It’s playoff time for the NFL and I love to watch quarterbacks (and coaches) who can execute in the red zone, run an effective two-minute drill and get the job done. That may be why I get so nervous when I hear salespeople say – ” It’s in the client’s hands now, all we can do is wait.” We’re waiting on such an opportunity right now, and we’ve been waiting since before Christmas 2007. I’m nervous because there is no two-minute drill in progress to help the customer make the right decision and there appears to be a lack of urgency in our salesperson’s approach, now that the proposal is… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Toughest Topic To Qualify-Money
It’s not really when you know how to do it. Unfortunately, many salespeople have a distinct weakness when it comes to even broaching this topic with a prospect. This weakness leads to compounded expenses in that the salesperson will typically invest time and resources on a prospect who will disappear at the first discussion of price. Many salespeople are aware of this fact so they deem it best to avoid the money topic all together with the hope they can persuade the prospect with an extended dog-and-pony show. The entire sordid affair feeds upon itself. The costs here can be enormous. I’m of the belief that a salesperson’s greatest asset… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat All Top Salespeople Possess
The ability to ask the right question. From Colleen Francis’ blog: Over 20 years ago, Neil Rackham concluded a 12- year study analyzing some 35,000 sales calls conducted by 22 companies in 23 countries. The objective of the study was to determine the precise behaviors of successful sales people. What did he find? That mediocre sales people make statements. The best ask questions. That is absolutely true and we see it in spades on a daily basis. Have you ever noticed how people assume someone who is talkative is often told they should go into sales? I think this conventional wisdom is the reason why there are so many overbearing… Read More
Continue ReadingBusting A Sales Slump
In all honesty, I am a streaky salesperson (at best). I have always been prone to peaks and valleys in my sales which speaks more to my abilities. Nonetheless, this ManageSmarter.com article addresses this problem with tips for breaking out of a slump. First, a great point: Besides, prospects can smell desperation in sales people. If you panic, your prospects will sense that you’re desperate, and they’ll avoid you. Oh that is so true. Prospects have an innate ability to detect a salesperson working a deal out of desperation. And, of course, that desperation typically plays out as a sizeable discount in the sale price. Then there is this: Third,… Read More
Continue ReadingReaction Is Worth More Than Visits
From the Website Notes enewsletter from Web Pro News: Matt Bailey, President of SiteLogic said, “Simply getting more and more numbers to your Web site, is not the answer. It’s getting them to react.” There are three types of searcher: 1. Specific searcher (Sharp shooter) 2. Concept searcher (Shotgun) 3. Idea searcher (Artillery) He said writing content is just as important as the design of the content. Content should answer how it will make life easier. Call things what they are and speak in user’s language. That is a good point about simplicity …a point I think is often lost in websites. I know we get caught up in our… Read More
Continue ReadingKnow Your Value
I was meeting with a VP of Sales yesterday discussing the onramping program for the new salesperson we found for them. He brought up a good point in that his new salesperson was spending time researching their competition. Unfortunately, they are in a commoditized market with many – many – competitors. The VP told the salesperson that there are too many competitors to research since they do not have a specific, common competitor. This led to a discussion that I heard regarding federal authorities and counterfeit money (a common topic this morning). There are far too many counterfeiters with different techniques to know all of the scams. So instead, the… Read More
Continue ReadingDo And Don’t Sales Techniques
In case you are one of the few of us working today, here is a fun do and don’t list for salespeople. Here are just a few from the Salesopedia article: DO match and mirror the speed, tone and volume of the other person’s voice. DON’T speak in a monotone. DO call for a specific reason such as to provide some information of value. DON’T call just to check in. DO listen to and concentrate on what’s being said. DON’T let your mind wander. DO be polite yet respectfully persistent. DON’T give up after one or two calls.
Continue ReadingThe Key To Rapport
Selling Power’s article – Establishing a Relationship – discusses methods for establishing rapport quickly with a prospect. This ability is critical to successful selling. The established approach is to mirror the prospect’s “personality style” (or what we call Selling Style). We teach salespeople how to do this and it is most effective. However, there is one point that has to be made before mirroring the prospect’s style. You cannot establish rapport if you are dominating the conversation. We see this often with highly-extroverted sales candidates. They attempt to talk through many topics in what appears to be a fishing expedition for a connection. Bad move. The prospect has to be… Read More
Continue ReadingThe 8 Essential Objections
From JustSell.com: the objections 1. lack of perceived value in the product or service 2. lack of perceived urgency in purchasing the offering 3.perception of an inferiority to a competitive or in-house offering 4. internal political issue between parties/ departments 5. lack of funds to purchase the offering 6. personal issue with the decision maker(s) 7. initiative with an external party 8. “it’s safer to do nothing” perception Of these, I believe salespeople fall down most often with the last one. If your salespeople are not qualifying a prospect properly, the prospect will most often allow the deal to stagnate. They perceive no loss in waiting. If that is true,… 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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