Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Hire Someone With Product Knowledge – a Sales Management Myth:

Hiring a candidate for your sales position who has “product knowledge” seems at first thought to be a smart move. Obviously you can save money on training if your new hire knows your industry. Right? Don’t believe it!

Product knowledge is highly overrated by most sales managers and has little to do with a representative’s ability to close sales. Even though most of the sales training conducted today centers on learning the nuances of an organization’s products or services, the emphasis on product knowledge is nothing more than a waste of training time. If you want to hire “order takers” and not sales professionals,place a major emphasis on finding candidates with industry experience and product knowledge.

Some years ago, I was sitting in a meeting with a bank president and several vice presidents attempting to sell a sales training package for their customer service representatives (CSRs). In an answer to one of my questions, the training manager said that the bank would not even consider my training unless I had some way of measuring its effectiveness with their staff. The day before this meeting, The $elling Edge, Inc. had been awarded the distributorship for a unique bank sales tracking software package, that would effectively measure CSR crosssales ratios. I knew what the software was supposed to do, but had no way to demonstrates benefits, because all of the sales literature and demo disks were in the mail. Nevertheless, before leaving the bank that day, the controller cut a cashiers check for 95 for the tracking software and the bank committed to one year’s training for their CSRs and tellers. Knowing how to sell gave my firm our first software package sale and a long term contract. Knowledge about the new software’s features and benefits played no role in the selling process at all.

Even the most complex products or services can be easily learned. Being able to consistently sell them, is the hard part. Look for and hire candidates that can sell you on their ability to sell anything and don’t worry about their industry experience or product knowledge. The time and money you save in not having to train a new representative on your industry and your products,or services, could be the most expensive “cost savings” you’ll ever produce, if your new hire can’t sell. Hire people who can sell!

“Hire the best. Pay them fairly. Communicate frequently.Provide challenges and rewards. Believe in them. Get out of their way and they’ll knock your socks off.”

-Mary Ann Allison -

author

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management Training: Differentiating Your Business During This Recession

It’s amazing to me that most sales people, mangers and corporate officers believe they know what their prospects and clients are thinking and wanting.  On the surface and/or in general terms they may be correct sometimes.  However, it’s not the vague generalities that win sales.  Besides, when in a selling situation you don’t know if you are working with the rule or the exception.

As I’m mingling at a networking meeting an elderly gentleman stops me and offers a hello.  He asks me who I’m with, so I say, “I help people develop business.  So what are your major issues as it relates to business development during this economic down time?” And he says, “Getting more business.”

Then I ask him, “Do your current clients have business that you’re not getting?”  At first he says yes, but then quickly moves to tell me how he’s getting all the business from one of them.  So I say, “What about getting more from the others?”

Well, somehow he dodges this question and tells me what his company has that others don’t.  “We can react within a day,” he says.  “Our competitors need 1-2 weeks.” 

So I tried to say, “What if your other customers are not in a hurry, then what?”  But he didn’t answer this.  He just kept bragging about what he felt made his company special. 

So here are two points to learn from this story.

You may feel you have a differentiator – fast in his case, but be careful.  Not everybody wants what you think they should want?  In his case fast is a macro differentiator.  This can be used in marketing campaigns to attract leads that want work to begin with a few days.  However, once someone shows interest, you’ve got to move to the micro differentiators.  These are the issues and concerns that the individual wants solved and/or the desires s/he wants you to deliver.  Fast maybe one of them, but there may be others.  So just in case another competitor can do it fast also (because they have extra capacity during the slowdown), you’d better have some other deliverable that the person wants that you do well.

Not everybody wants you’re macro differentiator even though you think they should.  So when you’re going after a project and you want premium pricing, you have to find those that have to have you’re macro differentiator.  Actually this will be one of the criteria of you Ideal Customer Profile.  You want customers that need your services delivered right away. 

For those that don’t, you’re going to need other differentiators or else you’ll have to be the low bidder.  So, are there other things you do well?  Of course there are.  Start documenting how well you do them and what experience you have doing them.  Then when someone says they want services like you have, but not for a few weeks, and they want it done accurately with quick follow-up if needed, you can tell them how accurate you are and what your follow-up program is, as you back it up with numbers of jobs, testimonials and other proof.

The moral of this story is that in a recessionary period seek customers that fall in your sweet spot, but also open your thinking to other things you do well.  Document those other things and market those strengths also.  You don’t have to be the best or the only, just good.  And, the best place to start is within your existing client base.  You want 100% of the business from 100% of your clients.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Would you like to see something tangible that gauges the skills and behaviors of your sales people?  Just click this http://www.sammanfer.com/cleveltest.htm  C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders. 

