Interesting topic came up today while I was out knocking on doors again!  Most of us (salespeople) have monthly quotas.  For those of us that care, we take pride in striving to meet those monthly and quarterly goals.  When we don't hit those quota's we start thinking about what went wrong, did we not prospect enough, was there not enough in the funnel.   Most of us do have a sinking feeling when we don't hit our quotas.  

Today, I had the debate with a fellow sales person about monthly quotas and vacations. Putting in the effort each and every day allows me the opportunity to attain my quota. 

But what happens when it's vacation time? If I take a week vacation that means I'll only have three weeks to meet the monthly quota nut.  Thus, is it really a vacation?  I caught a thread on twitter today from one of those self proclaimed sales guru's that stated "no not answer emails while on vacation".  I thought, well this butthead definitely doesn't have a monthly quota that stamped on his or her back every month.  

Do you answer emails or don't you, do you take that phone call or not, can that deal wait until you get back or will it go elsewhere if you don't respond?  

I can only remember one time when one time when I completely shut down my selling efforts while on vacation. That was sixteen years ago with a trip to Japan.

It's my belief that sales people should have a reduction in their monthly quota when they take a vacation. Because a vacation should be to kick back, enjoy time with family and use that time to recharge.  If you're not working for 25% of the month, then your monthly quota should be reduced by 25%. 

I understand that most if not all managers will disapprove and never allow this to happen.  Which means that most of us will take those calls and emails because we want to reach that monthly goal/quota.  Thus spending that time and effort offers up the question, did we take the time to recharge or are we just coming back in the same mental state that we left with?

I've been at the same company for a long time. I get a very generous amount of vacation time, but I'm always faced with,  can I afford to take more time off or not? 

For those of us that still do some work while we are vacation, should we be entitled to additional compensation for that time?  Sure, try asking your manager or Veep of Sales that one.

Just maybe someone will figure out that throwing the dog a bone every now and then will reap better rewards.

I guess I'll just have to wait another four years when every day will be a Saturday. EDIAS (Every Day Is A Saturday)

-=Good Selling=-

"Great brands start inside"

You've invested countless hours, decades, and millions of dollars to build your brand reputation within your marketplace.

What steps have your sales reps done to build their brand reputation?

When people ask, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself", what are the first few things you share?

You may respond by sharing whether you're married, have kids or possibly where you live may live, however; one of the first things you're likely to share is your job title or what you do for a living. There’s a good reason, as work is a common thread in most of our lives. Sharing with someone where you work and what you do gives them a good idea of what’s important to you. This is just a part of normal "get to know" conversation.

I encourage you to think about this for a moment... In today's highly competitive business world, a quick Google search can turn up endless amounts of information regarding your company and the sales reps who represent your corporate brand. Are you proactively doing something about it?

"Personal branding is about managing your name - even if you don't own a business - in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and semi-permanent Google records. Going on a date? Chances are that your "blind" date has Googled your name. Going on a job interview? Ditto"

Tim Ferris

Your sales rep's name and social presence can become major factors in building a positive reputation with your clients and prospects. This is true in the complex and rapidly changing business environment. A sales brand just might become the primary differentiator.

THE PROBLEM

In the business world, it’s not enough for sales reps to take on your corporate brand as their own. Instead, they need a well-defined and well-developed personal brand. You must encourage brand development and coach your sales reps to build their brand. This one act will equate to an increase in business and client retention.

It's happening... in sales meetings all over the place, sales reps are being told, "Run your territory as if it was your business. You're the CEO, now go out there develop new business. Go take care of our clients!"

I am going to ask all of you to stop for a moment, thinking real hard about this one word...

Would you allow your business to operate without any web presence? Of course you wouldn't. Your website is the window into your corporation portraying your brand in a business professional manner.

If you're encouraging your sales reps to be CEO's of their own territory and you accept how important your corporate website is to your brand, then why on earth would you allow your sales reps to operate their business with incomplete, non-branding and poorly positioned LinkedIn profiles?

Place yourself in your client's shoes or better yet a potential client's shoes. Based solely on your first impression of your sales reps LinkedIn profiles or any aspect of their digital footprint's (be honest) would you do business with them? Tough to digest, huh?

