Habits exhibited by a good sales person & a bad sales person

(from Chandra notes)

Habits exhibited by a good sales person & a bad sales person.

I urge you to spend some time on the research findings of studying 100K+ sales people. It can help you close more deals

Good salespeople had the following two characteristics in common –

Does not mean people who had these are successful. Just that all successful sales people exhibited these characters. So this is the minimum starting condition

1.  Empathy This is the ability to sense the reactions of other people and to notice their subtle clues and cues. Having empathy enables good salespeople to really understand what a customer wants, even when those desires aren’t articulated.

2.  Ego-Drive This is the need to have a prospect or customer say yes. What great salespeople seek is an opportunity to turn others around to their point of view.

While it was true that good salespeople had empathy and ego drive, it was also true that many of the unsuccessful salespeople had those two characteristics as well.

Four additional elements that were crucial to sales success. include

1.  Desire

Strong Desire, how badly a salesperson wants to succeed – in sales – is the most important element. When a salesperson lacks strong desire, their incentive to do anything difficult is not very compelling and they will often take the easy way out.

2.  Commitment

Strong Commitment is one’s willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. I found that many salespeople had conditional commitment – they will do what it takes – but only if it is not too difficult, not too scary, and they agree in principal with what they are being asked to do. When salespeople lack strong commitment, their incentive to do anything difficult is not very compelling and they will often take the easy way out.

3.  Outlook

Outlook encompasses attitude about the company, job, career, and self. When Outlook is not as strong as it could be, as is often true with candidates looking for a new position, it can affect desire and commitment, cause excuse making and a bevy of other conditions.

4.  Responsibility

When salespeople take responsibility for their results, or lack thereof, they are being responsible. Salespeople who make excuses will seldom improve as they fail to see the part they played in their most recent sales failure.

While identifying dozens of weaknesses that could hinder sales performance - five major weaknesses which, when present in certain combinations, prevent salespeople from executing their sales plans making success more uncertain.

5 Factors that will make you a poor sales person

1.  Need for Approval

Many people choose sales after being told they had a perfect personality for selling. While that could be true, many of those same people feel complete only when people like them. Salespeople who are easily liked have a great advantage but salespeople who need their prospects to like them often make that a priority over getting the business. Salespeople with need for approval usually have difficulty asking tough questions, often have a fear of rejection and avoid confrontation.

2.  Tendency to Become Emotionally Involved

Salespeople that think, analyze, create, strategize or otherwise talk to themselves when prospects catch them by surprise become emotionally involved instead of remaining in the moment. When they are emotionally involved, their listening skills tend to be self-focused rather than prospect focused, causing them to miss important points and lose control of the meeting.

3.  Self-Limiting Record Collection (often an opposite of Empathy)

Every salesperson has as many as 60 beliefs that either support the selling process (“I have the ability to be effective with company presidents”) or sabotage (”I don’t like making cold calls”) it. The collection of self-limiting beliefs is what I refer to as the Record Collection. Ineffective salespeople often have 10 or more of these self-limiting records while more effective salespeople have very few.

4.  Non-Supportive Buy Cycle (an opposite of Empathy)

Buy Cycle refers to the way a salesperson makes a major purchase for his or herself. When one buys in a way that supports the selling process, it is a Supportive Buy Cycle. Most ineffective salespeople have Non-Supportive Buy Cycles. They think it over before making decisions, comparison shop, and shop for the lowest price, perform research or think that a relatively small amount of money is a lot. When their prospects wish to engage in this behavior, the salesperson understands (empathy) and the techniques for handling stalls and put-offs of this kind are either not used at all or used ineffectively.

5. Discomfort with Issues Involving Money (a frequent opposite of Empathy)

Many salespeople are uncomfortable escalating a question about budget, or whether a prospect can afford the product or service being offered, to the next level. Their discomfort prevents them from helping a prospect figure out how to pay or even where the money could possibly come from. When prospects don’t have the budget, can’t envision increasing the budget or don’t know how they can find the money, the salesperson empathizes rather than digging deeper, asking questions and making suggestions to solve the monetary shortage.

Additional dimensions for being a successful sales person.

 Service Motivation (opposite of Need for Approval) Often lacking in individuals who possess Ego Drive, Service Motivation is the desire to hear "thank you" or "I appreciate that." Seeking approval and appreciation, those motivated by service may fear rejection; but they are often very successful in earning the respect of their clients. Combined with persuasive talent, service motivation can translate into a delicate and golden touch.

 Conscientiousness (similar to Responsibility) Whether externally or internally driven, responsibility and the desire to carry out tasks are important qualities. Responsibility, purposefulness and organization are the foundations of goal setting, and sales people must have a plan if they want a lasting career.

 Ego Strength The way rejection is handled shows the difference between a true sales person and someone who is ill-suited to the field. The misemployed individual will feel disappointed; whereas the winner will contemplate what could have been done differently, wishing for one more shot at the prospective buyer.

• Hunting with Lack of Supervision – a company that requires a salesperson to devote the majority of his or her time prospecting for new opportunities but has management that devotes too little time or energy supervising or holding the salespeople accountable must select salespeople who have performed in that role previously and who don’t have “I don’t like making cold calls” in their Record Collection.

 Figure it Out Factor – When candidates have a high figure it out factor, they ramp up more quickly than traditional candidates. Candidates who meet this criteria are considered Ideal

Each situation requires a different type of sales person.  Are you in the suited for the sales role you are handling now?

• Closing – a company with a short sell cycle or a one-call close must select salespeople who have performed in that environment previously and whose Buy Cycle shows that they don’t think it over before making a purchase.

• Hunting – a company that will require a new salesperson to go out and find new opportunities the majority of the time must select salespeople who have performed in that role previously and that don’t have call reluctance – Need for Approval, Difficulty Recovering from Rejection and “I don’t like making cold calls” in their Record Collection.

• Competition – a company that faces much of the same competition everywhere they go must select a salesperson who has sold in a competitive environment before and who’s Buy Cycle shows that they don’t comparison shop when making a purchase.

• Price Shoppers - a company that sells at a higher price than its competitors must select a salesperson who has sold in a similar price sensitive environment before and who’s Buy Cycle shows that they don’t price shop when making a purchase.

• Money Tolerance – a company that sells a high priced (5 figures or more) product or service must select a salesperson who has sold in a similar environment before and whose Buy Cycle shows that they don’t think a relatively small amount of money is a lot.