Using a Potent Leadership Instrument to Boost Sales

Using a Potent Leadership Instrument to Boost Sales

Although few "step up" for more sales after a close, competent salespeople can close deals. However, assuming you know how to construct the staircase, rising to the occasion ought to be among the simplest achievements in sales.
Use a leadership technique that, over the course of the last 20 years, I have taught thousands of leaders worldwide. The purpose of the tool is to simply encourage one specific point of view, which is to challenge individuals to take the initiative and lead tasks rather than just do them.

The distinction between the lightning bug and lightning refers to the difference in results-producing effectiveness between carrying out a task and taking charge of it.
This shift in perspective can seem straightforward, even uncomplicated, yet it can have amazing effects if applied frequently throughout the day.
For example, I once worked for a factory boss whose employees consistently failed to meet productivity targets. I informed him that by directing the employees to achieve productivity increases, he was misguiding them. I advised him to appoint the employees as leaders in increasing productivity. The employees started regularly meeting the targets when they started to regard themselves as such leaders.
Let's use this leadership technique in the sales process now. I'll demonstrate to you how to generate performance gains that significantly beyond those attained through closing. Three methods are provided here.
(1) Find Cause Leaders Instead of Just Selling Products: Salespeople who have a narrow perspective of the customer frequently don't receive step-ups. They see the client as just that—a customer! On the other hand, we must view the client as a "cause leader," someone who can lead our cause both inside and outside of their organization, if we hope to get step-ups. To become close, try to transform your customer into your cause leader rather than merely trying to sell a product.
For example, I provided advice to a materials supplier who was looking to expand into the computer business. In addition to working hard to close deals with engineer-customers, the materials company's salesmen also made strides in creating step-ups by convincing those engineers to lead the company's use of their materials.
This is how they recruited that leadership. They found that the engineers need less resources to achieve higher productivity and faster cycle times.
In response, the engineers' productivity and cycle times increased when the sales team created a materials performance package for them. They also sent in productivity specialists from within the corporation to assist the engineers in streamlining their design procedures. They do more than just offer their products. Moreover, they market productivity. When the engineers saw that the salespeople were assisting them in meeting their basic requirements, they took on the role of cause leaders inside their organization, which resulted in a wave of step-ups.
(2) Get Going Early: "I had to work hard for 20 years in vaudeville before I became an overnight success in radio," George Burns once stated. That is a lesson on taking initiative. It takes time to increase sales outcomes using my leadership tool. Early in the sales process, when you are prospecting for new clients, finding decision makers, and placing your first calls, you need to be ready to receive those step-ups.
Ask yourself, "What is the close in this sale? " at this early stage. And how can that tight relationship help the consumer become the product's advocate both inside and outside of their company, in addition to just purchasing it?
For example, the materials company's sales representatives sought to substitute their materials for those of its rivals in computer housing applications. They would have received near calls, but not step-ups, with that approach. The cost and performance differences between their materials and those of their competitors were minimal.
The salespeople kept expanding the conventional routes to the purchasing divisions of their clients. However, they also started constructing step-ups early on by integrating design engineers into their initial sales campaigns. Their primary goal was to become their clients' "design partners" by not only demonstrating areas of cost savings and performance improvements, but also demonstrating ways to gain market share by utilizing those materials in novel ways.
By entering the market early and becoming their clients' design partners, they were able to improve upon past close calls by incorporating their materials into subsequent housing generations.
(3) Connection to "Must-Have" Outcomes: Step-ups only occur when you address your clients' essential requirements rather than their wants. Asking and responding to the question, "What are your customers' absolute must-have results?" will reveal those needs.
Your clients are more likely to become your cause leaders when you are delivering on the "must-haves," thus those are your fantastic step-up opportunities.
Because the salespeople in the aforementioned case concentrated on the "must-haves," productivity, and cycle-time of their customers, they were able to obtain step-ups.
Here's another illustration pertaining to a different industry: An insurance business that had plateaued in growth gave me advice. We discovered a major cause behind this. Their merchandise failed to satisfy the essential requirements of their clientele. Customers demanded that they expand their enterprises; it was a must for them. However, the company's offerings did not significantly meet the needs of its clients for expansion.
The salespeople were only able to transform their customers into cause leaders when they persuaded their own organization to create and market goods that addressed their clients' growth needs. The new products sold significantly more than the old ones once they were made available to consumers.
Don't undervalue yourself by concentrating just on the close. Use this effective leadership technique to challenge people to lead rather than just do in order to liberate the step-up opportunities that are ingrained in the majority of closes. You may significantly increase sales over what closes accomplish by identifying customer cause leaders, getting started early, and making connections to essential outcomes.
All rights reserved. 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc.
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