Top 5 Tips for New Sellers

In a recent post on her blog, Jill Konrath was asked the question, "If you were mentoring a new salesperson, what would be your top five sales tips and how did you learn those?"

Her answers are insightful and good reminders of what to do - and what not to do, to be successful in sales. Here are Konrath's Top 5:

1. Focus on making a difference.

Nobody cares about your product, service or solution. That's the hardest thing for sellers to realize. All they care about is the difference you can make for their organization.

For example, today I sell sales training. If I call a VP of Sales and mention that, they'll tell me they're not interested. However, once I changed my focus to the tangible outcomes they'd get from using my sales training, the door opened wide. After all, they were extremely interested in shortening their sales cycle, reducing the ramp up time for new hire sales reps and driving revenue growth.

2. Slow down to speed up your sales.

This was one of the hardest things for me to learn. When I first started selling, I was so eager to be successful. I tried to wow my prospects with my great product knowledge. I closed often and early. But the more I tried to rush things, the more resistant to moving forward my prospects became. They'd throw out obstacles and objections that I couldn't overcome. When I learned to slow down, parcel information out over multiple meetings, and simply advance the sales process one step at a time, suddenly my sales increased.

When you're scared about not getting the business, your prospects can intuitively sense your fear. One of the major symptoms is rushing the sales process.

3. Pay the price of admission. Do pre-call research!

To get into big companies, you can't make 100 cold calls saying the same thing to everyone. Several years ago corporate decision-makers stopped answering their phones and rolled all calls to voicemail. They delete most messages within seconds because they sound like salespeople making their pitch.

I discovered that the only way to capture the attention of these corporate decision-makers was to create a very personalized message based on in-depth research in their firm. Once I started doing this, I started setting up meetings.

4. Create an account entry campaign.

It takes 7-10 contacts to crack into corporate accounts these days. Most sellers give up after 3-5 attempts. If you want to set up a meeting with a corporate decision-maker, plan multiple touches from the onset. It takes a while to break through their busy-ness and register on their Richter Scale, but it can be done.

You can use multiple formats in your campaign too: voicemail, email, direct mail, invitations to tele-seminars, and more.

5. Analyze your sales approach from your customer's shoes.

It's not important what you say. The only thing that matters is what your customers hear. For example, when I was trying to reach a decision-maker a while back, I decided to leave a message on my own voicemail first to see how I sounded. When I listened to my message, I was appalled. I sounded pathetic! So I worked on scripting my message and kept calling myself over and over until I finally created something I would respond to if I were the prospect.

If you'd like more tips like these, check out Jill Konrath's Selling to Big Companies blog or subscribe to her free newsletter. (You'll also receive a bonus Sales Call Planning Guide!)

The Sales Epiphany

Dictionary.com defines an epiphany as "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple or commonplace occurrence or experience."

Sales coach Cheryl Clausen believes that an epiphany is key to the sales process. "When you're capable of stimulating an epiphany in a prospect you're assured of completing the sale now rather than at some point in the distant future," says Clausen.

She explains, "Have you ever had a sales conversation where the prospect agreed with you throughout the conversation, agreed your solution would be helpful, yet when it came time to make the purchase decision they just couldn't bring themselves to make that decision? Of course! The reason the prospect just can't move forward is because your solution isn't an immediate need from their perspective. It's something that might be nice to have, but not absolutely necessary to have right now."

So, how do you bring about an epiphany? "You do it by helping the prospect to realize the significance of not having your solution beyond the obvious," says Clausen. "As an example, you have a solution that increases what their systems do, and what they'd like those systems do. As the expert you might ask, "When your customers get angry with you because, in your own words, you've dropped the ball, does that ever lead to some form of compensation on your part to provide damage control?'"

"A well-timed question like that can help the decision-maker to look at your situation from an entirely different angle," says Clausen. "Instead of viewing your solution as an expense that doesn't need to happen right now, you can help the decision-maker to perceive your solution as an investment that will stop the financial bleeding immediately."

Cheryl Clausen, the Increase Sales Coach, works with clients in all areas of sales and marketing - to increase your sales. Learn more and discover the "7 Secrets Top Producers Know That You Can Put to Use in the Next 9 Days" at www.increasesalescoach.com

Book e'm to Stand Out

Have you been trying to crack a large account to no avail? Sales trainer Jim Meisenheimer suggests you differentiate yourself by sending a book thirty days after the first call. This doesn't mean you have to be an author - Meisenheimer recommends sending "Discover Your Genius: How to Think Like History's 10 Most Revolutionary Minds" by Michael Gelb.

Autograph the book "I hope this book helps you discover your genius," and sign and date it.

This is just an example - there are many books out there that would make the same impression. After all, "How much would you be willing to invest in securing a new account?" asks Meisenheimer. "What would the lifetime value be of a new customer?"

Today's tip comes from Jim Meisenheimer, CSP. Jim is an author, sales trainer, and writes the bi-weekly No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter. Learn more at http://www.meisenheimer.com

Quote of the Week

"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful." -- Edward R. Murrow, Journalist

Your price is too high!

The dreaded price objection. You could search the world high and low, and never find a sales professional who hasn't encountered it. So what do you do when a prospect looks you in the eye and says, "Your price is too high?" Just stay calm and remember this tip from sales trainer Colleen Francis.

"When most salespeople are told their price is too high, they make an immediate assumption about what 'too high' means," says Francis. "If they're presenting a $10,000 proposal to a client who says the price s too high, for example, the salesperson might automatically assume 10 percent too high, or 25 percent, or 50 percent or so on. Then, they offer a discount based on that assumption, rather than basing it on what the client really had in mind."

"'Too high' is a very subjective comment," continues Francis. "Before you start making any counter-offers, take a deep breath, relax and don't say anything for a good three seconds. Just pause, look at your customer and gather your thoughts. Sometimes, those three seconds of silence are enough to encourage the client to elaborate. If they don't, come right out and ask them precisely what they mean."

If, after you let them explain their objection, you find that they won't budge on the price, and it's below what you consider to be fair - move on! "You can't and won't sell to everyone," says Francis. "Having a healthy pipeline (and consistently prospecting to keep it full) is your best defense against any objections, because it gives you the confidence to walk away from a deal that could cost you more than it's worth."

Check out more of Colleen's advice at www.engageselling.com. You can also reach her by calling 877-364-2438 or emailing her at colleen@engageselling.com.

Kiss 'em Goodbye!

Who hasn't had the customer who nickel-and-dimes you, doesn't return phone calls, and makes unreasonable demands? Many consider it a part of the job, but referral expert Joanne Black believes differently.

Black calls these customers "PITAs," or 'pain in the ass' customers. "PITA customers are never happy," explains Black. "They're emotionally draining and they use up your valuable resources. Collect too many PITA customers and watch your profits dwindle - not a compelling scenario."

"When organizations take bad business, they are paying a hidden opportunity cost - the opportunity lost to use their resources to go after the phenomenal clients they want and need to make money! Servicing a PITA customer takes away time we could use providing something extra for our truly great customers."

"We shouldn't target just 'anyone,'" says Black. "You need to create a profile of your "Ideal Customer" so you can recognize perfect opportunities when they arise. These Ideal Customers are those you want to serve and the ones you will bend head over heels for."

"For a lot of salespeople, being too specific in describing their Ideal Customer may seem like they might be leaving good business on the table. It's exactly the opposite. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for someone to refer you. A long list of the things you do blurs your image. For someone to be able to refer you, they need a clear picture of you."

Ask yourself these questions to create a description of your Ideal Customer:

Industry: In what industry does your company have a track record?

Geography: Where would these customers be based - regions of the United States, North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa?

Size Company: How large would the company you would most like to work with be and how do you measure its size (i.e.: number of employees, revenue, age, geographical coverage)?

Business Unit or Function: What group of people within the company are your ideal contacts - CEOs, CIOs, COOs, HR, marketing?

Type of Person: What are the personality traits (Sense of humor, responsible, dedicated, integrity) of your "Ideal Customer?"

Situation/Need: What sort of situation is your ideal customer in that creates the need for your help? Here are some ideas: "My salespeople aren't performing, our teams are not working together, we've just acquired another company, we have difficulty recruiting the right talent, we don't have enough clients, our systems are at capacity, we'll be acquiring more companies."

If a prospect doesn't meet your criteria, Black advises you to just say NO! The cost of working with a PITA will outweigh any benefits you get from the sale.

Joanne Black is America's leading authority on referral selling and the author of No More Cold Calling The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust. Learn more at her website, www.nomorecoldcalling.com

Cold Calling Quick Tip

Cold calling can be discouraging, especially when no one is calling you back. When that happens, try this tip from sales trainer Elinor Stutz. She says it has always given her a 100% return rate - imagine what it could do for you!

To greatly increase your return response to a cold call, Stutz suggests, "After leaving the voice message, immediately send a duplicate short email. But, here is where it will be slightly different. In the subject line, you can type 'follow-up'. Begin the message from the reader's point of view by stating, 'I realize it is easier to press the reply key then to dial back. Per my telephone message...' Keep your message down to one or two very short paragraphs."

"When prospects realize you are concerned about their time and are making every effort to make it easy to do business with you, they will be interested to explore what you have to offer," says Stutz.

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale and author of "Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results", has transformed her highly successful sales career into a sales training company. Her clientele is comprised of Entrepreneurs, Network Marketers and beginning salespeople with 0-5 years experience. Learn more at www.SmoothSale.net