Email outreach is a cornerstone of modern sales strategies. With 93% of B2B marketers relying on email to reach their prospects and existing customers, crafting a good sales email is a critical skill for both sales leaders and frontline reps. And as virtual selling becomes the norm, the importance of well-crafted emails grows even further.
We’re standing at the precipice of a revolution in B2B sales. The landscape we’ve known for decades is transforming before our eyes, and it’s time we take a good, hard look at what’s coming.
Ten years ago, the phrase “tick-tock” referred to the sound a clock makes and artificial intelligence was mostly the stuff of science fiction. Technology has changed at an almost incomprehensible rate in the last decade, transforming how we work, communicate, and make purchasing decisions.
Whether you love artificial intelligence (AI) or want to steer clear of it, one thing is for sure—it’s influencing a lot. From looking something up on Google for work or suggesting a new place to grab lunch, it’s become a daily part of life.
The face of B2B sales is changing. Enter the “Soundbite Generation” – a new breed of sales professionals born into the digital age. They represent a fundamental shift in how sales professionals approach their craft, bringing powerful advantages and unique challenges to the modern sales environment.
Today’s B2B buyer is unlike any other. They research extensively, compare options thoroughly, and make decisions differently than any generation before them.
At ASLAN, we've seen firsthand how tailored, role-specific sales training can transform sales teams.
Picture this: It's Monday morning, and your sales team is gathered for the weekly meeting. Are they energized, sharing new insights and strategies? Or are they slumped in their chairs, waiting for you to tell them what to do next?
The business world moves fast. Sales professionals must continuously sharpen their skills to keep up and stay competitive.
There’s no doubt about it:effective sales training delivery methods drive business growth and boost revenue.
Sales training equips your team with the skills, knowledge, and strategies to close deals, build customer relationships, and outperform the competition.
When it comes to sales training, quality trumps quantity. A few well-crafted articles and videos that are tailored to your team's needs are far more effective than an overwhelming collection of disorganized materials. If your sales reps can't easily find the right content when they need it, the size of your training library becomes irrelevant.
We've all been there – sitting in a training session, nodding along, feeling like we've got it all figured out. But then, when it's time to hit the field, that knowledge seems to vanish into thin air. This is the classic gap between knowing and doing, a challenge that many sales teams face.
Does this sound familiar: You’ve finally invested in a sales training program for your team after many months of deliberation. Something needed to change in your sales organization because buyers were simply not interested in what your reps had to say—and your reps were feeling disengaged and unfulfilled.
A well-trained sales team can be the key to success. Like athletes preparing for a championship, sales professionals need expert training to reach their full potential and outperform the competition.
A well-trained sales team is essential for business success.
Investing in professional sales training can be a game-changer for organizations seeking to enhance their sales performance and gain a competitive edge.
A well-trained sales team is critical for driving revenue and achieving growth.
Imagine this: You're the star quarterback leading your team into the biggest game of the season.
Investing in the right sales training provider is a strategic move that can elevate your organization's sales performance and drive significant revenue growth. However, finding the perfect fit isn't always straightforward.
Did you know companies that invest in comprehensive sales training programs see 50% higher net sales per employee?
Investing in sales leader training programs is a strategic decision with the potential to transform your organization's revenue generation.
Possessing strong leadership skills and executive presence can be a game-changer for your career. Executive presence is a powerful combination of confidence, communication abilities, and charisma that commands respect and inspires others.
In the high-octane world of sales, success hinges on one crucial factor: people.
Congratulations!
Imagine launching a multi-million dollar marketing campaign without understanding your target audience or their needs.
As a sales leader, you wear many hats: strategist, motivator, and, most importantly, coach. But let's face it – coaching your team can be a challenge!
Are you tired of feeling like you're constantly reacting to market changes instead of shaping your sales destiny? There’s a good chance getting strategic could be the answer.
The sales landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Gone are the days of generic scripts and cold calls dominating the game. Today's empowered customers, armed with information at their fingertips, demand a more sophisticated approach.
Building a high-performing sales team isn't just about enriching individual skills; it's about creating a culture of excellence led by visionary leaders. In the dynamic B2B landscape, where customer expectations evolve at lightning speed, the role of the sales manager and leadership becomes more critical than ever.
The account management landscape looks much different today than it did just a few years ago. Competition has exploded, customers expect hyper-personalized service, and technology is rapidly changing. Account Managers (AMs) need new strategies to deliver results, or they’ll be left in the dust.
Here, we’ll cover what Sales Leaders need to do to set their Account Managers up for success in today’s environment. With the right mindset, strategies, and training under their belt, your AMs can thrive and drive revenue growth.
As a sales leader, are you looking for the best way to train your high-performing Account Managers (AMs)?
Do you worry that generic sales or customer service training won’t meet the needs of your AMs?
If so, you’re not alone.
That’s because AMs need specific training tailored to their role and responsibilities, not some out-of-the-box training. What’s even worse is that this one-size-fits-all approach to training generally assumes all AMs are at the same level and have the same skills. We know this just isn’t the case.
Account Managers play a critical role in customer retention and growth. Their specialized position straddles sales and service, focusing on strategic expansion within key accounts. Despite this, companies need to provide their AMs with adequate and role-specific training for their AMs.
