New Year’s resolutions work for some people. For others they are a waste of time. For those of you who want to get different results, but don’t want to waste your time on New Year’s resolutions that you’ll break, why not try some new ideas and sell differently? Here are a few ways to think differently next year.
Sell Differently: Be more patient.
Patience is a virtue when it comes to sales. No, you’re not going to wait forever for a deal to close, but you are going to be patient about when you present your product or service to a prospect. The best time to present your product is when your prospect realizes that he needs or wants your product. That occurs when he realizes he has a problem or a need that he can’t solve unless he actually buys your product.
Have proof that your prospect is ready for your presentation instead of presenting your product or service when you think your prospect is ready. What’s the proof? That your prospect told you he has a need, it’s an important one and he has to act now. You shouldn’t present unless those conditions are met. Remember, what you think doesn’t count. What your prospect says does.
Your patience is rewarded when you present after your customer realizes his need to buy. There’s less pushback and you are more likely to make the sale.
Sell Differently: Be more strategic.
Being more strategic means you think about what if situations before the situation occurs. Your alternative plan is more likely to be successful if you planned it under a less stressful situation. Do you think the best time to develop a Plan B is when your customer tells you during the sales call an unexpected piece of information? It’s not.
Instead, before the meeting, ask yourself what is likely to happen during the meeting and what could you do if it doesn’t happen? In every sales strategy I work on with clients, I also discuss options if the strategy doesn’t come to fruition as planned.
Sell Differently: Be more confident.
Part of being confident is asking for what you want. First you have to know what you do want! That should be easy enough. Getting paid is one thing you want. One of my clients was working on a product performance trial for his customer. Yet, he didn’t have agreement from the customer that if the trial was successful that the customer would buy!
All he had to do was get agreement from the customer after the customer agreed to conduct a trial. He could say, “If we produce results X, Y and Z does that mean you will be buying X quantities?” Getting agreement on next steps is important to avoid any misunderstandings. And you certainly want to get paid.
Another aspect of confidence is being able to ask for what you want. Your customers can’t read your mind. I have two books I wrote that I’m looking to sell in bulk quantities. I asked my clients, “Who do you know who will buy more than 40 books at a time for their customers or their sales teams?” One customer said, “I can.” If you don’t ask, you won’t get.
You can forget New Year’s Resolutions unless yours is to try one new idea. You’ve got a few to choose from. And if resolutions aren’t your thing, just make up your mind to try something new in 2017. You never know. You just might sell more.