The hard side of training, and the soft side of learning.

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When a new sales representative is hired, a company provides what is known as orientation and ramp up. Once those elements are complete, the company believes the salesperson can go out and begin earning money.

First, it’s a heavy dose of product training. The company and their trainers will spend days, sometimes weeks, on ‘what it is,’ ‘how it works,’ ‘how it’s used,’ and a myriad of other semi-useful facts.

Overlooked of course is how the customer profits from it, and what the customer’s motive to buy it is. Hello!

I’m about to give you a major AHA! for all product training. Forever. Trainers and training departments will scoff at this because it will mean a huge reduction in what they do and how they do it.

MAJOR CLUE: All product training should be given at a customer’s place of business. This is where your product is actually used. This is where a salesperson can gain real-world information about practical application, about flaws and service needs, and about merits and features that are most valuable to the actual user.

If enough time is spent at the customer’s place, salespeople will also uncover why the product was purchased, how the product was purchased, and the value the product has. It’s also likely, salespeople will dispel the single most erroneous aspect of sales: ‘the customer only buys price.’

REALITY: ‘The customer only buys price’ is an excuse propagated by weak and lazy salespeople.

BIGGER REALITY: If companies like Halliburton are able to sell hammers to the government for $6,000, somehow you should be able to get your price if you are within a few points or dollars of your competition.

BIGGEST REALITY: The reason salespeople deal with price is because they have no idea about the buying motives and actual product use. Reason? Product training took place in the corporate classroom, where I maintain it is just south of useless.

So much for hard (product) skills.
Now it’s time for the harder part – the soft skills – the selling skills.

Soft skills can be taught one of three ways:

  1. In-house training. Company trainers that may also include best salespeople, and outside courseware trained in-house.
  2. Outside training. Should be presented by someone who can sell an off-the-shelf solution with the intention that the salesperson will learn general sales, or a system of selling, or a customized sales process where specific aspects of the product and customer are taught.
  3. Voice of customer training. Voice of the customer training is when an existing customer tells their story of use of product (what their history is), why they bought it, what their experience has been, how they felt about it after purchase, and why they would recommend it.

PERSONAL NOTE: For the past 20 years, I have built my reputation on utilizing my expertise combined with voice of customer. I consider the training department vitally important, because they are the glue and history of the company’s success. These elements, if combined correctly, can make any salesperson or sales team THE dominant player(s) in their market – without respect to price.

The reason that soft skills, or selling skills, are the most important, yet most perplexing, aspect of sales success is because they must be accepted by the salesperson as valid, believable, and transferable before they can be successfully deployed. The salesperson must say to his or herself, ‘I agree with this. I think I can do this. I’m willing to put this into practice.’

Most important, the salesperson must do it his or her way, in his or her style, using his or her personality. That way the entire execution of the selling process is transferred to the customer as both authentic and believable.

If you’re a salesperson, and you are hungry for greater success, it’s important that you improve your soft skills to a point where they are equal to or greater than your product knowledge.

Please understand I’m not talking about learning some old-world, find-the pain, manipulative sales process. In today’s selling, ‘making a sales pitch’ and ‘closing the sale’ are pretty much over.

The biggest soft skill challenges in today’s sales process are finding the decision maker, creating harmony, engaging, proving value, transferring an emotional message, and earning the sale.

SALES REALITY: The hard skills (product) can be pounded in by a training department, but the soft skills have to be accepted as valid by the salesperson.

I’ve just given you a thirty thousand foot perspective on the new science of selling. It’s what I know to be true because I have executed it myself and created my own success with it. Some of you will accept it. Some of you will not.

JEFFREY REALITY: I’m sitting in a Starbucks at the Marriot Marquis in New York City. New York City is where most of my selling skills were acquired and polished.

I’m smiling, reminiscing, and calling to mind not just the soft skill sales success, but also the immortal words sung by Frank Sinatra, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”

So can you. Come to New York City, make a few sales, and find out for yourself.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

It’s not being best, it’s setting the standard.

