The Selling Newsletter
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SALES QUOTE
“This woman said I was acting like God. Therefore, I said unto her…”
Woody Allen
At least Woody had high aspirations. What about when you don’t want to be what you really are?I’ve been noticing the titles that salespeople have in business today. Some are in business development. Some are business advisors. There are all kinds of non-sales titles, yet the person is in sales. What’s with that? If you are in sales, your title should reflect that your job requires you to sell. Without the title you are kidding yourself and your customers. There’s nothing wrong with sales. In fact, when it’s done well, you are helping people make great buying decisions. So why not have the title reflect what you do? Then you get to sound like a sales professional, not like someone who is trying to hide what he does. Just don’t sound like the stereotypical salesperson. Back off the coercive stuff. Ask questions and listen. Then you will be the best kind of sales professional—a successful one.
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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
Want Better Health Care? Look at Women’s Businesses
Have you thought about your health care lately? If you are running a business, you probably have. You have certainly noticed the steep rise in your health care insurance costs each year. When women business owners think about the health care coverage they provide their employees, they see more than just the cost.Some women business owners even have some ideas to address the out-of-control costs. I think they are on to something that is good for America.Should someone tell the White House?
I’m also a Sales Coach for Allbusiness.com
Here’s a recent column:
Getting In. How To Get Appointments With C Level Prospects
Have you ever thought about where it’s best in an organization to begin customer contact? Most salespeople will agree that starting at the top is a promising strategy. It may be more challenging, but the benefits outweigh the risks. Here’s how you can be successful when you’re trying to reach a top executive.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas Business Journal. My column is called “Customer Connections.” I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com
What’s sales tip has helped you be even more successful in sales?
Send your helpful tip to tip@bestatselling.com
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Follow Me On Twitter
If you want to see the world through a sales strategist’s view, you just might get some new ideas for your business success. My id is BestatSelling.
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The Selling Ideas for this Month
Just Say No
When Nancy Regan suggested you “just say no” she probably didn’t know that her advice was perfect for negotiating. Here’s how you can be a better negotiator if you wonder why saying no is such a good idea.
No builds trust. Jim Camp is the author of No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home. His negotiating process includes several principles that will produce better results. The process starts with the understanding that in a negotiation both parties have the inherent right to say no. Why is this so important? Camp says that if you negotiate with someone who denies you the right to say no it will produce a barrier that might never come down.
Think about salespeople who try to strong arm their way into making appointments. They say, “I can save you money. When can we meet?” They are afraid to hear no so they don’t give the prospect a chance to say it. Instead, if they said, “We’ve helped clients like you and I’d like to meet to see if we can do the same for you. What do you think?” The prospect can say no—or yes. The conversation is less threatening when the prospect feels free to express himself and has the right to say no. That’s why Camp supports the dictionary definition of negotiating which is the right to veto. He says, “Manipulators who deny prospects the right to veto build barriers and fail.”
Tap into emotional decisions. Another principle of being a better negotiator is to help your respected opponent make a decision. Salespeople make the mistake of focusing on intellectual information to help their customers make buying decisions. They make statements about the performance of their products often citing specifications. It doesn’t produce decisions. If you’ve heard a prospect say, “I know it makes perfect sense, but I just can’t make a decision” then you have seen that providing more information won’t work. Camp says, “Decisions are 100% emotional and they are driven by vision, not just facts and figures.”
To help influence the customers and drive the decision, Camp says the salesman must be able to create a vision for the customer. He adds, “Visions are not created with PowerPoint presentations.” How do you create the vision that influences and helps decision making? You ask interrogative questions instead of making statements. Questions which start with “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” “how,” and “which” are interrogative. To answer them, a customer begins to paint a picture of how he sees his business. That’s the beginning of his vision. You could ask a customer, “Which parts of our product or service are most important to you?” The customer may say, “Your on time deliveries allow us to avoid downtime like we get from other suppliers.” Both you and your customer can now see that your customer’s vision includes valuing on time deliveries. Camp adds, “You’ve got to get your opponent to see your product benefits by asking questions.”
You think you know, but you don’t. Camp says a big mistake negotiators make is that they assume too much. Some of these assumptions get salespeople into trouble during negotiations. Some of these bad assumptions are assuming they know all the decision makers who can influence a decision. Good negotiators build into their negotiations time to get to know the visions of all the influencers involved. Other bad assumptions are the price is too high and it has to be lowered to get business; discounts are required; only the lowest price will get the deal; knowledge of all that the product does for a customer; and reasons why buyers buy. Too many salespeople assume they have this knowledge when they don’t. Instead of assuming, Camp says you must ask questions to confirm. He even advocates testing assumptions about the research you’ve gathered for the sales call.
Above all, Camp advocates common courtesy and respect as the only way to effectively negotiate. That way, when you negotiate with the best of intentions, you just might hear, “No, I didn’t think I needed your product before, but yes, now I want to buy.”
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Action Items
1. What assumptions will you test at your next sales call?
2. What questions will you ask to create a vision for your customer?
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Programs
When: September 4, 11, 18, and 25
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Master Selling Series
Skills and strategies to close more business. Includes:
-Persuasion skills to shorten your sales cycle
-Consultative Questioning strategies to guide your customers to understand why they should buy now
-Hearing what your customers mean so you can be sure they understand your selling message
-Selling strategies to find your best customers and those easiest to sell to
For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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