Applied sales psychology is part and parcel to selling. We deal with the mental functions of the prospect on every call. We are successful to the degree that we positively influence, and shrewdly control the direction of those mental functions, and thus create an environment where change can be contemplated by the prospect.
We've all been trained that if we understand a prospect’s problem, and provide a killer solution the prospect will purchase. Unfortunately, this is only true in about four percent (4%) of the prospects that you call on. In the remaining 96%, there are clearly other issues that if not handled satisfactorily become a point of contention between the consultant and the prospect.
We also know, because we have been hammered with it over the last several years that doing what we've been doing will keep giving us the results we’ve been getting. It seems the only way to improve current results is to do something different, something that bypasses our "normal".
The book, Rapid Sales Success has tools and processes to address these issues.
1. To keep the prospect focused on your product/service, we developed a tightly honed "WANTS Analysis" that we call the Commonality of Issues Sheet (CIS). This sheet keeps you on track, and is a laser-guided solution for entering into the prospect's decision-making issues. We have an example in the book, but the CIS are easy to create.
2. When issues are found, from the CIS, we have the exact wording you need to fix and repair, so that the prospect can make a clear headed decision minus any past garbage.
See you on the website: http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Can Psychology Work In A Sales Presentation?
Question: Can Psychology Work In A Sales Presentation?
Answer: NO, but applied psychology can.
Many of you know my roots are from the United States Marine Corps. My official duties were in Marine Aviation. Not many of you know, however, that I also had a hand in military psychological operations (Psyops).
Many of the applied psychological scenarios, I later converted for use within the sales departments of some major Professional Employer Organizations i.e., Insperity & Gevity (Trinet). The humor found was in the fact that peak performers within our industry were already doing the applied psychology scenarios, without knowing the “whys” behind them.
Please note that I have italicized the work ‘applied’. This is because the only branch of psychology that has been proven to work, time and time again is under the banner of applied psychology. Theory is not welcomed in this branch.
There are several books that I have, or will be publishing on this. The first one, already done is titled, The Secret Psychology of Selling. The second will be titled, Mental Reflexes. The earlier PEO sales book, Rapid Sales Success gave the processes, but not many of the “whys”.
I would encourage you to pick up your printed copy, eBook, or iPhone copy soon. You will discover that your successful actions actually have an existing strong definition. Knowing the definition will allow you to utilize it more often, which will equal greater success = better closing ratios.
Respectfully,
Joe Caulfield
Answer: NO, but applied psychology can.
Many of you know my roots are from the United States Marine Corps. My official duties were in Marine Aviation. Not many of you know, however, that I also had a hand in military psychological operations (Psyops).
Many of the applied psychological scenarios, I later converted for use within the sales departments of some major Professional Employer Organizations i.e., Insperity & Gevity (Trinet). The humor found was in the fact that peak performers within our industry were already doing the applied psychology scenarios, without knowing the “whys” behind them.
Please note that I have italicized the work ‘applied’. This is because the only branch of psychology that has been proven to work, time and time again is under the banner of applied psychology. Theory is not welcomed in this branch.
There are several books that I have, or will be publishing on this. The first one, already done is titled, The Secret Psychology of Selling. The second will be titled, Mental Reflexes. The earlier PEO sales book, Rapid Sales Success gave the processes, but not many of the “whys”.
I would encourage you to pick up your printed copy, eBook, or iPhone copy soon. You will discover that your successful actions actually have an existing strong definition. Knowing the definition will allow you to utilize it more often, which will equal greater success = better closing ratios.
Respectfully,
Joe Caulfield
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Sales Training Manual and Rapid Sales Success Techniques
Pundits - (experts), write most sales training manuals. Most manuals would include the follow as chapters:
Company History, Mission Statement, Opening Procedures, Presentation, Closing Procedures, Handling Objections, and Daily Tasks (Activity).
Sadly, sales training manuals and sales training in any form have little impact. This is backed up by a number of studies that confirm that training does not change behaviors, attitudes, or results of the vast majority of sales consultants.
