Shane Gibson's Sales Podcast and Sales Blog

Complex Sales Training Podcast Part 1

Shane Gibson — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:53:50 +0000

Today’s podcast is Part 1 of a 3 part podcast on Complex Sales and Managing Complex Business Relationships.

This complex sales podcast introduces you to the process by first defining what complex sales is and then moves into

part 1. In Part 1 of the Complex Sales series we are introduced to the 6 major Power Players in a Complex Sale or complex business relationship: The Navigator, The Ruler, The User, The Protector, The Contributor and The Opposer.

Definition of Complex Sales (From Wikipedia):

Complex sales, also known as Enterprise sales, can refer to a method of trading sometimes used by organizations when procuring large contracts for goods and/or services where the customer takes control of the selling process by issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) and requiring a proposal response from previously identified or interested suppliers. Complex sales involve long sales cycles with multiple decision makers. Multiple stakeholders and stakeholder groups contribute to every complex sale.

Any product or service may become a complex sale. In some instances a complex sale occurs when the market is mature and the stakes high enough to warrant attention from a variety of stakeholders in the buying organization. In other instances a complex sales process is needed when the buyer has never had experience with the vendor, technology being sold, or if the solution is business critical or impacts the buying organization on a strategic level. The series of filters, purchasing steps, and stakeholders involved are designed to reduce the risks associated with making the wrong buying decision…

…often the sales person is required to have a set of skills that are more in line with a subject matter expert or consultant than a traditional sales person. This type of sales person can often be referred to as a Key Account Executive or Complex Sales Executive. (Full Definition here.)

The next few podcasts will hopefully help you develop an understanding of what core skills and strategies will be required to navigate and close complex sales.

Shane Gibson featured on Top Sales Experts .com

Shane Gibson — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:18:18 +0000

Jonathan Farrington of Top Sales Experts .com recently invited me to join his network of 50 top sales speakers and authors from around the world. The site is a comprehensive directory of leading motivational and sales speakers that include Dr Tony Alessandra, Jill Konrath author of Selling to Big Companies, and Steve Kraner CEO of the Sandler Sales Institute.

I also just joined another fantastic community called SelfGrowth.com. It’s a massive global expert data base on everything from sales to yoga.

Here’s my new profiles:

Shane Gibson Sales Speaker Profile on Top Sales Experts .com
Shane Gibson’s Expert Profile on Self Growth .com

Sales Blog Entry - The Number one Sales Currency

Shane Gibson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:09:40 +0000

F.E.A.R. as defined by many personal development gurus (the revered and even the self-proclaimed) is defined as False Evidence Appearing Real. To close big deals, and large clients, especially in turbulent or uncertain times is all about taking the F.E.A.R out of saying yes.

Often the prospect has a dozen good reasons why they should do business with you, they even admit it, but still no deal. There’s a hesitance, a pause, then more questions, a couple stalls and more meetings hesitations and stalls. What are they afraid of? Often it’s an undefined sense of uncertainty. It’s emotional intuitive issue, they don’t trust us, or they don’t trust a number of factors that influence their business that are related to the transaction.

“Sales is about creating an environment where an act of faith can take place.”

This act of faith us based upon trust and credibility. Trust is in my opinion the number one sales currency. Too many people think it’s a product, a pitch, a better deal, or a nice suit. These things are important, but all will fall short without trust.

Recently I surveyed a number of senior investment advisors with one of Canada’s largest brokerage firms and asked them a very straightforward and open-ended question; “What does is take to move a big client (along with their with money) from a competitor to your firm?”

Every single one of them, without exception, said “the relationship.” This relationship was built upon a series of trust building interactions, very few of which were related directly to immediate gains in stock picks or better brochures than the competitors. They described knowing the client personally through lunches, dinners, inviting them the VIP events and being very accessible and transparent in their dealings with them.

I asked “what about your great research, your name in the press, the brand, and of course your track record?” The response: “That will get them to open their account with you and allow you to send them the odd e-mail or prospectus.” To move a large lump sum of money for you to manage they told me “you need trust, a real relationship based upon it.”

I recently landed a fortune 50 client. I knew I was up against bigger competitors. After the RFP and final presentation was done I got the news. The deal was mine. When I asked the Senior VP of Sales for this company why I got the deal his answer was little surprising. He said “I don’t know, the other guys are well branded, they said the right things, but you just made us feel comfortable, you were open with us, I felt that our team would relate well to you.” Relate well? I thought. What about the results I’ve landed for other clients? Our great training modules? Our experience in their sector? Comfortable? They bought comfortable!? What kind if competitive advantage is that?!

