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Chunking Down Your Sales Activities in 2020

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

Chunking Down Your Sales Activities in 2020

As with 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 - 3 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 sounds like a lot; however, chunking it down equates to only 4 new contacts per sales day. This is based on 250 work days, 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 work-space to track you 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 work-space 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 work space 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!

Call Me After the Holidays

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

Call Me After the Holidays

If you haven’t heard this comment from a prospect or customer yet, you soon will.

They may not want to see you until January; however, you certainly can try to set an appointment now for a future time in January.

It also is a common excuse not to see you at all. So, try to uncover the objection up front without being pushy.

Next time you hear this comment, instead of just calling back in January, consider a response similar to… “I certainly understand. Can we schedule a time now for a meeting after the holidays?”

Having appointments set up for the first couple of weeks in January will help you start the year strong. Otherwise, you may not be able to see these people until late January or even February – losing valuable time. If you sell a product or service with a recurring, repetitive, or a trailing revenue stream, getting a fast start to your year is critical. Mathematically, the first quarter of the year can be worth as much as 42% of your annual revenue opportunity or potential.

Lay the foundation now for a great 2020!

Have a great sales week & enjoy the holiday season!

What Sales People can learn from Kicking a Field Goal

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

What Sales People can learn from Kicking a Field Goal

A lot of moving parts are involved with kicking a field goal in football. As fans, many times we take short field goals for granted, calling them "chip shots" – and think & say "just take the easy 3 points." It’s simple for us to say this as fans.

In addition to the offensive line providing exceptional blocking, 3 additional important steps must be executed perfectly to ensure success:

1. The Snap
2. The Hold
3. The Kick

The same overall mechanics are involved with kicking a 20-yard field goal as compared with a 50-yard field goal. The only modification is how the kicker connects with the ball (adjusting the connection point with the ball for kick distance and height).

If any of these steps are not executed perfectly, you may miss the kick. In some cases, this missed kick can cost your team the game.

In sales, we need to make sure we don’t take any short cuts or miss any steps with our sales process. Please don’t take anything for granted, and execute all steps of your sales plan perfectly to close the sale – the outcome of the "game" may depend on it!

Happy Selling!

Ten Things That Require Zero Talent

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

I saw this at a client's office, and had to share…

Ten Things That Require Zero Talent

1. Being on Time
2. Work Ethic
3. Effort
4. Body Language
5. Energy
6. Attitude
7. Passion
8. Being Coachable
9. Doing Extra
10. Being Prepared

I agree with this list. Some of the items may be redundant, but it stresses how important the things are that we all can easily control when at work. It's also why I'm a proponent of the saying "Hire for attitude and train for skill."

Happy Selling!

What Sales People can learn from Dogs

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

What Sales People can learn from Dogs

As a dog lover, I can tell you that dogs have two qualities that can be translated into the sales world:

1. Understanding how they can benefit (what's in it for them).
2. An incredible sense of loyalty.

First, dogs seem to always want to know, "what’s in it for me?" The opening of a cellophane or plastic bag may signify something different to a dog than to its owner (i.e. potato chips versus doggie treats). They recognize the sound of the crumpling even before they smell the contents. If it's meant for them (or if it's dropped on the floor one too many times, and they think it's theirs) they'll come running. If it's something not intended for them (or they don't like it) they'll continue with their current activity and not pay attention.

Second, the simple fact is that dogs are loyal to the ones who feed them, play with them, and care for them. They'll protect their owners, unconditionally love their owners, and always stand by (or lay down by) their owners.

These qualities can be translated to how sales people should work with the customers:

1. Understand what’s important to your customers - and satisfy their needs through benefit-rich applications.
2. Create trust and rapport with your customers - which will translate into long-term loyal relationships.

Have a great sales week!

What Sales People Can Learn From 1st Responders

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

What Sales People Can Learn From 1st Responders

1st Responders (Police, Fire, and EMT) 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. Be prepared at all times – Have your “sales tools” accessible with you in the field. Consider using a check-list to make sure you have extra business cards, sales collateral pads of paper & pens, 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. 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. Always listen first, ask good questions and then follow your plan or process. This will help eliminate operating on emotion or adrenaline.
4. Stabilize the situation 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!

Just one call a day!

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

Just one call a day!

That's approximately 250 calls per year. Good things will happen when you make 250 new prospecting calls per year (even better is 2 per day = 500 per year, and so on...).

I have a client that no matter how busy they with their current clients, makes 1 ice-cold prospecting call per day. She calls it her "Random Call of the Day" and it usually is at about 9:30 every morning (when it's time to refill her coffee). So far for the year, she has converted 18% of these calls to clients, and another 13% are in the current pipeline. That's nearly one third of her total calls resulting in sales or future potential. These are excellent results for prospecting calls! The secret to her success is that she has no fear whatsoever making 1 call. She truly believes that the worse thing that can happen is that they say "no" or don't return her call. That's okay with her, because the answer was already "no" before she made the call. "Anything I get is a bonus" she says.

