Editorial

It is a much-debated question, so to coincide with theeighth anniversary of the formation of the TSWContributors Team; I am going to share my thoughts onthe subject.

To begin with, I think that anyone calling himselfor herself a “top sales expert” probably isn’t!

It’s rather like telling someone that you have highlevels of integrity; or that you are a great lover; or thatyou are kind to animals; or that you are incrediblybrave. I mean, have you ever had to trust yourself?Make love to yourself? Given yourself a pat? Givenyourself a fright? So how do you know? These cannotbe personal attributes that are “self-awarded” but ratherobservations made by a third-party or parties.

“Guru” is another word that seems to be tossedaround like confetti more and more frequently todescribe anyone with an opinion about anything salesrelated, and it seems to me that the more one has tosay, the more likely it is that they will earn that “mantle”even though much of what they are actuallywriting/discussing/suggesting, might be of little value.This is the quantity versus quality fallacy.

Our primary objective when we formed the TSWteam all those years ago, was to gather together asmany of the foremost thought leaders within the salesspace as we possibly could, so that we wouldcollaborate; share ideas and work together to

continually improve standards within the profession.TSW is a very eclectic group of individuals, each

with their own area of specialization: Some are best-selling authors; some have built huge globalconsultancies; some only operate within the Fortune500 arena; others prefer to work with SME companies;a few go out of their way to be highly visible and indeed,vociferous; others work “under the radar” - BUT, allhave at least one common characteristic, they “get it”

That is to say, working to “win-win” principles, issecond nature to them, and they all give generously.

Despite a common misconception, we don’t allowjust anybody in. We nominate just four new membersevery year, and each of those have to receive at leastthree references from existing members.

The TSW team is populated by genuine salesexperts, but they would never admit it!

Jonathan FarringtonCEOTop Sales World

PS: Do get across to Top Sales World as often asyou can – there are new resources being addedevery day, from the world’s leading sales experts,and it is all FREE.

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 20142

What Makes a Top Sales Expert?

Contents August 26th 2014

Editors: Jonathan Farrington & Linda Richardson JF@topsalesworld.comDesign: Bill Jeckells bill@billjeckells.comPublished by: Top Sales World http://topsalesworld.com/

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Sales Enablement vsSales EffectivenessJonathan Farringtoninterviews Mark Kopcha,President and CEO ofRevegy Page 4

Top Sales Article& Blog PostAugust 26th2014 Page 15

Top Sales World is Sponsored by

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 3

Are You Adaptable?By Barb Giamanco

Two Sales Coaching Strategies toBoost Sales Performance By Kevin Davis

Defining Sales Functions AndPrograms – How to Define YourCharterBy Tamara Schenk

Healthy Sellers are ProfitableSellersBy Colleen Francis

This Week’s Interview

JF: How do you define SalesEnablement versus SalesEffectiveness?

MK: There is no shortage ofdefinitions for Sales Enablement asevery sales related technologycompany and analyst firm havetheir own. The result is that SalesEnablement has become a verybroad term applied to anything thathelps sales sell. It’s origin andprimary definition however hasbeen with marketing teams

“enabling” sales by providingcontent and collateral.

Sales Effectiveness on the otherhand is easier to define. It is theportion of sales enablementfocused solely on assisting salesprofessionals and sales managersin the planning, strategy andexecution activities required todrive revenue. It is aboutintelligently infusing the rightdata/content into the sellingprocess and selling tools to assistwith critical thinking.

JF: What makes SalesEffectiveness the next big wave?

MK: For the past 5+ yearsmarketing automation has been atthe forefront of the CRM market.Today billions are spent onmarketing automation systemsthat identify, qualify, and deliverleads to the sales team.

However while the top of thefunnel is rapidly expanding little isbeing provided to sales teams,other than base CRM functionality,to help successfully driveopportunities through the bottomof the “funnel” or more effectivelymanage strategic accounts.