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When I say the words, ‘set the standard,’ what comes to your mind?

Is it personal standards of yours?
Is it standards that your business sets?
Is it standards you have in your mind about other people?
Is it standards you have in your mind about other products?

When you go to a restaurant and order your favorite steak, you’ll always recall the one restaurant (especially if it’s the one you’re in) that had the best steak (or whatever your favorite food was). That restaurant set the standard. All other steaks you will ever eat will be compared to the standard bearer, until one day you may get a better steak, and then that restaurant will become the new standard bearer.

You know and recognize dozens of standard setters in your life – especially if these products or people are amazing and have your undying loyalty and especially if you proactively refer them. It could be as simple as the best ice cream or the best apple pie. It could be the best dentist or the best chiropractor. It could be the best financial planner.

And it could also be your own brand loyalty. The best car. The best clothing. The best computer. The best phone. Things that you would never consider doing without.

Whatever those products are, whoever those people are, they set the standard. Your standard.

There are third party standards…

  • Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single basketball game. He didn’t just set a record. He set the standard.
  • Abe Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. It wasn’t just a speech. He set the standard.
  • At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a speech to 500,000 people. It wasn’t just a speech. He set the standard.

The Beatles. Elvis Presley. They set the standard and paved the way for others.

When Wilt Chamberlain set the standard for scoring, it was on March 2, 1962. That standard has endured more than 50 years. Kobe Bryant’s 81 points were good, but not as good as Wilt’s 100 points – the standard.

Accomplishments are always compared to standard. Quality is always compared to standard. Products are always compared to standard. You know what the best products in your industry are. If you work for that company, you love it and vice versa.

MAJOR CLUE: Now that you get the idea of what I’m talking about, let’s talk about your business and your career.

What standards are you setting and who are the people involved in setting those standard – not just in your company, but also in the mind of your customer and in the reputation of your business in your community and in your industry?

If you’re not setting the standard, you’re fighting price. Reputation trumps price.

Your reputation stems from what others think about you and say about you. In today’s world, it’s what others post online about you. Reputation comes from setting standards in service, quality of product, consistency, and availability.

You may think of it as ‘best.’ But there’s a big difference between bragging about the fact you are the ‘best’ and ‘we set the standard.’

There are many products in which you can argue ‘who is best.’ There’s often an obvious winner. German automobile engineering has set the standard. Many computer products are best. Microsoft set the old standard and Apple set the new standard. There are many social media sites that can be argued as better than others, but Facebook set the standard.

As a salesperson, I’d like you to take a moment and evaluate (or should I say self-evaluate) where you are on the standard-setting scale. Are you just a rep? Are you one of the top 25% of reps? Or have you achieved the status of trusted advisor, who is setting standards not just in sales numbers, but also in customer loyalty, profitability, and relationships.

What about your company? What standards are they setting? What high ethical ground have they achieved?

If you look at the example of Bank of America, you see a century-old company who had set many standards and achieved global greatness. All that was destroyed by indiscriminate greed and a total lack of understanding of social media in general. Standard bearers can fall quickly. Just ask Tiger Woods.

I’ll admit this is pretty high-level thinking and for many of you reading this. You may believe that setting the standard is out of your personal control – especially standards that your company sets. But in the new world of transparency, thanks to the internet, mothered by Google and social media, you now have the opportunity to build your personal brand, create your personal reputation, and set your own personal standards – standards that will remain yours even if you change companies or careers.

I challenge you that the key word in standard setting is endure. Set standards that will last. Many have come and gone quickly. Don’t be one of them.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Practices for Professionals – Make Your Electronic Calendar Visible

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"Individuals should be ready and willing, at all times, to have their work observed by their manager."

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Practices for Professionals – Maintain Updated Electronic Calendars

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How often have you tried to schedule a meeting during a time that was seemingly available to one or more participants only to have invitees decline the invitation or not show-up because of a previous commitment? All to often, professionals fail to maintain their calendars fully up-to-date such that these tools accurately represent their time commitments and availability.

