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You are here: Home / Newsletters / The Selling Newsletter February 2011

The Selling Newsletter February 2011

February 1, 2011 By maurasf

The Selling Newsletter

February 2011

SALES QUOTE

“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”
………………………- John Burroughs, naturalist and essayist

For Salespeople…

Are you ready for a dissatisfied customer? Even the best salespeople have to work with unhappy customers. Your choice in how you respond is either going to cost you a customer or is going to gain you a customer. How do I know? Recently, a client fired his public relations person. The PR guy initially made bold claims and promises to deliver in 90 days. After 30 days nothing had happened. The client was concerned and said so. What would you do if you were the PR guy? Would you first acknowledge your customer’s disappointment and then explain to the customer what you had done and outline the plans for the future to assuage his concern? Or would you blame the customer and tell him it was all his fault? This isn’t a trick question. You might want to reconsider a career in sales if you answer the latter. This is what that salesman did with the client. While blaming your customer is a strategy, it’s a terrible one to keep your customers. To prevent getting in this situation in the first place, take care when making promises and take responsibility for your actions. Just as when things turn out well you get to take credit, it’s your show when things go south.

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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.

You can get RSS feed for the blog.

Follow me on twitter

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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THE MONTH

Are You Using the Tools of the Trade?

During every sales call the challenge is to send a message that will grab a customer’s attention, create awareness, and satisfy a need. You’ve got your work cut out for you. Now you need tools to do the job. Just as every craftsman works with tools, the salesperson works with words. Here are some words to consider that will build your sale.

No buts. When a customer voices a concern some salespeople hear ‘objection’. A concern can quickly become an objection and stall the sale when you make a poor word choice. Some salespeople first acknowledge the concern and follow with the word ‘but.’ The word ‘but’ effectively negates everything said before it. What your customer hears is the disagreement that precedes an argument. Instead, first acknowledge the concern and follow with ‘and.’ For example, your customer might comment that the process you recommend sounds complicated. You would respond “Yes, it is complicated and with our technical assistance…”

No problem. We are always delighted when our customers show their appreciation for special results and express their gratitude. Some salespeople reply with “No problem.” They’ve just lost an opportunity to generate some customer satisfaction points. Instead they left their customer associating their hard work with the word ‘problem.’ Every time your customer says “Thank you” the only response should be “My pleasure. I am always happy to help you.” Let your customer know that you look forward to helping. They will seek you out to serve them when they have problems instead of looking to your competition.

You write, too. The written word should also help you sell. Wordy language can put off your customers. You should avoid legal sounding words and phrases like:

• Enclosed please find • Contained herein

• Thank you in advance for your cooperation • Herewith

• Pursuant to your request • Under separate cover

Creating images. Understanding is everything. Selling involves listening as well as speaking. The salesperson listens while the customer speaks. Your customer has to listen while you are speaking so the sale can take place. You can choose words that make it easier for your customer to hear your selling message. Metaphors and similes are easy to listen to because they are word pictures that increase understanding. A metaphor is when we lend qualities to something that it normally doesn’t have. An example is “Lubrication is the lifeline of your operation” to describe how critical your product is to a plant’s productivity. A simile is a comparison of dissimilar things using like or as. An example is “Predictive maintenance is essential to production. It’s like heat is to coffee.” Look for ways to describe your products and services using metaphors and similes that create images. You will make it easier for your customers to listen and to hear your selling message.

As Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” By carefully selecting the best words for selling, you will enlighten your customers and avoid giving them some unexpected jolts.

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ACTION ITEMS

1. Write a metaphor for some aspect of you business, you product or service.
2. Review past correspondence for editing and improvement. Less is more in writing. Are you using persuasive language?

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Programs
You can check for current programs.
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DID YOU KNOW?

If you’re a woman, you might want to live in a city that’s good for your health. Here they are . If you’re male, take a look here .

A Cincinnati television station has reported that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has $80 million in his bank accounts . Palmer made $10.5 million last season starting for the 4-12 Bengals (source: WCPO-TV).

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A GREAT SELLLING TIP

A great website to help sales professionals especially so they can travel light is:
https://www.onebag.com/
You’ll learn new strategies to pack light so you can focus on your business and not be distracted from a poorly planned trip.
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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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