For years, most sellers have agreed that people buy
from people – they trust. While the phrase is outwardly simple, execution is
always a bit more challenging as “trust” has such a broad definition. For the
first time in over a decade, the current global economic climate will have a
significant impact on all sales professionals across all industries. As spending
is curtailed or eliminated the number of qualified selling opportunities is
likely to drop significantly. Therefore, it will become increasingly important
to win a higher percentage of the opportunities that are uncovered.
While many sales training and productivity firms
flood the market with messages about how to boost performance, choosing which
options to insure success this month, this quarter and this year is more
challenging than ever. Industry experts are stressing fundamental selling skills
as critical tools for surviving in this business cycle. Recent research shows
that the best sales organizations are focused on how to leverage the key selling
skills of their top performers to improve everyone else’s performance.
What are the key attributes of the “A” player –
their Success DNA - that makes the selling results so predictable? While the “B”
and “C” level sales reps will struggle even more in this economy, the “A”
players will continue to perform well. How do they do it quarter after quarter
and what knowledge, skills and abilities can be transferred to other reps who
are not “A” players? Answering these questions will give proactive selling
professionals a hedge against the uncertainty that is ahead.
While there have been many theories suggesting the
explanation of peak performance, experts universally agree that peak performers
simply connect better with each prospect or customer. This connection allows the
seller to read the selling situation and modify his selling approach based on
those observations.
A Case Study: Aligning Buyer and Seller Behavior
An example of peak performance characteristics is
best identified with a real selling scenario. In this case, our seller
represents a line of production machinery that is used in the foods
manufacturing process. The selling cycles are complex as the demand is
traditionally generated at the manufacturing plants which are located in various
geographies, but approvals often come from the corporate office in a distant
location. In addition to production and technical buyers, nearly every sale
requires corporate procurement for the multi-year capital contract and service
plan with ultimate approval from the finance department.
To be successful, the peak performer will isolate
the buying preferences of his contacts and understand how this complex
combination of individual behaviors will impact each unique sales campaign. By
decoding the behaviors of each buyer, the peak performer will plan his sales
strategies by observing fundamental assessments for each buyer.
For instance, in one opportunity, the local plant
manager is focused on overall production results and it’s obvious that he is
relying on his project team for technical validation within this project. Armed
with these insights, the peak performer is likely to find opportunities to
discuss the plant production outcomes and how his offering will impact those
measurements. The seller will look for situations to connect his offer with the
bigger picture, but he will be careful not to burden the plant manager with the
details he is not interested in knowing. The peak performer will try to observe
the plant manager’s drives and match these observations at all times. The peak
performer knows that he can connect faster and more effectively if the message
he is delivering is consistent with the buyer’s preferred approach, and absent
the details that represent “noise” to the plant manager.
Contrast the peak performer’s approach above to
that necessary for success with the manufacturing manager who has budget and
implementation responsibilities for the new machinery. In the seller’s meetings
and conversations with the manufacturing manager, he recognizes her focus on
details. She asks about financing options. She asks about integration plans. She
wants to understand the installation strategies and the resources required from
her firm and third party contractors to install the new machine.
The peak performer knows that his selling approach
with the manufacturing manager needs to reflect his observations of her
behaviors based on her questions, actions and conduct. If he uses the same
approach for both the plant manager and the manufacturing manager, one of them
will not be comfortable. “Trust” will be compromised and the opportunity could
be lost.
Therefore, the peak performer will subconsciously
predict the ideal strategy for the manufacturing manager. He will invest the
time and effort to help her understand the various components she is evaluating
closely. It may mean one-on-one meetings, or specific customer references to
provide greater insights or proof statements. Finally, the peak performer may
invest time developing detailed flow charts and projections to isolate and
address the manufacturing manager’s concerns. While the actual delivery is
situational, it’s clear to the peak performer that a successful sales campaign
to both of these stakeholders will require completely different strategies.
In the scenario outlined above, the Success DNA
identifying the peak performing seller is quite complex. The peak performer
observes each buyer within the framework of the opportunity. Through observation,
he systematically is able to predict his buyer’s tendencies and preferences
within the context of the sales cycle activities. Just because the plant manager
had a macro lens in the scenario defined above, doesn’t mean the contract
negotiations will be high level and cursory. The peak performer understands that
behaviors are activity specific and therefore his strategy is based on a series
of short term predictions with very specific tactical planning tied to his
predictive assessment at the activity level.
Success DNA – An Objective Approach to
Successful Selling
In this economy, an objective approach to selling
is critical as the status quo simply will not work – often enough. Those sellers
with the Success DNA capable of decoding buyer preferences consistently will
outperform all other sellers. However, because only 10-12% of most sales teams
have developed the Success DNA needed to achieve peak performance results,
something more is needed to enhance the selling results from a majority of the
sales organization. Therefore, the real focus should be on helping the “B” and
“C” sellers decode the buying preference they witness and then utilizing those
observations effectively.
In a recent study conducted by the Sales Executive
Board, researchers showed how a 5% performance increase within the “B” and “C”
ranks results in a 70% top line growth. When sellers filter out the distractions
and focus on selling to each buyer, the results speak for themselves. These
estimates are achievable by modifying counterproductive processes and adopting a
fundamental approach based on sound principals and proven results.
No matter how large or small your company, the
Success DNA of your sales professionals is a clear and consistent indication of
selling results. By helping individual sellers understand and predict the buying
preferences of their prospects with a higher degree of granularity, more sellers
can enjoy the same level of success that the peak performers have enjoyed year
after year.
Spring Lake Technologies offers solutions to
measure Success DNA and most importantly help sellers decode the meanings across
all selling environments and markets. The company's SmartSeries suite of
on-demand sales performance applications is defining success for sales
organizations like RightNow Technologies, Siemens and Advent around the globe
across a wide range of industries.
To try SmartSelling from SLT to measure your
Success DNA and to more accurately predict one prospect’s buying behaviors,
email me at: szahn@springlaketech.com, or click on the “Try it now” link on our
web site. This limited offer is free for now but, the results will last a
lifetime.
