How does the follow button work for me as a user? Simply click on the follow button from a company’s website and, as long as you are logged into LinkedIn, you will automatically follow that company. If you are not logged in, a box will appear asking for your credentials. Just type those in, and you will automatically begin to follow the company and receive up-to-date company news.

So why follow a company on LinkedIn? Whether you are a sales representative who is trying to monitor a target account, or simply tracking industry trends, following companies is a great way to gain market insights and keep target accounts top-of-mind.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

In sales, it is inevitable that you won’t win all of your deals. You’ll stumble occasionally. You need to let these losses become lessons in learning. Use the loss to reflect on how you could have improved your sales process. Did you ask the right questions so that you are armed with the right information to provide the very best solution? Was the value differentiated? Did you understand your prospect’s business issue and whether you could solve it? And, did you really have access to the ultimate decision maker? Embrace these lessons learned; they are milestones in the path to achieving your goals.

While your face may not be physically “marred by dust and sweat and blood”, you will take some hits. Although not physical, unless you are currently in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, they may be blows to your confidence and to your ego. Perhaps these come in the form of a missed quarterly quota or territory realignment where you lose a significant portion of your accounts. Remain focused on your will to succeed and press on.

Finally, if you don’t let the critics get you down and you remain focused on pursuing your goals and reams, you’ll never be accused of being a “cold and timid soul who neither knows victory nor defeat.” Find the courage to pursue your goals regardless of the resistance you may receive so that you don’t look back later and say, “What if?”

Visualize it!

The difference between being perceived as simply a solution provider vs. a trusted business consultant lies in how you manage the conversation about those capabilities. This is the skill side of sales and relationship-building, and the real crux of your ability to succeed. By asking, “Who cares?” or “So what?” about every feature of every product and service you represent, you begin to understand why your prospects might care about how your products and services can affect their business. Effective sales begin with an understanding of your prospective customer, by discussing what problems they perceive as needing to solve. Once a prospect agrees that any such problem exists, it’s an invitation to ask about their view of potential solutions — and to create a need for yours.

The bottom line: How can we expect our prospects and customers to agree on our solutions if we haven’t taken the time to gain agreement on their problems?

The most successful sales people are the most curious. They are truly interested in learning about the companies and individuals with whom they work. They realize what many of us struggle to understand: We often demonstrate more value to our customers through the questions we ask than the answers we give. They are able to influence the conversation and demonstrate their credibility and knowledge by asking good questions.

The better you are at understanding what business issues and problems your prospects are experiencing, the better you become at uncovering needs that your products and services can address, and the better you’ll be at integrating your solution(s) into the context of your prospects’ businesses.

In addition to being experts in their products and customers’ businesses, the best sales executives possess excellent interpersonal skills that build trust, respect, credibility, likeability, responsibility and accountability. Those interpersonal skills enable world-class sales reps to build relationships by matching their communication skills to their prospects.

Here are some tactics you can use to build the best possible relationships:

• Be mindful of how your own feelings, attitudes, beliefs and intentions impact the quality of the relationship. Once aware, learn to manage your internal signals. Often our own biases and paradigms cloud our ability to fully communicate and understand the messages being conveyed.
• Approach your customers without judgment. Accept customers for who they are and remember they are doing the best they can. Separate your reaction from your response and work to avoid escalating your tone and communication style – especially when under stress.
• Be fully present in the moment. When your attention drifts, the quality of the relationship suffers, so avoid distractions and train your mind to dismiss irrelevant thoughts.

Relationships depend on the exchange of information between two people. The quality of the relationship is dependent upon the value each participant adds to the other. To best relate to your customer, you should:

• Pay close attention to the customer’s reactions and responses. Keep your eyes and ears open and notice any shifts in mood, body language or voice. Focus not only on what is said, but how it is said. Use both the verbal and nonverbal cues to make sure that you have complete understanding.
• Align yourself with the other person. People like people who are like them. Match characteristics of your customers and prospects to help create trust and respect.
• Be in step on as many characteristics as possible. Be curious about the other person and ask him or her about their position, responsibilities, goals and plans, both professional and personal. Your questions make the customer feel important.
• Listen more than you talk. When we truly listen, we show we care. Look closely at the speaker and restate what you’ve heard so they know they have your full attention.

