Icelemons - Enjoy Our Tips :D...: July 2013

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

10 Reasons to Love Failure

Long term, you get more out of life from your failures than from your successes. -Inc.com

Success is wonderful, but there are substantial benefits to failure as well. The list below is based upon a conversation with one of the world's top motivational speakers, Art Mortell author of The Courage to Fail:

Failure teaches you more than success, especially about yourself.
Failure renews your humility and sharpens your objectivity.
Failure creates the perfect opportunity to try out new ideas.
Failure helps you make corrections so that you stay on target.
Failure makes you more mature and more resilient.
Failure reminds you to be kinder to yourself and those around you.
Failure is a "badge of courage" because you dared to take the risk.
Failure develops the all-important emotion of patience.
Failure warns you to not take things so personally (or so seriously).
Failure grounds your self-esteem on who you are, not what you do.

6 Sales Tactics That Always Backfire

Are you accidentally alienating your potential customers?

A while back, I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Susan Scott, author of the best-seller Fierce Conversations. During our talk, she pointed out that many companies pursue self-defeating sales strategies. Here are six of them:

1. Selling Over the Customer's Head

If you sell directly to the CEO after the executive you've been selling to seems ambivalent or hostile, you probably will not get the sale anyway and you'll have made that executive into your enemy for life.

2. Backing Off From a Strong Negotiation Position

If you offer a discount after insisting that your company never discounts, customers will rightly conclude not only that you were BSing them in the first place, but that you totally lack a backbone.

3. Dissing Your Competitors (or Theirs)

When you trash-talk your competition, the customer will assume that your own offerings are so weak that you must resort to low blows. And criticizing your customer's competitors always sounds like butt-kissing.

4. Giving a Sales Pitch

Nobody wants to hear a sales pitch. Ever. The moment you launch into one--either in person or online, your customers shut down. To engage a customer you must open a conversation, which is the opposite of giving a sales pitch.

5. Pulling Your Punches

Never be afraid to tell clients what they need to know when you feel they might be making a mistake. This includes advising them NOT to buy from you if your offering isn't right for them.

6. Assuming Customer Loyalty

It's all too easy to mistake client apathy for client loyalty. Any client that is not actively praising and proselytizing your firm and its offerings is open to changing vendors and may be actively looking to switch.

Become a Great Negotiator: 5 Steps

The trick to achieving a "win-win" is to collaborate rather than compete.

Karstendc/Flickr

Although everyone claims to want a "win-win" deal, the sad truth is that most businesspeople are competitive and subconsciously want to "win" by making the other person "lose."
Even when you enter negotiations with the best of intentions, it's fair to assume that, at some level, your counterpart wants to see you "lose" at least something. There's also probably a part of you that probably feels the same way about them.
To accomplish this, you treat the negotiation as a way to expand the deal to include items that both parties want but may not have identified or realized when they first entered the negotiation. Here's how:

1. Sit on the same side of the table.

When Dr. Leimbach explained this concept to me, I believe he was speaking metaphorically, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to me that the physical act of sitting on opposite sides of a table automatically creates competition.
In most business situations, people who are working together--rather than competing--tend to sit next to each other, sharing what they know in order to reach a higher level understanding.
Therefore, it seems intuitive to me that you're more likely to get to a "win-win" if your physical positioning encourages you to work towards that goal.

2. Depersonalize positions into problems.

When you use expressions like "my position is" or "my firm's position is" you are taking ownership of position. This makes the position part of your identity, which in turn makes it difficult to change or abandon that position.
Rather than owning a position, externalize it into a problem that both of you are working to solve. For example: "If we crafted the arrangement like so: [idea], it would work for me. How would that work for you?"
The idea is to turn the negotiation into a problem solving sessions where you help each other figure out how to go forward... rather than butting heads.

3. Address the "why" behind the "what."

Understanding the chain of logic behind a negotiating position allows both parties to figure out alternative (and possibly more elegant) solutions to the core problem that's creating the position.
For example, suppose a customer takes the position "I absolutely must get the lowest price." However, if you dig deeper into the "why" behind that "what," you might discover that the real problem is a lack cash flow in the current budget.
Once you know this, you can work together on ways to minimize the effect of purchasing on immediate cash flow, even if it means a higher price.

4. Introduce objective standards.

Another way to transcend competitive negotiating is to introduce independent facts that define the parameters of the agreement. Such facts might include estimates of market value, industry performance benchmarks, and credible third-party research.
When both parties agree upon such standards, it becomes easier for everybody involved to evaluate a proposal or an idea from a position of common ground, according to Dr. Leimbach.
"For example, if a customer needs to demonstrate to his or her manager that the price for the deal is a good value, then an independent standard such as market value/price can be used to justify or reinforce the customer's choice," he explains.

