Sales Managers Improve Your Sales Performance, Increase Revenue and Reduce Rep Turnover By

Empowering Sales Professionals With Customized Marketing Strategies!

 

Dear Sales Manager,

I have a question for you.  If I could show you a way to consistently make your sales quotas and take away the biggest frustrations sales people face, would you want to hear about it?

Well I can and I got proof!  I have done it myself!   And you can do it too I’ll show you how right in this letter.

What’s The Secret?

Avoid making these three massive mistakes in your selling!

First mistake, your reps are not taking control of the sales conversation. Sales representatives must educate their prospects, they are the expert! And if they don’t feel that they are the expert, trust that they can be with a little work!

Second mistake not using precise language, say what you mean and mean what you say but, most importantly make sure you have something new to say with major value for your client! Sales people must bring exceptional value to their clients.

Third mistake depending on your company for leads!    Unfortunately many sales professionals make the profession more difficult than it needs to be. They are not very creative in finding the prospects who need their products and services.

Here Is the Problem

The Bridge Group found that 50% of sales reps are not making quota.  There are several factors but training is your opportunity.

Traditional sales training starts with teaching sales people how to sell a product and not how to sell themselves!  Sales people are told to sell themselves and to be confident but not how to get there!

Most small and medium size companies do not provide sales training or when they do, it’s usually the wrong training, for the wrong reasons, sometimes with the wrong salespeople, and often for the wrong frequency and duration. Why because they do not believe there will be a sizable return on their investment  and that they cannot measure whether or not the training works!

Let’s talk more about the 3 Massive Mistakes Sales People Make That Hold Them Back!

Mistake Number One:  Not Taking Control of the Sale

eMarketer says “Failure to close a deal was the No. 1 reason US sales professionals weren’t meeting their quotas, with the majority saying that sales ending in no decisions were a reason for missing targets.”

The Corporate Executive Board’s Sales Leadership Council’s research shows that more than 50% of all top performers use a challenge, insight or educational approach to selling. Consultative selling and smoozing clients are not working like they have in the past.

Top producing sales representatives in the Corporate Executive Board’s study do not focus on building relationships. They focus on teaching the clients something new, using unique insight, out positioning and out selling the competition in the process!

The relationship is earned as a result of the sale not as a precursor to the sale. This is the opposite of conventional wisdom.

Top producers across several industries are holding product discussions back! Instead they take on the role of business advisor and look for and find how their product and their service will impact their clients business in unique ways.  The discussion begins with the clients business objectives from more than one angle the product enters the discussion in the context of profit and loss in the clients business. This approach involves a different line of questioning.

Price negotiations are all but eliminated because of the value added approach and so is much of the competition. These sales professionals  become a part of the clients trusted team of business advisors

They know how to find ways to impact the clients business in measureable ways that the competition is not talking about.

They are asking different questions and the solutions they provide extend beyond just the merits of the product but the implications for the clients entire business!

• They seek and know how to use Leverage!
• They push back when needed!
• They are not afraid to talk about money!
• They make solid recommendations!
• They don’t avoid conflict!
• They do what’s right!

 Mistake Number 2: Not Effectively Communicating!

 eMarketer reports that More than 4 in 10 respondents cited an inability to effectively communicate value as a reason for not achieving sales goals.

• They don’t hear what they should hear!
• They don’t see what they should see!
• They don’t say what they should say!

This happens because they are not strategic in their communication. The focus should be on communications about the client’s specific needs over and above your product benefits.

If you are not trained in what questions to ask and what to do with the answers you are disadvantaged!

We are not talking about your basic qualifying questions we are talking about questions about the client’s business, the client’s strategy, the client’s competition, and the client’s business challenges!

When you demonstrate you are more than a product pusher you earn the title of trusted advisor and eliminate the competition.

Watch What You Say to Yourself and to Others

Self Talk: Sales professionals often entertain doubt and have negative self talk personally.

You need to know that this is normal!  When the voice of doubt silences itself ask yourself what did you learn and what is your best positive move forward.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

– Nelson Mandela

Sales professionals must see themselves as leaders, as rainmakers, as influential and as advisors.

They must know the way and be able to show the way for their clients. Top Sales Professionals assume a position of authority. Power is never given it is taken. Do your homework, find the best solution, the solution no one thought of and be the trusted advisor!

 Mistake Number Three: Sales People are not Generating Their Own Leads!

The best selling companies have solid marketing departments and integrate their marketing and sales departments. Sales people thrive in this environment. The companies who are best at this are featured every year in Selling Power Magazine’s Top 500 best companies to sell for.

