Category Archives: Sales Profession

How to onboard a new salesperson

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You finally did it.

After weeks or months of interviewing scores of candidates, you finally have a new salesperson coming onboard to join your team.

Congratulations.

Now what?

The next few weeks can make or break your diligent efforts of hiring a new salesperson.

Below are 5 tips on how to successfully onboard your new employee –

1). Have a clear agenda – Provide him with a written agenda of everything you hope to accomplish during the next two weeks. In fact, I would recommend emailing him your agenda before he starts to work for you. You can even provide him with a schedule. For example, during the first day introduce him to all the employees, take him out to lunch, ensure that his computer and phone are properly working, etc. Then on the second day train him on how to use your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and other software on your computer, etc. Then on the third day start your sales and product training.

The goal is to give him enough structure so that he can ease into his new job without too much anxiety or stress.

training new salespeople2). Training – Train him well not only how to use the computer and phone system, and other office equipment, but also on your products and services. Provide him with written material or an online site he can read. You don’t want to overwhelm him. Take it in baby steps. Encourage him to ask questions. Maybe have him sit in on sales calls and webinars or online demos. Give him some homework (or better yet, give him material to read before he officially starts his new job). However, no matter how much training you do, it may take weeks or months before he completely understands your product line and sales practices. That’s OK. Take it one step at a time.

3). Find a mentor – as I mentioned in one of my previous blog (In Sales, should you use a Mentor?), a new salesperson should have a mentor. Since sales managers are usually busy with other tasks, having a mentor to lean on is a win-win situation for everyone.

4). Leads and Prospects – there should be as much transparency as possible when it comes to distributing leads and prospects. (Please see my blog post on Three ways to distribute leads to your Sales Teams ). You don’t want to spook a new salesperson if you come across as being secretive or underhanded. If you pursue that unhealthy path, the salesperson may not trust you and seek new employment.

backstabbers on sales teams5). Eliminate backstabbers – frankly, you shouldn’t have any backstabbers on your sales team, but anytime a new salesperson comes on board, the anxiety level among salespeople – especially senior ones – begins to rise. This is actually a normal reaction.  For most salespeople, the first question is this – “Will the new salesperson acquire any of my accounts or territories?” How you respond to that question and lead/account distribution, in general, will go a long way of determining whether your new salesperson has a long long future with you or not.  The key is to try to be as fair and transparent as possible. While no account or lead distribution process is ever perfect, hopefully once the new salesperson is settled in and everyone is still hitting or exceeding their quotas, fear among the sales team will begin to dissipate.

For more tips on onboarding new salespeople, please read –

“Top Ten Tips to Successful Onboard New Salespeople” by Merit Gest
“How to Onboard New Sales Hires” by Steli Efti

Hiring a new salesperson is just the beginning. Onboarding one takes time and patience. Hopefully, your investment will pay off.

10 Trade Show Etiquette Tips

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Having attended several trade shows recently, I’ve noticed some bad manners on part of salespeople that I would like to address.

The following is a list of 10 etiquette tips –

1). Don’t sit or stand behind your tabletop display. Instead, stand next to it. This will ensure more openness and hopefully more attendees coming to your display area. Sitting or standing behind your tabletop creates an artificial defensive barrier between you and the attendees you are trying to attract. By standing next to your table, you are signaling that you are interested in speaking with them.

bad manners at trade shows2). Don’t sit when the trade show is busy. Stand. Smile. Make good eye contact. Show that you are ready to talk, answer questions or do a short presentation.

3). Don’t use your cell phone or laptop when the trade show is busy. Most people are polite. If they see you busy texting or working on your laptop, they are less likely to visit you. You could end up losing a sale.

4). Don’t eat when the trade show is busy – even if other attendees are eating breakfast, lunch or other food in the trade show. If attendees see that you are eating, again, being polite, they may not stop by and speak with you. Wait until the crowd dies down before grabbing something to eat. (It’s always a good idea to keep snacks and bottled water in your exhibit area in case you have low blood sugar).

5). If you are speaking with another vendor and see an attendee walking towards his booth, immediately step away. The vendor isn’t paying good money to speak to other vendors. Like you, he’s there to make contacts, find prospects, and hopefully get some good sales down the road.

6). Arrive early to set up your booth. Nothing screams amateur more than arriving late to set up your booth area. Also, don’t break down until closing time. You will be surprised how many attendees will wait until the last minute to visit a booth or place an order. This is especially true at large trade shows where there is a lot to see and so little time to see it all.

don't scan and spam7). Don’t scan and spam. One of the biggest mistakes vendors make is scanning everyone who walks by their booth. This is a major waste of time. Sure, you may think you have a lot of “sales leads” when you return to the office. But in reality, most of those leads are probably duds because they were never really qualified. So now you’re going to spend weeks or months making phone calls to people who either aren’t interested in your services or products or don’t even remember meeting you at the trade show. And spamming? Please! Unless you have taken the time to speak with the prospect at the show, your chances of him responding to your emails are almost nil.