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The phone is smart. How smart is the user?

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Have you noticed the shift in human focus and concentration?

Sitting in the lobby of the Public Hotel in Chicago, there are about 50 people sitting and milling around, engaged in some form of interaction – primarily WITH THEMSELVES.

Oh, there are others with them, but these people are head down on their phones. I’m sure you have both seen them and been one of them.

Maybe you’re even reading this on your mobile device right now!

Guidelines of phone use have significantly changed because of technology availability. Five years ago (before the launch of the game-changing iPhone), all you could do on a phone was send and receive calls – and painfully text. Remember your early texts – a-b-c-(oh crap)-2. That was a technological EON ago.

Cellular phones are smart these days. Most of the time, they’re smarter than their user. They are as much ‘app’ driven, as they are talk and text. If you include email and the Internet in general, your calendar, Facebook and other social media apps, Google and other search engines, news and other of-the-moment information, Instagram and other photo apps, your camera, music, movies, Angry Birds (I’m currently playing RIO HD), Scrabble, and other games, Foursquare, Paypal, and of course the ubiquitous Amazon (where you can buy anything in a heartbeat, and read any book ever written), you at once realize your phone or tablet has become your dominant communication device – and it’s only an infant in its evolution.

Voice recognition is the next big breakthrough.

Most people are not masters of their own phone. They use programs they need, and rarely explore new ones, unless recommended by a friend. (Think about how you found many of the apps you use.)

If you’re seeking mastery of your device, here are the fundamental how-tos:

  • How to use it mechanically. (Not just on and off.) Your phone holds technological mysteries and magic that can make your hours pay higher dividends once you master them.
  • How to use it mannerly. The ‘when’ and ‘how loud’ are vital to your perceived image. See some more rules and guidelines below.
  • How to use it to enhance communication. Texting is the new black. Data transmission now exceeds voice transmission – by a lot. Emailing a customer? How do they perceive you when they read it? Is it “C U L8r” or “See you later”? Is it “LMK” or “let me know”? You tell me. I don’t abbreviate. My mother would have never approved.
  • How to use it to master social media. Tweet value messages on the go. Facebook is inevitable, and now that Instagram is linked, you’ll need an hour a day to post and keep current. RULE OF BUSINESS: Whatever time you allot to personal Facebook, invest the same amount of time to your business (like) page. Post and communicate to customers.
  • How to use it to allocate your time. Use your stopwatch feature to measure the total amount of time you spend on your phone. You can easily hit start-stop-memory each time you use it. Your total at the end of the day will shock you – but not as much as multiplying the total by 365.

Here are the rules, guidelines, and options to understand the proper time and place for use:

  • When you’re alone and no one is around. The world is your oyster. Be aware of time. If left to your own device, minutes become hours.
  • When you’re by yourself, but others are within hearing distance. Speak at half-volume, and keep it brief.
  • In an informal group. Ask permission first. Use your judgment as to what to ignore. Be respectful of the time and attention paid to the people you’re with.
  • In a business meeting. Never. Just never.
  • In a one-on-one sales meeting. Beyond never. Rude.

Flight attendants scream at you to ‘power down,’ whatever that means – not as loud as is you if you referred to them as a ‘stewardess,’ but close.

AIRPLANE HUMOR:
Plane lands and the entire plane is on their phone or staring at their phone, and walk off the plane like lemmings marching to the sea in a robotic stare.

REALITY: People are walking into walls, tripping, bumping into other people, and crashing their cars while looking at and using their phones.

A classic cartoon in The New Yorker magazine a few weeks ago showed a picture of a woman on her phone saying, “I’ve invited a bunch of my friends over to stare at their phones.”

The smart phone is here to stay – they’re cheap to use and application options are expanding every day. Your challenge is to harness it, master it, and bank it.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].