We get to meet new people every day, learn about their businesses and their lives and earn money doing it!
Can you and your sales teams say the same thing?
Whether you are a sales leader, support sales teams or are on the front lines as the one making the calls and going to meetings, it isn’t always easy in this business – but you can make it more fun, like we do!
In our role as sales trainers, our job is to help you with three things:
1. Question
Salespeople believe they need to “present” to be successful. This is not always true. Most times, the best way to learn what your client needs is to ask. Get curious, make less assumptions, ask more questions and ask better questions. Just because you have been with a client for many years does not mean you have all the answers. A client’s needs can change, and new challenges can come up with a shift in the marketplace.
Think back: When was the last time you were asked an interesting question by someone trying to sell you something? Be that person – the one asking great and memorable questions to your clients.
The key to wisdom is knowing the right questions to ask. Your clients have the answers.
2. Learn
As adults, we get busy with our lives and forget that we still have the ability to learn new things. Raise your hand if you have ever had a client call when you are having a nice dinner in a restaurant, lacing up your kid’s skates or buying groceries!
When we are in “get it done” mode, we forget to analyze the effectiveness of our actions. Consider this your permission slip to learn something new: strategize productively, cultivate your curiosity with your clients and listen closely to uncover hidden opportunities.
An investment in sales training allows for time to learn and think so you and your sales team can figure out new ways to get better results!
3. Earn
When salespeople are curious and invest in themselves, they are more effective. Efficient, calm and refreshed salespeople make more money and, let’s face it, are way more fun to manage.
Teaching salespeople how to be more productive, so they can increase the money for their organization and their own bank accounts, is one of the best parts of our job!
Here is Teneo’s very own Jennifer Krueger to talk about why she loves teaching our clients.
For those of us who love being a part of the sales industry, it is incredibly rewarding.
If you are wishing you could breathe new life into your career, take a look at why – are you and the members of your team still professionally curious?
Teneo’s challenge: Investigate how sales training can refresh your team’s sales approach.
Would you like to master the skill of having purposeful business conversations?
Teaching you how to put “question, learn and earn” into play is our specialty!
Contact us to learn how you can become masterful by being more curious in all of your sales meetings![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Jennifer Krueger brings passion and energy to her training and coaching of sales teams and leaders. She has 20 years of sales experience as well as a degree in Adult Learning & Development from the University of Toronto. Jennifer has successfully sold to many clients including Ontario Power Generation, Magna, Unilever, Cenovus, ViaRail, Barrick Gold, KPMG, Stantec, and more.
When it comes to gaining more of a buyer’s business, preparation is an important piece to the puzzle and the first step your sales team needs to take for success.
As the leader of your sales team, it is your responsibility to coach them to do their research and strategize so they have more purposeful business conversations when meeting a buyer.
After hearing from our panelists, we put together a three-step strategy so you can prep your sales team for their meetings and maximize the chances of reaching their objectives!
1. Do your research!
A lack of research can mean a missed opportunity.
Our buyers told us some of the most important information a salesperson needs to know before they get to the meeting is:
• Learn about the buyer, their business and their industry.
• Know the size of their business, demographic, current product offerings, current competition, how it fits into the marketplace and its challenges.
Action Step: Coach your team member to do their research preparation by googling any information on the company, including their products, website, and the buyer’s LinkedIn profile. Use the information to ask better questions that uncover better business opportunities.
2. 8-Step Consultative Opportunity Form
Hold your team accountable to applying the 8-step Consultative Conversation with their buyer. What can they do in advance to prepare and consistently follow the 8-steps in the consultative conversation?
What is the personality style of the buyer and how will they adapt their strategy to meet with this buyer?
What is the decision making role of this buyer? Are they meeting with the final authority or just their favourite person? How can they include the final authority in this meeting?
What great questions will they ask to learn more about their business, challenges and goals?
Will they be able to present solutions in this meeting or schedule a second meeting to present your three-option proposal?
What will they do to secure the next steps with a specific date & time?
