The Training Center For Sales & Business Development News

By Dave Mattson
CEO of Sandler Training

I’m going to let you in on a secret. There are hundreds of consultants out there that will tell you they fully understand Twitter and other trendy “social media” tools. They will also tell you exactly how they can help you use these tools—at a steep price, of course.

Well, most of them are blowing smoke.

The fact is, we live in a time of rapid technological change and a great deal of confusion. Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring, in terms of technological change, but also in terms of the economy and foreign affairs.

Sales professionals need to remember this whenever they are talking to a prospect because an awareness of these realities will make them smarter and more sympathetic listeners.

And the skill of listening, I’ve learned through the years, is much more important to sales success than talking. You can lose a sale by talking too much, but you’ll never, ever lose a sale by listening too much.

Unfortunately, most salespeople yak and yak and yak because they think that’s how you “capture the prospect’s interest” in their product. But prospects aren’t interested in your product. They are interested in their own problems, and it is the sales professional’s job to share that interest—and to show how the product can make their problems go away. You don’t do that by droning on and on about features and benefits.

It’s also the sales professional’s job to help prospects become aware of problems they aren’t even aware that they have. And the way to do that is to listen carefully and ask questions—leading questions. Only when you’ve understood what the prospect is saying should you start to talk.

Remember what I said a moment ago about Twitter? Just as people these days are worried about really big things, like the possibility that we’re headed into a repeat of the Great Depression or that we could face another terrorist attack, they are also worried about smaller things, too. Like whether their careers will be wiped out by tidal waves of technological innovation.

Most businesspeople in positions of responsibility live with a kind of quiet dread. Once they have reached a point in their careers that they can make significant decisions about the products and services their companies purchase, they are at an age that the pace of technological change scares them. And they can’t talk about this confusion and anxiety for fear of seeming “out of it” and professionally vulnerable. This is their “pain.”

You should never exploit these anxieties, but as a sales professional, you need to understand them. The questions you ask can, in subtle ways, probe the depth of their anxiety, with a specific goal in mind. That goal is to make them understand how the product or service you represent can remove some of their worry. Once you’ve convinced them of that, the sale is all but made.

The world is scary place. The pace of change, uncertainty about the future, and the worries of day-to-day work create a lot of tension. Your prospects are experiencing pain and facing a lot of problems. You can be part of the solution.

By Dave Mattson
CEO and Partner of Sandler Training

We don’t ordinarily think of sales as one of the “helping professions,” but maybe we should. People tell their problems to psychologists and clergymen. They pour out their hearts to their neighborhood bartender. But they tell their troubles to sales professionals, too, so we should develop our “helping profession” skills.

I have often noticed, when a sales pitch is going well, how the conversation resembles what I understand a therapeutic session to be like. That is the way it should be, if the salesperson knows what he or she is doing.

For one thing, there are times when—acting as a counselor might—it is best to answer a question with a question. It’s even important to pause thoughtfully after a question has been asked, which isn’t easy for salespersons. Many are fast talkers, eager to make their pitch as quickly as possible. That’s a mistake.

It’s important, before answering a question, to know why it’s being asked. The only way to find out is to follow with a question of your own.

Let’s say you’re selling an ad agency’s services to a restaurant chain, and the potential client asks how much experience you have with restaurants. Too many salespersons, without bothering to find out why the client wants to know, immediately answer by citing the vast number of restaurant accounts the agency has handled.

When they are done, the prospect says, “Well, I hope you aren’t planning to present me with recycled ideas.”

Now the salesperson is cooked. If he had asked why the prospect was asking about his experience, he might have learned how important it is for the restaurant to be seen as unique.

Answering questions with questions allows you to learn as much as possible about the prospect’s needs so that when you do respond with definitive answers, they are the right ones.

There’s at least one other reason to take a therapeutic approach to sales calls. They create an atmosphere in which the prospect is likely to talk about the problems their business faces—that is, their pain.

Once you understand their pain, you can explain how your product or service will remove it.

Approach your sales calls this way, and you’ll make friends and sales.

By Dave Mattson
CEO and Partner at Sandler Training

Planning on an economic rebound, companies in the U.S. and Canada are beginning to up their investments in new product and service introductions, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released in August. Businesses are also investing more in information technology and in marketing and sales promotion.

That’s encouraging, especially since it should mean more purchases of the kinds of good and services high-level sales professionals represent.

No one should get overly excited, though. The recovery will take time and—even in boom times—salespersons always meet more rejection than acceptance.

