How to Turn Your Idea Into a Sales Machine (workshop)

If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, I want to encourage you to attend my friend’s workshop on “How to Turn Your Idea Into a Sales Machine.”

Richard Rothstein, a sales consultant, will be conducting the workshops twice next week. The first all-day workshop will be on Tuesday, July 24th from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. The next workshop will be held on Saturday, July 28th from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. Both workshops will be held at 1776, 1133 15th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005. View Map

The registration fee for either workshop is $500.00. The seminar is an excellent investment for any entrepreneur or start-up owner who is planning to start selling his products or services soon. It’s one thing to have a great idea and product or service; however, it quite another to begin selling it in the open market. Richard can help guide you through the pitfalls and challenges that all new business owners face in today’s hectic and fast-paced sales environment. I would encourage you to attend.

In Sales, Promises vs. Reality

promises not being kept

Promises may be made, but are they kept once you are hired for a sales job.

You’re starting your new sales job. Promises were made. But soon, you discover that you have been lied to by upper management.

Maybe you didn’t get the sales territories you were promised.

Maybe you didn’t receive the compensation package that you were expecting.

Whatever the reason – do you stay, or do you go?

It depends on your situation.

My advice – stick it out for a while and see what happens. For example, there may be a change in management that could work to your advantage. Or another salesperson may leave, and you could inherit some of his large leads or accounts. Or, the compensation package may change. Or, one of your primary competitors could go belly up, and you and others on your sales team could receive more business.

Success in sales, like any profession, is due in part to hard work and smarts…but sometimes it’s mainly due to luck.

As we all know, sometimes it’s being at the right place at the right time when the stars (and dollar signs) are aligned that really matters.

For example, I knew a woman who became a sales manager and earned a lot of money because the entire sales team left. Fed up with what they considered to be the owners’ eccentric decisions and mismanagement, the whole team all walked out the door – expect her. She stuck it out.

success or failure

Don’t always rely on promises alone when determining your road to success.

Eventually, the owner realized he was over his head, and hired a business manager to run the day-to-day operations. He also hired a team of top-notch employees to help run and manage the production and shipping departments.

With the business finally growing, the owner didn’t forget that woman who stayed with him during the hard times. As I mentioned above, she not only became the sales manager but also collected about 80% of all the significant accounts and was financially successful for several years – until the owner sold his business to a competitor.  As a result, the entire sales team was sold down the river. A year later, everyone was laid off. (But that’s a different story).

Of course, it’s always a good idea to do your homework before you accept a job offer. Yes, you can read reviews on Glassdoor or Indeed. But there have been numerous times when employers will “urge” their employees to write positive reviews to order to attract gullible employees.

Can you trust your gut? Not always.

One of my friends was working as a consultant for a tech start-up. The owner offered him a full-time job with benefits. With a family to support, he accepted the job offer. After all, he had been working as a consultant for a while, and he thought he knew the business. Or, so he thought.

It turned out to be the worst decision he ever made. But he stuck it out for about six months and decided he was happier being a consultant again.

We’re all human. We all make mistakes.

Promises don’t always turn into reality.

But if you stick it out, sometimes those promises may come true.

 

What Girl Scouts Can Teach us about Selling

Girl Scouts selling cookies

Girl Scouts can teach us a lot about being good salespeople.

With so many Girl Scouts selling cookies near my work and grocery store, I have to assume that the Girl Scout cookie season is upon us again. (Girl Scouts sell cookies from January through April, but in some  cases, they may sell them in September).

For most of us, selling is a career that we either start as soon as we graduate college or mid-life when our current job isn’t panning out.

But for most young girls, selling Girl Scout cookies is a Rite of Passage that begins at an early age.

(Full Disclosure – My mom was a Girl Scout leader, and all four of my sisters sold Girl Scout cookies).

What can we learn from Girl Scouts?

Here are some observations

1). Location, Location, Location – it’s no accident that many Girl Scout troops will set up a tabletop display near a busy street corner, a grocery store, or shopping center. They know that location is the key to selling. The more people traffic, the better chance you have to sell more cookies.

(I once saw a Girl Scout troop hold a cookie sale in someone’s front yard. Despite all the cheering scouts, it appeared they didn’t get too much traffic).

