After being on vacation for parts of the past three weeks, it's important for me to quickly determine what I need to focus on today, my first day back.  Of course, my calendar and task list suggest that most of the day has been laid out prior to my vacation, but there is so much more to refocusing myself than what appears on the calendar and task list.  As a matter of fact, most salespeople struggle with what to focus on even when they have not been away.  And sales managers are often unable to help because they have the same problem.  If they ask, their question is probably, "So, who will you be talking with today?"

Let's focus on the only tool more important than the calendar and task list - your pipeline management tool.  Most salespeople, despite dozens of CRM applications from which to choose, still don't fully comprehend pipeline management.  And if they don't get it, they probably aren't managing it!

Whether it's a return from vacation, start of a new year, beginning of a new quarter, the first day of a new month, or even a Sunday evening, the starting point should be a salesperson's pipeline.  While sales processes have varying multiple steps, the pipeline must have exactly four stages.  When we pay attention to the pipeline, we can narrow the focus even further and determine:

• How many opportunities must be added (to suspects)?
• Which opportunities (from prospects or qualified) need to be moved forward?
• Which opportunities (from closable) need to be closed? 

Not part of today's topic, but worthy of its own discussion, is the fact that most pipelines are not accurately staged.  Should you Restage Your Pipeline?

When salespeople begin with the calendar and task list, they can get through the current day, week or month.  When salespeople begin with pipeline management, they can grow the business.  So, rather than, "Who are you seeing today?", the sales manager should be asking, "After you review your pipeline, what must you do to grow the business?"  And the answer must take the form of: 

Ann Romney gave a great speech at the Republican National Convention.  She wrote it specifically for her intended audience of women, connecting herself and her husband, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, with that audience, and it worked.  They loved her.  

She was a tough act to follow, but Chris Christie successfully followed with a terrific speech of his own.

Speaking of love, one talking point which I heard loud and clear from Christie was that the people of this country need to choose respect over love.

I have been delivering that message for more than 20 years, not to citizens who must vote for a candidate, but to sales leadership, sales management and salespeople who let their need for approval - their need to be liked - interfere with every facet of what they do.

Salespeople who have need for approval have a difficult time asking questions, pushing back and challenging their prospects.  This affects them at every stage of the sales process, from overcoming early resistance, to scheduling meetings, to selling consultatively, to qualifying and to overcoming putoffs at closing time.

Sales Managers, who have need for approval, find it difficult to be consistently firm - think lack of accountability - and it's even more challenging to coach salespeople to ask better questions via roleplay.

Sales Leaders, who have need for approval, often have organizations where everybody likes them, but not quite enough to perform for them.  They have an especially difficult time replacing non-performers and holding Sales Managers accountable.

Chris Christie said that "we the people" need to choose respect over love and the love will come.  The key word is choose.  We have free will, which means that we can choose.  When we choose respect, by nicely asking tough questions, pushing back with permission and challenging the status quo when appropriate, we usually earn the respect of others.  They will be your friend if they like you.  They will buy from you if they respect you.  Which would you prefer?

You probably know which salespeople, working for you today, have need for approval, but it's not so easy to identify candidates who have that major weakness.  That's where OMG's legendary, accurate, predictive Sales Candidate Assessments enter the picture.  

Some sales calls just go so well, flow so smoothly and have little to no resistance.  Some have no competition, others have plenty of money and a few allow unlimited access to senior decision-makers.  Some of your sales happen so quickly that you wonder why they can't all be that easy.

Your salespeople can have more easy calls, but you'll have to change up a few things.  

1. They'll need to qualify much more thoroughly.  Those easy sales were already prequalified, but it wasn't your salespeople who did the thorough qualifying.  The customers just happened to meet all of the criteria.
2. They'll need to differentiate much more effectively.  Your company was differentiated because your customer had already eliminated your competitors.  They were ready for you!
3. They'll need to do a better job of selling value.  Your company's value proposition was well-known to your customer before your salesperson called or appeared.

