Sales Team Staffing, Inc.

As we’ve stated, in order be a top Sales Headhunting company, not only do their Sales Headhunters specifically need to understand our client’s salesperson prototype needs, but they must also be very knowledgeable of this particular sales doctrine themselves, (in order to successfully recruit the right Sales Talent for our clients quickly and proficiently).  Here now is another one of the many specific sales doctrines our Sales Headhunters are well versed in:  CONSULTATIVE SELLING

1. Research the prospective customer organization to confirm suitable prospect profile (subject to the supplier’s prospect qualification criteria), and competitor threats, opportunities, contract review dates, past dealings, etc.
2. Establish rapport and seller’s professional credentials with the client (typically by referencing case-histories and case-studies for successful solutions provided in similar markets and applications that are similar to those of the prospective client).
3. Ask ‘strategic’ open questions to identify, explore and develop areas of potential problems, difficulties, aims, challenges and unresolved issues within the prospect organization. Normally identify and agree on a single primary issue (which represents both a major concern for the buyer, and a relevant area of product and/or service opportunity for the seller.) This could be a ‘distress’ or emergency pressure, priority, or threat, for example an issue which the prospect is involved in ‘fire-fighting’ to resolve currently, such as legislative compliance; or a strategic development opportunity for market or business development, to which significant potential profit, cost-savings and/or competitive advantage are attached.
4. Interpret, clarify, extend and quantify in financial and strategic terms the knock-on effects of the primary area of opportunity or threat. That is to say, what are all the negative effects and costs of failing to resolve the threat or pressure?, or what are all the positive effects and revenues/profits that will be derived from achieving the identified strategic opportunity? The salesperson is effectively doing three things here:
5. a) Increasing the size and cost/value of the issue heightens the issue’s priority and importance, and thus increases the buyer’s feeling that action must be taken – it gets the issue higher up the buyer’s agenda and closer to the front of his/her project schedule.
6. b) Increasing the size and complexity of the issue increases the need and opportunity for consultative advice – the buyer increases his/her perception that outside expertise (from the seller) is required.
7. b) Increasing the costs or values associated with the issue naturally increases the buyer’s tolerance and expectations for the cost of the supplier’s proposed product/service solution – the higher the cost or value of the challenge, then the higher the cost of the solution.
8. Sell the principle of the seller’s solution (necessarily in outline for large prospects – small, simple situations often require specific solutions proposals at this stage), matching the benefits of the solution to the various aspects of the prospect need or strategic opportunity. For larger prospects it is commonly necessary to agree to proceed with a survey or assessment prior to producing a fully detailed proposal. A large complex proposal would typically need to be presented by the sales-person, or a team from the seller’s organization, to a board or decision-making team within the prospect organization.

To be a top Sales Recruiting firm, not only does the firm’s delegated sales recruiter specifically need to understand our client’s salesperson prototype needs, but we firmly believe – they must also be very knowledgeable of this particular sales doctrine themselves, (in order to successfully recruit the right sales candidates for our clients quickly and proficiently).  Here now is one of the many specific sales doctrines Sales Team Staffing Inc’s sales recruiters are well versed in:  AIDA

AIDA is the original sales training acronym, from the late 1950s, when selling was first treated as a professional discipline, and sales training began. The model is said to have evolved from earlier work by American psychologists concerning assimilation and understanding of communications and information. Often called the ‘Hierarchy of Effects’, AIDA describes the basic process by which people become motivated to act on external stimulus, including the way that successful selling happens and sales are made.

A – Attention

I  – Interest

D – Desire

A – Action

Simply, when we buy something we buy according to the AIDA process. So when we sell something we must sell go through the AIDA stages. Something first gets our attention; if it’s relevant to us we are interested to learn or hear more about it. If the product or service then appears to closely match our needs and/or aspirations, and resources, particularly if it is special, unique, or rare, we begin to desire it. If we are prompted or stimulated to overcome our natural caution we may then become motivated or susceptible to taking action to buy.

            Attention: First impressions are vital, within 5 seconds someone forms their opinion on you which is why is it necessary to smile and have a friendly demeanor. Be happy, natural, honest and professional.

