How Salespeople Can Adapt to Changes Brought on by New Buyer Behavior

If you have been in the sales world for decades, you’ve undoubtedly noticed some major transformation of sales. The way that salespeople do their job and put bread on the table is quite different from what it has been historically. Some of these differences have come about because of the technological revolution, the new tools available for sellers, and the nuanced ways of marketing, networking, and connecting with others. Another major cause of the changes has to do with buyer behavior and the buyer’s journey. In order to close deals, salespeople must sell in a way that aligns with how customers want to buy things.

Tony J Hughes interviews sales expert Graham Hawkins to understand how you can keep up with the transformations that changes in buyer behavior has created.

[icon name=”microphone” class=”” unprefixed_class=””]Host John Golden was joined by Referral Selling experts Joanne Black, Bob Burg and Adrian Davis for a wide-ranging discussion on the power of referrals in selling. The discussion touched on areas such as:

• why do many salespeople still not ask for referrals
• creating a referral culture in your organization
• the best time to ask for a referral
• who are the best people to ask for a referral from
• what a good referral looks like
• examples of great referral initiatives

There are so many practical takeaways from this discussion that can be implemented immediately making this must-watch Sales POP! TV!

Embracing Leadership in a Management Dominated World

Leadership and management both have their roles in the professional world, but people are managed four times more than they are led. Embracing leadership can be challenging for many reasons, and can hinder progress and success in an organization. Tom Flick, interviewed by John Golden, discusses the ways that salespeople and business professionals can truly embrace leadership in a world where management is more prominent.

This expert sales interview explores embracing leadership, including:

• Understanding the differences between leadership and management
• How to define leadership
• How to define management
• Three key tips to becoming a good leader

Leadership vs. Management:

There is a disconnect between leadership and management. The importance is on the actions and behaviors of the person, not the title of leader or manager. It’s a point of distinction that important to recognize, especially because we are over-managed and under-led by a factor of four to one. This tendency to be more managed than led has created issues in cooperate America. There is a disconnect between leadership and management. The focus is on the actions and behaviors of the individual, not the title of leadership or management. “It’s a point of dysfunction that changes the outcome of how we do business today in the world,” said Flick.

Defining Leadership:

Leadership is rooted in vision and strategy. It involves communicating that vision and strategy, motivation action, getting buy-in, and removing barriers, among other things. It takes complex systems within people, and creates innovation, opportunities, and growth from these systems.

Defining Management:

Often times, people in leadership roles will think they’re being leaders, but in reality, they’ll be utilizing more management behaviors and techniques. They might say words like controlling, when a leader aligns, or planning, when a leader envisions. Management is, in essence, the opposite of leadership. It includes budgeting, staffing, controlling, smart problem solving, and planning.

The Disconnect:

Part of the problem with the disconnect between leadership and management is that management activities don’t move you towards your goal. If you get any traction, the progress is very slow. In a world that changes rapidly, there isn’t time for slow progress. “We need to lead more than we manage, or at least level the teeter totter out. That’s the big issue that we face right now,” said Flick. It’s a difficult balancing act, though.

Three Steps to Leadership:

There are three key steps salespeople can utilize to become good leaders. The first is embracing self-leadership. You can’t truly take on the leadership role if without being a self-leader first. “It’s something you need to develop within yourself first, and exercise it in a way that you strengthen the leadership muscles,” said Flick. “Leadership is the name of the game.” Secondly, the speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack. How fast you as a leader can get your sales team together to jump through a window of opportunity that opens and closes so quickly is critically important. Finally, integrating the head and the heart is at the foundation of good leadership. Often times, leadership is presented as an intellectual exercise. The emphasis is on ROI and analytics, but if you really want to be the worlds great, feelings are more effective than thought when it comes to enacting change. “Appealing to the heart is a big part of leadership,” said Flick.

