Meridith Elliott PowellDave KurlanJoe GalvinTamara SchenkBrian SullivanTom O'KeefeDan McDadeBarb GiamancoMike EsterdayGeorge Brontén

Top Sales World Launches New Roundtable Series

Top Book Review ­ The Introvert’s Edgeby Mathew Pollard

Jonathan Farrington interviews Deb Calvert,co­author of the new book Stop Selling & Start Leading,

a behavioral blueprint for sellers based on buyer preferences

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 20182

Why You’reLosing Sales3 Sales.Strategies ToTurn It AllAround Meridith ElliottPowell

12

Consistency,Not HeroicsDrives RevenueDave Kurlan

1416 Why Strategic

SalesEnablementFollows A Two­Step Approach Tamara Schenk

18

Fingerprints toSuccess Brian Sullivan

20 B2B Sales:Navigating theMeteors ofChange Tom O'Keefe

22

5 TipsOptimMarkSales Dan M

2

MeasuringImprovement Joe Galvin

s tomizeeting &ROI

McDade

24Where are theWomen inSales?Barb Giamanco

2728

Editors: Jonathan Farrington JF@topsalesworld.comLinda Richardson linda@lindarichardson.comDesign: Bill Jeckells bill@billjeckells.comPublished by: Top Sales World A JF INITIATIVE

Stop Selling & Start LeadingJonathan Farrington interviewsDeb Calvert, co­author of thenew book Stop Selling & StartLeading, a behavioral blueprintfor sellers based on buyerpreferencesPAGE 10

Featured Top Partnerof the Month Vantage PointPAGE 32

Top Book Review The Introvert’s Edge by Mathew PollardPAGE 34

Is Bragging Good for Business?Jonathan Farrington PAGE 6

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 3

Don’t be thatboss! Be thatcoach!Mike Esterday Better Content

Is Not theSolution to YourSales ProblemsGeorge Brontén

30

ContentsMARCH 2018

TOP SALES MAGAZINE

Top Sales PostFebruary 2018PAGE 35

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 20184

For 2018, we have brought together some of the most experienced, successful andforward thinking sales experts on the planet, to contribute regularly to Top Sales Magazine.They provide thought-provoking commentary and thought leadership on a wide range ofsales issues.

2018 Feature Writers

Dr Tony AlessandraHall­of­Fame Keynote Speakerand Founder ofAssessments24x7.com

Joanne BlackFounder, No More ColdCalling® Best selling author.

Tiffani BovaSales Strategist and FuturistGlobal Growth and InnovationEvangelist, Salesforce.

George BronténFounder & CEO of Membrain,Award­Winning Blogger &Software Pioneer.

Jim CathcartBestselling author ofRelationship Selling + 17 otherbooks. Top 1% TEDx video.

Frank V. CespedesTeaches at Harvard BusinessSchool; author of AligningStrategy and Sales.

Jim DickieCo­founder and IndependentResearch Director CSOInsights and Sales EnablementCreatologist.

Colleen FrancisPresident and Founder ofEngage Selling Solutions andbestselling author of NonstopSales Boom.

Joe GalvinChief Research Officer VistageWorldwide.

Barb GiamancoKeynote Speaker, Author,Corporate Webcast Host SocialCentered Selling CEO.

Kevin EikenberryChief Potential Officer, TheKevin Eikenberry Group.

Deb CalvertPresident, People FirstProductivity Solutions. Authorof DISCOVER Questions GetYou Connected.

2018 Feature Writers

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 5

Tony J. HughesManaging Director, RSVPsellingPty Ltd. Keynote Speaker,Sales Improvement Consultant,Bestselling Author.

Jay MitchellPresident, Mereo LLCRevenue Performance Advisorand Board Member.

Dan WeinfurterChief Growth Officer at DCRWorkforce. Author of SecondStage Entrepreneurship.

Mark Hunter“The Sales Hunter,”prospecting thought leader andauthor of best­selling book,“High-Profit Prospecting.”

Jason JordanPartner at Vantage Point andAuthor of Cracking the SalesManagement Code.

Jill KonrathKeynote Speaker, Author, 3 Bestselling Sales Books,Award­Winning Sales Blogger.

Dave MattsonCEO & President of SandlerTraining.

Dave KurlanBest­Selling Author, KeynoteSpeaker, CEO of bothObjective Management Groupand Kurlan & Associates.

Bernadette McClellandHead of Sales Transformationand Enablement at SalesLeaders Global Pty Limited.

Linda RichardsonFounder of Richardson, BestSelling Author, Consultant,Faculty Wharton GraduateSchool.

Tamara SchenkResearch DirectorCSO Insights.

Colleen StanleyPresident of SalesLeadership,Inc., Best Selling Author ofEmotional Intelligence for SalesSuccess …”

Brian SullivanVice­President of SandlerEnterprise Selling at SandlerTraining.

Keith RosenAward winning author, CEO ofProfit Builders and founder ofCoachquest.

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 20186

Is Bragging Good for Business?

Doesn’t it make sense to allow followers,readers, prospects, etc. to decide howgood/suitable we are? Is it necessary to

bombard them with boasts of how many followerswe have on the various social media channels or theawards that we may have won?

As an example, Sweden is one of the most

innovative countries in the world, yet has a businessculture that discourages bragging about its success.

From household names such as Spotify andSkype, to gaming leaders King and Mojang andcashless payment companies iZettle and Klarna,Sweden is a hotspot for industry­changing newtechnologies.

Despite just 10 million inhabitants occupying aland mass largely defined by forest wilderness, theNordic nation has in recent years created morebillion dollar companies per capita than anywhereelse outside Silicon Valley.

Last month, Sweden was top in Europe inBloomberg's global innovation ranking.

The more familiar narrative for Sweden's start­upsuccess story typically touches on several factors. Ithas a strong digital infrastructure, a highly educated,

I have often wonderedwhether overt self-promotion improves one’sability to attract morecustomers/clients or in factachieves the oppositeresult – alienation?

Editorial

tech­savvy workforce, and an ideal population sizefor testing new innovations.

And for those whose ideas don't take flight, thereis a strong social welfare net to set them back ontheir feet.

Since the death of Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad ­and obituaries highlighting his humility and frugality ­these firmly­embedded cultural traits haverecaptured attention.

"Trying to keep boasting to a minimum andfinding a consensus so that everybody is on thesame page" remain two of the most pervasivepractices in the Swedish workplace, says LolaAkinmade Akerstrom, a former programmer andnow a cultural commentator, who highlighted this inher recent book “Lagom: The Swedish Secret of LivingWell”

While the language in other innovation hubsmight focus on individual rockstar CEOs "killing it"; inSwedish businesses "it's about everybody gettingtogether, making sure their voices are heard equally,so that they can all reach an optimal solutiontogether," she says.

At least part of this consensus­based culture hasits roots in what Swedes call 'Jantelagen' (the Law ofJante) which draws its modern name from a towncalled Jante depicted in a 1933 novel by Danish­Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose.

This describes a centuries­old tradition thatdiscourages extravagant displays of wealth orsuccess and deconstructs hierarchies. In otherwords, nobody should consider themselves betterthan anyone else.

In the workplace, Jantelagen creates a morecollaborative, as opposed to a more competitive,environment because it's trying to remove all thestress points of competition or feeling like you'rebetter than each other.

Andreas Eriksson founded a community forentrepreneurs in the mountainous town of Are

About 400 miles north of the Swedish capital, theconcept is being discussed over strong cups ofcoffee on the minimalist wooden benches and soft

bean bags inside House Be, a co­working space andmembership club for outdoor­loving tech workers inthe mountainous town of Are.