5. Have an alternative plan.

Enter every negotiation with a backup plan that comes into effect if you and your counterpart can't reach agreement. (Dr. Leimbach calls this a BATNA: "Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.")
For example, suppose you're working with a potential customer who simply won't (or can't) pay you enough to make the deal profitable for you. In this case, your BATNA might be to maintain contact and continue to investigate opportunities to work together.
Having an acceptable BATNA frees you from the limiting perspective that you MUST close the deal no matter what, thereby freeing you to negotiate without fear of "losing." -Inc.com

8 Myths About Great Salespeople

Everything you think you know about great salespeople is probably wrong.

Many businessfolk have odd ideas about salespeople, especially those who are the best at what they do. The antidote to these misconceptions is scientific research, according Chally Chairman Howard Stevens (he and I are writing a book together):

Myth 1. Great salespeople are fast-talking extroverts.

Fact: Most top performers in sales today are better at listening than talking and are careful never to appear pushy or "hard-sell."

Myth 2. Great salespeople are strong academic performers.

Fact: Sales talent is inversely related to school grades. It is easier to teach any subject matter to a great salesperson than to teach an "academic genius" to sell.

Myth 3. Great salespeople make great sales managers.

Fact: When you convert a sales superstar into a manager, you lose a great salesperson and you gain (at best) a mediocre sales manager. The real victim: the customer.

Myth 4. You can turn a good salesperson into a great one.

Fact: Success in sales is mostly based on innate talent. All the training in the world can't make a great salesperson from someone who doesn't have the aptitude.

Myth 5. Great salespeople want to be promoted.

Fact: Great salespeople seek independence and financial reward. They prefer to avoid the politics and bureaucratic inter-dependence inherent in a management position.

Myth 6. Great salespeople can sell anything to anyone.

Fact: Even the most successful salespeople usually fail when they attempt to sell in a different way (like moving from outside sales to telesales).

Myth 7. The Internet eliminates the need for great salespeople.

Fact: E-Commerce companies that don't offer "real people" to relate to and consult with customers are over seven times more likely to fail.

Myth 8. Great engineering makes great salespeople unnecessary.

Fact: Contrary to the "build a better mousetrap" theory, nearly 85 percent of all new products patented never succeed in the real world.

8 Words to Avoid When Selling

These words really raise your customer's hackles.

Over the two years, I've read hundreds of sales messages and heard dozens of sales presentations.
Probably 90 percent of them are full of words that are both trite and ineffective.
Here are the worst offenders:

1. "Exciting"
There is no word more boring than the word "exciting." Claiming that something is "exciting" tells everybody that it's not. Instead, find something about your offering that actually excites the customer's interest.

2. "Innovative"
Same here. I can't remember ever hearing Apple claim to be innovative; they just are. That's true of every company that actually innovates. For them, it's just normal everyday behavior. They don't have to point it out.

3. "Discount"
Let's leave this tired old term back in the world where "But, wait! There's more!" is state-of-the-art sales patter. Look, your stuff has a price and maybe you've got some flexibility. But offering a "discount"? How cheesy.

4. "Guarantee"
Everyone in the world who has an ounce of sense knows that a "guarantee" means absolutely nothing. "Guarantee" is just the word that people use when they're too chicken to use a word that has some real legal muscle, i.e. "warrantee."

5. "Honestly"
When this word comes out of your mouth, it makes everything else you've said so far seem like you were probably lying. Same thing goes for starting a sentence with "To tell the truth,..." Say whut? You've been BSing up until now?

6. "Collaborate"
How did this dreadful word get into the business vocabulary, anyway? Yes, you've got to work together with people to get stuff done, but "collaborate"? Hey, that's what the Vichy France did with the Nazis.

7. "Opportunity"
This is the classic case of a word that sounds positive but carries a huge load of "it's all about me." Calling any sales situation an "opportunity" is telling the customer that you're all about closing the deal. Just like any other opportunist.

8. "Quota"
On what planet does a customer care whether you make your numbers? Selling is all about helping the customer make the best decision...for the customer. When you're selling, your quota should be the farthest thing from your mind.

6 Surprising Secrets of Truly Great Bosses

The very best managers do the exact opposite of what the average manager does.