THREE WAYS YOUR SALES REPS HELP (OR HURT) YOUR COMPANY'S BRAND IMAGE

YOUR BUSINESS HAS LITTLE PERSONALITY WITHOUT YOUR SALES REPS 

We operate in a business environment where connections and relationships are the most valuable assets a business can have. Your clients and prospects make choices regarding who they want to work with and buy from based on how well they connect with your sales reps. Those reps with a strong personal brand behind the corporate brand make it easier for clients and prospects to connect with meaning.

The personal brands of your sales rep's help to humanize your corporate brand. This is mission critical and extremely important in creating defining moments between your company and the competition.

"The sea of sameness is no place to swim in!"

LOYALTY BUILDS WHEN THE BUYER IDENTIFIES TO YOUR SALES REPS PERSONAL BRAND 

When sales reps develop a strong personal brand people will pay attention. It's these branding moments that help your sales reps facilitate and build a loyal client base on behalf of your company. Helping them to build and develop their personal brand is a key strategy you must promote. The value your sales rep's have to your business isn't just measured in sales results but also the impact they have to your clients.

Foster the culture and environment to encourage your sales reps to build upon their personal brand. Encourage them to professionally network within their marketplace, speak at not for profit groups, volunteer in the community and most importantly have them build their online presence starting with their LinkedIn profile.

YOUR SALES REPS PERSONAL BRANDS HELP TO BUILD YOUR CORPORATE CULTURE 

Encouraging and allowing your sales reps to build their personal brands will have a major effect on recruiting and retention efforts. This portrays positivities regarding the culture of your company and provides a clear window for future sales reps to gauge how they may fit into your business culture.

Retention becomes easier when you celebrate the personal brands of your sales reps rather than squashing them behind your corporate brand. Think about this from your sales rep's perspective, wouldn’t they rather work for a company that helps them build upon their brand, helping them align to the modern buyer as opposed to being taught sales tactics from years gone by?

Now more than ever a sales reps personal brand and how they promote it is not only important to their success but to the success of your company. 

TIME IS NOW - CREATE THE ENVIRONMENT

Your sales reps are front and center, the face of your company. They are out in the marketplace, leading the charge to grow your revenues. You can help by fostering an environment full of skill set development, mindset development, self-development and a continual learning atmosphere. Provide them the tools necessary to perform at their highest level.

Create the internal social environment. Think of their online and offline reputation in the same manner you think about your corporate brand. When prospects are considering doing business with one of your sales reps or a client is deciding whether or not to continue doing business with your company, the reputation of your sales team for delivering value along with social proof is mission critical.

Why all of this? Today's buyer and your clients expect a certain quality of sales rep. If they have a recognizable brand or reputation, the effectiveness of retention and upselling clients greatly increases. Word of a great sales rep spreads through customer communities and greatly improves your sales rep’s relationship with new prospects.

"It's important to build a personal brand because it's the only thing you're going to have. Your reputation online, and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you've got to be a good person. You can't hide anything, and more importantly, you've got to be out there at some level."

Gary Vaynerchuk

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way!

I'm writing a book. The title is Selling From the Heart! I'm pouring my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it.Enter your email address here in this hyperlink and you'll be updated as the book is released. You'll also become part of our launch team. As a thank you, I'll have some special bonuses waiting for you! 

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image.

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

Cloud document control software and volunteers help nonprofit positively impact society

A nonprofit blood bank in Florida is utilizing DocuWare Cloud to store donor records and standard operating procedures manuals. Digital document control speeds up retrieval times, increases staff productivity, and reduces errors. Digital records also facilitate easy compliance with FDA guidelines and reports. The solution is so easy-to-use that the nonprofit can utilize volunteers to digitize records which reduces costs and strengthens community involvement. The system helps SunCoast Blood Bank speed up the intake screening process for donors while keeping the blood supply safe for the community.

SunCoast Blood Bank is a 501 c3 nonprofit community blood center that supplies blood products to 9 different hospitals in a 4-county region. The organization has 5 permanent collection sites, 7 blood mobiles, a warehouse and a transfusion service. The blood bank holds more than 1,000 blood drives a year and collects about 38,000 units (or pints) of blood annually. SunCoast fills a vital role in the community because it is the only blood bank in the region.

