SELLING IN (and after) THE GREAT RECESSION (Why now, you must change the way you sell.)

1. SELLING IN (and after) THE GREAT
RECESSION
(Why now, you must change the way you sell.)
By:
Joe Piergrossi
PIER Associates
(pierassociates@mindspring.com)
Copyright © 2011 PIER Associates - All Rights Reserved

2. Those of us who teach the skills of selling have long been talking about the
changes that must take place in the process of selling. Now that we are in the
middle of “The Great Recession” (we all hope that we are nearer the end than the
middle), it seems that this change is not a matter of choice but rather a necessity.
The way buyers buy, and sellers sell will most likely be dramatically changed over
the coming months and years. Companies and individuals are already changing
their buying habits. Here are some of the changes I have observed:
● If we don't really need it, don't buy it.
● If we can postpone a buying decision, do so.
● If we must buy, do lots of research on the product/service, and the
seller(s). Use the Internet as a resource.
● Always get competitive bids (Sellers usually try to speed up the process,
slow it down, avoid a bad decision.)
● Ask for recent references and referrals from sellers. Talk with those buyers
and seek out the good, bad, and the ugly. Again use the Internet.
Then there is the issue of price. I have long been saying that buyers want value
in their purchases. They often define value with the following components:
● Quality
● Service
● Selection
● Price
● And sometimes terms (payment, interest, warranties) and convenience.
In today's economic climate, buyers typically want it all: The best quality, the
highest level of service, the widest selection, the lowest possible price, and the most
attractive terms. And they want sales people that they can trust and who know what
the hell they are talking about!
I have defined three kinds of sellers:
1. Order Takers (No help here.)
2. Hunter Killers (The sellers needs come first, usually a fat commission.)
3. Solves Persons ( Masters at helping buyers meet their needs.)
My experience tells me that too many sales people are either a number 1 or 2,
and all too few are number 3. However, if you have any hope of success selling in
these turbulent times it surely will be with Solves Persons and not with Order
Takers, and definitely not Hunter Killers.
One of my favorite phrases is:
Buyers are getting better at buying, faster than sellers are at selling.
I have long believed this statement to be true; today it is a FACT! Just consider
your own abilities as a buyer and how they have changed in the last decade or so.

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I will assume that the terms Order Takers and Hunter Killers are descriptive
enough for the reader to discern their meanings. However, it is important to note
that sellers (Order Takers) who offer little that is value added to the buying – selling
process, or those who use slick, high pressure closing techniques and gimmicks
(Hunter Killers), will find less and less opportunity for success in this current
economic climate. Also, companies that tolerate these types of sellers will find it
difficult to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with buyers.
Therefore, selling has become a negatively charged word. When someone
(especially someone you don't know) looks like, acts like, or talks like they want to
sell you something, it typically sets off a host of defensive and negative thoughts and
reactions. So, today's sellers (think Solves Persons) must avoid all of the selling
behavior that so often create these defensive and negative thoughts and reactions
from potential buyers.
All to often a company views selling simply as a self-serving process. They think
or say (to their sales team): “We have all this stuff (products and services) and we
need to move it, NOW!” If it is something that is difficult to sell and/or buyers don't
really want to buy they often raise the commission percentage, provide a sales
bonus, or offer incentives to the buyer. Sales managers say something like the
following to their sales staffs: “Look, we are behind budget this month, just get out
there and sell this stuff; no excuses!” The customer's needs and customer
satisfaction are seldom the main drivers in the process. Often sales management
puts the main focus on making the month, rather than building long term mutually
beneficial relationships with customers. It is, in my view, the main reason why
percentages are often lower for customer satisfaction/retention, and higher for
customer turnover.
The purpose of this paper is to help sales team managers create solves persons.
A note of warning: this process takes time and costs money; in some cases lots of
both. However, the pay-off can be extraordinary.
Over the years I have observed many sales people whom I considered to be
Solves Persons. They all had most or all of the following highly developed skills, and
abilities:
● A thorough understanding of his/her companies Products and Services
● Completing pre-call/sale Research, Thinking and Planning.
● Maintaining detailed customer/prospect profiles.
● Setting appointments on the telephone or in person.
● Establishing Trust, building Rapport, and creating Interest with buyers.
● Using Referrals and References to improve Trust, Rapport, and Interest.
● Asking Questions, Listening, and creating Clarity on the buyers needs.
● Identifying and gaining agreement, with the Buyer, on the Buyers needs.
● Offering and gaining Agreement on Solutions (products and/or services)for
the Buyers identified needs.

