Last week I talked about how Jim Cecil had introduced me to the concept of selecting salesmen using Values and DISC styles tools. This week I’d like to share one of the other brilliant ideas Jim gave me 20 years ago that changed my life.

The concept, which he called Drip Marketing, is based on sending out a series of letters to a target market. But not just any letter, it should be a letter with a 3-dimensional grabber attached.

Jim explains the strategy is based on nurturing the prospect.

First, making sure your letter provides valuable information. Make it something that they are happy to receive and is not just about you. This is step one in giving them something.

Then, attached a small party favor type gift relevant to the letter. By doing so you are setting yourself apart, demonstrating you are a giver and providing a valuable “anchor”.

The world is filled with takers, says Jim, demonstrate you are a giver and you stand out from your competitors.

I’ve built 2 successful businesses in the past 20 years based on the principle of giving using Jim’s nurture mail including attaching a 3-dimensional gift.

Technically, after you mail the second letter, start calling at around the time they will be opening their letter. If you miss them on letter #2 do the same thing for letter #3 and so on.

When they get on the phone, introduce yourself and tell them you’re the person that sent them a letter with the widget attached. They’ll remember you, guaranteed. Then start finding out how you can help them solve the problem that your company solves.

Works every time.

Is There Really a “Sales Mindset” (And If So, Can It Be Trained?)

I think it’s easier to hire an MD than it is to hire new salesmen.

Think about it. I don’t know the statistics, but I’ll bet the percentage of MD’s who fail, is nowhere near 60%.

In sales hiring, average failure rate is right around 60%. That means that 2 out of 3 of your sales hires are mediocre or worse. If you can afford to carry mediocre salespeople then, maybe it gets to 1 out of 2.

Hiring for MD’s is straightforward. You need an applicant with a degree and specific training in the specialty you’re hiring for.

In sales there’s no degree and the ones who really are kicking butt in sales already aren’t applying for a new job because they’re already making a great living.  So what do you do?

Look for Sales Mindset and Then Train Them on Your Product

So what is the Sales Mindset? First it’s based on the applicant’s value’s – what is the first they think of when they get out of bed in the morning.

Top sales performers don’t wake up, open their eyes and say to themselves, “How can I serve humanity today?” — that is not a part of the Sales Mindset. Top performers are what are called “Practical Personality Styles.” They wake up and ask themselves where the money is and where the power is.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBS0OWGUidc]

Top performers (the ones that possess this Sales Mindset) have in addition to their innate ability to sell, a positive world view, a sense of stick-to-it-iveness, and the internal discipline to follow through.

Fortunately, there are profiles you can use to determine whether your applicant has the Sales Mindset. To try one of the profiles yourself follow this link and fill out the form. Sales Manager and CEO’s only, please.

Better Sales – Managing Different Styles – The High-D

The D score is defined as Dominance. I like to call it Ego Drive and I think that conforms more with the seminal article “What Makes a Good Salesperson” published in Harvard Business Review

High-D’s are highly motivated salespeople. In fact, the reason that they are successful is because they are so highly motivated.

To a High-D there is literally a dialogue going off in their heads that says ”I can make it. I can do this work. I am the one who can make this happen. It’s all up to me.” (They might have different words, but that’s the essence.)

High-D’s love a challenge. They are never satisfied with the status quo and will be attracted to the new and different. This is a great asset for you, as a manager since you can be sure they have the ability to achieve more.

Whether you can get them to live up to their potential is another thing.

Hopefully after you read this, and other more detailed tools in the Member Area, you will know more about helping them to maximize their productivity.

High-D’s don’t shy away from confrontation. And if they are not getting enough challenge or they are feeling frustrated they are more likely to get involved in conflicts.

I joke that it seems like they can almost appear to encourage fights. “I’m bored, why don’t you two fight?” In some ways it’s not really a joke because they like being highly charged.

The way to motivate a High-D is to challenge them. For the Low-D confrontation is a turn off and leaves them hurt and retreating. For the High-D they don’t get offended when you call them out. Tell them that they darn well could do better than they’re doing.

Give the High-D a goal to shoot for – and then make sure the reward is congruent with their highest ValuesMatrix^TM value. (Just look at page 2 of the ValuesMatrix^TM and match the reward to the number one value in the report.)

High-D’s might seem a bit difficult, but once you understand what makes them tick they’re easy to manage. The trick is to challenge them to reach a goal that matches their values, then get out of their way…

A P.S. to this, is be sure you really have a High-D. Check their StylesMatrix^TM to be sure. If you don’t have a true High-D and you try and manage them like one you will wish you hadn’t…