Need Sales? Get Leeds!

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

This blog title may sound familiar – it’s a 70’s song title from the group Chicago…

Daylight Savings Time started this past Sunday for most of the USA. I’ve assembled some helpful tips to keep in mind when dealing with customers or prospects across the country.

48 of the 50 states follow Daylight Savings Time (DST). The exceptions are Arizona and Hawaii, along some of the Native American Reservations, and the U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

1. When making phone calls across the country, maximize your results by considering the time zone you’re calling. For example, west coast salespeople may want to start their day by calling the east coast. Since it’s coming up on lunch time in the Eastern Time Zone and nearly half of their workday may be over. (If you specialize in calling back east, you may want to alter your workday and get an early start – vice versa if you’re calling from east to west.)
2. Never assume that the number you are calling is physically located in that area code or time zone. With the portability and mobility of today’s wireless technology, many people keep their established cell phone numbers when they relocate (in addition to traveling). For example, one of my neighbors here in Scottsdale has a 310 area code (Los Angeles) for his work/cell number. He relocated here from L.A. a couple of years ago and his number is well circulated among his client base. If you’re not sure about someone’s location, ask what time zone they’re in. This is very common today, and soon area codes as whole may be totally blurred or irrelevant.
3. When making a phone appointment, always use the customer’s time zone as a reference point. To reduce confusion (especially if you’re in AZ or HI), you do the math. For instance, I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday at 10:00am your time (or Central Time).
4. If you’re in one of the areas that does not participate in Daylight Savings, using the name of your “standard” time zone can be very confusing and can create many issues. For example, if I schedule a conference call and state that it starts at 8:00am Mountain Standard Time (since AZ isn’t on DST), my call participants may think I really meant Mountain Daylight Time and I’ll be an hour late. If you’re located in AZ, I suggest that you eliminate the confusion by adopting Pacific Daylight Time as your time zone (as opposed to repeatedly explaining to people that we’re still on Mountain Standard Time).
5. Take advantage of the additional hour when calling your customers in the European Economic Community during this period of DST.
6. In the last few years, DST has been extended by a few weeks. The time will change back to Standard Time on November 5, 2023. (Unless changed by Congress.)

Have a great sales day!

Chunking Down Your Sales Activities in 2023

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Chunking Down Your Sales Activities in 2023

When exceeding sales quotas, there are two major challenges when looking at sales activities required to exceed quotas on an annual basis. First, the number can seem impossibly large and unattainable. Second, the large number of months remaining in the year can reduce the sense of urgency for immediate success.

When walking, I have different routes that range from 1.5 - 5 miles. I know these routes well, and can gauge at any point how far I've walked, how much further I have to go and how much time it will take. This gives me a sense of accomplishment, and helps me reach my target. On a shorter route that requires several laps to equal a mile, the sense of accomplishment can be even more immediate. It’s very easy to say, "just 1 more" and really stretch the target.

As mentioned before, when looking at annual sales activities that are needed to drive annual sales results, the number can seem overwhelming. For instance, it may be necessary to make 1,000 new contact attempts in a calendar year to assist with achieving a sales quota. Good things will happen to your sales results if you attempt 1,000 new quality contacts over the course of a year. 1,000 contacts may sound like a lot; however, chunking it down equates to only 4 new contacts per sales day. This is based on 250 workdays and is a very attainable number. This method works well if you can discipline yourself to achieve the daily activity, and will lead to 20 contacts per week. If some days are more challenging than others during the week for calls, you can spread the 20 contacts in different amounts for each day over the course of the week. The important item in this topic is to make sure you hit your daily target, and not wait until Friday to accomplish a week's worth of contacts. (At this point, the activity may not be completed or not completed at the quality level that is needed.)

After you calculate your "chunked down" sales activity target, consider the methods below to assist you with improved short-term success. These methods can be used on a weekly basis, but daily is highly recommended if your schedule permits.

1. Stroke Tally. Use a whiteboard, spreadsheet, or simple pad of paper that is visible and accessible in your workspace to track your success. You can track contact attempts, people reached or both. 
2. Marbles or Pebbles. This method involves moving items from one container to another container to track success as each activity is completed. Colorful marbles or pebbles in some sort of festive container that is visible and accessible in your workspace can help keep you motivated. 
3. Playing Cards or Flash Cards. For this method, you use cards to create a "count-down" of activities that need to be accomplished. A suit within a deck of playing cards gives you up to 13 (starting with the King as 13 and working downward through the suit to an Ace as a 1). Punch a hole in the upper corner of the cards and connect with a key ring or loop. Starting with the King (or whatever your highest activity number is), you can flip the cards over through the Ace to get to a blank card (which I recommend customizing to celebrate your accomplishment). Keep the key ring/loop with the cards on a hook in your workspace so they are always visible and accessible to help motivate you.