3. Go beyond the basics to show the buyer why you are the answer to their problems, with ROI.
Salespeople today need to provide solutions to a buyer’s challenges and show how they can help buyers hit their targets and KPIs by showcasing their expertise.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]At first glance, it may seem counterproductive to spend a lot of time on research for business you have not yet secured, but that is the point! Share on X
Our panelists expressed that not enough time is spent on where the salesperson can help deliver KPIs and ROI. Here is the salesperson’s chance to hit the ball out of the park!
ROI/KPI to consider:
How will this make them more money/margins?
How will they sell more units/growth?
How will this improve/reduce inventory turnover?
How will this improve customer satisfaction/NPS scores?
How will this increase market share in their industry?
Action Step: Strategize with your rep on how they demonstrate the ROI. By understanding the buyer’s total KPIs, they have potential opportunities to find a place where the product fits into the buyer’s market which may be lost if the conversation does not go beyond sales and profit.
At first glance, it may seem counterproductive to spend a lot of time on research for business you have not yet secured, but that is the point!
According to a recent study by CSO Insights, just under 32% of salespeople exceed a buyer’s expectations. That leaves a lot of room for a salesperson to prove how they can be valuable to the buyer!
Coming up with a winning strategy for every buyer meeting by doing the research, developing great questions, adapting to different personality styles and understanding what is most important to the buyer and their business will put you in position to stand out above the rest.
Teneo’s challenge: Have a 15-minute coaching conversation with a salesperson on your team using the strategy above.
If you want to dive deeper into how you can coach your sales team effectively, contact us and we will show you how to teach your team to have more purposeful business conversations that get measurable results.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.
The Honda Indy is about to take over downtown Toronto with its high-performance race cars and that got me thinking:
Like a well-performing race car, your sales team can also be a powerful machine.
In both cases, it’s what’s under the hood that counts!
Your sales team may give the impression that they are smart, fast and efficient, but are they equipped with the will and skill to achieve the results to back it up?
Before you take a look under that hood, it helps to know why and what you are looking for in the first place.
Using the Sales Effectiveness and Improvement Analysis (SEIA), Teneo gives your sales team the tune-up it needs by identifying and analyzing its responses to the comprehensive 21 Core Competency questionnaire. This will tell us where your salespeople excel and where there is need for improvement to turn them into high performing, top-ranking sales professionals!
We look at your people, strategies, and systems and will tell you whether your sales team can actually meet your expectations and belong in the roles they are in. You will learn how to help your existing salespeople achieve their potential and discover who could be performing two, three or even four times better.
In working with a sales team, this assessment identifies salespeople on the team that have the skills, but don’t have the desire, motivation, or commitment to be contributing members of a high-performing sales team. Using the results of the SEIA, we provide training recommendations to implement and change behaviour to transform your team into selling machines!
As a sales leader, here is what you get from your SEIA:
A detailed analysis of 21 core competencies with insight into the skills and strengths of each salesperson and how that affects the team as a whole.
Insights into each salesperson’s level of commitment, trainability, what and how much training they need, and the specific steps to turn each of them into high performing salespeople.
An evaluation of the people, sales processes, systems and strategies in your organization, to identify areas of improvement when hiring, the quality of your pipeline and effectiveness of your sales management efforts.
Just as the race cars at the Honda Indy are measured on performance, so are sales teams on their ability to be consultative with customers and trusted advisors while successfully reaching their targeted sales goals.
Sales leaders should look under the hood of their sales teams to ensure they have the right people in place who are doing the job right for their customers.
Teneo can be the personal pit crew your sales team needs to make sure everything is in good working order to cross the finish line for the win every time!
Teneo’s challenge: Trial the 21 Core Competency Sales Assessment with your sales team.
To receive a complimentary assessment for your current sales team (minimum of three salespeople required for analysis), provide some basic contact information and you will get a link to email out to your sales team.
After they have completed the assessment, follow the results link to view how your salespeople scored in each of the 21 Core Competencies based on other sales team results in your industry.
If the trial is leaving you wanting more, or with questions on how you can gain more in-depth insights into your system, strategies, and the skill set of your team, contact us to discuss the details of implementing a full Sales Effectiveness and Improvement Analysis (SEIA) for your team.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.
