Leadership, Communication, Presentation & Sales Development Blog: presentation coaching

Leadership, Communication, Presentation & Sales Development Blog

Showing posts with label presentation coaching. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Sales Skills - Do You Have What It Takes To Sell

If every sales professional understood the Principle of the Iceberg there would undoubtedly be less stress, less frustration, less inconsistency, and less dissatisfaction – more motivation, more trust, more money, and more fulfillment. Guaranteed!

In fact, regardless of how long you’ve been in the business, understanding and applying the Principle of the Iceberg in your sales career is fundamental to increasing both your finances and fulfillment.

The Principle of the Iceberg

It’s vital if you’re aspiration is greater than merely making a living – if you’re goal is living your best life. If you’re willing to re-calibrate your thinking and your approach to success according to this Law, you’ll find that your client relationships will stabilize, your earnings will surge, and your free time will swell, all to levels you never thought possible.

Living the Principle of the Iceberg begins by securing your truest measure of success. That’s because in the sales business, motives mean everything.

Motives dictate your mood, mentality, and moves while serving a client. And motives will make or break you when it comes to establishing loyal, lucrative relationships.

The Principle of the Iceberg says that the truest measure of your success is invisible to a client. That’s because the majority of real success occurs on the inside of a salesperson, not on the outside.

Your fulfillment – not your finances – should dictate true success. Starting out to make money is the biggest mistake you can make. And if you’re in the sales business for that reason alone, you’re headed for a lot of heartache. Let me explain.

Think of yourself as an iceberg floating in a body of water. Imagine that the part of the iceberg beneath the surface of the water represents what’s on your inside: your values, your deepest desires, your mission, and your purpose in life; and the part of the iceberg above the surface of the water represents what’s on your outside: your career, your titles, your finances, and your possessions.

Now, if you’ve ever read anything about icebergs, you know that very little of the mass of an iceberg shows above the surface. In fact, experts estimate that on average only 10% of the entire mass of an iceberg appears above the surface. What that means is that 90% of the mass is beneath the surface, invisible to those above the water. Simply put, what you see above the surface is not an accurate representation of an iceberg at all. It’s just the tip. And the same is true of sales success. What’s appears on the outside doesn’t accurately represent whether your successful.

What Lies Beneath

Imagine what would happen if we could saw off the entire foundation of an iceberg beneath the surface. Without it’s foundation below the water, what would happen? If it were a substantial iceberg, it would begin to sink until there was enough of it submerged to regain its balance. It would probably remain standing, but the proverbial tip of the iceberg would be much smaller than it once was (90% smaller to be precise). And the iceberg would certainly become much less stable, and much easier for the changing tide to displace.

If it were a small, thin iceberg that had its underwater base removed, the tip above the surface would most likely fall over. And, without a solid foundation, the iceberg would become slave to the ever-changing ebb and flow of the tide. In fact, without a foundation, a small iceberg may cease to be an iceberg altogether.

In similar fashion, without a solid foundation beneath the surface of your sales career, your outward success as a salesperson will never be stable or consistent. Furthermore, you’ll always have difficulty establishing trust with your clients because you’re not trustworthy. You see, most people can discern the difference between a salesperson who’s out to make a dollar and one who’s out to make a difference. And the longer you continue building your sales career without a proper foundation, the greater the likelihood that your career will come toppling down.

Let’s face it: Many people get into the selling business in the first place because they want the outward success: the big money, the nicer car, the bigger house. That’s how most sales positions are marketed aren’t they? Come work for us and we’ll make you rich is the common recruiting pitch. A nice base salary with great earning potential. You could make a killing! I’m sure you’ve heard that message before.

Superficial Success

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that more money and nicer things are wrong for a sales professional to desire. Who doesn’t want those things? As a matter of fact, material increase is a fair reward for being good at what you do. But when you try to build a successful sales business solely on the basis of attaining such above the surface things, your career is likely to share a fate similar to that of the sawed off iceberg. It will bob up and down, teeter, and eventually sink or tip over.

For more than 15 years EffectiveCommunication.com.au has interviewed, trained, and coached sales professionals, and the one factor we have found that prohibits them from succeeding more than any other single factor is this: lack of purpose!

Most haven’t answered the “Why” question for their careers. In other words, the majority of unsatisfied salespeople become that way because their jobs aren’t aligned with a greater sense of purpose. And it shows: in their methods of doing business, in their relationships with clients, and on their faces.

Your Deeper Purpose

The problem is that they’re trying to build their career from the outside in. They’re looking for inner satisfaction from the outward things. But that’s backwards. And while the desire for money and material things (or anything else inferior to purpose) can keep anyone motivated early on, when the time between sales starts to grow, it’s rarely enough to keep one afloat.

