Process: Resolving Objections about the Economy A Sales Professional who recently completed a Richardson Consultative Selling course wrote in an e-mail: "Dear Richardson Team: I have been enjoying success in applying the Consultative Selling Process in my work with clients, and I definitely think my skills have improved since I completed the training! I especially learned a lot from the model for resolving objections. But, I am running into one big challenge that I can’t seem to address: my clients are STILL objecting that the economy is down, which is why they can’t move ahead on opportunities. With all the economic indicators pointing to an improving economy, I just don’t know how to resolve this objection. I can’t very well tell them they are wrong about the economy, but what else can I position in response? Please help." With the volatility that the financial markets have shown over the past 15 years, it is no wonder that decision makers across a broad spectrum of industries would continue to show concern about the economy and take a conservative approach to spending. Even as the economy continues to improve, companies still may remain cautious about choosing investments and expenses wisely for fear of another economic downturn. There is good news, however, because the key to addressing this situation is already right in your hands: the Consultative Selling Process. The writer of this e-mail is already on the right track in wanting to apply the model for resolving objections: Neutrally acknowledge the objection. Ask a question to understand what is driving the objection. Position a response based on the client’s answer to your question. Check to be sure that your response satisfied the client’s concern. However, as for most objections, this one typically has other, deeper issues at its foundation. By focusing on what to position, the e-mail writer misses the chance to uncover those deeper issues. Yet, there is great benefit to you to uncover these issues because, while you cannot control the economy, you often can work with the client to address the underlying reasons that drive the client to raise this objection. Such reasons might include: The client has budget constraints. The client has competing priorities. The organization has a low-risk tolerance. Revenues and/or profitability are down at the client organization. The organization has instituted cost-saving measures. Fortunately, there is a simple solution available to you through the Consultative Selling Process, which is the skill of Questioning. By acknowledging the objection and asking the question, May I ask how the economy is affecting your business? you will be able to surface what is really driving your client. That way, there will be no need for you to contradict your client. Instead, you can position a response that is specifically tailored to your client’s unique needs and situation and increase the likelihood that the client will be open to continuing the dialogue. Success is already in your hands! What approaches have you used to resolving objections about the economy? Share them in the comments section below! Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at Jim.brodo@richardson.com   The post Consultative Selling Process: Resolving Objections about the Economy appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

  Sales Leaders Have a Role in The Retention of Sales Training "Only 32% of respondents rate their organization effective at sustaining the impact of their sales training program." That sobering statistic comes from a recent research report by Richardson and Training Industry, Inc. As a sales leader, you can have an impact on the retention of sales training, and it’s not as hard as it sounds. All you have to do is ask. If you send a group of salespeople to sales training, and you want them to retain and use that training, you need to ask them what worked for them and how they’re using it. And, you have to do this repeatedly. People will give you what you ask for. You might ask, "What is your plan is to use this particular piece of the training this month?" Then, the following month, you ask how it went — and what things are they going to work on next month. The thing about salespeople is, if you give them a target, they’ll nearly kill themselves to achieve it. The same is true about retention of training. If you ask them to apply it, and then ask them to share with you how it has worked — and then to give you additional examples of how it worked — that lesson will become embedded in the day-to-day workflow. Then, you move to the next skill area that they want to work on. Retention can be quite easy if you, as a leader, make it an issue that you ask about. Conversely, if you send salespeople to training and then never ask how it went or about the skills that they should be applying, they’re going to follow your lead and focus on other things instead. If you really want results from your investment in training, you have to put in that extra effort to get it. Just ask for several examples of how it’s working. At Richardson, we can offer supplemental strategies like eLearning or the Richardson QuickCheck™ mobile gamification app. But, if sales managers don’t know what the salespeople are supposed to be trained on or what the salespeople are expected to do differently — and if they don’t reinforce the need to do that — it just won’t happen. I often make the case for training sales managers first, so they can help train the salespeople and sustain the learning. If the sales managers don’t know the right way, and that’s what’s being taught to the salespeople, it’s not going to be as effective. That’s because sales managers will say, "No, that’s not what I want you to do. I don’t care what they told you in sales training, this is what I want you to do." So, train your sales managers first. Then, when the salespeople return from their training, they should find a receptive and supportive leader back in the workplace. That has the biggest benefit to the sales organization because both groups will have been trained. There won’t be any disconnect between what sales managers know and what the salespeople have been trained to do. The best result of all, what you really want from your sales training: Sales will go up, you’ll be more profitable, and conversion times will be reduced! It truly is achievable! COMPLIMENTARY BROCHURE - RICHARDSON QUICKCHECK - To Learn More about Richardson’s  mobile sustainment tool, QuickCheck, please click here or on the image below.           The post Sales Leaders Have a Role in The Retention of Sales Training appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

