If you’re in business, you need to know your market. Many business owners tend to think of their market primarily as prospective customers, but your market also includes your existing customers, and you need to know everything you can find out about them.

When you know your customers, you can better evaluate how well your marketing plan is working. How closely do the people who are actually buying from you resemble the prospective customer your marketing efforts are targeting? If there’s a match, your marketing plan is working. If you see a significant difference between your target market and the customers you actually have, you need to figure out what’s wrong with your marketing strategy. Why are your marketing efforts working on a group you’re not targeting? Why are the customers you have buying from you? And what do you need to change — your strategy or your target market?

Your customers can be a tremendous resource for information as you plan expansions, new products, or even new operational approaches. They’ll be happy to tell you what you’re doing right and where you can improve. They’ll also be happy to tell you what you can do to increase the amount of business they’re doing with you. That’s important because it’s always easier to increase the revenue you’re getting from a cstuomer who already knows, likes, and trusts you than it is to acquire a completely new customer.

Another very important reason to know your customers is this: How happy are you with them? Business is a two-way street. Not all customers are created equal — and not all of them are worth having and keeping. Do you want more customers like the ones you have? Or would you rather have customers with different characteristics — those who will buy more, not be so price-sensitive, or that will be easier to serve? You have to know who your customers are before you can decide whether to seek more customers who are similar or to put together a plan to go after a different customer group.

Don’t have people buying from you if you don’t know who they are and why they’re your customers.

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JK Harris is the founder of Flashpoints Consulting, LLC and of JK Harris & Company, the nation’s largest tax resolution firm. He is the author of Flashpoint: Seven Core Strategies for Rapid-Fire Business Growth; Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth; and IRS Tax Secrets: The Individual and Small Business Owner’s Guide to Solving IRS and State Tax Problems, all published by Entrepreneur Press. Harris is also a popular and respected speaker, as well as a successful business consultant advising mid to large-sized businesses around the world.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of Wartburg College students about professional selling. Since we’re in the business of elevating the sales profession, I jumped at the opportunity.

During the presentation, one of the students – Nathan Welsch – asked about the ethical dilemmas that arise during the course of selling.

Nathan’s question got me thinking about the ethics for the sales profession.

Sales professionals are in a unique position to influence the decisions of the people they meet. This skill, which sales trainers like those here at The Brooks Group help hone, can be used for good or bad. There’s no question that the persuasive abilities of great salespeople can become manipulative. And that’s not good.

Other professions have developed “protections.”

By way of example:

• Doctors have the Hippocratic Oath.
• Lawyers have the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
• Accountants have their Code of Ethics, too.

It’s about time to develop a Code of Sales Ethics.

Here’s my first stab (of course I’m not saying that this article can compete with the Hippocratic Oath, but at least it’s a start)…

- I will always work for the best interests of my prospects and customers.

- I will always fulfill my obligations to my prospects, clients, and company.

- I will remain loyal to prospects and clients and never use what I learn from them to advantage their competitors.

- I will respect my profession, my product (or service), and my company.

- I will always perform my duties in a professional manner.

What’s missing?

Let’s get it built and then…let’s implement it.

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Jeb Brooks is Executive Vice President of The Brooks Group, an award winning sales and sales management training and assessment company based in Greensboro, NC. Click here to view the blog where this article originally appeared.

A. It’s not up to you to keep someone else motivated. In fact, you can’t motivate someone else. What you can and should do for your salespeople is to create an environment in which they find it easy to motivate themselves. Understand that people are motivated by different things—some are motivated by money, some by material gain, some by recognition, and the list goes on. Take the time to learn and respect what motivates each individual and then design a program that delivers those motivators.

Be sure all of your salespeople have goals—and that includes short-term, mid-range, and long-term goals—so that they can stay focused and directed. Work with them to set goals that are motivating for them as well as beneficial for the company.