In working with hundreds of salespeople and their leaders, they tell us they find it more difficult than ever to get time with buyers whose main focus seems to be price.
Your challenge is to engage with a buyer early in their decision-making process and demonstrate your value.
Here are the top five takeaways you need to know to go beyond price and get that coveted buyer loyalty!
1. Preparation Is Key
Buyers are consumers first. That means they expect the same level of personalization from you that they get from their favourite online store that knows their preferences very well.
Their experiences as a consumer impact their decisions as a buyer so you need to do research in advance.
You need to:
Know the buyer and their business. Research the industry needs, the challenges in the marketplace and how your product can provide profitable solutions specifically for them.
Know what you’re selling. That means, know the product differentiators, its rank among competitors, and product brand expansion in the overall market.
Know who you work for. That includes the company’s background, management structure, and where it fits in the marketplace.
Bottom line: Go beyond the sales pitch, do not ask questions about things you should already know and be prepared with a full, comprehensive plan. Demonstrate that you’ve done your research that will spring-board deeper conversation about their business.
In a recent study by CSO Insights on the divide between buyers and sellers in B2B sales, only 31.8% of sellers were exceeding buyer expectations.
Determining what buyers wanted was the major focus of our webinar and our panelists had a lot to say on this topic.
Our buyers agreed that they want to see:
a cost margin that is accretive to their business
a unique product that is different from the current assortment
a compelling costing structure and business plan for the item
a plan to expand the category (and not just build your business)
a product offering that compliments the current product line
knowledge of market trends
seller being open to collaboration in developing a merchandising plan
Bottom line: Show the buyer the right product for their customer base at the right price with a comprehensive plan including a short-term and long-term vision to back it up.
3. The Competitive Edge
Sometimes it comes down to you and another seller. Problem is, you both match on price. What will give you that competitive edge to get the sale?
As it turns out, while price will always be an important component, it is rarely the determining factor.
Our buyers agreed that the seller who is the easiest to work with and the most prepared will get the sale.
That means not only the right product at the right price, but also good sales coverage at store level, a solid marketing program, effective distribution backed by research that keeps the buyer and their category on trend, and the seller’s continued commitment to the vision.
Bottom line: The less work the buyer has to do on their end, the more valuable you’ll be to the buyer.
4. Make it Easy by Offering a Compelling Reason to Meet
Our busy panelists shared that they grant meetings to only three to 10 sellers of the 20 to 150+ meeting requests they receive weekly. With numbers like that, you must convey your value in every moment of that hard-earned meeting.
Our panelists consented that a seller was perceived as easy to work with when:
they brought ideas to the table;
shaped vision; and,
made them aware of solutions they hadn’t considered.
And – bonus points for asking how you can make things easier for the buyer! Be a resource for them!
Bottom line: Present your content in a clear, concise manner so that everything is sufficiently covered within the meeting timeframe.
5. Gaining Buyer Loyalty with Post Sale Follow-through
Buyers today want sellers to show commitment to the continued success of the product they are selling.
That means re-examining how you approach account management post-sale.
Our panel members each had a specific quality or trait they thought demonstrated a reason to be loyal to one seller above another, but the overarching theme of those traits was seller engagement.Overwhelmingly, our panelists agreed that it was necessary to show care for, and commitment to, the buyer’s business long after the sale. Be open, honest in your communication, and show a willingness to collaborate with the buyer.
Bottom line: If you act like a trusted business partner, you will be treated that way!
If you want to move beyond the label of approved seller to one of trusted business partner, you must adopt a consultative business approach to sales.
There area range of choices to be made before a buyer makes a final decision. The sooner you can engage a buyer to assist in identifying and prioritizing those needs, the easier it is to illustrate your value.
Thought Provoking Question: How can you use your insight and experience to structure a vision for their business to create a mutually beneficial relationship?
Teneo’s challenge: Meet with your sales leader and discuss how you will position your offering so it’s less focused on price and more focused on value that will help your buyer be more profitable and efficient. Be prepared to share this with your buyer at your next meeting.
