A lull in the economy presents an enormous opportunity to upgrade your Sales.  Each year, I speak each year with hundreds of Presidents, Business Owners and CEOs.  Rarely, if ever, do I hear from one that does NOT want to improve their Sales and Profitability.  Most owners agree that in order to do this, their organization must change the Sales Culture.  So, the question is not whether or not a leader WANTS Sales to improve.  The question is simply whether or not the leader DECIDES whether or not he/she will CHOOSE to COMMIT to making it happen.

Changing your Sales Culture includes several components.  It is simple to accomplish, but not easy.  Although it is possible to make incremental improvements in revenue without changing to possess a Sales Culture, business leaders who are serious about effecting lasting, consistent, and sustainable CHANGE must be prepared to undertake a larger and more intensive commitment.   This commitment starts at the top and must be transmitted throughout the ranks to the entire company, especially to the management team.  The commitment is a declaration to:

• Change the Results

• Change the Beliefs and paradigms of  the organization

• Change the Attitudes of the organization

• Change the Behaviors of Sales Managers and Salespeople

• Change the Techniques –  Begin with the Sales Management Process
  • Install a congruent, effective Sales Process
  • Install an effective Sales Recruiting Process

Finally, the leader must demand the adoption of a Consistent Vocabulary that will be supported by the entire organization.

Again, Culture Change is not easy, but it IS simple.   There are only five steps.  They are: 

CHOOSE to COMMIT to CHANGE 

EVALUATE YOUR SALES FORCE 

RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS 

RAISE THEIR EXPECTATIONS 

HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE

If you CHOOSE to COMMIT to implementing these steps,

Here’s what you can expect:

Most Employees and Managers will NOT embrace Change.  But as I mentioned earlier, the weak economy is your biggest asset here.  Employees are much more willing to change when things are not so rosy. 

If you are a business leader who does choose to commit to building predictability and sustainability into the fabric of your company by implementing LASTING change to the Results, Beliefs, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Techniques of your organization, be prepared for:

resistance from employees and managers (especially your weaker players)

plenty of hills and valleys

attempts at politics

a project that will take more than a few months

Also, be prepared for only a few leaders to emerge and for some turnover among the folks that insist on status quo. 

Choosing to commit to a program to upgrade your Sales Culture may seem like a daunting undertaking.   However, the benefits will be well worth the effort.

As the process progresses and begins to mature, be prepared for a team that welcomes accountability, behaves consistently and performs far better than your existing group.  

Copyright © Joe Zente 2009.  All Rights Reserved.

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This short, but profound series of thoughts were sent to me by Ben Collinsworth from Native Land Design.  Ben is someone who really walks the talk.  Spectacular results follow in his business and life.

Thanks for sharing, Ben…

Make Today Count

By: John Maxwell

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.  You can make everyday of your masterpiece. 

• Good decisions – Daily discipline = a plan without a payoff
• Daily discipline – Good decisions = regimentation without reward
• Good decisions + daily discipline = a masterpiece of potential

Happiness is something you decide upon ahead of time.  It is how we have to arrange our minds. 

John Wooden said, “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the ways that turn out.”

It is important to spend 80% of our time in our area of strength. 

Three key questions that we need to answer:

1. What is required of me?
2. What gives me the greatest return?
3. What gives me the greatest reward?

By answering these questions you will be able to bring priorities into focus.

Amy Vanderbilt said, “When we learn to give thanks, we are learning to concentrate not on bad things, but on good things in our lives.”

One third of the people in America have a schedule and only 9% of people actually work the schedule that has been planned.

It is hard to find motivation in the moment when there is no hope in the future.  A sense of purpose helps a person to make a decision to change and then to follow through with the discipline required to make the change permanent. 

Focused thinking – removing the distractions and clutter from our minds.  Creative thinking is the ability to break out of our box and limitations to explore new ideas.  Possibility thinking is all about unleashing enthusiasm.  Reflective thinking is the ability to revisit the past in order to gain a true perspective and think with understanding.