Interest: You have about 5-15 seconds to spark some interest, something looks interesting to a person if it is relevant and could be to the person’s advantage. Therefore; the person you are approaching should have some type of need for your product. You should also approach them at a suitable and convenient time. And lastly you should empathize with the person, take a look at their situation and needs, speak their language. This is used to establish a better more stable trust basis, which is essential for closing in a sale.

            Desire: empathize, empathize, empathize. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.  Understand their other options, and your competitor’s abilities. You must build trust with the prospect, once trust is formed, the prospect will be more willing and open to listen and potentially buy the product you are trying to sell. You must also understand your product completely and whole heartily. You must be able to present, explain and convey solutions with credibility and enthusiasm. The key is being able to demonstrate how you, your own organization and your product will suitably, reliably and sustainably ‘match’ the prospect’s needs identified and agreed, within all constraints.

            Action: Simply the conversion of potential into actuality, to achieve or move closer to whatever is the aim. Natural inertia and caution often dictate that clear opportunities are not acted upon, particularly by purchasers of all sorts, so the salesperson must suggest, or encourage agreement to move to complete the sale or move to the next stage. The better the preceding three stages have been conducted, then the less emphasis is required for the action stage; in fact on a few rare occasions in the history of the universe, a sale is so well conducted that the prospect decides to take action without any encouragement at all.

To be a top Sales Recruiting firm, not only does the firm’s delegated sales recruiter specifically understand our client’s salesperson prototype needs, they must also be very knowledgeable of this particular sales doctrine themselves, in order to recruit the right sales candidates in a timely manner.  Here now is one of the many specific sales doctrines our sales recruiters are well versed in.

The FABs (features – advantages – benefits) Sales Protocol:

The technique of linking features, advantages, and benefits (FABs) was developed in the 1960s and it remains an important basic concept for successful selling and sales training. FABs were traditionally identified by the company and handed by the training department to the salespeople, who rarely thought much about developing them.

Here is the principle of using Features, Advantages, Benefits:  Customers don’t buy features, they don’t even buy the advantages – what they buy is what the product’s features and advantages will do for them, which in selling parlance is called the benefit.

For example: A TV might have the feature of internet connectivity and a remote control qwerty keyboard; the advantage is that the customer can now access and interchange internet and TV services using a single system; and the benefit is that the customer saves money, space, and a lot of time through not having to change from one piece of equipment to another.

It’s the saving in money, space and hassle that the customer buys. A salesperson who formulates a sales proposition or product offer around those benefits will sell far more Internet TV’s than a salesperson who simply sells ‘TV’s with internet connectivity and remote qwerty keypads’. In fact lots of customers won’t even have a clue as to what a ‘TV with internet connectivity and remote qwerty keypad’ is, particularly when it’s packaged, branded and promoted as the latest ‘WebTV XL520 with the new Netmaster GT500 Supa-consul’….
Moreover the few customers who recognize the product benefit by its features and advantages will also recognize all the competitors’ products too, which will cause all the salespeople selling features and advantages to converge on the most astute purchasing group, leaving the most lucrative uninformed prospects largely untouched.

The aim is to formulate a product offer which elegantly comprises enough of what the product does and how, with the most important or unique benefits for a given target market or prospect type.

Territory Manager:  Job Description

Skills & Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.
Requirements
 Organizational Skills Territory/Time Management Skills
 Communication Skills Prospecting Skills
 Computer Skills Customer Service Oriented
 Negotiating Skills Presentation Skills
 Building Customer Relationships Sales Growth Motivated
 Closing Skills Self Confidence
Responsibilities:
To develop annual sales strategies to effectively meet corporate Revenue, Market Share Growth and Profit goals. To develop and service customers by selling promotions, new and existing products, meeting customer needs and manage territory to established goals and budgets.
Duties:
 Services existing accounts, obtains orders, and establishes new accounts by planning and organizing daily work schedule to call on existing or potential sales outlets and other trade factors.
 Adjusts content of sales presentations by understanding customer needs, offering solutions and closing.
 Focuses sales efforts based on Company Strategies, Market Intelligence and Customer Sales volume.
 Develop gross profits by adhering to price policies and understanding customer needs and market acceptance.
 Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports as needed or requested. These include weekly work plans, Customer Intelligence and tracking activities as established by management.
 Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new products, customer service, personnel, etc.
 Recommends or makes changes in activities, call frequencies by evaluating results and competitive developments.
 Resolves customer complaints by investigating problems; developing solutions; preparing reports; making recommendations to management.
 Maintains professional and technical knowledge by testing product (own & competitive); reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; participating in professional associations.
 Manage territories by planning calls and customer contacts in advance, maintaining schedule and call frequencies needed to develop and grow customer accounts.
 Manage customers as needed in geographic territory regardless of account affiliation in support of stores.
 Maintain electronic reporting as established and developed to help manage territory.
 All other responsibilities and duties deemed assigned by management.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
 Drive a vehicle, maintain valid driving privileges
 Climb stairs and walk
 Stand for extended periods
 Lift & carry up to 75 pounds
 Understand basic computer skills including MS Word, Excel, OE Touch and other company provided, productivity enhancing, technology.
Work Environment
Must be able to effectively prioritize and multi-task, often revising priorities. Communicate with customers, employees and management to develop and sell new and existing business in territory
Attend sales meetings, company events and training sessions as required.
Self motivated, committed and possess positive attitudes in dealing with all company employees and business.