Finally, even though you can’t motivate someone else, you do set the tone and the pace. Your team will only be as enthusiastic as you are and they’ll only move as fast as you do. Be a leader they can be excited about following.

Do you have a question for JK Harris? Visit www.AskJKHarris.com to submit your question or e-mail it to info@theflashpoints.com. If we use your question in a future newsletter, you’ll receive a complimentary autographed copy of Flashpoint: Seven Core Strategies for Rapid-Fire Business Growth.

By JK Harris

Your sales presentation might be a dazzling performance, but if you haven’t positioned yourself properly and put yourself in front of the right prospects, your chances of completing the sale are seriously diminished. Pre-call planning is the process of getting ready to sell well, and the best pre-call planning is done with research and preparation.

“More sales are either made or lost by what the salesperson did or didn’t do before the call than by anything that was done during the call,” the late William T. Brooks, founder of The Brooks Group, a sales and sales management training and assessment company in Greensboro, North Carolina, told me years ago — and that’s probably more true today than it was then. Effective pre-call planning lets you focus the call for maximum results and maximizes your and your customer’s time.

Every sales call should be preceded by pre-call planning. That’s every call, not just some, not just the ones on new customers—every call. The primary fear salespeople have is not losing the sale, it’s being embarrassed in front of a customer. Thorough pre-call planning will assure that you never look foolish, unprepared, or ignorant in front of a customer.

Elements of effective pre-call planning include:

• Know your product. This sounds absurdly obvious, but salespeople who don’t have sufficient product knowledge are all too common—and you’ve probably encountered your share of them. You need to be able to answer the questions when someone asks if your widget will do this or if your service includes that. If you’re new with a company or if your company has added a new product to its line, don’t try to sell unless and until you really know what you’re selling.

• Research the prospect. Find out as much as you can about the company before you make the call. What is the company’s business? Who are its competitors? How many people does it employ? How many locations does it have? What are its annual sales? Is it growing or shrinking? Profitable or not? Can it use what you have to offer? Can it afford to pay your price?

You can find this information in a variety of places, such as:

- The company’s website. Review the site carefully. Read the “about us” page, any information on the company’s history and founders, and any press releases posted on the site.

- General internet searches. Use one or more of the major search engines to see what’s on the internet about the company, its products, and people.

- Company annual reports. The annual reports of a public company are public information. The easiest way to get a copy is usually by clicking on the “investor relations” link on the company’s website, or you can contact the Securities & Exchange Commission [sec.gov].

- Trade journals, magazines, newspapers. Look for articles both on- and off-line about the company.

- The company’s customers and suppliers. Many companies list their customers on their websites for reference and promotional purposes. Check to see if you know any of them. You may also find some of their customers and suppliers though industry associations and networking.

- Others who interact with the company. This could be a friend, neighbor, someone you play sports with, or someone you go to church or volunteer with.

- The company’s employees. Think beyond the person who is the decision-maker you need to deal with to others who currently or used to work there and might be able to give you some useful insight.

- The company’s current and former customers. Customers can tell you what the company does right and wrong, giving you information that will help you relate the company’s needs to what you have to offer.

- The company’s internal newsletters or public documents. Try to get your hands on an employee newsletter. Think about other public documents that will tell you something about the company, such as health or fire inspection reports, or even the articles of incorporation.

- The company’s technical manuals or warranty documents. These items can tell you how a company operates and issues it must deal with.

- The company’s marketing and promotional materials. Much of this will be on the company’s website, but you should also check out print or broadcast advertisements, customer newsletters, and any other materials you can find.

• Find out about the individual you’ll be dealing with at the prospect company. Using much of the same resources that you used to learn about the company, find out as much as you can about the person or people you’ll be calling on. In particular, you need to know if this is an actual decision-maker or a decision-influencer—both are important and worth your effort, but you should plan appropriately for the time you’ll spend with them.

• Identify and respect the gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are the people you must go through to get to the decision-makers, and they are often decision-influencers. Rather than viewing them as obstacles, turn them into allies.

