Business Development

You’ve probably heard that there is a five-year hump in getting a business started and on solid footing. That was pretty accurate 10-15 years ago and seems to be on target today. Sometimes, our businesses plateau and we struggle to continue the growth in an ever competitive business environment.

There are only three things that you can control in getting your business up and running or energizing an emerging enterprise.

1.  Attitude

I’m a great believer in the laws of attraction. If your mindset is envisioning a negative outcome instead of a positive one, you can probably count on the negative conclusion occurring. The end result will be similar to your thinking pattern. Part of making changes is sometimes rethinking your goals and objectives and setting up a doable game plan with all the right activity and behavior

2. Activity

You need to ask yourself: What are you doing everyday that is creating positive synergy to fill the funnel with possibilities, prospects, and business opportunity. Positive activity is something that you can control and is contagious once you get it going.

3. Behavior

Behavior will set a strong precedent to how you will succeed in business. I find that many times people continue to do the same thing, but expect a different outcome. If your behavior is not what you want it to be, then I would suggest making the changes that you feel are appropriate and staying with that game plan for at least 21 days to ensure the change that you’re implementing become a habit

If you can get your attitude, activity, and behavior moving in the right direction, you will be amazed at the positive outcome.

What Sales Is

Selling is a concept of communication that allows the prospect and the sales representative to discover if the product or service (p/s) represented has the wherewithal to not only solve the prospect’s issues/problem but more so afford the purchaser to move forward in a more efficient manner in relationship to their respective business.

The most important part of the selling process is the transaction phase. This is when the consummation of an agreement has been reached or you have decided not to do business or move forward for any number of reasons. But you both have come to the conclusion that the p/s is not a good fit, which is ok.

Only four things happen in a sales scenario:

·         a yes

·         a no

·         a crystal-clear future

·         a lesson

To which all four are positive

I talked with a sales manager last week in which he shared with me that his sales people have a problem with closing, or consummating a transaction. It surprised him when I shared that the closing was not the problem and that it is actually the easiest aspect of the sales process. The failure took place when the price based on the values did not transcend one another which can be a common occurrence for those that have not developed a systematic process to selling.

What Sales Isn't

We are in the selling profession to make a living by introducing prospects to a service or product that will solve their problems. Today we’re going to talk about what selling is not.

·         Sales is not about getting your needs met. When I work and develop sales people one of the first things we address is fostering a proper attitude about our profession. Sales is not about making a commission or selling a product or service that doesn’t meet a prospect’s needs or expectations.

·         Selling is not about selling as much as it is about discovering if a service or product that you represent is potentially a good match for the respective prospect.

·         Selling is not about doing a presentation until both you and the prospective client have determined that there is possible fit for your services or products.

I purchased a service not long ago that made sense and that I could easily justify based on the price, value, and the credible advice I received from the representative. I could easily determine that she was looking out for my best interest. As we proceeded through the interviewing process, we became relaxed and had a very objective conversation. As we worked through the discovery phase with an appropriate amount of presentation and information from both parties, we quickly determined that the service was a good fit. We both walked away satisfied that it was a win-win for all involved.

If we do what’s in our client’s best interest, incomes and commissions will always take care of themselves.

Sales Image

As I mentioned in my last blog, over the next few months we’re going to introduce you into the world of professional selling. For objectivity, we’re going to take the gloves off so we can clearly see the positive and negative perspectives that exist in the selling profession.

 I found amongst sales professionals that there is a stigma in the way we view one another. In most cases, sales people do not see themselves in the negative perspective. Instead, they view themselves as the exception. The old 80/20 rule comes into play as we separate those that represent our profession in a positive or negative way. I found over the years that 80% of sales professionals have their perspective clients’ best interest in mind. We call it a win-win for all involved. The negative 20% have always been around and always will be.

In doing sales workshops and seminars over the years, it has always amazed me how sales people are viewed by their contemporaries. In my workshops, I introduce a short version of a game show called Password. The premise is to use one adjective to describe a noun. For example, if the noun is salesperson, generally the adjectives will start on a positive note and quickly regress into a negative tone in very short order. The other day in listening to a sports host during signing day for college recruits, they referred to some of the coaches as having a better sales pitch and relentless in their pursuit. It is these kinds of connotations that create a negative image of the sales profession.

The 20% of those in the sales profession that choose to represent our profession in a negative way will always be there with the negative connotations that go with it. As sales professionals, it is our responsibility to take the 80% of those of us that take pride in our great profession and to educate buyers and fellow sales people as to how we continue to stimulate the economy, create company growth and productivity in the entrepreneurial world we live in.