What my broker clients and I experienced is the same thing.

Our value proposition, our branding, our stats and track record opened the door for us. To close the deal, and grow the client it was our ability to establish trust that was the deciding factor.

What is trust? Trust from a prospects perspective, is a sense of comfort, a belief that we’ll do what we say we’ll do regardless of a contract or what we’re obligated to do. Seems simple, but so many people today feign concern but don’t deliver. The truly empathetic sales person that is grounded and transparent has a huge advantage in the marketplace. Trustworthiness is a rare commodity, if we focus delivering it as out core value proposition we can lock clients in for a lifetime.

So how do we establish it? Here’s some quick concluding thoughts on the topic:

#1) Know your product and service capabilities, all of it’s applications and all of it’s limitations. Close deals that fit and be willing to walk away or refer them to someone else. Basically take on clients you know you can hit a home run with.

#2) Keep even the smallest commitment always, Even things like being on time are unspoken and implied commitments. If we can’t be trusted with minor details how can we be trusted with business critical issues?

#3) Never talk about other clients to prospects, unless you let them know that you have pre-approval. They’ll enjoy the story but then later wonder what you’ll say about them.

#5) Manage their expectations up front. Let them know what to expect, even in regards to product and service limitations. Our clients are grown-ups, they know there’s no perfect product or service and they’ll appreciate our candor.

#6) Have conversations that are broader and deeper than our competitors are capable of having. Do this by educating ourselves more, researching more, assuming nothing, and customizing every interaction with the client.

#7) This final point is by far the most critical. Be good at establishing genuine rapport. This happens by being totally aware, present and functional and having a highly developed capacity for listening and asking great questions. People will sense our level of empathy and sincerity more from the questions we ask then the stories that we tell.

Author’s Bio

Shane Gibson is President of Knowledge Brokers International and author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals. With 14 years as a professional speaker Shane is in high demand as a conference speaker and a sales training and sales performance specialist. KBI’s clients include organizations such as BMW, Siemens, Ford, Vodacom, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of professional associations and corporations in Canada, USA, South Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Sales Blog - Why prospects won’t do business with a sales person.

Shane Gibson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:08:27 +0000

According to a North American study, here are some of the reasons given for not dealing with a salesperson:

• Not following the company’s buying process (26%)
• Not listening to customer’s needs (18%)
• Not following up (17%)
• Being pushy, aggressive or not respectful (12%)
• Not explaining the solution objectively (10%)
• Making exaggerated or inaccurate claims (6%)
• Not understanding the company’s market (4%)
• Being too familiar (3%)
• Not knowing or not respecting the competition (2%)

Harvard Business Review, July/August, 2006

This is an affirmation of some of my past podcasts and entries on the endless line-up of sales gurus claiming to have the ultimate sales process to sell you. The best process is the process the client uses to buy. This comes getting good at rapport, asking the right questions, an being mindful of the stage of relationship development we are in with the client.

Shane Gibson

Sales Podcast and Blog - Rapport Building in Sales

Shane Gibson — Sun, 25 May 2008 22:08:51 +0000

Today’s podcast is on rapport building in sales. The ability to develop instant rapport and credibility is often the foundation for a successful sale, even in long sales cycle and complex sales situations. You can download todays podcast here: http://www.salesvideopodcast.com/mp3audiopodcast/closingbiggerdotnet012008.mp3 Shane Gibson is a leading sale performance and sales training specialist and co-author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals.

Shane Gibson on Sales Performance - Globe and Mail.com

Shane Gibson — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:57:26 +0000

I was invited to host a discussion on sales performance on GlobeandMail.com (Canada’s leading National newspaper). Following is an excerpt of the program:

How to boost your sales skills

Globe and Mail Update

May 23, 2008 at 1:19 PM EDT

Success in business means being able to sell. You can have the best product, or service, or staff in the market, but if you can’t convince others to believe in you, or more simply, favour your brand over the others, it will all go for nought. This is true whether your trying to get hired, win a contract, secure financing or close a deal.