The Best Sales Leaders Understand Their Dual Roles It’s fair to say that most sales leaders got promoted to their jobs because they were good salespeople. And, as we all know, being a good salesperson isn’t the same as being the best sales leader. In fact, sometimes the best salespeople don’t make good sales managers; and sometimes, the best sales leaders were not good salespeople. The trick is to recognize the difference between being a super salesperson and being a leader of salespeople. To understand your role as a sales leader, you also have to understand your role as leader because they’re intertwined. A leader is someone who shows the way. A sales leader shows the way and helps his/her salespeople to get there on their own. The problem with this dual role is the tendency for sales leaders -- who were super salespeople -- to take over. They want to step in and solve their sales reps’ problems by doing it for them rather than coaching them in the skills needed to do it on their own. The sales managers feel that salespeople will learn how to succeed through observation. In the sales leader role, there’s quite a lot to grasp about what it really means to achieve results through others. If you want the accelerated impact of sales success from ten people vs. just yourself, you have to start by thinking about what you did that made you successful. Also consider some of the best practices that others do that make them successful. And, learn what best practice means at your company. Then, look at the things that your salespeople do that work -- and what they do that doesn’t work. Find the gaps, and help develop skills for each person in his/her weakest areas. Your next step should be to help your salespeople see their strengths and weaknesses: to develop self-awareness about their capabilities. You have to help them figure out what areas they need to develop, and then help them along the way. Again, this doesn’t mean telling your people what to do. It means discussing the subject with them, collaborating with them, giving them examples, and maybe even teaching them to some extent. It’s not about saying, "You need to use better questions with your customers," assuming that will get the job done. It’s about agreeing that better questioning skills are needed and then together determining how to improve them, practicing and evaluating results. The Richardson sales coaching process gives sales leaders the tools they need to have these kinds of discussions. We understand the challenge that sales leaders face in recognizing that their job isn’t just about sales, so we help them to learn about their sales reps. The goal is to treat these reps as people with needs and to help them solve those needs, just as the sales reps help customers. In effect, sales leaders need to treat their team as customers, gaining insights into their needs and helping them to be better salespeople. COMPLIMENTARY BROCHURE - DEVELOPMENTAL SALES COACHING - Click the following to download a copy of our Developmental Sales Coaching brochure The post The Best Sales Leaders Understand Their Dual Roles appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Get Post-Sales Training Visibility with Learning Analytics Your salespeople are effusive in their praise of the new sales training.  Sales Managers are feeling confident that the new sales training will help their teams achieve (or exceed!) their numbers.  The Senior Vice President (SVP) of Sales, the sales training initiative’s executive sponsor, is publically calling the program a "game changer" for the sales organization.  Your learning and development staff is feeling great — all of their hard work has paid off with an amazing three-day event. As a seasoned Learning and Development Leader, you are glad that the training was so well received within the sales organization.  However, you know that the initiative has now entered its riskiest phase.  One question haunts you:  What will salespeople actually do differently in their day-to-day interactions with customers as a result of the training?  The sales organization’s whole investment in behavior change will be made or broken in the next three to six months — either behavior change takes off, or it does not.  In nine months, when your CFO begins to ask the SVP of Sales, "What did we get as a result of all that sales training?" you need to ensure that you and your executive sponsor have a fantastic story of success to tell.  That story began as soon as the salespeople left the new sales training. At Richardson, we see the scenario described above play out over and over again with sales organizations.  We regularly counsel our clients that sales training cannot be an event; it has to be bigger than three days of relevant learning and great facilitation in order to get behavior change back on the job.  One of the first steps to getting behavior change is to invest in knowledge retention immediately after training (see this blog post about the pernicious effects of the "forgetting curve").  Post-training knowledge retention is only the first step on the journey to get sustained behavior change in your sales organization.  However, like most first steps, it has an outsized influence on later results.  Retaining key skills and knowledge in long-term memory is foundational to applying those new skills and knowledge.  Strong knowledge retention is a prerequisite for strong sales performance with customers.  And yet, knowledge retention is nearly invisible!  