Accelerate Your Startup: Spend to Scale the Business

http://gigaom.com/2010/11/28/accelerate-your-startup-spend-to-scale-the-business/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed

Medal of Honor for Savatore A. Giunta

Today I would like to pause and salute the great men and women who service in our Nation’s Armed Forces. They are the true heroes of our day. They are the front-line of freedom. They volunteer to do what others either will not do, fear to do or whose personal ambition takes them on different paths.  They are the men and women who sacrifice much if not all to provide us a land of freedom,  Ca land rich with opportunities and land that stands as a beacon in the world today of freedom.

I have been blessed to have two parents who have served in the Navy; Chief Petty Officer Gerald A. Sedrick and 2nd Class Hospital Corman JoAnn Sedrick. My brother, Captain Michael J. Sedrick, who I call SuperMan, is currently serving in the Marines and stationed in Afghanistan. I am grateful for their service and example.

Today I reflect upon all of the men and women who have served but want to give special tribute to Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta. Staff Sergeant Giunta was awarded the Medal of Honor on November 16, 2010. He is only one of 88 soldiers who have received this honor. And the first in 40 years that has been able to receive it in person. Others were awarded the honor posthumously. I invite you to watch the award ceremony. http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/giunta/remarks.html It is deeply touching and gives pause for reflection on the brave men and women who defend our nation.

With all my heart I thank you Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta and all of the men and women who serve or who have served this great nation! You are an inspiration! I thank you for your courage, your devotion and this free land in which I proudly call home.

Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta

Yes it’s polite to say thank you, but for crying out loud most expressions of thanks are trite, hollow and lack real sincerity.

When was the last time you truly expressed thanks? When you close business do you send a personally handwritten thank you card?  Do you call them to say thanks or have you falling into the fast food version of “Thanks, Have a nice day”?

This Thanksgiving and Christmas season do something different, take a moment to really think about how blessed you are. Think about those individuals that truly impacted your success this year.  Then take a moment to personally call each individual to express a heart felt and sincere thank you.  Yes, this this will take some thinking. Really reflect on each customer and business partner. If you do it right it will take some time – fruitful time. Focus on the relationships you’ve built. Focusing on the relationship, instead of the business one, will permit you the opportunity to hone in on the unique characteristics of your relationship. I find expressing gratitude for the relationship forges greater bonds with those whom I do business.

If you do opt to send cards, send a handwritten note  in addition to the general message.  I always appreciate personal annotations. Frankly, the sincerity of the message comes through much stronger. Also, these are the cards that get posted on my wall and are often read more thane once.

Here’s a little secret, Gratitude is a powerful unifying force. Remember, expressing thanks is one thing. Giving thanks is another. This year do both and forge relationships that will last a lifetime.

It's sold - really it's sold!

One of the more frustrating experiences as a sales professional is receiving verbal commitment from a new customer to purchase your product and then waiting for the signed proposal. You ever get the feeling it might slip away? I often tell my team, “If there isn’t ink on the paper the deal isn’t closed”.

You thought the pressure was hot before you closed the deal. Wait until you tell you Sales Manager you’ve received verbal commitment. He’ll nag you everyday asking, “Where’s the deal. I thought you said it would close this week”.  I’m sure you’ve heard that before.

Your challenge now is managing the finalization of the sale without appearing desperate.

Here are a few strategies.

1. Don’t tell you Sales Manager you have verbal commitment
   This may seem coy but managing expectations on both ends of the sale will alleviate pressure and allow you an environment to manage your new customer. The key is you have to know the next steps.
2. Outline the steps for delivery.
   When the customer tells you  “I’ll buy” take the time to outline the next steps to receive their product. For example, lead the conversation with,  “Now that you are committed to moving forward let’s discuss what we have to do to receive signed papers and deliver product”. 

   Note this discussion should include an inquiry of the buying process your customer has to go through to finalize paperwork. Develop a plan with your customer that aligns with their internal processes with delivery expectations and dates.

3. Reconfirm delivery or rollout dates
   Use these dates to drive the customer to deliver signed contracts and initial payment. This is a powerful tool especially when the customer is on a time line.
4. Always use customer goals to drive signing a deal — not yours.
   Remember the customer doesn’t care about your quota or end of month pressures from your sales manager. When driving for signed contracts ALWAYS articulate reasons that help the customer achieve his goals.