For maximum impact, AMs need customized programs tailored specifically to their needs. The right training teaches the mindset and capabilities needed to uncover customer challenges and demonstrate continual value.
Are your Account Managers (AMs) equipped for success in today's complex sales landscape?
Account management has evolved, and so should their training.
Account Managers are vital players in growing and retaining revenue from existing customers. Unlike traditional sales reps focused on hunting new business, Account Managers are tasked with farming and cultivating current accounts to uncover expansion opportunities.
However, many organizations still treat Account Managers like any other salesperson – with quotas, territories, and a mandate to aggressively sell. This outdated approach sets Account Managers up for failure, given how much the buying environment has changed. With more stakeholders involved and sky-high buyer expectations, a more consultative, customer-centric mindset is required.
Account managers need specialized training to adopt an Other-Centered® perspective and execute the unique objectives of their role. The Other-Centered mindset focuses on deeply understanding the customer's needs, challenges, and goals rather than taking a sales quota-driven approach. It enables Account Managers to build trust and strengthen relationships.
And that is what AM training desperately needs.
Customer expectations are at an all-time high – being an order-taker won’t cut it these days. In the same breath, poor customer service in this role will have customers high-tailing it off to a competitor. Customers want a trusted advisor who can walk with them in lock-step as they navigate their business needs. A Key Account Manager (AM) is that person.
A Key AM plays a critical strategic role focused on managing and expanding relationships with a company’s most valuable customers, also known as key accounts. They serve as the primary point of contact and liaison between the company and key clients.
Their core mission is to maximize sales opportunities and revenue growth from these key accounts while ensuring continued loyalty and business – it’s no small feat.
When asked what an Account Manager (AM) does, the plain-jane answer is, well, they manage accounts.
And while that answer is logical and incredibly simplistic, it’s not entirely accurate. Sure, most AMs can offer a bare-bones relationship that is purely transactional, but this leaves a lot of money on the table and worse, displeased customers. With customer expectations at an all-time high, AMs are called to be so much more than that.
Here is a generalized breakdown of the basic activities an Account Manager typically does:
Over the past couple of years, a recurring theme has popped up at conferences for sales and sales enablement leaders. The main theme: growth is attainable, but sales performance is on a continual decline. Here’s the rub – everyone seems to be scrambling for the tool or missing piece that can take their team to the sales promise land.
This is probably why the latest productivity tools are so hot, with the latest AI tools at the top of the list. It seems like everyone is interested in leveraging AI to read the prospect’s mind.
There are now over 3,000 sales and productivity tools on the market, and the number grows each and every year, with each one claiming they have cracked the code. Everyone, it appears, is looking for something to make it easier to sell – and more power to them.
Selling is hard and any edge you can get is worth pursuing.
But here’s the truth about selling – There is no secret sauce, silver bullet, magic fairy dust (choose your favorite metaphor) to mastering the profession.
Make no mistake, we’re a big fan of the tools, pro tips, insights, and anything that will make it easier to sell. Our company has invested heavily in tools. But just like learning to play golf or the violin, there’s a defined set of capabilities sellers need to succeed. There are no shortcuts.
If a golfer struggles to hit the ball in the fairway, yes buy them the latest driver but rigorous practice is required to fix their swing.
As long as sellers are talking to customers, there is no shortcut to mastering the art of influence.
So this begs the question, what’s the most effective strategy for developing a seller’s capabilities?
Training? Nope.
Is it delivering real-time micro-learning to your team? Nope.
Here’s what we’ve learned from 20 years of research, conducting control group studies, and analyzing the highest-performing organizations – If you want to change performance there is nothing more effective than focusing on your front-line sales leader.
Training, micro-learning, and productivity tools are all critical to improving performance but nothing has more impact than the leader/coach. The leader drives the culture and engagement and is the key to developing the seller’s competency.
Simply put…change happens one to one and not in a workshop.
I know this idea on face value, isn’t revolutionary. You’re probably a big believer in coaching. You love the whole coaching movement. Almost every organization I’ve worked with supports the ideas.
But then I spend some time on the field and ask a few questions:
Imagine someone who knows nothing about sales, coming up to you and asking what a manufacturing sales rep does on a daily basis – how would you answer?
When was the last time you went into a restaurant, and the server told you that you would be having the crab without even giving you the chance to look at the menu? It sounds absurd, but it is exactly what buyers experience when exploring solutions in manufacturing sales every day.
Sales in the manufacturing industry can feel like a page ripped straight from Dante’s Inferno – “abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” That might be a bit overdramatic, but you don’t have to spend much time in the manufacturing space to understand that the struggle is real.
Sometimes the industrial manufacturing sales world can feel like a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole. Challenges and obstacles are constantly popping up, and more reps than ever are struggling to earn a seat at the table and drive results.
Have you ever heard the old saying that “the only constant is change?”
In real estate, the saying is “location, location, location.” In the world of technology manufacturing sales, location is replaced with the word “access.” Access is critical for any sales organization, but in the technology industry, it has become the single most important factor that determines sales success.
Have you ever been set up on a really bad blind date? You are probably thinking to yourself, “What the heck does a blind date have to do with sales rapport and referrals?”