At best, following conventional wisdom results in mediocrity. Truly great bosses don't just march to the beat of a different drummer, they convince everyone else to march along with them. Here's how:

1. They put the customer second.

When managers preach and practice the longstanding axiom to put the customer first, they overlook their employees, who are the people actually responsible for creating and nurturing the customer experience.
Customers can immediately sense when the employees of the firms from which they buy are miserable, overworked, or under trained. Truly great bosses concentrate on making certain that their employees are happy, healthy and can do the work required.

2. They don't manage the bottom line.

The "bottom line"--your quarterly or yearly numbers--only represents the history of what's happened, so focusing on it is like trying to drive a car while looking in the rear-view mirror.
Truly great bosses know that the only way to get good numbers in the future is to keep your attention on what's going on right now in your market and industry and the activities that your employees are undertaking to take advantage of the present reality.

3. They celebrate the tough times.

It's easy to have great morale when a company is successful, but when times are tough, not so much. Worst case, you can get a "chicken or egg" situation where everyone is waiting for things to improve, with decreasing hope that they actually will.
Ironically, it's when things are difficult that you're most likely to have breakthroughs--but only if people keep their spirits up. That's when truly great bosses figure out how to make work fun and keep their people happy.

4. They have more questions than answers.

Many managers think that their job is to know all the answers--and provide them to their employees as frequently as possible. However, when managers provide all the answers, they rob their employees of the opportunity to think and grow.
While experience has value, people can't learn when that wisdom is presented on a platter or forced down their throat. That's why great bosses ask questions that will spark, in the employee's own mind, the thought processes that will make that employee successful.

5. They measure themselves by their worst employees.

Managers like to point to their top performers as an indicator of how successful they are as managers. However, the success of a top performer is more likely to reflect that person's drive and ability, rather than anything the manager brought to the table.
Great bosses know that the real measure of a manager's skill is how he or she handles the poor performers. Because they remain employed, your worst performers illustrate exactly what you, as a manager, are willing to tolerate.

6. They mistrust their common sense.

When managers depend upon their "common sense" to solve problems, they seldom assess whether their hunches actually paid off. As a result, the same problems keep cropping up month after month, year after year.
Great bosses know their employees and their employee's interests, and manage according to those interests. In other words, getting the best from your team requires applied psychology rather than common sense.
Note: This post is very loosely based on a document sent me many years ago by veteran executive and corporate chairman Ray Williams. -Inc.com

How to Prospect for New Customers

A step-by-step approach for building up your sales pipeline. -Inc.com
For most companies, the ability to find potential customers is the difference between growth and bankruptcy. Here's a systematic approach, loosely based upon a conversation with Thomas Ray Crowel, author of the excellent book Simple Selling.

1. Get a decent list of prospects.

Ideally, you want to be prospecting for customers who are already likely to buy. To do that, draw your list of prospects from the following sources in this order:

    Referrals. People whom your existing customers have contacted and suggested that they get in touch with you.
    Networks. People whom you've connected with personally at industry events or online via social networking.
    Website Visitors. People who've shown an interest in your offerings by accessing your website and leaving contact data.
    Purchased Lists. People who have the job title that typically buy your offering inside industries into which you typically sell.

2. Create a qualifying script.

Based upon your experience, define a conversational way to ask, during an initial conversation, whether or not the suspect has a budget, authority to spend the budget, and a need for your offering.

In most cases, qualifying scripts are built around open-ended questions that you ask during the conversation. I've provided you with a list of these questions in my previous post "14 Ways to Qualify a Sales Lead."

If you're calling somebody from a purchased list, you'll also want a basic cold-callings script. There's a good model for this in my previous post "A Cold Calling Script That Really Works."

3. Set reasonable prospecting goals.

Set a target for how many prospects you will need in your pipeline order to generate the number of sales that you need. For example, if you must generate five sales a week and on average close one out of fifty prospects, you will need to make 250 calls a week.

Based upon how many of your prospecting calls "go through," estimate the amount of time it will take to make those calls, including the time that will be required to have a meaningful conversation once you've gotten into one.

4. Get into a positive mental state.

Find a place where you won't be interrupted or distracted. Take a few minutes to focus yourself and your thoughts:

    Be positive. Believe you will succeed. If you fail try again.
    Be optimistic. Look for the best in people and expect good things to happen.
    Visualize success. Imagine ALL the emotions you'll feel when you achieve your goal.

5. Make the calls.

'Nuff said.

While doing so, remember to listen as much (or more) as you talk. According to Crowel, the most common prospecting mistake is failing to notice when prospect wants to buy right now. Listen for stuff like this:

    "We've been looking to buy something like this."
    "I was thinking of contacting your firm about this."
    "Oh, yeah, we definitely need to talk."

If you hear something like this, you can skip the script and jump right to the close.

