This tendency is one of the most important reasons to hire the right people (with the relevant personal traits for the job) and provide those people with the structure, processes, and tools to assure that only the positive elements of subjectivity (reading people and situations, instinct (to a degree), and other capabilities one might classify as the “art” aspect of selling) impact their decision-making and how they pursue business. At ESR we know that objectivity is a critical selling capability.

Selective attention is an interesting behavior to study when it comes to salespeople.  Basically, it’s deliberate, focused attention. (Here is a detailed description.) The problem is, as I see it, that many salespeople focus their attention on what they want to see, rather than what’s really there. Some of you may remember that I often use the quote, “We see things not as they are, but as we are.”  Or, the more popular and humorous, “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”  That one is attributed to Mark Twain.

So here’s a video for you. I’d like you to watch it, then come back to me with your response to this question:

Do you agree or disagree that selective attention is an issue that must be addressed in a strategic sales effectiveness initiative?

Here is the YouTube link to the video below, in case you’re on an iPhone or iPad:  http://www.youtube.com/v/vJG698U2Mvo

1. Charlie Green put up a cool info-graphic last week: How Trustworthy Are You? You probably are aware that Charlie is the guy I look up to when it comes to knowledge and content around the critical subject of trust in selling. Integrity (and the subcategory of trust) are primary values here at ESR.
   

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2. I was featured twice in the November Top Sales World E-zine. One placement was a recent interview Linda Richardson did with me. It’s called “Changing the Way We Sell.”  The second is a new article I wrote about how important objectivity is in sales.  It’s something that not enough salespeople exhibit and it costs them dearly.  Thanks to Jonathan Farrington for including me.
   

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3. Last month I was delighted to be a panelist during an AchieveGlobal Forum in New York City.  Sharon Daniels, CEO of AchieveGlobal, Joel Cataldo, Sr. Director, Talent Management & Development at Arrow Electronics, and I were the panelists.  Peter Ostrow of Aberdeen presented at the conference as well.  Well done, AchieveGlobal.
   

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4. Speaking of panels, ESR has decided to extend our Sales Thought-Leader Panel series.  We will be holding at least two more events during January.  Topics to be announced.  (Let me know your thoughts on this.  You provide the topic(s), I’ll get world-class sales leaders as the panelists.) This time I’m the moderator, not a panelist.  Coming up this Wednesday is Increasing Sales Effectiveness Across a Global Sales Organization. We’ve got some wonderful panelists.  Remember, these are not scripted, no promotions, no posturing, no selling, no PowerPoint presentations.  Just a powerful discussion among the best in the industry.  Here is a link to the Sales Thought-Leader event.
   

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5. Last week I recorded a webinar for ASTD’s Sales Training Drivers upcoming virtual conference in December.  I covered the highlights of ESR’s most recent Report on Virtual Sales Training.  I’ll keep you posted on when the webinar will run.
   

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6. Our friends at DePaul University have asked me to enlist your support in completing their 2011 Sales Effectiveness Survey they’ve posted. ESR will be contributing to the final report in the form of recommendations based on the findings.

See ya,

Dave

The results show that, over the past two years, rapid advancements in technology, combined with a sluggish economy, have produced a dramatic leap forward in both the types of training provided and the subject matter delivered through virtual training.

The report was published today. Here is the press release: ESR’s 2011 Report on Virtual Sales Training.

These changes represent a significant and unprecedented evolution for the sales training industry. There is no going back to what everyone was doing just three or four years ago.

Here is some of what is covered in this Report:

• Average investment in sales training by salesrep
• Who makes sales training decisions
• Who is responsible for the sales training budget
• Mandates for virtual training
• The reasons companies train virtually rather than in traditional classrooms
• How long the improvement from virtual training lasts
• The differences between live virtual training and asynchronous (on-demand) virtual training
• The strengths and weaknesses of each
• What sales training content is best delivered virtually
• Delivery methods, including Internet- and computer-based
• Customization trends
• Relative increases and decreases in virtual versus live training
• Barriers to adopting virtual training and classroom training

This information is vital for sales organizations and training providers that want to thrive in this new environment.

This is one of the 10 charts in the 32-page Report that reveals changes in the sales training environment. (See note at bottom of post.)

Click on the image for a full-size rendition.

If you are an ESR sales training buyer or sales training provider subscriber, click here to access the Virtual Sales Training Report. The Report is included in your subscription.

Click on the link to purchase the Virtual Sales Training Report.

Important note: Written permission is required from ESR for quotation from this chart and/or any content in the Report or Executive Summary.  Getting permission to link to this post is not required.