Have you ever considered that sales is a lot like building a home?
Landing a referral is the holy grail of sales leads for most reps. Referrals are viewed as an easier win because they are motivated to buy, have at least basic knowledge of your product, and were pointed in your organization’s direction by someone they trust.
Your reps may be great at peeling back the layers of each organization to find the right decision-maker, but how do they overcome objections and a meeting? Chances are there is a gatekeeper that is ready to throw up one objection after another, all in an effort to filter out the riff-raff and not waste the decision-makers time.
“Selling doesn’t begin until the customer objects.” Sound familiar?
Let’s face it, sales teams spend countless hours each year role-playing, analyzing customer discussions, and more – all in an effort to improve their effectiveness at overcoming objections.
“If you build it, they will come.” We aren’t talking about a cornfield in Iowa, but the statement rings true in sales, nonetheless. This is especially true when discussing building rapport, and for sales leaders looking to build a robust referral pipeline, it simply cannot be overlooked.
A referral is a powerful thing. It’s a personal recommendation from a trusted source, which can be a make-or-break factor in a customer’s decision-making process. From a sales perspective, a referral is a gimme, a slam dunk, a home run, or any other sports analogy that comes to mind. Or at least they should be.
Referrals are the golden goose of sales leads and prospects. They come prepackaged with a seal of approval from a trusted source, they already have an idea of the type of solution you provide, and they can move through the sales process faster than prospective clients that are cultivated through cold outreach. Recent studies have shown that around 85% of decision-makers start the buying process with a referral.
If you were to take a snapshot of the professional services sales landscape, it would look drastically different than it did a decade ago. While technology has undoubtedly streamlined the sales process it has simultaneously created one layer of complexity after another for sales professionals. The result? A more competitive industry with ever-growing customer demands.
On the surface, selling software as a service(SaaS) is no different than selling a physical product. Both have specific properties, features, and usability and are implemented to generate ROI.
When you talk about all-time comebacks, chances are your mind immediately goes to sports. The 2004 Boston Red Sox, the Patriots overcoming a 28-3 deficit in the Super Bowl, the list goes on and on.
The sales landscape is constantly shifting and there are a million different perspectives on how you should be coaching your team and ensuring success. Sales techniques, technology, handoffs between sales roles, quotas, and more are constantly being juggled. A rep’s job is simple: don’t drop the ball.
The rolodex has taken its place in the archives of history as an old-school way to collect and organize contact information.
It’s doubtful you’re picturing an old fashioned gold prospector with long-johns and a shotgun.
Freshly fallen snow on a breath-catching slope, a just-cracked can of something fizzy, blood-pumping cryotherapy: plenty of great things are cold.
These days, you can order lunch, send a gift, schedule a meeting, and catch up on news (2x speed) all in the course of 30 minutes, all online.
If you’re in sales, you might think everything is negotiable. But if you want to take your B2B sales team to the next level, one thing that’s non-negotiable is investing in training.
Have you read any articles lately about how the sales industry is becoming simpler and less competitive?
The workforce is changing, the market is in flux, and sales approaches that worked last year may not be effective anymore. Many sales leaders are being asked to lead sales reps who are up against challenges like global market shifts and increasing unreceptivity.
Sales leaders in enterprise organizations face high demands, high expectations, and the pressure to get results. They have to be trained to achieve at that level.
It’s always the right time to implement better practices in sales.
Great sales training means reaching as many people as possible in ways they understand.
Successful sales relationships are built on trust, acceptance, and understanding.
Sales leaders are MVPs. They’re on the frontlines, equipping sales reps in the field.
Sales managers play an important role. They manage the plan and productivity. They support sales reps in their efforts to hit numbers. It can be a hard role to do well, and requires an advanced set of skills.
The days of walking into a physician’s office, getting a meeting, and selling a product (as an easy wham-bam) are long gone. Due to regulatory shifts, the days of golf outings, wining and dining, and other sales nurturing efforts are also gone.
Life in the glowing box: it’s our new normal.
There are 5 things I have learned in 25 years of prospecting. (I know, that’s only one thing every five years), but hear me out…
My transition to sales manager was fairly typical. I was promoted from a role I had excelled in (selling), to a role where I was completely incompetent (leading). In those early years of managing a team, I was more of an interactive kiosk than a leader: “If you have questions, I have answers. Be safe out there.”
Today we thought it might be interesting and fun for our readers if we discussed an amazing book that Tab Norris, Co-founder of ASLAN has been reading, called Win the Day. “In Win the Day, Mark Batterson, the New York Times bestselling author shares practical yet life-changing habits that will set you on a path to harnessing the power of twenty-four hours. And the best thing about it? You can start today.”
Starting a new training initiative for your sales organization can be daunting. How will you know if it was successful? Should you look at revenue? Team morale? ROI? Something else?
When I’m passionately trying to make a point, I’ve been known to overstate reality to boost my argument. I use words like “millions” or “never” or “always,” especially with my wife, to win the argument or sell an idea.
So, you had a productive call/meeting with a potential client when suddenly they show some hesitation. “I’m not really sure about …,” they say.
I have spent the last 25 years singularly focused on answering one question: How do you improve a sales rep’s performance?
