The Formula that Links Your Sales Target with the Search for Extra Terrestrial Life

“Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there!”  Jackie Harrison (Susan Sarandon) Stepmom (1998)

Have you ever heard of the Drake Equation?

I hadn’t until recently – it turns out that it’s the equation used to estimate the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.

More precisely, it’s used in the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and was devised by a chap called Frank Drake, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

For all of you out there with a scientific mind, the Drake Equation states that:

Broken down, it looks like this;

N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible;

Equals

R^* = the average rate of star formation per year in our galaxy

f_p = the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_ℓ = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f_i = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f_c = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space.

Which started me thinking about all those of you out there, planning your 2012 sales targets – who are you going to sell to and how are you going to find them?

Now, the unscientific, fanatical, over optimistic ET hunters would have you believe that almost every planet is teeming with life and there are some sales managers out there who are a bit like that – “it’s all about darkening doors” – the “go and see everyone” brigade.

Neither of these groups will ever be convinced that their beliefs are wrong – the fault lies with all those around them who haven’t found what they definitely know is out there.

On the other hand, the short sighted “there is no other intelligent life in the entire universe” gang have much in common with the old, tired sales war horses who can’t stop moaning about the state of the economy.

Now clearly you don’t want to fool yourself that everyone is a potential customer, but at the same time, you don’t want to sell yourself short – make your targets stretching yet realistic.

For a bit of fun, why don’t you get a little scientific about it?

Below is my version of the SETI Drake Equation (my Mother will be sooo proud) – run through it while planning this year’s target and let it help you cut out the improbable without ignoring the possible.

The SETI (Search for Extra Trade & Income) Murray Equation

N = the number of businesses in your designated area with which a profitable business relationship is possible;

Equals

R^* = the number of businesses operating this year in your designated area

f_p = the fraction of those businesses that have a real need for what you sell

n_e = the number of those businesses that have a potential requirement to talk to someone this year from your area of expertise

f_ℓ = the realistic fraction of the above that YOU can effectively and professionally sell to and supply (include; cold calling, appointments, proposal writing, presentation,  follow up call, renewed proposal, close, delivery)

f_i = the realistic fraction of the above that could actually go on to develop some form of meaningful dialogue with you this year

f_c = the fraction of the above that will actually go on to develop a trading relationship with you this year

L = the average length of time that each sales process is expected to take.

Remember – the truth is out there!

Until next time

Chris

This year, I want to help you and your team become more successful than you’ve ever been before – call my team now on 0844 293 9777 or request a call back by going to the Contact Us Page here.

You and I can work out a sales training programme that suits your requirements perfectly – foundation level sales training, field sales training, account management training, selling value over price, customer service training, whatever it might be – but it’s a big old world out there and if you don’t take two minutes to invite me over, I may never know you need me.

We create bespoke training days from as little as £185 per person, so give my office a call today and we can get a date in the diary to start working on tailoring something just for you.

Chris Murray

0844 293 9777

By the way, if someone has forwarded you this newsletter, you can sign up to receive it directly from Varda Kreuz here

YOUR Plan YOUR Goals YOUR Success

“I think happiness comes from caring more about people rather than less.”
Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

What would make you happy next year?

Hitting target? Receiving a nice juicy commission cheque? Getting promoted?

What’s your plan for achieving it?

The wonderful Jim Rohn said;

“Building anything is like building a house; you need to have a plan.

What if you just started laying bricks and somebody asks, “What are you building?” And you say, “I have no idea.”

People tend to be quite happy when they know where they’re going – as an example, have you ever been driving somewhere you’ve never been to before?

That trip seems to go on for ages doesn’t it? And yet the second, third and fourth times you visit, the journey time seems to pass much quicker.

The only difference is that on the first occasion you weren’t sure where you were going – it’s not that you were lost – just unsure.

There’s an in-built tension to ‘unsure’ journeys – you want to arrive at your destination with the least amount of wasted time and expense – sometimes you just want to arrive and get the journey over with.

But at least you know where you’re trying to get to!

Most people are about to step into the New Year embarking on one of those ‘unsure’ journeys but – to make it worse – without a destination to aim for.

They’re not lost, in fact it’s all very familiar – but there’s something niggling them, like an appointment they think they’ve forgotten.

Imagine that – setting off without knowing where you’re going to end up and yet never feeling lost!

Just a vague awareness that there’s probably somewhere else you should be.

In a couple of weeks we launch our 2012 Online “YOUR Plan, YOUR Goals, YOUR Success” 1 to 1 Coaching programme – over four weeks we’ll put together YOUR plan – set out YOUR year ahead – We’ll work out where you want the next twelve months to finish and how you’re going to get there.

