Greetings from Alexandria, Virginia.  This is probably the coolest place I’ve been in a while.  The fact that it’s relatively warm in December doesn’t hurt either.  I’m spending the week working out of the FusionTek East Coast offices and loving the surroundings.

I was visiting with David Spire from United Systems last week when he dropped this bomb on me.  The bomb is Jeffrey Gitomer.  Now, I have to admit that as a consultant I like to fool myself into believing that I know everything about everything.  Clearly this isn’t true but when someone asks me, “have you heard about this guy or that guy?” I am usually skeptical since out industry has an abundance of crap floating around passing itself off as good advice.

When David asked me if I’d heard of Jeffrey Gitomer I applied my usual amount of skepticism and paid little attention.   When I took the time to read his website and excerpts from his books I found myself getting very impressed (despite my best efforts).  This guy is a genius, well spoken, and his experiences are incredible.  Not since I was introduced to the Sandler Selling System have I been this optimistic about great sales training existing out in the world.

So without further introduction, I am presenting you with a snipit of Gitomer’s philosophies.  Do yourself and your sales folks a favor and start devouring what this guy is feeding.

12.5 Values of a Sales Professional

1. The value of creating a difference between you and the competition. The key is perceived value. The biggest difference is the difference they perceive in YOU!

2. The value of knowing the difference between satisfied and loyal. Satisfied customers buy anywhere. Loyal customers stay, fight for you and refer. Will they order again? Will they recommend you to others? That is the measure.

3. The value of your ability to speak and be compelling.  If your sales message is boring, they pass. If it’s compelling, they want to buy. Engage them with great questions and ideas.

4. The (value) of knowing everything or being too busy to learn. Stay a student – every day. All the information you need to succeed already exists. You may not be exposing yourself to it. Continue reading I admit it, I’m impressed with Jeffrey Gitomer

Tags: sales, sales management, selling

Bill Stucklen is a founder of Marathon Consulting in Brooklyn, NY. He was a reluctant sales manager but has turned out to be quite amazing at it and is delivering some very strong results. Bill forwarded this Sales Constitution to me this morning and I really like it, all but the part about giving products away for free!

Sales Constitution

• I refuse to sell my services to people who don’t want them or need them.
• I find out how others failed because I won’t make the same mistake they did.
• I never stand in the way of the best solutions or the worst solutions.
• I don’t sell products; I sell service. All products are free with my service.
• I never expect buyers to pay more for the same solution at a higher price.
• I always present solutions that are different and better than competitors.
• I present my solutions only once – to the right people at the right time.
• I will not allow third parties to present my solutions. Only I will do this.
• I provide choices to my buyer, not ultimatums.
• I will never fax or email my proprietary solutions to a customer.
• I am committed to only four possible outcomes of my presentation.
o Yes
o No
o Disqualify Myself – If my solutions are the same as others.
o Set a future date to get my final answer with a return visit.
• I always find out what I did to get or lose the sale.
• I return in person to get the final answer, not make follow up phone calls.
• I always let customers know that I need their help getting more customers.

Tags: marathon consulting, sales management, selling

You’ve hired the right person, you’ve put them through their orientation, you’ve even found someone who will prospect and get their own appointments! Congratulations. Now what? Here are four things to get that newbie thinking about:
1. Ask questions about technology; how do they use it? what role does it play in their business? what is frustrating? what’s working or not working?

2. Once you’ve uncovered a “pain”, relax, slow down, don’t get over excited and start trying to throw solutions at the prospect. Instead, start asking probing questions. Find out what solutions they’ve attempted. Ask if any other companies have offered solutions.

3. If there is an opportunity, start talking about time frames and budgets. Here’s a hint, the prospect never has a budget or doesn’t want to tell you the budget. This is where selling comes in…help them understand why you need that number, how it speeds the delivery time to getting their pain solved, how it helps you craft the right solution that they can actually afford. If you’ve begun to build a trusting relationship, you can get this number.

4. Insist that your newbie never leave that prospect without the next meeting and an objective for that next meeting. This is crucial! Too many sales calls end with a “call me next week.” Everyone is excited and motivated until next week comes and you can’t reach your new buddy. The calls are unreturned, the emails ignored, and suddenly that hot new opportunity is reduced to nothing. Get the follow up appointment on the spot.

These are simple topics for your weekly sales meeting.  Be patient, even your seasoned vets can fall out of these habits.  Coach and counsel your newbies consistently to train the behavior.  They’ll get there.

Tags: new hire, sales, sales management, selling