Ask A Sales Leader: Sean Conley

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Sean Conley has enjoyed a long, successful career in  high technology Sales in the mobile platforms and cloud computing services industries. Formerly a school teacher, Sean used his background in education, and mastery of martial arts to bridge into a customer facing role. Sean is a continual learner, who treats his sales career as a craft that is continuously being refined.  He is also well rounded in music, travel, sports and the art of being a raconteur.

 

 

1. Describe how your customer facing teams use your organization’s sales process.

We have two documents which we use for our organization’s sales process. The first is an opportunity description, which outlines our current business overview, business challenges and pain. The second document is an Excel spreadsheet which scopes out the entire sales process and assigns points based upon each step.

2. What is your Management’s approach to Coaching sales reps?

I really like the TV Show on CNC called “The Profit,” where the host is a business turnaround specialist that helps failing businesses.  On the show, he mentions that there are three elements of what makes a company successful: People, Product and Process. Having a level of preparation and documentation provides management with an updated and concise dashboard into where the company and revenue is headed within a specific month/quarter.

3. How do you reinforce sales skill development for sales reps?

I like articles on sales and negotiation from Harvard Business School Publishing. In the past, we have also white-boarded opportunities and practiced a mock pitch. Having a deeper understanding of the buying process, timing, who owns the budget and where project prioritization is taking place are critical to understanding how to accurately forecast for senior management. Also, making certain that the reps have a succinct overview and update for forecasting is a critical skill set.

4. What advice would you give to other sales leaders?

Communicate the mission on a weekly, monthly and quarterly perspective.  Good sales leaders coach their reps to pay attention to the smaller details and establish a balance of focus on the mission while promoting an “esprit d corps” within the team.

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Becoming A Master Communicator

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Communication skills are the key to being successful in sales.  They serve two important purposes.  First, they help you understand the prospect’s business objectives.  Second, by focusing the conversation on the prospect, you are able to build a high level of trust and minimize the perception of self-interest.

 

Communication is a two-way street.  That is, it involves both speaking and listening.  Salespeople must have the skills to keep the focus on the prospect, to keep the prospect talking, to be a good listener and build a trusting relationship with the prospect.  After all, your job is to get information, not give it.  How else can you diagnose the prospect’s challenges effectively?  If the diagnosis is flawed, how much confidence will your prospect have in the solution?

When you are talking you are saying something that you already know.  When you listen you discover something that someone else knows.  Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.

If you want to interact with someone, communication is essential.  If you want to influence or advise someone, understanding his or her point of view is critical.  A good rule of thumb is to keep your prospect speaking twice as much as you do.  After all, you have two ears and one mouth and you should use them in that ratio in professional selling.  Unfortunately, most salespeople are like alligators – all mouth and no ears.

In diagnosing the prospect’s challenges, and establishing their business objectives during a sales meeting, it is important to ask good questions, take notes and follow up. Taking notes really shows the customer that you are paying attention to what their needs are. At the end of the meeting:

  • Verbally summarize what you heard at the end of a sales meeting
  • Discuss what the next steps should be including time and date for the next discussion
  • Follow up by sending an email to the prospect outlining what was said during the meeting and what the next steps are

These simple tips, when followed on a regular basis, will help you to differentiate yourself by the way that you sell, and move you into the master communicator category.

 

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On The Road Again: In Seattle, WA

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In March, John is up in the Pacific Northwest in the beautiful tree filled city of Seattle instructing a Sales Process Workshop, and working with the Managers on how to Coach to the process. In this video, John previews the upcoming articles for the newsletter and announces exciting travel plans that take FSS back out to the global market. Pack your bags and listen below.

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