How to Move the Peanut Forward: Next Steps

Sales is like navigating a busy city. There are green lights, yellow lights, stop signs, detours, big hills, pot holes and wide open stretches where you can pick up speed. I have had a picture circa 1950's in my office for years of California Street in San Francisco. It reminds me that some people are climbing the hill and that some people are coasting down. For what ever reason, it reminds me of the struggles and highs of sales.


In every Sales Cycle, the question is "What is the next step?". Every call or meeting should have that in mind. The question is how do you move the peanut forward?

The answer is in the questions you ask. I often laugh when people say that others would be good in sales because they like to talk a lot. Of course we all know that this is very untrue. The best sales people are the ones who listen but more importantly, who can ask questions without is sounding like an interrogation.

Think of your prospects like you were in their shoes. What do you want? To be educated? To look good in front of your boss? To make good decision? To surround yourself with people you trust and who like you? Do you like to be told things are have people ask you your opinion? Boil it down to basic human nature and then build your questions within a selling arena.

What have you done to educate your prospect today?

Have you helped them uncover business pains and explored ways to solve them?

What happens if they make this decision? What happens if they don't move forward?

Who does their decision impact and in what ways?

Are their any key power users that you could engage to test the service/product?

What are the top 3 things they like about their current service/product? What would they like to change?

Has budget been put aside for the product or service? Could that funding be taken away or reallocated?

If you offer a cost savings, how would those funds likely be redeployed?

By exploring these topics, you help the prospect articulate cause and effect. By understanding cause and effect, it opens the door to the next conversation and hopefully through to negotiation and a close.

Happy Selling!

Susan Corcoran

Perkanomics: Employee Perks in a tight market

There are books, articles and awards for companies that offer the best Perks for employees. There is every spectrum of perk from the likes of Google (free organic food, free bike repairs and free hair cuts - no joke!) to Adobe, who offers biodegradable and compost freindly cutlery.

What is interesting about Googles perks, different from others, is that all their perks are centred around freeing up employee time so that their employees can work MORE! It is genius! They take away time consuming tasks (going to the dry cleaners, doing laundry, preparing food) so that their employees can have their schedules cleared for more work productivity.


Kira Vermond wrote an interesting article in the Globe and Mail about Perks in the time of a recession. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081223.wworkout1227/BNStory/robAtWork/

Some of the perks in question from Kira Vermond;s article are perks for the "Have's". In times of motivating a work force, employees "C" level to "Entry" level, should feel that they are all giving something up equally. Corporate Culture is a fragile entity. I agree with cutting back perks that only a few can participate in - Executive Trips, Corporate vacations. Perks, in my opinion should have an objective. Building interoffice relationships, cross training, resume building, recognizing the employees family for their support of the organization.

It is time to get creative on how we recognize and retain talent. I like any perk that improves a person: One free day off a quarter to do volunteer work on behalf of the company (Junior Achievement for example). How about bringing a Kick boxing instructor in? A Yoga instructor? Cooking Instructor? Almost every facet of entertainment these days is about giving the audience a new experience. Perhaps that is where employers should focus. A big motivator for me would be a leadership course at Richard Ivey. Better yet for the company - send me with my colleagues and create a buzz along with a renewed passion for work!

In some ways, as sad as this is to say, some people don't know they have had a good day until they have a bad day. They have no reference point. Employees forget all the thought and good will having gone into their current benefit plan. Unfortunately, it may only be until the benefits are gone, will they truly appreciate them.

As an employer, I am looking for high value, low cost, BIG impact benefits. I look forward to watching as myself and other companies, big and small, reinvent the meaning of "Employee Benefits" that create sustainability for all.

Happy 2009!

Susan Corcoran

Hiring Generation Y

As a Generation X'er, I find the Y generation perplexing at times. I recently read an article in Profit Magazine that did a good job at summarizing a generation so different from Gen X'ers and Zoomers.

Generation Y: Born 1981 to 2000 They represent 26% of the Canadian Population or roughly 8.3 Million strong

This is a generation that has by in large never been told no. There was very little winning and losing but positive reinforcement just for trying. Almost a socialism of competitiveness. They have been encouraged to voice their opinions and question their surroundings. This TV, Multi Media, Video Game playing, immediate gratification generation has been highly supervised from school to day care to camp to organized sports that they require more hands on direction than previous generations at work.

They require regular informal feed back. They have been conditioned to receive praise for everything that they do. We just need to remember this as we manage them. Immediate feed back is the best.

