A recent question to sales expert Colleen Francis asked how to deal with the people who "need to think about it." Take Colleen's advice, and you may be able to get those people thinking - right away!
The trick with this objection is determining whether it's a real objection or not. Some prospects toss out this objection because they want to get rid of you. Some prospects really do need time to think about it. How can you tell them apart? Here is a highly effective two-step model you can use to get to the real hesitation, while giving you the right information required to close the business.
1. Stop, look and listen
Start by doing nothing at all. Wait patiently for 3 seconds whether on the phone or in person. Silence creates a space between you and the objection that's needed for the prospect to jump in and provide more information. Since most prospects are uncomfortable with the silence, they tend to provide you with details of their objections within 1-2 seconds. This technique works amazingly well IF you are disciplined enough to bite your tongue for just 3 seconds. Client Autumn Shirley swears that this is the most effective sales technique I have taught her in 5 years of working with me!
When the prospect does jump in, they will elaborate on the "let me think about it" objection and reveal their true concerns. Maybe they have to take your proposal to their manager. Maybe they have to wait for budget approval. Or perhaps they are waiting for a partner to present an alternative solution. Regardless of what they reveal it will be valuable information for you to know.
2. Emphasize and Ask
After you have been silent, it's now time to speak up, but always in the form of a question first. To test the legitimacy of the objection, start by empathizing with the prospect and follow up with a clarifying question. For example,
Prospect : "Let me think about it."
You : "Thanks for letting me know, I think it's smart of you to consider all your options. I'm curious..."
--" what concerns do you still have? " or
--" what is causing you to hesitate? "or
--" what is your number one concern about not proceeding further? "or
--" how will you make a decision to go ahead or not? "
When used together, these two steps allow the prospect a comfortable environment to open up in and help you determine if the objection is real, a stall tactic, or worse - just a put off!
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions. Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. Start improving your results today with Engage's online newsletter "Engaging Ideas" and a FREE 10 day intensive sales eCourse.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Plan Goals and Plan On The Means Of Hitting Them
We may be nearing the end of February, but it's never too late to make new goals and reassess old ones. This advice from sales trainer Tibor Shanto will help get you on the goal-setting (and goal-keeping) track!
"Companies and individuals spend way too much time on setting goals, and not nearly enough time on the means to achieve said goals," says Shanto. "This isn't a Zen thing where the journey is "more" than destination or arriving. It is based on the practical reality that most tend to feel that having a goal is half way there to achieving it. Yes, it is important to set goals, near term and long term, but having a game plan, a playbook that will help you get there is more important."
"When you ask most salespeople how they plan to achieve their goal, they will tell you that they will work harder, work smarter, leverage their relationships, or other cliches. When you drill down for specifics, you get the nervous laughter or smile. Very few talk to you about reviewing their territories and adjusting. While not exhaustive, here are some things to consider, no let me rephrase that, here are some things to execute."
Start by reviewing you account base, intimately know your top clients, and fire the bottom 10%. No really, these bottom 10% suck up you most valuable resources. Understand what your churn rate is, not only who is likely to disappear from your base in 12 months, but why. Is it attrition, which needs to be replaced; is it mergers and acquisitions which could leave you flat or down in revenues, and again a need to replace. How much of the churn can be made up from the base, with existing buyers or new pockets within client companies, how much will require the acquisition of new leads?
Segment your territory at least by size of company and type of products/offerings bought. There could be a host of other factors, but these two allow you to plan your time and resources. In a very general way, small clients and small buys will deliver smaller sales in less time than a large company will with "formal buying processes" buying bigger dollar amounts. You may find that it makes sense to have two small opportunities in your pipe for every large one, or you may not, you really won't know until you do the exercise.
Another output you get from the exercise above is a clear picture of what your best prospects look like. As you do this over time, you will also learn which and when some of you existing clients may grow, and how to leverage that; conversely which may fall off and when. For example, a simple indicator may be time to payment. If you notice that a client who extends their payments from 15 days to 30 days, generally reduce order size within three months, you know that you have to prepare for that by finding the volume elsewhere.
You can combine many of these data points to discover the Yield Per Call, based on the nature of the account, volume or dollars per call, and more. The aim here is to have a blended pipeline that will allow you to get to your goal, and your company's goal in the most efficient and profitable way.
