the 80/20 sales professional - the sequoia system · 2016. 3. 2. · ed sierawski is founder and...

The 80/20 Sales Professional

The Definitive Guide to the Science of Being a Top Performer

By Ed Sierawski

Ed Sierawski

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General Information

Copyright © 2016 by Edward Sierawski. All rights reserved.

This publication is licensed to the individual reader only. Duplication or distribution by any means, including email, disk, photocopy and recording, to a person other than the original purchaser is a violation of international copyright law.

Publisher: Sequoia System International, 1515 Legacy Circle, Naperville, IL 60563

While they have made every effort to verify the information here, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors in, omissions from or different interpretation of the subject matter. This information may be subject to varying laws and practices in different areas, states and countries. The reader assumes all responsibility for use of the information.

The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to any party for any damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material. Every effort has been made to accurately represent this product and its potential and there is no guarantee that you will earn any money using these techniques.


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Contents CHAPTER 1 The Modern Sales Professional ...................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 The Skills You Need for Success Today ........................................... 11

Building Productive Relationships .............................................. 12 The Relationship Balance Sheet ................................................. 13

CHAPTER 3 The Business Model of Field Sales .................................................. 15

The Sales Professional as Franchisee ......................................... 16 Who Do You Work For? ............................................................. 17 Sequoia Beliefs ........................................................................... 19 Pillars of the Business Model ..................................................... 19 Measuring Your Business Model ................................................ 21

CHAPTER 4 80/20 Sales ..................................................................................... 23

The Paradigm of Activity ............................................................ 24 What Is The 80/20 Sales Professional? ...................................... 25

CHAPTER 5 Target Marketing ............................................................................ 27

#1: Segmenting Your Client Base ............................................... 28 #2: Profile Your Above the Line Clients ...................................... 31

Quantitative Analysis ............................................................. 32 Qualitative Analysis ................................................................ 33

#3: Look for Patterns among Top Clients ................................... 34

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#4: Build Your Ideal Client Profile ............................................... 35 #5: Rank Your Top Prospects ...................................................... 36 #6: Define Your Level of Service ................................................. 36 #7: Allocate Your Time Bank ...................................................... 37

CHAPTER 6 Territory Management ................................................................... 40

New Thinking about Territories ................................................. 41 The Formula for Success ............................................................ 41 Defining Drive Zones .................................................................. 42 Multi-State Territories ................................................................ 43 Establishing Your Zones .............................................................. 43

#1: Invest in mapping software .............................................. 43 #2: Populate your territory map with ATL clients .................. 44 #3: Identify your Zones ........................................................... 44 #4: Flex Days not Office Days ................................................. 45 #5: No Zone Coverage ............................................................ 46

Mastering Territory Management ............................................. 46 Territory Management: Daily Dilemmas ................................... 47

CHAPTER 7 Scheduling and Time Management ................................................ 48

The Arthritis of Field Sales - Scheduling ..................................... 48 The Two Most Important Habits ................................................ 49 Methods of Scheduling .............................................................. 50

CHAPTER 8 Systems for Success ........................................................................ 52

The Referral Forest: Your Growth Engine .................................. 52


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#1: Client Segmentation ......................................................... 54 #2: Seeding the Forest............................................................ 54 #3: Knowing how to ask for referrals ..................................... 55 #4: Executing a great first appointment ................................. 55 #5: Following up with the right people .................................. 56 #6: Tracking and measuring results ....................................... 57 #7: Reseeding the Forest ........................................................ 57

The Quarterly Business Plan ...................................................... 58 Business Goals ........................................................................ 58 Business Strategy ................................................................... 58 Business Execution ................................................................. 59

CHAPTER 9 Working with an Internal Sales Partner ................................. 60 Working with Your Sales Manager ......................................... 61 Territory Management Summary .......................................... 63

CHAPTER 10 Why Sales Professionals Do What They Do .................................... 64

Challenge ................................................................................ 66 Satisfaction ............................................................................. 67 Reward ................................................................................... 67

Understand Yourself .................................................................. 68 Final Thoughts ............................................................................ 69

Appendix #1: Mastering New Skills ............................................................ 71 #2: Relationship Balance Sheet .................................................. 72 #3: Segmentation Process .......................................................... 73

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#4: Ideal Client Profile ................................................................ 76 #5: The Time Bank Worksheet ................................................... 78 #6: Zone Analysis Worksheet ..................................................... 79 #7: 1-3-7 Follow-up Worksheet .................................................. 80 #8: Quarterly Business Plan Template ....................................... 81 #9: Working With Your Team Worksheet .................................. 82


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About the Author: Ed Sierawski

Ed Sierawski is Founder and President of Sequoia System International. Since 1996 over 30,000 sales professionals have benefited from Sequoia’s professional development programs.

Ed is responsible for creating the strategic direction of the company as well as managing all aspects of the business. Under Ed’s direction, Sequoia has become a premier brand in professional development. Many top performers credit some of their success to their participation in Sequoia programs.

Ed’s passion for the business is best exemplified in his message to always be a life-long learner. He also believes that every individual has another level of success in them regardless of where they are in their career. Nothing satisfies Ed more than unlocking an individual’s potential.

Ed is often sought out for his perspective and subject matter expertise on distribution. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous industry conferences and events.

Ed’s prior experience as a National Sales Manager and field sales professional have served him well as he has developed new programs and tools for sales professionals. It has also allowed him to understand the challenges of sales professionals better.

Ed has an MBA from Michigan State University and a BS in Economics from the University of Detroit. Ed’s outside interests include golf, reading and college sports. He and his wife reside in the Chicago area.

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Introduction

DURING THE PAST THIRTY YEARS, I have been in sales, a manager of sales people, and a trainer of sales and management teams. As you can imagine, I’ve learned a few things along the way.

My experiences in the field—including selling and working with sales professionals—reinforce my passion for the profession as well as my desire to help others find success in this great occupation. I am honored and humbled to have had an opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with you in this book.

As you read this book, I hope you discover quickly that it was written for you: the field sales professional.

You’re the one who rises as the sun breaks over the horizon, and bravely heads out to face the challenge of convincing people to do business with you.

Whether it is with a coffee or an early morning workout, you fortify yourself for another day of wins and losses. Every one of us has had days filled with traffic jams, cancelled appointments, and rude clients.

What keeps us moving forward? One of the things that truly motivates sales professionals is that they believe they are making a difference in the lives of their clients.

What will you learn from reading this book? Hopefully quite a bit! While there is a tremendous amount of information about sales, I will focus on the science of selling. It includes the following three foundations of the 80/20 sales professional that are essential to success in the field:

• Target Marketing • Territory Management • Sales Process


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You’ll also find some important tools that will allow you to use some of the best ideas immediately.

Open the Mind

It will be very important for you to keep an open mind and be accepting of new ideas so you can experience the true value of the book. If you find just a few ways to improve your business, then your time and money will have been well spent.

Ultimately sales is a disciplined and creative endeavor that lends itself to putting your own stamp on it.

If you would like to share your thoughts and ideas after reading the book, please do.

You can contact me by visiting our Web site at www.sequoiasystem.com.

Ed Sierawski

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CHAPTER 1

The Modern Sales Professional

TODAY, ALMOST ALL SALES PROFESSIONALS have adopted a new approach to selling. Most are now fully committed to consultative selling.

The best distribution teams in the field today are led by sales managers who embrace the value of asking the right questions, understanding the client’s needs and building stronger relationships.

Likewise, sales professionals who embrace all of the above are thriving in the business.

Sales has always been an attractive profession in terms of above average income but it also offers the kind of autonomy that many people only dream about in their jobs.

One of the great things about sales is that there are typically no significant barriers to entry. A college graduate can pursue a sales job without needing an advanced degree or professional designation.


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CHAPTER 2

The Skills You Need for Success Today IT IS ONE THING TO FIND YOUR WAY into a sales position, it is quite another to be successful.

At the end of the day, your ability to establish and build relationships with top clients will determine your success. Fostering productive relationships requires specific knowledge that isn’t taught in school.

Any sales professional, in any industry, selling any product, in any geographic territory, can be successful as long as he or she has good consultative selling skills and good territory

management skills. There are many reasons why it is important to develop these skills, but here are three of the most important:

1. The products you sell are commodities

No matter what product you offer, there are typically many similar choices available to the customers with whom you want to work. In short, you compete in a world where products are commodities.

As a result, you need to create additional value or sales alpha for clients beyond your product. In short, the best sales professionals recognize that products are

YOUR ABILITY TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH TOP CLIENTS WILL DETERMINE YOUR SUCCESS.

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commodities and have become consultants to their clients.

2. Territories are becoming smaller and smaller

When and if your territory becomes smaller in size, the primary way to grow your business is to capture a larger market share of the total business in your territory.

You also will need to attract top prospects who don’t currently do business with you. This can only be accomplished using consultative selling skills and good territory management.

