-Monthly Selling Newsletter with Ideas to Sell More Now-
“The people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know, but because of their insatiable need to know more.”
-Milton Hershey
For Salespeople…
That description sounds like a salesperson to me. The great sales people are always looking to know more. Hershey also had what it takes to be successful in sales. You may not know about Hershey’s persistence in business.
His first business survived for six years, because of his family’s financial support. The company dissolved into bankruptcy in 1882, as his second business did just four years later. However, Hershey was persistent and founded the company that would make him famous the following year.
So keep learning and be persistent and you’ll have what it takes to be successful in sales.
Get more selling ideas
at Allbusiness.com
Selling Ideas for this Month
What you do to make your selling thrive is a lot like growing plants. Most die from over watering, not under watering. Are you over selling?
Selling takes time. I’m all for having a positive attitude. It’s beyond having a positive attitude to expect a complex sale to close on every first sales call. Yet, you don’t want to drag out your sales process needlessly.
How long do you think your sales process should take? You need to be patient and not push too hard too early in the sale. Complex sales are like dating. After all, what would you think of someone who took out a first time date and asked the woman to marry him on that first date?
Probably not much. Do you think the woman would say yes? Probably not. You would wonder about her if she did. In sales, if they buy immediately they probably have credit problems.
Chunk it down as you design your sales process. Figure out how long it should take you to sell now that you know your sale will take time. How much time do you need to establish credibility? What needs to happen so a customer can make a buying decision? How long would it take?
Let’s say your sales process takes 3 sales calls to build rapport, your credibility and customer comfort and understanding of your product. Create objectives for each sales call. The first sales call objective could be to get the 2nd meeting. At the first sales call, you don’t have an expectation of closing the deal.
At the meeting you would ask a few specific questions to learn specific information. You ask about your customer’s concerns. At the first meeting, you learn whether there is any customer interest and you clearly know if you can move forward in the process. Before you leave, you can say, “It sounds like we have a reason to move forward. I suggest we set up the next meeting where I can go into more detail. What do you have available in the next few weeks?”
Slower is better. By breaking down your process into more manageable chunks you avoid customer overload. You also give your customer some additional information about how you work.
After the first sales call you can send some additional relevant information. You might see an article that specifically relates to what your customer said. When you send it to your customer you demonstrate that you are a good listener. You’ve increased your persuasion ability since good listeners are liked and people are more persuasive when they’re liked.
At the second meeting, you can bring in a technical expert to discuss and answer any specific questions. Your third meeting can be the contract signing and start of your work. Answering what needs to happen so you can close your sale, forces you to look at your process and incorporate those steps into each sales call. Be sure to meet your sales call objectives before you move on to the next step in your process.
Start slower with your prospects if you find that you’re driving business away. Just like plants suffer from too much water, your prospects don’t need all that pushing either. Stop killing your deals.
Best wishes for your selling success!
Action Items
1. Calculate your ideal sales cycle time. Build in a cushion for each step, but have a general idea how long it will take to make a sale.
2. What are your objectives for each sales call that are steps in your process
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
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Programs for Your Sales Success
Create Your Own Luck for Business and Sales Success 60 Minute Session
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.
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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.
Western Marketing, Inc
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.