Despite a population of just 5,000, Are has thehighest proportion of young entrepreneurs in thecountry, according to the Confederation of SwedishEnterprise (Svenskt Naringsliv), with many peopledrawn by opportunities to spend time on the slopesor out hiking, while also building a business.

The hub was co­founded by Spotify's formerinternational growth manager, Ulrika Viklund, whoargues that the most positive aspect of Jantelagen inthe start­up scene is that it encourages people to"help each other out more".

"We usually don't have this big boss that sits in acorner office and take all the decisions," she explains.

"At Spotify it wouldn't have been possible tosucceed without this working culture where all thecompetences in the company are utilised becauseeveryone is allowed to be innovative and say whatthey believe is the right thing to do."

I consider myself very fortunate to be given theopportunity to work with 2 Swedish entrepreneurs,George Brontén and Christer Jansson as theircompanies are both Top Sales World Elite Partners.

George, CEO and founder of Membrain, is a life­long entrepreneur, with 20 years of experience inthe software space and a passion for sales andmarketing. With the life motto “Don’t settle formainstream,” George is always looking for new waysto achieve improved business results usinginnovative software, skills and processes.

Christer is a founder and CEO of ConfidentApproach. He is also a founder of the CallReluctance Institute of Europe 2011, Belbin SvenskaAB 1991 and Belbin Malta 2011.

They are both committed exponents ofJantelagen! n

Jonathan Farrington is the CEO ofTop Sales World. You can also follow him

on LinkedIn here and catch up with theJF Interview Series here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 7

Do you and your sales team speak the same language?

Consistent processes are key for managers and their sales teams.

Get your free chapter of The Sandler Rules for Sales Leaders by Sandler Training’s President & CEO, Dave Mattson.

Learn the best practices for sales leaders including:

• How to create self-sufficiency• The real power behind proper recruiting• Creating a culture of accountability• Addressing uncomfortable issues• How to manage individuals while leading the team

Download your free chapter so you can establish a sales management process that works.

©2018 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. S Sandler Training (with design) is a registered service mark of Sandler Systems, Inc.

No More Cold Calling:How to Sell More With Referrals (3/13/18)

In this live virtual course, facilitated by Joanne Black, the world's foremost expert on referral basedselling gives you the tools, techniques, and system to eliminate cold calling and build your pipelineand business on a solid foundation of high value referrals. No More Cold Calling: How to Sell MoreWith Referrals is taught over 8 weeks through live interactive sessions, hands-on coaching,collaborative discussion boards, and self-directed modules designed to help you master referral.

You’re busy. Sometimes it feels as if you’re on a giant hamster wheel. No matter how much time youspend prospecting, you don’t get any further ahead.

If you’re working too hard and still not getting the sales leads that you need, it’s time to get off thespinning wheel and take action.

Get every meeting with one call with referral selling. You receive an introduction from someone yourprospect knows and trusts. You close business faster; your cost of sales plummets; and yourconversion rate skyrockets. Imagine the power of hitting your numbers without hitting the phones,with less sweat and results you can bank on.

Whether you’ve been selling for years and need to sharpen your skills, or you’re new to sales andwant to quickly boost your bottom line, this deep dive into referral selling shows you exactly how toreplace unproductive prospecting tactics with real-time referral results.

You will attend eight live, virtual sessions with Joanne in a small group setting (all sessions arerecorded).

FULL DETAILS HERE

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201810

Stop Selling & Start Leading

JF: Before writing Stop Selling & Start Leading, youconducted a great deal of research and analysiswith both buyers and sellers. Will you describe theresearch and your findings for me?DC: In recent years, there's been a great deal ofspeculation and hypothesizing about what modern,empowered buyers want from sellers. We decidedto go straight to the source. We conducted a panelstudy with 530 B2B buyers representing a cross­section of industries, demographics, decision­making authority, and purchase complexity. Weasked these buyers about 30 behaviors that aremore often associated with leadership than withselling. We learned that buyers want to see higherfrequency in all 30 leadership behaviors from thesellers they do business with. Next, we asked sellersto tell us stories about their personal best in selling.We looked for these same leadership behaviors inthe stories 500 sellers told us. And, in fact, we founda strong correlation between these leadership

behaviors and seller success. We now know thatleadership behaviors are strongly preferred bybuyers and are evident when sellers makeextraordinary sales.

JF: I am curious to learn how you chose those 30behaviors?DC: These behaviors come from an evidence­basedmodel of leadership known as The Five Practices ofExemplary Leadership®. My co­authors Jim Kouzesand Barry Posner have been conducting researchand writing about their findings for three decades.Their research has been validated by over 500academic studies, and over 1.3 million respondentsfrom around the world have participated. The 30behaviors, sorted into The Five Practices, have beenconsistently proven to make leaders more effective.Leaders who choose these behaviors morefrequently get higher levels of employeeengagement, and people more willingly follow them.We set out to discover whether buyers wouldrespond similarly to sellers who exhibited thesebehaviors.

JF: Of those leadership practices, which ones standout most?DC: Let me preface this by saying that all five arefavorable. Buyers want to see them all!

But there are two practices that stand out. The

Jonathan Farringtoninterviews Deb Calvert, co-author of the new bookStop Selling & Start Leading,a behavioral blueprint for

sellers based on buyer preferences.

The Jonathan Farrington Interview

first because it’s the one sellers expect buyers torank at the top. That practice is known as Inspire aShared Vision. But when we asked them to rank thepractices, Inspire a Shared Vision fell to the bottom.That's important for sellers to know. If they’reemphasizing this practice, they may be neglectingthe other four that buyers value more.

The second noteworthy practice is the onebuyers ranked at the top. That one is known asEnable Others to Act. It pertains to collaborating,helping others develop competence and confidence,sharing decision making, and co­creating solutions.Sellers typically rank this behavior low and believethey should do the work for buyers instead of withbuyers. But buyers feel differently. They stronglydesire opportunities to be involved and to put theirpersonal imprint on plans and solutions.

JF: More specifically, what are these “EnableOthers to Act” behaviors?DC: They range from treating others with dignityand respect to the one that rated at the very top –“The seller answers my questions in a timely andrelevant manner.” In their comments, buyersexpressed frustration when their questions –particularly price questions – are ignored orsidelined. Another behavior within this practice is forsellers to conduct two­way dialogue instead ofasking scripted questions, not listening and “stayingin the moment,” or disregarding buyer input. Theprimary takeaway from this practice is that buyerswant to be active participants in creating what theywant. They want their input, opinions and decisionsto be dignified with seller responsiveness. Theywant sellers to create experiences for them that arepersonal and meaningful because they are involved.

JF: Debs, what are the outcomes when sellersexhibit these behaviors more frequently?DC: When sellers exhibit these behaviors morefrequently, buyers are more likely to meet with themand more likely to buy from them. What's more,stepping into their leadership potential gives sellers

confidence and a certain swagger that makes themmore effective in selling. Seller stories were rich withclear examples of leadership behaviors and showedobvious connections between these behaviors,buyers’ responses, and extraordinary salesoutcomes.

JF: Based on your findings, what recommendationsdo you have for Sales Managers and Executives?DC: Sales managers ought to consider demonstratedleadership behaviors as criteria for selecting sellers.Selecting candidates who already exhibit leadershipbehaviors will give sales organizations an advantage.Sellers who have discovered and unleashed theirleadership potential will connect with buyers and bemore effective. What’s more, this strengthens anorganization that is thinking long­term aboutworkplace culture and future managers who will alsoneed to exhibit leadership behaviors.

