The 4 Biggest Challenges Facing All Salesforces

The 4 Biggest Hurdles Facing the Salesforce
Considering the best ways to help your salespeople? Here’s what you need to know

Areas Covered
2
Amazing trends uncovered in the sales profession
The 4 challenges, to profitable growth, facing every salesforce
Critical skills every organization must master in order to thrive
Copyright 2011 Program On Persuasion
ProgramOnPersuasion.com

Researched and produced as a service to our industry
Sponsored by:

Some Industry Trends

HR Chally Research of 80,000 B2B Customers
5
Salesperson is customer’s #1 buying criteria
39%
22%
18%

6
One in 1,000 salespeople rated World-Class
80,000 B2B customers ranked 7,200 sales forces:
Only 18 rated World-Class
1 rep in 1,000 World-Class
Source: HR Chally Research

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Source: Nightingale Conant Study of 2,663 Sales Organizations
Sales Managers agree their teams need help

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Source: Speed Of Trust Covey & Achieve Sales Excellence Stephens & Kinni & Harvard Business Review
Why sales training is needed . . .
66% college grads enter sales
1% colleges have sales program
Tribal knowledge dominates
29% believe manager cares
about developing their skills
Only 10% of population has learning mind-set

9
ES Research Group & Nightingale Conant Study of 2,663 Sales Organizations
Effectiveness of Sales Training
92% of reps have scope for improvement
90% of organizations report 40% increase 1-year after training
Best reps (1 in 5) outperform others by 286%

4 Hurdles of Salesforce

The 4 Biggest Hurdles
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1st Hurdle:
Establishing Trust Quickly
12

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Reps are inadequate @ establishing trust
16% of annual sales expected from new customers
Competitors have incumbent relationship w/customer
40% reps have call reluctance
Source: Sales Executive Council & Behavioral Science Research Press

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Copyright 2011 Program on Persuasion
Increased credibility reduces clients fears

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Salespeople are ill-prepared to gain trust
What would your rep say to a room full of prospects?
Most don’t have a strategy
Biggest mistake salespeople make is pitching too soon

16
What should be the strategic sales objective?
Develop Rapport
Establish Trust
Deliver value
Build Credibility as Expert

2nd Hurdle:
Creating Customer Urgency
17

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Customers don’t realize their own problems
If they did, they would already have taken action.
Just because a salesperson says something is so, doesn’t make it so.
Salespeople’s job is helping customers discover their own problems themselves.

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Biggest mistake of salespeople
Salespeople tend to offer their features & benefits too soon.
Customers must be lead to discover their problems first
Failure to understand cost of problem leads to price squeeze

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Cost-of-problem before cost-of-solution

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95% of rep’s questions are not powerful
Sales questions are designed into 4 categories
95% of Rep’s questions fall into the least persuasive category
Rep’s must learn to replace offering solutions with asking powerful questions

#3 Need:
Making Persuasive Presentations
22

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Top 5 sales presentation mistakes
No clear purpose
No audience benefit
No clear flow
Too much detail
Too long winded
Top 5 errors

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Most presentations only convey data
Presentations should persuade
Most are data dump
Persuasive means “no brainer”

25
No differentiation means lower price
Presentations that don’t differentiate are commodities
If you don’t contrast, you might as well sell for the competitor

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Reps don’t prove their claims
70% of presentation is proof
There are 4 ways to prove it
Most reps don’t prove any
That’s when price prevails

#4 Need:
Executing on Lead Activities
27

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No one is focused on the lead indicators
Marketing generates leads
Management is focused on #s
Sales reports are lag indicators
Who focuses on lead activities

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Strategies are easy to set
Human behavior is not
New Sales initiatives require accountability
Strategies & initiatives fail due to execution

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Low retention of sales training
87% of training is lost in 1st 30 days
On-the-job coaching is key
Fewer than 20% measure beyond 1-page smiley sheet

The 4 Biggest Hurdles Summary
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However, there are steps and strategies that lead to major breakthroughs
32

4 Steps to Success
33

Step #1
Design Rapport & Trust Vehicle

35
When we start selling we break rapport
Don’t sell features & benefits
Customer’s are not interested
They’re interested in themselves
Educate them on their market
Education builds rapport

