Here is a somewhat ethereal concept I have been encountering in this present economy. It starts with this – return on investment (ROI). ROI has been the backbone of sales since time immortal. This is the basis of sales in that customers pay the money to receive the solution. As long as the customer views the return on their investment as greater than the investment, they will make the purchase (generally speaking). The top-performing salespeople possess this motivation pattern (called Utilitarian). They view prospects in terms of ROI – how much return ($) will I receive if I invest time to close them. This principle has changed in the present… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Social Motivation
I have recently come across the Social motivation when assessing some sales candidates for a couple different customers and now I just heard a sales rep on the radio revealing his motivation. Here is what the salesperson said on the radio: I just met with a company yesterday who was paying almost twice as much to our competitor for the same service. They were getting ripped off and it isn’t right. I don’t deny the nobility of his position, but the reality is that very few services are exactly the same (despite prospect’s claims). A strong salesperson will define their value to the prospect who will make a decision about… Read More
Continue ReadingSelling In The Information Age
I was reading an interesting article from ManageSmarter.com titled Sales Triggers for Advantage and came across this opening: Do you remember the old days when the sales professional’s role was easier to manage? I’m not saying the actual job of selling was easier—none of us signed up for a sales career because it was easy—but the amount of information we had to work with was far less than today. Before the Web, you had a directory of industry professionals to cold call and some leads to follow up on. You drew from your own contacts and those of your colleagues, and perhaps read a trade magazine or journal for industry… Read More
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