Further, senior executives and sales managersneed to model leadership behaviors. Leadershipdevelopment of sellers will be enhanced byleadership development for the people they reportto. Ideally, leadership at every level is the aim. That’swhat makes organizations strongest.

Sales teams shouldn’t over­rely on Challengerbehaviors because buyers want sellers to formmeaningful relationships with them before takingliberties and challenging them. The leadershippractice called Challenge the Process fell belowthree others related to forming relationships.Buyers’ emphatic comments underscored theimportance of demonstrating credibility, respect andunderstanding before leaping to challenge buyers’decisions and ideas.

Finally, managers must ennoble sellers to think ofthemselves as leaders. This elevates relationshipswith buyers and our entire profession. n

Deb Calvert is President of People FirstProductivity Solutions.

Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 11

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201812

Why You’re Losing Sales.3 Sales Strategies To Turn It All Around

Imake prospect lists when I want to feelproductive, or I am bored and stuck doingsomething I cannot get out of. Writing out my

prospects, looking at my pipelines, makes me feelboth productive and confident.

As I looked at these old lists, I quickly got out apen and piece of paper to see if any of these nameswere prospects I may have forgotten about andperhaps needed to make a call to. I was busyscouring my lists when one particular name caughtmy eye. A big conference that I had had on myprospect list for years, and one I always desperatelywanted to close.

I remembered I had been chasing this prospectfor years, trying any angle I could think of to get myfoot in the door. Despite my best efforts, never, notonce, not even a rejection letter, they had just neverresponded. So on this old list, I had put them underthe NO column. Which for me is something I rarelydo. My only thought is that I must have been sofrustrated with their lack of response that I countedthem out, and just crossed them off my list.

However, I did not remember marking them “no.”So, I continued to call on them, sending emails,sharing articles, connecting on LinkedIn. Using all ofmy follow­up techniques that keep me visiblewithout being annoying. Here is the funny part. Thevery day I found those prospect lists, the day I sawthat I had put that prospect squarely in the “no”column, I closed a major contract to speak for themin the coming year. How crazy is that?

It was such a massive reminder of how we neverknow what is going on with prospects. When myprospect, now client, called she shared that she hadwanted me for their conference for more than ayear. However, they book their speakers a year and a

This week, I was cleaningfiles and found a few oldprospects lists. They werejust short mini-lists I hadeither written on a plane, or

while I was not paying attention in ameeting.

Meridith Elliott Powell

half in advance and she had to wait until the timingwas right. She also thanked me, yes thanked me, forstaying in touch and continuing to keep her in theloop as to what I was doing and the value I couldbring to her meetings. Sharing that she had broughtall that to her committee, so making the decision wasso much easier.

There we have it, closing more sales is abouthaving the hutzpah to stay in the game! Finding waysto keep in touch and add value to prospects, andcontinuing to build the relationship. Research tells usthat most salespeople give up after the second orthird call, and that ironically, most prospects don’teven begin to take notice until the eighth touch.

If you’re losing sales, chances are it is becauseyou are not staying in the game. You are notremaining visible, and you are not top­of­mind whenyour prospect is ready to buy.

3 Strategies to Make Sure You Don’t LoseThe Sale

1. Pause and GoProspecting is one of the hardest things we do. It isthe art of contacting someone we don’t know to getthem to buy something they don’t know they need.So understand doing that may take a while.

You need a strategy that allows you the staminato be in it for the long­run. I call this the pause andgo. You put your foot on the gas and stay in front ofthem for three months. Then you pause take maybea month or two off, then you go again. This ensuresyou are not bombarding prospects with emails, callsor social media contacts. Yet you are staying in frontof them enough, so when they are ready to pull thetrigger you are their vendor of choice.

2. Up the ValueAlways remember that follow­up is about addingvalue, not winning business. What? Yep, you heardme the goal of follow­up is to add value, not to winbusiness. Why? Because if you focus on winningbusiness, then you are focused on yourself and your

goals. Focusing on adding value ensures you putyour energy and your resources where they belong– on your prospects. If you focus on adding value,then the business will come.

3. Get the ClueThere is so much good information in rejection orsilence from a prospect. When they do not respondat all, or if they say no, you need to get the clue.They are telling you a couple of very importantthings. First, they do not see the value in doingbusiness with you. Second, their need is not urgentenough, they have other priorities. So, your job is toget your ego out of the way (rejection is not a badthing and it is not personal) and learn from what yourprospect is telling you. Adjust your strategy and tryagain.

Why your losing sales is simple, you’re notfollowing up, and you do not have a strategy to stayvisible. Put these three strategies in place if you wantto turn that all around. n

Meridith Elliott Powell is the CEO ofMotionFirst. Find more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201814

Consistency, Not Heroics Drives Revenue

With about seven days to go, salesmanagers can’t schedule a meeting andwon’t come to the phone. They suspend

coaching their salespeople and holding themaccountable because something much moreimportant is taking place. Understand that this iscrunch time – they are down to the wire andattempting to salvage or make their monthly,quarterly or year­end numbers. They are expectedto provide some last minute heroics and once in awhile they actually do. But do you think that this ishow the sales plan was designed?

“Sales Plan: Have salespeople and their managersperform as they normally would during weeks 1­3and then, beginning on week 4, have everyone worktwice as hard, twice as long and with ten times thefeeling of desperation. Have them call on all currentlate­stage opportunities and offer incentives to

close by month’s end. If that doesn’t work, have theirmanagers make the calls. When that doesn’t work,offer larger incentives. Team up. Bring in somebodyeven higher up in the company. If that doesn’twork….” You get the picture.

Nothing about this practice makes sense:

l It wears people outl It empties the pipelinel It devalues the product/servicel It trains customers/clients/prospects to wait for

last minute discountsl It emphasizes terrible sales practicesl It trains salespeople to vary from your structured

sales processl It trains salespeople that it IS all about price, even

after you’ve trained them to sell valuel It puts more unnecessary emphasis on closing

despite the fact that closing is a natural outcomeof a structured sales process

l It takes the emphasis off of consistency anddiscipline

l It takes the emphasis off of filling the pipeline andmoving opportunities through the pipeline

I see this every month –perhaps you do too…

Dave Kurlan

The truth is that a company needs to have threethings in place:

l a well designed and optimized sales process (notone that is home grown);

l staged, milestone­centric, pipeline ;l Accountability toward the correct metrics to

keep the pipeline filled and drive revenue;

After these three important pieces of infrastructurehave been developed and you have retained orselected motivated, disciplined, strong, skilledsalespeople, the results are a by­product ofconsistency, not heroics. “A” Players simply followtheir plan each day, with discipline and consistency,and their sales managers hold them accountable tothat plan, and coach to the opportunities.

The plan? That is simply performing according tothe metrics that drive revenue. Those metrics canchange over time but they must always be

measurable and must always drive revenue. If youare focused on building the pipeline, the metricsshould support prospecting achievements. If you arefocused on moving opportunities through thepipeline or sales process, your metrics shouldsupport that.

No “A” Players? No excuse. If you aren’t willing toinvest the money to professionally develop yourunderachieving salespeople, replace them with “A”Players. If you aren’t willing or able to pay the pricefor “A” Players, you were probably trained as anaccountant, not an executive or sales leader. Getover it! Lousy salespeople are a line item. Greatsalespeople are an investment. There is a difference!

Consistency will outperform heroics every time. n

Dave Kurlan is CEO of ObjectiveManagement Group and Kurlan & Associates.

