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27
Jun, 2022

By admin

Understanding – What Ditch Diggers and Salespeople Have in Common!

Understanding – What Ditch Diggers and Salespeople Have in Common!

 

“Using competency-based, job-specific assessment technology is an absolute must for anyone looking to up-level their hiring. Getting beyond the interview and into the heart and soul of your candidates can give you a truer gauge of can they do the job and thrive as a member of your team.

With a recession comes an increased need to hire and to protect every dollar by lessening the risk of turnover. Assessment technology…has shown time and time again how you can get in front of the eight-ball and hire qualified and dynamic candidates.”

Do you have any idea how many assessments are actually job specific?

The assessments that companies most commonly use are personality and behavioral styles assessments and as such, are not job specific.  Cue Objective Management Group (OMG).  Its assessments are not only specific to sales but also role specific, as in outside roles like account executive, account manager, and channel manager, and account manager.

21 Sales Core Competencies assessed

OMG’s sales assessments measure candidates against 21 Sales Core Competencies (and several additional sales competencies) and compares candidates to the more than 2.2 million other sales candidates that OMG has assessed. This measurement standard is “normative” while personality and behavioral styles assessments tend to be “ipsative.”  Ipsative scores provide a comparison within an individual and are NOT recommended to be used for recruitment and selection purposes because they don’t make a comparison between individuals.

Each OMG Sales Core Competency has an average of 8 attributes for a total of approximately 200 sales specific findings, customized to the specific role for which the candidate is being considered.  OMG adjusts the requirements for a positive recommendation based on the difficulty of a specific sales job and role.  Various industries, businesses, sales roles, complexities, sales cycles, price points, territories, markets, audiences and decision makers are not remotely similar so a sales assessment is only useful if those factors are considered in the scoring criteria and subsequent recommendation.

Identify a strong candidate

As an example, let’s say you were seeking to hire a ditch digger.  While you must identify someone who is strong, can use tools and dig holes, the width and depth of the hole, as well as the difficulty of the digging is more important.  Will this individual dig in sand, screened loom, compacted soil, clay, gravel, or rock?  If an assessment, even one that was specific to ditch-digging, only looked at the tools they had available and their ability to dig in general, it would not necessarily identify someone who could dig monumentally huge holes in soil with large rocks.

It’s the same with a sales assessment.  A sales assessment that scored a territory salesperson who takes orders from plant managers for industrial supplies equally with a salesperson who sells multi-million dollar capital equipment to the C Suite of the Fortune 500 enterprises, is of limited value.  When the assessment can be configured to specify the requirements for those two sales roles and distinguish between the candidates applying for those two sales roles, we have perfection.

Let’s return to part of the the quote at the beginning of this article where Linda writes, “Getting beyond the interview and into the heart and soul of your candidates can give you a truer gauge of can they do the job and thrive as a member of your team.” 

You do need a gauge, but the gauge should not be if they can do the job, but whether they will do the job.  OMG effectively distinguishes between can sell (you’ve met those ghosts – candidates you hired who are no longer with you but they still haunt you!) versus will sell (they are your top performers).  The other part of that quote which needs to be modified is where she says “getting beyond the interview.”  You shouldn’t be wasting time interviewing those candidates who can sell when you can focus only on those candidates who will sell in the specific role for which they are being considered.  Use the assessment early in the sales recruiting process to identify and disqualify the candidates that are not recommended.

OMG’s sales, sales management and sales leadership candidate assessments are legendary for how accurate and predictive they are. 

Want to

Learn More?

  1. Download a sample.

  2. Sign up for a free trial (you must be a CEO, President, VP, GM, HR Director, Sales Leader or Sales Manager)

  3. Start using OMG with Help! (An OMG Expert will contact you to walk you through the customization process and pricing options)

  4. Start using OMG Right Now on Self-Serve(limited customization, limits on quantity, no portal access, no complimentary upgrades)

   

Posted by Dave Kurlan

 

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04
Sep, 2019

By admin

Solving the Sales Conundrum

Solving the Sales Conundrum

 

What has happened to your team’s sales effectiveness? Just what are they doing wrong? Many company sales leaders and CEOs ask themselves this when turnover isn’t what it should be. And it’s why they automatically assume they need a course in sales training. But is that really the case? Could their current lack of sales be down to something more than just poor sales performance?

And, anyway, wouldn’t it make more sense to find out exactly what the underlying problem really is before going ahead and spending hundreds – or thousands – of pounds on something that could be solved much easier (and at far less cost) at home instead? In this post we’ll go some way to attempting to help you solve that sales effectiveness puzzle of yours by yourself. For instance, we’ll get you to ask yourself the following questions:

What is the real problem with sales?

The reason your sales staff aren’t doing too well could be for any number of reasons, not necessarily simply their sales performance. Could the answer be, for instance, down to a lack of knowledge about the product they are trying to sell? Then again, it could be that you, as a company, haven’t provided them with the right sales tools in the first place i.e. they may have a poor Customer Relationship Management system or poor sales materials. Is the data base any good? And on that note, is the sales coach doing his job properly? Another reason could be that your selling incentives just aren’t motivating your staff enough for them to go out and give the performance of their lives.

 

Analyse sales performance

One way to find out for sure why your sales performance is down is to analyse the performance of your sales people – do you have the right people in the right positions to begin with? Then again, you could look at the sales pipeline to find out where exactly you need to introduce some form of training and, finally, review your sales turnover. These are the three main aspects of sales activity that an analysis of should certainly start to throw light on where it’s all going wrong.

 

Find out what’s missing from sales performance

Go out on the road with your sales team and find out individually how each of them really performs. Are they, for instance, as good at closing a sale as they say they are? Is there something they are missing from their sales performance? What skills are they lacking in this arena?

Get your sales staff to be fluent

If they are lacking and embark on sales effectiveness training, then encourage your staff to practice their new sales technique. It’s the only way for a sales person to achieve fluency i.e. so they are never back-footed by a question and can answer queries instantly. By practicing they will build up that particular ‘sales muscle’ and won’t be tempted to fall back into bad habits. Golfing is an analogy which is frequently referred to in this respect i.e. it can take a golfer up to 500 swings before he or she has learned a new technique.

It’s all down to role-playing and is definitely a lot like being an actor; repeating your lines until they’re word perfect. Then again, perhaps an improvisation comedian is a better analogy – they don’t know what’s coming so they’ll have several practiced scenarios up their sleeve at the one time.

Role-playing and improvisation acting also help your sales people remain present in their conversation with potential buyers – a skill that is pretty much essential when it comes to tackling a tough sale. Not only that, but it instills confidence. Knowing he or she is not going to get wrong-footed by a customer because they have already rehearsed all the possible answers, gives your sales person an added advantage.

So, how’s your team’s sales effectiveness? If poor, could it be time to give it a proper analysis, rather than just pick up the phone and order more sales performance training? Contact us at WIN Programs for more information

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19
Sep, 2017

By admin

Do you get lots of “maybe” or “I will think about it” after your first call with prospects?

Do you get lots of “maybe” or “I will think about it” after your first call with prospects?

So far, I have posted a lot of content which tells you about general mistakes in a sales call. Today we are going to talk about the situation when you do everything right but still get a “MAYBE” as an answer.

Most people subconsciously avoid decision making after the first conversation. Every sales guru knows and advises that one needs to adjust their conversation to guide the prospect to come to a decision. This can be tricky as salespeople can become very pushy. So the big question is: how do we guide the conversation while still making the prospect feel like they’re in control?

There is a very simple solution for this: set up an agenda before the meeting. It will align you and your prospect on a plan for the meeting and make sure you’re both on the same page and moving forward together toward one of three outcomes:

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Figuring out the next steps – Future meeting date & agenda

By following the above process, you are avoiding a limbo stage. The main advantage of this process is that you are saving valuable time on the lead follow-ups. This can feel awkward at first but if you practice it in your next meeting and make it your own, you will start seeing positive results that you’ll want to use again and again. If you have any specific questions or suggestions about the implementation of this process, we are here to help!

