The Selling Newsletter
*A free monthly newsletter of ideas to help make your selling easier*
Selling is the easiest job in the world…Just ask anyone who is NOTin sales!
My mission is to help make it easier for you to sell.
Best wishes for YOUR successful selling—Maura
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SELLING QUOTE
“My mind is like a steel what-cha-ma-call-it.” Lou Heckler
I laughed when I heard this and unfortunately there are times when I think it’s true for me. Do you find yourself trying diligently to remember thoughts that should be more easily retrieved? Maybe you’re overworked (who isn’t?!!) and lacking rest. If you’re overworked, identify your priorities and learn to say no to the things that are not on that list. Maybe it’s time for another employee to pick up the slack. When your manager asks for your extra participation, let him know that you’re overloaded and you need to lighten the load. Rest is also your responsibility. Think of rest like a nutrient just like food is. You desperately need enough of it. If you get more sleep, you’ll find that your mind can be like the steel trap it is.
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
The Secrets of Persuasion: See More, Hear More, Sell More
When:Wednesday, June 30, 2004
11:00 buffet line opens
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. seminar
Where:Holiday Inn Select, Richardson, TX
Cost:Includes lunch
$99
Whether you sell or manage others, persuasion skills will make it easier for you to do your job. This seminar will make it easier and faster for you to get results.
Ways to customize your selling message so customers buy faster How to determine the way your customers want to buy How to shorten your sales cycle How to present your products so your customers hear your selling message How to make selling easier for you and more successfulFor more information call: 972 380 0200, info@BestatSelling.com , or https://www.bestatselling.com/UpcomingSeminars.htm
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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THIS MONTH
Time for a change
The writer I. Zangwill said, “Everything changes but change.” If you find your selling today is different than it used to be, you’re not alone. Cheri Dickey has been in recruiting for 18 years. As the Regional Manager for the 5th largest staffing company in the United States, she has seen changes in her industry that have resulted in changes in the way her staff sells. Her strategies work well for her company and they can work well for you, too.
You need more focus. When Dickey first started in sales, you could be successful selling with a random approach for prospect selection and how you moved the sales process forward. That no longer works. Dickey brought her team together to develop a targeted list of prospects. They identified the top 10 accounts they wanted to pursue and the criteria for being selected. They selected Fortune 500 and 1000 companies whose location, name recognition and numbers of employees made them good prospects for her company’s technical and temporary divisions. Next, they identified what they knew about these targeted accounts and which accounts were priorities. These accounts were assigned and the sales reps deliver regular status reports to management.
She also shared her list with other key business associates who provide services to her company. She hopes these business associates will be able to provide introductions to strategic accounts to increase her staff’s credibility. That will make it easier and faster for her staff to contact these key prospects.
Build relationships. It seems that everyone knows that selling is very dependent on the relationships you build. You may be thinking about building relationships with customers. You can also build relationships with prospects. While planning to sell a major airline company where her competition is a long time supplier, Dickey set up an appointment with the decision maker. She said, “I’m coming not to sell you anything. I want to see what I can learn about your business to see where we can be of assistance down the road.” By building the relationship before the sale, Dickey hopes to earn the call to buy when her customer’s needs develop.
Dickey counsels her staff to know as much about her existing customers as possible. They find out their customers’ birthdays, children’s names, their favorite restaurants, and interests like the opera. Dickey says, “Knowing this information builds relationships. And building relationships builds loyalty.” The information goes into a central profile for each account and each sales rep can draw from the information. Clients receive birthday cards and are invited to functions that they’ll be interested in. How does the staff get the information? Dickey says, “We just ask them. And it gives us another reason to contact our customers.”
Dickey also creates business relationships inside her company. She recognized that both the technical sales and clerical sales groups at her company could be duplicating effort when working with customers. She invited both groups to attend sales strategy meetings where they learned about the work that each team does. As a result, the team sales approach made them more knowledgeable when preparing requests for proposals. Later with less duplicated effort, the clients also see a team whose work is more seamless.