FInd out more here

In sales management, you have two choices. You can developyour leadership skills to catapult your professional success andthat of your teams or you can continue to perform at status quo.Today, a company needs every possible efficiency, effort andeffectiveness from its sales management and salespeople to getahead and emerge at the forefront of industry. Those companiesthat innovate are growing. This top­rated two day conference isjam­packed with sales management leadership training to helpdrive innovation, by showing sales leaders how to strategicallygrow sales.

Whether you have three salespeople or 3,000, an underachievingteam or a sales force that performs well, the competenciesnecessary to transform your sales force into a cohesive, overachieving team are the same. On May 22 and 23, 2018 in theBoston area, we provide the tools, strategies, tactics, mindset,knowledge and practice that you’ll need in order to transform your sales force and grow revenue and profit.

This powerful event has limited seating. Register here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201816

Measuring Improvement

Like all sales organizations they invest inresources and programs to improve the salesperson’s ability to find, win and retain

customers. They analyze their people andorganization, review the impact of operations andenablement and evaluate management executionto identify where there are opportunities to getbetter.

Measuring improvement requires a basis forcomparison. Benchmarking the sales organizationprovides sales leaders with a foundational source ofconsistent metrics from which comparisons can be

made. Establishing benchmark data points forperformance, resources and sales behaviors createsa composite view of what the sales organizations isdoing and how it is performing. Benchmarkcomparisons provide guidance to sales leaders asthey evaluate the contributions of their currentprograms and make decisions as to which initiativesto continue to fund and which to consider.

Once established, benchmarks measure changeas the benchmark data points increase or decrease.For sales organizations looking to increase salesheadcount, they would want to look at how toreduce new hire time to productivity. Changes tothe hiring strategy like using profiling to get bettermatches might reduce new hire fail rates, whichdrags the time to productivity metric down.Revamping new hire training curriculum orinvesting in automated learning systems might alsobe part of the strategy. Only by establishing thebaseline metric for new hire time to productivitycan sales leaders factually assess if and where theyare improving.

Continuous improvement isthe mantra of highperformance salesorganizations. They arealways looking for ways to

improve performance and increase salesproductivity.

Joe Galvin

Benchmark Data

Benchmarking is a core component of the salesstrategic decision­making process. It provides salesleaders with a foundational set of comparisonmetrics to incorporate into their strategic analysisand decision­making process. In absence ofbenchmark data, sales leaders must rely exclusivelyon their instinct, judgment and their leadershipteam to make decisions on how to improveperformance. Benchmarking creates a point in timeset of metrics that allows them toidentify strengths, target weaknessand prioritize resources based ontheir impact to performance.

Benchmark data can be classifiedinto two general types:

Performance: Performancebenchmarks integrate data fromfinancial systems to create anoperational profile of the resources,costs and results for the salesorganization. These data pointsfocused can be segmented by anydemographic like vertical market,sales role or geography. Performancebenchmarks generate metrics ofquantity. They capture the number ofsales reps of each type in territoryand how much quota do they carry. They analyzecost of sales and compare it with sales results indata points like cost of sales, revenue perheadcount or expense to revenue. Most commonly,sales organizations perform comparisons ofperformance based on quota or revenueachievement. Variable data input by sales into CRMsystems will add data on sales activities andopportunities

Behavioral: Behavioral benchmarks capture thebeliefs and attributes of how the sale organizationthinks and behaves. This is not financial data, ratherit is a measurement of sentiment and beliefs rangingfrom strongly agree to strongly disagree on a given

issue or topic. Behavioral benchmarks capture waythe sales organizations think and act in any givensituation. These benchmarks capture the quality ofthe activities they engage with their clients andprospects.

Compared to What?

Benchmark data can be compared in a variety ofways. The most powerful and impactful benchmarkcomparison is done internally. Creating and

establishing internal benchmark datafor performance and behaviorscomparisons allows salesorganizations to measureimprovement, more on that below.And because it is data from yourorganization about your organizationit relevance and immediacy arestrong

External benchmarks comparisonscompare your data with others.External benchmarks can be doneagainst a peer group of organizations(companies of similar size), a verticalsegmentation (companies in similarmarkets), geographic segmentations(companies in common locations) or asuperset of high performance, world­

class companies. External comparisons providecontext and focus for realistic analysis of the salesorganization.

The drive for continuous improvement requiresbenchmark data to establish foundational data forcomparison. Performance and behavior benchmarkscan be compared against internal or externalsegments. Measuring improvement requires salesorganizations can demonstrate increases against theestablished benchmark data. n

Joe Galvin is Chief Research OfficerVistage Worldwide. Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 17

“Only by

establishing thebaseline metric for

new hire time toproductivity can

sales leadersfactually assess if

and where theyare improving.

”

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201818

Why Strategic Sales Enablement Follows A Two-Step Approach

I’m constantly amazed at how often thecustomers are not even mentioned, nor includedin sales enablement frameworks and approaches

that are applied. “But sales enablement is about sales!” I hear you.

However, to be successful in the age of thecustomer, salespeople must adapt their strategies,their messaging, their skills and techniques to theway their buyers want to buy. So, sales enablementshould always have the customers at the core of itsefforts. “But how do I address salespeople'schallenges?” Things will fall into place if you give mea few minutes to explore the matter.

In the digital age of the customer, a high­performing sales force is not optional. It ismandatory. Effective selling requires salesprofessionals to align their strategies, activities, andbehaviors to the customer’s path.

In the age of the customer, salespeople have todeal with well­informed, over­informed, and alsomisinformed prospects and customers. Also, thespecifics of the business challenges their customersare dealing with, matter as well. Is the businesschallenge new to the buying team, or is it wellknown? And how risky is the challenge for theirorganization and their individual careers? Highlysuccessful sales professionals know how to createvalue at each stage of the customer’s path for allinvolved buyer roles, based on their specificbusiness challenges.

Creating value means different things at differentstages of the customer’s path, but it’s alwayscentered around being relevant, valuable anddifferentiating to help prospects and customersmove forward with their decision­making process:

What’s your focus whendesigning and creatingsales enablement services?What are the salesenablement frameworksyou work with? And whatdo they look like?

Tamara Schenk

l Creating value in the awareness phase is aboutcreating clarity regarding the actual business impactof a challenge, and it’s about providing perspectivesas to how prospects and customers can achievetheir desired results. In this phase, all efforts arefocused on helping prospects and customers todecide to tackle the issue or not.

l In the buying phase, creating value meansproviding detailed information about how thecustomer’s desired results can be achieved withyour solutions. It also means providing all therequired financial data to be integrated into thecustomer’s business case. Yes, into the customer’sbusiness case, because cost savings as such are onlythe door­opener to business impact.

l In the implementation and adoption phase,creating value could mean providing implementationassistance and tips for successful usage, tailored tothe customer’s steps. It also means ensuring that allinitial executive buyers know about the value thathas been created. That allows you to establish afoundation for additional business.

These examples show exactly why all enablementservices have to be aligned to the customer’s path.This applies to not only the content salespeople use,but also the training services around skills,methodologies, processes and product. Even ifcertain skills are the same (such as value messaging),they have to be applied differently in the differentphases.

The two steps: Successful sales forceenablement leaders align their enablement servicesfirst to the customer’s path and then to the salesforce’s specific challenges

Working with an enablement framework that isbased on the customer’s path is the foundation ofsustainable enablement success. If you design yourenablement frameworks around your products oryour internal challenges only, you lose the necessaryfocus on the customers. Your ultimate design point

should be your customers and how they approachtheir challenges, how they want to buy, and howthey prefer to use/implement/adopt your products,services, and solutions. The customer’s path is notyour only design point, but your first one. Consideryour customers and their customer’s path as your“true north.”