With any of these methods, your co-workers or teammates can also see your progress, celebrate your success, and help keep you on track. Using your imagination, there may be other methods you can develop to track your sales activities. The bottom line is to keep yourself motivated to attain daily/weekly targets - so whatever works best for you!

As with sales quotas, you can "over assign" the activity numbers. Rounding up or using higher numbers will help you compensate for vacation and holiday times. The results of "chunking it down" will dramatically improve your chances of blowing through your sales quota and maximizing your sales commission earnings potential.

Have a great sales week!

Aim for your Goal (not just your quota).

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Aim for your Goal (not just your quota).

It's more than just semantics; these words have very different meanings yet are often confused in the sales world.

"Quota" is basically what the sales plan calls for a company (or a salesperson) to attain or reach a certain level of profitability. Essentially, this is the number that salespeople need to hit to keep their jobs. Another word that can be used in this scenario is "Expectation."

A "Goal" in the sales context is the number people should aspire to reach. It should be greater than the quota. As an example, a sales "quota" could be $1 Million - while the "goal" could be $1.2 Million.

Using the numbers above, a person could attain 98% of their "goal" ($1.18M), yet they still exceed their "quota" and finish the year at 118%. If a person uses the term "goal" in place of the word "expectation," it would be like receiving a kickoff at your own goal line and running it all the way to the other team's 2-yard line as the game clock expired – you didn't score (you were short by 2 yards).

Many years ago, I coached Girl's Softball. A challenge we faced was that the girls were getting thrown out frequently at first base. They seemed to slow down as they approached first base. So, I ran a drill that Softball and Baseball coaches everywhere probably run their teams through. I used my shoe to draw a line in the dirt about 10 feet past first base. This line was the point that I asked the girls to run to (and then look at the base coach to see if they should head towards second base or hold up at first by turning out). The result was that the girls were running at "full steam" when they hit first base. The goal was now a point beyond first base.

Your sales goal in 2023 should be a number greater than your sales quota/expectation. Blow through your quota – and shoot to exceed your goal!

Happy New Year & have a great sales week!

What Salespeople Can Learn From Following Instructions

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

What Salespeople Can Learn From Following Instructions

Assembly instructions are usually more trouble for some of us then they’re worth. It takes too long to follow the directions, they're too elementary, and most of us think it's pretty obvious what we need to do. That's why most of the time I don't bother looking at assembly instructions. Usually, I find looking at the picture, and using my creative talents will work just fine with assembling the project. So what if there are a few spare parts? I've always believed this to be a bonus from the manufacturer in case you misplace a part, or that they are just trying to mess with us by letting us think we forgot something.

Sometimes, you'll even find instructions about the location that you should assemble your product – like we're idiots. Okay, I'm guilty of this one… Back in the '80's, I assembled my daughter's crib while watching a Phoenix Suns Basketball game in the family room. It became apparent that I had a problem when I tried to fit the crib through the doorway of the nursery. So, I had the opportunity to take most of it apart and assemble it again. It wasn’t until later that I saw a suggestion in the directions (when I filled out the warranty card) that you should assemble the crib in the room where it will reside (a great tip).

Normally, my policy has been that instructions are merely suggestions, but not something that we need to follow. My practice has been to open the box, toss out the instructions, and begin building a creative masterpiece. Most of the time, this practice has worked out just fine for me. The only exception to this practice has been when it involves health and safety issues (like assembling a gas BBQ, swing set, and now we can add crib to the list).

Recently I had the opportunity to assemble an Elliptical Cross-Training piece of exercise equipment. Since this fell within my "health and safety" guidelines, as well as some encouragement from my wife, I actually followed the assembly instructions. While this seemed to take a little longer than my usual method, I found these instructions to be very well laid out. The process went smoothly, there were no injuries, everything fit, and there were no "extra" parts or surprises. The instructions began with organizing the parts, informing me of the required tools, and then a step-by-step set of assembly instructions. What a brilliant concept!

This process may actually work in many sales situations. Plan your work – then work your plan. Follow a process to make sure you don’t miss anything, and that you are providing the best alternative and service for your customer. Curve balls will be thrown at you from time-to-time (so you need to be able to think on your feet and respond accordingly). However, most of the time, "this process thing" will work well for you. An effective sales plan will save you time, improve the level of services you provide to your customers, improve your sales results, and reduce the number of "surprises" you may encounter.  

