http://www.hafabaitconsult.com/

Hafabait Sales and Management Consultant., NO 21 IRA Road NEW SITE PHASE II KWANKWASHE, Abuja (2026)

20/11/2019

It’s a common subject brought up on our training programmes, and it can affect even the most experienced of salespeople.

How do we overcome the feeling of nervousness before having a sales interaction?

First, let’s highlight why nerves may show themselves.

Feeling anxious, uneasy or worried is a natural reaction to stressful or uncomfortable situations.

The body is anticipating some form of danger and is preparing for it.

Your body releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

The physical symptoms can include increased heart rate, faster breathing, headaches and even feeling sick.

Think of it as the body preparing you for a challenging situation.

The problem arises when it happens regularly and you have no control over it.

It can affect your mood, your confidence, even your thinking ability.

According to ‘Science ABC’, when your neocortex (your thinking brain) attaches extreme importance to an activity, it triggers a part of the limbic brain called the hypothalamus and the signal is misperceived, as though there is some sort of danger, since your situation is not considered “normal” in your brain.

The hypothalamus thus triggers the fight or flight response, in which the sympathetic nervous system sends out impulses to glands and smooth muscles, and directs the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream, which increases heart rate and blood pressure.

What can you do to overcome these nervous responses?

Here are ten tips:

1) Listen to what messages your nerves are actually telling you

Rebecca Newton of Forbes Magazine suggests you listen to what the voice in your head is actually telling you, and then come up with counter statements.

For example, if the voice is saying ‘You’re going to fail here because you’re not technically competent’ then you can replace that with ‘I don’t have to be a technical expert; I need to be a strong generalist and focus on the business application of my products’

This will act as that confidence-booster in your mind, as you will concentrate on what you are good at instead of what you’re not.

2) Prepare as clearly as possible

This seems obvious, but many people prepare so as to be perfect, and then get nervous because they know they can’t be.

Henrick Edberg wrote that we should think through various scenarios and then prepare according to what we think may happen.

For example, if we are meeting a new client, we can ask ourselves what questions we may need to askand actually write them out so we don’t forget.

Preparation will help our brain practice in a safe environment what will possibly happen and identify how to make ourselves confident in dealing with it.

3) Practice whatever makes you nervous

If you are preparing for a sales presentation, then practice exactly what you are going to say in front of a mirror or with a colleague.

This will show your brain that you know what you want to say and how to say it, so it doesn’t see the event as being the first time this has occurred.

If your nerves are caused by a new situation that you haven’t experienced before, then imagine yourself in that situation and deliberately work on what you are going to say and do, as if you are really there, even doing it with your eyes closed if possible.

4) Visualise yourself in the situation being confident

The subconscious brain cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality.

That’s why you sometimes wake up sweaty when you’ve had a nasty dream; your body responds as if it’s really happening, even though it’s in your imagination.

By visualising yourself in the situation that is making you nervous, you can walk through the meeting or event in your mind and imagine yourself saying and doing all the right things.

This will immediately be coded in your subconscious as something to look forward to, rather than dreaded.

5) Try to relax, through concentrated and conscious breathing

It’s your nervous energy that is driving the nervous responses, so by relaxing and breathing deeply, you calm the excess energy and help yourself adapt to the new situation.

Going for a quiet walk may help.

Or sitting in a quiet room and practising a form of ‘mindfulness’ may be beneficial.

6) Notice what body language you display when you suffer from nervousness

It’s possible that your hands shake or your mouth goes dry or some other physical reaction occurs, caused by the increased adrenaline.

If you can observe what the symptoms are, it may be possible to respond accordingly to them.

Instead of shifting around nervously, try standing still.

Hold your hands loosely by your side.

Breathe consciously at a steady rate.

Concentrate on making your body respond to your positivity rather than reacting to what your worry is telling it.

7) Ask, what is the worst that can realistically happen?

Henrick Edberg again.

He states that you should highlight what is the worst outcome and work backwards from there.

It helps stop you making a mountain out of a molehill.

If you work out that the worst that can happen is you don’t get the sale, then ensure you can live with that.

There will be plenty more opportunities out there.

8) Do not try to be perfect

I was talking to a salesperson once who, no matter what suggestions I made to coach him for improvement, he always answered with ‘what if…’ and then came up with a fictitious event that might occur (once in a blue moon).

Remember that you’ll never get to the point where you get a perfect outcome.

