Taking the link advice of Jason Womack's post on Wordle, here's Alliance Science blog as of the end of 2008. Create your own based on your values.
Are you leveraging all of your relationships to fullest value, even your harshest critics?
Customers and Prospects -- Create raving fans. This is the strongest selling partner available -- a walking, talking billboard for your business.
Strategic Partners -- If you're not qualifying and introducing other strategic selling partners or Advisor Alliance Partners to your customers and prospects on a consistent and routine basis and vice-versa, you're not taking advantage of the remarkable leverage available to you just for the asking and giving.
Vendors -- Someone doing business with you should be more than willing to help you gain clients. Make it prid pro quo and all the more powerful for them.
Competitors -- Not all competitors are equal. Undoubtedly there are times that the other can better serve the prospect. Keep your competitors close and refer appropriate business.
Detractors -- What better way to win the loyalty of a prospect or customer than to WOW them into fan-hood. Make sure you capture the testimony of your convert.
What other things do you do to leverage your clients and prospects into more appointments?
Now that your Sales People have Sales Business P.L.A.N.s, make sure they each have their P.D.A.
Mark Sanborn, author of “The Encore Effect,” formulates Remarkable Performance as Passion plus Discipline plus Action. Without all three, your three-legged stool won’t stand upright and will toss your results to the ground.
Passion is what you feel when you answer completely the question, “what do I want to do for the rest of my life?” It is the fuel that drives performance.
Discipline is consistent and persistent effort. How much time do you spend at what you’re most passionate about? How many times do you practice?
Action performed correctly equals the solution or right outcome. Action, not to be confused by activity which is just effort, achieves the desired outcome.
Are you passionate about your Purpose?
What do you love about your job in achieving your ideal Purpose?
Are you specific about your target market and ideal prospect?
Do you consistently and persistently call on your ideal prospect?
Are you focused on the right activity to produce actionable results?
Do you call on enough prospects and meet with enough clients? Do you follow-through on every prospect, hot or cold, and present to those only with enough need?
The plan combined with performance results in consistent, winning results. Consistent results build a business and a career. What are you building?
Sometimes a No is better than Yes.
In a recent post, Two ways to deal with "no", Seth Godin describes extremes of how to react when you don't win your prospect's business.
Then, he asks two questions which are really four and are really questions asked no matter the outcome. Phrased slightly differently, do you ask yourself the following questions?
What do you to be invited back no matter the outcome?
What do you do to be considered as the backup solution in the case that you're not chosen?
How do you, no matter the outcome, increase word of mouth?
What do you do that will improve how your organization feels about itself?
How do you turn the engagement of winning business into more business?
When is "no" better than "yes?"
when do you like to not win the business?
You will always hit your target with amazing accuracy when you don't have a plan.
Most small businesses don't have an up-to-date or complete business plan. Most Sales people have no plan at all. As a professional manager, you certainly should have a plan. To see the acumen and dedication of your sales people, you must require an individual business plan from each.
One page will suffice. It should be simple enough in order to be quickly reviewed every day and easy enough to remember.
Purpose: On a daily basis, what is their purpose as representative and ambassador of your company.
Limits: Most sales people fail to limit their audience to a niche. When in doubt, go micro-niche. The more demographic limits used to describe a target market, the more powerful the message and the easier it will be for you to find them and them to find you.
Activities: On a daily, weekly and monthly basis, what are the 3 to 6 Key Performance Indicators that enable you to track their performance at a glance.
Numbers: What is their target income goal. How does that translate into commission, number of sales, number of proposals, number of meetings and number of contacts?
More importantly, how are they going to spend their money? What and where are they going to invest? How much are they going to save? What bonuses or lifestyle change do they want to use their income for? Taxes?
Their personal number is more important than any number on the company books. This is the real reason for their motivation. Only when you understand what motivates your sales team, can you plan to inspire them.
Are you values driven? If you aren't, then what are the chances that your sales force is?
How do you hire a sales force to fit your culture?
What are the top 10 questions to identify a top producing sales rep?
Have you identified the characteristics, skills or values of which your entire force is guided?
Here's an exercise to help you develop a values driven sales culture. Amazingly it takes only a few minutes to start.
From the list below, create a short list of values which resonate success in your environment. Use the list as a guide; add to the list if necessary.
Involve each of your sales people and allow them to contribute to the list. This has amazing team building value!
As a Sale Professional, like an athlete, your performance is dependent on Powerful Daily Routines.
Jason Womack of Your Best Just Got Better asks the question, "When are YOU at your best?"
• When you’re asked, “what do you do?” at a business-networking event, how often do you leverage your answer into an appointment immediately?
• How often do people contact you to ask about your services after the event?
• During these financially challenging times, what do you say to drive more meetings with prospects who need you?
• Do you know exactly what you must say to capture immediate attention, interest and desire in order to thrive in any economy?
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Social Selling is more than "word of mouth," more than "accidental spokespersons," more than promotion via social networks and social media. Call it Advisory Selling, Collective Selling, Community Selling, Group Selling, Connection Selling -- you get the point (I hope).
Specifically: Where professional salespeople or spokespersons or marketers consistently and collectively SELL each other's services and products through the mechanism of consultative sales process .
It starts with your own ability to establish credibility as an Advisor established in your Initial Consultation with a prospect. During your Needs Analysis phase, you uncover the needs for other services and products available from your partners. Through proper matching and recommendation, you don't just "refer" your prospect -- you set the appointment.
Through collaboration with other trust Advisor Alliance Partners, you will build your business 200% and 300% faster and more effectively.
So, why aren't you doing it?