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● Managing Objections and Closing on the Solutions to the Buyers needs.
● Understanding and selling against all competitors.
● Identifying and Completing all of the Next Steps in the sales process,
including those assigned to the Buyer.
● Developing New Business from Customers and Prospects.
● Completing Post-Call/sale Thinking and Planning, and Profile update.
● Thinking like a Partner, not like a Vendor (customer-centered.)
I have participated in several projects designed to identify the most common
personality traits of successful sales people within a sales team. The process
involved interviews with a cross section of the members of the sales team, with
emphasis on the most and least successful members of the group. The most
common traits (some are skills/abilities) that emerged from those projects are:
● PROBLEM SOLVER...The person with this trait/skill set has a genuine
need to identify and solve problems; they see a problem as a challenge to
figure out rather than as a stumbling block. The opposite of this trait is:
AVOIDS PROBLEMS.
● THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS...This person will ask relevant questions, probe
for additional information, look for new and different angles, and go beyond
the given. The opposite of this trait is: SURFACE ANALYSIS.
● GOOD QUESTIONER/LISTENER...The person with this skills set asks
appropriate, relevant, thought provoking questions, He/she is good at asking
a major question and then probing for more details based upon the other
persons response, actively listens, tunes out other distractions, is
intellectually curious. The opposite of this trait is POOR
QUESTIONER/PASSIVE LISTENER.
● PERSUASIVE... In the past we defined a persuasive person as someone
who was dominating, controlling, manipulating, and even coercive in order to
get someone to buy something. Today, we define that person as someone who
is skilled at creating clarity He/She backs up opinions with relevant facts, and
reads and adjusts well to others. The opposite of this trait is: LACKS
PERSUASIVENESS (clarity.)
● WELL DISCIPLINED...Organized, manages time effectively, and prioritizes;
can handle several tasks without losing control, is good at tying up loose ends
and following up on details that need closure. The opposite of this trait is
LACKS DISCIPLINE.
● EXHIBITS DRIVE AND DETERMINATION...seeks out opportunities, strives
to excel and improve, is oriented toward success, is productively competitive,
and takes initiative with others. The opposite of this trait is PASSIVE.

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● PRODUCTIVELY ASSERTIVE... This trait is demonstrated by: handles
confrontation well, takes initiative with others, will face uncomfortable
interpersonal situations, willing to ask probing questions, will directly ask
others for business, and does not take “no” personally, but rather tries to find
out “why not?” The opposite of this trait is: LACKS TACT OR ASSERTIVENESS
or is OVERLY ASSERTIVE.
● RESOURCEFUL/WELL DISCIPLINED...This type of person has a realistic
can-do attitude, finds ways around obstacles, and adjusts well when things
don't go as planned, develops contingency plans, and shows a willingness to
try out new approaches. The opposite of this trait is: LACKS
RESOURCEFULNESS AND DISCIPLINE.
● HANDLES AMBIGUITY WELL...A person with this trait adapts well to
change, is a confident self starter who takes initiative, and is comfortable with
independence, and self direction. The opposite of this trait is: NEEDS
STRUCTURE AND DIRECTION.
Typically the Solves Person does not possess all of these traits at the highest
levels, but the most evolved Solve Persons will have many of these traits at the
highest or at above average levels. The interviewing process used to identify traits in
sales candidates is not as difficult as it might seem. The major rule here is to give an
interviewee, through thoughtful questioning, with multiple interviewers every
opportunity to demonstrate that they possess a given trait, and if they do not,
assume that it not a strong trait of theirs.
A common question asked is: “How do we change our sales culture?” Here is an
overview of the process I have used with most of my clients:
1. Hire and retain the right sales people. The traits listed above are the best
way I know to define your sales culture and identify sales ability in
candidates.
2. Train sales people how to sell; don't assume they know how. Use the skills
and abilities of the solves person listed above, as your curriculum. Make it a
process, not an event. Don't just teach concepts develop specific skills
through classroom and field training.
3. Provide a customer – centered support system for customers and sales
people. In most organizations nothing happens until a customer buys
something; make it easy and beneficial for them to do business with you.
Make customer – centered an integral part of your sales culture.
4. Establish and maintain aggressive sales performance standards, and a
compensation plan that fosters increased sales productivity and improved
customer satisfaction. Make them clear, require some stretching, with no
ceiling on income.