Planning your goals and setting them is not easy, but planning the means of hitting goals set is paramount.
Tibor Shanto brings over 20 years of sales experience to Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., from telemarketing to leading a global sales team focused on providing top end solutions. Tibor has helped to improve performance for sales professionals in a wide variety of fields, from financial services to on-line B2B specialists.
"Companies and individuals spend way too much time on setting goals, and not nearly enough time on the means to achieve said goals," says Shanto. "This isn't a Zen thing where the journey is "more" than destination or arriving. It is based on the practical reality that most tend to feel that having a goal is half way there to achieving it. Yes, it is important to set goals, near term and long term, but having a game plan, a playbook that will help you get there is more important."
"When you ask most salespeople how they plan to achieve their goal, they will tell you that they will work harder, work smarter, leverage their relationships, or other cliches. When you drill down for specifics, you get the nervous laughter or smile. Very few talk to you about reviewing their territories and adjusting. While not exhaustive, here are some things to consider, no let me rephrase that, here are some things to execute."
Start by reviewing you account base, intimately know your top clients, and fire the bottom 10%. No really, these bottom 10% suck up you most valuable resources. Understand what your churn rate is, not only who is likely to disappear from your base in 12 months, but why. Is it attrition, which needs to be replaced; is it mergers and acquisitions which could leave you flat or down in revenues, and again a need to replace. How much of the churn can be made up from the base, with existing buyers or new pockets within client companies, how much will require the acquisition of new leads?
Segment your territory at least by size of company and type of products/offerings bought. There could be a host of other factors, but these two allow you to plan your time and resources. In a very general way, small clients and small buys will deliver smaller sales in less time than a large company will with "formal buying processes" buying bigger dollar amounts. You may find that it makes sense to have two small opportunities in your pipe for every large one, or you may not, you really won't know until you do the exercise.
Another output you get from the exercise above is a clear picture of what your best prospects look like. As you do this over time, you will also learn which and when some of you existing clients may grow, and how to leverage that; conversely which may fall off and when. For example, a simple indicator may be time to payment. If you notice that a client who extends their payments from 15 days to 30 days, generally reduce order size within three months, you know that you have to prepare for that by finding the volume elsewhere.
You can combine many of these data points to discover the Yield Per Call, based on the nature of the account, volume or dollars per call, and more. The aim here is to have a blended pipeline that will allow you to get to your goal, and your company's goal in the most efficient and profitable way.
Planning your goals and setting them is not easy, but planning the means of hitting goals set is paramount.
Tibor Shanto brings over 20 years of sales experience to Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., from telemarketing to leading a global sales team focused on providing top end solutions. Tibor has helped to improve performance for sales professionals in a wide variety of fields, from financial services to on-line B2B specialists.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
You Don't Get What You Don't Ask For
With people everywhere trying to cut corners, you've probably experienced an increase in clients asking for more - for less! Today business expert Anne Miller tells you how to deal with this situation.
How do you respond after a client asks for more services for the same amount of money on your proposal after you changed the proposal once already to accommodate their budget?
1. You deny the client's request, saying your offer is as it stands.
2. You revise the proposal, taking out other components of the offer to accommodate the client's new request at the same fee level.
3. You ask for more money to accommodate the new requests.
Any of these could work depending on the situation. However, let me advocate for the third option first. Ask for more money. Remind them of the value of what they’re getting (justifies the investment); the fact that you have already adjusted the proposal to earlier requests (introduces an element of fairness); that making any more changes would compromise the solution and tell them, that for the added services, the incremental cost is worth the investment (helps them justify the higher cost).
And, then, be quiet.
Very often, they will recognize that if they want more, they will have to pay more, and agree. If that does not happen, you can always decide to go with options 1 or 2. But, if you skip option 3 first, you are shooting yourself in the foot: leaving money on the table that could have been yours.
Anne Miller is a popular sales and presentations expert and author of the book, Metaphorically Selling: How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade, & Explain Anything to Anyone. She works with people in high stakes situations and clients like Yahoo!, Citigroup, and Time, Inc. to sell millions of dollars of business every year. Visit her site at www.AnneMiller.com.
How do you respond after a client asks for more services for the same amount of money on your proposal after you changed the proposal once already to accommodate their budget?