8). Index cards. OK, some trade shows don’t give you the ability to scan badges. And let’s face it, not all attendees carry their business cards or don’t have any left because they handed them all out. Now what? Have index cards available for attendees to write down their contact information. There, wasn’t that easy?

9). Have enough business cards. Don’t always depend on your trade show/conference department to pack your business cards for you. Bring your own cards. Because my trade show/conference department didn’t pack enough cards, I almost ran out before the end of a conference that I attended a couple of years ago. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

10). Smile. Smiling won’t crack your face. So smile, or you could lose some sales. Sure, we’ve all been to lousy trade shows. You know the ones where there is little traffic or the attendees are only interested in stealing your swag. Like a good trooper, just smile through it and do the best you can. Who knows – you might still get a couple of good orders from it.

Remember, the purpose of working at a trade show is to make sales. Don’t let bad manners prevent you from achieving your goal.

Are you a Sales Fool?

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Since today is April Fool’s Day, I thought I would write about sales fools.

What is a sales fool?

A sales fool is someone who –

April Fool or sales fool1). Creates a lot of busywork that does not yield a lot of sales or orders. You know the type – makes a lot of phone calls and leaves voicemail messages without first qualifying the lead or prospect. “Sales is just a numbers game.”

2). Is a clock watcher and feels that selling is strictly a 9-to-5 job. He’s the fool that doesn’t occasionally come to work early to call European clients or stays late to contact prospects in Australia or New Zealand. “I’m not a morning or night person.”

3). Feels that he doesn’t have to fill his pipeline because the Marketing Department will give him all the leads he needs to contact. To the sales fool, prospecting is a historical term from the California or the Alaska Gold Rush days. “Who wants to get their hand’s dirty prospecting.”

4). Treats the gatekeeper like a piece of trash and then wonders why he’s not able to reach the decision-maker. “Bitch, why can’t she just let me speak to her boss!”

5). Attends trade shows but pretends the events are more like extended vacations. He comes to the booth four hours late hungover from going to strip clubs the night before. “Sorry, Mr. Attendee, I’m sick. Can you come back later?”

6). Feels that he doesn’t need to learn his craft by reading books, attending seminars or watching webinars. Instead, he believes that constantly learning about sales is for “sissies” and he knows everything there is to know about selling. “I haven’t read a book since I graduated from college.”

7). Scans and spams every attendee that comes to his trade show booth without qualifying them, and then wonders why his leads aren’t returning his phone calls. “I thought they all wanted to speak with me.”

8). Steals leads and prospects from his co-workers and lies when he’s caught and confronted by his actions. “I didn’t know the leads were in your territory, honest!”

9). Doesn’t help his absent or unavailable co-workers when customers call. Instead, he treats other people’s clients like dirt or only gives them minimal attention which only undercuts his colleagues. “I have too much on my plate to help your clients.”

10). Doesn’t take the time to find the right decision-maker and ends up wasting two months talking to the intern. “Well, he sounded like a heavy hitter to me.”

11). Doesn’t ask for the order. Instead, he sits back and waits for the prospect to magically pick up the phone and place the order with him. “He’s going to call any day now, I just know it.”

12). Spends weeks calling the same phone number with no answer or voice mail intro, and doesn’t take one minute to Google the contact or company to find the correct phone call to dial. “The Marketing Department told me that this was a good phone number to call.”

13). Doesn’t take the time to constantly learn about his company’s products and services, or stay up-to-date on what’s going on in his industry. He feels that he knows “everything” until one of his competitors bites him in the ass by stealing one of his largest customers. “I had no idea my customer was speaking to my competitor.”

14). Goes on job interviews without researching his potential employer. He asks stupid questions like “what does your company do?” And then he wonders why he doesn’t receive a job offer. “I should have heard back from them by now.”

are you a sales fools15). Uses the sales meetings to harp and complain about issues that would better be addressed at another time and place. To the sales fool, he likes to waste the time of his colleagues during meetings, rather than just stick to the agenda and get down to business. “I know this isn’t on the agenda, but….”

16). Only makes one or two attempts at reaching a lead or prospect, and then gives up. He wonders why he’s not getting a lot of orders. “I guess if I don’t hear back from them, they must not be interested.”

17). Is a master of playing computer Solitaire or Chess because he’s not making sales calls or doing his job. “Maybe I should switch careers and become a professional Chess player and hustle people at the park.”

18). Doesn’t use LinkedIn to add more professional connections. “I have all the contacts I need.”

