Inside Secrets of Sales Success From Wayne Moloney

My good friend Wayne Moloney recently published a book: Your Roadmap To Achieving Sales Success and it's the result of 40 years real-world experience in the trenches and in sales management. The world of B2B sales is changing at a rate never seen in the past, but those wanting to be successful must still master the traditional basics. His reference handbook will prove invaluable to all salespeople, especially those looking to refresh their skills. 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter Two: Knowing What Sales professionals Know

Right at this moment, there are millions of people out in the world selling something; many are far from being sales professionals enjoying the benefits of a high-rewards career. Perceiving yourself, and conducting yourself as a professional is as important to success as a great attitude.

There’s a lot more to being professional than the obvious advice to be well-groomed and well-organised, and to always act with integrity. A sales professional is distinguished from the amateurs by their sheer dedication to their career; and the foundation of operating as a professional is your knowledge.

“He who knows most, knows how little he knows.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3rd president of the United States

Over four decades,I have worked with many hundreds of salespeople, and what consistently sets the most successful of them apart is that they know things that their less successful counterparts don’t. They take time, and make the effort to develop a strong insight into the markets they are selling into, their prospects and their clients. What they know affects the way they operate as their higher knowing informs a better way of selling by going about creating value for their clients which, in turn, delivers more successful results.

Here are seven things successful salespeople know and act on:

1.They know who their ideal customer is. This might seem obvious and simple, but successful salespeople have this clearly defined and they know this in-depth. They resist the pitfalls of making ‘everyone’ their customer and drill down to the level of individuals. I recently asked a business owner client of mine to describe his ideal client, and his response was that it is someone “with a pulse and a credit card”. He’s not alone in making this fundamental mistake; so many inexperienced or unprofessional salespeople aim to sell to everyone. In contrast, good salespeople know that ‘less is more’. They identify the specific industries, markets and locations where their ideal customers operate; and they know the areas where they are active. They know the typical challenges they face and the opportunities they are missing—they know which benefits they can deliver to ideal clients that will be regarded as valuable. They are not content to list a company name as an ideal client. Instead they research to understand the key players in their target organizations.

2. They know their product or service, their company and their competition. Again this appears obvious, but good salespeople frame this knowledge from the buyer’s perspective. What is it their product or service can do for their customer? What problem does it solve? How does it help increase profits? What value does it add? How does it differ from others in the market? What weaknesses are the competitors likely to target? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors? They are always looking to ‘take a walk in the buyer’s shoes’ which affords them clearer and more meaningful insights.

3. They know how much time to spend on finding the right prospects and customers. Once good salespeople have identified their ideal client, they learn where they ‘hang out’ offline and online, and they work out how best to communicate with them. Making the right contacts during this process helps them identify the real needs of the organisation and identify those involved in the decision- making process. They ensure that their level of contact and forms of communication are appropriate and purposeful. By following a sound, time-efficient process for finding, contacting and communicating with prospects, good salespeople can detect an unfulfilling prospect early, and more swiftly change course to a pursue a better option.

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” — Zig Ziglar (1926-2012), American author, sales guru and motivational speaker

4. They know how to build networks. In this information era, research shows that buyers can be 50 to 70% into their decision- making process before engaging with a salesperson. However, further research shows that when a salesperson engages early in the buyer’s journey, they have a much greater rate of success. Good salespeople know that by building their network of individuals and businesses they can learn of opportunities early, as well as gain vital information and insights. By contributing positively and purposefully in a network, they build the credibility of their own personal brand and their company.

5. They know how to develop and sell themselves. Because people buy from people they know, like, trust and respect, successful salespeople know that they have to sell themselves before they sell their company image, product or service. It has become particularly vital for B2B salespeople in the more complex sales arena to know how to develop a compelling personal brand and then to embody it in their offline and online networking, and when they are building relationships with people of influence. As they gain experience and expertise, their personal brands progress towards positioning them as experts in their fields. So powerful can a personal brand be in today’s digital marketplace, I highly recommend investing time and if necessary money in learning how to create the best possible brand for yourself.

“Closing a sale is counter-intuitive. Agree to implement and open a relationship.” — Wayne Moloney

6. They know how their own system works. All too often, salespeople think their job is done when the order is signed. Good salespeople know that the delivery, implementation and ongoing support of what they have sold are critical to future opportunities. In the interests of maintaining trust in their customer relationships, they take on a certain accountability for ensuring that the organisation’s delivery to their customer meets the expectations that they set up during the sales process. To this end, they know that their internal networking is as important as building their external network, and they make the effort to collaborate as a team member across the areas of the business that impact on sales delivery. Good salespeople sell themselves and their opportunities internally as well. They know that senior managers, marketing, support staff, research and development can all have an impact on their ability to deliver what they have sold, on time and in good order.

7. They know when to walk away. Despite doing all the right things in identifying and developing a prospect, all salespeople will, at some time, find themselves working on an opportunity that just doesn’t fit the success mould. Good salespeople know that time spent on opportunities that have little chance of success is wasted time. They are able to walk away from a slim possibility to spend their time better on finding or developing the ‘right’ opportunities.

It may seem that these seven traits come naturally to good salespeople, but all salespeople can improve their success by actively building these knowledge strands and developing a successful way of operating based on the quality of what they know. With knowledge being so important to their sales success, it’s not surprising that another common characteristic of successful salespeople is that they are lifelong learners, committed to their professional and personal development.

End excerpt and here is what John Smibert says about Wayne's book: Wayne Moloney's new book "Your roadmap to achieving sales success" is one of the most practical sales books I've read. It provides good, common sense insights into B2B selling. It is a practical and compelling handbook for anyone new to sales, or those more experienced looking to refresh their knowledge on sales basics.

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