1. You deny the client's request, saying your offer is as it stands.
2. You revise the proposal, taking out other components of the offer to accommodate the client's new request at the same fee level.
3. You ask for more money to accommodate the new requests.
Any of these could work depending on the situation. However, let me advocate for the third option first. Ask for more money. Remind them of the value of what they’re getting (justifies the investment); the fact that you have already adjusted the proposal to earlier requests (introduces an element of fairness); that making any more changes would compromise the solution and tell them, that for the added services, the incremental cost is worth the investment (helps them justify the higher cost).
And, then, be quiet.
Very often, they will recognize that if they want more, they will have to pay more, and agree. If that does not happen, you can always decide to go with options 1 or 2. But, if you skip option 3 first, you are shooting yourself in the foot: leaving money on the table that could have been yours.
Anne Miller is a popular sales and presentations expert and author of the book, Metaphorically Selling: How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade, & Explain Anything to Anyone. She works with people in high stakes situations and clients like Yahoo!, Citigroup, and Time, Inc. to sell millions of dollars of business every year. Visit her site at www.AnneMiller.com.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Going For The Gold
When I saw this article from sales trainer Jim Meisenheimer I just knew it had to follow yesterday's quote - enjoy!
Going for the gold is what Lindsey Vonn was doing in the downhill Alpine skiing event at this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She achieved her goal and had this to say about it. "This is everything I wanted and hoped for. I gave up everything for this."
When you find your passion, it's not work, it's pure love.
Unfortunately winning isn't only about having passion, it usually involves a good deal of sacrifice.
About 30 years ago I saw an interview with a Texas billionaire. He was asked by a CBS reporter, what advice he would give to the graduating college seniors that year.
He didn't blink, he didn't bat an eye, and he didn't hesitate a nanosecond to respond. He said, "You have to do three things. Determine what you want. Determine what you're willing to sacrifice to get it. Then just do it."
Most people have the capacity to dream big, but they lack the will to sacrifice anything to get what they want. That's just too bad and so sad!
Back to Lindsey for a second. She skied showing no signs of any discomfort even though she skied with a bruised shin. Think about these questions as you watch the Winter Olympics.
How successful do you really want to become?
What sacrifices are you ready to make today?
On a daily basis, are you doing what it takes to achieve your ultimate success - regardless what it might be?
Do you have to be twice as good as your best competitor? I don't think so. Here's the proof.
In the women's downhill event these were the times:
Gold: 1:44.19
Silver: 1:44.75
Bronze: 1:45.65
To win you need an edge, advantage, leg up, nose out, slip by, squeeze by - and all by the narrowest of margins. While the margin of difference between gold and silver is slim at best, the difference in effort is probably humongous.
You have one life to live, and it's not a dress rehearsal is it? Why not go for it?
Go for the GOLD!
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://salestrailblazer.com/
Going for the gold is what Lindsey Vonn was doing in the downhill Alpine skiing event at this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She achieved her goal and had this to say about it. "This is everything I wanted and hoped for. I gave up everything for this."
When you find your passion, it's not work, it's pure love.
Unfortunately winning isn't only about having passion, it usually involves a good deal of sacrifice.
About 30 years ago I saw an interview with a Texas billionaire. He was asked by a CBS reporter, what advice he would give to the graduating college seniors that year.
He didn't blink, he didn't bat an eye, and he didn't hesitate a nanosecond to respond. He said, "You have to do three things. Determine what you want. Determine what you're willing to sacrifice to get it. Then just do it."
Most people have the capacity to dream big, but they lack the will to sacrifice anything to get what they want. That's just too bad and so sad!
Back to Lindsey for a second. She skied showing no signs of any discomfort even though she skied with a bruised shin. Think about these questions as you watch the Winter Olympics.
How successful do you really want to become?
What sacrifices are you ready to make today?
On a daily basis, are you doing what it takes to achieve your ultimate success - regardless what it might be?
Do you have to be twice as good as your best competitor? I don't think so. Here's the proof.
In the women's downhill event these were the times:
Gold: 1:44.19
Silver: 1:44.75
Bronze: 1:45.65
To win you need an edge, advantage, leg up, nose out, slip by, squeeze by - and all by the narrowest of margins. While the margin of difference between gold and silver is slim at best, the difference in effort is probably humongous.
