I was a psych major in college which seemed to be the perfect preparation for a sales career. I believe it was. To this day I am still intrigued by the psychology of selling which could truly be described as persuasion. That background helps explain why I found this ManageSmarter.com article completely gripping – Mastering the Psychology of Persuasion. You will have to read the entire article to appreciate the depth of it, but let me pull out a couple of points. First one of the set-up questions: • Are left-handed people more prone to some mental illnesses, accidents, or seeking positions of power? And from later in the article:… Read More
Continue ReadingAn Awful Approach
I receive many email approaches each day which often leads to studying each one’s strategy. Here is the opening line from one I received today: WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? Lazy. Insulting. Those are the first two words that come to mind when I read that opening. I suspect the author’s belief is that everyone will agree to the opening question so it will be effective. It isn’t. The opening approach needs to warrant the reader’s attention, but don’t do it in an insulting manner. The question has a subtle intimation that the person doesn’t know how to do it…but you do. That is a bad position in which to… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Hobble
Great title from Justsell.com, don’t you think? From their monthly newsletter (sorry, no link): Top 3 activities that can hobble a sales day… 1. Talking with people who can’t move the sales process along 2. Unnecessary research activities What’s too much? There’s really no definitive answer. It’s particular to your sales world. Many people start to get a gut feel for when they should move on. The key is to act on it and make the call (rather than making sure every little thing is known before the call – fine line, of course). You might be surprised what you can learn by asking a straightforward question of the person… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat To Do In 2009
Selling Power provides another good article – Expert Advice for 2009 – that makes 4 relevant suggestions for this year. Clearly the economy is foremost on everyone’s mind and is affecting sales in a negative way. As they say, the show must go on. You can read the article for the 4 suggestions from 4 different sales trainers, but I especially noted these two: Shift to opportunity mode. Are you in survival mode or opportunity mode? A survival response to the economy is rooted in the “we just need to stay afloat” mentality. Leaders in this mode react by reducing head count, decreasing employee development, and controlling expenses, resulting in… Read More
Continue ReadingLevers
A lever is “an inducing or compelling force.” Selling in a down economy is best handled through the use of levers. I recently discovered a lever with a material that has certain properties and uses that are not offered by the market leader in this space. The market leader has such a dominant position that most prospects are unaware of the alternate option. In talking to customers and prospects, the lever became quite obvious. Of course, discovering a lever is one thing, defining it within the marketplace is another. The work that now must occur is to translate the lever into the prospect’s world. Brevity is key. Real-world application is… Read More
Continue ReadingPre-Call Prep
I have been in sales since 1992 and have seen the marketplace change in drastic ways. Today, we are in the midst of the information age where knowledge is king. Preparedness is a necessity for successful selling. In all honesty, this trait has never been one of my strengths. However, I have made changes to my approach (in order to survive!). The reason is found in this SellingPower.com article – Pre-Call Planning: It’s More than Just Research. The author shares a frightening sales story: G.A. Bartick remembers the day he called on a large wire house in San Francisco. He’d just completed a project for another brokerage firm that went… 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
Continue ReadingStereotypical Features And Benefits
I am not fan of features and benefits selling. I don’t even think that approach belongs in a retail sales environment. The better approach is to qualify the prospect for need – What are they looking for? What is it they need to have/do? What is their time frame? You get the idea. Unfortunately, many features/benefits salespeople exist in the marketplace and they seem to be everywhere. This approach leads to the negative stereotype salespeople – pushy, talkative, bad listener, etc. Managesmarter.com provides an excellent tip within an article titled Transcend the Negative Stereotypes of Sales: Tip No. 3: Understand how your customers market services and generate profit. Don’t assume… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Pain Of Change
We’re big fans of Jeff Thull here at The Hire Sense and we always try to keep up with his articles. This one from Inc.com – Three Keys to a Successful New Year – is well worth the read. Ok, we might be a bit late getting to this one since it’s theme is for the new year. I have always appreciated a doctor analogy for selling and I think Thull lays out a good example here: Like an experienced doctor who continually diagnoses for problems and recognizes symptoms, you see the issues your solutions address far more frequently than your customers do. You know the business drivers that your… Read More
Continue ReadingDeal-Killing CEOs
ManageSmarter.com offers an article I could have penned – The CEO as Salesperson. I can relate to this sales call: After initial introductions, the CEO took over the meeting and, ignoring the agenda, began a detailed demo and discussion of the product. He set about to demonstrate the superiority of the product and his own knowledge of the industry. He argued with the prospect, dismissed their questions and points of view, and then couldn’t understand why they didn’t buy immediately. It took the regional manager nine months to recover and get the sale. My experience with the CEO in a sales call most often followed a similar form with even… Read More
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