I recently began doing training in the banking industry. Across the board, successful bankers close between 2% and 6% of the prospects they call on, starting from their first prospecting call. Not only are those numbers abysmal, they are considered normal. In other words, bankers are expected to fail at least 94% of their time. The insurance industry has the same odds. In general, every industry closes less than 10% of the prospects they call (first call to close), with over 90% falling in the 7% category....

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In today's 24/7 driven business word, accountability is becoming a more critical issue for every business owner, manager, executive and salesperson. The challenge is to realize that accountability is just not a single issue, but an issue with many supporting elements. To maintain and thrive as an accountable individual first requires overcoming the fear to embrace these elements and then a plan of Action to ensure that YOU are an accountable individual. Action - What action or actions did you take or not take and why?...

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Question: What do the following have in common? - I spend a lot of time spinning my wheels and not getting very much done. - I am continually frustrated with the performance of my sales team. - Why can't my sales team be more independent thinkers? They come to me with EVERYTHING! Answer: These statements reflect people who are continually frustrated with the same problem. They are stuck and their problems can probably be traced back to making Big Assumptions. Making assumptions about yourself or others, without checking them out, can diminish your effectiveness....

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As spring moves to summer, the forecast should be for warmer and sunnier weather. What is the forecast for your business? Is the outlook sunny or cloudy? Do you know what sales you can expect, whether for a team of sales people or within your own business or practice? How do you feel about putting together a forecast? How do the others in your business feel? I wonder why you have these feelings? Forecasting is vital for any business - well, accurate forecasting is vital!! This is true for professional services as well as commercial organisations....

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Performance and behaviour management is by far the most difficult aspect of any manager's job and the reluctance to 'grasp the nettle' when performance or behaviour issues emerge is certainly a concern in many organisations. But at the end of the day that is what managers are paid to do and not doing so will certainly affect service, team morale, sales and ultimately the bottom line. Why does this reluctance exist, why do so many mangers back away from confrontation? The problems and challenges that need to be overcome are many and the common reasons and 'excuses' for not doing so are as follows: It is Risky - There is a worry in the back of the manager's mind that discussions could turn into heated arguments and that they may open themselves up for harassment or bullying accusations....

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Quote of the month: "A leader is the relentless architect of thepossibility that others can be."Benjamin Zander, Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Sales organizations have access to more or less the same resources. They can draw from the same pool of salespeople in their niche orgeographic area, and they can all learn the same sales ormanagement tools and techniques. Yet some organizations perform at a high level and other stay atthe bottom of the heap. What accounts for these gaps? I believe twowords answer the question: effective leadership....

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Sales managers frequently approach me for advice on how to keep salespeople motivated, especially when sales reps get into a rut - and seem to keep slipping deeper into it. Telling managers what not to do usually solves the problem. Most managers do things to de-motivate salespeople without even knowing it. Let's take the idea of funnels and forecasts, for instance. Funnels and forecasts are important aspects of running any sales operation. Both salespeople and managers need to know where they stand in terms of potential opportunities, and funnels serve to track those opportunities....

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Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign must be carefully thought through from the beginning. What message do you want to send about your company, products, and services? What are the anticipated results? What is the execution strategy? What is the cost ratio versus expected return? These are just a few of the questions that run through our minds in the early stages of planning. If your goal is revenue growth and expansion, I believe you need to design, develop, and implement your Sales & Marketing plan on that foundation....

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Here is an outline for a recruiting process that focuses on performance-based factors: Write a Performance-Based Recruiting Ad: As you construct your ad, consider the following questions: What kinds of companies or organizations are good prospects for your company's products and services? Your ad should state a preference for job candidates that have existing relationships with these kinds of companies and organizations. Who are the most productive people (job titles) for your salespeople to call on?...

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In a small midwestern town, the local high school of 878 students recently produced its first state championship basketball team in over 90 years. The community has had an organized city basketball league for its younger boys for many years. But, this league, designed to spot talent early and then feed the high school basketball program, did nothing to produce the state title. There is also an open gym at the high school every Tuesday and Thursday night to encourage the young men in the community to play basketball....

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Business executives and sales managers frequently bemoan "80/20" performance on their sales teams, where approximately 80 percent of sales are produced by approximately 20 percent of salespeople. Why do salespeople perform so differently? What is it about top sales performers that enables them to achieve such vastly superior results? Certainly there are some sales skills that anyone can learn. For example, it is easy to learn how to ask reflective questions. These questions begin with the words "who", "what", "when", "where", "why" and "how", and tend to encourage more detailed answers than questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no"....

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