-Monthly Selling Newsletter with Ideas to Sell More Now-
-Thomas J. Watson, CEO IBM
For Salespeople…
Do you sell with enthusiasm? It starts by liking the products you sell. I often find that the most successful salespeople truly love their products. So what do you do if you don’t love your products? You reconcile the fact that it’s going to be harder for you to sell them. Or you figure a way to appreciate the value you bring your customers when they buy your products. Either way, your customers are buying your enthusiasm along with the products you sell. Consider this if you think I’m wrong. Most unsuccessful salespeople stop selling too soon. They lose enthusiasm and quit. That’s why they don’t accomplish great sales. I’ll bet Watson would agree with me.
To my newsletter readers: Thank you to all of you and those who send comments. I always enjoy hearing from you!
Selling Ideas for this Month
How successful do you think you would be if customers were afraid to meet with you? I’ll bet not very. Even worse, what if you didn’t know? This is more common than you think and a barrier to your sales success.
Do you know what customers really think? It’s time to find out what your customers think about you. The way to ask is to explain that you’re ready to increase your business. You want to be able to refer prospects to satisfied customers. Ask your customer if he would be interested in being a reference for you. Now watch how your customer responds. Anything less than an enthusiastic response tells you that you’re in trouble. While that’s not great news, at least it’s useful information. You now know that this customer is not willing to enthusiastically recommend you. Your job is to do something about it. You can follow with, “I’m always looking to improve so that my customers can enthusiastically recommend me. What suggestions do you have for me?” Just remember, if customers are less assertive, this question wouldn’t work because it will make them very uncomfortable. If they are assertive, they’re going to be blunt and tell you. Be ready.
Who will tell you? I was at a meeting recently. A vendor was mentioning a salesman she had worked with. She mentioned how disappointed she was in his behavior. This twenty something had been rude to her. Another person nearby chimed in. He had called this salesman to discuss a deal and the salesman said, “I’m busy. Why are you calling me now?” That’s shocking. Who would think that this sort of behavior is acceptable? I had worked with this salesman on a project and decided to call him to tell him what I heard. I asked him, “How important is your reputation?” and “Would you want to know if something was said that would damage it?” When he said it was and he wanted to know we talked about what I heard. He did remember when he was under a lot of pressure. He said, “What I did was wrong. I was a jerk.” He agreed it was in his best interest never to act like that again. Who will tell you if you’re acting like a jerk?
How are you proactively managing your reputation? Certainly see what’s coming out about you on the web. A Google alert on your name and company should get you started. Do you have an ongoing process to gather feedback about your work? Putting a step in your sales process to follow up after a certain period of time is a good way to learn what customers think about your work. Contacting customers and saying that you do this routinely will help make them comfortable opening up to you. Remember, it’s going to be hard to listen to negative feedback. You must not be defensive if you learn ways in which you are missing the mark.
Some people say that ignorance is bliss. It’s not if you’re in sales.
Best wishes for your selling success!
Action Items
1. Ask 5 customers to be references for you.
2. Develop a plan to address your shortcomings.
Did You Know?
Here’s a tip this week for your sales success.
So I never assume, here’s a brief list of services I offer.
A. Consulting/Coaching/Mentoring
By hour or by project.
- Plan sales call strategies
- Develop effective proposals that prevent “low price” shoppers from picking your competiton
- Reduce the stress of working for a difficult manager
- Shorten the time for a new hire to be productive
- Design customized selling tablet app
- New ideas to sell more
- Develop questioning strategy to shorten your sales cycle and increase sales
- 90 Day Performance Plan for new sales hires to be productive faster and increase retentionFor info, please see Consulting/Coaching.Call 972 380 0200 for a free initial consultation.
B. Speaking at Sales Meetings to Improve Sales Performance
Present Sales Performance improvement programs at sales meetings and conferences
RECOMMENDED IF:
- Your salespeople lose proposals based on price.
- You have underperforming salespeople.
- Your salespeople have too many deals that they say are closing and they don’t close.
Programs for Your Sales Success
Consultative Selling: Asking the Strategic Questions that Sell: Did a customer tell you he needs to think about your sales proposal? Your questioning strategy is flawed. You will learn to ask the questions that sell for you and not hear “I’ll think about it” any more. This webinar is key to your sales call success.
Sell More Now Programs: Selling Strategies to Sell More Now!Your successful selling is more than talking and listening. It’s developing the strategy to get in front of the right customers the easiest and most effective ways. This thoughtful, strategic approach to your selling will shorten your sales cycle and increase the profitability of your business. You will learn to develop your successful selling strategies in this one-hour (approximate) program.You will learn to make strategic decisions that help your customers make a buying decision and see you as the preferred supplier. Your strategy work continues as you demonstrate why they should continue to buy from you. This program will guide you to formulate your sales strategies so you get in front of the right customers, help them make buying decisions faster, and create long-term business relationships.
You will learn:
1. How to get customers to quickly understand that you are the preferred supplier.
2. How to identify the customers you can best serve.
3. How to get customers to come to you.
4. How to avoid wasting time on the wrong prospects.
5. How to be perceived as an expert so customers quickly trust you.
Sell More Now with Mentoray Marketplace
You Can Still Learn!
| On-Line Webinar: Would Have Liked to Know That!: A Salesman’s Guide To Sales Success
If you’re new to sales or thinking about a career in sales, you will want to avoid the setbacks and obstacles that might be part of your career. Selling is a fulfilling yet challenging job. You can learn to maintain the selling attitude you need to thrive. You will learn to focus on the skill that’s most important to sales success (and it’s probably not the one you think.) You will identify the strategies to implement that will lead to your sales success.
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On-Line Webinar: Secrets of Persuasion to Sell More Now
Sales professionals who use persuasion and influence get better results in business. This seminar will teach you to identify the behavioral clues you need to effectively
persuade others. You will learn what the clues mean and how to use them with customers to shorten your sales cycle. You will increase your sales when you have the tools to persuade.
You can read my monthly selling column Ask The Sales Pro for SOLD magazine where I answer readers selling questions. You can subscribe to the magazine and read my answers to solve their selling challenges. You can also ask questions! Get answers to your tough selling challenges.
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Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, [email protected] (https://www.bestatselling.com). Maura works with business and sales professionals who want to sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results and Monday Morning Sales Tips.