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.
We hear from salespeople all the time who think price is the most important factor to buyers, and loyalty from working with preferred vendors and partners no longer exists.
According to a global study by CSO Insights of 500 B2B buyers in medium to large sized companies conducted to better understand what buyers wanted from salespeople, there is much more to it than price.
The survey indicated that four areas of unease consistently appeared at the top of all lists: understanding the buyer and their business, demonstrating excellent communication skills, focus on post-sale and providing insight and perspective.
The good news is that these are achievable. The bad news is that we have been focusing on these items in the industry for years and we are still missing the mark.
How do we bridge that gap?
It is clear to us that salespeople today have to be more strategic, proactive and brave!
Focusing on the top four areas from the study, our panel of experienced and insightful buyers gave us many great nuggets of advice and simple things you can do to earn their time and trust to take the conversation beyond price.
Let’s dig in to see what they had to say.
Understanding the Buyer and The Business
Our panel overwhelmingly agreed that, as a seller, you need to do your research to understand your buyer’s business!
Key Take-Aways From Panelists:
Do the necessary research in advance. That means learning about the buyer, their business and the industry before you ask for the meeting.
Asking unnecessary questions that you should already know the answer to such as, “Tell me about your business”, shows your lack of research.
Your research should include the size of the business, demographic, current product offerings, current competition, how it fits into the marketplace and its challenges.
Understand how millennial buyers differ from experienced buyers and that your approach must address those differences to be successful.
There is no such thing as knowing too much about the buyer or the business you are approaching!
Demonstrate Excellent Communication Skills
The CSO study indicated two main areas for improvement:
Prepare for meetings and calls with formal material, not just informal check-ins.
The buyer’s expectation is that every call is crisp and compelling. Every interaction has to be worth the time which means you must provide value to make it stand out.
Key Takeaways From Panelists:
We received an overwhelming response from our panel that email is the most effective way to communicate.
Make emails short and to the point, but powerful with information that differentiates you to create a compelling reason why the buyer should grant a meeting.
Provide enough value to make your attempt at contact stand out especially in an email that is swimming in the inbox pool.
Using a referral is one of the best ways to stand out because it instantly gives you credibility in the mind of the buyer.
Engage in active listening so you can address the buyer’s actual wants and needs rather than what you think they want.
Provide a business and marketing strategy to showcase how you will address their needs and grow their business now and in the future.
Freely communicate both the good and bad news to the buyer which builds the buyer’s trust in you and cultivates loyalty.
Ask great questions designed to extract information from the buyer that can help you come up with a short-term and a long-term vision for their business. Buyers stated they want to share more information about their business’ KPIs. Salespeople are too often afraid to ask business questions. Our panel of buyers encouraged sellers to ask the tough questions about their business.
Always be prepared, provide pertinent information, and make it easy to work with you.
What you do after the sale is just as important as what you do to get the sale in the first place. From what our panelists shared on this point, nurturing the post-sale relationship is a key component to build trust and loyalty with a buyer.
Key Takeaways From Panelists:
Do what you say you are going to do. Follow-through and follow-up are important.
Continue to be engaged with the buyer after the initial sale.
Be willing to collaborate with the buyer on merchandising plans.
Ask the buyer how you can be a useful resource to them.
Envision the relationship as a partnership for a mutual short-term and long-term return on investment. Your post-sales actions are what can transition you from a vendor to a preferred partner.
Provide Insight and Perspective
This is the biggest opportunity to differentiate yourself and your greatest opportunity to exceed expectations.
You do this by taking a more consultative sales approach. Highlight your expertise and provide insight to show a buyer that you understand their needs and how your solution would solve their problem.
Key Takeaways From Panelists:
Provide a detailed, comprehensive plan not just a sales pitch.
Be proactive and knowledgeable about the product you are selling so the buyer can leverage that information.
Tailor programs to the buyer and their business that are different than what you are presenting to other buyers or from what you are taking to market.
Survey consumer trends outside the buyer’s business model. Buyers today do not have the time to do this, so they appreciate when a seller does.