How can you be held responsible to something that is invisible? Even more importantly for a progressive Learning and Development Leader, there has to be a way of proving that knowledge retention has taken place across multiple sales teams and topic areas.  Anecdotal information is not going to be enough (or should not be enough) to satisfy your executive sponsor.  This is where learning analytics becomes vital to the early success of your organization’s sales training investment.  Measuring knowledge retention and visualizing that data enables you to do three things: Demonstrate how well salespeople have retained key knowledge and concepts three months after training Determine where to focus limited sustainment resources to close the remaining, post-training skill gaps Identify lack of engagement and reinforcement early so that critical conversations with front-line sales managers and sales leaders are fact-based In order to get these three benefits from your learning analytics, they need to be (1) easy to collect via technology and (2) extremely granular — down to the individual salesperson, sales team, and topic area.  Without this level of visibility into the invisible process of knowledge retention, you are very unlikely to know what is actually going on in the first 30-90 days after training.  It is in this period that the battle for behavior change is either starting to be won or your investment in training is rapidly being lost.  Learning analytics ensures that you know how the battle for behavior change is going.  As a result, you and your executive sponsor can make smart decisions that set the sales organization up for consistent behavior change and outstanding business outcomes nine to twelve months in the future.  That is a data-driven story worth telling any skeptical CFO. New From Richardson Richardson has just implemented a new reporting and analytics platform for Richardson QuickCheck. The platform includes real-time performance heat maps, online performance dashboards, and snapshots of user engagement. Click here  or on the image below to learn more about these new enhancements for this award winning reinforcement tool.     The post Get Post-sales Training Visibility with Learning Analytics appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

8 Attributes of a Highly Successful Salesperson You may recall that oh-so-70’s TV series called The Six Million Dollar Man, in which a secret government agency rebuilds former astronaut Steve Austin after an accident into a spy with bionic speed, strength, and vision that make him unstoppable. Leaders and sales managers, when faced with a steep goal or taking on a new business, will naturally look at their sales team and think, "How am I going to hit this new goal with the same team?"  First, you come to terms with the goal and that, reluctantly, surgery and bionic implants are out — budget, OSHA, HR issues, etc.  So, you turn your attention to less extreme methods, such as strategy, recruiting, sales training, and coaching.  And then, you begin to focus on the question what are the "8 attributes of a highly successful salesperson?" Consider the following sets of personality qualities: A B Social Insightful Vocal Soft-spoken Aggressive Patient Gregarious Empathetic Quick on their feet Thoughtful Funny Serious Question #1:  From which column of qualities would you choose if you were: Throwing a party? Hiring people most like you? Seeking people to do a lot of outbound calling, meetings, and presentations? Question #2:  What if we turn around the question to instead ask:  If you were a buyer, responsible for making a significant and complex purchase for your organization, under great pressure and visibility, which column of qualities would you choose for your sales contact or account manager? In 2012, Susan Cain authored a best-selling non-fiction book titled, Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking.  She described qualities like those listed in Column A as the "the extrovert ideal" — those we tend to see as representing success.  And yet, while these qualities are common among many salespeople, are they the ones embodied by your most effective, client-facing professionals? Many sales leaders graduate into their position after gaining success as a salesperson.  So, it is tempting for them to assume that people similar to them will perform as they did.  This was illustrated well by Vivek Gupta, CEO of Zensar Technologies, in a New York Times interview on March 8, 2015.  He shared:  "There was a young girl, straight out of college, who walked into my office and said, ‘…I want to be in sales.’  I was quite nervous that she couldn’t handle the job.  I had spent a rough five years doing sales, traveling all over the country.  How would she be able to do that? … I gave the job to her, and she turned out to be the best salesperson in the company."  Consider those gems on your team who, though quite different from you, share your ability to consistently retain important clients or generate new business. While society values Susan Cain’s "extrovert ideal," consider how Column B qualities — those traditionally attached to an introvert — might be differentiators and highly valued by buyers.  The truth is that the continuum between extrovert and introvert is a wide one, and effective salespeople are found between the extremes. In my 30 years working among and coaching salespeople, here are the 8 Attributes of a highly successful salesperson that I see consistently.  