 Track Selling Times - November, 2001
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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No.144
November 1, 2001
Published by Max Sacks International,
Home of 100% Guaranteed World Class Sales Training
Developers of the Track Selling System™.
"We Take the Mystery Out of Selling!"™
Author/Editor: Roy Chitwood, President, MSI
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Feature:
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Investing in your greatest asset"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE
-Read about one of the biggest corporate lies perpetrated by executives and how to avoid it so as to invest in your company's greatest asset.
Sections:
Newsletter Archives
"Investing in your greatest asset"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE |
One of the most common assertions companies make is, "Our people are our most valuable asset." This is a big corporate lie.
While many CEOs may gush over their employees while the camera and recorder are running during interviews, however research continually shows most don't make their people priorities. Study after study reveals that when CEOs are asked to identify their top priorities in running business, developing their people rarely places in the top five or six. These company heads routinely identify increasing sales, increasing recognition, cutting expenses, research and development and other priorities, yet fail to realize that it's their people who accomplish all of these things.
I've been in the professional sales training business for more than two decades, and without question, the most commonly overlooked avenue to increased sales - but commonly the most effective - is a company's decision to invest in the professional training of its greatest asset: its people.
It's puzzling how many companies are willing to invest in their infrastructure but don't view the sales organization as such. Manufacturing companies are willing to invest in their machines and finance driven companies in their software programs, but few companies see their people as an asset worthy of investing in. However, cultivating and training a company's greatest asset - its people - can yield outstanding results. A worthy example to consider can be found in the career progression of one of our seminar graduates.
Several years ago, while living in San Diego, he began working at a retail store. (If you've had any experience in a retail environment, you know that turnover is often more than 100% annually.) He was almost immediately promoted to sales manager. Soon thereafter, he convinced the company's controller, a CPA, to attend a Track Selling System workshop. The results were outstanding. Two years later they started their own furniture business. Within one year the company had $2 million in sales and within five years there were six stores with $5 million in sales and 80% of the market in that niche.
Taking a CPA and giving him the selling skills he needs makes for a rare combination. Doing so helped this company dramatically reduce turnover and helped it develop a reputation for providing its salespeople with the best possible training. Consequently, management never had to advertise for salespeople as they had a waiting list of candidates hoping to come aboard due to their desire to be professionally trained and developed.
Does all training guarantee similar results? Of course not. The decision not to invest in training, however, doesn't have positive profit margin guarantees, either.
So many companies fall into the trap of focusing only on the initial cash outlay for training without regard for the costs their incurring by not doing so. For example, I know of one executive whose company spends $150,000 annually alone for classified advertising seeking salespeople. The company's turnover is very high yet they never have the money to invest in training. Does this make sense?
What management who holds this belief is missing or overlooking, is all the hidden costs associated with turnover that dwarf training fees. Costs that can't all be listed on a balance sheet. Costs such as: lost productivity due to an open position, lost sales, client dissatisfaction resulting from missed deadlines and orders, client departures, increased burden on, and lowered morale of, remaining employees, the list goes on and on.
And the overt costs of turnover are obvious. It can easily cost more than $100,000 to replace a manager or professional when all of the underlying costs of replacing an employee are considered such as: advertising, interviewing, travel, relocation, severance pay, ramp-up periods, new hire processing, etc.
Yet company after company continues to claim they can't afford training in the face of the overwhelming evidence supporting its' ROI. Evidence such as Motorola's estimate that the company receives a 30 to 1 return for every dollar invested in employee training and Harvard University - Warden Business Schools study that revealed a company's surest way to profits and productivity is to treat employees as assets to be developed.
When contemplating the decision to train their people, companies would be wise to consider the benefits beyond the dollars required. Benefits such as improved morale, greater satisfaction, increased loyalty, reduced turnover, more effective teamwork, increased sales, and increase profits. More than anything, a company's employees are its greatest assets - assets worthy of being invested in.
Integrity Pays:
"Sacrificing short-term profits for long-term profitability"
by Randy Post
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Randy Post is the Owner of Reno, NV-based Nevadmark, a provider of video production services for corporations such as training and 'how to' videos. For more information, please call (775) 722-8552.
