Archive for the ‘sales’ Category

Salesperson’s checklist part two!

Friday, February 12th, 2010

HAVE YOU DESTROYED THE SALES SCRIPT AND STOPPED PITCHING?

Helping the prospect through the buying process should be a conversation not a one person narrative. If you are using a script you are probably not listening to the customer nor understanding their wants… you are just pitching and pitching isn’t selling.

Are you working very very hard and still not making the sales?

THEY KEY TO BETTER SALES IS TRAINING YOUSELF TO BECOME THE CUSTOMER’S ‘ASSISTANT BUYER’

Do you look for the five steps of the buying process?

ATTENTION
INTEREST
CONVICTION
DESIRE
PURCHASE

Do you know how to respond effectively to the prospects state of mind and emotions at each of the five stages?

Have you done a sales training course, read a book or even an article on sales in the last 30 days?

If you want to be a real “SALESPERSON” which of the following phrases describe you…

1. long term associate
2. partnership seeker
3. trustworthy individual
4. communicative and a good listener
5. human relations expert
6. product/service expert
7. problem solver
8. referral getter
9. lead generator
10. attractive and well presented
11. caring and considerate
12. often with the customer
13. welcome if you call in unexpectedly,
14. always positive and active
15. someone to respect.

FLOGGING OR PITCHING IS NOT SELLING, IT’S A CON, SELLING IS KNOWING HOW TO BEST SOLVE A CUSTOMERS PROBLEM WITH THE APPROPRIATE SOLUTION

If you need the sales script you have not reached the level of selling competence in the product knowledge area (features, advantages and benefits) that you will need to succeed!

DO YOU UNDERSTAND AND PRACTICE THE “DON’T SELL, LISTEN” PRINCIPLE?

Being sold makes us all uncomfortable; pressure is pressure no matter how slickly it’s applied.

The book ‘High Probability Selling’ (Abba Publishing Company), by Ruben & Werth, proposes that the salesperson’s objective is ‘not to get the prospect to buy, rather to find out if there is a mutually acceptable basis to do business’. Sales success comes from being an expert in human relations; it’s about earning respect, using effective communication and particularly it’s about listening.

LISTENING to what you are being told during a sales appointment is still the best way to find a sale. By listening rather than talking you can uncover what the prospect is looking for and then you can provide the ‘fix’.

Just before I finish…

*Here is the link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!

While you’re here take a look at the free blank resume form just in case after the last two posts you think selling as a career is just a bit too hard!

REMEMBER it is hard if not impossible to listen, think and talk all at the same time!

Finally: If you do stay in sales and practice long and hard enough it can be on of the most personally rewarding and financially rewarding careers you can have.

AND

Its the product of the product that your customer is seeking… they don’t want your ALKA SELTZER nor even relief from pain they want to get on with what is important to them!

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Posted in career advice, customer problem solving, customer retention, customer satisfaction, customer service, sales, sales management, sales prospecting, sales skills, selling skills, serving customers, the customer is king | No Comments »

Salesperson’s checklist part one!

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Put the salespersons checklist on your wall as a reminder or in your car to review before you make a call!

Have you reminded yourself lately that you are in a crucial and honourable profession?

“Nothing happens until somebody sells something”

All businesses exist for one reason only… to serve a customer

“Selling is the key to all human activity and progress”

The greatest idea, the best system improvement or even the technically superior product is of no value unless somebody buys it.

“Passion is the pusher of progress and desire is the deliverer of destiny”

Unless we can convince all sections of our organization to passionately want to satisfy our customers and strengthen their desire to become the best in their field, someone else is likely to fulfil ‘our destiny’.

HOW ABOUT YOU… RATHER BE SOLD… OR TOLD?

SELL OR PERISH

If the ability to sell is critical to success, how much time are we investing in becoming more proficient at it?

Have you read at least one article on selling this week?

REMEMBER PEOPLE BUY WHAT THEY WANT NOT WHAT THEY NEED!

