Worcester Business Journal

24 Worcester Business Journal • April 13, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Know an up-and-comer in Central Massachusetts that deserves recognition? All honorees will be featured in the August 31 edition of the Worcester Business Journal and honored at our annual celebration on September 16, 2015 at Mechanics Hall, Worcester. SUBMIT A NOMINATION TODAY! NOMINATION DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2015 NOMINATION FORMS: WWW.WBJOURNAL.COM/40UNDERFORTY 2015 Presenting Sponsors Corporate Sponsor Then nominate that person today for Worcester Business Journal's Annual 40 Under Forty special issue and awards ceremony. A successful sales team pays close attention to relationships (Last in a three-part series on building a successful sales team.) I n the first two parts of this series, I talked about who should be on a great sales team and how those salespeople interact with customers. In short, you need to build a team with people predisposed to building relationships and trust. Then, let them relate to C-level executives in the manner in which they buy. First, trust needs to be established. With trust, an executive can then hear a business case for a product or service, its benefits, and how it works. Leading this type of team is a function of focus and accountability; that is, focus on relationships, and hold people accountable for the activities that strengthen relationships and open up revenue opportunities. To illustrate, let's consider the weekly sales meeting in nearly every company and office. The discussions are usually dominated by project reviews, status updates, project forecasts, proposal status, projected revenue, projected close dates, billable hours, or whatever metric a firm uses to measure success. All this information is important and valuable. After all, nothing happens until someone sells something, and in order to effectively and efficiently run a business, leadership needs to know what's being sold, how much of it, when, and to whom. But when you're leading a relationship- focused sales team, consider adding an additional element to the mix: the relationships. The typical "sales by numbers" approach that's exhibited in most sales team meetings and reviews is a means of managing your business and transactions in order to grow the business. By adding relationships to the mix, you shift the focus to the relationships that will grow your business. When you do this, sales opportunities will follow. How do you measure relationships? Incorporating relationships does not mean loosening or abandoning accountability. Relationships are typically considered a "soft" element that defies ways to measure them. Counter that perception. In the next sales meeting, ask questions such as these: • "Tell me about your relationship with Harry. How strong is the relationship? How would you rate the level of trust and openness Harry has with you on a scale of 1 to 5?" • "Tell me about the other relationships you have in Harry's company. Who are they with? How strong are they?" • "Who do you want to meet in order to find opportunities for new business?" • "Why are they at the top of your priority list in terms of new prospects and connections?" • "How will you connect with them? Is there a warm introduction source available?" Your action plan Assess and discuss the strength and importance of each relationship across several constituency groups, including existing customers, desired customers, connectors and influencers. Also, discuss specific plans for each relationship. What activities will take place that will further the relationship? What acts of generosity can be done that reflect an understanding of the other person's situation and offers something that can help, regardless of source? Then, incorporate the opportunities. What are the client and desired client situations where your products or services make sense? Why do you make sense as a good solution? What steps will take place in order to work with the client or prospect in developing the solution collaboratively? The goal is to enhance the trust and strength of the relationship by having the client work with you to develop the ideal or optimal solution. This way, they've already bought the answer instead of having to be sold the answer. As business leaders, you must show the way toward connecting and building relationships. Stop managing transactions in order to grow the business, and manage relationships that will grow it. Who you know is the precursor to success. How you deal with others paves the road to success. If you focus on building your relationships, and treat it as a top priority, success will follow. Q Ken Cook is co-founder of How to Who and co-author of How to WHO: Selling Personified, a book and program on building business through relationships. Learn more at www. howtowho.com. THE RAINMAKER BY KEN COOK Twitter.com/wbjournal Facebook.com/wbjournal YouTube.com/WBJEditor FOLLOW US! You can connect with us online at the following sites:

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