Have a great sales week!

What Salespeople Can Learn From 1st Responders

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

What Salespeople Can Learn From 1st Responders

1st Responders (Police, Fire, and EMTs) spend countless hours training and preparing, so they can calmly and professionally handle situations as they arise. Sales professionals can utilize a similar approach to improve sales situations. Consider the steps below to assist your efforts:

1. Always be prepared – Have your “sales tools” accessible with you in the field. Consider using a checklist to make sure you have extra business cards, sales collateral pads of paper & pens, laptop/tablet (+ associated connection cables), and any product samples with you (or in your car).
2. Always assess the situation before you react – Gather information and avoid knee-jerk reactions. Understand the emotional climate of the customer and realize that timing is everything.
3. Always rely on your training, react accordingly, and follow protocol – Most situations have some common denominator that you have either seen, or prepared for in the past. Concentrate on listening first, ask good, targeted questions and then follow your plan or process. This will help eliminate operating on emotion or adrenaline.
4. Always stabilize the situation first and escalate or call for back-up as appropriate - Escalate to a Subject Matter Expert or member of your management team for additional support (don’t wing it). An alternative would be to let the customer know you will find the answer for them and will contact them within a specific timeframe.

Have a great Sales Day!

Update: Get Creative with Your Sales Approach

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Update: Get Creative with Your Sales Approach

This is a follow-up to my September 14^th Blog about the creative approach a client used to get an introduction appointment. Please scroll down to see the details on my site.

So, Ohio State defeated Michigan State 49-20 on October 8^th.

Jeff sucked it up and contacted the VP to set up the catered team lunch. The VP was very gracious and only invited 3 other key senior members from his team to the lunch meeting. The lunch-and-learn meeting lasted over 2 hours and covered the prospect’s current projects and how Jeff and his company could potentially assist their efforts.

After asking some great open-ended questions, and following up with some even greater secondary questions, Jeff found some potential openings to address current challenges.

The 2 companies are now in the process of reviewing some project quotes.

Way to get your foot in the door Jeff!

Have a great sales week!

Get Creative with Your Sales Approach

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

Get Creative with Your Sales Approach

I want to share a recent success story with you that involved persistence and creativity.

Jeff is a Senior Level Business Development Executive in the technology field. He has been aggressively working his territory and is having a successful year. One of Jeff’s target prospects, a VP of an automation company has been non-responsive to all prospecting attempts. The guy keeps reading Jeff’s emails but never responds and always ignores his calls. Key point – Jeff is still making prospecting calls. Unfortunately, with many salespeople out there today, this seems to be a lost art and an important tool that is avoided by too many.

Jeff has extensively researched this company and knows he can be a valuable partner through his service offerings.

So, he got creative:

• Jeff discovered through social media that the VP graduated from Ohio State.
• As an alum from Michigan State, Jeff got excited and thought of an out-of-the box idea.
• The game between these currently ranked football teams is scheduled for October 8th.
• Jeff emailed the VP and proposed a bet. If Michigan State wins, they meet for lunch. If Ohio State wins, Jeff will cater lunch for his team.

The VP took the bet!

While Jeff is more of a college basketball fan, his Michigan State football team is predicted to have a good season. He also knows how serious people from Columbus, Ohio take their college football. Best case scenario – a lunch meeting costs around $80. Worst case scenario, a catered lunch for around $300 (but the VP’s whole team will get to meet Jeff… and at some point, they probably will cater a team lunch regardless).

It's a great idea when checking out social media sites to do a deeper dive than just where people currently work or live. Look for schools attended, items posted, common interests, common work history, volunteer passions, organizations they mention, people/companies they follow or anything that could be used as an ice breaker. Those items are posted for a reason - so get creative!

Have a great sales week!

It all can start with a smile and a kind word.

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

It all can start with a smile and a kind word.

A smile and/or a kind word can melt an iceberg and help set the tone for a great conversation. In many customer interactions (especially on the customer service side of things) there is unnecessary tension, and that first word or even that first look is critical to the success of the conversation.

First – let's change our negative expectation when it comes to what we believe can be a challenging customer service interaction. From the service provider perspective – let's assume the customer wants to hear "yes" and have their issue handled. From the customer perspective – let's assume the service provider wants to say "yes" and help you. For the most part, people on either side of this exchange don't plan to be tense and terse when they start out their day, and they both want the conversation to be successful.