75% – Sales Calls to existing customers to service, pursue new opportunities for business, present & demo new products and close additional business. Maintain close relationships with Key Customers & Product sell through programs to profitably increase revenues.
20% – Identify and Obtain New Business: Prospect and call on new business to develop growth opportunities resulting in meeting minimum company new business sales expectations. Develop rapport, open new charge accounts and develop new business sales.
5% – Manage territory to include communication with management, attend company events/meetings, execute company paperwork including report management, call reports, market intelligence record keeping, pricing, new accounts, credit, product needs and complaint handling.

It’s not about individuals. It’s about teams.

How often do you hear this mentioned – whether on the sports field or in the workplace?

Great teams are made up of individuals of course. But for employers or managers the requirement is the ability to objectively measure individuals and see how they complement and enhance a team for a greater overall performance.

It would it be great to be able to measure and compare performance across a team across a range of criteria e.g. prospecting, discovering needs, overcoming objections etc. – to ensure that every $ you spend on training is addressing real issues of performance.

Recruitment Assessment is able to help you by looking at individual performance and also compare it against the rest of the team – objectively and accurately.

Leadership and Sales are just two areas that can benefit from a Team Comparison to role in recruitment can help you identify candidates that fit irrespective of their education or social background.

Fifty Points for Older Job Seekers to make a point at a Job Interview (Yeah. Like You Can Even Get One).”