8 Reasons Companies Buy From You

To appeal to a B2B customer, your sales message and approach must address one or more of these issues.

There are eight (and only eight) reasons that companies buy things from other companies.
You ability to sell B2B is directly dependent upon your ability to appeal to one or more (or all) of these reasons:

1. Revenue improvement.
Every company is interested in the "top line" of how much money is flowing into a company through sales of their own products and services. Sales angle: show how your product makes it easier for the customer to sell to their own customers.
2. Cost reduction.
Every company is also interested in the "bottom line," which consists of the revenue minus the costs of producing that revenue. Sales angle: show how your product reduces R&D, manufacturing, marketing, delivery, support or sales costs.

3. Market share.
Some companies (especially startups) often take the view that building market share is more important, or as important, as current revenue or immediate cost reduction. Sales angle: show how you can help the customer increase their customer base.

4. Investment.
Whenever the economy is uncertain, some companies sit on their cash reserves. That money's not earning anything so they may want to invest it. Sales angle: provide opportunities to buy other companies or product lines.

5. Quality improvement.
Poor quality products and services lose customers and result in costly reworks, scrap, overtime and corrective action. Higher quality products and services attract new customers. Sales angle: show how you can help them reduce errors.

6. Delivery improvement.
Some companies spend big money getting their products and services into the hands of their customers. Sales angle: show how much would the customer will save in canceled orders, expediting costs, airfreight charges, and so forth.

7. Risk reduction.
Most companies are understandably frightened at the possibility of public relations disasters or major legal problems. Sales angle: show how you can help them eliminate potential PR problems or avoid penalties, legal fees, and litigation.

8. Career enhancement.
Finally, companies sometimes buy because decision-makers are positioning for another job in the industry that's selling to them. Sales angle: make it clear this is a long term relationship between you and the decision-maker.

How to Evaluate a Market Strategy

These seven characteristics of market strategies actually generate sales.

Every firm has something that it calls a market strategy. Unfortunately, many market strategies are ineffective and almost guarantee failure. Market strategies that really work always have the following characteristics:

1. They are strategic rather than tactical.

This sounds simple, but it's a point that many people find confusing. Strategies define goals to be achieved while tactics define the actions you'll take to achieve those goals. Example:

Strategy: "Double sales revenue in the Midwest territory."
Tactic: "Hire three more salespeople in the Midwest territory."

2. They are measurable rather than vague.

You can't manage what you can't measure. If your goals are vague, you have no idea whether your tactics are achieving them. Example:

Measurable: "Double sales revenue in the Midwest territory."
Vague: "Achieve industry and thought leadership."

3. They are "actionable" rather than contingent.

A strategic goal should be achievable through the tactics that support it, rather than dependent upon uncontrollable outside forces. Example:

Actionable: "Double sales revenue in the Midwest territory.
Contingent: "Increase our publicly-held stock price by 50%."

4. They are clearly articulated.

The more difficult it is for employees to understand a strategy, the less likely they are to be able to help achieve it. Example:

Clear: "Double sales revenue in the Midwest territory."
Unclear: "Focus both externally and internally (customer's customer and internal alignment necessary to respond), with internal collaboration with common focus/goals by stakeholders accountable for ultimate business results oriented, optimized and coordinated outputs, aligned around the sales cycle."

5. They are achievable rather than inspirational.

There's nothing wrong with having an inspirational vision of what your firm's about but a vision is not the same as a strategy.

Achievable: "Double sales revenue in the Midwest territory."
Inspirational: "Make a difference and change the world."

6. They have a business plan behind them.

A strategy is just hot air unless there's a tactical plan for achieving each strategic goal. For example, if your strategy is (wait for it...) to double sales in the Midwest territory, your business plan would probably include retraining existing personnel, hiring new salespeople, investing in better lead generation methods, and so forth. If the plan's not there, the strategy isn't real.

7. They don't change much.

It's always smart to notice what's working (i.e. moving you towards your strategic goal) and what's not, and equally smart to quickly adjust your tactics, make corrections, and try new approaches.
What's not so smart is making frequent changes in strategic direction. Such changes upend everything and productive work grinds to a halt as everyone tries to rethink what they're doing in order to fit it into the new strategy.
Because of this, changes in strategy should be undertaken only when it's clear that achieving a strategic goal is either impossible or no longer desirable.-Inc.com

4 Keys to Customer Loyalty

Customer satisfaction is a joke. It's customer loyalty that's the real challenge.

There are few things more valuable (or more rare) than customer loyalty. Customer loyalty cannot be bought. It must be earned... not just once, but every day of the customer relationship.
The following rules contain the essence of dozens of conversations about customer loyalty that I've had over the years, with some of the smartest sales and marketing folk in the world.

1. Offer something uniquely valuable.

Uniqueness is the price of entry into the world of customer loyalty. Unless you have something that nobody else can offer, you're selling a commodity and customers are never loyal to plug-and-play vendors who supply commodities.
Furthermore, unless the customer perceives that something to be of value, it can't possibly earn the customers loyalty. However--and this is important--the uniqueness need not be a product feature. In fact, that kind of uniqueness is often temporary.
There are two uniquely valuable things that are far more permanent: 1) your positive reputation as a businessperson who can be trusted and 2) your firm's reputation as a reliable and hassle-free business partner.

2. Understand the customer's business.

It's a complete myth that most customers are well-informed about the kind of products and services that you offer. While it's true that the Internet contains a wealth of information, real decision-makers don't have time to wade through it all.
Quite the contrary. Customers expect YOU to know all about their business without having to take the time and effort to brief you on it. They want and expect you to make things simpler and easier for them, not the other way around.
Ideally, you want your customer to think about you as somebody who's part of the customer's industry--not your industry. When you're seen as "one of us," you're seen as somebody worthy of loyalty.

3. Add value with every contact.

Even if you're selling something unique and you're a huge expert in the customer's industry, if you can't add value every time the customer deals with you and your firm, you'll never earn loyalty.
It means bringing something new and interesting to the table every time you talk. It means dealing with customer problems before the customer realizes there's a problem. It means respecting (and never wasting) every single second of the customer's time.
When earning customer loyalty, there are no second chances. Never assume a customer will cut you slack because you've got a long history together. To earn loyalty, you must constantly prove to the customer that the relationship is crucial.

4. Go above and beyond.

Here's a hard truth: customer satisfaction is a joke. Show me a customer who's merely "satisfied" and I'll show you a customer who's ready to find another vendor. "Exceed your customer's expectations" may be a bromide, but it's the true price of true loyalty.
Exceeding expectations does not mean offering huge discounts and free products, though. Quite the contrary. Discounts and freebies cheapen a relationship rather than strengthen it.
What's the secret? Simple. Find your customer new customers. No customer expects that from you and every customer is both grateful and delighted. More importantly, only an utter fool wouldn't be loyal to somebody who brings them new business. -Inc.com

Selling Is an Act of Love

Selling means helping the customer rather than conquering a territory or destroying a competitor.

Many top executives describe their sales strategy using violent metaphors, like "killing the competition" or "conquering the market." While that way of talking may make the executive feel manly and powerful, customers don't like it.

Customers don't give a rat's rear-end about your market share, much less your desire to beat the competition into a bloody pulp. More importantly, customers really hate the aggressive hard-sell behavior that tough talk encourages.

Truly successful salespeople think about selling more as an act of "love and caring" rather than one of aggression, according to my friend and mentor Gerhard Gschwandtner. In the latest issue of Selling Power magazine, he points out that:

"Salespeople... liberally use the language of love and caring. We hear such terms as 'nursing' or 'babysitting' a new account or treating a disgruntled customer with TLC. Others describe the need for 'hand-holding' to persuade a reluctant client, or they refer to a little 'tug at the heart.' In some cases, salespeople express the language of love without words; they may use a softer tone of voice when they describe key product benefits. They may employ gestures that communicate complete devotion and affection toward their product."

This is not to say that successful salespeople aren't aggressive! However, rather than aiming their aggression at customers, they aim it at themselves. They're extremely aggressive when setting sales goals or committing themselves to self-improvement.

However, when it comes to working with customers, the best salespeople always remember that their real job is to help the customer. And, no matter how you look at it, helping is an act of love. -Inc.com

The Future of Selling B2B Online

The Internet is not making salespeople obsolete; it's making them even more important.

Michal Osmenda/Flickr

For the past two decades, numberless pundits have predicted that the Internet would make salespeople obsolete. The theory was simple: customers would use the "wealth of information" online to do their own product research and then order online.
The pundits claimed that this "information rich" online environment would make salespeople obsolete, useless distractions that customers did not value and would prefer to avoid.
Turns out that the pundits had it exactly backwards.
The digital marketing company, the Acquity Group, recent surveyed over 200 corporate buyers with annual budgets in excess of $100,000 on their purchasing habits and preferences. Here's what the survey showed:

27.1 percent preferred to "speak with someone directly to discuss purchase options and walk me through the entire process."
27.1 percent were willing to do some research, but wanted "to talk through purchasing on the phone with a salesperson."
33.8 percent wanted to do their own research and purchase online, but also wanted "to have the support of someone on the phone to discuss any issues."
7.7 percent wanted to do their own research and purchase online but was okay with "the support of live chat to discuss any issues."
4.3 percent wanted "to do my own research and purchase my own product online--no sales person involvement."

