Hello again Last week in my rant about non-existent customer service from my bank, I talked about my meeting with the sales rep from hell. Funny, as I was relating this story to a client, he mentioned a similar story. Only his was where the rep told her manager the meeting was with a prospect from hell.
The irony is that BOTH meetings were with reps from the same industry. Both related to the salesperson's level of knowledge, or rather, lack of it.
The industry? Web hosting.
Now you'd suppose that I know a little about the Internet. I've built several sites myself, I use an autoresponder, distribute products via Clickbank and use PayPal, have an affiliate program, publish articles, run pay-per-click ads etc, etc.
So when I meet a salesperson selling web hosting and design, I'd expect them to know about this stuff.
Imagine meeting one who didn't know what a sequential autoresponder was. Who had never heard of an affiliate program; who said that Alexa rankings were worth nothing and who thought the only way to promote any website was offline...
He was showing me a shopping cart site building program. None of the examples he showed me had any sales copy, none had name capture. Yes, they looked nice; but would they sell? Did they sell? He didn't know. His job he said, was to sell the system not tell the clients how to make them work. Ho, hum... talk about responsibility for outcomes.
To make matters worse, we met at a cafe where he'd agreed to buy me a coffee and didn't. Ever sat in a cafe with the owner looking at you like you were a leper? And he sat through (that's thru for those in the US) the entire meeting chewing gum like has standing at third base. With his mouth open.
Why I sat with him for close to an hour, I don't know. It was like I was educating him and he was selling to me.
That's exactly what happened with my client. This man has about 25 domain names and five sites. He's looking to consolidate everything into one or two sites. He's just bought SiteBuildIt! at my recommendation but thought he should talk to a local host as well.
Again, he controlled the conversation. At no time did the salesperson ask him about what his needs were. back at the office, her description was "The meeting from Hell"
The commonality?
Both reps had no real knowledge. OK, they may have known the features of their product but they failed in terms of understanding the needs of their buyer. Neither asked questions to identify the reasons why the buyer was in the marketplace.
Neither controlled the conversation.
Neither made the sale.
You must take the time to understand your buyer's motive. You must ask questions.
Find out how here.
Have you made all the sales you want this year? Would a huge increase in new clients be good for you?
If you think sales training is expensive, try not having it.
Yet another example of how NOT to sell - To learn more about this author, visit James Yuille's Website.
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James Yuille
(Visit James's Website)
James Yuille is best known for taking a
straightforward approach to customer
generation and retention. His sales career
started when he sent a direct sales letter
to a potential employer who hired him
without even interviewing him. For 33
years he has generated new business in a
variety of markets; representing
multinationals and small business with
both products and services. He has sold
the 'unsellable' and has taught hundreds
of salespeople how to improve their
results. He provides practical, sensible
cosultancy services to small and medium
sized businesses and has been responsible
for many successful on and offline
marketing campaigns. More than a marketing
consultant, yet not a business coach,
James partners with his clients to see
things from their side of the desk.
He is a trainer, consultant and copywriter
who is interested in two things; helping
you identify what works and keeping you in
focus.
Find out more about James Yuille at www.Jam
esYuille.com
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