This is, obviously, a terrible Return On Investment. All manner of things have been investigated to determine the cause of this – Everything from the trainer, to the material, to the methods, management, and the sales consultants.
We’ve learned over the years that sales psychology must be employed, in the sales consultancy world, to become a consistent peak performer. We also know that coaching is required to get a sales consultant to a point of smooth and effortless delivery.
The same is true for the data in sales training manuals and sales training in general. There must be a coach. As sales consultants, we’re not only trying to absorb information from anything new, but we are trying to change some of our own basic behaviors - and that takes coaching, from a third party. After all, we are converting informational data from either written or verbal sources into action items.
Interestingly enough are the surveys that have been done on coaches and training companies to determine why training fails. These surveys point out the number one reason why training does not "take".
That reason is management.
Management leaves everything to the trainer, or to a training company, and they have no ongoing coaching. The trainer, coach or training company delivers the training, and then Elvis leaves the building, and everything remains the same.
ANY new skills, from any new training manual act as a paradigm for the student of those skills.
A paradigm represents a modification from what is now being done. Paradigms are difficult, as one has to form new habits and replace the old habits. The exceptions are few, as most people getting new training, leave the training or read the sales training manual with the best of intentions to implement, but then slip back into old ‘comfort zone’ habits, and abandon the newly learned material in the heat of battle.
Taking in, and absorbing information is one thing - Putting information into practice is quite another. Maximizing success requires an observer to make sure that what was said in a sales training manual is actually being implemented in the real world - consistently.
Coaching creates a new ‘comfort zone’ for the new material. This takes a little time and discipline, but when done, the Return On Investment speaks for itself.
Transform your training with good ongoing coaching at implementation, and it will convert/transform the mediocre into the extraordinary.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Prospect Procrastination and Hesitancy
The book, Rapid Sales Success utilizes a new “Targeted Wants Analysis” – and has a process for handling confusions that typically stand in the way of a prospect making a clear-headed present-time decision.
Purchase your copy today by clicking on hyperlink!
Purchase your copy today by clicking on hyperlink!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Top of MIND
I had a CEO of a PEO that said we needed to be the first thing that a prospect thought about, when it came to handling solutions for a human resources problem. The CEO was right, but a little more needed to be said.
The idea above, and actuality of “positioning” is inferred, but rarely talked about. In my writings I have always stressed the words ‘sales’ and ‘consultant’, as it is felt that while a sales person is trying to talk someone into something, a ‘sales consultant', gives expert advice.
Well, advice on what exactly? This 'advice on what' question is what I focus on in doing sales trainings. In selling PEO, or anything else, there are certain things that prompt questions, or that have caused difficulty in the past for our prospect, as it concerns our product or service. The prospect is looking at our company as a potential solution to some problem.
So, the first goal is to uncover that problem or problems so they can be inspected. I do this with the Commonality of Issues Sheet (CIS), and it is magical - and quick. It is a way to “open the door” on issues that may not be brought out in a, initial sales consultant interview. It begins to establish us as a trusted adviser.
Once uncovered, if you don't have a street-wise psychological process handy, you can feel a little bit like the dog, in the joke, where he catches the bus he is chasing. What does he do NOW? This was answered by developing a conversational process that shines a spotlight of “critical thinking skills” on problem areas, so that they do NOT get in the way of current decision-making.
Simple? Yes! Magical? Absolutely!
The idea above, and actuality of “positioning” is inferred, but rarely talked about. In my writings I have always stressed the words ‘sales’ and ‘consultant’, as it is felt that while a sales person is trying to talk someone into something, a ‘sales consultant', gives expert advice.
Well, advice on what exactly? This 'advice on what' question is what I focus on in doing sales trainings. In selling PEO, or anything else, there are certain things that prompt questions, or that have caused difficulty in the past for our prospect, as it concerns our product or service. The prospect is looking at our company as a potential solution to some problem.