Requirements

SunCoast Blood Bank was utilizing an offsite, secure facility to store its paper records. Turnaround time to pull a record was slow, information was not searchable, and the long-term cost for the storage was unsustainable. The organization simply needed better and faster access to donation records.

Each unit of donated blood is labeled with an ID number. If a donor called back with additional travel information or if the testing brought up a result that made the blood unusable, the blood bank would need to swiftly access and amend the donor record and contact the hospital to find out what happened to that unit of blood. SunCoast is required to store donor records for ten years, however if for any reason a donor cannot donate blood, that record needs to be stored indefinitely. They needed to gain more control over when and how they could access their data and wanted search functionality. SunCoast decided to look for a cloud document management solution because of their small IT staff and budget.

Solution

After researching alternatives to paper files, SunCoast decided to work with their Authorized DocuWare Partner, who got them up and running with DocuWare Cloud. The cloud solution freed SunCoast from having to use their own IT staff to implement and maintain a solution.  Today, they are automatically indexing their records by donor name, donor ID number and unit ID number.

As a non-profit, SunCoast utilizes volunteers to help digitize their records.  Volunteers range in age from 6 to 87 years old, with a strong representation from high school students and seniors.  The blood bank encourages volunteers by offering scholarships to high school students willing to write an essay and donate 3 units of blood or volunteer a minimum of 30 hours. The organization uses this scholarship program to cultivate the next generation of blood donors and help make and strengthen connections within the community they serve.

Volunteer Coordinator, Joan Leonard, is a strong supporter of DocuWare because she knew the solution was so easy to use that she could train volunteers and allow them to manage the scanning program. Once a volunteer has been trained, they are able to train others.

“Not only is DocuWare helping us digitize our records, it is helping us connect to our community. I have high school students teaching retirees who have never used a computer, to scan and index documents. This has been a tremendous multi-faceted program that not only helps us better manage our information but is helping our seniors gain new skills that will allow them to get back into the workforce,” stated Leonard.

Benefits

In the summer, SunCoast volunteers scan 6 days a week, 8 hours a day. Volunteer hours drop once school is back in session, but some scanning work is done every day. In one summer, SunCoast volunteers scanned 60,000 records or about 3 years’ worth of the most recent donor records. Now volunteers will work on scanning the backlog of 1500 boxes of older records stored off-site. Staff can now move through the office easier and the workplace is calmer since 60 boxes have now been removed from offices and hallways.

With DocuWare it is easier for the blood bank to comply with FDA guidelines. If there was an FDA reportable error regarding a unit of blood, the blood bank has 45 days to submit the report online and provide evidence of corrective action. The penalty for not submitting the report on time is an “observation” on FDA form 483.  With repeated observations of the same error type, the FDA can impose fines or even shutdown a facility.  Electronic documentation makes meeting regulatory compliance deadlines much simpler.

The biggest benefit SunCoast has seen since implementing the system is lightning quick document retrieval.

“With DocuWare Cloud, our turnaround time to pull up a donor’s record to verify or edit information, or post test results, happens in seconds when before it was a 24 hour wait. The difference in our productivity and response time is quite significant,” said Robert Harper, Director of Quality Assurance for SunCoast Blood Bank.

As a nonprofit utilizing volunteers to scan documents, quality assurance was a key issue for SunCoast. In the beginning they reviewed 1 in 10 records, now they only look at 1 in 25. With a goal of maintaining accurate, high-quality information, the system’s flexibility and ease-of-use, even for a rotating group of volunteers, was just what SunCoast needed and helped them lower their costs.

Conclusion

The system has been so well received that the nonprofit is expanding its use to other documents, including manuals, forms and purchase orders. Today, staff at the donation centers and mobile donation vehicles have digital access to a 15 system manuals of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that helps the staff know if they can accept blood donations from a donor that has traveled to specific countries or is answering other screening questions in unexpected ways. The FDA believes that closely following procedures in the “up-front” screening questions eliminates 90% of unsuitable donors before any blood is drawn.

