You can have all the sales theories and methodologies in the world but sometimes it's the simple things that work the best. These two tips were given to us by a great friend of ours, Geoff Bennett. Geoff is a superb salesman and he always did these two things with every customer, every time. He asked at the start of the meeting:

• “How much time have we got today ?”
• “What would you like to get out of this meeting ?”

And that was it. The results that he got were astonishing. Geoff was slightly bemused when we pointed out that these were great selling tools.

• "Isn't selling ALL about understanding what your customer wants ?"
• “Do you know a better way than asking them and checking how much time you have to do it in ?"

We have used this approach on every customer that we have met at i2i. They notice too !

We are often asked by our colleagues in HR, L&D and Organisational Development, ‘What is it that the best sales leaders and managers do differently to get great results through their teams?’. Observing and working alongside those who sustain great performance through their teams year in year out there is a common pattern that we have observed that we share, that includes:

• They invest time in ‘realistic’ dialogues with their team members about expected results, and actual performance both formally and informally. They don’t just talk about the numbers but explore the results, activities, and behaviours required to deliver success for the customers, their organisation, and individual team members.
• They listen more than they talk - coaching their team members to raise awareness, take personal responsibility, and find their own solutions.
• They provide practical support for their teams, encourage cooperation - and give their sales representatives as much development, authority, and responsibility as they can handle and then they trust them to use it wisely.
• They are open and let their team members know if they are doing a bad, average, or good job. They hold people to account for their agreements, proactively provide performance feedback, address issues early, and strive for highest quality.
• They do all of the above consistently to the poor, the average, and the high performers.

Perhaps as importantly as what they do is the way they do it. They are honest, realistic, supportive, demanding, and demonstrate genuine interest in the individual as well as the results they deliver.

What have you observed the best leaders do to get high performance through their teams ?

Having all of the selling skills in the world will not help if your sales team are not talking to the right customers. It's a common trap for sales people to convince themselves that if they are in front of a customer they are 'selling'. Not all customers are equal and it is critical to examine the various factors that determine whether it is the right time to be engaged with them. Here at i2i we have developed the SERVE model to examine and select opportunities.

• Situation: What is the current situation within the customer, what business drivers do they have, what is the financial situation, is there a clearly defined need, a compelling reason to buy ?
• Enablers: What are the influences that we have (reputation, relationship, product) that would give us the opportunity to compete ?
• Resources: What are the resources that would be required from both sides to achieve success ?. Are they available, accessible, and do they have the requisite skills and knowledge ?
• Value: Is the value clear to the customer ? Do they understand it, can they quantify it, what are the timescales ? What are the risks that would need to be managed in order to deliver the value ? Is the value to our business also clear ?
• Execution: Once the deal has been done - what is the follow-up plan ? Was the deal profitable, is there other business to follow, were the risks understood and managed ?

The above is only a flavour of the content of the model. It's not complex - being closer aligned to structured common sense. However it is our experience in i2i that the best way to SERVE both yourself and your customers is to take this approach.

If you would like to know more about i2i Sales Training and the methods and models that we use please contact i2i here

The results are in.
We are now able to publish our HR, OD, and Learning & Development survey. We polled fifty HR, OD, and Learning & Development leaders to gain their opinion on what they saw as the priorities amongst i2i's view of some current 'Hot Topics'. Click on the document to see what their views are.

Our aim at i2i is to ensure that we consistently and accurately respond to the needs of our customers to help them be successful in meeting the challenges that they face on a daily basis. With this aim in mind, we polled fifty sales and business leaders to gain their opinion on what they saw as the priorities amongst i2i's view of some current 'Hot Topics'. Click on the document to discover some interesting results and insightful comments !

There is a thriving cycle shop very near to where we live called Haslemere Cycles. It is constantly a buzz of activity - and at the weekends difficult to actually get in to due to the amount of people in there. It's easy to see why. The guys that own the shop love cycling and they offer a fantastic service to their customers. Buy a bike there and they will set it up to exactly fit you. A month later they will service the bike for free. If you buy accessories for your bike they will not only advise you on the best ones (not just the most expensive) and then they will fit them for you. Most of this work is done more-or-less on the spot. Almost everyone I know that has a bike goes there. They also, as I do, recommend others to do the same. It seems almost an act of betrayal to go into another bike shop. There are valuable lessons here: Understand your customers needs, treat them as you would wish to be treated, offer them a range of considered options, provide more than is expected. Have you heard all of this somewhere else before ? The owners opened their first shop three years ago - they are just about to open their third. No prizes for guessing why.
Haslemere Cycles are at 249, Albert Road, Southsea, Hants.



photo courtesy of Joe Workman

We were working in the fabulous city of Chicago recently and ended up in the Fado Irish pub. No surprises there. The pub had great beer, good food, and lots of televised sport available. The bar staff were also really friendly and attentive. One of our colleagues is a keen follower of cricket and asked (more in hope than anything else) if anyone knew the score of the English test match v Pakistan. There were blank faces all round. However, 10 minutes later the owner of the pub arrived not only with the score but also with a print out from the internet of the match summary. We were all amazed at this level of customer service and needless to say went there again and again. Another example of how great customer service can dramatically influence where people spend their money. Go there - it's a great place.

100 West Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60654-5206