FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER − AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

JANICE MARS

Top Sales Performer Series

IT'S THE CUSTOMER, STUPID!Ever since campaign strategist James Carville coined the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid” during Bill Clinton’s 1992 run for the presidency, you’ve likely seen lots of variations – it’s the deficit; it’s the corporation; it’s the math… you name it. But when it comes to sales, it really IS all about the customer. As a complex sales strategist and sales growth agent, I spend a lot of time helping sales leaders and sales teams make more money while working more efficiently. Anyone who has worked with me knows

saleslatitude.com 646-982-1013 info@saleslatitude.com

that the best way to do this is to always have a laser focus on your customer – by looking through their lens rather than your own. Recent surveys show that sales people who routinely meet or exceed their quotas attribute their success to three main things: (1) obtaining a clear understanding of customer executives’ business goals, initiatives and priorities, (2) gaining visibility with key decision makers, and (3) quantifying the potential value and ROI of their solution that is meaningful to their customers. This is precisely why top sales performers make more money. And, it’s the reason I put together “Focus on the Customer − And Crush Your Quota,” the first eBook in my Top Sales Performer Series. Here, you’ll find six tips on discovering what your customers really think, putting their goals and needs first, and effectively solving their problems. I truly believe that every sales rep can become a top performer. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

Janice Mars Principal and Founder SalesLatitude

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

CONTENTS

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

Make Your Customer the Center of the Universe Do You Truly Understand Your Customers? Stop Pressuring Customers to Close Deals on Your Timeline Are You Sure It Really Was a “Good” Customer Meeting? Cut Through the Bull and Stay Focused Three Proven Ways to Win Over Top-Level Decision Makers

saleslatitude.com 646-982-1013 info@saleslatitude.com

ii

1

3

5

7

10

13

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSEAs a sales person, it is so confusing. Is it all about you? Or should you make your customer the center of the universe? Now, it seems so obvious since sales people are constantly told it is not about them. But, think about it, sometimes sales managers send mix messages. There are two different sides to this story.

Side One: Is It Not All About Me? Why are sales managers constantly talking about my deals and where I am against quota? Why do managers ask for deals to close in certain quarters when the client’s decision-making timeframes are different? Why is it that when managers coach, they spend so much time asking questions about pipeline from our point of view? Is this not all about me? I am confused. Side Two: Find Out More Now my manager is coaching me to find out more about the client. What are their goals, strategies and initiatives? Do we understand the client from their point of view? Can we put ourselves in their place? Do we clearly understand their priorities? Sales people have every right to be confused. We revere the sales person for making their numbers, but in reality, should we not be applauding them for solving their clients’ business problems? Should we not be shouting high on top of a mountain about how much money we helped our clients generate or save?

read: Why People Buy From You

1

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

Achieving Nirvana In today’s selling environment, the key is this: If you make your customer the center of the universe and truly understand what they are trying to accomplish, appreciate their timelines, reduce or eliminate risk of implementa- tion, and help them to win both personally and professionally, then shouldn’t that help you provide the nirvana win-win situation? Would this not help the client and help you get to quota? Don’t be confused – the more you can make your customer the center of the universe, then the more you can align your products and services to attain the customers’ goals, and the better chance you have of making quota. In the end, everyone wins.

read: You Made Your Sales Quota

2

Sometimes sales managers send

mix messages. And sales people

have every right to be confused.

Is it all about me? Or all about

the customer?

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

DO YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS?

I coach lots of sales people to help them understand their customers, see things through their lens, and interact with them in meaningful ways – in order to maximize their time and get the best results. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that to truly understand your customers, you have to put yourself in their shoes.

Hello, this is your customer speaking. Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is prioritize my day. I always have a lot to do, so I work with precision to ensure my team and I are set to reach the goals we agreed to at the beginning of the year. I have to:

Attend meetings with my co-workers, clients and prospects – including last- minute meetings that I must now prepare for and attend Follow up on items that I must either complete or delegate in order to meet deadlines and stay on schedule Return calls and take impromptu calls Review financials on a regular basis to ensure my team and I are on track Coach my people to make sure obstacles are reviewed and addressed, and set plans in motion to make sure they have what they need to reach their goals

read: Win Deals by Helping Executives Reach their MBO

Who I Am I am your customer. I am your prospect. I am crazy busy and only want to meet with you if you can help me and my team to accomplish our priority business outcomes.