JF: Why do you say “you cannotafford to miss it?”

MK: Because you are entering intoan arms race over revenue andnothing is more important thanrevenue. In a world that hasbecome ultra-competitive, where“no decision” is a likely outcome,and where every dollar spent byour customers is thoroughlyscrutinized, winning is becomingmore and more difficult. Your salesteam must be equipped with themost powerful weapons/tools.These include intelligent salestools, mobile access, collaborativetechnologies, and big dataanalytics.

In a information rich worldwithout the right tools your salesteams could very well becomeparalyzed trying to find and

This week, Jonathan Farrington interviews Mark Kopcha,President and CEO of Revegy a leading provider of saleseffectiveness solutions

Sales Enablement vs Sales Effectiveness

August 26th Edition 2014 Top Sales World Magazine 4

The JF Interview

organize the information needed tohelp them develop theirplan/strategy, leaving them evenless time for execution.

JF: What can companies can dotoday to start their saleseffectiveness journey?

MK: Call Revegy NOW! Seriously,companies do not have to have it allfigured out to start their journey. Westrongly encourage companies tostart by evaluating what elementsof a standard planning program,(process mapping, relationshipmapping, strategic planning, etc)will deliver the strongest impact andstart there. Once your teams havemastered that and are seeing valueintroduce them to the next.

JF: Why should executives care?

MK: No matter what our specificcorporate goals are they alwaysinclude improved revenueperformance. Having sales teamsfinding new customers and account

management teams ensuringexisting customers are renewing(and if possible buying more fromus) is paramount to businesshealth. As managers our job is tomake sure we eliminate as muchexecution risk as possible byensure we have equipped our

teams to be successful by providingthem with the weapons/tools theyneed to compete and win. �

You can also listen to the audioversion of this interview HERE.

About Mark KopchaA 25-year veteran of the software industry and thefounder of Revegy, Mark is responsible for thestrategic vision of the company and its solutions. ManagingRevegy’s day-to-day operations, he applies decades of experiencegained in the leadership position of notable technology firms.Before establishing Revegy in 2005 Mark served as president ofMediZeus, Inc., a provider of medical software solutions designedto assist physicians in the diagnosis of complex diseases.Previously, Mark founded the startup Novient, Inc. and was thedriving force behind the company’s vision, culture, product,market direction and service offerings. He was instrumental ingrowing the firm from two employees to a staff of 250professionals achieving annual revenue of more than $20 million.Mark has received numerous awards for his leadership andaccomplishments. He was a Finalist for the Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur of the Year and was named to the Georgia Trend listof 40 Under 40 Rising Stars. Find out more about Revegy HERE

Join our lively LinkedIn groupand rub shoulders with the topsales experts in the world.

And follow us on Twitter (we willfollow you back).

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 5

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Barb Giamanco

Acolleague of mine told me hercompany faced sales issues

related to time management. Shehad suggested her Sales VP talk tome. At the time, I offered anexcellent time managementprogram. Given what we knewabout the situation, my colleagueand I felt my program would be abenefit, however, it would be threeweeks before my meeting.

Walking into the VP’s office that

morning, I was prepared to talkabout a time management solution.That isn’t exactly how it worked out.After a few pleasantries, the SalesVP asked me to remind her why Iwas there. I told her why she’dinitially agreed to meet and that’swhen it happened. She said, “Oh, Isee. Well, since I agreed to meetwith you, we’ve solved the timemanagement problem.”

Was I surprised? Yes. Did I let

that rattle me? No. Congratulations,I said. I’d love to hear what you didto solve the problem. As the VP wastelling me about the solution shepurchased, it was obvious that shewas proud of her decision. I knewthen that there was no point evenmentioning my program; yet, this isexactly where many salespeoplewould have blown it.

Whether through lack ofexperience or an unwillingness tolet go of their sales agenda, manysalespeople would have simplypushed on to pitch their solution.Wrong! I knew that doing so wouldhave offended this VP, which is thelast thing you want to happen.

