PLAYING IN TRAFFIC

Winning Strategies in a Recovering Economy: Building the A-Team for Sales Success, pt 3

In Part 3 of our 3-part series on achieving sales success in a down economy, Danny Wood, President, Danny Wood Enterprises and a  licensee of Sandler Training, explains why keeping your team motivated, now that you’ve got the right team in place, is key:

Keeping the Team Motivated

While most good salespeople are self starters, even the best salesperson can not sustain that behavior every day. So motivation is vital from the onset. One of the best ways to motivate salespeople is to know their personal goals as well as their business goals since many times, employees can fulfill both at once. In addition, salespeople need to receive positive feedback from managers and be recognized for their daily achievements. Sales is a tough business and a positive office environment is vital for success.

Devising an employee’s prospecting plan together with the employee, to show potential earning power, is always helpful as it demonstrates to a sales person how to achieve his or her goals. And ultimately, that’s what the sales manager wants – results from effective salespeople who know the techniques, are honest and ultimately will lead the company’s sales efforts into this new period in our economy.

Danny Wood, president of Danny Wood Enterprises LLC, in Rutherford, is a licensee of Sandler Training and specializes in sales and management training to increase sales productivity. Send your questions or comments to dwood@sandler.com or call Danny at (201) 842-0055.

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Winning Strategies in a Recovering Economy: Building the A-Team for Sales Success, Pt 2

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on achieveing sales success in a down economy, Danny Wood, President, Danny Wood Enterprises and a  licensee of Sandler Training, explains how to recruit the right people to help your sales force grow and prosper:

Recruiting the Right People

As a sales manager, you also need to determine if you have the right team members in place. If you haven’t done so already, consider replacing non-performing sales people with strong performers. Or if you are satisfied with your current team, expand the sales force through new recruits.

Unfortunately, many salespeople are hired solely on the basis of the interview. This can be problematic because the interview is usually the best sales call a person ever makes, and the manager may be won over by the individual’s personal attributes and presentation, ignoring other practical and important criteria.

To avoid this, you need to view every potential employee as a prospect views the sales person. And while many recruiting methods include an assessment, it’s a mistake to wait to do the assessment until after that first meeting/interview. Instead, an advance phone call and online assessment allows the Sales Manager to gain objective information that will dictate the kinds of questions asked on the interview.

Consider the acronym “SEARCH,” which stand for qualities that contribute to a salesperson’s attributes:

• Skills: The ability to approach and engage others, present ideas and communicate clearly
• Experience: A track record of developed sales goals and quotas
• Attitude: Self-confidence and open to change
• Results: Past experience exceeding sales quotas
• Cognitive Skills: Thinking on your feet, a fast learner
• Habits: Specific behaviors needed to fulfill the position

The hiring process should be similar to the way the proper sales process takes place – by focusing on qualifying hard and closing easy rather than the traditional approach of qualifying easy and closing hard. It is important to remember that taking the time to find the right people can be costly to organizations but not as costly as the turnover expense of unsuccessful salespeople.

Danny Wood, president of Danny Wood Enterprises LLC, in Rutherford, is a licensee of Sandler Training and specializes in sales and management training to increase sales productivity. Send your questions or comments to dwood@sandler.com or call Danny at (201) 842-0055.

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Combining Clicks & Mortar For Retail Success

Before starting Samson Media in late 2005 I had owned and operated an online pet store named Lucy The Wonder Dog for 10 years.  While I grew that business to the point where I eventually sold it, I felt at the time that I needed to have a brick and mortar presence in order in order to take that retail business to the next level.

Not wanting to go the brick and mortar route for all the lifestyle reasons that owning a physical store entails, I opted instead to sell the web-only business, which is now owned by a brick and mortar pet supply distributor.

The reason?

There were many, including low profit margins, undercapitalization and fierce competition due to low barriers to entry, but I believed then, as I do now, that the click and mortar combination was where the business had to evolve if it was really going to grow.

That’s why a recent story in the New York Times caught my eye about the successful melding of online and offline inventory from such traditional retailers such as Nordstrom, Walmart and Target.

Nordstrom of all places, and what retailer makes you think gee-whiz ecommerce more than Nordstrom , has significantly increased overall sales by linking their retail store inventory seamlessly with their online inventory, allowing shoppers to seamlessly access products from either source by using shared warehouses and online databases accessible at the point of purchase.

While some web-only behemoths like Amazon.com have proved that online-only is ok, I think that the one-two combination of online retailing and a physical store is the recipe for retailing success.  

What has been your experience with online-only or click and mortar combos?