Motivators are affiliation, purpose, recognition, responsibility, being mentored by leaders, training, contributions to making a difference at an organization as well as skills they can take to the next job. Let's not forget about money! Their expectations for their monetary worth may be a bit lofty, especially given the current economic conditions. Create a compensation plan that pays for performance.

Since the Y Gen is young (or this is an obvious sign of how old I am getting), they may look at work as something to do between weekends or a means to a lifestyle, it is best to use interview techniques that uncover intrinsic motivation and work ethic.

Set expectations as we may assume they understand corporate environments, including: being on time, the use of the company email address book (you know what I mean!), attire, language, cell phone/black berry etiquette, time management, authority and calling in sick.

We need to nurture this generation as we watch them flourish into our community's future pillars of enterprise!

Gain the competitive edge and embrace Generation Y!


Susan Corcoran

Be a leader, not a cheerleader

Just the other day a friend of mine and I were discussing the Five Temptations of a CEO and how relevant it is to so many work situations. We have watched many senior level executives stumble, maybe not fail but certainly lose credibility in the eyes of their subordinates based on these temptations.


Be a leader, not a cheerleader
Harvey Schachter, 03/11/08 at 8:06 AM EST

In his work with companies, consultant and best-selling author Patrick Lencioni says he sees five behavioural patterns that undermine leaders and cause them to fail. Those tendencies - first described in his fable The Five Temptations of A CEO 10 years ago - involve succumbing to temptation that can be poisonous to their careers

Choosing status over results

Leaders must produce results, and yet many leaders put the desire to protect the status of their careers ahead of results on their list of priorities. They have climbed the ladder, don't want to fall back, and focus on preserving their status. Ego or reputation becomes all-important, and they reward people who massage their ego, instead of those who contribute to the results. To avoid this temptation, make results the most important measure of personal success.

Choosing popularity over accountability

Leaders often fail to hold their direct reports accountable for delivering on commitments that drive results because they desire to be popular. They become friends with their reports, develop camaraderie, and balk when they must tell their people that they are not meeting expectations. Indeed, he argues CEOs conduct performance reviews for their direct reports far less diligently than managers at other levels. Instead, work for the long-term respect of your direct reports, not their affection. Don't view them as a support group, but as key employees who must deliver on commitments

Choosing certainty over clarity

Leaders often don't hold direct reports accountable because they don't make it clear what those people are accountable for doing. The leaders are seeking certainty - fearful of not making a "correct" decision - and so often postpone decisions or fail to make their people's deliverables clear. They provide vague and hesitant direction, hoping subordinates will figure out the right answers. Instead, make clarity more important than accuracy. Your people will learn more if you take decisive action than if you wait for more information. If you happen to make the wrong decision, change plans and explain why. "It is your job to risk being wrong. The cost to you of being wrong is loss of pride. The cost to the company of not risking being wrong is paralysis," he writes in Executive Excellence.

Choosing harmony over productive conflict

Leaders don't feel comfortable with the decisions they make unless their direct reports are all in harmony. That comes from a belief it is better for people to agree and get along than disagree and conflict. However, harmony may restrict productive conflict - the passionate interchange of opinions on an issue, which gets all knowledge and perspectives on the table and leads to better decisions. His advice: Encourage everyone to air their differences with passion. View tumultuous meetings as signs of progress.

Choosing invulnerability over trust

Leaders are uncomfortable displaying vulnerability with their peers. They believe that they lose credibility if their people feel too comfortable challenging their ideas. Instead, invite others to challenge your ideas. "Trust them with your reputation and your ego. They will return this trust with respect and honesty," he says.

Interviewing for a Sales Job

Interviewing for a Sales Job:

Over the years I have had the pleasure of interviewing many people for many different sales roles. Part of being a good sales person is your ability to identify with the customer and understand their requirements. Interviewing for a job is exactly the same as executing a discovery on a prospect.

Treat your interviewer just as you would if you were prospecting a customer!

You are selling the product and the product is you!


Here are some suggestions:

Qualify the interviewer:

- What are their buying criteria?
- Are certainly aspects of a candidate weighted with more or less consideration?
- What is important to the organization? Cultural Fit? Alignment with Company values and vision
- What is important to them?
- What are their Key Business Requirements?
- What attributes make a great sales person at their organization?