Study results: Dynamic alignment of salesprocesses to the customer’s path drives double­digit improvement in win rates and quotaattainment

The data from CSO Insights’ 2016 SalesEnablement Optimization Study showed a 13.6%improvement in quota attainment (compared to thestudy’s average of 55.8%.) based on dynamic –formal, responsive and adaptive – alignment.

In 2017, the results from CSO Insights’ muchbroader World-Class Sales Practices Study showedvirtually the same result – 13.5% quota attainmentimprovement. Furthermore, the 2016 data showedan improvement of 15.0% in win rates for forecastdeals with dynamic alignment. In 2017, the resultsfrom the World-Class Sales Practices Study showedthat win rates for forecast deals can be improved by10.1%, compared to the study’s average win rate of51.8%. While there is a difference, both resultsshow a double­digit improvement that cannot beignored.

As you can see here in the examples and in thedata, aligning the sales processes and allenablement services to the customer’s path is keyto success. Value messages that are in every singlepiece of content have to be tailored to the differentphases of the customer’s path. What works in theawareness phase is misplaced in the buying phaseand the other way around. Once this is done, yoursales force’s specific challenges determine how youshape the related content and training services, andthe coaching services for the sales managers. n

Tamara Schenk is a Research Directorat CSO Insights. Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 19

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201820

Fingerprints to Success

So, not surprisingly, we define enterprise sellingin terms of the unique pains and challengesthat organizations face in selling to and serving

large enterprise accounts. Challenges such as longsales cycles, wide buyer networks and the significantinvestments required in enterprise pursuits all createproblems not encountered with smaller accounts.But the payoffs of winning enterprise business arehuge. For landing a major account can be a game­changing, transformative development for sellingorganizations.

Given the daunting challenges, though, everypossible organizational asset must be engaged to

fortify enterprise pursuits. From account andopportunity planning to value­based solutiondevelopment, effective selling organizationstypically utilize sophisticated portfolios of tactics andstrategies to add acceleration to these promisinginitiatives. But with all that rigor and organization,quite often a very fundamental area is completelyignored.

Before we talk about the simple concept thatdramatically increases your chances of winning largeenterprise deals, let’s talk about fingerprinting. Thefamiliar term brings to mind the common processused by law enforcement agencies to identifycriminals. We all have fingerprints, of course, andthey are our singularly unique physicalcharacteristics. Those lines, ridges and flowingpatterns on the tips of our fingers, believe it or not,are even more unique than our DNA. For whileidentical twins can share the same DNA, theirfingerprints are always different. And when wetouch objects and surfaces, we leave ourfingerprints behind. These images, often uncoveredand made visible by dusting techniques utilized byprofessionals, provide very strong evidence that

I’m often asked how Idefine enterprise sellingversus selling into smalland medium-sizedaccounts. At Sandler, we

believe strongly in the power of pain. Ourfounder, David Sandler famously said, “Nopain, no sale”.

Brian Sullivan

connects us to scenes and situations. The embeddedfingerprints leave their uniquely identifiable marks asundeniable and verifiable evidence of theimpressions we made.

Hold that thought and then think about this. Ifyou planned to buy an expensive gift for yoursignificant other, you’d certainly conduct your duediligence, involving much more vigilance than in theresearch you’d typically undertake with everydayshopping for mundane items. And if the potentialpurchase was on a “cash only – final sale” basis,you’d be even more focused as the stakes would beclearly higher. But regardless of the significant timeand effort you’d spend, doubt and uncertaintywould remain regarding whether your purchasewould truly hit the mark. You would still be unsureabout whether your gift would generate thehappiness commensurate with your time and effort.Unless, of course, you took the time to preview thegift, or at least its concept, directly with yoursignificant other prior to the purchase. Surprisesaside, that conversation, testing the water aboutspecific likes and dislikes, would greatly increase thechances that the item chosen would be spot on. Thevalue of the feedback you received would beimmeasurable in helping insure that your gift, andyou, would avoid being miserable flops.

The same concept applies to enterprise pursuits,with their significant organizational investments ofmoney, time and energy. For a great deal ofcreativity goes into crafting your customized,account­specific solution, which is the product ofyour team’s innovation, client­focused thinking andhard work. But, creativity and innovation aside,building a brilliant solution without credible,verifiable expectations that the account will find itacceptable is a dangerous and tone­deaf strategy.So, just as previewing the expensive gift with yoursignificant other prior to making the buy is astrategic move, you owe it to yourself and yourorganization’s investment to strategically seek theaccount’s concurrence that you’re on the right track.In Sandler Enterprise Selling, we call this

“fingerprinting” or getting the account’s“fingerprints” on your solution. It’s sometimesreferred to as “co­crafting” or “solutioning”, butwhatever the term, it’s as close as you can get to amandatory exercise in the world of enterprisepursuits.

In a previous life, I was involved in a pursuit inwhich we had planned on including an element ofoffshore delivery in our technology integrationsolution for a highly­coveted prospect. Through afingerprinting conversation with a trusted contactand coach in the account, we were cautioned toreconsider our solution due to an organizational biasagainst offshore services, based on a very negativeexperience with an IT provider that had resulted inlegal action. This wise and highly valuable counselwas sought, offered and acted on. We hadstrategically left plenty of time to restructure oursolution and we proceeded to drop the problematicoffshore component and substituted locally­basedservices, removing the red flag and paving the wayfor what turned out to be a very, very nice win. Byseeking and obtaining the account’s fingerprints onour solution, the same type of miserable flop thathad loomed with the expensive gift was thankfullyavoided ­ all because we asked.

Of course, you must never put your contacts inuncomfortable positions and you have to be awarethat some pursuits forbid certain types ofcommunication. Be smart. Following the rules isalways good advice. But if your relationships aren’tstrong enough to facilitate informal conversationswith internal coaches, perhaps you should re­thinkbidding on the opportunity altogether.

Remember ­ account relationships are yourdynamic assets. Build them, grow them and put themto work to get your clients’ fingerprints all over yoursolutions. Good things will happen as a result. n

Brian Sullivan is VicePresident of SandlerEnterprise Selling at Sandler Training.

Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 21

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201822

B2B Sales: Navigatingthe Meteors of Change

At least, that’s what Forrester is predicting willhappen if B2B sales organizations don’tbroaden their conventional approach to

selling and adopt a digital strategy that assists thesales professional in aligning with customers’context and needs.

The reality of our digital commerce ecosystem isthat customers are more informed than ever before­ this doesn’t just apply to the B2C marketplace,

either. The buyers of B2B products and services aredoing their due diligence, too.

While most B2B sales organizations are makingefforts to automate sales processes and promotedigitally enabled commerce, there are criticalelements that must come into play to drivemeaningful customer relationships that ultimatelygrow businesses bottom line.

Many industry experts predict that salesautomation will turn the B2B sales profession into afleet of robots. That just won’t happen – automationis not an optimal substitute for the emotionalconnections that are forged through socialinteractions. Scientists agree – we are social animalsand our brains are wired with the need to connectwith others.

The best B2B sales approach leveragestechnology as a means to make their people moreempowered.

A day of reckoning is fastapproaching for nearly 1million B2B salesrepresentatives who couldbe displaced because of theconsumerization of B2Bsales.

Tom O'Keefe

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 23

Technological developments are enabling thecollection and analysis of greater amounts ofinformation, but that can never replace the need forthe human touch ­ rather, it should support humansin their efforts to connect more deeply andefficiently.