3. Competition is becoming more intense

There usually is a rival sales professional in your territory who is as motivated as you are. If he or she is highly skilled and talented, you’ll be challenged to win and grow your share of the business.

You need to assume you will be faced with endless competition and act accordingly. Don’t ever underestimate the competition!

Building Productive Relationships

So how do you go about building productive, long-term relationships? Surprisingly, the process is very similar to the way in which you build productive, long-term friendships.

• First, you spend a significant amount of time with the person.

• Second, you ask questions and listen carefully so you understand their needs.

• Third, you keep repeating the first two steps over and over again.

Relationships don’t just happen; they require thought, effort, and commitment from each party.


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Recent studies show that the number one thing clients want from sales professionals is for them to understand their business. They also desire technical, marketing, and business management support but the bottom line is do they understand their world?

As a result, sales professionals who rely too heavily on their product set, come up short with clients and prospects. It is a recipe that no longer works.

The Relationship Balance Sheet Let me tell you about a tool that we have been using in our programs for the last few years. It helps put building and maintaining relationships in perspective.

This tool is called the Relationship Balance Sheet. You’ll find one in the Appendix.

It helps a sales professional measure two essential ingredients of their relationships with clients:

• Time • Reciprocity

In my opinion, understanding the impact of time and reciprocity in a relationship is the basis of a great relationship.

Let’s take a closer look at time and reciprocity.

Time is easy to measure. It is simply how often and for how long you have contact with someone. The quality of most relationships is greatly affected by the amount of time allocated to it.

The frequency of contact also makes a difference. The old cliché is true: Out of sight, out of mind.

So here is a quick quiz: Which top client would you most likely have a strong relationship with:

a) The one you visit once a quarter? b) The one you visit once every six weeks? c) The one you have an appointment with monthly?

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The answer is c. Reciprocity is as equally important as time. In fact The Law of Reciprocity is a proven human behavior.

Most people have a desire to do something in return after someone that has done something for them. For example, if I invite you to my next party and you enjoy it, you will be more likely to invite me to your next party. If I scratch your back, then you’ll scratch mine.

So how does this work with clients? If you have a strong relationship with a client, it’s likely that you spent a decent amount of time with them, and that you are constantly creating value for them. In return, you count on the client to do significant business with you, as well as provide a few other things that are valuable to you such as referrals.

The Relationship Balance Sheet provides sales professionals with a means of assessing relationships with their top clients. When you get a chance, please review how the tool works and fill it out for one of your top clients as a test.

Once you get comfortable using it, you can assess your client relationships more accurately and avoid missed opportunities or, worst of all, neglect important clients.

One final thought on using this tool: Based on the Law of Reciprocity, you need to be willing to give first before you should expect to receive from the client.


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CHAPTER 3

The Business Model of Field Sales

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF MODELS THAT HELP us understand the world around us.

One of the most common used by real estate developers is called the model home. Developers typically build model homes for a reason; they want you and others to see what kind of work they do and how it looks. What better way to judge the quality of the house and feel good about the developer?

In fact, the last house I bought was a model home. The developer was more than happy to sell us the model and immediately began building a new model to replace the one we bought.

Unfortunately, most sales professionals do not have model homes to walk clients and prospects through as developers do, but it certainly doesn’t eliminate the need for a model of distribution.

So where do sales professionals begin their search for a model for field sales? The answer is simple, all around us. In business, many companies use proven models to develop the goals and strategies needed.

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Good models also require great execution to be successful. Of course poorly designed strategies and weak execution have caused many companies to fail. That’s why sales professionals can borrow many of the most important components successful businesses use in theirs.

So what existing business model works well for field sales?

I believe the best business model is the franchise model.

To better understand the franchise model, let’s consider a company that has had unmatched success with it: McDonald’s.

The Sales Professional as Franchisee

How many golden arches have you driven by in the last year? Too many to count! The next time you see a McDonald’s—the world’s number one franchise business—give some thought to your own franchise model and what you might learn from theirs.

So what has been the secret to the success of McDonald’s?

Quite simply, they have an amazing ability to provide a consistent dining experience at each of their restaurants—no matter where you are in the world.

Now, you may not like their food, but you have to admire their consistency. And they don’t rest on their laurels; they continue to refine the processes and systems that ensure you have the same experience every time you visit.

One of the greatest assets McDonald’s has is its brand. The essence of branding is delivering a consistent experience. In the United States, the majority of McDonald’s restaurants are run by franchisees. Franchisees do not decide what they sell. They

MANY COMPANIES USE PROVEN MODELS TO DEVELOP THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES NEEDED.


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do provide constant feedback but have little or no decision-making authority as to what they offer.

Does that sound vaguely familiar? It should. Just like McDonald’s franchisees, sales professionals have very little control over what products they offer, but they are a vital source of feedback for their company. This is just one of many similarities between a McDonald’s franchisee and a sales professional.

There is one other very important topic I would like to address, as it relates to our discussion on business models—that is professional development!

Before obtaining the keys to a McDonald’s restaurant, a new franchisee is required to spend one year training in an actual restaurant.

During the year they learn every system and process needed to run the restaurant. They also are not compensated for their work.

Most sales professionals by contrast receive some on-boarding training when they start their jobs as well as on-going training throughout their careers. I am happy to report that some firms are becoming much more proactive about developing their people. In fact, I have seen entire professional development curriculums put in place by a few firms. A good sign for all of us!

Who Do You Work For?

Companies provide sales professionals with products to sell, new or existing clients, financial resources, marketing support, and exclusive geographic rights to their territory.

Quite often, they are also given a high degree of autonomy to run their businesses as they see fit. A high degree of autonomy is often considered by many sales professionals as one of the great benefits of the job.

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Too often though, a high degree of autonomy works against sales professionals if they do not have a strong business model in place. New sales professionals are especially vulnerable to the downside of too much autonomy.

In short, the optimal reality for sales professionals is to be given a successful model to run their businesses with, along with a high degree of autonomy.

It will come as no surprise to you when I tell you that the best sales professionals often work for the best companies. Why: for the same reason that a fast food franchisee might rather own a

McDonalds than a different fast food franchise. Sales professionals recognize the advantage inherent in having a brand-name company and its products.

There are also significant human and financial resources available to sales professionals at the best companies.

Of course not everyone works for the big companies out there. There are many mid- to small-sized firms competing daily for new business.

In fact, I started my sales career at a small firm. The biggest challenge at a small firm is name recognition. This challenge does not prevent someone from being successful; it simply means that you have to be that much better to win.

No matter what type of firm you work for, you have an opportunity to enjoy the benefits and rewards of running your own business.

The question then is: If the franchise model of business is best for wholesale distribtuion, how does it work. Going forward, I will be presenting to you the Sequoia franchise business model, “The Sequoia SystemTM”.

I will focus on some of the key components that make up The Sequoia SystemTM. I suggest that you contrast and compare your

YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS AND REWARDS OF RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS.


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current model with the Sequoia model. Many of you will find similarities between our methods, but you will also find some new ideas that may make a difference for you going forward.

Sequoia Beliefs

Every successful business model is supported by a set of beliefs that guides the sales professional on a daily basis.

Likewise, the Sequoia business model is supported by a set of beliefs. These beliefs are truths that should guide sales professionals at all times. Our beliefs are as follows:

Sales Professionals need to:

1. Always be in front of the right people at the right time. 2. Minimize their travel downtime. 3. Focus and execute a sales process. 4. Maintain balanced relationships with key clients. 5. Use 80/20 analysis and thinking at all times. 6. Be a lifelong learner.

Our beliefs are not opinions. They underlie everything we teach at Sequoia. They are the touchstones of our system.

Pillars of the Business Model There are three foundations or pillars to our business model. They are:

• Target Marketing • Territory Management • Sales Process

All three are critical to the success of a sales professional.

Let’s take a look now at the three:

Target Marketing

It’s true that client sales used to be a numbers game, but that’s no longer the case.

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In today’s competitive environment, you can’t afford a shotgun approach that puts you in front of anyone and everyone. You need to focus your efforts.

The challenge is figuring out who to focus on, and that is the essence of target marketing.

Target marketing will help you choose the right audience. Wagner’s Ring, a four-opera epic performed over eight days or so, is unlikely to appeal to the same audience that enjoys a two-hour rock concert.

It’s the same in sales. Some clients will want a relationship with you and others won’t.

If you hit the road without a clear understanding of your target audience, then you run the risk of putting yourself in front of prospects who will have no interest in what you have to offer.

And there is no point in wasting your time or their time.

Whether you are conscious of it or not, 20 percent of your clients represent approximately 80 percent of your business.

They clearly have a strong interest in the types of products you offer, but that’s not all.

You will find that your best clients have a sincere interest in you.

We will explore in the next chapter reasons for this, as well as the systems that drive target marketing.

One final note before we begin: target marketing as we teach it is a focus on different groups. There are endless types of groups for you to target. Always remember you target groups first then approach the individual prospect in that group with your strategy.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE, YOU MAY BE IN FRONT OF CLIENTS WHO HAVE NO INTEREST IN YOUR OFFER.