When speaking of integrity in business, one example jumps to mind from my personal experience. I have a client that is an appliance manufacturer. The company has a set price guide for all of its dealers to follow to protect the margins of all. Subsequently, the company discontinued using the warehouse-type dealer who could undermine the other dealers.
This client always supported the dealers and promised each an established price. However, one dealer became a discount outlet. My client asked the dealer to continue to abide by the pricing guideline all had agreed to. The dealer didn't, and due to my client's personal integrity and promise to the other dealers, decided to no longer supply this one dealer.
Please appreciate the difficulty of this decision. This particular dealer accounted for 40 percent of my client's profits. My client experienced a huge immediate cash crunch, however, there was a silver - and truly 'golden' - lining. The other dealers were so impressed with my client's integrity and dedication to them that they worked hard to sell my client's products at every opportunity, and as a result, generated huge additional business.
In the end, I believe anything that's a win-win is going to be the most ethical strategy. If you go for the quick profit, the ethics will be compromised. And my client is a company that I've seen embrace this ethic more than any. The company even lists its ethics and values right in its showroom. And it pays off. The company, once a $15 million business when cutting off its top dealer, is now a $150 million company and an industry leader.
World Class Sales Management:
Focusing on employee training to increase sales
by Jim McCarty
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Jim McCarty is the retired Senior Executive Vice President of, and current consultant to, St. Paul, MN-based, Ecolab. Ecolab is the leading global developer and marketer of premium cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination, maintenance and repair products and services for the hospitality, institutional and industrial markets. In his former position, Jim oversaw five divisions with more than 4,000 people. For more information, please visit www.ecolab.com.
I retired from Ecolab after 38 years where I began my career as a sales rep. During that period while in California as a Regional Manager, I completed the Track Selling System workshop and was very impressed by its methodology and emphasis on people. Quite frankly, I had personally used the Track Selling protocol as a manager and leader of people as well as a salesperson. Not only in uncovering the needs of customers, but uncovering the needs of our Ecolab associates as well. I then used it to provide answers and solutions to our customers and associates.
The big part of the Track Selling System is that it teaches the sales/service person to be an effective listener and to ask the right type of questions. Frankly, I believe that during the 1970s, it was way ahead of its time. Now it's en vogue to do this thing called "solution selling" which is what the Track Selling System has been. It easily could have been called that, but I'm guessing it was called 'Track Selling" is because the creators wanted to drill the focus into the salesperson's head to "stay on track."
We had so much success with the Track Selling System that many years ago we licensed the program and incorporated it into our Ecolab University as an integral part of the curriculum. Ecolab University is a state-of-the-art employee-training center located near our corporate headquarters in St. Paul, and consists of classrooms and meeting facilities. Instead of subjecting employees only to the theory of our products and perhaps some pictures and graphics, we have built a full equipment environment complete with a laundry, kitchens, hotel rooms and hospital rooms for demonstration purposes. That way, we can demonstrate our cleaning and sanitation products and techniques, and thereby teach employees how they are used in the real world.
Although the university's emphasis is on sales, it is used for everyone in the company. We teach customer retention strategies, growth strategies and provide detailed product and customer training. Track Selling System principles are used throughout our training programs in conjunction with Ecolab-specific information. Both new and existing staff takes advantage of the facility.
From my experiences as salesperson, sales manager, and sales executive, I believe it's imperative that a company invests in the training of its people. While product training is obviously necessary, all the product knowledge in the world won't translate into sales without the proper sales and people training. The Track Selling System has filled this need for Ecolab and, I believe, can do the same for any other company.
Focus on the Professional -
"Anneli Driessen, Ph.D., CMS, MCC"
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Anneli Driessen, Ph.D., CMS, MCC, is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and has had a successful private counseling and coaching practice in Victoria, B.C., since 1978. She is also certified in Marketing and Sales (CMS) under the ISO 9000 program and currently coaches CEOs and executives of larger corporations in several countries. For more information, please call (250) 472-0909 or visit www.annelicoach.com.
Anneli, during times of hardship or tragedy, the event(s) often serve as a 'wake-up' call and people tend to stop what they're doing and really reconnect with what's important. How can we live more in this heightened state of connection on a daily basis while still fulfilling our obligations?
