Category - manager

Your 100 Dollar Business Card

January 22, 2018

B2B, best sales speaker, best sales training, Business, Hiring, manager, Marketing, online sales training, online selling, Sales, sales leader, sales manager, Sales Speaker, sales tips, sales training, selling, Social Media, Top Sales Speaker, Uncategorized

Whenever I go anywhere — a lunch, a networking event, a fundraiser people are

constantly giving me business cards, sometimes often before they say ”hello”. We

put so much emphasis on these 2-by- 3 cards and for what? Do you think it’s

going to sell for you? Have you experienced the people who hand out so many

cards that you want to know where they get them printed so you can buy

stock? We also get this question from lots of our clients ”What title should we

put on our salespersons’ business cards? If we want them to be consultants, we

should say consultant. Or how about account manager?” I shake my head. They

don’t get it. Who cares? Its how you act, not what you say on your card, that

makes you a salesperson or a consultant. While we’re on the subject, let’s

address business cards in general. I don’t think the format has been changed in

100 years. Ask yourself, when you look for a business card, what are you looking

for 90 percent of the time? You know, so just say it: It’s the phone number. Lets start from the top. First and foremost, you should have a logo or name of your

company on the card. Top left corner or across the top is fine. No need to

scream across the card what your company name is. Don’t worry, we can see

it second to your name. Make it legible and large enough to read. This is one

of the most important things on your card. Third, the phone number. Why do we put the most important thing on the card in 6-point type that even with my granny glasses (no snickering) I still can’t see is beyond me. Make it easy to see. Big, bold, green … something. Finally, the fax number. When was the last time you pulled out a business card to fax something? You didn’t. You spoke to the person on the phone and they asked you to fax something, at which point you asked for their fax number. So leave it out. Business cards are what we hand out after we have a conversation with someone, not before, so force yourself to engage in conversation with someone first. Ask about their business, what they do, how long they’ve been doing it, etc. Don’t just hand out a card. Build relationships first by asking good questions. Try this: Pretend your business card is worth $100. If it were, you would make sure you didn’t just give it out like food samples in the grocery store. You would first see if there’s value. This mindset will force you to engage in conversation with people and begin to form a relationship with them through learning about them, not “telling” them about you, especially through the use of a business card. Isn’t this what you are

really looking for anyway?

5 Things Every CEO Needs to Know

January 9, 2018

Greta Schulz

B2B, best sales speaker, best sales training, Business, Hiring, manager, Marketing, online sales training, online selling, Sales, sales leader, sales manager, Sales Speaker

5 Things every CEO Needs to know

Today CEO’s are in a quagmire. They are finding themselves running their business’s,
making CEO decisions yet having to either manage a sales department or wear the sales
hat themselves. What’s a CEO to do today?
There are 5 things I think are imperative to do if you would like to make it through this
crazy time. Interestingly enough, these things should also be done when things aren’t
so crazy.
1) Scale down your existing sales staff. Decide who are the cream of the crop and
get rid of the rest. How do you decide? By the 3 A’s. The first is Attitude. Do they
have a positive attitude. A belief that if they can’t do it the way they always have
they are willing to look at their sales situations as true opportunities and use every
minute to look at things differently. The second is Activities. Activities are the
actual pro-activities that they do to prospect every day, every week every month.
It could be a combination of cold-calling, networking, cross-selling to existing
clients, strategic alliance meetings etc. Activities are different for everyone but
the ability to commit to whatever they are and stick to it day in and day out is
imperative. The third is approach. The approach is what your sales rep says and
does in front of and on the phone with a prospect. The other two can not really be
taught, this one can.
2) Teach your best people to sell in this environment with a specific process. None
have ever sold in a volatile, fear-filled time like this before. Selling is something
that needs to be taught always but certainly today to attempt to be successful
without it is laced with potential failure. A process to sell doesn’t mean a
memorized script. What it means is an agenda of how they will approach each
prospect, what questions they will ask, what they will do with the answers, how
will they uncover the available budget and what will the next steps look like.
3) Train your existing non-sales staff to be your marketing arm. Sales training can
not only be used to train the sales organization but the non-sales people as well.
Often we have non-salespeople in our organization that have contacts with our
clients and potential prospects on a regular basis. Are they asking for referrals?
Do they know how? The connections that exist with this segment of your
organization are often overlooked and so important to utilize today.
4) Learn to manage a sales team through the 3 “A’s”. As previously discussed, the
three A’s are the basis of success. Additionally it is the easiest and most effective
way to manage your team. Keep an eye and ear out for a positive attitude. If you
see or hear a negative one, which is easily identified through excuse making, it
will become a cancer so cut it out immediately. Use salespeople’s individual
activities to help them track their success through the activities they carry out. A
specific approach, will allow you to have a real post-appointment discussion on