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Territory Management

The audience only sees what happens on stage during a show, but amazing things are happening behind the scenes, too.

Territory management is the backstage of sales. For sales professionals to maximize their productivity, they need to know how to effectively manage their territories.

There are many systems that must be put in place to support territory management, including zone creation and analysis, scheduling, prospecting, business planning, teamwork, goal setting, and technology management. Territory management will always be a challenge for sales professionals because it requires a lot of maintenance.

The Sales Process

Great actors leave the audience wanting more. The sales process is a sales professional’s opportunity to do the same. When you’re in front of the right audience and the backstage is in order, you have an opportunity to shine.

Like a good actor, you need to understand what the role requires, and that means understanding what your audience wants.

At Sequoia, we teach a four step sales process. Those steps are information gathering, the value proposition, action steps, and the close. Each step is unique and needs to be executed to achieve the results you desire.

In this book, we focus on Target Marketing and Territory Management to ensure you get as much benefit as possible out of the science of wholesale distribution.

Measuring Your Business Model After many years of research, I have found a few quantitative measures that are very powerful:

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• The first is your repeat rate. It measures what percent of clients have done business with you year over year. Your goal should be 70% or above.

• Second is the number of new top clients you capture each year. You should have a goal to replace at least 30% of your book just to stay even.

• Third is your conversion ratio. This measures how many top prospects did you convert into top clients. A 50% or higher rate is gold standard.

• Fourth is the percent of time you spend with your top clients. We call this Time Above the Line (ATL). Your goal should be 50% or better. Tough number to get to. Most sales professionals are between 30-40%.

So how are you doing on these measures? May I suggest you take a few minutes to see how you are doing versus my metrics? It could be eye opening!


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CHAPTER 4

80/20 Sales

BACK WHEN I WAS IN FIELD SALES, it was quite common for me to speak at seminars on behalf of my clients.

If you are like me, you also spoke at a few seminars that were poorly attended (and paid for them too!).

One seminar in particular stands out in my mind. I was eager to work with a client who was very experienced and had a well-established book of business. He invited me to speak at one of

his upcoming seminars where he expected fifty prospects to attend.

As usual, I arrived early, set up my equipment, and practiced my presentation.

As I paced around the front of the room, it started to become very apparent that not many prospects were coming.

Five minutes before we were supposed to start, I did a quick headcount and realized that there were only eleven people in the room. They all seemed uncomfortable in a sea of chairs.

Cutting to the chase, the seminar was a major disappointment for both the client and me.

I TOOK THE TARGET MARKETING LESSON TO HEART AND RELATED IT TO MY ENTIRE BUSINESS.

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Something clearly went wrong in the planning process. After we had debriefed about what had happened, we both agreed that the wrong people had been invited. In short, we had the wrong target market as prospects.

Did we both learn from our experience? Absolutely!

In fact I took this target marketing lesson to heart and related it not only to seminars, but to my entire business as well.

Upon further examination, it became perfectly clear that the right people to invite would have been some of his best clients with a friend in tow. More importantly, the attendee list should have been based on clients and prospects with a specific need that was being addressed at the seminar.

One of the first challenges any sales professional faces when starting to build a business is targeting the right audience. The importance of this cannot be overstated as a critical component of a business model.

The best salespeople in the world struggle mightily to achieve their sales goals when they are not seeing the right people.

As you may have concluded from my story above, there are painful lessons to be learned when your target marketing is not focused.

The following chapters will focus on the tools and systems you need to have a great target marketing process.

The Paradigm of Activity

To understand the importance of target marketing you must recognize what you may be up against. That is the paradigm of activity that has long dominated the sales landscape.

This paradigm can best be described as the more clients and prospects you see, the more successful you will be.

In my early days as a sales professional, I followed this paradigm religiously. I was determined to meet with as many


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clients and prospects as possible every day. I maintained a non-discriminatory high activity level well into my third year.

It wasn’t until I hit a plateau in sales that I began to reconsider how I was doing business. Like many other sales professionals at the time, I was a captive of this old paradigm of activity.

Only some radical new thinking allowed me to break free from this paradigm. That new thinking can be best described as the 80/20 sales professional, which happens to be the title of this book!

What Is The 80/20 Sales Professional?

So what is the 80/20 sales professional? It is based on the 80/20 principle, which was discovered by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto.

He originally identified the fact that 80% of the country’s wealth was owned by 20% of the people. Others have expanded on his work to show that the principle applies much more

widely so that, in general, 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. Richard Koch is my favorite author on this subject.

What it means is that, on average, 80% of your sales or profits come from 20% of your clients. It follows that you should be focusing more of your time and effort on those 20%.

It is not only a way of thinking, but it is a principle that drives your business model.

It is from this reality that you base all of your important decisions, including:

• Who you call on. • How you allocate your time. • How you allocate fiscal resources. • How you travel your territory.

80% OF YOUR SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS.

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… and most importantly how you get results!

One more thought, many sales professionals run their businesses intuitively based on the 80/20 principle.

I believe there is a better way; run your business consciously based on the 80/20 principle!


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CHAPTER 5

Target Marketing

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER YOU COVER the entire country or a single city; if you do not employ a target marketing process, you will never reach your potential as a sales professional.

The Sequoia process for executing target marketing in your business will help you maximize sales in your territory.

The seven steps are as follows:

1. Segment your client base using the Sequoia Quadrant Analysis Tool. (see table on page 73)

2. Profile your best clients both quantitatively and qualitatively.

3. Look for patterns among your top clients. 4. Build your ideal client profile. 5. Identify your high potentials and top prospects using

your ideal client profile. 6. Define your level of service for your best clients. 7. Allocate your time bank and money to your best

clients.

Let’s begin our examination of the seven steps.

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#1: Segmenting Your Client Base

Step 1: Segment your client base with Sequoia’s Quadrant Analysis tool.

During the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of seeing the Sequoia Quadrant Analysis Tool used very effectively by numerous companies and sales professionals.

It is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to segment your clients consistently. Gone are the days when any client doing over a defined level of business is an “A”.

The arbitrary methods used to segment clients in the past need to be left behind for a more enlightened approach.

In its basic form, the Sequoia Quadrant Analysis Tool looks like this:

“A” Clients

Above the Line

Above average sales volume

“B” Clients

Above the Line

Below average sales volume

“C” Clients

Below the Line

Above average sales volume

“D” Clients

Below the Line

Below average sales volume

The most common segmentation criteria is sales. All you need is a report that lists your clients by sales in descending order from highest to lowest.


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The good news is the tool can be used to segment clients by focus, product, or geography as well. It is a multi-purpose tool.

Segmentation Example Another way to explain how our segmentation tool works is to demonstrate it. Let’s take a look at Tom Johnson's territory. Tom is a sales rep who covers Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.

• There are 900 clients in his territory, of which he does business with 420.

• Tom produced $17.6 million in gross sales in the past twelve months.

To begin, 80% of $17.6 million is $14.08 million, and 20% is $3.52million.

Based on his rolling twelve-month report, Tom simply tallies his clients’ production beginning at the top of the report until he reaches $14.08 million in sales. He then adds up the number of clients who represent the $14.08 million.

Tom has calculated that 100 clients represent 80% of sales and 320 represent 20% of sales.

We will now refer to the 100 as Above the Line (ATL) clients and the remaining 320 as Below the Line (BTL) clients.

The next step in the segmentation process is to determine the average sales of the 100 clients who represent the 80% of his total sales.

To do this, he simply divides $14.0.8 million by 100 clients, which equals $140,800.

• $14,080,000/100 = $140,800 average sales

Tom then follows the same process to determine the average sales of the 320 who represent 20% of his business ($3.52 million).

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• $3,520,000/320 = $11,000 average sales

The last step that must be executed to complete the segmentation analysis is to subdivide the ATL and BTL clients by average production.

Calculate how many of the ATL clients are producing above average sales among the group and then repeat the process for BTL clients.

In this case study, the results are as follows:

Tom’s Results

Average Sales of ATL Clients

• A Quadrant: 34 clients produced more than $140,800. • B Quadrant: 66 clients produced less than $140,800.

Average Sales of BTL Clients

• C Quadrant: 100 clients produced more than $11,000. • D Quadrant: 220 clients produced less than $11,000.


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Benefits of Segmentation One of the great benefits of using our quadrant analysis is that it allows you to determine whether you have been spending your time with the right people.

Look back at your appointments during the past few months. Have the people with whom you have spent most of your time been Above the Line or Below the Line?

By shifting more of your time Above the Line, you will see an immediate impact on your business.

After you have completed your quadrant analysis, you can now move on to step two of the Target Marketing process; profile your Above the Line clients.

#2: Profile Your Above the Line Clients Step 2: Next step is to profile your Above the Line clients.

• Do you think it is possible that you attract a certain type of clients?

• Are there clients that you seem to connect with very easily?

