Ask the Sales Coach: Practical Answers to the Questions Sales People Ask Most

By Susan A. Enns

Contrary to the popular belief, sales people don’t rely on “the gift of the gab” to be successful. Actually, the opposite is true. The best sales professionals spend far more time asking and listening than they do talking and selling.
They ask questions of their customers; they ask questions of their colleagues, and they ask questions of their managers. If Oxford defines curiosity as the strong desire to know or learn something, then by that definition, sales people are curious by nature. In fact, that’s how sales professionals learn to be professional in the first place.
This is a collection of practical answers to questions sales people ask most. Written by Susan A. Enns, a professional sales coach with a proven track record of sales excellence over her 30 plus year career. Her accomplishments include consecutively being the top sales rep in Canada, managing the top sales branch, and achieving outstanding sales growth in a national channel sales organization. She has written several books about sales and sales management and has created numerous automated sales tools. Her work has been published in several locations numerous times and has sold on five separate continents.
As such, over the years, Susan has been asked many questions by many sales people. After a while, she saw that sales people, regardless of their experience, the products they sell, the industries in which they operate, or the countries where they sell, all share similar curiosities. In other words, although the wording may be different when asked in an email or when asked in person, sales people all ask the same questions, the most common of which are answered in this ebook.
As the old saying goes, the only stupid questions are the ones unasked. As a sales professional, you should never be afraid to “Ask the Sales Coach” because you will learn so much from the answers!
-"Susan really knows the selling world. She's honest, articulate, bright, giving, highly competent, personable and a top professional. Welcome her. It's the right thing to do."
-"Our company hired Susan as our sales coach. She has helped me make more appointments, close more deals and make more money. The 3 most important concepts in sales. I would recommend any sales force hire her to help boost business sales".
-"Susan ...understands the sales process intimately and is able to create a management process around it that drives sales people to accomplish their goals."
-"Susan knows her stuff. She brings many years of great sales experience and success to anyone who wished to improve their skills in sales. She is very personable, and is not afraid to tell it like it is. I would recommend anyone (and I have) to Susan, her website, her books if you want to become a better sales person."
-“Thanks for the training... I made my quota this year in May!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: B2B Sales Connections
• Release date: Feb 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370297658

Susan A. Enns

Susan A. Enns is Managing Partner of B2B Sales Connections, an online sales training website with free sales resources, a specialized job board & free resume listing services for business to business sales professionals. She has a proven track record of success, with over 30 years of direct sales, management and executive level business to business experience. Her accomplishments include consecutively being the top sales rep in Canada, managing the top sales branch, and achieving outstanding sales growth in a national channel sales organization.She has written the books “Action Plan For Sales Success”, “Action Plan For Sales Management Success”, "Ask the Sales Coach" and "Daily Motivational Quotes", co-authored the book "Quick Sales Tips", created numerous automated sales tools, and she writes and edit the company’s newsletters. Her work has been published in several locations numerous times and has sold on five separate continents.Susan served on the Leadership Executive of the Sales Professionals of Ottawa (SPO) for 5 years, and is one of the association's Past Presidents. She has also been a guest lecturer at the School of Business at Algonquin College as well as a guest speaker for SPO.Susan has volunteered on the organizing committee for Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure for several years, including 6 years as the Volunteer Co-Run Director, herself being a breast cancer survivor after being diagnosed in 2013. She was also an annual participant in the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life for several years. Susan also coaches Novice Girls Basketball with the Nepean Blue Devils Basketball Association.What people are saying about Susan:- "Susan really knows the selling world. She's honest, articulate, bright, giving, highly competent, personable and a top professional. Welcome her. It's the right thing to do."- "Susan ...understands the sales process intimately and is able to create a management process around it that drives sales people to accomplish their goals."- "Susan knows her stuff. She brings many years of great sales experience and success to anyone who wished to improve their skills in sales. She is very personable, and is not afraid to tell it like it is. I would recommend anyone (and I have) to Susan, her website, her books if you want to become a better sales person."- "Our company hired Susan as our sales coach. She has helped me make more appointments, close more deals and make more money. The 3 most important concepts in sales. I would recommend any sales force hire her to help boost business sales."

Book preview

Introduction

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. - Albert Einstein

Contrary to the popular belief, sales people don’t rely on the gift of the gab to be successful. Actually, the opposite is true. The best sales professionals spend far more time asking and listening than they do talking and selling.

