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It's good to have questions - now ask them! The only poor question is the one never asked. I may be able to feature your question in the next newsletter. Just email me at dadams@trusttriangleselling.com.
Q: Dan, what are your thoughts on what it takes to become a great salesperson? Any advice on traits and characteristics to look for in our sales hiring process?
Ann F.
Miami, FL
A: Ann, a great question. Please see the overview below.
What Does It Take To Become A Sales Superstar?
In your chosen career as a sales rep, do you find yourself wondering from time to time how you measure up? Aside from those mandatory corporate reviews, do you ask whether you have what it takes, personally and professionally, to achieve 'stardom' in the sales ranks? Can you become a true sales superstar? Or do you think you are there already?
After decades toiling in the sales trenches, I've noticed common characteristics in sales superstars. Whether you're selling software, hardware, or other high-tech commodities or services, there are basic indicators of superstar status, and there are several qualities inherent in superstar personalities. First, let's discuss three ways to tell whether you are a sales superstar:
Superstar Indicator 1: Customers Follow You
If you leave your company, does your customer follow you to your new company? If you leave the industry, does the customer have such a strong desire to continue to work with you that they'll pay high fees for you to consult on their next purchase? This shows that you're providing incremental value above and beyond-as opposed to simply representing your product. Anyone can represent a product, but not everyone can consult with his or her customers and act as an unpaid advisor.
The greatest reward of superstar selling is the long-term relationships with customers who remember long after the fact the value you brought to them. I am frequently surprised and pleased when I meet new trainees hired by GE, and they say, "Oh, you're the Dan Adams that my customers continue to ask me about!" The customers remember me not because I took them golfing or dropped by with doughnuts but because I consistently brought them value.
Superstar Indicator 2: Telling the Truth
A superstar shows a willingness to simply and honestly state the facts. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Many sales reps seem to forget this basic rule. It comes into play when you do not have the correct solution to meet the long-term needs of the customer. At Ariba, an enterprise application software company, I would occasionally receive a request for a particular software solution, one that was not well suited for a particular type of application. Rather than risk my long-term relationship with the customer, I would provide the names and phone numbers of my competitors who had a more suitable solution and strongly suggest that the customer contact them. You have to be willing to say to the customer, "My solution may work in the short term, but it really is not a good long-term fit for you. Here is the contact info for a competitor of mine who has a product that I believe will much better suit your long-term needs."
Caution! When you see how well customers respond to your consultative style and to your willingness to put their needs before your own, you may feel like telling all your customers to buy from the competition. Wrong. This approach should be used only in rare instances. If you find yourself using this disengage strategy too often, then you are working for a company that is not in touch with their customers' needs, and therefore you're working for the wrong company.
Superstar Indicator 3: No Excuses!
"Why did you lose that deal?" is a routine question that managers ask their representatives. One simple way to identify the superstars in the crowd is to analyze the responses. Most representatives will reply, "We didn't get the support we needed from headquarters," or "We don't have feature A or B," or "Our price was too high, wah wah wah." If that were the case, why is it that every single day, sales representatives are winning deals in which their price is significantly higher than everyone else's?
The response from a superstar will be short and sweet "I was outsold", or "I didn't earn their trust". A superstar knows that customers do not buy based on the product or service; they buy based on their level of trust in the sales representative. A superstar does not make excuses. It's not just that he or she is good at fessing up, it's more than that. Superstars understand how people make decisions. Bad representatives think people make decisions based on price or features. Superstar representatives know people make decisions based on whether or not they trust and rely on you. So if a superstar loses a sale, he or she says, "I didn't qualify the opportunity correctly, I didn't get to the decision maker, I didn't uncover their needs adequately, or I didn't understand the customer's buying or decision-making process. This is all about me-me-me." The average loser representative says, "It's all about something else."
Take a moment to look in a mirror. If you were to evaluate your performance as a sales representative so far, to what extent are the above indicators present? Now ask whether you have the five personal qualities necessary to be a Superstar.
