|
Myth: Unemployed Salespeople
Area Number One: What to do |
|
Preferably before you begin the next chapter in your sales career you will have done most of these things. If you wait until you find yourself a few pages into the chapter, it will be more difficult to implement the ideas here.
Whenever job changes are forced upon us, we go through the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Getting to Acceptance as quickly as possible is the goal, of course. Having an action plan in place is the most powerful tool I can imagine.
One of the best bosses I ever had was a director at AT&T. He suggested that I go out twice a year and look for a job. I was their top salesperson and he was suggesting that I go look for a job. The first time he told me this I looked at him incredulously until he pulled out a copy of a journal for executives seeking a new position. He had been job searching as well.
The point is that even when we're at the top of our game things can happen. Bad stuff can happen to our position while good stuff is happening in other places. We need to keep our eyes open. (The video link in this issues will give you some reasons why!)
So what should you be doing? Treat this like any other sale.
Get to know the company behind the product. That's you, of course. Just as you will learn as much as you can about your next employer, develop a profile of Me Inc. Answer the following as honestly as you can - few of us are really objective in this area.
What do I stand for? What principles are most important and will not be compromised?
What is your reputation in the marketplace? Referrals will give you a good answer here.
How do you treat your employee? Are you investing in yourself, living a balanced life, not working too much overtime or spending too much time at the office?
Get to know the product. Do a complete feature-benefit analysis on your self.
What problems can you solve? What do those problems typically cost a company that might buy you?
What differentiates you from the others who are also in the marketplace right now? (There is a lot of quality talent in the job market today!)
How does the product need to be improved? The world is changing quickly. What additional skills and capabilities do you need to be cutting edge?
- Computer skills?
- Interpersonal skills?
- Technical skills?
- Personal appearance - a major issue for many seasoned sales people |
| Myth: Unemployed Salespeople
Area Number Two: How to start |
|
Sales begins with prioritization and then moves to pre-call planning. Prioritize your options - there may be more than you think.
Write the perfect job description and include as many details as possible. List your details in order of most to least important. Then you will have a standard for identifying the ideal customer (your next employer). Think outside of the box. Don't limit yourself to a single industry, geography or market. Be open and flexible.
Identify at least ten companies you would like to work for and begin your pre-call planning. Go to their web site and use as many other tools as you can to be able to answer the following two questions:
- Why is it in their best interest that they hire me?
- Why would I be a better choice than anyone else?
When contacting them, your focus should be on what they need, not why you need a job. This is difficult. Be as specific as possible.
"Mr. Employer, I see that you have expanded your market to include the neighboring states to the one I live in. What are your plans for coming this way and how can I help you expand your presence here?"
"Mr. Employer, the Wall Street Journal article last week stated that your company was moving into a new technology, one I have experience in. There are some new developments in this area that may change the way your company chooses to address this opportunity, who could I talk to about these changes?" An approach like this can move you around the HR person to the real decision maker.
Use business hours for business contacts and off hours for other activities. Be in the saddle early in the morning preparing for your sales calls.
After hours, brush up on all of your skills. Begin with the software and computer skills you need. Microsoft has hundreds of tutorials on their web site, all free, so view at least one per day. Improve your product! If you struggle with Word, focus on those tutorials for a week and then move to PowerPoint or Excel. Constantly learn. Read books, scour the web for free content - all of sales trainers have it on our sites.
Before going to bed, plan the activities for the next day. That way you will know what time you need to get up and you will awake with a purpose. This is very important.
|
| Myth: Unemployed Salespeople
Area Number Three: Hit them hard |
Many, if not most, organizations are skittish about hiring right now. They know they need more sales, they know they need help it's just they're keeping such a sharp eye on the bottom line they are reluctant to increase their expenses.
You must make a compelling presentation in a compelling way.
You will need a written resume. It will be thrown into the hopper with a few hundred more, so while it needs to stand out, it may not be your most essential piece. Some options:
· A web site - yourname.com is a good way to begin. Keep it clean and simple. Give the highlights in bullets. A web site can be created easily and inexpensively. Ask the kid next door or go to a site like www.Elance.com and have your site up quickly
· Concert your resume into a PDF - or even better, an interactive PDF. Go to Adobe's web site and see the possibilities. Again, a contractor from Elance can help.
· Other multimedia - I would stay away from YouTube because it puts you in the same box as skateboarding dogs. Look around the web for other options.
· Social networking! This is the most critical. Plaxo, LinkedIn and others will allow you to post for free. Professional social networking is becoming a science, read up on it. Two sources I highly recommend:
o Nadia Bilchik - consummate social networker with extensive experience. Whatever she says, do it. Learn Nadia's Ideas
o David Nour has a new book out - loads of great ideas: Contact David Read it twice.
|
 Miss an issue? No problem.
Visit the archives:
|
I'm receiving a lot of resumes from a lot of great salespeople. If you know someone who could benefit from this issue, pass it on. More info on my web site: Chuck Reaves
Vistage Chairs: forward this to your Members and use it to help them help their salespeople. Members with better top and bottom lines make better members!
Teach Others!
Chuck Reaves, CSP, CPAE, CSO
SaleSSuiteS
| |
|
|
|
|
A video you will not want to miss! Did You Know? |
 |
Click on the picture above to see the video
|
|
 |
Chuck Reaves, CSP, CPAE
1.800.MR. REAVES
(800.677.3283)
________________
|
|
It's Here!
The
Nanosecond Salesperson
For us, a minute is just too long
It's easy to read and it will bring you up to speed quickly on the changes that are happening in sales, including:
- Real Sales Automation (RSA)
- Kaizen for Sales
- Chief Sales Officer (CSO)
In the genre of the "One Minute" books - only faster! - this allegorical account of the activities in a sales office will sound familiar to you. The outcomes of some of those encounters will not be so familiar.
_________
FREE! Online Training Resource
Go to the book's website
and download a Leader's Guide and Sales Handouts. Use each chapter in the book as a training module - there are more than a dozen of them.
Pick up one for yourself and some for your customers - it will help you teach them how to sell more effectively.
Just click on the book...
Easy-to-carry paperback or get-it-now download
(Special edition copies are available for you to give to your customers with your logo on the front cover - ask me for details)
| | |
|
