It’s been 18 months and 388 blog posts since I first ventured into the blogsphere. Today, my writing life is full and my blog is my business partner, my confidante, my inspiration and my mirror. 

Why do I blog? Mainly because I love to write and communicate my thoughts, ideas and values to the world.  I like to get up close and personal with inside sales people as well as field sales, service and support teams.

Sometimes I think I’m moving very slow on a highway that is racing. Other times, I feel I’m speeding in a 25 miles per hour zone. Today I am going at exactly the right pace.

I want to dedicate this blog posting to YOU. Thanks for stopping by and reading a post or two, thanks for the time you take to read and comment, thanks for your kind words of support and most of all, thanks for being my inspiration. 

I have compiled my top 50 list of favorite blog post- here is the best of the Life in the Telebusiness Blog:

1. Setting Appointments.

2.  Get More Live Voices

3. Change up your messaging

4. Oops, when you realize you’re in the wrong place

5. When someone goes radio silent on you

6. 5 ways to set your non-negotiable time

7. The Dynamic Duo

8. Keep in shape

9. Clues we lose

10. Telestressed?

11. 8 reasons to test your phone courage

12. Email rejections

13. Changes lead to uncertainty of power

14. Listening for red flags

15. Are any No-Po’s lingering in your forecast?

16. Learning your No-Po lacks power before they do

17. Betrayed by No-Po’s?

18. I just have one more question

19. When a No-Po has to protect their turf

20. Winning coaching qualities

21. Are you avoiding being coached?

22. Sales intuition

23. The cancelled sales appointment

24. Is voice mail in or out?

25. Key words and phrases that lack influence

26. Trend talk

27. Sales training is like going into rehab

28. The first few times it’s tough and then it gets easier

29. Are salespeople happy?

30. Notes on motivation

31. Mr. Unavailable is a No-Po

32. Sales yoga

33. Tuesday conversation with a No-Po

34. You finally get the appointment, now what?

35. Let’s talk about trust

36. Different messages= different titles

37. End of quarter sales stats

38. Watch out- it’s the No-Po entourage

39. You sound busy so I’ll let you go

40. 10 tactics for engaging a gate-keeper

41. Looking for motivation in all the wrong places

42. Unavailable power

43. When was the last time you…..

44. Sales 2.0 prospecting

45. Opt-out of desperate discounting

46. The 3 C’s of social networking

47. Sales 2.0; A Report from the front lines

48. Top 7 responses impatient salespeople hate to hear

49. What’s on your wish list?

50. Why do we can people who have no power?

 What do you think keeps a CEO awake at night compared to a Product Manager? These are very different things and it’s important that we customize our message and make it appropriate for each title. When our connect rate is so low these days and we finally get to a CEO- if we come unprepared, we’ve blown our chances. I like what John Jantsch has said in his recent post titled Has the CEO Heard of You?

So what keeps people awake at night, the following includes an outline of the various hierarchies, what their stay awake issues are and the appropriate language for each:

I’m back from my world-wide summer road trip training and certifying inside sales teams, managers and trainers on our TeleSmart 10 methodology. It’s been fun and very rewarding.

These days, I seem to find deeper meaning in my training as I believe the real message is helping inside sales people stay away from talking with ”No-Po’s.” I introduced this term this year and it has resonated with everyone. A No-Po is someone who has no power, authority or influence to make anything happen. They are a sophisticated gatekeeper and unlike the traditional gatekeepers who are very obvious about it such as receptionists and executive assistants, these No-Po’s are very knowledgeable and are part of the committee or department. The problem is they don’t know how little authority or influence they actually have. But what they know is that talking with vendors is a way for them to believe they have some power.

Because of this, we naturally wind up spending time calling and talking with them. We even forecast sales opportunities based on discussions with them. Then one day, it’s usually after our deal has gone south, that we realize we’ve been hanging out with the wrong person and we feel betrayed by them.

That’s the part of my training that I find most significant as I help prevent the feeling of betrayal you can experience if you are not positioned well within the account. The cool thing is the sales cycle moves so much faster when you are aligned at the right level. So where are these No-Po’s? How do we stay away from them? How do we recognize we are talking with them?

Stay tuned for a podcast this week on this topic.

Everyone heard my talk about “no-po’s” in my training as I’ve coined this term to mean someone who has no power within an organization. My training participants are also adding this could mean “no purchase order” and “no potential” - sounds good to me. Well these guys are all over the place and as organizations continue to consolidate, merge, change leadership, there are more and more “no-po’s” out there than ever before.

A “no-po” is someone who has no authority or influence to make anything happen. They are a sophisticated gatekeeper and unlike the traditional gatekeepers who are very obvious about it such as receptionists and executive assistants, these “no-po’s” are very knowledgeable and are part of the committee or department. The problem is they don’t know how little authority or influence they actually have but what they know if talking with vendors is a way for them to believe they have some power.

