How to Become a Successful Sales Representative

The nature of sales is such that personal qualities like attitude and personality are hugely important determinants of success, and all the sales rep training in the world can't make up the lack. But for reps who just need a nudge or two in the right direction, it can be useful to understand just what those essential qualities are.

Develop a Keen Sense of Empathy

Empathy is the quality of identifying with people and understanding what they're feeling; it's an enormously useful trait for salespeople because it enables them to understand a customer's motivations and concerns, and tailor their sales pitch accordingly. A rep with a strong sense of empathy finds it easy to establish trust and help others feel at ease, and is good at reading body language and other non-verbal cues.

Stay Focused, Stay Optimistic

People who are focused are driven from within; they don't require external motivation to want to succeed. They're self-motivated, self-starters, and they're willing to do what it takes to achieve their goals.

A related trait is optimism: the ability to persist and stay focused in the face of failure. It's a crucial trait, because in sales, failure is inevitable—so it's not a lack of failure that's important, it's the ability to stay focused and confident when failure happens.

Accept Responsibility

People who are prepared to accept responsibility for their own actions don't shift the blame onto others when problems arise. Instead, they accept whatever responsibility is theirs, they work to find out what went wrong, and they make the effort to make improvements where they're needed.

Feed the Desire for Success

Sales training can help new reps understand how to succeed, but it can't make them want to succeed. That desire to succeed just for the sake of being successful is something that can't be taught. Someone who genuinely enjoys competing and being the best they can, who enjoys the profession for the opportunities it provides in terms of winning, and who gains personal gratification from a successful sale, has the makings of a great rep.

It's important, however, that the desire for success is tempered by those other essential qualities—like empathy and a willingness to accept personal responsibility—to ensure that success doesn't come at another's expense, whether its a customer or a colleague.

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How To Improve Employee Motivation

Maximising employee productivity is a primary concern for leaders and managers, and examining the theory of employee motivation can provide some excellent clues on how to improve motivation and performance in the workplace. Incorporating this knowledge into team leadership training sessions and sales managers training can help boost performance for all employees, and make your upper-level staff more effective.

New theories based on years of research about employee motivation have shown that employee motivation stems from internal rather than external factors. The key in maximising employee motivation lies in understanding that there are two different types of motivation:

Autonomous motivation, where a person does a job because they find it interesting, or because it's in accordance with their personal values.

Controlled motivation, where a person does a job because they feel pressured to do it, whether by internal or external forces.

Not surprisingly, studies show that autonomous motivation is much more effective than controlled motivation. Aside from being associated with better workplace performance, high levels of autonomous motivation are also linked to social, psychological, and physical wellness.

Why? Simply because people enjoy work more when they feel interest in what they're doing, and because they enjoy work more when they feel that they're doing it because they want to, rather than because they have to. Interestingly, numerous studies show that offering monetary rewards doesn't increase autonomous motivation, and can actually decrease it.

Naturally that doesn't mean employees work better when they're not getting paid, or that employees shouldn't be rewarded for hard work, but it does show that higher wages aren't the key to improving employee motivation and performance.

Three Keys to Motivation

So what is most important? Motivating employees lies in meeting three basic psychological needs:

• Competence—people are more motivated when they feel that they're working effectively; providing initial and ongoing training, along with opportunities for skill acquisition, are good ways to foster this.

• Relatedness—workers are more motivated when they have mutually supportive relationships with peers and managers.

• Autonomy—people are more highly motivated when they feel that they perform their work willingly and by choice, which ties into the idea of work being interesting and inherently rewarding.

Providing a workplace environment in which these needs can be met promotes optimal motivation levels and productivity, and enhances employee satisfaction too.

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Building Trust: The Key To Leadership Development

The very best leaders have a wide range of skills, and one of the most important is the ability inspire trust in stakeholders and employees. Learning how to build effective relationships is all about establishing mutual trust on an individual level, and the basic principles of building trust in relationships is an important part of leadership training. There are six essential elements to building trust in relationships, each of which fosters trust in a different way.

Lead By Example

One of the most important concepts in leadership development is that of leading by example. Simply put, leaders should model the behaviour they want to see in their employees—if you want your staff to remain calm under pressure, take responsibility for mistakes, and treat co-workers with respect, it's up to you as a leader to get the ball rolling.

