40 LESSONS IN 40 YEARS OF SELLING HRO AND LEADING HRO SALES TEAMS

40 years.

When I began my career in the PEO industry, I could hardly imagine that you and I would be having this conversation today. From the time I was a young boy, my dream was going into my father’s business – manufacturing and selling football helmets and shoulder pads.

My father played professional football for the Green Bay Packers. Following his forced retirement due to numerous injuries, he began a career in the sporting goods business. First as salesman, selling equipment and uniforms to junior high and high schools all across West Texas.

In the late 1960s, he started manufacturing shoulder pads and football helmets that were sold to high school, college and NFL teams. Meeting famous football players and coaches the likes of Roger Staubach and OJ Simpson, Bear Bryant and Tom Landry was a common occurrence in my youth. It was cool.

That dream was gone, when my father sold his company in the early 1980s. I remember coming back from my freshman year at Texas Tech to his announcement to our family that he had sold the company.

What was I going to do?

On April 15, 1985, at the age of 21 (I looked like I was 16), I walked into a North Dallas hotel meeting room with no real sales experience and no college degree, to attend a five-day training on selling a business service known then as “employee leasing.” I would not have hired me.

Along with 20 or so other attendees, we were taught a 45-minute sales script by a man who had never sold an account, nor had he ever presented a proposal. There was no training on employment laws, HR concepts, how workers’ compensation worked, employee benefits or payroll, and certainly no study of the provisions of the CSA. Simply learn and deliver the script by Friday…or fail the course and get fired.

It is unfathomable to see how far the industry has come, as well as my own personal journey. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to have learned so much from so many incredible people. This article could easily contain 400 lessons. It is my sincerest hope that you will find value in the following 40 lessons in selling and leading your team.

23 SALES LESSONS

Lesson 1: This business is about relationships. If you want to be truly successful, focus on being great at building authentic relationships, not trying to make a sale.

Lesson 2: The 4 Cs. Competency leads to Confidence, which leads to Creativity, which leads to Clients.

Lesson 3: Knowledge is NOT Power. Knowledge applied at the right time with the right people, in a way that makes it their idea is true power.

Lesson 4: Time Block Each Week and Commit to Prospecting. The duh for this article. Consistent, intentional prospecting and grinding through the rejection is fundamental. Don’t ask me how many calls you should make – it takes what it takes.

Lesson 5: Increase Contact Success. Send something, anything to prospects stating the date and time you will reach out to contact them will increase contact success.

Lesson 6: Commit to CRM. Committing to CRM increases the opportunity that you will reach prospects when they are ready. Secure renewal dates for workers’ compensation and health insurance for every opportunity and you will be able to contact them at two key times of the year.

Lesson 7: Qualify Your Prospects. Become a samurai at qualifying opportunities. Qualify for decision making authority, ethics, needs, wants, gaps, timeframe, ability to meet underwriting criteria, and willingness to part ways with existing relationships and invest in your solution.

Lesson 8: The ABCs of Selling PEO are NOT Always Be Closing. The ABCs of selling HRO are the Authentic Business Conversation. Build authentic rapport and trust to get prospects to share their needs, wants, issues, goals, and costs.

Lesson 9: Commit to a Solid Discovery Process. Commit to a solid discovery process that includes being prepared, doing research on clients, building authentic rapport, qualifying, asking effective questions to build the business and financial case and make it an easy decision.

Lesson 10: Own Your Opening Statement. The first 90 seconds of any meeting is crucial. Clearly stating the purpose and outcome of each meeting instills confidence and trust. But you have to own it and be authentic.

Lesson 11: Gain Agreement on Needs, Wants and Gaps. Asking effective questions leads to an understanding of the client’s needs. At the end of the discovery process, restate their issues, state how you can solve those needs and gain agreement that you are in alignment with the prospect’s goals.

Lesson 12: Get All the Objections Out of the Way. There are only three authentic objections: 1) Timing. 2) Cost. 3) They trust existing relationships more than you. Everything else is telling you no. You should discover timing and existing relationships early on in the discovery process. Cost may not be able to be determined until proposal.

Lesson 13: Ask for the Proposal. It is a simple phrase; “The next step would be to determine if a relationship makes financial sense, and to do that we would need to provide you with a proposal. Would you like to see if all of this makes sense for your organization?”

Lesson 14: Request the Documents You Need. When the client says they want a proposal, immediately hand them (or email if an online meeting) a list of documents needed for the proposal. If they will not produce the documents you need, they are telling you no.

Lesson 15: Build the Financial Business Case. Prospects have costs associated with technology, HR, workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits, payroll and time dealing with all of this “stuff”. You have to uncover those costs.

Lesson 16: Get Stakeholders Buy In. It is critical to gain buy in from every stakeholder and influencer.

Lesson 17: Set the Next Meeting. Always schedule the next meeting before leaving any meeting with a prospect or client. If they will not set the next meeting, they are telling you no.

