"If you become known for what you know instead of what you sell, buyers will come to you for help and advice instead of your lowest price," says sales trainer Chris Lytle. So how do you do that? Read on for Lytle's advice.
"To become known for what you know, you have to market your knowledge instead of your product," says Lytle. "This is why white papers and webinars are key lead generation tools for businesses today. As a salesperson, you can put together your own "knowledge products." There is a successful salesperson for Paychex who puts out a monthly newsletter of short articles for small businesses. A radio ad rep in Charlottesville, VA does the same thing."
"No time to write a newsletter? Put together a checklist detailing, "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a _____." (Put your product or service in the blank). Or write a one page "case study" of a business problem you solved for a customer. Document the return on investment and quote your happy customer."
"Or simply share a key idea from a book you've just read and turn it into a tip. See example below."
"You will attract more buyers if you are offering to teach them something of value to them than you will ever attract by simply trying to sell them your product or service," writes Chet Holmes in The Ultimate Sales Machine.
What do you know that your prospects and customers don't know? How can you teach them something of value?
Chris Lytle is a sales trainer, speaker, and creator of "Max," a web-based, interactive training platform for salespeople at any stage in their careers. This revolutionary creation is a unique combination of tools and real-world behaviors that align with the way customers say they want to be approached and sold to. Learn more at www.max-atm.com
Showing posts with label Chris Lytle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Lytle. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
How (and When) to Talk About Money
"I learned early in my career not to save the money discussion until the presentation stage of the sales process," says sales trainer Chris Lytle. "In fact, if the customer doesn't bring up the money question in the first meeting, I do."
"I started doing this when I was a young advertising salesperson. I would tell my prospects what our average weekly order was. That way they would know what it took to make an impact on our audience. Most of them appreciated the information."
"I recently discovered another approach to bringing up the money issue. Mahan Khalsa suggests committing to memory your version of the following:"
"I don't know how much this will cost you. Every client situation is unique. However, other companies in similar situations and trying to get the same results you've been talking about tend to invest between $X and $Y. Can you see yourself falling somewhere in that range?"
"Khalsa believes Y should be about 25-50% more than X. A range of $100,000 to $150,000 is more believable than $100,000 and $2 million."
"Not one prospect has ever dropped dead because you talked about money early," says Lytle. "But a lot of salespeople have suffered tremendous disappointment because they didn't raise the money issue until it was time to make the proposal. When it comes to finding out that your prospect doesn't have the budget or isn't thinking as big as you are, remember this: Bad news early is good news."
Chris Lytle is a sales trainer, speaker, and creator of "Max," a web-based, interactive training platform for salespeople at any stage in their careers. This revolutionary creation is a unique combination of tools and real-world behaviors that align with the way customers say they want to be approached and sold to. Learn more at www.max-atm.com
"I started doing this when I was a young advertising salesperson. I would tell my prospects what our average weekly order was. That way they would know what it took to make an impact on our audience. Most of them appreciated the information."
"I recently discovered another approach to bringing up the money issue. Mahan Khalsa suggests committing to memory your version of the following:"
"I don't know how much this will cost you. Every client situation is unique. However, other companies in similar situations and trying to get the same results you've been talking about tend to invest between $X and $Y. Can you see yourself falling somewhere in that range?"
"Khalsa believes Y should be about 25-50% more than X. A range of $100,000 to $150,000 is more believable than $100,000 and $2 million."
"Not one prospect has ever dropped dead because you talked about money early," says Lytle. "But a lot of salespeople have suffered tremendous disappointment because they didn't raise the money issue until it was time to make the proposal. When it comes to finding out that your prospect doesn't have the budget or isn't thinking as big as you are, remember this: Bad news early is good news."
Chris Lytle is a sales trainer, speaker, and creator of "Max," a web-based, interactive training platform for salespeople at any stage in their careers. This revolutionary creation is a unique combination of tools and real-world behaviors that align with the way customers say they want to be approached and sold to. Learn more at www.max-atm.com
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What Buyers Really Want from Salespeople
One of our sales experts, Chris Lytle, asked more than 40,000 customers what they want from the salespeople who work with them. Here are the top 7 things customers want you to do:
- Learn about my business
- Quit bad-mouthing the competition
- Make appointments
- Listen better
- Follow up after the sale
- Treat me like I'll be in business next month
- Treat me like a client and not a category of business
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Build your story, build customer relationships
You want to build relationships your competitors can't steal. If you're in business to business sales, you know that organizations don't buy from other organizations; people in organizations buy from people in other organizations.