You can’t control outside influences, like what then customer might object to, or the traffic on the way to the meeting.

Instead, work on what you can control, and work on being the best you can be, rather than attaining perfection in everything you attempt.

9) Put the emphasis on the other person

Most people feel nervous because they are worried about how other people will view them or perceive what they do or say.

The real truth is that other people are more concerned about themselves or their next meeting or their lunch appointment or their weekend or their child’s runny nose or their irritating boss, much more than they are concerned about you.

Instead of being anxious about the impression you are trying to make or what you are going to do with your laptop, put the emphasis on them.

What is it they are struggling with at the moment?

How can their business be more successful?

Why should they change now?

By placing the attention on them, you reduce the pressure on you and allow the conversation to flow easier.

10) Create new emotions in your body to replace the nervous ones

The body’s response is always to try to protect you.

Fear is induced to protect you from danger; anger is produced to allow you to respond to specific situations; and nervousness and anxiety are there to make you create changes in the way you deal with the flight or fight response.

Instead of creating a nervous disposition, ask yourself what you would like to feel instead.

Replace fear with courage.

Replace nervousness with excitement.

Replace anxiety with confidence.

By telling yourself that you will have a confident attitude to the situation you are facing, you convince that part of the brain that is responsible for emotions (your limbic system) that you have nothing to fear and everything to gain from what is about to occur.

Try some of these ideas the next time you are in a situation that drives you to be nervous and see if they have a positive and encouraging effect on you.

Thanks again

10/10/2019

I will make this short and sweet.

Add these four golden rules to your daily management style and you will be a more effective sales coach.

Depending on what you do, and your business structure, some of these may not apply exactly to your situation.

However, you will get the idea.

Lead By Example

The old commanding, “Do as I say, not as I do…” style of management does not work well with today’s modern sales people.

Anyone in an immediate, hands-on, supervisory position should have some hands-on, tangible and successful experience selling the product or service as those on the sales team.

You are far more credible when you have personally done and accomplished those things you tell the sales team they can do and accomplish.

Simply put; if you can’t walk the walk, you don’t talk the talk.

Care About Your Team

I mean this literally.

You should have personal care and concern for the welfare and success of everyone you supervise.

Yes, a lot of it is about money, but you have to care and believe in your people.

People perform at peak levels when they believe that the company truly cares about them.

Praise In Public

Have something good to say about a team member? Make is known!

You want to praise a lot in public.

Recognition is a critical ingredient to a successful sales mentality.

There are times you want to keep some praise private and of course, always keep any negative communication personal.

However, you want to shout the positive congratulations from the rooftops.

Never Let Them Go Home On A Negative

You have may have heard the martial advice that a couple should never go to sleep on an unresolved argument.

As a sales coach, you also should never end the day on an unresolved or negative issue.

A bad day or month, lost sales, mistakes made, whatever the case may be, make sure you give the sales person something positive to take away at the end.

In summary, lead, care, praise, positive!

To your success!

26/06/2019

Things your buyer wants you to know

Very often, we go out in the field with a great deal of knowledge about our products, our services, our competition, our prices and our industry.

That’s great, and this knowledge is imperative for our confidence as well for generating more leads.

But if we think about a different perspective, not only will we be confident in our products, but confident in getting more sales as well.

I’m referring to the ability to see things through the buyers’ eyes before we even visit.

How can we do this?

By understanding what it is the buyer would want you to know before you even approach them.

Here are nine tips to help you see their point of view; nine things that, if they could have some of your time before your call, they would tell you:

Don’t sell to me; understand my business needs

Please don’t try and sell me your products.

I know what I want.

What I need you to do is know and understand my business needs, so you can tell me why your products would be best for me and my business

Come to me with forward-looking, game-changing ideas

I don’t have time to research my industry, so I rely on you to approach me with ideas that will take my business onto the next level.

Tell me something I don’t know

I’m actually sick and tired of hearing the same old stories about how your products are better than others.

I don’t judge on superior quality or cheaper price.

I judge on learning something new that will impress me enough to taker a look at what your provide as solutions to me existing problems

Become a source of value creation for me

Don’t just help me to reduce my costs (although I will thank you if you do).

Also help me to increase revenue and build profits in some way

Promise me growth in some way

Help me to see what I can do to protect my current business and grow it in other areas.

If you can bring that new perspective to me, I can see that what you’re trying to sell to me will benefit me in many ways

Find out about my customers

Learn about my customers as well as my business.