A notably successful ad from the past shows a hung over man who takes an ‘Alka-Seltzer’ and walks away looking refreshed and invigorated. For salespeople the question should be what did the man buy. An ALKA-Seltzer many will reply. Those with a little better understanding may realize he bought the product of the product, relief from discomfort. This product of the product or PRINCIPLE BUYING MOTIVE is often referred to as the buying NEED. There is however a more powerful buying motive, even deeper than the need, that is the all-important… SECRET BUYING MOTIVE. This ‘secret’ is what the customer REALLY wants. The man in the ALKA-Seltzer needed relief however wanted to be able to feel good and get on with what he wanted to do or achieve.

Remind yourself that a customer’s inner wants are far more powerful motivators than their perceived needs.

Am I finding out what my customers real motivators are or just pitching features?

Am I able through the sales process able to find out what the prospect really wants?

Am I asking questions or just talking?

Good questioning technique is important (and powerful), as people are usually SKEPTICAL ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE TOLD but generally BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY.

OKAY YOU SAY ASK QUESTIONS… HOW DO I DO THAT!

TIP 1: Asking permission to ask questions will work 99% of the time.

A good start is to say… ‘In order to save you time and to ensure I fully understand your requirements, do you mind if I ask you a few questions’?

TIP 2: Some polite a relationship building questions based on what you know about the prospect and his or her company are a wise start. How are you? How many people on your staff? How long have you worked for XYZ? How’s your…whatever is appropriate…?

TIP 3: Effective salespeople do their best (through research) to know what to ask to ensure that their questions will get the answers they want. Example – Don’t ask about the last dealing the prospect had with your company without checking on the success or difficulties that have gone before.

OPEN QUESTIONS GET LONG EXPLANATIONS & CLOSED Q’s GET ONE WORD ANSWERS…

TIP 4: Do I only ask questions that will get yes responses? Can I rethink and rephrase my questions so a YES is the only logical response.

e.g ’Do you see improved effectiveness of your company as a key management responsibility’? The person you are talking to would have to be a very ‘hard nosed’ individual to say anything but YES (or a total idiot).

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS VERY IMPORTANT…

PRODUCT OF THE PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS CRUCIAL

PEOPLE BUY FOR THEIR REASONS NOT OURS

Remember this useful motivation reference point that is common among many buyers.

Buying Criteria Guide: S – Security/Safety

P – Performance/Power

A – Availability/Appearance

C – Comfort/Class

E – Economy/Ecology

D – Dependability/Durability

Example… if the prospect wants a fast car don’t try to sell a safe green one… or if a prospect wants a ‘cheap’ computer don’t waffle on about a Pentium sixteen with 50,000 meg of ram and a 45 inch screen…

DO I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE SPACED BENEFITS OF WHAT I SELL?

CRITICAL POINT: PEOPLE BUY BENEFITS NOT PRODUCTS!

How do we discover the real benefits of our product or service? The best way is to complete a FEATURES/ADVANTAGES/BENEFITS analysis.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a feature as a – ‘distinctive or characteristic part of a thing’ and an advantage as a – ‘better position, superiority, favorable circumstances’. A benefit is defined as’ ‘do good to, receive benefit (by thing)’.

Product features should be fairly obvious to anyone selling their product for more than a few weeks. Acknowledging that some products are more complicated than others the fact remains we can’t sell what we don’t understand.

List down six to ten of the most important features of your product or service. Check that they only have features listed buy checking if what you have written qualifies under ‘The Concise Oxford’ definition above. Examples may be, this pot has two handles, this traing is conducted over 3 days, it has a 3-litre engine, it has river views, or it has a 1000-hz ‘Pentium’ chip.

Then give each of the features at least two advantages. In the Pentium chip example the advantages could be, faster processing, quicker programme loading, superior movie viewing or quicker web browsing.

Review the features and advantages in light of the definitions and turn the advantages into real customer benefits. To do this it is best to line the three headings up side-by-side and turn the three categories into a sentence joining them with the words (feature) “which means” (advantage) “which gives you” (benefit). In the case of the two handled pot it could be ‘this pot has two handles which means it is better balanced when being carried improving your chance of getting from A to B with out spilling the contents.