"In order to build relationships, you need to let the other person know something about you," says sales expert Chris Lytle. "Self-disclosure is the act of revealing yourself to the other person. And while you don't want to reveal everything, you do want your prospect to understand something about your expertise, background, and motivation."
"Start with why you are doing this besides the money," suggests Lytle. "Another thing to disclose is why you chose this particular industry. Was it because of, or in spite of, your college degree? Have you had a lifelong interest in this or did you recently discover it? What customers have you helped? What problems have you solved? Of all the companies you could have chosen to work for, why did you choose this particular company? What is it about the company or the product that keeps you excited?"
That's probably more than enough to get you started on your story. The challenge, says Lytle, is keeping it brief and compelling. But the reward is great. "When the people on the other side of the desk understand more about your experience and your motivation for doing the job, they feel more comfortable discussing their real concerns," says Lytle. "After all, there's a real person across the desk from them. Not just another salesperson."
Tell us your story. How are you using it to build relationships with customers?
Chris Lytle, CSP, time releases immediately applicable sales advice via the MAX-ATM Automatic Training Machine website. Check it out at www.max-atm.com
"In order to build relationships, you need to let the other person know something about you," says sales expert Chris Lytle. "Self-disclosure is the act of revealing yourself to the other person. And while you don't want to reveal everything, you do want your prospect to understand something about your expertise, background, and motivation."
"Start with why you are doing this besides the money," suggests Lytle. "Another thing to disclose is why you chose this particular industry. Was it because of, or in spite of, your college degree? Have you had a lifelong interest in this or did you recently discover it? What customers have you helped? What problems have you solved? Of all the companies you could have chosen to work for, why did you choose this particular company? What is it about the company or the product that keeps you excited?"
That's probably more than enough to get you started on your story. The challenge, says Lytle, is keeping it brief and compelling. But the reward is great. "When the people on the other side of the desk understand more about your experience and your motivation for doing the job, they feel more comfortable discussing their real concerns," says Lytle. "After all, there's a real person across the desk from them. Not just another salesperson."
Tell us your story. How are you using it to build relationships with customers?
Chris Lytle, CSP, time releases immediately applicable sales advice via the MAX-ATM Automatic Training Machine website. Check it out at www.max-atm.com
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A Magic Two-sentence Email that Gets Stalled Sales Back on Track
Here's an interesting tip from sales trainer Chris Lytle to help you get a stalled prospect back in sales motion:
When a customer didn't call me back, I sent this e-mail:
"Cliff, I still have you on my 'waiting for' list of people I'm expecting to hear from. Am I still on your radar? Chris"
His response:
"You are good. Let's talk this morning if you are available. I'm out of town but can be reached on my cell phone."
Result: Before I could call him, he called me from the road and we scheduled our next meeting. My two-sentence e-mail worked (I believe) because I really do have a "waiting for" list and keep track of people who owe me a call, an e-mail, or a contract - and because the "radar" question lets the customer opt in or out without pressure.
Chris Lytle, CSP, time releases immediately applicable sales advice via the MAX-ATM Automatic Training Machine website. Check it out at www.max-atm.com.
When a customer didn't call me back, I sent this e-mail:
"Cliff, I still have you on my 'waiting for' list of people I'm expecting to hear from. Am I still on your radar? Chris"
His response:
"You are good. Let's talk this morning if you are available. I'm out of town but can be reached on my cell phone."
Result: Before I could call him, he called me from the road and we scheduled our next meeting. My two-sentence e-mail worked (I believe) because I really do have a "waiting for" list and keep track of people who owe me a call, an e-mail, or a contract - and because the "radar" question lets the customer opt in or out without pressure.
Chris Lytle, CSP, time releases immediately applicable sales advice via the MAX-ATM Automatic Training Machine website. Check it out at www.max-atm.com.
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