As you can see, more than 95 percent of all corporate buyers want a salesperson to be involved in the sales process and the majority of these buyers also expect a live salesperson to answer the phone when they call.
Thus, consumers are willing to buy consumer products online without talking to a salesperson (e.g. Amazon.com), corporate buyers are more picky. They want a real human being involved. They want to work with salespeople.
However--and this is important--corporate buyers do NOT want to work with salespeople who give sales pitches. What corporate buyers want is salespeople who help them make better decisions and make buying online even more convenient. -Inc.com

The Deepest Source of Motivation

Forget the carrot and stick. Motivation and innovation come from a desire to help.

For decades, bosses have assumed that the best way to motivate workers is by promising financial gain and threatening financial loss. With one hand they dangle a carrot of more pay while brandishing in the other, the stick of "get to work or you're fired."

However, according to a recent article in the New York Times, research in organizational psychology strongly suggests that people are more innovative and more successful when motivated by a desire to help other people.

This is a vast departure from the management theories of the past which have assumed that success in business is "the survival of the fittest." Under this way of thinking, helping others is a waste of time and effort... except insofar as it's self-serving.

What Do You Like Best About Your Job?

Over the past 20 years, I've interviewed hundreds of successful people, mostly top executives and top salespeople. I start nearly every conversation with a simple question: "What do you like best about your job?"

In every case, these highly-successful individuals have responded to that question with some variation of: "I like helping people." When I probe, I usually discover that they're not just talking about customers. They want to help coworkers, too.

When I look at the different types of writing I've done in my life, there's no question that I've been happier, more productive, and more innovative in exact proportion to the likelihood that what I'm writing will help others be more successful.

I'll bet if you honestly review the jobs you've done in the past, and the job you're doing right now, you've accomplished more when you were certain that you were helping others than when you weren't quite sure.
The lesson here is simple: when you focus on helping others rather than helping yourself, you draw upon your deepest sources of motivation. It frees your creativity and energy while developing simultaneously developing both empathy and patience. It's not a dog-eat-dog world out there. It's a "let's make this happen together" world. -Inc.com

How to Sound Confident (Even if You're Not)

Give your great ideas the verbal boost they deserve with these six tips. -Inc.com

Even if you have great ideas, nobody will listen to them if you sound like a wimp when you open your mouth. By contrast, even mediocre ideas seem profound when spoken with confidence.
Fortunately, it's not difficult to sound confident if you follow these simple rules:

1. Imagine yourself as your audience's equal.

If you're speaking with a CEO, imagine yourself as a CEO. If you're speaking to engineers, imagine yourself as an engineer. Find and focus on the commonalities between yourself and your audience. If you're not a supplicant you won't sound like one.

2. Mentally rehearse each sentence.

You'll seem massively less confident if you trip over your own words or half-articulate a half-baked sentence. Before you speak, take a brief moment to imagine, in brief, what you're about say aloud. That pause makes you seem thoughtful and wise, BTW.

3. Speak from your chest not your throat or nose.

When people get nervous, their voices tend to move upwards so that the sound emerges from the throat or nose, which can make even deep wisdom sound like a whine. If you move your voice down into your chest, you'll sound (and feel) more confident.

4. Speak 20 percent slower than seems natural.

Many people also express nervousness by talking fast. (Hence the hoary archetype of the "fast-talking" salesperson.) People with real expertise tend to speak a bit slowly, as if they expect their listeners to hang on every word.

5. Eliminate your verbal ticks.

Some people use verbal ticks ("Uhhh....," "you know...," "I mean..., etc.) while thinking of what to say next. This makes you sound like you're unsure of yourself, so it's better simply to silently pause in midsentence. Record yourself and practice, if needed.

6. Never articulate a statement as a question.

A little uptick at the end of a sentence transforms even a definitive statement into a plea for approval. If you're confident, you make statements that reflect your knowledge and opinion. If you've got a question, you ask a question. No mixing the two.

Rule No. 1: Get to the Point

If you've got something to say, say it in as few words as possible.

