What does "Assertive" mean to you?

Recently, I had a discussion with a new client - let's call him Joe - who had invited me in to talk about a challenge that he's facing.  Joe is an accomplished industry and process expert and he's met with many a salesperson in his past.  He's "seen and heard it all" and has both observed and experienced some behaviors that he doesn't like very much; he's determined to "not be that guy".

And now Joe finds himself in the business of helping other businesses succeed and he recognizes that sales is now part of his job.  He acknowledged that, in some cases, he's having a little trouble getting the initial conversation started.  If they come to him, no problem!  But if he has to go to them, well, he's just not sure how to go about it.  He knows that it's necessary for him to contact people he's never worked with before (else his business won't survive), but he needs to find a way to do it that feels right to him (else he won't do it).

In other words, Joe's having trouble with Prospecting, specifically with Making Cold Calls.  Without doubt, I'll be referring him to Art Sobczak's excellent book, Smart Calling.  The title of Chapter 1 says it all:  "Cold calling is dumb, but prospecting is necessary; Smart Calling is the answer".

As a way of exploring the issue with Joe, I shared The Sales Engine.  The idea of 3 different types of calls, each done with a specific person for a specific purpose resonated with Joe -- it fit with his personal experiences.  Using this model, Joe was able to see that he'd been inappropriately mixing the three types of calls in certain situations.  He also saw that he'd been initiating some calls without establishing the entry criteria (the stuff at the ends of the arrows).  I encouraged Joe to engage in conscious pre-call planning (turning the automatic pilot OFF), and to use The Sales Engine to (1) help him clarify the goals of his calls and to (2) ensure that he is adequately prepared for each type of call.

The only challenge that Joe had with the model is that our overview of a Sales Call seemed, well, a little pushy.  My concern is that he might be pushing into "unpaid consultant" territory.  Where's the balance?

I asked Joe to describe to me what the word "Assertive" meant to him.  We explored it, and then I shared my observation:  Assertive means "getting your needs met".  In contrast, Cooperative means "helping other people get their needs met".  Is it possible to be assertive and cooperative at the same time?  The answer is YES.

These issues are explored in great detail by three resources that are available to YOU right now.  The first is Stephen R. Covey's works (both The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People - habits 4 through 6 are about influence - and The 8th Habit - specifically the section on margin vs. mission).  The second is the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, aka The TKI (provides an outstanding visual aid and some labels which can help you better understand the 5 conflict styles defined by the model).  The third is Robert Bolton's outstanding book, People Skills (see the section on the submissive-assertive-aggressive continuum).

So back to the Sales Call.

• It's not about controlling the other person or their process, it's about driving right decisions.
• It's about qualifying before you present -- or if you prefer, diagnosing before you prescribe.
• It's about having options and exercising the will to explore them.
• It's about thinking win-win, BE-ing collaborative, and exercising the will to step away from an "opportunity" (and possibly suggesting someone else) if doing business is not in the other person's best interests.
• It's about trust.
• It's about integrity.
• Period.

Joe is now looking very closely at one of his developing opportunities and I have a feeling he'll be eating some elephant soon.  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, comments, and stories.  Until next time, be well.

Elephant is the breakfast of Sales Champions

Recently I posted the statement that "It's OK to throw out your plan, but you can't do it if you don't have one."  Not too long after that I got a phone call from one of my clients (we'll call him Joe Schmuckatelly) who shared, "Hey, that just happened to me!" -- that is, he'd just made a call where he'd been forced to abandon his plan.

Turns out there was a little more to the story, which I learned when I placed a call to Joe's Sales Manager.  Ownership of the account had recently changed hands and they were in the process of re-evaluating their suppliers.  Joe had already made two visits to the account to gather information and had asked a lot of questions (which the customer had answered), but Joe was still confused about what was really going on.  Were they ready to buy?  He thought so, in fact they had recently placed an order; the challenge is that Joe didn't know why they had placed the order.  During Joe's last visit, the customer shared some frustration about the questions and had asked Joe to provide a company and product presentation -- a third visit was scheduled so that Joe would have time to prepare.

