Category: Ethical Selling

Experiencing difficulty bouncing back after Covid?

Post author By Rhys
Post date August 26, 2021
No Comments on Experiencing difficulty bouncing back after Covid?

Having trouble re-emerging into the market? Do you think your business looks and feels a bit ‘stale’? What can you do? Bouncing back after Covid-19 doesn’t need to be difficult, I can help.

Here are some useful thoughts:

I worried too!

Before the lockdowns business for Salient was good. Beyond a few regular ‘tweaks’ I felt nothing needed to change, people were still expressing interest and buying my courses and sessions.

Then Covid came and people were furloughed, projects were put on ice, work slowed and, in some areas, stopped. Why would people invest in Salient offers when they had no idea when they would be able to get a return on their investment? It became difficult to promote something which had become of less perceived immediate value to the markets.

Does this sound familiar to you?

I felt I had a choice of three ways forward:

Try and continue selling to a significantly smaller active market
Put everything on ice; try and ride-the-storm
Or, could I try some more lateral thinking?

Did I still want to have a business at the end of this? YES!

Therefore, I needed to focus on two key tasks:

Maintain a profile, and
Develop some additional and attractive new offers.

Maintaining profile is comparatively straight forward with social media and on-line networking.

Developing new additional offers was more difficult. Many planning sessions, business analysis and key-person discussions, produced some useful ideas to add to the Salient offers:

Live-On-Line courses and sessions (LOL!)
Recorded courses and modules: my full sales programme on video in modular form,

(- available from the new and upgraded salientsales.co.uk website).

Group workshops – brainstorming, structured or unstructured, ‘Inspiration to Action’
One-to One Coaching Sessions – more structured and goal orientated
Extra high-level modules for corporate courses and programmes
Salient Gems – weekly videoed tips and ideas to help you sell more.

These would also prove to be valuable for when businesses re-emerged from hibernation.

I have completed 80% of the above. Already, interest levels are good, and sales have started.

So, if you’re having trouble bouncing back after Covid, consider teaming up with Salient Sales & Training, let us help you to streamline that adjustment period.

What’s next?

This is my story. If you need help to generate ideas for your business, and to develop processes to see them through, then please be in touch. I offer guidance and mentoring to help ensure their success.

You can click HERE to contact us. Or why not connect on social media so you’ll be first to access offers, quick tips and new courses as we release them: Facebook, Linkedin & Twitter!

Tags business growth, business management, feeding the pipeline, marketing, proactive sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos, sales management, sales planning

Business management Ethical Selling Feeding the pipeline General Locating customers Sales Ethos Sales Management Sales Planning Sales process Sales tips Technical Sales Time management

Three essentials needed by those selling into technical markets

Post author By Andy
Post date February 6, 2020
No Comments on Three essentials needed by those selling into technical markets

Three essentials needed by those selling into technical markets:

1/ Technical knowledge

2/ Training/Coaching in Technical Sales

3/ Motivation & self-belief

Why is technical sales training and coaching so essential?

Managers will notice a lack of confidence in those new to technical sales, and sometimes even in those who have been selling in technical markets for some time.

Lack of confidence results in reduced motivation. Less motivated salespeople will under-perform. Under-performance limits success, reducing self-belief, and so confidence dips further. This results in reduced productivity and profitability.

Likewise, the converse is true. Help in the form of training and coaching in technical knowledge and selling skills for technical markets will boost confidence, motivate and ensure more and faster success.

I remember clearly the time when I was a new sales engineer. I knew that my technical knowledge was good, but not yet complete. My confidence in selling was very low, likewise my self-belief that I was any good at selling (although I never let on!). Clearly, my bosses had seen more in me than I had; they had more belief and confidence that I would be successful. If I had thought of this I may have grown more quickly in the job.

A little sales training was offered and taken, but this was very general and did not address the specific issues met when selling in technical markets. My technical knowledge was built on the job with frequent returns to the engineering lab for help and advice. Mostly, I learned on the job.

The perceived wisdom is that for any new salesperson it would take at least a year, possibly two to become cost effective and profitable.

What if you could reduce that ‘delayed profitability’ significantly? What if it took just a few months rather than a year or two? Wouldn’t that result in more profitable sales, and faster?

Reducing the delay by nine months to a year would make a substantial difference to the number and value of the sales achieved. What extra value would that be? An extra 20 or 30% of sales from that person? It could be more. Put a value on that percentage. Would it not make sense to invest a little now to reap faster and larger turnover?