I believe that you're right that people often try to analyze and reconnect with what's truly meaningful in their lives after experiencing a tragic wake-up call. Without going into a prolonged analysis, I thought I would share several point-by-point steps that everyone should consider to live a more harmonious life.
-Focus your mind on the positive, and exercise real self-discipline to do so. Negativity self-manifests: I truly believe you reap the energy you sow. For example, if you do peace-walks and pray and focus on the real bottom-line impact stuff, that's more impacting than rage. This has nothing to do with denial, but with harnessing your positive energy.
-Check in with the news only twice a day - morning and evening - and don't watch late night news. Research shows that what we see before sleep definitely impacts our dreams. Try to limit any negativity as much as possible for mental and spiritual hygiene.
-Focus on your health more than before. If you're not exercising at least moderately and eating a sensible diet, do so now. Physical health can impact your psychology as much as your physiology.
-Focus more strongly than ever on personal values, including your spiritual values.
-"Pray" daily. This is a very individual process and there is no right or wrong word to describe the process. When I write 'pray', this can also mean dialoguing, meditation, etc.
-Focus your mind and actions on positive issues and be an overall more proactive and positive person than ever.
Book Review -
Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You, Do What Needs to Be Done: Every Employee's Guide to Making Work More Rewarding
by Bob Nelson, Ken Blanchard
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In his newest book, Bob Nelson, author of 1,001 Ways to Reward Employees, offers a premise that employers have longed for and that employees should long to learn: analyze and determine what needs to be done beyond your job description, and then do it without being asked.
In the preface to Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You, Do What Needs to Be Done, Nelson cites a memorable example he experienced of the book's premise while working as a cashier at a 7-11 in college. In short, the general manager of the chain showed up on his shift, and without a word, began 'facing' the shelves, restocking products, and cleaning the countertops. The message Nelson received was clear: the GM was doing all of the things Nelson was expected to do without being asked. As an employee, he needed to exercise a higher ownership for his work and this example formed his outlook on every other job he took and served as the catalyst to this book.
This book is short, to the point, and can be read over a few lunches. However, perhaps the works' simplicity is it's strongest point. Rather than debating what should be done or why a specific employee shouldn't be the one to do a task, Nelson urges employees to be proactive and take risks to accomplish tasks that aren't being completed. And doing so can be very rewarding for both the employee and the employer.
| Ask Roy
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Sandra Brisco of Chicago, IL asks:
"If I have a prospect who seems interested but is rather tight lipped, what are the best techniques or questions to get him talking?"
Roy's Answer:
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Sandra, this is a good question because although a prospect 'seems' interested doesn't mean he is. The only way to truly know what your prospect's interest level is by asking the right questions because the only time you know what he's thinking is when he's talking.
It isn't difficult to encourage your prospect to talk freely. Just use open-ended and reflective questions. Here's a quick recap:
1. The open-ended question. Within this category, there's the open-ended, fact-finding question, which is designed to uncover facts; and the open-ended, feeling-finding question, which is designed to uncover opinions and/or attitudes.
Examples include:
Open-ended fact-finding: "Who else is involved in this buying decision" "When will you need this system to be operational?"
Open-ended feeling-finding: "What do you like most about your current system?" "Why are you considering replacing your current supplier?"
2. The reflective question. Use this to encourage the prospect to talk by reflecting back a key word or phrase the prospect has said.
For example:
Prospect: "I played golf every Saturday until I broke my rib?"
Salesperson: "Your rib?"
The reflective question repeats a few key words from the speaker's last statement and helps her to sense your interest thereby encouraging her to continue talking. A word of caution, however: Use the reflective question sparingly, or you'll sound like a patronizing echo.
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| Reader Survey
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1. What do you think of Track Selling Times?
2. What else would you like to see included?
3. If you have sales questions for Roy, or know of a salesperson, sales manager or integrity story that should be featured in Track Selling Times, mail it
to:
The Editor, Track Selling Times
c/o Max Sacks International
2442 NW Market Street #409
Seattle
WA 98107
Tel: (206) 706-4119 Fax: (206) 706-5359
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