Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com March 30, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 29 M any organizations have the ailment "Happy Ears," and it's often located within the sales department. Happy Ears is a common sales-related challenge that impacts both salespeople, yet is even more damaging to sales managers. You come down with a case of happy ears when you hear what you want to hear and not what you should have heard. So what was heard and often acted upon does not reflect what was actually said, or the other person's true intentions. For example, a salesperson meets with a prospect and is told something like: "This is very interesting," or "Looks good," or "I am sure we'll be able to do business together." The salesperson races back to the office and tells his boss, "Hey, I've got one. They loved what I showed. They are really, really interested and want to work with us!" And it's placed in the pipeline with a high probability for success. Then days turn into weeks, and weeks into months before that opportunity that was perceived to be on the brink of closing gathers dust and never turns into business. What happened? The salesperson heard something that was not there. It wasn't done on purpose, because happy ears is something that happens in the subconscious. We don't consciously decide to sabotage our own success by getting Happy Ears. So, what can we do? We often remind clients to remember four critical things during sales calls: Be very inquisitive, be extremely skeptical, get to the truth as quickly as possible, and never be emotionally tied to the end result. These are all much easier said than done, of course. It can be even more damaging to an organization if the sales manager has happy ears. It's contagious and can quickly become an epidemic within sales organizations. So if the manager isn't careful, he can spread the problem. If a salesperson has happy ears and it spreads to a manager, that can lead to false sales projections, inaccurate business planning and bad cash-flow management. If a manager has happy ears and it spreads to his sales team, that can lead to ineffective selling behaviors, promotion of bad habits, wasted time and a drop in sales. What's the cure? B e skept ica l, yet nurturing. So if a prospect says, " T h i s i s v e r y interesting, and I am sure we'll be able to d o b u s i n e s s t o g e t h e r." You r e s p o n d : " I appreciate your kind words. When you say 'am sure we'll be able,' " what exactly do you mean?" This will show the difference between nice platitudes and an actual sale. Never presume that the signals are positive. Be skeptical in nurturing way. And always verify. If this is something that happens all too frequently in your organization, it's time to make changes. Once you're aware of the problem, you can determine what methods can promote nurturing skepticism, being inquisitive, not being emotionally tied to the end result and getting to the truth as quickly as possible, even if it's a no. Then work on it until it becomes a habit. Q Michael Flippin is vice president at Sandler Training, in Framingham. Contact him at mflippin@sandler.com. By Erin Martinez Erin Martinez is safety and sustainability manager for Conservation Services Group (CSG), of Westborough. Contact her at Erin.Martinez@csgrp.com or visit www.csgrp.com. 10 Things I Know About... How to sell without 'happy ears' KNOW HOW 10. Go green when expanding. Consider low-impact materials and "precycling." During its 2014 expansion in Westborough, CSG purchased 80 percent of the needed furniture refurbished. The rest came from inventory. 9. You're not alone. Using sustainable practices reduces costs, mitigates risk, and improves value while increasing sales. Engage employees to form a "Green Team" and encourage them to submit ideas. 8. Establish a purchasing policy. Does your office supply vendor offer a preferred product list? Adjust it for "most sustainable" products. Research supply chain and life-cycle assessments of larger needs and computing services. Use a coffee service that recycles and composts waste. 7. Use virtual meeting tools. Decrease business travel by hosting online webinars and meetings. Take advantage of videoconferencing. 6. Encourage recycling.Workstation bins encourage people to recycle more. Use single-stream recycling and work with your vendor to set up electronics recycling events. 5. Go paperless. Save electronic files rather than print copies. If you must print, use recycled paper with maximum post-consumer content. Set printers to default to print on both sides. 4. Use bottle-less coolers. Bottle-less water coolers cost less and reduce the energy needed to make and deliver traditional bottles. 3. Vehicles matter. If you lease fleet vehicles, make them fuel efficient. Offer EV charging stations, encourage carpools and allow employees to work remotely. 2. Work with your landlord. Buildings matter: 40 percent of U.S. emissions originate here. Make your building as sustainable as possible. Consider rooftop solar. Controls such as occupancy sensors can help, too. Install bike racks and shower/locker facilities to encourage non vehicular commuting. 1. Go carbon neutral. Track the emissions involved in your operations. It's a big commitment, but an important one. Work with a reputable organization, such as The Climate Registry, for guidance. Q Sustainability L ooking for a new employee is stressful enough, but don't sit back and relax when you finally hire someone. How you handle those first few months - some say years – after a new employee comes on board could impact retention and that employee's success. Here are three ways to ensure new hires feel welcome, appreciated and part of the company culture: Have a written strategy in place. Effective onboarding takes more than just an office tour. "Making new employees feel welcome will result in high employee loyalty and retention and will be reflected in your bottom line," said Harvey Deutschendorf in an article at FastCompany.com. Everyone should be involved in making the new hire feel welcome with a specific role, whether it's a lunch buddy or an assigned mentor. All new hires should be asked if anything more could be done to make new employees feel more comfortable, and these things should be considered in the strategy, Deutschendorf writes. Don't rush things. A key mistake, says Sujan Patel of Forbes.com, is throwing new employees into the mix too soon. "I know you need your new hires to make a difference right away. But if you rush the training process, you're going to wind up with frustrated employees who never feel fully comfortable in their roles," he says. Know that orientation and onboarding are not the same thing. "Retention statistics from … the Society for Human Resources Management show that turnover can be as much as 50 percent in the first 18 months," writes Val McDonough in an article at PeopleAdmin. com. That turnover costs money. She believes a sound onboarding process should take one to two years. "Seamlessly transitioning the candidate through the new hire and onboarding experience, then into the performance management process, matriculates the new employee and ensures success," she writes. Q 101: EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY MICHAEL FLIPPIN Special to the Worcester Business Journal A sale isn't a sale just because you think it'll become one

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