For the prior three things to occur on a regular basis, your salespeople must become proficient at selling more consultatively.  When all is said and done, that means being able to do three things better than your competition:

1. Listen,
2. Ask good, tough, timely questions and
3. Uncover the compelling reasons to buy from you.

I read the Steve Jobs biography and although he was a very talented designer, innovator and inventor, it was clear to everyone who worked with him, and even to Jobs himself at the end of his life, that he was an asshole.  A simply horrible human being.  Despite his miserable people skills, he was on a mission to design products which would change the world.  But, Steve was also a great salesperson and this article discusses ten things about Steve Jobs, the salesperson, which you might want your salespeople to emulate.

Preparation - It is well known that Steve obsessed over the most minute details of product design to assure a tremendous user experience.  But, he prepared just as much for sales calls, such as when he convinced Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates, to develop Word and Excel exclusively for the first Mac.

Determination - Jobs was so determined to get his way, make the sale and seal the deal, that he nearly always found a way.  He did not consider the possibility that he might fail.

Slide Decks - He didn't like people who hid behind their PowerPoint slides and he did not use more than a few himself.  He believed that if you knew your stuff, you didn't need PowerPoint.  He preferred to have discussions rather than slide shows.  Amen to that!

Charm - Knowing that Jobs regularly treated people so badly makes it even more incredible that he could turn on the charm when he wanted something or someone to do business with him.  Although he seemed to have no empathy for the feelings of others, he was aware of the need to develop relationships in order to sell.

Negotiation - Steve usually cut very profitable deals because he was consistently successful at getting others to want what he had.  More importantly, he always was willing to walk away and did walk if he wasn't getting his way.  He usually got his way.  There is a great story in the book about how he sold Pixar to Disney for something like 7 or 8 Billion dollars.  One of the terms of the deal was that the Pixar Management Team got to run things!

Building Value - Jobs was a master at building value.  He would talk about the individual components or features of a device and for how much they would sell if available on their own, to demonstrate the tremendous value of the device itself.

Understanding - He always knew what was important to his prospect - their compelling reason to buy - and was able to leverage it and get people excited about the opportunity to work with him.

Creating Trust - Jobs got people to believe in him and his vision.  Even when people began a meeting biased against Jobs, after they met him, talked with him and became caught up in his trance, they wanted to do business with him.

Fearless - Steve would not hesitate to call anyone, anywhere, at any time to ask for anything he wanted - and he usually wanted a lot!  He was persistent too - he didn't give up and would get others to help him connect if he couldn't get connected on his own.

Showmanship - While he was a master of all the competencies which I listed above, he was best known for and best at showmanship.  His Macworld appearances were sales showmanship at its best.  The book detailed some of those presentations along with the secrecy, preparation, practice, timing, theater and attention to detail which helped to enhance his mystique and allow him to sell millions of devices from the podium.

What can you learn from the salesperson Steve Jobs?

I don't usually write about technology and I'm not a technology writer, but I can't stand how ineffective and indecisive so many sales executives have become with technology!

There are many applications which can help us find opportunities, connect with people, manage the sales process and pipeline, manage relationships, share information, and keep us organized.

In addition to the applications, technology also comes in the form of smartphones, tablets, laptops, netbooks and desktop computers.

There are plenty of good choices, both with the devices and the applications, so how do you choose?

I've always been an early adapter and I've used much of what is out there, from free to paid, from simple to complicated, from useful to useless, and from integrated to stand-alone.  In the end, the most valuable feature for me, is the ability to sync across every device.   IN MY OPINION, THAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE/FUNCTION FOR STAYING ORGANIZED, EFFICIENT AND LEAN, WHILE MAKING THE FEWEST MISTAKES, FROM ANYWHERE AT ANYTIME.

I'll share what I've settled on, based on the app's ability to be accessed from whichever device that I happen to be using: 

Browser - Google Chrome - Every Bookmark and saved AutoFill entry is saved so that you can access quickly all of your mission-critical sites regardless of the computer on which you are using Chrome.

Passwords - LastPass -A Chrome plug-in that remembers and completes your passwords and automatically logs you into your mission-critical sites from all of your devices.

Calendar - Google Calendar - It's on my desktop and laptop, it syncs seamlessly with my Android phone, and there is a terrific, 3rd-party app called Calendars for use on iPhone and iPad.

