Are you thinking about hiring a salesperson?

So, yesterday a prospect told me that they didn’t want to buy and when I didn’t try to handle an objection that contradicted something that they had already said, they acted surprised, but I knew that they didn’t want to buy and I didn’t want to prolong the call. Later, I sent an email that acknowledged their surprise and explained why I ended the call. He replied that I was arrogant and border-line rude.

This is a guest post by Carole Mahoney. Carole is the founder and CEO of Mahoney Internet Marketing and a Certified Hubspot Partner, but more importantly (at least to me), she is a major force behind the Smarketing movement. Enjoy!

Since today is Valentine’s day, I thought I would jump onto the sales and marketing dating scenario bandwagon and highlight the first three steps, or stages, of sales and marketing integration.

As I was researching some links for the best online dating sites to use in my analogy, my unsuspecting husband came looking over my shoulder. Day before Valentine’s day and he finds his wife on Match.com. When I told him it was for a post for Rick, he nodded and grunted ‘uh-huh’ at me. $10 says I get chocolate later today.

What Does Match.com Have to Do with Sales and Marketing Integration?

Many people hate Valentine’s day because of the reminder and pressure it puts on them. People tend to resent any action you try to force upon them, especially if it is a change from their normal routine. But sometimes that is exactly what is needed to wake us from the fog, and cabin fever, of the same ol’ routine.

Evaluation – My ever-so brief research led me to believe (not from experience) that sites like Match.com were using personality tests to match people with their ideal partner. Typically with these types of sites, you first answer a bunch of questions about yourself, your likes, your dislikes, your habits, etc.

A sales assessment test, or evaluation, does just that for anyone who is customer facing. This is really all about you. Whether entrepreneurs, CEOs, sales managers, sales, or  customer service- a sales assessment test helps you to answers some questions about where your (or your team’s) real challenges lie. It includes:

• 4 crucial elements
• 5 major weaknesses
• 21 core competencies
• dozens of selling skills
• 42 self-limiting beliefs
• 28 obstacles to sales success

Once you have yourself figured out, how you approach the sales process, your good and your bad habitual sales strategies, you now know what you didn’t know and can take the steps to do something about them, or do something else. The next step with any online dating process is to learn more about your perfect match.

Strategy- Don’t mistake strategy as a way to trick someone to dating you. You can’t be something you are not. Business relationships, just like regular human relationships, take about 3 months to know whether or not the person you thought they were, actually is. All the more reason to take strategy seriously in getting to know and understand your ideal match.

Customer persona profiles are the key to the 1 question that a sales and marketing strategy should be able to answer: Who are we trying to persuade?

Other questions that an integrated sales and marketing strategy need to answer:

• ROI & KPI Benchmarks. Map out the incremental and continuous improvements and the behavior metrics that coincide with your business goals or quotas and timeline.
• Target Account Planning & Prospecting. You can’t meet anyone if you don’t go outside of your 4 walls. Thankfully the Internet helps you to be in many of the right places at the right time.
• Sales & Marketing Agreement, or SLA. This is like the wing-man agreement between sales and marketing. How is a qualified lead determined? How many are needed? How many must close? What is the feedback loop?

Funnel-

At this point, the sales and marketing funnel come together and align with the prospect’s buying process. Remember that online, your prospect:

….I have hundreds of clients, followers and evangelists that will earn more than I have? As a matter of fact, a few of them have already earned more than I have.

Elaine and I went to see “The Artist” on Saturday evening. As I watched the movie, I couldn’t help comparing George to the salespeople and business owners that I’ve met that are:

I’ve always been a salesman. So, keep that in mind as you read this.