Since 2009, entrepreneurs have pitched their ideas and dreams to a panel of ‘sharks’ on the hit reality show Shark Tank. The sharks – titans of industry who have made their own dreams a reality and turned their ideas into lucrative empires, listen to pitches and decide whether or not to invest their money in other potential profit-making ventures.
Many people think of selling as relationship management or demand fulfillment. But it’s much more than that. Selling is about serving, it’s about changing beliefs, and it’s about influence – all with your customer’s best interest at heart.
The reality of our world today is that people are overwhelmed and distracted by the amount of information coming at them every single day. This poses a problem, in particular for sellers, because it has become increasingly harder to break through that noise and deliver a message. People, especially customers, are unreceptive.
We began the discussion in our last blog about what customers actually mean when they say “no” to a sales rep’s attempt to engage.
In 1999, one of our most beloved Americans, JFK Jr., tragically died in an airplane crash. What was most disturbing to me was how easily it could have been avoided. He had what pilots refer to as vertigo. Due to thick cloud cover, pilots can get disoriented, believing up is down and down is up. While trying to gain altitude, he flew his plane into the ocean 7.5 miles west of Martha’s Vineyard.
I recently sat down with Stefanie Boyer, a professor at Bryant University, to discuss the academic side of selling, the importance of women in sales leadership roles, and how practice makes perfect in a selling career.
One of the most critical aspects of a sales rep’s role is being able to effectively guide conversation and uncover information through good questioning techniques. There are many ways to unpack this topic, but I thought it would be interesting to look at questioning, or interrogation, from another perspective.
When asked the question, “What do you sell?” most sellers think about a product or a service with some sort of tangible benefit or ROI. They think about a “thing” they offer as a solution and the business or financial benefit attached to it. But that’s not what reps are actually selling – what you are really selling is an emotion.
Every so often, we like to highlight stories from frontline sellers and sales leaders to discuss the applications of sales philosophy and methodology not just in theory, but in practice. I sat down with Charles Forsgard, VP of Global Sales at Honeywell, to discuss his own experience on the frontlines of sales leadership.
Building a new capability or skill can be a challenge – whether you’re a sales rep, sales manager, sales leader, or someone just getting back into the gym (quarantine workouts were nonexistent, at least for me). There has been a great deal of research done on what it takes to form a new habit or new skill. It’s a hot topic for many people, both personally and professionally.
Whether you’re prospecting, cold calling, or trying to grow business within existing accounts, political structure plays a huge part in winning sales opportunities. We all know there are several roles in the decision making process: the coach, gatekeeper, influencer, evaluator, or ultimate decision maker. I sat down with Tom Stanfill, CEO and Co-Founder of ASLAN, to discuss why we need to identify the actual structure, how to do it, and a tool to make it easy for sales reps.
There are lots of coaching models out there in the sales world. But the goal for each is the same: to improve sales rep performance and drive revenue. Our preferred and proven model, based on decades of our own experience working with sales reps and sales managers alike, consists of 3 stages: diagnose the gap, align, and develop. In this blog, we’ll focus on the second stage, align (how we actually coach) and put forward a 6 step coaching framework to manifest powerful and effective sales coaching sessions.
There are many similarities between selling and sports – many overlaps and common lessons shared, particularly between baseball and sales. As anyone familiar with ASLAN knows, we are big fans of sports analogies and references.
We recently put out a blog titled The #1 Sales Lesson from Kramer, for all of our Seinfeld fans. We highlighted Kramer’s questioning technique in the episode “The Keys,” where he attempts to persuade George to move to California with him.
Every so often, we like to highlight stories from front-line sellers and sales trainers to discuss the practical applications of ASLAN’s philosophy and methodology. I recently sat down with Chris White, speaker, sales expert, Founder of Tech Sales Advisors, and bestselling author of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers, to unpack his own experience on the frontlines of selling.
One of the toughest parts of the sales cycle is simply getting in the door. It’s often a challenge for salespeople to get a meeting. And once you do have the meeting, how can you use the time you have to connect your solution to your customer’s problem. Fortunately, our CEO Tom Stanfill has a unique perspective on how salespeople can effectively book meetings and close opportunities, by leveraging their position, not their product.
As we continue to conduct our sales training workshops virtually, we’re meeting and engaging with sales reps from all over the country and the world. Everyone seems to be in agreement that virtual selling will be in place, in some shape, form, or fashion, for the foreseeable future. Many reps are still on complete lockdown, while others are beginning to return to the field, meeting with customers for the first time in well over a year.
As a continuation of our blog about the lasting impact of virtual selling on market dynamics, the sales process, and team selling, I wanted to unpack the effects (and the importance of) on one-to-one sales interactions.
As the world begins to recalibrate after more than a year of shutdown, many of us are left with questions about the future state of selling. What will be the lasting impact of 2020 and the rise of virtual selling?
Many sellers run into the challenge of defending the value of their solution to customers, particularly with more complex or expensive offerings, or with something that is perceived as a commodity. Many customers jump to the conclusion that there are cheaper options out there, which may be true. As a sales rep, your job then becomes to defend the price of your offering.
You’re attempting to vet a few training providers, and as you navigate the process, you realize that choosing the right firm is far from easy.