They say that the average time that a good salesperson stays with one company is no more than 2-3 years. Without training or coaching, the time when experience starts to make them profitable can be 18 months to 2 years. They may just have become profitable to you when they decide to move on. With good, tailored training, you could extend that profitable time by up to a year. Now THAT IS worth the investment!

Motivation, self-belief and self-confidence come from experience and from support. Experience takes time, but support in the form of training and coaching makes a significant difference by shortening personal development and bringing forward success.

Training and coaching result in more knowledge, skills and confidence. And hence more sales.

Why wait?!

Tags business growth, business management, communicate to sell, decision making, marketing, proactive sales, sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos

Business management Ethical Selling General Sales Ethos Sales Management Sales Planning Sales process Sales tips Technical Sales

Where to draw the line.

That’s a good question…..

When training a sales team from Samsung recently, I was asked a question which prompted a lot of thought and soul searching. I was able to answer it, but was the answer just too easy?

The question? Where does an ethical sales person ‘draw the line’?

The answer is simple, and quite straight forward: ‘wherever your conscience lets you draw the line’. This is obvious, clear and fits all. However, is it a helpful answer?

The example given by the team member was of a potential customer who used their own ‘pressure buying’ techniques that quickly strayed into bullying; the Genghis Kahn school of negotiation. Apparently, the buyer would throw his pen onto the table and demand loudly that they accept his terms or get out. Other tactics of similar aggressive and intimidating nature were used. Would YOU sit there and take that abuse?

He had my sympathy. Most experienced sales people have had situations of similar severe discomfort. While the buyer rants, raves and threatens, you are sat there wrestling with your own conscience and professionalism. What are your options?

There are many as every situation is different and requires some ‘thinking-on-your-feet’.

Below I describe the two extremes and an ideal.

1/ Fight back? This is the most satisfying. Potentially it can gain respect from the buyer and a mutually beneficial solution could be possible. However, it is extremely risky, as it may escalate the emotions and temper to the point where errors are made, opportunities are lost, and things are said that should never be said by true professionals. Are you reducing your own standards by lowering yourself to their position?

2/ ‘Take it on the chin’; in other words, sit there and use silence or passive resistance as your main tool of defense. This is a very professional approach that will make the buyers behavior seem very childish and clearly bullying in comparison. However, there is also the risk that they will then take your reluctance to engage in a fight as weakness and assume their argument has been won.

3/ A carefully judged balance between the two, whereby you respond to aggressive posturing with a firm insistence and repeated ‘no’. Your volume would be higher than usual but less than theirs; maintain eye-contact as much as possible; your words would again be professional, but your manner should show you standing firm but being fair. Consistency, professionalism, repetition and firmness are needed, with a clear message that you will not be intimidated.

The salesman was strong and held his ground as best he could. Give-in to a bully and they will always bully you. If you cannot work with them, and you have the authority, you can walk away, but do not let them win.

Yes, it is up to you and your conscience. Sometimes it may be a balance between needs and conscience. Apply your own positive, firm approach but do your best not give in to intimidation. When you can, retain the moral ‘high ground’ and give little away. No-one likes a bully, and it is a great shame that some believe this is the way to behave in modern society. However, one cannot deny that they still exist, and we must deal with them while achieving our objectives AND remaining professional.

Tags barriers to sales, sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos, sales process, Sales styles & techniques, technical sales, technical sales training

Business management Ethical Selling Feeding the pipeline Sales Ethos Sales Management Sales Planning Technical Sales

Slow summer sales and the best way of filling a ‘Lull’

Post author By Andy
Post date July 8, 2016
No Comments on Slow summer sales and the best way of filling a ‘Lull’

What does summer mean to your business?

What does THIS summer mean to your business?

Are you expecting a rush of new business to come to you? Perhaps other businesses want to invest in you before the markets change, which will happen inevitably.

Or, are you expecting the normal summer lull to be worse than in previous years as, following ‘Brexit’, your customers are being cautious with their investments?

Perhaps you have the type of business which is not seasonal AND is resilient to change in the markets.

In most cases, businesses are expecting some form of downturn or lull in the coming months. I believe, with careful handling, the pace of change is likely to be slow enough that the markets will not suffer greatly and businesses will become cautiously optimistic over the coming months. I think WE MUST be optimistic of a favourable outcome. If we are not, then we should give up now, and that approach is not for us!

