Selling Power Blog

Are You a Daydream Believer?

During a VIP dinner at our last Sales Leadership Conference in Chicago, I asked senior sales leaders what they have done to reward themselves and find relief from the stress caused by tough economic challenges. One executive revealed that he has treated himself to classical guitar lessons. As a child he dreamed of learning the instrument but never found the time to act on his dream. His journey into the world of artistic expression has opened his mind to a state of bliss that he is able to apply to his business, which enhances his performance. He explained how the serenity of music helps him stay calmer during days filled with chaos.

One of the most interesting ideas for rewarding oneself came from a sales executive who decided to spend more time daydreaming. He realized that we live in a culture obsessed with efficiency, where we fill every waking moment with work. He cited a recent article that explained how daydreaming can lead to epiphanies, valuable insights, and creative problem solving. I did some research and discovered that daydreams can turn into a powerful achievement tool. Here are some facts:

1. The Invention of Post-It Notes sprung from a daydream

2. Albert Einstein found that when he allowed himself to disengage from the confines of disciplined study, his thoughts became unbounded, which helped him refine the Theory of Relativity. He once explained that he got the idea for his theory of relativity by gazing at sunbeams on a summer day, and fantasized about what it would be like to ride on them.

3. Brain imaging technology shows how daydreams activate our brain. Professor Kalina Christoff of the University of British Columbia in Canada found that during periods where the mind wanders – without us being aware – the brain is very active and productive. When we focus on a trivial task – brain activity drops.

4. Daydreams can be harnessed through guided imagery to improve a wide variety of health disorders. One of the pioneers is Belleruth Naparstek, a psychotherapist, an innovator in guided imagery, healing, and intuition and the author of the book Guided Imagery

While daydreaming is not recommended while we’re engaged in conversation, for example, it pays to let the conscious mind shift into neutral. Many scientists argue that daydreaming has a purpose; it is a productive, cognitive event that plays a critical role in creativity.

Such successful actors as Harvey Keitel and Meg Ryan have incorporated dream work into their careers, which allows them to perform with greater authenticity. Meg Ryan once said that inspiration doesn’t always come from the outside; it can come from going inside our minds. The French filmmaker Louis Malle once described how he engaged in a series of daydreams that led him to create a script for a new movie. Such creative business leaders as Sir Richard Branson daydream in order to leapfrog their daily preoccupations and create mental bridges to new possibilities.

Daydreaming is like surfing a cloud that’s bursting with possibilities - they are hidden while our conscious mind is held captive by reality. Like Einstein's daydream of surfing a ray of light transformed the modern world, we have the potential to transform our lives with one productive daydream. Inject more daydreams into your life so you'll have a better chance of living the life of your dreams. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suggested, “Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.”

"Daydreaming is like surfing a cloud

that’s bursting with possibilities -

they are hidden while our conscious

mind is held captive by reality." 

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A “Cure” for Customers who Reject your Proposals

How many times have your great ideas been rejected by your prospects? How much work have you done for customers who were just “shopping” you to get the same low price from an inferior competitor? How many times have you shaken your head after your prospect has made the terrible mistake of buying from your competition? If you have answered “yes” to these questions, you’re working too hard. M. Smith, a very courageous salesperson has created a powerful letter designed to educate ill-advised prospects

John A. Doe

Purchasing Manager

Acme United Inc.

Dear John,  

Thank you for your letter of July 14th. After careful consideration I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to purchase our product.  

Since the recession started in October 2008, I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejections to my carefully crafted proposals and highly persuasive sales pitches. As you may realize, this economic downturn created such a huge and rapidly growing field of ill advised prospects, that I can no longer indulge everyone by accepting their refusal.

Despite your company's outstanding qualifications and professional experience in rejecting proposals, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore, I will send our customer care team to your offices within the next three days with explicit instructions to replace your dreadfully obsolete and highly inefficient product with our tested and proven solution.

Please do not to take this personally. It may help you to know that our research shows that 50% of all managers in a similar position as yours have made the exact same, wrong decision.

Please do not feel obligated to send me a thank you note. I take satisfaction in sparing you the embarrassment that you'd have to endure if I had allowed you to follow through with this obvious mistake.

Thanks for seeing the situation from my unbiased, objective and educated perspective. I would like to thank you in advance for rejecting all future proposals from all my competitors.

Sincerely

M Smith

Account Manager

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It's the Conversation Economy, Stupid!

As the recession drags on, I hear more sales leaders complaining about their inability to increase sales by relying on tried-and-true strategies for creating value for their customers. What they overlook is that selling has fundamentally changed, and pursuing the old tried-and-true tactics results in more of the same: higher stress and lower sales.

The recession is a powerful teacher who raps the knuckles of those who have not learned that selling has changed forever. The keys to sales success can be found by observing the new cognitive and collaborative platform that has been created by the Internet. Here are the major trends that scream, “The time to adapt is NOW!”

The Internet is the conversation medium

We’ve entered a “conversation economy.” Conversations drive commerce. The Internet is the conversation platform. Prospects talk to each other on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter; they read company blogs; and they join online communities.

Action idea: Join the conversation – move online now

Transactional selling is moving online. In the next three years, more than 3 million transactional salespeople will lose their jobs. Just this week, a CEO told me about his decision to purchase a $400,000 single-engine plane. He moved his buying process online and found every detail he needed to know without speaking to a salesperson.