Sadly most sales organizations have pointless disjointed marketing that does not create quality leads or if they do they miss handle them. If your company does not supply enough qualified leads you are left using your own devices.

A low percentage of Sales Professionals are proficient at prospecting and most company training programs are limited in what they teach.

Many sales managers are ill equipped to help struggling sales professionals and typically say “just make more calls!”

Even sales professionals who are proficient at working with quality leads and closing them just don’t get enough of them and sometimes burn out.

The solution is for sales professionals to generate their own leads, learning to market, position and promote themselves.

My contention is that more sales professionals would survive if they learn how to market themselves, by positioning themselves to create their own supply of leads For Long Term Sustained Success!

I myself when I was actively selling would always look for a competitive advantage. Who wouldn’t?  I made my living on referrals. But why can’t everyone do business this way?

Because they don’t have the influence or the exposure! They do not know how to get enough quality leads. You can be very personable and good at closing but if you don’t have a full pipeline you will be out of business.

Marketing Education Is the Answer

Every sales professional knows ultimately the client will buy from the Sales Professional they know and trust.  The problem is volume.

Most sales professionals are not taught how to differentiate themselves from the competition using their own unique attributes.   Employers don’t teach self promotion just product promotion.

When sales professionals are trained as their own marketing specialists promoting themselves and educating their prospect in the process they build more credibility, trust and clients!

Marketing and sales are two different functions but sales professionals can and should learn both if your company is not proficient at lead generation.

Marketing explains the value of your offer it creates leads by allowing prospects to identify themselves.

Selling is relationship building where trust is established, agreements are made and checks are written.

Sales professionals can take their career into their own hands and learn how to leverage marketing to create leads for themselves by learning to position, promote and market themselves.

In the end you will be able to work smarter, with less effort, less time and make more money!

Return on Investment

Employers often think they don’t have the time or resources to invest in training. The truth is employers especially sales managers are not equipped to train or coach the different personalities serving the various market niches.

The tragedy is that good sales professionals who may have been able to open doors into new markets are turned over because they could not penetrate their given markets. Is it easier to turn sales people over, and hire another until you find someone who can figure it out on their own?

Per Topsalesworld.com Only 18% of sales managers are any good! There is an elite 7%, another 11% that are strong and the remaining 82% suck!  Their words not mine.

Most sales managers are former sales superstars not teachers or coaches and can only tell you what worked for them!

Not what will work for anyone else!

Enabling more sales professionals to become successful by giving them marketing tools is a win win situation and less painful for everyone involved. The financial gains should be obvious. Marketing activities can be measured more precisely than presentation or product training.

Don’t take my word for it!

The Wharton School out of the University of Pennsylvania conducted a test using investment sales professionals and trained them as marketing specialists to see if wearing two hats was viable. The results were substantial. Sales improved with the middle group of performers not so much at the top of the sales rank. The middle of the sales force is the sweet spot!!

The results were 27% more commission revenue on average for 3/5 of the sales force or the middle group and 15% more new accounts opened. The results were based on performance in the second quarter of the year over the second quarter of the prior year.

My experience in marketing and as a sales producer, manager, product manager and trainer supports the right perspective for practical application of marketing education for sales professionals.

 Converting Your Sales force into Marketing Specialists

Workshops are the easiest way to absorb new information for busy sales professionals. My company Mega Sales Consulting conducts intensive in house training for sales professionals who want to generate their own leads. The marketing curriculum is selected specifically for use by sales professionals and customized for each client company.

My Intensive Workshop “Beyond Prospecting:    How Salespeople Can Market, Position and Promote Themselves for Greater Sales Success” will upgrade your sales forces ability to attract more clients, increase revenue and exceed sales goals.

The workshop has a one and a two day format . Each program is customized for each group with consideration to in house compliance, policy and procedures. By the end of the program your sales professionals will be better marketers than 90% of all sales people and small business owners out there!

Your sales force will leave the weekend with a physical marketing plan they can use right away and:

• Have at least three new techniques for getting their selves more business.
• Have strategies for positioning, marketing and promoting their selves as valuable resources!
• Will be seen by your clients as a trusted advisor and business partners.
• They will be marketing strategists!

Workshop Pre-work

I like to Jump start the program by having participants complete a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats analysis (SWOT) and a Customer Analysis Form before attending. For many this exercise itself will be enlightening.

Module A SWOT and Customer Analysis

• Participants will identify areas of opportunity and weakness both personally and in their client base or target markets.