It’s for that reason we’ve asked Shane Gibson, a Vancouver-based sales expert and author of Closing Bigger: The field guide to closing bigger deals to provide insights and advice on how to improve your sales skills. Mr. Gibson combines a background in sales, new entrepreneur development and leadership coaching. His clients include CMA Canada, The Ford Motor Company of Canada, UBC’s Sauder Business School, Allied Van lines, and The Toronto Board of Trade.

Mr. Gibson was online earlier to take your questions. Read more

Can you close too big? Downtown Partners Closes their doors

Shane Gibson — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:57:13 +0000

Globeandmail.com’s small business section recently noted that Downtown Partners a leading Canadian advertising agency closed their doors for good after losing their biggest client:

The advertising agency that was once one of the hottest in the country is closing its doors on Feb. 15, a move largely linked to the loss of its prized Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. business. Downtown Partners, a division of Omnicom Canada, was dealt a fatal blow last November when Labatt decided to streamline its agency roster and hand the coveted Budweiser beer account to its long time agency Grip Ltd. Downtown, which had had the account for six years, wasn’t even given a chance of bidding on the brewer’s other businesses. “The agency is a victim of consequence,” Dan Pawych, creative director and a founding member of Downtown, said yesterday. More at Globeandmail.com

This is something I’ve mentioned in a few podcasts and sales blog entries. Closing Bigger is about the 7 figure deal. Sometimes though we forget the term “deal”. Deals can be finite, and if we base our whole business on one big client, we’re not in business; we’ve got a deal. I have yet to do a full in depth read on what lead up to this event but I’m assuming that big ole Labatt Brewing Company ate up much of Downtown Partners time, energy and resources, and several critical errors were made. One was somehow being totally out of sync with the client, how do you have a business dependent on one major client, and not have the business intelligence and inside connections to see this coming? The next question is who was responsible for hunting down and landing more big clients?

No matter how successful we are (and many of us are guilty of believing our own positive press) we need new fresh leads, and new clients. It’s what keeps us sharp, fine tunes our pitch and lets us know what’s really going on in the marketplace.

Another title for this sales blog entry could have been “Prospect or Die” or perhaps “How to Be Eaten by a Whale”

One of my biggest challenges when sales training people is when their company lacks the leadership and structure to enforce a quota or at least a level of accountability where people, anyone, including sales people are held to their word and the goals they set. Over the years I’ve seen too many individuals on auto-pilot, then they’re shocked when their company goes under, yet they haven’t prospected for new business or looked for new niches in the marketplace for years.

My closing thoughts for this blog are “Closing Big but keep on closing.”

Shane Gibson is a leading sales performance and sales training authority based in Vancouver Canada. His company offers sales training, motivational sales seminars, and consulting through their offices in Canada, South Africa, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Protected: High ROI Sales and Service

Shane Gibson — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:51:16 +0000

Waterboarding Your Sales Team

Shane Gibson — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:25:14 +0000

First off my blog and podcast site is usually relegated to positive stories of empowerment, connecting with clients and staff at a deep human level, and the importance of continually investing in our personal development. With that said, sometimes contrast is good. This is a story about how wrong, and how out of touch sales organizations can be.

This is about a sales executive suing his employer for Waterboarding him at a sales conference as some medieval method of motivating him (Waterboarding was first made popular during the Spanish Inquisition). He also described his work environment as follows:

“Hudgens’s lawsuit, filed Jan. 17 in Provo, suggests the testosterone-poisoned setting of the David Mamet play “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Hudgens alleged that if the 10-person sales team went a day without a sale, members had to work the next day standing up; Christopherson took away their chairs. The team leader also threatened to draw a mustache in permanent marker on the face of sales people for “negativity,” Hudgens said. Christopherson kept on his desk a piece of wood, “the 2-by-4 of motivation,” he said. “

Wow, I first read about this on Digg.com and did a quick Google search to see if it was for real. Fox news and Washington Post both posted this story back in April.

Now here’s a great quote:

“We’re not the mean waterboarding company that people think we are,” said George Brunt, general counsel for the firm, which sells a combination of online and personalized instruction — packaged as “coaching” and running $3,000 to $15,000 — to customers who are solicited by telephone.”

I love that “We’re not the mean waterboarding company that people think we are,” so if that’s not mean than what is?

You can read the entire article on the Washington Post Website. As sales managers and executives our customers, our first customers are the people on our team. If we serve them well and give them the tools to succeed then that treatment will trickle down and into the marketplace. Our team will treat our customers as humans, not numbers or quotas. Where was the humanity in this?