This will be a short post because if it weren't, I'd be guilty of doing what I'm telling you to avoid.
All companies today are trying to do more with fewer people, which means that everybody is short on time. That's why it's crazy to load up your documents (e-mails, brochures, websites, etc.) with fancy-sounding business cliches, and unsubstantiated opinions. Nobody has time to wade through biz-blab:

"In order to focus externally, we must focus both externally and internally (customer's customer and internal alignment necessary to respond), with internal collaboration with common focus/goals by stakeholders accountable for ultimate business results oriented, optimized, and coordinated outputs, aligned around the sales cycle and with a proactive approach to higher order competency investments and being unwilling to throw deliverables over the fence to sales teams and trust results will be achieved."

Yes. That is a real sentence from a real business document that somebody sent me. Translation:

"We must measure whether or how much our sales training programs increase our revenue."

Get to the point.

Nobody has time to wade through a string of your opinions:

"Our product is the most innovative in the market today, with the highest quality service and support. Our highly-trained technicians can meet your needs regardless of the size of your business. We can do what other suppliers can't because we are committed to excellence at every level of our delivery process. We are the best in our industry because our customers are satisfied and delighted with our superlative products."

And, yes, that's based on a real "sales message" I was recently sent. Translation:

"In our opinion, we're wonderful."

Get to the point.

Especially if you don't have all that much to say. That way you're not wasting everyone else's precious time.
This is not a difficult rule to follow. It is neither brain surgery nor rocket science. If you've got something to say, say it in as few words as possible. Nuff said. -Inc.com

How to Find New Customers

The inimitable Brian Tracy explains how to find the kind of customer who's most likely to buy from you.

A few years ago I interviewed one of the greatest sales gurus of all time: Brian Tracy. You might remember that I named Tracy's Psychology of Selling as one of the Top 10 Sales Books of All Time.

To my vast frustration, I somehow managed to lose my notes of that conversation. Argh!!! But this morning I discovered those notes buried in an archive folder. Yay!!! I can now share with you some of the wisdom Tracy shared with me.

Let's start with something basic: how to find the kind of customers most likely to buy. Most companies today think they can discover new customers through data mining and analysis. And there's no question those tools can be valuable.

However, the real key to finding new customers is the process of self-discovery about who you are and who you can really help. Tracy shared with me a four step process to accomplish this essential activity. Here's my take on what he said:

1. Identify your ideal customer.

Most sellers have a pretty good idea of what kind of company needs their products or services. That's a start. What's more important, though, is identifying the individual in those companies who will feel better after that company buys those products or services.
Because spending money always involves prioritizing, deciding what and when to buy is primarily an emotional, rather than an intellectual, decision. Therefore, your ideal customers are people for whom buying your offering creates the greatest improvement in the way they feel about themselves and their job.
For example, suppose you're selling an inventory control system to a potential customer whose manufacturing facility is sometimes idle do to a lack of parts. The CMO views these idle periods as morale boosters for his team; the CFO is awake at night worried about profitability.
In this case, your ideal customer is the CFO, not the CMO.
To zero in on your ideal customer, you answer the following questions:

What is the specific benefit or improvement in our customers' lives that takes place as a result of their use of our product or service?
How will they feel differently because they are using it?
Who is most likely to experience these positive feelings?
What is their income, position, experience and level of authority?

Once again, your ideal customer is not necessarily the one who needs your offering the most, but the one who will get the most emotional benefit from buying.

2. Position your offering.

Once you've got a solid idea of who's likely to be your natural ally when it comes to buying what you're offering, it's time to consider what's unique about your company. This is important because unless you've got something unique to offer, your ideal customer might easily purchase a similar product elsewhere.
To create your "market differentiation" (as it's sometimes called), you answer the following questions:

What is it that you do that's better than any other company?
Why should your ideal customer buy from you rather than the competition?
If your competitors were asked (and answered honestly) what would they say that your company does better than anyone else?

The good news is that answering these questions will make it much easier to sell your products or services. The bad news is that if you can't answer them or your answers are lame (e.g. "we're third-generation"), you'll eventually go out of business or become a commodity (i.e. low margin, low price) supplier.

3. Winnow down your prospect list.

Taking what you've learned in steps one and two, mercilessly winnow your list of prospects to those who truly are the best match for your products or services. There's only one key question here:

What is the subset of my ideal customers who would value and appreciate what my company does better than our competitors?

Don't make the mistake of thinking that sales success comes from a broad focus on many customers. The tighter your target, the more likely it is that you'll make a sale.

4. Discover the most likely buyers.

Don't waste time attempting to develop opportunities that lie outside the list you created in step three. Put all your energy and focus on those few customers who can benefit the most from your company's products or services.
You already know that those customer want your offerings and need your offerings. You already know that they're predisposed to buy from you rather than the competition. Your next step is to contact them and find out, through a conversation, two final points:

Can they afford to buy?
If they buy, will they be successful using our product or service?