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Specifically educate them on their market
Immediately gain interest
Position rep as expert
Develop a natural rapport
Deliver value to client
Dig your well before you need it

37
Educational briefings raise rep credibility
Educate, don’t push product
Market research, not features
Buyer focused, not benefits
Creates dialogue, not solution
“As rep’s credibility goes up,
customer’s apprehension goes down”

Step #2
Questions that create urgency

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Most customers don’t know their own needs
Selling too soon is fatal
When rep asks right questions . .
Customer discovers problems
Most reps ask poor questions
Do NOT offer a solution

40
Proper questions move customers to urgency

Step #3
Learn to Present Persuasively

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You must grab attention in first 90 seconds
Grab ‘em with opening remark
Claim your unique value
Prove it!
Explain why they should care

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We are programmed to recognize contrast
Buyers decide by comparison
Boldly claim your difference
Demonstrate how it cures pain
Make it memorable
People are hard-wired to recognize contrast

44
70% of presentation is dedicated to proof
There are 4 powerful proofs
Most reps use one to none
Rep must validate claims
1st proof - 3rd party validation

Step #4
Retention is execution key

46
Copyright 2010 Your Company
Without on-the-job coaching, retention fails

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Specific lead activities change lag indicators
Leading sales indicators . . .
Move lag indicators
Leads are predictable
Acting on leads gets results
Execution program is key to achieving sales results

48
Accountability to lead indicators
Weekly accountability to leads
Insures no one gets stuck
Mastery is not doing 1,000 things
Mastery is doing 4 things 1,000 times
“That which is easy to do, is also easy not to do”

4 Steps to Success Summary
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Experts recommend outsourcing to 3rd Party….
50

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Source: ES Research Group
What to look for in sales-training company
Customized Sales Methodology
Interactive Instructional Design
Facilitator Preparation & Presentation Experience
Facilitator’s Professional Experience
Ability to Measure and Support After-The-Event

52
Probability of achieving a new initiative
Hear an Idea = 10%
Decide to adopt = 25%
Schedule it = 40%
Plan how to do it = 50%
Commit to another = 65%
Account to another = 95%

Introducing . . .
Achieving remarkable sales results for your paint company
JimMcBrayer@ProgramOnPersuasion.com
(678)610-6509
53

History
Founded by paint executive
Customers include largest paint companies
We speak paint
54

What our clients are saying . . .
“Feedback from the team was that your presentation and role-playing were the best they had ever been a part of. We look forward to more REAL training in the future”
Steve Carrillo
Sr. Sales Manager PPG – Dallas, Texas
55

“There is only one word to describe Jim McBrayer’s training course . . .WOW! Instant credibility from the start . . . Best training in 30 years in the industry. The follow-up is what differentiates and is the key to the success”.
Dean Worley, VP
– Single Source Inc
56

“We doubled our sales one year after we went through the training. Like most, we were reluctant to set aside the time to train, but we are so much better off that we did.
Andy Robbins
A&K Painting Charlotte, NC
57

“This training was the shot in the arm we needed, we now have an edge over our competition. We landed the largest contract in our 20+ year history using what we learned!”
Terry Mathison
- Specialty Finishes Inc
58

“Since we implemented the sales techniques that we learned . . . Sales have increased 15%! I would recommend Program On Persuasion to anyone that wants to improve the results of their sales team”.
Fred Chapman
Baker Paint
59

I attended the “Program on Persuasion” presented by Jim McBrayer in December of 2009. It wasn’t about talking anybody into anything. It was all about how to really understand others, and how to listen to their needs. It will not only improve your sales performance, but will improve your relationships, both business and personal. It is the best investment you can make of both your money and your time.Tony Collins Chairman EonCoat
Wilson, North Carolina
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Take our Free Sales Assessment
Achieving remarkable sales results for your paint company
JimMcBrayer@ProgramOnPersuasion.com
(678)610-6509
61

The 4 Biggest Challenges Facing All Salesforces

by Program On Persuasion on Sep 24, 2011

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