We ask questions of our customers; we ask questions of our colleagues, and we ask questions of our managers. If Oxford defines curiosity as the strong desire to know or learn something, then by that definition, sales people are curious by nature. In fact, I believe that’s how we learn to be sales professionals in the first place.

I have had what could be considered a very successful sales career. My accomplishments include consecutively being the top sales rep in Canada, managing the top sales branch, and achieving outstanding sales growth in a national channel sales organization. I have written several books about sales and sales management and have created numerous automated sales tools. My work has been published in several locations numerous times and has sold on five separate continents.

As a sales trainer and coach, I always remind my clients there are no stupid questions. When I look back over my 30 plus year career, I realize most of what I know about sales and sales management I learned by asking other sales professionals. In fact, I believe we learn as much from each other as we do from our own experiences. We should never be afraid to ask because we learn so much from the answers!

As such, over the years, I have been asked many questions by many sales people. After a while you see that sales people, regardless of their experience, the products they sell, the industries in which they operate, or the countries where they sell, all share similar curiosities. In other words, although the wording may be different when asked in an email or when asked in person, sales people all ask the same questions, the most common of which are answered in this book.

This is a collection of practical answers to questions sales people ask most. Many have links to further information embedded in them so that you can continue your learning process. If, for some reason, the link does not activate on the device you are using to read this, go to b2bsalesconnections.com, and type your query into the search box. From there you should find exactly what you are looking for.

If you don’t, then please don’t hesitate to reach out contact me, either by email, phone or any of our social media feeds. The name of the book is "Ask the Sales Coach" after all, and I am happy to help you achieve your sales potential.

Remember, the only stupid questions are the ones unasked.

Aim higher!

Don't be afraid to ask a question. Just be sure to listen to the answer so you don't have to ask the same question twice.

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Section 1 - Lead Generation and Prospecting

What is the best prospecting method to generate leads?

The B2B Sales Coach's Answer:

There is no magic bullet for lead generation. In my opinion, the best way to generate leads is not to put all your prospecting eggs in one basket, but rather using some of each prospecting method, over time, until you close the sale.

Chances are you will not open the sales process on your very first prospecting contact. In fact, studies have shown that two out of three sales are made to prospects who have said no not once, but five times! Therefore, you must develop a plan to stay in touch so that when they are ready to buy, they think of you first.

Don’t just send another email to one of your social networking contacts and expect to generate a new prospect instantaneously. Pick up the phone or send a LinkedIn message or both! The point is to stay in frequent contact with your prospects so you start to build a relationship with them. Every contact is like a drip of water. On its own, it doesn’t amount to much, but over time, each drip can add up to a very large pool.

How you contact your prospects with your drip campaign will depend on your product and the average prospect’s buying cycle. Once you decide how to contact your prospects with your drip campaign, the next critical step is to decide how often. You also must create a system to ensure you stay on track. How to do this is discussed in detail in my Book Action Plan For Sales Success – Not just what to do, but how to do it!

Remember, in order to consistently generate sales leads, we have to be proactive and persistent, and we must plan our prospecting to maximize our chances of being successful.

Aim higher!

What works better; Advertising, social media or cold calling?

The B2B Sales Coach's Answer:

Should you use advertising, social media, or cold calling to generate new prospects? I have actually been asked this question many times over the years. Even with all the advances in technology and social media marketing, my answer is still the same.

In a competitive industry, chances are any company that calls you from an advertisement or social media campaign would be after they know the price from their current carrier, found the price too high, and then decided to call you to get a quote. This is too late in the process for you to build value. It will only be a price war between carriers, and as the old saying goes, if you can win it on price, you can lose it on price.

Therefore, I think the best method of prospecting in a competitive industry, where there are numerous suppliers and little perceived difference between them in the marketplace, is the one where the sales rep initiates the contact, not the prospect.

The reason I say this is because direct prospecting, when done properly, is better able to answer 3 important questions: Are they a prospect? If yes, then are they a prospect today? If not today, then when.

For example, those questions for you may be: 1. Are they a big enough company to have need for my widgets? 2. If so, is it the right time in their buying cycle or are they close enough to their renewal date to change suppliers today? 3. If not today, then when?

If you knew this information about every company in your geographic territory, then you would know exactly whom you should be contacting and when. Can you imagine how much more successful you would be if you were always in the right place at the right time? In my opinion, the best way to be working with the right prospect at the time when they are most likely to do business with you is where you initiate the contact either through direct prospecting or networking.

You could prospect yourself if you have the skills and the time, or, if you have a budget for marketing, you could hire someone to do the calls for you. We offer a lead