“With the SOP manuals in DocuWare, we no longer need to worry about missing pages, or the need to call the main office with questions. Because the staff at each mobile location refer to the manual multiple times a day, having a digital searchable version speeds our intake screening process and aids us with improving accuracy, eliminating errors and calls back to the main office,” said Harper.

Moving forward, the blood bank plans to also put purchase orders, adverse reactions and finance documents into DocuWare. The solution reduced the blood bank’s document management costs by 25% a year and is playing a part in keeping the blood supply safe.

SunCoast’s CEO Scott M. Bush summed it up when he said, “DocuWare Cloud is proving to be a tremendous asset to our organization.  Because blood banks are so highly regulated, our blood products, as well as our record keeping must be meticulous. The system not only reduces costs, it improves efficiency for our donors and staff.  We look forward to customizing DocuWare to other parts of our operation, further enhancing our ability to serve the community.”

DocuWare Corporation | 4 Crotty Lane, Suite 200 | New Windsor, NY 12553        (888) 565-5907 | www.docuware.com

The smell of spring is in the air, along with the completion of the first week of the 2018 Major League baseball season here in the US. Last year Chris Polek (Owner of Polek & Polek) and I collaborated with our first baseball themed blog for the office equipment channel. "Nine Innings with Polek & Polek" was a hit  with our readers. Chris & I have teamed  up again for this year blog which uses common baseball jargon and how that jargon translates to the office equipment channel.

Eight Baseball Idioms for the Office Equipment Industry

Spring Training: For those of us that are baseball fans the thought of Spring Training reminds us that Spring is right around the corner and the renewed hope that our team has the chance to be the World Champions.  

Most copier dealerships mark the end of their year with the last calendar day of the year. Typically most opportunities are squeezed, pushed and shoved into that last month of the year. January tends to be a month of starting over or renewing your focus for the new year.

That first week of the January can be your Spring Training. Taking time to cull your CRM, review future prospects and develop a plan to achieve your personal and business sales goals.

Situational Hitting: Moving the runner over, hit and run, bunt, and the sacrifice fly are different types of hitting that you want to accomplish in different baseball scenarios. These different offensive techniques can power the offense to score runs while making an out.

In sales we can look at prospecting in the same manner. You need to step up to the plate and make things happen with in person visits, and phone calls. More often that not you’ll be making outs, but the continued stepping up to the plate with prospect will produce opportunities for new business. I’m a big believer that if you put in the work, you’ll be surprise what tomorrow will bring you.

PFP’s (Pitchers Fielding Practice): Believe it or not, most pitchers (and catchers) are the best athletes on the team. In fact most of them probably started at shortstop at the beginning of their baseball career. Playing the position of pitcher has some unwritten rules. Pitchers get out of the way when there’s a popup in or around the pitcher’s mound. They cover first base, when the first baseman has to cover a dribble to his side.

Ever notice how pitchers and catchers report earlier than the other players? It is because they have the most responsibility in the game. It is not just pitching and catching. They control the pace of the game, they give direction on the strategy, and when a ball is in play the pitcher and catcher are always moving around the field to back up throws. It is difficult to see on TV, and when you are at a game you will notice that the pitcher and catcher are active ALL the time. When you think about it, pitchers and catchers responsibilities are very similar to those of leaders and managers.

Meeting on the Mound:

A new rule this year in baseball is a limit on meetings on the mound, and a time limit. You know those meetings you have been in that never seem to end, or when will we get to the point?

We can learn from this rule. As a manager, your job is to coach your salesperson. Keep your meetings brief by being prepared and having an agenda. Agree on a strategy, and then ACT! Ultimately the most important thing is the immediate action that you take when the meeting is finished.

Can of Corn:  

For those that don’t know baseball, this is an easy to catch fly ball. In our businesses we need to make sure we devote time on the easy tasks that will help grow our business.

