Interview with Sales Guru Bob Nicols

Written by dabney on Friday, February 17th, 2012 with 0 comments

Meet Bob Nicols, the CEO of AXIOM and a sales expert with over 34 years of experience. As a recognized top performer in sales, Nicols works to teach others the key to success in the world of sales, and he helps show business owners what decisions are holding them back.

In his role as public speaker and sales expert, Bob has traveled the world — from the US and Brazil to Japan and South Korea — sharing his wisdom with business owners. He is a passionate and highly energetic speaker who highlights the universal truths that govern all sales relationships and transactions. Bob argues that these universal principles are just as applicable for a small private company as they are for an enormous, transnational corporation.

How has your unique view of sales shaped AXIOM?

Our unique view is that selling is a logical, repeatable process. There are universal truths about how people buy and how they want to be engaged. The processes by which sellers should be coached and management should lead a sales organization are very clearly defined and often very different than the prevailing chatter about sales techniques.  Selling and managing the sales organization isn’t black art, it can be learned and can deliver consistent, predictable results.

The reality is, most sales managers don’t care, except for moral or ethical concerns, how their people sell as long as they produce. As a result, many companies just try to find the best salespeople they can. The vast majority allows their salespeople to use whatever sales techniques or process the salesperson feels is right at the time. The idea is “They are salespeople. They should know how to sell. They should do whatever has worked for them in the past.” And that prevailing opinion couldn’t be more wrong.

In simple terms, businesses leaders are responsible for managing three things: people, process/structure and technology. When we ask managers to tell us which they believe is the highest management priority, the vast majority chooses people. No structure is relevant, no process necessary, without good people to implement. The truth is, it is this very opinion that lies at the root of a major challenge with companies trying to transform their sales organization. Many managers come to the conclusion they have a sales “people” problem. They believe they hired the wrong people for the job: too many technologist, not enough “business” people; too many farmers, not enough hunters. So they churn the bottom quartile of their sales team (in many cases, significantly more) in an effort to find the right fit and mix, only to end up with the same disappointing sales performance they began with. Truth is, it’s not just a people problem.

If we don’t first focus on selling and sales management as scientific processes, we take good, capable, well-meaning people, leave them to figure things out on their own, and set them up to be victims of failure. Then we place the blame on them for our miserable sales performance. And to add insult to this injury, we fire them. Quite frankly, if we hired the wrong people for the job, that too, is a process problem. The truth is, the primary obligation of any business is to develop the concise, clear processes and structure by which their people can transform and succeed. Then we can take ordinary people, place them in that structure, teach them the processes by which we know they can succeed, and manage them to extraordinary results.

If you could give one piece of advice to every salesman on earth, what would it be?

Don’t chase sales, contracts, deals, or commission checks. All of those things happen only when you have found a way to have greater impact on what your customer is trying to accomplish with their business. So forget your products and services. Understand your prospect’s business first; their vision, goals, plans, processes, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Find ways in which you become the best partner possible.  The amount of sales, deals and commission you make are a by-product of the impact you have on your customer’s businesses.

You’ve been working in sales for several decades. How has the world of sales changed since you got started?

The singular biggest change is more informed buyers. The Internet allows people to conduct a significant amount of research before ever seeing a salesperson. They know more about you, your competitors, your products and services than ever before.

While this can be of some benefit to the buyer in narrowing the scope of their search, it also carries with it the possibility that final products and services they evaluate begin to look very similar. The lines that should or could differentiate offerings begin to blur.  Products start looking like commodities. Price becomes the determining factor.  People have become used to “clicking” to buy so many things, there can be a tendency to believe everything they buy should be that quick and easy, so it becomes an uphill battle for salespeople trying to differentiate and provide greater value.  Given that sales people are now being engaged much later in the buyer’s evaluation, it requires the sales professional to be more skilled at asking meaningful questions, especially about the prospect’s business.  It also requires sales people be better equipped to help their prospects develop meaningful, differentiating criteria that extend beyond the buyer’s basic needs.  After all, by the time a sales person is engaged, most of today’s buyers have already narrowed their choices to alternatives they are confident will meet their needs.

What inspired your new book, The Journey to Sales Transformation? 

Our company’s customers inspired me to write this book and helped to validate all of the principles referenced in it.

For the last several years, the focus for business management has been finding ways to cut costs and drive operating efficiencies. There has been no shortage of highly skilled individuals with a significant level of expertise and experience cutting every possible penny of expense from business operations.

As we worked through this recession, this emphasis did drive productivity and efficiency improvements and lowered operating expenses for many companies.  Now what?  For senior leaders there is really little left to cut. As a result, growing top-line revenue is becoming the primary focus. Companies are turning to their sales organizations in an effort to find ways in which to differentiate their offerings and drive profitable sales growth. As a result, “Sales Transformation” has become the catch phrase for many C-level executives.

Unfortunately, if you ask 10 different executives what “Sales Transformation” means, you may get 10 different answers. As a result, few, if any, have successfully transformed. Sales are still flat, margins continue to erode, and sales-force turnover remains high.

