About Sales
About Sales
We'd like to acknowledge our indebtedness to Elizabeth Kallen, of Exceed Associates, www.exceedassociates.com, who provided the resources for this roundup of sales techniques. Any mistakes or misstatements are my responsibility, not hers.
Self-assessment.
Let's start with a self-assessment - what you need to know about yourself before you begin. Click here for a one-pager.
Now that we've got some more insight about your favorite salesperson, let's explore sales. What is it? It's the process whereby a prospect becomes a customer. Most of us have plenty of the former, not enough of the latter. Sales is the conversion process.
In fact, there's a four-step selling process which should be your guide. It helps the salesperson avoid short-cutting the process out of hurry or fear, and it allows the customer to get the full value of the upcoming decision.
Process. We'll call it SCAN
Situation
Challenge
Affect
Need
Explanation:
Step 1 - Situation: is where you and the prospect have a look at what's going on for him, right now. Cheesy Example: He lost his watch, he's a candidate for a new one. Is there a Situation in his business or his life that you two might explore? Is it important for him to be on time? Many salespeople rush ahead to identify need and fulfill it with their product. Resist the impulse, give your client an opportunity to appraise the situation thoroughly.
Step 2 - Challenge: - when he has no watch, what problems, challenges, concerns does that raise? what are the choices before him? Buy a watch, not buy a watch? Spend the money, keep the money? In real life, it's more complex. Ask questions that will help him see that this poses a real discomfort and problem. Help him understand the details of the Challenge. Take your time with him. You're building a powerful structure for agreement.
Step 3 - Affect: - If he doesn't have a watch, how will that Affect his business? What are the impact would "not being on time" have on him, on his work? Does the value of the Affect overshadow the cost of the watch?
Step 4 - Need: - At the beginning of this conversation, your prospect might have agreed that he Needed a watch, but he'd get around to it sooner or later. Now that he's been through the first three steps, it's totally clear to him that not having a watch is a major problem with a very simple solution. He "Needs" a watch, and he shouldn't wait any longer to handle the problem. It's important, however, that your prospect come to this realization because of the questions you ask, not the answers you give. This is vital, because people believe what they say, not what you say!
While the "watch" as sales target is a bit trivial, have a look at the first three steps. Can you see the value they bring to your conversation? Would you be willing to try this structure in your own practice, and see how it worked?
Remember SCAN - Situation, Challenge, Affect and Need. If you're willing to work through this little process, and practice it a bit, you'll find that it fits almost every selling situation you find yourself in. Also, you will find that it adds an extra dimension to your selling efforts that shows up in more customers, and happier, better served customers as well.
Features vs. Benefits
This is an oldie but goodie, and it traps the most effective salespersons over and over again. Your product is a handy-dandy knife, fork spoon and oyster-shucker. Your owner is excited that it's 100% stainless steel, mirror-polished, shiny. He's proud of his dream tool. You think that the primary selling point is the benefit of convenience, one tool does all. Which will your customer value most highly, and close more easily with? Answer: The benefit, not the feature.
Your owner, however, points out how difficult it is to make the device out of stainless steel. He wants validation - the customer should respond to all the effort and expense he's gone to, and he needs your commitment to this end. You're sympathetic. You may even try his approach on a customer or two. Odds are, however, that anyone who actually buys your product does so because they want the convenience of a combination knife, fork, spoon and oyster-shucker, not because it's steel or shiny.
As you work with your customers, listening and questioning are by far the best techniques for finding out what it is they really want to buy. Simply let them buy it, and remember why when you present for the next customer.
Sanity = SW, SW, SW, MO
My compliments to John Hajisava at Global Results Unlimited for this little treasure - a salesperson's sanity tool. Whatever your relationship to rejection, try John's reminder after each sales call. The letters translate as follows:
Some Will
Some Won't
So What?
Move On!
Repeat this little mantra after each sales call that doesn't result in a sale.
Difference is everything!
One of the most extraordinary time-savers available to the salesperson is describing your ideal client. Many hesitate to do so for fear they'll be limiting their marketplace. In fact, defining your ideal client is a first step towards focusing your efforts where they will do the most good (and put the most money in your pocket. Here are some useful questions on identifying your ideal client.
What distinguishes your ideal client from everyone else?
Where are your ideal clients located?
What are their perceptions?
What are their attitudes?
What are their feelings?
What are their preferences?
How do they decide to make a purchase?
Getting the answers: First, answer these questions yourself. Second, survey your past and present customers. Some will, some won't, so what? Move on! And you may be surprised by what you learn.
At the corporate level
What organizations do you most want to work with?
What organizations are most likely to want or need your services?
Take on getting really clear about who you want, and what you want to say to them.
In the next newsletter, we'll cover the following:
Prospecting for leads
Networking
Asking for referrals
Follow-up planning
Setting agendas and generating customer qualification
Objection management
About Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
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There are as many different ways to do sales as there are salespeople! This installment of the Build-Your-Business newsletters will try to focus on some of the best and most effective techniques. Is sales really important? There are a lot of aspects to running a business. I suspect that sales is the only one which, if ignored, absolutely guarantees failure! On the other side of it, businesses with a successful sales program can have a lot of other things wrong with them, and still work!