Why People Buy and Why They Don't

Understanding both aspects of why a transaction takes place and why it doesn’t is a great place to start in better identifying what motivates a perspective client to move either in a positive or negative direction in relationship to purchasing a product or service (P/S) that you represent. People in companies purchase a P/S because of the following:

·         The culmination of a transaction takes place when the value of a P/S exceeds the cost.

·         Companies purchases P/S to solve their specific problems

o   A problem either exists or it doesn’t. If it does and you can fix it, then great! If not, move on.

·         People do not want to be sold; they simply want to buy for their own reasons.

A few weeks ago, I was at a networking event and a gentleman approached me and introduced himself. I made the mistake of asking him what he did for a living. Ten minutes later, he was still rambling on and hadn’t taken a breath. He didn’t stop until I finally excused myself. He made the mistake in assuming that there was value in what he was presenting without knowing who I was, what I did for a living, or if I had an interest in what he was selling. If you think about it, why would anyone present any concept or idea until they find out if there is a potential fit?

When we present without knowing if a problem exists, we insult the prospect’s intelligence and leave a less than favorable impression. If you develop good interview skills, you will be viewed in a positive manner, especially if you determine that your P/S not a good fit and you share that with them.

Professional selling is not always about selling. In fact, many times it’s just the opposite.

Sales: The Foundation for a Growing Business

Welcome back! Over the next eight weeks, we’re going to stay tuned in to sales concepts and processes. As I’ve stated in my previous blog, sales and transactions are the fuel that drives a company’s success. Sales are what creates consistent cash flow and ensures a strong top and bottom line.

Often, I discover that many business owners are highly proficient in their product knowledge and application in solving problems for their clients. The next step in growing a business is sometimes the most difficult for the business owner. We live in a highly competitive environment and you must be able to generate new and consistent business growth in order to succeed. You can be the most creative in your respective field, but without a well thought out and conceived sales concept in place to generate business, your chances of success are considerably lower.

I shared with a client this past week that they have a wonderful product that is well-positioned to fulfill their prospective clients’ needs. The only problem is that many of their future clients don’t know that they exist. They lack visibility in their market place. You don’t have to like sales, but you do have to do it, and do it well if you expect to make it in your respective field of an endeavor.

For the next couple of months, we’re going to concentrate on sales growth and what it takes to create a successful sales formula to ensure your success.

Sales and Marketing--What's the Difference?

Welcome to 2012. I’ve always been somewhat surprised at the confusion that seems to exist between the marketing and the sales process. Hopefully the following blog will eliminate some of the discrepancies.

A marketing person I am not, but I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of marketing professionals over the years while initiating sales concepts that compliment a well-conceived marketing effort.

Both marketing and sales are critical to ensure the growth of a business, but they are not the same, let’s discuss the differences.

In simple terms, marketing is a game plan that creates visibility and awareness of an aspiring enterprise, its products, and services. Hopefully, it creates a “call to action” for your target market if they perceive that your product alleviates a need or problem. Marketing can consist of everything from collateral material, a promotional website, email correspondence, and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Marketing is all about creating a presence and creating a favorable perception about the product or service that a intended market can envision solving a problem. If this perception is favorable, it creates a response that helps to initiate the sales process.

The term “sales” sometimes evokes negative feelings in a person’s mind. But in reality, sales is the major key to generating business. Sales is the engine that moves a company. It creates a cash-flow and operating capitol. Without sales, there is no way to develop new growth and expansion in a company.

The sales concept is primarily direct contact with perspective clients. It is a follow up to the marketing effort. Sales concepts can take several forms, such as a response to an email inquiry, responding to contact from a website, a telephone conversation, or a face-to-face meeting.

Simply put, sales is all about responding to a perspective client’s need or problem with direct contact that leads to a sales transaction. It is about creating a win-win situation for everyone involved. The transaction will not take place until the perceived value of a product or service exceeds the cost. Without this, there is no cash-flow or momentum in the company. I’ve shared over the years with clients that until a transaction takes place, there’s not much for anyone else to do.

Take a moment and look around and try to point out any item that at least one transaction has not taken place before it becomes part of your life or environment. I will be surprised if you can find one.

As you can begin to see, sales and marketing are very complimentary but certainly differ in relationship to their intended purpose. The fine line between the two is often blurred to most people who group sales and marketing together without understanding their differences. Next week we will further discuss the aspects of the sales process and getting intended results.