Black Sales Journal

2012 may not be a memory yet, but it is effectively ‘old news’.  I hope you have made it through this year, but you have got to be looking toward the future to have a chance.  You should have completed your 2013 plan, but if not, this will help.  Effective planning and hard work are two important ingredients for success!

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I know that it seems premature to focus on 2013, as it is upon us.  1st quarter 2013 is a few weeks away.  You are probably busy trying to close out the 4th quarter of 2012.

If your manager has not done it yet, he or she will say: “What are you projecting for 2013?  I need your numbers!”  You need to be ready for that conversation, but more than that you should do the preparation as it tells you what type of a 2013 you can have.

Between now and the end of the year the management of your organization will engage in the following activities:

• Plan 2012 new production metrics
• Plan next year’s revenue from existing customers
• Set your 2012 personal goals and metrics
• Make decisions on manpower in the sales organization

Another reason to finalize your 2013 planning is that in many industries you do not want to  ‘miss’ the first quarter as this period is instrumental to reaching your annual goal.  Preparation for a strong first quarter cannot start in January 2013, as a matter of fact; it starts now.  It should benefit you by giving you focus and clarity as to what you must do to be successful.

What you can do is to prepare your production scenarios so that your conversations with your manager are productive and based on fact and logic.  You will stand out from the rest.   It is time to give good thought to next year!

Putting Together a Plan

You should be able to project your 2012 successes within the realm of reasonability, and avoid the “stab in the air” that comes with having no basis for your calculations when asked.

Your plan should be to:

• Project your 2013 success based on your knowledge of 2012 and 2011 in terms of hit ratio and total sales production.
• List your major prospects by month and quarter, with recognition of your chances of success (by percentages).
• Work your formula (Black Sales Journal 2/28/2011 – How Many Prospects Do You Really Need?) showing what you need to be successful and refine the numbers including statistics that are applicable to you and your situation.
• You should estimate your retention of existing customers, and whether they will buy at the same levels

Armed with this information, you would be able to have much more educated estimates as to what your successes will be for first quarter, and for all of 2013.  Knowing your prospects, your basic success rates, and your average account or sale size will lead you to be able to do a lot of wise forecasting.

Your Business Plan

Once you put all of the variables together, you will have the basis to put together a business plan that will show what type of success that you should be having.  Remember that you are doing it for you.  You are taking this excellent opportunity to review your 2011, and construct from this a logical projection of your efforts for 2013.

Many organizations have assistance for you in the form of Salesforce.com, Gold Mine, or other tailored sales and customer relationship management (CRM) software.  Whether they exist or not, your exercise is for you, then you can use it to fill in the blanks for any company sponsored software plan.

Your Business Plan discussion with Your Manager

Every organization is different, so your organization may have a routine in place for your conversation with your manager regarding your ‘plan’.  Most organizations have a process, although timing is not always well devised.

Here is your chance to “put a stake in the ground” on numbers and your thoughts.  Chances are your manager will be looking for higher numbers, and that may mean stretching your numbers upward.  Your manager will be pleased with, and maybe even excited about, your diligence in putting together numbers as they have to give the same requisite thought to the prospects possibilities and abilities of the sales professionals that work in their particular unit.

Benefit “You” First

Some larger organizations have already begun that process.  Much depends on the complexity of the planning cycle.  In medium and smaller organizations, the time is now.

This process is for you.  It may tell you that you have a lot of work to do, or you’re your funnel is replete with strong prospects.  Take a moment to do this exercise for your own benefit, and you will also have fodder for your sales discussion.   Remember to be honest about the prospecting part as it does you no good to plan the prospects for next year while you know that some of the prospects are actually ‘suspects’ (prospects that you doubt can come to fruition).

Be prepared for that conversation, and for the year ahead.

Always be prepared.  Your comments are welcome.

A sales professional never want to be involved in a ‘painful’ presentation.  The ind where you do something to turn an audience or customer off!  Do your part by honing your presentation and delivery skills.  Whether it is a quotation or project presentation, or a larger audience.  Be the best in your delivery, and you will avoid the any embarrassment.

