An eBook from Antarctic Mike & Dionne Mischler

Sales Conditioning

For the 21st Century

Change your paradigm & habits to see results

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward

1.New 21st Century Business Landscape

2.The right profile…the right people

3.Creating and Sustaining Sales Lift

4.The Penguin Principle

5.Conclusion

FORWARDMike and I met at last year’s AA-ISP Leadership Summit, we spoke on a panel together about the importance of Training & Hiring. Funny enough, still a very relevant topic today. We kept in touch as the year went on, caught up at the end of February and began comparing notes.

Mike’s business is more seasoned than mine by about 20 years, however, what we’re seeing in the market place – from small companies to large, from manufacturing to technology industries – is similar. And our approach in talking with prospects, clients, groups, is very similar. The selling landscape in the 21st century is different; as a company and a professional sales person, you had better have your act together when it comes to working with and for your customers, or else they WILL go somewhere else. And tell their followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr….you get the idea.

As Mike and I were talking, we thought it would be a great idea to package up our shared learned experiences and provide a tangible, working plan, for you to take and run with. Either on your own or with us, the choice is completely up to you; we’re firm believers in giving away the farm to make others successful.

So begins our journey as we dive into the changed landscape and what to do about it!

Thank you for being with us and we look forward to going down this path together.

Dionne MischlerFounder, Inside Sales by DesignAA-ISP OC Chapter President

www.linkedin.com/in/dionnemischler/en @DionneMischler

“Antarctic” Mike PierceFounder Antarctic Mike SpeaksAA-ISP San Diego Chapter President

www.linkedin.com/in/antarcticmike/en@DionneMischler

CHAPTER ONE

The 21st Century Landscape had changedAre you and your team properly

conditioned?

Our customers have changed

Research and study after study, prove out (at least) two important items. There IS a Training & Development gap and the selling/buying landscape has changed. And it isn’t going back to the way it was.

Let’s start with the selling/buying landscape.

Pick a study, and you’ll see the results telling all of us that customers are approximately 70% through their buying cycle before they EVER talk with a sales person.

Here’s what that means. Your professional Sales team MUST be prepared to talk with customers, listen, and affirm what they already know. In addition to providing expert guidance when customers ask for an expert opinion about your product or service.

As a company, are you training and conditioning your teams to exceed the customers’ expectations?

To paraphrase Gitomer: “People don’t like to be sold, but they do like to buy”.

Have you adapted? Yet.

Let’s debunk the myth that sales people are born. Dan Pink’s book, To Sell is Human, dispels that myth in addition to what it takes to be a sales person in the 21st century. And as companies have scaled back or gotten rid of Sales Training & Development, it rests on your shoulders, as a professional, to own and hone your craft.

So let’s call is something else, Sales Conditioning. And approach our professional conditioning with focus, determination, grit, and mental strength.

As I’ve said in the past: “Have some clear expectations and you’ll be amazed how your people exceed them.”

Additionally, there is accountability of leaders and organizations to embrace this new era and coach your people accordingly. (There are additional components of managing up, technology, sales process, organizational structure and more that come into play, however, for purposes of this ebook, we’re focusing on Sales Conditioning.)

Let’s get started……

CHAPTER TWO

START WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Ideal profile of an Inside Sales Person*

“The challenge facing Inside Sales Leaders around finding qualified talent is staggering. In essence, today’s Inside Sales person has to not only have phone,

e-mail, and internet competencies, but also the “chops” once seen in the very best field sales people.”

Paul Macura, Vice President, Oracle Direct

*AA-ISP Training, Development and Accreditation Webinar 8/14

Ideal profile of an Inside Sales Person*

*AA-ISP Training, Development and Accreditation Webinar 8/14

The Old Inside Sales• Good communicator• Good on the phone• Some sales experience

The New Inside Sales• Excellent communicator• Great on the phone• Quota carrying inside sales experience• Virtual presentation expertise• Social Media skilled• Video Capable• Negotiating• Closing• Relationship/Account Management• New Buyer Requirements

Doing the job vs getting the job

Many managers make decisions about hiring, team structure, and even promotions based solely on interviews, a resume and past performance. Add to that our biases, emotions, and other subjective matters, and it’s no wonder that many hiring and promotion mistakes are made often. Most hiring and promotion decisions are based on someone’s ability to get the job instead of doing the job. The key is to objectively define the job first, then objectively define the profile of the ideal individual.