Traditionally, increasing sales meant finding ways in which companies differentiate products and services. Being faster, better, more feature rich, and cost effective are differences that drive product strategies, R&D efforts, marketing and advertising campaigns, sales approaches and collateral materials.  In fact, billions are spent to try to gain a product or service advantage that will resonate with prospective customers.

But, oh, how things have changed.

“It doesn’t matter what products you buy. Most products are now good enough to serve the majority of users most of the time,” says Simon Hayward, VP and Gartner Fellow.

Most products, especially those from the technology sector, do more than the average customer could ever use. Product manuals are inches thick. Just the number of features and functions, in some cases, make them too overwhelming to consider.

I notice you mention that phrase a lot – what exactly is sales transformation?

Increasing sales isn’t just about the company’s ability to produce differentiated products and services, but also how they engage and interact with their customers to become the best partner possible.

That’s right. It’s not about introducing the “next big thing.” (We can’t all be Apple.) In order to gain market share and protect/grow existing customer relationships, organizations must affect a shift in perception among their prospects and customers.  They must move from being perceived as an “Approved Vendor” to being viewed as a “Trusted Advisor/Partner.”

CSO Insights, a highly respected research firm that surveys thousands of Chief Sales Officers representing a broad spectrum of businesses, defines Approved Vendor as “a company seen by the majority of customers as a legitimate provider of the products or services offered, but are not recognized for having any significant sustainable, competitive edge over alternative offerings.” A Trusted Partner is defined by CSO as “a company seen as a long-term partner whose contributions (products, insights, processes, etc.), are viewed as key to client’s long-term success.”

Data from CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Report shows that while sales performance improved in many areas last year, less than one-third of the organizations surveyed had reached “Trusted Partner” status. For companies achieving it, the rewards were plentiful. Nearly two-thirds of their reps met or exceeded quota, 90% met company plan while experiencing the lowest sales-force turnover rate.

So what’s the key to Transformation?

The sellers and the organization they represent have to be an asset.

That means the entire sales organization, from field to senior management, has to find ways to become indispensable to customers. They have to bring more value in their interactions with them, finding ways in which they interpret the power of their products and services into measurable, strategic value to what they are trying to accomplish with their business.

How much is sales ability innate, and how much can be taught?

I have debated this on numerous occasions. Once again, many people believe selling is innate skill. While I agree there are certain innate characteristics we should look for when hiring sales people (depth of intellect, the ability to grasp concepts quickly, confidence, integrity, as examples), the idea there are ‘born salespeople’ has been an obstacle to sales transformation for many organizations.

The truth is, everything thing about the process of selling can be taught. Selling is a logical, repeatable business process that when managed and executed properly, can produce consistent sales growth.

How would you describe your style as a public speaker? What about your style as a salesman?

As a speaker, I am HIGHLY energetic and passionate. Our business is about changing lives and, to me, there are few things as important. My objective when I speak is to bring everyone to the conclusion there ARE universal truths, things on which every single person in the room can agree. I can’t stand podiums, so people should expect I will always be moving through the room with a lapel mike.

As far as selling style, I believe that most people don’t’ want to be ‘sold’. They want to know HOW to buy.  Most simply want to make the best decision possible. So that’s my approach. I am not trying to sell them anything. I meet with customers to help them make the best buying decision possible, even if they don’t buy from me.

I also focus on understanding their business first. Ultimately, I know I must find ways in which I partner with my customers to bring them the greatest impact possible. I don’t want to be just another qualified vendor; I want to be a strategic asset for their company.

How is the world of sales similar to the world of public speaking?

While there are 16 different definitions of the word ‘selling’ in the unabridged dictionary, my favorite is ‘getting someone to take ownership of your position or idea as if it were their own.’ As speakers, that’s exactly what we are trying to do. We are responsible for delivering relevant messages that people believe and take ownership of.

You’ve mentored hundreds of salesmen, but what about your own skills? Did any mentors or role models help teach you the secrets to success?

I had multiple mentors growing up in sales. My first two sales managers, Doug Anderson and Gus Delaney, were incredible teachers and coaches. I couldn’t have been more ‘green’, but for whatever reason, these two gentlemen believed in me.

My most important mentors, though, were my customers. THEY taught me how to interact with them. I believe my customers are why AXIOM’s selling process is so unique. It isn’t just a process for selling. It is a process by which people make the best buying decisions possible. We have actually taught our ‘sales’ process to buyers, and they all agree it is the way they want to engage with salespeople.

How do you prepare for a public speaking engagement?

This is elementary, but I conduct a significant amount of research on my audience. Just like buyers, an audience wants to hear things they believe will have impact on things they are trying to accomplish.  They are looking for solutions to problems, answers to difficult questions, expert commentary, a connection to the speaker and the content. If you don’t know what the audience’s objectives are, the chances of a positive outcome are slim.

What’s your most rewarding moment as a public speaker?

EVERY moment has been rewarding. You eventually learn that the amount of return you receive, both spiritual and financial, is totally dependent on the amount of impact you have on your audience. The reward happens every single time I see eyes light up, heads nod, smiles from a revelation or a handshake of appreciation for what I have delivered.  It is the calls and emails of appreciation for a life changed or a career put back on track that makes every speech the most rewarding experience.