Sellers must bring ideas, shape vision and make buyers aware of solutions they had not considered.
In an era where more business models are removing salespeople from the equation, you must find ways to distinguish yourself to validate your relevance.
Price is only one piece of the puzzle and rarely the only determinant.
Your overall approach as a salesperson matters: providing effective and concise communication while demonstrating a marketing strategy showing short-term and long-term growth with continued high-level engagement throughout the process will make the difference.
Mastering these business conversation skills is exactly what we coach salespeople in at Teneo.
We are very excited to launch our new advance sales training programs, “Purposeful Business Conversations”, that will provide you with practical skills to master these business conversations to outperform your competition. Interested? Contact me and let’s talk! Email me at lisa@teneoresults.com.
Thought Provoking Question: Are you are interested in building the confidence that you, as a sales professional, need and buyers want to see?
Your Teneo Challenge: In your next three customer conversations, focus on their business rather than your products and price – by asking at least three to five more questions about their business. You’ll be amazed how much you change the conversation and earn more respect and business from your customer.
Contact us to learn how you can become masterful by being more strategic, pro-active and brave in all your sales meetings![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.
What is a sales leader to do when business is at a low point in terms of morale and profit?
As they say, “the best defense is a good offense”.
Integrated Sales training and coaching is the answer. It puts “process” into the sales cycle and gets results using accountability and fire in the belly.
It shifts your mindset, gives you a solid plan moving forward and levels the playing field for all sales team members regardless of experience.
Meet Vince Travaglini, Vice President of Sales at StackTeck Systems Inc. He came to his position as VP with an Engineering background and little experience in sales.
Vince knows first-hand how the power of sales training can turn around a sales team and profit margins.
With Teneo’s Sales Coaching Sales System, Vince and his team were able to reverse an almost 30% decrease in sales to an increase of 45%!
When Vince approached us for training, he confided he was looking for more structure in the sales process. He wanted a format he could use with the whole team that would make them more proactive.
He wanted to implement a planning process where his team took initiative rather than waiting for orders to come in. As he says, “Our orders intake was very weak at the time and I thought this would be a good way to motivate the team.”
He admits that his team was skeptical at first. “The usual ‘we don’t need training’ and ‘it’s not for us’ started coming out. As the team started to learn the concepts they began to get attention from others in the organization and receive compliments on how it was changing their behaviour.”
Once training started, the concepts and tools took the lead giving Vince a way to effectively communicate with his team rather than him “bossing” them around.
Vince’s decision to get training was right on track and now his team is singing a different tune.
As one colleague put it, “Vince created a very positive environment where the team was not only able to complete the certification but also exceed sales targets for 2017 by significant margins!”
Vince is very proud of his team who rallied together, applied the strategies and the consultative conversation to uncover more opportunities, creating an incredible sales journey success.
So, what was the final result for Vince and his team? I will let Vince tell you:
“In 2016 the market was tough and our orders were down 28%. After working with Teneo Results through courses and coaching, orders increased by 45% in 2017 and we surpassed our plan by 7%! The team has been on fire and their confidence is high with proactive business conversations and applying consultative selling techniques.”
Vince Travaglini, Vice President Sales, StackTeck
Vince and his team had exceptional results for their efforts but they are not an anomaly.
Integrated training and coaching programs are the game-changer your sales team needs to create the turnaround you are looking for in your organization.
How will it help you? Here are some of the key benefits enjoyed by Vince, his team and other sales leaders who have taken our training:
Allows you to set clear expectations with your sales team and a plan for how to achieve them.
Changes the outlook of your sales team to give them confidence and accountability for success.
Creates a positive and supportive environment to build skills, professionalism and team unity.
Do you want to see a successful turnaround in your sales team’s output like Vince?
Teneo is extremely proud of Vince’s sales team for turning around their customer and sales situation. They were awarded the Teneo “Star Worthy Team Award” in April 2018!
Teneo offers training programs to teach your sales team the process, tools, and its application so you can get similar results.
Are you ready to put fire in the belly of your sales team and get incredible sales results? Contact usto learn more![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.
