Sales & Marketing Management - September/October 2008 - (Page 16)

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY [By Rick Wnuk] KEEP YOUR TEAM MEMBERS REAL Inspire your salespeople to build business-driving relationships themselves to strengthen their self-knowledge and their interpersonal skills. This is crucial, because relationships drive business. Many salespeople believe they’re being real, but it’s all too common for them to create personas that they act out socially and professionally. They may feel that playing a part, or putting on the face they think their clients want to see, leads to success. Real connections, however, occur when salespeople are not acting out a role or taking on a persona, but being their authentic selves. Once someone learns to be real with himself, he can seamlessly and genuinely connect with others. Release the outcome When a salesperson commits to professional and personal development, a natural outcome is an increase in performance. Sales leaders must encourage their teams to stretch their comfort zones and elevate their skills, but they also must realize and reinforce that the end result does not define a salesperson; it’s the journey they need to maximize. Simply achieving a result does not guarantee that knowledge is gained. The knowledge is gained along the way by learning from failures and connecting with others. Releasing the outcome means focusing on the value of what is learned during the sales process, not defining success only by the end result. Tips for the sales leader: 1. Assess and expand the comfort zone of your sales- oday’s business landscape is radically different than it was even 10 years ago, and it continues to change constantly. The salesperson’s role has evolved accordingly. Instead of serving as a consultant, offering information and solutions to clients, today’s sales rep acts more as a strategic advisor. As this model continues to develop, it’s become clear the primary point of differentiation that exists between a successful salesperson and the rest of the pack is his ability to establish genuine relationships. If the salesperson is the primary, crucial point of differentiation, how can sales leaders inspire their people to establish genuine relationships? Simply put, by encouraging them to “be real.” Not just “real” as in genuine, but using real as an acronym for four principles that will guide successful behaviors: Release the outcome. Emotions: Recognize and communicate. T people. Encourage them to see the many opportunities that present themselves as they pursue their sales goals. 2. Inspire them to consistently step out of the box of self-limiting thinking to elevate their awareness, enabling them to create solutions and overcome obstacles. Emotions The idea of emotional awareness has understandably become mainstream, considering that some 98% of us buy emotionally, then justify the decision logically. Therefore, a salesperson needs to connect to the emotional reasons a buyer is interested in their offering. If salespeople can’t connect with themselves on an emotional level, they cannot connect with others. To be real, they Rick Wnuk is the owner of SalesPOP!, a consulting firm that works with organizations to optimize sales performance, as well as a corporate speaker. He can be reached at 919-412-8922 or online at www.berealselling.com. Accountability. Likeable. These days, success in the sales arena is about more than positive thinking, competitive strategies and value propositions; it’s about making real connections. In order to do so, however, salespeople have to tap into SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 istock photo 16 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT www.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com http://www.berealselling.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - September/October 2008

Sales &�Marketing Management - September/October 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Brian Tracy University Smart Sales Sales Strategy Smart Marketing Marketing Strategy Smart Management Management Strategy The Low-Cost Sales Leader Why Sales Process Gets the Shaft Training Q&A Technology Making the Case for Travel (Part II) Travel/Meetings On the Road The Way I See It

Sales & Marketing Management - September/October 2008

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