Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide: November/December 2006

ISSA/INTERCLEAN^® USA Posts Strongest Start Ever

Proving to be the ONE SHOW for the cleaning industry, ISSA/INTERCLEAN USA — held October 4-7, 2006, at Chicago’s McCormick Place — attracted 16,637 participants and achieved its highest-ever first-day attendance with almost 10,000 unique visitors on the tradeshow’s opening day.

Attendance
Registration data indicates that distributors attending the show continue to represent more than 70 percent of the distributor purchases made within the United States. And data collected from building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) show that 89 percent of these attendees manage purchasing budgets of $25,000 or more, with 33 percent posting budgets of $500,000 or higher.

Facility service providers, including both BSCs and ISPs reached 2,824 participants this year.

Keynote and Educational Sessions
Keynote speaker, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, kept the attention of more than 4,200 people as he spoke about the key tenets of strong leadership, including that of leading New York City through the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The two-day educational conference also played to packed audiences, and the All-Industry Networking Lunch was sold out when BSCs and ISPs from around the world gathered to share ideas.

ISSA, in partnership with my sales consulting and Web site, www.GreatSalesSkills.com, want to help you improve your sales team’s competitive advantage. My six article series will provide a proven system to help building service contractors evaluate, design, implement, track and lead your team to increased success and profitability.

Why Is It Hard To Improve A Sales Force?
Look at the dilemma faced by most sales leaders. Managers want their team to improve sales performance, but believe experienced reps don’t require sales training, and there is little time (or skill training) to coach individual team members.

Assessing Sales Skills
There are five simple sales test to provide you with an overall assessment of your team’s current skills and awareness. Most experienced reps fail all five of the following sales test.

Sales Test #1: Write down the steps of a sales call. Most reps can’t completely write the steps because they have never been trained on this simple foundation skill.

Sales Test #2: Describe your “ID to Close” new business selling process. Many experienced reps can’t define the steps of their new business selling process.

Sales Test #3: Describe your full-year plan to maintain and grow your best accounts. Unfortunately, most reps can’t define their planned steps.

Sales Test #4: How would you answer a prospect asking “Why, based on all the competitive alternatives available to me, should I buy from you?” The majority of reps will have different answers from their peers.

Sales Test #5: How would your toughest competitor answer, “Why, based on all the competitive alternatives available to me, should I buy from you?” Most reps know their competitors’ products and pricing, but few actually know the messaging delivered by competitors.

How did your team score on these five tests? Before you can improve a team you have to first understand where their skills are today and then define the “selling best practices” you wish they were doing.

What About Your Sales Leadership?
After evaluating your sales team, analyze whether your company’s senior management is actually creating and supporting a positive sales culture that allows the team to be successful.

Long-term sales team improvement requires leadership to implement six simple, yet critical success commitments.

1. Commitment to Values. Are the values of all team members in alignment?
   
   
2. Commitment to Leadership. Will your team agree to follow your leadership?
   
   
3. Commitment To Communications Structures. Does everyone agree and support your required communications structures?
   
   
4. Commitment To Responsibilities and Expectations. Does everyone agree with his/her responsibilities and expectations?
   
   
5. Commitment To Rewards & Consequences. Does everyone understand the identified rewards (or consequences) of achieving assigned goals?
   
   
6. Commitment to Focus & Strategy. Are all members of your team “rowing in the same direction?”
   The majority of teams have different and conflicting answers. Only when all six commitments are in alignment can you increase the leadership and selling skills of your team.

Jim Pancero founded his advanced sales training and consulting company, Jim Pancero, Inc., in 1982. He can be reached at 800-526-0074; or e-mail.

For in-depth electronic versions of this article series register at www.GreatSalesSkills.com/ISSA by entering your e-mail address and “ISSA” as your password.