So, the first goal is to uncover that problem or problems so they can be inspected. I do this with the Commonality of Issues Sheet (CIS), and it is magical - and quick. It is a way to “open the door” on issues that may not be brought out in a, initial sales consultant interview. It begins to establish us as a trusted adviser.
Once uncovered, if you don't have a street-wise psychological process handy, you can feel a little bit like the dog, in the joke, where he catches the bus he is chasing. What does he do NOW? This was answered by developing a conversational process that shines a spotlight of “critical thinking skills” on problem areas, so that they do NOT get in the way of current decision-making.
Simple? Yes! Magical? Absolutely!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
ACTIVITY + EFFICIENCY + EFFECTIVENESS = SALE
Statistically, the successful PEO/HRO sales consultant makes between 20 and 40 telephone calls per day to get appointments. That activity should yield 2+ appointments (the minimum goal). This results in 10 appointments per week - average - if you're good. If you are not getting this result, hone your script until you have it down, or see my blog post on appointments for additional help.
30% of your appointments should result in a Request For Proposal (RFP).
Statistics tell us that 20% of every five (5) RFPs end in a sale.
With Rapid Sales Success processes, 50% of the original first calls should result in a RFP, and 30% - 50% should close.
Old Way = 5 RFPs and one (1) sale
Rapid Sales Success Way = 5 RFPs and minimum of 1.5 sales
We need to train, to be more efficient and effective in doing the initial sales interview - it is just too difficult getting appointments. Right? So, learning how to maximize current acticity levels is important. That's what I write about - maximizing potential on current activity levels.
It is all about asking the right question to elicit an emotional response from the prospect, and then handling the response correctly. This leads to better effectiveness (an actual close) on the activity levels already being done. It also leads to creating a trusted adviser status with your prospects/clients. Trusted advisers get a lot more referrals.
Pick up your copy of Rapid Sales Success, and The Secret Psychology of Selling today. The books are available on Amazon or http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/ (Kindle or Paperback or PDF format)
30% of your appointments should result in a Request For Proposal (RFP).
Statistics tell us that 20% of every five (5) RFPs end in a sale.
With Rapid Sales Success processes, 50% of the original first calls should result in a RFP, and 30% - 50% should close.
Old Way = 5 RFPs and one (1) sale
Rapid Sales Success Way = 5 RFPs and minimum of 1.5 sales
We need to train, to be more efficient and effective in doing the initial sales interview - it is just too difficult getting appointments. Right? So, learning how to maximize current acticity levels is important. That's what I write about - maximizing potential on current activity levels.
It is all about asking the right question to elicit an emotional response from the prospect, and then handling the response correctly. This leads to better effectiveness (an actual close) on the activity levels already being done. It also leads to creating a trusted adviser status with your prospects/clients. Trusted advisers get a lot more referrals.
Pick up your copy of Rapid Sales Success, and The Secret Psychology of Selling today. The books are available on Amazon or http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/ (Kindle or Paperback or PDF format)
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Prospect's Are Receiving Unconscious Signals
My authoring and coaching is involved in creating processes that help sales consultants de-stimulate erroneous messages that prospects receive unconsciously. I teach that through a system of mental reflexes® the prospect's present-time solutions are often derived at by looking through a prism of past pains, past bad decisions.
This, oftentimes leaves prospects with hesitancy and procrastination. Thus we have the prospect who is "tracking", but fails to pull the trigger on buying. It is very perplexing to sales consultants.
A recently authored mini-book, The Secret Psychology of Selling, gives specific tools and patter a sales consultant can use in shining a spotlight of critical thinking skills on any past stresses, thereby allowing the prospect to re-look at those areas with fresh eyes. This action allows the prospect tgo make "now" decisions unhampered.
This, oftentimes leaves prospects with hesitancy and procrastination. Thus we have the prospect who is "tracking", but fails to pull the trigger on buying. It is very perplexing to sales consultants.
A recently authored mini-book, The Secret Psychology of Selling, gives specific tools and patter a sales consultant can use in shining a spotlight of critical thinking skills on any past stresses, thereby allowing the prospect to re-look at those areas with fresh eyes. This action allows the prospect tgo make "now" decisions unhampered.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Why Don’t Sales People Want Sales Training
It’s no secret that groans can be heard when sales training is on the schedule.