The Can of Corn is: focus on your loyal customers; don’t ignore them. It amazes me how many businesses put so much time and resources in only acquiring new customers to grow. Cable companies are a good example of this. Not to single out cable companies, but when you look at their behavior you start to see similar behaviors with many companies and your buying experience. Try this exercise: call five loyal customers today. Thank them for being a loyal customer. Ask them: “Is there anything new that you are working on that you think we could help you?” The answer your customers offer are about to give you new ideas on how you can do more business. They will choose you first because they know, like, and trust you. If your customer brings up an idea that you don’t handle, find a way to connect them with a person or company that can.

Caught Napping:

Caught Napping is the opposite of Can of Corn. Go ahead and ignore those loyal customers while you primarily focus on acquiring new ones, and watch what happens. Your behavior shows those customers that you don’t care that much and they are not important to you. When you do that, your value to these customers erodes, and so does their loyalty to you! Eventually you get the wake-up call that they are leaving you, and doing business with a competitor. When this happens, most people come up with every excuse in the book, except pointing the finger at themselves. Apologize to those loyal customers before it is too late, that you realized that you have not paid enough attention to them as you should, and that is going to change. Focus on treating your loyal customers well, or get Caught Napping. Your choice!

It ain’t over till it’s over: Is one of those famous Yogi Berra quotes. It ain’t over till it’s over means quitting or projecting a defeated attitude is not an option. You always have the chance to win.

Mental toughness is an important part of the game and in your business. There will always be adversity, and when you give up too easily when things get tough, the only thing that gets easier is quitting too early. Another famous Yogism: “90% of the game is half mental.”

Let The Ball Travel: In baseball this means to let the ball travel a little deeper before you swing because you’re out in front of the ball. I’ll use the term of letting the ball travel when I’ve touched all of the opportunities several times and nothing is moving forward. I then let those accounts sit for a few days or a week with no follow up. During that the let ball travel time, I’ll find time to research prospects and add new opportunities to the pipeline. Keep in mind that your clients are just as busy as you and in most cases the thought of buying office equipment is not their top priority.

I hope these baseball references have helped you re-focus on Spring Training for your business. Let’s PLAY BALL!

Good Selling from

-=Chris Polek & Art Post=-

Today's modern sales team faces numerous and daunting challenges in a highly connected, networked business world. They’re wrestling with major changes in their markets brought on by information-empowered buyers and digitization within the sales channel. Growing competition, from established companies to tech savvy start-ups has placed even more pressure on sales margins and the effectiveness of sales teams to maintain clients or drive profitable net-new business growth.

What's your plan to drive new business growth?

With all of these forces at work, sales leaders must retool parts of the sales process around a new model, one which calls for new approaches, new positioning within the marketplace, new client experiences, and new business growth; all centered on a well-organized plan.

The reengineered sales team must be equipped to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, digital business models and disruptive competitors. Most importantly, the team must be centered on bringing fresh ideas and new insights in a client centric manner.

What will distinguish your sales team from all the others in your marketplace?

What's your appetite to drive and accept change?

It starts with the sales team building a professional brand, socially surrounding the client base and integrating social prospecting methods. They must be able to leverage client networks in a way that helps them grow their business.

IT STARTS WITH INFORMATION

Sales teams have an unparalleled amount of information available to them, to the point where information in itself is no longer a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage is in plain sight and it's the sales team.

What gives your team a competitive edge? It's the insight into how to use all of this information to help solve business problems and challenges.

Trust, value and relationships... the new sales currency inside your sales team. It is how your team sells it and how they offer it that will set them apart.

What's your game plan?

The head coach of any major sports team has a game plan. What's yours?

5 KEY INGREDIENTS TO FUEL SALES GROWTH

NET NEW BUSINESS

Sales reps can actually increase sales by focusing less on acquiring new clients and more on their current clients? Call me crazy but this actually can work. Most sales teams fail to capitalize on the huge crowd of people which have already decided to become clients. 

To increase net new sales, have your sales reps concern themselves with reducing the number of their current clients lost by providing to them an outstanding experience. In turn, and with mutual agreement, they get their clients to edify their work by introducing them into their networks. This opens up new relationships, new conversations and new sales opportunities.

New business growth fuels company profits!