I’ve only got 50 places available – You can sign up to the waiting list here.

Best regards

Chris 

In 2012, I want to help you and your team become more successful than you’ve ever been before – call my team now on 0844 293 9777 or request a call back by going to the Contact Us page by clicking here.

You and I can work out a programme that suits your requirements perfectly – but it’s a big old world and if you don’t take two minutes to invite me over, I may never know you need me.

For those of you who are based in countries that we don’t yet operate, check out the new 1 to 1 coaching courses that we’ve set up over at our On Line Sales Training Blog by clicking here.

Chris Murray
0844 293 9777

 

By the way, if someone has forwarded you this newsletter, you can sign up to receive it directly from Varda Kreuz here

New Report – Sales in Top 10 Professions Most Likely to Experience Depression

 

A recent report from Health.com lists Sales as one of the 10 professions where workers are most likely to experience major depression in a given year.

If you didn’t know already, depression is quite common and affects about one in ten of the population.

It can affect absolutely anyone – I’m sure you’re aware that in recent weeks there have been some terribly sad news stories regarding attractive, rich, famous, and talented people who have found their battle with depression unbearable.

We all know that Sales and Sales Management can be an incredibly tough and lonely way to earn a living, so this week I wanted to assure you that – if it’s all getting a bit too much – there’s light at the end of the tunnel and you certainly don’t have to go through it alone.

For those of you who’d like a little more information, I’ve included some useful links below.

Dispelling the Myth

There are some who still think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition.

They’re wrong. Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it’s not a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of ” by “pulling yourself together”

The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people can make a full recovery.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Depression affects people in many different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

They range from lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful or anxious.

There can be physical symptoms too such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite and complaining of various aches and pains.

For a more detailed list, you can read more about the symptoms of depression at this link.

What causes depression?

Sometimes there is a trigger for depression. Life-changing events, such as bereavement, or losing your job or even having a baby, can bring it on.

People with a family history of depression are more likely to experience depression themselves, but you can also become depressed for no obvious reason.

Find out more about the causes of depression at this link.

 

When should you see a doctor?

It’s important to seek help from your GP if you think you may be depressed.

If you’ve been feeling low for more than a few days, you can take this short NHS test to find out if you might be suffering from depression.

 

What can I do to help myself right now?

Many people with depression benefit by making lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise, cutting down on alcohol and eating more healthily.

Find out more about how improving your lifestyle can help you beat depression at this link.

I found two other links that may help.

The first is for the NHS in the UK and the second is a site called Depression UK, which has lots of links covering many different subjects.

If you have any further useful pieces of information relating to your part of the world, feel free to leave them in the discussion attached to this blog.

As ever, I do hope you find the post useful,

Best regards

Chris

 

In 2012, I want to help you and your team become more successful than you’ve ever been before – call my team now on 0844 293 9777 or request a call back by going to the Contact Us page by clicking here.

You and I can work out a programme that suits your requirements perfectly – but it’s a big old world and if you don’t take two minutes to invite me over, I may never know you need me.

For those of you who are based in countries that we don’t yet operate, check out the new 1 to 1 coaching courses that we’ve set up over at our On Line Sales Training Blog by clicking here.

Chris Murray
0844 293 9777

Revealed – Your Prime Selling Days for 2012

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” John Keating (Robin Williams) – Dead Poets Society (1989)

At the beginning of the year, I introduced something to newsletter readers that revolutionised the way many viewed the days available to them as ‘selling time’.

A little information that is glaringly obvious to the top 10% of high achieving sales people, but ignored or missed by virtually everyone else.

Actually, I’ll bet – in the back of your mind – you’re all aware of what I’m about to share with you, so much so that this week’s free PDF download will be once again greeted with as many people saying “that – is – brilliant”, as those stating “that is just so obvious!”

You can print it off, pin it up, send it out or just pop it in the back of your personal organiser.

If used properly this single sheet of paper will;

•  Organise and focus you and your team to achieve the important stuff first
• Help you develop a long term business view, which has the flexibility to recognise what needs doing today
• Remove the opportunity to complain about “time running out”
• Scare the living daylights out of your inner procrastination gremlins

To achieve this you will need your personal target (worked out as an annual figure for the whole of 2012), your holiday dates and internal meeting dates.

Here’s what to do;

Download the PDF here

If you have just clicked on the link, you will now have before you the selling days available to you over the course of the next year – 2012 – in the UK.

You may need to change it slightly for which ever part of the world you are in.

FACT – Almost all of you have 252 days this year to effectively sell.

FACT – In the UK this year – due to holidays – the sales industry will only have 19 effective selling days in April, June and December.

FACT – In Quarter 2 (April, May, June) you have just 60 days.