3

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

What I Want I want to talk to people who have done their research and validated it with me and/or other key stakeholders in my organization. I want you to come prepared to provide insights and offer creative solutions that have worked for firms like mine in the past. And I want to understand how their outcomes were achieved with minimal risk. What I Don’t Want I don’t want you to visit me and tell me how old your company is, or present a list of your customers and products and services – unless it is relevant to helping me, my company or my team achieve goals. I don’t want to hear a pitch about your products and services, because I could really care less about their features and functions. What Really Matters Please remember, I am a person and a professional, and I need to maximize my time just as you do. And ultimately, all I want to do is be the best I can be, both personally and professionally. All I ask is that you value my time and focus our interactions more on me and less on you. Sincerely, Your Customer In closing… I realize this customer voice is a bit more direct than your customer or prospect ever would be, or should be, but I think my point is clear. Continually make a concerted effort to understand your customers. Put yourself in their shoes and look through their lens – always. Their appreciation will come back to you in big rewards.

read: Stop Selling and Solve the Business Problem

read: Don't "Wing It" - Take the Time to Prepare

read: Pitch Slapped

4

Sometimes you have to

remind yourself that to truly

understand your customers,

you have to put yourself in

their shoes.

STOP PRESSURING CUSTOMERS TO CLOSE DEALS ON YOUR TIMELINE

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

I’ve been thinking about how many sales people are scurrying around trying to figure out how to make their numbers – whether it’s their quarter-end, year-end or some other date they’re working towards. After participating in countless forecasting reviews as a consultant and as a sales leader, I often asked: Why are you pressuring customers to close deals on YOUR timeline? Is this considered looking through their lens? To illustrate my point, here is another letter from your customer. See if it rings true for you. Dear sales person, I realize you have an annual quota. I also have annual goals I must achieve. But why are you pushing me to close a deal when I am not ready? I Get It – You Have to Close Deals on Your Timeline You tell me that you have to close a deal by the end of your fiscal year. But why should I care? In my mind, it’s all about me – not you. Now, I like you. I really do. You continually provide me with insights, share best practices in my industry and offer new and creative ways of doing the things we have been doing for years. You have spent a lot of time understanding my business and I truly appreciate it.

read: One Sure-Fire Way You Can Meet or Exceed Quota This Year

5

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

I’ll Sign a Deal Only When I’m Ready But I can’t and won’t sign a deal on your timeline. Even if you gave it to me for $1 – which I know you wouldn’t. My timing is my timing. It is what I have discussed with my team and my management, and we are working towards our dates, not yours.

If you ask me to, I will share these dates IF I believe you will provide me with value and truly will be there to help me. Why wouldn’t I? I realize your success is my success and vice versa. Ask Me, and I’ll Tell You So, take a step back and ask yourself if you truly know the dates that make sense to me, your customer. Many of the sales people I work with ask me for dates and we work backwards from MY end date which, in many cases, is helpful to keep me on track. Ok, I said it and I feel better. Now, if you ask, I do have some money budgeted for a priority project that went awry with your competitor. Sincerely, Your Customer In closing… Stop pressuring your customers to close deals on your timeline. Make sure the close dates in your pipeline are aligned to your customers’ timelines. This way, when your manager asks you to think strategically AND fill the pipeline and (of course) close deals, you can forecast based on your customers’ dates. Otherwise, your close dates will cascade quarter to quarter since they have no meaning to your customer – only to you.

read: Fill the Pipeline AND Sell Strategically: What's a Sales Person to Do?

6

When close dates are aligned

to your customers’ timelines,

you'll avoid the dreaded

cascading effect in your

pipeline.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

ARE YOU SURE IT REALLY WAS A "GOOD" CUSTOMER MEETING?

For any of us who do take the time to prepare for meetings with customers or prospects, we know it works. Whether it’s just you going to the meeting or presentation or you going in with a team, your lack of preparation always shows. And you know it was a good customer meeting when you see the results of your work.