In times of economic hardship, they meet a lot more rejection than acceptance. It’s like baseball, where even Hall of Famers make three times as many strikeouts, flyouts and groundouts as hits.

Win When You Lose
But somewhere along the way in my sales career, I discovered a way to way to win even when I lose. And this method has enabled me to do better than I ever expected precisely because I learned to turn rejection to my own benefit.

Here’s the idea. Never forget that most of your prospects won’t buy your product or service. You can even let them know you understand this. Then get them to let you make your presentations anyway, but do so with a secret goal in mind—one they will never know you have.

This secret goal is to turn every presentation—especially those that have a good chance of ending in disappointment—into a learning experience. That way, you will never go away empty-handed. You might not earn a commission, but your chances of earning lots more commissions down the road will begin to increase.

Valuable Lessons
With this attitude, you will begin to view even the most resistant prospect as an ally, as a friend, and as someone who might teach you something very valuable. You’ll learn lessons that you will be able to include in your selling system for the rest of your professional life.

For this approach to work, you will always need to anticipate a prospect’s reasons for rejecting your offer, some of which may be totally legit. They might tell you they are already working with someone else, for example, or that they are happy with the way this need is being filled.

In that case, ask them if they would be willing to put those considerations on hold for a couple of minutes to hear what you have to say. That way, you won’t have to waste time, as many salespeople do, trying to overcome their resistance before you schedule the meeting, and you get to make your pitch anyway. You’ve also let them know that the old brush-off won’t work with you.

And if they still won’t buy what you’re selling, try to figure out what you might have done differently to improve your chances. You can even ask them to help you understand that.

This determination to add some new piece of knowledge about my sales presentation from every call I make isn’t something I was born with. I learned that I needed to do it, early in my career, after a “failed” sales call of my own. It became part of my selling system. Now I give it to you.

Remember, too, that the lesson you will learn from each sales call needn’t be some deep philosophical truth about life. It can be something very simple.

But no matter how small, once you learn that lesson, your chances of making a sale next time have increased.

You’ll find that the lessons learned from what I once thought of as “unsuccessful” calls compound over time.

They have for me, and they can for you, too.

The end of summer’s gloomy retail sales figures, coming after two months of modest gains, are giving rise to considerable pessimism among sales professionals. While understandable, this pessimism is also, I believe, completely unwarranted—but not for the reasons you might think.

Yes, back-to-school sales at the big chain stores are rotten. The housing market in many areas is lousy. Consumer confidence is weak and may be even weaker by the time you read this. I don’t disagree with any of that. Facts are facts.

What I do take issue with is the notion that this can’t be a time of strong productivity for the sales professional. It can be and should be a great time, no matter how discouraging the economic indicators may be.

Pessimism may be contagious, but it shouldn’t be.

There are at least two reasons this should be a period of profit and productivity for the savvy sales professional.

First, most sales people are paralyzed in today’s environment. They don’t have a system for success and, facing a difficult environment, are merely reactive. They’re shot-gunning their efforts. If you have a process or system, and you trust it and embrace it, you enjoy a distinct advantage over others sales people.

Second, you need to identify the real issues facing CEOs in this environment. When you have identified those issues, you will be able to position your product or service so that your prospects must have it to resolve the problems they face. Most CEOs right now are trying to streamline processes, decrease expenses and increase revenues. So you will need to help them discover that your product or service is necessary to their success in meeting those goals. That’s how you distinguish your product or service. It goes from being a nice-to-have to a need-to-have.

This is not a time to talk about your product or service’s features. This is a time for a pain-based approach. You need to identify your prospect’s pain and demonstrate how what you are selling removes that pain.

Here’s why the prospect’s discomfort works to your benefit. A lot of veteran salespeople have never learned this, but successful sales depend less on the sales professionals’ ability to talk rather than on their ability to listen. (Many sales people who rely almost exclusively on their own gift of gab tend to burn out quickly—and needlessly.)

The secret of selling lies in getting prospects to talk about their pain. That’s because the way to make a sale is to identify the prospect’s discomfort and then to show how the product or service you are selling makes that discomfort go away. Simple, isn’t it?

And it is in down times like these that prospects are most likely to speak with the greatest candor about the problems they face. Sometimes they will pour their hearts out to you, which is not often the case when they’re flying high.

Plus, they’ve got the time. Now it’s up to you to seize it.