Tasks and To Do's - Wunderlist - Like Google Calendar, it's a Cloud application, so it appears as a Tab on my Browser, but it also has terrific apps for Android, iPhone and iPad.  I like its ability to simply have lists with tasks in each list.  You also can share your lists.

Email - I still use Outlook for email due to several factors:  1. it's flexibility with folders; 2. the simple ability to use and manage my three email accounts for OMG, Kurlan & Associates, and Baseline Selling without signing in or out, and 3. the Rules Wizard for managing incoming mail and customizing automated replies and actions.  You can configure any device to send and receive email but they only sync with Outlook if you're using Exchange.  If it weren't for my multiple addresses and tremendous reliance on the Rules Wizard, I would use Gmail.

CRM - Landslide is still my favorite, but I'm reviewing some simple, new applications from other companies.  SalesForce.com - I'm sure that you know it, but it's complex, expensive and not very user-friendly.

Contacts - I still maintain my contacts in Outlook and on my Android device, so by default, in Google contacts too.  I use SyncCell to sync those contacts between devices.

Notes - Evernote - There's an app for every device and they sync seamlessly, so what you note on one device shows up on all others.  You can also share your notes.

I have two monitors and they typically look like:

My email is open on the first monitor (not shown); the second monitor has several tabs at the top; one has Google Calendar running, one has Wunderlist running, one has Landslide (shown with dashboard), and one has Hubspot, my blogging and lead generation application running.

As for devices, I use:

Working at Home - Macbook Pro - It's awesome.

Working on the Road - iPad - It's so simple!

Monitoring Work from the Road - Smartphone - Take your pick!

Here is a list of other applications which I think are terrific:

Reachable.com for determining how to connect with people.

LinkedIn for building a network of connections which Reachable.com can analyze.  I don't accept invites from strangers or people whose reason to connect is not compelling to me, so I favor quality over quantity.  You may have a different view of that...

Wistia.com for sharing video.

VisibleGains.com for sharing files and tracking opens.

Are there any other great applications which you use?  Let us know about them!

I believe that the blog at Harvard Business Review believes that it is.  Once again, HBR was nice enough to run another article for me to dig into.

This year, their authors consistently wrote articles on selling despite not really knowing enough about what's going on in the real world.  They are many levels removed from the field and rely on interviews with academics and corporate types (insulated executives in large companies) for their opinions of what has changed and what is required today.

While the four requirements which they list are valid (salespeople today do need to have more capabilities), that which really angered me was their use and placement of the word "influencing".  It appears almost as an afterthought to their fourth category, "Management skills and capabilities".

Even if we accepted their concept of people in sales roles, instead of salespeople (semantics?), the entire concept of what selling actually entails seems lost on some of their writers. So, hear this:

• Regardless of which technology is embraced;
• Regardless of which sales model, process or methodology is used;
• Regardless of which markets into which you are selling;
• Regardless of on which decision-makers you call;
• Regardless of what you sell or to whom you sell it;
• Regardless of your price points and competition;
• Regardless of the length of your sales cycle;
• Regardless of the resistance you get;
• Regardless of the obstacles you must overcome;

influencing will continue to be the single most important skill:

• to overcome initial resistance;
• to differentiate and effectively position your offering;
• to help prospects understand the value which you bring to the table;
• to get prospects to share important information about issues, opportunities and challenges;
• to align prospects on their compelling reasons to buy from you instead of the competition;
• to standardize on your offering;
• to find the money;
• to get you in front of the right people;
• to buy from you!

I just realized that this is my third music-related post this week, but I'm going with it...

Last night, we were among the 35,000 or so concert-goers at the Bruce Springsteen concert at Boston's Fenway Park.  We have been to dozens of concerts, but this was the best ever.  Why?

It wasn't because:

• the band was good - they were great;
• he was on stage for 4 hours;
• there was tremendous energy - never saw so much;
• it was at Fenway Park - what a treat;
• we knew all the songs - what a relief;
• his singing was so good - he's Bruce.

