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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Avoid These Sales Mistakes
You know that hindsight is 20-20. What if you didn’t have to rely on hindsight to be more successful in sales? Here’s how you can save yourself the hassles in selling when you know what you need to know early in your selling. Prevent sales results from going dead. I was talking with several sales professionals and a common complaint is with what happens after the salesman … [Read more...]
Keep Your Selling Simple
I find that keeping things simple keeps the stress down. That rule applies to selling. Here are some simple ideas that will also help you sell more. 1. Sell to the easy prospects. You might have many different types of prospects like most salespeople. You may also find once you do the analysis that it’s easier to sell to some prospects over others. I recently met with a … [Read more...]
How to Sell to Customers Who Don’t Know
Have you ever thought that your job included educating customers? A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted some interesting information about what some people don’t know. The Annenberg Public Policy Center found in a 2016 survey that 31% of respondents couldn’t name a single branch of government. As if that’s not alarming, there were the 10% of college graduates who … [Read more...]