By Dave Mattson, the author of the best seller The Sandler Rules, and CEO and a partner at Sandler Training, the leading provider of sales and management training, with 200 licensed trainers throughout the world. Sandler Training has been named Entrepreneur Magazine’s #1 franchise for training programs eight times, including in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

By Dave Mattson
CEO and Partner of Sandler Training

The rotten economy, if you haven’t noticed, may be taking a toll on your health.

“Today’s economy is stressing people out, and stress has been linked to a number of illnesses—such as heart disease, high blood pressure and increased risk for cancer,” according to a new study in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

A lot of this stress is understandable—but also unnecessary. If you are in sales, a sales system can help you reduce that pressure you are under in a big way. You will be as productive as ever, which should mean less anxiety.

A sales system will help you stop confusing your real self with what I call your “role self.” Most sales professionals take the inevitable rejection that comes with their work personally. They can’t make the necessary distinction between the role they play as a salesperson and who they really are.

But those who can make that distinction—and it takes practice to do it—find that they worry a great deal less. That makes them more effective. They are happier and healthier, and the confidence they show inspires others to have confidence in them. Sales increase.

A sales system will also help you adjust the goals for each call you make in your prospecting efforts. Your only goal, besides establishing rapport, should be to determine if your prospect has any interest at all in your product or service and, if they do, to set up an appointment for a later date.

You should make a point not to begin the selling process at this stage of your relationship. This is not the time to talk about features or benefits, price or delivery. That comes later.

All you should try to do is schedule the appointment. The rest should wait.

Try this, and like those with a selling system, you’ll see immediate benefits. “Going for the appointment” will take the pressure off you, and it will also take pressure off your prospect. You won’t have to second-guess which aspects of your product or service to bring up. And because he or she isn’t confronted with a premature “sales pitch,” your prospect won’t have to think about putting up a defensive wall of delaying tactics.

When you get your prospect on the phone, be up front about what you want. Make sure they understand that all you are trying to do is to determine if they have any interest in what you are selling and, if they do, to set up a time to talk further. That’s it.

Your prospect will appreciate the fact that you understand how busy they are, and that you are not jumping the gun, so to speak, in making your pitch.

Your sales system will lighten your stress, and theirs too, helping you remain productive in challenging times.

For the first time ever, CEOs and business leaders will have unprecedented access to one of the world’s foremost sales, leadership and management trainers. Bestselling author and Sandler Training CEO Dave Mattson will host a live broadcast entitled, “Can Your Sales Force Pass the Stress Test? How to Ramp up Sales for Recovery,” on June 11 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., EDT, through Sandler’s online broadcast center. To register visit www.sandlerstresstest.com. This hands-on business workshop is free and open to business leaders, CEOs, managers and sales professionals that want to increase sales. Attendees will be able to interact with Mattson as he discusses how companies can assess whether they would pass a stress test. He will also discuss how to determine if sales are sustainable, sales forecasting during uncertain times, rising above a no, keeping your vision and tapping into resources, hidden opportunities and channels to fill the sales pipeline.

“Sandler Training is a resource for businesses on the road to economic recovery,” says Mattson. “In this broadcast, we will address the sales issues that AZkeep leaders up at night and talk about what companies can do to ramp up their sales during this crucial time.”

David Mattson is the CEO and a partner at Sandler Training, as well as the bestselling author of 2009’s The Sandler Rules. Since 1986 he has been a trainer and business consultant for management, sales, interpersonal communication, corporate team building and strategic planning throughout the U.S. and Europe. His domestic and international clients include top-name organizations in many different industries. Clients often describe his enthusiasm, problem solving and creative curriculum design as the particular strengths Mattson brings to training programs.

If you think everyone is reading The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them, you might be right. This week yet another accolade came in, this time from BusinessWeek where the ultimate “how to” guidebook for inside and outside sales people hits #3 on the non-fiction bestseller list. Not bad when you consider the approximately 8,800 business books published within the year, and nearly 7 million books in print.

“What I like most about The Sandler Rules is you can read one chapter in less than ten minutes, learn the lesson, then pick up the phone or go to your meeting and get the deal – or move the relationship in exactly the right direction,” says publisher Nance Rosen. “I’ve heard from several professional sales trainers who purchased The Sandler Rules in large quantities for their sales training clients. When I ask them why the book is so successful, they typically reply it’s the simplicity and clarity of the 49 rules. Some report telling their veteran and newbie trainees, ‘If you were going to read only one sales book in your career, this is the one.’”

