Selling through a downturn means we are faced with more, not less. More objections, more decision-makers, more departments to sell into, more knowledgeable customers, more products to sell, more tools available, more processes to learn, more choices.

According to Miller Heiman’s 2008 Sales Best Practices, there are now 16% more decision-makers involved in the sales process, but fewer who actually hold budget dollars. You would think with so many more decision-makers to contact, the chances of landing on the wrong ones would be minimal. But according to a recent finding by CSO Insights, 22% of deals are lost because of “no decision.” That means salespeople are still hanging out with the wrong people.

It’s getting harder to find the real power in a company, even though both technology and business systems are bombarding us with more data than ever. Today, inside sales is engaging in extensive pre-call research and coming away equipped with hundreds of people to contact per target company. How can they quickly distinguish who has the power and who are the No-Po’s?

Why we’re Drawn to No-Po’s

Unlike the traditional gatekeepers, these No-Po’s are very knowledgeable and are part of the committee or department. They often hold a prestigious title, such as Manager, Director, Engineer, Administrator, Analyst, or C-Level Executive. Although they earn more than receptionists and executive assistants, they hold roughly the same level of power when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

No-Po’s are hard to resist. After we’ve dialed a hundred outbound calls in a week, with little success, we just want to connect with someone live—it’s easy to find comfort in someone who wants to talk. So we’re happy to get fooled by them. No-Po’s love talking with vendors, and act as though they have power, but they discourage you from talking with anyone else, especially their bosses.

No-Po’s love your product and understand it better than you. They are generous with their time, often asking lots of questions. Soon, you believe the sale is getting closer because No-Po’s invite more people to your conference calls and demos. You may even go so far as to forecast this prospect on your sales report, assuring your manager that you’ll bring in the deal.

Learning to Let Go of No-Po’s

Even after we realize we are talking with a No-Po, it’s hard to let go. We believe that if we just hang in there, they’ll come around. Salespeople, unlike No-Po’s, are loyal. After spending months with a No-Po, we may believe we are “owed” the business. We may truly believe we are helping the No-Po convince their boss to buy. Meanwhile, the salesperson’s forecast has suffered because they haven’t closed the sale.

Steps to Letting Go of Your No-Po

Most No-Po’s aren’t malicious, just uncertain about the boundaries of their own job. No-Po’s often don’t know whether they have power. Talking and making plans with vendors is a way for them to believe they do, so they want vendors to listen and be loyal to them and only them. But sooner or later, you will need to ask yourself some hard questions:

1. Is this person going to help or hurt you in the long run?
2. Is this person really talking about you with the executive team, or should you take matters into your own hands?
3. Maybe this person’s level of influence is uncertain or questionable within their organization. Could that be why they are so protective?
4. Have they been burned by hungry, clumsy, greedy, slimy vendors in the past that caused them trouble?
5. Can you assure them of your loyalty while also setting expectations about having access to a higher level?

I grew up in Italy so my bedtime stories weren’t Good Night Moon but of Pinnochio.  I was fascinated by his adventures and especially the image of his nose growing each time he told a lie. It would get bigger and bigger.

Many of us have met liars in our days- there are compulsive liars and pathological liars. The most dangerous is a pathological liar who has little regard for anyone but themselves. They also don’t realize when they are lying which is pretty scary in case you decide to confront them. That’s when Pinnochio comes in, wouldn’t it be nice to get some visual when confronted with a pathological liar?

Unfortunately, some of us are surrounded by lies. Companies submit false statements of earnings, politicians make promises to get themselves elected, executives assure your job is safe and you get fired the next week, No-Po’s lie about how much power they actually have. As we look at the Sales 2.0 landscape, should we expect more lies? You bet.

As everyone looks to expand their internet footprint through social networking, this presents opportunity to put up bogus profiles, dates, education and employment history that is incorrect. More companies are investing in sophisticated background checks and it can all start with a resume that doesn’t quite match up.

I’m fascinated with what drives people to lie versus telling the truth? I know it all starts early in life and for many is pretty ingrained in their subconsious. I picked up a book, Why Good People do Bad Things; Understanding Our Darker Selves by James Hollis because I’ve been curious about what drives people to lie. This book illustrates a darker side of the self, which we all have, and how it rears it’s ugly head at times. The goal is to not let it control you.

Once you find out someone lied to you, you’re disappointed, angry and feel betrayed.  The Black Eyed Peas have a great video of this:

I like to bring small groups together from similar skill sets and meet in an informal sales training roundtable. It is for a shorter period of time and it dives into one specific skill.   Recently, I met with a few reps for the sole purpose on focusing on net new business.  I asked each of them to bring one target account they wanted to penetrate this quarter. Before talking about skills, I wanted to examine their choices and what accounts they wanted to target.

This was a great exercise because it taught me so much about each individual, what they strive for, how they prepare, what they believe they deserve and how many of them settle for less. Here’s what they brought to the table and why:

 1. One rep brought a very large high profile strategic account which was entrenched with the competition for some time. She wanted to get more visibility within the company and knew that going after such a high profile account would score her more points.

2. One rep brought a prospect he worked on for months but just lost the opportunity a few weeks ago. He believed this prospect owed him something since he had invested so much time on this account.

3. One rep brought a webinar lead who signed up but never attended. He figured they had expressed some initial interest and this was a warm lead.

4. One rep wanted to go after their installed base and up-sell them into a new solution. They were a good solid customer and the chances of getting more business was high.  

5. One rep wanted to chase a prospect who had a good relationship with this rep but had put off buying for many months. This rep believed he was getting much closer and predicted the deal to close in the coming quarter.

It’s so interesting what we reach for when we prospect. The time of the month plays into this =  If it’s the beginning of the month, we may go after something more strategic or at the end of the month or quarter, we become more desparate and look for low-hanging fruit to just bring something in.

In general, I find that salespeople deserve more and tend to settle for less. Here are some ways I believe they settle:

1. They are very quick to offer discounts without investing time in selling the value.

2. They become impatient and settle for a smaller sale versus a bigger sale.

3. They invest too much time talking with the wrong people or the No-Po’s.

4. They have unrealistic and unatainable goals and sabotage themselves into being disappointed.

5. They settle because they are tired, lazy, desparate, panicked, insecure, apathetic.

If you saw a woman with blue hair wearing a leopard mask and belly dancing a few weeks ago, that was me at some masquerade party in Marin. I got a head start on Halloween this year- especially since I jump at any excuse to get dressed up and dance. That’s why Halloween is one of my favorite holidays- I can be anything I want to be, I can pretend, hide behind a mask and take on a new character inspired by my alter ego.  

The No-Po comes out on Halloween, these are the powerless decision-makers who act as though they have power and keep you out. Learning how to distinguish the powerful from the powerless is so important and in a Sales 2.0 world, the following trends and realities make it tougher for us to find the powerful:

1. Web 2.0 Technology: Data Overload- with the advent of pre-call research tools, it’s easier to figure out how to contact a prospect, finding the right prospect is another matter entirely.

2. Too Many Management Layers- with so many mergers and acquisitions, more layers or managerment are being created but fewer people have access to budgets.

3. Title Mania- every organization doles out titles on it’s own terms and you have a confusing mess. A Chief Marketing Officer one day can becomoe a Chief Marketing Technology Officer another day. We may be chasing someone with an impressive title who has no power.

4. Committee Decisions- buying influence is shifting to mega-committee. So more people are involved in the decision-making process, and it’s harder to find the ones who hold the budget.

5. Educated Buyers- customers are more informed than ever. As a result, we may find ourselves engaged in long, technical discussions with people who can’t qualify the sale.

Time to take a hard look at your forecast and determine who’s hiding behind the mask. Happy Halloween!

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?

It’s that time of the month, quarter-end when all sales engines are revving. Salespeople make their last desparate pleas to prospects and customers hold out and wait for the final negotiations. Get creative guys and try something new. The following includes 10 ways you can opt-out from discounting:

1. Call with something new- 

2. Remember the sale won’t close if you haven’t properly identified the pain or power in the sale.

3. Remind them each day they don’t have a solution in place, what impact will that make on their business. Examples such as lost productivity, more user complaints, low morale, more systems that need attention, etc.

4. You may be chasing the powerless, the unavailable, otherwise known as the No-Po’s. Make sure someone isn’t leading you on and you have patiently forecasted the deal for the past few months. Call high, wide, around, up and down.

5. Demonstrate ROI and explain how your solution starts paying for itself the minute they commit. What they expect to receive after one week, month or year.