Module B Personality Assessment

• Participants will take a personality test and uncover their personality type based on the True Colors assessment test and learn the relevance of personality differences, “The Platinum Rule” and learn to customize their selling based on client personality.

 Module C Selling Propositions

• Participants will write their own Unique Selling Proposition and learn the importance of communicating their competitive advantage to themselves as well as to their market.

 Module D Positioning

• Participants will learn how to create awareness in the marketplace improving their credibility and exposure for attracting leads

Module E Pre-Eminence

• Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the mind set needed to position themselves as trusted advisors

 Module F Pre Call Preparation

• Participants learn to prepare for client meetings using research tools to establish the leadership role

Module G Sales Process and Leadership

• Participants will learn to control the sales conversation using a line of questioning that gives them unique insight, and competitive advantage from the first client meeting to the close.

Module H Presentation Design

• Participants will put their strategy in writing and test it with their peers in a group discussion to evaluate the type of questions used before and after client meetings to support the information needed to help their clients at the highest level. Bonus discussion on fat and skinny words and ways to improve communication.

Module I Referral Systems

• Participants will identify multiple referral sources and how to manage multiple referral programs

Module J Host Endorsements

• Participants will learn how to identify and leverage potential strategic alliances and joint venture partners

Module K Sales in Print

• Participants will learn Basic copywriting for direct mail and email marketing

Module L Social Media

• Participants will learn the best practices for using LinkedIn and Face Book for lead generation.

Module M Marketing Plan

• Participants will write their personal marketing plan and set measures for testing and establish metrics.

Module N Open discussion

• Participants are encouraged to ask questions and flesh out their marketing plans

In addition to the physical seminar optional conference calls are available to help solidify learning.

There is no other marketing course available on the market today specifically designed for sales professionals to fill this void!   I am developing a new breed of Sales Professional who in their own right will be qualified to market and create sales opportunities for themselves!

Jim Rohn is famous for saying “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

For you Marketing is that education.   My trained sales professionals will be empowered to create change in the market place.

• I am lifting people up!
• I am creating leaders!
• I am creating Sales Strategists!

Will your team be one of them?

Your Investment in Time and Capital

I have spent years selling, a decade managing sales people and another decade understanding the relationship between sales and marketing. Many people confuse the roles. Many companies miss mange marketing and expect sales to make up for it. In the end money has been left on the table.

Your investment in my program is a step in the right direction. You have the opportunity to leverage my unique combination of sales and marketing experience and knowledge.  Trying to convince your sales force to invest in their own careers is tough only the top 10 percent of your team does that and that’s why they are on top.  Most companies would never spend the tens of thousands I have invested in my own marketing education in fact when I look back over what I have invested in this program in research and blood and tears it eclipses $100,000.

What I have done for my clients is focus on what makes sense for sales people who can be egotistical, and a little self centered and present to them what really matters.

I can’t put a price on what that might mean to your organization but I can assure you that an investment of $5000 for a one day event that empowers the group of inconsistent middle performers in your sales team is a bargain.

The one day program is the light version designed for situations where a company has special circumstances that won’t allow two non selling days even over a weekend for whatever reason but wants a combination of six modules and conference calls to help them get started.

The main program is designed for two days and the curriculum supports two days. I recommend if you are serious about making the biggest impact on your team invest in a two day workshop.

Your investment for two days is $7500 this is the best way to launch this new information.

I realize we all need a little push now and then to get what we say we want. For example, I tried to lose weight on my own for 2 years It wasn’t until I hired a personal trainer and nutritionist to hold me accountable that I was able to do it.

Having someone hold your feet to the fire now and then is absolutely vital!  I want to be that person for you. In other words, I want to make it as easy as possible for you to say ‘yes’ to what you said you wanted to accomplish when you started reading this letter.

So – as an incentive for saying YES now and securing a date for a two day workshop with a 50% good faith deposit. I will include a special meeting with management for how to best manage the process once the workshop is over. If management is not on board the whole program is at risk.

A Good Value?

You be the judge …

My Rock-Solid Guarantee

“I stand so solidly behind my work in the world that I want to make it totally risk free. Secure a date today. Get the amazing deal. Prepare your team to participate fully. If what I advise you to create at the program doesn’t work – come back to me and I’ll give you 100% of your money back for up to one full year of the program.” It takes time to implement so let me take most of the risk.

Contact me today by email at Valdez@SalesSocrates.com or by phone 916-201-1985

So go ahead and blow away those sales quotas, exceed your goals and live a little bit easier.

See you soon!

 

Valdez Lasartemay