I was just talking with Ron Hubsher, a friend of mine who owns the Sales Optimization Group and also delivers sales training. Then I watched him on Selling Power’s Daily Report. I’m very impressed that Gerhard is so ahead of his time with these videos. Pretty cool people are on it such as Seth Godin, Jim Cathcart, Linda Richardson. So I ask Gerhard, what about moi?

I’m still working on getting my act together filiming myself on my digital camera so I can provide you with the Inside Sales 2.0 Trend Talk video blog because I’m still so inspired by what Roxanne has done with Beach Walks with Rox video blog.  I have a vision for it and will make it happen- stay tuned.

Wouldn’t it be nice if prospects told you the amount of power they really hold in an organization? Well that happened today and I want to share an insightful discussion I had with a prospect:

“I’m wondering if you could point me in the right direction as I’ve been in touch with Lisa Track and Ingrid Breem in the past. Also does John Jones still report into them?”

“Lisa and Ingrid are your best bet, John is no longer with the organization”

“Okay, interesting , what about Julie and Tom?”

“Actually Julie is on maternity leave and Tom is my counterpart. We both report into Ingrid”

“Thanks, the puzzle is starting to make more sense, you’ve been so helpful. So your role is…?”

“I am in charge of the enablement group but we don’t have access to any budget, everything rolls up to Ingrid for final approval. We don’t have the power but just support Ingrid’s initiatives and manage the vendors.”

“You are so knowledgeable and helpful, I really appreciate it. What is the best way for me to reach Ingrid?”

“She is out the next few days and I know she will be in her office on Friday just catching up. If you would like to call her in the morning between 9:00-9:45 PST, I can let her know you’ll be calling her.”

“Perfect, I will call her at that time and in the meantime, can you prepare me with some key training initiatives she is working on at the present time?”

“Well ever since we started our new quarter, our new hires need a lot more focus because we are bringing another 30 in before the end of the year. That’s one of the projects I’m working on right now.”

“How far along are you in that area? What are you looking it? Evaluating?

So this conversation continues with this prospect. It is not a waster of time talking with Unvailable Power? Not at all, as long as you know when and how they can help.

I’m the middle child of 3 girls and seem to always find myself in situations where I’m stuck in the middle. Perhaps I create situations where I’m comfortable being in the middle because I have a skill that helps me understand both sides clearly. But sometimes I get myself into trouble because I understand both sides all too well and then we get nowhere.

I can look at this in a positive light as being the glue in keeping something together or in a negative way as the one who gets lost in the shuffle.  

That’s why I find birth order to be so facinating and found a table showing some of the birth order character traits, both bad and good, associated with first, middle, last-born, and only children.

What about when we are stuck in the middle in a sales situation? When you have a client or a prospect who really wants something and your manager doesn’t agree with that request? What about when you are working with a field partner and a customer who see things in a different way than you do and clearly do not include you? 

Today, partnering is more important than ever before and learning how to build and manage collaborative partnerships is essential to your success. When you are in the middle, you can actually make things happen, negotiate with strength and execute so it’s a win-win situation for all. 

Take the high road when partnering and become the faciliatator by listening to the needs surrounding you and helping articulate it for the rest. Use the positive aspects of being the in middle and not the negative.

And for all you middle kids out there- keep up the great work in your efforts to balance and create harmony in all situations. I can’t think of any other birth order that I rather be than middle.

Jeffrey Gitomer is a prolific sales guru and in this YouTube video he asks the question: Why do customers buy from you? Is it because they like you? They believe you? They trust you? or they have confidence in you? Check out this video for the answer.

I’m usually good with gatekeepers- they like me. I make them feel special and treat them with respect. I even use verbal hugs when talking with them and say genuine things such as: “thanks so much, you are really helpful” or “I appreciate all your help” or “ I’m wondering if you can help me with……” or “John is lucky to have you as his assistant.”

Not all gatekeepers are created equal and most are mostly concerned about protecting her boss’ turf. 

I think of this woman when I think of gatekepers- do you agree?

Here are the 10 Tactics for Engaging the Gatekeeper:

1. Remember their job is to protect the decision-makers’ time.

2. Treat them like allies; show respect; learn their names.

3. Assist them by giving them exactly what they want, when they want it, in the exact order in which they want it.

4. Remember you are not selling your product or service.

5. Humanize the interaction by being direct, honest, and straightforward. Be very clear about exactly what you want.

6. Be aware of your voice tone and be confident. Give verbal hugs.

7. Listen for subtle clues on your decision-maker, depending on how much responsibility the screener has.

8. Be fast and quick; when asking questions as your actions should be seamless.

9. Talk about “needs” instead of “wants,” and be specific about what you “need.”

10. Ask for help, “I’m wondering if you can help me.”

It’s the beginning of a new week after a long and confusing holiday week which proceeded quarter-end.  How’s your motivation this Monday?  Many salespeople make the same mistake and wonder why they are getting burned out and losing their motivation. Make sure to not fall into these 5 motivational traps:

External focus- Whether you are blaming your territory, manager, product or this time of year. It’s easy to look outside of yourself for what isn’t working instead of doing more introspective work abour your values and your goals.

Comfort zone- Many of us hang out out with the familiar regardless of whether it’s the right for us. It’s what we know how to do best and what we default to. Shake things up, take a new turn and you’ll get different results.

The quick fix- Stop looking for low-hanging fruit and make something happen. This great weather can create summer laziness, our work days may feel shorter because we have other commitments so we tend to focus on where we can get the fastest results. Take that step back and design a strategy, road map and plan.

Happy ears- Any prospect who wants to talk about our product, service and solution is welcome to do so but ask them to pull the trigger and make a purchase and they bolt. Spend more time finding the decision-makers who can make something happen and listening for pain and compelling events.

Still Waiting- What are you waiting for? Decide on your top 3 priorities and make them happen now.

Whenever there is a holiday mid-week and it comes at the beginning of a new quarter, it becomes a recipe for non-activity.

While some may be feeling sluggish, others are planning new call campaigns and organizing their call lists. July is a perfect time for this- check out our eblast this month.