If the answer to both of these questions is "Yes," then everything is green lights. Unless you do something really stupid, you'll probably make the sale. However, if the answer to either of these question is "no," your better moving on to the next prospect. -Inc.com

The Danger of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is a powerful tool but only if you use it in the right way.-Inc.com

Positive thinking is a wonderful thing, but it can get you into deep trouble. If you're not careful, positive thinking can turn into "magical thinking" where your desire to win overwhelms your ability to perceive what's actually going on.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in sales. Salespeople tend to be positive thinkers, which stands them in good stead when they need the motivation to keep working even when things get tough.
However, it's not unusual for salespeople to become so enamored of an "opportunity" that they fail to read the signs that this customer just isn't going to buy. They think so positively that they end up pursuing dead end deals.

Entrepreneurs have similar failings. Because they're so positive that their product or business strategy will work, they miss opportunities to change it for the better. They let enthusiasm gloss over real problems that make those strategies ineffective.
In both cases, the problem is the same: thinking positively about the wrong thing.
With that in mind, here are some quick rules:

Be positive you'll achieve your goals, but not that your goals will never change.
Be positive you'll do your best, but not that your best will always win.
Be positive you'll overcome obstacles, but not that obstacles don't exist.
Be positive you can help your customers, but not that everyone is a customer.
Be positive you'll make hard decisions, even when it means cutting your losses.
Be positive you'll manage your emotions, but not that you'll never be disappointed.
Treat positivity as part of your tool kit, but not a tool that fits every situation.

10 Success Rules Your Mom Taught You

Your mother knew you wanted to be successful, so she taught you these timeless rules.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so I thought it would be useful to review the timeless lessons about business (and life) that your mom shared with you, probably more than once. I wrote something like this a while back, but I like this list better:

1. Look both ways before crossing the street.

Taking risks is a big part of life, but it's always a good idea to think twice before you take them.

2. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Never badmouth your competitors, your customer's competitors and especially your other customers.

3. Anything worthwhile takes effort.

While opportunities may drop in your lap, taking advantage of them always requires hard work.

4. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

Most workplace hassles are the result of people NOT following this simple but universal rule.

5. Eat your vegetables, they're good for you.

What's the point of having money if you don't have your health? Eating healthy foods should be part of every success plan.

6. Go play outside! It's a beautiful day!

Whenever possible, spend at least some of your workday out of your office and breathing the fresh air.

7. Turn off that light. Do you think we own the electric company?

It's all too easy to ignore the small expenses that, when added up, can destroy your profitability.

8. Don't sit so close to the TV, it'll ruin your eyes.

Most of us spend WAY too much time glued to our computer screens, our tablets and our cell phones. Take break!

9. Are you going out dressed like that?

Like it or not, people judge you by what you're wearing and how you wear it. Be mindful of the effect you're having.

10. Life isn't fair.

The world does not owe you a living and you'll have to play the cards that you get dealt, so make the most of it.

Quiz: Guess What These Leaders Eat for Breakfast

A smoothie or a cigar? Ice cream or kippers? Can you guess what these leaders ate (or continue to eat) each morning to fuel up for the day's challenges? -Inc.com

5 Basic Principles of Selling

The essence of what I've learned in over a decade of writing about sales.

What is selling, really? Ask ten salespeople you'll get ten different answers. Ask ten executive, you'll get ten more. But what is selling, really? IMHO, selling can be boiled down to the following basic principles:

1. Selling is 60 percent listening and 40 percent talking.

When you're having a conversation with a customer, your main goal is always to figure out how (and whether) you can help that customer. This is impossible when your mouth is open.

2. A sales message consists of two sentences.

Like so: 1) why your customers hire you, and 2) why you do what you do better than anyone else. If you can't get your sales message down to these two short sentences, you're not selling, you're blathering.

3. Customers care about their business, not about you.

Every sales conversation should take place from the customer's perspective rather than from your perspective. It's never "my product is great." It's always "here's how I can help."

4. Your reputation always precedes you.

In today's hyperconnected world, you can assume that anyone who might possibly buy anything from you knows exactly who you are. Even if you're calling out of the blue, your life history is just a Google search away.

5. Selling is all about relationship-building.

Contrary to much of the foolishness that gets passed around as "sales wisdom," customers will only buy from you if they trust you, respect you, and like you. Everything else pales by comparison.
I think that pretty well sums it up, but I'm open to new ideas. So here's my question: what other rules or principles should be on this list?
Leave a comment or send me an email! I'll gather up the best ideas into a future post, and send a copy of my book on B2B Selling to the best response.