Let’s be honest. Salespeople are notoriously 'gung ho' out of the starting gate. We’re self-starters, highly motivated, and highly ambitious. But if time wears on and sales grow harder to come by, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain hopeful and excited about what we’re doing. And eventually, moving on to something new begins to sound much more appealing than sticking it out.

If you’ve been there, or close to it, there’s a way to make sure you don’t go there again. It’s called “pull-power,” and it’s the key to following the Principle of the Iceberg.

If you’ve never taken time to determine deeper purpose beneath your career then your road to following the Principle of the Iceberg must start there, beneath the surface, on the inside, before you will ever be truly satisfied and successful on the outside. But once you identify your higher purpose with regard to success and sales career, and begin to align that purpose with your activities and goals, you create what’s called pull-power, which is the greatest motivating force for the work you perform.

Pull-Power vs. Will-Power

Pull-power is the antithesis of will-power, which is merely self-generated energy that produces short-term accomplishment but rarely sustains long-term achievement. To exploit pull-power in your career you must know why you do what you do.

When you know why you are selling, your answer then becomes the force that literally motivates or pulls you along, in good times and bad, when sales are red hot and when they’re ice cold. Pull-power is your inner accountability, your constant heart-wrought reminder of the deeper reason you are a salesperson. The problem is that most salespeople get ahead of themselves. Most spend the better part of their early days trying to figure out the “Hows” of their jobs. How can I sell more? How can I make more money? How will I meet my quota? How can I motivate my team to produce more?

They’re all questions that have their place. But answering them is not the foundation of a successful sales career. It’s not enough to know how to be a good sales professional. That’s just head knowledge. To become a successful, trustworthy salesperson you must first have heart knowledge. You must know why you want to be a salesperson. You must make sure that answer is clearly written on your heart. And guaranteed that once you make this determination, you’ll find that the "Hows" of successful origination become much clearer and easier to apply – in fact, your daily actions simply become the manifestation of what’s on your heart.

That’s how successful selling should be

All the best with your sales!

Posted in Facilitating meetings Presentation skills training Public speaking Sales presentations, Presentation, presentation coaching, public speaking training by effectivecommunication.com.au

Saturday, September 7, 2013

How To Engage Your Audience When Presenting

Studies vary on the length of human attention spans, but one study recently concluded that the average attention span is eight seconds. Yes, 8 seconds!!!

Whatever the actual time might be, people have trouble paying attention, especially when listening to a presenter. Inattention is even more likely if it’s a technically-oriented presentation.

You know the audience is going to leave you several times in a 30-minute presentation. In essence, one of the major goals of any presenter should be to bring the audience back to pay attention to his or her content. No matter how effective the message is, the human mind cannot focus for very long.

Here are some ways of combating this consistent challenge.

1. Let the audience know early that you have only 1, 2 or 3 points to make - When you begin by saying, “I plan to cover seven different ideas,” your audience will be quick to shut down mentally.

2. Include an example every few minutes - The listener responds quickly to “Let me give you an example… “ We remember what it was like when we were young for an adult to start reading a story that began with “Once upon a time…” The example hook is the adult version of this technique.

3. Include at least one transition that encourages the audience to come back to you and your speech - The best one is probably, “You may forget everything else I say today, but remember this one idea.” Be sure this transition does lead to the most important idea; don’t use it as a gimmick to make them listen again. Be reminded that you can only use this once in a presentation. Another is “This may be something you know but have not been putting into use.” (Mental response: Me? Do I already know this?)

4. Include a “wow” factor every eight to ten minutes - This is simply a phrase, statistic, comparison, picture, or quotation that makes the audience member respond with “Wow! I did not know that.”

5. Change your delivery style - Soften your voice if you have been pretty loud. Move a step or two with purpose when making an important point. Movement attracts attention. Speed up or slow down your rate of speech.

6. Tighten the organisation of your presentation - If the audience feels that you are disorganised and finds it difficult to follow you, they will soon leave you - and may never come back. In preparation, check to see that each point relates to the other main points and that each piece of supporting material connects back to the point. Early in your presentation, preview your main points and stick to that structure.

Even the most effective presenter will lose his or her audience occasionally. These techniques, however, will at least make it less likely for the audience member to leave you for the duration.

All the best with your future business communications!!!

Posted in Presentation & Sales workshops courses & training in Sydney, presentation coaching, Presentation skills training, Public speaking, public speaking training, Sales presentations, Sales Training by effectivecommunication.com.au

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

What Is Your Flight Plan For Business Growth - Part 4

How To Increase Your Number Of Sales Per Client

Stock Brokers offer occasional initial public offerings (IPOs) to select clients.