Sales Podcast and Blog Entry - Sales Proposals - Steve Woodruff

Shane Gibson — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:30:34 +0000

Steve Woodruff of the Impactiviti Blog on Pharmaceutical sales, marketing, and management writes a great tongue-in-cheek blog entry on how not to write a proposal. This entry really echoes what we talked about in last week’s podcast on “Selling Beyond the Bottom line”. Customization and listening are key to closing the deal and building long-term relationships with clients.

Here’s come of what Steve had to say:

Vendors: How to Lose the Business
Sep 6th, 2007 by impactiviti

If you’re a vendor, there are lots of ways to lose business opportunities. Here, some free advice on how to make sure your proposal remains at the bottom of the stack at decision time:

1. Don’t ask questions to try to clarify, and draw out, what the client really wants and needs. Just slam out that proposal and cross your fingers that you hit the mark.

2. When you cut-and-paste from prior proposals that you’ve submitted to other companies, be sure that you leave the wrong company name in once or twice. Also, bad grammar and misspellings are recommended to help assure the client that you are, indeed, detail-oriented.

Read the rest of the article at Impactiviti:

Shane Gibson.

Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Sales Podcast Blog Entry - Selling Beyond the Bottom Line

Shane Gibson — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:58:43 +0000

This week’s sales podcast is titled “Selling Beyond the Bottom Line” and is also the title of my upcoming seminar with the Vancouver Board of Trade on September 27th 2007. (This is a repost of a August 31 2007 podcast that had technical problems with the file, if you downloaded that show please delete it… this one’s better anyway!)

Click Here to Download the MP3 Now

Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast

Our intentions impact the sale more than our attention!

Shane Gibson

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Sales Podcast and Blog Entry - Sales As An Accountability Tool

Shane Gibson — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 07:25:27 +0000

I speak for the Certified Management Accountants of Canada for three of their annual conferences across Canada this month. This topic is sales as an accountability tool. I have prepared a condensed sales podcast in the topic.

Click Here the Download the MP3 Now

Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast

Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!

Shane Gibson

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Sales Blog Entry - Shane Gibson in “The Province” Vancouver BC

Shane Gibson — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:07:17 +0000

I thought some of you may find this recent article written about my presentation skills program interesting:

Being nervous not kiss of death
MAKING A PRESENTATION: It’s OK if you have a few butterflies

Carla Wilson, CanWest News Service

Published: Sunday, March 25, 2007

Don’t worry if you’re nervous making a presentation. A few butterflies may actually help you.

“If I’m not nervous at all, I may be too relaxed and too uninspiring. A little bit of an edge and some passion can really pull an audience in,” says Shane Gibson, executive vice-president of Knowledge Brokers, which trains executives and managers on how to make more effective, engaging presentations.

Read more

Sales Blog and Podcast Entry - Real Estate Sales Technology Meetup

Shane Gibson — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:54:33 +0000

For those of you in the Vancouver area I’m speaking at the Real Estate Technology Meetup. More information can be found here: http://realestateagent.meetup.com/109/calendar/5540794/

Closing Bigger Sales Podcast Entry on Managing Worry and FEAR - by Shane Gibson

Shane Gibson — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:20:56 +0000

Today’s podcast is about managing worry and fear. Too many of us are overwhelmed by our worry and immobilized by our fear in selling and in the rest of our life.

Download Shane Gibson’s Podcast Here

Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast

Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!

Shane Gibson

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Sales Podcast and Blog - IT - Technology Sales Video

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:21:22 +0000

Shane Gibson - IT Selling - Sales in Technology Tips

IT selling tips, sales in technology, how to address all decision making styles by Shane Gibson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugwR4upRZE

Shane Gibson is author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals” and President of Knowledge Brokers International (North America).

Quick Links:

Contact Shane: shane@kbitraining.com
Sales Training Blog Home
Sales Training South Africa
Sales Training Canada
Shane Gibson’s Bio

Sales Podcast and Blog Entry - Video on the Power of Commitment in Selling

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:18:42 +0000

3 minute clip on the power of commitment in selling and business by Shane Gibson author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krTjWDy4Ltg

Shane Gibson is author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals” and President of Knowledge Brokers International (North America).

