People do business with people they like. So how can you get customers and prospects to like you? Think of selling as an art and a science. The science of selling can help you understand your customers and how they select their preferred suppliers. Their preferences start with rapport. What is rapport? Rapport is the feeling you get when you have an environment of trust and … [Read more...]
A Quick Way to Lose a Sale
Not too many things surprise me. This one did. Here is one of the fastest ways to lose a sale and I’ll bet this salesperson didn’t even notice. I was at a business lunch this week where the presenter was talking about her business. She developed business presentations for companies. She showed her work and it looked very impressive. Her work product was professional, … [Read more...]
Sales Strategy: Think About How You Buy When You Sell
Think about how you buy the next time you sell. I recently became a buyer to make two major home renovation projects. You want to make the best buying decision when you’re spending tens of thousands of dollars. Here’s where a few salespeople went wrong with their sales strategy. Too much personal information. I’m looking for a contractor, not a new best friend. I don’t want to … [Read more...]
Do NOT trick customers to make them buy from you.
Great selling means you don't have to trick customers to buy. I just got off the phone with Jim. The call started with a warm greeting of “Hey Maura. It’s Jim. Great to talk with you.” His friendliness seemed sincere. I replied, “Hi, Jim” wondering the whole time who this Jim was. I quickly learned. He was an inside salesman. Once I realized that I didn’t know him, I felt … [Read more...]
Sales and Operations=More Sales
What's sales have to do with operations? Everything if you want to sell more. Think about who you could invite to your next sales meeting. Are you thinking you should invite people from operations? That department might not be the one that comes to mind. You may be thinking, what would operations people have to contribute to a sales meeting? That’s not the point. Salespeople … [Read more...]
Shorten Your Sales Cycle
There are too may ways in your sales process that a sale can be delayed. All those delays add time to your sales cycle and cost you money. Instead of delaying the sale, you should be looking for ways to shorten your sales cycle. Only make sales calls when you have the possibility of a sale Every sales activity has a cost. It costs you time to make a telephone call, to meet a … [Read more...]
4 Ideas for Strategic Selling
I often say that my goal is to create lazy salespeople. It’s not what you think. I believe that salespeople should do less and sell more. They should require less effort to reach ideal prospects who are more likely to buy. They should have shorter sales cycles because their strategic selling includes a questioning strategy that guides a customer to realize there is a need, it’s … [Read more...]
Sales Shortcuts to Start Your Selling Year
It’s been attributed to Einstein that he said the equivalent of “Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.” That sounds like a shortcut to me. Here are some sales shortcuts for the new year so you can start your selling year off right and sell more. Learn how a prospect will buy. One of the most important questions to ask your prospects is how they’re going … [Read more...]
A Better Way to Plan Your Selling This Year
What is your plan to start the year off right? Now it is time to start selling. Here's a better way to start your selling this year. Where is your plan? Think of the start of the year as beginning your sales journey. You need a map to guide you along the way. That map is your list of prospects or who are the sources of your new business. Write down all your prospects along … [Read more...]
Celebrate Even If You Didn’t Make Your Sales Goals
This year may have been a great one for you. For others, you are celebrating simply because the year is over. As your year winds down, whether you sold as much as you planned or missed the mark, year end gives you time to reflect on what you’ve done. You may think there’s nothing to celebrate if you didn’t make your sales goals. You’re wrong. There is. Give yourself some … [Read more...]