Now – work out when you will be lying on a beach or stuck in a hotel meeting room with a group of hung-over colleagues looking at a large, projected forecast graph – and then deduct those days from your the appropriate months.

OK

• How many real days have you got to achieve your target?
• How much does your pipeline need to achieve on a daily basis?
• What does that mean for each of those monthly figures?
• What is your target figure for Quarter 2?

We all play differently when we are keeping score.

Take for example a group of kids kicking a ball around a park just for fun, watch the change – in mood, reactions and body language – on the pitch after someone shouts;

“OK, let’s keep score!”

It’s the same with sales – we all play differently when we’re keeping score!

This year, do yourself a favour – count every available day and make every day count.

Seize those days and make your lives extraordinary

Drop in and leave a comment here at the blog (or email me directly at chris@vardakreuztraining.com) and let me know how you got on.

Chris

In 2012, I want to help you and your team become more successful than you’ve ever been before – call my team now on 0844 293 9777 or request a call back by going to the Contact Us page by clicking here.

You and I can work out a programme that suits your requirements perfectly – but it’s a big old world and if you don’t take two minutes to invite me over, I may never know you need me.

For those of you who are based in countries that we don’t yet operate, check out the new 1 to 1 coaching courses that we’ve set up over at our On Line Sales Training Blog by clicking here.

Chris Murray
0844 293 9777

5 Reasons Why Selling is Like… Being a Boxer

“No point in punching things you can’t see.”
James Braddock (Russell Crowe) – Cinderella Man (2005)

About 7 years ago I started working with Glen, a personal fitness trainer.

Glen was a thirty something ex- army, boxing champion who did a bit of modelling as a sideline, allegedly just missed out on being an original member of Take That and had a much larger number of female clients than male.

This clearly did nothing for the self esteem of a greying, overweight, stressed out, sleep deprived, over worked businessman and (recent) father.

Actually, it turned out to be exactly what I needed.

I got back in shape, ran a couple of half marathons and felt great about myself – and my mind was operating like never before.

I had huge respect for Glen, not only was he all the things previously mentioned, he was running his own, extremely successful business – and so we had a regular chance to talk through a number of different ideas and philosophies while he was putting me through my paces.

Once a week he’d mix up the routine by throwing in an hour of boxing training – and it’ll be no surprise to the regular reader, that I found a number of similarities with the world of sales – 5 to be precise

1. You’ve got to learn to give it to them straight

A straight punch will land on an unskilled, undisciplined opponent who won’t be able to hit you back with their wild, erratic swing.

A direct, honest sales approach will always serve you well in tight situations.

Like a good jab you should practice it on a daily basis.

2. Move with fluidity

You can never succeed in boxing unless you have perfect footwork. Without footwork, your legs will get tied up and you’ll lose your balance.

A good sales person can move forward and backwards while probing for ways of gaining a deeper understanding of the situation and then, once the real needs and buying motives have been revealed, shift and present a knockout solution on either side.

3. Your body and mind have got to be in great shape

If they are, you will be able to work longer and harder before fatigue sets in.

Filling every hour of a normal working day effectively and efficiently always beats a poorly organised, stressed out ten hour day or even worse, a listless eight hours without the energy to achieve anything.

If your body, mind and home life are all in great shape – on the odd occasion it’s required – a couple of late nights and a working weekend will be a walk in the park.

4. There’s no point punching things you can’t see

“If you’re going to sell John Jones what John Jones buys, you’ve got to sell John Jones through John Jones’ eyes”

If you can’t see what your prospect wants or needs you won’t be able to give it to them.

You have got to develop an element of empathy – an understanding of how you can help.

If you can see the target you can hit it – if you can’t, you’re just flailing about in the dark.

5. Sparring is important

Without sparring practice, you never get to iron out the problems you might have with defensive moves, probing or distancing.

Without external sales coaching and well thought out situational exercises you’ll just keep doing the things you always do, without ever finding out where you’re going wrong

See you for next week’s movie quotes

Chris

Book one of the Varda Kreuz team NOW for a FREE no obligation consultation at this link or call 0844 293 9777, and discover how successful your team could be!

PS – Great news for all those who can’t make it to our open workshops, we’ve just made our FAME Sales Management course available on line with 1 to 1 coaching – you can read all about it here.

Not Happy with Your Prospect Conversion Rates? Here are Some Tips to Turn them Round

“You get what you settle for.” Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) – Thelma & Louise (1991)

When prospects raise their objections, what goes through your mind?

In his book “The Secrets of Closing the Sale“, the wonderful Zig Ziglar points out;

“A sale is made on every presentation. The prospect either sells you that they can’t or won’t buy or you sell them that they can and should buy”

Most of the time that comes down to how you ‘hear’ the conversation you’re having with the prospect and how you ‘feel’ about whatever it is you’re selling.