Especially from those selling for a few years. Few seasoned sales consultants have much tolerance for what seems to be the once or twice yearly march of management, and training departments to teach sales what’s good for them.
Training is considered a nuisance by most sales consultants. Training seems to stop whatever real work is going on. Upper management and mid- management act all excited about it, and sales pretends to be interested too.
So, the question remains… Why don’t sales people just love sales training?
Here are some stone cold answers.
Training typically doesn’t have impact (by survey and follow up statistics). Only 1/4th of the respondents to a McKinsey survey said training programs measurably improved business performance, and most companies don’t even bother to track the returns they get on their investments in training.
McKinsey says that companies around the world spend up to $100 billion a year to train employees in the skills they need to improve corporate performance – A lot of dollars by any standard.
Company-Think on training is that a highly skilled workforce is more productive, and because employees often need new skill sets to deal with changes in an organization’s strategy or performance, sales training becomes essential. They also have heard from vendors that if you train employees they stay, and do not terminate, and move to a competitor.
Rapid Sales Success psychological interviews tell us that attendees don’t get any substance from most training – they agree with McKinsey. They don’t see long-term improvement in their results. Others doing surveys say that the object of training is to change behaviors, and that middle and upper management don’t seem to have a commitment to any specific program. Therefore, people simply go back to what they were doing before, knowing management will have something new again next year, or next quarter after someone in management reads the latest book.
Certain things come to my mind:
1. Employees have an entitlement mentality.
2. We’re in a rut.
3. We’ve not kept pace with a constantly changing buying world.
4. The same old thing is not producing the great results they use to.
5. It is time to move on…
It is not popular to say that employees feel management should give them training, and then when there is no follow through by management, they blame management (again). Then Groundhog Day begins again, and again…
NEW FLASH! It is the sales consultants job, and responsibility to do training until the correct result is achieved. As adults we cannot blame our manager or owner for our own lack of self-discipline. Oh, I guess we can, but it is us that will not get the promotion or get terminated if our numbers aren’t good.
Solution:
You may really enjoy the new "mini-book" - The Secret Psychology of Selling (PEO). It’s a no bull, ‘this is the way it is’ approach that appeals to real producers like you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rz-NwvX0Yg&feature=related
has a short video on it.
I think this book has the potential to change your sales life in a very positive way. But, you have to actually do it, and persevere until you are good at it. Like anything else that is worthwhile, it take some work on your part.
Available on Amazon (Kindle), or http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/ in a PDF format.
Especially from those selling for a few years. Few seasoned sales consultants have much tolerance for what seems to be the once or twice yearly march of management, and training departments to teach sales what’s good for them.
Training is considered a nuisance by most sales consultants. Training seems to stop whatever real work is going on. Upper management and mid- management act all excited about it, and sales pretends to be interested too.
So, the question remains… Why don’t sales people just love sales training?
Here are some stone cold answers.
Training typically doesn’t have impact (by survey and follow up statistics). Only 1/4th of the respondents to a McKinsey survey said training programs measurably improved business performance, and most companies don’t even bother to track the returns they get on their investments in training.
McKinsey says that companies around the world spend up to $100 billion a year to train employees in the skills they need to improve corporate performance – A lot of dollars by any standard.
Company-Think on training is that a highly skilled workforce is more productive, and because employees often need new skill sets to deal with changes in an organization’s strategy or performance, sales training becomes essential. They also have heard from vendors that if you train employees they stay, and do not terminate, and move to a competitor.
Rapid Sales Success psychological interviews tell us that attendees don’t get any substance from most training – they agree with McKinsey. They don’t see long-term improvement in their results. Others doing surveys say that the object of training is to change behaviors, and that middle and upper management don’t seem to have a commitment to any specific program. Therefore, people simply go back to what they were doing before, knowing management will have something new again next year, or next quarter after someone in management reads the latest book.