We are all stuck on deals because we believe some “no-po” will actually make something happen for us. They have told us to stay away from calling around and above them and we have listened. Meanwhile, our forecasted opportunities are not closing and our begging efforts are going into deaf ears. Don’t wait to get betrayed by these people, be proactive and work the hierarchy to give yourself solid footing.  

Every year, exceptional actors are honored for their performances in film. And every year, we answer polls, enter pools, and watch with excitement as the stars show up to receive their golden statues.

Admit it, most sales people have a secret desire to be actors—but sales is a much faster and more professional way to make good money. And every day, salespeople put themselves out there, acting for the sake of the sale:

• We give the most persuasive presentations at quarter-end.
• We respond to prospects’ emotionally driven purchasing concerns.
• We’re sublimely convincing in selling product that may never get made!
• We mirror prospects, becoming who they want us to be.
• We read and respond to body language and use the power of our voices.
• We hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence.

What about your team? Don’t they deserve honors? Yes, it’s quarter-end, and salespeople are fiercely working to make it to President’s Club. But this is different. Take a minute, look around, and consider who deserves recognition:

• Best at Having High-Level Conversations: This person is fearless and can engage at the highest levels. He knows how to speak the language and how to address the “hot buttons” that keep executives awake at night. He’s smooth with communications and drives the sale from a high-level, big-picture perspective.

• Best at Closing: She knows how to move a sale along. She’s patient, persistent, and very focused on driving the close. She always projects accurately, and she’s reliable and steady.

• Best Technical Advisor: Everyone calls on him before they call technical support. His technical knowledge isn’t “geek talk” but sales talk, and the customers listen and understand. He makes it all sound simple.

• Best Prospector: She loves to pick up the phone, send out an email, and generate new opportunities. She doesn’t look at it as prospecting but as research. She has a driving curiosity to engage people and assemble a puzzle that fits.

• Best Leader: He’s a manager who knows how to grow, build, and drive his team. He’s a leader in the true sense, and his people will follow him anywhere. He connects through empathy and self-awareness; he knows how to manage people who are different from him; he’s ambitious and driven toward results.

• Best Newcomer: She raises the bar and sets new standards. Although she may be new on the team, she hits the ground running and makes an excellent first impression. She goes beyond beginners’ luck — she knows what she’s doing.

• Best Team Player: Everyone wants him on their team, because he’ll make them win. No matter what rumors are flying around about possible mergers, acquisitions, etc., he knows how to rally the team and get people motivated.

• Best Adaptation of a Screenplay: She’s a whiz with words and can finesse any message into a winning proposition. Far from relying on the typical script, she takes risks and uses new approaches to address the customer with exciting, vibrant messages.

• Best Supporting Person in a Major Account: He’s responsible for bringing in one of the biggest deals in the quarter. He was the first contact, made the biggest impression, developed trust, and knew how choreograph a cast of characters that took the sale to the next level.

• Best Actor in a Foreign Script: She’s highly intuitive and sensitive to the customer. She understands buyer behavior and how customers want to be sold. She takes full responsibility for understanding the cultural idiosyncrasies within each of her organizations’ international partners.

And the winner is…………………….

Hooked on the Olympics? So are we — because there’s nothing more inspiring than people who are totally dedicated to what they do. Olympic athletes push themselves beyond the limit, and the results are breathtaking.

Just like an athlete, you are engaged in a global competition. To capture the gold in today’s economy, you need to devote Olympic-level attention to your professional development.

How do you rank in the following events?

• Assiduous Preparation: Yes, preparation means doing your homework. But it also means constantly honing your skills to meet new and bigger challenges. How prepared are you?

• Discipline: Just like athletes, salespeople must build muscles so that they’re primed when opportunity knocks. How often do you get a “sales skills” workout?

• Competitive Excellence: The economic space is tight, and you must position yourself to rise above your competitors. Who’s helping you rise above the pack?

• Peak Performance: The Olympics occur once every four years, but for salespeople, it’s almost always show time. Can you perform on every call—today?

• Grace in Defeat: Just like the athlete who studies his loss to refine his technique, you must take a “no” as an opportunity to re-educate your customer and refine your offerings. Can you turn a “no” into a “no problem”?

• Speed: It can be as small as .01 of a second—and it’s the difference between winning and losing. In sales, speed counts, especially when getting your message across. How fast is your messaging?

• Global Fraternization: In this globalized economy, learning to connect with people from different cultures is critical to developing trust and building rapport. Can you align well across cultures?

• Teamwork and Partnerships: Whether you call it “forging strategic alliances” or “partnering,” teaming up in your selling efforts will give you greater mileage and earn more value. Have you created some strategic alliances?

• Keep Performing: Customer loyalty is anything but a given. You must continue to provide quality offerings and distinguish yourself from the competition. Do you ever stop competing?

• Buyers are Judges: Judges are human—low-risk, moody, influenced by others. And so are buyers. You must get to know your prospects–particularly their “hot buttons.” How well do you understand buyer behavior?

• The Thrill of Victory: There’s nothing quite like the medal ceremony—or the “yes” on the end of the line. When you close an important deal, you know you’re a world-class competitor.

Powered by Qumana