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Principles of Sales Management

When taking on a sales management position, there are three essential levels you must recognize are a part of being a manager. Working on polishing your skill in these separate levels will help you in becoming a well-rounded manager that can take on any job duty and handle them with ease. These principles of management are crucial if you would like to be viewed as a person of good integrity, work ethic and communicative with fellow workers. These three levels for being a high-quality manager are as follows: Technical Skill, Human Skill, and Conceptual Skill and the necessary functions of a manager are planning, organizing, directing and controlling.

Technical skill is the ability to process the technical side of a job or part of your work. Proficiency in the technical knowledge of your job and company is critical if your job requires you to be more “hands on” with your work. Many managers find themselves less educated on the technical side of the job than the rest of their employees and upon losing their managerial position they are forced to come to the reality that there are far more people educated in technical work than they are and slowly fall down the ladder. In order to not let this happen, you must stay up to date with the technical aspects of your job in order to assure your bosses and your company that you are the right person for the position.

Human skill is the power to communicate to your fellow co-workers. This is a skill that 99% of all companies look for in a manager because if you do not possess the ability to correspond with other employees then you will not work out in a manager position. You must be a “people person” in order to hold a job as a manager because on a daily basis you will be working with various other associates and you will need to know how to hold conversations and help your employees. Learning how to effectively communicate with people is a key principle of management that you will need in order to be successful in your position.

Conceptual skills involve the formulation of ideas and concepts. Managers that have great conceptual skills generally possess the power to create innovative ideas and deliver abstract theories. This form of management will give your company the edge it needs against its competitors if you can formulate groundbreaking concepts for your company that will push them ahead of the competition.

Managers also have duties no matter what their skill level is. These responsibilities include planning, organizing, directing and controlling. These functions are necessary when working as a manager in any level you are performing in. You might view your principles of management as the separate skill levels or the basic duties of a manager. Whichever you hold as the most important, you must also keep in account that a great manager will possess all of these skills and be a vital asset to their company.

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Sales Management – Teach, Coach Or Leave Alone

A common hurdle for Sales Managers is learning how to actually ‘manage’ their sales team. Much like a football coach, it is your job to assess the talent on your team.

A good way to begin assessing your team is to evaluate each player, and assign them to one of three categories. This will allow you to focus the proper attention on the appropriate team members. There are three basic types of sales people.

Those you Teach:

This type has very little, if any sales training. Whether a ‘rookie’ or a ten year veteran, they survive on raw talent. Blessed with a disarming demeanor and a ‘gift of gab’, these folks make an honest living in sales. Arming them with some basic tools of the trade will do wonders in getting them off the practice squad and into the game.

For starters, schedule weekly sessions to go over scripting and roll playing exercises that cover common client interactions. Allow these players to ‘sit in’ on a few of your client consultations. If you have a video camera, tape their client interaction (with their knowledge, of course) and review it with them to correct common mistakes.

Those you Coach:

These are your starters. They consistently meet their sales goals. However, they seem to set their sights too low and ‘take plays off’ when they are ahead.

For this group, motivation is the key. Track their conversion rates for leads to sales. This will stress that every opportunity counts. Inspire friendly competition with weekly or monthly rewards such as “Lunch on the Boss” or a ‘Get Out of A Meeting Free” card. Meet with them weekly and give them a good ribbing if they start to slack off. Don’t worry, they can take it.

Those you Leave Alone:

The MVPs! Every sales manager has a list of ‘go to’ team members. They regularly exceed expectations and are self-motivated. It is important that you not over-manage these star performers.

Remember that professionals in this category are confident in their ability and know what they bring to your team. If you stifle them with burdensome reports and meetings, or with doing things ‘your way’, they will demand a trade! If they aren’t broken, don’t try to fix them.

In conclusion, using these profiles will help you build your team into a winner! And just like Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!”

(C) 2007.

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management: Avoid Motivational Bankruptcy, 6 Tips for Exciting Your Sales Team

The president of an office supply company was recently lamenting that his sales people were not operating to their potential. “Motivationally bankrupt,” he said.

This is a very common complaint in any area of business. However, it is usually the managers who unconsciously demotivate their employees.

Sales people want to succeed in their jobs.  When they sign on they’re psyched to do well in the company. Even if they are experienced, they are new to you and new to your company.  If you haven’t made a conscious effort to show them how to do business your way, they will do it their way and probably be less effective than either of you hoped. What happens next is they become unhappy.  That’s strike one. You’re disappointed, which shows – strike two. Then, you probably tell them what they’re doing wrong and that’s strike three – motivational bankruptcy.

