Sales Coach Debi

Sales Skills – Specifically Questioning Techniques to Improve Your Social Life?  Come on.. Really??

Yes Really!

I recently attended a party where most of the participants had not previously met. It reminded me, to some extent, of a Business Networking function. I decided to spend a little time in this event observing conversations much like I do when coaching our sales teams.

What I noticed immediately was that there were two main sets of communicators, those that engaged their partner and those that disengaged and even alienated their new conversational partner.

Here are the differences I observed:

The communicators that spoke with many people and kept the conversation engaging were the people that asked open-ended questions. You know… those are the questions that begin with – who, what, where, when, why, how, tell, me more about that, etc., Selling Skills 101, right? Exactly!

These effective conversationalists not only asked good open-ended questions, they also interjected with their own experiences as a way to relate to what the other person was saying. But they kept the conversation on themselves only briefly as it related and/or they’d interject with a little story. These effective conversationalists took great care in turning the conversation back to the other person.

Those that struggled with interactive conversation had no idea what they were doing wrong. I typically refer to this conundrum as “can’t see the forest through the trees”

What were these struggling conversationalist doing to get in their own way? This group was engaged in asking close-ended questions – these are those questions that begin with, “Are, Is, Do,” etc. and in doing so, these conversations appeared strained, impersonal and interrogative in nature. To make matters worse, these ineffective communicators interjected with far too much “look at me” related experiences – keeping the focus on themselves for far too long.

My advice is simply this: PRACTICE – Practice at home, in the grocery store line and in social settings.

Get in to the habit of naturally – just asking open-ended questions and see how much more information you obtain and how much easier the conversation flows.

In sales, effective communication and questioning techniques help us gain the details we need to understand our client’s business needs. When we question and converse effectively we also gain credibility and in the long run this differentiates us and allows us to help our clients more thoroughly.

This is a skill that can be obtained – but only with deliberate Practice, Practice Practice!

PS. Those effective communicators had the best conversations and made more new friends.

We’d love to hear from you.. share your conversational experiences.

What are these traits and even if your sales teams consistently meet their sales quota, how do you know that what you are doing is contributing to that success? Here is one way to review your existing leadership style. Let’s assume that you hired well in the first place. Then ask yourself how your direct reports would answer the following questions.  Or better still ask those that report to you to answer the following questions – anonymously.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the right materials and tools to do my job?

3. At work, do I have an opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4. In the last 2 weeks have I received recognition or praise for good work?

5. Does my manager or someone at work, care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel as though my work is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last 6 months have I spoken to someone about my progress?

12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

13. Do I have autonomy in how the work gets done?

Where do you see gaps? The answers to these questions will provide you with a starting point. And for some a startling point but keep an open mind this will provide some level of insight.

We can group these questions into a few key categories of what motivates people intrinsically. Yes I said intrinsically because despite popular belief extrinsic motivation is less long-term than intrinsic motivation.

Those people that appear to be on auto pilot (we all know them) are those professionals that do what they do for themselves, for the sense of purpose/satisfaction, the respect, the growth, the balance, and for recognition.

That is not to say, extrinsic or money motivation is a bad thing, but without at least some of the other factors, money motivation alone is typically short-term. I’m compelled to state that fear, as a motivator, is another short-term strategy.

The intrinsic motivational categories are as follows:

Sense of Purpose, Belonging and Team:

3. At work, do I have an opportunity to do what I do best every day?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel as though my work is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

Supervision/Guidance, Trust and Respect:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

5. Does my manager or someone at work, care about me as a person?

13. Do I have autonomy in how the work gets done?

Work/Life Balance:

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

13. Do I have autonomy in how the work gets done?

Resources/Efficiency Enablers:

2. Do I have the tools to get the job done effectively/ efficiently (respect /best use of my time)

Recognition:

4. In the last 2 weeks have I received recognition or praise for good work?

Growth:

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

11. In the last 6 months have I spoken to someone about my progress?

12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

If anyone on your team answers negatively to any of these questions, again this is your starting point for leadership style re-engineering.

If you have a few favorite leadership traits best practices, questions or if you are simply looking for advice, start a discussion in our Forum section. We’d love to hear from you.

As a coach to others whether you are coaching peers, children or as a leader in your company, pay close attention to your choice of words and your mental flexibility if you wish to invite open communication.
In a book called Practical Intelligence by Karl Albrecht, Karl references Jeff Foxworthy’s comedic phrase, “you might be a redneck if…” Karl’s revision of Foxworthy’s phrase is, “you might be mental redneck if, you take pride in having strong opinions and in stoutly defending them, and you have no patience for wimps that don’t.”