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The presentation gives you the opportunity that you need to secure prospects and customers.  The presentation can envelop customers and clients and hold them firmly while you show value and solutions. The most important aspect of this is your recognition of who this presentation is for…. the attendee. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can fulfill your etiquette responsibilities.  Whether you have a solid presentation or not, everyone notices the things you do wrong from an etiquette standpoint.

An ‘I’ Problem?

Years ago I was in a presentation for financial products as a potential customer. The seminar/sales presentation was entitled “Retirement Moves You Should Make Now! It took place at a local hotel, and there were three speakers.  Each of them was noted as an expert in the field of retirement products, strategies, and investments. The three of them spoke for approximately 15 minutes each, and it was evident to me that they were all experts in their subject matter as they had been billed.  I quickly learned that two of them were ‘experts’ on themselves and felt it necessary to tell us over and over.  The other was a great speaker. It got a little sickening hearing them talk about all of the people that they ‘saved’ and how they were preeminent and what others did that could not compare.

They also did some other rather annoying things.  There were presentation slides with little wording and  numerous presentations featuring cartoons. One of the presenters dined on a piece of hard candy during his whole talk and could not keep it quietly in his mouth. I considered this actual presentation rude and a waste of time given the fact that I was supposed to be there to hear how their products and strategies could help me be able to have a happy and fulfilling retirement. What did they do wrong?  Based on the title of the seminar (and the fact that I understood that it was sales related.  The problem lies in that I just got a basic ‘bait and switch’.  The did not tell me how I could retire well, unless the answer to that is just to turn it all over to their operation.

What Are the Rules?

Here are some things that I am going to suggest that will help you as simple guide to the most vexing etiquette issues:

• Write or display your name prominently
• Establish eye contact
• Be Prepared
• Never waste a customer’s time
• Dress “up” at least one level
• Speak clearly and with intent
• Do not read slides or copy to your audience
• Get rid of the ‘uhs’, ‘ums’, and ‘you knows’
• No candy or gum
• Mind your time
• Take questions with a smile

Above all, remember that the presentation is not for you, but for the audience.  The quickest way to lose the audience is to forget this important point.

Write your name prominently – Always include contact information.  Some people are hesitant to ask questions as they forget the name of the presenter or do not know how to contact him/her.

Establish eye contact – Then you will want to keep it.  If you are going to read or focus on your slides then send it to everyone in an email.

Be Prepared - Prepare and practice, then make sure that you have prepared for the presentation and the things that go wrong such as overhead projector bulbs, media that does not work, and compatibility issues with others equipment.  Your audience deserves better.  Have paper copies ready.

Never waste a customer’s or prospect’s time – Avoid useless material, cartoons, and novelties.  Realize that the fewest slides and the most meaningful content is what you need, and what your customers deserve.

Dress ‘Up” a level – Presenters should be properly dressed, which means that they should be dressed that when every one else is casual, a tie should be the mode of dress.  Your appearance is important.

Speak clearly – No one is going to ask you more than once to repeat yourself.  They will just tune you out and begin to doodle.  Speak clearly and with intent for all to hear.

Do not read slides – The rudest action of all is to read slides or text to your audience. You might as well send the content to them and let them be read it for themselves.

Get rid of the ‘Ums’, ‘Ahs’, ‘like’, and ‘you knows’- nothing, I repeat nothing drives an audience mad like the chorus of these three phrases.

Lose the candy or gum – This one is easily self -explanatory.

Manage Your Time – Proper breaks and adherence to the schedule is in your audience best interest, and remember, “It is all about the audience”.  If you need to, assign someone in the front row to help you manage time.

Always leave time for questions – Did I forget to advise that, “It is all about the audience?” Advise them of the format for questions and honor it. Leave ample time for questions.

Have Your ‘I’ Checked

As I spoke of in the practical example, the last thing you want to have is an “I” problem.  That is of course when you start talking about yourself and don’t know when to stop.  If you are selling a product or service it cannot be about you.  You will alienate many, and not sell anything. Tell your qualifications and credentials quickly, and then deal with what you are there to do.  Keep it short, and give a link to a bio if they want to get assurance that you are the real deal.

Remember, the best presenter is the one who gives the audience what they need.

Be the best.

Your comments are welcome.