My guess is that you intuitively know when this happens, but you may not be exactly sure why it happens. What I would like to do is to unravel some of the mystery of why certain clients prefer to do business with you as opposed to doing business with other sales professionals.

The starting point for understanding why you attract certain clients versus others is by analyzing your “A” clients. These are the top clients in your business—the people with whom you have the most in common.

There is a very good chance that you share some of the same values, background, passions, and hobbies they have.

If you take the time to profile these clients systematically, you’ll discover a few things that will make it obvious why you have been able to build such strong relationships with them.

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Profiling your best clients requires a two-part analysis.

• Part one is quantitative. • Part two is qualitative.

I highly recommend that you profile all of your “A” clients. If you have time limitations, you can shorten the process by profiling only your top ten clients.

What is most important to remember is the outcome you hope to gain from this exercise, which is to create a profile of your ideal clients.

Quantitative Analysis Most sales people love numbers! The fact is that most sales professionals profile their clients by sales only. In reality there are many opportunities to profile clients quantitatively.

So what are some of the quantitative measures you can use to profile your top clients?

They include:

• What is the gross revenue of their business? • What percentage of their business is done in your

product(s)? • How long have they been clients of yours? • How long have they been in your industry?

In the Ideal Client Profile Worksheet at the back of this book, I have provided space for you to list the criteria for your top clients using both quantitative and qualitative criteria.

I recommend choosing six criteria to use in profiling your “A” clients. You can then also list your top clients and note how they meet these criteria.

When you complete this exercise, you have finished part one of analyzing your clients.


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Qualitative Analysis Most sales professionals can complete the quantitative profile of their top clients without too much trouble, but few can complete the qualitative profile of their top clients easily.

The qualitative analysis begins by selecting six criteria that are representative of the values, backgrounds, passions, and hobbies of the group.

Some examples of qualitative criteria include:

• What college did the client attend? • What are most important values of the clients? • Are the clients single, married, or divorced? • Do the clients have children? • What are the clients’ hobbies? • Where do the clients like to vacation? • What types of automobiles do the clients drive? • Are the clients involved in any charities? • What are the clients favorite sports teams?

You will find a spreadsheet located in the appendix that you can use for completing a qualitative analysis. I would strongly recommend that you choose three to five criteria and profile your top clients. After finishing the profiling, you are now ready to build your ideal clients profile.

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#3: Look for Patterns among Top Clients

Step 3 is to look for patterns among your top clients.

Now that you have completed the profiling, you can begin to look for patterns that exist among your top clients. Some quantitative patterns to look for include:

• Do your top clients fall into a specific range with regard to revenue or market share?

• Do they all use a similar mix of products? • Are they close in age and experience? • Do they get paid the same way?

You should begin to see patterns emerge from the data. Keep track of which data shows the strongest patterns.

Likewise, look for patterns in the qualitative data. For example:

• Did they attend the same school you did? • Do they share similar values? • Were they referred to you by the same people? • Do they share similar outside interests, such as golf or

fishing? • Are they involved in their children's school or church

activities? • Do they drive similar cars? • Do they follow the same sports teams as you? • Are they from the same area? • Do they share the same idea about your role in their

business?

After reviewing the data, you should begin to notice patterns in terms of business, values, outside interests and hobbies, and other areas.

These patterns are strong indicators that will shed some light on the reasons you were drawn to each other.

Essentially, our commonalities are what attract us to each other, and this is why each sales professional eventually builds


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a highly individualized book of business. It is very hard to inherit someone else's clients and keep it the same for any length of time.

#4: Build Your Ideal Client Profile Once you’ve completed your analysis and identified patterns among your best clients you can build your ideal client profile.

The easiest way to do this is to list both your quantitative and qualitative criteria and then write a description of the patterns

that reflect your top clients as a group.

For example, one quantitative pattern may be that your average top client has 25 million dollars in annual revenue.

This, then, becomes a benchmark for your ideal client profile.

Likewise, a qualitative criteria pattern may be that your average top client spends a lot of time volunteering at church and school. This becomes another benchmark in your profile.

Once you have considered the patterns you’ve found and have described them, you should also be able to describe your ideal client in detail.

You’ll find the process template for building your Ideal Client Profile in the appendix of this book.

On a personal note, when I was in sales, I did not have the benefit of an ideal client profile, so mine was simply intuitive.

My best clients were typically married men in their forties. They were usually independent business owners who marketed primarily through retail seminars. They almost all had small children and loved to golf.

Not surprisingly, they were very much like me and our relationships were easy to manage.

ONCE YOU HAVE CONSIDERED THE PATTERNS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT IN DETAIL.

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Needless to say, I was always on the lookout for more people like them. As they say, if only I knew then what I know now!

#5: Rank Your Top Prospects

Step 5 is to rank your top prospects using your ideal client profile.

Once you have built your ideal client profile, you can begin targeting top prospects that resemble your profile.

Look at your list of current prospects and compare them to your ideal profile. Do they have many of the same attributes of your top clients? If so, you can begin to rank your prospects more efficiently.

Another strategy would be to scan your list of C and D clients to identify high potentials.

#6: Define Your Level of Service

Step 6 in the target marketing process is to define your level of service for top clients.

There are typically a number of things you are willing to do for any client. But for your best clients you provide VIP treatment. What do I mean by VIP treatment? It is sort of like having your own frequent flyer’s club.

As a lifetime Premier Gold Member of United Airlines, I receive a number of privileges including early boarding, upgrades and bonus miles. I appreciate these extra services, and they are rewarded with my loyalty.

Likewise, your best clients are your Premier Gold’s. The question is have you defined what it is that they receive from you for their loyalty?

You should have a written description of what you are willing to do for them. It should be specific, and you should share it


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with each of them verbally. It should not be something you distribute in writing for compliance purposes.

The more creative you are in developing your levels of service the better!

#7: Allocate Your Time Bank

Step 7 in the target marketing process is to allocate your most precious resource—your time—carefully. The first thing to do is to determine your time bank.

Your time bank is simply the number of appointments you have available to cover your territory in a given year. Over the years I have witnessed a wide range of time banks—from a low of 400 to a high of 1200.

The average sales professional has 900 appointments in their time bank to start the year. This number is calculated by multiplying the average number of days in the field (180) by the average number of appointments in a day (5).

If this number seems low to you, I challenge you to go back and calculate the actual number of appointments you made in the last twelve months. You might be in for a big

surprise!

Now that you know what your time bank is, you can begin to distribute your time accordingly.

In a mature territory a sales professional may have 100 Above the Line clients.

They may also have 30 High Potentials in process at any given time. By simply allocating six appointments a year to your top 100 clients and 30 High Potentials you have accounted for 780 appointments.

WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TIME BANK IS, YOU CAN BEGIN TO DISTRIBUTE YOUR TIME ACCORDINGLY.

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That leaves 120 appointments available for Below the Line clients, other prospects, group meetings and appointments with centers of influence. As you can see, your time is truly precious!

One practice you must begin, if you haven’t already, is to lay out your coverage model for your territory.

If you don’t, you run the risk of having too many appointments Below the Line, which is a terrible drag on production.

In the next chapter I will introduce you to a way to avoid bad days, so you remain productive almost all of the time.


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Special Tip: The Factor

Do you know what the productivity relationship is between your Above the Line clients versus your Below the Line clients?

If you have a mathematically perfect 80/20 territory, your Factor is 16.

That means that the average production or sales of your Above the Line clients is 16 times greater than the average of your Below the Line clients.

The implications are tremendous. For example, gaining one ATL client is the equivalent of gaining 16 BTL clients.

Or that one appointment with an ATL client is equivalent to 16 BTL appointments.

To determine your current Factor, divide the average sales of your ATL clients by the average sales of your BTL clients.

Once you have figured out your Factor, you will never forget it!

ONCE YOU HAVE FIGURED OUT YOUR FACTOR, YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT!

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CHAPTER 6

Territory Management

A FEW YEARS AGO, I MET A SALES PROFESSIONAL who was distraught about his territory being cut; he was having the same reaction that every sales person has when they lose territory.

The most common fear they have is that they are losing income permanently. They also do not like losing the relationships they have developed, but it is the perceived loss of income that bothers them the most.

I proceeded to coach this sales professional on how to tighten up his territory geographically and convince him he would actually be more productive in a smaller territory.

The good news is that a few months later he became even more productive than he had been in the larger territory, and he was happier than ever because he had fewer overnights.

The moral of the story is that less is often more in geography when it comes to field sales. The difficult part of believing this is that it feels counterintuitive. So let’s begin our discussion on zones creation and analysis.


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New Thinking about Territories

Over the past several years we at Sequoia have evolved our teaching regarding how to set up your territory.

The impetus for the new content has been the constant reduction in size of most territories. With many companies now having larger distribution teams, many territories no longer require overnight stays.

This has clearly been a very positive development in the quality of life for many field sales professionals. It certainly is light years from my old schedule of leaving Sunday night and returning home on Thursday night.

But most importantly it has led to a new paradigm in territory management; a territory today consists of a number of zones that do not all receive the same attention. Gone are the days of the milk run.

