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  ‘Twas the end of the sales year and finally, at last, Sales pros were sending their final forecasts. Customers were happy; revenues had grown, A great bounty was realized from the seeds they had sown. So what was it that made this year better than before? No longer were sales elusive, or a difficult chore. When out of the blue the realization did dawn, ‘Twas their new selling skills making their job easy and fun! They Explored and they LAERed; they Presented with zeal, With a new energy and confidence their customers could feel. No GAP went unanswered, no objection ignored, Position Progression was the reps’ fitting reward. Santa Sales Leader looked on with great pleasure and pride, His work here completed, good sales practices abide. And I heard him exclaim as he strode out of sight, Happy Selling to all, and to all a good night!  

The arrival of summer impacts all areas of life, including business. Consumers will respond differently depending on what the season is, so it is important to take the time of year into consideration when planning your sales strategy. Try these tips to improve your summer sales: Plan Your Seasonal Campaign in Advance The key to any successful sales strategy is planning. It is important that you define a plan before the sales period occurs and start talking to customers early, because many people are already planning for the season before it arrives. Identify Popular Trends Depending on what you sell, you may have a wide variety of products and services to offer. It is likely that certain products and services are going to be more popular in the summer than another time of the year. Identify the things that will be especially relevant to consumers in the summer and focus on them. Network Outside For most areas around the country, there will be more people exploring outside in the summertime than the colder months. Take advantage of this and do some outdoor networking. Look into networking events planned throughout the summer at restaurants, bars, parks, and other locations. Attend some of the events and make connections. Be Creative with Your Sales Team No matter what time of year it is, a motivated sales team is key to profitability. Be creative with your sales team this summer to help build and maintain momentum. Holding fun contests with prizes, bringing food or company merchandise into work one day or letting everyone off of work early one afternoon to host a barbecue event outside are all ways to keep your sales staff enthusiastic and energetic. This is especially important if is typical for your sales to plateau or fall slightly during the summer months, as your team may become bored and unmotivated. Keep these tips in mind, and summertime sales success will be yours! Great Selling!

In a recent article for The Business Journals titled, For Best Results, Avoid Temptation at Work, bestselling author Harvey Mackay provides a cautionary tale for all levels in the organisation about the pitfalls that tempt us daily. Per the usual for Mackay, it is an entertaining and interesting read. Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals, according to Wikipedia. My colleague, Rachael Bowling, addressed this very topic in her recent blog, The Need for Instant Gratification Undermines Our Quest for Greatness. Considering MacKay’s insights through the lens of sales professionals, the most relevant temptations in our daily sales lives include: Bad-mouthing the competition Tooting our own horn Talking more than we listen Acting too quickly (i.e., going into “presentation” mode too quickly or asking for the sale too soon, before we have explored, listened to and understand the customer Choosing harmony over conflict – giving the customer exactly what he/she asks for isn’t always the best course of action Putting personal needs (ego) ahead of business needs (customer’s business or our own company) Mackay points out, “We live in an instant gratification world, but studies show that people who delay their gratification succeed more in finances, relationships and achievements.” If we can rid ourselves of bad habits, leverage the selling skills that drive success and stay focused on creating value for the customer, long-term success will follow. Read Harvey Mackay’s full article here: For Best Results, Avoid Temptation at Work

Who doesn’t love a loyal customer? But do we fully understand and appreciate the benefits of customer loyalty? In a recent article for customerthink.com, Turning Client Defection into Client Perfection, author Tom Cates quantifies the value of loyal customers, stating that compared to transactional customers, loyal customers… Produce 3X the amount of business Require 41% less work Stay engaged in the relationship 4X longer Cates asserts, “Each of these benefits is directly correlated to increased profit and a strengthened bottom line. The longer the relationship, the higher the retention rate and the more opportunities there are to up-sell, cross-sell and obtain referrals.” In Carew’s Dimensions of Professional Selling® sales training, we use the Position Progression Model to assess our position with each customer or client organization. Customer loyalty is the single most powerful driver of Position Progression, and only sales professionals who possess the skills to build trusting and productive customer relationships will have the opportunity to function in the role of trusted advisor and ultimately attain Preferred Position. How, then, can we cultivate the customer loyalty that drives Position Progression? Cates identifies six dimensions of a loyal, trusted advisor relationship: Integrity – Are you reliable and trustworthy? Competency – Do you have the skills and capabilities to deliver on your promise? Recognition – Do I feel valued, or am I just another relationship? Proactivity – Do you look out for me and protect me from surprises? Savvy – Do you understand my world and help me to be successful? Chemistry – Do I like working with you? To the degree that the Position Progression Model helps us assess our status with any given customer, assessing our function in each of these six dimensions may help us identify specific opportunities to strengthen the relationship, improve customer loyalty, and ultimately attain Preferred Position.

