Several weeks ago I experienced first hand why people don't respect salespeople. I was interviewing a candidate who was over-trained and under-coached. His had a solid resume with statistics and facts. He was personable and presentable. He had industry experience and a good track record. Sounds great, doesn’t it.

What we were seeing was veneer, polished but not ready for prime time.

It’s important that you push back on salespeople when you interview them. This peels away the veneer and shows the real candidate. When I did this his personality changed and he became robotic. He stopped listening and began using forced technique to take control. The result was a terrible interview. What struck me was I don’t know if he ever saw what had happened.

It’s intuitively obvious when what may be a good sales tactic become technique. If you train salespeople on skills and don’t work on delivery inconsistent execution and sometimes “technique on parade” will be the result.

The causes of this can be many; losing control of our thinking, feeling rejected, getting frustrated or annoyed, not being prepared, not having a strategy, not following the strategy, not agreeing with the strategy or bravery challenges are just a few. The best possible anecdote is practice a lot. Through curve balls and push back on each at each other. Pay attention to your tonality and delivery and most of all have fun. Selling shouldn’t an unpleasant activity.

In a recent conversation I heard the phrase “socialize the idea”. The premise being that more frequently prospects are saying this is necessary.

For simplicity let call this consensus building. The question is why do prospects believe it's necessary? Obviously, it will depend on where they are in the decision making hierarchy, the more senior their role the less you’ll hear about the need to socialize.

The standard answer about why this must happen is it’s a necessary part of, sometimes mandated, the buying process. This sounds rational and it may be true, but what is the motive behind the motive? It’s usually because they are afraid of something.

Here are a couple possible motives. I suggest you make your own list.

• This is new territory for them; they don’t have experience with it
• They have a new manager or peer in their group
• There are uncomfortable with risk
• They don’t like making decisions
• Confrontation (directness) is outside their comfort zone
• They are under the microscope

In today’s business climate people want security and socializing an idea makes them feel safer. It also means that projects get delayed, change doesn’t happen and status quo rules. Start with this premise; opportunities usually disappear when prospects start the consensus building process.

To overcome the fear you need to do the following:

• Remind them of the compelling reasons for action
• Increase their understanding of what they gain from acting
• Identify the specific fear or discomfort
• Get them to vocalize this to you
• Show them how their fear is the real problem

Have you noticed that prospects want to socialize your ideas more lately?

What are you doing to overcome this challenge?

We have seen a seismic shift in the business landscape in twenty-four months. Bailouts, debt, unemployment, and tight capital markets are the norm. Businesses are spending but very carefully. 

All of the companies we are helping to recruit great salespeople (yes, companies are hiring salespeople) have one question and one question only: “Can they find new business in our marketplace?”  Great account managers, while skilled at what they do, without hunting and closing skills may become the next horse and buggy.

So what’s important and how do you find it? 

• Can they sell in a fiercely competitive marketplace?
• Can they sell consultatively instead of presenting features, benefits and capabilities?
• Can they sell value?
• Can they hunt for new opportunities?
• Can they really work independently?
• Do they have closing urgency?

In the new sales landscape the answers to these questions are more critical then ever.

On a separate note can you or your sales managers truly mentor your existing sales force to do this? Do you really have the skills, desire, willingness and expertise needed? I save this topic for another posting.

The Express Screening peels back the onion and gives you answers. The first milestone is do they have the necessary motivation factors; second how many weaknesses do they have, third how severe are the weaknesses and then we answer the questions above.

This means it’s crucial you have an accurate, up to date client profile. If your criteria isn’t air tight, some candidates, that aren’t a great fit, may be recommended. A candidate who can sell but needs to be supervised may fail when expected to work independently. How you answered the questions two years ago doesn't matter. Put yourself in the shoes of your prospects and be honest, how would you react to a salesperson selling your products or services to you. The road has changed. It’s harder, rougher, more twisted and full of blind hairpin turns. The Express Screening when used properly will help you navigate better.

Every Wednesday from noon to one Frank Belzar and me co-host  Sales Talk Live on Global Talk Radio.

This week our guest was John Cass of Pace Communications. John a former head of the Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association is an expert in Social Media and digital communications. We had a wide ranging discussion about social media’s application to the sales industry.

A very common finding when evaluating a sales force is “inappropriate follow-up” meaning the endless chasing of prospects and other influence centers based on the assumption that if you keep contacting them something good will eventually happen.

Sales Leadership shares a lot of responsibility for this problem, in that they repeatedly asking for status updates giving little thought to the strategy for accomplishing this.

Social media can change the dynamic of the chase. Whether it’s “Thought Leadership”, leveraging “two degrees of separation”, finding ways to be more relevant in your communications or simply being present without being a pest you must teach and hold your sales force accountable for leveraging the power this new and permanent communications media. My question to you is what are you doing to turn unproductive follow up into high value communication?

This week Kurlan Associates announced its Sales Force Makeover contest.

Along with partners Landslide, Objective Management Group and Strategic Compensation Partners, Kurlan Associates will select one US head-quartered company who will receive a free Sales Force Makeover.

This once in a lifetime opportunity will take your sales force to the next level and increase your business valuation.

Why apply?

• It’s free!
• The economy is stuck in low gear.
• Competition is greater than ever.
• Your company’s valuation is tied directly to revenue.
• Standing still leads to falling backwards

What the proactive winner will receive.