Action idea: Add a shopping cart to your Website, even if you sell big-ticket items.

Sell the way your prospects want to buy online and offline

The definition of selling has changed. We can no longer dictate how prospects buy, and we can no longer act as if we know what’s best for the customer. Such terms as “solution selling,” “value selling,” and “consultative selling” sound good, but they no longer matter. What matters is what the customer wants. If customers want a transaction, build a transaction model online. If customers want a relationship, then offer a relationship.

Action idea: Match your sales process to your customer’s buying process.

One more time: Ditch your pitch!

The world is moving toward a process of collaboration and cocreation. Wikipedia is a shining example of how millions of people speaking in more than 250 languages share their collective knowledge. This model applies directly to the most effective sales process available today.

Action item: Start co-creating

Get on the conversation trail

In the past, authorities aggregated and dispensed knowledge. The communication flowed from company silos to the customer through the salesperson. Today, when prospects want to get information on a product, they don’t talk to a salesperson first; they talk to other buyers online. www.vark.com submits questions to your peers.

In the past companies conducted focus groups and customer surveys which shaped their new product ideas. Today companies engage their customers in real-time conversations. Notable examples: www.ideastorm.com, www.mystarbucksidea.com and http://ideas.salesforce.com.

Lesson learned: In the past companies created customers. In the future customers create the company.

Action step:

Renovate your sales technology; renovate your sales process, so you can accelerate your sales. Join the conversation economy. If you don’t like that change, get ready to be irrelevant.

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SHRINKONOMICS – How should we adjust to the incredibly shrinking economy?

The economic downturn has caught many sales leaders by surprise. In some industries the effects of the downturn have been so severe, so dramatic and so different from anything sales executives expected that the lessons they’ve learned in the past proved to be useless. Even the brightest economists are unable to predict where the current recession is headed. While some say the worst is over, others believe that we’re headed into a double-dip recession. World leaders at the G8 Summit realized that the economy has not turned around, but agreed that further stimulus is not needed. A trusted source who has access to the country’s top financial policymakers in DC told me that “we’ve moved from planning to improvisation. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the next quarter and they are making things up as they go.” One CEO recently said, “It’s like playing in a championship; we’re behind with our numbers, our game plan has stopped working, we have to focus on the next ten yards.” While the entire world is operating in a fog, there are some hard facts available that we can’t ignore. Here are a few slices of the shrinking economic realities: 

Most State Governments are shrinking. 48 US states are facing a collective budget gap of over $168 billion. Companies that have been selling to state governments have seen their sales shrink and collections grow.

California recorded a deficit of over $24.3 billion companies have decided to no longer sell their services to the state of California. Who wants to get paid with an IOU?

Consumer Confidence has been at the lowest level in Feb and March 09, grew in April and May and started to shrink again in June. Only 8% of people surveyed said that business is good. June Retail sales have dropped unexpectedly. Consumers are getting used to belt tightening. Cutting back is the new black.

Airlines are shrinking their fleets to get fewer and fuller flights. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says, "We won't go out of business if we have too few airplanes. The bright spot: Since first class seat sales are down over 20%, it is easier to get upgrades. This is the time to cash in your airline miles for first class travel.

More lawyers getting the axe - In the past six months 125 major law firms have shrunk by 10,725 people. Check which big law firm is doing well before calling on them.

The number of millionaires is shrinking – In the latest World Wealth Report, by Capgemini. The number of millionaires and their wealth have decline dramatically. In 2008 the combined wealth of the world’s millionaires dropped 19.5% to $32.8 trillion. The hardest hit category: The Super Rich category with more than $30 million in assets dropped 24.6% and the remaining group’s wealth fell by 23.9%. This trend has affected yacht sales, airplane sales, second home sales and the luxury market.

The Automotive industry is in crisis mode. Everybody knows the painful adjustments manufacturers, union workers and automotive dealers are going through. Anyone who sells to in this market deserves a medal.

The Hotel industry suffers from shrinking travel budgets. The average occupancy rate for the 4^th of July week-end nationwide was 57.7%. Luxury hotel rates have dropped to an average of $211 per room night. While many sales organizations have trimmed their travel budget, those who are on the road enjoy room upgrades and a grateful hotel staff with more attentive service.

Poverty is on the rise. The Bureau of Census reports that over 37.3 million Americans live in poverty. Since this number is from 2007, experts estimate poverty to increase until the end of 2010. The total number of Americans who experience homelessness on any given night is 3.5 million. The sad part is that there are over 131,000 homeless veterans. There is a new trend of new homeless people moving into tent cities that pop up near parking lots across the country.

The outlook for the balance of 2009 is uncertain. One of the best industry by industry predictions comes from Deloitte’s 2009 Industry Outlook. The bright spots are Aerospace & Defense, Life Sciences, Media & Entertainment and the Green Movement.

As sales leaders plan for the last quarter of 09, it is a good idea to take a hard look at an excellent paper by Ernst and Young that describes how companies have found Opportunities in Adversity. Their survey shows that 82% of companies are focusing on cash management and cost cutting. This means that salespeople will hear budget objections in 8 calls out of ten. Only 25 % of companies believe that the worst is behind them. The recession has put conventional management thinking on its head. Tough times can bring out tough behaviors that are driven by fear. Smart managers focus on efficiency and effectiveness gains through better processes and better technology. Selling Power is addressing this part in a new Sales 2.0 Conference at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago on Sept. 10^th.

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