I decided that I had nothing tolose by asking her a question. Isaid, if you were going to investbudget in training your salespeoplein another area, where would thatbe?

That question turned out to beextremely profitable, as ituncovered a more lucrative salesopportunity. Her sellers were notvery good at developing newbusiness. It was clear that this wasa serious problem she wanted tosolve. We now talked about how mycompany could help.

If you sell only one product,perhaps the situation wouldn’t haveended as well for you as it did forme. The point is that circumstanceschange. Prepare for theunexpected. If you can’t adapt androll with it, you’re sunk. �

Are You Adaptable?Adaptability is crucial in selling. I am reminded of a certainsales meeting a few years ago that illustrates whyadaptability is important.

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 7

You can find out more about Barb Giamanco by visiting: www.scs-connect.com

There were two themes I heardabout The first was, “I start and

end every day with coaching. Bigchange!”

Though coaching is somethingthat sales managers tells me theywant to do more often, they all

seem to struggle with truly makingit their #1 priority every day. Why?Because they’re too busyresponding to emails, dealing withunexpected problems, answeringcalls and texts, finishing work fromthe day before, etc.

It’s not easy to break out of thatcycle — in part because they’vetrained people to expect quickresponses from them on any issuethrown their way.

What made the difference forthe sales managers in this

August 26th Edition 2014 Top Sales World Magazine 8

Recently I conducted a webinar for a large company whose sales managers hadcompleted our Sales Coaching & Leadership Workshop a few months earlier. I started byasking them, “What is the most significant change you’ve made in your salesmanagement style in the last 60 days?”

Two Sales Coaching Strategies toBoost Sales Performance

Kevin Davis

company was asking themselvesone the key question: Are there anyof those busy work activities that –if I did them effectively andconsistently – would significantlyimprove my team’s sales results?

The answer was no. All thosethings may feel important or urgentin the moment, but none of themhave a lasting impact on how wellyour team performs.

One way to tell the differencebetween an urgent timewaster anda truly important task is who initiatesthe activity. Timewasters are almostalways initiated by someone else…and in responding to them, you areautomatically in a reactive mode.Rather than fighting every firealarm, fight the impulse to answerevery email, every text, every callthat comes your way. Become verydeliberate about how you respondto tasks that others would have youdo—and you’ll have more time to docoaching at the start and end ofevery day, just the like themanagers I was talking to.

The second theme I heardabout from the sales managers

was that they are now diagnosing arep’s sales performance problemby looking at two different factors:skill deficiencies and willdeficiencies. As you know, skilldeficiencies are easy to correct.“Just teach and show … and awaythey go.”

Deficiencies in will—reps’attitude and mental approach to thejob—are much more difficult tosolve and is perhaps a reason whythey get overlooked so often. Butthese managers realized they hadto try because of the negativeimpact on the team if they didn’tchange. One person with a badattitude on the team can negativelyimpact everyone on the team. Youcannot ignore the situation.

When dealing with will/attitudeproblems, the action steps had tobe tailored to the specific situationof the rep.

Suppose, for example, that youhave a sales rep who used to do alot of prospecting but now theactivity level has fallen off. Clearlyhe or she has the skill becausethey’ve done prospectingsuccessfully before. Here are a fewsteps to help you find a solution.

Start by asking the rep why heor she is not making as many calls.Make sure you don’t soundaccusatory. Really listen to therep’s reply. Probe the issue. Maybethe rep has reached a comfort zonein terms of income, making enoughmoney to pay the bills. Or maybethere are some issues at homeinterfering with the rep’s

concentration. There could becountless reasons.

Then tie your intervention planto the source of the lack of will. Forexample, if the problem is a lack ofprospecting linked to incomecomplacency, make it clear justhow much more the rep couldmake by finding just one or twomore sales each month.

