Heavy Hitter Sales Blog

December 19, 2009

Avoid the Year End Deal Cesspool!

Here’s one of my favorite year end sales stories… READ BRIAN'S STORY BELOW …”

Brian was presenting his forecast in front of his teammates and explaining why a deal that he had originally forecasted to close in the quarter came in three months later. Here’s his story.

Brian was excited that the account he had worked on for months had selected his software solution. After several weeks of ensuing price negotiations, a $300,000 purchase order was submitted into the customer’s capital expenditure software system (referred to by the customer internally as the “CES system”). Since several weeks were left in the quarter, Brian expected that he would receive the purchase order well before the year end cutoff.

In Brian’s mind the deal was done. The purchase order would be printed and signed and he forecasted the deal accordingly. However, Brian was quite surprised to learn that the rules-based CES system required that a purchase of that magnitude be approved by twenty-one different people. The purchase order had entered the cesspool of order approval.

Because of this elaborate sign off procedure, it would take another three months before all twenty-one signatures were gathered. In the meantime, Brian embarrassingly had to explain to his manager why a deal he had positively guaranteed would close wouldn’t.

His assumption about the purchase order turnaround time was dead wrong. If only he’d had the foresight to ask about the details of the procurement process before he committed the deal on his forecast. During a recession you should expect every purchase approval to take three to four times longer than normal. Because every organization exercises another excruciating level of diligence to ascertain whether or not the purchase is absolutely necessary.

December 05, 2009

Q4 Forecast! Exaggerators, Sandbaggers, Heavy Hitters

The old saying that time is money is actually wrong. Time is actually far more important than money. Time is your most valuable possession. It’s also finite. You only have so many days in a month or quarter. That’s why I am not a big fan of making salespeople fill out laborious sales call reports, activity reports, and other long-winded forms.

However, there is one form that I consider sacred, the forecast. Your forecast is the measuring stick of your credibility. It is the visible amalgamation of all your years of experience, sales intuition, intensity towards your job, and attention to detail. In my mind, a complete, accurate forecast is more than a chore that comes with being in sales, it’s proof you belong in sales. It is also a direct reflection of your character, integrity, and work ethic.

Through the years I have found three basic types of forecasters; exaggerators, sandbaggers, and Heavy Hitters. Exaggerators are happy ear forecasters who take customers’ words at face value. When asked why they have committed a particular deal they will say, “The customer told us they like our solution.” They seem to have forgotten the old adage that “all buyers are liars.”

Other exaggerators are rose colored forecasters who interpret every piece of information in their favor. For example, a customer might say, “We understand your product so there’s no reason for you to demonstrate it.” They’ll interpret this as a positive sign even though all the other vendors are demonstrating their products.

Exaggerators continually paint the future as being so incredibly bright that management is hesitant to fire them. While this quarter might not look so good, the next one is always going to be fantastic. They are so convincing that it takes management several quarters to catch on to the ruse.

Sandbaggers are secretive forecasters who try to get buy giving as little information as possible on the forecast. They figure the less information they give, the less exposure they have to management’s questions.

Heavy Hitters forecast per their conscience. Irregardless as to whether they will have a good or bad quarter, they tell it like it is. They ignore the braggadocios, hyped-up forecasts of their teammates and consider it a personal obligation to be honest to themselves, their managers, and the company.

So now it’s time to conduct a quick exercise. Open up your forecast and take a look at all your deals. What type of forecaster are you?

November 10, 2009

Selling the C-Suite Using Sales Linguistics

In my new book Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince C-Level Executives to Buy, I help salespeople learn how to winover senior executives using Sales Linguistics. But what exactly is Sales Linguistics?

Every day, you speak and listen to thousands of words. Through the words you speak, you are able to explain your ideas, recount your past experiences, and share your personality with others. Since the communication process comes so naturally, you assume you are understood. However, the most important words you speak during the entire year are those you say to C-level executives during the make-or-break meetings that determine if you will win a deal.

Most of the time, you probably don’t think about the specific meaning of the words you are using. Since the words are so integrated with your being, they just seem to happen. However, your words represent your attitude, outlook, and perspective about life. But language doesn’t consist solely of spoken words, it has an entirely nonverbal dimension as well. You actually use a series of different languages to communicate to the others and to understand what they are saying to you. The seven languages that are at the foundation of Sales Linguistics are:

1. Word catalog language. The mind’s method for receiving and interpreting information based upon the three sensory channels—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (feelings and a sense of the body).

2. Internal dialogue language. The never-ending stream of communication inside the mind that represents honest, unedited, and deep feelings.

3. Physical language. Also known as body language, the nonverbal communication that is constantly being emitted by the executive’s body posture.

4. Intersecting activity language. Interests, hobbies, and personal pursuits by which the executive displays his personality, beliefs, and values.

5. Technical specification language. The androgynous, nonpersonal, and technical communication that is based upon the nomenclature and technical terms of the executive’s industry. For example, the computer industry terms RAM, CPU an megabyte.

6. Business operations language. The language that is specific to the daily running of the executive’s business and his role in the organization.

7. C-level language. The most powerful trust-based language by which the executive explains his personal needs, desires, and plans along with the strategy by which he hopes to fulfill them.

The ultimate goal for the C-level meeting is simple: you want the executive to expose his internal dialogue to you. You want him to honestly explain what he is trying to accomplish and why he is doing it from a business and, more importantly, personal standpoint. You want him to tell you about his personal needs and career desires along with how he plans to fulfill them. You want him to speak the confidential C-level language with you. In order to do so, you must progress through the various languages represented by the figure below.

Unfortunately, the majority of executive conversations never reach the confidential C-level language. The discussion gets stuck at the technical specification language or the business operations language.

Remember, your most important competitive weapon is your mouth and the words you speak. While you will frequently meet with lower-level and midlevel employees at companies whose business you’re trying to secure, the rare conversations you have with C-level decision makers will directly determine whether you win or lose the deal. Therefore, it is critical that you understand how C-level executives think and how they communicate and that you are able to adapt your use of language to match C-level decision makers’. Now more than ever, you need to understand and master Sales Linguistics.

October 23, 2009

Sales Linguistics is Sales 2.0! Steve Martin Interview

I was recently interview by Mathew Schwartz for “Follow the Lead: Zoominfo’s B2B Sales and Marketing Blog” Here’s the interview:

BEST ASSET FOR SALES EXECUTIVES DOESN’T COST A THING

The terms have seeped into the sales lexicon: Sales 2.0, Sales 1.5, Web 2.0. The terms remind us that Philip K. Dick was probably onto something regarding where the 21^st century is headed. But terms such as Sales 1.5 and Sales 2.0 really mean getting from Point A to Point B, and that has a timeless quality.

For sales veteran Steve Martin, author of “Heavy Hitters Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy ," the new Sales 2.0 emanates from something that technology can never compete with: our mouths. “Sales executives haven’t thought about the most important weapon they have,” said Martin, a sales consultant whose clients include Akami, AllState, IBM and McAfee. “They haven’t optimized their mouth and the words they speak. While they may have ten years of sales experience, they know nothing about sales linguistics-- the study of the customer’s mind uses language during the decision making process.” Martin said verbal communication – and learning how to use words with myriad levels of decision-makers who are involved in the sales process – is the way to cultivate sales, digital age or no.

“The major problem [in sales] is that there’s very little difference between products,” Martin said. “The only differentiation is how salespeople can speak [to customers] in a unique way so customer down their guard and starts to tell the salesperson what they’re trying to accomplish.”

Martin, whose blog focuses on sales strategy and advice, said that “sales 1.0” terms smack of a traditional sales pitch. “Using words like ‘reliable,’ ‘easy-to-use,’ ‘scalable,’ ‘industry leader,’ they mean nothing to prospects,” he said, adding that senior sales execs often suffer from using antiquated terms in the sales process (and then mistakenly pass those habits along to newbies). Prospects get “anaesthetized by these words, which are not attached to any psychological needs.”

When they reach prospects to start a conversation, sales execs have to stop reciting the proverbial sales pitch. They also have to understand how customers use language throughout the sales process; how they interact; how they speak to each other and how they speak to sellers both individually and collectively. “Increasingly, when you’re on a sales-call presentation it’s in front of a group, so you have to understand a person’s authority within a group is not necessarily commensurate with title and only their language reveal this” Martin said.

Martin cites a “Heavy Hitter” as a species of “communications chameleon,” or someone who can bond with different levels of buyers and influencers through the ability to speak different languages (but the same tongue). For example, “if you’re speaking to an engineer about network products, you have to be able to speak with specification about technology,” he said. “But when you speak with the CIO, his orientation is on how run to a business operation. They speak two totally different languages.”

It’s like a crash course at Berlitz. But it doesn’t have to be. More than half of the battle to getting a better read on linguistics is taking personality out of the equation. “Traditional personality assessment as it relates to sales calls is obsolete and unimportant,” Martin said. “The better way to map out the sales cycle is based on how decision makers receive and interpret information and how they act when they are alone with the salesperson as opposed to with a group of colleagues. Because a person’s environment will dramatically impact what they say and how they say it. In reality, sales linguistics is the true new Sales 2.0!”

October 09, 2009

Selling to The C-Level Webinar-WATCH IT!!!

I’d like to invite you to join me as I review key C-level sales strategy concepts from my new book Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy. Based upon more than 500 interviews with C-Level executives, Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology provides psychological strategies and linguistic tactics to secure C-level meetings, expert advice on how to prepare for and conduct C-level sales calls and presentations, and specific instructions on what to say and do during meetings. The book also supplies the psychological models behind organizational politics to help you understand how senior executives think and act in group decision-making environments.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

SELLING TO THE C-LEVEL

September 29, 2009

2 of the TOP 10 Sales Books

I was very excited to learn that my just released book Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy and its prequel, Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy were in Amazon's top 10 sales-related books (2^nd and 9^th respectively).

Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology is for senior salespeople, those who have been in the field for five, ten, and fifteen plus years. The goal of the book is to help them accomplish the most difficult task in all of sales: penetrate the C-level executive leader’s office and convince him to buy in the life-or-death meetings that determine whether the salesperson will win the deal. Here’s what sales leaders have to say about it!

“A fascinating instruction manual for securing meetings with C-level executives and persuading them to buy!”

Steve Clarence, Vice President of Sales, Convergys

“The first book that truly teaches salespeople how to converse with CEOs. Pray your competitors don’t read it first.”

Craig Eckstrom, Vice President of North America Sales, PayPal

“This isn’t just another book, it’s an investment in your future. Whether you manage direct, indirect, inside, or major accounts sales, Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology break downs sales psychology into simple techniques that work.”

Joe Vitalone, Vice President of Sale, Shoretel

“Most sales books provide rudimentary sales tips for beginning salespeople. Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology provides sophisticated sales advice for senior salespeople on how to penetrate the C-level executive suite.”

Chip Terry, Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions, Zoominfo

“Steve brings a whole new light to the golden rule of sales… People buy from people who understand how they are wired!”

Gene Gainey, SVP Sales, Learn.com

“This not your typical book on sales scripts, it is a lesson on how to use language to create relationships at the highest levels of organizations.”

Tom Furey, Vice President & General Manager, Standard Register

“Steve Martin brings a new level of thoughtfulness to the psychology of sales. Understanding your own linguistic profile and uncovering the “bully with the juice” will help you achieve success in the ever changing landscape of complex selling.”

Sam Adams, Senior Vice President of Sales, Picis

"Now more than ever, you need an unprecedented understanding of the customer's perspective, motivation and true intent. Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology provides the path to build more meaningful executive relationships that will separate you from your competition."

Charley Knight, Vice President of Sales, Shaw Industries

“Star salespeople are not always cognizant of how they go about closing C-level deals. Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology does a great job describing the foundation and process that comes naturally to successful Heavy Hitter salespeople.”

Todd DeBonis, Vice President of Global Sales, TriQuint Semiconductors

“Steve’s latest book is a good combination of high brow science and tactical examples. Unlike most one dimensional sales textbooks, Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology will keep your interest throughout.”

Garth Moulton, Vice President of Community and Co-Founder, Jigsaw

"The key to any successful sales is understanding the individuals you are selling to.... and none more important that the C-Level. This book provides an excellent foundation and a step-by-step guide to ensure success at the highest levels of an organization"
Lisa Pope, Vice President, Global Sales Strategy, QAD Software

September 13, 2009

Great Sales Quotes From C-Level Decision Makers

My new book Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy is based upon Based upon more than 500 interviews with C-Level executives. The book provides psychological strategies and linguistic tactics to secure C-level meetings, expert advice on how to prepare for and conduct C-level sales calls and presentations, and specific instructions on what to say and do during meetings. Throughout the book I have inserted comments from the executives I interviewed. Here are a few of my favorite quotes along the title of the person who said them:

“Every salesperson is trying to get into my office and explain how their wonderful products will save me tons of money. Very few do because most don’t understand what it takes to sit across the table from me.” Chief Executive Officer

“If you understand what I am trying to do—here’s how I can help you in the short and long term, and here’s how I have done it at other places—then there is a partnership quality to the relationship, not just a vendor and a supplier.” Chief Executive Officer

“The vendor we chose has a group of smart, dedicated, customer-oriented people. To a great degree, I don’t think their products and services are different from their competitors’. They distinguish themselves with their people.” Vice President of Supply Chain

“Their salespeople have an order taker mentality. They are not a value-added layer. Even some of the most senior people on our account tend to not come to me with strategic thoughts or ideas for the future but come to me and say, “What do you need today?” Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations

“Their salespeople need some type of a more senior level executive overview, something that resonates with high level executives. Senior executives only have two seconds to look at something and figure out if it matters. Our top executives still aren’t sure what their product does. I think they assumed it is a bleeding-edge product, and they are not risk takers.” Senior Vice President of e-Commerce

“This was a huge decision for our company, a huge purchase we would have to live with for many years. I was worried we wouldn’t get it right.” Chief Executive Officer

“It’s a pain in the ass to switch vendors. It’s a pain in the ass to analyze whether you should or not.” Vice President of Purchasing

“It sorts itself out pretty fast —those who will and won’t make it with us. We are a big company, so there’s always a tendency to go with the big players. Who are your proven big-time customers? What resources do you have to get something fixed?” Chief Operating Officer

“They were completely unwilling to think outside the box with us. We consider ourselves unique, so we like the people we work with to treat us differently. I don’t know whether it was because the salesperson was so bad or the fact that their company is so rigid that they wouldn’t even entertain it. After I told them we weren’t moving forward with them, I almost got this autoresponse “We’re sorry to hear that; keep us in mind; blah, blah, blah.” I thought, “Don’t you want to know why, you idiot?” Chief Financial Officer

September 01, 2009

Sales Psychology - REPUBLICANS vs DEMOCRATS

There’s a very important lesson for both salespeople and marketeers to learn from the healthcare debate and these charts below are at the center of it. On the left is the Republican chart of healthcare reform and on the right is the Democrat’s.

According to the New American, “The GOP chart reflects the complexity of at least 31 new federal programs, agencies, commissions and mandates that accompany the unprecedented government takeover of health care in America. Lesser known aspects of the Democrats’ plan are revealed by the chart, exposing big government’s burning desire to micromanage and impose its will. Federal mandates for website design will be imposed on the states, and cultural & linguistic competence training will be given to healthcare providers.”

Frankly, their chart accomplishes the goal of creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Everything about this chart causes chaos in the mind: the layout, color selection, different shapes, and massive amount of information.

The Republican chart was so effective that the Democrats were forced to respond. They created their own chart in order to provide a more ordered, reassuring view of the healthcare universe. They simplified the layout and used soothing pastel colors to "assuage the public’s fears."

Is the Democrat’s chart effective? The answer depends upon who they are trying to persuade. Maybe a graphic artist would appreciate the Democrat’s chart, but to the average American it means very little. It’s just a bunch of planets, crop circles, or bubbles. It evokes a different kind of reaction in the mind. It’s too nebulous and doesn’t explain how the program would actually work. As a result, it won’t change anyone’s mind. In reality, it may even hurt their cause by validating their proposed program can’t be simply explained.

Here’s the main point... After reviewing hundreds of corporate presentations I can tell you that almost all include slides that are overly complicated are so simplistic they’re meaningless. Take a moment and open your corporate sales presentation. How many slides resemble the Republican or Democrat charts? Both types cause you to lose mental momentum with prospective customers. So while you think you are communicating something profound and persuasive, you are actually causing chaos and exacerbating the customer’s fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

August 22, 2009

Sell High or Die! Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology

Sell high or die! You must convince C-Level executives to buy! During tough times selling to the C-Level is a mandatory skill. I am proud to announce the newest addition to the “Heavy Hitter" series of books about enterprise sales strategies for senior salespeople.

Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy

The biggest challenge facing salespeople today is securing meetings with C-level executives and convincing them to buy in the life-or-death meetings that determine who will win the deal. Based upon comprehensive interviews with more than 500 C-level executives, Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology will help you understand how C-level executives think, how they communicate, and how to adapt your use of language to match executive decision makers'. Steve Martin provides language-based strategies that enable your message to rise above your competitors' and impactful psychological suggestions that compel executives to take action. Inside the book, you will find expert advice on

Strategies and tactics to penetrate the C-level executive's office

What to say, do, and present in face-to-face meetings with C-level executives

Building rapport using sales linguistics, the study of how the customer's mind uses and interprets language

Anticipating how the C-level mind-set impacts organizational politics and influences the complex decision-making process

Extensive real-world examples, illustrations, and exercises to help you apply the techniques immediately

Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology is for senior salespeople, those who have been in the field for five, ten, and fifteen plus years. The Heavy Hitter sales philosophy has helped over 50,000 salespeople become top revenue producers at companies including IBM, NEC, Akamai, Convergys, and McAfee Software. Order Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology Here.

August 16, 2009

Top 10 Annual Sales Meeting Hotel Location Ideas

I have had the privilege of presenting the Heavy Hitter sales philosophy at more than two hundred national sales meetings and annual sales kickoffs. Below, you will find my top 10 hotel locations to hold a sales conference. Be forewarned, this list is based upon my personal experience and I wanted to include properties you may not be familiar with from all across the country. Also, I did not want to focus on mega-hotel locations like Orlando and Las Vegas (you already know all the places there). Finally, my list is based upon reasonably priced hotels (even though some may sound expensive) and these hotels offer something beyond the generic meeting place.

1. Château Elan (Atlanta, Georgia) – www.chateauelan.com Incredible property, great facilities coupled with impeccable attention to detail at a reasonable price make the Cheateu Elan number one on my list. Atlanta provides good year round weather and is easy to get to from anywhere in the US and even Europe.

2. Camelback Inn (Scottsdale, Arizona) - www.camelbackinn.com A beautiful hotel in a fabulous Southwestern mountain setting make the Camelback Inn one of the best locations for a sales meeting.

3. La Costa Resort (Carlsbad, California) – www.lacosta.com North of San Diego, the La Costa Resort is a great place for a meeting any time of year. If your meeting will also include your business partners and channel resellers, this is the perfect place.

4. Claremont Resort (Berkeley, California) – www.claremontresort.com Just twelve miles from San Francisco, the Claremont Resort is a wonderful Silicon Valley location for small and mid-size meetings.

5. Amelia Island Plantation (Amelia Island, Florida) – www.aipfl.com A very different Florida meeting location (better priced in the off-peak season).

6. Rancho Los Palmas (Rancho Mirage, California) - www.rancholaspalmas.com While Palm Springs may require an extra airplane connection to get to, the Rancho Los Palmas is worth the extra effort. Highly recommended activities: rent out the Palm Springs air museum for a nighttime event and “Field of Dreams” softball park for team building event.

7. SeaView Marriot (Atlantic City , NJ) www.seaviewmarriott.com A great place for a meeting in the Northeast US that you probably have never heard of.

8. Marco Island Marriott (Marco Island, Florida) www.marcoislandmarriott.com Marco Island is interesting alternative to the standard meeting in Orlando.

9. Long Beach Hilton and Executive Meeting Center (Long Beach, California) - www.hilton.com Good meeting facilities and a great location that provides some excellent evening event possibilities-- group dinner at the Aquarium of the Pacific or on the Queen Mary.

10. Embassy Suites (Burlingame, California) – www.embassysuites.com I know you are probably surprised to see an Embassy Suites on this list, but this is a great place to have a meeting in Silicon Valley for up to 500 people. It’s only 5 minutes from San Francisco International Airport and situated right on the bay.

Here are some Honorable Mentions:

Westin - Indianapolis, Indiana

Hyatt Regency - Newport Beach, California

Hartford Marriott Downtown – Hartford, Connecticut

Carmel Valley Ranch – Carmel, California

Biltmore Hotel – Phoenix, Arizona

Pinehurst Resort – Pinehurst, North Carolina

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31