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July 2008 | |
“The greatest wealth is health.” Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet Recently, I had my annual check-up with my family doctor. I get this regular exam to guarantee my safe return from attending scout camp with my boys. I know this a pathetic excuse for staying fit, but I really look forward to summer camp and the great outdoors. Getting a clean bill of health is my ticket to fun in the sun (and rain) while enjoying the time with my sons. While I was waiting in the examination room for my doctor, two thoughts popped into my head: First, why is it the gown they give you never really covers all of the important parts? And, more importantly, what are the symptoms of Slow Sales Syndrome? It reminded me of when the doctor asked about my the last tetanus shot, and I gave him a puzzled look. I scratched my head and thought “When Did I have my last tetanus shot?”, and then, “When Did I last check on my sales goals?” Often, I get so busy selling and serving my customers, I think to myself, “I must be hitting my sales goals!” Not realizing until later, all I’m doing is keeping busy instead of closing new business. Just then, the doctor came into my exam room and started my physical. As he listened to my heart and lungs, I took a deep breath and wondered; how healthy are my sales? After poking and prodding me in all of the right places, he started to ask me questions about my health related habits. You know the routine, how much am I (overdoing it) eating, drinking, exercising, etc. He finished up with some questions that I can’t repeat here. But, it got me thinking again. If I were to examine my sales related habits, what kind of questions do I need to ask myself? Luckily, my favorite MD provided me with all of the questions I needed. I adapted these from the check-up form he used on me. Early signs of Slow Sales Syndrome
If I answered yes to more than half of the above questions, there is a very good chance that I am suffering from at least the early stages of Slow Sales Syndrome. Luckily, with all of the new technology available to sales professionals today, we can address and resolve these issues quickly. But what if I answered yes to more than half of the statements? Left unchecked, Slow Sales Syndrome can turn into Sales Burnout. What happens if I don’t treat Slow Sales Syndrome promptly? A sales professional’s job by nature is demanding, both physically and mentally. Over time, the act of selling may wear down an individual’s energy level and stamina, leaving us vulnerable to a common sales pitfall. If untreated Slow Sales Syndrome may progress into Sales Burnout.
They misrepresent the product. People experiencing burnout sometimes resort to telling "white lies" out of their stress of losing a sale. They fall back on these techniques out of frustration, because they have not kept their professional selling skills sharp! They rush the sales process. They quit taking the time to establish rapport or thoroughly answer objections. Salespeople experiencing burnout view selling as a three-step process, Step 1. "Get the commission!" Step 2. "Get the commission!" Step 3. "Get the commission!" They resist new learning. They've heard it all before. Yet, the fact is, they have forgotten their basic sales skills or are refusing to practice them. They make excuses for their underperformance. Salespeople facing burnout often feel their product is defective and overpriced. They may feel that their company doesn't advertise enough or management isn't "in tune" with the market or the economy is awful. They may blame these factors and more for their declining sales. They refuse to acknowledge or take any responsibility for their own shortcomings. Not only do they possess a negative attitude, they encourage others to discuss the shortcomings of the sales manager, the product or other salespeople. To prevent this “Simply taking control of your own day, your own work cycle, and your own career” New York-based sales consultant Stephan Shiffman, author of Beat Sales Burnout, writes that one of the best prescriptions for early signs of Sales Burnout is "simply taking control of your own day, your own work cycle, and your own career." "For sales professionals," he explains, "one of the most rewarding, burnout-busting strategic changes of all is simply to change the model. Over the years, I have found some simple tips helpful in heading off Sales Burnout before it sets in.