Certain things come to my mind:
1. Employees have an entitlement mentality.
2. We’re in a rut.
3. We’ve not kept pace with a constantly changing buying world.
4. The same old thing is not producing the great results they use to.
5. It is time to move on…
It is not popular to say that employees feel management should give them training, and then when there is no follow through by management, they blame management (again). Then Groundhog Day begins again, and again…
NEW FLASH! It is the sales consultants job, and responsibility to do training until the correct result is achieved. As adults we cannot blame our manager or owner for our own lack of self-discipline. Oh, I guess we can, but it is us that will not get the promotion or get terminated if our numbers aren’t good.
Solution:
You may really enjoy the new "mini-book" - The Secret Psychology of Selling (PEO). It’s a no bull, ‘this is the way it is’ approach that appeals to real producers like you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rz-NwvX0Yg&feature=related
has a short video on it.
I think this book has the potential to change your sales life in a very positive way. But, you have to actually do it, and persevere until you are good at it. Like anything else that is worthwhile, it take some work on your part.
Available on Amazon (Kindle), or http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/ in a PDF format.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
In This Economy
Marketing Genius Dan Kennedy says…
“In this economy, it's more important than ever to do things differently. Business as usual has gotten us into one of the biggest economic messes we've seen in decades.
It wasn't your fault. But if you don't keep your head on a swivel, constantly surveying the horizon for ways to be different, you'll wind up as just another bleached carcass in the desert. Business as usual means failure. Especially in this Economy.”
Every week or so, I do a mailing to our industry at large, and I’m amazed at how many people are simply not there as I delete the “fatal error” messages I get back. They, or their companies have decided to make a go of it without them, for whatever reason.
Is this because their selling method was out of sync with the current economy? In this economy doing something different may be the clarion call of success.
I sold PEO for years, and always made the circle of excellence, the president’s club, or the top 1/3rd of the leader board. Then I managed PEO sales teams, teaching the system that is now an inexpensive $3.99 eBook from Amazon, or a PDF from the Rapid Sales Success website. It is not a complicated system. It can even boast of being both efficient (time-wise) and effective (better closing ratios).
As you prepare for the close of 2011, and the ringing in of 2012 perhaps, ‘…it's more important than ever to do things differently…’ for you too? Or, as Dan says, ‘Business as usual means failure. Especially in this Economy.”
Purchase The Secret Psychology of Selling from Amazon, or from the Rapid Sales Success website in PDF format.
“In this economy, it's more important than ever to do things differently. Business as usual has gotten us into one of the biggest economic messes we've seen in decades.
It wasn't your fault. But if you don't keep your head on a swivel, constantly surveying the horizon for ways to be different, you'll wind up as just another bleached carcass in the desert. Business as usual means failure. Especially in this Economy.”
Every week or so, I do a mailing to our industry at large, and I’m amazed at how many people are simply not there as I delete the “fatal error” messages I get back. They, or their companies have decided to make a go of it without them, for whatever reason.
Is this because their selling method was out of sync with the current economy? In this economy doing something different may be the clarion call of success.
I sold PEO for years, and always made the circle of excellence, the president’s club, or the top 1/3rd of the leader board. Then I managed PEO sales teams, teaching the system that is now an inexpensive $3.99 eBook from Amazon, or a PDF from the Rapid Sales Success website. It is not a complicated system. It can even boast of being both efficient (time-wise) and effective (better closing ratios).
As you prepare for the close of 2011, and the ringing in of 2012 perhaps, ‘…it's more important than ever to do things differently…’ for you too? Or, as Dan says, ‘Business as usual means failure. Especially in this Economy.”
Purchase The Secret Psychology of Selling from Amazon, or from the Rapid Sales Success website in PDF format.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Why what happened yesterday matters
Certain life lessons get into what is called Theory of Mind. Scientists do not like these subjects because they do not submit to scientific methodology. These ‘lessons’ lean on observed data only. However, the so-called soft-science of Psychology cannot be denied. People do think, respond and feel in much the same way as other people do. There is a commonality.