GO WIDER AND DEEPER IN CURRENT ACCOUNTS

Often overlooked and one of the best sources of sales growth - retaining and growing the existing client base. It’s less expensive and more effective to retain current clients than it is to acquire new ones. Encourage sales reps to build multiple relationships with more than just the decision maker. Think influencers, end users, key department managers; cross pollinating relationships is mission critical.

When sales reps have built a genuine, authentic relationship with numerous individuals within their current account base, the opportunity for loyalty increases. The only way to guarantee a loyal client base is to create unbreakable bonds wider and deeper in these accounts.

Learn how your sales team can integrate social to grow net-new revenue by clicking on the graphic below...

Here are a few ideas:

• Set specific client expectations
• Become their expert and continue to bring insight
• Build trust through each and everyone one of the relationships
• Nurture the relationships online as well
• Listen - go above and beyond, don't break a promise

PROTECT CURRENT ACCOUNT BASE

Protecting the base means strengthening personal relationships and social relationships with current clients. Gone are the days of a single decision maker. Sales reps must interface with multiple buyers, influencers and end users inside the client base!

Sales reps who fail to build strong ties may see important deals collapse. Conversely, when sales reps socially surround multiple people in each account they create a network of hundreds of potential referral sources.

Make client obsession part of the culture. It is about building rock-solid relationships. Always look for potential blind spots within your current accounts.

TARGET THE HIGHEST VALUE ACCOUNTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFIT

High-value prospects offer the potential to generate growing and consistent revenue within in your organization.

If you want to grow sales revenues and maximize profits then you need to take the time to plan, update and retool sales tactics. Work strategically to implement a well targeted, buyer-centric account growth plan.

Be precision-like in proactively developing credible relationships with these high-valued prospects. Not only are these prospects 'big fish' they're attainable 'big fish'. With these targets in mind start reeling them in with a strategically designed prospecting plan.

LEVERAGE SOCIAL TOOLS

Fuel new business growth by integrating social into the sales process. Your clients use social, your competitors use social, quite frankly; social has become deeply woven into our everyday way of life.

The core elements of integrating social into the sales process can be accomplished by:

• Building a personal brand - establish credibility and help create visibility within the marketplace
• Listen and research - understand what your clients and prospects are talking about... What's important? What's top of mind?
• Engage in conversations - join and start conversations moving them from online to offline

Crushing new business targets means integrating social tools into prospecting while building better relationships to enhance client relationships

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

In the book, To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink, he writes about how we’ve gone from a "buyer beware" culture to a "seller beware" culture. There’s so much information available to customers today via the internet that customers are often well versed in their options and interests before the salesperson even enters the scene.

It's incumbent upon sales leaders that their sales reps must understand the client's world. They must add value, not to just show up, throw up and educate them on a product or solution.

Blending all of these growth ingredients is far more than just a few tweaks to the same old processes. It's a systematic, strategic transformation which hinges on embracing change throughout the entire sales team. In today’s crazy busy networked business world, a net-new mindset and sales approach is crucial for competing and winning in the marketplace.

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way!

I'm writing a book. The title is Selling From the Heart! I'm pouring my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it.Enter your email address here in this hyperlink and you'll be updated as the book is released. You'll also become part of our launch team. As a thank you, I'll have some special bonuses waiting for you! 

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image.

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

It's been an interesting three months to start my thirty-eighth year in copiers sales.  I started the year off with some type of fraking bug that kept me down an out for about three weeks.  February ended up good, March was down and April is still waiting to finish.

It was last Wednesday when I looked at my funnel and thought, "this ain't good, there's enough in the funnel but nothing is moving".  That's my hint that I need to put some rubber on the road.  I spent the last part of Wednesday culling my CRM for some planned cold calls.  Seventy-five percent of these were net news that were not co-operating with my phone call efforts, the rest were existing accounts that needed to have a visit.

My goal was to have twenty planned visits and then make a few unplanned visits to additional net news.  I made sure that I grouped then by town and would drive north and then work my way south to finish the day.

Knocking on doors is a great way to get a birds eye view of existing copiers and finding out who the DM is.  From time to time you even get to see the pain points that businesses have with office equipment.