Build a list of prospects, and be dedicated to calling a set number each day - I'm confident that good things will happen for you.

In the words of Col. Hannibal Smith of the A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Have a great sales day!

First Impression - What’s in a Name?

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

First Impression - What's in a Name?

How do you feel when someone contacts you, and butchers your name? What’s your first impression of them, and how does this impact a potential business relationship?

Let’s talk about "Katelin." Since I'm excited to have a Katelin joining my family in May, we'll use her spelling for this Blog only. According to Google, Katelin has over 100 different spelling options. http://www.namenerds.com/irish/Katelyn.html

Just as an example, below are the top 12 Katelin's that I know (in no particular order):

• Katelin
• Katelyn
• Katelynn
• Kaytlin
• Kaitlyn
• Kaitlin
• Katlin
• Katlyn
• Kaitlan
• Caitlin
• Caitlyn
• Caitlan

To assist you with your initial contact, I suggest the following tips for communicating with Katelin (or any other name out there with multiple spelling options):

1. If you speak with them on the phone, ask them for the spelling of their name (don't assume).
2. Don't question the spelling of their name, for them it's the correct spelling.
3. Don't shorten their name (for your convenience) without asking them how they preferred to be addressed.
4. If you are responding to an email from Katelin with a signature line clearly showing her name, don't misspell it. This seems like a real "duh" tip, but this happens way too often and reflects on the sender's attention to detail.
5. For more unfamiliar names, consider Google for a pronunciation before you call. (Or, ask the attendant before you are transferred for pronunciation and spelling.)

It's hard to repair a first impression. So, don't shoot yourself in the foot with something that's so easy to avoid.

Have a great sales week!

Why I broke up with my insurance company

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

Why I broke up with my insurance company

My insurance agent was surprised I left. My bills have been steadily increasing, and I started shopping. Bottom line: all of the companies I called were less expensive, and I ended up selecting a highly-rated company that was 27% less expensive for the same coverage.

The agent asked why I didn't call her as she had other options that she could've offered me. This was a name-brand insurance company not an independent broker. I know some agencies have other options, but is it the responsibility of the customer to call the provider? If I wanted to get into a longer conversation with her I could've asked why she didn't proactively offer lower rates or different options. In the past when I did ask if there were ways to trim my bill without impacting my coverage I was told that all discounts were applied. I never was told there were other companies they could offer.

They have always been helpful with claim issues and any changes I have initiated; however, I haven't received any proactive calls from them in the last few years. I guess they assume I'll stick with them, and pay the increasing bills. Years ago, I had a great business relationship with the agency owner who contacted me on a regular basis and provided value. The agency was sold a few years ago, and the new owner has never contacted me or anyone in my family who use the same agency. They must have assumed the agent would maintain the relationship.

Why do I (the customer) need to maintain the relationship? It's the responsibility of the business and the sales people to maintain the relationship with their customers. Especially today, when we have the technology to make buying decisions without speaking with anyone or even having a relationship.

If I perceive value, I'll pay a higher price. If I don't perceive value, it's just a commodity and I'll look for the best price.

The sales coaching point of this blog is to never take your customers for granted. Contact them on a regular basis to see what's new or different, and how you can further assist them with their needs. If there are some issues that the customer has with your company, you have an earlier opportunity to rectify them. Provide continuous value to your product or service offering, and don't give your customer reasons to leave you.

Have a great sales week!

OMG - There’s only 11 months left in 2019!

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

OMG - There’s only 11 months left in 2019!

Shake those holiday cobwebs away and ask yourself how you're doing so far in the new year. There are only 11 full months left in the sales year for 2019 (8% of the year has already past). So, if you're not on track now – let's fix it.

Goal setting is important (and hopefully your goals are set for the year). However, it's important to focus on your sub-goals and activities to reach those annual goals. Exceeding sales revenue targets are the most important results to focus on, but the activities to get there also need attention. These targets could be monthly, weekly, or even daily to make sure you obtain the longer term goals. One of my favorite terms is to "chunk it down." An example of "chunking it down" is to say that contacting 1000 new prospects in 2019 equates to only 4 per day.

Generally, I suggest setting and monitoring activity goals on a weekly basis, so these important components of your sales process are in smaller and more attainable numbers. Depending on the type of activity, focus your efforts in the more productive times of the day (or days of the week). For example, in some industries, phone calls may have a higher success rate on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. If you make these calls throughout the week, you won’t find yourself scrambling on Friday afternoon trying to do a week's worth of activities (in what could be a less productive timeframe).

Keep track of your results (a great way to calculate your success rates), and celebrate each step of moving your sales process forward. Short term wins lead to long term success.

If you need some tracking forms, please let me know.

Have a great sales week!