what went right and wrong as opposed to the typical discussion which of ten
includes a conversation like,’ so how did it go?”, “pretty good, pretty good”
which tells you nothing.
5) Build your business on referrals and networking with no cash. Today networking
is the way to build a business. Don’t get me wrong there is obviously a place for
advertising and other strategic marketing but to help get you through some of
these tough times, help secure your brand by being out there in the community.
Networking is again something that should be done also through a process and if
you read my articles regularly, you know that. Additionally we are not getting as
many referrals as we should from existing clients and there are two reasons for
that, 1) we don’t ask, 2) we don’t ask properly. Properly means you must be
specific when asking for referrals. Either a specific person from a particular
organization, a position of a person in a type of business or an alliance of
someone connected in the community that you haven’t met.
As we all work with the skeleton crew that we are left with, let’s work harder and
better to make a success of our business. Getting back to basics, is it ever smart to get
far away from that?

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The Old Elevator Speech is just that; Old

September 25, 2017

Greta Schulz

B2B, best sales speaker, best sales training, Business, manager, online selling, Sales, sales leader, sales manager, Sales Speaker, sales tips, sales training, selling, Social Media, Top Sales Speaker

“I’m going to try my best to do a great ‘elevator speech/benefits statement’ so the customers know exactly what we do”. We put so much time and energy into coming up with this big introduction/benefit statement and honestly, it is not as important as any of the other things that we do.

This thought is on the mind of most sales people. They feel that they have to have some great, two-sentence explanation of what they do, and that will help sell it. Now, it is important to summarize what you do, but that is not what sells. Let me illustrate this point. Think about the last time you read a book, and then saw the movie. Which is typically better? Well, almost every one I talk to says the book is better. Why is that? Because when you read a book, you have the ability to create what the scene looks like, what the characters look like, even the voices and sounds therefore the story becomes yours. When you put something in your own brain, you are able to create what it looks like, and what it sounds like, and what it feels like to you. You attach more directly to the story because it becomes yours. Your interpretation of the events as opposed to some producer, or director’s interpretation of what the story should be. This is the same reason why telling someone what you do and the “features and benefits” of your product or service is much less powerful then asking great questions and getting them to see how it can help through their own eyes.

When you tell someone why they should work with you, what the benefits are, what the advantages are, those are your interpretations of the benefits or the advantages that you offer. When you ask really good questions to get people to think about what is important to them, it is their idea. If that they had the ability to use your product or service and what difference would it make to their organization it allow them to begin to interpret their own book.

— If they had success in a particular area, how we can change things, it is a lot of those kinds of thought provoking questions that allows a prospect to see the advantage on their own, on what your product is supposed to bring. So, ask me questions is really much more important than coming up with an important benefit statement.

There are a couple different types of questions. The first question that I talk about is what I call big picture questions. Big picture questions are thought provoking questions that are questions about the person that is talking about the overall situation. For example, talk about the goals that you set for your organization, and where you are along the line of those goals. Right now it is plug in the date and if it was project to ourselves a year forward, if it was one year from today and you were to look back

So you have the ability to ask big-picture questions and get people to think. So if you say, if a year from now you were to look back and say, that was a really successful year, what would have had to happen over those 12 months to make you say that? What are the things that you fear the most over the next 12 months and what are you doing to avoid them? What are the things that are in your way in reaching your goal, and how are you planning on working around those things? What does success look like to you? There are so many what I call big-picture questions, and when you ask questions like this, it allows that person not only to think, but to put things in their own perspective. And when they give you the answer, the answer is coming from their own thoughts and their own processes.