Some sales trainers and sales training companies have been providing virtual learning programs and supporting reinforcement for years.

It’s ESR’s job to stay on top of trends like these for both our sales training buyer and our sales training provider audiences.  So we recruited two sales training providers with leading virtual training solutions to assist us in getting the word out about this survey.  3g Selling is a leader in live, instructor-led virtual sales training. That’s one virtual modality. The TAS Group has done an admirable job integrating their learning content and reinforcement approach into Dealmaker, The TAS Group’s sales performance automation software solution.  We’ll also be soliciting responses from many other sources to assure that we have a broad sampling of data across many industries, regions, size companies, and learning delivery preferences.

The targeted audience for completing this survey is:

• Corporate Learning & Development and/or Training Staff and Management
• Salesreps
• Sales Management and Executives
• Sales Operations and Sales Enablement Staff or Management
• HR, Marketing, or anyone else that has a good understanding of how sales training is delivered in their company.
• (Note: This survey is not intended for third-party sales trainers to take.  The results, however, should be of significant interest.)

There are always trade-offs when designing a survey.  One is scope/comprehensiveness versus the risk of respondents not completing the survey.  This time around ESR went for comprehensive.

So, here are the incentives for completing the survey:

• A free copy of the ebook that will be published with the results of the survey, findings, and recommendations.
  

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• ESR will provide one complimentary one-year sales training buyer subscription to a single respondent’s company.
  

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• ESR will also provide one complimentary one-year sales training buyer subscription to a single respondent’s company.
  

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• 3g Selling is offering a FREE 1-hour virtual training ROI consultation to every respondent who completes the survey. It’s ideal for organizations that are either contemplating a move to virtual or researching how to make their existing virtual training programs better.
  

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• The TAS Group will be giving away a copy of Select Selling – Strategies to Win Customers, by The TAS Group CEO, Donal Daly, and Select Strategies CEO, Paul O’Dea.  It’s a  book I recommend.

Would you do us one more favor?  Please forward, tweet, or otherwise direct this request to your network of sales and learning professionals.  Thanks!

Here is the link to ESR’s survey on virtual sales training.

Every day there is more bad advice posted on the Internet about what’s required for sales success, and it’s getting worse.  I’m on dozens of sales trainers’ mailing lists. Among those emails, Google Alerts, my Twitter feed (“sales training” is one stream I track), reading plenty of blogs, and getting numbers of new books on sales sent to me on a regular basis, I get to see a lot of what’s really, really dangerous about this industry.

These are among the many risks associated with investing time and money with someone who just hangs up a shingle (puts up a website) and calls themselves a sales trainer, guru, coach, consultant, or expert:

• They don’t really understand your customers, your business, your people, your market, and your real selling challenges nor are they capable or willing to learn.
• They pre-prescribe what’s wrong with your team or approach based only on their area of knowledge or comfort rather than what you really need.
• Their training content consists of what they personally did when (and if) they sold, rather than a content based on a foundation of research, analysis, development, and experience.
• They have no credibility in front of your sales team, resulting in a loss of credibility for you as well.
• They have no measurement approach and are unwilling to be held accountable for results.
• They have no understanding of the behavioral and business change required for sustainable sales performance improvement and certainly don’t have the ability to support that change.
• They steer you toward tactical, event-based classroom training since that’s where they can make the most money.
• They have no technology platform for the delivery and measurement of ongoing learning, reinforcement, and integration with your company’s CRM system.
• They’re not concerned about talent management, especially recruitment and selection. Some are happy when salespeople that leave your organization—they get to train the replacements next year.
• They’ve worked in only one or perhaps two industries leaving them with little perspective on yours, even though they’ll tell you, “selling is selling.”
• They have little interest in methods and process, but a host of tricks, tips, shortcuts, and silver bullets.
• They are more focused on increasing activity rather than productivity among your salespeople.
• They don’t employ adult learning strategies and approaches in their programs.
• Motivation and entertainment play a significantly bigger role than it should in their training classes.

You may think that there is nothing wrong with bringing in someone, just for a day, who appears to have a new approach, a hot book with a catchy title, or a really cool website.  If those are your only three buying criteria, take my advice: Don’t do it.  Why you shouldn’t do it will be the subject of a post for another day.

One more thing.  There are terrific sales trainers whom you’ve never heard of.  They deliver significant value to their customers and really understand how to effect improvement in their client’s sales organizations.  It isn’t these people about which I am writing about. I’ll continue to do what I can to help them get noticed and grow their businesses.