There are new challenges for salespeople selling virtually, whether it’s getting a response from prospects, setting a meeting, or dealing with Zoom fatigue. Selling has changed, and sales reps need to adjust. In our blogs each week, we try to offer helpful tips and suggestions to address the shift that sellers are facing.
Staying organized and up to date with sales reporting and CRM software can be a chore for many B2B sales reps. Sales leaders appreciate the value of this kind of data, but it can be difficult to help sales reps see the value of spending their valuable time inputting this information.
We spend a lot of time sharing our thoughts about what it means to be truly Other-Centered® in the world of sales. But it’s always good to hear it from another source. I sat down with my former colleague and true disciple of the Other-Centered philosophy, Matt Caldwell. Matt was exposed to ASLAN early in his career and has carried the foundations through a selling journey that has included transactional, complex and even executive relationship sales.
As a sales training company, we spend a lot of time focusing our content on the technical side of selling. But we do also like to take a step back and examine the human elements of being a sales rep or sales leader, or a professional of any sort.
Using success stories to illustrate the benefits of your product or solution, in any conversation or presentation, is something that we teach every sales rep and sales manager we work with. Those stories help your audience emotionally experience the payoff and connect to your message.
What is it that makes some salespeople outperform others? What is it that sets them apart? Whether you’re in B2B or B2C sales, account management, inside sales or field sales, there are governing principles that guide a meaningful sales process. How can we take selling philosophy and turn it into tangible sales success and increased revenue from closing deals?
Over the years, so many of us have used ROI, Return On Investment, as a sales strategy. But we rarely go back and get that endorphin rush of proving that ROI to our clients. It’s a strategic decision we make, at some point during the selling cycle, to measure and go after.
Prospecting and pipelines are a common challenge for B2B sales reps, with a host of strategies, techniques and best practices on how to do it well.
It’s been almost a year since we, along with the rest of the world, were plunged into the Work From Home (WFH), all-virtual business environment. Whether in B2B or B2C sales, we’ve all had to grow and evolve continuously, re-learning to serve our customers and adapt to their changing needs. Salespeople, prospectors/hunters and account managers have made huge strides and progress.
But with virtual communication taking a more permanent place in our way of conducting sales, it’s vital to continue that progress.
Here are four of the “mistakes” that we are still seeing people (and even ourselves!) make in virtual meetings, and how to overcome them to improve your remote selling skills.
If you prefer to take this on the go and listen to our conversation on this topic, feel free to check out sALES with ASLAN podcast episode 90:
People aren’t changing their slides or tailoring their presentations to a more virtual friendly format; they are trying to present the same amount of content, the same exact slides, that they once used in person. This is a big mistake. A virtual meeting or presentation should not just be a “screen share session.”
Virtual presenting takes more time than when you are face-to-face with a customer. You need to cut down your content and be concise. Virtual meetings already have the bad rap of being boring. Zoom fatigue is real. Don’t be a contributing factor.
In person, people are more likely to stay with you, keep their eyes on you, be engaged. As salespeople or account managers, we know how to work a room. Face-to-face, it’s easier to read and command a room. But Zoom rooms are different.
With a virtual meeting, you run the risk of losing your audience’s attention. When you screen share, customers and prospects automatically shift their focus from listening to you, to reading the slides or worse, checking their phones.
Minimizing your slide content will help you deliver a punchier presentation. With fewer words on a slide, your customer will stay with you, not just your slides.
“The best content is sometimes no content.” – Marc Lamson
When you do need your customer/ prospect to consume content from your screen, pause to let them read, then continue speaking. (Most) people can’t read and listen at the same time. When you really want to make a point or cultivate a dialogue, stop sharing your screen and talk directly to your customer. Or better yet, learn to use a second camera with a whiteboard or flipchart. Movement is key for keeping your audience engaged.
Do not share your slides the entire time. Frankly, it’s boring. Moral of the story: minimize your slides and their content, and focus on keeping their attention on you.
This puts more of an emphasis on the preparation for your virtual presentation. Be thoughtful, concise, and intentional with what you put together. With less content to carry you, fewer slides to rely on, being prepared is key. Know what you are going to say – and practice.
This is exponentially more difficult when selling virtually. Basically, there are two ways to uncover the decision maker: clues and questions.
Clues are harder to see in a virtual environment. Body language, posture, reactions, and other non-verbal cues are almost obsolete in a zoom room. Everyone is looking at their camera or their screen… whereas in a meeting room (in person), people would be more inclined to give away levels of influence by their physical cues and orientation towards one another.
With less rapport and relational equity in a Zoom meeting room, it’s harder to ask the questions and observe the clues needed to discern the influencers and decision-makers. But it’s not impossible. Since clues are less reliable in a virtual sales setting, you need to be willing and prepared to ask the tough questions. For example, you might ask:
“Assuming we have the exact solution you’re looking for, based on our meeting today, what has to happen next?”
This question about process is a “softer ask” that will probably reveal the key players – who will be meeting afterwards to debrief, discuss, and decide.
What keeps us from asking these tough questions is not knowing how to position them. We need to position the question in a way that demonstrates why it benefits them to give us the answer. We call this “priming the question.” Why is it in their best interest to answer your question? Give them an OtherCentered(R) reason to respond.