SALES – QUICK TIPS

ARE YOU TURNING ONE CALL INTO THREE?

Go next door, both sides, or at least visit two more potential or current customers in the same area.

ARE YOU CROSS-SELLING and/or UPSELLING?

Sell aligned products or a range rather than having only “one product expertise”.

ARE YOU SENDING THANK YOU NOTES?

Everyone likes to be thanked, a quick note saying thanks for seeing me, or thanks for the order, or thanks for whatever can be a powerful relationship builder.

ARE YOU PLAYING THE NUMBERS GAME?

Rule of thumb, ten cold leads will get one prospect, ten prospects will get one customer. How many calls a week is that against the number of customers you are expected to see or sell?

ARE YOU GETTING TESTIMONIALS?

The best way to do it is to ring up the customer (when you know things have gone well) and ask questions that you know will get positive responses. Then ask permission to write the customers experience down, ask permission to send it to him/her and then ask that he/she put it on the company letterhead and send it to you.

ARE YOU ASKING FOR AND GETTING REFERRALS?

All to-do lists and of course sales reports should include a referrals section and if you don’t come back with at least one from each satisfied customer find a sharp object and insert it where it will inflict the most pain.

ARE YOU USING THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED PROSPECTING TECHNIQUE?

Look in the phone book, you think I’m joking, I’ll bet many sales staff have never even thought of it.

HAVE YOU CONTACTED ALL YOUR SOURCES?

Existing customers, suppliers, colleagues, investors, advisors, associates, family, friends, acquaintances, researched leads, past customers, public presentations, civic activities, networking, trade shows, competitors internet sites, next door

IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND NEW CUSTOMERS AT OUR DESK… GET OUT THERE. ARE YOU SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME AT YOUR DESK?

ARE YOU ONLY TALKING TO DECISION MAKERS?

How many secretaries, purchasing officers, clerks and other strange characters are you talking to, I mean wasting time with?

ARE YOU A NO FEAR SALESPERSON OR IS IT TIME FOR A RESUME UPDATE?

Have you overcome their fear of rejection and call reluctance? Do you to understand the biggest risk in your profession comes from developing too few customers and prospects, not from having too many!

Can’t do it?

Need a different career then? While you’re here maybe you should take a look at the free blank resume form!

OR…

Can you accept that as a professional salesperson rejection as part of your life and so you cannot allow a prospect’s rejection to effect and control your mental attitude? Fear can be reduced by planning, being prepared for every step of the selling process through practice and making sure you are backed up with solid product knowledge.

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SIX ESSENTIAL TIPS ON HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

The hardest complainant type first:

If a customer is abusive you must to make you first goal to calm the customer’s temper and take control of the situation. You need remain open and friendly, stay calm and keep your voice low and controlled. Tell the customer you are interested in his/her complaint and say ‘in order to help you I need to fully understand your problem’. Then ask ‘can you tell me what is wrong in a calm voice to ensure I focus on the problem (rather than the emotion) so I am better able to find a solution’. Let customer ‘vent his or her frustration’ and don’t interrupt. Telling you their complete story, and describing how upset they are, allows customers to release pent-up frustrations. It is wise to take notes as you go as it helps you with your response and shows the customer you are seriously interested in their problem.

BLAMING OTHERS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

The worst tactic I have come across is a customer service officer trying to blame me, the customer, for the problem. Never play the blame game! Blaming the customer for the problem will dramatically worsen the situation. Also particularly never use the phrase ‘sir our system requires…‘ or even worse ‘sir you don’t understand our system’ (a common phrase with many service providers in Asia, especially bank staff).

Never blame others in your organization. Both the ‘system excuse’ and blaming others will be seen as evasive (or even worse cowardly) and destroy your credibility with the customer. No customer cares about your ‘problems’, they just want their problem solved. Accept responsibility as a representative of your company and place your efforts into solving the problem.

