July 2007
Monthly Archive
| Sales Evolution The Brooks Group's Sales Training Blog |
Tuesday’s Sales Truth {7.17.07}
Posted by Brooks Group on 17 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Sales Motivation
The Tuesday’s Sales Truths are taken from Bill Brooks’ Book Entitled: Universal Sales Truths
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Loading …Listen First: The Credo of a Successful Salesperson
Posted by Richard Dickerson on 16 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Professional Selling
I continue to be amazed at the number of salespeople who believe that “selling is telling”… filling time and space with data, opinions, rhetoric, and stuff that often holds little or no value for the prospect or customer. Why do they perpetuate this self-centered, me-focused arrogance?
Let’s see…is it because…
- Some sales manager said “Go make cold calls and don’t come back ‘till you’ve sold something?
- They believe sooner or later someone will buy just to get some peace and quiet?
- They don’t know what else to do because they’ve never been trained?
- They believe prospects / customers are stupid and need a lecture?
- They think one solution is right for everybody and they’re sure they have that solution?
- They’re thinking, “If I talk enough, I won’t hear ‘no’?”
- I must impress my prospect / customer with my knowledge?
- They believe verbal fluency wins sales?
And on and on…Each one a myth!
Just today, a colleague shared this, from a customer:
“When you talk you only hear what you know; when you listen, you hear what someone else knows.”
Successful salespeople want to know what their customers/prospects need and want…how they feel…what’s important to them. They skillfully ask questions to discover what their prospects and customers are seeking. And they craft appropriate, specific responses (solutions) from their customers’ answers. Give it a try – listen your way to a sale instead of talking your way out of one!
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(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading …39 Tips for Keeping the Sale on Track
Posted by Miki on 13 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: IMPACT Selling, Positioning, Pre-Call Planning, Professional Selling, Prospecting
Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been selling for years, it’s important to remember sales don’t just happen – they are the result of pursuing the right activities at the right time. Keep your selling career on track with this handy checklist of essential sales activities.
Pre-Call Planning
- Are you talking to qualified prospects?
- Timing: Are you in front of your prospects when they are ready to buy, not when you need to make a sale?
- Prospecting: Do you prospect regularly and consistently?
- Positioning (PDF): Do you define how you want your prospects to perceive you, your organization and your products or services?
- Gather in-depth data about: your prospect’s business drivers, purchasing process, decision-makers, challenges, problems, organizational structure, and competition.
- Have you identified key players within your prospect’s organization?
- Time: Choose your daily activities wisely and treat time like inventory – too valuable to waste.
Meeting with Prospects and Establishing Rapport
- Confirm your appointment (don’t assume that your prospect will remember your appointment).
- Double-check for materials (business cards, list of satisfied customers, brochures, pens, notebook, calculator, delivery schedules, etc.).
- Pay attention to your prospect’s personality/behavior style.
- Pay attention to non-verbal cues.
- Credibility: You have only seconds to convince your prospect that time spent with your will be valuable.
- Don’t start your conversation with unsolicited small talk (PDF).
- Trust: Do your prospects believe you and your organization are credible and you will deliver on every promise or commitment?
Presenting and Asking Questions
- Forget about generic product demonstration
- Choose the most appropriate product or service for each prospect
- Tailor your presentation to your prospect’s needs and wants
- Focus on benefits, not on features or price.
- Clear up any misunderstandings that your prospect may have
- Don’t confuse your prospect or overwhelm them with too many options
- Ask the right questions
- Then listen. Listen actively and take notes.
- Find out: What he/she will buy, how he/she will buy it, why he/she will buy it, and under what conditions he/she will buy it.
- Don’t focus on what you want to have happen at the end of your sales call.
- Instead, focus on what your prospect wants to have happen.
- Do you get feedback from your prospect and make sure that your presentation is on-target?
- Don’t make price an issue.
- Remember: Success in sales is driven by margin and volume.
- Present price after you create perceived benefits that exceed price and perceived emotional cost.
Closing the Sale
- Never make a claim you can’t back up with facts.
- Do you provide testimonials from your customers?
- Try to involve happy customers with your prospect
- Convince prospects that what you say is true and that the benefits of your product/service outweigh its price.
- Handling the details: Try to work out any objections or problems.
- Don’t give them canned responses to objections
- After the sale I: Do you tell the prospect they’ve made a wise decision?
- After the sale II: Do you invite your customer to buy more?
- After the sale III: Do you service your accounts as enthusiastically as you sell them?
- Be responsible and accountable for your own sales results.
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5) Loading …Tuesday’s Sales Truth {7.10.07}
Posted by Brooks Group on 10 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Sales Motivation
The Tuesday’s Sales Truths are taken from Bill Brooks’ Book Entitled: Universal Sales Truths
(No Ratings Yet) Loading …Stop Talking Your Way Out of the Sale
Posted by Richard Dickerson on 09 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Sales Presentations
What does your prospect want to hear about – every imaginable bell and whistle that your product offers or how they can use the product to achieve their goals or solve their specific problems?
Chances are you already know the answer. But if you’re like many salespeople, you still may not be able to resist the temptation to keep talking until your prospect’s eyes glaze over with confusion and boredom.
My advice: focus. Find out what your prospect wants to accomplish with their purchase, what their biggest concerns are, what’s most important to them…and when you make your recommendation talk ONLY about those things.
How do you know what to focus on? That’s the purpose of asking questions – to give your prospect the opportunity to TELL you what matters to them. The key is in how well you listen. If you ask probing questions and listen to your prospect’s answers you’ll be able to build a sales presentation that focuses exclusively on what they want most.
Here’s a harsh truth that will make you a better salesperson: Most people don’t really care much about your product.
People care more about their problems, their needs and their desires. Your product may be the perfect solution to their problem; it may be the exact thing your prospect has always wanted or needed…But your prospect still doesn’t care nearly as much about the product as they do about finding the solution or the feeling of satisfaction …so make sure your presentation is about your prospect’s use and enjoyment of the product not about the product itself.
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(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading …
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