Strong opinions are great. It’s good to have beliefs as long as in conversation it doesn’t become a way of speaking as a performance – If the intent of your conversation is a way of showing off, to impress others about how smart you are and how well you can express yourself, you may be suffering from what Karl calls “Opinionitis.”
One way to stop performing is to be aware of your motives and truly consider them before you speak. Begin by changing your language from: MY OPINION and MY POSITION – To my VIEWPOINT, my CURRENT UNDERSTANDING, my IMPRESSION. And consider that we all come from vastly different environments and therefore we have different ways of learning, understanding and assimilating.

Once you let go of your need to be right about everything, you liberate your natural intelligence at all levels.  (Karl Albrecht, Practical Intelligence, The Art and Science of Common Sense.)
As a coach and as a parent, I’ve witnessed the impact of mental flexibility as it has helped time and time again to invite and maintain open communication rather than to deter it.

This week I observed a Regional Trainer named Hyla, swoop in from California to help manage the sales teams during the absence of their Leadership. The tricky part of swooping in during major change is to do so gently yet firmly. The ability to do this without overturning the sales teams ATTITUDE applecart is an important skill — that sadly, for many is not always intuitive.

Hyla initiated an open door needs analysis with each sales person. She then applied focused listening techniques.  Considering the needs of each person – Hyla outlined the structure and set expectations. These expectations were another change so based on what Hyla heard in the sales team discussions, she incorporated the Feature Advantage Benefit (FAB) sales technique to encourage early adoption of the changes.

As for the more tactical activities, a contest was developed to make preparation and prospecting fun. The sales teams in this district regained focus, momentum and attitude was on the upswing for most everyone on the team. This month the sales teams laughed, joked and focused while they sold one of the largest months ever.  Patience is a Virtue, Gentle Firmness is a Leadership Skill, Encouraging Early Adoption is a Sales Technique, and in sales-like sports – ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

We all like to feel that we are in control of the things around us. It is the lack of control that creates resistance. Sometimes just asking a person what they think about the changes coming and how they think the changes will impact them,  helps them feel as though they are respected enough to be included and can therefore plan ahead or can be coached to address the changing tides.

Without some consideration for those affected by change, many may feel as though they are being swept away by a strong current. Or worse yet that they are being swept over by a current because the tiny boat they’re in is insignificant.

Kudos to this Hyla for getting the people involved in the changes in a way that helped them maintain the right attitude and take ownership quickly.

We’d love to hear your thought or success stories.

Build a foundation. It’s important to build a solid foundation for your employees so they feel invested in the company. Tell them about the history of the business and your vision for the future. Ask them about their expectations and career goals, as well as how you can help them feel part of the team. When any new employee starts, make sure he or she receives a thorough welcome orientation.

• Create a positive environment. Promote an office atmosphere that makes all employees feel worthwhile and important. Don’t play favorites with your staff. Keep office doors open and let folks know they can always approach you with questions or concerns. A happy office is a productive office.
• Put people on the right path. Most employees are looking for advancement opportunities within their own company. Work with each of them to develop a career growth plan that takes into consideration both their current skills and future goals. If employees become excited about what’s down the road, they will become more engaged in their present work.

Go to their website to see the entire article.www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/…/111622-1 

Share your thoughts, ideas, success stories with us. 

A Coaches’ - Notes to Self: “Attitude and confidence are everything – Especially in sales.”

To those who are coaching: Take the “I” word out of your vocabulary as it relates to the employee’s work.  As an example, “I want you doing this” Is about “you” the coach.

As a coach you are there to serve the employee – the employee is your customer.  Just as you would ask a customer to take action – Think about the benefit to your customer? Use “we” words over “I” words as often as possible.

Share your comments, stories or thoughts!

Sometimes we forget that as individual buyers, we EXPECT to negotiate.  We know that if we don’t ask, we won’t receive.  Come-on — pay full price for that couch?  No way! Let me see if I can get a discount first. 

The same thing applies to your customers.  So expect them to ask, but don’t offer a reduction without the initial request and don’t offer a reduction without asking for something in return. (a longer term,  additional services, 5 qualified referrals that the customer calls and introduces you to, etc.) And be certain they know that their price reduction request is a BIG request.  

Don’t be afraid to say, “No, I’m sorry that we won’t be able to do business together today.

In order for us (my company) to be here long-term for all my other customers  it is my job to ensure a win/win for us both.  

As Tom Hopkins use to say, when you ask the closing question, “the first person to talk loses.”  

To update for today’s market – it is more important as a front-end seller, before the closing question, while in probing and negotiating, that the first person to talk price and/or to make price an issue is the very same person that turns your products or services into a commodity.  Customers just expect to negotiate.  Don’t commoditize yourself and don’t shop with your wallet on their behalf.  Take your price sensitivity out of it!

Most customers won’t admit it but they respect a sales person that has business savvy and understands the value of WIN/WIN.  

Share your experiences and help others in your profession. 

The Sale Professional’s  - Tip for the day: 

Sometimes you just have to say No!