Sharpen the Saw

I made a New Year's resolution to lose weight, not the first time I've done something like that, and probably not the last. As part of the master plan I decided to join a gym and start an exercise program. The unintended byproduct of my exercise program was that it helped me in sales.
Business to business sales has been pretty tough in the last year,the stress of always thinking about what you can do to make things happen gets tiring. Sitting home or going to the movies wasn't giving me much relief. You just have to find a way to disconnect and forget the problems, the chance to look at things from a new dirction is a huge help.
I started attending group exercise programs and I found that an hour sweating in the gym is a great relief and release. A program called Group Cynergy is a mix of pilates and yoga, and it's been a great release.I now attend execise class five nights a week, and it's great.
I think this is an important point for us to remember,when the going gets tough we always think we can worker harder, and plow through and make it better. A lot of times we need to remember that often it's better to work smarter than to work harder, and to be able to work smarter we have to step back and look at the big picture.
My first job was a salesman for an foodservice company, and I had a great sales manager who had over 30 years in the business.He was a real tough guy,one of the bosses who wants to know where you are and what you're doing all the time. He always set high standards and pushed you to meet them, you were always looking over your shoulder. One day I had one of those days that just beat you up, lost a big account, had an account go bankrupt, and couldn't scare up any new business. I called in to vent, he listened to me, and then he said something that I never thought I'd hear.He sent me to the movies,a double feature no less.The next morning I went in and he explained his ideas.He explained that stuff beyound my control had happened,but it had shook my confidence and I wasn't going to be able to portry myself and my company effectively. It was better to take me off the street and take my mind off the situation.It worked.
An hour at the gym isn't a Hawaiian vacation, but it's an opportunity to step back, calm down and get ready to open with a new approach. We all need a little attitude ajustment from time to time.

Are you helping or manipulating your customer?

We were at a sales meeting this week and we watched a video training session. As I watched the discussion of body language,key phrases, and customer versus salesperson space and quadrants, I began to wonder, what is our job as a salesman?
As a salesman I have always felt that my job was to listen to a customer and dig to find the pain that my product can relieve. I probe and discuss and explain, and hopefully reach the close and pen to paper.I feel I'm a professional and personally, I'm not sure that a lot of this stuff is going to make the differnece. Of course I have to use common sense and I have to respect the customer's space,and my company and my product deserve my best efforts to find the correct words to close the sale. I really doubt that there are "magic beans" that you can cast in to your sales presentation and those words will cloud the customer's mind, like Obie Wan's Jedi mind trick.
Now I'm not saying that these training videos are a waste of time, As a salesman I love hearing people talk sales and I love to pick up tips. What I take from training sessions like this are an examination of my presentation skills, and an assesment of how I can take the info, and improve what I do evey day. It reminds me that I need to be aware of customer space, I need to be aware of my handshake, and my opening line.
My personal feeling is authenticity is the best approach, we've all seen or worked with the guy or gal that goes in to their "act", they approach every customer and opportunity the same way, they've memorized a script and they need to get that out before the customer can say a word. They don't look at the situation, the customer's reaction or anything else, they're hell bent for the sale. I love their enthusiasm, and their commitment, but I question their actions. What do you all think?

The Second Quarter

Well, as a Business to Business Salesperson, I am looking forward to the second quarter of 2010. The first three months have been a challenge, but I truly believe we have turned the corner.
The business people that I deal with have shown that they certainly weren't ready to make any changes in their business. I really feel that the Health care debate held everyone hostage, companies were waiting to see what would happen and therefore, didn't want to make any changes. While everyone may not be happy with the way things turned out, they now know what the future holds, and they'll be able to figure things out.
Living on the West Coast, we are also seeing better weather, and I truly believe that this makes people's outlooks better. The sun is shining, things are getting greener, and life is better. This isn't a huge factor, but I really think, that it helps.
The Markets are moving up, and this is also making business people feel better about the future, Their investments are up, and people's 401K's are expanding, this will improve retail sales,look at the current numbers.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that as Salespeople, we have to look at the good, and be preachers of the gospel of "getting better." It's always kind of fun to be part of complaining, but our customers are looking for positives to build their business, and we have to help provide it. Let's all look for the positive.