Mastering The Essentials of Sales_8 potx

This page intentionally left blank 155 B ob had it happen to him. After 20 years in sales and sales management, his company merged and half his sales staff was eliminated. So was his position. Bob re- ceived a generous severance package and took his family on a two-week vacation just to clear his mind about what he wanted to do. Six months later he is still without a job, feeling bitter and blaming his former boss for not warning him about the merger. Elizabeth met with failure in a different way. After dozens of calls and pages of detailed proposals she landed a large sale that made her eligible for a trip to Hawaii. The day the order was supposed to be shipped, she received an urgent email message from her CFO that the customer had HOW DO YOU REACT TO FAILURE? 38 Copyright © 2006 by Gerhard Gschwandtner. Click here for terms of use. failed to send the down payment. She decided to visit the customer who wrote her a check for the full amount in ex- change for immediate shipment. Unfortunately, the check bounced, and two days later the client company went into Chapter 11. How do you react to reverses of fortune in your sales ca- reer? When most people think of a successful career, they often imagine a continuous string of victories, a steady up- ward movement, and a predictable supply of manageable challenges. In real life, successful people are those who have stumbled, picked themselves up, learned more about themselves, and moved on to tackle even greater chal- lenges. Research suggests that how we respond to a setback de- pends on what psychologists call ego strength. Do you seek comfort after failure, or do you seek solutions? How long does it take you to find the best course of remedial action? Do you punish yourself by sticking your head in the sand, or do you accept the situation, hold your head up high, and move on? Do you ignore failure, or do you learn from it? The answers to these questions are determined by our ability to appraise reality objectively, which is the hallmark of ego strength. Ego strength divides executives into three types: 1. The Sherman Tank. These sales executives have armored their egos with steel plates. Like bullets that ricochet off a Sherman Tank, failures just bounce off their egos without leaving a scratch. They forge ahead in the face of failure, either denying it or pretending that nothing happened. Sherman Tanks MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 156 believe that denial or cover-ups are effective coping strategies. The downside of their rigid strategy is twofold: They never learn from their failures, and they are very vulnerable when failures hit too close to home. 2. The four-wheel drive. These sales executives have the greatest ego strength. When they run into the ruts of failure, they shift gears, apply a greater torque on all four wheels, and roll on. Although they experience the sting of failure, they don’t allow their egos to get bent out of shape. Four-wheel drives have faith in their ability to accept failure, they know how to manage adversity, and they have the courage and faith to survive disasters. 3. The convertible. These executives see failure as an opportunity to open up. When adversity hits, they don’t hide; they closely survey their surroundings. In the process they discover more about what influ- ences them and how they can build on their strengths. When adversity strikes, convertible execu- tives respond with openness, leading to more realis- tic worldviews. They see failure as an opportunity to become more humble, more accepting of other peo- ple, and more focused on what really matters. MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 157 REMINDER Failure is always a bitter medicine. We can either swallow the medicine so it can release its power, or refuse to take it and fail again. This page intentionally left blank 159 D r. Paul Stoltz is one of the nation’s most renowned re- searchers on adversity. In his book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities, he describes how we can determine our adversity quotient. The test reveals how well we deal with life’s tough challenges, setbacks, and dif- ficulties. When measuring a group of real estate salespeo- ple, Stoltz found that agents with a high AQ outsold agents with a low AQ by as much as 250 percent. Stoltz says people generally fall into three main cate- gories: the quitter, the camper, and the climber. The quit- ters give up trying to live a purposeful life. According to Stoltz, “They refuse the opportunity and abandon the climb.” In the second category, between 60 and 80 percent HOW TO TURN SETBACKS INTO COMEBACKS 39 Copyright © 2006 by Gerhard Gschwandtner. Click here for terms of use. of people, are the campers. The campers only go so far and then “weary from the climb terminate their ascent.” They set up camp somewhere along the road to success and may never see what else lies ahead on their journey. The climber is in the third category. Climbers are dedicated to a lifelong ascent, says Stoltz. These are resilient, tenacious, persis- tent people who don’t know the meaning of the word quit. Typically, 5 to 20 percent of the people you work with are climbers. Research by Dr. Martin Seligman shows that what counts is not what happens to us, it’s how we interpret or explain an adverse event. Dr. Seligman measured the responses to ad- versity of thousands of insurance agents. He found that the way salespeople explained their difficulties—by using either optimistic or pessimistic terms—dramatically affected their sales results. Optimistic salespeople outsold pessimists by 88 percent. Salespeople who used pessimistic explana- tory styles were three times more likely to quit regardless of talent. To a sales manager, managing adversity is as important as managing goals. A successful sales team must strive to achieve ambitious goals and learn how to overcome ob- stacles. Unless a sales team develops a methodology for knocking down barriers and turning stumbling blocks into stepping-stones, a more resili- ent team will take the lead in the marketplace. The sales manager has to apply the right mixture of re- alism and optimism to help MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 160 SUCCESS PRINCIPLE Adversity is a slippery slope. That’s why stick- to-itiveness is a prerequisite for reaching the top. salespeople understand that though they’ve lost a sale, they haven’t lost their capacity to sell. The blueprint