Second – even if the other person is tense and terse, it doesn’t mean you have to be. Try "killing them with kindness." Many times, you'll find the other person immediately backs off, is much more pleasant to deal with, and your experience is dramatically improved.

Third – anticipate and prepare for the situation. If you know there is going to be a long line (like store returns after the holidays or when tickets go on sale for a special event) - deal with it. Otherwise, consider going at an off-peak time, try an alternate method (over the phone/internet), or bring a book to read. Unfortunately, some organizations are under-staffed, but this isn't the time or place to take it out on the people you’re currently dealing with (from either side of the conversation). A later conversation with the appropriately empowered people may certainly be in order.

This blog was inspired by a trip to the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD, or to some of you in other states, the DMV). I got there a few minutes before they opened, and there was already a line of nearly 50 people. Tension and attitude was already in the air when the doors opened at 8:00am. The employees were acting defensive and blaming what would be our long wait time on budget cuts. The "customers" were agitated at the MVD people because there was a wait – as well as the poor attitude being displayed by some of the employees. Both sides of the room seemed to be braced for confrontation - the time was now 8:05am.

When I got to the information counter to get my number, I smiled at the person behind the counter and said "good morning." These were not the words she expected from me, and she appeared to be pleasantly shocked. She asked how she could help me this morning as opposed to how she greeted the person before me in line with a "next" and "what do you need?"

While waiting for my number to be called, the people next to me were really agitated by how long this was all taking, how late they were going to be for their next appointment, and how slow these MVD people were. They started talking to me about the wait and who was at fault – when they shared with me why they were at the MVD this morning. Okay, this is when it got really interesting. The issue they came in for could have easily been handled over the internet or over the phone. So, very carefully, I asked them if they had tried to accomplish this task on-line. They then got mad at me; because they didn't know they could do that. They verified my information with an MVD employee and stormed out of the building – the time was now 8:12am.

My issue was handled and I was out the door at 8:25am (frankly, I thought it would take longer). Since I'm a fairly impatient person, I do wish I could've handled it on-line and of course I wanted faster service. (I'm still convinced that pressing the elevator button more than once will make it go faster.)

However, there are some things that we can handle differently. It's amazing how some people can respond to certain issues and will not take any ownership. Look, like it or not, there were budget cuts at the MVD, and there is going to be some additional work for the staff and longer wait times for the customers. It's usually not the fault of the particular person you're dealing with, and the success of a customer experience depends on both parties.

You know what they say about first impressions – so let's practice it. It all can start with a smile and a kind word.

Have a great sales week!

“No” is the Second-Best Response

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

"No" is the Second-Best Response

The best response you can get in the sales world is a "yes." However, the second-best answer is a "no." What can drive salespeople crazy is either no answer/response or some sort of delay from the person they're trying to reach (this is third, or least desired, option). This can occur because the prospect may not truly understand how you can assist them, they're not a qualified prospect, they're busy and have other priorities now, or they're just trying to be nice and don't want to say "no."

By the way, if you do get a "no" - it may just be "no" for now, not "no" forever.

When we get a delay, it may be that there is not a sense of urgency for the prospect. Re-focus your conversation on how and why your solution will create a tangible (quantifiable) benefit for them.

If you think they're just trying to be nice (and just won't say no) find out what they like the best about your proposal, and how they think it would benefit them. Solving customer problems and fulfilling customer needs are critical to your successful sales efforts. If they can't anything they like about your proposal, it may get them to a "no" or you can ask them a question that will help them say "no."

Hearing a "no" from your customer may not be the best answer you can get, but it will certainly save you time, save you frustration, and help keep your sales pipeline more realistic.

Have a great sales week!

It’s Halftime of 2022! How are you doing?

Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching

It’s Halftime of 2022! How are you doing?

It’s time to reflect on the 1^st 6 months of 2022, celebrate your success and make any course corrections for the 2^nd half.

• Evaluate what opportunities did not materialize in the 1^st half, and why?
• If you have a quota shortfall, add the number to the last 6 months.
• If you don't have a quota shortfall, act like you do for the 2^nd half and keep your foot on the accelerator.
• Revisit your sales activities – are you making your day/weekly activity goals?
• Identify and pursue an account that you’ve avoided or experienced reluctance in contacting.
• Visualize what you'll do if you finish the year strong and post pictures of if (vacation destination or special purchase).
• Look at your work schedule, how a would 5-10% increase in hours help your results?
• Explore sales coaching to assist with your sales results 😊

 Have a Great 4^th of July Weekend!