Practice makes perfect - To get and keep your confidence high, practice your presentation, role-play with others, or just use a mirror. By doing this, even once, you will feel more prepared and be more relaxed. Seek outside help - Find someone you trust to talk about your sales challenges with. Sometimes an objective, non-judgmental view will give you the insight that you are looking for. Occasionally, we all need a little outside inspiration to reach our potential and dreams. Dream it, achieve it - Picture a sales situation that is uncomfortable in your mind. Before the event, prepare your answers, your attitude, and yourself mentally. By visualizing the desired outcome it will help establish new neuropathways in your brain that can become self-fulfilling. Stop and breathe – Most of us breathe unconsciously, however, taking the time to breathe slowly and deeply will help control your apprehension in challenging situations. Taking a slow, deep breathe will help you focus and calm your mind. Prevention is better than the cure My doctor reminds me at every check-up that I can live a long and happy life by making some small changes in my life. He helps me stay physically fit and mentally at ease with annual check-ups. He’s always been right on target with me. His advice is sound and reasonable. I often learn something new when I talk with my friend, the doctor. I think he would be pleased that I’m taking his advice and applying it to my business as well. Remember, friends don’t let friends drive drunk, and sales professionals don’t let colleagues get sales burnout. Oh, before I forget, I passed my physical with flying colors! Register for the next FREE motivational and informative Surgical Sales Tele-class, July 14, 2008 at 12 noon, EST.
As a busy Sales Professional, or Small Business owner, I realize your time is valuable. Especially when trying to balance the demands of both your job and home life. Since your time is limited, and reaching your goals are important you, I have created an opportunity that will help you find the most effective ways to grow and manage your sales, maximize revenues, and guarantee long term success. by Barbara AmEnde, CCP The scent of warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafted into the workshop room of politely attentive employees. Now alerted that break time will come soon and with a delicious treat, perked the energy in the room and motivated the attendees to interact, contribute and focus on completing the pre-break work. The scent of warm chocolate chip cookies was a subtle yet successful motivator for increased activity in the group. As a sales professional, most would agree that cool cash is the driving motivator for a successful career. Certainly employers capitalize on this concept with an infinite variety of commission plans as motivators. Commissions are like brands of the best chocolate; Godiva, Ghirardelli, Munsons. But – there is one big area of motivation that employers miss. Our experience working with business owners in designing performance and reward strategies shows us they even go so far as to ignore this keystone of individual performance-intrinsic motivation. The most beautifully crafted Godiva chocolates, for example, don’t compare to the ultimate type of motivation. This motivation is mental chocolate. Your personal brand of mental chocolate is your opportunity to become an even greater success for increasing your income or by navigating a more stable job path in the Willy Wonka roads of today’s careers. Those who dedicate themselves to a specific industry such as medical sales have invested considerable amounts of time in education about products and front-line teaming with doctors in the OR. This kind of career focus and commitment speaks to motivation beyond dollars-in-the-pocket. There is a sense of pride about belonging to the community of professionals making lives better in our rapidly changing world. This pride is an intrinsic motivator. Employees in any kind of job can exhibit their intrinsic motivation. The front-desk receptionist in my dentist’s office does this every time she answers the phone with, “This is Laura, I can help you today.” She is internally driven with a natural, extremely high patient-service outlook. The sales person, we’ll call John, in a big-box store wouldn’t stop searching for what I needed until I closed the discussion with an observation that he had looked at all options, searched the shelf-inventory, checked the back room inventory, researched the on-line inventory, and I made the conclusion that he simply couldn’t do anything more for me, thank you. When I asked what motivated him to spend so much energy and time with me, a frankly small-time spender, he responded that he loved providing superior customer service because it gave him personal satisfaction. Certainly his hourly wage wasn’t a big motivator. In this rapidly changing employment landscape, it is the wise employee who realizes just how much their own job management can influence their life expectancy in the badlands of hires and fires. Individually, we don’t usually have input that influences control when an employer is bought, sold, or goes under. We do have control over our motivational attitude. This can be the surviving difference. Employers universally miss, or perhaps simply don’t know what to do to encourage employees who operate well on a consistent diet of mental chocolate. So, how can you make your motivation work for you at your employer? Follow the scent of your mental chocolate. Revisit positive past experiences where you did something out of the ordinary because you felt it was the right thing to do. Did you do extra research to satisfy a customer’s needs? Did you send off a note of thanks with an acknowledgment of the