How many times have you been to a meeting or presentation where there is no formal agenda? Or, one of your key resources has no role in the meeting and adds little to no value? Or, everyone provides their own PowerPoint deck and the aggregation looks like multiple decks? Or, your deck has maybe, just maybe, only one slide about the customer? Whip Out the PowerPoint? Now, let me take a sidebar and say that PowerPoint is not always the right medium and some would say you should never or rarely use it. Although it does allow you to organize your thoughts and ensure a flow, it should NOT be used in these ways:

As a crutch where you are just reading slides that have little to no meaning for your prospect or customer It’s so long-winded that it leaves little to no time for interaction Or worse, you use a standard deck and skim past slides that you know are not relevant to those you are presenting to – and therefore get little to no input from the audience

7

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

I wish to hell I could say I have never seen this happen, but unfortunately, I have! And, these typically are NOT good customer meetings. What IS a Good Customer Meeting You know it was a good customer meeting when it yields big results. Imagine those results if:

Your sales team agreed to a minimum and maximum outcome for both the sales team and your prospect/customer. Everyone knew who was attending the meeting from the customer’s side, and the right members of your team were aligned with the key prospect/customer stakeholders. Your team understood where they were in the sales cycle and where the prospect/customer was in their buying cycle. What you knew about the prospect/customer was shared with the entire team to assist with planning. Roles were established to ensure everyone had a part in the meeting, and if necessary, you could eliminate those with no role. Objections and counters were well thought through in advance and each team member was assigned to answer specific objections when they arose, relevant to their role. Open-ended questions were established including deciding who was going to ask which questions depending on their role, and any key gaps in your knowledge were better understood as a result. Next steps were established upfront to ensure the customer’s priorities were still top of mind.

read: How to Prepare for Client Meetings - Focus on the Outcome

8

PowerPoint is not always

the right medium – and

some experts say you should

never or rarely use it.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

When to Say Yes So when anyone asks – “was it a good customer meeting?” You can say yes if:

You hit your and the prospect’s/customer’s minimum outcome You bring only those key resources that help move the needle with your prospect/customerYou are prepared to handle key objections thoughtfully and intelligently You help fill the missing gaps of your knowledge about the prospect/customer and what they are trying to do Your preparation has ensured the prospect/customer is engaged and wants to proceed to the next step

Your lack of meeting preparation always shows. It does take time, but if well spent, it will yield big results.

read: 3 Tips to Help Us Hear What We Should Hear in Sales

9

You know it was a good

customer meeting when it

actually yields desired

results.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

CUT THROUGH THE BULL AND STAY FOCUSEDThe business world, and the world in general, is a crazy place. With so much information thrown at you in meetings, emails and social media, it’s hard to stay on course and get through your daily/weekly to-do list. As a sales professional, your job is to stay focused on quota and other MBOs, and manage your time wisely.

But it’s just as important to understand that your customers are likely experiencing the exact same craziness. Here are three ways to cut through the bull and stay focused in the crazy world we’re all experiencing every day. 1. Stay Focused on What’s Critical Your goal, if you choose to accept it, is to ensure you stay on top of the things that are critical to your success. Make sure you prioritize your to-do list and get the must-haves completed before you think about anything else. Turn off your email notifications so it will not distract you and knock you off course. Your customers are needing to do the same. Setting up meetings and pitching them your products and services are NOT a good utilization of their time or yours. They most likely will delegate you to someone else, usually lower in the hierarchy. And at that point, you will have lost a perfect opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with the ultimate executive for the account. You also missed the chance to get to know them better so you can ascertain if and how you can help them solve their priority business goals and initiatives.

10

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

2. Do Your Homework Before you have any conversations with a super-busy executive, make sure you do your homework. Executives do not want to hear about the features and functions of your product or service. They want to hear how it can help them achieve their priority business goal. So know your stuff. Read annual reports and analyst blogs, check out LinkedIn and Twitter feeds, and obtain as much financial and business data as you can to understand the key trends and challenges they’re experiencing. Peer information – such as peer financial results, success stories and client case studies – can be very powerful as well, so be sure to use these whenever possible. They demonstrate how you’ve helped others with similar problems, provide insights and help ground provocations with relevant data. You must be able to differentiate yourself in a meaningful, business-oriented way that resonates with executives. 3. Be Thoughtful and Concise Remember, many of us are trained to think in 140 characters or less, and view most of our emails and texts on our phones (or watches). So be concise and stand out. If you are sending an email/text or placing a phone call, make sure the reason for and result of the call is all about the customer. Start with the business outcome that you know is near and dear to their hearts, and explain how you can affect that outcome to the positive side. Keep it short and sweet.

read: The Cold Hard Truth: Pipeline Management is Time Management

11

Setting up meetings and

pitching customers your

products and services are

NOT good uses of their time

– or yours.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

Don’t forget that your customers have very little time, the same as you. If sending an email, make sure the subject line is all about them and their priority goal. It should intrigue them enough to want them to open the email and not forward it to someone lower in the organization – or worse, delete it without reading it. Make sure your email is no longer than 7 lines, and bullet your key points. Be concise and speak in their language. Getting the attention of busy executives is both a science and an art. Stay focused, prepare and even role-play with your team and manager. If you practice on your own, say it out loud because it will sound different than it will in your head. And remember: everyone is crazy busy, so get to the point quickly and ensure your message is all about your customer. Make sense?