Spend time with good thinkers and you will see how this exposure sharpens your thinking.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

True leadership starts with the heart.  It is not to act differently, but to become different.  Not to ask honestly, but to become an honest person.  It will become the core of who you are and how you lead.  People desire a better tomorrow so show them hope.  People need to be understood so listen to them.  People have a tendency to get low so we need to encourage them. 

Commit yourself to adding value to others.  This can only happen by treating everyone with respect. 

• Look for ability in others
• Help others discover their ability
• Help others develop their ability

Benjamin Franklin started his day by saying, “What good will I do today?”  Then he ended each day by asking “What good did I do today?”

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In Shorten the Cycle, Volume One, we discussed vital issues that must be covered in order to increase urgency with buyers.  In Volume Two, I’ll share a fundamental approach used by World Class Salespeople to uncover the secrets that your competitors will not.

First of all, it is important to understand that companies DO NOT BUY.  People do.

If you want to win more business and win it faster, make sure that you:

a.  Facilitate a process of mutual discovery for the decision maker and yourself. 

b.  Earn the TRUST of the decision maker. 

c.  Uncover the PERSONAL reasons that would compel him/her to buy (remember, you are not all things to all people and they may have NO compelling reason to act or change).

None of the above can possibly happen if you are spending the majority of your time talking or trying to convince.  You can, however, accomplish if you use sincere interest, infinite curiosity, and active listening.

Don’t worry about trying to do or say the “right thing”.  If you are looking for the right words or the best closing technique, now is a great time to consider a paradigm shift.

There are many more things you can do to shorten sales cycles, so please share your thoughts or questions and stay tuned for Volume Three…

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2009.   All Rights Reserved.

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I speak with hundreds of small business owners each month.  Many have told me that they fear loss of control.  If you are feeling the same, let’s take a look at some fundamental truths:

*Today, more than ever, it is vital to use time wisely and efficiently. 

*The more we understand and take advantage of our strengths, the better our chances of success.

*Whining and complaining about things we cannot change will never help us regain control.

*Sometimes cuts are necessary, but you will never shrink yourself to Greatness.

*If your market has contracted, you will need to capture a greater market share to maintain the same level of sales revenue.

*If you have multiple competitors, an increase of just a few percentage points of market share can mean substantial increases in business.  This can mean big $$$$ for you!

So a message to the wise—Don’t overlook the role of your Sales Force in turning around your organization.

When your competitor’s are reeling from economic chaos, there is excellent opportunity for you to exploit the situation, upgrade your sales team, and capture major market share.  Here are just a few tips for managing your salespeople through the recession:

1. Change the Mindset.  The change begins with YOU.  Focus your thinking on Revenue Generation, not on cuts.

2. Understand what your salespeople are experiencing.   They are likely feeling hammered.  Hammered by more rejection.  Hammered by longer Sales Cycles.  Hammered by fewer leads.  Hammered by the media predictions of doom and gloom.  They are also likely being hammered by smaller commission checks and maybe even by increased pressure from you and or other sales managers.  Note:  Some pressure is good, but most salespeople will not perform at their best under intense pressure.

3. Shoot Straight with them.   Don’t tell them everything is OK or “normal”.  It’s not.   The economy IS slow and it is likely that things will not get a whole lot better for at least 18 to 24 months.  Let them know that things ARE tough out there and that you understand that many of them have NOT sold in this kind of environment before. 

4. Give them the Solution.  You can now outline the opportunity.  Explain that the strong will not only survive, but that they will thrive.  Then, explain the following realities:              

• It is vital to adapt along with the changing economy. 
• There will be tremendous opportunity for anyone who will focus and execute while weaker players are licking their wounds.
• Over-achievers will be rewarded handsomely.
• Over-achievement is expected in your company.
• Your company will provide coaching, training, encouragement and development.  You will give them the support they need.    

This is also a good time to ask your top performers to be team players and leaders.  Let them know that you know they can do it and that doing so is part of over-achievement. 

The greatest fortunes are made during turbulent economic times.  Your Sales Force holds the key.  Raise your expectations.  Then raise theirs.  Expect greatness, evaluate your sales team, and hold them accountable to over-achievement.  Great results will follow….

Copyright © Joe Zente 2009.  All Rights Reserved.

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