Zellers I ssue 08

March 2010

Consulting
Group Management
focus
The New Economy Now Available

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Technology 240

and Information have combined in the creation of Point
a new economy. This new creation is very differ- Operational
ent from the one we used to know – tougher, and
faster and more demanding. Buyers have access Finance
to more information than ever before. The inter-
Assessment
net has made it easy to conduct price and
feature comparisons and to research potential
vendors. Client expectations are higher and A comprehensive
competition is coming from every direction - assessment of your
around the corner, across town, across the US business including
and even internationally. This is not the economy you once thought you knew. This is the Strategy, Marketing,
NEW Economy and Consumers have the POWER. Sales, Operations,
Finance and

The New Role of Salespeople Human Resources

Only from ZCG
Does the “New Economy” suggest a new definition for professional selling? The answer is a
resounding “Yes”! 20 years ago, we understood the role, responsibility, skill set, behavior,
attitude and overall disposition that made a great salesperson. The twin forces of Informa-
tion and Technology have changed those stereotypes forever. Improvements in technology
continue to shape the Sales 2.0 evolution. To compete in this new economy, our sales
teams need a new definition for professional selling. Keith Rosen writes, “We are a society
that is knowledge rich but execution scarce. While we are wealthy in wisdom and informa-
tion, we are often lacking in seeing new ideas, strategies and activities through to comple-
tion and implementing the new behavior, thinking or technology.”

To succeed in the new economy, sales teams –including sales

management - must evolve beyond their traditional roles and
become more embedded into their customer’s business and
the decisions that affect every facet of their operation. The
true sales professional will become a valuable resource and a
trusted, consultative adviser throughout the entire selling
process and beyond.

When it comes to redefining the role of the traditional sales-

person, the real difference will be evident in those companies
who truly embrace and implement these changes and ac-
tually model this definition of sales mastery, as opposed to those who simply know about it
but do not do anything measurable to change. Evolution of the sales team will start with
the sales manager, who needs to become a sales coach to ensure these changes are, in
fact made.

Page 1 of 3
 Zellers I ssue 08
March 2010

Consulting
Group Management
focus
The New Role of Salespeople—cont’d
This doesn’t mean focusing solely on relationship selling because those salespeople Build More
(relationship sellers) are the ones struggling today. As many relationship-based sales PROFIT
teams have found, the new information resources at their client’s fingertips are de- in you Business!
leveraging the value of great relationships - resulting in new com-
petition and lower sales. The Z el lers Con sul tin g
Grou p p rovi d es co nsul ti ng
This is also not to say that additional time must not be spent fos- and management servi ces
tering stronger relationships with key clients. Instead, it’s a cau- to a growi ng l i st o f smal l
tionary word about calling them just to ‘check in’ and not having a and medi um-si zed b usi ness
more strategic set of timely questions that will help you better cl i ents. We o ffer o ur cl i ents
understand how the current economic climate has affected the custo mi zed sol uti ons l i nk-
way they do business and make purchasing decisions. i ng b usi ness i nfo rmati on
wi th technol ogy, strategy
Connect with the true meaning of value to your customers, as
and executi on.
opposed to what was merely assumed. Making this transition will
enable you to deliver value at a much deeper, more significant
level.

The economy over last two years has done a wonderful job of
validating and exemplifying this ever-widening gap between the new economy expectations
and the old-economy sales performance.

Communicating… or just Talking

Salespeople love to talk. In fact, some would say salespeople talk too much. Much of what
they have to say, though, passes in one ear of our customers and out the other ear. Page 1 of 3
Customers are like diners at a buffet restaurant: they can't eat everything, so they ignore Si mpl y put, we make our
clients:
the dishes that don't inspire them and seek out those that do. There are just too many
choices to focus on everything, so they use selective sight. They allow only the important  More Efficient
food (to them) to register in their brain.  More Competitive
 More Profitable
...and we
Gu aran tee o u r Wo rk!

Customers ignore most of what we say because many of us simply say too much. There are
too many words for the customer to wrap their heads around everything we say, so they
use selective hearing, allowing only the important things (to them) to register in their
brain's hard drive. The rest of it is like the SPAM in their email inbox.

However, when a customer hears something that is important to them, something that
really matters, their attention is inspired, and we have experienced what writer Skip

—cont’d on page 3
Page 2 of 3
 Zellers I ssue 08
March 2010

Consulting
Group Management
focus
Communicating… or just Talking—cont’d.
Anderson calls a resonance point within the customer. According to Anderson, Resonance Our Expertise
points are always filed in the front of our consciousness, along with our social security
number, our spouse's birthday, our wedding anniversary and our computer login informa- Strategic Planning
tion (among other key tidbits). Productivity
Improvement
Many organizations focus their sales training time on expanding product knowledge – a
valuable endeavor but unless they are also teaching selling skills, probably futile. As Skip Management by
Anderson noted, a salesperson must find and hit on the topics that are important to the Objective
customer!
Sales Team
Management
Increasing Presentation Effectiveness
Business Development

If your selling process involves sales presentations, here are a few ideas that will improve Gross Margin
your effectiveness. Improvement

Be Memorable – To many customers, presentations are like white noise in the back- Process Re-Engineering
ground. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to do something that is going Leadership Coaching
to stick in their mind, long after you have stopped speaking.
Company Branding
Be Clear – Understanding your audience is the first crucial step in creating a persuasive
Product Marketing
message. You have to know exactly what you want to communicate and why your commu-
nication will be important to your audience. Management Training &
Development
Be Brief – Presentations should be short and sweet. Give the audience enough informa-
tion and opinion so that they know where you stand. A corollary to brevity is to be pre- Lead Generation
pared. Be ready to go deeper into a subject if there is a drill down question or a request Program Creation
for additional information.
Inventory Management
Be Committed – Are you an objective source of information or just another source of & Re-Alignment
SPAM. Express an opinion and have a stake in the outcome. Demonstrate your value to a
Performance-Based
client by being able to debate the issues.
Compensation Plans
Customize - If you try to deliver a comprehensive presentation that covers every possible
aspect of what you are selling, you will only blow through your audience’s attention span.
This is a business presentation - not a venue to discuss the thousand details, but rather, a
venue to provide a coherent summary meaningful to the client.

Ensure Understanding - Involve the client throughout your presentations to ensure that
you have understanding. Asking the right kind of questions will allow you to not only
measure the effectiveness of your presentation, but will also guide you into new areas of
Page 3 of 3
customer interest.

Ask open-ended questions to gain Understanding.

Use closed questions to gain agreement.

Do your sales teams understand the difference? Learning to listen for answers is a great
place to start sales training.

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Questions or comments? Email us at: tzellers@zellersconsultinggroup.com or call 248-410-6882

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