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Winning Strategies in a Recovering Economy: Building the A-Team for Sales Success pt. 1

In Part 1 of our 3-part series on achieving sales success in a down economy, Danny Wood, President, Danny Wood Enterprises and a  licensee of Sandler Training, explains the “Success Triangle,” before examining how to recruit the right people and, lastly, how to keep the team motivated.

As the economy begins to show signs of a recovery, many companies are looking for ways to leverage the positive upturn and reinvigorate their sales. In fact, many businesses that survived the recession by finding ways to tighten operations and improve efficiencies are now in a great place to become more proactive about growing. Taking positive steps now to find and win new business involves evaluating and building your sales team. But how can a sales manager best evaluate the current performance of its team, find areas for improvement and development? There are many factors to consider.

The Success Triangle

A triangle is one of the strongest geometric shapes, well balanced and properly supported. It’s a good shape to begin the evaluation of the sales process to make sure your team has proper balance and support, as the sales process is never just one activity. It’s a combination of three basic areas of activity: Attitude, at the top, and Behavior and Technique at the bottom.

Attitude impacts everything a person does. It involves mind, body and spirit and convictions that people feel about themselves, their companies and the markets in which they operate. Once a person achieves the right attitude, it will be evident in all other aspects of their lives and in their sales.

Technique incorporates tactics and strategy – the approach to sales, how to qualify leads, gather information and close the sale. Behavior involves a person’s goals, actions and plans, and what he or she decides to do every day. Actions take discipline, vitality and guts; Goals need to be long-term, short term and daily. And Plans can be built, tracked and fine-tuned once you, the sales manager, help your team determine what works best for them.

Attitude, behavior and technique provide the foundation for a strong sales professional and a strong team. They support each other when used properly and develop a team with positive energy that contributes to success.

Danny Wood, president of Danny Wood Enterprises LLC, in Rutherford, is a licensee of Sandler Training and specializes in sales and management training to increase sales productivity. Send your questions or comments to dwood@sandler.com or call Danny at (201) 842-0055.

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How One Marketing Firm Helps Clients Reach Their Goals

This is an article from Guest Blogger Bill DeCorso that originally appeared in the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce magazine, “Meadowlands USA.”

“Successful marketing still starts with a clear understanding of your product’s strengths and weaknesses and the competition as seen through the eyes of the target audience,” stated Bill DeCorso, President of Block & DeCorso, a full-service agency in Verona. “But with the growing plethora of new media options, one of our first recommendations is to invest in research to evaluate the latest channel trends among the client’s potential customers. Through this analysis we can then develop marketing solutions that integrate online, mobile and traditional media into one coherent, integrated channel strategy designed to cost-efficiently grow awareness, revenue and market share.”

According to DeCorso, today’s consumers are fast moving targets with a wide variety of digital media platforms at their disposal. “Through research, we can determine if their eyes are fixed on traditional media or are darting around text messages, email, YouTube and Hulu videos, Facebook postings, blogs and specialty niche websites that can vary from haute cuisine to hot fishing spots to the hottest iTune and NetFlix offerings.”

“We look to avoid making assumptions,” DeCorso continued, “because we have learned that different target segments embrace new media in different ways. Some avoid it; some are addicted to it; and some are already to opt out because they have received too many messages that lack relevancy and useful content.”

DeCorso believes that as consumers spend more time and conduct more business online it becomes increasingly critical to gain digital visibility with them across the entire purchase cycle – and wherever they are: at home, at work or traveling.

“It’s very easy to get caught up in hype about tweets, blogging and social media,” stated DeCorso. “We try to determine whether our clients will be wasting money on staffing up for social media to get an ROI that may not be as good as they could achieve from a more traditional approach. For us, it all still comes down to determining the most cost-effective routes to motivating consumer purchase.”

In conclusion, DeCorso stated, “Doing the upfront homework is crucial to making advertising decisions that garner better results. We always adapt our research questions to reflect the latest societal trends so that our clients will have usable, relevant feedback. Through a clear understanding of consumer digital behavior, we can offer creative solutions and solid media recommendations that can gain maximum impact from an advertising budget so clients aren’t wasting channel funds and falling short of their objectives.”

About Block & DeCorso
Block & DeCorso has been building strong brands since 1968. As a full-service agency, the firm develops integrated marketing communications programs, spanning both business and consumer media, for national and regional accounts. The firm has extensive experience in food and beverage, financial, home products, healthcare, and education industries. Block & DeCorso is located in Verona, New Jersey, 973-857-3900. Visit us at www.blockdecorso.com.

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