To learn more about Tom Flick click here. or Bonsai Media Group

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Sales leadership is not an easy position, and it can be very difficult to navigate the difficulties and challenges that inevitably get thrown onto these leaders. However, hearing the expert opinions of master salespeople can provide top leaders with insights from master salespeople can make your experiences that much better, easier, and more successful.

Tony J. Hughes interviews Graham Hawkins, Brigid Archibald and Cian McLoughlin in this interview. The four of them discuss some of these insights, and how to best lead a sales team.

Nailing the Art of Cold Calling with Catherine Brinkman

What comes to mind when you hear the word “cold calling?” Some people might think of cold calling as an outdated method of prospecting, where salespeople make their way down a list of numbers, trying to engage customers they know nothing about in a conversation. The reality of cold calling in today’s selling era is very different. It can be a promising and effective strategy if done properly. Catherine Brinkman, interviewed by John Golden and Martha Neumeister, explore how to nail the art of cold calling.

Recorded on 6th September 2018 9am PT/Noon ET

Episode Questions

1. What are the main differences between Cold Calling and Social Selling and which is better?
2. What can salespeople do to banish fear of cold calling in order to build up a positive attitude when cold calling?
3. Receiving a lot of “no´s” is frustrating. Are “no´s” really just negative and how can hearing “no” be treated as a victory?

Our Guest

Catherine Brinkman

As a sales executive and trainer with Dale Carnegie for nearly a decade, Catherine generated her own leads. Today, that experience is used with marketing and sales teams to design collaborative marketing campaigns and improve sales skills. She specializes in market diversification, content, and social media.

Links › bhyconsulting.com | linkedin.com

Our Hosts

About Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Martha Neumeister

Martha is social media strategist, responsible for all social media platforms of Pipeliner CRM. She is a communication expert with social media affinity, which she has been focusing on throughout her professional career. She has a bachelor´s degree in Entrepreneurship & Management and a master´s degree in Online Marketing which supports her in her career as Social Media Strategist.

About SalesChats

#SalesChats is a fast-paced (no more than 30 minutes) multi-media series that provides leading strategies, tactics and thinking for sales professionals worldwide. It can be found on Twitter (#SalesChats), as a live Google+ Hangout, and as a podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and right here on SalesPOP! If you think you would make a great guest for #SalesChats, please contact co-host Martha Neumeister.

#SalesChats is co-hosted by John Golden, CSMO Pipeliner CRM, and Martha Neumeister, Social Media Strategist Pipeliner CRM.

Justin Cohen’s New Book: Final Step #6 “Content”

We’ve arrived at the final step of this series on how to pitch to win, where Jason Cohen and John Golden break down the formula for creating winning pitches. Each week, we’ve covered one step. Step six is content.

Fact vs. Story:

Stories are a potent tool for culture building, for creating inspiration within an organization, and in sales as well. They are a great way to get people into the buying zone. Think about how someone communicates information, especially if they are doing so with the intent to sell or persuade. There are two main options. One option is that someone might speak facts at you about in an objective manner. Someone else might give a case study, or tell a specific story, about how the same facts and information have specifically impacted an individual or themselves. They attach emotion to it and make it memorable. The person who told the story is probably going to be more persuasive and is more likely to remember and connect with the story in a personal way. “The same message, but as a story, makes more of an impact,” said Cohen.

It’s Science:

There is scientific backing for how content delivery as a story is important.
When you look at the brain of someone being told the first, mostly fact-based message, the mind is quite inactive. However, when you look at the brain of someone who was just told the second message that was conveyed as a story, the brain’s visual and auditory cortex light up, as do the systems responsible for creating emotion. The brain also has a network of mirror neurons. These neurons sense the emotions of others and create an empathic reaction in you. This is why the kind of content and how it’s delivered is so crucial to building a perfect pitch and getting your potential consumer to buy in and engage with what you have to say.