For example,
“The reason I want to know ____ is so that I can make sure everyone is educated on ___.”
“Is there anyone else who will be involved in the process? If so, I can record this meeting if that would be helpful for them.”
Be prepared with questions you want to ask, and how you are going to prime them. You need to have the “why” behind each of the questions you want to ask. If you can say, “The reason I’m asking is…” in front of every question, you will get answers. And better yet, it will give you the confidence to ask those tough questions.
It’s about communicating your desire to serve, and making sure your customer knows that they are the priority.
There are many “what ifs” that come with the virtual meeting territory, and we are still seeing people unprepared to handle such challenges.
Here are some examples:
With face-to-face selling, you may have had some notice about a change of plans (if someone was sick, or missed a flight, or got stuck in traffic). But with virtual selling, you probably won’t know something has gone awry until you’re in the midst of it. You need to be prepared with a back-up plan if anything goes wrong.
Think through relevant scenarios for you, and come up with a contingency plan for each one.
For example:
In virtual meetings, we have noticed many salespeople glazing over the Q&A portion of the session. They use the final minute to ask, “Does anyone have any questions?” It feels offhand, like a throwaway moment.
With face-to-face selling, the interaction naturally lent itself to more questions and dialogue. In a virtual environment, you have to make an effort. Leave 10-15 minutes towards the end of your presentation for questions. Build that time in – don’t just see if you have any time remaining. Stop screen sharing and open up the floor.
Without giving time and attention to Q&A, you run the risk of leaving objections uncovered and unresolved.
People are more uncomfortable in a virtual environment, so don’t just ask a general “Any questions?” You will probably hear crickets. But don’t put people on the spot either.
Be prepared with who you want to call on, what you want to ask them, and why you want to ask it. For example:
“Tom, I know we’ve been talking at length about the U.S. part of the business, but as the leader of the international division, what are we missing on how we would represent you?”
That’s a thoughtful, OtherCentered question that will likely start a good question and answer dialogue.
One benefit of selling virtually is that you can have notes with you, “cheat sheets” on the people you are presenting to, without them knowing. Jot down some notes. You can even sneak a peek at their LinkedIn profiles as people are entering the virtual meeting room. Check out where they’ve worked or where they went to school. You can use these notes or tidbits to break the ice and start conversations.
Selling virtually is a new skill set. It will take practice and preparation. Regardless of the pandemic timeline, it is here to stay. So get comfortable with it. Practice “presenting into the abyss.” And above all, be prepared.
Hopefully many of the articles on our blog will help you continue to grow and evolve your virtual selling skills.
Today we’re going to dive into the integration of sales and marketing, and how they really are a team. I sat down with Sean Duffy and Kevin McCaughey to discuss this topic and the impact of “brand” on sellers. This is an extremely important relationship, because marketing can enhance the receptivity in our prospects. Therefore, sales teams can (and should) work hand-in-hand with marketing groups in companies of all sizes.
There is no time more fitting than the start of the new year to reflect on the wins and losses of the past year and set new goals for the upcoming one.
How are salespeople usually described? You typically hear words like “self-centered,” “pushy,” and even “untrustworthy.”
This article is a continuation of one we discussed last week. In the past, we’ve referred to it as “strategic coaching” or “OtherCentered® leadership,” but the idea we’re exploring here, called “Quadrant Coaching” is the same.
Our topic today is one of the more radical things we teach front line sales leaders here at ASLAN. In the past, we’ve referred to it as “strategic coaching” or “OtherCentered® leadership,” but the idea is the same. And this subject isn’t just for sales leaders, it is key for the reps they lead to understand this as well.
The beginning of a new year is always a great time to sit back, reflect and reevaluate. It’s a time to check in with ourselves and our peers, to set new goals and reconnect to what drives us.
Each week here at ASLAN, we put out content to help sales reps adjust to this new world of virtual selling. I asked myself, what’s the best way to help reps achieve their sales goals? Who is their “best friend” as they navigate this age of selling? It’s really their sales manager. It’s their coach, the person that helps them set goals and achieve them, growing as a seller along the way.
This topic, learning to identify the political structure of your prospects within an organization, will be very relevant and helpful to all B2B sales reps, especially in our current virtual selling climate.
In the world of sales, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about the feeling of vulnerability and discomfort that comes with selling remotely. What is it about this new “virtual reality” that makes sellers feel more vulnerable and “at-risk”? Is it the technology? Are we afraid of looking foolish?
Cold calling. Perhaps the most dreaded aspect of an inside sales reps’ duties. And with COVID-19 keeping us all in WFH mode, most salespeople have essentially taken on that role.
As we navigate the seasonal shift from summer to fall, it’s becoming evident to many of us that this virtual way of conducting business will accompany us into the winter months ahead. Still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and all it entails, in both our personal and professional lives, may be leading some of us to lose our drive or motivation to keep striving.
Combined, over the last 30+ years, Tom Stanfill has watched and made hundreds of sales presentations. Here is the most important thing he has learned: the best presentation wins, not necessarily the best solution.
And not only are we barraged with massive amounts of information, there are more choices as well. Research suggests we are now making 35,000 decisions per day. People are overwhelmed and paralyzed, driving response rates to a dismal 2%.