While receiving signed paper is important, how well you professionally manage the closing of the deal will instill confidence in your customer that they’ve made the right decision.

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Author: Jody Sedrick
Entrepreneur, CEO, Sales, Mobility and Web 2.0 Strategies
Twitter: @jodysedrick, @zenwareinc
LinkedIn: Jody Sedrick
Blog: http://adoptingdad.wordpress.com
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Perhaps it’s time you took a more strategic approach to winning by simply showing your customer the money.

Most sales people focus on product features and benefits. Try something different, instead of selling products, sell your customer money. That’s right, sell them money – the money they will save, earn or recognize by buying your product.

Let’s take a look at GPS Navigation Systems. Where can you “Show them the money”?

1. Improved routing reduces fuel costs – equaling money in your pocket
2. Improved routing increases response time to your customer which means an average of one more service call a day – again more more money in your pocket.
3. GPS bread crumb trails allow Managers to review and optimize route orders. Grouping services calls into services areas eliminates “doubling backing” saving time and fuel costs
4. Enforcing Speed limit:  Adherence to speed limits can save an average of $.24 a gallon when services techs drive 65 MPH versus 70 MPH
5. Enforcing Speed Limits: Tire wear almost doubles when consistently driving at speeds of 70 or above.

Showing your customer the money gives them compelling and often irrefutable data to move forward. Quit painting the picture of how great your product is. Your competitor’s product is probably just as good. If you can demonstrate real money in the pocket of your customer because of your product you will win every time.

So, in the adapted words of Jerry Maguire….

Custom objections are clues to earn the customer’s business. Objections come in many flavors. They might include price, color, style, bundled options. They are a myriad number of possible objections. An objection to one customer is often a feature to another customer. Objections can be spoken or unspoken. Your job is to ask prying questions that turn an objection in an objective.

Let’s explore some examples:

Customer: “I really like your product but it doesn’t to fit into this years budget.”

Issue: There are one of two most common possible issues expressed by the customer.

1. The customer may truly have a budget constraint. If so, it’s your job to find creative ways for the customer to purchase.
2. Two – you haven’t created enough value in the mind of the customer.

Salesman: “I certainly understand budgetary constraints. Based on what you’ve shared with me thus far our product accomplishes…… and my product saves you time and money in these areas…. Are there any other area we haven’t discussed that are important to your solution?

Based on the benefits you’ve outlined it sounds like you would move forward if we can fit your budgetary goals. Is there anything else that I need to address?

Great, Let’s explore some financing options together. “

There actually is a third issue related to this example – the customer could actually be shopping for next year’s budget. If this is the case build a plan to stay engaged with the customer.

Salesman: “Well, from what you’ve told me it looks like you would like to move forward next year when budget dollars have been allocated. In order to help you plan for next year let me return on January 10th to revisit our solution and develop a game plan for implementing next year. Does that work for your schedule?

A simple key to turning an objection is to an objective is to simply rephrase the question turning it into the objective.

Customer: “Your delivery times are a too long”

Sales person: “It sounds like you have a target date you would like our solution implemented. If you’ll tell me your target implementation date we can work the calendar backward to see how we can make that happen.”

Remember, objections are a customer’s plea for answers. A seasoned sales professional recognizes that by turning an objection into a mutual objective he has the ability to address concerns, find solutions and ultimately win the business.

This was the first game they ever shut-out another opponent.

Nampa Select Storm - Winning as a TEAM!

Prior to Saturday’s game I reflected throughout the week on the added intensity Ashton played in the previous game motivated by a simple soda. I wondered if the promise of a similar reward would motivate the entire team to ratchet their performance up a notch.  At our Thursday practice I gathered the boys and commended them on their incredible season. After building them up I then pointed out the fact that there remained one challenge they hadn’t accomplished this season and asked if they would accept a new challenge, the challenge of not only winning but shutting out an opponent. I further proffered “if you can not only win and shut out your opponent I’ll bring ice cream to our Tuesday practice.”

