"Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still." -- Chinese Proverb
Business can be slow at times. Prospects take a long time to decide about purchases, your boss takes a long time to decide about the promotion, you make call after call with little to no response. This happens to everyone!
What's important is to focus on the fact that things are happening, no matter how slowly they may be happening. Rushing the process can make you seem desperate or make it seem like you don't have your prospect's best interests at heart. Keep your business going by always trying something, working toward your goals, and you will reach them - maybe just not on the time frame you wanted!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Are Your Prospects Suffering from Frazzled Customer Syndrome?
Everyone is busy, busy, busy - and that makes selling even more difficult. You need to cater to those busy, frazzled customers to really succeed. Today, in an excerpt from her new book, SNAP Selling, sales expert Jill Konrath tells you how.
Many of the people you're calling on today suffer from a severe case of Frazzled Customer Syndrome. This debilitating condition is brought on by excessive workloads, 24/7 availability, information overload, lack of sleep, and job-related stress.
You likely encounter these individuals on a daily basis. They're good people who are doing their best to survive in a crazy-busy workplace.
Their calendars are overflowing and they're constantly falling behind, but they feel powerless to stop the unrelenting, escalating demands on their time.
Their frantic pace is both exhausting and exhilarating. They can barely focus on important tasks because their days are filled with interruptions, distractions, and constantly changing activities.
One minute they're working on a document. The next, they're checking e-mail, text-messaging, responding to a customer, or doing research online. This frenetic multitasking fools them into thinking they're accomplishing a lot, but in reality they're doing very little.
The result? More work, unmet obligations, unfinished projects, and chronic feelings of underachievement.
To make matters worse, they don't see an end in sight. Instead, they deal with constant downsizings and reorganizations and rapidly move from job to job, never really mastering their current one—all the while wondering if they're next on the chopping block.
Their personal life is just as frenetic, as they juggle work commitments, family, and personal time until they crash in front of the TV every evening. It's no wonder they don't have time for you.
Recognizing the Symptoms
How do you know when you're dealing with customers who suffer from Frazzled Customer Syndrome? Typically they:
* Have a "net it out" mentality. These impatient, time-starved people want you to get to the bottom line right away. If you don't, they're immediately dismissive.
* Get easily distracted. Even when they're interested in what you have to say, their attention spans are short. They feel compelled to multitask whenever humanly possible.
* Forget quickly. Because of their excessive flitting from task to task, much of what they commit to never makes it into their long-term memory.
* Demand a lot. They expect you to jump through hoops to fulfill their requests, yet when it's time for them to take action, they move like molasses.
* Suffer from "analysis paralysis." Faced with lots of change, multiple acceptable options, and the lack of time for thorough research, they appear overwhelmed, and nothing makes sense to them.
* Withdraw from contact. When they're buried under other priorities, they don't have any news to report or they have bad news—or go silent altogether.
Frazzled Customer Syndrome makes your job so much harder. Dealing with overwhelmed people is completely different from working with calm, rational people who have time to analyze their situation and study multiple options before moving ahead. But those people are no longer the norm.
To make matters worse, using traditional sales strategies actually creates insurmountable obstacles that can derail your sales efforts.
Your hot prospects fizzle or flame out. They politely (or sometimes not so politely) tell you that their priorities have changed, the budget has dried up or they have too much on their plate right now.
In most cases, your attempts to get them back on track are futile. They tell you to call back next month, but before long that becomes "next quarter," and then, "next year."
They just want to get rid of you. It's not personal. They just can't handle even one more item on their to-do list.
But it doesn't have to be this way. By mastering the SNAP Rules, you can change how your prospects react to you.
Remember to: (1) Keep it Simple; (2) Be iNvaluable; (3) Always Align and (4) Raise Priorities. When you do that, frazzled prospects will want to work with you. And, they'll rely on your guidance and advice when they make decisions.