If you are scrambling to equip a sales organization to sell virtually, this is no small task. And much is at stake. To say your customers are very distracted right now is an understatement. Distractions at home, thoughts of the future, and to make matters worse, every rep and marketing executive has nothing but time on their hands to pump information into the market. Bottom line, there is a lot of noise out there.
In this article, we are going to explore why much of the coaching provided in the workplace today is less effective than it could be, even now with the added pressure of most sales professionals needing to work remotely.
My opening premise for this topic may fall under the category of “hard pills to swallow,” but hear me out…
Have you ever stopped to think what it would take to sell yourself something? I mean really sell… to have your beliefs changed about a product or a service, to get you to pay attention and invest your hard-earned money in something or someone.
In the coaching workshops that I’ve led over the last twelve years, there is always a manager who asks me this question:
Can you give us a discount on that? Can we postpone our payment? Is there any way we can get some of our money back? Admit it, you’ve all been hearing these requests since the start of the pandemic.
Everyone is talking about how to coach virtually – and that’s a good thing to be focused on. Coaching is every bit as important now as it was a few short months ago; maybe even more so.
If you inhabit the world of sales, chances are you’ve participated in multiple sales training lessons, or even online sales training courses, over the course of your career to learn and focus your sales skills as a sales professional.
By now, you may be very frustrated by all the new challenges of selling when you cannot visit your customers. You are having to relearn everything you thought you already knew and you realize that what made you successful in your career thus far, simply may not work any longer. If you’re in the world of sales, you’ve probably wrestled with each of the the following questions:
Let me guess, you never coached your reps much when you could travel with them. Now you are stuck in your home office and you do have time to coach and you are not sure where to start. Well you are in the right place, coaching and developing reps is even easier virtually and now, we actually have the time to do it.
During this pandemic, individuals and companies alike have had to adapt and evolve to the changing landscape of business and sales. With the majority of events, meetings, and projects being moved online, managers and leaders have had to get creative.
The coronavirus. COVID-19. It’s all over the news, and already greatly impacting people and businesses alike. We’re being affected personally and professionally. Schools are closed, restaurants and retailers are closed or operating in a limited capacity, and businesses have implemented mandatory work-from-home policies.
I’m a die-hard cross-country skier. I’ve been out 93 times so far this season. When I first started trying to conquer hills and sharp turns, I fell – a lot! It was discouraging. Then, my husband, who has been a skier since he was four and is now a skilled coach, said to me,
“You are what you read.”
In Part 2 of Call Center Sales, we’ll pick up where we left off in Part 1. You’re leading the call, driving the conversation by asking questions, keeping it conversational, and making sure your customer is with you as you navigate a solution and resolution to their questions.
If you run an inbound sales organization, or if you make a living selling on the phone, you know the biggest obstacle to up-selling happens in the first 15 seconds of the call. Although all “genres” of sales share common themes and techniques across the board, there are some key differences to selling in an inbound, call center environment that we’ll address here today.
Here’s an idea: What would happen if we learned about our client BEFORE we pitched our solution to them? And we don’t mean what you can find out from their website, but things that you can only learn after a conversation with them. For example, what challenges are currently on their whiteboard.
Last month, Bobbi Kahler published an article, How We Sabotage Change by the Way We Coach. One of the saboteurs that she talked about is “Diverting Focus to Soon.”
Another year, another failed sales quota. This year marks the fifth year in a row that the percentage of reps hitting their quota have declined — and they don’t look to be changing for the better anytime soon. So, what do reps need to know to meet the new demands in successful prospecting and see positive change?
Working as a marketing executive for the last ten years, I have literally seen thousands of attempts from sales reps to get my attention. Salespeople have tried the “hey, I see you are a Villanova grad, GO CATS!” They’ve also tried: “I noticed that you worked at Kodak, so did my dad!” Occasionally, I also get: “How ‘bout those Patriots,” when they recognize that I live in New England.
Earlier this spring, we remodeled our kitchen. As we were wrapping up the project, some friends came over to visit. They took one look at our shiny, new appliances and asked: “Where did you get those?”
Over my eleven year career with ASLAN®, I’ve coached hundreds of managers, and I’ve learned a couple of things.
There’s a distinct difference between sales tools and sales training, but because they often overlap, it can be difficult to know which one is best for your organization.
Every rep at one time or another has struggled with obstacles in sales, and when it comes to sales motivation and sales strategy, there’s a lot of white noise out there trying to solve the problem with a series of tips.
We all know the truth: Selling is hard work. It demands a paradoxical blend of goal clarity, motivation, and talent to consistently prospect for, pursue, and secure new revenue.
Ready to improve your sales strategy and start successfully prospecting? But not exactly sure where to start? Pop open a cold one and join Scott Cassidy as he talks with Tom Stanfill and Marc Lamson on how to “read your sign.” Listen here:
You’re invited to ASLAN®’s one-day Catalyst™ workshop on Wednesday, July 24, 2019.
This week on sALES with ASLAN®, VP of Marketing Scott Cassidy chats with ASLAN President Marc Lamson on sales coaching and what it means to lead and manage successfully (hint: It starts with a nice beer on Friday afternoons).
