Question….what do “A” sales professionals do that the “B” and “C” players don’t?
Think about this question…. Sales gurus, managers and trainers have been
thinking and preaching the topic for eons. Before I give you the answer my
research provides, I will tell you what the sales leaders/C-level executives I
speak with say most often.
I’m told over and over by the “sales community” that they have plenty of
process, methodologies, training options and account planning tools. Yet
according to CSO Insights, nearly 60% of all reps fail to achieve their goals.
Furthermore, over 90% of these sales organizations have the same bell shaped
performance curve - with the bulk of the sales organization representing “B”
players. In spite of all the technology available to sales leaders,
organizations still look essentially the same with mediocre results.
When we think of successful selling, we can’t deny that there are critical,
minimum requirements for success: an effective methodology, process, performance
based training, SFA tools, product/solution knowledge, effective account
strategy, motivation, desire, will to win and other success related behaviors.
But after 25 years of analyzing the conundrums around sales performance, Spring
Lake Technologies (SLT) has identified there is something looming much larger as
to why an “A” player achieves more success than his/her counterparts.
We have identified that “A” players have the unique ability to read a situation
and then shift and adjust their style, behavior and approach from situation to
situation and circumstance to circumstance. They are exceptional at reading,
analyzing and then persuading each prospect. In other words, peak performers
conduct a series of successful interactions (effective sales calls) much more
often than “B” and “C”
players. Inevitably, these successful interactions lead to high performance
levels quarter after quarter.
Sometimes these expert “readers” are weaker than the other sales professionals
when it comes to product knowledge, process, methodology, etc. It’s fascinating
as these sales stars make it look so easy even though they may not have all the
company rituals in place.
I am by no means advocating the rebel sales style. When I ran sales
organizations domestically and globally, rouge sales professionals were a
constant challenge. But I was amazed at the Peak Performer’s ability to “bob and
weave” with a prospect better than their lesser performing counterparts. They
know when to love a prospect and when to fight with one, when you hold back
product details and when to overload the prospect, when to use references and
when not to, when to shut up and when to talk, when to place others in the
spotlight and when show brilliance. It was almost like they were able to read
the mind of the prospect. But not for what the prospect wanted, but more
importantly for what the prospect NEEDED to make a decision. They reminded me of
expert psychologists as these sales professionals often knew their prospect
better than they knew themselves.
Here is the reality. The “B” and “C” players THINK they are as good at reading
and adjusting to the prospect. When the “B” and “C” players lose, they often
think it was product, price, the company, or some other “not me” reason. The
truth is they usually lost because they were OUT SOLD by another sales
professional who adjusted to the prospect better and faster. The competing sales
professional did a better job reading and adjusting to what the prospect NEEDED
to make a decision.
Most organizations overload the sales team with product specs, positioning
statements, training, methodologies, collateral, reference guides, case studies,
new products, promotions, etc. It’s no wonder so many of them lose sight of the
most important part of selling....the successful interaction. They have so much
to think about with each prospect that they miss the critical nuances of the
sales call…the behavior of the prospect and what it reveals.
What if there was a way to help the “non-A’s” achieve Peak Performance results
more often? A way to get them to read and react to prospects more like the star
sales professionals do? What if we could get the lower performers to identify
important behavioral tendencies that reveal how this prospect NEEDS to be sold?
What if we could help your sales organization predict how the prospect processes
information, prefers presentations, wants to collaborate, how they will object,
negotiate and make decisions?
Imagine the results if we layer in the salesperson’s natural and automatic
selling tendencies with the prospect’s buying tendencies to identify where they
will be in positive alignment and where the sales person’s natural approach will
sabotage the sale. If we can do this, then we can predict where the sale will
most likely go south and more importantly, prevent misalignment from occurring.
Once you have the ability to predict these outcomes, your sales team will
incrementally win more business.
SmartSelling - Using Predictive Technology to Read and React
Through the founders’ leadership experiences and Behavioral Science expertise,
confirmed by the guidance from our Advisory Board, SLT has developed a web based
technology that identifies and predicts human behavior. Our mission is to
leverage this capability to maximize sales performance.
SLT has identified very specific behavioral attributes and competencies that
impact alignment. Alignment is the behavioral linkage behind all successful
sales interactions. As such, successful outcomes are nearly always tied to
optimized alignment between sellers and prospect. With our predictive technology
solution called SmartSelling, we model these behavioral tendencies and can
actually predict how a seller will sell and how a buyer will buy. The results
are fascinating.
For every step in the sales process SmartSelling informs the sales professional
what the buyer/buying team will most likely do and what the seller should
execute to most effectively persuade the buyer. This is not “mirroring” or
neurolinguistic programming (NLP)…not even close. SmartSelling will advise and
coach the sales professional how to achieve a series of successful interactions.
Specifically the SmartSelling tool will provide suggestions like:
-
When and how he/she should give details
-
When he/she should be more visionary
-
When and how he/she should push back on a
prospect
-
When he/she should offer support and empathy
-
How should he/she present to the prospect
-
How your prospect is likely to negotiate with
you
-
How our prospect is likely to make a decision
Our predictive solution provides best practices advice on how the sales
professional should display the appropriate behavior to most effectively execute
a specific sales activity. It’s like combining sales skills with the results
that would come from reading the prospect’s mind on how they need to be sold.
When this new found approach is blended with the existing methodologies and
processes that currently exist in your sales organization your entire team will
undoubtedly maximize sales results and defeat the competition more frequently.
It doesn’t matter if you have five or 5,000 sales people, SmartSelling will help
you sell more. It is based on the proven principals of psychology and
psychometrics combined with best practices sales coaching to better understand
and predict human behavior.
Concluding Thoughts
The profession of selling is very competitive. The performance trends are
alarming and top line results are in jeopardy. To survive and prosper, leaders
need to get the “B” and “C” players to perform more effectively. Running a high
performing sales organization is very challenging. Now there exists next
generation technology for sales professionals to greatly improve their
performance.
By using predictive technology and applied behavioral sciences you can finally
help your entire sales team sell more effectively and make your job easier. You
can predict specifically where a sales campaign can go sour and now can
proactively to prevent it from happening.