2). Product – unless you are a con artist who can sell ice to an Eskimo, selling requires having a good product. Being a connoisseur of Girl Scout cookies, I can testify first hand that the cookies are delicious. (My favorite is Thin Mints®).

3). Free samples – I notice that some Girl Scouts have taken a page out of the professional salesperson’s handbook and are offering free samples. That’s a great idea. It’s an excellent way of driving foot traffic to your location and increasing sales.

4). Branding – at most Girl Scout table displays, I notice a lot of signs. This is not a coincidence. In this busy and hectic age, you must attract the attention of busy shoppers and pedestrians. Large colorful signs tapped to a table, or better yet, waved by girls, is a right way of drawing attention and more sales. Also, having a large stack of boxes of cookies on display will help people quickly see the variety you are offering, and enhances your branding too.

5). Variety – According to Girl Scouts’ Meet the Cookies, there are 12 brands of cookies this year. There is a debate on whether companies or organizations should offer too many products or not. Think 1-800 Flowers with its large display of flowers and other gifts. Too many products can be overwhelming.  But given that most people expect a lot of variety when it comes to snacks or desserts, 12 different types of cookies appears to be a good fit.

6). Referrals – most of us have worked in offices where at least one employee has an order sheet in the office kitchen for people to sign up for orders. If it’s the boss or manager, some employees may feel some undue pressure to order cookies to secure favor and harmony in the workplace. But for most of us who like cookies, it’s the convenience of completing a form and knowing that our favorite snacks will be arriving soon.

7). Enthusiasm – I’ve never passed by a Girl Scout cookie display without witnessing enthusiastic girls (and sometimes the adults are more excited than the kids). Enthusiasm is contagious. It also helps with sales.

(Several years ago, I saw an overweight man sitting in an office lobby behind a display of Girl Scout cookies. His arms were folded. He had this overconfident smirk on his face as if he was expecting people would rush to buy the cookies. That didn’t happen. With his arms folded, no display and no real enthusiasm, he wasn’t very approachable).

8). Dress for success – most Girl Scouts wear their uniforms when selling cookies. This is important. It shows professionalism and credibility on their part and underscores that they are raising money for a good cause.

There you have it.

Most Girl Scouts may never be salespeople. But we can learn a lot from their techniques in selling cookies.

Sales & Marketing Conferences for 2018

Happy New Year!

And with the new year now here, there are several upcoming sales and marketing conferences you might want to consider.

With so many conferences and so little time, how do you select the ones that will best help you in your sales and marketing career?

sales conferencesHere are some tips

1). Networking opportunities – which event will help you make the right contacts to help your career or business?

2). Good Planning – does the sponsor have an agenda, a floor plan for trade shows (if there are any), and plenty of time to meet people.

3). Discounts – are there any early bird discounts and low hotel reservations available?

4). Speakers – are you going to have an opportunity to finally meet those thought leaders and experts that you read about?

5). Company compensation – if you can swing it, will your employer reimburse all or part of your expenses?

6). Attendee List – as an attendee, your sponsor should provide you with a list of people attending the event. This will help you network better.

7). Location – is the event being held in a city where the location is nice, and you will have interesting sites to visit?

Meanwhile, here are a sample list of conferences for your review –

Sales

AA-ISP Digital Sales World 2018
Dates: Feb. 1st, June 20th and September 6th
Locations: San Francisco, Atlanta and Boston