Quick Links:

Contact Shane: shane@kbitraining.com
Sales Training Blog Home
Sales Training South Africa
Sales Training Canada
Shane Gibson’s Bio

Sales Blog and Podcast Entry - Video on Listening

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:16:19 +0000

“I’ve never heard someone listen their way out of a deal” -Zig Ziglar

The above quote embodies the video in this sales blog entry. Shane Gibson talks about the impact of effective listening during the sale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcMDIDZKr-w

Shane Gibson is author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals” and President of Knowledge Brokers International (North America).

Quick Links:

Contact Shane: shane@kbitraining.com
Sales Training Blog Home
Sales Training South Africa
Sales Training Canada
Shane Gibson’s Bio

Sales Blog and Podcast Entry - Frequency in Selling Video

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:12:19 +0000

The Power of Frequency in Selling - Video

This video was shot in 2007. It’s a clip of an anecdotal story that Shane Gibson tells about how frequent contact and creativity can help close the deal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouq9QkZ0EiM

Shane Gibson is author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals” and President of Knowledge Brokers International (North America).

Quick Links:

Contact Shane: shane@kbitraining.com
Sales Training Blog Home
Sales Training South Africa
Sales Training Canada
Shane Gibson’s Bio

Sales Blog and Podcast Entry - Shane Gibson Goal Setting Video

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:09:48 +0000

Setting and Achieving Powerful Goals - Video of Shane Gibson.

This video was shot in January 2007 at the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Conference. This is a 3 minute clip. (actual key-note seminar was 30 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE3M4pWoIls

Shane Gibson is author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals” and President of Knowledge Brokers International (North America).

Quick Links:

Contact Shane: shane@kbitraining.com
Sales Training Blog Home
Sales Training South Africa
Sales Training Canada
Shane Gibson’s Bio

Sales Podcast Entry - Video on “Setting and Achieving Powerful Goals” Full 30 minute seminar

Shane Gibson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:21:58 +0000

A 30 minute keynote seminar by Shane Gibson at Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Conference in 2007. This file is iPod video … all » ready just download it and add it to your itunes library for goal setting on the go. ipod video format

Sales Podcast - Closing Bigger Sales Podcast and Blog - Radio Interview Episode 2 with Minto Roy on Careers Today

Shane Gibson — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 22:09:54 +0000

Today’s sales podcast was recorded in studio at Careers Today radio show on 1040 CFUN here in Vancouver. The Host Minto Roy interviewed me on the topic of sales performance systems, training, coaching, and of course closing bigger deals and landing larger clients.

You can dowload today’s sales podcast by clicking here

Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast

Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!

Shane Gibson

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Sales Podcast Entry - Time and Priority Managment - The ABC’s of Targeting

Shane Gibson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:02:21 +0000

Today’s sales podcast is on the ABC’s of targeting and time and priority management. One of the biggest challenges we have as big deal closers when chasing opportunities and selling to big companies is that we can get distracted by the little things. In this sales podcast we will go through a brief exercise that will help us regain our immediate focus and close bigger!

Click here to download this podcast now or subscribe to this podcasts RSS feed by chosing one of the options on the right navigation bar.

Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!

Shane Gibson

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Quick Links:

Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System

Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast

Sales Blog Entry on Free Leadership Self Assessments

Shane Gibson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:31:03 +0000

I have put together a series of self assessments on coaching and leadership which are provided free (not-for-profit use and distribution only.) Here are the assessments:

Five levels of leadership self assessment
Coaching skills assessment
Enabling versus equiping self assessment

I would appreciate any feedback and comments on the usefulness of these tools and how we may improve upon them.

Shane Gibson

Quick Links:

Sales Podcast - Sales Presentation Skills Part 3

Shane Gibson — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 05:32:50 +0000

This week’s sales podcast on sales presentation skills is focused on how to effectively avoid and recover from common bombs and mistakes in sales presentations. Selling in the boardroom is a skill that can greatly accelerate our ability to close big deals in our sales career. To Download the sales podcast MP3 (Part 3) on sales presentation skills click here or subscribe to the podcast feed using one of the options on the right navigation bar.

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Sales Blog and Podcast Entry - PSI - Personality Style Indicators

Shane Gibson — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:48:49 +0000

I am certified facilator of the assessment tools developed and produced by the Consulting Resource Group. At times I struggle a bit communicating how critical it is to understand our own unique sales and personality style when dealing with other people. Ken Keis president of CRG put it well in his last e-zine article so I cut and paste a good portion of it into this blog entry as a follow-up to yesterday’s sales podcast on selling to the different styles:

How can you ever be intentional with your decisions and actions in
life, if you are not completely clear about your own personal style and its
related strengths, preferences, and challenges.

