Many years ago I worked for a small manufacturing company. As one of four regional managers, I was invited to Northern New Jersey once each quarter to meet with our Vice President of Sales for a five-day “Sales Meeting.” We really had a good time eating at our favorite restaurants in the area, but we all HATED those meetings!

We were never sure just why we were called in for a full week, four times a year. These meetings consisted of hours of boring discussions without meaningful decisions, bull sessions about sports teams or favorite cars and where we would have lunch. These hours were punctuated by moments of interesting discussions with engineering, marketing and manufacturing, which helped us feel a part of something larger than ourselves.

Here is what I observed about how not to conduct a sales meeting:

1. No advanced agenda.

We were often unable to contribute effectively to a particular discussion because we did not know the subjects in advance. Lack of preparation resulted in frustration and poor decision-making.

2. Failure to adhere to the established agenda.

The first morning of each quarterly event we were presented with the week’s agenda. We rarely stuck to those topics, and often got behind. At least two of the five days were wasted.

3. Avoiding the “elephant in the room.”

Sales were flat for four of the five years I was part of this group. While we discussed ways to increase sales (of course!), the “elephant” of our antiquated technology and poor market positioning was ignored.

4. Lack of a marketing and sales plan.

I do not remember any cohesive marketing programs or plans of action which would increase our market share or customer awareness. It was difficult to generate excitement in the field.

5. No business fun.

We had four talented, capable managers, who wanted to succeed and make money. There was no “motivational speaker” or trainer or consultant brought in to help us grow personally, to get outside our habits and look for innovative ways to grow our business.

6. No follow up from the top.

The CEO and the VP of Sales were great people. We became friends. But they had no action plans to work with us in the field to identify markets, build distribution or increase OEM sales. We may or may not see them in the field between quarterly meetings.

From these experiences I have three recommendations for effective sales meetings:

1. Identify and promote a specific and definite objective for each meeting.

2. Keep it short and stick to business. Generate excitement to make the meeting personally rewarding and business profitable.

3. Follow up with executive presence in the field to reinforce the initiatives or the plans decided in the meetings.

Field managers need to be accountable and feel supported.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

My first selling job was for a jobber who stocked boxes and packing supplies and sold them to small manufacturing and distribution companies in our city. We based our value proposition on our variety of products and next day delivery.

One day an engineer named Jeff called me to ask if we could make a special container for some cylinders he was using in a project. He wanted a relatively inexpensive way to store these cylinders that was light weight and would cushion them from each other. He thought corrugated paperboard would be an excellent material. As we discussed his application he asked, “How thick is the corrugated material?” “About an eighth of an inch,” I replied. Then I went back and measured it with my office ruler, and it looked like about an eighth.

So, using one eighth inch as his gauge, he computed his container size, and gave me all the dimensions. I ordered his “egg crate” container, custom made and very expensive (for a box).

The day after this custom made container was delivered; Jeff called me on the phone, fit to be tied. “What’s the problem, Jeff?” I asked. “I thought you told me this cardboard was an eighth of an inch thick,” he said forcefully. “Well, yes,” I replied.

Jeff said, “It’s not! It’s seven sixty fourths of an inch think! And these cylinders are loose in their compartments. They are not snug like I want.” I was speechless.

That was my first introduction to something called “behavior style.”

Jeff was a “controller” personality style. He loved details and specifications. He was a design engineer, and he loved the preciseness of that work. When a guy like Jeff asks, “How thick?” he means “EXACTLY how thick is it?” He expects you to use a micrometer.

I am a “talker” personality style. Exact is not in my vocabulary. When he said, “How thick?” I heard, “About how thick.” My answer was “About one eighth of an inch.” I just guessed, and confirmed it with my ruler. When I told Jeff “about an eighth,” he heard, “Exactly an eighth.” Well we fixed the problem for Jeff, but I learned a valuable lesson. People don’t all see things the same way I do.