‘FRUSTRATION: HAVING TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CHOKE THE LIVING S..T OUT OF SOMEONE WHO REALLY DESERVES IT!’ This is a funny saying however it has no place in customer complaint handling, in spite of the bad attitude of many customer service’s staff I have met (and trained) over the years.

GET THE ENTIRE STORY:

When the customer has told you the whole story regarding a complaint tell the customer what you will do to solve the problem. Do not tell the customer what he or she must do to solve the problem. Use phrases such as… ‘I will contact the xyz department’… ‘I will find the document’… ‘I will gather the necessary information’ etc. If you use ‘I’ in place of ‘you,’ you will help to minimise tension as it assures the customer that you are taking responsibility for the resolution of the issue. If you need to refer the matter to a third party always check back with the customer to ensure the other party has made contact and that the problem has been solved. Sure it’s wise to check with the third party to ensure a solution has been found first, however contacting the customer after the event will reinforce both your own and your company’s image. Important point never use the word ‘no’, either recommend a solution or suggest a compromise.

PROBLEM SOLVING AS A CHANCE TO LEARN AND IMPROVE

If you view problem solving as a chance to find out how to improve your company’s operation (or image) and as an opportunity to learn something, rather than a nasty experience, you can approach these difficult situations with a more positive frame of mind. In most complaint situations there are only win-win or lose-lose results. Everyone will win with satisfied customers as you can gain a positive company image and an advocate for you and your products/services (plus hopefully some personal satisfaction) or everyone can lose with upset customers and the gradual destruction of your company’s place in the market plus… personal emotional upset. Every time you allow someone else to change your emotional state YOU LOSE. Turn complaints into opportunities! In reality when you win, so does the customer and if you lose, so does the customer.

IT’S BETTER TO RECEIVE A COMPLAINT THAN HAVE AN EX-CUSTOMER THAT NEVER TELLS YOU WHY THEY LEFT!

FOLLOW-UP:

1. After you’ve resolved a customers’ complaint, it’s essential you place a record on file to ensure the next person handling the customer is aware of the problems encountered so they do not inadvertently ‘walk into a minefield’.
2. Best practice in customer service demands that we place a file note to give a little extra attention to the customer to reinforce the fact that the previous problem was a ‘one off’. This may well cement good future relations.
3. You must also ensure that the problem’s causes are analysed and counter measures are employed to make sure the same situation does not recur. If you learn a ‘better’ way you do business make the learning worthwhile and find a way for your company to make the changes required. Also the last thing you want is for any customer to have a similar problem let alone the same customer have two bad experiences in a row. If they do, chances are you’ve lost them (and all those they can influence) forever.

ONE UNANSWERED COMPLAINT CAN LEAD TO THE LOSS OF LARGE NUMBERS OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Effective or ’good’ customer service needs to be a company wide philosophy not just a procedure. Effective complaint handling is a key element to retaining customers. All job descriptions should contain a responsibility statement for all functions and levels of staff, regardless of their perceived requirement for direct customer contact (or not). In hiring interviews, orientation programmes and training sessions, emphasize that everyone is in the customer service business. Make sure that all employees understand how they directly or indirectly ‘effect’ the customer. Include customer service in all performance evaluations and set up a complaint recording system with a section to report outcomes and responsible personnel. Even if you don’t have a formal ‘Total Quality Management’ function ask employees to submit a list of the specific things they’ve done to help provide superior customer service. If ‘to serve a customer is the only reason for a business to exist’ (and it is) you need to be passionate about updating or modifying your staff’s attitudes and company procedures to eliminate as many complaints as you can.

LEARN TO LOVE COMPLAINTS, THEY ARE GUIDEPOSTS TO IMPROVED PERFORMANCE!

If you can view problem solving as a chance to find out how to improve your company’s operation (or image) and as an opportunity to learn something, rather than a nasty experience, you can approach these difficult situations with a more positive frame of mind. In most complaint situations there is only win-win or lose-lose results. Win with satisfied customers and a positive company image (plus personal satisfaction) or upset customers and the gradual destruction of your company’s hard fought place in the market and personal emotional upset. Every time you allow someone else to change your emotional state YOU LOSE. Turn complaints into opportunities! Remember when you win, so does the customer and if you lose, so does the customer.

Under the heading of “focus on the people who focus on the customers”, a manager’s customer service guide I once read (source unknown) stated:

“Make customer service a part of all written or verbal job descriptions—no matter the function or level. In hiring interviews, orientation, and on-the-job training, emphasize that everyone is in the customer service business. And make sure that all employees understand how they directly or indirectly ‘touch’ the customer.”

“Remember that people do what’s expected when it’s inspected! Include customer service in all performance evaluations. Prior to conducting evaluations, ask employees to submit a list of the specific things they’ve done to help provide superior customer service.”

“Go on a paralysing policy hunt! Ask employees to identify policies and procedures that get in the way of providing good service. Then do your best to update, modify, or eliminate as many as you can.”

*Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog if you would like to read other posts by Ric at orglearn.

NOTE research indicates that:

1. Seven out of ten complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favour and if it is resolved on the spot, 95% will do business with you again.
2. A typical business hears from only 4% of its dissatisfied customers; the other 96% just go silently away and 91% of them will never come back.
3. A typical dissatisfied customer personally tells more than eight people about his or her problem. With today’s communication options and social media usage a dissatisfied customer may now publicize his or her dissatisfaction to thousands.

Talking of dissatisfaction… dissatisfied with your job? Take a look at the free blank resume form and update your resume perhaps!

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Posted in customer greetings, customer problem solving, customer retention, customer satisfaction, customer service, exceeding customer expectations, sales, sales skills, selling skills, serving customers, the customer is king | No Comments »

Seven Things You Must know About Your Customers by Clate Mask

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

This is a recent email I received from Clate Mask CEO, Infusionsoft regarding the & “things” you must know about your customers:

1. Their Name- Nothing speaks to an individual faster than their first name. Use it to build your relationship with your customer.

2. What They’ve Purchased- If you know what your customers purchased in the past, you have a good idea what they will buy again. (And won’t waste your time promoting products of little to no interest.)

3. How Often They Purchase- Individuals who buy rarely from you may need additional encouragement – more marketing. Whereas, consistent customers may not need extra sales pitches, but might benefit from a newsletter or coupon.

Ric comment: Perhaps the sentence above should read “sales contacts” as “pitches” are an outdated and inefficient mode of selling.

4. How Much They Spend (on average)- Why spend precious time pitching (there’s that no no word again) products to customers that they can’t afford? It might embarrass your customer, shows your lack of personal interest, and may cause customers to lose interest.

5. The Last Time They Purchased- Have you lost a customer without even knowing it? Who’s still loyal? Who has strayed (and needs to be brought back)?

6. Each Interaction You’ve Had With Them- Documentation is important for obvious reasons. But being able to “recall” previous conversations will make your customer feel important and appreciated.

7. How They Feel About Your Business- Feedback from your customers is the best way to improve your products/services, meet your customers needs, and attract more customers.”

And from me:

8. What is the one thing (other than price) we can do to help you more- This is an essential question for all salespeople to ask

9. Who are his/her their friends- Do you know anyone that you do business with as a supplier or customer that would benefit from our product or service

Ric (orglearn) **Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!

While you’re here take a look at the free blank resume form!

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Posted in customer retention, customer satisfaction, customer service, sales, sales management, sales skills, sales training, selling skills, serving customers, the customer is king | No Comments »

Communication Listening Summarizing Understand First

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Communication success is about listening, which to be more effective means summarizing and understand first

Listening is THE most important communication skill there is, demonstrating that you are listening is the second.

How to listen and why is summarizing so important!

Through summarizing (and prompting with questions) you can ensure you understand the person you are communicating with. Lets face it the whole point of communication is create understanding of an issue, fact or point of view in the listener. If you go to the effort of summarizing you will gain an additional benefit of creating better empathy with the sender, as you will have actively demonstrated that you have both listened and understood.