Clothing stores offer "by invitation only" events for preferred clients

Auction houses offer "by invitation only" events for preferred clients

Jewelry stores offer "by invitation only" events for preferred clients

Airlines offer frequent flyer points reflecting the number of times traveled or distances traveled with them.

Miles Laboratories published a small cookbook filled exclusively with spicy recipes, and then gave the book away for free. Why? Miles Laboratories is the maker of Alka-Seltzer, an antacid digestive pain reliever.

How many consumer retail stores now offer loyalty cards i.e. 'Buy 9 and gain your 10th free" etc.

These are not just random, unrelated business-increasing anecdotes. Each example represents a well thought out, documented, income increasing principle or leveraging strategy.

Now you might be thinking, "My business responsibilities don't include clients and selling. I'm in the accounting / human resource / quality control / production department".

Think again because the fact is, everyone is in sales!!!

Whatever area you work in and are responsible for, you do have "clients" and you do need to influence and "sell".

Think within your organisation. Typically referred to as internal clients / stakeholders, who might include the head of your department who you might need to influence and sell towards your project, your proposal, your promotion, your perspective, your value, or your pay rise.

Your internal clients might also be those who work under you, and you need to influence and sell them towards giving their best, meeting a deadline, thinking out of the box etc.

Your internal clients might also be people in other departments who could aid you etc.

Think external to your organisation. How many vendors, complimentary companies or future employees do you have to influence and sell to?

When you read the phrase "selling your product or service", don't just think in terms of products and services your company sells. In addition, think of your individual and intangible personal product or service, yes - YOU!!!

You will need to influence and sell to others your ideas in order to advance your career, gain more respect and increase your success and income.

All the success strategies EffectiveCommunication.com.au shares with you are designed to raise you above your competition. If you work for a company, you have your company's competition to contend with. You also have your personal competition - the person down the corridor who you are competing with for your next big promotion. Or the person who just sent their resume to Human Resources because they want your job.

Look out for our future success strategies, which will help you to better influence and make that sale.

All the best with your business!

If you would like to discuss how to improve your organisations capability in the areas of Leadership, Communication, Presentation & Sales then simply contact us for a complimentary, no obligation conversation.

Go to www.EffectiveCommunication.com.au to find out more

Posted in communication coaching, Communication Training, Leadership, Leadership coaching, presentation coaching, Presentation Training, public speaking training, sales coaching, Sales Training, Training by effectivecommunication.com.au

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

WHAT IS YOUR FLIGHT PLAN FOR BUSINESS GROWTH? - Part 2

How To Increase Your Number Of Clients

It is interesting how many companies when income curves become stagnant tend to whip sales & account management teams to do more of the same, when better incentives might be the simple solution.

For example, a company experiencing income stagnation applied a compensation program that paid the sales person 10% of the profit per sale. So when a $1,000 sale was made the company retained $900 whilst the sales person was compensated with $100.

Upon consultation the company calculated the following 3 simple questions:

Average worth of first purchase from new client?
Average number of times new client will purchase in the first year?
Average number of years client will continue to purchase?

The company responded...

Average profit of $200 for each new client first purchase of which the company kept $180 & compensated the salesperson with $20
Average number of purchases per year was 5
Average number of years new client continued to purchase was 3

Based on this the company accumulated approximately $3,000 profit over the average lifetime of a new client of which the company kept $2,700 and compensated the salesperson with $300.

Upon further consultation, the company was advised to:

Compensate the salesperson with 100% of the profit from every first sale they produce
Compensate salesperson with 10% of every ongoing purchase from new client
10% ongoing compensation to continue ONLY if salesperson maintained new client to continue average purchases (5 x per year over 3 years)

What do you think happened?

First, the salesperson was compensated $200 instead of $20 for every new clients sale therefore, the sales team was 9 x more motivated

Second, the life time value of each new client was worth approximately $3,000 therefore, with this strategy the company now keeps $2,520 and compensates the salesperson with $480

Ultimately, with the sales team greater motivated, the company TRIPLED it's number of new clients in only 9 months!!!

Evidently there are many additional ways to increase your number of clients and so, look out for our next newsletters.

All the best with your business!

If you would like to discuss how to improve your organisations capability in the areas of Leadership, Communication, Presentation & Sales then simply contact us for a complimentary, no obligation conversation.

Go to www.EffectiveCommunication.com.au to find out more

Posted in communication coaching, Communication Training, Leadership, Leadership coaching, presentation coaching, Presentation Training, sales coaching, Sales Training, Training by effectivecommunication.com.au