If you are in a profession like sales, where you must communicate effectively with others, learn about the major behavior styles and how you need to adjust to be effective at working with them.


Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

“Leading” a sales team is more like coaching little league than it is like “managing” a department.

Top sales people crave “coaching!” They resist “management!”

Recently I met with a young sales executive. He inherited a sales organization of about 15 people, in a technical industry. They are in a rebuilding mode with new corporate initiatives. As we shared breakfast and talked, I asked him about his management style.

He made several excellent points:

• He recognizes that everyone is not a super star, but that each one has value.

• Regardless of his opinion of the person, he gives them all the same opportunity to succeed by providing the training and the infrastructure.

• He does not micro-manage. This attracts potential super stars.

• He looks at results and the activities that he knows will lead to those results to determine how a person is progressing.

• He teaches that their first job is to find out what the prospective customer needs, and then get their products specified, if possible.

I predict that this young man will soon lead a much larger organization, making more money and enjoying higher levels of personal gratification.

Here is why:

• He is a “people builder.” Rather than “beating them up,” he encourages them.

• He is customer needs focused in his philosophy, his training, and his work in the field.

• He focuses on results first, not just activity. He knows that any sales person can look busy – can learn to “play the activity game."

• He trusts people to go out and do their jobs. If they prove untrustworthy, he can decide whether training them can solve the problem, or whether they need to be doing something else.

After more than 40 years in sales, I have concluded that the most successful sales managers don’t just “manage.” They lead and coach!

Think about a person in your past who was influential in your personal and professional growth.

While the personalities will almost always be different, if we could all meet and compare notes we would see some common characteristics, such as:

• He saw more in me than I saw in myself.

• She helped me understand that I was growing to become the person I want to be.

• He would not let me goof off, but forced me to think through the situation and confront the client tactfully with the truth.

• He helped me understand how to set and achieve both personal and business goals.

• She patted me on the back when I did something right.

• He traveled with me and coached me after every call. I learned what to do right by doing it right.

Lead your sales organization by showing the way.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

You are at a networking event and meet a new person. She says, “My name is Courtney Langmire. I’m in the computer software business.” You introduce yourself and talk a moment or two about mutual interests or your respective businesses.

After three minutes you are standing there, looking at this attractive person and you have no clue what her name is. Why is that?

You go to a second meeting with a prospective account. With you is your file and your summary of notes from the last meeting. No one else in the room seems to remember where the discussion left off last time. You bring the discussion around to the important issues that must be resolved today, and the meeting is a big success. Why is that?

Both of these scenarios are the result of habit, a type of unconscious behavior. Habits, however, can be changed! Some of us have learned the habit of forgetting names quickly. Some of us have developed the habit of taking notes in important meetings, and summarizing them for ourselves afterward. This enables us to make the best use of our time in any follow up activities and in preparation for the next time we meet.

Someone once said, “Habits are like cork or like lead: they either lift us up or drag us down.”

I try to develop habits that lift me up. Here’s why. Habits help me be automatically effective!

We can harness the power of habit by making processes routine. When we decide that we must learn to remember names, we first must decide it is important and worth changing to a new habit. Then we decide what the process for remembering names will be, and decide to start doing that at every opportunity.

Do not underestimate the power of establishing a process like this. It is like the power of the exponential curve: “consistency over time, leads to explosive growth.”

When you are trying to develop a new habit, it feels uncomfortable and you must stop and think about it. Often after about three or four days you give up. However, psychologists tell us that 7 to 21 days of regular practice will make a new habit displace an old one. The operative word here is regular! To gain the benefit of a new habit you must persist! Learn to take advantage of the exponential curve in forming a new habit. It will make you more effective in your work, and happier in your life.

 
Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

Recently I made a call on the Vice President of Sales for a company which sells highly specialized equipment and services into the law enforcement and military markets.

I prepared carefully, researching his company and coming up with interview questions to ask to learn about his needs. He gave me 30 minutes. That is not long enough in my business to learn all I need to know. It is enough time to establish rapport and to determine if he is a prospect. I allowed myself, however, to get pulled into this retired military officer’s “no nonsense” quick decision style to quote for a sales meeting coming up in six weeks.

As I thought about it, however, I realized I did not know enough about him and his company to make an effective proposal. We had identified a need, and he had agreed to the value of my training methodology. I failed to clearly get agreement on the cost to his company of the problem we identified. I also failed to learn the size of his budget for this meeting.

Was he looking for a $2,000 speaker, or did he want the $20,000 culture change program I was thinking about? I made a great “customer focus” start, and at the first agreement of need, slipped into a product focus. Even an “old salt” will sometimes let an old habit surface and take charge.

What should I have done?

If I could do this call again, I would say at the end, “Tom, my time is up, but I need to ask you one quick question: What kind of budget have you set up for this training program? We have only a few short weeks, and I want to be sure I am working within your parameters.”

Whatever his response at that point, my next step should have been to set up another meeting with him, perhaps over breakfast or lunch, to complete my interview. “Based on that, I can see that I need more information. Can we have breakfast or lunch one day later this week so I can get the additional information I need to help you?”

I don’t know if I will get this business or not. I am confident he needs what I have, but I’m also confident he’s unconvinced. This failure to focus on my prospect’s need is an expensive lesson.

But I’m still learning and growing. Are you?

 
Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

Sometimes technical sales people have to present their sophisticated products to a customer or prospect who does not really understand the technical significance of the product features. Unless a clear need has been established, so that technical features are translated onto customer benefits, little or no value is associated with the product. This can lead to a lack of appreciation for the product and questions about price that are pre-mature.

Recently I went into a computer store to look at notebook computers.

I started the conversation with, “I want a notebook computer that weighs four pounds or less and has the Windows XP operating system.” The sales person began showing me computers.

He never asked how I planned to use the computer, how much I would use it at my desk versus on the road, what I liked about my present notebook and what I wish it would do better.

He focused on two computers in stock, based on my two criteria. One was a display model. As he explained the features of each, I got bogged down in technical details, which I didn’t fully understand. So I started focusing on the price. I thought the discount should have been higher, so I postponed the decision.

What if the conversation had gone something like this?

Me: “I want a notebook computer that weighs no more than four pounds and uses Windows XP.”

Him: “Okay, let’s see if I can help you find what you want. Please tell me how you are going to use this computer. Are you on the road a lot?”

Me: “No, but when I am, I frequently don’t take my computer. It’s too heavy, and very inconvenient to take through airport security. I am out of my office a lot locally, and would like to use my computer more around the metro area. I do a lot of PowerPoint and video presentations on my computer.”

Him: “So a lighter computer would help you both when you travel and locally when you’re out of the office?”

Me: “Yes. And my present notebook gets bogged down too often.

Him: “Probably from the video in your presentations. You probably need more memory.

See how this is going?

This imaginary sales person asked me open ended questions: “How are you going to use this computer?” He paraphrased back to me what he heard to show he understands. As he collects information about what I need and want, he can be mentally matching it up to the notebook computers in his inventory. After collecting the information, he will find out whether or not he can help me, and can present options based on what I want and need, saving both of us time.

The old adage still prevails: “Features tell; benefits sell.”

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

I had an interesting experience recently with an automobile repair facility.

My car will soon need new tires, so I stopped into a place I had never been before, Jack’s Tire and Auto Service in Marietta, GA. I talked to the manager, Bobby Mosher. I said, “I’m going to soon need new tires, and I need some advice on whether I should replace the shocks, too. The car has 55,000 miles on it.”

Bobby and one of his associates said, “We’d love to sell you new shocks, but, unless you have a specific problem, you really don’t need to replace them till 100,000 miles. The quality of shock absorbers has improved so much, that they last longer now than they did ten years ago.”

Well, that was an unexpected surprise, and good news.

Then we talked about tires and Bobby said, “Let me take a look at them.” We walked out to my car and he bent down, looking at each tire and feeling the tread depth. He said, “You don’t need tires yet, but you are close. This is a front wheel drive car, so you should have your best tires on the front. While you are here, why don’t you let me do a free tire rotation for you?”

Another pleasant surprise!

It was the end of the day, so I could take 15 minutes for a free tire rotation. While sitting in the lobby, I thought, “While the car is on the lift, I wonder if he’d change the oil. It’s due now.”

So Bobby’s technician changed the oil, and the free tire rotation generated a little $24.00 sale, paying for itself. While I waited, Bobby printed out a quote for new tires based on the kind of driving that I do.

What’s the lesson?

1. Bobby established trust with me immediately by telling me I did not have to buy new shocks.

2. He made a goodwill gesture, almost like saying, “Thanks for stopping to get a quote for new tires,” rotating my tires for free.

3. I was going to get the oil changed anyway, so he took care of that with very little extra time consumed for me.

4. It was the end of both our days, so he spent a few minutes chatting with me, and further developing a friendly, trust relationship, something hard to find in the auto repair world.

Bobby would probably not have volunteered the free service if it had been the middle of the day, and his waiting area was full of people getting their cars serviced or repaired. But he had an idle technician, who was getting paid anyway. He had a genuine prospect for tires, and he wanted me to come back in a few weeks. So he did a smart thing: he showed that he valued my potential business, and he treated me with courtesy and friendliness.
Guess where I’m going when tire buying time comes. I’ll probably need another oil change, too.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

I received an e-mail early this week announcing that my name had been drawn from the business card basket at PJ’s Coffee Shop to receive a free coffee break for ten people! I had been there a week earlier and tried out their coffee for the first time, and dropped my business card into the basket.

My first visit was very pleasant. The counter staff greeted me with a cheerful smile. They joked around with me and made me feel at home. They answered my questions about their products and what made them different from Starbucks. I found out that they have a “cold brew” process, which reduces the acid content of the coffee by 65 percent. By then my coffee order was ready, but the manager added a free cup of this cold brewed coffee, so I could experience the difference.

So when I got this e-mail, I decided to take the free coffee break with me to a client training session on Friday morning. And I added bagels and scones, which added some revenue for the coffee shop to my free coffee. My client’s staff was happy, and PJ’s Coffee Shop made me look good!

A good first experience was enhanced by the free offer.

PJ’s is my new first choice when I go out for coffee.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker

Recently I observed a panel discussion with three sales executives answering the question, “What are the characteristics of a good sales training program?”

For a guy like me, who earns a living training sales and customer service people, it was great listening to the front line executives, responsible for driving revenue, discuss training. They were “singing my song!” One of the themes of the discussion was “leading” not managing a sales organization.

Afterward I contacted one of them, Bill, and asked him, “What does the idea of being a ‘sales leader’ mean to you?”

He made some very cogent points:

1. Leadership is an issue, not just in selling, but in all corporate functions. For example, it is not difficult to find someone to “manage” the sales function. They are really good at driving activity and focusing on the mechanics of the administrative process. They understand and enforce the use of the company CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, and can focus on territory management and who is submitting reports on time.

2. It is more difficult to find a leader, who understands the vision of the organization and what it takes to realize that vision. Characteristics of that “sales leader” look like this, according to Bill:

• Competitive! Wants to WIN.

• Understands how to position the company’s product(s) in the account.

• Less concerned about the format of the proposal; more concerned about sales results.

• Thinks strategically, acts tactically.

• Creatively sees opportunity that a “sales manager” may not see.

• Is able to influence his corporation and the corporate direction based on the vision.

• Can work with C-level executives in Fortune 100 companies, or in small organizations.

• Prepares people in the organization for tomorrow.

In a future blog we will explore this idea of “sales leader” some more.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker