"I will pay more for the person who can get along with others than for any other skill." -- John D. Rockefeller
This quote is so relevant, especially to sales. It is absolutely necessary that you get along with people to be successful. Not only will this help you to build trust with clients, but it will also make your work go more smoothly. If you get along with everyone you work with, you can ask for help from people in accounting, shipping, and marketing. If they already like and respect you, they'll be willing to help do anything they can to make your sales succeed.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
High Tech and High Touch
Anne Miller always has great stories to accompany her sales lessons, and this article is no different. Her articles always get me thinking - I hope it does the same for you!
In the last few days, two experiences stopped me dead in my tracks, not because they were new, but because they are so rare in business these days.
An Apple a Day...
During Christmas week, I ventured into an Apple store filled with shoppers to buy a MacBook Pro. Dreading a long wait, I was pleasantly surprised when an Apple employee immediately greeted me, took me to a salesperson who then not only efficiently and patiently helped me, but, to my amazement, personally walked me through all the paperwork. I was in and out in about thirty minutes. Painless.
Courtesy, respect, efficiency, service. Wow!
I'll Get Back To You...
I called a prospect this week to initiate a new business discussion, but, unfortunately, caught her in the middle of a meeting. She said she would call back.
To my amazement, again, not only did she call back, but she apologized that she hadn't called sooner. We had a friendly, civilized conversation about the holiday and the snow storm and then moved on to business.
Courtesy, civility, warmth, professionalism. How Refreshing!
Little Things Mean a Lot
There was a time before Blackberry addiction, attention deficit disorder, being on 24/7, attitude, and the information highway when these experiences would not have been out of the norm. Most people were polite. Most store salespeople actually cared and provided real service. Most B2B relationships were courteous and respectful.
I am not suggesting we turn the clock back to a simpler time. These experiences, though, are reminders that, high tech notwithstanding, we can still choose how we treat clients and colleagues. We still need to keep the high touch in business along with the high tech. When we do, clients notice. When we skimp on the high touch, they notice that, too.
Sales and presentation specialist Anne Miller is the author of "Metaphorically Selling" and "Make What You Say Pay!". Check out her site at www.annemiller.com.
In the last few days, two experiences stopped me dead in my tracks, not because they were new, but because they are so rare in business these days.
An Apple a Day...
During Christmas week, I ventured into an Apple store filled with shoppers to buy a MacBook Pro. Dreading a long wait, I was pleasantly surprised when an Apple employee immediately greeted me, took me to a salesperson who then not only efficiently and patiently helped me, but, to my amazement, personally walked me through all the paperwork. I was in and out in about thirty minutes. Painless.
Courtesy, respect, efficiency, service. Wow!
I'll Get Back To You...
I called a prospect this week to initiate a new business discussion, but, unfortunately, caught her in the middle of a meeting. She said she would call back.
To my amazement, again, not only did she call back, but she apologized that she hadn't called sooner. We had a friendly, civilized conversation about the holiday and the snow storm and then moved on to business.
Courtesy, civility, warmth, professionalism. How Refreshing!
Little Things Mean a Lot
There was a time before Blackberry addiction, attention deficit disorder, being on 24/7, attitude, and the information highway when these experiences would not have been out of the norm. Most people were polite. Most store salespeople actually cared and provided real service. Most B2B relationships were courteous and respectful.
I am not suggesting we turn the clock back to a simpler time. These experiences, though, are reminders that, high tech notwithstanding, we can still choose how we treat clients and colleagues. We still need to keep the high touch in business along with the high tech. When we do, clients notice. When we skimp on the high touch, they notice that, too.
Sales and presentation specialist Anne Miller is the author of "Metaphorically Selling" and "Make What You Say Pay!". Check out her site at www.annemiller.com.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Is Your Sale Really a Good Sale?
I really enjoy sales trainer Mark Hunter's blog - he covers topics that are pertinent to salespeople, and offers advice that is practical and easy to put to use. Today he discusses what makes a good sale.
Each sale you close is not a good sale unless it leads to the next sale.
I'm a firm believer that if you're doing your job as a salesperson, when you make a sale you're also creating a customer for life. Yes, we've all heard this, but here's how I believe the process works best:
When you're meeting with the customer, you're naturally uncovering needs the customer has. Some of these needs are the ones you're leveraging to make your sale. The opportunity is in uncovering not just needs you're going to solve now, but needs you can come back to later and create additional sales. To do this requires you to end the first sale having earned the right, the privilege, opportunity and respect to be able to meet with the person again.
One way you do this is by always leaving the customer with a next step as to what you intend to do for the customer. By creating an on-going process of being in touch with the customer, you will now be in a position to explore more comments the customer has shared with you in previous meetings. It's your ability to then take these comments and ask follow-up questions in subsequent meetings that will then help you create the next sale.
One of the reasons I'm a firm believer in always being in a position to start working on the next sale is simple. It's far more effective to generate additional sales from an existing customer than it is to get a sales from a new customer. In all of the sales profitability studies I've done, the results are almost always the same — the cost of generating sales is at its lowest point 1/3 of the way through the life of the customer relationship.
I won't attempt to go into a full explanation here, but basically the cost of generating sales is naturally high with a new customer and also is high with a well-developed customer. The reason it's high for a well-developed customer is because many times this type of customer is granted additional services or price breaks, etc. because they are so loyal or because the personal relationships run so deep. What this means is a customer is generating its most efficient sale approximately 1/3 of the way through their sales life-cycle. The way you can maximize this is by making sure each sale opens the door to the next sale.
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com
Each sale you close is not a good sale unless it leads to the next sale.
I'm a firm believer that if you're doing your job as a salesperson, when you make a sale you're also creating a customer for life. Yes, we've all heard this, but here's how I believe the process works best:
When you're meeting with the customer, you're naturally uncovering needs the customer has. Some of these needs are the ones you're leveraging to make your sale. The opportunity is in uncovering not just needs you're going to solve now, but needs you can come back to later and create additional sales. To do this requires you to end the first sale having earned the right, the privilege, opportunity and respect to be able to meet with the person again.
One way you do this is by always leaving the customer with a next step as to what you intend to do for the customer. By creating an on-going process of being in touch with the customer, you will now be in a position to explore more comments the customer has shared with you in previous meetings. It's your ability to then take these comments and ask follow-up questions in subsequent meetings that will then help you create the next sale.
One of the reasons I'm a firm believer in always being in a position to start working on the next sale is simple. It's far more effective to generate additional sales from an existing customer than it is to get a sales from a new customer. In all of the sales profitability studies I've done, the results are almost always the same — the cost of generating sales is at its lowest point 1/3 of the way through the life of the customer relationship.
I won't attempt to go into a full explanation here, but basically the cost of generating sales is naturally high with a new customer and also is high with a well-developed customer. The reason it's high for a well-developed customer is because many times this type of customer is granted additional services or price breaks, etc. because they are so loyal or because the personal relationships run so deep. What this means is a customer is generating its most efficient sale approximately 1/3 of the way through their sales life-cycle. The way you can maximize this is by making sure each sale opens the door to the next sale.
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Purpose of Business
Sales trainer Tom Reilly has a great way of thinking when it comes to sales. Today he talks about the purpose of business - very interesting!
Adam Smith, father of modern economic theory, believed that the purpose of a business was to make money. Peter Drucker, long considered to be the foremost thinker on management, wrote in his book, The Practice of Management, that the purpose of business was to create customers. How could two profound thinkers differ so much in their view of business? Granted, Drucker did acknowledge profit as a test of a company's viability and an essential condition for a company's continued existence. Frankly, both of these thinkers' definitions leave me hungry.
If profit is the only motive, life is simple but not necessarily better. If I exist only for customers, where is my payoff? I like my definition better: The purpose of a business is to create value.
For whom, you ask? You tell me. Value for the customer? Yes. Value for the owners and shareholders? Yes. Value for the larger community in which the company functions? Yes. Value for employees and other stakeholders? Yes. Implicit in all of these affirmative responses is equity, and equity is a powerful motivator.
If you begin a task with a simple objective, to create something of value, that seems to cover all bases. If it is valuable to the customer and not for you, it is not really something of value. If it is valuable to you, but no one else is willing to pay for it, it probably is not that valuable to you.
Imagine what could happen if you began every project—and making a sales call is a project—with this attitude: "Let's create something of value here today." You and the customer would benefit.
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.
Adam Smith, father of modern economic theory, believed that the purpose of a business was to make money. Peter Drucker, long considered to be the foremost thinker on management, wrote in his book, The Practice of Management, that the purpose of business was to create customers. How could two profound thinkers differ so much in their view of business? Granted, Drucker did acknowledge profit as a test of a company's viability and an essential condition for a company's continued existence. Frankly, both of these thinkers' definitions leave me hungry.
If profit is the only motive, life is simple but not necessarily better. If I exist only for customers, where is my payoff? I like my definition better: The purpose of a business is to create value.
For whom, you ask? You tell me. Value for the customer? Yes. Value for the owners and shareholders? Yes. Value for the larger community in which the company functions? Yes. Value for employees and other stakeholders? Yes. Implicit in all of these affirmative responses is equity, and equity is a powerful motivator.
If you begin a task with a simple objective, to create something of value, that seems to cover all bases. If it is valuable to the customer and not for you, it is not really something of value. If it is valuable to you, but no one else is willing to pay for it, it probably is not that valuable to you.
Imagine what could happen if you began every project—and making a sales call is a project—with this attitude: "Let's create something of value here today." You and the customer would benefit.
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.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Despite Tough Times Salespeople Remain Optimistic
Although times are tough, I try to stay pretty positive on this blog, keeping the focus on new ideas and inspirations you can use to keep your sales going strong. As it turns out, many of you have that same positive outlook that I do. A new survey, compiled at our website, SalesDog.com, had surprising results that I think will interest you.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
A poll conducted by SalesDog.com shows a sky-high ninety-three percent of salespeople expect an increase in their sales in 2011.
Their optimism is apparently fueled by an increase in lead generation efforts. According to the poll, seventy-one percent of respondents say their companies have increased lead generation activities.
"In the past, many companies went into a bunker mentality during an economic downturn and made the mistake of slashing marketing budgets," says Michael Dalton Johnson, publisher and founder of SalesDog. "Our poll indicates this no longer the case," he added.
Despite the rosy outlook for 2011, seventy-three percent of survey takers said their overall compensation has been negatively affected by the down economy. This may account for the fact that thirty-six percent of respondents are considering an occupation change.
According to those polled sixty-nine percent want their companies to provide more sales training. That comes as no surprise given that sixty-seven percent are dissatisfied with their current compensation.
The poll also revealed that despite the plethora of internet selling options, sixty-nine percent of salespeople make the majority of their sales in person rather than over the phone or online, suggesting that in a business world increasingly ruled by technology, salespeople still are still using old school selling methods.
For complete survey results visit:
http://www.salesdog.com/newsletter/2011/nl0508.htm#survey
Let us know what you think in the comments!
A poll conducted by SalesDog.com shows a sky-high ninety-three percent of salespeople expect an increase in their sales in 2011.
Their optimism is apparently fueled by an increase in lead generation efforts. According to the poll, seventy-one percent of respondents say their companies have increased lead generation activities.
"In the past, many companies went into a bunker mentality during an economic downturn and made the mistake of slashing marketing budgets," says Michael Dalton Johnson, publisher and founder of SalesDog. "Our poll indicates this no longer the case," he added.
Despite the rosy outlook for 2011, seventy-three percent of survey takers said their overall compensation has been negatively affected by the down economy. This may account for the fact that thirty-six percent of respondents are considering an occupation change.
According to those polled sixty-nine percent want their companies to provide more sales training. That comes as no surprise given that sixty-seven percent are dissatisfied with their current compensation.
The poll also revealed that despite the plethora of internet selling options, sixty-nine percent of salespeople make the majority of their sales in person rather than over the phone or online, suggesting that in a business world increasingly ruled by technology, salespeople still are still using old school selling methods.
For complete survey results visit:
http://www.salesdog.com/newsletter/2011/nl0508.htm#survey
Monday, January 24, 2011
Quote of the Week
"The happiness of most people we know is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things." -- Ernest Dimnet
As it's still January, in my mind it's still the New Year. And that means I can still start up New Year's Resolutions. Oh, you say it doesn't work that way? Oh well!
If you want to increase your sales, then you need to think about what small changes you can make to your day - every day - and put those into action. Planning one big thing to meet your new sales goals puts a lot of weight and pressure on that one thing. Instead, make 5 more calls each day. Visit one extra client each week. Create and send 5 prospecting emails each day. These small, repetitive steps will insure you get your name out there and make contact with more prospects - thereby making you more money!
As it's still January, in my mind it's still the New Year. And that means I can still start up New Year's Resolutions. Oh, you say it doesn't work that way? Oh well!
If you want to increase your sales, then you need to think about what small changes you can make to your day - every day - and put those into action. Planning one big thing to meet your new sales goals puts a lot of weight and pressure on that one thing. Instead, make 5 more calls each day. Visit one extra client each week. Create and send 5 prospecting emails each day. These small, repetitive steps will insure you get your name out there and make contact with more prospects - thereby making you more money!
Friday, January 21, 2011
8 Easy Steps to Eliminate the Non-Serious Buyer
If our goal is to make more money this year, then one of the things you need to learn is when to stop chasing a prospect that just isn't going to buy. This advice from sales trainer Rochelle Togo-Figa will put you on the path to success!
A client was disappointed she hadn't brought in any new clients in several months. She was frustrated she had set up 8 appointments and hadn't closed one. She had set high expectations and was upset with the results. We've all been there, so we know how it feels to anticipate closing business and then it doesn't happen.
As she and I discussed the situation, several things started to open up. Although she had scheduled 8 appointments, early on 2 of the people had canceled and 2 didn't want to spend the money. These 4 people were non-serious buyers. The good news was the other 4 were definitely interested.
In fact, one of the people she met liked her authentic sales style so much that she was invited to attend a party where she could network with many more potential clients. She may not have closed the sale in the time frame she had hoped to, however, she gained much more. She still had the possibility of closing this sale and now has the potential of meeting many more potential clients.
It's unlikely you will meet with a prospect and quickly close the sale. There is an emotional process that people go through before making a buying decision. They have to get to know, like and trust you. You have to be patient and willing to nurture the business relationship.
To guide the prospect through the sales process and create a long-lasting business relationship, begin by being genuinely interested in the other person, authentically communicate by listening and asking them questions, and give up any attachment you have to the outcome.
As we reviewed her appointments, we looked to see what was missing that could be put in for the next time. She thought the problem was she didn't know how to close the sale. That wasn't the problem. What was missing was doing the preparation work before the sales meeting to eliminate non-serious buyers. If she had done the preparation work, those 4 non-serious buyers would have been eliminated early on.
If you want to be well prepared for your sales meeting and close sales faster, I have 8 steps to follow that will move the sales meeting along and help you close sales in less time.
1. Set specific and realistic goals of what you want to accomplish.
2. Go into the meeting with the intention of closing the sale, but let go of any attachment to the outcome. Your focus is learning about the prospects, uncovering their pain, and showing them a solution.
3. Show them you're professional and prepared by sending a letter or email before the meeting outlining what will be covered at the meeting.
4. Call to confirm the meeting. At that time ask qualifying questions to uncover their budget and to make sure you're meeting with the decision maker.
5. Make a list for yourself of anticipated questions and responses.
6. Make a list for yourself of anticipated objections and responses.
7. Practice your presentation out loud.
8. Practice your responses to the questions and objections.
Golden opportunities are all around us. Sometimes they're hidden from our view because we think things should look a certain way and when they don't, we're disappointed. I invite you to let go of how it should look and turn every challenge into a golden opportunity.
Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Strategist, is the creator of the Inner Game of Sales, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit www.SalesBreakthroughs.com.
A client was disappointed she hadn't brought in any new clients in several months. She was frustrated she had set up 8 appointments and hadn't closed one. She had set high expectations and was upset with the results. We've all been there, so we know how it feels to anticipate closing business and then it doesn't happen.
As she and I discussed the situation, several things started to open up. Although she had scheduled 8 appointments, early on 2 of the people had canceled and 2 didn't want to spend the money. These 4 people were non-serious buyers. The good news was the other 4 were definitely interested.
In fact, one of the people she met liked her authentic sales style so much that she was invited to attend a party where she could network with many more potential clients. She may not have closed the sale in the time frame she had hoped to, however, she gained much more. She still had the possibility of closing this sale and now has the potential of meeting many more potential clients.
It's unlikely you will meet with a prospect and quickly close the sale. There is an emotional process that people go through before making a buying decision. They have to get to know, like and trust you. You have to be patient and willing to nurture the business relationship.
To guide the prospect through the sales process and create a long-lasting business relationship, begin by being genuinely interested in the other person, authentically communicate by listening and asking them questions, and give up any attachment you have to the outcome.
As we reviewed her appointments, we looked to see what was missing that could be put in for the next time. She thought the problem was she didn't know how to close the sale. That wasn't the problem. What was missing was doing the preparation work before the sales meeting to eliminate non-serious buyers. If she had done the preparation work, those 4 non-serious buyers would have been eliminated early on.
If you want to be well prepared for your sales meeting and close sales faster, I have 8 steps to follow that will move the sales meeting along and help you close sales in less time.
1. Set specific and realistic goals of what you want to accomplish.
2. Go into the meeting with the intention of closing the sale, but let go of any attachment to the outcome. Your focus is learning about the prospects, uncovering their pain, and showing them a solution.
3. Show them you're professional and prepared by sending a letter or email before the meeting outlining what will be covered at the meeting.
4. Call to confirm the meeting. At that time ask qualifying questions to uncover their budget and to make sure you're meeting with the decision maker.
5. Make a list for yourself of anticipated questions and responses.
6. Make a list for yourself of anticipated objections and responses.
7. Practice your presentation out loud.
8. Practice your responses to the questions and objections.
Golden opportunities are all around us. Sometimes they're hidden from our view because we think things should look a certain way and when they don't, we're disappointed. I invite you to let go of how it should look and turn every challenge into a golden opportunity.
Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Strategist, is the creator of the Inner Game of Sales, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit www.SalesBreakthroughs.com.
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