They are: Client-loyal: They are driven to understand what success means for their clients and to actively contribute to that success. Win-driven: They have a self-derived motivation to win (or not lose) that transcends compensation plans, campaigns, and coaching efforts. Team builders: They cultivate and leverage people and resources — inside and outside of their organizations — that allow them to help clients reach their goals and to win. Efficient: They are master qualifiers, willing to walk from opportunities that they feel they can’t or don’t want to win. And, they are willing to invest outsized amounts of time and energy in developing what they consider to be the really great opportunities — and, in building teams that prepare and practice to win. Impatiently patient: Though professionally driven, they exude patience when they are with a client, prospect, partner, or referral source. Passionately sincere: This goes beyond basic honesty. They are sincere in finding the solution that will best accomplish the client’s goal, even if that runs counter to their organizations’ latest campaign. They display high conviction in making their case to a client about why their solution is the right one. Attentive listeners: They talk far less than they listen, bringing a high degree of humility and curiosity to their client interactions. Dedicated: They see sales as their craft and, as such, seek knowledge, coaching, and resources that will allow them to do it more efficiently and effectively, seeking and incorporating feedback to continuously sharpen their approach. To stay focused on these attributes, managers — as you recruit, restructure, and coach — you will be well served by the following reminders: Avoid looking for you in them. He will always be him, not you. Seek the attributes that made you effective, even if the personality couldn’t be more different from yours. Don’t try to turn them into you. Be willing to coach them to become the best version of themselves. Seek the attributes above as must-haves, while the packages in which they come may vary. Highly successful salespeople come in all shapes and sizes and may not always be the life of the party.  If, however, they are long on the 8 attributes above — Six Million Dollar Salespeople — they will outrun the competition in retaining and growing clients and finding new ones.  Still, budgeting next year for bionic implants is an interesting thought… Learn More About Richardson’s Consultative Selling Solutions Click the image below or the following link to download a brochure on our award winning Consultative Selling sales training solutions! Or you can contact Jim Brodo, SVP of marketing directly at Jim.brodo@richardson.com The post 8 Attributes of a Highly Successful Salesperson appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

What Do You Really Expect from Your Front-line Sales Managers? Do They Know It? Anyone who has climbed the ranks of a sales organization can appreciate the complexity of the front-line sales manager’s job. It is usually the most critical position in any sales organization and can make the difference in determining success or failure. So, reach out to your sales managers today, and ask them this: "Name the two most important things we pay you to do." If their answers don’t align with your expectations, then it’s time for some course correction. Great sales managers are not always top-ranked salespeople. Clearly, the job requires an above-average level of selling skills, but it also requires a unique blend of multiple skills. It can be like wearing the hats of coach, parent, counselor, advisor, sounding board, and psychiatrist, all at once. The job gets more complicated because of its location in the corporate food chain. A sales manager is caught between the front line, client-facing salespeople, and upper management. Many times, the view of reality on the front line varies greatly from that in the ivory tower. Successful navigation within this food chain can be challenging, even for the most successful sales managers. So, what are sales managers’ primary points of focus? There are many things to expect from sales managers, but none are more important than these two: To drive results To develop people Which one is more important? The right answer is both; they are equally important. A sales manager can’t have long-term, sustainable results without developing team members. A sales manager who spends too much time as the best presenter and super closer usually can’t scale; he/she eventually runs out of bandwidth. Conversely, a sales manager who spends too much time developing sub-par talent will often miss targets and fail. It’s all about balance. Drive results by engaging in the day-to-day, front-line activities. But, remember that great sales managers don’t make quota for their sales reps — they make quota through their sales reps. The key to staffing your team with the right sales managers begins with a solid understanding of the skills and competencies required for the job. World-class sales organizations begin the staffing process by establishing a competency model that clearly identifies the attributes needed to successfully drive results and develop people. Coach the managers to hire "A"-level players and, in the worst case, "B"-level players who are coachable and competent to reach the "A" level. Never allow a sales manager to staff the team with, or hold on to, inherited "C"- and "D"-level players. Sales managers’ time is too valuable to waste in trying to coach low-potential sales reps to achieve a level of mediocrity. A talented sales team led by a competent, focused sales manager who drives the right activities and behaviors is a recipe for sustained growth and success. Make sure you have the right sales leaders setting the pace and culture that you desire. Front-line sales managers are often the position with the most leverage to make or break your revenue targets. Learn more about Richardson’s Developmental Sales Coaching Training Solutions Developmental Sales Coaching Programs The post What Do You Really Expect from Your Front-line Sales Managers? Do They Know It? appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