• Confirm the appointment. Call the day before to make sure there have been no schedule changes and the customer is still expecting you. This says you respect their time and are serious about what you want to accomplish when you meet.

• Prepare mentally and physically. Engage in some positive self-talk and visualization where you see yourself performing at your absolute best. Make sure you are well-rested and relaxed; don’t allow yourself to be tense, upset, or agitated about anything, whether it’s related to your sales call or something else.

When you have done all these things, you’ll be ready to make the sales call—and the sale.

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JK Harris is the founder and CEO of JK Harris & Company, the nation’s largest tax representation firm, and the author of Flashpoint: Seven Core Strategies for Rapid-Fire Business Growth and Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth (with Richard D. Dickerson). For a free subscription to the Flashpoints newsletter and a free copy of JK Harris’ e-book The Mindset of High Achievers, visit www.theflashpoints.com.

The term “sales presentation” is not truly applicable to today’s dynamic sales environments. It implies a one-way transfer of information that results in the completion of a purchase. But many salespeople still think all they need to do to make a sale is to have a good sales presentation—that is, simply show a prospect how your product or service works, much like the “show and tell” exercises we remember from elementary school. But if you want people to buy when you’re finished, that’s not enough.

There are two basic types of sales approaches: application-based and demonstration-based. Application-based selling allows you to create value, stack benefits, reduce perceived emotional costs, and make a presentation that is 100 percent on target to address your prospect’s most pressing needs or situations. This approach builds value around your recommendation by allowing prospects to emotionally involve themselves in the process and see themselves using what you are recommending. They can experience how the application of your solution will fulfill what they are trying to accomplish.

Demonstration-based selling is inflexible and leads to nothing but price problems and feature/function-loaded standard presentations. With this style of selling, all you’re doing is saying, “Here’s what this does, and it may or may not have any significance or meaning to you.” Often the demonstration includes giving the prospect a chance to try the product.

This type of presentation frequently leads to what is known as the puppy dog close, named for the idea that if you show someone a cute, cuddly puppy, let him hold and play with the puppy and take it home for a weekend, he’ll keep it, even though he rationally knows that he doesn’t want or need it. The salesperson doesn’t sell the puppy; the puppy does the selling. The salesperson gives a demonstration, and while the prospect is trying to politely escape without making a commitment because he has failed to see the value in the product, the salesperson says, “Take it home for the weekend and see how you like it,” or “You don’t need to make a decision today. I know your [spouse, boss, kids, associates, whatever] hasn’t seen this yet. The best thing to do is let them discover the great benefits for themselves. Why don’t you just take [the product] home [or to the office] for a day or two so they can try it out and you can get their opinion? We’ll get together in a couple of days to talk about their experiences and wrap this up. Does that sound fair?” Most people never bring whatever it is back. This is, by the way, a very common strategy used in automobile sales.

The problem with this sales approach is that it has no regard for what the prospect really wants and needs. It’s simply the salesperson giving the prospect something because he is trying to make a sale. He doesn’t care whether the prospect truly likes it or not, or wants it or not; he just wants the prospect to take it because he knows that if he can do that, he can probably close the deal. This might work on a prospect once, but it’s not the basis for a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship that is customer-focused and likely to result in strong referrals.

By contrast, application-based selling lets you honestly say, “Susan, I want to show you how my solution provides what you are looking to accomplish. This is how it does that.” Then, during your presentation, you ask feedback questions, such as:

“What do you think about what we have discussed?”

“How do you feel about this?”

“Does this look like something that’s going to work for you?”

“What do you like about what we have discussed so far?”

This lets you know that you and the prospect are still together as you move through the sales conversation. Any time the prospect indicates that you are not together, you back up, asking questions, such as “What makes you say that?” or “Why do you feel that way?” That lets you figure out where you lost the connection and what you have to do to get it back. It keeps the prospect comfortably involved because you’re not trying to sell something; you’re engaging in a dialog about possible solutions.