customer’s personal circumstance? Was this an unusual situation for the company? How can you create more successes like these? Waiting for the employer to set the stage for you to follow your intrinsic motivation is a waste of time. Employers today are generally not focused enough on employee reward and recognition. Therefore, you need to make it happen for yourself. Your results will be the proof the employer will see that will lead you to increased visibility and value to the company. Rarely does an employer cut employees who are consistent, significant contributors. Creating opportunities at work to draw on your mental chocolate craving will produce positive results for all. Results are what an employer recognizes. Results are what an employer pays for. Achieving greater results than what you were originally hired for is what keeps an employee on the payroll through tough times. In this work environment simply doing what is expected is the norm. Stretching beyond the expected is job security. Doing so and feeling joy for the results is extraordinary in today’s times. There is no job description handed to you by the employer for this. This is entirely your creation. Venture into the world of wise employees like Laura and John who enjoy their own personal mental chocolate. You don’t even have to share, there’s plenty to go around. Barbara AmEnde, CCP and Bruce AmEnde AmEnde Human Resource Consulting, LLC. 860-646-0416 - Unknown Born into poverty, Joe Girard sold 13,001 cars over the course of 15 years-not fleet sales but sales to individual car buyers. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's greatest salesman. In 1973, he sold 1,425 cars, and in one month, he sold 174-a record that still stands today. HBR (Harvard Business Review) senior editor M. Ellen Peebles spoke with Girard about overcoming personal hardship and how he created thousands of relationships, one at a time. Now out of the car business, he speaks to people around the world about how to sell. Most car salespeople sell four or five cars a month. You averaged six or more cars a day for years. How is that possible? When you bought a car from me, you didn't get just a car. You got me. I would break my back to service a customer; I'd rather service a customer than sell another car. After a few years, there was pandemonium outside my office, there were so many people waiting to see me. So I started seeing people by appointment only. And the reason people were willing to wait a week for an appointment rather than go buy from someone else right away is because they knew that if they got a lemon, I would turn it into a peach. People are sick to death of sitting around in service departments. When I was selling cars, my right-hand man could go to the service department while the customer's car was at the curb and get three or four mechanics to come right out with toolboxes and take care of the customer in 25 minutes. Sometimes they would install $15 or $20 worth of parts-a lot of money back then-and the customer would say, "How much do I owe you?" "Nothing," I'd say. "I love you. Just come back." You get service like that, where are you going to buy next time? That's what makes businesses big: word of mouth. If you create it, it'll make you. If you don't, it'll break you. And the reason I could get the mechanics to come out right away is that I loved them, and I let them know. I made a deal with a nice Italian restaurant, and every third Wednesday I would take all of the service people to dinner-the people who wrote up the service orders, mechanics, the parts department, everyone. I would eat with them and tell them how much I appreciated them, how much I loved them. Once a year, I invited all the service people and their families over to a big barbecue at my house, to eat with me and my family. This is something that all executives should think about: There are service people in every company. They are the ones you wine and dine. You say you love your customers. What if they aren't so likable? It's like a marriage. You need to like each other. And if you treat people right, you will love them. I told my customers that I liked them, that I loved them, all the time. I would send a card every month with a different picture, a different greeting, and the card would say, "I like you." I would close a sale, and I would say to my customer, "I love you." I even gave them buttons that said, "I like you." People may have had to wait for an appointment, but when I was with them, I was with them body and soul. I grew up in the ghettos of Detroit. I started selling cars in 1963 at the age of 35. I was out of a job, had no savings, and was in serious debt after a failed home construction business, and my wife told me there was no food in the house to feed our children. I pleaded with a local car dealer for a desk and a phone and promised that I would not take business away from any of the other salespeople. I wore my finger black dialing a rotary phone trying to get leads, and that night, when all the other salesmen had gone home, I saw a customer walk in the door. What I saw was a bag of groceries walking toward me. I literally got down on my hands and knees and begged, and I made my first sale. The customer said that with everything he had bought over the years-insurance, houses, cars-he had never seen anyone beg like that. Then I borrowed $10 from my boss against my commission and bought food for my family. So I appreciate every person who bought from me so much. I would tell them, "I thank you, and my family thanks you. I love you." What gets you out of bed each morning to sell? Sell with Purpose and Passion,  Steve Porcaro Sales Inspiration Coach A great way to build your network. 
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