Dear Readers, our apologies for the duplication in our newsletter this month, however please note this is our current March edition (versus January as initially indicated in error).
To your success!
Newsletter: March 2011
Do You Want to Improve Your Sales? Then Improve Your Influence.
Sales are about relationships. And while it's true, it's only part of the story. If you truly want to increase your sales, you must increase your influence. Influence is the ability to achieve your objective (i.e. sales) when you have neither the control nor the authority to accomplish your objective alone. And this is the place where the sales person resides.
The challenge, however, is how to do it.
There are certain basics that all sales people need:
- A good product or service that provides value to the customer
- A clear definition of why your product or service is the best solution for the customer – your differentiator
- A clear value proposition – why is the customer better off buying from you and buying from you now?
- A promise that you can back up – drives customer satisfaction
Many people make the mistake of defining influence as a form of manipulation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Influence is not about manipulation; it's about mutuality. And mutuality drives off the Law of Reciprocity: if I provide something of value to you first, then you are likely to provide something of value to me. The caveat – as long as what you provide me is something that I value and my company values.
In our work, we see the potential use of influence squandered away. And there are ten reasons we found, and we call them the Barriers to Gaining Influence.
10 Barriers You Need to Overcome to Gain Influence in a Sales Situation
1. Fear — This is the number one issue that stops us from using influence in a sales situation. And fear appears in many forms. It can be the fear of failure, the fear of being rejected, the fear of appearing foolish, the fear that we are not good enough. Regardless of what you are afraid of, fear stops us dead in our tracks. We don't succeed, we don't exert influence because we've convinced ourselves before we even start that we may not or will not be successful.
2. Inability to develop real relationships — People work with people they like. They buy from people they like. They provide support to people they like. To think otherwise is to miss an important component of sales success. It is impossible to exert influence on someone with whom you have not developed a real and positive relationship. It's also very difficult to get them to buy – unless they are buying on price alone.
3. Poor responsiveness — The quicker you respond the more responsive you appear. And if response is important to the person you want to influence (and buyers appreciate quick response), you have just made a positive impression on them.
4. Overselling — Overselling is annoying and it also communicates uncertainty in your position. When a person says yes, and you continue to try to convince them- what are you really communicating?
5. Quitting at No — Now, nobody likes rejection. Yet as a salesperson, "no" is often the response we hear. Sure "no" can mean "no", but it can also mean: "no", not right now; "no", I'm not yet convinced – I need more information. Oftentimes, an objection is not a rejection. It's a request for more information and an opportunity for further discussion. Don't let no be an immediate lost opportunity.
6. Perfectionism — Too often, we believe that unless our proposal or request for information is perfectly framed, it cannot move forward. This is wrong. Perfection sends an unintended message that you are indecisive and in the worse case it can create immobilization. While you may believe you are striving for perfection, the other person wonders what's taking you so long.
7. Over-Expressing Personal Beliefs — Some sales people just can't seem to keep their opinions to themselves. Think about when someone is selling to you and they stop to express a personal, political or social belief. If you're like most of us – it's annoying and frankly we don't care. Expressing personal beliefs has a way of compromising the very relationship you want to build.
8. Lack of Focus — It's difficult to make a sale or to garner much respect if you go from one prospect to another; one idea to another; one sales strategy to another and finish nothing. Often your buyer will just give up, quit listening or no longer support your efforts.
9. Poor Impression Management (Executive Presence) — This is not just about looking the part. It's about being the part. It's about managing your image thoughtfully and not artificially. Like it or not, unsuitably presented, tired, poorly poised, uninformed and, sloppy people present a poor and unconvincing image.
10. Lack of Gratitude — People like recognition; they like to know they are appreciated; they like to be noticed in a positive way. And this includes your buyers and the people who support you in your sales efforts. Ignore this at your peril. Remember, if you are unwilling or think it's unnecessary to recognize and express appreciation for others, your chance of influencing them is remote.
Is One of the Top 10 Barriers Holding You Back From Influencing Others and Gaining More Sales?