Lesson 18: Hold Proposal Meetings at Your Office. Your office and getting prospects to come and meet your service team is the ultimate home turf!

Lesson 19: Delete Two Words from Your Vocabulary. Quote and close are two words that I hate. We don’t quote. We build authentic business cases for our clients. We don’t close. We gain client relationships.

Lesson 20: Ask for the Relationship. Three simple questions. “Does all of this make business sense?” When the prospect says “yes”, ask “Do you believe that it makes financial sense for your company?” When the prospect says “yes,” reply with “The next step is to execute the agreement and discuss implementation and time frames.”

Lesson 21: Set the Expectation that You Will Ask for Referrals. Once the client has executed the CSA, simply say “We will always strive to exceed your expectations, so that you will always have the confidence to refer companies that need our help.”

Lesson 22: Conduct Regular Client Care Meetings. Regular client care meetings ensure client satisfaction and provide the opportunity to gain referrals and letters of recommendation.

Lesson 23: Stay in Regular Contact with CFOs. CFOs turnover like any other position. You want two things, the CFO to take you to their next position and you want to protect your existing business when a new CFO comes into the company.

17 LESSONS IN LEADING SALES TEAMS

Lesson 24: Know What You Want in a Salesperson. Before you hire, you must know what you are looking for in a salesperson. Look for integrity, fearless prospectors, people who have a background in competitive sports or activities, ability to converse with C-Level decision-makers, excellent discovery skills, willingness to learn, and excellent communication skills.

Lesson 25: Establish Realistic Minimum Quarterly Expectations. Before you hire, set clear goals for revenue, sales, proposal appointments, proposals, RFPs, data gathering appointments, first appointments, and prospecting activities.

Lesson 26: Be Honest About What It Takes to Be Successful. This business is a daily grind of learning, prospecting and meeting with prospective clients to gain new relationships. Communicate the challenges upfront in the recruiting process, you’ll save a lot of time, money and headaches.

Lesson 27: Recruiting Never Stops. You must always be looking for your next team member.

Lesson 28: Develop Deep Internal Training Programs. Before you hire, develop training. There are a million details to understanding this business. Creating internal training is a must BEFORE you hire. If you would like 499 questions to develop your internal training program, email me at clay@claykelley.com and request the 499.

Lesson 29: Hire Slow – Fire Fast. Before you hire, develop a solid recruitment process that includes multiple interviews to be sure you have an excellent culture fit and evaluate the skills and characteristics of your candidates. When a salesperson does not meet the agreed upon expectations, make changes quickly.

Lesson 30: Require Candidates to Perform Projects. Require candidates to perform projects in the recruitment and selection process. Projects like written interview questions, providing a list of current contacts, a commission report, a one-page business plan, a sales competency profile, and making presentations.

Lesson 31: Opt for Non-Solicitation Agreements. Require all sales team members to sign a non-solicitation agreement preventing them from soliciting existing clients and employees.

Lesson 32: Develop a Solid Onboarding Training Plan. Before you hire, develop a solid onboarding plan that includes internal sales training, sales skills training, internal process training and prospecting. Every salesperson should follow a daily plan for the first 90 days…it takes time and planning.

Lesson 33: Train, Role Play, Repeat. Train, Role Play, Repeat.

Lesson 34: Put New Sales Team Members to the Test. New sales team members should be tested each Friday on the subject matter covered that week. They should also be tested at the end of 30, 60 and 90 days to ensure competency.

Lesson 35: Mentorship Programs Work. Existing successful sales team members are your best source in developing new talent. Get them involved, it builds camaraderie, and new salespeople will develop faster.

Lesson 36: Communicate Sales and Activity Results Weekly. Everyone should know every week where they stand in meeting or exceeding expectations.

Lesson 37: Conduct Quarterly Performance Appraisals. Sales performance appraisals should be conducted on the third Wednesday following the end of each quarter. It does not need to be a long process. Salespeople should complete a self-appraisal. The first question on the self-review should be “Did you meet or exceed or fail to meet expectation?.”

Lesson 38: Address Underperformance Quickly. When a salesperson fails to meet any expectation, especially early in their employment, deal with it. Implement performance improvement plans consistently or make the necessary changes.

Lesson 39: Fire with Grace. When a salesperson fails to meet expectations, give them an opportunity to resign or they must follow a performance improvement plan that must be strictly enforced.

Lesson 40: Get Involved and Give Back. Get involved and give back to your community. Your community needs invested persons to flourish. Start by getting involved and investing at a high level in your local chamber of commerce.

NAPEO needs you too. Getting involved in NAPEO enhances your company’s reputation, your personal development and builds strong industry relationships.

I sincerely hope you will put these 40 lessons into practice. Embrace these lessons and you’ll be well on your way to achieving sales success and leading high-performing sales teams.

Until we meet again, I wish you the very best of success!