Current machine­learning technologies can bringsignificantly more insight to B2B sales professionals –not only by giving sales reps transparency into thebuyer’s history with the business, but also byestablishing product and customer relationships thatcan predict what the customer will purchase next.Through this deeper level of understanding, salesreps can efficiently serve every buyer while providingadditional value­add opportunities early on.

A 2016 McKinsey and Company poll of B2B salesorganizations reported “only 15 percent of B2Bcompanies feel they have a complete view of theircustomers (versus 20 percent of consumercompanies), and only 19 percent say theyunderstand the customer journeys that matter mostto core segments (versus 31 percent of consumercompanies).”

Making a Commitment to Your B2BPurchasers

Going forward, many B2B businesses will need toreconfigure their selling processes more effectivelyand efficiently for each buying stream. Time shouldnot be spent debating whether to be online or in­person, interacting via the web or through salesreps, digital or human. They need to do both, andcreate the right mix for their go­to­market programs.

Technology alone cannot strengthen customerexperiences. Take, for example, a system poweredby artificial intelligence (AI). It can utilize real­timeinsights to dynamically alter productrecommendations and site search to personalize abuyer’s immediate online experience. This approachis fulfilling and necessary for purely transactionalrelationships; data­driven recommendations candrive additional sales as customers are more likely to

find supplementary products that align with theirpreferences, while collecting additional buyer data.However, without a technology solution that cansurface those insights to B2B sellers, it falls short insupporting the human interaction – a componentthat is integral for complex purchases and that sits atthe heart of B2B sales.

Sales organizations must marry the intelligence ofpredictive suggestion with intuitive, humanknowledge to enable collaborative dialogue that isimpactful and meaningful enough to deliver positiveresults and build brand loyalty.

Integrating these intelligent productrecommendations and comprehensive insights into aone­to­one interaction allows B2B sales reps toengage customers and improve their experience bydelivering a truly individualized buyer experience.

4­Tell’s Smart Commerce Platform is an exampleof a technology that supports these data­driveninteractions. The platform uses a predictivemachine­learning engine to reveal product bundlingsuggestions to sales reps based on buyers real­timeecommerce behavior and comprehensive history –ultimately, creating value­add opportunities for theB2B sales team. These types of platforms combinethe best features of both data­driven predictive AIand the nuance of human connectedness to meetpurchaser’s expectations and drive strongercustomer relationships.

Using this powerful combination allows B2Bprofessionals to go into every conversation withcomprehensive information, predictive insight,increased confidence, and higher closing probability.I’ve worked with B2B organizations such as DenyDesigns and 2Modern who are successfullyimplementing this strategy. I firmly believe the 1million potentially displaced B2B sales professionalswill create irreplaceable value through theempowerment and marriage of data analytics andhuman connectedness. n

Tom O’Keefe is the CEO and Presidentof 4­Tell. Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201824

5 Tips to Optimize Marketing & Sales ROI

At the same time, sales executives devaluemarketing’s efforts—for valid and invalidreasons. This article will help you focus on

the 5 actions to take right now to improve yourongoing sales and marketing programs.

Symptoms of the lead­quality problem includeone or more of the following conditions thatprobably exist in your company today:

l Leads are delivered to sales with little, if any,specific lead­by­lead feedback from sales.

l Marketing’s objective defaults to quantity andcost­per­lead because there is no other way tomeasure or report on return.

l The cycle continues: Sales is demanding moreand better quality leads. Marketing is notdelivering.

l Forecasts are consistently inaccurate. Over thepast five years the percentage of sales reps makingquota dropped to under 55% (it has gone downevery year for five years in a row).

Your company is unique if these conditions do notsound familiar. The challenge is not so much inrecognizing the conditions as fixing them.

Sales reps frequently do not value marketingleads. Sales reps do what you pay them to do, notwhat you want them to do. So, basic changes inforecasting that relate to compensation are alwaysrequired if you want to tighten up the forecastingprocess. An example: put highly qualified sales leadson the forecast at 10% and make sure taking a leadoff the forecast requires a careful and specific levelof oversight by senior management (not just salesand/or marketing management).

To help in the process, it is necessary to auditeach lead and report back to sales and marketing onthe accuracy of the lead being passed and theeffectiveness of lead follow­up. Reports generatedfrom this auditing are among the most effectivetools your company will ever have.

Today, too many B2Bmarketers are generatingleads without regard toquality … and paying apremium for appointments

that won’t generate the results they need.With the marketing tools out there today(close to 5,000 of them) it is easier to getmore poor-quality leads to sales fasterthan ever before. And, it is killing results.

Dan McDade

It Isn’t Easy to be Effective

Short­cuts such as measuring results based on thenumber and cost per lead is a well­intentionedexample of decision­making that oversimplifies avery difficult process. This is often fostered by anenvironment that is created by senior­levelexecutives.

Here are five recommendations that can makeyour sales and marketing process more effective:

1. Take responsibility for providing strategicmarket, message and media direction. If you’re a C­level executive, and have given your team thedirection that “our market is the Fortune 1000” or“we sell enterprise solutions” (as examples), then youmay be responsible for gaps between expectationsand actual results. The “F1000” is not a specificenough market and “enterprise solutions” is notspecific enough to take to the market. C­levelexecutives should get involved in the mix of mediaas well. If the mix is too heavily weighted towardinbound activities you are going to end up withlower­level decision­makers and smaller deals.Because senior executives are not as apt to give uptheir digital body language they are sometimesignored. A big mistake!

2. Adapt your strategic­level marketing messaginginto one­to­one sales messaging. If you cannotexplain what you do with a simple story and/oranalogy, you need to work harder on carefullycrafting just what you need to say—and just whatwill resonate with your targets.

3. Close to 95% of marketing investment is wasteddue to marketing’s focus on short­term leads andfailure to value and capture the long­term leads.Also, frequently lost is information about companiesthat are qualified, but have no immediateopportunity—valuable information that results fromthe process of finding short­term leads. Gatheringmarket intelligence and applying the learnings in the

context of a thoughtfully planned nurturing programdelivers significant return.

4. Make sure your inside sales group is reachingout to prospects, not being glorified administrators.If they’re making 25 to 35 dials per day (vs. the 80 to100 calls they should be making) due to other urgentbut not important tasks, that means you are settlingfor 65% less productivity than you should. You can’tafford anything less than a dedicated group oftrained professionals focused 100% on generatinghighly qualified opportunities for sales.

5. Manage the sales process holistically. Salesmanagement has six jobs: Hiring, Compensation,Training, Deploying, Managing and Coaching. Thereare ample resources for the first three, but thesecret to more successful sales management is doinga good job with deployment, management andcoaching. The best sales rep, with an enviable compplan and great training, will fail if not pointed in theright direction (deployment, including providing truehunters with fully baked sales opportunities) andpushed (managed, including requiring compliancewith the needs of the corporation regarding SFA orCRM) and coached as required when things are notgoing well.

Conclusion

Too many companies clog the pipeline with low­level leads created by tradeshows, web hits, inboundcalls and junior telemarketers. A surprising majorityalso spend a premium to buy “appointments” thatreally aren’t. Get out of the downward spiral. If youare creating leads that are thrown over the fence tosales and end up in a black hole called CRM, take thetips in this article to heart. n

Dan McDade is CEO & President of PointClear LLC.

What Determines Cost per Lead?

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 25

Whatever your requirements for the size your budget,we can tailor a package for you: we have incrediblyattractive 12­month partnership opportunities; majorevent sponsorship availability or straightforward one­off promotions.

Our magazine reaches over 390,000 subscribers everymonth, and the combined Twitter reach of the TSWcontributors is 4.1 million! Top Sales World is now themost visited, most popular, most exciting and mostsignificant sales related site – period.

