Posts from — October 2007

Identify the Real Need of the Prospect …
As a salesperson, you are in the business of gap analysis. You are a “problem detective.” Your job, somewhat like a police inspector searching for suspects, is to find problems for which your product or service is the ideal solution.

In a way, your product or service is a key. You make calls looking for locks that your key will open. In the prospecting phase, you insert the key and find that it fits. In the presenting phase, you twist the key and open the lock. In the closing phase, you turn the handle and push the door open.  Read more...

Everybody knows it is easier to sell to a current client than a prospect. Cross-selling increases the ties that bind and build loyalty. Cross-selling reduces vulnerability.

I don’t know of an organization that does not want its salespeople to cross-sell. The big question is why it is so difficult to successfully implement a cross-sell strategy, especially across divisions.

Certainly product knowledge is a real issue and so is compensation – What’s in it for me? But more than that are the issues of risk and trust.  Read more...

Let’s say you attend a business function. You meet a top tier prospect, and give her your card. Twenty other people do the same thing. So what will make your card stand out from the collected stack?

Here are twelve ways to assure that prospects will read your card, and will become more likely to do business with you.

ONE: Keep your card “reader friendly” by providing ample white space. Unfortunately, we are tempted to jam as much information on the card as the printer can squeeze in.  Read more...

The falling-out between the Yankees and Joe Torre happens every day in business. Sales people can learn a lot from the experience.

This is the time of year when salespeople begin to reflect on their performance. Was it a good year? Was it a great year? Some will say they earned the dollars they desired, so it was a great year. Others will hang their hat on an account that they won and say it was a good year. However, as Joe Torre, former manager of the New York Yankees recently learned, employers have a single data point for measuring success that dwarfs all other statistics.  Read more...

Many years ago, a favorite client of mine said something to me I have never forgotten.

” Kim – don’t ever stop being yourself. It is the reason we buy from you.”

That was a HUGE compliment coming from a client that other reps had considered difficult, demanding and hard to please. When I took over the account I realized he wasn’t difficult, demanding or hard to please at all. He just wanted someone to be real and listen to what he wanted to achieve.  Read more...

A Little Phone Sales Training Will Go a Long Way. Here’s a Real example…

We all know ‘sales’ is full of slippery slopes and if something can go wrong, it probably will. After all, the sales process consists of sales prospecting, sales presenting, closing the deal, sales paperwork, order provisioning and order fulfillment.

All of these elements have an opportunity for a breakdown of sorts that will always come back to us; the sales person. If we could just sell and not have to deal with all the other albatross’s life would be better; right?  Read more...

How many times have you heard:

* “You’ve got to drop your price by 10% or we will have no choice but to go with your competition.”

* “You will have to make an exception to your policy if you want our business.”

* “I know that you have good quality and service, but so do your competitors. What we need to focus on here is your pricing.”

* “I agree that those special services you keep bringing up would be nice, but we simply don’t have the funds to purchase them. Could you include them at no additional cost?  Read more...

Do I see myself as a speaker?… Nope.
Author?… Try again.
Memory expert?… No.
Guinness Record breaker?… nah.
Entrepreneur?… Closer, but not exactly.
Instructor?… Getting colder.
Motivator?… Wrong.
Salesman?… BINGO!!

I am a salesman and very proud of that! This is how I see myself and the question is why don’t more people see themselves as sales people?

What about the talented musician who has the voice of an angel and can play a piano better than Liberace, but does not think that he is a salesman? I will tell you what – he will have to rely on getting lucky with a big break or hunt for a promoter. Or maybe the dentist who has opened up his shop and waits for the customers to walk through the door.  Read more...

Knowing all you can about the client’s decision process can give you an edge in winning the business. Let’s look at questions to ask.

Find out the client’s decision criteria.
Most clients expect to be asked about decision criteria, and most salespeople do ask these questions. However, the real value comes by drilling down once they get an answer. Start broad by asking:
* So I can understand what is important to you, what factors will you consider in making your decision? (Start to narrow it down.) Which are the priorities?
or
* So I can put a solution together that meets your needs, can you tell me the criteria you will look at in making the decision? What are the priorities? Why is X so important?  Read more...

Not sure if your sales organization is up to snuff? Here are twelve keys to help ensure that your team is focused on the right things every day.

Many cars today tell the driver when it is time to perform maintenance. Even better, some tell the driver that maintenance is needed in 1,000 miles with updates along the way. It would be great if as a business executive or small business owner, you had this kind of technology at your fingertips.  Read more...