If you know who I’m selling to, you can assist me in marketing to them and building my business

Focus on helping me succeed

You see, I’m not interested in your products; I’m only interested in what your products will accomplish for the success of my business.

Ensure you put more emphasis on my prosperity than your commission (they will go hand in hand!)

Prove to me you’re not selling a commodity

If I feel you only have a commodity to sell to me, I will put the emphasis on price.

If you show and prove to me the value and worth of what you have, I will focus on what you can do for me.

Then price won’t be the only issue.

Share success stories with me

Don’t just tell me what you do.

Prove your worth by sharing how others have succeeded with what your are selling.

That way, I can prove to my stakeholders that you are worth investing in.

Naturally, there are more things your buyer would say to you if she had the chance, but these will do to start with.

Take these on board and see if this change in perspective will help you develop more business.

To your success!

20/06/2019

Administrative duties

15/06/2019

Benchmark your sales skills

Would you like to uncover your strengths and weaknesses as a sales person?

Of course you would!

Over the last 6 months I have been developing a unique sales benchmarking assessment that you can now take with no charge.

Imagine receiving a personalised 19 page report on your strengths and areas for development?

Well, now you can with a new free tool that we’ve just launched – it’s called SalesDNA.

SalesDNA will benchmark your skills across 8 competencies.

You’ll need about 15 minutes to complete the diagnostic and you’ll just love the report.

Click here now for further information on this unique tool.

Please feel free to pass on the link to all of the sales people in your company or any other sales people that you know.

There are no restrictions!

Thanks again and take care,

15/05/2019

an email last week from Trevor Borrows who is a newly appointed National Sales Manager in charge of a team of Account Managers.

Here’s what Trevor asked:

“Hi Sean, being a new National Sales Manager I need to understand how to develop account strategies. I’m really wet behind the ears with this.

I appreciate that you run courses around this and I will be asking you to come in and help us to put strategies in place and then to train my team in account management bestpractices but for now, could you give me some guidance whilst I secure the funding? Thanks Trev Borrows”

My exact reply was:

Hi Trevor,

There are various labels that can be used to describe the way a sales team is set up to approach its market, covering the sales approach and parts of the structure.

The “Traditional” Approach:

– Get new accounts

– Get the order

– Push for the option to discount

– Give extra services etc to get the sale

– Treat all accounts the same way

– Sell to anyone

– Think that everyone in the organisation should fit around your promises to customers

– Feel that certain internal functions are a nuisance and only there to block sales.– “Lone ranger” mentality

Relationship Selling

– Manage existing accounts

– Develop wider contacts

– Focus on service and support

– Create a sense of partnership

– Can see everything from the customer’s point of view

– Inclined to want (or need!) to be liked

Consultative Selling

– Can add value, not just talk about it

– Knows customer and their industry very well

– Probes and questions to explore issues

– Keeps learning and developing

– Harnesses team to work together with the client

– Works on a business partnership basis

– Supported by personal relationships where appropriate

Which describes your approach?

A bit of everything maybe?

To go forward into the future with confidence and success your team has to be geared towards working with profitable accounts.

This involves the following:

* Account selection

* Account retention

* Account dominance (becoming the preferred supplier)

* Getting the price

* Managing the selling and service cost

Account Selection

Identify, and develop the relationships, with accounts you want to do business with – and who may want to do business with you.

Too many sales people chase accounts where there is not a good fit or who will never buy.

Part of this is having the skills to know which business to not do.

Account Retention

This is the key to real profitability – if managed properly.

The better the relationship then both parties know how to work together and so costs are reduced.

The costs of acquisition become absorbed and so the relative and actual profit increase.

Account Dominance

If you can get to the position of being the dominant supplier, then the account becomes even more profitable.

Most major organisations either choose to, or have to, multi-source and will often split business between 3 providers.

However, this is often done unequally and major supplier often has a number of advantages in terms of prices and profitability.

Getting The Price

The professional sales force need to be able to understand their pricing and also the costs involved in servicing the client.

The need to have a grasp of the cost of their own time, what itmeans when they offer “specials” and trials to clients and how all of these effect the bottom line.

Learning to negotiate is key!

Managing The Selling And Service Cost

This links closely with the previous point.

The professional seller is careful about this and ensures that they do not over-commit themselves or the company and hit the profitability of the account.