The Formula for Success

Quite often units of measurement are related to each other. For example, normal par for eighteen holes of golf is 72; you get four downs to make a first down in the NFL; and my car gets twenty-six miles per gallon.

In field sales there are two basic units of measurement in territory management:

• The first is a zone • The second is a day

The formula for success is quite simple; one zone equals one day.

As you will see shortly, the person who can consistently execute this formula can save a tremendous amount of time behind the windshield.

It is tied directly to one of our core beliefs at Sequoia: minimize your travel down time!

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Defining Drive Zones

There are three rules that govern what constitutes a zone. The following are the rules:

1. You must be able to drive from one end of the zone to the other in no more than sixty minutes. If you are covering a rural area, the time can be up to ninety minutes.

2. There needs to be at least ten Above the Line clients in each zone. This includes “A” and “B” clients as well as Top Prospects and High Potentials.

3. You should not have to travel more than thirty minutes between any two appointments in any zone.

Of course you can layer in additional rules to define what you consider a zone to be. I do think the above three are non-negotiable.

The best way to demonstrate the rules is to give you an example.

Suppose your territory was metropolitan Chicago. At the least, you would have four drive zones:

• Downtown • Northern suburbs • Western suburbs • Southern suburbs

For those of you not familiar with the geography of Chicago, Lake Michigan is east of downtown. Each of these drive zones would meet the three criteria listed above.

All of the trouble in Chicago starts when a sales professional tries to cover more than one zone in one day. Chicago traffic ranks near the top in terms of congestion.

Sitting in traffic for an extended period of time is not only unproductive, but dangerous to your health.


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Multi-State Territories

When I was on the road, I covered a large multi-state territory. And, yes, they still exist!

Generally, multi-state territories are found at small to mid-size organizations. There are still a few of these territories out west among large firms. Start-up firms of course have extremely large territories.

Often new sales professionals begin their careers in these types of territories and later migrate to smaller territories at larger companies as they progress in their careers.

If you are spending a significant number of nights in a hotel, chances are you may be following the old milk run system. This system served sales people well back in the day. It meant rotating through your territory on the same schedule every six weeks.

It is with this in mind that the new zone system I recommend can be successfully applied to any sized territory. It certainly takes a lot of discipline to make it work, especially in larger territories. Let’s take a closer look at how this new system works.

Establishing Your Zones

So, how do you lay out your territory in a zone configuration?

During the past decade, Sequoia System has developed and refined a simple process for identifying zones. Just follow these easy steps:

#1: Invest in mapping software Whether you buy it or your company buys it for you, you need mapping software. Ideally it would be compatible with the CRM system your company uses.

Mapping software or application will help you transform information from databases, contact managers, and

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spreadsheets into colorful maps that clearly identify the most productive parts of your territory.

Have you ever seen, or perhaps you still have, a wall map with pushpins used to designate clients? Well, mapping software provides you with the electronic version of a pushpin map. There are a number of good mapping software programs available at modest expense. Ask one of your fellow sales professionals which program he or she recommends.

#2: Populate your territory map with ATL clients After installing your mapping software, overlay your Above the Line clients (“A” and “B” clients and high potentials) on a map of your territory. Later you can segment and overlay any group of clients you wish to on to your territory.

#3: Identify your Zones Now you have a clear visual depiction of your territory, you can begin the process of segmenting your territory into zones.

Simply identify the geographic areas that constitute zones based on the rules listed previously. Remember, a zone needs to have at least ten ATL clients and/or high potentials in it to qualify.

Most sales professionals develop between five and fifteen zones. I have seen territories with more than fifteen zones, but they tend to be the exception. In a perfect world you would have twelve drive zones.

At this point, your territory may look like a checkerboard. That is a good thing! You now need to take in to consideration the 80/20 rule. If you have twelve zones, it is highly likely that three or four of them represent the majority of your business.

You now need to do a zone analysis to determine coverage frequency of zones. There is a Zone Analysis Worksheet in the appendix to help you with this process.


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After your zone analysis, you can now begin planning your travel. You will want to cover each zone at least once a month. Your more important zones need to be visited at least three times a month. We are talking about one day = one zone.

Therefore, if you cover your best four zones three times a month that would equal twelve days. You now have eight days left to cover the other eight zones. I am using a twenty workday month for this model.

#4: Flex Days not Office Days Have you ever had something come up unexpectedly and were forced to make difficult decisions on how to react? It happens to everyone all the time. Enter the flex day!

What is a flex day? A flex day is a day you purposely do not schedule out more than two weeks in advance. You keep it in reserve to be able to respond to opportunities that arise quickly.

For example, you want to get back in front of a top prospect immediately or a top client needs your help on something. By using a flex day you can accommodate these items on a timely basis. Flex days also serve another purpose; they replace the traditional office day.

Your office days become your flex days—one per week on average. You may use your flex day to do office work if that is needed, but you do not want to lock yourself in to taking an office day every week. Instead, think of flex days as your safety valve to release the pressure of having to be reactive some of the time.

With the advent of technology and internal support, the traditional office day is a throwback idea. The new model of sales calls for flex days!

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#5: No Zone Coverage Okay! You have everything laid out properly, except there are five ATL clients that do not fall in to your zones. They are located in remote outposts of your territory. The answer for coverage is simple: flex days.

You simply need to schedule that long drive for a day you would normally be in your office. I like to refer to these clients as my Watertown clients. I used to have a great client who lived in Watertown, New York. If you do not know where it is located, you are not the only one.

I fondly remember making my two annual trips to see him in the fall and spring. Winter was simply out of the question. It was a good use of my flex days!

Mastering Territory Management Many sales professionals will find this chapter to be a good refresher on territory management. It is amazing how quickly we can forget the things that made us successful in the first place.

Newer sales professionals must master territory management in their first year, or they run the risk of failing to get off to a good start.

I urge new sales professionals reading this book to take a hard look at how they are currently managing their territories.

If you can take away one or two ideas from this chapter and the next one – and put them to work immediately – you will have taken a big step forward in running your business well.


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Territory Management: Daily Dilemmas Territory management is a constant decision-making process.

You need to determine where to spend your time and with whom. Once you’ve laid out your zones, you will be presented with opportunities to disregard your travel plans.

Please take a moment to consider how you would respond to each situation.

1. One of your best clients in another zone leaves a message telling you that he or she needs to see you immediately. He needs help closing a big order. What do you do? A. Cancel your appointments for the day and go B. Get someone else to cover for you C. Call and find out if they can reschedule on your flex day

2. You are scheduling a flex day. You choose to: A. Get back in front of a top prospect quickly B. Visit a top client who is the only person in that area C. Focus on top client in one of your primary zones D. All of the above

3. A prospect you have been trying to schedule an appointment with leaves a message with a date and time that he is available to meet with you. You have already scheduled that day and will be in another zone. What would you do? A. Change your schedule to be in the prospect’s zone B. Have an internal sales rep set up a call C. Return the call and suggest an alternative date using a

flex day

The answers to the above dilemmas are all self-evident. The most important thing to remember is that you have options.

Let’s move on to the most prevalent territory management challenge: scheduling!

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CHAPTER 7

Scheduling and Time Management

WHEN I ASK SALES PROFESSIONALS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES of territory management I often get the same answer. The one challenge I hear most often is how to keep my calendar full all the time.

Fortunately there have been many improvements in technology that have made it easier to schedule.

The Arthritis of Field Sales - Scheduling

A few years ago, I injured my knee and had surgery to repair it. It was not a pleasant experience. My doctor told me that, as I get older, I may experience some arthritis in my knee. If this happens, there is medicine that can alleviate some of the pain.

So what does this have to do with scheduling appointments? Let me connect the two.

• Have you ever found yourself working the phones on your office day, trying to fill in your schedule for the next week?

• Have you ever had an unproductive meeting, scheduled by someone else, because the prospect wasn’t well qualified?


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• Have you ever started cold calling warm bodies, because you’re on the road with too few meetings planned?

If any of this sounds familiar, then you have what I call the arthritis of Field Sales—poor scheduling habits.

Fortunately, there is a way to alleviate the pain.

By developing an effective system and executing the right habits, you can minimize the pain of scheduling. However, if you have no system, scheduling can become debilitating.

The Two Most Important Habits

Make sure you develop these two scheduling habits:

1. Always schedule the next appointment before you leave the client’s office.

For this system to work, you must have your zones planned twenty days in advance. That way, you always know when you will be back in the area.

Preemptive scheduling habits will dramatically reduce your need to spend long hours on the phone trying to schedule appointments.

2. Be sure to establish the call objective for the next appointment while you are scheduling it.

A litmus test for good scheduling practices is when the client not only knows when, but also knows why you are coming back.

An appointment without a well-established call objective is tentative at best. Setting call objectives with your clients makes it less likely they’ll cancel the meeting.

Of course, you should be careful not to let the desire to schedule an appointment overcome your better judgment.

