Are you making the same sales presentation to all your customers??  (Many sales people do).

Segment your customers into 4 main buying styles and adapt accordingly.

Presentation Tips that influence the Dominant high 'D' buyer..(no nonsense, big shot type company president).

Don’t waste their time.

They won’t want lots of facts and figures; just hit the high points and get to the bottom line quickly.

You and the product must appear credible.

Can be difficult to switch from current, trusted suppliers. But, once switched will remain highly loyal as long as you provide service.

Will not want to see many testimonials, research, data, etc. May delegate this research to subordinates.

Will be impressed with an efficient, no-nonsense, business-like manner.

Will be interested in new products.

Be concise and business-like. Short, bullet type presentations are better.

Don’t waste their time with idle talk.

Get to the point quickly, solve their problems fast and make the sale and get out!!

Presentation Tips that succeed with the high  'I' Influencer types (sales people).

Spare the details; they will not want to hear them.

The buyer will often buy easily from you with only a minimum presentation. But beware! The competition can steal the buyer away from you just as easily. So give plenty of follow-up service.

The buyer will be interested in new and innovative products. They will try almost anything under the right circumstances.

The buyer will want to talk a lot,  laugh, joke & socialize, etc. Buy him lunch or a cup of coffee and you’ll have him sold.

Eliminate lots of details. Just hit the high points.

Show him new products, socialize and provide plenty of follow-up.

Presentation Tips that work best with the high 'S' supporter team player types.

Take it slow and easy; if you go too fast, you’ll lose the sale.

Provide plenty of proof and statistics.

Earn their trust and friendship by visiting about family and hobbies.

May require additional visits for reassurances before the sale is made.

Emphasize your proven products.

Earn their trust with facts and figures. Take it slow and easy.

Make repeat visits and be sure ALL questions are answered.

Presentation Tips for the fearful 'C' compliant buyer.... (engineers, accountants, technicians)

Needs lots of proof, background information and proven results before making a purchase.

Needs to take time, absorb details and digest facts before going to the next step.

Highly suspicious of new and unproven products.

Use testimonials or plenty of research information to back up your presentation.

Don’t rush, but don’t waste time with small talk.

Get right to the point with plenty of facts and figures.

Be sure all questions are answered.

Don't stand too near & avoid physical contact

Happy  & successful selling!

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

How to Respond to an employee Request for a Raise......

It’s that time of year again: the annual salary budget has been set, performance evaluations are done, and suddenly managers are hiding behind closed doors, anxiously dreading “the talk.” The annual compensation conversation doesn’t need to be a daunting, mysterious process, either for managers or the staff they supervise.

Employees will ask for a raise. They will. In fact, it’s their job to ask for a raise. It’s also their responsibility to come to the conversation prepared with a clear and well-thought-out rationale for why they believe they deserve one. With a little preparation, managers can head into the annual compensation meeting feeling competent, knowledgeable, and unafraid of the inevitable ask.

Three Steps to a Smooth Compensation Conversation

1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Once managers accept that the employee will ask for a raise, it’s easier to prepare for the conversation. 

Know the market: What’s going on in your market in general? Examine companies with a similar industry, size, and location. Are companies giving 3 percent raises? Or, are they still in the hazy minimal raise days? Have reliable market data for each position on your team. Your HR or compensation professionals should be able to provide you with this information. 

Know the organization: How is your organization performing as a whole? What has your organization decided around raises this year? Has the budget been determined? What are the business priorities for your organization and what are you trying to reward? Performance? Tenure? Certain roles or hot jobs? 

Know the team: Money is a finite resource. If your raise budget is 3 percent and you decide to give one employee 5 percent, someone else is getting 1 percent. Knowing the ins and outs of your team will help you determine who should be getting above average raises and who should be getting below. Be able to articulate, at least for yourself, why each person is getting above or below and make sure you have a concrete rationale. 

Know the employee: How long has the employee been with the company? Does their performance meet or exceed expectations? Do they perform a job that has high intrinsic value to the company? 

2. Listen Actively, Communicate Assertively, and Own Your Decisions 

When you sit down for the meeting, try to pick a time and place that minimizes distractions and interruptions. Make sure that the employee feels like you have heard them, and, of equal importance, you will want the employee to hear you. 

Listen Actively: Most employees who deserve a raise have put time and effort into preparing their rationale for why they believe they do. Hear them out. They may be asking for the moon, but if they can clearly and concisely show you their contributions and accomplishments, listen. You may find out more about them in this section than you did during the performance evaluation meeting! Many times, in their anxiety to get through the salary negotiations, managers forget the simple step of listening to their employees, and you can’t expect them to listen to you if you don’t model that behavior first. 

Communicate Assertively: When it’s your turn to talk, be clear about what you can and can’t do. Don’t promise them the full enchilada if what you can give them is a piece of cheese. These days, many managers are people-pleasers, eager to get their employees what they want. Yet, it’s important to be firm, direct, and honest about what’s possible. If it is within your organizational culture, share the market data both overall and for the position. Consider sharing the organization’s budget for overall increases. If appropriate, explain the process for determining salary adjustments to them. 