Foster an Accepting Atmosphere

People find it much easier to contribute fully when they're working in an atmosphere of acceptance. If they know they can express their ideas without being attacked or reprimanded, they're going to do so much more confidently. Just as important, people who work in such an atmosphere are more likely to take initiative and go the extra mile when it's needed.

Make Your Relationships Constructive Ones

As workplaces become more diverse, it's more important than ever that all workplace relationships are constructive. Leaders who can maintain constructive relationships with people of diverse backgrounds always have an advantage.

Focus on Situations, Not Individuals

It's easy to play the blame game when things go wrong, but it doesn't help engender trust in the workplace — just the opposite. Focus on the big picture when problems arise, and stay calm and clear-headed. You'll be able to make better decisions and solve those problems more effectively, and employees won't feel unfairly targeted.

Take the Initiative on Making Improvements

Change is a risk, and the best leaders are people who demonstrate their willingness to take risks. To establish credibility as a leader, it's important that you're the one stepping up when there's a problem to solve or an improvement to be made.

Strategy for the Long Term

An effective leader considers the long-term impact of the decisions they make—and they avoid deciding in favour of themselves at the expense of another. In the long term, it's always more prudent to make ethical decisions, to plan responsibly and extensively, and to set realistic but challenging goals.

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Key Elements To Great Customer Experiences

One of the key ingredients to a successful business is having happy customers. If your customers feel they have had a good experience doing business with you, then you have won a large part of the battle. Some of the key elements to great customer experiences are:

Make Sure Your Products are Relevant to your Potential Customers

Social media can be used to reach people likely to be interested in your products. If people post problems online, brand bloggers or retailers sometimes respond to offer advice and solutions.

Use Mobile Devices to Your Advantage

Mobile phones are carried by the majority of people so you can locate a service or product user easily. For instance, Scrabble offer free wi-fi minutes in Paris but only if the mobile phone user unscrambled some Scrabble letters. This way of promoting a product gives the customer a great experience while advertising the Scrabble brand.

Create an App for Your Business

Create an app for your business so that consumers can order your products using their mobile phone. It’s quick and easy and eliminates the need to recite credit card numbers or make a call. The simplicity of use enhances the customer experience and makes them more likely to choose your business. The pizzeria that offers online ordering and can let you pay instantly with paypal is more likely to attract customers than the pizzeria that only accepts cash, even if the one with an online presence costs more.

Let Them Come to You

Letting the customer find you – or behavioural relevancy – ensures that your customers are motivated and interested in what you have to offer. You can achieve this by using internet search ads (these appear on the consumer’s computer in response to their search engine queries. For instance, if they’re looking for vitamin supplements and that is your speciality, your advert could appear after they search for vitamins). Another idea is to send automated emails prompting the user to shop with you or to accept a special offer. If a person visits your website, they could receive this email suggestion alerting them to products they already expressed an interest in.

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The 5 Biggest Sales Management Coaching Pitfalls

There are three ways in which managers try to encourage hard work in their employees. These are threats of punishment for poor performance (for instance, disciplinary action or loss of employment), bonuses and increases in wages and promotions. Unfortunately many things you've been taught as a manager may be counterproductive:

Giving Rewards Doesn't Work – Studies looking at human motivation found that giving external rewards actually damages long-term motivation and performance, making the person less likely to achieve what they are capable of. It also dampens down creativity and problem solving skills and can reduce enthusiasm for the job if they are given for tasks the employee already enjoys. This is because external rewards heighten anxiety and make them feel controlled. Once they have achieved the short-term goal and ‘won’ the prize, their overall investment in the job declines.

Threatening Punishment Doesn't Work – Using the threat of punishment doesn't work because once that threat is removed, the employee becomes demotivated. It is also counterproductive to the three basic psychological needs of workers, which are:

• The need to feel competent and a valued member of the team
• The need for connection and cooperation with colleagues during team work
• The need for autonomy or self-direction within the workplace

When these needs are satisfied, staff are internally motivated just because they enjoy what they do.

Bonuses Don’t Develop Long-Term Motivation – While employees are motivated by pay, it isn't long lasting. The only way to encourage internal motivation is to have a supportive workplace that recognises talent in others, gives need-based feedback and offers recognition for a job well done.