How many times have you made a hiring hiring or promotion decision thinking you knew the person, only to discover it was the wrong person for the job? What did it cost you? More

importantly, what did it teach so that you wouldn’t make the same mistake again?

First, start by objectively defining the job, with specific objectives that are numerically measured. For example, “sell 5 deals within a 12-month period with a minimum price per deal at $250,000, and hitting annual revenues of $1,500,000.” That is specific and is a great start to defining the job.

Second, you have to objectively define the person. This is a multi-step process that can take a while. One of the imperative steps needed sooner than later is having the person in question take an accurate and thorough personality assessment. It is like having an MRI taken before the surgery. Work style personality testing has come into vogue in the last ten years for this reason. The typical personality test provides scores across 8 scales. More solid assessments measure people across more scales, giving a more accurate picture of who this person is and what they are capable of.

Taking an objective look at someone

The last time you went into a doctor’s office for a visit, chances are it was short…very short.With the rising costs of medical care, it is not uncommon that many physicians are on a schedule that sees patients for as little as 10 minutes. In come cases, it’s shorter. If after a10 minute visit, the doctor told you that you’d need a very complicated surgical procedure, and that he was going to start operating immediately? You’d NEVER agree to that. You’d insist that he takes more tests, examines you more carefully and likely takes an MRI to get a more accurate picture of what was going on inside you.

When it comes to hiring and promoting people, managers often make decisions much faster than physicians visits last. In fact, the average amount of time it takes to make a

hiring decision is measured in seconds, not minutes, hours, days or weeks.

Yes, I said seconds! We let biases, stereotypes and emotions register an instant decision. The questions and procedures we put people through from that point forward are usually to support the decision we have already made.

In order to make a more accurate decision, taking the right steps is critical. That’s why an accurate and thorough assessment is often one of the first steps. It points out things in people that the naked eye can’t see. It gives you the right backdrop to that person, and gives you the roadmap of what to ask and what to look for. As you measure this against what you want this person to accomplish in the role in question, it takes your probability of making the right decision to a much higher level. This applies not only when hiring a new person, but when promoting someone into a leadership position.

Taking an objective look at someone

What is seen from an interview and resume.

What is seen from an interview and resume.

What is understood about how the person will fit and perform from a 16-scale personality test and in-depth assessment.

The Value of In-Depth Work-Style Personality Assessmentsfor Hiring, Promoting, and Team Assignments

Taking an objective look at someone

CHAPTER THREE

CREATING AND SUSTAINING SALES LIFT

Ability Desire

Conditioning

ABILITYOne of the key questions that must be answered by both parties (the candidate or person being promoted, and the hiring manager) is this:

Can they do the job? Do they have the capability to do the deliverables that are expected? With what degree of certainty can they actually hit the objectives

outlined in the performance profile?

Historically, most hiring managers answer this question based on a number of factors including but not limited to: years of experience, knowledge, past

performances, and of course, personality traits that the hiring manager either likes or doesn’t like. While some of this information provides part of the answer,

it falls far short.

This is where an objective picture of how someone is “hardwired” is so important. This is better known as measuring someone’s talents, which are set in place at a very early age and won’t change. If someone has all the desire in the world, but is not wired in such a way as to be able to do what is expected, the chances they either won’t want to or won’t be able to carry these out is very likely.

When hiring or promoting someone, it is critical that you have an objective picture of someone to accurately assess their ability to carry out what is expected in order to hit the target(s).

ABILITYEven if it is determined with a high degree of objectivity and certainty that someone can do the job, there are certain other measures leaders must take in order to set someone up for success.