The biggest difficulty with listening is to bring your brain along to the conversation and fighting the natural tendency we all have to wander off or “check out”. We do this a number of ways; either we are distracted by other stimulus around us, other pressures intrude or recent past interactions come to mind. We can also be distracted by plotting our response based on our assessment as to where the speaker is heading based on a couple of opening statements. You need to develop patience and focus on the message in its entirety before you set about to explain your point of view or formulate your response. I, at the risk of repeating myself on this very important point say again… it is imperative if you are to be a successful communicator not to jump into early with your own views. Listen and understand first, summarize the other’s points and then respond.

Other points to remember:

If you have mentally wandered off and lost the plot admit it and ask if the sender will reiterate or restate the points you have missed.

The thing all message receivers tend to do is pretend to understand when we don’t out of a fear of looking impolite or worse stupid and we commit other sins:

- We don’t indicate when don’t want to listen

- We don’t indicate when we haven’t heard properly

- We don’t indicate when haven’t understood

- and we usually don’t attempt to clarify the senders message

Feedback is a reversal of the communication process in which a reaction to the sender’s communication is expressed. Since the receiver now becomes the sender, feedback goes through the same steps as the original communication.

Feedback is optional (however to my way of thinking essential) and may, exist in any degree, in a variety of forms, in any given situation. In most communication, the greater the feedback, the more effective the communication is likely to be. If you can’t summarized at least lean forward maintain appropriate eye contact and or say yep or aha or something.

Always advise the message sender if you:

Haven’t heard properly

Haven’t understood

Want more information

Want clarification

Want a repeat or re-phrase (the best most unused skill of all) to ensure you have understood

Two-way communication ONLY exists when the receiver can and does provide feedback to the sender.

Finally a great little self test I found for us all (and particularly for salespeople)

When you are communicating with a prospect or customer, what do you usually do? Take the following quiz to find out more about your listening habits:
_____________________________________________

Yes | No
_________________________________

___ | ___ Do you ever look at your watch while the customer is speaking?

___ | ___ Do you ever finish other people’s sentences?

___ | ___ Do you often find yourself patiently waiting for your turn to talk?

___ | ___ Is it hard to maintain eye contact with people talking to you?

___ | ___ Do you ever interrupt while someone is trying to make a point?

___ | ___ Do you ever think to your self, “I’ve heard all this before?”

___ | ___ Do you anticipate what the other person is going to say?

___ | ___ Are you often distracted while the other person is speaking?

___ | ___ Do you ever wonder what the other person has just said?

___ | ___ Do you think about your response while the customer is talking?

___ | ___ Do you really know the customer’s needs before you present?

___ | ___ Could you do more to encourage the customer to speak?

From: Rick Phillips http://www.progressivedistributor.com/progressive/Online%20exclusives/ListeningHabits.htm

Remember summarizing is a skill and you will have to practice it and learn to be a little patient no matter how fast you believe your brain is!

Ric (orglearn) While you’re here take a look at the free blank resume form with examples!

* Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!

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Posted in career advice, communication, leadership, management, negotiation, sales, sales skills, sales training, selling skills | No Comments »

Sales and Selling – a letter from Gary Wilson

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Hi Ric,

This is something that I have learned about selling and customers.

“When your selling something first you need to make sure that it meets the needs [or wants] of people you’re trying to sell to however remember that no matter what… “your customer is always right”. You need to build a good relationship with them because if you can build trust with them then more than likely they will buy from you over and over as long as you have what they want to buy.

This is just my experience from being in sales for years. I’m no expert however I have learned a few things along the way.

- They [the prospects] are wanting something that will fix their problem or help them with what ever it might be.

- Also you need to have a good attitude with them in other words be nice to them ask them if there’s anything you can help them with or if they don’t want what they bought then offer them money back or see if they might want to exchange the item for something else or so [to maintain long term loyalty].

- Most important thing you will not always sell something, people like to look around first to see if they can get a better deal or for a lower price.

- Always treat your customers the way you would want to be treated and you just might see results. With out any customers then you don’t have a business. One thing I learned was that after they buy from you always tell them than you for doing business with you or buying because like I said before if you don’t have customers  then you want have a business at all to sell things.”

Gary Wilson
http://thewilsonenterprises.com

Thanks Gary… rictownsend [items are Ric addins/edits]

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The importance Developing the company’s Sales Culture

Friday, July 17th, 2009

A) The view from Todd Cohen’s Sales Culture Blog

Comment” “When I think of sales culture, it means that every person in the organization, from the CEO to the receptionist to the shipping clerk understands that WE ARE ALL IN SALES.” – Eric David.  ([Todd] thanks Eric, my sentiments exactly!)… [and mine as well Ric]

B) From Interview with Acer’s Stan Shih by Geoffrey James of BNET

“If culture is destiny — and I believe that it is — then Acer must have a sales culture that’s even more impressive than Dell’s.”

“James: Where do employees fit into the picture? Shih: The customer comes first, then the employees and then the shareholders.”

An interesting article worth the read, the rest is here:

http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=4158&tag=nl.e808

C) “Your front-line managers can drive sales – or drive away your best salespeople”  by Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano

“The Gallup Organization’s research… studies suggest that 80% of a sales representative’s perception of company leaders was influenced by that salesperson’s relationship with his or her direct supervisor. No matter how good the CEO was, or the vice president of sales was, the sales reps’ view of these individuals was strongly colored by their opinion of their direct supervisor.”

“The bottom line is clear: Front-line managers are instrumental in creating the right workgroup culture. Selecting and training front-line sales supervisors is one of the best and surest ways to improve the quality of your sales organization.”

The rest of this must read article is here:

http://gmj.gallup.com/content/328/Creating-Successful-Sales-Culture.aspx

Need a sales resume visit the blank resume page.

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SIX MORE QUICK SALES (MANAGEMENT) TIPS PROSPECTING AND ATTITUDE

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

PROSPECTING TIP:

Ask if they look in the phone book, you think I’m joking, bet most of your sales staff have never even thought of it. Those who have are often intimidated…. it’s a lot of names and it looks like a lot of work, “hmm best not tie up the phone, a customer might be trying to call me”… Slip outside and grab a couple of your sales “experts” and ask them how they prospect, (take your blood pressure pills with you).

ANOTHER SIMPLE PROSPECTING TIP:

Where to prospect… existing customers, suppliers, colleagues, investors, advisors, associates, family, friends, acquaintances, researched leads, past customers, public presentations, civic activities, networking, trade shows, competitors internet sites, next door

REFERRALS:

If the sale is made and the order signed, salespeople (as against order takers) should then ask, ”Fred who do you know that might also benefit from this product/service/widget”. All to-do lists and of course sales reports should include a referrals section and if they don’t come back with at least one from each satisfied customer find a sharp object and insert it where it will inflict the most pain.

TRIAL CLOSES:

The sales person’s thermometer. This is where the sales person asks the potential customer to purchase the goods or service during the sales interview to test how hot or cold the prospect is. It can also be used to uncover buying objections. Just for fun ask your sales people to tell you about the last time they used a trial close and what happened. If they can’t tell you (or look at you as if you crawled out from under an old piece of cheese) place the following add “SALESPEOPLE WANTED”

DECISION MAKERS:

Have your salespeople send you a list of names and positions of the people they contact and see how many secretaries, purchasing officers, clerks and other strange characters they are talking to. If they have developed a “milk run” just to keep their call rate up remember the experts tell us (last time I heard) it costs about US$220 per call. That’s a lot of money to smile at a secretary who can’t approve any purchases.

NO FEAR:

Sales people need to overcome their fear of rejection and have no call reluctance. They need to understand risk in their profession comes from developing too few customers and prospects, not from having too many. They have to accept rejection as part of their life and do not allow a prospect’s rejection to effect and control their mental attitude. Fear can be reduced by planning, being prepared for every step of the selling process backed by solid product knowledge. Even a well developed prospecting script with prepared responses to all of the major questions and objections they might encounter can help.