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If you recognize there is no reason to return on your next trip through the area, then don’t schedule another meeting.

Incorporating these two scheduling habits into your daily routine will allow you to confidently build a rock-solid appointment calendar that needs fill-in appointments that can be made face to face, over the phone, or by e-mail.

Methods of Scheduling

There are many ways to approach scheduling from the traditional do-it-yourself method to hiring a scheduler who keeps your appointment book.

Only you can decide which solution works best for you. Let’s briefly look at your alternatives:

Do-it-Yourself A majority of sales professionals manage their own schedules and set their own appointments.

Often, this means asking for the next appointment and setting a call objective while you’re sitting in the client’s office. It also

may mean that you spend part of your office day scheduling appointments.

One idea we promote in our program is to schedule an

hour of power on the phone every day. The hour of power is one hour each day that you spend on the phone without distractions.

Clearly, you can use some of the power hour for scheduling filler appointments. Sales professionals who have tried this approach swear by it.

ONE IDEA IS TO SCHEDULE AN HOUR OF POWER ON THE PHONE EVERY DAY.


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Hire a Scheduler Having someone else do your scheduling so you can maximize time spent in front of clients is a great idea.

In order to make it work, you have to find a scheduler who understands how to qualify prospects effectively. It is not enough to provide a list of “A”,“B”and “C” clients.

For your business to grow, you need to constantly improve your client base by converting strong prospects into clients.

That means your scheduler must know how to distinguish a good prospect from a poor one.

It goes without saying that he or she must also understand the zones in your territory so you can travel efficiently.

For a scheduler to bring real value to your business, he or she must be able to qualify prospects and schedule appointments with them.

In an ideal world, a scheduler will focus on getting appointments with top prospects first, and then on scheduling appointments with existing clients.

The Combination Approach In this model, the sales professional employs good scheduling habits, and books about two-thirds of his or her weekly appointments.

It is important to book the anchor appointments for each day. Any scheduling gaps are then filled by a support person.

Working in tandem with an internal sales partner should ensure high-quality appointments, but it also requires excellent communication, shared scheduling software, and regular downloads of scheduling information in order to avoid double-booking.

No matter which approach you take, it is essential to be disciplined about scheduling. Your success depends on it.

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CHAPTER 8

Systems for Success

A BIG FACTOR THAT SEPARATES THE BEST from the rest is they have the right support systems in place.

Consider Olympic athletes. In addition to natural talent and outstanding skills, world-class athletes give themselves an extra edge by incorporating the most up-to-date technology and information systems into their routines and programs.

They also have the best coaching, equipment and nutrition plans. The primary reason Olympic athletes are able to compete and win is that they have superlative support systems.

In this chapter and the next, we will explore three critical support systems you need to compete and win.

We will also cover the Referral Forest and a quarterly business plan.

In the next, we’ll talk about a system for working with an internal sales partner and sales manager.

The Referral Forest: Your Growth Engine

Great sales professionals recognize and act on the importance of prospecting for new clients daily. They intuitively know that they must do so in order to grow their business.


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They also know that they must have an organized system for prospecting in place or they run the risk of wasting time with the wrong people.

Once the right system is in place, they are prepared to pursue excellent new client relationships—relationships that have the potential to produce excellent results.

The system I have developed and used for the past twenty-six years is affectionately called the Referral Forest.

This system is without question the best way for you to find great new clients.

It is an easy system to implement and has helped many sales professionals move their business to the next level. Let’s take a closer look at what makes the Referral Forest so powerful.

The fundamental belief you must have before you implement the Referral Forest is that the best way to find new clients is through personal introductions and referrals.

Surprisingly, the majority of sales professionals working today do not act on this belief. Instead they continue to grind their way to new appointments with clients by cold calling or dropping in.

These are the same methods used back when I was in the field, and we wonder why clients are reluctant to meet with us. I think it is safe to say there is a better way.

The Referral Forest is a system built around a seven-step process. The seven steps are:

1. Client Segmentation 2. Seeding the Forest 3. Knowing how to ask for referrals 4. Executing a great first appointment 5. Following up with the right people 6. Tracking and measuring your results 7. Reseeding the Forest

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#1: Client Segmentation The good news is that we already covered this topic earlier in the book.

The clients we will be using for the Referral Forest are your Above the Line (ATL) clients. Put another way, these are your A and B clients.

We will also access your key centers of influence for seeding the forest.

#2: Seeding the Forest Do you know how each of us at some point has stood in front of the produce department in the supermarket and carefully selected the fruits and vegetables that looked best?

In a way, that is what step two is. With your ATL clients clearly identified, you seed your forest by carefully selecting the twenty clients that you have the best relationships with.

This does not necessarily mean your top twenty clients, although they will surely be well represented. It means those clients that:

• You enjoy the most • Have great respect for • Share the same values as you

I suggest you go through the seeding process three times to ensure you have the best relationships selected. You hopefully have at least twenty ATL clients. In the event that you do not, you will have to go down to BTLs for the difference to get to twenty.

The seeding process continues when you select the ten clients with whom you have great relationships, and who also represent great centers of influence.

These are the people who do not do business for you but have strong influence and knowledge of the clients in your territory.


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Sales managers, product coordinators, account managers, and other sales professionals are a few that come to mind.

The seeding process is complete when you have your list of twenty clients and ten centers of influence. Think of the thirty as new saplings you planted at the beginning of the year with great hopes of them growing to become giant Sequoias.

#3: Knowing how to ask for referrals A tremendous amount has been written about how to ask for referrals. I suggest you utilize any information available to you on the subject.

In terms of the Referral Forest, knowing how to ask for a referral comes down to being scripted.

To be comfortable asking for referrals, you need to have the words memorized and on the tip of your tongue. Winging it doesn’t work. In fact, your request will not be received well if it is not done thoughtfully while using the right words.

So how do you ask? You ask by using the words that you are comfortable with.

An example of the right words might be: “Are there any other people you know with a business like yours who would benefit from meeting with me?”

Needless to say there are endless ways to ask for referrals. You simply need to script your request and use it with confidence. By the way, your confidence will grow as you get used to asking.

#4: Executing a great first appointment As soon as you have received a referral or personal introduction, schedule an appointment with the prospect.

In the event that you have the opportunity to meet with a prospect at the same time you receive the referral, seize the opportunity. Most times this will not be the case.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of first appointments. I believe you get one shot at connecting with the

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prospect—and you either do or don’t. Your success or failure to connect comes down to one thing, your preparation.

There are many aspects to preparation for first appointments with the most important being asking the right questions.

Asking the right questions will connect you to what is most important to your client or proepect.

Suffice it to say, your ability to execute a great first appointment will determine your conversion ratio.

#5: Following up with the right people After completing your first appointment with a referral, you need to follow up immediately with the prospect and the client who referred you. Let’s talk about the prospect first.

After your first meeting I recommend the 1-3-7 follow up process. It works as follows:

• Day 1 - send an e-mail mentioning something important from the meeting and confirming your next appointment;

• Day 3 - send a personal written note thanking them for meeting with you;

• Day 7 - send another e-mail with a relevant article attached about something you learned during your first appointment. It can be an article that is personal or business-oriented.

This intense follow up separates you from the pack immediately. We have included a 1-3-7 Follow-up Worksheet in the appendix at the back of this book.

After the first meeting with the prospect, you now need to call the client who referred you and let them know how the meeting went.

When the prospect becomes a client, you need to go back again and think of a creative way of thanking the client who referred you.


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#6: Tracking and measuring results The success of the entire Referral Forest process is dependent on you holding yourself accountable.

The only way to do that is by tracking your results. This is not hard to do! All you need are a few tools that keep you focused.

Tracking begins by keeping a scorecard of all the referrals you receive from the twenty clients and ten centers of influence.

As you progress through the process, you will begin to convert some of these prospects into clients. This needs to be tracked carefully so you know your conversion ratio.

Finally, you simply need to measure how much business you received from the new clients. You can measure by product, sales or other relevant metric to your business.

Ideally your company has embraced a program, and all this is done inside your CRM. If you are fortunate enough to have this reporting available to you, then your ability to grow your business through this process is unlimited.

Even without the reporting, growing your business through referrals is mandatory not optional.

#7: Reseeding the Forest It is the end of the year and

you raised over $xx millions in new business just from the referrals in your forest. Now is the time to reseed your forest.

Quite simply, you go through the selection process again and come up with the best twenty relationships you have with clients and the best ten centers of influence.

I would recommend a quarterly frequency of reseeding for the first year, and a semi-annual reseeding thereafter. The more you replace dead wood in your forest, the stronger the forest will be!

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH REFERRALS IS MANDATORY NOT OPTIONAL.

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In summary, the Referral Forest is a critical system to have in place to grow your business.

The Quarterly Business Plan

I bet you just can’t wait until the end of the year so you can write another business plan.

Well, you will be happy to know that I no longer advocate annual business plans only. Long ago I decided that an annual business plan with quarterly updates was optimal for sales professionals.