The boys cheered in excitement and instantly started requesting root beer floats, sundaes, and ice cream bars. Many of the boys said “make sure you bring the ice cream because we’re going to shut the other team down!”

I reminded them that this challenge required something different. It absolutely required the to work as a precision team; no show boating, no attacking the goal by yourself, defenders would have to work as a unit, forwards would have to pass. I reiterated “to accomplish this goal you have to work as  a precision team”.

Prior to the game all of the players reminded me of the proffered ice cream. I assured them yes that the prize for a shut was still on the table. I reminded them to earn they prize it required a team effort;  Mid-fielders would have to support defenders, defenders would have to protect the goalie, the goalie would have to be aggressive, forwards would have to pass between each other or even pass back to a mid-fielder so they could take a shot.

In the end, they played MAGNIFICENT. They executed the best team play of the season.

At one point they almost lost their shut out victory when a defender got out of position and his opponent made an attack on the goal. But fortunately one of the mid-fielders recognizing the danger the team was in cut off the opponent effectively backing up his team mate and deflecting a shot on goal. It was beautiful!

Lessons learned that can be applied to Sales Teams.

1. There must be an effective Orchestrator, a Coach to motivate and organize the team
2. Unify the team with a common vision.
3. Motivate the team and the individual.
4. Build a support structure. Recognize sales professionals my get overloaded from time-to-time, having professional counterparts that can help them fill-in the gaps is a huge relief and it helps both the individual and team succeed.
5. Define team roles – both primary roles and secondary roles. Make sure each player knows his key responsibilities. Identify secondary roles so that team members know who they can turn to for support when they get stretched thin.
6. A team environment feeds itself – members of a team rally around their counterparts
7. Establish reward programs that reward individuals and the team

As in team sports, there is always another game to win, another deal to closer, another milestone to accomplish in sales. I wonder what the promise of homemade pizza will do for our team’s chances of winning the Regional Tournament this weekend.

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Author: Jody Sedrick
Entrepreneur, CEO, Sales, Mobility and Web 2.0 Strategies
Twitter: @jodysedrick, @zenwareinc
LinkedIn: Jody Sedrick
Blog: http://adoptingdad.wordpress.com
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At the beginning of our most recent game I pulled my son Ashton aside and told him that if he scored a goal I’d give him a soda. He’s eyes lit up and he responded “OK!”.

Within 3 minutes of getting on the field he scored his first goal of three. Motivated by the promise of a soda Ashton played with greater intensity than any other game – breaking through defenders. attacking the goal and taking more shots than any previous game. He had 6 shots on goal earning him and his team 3 goals.

Interesting stats, prior to this game Ashton averaged 3 shots on goal and averaged one goal per game – giving him a 33% closer ratio. Motivated by a simple soda, Ashton doubled his efforts taking 6 shots on goal and netted 3 goals. His increased efforts earned close ratio of 50%.

This got me thinking. As a CEO and Sales Manager what am I doing to motivate my sales people. Am I giving them simple but effective motivators that drive them to success. Am I rewarding success so that others are motivated to dig deeper. Further, am I measuring and sharing success?

My son Ashton was motivated by ONE SODA. What motivates you to make one more sales call? I encourage you to set up your own personal reward system – a reward system that will drive you to increased sales activity.

This week I challenge you to

1. Evaluate your work ethic. You may be surprised to see you’ve become casual and lazy.
2. Make two more calls a day
3. Take a potential client to lunch
4. Send thank you notes to existing customers
5. Ask for a referral
6. Write a competitive analysis blog
7. Send an email blast
8. Call a customer who is on the edge and revisit your value proposition
9. Host a webinar
10. Participate in a LinkedIn Group

These are just a few ideas. The key is increasing your output. Remember the more shots on goal the greater your chances to score.

In the end sales is a numbers game. The more contacts you make, the more relationships you build, the more you are in front of the customer the greater your chances to score. Ashton did it in the game of soccer. Question is can you do it in sales?

As I look back, and while regretful it has been to long putting my thoughts on paper, I recognize the last 3-4 weeks have been filled with sales opportunities and lessons. I will take a look at some of the observations over the next couple of articles.

I look forward to your feed back