Are You ‘Selling Naked?’
For over 36 years, Mark Roberts has used a data driven scientific approach to help executives grow their businesses profitably. Given today’s limited travel and face-to-face meeting opportunities, he helps his clients optimize modern technology and sell virtually.
He has ‘been there and done that.’
As a former CEO and business leader at companies like, Timken, VMI, Gardner Denver, Mobility Works and Frito-Lay, he understands the challenges and problems facing today’s executives. He has served 7 billion dollar global organizations and start-ups.
Mark loves it when a CEO says,
“I wish my sales ran like my plant. I do this and that happens with predictable results.”
That is exactly what Mark brings to the table. A passion to improve sales growth, which is sustainable and profitable with a foundation in process, systems, training and coaching.
Warren Buffet once said,
“You can tell who was swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
When the economy is good, salespeople don’t have to be all that skilled quite frankly. They can get by being average. When a pandemic, like COVID-19, hits the country, it has a gigantic effect on standard business practices. If a sales team tries to conduct business using past methods, they are going to flounder and quickly be washed out to sea.
Over the years, Mark has found that many salespeople don’t have the drive to sell and really don’t want to be in sales at all. When selling is a challenge like today, they are not going to make it.
The new normal for sales is selling remotely, using Zoom, or another internet face to face service. The problem is that most salespeople have not been trained to optimize virtual selling techniques.
“If a company hasn’t trained its sales force and updated their website, or internet presence within the last 12 months, they are exposing their sales force, just like in Warren Buffett’s example. They are forced to Sell Naked.”
The business landscape is constantly evolving and never more so than the current challenge of trying to conduct business during a worldwide pandemic. There are tools to help your business evolve and grow even in these uncertain times, however.
The current health/financial crisis presents a unique opportunity to get ahead of the competition and become a leader in your industry. Mark’s clients have learned that it is always a good time to be selling by using the technology and information available to increase sales activity.
This uncertainty also provides the perfect reason to stress customer service. Current clients as well as, prospects are looking for help. Mark suggests we contact current clients on a regular basis and find out what we can do to help them improve and grow now. Don’t just call to make a sale, but keep the conversation going, be invested in their operation and become a trusted advisor.
It is imperative to continue to talk to new prospects, as well. Offer a solution to a problem and they will become a loyal customer in the future.
Virtual sales calls have become such an important part of any sales operation that Mark has a few tips on how to improve selling techniques using today’s technology.
Pre-Call Planning:
Do your homework before conducting a virtual business call and have a concrete reason why your client, or prospect will want to be on it.
-Use LinkedIn, Google and the internet to research the company’s core business. Read their reviews, study their quarterly financial reports and learn the key players in the business.
-When you call have an idea to offer, or an area of the business to discuss. Ask the question,
How can I help this business?
People want to conduct business with people that can help them with a solution or offer an idea to improve their operation and profitability. BE THAT GUY, Or Girl!
With the amount of information available about every business, it is a relatively easy task to learn about a particular business in order to comprise a list of questions and concerns. Prospective clients are searching for a trusted advisor, someone who has been around, understands their challenges and has a solution to their problems.
When are Zoom Sales Calls Better Than a Simple Phone Call?
Mark shared that if the call is for a simple follow up, or staying in touch, then a traditional phone call should suffice. If you want to include data on a slide, or pictures of a new product, then the Zoom call is the preferred method.
Plus, with Zoom you can gauge the client’s facial expressions to watch for keys of their involvement. If interest is waning, then you can easily change strategy and adapt to the client’s needs.
One of the services Mark offers is called “voice of the customer work,” where his team actually calls the client’s customers and ask them questions to identify customer satisfaction and more. But Mark shared that what a lot of people want to know right now is, how do you like virtual sales? Are you having a good experience? How do you like working on my website?
From his research, Mark has found that companies, who were early adapters and used virtual sales calls, have had very positive feedback from their clients and discovered they prefer using virtual sales calls.
“Over 60% of customers preferred virtual sales calls. They had been disillusioned with normal face-to-face sales calls for several years but didn’t realize there was an alternative.”
Millennials especially are more adept at using online selling and contact. They want answers fast and an informative website is the perfect answer for today’s business generation that need help and want answers NOW!
Teaching
Recently, Mark reached out to several Trade Associations to find out what types of trainings their members would like now that things have changed as a result of COVID-19. Based on the information that he received, Mark created three video short courses, about 40 minutes each. One outlines how to build virtual relationships strategically. One is about social sales in a digital world and the third addresses leveraging LinkedIn to find out who you should be talking to. Mark has graciously offered our readers access to this training. You can contact mark at mark@outbsolutions.com or visit his You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/outboxsolutions/videos
LinkedIn can be a very powerful tool for salespeople. It is not just a search engine for your next job. It is the perfect vehicle for building relationships with CEO’s and managers looking for information. Mark posts informative articles to LinkedIn that have led to making new connections and new clients.
Another offering Mark has created during this social distancing time is virtual trainings for companies. They are 40 minutes once a week, and teams call in. The training is based on how they scored on their assessments. One of the tools he uses is a sales skills assessment.
Mark told us, …”If you want to drive a salesperson nuts, make them take training they don’t need.”
So his process is to first figure out where the team is today. Most teams are really skilled, for example, at presentation skills and product knowledge. Some teams need help closing and negotiating. However, he’s noticed that sometimes a team might need help with selling value because they sell based on price. Right now, a lot of buyers have time, and they’re beating up salespeople, so Mark helps salespeople know when they’re in a game, and how to respond, so they don’t have to give up price.
Speaking & Writing
Over the years, Mark has been very active speaking at trade events and business associations, sharing his sales knowledge with attendees. Today he joins in several online podcasts and zoom meetings to continue his relationship building and to better understand current trends and problems facing businesses today. You can listen to a recent podcast here https://mfgoutloud.com/episode-17/
His blog offers helpful information and is ranked No. 1 in the world for the word, for “fix sales problems.” www.nosmokeandmirrors.com
Mark has written several articles for ‘Selling Power’ magazine. One of his articles was entitled, “If you only had one thing to do today, what would it be?” You can access the article here https://blog.sellingpower.com/gg/2017/03/do-this-one-thing-to-increase-sales-revenue-and-profits.html
The simple answer is always, “understand your customers, listen, and serve them!”
For Fun
Mark’s children are grown, so he and his wife fill their house with rescued Labrador Retrievers. They recently helped save 30 dogs from a farm in West Virginia. They brought a couple of them home and his wife could not let one of them go, so they now have three happy Labs roaming their home.
Let Mark HELP Your Business thrive even in challenging times!
CEO’s and business executives need to know how to build a successful sales team, keep them motivated and moving in the right direction. With Mark’s experience and knowledge, he can positively impact any business, from a new start up to a multi-million-dollar enterprise, especially during these uncertain times.
Mark’s market analysis identifies the criteria affecting buyer’s decisions. He develops a sales process that mirrors those buying habits and creates the sales tools to support each stage of the process to increase sale close rates and shorten the sales cycle.
If you have questions and want to increase your sales efforts, reach out to Mark at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markaroberts/, on OTB Solutions website: https://otbsalessolutions.com/ or view his informative videos on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/outboxsolutions/videos
We enjoyed our interview with Mark. There is so much additional information that we didn’t have space to include in this article, so download and listen to our podcast on iTunes and watch it on YouTube.