Want to learn more about these fresh strategies for selling to crazy-busy prospects? To get four FREE sales-accelerating tools and download two chapters of SNAP Selling, visit www.SnapSelling.com or email jill@snapselling.com
Many of the people you're calling on today suffer from a severe case of Frazzled Customer Syndrome. This debilitating condition is brought on by excessive workloads, 24/7 availability, information overload, lack of sleep, and job-related stress.
You likely encounter these individuals on a daily basis. They're good people who are doing their best to survive in a crazy-busy workplace.
Their calendars are overflowing and they're constantly falling behind, but they feel powerless to stop the unrelenting, escalating demands on their time.
Their frantic pace is both exhausting and exhilarating. They can barely focus on important tasks because their days are filled with interruptions, distractions, and constantly changing activities.
One minute they're working on a document. The next, they're checking e-mail, text-messaging, responding to a customer, or doing research online. This frenetic multitasking fools them into thinking they're accomplishing a lot, but in reality they're doing very little.
The result? More work, unmet obligations, unfinished projects, and chronic feelings of underachievement.
To make matters worse, they don't see an end in sight. Instead, they deal with constant downsizings and reorganizations and rapidly move from job to job, never really mastering their current one—all the while wondering if they're next on the chopping block.
Their personal life is just as frenetic, as they juggle work commitments, family, and personal time until they crash in front of the TV every evening. It's no wonder they don't have time for you.
Recognizing the Symptoms
How do you know when you're dealing with customers who suffer from Frazzled Customer Syndrome? Typically they:
* Have a "net it out" mentality. These impatient, time-starved people want you to get to the bottom line right away. If you don't, they're immediately dismissive.
* Get easily distracted. Even when they're interested in what you have to say, their attention spans are short. They feel compelled to multitask whenever humanly possible.
* Forget quickly. Because of their excessive flitting from task to task, much of what they commit to never makes it into their long-term memory.
* Demand a lot. They expect you to jump through hoops to fulfill their requests, yet when it's time for them to take action, they move like molasses.
* Suffer from "analysis paralysis." Faced with lots of change, multiple acceptable options, and the lack of time for thorough research, they appear overwhelmed, and nothing makes sense to them.
* Withdraw from contact. When they're buried under other priorities, they don't have any news to report or they have bad news—or go silent altogether.
Frazzled Customer Syndrome makes your job so much harder. Dealing with overwhelmed people is completely different from working with calm, rational people who have time to analyze their situation and study multiple options before moving ahead. But those people are no longer the norm.
To make matters worse, using traditional sales strategies actually creates insurmountable obstacles that can derail your sales efforts.
Your hot prospects fizzle or flame out. They politely (or sometimes not so politely) tell you that their priorities have changed, the budget has dried up or they have too much on their plate right now.
In most cases, your attempts to get them back on track are futile. They tell you to call back next month, but before long that becomes "next quarter," and then, "next year."
They just want to get rid of you. It's not personal. They just can't handle even one more item on their to-do list.
But it doesn't have to be this way. By mastering the SNAP Rules, you can change how your prospects react to you.
Remember to: (1) Keep it Simple; (2) Be iNvaluable; (3) Always Align and (4) Raise Priorities. When you do that, frazzled prospects will want to work with you. And, they'll rely on your guidance and advice when they make decisions.
Want to learn more about these fresh strategies for selling to crazy-busy prospects? To get four FREE sales-accelerating tools and download two chapters of SNAP Selling, visit www.SnapSelling.com or email jill@snapselling.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Your Road to Success
I love to find inspiration to keep working hard, and this story from sales trainer Tom Reilly does just that!
In a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management at USC, discusses his path to becoming a globally recognized expert on leadership. The energy for his circuitous journey is summed up in one sentence, "After I discovered what I felt passionate about—leadership, change, and creative collaboration—people began leaning close to hear my thoughts on those subjects."
Imagine becoming so knowledgeable, focused, and passionate about something that others will travel near and far to hear what you have to say. This resonates with me because I met a salesperson like this years ago. His name was Lester and he sold trucks. He had been in his industry for fifty years. He had developed a reputation for being so knowledgeable that any time a truck was purchased in his territory, Lester got the first call. Customers wanted to hear his thoughts before doing anything.