This week on sALES with ASLAN®, VP of Marketing Scott Cassidy chats with ASLAN Regional Vice President of Sales John Cerqueira on what you can learn from 80 floors up on 9/11 (but of course, it starts with a nice beer on a Friday afternoon).
Feeling stressed? This week on sALES with ASLAN®, VP of Marketing Scott Cassidy chats with ASLAN President Marc Lamson on what you can do about end-of-quarter anxiety and sales stress levels (hint: It starts with a nice beer on Friday afternoons).
ASLAN Training and Development announced it has been included on Selling Power’s 2019 list of the Top 20 Sales Training Companies that excel in helping sales leaders improve the performance of their sales teams. The list appears in the May 2019 issue of Selling Power magazine, which will be available to view online starting May 8.
For nearly 20 years, my wife and I have been a lead couple for Pre-Cana, the Catholic Church’s marriage preparation program. We attended a full weekend of preparation prior to our own wedding more than 25 years ago, as well as a marriage encounter weekend around the time the 7-year slump was approaching. We’re not just preaching what we believe, we were in the trenches too, just like the young couples we advise.
While it sounds like a quippy little tagline that belongs on magnets and coffee mugs, it’s absolutely true, and you pick up much more through reading than you realize. From teaching you how to organize your knowledge to building subconscious models and connections in your mind, reading shapes our experiences in ways that define our communication styles, our relationships, and our connections.
Do you have an ingenious design that solves a common problem? Then Lori Greiner wants you to make a million dollars. She’s “The Queen of QVC.” On the hit ABC series, Shark Tank, she’s “The Warm-Blooded Shark®,” “The Shark with a Heart.” But having a kind heart doesn’t make Lori an easy mark for just anyone who is pitching a product and willing to sell a piece of their company.
Be a Hero, Not a Zero
Lori is like an approachable customer for any salesperson: you can share ideas and have a decent conversation with her. But that does not mean you will make a sale.
On Shark Tank, the mandatory hook for catching a shark is often preparation. But with Lori Greiner, it is the key.
Lori has said that "I can tell instantly if a product is a hero or a zero." You'd better have a confident delivery and know what value you bring to the table. You need to have a product or service that many people want and that solves a common problem. Lori invests in simple solutions to those problems.
The popular show, Shark Tank, provides a great platform for hopeful entrepreneurs to present their ideas to a panel of industry titans. The budding entrepreneurs are there to convince the sharks to invest in their product idea. Contestants are presenting to a receptive group of individuals but without insights and skill, it is unlikely that they will hold the sharks’ interest long enough to successfully convince them to make an investment.
If you find yourself in front of the panel on Shark Tank hoping for Daymond John to invest in your company, being prepared and understanding his background and what he believes might serve you well. Knowing that he is the founder of the FUBU fashion empire is not enough, however. Understanding who he is and what makes him tick - is what will bridge the gap between being a presenter and becoming a partner when selling Daymond on an investment.
ASLAN Training and Development is proudly celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary. To commemorate this momentous occasion, the ASLAN leadership team is celebrating past achievements and looking to the future.
ASLAN Training & Development is proudly celebrating 20 years of bringing truth to the marketplace. began as a modest startup, has emerged into an award winning sales training company.
ASLAN was established in 1996, in the basement of co-founder Tab Norris’s family home. The story of ASLAN’s rise to success is a narrative more often associated with the rise of an up and coming garage band. What began as the passion project of two sales professionals, on a shoestring budget, has grown into a celebrated sales training organization with a footprint in more than 25 countries. The ASLAN team is humbled by their achievements over the past 20 years and grateful for the relationships and partnerships that have made it possible. For the past two decades, ASLAN Training has established a reputation as strategic partner, helping sales organizations bridge the gap in their sales force execution. Amongst the company’s many accolades, they were named to Selling Power’s Top 20 Sales Training Companies in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 as well as Training Industry’s Training Companies Watch List in 2015 and 2016.
The ASLAN Other-Centered® Leader
Coaches Quiz Blog Series
Every winner has a coach, and every coach has a philosophy. The ASLAN Other-Centered® Leader Coaches Quiz matches your coaching style with some of the legendary coaches in sports. Here is a deeper look inside the philosophy of one of the best.
Pat Riley has an amazing list of achievements: he coached and managed three NBA teams to a total of eight championships during his 27-year career. He was five-time NBA Coach of the Year, and he coached the All-Star Game nine times. Plus, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, the year of his retirement.
Riley experienced early coaching success when his Los Angeles Lakers won two championships and narrowly lost in the NBA finals during his first four years of coaching. To keep his team from becoming complacent, Riley began to compile detailed statistics that represented their lifetime performance in a single number.
My wife is a fan of the TV show Biggest Loser – and according to the ratings numbers, she is not alone! Seems millions of Americans tune in weekly to watch fitness experts Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper tone up and thin down teams of overweight contestants.
The following article is written with apologies to and great respect for Alaska’s Inuit people who have historically been referred to by outsiders as “Eskimo” but who have never used that term to refer to themselves and view it as offensive. It is also written with apologies to the manufacturers of modern day refrigerators who no longer refer to their food storage units as iceboxes. And finally it is written with apologies to Dr. Seuss whose classic Green Eggs and Ham is blatantly ripped off in this article’s title.
