Hello everyone! Sarah here, Andy’s assistant.  I know it has been a long time since Andy’s last post and we apologize for that. However, we are glad to report that it is simply because Andy has been very busy consulting, traveling and speaking all over the country. In our busy time we have managed to get up a permanent company website at www.andymillerinternational.com. What do you think?

I wanted to take a minute to touch base with our blog readers and update them on Andy’s status and successes. One of the exciting events Andy had the privilege of speaking at was Tony Robbins’ and Chet Holmes’ Ultimate Business Mastery Summit. (I even got to go along and work the event!) It was a major success and I know a lot of good friendships were made and networking connections built.

Also, if you have not checked out Andy’s monthly webinars on Business Experts Webinars you are missing out! Andy gives value-packed calls on very relevant topics that often leave the attendees with a dozen or so gold nuggets to take back and implement right away for major results. Make sure to sign up for his next one by clicking on the sign up banner on the right hand panel.

In Andy’s “free time” (haha) he has been busy creating two very powerful products in the areas of sales and marketing that are in high demand. The first one has been in the making for years and is on Andy’s specialty – Consultative Selling.  Andy has always felt very passionate about consultative selling and has studied, practiced and taught the concept extensively. His “in the making” product will be a home study course on Consultative Mastery Selling.

His second product in the works is another home study course on a topic that Andy has used hundreds of times in his consulting, training, managing, and even in his everyday life – how to adapt your selling style to match your prospects buying style.   Andy uses the DISC personality types and he is creating a product that is specifically for sales professionals. Once these products are completed we will send out the notice to our friends so make sure to sign up for Andy’s Newsletters to stay in the loop.

Okay well I think this is enough to get you updated for now. I may help take over the writing of some of the blogs but I promise to get you great content from the guru himself. Contact me if there is anything you would enjoying seeing on here!

All the best,

Sarah

No matter what you sell there are natural steps, common questions and a normal way of doing things. I often work with clients to help them define what is normal and what is abnormal. I have talked about the four buyer types in a past blog and it is true that each one operates in a different way. The difference is how slow/fast they move or how much/little detail they need. With that said, there is still some commonality to the sales process. What do I pay attention to if the prospect wants to move through the sales process in a normal vs. abnormal way? Because when something falls outside of the norm my radar detector goes up and starts flashing warning signs. I am not saying everyone has to conform but usually if something is outside the norm then typically you are loosing the deal. That makes me slow down and dig deeper so I understand what is going on. Fortunately many times you can save yourself from losing the deal if you acknowledge that there is something abnormal with the deal and act in a proactive manner before problems arise.

So what are some common warning signs you maybe losing the deal?

1)       They withhold relevant information

2)       They want way too much information for where they are at in the
sales process

3)       They want price quote or proposal prematurely

4)       They tell you there is an opportunity here but don’t let you
develop a relationship

5)       The deal moves way too slowly

6)       Typical decision makers are not involved

7)       You don’t have access to decision makers and influencers

8)       Your competition has met with the boss but you are blocked from
meeting the boss

9)       When they dictate and demand vs. collaborate

Many times we know these these red flags are there but we are too worried or scared to acknowledge them and thus continue on our normal process with our fingers crossed that these flags will disappear. The more you ignore the warning signs and not take the action needed the more deals fall through the cracks.  In summary – work proactively instead of reactively.  If you have any more warning signs that you are losing a deal I would love to hear them!

Thanks!

Do You Suffer From Potential Big Deal Intoxication?

Every week I get a call from a desperate salesperson wanting help with the mother of all big deals. This deal has the potential to make his/her quota for the year or is a big company with lots of potential. The possibility of that potential makes the rep so fanatical that they throw all the rules and common sense out the window. Some times I refer to this as big deal intoxication. They poorly qualify the opportunity if at all.