This is your challenge in professional selling—to become so good at your craft and so knowledgeable in your field that customers cannot afford to do business without first consulting you—to hear your thoughts. If you are not there right now, focus and study. Get passionate about your value. That is the road to success.
Tom Reilly is the president of Tom Reilly Training. He is an authority on value-added selling, and speaks to thousands of salespeople and managers annually on increasing their value to their company and customers.
In a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management at USC, discusses his path to becoming a globally recognized expert on leadership. The energy for his circuitous journey is summed up in one sentence, "After I discovered what I felt passionate about—leadership, change, and creative collaboration—people began leaning close to hear my thoughts on those subjects."
Imagine becoming so knowledgeable, focused, and passionate about something that others will travel near and far to hear what you have to say. This resonates with me because I met a salesperson like this years ago. His name was Lester and he sold trucks. He had been in his industry for fifty years. He had developed a reputation for being so knowledgeable that any time a truck was purchased in his territory, Lester got the first call. Customers wanted to hear his thoughts before doing anything.
This is your challenge in professional selling—to become so good at your craft and so knowledgeable in your field that customers cannot afford to do business without first consulting you—to hear your thoughts. If you are not there right now, focus and study. Get passionate about your value. That is the road to success.
Tom Reilly is the president of Tom Reilly Training. He is an authority on value-added selling, and speaks to thousands of salespeople and managers annually on increasing their value to their company and customers.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Two Types of Salespeople
This article from sales trainer Jim Meisenheimer is a great reminder of the power of practice and preparation. Which kind of salesperson will you be?
Actually "There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who are wondering what happened."
You've probably heard that one before. In fact, there are two different types of salespeople and they are very easy to spot.
The first type is the improvisor. He seldom prepares, his preferred style, is to take things as they come. He likes to be spontaneous. He usually relies on his instinct and counts on his intuition to carry the day.
His days are fun filled and exciting, because he literally treats each sales call as an adventure. He's the Indiana Jones of selling, foot loose and fancy free, whatever that means.
The second type is the professional. He also enjoys his work, for different reasons. He anticipates everything, especially the routines and repetitive stuff. He knows the routines which gives him the opportunity to prepare in advance.
For example, he handles recurring objections. He knows he'll get them over and over again, so he prepares in advance how he will deal with them.
He plays with words, until he creates power phrases that work like magic. Once prepared, he knows that to execute a perfect delivery, he must practice what he's prepared until he nails it.
He records his power phrases into a digital recorder and plays them over and over until they are anchored into his subconscious.
His sales calls are different because he treats them as opportunities not as adventures.
There are two types of salespeople and of course they achieve two different results.
Each one follows a pattern, one is unstructured and one isn't.
Each can be seen as a formula. One formula gets better selling results than the other. Here they are:
I + I = I (Instinct + Intuition = Improvisation)
P + P = P (Preparation + Practice = Professionalism)
The secret to achieving consistent selling success is that there are no shortcuts, no quickies just plain old fashioned hard work. These are the formulas and you get to choose. One doesn't require much preparation. One pays better than the other.
Remember this too, preparation trumps improvisation every day of the week.
Also remember, your customers can tell the difference between "Improvisation" and "Preparation." When you combine preparation with practice you get professionalism
which enables you to meet with a success you never before imagined.
Jim Meisenheimer publishes The Sales TrailBlazer Newsletter, a fresh and high content newsletter dedicated to helping you grow your business and multiply your income. To learn more, visit http://www.startsellingmore.com/
Actually "There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who are wondering what happened."
You've probably heard that one before. In fact, there are two different types of salespeople and they are very easy to spot.
The first type is the improvisor. He seldom prepares, his preferred style, is to take things as they come. He likes to be spontaneous. He usually relies on his instinct and counts on his intuition to carry the day.
His days are fun filled and exciting, because he literally treats each sales call as an adventure. He's the Indiana Jones of selling, foot loose and fancy free, whatever that means.
The second type is the professional. He also enjoys his work, for different reasons. He anticipates everything, especially the routines and repetitive stuff. He knows the routines which gives him the opportunity to prepare in advance.
For example, he handles recurring objections. He knows he'll get them over and over again, so he prepares in advance how he will deal with them.
He plays with words, until he creates power phrases that work like magic. Once prepared, he knows that to execute a perfect delivery, he must practice what he's prepared until he nails it.
He records his power phrases into a digital recorder and plays them over and over until they are anchored into his subconscious.
His sales calls are different because he treats them as opportunities not as adventures.
There are two types of salespeople and of course they achieve two different results.
Each one follows a pattern, one is unstructured and one isn't.
Each can be seen as a formula. One formula gets better selling results than the other. Here they are:
I + I = I (Instinct + Intuition = Improvisation)
P + P = P (Preparation + Practice = Professionalism)
The secret to achieving consistent selling success is that there are no shortcuts, no quickies just plain old fashioned hard work. These are the formulas and you get to choose. One doesn't require much preparation. One pays better than the other.
Remember this too, preparation trumps improvisation every day of the week.
Also remember, your customers can tell the difference between "Improvisation" and "Preparation." When you combine preparation with practice you get professionalism
which enables you to meet with a success you never before imagined.
Jim Meisenheimer publishes The Sales TrailBlazer Newsletter, a fresh and high content newsletter dedicated to helping you grow your business and multiply your income. To learn more, visit http://www.startsellingmore.com/
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Emails Not Getting Through? A Quick Tip!
For the non-tech savvy (like me!) this is a great tip. When you work really hard to create excellent prospecting letters you want to make sure you do everything you can to make sure they reach their destination. This quick tip from sales trainer Kendra Lee makes for one less thing to worry about.
If your prospecting emails aren't getting through spam filters, check to see if you're emailing out through your CRM system. Sometimes companies' spam blockers flag the data associated with a CRM system and block the email. Try emailing directly from a personal email system like Outlook, or through Twitter or LinkedIn's internal mail systems and see if you're able to break through that way.
Kendra Lee is a Prospect Attraction Specialist and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the SMB segment.
If your prospecting emails aren't getting through spam filters, check to see if you're emailing out through your CRM system. Sometimes companies' spam blockers flag the data associated with a CRM system and block the email. Try emailing directly from a personal email system like Outlook, or through Twitter or LinkedIn's internal mail systems and see if you're able to break through that way.
Kendra Lee is a Prospect Attraction Specialist and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the SMB segment.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Quote of the Week
"When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter five years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go." -- Catherine Pulsifer, writer
Sales is a stressful business. There's the pressure you put on yourself, plus the pressure from your boss, your clients, and your family. It can be a lot to deal with, and can make even the smallest tasks seem overwhelming at times. That's why it is so important to keep this quote in mind!
As someone who can get stressed out very easily, I have been looking for ways to keep calm and lower my anxiety levels when i deal with stressful situations. They always happen, but I'm trying to change the way I react to them - and this quote helps me to think realistically about whatever is bothering me. If it really isn't going to matter, then why stress?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Sales is a stressful business. There's the pressure you put on yourself, plus the pressure from your boss, your clients, and your family. It can be a lot to deal with, and can make even the smallest tasks seem overwhelming at times. That's why it is so important to keep this quote in mind!
As someone who can get stressed out very easily, I have been looking for ways to keep calm and lower my anxiety levels when i deal with stressful situations. They always happen, but I'm trying to change the way I react to them - and this quote helps me to think realistically about whatever is bothering me. If it really isn't going to matter, then why stress?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Friday, October 1, 2010
How Salespeople Can Differentiate Themselves
I loved this quick, get-real blog post from Bryan Neale at Caskey, and think you will too! He discusses simple changes you can make to differentiate yourself and be a better salesperson.
