If a salesperson’s customer relationship is based in the purchasing department you have trouble. It is difficult to build a strong relationship with purchasing in that they are incented to cut your margins, shop your competition and demand ever-improving terms. Clearly you have to have a good relationship with purchasing if your typical sale goes through that department. However, it is high risk to base your customer relationship on that department. Selling Power offers up an article that discusses the importance of knowing your end customer – the one who actually uses your product or service. Consider this statement: Once you know your core customer as a person and not… Read More
Continue Reading8 Things Not To Do On A Sales Call
I read this post on Bnet and got a chuckle out of a couple of the points and thought I would share this article by Geoffrey James with you. I especially laughed when I read don’t flirt with the admin…who does that?! Anyway, here are the 8 things not to do: Flirt with the admin. It may seem tempting, but unless you’ve got soap-opera-quality looks, chances are you’re only going to annoy (or even alarm) the admin, who will tell the boss. Fix: Stay polite, friendly and respectful. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can’t do if your… Read More
Continue ReadingUsing Email In The Sales Process
Using email effectively is an absolute must in today’s business world. It is surprising to me how much email has started to dominate the selling landscape over the past 5 years. That being said, understanding email etiquette is vital to moving a deal through the pipeline. Eyesonsales.com has an article that gives some good guidelines to follow in using email: View email as the new prospecting tool. After you leave a voicemail, follow-up with an email, giving prospects 2 easy ways to respond. Remember, your goal is to connect with the person. Even if they respond “no”, you’ve connected and can respond to try to generate an interest. Keep the sales… Read More
Continue Reading14 Cold Calling Suggestions
Eyesonsales.com has a short article that lays out 14 steps in making successful cold calls. With the lengthening of the sales cycle in regards to the economy, it is important to make sure that your salespeople stay on top of their pipelines. This article has 14 points that can be used as a refresher for your experienced salespeople or as a starting point for your new salespeople. Have a dedicated time each day to prospect. Know the reason for calling before you call: customer benefits, not product features. Leave short voice mail messages. Assume your voice mail messages will never be returned. Always call one level higher in an organization… Read More
Continue ReadingProper Pipelines
Here is a terrific article from Selling Power titled Pare Down Your Pipeline. Let me give you the opening paragraphs: One key differentiator between your top 20 percent of performers and everyone else on your team is the way the superstars find and qualify leads. Let’s be honest: most of your reps – especially these days when business is agonizingly slow – are working feverishly to fill their pipelines. Their goal is to cram in as many leads as possible, knowing that a certain percentage of them are bound to come out the bottom as closed deals. Top producers, on the other hand, “are more interested in disqualifying prospects than… Read More
Continue ReadingQuoting Is Not Qualifying
I run into this topic often and it is one worth defining. Many companies value quotes as strong sales activity. Now don’t get me wrong, quotes are a step in the sales process and typically one that occurs before a close. However, companies that have under-defined sales processes often choose to substitute quotes for qualifying. Here is what I mean – just because a suspect asks for a quote does not mean that they are a prospect. This applies to customers too. First, let’s define suspects and prospects. A suspect is a company that shows some interest in your product or service but you are not sure of the level… Read More
Continue ReadingProbing For Pain
Saleshq.com has an excellent article for any salesperson in any market – Do You Probe For Pain? We use the term “pain” in our discussions though it sounds a bit dramatic. Even so, it is the most descriptive word for qualifying. The article explains why: People are fundamentally motivated in two main ways: 1. What problem or pain they can avoid and move away from 2. What pleasure or benefit they can move towards That is absolutely true. The key here is that people move away from pain faster than they move towards pleasure. As described later in the article: If a prospect feels content with their current supplier or… Read More
Continue ReadingPrice Perception
I have seen the price issue play out among many salespeople and there seems to be one simple, philosophical difference between those who close high margins deals and those who are serial discounters. The key difference is understanding that pricing is based off what the buyer will pay for the product or service, not what the cost is to produce it. I’ve seen this difference first-hand as one salesperson prices his product at a fairly high margin. However, the product is highly engineered and relatively unique in the market. One last helper – the company has a strong reputation in the market which certainly helps…greatly. The other salesperson for the… Read More
Continue ReadingPrep vs. Admin Time
Oh does this Selling Power article hit close to home – In 2009, Increase Sales Prep Time. I have seen numerous companies place onerous admin tasks on their salespeople to the point where there is a real loss in revenue. Inefficiency is the main culprit, but department structure, sales tools and antiquated technology are typically the pieces of the inefficiency. Here’s the pull quote from the article: Prep Time: The number one complaint among tech buyers is that sales reps are coming in unprepared. They don’t know the account, don’t have an agenda, and do not have good product knowledge. To combat this problem and move more sales beyond that… Read More
Continue ReadingAsk The Tough Questions
In talking with sales managers over the past month or so there is one reoccurring statement that I am hearing – their sales cycle has been extended in this economy. It isn’t that they are not closing sales, it is just taking a bit longer. Buyers are certainly more deliberate, but as we discussed some of their opportunities, it was clear that their sales people are not asking the difficult questions that lead to a qualified deal. I came across this article from Kelley Robertson quite some time ago and passed it on to one of these sales managers – it is worth bringing it up again. The article provides a… Read More
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