Let me tell you a story.

An army (for that is the name for a group) of frogs were making their way through the woods, when two of them fell down a deep hole.

The other frogs saw how far down they’d fallen and advised them to give up – they were as good as dead.

For some reason, those two frogs completely ignored this helpful advice and tried to jump out.

While they were trying, the others kept shouting down to “throw in the towel”, lie down peacefully and die.

Eventually, one of the unfortunate frogs recognised his situation, gave up, fell down and died.

But to their surprise, the other one just kept on jumping with all his might – putting in even more effort than before.

Once again the frogs shouted down “stop torturing yourself – just accept it and die”.

And then – after what seemed like forever - with a mighty leap, he made it out.

As he pulled himself up, the other frogs asked, “Didn’t you hear what we were telling you?”

“No” he said, “I’ve had mud in my ears – I couldn’t hear a word you were saying – I thought you were shouting encour­agement!”

So what do you hear when prospects bring up their objections?

Is it “I’m not convinced – I need more proof” or is it “Are you joking, who would want that?”

Do you hear them encouraging you to find a meaningful solution to their problem or are they telling you to just give up and stop torturing yourself?

You see, how you feel about yourself and the thing that you’re selling will make an enormous difference to the way you hear a prospect’s concerns and objections.

Now clearly, you won’t recognise objections as opportunities with mud in your ears – I’m not advising you to ignore what people are saying to you, there are signals you will need to pick up on.

Unless they have no money – genuinely, no way of paying for it – then what you’ve got is either a perfect fit or it isn’t.

You either care about delivering the perfect solution to those who need it or you don’t.

There’s no point getting upset with a prospect who can’t see how perfect your solution is – and you’re not helping anyone (you or them) if you can’t get that fact across professionally and effectively.

It’s at that point that the prospect either sells you that they can’t or won’t buy – or you sell them that they can and should buy – and let me tell you, you’ll always end up getting what you settle for.

See you for next week’s movie quotes

Chris

Book one of the Varda Kreuz team NOW for a FREE no obligation consultation at this link or call 0844 293 9777, and discover how successful your team could be!

Want to close more sales? Here’s how to deliver the perfect sales presentation

“I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special” – Shelby Eatenton Latcherie (Julia Roberts) – Steel Magnolias (1989)

This month’s new word is – KAIROS

It means TIME in ancient Greek.

Now before some of you start getting ready to write in and tell me that CHRONOS means time – you’re right – but so am I.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time.

Chronos is quantitative – you can count it, it deals with sequential time.

Kairos is qualitative – it measures time by quality – it signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens.

In its purest translation, Kairos means the supreme moment.

Aristotle explained it as “the time and space in which the proof will be delivered.”

In sales, that’s the area in-between “let me show you what we do…” and the buyer’s decision.

The wonderful Zig Ziglar defines selling as a “transference of feeling”

If I can make YOU feel the same way as I do about what I’m selling, you’ll want to buy it.

But to transfer that feeling, you have got to HAVE it in the first place.

If you try to persuade someone to do something that you don’t believe in, then that fact is written in neon lights directly above you – and prospects can’t miss it.

As Bernie Lofchick says “Believers are closers!”

There have been a few times over the last twenty years when I have watched passionate, talented sales people help prospects to find the solution to their problems.

Sadly, there have been far fewer occasions when I have witnessed it first hand as a customer.

A guy I worked with while selling photocopiers in the eighties would present to prospects as if he’d just brought in his new, best Christmas toy to show them.

By the end of the presentation the whole office were crowded round trying to find out what all the excitement was about – and not wanting to miss it.

The best way to achieve that passion is to do the old one eighty degree turn and look at what you sell through your customers eyes.

For this you need an understanding of how it helps, what they need and why they need it.

Want to close more sales? Ask yourself these questions;

• What are your prospects HOPING your product or service will deliver? (As a pointer – if it’s a printer, and your answer is “printing stuff” – you’re in the wrong profession!)
• If your prospects don’t choose you, your products, service, company – who will they choose?
• Why would that be good for them?
• Why would that be a bad choice for them?
• If (or when) customers write in to the business to sing the praises of their recent purchase, how it changed their lives – what will the letter say? Why would they be so happy?
• How would that make you feel?

You want to win more business?

Well here’s the thing, you’ve got to go out there and give your prospects 30 minutes of wonderful so they don’t end up getting sold a lifetime of nothing special from somebody else.

See you for next week’s movie quotes

Chris

Book one of the Varda Kreuz team NOW for a FREE no obligation consultation at this link  or call 0844 293 9777, and discover how successful your team could be!