Here are 6 tips to keep your staff motivated and producing.

1.         Set The Expectations.

Tell your people what you want and your method to get it.  Nobody knows what you think they should know.  Believe this or live in frustration.  Never assume they know because of experience, intelligence or whatever.  Make your desires perfectly clear.

Also, get over any concern that it would be insulting to them, or unnecessary.

You will have to take the initiative because your employees are probably not going to ask for your expectation or how you want them to work.  They foolishly think this would make them look badly to you.  Therefore, pull each aside quarterly and spell it out.

If your employee has a different approach, work it out together.  Otherwise, even if successful, you will always be suspect, waiting for the fall, and your anxiety will come through.  This causes self doubt which leads to failures and demotivation.

2.         A Well-Trained Employee Is A Happy Employee.

Employees – especially when new or entering a new role – are like sponges trying to learn what to do.  You can fill that sponge with good liquid or let them fill it with whatever they pick-up.  Even your best people are sponges, but they are looking for new liquid to get a competitive edge.

Unless a person has learned how to sell (or do) your stuff how can you expect them to know how? I hear all the time, “They are experienced.”  I always retort that I am an experienced golfer, but I am still a 17 handicap.  Experience doesn’t mean they know how to do it well, and for sure not your way.

Doers need skills – skills they never learned and/or don’t use. Besides, everyone can learn again or be refreshed.  Employees will never accept responsibility for failure.  They will always blame the company – you.  So put your people through skills training. In this way you will know they actually have the tools.   Additionally business is constantly changing and your people need to be updated.

Be careful of in-house training. Consider bringing in a professional to train.  Internal people, unless doing or managing the task, lack the been-there, done-that knowledge and credibility to be effective. For example, many companies let marketing do training for new sales people. This is a curse to salespeople.

Marketing pushes product advantages, features / benefits, and competitive differentiation rather than selling skills. This indoctrination makes salespeople feel they should go out pushing prospects to buy, rather than digging for needs and relevant information. They become annoying and never build their credibility.

3.         Coach Your People Until They Get It Right.

People cannot coach themselves. If Tiger Woods needs a coach, your people need one. A few years back he was without a coach and his game slumped considerably. You are the best to do the coaching. Do sales calls together. First you do the interviewing. Discuss it and then let your person do the next one. It is crucial to give positive feedback. Also, once is not enough. You will have to do it until he or she gets it right. Better comes before perfect.

4.         Recognize Good Behaviors.

Saying something was done well – no matter how small the deed – is a big deposit in their motivational bank account.  Your urge will be to tell what the employee did or is doing wrong.  No matter what you think, this is a motivational withdrawal. You have to exert an extra effort to spin negatives into positives.  Say, “Consider doing it this way in the future.” This will be tough because it takes more energy to find positives, or take poor behaviors and restructure them into constructive suggestions, than it is to just say something negative.

5.         Pay Attention to Your Bad Days.

Here’s a typical situation. You’re up to your ears in alligators. It’s a bad day and you want to strangle someone, and now your subordinate comes in and lays-on another frustration.

Be very careful here. Your day is not his or her issue and a negative reaction will inadvertently be a drain to the motivation account. So be alert to your awful moments. Avoid your people or at least decompress before engagement. This will mitigate unintentional damage.

6.         Rewards Are Very Powerful Motivators.

Rewards are catnip to employees’ self esteem. Salary, benefits, and bonuses are part of the job. Rewards are special and personal. They are public acknowledgements of your appreciation and can be very energizing.

Two keys: First, don’t presume to know what will excite a person. Everyone is different. Ask what special something would excite him or her. If they say something monetary, probe to see what else. You’ll be amazed.

Second, the cost of the reward is not important. A plaque with the person’s name is big. Decals or coasters are significant. Make it tangible – something for them and others to see. This is a lotto size deposit into the employees’ motivation account.

Also, make rewards so that everyone can win for meeting expectations. This creates a team atmosphere for all to help each other.

In summary, demotivating is like going down a slide – fast and without effort. Motivating is like crawling up a flight of stairs covered with broken glass.  So check your negative reactions and your employees will stay motivationally high with little effort on your part.

Although intuitively obvious, the implementation will require you push yourself into behaviors that are different – and nobody likes to change.  However, if you make the shift you will stop the motivational withdrawals and your portfolio of satisfied, highly  productive employees will keep paying you dividends.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Just click this “http://www.Sammanfer.comCleveltest.htm” C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.