Make sure your feedback questions are legitimate and offer the prospect a chance to respond honestly and completely. There is a long-time sales closing technique that consists of asking the prospect a series of questions that are hard to answer with anything other than a “yes” so that you get him into the habit of saying yes, and the close is theoretically automatic. The problem with that close is that many salespeople use insulting, no-brainer questions (such as “You want to save money, don’t you?” or “You want your family to be safe, don’t you?”), and prospects can easily spot the technique. Make your questions genuine. Let prospects know you’re sincerely interested in their feedback, and your questions are as much for their benefit as your own.

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JK Harris is the founder of Flashpoints Consulting, LLC and of JK Harris & Company, the nation’s largest tax resolution firm. He is the author of Flashpoint: Seven Core Strategies for Rapid-Fire Business Growth and Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth, a popular and respected speaker, as well as a successful business consultant advising mid to large-sized businesses around the world.

by JK Harris and Richard D. Dickerson is now available

Just in time for you to take advantage of the economic recovery, Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth is available. Successful entrepreneur JK Harris and sales expert Richard D. Dickerson have teamed up to write the definitive guide for building a world-class sales team for your company, regardless of the industry or size of your business.

Special online pricing is available. The cover price is $21.95; at The Flashpoints, the single copy price is $15.95; buy three or more for $14.95 each. Price includes shipping.

Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth

in Bookstores Oct. 1

Charleston, SC—Sept. 20, 2010—JK (John) Harris’ latest book, Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth (Entrepreneur Press, 2010), co-authored with sales expert Richard D. Dickerson, will be available in bookstores and online Oct. 1.

In Sales Flashpoint, Harris and Dickerson reveal fifteen proven strategies that will put any business on the fast track to higher sales and greater profits.

“No matter how great your product or service is, you have to be able to sell it for your business to be successful,” says Harris. “Sales Flashpoint tells you how to hire, train, and manage a sales team of one or hundreds to get the results you want, no matter what industry you’re in.”

It begins, say Harris and Dickerson, with hiring the right people. They recommend using whole person assessments and job benchmarking to be sure the sales candidates you select are suited both for sales in general and for your company’s culture in particular. Next, use a proven, sequential sales system that allows salespeople to move through the process in a customer-focused, principles-based way. Finally, recognize the special management needs of salespeople and learn to manage them in a way that allows them to excel.

Throughout Sales Flashpoint, Harris and Dickerson illustrate their points with real-life examples from their own experiences—Harris as an entrepreneur and Dickerson as a sales consultant and trainer.

Harris and Dickerson are both available to speak to groups about the strategies in Sales Flashpoint. Readers are also encouraged to sign up to receive the online newsletter, Flashpoints, at no charge. The newsletter is targeted to business owners and managers. Subscribers to Flashpoints also receive JK Harris’ ebook, The Mindset of High Achievers, as a gift—a $19.95 value. Visit www.TheFlashpoints.com to take advantage of this great offer.

Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth is the second book in the Flashpoints series. Financial Flashpoint is scheduled for release in Oct. 2011.

About the book

Sales Flashpoint: Fifteen Strategies for Rapid-Fire Sales Growth, JK Harris and Richard D. Dickerson (Entrepreneur Press, October 2010), $21.95

About Flashpoints Consulting, LLC and JK Harris

Flashpoints is a comprehensive information resource for business owners and managers. Our mission is to provide innovative, useful ideas delivered through print and electronic media supported by customized consulting services that will equip entrepreneurs with the tools they need to start, grow, and effectively run an efficient and profitable company.

Flashpoints was founded by nationally-recognized entrepreneur JK Harris, author of Flashpoint: Seven Core Strategies for Rapid-Fire Business Success (Entrepreneur Press) and founder of JK Harris & Company, the nation’s largest tax representation firm. Harris has combined his own business savvy along with his partners to create a resource that will allow any business owner or manager to put a company on the fast track to its Flashpoint.

About Richard D. Dickerson

Richard D. Dickerson is a tenured Vistage speaker and the national accounts manager for The Brooks Group, an award-winning sales and sales management training and assessment company.

Instead of holding regular sales meetings, consider holding sales training classes instead. And instead of having your sales manager conduct the classes, have the salespeople themselves take turns doing it.

Successful salespeople learn their craft and sharpen their skills through education. Continual reinforcement in the form of training keeps those skills in constant use. So instead of a regular sales meeting where the sales manager talks and maybe allows each salesperson to report on what they did and what they’re going to do, offer a class instead. Letting individual members of your sales team participate as trainers allows them to share their knowledge at the same time that they’re further developing their skills.

Topics covered in peer-to-peer sales training might include:

• Presentation skills.

• Prospecting techniques.

• Overcoming objections.

• Dealing with unusual situations.

• New product information.

• Pricing and estimating.

• Project management.

• Proper documentation and reporting according to company requirements.

• Goal setting and analysis.

• Using selling skills in non-selling situations.

• Time management and planning.

Keep the content positive—make it “Here’s what you can do,” not “Don’t do this.” Be encouraging and supportive and don’t let any negativity creep into the process. Talented salespeople have thought their way right out of the profession because they focused on negatives.

Be sure everyone has an equal chance to participate. One way is to put the dates of upcoming sessions on slips of paper in a container and let each salesperson draw a date to be the teacher. Or schedule alphabetically or by seniority—any way you prefer as long as it’s fair, equitable and doesn’t show favoritism. Provide guidance on choosing a topic but let team members make the final decision on what they present.

Let the sales staff decide the time and place for training sessions. The old school Monday morning or Friday afternoon meetings often cut into potentially productive sales time. Your salespeople may prefer evening, weekend, or even very early morning sessions so that the training truly enhances rather than conflicts with their sales efforts.

Sales managers know that it can be hard to get people motivated. They understand that one person can’t motivate someone else—you have to find out what’s important to that person and then lead him or her to become self-motivating.

Keep in mind that ownership can be a strong motivator. When people feel ownership, they care. And when they care, they produce results. Letting your team teach others what they know is a great way to give them a sense of ownership in the process and in the organization.

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Jacquelyn Lynn is the managing editor of Flashpoints, a comprehensive information resource for business owners and managers. For your free subscription to the Flashpoints newsletter and a free copy of The Mindset of High Achievers, visit www.theflashpoints.com.

You might be tempted to say yes, but the correct answer is no. Just don’t say it right away. Instead, ask this: “If price were not an issue, which proposal [or product] best meets your needs and will produce the best results for you?” With an honest answer to that question, you’ll know where you stand from a competitive standpoint.

Some points you might want to consider making when you’re asked for a price reduction are:

• Explain that you always offer a fair price and that if you were willing to simply cut your price on request, it would mean that you were overcharging to begin with.

• Point out the value in what you’re offering compared to the lower-priced product or proposal.

• If you agree to a lower price, take away something—never just drop the price for the same product.

Finally, be willing to walk away. That shows you are honest, have confidence in your product, and are not willing to let price-buying customers bully you. You might lose a few sales, but you’ll end up with a higher caliber of customer in the long-run.

Though we often say “salesandmarketing” as though it were one word, sales and marketing are actually separate functions that need to be fully integrated to produce the results you want. Marketing is what you do to reach potential customers with your message so that they’ll be receptive to your sales efforts. The sales process is the interpersonal interaction that closes the sale. Sales and marketing must be in concert to be effective.

Cultivate a cooperative relationship between these two efforts and the people involved. Remind them regularly that they are all on the same team, working for the same company, and have the same goals. Encourage idea sharing and communication so that neither side of the process is ever surprised by what the other does. And make sure everybody gets credit when credit is due.