They skip the steps of the sale process and start committing valuable company resources way too early. They call in the VIP’s to give extra attention when they prospect hasn’t earned the right for that type of attention and they are typically guilty of “premature presentation”. To make things worse they offer incentives, better terms and discounts with the hope of shortening the sales cycle and booking the deal this quarter. If this were a little deal or smaller company they wouldn’t make these mistakes but because of its potential size they are like a dog in heat.  If the sales rep had called me 6 weeks earlier I could have thrown a bucket of cold water on them and guided him/her through the process. With a little coaching they could have kept their emotions in check and helped them either win the deal or disqualify it quickly protecting their time, energy, resources and profit margins! So if you really want that deal and can leave your ego out of the discussion then involve your sales coach early and stop getting intoxicated by the prospect of getting the deal.

Sales Executives playing tug-of-war

Selling is a funny profession.  We are taught to be enthusiastic, to ask questions, and to always be closing.  Yet that is the behavior of a “stereotypical” salesperson and for certain personality types is the worst thing you could do.  You know, the fast-talking, polyester-wearing, used-car-selling, snake-oil-hawking, I-only-care-about-my-commission type.  This kind of behavior only forces the prospect into a defensive posture, causing the “tug-of-war” game to begin!

If you don’t have a consultative sales process and don’t adjust to different buying styles (i.e., personality types), then you have a 19-58% chance of blowing your opportunity in the first few minutes.

To be successful, it is critical that you have a consultative sales process.  Some call this collaborative selling or diagnostic selling but the point is a good sales process is beneficial for both the prospect and the salesperson.  I have always found it odd that many sales organizations have no sales process or don’t follow the one they have defined. That is like a football team without a playbook!

Do you know the steps of your sales process?

I remember doing an analysis of a sales organization that had thirty sales reps.  They had been through a two-year certification process with a well-known sales training company. When I asked them if they had been certified, they all said “Yes.”  So I said, “Ok, let’s do a pop quiz.  Pull out a sheet of paper and write down the nine steps of that sales process.”  Not one person in the room could name even three steps of the process, even after I let them work in pairs!

That was a painful pop quiz because it showed they did not know the basics.  It was like giving a ball to a child who’s been to baseball camp and saying, “Throw me the ball,” and he says, “Do what?”

Professional salespeople know their sales process and can do it in their sleep. That allows them to focus on the prospect and not worry about what to do or say next.

Can you write down the steps of your sales process? Before you go ahead and say “yes” why don’t you take a a piece of paper and try it first. You may be surprised.

Cant name the steps of your sales process? If you need help on defining or developing a consultative sales process or if you just want to know more please contact me.  Consultative selling is one of my specialities and passions. I also give out weekly tips, lessons and recommendations in my newsletters that you can sign up for in the right hand column of this page. Also, please feel free to share this post or any others that you find helpful, with friends by selecting on the share this! button below or if you want to leave a comment you may do so by scrolling to the top of this post and selecting the comments link next to the title of the post.

Until next time!

Best,

Every day for 16 years I talk with salespeople. They are always asking “how do I become more effective at selling?” Now there are many perspectives, techniques, approaches and philosophies so I won’t go into that now. These are important but one of the fundamental question is how well do you know your stuff? One question I like to ask a group is what sports did they play in high school? I hear the usual ones like football, basketball and a few others. So I pick football as an example. What is amazing to me is that after 10, 20 or 30 years people can still name their favorite play and describe what was supposed to happen. Now if you were in band or a cheerleader or played a different sport this still applies. Can you name your favorite cheer, do you remember the song and can you still do the moves? Now that we have had a couple of laughs lets apply this to mastering sales.

Let me give you a quick little exercise so you can determine your level of mastery.  Pull out a piece of paper and in 15 seconds write down the steps of your sales process. Now look at what you wrote down and ask “would my boss and peers agree that those are the steps?” Here is my point…we can remember something we played for fun many years ago and we still have a modest level of mastery. Yet when it comes to our profession we haven’t mastered the steps of the sales process. We could apply this to objection handling, closing, product knowledge or number of other applications but the point is – have you mastered what is needed to be a professional salesperson?