The second type of question is what I call advantage questions. Advantage questions come directly from what you believe the advantages are that you portray. For example, if you sell advertising in a very high-end magazine, you might ask the question: talk to me about how you get in front of high-income, or high-net worth, individuals now. And if you had the ability to get in front of more of them, what would you say? So it forces them to think about not only being in front of two potential clients that they’re trying to get in front of it, but it has them think about what the message would be. It begins to develop where you’re going to go with your recommendations or proposals in the end. So rather than you saying, here’s what you can do, the difference is coming up with question to get them to self-realize it. Remember when you read a book, it’s the author’s interpretation of those words, but you have the ability to put what it looks like and feels like. When you go to the movies, it is purely the director and the producer’s interpretation. It’s much more effective when it’s yours.

Is Social Media Killing Our Sales Skills?

July 3, 2017

Greta Schulz

Is Social Media Killing Our Sales Skills?

Recently, I spoke to an organization that spent an ungodly amount of time, energy and money on Social Media to create Lead Generation. So my question was, “Now what?” they said, “What do you mean?” I said “Okay, so you got a whole bunch of people calling you or contacting you through a web form, email etc. How’s your closing ratio?” They looked at me like I had three heads.

The issue is a simple one, just because we believe that we have found a new way to generate business, it is not generating business…alone. Lead generation is Interest; lead generation is getting people to the door. Are they coming over the threshold and are you closing the door behind them? That’s a very important step. One without the other will result in no revenue.

Between Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google and Bing ads on any of the Social Media sites, or email-marketing powerhouses like Infusionsoft, amongst other things we do today to build leads is it really working? That’s one question. If we’re doing all of the things that we need to do in Social Media and all the ‘white noise’ is going out, what is it bringing us? Well, it should be bringing us Leads. It should be bringing us Emails, filling out contact Information or a website, web forms and phone call, and if that’s happening, Great you have reached step one. This is a very important step but it is ONLY step one.

The million-dollar question is “Now What?”

It’s important to make sure that we know once people contact us or when we return a request call, we are using the right process to follow up from any kind of lead generation that we get. Are we setting some ground rules at the beginning of the conversation? Are we asking well thought out open-ended questions to engage them and truly understand their needs? Do we have a true picture of all of this before we have the cost conversation and do we clearly understand the next step and what that means as opposed to just “checking back” or “following up” with them?

We often have the naiveté to assume that If they are calling they are already primed to buy. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t have a relationship built nor is there is not a true understanding of your product or service. There was just some low level of interest that got them to contact you. Is it better than you calling out cold? Well certainly it is but you still needs the same attention to your sales process as you always have. Getting somebody to call you is only the beginning. So, what are the other steps: What are we doing when we contact them or they call us. Are we using the process properly? Here is what we typically see.

When we get them on the phone, they will typically ask you a simple question that I call a “Wall Question” which is they put up a wall and the question sounds something like this “Hey, I see you guys sell widgets. Can you tell me if I bought a hundred widgets what that would cost?” and we say, “Sure, let me look. What can of widgets you are looking for?” “We’re looking for widget A or widget B.” “Okay well, widget A would be $75,000 for a hundred widgets and widget B would be $82,000. “Oh, that’s a lot of money. “Well, maybe I can do a little better.” You negotiate a price and they say “Okay sounds good, ah we’ll call you back” Or “Sounds good, can you send me a proposal / price sheet/ some more information?”

We get their email, we send that information in writing and cricket, we never hear from them again. We try to contact them back, they don’t contact us. We try to call them, they don’t take our call, and we leave messages.

Sound familiar? Of course, it does. The same situation that happened before when you did your prospecting more proactively occurred. Prospecting hasn’t changed. Sales and the sales process haven’t changed just because they’re contacting you. In fact, I would say that it is more difficult now because we are not as on top of our game since they contacted us we feel it is a ‘hot’ lead.

Not only do you need to do a good job on working on the sales process in closing the sale, you need to do a better job than you ever have before because remember, they have control. They’re the ones that are calling you but they’re also calling your competitor. So they’ve done a little homework, they know who’s out there and they know what the pricing is out there. That’s where the sale process comes in. If you don’t have a process, you’re going to fail whether they’re lead generating through Social Media or not.

