THE MONTHLY SELLING NEWSLETTER WITH IDEAS TO SELL MORE NOW
June 2014
The Selling Quote for the Month
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
––Edmund Burke
For Salespeople…
Do you think this quote has nothing to do with sales? Think again. There are unfortunately sales managers who abuse their salespeople. I’ve heard too many business owners say, “My salespeople are making too much money. I need to change their compensation structure.”
What I found was that the least successful business owners often executed this poor strategy. What was sad was that their staff often accepted the abuse.
I know it’s hard to change jobs. At least, speak up if this is your situation. My most successful customer was thrilled when his salespeople made a lot of money. One of his top salespeople made over $400,000. My customer’s thrilled response, “When my salespeople make 16% (their commission) I make 84%.” So either find a manager who appreciates successful selling or speak up for yourself if you work for one who does not.
Blogs & Other Columns
Learn more sales strategies from my column as a sales expert for Allbusiness.com.
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The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com Hope you’ll read more ideas so you can achieve your success in business.
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The Selling Ideas for this Month
Strategies to Get the Sale
You’re in the midst of a difficult sale. Your competitors are tough. What’s the best way for your prospect to pick you so you can close the sale? Here are strategies for you to get the sale.
Be the most credible. If you’re up against competition, if you only speak glowingly about your products and services, you come across as a phony salesman. Your job is to introduce reluctant testimony, or something small that’s a negative about your offering, but can be interpreted as a positive. Maybe your company is smaller than the competition. The negative is that you don’t have as many resources as your competitors. The positive is that you work harder than they do to deliver higher levels of customer satisfaction. Introduce the negative and make sure you showcase it as a positive.
Help him to avoid problems. It’s your job to show your customer that you’re the one looking out for his best interests. How can you do that? Help him buy. You know more than your prospect about the purchase, unforeseen obstacles and what can go wrong. If you don’t, you should. It’s your job to help him make a decision that fits his needs that also addresses any issues that might come his way. Show him how choosing you and your products will help him avoid those problems.
Show that you work harder. Remember Avis, the number 2 car rental company? Their slogan was We Try Harder. You need to demonstrate that. You also need to get the credit. Using some finesse, demonstrate what you do for your prospect or your value. For example, if you’re in a negotiation where your prospect wants more from management, you can say, “I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’ll propose what you want. I’ll do my best to make the case to get it for you. “ Be smart, too. Ask your prospect, “If I can get what you want, can we agree that you’ll buy from me?” That way, you get a commitment for the sale. When you do get what your prospect wanted, you call and say, “Good news. I was able to convince my management to agree to your proposal.” You look like the hero and you just got the deal.
Follow up. Too many salespeople selling too many products make their pitch and then vanish. Sure there are customers who say they need to think about their decision before they make it. Then there are those customers who really do evaluate their choices to make their buying decision. Who gets more points during their evaluation stage? It’s the salesman who follows up with legitimate questions to make sure the decision is moving forward. If you call to say, “I’m just touching base” you not only don’t get any points, you get a deduction. You’re not adding any value to the customer. Instead, ask if he needs any more data other than what you provided. Maybe he wants to discuss specific criteria that might impact his particular situation. These are legitimate questions to follow up. Touching base is not.
When a customer is truly evaluating his options to buy, your job is to help him pick you. After all, when you look out for his best interests isn’t that the best choice?
Best wishes for your selling success!
Action Items
1. What reluctant testimony could you discuss with a customer?
2. What problems do you help prospects avoid?
Did You Know?
Here’s a tip this week for your sales success.
So I never assume, here’s a brief list of services I offer.
A. Consulting/Coaching/Mentoring
By hour or by project.
- Plan sales call strategies
- Develop effective proposals that prevent “low price” shoppers from picking your competiton
- Reduce the stress of working for a difficult manager
- Shorten the time for a new hire to be productive
- Design customized selling tablet app
- New ideas to sell more
- Develop questioning strategy to shorten your sales cycle and increase sales
- 90 Day Performance Plan for new sales hires to be productive faster and increase retentionFor info, please see Consulting/Coaching.Call 972 380 0200 for a free initial consultation.
B. Speaking at Sales Meetings to Improve Sales Performance
Present Sales Performance improvement programs at sales meetings and conferences
RECOMMENDED IF:
- Your salespeople lose proposals based on price.
- You have underperforming salespeople.
- Your salespeople have too many deals that they say are closing and they don’t close.
Programs for Your Sales Success
Visit Best@Selling to see upcoming programs.
Consultative Selling: Asking the Strategic Questions that Sell: Did a customer tell you he needs to think about your sales proposal? Your questioning strategy is flawed. You will learn to ask the questions that sell for you and not hear “I’ll think about it” any more. This webinar is key to your sales call success.
Sell More Now Programs: Selling Strategies to Sell More Now!Your successful selling is more than talking and listening. It’s developing the strategy to get in front of the right customers the easiest and most effective ways. This thoughtful, strategic approach to your selling will shorten your sales cycle and increase the profitability of your business. You will learn to develop your successful selling strategies in this one-hour (approximate) program.
You will learn to make strategic decisions that help your customers make a buying decision and see you as the preferred supplier. Your strategy work continues as you demonstrate why they should continue to buy from you. This program will guide you to formulate your sales strategies so you get in front of the right customers, help them make buying decisions faster, and create long-term business relationships.
You will learn:
1. How to get customers to quickly understand that you are the preferred supplier.
2. How to identify the customers you can best serve.
3. How to get customers to come to you.
4. How to avoid wasting time on the wrong prospects.
5. How to be perceived as an expert so customers quickly trust you.
Sell More Now with Mentoray Marketplace
You Can Still Learn!
Did you miss the webinars to help you sell more. View them now!
| On-Line Webinar: Would Have Liked to Know That!: A Salesman’s Guide To Sales Success If you’re new to sales or thinking about a career in sales, you will want to avoid the setbacks and obstacles that might be part of your career. Selling is a fulfilling yet challenging job. You can learn to maintain the selling attitude you need to thrive. You will learn to focus on the skill that’s most important to sales success (and it’s probably not the one you think.) You will identify the strategies to implement that will lead to your sales success. |
On-Line Webinar: Secrets of Persuasion to Sell More Now
Sales professionals who use persuasion and influence get better results in business. This seminar will teach you to identify the behavioral clues you need to effectively
persuade others. You will learn what the clues mean and how to use them with customers to shorten your sales cycle. You will increase your sales when you have the tools to persuade.
Do you need to increase your sales? Why not consider sales coaching? Are you looking for proven strategies to sell more?
Contact Maura@Bestatselling.com or 972 380 0200. Free 15 minute consultation to determine if this program is for you.
“You have also taught me a great questioning strategy for every account. I can now get past price and get deeper into a business than before. This has not only given me more confidence when I walk into a prospect, but it has shortened my sales cycle. This has been my biggest goal throughout our working together.”
Jordan Dale
Account Manager
Western Marketing, Inc
“Maura has proivided the expertise to retool our entire sales process. She has single handedly created the sales side of the cutting edge technological sales tools we are implementing at this moment. She has been invaluable.”
Charles Read
President
Custom Payroll Associates Inc.
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