Quite frankly, annual business plans become obsolete by mid-year. It just doesn’t make sense to put so much effort into a document that has such a short life. Therefore, I have a strong belief that sales professionals can be more effective by completing a plan with quarterly updates.

When it comes to business planning, I recommend including three basic sections: goals, strategy, and execution. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

Business Goals Every business plan should begin with a specific sales goal. As you delve into that number—determining where your business will come from—you need to describe sales by client, product, and geographic region.

Of course, no matter how you divide it up, your sales goals will not change. The beauty of this approach is that you get a three dimensional view of your business and where it will be generated.

Business Strategy A good business plan addresses strategy in three ways. Typically, you should have strategies for your clients, products, and geographic regions.

Essentially, your strategy should spell out how you intend to reach your goals.


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An oversimplified example of strategic planning might be: “I intend to achieve my goals by focusing on three focus firms using these two focus products in the top four zones in my territory.”

Business Execution The execution part of the business plan is simply defining the activity that needs to take place for your plan to come to fruition. The more specific the activity is defined, the better. For example, the plan may call for each top client to be contacted at least three times during the next quarter. Your time bank will drive most of your execution.

I have included a Quarterly Business Plan Template in the appendix for your benefit.

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CHAPTER 9

Working with an Internal Sales Partner WHAT A DIFFERENCE A GOOD inside sales partner makes! I doubt very much that anyone would argue that having a strong internal partner can be the difference between achieving your goals and not achieving your goals.

With that as a backdrop, let’s discuss how best to work with an internal sales partner.

The starting point for teamwork is a discussion between the two parties about what they expect from each other. Once expectations have been established, the game can

begin with everyone executing their roles properly.

After working with numerous sales teams, I have found that the best internal/external sales teams share systems and information seamlessly. Some of the most common shared systems are:

1. The business plan: Both you and your internal support person should be pursuing the same goals, strategies, and execution plans, as defined in your quarterly business plan. (It is important that your internal provides input on all business plans.)

A STRONG INTERNAL PARTNER CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACHIEVING AND NOT ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS.


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2. Client coverage: Your internal should target clients as you do, using the same client lists that describe your “A” and “B” clients, and so forth.

3. The same ideal advisor profile: This is the single most important shared tool, because it keeps both parties focused on finding and working with the right people.

4. A system for scheduling appointments: There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Work together to determine an effective approach.

5. A consistent system for appointment follow-up: The 1-3-7 process will help keep you and your internal on the right track.

6. A meeting follow-up system: This system should automatically kick in after effective group meetings.

7. An intelligence gathering system: This includes surveys, questionnaires, and feedback.

Of course there are many other topics that internal and external sales professionals need to communicate about, but this list is a good starting point.

The two most important factors that must be present for great teamwork to occur are mutual respect and appreciation.

Working with Your Sales Manager It is very appropriate that the last system of territory management I will address is how to best work with your sales manager.

Let me start by describing the four types of managers in the field today:

1. The Policeman: This micro-manager is difficult to work for and is constantly managing your activity instead of coaching you.

Ultimately communication comes to a halt between the two of you, because you become afraid to say anything,

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thinking it may be used against you. Suffice it to say that I hope you do not work for a policeman!

2. Clark Kent: Better known as Superman! If this is your manager, then you are used to them taking over your meetings and trying to save the day. They actually believe they are helping you by having you watch them do your work. This is okay every once in a while, but is negative if done all the time.

What Superman needs to do is to become a coach—watch you do your job and give you good advice. If you ask him/her to be your coach he/she might just do it!

3. The Non-Manager: The most common of all managers in the field today, this manager leaves you alone. Now some sales professionals may think this is good, but they are missing the big picture. That is, you will not get better fast enough without a coach. You need to ask your manager to travel with you and observe you in action and get her feedback on a regular basis.

You can also build a great relationship with your manager if you get him/her to coach you. I can attest to the benefits of coaching sales professionals, because I didn’t do it for the first three years I was a manager. I was a non-manager, and didn’t even know it until someone told me.

4. The Coach: If you are one of the lucky ones, your manager is a coach to you on a regular basis. Your chances of succeeding are measurably higher if you are being coached. I sincerely hope you experience the benefits of a true coach at some point in your career. I certainly would not be where I am today if I had not had the benefit of coaching!

So what are a few tips for working with your manager? Here are three that will make a difference:


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• Insist on traveling with them at least once a quarter. Be sure he or she is present for a group presentations and interview with one prospect on the trip.

• Ask for one of the trips to be three days in length. You will get to know your manager in a way that promotes great communication and trust.

• Volunteer to help in any way with sales meetings or other sales professionals. Everyone appreciates and remembers who volunteered for challenging tasks.

In short, the most important relationship you will have as a sales professional is with your manager.

This is the person who will make you better, as well as promote you to bigger things.

Make an extra effort to build a great relationship with this important person in your life!

We have included a Working with Your Team Worksheet at the back of this book.

Territory Management Summary Territory management is an ongoing challenge. I can assure you that mastery of the fundamentals is not easy. It takes a great deal of time and energy.

With enough effort however, you’ll discover that implementing these tried-and-true systems will allow you to haul in big fish while other sales professionals are still trying to get their lines in the water.

Ed Sierawski

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CHAPTER 10

Why Sales Professionals Do What They Do

DID YOU EVER WONDER, AS I DID, how certain people knew what they wanted to do for a living at a very early age?

I always felt a little envious of them, because it took me much

longer to decide what my calling in life was, let alone to understand what motivated me.

Although I have had many jobs in my career, the reason I do what I do hasn’t changed.

I believe that many of us migrate to the profession of sales because it provides us with an outlet to satisfy our strongest motivations and needs.

I always dreamed growing up that nothing would be better than being a professional golfer. I still feel that way!

Unfortunately, the golf skills talent train didn’t stop at my door and even with determined practice, it wasn’t going to be in the cards. Instead, I found the wonderful world of sales to be a highly satisfying choice in the early years of my career.

After field sales, my experience as a national sales manager was very motivating because I was able to see the work I did as a

THERE ARE VERY COMMON MOTIVATORS AMONG ALL SALES PROFESSIONALS.


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coach pay off for talented young people who I had the pleasure to manage.

From the sales management platform, I took the plunge as an entrepreneur. Not surprisingly, my company was dedicated to training sales professionals.

For the past twenty years, I have had the opportunity to ask more than 30,000 sales professionals why they do what they do; where they get their energy from; and what makes them feel great about their work.

I am happy to report that the sales professionals’ answers to these questions have been remarkably similar, which leads me to the conclusion there are very common motivators among all sales professionals.

Let’s discuss one debated topic about sales. That topic is that people choose to be sales professional just for the money. I would agree with that statement as it pertains to choosing to get into sales, but it doesn’t explain why so many people choose to remain in the field.

I would be the last to argue that money isn’t important to everyone—it is—but other jobs can also provide excellent income.

Why remain a sales professional when you could be so many other things in this world? I believe that many individuals choose to remain in sales because the job can provide unique rewards and benefits in addition to an above average income.

The question is: Beyond money, what are the motivators in the world of sales?

At Sequoia, we have discovered there are three primary motivators for sales professionals. They are as follows:

1. The need to be challenged to win and learn new things on a daily basis.

2. The satisfaction of making a difference in the world by contributing to others.

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3. The reward of developing great relationships with great people.

I hope as you read the above list, you could see one which describes you best. The fact is, all three can be motivating us at any time.

But typically one is more important to you than the others. It is that one that provides you with the majority of the energy and drive you need to get up and do your job every day.

It is helpful to understand these motivators so you can sustain yourself through the difficult times ahead. Let’s take a closer look at each of the three primary motivators.

Challenge Are you one of those sales professionals who loves to win? Well, join the club! Most of the sales professionals I know are highly competitive people who love to win. In fact, it is rare to find a sales professional who doesn’t.

Winning the game is quite simply a very strong motivator for many sales professionals. Their need to win is satisfied by being constantly challenged. Those challenges are varied and provide the ammo for them to stay motivated all the time.

Many highly competitive sales professionals also have a strong thirst for knowledge. They are constantly seeking out new information that will help them in their jobs. They are also great students of their industry—something that is highly valued by clients.

The only downside to this motivator is that the need to win is sometimes so great that these sales professionals are reluctant to share their best practices with their peers. They keep great ideas like successful voicemails, emails, positioning statements, time management and other strategies to themselves.

Good sales managers can help overcome this reluctance by helping sales professionals understand that when the team wins they win, and establishing rewards for team success.


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One final thought on learning as a motivator. In my experience, the desire to learn is extremely valuable.

It often seems to me that the big winners in sales are also the lifelong learners. Long after the wins have been counted, the opportunity to learn is still available.

Satisfaction The satisfaction of making a difference in the world by contributing to others.

You know them when you meet them. I remember riding with one of my sales reps and trying to figure out what motivated him.

He was not the most competitive person on the team and didn’t seek lots of accolades for achievement. So I asked him what got him out of bed in the morning, and he said it was because he believed he was making a difference.