The first four calls were non eventful. The fifth call (non-planned) had me eye to with a refurbished wide format copier that was just delivered and waiting for install. While at that location one of the influencers took me for a short tour and then elaborated on how they didn't like their A3 Canon copier.  After a few more minutes our talk centered on quoting for a new copier.  Chalk one up for net new opportunity!

After an hour or so I cleared my first town and moved further south to the next group of planned stops.  I was able to knock out another ten or so stops and a couple of unplanned calls. This group of visits produced no leads, although I did have some eyeballs on existing copiers that were in place.

It's just about 2PM when I arrived for my next group of calls.  It's interesting that out of all of the planned calls, I was not able to generate any opportunities with the twenty planned stops.  I did gather intel for future calls, but not one of them panned out.

It's 3 PM and I spied a construction outfit that I thought might fit the bill for wide format.  Turns out there was no wide format needed, however I got into a conversation with the DM about computers. He told me that he was looking to go back to having a server. I spied this place pretty good, there were four PC's, three A4 MFP's and I questioned the DM on why he thinks he needs a server.

After another 30 minutes I had the DM convinced that Quick Books Cloud, MS Office Suite and DropBox was a better way to save a few bucks.  I told the DM about my DropBox experience and told him that DropBox business was a great way for him to see his tickets (invoices) that other users had created.  Make a long story short, I was asked to submit a proposal for an A4 color device that could scan to DropBox.  There's number two!

Just a few blocks away was another net new account that I've been stopping in for the last ten years or so.  This was not a planned visit, but one of those extra visits.  Low and behold the DM was there, we chatted about business, and the cold weather.  Can't tell you much that happened after that (because I do have competitors that read this blog).  What I can tell you is that I developed an opportunity for $300K that could come down the pike very soon. Woohoo! That's three!

Thinking back, this kind of day doesn't happen that often.  Maybe I'll get one order, maybe none or maybe all three. You just never know what tomorrow will bring as long as you keep working!

-=Good Selling=-

It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is MOST ADAPTABLE TO CHANGE

Charles Darwin

To get new revenue you need to prospect and close new business while cross-selling and getting referrals from current clients.

When used correctly, social platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram have the potential to become powerful prospecting tools sales reps can use to create net-new sales opportunities.

When integrated into your existing sales model, the use of social can empower prospecting in efficient and effective ways. The key is social is not something separate but MUST be integrated into your existing sales model. Then, social needs to be measured, monitored, and coached to become part of your sales DNA.

THE INFORMATION AGE HAS CHANGED PROSPECTING

There are numerous statistics substantiating the need to integrate social and your online presence into the sales process. According to studies conducted by (CEB), "Deals are becoming increasingly complex, and customers have access to more information earlier in the sale than ever before. As a result, customers are buying in new ways, delaying initial contact with suppliers and requiring greater consensus to move forward."

There's a dirty little secret inside many sales teams... most reps aren’t prospecting! No wonder you all struggle to grow your business.

We are living and operating in an information-centric age, where data is abundant. Buyers are far more educated, and much more skeptical than ever before.

Stop and think for a moment about your own process when you’re looking for a solution to your problem. You either:

A.) Phone a friend or go directly to the person you think may have the answer

B.) Go to Father Google, enter in your question to see if you can educate yourself better about the solution

A PROSPECTING TRANSFORMATION MUST OCCUR

Sales reps are contending with an increasingly competitive marketplace, an ever-expanding range of products and services, new channels of customer engagement and an expanding list of competitors. The power has shifted from sellers to buyers. They are better informed, better educated and always connected to a world of opinion, advice and information; all thanks to Google, mobile and social technologies. Now the customer controls the conversation.

Attention to all EXECUTIVES your sales team must adopt a 21st century approach to the sales profession.

As much as technology continues to change, the sales process as well as prospecting tools sales reps use must propel them into the 21st century. In order to do this, there must be a transformation and a renewed focus on driving tighter alignment between people, process and available technologies to help drive net new business.