19). Sends out long and boring emails to prospects and wonders why he’s not receiving any replies. “I spend hours writing 8 paragraph long emails, but no one ever responds.”

20). Doesn’t think that selling is a real profession and he’s only waiting for something “better” to come along. “Yessiree Bob, my ship is going to come in any day now, just watch, any day.”

The lesson here? Don’t be a sales fool. Because if you’re a sales fool, you’re only kidding yourself into thinking that you will have a long sales career.

For the sales fool, every day is April Fool’s Day!

Second photo credit: Essential Advice for Christian Persecution via photopin (license)

Should you write a Cover Letter?

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A young woman who was working as an intern recently asked me if she should send a cover letter with her resume. Her internship was ending soon, and she was seeking a full-time job with benefits.

sending in a cover letterThe woman explained to me that she has been receiving mixed advice from her friends. Some told her not to waste her time sending in a cover letter because most hiring managers don’t read them anymore. Others told her that sending a cover letter would make her appear more professional.

Here is my answer – yes, you should definitely write a cover letter.

Here’s why – with HR and sales managers receiving hundreds of resumes a year, you need to do everything you can to distinguish yourself from the crowd. While it may be true that most hiring managers may not read (or at best just glance at) your letter, at least it will make you stand out.

Almost every employer and sales manager I have spoken to have told me that if a salesperson doesn’t send his cover letter along with his resume, that person’s job application is immediately deleted or ignored.

Even companies that give you the “option” of submitting a cover letter, I should still send one. Why?

Because the employer is testing you to see how professional and driven you are to succeed in sales. You see, if you are going to be lazy when it comes to job hunting by not sending a cover letter, you may be lazy when it comes to generating sales. Are you going to make only two sales calls or 8 to reach the decision-maker? Are you going to write short but interesting emails to your prospects, or copy and paste the same stale email that you are sending to everyone? Are you going to occasionally come in early and stay late to hit your quota, or are you just going to be a 9-to-5 employee?

Sometimes you have to take your own initiative. I once applied for a sales position for a start-up company that did not give you the option online to submit a cover letter. Yes, you had to complete an application and send in your resume, but it appeared that no cover letter was required.

Puzzled and confused, I found the email address of both the CEO and the HR Manager. I sent them both my resume and cover letter. I explained I was taking this action because I didn’t see a place to submit my cover letter. I further told them that I felt it would be unprofessional for me to just send them my resume without an attached letter.

A day later, the CEO apologized to me for not putting a cover letter option on the company’s website. A couple of days later, I received an email from the HR manager inviting me to take a phone interview.

In the eyes of both the CEO and HR manager, I showed them the initiative and willingness to go beyond the call of duty to apply for the job.

I passed the test.

writing a cover letter for a sales jobI once worked with an employer who gave all sales applicants an interesting test – before you sent in your cover letter and resume, you had to call a special phone number and leave a voicemail about a product or service that you were selling. It didn’t matter what product or service you were calling about, but you obviously had to sound enthusiastic and give a clear reason why the prospect would want to return your phone call. Once you left the message, you would then send you your cover letter and resume on the company’s website.

Would you believe that more than 80% of all job applicants did not follow instructions! They either didn’t bother to call and leave a message, or they only sent in their resume without their cover letter.

As a result, 80 % were put in the “delete pile” and were not called back.

While a cover letter (and resume) alone may not determine if you have the drive and determination to succeed in sales, first impressions do matter. Your cover letter and resume only give your potential employer a quick peek at who you are. But in most cases, sending in both a cover letter and resume is your only way of getting your foot in the door to get that first (and maybe several) interviews before getting the job offer.

In the age of Twitter and email, cover letters may be considered old fashion. And while most potential employers could probably read your LinkedIn profile to learn about you, sometimes it’s the little things that stand out.

Be old fashion. Be professional. Write a cover letter.

Here are two sites that I recommend on how to write a good cover letter –

“6 Secrets to Writing a Great Cover Letter,” by Seth Porges
“How to Write a Cover Letter” by Amy Gallo

 

Should you be a hero at work?

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should you be a hero at work?The following are true stories –

A saleswoman works 60 plus hours a week for a small tech company for 10 years. The company goes out of business. Not only is she laid off, but she doesn’t receive any severance. No letter of recommendation. Goodbye.

A secretary, who works 40 hours a week, decides to work for free every Saturday in a struggling small community newspaper company. She does this for nearly five years. The company goes out of business and she loses her job. No severance. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

A grant development manager at a 7-person nonprofit organization spends more than a year working tirelessly to obtain new grants and donations. In fact, she generates more revenue than her predecessor. But when she becomes pregnant and asks the board for paid maternity leave, they string her along for 6 months. Eventually, they only offer her three weeks of paid maternity leave. Angry and shocked by their proposal, she quits her job. The board of directors is stunned by her decision, but they do nothing to persuade her to return. Instead, they post an employment ad to fill her position.