Some sales professionals want to make a difference in the world. They desire to contribute to the success of their clients, their clients’ customers, and society as a whole.

Altruistic sales professionals are selfless, team players. They are willing to share strategies and ideas that have helped them achieve success, and will usually agree to take time to coach peers.

These sales professionals have the potential to be sales managers and coaches someday.

Outside of work, these individuals often spend time doing volunteer work. You can often find them coaching on Saturday mornings.

Reward The reward of developing great relationships with great people.

I like to say that sales professionals are connectors. They have the ability to connect with other people easily. That is why the

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most common of the three motivators mentioned by sales professionals over the years, has been their relationships with clients.

I find it interesting that sales professionals who work independently are so motivated by their clients. It seems almost contradictory that relationships are such strong motivators when sales professionals can lead solitary, nomadic lives—working from their homes and seeing different people every day.

However, sales professionals have a great need to build and sustain relationships with clients. Sales Professionals who are connected feel good and draw great energy from their relationships.

As a result, these sales professionals find themselves spending significant amounts of time with their best clients, in many different venues. In addition to business meetings, they host sporting events, golf outings, meals, and other types of entertainment while on the road.

If your relationships with your clients, sales manager, and peers provide you with the energy and incentive to sell, then your primary driver is most likely the rewards of relationships.

Understand Yourself It is safe to say that we all march to the beat of different drummers. What motivates you is unique to you. What is important is that you recognize why you do what you do.

When we know what makes us tick, we generally are happier and perform better at our jobs.


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Final Thoughts Congratulations, you just crossed the finish line reading the book. I sincerely hope you were able to discern a few takeaways that will help you going forward. It is my deepest wish that you have great success in your career as a sales professional. Long ago when I became a sales professional, little did I know what the ride would be like. What a ride it has been! One of the best choices I have made in my life was choosing to be a sales professional. I trust you feel the same way.

Ed Sierawski

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Appendix Throughout the book, I discussed a variety of tools and templates that will help you master the consultative selling process.

I hope you will use them, and improve on them throughout your career. On the following pages, you will find:

Mastering New Skills

Relationship Balance Worksheet

Segmentation Process Definitions and Worksheet

Ideal Client Profile Worksheet

The Time Bank Worksheet

Zone Analysis Worksheet

1-3-7 Follow-up Worksheet

Quarterly Business Plan Template

Working with Your Team Worksheet


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#1: Mastering New Skills

A Word (or Two) about Learning New Skills

Mastering a sales process takes time. You can expect to go through four stages as you become proficient.

• Unconsciously Incompetent: This is the stage of blissful ignorance. Your confidence may exceed your abilities, because you don’t know what you don’t know. For example, if you were unaware that there was a sales process for field sales before you picked up this book then you were unconsciously incompetent.

• Consciously Incompetent: When you decide to learn the skills required to become an effective sales professional, you become consciously incompetent. Initially, you may experience a drop in confidence. In this stage, you know how much you don’t know.

• Consciously Competent: In this stage, you begin to acquire the skills you need to be successful as a sales professional. You may have read this book or attended a training program. Now you must practice and consciously apply what you have learned. Don’t try to master everything at once. Focus on one thing at a time and rebuild your confidence.

• Unconsciously Competent. As your new skills become habits, you will become unconsciously competent. You will follow the process without even realizing that you are doing it. In this stage, your confidence and your abilities will peak.

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#2: Relationship Balance Sheet

Client Name________________________

Company______________________

Estimated Time Commitments

# Face to Face Appointments_____ Client Time Required_____

# Scheduled Calls / Webcasts_____ Client Time Required_____

# Events/Client, Company, etc._____ Client Time Required_____

Total Prep Time (all items) __________

Balanced Relationship Guidelines

Include any activities, financial or marketing support, promotions, references/testimonials, etc. that you have provided to your client and those that your client has provided to you. Be explicit and specific.

Your Contribution

Your Clients

Contribution

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric

Activity

Metric


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#3: Segmentation Process

A mathematical process for segmenting your clients is an efficient way to gain insight on who you should spend time with, and who you should focus on for building future business.

Step by Step Process

Step Action

1 Start with a rolling 12-month sales report stack ranked high to low

2 Multiply your sales for the past twelve months by 80%

3 Starting with your largest client and then working down, determine how many clients are required to reach 80% of your sales volume

4 Determine average sales of the 80% (divide the number of clients from Step 3 into the 80% of sales from Step 2)

5 Now count the number of clients above the average for this group (As) and the number of clients who are part of the 80% but below the average for the group (Bs)

6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the bottom 20% of your clients (how many of them make up the final 20% of production? What is the average for the group?)

7 Plot the results in four quadrants

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Quadrant Definitions A Highest Volume: Within the 80% and above the

average for the group

B High Volume: Within the 80% but below the average for the group

C On the Bubble: Part of the bottom 20% but above the average for the group

D Not Happening: Part of the bottom 20% and below the average for the group

Above the Line (ATL)

We label the group who makes up 80% of your production “Above the Line” (ATL) Clients, and those in the final 20% of your production “Below the Line” (BTL) Clients.

ATL Clients are comprised of “A” and “B” Clients as well as “High Potentials”. We recommend adding approximately 50 High Potentials to your ATL list.

Determine “The Factor”

The “Factor” is the differential in sales for your time.

Now let’s examine the average sales produced by an ATL client vs. a BTL client. We call this differential the “Factor.”

Example

• ATL average sales = $1.2 Million • BTL average sales = $75,000 • The Factor = $1.2 Million divided by $75,000 = 16

In this example, every unit of your time or labor spent with a client above the line produced 16 times the sales of a unit of time or labor spent with a client below the line.

Our observation is that top performers in a mature territory spend on average 50 – 60% of their time above the line with As, Bs and high potentials.


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Segmentation Worksheet

Total Sales = Total Clients =

ATL Clients =

BTL Clients =

The Factor = ____ (ATL Average ÷ BTL Average)

A’s

# =

Sales = $

% of sales =

B’s

# =

Sales = $

% of sales =

C’s

# =

Sales = $

% of sales =

D’s

# =

Sales = $

% of sales =

20% = $

BTL Average = $

80% = $

ATL Average = $

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#4: Ideal Client Profile

Begin developing your ideal client profile by completing the top client grids below. Then use that information to complete the profile sheet found on the next page.

Quantitative Criteria

Pull out your reports and think first about your top five clients. Complete the chart by describing key quantitative information about each of them. You may want to include sales volume, types of products, etc.

Clients Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria

1

2

3

4

5

Qualitative Criteria

Think about your top five clients. Complete the chart by describing key qualitative information about each of them. You may want to include hobbies, likes and dislikes, personal style, etc.

Clients Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria

1

2

3

4

5


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Ideal Advisor Profile Worksheet

Using the information gained from the top ten clients, create an Ideal Client Profile. Complete the form below as best possible.

Quantitative Criteria

Criteria Metric

Qualitative Criteria

Criteria Definition

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#5: The Time Bank Worksheet

Time Bank

# of Weeks / Year X # of Meetings /

Week =

Time Allocation

# of ATL Clients X # of Meetings / Year =

# of High Potentials X # of Meetings / Year =

# of Top Prospects X # of Meetings / Year =

# of Weekly Group Meetings / Presentations

X # of Weeks / Year =

# of Center of Influence Meetings X # of Meetings /

Year =

Total # of Meetings Allocated =

Meetings Remaining for BTLs =


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#6: Zone Analysis Worksheet

Zone Name

# of clients

% of total

clients

Zone Sales

% of total sales

# of meetings

% of total

meetings

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#7: 1-3-7 Follow-up Worksheet

What How* When**

* In person, Phone, online, email, voicemail, mail

** Day 1, Day 3, Day 7


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#8: Quarterly Business Plan Template NAME / TERRITORY: ______________________________________________ DATE:___________________________ Total Quarterly Sales Goal $________________ A. Specific Client Goals

1. $__________________ 2. $__________________ 3. $__________________ 4. $__________________ 5. $__________________ B. Product Goals

1. $__________________ 2. $__________________ 3. $__________________ 4. $__________________ 5. $__________________ C. Zone Goals

1. $__________________ 2. $__________________ 3. $__________________ 4. $__________________ 5. $__________________ 6. $__________________ 7. $__________________ 8. $__________________ 9. $__________________ 10. $__________________ Your quarterly goals by firm, product and zone should total to the same number.

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#9: Working With Your Team Worksheet

Sample Topics for Shared Understanding:

• Target markets and clients • Specific goals for firm, geography, etc. • Proper positioning for each team member • Follow-through system for appointments • Process for gathering and sharing intelligence • Business planning process (create, review, revise) • Partnership roles and responsibilities

Shared Expectations:

Field Sales Professional

Expectations

Sales Manager / Internal Partner

Expectations

the 80/20 sales professional - the sequoia system · 2016. 3. 2. · ed sierawski is founder and...

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