12

Everyone is crazy busy.

So get to the point quickly

and ensure your message is

all about your customer.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

THREE PROVEN WAYS TO WIN OVER TOP-LEVEL DECISION MAKERS

Why is it so important to get in front of key decision makers and influencers on every sales opportunity? It’s simple: to expand your relationships and understand business needs and priorities in order to sign bigger deals faster, and meet or exceed quotas.

Here are 3 proven ways to identify and win over top-level decision makers and influencers. 1. Understand Tactical vs. Strategic Decision Makers Most sales people can clearly identify the key decision makers and influencers on a specific opportunity or account. They’re likely the people you’ve been talking to all along – people who like you and you like them. And they’re the people most likely to buy from you. But have you verified that these individuals understand the specific, strategic objective(s) the business as a whole is trying to achieve? The need for “faster reporting” or “reduced costs” may indeed be tactical – not strategic – objectives. This means you’re not speaking to the people who have the right knowledge when it comes to specific business outcomes.

read: Why Do Top Sales Performers Make More Money?

13

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

The solution: Ask questions about what the overall business is looking to achieve. If their answers are two narrowly- focused, then you’ll need to make contact with decision makers higher up the chain. Ask about business KPIs and how decisions are influenced and made in the organization to find the right decision makers.

2. Build Credibility with the Top Level Once you’ve identified the top-level decision makers, you’ll need to figure out your approach. Executives care about business outcomes and how different products and services can help them to accomplish their goals. Do your research to increase your knowledge about the customer, then speak about the things they care about. Understand what will make them successful and what their priorities are, and then position yourself accordingly. And interestingly enough, higher-ups are very open to discussions early on in their buying cycle and are happy to share their specific business goals. It’s partly because their performance in achieving them is tied to their compensation. The solution: Change the conversation from features/benefits to overall business goals – holistically and from their point of view. Do your research, expand the context and talk more about what they are looking to accomplish both inside and outside your realm. Let them know you understand their challenges and speak their language.

read: Decision Makers and Influencers Not Your Biggest Fans?

14

Higher-ups are very open to

discussions early on in their

buying cycle and are happy

to share their specific

business goals.

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – AND CRUSH YOUR QUOTA

3. Get to Know Everyone – Even the Naysayers It’s crucial to know and talk to everyone involved in a buying decision – including decision makers and influencers – whether they like you or not. Because typically, not all of them will be in favor of your products and services. The goal is to understand and address any objections to get the full picture, especially in a complex sale involving many people on both sides of the deal. Sometimes you’re faced with decision makers and influencers who are also not your biggest fans – perhaps due to a past experience at your company, even before your time. As sales people, we need to understand everyone’s point of view, good and bad, and chip away at their objections little by little. You can’t make everyone happy, but you can try to neutralize key individuals once you understand their issues. The solution: Don’t ignore the people you don’t know or are critical of your product or service – especially top-level decision makers and influencers. Instead, make a concerted effort to talk to and understand them better so you can neutralize objections early on. The importance of reaching and communicating effectively with top-level decision makers and influencers cannot be underestimated. In a survey conducted by Revegy, top sales performers said their #1 success factor is being able to establish key relationships with decision makers and influencers. Meanwhile, 33% of sales reps who missed their quotas attributed their lost deals to a lack of visibility with key decision makers. With these 3 proven ways to win over top-level decision makers and influencers, you will no longer be the one they run from. Instead, you will become part of their solution to improve their success and reach their goals.

read: Stay on Top of the Heap

15

Don’t ignore the people you

don’t know or are critical of

your product or service –

especially top-level decision

makers and influencers.

JANICE MARS

Top Sales Performer Series

saleslatitude.com 646-982-1013 info@saleslatitude.com

Janice Mars, Principal and Founder of SalesLatitude, is a sales performance improvement consultant and change agent focused on growing top performers to impact bottom line growth. With more than 30 years of experience as a senior business and sales executive, she helps companies build successful sales teams by maximizing their time and resources, selling from the buyer’s point of view, and strengthening the effectiveness of leadership.