What do all three of these women have in common? They are heroes. They went beyond the call of duty for their employer. But in the end, their employers screwed them over.

Which brings me to my question – should you be a hero at work?

Yes, of course, you should be professional. Yes, you should do the best job you can every day. And yes, show incentive by offering ideas and occasionally working late to complete urgent projects or close deals that could help your company.

But should you constantly work overtime without any guarantee of advancement or financial gain?

For example, the saleswoman who worked 60 hours plus per week may have been better off attending networking events or expanding her contacts on LinkedIn rather than devoting all her time and energy to one employer.

The secretary who came to work every Saturday may have been better off using that time by taking courses to upgrade her skills and market herself better in the workplace.

should you be a hero at work?And the grant development manager should have been more forceful in getting an agreement on the length of her paid maternity rather than drag out the process for 6 months.

Here’s the problem with being a hero at work – they are usually taken advantage of by their employers.

Some employers don’t give a damn about your hard work or devotion. Some are completely clueless about what you are doing. And some may care but they don’t have the financial means to award you.

Heroes are very common in the sales profession. You come in early. You work your ass off late at night. You sometimes skip lunch. You make call after call, or do a string of online demos or meet clients. We do this because we want to earn a lot of money. That’s a given. But we also do it to gain recognition in hopes of advancing our careers at our jobs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but just make sure you understand the ground rules and office politics at your job before trying to be a hero.

If you don’t, you could end up a burnt-out shell. Stunned and anxious, you end up wondering what happened when the office doors close because of a merger, reorg or acquisition that leaves you out in the cold. Or a new manager comes in, doesn’t like you, and decides to hire his friends to replace you and your team. Or the company suddenly tanks for financial reasons, and you don’t get paid when payday rolls around.

The signs are there, but you are so wrapped up with work that you fail to see them. You are so blinded trying to be the hero that you don’t see reality until it smacks you in the face. By then, it’s too late. Now you have to start finding a new job.

So rather than be a hero at work, why not be a hero to yourself? Focus on developing your own professional brand that can translate into more lucrative and awarding career moves. At work, they may tell you that “it’s not about me, it’s about we” – i.e., work is a team effort. That’s true. But just make sure you find a little “me time” for yourself.

Attend networking events. Take courses. Read books. Upgrade your skills. But don’t allow any employer to take advantage of you and treat you like dirt.

Heroes belong in comic books and in the movies. Not in the workplace.

In Sales, Managing up Throughout your Career

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At a recent AA-ISP DC Chapter Meeting, Bobby Moran, VP of Business Development and Strategy at POLITICO, gave a short presentation on “Managing up Throughout your Career.”

Actually, it was more of a question and answer session, with some final thoughts at the end by Mr. Moran. In any case, it was a good meeting with lots of comments and questions from the audience.

Here is the major point Mr. Moran made during the session from his slide presentation –

“When you own something, you take better care of it – whether it is your car, your house, or your career. The goal of this training is to discuss what it means to take ownership of a process, project, or problem through upward management. Ownership and effective upward management, in addition to strong performance, will speed up your career development and enhance your personal brand.”

managing up your sales careerAnd here are some of the key takeaways from the session along with of my own advice sprinkled in –

1). One of the best ways of managing up throughout your sales career is to do the best job you can every day. In other words, make sure you master the basics, whether it’s cold calling, prospecting, lead generation, product knowledge, etc.

2). Outline clear goals and make sure your sales manager knows what they are. While some may argue that introverts make better salespeople than extroverts, when it comes to your career, you can’t afford to be a wallflower. Speak up. Let those in charge know actually what your expectations are, and vice versa.

3). With regard to sales meetings, whether it’s one-on-one, or in a group, take notes and try to stick to an agenda. I’ve attended too many sales meetings that turned into bitch sessions and drag on endlessly with complaints that could better be handled at another time. In my experience, sales meetings should last no more than 30 minutes. Why? Because time is money.

4). Believe it or not, your sales manager is a human being – so treat him like one. Rather than always meeting in the office where there could be constant interruptions and distractions, why not meet offsite in a coffee shop? And don’t always talk shop – talk about yourselves, your interests, hobbies, vacation plans, etc. The more both you and your manager see each other as human, the more he will treat you like one.

5). You’ve heard it before, but always under promise and over deliver when dealing with both your co-workers and clients. When you go beyond expectations, people start to see you in a more positive light.

6). Take responsibility for yourself and take ownership of your sales territory, accounts or leads. Your sales manager isn’t your mother. If you make a mess or need help, speak up.

Final note – if you are not a member of AA-ISP, I would encourage you to become one. The organization offers a lot of resources, including a Career Center, Webinars, and a Mentor program.