Revenue Summit
Date: March 1st
Location: San Francisco

Rainmaker
Dates: March 5 – 7th
Location: Atlanta

Sandler Sales & Leadership Summit
Dates: March 12th – 16th
Location: Orlando

Sales 3.0 Conference
Date: March 12th – 13th
Location: San Francisco

Inbound
Dates: September 4th – 7th
Location: Boston

Dreamforce
Dates: September 25th – 28th
Location: San Francisco

For a more comprehensive list of Sales Conferences, please go to this link –

16 Top Sales Conferences You Should Attend in 2017 & 2018, by Leslie Ye for Hubspot

Marketing

GrowthHackers Conference
Date: February 6th
Location: San Diego

SXSW Conference & Festivals
Dates: March 9th – 18th
Location: Austin

Social Media Week
Dates: April 24th – 27th
Location: New York

Gartner Digital Marketing Conference
Dates: May 15th – 17th
Location: San Diego

DigitalSummit
Dates: June 12th – 13th
Location: Portland, OR

Growth Acceleration Summit
Dates: June 18th – 20th
Location: Boston

Seattle Interactive Conference
Dates: October 17th – 18th
Location: Seattle

B2B Marketing Forum
Dates: November 13th – 16th
Location: San Francisco

An Event Apart
Dates: December 10th – 12th
Location: San Francisco

For a more comprehensive list of Marketing Conferences, please go to this link –

2018 Marketing Conferences: The #1 Marketing Events Guide, published by The Bizzabo Blog

Note: If you like this post, please read my book – Advice for New Salespeople: Tips to Help your Sales Career

Shout out – Sales Enablement Society

I just recently joined the Sales Enablement Society (SES). If you are a serious sales professional, I recommend that you become a member too.

It’s a volunteer group made up of sales and marketing professionals. The goal of the organization is to better define sales enablement procedures, practices, and roles at companies and organizations.

Here is the mission statement

The SES’s overall mission identifies best practices for successful outcomes, clarifies the operations for the sales enablement business, and develops the criteria for sales enablement roles within successful organizations. The SES’s mission is based on an Albert Einstein quote: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This quote applies to most organizations tasked with driving sales and marketing productivity today.

SES is an international group. There are chapters throughout the U.S., as well as in India, Europe, Australia, and Canada. New chapters are springing up all the time.

There are several communities that you can join. Each community has its own discussion forum. Like LinkedIn, you can also connect with members and view their profiles.

The organization just held its first annual conference in late October.  If you couldn’t attend the conference, there is a library of information that was presented during the gathering, with new content being added all the time.

Interested?

Please check out their site –

https://www.sesociety.org

To give you a better idea of what Sales Enablement is all about, below is a video summary of Elay Cohen’s talk on “Ten Sales Enablement Guiding Principles” –

 

What Salespeople Should Expect at a Start-up

start ups

Working for a startup may sound exciting, but it’s a lot of hard work for salespeople.

Unless you are lucky or have connections, chances are that after you graduate from college, you will probably not work at a mid-size or major corporation. Your first sales job will probably be at a start-up.

Why a start-up? Because start-ups are hungry – if not desperate – for salespeople. And depending on the industry or product line, you could earn a decent compensation package. But even if the compensation package is bad, you could gain experience, contacts and sales stats that you could leverage later for better opportunities.

Sure, you may have your eye on the big prize – a larger company. You have dreams of large paychecks, above-average benefits, a 401K plan (with matching contributions from your employer), and maybe even a 2 or 3-week vacation your first year. But most sales managers at major companies would prefer hiring someone with more experience and skills than a college graduate.

Consider a start-up to be your training ground before you hit the big leagues.

But what can you expect while working at a start-up?

1). Expect to work your ass off

If you are seeking a 9 to 5 job, forget it. At a start-up, expect to work 50 to 60 hours per week. That’s a given. You will find quickly that those who try to work normal hours are not going to survive very long. And if your base salary is low, you better work long hours if you want to make up the difference in your commission or bonus package.

2). Expect high turnover and a lot of new hires

Depending on how successful your start-up becomes, expect a lot of turnover in the sales team and a lot of new hires along the way. Start-up owners constantly experiment with a different set of sales managers and salespeople before they find the right mix.

3). Expect a lot of changes in your compensation package

If you are one of the lucky few to get hired in a sales position in the early stages of a start-up, you will probably find yourself striking gold in a lot of virgin sales territories or prospects – at least in the very beginning. Your sales territory will probably be enormous. Your biggest headache won’t be the number of prospects or leads you’re working on, but properly managing your time and setting priorities on which key prospects or leads to target first.

However, if your start-up is successful, you will probably see a huge number of new faces coming onboard quickly. That means territories will be divided more often, and you may find yourself working in a more competitive sales environment. Don’t be surprised if your base salary changes (up or down). Don’t be surprised if your quotas change (up or down). Don’t be surprised if you commission or bonus structure changes (up or down).