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Superstar?
The short answer is probably yes. Superstar representatives have certain innate qualities in differing degrees. If you've chosen a career in sales, by definition you probably possess these qualities. You've gone through a screening process; you're working for a company; you have probably already made some sales.
Ambition
Ambition means wanting to be the best, wanting to constantly improve. It doesn't mean being overbearing or stepping on people on your way to the top. A superstar has the ability to project himself or herself into the future and imagine great things-then take the necessary steps to get there.
One of the things that drive superstars is competition. When I was at GE I was frustrated as a salesperson by the lack of feedback. I knew how I was doing with my accounts, but, except for the gossip around the water cooler, I had no idea how I compared with other representatives across the country. Therefore, we had no way of measuring our success. After some suggestion, GE starting publishing a monthly "leader board," known vernacularly as the "rack and stack." The leader board ranked all the representatives by sales. The top 10% were then rewarded with a free trip and membership in GE's equivalent of a President's Club. For superstars, such feedback is essential, because learning that you're not doing well forces you to work that much harder.
Brains
A superstar has to think strategically. It's not enough to be a nice person with a warm smile and a lot of product knowledge. You need the brainpower to constantly assess the flow of the customer conversation, absorb complex processes, and integrate them brilliantly.
Superstars, while focusing on the details with the customer, also see the whole process from thirty thousand feet. Although they are empathic and friendly, their actions are ruled by their thinking, not by their emotions. They have the wisdom to walk away from deals that are not win-win. Superstars carefully observe the consequences of their choices and learn from their mistakes. They possess keen judgment.
Conscience
A superstar cares about duty to others. He or she has the integrity and the courage to do the right thing and tell the truth, even when the truth is unpleasant. Conscience is somewhat related to class-not class in the sense of wealth or social status but in the way one treats others. It has nothing to do with status symbols and everything to do with standards of behavior. It all boils down to how you conduct yourself with customers and colleagues. Do you choose to be a pro... or a schmo?
Drive
Drive is the desire to win, the push to succeed (but it doesn't mean being overbearing). It would be very tough to be successful in sales without drive. Because it's such a hard field, you have to continue to push. Sometimes fear can supply the necessary competitive drive. Other times it is the challenge of "the hunt" or promise of high compensation.
Superstars have courage and tenacity-they feel fear, just like everyone else, but they don't let it stop them. They have strong backbones, which doesn't mean they are rigid or inflexible-it means they have the steadfastness and fortitude to regain their enthusiasm for the job even after major disappointments.
The superstar sales representatives learn from each failure and use those lessons to become stronger. They continue to get back up after being pushed down time and time again-they're like a kid's clown punching bag, self-righting themselves after every hit. If you find it difficult to get back up again, you may be in the wrong field. You're not going to be successful-at least in the high-stakes sales world in which I played. You may be successful in other areas of sales that aren't as highly competitive.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to see oneself in another's shoes. You've heard of ventriloquists who can throw their voices? Empathy is like throwing your mind and heart into the body of another.
I was told when I was hired for my very first job at GE that I was the only sales representative with just an MBA. All my colleagues and all my competitors were engineers or technical widget guys. The thought in some people's minds was that a guy like me couldn't succeed, because I couldn't understand the electronics, the high technology, or the physics involved in making magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. I proved them all wrong, for two reasons. First, because the technical stuff was hard for me, I quickly grasped that when a customer asks, "What time is it?" she does not want to know how to build a watch. She simply wants to know the time. Second, thanks to my business degree, I was mindful of the critical considerations involved in making sound business decisions. I had empathy for what customers were going through when facing significant investments. If you put yourself in the customer's shoes, you begin to have a sense of the pain they're experiencing. If you can latch onto that pain, it has a huge impact on every interaction with the customer.