Next, get the rep to think aboutwhat they could do with that extraincome—are they saving for ahouse? exotic vacation? child’seducation? new car? Whatsomeone can do with money isusually more motivating than theamount of money itself.

The trick to improving will is tofind out what really motivates anddemotivates that rep. Do what youcan to remove the demotivation,and work to enhance themotivators. For example, if the repwants to move up in the company,find ways to let him or her take onadditional responsibility to provetheir readiness for a position withmore responsibility.

It’s pretty easy to tell salesmanagers to focus more on theimportant not urgent and learningto address will as well as skill.Those aren’t complicated ideas.But the messiness of everyday lifemakes it challenging to implementthese “simple” steps. Still, thosetwo changes will have such a bigimpact on your effectiveness everyday that it’s worth the effort. �

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 9

You can find out more about Kevin Davis by visiting: www.toplineleadership.com

Suppose, for example,that you have a salesrep who used to do alot of prospecting butnow the activity levelhas fallen off. Clearlyhe or she has the skillbecause they’ve done

prospectingsuccessfully before.

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Based on your target audience(sales and sales manager

roles, partners, etc.), a tag line,objectives, strategies, your servicesand metrics have to be defined. Foryou as a sales leader make sureyour sales functions completethese charters. Also, make surethey connect the dots between thedifferent charters to set afoundation for effectivecollaboration.

Create a tag line to addressyour target audienceA tag line should capture yourvision in an inspiring way. That’show people will feel about yourfunction, initiative or program. Anexample could be: Let’s changefrom “I have to sell a product” to “Ilove to solve my customer’sproblems.”

Define objectives Tangible and measurableobjectives have to be defined -based on vision, mission, purpose -to get you where you want to be,step by step. An example could be“The CRM collaboration platformwill go live August 1 for selectedusers, migration will be completedby Oct 30” or “to implementinteractive playbooks untilSeptember, to decreasesalespeople’s search time by 20

percent.” Usually a set of objectiveslead to your vision.

Define strategies androadmapA strategy refers to a plan of actionwhich is designed to achieve thedefined objectives. Detailing thestrategies, the activities have to bederived from, and connected to theobjectives that have to be achieved.Make sure you cover all objectives.Don’t forget so called “soft” topicsas change, adoption andcommunication. Think about thetarget audience you provideservices for. Then create a roadmap based on your plans ofactions.

Define your services andofferingsYour services and offerings arewhat’s visible to your defined targetaudience, the different roles withinthe sales force and channels. Yourservices are what people use andhow they will perceive yourfunction. Define those services foreach target group. Those servicesare e.g. sales enablement content,interactive playbooks, trainingservices, a performance

management framework or acoaching guideline.

Define metricsDefine how to measure success.Metrics depend on your charter. Ifthere are services to beimplemented for the first time,milestones are important. Ifservices are already in place, theirimpact on sales performance andhow efficient these services areproduced matters more.

Now, put it all together: Beginwith your target audience, integratevision, mission and purpose, addthese topics and create acompelling charter. It will becomeyour go-to-resource for any kind ofinternal selling, communication,change and adoption situation. �

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 11

Defining Sales Functions And Programs – How to Define Your CharterVision, mission and purpose are already defined here - a fewmore specific steps to go to create a compelling charter.

You can find out more about Tamara Schenk by visiting: http://blog.tamaraschenk.com

August 26th Edition 2014 Top Sales World Magazine 12

Afew days of this and you’ll befeeling pretty rough. But go

beyond that – regularly neglectingboth your physical and mentalwellbeing – and you’ll simply robyourself of the ability to perform andnetwork with clients to the fullest.And, you’ll set yourself up for seriousrepercussions. Just ask AriannaHuffington, owner of the award-winning Huffington Post.

Two years into her venture shewoke up on the floor of her office in apool of blood with a brokencheekbone. She had been routinelypulling long hours and skippingsleep for her digital news site.Finally, her body said “Enough!” andshe collapsed in exhaustion againstthe edge of her desk. This wake-upcall led to the publication of her book

Thrive, which shares scientificresearch about the connectionbetween wellbeing and productivity.

So, what does it mean tomaintain your wellbeing as a seller?It means you can:

� Work at peak energy, especiallywhen meeting with customers � Be balanced both physically andmentally so you come across aspositive, motivated and excited –exuding an energy that people wantto be around � Be present and focused� Be creative and solve problemsquickly

I fortunately haven’t been sick on theroad for at least ten years. And Itravel on airplanes a lot, which are

incubators for germs. I attribute myhealth to a few key methods Ipractice to stay balanced.

If you’ve fallen off the wagon,follow these tips to regain yourwellbeing and be at your best.:

Count those sheep

According to the National SleepFoundation, we need seven to ninehours of sleep each night. Everyonecan survive a little deprivation oncein a while, like taking a red-eye flighthome from a conference or pullingan all-nighter to write a proposal.

However, we need to make up forthat loss of sleep or we won’t be fullyfunctional. Our hormones thatcontrol appetite will get out of whackand lead to weight gain. And we’lltrigger inflammation in the body thatcan cause illness. Instead offollowing up with clients in the weekafter that tradeshow – a crucialwindow of time, – we’ll find ourselvesout sick.

Here are a few techniques to helpyou sleep:

� Turn off all electronics – laptop,smartphone, Kindle, TV – an hourbefore bedtime. The latest studiesindicate the light from these devicesinterferes with the secretion of thehormone melatonin, which brings onsleepiness at sundown.

� Eliminate any light in thebedroom as this also interferes withyour natural sleep cycle. Turn youralarm clock away from the bed and

You know how it goes. You’re having a hectic week ofclient meetings or at a tradeshow and things begin toslide in the self-care department. Eat a greasy meal here,pull a late night there, and then load up on caffeine topush through.

Healthy Sellers are Profitable Sellers

Colleen Francis

put your smartphone on the floor orin another room. Also consider usingan eye mask.

� If you’re head’s swirling withstressful thoughts, jot them down onpaper. I once told a client sufferingfrom stress-related insomnia to keepa gratitude journal. Before bed eachnight, they listed ten things theywere grateful for that day - and theydidn’t need to be work-related.“Choosing a healthy dinner” and“Calling my mother” counted. Thishelped my client achieve a positiveframe of mind that made them sleepmore soundly.

Schedule R&R timeA fellow business owner is having agreat year – likely to finish with asalary of half a million to $600,000. Irecently asked if he was taking timeoff this summer. His reply? “No way!I haven’t been doing well enough forlong enough to take time off.”

He believes just a couple daysaway with his family will cause hisbusiness to plummet. This attitudeharkens back to the 1980s and 90swhen being busy rather thanproductive was the focus. Sincethen, many have realized it’s not thebest way to work.

The truth is we all need to restand recharge our batteries. Evenunplugging for the weekend canmake a difference. Another clientlearned this the hard way by pushinghimself to a heart attack.

He was pulling 60-hour weeksand couldn’t turnoff. When he didtake that rare vacation with his wife,he left the cottage every day forStarbucks to check his work e-mail.This client wasn’t a business owner

and had a large corporate structurearound him, so it was completelyunnecessary.

I tell clients to think of it this way:Selling is a creative pursuit. Takinga step back gives you a freshperspective on the business. Yourmind’s free to entertain new ideasabout how to achieve bettersuccess when you return fromvacation.

You are what you eatMy former co-workers and I used tosay if you’re going to work atradeshow booth you can’t surviveon a bag of Fritos™ for lunch.Otherwise, you’ll be a zombie byafternoon.

Eating clean – especially on theroad – is one of the hardest things todo, but it makes a huge difference. Ialso like to carry snacks, which ishelpful when you don’t know whatwill be available to you.