• Sales Force Evaluation by Objective Management Group, Inc.
• Sales Compensation Analysis by Strategic Compensation Partners
• Sales Force Development (Sales Process, Pipeline, Metrics, Sales Management Training, Sales Training and Coaching) by Kurlan & Associates (8-12 months)
• CRM by Landslide (one year)
• Sales Candidate Assessments by Objective Management Group, Inc. (one year)
• Sales Recruiting Process by Kurlan & Associates

Do you want to increase the valuation of your company?

If the answer is yes, click here and apply to win a free Sales Force Makeover.

If you’re not interested please send this posting along to someone who is.

It’s been a while since I have posted to my blog so what has my problem been?

I’ve made the act of posting bigger than it is. Said another way I haven’t been thinking like a blogger.

Here’s a crazy analogy from kindergarten. My teacher wanted us to feel special about ourselves and her solution was "IALAC" meaning "I am lovable and capable". The point was this, if you believe you are or can become something you are much more likely to achieve that goal, so I have decided that I am a blogger.

How does this apply to sales and sales management? Here are a few examples.

• I am effective and valuable in the role of sales coach.
• I can and do hold my salespeople accountable for daily selling behavior.
• Our sales team must learn a valuable lesson from every mistake we make.
• Mini failures are a necessary part of growth.
• My prospects perceive value in me when I ask them tough relevant questions
• When a prospect stops returning my phone calls something has changed and I need to find out what that is
• The only person thinking about next steps after a “think it over” is me
• Senior level people find spending time with me valuable

What mindset or title do you need to give yourself, your staff and or your salespeople?

I am a blogger!

Complacency is an insidious thing.   It is corrosive by nature and can be very contagious.  We all suffer from it to varying degrees and unfortunately complacency often rears it's ugly head at the very moments when it has the greatest impact on us.  Whether it is complacency about relationships, health, co-workers or our clients, the effects of our complacency undermine our success, happiness and state of mind.

Today I read an article Everyone is a Salesperson by a peer sales development expert in Cleveland. Basically it tells a couple stories, stories about Sales Culture and the people (our employees and clients) who bring the culture to life.

The stories are about having fun, allowing people to do what they love, commitment, outlook, personal responsibility and risk taking.  Remember, the definition of risk is a willingness to give up something you already possess for the possibility of getting something better. The key phrase being "something you already have".  So if you don't have anything there can never be any risk.

I suggest (be careful not to say "no" just because it's a suggestion) you read it and then ask yourself some questions. Be honest, you might have an epiphany!

Here's the article Everyone is a Salesperson

• What did you read that you know should be happening more at your company?
• How do the people and personalities impact your "sales culture"?
• How much of your time is spent on nurturing and directing your sales culture?

I was at the gym Monday "starting over again" after a week away. As always I saw a woman I know working with her personal trainer. Twice a week she's there huffing and puffing. Several months ago I asked what motivated her. She answered "I'm going to be fifty and I want to be healthy."  

How many of you fit that description?

In between sets of overhead presses and squats I congratulated her on her commitment and progress. Without hesitation Joe the trainer said; don't lose sight of the objective, progress, momentum and improvement. He couldn't have said anything more appropriate or profound.

Whether you're the sales manager or someone else is, do not forget Joe's words. It's all about sales progress, sales momentum and sales improvement. Which of your salespeople or perhaps yourself needs to hear these words today, tomorrow and the next day?

While you're thinking about Joe and his sage advice watch this video if you haven't seen it already Beating the Little Hater.

What’s the purpose of exhibiting at a show? Do you attend so your clients will see you? Do you go because your competition is there? Whatever your reason is, the primary value of any show is to acquire leads.

In the film The Pursuit of Happiness Will Smith's stock-broker manager talks about “well qualified prospects”. Finding out if someone is well qualified includes: are they a decision maker, do they have a problem which they need to fix and are they willing to invest money to fix it.

Trade shows allow you about 5 seconds to get someone's attention. Do you have an opening line? Does it fit the audience? Does it force people to speak? Does it make them think? Have you practiced it? If not you aren’t ready for the show!

I'm not a big boxing fan but I do like to watch the pre-fight training documentaries HBO presents for upcoming title fights. I love the commentary on attitude, focus, motivation, and giving 110%. For me the most important element is "why they fight and for what?"

On the subject of "why", HBO has a great documentary on the USA Women's Soccer Team.  The team states that while they had tremendous competitive drive their real motivation was to legitimize the game of soccer for young girls. Now that's something to be motivated by - a real purpose.

In the last few months HBO has been following the Mayweather vs. Marquez fight.

In one of the final interview clips both fighters make statements about nerves.

• Mayweather said, "People talk about nerves causing a fighter to lose his grip and as a result, the fight. I don't get nervous, it just doesn't happen to me."
• Marquez said, "It is normal to get nervous before a fight. It happens because you don't know what is going to happen; worrying about being worried is the real problem."

What drives you to achieve greatness? Can you clearly articulate it and, when you do, can you feel your emotions?  How do you perceive your own nerves and how do you react to them?

In an interview I conducted yesterday I observed a sales candidate physically flinch in response to several of my questions. Do you know who flinches in your sales organization and what specifically causes their reactions?

Staying in the moment while remaining emotionally quiet, and motivation for success are two of the most critical elements for overachieving in sales, sales management, and leadership.  

How do you compare in these areas?