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You are here: Home / Newsletters / The Selling Newsletter April 2013

The Selling Newsletter April 2013

April 1, 2013 By maurasf

The Selling Newsletter for Sales Professionals

April 2013

SALES QUOTE

“Instant gratification takes too long.”
–-Carrie Fisher

For Salespeople…

You just might want to rethink your selling strategy. With current technology and your customers’ expectations. I work with salespeople and ask them how they’re going to start the sales call. They mention that they have to warm up the sales call and talk on and on about sports. Wrong. You’re wrong if you think the latest sports results will get you sales results. You’ve got to quickly get down to business. Prepare each sales call with how you’re going to transition from the brief non-business discussion you might have with some customers. Today’s customers don’t have the time to wait for you to start selling. You don’t have time to wait to make the sale!

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THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS

I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com Hope you’ll read more ideas so you can achieve your success in business.

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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THE MONTH TO SELL MORE NOW

You Might Not Be Selling If You…

The comedian Jeff Foxworthy says you might be a redneck if you own a home with wheels on it and several cars without. That’s pretty funny. How can you tell if you’re not selling? You might not be selling if you…

Price talk too soon There are salespeople (lazy ones I think) who early in the sales call will talk about price. In the first 10 minutes of the sales call they will say, “I think I can save you some money on your (product). Can I get you a quote? Quoting prices isn’t selling. In fact, you don’t even need a human being to quote prices today.

The only way you can quote prices early in the sales process is when you’ve already uncovered a significant customer problem and your customer asks you to buy your product. That’s when your customer asks you for the price and you’re free to quote it.

That was fun.You may not be selling if you have many sales calls that feel great to you and you don’t move the sales process forward. You’re kidding yourself that selling is making people like you. There are salespeople who think that 30 minutes of schmoozing is a great sales strategy to get the customer to like them. Forget it. Most customers today don’t have time for schmoozing. If they do, they’re using you for a break, not for a sale.

People surely do buy from people they like. Being liked is just not enough for a sale. Customers also buy when they have significant problems and needs that can be solved by buying your products and services. Just remember, I had a customer who had to buy from someone she personally disliked. His product had a wonderful reputation and he offered excellent service.

You say the call was a success. You may not be selling when you think you had a successful sales call, but it’s based only on your opinion. When I work with salespeople I ask them, “What did the customer say or do to lead you to believe the call was a success?” Unless the customer says, “I will do X” you cannot think the call was successful. Your thinking it went well doesn’t make it a success.

Present too soon. Do you hear a customer talk about his work and immediately realize you have a product that could help his business? If that’s you, do you ask more questions to confirm the need and then develop your customer’s understanding that the need is important and he has to act on it? You may not be selling if you hear a need and immediately jump to present the solution. After just hearing a need is way too soon to present. How do you know you’re presenting too soon? You’ll often hear the customer say after you present the solution, “I have to think about it.” No customer with a true problem or concern will need to think about solving a compelling problem.

Jeff Foxworthy can afford to make funny observations about rednecks. My observations about salespeople aren’t meant to be funny. If anything, it’s time to seriously reevaluate how you sell if you notice that you many not be selling.

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ACTION ITEMS

1. Review your last 10 sales calls. How did you score in each of these areas?
2. What needs do your prospects have that cause you to be needed? Are you asking the questions that uncover these needs? That’s how you avoid presenting too soon.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Here’s a tip this week for your sales success.
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Programs
You can check for current programs.
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Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Monday Morning Sales Tips : A book that has quick ideas for you to be more successful in sales.
Real-World Selling: A book with selling skills and strategies that work in the real world of sales. Secrets of Persuasion: Audio CD for the clues to use to speed-read people and close more business.

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*What was your last “mistake?” Did you make it before? There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes in sales provided you are making different mistakes. (You are learning from them!)

About the principal

Would you take auto mechanics classes when you buy a car? Maura did because she wanted to be able to work on her car. She takes that same approach to selling. She can show you how to get below the surface of selling to learn why and how different strategies work. She will show you which skills to implement that will shorten your sales cycle and increase your sales. She was Mobil Oil's first female Lubrication Engineer in the United States and one of Chevron's top 5 salespeople in the country. She knows what works for sales.

"I would recommend your work to other sales organizations who want to get better results from improved selling strategies."
Jamey Rootes
President
Houston Texans

Sales Expert at Allbusiness.com

Selling is the easiest job in the world. Just ask anyone who is not in sales. Read Maura’s ideas on “more brain…less mouth” selling to make your selling easier and more successful.

Maura’s Allbusiness blog posts

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