6 Traits Of Successful Salespeople

What separates successful salespeople from those who are not in the payroll service industry? This question has been studied for decades by many corporate executives, sales leaders, salespeople and human resource managers.

Every Payroll Service Needs Winning And Effective Salespeople. 

As you can imagine, corporate America has always be in need of winning and effective salespeople. Unfortunately, no matter how long most interview processes are, it has been a challenge for many businesses to hire a salesperson that will not only last 36 months or longer, but will also be effective.

6 Traits Most Successful Payroll Service Salespeople Have.

Trait #1) Winning Salespeople Ask Business-Related Questions: Successful salespeople ask prospective buyers business related questions to determine their situation and buying needs. They also know the most effective way to present their product or service is to uncover a buyer's goals, objectives, concerns and frustrations. This allows them to effectively discuss what features are best for their budget and needs. And yes, there is such a thing as asking an irrelevant question to a prospect when you are in sales.

Trait #2) Winning Salespeople Have Passion For What They Are Selling: Winning salespeople take pride in what they sell and are passionate about what they do. The reason for this is simple: It shows your prospective buyers that you are genuinely excited about what you are selling. More importantly, you are not doing yourself, your company or future clients any favors by continuing to represent a company that does not excite you.

Trait #3) Winning Salespeople Work Smart And Hard: Most people want to be successful in their sales career but are not prepared to work hard to achieve it. As a salesperson, you will be as busy as you want to be. That means you need to fine-tune your craft, work harder than your competition and make more "Oh By The Way" calls than anyone else.

Trait #4) Winning Salespeople Keep In Touch With Their Target Audience: Being in continuous contact with your target audience will keep you fresh in the minds of potential buyers. This does not mean calling someone every week for weeks on end; it means sending sales letters, postcards, a lumpy mail campaign, thank-you note, birthday card, etc. More importantly, it is about making enough "Oh By The Way" calls to their database of prospective buyers.    

Trait #5) Successful Salespeople Show Value: Today's business world is super competitive. Unfortunately, most salespeople think price is the most important factor. Although price is a major factor in every sale, it seldom is the primary motivator as to why someone chooses one company over another. In addition, they know VALUE is a formula for a prospect (value = their benefits minus their cost).

Trait #6) Successful Salespeople Are Persistent: Selling for a living requires a tremendous amount of persistence. Unfortunately, a lack of persistence can be a salesperson's demise - from not staying in touch with prospects to not building their database of prospective buyers.  Winning salespeople look for new angles and business solutions and are tenacious during the sales process.

Executive Summary: Every payroll service wants to have on staff successful salespeople. Unfortunately, only 10% to 15% of the people they hire will reach superstar status; most will be average at best. If you, or someone you know, want to be better at sales, we highly recommend incorporating the little things into your daily routine that can add up to more sales, from building your database of prospects, asking probing questions, not taking "no" or "maybe" for an answer to increasing your closing ratio. Yes, sales is a tough profession, but you have the potential to earn a handsome wage.

Why Most Prospects Tell You,

“I’m Not Interested”

The people you are trying to sell to have decisions to make, staff to manage, deadlines to hit and voicemails and e-mails to answer. They are simply just busier than ever. Unfortunately, most business owners, sales leaders, salespeople and marketing professionals do not factor this in when developing their sales processes and marketing campaigns -- a decision that could cost them a small fortune in lost sales opportunities.

What Typically Happens When A Payroll Salesperson Calls A Prospect?  

When a salesperson calls a prospect, one they have never spoken to before, the person on the other end of the call starts to process: 

• Who the caller is and what company are they calling from.
• What are they are trying to sell.
• And whether they should continue the conversation or not.

By 20 to 45 seconds into the call, the majority of prospects politely and sometimes not so politely tell a salesperson they aren't interested and hang up.

Why Most Prospects Tell A Salesperson They Are Not Interested.

The reason why most people on the receiving end of a cold call tell a salesperson they are not interested is because the salesperson approached the call from their own viewpoint and not from the prospect's perspective. Think about it for a minute.

So How Do You Get More Prospects To Listen To You?

Face it, cold calling a database of prospects isn't fun for most salespeople, largely because they endure rejection after rejection after rejection on most calls. That is why we have prepared a list of tips below for you (or someone you know that is in sales) to help you get a warmer reception when cold calling a database of prospects. 