	Imagine this. You walk into your Doctor’s office and say, “I’ve got a headache.” He says, “Ok. Take this pill. It will put you to sleep. Then lay down on that table right there. Then he pulls out his trephine drill and starts loosening up. You ask, “What’s that for?” and he replies, “This will allow me to drill through your skull and hopefully prevent me from hitting your brain.” So, tell me. Are you gonna take that pill and go to sleep on the mad doctor’s table?
	So, you know how you go to the doctor, sit down on the chair and he sits down in his chair and asks, “So what brings you in today?” You say, “My leg has been bothering me.” He says, “OK, no problem. Put your foot up on my knee here.” and asks, “Do you have a wallet?” You raise an eyebrow and answer, “Yes. Why.” He replies, “Take your wallet. Put it between your teeth and bite down hard. Now, look away.” and he uncovers the tray on the little desk and you see his set of scalpels. You ask, “What are you doing?” He answers, “Exploratory surgery to find out why your leg hurts.” You’re frantic and trying to get your foot off his knee. “What about an xray? an operating room? anesthesia?” He replies, “Relax! I went to Medical School. Sometimes xrays are inconclusive and we need to do exporatory surgery. I’m saving you time. Wallets worked in the 1800’s and they’re cheaper than anesthesia. Suck it up and bite down. Operating rooms are expensive. We don’t need to spend the money. I can do this right here in the office.”
	Some say that companies spend $20 Billion on sales training every year. Do you have a sales force? How much does your recruiter cost you? $50-100K? Has turnover improved? Do the new salespeople on-board quicker? Do they stay longer? Do they outperform their predecessors? How much does your trainer cost you? $50-100K? Has everybody doubled sales? Have most doubled sales?Has anybody doubled sales? How much do your sales managers cost you? $500K? A million? What impact are your sales managers having on your salespeople? Can/do they coach? Can/do they get their team to perform? How many MBA’s does it take to deliver mediocre results? How many times are you gonna take your sales managers’ excuses? How much longer will you tolerate a longer than necessary sales cycle? How much longer will you tolerate losing half the sales that should be closed? How much longer will you tolerate  your salespeople asking their managers to throw something in to ‘sweeten the deal’ so they can make quota? So, if you wouldn’t let a DOCTOR drill into your brain or do exploratory surgery on your leg without taking an xray, why would you let a bunch of MBA’s operate on your sales force without taking an xray first? Bottom line: Are you just a do-it-yourselfer? Even if people get hurt?

Are you drinking your own Kool-Aid?

This guest post was written by Dale Berkebile. Dale is a branding expert that has qualified as a Certified Hubspot Partner and was the first to enroll in the Hubspot Sales Development Program for Marketing Agencies. Upon completion, he realized how much more he wanted to learn and became a coaching client of mine until the end of last year when I retired. I’m pleased to tell you that we have combined forces with a few others to lead the way in the Integration of Sales and Marketing in the Hubspot community and the world. I hope that you enjoy this article as much as I did.

I hope that you enjoy this post. If you do, please forward, RT or otherwise share with your friends and followers.

Divorcerate.org suggests that about half of all marriages end in divorce. As of today, Elaine and I have been married for 38 years, 9 months and 26 days. Sometimes I wonder, “Why?”.

She married an engineer, but got a salesman.

She married a good looking guy, but got a fat, old grouch.

We don’t agree politically (or on much else).

So, why are we not a statistic?

Switch gears. Let’s talk about sales and new customers.

What percentage of your customer relationships end in divorce?

How many of them end with your customer dating someone else?

 – having an affair?

 – having a huge, knockdown, drag out argument?

 – either/both of you wondering why you ever got married (did business) in the first place?

 – arguing how to divide marital assets (who owes who)?

One more diversion: This exchange happened in the 1997 movie, “As Good As It Gets” between the Jack Nicholson character and the Helen Hunt character.

Melvin Udall: I’ve got a really great compliment for you, and it’s true.

Carol Connelly: I’m so afraid you’re about to say something awful.

Melvin Udall: Don’t be pessimistic, it’s not your style. Okay, here I go: Clearly, a mistake. I’ve got this, what – ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of the cases, a pill really helps. I *hate* pills, very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I’m using the word “hate” here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never… all right, well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills.

Carol Connelly: I don’t quite get how that’s a compliment for me.

Melvin Udall: You make me want to be a better man.

Carol Connelly: …That’s maybe the best compliment of my life.

Melvin Udall: Well, maybe I overshot a little, because I was aiming at just enough to keep you from walking out.

So, what does this exchange have to do with the divorce rate and sales? If you watch the movie you’ll learn that Carol (the salesperson) isn’t looking to change Melvin. She’s looking to find a “normal boy friend”. So, many service providers start a relationship by saying something like, “I can change your life!”, but it’s not until the prospect says, “I want you to change my life.” that movement begins and it’s at that point that both parties get on the same page.

Until the prospect says of their own volition, “You make me want to be a better man.” your relationship is doomed. That’s why I suggest that your sales process should be a disqualification process rather that a qualification process. My goal is no bad marriages and no divorces.

This post is done, but I’d like to share one more thing. Each of my clients has said something like, “You make me want to be a better man.” and as a result they make me want to be a better coach.

Want a sample?