Most No-Po’s make it a career to be a No-Po. You don’t just walk into an organization and become a No-Po overnight. You have to demonstrate enough clueless skills to convince those around you that you have been put out to pasture. Just to recap the personality traits of a No-Po is someone who lacks influence within the organization to make any purchasing decisions. They are a sophisticated gatekeeper and in the sales training world, my No-Po’s are tired old sales guys who need to be in some sales capacity. Solution = Training Director. They put them in the training organization to manage the slimy vendors who barrage them with endless phonecalls and demand their attention. I’m not one of theses of course.

So they hold steady and protect their turf. They actually hate vendors and because they once knew how to sell, they also hate salespeople.  When they protect their turf, they discourage any solution you might be able to provide and downplay any needs they have. Ultimately, they are competing with you and that’s why they protect their turf. Admitting to needing your service will confirm to their managers that they are deficient in this area so why were they hired? So, they are threatened by you because you possibly could contribute to their jobs being eliminated. 

So how do No-Po’s protect their turf? The following includes things they do to vendors:

Discourage you from calling their boss

Avoid giving you the name of their boss or anyone else within their company

Claim they are set and things are under control

Complain they have way too many initiatives before they even begin to consider your solution

They will not endorse you and provide you with a reference to someone else

They continue to be friendly and ask that you call them next year (with that insipid smile on their face).

 So I say, enjoy that turf you are so tightly protecting and be ready for the next new job offer.

Last week I sent out my Inside Sales 2.0 Trend Talk eblast to my very targeted list of prospects. It was mainly to promote the upcoming Webinar titled Sales 2.0 Report from the Front Lines. The fun started a few minutes after it was sent out because I got to track who was checking me out and where they were going on my site. I noticed a few names were rising to the top as they had the most unique clicks and views. (That’s marketing talk for a good prospect).

I drafted my follow-up email and wrote Thanks for paying attention as my subject line.  They responded and we scheduled a meeting the following week to discuss our offerings and their potential needs.

The scenario I’ve just explained describes what takes place when you are selling in a Sales 2.0 environment. I’ll break it down for you:

1. It all started by the target list of email contacts I created. Thanks to Spoke,  I learned a few new email addresses and patterns to people in a large Fortune 100 company I was targeting.

2. I usually switch from Campaign Monitor to Genius in tracking their viewing habits. It helps me understand where they are going and what they are interested in.

3. Now, my follow-up efforts were prioritized based on contacting a captive audience who had reviewed my eblast.

4.  I drafted a short email follow-up thanking them for their interest and used an inviting subject line. I also requested a quick 6- minute phone meeting to demonstrate it wouldn’t be a waste of their time.

5. Once I confirmed the appointment, I went back to Spoke and built out the target company org chart, learned the chain of command and leverage more names so I don’t get stuck with the No-Po’s.

6. The day arrived for our phone appointment and it resulted in a RFP.

These days everyone is taking more responsibility for their marketing and sales efforts. They are not pointing a finger at someone else and waiting for it to happen. As a salesperson, what is your marketing contritution?

This week we are are preparing for our Sales 2.0- A Report from the Front Lines Webinar on August 16th- which promises to be a winner. Sally Duby, President of PhoneWorks and I will sound off about Sales 2.0 and the sales evolution that spans back 25 years. Yikes, sounds pretty geriatric to me but it’s true, we’ve been around a long time which proves why we are the most qualified to be talking about this. We’ve also invited Kathleen Lord, VP or Sales and Marketing at Intacct to share her secrets on what they are doing to amp up their Sales 2.0 efforts.

I was checking out another Sales 2.0 thinker, Brian Carroll’s B2B Lead Generation blog and read his interview with Marketing Sherpa’s Director, Anne Holland. I downloaded their Business Technology Marketing Benchmark 2007-2008 study and was so excited to review some results. They asked technology marketers what their biggest marketing challenge was this year, and their response was the ever-growing committee of decision-makers.

This shift from mega-committees is definitely a trend, a reality and why my No-Po concept is so totally right on for today’s Sales 2.0 salespeople. In the past, purchasing decisions were made by one contact at the IT level or the C level. We are dealing with fearful prospects who have been burned from bad decisions in the past or through mergers and acqusitions, don’t know how much power they really lack- the reality is they are pushing this off to the committee. Which means that when a committee decides, the odds of landing on a No-Po are greater than ever before.