We can cover all of the above during our training but your new approach needs to:

– Identify and focus on the potential high profit accounts

– Retain existing accounts

– Aim to become the principle of preferred supplier

– Manage each account for the long-term business and profitability

– Price for profit

– Understand the cost implications – and manage the accounts for profit

To Help This – Follow These Points:

– Get aligned with the customer on their fundamental business issues

– Keep the aim on a long-term relationship

– Customise solutions to meet the customer’s particular needs, using technology when you can

– Constantly learn about the customer, their business and their needs as they change and be willing to adapt to those

By Sean

24/04/2019

The worst calling tips

Cold calling presents a ton of challenges to sales professionals at every level and in every industry.

Therefore, there are a plethora of tips, tricks and magical scripts to help sales people overcome objections, get though GK screens and close sales or set appointments.

However, out of this excess of advice, there are three so-called gems that are extremely misleading and can be counterproductive or even detrimental to your telephone selling success.

#1: Don’t Take It Personally

You heard this one before.

You have people that hang up on you over and over, and you should just brush it off.

Just continue to accept the hang-ups as part of the process, and don’t take it personally.

“They are not rejecting you, just your services or products…”

While this sounds like a sound and sensible sentiment; the fact is that it is impossible.

This type of thinking is what causes burn-out in the telemarketing industry, and is one of the primary causes of phone-phobia.

It is personal. Sometimes it is so personal, that the main culprit is the actual sound of your voice!

Instead of trying not to take it personally, understand that you need to make some changes in your telephone approach.

You may be suffering from the old Smile and Dial curse.

Either way, understand that if prospects continually hang up the phone on you, there is a problem and that problem begins with you…personally.

#2: You Often Have to Take Abuse

Many sales people believe that the only way to be successful on the telephone is to tolerate the abuse you may get from prospects in cold calls.

Many believe in the idea that you must “Endure the pain to make the gain…” philosophy.

As in worst tip #1, if you often get overly rude and obnoxious prospects that tend to downgrade or humiliate you on the telephone, then there is a problem in your telephone technique.

As you upgrade and improve to solve the problem, in the mean time, you do not have to take abuse.

See tip #3.

#3: Never Hang Up On a Prospect

While it is rare, there are times when you need to terminate the call.

Every once in a while you are bound to run into that truly horrible person.

No technique, skill or amount of kindness will stop this individual from lashing out at whoever it is on the other end of the telephone.

However, you do not have to sit there and spend your value time taking abuse.

It is true, that you cannot lower yourself to their level, return like rudeness or just slam the phone down.

But you can “terminate the call with tact.”

Firmly thank the prospect for his or her time, and then use a finger to disconnect the call.

Make sure the last words the prospect hears is you thanking them, and then use your hand so there is no sound of the telephone hanging up.

If the receiver touches the base of the telephone, it will sound harsh and rude.

Instead use your hand to depress the button so the prospect barley hears a “click.”

If necessary, do this in the middle of a sentence.

Prospect: “…And another thing! I told you people to never call me again, and blah, yell, yell…”

Sales Person: “I really appreciate your time Mr Prospect. Thank you!” Click.

Stay professional, but don’t become a doormat.

To your success!

10/04/2019

When we interview sales managers and ask how they motivate their sales teams, we often here similar stories of how they build up morale and get their teams thinking about growing and advancing in their sales prowess.

But we sometimes ask them what they would NEVER say and what would be the implications if they did.

It gets them thinking, and a quick poll has come up with some of the things that they would definitely shy away from.

See if you have ever caught yourself saying these phrases, or anything like them:

That’s Not My Problem:

Mmm…you might not think it is, but saying so abdicates any responsibility you may think you have, and kills off any respect your team may have for you.

It also makes the other person feel like a victim and that’s never good for morale.

We’ve Always Done It That Way:

Yeah, you may have done, but things may have changed in the last year or ten.

You’re basically saying that everything is OK the way it is and change is just something that happens to everyone else.

You’re Wrong:

That may be the case, but it doesn’t mean the person has to have their nose rubbed in it.

You destroy people’s ability to decide for themselves and their self-worth and self-esteem goes through the floor.

You Should Have:

Yeah, but they didn’t, did they?

Telling someone what they should have done in the past doesn’t mean anything, because there’s nothing they can do about it now.

You can ’should’ all over them, but it won’t make one iota of difference in the future.

I Know You Did Your Best, But:

This tells them that no matter what they try, nothing will be good enough.

They’ve tried their best and not been successful.

What does that tell them about their competence, and how does it impact their confidence?