We get asked this question almost daily in our sales training business: HOW CAN I DIFFERENTIATE MYSELF? Let's spend a little time looking at the bigger picture.
Step 1: Stop Behaving Like a Salesperson
Find 20 strangers and ask them to do word association. You say a word, and they say the first thing that comes to mind. The word: SALESPERSON.
95% of the responses you'll get will be negative: PUSHY, ANNOYING, SLIMY, SLICK, etc. So the first step in differentiating yourself is to STOP BEHAVING LIKE, SPEAKING LIKE AND THINKING LIKE any sort of salesperson.
Step 2: Develop 2 Stories
Express your value with STORIES. The "elevator pitch" is OUT. The 30-second commercial is as up to date as an 8-track tape player. Time to find your voice in the new century.
You need to develop 2 stories: 1) your personal story and 2) your company story. We're not talking about your biographical history. We're talking about why you do what you do—your philosophy with new customers. Stating your intent. Sharing what you've learned. The Story is in and a necessity when it comes to differentiating yourself in the sales process.
Step 3: Keep Features/Functions/Benefits Out of the Conversation
Here's the deal. NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT IT DOES. THEY ONLY CARE IF IT MAKES THEIR LIFE BETTER. Salespeople are still addicted to specs, attributes, features, functionality, etc. No one cares...how is my life better off with you and your product in it than out of it? That's it.
Step 4: Stop Trying
Stop trying to DIFFERENTIATE. Trying to differentiate from a competitor immediately puts you in a very bad place. It puts you on the defensive. When you're on the defensive, you turn your attention to the COMPETITOR and away from the CUSTOMER. If you really want to differentiate yourself, stop trying to. Just focus on helping the person across the table.
4 small ideas that will dramatically and positively impact your effectiveness in the sales process.
Bryan Neale is a member of Caskey, a training firm that specializes in training and developing B2B sales teams through face to face training, teleconferencing, written materials, custom podcasts and one on one coaching. Learn more at http://caskeyone.com
We get asked this question almost daily in our sales training business: HOW CAN I DIFFERENTIATE MYSELF? Let's spend a little time looking at the bigger picture.
Step 1: Stop Behaving Like a Salesperson
Find 20 strangers and ask them to do word association. You say a word, and they say the first thing that comes to mind. The word: SALESPERSON.
95% of the responses you'll get will be negative: PUSHY, ANNOYING, SLIMY, SLICK, etc. So the first step in differentiating yourself is to STOP BEHAVING LIKE, SPEAKING LIKE AND THINKING LIKE any sort of salesperson.
Step 2: Develop 2 Stories
Express your value with STORIES. The "elevator pitch" is OUT. The 30-second commercial is as up to date as an 8-track tape player. Time to find your voice in the new century.
You need to develop 2 stories: 1) your personal story and 2) your company story. We're not talking about your biographical history. We're talking about why you do what you do—your philosophy with new customers. Stating your intent. Sharing what you've learned. The Story is in and a necessity when it comes to differentiating yourself in the sales process.
Step 3: Keep Features/Functions/Benefits Out of the Conversation
Here's the deal. NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT IT DOES. THEY ONLY CARE IF IT MAKES THEIR LIFE BETTER. Salespeople are still addicted to specs, attributes, features, functionality, etc. No one cares...how is my life better off with you and your product in it than out of it? That's it.
Step 4: Stop Trying
Stop trying to DIFFERENTIATE. Trying to differentiate from a competitor immediately puts you in a very bad place. It puts you on the defensive. When you're on the defensive, you turn your attention to the COMPETITOR and away from the CUSTOMER. If you really want to differentiate yourself, stop trying to. Just focus on helping the person across the table.
4 small ideas that will dramatically and positively impact your effectiveness in the sales process.
Bryan Neale is a member of Caskey, a training firm that specializes in training and developing B2B sales teams through face to face training, teleconferencing, written materials, custom podcasts and one on one coaching. Learn more at http://caskeyone.com
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