It’s a biological fact that we are born with a natural predisposition to a
distinct personal style. It’s not something we can choose to avoid. We take our
personal style with us, everywhere we go

After conducting over 2000 programs and writing on the subject for more than 16
years, I am absolutely convinced that without a full understanding of your
personal style—and the personal style of everyone with whom you interact on a
personal or professional level—you are missing critical knowledge that can
contribute to fulfillment for all the individuals involved.

It’s like flying a plane in a dense fogbank. Without training in aircraft
instrumentation, you are living by a hope and a prayer that you can make it to a
safe landing site. That is the way most people live their lives—but that need
not be true for you!

CRG is unique in that we teach a holistic development model wherein your
personal style and your personality are two separate concepts.

Your personality—the totality of who you are—is composed primarily of six
Personal Development Factors™ that contribute to your personhood.

Your Personal Style
You were born with it and it stays consistent throughout your lifetime.
Biophysical Factors
They include your gender and any illnesses (and wellness levels),
addictions, or injuries that affect your engagement of life.
Self-Worth Levels
They affect how and when you engage your life and the various challenges
that life brings to you.
Environmental Systems
Your country, your local area, geography, and your culture all highly
influence your perspective on life.
Social Teachers
These include people who have shaped your viewpoint during your life—
parents, teachers, mentors, friends, family, etc.
Emotional Anchors
They include events in your life—both positive and negative—that leave an
emotional imprint.

The CRG model acknowledges that who we are is based on
both nature and
nurture.

Research confirms that we each have unique and specific style preferences at
birth. From that moment, our personal style starts to play a powerful role in
our lives. Here are some of the things that are influenced by personal style.

Choosing supportive child-care environments
Parenting style
Learning and instructional styles that meet your specific needs
Selecting the right job and understanding job-style fit
Accepting the differences in yourself and others
Getting along better with your life partner
Coaching others
Customer service, sales, and leadership
Designing a life that plays to your strengths
Having the confidence to reject feelings of guilt and the pressures to
change from those who are different than you are. That includes peer
pressure, parents, and teachers.
Building teams that complement your business needs
Starting a business
Hiring and promoting
Resolving conflict

And much more!

If you really want to succeed in life, knowledge of personal style is
non-negotiable.

Recently, I facilitated a team development process for a billion-dollar
organization. Even though some team members had been through our

Personal Style Indicator in the past, they identified the

PSI as the single-most-important element to take participants to the next
level.

Sales Podcast Entry - Presentation Skills in the Board Room Part 2

Shane Gibson — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:25:40 +0000

This weeks sales podcast is part 2 of a 3 part series on presentation skills in the boardroom. This entry is focused on adressing the various buyer and learner styles we will encounter when doing sales presentations. You can download the file by clicking here or you can subscribe via itunes or directly to the feed by clicking one of the options on the right naviagtion bar.

This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.

Closing Bigger Sales Podcast Entry - Sales Podcast Part 1 on Executive Presentation Skills

Shane Gibson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 23:00:31 +0000

This weeks sales podcast is on presentation skills and their importance in the boardroom when pitching potential clients. This is part 1 of a 3 part podcast series on the topic. You can download todays sales podcast by clicking here.

Sales Blog Entry - From My Mentor Fred Shadian - “Imagine life being………”

Shane Gibson — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 05:48:11 +0000

My mentor Fred Shadian sent this to me…I thought it was great…

Imagine life being exactly the way you would like for it to be. Imagine working easily and naturally through the challenges that each day presents.
Imagine creating real and lasting value as the result of your efforts. Imagine moving steadily in the direction of your most treasured dream.

Imagine reaching that dream and then building an even more magnificent dream to take its place. Imagine the sense of fulfillment and purpose that comes from living true to the authentic person you are.

Imagine spending each day making a positive contribution****ion to the world in which you live. Imagine making a difference in the lives of those around you.

Imagine the beauty and richness of a life fully lived. Imagine a world in which that fulfillment spreads quickly and easily from one person to another.

Imagine life at its best, and in your imagining experience every detail, every sound, every color, every texture, every feeling. Then take a deep breath, hold your head up, step forward and truly make it happen.