Advertise,Partner, Promote,Publicize

Please email us on advertising@topsalesworld.com to discover the possibilities.

We do not see enough women in sales rolesrepresented as speakers on conferencestages, being interviewed on video or

podcast programs, not enough women show up onleader lists and certainly, women are still in theminority in sales roles, and that includes senior levelpositions.

Perhaps what surprises me the most is thenumber of times I’ve been approached by hiringmanagers asking how they can find qualified womenfor positions in sales. My answer is to start withLinkedIn. When running a quick search on just theterms sales and women over 1 million profilesshowed up in the results.

Women need to do their part too. I’ve noticedthat many women in corporate sales roles are lesslikely to focus enough attention on building theirpersonal brand and public persona. It is time to bemore proactive! Many fear that touting their goodwork will be viewed as bragging. What I wantwomen in sales to know is that their experience,expertise and insights are a benefit to all of us insales, especially as we look to encourage morewomen to enter sales as a career. As women in sales,you are role models for others but it is hard to be arole model if you are not visible enough. Make sureyour LinkedIn profile reflects the good work you do,awards you’ve won, expertise you’ve developed asyou journey through your career.

As a long­time supporter of women in sales, Iwanted to do more to showcase the great workwomen do around the globe. I started by creating aLinkedIn list of #WomenInSales to follow. The listhas now morphed into a new podcast I’ve launchedcalled Conversations with Women in Sales. In theseinterviews, my guests and I cover topics likeleadership, career management, overcomingadversity, sales and marketing alignment, B2B sales,hiring talent, millennial workers, personal brandingand more. And to any woman in sales reading thisarticle, reach out to me if you’d like to beinterviewed on the podcast.

Studies show that diversity of thought growsbusiness revenues and has a positive impact oncustomer relationships. Diversity of perspective isalso good for our sales profession. If you are a hiringmanager, a conference organizer, a podcast host or awriter of business articles looking for people tointerview, hire or speak, I encourage you to followthe women on my LinkedIn list, listen to the podcastinterviews and follow them. Women in sales are outthere. All you need to do is look! n

Barbara Giamanco is CEO of Social CenteredSelling. Find out more here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 27

Barb Giamanco

Where are the Women in Sales?Hiding in plain sight, itwould seem. It is 2018 andwomen in sales are stilllargely underrepresented.

It’s common to characterize coaching with asports metaphor: Coaches get the team toperform better and to win more. But it’s perhaps

better to look back about 100 years ago whencoaching wasn’t about sports at all. A coach backthen was a horse­drawn carriage that took veryimportant people from where they are, to wherethey want to be.

It’s a good way to describe what coaches can dofor their employees. But organizations often struggleto implement coaching effectively and moreconsistently. For most people, developing a

coaching mindset involves some important pivots,¬¬including:

Ask. Don’t tell

The key to coaching is not in the telling. It’s in theasking. At the heart of the issue is an inherentchallenge: Some leaders have the mindset thatcoaching is catching mistakes and solving problemsrather than developing confidence, instilling a senseof ownership and maximizing employee potential.

Create problem solvers

Managers typically need to have the answers andprovide direction. But coaches excel at helpingpeople develop the confidence to answer their ownquestions and find their own solutions. Get in thehabit of helping people ask and answer thequestions. People feel good when they solveproblems – they’re empowered. And it develops ourbench strength around us.

People’s confidence is directly related to theirability to solve problems. What’s more, people aremore valuable – and more promotable – when theydevelop muscle mass around solving problems.

Aim to be a buffalo, not a cow

In his book, Take the Stairs: 7 Steps for Achieving TrueSuccess Rory Vaden tells the story of growing up inthe Rockies where storms could blow in from onemountain to the next. Ranchers know that cows runaway from the storms and, since they’re slow and

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201828

Don’t be that boss! Be that coach!Coaching to drive performance is a hot topic and with good reason: Coachingconsistently helps drive stronger results. What’s more, employees withgreat coaches usually outperform their peers, they’re more engaged on thejob, and they expend more discretionary effort to get the job done. But how

can you shift from being a that boss to becoming that coach?

Mike Esterday

plodding, they prolong their time in the stormbecause it’s following them. The buffalo, on theother hand, turns toward the storm and charges intoit. In confronting it, the buffalo gets over the stormmore quickly.

As leaders, we prolong pain when we don’taddress important issues. We make problems worsewhen we don’t develop our people’s ability toaddress them.

One device my colleague Mike Fisher used anumber of years ago in developing a young salesteam was to create what he called “The Wheel ofMisfortune." It had every issue or barrier orchallenge that Mike knew of, and his team wouldadd to it regularly. He would gather everyonearound, and they’d spin the wheel — which wouldland on one of the issues or problems — andwhoever’s turn it was would address it byarticulating their solution and addressing it head on.The Wheel of Misfortune taught a relativelyinexperienced sales team to focus on the solutionand to not shy away from addressing any issue thatcomes up.

Watch for coaching myths

The biggest misconception about coaching is this:The best players make the best coaches. Some do,of course, but you have to give them the tools andhelp them build the muscle around helping peopledevelop.

Attitude is critical too – it’s the multiplier of acoach’s success. It makes a huge difference ifsomeone is really committed to helping someone vs.going through the motions.

Try this quick coaching framework

Here’s a simple process for coaches to have highlyeffective one­on­ones with your team: Ask. Listen.Coach. Praise. Challenge.

Let’s unpack them briefly:

Ask questions to understand what the situation is,what’s going on, where they’re succeeding andwhere they’re struggling.

Listen for their specific solutions and ideas. And bylisten, I mean really listen vs. listening for the chanceto speak up and offer direction.

Coach when necessary by sharing a few ideas thathave worked for others and might work for them.But make sure to give them the space the solve theproblem themselves.

Praise in a way that’s specific, measurable andtimely. It’s not enough to say “good job” – which ismore likely overly general and lacks precision. It’s farbetter – and more empowering – to praisesomething specifically and acknowledge a solutionor performance in a detailed way. What gets praisedis often duplicated.

Challenge them to get out of their comfort zones byshowing that you see more in them than they see inthemselves. But challenging also involves steppingback a bit and exploring with them how they’d like tobe held accountable to a specific challenge. A greatquestion to wrap up the challenge portion of thediscussion: How would you like me to hold youaccountable to this goal?

Above all, remember that coaching one­on­ones areabout goal­setting, not performance evaluation. Thisis about where they’re going, not about wherethey’ve been, which is a different conversation.Have them tell you their goals vs. you defining them.When people identify their goals, they believe inthem and take ownership. n

Mike Esterday is CEO and partner atIntegrity Solutions, the sales performance,

coaching, and customer service firmheadquartered in Nashville.

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 29

Unfortunately, the reality is that a contentenablement system alone won’t serve up theresults you need. Yes, content sharing and

tracking tools provide cool features. They allow you tomore easily organize and share content, eliminatingthe clumsy back and forth email process. Some ofthem offer neat metrics, so you can see who engageswith content, when, and how. All good capabilitiesthat makes salespeople’s days easier.

But the hype around these tools is overblown.

Why Content Enablement Alone Is Doomed toFail

Way back in 2012, a “new” hot thing was rising:Content marketing. It promised to automatemarketing and deliver highly qualified leads to saleswith very little effort. It was supposed to savesalespeople from cold calling, among other things. Butthe reality is that most sales departments weredistinctly underwhelmed by the quality of the leads

delivered, and in most cases, cold calling is anythingbut dead.

