Many years ago my wife was studying for an exam and she was drawing these colorful diagrams while reading her notes.  At first they didn’t make much sense to me so I dismissed them thinking she was crazy.  Curiousity got the better of me and later I had to find out more about these crazy looking diagrams so I asked her what she was doing.  She told me she was “Mind Mapping” and she quickly explained how it worked.  It intrigued me and I wanted to know more.

Now I am using Mind Maps all the time to help myself and my clients with projects, coaching, sales proposals and nearly anything that needs clearer thinking.  So what is mind mapping?  Well mind mapping is a tool that engages both your left and right sides of your brain and as a result you actually complete activities more effectively and with better quality.  You basically put your thoughts down in a very effective manner on paper or a computer as a diagram that represents the way you think.   They can be used in many different situations and for many different reasons.  Use them during business meetings, when you study, when you plan or to come up with the most innovating ideas.

From my previous article (Effective Proposals), I outlined the main elements of an effective proposal and the five factors required before you should even consider writing one. Once you have decided that the opportunity is worth investing the time to write a proposal you should consider what type to write. There two main types of sales proposals and the one you choose will depend greatly on your relationship with the customer and the opportunity.

In this article I will address the short letter proposal (less than 5 pages) that is especially used when you already have an existing relationship with your customer and the opportunity can be easily covered. Do not consider using a short letter proposal when you are engaging a new customer.

Following on from my "Effective Articles" and "Effective Short Letter Proposal" this article I will address effective formal proposals (greater than 5 pages) that is especially used when you are engaging a new or potential customer or the opportunity can not be easily covered by the short letter proposal.

Formal Proposal (Greater than 5 pages)

A formal proposal is a full proposal that covers the core elements of Problem, Solution and Value (Effective Articles) in greater detail. The framework outlined below is a typical example of a formal proposal. Keep in mind that this is only a general framework and you will need to adapt it to the sales situation. Do not feel compelled to cover each of the categories, especially if the sale doesn't warrant that much detail.

When you are in a sales situation you may need to prove your case to the decision maker. Precisely what you need to prove will depend greatly on what occurred in your discussions. One way of proving your case is through the presentation of a proposal. Effective proposals persuade and are specific. They cannot be generic and they need to speak to the needs and interests of your specific prospect and not those of average, typical or generalised clients.

Many organisations provide their sales people with proposal templates that have been developed over time and have been rehashed by many different people. This causes the resulting proposal to be dysfunctional, difficult to read and ineffective. Sales Managers need to be aware of this and ensure that their salespeople are not blindly following a template that won't results in sales. I recommend that proposal templates be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they remain effective.

Handling Questions and Objections

Of the many salespeople that I have trained, coached, mentored and managed, nearly all of them failed when handling questions and objections from a decision maker.  This results in salespeople leaving opportunities on the table for their competition to win.  

As this problem was so wide spread, I decided to develop a process that salespeople could easily use to handle questions and objections during a sales call.  This article outlines the process that I have been teaching salespeople for many years and has helped  them unblock and win many sales opportunities.

It is a fact that when selling, most of the time you will hear either “no” or a strong reason why a customer won’t buy when you ask for the order.   But it is also a fact that most of the time, the tough objections or even “no”, are intended to test your capability as a salesperson.

A Decision Maker may be thinking that it is easier to say “no” so not to change the status quo or take a risk.  Additionally, if the salesperson accepts the “no” then they can’t believe very strongly in the product or service they are selling.  If the salesperson is not enthusiastic enough to be willing to fight for the sale then they why should the decision maker buy from them.  

Common objections such as “We can’t afford it” or “We already deal with someone else” may sound like a “no”, but in fact it may be a question in disguise, intended to test you out and see how you can handle it.  Even a determined “NO” may be a subtle way of asking you to provide more reasons to support your offering.  

Some questions and objections can be easily handled especially when they relate to a strong feature of your product or service.  However when handling more difficult questions and objections I train salespeople to use the “SCORE” process.   

“SCORE” is a process consists of:
•    Search
•    Confirm
•    Observe
•    React
•    Exit

So what do each of these mean?

Over the years of working with salespeople I have found that their most common weakness is asking questions. Most sales people are so keen to make the sale they forget to ask the customer what they really want or need. They simply don’t engage the customer and force feed them the products and services in their sales kit.

In most cases the products and services a salesperson is selling are needed or wanted by the customer, but they don’t get the sale. Why? This is simply due to the fact that they haven’t spent the time to find out more about their customer and tie in their products and services to address their pain points.

Don’t ask a question. Don’t get an answer.

Ask the wrong question. Get the wrong answer.

Ask the right question. You:

Before you go into a meeting with a customer or employee, consider the following:

1. Go in disconnected to your emotions.  Be objective right from the start and try and obtain a positive outcome without concentrating on the communication techniques of the other people in the meeting.
2. Make a plan.  Plan what you would like to achieve in the meeting, send an Agenda so that the attendees will know what to expect.  Allow twice as much time as you think it would take for the meeting.
3. Ask lots of questions and listen.  Don't get caught up in the drama.  Try and ascertain the facts.
4. Give everyone equal access to your time.  Ensure that you treat everyone fairly with your time, even those trouble makers.
5. Set a course for the discussion and consistently follow it.  It is a good idea to set an Agenda and send it before the meeting so that all attendees know what will be covered in the meeting.

If you liked this article, there are plenty more articles about how to run effective meetings.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?

Emotional Intelligence is about being guided by your emotions and thinking intelligently.  This will enable you to perceive, express and understand other people's emotions as well as your own emotions.  You will express your emotions in a professional and effective manner.

What are the Benefits of EQ?

By identifying and understanding the EQ of job candidates, management and staff, the results will be:

1. Better identification and response to EQ
2. Better communication between staff, management and clients
3. Management of emotions in the workplace more productively
4. Management and Employees will be less likely to suffer from negative emotions

How can EQ be Utilised in the Workplace?

 

Managers and leaders can utilise emotional intelligence in the workplace by better understanding the needs of customers and employees and being better able to represent their organisation in the public light.  These leaders set employee morale and have empathy towards the needs of their employees.

Different jobs require different levels of emotional intelligence.  Sales staff will need to understand a customer's mood and know the best time to make a sales pitch or when to keep quiet.  People working in solitude have an individual self discipline or motivation which is emotional intelligence.

According to studies, generally women have a higher sense of empathy and social responsibility; however men have higher levels of stress tolerance and self-confidence.  Men and women are equally emotionally intelligent; they just have emotional intelligence skills in different areas.

Steps to Utilise EQ in Your Workplace

1. Assess the EQ of staff, management and job candidates
2. Identify the EQ of these individuals
3. Understand how best to manage these individuals
4. Demonstrate the use of EQ in the workplace
5. Encourage these individuals to utilise EQ in the workplace

A DISC Profiling System could benefit your business in the following ways:

• Clear identification of learning and working styles.
• To avoid the placement of 2 dominant people working together all the time as they would both want to be leaders.
• You can place people in roles which are more suitable to their behaviours.
• To get the right mixture of different people in a team when their roles and behaviours are varied and suitable for them.
• To know where your team members fit into the above categories and ensure their roles reflect their natural abilities.