I Haven’t Had Time:

You’re basically saying that what was important to someone else wasn’t important to you.

You’ve blown all credibility with the other person and made out that your tasks are more important than there’s.

Even if you haven’t had time, it doesn’t help if you use it as an excuse.

How many times do you think you might have inadvertently used these phrases or some similar ones?

Be aware of the impression they may have on others and try to think through the repercussions of them if you do use them.

To your success!

05/04/2019

I am a Working Mum and a Sales professional.

Raising 2 daughters has been a memorable ride.

Laughter, tears, fear,anticipation, joy, pain............

The strongest emotion I have felt is "defiance"

Why?

Practicing what you Preach:

"Be the best version of yourself", sincerely it is difficult being the best version of yourself in the World today, everybody seems to have a strategy of how to do everything in a particular way, it looks so competitive, we all want to win then who comes last?

I believe that Sales and Marketing should be viewed in the perspective of "Creation of Value" and not constantly fighting "World War 3" to alienate Competition. If each Individual gives the best products at the right price with the right service, sales/volumes/revenue is a natural add on.

You owe it to yourself to be you regardless where you Work.

Emotional Intelligence is a skill that will guide you in the quest of being yourself.

The journey of life is all about you, you are your own Master. I have learnt that I have to be aware of who I am and what I want at each point in time.

I love the definition of Success that says "it is achieving your set goals" then, success means different things to us all.

Nobody is a failure.

Stick to your own Goals!

19/12/2018

This is how you can increase your sales

Probably the most important skill to develop as a sales professional is the ability to communicate effectively with prospects and clients.
There’s little doubt that spending your time improving your communication skills is time very well spent, and you’ll never perfect it; it’s one of those skills that will always enable you to improve your relationships with everyone you come into contact with.
But it’s a massive area of development, and sometimes people struggle to determine what they should concentrate on in order to improve.
Should you develop your questioning skills?
Would improving your closing skills be more appropriate?
How about learning to recognise buyer styles?
While all these are fundamental to the communication process, there is one communication skill that stands head and shoulders above others, and you’ll know this already if you’ve ever had dealings with prospects and clients.
Of course, it’s the skill of listening.
Why would this be so important?
Because if you don’t listen effectively, there will always be a limit as to how helpful you will be for clients.
Being a great listener actually improves the overall relationship because the client feels their opinions and ideas are important, and makes them want to share more information with you.
Have you ever spoken with someone who constantly interrupts you and is only interested in what they want to say all the time?
Have you wanted to share mush information with them?
Probably not.
How can you improve this key communication skill?
Well, firstly remember that it is impossible to talk to yourself and listen at the same time.
The voice in your head will automatically drown out what the other person is saying.
So try to minimise the self-talk that is a natural part of human interaction.
Concentrate and focus on the meaning that the other person is trying to put across.
Don’t just listen to the words; listen to the intent and meaning behind them.
Identify the emotions the person is putting across.
Are they frustrated with their current position?
Do they feel anxious at new changes and challenges that they are facing?
By listening to the context as well as the content, you will get a clearer picture in your mind of what they are saying.
Listening can be carried out at various levels.
If you are a surface listener, you will only hear words and you will be tempted to jump in with solutions before you have got the whole picture.
If you’re a shallow listener, you may get some of the ideas the person is expressing but your understanding will only be at the level that the other person is willing to share.
Most, if not all, conversations contain elements of deletion and distortion that will require you to make judgements or fill in the details form your own point of view.
Listening at a deep level will ensure a complete and thorough understanding of the other person’s ideas and thoughts.
Deep listening requires you to put yourself in their shoes, adapt to their views and consider their opinions.
It allows you to be really clear on what they mean and feel.
It offers opportunities for you to ask questions that uncover information and meaning that may have been left hidden if you hadn’t asked.
Being listened to intently and deeply gives the other person the time to think of issues that are really important to them.
By ensuring you allow the prospect time to consider new concepts and perceptions, you get to a deeper level of understanding of the challenges they are facing, before you can prescribe answers to their specific and individual concerns.
So, listening is the one skill that, if developed and improved over time, will help you become a sales professional who not only learns a lot, but also is able to assist clients at a level they hadn’t experienced before.

To your success!

Hafabait Sales and Management Consultant.

20/11/2019

10/10/2019

26/06/2019

20/06/2019

15/06/2019

15/05/2019

24/04/2019

10/04/2019

05/04/2019

19/12/2018

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