About Sales II
About Sales II
A self-assessment
The SCAN technique
Features vs. Benefits
The sanity check - SW, SW, SW, MO
The ideal client
If you want to refresh your memory, go to my website at craigjennings.com, and have a look at the newsletter archives for October. And, if you need a little motivation to set out on this journey, remember that, next to you, sales is the most important issue in your business. This newsletter should continue our objectives with:
Prospecting for leads
Networking
Asking for referrals
Follow-up planning
We'll end this installment here, and go on to the 5 items below in about 10 days.
Setting agendas and generating customer qualification
Objection management.
Closing the sale.
Managing your pipeline
Call resistance - fear of rejection.
Once again, I'd like to acknowledge Liz Kallen, of Exceed Associates, who provided much of the material for this newsletter. She teaches sales techniques, and can be reached at liz@exceedassociates.com.
Should you do everything I propose here? You might, or might not. But I talk with a lot of small businesses - and the ones who have sales problems haven't taken these on. If you want there to be a lot of money around your business, sales is the key.
What's a lead?
Imagine you're a shark, cruising the depths, and beginning to feel a little hungry. A school of tasty fish swim by, but you perceive the school, not the individual fish. It's not until one of them separates himself from the school that you smile, accelerate, and wham! Lunch is served!
And today, the people who might be customers are schooling too. Whether they travel in packs or not, the problem is not lack of leads. It's making a connection with individual customers on a personal level.
So, a lead is not all the people who might use your product or service, any more than the phone book is a useful tool for finding customers. A lead is the identification of an individual or a group of specific individuals as potential customers. It's a decision which takes place in your mind - just as it did for the shark!
Where do you go to make these decisions?
Identify some Networking groups - they'll be advertised. Create a short description of what kind of solution or outcome your product or service provides, and be prepared to share it. Whether your outside interests are political, social, or just business, be on the lookout for an affinity group where you believe that members can benefit from the product/service you provide, and separate a few fish from the school. Again, ask friends or customers where they have identified useful groups which might interest you. Could you create a group on your own?
Networking groups contain leads. An enterprising shark will cruise the group, tasting gently, one-by-one, exploring possibility. Simple questions: Tell me about your business; what made you decide to attend this function. Set yourself a target of having a good, probing conversation with just two or three people, one of whom might turn out to be a customer. Find people you think you might be able to help. And don't worry about giving out your business card. Just get theirs! Put a note on their card when you get it to help you identify the prospect later. Give them your business card if they ask for it!
Referrals from clients produce leads. Since your clients have already experienced the benefits of your product/service, most will be comfortable to make referrals. Make it easy for them to do this by being specific about the type of person/industry/income level and so forth that you want to meet. To the response - I'd love to refer you, but don't know where - ask them if there's a place they go daily - Starbucks, for example. "Do you see anyone there you might speak with for me?" Ask if they work with any small business or social groups. "Who do you know in that group that might benefit from my services the way you have?" Invite your clients to do as much of the work as possible. Ask them to call the prospect, and suggest the prospect take the initiative and call you. You may have to ask more than once. But most clients will be happy to do it, (they just need reminding and encouraging.)
Cold calling. Any direct-mail house will sell you a list of 1000 potential customers, with phone numbers, sorted by zip code, income, or any of a dozen criteria. Then you plan an inquiry or create a script, call, collect your no's, and keep at it until you connect. If you don't want to do the work yourself, professional cold-callers get a fee for setting up appointments for you. Check with Norma Siciliano at (212) 472-2650 - she's one of the best.
Centers of influence. Someone or some group of people in a related field. If you sell insurance, a stockbroker could be a C of I. Your approach - how can you bring value to the stockbroker - e.g.. refer him to some of your customers. If he's any good, he'll quickly find a way to reciprocate.
Newsletters - like this one. Publish regularly, and topically. First, create a list of names of people you'd like to communicate with. If you don't already have one, see Direct Mail, below.
Direct mail. Create a letter or postcard. Try it on a small group first. You can buy names for about 10˘ a piece, mail a postcard for about 25˘, etc. etc. You can create a paper mailing, or a digital mailing. You'll also need to create a record-keeping process so that you can follow up the maybes a week later
Public speaking. When you speak in public, you present yourself as an expert to a group of people, and some of them will want to know more about your service or product. At the very least, have a clipboard at the back of the room, or generate a raffle to collect the business cards of the interested.
Public Relations. Write articles for publication for media talking to client groups, or send press releases to these publications.
Advertising - Consider all the "bad" commercials you see on TV. Could you do better? Even if you're not going to have a great Superbowl commercial, get professional help around Radio, Newspaper, Billboards, TV, even give-aways and leaflets.
Funnel your leads. Your leads go in the top of the funnel, sales come out the bottom. First, have a look at the people you've identified as leads. Do a little math, and figure out what each of them cost you. $1? $10, $100? Now that you know how valuable they are, make a plan to keep track of them - an ACT database, an Excel spreadsheet. Call that the top of the funnel. Then make a plan to stay in contact with them - one sales professional says that it takes 6 "no's" to get to 1 "yes". Count how many leads you put in your prospects "funnel" each month. Count how many sales come out the bottom of the funnel. Yes, there's a relationship. Over time, you may learn that it takes 10 prospects to make 1 sale. You need 10 sales a month to keep afloat? Plan on generating 100 leads a month, then the sales will take care of themselves. Simple?
There's more. This should come as no surprise to you. I'll have the third and final installment out to you the first week of January, and each one of these installments will be available on my website at www.craigjennings.com, in the section named: Newsletter Archives.
And, while I'm at it - Season's Greetings to all.