In the meantime, Let the Sales Training Buyer Beware!

Photo source: Fotolia.com

This is not just a listing of sales training companies, a popularity contest, or a top-ten list.  These are in-depth, independent and research methodology-based assessments of the products, services and approaches of these sales performance improvement providers as well as information about their companies, growth strategies, competitive positioning, and approaches to market.  This is the reference-validated information you need to know in order to decide whether a particular provider meets your sales training requirements. (Look for the logo above on websites of sales training/sales performance improvement providers.)

And, here is what else is new:

1. A newly-designed ES Research Group website with distinct paths and content for both sales training buyers and sales training providers, each with an introductory video describing what ESR offer to each audience.
   

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2. Downloadable Sales Training Provider Evaluations for 37 training firms from the largest (such as Mercuri International, Miller Heiman, and Richardson), to high-value, small and individual trainers (such as TeleSmart, Pivotal Advisors, and Sales Progress). Each Report includes a comprehensive profile and an objective analysis including an analyst overview, an assessment of strengths and challenges, and recommendations regarding when to consider each provider and when to consider alternatives.  For easy comparison, ESR’s analysts provide you with numerical ratings in 21 key areas.  The Evaluations average 22 pages each and were accomplished employing ESR’s research methodology. Here is an annotated sample of an Evaluation.
   

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3. A fully-searchable Sales Training Course Directory containing hundreds of sales training programs offered by dozens of sales training providers. Here is an annotated sample.
   

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4. A new ebook entitled, Sales Training: The 120-Day Curse.  The book is complimentary for all registered guests on ESR’s site.  Register as a guest (free) and download your copy.
   

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5. A complimentary ESR/Brief entitled Hiring: A Core Process You Must Perfect. This is a foundation ESR/Brief that has been downloaded hundreds of times.  Register as a guest and download your copy.
   

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6. Free downloadable excerpts from a top-selling ESR/Report (ESR’s Guide to Measuring Sales Performance). During 2011 ESR will publish four in-depth reports such as this.
   

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7. A just-published, complimentary ESR/Podcast interview we did with Bob Seiler, SVP of Sales and Marketing at PR Newswire.  Bob discusses his company’s evaluation and selection process and what he believes is at the core of sales effectiveness.  This is an informative discussion with a world-class sales leader.
   

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8. New testimonials from ESR clients and leading sales training providers.  These testimonials validate ESR’s position as the leading authority on sales training from both the buyer and provider perspectives.
   

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9. Newly configured and priced annual subscriptions for sales training buyers and providers.  These include access to all ESR’s research, Sales Training Provider Evaluations, Reports, Briefs, monthly web conferences, and more.
   

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10. Upgraded and expanded services for sales training buyers and sales training providers.
    

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11. A new ESR Corporate Backgrounder.
    

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John Pierce from ASTD interviewed me in advance of the event.  Here is the interview: Why 50% of Sales Organizations Underperform.

For those of you who are interested in statistics, there are more than enough to ponder in the Report.  Here’s a little taste:

One question posed in the survey: “For me to become a trusted business advisor with my clients and prospects, the sales training I receive should be focused on:”

• 77.9% indicated, “How to manage the customer’s perception of value.”
• 71.2% indicated, “Thinking more strategically.”
• 70.5% indicated, “Being a better consultant.”
• 67% indicated, “Defining and positioning solutions.”

(Percent of respondents answering “high extent” or “very high extent”)

Another sobering statistic: 56 percent of salespeople in the survey said they receive no formal sales training.

Here are the slides:  Webinar: 2011 ASTD Report on Sales Training

So in that context, here my interview with Matthew.

Dave Stein: In today’s economy, the most valuable customer may well be the one you already have.  What’s different about sales in a customer retention context?

Matthew Hawk: When you’re talking about reacting to inbound cancellation calls, they are definitely unique.  As sales conversations, they’re actually inside-out because the conversation literally begins with an objection, “I don’t want your product.”  From a psychological point of view, those are fightin’ words—“I don’t love you anymore!”—so you have to be thoughtful and unravel it from the inside-out, both factually and emotionally, before you offer solutions.  In terms of specific tips, that means asking extra questions and demonstrating you understand the situation from the customer’s point of view before offering any solutions.

DS: What can be done proactively to improve customer loyalty and retention?

MH: That is a great question because once someone has placed a cancellation call—hired a divorce lawyer, essentially—things are looking grim.  Customer retention actually begins with the way a product or service is marketed and sold:  What expectations were set? It continues with the post-sales experience: Were the customer’s expectations fulfilled?  Unfulfilled? Surpassed? And, when they have problems, How is the resolution process? We know for a fact that customers who have problems which are then successfully resolved actually end up being more loyal than customers who never have problems in the first place.  But, it turns out that whether or not a customer perceives that their issue was “resolved” has a great deal to do with how they felt about it.