In addition, it’s important to maintain the relationship even if the customer is not in the buying mode. This lets the customer feel valued and appreciated. Good business relationships serve the needs of all participants – not just the salesperson.

It’s equally important that you follow through on your commitments and be accountable. You will improve your standing every time you demonstrate responsibility, accountability, and meet or exceed the expectations you set with your customers.

By incorporating all of these tactics, you not only build credibility, you build lasting relationships. These strong connections will lead to larger referral pipelines and new sales channels as you develop a reputation for being one of the best in the business.

Walk in their shoes. To go from being a solution provider to a trusted consultant, you’ve got to see life from your prospect’s perspective. Listen to your pitch as if you are the prospect. Ask tough questions such as “Who cares?” and “So what?” Are your answers rehearsed gibberish or truly tailored to the prospect’s business issues? Evaluate your answers objectively. From this vantage point, you can find ways to tweak your existing sales pitch, integrating your solutions into the context of your prospective customer’s business.

Be curious. The most successful sales people are the most curious. They are interested in learning about the companies and clients they work with. In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie outlined six ways to make people like you. His #1 way? Become genuinely interested in other people. You often demonstrate more value to prospects through the questions you ask rather than the answers you give. When you want to steer the conversation, ask engaging, relevant and powerful questions.

Diagnose before prescribing. Good sales people are like good physicians. Before prescribing treatment, a good physician fully diagnoses the patient’s condition. Similarly, good sales professionals first diagnose the situation, raising questions and concerns that may have not yet been considered. After mulling over the prospect’s answers, the good sales person determines and presents a solution. Or in this case, a remedy.

Gain trust. There’s an art to asking questions naturally versus making the prospect feel interrogated. Learning about your prospect involves asking the right questions at the right time while actively listening to their answers. This allows you to start a meaningful conversation. There are three types of questions to ask at every phase of the prospect qualification process.

• Open-ended questions. Gives you the prospect’s perspective, their view of business issues/problems/solutions, what you need to do to be convincing. Establishes your credibility and interest in them. Like a high diver, think of open-ended questions as the springboard for the whole conversation. Sample open-ended questions:

“Can you explain why…”

“Would you tell me more about…”

“How would you describe the problems related to…”

• Probing questions. Allow you to dive deeper into details and uncover more specific conditions based on the information gathered so far. Establishes your knowledge of the company, industry or problem and solution, and positions you as an expert problem solver. Sample probing questions:

“Is it because…” (business issue and problem probe)

“Do you find…” (business issue and problem probe)

“Have you ever experienced difficulty with…” (problem probe)

“What if you could…” (solution probe)

• Confirming questions. Verify that you understand, and give the prospect an opportunity to clarify and elaborate on what they have said. The art is to use reflective listening – playing back the actual words the prospect used in their answers to your  open-ended and probing questions. Confirming questions can also serve as trial closes and checkpoints throughout the process. Don’t assume meaning. Ask for understanding. Sample confirming questions:

“So, what you’re saying is…”

“Is it correct to say that…”

“Did I hear that…”

Mastering this questioning process will help you successfully differentiate, develop trust and rapport, and win the sale with your prospects. It will allow you to move from pitching products to prescribing customer-specific solutions. The key to your success lies in your ability to listen and understand what the prospect is telling you, thereby, effectively moving the sale forward with each and every conversation.

• Analyze & set goals. Begin with an analysis of your current situation by reviewing your quota and income objectives in detail. Carefully define your typical “deal size” and the average length of time to close. With this information, you can determine the number of deals you need to close to meet your objectives. During this goal setting process, take into account your win rate. Analyze your past performance. For example, if one of every three deals in the pipeline actually close, then your pipeline needs to be three times as large as your desired number of closes.