We'd like to acknowledge our indebtedness to Elizabeth Kallen, of Exceed Associates, www.exceedassociates.com, who provided the resources for this roundup of sales techniques. Any mistakes or misstatements are my responsibility, not hers.
Self-assessment.
Let's start with a self-assessment - what you need to know about yourself before you begin. Click here for a one-pager.
Now that we've got some more insight about your favorite salesperson, let's explore sales. What is it? It's the process whereby a prospect becomes a customer. Most of us have plenty of the former, not enough of the latter. Sales is the conversion process.
In fact, there's a four-step selling process which should be your guide. It helps the salesperson avoid short-cutting the process out of hurry or fear, and it allows the customer to get the full value of the upcoming decision.
Process. We'll call it SCAN
Situation
Challenge
Affect
Need
Explanation:
Step 1 - Situation: is where you and the prospect have a look at what's going on for him, right now. Cheesy Example: He lost his watch, he's a candidate for a new one. Is there a Situation in his business or his life that you two might explore? Is it important for him to be on time? Many salespeople rush ahead to identify need and fulfill it with their product. Resist the impulse, give your client an opportunity to appraise the situation thoroughly.
Step 2 - Challenge: - when he has no watch, what problems, challenges, concerns does that raise? what are the choices before him? Buy a watch, not buy a watch? Spend the money, keep the money? In real life, it's more complex. Ask questions that will help him see that this poses a real discomfort and problem. Help him understand the details of the Challenge. Take your time with him. You're building a powerful structure for agreement.
Step 3 - Affect: - If he doesn't have a watch, how will that Affect his business? What are the impact would "not being on time" have on him, on his work? Does the value of the Affect overshadow the cost of the watch?
Step 4 - Need: - At the beginning of this conversation, your prospect might have agreed that he Needed a watch, but he'd get around to it sooner or later. Now that he's been through the first three steps, it's totally clear to him that not having a watch is a major problem with a very simple solution. He "Needs" a watch, and he shouldn't wait any longer to handle the problem. It's important, however, that your prospect come to this realization because of the questions you ask, not the answers you give. This is vital, because people believe what they say, not what you say!
While the "watch" as sales target is a bit trivial, have a look at the first three steps. Can you see the value they bring to your conversation? Would you be willing to try this structure in your own practice, and see how it worked?
Remember SCAN - Situation, Challenge, Affect and Need. If you're willing to work through this little process, and practice it a bit, you'll find that it fits almost every selling situation you find yourself in. Also, you will find that it adds an extra dimension to your selling efforts that shows up in more customers, and happier, better served customers as well.
Features vs. Benefits
This is an oldie but goodie, and it traps the most effective salespersons over and over again. Your product is a handy-dandy knife, fork spoon and oyster-shucker. Your owner is excited that it's 100% stainless steel, mirror-polished, shiny. He's proud of his dream tool. You think that the primary selling point is the benefit of convenience, one tool does all. Which will your customer value most highly, and close more easily with? Answer: The benefit, not the feature.
Your owner, however, points out how difficult it is to make the device out of stainless steel. He wants validation - the customer should respond to all the effort and expense he's gone to, and he needs your commitment to this end. You're sympathetic. You may even try his approach on a customer or two. Odds are, however, that anyone who actually buys your product does so because they want the convenience of a combination knife, fork, spoon and oyster-shucker, not because it's steel or shiny.
As you work with your customers, listening and questioning are by far the best techniques for finding out what it is they really want to buy. Simply let them buy it, and remember why when you present for the next customer.
Sanity = SW, SW, SW, MO
My compliments to John Hajisava at Global Results Unlimited for this little treasure - a salesperson's sanity tool. Whatever your relationship to rejection, try John's reminder after each sales call. The letters translate as follows:
Some Will
Some Won't
So What?
Move On!
Repeat this little mantra after each sales call that doesn't result in a sale.
Difference is everything!
One of the most extraordinary time-savers available to the salesperson is describing your ideal client. Many hesitate to do so for fear they'll be limiting their marketplace. In fact, defining your ideal client is a first step towards focusing your efforts where they will do the most good (and put the most money in your pocket. Here are some useful questions on identifying your ideal client.
What distinguishes your ideal client from everyone else?
Where are your ideal clients located?
What are their perceptions?
What are their attitudes?
What are their feelings?
What are their preferences?
How do they decide to make a purchase?
Getting the answers: First, answer these questions yourself. Second, survey your past and present customers. Some will, some won't, so what? Move on! And you may be surprised by what you learn.
At the corporate level
What organizations do you most want to work with?
What organizations are most likely to want or need your services?
Take on getting really clear about who you want, and what you want to say to them.
In the next newsletter, we'll cover the following:
Prospecting for leads
Networking
Asking for referrals
Follow-up planning
Setting agendas and generating customer qualification
Objection management
About Sales - 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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