You might have noticed that it’s easier to sell a tangible (one you can touch) item than it is to sell an intangible (one you can't.) I’ve never heard someone wake up in the morning and say, “I’m in the mood to go and buy insurance today” unless they just experienced major damage to their home. You do hear people say, “I’m in the mood for ice cream” or “I want a new iPhone” or … [Read more...]
Archives for 2017
Sales Checklist for Summer
Have you noticed how many customers and prospects are on vacation? The summer tends to be a quiet time for some salespeople. You can use the quiet to your advantage if your business slows down during summer. It’s time to think about your selling. Thinking is so undervalued in sales strategy. When things are quiet it’s the perfect time to do a little thinking about your selling. … [Read more...]
Can You Sell Value Instead of Price?
There are two mindsets when you sell. Either you sell on price or you sell on value. You should have the lowest price if you’re going to sell on price. Just be prepared to lower your price if a competitor matches your low price. Selling value is more difficult, but the benefit is that you are less vulnerable to losing your business. Does your customer understand … [Read more...]
Are You a Confident Salesperson?
Every successful sale starts with a confident salesperson. Here’s what you can do to become more confident when you sell. It's a skill. Why do I think confidence is a skill? Because you can learn to be confident. It is also an important skill for selling. You can sell without confidence, but it will be much harder to do and it will take you longer. Imagine making a … [Read more...]
Sales Strategy: Make it Easier to Buy and Sell
Part of your sales strategy should include making it easier to buy your products. What you do can make it easier for a buyer to make a purchasing decision. But, why leave your sales success in your buyer’s control? You can also make it easier to sell. Try before you buy. There are many customers who are afraid that if they buy your product or service that it might not work. … [Read more...]
Why Isn’t Your Sale Closing?
All too often salespeople find themselves in that never never land of their sales not closing. They may be so close to the situation that they don’t realize why their sales are not moving forward. See if you are doing any of the following because that’s why your sales aren’t closing. What did the customer say or do? In many companies there are weekly sales meetings. Sales … [Read more...]
Sell Yourself At Work
What is your most important sale? It’s not one of your existing customers. It’s you. Even a slightly higher salary will compound upon itself over the years when you get raises at work. So a lower salary hurts you a lot. Now do you see why you are your most important customer? You need to sell yourself at work. Don’t be modest when you sell yourself. Some people think that … [Read more...]
What is Your Sales Call Score?
The formidable, former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, was famous for asking his constituents a question. As he walked the streets of New York, he would ask, "Hey! How'm I doing?" Being typical New Yorkers they would tell him quite directly. What about your sales? You know how you are doing when you make a sale. What about when you don’t make a sale? How are you doing then? Here’s … [Read more...]
What do you need to know about your customers?
Who knew that a U.S. household of four people opens the refrigerator about 15 to 20 times a day? That’s according to LG research. People also spend 10.4 hours a year just staring into an open refrigerator. That might be useless information for you. It’s not if you are a refrigerator manufacturer and want to develop products that best suit your customers’ needs. These … [Read more...]
3 Simple Rules for Sales Success
1. Plan ahead. Sales strategy is good. But, what do you do if your strategy doesn’t work? For every sales strategy you plan as the A plan, you should have a B plan, too. That way if your A plan doesn’t work, you have a plan right then that you can do. It’s a better way to attempt to salvage the meeting when you’re prepared. It’s often too difficult to think on your feet about … [Read more...]