• Identify the ideal customer. With this valuable insight, you can now begin identifying common traits of existing, profitable customers. Analyze them based on business size, industry, specific issues, buying center, etc. Then you can create a profile of the ideal customer. This profile becomes the filter that you use to sift and target your “likely suspects.” By defining the ideal customer in detail, you can target your research to ensure that you have a better shot at meeting these high potential prospects.

• Select the Right Networks. Begin looking for sources of information that will lead you to identify and meet the companies that fit your ideal profile. You may initially want to uncover information through public sources on the web. However, you can also tap your network of past clients, peers and other colleagues to get referrals and personal introductions. Be creative. Use the concept of “six degrees of separation” to gain access o your ideal customers.

Prospecting can be challenging. Typically, you’ll find that inertia is more common than change. The saying, “People need a reason to change,” rings true. Every day, you need to find people who don’t know your company and create the reasons why they should spend time talking to you. To be successful at prospecting, use the above three step process while keeping the prospect’s perspective in mind. This will make it easier for you to achieve both your quota and income goals.

1. Stay curious. Any relationship can get old and stale if you assume there’s nothing new to discover. No matter how long you have known your customers, keep asking questions. Times change, management initiatives change, and your customer’s business issues change. You can demonstrate more value to your customers by the questions you ask versus the answers you give. Stay curious. Your customer’s responses may surprise you.
2. Keep customer-focused. You want to close deals and meet your goals. With all that focus, sometimes you need to be reminded that it’s not about you. It’s about them. By focusing on the needs of your prospects, you naturally meet your own needs. Successful sales puts the emphasis on the customer. That’s win-win.
3. Customize solutions. Pummeled with the word “solutions?” To the point where the word doesn’t mean anything? Imagine how your prospect feels. Yet the better you understand your prospect’s business issues, the better you can customize your solutions. Uncover their needs. Show them how your products and services address those needs. Wrap up the memorable tale with a compelling business result. Your prospect will have a better chance of remembering you and your solutions.
4. Ask the right questions at the right time. It’s not enough to ask questions. To develop real connections and conversations, you must ask the right questions at the right time. Open, probe and confirm. Follow this process and watch how your interactions turn into meaningful conversation.
• Open-ended questions give you the prospect’s perspective.
• Probing questions help uncover specific details.
• Confirming questions let you clarify for deeper understanding.

Meet their criteria. The ValueSelling Framework sales process is based on your prospect’s buying process. Both individuals and businesses make buying decisions based on simple criteria. All prospects must answer the following questions for themselves:

• Should I buy this product/service/solution?
• Is the purchase worthwhile on a personal and business level?
• Do I have the authority to act?
• Am I convinced?

If the answer to any of these questions is, “No,” then you are likely to lose the sale. Therefore, trial closing questions can be an efficient way to learn your prospect’s opinions before you go for the final decision and close.

Trial close throughout. A trial close is a diagnostic tool that helps you gain additional insight so you know where to invest your time and energy as the sales cycle progresses. Like any tool, a trial close must be used effectively to get the right results. Use trial close questions throughout the sales cycle to test whether or not you are on track, and whether or not the prospect is in your court. Examples include:

• Based on our discussion, do you think that these capabilities will enable your organization to achieve your business goals?
• Will this solution solve your business problems?
• Can you describe how this could be implemented in your situation

The answers to these questions often serve as a confirmation of what you have heard. It also builds your credibility with the prospect by demonstrating your listening skills and your understanding of the prospect’s individual and business requirements.

Paint a picture. Another technique is to ask presumptive questions that allow your prospect to visualize themselves using your products or services such as:

• Once this solution has been implemented, is there enough impact to justify the expenditure?
• Would you want to get started in March or April?
• What has to happen for us to get started during the next 30 days?
• When do you envision seeing the results?

When you guide your prospect through the sales process, the logical outcome is a closed deal. Manage the process by adhering to the ABC’s of selling. In the end, you’ll help ensure that a deal really happens.