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02
Dec, 2012

By admin

14 reasons why your sales force is losing business to the competition

If your sales force is losing business to the competition because of the recession, lack of sales management or lack of sales force performance, you know that avoiding the decreasing trend becomes challenging and not an easy task any more!

Statistics show that in last few years the percentage of businesses that close their door is incremental and the way of doing business is changing drastically.

Nothing is more frustrating than losing business to your competitors – specifically  when you there is great solutions to avoid it. frustration growth when your sales force is telling you that it is this close to get the deal but didn’t. Why did you lose it?

Our learning experience In most companies and for most salespeople show that losing business  comes down to one or more of the following several factors :

  1. Sales force don’t listen
  2. Sales force assume too much
  3. Questions weren’t tough enough
  4. Sales force did not differentiate the company effectively
  5. Compelling reasons to buy were never identified and addressed
  6. Poor qualification
  7. Poor relationship
  8. Lousy job of putting the value proposition into prospect’s context
  9. Premature proposing, quoting and presenting
  10. Lack of questions about the competition and/or incumbent
  11. Selling at the wrong level or to the wrong people
  12. Ineffective differentiation
  13. Sales force present features instead of benefits instead
  14. They were outsold

Identify why you are losing business to the competition and tell what can be done to fix it. All types of companies can use these solutions to their needs whatever they are small, medium or corporations. Solutions that should address their specific problems and needs.

For example, a typical company have in general , 20% of its sales force that achieve the sales targets while the remaining 80%  are facing difficulties or performing poorly. the first thing that we need to know what is holding my team back?

A Ground Zero Skills Assessment become a must to have answers to  address them in the shortest time possible:

  • can they achieve what I want to achieve?
  • do they have the potential to grow?
  • are they trainable? are they resistant to change?
  • do they have the required skills to success?
  •  etc…
Based on the results you will be able to design an action plan. A multi-plan is designed. like skills development, coaching on the grounds, sales territory adjustments,  and sales approach…

you are  invited to take the following test to identify what it the best for your company

Let me know your comments?

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30
Oct, 2012

By admin

4 Sales training tips to build your sales force

Sales training is the backbone of your sales force and is crucial for business development and sales increase.

The findings of a study conducted by the American Society for sales training and sales Development show that employees who receive sales training and reinforcement earn 50 percent more in net sales 

1- Is sales training alone the answer?

Yes, a trained sales force will boost business development and increase sales But Only If you have assurance that your sales team has the potential to grow and achieve your goal.
Using a sales specific and accurate assessment of your sales force will help you answer this crucial answer before  investing in sales training.
 
 

2-What results should you expect from your sales training and sales development programs?

Sales development should  higher gross profits for the company. Top-earning sales companies spend about 6 percent of payroll costs on sales training along with a sales development programs to the entire sales force. Do you?

3-What sales training options do you have to develop continually your sales force at minimum cost?

On the contrary of previous generations we have three types of sales training and sales development mediums that we can use.
 
1-The classroom sales training is the most known and applied medium, yet also the most expensive.
 
2-the webinars live face to face for sales training and coaching the sales force is 30 percent less
 
3- and the online training 24/7 is 60 percent less than the  classroom workshops..
 
Sales training and sales development plans then can fit any company size because packages will be compatible with their needs , capacity and number of sales people.

4-Which sales development plan will best suit my business development along with my sales force goals?

Sales development of a sales force may vary from company to another one. It depends on the company size , business development goals and geographical spread. For example Big companies:
    • Might need to implement a sales academy within their organization in  cooperation with sales development companies.
  • Will rely on their sales expertise, new sales and business development trends , techniques and tools and while delivering them internally by their trainers.

ALSO Other cost-effective trainings and  sales development solutions are available for small and medium companies.

How much you loose from not  training your sales force?

Well  a study by ASTD showed that “Sales people completing a selling skills intensive training program show increases in productivity ranging from 35% to 1665%.”
 
Would you invest a 5 percent of your sales budget to increase your sales by 35 percent?

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