About Sales II - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
In our first installment on this worthy topic, we covered:
A self-assessment
The SCAN technique
Features vs. Benefits
The sanity check - SW, SW, SW, MO
The ideal client
If you want to refresh your memory, go to my website at craigjennings.com, and have a look at the newsletter archives for October. And, if you need a little motivation to set out on this journey, remember that, next to you, sales is the most important issue in your business. This newsletter should continue our objectives with:
Prospecting for leads
Networking
Asking for referrals
Follow-up planning
We'll end this installment here, and go on to the 5 items below in about 10 days.
Setting agendas and generating customer qualification
Objection management.
Closing the sale.
Managing your pipeline
Call resistance - fear of rejection.
Once again, I'd like to acknowledge Liz Kallen, of Exceed Associates, who provided much of the material for this newsletter. She teaches sales techniques, and can be reached at liz@exceedassociates.com.
Should you do everything I propose here? You might, or might not. But I talk with a lot of small businesses - and the ones who have sales problems haven't taken these on. If you want there to be a lot of money around your business, sales is the key.
What's a lead?
Imagine you're a shark, cruising the depths, and beginning to feel a little hungry. A school of tasty fish swim by, but you perceive the school, not the individual fish. It's not until one of them separates himself from the school that you smile, accelerate, and wham! Lunch is served!
And today, the people who might be customers are schooling too. Whether they travel in packs or not, the problem is not lack of leads. It's making a connection with individual customers on a personal level.
So, a lead is not all the people who might use your product or service, any more than the phone book is a useful tool for finding customers. A lead is the identification of an individual or a group of specific individuals as potential customers. It's a decision which takes place in your mind - just as it did for the shark!
Where do you go to make these decisions?
Identify some Networking groups - they'll be advertised. Create a short description of what kind of solution or outcome your product or service provides, and be prepared to share it. Whether your outside interests are political, social, or just business, be on the lookout for an affinity group where you believe that members can benefit from the product/service you provide, and separate a few fish from the school. Again, ask friends or customers where they have identified useful groups which might interest you. Could you create a group on your own?
Networking groups contain leads. An enterprising shark will cruise the group, tasting gently, one-by-one, exploring possibility. Simple questions: Tell me about your business; what made you decide to attend this function. Set yourself a target of having a good, probing conversation with just two or three people, one of whom might turn out to be a customer. Find people you think you might be able to help. And don't worry about giving out your business card. Just get theirs! Put a note on their card when you get it to help you identify the prospect later. Give them your business card if they ask for it!
Referrals from clients produce leads. Since your clients have already experienced the benefits of your product/service, most will be comfortable to make referrals. Make it easy for them to do this by being specific about the type of person/industry/income level and so forth that you want to meet. To the response - I'd love to refer you, but don't know where - ask them if there's a place they go daily - Starbucks, for example. "Do you see anyone there you might speak with for me?" Ask if they work with any small business or social groups. "Who do you know in that group that might benefit from my services the way you have?" Invite your clients to do as much of the work as possible. Ask them to call the prospect, and suggest the prospect take the initiative and call you. You may have to ask more than once. But most clients will be happy to do it, (they just need reminding and encouraging.)
Cold calling. Any direct-mail house will sell you a list of 1000 potential customers, with phone numbers, sorted by zip code, income, or any of a dozen criteria. Then you plan an inquiry or create a script, call, collect your no's, and keep at it until you connect. If you don't want to do the work yourself, professional cold-callers get a fee for setting up appointments for you. Check with Norma Siciliano at (212) 472-2650 - she's one of the best.
Centers of influence. Someone or some group of people in a related field. If you sell insurance, a stockbroker could be a C of I. Your approach - how can you bring value to the stockbroker - e.g.. refer him to some of your customers. If he's any good, he'll quickly find a way to reciprocate.
Newsletters - like this one. Publish regularly, and topically. First, create a list of names of people you'd like to communicate with. If you don't already have one, see Direct Mail, below.
Direct mail. Create a letter or postcard. Try it on a small group first. You can buy names for about 10˘ a piece, mail a postcard for about 25˘, etc. etc. You can create a paper mailing, or a digital mailing. You'll also need to create a record-keeping process so that you can follow up the maybes a week later
Public speaking. When you speak in public, you present yourself as an expert to a group of people, and some of them will want to know more about your service or product. At the very least, have a clipboard at the back of the room, or generate a raffle to collect the business cards of the interested.
Public Relations. Write articles for publication for media talking to client groups, or send press releases to these publications.
Advertising - Consider all the "bad" commercials you see on TV. Could you do better? Even if you're not going to have a great Superbowl commercial, get professional help around Radio, Newspaper, Billboards, TV, even give-aways and leaflets.
Funnel your leads. Your leads go in the top of the funnel, sales come out the bottom. First, have a look at the people you've identified as leads. Do a little math, and figure out what each of them cost you. $1? $10, $100? Now that you know how valuable they are, make a plan to keep track of them - an ACT database, an Excel spreadsheet. Call that the top of the funnel. Then make a plan to stay in contact with them - one sales professional says that it takes 6 "no's" to get to 1 "yes". Count how many leads you put in your prospects "funnel" each month. Count how many sales come out the bottom of the funnel. Yes, there's a relationship. Over time, you may learn that it takes 10 prospects to make 1 sale. You need 10 sales a month to keep afloat? Plan on generating 100 leads a month, then the sales will take care of themselves. Simple?
There's more. This should come as no surprise to you. I'll have the third and final installment out to you the first week of January, and each one of these installments will be available on my website at www.craigjennings.com, in the section named: Newsletter Archives.
And, while I'm at it - Season's Greetings to all.
About Sales II - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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