3 WAYS TO MEASURE THE ROI OF SOCIAL

Sales leaders... I encourage you to answer the following questions:

• What's the return I will receive by having each member of my sales team convert at least one net new client per quarter?
• What's the cost of your sales reps having an outdated online presence that screams “I don’t care enough about me to update my profile, therefore I won’t care enough to take of my clients?"
• Will using social tools to drive conversation help my sales team in developing additional sales opportunities?

NET NEW BUSINESS

What's nice about the modern business world is there are a multitude of ways to open new conversations and new relationships with people. Real-life networking (face to face prospecting) still has its place, but social platforms have opened up a world of possibilities for meeting potential new clients.

Think about social and how sales reps utilize this as their online trade show. For example, LinkedIn can be their online stage, their brand; their samples can be content providing them with an air of validity. It’s a perfect way for prospects to check out sales reps and to discover more about them.

"How many sales reps social profiles say they are open for business, closed for business or in need of tenant improvements?"

Communication on any social platform directly impacts all aspects of the sales funnel. Conversation and collaboration leads to conversion!

How could sales reps leverage social to drive more net new appointments?

For example, let's take (1) sales rep who engages in 5 new conversations per week via social. There are 4 weeks in a month equating to 20 new conversations. Take this over a year and this becomes 240 new conversations! Using a 10% conversion ratio to appointments and this means 24 new opportunities added to their sales funnel. 

Duplicate this through the entire sales team to get the full impact.

New conversations fuel the sales funnel!

CLIENT RETENTION

A frequently-cited stat from the CEB is on average there are 6.8 people involved in today’s B2B purchasing journey. Driven by decentralization and organizational structures, these people may be distributed across different divisions within their company or even locations.

Client retention is tightened as sales reps develop relationships with at least 6 people inside every single one of their current accounts. Sales reps must strengthen their personal relationship as well as their social relationship with each of these accounts. A social fortress must be built around their current clients. 

How could you increase the likelihood your clients will continue to do business with you?

One way to increase retention is through social listening. This provides sales reps great intelligence tools that can be used to:

• Help understand your clients
• Help to provide great customer service
• Gain a better idea of what's important to them and how you can serve them

Social provides the tools to help sales reps gain a better insight into what their clients are thinking. This allows them to be in better position to open up conversations to deliver what they need, when they need it.

CROSS SELL SERVICES

Unfortunately, many sales organizations leave a ton of money on the table because they don’t have processes in place to cross-sell their products and services into their client base.

Getting your customers to increase their spending with your company doesn’t have to be about chasing the almighty dollar, it should be about providing the best solution to help them do better business.

To be in a position to cross sell services think about the following:

• How could the stage be set to cross sell conversations to additional products, services, and/or solutions?
• Are there other decision makers or influencers in the company that you must get to know?
• Are there other locations, divisions, or departments that could benefit from your product or service?

To be effective in cross selling sales reps must harness the power of listening. Whether this is through social intelligence tools or face to face - don’t listen just to sell a product or solution, listen to become the solution for them.

Social platforms become a great way for sales reps to stay top of mind to their clients. Making themselves visible even when they're not face to face with their clients is the power of social. It's about continually educating your clients and sharing insights. Integrating the use of social allows sales reps to drip out constant educational content positioning themselves as credible experts.

The secret to cross-selling is to treat your clients as prospects. They may be doing business with you today, but that doesn’t guarantee they will tomorrow.

How many of your products, solutions or services are currently deployed inside your current client base?

SOCIALLY ADJUST YOUR MINDSET

Getting in front of a potential client for a first-in meeting now requires socially adjusting your mindset. This means integrating additional prospecting strategies as:

• Prospects require a higher level of introduction before granting a meeting
• Networking in person and online is essential to sales growth
• Prospecting and nourishing relationships must be practiced with patience and reeled in with conversation
• Being relevant and memorable is the new differentiator
• Becoming visible, valuable and using social is a must

The business world is constantly changing. Social is a critical part of selling, particularly in the modern digital business world; social techniques alone won't get you the success you deserve. 

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way!

I'm writing a book. The title is Selling From the Heart! I'm pouring my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it.Enter your email address here in this hyperlink and you'll be updated as the book is released. You'll also become part of our launch team. As a thank you, I'll have some special bonuses waiting for you! 

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image.

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.