One of the most critical is this: make sure that the job is “big enough” to present a challenge, but not “too big” that it ends up crushing or wearing out someone before they cross the finish line. This is where breaking up the job into pieces that can be tackled is imperative.

To quote Simon Sinek: “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.”

DESIRE

Just because someone may be able to actually do a job, it does NOT necessarily mean that they actually want to do this. I’ll take myself as an example. I have the talents to be an accountant, as my numeric ability is far above average. However, I have NO desire at all to work with numbers or anything that is financial. That’s just not what I like to do.

The irony of great work is this: you can pay people to go so far. You can plead with them to go further, and sometimes it works. You can threaten them. You can reward them.

However, in order to get someone to go the extra mile, they actually have to want to do this on their own accord. This is all about desire that they have, not acting

out of fear, insecurity or greed.

The key for leaders is to really take the time to understand the why within each person. What does this person really want to accomplish? Why do they want to accomplish what’s set before them? Then, it is critical to link their “why” to the job deliverables. I also refer to this concept as helping people identify their definition of their gold medal.

CONDITIONING

Just because someone has both the ability and desire, what is also important is that they be conditioned to be able to continue in the race. This is where habits and paradigms have to be repeated over a period of time in order to help people change their definition of difficult.

We all have a particular definition of what difficult is and what it isn’t. What is necessary is to help your people be able to redefine this in order to be able to grow and handle new situations and respond to change that happens suddenly and unexpectedly, because it will, it’s only a matter of time.

When that time comes, people have to be ready.

Setting activity plans with purpose, some of which is pure conditioning, is critical. In addition, people must see the link to their gold medal, so they understand the value of the difficulty and how it is taking them to where they want to go for reasons that are important to them, not just to the company.

CHAPTER FOUR

The penguin principle

The Emperor Penguins in Antarctica are the only living creatures who can survive in the harshest conditions on earth. It is completely dark for months and the temperatures drop to -100 degrees and colder. the harsh conditions in Antarctica are much like what sales people and sales organizations face today, as they battle the economy, competitors,and most of all, themselves.

How is it that the penguins can not only survive, but thrive under suchextreme and difficult conditions? There are many answers, the mostprevalent being this: Each adult penguin puts the needs of their mate and newborn chick ahead of themselves. Everything that they do is for the wellbeing of the other penguins. This is why they rotate in the huddle during the long winter, as each penguin takes their turn in the middle of the group, where it is much warmer and sheltered from the wind.

What does this story of how penguins survive in the Antarctic have to do with you and your organization? The answer is everything.

Yes, sales people and organizations have to have tools, technology, processes and systems in order to operate efficiently and effectively. However, none of that matters if they are not

truly putting the needs of others, both their colleagues and customers, ahead of themselves. In theory, everyone would likely agree with this. In practice, far too few actually live this

out.

What does this mean practically? When engaged in sales activity, whether it’s prospecting on the phone or connecting with people on social media sites like LinkedIn, sales people need to go into the conversations with zero intent of selling. The only agenda should be to get to the bottom of the other persons barrel. If you and your company are not the best fit, get out of the way and introduce them to the person or company who is. Period, no matter how much it costs you.

That is the Penguin Principle-putting the needs so far ahead of what you want and need, it’s like you’re hardly in the picture. Look at what you want and need as a byproduct, leaving all the room for the other person. When you do, you’ll likely find that you’ll have more than you’d expect. A lot more!

The penguin principle

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION3 key takeaways to put into action:

1. Redefine The Job: The key is to quantify specifically what you want this person to accomplish; whether it’s hiring someone new or promoting someone from within. This is the cornerstone to redefining the profile of the ideal person.

2. Addressing Ability and Desire: For each person on your team, make sure you definitively know whether or not they have BOTH the ability and desire to do what needs to be done in order to accomplish the specific objectives.

3. Implementing The Penguin Principle: Set a specific time to discuss how your team can implement the Penguin Principle into the culture of your company. Specifically, address how this will change your activities and criteria for making decisions.

An eBook from Antarctic Mike & Dionne Mischler

Sales Conditioning

For the 21st Century

Change your paradigm & habits to see results