Joe asked his Sales Manager to join him on this third call, so their first order of business was to conduct a pre-call plan.  By moving through the Outcome Based Thinking process, Joe and his manager crafted a mutually-agreed upon plan with primary and secondary goals that were appropriate to the situation including the realization that if you aren't sure what's going on, you should probably be straight, point it out, and ask for help -- put the elephant on the table.  Key strategy -- be straight:  "I'm confused by blah.  What does it mean?"  They decided to put this issue on the table before going into the presentation.

Joe owned and therefore ran the meeting (though the sales manager noted that Joe made multiple attempts to hand it off to him).  Joe started by stating that he had more questions.  The prospect (a VP of purchasing) immediately gave an unhappy look and communicated his frustration in clear language -- he'd already answered a lot of questions so the situation should be clear; he felt that it was time for Joe to start answering his questions.  Joe stated that he wasn't sure why they had placed the order, paused for just a second, and then he abandoned ship -- and launched into his presentation.

By the way, this is what the salesperson meant when he said that he'd had to throw out his plan.

At the end of the presentation, Joe's Manager did step in to help execute the plan, starting with something like, "I can appreciate that you aren't looking forward to additional questions from us, but Joe is still asking questions because I'm still asking questions.  I'm confused.  Here's what we're seeing... What does this mean?"

The Sales Manager said you could see it happening as plain as day.  Shields were immediately lowered - because Joe's manager was straight and stated the issue in plain language.  Clarification was provided ("we ordered everything from all of our BOM's to do a test of what's been ordered in the past" and "we're not ready to choose our vendors yet.").  From there mutual agreements were made as to a clear path forward that made sense for both parties.  Putting the elephant on the table yielded direct answers and prevented incorrect assumptions, in both directions.

The Sales Manager's observation was that all of this work could have been done (should have been done) in the First call instead of the Third call.  What feedback do you think should he give to this salesperson?

This is a great exercise, so why not invest a few moments to write down your thoughts in your Sales Journal.  If you don't have your Sales Journal with you, no problem, you can write on anything that's handy, even that napkin over there.  And it doesn't have to be pretty, I won't even mind if you use duct-tape when you put your notes into your journal.

In summary, did they really throw out their plan?  Nope, but they did adjust the timing of the execution (questions came after the presentation) and that's OK because the situation should drive the process.  It's rare that events go according to plan, but the act of planning helps you prepare for the inevitable surprises.

The challenges weren't with the design of the plan, they were with the execution of the plan, specifically with Joe's timing, delivery, and style.  Ultimately, both the primary and secondary goals were executed - with the Sales Manager's help - and Joe got a real-time example of what it means to throw the elephant on the table and eat it one bite at a time.  Elephant is the Breakfast of Sales Champions.  Period.

I counseled the Sales Manager to be sure to make this an explicit coaching topic during his next regular follow-up with the employee.  By talking through the experience, the Sales Manager was able to identify 2 specific behaviors that could be added to Joe's weekly "scorecard" which Joe uses as a self-measuring tool (instant feedback on how he's doing in the moment) and which the sales manager uses as a weekly follow-up tool because follow-up is where coaching opportunities are created.

As a side benefit, the sales manager also learned the value of talking through an experience -- it's the next best thing to being there!  And he also learned the value of having a coach -- the coach helps you switch back and forth between "the story" and "what's happening here and now".  Do you have a coach?

Interested in learning more about how to build your own scorecard?  Please feel free to drop me a line at cook.charlie.2009@gmail.com.

Where Do I Start?

In my last post I introduced the concept of The Sales Engine, which helps people to get clear on the second step of the Outcome Based Thinking (OBT) process for pre-call planning, which is to clarify what you're hoping to achieve.

When I share the model, most people nod their heads and say, "Yeah, that makes sense."  And when they attempt to put it in practice, the most common question I get is, "So where do you start this thing?"  Begin by understanding that The Sales Engine is an answer to another question -- what's the goal of your call?  Or perhaps a better way of asking it is, "What should you be trying to achieve in this call?"