One of the main theories is that people think in imagery. For instance, if the word Thanksgiving is said, you'll probably get mental images of family or turkey, or whatever. It turns out these images are important. I know they are in regard to being a sales consultant. Here's why.
Let’s say that we think and image linearly – in a straight line - like an old videotape machine. So, we have what was (the past), what is (the present), and what will be (the future) available to us in some fashion.
Let’s suppose too that we are talking to a prospect that has made poor decisions regarding our product category, in their past. Not only was the past decision poor, but also cost him some dollars, and some personal embarrassment. Like most things in life though, life goes on, and he finally manages to put some band-aids here and there, and called it a fix.
Now you come strolling through his door, months or even years later, to make a presentation on something that just touches the edge on that old, and quite unconscious image he now has. You have, just by bringing the general subject up, revivified his old memory and experience. You gave it new life and new energy, in the present.
How do we know this happens? Hello PET Scans and fMRI. People who have had even the slightest trauma show nothing at all in a scan, until a subject of a recent or past trauma is mentioned. Then, in real time and in living color, it lights the brain up like a rocket – and sometimes even throws in physical manifestations to boot.
I am reminded of the NFL linebacker, or safety just tackling the living daylights out of someone that catches a pass from the opposing teams Quarterback. On about the third pass, the receiver drops the ball, because he now is anticipating what is to come. One of the newer definitions of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear can appear, and make you see a false future reality.
That is why we have the Recall System process in the Rapid Sales Success, and The Secret Psychology of Selling data. This process is the fix for this residual energy that may be stopping our prospect from making a today decision. It has the added benefit of opening the door to true communication on deeper issues that the business owner has as well.
This raises closing ratios.
Joe Caulfield is a professional sales coach, consultant, manager and author. He can be reached through his website http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/
One of the main theories is that people think in imagery. For instance, if the word Thanksgiving is said, you'll probably get mental images of family or turkey, or whatever. It turns out these images are important. I know they are in regard to being a sales consultant. Here's why.
Let’s say that we think and image linearly – in a straight line - like an old videotape machine. So, we have what was (the past), what is (the present), and what will be (the future) available to us in some fashion.
Let’s suppose too that we are talking to a prospect that has made poor decisions regarding our product category, in their past. Not only was the past decision poor, but also cost him some dollars, and some personal embarrassment. Like most things in life though, life goes on, and he finally manages to put some band-aids here and there, and called it a fix.
Now you come strolling through his door, months or even years later, to make a presentation on something that just touches the edge on that old, and quite unconscious image he now has. You have, just by bringing the general subject up, revivified his old memory and experience. You gave it new life and new energy, in the present.
How do we know this happens? Hello PET Scans and fMRI. People who have had even the slightest trauma show nothing at all in a scan, until a subject of a recent or past trauma is mentioned. Then, in real time and in living color, it lights the brain up like a rocket – and sometimes even throws in physical manifestations to boot.
I am reminded of the NFL linebacker, or safety just tackling the living daylights out of someone that catches a pass from the opposing teams Quarterback. On about the third pass, the receiver drops the ball, because he now is anticipating what is to come. One of the newer definitions of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear can appear, and make you see a false future reality.
That is why we have the Recall System process in the Rapid Sales Success, and The Secret Psychology of Selling data. This process is the fix for this residual energy that may be stopping our prospect from making a today decision. It has the added benefit of opening the door to true communication on deeper issues that the business owner has as well.
This raises closing ratios.
Joe Caulfield is a professional sales coach, consultant, manager and author. He can be reached through his website http://www.rapidsalessuccess.com/
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Midas Touch And Human Thought
“In the Industrial Age, sand thrown into the gears of the machine could shut down an entire assembly line. In the Information Age, sand thrown into human thought and human interaction can shut down a company’s productivity.” ~ Midas Touch
The mini-book, The Secret Psychology of Selling highlights HOW to keep the interaction going smoothly.
In selling, personal productivity can be increased dramatically, but only if changes in the sales interview are enhanced to include new data and new technology.
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