Too often, content marketing is poorly alignedwith the customer’s true decision making journey, itdoesn’t reach the right stakeholders, and anyway it’snow operating in a saturated marketplace. The goodnews is that the failure of content marketing to deliveron its promises has lessons to teach us about how tomake sure sales content enablement doesn’t sufferthe same fate.

Here are three things content marketing gotwrong, and how sales content enablement must dobetter:

l Failing to Align with the Customer’s DecisionMaking Journey. When salespeople are providedwith sales content that is divorced from the salesprocess, they’ll either ignore it or they’ll use itinappropriately. For instance, sales calculators arecool tools to share, but when they’re shared too earlyin the process, they can cause the buyer to focus onthe price before they’ve fully understood the value ofyour solution. Likewise, a “how to” guide provided atclosing can cause confusion in the buyer’s mind anddelay or damage the close.

l Targeting the Wrong People. One of the biggestfailures of content marketing is that it usually targetsresearchers rather than decision makers. This problemis exacerbated by the focus on “engagement metrics,”which favor the preferences of researchers (who mayengage with content repeatedly) over the preferencesof decision makers (who may only read something

If you listen to many of the social media voices in sales enablement today,it’s easy to believe that the solution to your sales effectiveness problemslies in better content systems. Deliver up the right content at the right timeto your sales people, and you’ll enable them to perform effectively.

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Better Content Is Not the Solution to Your Sales Problems

George Brontén

once, and often in printed form). Likewise, whensalespeople are provided with content that addressesthe concerns of users, for instance, and they deliverthat content to executives, it creates a disconnect inthe buyer’s mind and undermines trust.

l Providing an Excuse to Avoid Direct Engagement.Sending an email with a case study is easy. Picking upthe phone and calling is hard. But often, the phone callis what’s needed to move the deal along. Whencontent is pushed as a solution to sales problems, theresult is often less direct engagement, and thereforeless success in sales.

Where to Start Instead

There is a place for content and content systems insales enablement. But that place is not first. In firstplace, always, is strategy focused on the customer.Top performing sales teams start with a deepunderstanding of customer needs and the customer’s

decision making journey, and build sales strategiesaround that understanding.

With the right strategy in place, processes can beestablished that help sales teams to execute on thestrategy. Then, the processes must be placed in thesalespeople’s and sales managers’ workflow, so that itbecomes a part of their daily routine.

With strategy, process, and the right technology tosimplify process­oriented workflows in the team’shands, then it’s time to think about what contentenablement systems can support the strategy andprocess.

Finally, the strategy, process, methodologies,behaviors, and tools must be trained and reinforced toensure your team is executing on the systems you’veput in place. Within a well­designed, executed,trained, and reinforced system, content in context canhelp to truly impact sales performance. n

George Brontén is the CEO and Founder ofMembrain. Find out more by visiting here

TSW Roundtables are a monthly live event providing an expert panel ofimmensely successful thought leaders with the opportunity to share their viewsand debate the current hot topics. These highly interactive sessions, which aremoderated/hosted by Top Sales World’s CEO, Jonathan Farrington, welcomeand indeed, encourage audience participation to create a forum like atmosphere.They always go on air at 12 noon Eastern (5 pm GMT).

NEXT ROUNDTABLE

Sales Enablement: Where Are We Now And Where Are We Headed?

Where is sales enablement heading? Is it just another word for sales training, or forsales content? What’s sales enablement’s real scope? Do we have to equip salesmanagers as well? And if yes, how? What’s the role of technology? And, alwaysimportant, where should sales enablement be in the organization? What areeffective strategies to make sales enablement successful? And, btw, how do wemeasure sales enablement success? This is going to be such an interesting debate.

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS ROUNDTABLE

Top Sales Roundtables

Tamara Schenk Jay Mitchell

Jason Keever Dave Mattson

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TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201834

This Month’s Top Book Review

Ive been selling, training, and writing on sales forover forty years. During all that time, thousandsof books on sales have come out. Every week, it

seems, someone claims to have found the newsecret to sales success or some new technique. Butyou know one thing Matthew Pollard made merealize?

All this time, we’ve focused on extroverts.We’ve dismissed the quiet and shy as “just not

cut out for sales” and chided them for being tootimid. We extroverts want them to act more like us.But it comes back to that old saying that “a leopardcan’t change its spots.” We can’t give an introverttools designed for extroverts then act surprisedwhen they can’t sell.

Matthew’s inspiration for The Introvert’s Edgecame from his own experience as an introvertedsalesman. He had 93 doors shut in his face before hemade his first sale. 93!

He realized that he could never compete againstextroverts on their own terms. So he learned tocheat: he created a sales system that workedindependent of his personality. Not only did it work forhim, but he showed it to other introverts in hisoffice. Soon, the introverts were outselling the oldsales dogs.

Talk about a game­changer!Matthew freely admits that most of his approach

comes from tried­and­true methods, such as askinggreat questions and using stories to deliverinformation. But there’s no hard close or bulldogtechniques here. Matthew’s easy 1­2­3, A­B­C typeof system flows naturally. He’s taken out the thingsthat introverts hate­­like pushing, coercing, orforcing the sale­­and emphasized the thingsintroverts are naturally good at, like active listening,having meaningful discussions, and being preparedfor different scenarios.

One thing I love about his system is that it puts allthe pressure on the process, not the seller. If youdidn’t land a sale, you don’t blame yourself butinstead assume it’s a failure in the process. Matthewcompares it to Henry Ford’s car factories: if a car isdefective, it means there was a problem in theassembly line. Find it, fix it, forget about it.

The subtitle is How the Quiet and Shy Can OutsellAnyone. As an extrovert, I took that as a challenge.After reading Matthew’s thoughtful explanation, Ihave to call it a draw: anyone who relies on astrategy and a process instead of personality andtactics will see superior results...but the introvertsare more likely to embrace a process than usextroverts.

Lastly, the book is a great read. Plenty of salesadvice books are as dry as toast. The Introvert’s Edgeis chock­full of stories, anecdotes, humor, and real­world application. It’s not only an invaluable read­­it’s an enjoyable one.

Sure to become a classic in sales. Order yourcopy here. n

Reviewed by Jim Cathcart, author ofRelationship Selling and 17 other books.

Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame.Founder of Cathcart.com.

The Introvert’s Edgeby Mathew Pollard

Top Sales Post

If you are in sales or you know anyone in sales –the response to this simple question might be…

.well of course…..it’s because I am the best salesperson. When they win they assume it’s because oftheir sales prowess or their solution’s superiorfunctionality. When they lose, it’s all marketing’sfault, or they couldn’t get a deep enough discount,or the customer just wasn’t buying. Whatever thereason, it couldn’t possibly be because they failed toactually sell what the customer wanted. The realityis, many salespeople do not take the time to examineor even understand why they won or even lost adeal. They really don’t know either way.

I’m a fan of great insights which can help salespeople improve performance, so when I found outabout a new research project conducted by noted

sales researcher Steve W. Martin and sponsored byDiscoverOrg, I wanted to know more. What wasgreat about this study was the participants had tocomplete an extensive 76­part survey on a variety ofsubjects to understand their personality tendenciesand were asked to provide opinions on real­worldsales scenarios. The questions were intended todiscover what they like and dislike about differenttypes of salespeople.

I figured the best way to uncover the standoutfindings was to ask Steve directly. These findings canhelp salespeople understand how B2B buyers makepurchase decisions and how evaluation committeesselect between vendors.

February’s Top Sales PostThe Truth About Why Sales People Win and Lose Deals by Tiffani Bova

Read Full Article Here

TOP SALES MAGAZINE MARCH 201836

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