1. I’m a Boomer. We have that famous work ethic.
2. Boomers are the best team play- ers in the workforce; we work well with others. That’s not opinion; it’s fact.
3. We’re also punctual.
4. I can be flexible when it comes work schedules.
5. At my age, I have an extensive network. I bring that with me.
6. You want stability and continuity? Hire me and I’m likely to stay with you until I retire. Could be ten years or more. Try getting that from the Gen X-ers you’re interviewing.
7. You want responsibility? I know how to hold down a job – done it for years. I pay taxes, feed a family, read newspapers, vote regularly, and have put kids through college.
8. While we’re talking about being a parent, let me remind you: I have great mediation skills.
9. And negotiation skills.
10. And organizational skills.
11. And budgeting and planning skills
12. Time management, too.
13. Not to mention patience!
14 Studies prove that honesty is a common Boomer value. That includes me.
15. 1 can communicate. I went to school when they taught us how to write a complete sentence, for God sake. You know… nouns and verbs and capital letters and all that. Remember those things? They’re rare today, aren’t they?
16. And I don’t cheat when I communicate – thx… c u l8tr.
17. Good communication means good listening skills. Boomers are known for that, too.
18. I’ve survived four recessions. I’ll help you make tough decisions.
19. “Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment (Will Rogers).”  I’ve been there and done that, or would you rather hire someone who’ll do that on your dime?
20. Energy? Yeah, I still have plenty
21. My eyesight may be going, but I have pretty clear long-range vision.
22. I may miss a day or two of work from time to time but not because… like… dude… I’m so NOT in the mood.
23. Older workers have lower absenteeism than younger workers.
24. Fewer injuries, too.
25. I’ve developed expertise that takes this long to develop. There are no shortcuts.
26. I’ve had my resume redone. Please read all of it. It’s really impressive
27. My work experience is varied, which means I bring perspective and dimension.
28. And resourcefulness.
29. Because of all my experience, I’ll hit the ground running. My learning curve will be short.
30. One out of three workers in the civilian labor force is 50 or older. You don’t have much choice anymore.
31. In five years, nearly 40 percent of your candidates will be over 50. You’ll have even less choice, so why not get with the program starting with me?
32. And while we’re on that subject, think about what it will be like when you get to 50. One day, you will. No getting around it.
33. I won’t be on my smart phone during meetings.
34. No, I don’t multitask. I pay attention instead. I can multitask as well as anyone, but won’t.
35. However, I am multi-talented. At my age, there are a lot of different things I’ve learned to do.
36. I won’t be on Facebook on your computer at work. I’m here to work.
37. If I tell you that even though I’ve had higher-level positions in my career but my career goals have changed and I really do want this job you think I’m “overqualified” for… I’m telling the truth.
38. I’m not after your job.
39. I’m a natural mentor for your younger workers.
40. It’s not important or cool or necessary for me to come to work in a T-shirt. I could care less.
41. My age group has proven to be dedicated. Dedicated workers are more productive and efficient, and that leads to cost savings for you.
42. And talking about cost savings, many of us 50-somethings have health benefits from our spouses. I won’t need it from you.
43. I’m a lifelong learner, happy to take all the professional development courses you want me to.
44. Older workers are loyal. We appreciate our jobs and will prove it by the way we work.
45. Older workers are far less political. Our agenda is taking pride in our work.
46. I’m detail-oriented, like many boomers. It’s how we were brought up.
47. I’ll set a good example for all your employees, young and old(er).
48. I know what customer service is. I did it when it was more than just 800-numbers and www.dontbotherme.com. (Read that one slowly.)
49. I think on my feet. How do yo think I got to be this age anyway?
50. Grey hair is actually beautiful.

Compensation Management is the lifeblood to most of the enterprises. Every business wants to dominate Compensation Management, which is simply because a good compensation management model is able to inspire employees, boost morale, motivate your talent, and promote enterprise performance improvement. On the other hand, poor compensation management can also cause the productivity and sales performances to a standstill situation.

The following points are the most common scenarios when it comes to a poor compensation management.

Unclear Pay Philosophy

Before you build a skyscraper, you should build a very strong foundation first. This same philosophy applies in compensation management. Before we build the compensation structures, we need to have a clear pay philosophy. Based on Mercer Consulting’s “3-P Model”, there are 3 common pay philosophies used, which are:

• Pay for People
• Pay for Performance
• Pay for Position

For example, if your company’s pay philosophy is “Pay for Position”, and you don’t have every employees’ Job Description updated, clearly, you are already off to the wrong start.

Outdated Compensation Structure

To maintain a strong compensation structure is imperative for any organization. If your compensation structure is outdated, you may end up paying your employee way too much, which will increase your company operation cost.

Finding the perfect candidate for your business can take time and effort, but if you’re looking to take on new talent, it’s important to write up a clear, concise job description that will attract the crème de la crème.

Busy job hunters do not want to spend endless amounts of time reading unnecessary jargon, so when writing a job description, always get straight to the point. Remember, you are almost trying to sell your businesses to top employees, so with this in mind it’s a good idea to use the classical AIDA selling format: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.

Whatever type or size of business you run, a contacts management system is essential. Without a robust system your contacts can get lost or the data confused, you won’t have the information you need to follow up leads and up-sell to your clients, and you’ll waste a lot of time.

So what should an effective contact management system be able to do for you?

Clear presentation of all relevant information

The name, phone numbers, and addresses etc. are essential, but you may also want detailed records of all products or services purchased, previous quotes, estimates and invoice activity, further products or services they may appreciate, notes and comments, information on projects and sales (current and previous), notes on any feedback provided or any special needs or preferences the client has expressed, etc.

Would you like to keep task management and contacts in sync? Do some contacts need the ability to login and collaborate? Do you want to assign tasks and keep all the discussions in one place?

Tagging, Grouping and Filtering Contacts

Will it allow you to group information according to ‘tags’ (which you can create to suit you) and also to search that information?

These (and many more considerations) should be carefully considered by a company’s Sales Leaders before choosing the optimal Contact Management program.