We were invited to see and hear a friend's son perform in the Royal School of Church Music of America.  We were very impressed with the voices, performance and beautiful church service.  It was very memorable.  While we were there, I noticed that some of the choristers appeared to be in trances; lost, disengaged and almost catatonic.  However, as soon as the choir director lowered his baton for the first beat, those children suddenly morphed into the most passionate, powerful, wonderful, young singers I had ever seen.  You just wouldn't believe the transformation!

Terrific salespeople make that transition too.  They morph from laid-back but confident, to powerful, animiated and charismatic when it's time to present.  Most salespeople however, don't make that transition because it doesn't feel authentic to them or they fear that they might look and sound like salespeople.  Isn't that sad?  Salespeople worrying that they might be mistaken for salespeople?  (Don't forget that you can hear me talk today, August 14, 2012, about developing salespeople and transforming them into A-players.  It's free - click here to attend.)

If you've met me and also heard me present a keynote address, you've witnessed this transformation.  My one-on-one style is a direct contradiction to my public speaking style.  Why?  If I appeared on stage with my one-on-one style, I don't believe anyone, regardless of my message, would really pay attention.  If we were to meet - just you and me - and I began with my public speaking style, it would feel very threatening and inappropriate.  You would hate me.  

There is a balance to all of this and the proper selling style, at the proper time, in the proper place, with the proper people, will work quite effectively.  However, most salespeople have only a single style and they aren't even aware of it!  If they aren't consciously aware of it, they usually aren't able to adapt to the situation in which they find themselves.

This is where video recording can be quite useful.  The ability to show salespeople how they look, sound, act and respond to varying situations is just the medicine they need to adapt, make the necessary changes and become more effective.

Steady and predictable is generally a good formula for success, however, when we need to convince people to buy what we have, flexibility and the appropriate style will always be more effective.

We recently saw the New Preservation Hall Jazz Band perform at the Newport Jazz Festival.  We had seen them before, once at the Festival and about 20 years ago in New Orleans when they weren't so "New".  That first time, I left their performance with mixed feelings.  On one hand, it was terrific that we had a chance to be in the presence of a musical institution and hear their traditional New Orleans Jazz.  On the other hand, it was stale, mediocre and failed to move me.

Last weekend, they were fresh, exciting, energized and musically superb!  They were relevant again, had made the transition to A-Players and now opened the Festival.

So what changed?  They got younger.  They finally cut the cord to their very old, slow, stoic band members and brought on some exciting, younger musicians.  New blood.  The band is now led by 41 year-old tuba player, Ben Jaffe.  They embraced technology.  Rather than a single microphone in front of a seated band, each musician had a small wireless microphone attached to his horn.  That technology has been around for years, but they had not embraced it.  Now it allowed for movement and move they did.  They were not only mobile, but the newest tuba player, Ronell Johnson, danced around the stage for their entire set in much the same way that Verdine White, the bass player from Earth, Wind and Fire, has done for the past 40 years.  Technology gave them mobility which gave them energy and made them exciting to watch and hear.

Turning salespeople into A-players requires the same approach.  (I'll be speaking on this topic today, August 13, and you can participate for free!)  You need to replace those who have not adapted to the changing times, shown the willingness to learn new methodologies, models and processes, or embraced the newest technology and gone mobile.  The new salespeople whom you hire must be exciting enough and strong enough to lead the way, infusing the sales force with new energy, becoming new role models and causing others to follow their lead or be left behind.

Training and coaching play a major part in the development of A-players, but you must have the right people in place or you will waste both time and money training and coaching salespeople who don't have the ability to become A-Players.  It's much easier to turn B's to A's then it is to turn C's into B's.  And if you already have some A's, it becomes more obvious to the B's that they need to step it up.

After nearly 30 years in the sales development business, I can say without a doubt that the biggest problem which I witness every day is when executives overrate their salespeople.  In most companies, the salespeople whom management considers to be A's are nothing more than C's who are hitting easy targets.  Their so-called A's appear to be A's only when compared to their under-achieving and non-performing colleagues, but in most cases, the executives have it all wrong.  The result is an inability to imagine how much better their sales force could perform and generate revenue as a result of an upgrade, good training and good coaching.

Take the road traveled by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and adapt to these changing times!