Negative Communication Doesn't Work – If you as a manager offer information in a negative or judgmental way you block communication. If you offer choices within your information, you can encourage a sense of autonomy in your staff that increases work satisfaction.

Choose External Rewards Carefully – Used in moderation and in the context of a supportive workplace, rewards can be motivating. Avoid competitions (they never feel good to the loser). Only offer rewards after they have done the work instead of as an incentive, express appreciation and highlight the positive impact they have had on others.

If you would like to get more information on sales management, you can visit www.achieveglobal.co.uk

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Customer Service: How to Approach the Expectations of New Customers

Customers are increasingly savvy when it comes to making purchases, and increasingly demanding when it comes to customer service. With the abundance of choice available to modern consumers, it's more difficult than it's ever been to attract new buyers, and turn them into loyal long-time customers. Meeting expectations no longer means that customers are automatically satisfied; when a customer calls a service centre, they already have the expectation that their problem will be solved, which means that solving the problem doesn't guarantee repeat business. In this kind of context, what customer services skills are needed to encourage customer loyalty?

Consider your Customers

Understanding who your customers are is crucial, and thanks to the massive technological change of the past two decades, the average customer is virtually a different species compared to twenty years ago. Millennial customers who call an internet provider service centre, for example, are these days likely to know just as much as the call centre agent about their problem, and they tend to become frustrated when asked to perform routine troubleshooting tasks. And in general, younger customers are more likely to spend time performing basic research before calling a service centre, and they have the expectation that the agent they talk to will have a much higher level of familiarity with the product, and be able to quickly and competently solve whatever problem they have. All in all, the requirement for intensive customer service training is high.

What do Customers Want?

While technology has changed, and the concept of customer loyalty has changed, what customers actually want from service performance is surprisingly constant.

Seamless service: customers have always become frustrated when transferred multiple times in a single call, especially when they have to repeat their problem over and over again to each new agent. These days, however, customers expect that the person they first talk to is the one who will coordinate and solve their problem.

Attentive service: customers want to be dealt with quickly, politely, and respectfully, even if they themselves become frustrated and difficult. The nature of customer service is and has always been about making each customer feel that there's nothing more important than their particular problem.

Service that engenders trust: customers want to feel that the agent they speak to is capable of handling their problem, and by extension that the company is capable and trustworthy. They expect that their problem will be solved without errors or delays, and they expect that if a particular solution is promised, it will be provided.

5 Effective Ways to Increase Managers' Productivity

What's the difference between a good manager and a great one? There's no one single difference; rather, it's often the case that there's a whole host of things—both big and small—that truly excellent managers do differently. It's important to keep this in mind for team leadership training, because often, would-be and new managers are eager to find the one single key that will boost their performance, but there rarely is just one. There are, however, five different areas where managers can make changes that boost their performance and productivity to great effect.

Reflect on your Limitations

People make poor decisions for all sorts of reasons. Some focus on the details and fail to see the big picture, while others do exactly the opposite. Some people are unwilling to give credence to alternative views and opinions, while others are so busy trying to please everyone that they're unable to make decisions at all. For managers, these types of limitations can lead to serious problems, so it's crucial to have a high level of self-awareness, and understanding of what your limitations are and how they might affect you professionally.

Give—and Earn—Trust and Respect

It's increasingly expected of managers that they model ethical and socially responsible behaviour in the workplace. For example, it might mean challenging decisions and actions that are unethical, insensitive, or discriminatory, and making fair decisions even when they themselves are negatively affected.

Respect Difference and Diversity

People empathise and interact most effectively with others who are like themselves, but a great manager can interact effectively with people of different cultures and backgrounds. A great manager can lead teams made up of diverse types of people, collaborate effectively with others, and meet the needs of customers and clients of different backgrounds.

Encourage Innovation

Great managers foster a workplace atmosphere that encourages innovation and forward thinking by adapting to change, sharing their vision of a positive future, engaging with people to develop and execute new ideas, and improving their own capabilities as well as those of their team.

Connect with the Team on a Personal Level

A truly great manager can connect with people to inspire and motivate them. Forging personal connections is a vital part of this, because motivation is something that has to engage the heart as well as the mind. For sales managers training in particular this is important, because the ability to engage is a key aspect of sales as well as management.