You can watch the rest of the pitch to win series here: Pitch to Win Series 

To get a more in-depth look at how to pitch to win, be sure to check out Justin Cohen’s book

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Finding Personal and Professional Success Despite Uncertainty

Bob Miglani is an expert on how to embrace the chaos. He came to America from India as a child. His family opened a Dairy Queen, where he learned that if you work hard, everything will take care of itself. He went on to a corporate career with tremendous success, becoming the top salesperson at his company. After the recession hit in 2008, though, he began to realize that working hard doesn’t always guarantee success, and there are a lot of outside factors outside of our control that influence how we live our lives. Miglani, interviewed by John Golden, tells the story of how he learned to embrace the chaos and uncertainty of life to find success, both personally and professionally.

This expert sales interview explores how to embrace the chaos, including:

• Techniques for embracing chaos
• Why you should start running after busses
• Taking responsibility for mental attitudes

Stop Waiting, and Start Running (after the bus):

On a trip to India as an adult, Miglani wanted to have a local experience, and take public transportation. Before the bus arrived, Miglani’s cousin provided boarding instructions, which involved running after the bus and jumping on when it slowed – not stopped – at the bus station. The bus came barreling down the street, with no intention of stopping, filled to the brim with passengers. The only way to board this incredibly crowded vehicle was to run along with the bus, jump on, and hope that you were able to find and cling to a spot long enough to get to your destination. The first bus went by, and Miglani watched the chaos, jaw on the floor, feet planted on the floor. The second bus came by, and his mind was filled with thoughts of falling, hospital trips, and other imagery of worst case scenarios. As the third bus came down the dirt road, Miglani accessed new determination when he realized it was his mind that was holding him back. “I started getting into a motion, and I found myself running. My mind shut off as soon as I took action. I caught the bus, and just as I was about to slip off, another passenger helped me back on the bus. I had no idea where we were going, no idea where my cousin was, but we were going somewhere. It was happening,” said Miglani. “If you wait for the perfect bus, you’re going to miss some of the happiest moments of your life.” Miglani illustrates this story to emphasize the need to stop waiting, start running, and take action. As he embraced chaos, he found happiness and success.

Two Techniques for Embracing Chaos:

Embracing chaos begins with two techniques. The first is giving up control over things that we cannot control. We have control over the words we use, the thoughts we think, and the actions we take. “We tend to gravitate towards this idea of trying to control things and have everything work out neatly, but that’s not how life works,” said Miglani. “When you control what you can, and embrace what you cannot, you begin to live a life of success.” The second technique is to stop waiting for perfection. “There is no such thing as perfection,” said Miglani. “There is no perfect job, spouse, career, employee… Perfection is an illusion of our mind trying to bring order to a life that has none.” Focusing on control and perfection is toxic for salespeople. It will foster an obsession with doing something that cannot be done, and distract from doing productive, quality work. In fact, imperfect products and people are more moldable and could be even better suited for success in the business world.

Taking Responsibility for Mental Attitudes:

As sales or business professionals, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by the challenges of personal and professional life. However, this overwhelmed mindset affects our mental attitude and can permeate into how we interact with others. It’s important for salespeople to take responsibility for their mental attitude and how they show up, despite the chaos that is inevitably going on around them. This begins with being mindful and aware of what you are saying, what you are doing, how you are doing it, and ensuring that you operate in a way that is in line with your ultimate goals. “Be aware of where your mind, and your body, are at. Ensure those are in a good place in order to be mindful of the challenges, traps, and stressors that life might throw at you,” said Miglani.

To learn more about embracing chaos to achieve success, watch the expert sales interview.

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Ask Effective Sales Questions

Million Dollar Sales Questions can be used to connect, direct, and sell more effectively. Julie Holmes discusses how to ask the best sales questions in this expert sales interview with John Golden.