By the way, I also suggested in the last post that "sell something" is not the best answer to this question.  Rather, you should be thinking "What needs to happen, in this interaction, to move my process forward?" Do you have a process?  Is it written down?  Is it accurate and are you following it consistently?  Is it in control?  In other words, does it consistently produce the results that you're after?  Or are you constantly changing the ingredients, the way that you mix them, or the temperature of the oven and wondering "Why don't they taste like Grandma's cookies?"  I guess I'll have to write more about that in a future post...

But back to the point!  The Sales Engine is a simple model -- it suggests that there are 3 types of calls that a salesperson might be asked to make throughout the course of his or her day.  The 3 types of calls are:

• Prospecting Calls (with Suspects)
• Sales Calls (with Prospective Customers, also known as Prospects)
• Service Calls (with Customers, or people who have placed an order)

The three types of calls describe a Continuous Cycle -- one type of call naturally leads into the next, and it assumes that you are interested in building and maintaining an ongoing relationship with your clients.

Important:  There is a difference between a Call and a Visit.

• A Call is specific event done for a specific purpose, and the purpose is based on the status of the person you're talking to; is he or she a suspect, prospect, or customer?
• A Visit is any interaction with a suspect, prospect, or customer, be it face-to-face, over the web, on the telephone, e-mail, or texting.
• There may be multiple calls in a single visit, and a single call may require multiple visits.

So how does it work?  Notice the arrows that extend out from the center of the diagram.  At the end of each arrow is the criteria that must be satisfied before you can move to the next type of call.  For example, note the arrow that is between a Sales Call and a Service Call.  It says that in order to move to a Service Call, an order must be placed (or you must clarify what 'no' means).  If this person hasn't purchased anything from you, then they aren't a customer -- you can't make a service call.  But you can satisfy the next criteria through some research; you can identify a possible problem or opportunity that you know you may be able to help them with, which means your next call should  be a Prospecting Call -- this person is a SUSPECT.

By the way, I love what Art Sobczak has to say in his book, "Smart Calling" about eliminating the fear, failure, and rejection in cold calling.  He provides specific guidance in how to make sure that your next Prospecting Call isn't 'cold' by showing you what you should know and how to learn it.  Chapter One says it all:  "Cold Calling is Dumb, but Prospecting Is Necessary:  Smart Calling Is The Answer."  I am obligated to point out that Art Sobczak and I are not affiliated in any way, nor do I receive any compensation in any form from Art or anyone he may be in business with.  I recommend Art's stuff because It Works.  Period.  (Thanks Art - keep it coming!)

Remember that Step 1 of the OBT process asks you about the current situation.  What type of call did you make during your last visit?  Is there unfinished business related to that visit?  Based on the activity during the last visit, what kind of call should you be making on this visit?  In other words, "Where are you in this process?"  Start The Sales Engine from there.

As another example, let's say that your last call was a prospecting call, but it turned out that there was no need to move forward - not because the problem didn't exist, but because there were bigger fish to fry from the Suspect's point of view (you learned this by clarifying WHY "no" was the right answer).  Where should you start the sales engine?  Why not consider making a service call (assuming that this person or organization has made a prior purchase)?

The best part about a Service Call is that making it is 100% in your control!  And who knows what you might learn next.  What might your goals be?  Perhaps to review the order history and share your insights, perhaps even offer some constructive changes?  Perhaps to get feedback on an issue that you know is important -- is there anything you should be doing differently?  And during that visit, a secondary goal might be to Pay Attention and Notice other opportunities that you should be working on for this client -- maybe this client has some suggestions for you about what you should be working on?

I hope that this has helped to clarify where to start The Sales Engine.  The Sales Engine can help you to get clarity on what you should be doing at your account, and help you improve The Story Of The Account and The State Of Your Orchard.  Use OBT and Let the Situation drive your Process.  If you're having trouble getting clear on your goals or where and how to start this with your next visit, use The Sales Engine.  It works.  Period.

The good news is that The First 100 Times Are The Hardest.  Have you made a commitment to make pre-call planning a part of your life?  Have you determined how long it will take to do it 100 times?  Have you started a logbook to keep yourself honest?  Looking forward to hearing about your homework!