1. Set up a drip marketing system at your business -- a system that blends direct mail, e-mails and a telephone follow-up schedule.
2. Evaluate the themes of your campaigns. If your themes are not educational or informational content 80% of the time, it could reduce your campaign's effectiveness.
3. Set up a 12-month drip marketing calendar as well as a rolling 90-day calendar containing more details about the who, what, where and when.
4. Take a hard look at the frequency of your e-mail campaigns. If you are in a B2B world, more than 2 emails a week could have a negative effect on your open rates.

Here Are Some Suggestions For The Frequency Of Your e-Mail Campaigns:

Listed below you will find some suggestions for your organization. Again, these suggestions may differ based on what you sell and who your target audience is.  

• Send an e-Newsletter campaign on a weekly, bi-weekly or a monthly basis.
• Send an e-Press Release on a quarterly basis.
• Send an e-Sales Letter on a semi-annual basis.
• Send an e-Postcard on a quarterly basis.
• Send a direct mail postcard, sales letter or lumpy mail campaign based on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis.

Executive Summary: The key to your cold calling success is based on the marketing campaigns you send before you call. It is no secret that the majority of people do not want to buy what you sell, but at any given moment, 9% to 18% of your target audience has a varying degree of interest in buying what you sell. If you provide them information that helps facilitate a good buying decision, and then follow-up on that information with an “Oh By The Way" call, you are almost guaranteed to see an increase in sales by 10% to 25% in the next 90 days or less.

§         Buy from us because we offer competitive or low prices.

§         We have great customer service.

§         We do _______ better than ________.

§         We have been in business for XX years.

Writing a marketing message that catches a prospective buyer’s attention is a learned skill.  It does not come easy to most people, but you can learn how to do a better job. 
  

9 Areas To Avoid When Developing A Drip Marketing Campaign For Your Business.  

If you are developing a marketing message for your next campaign, you will find today’s tip extremely valuable, not to mention timely.  Below I have listed a number of copywriting tips designed to ensure your next campaign’s recipients not only read your message, but act on it as well. 

1. Not Writing A Powerful, Emotionally Filled Headline Or Subject Line: When writing your campaign, know that your headline is one of the single most important components of your marketing campaign.   

2. Not Focusing On The Top Three Primary Motivators Of Your Target Audience:  The theme of your campaign needs to focus on the primary motivators of your target audience, e.g., customized solutions based on someone’s needs and budget, the fees that you charge or integration into their legacy systems.   

3. Not Making The Copy About The Reader: Your target audience doesn’t really care about what you do unless it directly benefits them, so know your audience – recognize whom you are writing to.       

4. Not Considering The Themes Being Used In A Campaign:  When sending out a campaign, ask yourself whether the campaign will be educational, sales or informational themed.  This is especially important when sending an e-mail marketing campaign.  If you always send out a sales-themed e-mail marketing campaign, your readers will gradually lose interest over time and eventually stop reading your campaigns altogether or even opt-out.  So mix things up a bit to keep the reader curious about your content.  

5. Not Counting The Types Of Themes Being Sent:  In a given year, you will send X number of campaigns to your target audience.  As you look at your drip marketing calendar, count the number of educational, sales or informational themed campaigns that have been or will be sent.  A good rule of thumb is to have 50% of your campaigns educational, 25% sales and the remaining 25% informational.     

6. Not Counting How Many Times You Use The Following Words: When sending out a campaign, count how often you use the following words: “I,” “me,” “our,” “ours” or “us.” Then count how many times the words “you” and “yours” were used.  The latter pair of words is what you ought to be using actively in place of self-centered language, as they grab a reader’s attention much more effectively.   

7. Not Having A Highly Visible Risk-Free Offer:  Adding a highly visible risk-free offer is the best way to invite someone to take the next step in the buying process.  But don’t limit your risk free offer to things like discounts or dollars off.  Risk-free offers can also be an educational report, a buyer’s guide, etc.  

8. Not Proofing Your Campaign:  It is extremely difficult to proof your own work.  For starters, you lack objectivity because of the ownership you feel over what you have written.  Secondly, your brain is capable of making sense or filling in gaps that others would find incoherent.  With that said, send your work to at least three people for proofing.  

9. Not Keeping The Main Ideas/Subjects In A Campaign To Three Or Less:  People have developed an affinity for things that come in sets of three, so don’t try to jam 10 to 20 main ideas/subjects into a campaign.  All this will do is confuse the reader.  Here are some examples of “threes” ingrained in our culture: 

Our marketing research has proven the majority of organizations in our country look like a “Me Too” business from the eyes of their prospective buyer.  And as I was researching this topic for today’s tip, I came across some interesting material I wanted to share with you – something you might find both motivational and inspirational – and help you avoid sounding like a “Me Too” business.  They come from what the great business philosopher, Jim Rohn, said about being a master communicator:

        1. Have something good to say.
        2. Say it well.
        3. Say it often.

Click here to listen to Jim Rohn Speak 

Have Something Good To Say.

In terms of marketing your business, having something good to say means that you have innovated your business to a point where you have a unique story to tell a prospective buyer.  If you want to know if you are telling a unique story in the marketplace, ask yourself, What makes us any better or different from our toughest competitor? 

Say It Well.

Saying something well involves the words you choose.  Most people think that it is easy to write copy for a marketing campaign, but it isn’t.  If you want to become successful at writing copy, you need to concentrate on the headlines you use and how you position a risk-free offer

Say It Often.

“Say it often” refers to the frequency you send marketing messages to your target audience.  Not only is this important for building a brand in the marketplace, it also helps your salespeople with their “Oh By The Way” calls.   

How To Avoid Looking Like A “Me Too” Business. 

Before spending any money on the tactical execution of your marketing campaign, it is most critical to have something good to say to your target audience -- in essence, a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). 

To develop your USP, you need to ask yourself three things:

1. What is my competition providing?
2. What does my target audience want, need and desire when buying what we sell?
3. What causes my target audience to become frustrated and leave their present source when buying what we sell? 

Do You Really Have Something Good To Say?

Take a moment to ask yourself (and the salespeople that work for you) if you really have something good to say.  Are you really providing better value than your competition?  If you find yourself unable to answer these questions satisfactorily, how can you really expect to win more sales?

If you’re ready to start saying something of value, then take a moment and answer the following four questions.  By doing so, you will be on the right path to innovating your business. 

• When buying from our industry, what things frustrate a prospective buyer when they are going through the sales process (e.g., Is it because the salesperson doesn’t know the competition?  There is too much paperwork for the buyer?  Does the salesperson never follow up)? 
• After someone buys from our industry, what things frustrate them after finalizing the sale (e.g., Do they not receive a return phone call on an issue/problem?  Are the warranties not being honored?  Are buyers not called after the sale to see if they are satisfied?)?  
• What are the requirements a prospective buyer places on a business they are considering buying from or hiring (e.g., Do they have the right type of liability insurance? Are they ISO certified)?  
• What things do prospective buyers want from a salesperson as they go through the buying process (e.g., Get a return call?  Having extensive knowledge about the competition?  Knowledge about integrating their solution into a prospect’s legacy system(s)?)?

 Executive Summary:  When you step back and look at your business or organization, consider the uniqueness of it from the eyes of your target audience. And to find out if your salespeople are able to tell a prospect about the things that make your business unique, ask your own sales team this one simple sentence: "If I was a prospect sitting across the table from you, what would you tell me that makes your business any better or different from your toughest competition?" Yes, the sentence is rather simple, but this is exactly what your prospects are thinking every time a salesperson speaks with them.  Oh by the way, look at your marketing campaigns and do the same thing too.

In the majority of cases, this phrase is used to gently tell you they are not interested in your products or services at the moment. Although you have to respect their wishes, it is in your best interest to probe a little further.

Most Salespeople Will Send Information To Such A Prospect -- But Not You.

I was reading an article by Mike Brooks, author of The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts, about ways to handle this. And what was interesting is that he said, "Believe it or not, about 80% of sales teams I speak with actually shoot off an email, schedule a follow up call, put the company in their pipeline and then begin the frustrating process of chasing unqualified leads."

I could not agree more with Mike Brooks as I have seen far too many sales people fall victim to this approach. Why? There are a few reasons as to why:

1. They have not been taught any other approach by their sales leader.
2. They are just going through the motions in hopes of finding an "immediate buyer" in their database of prospects.

Here's How To Get Past This Objection.

Mike Brooks went on to explain some great techniques for dealing with a prospect who tells you to send them information. Here is what he recommends to say:

"I'd be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect's name) I have a 64 page PDF file that I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part that you'd be most interested in?"

He went on to further say: "Brilliant response, huh?  Now I can already hear some of you - "But I don't have a 64-page PDF."  Well, how about adjusting this response to what you DO have?  How about:  "I'd be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect's name) I have a variety of brochures/price lists/product catalogues/programs I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part/the specific information/the right price list that you'd be most interested in?"

You Now Have The Chance To Ask A Few Questions.

To complement Mike's advice, I would suggest having THREE to FIVE business questions taped somewhere close to where you make your calls. Why? Because even though you might have these questions memorized, they will keep you on track when talking with a prospect. That said, listed below are two questions you might find valuable:

1. If you have a magic wand, and could wave it over a company like us, what would you want us to do for you and why?
2. One a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate your current _____? If they say anything less than a 10, ask them, "How can that _____ become a 10?"

Executive Summary: Once you get in the groove of cold-calling, you will invariably find a prospect that will tell you to send some type of information about your company's product or service line to them. The key to your cold-calling success is directly related to how you handle this type of calls as most salespeople send the information and schedule a follow-up call -- and when they make their follow-up call, they wonder why they got dropped into the black hole of voicemail.  

With today's technology of e-mailing and social media, the most powerful tool in a salesperson's arsenal is their ability to call a prospective buyer with a powerful "Oh By The Way" call. And because cold calling is such a vital part of a salesperson skill set, we have created a number of tips to help anyone in sales to become better at making them. 

7 Secrets For Strengthening Your Cold-Calling Skills:

Tip #1. Do Some Research First: Before you pick up the phone and call a prospect cold, you should take a minute or two and visit the prospect's website. That way, you can familiarize yourself with their company, what they do and possibly what role they have at their company, etc. In fact, this process can go a long way during the actual phone call itself. For starters, it adds a more personalized touch to the call and (more importantly) shows the prospect that you are genuinely interested in them. 

Tip #2. Cultivate A Unique Greeting: Bland introductions are typical by many salespeople. Because of this, it tends to be a one-way ticket to getting hung up on in the first 15 seconds. The trick is to strike a balance between formality and casual charm - and we often suggest asking the prospect an open-ended business question.  

Tip #3. Include Your Name And Company: Continuing from Tip #2, your greeting should also contain your name and your company name, as well as a little about your company (what kind of business you are, service or product you provide, etc.). This is in an effort to pique your prospect's interest as you don't want to come off as being vague and elusive to just get an appointment. 

Tip #4. Be Upfront About Your Purpose: When talking with someone, don't skirt around the issue of why you are calling - just cut to the chase. Think of this as a declaration of your reason for calling. One of the more effective ways to state your purpose while engaging a prospect is to phrase it in the form of a question. Opening with a question sparks the potential for conversation, which is what most prospects would rather have than fielding an overly rehearsed sales call.  

Tip #5. Learn To Accept Rejection: A common concern among salespeople is being too persistent. Unfortunately, many salespeople give up calling a prospect after their unsuccessful attempt at moving the sales process forward. The truth is, the majority (80%) of your calls will go to voicemail (which makes it crucial to have a voicemail script prepared), and those that don't, well, rejection is part of the game. One "yes" is easily worth ten "no's." If you are rejected, accept rejection gracefully. Respect the prospect's wishes and don't press on, or you will be a pest. 

Tip #6. Close With Gratitude: After you have spoken with someone, the first thing you should do is express gratitude by thanking them for giving you a moment of their time. This tells a prospect you understand and appreciate the value of their time. After hanging up with a prospect, send them an e-mail thanking them again as well as attaching a simple, one page summary of your services.  

Tip #7. Always, Always Follow Up: Perhaps the biggest area salespeople drop the ball in is their follow-up. Every phone call requires some kind of follow-up, especially if you left a voicemail. A quick e-mail after leaving a voicemail is one of the best ways to follow-up on a phone call, especially if you provide useful information. After that, put some time between your next phone touch. A minimum of 3 days should go by before you reach out to a prospect again. Anything less may leave them feeling pressured or hounded. 

Executive Summary: Despite the ease and convenience of mass e-mail marketing, the sales game is still all about a salesperson telephone skills. People want to buy from people they like and trust. That is why it is so important for salespeople to put a sincere effort into making cold-calls. By doing so, you will be well on your way to more successful cold-calling.