I see this over and over again with salespeople. They make the mistake of presenting too soon. How do I know? I ask them if their clients are saying, "I need to think about it" to make a buying decision. What's to think about it your customer truly needs what you are selling? It's your job to ask the questions that guide a customer to understand there is a need, it's an … [Read more...]
Are you thinking like an engineer when you sell?
Did you see Purdue University President Mitch Daniels quote in a recent Wall Street Journal Notable & Quotable? He talks about the problem-solving can–do attitude of engineers. That same attitude is what great salespeople have. The look at their customers and try to solve their problems and of course sell their products while they solve the problem. What’s wrong with … [Read more...]
Do endorsements help your LinkedIn ranking?
You may be using LinkedIn for your sales prospecting. You may be using it to be found by customers. Either way, you may have wondered about the value of using endorsements. I've been noticing that along with people who knew my work, there were others who were endorsing me and I didn't know them. I did a search on the value of Endorsements. If you want to be "found" on … [Read more...]
How to know if your customer is ready to buy.
There are two factors that motivate customers to buy. They are pain or pleasure. Pain motivates more than pleasure. Unless your customers are experiencing enough pain there is no reason to do anything about it. Yet, just experiencing pain is insufficient to motivate a customer to do something about it and buy. You have to be very clear about how much pain he’s experiencing. … [Read more...]
Don’t try this at home…
Remember those commercials that showed dangerous activities? There was always a small caption that said "Don't try this at home." If you're watching/reading the news, you also don't want to try what they're doing in your selling. Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said about the US-Syria foreign policy, "Putin is playing chess, … [Read more...]
Are you getting ripped off?
Does your sales process include submitting proposals? Does the proposal include a road map of the solution to your prospect's problem? That's dangerous. Your prospect could take your expertise and shop it to the lowest bidder. That has to stop. I understand that you want to demonstrate your expertise in the proposal. You can do this without giving your knowledge away. In … [Read more...]
Where do you negotiate?
Do you think about where you're going to negotiate your sale as part of your sales strategy? You should. A recent article in Money magazine cited some interesting findings. People act differently on their own turf. They're more assertive and less willing to make concessions. Is that what you want in your next sale? Try to get the "home field advantage" and negotiate in your … [Read more...]
Sell more when you quantify a customer’s problem.
You probably know that for a customer to buy something from you, there has to be a problem or a need. The customer can do nothing (and often does) unless there is a problem to solve or a need to fill. If you’re executing an effective questioning strategy, you are uncovering your customer’s need or pain. You might have found that your products can reduce downtime, reduce … [Read more...]
What Every Sales Manager Should Know
Imagine being hired to work on an assembly line. On your first day your manager gives you your work instructions. He says, "Put the parts together any way you want. It's fine with me." Sounds nuts? Well why is this being done in sales? Your manager should have an idea of how many quality sales calls you should be making a day. At least he should know a range. He should know … [Read more...]
Sales Managers Need to Manage.
Imagine yourself at a sales meeting talking about a prospect and your current sales status. You ask for an update from one of your sales team members on Company XYZ and the contact, Mr. Smith. At the next sales meeting you ask for an update. You get a dumbfounded look. Why? There is no Mr. Smith. There are too many sales managers who get sold. What they're buying is an … [Read more...]