In short, don’t be surprised if your compensation package goes on a rollercoaster ride until the hiring spree begins to slow down, and upper management has a better idea of how to project quotas and measure sales success.

4). Expect to wear a lot of hats

So, you think you’re being hired as a salesperson only. Wrong.

Depending on your background and skillsets, you may find yourself wearing a lot of hats in the beginning before you completely immerse yourself in sales.

Did you write for your school newspaper? Did you take some writing courses in college?

Congratulations – besides selling, you are now the new blogger.

Did you take some marketing courses in college? Did you read some business books?

Great – besides selling, you will also be the new marketing manager until they can either hire a permanent marketing manager or outsource the work.

Did you take some online courses on how to code? You developed some websites for your friends in your spare time.

Fantastic – besides selling, you are now the new website designer.

Do you expect to get paid more for all extra skill sets? Not likely. Well, at least not for a while.

5).  Expect a lot of stress and anxiety

Long hours. Bad diet. Little or no social life. Little or no health or dental insurance.

All this adds up to a lot of stress and anxiety.

And that’s just for starters.

Don’t be surprised if the owner or managers are yelling at each other.

Don’t be surprised if your co-workers are screaming at each other.

Don’t be surprised if you’re yelling at someone.

The stress and anxiety level are also excessive because start-ups frequently change their products and services. That’s understandable. As start-ups begin doing business with clients, they will evaluate the pros and cons of their offers, and adjust along the way. In addition, they may change sales and marketing tactics.

It comes with the territory.

selling at a start-up

While there may be some relaxing times, as a salesperson, you will have to work hard at a start-up in order to be successful.

6). Expect selling to be difficult

Selling is always tough – no matter where you work. But at a start-up, your challenges will be higher because of the following –

Working for a company with little name recognition in the marketplace.

Working with a crappy CRM that’s not very reliable or doesn’t have all the bells and whistles like Salesforce.com.

Working in an open environment where you have little or no privacy. (Please read my post on Open Space Offices – Good or Bad Idea?).  Yes, it’s true that many companies these days, including large corporations, are going with the open space trend. But at a start-up, you probably are not going to have a lot of office space. As a result, the noise level will be louder, and you may have a difficult time concentrating. (For example, I once worked at a start-up where I always had someone facing me every day. Very nerve-racking).

Working with little or no experienced IT support. If your laptop or phone suddenly doesn’t work, you may be pretty much screwed for a couple of days.

Working with little or no marketing help. Some start-ups may outsource their marketing assignments for a while, but you won’t have anyone on-site to help you generate leads, and clearly develop your company’s brand.

7). Expect culture to sometimes turn into a cult

Some start-ups love to glamorize their culture with weekly company lunches, Friday happy hours, company mottoes, and mascots. But underneath that veneer of happiness and camaraderie could be a cult in the making.

(I once worked for a start-up where the motto was “play nice.” But it was anything but nice – a strange young woman kept giving me the evil eye and cold shoulder all the time. To this day I have no idea why she was angry at me. At the same company, a salesperson screwed me over royalty when she left and transferred most of her good accounts to two of her friends. I ended up getting mostly terrible accounts from her. So much for “play nice.”)

Some start-up owners and sales managers love to play mind games or insist on forced group happiness. By keeping you extremely busy, you may be blind-sided by acute favoritism or financial problems. Don’t be so overworked that you don’t see the truth in front of you.

Stay in regular touch with friends and family. Maintain some familiar routines.

Never lose sight of your true self.

8). Expect little job security

You may be the top salesperson at your company, but if the company fails, it’s game over for you.

Many start-ups are created on a wing and a pray….and on maxed-out credit cards, loans from friends and relatives, and iffy investments. That’s not to say that the start-up you are working for doesn’t have a great product or service to offer.

If there’s not enough revenue coming in, you could be going out.

We all must start somewhere. Start-ups offer a great opportunity to develop your sales skills, make contacts and hopefully get a steady paycheck.

Just make sure you are going in with the right expectations.

For more advice on working at a start-up, please check out these links –

“5 Things You Should Know before Working at a Startup” by Rikki Rogers

“9 Reasons Why it Sucks Working for a Startup” by Dana Severson

Note: If you like this post, please check out my book – Advice for New Salespeople: Tips to Help your Sales Career