This expert sales interview explores sales questioning:

• Why questioning is important
• Good questions versus bad questions
• Introductory questioning
• The Five Goals of Sales Questions

Why Sales Questions are Important:

When talking about selling, the number one thing that salespeople can do to close deals isn’t selling. Rather, it’s asking questions that allow you to learn more about the prospect and their needs. Understanding this will tell you the exact right time to offer the solution. “Questions are the best way to take the buyer on the journey that they want to be on,” said Holmes. They will know that they are being fully engaged with, and at the end of the day, when the salesperson offers up a product, it will be exactly what they need.”

Million Dollar Questions vs. Ten Cent Questions:

Like with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to ask questions. All too often, salespeople are asking ten-cent questions, like: “Do you like this feature?” or “Would you like to buy this now?” These questions aren’t effective because they are very focused on the salesperson and not the buyer. Ten cent questions are a sales tool. Million dollar questions, however, aren’t sales tools. They are learning and engaging tools.

Question the Questions:

Before you start preparing your questions, it’s important to have strategic intent, and understand the function of the questions themselves. Rather than going in with a long, generic list of questions, a good salesperson is going to think strategically about what they are going to ask. They consider what they are trying to achieve from the conversation, and what information, answers, and guidance are needed from the prospect. This intentionality helps the salesperson create questions that are relevant, and will help guide the sales process in the right direction. “If you don’t know what you want to get, it’s going to be really hard to get it,” said Holmes.

Opening Questions:

Some great questions that you can ask in the initial stages are about the prospect’s business needs, and about the pain that they are experiencing. For example, if you are selling a CRM system, you might ask: “Tell me about your biggest challenges or biggest frustrations with CRM?” or “What have you been using to try and fix the problem up until now?” This helps give insight into the past and current problems that the buyer is having with their CRM software. Then, you could ask: “What do you want it to look like?” The answer will give you an understanding of their goals, and what they want their CRM to look like in the future.

Goal 1: Building Rapport

There are five different goals of questioning when working in sales. The first goal is to build rapport and set up relationships. These questions include things like: “Tell me about yourself?” “Tell me about your business?” “How do you like to work with salespeople?” “What are the best ways for us to communicate?” This not only sets the foundation for your relationship, but you also solidify your role as a salesperson and convey that you are willing and wanting to understand your client’s specific needs.

Goal 2: Understanding the Buyer’s Style

You can understand the buyer’s style with questions that determine what type of data and information the buyer connects with best. There are data-driven buyers, story-driven buyers, ego-driven buyers, and others, and if we understand what their motivations and their triggers are, we can ask questions and communicate with them in a way that really connects with their style. This honors the prospect’s individuality and takes into consideration that they have specific needs and preferences.

Goal 3: Understanding the Buyer’s Priorities and Values

What is most important to your buyer? Why are they looking to buy right now? Is it to save face, or to leave a legacy at their organization, or to find a new solution? There are many questions we can ask surrounding this topic to understand their motives on a deeper level. If you don’t explore what your buyer’s priorities are, you could press them too hard or miss an opportunity to press them, or even misguide your clients. You might even waste time chasing buyer’s who aren’t ready to buy.

Goal 4: Understanding the Landscape

Understanding the landscape of your prospect’s organization is also vital. You can get information on this by asking things like, “Who all is involved in this process?” “Who would you say are the major influencers in this selection process that you’re going through?” “How long does a sales process usually take at your organization?” Understanding the landscape of the transaction is helpful to know when to ask for the sale, if there is an important timeline, and other information that helps you schedule and structure the sales process.

Goal 5: Identify fear, uncertainty, and doubt

These kinds of questions help you find the blockers and objections that your prospect might have. “A salesperson’s primary function is to overcome fear, uncertainty, and doubt,” said Holmes. “You can do everything else right in the sales cycle, but if you can’t do that, you can’t close.” In many instances, sometimes the best way to identify these fears is to simply ask. It can be as straightforward as, “what are your biggest concerns about this deal or product?” This gives you the opportunity to address the fears, and help reassure the buyer that you can handle their concerns. More often than not, the prospect will be relieved that they can trust you.

To learn more about asking sales questions, watch the expert sales interview!

About our Host:

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.