– Ralph Marston

Sales Blog Entry - Using Frequency in Selling

Shane Gibson — Fri, 19 May 2006 22:59:04 +0000

The most effective element in advertising is frequency. If you reach 10 000 of the right people ten times, rather than 100 000 people once, your advertising dollars will be much more productive. To obtain more frequency, run several commercials on the same television program or the same radio time block, on the same news cast every morning or run several ads in the same newspaper on the same day. The key to obtaining value from frequency is to increase impact by reaching the same consumer several times.

A one-time pizza commercial on a late night movie will have to be a great mouth-watering event to motivate a consumer to purchase. The same commercial run several times during the show can dramatically increase response. Even though you may reach a small number of people, if they are the right people, and you reach them enough times with the right message to make them respond, and if it is affordable, you have effective advertising. To get maximum return for personal assets invested, the same principle applies in selling.

A commonly used set of figures often used in sales training that seems to back up the frequency principle in selling, is this Sales Conversion Ratio.

Note: The Sales Conversion Ratios may vary with different industries, different products and services, different priced items and services and the difference in the ability of the salesperson.

Apparently in the Life Insurance business, it takes less frequent calls to a client. As a matter of fact if you have not closed by the third meeting the chances of getting the business goes downhill fast. This is the opinion of several senior Life Insurance executives. If you are in life insurance, judge for yourself. Remember these are Conversion Ratios - meaning you take the customer from someone else. We are not talking about ratios in reference to new clients that are not with the competition. It would take less focusing with someone who does not have a relationship with a competitor.

At this point you understand the philosophy of “It is better to reach 50 of the right clients 20 times over six months or a year with the right method than it is 1 000 people once.”

It is great that you now understand the theory, but it can be quite a challenge to put this theory into Action. The best way to do this is to develop your own Data Base Selling System and utilize that System.

Now, for many people when you say “Data Base Selling” they think computers and software programs. I am going to suggest that computers and software programs are not a Data Base Selling System, they are tools that can make Data Base Selling more efficient.

You can implement Data Base Selling by utilizing a small cardboard or metal box with cards that fit the size of box, or you could use a ring binder, rolodex or a file drawer of files. The computer is just the box binder, rolodex or file drawer that holds the client information.

So, if you are not comfortable utilizing a personal computer, lap-top or notebook computer, you can still utilize the concept of Data Base Selling. Before the invention of lap-tops and Personal Computers, most successful salespeople utilized the Data Base Selling approach to building their business with their own system of control.

Lets look at a real simple way to describe what Data Base Selling really is.Data Base Selling is when you gather together a list of the names of Present and/or Potential Customers in one place. This becomes your Base of Data on your potential and/or present clients who you systematically contact on a frequent basis, using a number of different methods with the purpose of gaining the business.

If all you ever used were the primary data base selling tools, but you used them frequently and effectively, you would be very successful as a salesperson. Examples of primary tools include, personal visits, outgoing prospecting phone calls, personal e-mails, and even coincidental encounters. These are very personal and effective ways to manage a relationship. The importance of utilizing some type of Data Base management program or process is to help salespeople and the organization as a whole to consistently move relationships forward with clients.

Particularly in Long Sales Cycle Selling or big deal making We can experience dozens of low and highly charged emotional days or even weeks before we close the deal. By having a process for constant follow-up and customer contact we’re prompted to continually follow up and contact potential clients even when our emotions aren’t running in a positive direction.

This process could be facilitated by a customer relations management (CRM) software (Pivotal, Siebel, Sales Logix, Goldmine etc.) , a paper based day timer, or something like Microsoft Outlook, or a Palm OS. A system for follow up supported by a good business coach or manager is one of the best ways that sales professionals can continue to consistently win when their emotions or circumstances are not positive.

The initial reaction to this by most salespeople is that the client would feel hassled or bugged by a salesperson who makes contact that often. The answer is simple. If you go to a sales meeting that is boring and a waste of time you are not eager to go back the following week. If it was an interesting, worthwhile meeting you would be glad to go back.

The same applies to selling. If you show up each time with tools and information that help the client and you are an interesting person, he/she will be glad to see you. If the information you fax, mail or phone through is of real use the client, once again the client will be happy to hear from you.

The key is to remember that the value of the frequency is the time you put in with the client. The intent provides the genuine sincere assistance which develops a relationship of one degree or another which will create a commitment from both parties.

So, the frequency with the right approach will build the relationship.