for managing adversity must be embedded in the manager’s attitude. He or she has to demonstrate that we all can make the choice to respond to adversity in a positive, cre- ative, and constructive way. The most successful salespeople on any team are ex- traordinary climbers who conquer more difficulties than their competitors. Studies of people who have fought life’s toughest battles show that winners over adversity discover inner peace, uncommon wisdom, and unprecedented levels of success. Some experts suggest that we can fake it until we make it. There is some practical wisdom to that. Many feats of mankind hinge on a hope and a prayer. Sales success can hinge on the art of turning setbacks into comebacks. We alone hold the key to turning adversity into an excuse to camp out and fail or into a reason to continue the climb and win. MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 161 This page intentionally left blank 163 H ow do you handle disappointments? In business, the norm is to be upbeat, motivated, and achievement ori- ented. With everyone focused on success, disappointment can invite denial. According to Dr. Zaleznik, professor emer- itus at the Harvard Business School, the way we handle dis- appointment is often more important in reaching success than our focus on success itself. Why? Because managing disappointment forces people to learn more about them- selves and to better manage future disappointments. Here are some keys that can help you manage disappointment: 1. Stop running. Allow yourself time to think and sift through the residue of your troubling experience. If HOW TO MANAGE DISAPPOINTMENT 40 Copyright © 2006 by Gerhard Gschwandtner. Click here for terms of use. [...]... high achievers watch a sunset, they don’t see the end of the day—they imagine the sun rising on the other side of the planet They know that there is a new dawn every second somewhere on this earth 4 High achievers use a special compass to guide them Here are the four compass headings of the high achiever: • North High achievers climb higher Austrian Reinhold Messner was the first human to set foot on... now? Who runs the company today? What is the company’s vision of the future? Find 168 MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES out what influenced the ACTION TIP company’s growth (or deCheck out the company’s cline) during the past sales compensation five years system Many new 6 Check the company companies lure top from the perspective salespeople from of the reporter Go to established firms with the company’s... potential When these Read the company’s hissalespeople earn more tory, read the press rethan their managers, the leases, learn about the company may change key officers, and check the commission system their educational backgrounds Next, search the Internet for articles that have been published about the company You’ll find that many companies don’t post all the articles written about them on their Websites... nation of thrill seekers The United States is largely inhabited by descendants of immigrants who uprooted themselves to come to the New World 4 Thrill seekers go to the edge to find new solutions For example, Joe Liemandt, CEO of Trilogy, took a group of new employees to Las Vegas and urged them to bet a few thousand dollars of their company’s money on a single spin of the roulette wheel Although the. .. to make the same mistake twice.” What can sales executives do to avoid getting hurt by poor management practices? How can they evaluate the true opportunities a company can offer? R 167 Copyright © 2006 by Gerhard Gschwandtner Click here for terms of use MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 1 Check the company’s value system Read the company’s mission statement Ask about the company’s philosophy of doing... should examine the company from the perspective of an investor who buys stock in the company You are becoming a stakeholder in the company, and you want to make sure that if you create a certain value, you will receive a fair return on your investment 5 Check the company from the perspective of the owner Find out everything you can about the company’s owner Who started the company? Who owns the company... Search the Internet for articles that have been published about the company’s officers You’ll be surprised how much you can learn about the company in a very short time The best companies to work for are those whose managers are well educated and that have a strong sense of loyalty to their customers, employees, and shareholders The more employees understand the role of management, the better they will... decisions? How are employees trained to grow? What are the specific tools with which the company measures its progress? 3 Check the company from the perspective of a customer Ask for the opportunity to visit a few of the company’s customers Ask a few questions about quality, service, follow-up, or ideas for improvement 4 Check the company from the perspective of an investor Since you are planning to invest... assistant, Watson, in another steps back, think of new Bell knew that creating the possibilities that telephone was not enough; he will take you three found new ways to sell his steps forward invention 172 MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES • West High achievers look far back In The Iliad, the Greek poet Homer described tales of extraordinary heroes who lived 500 years earlier When another high achiever,... spirit They explore uncharted territory, enjoy moving forward in the face of great risk, and love finding solutions to problems that others find daunting They take pride in innovations that make old pathways to success obsolete 2 High achievers are impatient with those who 171 Copyright © 2006 by Gerhard Gschwandtner Click here for terms of use MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES seek safety and comfort They . vision of the future? Find MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 1 68 out what influenced the company’s growth (or de- cline) during the past five years. 6. Check the company from the perspective of the. shareholders. The more employees understand the role of manage- ment, the better they will be able to contribute and make their investment pay off. MASTERING THE ESSENTIALS OF SALES 169 ACTION. artifi- cial. When high achievers watch a sunset, they don’t see the end of the day—they imagine the sun rising on the other side of the planet. They know that there is a new dawn every second somewhere