Social Selling: What It Is and What Sales Reps Should Be Doing The old ways of selling are gone. In fact, you could say that the cart has officially come before the horse. The "cart" is, of course, a shopping cart (or the moment that a decision is made to buy offline in B2B terms), and the horse is the informed and influential salesperson. The reason for this turn of events is clear and simple: the Internet. The familiar scenario of the bygone era in which the seller educates, informs, and convinces the buyer seems quaint now. As a buyer, can you imagine not researching something that you intend to buy before talking to a salesperson? The scales have certainly tipped in recent years to make selling a greater challenge than ever before. So much information is readily available for both sellers and buyers. Sales reps no longer control the information needed by buyers to make purchasing decisions. Customers are self-educating online. For many purchasing decisions, the primary question is no longer, "Why should I buy this," but rather, "Why should I buy this from you?" Savvy sales reps are tackling this dilemma by starting the process of social selling. As defined in a recent article in Forbes*, "social selling is about salespeople building a strong personal brand. It is about understanding the role of content and how content can be used to tell a powerful and emotional story. And, it is about growing your social connections."* The challenge for sales reps then becomes, "How do I create a brand not only for my organization, but also for a strong personal brand for myself in the marketplace?" Social selling skills and tools make that possible. Stats If you need more evidence to believe in the effectiveness of social selling — or, if you need ammunition to sell it to your boss — consider these statistics: 84% of B2B executives use social media to research buying decisions. Social sellers outpace those that don’t sell socially by a margin of 64% to 49% when it comes to team quota attainment. These few figures support the notion that buyers are researching before contacting sellers. The bad news is that too many sales reps haven’t adjusted to that reality: Only 31% of B2B salespeople include social networks in their selling process. A paltry 26% of sales reps feel that they know how to use social networks for selling. Help Your Reps Understand What to Do Sales reps can no longer afford to wait until they’re actually talking to prospects to start talking to them. Those prospects are already informed about products and services, the competitive landscape, reviews, trends, and issues surrounding their needs and solutions. Here are a few steps to help your sales reps get out in front of the conversation: Build and manage their social profiles. This could include starting from scratch or shifting their focus from solely personal to include their professional personas.  Grow their network. Quality is better than quantity, but don’t overlook people from your past who may be a target for a sale. Create and/or share content relevant to their clients’ problems. Show that you and your company have the experience and expertise to resolve issues that they face. Measure their progress and tweak, as necessary. Find out what’s working and what’s not, and adjust accordingly. That could mean doing more of the same, turning to different social media platforms, or refining the message. Learn More If you would like additional information regarding a great tool that can help your sales team implement these steps, please take a look at one of my past Richy Awards which was given to a company called PeopleLinx. They  have a online tool that can significantly help you implement these steps. *Keenan, Jim. "The Social Selling Curmudgeon, Are You That Guy?" Forbes, July 16, 2014. The post Social Selling: What It Is and What Sales Reps Should Be Doing appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

New and Improved Reporting Analytics Platform Launched for Richardson’s Sales Training Reinforcement Tool, Richardson QuickCheck™ Philadelphia, PA — April 24, 2015 — Richardson, a leading global sales training company, announced today the launch of a new and improved, back-end, real-time reporting analytics platform that will further enhance the effectiveness of their award-winning, mobile sales training reinforcement tool, Richardson QuickCheck® powered by Qstream®. Richardson QuickCheck is an e-mail-based program that leverages salespeople’s mobile devices in order to deliver daily, bite-sized learning that is designed to help reinforce and sustain the knowledge and skills taught in Richardson’s sales training programs. The new reporting analytics platform includes real-time performance heat maps that continuously analyze and present data, enabling a real-time understanding of how users are adapting to the desired behavior change and where additional coaching and skill development may be needed. QuickCheck analytic data is now able to be filtered, analyzed, and exported in many different ways through Qstream’s flexible tagging system. The platform provides management and administrators with a set of new and standard sales management dashboards that feature hierarchical views that drill down on individual reps, team, and region performance. These new dashboards also provide weekly snapshot reports that display performance and engagement summaries, as well as proficiency comparisons within and across groups. "At Richardson we regularly counsel our clients that training cannot be an event; it has to be bigger than three days of relevant learning and great facilitation in order to get behavior change back on-the-job. It is not only important to invest in knowledge retention immediately after training, it is critical that management is provided with the necessary learning analytics," said Gregg Kober, Vice President of Change Management and Enablement at Richardson. Kober continues: "Measuring knowledge retention and visualizing that data enables management to demonstrate how well their teams are retaining the key knowledge and also to provide additional support or coaching where learning gaps may continue to exist." Media Contact: Jim Brodo, SVP Marketing Richardson — jim.brodo@richardson.com Please click on the following link if you would like to learn more about Richardson’s QuickCheck sales training reinforcement tool.   The post New Reporting Analytics Platform Launched for Richardson’s Sales Training Reinforcement Tool appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.