Power Through Reinforcement

The book is a superb introduction to Sandler Training’s philosophy, because it reveals proprietary principles previously disclosed only to the company’s private clients. Sandler Rules is also a sales bible for tens of thousands of Sandler Training clients and alumni, who endorse the company’s motto: Finding Power Through Reinforcement(R). At SandlerBlog.com, you’ll find ongoing support for putting the Sandler Rules to work for you.

One Chapter a Day

Many Sandler Training clients have scheduled reading one chapter each morning before starting work as a way to ingrain the right behaviors before they speak to their first prospects or customers. Visit SandlerRules.com to read a sample chapter. While you’re there, view the book’s table of contents to see some provocative chapter titles, including “Money Grows on Trees,” “All Prospects Lie All the Time” and “Don’t Spill Your Candy in the Lobby.”

“At a rate of reading one chapter per day, the book takes you just past Independence Day this year, which may be a metaphor for what the book can do for salespeople and their companies,” says author and Sandler Training CEO David Mattson.

The goal of creating top sales performance in the current economy appears to be the reason behind The Sandler Rules hitting the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list and landing at the number one position on Amazon’s list of sales books, the week before the book’s official release date.

CEOs, analysts, and investors know that growth in sales revenue is the single greatest predictor of a company’s survival in this economy, and the key indicator of its potential for market leadership. The current downturn represents a great opportunity for those companies that know how to take advantage of market conditions, by supporting their sales forces rather than cutting back. For example, during the last two recessions, IBM sales were the strongest when compared to any other time frame.

By learning the right selling strategies and the most compelling ways to communicate, sales representatives can post better numbers, by selling more to current customers and opening new accounts. Even new products can be launched with great success during “difficult” economic times. Kraft Foods introduced Miracle Whip in 1933, when grocers should have been averse to adding something new to their shelves.

What successful companies have learned is this: when salespeople know the rules, they get results. You may be asking, “Where’s the rules?” You’ll find them in The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them. David H. Sandler studied the most productive sales stars in virtually every industry and compared their behaviors, thoughts and feelings to those who struggled in the same companies. The rules are the result.

“Countless times I’ve run into Sandler clients, who unsolicited, recite a Sandler Rule and recount with unbridled excitement a story about how it made a significant, positive impact on their careers. My hope is that this book will have a similar, transformative effect on you and your business,” says author and Sandler Training CEO David Mattson.

BUY THE SANDLER RULES AND RECEIVE A FREE PRESIDENT’S CLUB SALES WORKSHOP | $24.95 | Call 610.940.0600 to order.

In an effort to reduce costs, many companies must do the inevitable — reduce headcount. So, what next? After cuts have been made, managers may feel ill-equipped to deal with the aftermath. Business leaders are turning to leadership training programs like those offered by Sandler Training for guidance to help equip managers with a new skill set to handle, move on and meet company objectives. In fact, Sandler Training(R) partners across the globe say that specialized leadership training could hit double-digit growth over the next year as companies struggle to manage after the layoffs. As another sign of the economic times, Sandler has seen an overwhelming response to its new book, The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principals and How to Apply Them, which has already sold out during its pre-release on Amazon.com, ranking #1 in the Sales Category, #2 in the Sales and Marketing Category, and #3 in the Business and Investing Category. The book sold a record breaking 17,000 copies in a single day.

“Layoffs bring a unique set of problems which require specific management skills. Leaders need to be armed with real life strategies and tactics to deal with the huge challenges ahead,” says Dave Mattson, CEO of Sandler Training. “In addition, the response to the new book speaks volumes that companies are hungry for information that will ignite their sales as never before,” Mattson also says. Mattson offers these tips for managing after the layoffs:

Over Communicate. A communication plan is essential. It is important to communicate immediately to the remaining employees the essentials of what actions the company has taken using straight communication and establish where the company is going. Employees need to be able to ask questions in a safe environment so that issues can be put on the table and people can move on. A leader’s goal should be to reduce anxiety, let people flush out emotions and establish trust. A company’s message must be consistent and reinforced over time. This comes with communicating clearly with tonality that not only makes sense to employees, but sets the mood for the months to come.

Involve People in the Process. Include your teams in dialogue about your process. Talk about the reality of what factors you can and can not control to involve teams in the process so that people can help co-create tactical implementation in the process. Leaders should help employees detail how their individual goals translate into company goals. This does a couple of things. It give employees ownership, a sense of control, and power to be part of the solution; and motivation to get to the next step, and go that extra mile. Put tactical elements in 90-day window increments so that adjustments can easily be made and it is easier to track. This also stages goals into shorter bursts so that teams can see the results of their actions in an ongoing way to keep the momentum going or so that changes can be made.

