“The Power of Leadership”

Yesterday we summarized Dan Kennedy’s thoughts regarding the importance of a Sales Process, which was to be built from macro to micro, here’s more detail on the subject:

The macro parts link all marketing, including publicity, sales and operations together with common themes, a clear covenant with customers, and a process for moving prospects smoothly along a predefined path from first interest to completed purchase.  This is an exercise in control over the prospect and the process.  The micro parts have to do with all of the human interaction between the prospect and all staff, especially sales people.  Think of this as an exercise in control over the actual selling and the people doing it.

Much nonsense is spewed about leaving sales people to their own devices in order to preserve spontaneity and encourage creativity.  According to Dan, this is all “B.S.”  “Selling is a scientific and mechanical process, not something you should make up as you go along.”  Tom Hopkins, widely recognized as the top pure sales trainer in the world today is a strong advocate of scripts.  Tom encourages that not only are words chosen and scripted, but so is appearance and dress, movement and body language, the selling environment, the actual movement of the prospect physically, seating, props, and on and on.  Sydney Barrows calls this “Sales Choreography” (trademarked!)  Sydney believes everything in selling should be choreographed moment by moment and movement by movement.  Of course there is much resistance to this suggestion by sales people.  But it seems for those who embrace the concepts; the pay-off is enormous.

Please allow me an analogy; think of top actors for a moment, paid Millions upon Millions, for their ability to professionally deliver a perfectly choreographed script with such engaged and focused emotion and intensity that no one would ever question the authenticity of the character and the real personality of the actor themselves is rarely even shown in public.  Given Jack Nicholson as comparison, it’s silly to suggest that a sales person is restrained by a script.  This thought is merely an excuse thrown out by someone unwilling to engage deeply in preparation for their craft and become a true professional sales person.

“The ultimate disease of our times is vagueness of expectations.” – Joe D. Batten

Make yourself better today!

Shawn
Performance Institute – A Global Leader in Human Capital and Business Development

Russ M. Miller, LLIF – Chairman and CEO

Sunny Hong Zhang – Managing Partner – China

Shawn M. Miller – Managing Partner – USA

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