KPI’s: Key Performance Indicators

As a professional salesperson or perhaps a sales manager you want to know the score. It’s something built into us and part of what makes a salesperson great. I tell people I used to love to mow grass when I was young—absolutely loved it. The reason: I could push that mower 12 feet and turn around and see accomplishment.

KPI’s: Key Performance Indicators

As salespeople, we need that feedback. With that in mind, let’s look at a few KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) every salesperson and manager should be monitoring.

Number of new calls

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; if you don’t prospect you’ll have no one to close. The number of new calls is one of, if not the single most important factors in success. How many are you making weekly or monthly? Whatever it is there is a good chance you could make more. But, however many it is—keep up with it. Measure it and try to constantly improve.

5 Tips For Hiring New Salespeople

No matter how strong your team may be today, there will be a time when you are tasked with adding new salespeople. You’ll have to decide where to advertise, how to advertise along with several other variables that make the job harder than it should be.

With that in mind here are a few tips for hiring new salespeople. Tips that will save you time, energy and hopefully keep you from hiring something less than a superstar.

5 Tips For Hiring New Salespeople

Create a profile

Some call it an avatar when discussing an ideal customer, but either way you need to decide on paper and in your mind’s eye what you’re looking for. What skills do they possess? What are you willing to teach? What must they already have? This requires taking time to go through and think about industry experience, degrees and all those things you’re going to list in your job description.

Don’t start with ads

My friends in the newspaper industry may not like to hear this, but I strongly advise against “help wanted” ads. Generally the only people reading them are out-of-work…and many of them are unemployed for a reason. Think instead about you seeking out who you want. Instead of making the job the hunted, you be the hunter.

10 Great Open Ended Questions

Whether you’re new to sales or have been in the business for years, continuing to learn the art of asking open-ended questions will go a long way in improving your sales skills and results.

10 Great Open Ended Questions

Before we dive in to some examples, first let me give my definition of an open-ended question: “Any question which requires your prospect or customer to “open up” and elaborate or provide you with detailed information.” Granted, you won’t find that in the dictionary, but that’s what it means to me and you; to get the prospect to open up and talk.

Conversely, a closed-ended question allows them to shut down and answer with a single word that gets you nowhere. The simple definition is an open-ended question can’t be answered with one word—it’s requires thought and therefore gives you that more detailed answer and information.

So with that in mind, here are 10 Great (according to me) Open-Ended Questions

1. How has the drop in oil prices (or any big event0 affected your business today versus a year ago?

2. Tell me about how you got started in this business?

As a professional salesperson your time is best spent in front of someone who has the ability, need and desire to purchase your product or service. Unfortunately, there a few things which must happen in order for you to get there.

4 Tips For Generating Leads

First, you have to have a lead in order to turn them into a prospect. If you will, consider a lead a “suspect” who has the chance to be a “prospect”.

Here are 4 Tips For Generating Leads:

Partner With Other Vendors: Talk to other vendors who do business with your customer. Where do they go when they leave your customer’s office? Many times you both share the same (or very similar) customer base and forming a strategic partnership could pay dividends for both of you.

Networking: We’ve all heard “birds of a feather flock together”. Well, it’s true for customers, too. When I talk about networking in this sense, I mean go where you customer’s are going. Where do THEY network? The odds are good they will be around people in similar businesses or industries.

Sponsorship: What type of industry event or cause do your customers follow?

How Do You Handle Rejection?

I’m frequently asked the same question many times when speaking to or training salespeople, “How do you handle rejection”? They want to know how I (and others) keep from letting rejection interfere with our sales success and goals.

How Do You Handle Rejection?

I’ve had people who would have otherwise made phenomenal salespeople have their career either derailed or curtailed by the fear of rejection. Some I’ve known have chosen not to pursue a career in selling for the same reason.

So, what’s the secret?

The secret is: there is no secret.

Everyone has the same feelings, it’s only what you choose to allow to bother you. The biggest problem many times is the fear of rejection is worse than the rejection itself. Someone who hesitates to go into sales for fear of rejection has let the fear stop them and not the rejection—they haven’t been rejected yet.

If you’re in sales long enough you will. It’s part of the gig. It comes with the territory.

As a professional you have to understand the prospect isn’t rejecting you—just what you have to offer. It really is just that simple. But, for some reason people think rejection is the biggest soul crusher in the world.

• I would rather deal with rejection than be a police officer or firefighter and put my life on the line.
• I would rather deal with rejection than be a nurse or doctor who has to tell a family their loved one passed away.
• I would rather deal with rejection than be an attorney assigned to defend a client I know is guilty.

A lot of people have their own opinions of what it takes to be a professional salesperson—and many times they’re either lacking all the information or they’re just totally off base. They think it’s nothing but golf outings and expense reports, forcing square pegs into round holes and living only for the next commission check.

5 Things Nobody Tells You About A Sales Career

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are 5 Things nobody tells you about a sales career that may help some of those people gain a better understanding about what our profession is really like.

It’s harder work than you think it is: “All you do is talk to people”. Have you ever heard that one? Just like a musician who plays a two hour show, nobody sees the hours of rehearsal, the setting up of equipment and the long drive back home after the “gig”. The preparation required to be a professional salesperson is a job in an of itself.

It’s a full-time job: I’ve seen many people try to make this a part-time job and that’s fine if you want part-time results. But to be a true professional requires dedication, commitment and putting in the time to make this your vocation not your avocation.