Re-examine the Process. Take inventory. Workforce reductions mean that employees may have new responsibilities. Does the company still have the right people doing the right jobs for today’s climate? Are they trained for their current position effectively? Maybe they need additional training for their new and/or increased responsibility. Since you must maximize or make the most of every opportunity, leaders must find repeatable processes that work, a company playbook if you will. When every effort is made to improve the bottom line, companies can forget that what gets them to the bottom line are their people.

Have an External Contact Plan. Leaders should be involved directly with clients and customers. In a time when jobs are shifting, the worst thing a company can do is rely too heavily on letting their sales force manage all of the company’s relationships. When one sales contact exclusively manages these relationships, many times their relationship is with people at the company, not with the company itself. When and if those contacts change jobs or leave, your company is in danger of losing the relationship. Leaders should be involved at making check-in calls with key clients beyond those relationships. After major company changes, make sure to use this contact plan to communicate with key clients, vendors and suppliers.

About Dave Mattson

David Mattson is the CEO of Sandler Training. Since 1986 he has been a trainer and business consultant in management, sales interpersonal communication, corporate team building and strategic planning throughout the U.S. and Europe. His domestic and international clients include top-name organizations in many different industries.

About the Book

The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them is a must-have book for sales representatives, sales managers, CEOs and anyone who is a touch-point for prospects and customers. This book is an eye-opener for individuals who are unsure how to proceed in the current economic environment and want the perfect guidebook with specific instructions about what works in tough times.

About Sandler Training

Sandler Training is the leading provider of sales and management training with 225 licensed trainers throughout the U.S. and internationally. The company provides a full range of sales and management training programs, with powerful coordination and customization benefits throughout its extensive franchise network. Among its many achievements, Sandler has been awarded the #1 ranking for training programs by Entrepreneur Magazine eight times since 1994, including the past three years (2006, 2007 and 2008).

BUY THE SANDLER RULES AND RECEIVE A FREE PRESIDENT’S CLUB SALES WORKSHOP | $24.95 | Call 610.940.0600 to order.

The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them doles out tough love to sales associates, sales managers, CEOs and anyone who has outside or inside sales contact with prospects and customers.

“Our founder, David H. Sandler applied a science of behavior known as Transactional Analysis, to dissect why some sales associates struggle to make even one sale, while others in the same sales jobs sell easily, predictably and profitably in a very tough economy,” reports David Mattson, author and CEO of Sandler Training. “The good news for anyone struggling in sales jobs or sales managers supporting them is this: you don’t have to like or even feel comfortable doing the behaviors that successful sales associates do. You simply have to know the rules that govern the success of inside sales or outside sales, and do them. Mr. Sandler proved that the right behavior creates revenue. Of course, your attitude changes when you see success, and that reinforces the right behavior in sales jobs.”

Here are some examples of The Sandler Rules’ take-it-to-the-bank principles for outside sales associates, inside sales staff, sales managers and anyone with a sales job.

Rule 37: All Prospects Lie All the Time

Perhaps “all” overstates the case, but prospects often avoid telling the truth because they’re concerned about what an overeager sales representative will do with their information. “That’s why when we shop in a retail store we often say, ‘we’re just browsing,’ when we’re approached by a sales associate,” says Mattson. “If you assume your prospects are going to lie to protect themselves, you’ll change your behavior from hard selling to first building rapport and trust. After that foundation is built, your prospect tells you what the budget really is, and who is actually making the decision.” In sales jobs you build rapport in surprising ways, including acting like a dummy, covered in Rule 17.

Rule 11: Money Does Grow On Trees

If you heard your parents say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” you might not understand how to cultivate relationships. Plant seeds for getting referrals with your current clients, so they happily introduce you to their networks, both inside and outside their companies. Prospects that branch off your “referral tree” have a significantly higher and faster close rate than prospects you cold-call. This is something even sales managers forget to reinforce, and anyone in a sales job, whether you have inside sales or outside sales contacts, can do with every sale.

“From our comprehensive library of proven selling tools, I’ve selected 49 rules with examples, quizzes and exercises to correctly align the behavior and attitudes of anyone who has contact with prospects and buyers, so they can succeed in this economy,” reports Mattson. “Until now, this material was available exclusively to Sandler Training clients.”

The Amazon ranking charts on Tuesday, March 03, 2009:

• #1 in Sales Books
• #2 in Hot New Releases
• #3 in Business Books
• #16 Worldwide out of 3 million books

To buy the book, go to Amazon.com.

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