While it seems unnecessary, as a salesperson, you’ll benefit because a plan helps:

• Mitigate risks for the buyer
• Outline the steps to close the sale
• Help you access the right people
• Verify the details
• Identify the people and process involved in the process
• Give you leverage if changes are requested by the customer

An effective written plan will reconfirm:

• The business issue
• The problems
• The solution
• The business value
• A list of activities

You can use the following sample letter as a template for your next mutual plan:

Sample Mutual Plan Letter

October 10, 2007

Mr. Joseph Smith
COO/President
Any Company USB
123 Buymore Avenue
Openpo, MA  02100

Dear Mr. Smith:

After yesterday’s discussion regarding your most critical issues, you said that you were impressed with the approach that we took to understanding your business issues. As discussed, we have the experience and proven results from working with companies worldwide to potentially assist Any Company USB in a number of areas. Most relevant is our ability to contribute to your challenge of reducing costs by $500 million in 18 months [RECONFIRM BUSINESS ISSUE]

From our discussion, I understand the primary reasons this is a challenge for you is that your current organizational structure is inefficient and not cost effective, especially due to overlapping functions following mergers: you are spending $1.2 billion in office supplies alone, and that has developed without planning for efficiency; you are reliant on legacy systems with lots of information, and they are difficult to use; and finally, you are having issues with employee training and skills. [RECONFIRM PROBLEMS]

You said that you needed to consolidate operational responsibilities but serve the diverse groups; implement an electronic Operating Resource Management system; provide bridge solutions to retain access to legacy information, but make it easier to get information; and provide distance-learning solutions that develop skills and conserve on training expense. [RECONFIRM SOLUTION]

You indicated that this would help you achieve the 1.3 percent or $33 million improvement target for an Operating Resource Management system. Not having to throw out legacy systems could save upwards of $100 million on new hardware and software and help reduce the ratio of employees to clients by 10 percent. [RECONFIRM BUSINESS VALUE]

You indicated we should expand our assessment activities to include Mark Noble, CIO, and a number of other functional supporters as well. From our discussion, I have outlined a preliminary plan to accomplish this and included target dates for your review. These activities will culminate with a pre-proposal review presentation to you, Mark Noble, Jeff Hurley, Greg Goldman and the other members of the task team on October 23^rd.

The completion of the attached list of activities is designed to enable you to determine whether entering into a partnership with StarStone Corporation is the best way to help you resolve these business issues and achieve your objectives.

Sincerely,

Sales Representative
StarStone Corporation

cc: Mark Noble

1. Differentiating. Establish credibility by helping your prospect envision how your solution can address their problems and resolve their issues better than any another solution. Differentiation leads to the prospect concluding that some element of your solution is unique and better than any competitive alternative. When your prospect asks the question, “Should I buy?” effective differentiation helps them get to “Yes.”
2. Developing value. Proof is in the pudding. When you are able to resolve problems and address business issues, you help the prospect uncover and quantify the potential value. Develop value and their answer to the question, “Will I buy?” or “Is it worth it?” is a definitive “Yes.”
3. Accessing power. After helping the prospect differentiate your solution from the competition and uncover the value, the next step in the process is to access the person in the prospect’s organization that has the purchasing authority. Access the prospect with power. You’ve hit the jackpot when the answer to the question, “Can I buy?” is “Yes.”
4. Crafting a mutual plan.Validate the discussion points with your prospect by crafting a mutual plan. In the written plan, repeat how your solution can be implemented with minimal risk to the organization, as well as to the individual. Reiterate that your capabilities are realistic and the value is attainable. In other words, help the prospect answer the question, “Am I convinced?” with the response, “Yes.”

Helping your prospect answer those questions with a continual “Yes,” is a proven way to increase the odds of closing your deal.

Handling objections. What happens when you haven’t completely facilitated the process with your prospect? Objections, meaning that the prospect needs more information. Meet it head on by:

• Listening to the prospect.
• Finding out what information they need to overcome their objection.
• Confirming your understanding.

If your opportunities are not closing, retrace all of the steps outlined above. Using these simple steps, you can discover what has changed or what you overlooked, and you’ll be better equipped to close business this quarter.