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April 19 - April 19, 2025
successfully growing sales by picking off business from competitors, we turned our attention to new markets.
Strategy
Unfortunately, times and economies change.
Selling today is harder than selling a decade ago
a severe shortage of sales mentors.
Unfortunately, much of the blame rests with sales managers who are more concerned that their people keep the CRM system updated than they are with whether they can effectively sell.
Mentoring and developing your skills through teaaching has lost its way
they simply do not know what to do.
In good times, there was plenty of demand, and as long as we met the needs of existing customers and maintained a solid relationship we picked up business and everyone was happy.
Again, supporting the argument that time has changed
Top performers in sales don’t wait for anything or anyone.
The perfect time is now
Waiting is a key ingredient in the recipe for new business failure.
Tom Reilly, a fantastic sales trainer and author of the helpful book Value-Added Selling.
Book recommendation
Instead of doing the wise and responsible thing—spreading their effort across target accounts and opportunities in various stages of the sales cycle—they lock up,
Think DanO, just because a deal is full does not mean you stop selling
If you’re not excited about what you are selling, how in the world will you get a prospect interested?
Think smiles, excitement, body language
This constant change of direction becomes their death knell because they never gain traction against the defined target set.
One call is never enough. Consistency
new business success usually results from a combination of perseverance, creativity, and resilience while staying laser-focused on a well-chosen, finite list of target prospects.
Again, people buy from people they like and trust. Part of our job is to ensure we are likable and trustworthy.
we are there to find pain, potential problems we can solve, and opportunities we can help capture.
Discover clients pain points and addres them
don’t ask enough good questions.
charles duhigg-ask deeper questions
It’s New Sales where most people need the help, not managing existing relationships.
Maybe 60/40? Skewed towards new sales?
95 percent of the time babysitting existing customers.
Maybe 70/30
Only salespeople that dedicate blocks of time on their calendar for prospecting activity consistently succeed at acquiring new business.
(do yourself a favor and grab Jill Konrath’s incredible book SNAP Selling: Speed up Sales and Win More Business with Today’s Frazzled Customers)
Book recommendation:
They hear one “no” and immediately say “thank you for your time” and hang up or leave. I’m sorry, but a salesperson with that makeup belongs in a service role, and management is foolish to ever think that individual is going to deliver new business.
Deriving value from every call
Let me say it another way: Sales is supposed to follow strategy.
The 'how' when it comes to goals
Our reason for existence The direction the company is headed and why it’s the correct course What we sell and why we sell it Which markets to pursue and where we are positioned in those markets The competitive landscape and how we stack up against competitive offerings, and why we’re better or different Why our pricing model is appropriate for the value we create in the markets we’re pursuing and against the competition we’re facing
Reflect on these for WAC
It is not the job of sales to set strategy. It’s our job to execute the clear strategy
Briliant. Leave the analysis to the analysts
Enough! For whatever reason, in too many companies salespeople are treated like the enemy and the problem. It is wrong; it doesn’t help; it certainly doesn’t increase sales.
sales is royalty
The hybrid hunter-farmer sales role is the model that dominates small and mid-size companies.
Hunter farmer = new and existin
you have to nurture both
spiridon said "1/3 each catagory. split between new, existing but not buying, and existing and buying
75 percent of the time fishing instead of 25 percent?
Similar to spiridons split
often I see underachievers being overpaid and top producers being underpaid.
Koa
Why would I even think of taking my eye off this income stream and distract myself by going after new business—new business that takes a lot of time and energy to produce?
Fair argument.
Radical. Align the pay plan with the business goals. Make the annuity less attractive over time to encourage more hunting. And drive that point home by paying an overly generous commission in year one of new deals.
Closing argument. Ties in with his love for new business
My former partner at my first consulting business was a master at creating a sales culture. Donnie continually preached the importance of having a sales environment that was fun, energized, competitive, results-focused, and heart-engaging.
Not quite Luke
meant that line about sales coaching being a waste if the salespeople have no passion for their jobs. It’s true. You have to want it!
Like mostb professions in life
now call the New Sales Driver for the first time.
THE NEW SALES DRIVER A. Select targets. B. Create and deploy weapons. C. Plan and execute the attack.
The crux - strategy
When attacking targets, it really helps when we’re able to create and deploy the necessary weapons.
Part of the plan
Remember: SALES IS A VERB.
When charged with acquiring new business, the natural and essential first questions are: “Where is the business going to come from?” and “Who should I be pursuing?”
Prospects / targets
we can’t prospect if we don’t know who the prospects are.
Who are our best customers? What are their common characteristics? What do their businesses “look, smell, and feel” like? Where are they located? Are they a particular size (e.g., in terms of revenue) or in certain vertical markets or niches where we have a higher rate of success? Where can we find potential customers with similar profiles?
!!
Frustrated about not getting a “kill” with the first shot, they forget about all the thought and prep work invested to create their original list. In frustration, they discard their lists and begin shooting in a completely different direction at a new set of targets. Typically, this redirection produces similar disappointing results, so they begin the cycle all over again, dooming their business development effort to failure.
You have a list of targets, focus on them intently
There’s no prize for sales creativity or being known for selling into the widest variety of customer types. Find the path of least resistance and then focus like mad on that very path.
The most prolific new business developers live by their target lists.
sticking to the targets!
The key is to create a target list that can be worked effectively and thoroughly over that defined period.
most activity and focus is determined solely by what comes up on the CRM’s daily task list.
Think for yourself on targets - not CRM reliant
I suggest dividing the existing customers into four categories: 1. Largest—in terms of dollars spent (not size of the organization) 2. Most Growable—best opportunity for incremental revenue 3. Most At-Risk—highest probability of losing their business (some or all of it) 4. Other—accounts that do not qualify for any of the previous three categories
!
As WAC is early stages this is not entirely necessary
You know what you typically find in the executive suite? Nicer people. Smarter people. More professional people. Bigger-thinking people. People more interested in achieving their goals than beating up a vendor over a nickel.
Target senior execs
key to gaining the interest of senior executives is to be able to connect with them about issues that are on their mind.
Any approach that capitalizes on the internal referral is great and certainly places us in a stronger position than if we were initiating contact without
Marshaling the Weapons in Your Arsenal
Our Sales Story.
