Here's a great article with ideas on using persuasion and proving your point. https://www.digitalsparkmarketing.com/2013/02/03/combination-of-evidence/ Here's the column: Have you ever wondered how some people seem to be natural persuaders? Obviously good oral communication skills are important, but it takes more than good speaking skills for the best means of … [Read more...]
When is a referral not a referral?
I was recently asked this question for an upcoming column in SOLD magazine. Are there times or types of sales where referral prospecting is not worth it? Here's my answer. Yes there are. Are you surprised I said that? There are times when businesspeople think they're giving you a referral and it's not. That's when the referral isn't the value you think it is. What … [Read more...]
You can close the sales that aren’t closing
What’s your worst sales nightmare? Is it thinking you are ready to close the sale only to find out you don’t have the deal yet? It’s not over till it’s over and you may have more work to do. Here’s where you can start. Move it forward. There are prospects who tell you they want to buy and it just doesn’t happen. Maybe your prospect really isn’t convinced there’s a reason to … [Read more...]
Tap into obligation to sell more.
If I gave you something, would you feel obligated to give me something back? Of course you would. That's reciprocity. We unconsciously feel obligated to give when we get. (If you don't believe me, ask any woman who hates to cook and is invited for dinner at someone's house. The first thing she thinks is, "Oh no. Now I have to cook!") Reciprocity is a very powerful selling … [Read more...]
Shorten your sales cycle. Stop kidding yourself.
What's one way to sell more now? It's to sell more to prospects most likely to buy now. Duh. But, why is it when I ask a sales professional, "Who is your ideal prospect?" I hear answers that are very different than the prospects these sales professionals are calling on? Stop kidding yourself. Think about your best customers. Who are they? Be very specific and identify them … [Read more...]
When does your sales process start?
When a customer tells you that a referral will contact you, does the referral call you? If not, you may be forgetting that your sales process starts by getting the referrals to contact you. Start the sales process by learning why the customer thinks the referral fits your business. You can reply, "Great. I'm looking forward to talking to him. So I'm prepared, tell me why … [Read more...]
Are you getting off to a good start this year?
I just learned something very surprising from a management consultant. In many fast growing companies there isn’t a current job description. Do you have one? Now would be a good time to read it. I would create one for your manager if you didn't have one. If you don’t know what you’re supposed to do, how do you know what results you’re expected to produce? Do you know what … [Read more...]
Here’s a real new year’s resolution
Forget your resolution to lose 5 pounds. The good news is that fat people don't have a greater incidence of dying than thin people. (Today's Wall Street Journal) Instead of passing on the cookies, why not resolve to collaborate more this year? All the greats you read about from Steve Jobs to Bill Gates had a collaborator who helped them become successful. Jobs had Steve … [Read more...]
Make sure your pricing is accurate when you sell
Happy Monday! It's happy for me since I'm almost done with the remodeling project I decided to undertake as the year winds down. The contractor I'm working with is nice enough and I think his staff is talented. That's the good news. The bad news is that after I agreed to the price for the job which included things like removing popcorn ceilings, demo a floor, install a new one, … [Read more...]
Customer Preferences you can use to your advantage
I just read in the Harvard Business Review daily stat that when simultaneously using multiple items, consumers prefer products of the same brand, a phenomenon that overwhelms their preexisting brand preferences. Here's what they report: Research participants who were consuming a nonfavored brand (of chips, say) chose the same brand of a complementary product (salsa, for … [Read more...]