Greta Schulz is President of SchulzBusiness, a sales Consulting and Training firm. She is a best selling author of “To Sell IS Not To Sell” and works with fortune 1000 companies and entrepreneurs. For more information or free sales tips go to www.schulzbusiness.com and sign up for ‘GretaNomics’, a weekly video tip series or email sales questions to greta@schulzbusiness.com

Are Hiring Millennial’s in Sales the Right Move?

June 5, 2017

Greta Schulz

Are Hiring Millennial’s in Sales the Right Move?

“I can’t find any good salespeople out there. I even tried to hire some young college kids and that was a mistake,” said Matt, the sales director of a ___ Business. “I hired a few of them and they just aren’t engaged, they just seem board.”

Well, they probably are board. Today this age bracket (18-35) looks at things completely different from some of us more experienced in business. Even one generation before can be a black and white difference to this generation.

According to a study from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the YEC, Millennials are highly ambitious, with a majority placing an importance on jobs with chances for career progression, personal growth, as well as freedom and flexibility. Millennials prioritize value and meaning in their work over money — if their jobs are aligned with their passion, they will go the extra mile.

We need to relook at whom we hire, how we hire and how we train these recruits. Our interaction with them will need to be interactive and fluid.

This generation has had more freedom, which they crave. If we try to put them into your corporate “box”, you will probably fail.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Business leaders say they want creative thinking. Do they really? One of the challenges in hiring this young, free spirit, creative thinker is watching them do things so differently then we did. Often companies aren’t willing to make internal changes to create this type of environment because it often seems uncomfortable or even wrong. Letting go of the past and the way it used to be is a big part of getting the most out of this generation.

I have been trying to get organizations to hire salespeople that could be true “intrepreneurals” meaning an employee of the organization with a true creative entrepreneurial spirit. To get this kind of creativity and spirit it will be important to give them an environment they can thrive in.

The characteristics most associated with entrepreneurs are; self-motivated, creative, have initiative and risk-taking. They tend not to fit inside the rules and bend them often to make things happen.

Do we want these characteristics in our sales organization? You bet.

Create the Right Environment

So what do we do? Here are some changes you’ll need to make by creating an environment they can thrive in;

Look on Social Media for candidates. Today these candidates are looking in the non-traditional places; Linkedin, Facebook, twitter, Instagram and glassdoor.

Create a casual, open environment that encourages open communication and out of the box ideas. Be open to change the rules if there may be a different way of doing something.

Let them communicate with technology, even if you wouldn’t. This is how they really do communicate. Their first choice may be to put something in an email and not in person, let it happen.

Use flex-schedules. Don’t hold them to a 9-5 check into the office requirement. Give them the goal and very long leash to get there.

Make sure you are creating this environment. Today this generation checks you out in lots of different ways. One of the most popular sites is glassdoor.com. A critical consideration for candidates today since this job and company review site began.

Millennials are much more productive than they are given credit for. They know how to use technology efficiently, they are completely invested in work when it aligns with their passions, committed when their contributions and ideas are encouraged and recognized. They are also superior at communicating your brand – These make them natural recruits for top talent. There are lots of good reasons to hire them.

The 7 Critical Elements to Sales Success

June 2, 2017

Greta Schulz

The 7 Critical Elements to Sales Success

Selling is one of those things that most CEOs think if they hire their team with a good resume of experience, poof…they can sell. How’s that workin’ for ya?

That has been a badly failing method for as long as I have been in sales so lets talk about the B2B Sales Playbook of success. What does it really take?

The very first thing is hiring right. Easier said then done. What criteria are we using? How are we finding our candidates? How are we interviewing? Are we using an assessment to help and if so which one? Quick tip. Look for people already on the job. Great salespeople are not out looking for work, they always have another potential job lined up because they are an asset not a liability.

Train them the way you want them trained. Don’t rely on what they learned before. Teach them your method, the way you want them to sell. If they haven’t worked before, even better no bad habits. Get a true training process in place. There are a few good ones out there. (email me for more information on this).

Use a repeatable and trackable sales process. The key word here is ‘repeatable’. When everyone adopts the same sales process, there is a common language that is understood, not just by sales, but by the whole organization. This is also important for managing the team and coaching the team to success.

Motivation is individualized, not one size fits all. People are people and are motivated by different things. Is money a motivator? Sure but is it the only one? Don’t assume want motivates one will motivate another.

Your Sales Leader is the Critical Link to Sales Success. Being a sales manager/leader is one of the hardest jobs in sales. It is also the critical link to sales success. Unless the sales manager has with all the tools he or she needs to easily manage the business, the whole performance of the sales organization will suffer.

True and critical tracking methods. Complete integration with your CRM delivers the optimum information for you and your sales people. Without true data it becomes nearly impossible to eliminate failure and repeat success.

The ability to Forecast Sales Properly. Sales forecasting for most companies leaves a lot to be desired. It is a guessing game of percentages that some piece of business will close. If you have to and actually need to forecast more closely, a process for the sales funnel needs to be adapted.

The key to all of this is your sales leader. Do you have the right one? Better find out. Here is a place you can go: www.SalesLeadersAlliance.com. There is lots of good information there.

iTALK (Apple doesn’t make it but you’d think they did!)

May 30, 2017

Greta Schulz

“I feel like nothing is working. Whatever I do, it doesn’t seem to matter. I thought the economy was getting better but no one is going to buy right now,” Connie said in frustration about her recent sales numbers. “I really think that, once the economy truly turns around and people are feeling more confident, things will start to move again. But until then, it’s just not happening. I may actually have to get a part-time job or something until that happens because I am scared that I can’t pay my bills.”

Connie and I talked about some of the scenarios she had been dealing with, and she told me that people really like her product, but they just can’t afford it right now.

“Greta, I hear this every day: People are just not spending right now,” she said. “My numbers are down so far that I think it’s just a waiting game.”

When I hear Connie’s story, it isn’t unusual — but it is self-fulfilling. Why are some people thriving, and others are in Connie’s boat? I truly believe it is less about the external situation and much more about the internal self-talk we have going on.

I have narrowed it down to what I call ITALK — an acronym I think might explain what’s going on:

I: Initial situation. The initial situation here is that the economy went through a one-two punch that most of us have never seen the likes of before and — hopefully, once fixed — will never see again. The fact is this truly did change a lot of people’s way of life, and certainly the way business is conducted today. The initial situation is what it is: It’s fact.

T: Thought. The thoughts we create because of the situation we are presented with are completely ours. This is the filter we see the situation through. How do two people see the same situation differently? It is this filter that creates our thought. Connie’s thought is “people can’t afford it right now.” That is certainly a big assumption, and we all know what happens when we assume.

A: Attached feelings. The feelings that we have based on the assumptions we make are very damaging. They are damaging because of the depth of feelings or beliefs in the way we conduct ourselves. Connie was so scared that she actually thought about getting a second job.

L: Lead action. Our lead action is what we do because of our beliefs. It is the way we approach a particular situation and will be different, depending upon the belief. When Connie approaches a prospect, she doesn’t have confidence to handle the money objection because she herself believes it. Therefore, she is practically waiting for it to come — and with it is either feeling defeated or is quick to offer a discount. Neither of these is the outcome she would like.

K: Known result. The known result is what actually happens as a result of these beliefs. This is very difficult because you will almost always get the result you believe you are going to get. When you do, you say to yourself, “see, I knew it,” and the cycle continues.

ITALK is the talk we have with ourselves. It is our internal dialogue, our internal beliefs. In my opinion, there is nothing more dangerous then this. No matter how many times someone tells you it’s not that way, your subconscious is much more powerful than your conscience or anything someone might tell you.

Fix your internal negative thoughts and you can change your outcomes. It’s not the economy; it’s your thinking that is hurting you the most.

Greta Schulz is president and CEO of Schulz Business.

Raw Talent

May 22, 2017

Greta Schulz

If there were one thing I could emphasize to C-level executives is that starting

with the right people, the best people, is the key to everything. Yes there are lots

of other important factors, if there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have contents for the book,

but I often get asked to “train-up my salespeople”. When I ask a few questions I

learn that they are just not trainable. Not everyone is trainable and probably for

different reasons than you might think.

There are 3 things that make salespeople successful.

Those things are

Attitude, Activities and Approach.

These are the three ‘secrets’ to sales success.

Are they secrets? Of course not but I am amazed how often they are not adhered

to, therefore, maybe they are secrets.

To me the most important is the first one; ATTITUDE.

Attitude is the belief in yourself, your environment, your work ethic. It’s that fire in

your belly that makes you do whatever it takes to get the job done. No excuses,

no “almost” no sort of, no close but not quite there…

Attitude is the real deciding factor in success. That being said are there some

things, some raw talent that helps move this along better and faster? You betcha!

Pay attention here if you have any mediocre salespeople. If you do,

ask yourself why. Let me answer it for you, because you allow it! That’s right.

Your fault. You. No one else. Let me tell you a story to help illustrate this point.

Raw Talent.

Our son was recruited in 2012 to play for the Kansas City Royals as a left-

handed pitcher. Of course he began in the minor leagues. His first week in

Arizona was an exciting one. Barely holding in his excitement, he proceeded to

go on the field to work with the pitching coach early in week one.

Immediately after the introductions and hand-shake niceties Clayton began

showing the coach his pitches. “I was really known for my change up. I also have

an excellent curve ball”. He could barely contain himself in anticipation of what

the coach would say.

After he threw his pitches and looked at the coach for his endorsement, the

coach began the conversation like this, “ Clayton I don’t give a “darn” (expletives

replaced) how you pitched in college and I sure don’t care that you were known

for your change-up. We hired you for your raw talent boy. We didn’t pick you for

your fancy pitches you threw in school! I will teach you how to throw a curve ball

and that change-up? Forget it! You will do it my way and I will make you a pro

player. You don’t like that, you can leave today!”

When he called home with his tale between his legs and told us that story, I

explained that was a good thing. If all you had were your pitches, he didn’t have

much to work with to make you great! They see something in you that is the

makings of someone great. That is to be proud of.

The moral here? In business, hire for RAW TALENT. These are things like

confidence, bravery, desire and commitment. The rest can and should be taught.

If you hire off of a resume of someone who has sold, you may be looking over

Someone that can…you may be missing the boat!

Are Your Salespeople Taking Shortcuts?

May 1, 2017

Greta Schulz

B2B, best sales speaker, best sales training, Hiring, manager, Sales, sales leader, sales manager

Logan, a software sales rep, had been having a rough day. He’d been bombarded with questions from several customers and gotten behind on work he needed to finish before the end of the day.

Then, he got a call from Tony, a prospect who introduced himself by saying: “I’ve heard great things about your engineering software package. I saw a demo about a year ago, and was not in a position to purchase it at the time. But since then, it’s become very apparent that I need to integrate it into my system.”

“Wow,” Logan thought. “This will be easy. It’s about time something went right today.”

Then, Tony said: “I need to know about the cost, the tech support and how soon it can be installed.”

Logan immediately went into his pitch. He discussed tech support in detail, covered availability and other options, and explained that the price was $12,000, with 30-day terms.

Tony’s response was unexpected. He said that $12,000 was quite a hefty price tag and he needed a couple of days to think about all of this more carefully. He’d call Logan back next week.

Logan did a double take. “What just happened?” he thought. “This sale was in the bag, a sure thing. He really needs it and now he’s thinking it over? He said he needed the software right away.” And that was the end of the call.

So, what happened? Logan got lazy, plain and simple. He thought Tony was sold. All he had to do was give him the information he needed, then write it up. He got fooled into assuming the sale without doing the work. He never got Tony to talk about why he was looking now, with what seemed to be a real priority about buying the software. The entire transaction was conducted at the intellectual level, without any real understanding of the true need.

So, what happened? Logan was lured into taking shortcuts. He mistakenly thought the prospect’s enthusiasm was as sure as a sale. No matter. You need the time to qualify the prospect and make sure he’s real before giving out information or making your presentation.

In Logan’s case, a couple of questions would have made a world of difference. He might have said: “Before we discuss pricing, help me understand why this software is so important. I want to make sure the application is correct for you. Would you mind if I ask you a couple of questions to better understand?”

Of course, you’re digging in to find out what is really going on. It is so important to gather this information before you discuss price so you can truly have an understanding of not only why they want the software, but the consequence of not installing it.

Once you give away your information – whether on the phone, in a presentation or in the form of a proposal – you have given up any form of control and are literally at the mercy of the prospect.

Are your salespeople going for the quick sale or do they really understanding the true need behind it?