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The Art and Science of Managing Expectations in Selling
It is very easy to fall into a trap with the customer by extending offerings beyond that of what the company infrastructure is able to supply in a reasonable timeline. As a salesperson, you must manage the quality of the sales process. With this context of "quality deal management" in mind, the theme cannot be to do "whatever it takes to close the deal". There must be a balance. That balance is achieved through managing expectations with the future cusotmer and with your own organization. The deal in question must be evaluated and built around a solution that meets the goals of the customer, your company, and the ethics of the salesperson. If expectations are properly managed, the deal will adhere to these tenets and be beneficial for all parties. If communication is compromised, production capacity or delivery is stressed or the quality of the end product is sacrificed and the deal is not beneficial for all parties and may damage future business opportunities. Many sales professionals argue that it's their job to "load the cart" and the responsibility of the operations staff to figure out how to address the requirement. While too much business may be a good problem to have, proper deal management ensures that expectations are managed in a way that will not over commit a company's operations resources regarding delivery and that the end product is what is expected by the customer within the designated delivery timeline. Proper documentation will ease the strain of effectively communicating between the customer and the operations staff. Signed and executed documents including delivery specs, dates, item codes, product descriptions, etc. should always be a part of the process when passing the baton to another division of the company and should be maintained in duplicate in the sales folder documenting the project. The Benchmarks for ISO9000 certification from a process standard are good references when considering the handling of documentation within a sales force. Good communication on all sides is the secret to effective deal management. I cannot stress enough that the salesperson should stay involved with both the customer and the operations/delivery team throughout implementation to ensure that there are no gaps in expectations on either side. Staying in constant communication with the customer allows the salesperson to solidify the relationship with the customer and to mitigate any communication issues or points for interpretation between the customer and the operations staff. Also, continuing communications from the sales person helps the customer to not feel like "just another number" and can almost always increase the chances for add on sales. Integrity is the key element in deal management. Maintaining the respect of the customer and the operations staff involved will always offer the best-delivered good or service. Often times a delay or setback is better understood by a customer that has received good communications and straight forward answers from their solution provider. There is no substitute for a quality in the sales profession. Brian is the Chairman and Founder of the the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA). UPSA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington DC that has addressed the concerns and challenges of individual sales professionals. Brian has authored the world's first universal selling standards and open-source selling framework for free distribution. This 'Compendium of Professional Selling' containing the commonly accepted and universally functional knowledge that all sales professionals possess. The open-source selling standards have been downloaded in 16 countries by over 300 people. Over 30 people have made contributions. Because UPSA is not owned by one person or any company, it is a member organization and guardian of the global standard of entry into the sales profession. Find out about the membership organization and understand the processes and framework of professional selling at the UPSA Website at http://www.upsa-intl.org. Find out more about Brian at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Brian_Lambert
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Careers and Employment Building Trust For Lifetime Success Trust. T. L. S. Part I: Tier Level Selling A Penetration Strategy A number of sales "Gurus" have promoted the theory that states, "concentrating strictly on your top level premier accounts (some even quantify that by stating your top twenty) will provide you with as much growth and profit as you can possibly handle." This is often stated regardless of individual and corporate strategic initiatives. This position is based on the following facts and assumptions. How To Use A Powerful Leadership Tool To Step Up Sales Results Good sales people can close, but few "step up" for even more sales from that close. Yet stepping up should be one of the easiest accomplishments in sales - that is if you know how to build the staircase. Leadership - How To Turn The Vision Into A Reality Be clear about where you are now. Audit your strengths and areas for development The Effective Executive What does it mean to be an "effective executive"? Well very simply it means achieving the goals you set out to achieve in an efficient, creative and effortless manner. Some of the benefits that ensue from this self efficacy are: feelings of self confidence, self esteem, self worth, a sense of personal empowerment, feeling invigorated and passionate about everything you choose to do, a sense of resilience, more energy, personal emotional and physical health and for some a great sense of purpose. 5 Secrets to Managing Your Sales Manager Productively Many people believe that the main reason for representatives leaving their organisation is that of money in that they leave for a bigger salary. In fact, the biggest reason why people leave organisations is that the role they are doing is no longer offering any challenge or excitement. The second reason is due to the behaviour and capability of the immediate line manager. More often than not, the two are strongly linked with the manager taking little interest in the representative's development and as such the representative feels under valued and bored due to the lack of attention and challenge. Hire A Six, To Consistently Produce Sales Success For many years as a sales manager, I would only hire the stereotypical sales representative. You know the type-on a human relations continuum or scale of zero to ten, with the ten representing a candidate who is totally gregarious and outgoing and the zero, someone who is introverted with few people skills, I'd always recruit the ten. As an advisor to businesses and professional service firms on how to build an effective sales team, I would also council my clients to hire "tens." Big mistake! Seven Deadly Sales Mistakes That Cost Business Owners Big Money - And What To Do About Them 1. LOOKING for a "quick fix" to close more sales sales aren't closed, they're opened. Raise Concern About Sales Competition, Not About Yourself As you are reading this sales article, read very carefully. Because I wouldn't want you to think of a pig right now. No, do not think of a fat, brown, smelly pig right this moment. What are you doing? Do you have a picture of a smelly, fat, brown pig in your head right now? I thought I just told you not to do that. What are you doing then? Management From Within Inspiration and Management from Within Part 2. Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence "(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to practical application. Instead he sought a perfection that assured failure." - From Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes by Donald L. Bartlett & James B. Steel Do You Really Want Local County Contracts? If you really want to secure government contacts at the county level; there is a lot more than just getting on a list and bidding on a solicitation. Government even at the country level is a little corrupt and insider-ish. You can complain about the evils, backdoor deals and wasting of tax payers money or you can remember that the imperfect system is run by humans and what goes on in generally what should be expected. No difference than the shenanigans of the Catholic Priests. 100% Commission Equals Zero Percent Control The temptation to use straight (100%) commission plans never goes away: "Let's put our salespeople on 100 percent commission. Then, if they don't perform, we're not out any money." For small, start-up organizations, the lure is irresistible, especially when money is tight and the company or the products they sell have no track record in the market. Drop Discounts and Earn Top Dollar Every dollar you discount is a dollar of pure profit you are giving away. Therefore, your efforts to remove discounts will be richly rewarded. Leadership Lessons for Sales Managers Leadership, like class, is hard to define, but easy to spot. How Exhibitors Can Move More Attendees Closer to Buying Q. What's the single, biggest change exhibitors can make to move more prospects closer to a buying? Run a Productive Business From Your Car-Office The way we do business has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. More products and services are now being offered outside traditional premises. You no longer have to go to a bank to complete your transactions or home loan applications. Insurance brokers visit your home or office; retailers deliver products directly to your home. This change in distribution methodology has meant many of us now run a car-office. Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables. How Your 60-Second Elevator Script Can Transform Your Staff, Your Sales, & Your Business When attending a Chamber of Commerce breakfast networking get-together, I'm always perplexed by the lack of thought and preparation many business owners display when giving a 60-second overview of their business. These people have spent enormous amounts of time, money, and energy on their businesses. Yet, when asked to give a quick synopsis, they fumble for the right words, they ramble, they go off on a tangent, the information is disjointed, or the words are boring and seemingly unimportant. Energize Your Organization No matter what you do, it seems, your employees do only what's absolutely necessary to get along. You've handed out raises across the board year after year. You've been as generous as you can be with various incentives. Now you are at wits end. You ask in frustration, "What will it take to motivate my employees?"
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