DESTROY THE SALES SCRIPT… DON’T PITCH

Selling, or more correctly helping the prospective customer through the process of deciding that what you have to offer is a worthwhile solution to satisfy his or her wants (or needs if you must) should be a conversation not a one, two, three (or ten) act play. If you or your salespeople are using a script (and many still do) you are probably not listening to the customer you are just pitching. You need to let the customer explain what he or she wants and then know enough about your product or service to explain how it provides the solution or benefit desired.

BONUS TIP: IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND NEW CUSTOMERS AT OUR DESK… GET OUT THERE

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What’s the Best Time to Cold Call?

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Cold calling is expensive and usually fairly ineffective… however it still has to be done. Many salespeople still go in and pitch rather than knowing how to ask questions to uncover needs and wants. Even worse they do it at the wrong time.

“Most sales reps make cold calls basically when they feel like it.  And that’s too bad, because scientific research reveals that timing may be even more important than technique when it comes to cold calling success.”

The BNET site’s blog post (see link below) tests our preconceptions about the timing of our cold calls and then provides ’scientific facts that can help salespeople double or even triple cold call success rates’.

Truly a great free resource that as I said includes a great quick test for yourself (or your sales staff)

Something every salesperson should read!

http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=4114

(copy and paste to your browser) ITS WORTH A LOOK

Ric’s cold call tip: If you need to prepare a script (something many so called sales trainers/advisers will tell you to do) then you’re not ready for the cold call. Scripts are crutches for those that don’t understand or know their product’s features, advantages and benefits well enough and more importantly don’t know enough about their prospects business. Don’t sell, listen! The only way to make your way to a sale is ask questions and then LISTEN to the answers.

Looking for a sales job do your sales resume on the free blank resume form.

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Posted in sales, sales management, sales skills, sales training, selling skills | 2 Comments »

SALES MANAGEMENT – FIVE QUICK PRACTICAL REMINDERS

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

TURN ONE CALL INTO THREE:

Make sure the sales staff go next door, both sides, or at least visit two more potential or current customers in the same area. In another life whilst training bank managers to sell they would want to travel thirty miles for one call then return to the branch. If you are in sales and have to travel to a call it is an imperative go to the building next door and visit every office that you can talk your way into, you might get a pleasant surprise!

CROSS-SELL:

If you are the sales leader train sales staff to sell aligned products or a range rather than having only “one product expertise”. ‘But boss I sell left handed widgets I don’t know about right handed widgets… take a deep breath and say… well find out…! Hotels are good at this they have travel experts, meetings experts, corporate experts, incentive experts… come to think of it when I was a financier (before I grew up), we had dealer experts, mortgage experts, leasing experts, personal loan experts and of course bullsh*t experts. Sure specialist knowledge is great however no sales person in this business climate should walk out without at least trying to sell a visit by their other product ‘experts’ and they should at least have a broad enough product knowledge to recognise a prospect for anything your organization sells.

THANK YOU NOTES:

Everyone likes to be thanked, a quick note saying thanks for seeing me, or thanks for the order, or thanks for the payment, or thanks for whatever can be a powerful relationship builder. If you’re the sales manager just ask casually at the next sales meeting “how long since anyone has sent a thank-you note?”


THE NUMBERS GAME:

Rule of thumb, ten cold leads will get one prospect, ten prospects will get one customer. How many calls a week is that against the number of customers you expect from each salesperson. More importantly how many contacts are your salespeople really making a week, what audit system have you implemented to weed out the dummy call reports? Selling is a numbers game, the more we talk to, the more we get. Make sure they are networking and reporting accurately on their real activities.

TESTIMONIAL TRICK:

Third party testimonials are very powerful but hard to get. The best way to do it is to ring up the customer (when you know things have gone well) and ask questions that you know will get positive responses. Then ask permission to write the customers experience down, ask permission to send it to him/her and then ask that he/she put it on the company letterhead and send it to you. If you ask customers to write testimonials they will always be too busy, this way you take the thinking out of the process and most will accede to your request. Do all your sales staff understand this ‘trick’

NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL SOMEBODY SELLS SOMETHING

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Posted in sales, sales management, sales skills, sales training, selling skills | 3 Comments »