Presenting your information:

- Follow their lead of questioning but focus on high level successes
- be straight to the point
- Sales is all about achievement. Promote your % to quota and revenue. Frame anything less than 100% with delicate explanations that moves the focus away from your ability and back on the economy

Here is what every Sales Manager is looking for:

- Sales Ability. Do you understand the basic principals of the sales process and close deals
- Hard Work. Work Ethic is absolutely paramount. Work smart is for reps making over $200k a year. For them and everyone else, there is no substitute for hard work. Give examples of your dedication to your profession
- Self Improvement. Read and be self taught so that when an interviewer asks you the last book you read you can articulate the concepts of a business book back to them. Sales Managers don't become Sales Managers without reading business books. Reading also demonstrates how seriously you take your job
- Business Acumen. Do you understand how businesses work? What is important to specific industries? What each department does in a company? What are the key job functions of a CEO, CFO, CIO? Can you be confident and talk the language of a "C" level?
- Cultural Fit. Having someone who does not fit into the organization will not be successful. Do you share the same personal and business values? Will you be a good ambassador of the company? Will you get along with your piers and superiors?


Differentiating yourself in the interview process can be difficult. Hopefully these tips will help!

Best of Luck!

Susan Corcoran

Are there any good sales people anymore?

My GOD! What a frustrating experience my first 10 days of setting up a company has been! I feel like I have to beg people to give them my business! Are there any good sales people anymore?

Here are some of my expereinces:

Calling into a VOIP company to find out about phone service and the sales rep did not ask me my name (even when I asked him his), asked me nothing about my business and then proceeded to launch into an interrogation type discovery process. I told him I was late for another meeting and to send me some information which he completely ignored and when I said "I really have to go", he told me to call him back later. One hot prospect lost, with no means to ever track me down again.

Calling into another VOIP company. Rep is pleasant and clueless. He never asks me anything about my business but sends me a quote anyway. He quotes me 3 licences, installation and equipment. After sending out a search party for him to bet back to me, we review the quote. I tell him that I am looking at their web site and some of the items he quoted me say that they are included in the price, at which point he challenges me. "Could you just look into for me" was my closing remarks. He sends me back a quote for 75% less than the original quote. I suppose he read his own web site and decided to learn what exactly it was that he was selling. I don't think he was trying to deceive me, I really think he did not know the products.

I have to make one more comment about this guy. He leaves me a meandering pointless message and after he says good bye, but before he hangs up, he lets out a HUGE BELCH! As soon as I can figure out how to get the message off my cell phone, I will add it to this post. It is shocking.

Last Story: We have been working for months with a potential vendor who is uncooperative, condescending and a control freak. After months of going no where, I decide that we should part ways and a new account manager should be assigned to our company. This sparks a complete personality turn around. Not only is she pleasant, but she follows up and is diligent on seeing issues through. Unfortunately for her, the damage has already been done and we have lost all faith in her. She treated us so poorly during the sales phase, that we fear that once the contract is signed, we will see the old rep who treated us like commoners. The trust is gone.


As I sit on the other side of the sales table, as a buyer, it is a disappointing realization that most sales people do not know how to sell. Sales is such a simple, repeatable process and yet so many sales people skip important steps:

1) Call people back! Holy Crap! How hard is that to do?
2) Don't be a jerk! No one buys from people they don't like or trust!
3) Know your product! Read the PDF's your marketing department sends you!
4) Don't be a hard a$$! Negotiations are supposed to be a win win experience. We all get that both sides have to make concessions. Negotiating is a journey that should build upon your relationship, not ruin it.
5) Don't assume. Ask people about their business. They want to tell you! They want to help you! Ask the questions that are important to placing your product or services with their business and do a proper discovery so you can present an accurate solution.

Out of all of the horrors of this week was one shining star - Kim Mackie at NetSuite. As a former employee of NetSuite and now a NetSuite customer, Kim had a polished and thorough Sales Process, a religious follow up, she is pleasant and between her and SE Robert Braderic, I felt that they were looking out for me. Granted, I know them but I have also seen them treat many other NetSuite customers the same way they treated me and really, they are just good people.

As I build my own sales team, I will use these recent experiences to remind them of the basics.

In sales, it's not about you, it's about them - the customer.

Have a lovely weekend!

Susan Corcoran

From Employee to Entrepreneur

I have embarked on a fantastic journey. The jump from employee to entrepreneur. As I say good bye to all of the fabulous people at NetSuite, I strike out with my business partner, Tony Sena, to build Recite Conferencing.

I look forward to sharing the lessons I learn in hopes that they benefit others.

Thank you for your support!

Susan Corcoran