Own Your Decisions: As a manager, you are often one of the largest influencers of an employee’s pay, whether you’re making the decision yourself or passing along information about performance or skill-level to others. Even if you’d like to do more or less for a staff member, but the powers that be feel otherwise, you help determine the salary for your employees. However the exact salary adjustment amount is determined, back it up and communicate it to the employee as though it were your own. It will help the employee accept the decision, and may gain you management points with the higher-ups. 

3. Follow Up

Whatever you talk about in your compensation conversation, be sure to follow up. If questions were raised, get the answers. If concerns about the process were communicated, pass those along to HR or your compensation folks. And perhaps, most importantly, whatever you agree to pay the employee, make sure it shows up on their pay check. 

Whether you’re a manager who has a lot of flexibility or one who is given salary increase amounts for each employee, you can expect that your employees will be looking to you for answers. Won’t it feel better when you have them? 

Chris Wilkinson.

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Get (profitable) old customers back…….

If people have bought from you before, they may buy from you again. You need to find out why they stopped buying from you and apply that knowledge to regain their custom.

Find out what changed

Identify why customers stopped buying from you. Consider whether your product or service is:

·                 no longer necessary

·                 too expensive

·                 unsatisfactory

·                 being beaten by a competitive offer

Rebuild contact with your customers

Research suggests the reason many customers stop buying is because they don't feel that they have sufficient contact with their suppliers. 

Try to have some form of regular contact - eg monthly or quarterly phone calls, formal or informal visits to customers, mailshots or email newsletters - so that customers don't feel they are being ignored and look elsewhere.

 If you have lost a customer for this reason, your first step is to rebuild contact and prove that you understand and are focused on their needs - eg a letter expressing regret that they have stopped buying from you and making them a time-limited offer.

It's worth trying a few times, but don't persist if you aren't getting any response. Many businesses have a limit to the amount of times they contact lapsed customers - usually five or seven times.

Make an offer to tempt them back

When you know why the customer is no longer buying from you, consider ways to make your business more appealing.

For example, if your price was viewed as too high, consider a time-limited discount to encourage them to start buying again, eg 20 per cent off for three months.

If your service was unsatisfactory, ask what you could do to make it meet your customer's expectations and assess if it is possible and profitable for you to adapt your service for the former customer.

Be realistic

While you may be able to tempt many customers back, remember that you don't want them at all costs. You want to build a long-term profitable relationship. It's not usually a good idea to make long-term offers that don't contribute any profit just to get a specific customer back, unless there are compelling strategic reasons to do so.

All these actions should be built into your marketing plan. The faster you contact a lapsed customer, the greater the chance they will come back to you

 Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

10 Sales Kickoff Meeting Ideas for 2012

We're nearing that time when we need to finalize 2012  sales budgets, new compensation plans and something most sales managers don't take enough time in developing: their 2012 sales kickoff meeting.  

Already, many larger organizations are booking their sales conferences for the first quarter. That's where they will invite their sales teams, vendors, resellers and partners to hear their plans to make 2012 the best year ever. Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, new marketing plans and product demonstrations will all be coordinated to boost enthusiasm and excitement in what the new year will bring. 

However, just because larger organizations are planning their formal conferences, it doesn't mean as a sales leader you shouldn't be planning an event for your sales organization.

A yearly sales kickoff meeting can be organized as an off-site or overnight two-day program, or as a simple half-day event. You should schedule them no later than mid-February. However, the basics of any sales kickoff event should include the following planning ideas.

1. Announce a theme for the new year. This should be a positive statement of your major objectives and something that can be reinforced throughout the year. "Be Brilliant on the Basics" or Nike's "Just Do It!" are two examples. 
2. Include time for sales training on sales skills. You might hand out a sales training book as a gift to each salesperson. This will be your first-quarter "must-read" book. You can use the book for extended sales training during your meetings. Also roll out your first quarter sales training plans.
   
3. Announce a first-quarter sales contest.
   
4. Announce a 2012 year-long sales contest, with a big prize for exceeding quota. Examples include a trip to a resort, a cruise or a trip to an island. Remember, these kinds of incentive programs are not expenses but paid out of incremental revenues/profits. The rollout should include written rules and pictures of the location.
   
5. Describe and show your marketing plans for the first six months. This will show the salespeople how your organization is planning to support the sales team.
   
6. Schedule the president of your company to give a short message on his/her philosophy on sales and the culture of your organization.
   
7. You may or may not announce your new compensation plan at this event; it all depends upon the degree of change you are making. With minor changes, it's a great time, while major changes schedule a separate meeting. Hint: Do not roll out the new compensation plan as the last topic of the meeting. Schedule it early in the afternoon, if your event is a full-day meeting.
   
8. Make sure you make the meeting fun!  As the sales leader, work on activities that create the right culture and teamwork. Create a game that everyone participates in during the event.
   
9. Make sure each salesperson presents their business plans for the year. Based upon the number of salespeople this can be done by breakouts into regions, smaller groups or as a single group. These business plans include not only forecasts but personal commitments to activity levels and professional growth.
   
10. Bring in an outside speaker. This could include a customer telling of their satisfaction with your firm, a sales trainer or a motivational message that propels your team to excellence.

This is your time to bring a coordinated program that sets the tone for the new year. Make sure you take the time to do it right. What additional ideas do you have?

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net