A recent study by Corporate Executive Board, “Engineering the Low-Effort Customer Experience,” demonstrates that most companies are focused on what the customer has to do to receive service and resolve issues.  But the research clearly shows how customers feel about their experience has a much more powerful impact on retention.  So corporate investments in process improvements may well have a lower ROI compared to helping the front line develop deeper emotional connections with customers.

DS: Isn’t that a little ambitious for what is basically just a routine customer service call?

MH: Maybe, but keep in mind that a customer who intends to cancel was at some time in the past an excited buyer who chose that provider because they thought it was the best choice.  Then, along the way, something changed. It’s a love story gone wrong.  Customers cancel subscriptions and service agreements for three basic reasons:

1. Circumstances beyond control, such as death, relocation, military deployment, job loss, etc.;
2. A shifting perception of value versus the competition; and/or
3. A negative customer experience or perceived slight.

On a psychological level, #2 sometimes reduces to #3, especially in the retention world, and here’s why:  it’s common in the pay television and mobile telephone industries, for example, for providers to offer richer incentives for new customers than for continuing customers.  This can provokes resentment on the part of the loyal customers, especially if they have also have some negative customer experiences.  The cumulative effect puts a strain on the relationship and it may take some help from a retention specialist to help the customer remember why they walked down the aisle together in the first place.

DS: How can you empower salespeople develop deeper emotional connections with customers, especially when the customers may be upset about something, or even intending to end the relationship?

MH: That puzzle has two pieces: content and execution.  As far as content, old school “soft skills” don’t cut it anymore.   The new frontier is “experiential engineering,” or “behavioral economics.”  It’s a more sophisticated approach based on empirical research reported by scholars such as Robert Cialdini, (Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion) and Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational).  These principles help generate roadmaps for customer conversations in specific contexts.  The goal is what Cialdini calls “ethical influence.”  It’s not meant to be manipulative or self-serving, but rather to make your case in the best possible light, psychologically speaking.  And you do that by creating a non-threatening conversation in which the customer feels more comfortable, and therefore more open, both to sharing information and to entertaining new ideas and recommendations that may benefit them.

Content is only about 25-30% of the solution, however.  The other 70-75% is execution, meaning training and coaching.

DS: You’ve said before that “the vast majority of sales training is a complete waste of time and money,” and we know from our own research that 85% of sales training projects are judged a failure.  In your experience, why is that?

MH: Sales performance improves when verbal sales behaviors improve, but most people drastically underestimate the level of effort required to execute.  What happens is, new leadership comes in, they assume their predecessors and/or previous vendors didn’t know what they were doing, and they cross their fingers that the next vendor they pick is going to provide the perfect sales model or technology to fix everything.

The reason 85% of sales training projects fail is because changing the collective verbal habits of a sales force is extremely difficult to do, whether it’s a team of 20 field sales reps or 2,000 inside agents.  In some of the call center environments we work in, for example, a customer retention salesperson might have the same 6-minute sales conversation literally 1,000 times in the course of one month.  Call centers are quite literally laboratories of verbal habit-building.  It reminds me of the driving range at the golf course.  And, just like a driving range, the question is, What is the quality and effectiveness of the behaviors that are being ingrained over and over again?

DS: OK, so if you want to help someone improve their swing, how do you do it?

MH: UCLA Coach John Wooden nailed it when he said that, “The four laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition.”  You have to be able to itemize exactly what verbal behaviors you want, provide lots of models of excellence for people to imitate, and plenty of opportunities to practice skills in a safe environment.  But Coach Wooden also understood how to apply the psychology influence to his coaching interactions and player relationships.  Effective sales coaches know how to manage the psychology of their coaching interactions just like effective salespeople know how to manage the psychology of sales and service conversations.  It’s all about persuading someone (a customer or an employee) to consider taking an alternate course of action.

DS: How are new technologies impacting customer retention?

MH: Companies collect and utilize more and more information about their customers as time goes on, and they get that information not only from your direct business dealing with that company, but also from other data sources that itemize, for example your behavior as a consumer and your demographic profile.  If you call from a home or mobile phone that is associated with your account, the technology “recognizes” you even before you’ve been connected with an agent.  Some companies calculate your projected “lifetime value” as a customer and developed tiered retention offers: the more valuable you are a customer, the richer the retention incentive.