Use all your talent. When salespeople have difficulty getting their phone calls returned, they enlist Dickey’s help. She calls the prospects and when she identifies herself as Regional Manager, she finds that phone calls are returned. She also accompanies her staff when they make sales calls. Her role when making calls is to add credibility to the salesperson by reporting what her company has done. When she reports this, her comments reinforce what the salesperson has already told the customer. She’s also looking for ways in which she can use her experience and contacts to help the customer and salesperson. She listened as one client talked about experiencing employee retention problems. Dickey was then able to arrange a meeting with another client who already had an effective employee motivation program.
The author Gail Sheehy said, “If we don’t change, we don’t grow.” In sales, if you don’t make changes, your sales won’t grow either.
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SELLING ACTION ITEM
What information do you need to find out about your customers that could help personalize your selling? If you know their interests, you can be looking for articles that especially relate to them.
Identify your sales and life priorities. Make sure you non-selling time is filled with what YOU consider priorities. Of course, your selling time should be filled with your business priorities, too.
Ask for help when you need it. A manager can be a powerful selling tool. If you have a great manager, make join sales calls. It flatters your customer and your boss can help you close business.
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SELLING SURVEY
The director of the Center for Sales Innovation at the College of St.
Catherine (largest women’s college with only undergraduate major in sales
for women in the country), is conducting research to document the high
level of success women achieve in sales careers. SHE IS LOOKING FOR PARTICIPANTS.
Research Project
WHAT: As a leader in women’s leadership education, The College of St.
Catherine Center for Sales Innovation is conducting a confidential research
study to better understand how women achieve top performance in sales.
WHY: Your input is needed to document how well women are performing in sales
organizations. All responses are anonymous, neither you nor your
organization will be identified by name.
HOW: Two ways to participate:
1. Complete a 7 minute survey on-line to determine the level of sales
performance. Click on https://www.stkate.edu/surveys/womeninsales.htm
2. Complete a 10 minute survey on-line to determine best practices of women
sales leaders. Click on
https://www.stkate.edu/surveys/salesleaders.htm
MORE: Thank you for participating; you are contributing to the advancement
of women in sales. Please pass this on to other top producing women.
RESULTS: If you would like the results, please email mailto:lfschleeter@stkate.edu?subject=Please send survey results and
you will be notified.
Sincerely,
Lynn Schleeter, Director
Center for Sales Innovation
lfschleeter@stkate.edu
College of St. Catherine
www.stkate.edu/sales
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SELLING TIP
I’m using a new selling tool from Exacttarget. Email is a very effective selling tool to keep in touch with prospects and customers. ExactTarget (https://www.exacttarget.com/) makes it easy to use email to sell.
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Do you want to be notified of Maura’s upcoming public seminars? Send an email to info@bestatselling.com with the subject: Upcoming Seminars and your email address. You’ll get the information about Maura’s public seminars. They’re held quarterly.
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SOMETHING TO REPORT?
I’m always looking for success stories and other tips from sales professionals. Please feel free to email me at info@bestatselling.com with ideas that have worked for you. To thank you, you’ll receive a free subscription to The Selling E-Letter™, a bi-monthly selling newsletter. ($50 value)
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THE BEST@SELLING MISSION STATEMENT,PRIVACY POLICY, AND UNSUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Mission: Best@Selling works with business and sales professionals to make THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD (selling!) easier and more effective. After all, how can you make a difference in the world if someone hasn’t bought something from you? And don’t forget about the ideas you’re selling every day.
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Privacy: At Best@Selling we take privacy issues very seriously. Your information remains with us and will never be sold, shared, or distributed in any manner, for any reason.
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–To buy the book Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results, a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive, go to https://www.bestatselling.com/
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Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP. She has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. With over 20 years of sales experience, she teaches the art and science of selling with a unique hands-on perspective and a great deal of real-life insight. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results. Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine. You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com
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Need an Article for your Newsletter?
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Articles from this newsletter may be used in your free publications or posted on your web when given the following credit:
*Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, president of Best@Selling. (https://www.bestatselling.com/). Maura works with business and sales professionals so they can sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters
visit https://www.BestatSelling.com
=================================================== Contact Information
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1. Our Web site: https://www.BestatSelling.com
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711-183
Dallas, TX 752448
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(c) Copyright 2004 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved.