Direct Use of Production System Data for Organizational Performance Measures

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StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Warning Flag ArticleData access frequently challenges metric developers. Consequently, they may resort to using the most readily available performance data; data that can be obtained through a user defined production application query and downloaded into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or Access database.

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It’s not failure. It’s failure to do your best.

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I’m often asked, “Why do salespeople fail?”

The answer is: They don’t fail.

They fail to be their best. They fail to do their best. They fail to think their best. And they fail to take the best actions to help them succeed.

There are symptoms that allow either a sales leader or the salesperson to recognize that failure is on its way. Most salespeople blame circumstances rather than take responsibility. Blame is its own form of failure. But that’s a story for another day.

I want to talk about the salesperson who’s out there every day, who’s trying to make his or her quota, who’s trying to achieve their sales plan or hit the numbers that were arbitrarily given to him or her by the boss.

Add to that, that most salespeople are both inadequately trained and inadequately supported. Add to that, that the salesperson is generally half-prepared. They prepare in terms of themselves, but very little in terms of the customer.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Jeffrey this does not apply to me. I prepare, and I hit my quota, and I’m doing pretty well for myself, if I must say so.” My response to that thought is a challenge to you. After reading this list, self-evaluate your present circumstance related to each symptom – it might give you some insight that can lead to additional income.

Even if you’re hitting your numbers, even if you believe you’re well prepared, here are 11.5 symptoms of why most salespeople hit a wall, and can’t climb above it:

Symptom 1. Your inability to set an initial appointment with the real decision maker.
Symptom 2. Beyond price, your inability to uncover the real buying motive of the customer.
Symptom 3. Believing that competition forces price reduction.
Symptom 4. Shallow relationships that force both proposals and bidding.
Symptom 5. Poor social media participation that results in low or no personal branding and low or no personal reputation.
Symptom 6. Poor follow-up after the initial meeting or initial sales meeting.
Symptom 7. Long sales cycle based on presentations to low-level decision makers.
Symptom 8. Prospects going dark or disappearing after the first sales presentation.
Symptom 9. Prospects not returning your phone calls.
Symptom 10. Blaming inside circumstances for the loss of a customer.
Symptom 11. Blaming customers and prospects for the loss of a sale.
Symptom 11.5 Failure to take responsibility for the circumstances you create.

I find it most interesting that when salespeople face one of these 11.5 situations, they rarely (if ever) take responsibility for creating them. If customers are not returning your calls, there has to be a pretty good reason. Rather than blame the customer, why not find out ‘why’ the customer isn’t returning your call. The answer to that ‘why’ will get all your calls returned.

If you are continually fighting price, it’s obvious you haven’t proven value. It’s obvious that the customer perceives little or no difference between you and a competitive product.

Salespeople in general, probably including you, need to take more control of the selling situation, by creating definitive next steps. If you give a proposal, and you don’t have a firm appointment at a given time to reconnect, then you will chase that prospect and almost seem desperate to get a next meeting.

Here are a few things you can do that will help your prospective customers decide to buy:

1. Prepare in terms of them, not just you. The customer must perceive that there is a value in doing business with you, rather than your competition. Customers only want to know how they win. Focus on ownership, and focus on outcome after purchase as you’re making your presentation. Too many salespeople focus on what it “is” rather than what it “does” after the customer takes possession.

2. Prove it, don’t just say it. It amazes me how many salespeople do not use testimonials. Video proof of everything you claim so that a prospective customer can feel comfort can eliminate the feeling of risk and justify value over price – all based on the words of other customers.

2.5 Be there after the sale to prove your worth and earn a referral. The biggest lost opportunity in any relationship is the absence of the salesperson after the sale has taken place. Help the customer install. Help the customer get started. Help the customer understand and take advantage of “best use.” Transfer your wisdom, transfer your experience, transfer all your help, and the result will be an earned referral (not an “asked for” one).

Stop worrying about failing, and start offering value…

  • At your highest and best level
  • With your highest and best effort
  • With your highest and best preparation
  • With the emotional passion that becomes transferable to a point where the customer will buy from you.

This represents harder work than you’re used to, but it sure beats losing the sale.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Professional Presence Makes the Difference!

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No one is born knowing anything. We maintain that once we know ‘the difference’ we can make a difference for mankind. We encourage leaders to consider using nuances evident in everyday business situations and leverage them as stand-alone opportunities to show they know ‘the difference,’ while demonstrating the ultimate respect toward others. Trust is ultimately inspired, critical business relationships blossom, careers advance.

Interpersonal communication skills are central to the fabric of our society and quickly becoming a lost art. In today’s fast-paced frenetic world, timeless people skills are not being taught and as a result, next generation leaders are massively disadvantaged. The reason we wrote How to Stand Apart @ Work is because we acknowledge the opportunity at hand to restore the valuable people skills necessary to succeed in our global business climate today.

The little things get noticed – and others particularly notice when they are missing. These little things have the power to make or break relationships because they (or their absence) can make others feel exceedingly special (or slighted) which is (either) a fabulous (or poor) reflection on you. An effective leader is able to motivate others by demonstrating respectful gestures and using basic people skills. In so doing, important tasks are accomplished and everyone gets elevated, recognized, energized!

The way we conduct ourselves every day, and the way we treat others, is noticed and judged. When we demonstrate more respect, listen more attentively, communicate more effectively, we are more resilient and flexible in a world where others notice. While we may live in the moment we must not lose sight of the fact that in order to be fully effective we need to be fully present in the moment with other people.

Imagine combining the brilliant technological advances of today with timeless people skills, and consider the potential of future generations. The qualities of a true leader revolve around hallmarks of respect and consideration. Whether you are entering, re-entering or transitioning in the world of business or, just want to get ahead, consider specific ways to achieve leadership distinction through nuances. And, despite today’s extremely competitive global business climate, it is actually easier than ever to stand apart, simply by practicing these small nuances because so few people do these days!

The fact is, interpersonal communication skills are intrinsic in business and are the spark to ignite business relationships, yet ironically few teach these people skills, and they are not found in any textbook. Moreover, the chances of landing our dream job with the firm of our choice through an Internet website or an ad in the local community newspaper are remote. Most agree that the way we identify and land the position we really want is through other people we know. Leaders should be acutely aware of the opportunity at hand to use finely-tuned people skills to cultivate interpersonal relationships, reignite and expand our network of connections, and fortify our business lifelines.

America’s future leaders should embrace every opportunity to personally connect, further cultivate and reignite critical interpersonal relationships to better navigate the business landscape. By demonstrating respect toward others, professionals at all levels automatically earn respect, lead more effectively, motivate others to get the job done and advance in their careers.

Top Tips:

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About the Author

Judith Bowman’s career has been highlighted and advanced through proper business etiquette and international protocol. After working for twenty years in the sales and marketing industries, she founded her consulting business, Protocol Consultants International, in 1992. Bowman’s expertise was further recognized when she was asked by the Eagle Tribune Publishing Company to author a weekly etiquette column for ten years, and when she was honored to host a weekly television segment on New England Cable news for four years. Her work has also been featured in Forbes, CFO, Newsweek, CNN Everyday Money, Business Week, The Boston Business Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Herald.

Three Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Making Prospecting Calls

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Feeling happy and fulfilled at work is essential to our overall success. Many sales people are required to make proactive prospecting calls, and it can be one of the most intimidating aspects of their job. However, having the fear of making the call is nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, Shannon Goodson and George Dudley reported in their book Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance that 80 percent of new salespeople fail because of call reluctance, while 40 percent of veteran sales people stop prospecting because of it.

If you experience Sales Call Reluctance, you know that it can ruin how you feel about your job and it fills you with an instant sense of dread every time you go to pick up the phone. If you feel like this, you are experiencing one of the 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance. Not only can this affect your ability to succeed at your job, but it can also affect your overall sense of career satisfaction and fulfillment.

Unfortunately, our culture tends to stereotype salespeople in a negative way. Some people think of the sleazy over the top salesperson and this could not be further from the truth. The truth is that sales is a very noble profession and requires a specific set of skills. A good sales force is often the most important factor behind a company’s growth and success.

A surprising fact is that the number one carriers of Sales Call Reluctance are sales managers, sales trainers, and motivational speakers. This is not to say that everyone in this group carries sale call reluctance but you would surprised how easily this group can negatively influence those they are meant to inspire. For example, in a training a sales manager says, “We all know people hate talking to sales people” or “Get out and sell, but don’t be a salesperson!” They are instilling Role Rejection Sales Call Reluctance from the very beginning and fostering a sense of shame about selling. Role Rejection is highly contagious and the managers can be contaminating the very people they intend to inspire. We see this consistently within companies.

Here are three basic tips to overcoming your fear of making prospecting calls:

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About the Author

Connie KadanskyConnie Kadansky is a professional certified Sales Call Reluctance coach and President of Exceptional Sales Performance. She offers speaking, training, coaching and performance improvement services specifically addressing Sales Call Reluctance. She has a proven track record with diverse businesses, from entrepreneurs to Fortune 50 companies, both nationally and internationally. She credits her current status as a speaker to her longtime involvement with Toastmasters International and the National Speakers Association. Connie is a graduate of one of the most respected and accredited coaching schools, Adler School of Professional Coaching. She served as Vice President of Programs for the Phoenix Chapter of International Coaching Federation in 2011. For more information, please visit www.exceptionalsales.com.

Audience Mind-Meld: Real-Time Data Makes It Possible

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Have you ever given a presentation to a large group, looked out at your audience and wondered what they were thinking? If you give presentations for a living, you probably have a number of techniques to take your audience’s pulse, such as asking for a show of hands or opening the session up for questions to get their thoughts on a topic.

But chances are, these techniques result in an exploration of only a limited number of points of view. Most people don’t speak up during presentations, and if you rely solely on those who do, you might be missing out on important perspectives.

Post-presentation online surveys are a popular way to gauge audience reaction. The drawback to that technique is that response rates are typically quite low, meaning they offer only a limited snapshot of the audience’s thinking.

Presentation survey forms are another method used to gain audience insight. But like online surveys, response rates are an issue. And the data is only gathered and analyzed after the event is over, so it’s impossible to apply lessons learned right away.

There is a way to find out what audiences are thinking in real time: Audience response technology. Polling technology can allow presenters to embed questions directly into a PowerPoint presentation and enable audiences to respond using keypads or smartphones.

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About the Author

Sheila Hura is Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Turning Technologies, the leading provider of instructional, assessment delivery and data collection solutions for learning environments. To learn more about how Turning Technologies’ audience response systems can create interactive presentations, engage participants and immediately assess understanding, please visit www.TurningTechnologies.com/.