Here are smart choices for thatafternoon pick-me-up:

� Protein bars� Nuts – especially almonds� Sugar-free dried fruit

The sales field also has a traditionof social drinking. And I’m certainlyknown to enjoy wine with dinnerand a glass of scotch for dessert!You take a client out to discussthings in a more relaxed setting.Limit yourself on the booze,though, and be sure to drink lots ofwater – especially if you’ll be flyingout. You don’t want to return to the

office dehydrated, which takesmore than one day to fix.

Go verticalWhen it comes to exercise, weeklyactivity is important, and here’sanother tip: Standup. Back in 2012,the New York Times and NPRreported that getting up from yourdesk every 20 minutes and standingfor two minutes can profoundlyaffect your health and focus. One ofmy clients has a complete openoffice structure with rows of desksand no dividers betweenworkstations. All the desks andchairs are fully adjustable soemployees can raise them to a levelwhere they’re standing and thenlower them to sit.

Another client, a Fortune 10customer, programmed theircomputers to send a reminder totake a break every 45 minutes; to gograb water, stretch and chat with aneighbor. This works well for sellerssince they’re usually high-energyand don’t like to be still for too long.

Creating a work environment likethis that gets you moving, in additionto eating clean, sleeping enoughand scheduling R&R time, areamong the best investments youcan make toward your wellbeingand your job performance. Makethese adjustments, and you’ll beworking and networking to your fullpotential. Remember, you can’tmake sales if you are flat on yourback, sick in bed! �

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 13

You can find out more about Colleen Francis by visiting: www.engageselling.com

In this era of iPads, iPhones, and apps, sales communications may be growing, but sales conversations are dying-and so are too many sales. Globalization,

the explosion in competition, the slow economy, and fast-emerging technologies all have changed buying habits. Salespeople can no longer rely on the traditional

sales methodologies.

It is time to change the conversation.

Top Sales Article & Blog Posts

Sales process is not about howyou sell but how the customer

buys.Every company needs a sales

process, right? Well, sort of. Thesales process inside most firmslook something like this:

� Engage customer.� Investigate needs.� Present a product.� Demonstrate the product.� Propose a purchase.� Negotiate terms.� Answer objections.� Close the deal.

There’s only one problem: thiskind of sales process never works.

Here’s why. Customers don’twant you to sell anything to them.Customers have their own ideaabout how they want to buysomething. They deeply resent itwhen you try to make them danceto your pre-determined tune.

To be effective, a sales processmust be based upon the customer’sbuying process, which is the set ofdecisions that the customer wantsto make, in the order that thecustomer wants to make them.

Earlier this week, I wrote the "GetYour Butt Out of Your Head"

article. At that same tournament, Iheard an even funnier story from itsdirector. He told us about a teamwho went 0-7, losing each game bythe mercy rule. For those of youwho aren't familiar with it, if a teamis losing by 12 runs or more after 4full innings, the game is stopped,showing mercy to the team whowas getting slaughtered.

As the story goes, while theparents were back in their hotels,contemplating suicide, worryingabout the mental health of their

kids, and calling their therapists todeal with their horrible week, thekids on the losing team threw aparty! They even invited thebeloved tournament director, andwhen he arrived, he asked each kidfor a word that described theirweek. All the answers were great,but when he asked the last kid forhis word, the kid said, "Joy." Whenpushed for an explanation, the kidsimply said that, "When a teamplays against us, we give them joy!"

Isn't that a great way to framelosing?

Read More Here�

Read More Here�

This Week’s Top Sales ArticleThe Real Truth About Sales Process By Geoffrey James

This Week’s Top Sales Blog PostTop 10 Mistakes Salespeople Make on thePhone (Funny Read) By Dave Kurlan

Top Sales World Magazine August 26th Edition 2014 15

August 26th Edition 2014 Top Sales World Magazine 16

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