You have one life to live, and it's not a dress rehearsal is it? Why not go for it?
Go for the GOLD!
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://salestrailblazer.com/
Monday, February 22, 2010
Quote of the Week
"An athlete may run ten thousand miles in order to prepare for one hundred yards. Quantity gives experience." -- Ray Bradbury
Have you been watching the Olympics? There have been some amazing performances - especially when you think about how many hours of practice go into one 25-second run down a hill, or 3 minutes of ice-skating
Those people put in hours and hours of work practicing their skill - why don't other professions do the same? It's the skilled salesperson that asks questions on a call, follows-up repeatedly, and gives presentations that demonstrate value. How skilled are you?
Get practicing today!
Have you been watching the Olympics? There have been some amazing performances - especially when you think about how many hours of practice go into one 25-second run down a hill, or 3 minutes of ice-skating
Those people put in hours and hours of work practicing their skill - why don't other professions do the same? It's the skilled salesperson that asks questions on a call, follows-up repeatedly, and gives presentations that demonstrate value. How skilled are you?
Get practicing today!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Is Social Media Ruining Your Sales?
In today's Sales 2.0 environment, sales professionals, consultants, and small business owners are told that they need to create an online presence if they expect to achieve their sales goals and targets. However, too many people take this advice to the extreme and end up spending far too much time on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the plethora of other social media sites.
It is very easy to spend several hours a day reading posts, adding comments to discussions, tweeting your actions, and sorting through scads of information. However, it is critical to realize that social media should not replace your other sales building activities. You still have to find other ways of marketing your business. You still need to actively prospect. And you still need to schedule face-to-face meetings with clients and prospects.
While I believe a strong social presence can help you, you need to guard your time wisely. Otherwise, you can fritter away too much valuable time while believing that you are proactively moving your business forward.
Allot a specific amount of time each day for social media activities. Choose whatever time works best for you. The key is to limit yourself to that allotted time and to not get sucked into the social media vortex.
As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com
It is very easy to spend several hours a day reading posts, adding comments to discussions, tweeting your actions, and sorting through scads of information. However, it is critical to realize that social media should not replace your other sales building activities. You still have to find other ways of marketing your business. You still need to actively prospect. And you still need to schedule face-to-face meetings with clients and prospects.
While I believe a strong social presence can help you, you need to guard your time wisely. Otherwise, you can fritter away too much valuable time while believing that you are proactively moving your business forward.
Allot a specific amount of time each day for social media activities. Choose whatever time works best for you. The key is to limit yourself to that allotted time and to not get sucked into the social media vortex.
As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com
Thursday, February 18, 2010
How You Start Your Day Counts
I'm one of those people that will often stew over a bad day - thinking about what I could have said or done differently to change things. It's not the way to start a day, and today's advice from motivation expert Josh Hinds is something I'm going to try to put into practice right away.
Whether or not we choose to believe it, for the most part you and I have a clean slate with each new sunrise. Whatever happened yesterday, good or bad is now rooted in the past.
In the moment in which we now find ourselves, we have the ability to focus in on and do the things that will serve us for the better, or we can give our attention to those things that will re-ignite whatever thoughts were causing us to remain stuck.
We have a choice, and fortunately, it isn't all that difficult to set the tone early on in your day. Does that mean you're guaranteed not to meet with a challenge early on that will knock you off course or throw you for a loop? Of course not, but in the event that something (or someone) shows up with such an agenda you'll find yourself a lot more prepared to deal with it and be able to adjust course accordingly.
Here are some simple, but effective ideas you can use to start your day out on a positive note.
Upon waking up, name at least ten people you're thankful for - recount those in your life who've had a positive impact on you. Think of those who have in some way helped to make you the unique person you are.
Don't sell yourself short here. No matter what place you may find yourself in now, you're still an amazing person, with unique gifts and talents. You don't have to believe it, but it's still the absolute truth!
Practicing gratitude is a powerful thing that helps to reconnect us with our inner power, and the abilities that make up who we are.
Give thanks for your talents and skills - each of us has been blessed with special skills and talents. You may not feel as though you've completely developed all of yours up to this point in your life, but that doesn't change the fact that you've got them.