Who doesn’t feel a little surge of joy when we hear a customer complaining about a competitor, or encounter any negative intel regarding our competition? But we should pause before jumping in to participate in badmouthing the competition. We need look no further than the current political stage to recognize the ugliness of negative campaigning. Likewise, sales professionals don’t do themselves any favors by criticizing competitors; in fact, doing so will likely do more harm to our own interests than to our competitors’. Here are 4 reasons to resist trash talking the competition: 1. Negative, petty or angry energy simply isn’t attractive; it alienates, and casts you in a bad light. Think about the impression one makes on a first date when he/she spends the evening trashing former boyfriends or girlfriends. It doesn’t matter whether the complaints are justified, the behavior isn’t very likable. And in order to build lasting customer relationships, we need customers to like us. 2. It reflects a lack of integrity. To build productive customer relationships, we also need customers to trust us. Talking badly behind someone’s (or some organization’s) back isn’t a trait of high character. Social media has greatly expanded the opportunity and temptation for bashing competitors, but be warned: no platform is truly anonymous, and the risks far outweigh the benefits. 3. Pointing out the flaws of your competitors can inadvertently cast a negative light on your entire industry, so everyone loses. 4. Time with customers is precious! Every minute you spend badmouthing a competitor is a minute you didn’t spend communicating your own solutions and value to the customer. Sales professionals are better served building their own brands and giving customers a reason to buy from them versus sharing reasons to avoid the competition. A strong competitive spirit is a hallmark of any great sales professional. We just need to be sure we are competing on our own merits versus the weakness of others. At the end of the day, what customers want most from their sales professional is good, accurate information and insight, and a robust return on their investment. Let’s impress them with exceptional value and professionalism and leave the muckraking to those with nothing more important to talk about.

Our success as sales professionals is dependent upon our interpersonal skills, which, in turn, are dependent upon many variables – including body language. In his recent blog forLinkedIn Pulse, best-selling author Dr. Travis Bradberry (Emotional Intelligence 2.0), shares the 15 most common body language blunders that we should all avoid. Here’s his list: Slouching Exaggerated gestures Watching the clock Turning away Crossed arms Inconsistency (between words and facial expressions) Exaggerated nodding Fidgeting Avoiding eye contact Eye contact that’s too intense Rolling your eyes Scowling Weak handshake/Too strong handshake Clenched fists Getting too close What caught your eye when you read the list? Most of these habits probably don’t apply to you. It is just as likely that there is one (or a few) that made you pause because you recognize it as part of your own persona. This is good news, since awareness of any problem is the first step toward its solution. In the coming days, monitor your body language for habits that could be undermining your customer interactions and your overall sales effectiveness. For more detailed information on each item in the above list, read Bradberry’s entire article, 15 Body Language Secrets of Successful People

Few things are more frightening for a sales professional than an angry customer! But like all scary things, fuming customers are less intimidating if you have an effective, proven process to address and defuse their anger. Here are six tips to deal effectively with angry customers: 1. Start with the right frame of mind. Don’t take their anger personally, and understand they just want to be heard and helped. 2. Use LAER to understand the issue and defuse their anger. Carew sales training graduates will recall that LAER (Listen ▪ Acknowledge ▪ Explore ▪ Respond) is a key strategy for overcoming customer objections. It is equally effective for understanding and defusing customer anger. The mere act of venting and airing concerns will go a long way in defusing the customer’s pent up frustration. 3. Take notes. During the Acknowledge step of LAER, you will use verbal and non-verbal forms of acknowledgement (nods, “yes,” “I understand”). Taking notes is a terrific demonstration of acknowledgement and will help you accurately recall important details later. 4. Take a moment to apologize to your customer. It’s surprising how often this simple, but crucial, step is forgotten. It is also a natural transition from your Acknowledge step to the Solution step, and it shows that you are taking responsibility for the issue/problem. 5. Follow up. Circle back around with your customer a day or two after the problem is resolved to assess your customer’s satisfaction with the solution, as well as his or her overall frame of mind. At this point, you can assess whether additional action or management involvement is needed to fully restore the customer’s satisfaction. 6. Analyze and correct. What is viewed as a problem for one customer will likely be problematic for all customers. Take time to trace the problem to its origin, understand how it occurred and fix the root cause to prevent a recurrence, or worse, a proliferation of the issue. Angry customers concern us because we fear the relationship, or the business, could be at risk. However, if we address a customer’s anger in the appropriate manner (demonstrating our concern, dedication and effectiveness), the process can actually improve the long-term customer relationship!