What kind of pain do customers feel? Imagine yourself as Jill Thompson, the CFO of a large food company who's been given the responsibility of selecting her company's new procurement software. You neither sought out this responsibility nor do you feel up to the task of fulfilling it. You've rarely purchased this type of large software solution before or anything like it. You've just talked with three representatives. Every one came in and talked about all the technical facts and features of their product and how much better their product is than the competitors'. Your head is spinning. You don't want to deal with representatives like that. You think, "What a hassle! None of these representatives are helping me."
If you, thinking like a consultative sales representative, put yourself in Jill's shoes and realize that this person has to report to the CEO on the success of the project, then you start thinking about what services you can provide to make her successful. You ask yourself, "What does Jill need right now? What will she need tomorrow?" And you start putting together a plan to help her.
Your empathy should also extend to yourself and your colleagues. To be a superstar, you need self-awareness and personal insight, a willingness to accept feedback on the gap between how you think you're coming across to others and how you're actually coming across. It's important to see how what you're saying is landing on the other side of the table and to understand how subtle differences in words and shifts in body language can make all the difference in communicating what you mean. Empathy requires that you are fully aware of (and willing to own up to) your true attitudes and feelings.
If you find it difficult for whatever reason to empathize with a customer (perhaps he's cranky, doesn't look like you, or has irritating habits) try this exercise: Imagine for a moment that the customer is your mother. Doesn't that immediately shift your attitude into ultra-empathy mode? Aren't you instantly on the customer's side, wanting to help, instead of wanting to argue or fight? If imagining the customer as your mother doesn't work, try imagining him as your best friend, or as the person you admire most in the world. That's what your relationship with your customers should be like: ethical, honest, and helpful, willing to serve the customer's best interests.
All Superstars Are Not Alike
As we said earlier, all superstar sales representatives have these five traits. It's a mathematical formula: A + B + C + D + E = Superstar. The quantities of each subjective element in the formula are not fixed, however; we each have a different mix-our own Personal Sales Formula. You might have low C and E, but high A, B, D. Your drive, or D, might be higher than that of the person next to you, while your empathy, or E, might be slightly lower.
It's the combination of those qualities that bring success. You can't have drive and no empathy. And you can't be all empathy and no drive (if you were, you'd be in a different occupation, not a sales representative).
A colleague's 20-year-old son is a perfect example of a Personal Sales Formula that may bring success. He is very much a people person. He has tons of friends, his phone is always ringing, and his friends know that they can count on him in a pinch. He is about to take a job in sales. He wants to excel, especially in the eyes of his peers. He seems, however, to have very low drive. He is not used to taking the initiative or accepting responsibility for his screw-ups. He may turn out to be very successful, though, because despite his low drive, the other parts of his Personal Sales Formula-conscience, ambition, and brains-are quite high. He also happens to empathize easily, which reminds of us the one quality essential to all superstars: E = empathy. It's so important that I discuss it fully in my new book: Building Trust, Growing Sales.
Take a moment to reflect on your own Personal Sales Formula. If you were to draw a graph showing the degree to which you possess each of the five superstar qualities (ambition, brains, conscience, drive, and empathy), which bar would be tallest? Shortest?
In addition to these inherent personal qualities, a superstar has certain skills that can be developed, such as controlling the account, employing the right strategy, and negotiating effectively. These are techniques that can be learned and honed, now that you know you have what it takes to be sales superstar. The best of luck to you, and remember, Close 'Em!
Close 'em!
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Daniel Adams
Adams and Associates
532 Walker Road
Hinsdale, IL 60521
630-215-5090
Email: dadams@trusttriangleselling.com
Web: www.trusttriangleselling.com
Copyright © 2007, Adams & Associates. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Adams & Associates is prohibited and strictly enforced. |
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Don't Forget:
N'T FORGET!
"Superstars differentiate themselves not by what they sell, but by how they sell."
Trust Triangle Selling
"The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself." Unknown
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
If Price Were The Customer's Only Consideration,
Why Would She Need You?
Customers Do Not Want Your Product, Never Have, Never Will.
Selling Is NOT About Selling!
It's About Helping People Make The Correct Investment To Solve Their Problem.
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