Using call recording and speech recognition technologies, they can also data mine customer conversations for key words, and even measure stress levels.  That’s on the customer side.  One of the latest moves is to do something similar on the agent side, namely develop an agent profile based on a specific set of criteria, and then matching that agent with a specific customers for maximum affinity.  The technology from IBM is called RAMP and it’s been called “match.com” for customer service.

Here’s a fact for you:  Scott Hudson, Vice President-Sales and Marketing at HR Chally, tells me that,

“85% of sales superstars fail in sales management.”

I know that executives are faced with a tough decision when a top salesrep comes to them demanding a management position.  I’ve spent a fair amount of time working with reps and managers on that very issue over the years.

By the time this situation occurs, it is usually too late for a positive outcome.  The salesrep may have told her colleagues or family about their plan and staying in their current position may not be any longer possible.  (When this situation does occur, it’s a sign that effective career counseling within the person’s company has likely not taken place.)

I’m thinking now about Lou (not the rep’s real name), a very strong salesrep, who worked for a client’s company.   Four years ago, the CEO of that small technology company called me and asked what I thought about him promoting Lou to be VP of sales, a position that was then open following the firing of the person that held that job. I asked whether Lou was qualified.  The CEO didn’t think so, but then he hadn’t really thought about what was required for success.  With the CEO’s approval, I called Lou and spoke to him about the situation. He told me he decided that he was the most qualified person in the company to assume that position, and that he would leave if he didn’t get it.  We had a number of discussions over several weeks, while the CEO temporarily assumed the role of VP of sales.  Lou became concerned that he might not be as qualified for the position as he first thought.  He continued to sell and made his numbers for the next two quarters.  The CEO had by then hired a strong outsider for the VP of sales role.  Lou stayed in the company, determined to get to that next level.  Fast forward.  The company got acquired, the new VP of sales left and Lou took over as VP of that division of the larger company.  He had plenty of support and, last I heard, was quite successful in his new role.

Here are my recommendations on the topic of promoting strong sales reps to sales management positions:

• If you’re a salesrep and you’d like to move up the ladder for whatever reason, spend some time understanding what is really required for success as a manager.  It’s considerably more than just strong selling skills. You can’t fake it, and these days there are few companies that would wait for you to train on the job.  If you fail, and without the proper skills and traits, you likely will, you’ll have few good alternatives.  Interested in resuming your old role as a rep?  Not likely.
• If you’re the senior executive, think about this:  If the rep isn’t qualified, it’s just a matter of time before they fail in their new role as manager.  Then, not only do they leave your company, but the situation probably winds up worse than before they took the new position. So, if that rep comes to you for a promotion, it’s time to sit down with them and to explain to them precisely the capabilities they need to be successful.  Perhaps agreeing on a six-month plan for them to get up to speed on they key management skills would enable both of you to feel the likelihood of success is considerably greater.

Huthwaite and IACCM have a set forth a 5-phase Negotiation Maturity Model along with the percentages of respondent companies at each phase.  If you haven’t seen studies on this topic, the results will be sobering:  80% of the companies surveyed have no formal negotiation process.  The project team looked at companies’ negotiation processes, cross-organizational collaboration, data collection and analysis, preparation and planning, approval and escalation systems, training, success measurement, and other factors.  If you’re getting dizzy right about now, you should probably consider yourself among the 80%.

It’s my job to be skeptical when vendors publish research reports covering areas where they have something to sell.  However, during the past 10 years, ESR has seen procurement, sourcing and buyer departments get considerably more strategic when it comes to negotiating with suppliers.  Selling organizations are being overpowered, out-strategized, and often just plain beat up by their customers.  Not enough selling organizations are doing much about it.  At least not in any way that has significant, measurable impact.

ESR has done sales effectiveness audits and assessments for companies that have taken a strategic approach to negotiation on the sell-side.  There is no question in our mind that many of these companies are not giving up millions, or in many cases tens of millions and more per year in revenues and costs.

If you’ve just slammed your hand down on the desk and said, “I’ve had enough.  We’re going forward with a strategic approach to negotiation, starting tomorrow,” hold on a second.  I appreciate your intent, but it’s not so simple.

The best implementations of strategic negotiation ESR has seen is when it is integrated with the company’s sales methodology.  If you don’t have a sales methodology, build that first.

Note: ESR has not formally evaluated Huthwaite’s negotiation approach, content, or delivery.  At this point we’re only recommending you get your hands on the study from Huthwaite International’s website.

Photo credit: © Pat Lalli – Fotolia.com