We have often found that one or more of the above behavioral traits is present in sales people who believe (or who others believe) are less successful then they either want to be or can be. These behaviors are the intangibles that inhibit good sales performance. We believe these intangibles are so important to recognize and attend to (if you see these in your own thought processes or behaviors) that should you refuse to address them, you will come up short of exerting the influence necessary to get sales to advance yourself and your company.
Healthcare Corner – News and Issues
In 2005, Congress passed The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act. Its goal is "to improve patient safety by encouraging voluntary and confidential reporting of events that adversely affect patients". This is an important piece of legislation and an important initiative. Yet, few people have heard about it.
In 1999, the Institutes of Medicine published a landmark report titled To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. The report revealed some startling statistics:
- at least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented
- the estimated total cost including the expenses of additional care necessitated by the errors, lost income and household productivity, and disability is between $17 Billion and $26 Billion per year in hospitals throughout the United States
The Report also points out that "more commonly, errors are caused by faulty systems, processes, and conditions that lead people to make mistakes or fail to prevent them". If you are looking for additional information, you can find it on the Institutes of Medicine website www.iom.edu. In the search bar type in: To Err is Human.
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act established Patient Safety Organizations to collect, aggregate, and analyze confidential information reported by health care providers, and they address the issue of under-reporting due to fear of medical malpractice suits or disciplinary proceedings. To learn more about Patient Safety Organizations, visit: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/psoact.htm
PSOs are also working to create a culture of safety in organizations.
Safety and quality are critical to savings lives, improving healthcare and to creating a more cost-effective healthcare system.
We encourage you to ask whether your hospital, physician, pharmacy participate in a Patient Safety Organization. It's an important question.
Talent Management Corner
Don't Lose Great Talent to Errors in Timing and Your Hiring Process
—Heather F. Cole, Talent Acquisition Leader
The job market has been picking up rapidly and hiring managers are aggressively trying to increase human capital to reach their 2011 revenue goals. Having the right people in the right seats is key, and many companies take too much time when seeking to hire good talent. The most successful hiring managers create urgency and acquiring top talent is their first priority.
Never assume there is an unlimited talent pool. Although unemployment numbers may hit double digits, the best talent may, and probably are still working. Once a passive candidate knows that they are attractive to other organizations, there is a very short period of time to make that hire. Candidates who were excited about your job can suddenly become enamored with the next shiny opportunity that comes along. Always assume they have other prospects in the pipeline. Don't stall. You will undoubtedly lose that candidate to your competition.
You don't have to settle. Once you have identified what you are looking for, and are confident in your process, don't get distracted or "over-process". Ninety percent of the time, an interview process that gets dragged out results in no hire and the timeline gets pushed out. Not only do you lose revenue, but it allows for more competition to enter the picture. Now, the only candidates interested in your position are the B players that can afford to take the time to go through your extensive process.
If you find this happening within your organization, reanalyze your hiring matrix, ask for feedback and reevaluate. As a result, you will swiftly and successfully hire the best talent to achieve the growth necessary to meet your company goals.
Announcements
Kubica Laforest Gambling Consulting is pleased to announce the introduction of a new service to add to our Talent Management service line: Talent Acquisition. Heather Cole has joined us to lead our Talent Acquisition services. Heather is a high energy individual with superior networking skills. A graduate of Brandeis University, Heather has been in the professional staffing field since 1998. A Certified Staffing Professional with the American Staffing Association, Heather has worked at the Boston offices of several national firms. Before joining the KLC team, she was principal at TalentSurge Professional Staffing. Heather can be reached at: or at (617) 233-7220.
Kubica and LaForest are speaking at the IFMA's Fusion Conference in Boston on March 23, 2011. Their talk is on - Results Trump Time: Accelerated Practices for Today's Leaders in Time, Focus and Influence Management. They address why time management principles alone will not relieve your time pressures. And they introduce the concepts of influence and energy leadership as two critical factors for better managing your time and creating positive results.