Think through those things that others compliment you on, those are talents. Don't underestimate all the amazing bits and pieces that go into making you the person you are. As you identify and give thanks for the talents that were bestowed upon you commit to develop them and become more proficient in their use.
Write down your days most important action steps the night before - The simple act of writing down the following days most important tasks will give you a plan to move on the next day. Keep in mind that you can get the most productive mileage if you'll put your "super tasks" at the top, where you'll complete them first.
For the purpose of this article consider Super Tasks as those things, which, upon their completion will give you the absolute most bang for your buck. Consider the difference between a "super task" and say one of lesser importance. A super task might be: calling on a prospective client, while one that doesn't quite hold such importance in the grand scheme of things might be: cut the grass.
While both are important, and you may very well want to get both done, the simple fact is the first example is going to lead towards a greater reward then the latter. You see, it's more a matter of separating items which fall into the category of "busy work" versus those which can move us forward at a maximum pace. Another such "super task" might be to spend time studying your industry or chosen profession.
Review the actions steps you wrote down the night before - As you are looking over the items you wrote down, close your eyes and see yourself completing them and experiencing the wonderful sense of accomplishment for having done so. After you have visualized yourself finishing the items on your daily action list take a deep breath and begin your day working on and completing them.
Keep in mind that each new day is just that – an opportunity to turn the page, and implement daily actions that can steer your life in the direction you wish it to go.
Josh Hinds is a speaker, trainer, and author on topics such as networking and personal branding. Check out his popular newsletter at www.GetMotivation.com.
Whether or not we choose to believe it, for the most part you and I have a clean slate with each new sunrise. Whatever happened yesterday, good or bad is now rooted in the past.
In the moment in which we now find ourselves, we have the ability to focus in on and do the things that will serve us for the better, or we can give our attention to those things that will re-ignite whatever thoughts were causing us to remain stuck.
We have a choice, and fortunately, it isn't all that difficult to set the tone early on in your day. Does that mean you're guaranteed not to meet with a challenge early on that will knock you off course or throw you for a loop? Of course not, but in the event that something (or someone) shows up with such an agenda you'll find yourself a lot more prepared to deal with it and be able to adjust course accordingly.
Here are some simple, but effective ideas you can use to start your day out on a positive note.
Upon waking up, name at least ten people you're thankful for - recount those in your life who've had a positive impact on you. Think of those who have in some way helped to make you the unique person you are.
Don't sell yourself short here. No matter what place you may find yourself in now, you're still an amazing person, with unique gifts and talents. You don't have to believe it, but it's still the absolute truth!
Practicing gratitude is a powerful thing that helps to reconnect us with our inner power, and the abilities that make up who we are.
Give thanks for your talents and skills - each of us has been blessed with special skills and talents. You may not feel as though you've completely developed all of yours up to this point in your life, but that doesn't change the fact that you've got them.
Think through those things that others compliment you on, those are talents. Don't underestimate all the amazing bits and pieces that go into making you the person you are. As you identify and give thanks for the talents that were bestowed upon you commit to develop them and become more proficient in their use.
Write down your days most important action steps the night before - The simple act of writing down the following days most important tasks will give you a plan to move on the next day. Keep in mind that you can get the most productive mileage if you'll put your "super tasks" at the top, where you'll complete them first.
For the purpose of this article consider Super Tasks as those things, which, upon their completion will give you the absolute most bang for your buck. Consider the difference between a "super task" and say one of lesser importance. A super task might be: calling on a prospective client, while one that doesn't quite hold such importance in the grand scheme of things might be: cut the grass.
While both are important, and you may very well want to get both done, the simple fact is the first example is going to lead towards a greater reward then the latter. You see, it's more a matter of separating items which fall into the category of "busy work" versus those which can move us forward at a maximum pace. Another such "super task" might be to spend time studying your industry or chosen profession.
Review the actions steps you wrote down the night before - As you are looking over the items you wrote down, close your eyes and see yourself completing them and experiencing the wonderful sense of accomplishment for having done so. After you have visualized yourself finishing the items on your daily action list take a deep breath and begin your day working on and completing them.
Keep in mind that each new day is just that – an opportunity to turn the page, and implement daily actions that can steer your life in the direction you wish it to go.
Josh Hinds is a speaker, trainer, and author on topics such as networking and personal branding. Check out his popular newsletter at www.GetMotivation.com.
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