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5. Support the rest of the system with strong sales management. They must
hire and retain the best sales people, provide continuous sales training,
inspect what is expected, and drive sales people beyond their level of comfort.
6. Create a top – down commitment to sales culture change. Everybody:
participates, changes and improves, agrees to raise their performance bar,
and everybody benefits.
I offer some additional thoughts on steps four and five since they are the areas
that typically generate the most frustration and indeed potential payoff.
Performance standards and sales compensation...
In addition to the usual standards (revenue, new business, etc,) one of the
most overlooked sales performance standards is customer satisfaction. Although it
is often considered too difficult to measure there are numerous signs or evidence as
to whether a customer is satisfied or not. Here are a few to consider:
● Customer retention is a good sign of satisfaction; the longer the customer is
retained the stronger the evidence becomes. Conversely, customers who only
buy once may be evidence of dissatisfaction at some level.
● A customer's willingness to provide referrals, references, and to work with
your company as a partner on various projects are all signs of the customer's
satisfaction.
● Clearly, a pattern of negative complaints from customers directed at a specific
sales person, or the company is evidence of dissatisfaction.
Sales compensation plans are most often designed to increase sales (as they
should), but they should also foster an improvement in customer satisfaction, most
do not. Often, sales compensation, including bonuses, focus on making this month,
or quarter rather than on building long term relationships with satisfied customers.
When sales compensation plans (especially 100% commission plans) are not
properly designed and closely monitored, terrible abuses often occur. There is
overwhelming evidence that our current international financial crisis was created in
large measure by run-away compensation plans and the greed that often comes
with them.
Sales management...
I have a fairly basic philosophy about sales management: Most sales
performance problems are created, or allowed to continue, due to some sort of
deficiency in sales management. Here are some highlights

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● Hiring the “wrong” person. My dear, late friend Pete Strasen said it best:
“Sales managers often try to make chicken salad out of chicken droppings.”
Not all people have the personalities to be in sales, the sales manager's job is
to hire those that do. Also, if the sales manager “inherits” a sales team, there
is a very short window until performance problems become his or hers to
solve.
● The primary provider of sales training in a sales organization is the sales
manager, not the consultant who comes twice a year. If sales managers can't
or won't train sales people (classroom and field), they are most likely in the
wrong job. By the way, here is another philosophic observation of mine: the
very best sales people are often promoted into sales management positions,
frequently resulting in the loss of a great sales person and the gain of a less
than average (or poor) sales manager. The personality traits of a great sales
person are typically not the same traits for a great sales manager.
● Goal setting and performance management are key elements of the sales
managers job that are often underutilized. Setting realistic, measurable, and
attainable goals, with sales subordinates, and managing their performance for
improvement are often viewed as cumbersome chores. In many ways they are
the crux of the sales managers success, or the lack of it.
If you have read this paper to this point it is a good sign that you are seriously
considering changes in the way your organization sells. A great perspective to take is
one as a buyer yourself. When you are in a buying mode (business or personal) how
do you react when the seller uses slick, high pressure “closing” techniques and
gimmicks (hunter killers)? And what about interacting with sellers who offer little
that is value added to the buying-selling process (order takers)? Your responses
most likely include numerous defensive and negative thoughts and reactions.
Conversely dealing with a seller who puts your needs first, acts like a partner, and
works at building a long term, mutually beneficial relationship with you (solves
person) creates a whole different set of responses, almost always positive ones.
So it makes sense to me, and I hope to you, that your sales people need to act
like the type of seller that you prefer to do business with. Sometimes managers
avoid making a decision for fear of making the wrong one. In this case changing the
way your organization sells...is the right decision!
Joe Piergrossi
pierassociates@mindspring.com
706 395 6325