Anthony Solimini is the Director of Sales for Asia Pacific for ShipServ, the leading maritime e-marketplace that helps buyers and suppliers connect cost effectively and trade efficiently.
Anthony has been in the Financial Services industry for most of his career, working with multinational corporations in setting up their cash management and trade finance activities globally, connecting buyers in the USA and Europe with their suppliers in Asia. Anthony started a training and development firm in Hong Kong, and through a franchise opened the first Asian office of the Sandler Sales Institute, a USA based training organization with over 300 offices worldwide. Anthony has worked with 1,000s of sales personnel and sales managers in increasing the effectiveness of their performance and during his almost 5 years as a trainer, Anthony has worked on sales, sales management, leadership, networking skills, communication skills, motivational techniques and one on one executive coaching.
Doing Hong Kong had the opportunity to put questions forward to Anthony and here is what he had to say ...
DHK: What inspired you to write Trust, Comfort and Confidence?
Anthony: I have worked in sales for over 15 years, and have a passion for doing the best I can to represent myself and my company. To do this, I believe, means continually learning and growing, studying the best and the brightest and see what it is that makes them successful.
I have read 100s of books on sales and business development, and over the years have filtered down what I think the key to success really is.
To me, it is about "personal power". What impact do I have, or make, when doing business with my prospects and clients. Do they WANT to do business with me? Do I make them feel comfortable? Do I make them feel confident that I can deliver what I promise.
These days, there is very little differentiation between the top three companies in many industries. For example, when I left Standard Chartered to work for HSBC, at a fundamental level there is no real difference.
So, when it comes to doing business, they are buying me. And people want to do business with people they like and trust!
So, to show my commitment and try to help others, I decided to write a book that was quick and easy to read, yet had a message!
DHK: What are the common mistakes, the top 3 mistakes, that companies and sales personnel make?
Anthony: I think companies spend far too much time on PRODUCT training, and trying to differentiate themselves rather than understanding that sales people are the face of the company and need to have superior communication skills. In most companies, 20% of the sales force makes 80% of the revenues. That is unacceptable! Sales people need soft skills as well as technical training.
Also, most sales people talk too much! They think that GIVING information is a way to show how good you are. It is actually the exact opposite. Successful sales people GATHER information and use that to offer the best and most custom made fit solution. We need to be like doctors and only offer a solution when we really understand the problems or issues.
Finally, we have Power Point! This has caused many sales people to stop listening and keep talking. Even when PowerPoint is used, we still need to build that trust, comfort and confidence. I normally try and limit PowerPoint until I feel I have all the information I need to make a recommendation. Even then, the presentation can be incredible, but it needs to be delivered in a confident manner.
DHK: What advice would you offer SMEs challenged by the current economic conditions?
Anthony: Get out of the office!!! Too many people sit at their desks and do emails. Go to chamber events, networking events, industry conferences, etc. There will always be ups and downs, but to me face time is critical. When someone needs something that you are selling, they should think of you not your competitor.
Also, keep prospecting. Every day, call at least 5 new companies that you are not doing business with. Even if they all say No, you can still learn!
DHK: You are offering companies one-day workshops based on the topic of your book, can you expand a little on the workshops?
Anthony: Well, in all my years of training, I did not have that many training courses that actually gave me tools that I could use the next day, to help me with increasing sales.
So what I did was take my thoughts on some of the courses and do a workshop that is primarily made up of two key areas: DISC profiling and Questioning Skills.
Most people sell in the style they would like to be sold in. What we need to do is sell the way your PROSPECT wants to be sold to! To do this, you need to understand how people deal with business issues. DISC stands for Dominant, Influencer, Stable and Compliant. It is a personality assessment tool. You need to know what type of person you are dealing with, then ask the right questions to get them to open up to you.
For example, if I am a Dominant personality, and like the big picture rather than details, I need to present in that manner.
Finally, questioning skills are required for us to get accurate and up to date information from your clients.
So, in essence we help sales people communicate more effectively with all types of clients.
DHK: Finally, how would the workshops be relevant for SMEs?
Anthony: SMEs do not have the big budgets of say Citibank or IBM. Yet, they need to be as efficient as possible due to limited resources. Each person needs to be productive. You cannot afford to have the 80/20 rule with a small team.
My workshop gives sales people PRACTICAL tools that can be used immediately for better success!
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Trust, Comfort and Confidence will be released in December and available at Dymocks.
For further information on the book or Anthony's workshop, please contact Anthony:
