“Nikolaus Kimla’s latest book, Facing Forward, is another valuable contribution to clarifying the best role for CRM software in the success of modern sales pros. An effective CRM solution must serve the needs of today’s overworked sales people. The folks at Pipeliner really get this and it drives all of their software development efforts. Right now, I am following more that 3,000 CRM solutions. It can be overwhelming. But I always find time to follow the latest developments from Pipeliner!”
Rich Bohn, SellMoreNow.com
The oldest living independent CRM analyst
There are probably thousands of sales trends, approaches, tips and tricks out there. Additionally there are hundreds or thousands of technological tools for sales—lead programs, CRM, sales enablement, contact management solutions and many more—and there is huge stress placed on finding and having the right tools.
But both the approach and the tools are selected, interestingly enough, through a mindset.
The word mindset is defined in the dictionary as an attitude, disposition or mood. Another definition is an intention or inclination.
For our purposes, let us define a mindset as a set of attitudes and inclinations that, in our case, are self-chosen and implemented. In this book, Nikolaus Kimla lays out the mindset of a salesperson, and its various components. These components can be selected and utilized. You may also find—and you may find for yourself–that some or all of these traits occur naturally.
Why is a mindset important? It affects the positive or negative outcome of any situation. It is what is required to face forward into today’s tough, competitive sales world. It is a prerequisite to any sales methodology or software solution.
Even though salespeople may already utilize this mindset, they may not be totally aware of it. Sales leadership and management may not totally be aware of it, either. But the elements of this mindset are something that everyone involved in sales needs to fully know and understand.
Imparting this data to a sales team means that they function better and with far more understanding. That is the goal of this book.
Chapter 1: The Quality of Individuality
For a number of years, now, Nikolaus has made the observation that salespeople are like entrepreneurs within the enterprise, and in fact coined a word to describe them: salespreneurs. Salespeople possess many of the qualities of entrepreneurs, and one of their primary qualities is their individuality. Salespeople possess this same characteristic.
Chapter 2: The Quality of Career Security
At least when it comes to making a living and having a life, there are very few things people want as much as security. This is especially true of a salesperson, who is already taking a great deal more risk than the average employee on a job; at least a good part of their pay (and many times their whole paycheck) is dependent on commissions, and how much they sell.
Chapter 3: The Quality of Freedom
Sometimes individuality and freedom are confused as being the same thing. They aren’t. Individuality is the summation of the qualities that make a person stand out as an individual, and this is separate from freedom. Freedom, on the other hand, is defined as a lack of restriction or barriers. A person can be a real individual and not have freedom. But freedom is another quality sought by, and usually possessed by, salespeople.
Chapter 4: The Quality of Self-Responsibility
Of course self-responsibility isn’t something a person can learn, like a craft or a skill. It begins with a decision to be responsible, and that’s a decision that will have to be made many times over through a person’s life. It becomes part of–and known as–a part of a person’s character. At the same time, every company should have systems and policies in place that help generate and reinforce self-responsibility in its workforce.
Chapter 5: Network Selling
The next component required for the salesperson mindset is what we call Network Selling. The basic reason it is called Network Selling is that today’s digital world is totally networked. You cannot make a move as a salesperson that doesn’t have some kind of impact, good or bad, throughout this network. As a salesperson you are either recommended or warned about, right along with the product or service that you’re selling.
Chapter 6: Speed of Technology Adoption
Another vital part of the salesperson mindset, especially in the digital age, is the speed of technology adoption. Salespeople generally tend to adopt the latest in technology, which is good; they need every advantage they can grab onto given today’s highly competitive sales climate. As many have discovered, adopting a tool such as Pipeliner CRM will mean faster and better results when it comes to opportunities.
Comments (1)
Great piece of work.