So, the old adage ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ could never be more appropriate.

In every lull there is a need to fill the ‘spare’ time or effort with profitable activities. What better way to fill the time than by training and coaching yourselves or your team to perform significantly better? When markets start to improve again, for whatever reason, you can then hit the ground running with new knowledge and skills that will help your business to outperform all others.

Reinforcing skills and discovering new ideas and strategies can only make a positive difference to your sales growth and build your business during difficult times.

July and August are the ideal times to improve your skills and your performance. There will then be time to apply your new skills and boost your end-of-year figures.

Is that not worth the investment?

Click HERE for a REAL INCENTIVE to book some training.

Tags business growth, business management, feeding the pipeline, proactive sales, sales & marketing, sales planning, technical sales, technical sales training

Business management Ethical Selling Sales Ethos Sales Management Sales process

What politicians could learn from Ethical Selling …and what we can learn from the politicians’ mistakes

Post author By Andy
Post date June 29, 2016
No Comments on What politicians could learn from Ethical Selling …and what we can learn from the politicians’ mistakes

Thursday 23rd June 2016 was a landmark day for many reasons. The outcome of the referendum surprised a lot of people and delighted others. But, why am I blogging about the referendum of all things? One word: INTEGRITY! As many of you will know, I fly the flag for honesty, openness and integrity in business and particularly in sales.

Sales and selling has long suffered a bad press due to the involvement of those with little or no integrity; those who firmly believe the end-justifies-the-means and the means can be anything at all to win the business.

There’s the parallel. The press is now talking about the ‘fallout’. Now we hear that key arguments and figures were in fact a ‘mistake’. We have now heard that ‘immediate emergency measures’, means ‘we’ll have to look at it in a few months-time when the dust is settled, as we need stability’.

AND THEY WONDER WHY WE DON’T TEND TO TRUST OR RESPECT POLITICIANS AS MUCH AS THEY WOULD LIKE US TO!

If a certain PM, a particular UKIP leader and a well-known chancellor had done things differently; perhaps they could have kept their integrity AND continued to influence people ethically and positively! They would have remained respected, believed and would still be able to influence.

The Salient Points:

Politicians need to be good at sales and selling. They are in a position of influence and the people expect to be led and advised with honesty and integrity.

NEVER ASSUME what people want, or the outcome of an initiative. Making assumptions as to what people think, expect, want or need is a recipe for disaster. Identify and clarify the need, what is really the issue, then aim to fulfil that need. Assuming everyone, or at least a majority are going to agree with you is never a good idea.

If you seek to influence and persuade your customers, or in this case ‘the electorate’, it’s always a good idea to provide accurate facts and reasoned argument.

If you have competition, do not make it personal! YOUR ARGUMENT SHOULD NOT BE LACED WITH PERSONAL ATTACKS ON THOSE WHO OPPOSE YOU! Sell it on its merits.

If there is any possibility that you may lose the argument, after all there is always ‘the unforeseen’, have a CONTINGENCY PLAN, which helps you to carry on, but perhaps in a slightly different direction. (‘Damage Limitation’)

If you want to remain a supplier to your customers (or ‘in office’), then the following applies:

Be clear and consistent in what you say, giving enough facts to allow an educated decision to be made by your customers (‘the people’). This wasn’t done well in the referendum.

These facts and arguments must not be exaggerated, or untruthful, because, surprise-surprise, truth will out, particularly in the fall-out after the event. This happened on both sides.

Customers (the public) will see this disparity between what you promised and what you deliver as a clear manipulation of the process to achieve the sellers’ (politicians’) own ends. They are MUCH less likely to buy from (vote for) them again. The PM is going; others will likely follow.

A customer who is given all the facts they need in order to make an educated and reasoned choice, and these facts are given accurately, without exaggeration, fabrication or vagueness of interpretation, will be happy to deal with you again. IF the final answer is ‘NO thanks’, they are still likely to return and engage with you again. Customer retention and loyalty is only possible if you maintain this integrity.

If you are proved to be false or manipulative, then you should not be at all surprised if the customer then goes elsewhere. That’s politics as we know it!

As it should be in SALES and in POLITICS, it is down to motive, intent and conscience. I aim to sleep well every night. Do you?

Tags sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos, sales management, Sales styles & techniques

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