Posted: March 1, 2012 | Categories: Sales

Ask the most successful salesperson you know about how they manage their pipeline.  They will know what you are talking about and they will give you your money’s worth.

So why talk about pipeline management?  To be consistent in our production and meeting our goal, we need a repeatable process with predictable results.

To start with, let’s talk about software.  Fancy CRM’s (Customer Relationships Management) like ACT or web-based Salesforce.com are nice.  They do require an investment.  Conceivably, you could use a simple Excel sheet for tracking and pipeline management.

Now we begin our sales activity so that we can “feed the system”.  Before going any further, I am assuming you have your business plan and sales strategy in place.  (If not, refer to planning blogs written on 11/28-29 of 2011)

Our strategy typically includes activities such as prospecting, cold calling, networking, public speaking, attending luncheons and special events, golf outings, generating website leads, and social media contacts.

Sales activity leads to conversations.  Conversations lead to face-to-face appointments.  Face-to-face appointments yield a certain percentage of customers.  This is our closing ratio.

While it is nice to have high closing ratios, it is even more important to crisply, honestly, actively, and relentlessly manage our pipeline.

In the pipeline, you will have two categories:  Leaners and long shots.  A leaner has said, “I want to do it”, but has not signed off on it yet.  A long shot has shown interest, but needs time to think about it.  Here are the percentages you need to know:

Leaners                    50% chance of closing

Long shots               10% chance of closing

Now we can project:  If I have 10 leaners and 10 long shots on my Excel sheet, that means I can count on 6 new clients.  Now I can forecast my income and be confident I can achieve it.

So how can you tell when someone is managing their pipeline well?  There is no fluff, no deception, and every prospect in the pipeline belongs there.  The pipeline is also full.  And what happens when they close?  They are both happy and restless, because they now have a vacancy in their pipeline and they must create a sense of urgency to fill it up.  Summing it up, good pipeline management means:

1.  Building a strategy

2.  Sales activity

3.  Create “Leaners”

4.  Advance long shots

5.  Keep your pipeline clear of “dead wood”

6.  Renew sales activity each time you close

Posted: February 27, 2012 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing.  You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.  Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing.

 There is no room for second place.  There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place.  I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again.  There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers.  It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.”

-Vince Lombardi

In selling, there is no second place.  We either get the order or we don’t.  And if we don’t, we receive nothing – that is no fun.  As Vince Lombardi says, “Winning must be a habit”

An old mentor of mine once said, “A goal mind is a goal mine”.  I was reminded of this last week while talking to a successful financial advisor:  He began his career in the fall of 2008 – not exactly the most fun time to begin.  401k’s were decimated and financial advisors weren’t winning any popularity contests.  Yet Bob boldly began his career and has met or exceeded every quarterly goal since he started.  He is enjoying a comfortable standard of living.

I asked Bob, “What is it you do that makes you so consistent?”  He replied, “I set goals and achieve them.  I make sure every goal is realistic and challenging.  If I were to set a goal and not achieve it, I would become complacent, and accept mediocrity.  I know because I struggled through high school and college. Once I adopted the “set and achieve goals” mindset, my whole life turned around. “

In his 1940 essay, “The Common Denominator of Success”, life insurance sales manager Albert Gray said:

”It is easier to adjust ourselves to the hardships of a poor living that it is to adjust ourselves to the hardships of making a better one.  If you doubt me, just think of the things you are willing to go without in order to avoid doing the things you don’t like to do…”

 So what can we do to attain the same success as Bob?

Set a goal.  Even if it is dialing the phone six times a day – set it.  And once we do, remember the four key fundamentals to ensure you succeed:

1.  Seize the first opportunity

2.  Launch the strongest initiative

3.  Keep the faculty of effort alive with daily practice

4.  Never allow an exception to occur

Happy goaling!

Posted: February 16, 2012 | Categories: Sales

I was facilitating a team meeting last week and the subject was added value.  The first question we needed to address was: “What are we selling”

Del Webb is a company that builds retirement communities.  They make money by selling houses.  Even though the sale of houses is what they do, it is not what they sell.  Ask any of their sales reps, and they will tell you that what they sell is a lifestyle.  There is a community center along with many activities.  You never have to do yard work or house maintenance but you can still have your own little garden.  In other words, what they are selling is the experience.  Years ago, a seasoned and successful sales professional told me, “People buy based on how the purchase will make them feel”
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Posted: January 17, 2012 | Categories: Sales

If you are a good dancer, you know how important it is to be in step. Effective selling is like a dance, and we must be careful to be side-by-side with our prospects. This sounds simple. It is not always easy. Here is an example I encountered in my coaching just this past month:
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Posted: January 11, 2012 | Categories: Sales

“I know just what you want”, he said.  No, he didn’t.
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